25 May
0
The Greatest Bitcoin Companies: TOP 30
Greatest Bitcoin Companies: which are the best?
Below you can read a chart of the greatest Bitcoin Companies you need to follow to better understand the cryptocurrencies world.
These 30 Bitcoin companies can also give you ideas and a greater consciousness of the fintech sector if you are starting a blockchain startup and you want to follow their example.
This list was generated thanks to Buzzsumo, taking into this platoform several settings and metrics we though were useful to add.
The greatest part of these 30 Bitcoin- related companies are exchanges and magazines related to Bitcoin news.
Top 30 Blockchain companies:
- Blockchain.com
- BitStamp
- BitPay
- Coindesk
- Ethereum
- Bitcoin News
- Mesosphere
- Ripple
- Stock
- Consesus System
- Bitcoin Foundation
- Kraken
- Syscoin
- DAO
- Gemini
- BitFinex.com
- R3 Cev
- OkCoin
- Litecoin
- Dash
- Bitcoin Vox
- CoinScrum
- Synereo
- Tierion
- ProTip
- HolyTransaction
- Blockchain University
- AlphaPoint
- Korbit
- Vogogo
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24 May
0
US Postal Service to create its Digital Currency
Recently the US Postal Service (USPS) published a new document about how the company could create its own digital currency.
This press release written by the Postal Service’s Office of the Inspector General said that the postal company have to consider to use the blockchain for its own purpouses, creating a network where devices can be connected together.
Released today, this report stated that the Postal Service should study how to develop these applications.
“The Postal Service could benefit from blockchain technology in the short term by studying the technology and possibly experimenting with blockchain-based solutions for financial services. The Postal Service already offers some financial services, including money orders and international money transfers, where blockchain could be an enabling tool, allowing the Postal Service to offer these services more efficiently.”
Australian Postal Service has already started to study Bitcoin
In March the Australia Post announced its researches about how to implement the distributed ledger for its own applications.
Postal Service chief information security officer and VP of digital solutions Randy Miskanic explained:
“As highlighted in the report, we will need to be cautious in specific implementations to account for technology barriers, security concerns and regulatory uncertainty. We will evaluate the use of blockchain for each of the use cases and further review the available opportunities while considering the impact of the technology and financial restrictions.”
Postcoin
One of the most important ideas in the report is the creation of a cryptocurrency for the Postal Service, called “Postcoin”.
That was initially suggested back in 2015 by Swiss Economics.
Postcoin would allow the Postal service to solve money transfer problems worldwide. Also, this cryptocurrency could help the connection of postal offices to transact each other:
“…the Postal Service currently offers international money transfers. However, these services are currently only cashable in a limited number of countries. The flexibility and convenience associated with the Postcoin could potentially allow the expansion of electronic money transfer services to anyone in the world.”
Multicurrency Wallet
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23 May
0
5 ridiculous things used as a method of payment
5 items you can sell for your shopping
Some days ago Go Compare website published an interesting article about the weirdest currencies from all over the world.
In this funny list, they quote some incredible items used as a method of payment in several countries, including China, Siberia and more.
Read below the list of the 5 ridiculous things used as a method of payment.
Rai Stones
These particular kinds of stone are huge circular stone disks you can find in the Yap island, Micronesia.
Their value is based not only on its size, but also on its history. If many people died when the stone was moved or a famous person brought it in, the Rai stone value increases thanks to the anecdots related to it.
The greatest part of these stones are too large to move, so transactions are based on oral agreements.
Mobile phone Minutes
Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania and Ghana, people began to buy and sell mobile phone minutes for small transactions. This method of payment works this way: you need to trade with prepaid cards or use mobile apps that let users send minutes to other people.
This method started to be used in 2011 and one minute values 1 unit of currency.
Seashells
In coutries such as Langa Langa Lagoon and Solomon Islands, seashells are used as a method of payment.
These seashells – that are very rare because of their value – are used to create jewels that can be sold to tourists.
Each string values approximately $90.
Tea
Tea is very popular in countries such as China and Tibet, where tea bricks are used as a method of payment as well.
Created from tea leaves, tea bricks could be used to buy livestock and pay taxes too. In Siberia and Tibet tea bricks could be eaten or used to cure some disorders such as coughs and colds.
Bottle Caps
In 2005 a beer company in Cameroon started to hide prizes under bottle caps. Competitors companies started to do the same and the result was that almost every cap had a prize on it.
Prizes include free beers, trips and cars, and winning cap became a method of payments to buy goods and service thanks to them.
Multicurrency Wallet – open it for free
Among the alternative payment methods there is Bitcoin, and to store this kind of coins you need a wallet.
To read more about how it works and to open a wallet for free here.
