worldwide

Blockchain App Used to Track COVID-19 Cases in Latin America

A Canada-based company is turning to blockchain technology in their efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America.Emerge, a blockchain startup based in Toronto, is launching a public safety system app called Civitas to assist local authorities in many nations. According to a company blog post, the app was designed “to improve safety and cut store wait times by reducing gatherings in tight spaces, reducing the probability of contagion.” The software program could associate locals’ government ID numbers with unique blockchain records, allowing authorities to determine if they qualify for

Adult Entertainment Supported by Crypto Shoppers During Quarantine

While many crypto holders around the world are practicing self-quarantine and other measures to limit social contact, some are turning to the adult industry for comfort. Speaking to Cointelegraph, cryptocurrency payment processor CoinGate reported an increase in purchases from adult stores in March over activity in February. Sites like ManyVids and LiveJasmin had 17% and 8% increases in cart sizes, respectively. Other adult stores reported a 36% increase in turnover. Most of these merchants are based in Europe, where measures are in place to limit people from leaving their homes and many

Darknet Market to Permanently Ban Vendors Preying on COVID-19 Fears

Dark web marketplace, Monopoly Market, has taken a stand against scammers claiming to sell cures and treatments for COVID-19 on its platform.On other darknet platforms, listings are rife with coronavirus keywords — with vendors selling everything from narcotic cocktails marketed as ‘coronavirus vaccines,’ to coronavirus-infected blood and saliva.Monopoly Market to ban vendors using coronavirus as ‘marketing tool’On April 2, dark web journalist, Eileen Ormsby, tweeted a screenshot posted by Monopoly Market’s operator that threatened permanent bans against vendors “caught flogging goods as a ‘cure’ to Coronavirus.”“We have class here,” the

Sophisticated Mining Botnet Identified After 2 Years

Cybersecurity firm, Guardicore Labs, revealed the identification of a malicious crypto-mining botnet that has been operating for nearly two years on April 1.The threat actor, dubbed ‘Vollgar’ based on its mining of the little-known altcoin, Vollar (VSD), targets Windows machines running MS-SQL servers — of which Guardicore estimates there are just 500,000 in existence worldwide.However, despite their scarcity, MS-SQL servers offer sizable processing power in addition to typically storing valuable information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details.Sophisticated crypto-mining malware network identifiedOnce a server is infected, Vollgar “diligently and

Bitcoin Flips Bullish — But Here’s Why BTC Price May Still Hit $3.9K

Bitcoin (BTC) price has gained more than 10% in the last week, giving bulls some hope that the road ahead is a bright one for the leading digital asset.However, despite an effort to blast through the critical resistance level of $7,200 as mentioned in last week’s analysis, there was a huge rejection bringing home the reality that perhaps it may be a little too soon to be expecting a miraculous bounce back to the $8,000+ levels. Daily crypto market performance. Source: Coin360.com$5,500 then moon?BTC USD daily chart. Source: TradingViewI think it’s

Bitcoin’s Hedging Performance in the Wake of the Coronavirus Outbreak

The recent coronavirus outbreak has far-reaching consequences beyond the spread of the disease and efforts to quarantine it. Recently, we’ve experienced one of the most severe stock market crashes in modern times: On March 9, 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded a drop of -7.8%, which happened to be its worst single-day loss ever. However, on Thursday, March 12, 2020, the Dow then recorded the fifth-largest drop in modern history based on percentage points by a staggering amount of almost 10%. Unfortunately, the losses did not stop there. Four

Blockchain Head at European Commission Explains Usefulness of DLT

The head of the digital innovation and blockchain unit at the European Commission (EC), Pēteris Zilgalvis, explained the concise benefits of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in an interview to The Banker, a subsidiary of the Financial Times. In the interview, published on April 3, Zilgalvis talked about the benefits and challenges of the technology.According to him, blockchain provides a powerful framework for data sharing, something that can't be done by normal databases:“We think that it presents an excellent technology for situations where different stakeholders need to collaborate but, due to

Google Chrome Leads the Pack, but Privacy-Oriented Browsers Gain Traction

In recent months, big-name players like Google and Apple have been going the extra mile to showcase their privacy features to the world. However, as most people are now aware, these multinational companies have business models that are centered around collecting and aggregating the data of their customers. In this regard, growing interest in privacy-first browsers like Brave clearly suggests a collective increase in internet users’ concern over how their personal information is being accumulated, stored and utilized on a day-to-day basis.Individuals all over the globe have become so accustomed to

Pandemic Is Changing Bitcoin Usage in ‘Unexpected Ways,’ Says Chainalysis

Leading blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis has found that the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic contraction is affecting Bitcoin (BTC) consumer habits in surprising ways.In a new report published on March 30, Chainalysis details how Bitcoin spending trends in three areas — merchant services, gambling and darknet marketplaces — have changed, or even reversed. Weakening correlation could be a boon for Bitcoin merchant services, says reportChainalysis reported that one such change in trend shows resilience among Bitcoin merchant services in the current economic crisis. For example, the firm’s data for Bitcoin spending using

Ark’s 1 Million Token Grant Fund Drives Community Innovation

Interoperable blockchain project Ark (ARK) designated one million ARK valued at roughly $150,000 toward its new development grants program on March 24.While the grant program was launched one week ago, Ark’s Strategic Partnerships Manager, Ray Alvarez, told Cointelegraph that it has already received proofs-of-concept from developers.The program exclusively funds “proposals involving technical deployments and usage of [the] ARK technology stack.”The applications include standalone applications and plugins, including development contributing to Ark’s decentralized private messaging application, desktop wallet, and transaction plugins.In addition to sparking development for specific applications, Alvarez states that

Unsurprisingly, Markets Are Bearish

Out of all the hockey stick graphs we’ve been looking at over the last few weeks, the one that really takes the cake is the google trends chart showing the number of people searching for the term ‘unprecedented.’ The levels we’re seeing at the moment, quite frankly, have never existed before. Demand on telecommunications have been unprecedented. The sudden halt in air and even ground travel is unprecedented. And the actions taken by governments and central banks around the world have been well… unprecedented. We’re litteraly living through history at