Tag Archives: block

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Bitcoin block size: UASF updates its proposal

A controversial Bitcoin block size proposal has been upgraded.

UASF, in fact, is a new idea proposed by a pseudonymous contributor called Shaolingfry.

She/he wants to solve the bitcoin block size debate with a user activated soft fork (UASF), a possible method arount the actual deadlock over the Segregated Witness (Segwit) solution.

Right now, the need for a majority consensus in order to make a decision means  that any mining pool with enough hashing power has the veto power over any proposal; this might be the reason why SegWit is tardy to arrive.

Conversely, UASF wants to bypass the veto power and put the decision only into the hands of bitcoin’s users.

After a first general UASF proposal, Shaolinfry suggested a change – BIP148 – in order to moving the power out of the miners’ decision and give it to the “economic majority”.

Gregory Maxwell and other bitcoin developers refused this proposal because it could undermine the bitcoin blockchain stability.

“We should use the least disruptive mechanisms available and the BIP148 proposal does not meet that test,” he wrote

For this reason, Shaolinfry announced he/she is working on a redraft of the proposal to address some of the concerns suggested by Maxwell and other developers.

Shaolinfry published an announcement post saying that the reason for this changes is related to technical criticisms of how UASF would upgrade the network.

“BIP 148 is certainly not what a normal UASF would or should look like. While support for BIP 148 is surprisingly high, there are definitely important players who support UASF in general but do not like BIP148 approach.”

This revised proposal suggests the use of BIP8, but this concerns how soft forks are implemented.

Segwit and BIP8

Right now, if the 95% hashrate support for the Segregated Witness option is not reached by November 15th, the proposal will be discarded by default.

Anyway, the technical changes made in a proposal (BIP8) would be automatically locked in at the end of the time period, even if they could be adopted sooner.

Shaolinfry’s idea is that after the November 15th, a UASF SegWit proposal will be edited according to the BIP8 changes.

This means that the bitcoin community would have 1 year to prepare the upgrading of a UASF, removing the possible destabilizing effect of a short-term.

“I believe this approach would satisfy the more measured approach expected for bitcoin and does not have the issues Maxwell brought up about BIP148.”

 

Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.

Amelia Tomasicchio

Visa will test the Blockchain

visa_will_test_the_blockchain

Visa will test the Blockchain

London payment giant Visa will test the blockchain to improve interbank payments. 
In fact, Visa Europe Collab announced today that its innovation lab started to test the distributed ledger with BTL Group.
Together the companies will try to explore how the blockchain and smart contracts can be useful for transactions among banks.
In the press release, co-founder of Visa Europe Collab, Hendrik Kleinsmiede, explained that the two partners wants European banks to join their program to use the technology for live payments.
“We’ll work closely together on the development and implementation of the PoC, ensuring that all participants come away with new knowledge and insight into the role that the blockchain could play in interbank settlements in the future.”
According to an article published on the Financial Times, Visa and BTL will try to finish the project within 100 days.
This is not the first project that sees Visa Europe Collab using the blockchain.

In July, Visa revealed a micropayments trial and a project to extend the reach of traditional payments.

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Satoshi

That’s why $440 Bitcoin price is low

Today Daniel Masters, ex trader at JP Morgan, published an interesting article about the bitcoin price on Linkedin.
In this article, Masters comments the upcoming halving of rewards for the miners and its impact on the current bitcoin price.
Back in 2012, the mining activity reached the level of 210,000 blocks mined and the first halving occured, taking rewards down from 50 to 25 BTC.
Right after that, the bitcoin price raised significantly, from $7 to $11 in nine months.
We are now at roughly 409,000 blocks, and the next halving will take place at 420,000, a level that is estimated to be reached by next july.

At that time rewards will lower again, from 25 to 12.5 BTC.

Bitcoin price will rise

According to Masters, it’s reasonable to expect another price rise following this event.
Here is his explanation:
“Prices so far in 2016 have been relatively stable. That tells me that there is enough new investment and real time demand to match the creation of $575m new coin. It seems obvious that if that dollar-sized demand persists, which I believe it will, that the price of bitcoin must rise to meet it”. 
In a few words, it’s a simple matter of offer and demand, exactly the same way as it happens in the oil market, where a reduction in production determines a rise in price, given a stable demand.
That’s basically why the current level of $440 is to be considered low.

Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.

Amelia Tomasicchio
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Ethereum Launches Homestead

Blockchain project Ethereum has just launched Homestead, the first release of its software implemented at block 1,150,000.
ethereum launches homestead, homestead release
This new implementation comes at a time when more and more financial institutions and startups are revealing their interest in Ethereum and in creating projects related to the blockchain.
Just a few days ago, in fact, we talked about how Ethereum now is bigger than ever.

 

Special advisor at Ethereum Foundation, William Mougayar, explained that Ethereum processes almost 25,000 transactions per day: about 10% of the number of Bitcoin.

“You need to look at the growth of the Ethereum network via the growth of its nodes, sitting at 5,100 versus bitcoin’s about 6,000 roughly. That’s quite significant and shows the stability and global nature of the Ethereum network,” commented Mougayar.

Homestead vs Frontier

 

Homested is preceded by Frontier, that was released in July 2015.
Co-founder of ConsenSys Enterprise, Andrew Key, commented that Homestead will help users to expand their possibility on Ethereum and the simplicity that will allow them to be able to build proof-of-concept products.
Keys said to CoinDesk:

“Homestead’s arrival will begin to demonstrate the next generation of blockchain technology, whereby anything we can dream of, can be accomplished in a decentralized manner using Ethereum.”

 

 

“We’ve seen Microsoft and IBM doing projects on Ethereum. There’s a lot of coders. It’s exciting to see something you were in on in the early stages growing and bearing fruit,” said Ethereum co-founder Anthony Di Iorio.

 

Ethereum helps Car Charging

In Germany the startup called Slock is working with RWE on a project to use Ethereum for car charging uses.

This project debuted at the Lift 2016 conference in Geneva, Switzerland and it will play out within 2017.
According to the RWE, customers will use charging stations by accepting a smart contract programmed on the Ethereum blockchain.

 

Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.

Amelia Tomasicchio