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20 May
0
Why central banks need to study Bitcoin
Japanese central banks need to study Bitcoin
A few days ago Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso explained why central banks from all over the world need to study and focus on Bitcoin and blockchain applications.
During an event held in Japan, Nakaso gave a speech about many aspects of the financial environment, including bitcoin and the distrubuted ledger.
These were his words:
“The application of those technologies would also change the structure of the financial infrastructure that has been built around centralized ledgers managed by trusted third parties. Thus, central banks will and have to follow these issues closely and with great interest.”
Japan believes in Bitcoin
This news came after another important one related to Bitcoin recognition in Japan.
Some months ago, in fact, the Japanese cabinet recnognized the importance of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, so it aims at recognizing them as a method of payment, so the government is going to bring digital currencies under control of the Financial Services Agency (FSA).
Read more here about Bitcoin recognition in Japan.
Japan to regulate Bitcoin
Previously in February the Japanese regulators stated the decision to propose bitcoin among the methods of payment, so to define the digital cryptocurrency as a conventional currency.
In fact, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) wants to make “revisions to legislation that would classify digital currencies as fulfilling the functions of currency”, reported Coindesk.
Multicurrency Wallet
To keep your Bitcoin safe you better have a good wallet.
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19 May
0
Nasdaq Blockchain to build a Solar Energy Market
Today, during an event organized by Nasdaq, the well-known stock exchange announced its new service that allows solar power providers to sell certificates using its Linq blockchain.
This special solar panels are linked to the Internet connection through a technology created by Filament, a Nevada blockchain startup that built a system able to connect traditional devices to the internet.
Thanks to the Nasdaq private blockchain called Linq, it is possible to create certificates that can be purchased by anyone who wants to finance the solar energy.
Even if there were a couple of bugs, the resultant certificate appeared on the screen during the live video demonstration.
During an interview conducted by Coindesk, Alexander Zinder, director of the global software development at Nasdaq, cleared up how this new technology works.
“The solar panel is actually hard-wired into the IoT device through a converter which enables us to measure the wattage they’re putting out and producing into the grid.”
This innovative project was born thanks to a partnership between Nasdaq and IDEO’s CoLab.
“We think it’s a very compelling use case, but there’s a lot of opportunity, but it’s extremely early in our exploration”, continued Zinder.
Blockchain and energy: Usizo
This is not the first time we hear about a project related to energy and the blockchain.
A few months ago, in fact, we talked about Usizo, a crowdfunding company who is trying to improve energy payments between users and schools in the African country.
Usizo works thanks to a smart meter that accept digital currencies and through a crowdfunding platform where people can donate their bitcoin.
Donators can see the electricity needed by a school and can know how much he will contribute based on the BTC he donates.
Ethereum used for Car Charging
Also, a German power company, RWE, started a partnership with the Ethereum-based startup Slock.it, to develop proofs-of-concepts using the Ethereum blockchain.
RWE Carsten Stöcker commented:
“We would like to solve the problems and really push electric vehicle deployment forward by looking into establishing a seamless and affordable electrical charging infrastructure.”
How to pay energy with Ethereum
An American resident used the Ethereum blockchain to sell energy to his neighbors.
The two men did the transaction through the LO3, a startup that aims at changing the energy industry.
Lawrence Orsini, founder at LO3, explained that his startup wants to show how people can use the blockchain on a daily basis to facilitate their peer-to-peer exchange.
MULTICURRENCY WALLET
To store your Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies (such as Litecoin, Dogecoin Peercoin, Blackcoin and more) you need an online wallet.
Here you can open your for free on our HolyTransaction plaftorm.
Click on the link above to read all the info you need.
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18 May
0
Can the Blockchain bring a real advantage to the Public Administration?
On June 17th, 2016 Blockchain Education Network Italia (BEN) will held an event in Rome at the Consiglio Regionale del Lazio.
The main goal of this event is to start an institutional dialogue, illustrating the operation and the possible applications of blockchain technology with the participation of leading figures in the industry, in order to create a shared path between universities and public administration towards the adoption this new paradigm.
The blockchain proved to be more than the technology behind Bitcoin: transparency , durability and free data access are features that can be useful in various fields and not only for the financial sector.
This is the reason why banks and companies want to study this technology. During the morning we will introduce the discussion, with a presentation of the Blockchain Education Network Italia, with speeches that will illustrate the current situation of the Italian public administration, the applications of the blockchain technology both from a technical point of view and from the legal one, focusing on research progress in the academy sector.
After the lunch break the speeches will go wider and deeper: the entrepreneurs and leading members of the blockchain scene will present additional non-financial applications of this technology, trying to address the possible interesting applications for the Italian government.
To end this event, there will be a round table to be attended by the speakers and other guests to try and organize the key points on which is worth working during the next few months.
