Image of The day, 18 of September: Forbes, The Next Web, Wired and Others
We're presenting "the image of the day". Bitnewstoday.com has chosen the most important news about the digital economy and virtual currencies. Only the most valuable stories from only the trusted sources. Each and every event from this list will change the world of the digital economy either way. The most important stories of this day in the most indicative quotes are below!
1. TAKING FROM THE YOUNG AND GIVING TO THE RICH (News.Bitcoin)Robinhood Accused of Taking from Younger Investors to Benefit Wall Street Traders
Journalist Logan Kane of Seeking Alpha conducted a deep dive on the practices of the popular stock and the cryptocurrency trading smartphone application Robinhood. According to Mr. Kane, “it seems that today’s Robinhood takes from the millennial and gives to the high-frequency trader. Not only does Robinhood accept payment for order flow, but on a back-of-the-envelope calculation, they appear to be selling their customers’ orders for over ten times as much as other brokers who engage in the practice.
2. REIGN OF WHALES (The Next Web)
More than half of all Bitcoins are controlled by cryptocurrency whales
Blockchain research unit Diar has put together some interesting data that suggests less than 1 percent of all wallet addresses control $100 billion in Bitcoin. In fact, more than a half of Bitcoin’s circulating supply is controlled by wallets with balances exceeding 200 BTC ($1.25 million).
Even further – it appears that a third of all Bitcoin held by whales has never been used for outgoing transactions (meaning the whales never moved it out of their wallets after receiving it). Diar does note that some of these could be the reserves of cryptocurrency exchanges.
3. CHINESE ENDGAME (Forbes)
Making Sense Of China's Grand Blockchain Strategy
For a couple of years now it has appeared as if the Chinese government is seeking to “have its cake and eat it too” when it comes to crypto assets and the blockchain technology. The simple phrase “blockchain, not Bitcoin” has become the country’s defining strategy when it comes to the space, and the difference in approaches that the government has taken regarding closed v. open ledgers and assets is a study in contrast.
The Chinese government focuses on the domestic stability above all else, and the economic growth is the key enabler. Therefore, officials in Beijing will not let the crypto, or any other technology, threaten its authority or legitimacy to rule. As a sign of the government’s commitment, it is important to note that this is not the first time that China has retrofitted a breakthrough technology for its own market. While most enthusiasts praise the business models and success of the leading Chinese technology firms such as Alibaba and Tencent, they exist in their current state today largely because of the protection provided by China’s “Great Internet Firewall” as well as protectionist regulatory measures that delayed or outright prevented American companies like Facebook from accessing the market.
4. A LANDMARK FOR CRYPTO (The Daily Hodl)
France announces adoption of crypto-friendly ICO regulations
France has adopted a new set of regulations for initial coin offerings (ICOs). French Minister of Finance and Economy, Bruno Le Maire explained that this will allow the French financial authorities, the Authorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), to issue permits and approve companies looking to use ICOs as a means to raise capital. The ICOs will be required to submit information about the ICO to the AMF, giving investors a way to do their due diligence prior to making a financial commitment.
The regulations state that ICOs must provide investors with guarantees. They must also provide a clear definition of a crypto token. Governmental guidelines define token as “an intangible property representing, in numerical form, one or more rights that can be issued, registered, conserved or transferred using a shared electronic registration mechanism that facilitates the identification, directly or indirectly, of said property.”
5. THE BLOCKCHAIN: BANKERS AND TYRANTS (Wired)
Despite all the grifting, thieving, speculation, and wild price swings you’ve heard about, bitcoin and other decentralized digital currencies are clearly here to stay. Boosters think cryptocurrencies and the distributed ledgers called blockchains they depend on will reinvent the financial system. Neha Narula, who studies them full time, and Joi Ito, who has been following digital money since the dawn of the web, talk about what that reinvention might look like.
Joi Ito, the director of the MIT Media Lab and Neha Narula, the director of the Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative discussed bitcoin, crypto, and digital money. Both came up with a conclusion that blockchain and related things were greatly beneficial and all pros outweigh all Cons.
6. A-CUBED BLOCKCHAIN (ZDnet)
Airbus' A-Cubed launches blockchain for non-profits
A-Cubed, the Silicon Valley outpost of Airbus, has launched an open source, a public blockchain project aiming to assist charities and non-profits that are onboarding cryptocurrencies and smart contracts.
According to A-Cubed, Heritage will provide Airbus Foundation with a decentralized application to accept and manage cryptocurrency donations for itself and its partners. "Many of the organizations that could benefit most from blockchain are denied access due to resource skill or knowledge gaps. We want to open these organizations up to a new class of donors."
7. DON’T FORGET TO SELL THE SHOVEL! (Bloomberg)
Bitmain should’ve known that in a “gold rush - get paid in cash”.
We all know the sage advice that in a gold rush the best thing to do is sell shovels. My caveat would be to ensure you’re paid in cash. And just to be clear for the modern world, this does not mean getting paid in Bitcoin Cash.
Bitcoin mining is a pure arms race, with demand for the weapons fueled by the price of the coins they’re mining. Back in February we wrote about the likelihood of miners getting fried in a game of chicken, and we are sure this scenario has played out for at least some, and many held on because a mining low-priced coin is better than none at all.
8. TROUBLESOME FIAT (News.Bitcoin)
Five major banks penalized in state funds theft case in Kenya
Kenya’s Central Bank has penalized five major commercial banks for handling stolen state funds in the corruption scandal involving the country’s National Youth Service and Ministry of Devolution and Planning. In addition, the banks’ CEOs and employees could face an arrest, fines, and a jail time.
The five commercial banks fined last week were the ones that handled the largest flows of funds received from the NYS, the Central Bank described. They are Standard Chartered Bank Kenya, Equity Bank Kenya, KCB Bank Kenya, Co-operative Bank of Kenya, and Diamond Trust Bank Kenya. They handled a total of 3.58 billion Kenyan shillings (~$35 million) of funds received from the NYS, the CBK detailed, adding that they have been collectively fined 393 million Kenyan shillings (~$3.9 million).
9. DON’T LOOK AT BLOCKCHAIN (Forbes)
Don't Look To Blockchain To Solve Healthcare's Interoperability Woes
Many people believe blockchain is going to solve all of the world’s problems including something that has plagued the healthcare industry for decades: interoperability of medical records and data. While blockchain and interoperability of medical records could have a symbiotic relationship, there is nothing inherent in the blockchain that addresses the interoperability problem of healthcare data.
In the world of healthcare, sharing data requires a centralized server or the transmission of bulk data between institutions. According to a study by the Mayo Clinic, centralization may increase security risks while bulk data transmission may force institutions to give up control of their data.
10. SEARCH AND DESTROY (The next web)
This cryptocurrency botnet was designed to seek and destroy mining malware
Cryptocurrency botnets are normally the weapons of evil, used to covertly and illicitly steal other people’s computing power to earn coins. But now there’s a new kid on the block, and it seems to be cleaning up online avenues of crypto-malware.
The botnet, known as Fbot, appears to be hunting down illegitimate cryptocurrency mining malware and erasing it from wherever it is being hosted. According to the researchers who discovered the botnet, Qihoo 360Netlab, the bot scans the web for a specific piece of cryptocurrency mining malware called com.ufo.miner. When found, the botnet installs itself over the top of the malware and then destroys itself.