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South African National Blockchain Alliance Holds Online Launch

The South African National Blockchain Alliance carried out an online livestream launch while the country is in the midst of a 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The organization was due to be launched at the beginning of April in Johannesburg but had to be taken online as South Africa and the world tackles a global health crisis.The launch happened during a livestream on YouTube on April 3, which included a panel of speakers elaborating on how SANBA will help nurture blockchain-focused startups and companies that

As Malta Delays Regulatory Clarity, Fewer Firms Remain on ‘Blockchain Island’

It seems that Malta is becoming both less popular among and less populated with crypto firms. The European Union country attracted dozens of industry players in 2018 on the back of the “blockchain island” agenda championed by the local government, but the relevant framework has not yet proven to be effective. Meanwhile, the official rhetoric apparently started to shift away from the blockchain sector, as the government now aims to consolidate it with “other niche sectors.”Meanwhile, the Malta Financial Services Authority, continues to pluck out non-registered crypto agents — be

Is Blockchain Necessary? An Unbiased Perspective

Yes, that’s the question we are asking today. Is blockchain technology necessary? The answer is tricky. To arrive at the conclusion takes an unbiased perspective. Bankers and people in the stock market will tell you that it’s the epitome of evil. Blockchain engineers and enthusiasts will tell you it’s the future of the world. The government, as usual, will be indecisive.Both are overly eager in their opinions, and both are unfortunately wrong. Blockchain is wonderful and revolutionary, no doubt there. But it has some very serious cons that are underplayed

Nodle Outgrows Stellar, Begins to Migrate to own Blockchain

Nodle Network, an IOTA (MIOTA) competitor, is in the process of migrating from Stellar (XLM) to its own blockchain network with the release of the Arcadia testnet.Nodle is a decentralized network provider that specializes in detecting and connecting the internet of things (IoT). It currently connects over five million active nodes with over 92 million detected devices. While Stellar has been able to handle Nodle’s heavy traffic of 1.3 million daily transactions to date, the company believes it needs to deploy its own blockchain to accommodate some of the advanced features

Spanish Tax Watchdog Puts 66,000 Crypto Traders on Notice

The Spanish tax authority has begun sending out warning notices to 66,000 cryptocurrency holders to remind them of their tax obligations.According to Europa Press, the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) began the campaign on April 1, and will keep firing off letters until June 30 in the midst of the national COVID-19 crisis.The 66,000 notices represents a sharp increase from 2019, the first year of the campaign, when a reported 14,700 notices were sent out. The tax watchdog is also targeting those who earn income abroad and from real estate

What to Expect When You’re Expecting… the Bitcoin Block Halving

Many industry experts hold varied expectations for Bitcoin’s price following the block reward halving in May, proving 2020 is anything but mundane. “On both prior occasions, Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high within 12 months, with the latest coming in December 2017 when the price reached about $20,000, which was followed by a massive decline,” Bill Herrmann, CEO of alternative investment banking firm, Wilshire Phoenix, told Cointelegraph in an email on March 10. Herrmann also pointed out that Bitcoin’s market has matured compared to past years, noting that information available to

Remaining Anonymous: Which Crypto Privacy Solution Works Best?

The cryptocurrency industry was initially headlined as anonymous digital cash. While experts were keen to point out that this was not exactly the case, Bitcoin (BTC) found initial popularity in darknet markets such as Silk Road, where merchants sold illegal goods ranging from light drugs to, allegedly, hitman services. Founded in 2011, Silk Road thrived for the next two years until the Federal Bureau of Investigation shut it down in 2013. Authorities later revealed that completely free blockchain explorers aided their investigative efforts.Bitcoin’s transaction ledger is completely open for the

New Report links Satoshi Nakamoto with the Monero Whitepaper

The identity of Bitcoin creator (or creators) Satoshi Nakamoto is still one of the most highly debated questions in the crypto space today. However, a new research report is suggesting that the creator also developed another prominent digital asset. According to new research by Monero Outreach, the privacy-focused digital asset may also be the creator of Bitcoin. Using Monero to “Fix” BitcoinMonero was developed in 2014 as a means of addressing some of the privacy issues that Bitcoin had at the time. Up till today, the asset remains one of the most private digital

Evolution of‘Payments’ Will Bolster Next-Generation Businesses

Humans have always been on a developmental journey. When we are born into thousands of years of inventions and improvements, it’s easy to take for granted what’s around us— as if they always existed. We seldom think about the changes it took to get to where we are.Take for example, the creation of language and how that opened up a new course in human history. How it led to communication, collaboration, communities and organizations. From there, people organized a set of doctrines and came up with story-telling, a precursor to

Cardano’s Byron Reboot Goes Live, Paving Way to Shelley Mainnet

Proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain Cardano (ADA) went live with its Byron reboot yesterday, March 30, as the project prepares its transition to the Shelley mainnet.Announced by Cardano’s developer, the peer-to-peer technology firm Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), the reboot involves a series of updates to major components of the Cardano network — the Cardano node, explorer, and Daedalus wallet backend, which is being spun out as a new version, Daedalus Flight.A process, not an eventIn an outline of the reboot’s significance, which has taken 18 months to complete, IOHK explained that