Among the speakers there will be Francesco Simonetti, HolyTransaction CEO, who will talk about the social aspects related to the Blockchain technology.
Who is Ben?
Blockchain Education Network Italia is a university association founded in December 2014 as the Italian section of the worldwide BEN.
Its purpose is to raise awareness on Bitcoin and blockchain through education, development of projects and the continuous experimentation of new applications based on these technologies, with an eye to the academic world.
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17 May
0
CNBC said Obama needs to embrace Bitcoin soon
According to a CNBC writer President Barack Obama needs to embrace Bitcoin soon.
In fact, some days ago Barth Chilton, former commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and senior policy advisor at the global law firm DLA Piper, wrote that the Obama administration should now move on bitcoin and the blockchain.
Chilton explained as the blockchain technology can be a great economic value for the U.S.A. so Obama should heed the call on Bitcoin.
Chilton commented:
“Without some proactive steps, such as a Self-regulatory Organization (SRO) and/or word from on high by the president, the U.S. could lose out on what are potentially enormous economic benefits.”
Chilton worked as a commissioner between 2007 and 2014, and he wrote a book titled “Ponzimonium: How Scam Artists Are Ripping Off America.”
In his article, Chilton explained that Obama should pay attention to Bitcoin because a lack of interest on it could let “U.S. lose out on what are potentially enormous economic benefits”.
Huge Opportunities
There are 15.5 million bitcoins and the digital currency has a market capitalization of nearly US$7 billion, so Chilton explained how important is embracing bitcoin and digital currencies right now.
“There is a huge opportunity that can be tapped into if US government officials and industry thought-leaders establish an appropriate balance between basic consumer protection regulation and an openness which not only permits, but fosters and promotes, innovation”, he wrote.
Also, Chilton compared what U.S.A. did with Internet to what this country can do with Bitcoin, by saying:
“We did it with the internet — and we need to do it now with virtual currencies like bitcoin”.
Multicurrencies Wallet – Open yours for free
To buy and spend your digital currencies, you may need a wallet where you can store your bitcoin, for example.
On HolyTransaction wallet you can hold several cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, Litecoin, Blackcoin, etc.
Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.
13 May
1
The 5 must read Bitcoin Books
In this daily blog post we listed a HolyTransaction the 5 Must Read Bitcoin Books.
The crypto world is very intricated and internet is full of articles, whitepapers and ebooks about Bitcoin, so it could be difficult to figure out which authors or books are more interesting to read.
As we don’t want you to waste your time we listed 5 must read Bitcoin books.
Blockchain Revolution by Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott
Some months ago we wrote about Don Tapscott and his idea on how the blockchain could disrupt services as AirBnb.
This is just one example of Tapscott’s suggestions about the Blockchain and how this ledger is a great innovation that can change the worlds as we know it.
Don and his son Alex are the authors of the new book “Blockchain Revolution”, in which they commented on the lots of Blockchain applications, starting from the music industry. This is one of the few books that explains the blockchain technology.
The Bitcoin Bible by Benjamin Guttman
This is a very easy-to-understand book with interviews and articles written by the most insightful experts of the Bitcoin community.
In its more than 200 pages Guttman explains everything you need to know about Bitcoin with pratical examples, charts and curiosities.
The first part of the book is related to the Bitcoin basis: what it is, how a transaction works, how we can obtain Bitcoin, etc.
The second chapter is about social aspects and opinions so you can find articles about how this cryptocurrency can help countries in crisis or in development.
The third one is about mining, and if you go on reading this book you can also find everything you need to know about exchanges, legal aspects, bitcoin venture capitalists and more.
The Bitcoin Big Bang: How Alternative Currencies Are About to Change the World by Brian Kelly
Written by one of the CNBC authors, in this book Brian Kelly explains the origins of this digital currency, the evolution of the payment system, how the Bitcoin network can facilitate instant trasfer of values and the Bitcoin mining, so how to invest in it.
Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas Antonopoulos
It is impossible to write a top list of the Bitcoin books without quoting the one by Andres Antonopoulos, one of the most important people in this community.
Antonopoulos founded several bitcoin-related businesses and launched lots of open-source projects. He also writes articles on bitcoin and is a permanent host on the program “Let’s Talk Bitcoin”. To know more about Andreas M. Antonopoulos’s read his profile page.
5) Bitcoin revolution: La moneta digitale alla conquista del mondo by Davide Capoti, Emanuele Colacchi, Matteo Maggioni
This is an Italian book only, so in this case we are talking with our Italian readers.
Bitcoin revolution is a simple guide on the Bitcoin world and it explains how mining works and how to invest in this cryptocurrency.
This is not a book for just technical experts of this field, but it aims at speaking with a wide range of people to let them understand how important Bitcoin can be for our daily life.
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11 May
0
Bitcoin, the trust chain that banks and governments cannot corrupt
Bitcoin is a trustless money
For centuries the use of money evolved according to available technologies and society needs. Bitcoin is a currency and each currency is information.
The information must be exchanged, only this way it can be recognized and associated with a value, especially in today’s world drawn as a network.
How trust can be betrayed
Problems arise when – while exchanging information – there are intermediaries who betray the trust, for example:
1 .central banks, if it inflates the currency (es. quantitative easing, or a tool to inject more liquidity into the market in order to indirectly encourage households and consumer businesses);
2. banks, if they fail, taking away our funds on current accounts (see bail-in or, in case of failure, no longer pays the state, but shareholders , creditors and depositors);
3. governments, if it confiscates assets or block transfers (Amato government in ’92) ;
4. national currency, if it is accepted everywhere (or if it is excluded from a stronger system, for example euro ) ;
5. privacy, if it is violated during the online shopping;
Whoever believes in a cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, knows that history (Argentina, Cyprus, Greece, etc.) has already shown that it is not possible to have confidence in all these linked subjects, because each one carries its own interests.
A centralized entity can actually change, omit or delete any data that passes through its control, since in these entities work people that have a corruptible nature.
What is the “pre-trust” ?
Now, not only friction, costs and transaction times can be reduced, but corruption can be eliminated too. It is virtually impossible to corrupt the ledger: you cannot write on it, and you cannot change what other people write on it: it is no longer a human job.
So, if there is no trust, to have a secure system we need a network that can perform an action associated with a cost. Since you don’t know the other person you are exchanging the value with you have to “pre-trust” in 3 basic elements: mathematicians, economists, technicians.
1. Mathematicians, with the asymmetric encryption, or the concept of public and private keys, you need to certify who is the true owner of the property;
2. Technicians, with the network that reaches consensus through the “proof-of-work” system, and valid the transactions before they are permanently written onto the blockchain, so it is no longer possible to repeat the processing fraudulently (thus solving the problem of double spending)
3. Economists, because of the incentive to earn money with bitcoin. For these reasons a public blockchain cannot live without the use of bitcoin if we want to have its maximum security .
All the above systems are designed to work together without the need for intermediaries.
Now people are starting to use cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, as a method of payment and at the same time entities that accept it are spreading quickly.
On CoinMap you can see the map of all the places where these exchanges take place. And, what is the infrastructure that supports this exchange? The blockchain.
Blockchain, the infrastructure that runs bitcoin
The blockchain – to define it in simple terms – is a timestamp, so it is only a consequence. The important thing is the protocol, the safe encryption with which transactions are signed.
It is not important the account balance, but how reliable is that publicly available data.
So far, paradoxically, it relied on the piece of paper in the hands of anyone. But the paper documents are now easily forged, to be trusted more if we read the declaration of property on blockchain .
Lavoiser stated: “Nothing is created, nothing is lost , everything is transformed .”
But it was a law that applies only to the material world . For the digital world , in blockchain format , the new law is : “Everything is created , nothing is lost , nothing can be changed.”
This article was originally written by Massimo Chiriatti on Startup Italia.
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10 May
1
Switzerland to accept Bitcoin for Public Services
Zug to accept Bitcoin
Zug, city ubicated in Switzerland, announced it will accept bitcoin payments for public services.
This is a pilot project to test the efficiency of the digital currency. This test will start on July 1st and will continue for the whole year.
Zug was probably chosen because it is the Swiss financial centre that has a good reputation for its low taxes.
This project appeared on the official website of Zug. Here the initiative is described as a way to test the bitcoin use for public obligations that cost 200 francs, or almost 0.44 BTC at the moment.
An official press release of this Switzerland city comments:
“The pilot project of the city government is initially limited to 200 francs on chargeable services the residents of the city train. The end of 2016 we will conduct an analysis of lessons learned. Then…the city council will decide if bitcoins and most other digital currencies are to be accepted as payment for other urban services in the future.”
Will this idea succeed?
This idea is not so new, as several cities and states have tested this method of payment during the last years, but it didn’t succeed.
Also, it is important to remember that Switzerland has lots of startups in its country: for example Xapo, ShapeShift and Monetas are located in Zug.
The city mayor is very upbeat
The city mayor Dolfi Müller commented in a post:
“We want to express our openness to new technologies and expressed early on your own experiences. And we will invite to exchange ideas with the City Council FinTech companies in the region train. Our goal is to meet their needs for optimal development in our living and economic environment in more detail.”
Multicurrencies Wallet – Open yours for free
To buy and spend your digital currencies, you may need a new wallet where you can store your bitcoin, for example.
On HolyTransaction wallet you can hold several cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, Litecoin, Blackcoin, etc.
Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.