Particl’s Security Prevents Meltdown / Spectre From Affecting Proof-of-Stake Blockchain

Earlier this year, nearly every device with an Intel CPU was affected by the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities. The two vulnerabilities allowed hackers and malicious actors to steal passwords and sensitive information from devices, by accessing the memory and secrets of programs on the operating system of devices.

Meltdown, easier to exploit than Spectre, breaks the basic isolation between user applications and the operating system of devices, leaving memory and private data vulnerable to attacks. Spectre, more difficult to exploit but also harder to detect, allows malicious actors to trick error-free programs to leak secrets, leading sensitive data to be released.

In January, Oleg Andreev, the protocol architect at blockchain company Chain, stated that proof-of-stake (PoS) is an "incompetent" idea because when major vulnerabilities like Meltdown and Spectre are exploited, private keys stored locally in memory are retrievable. When private keys are lost, attackers can easily reallocate massive amounts of funds, getting ahold of the stake and obtaining the ability to attack the PoS blockchain.

"Meltdown/Spectre is why Proof-of-Stake is an incompetent idea: PoS authors ask for an unforgivable amount of money to sit in the online wallets that actively generate signatures," said Andreev.

Last month, almost immediately after Meltdown / Spectre were discovered and utilized to exploit devices, Particl introduced its Cold Staking safeguards, that prevent locally stored private keys of being vulnerable to attacks.

"Particl Cold Staking safeguards your wallet's private keys, and thus your PART, by using a script (contract) between an online staking node and an offline wallet. Both wallets have unique private keys, meaning that if/when the online staking node is exploited by Meltdown/Spectre with a memory leak only the private keys of the node are stolen. If setup properly, the staking node should have 0 PART — thereby eliminating the threat of theft and protecting the PART in your wallet kept offline and secure," explained the Particl development team.

If Particl Cold Staking safeguards are activated and integrated, even when Meltdown / Spectre exploits successfully leave the operating system of devices vulnerable to attacks and the private key from memory is obtained, attackers cannot steal or reallocate funds because staking nodes carry a 0 PART balance. Which means, even if hackers gain access to the locally stored private keys, funds cannot be stolen and remain safe.

"If the Meltdown/Spectre exploit is used on a machine running a Particl Staking Node an attacker could retrieve the private key from memory but it would be of no use since staking nodes typically carry a 0 PART balance," the Particl development team added.

The Particl Cold Staking also prevents quantum computer attacks, disallowing attackers with a quantum computer to obtain a private key from a public key, due to the integration of multiple quantum-resistant one-way hash functions.

Conclusively, the security in Particl prevent two major attacks in Meltdown / Spectre and quantum computer attacks from affecting a PoS blockchain.

Mexico’s Regulations for Crypto Exchanges Expected in ‘Weeks’

Mexico's bill to regulate fintech institutions including cryptocurrency exchanges is expected to become law within "weeks," according to local crypto exchange ISBIT. Daniel Luévano, the exchange's director of operations, shared with news.Bitcoin.com what to expect from the new law, citing a leaked document he obtained from the recent meeting of regulators.

Changing Mexico's Crypto Landscape

Sneak Peek: Mexico's Regulations for Crypto Exchanges Expected in 'Weeks'Mexico's Chamber of Deputies will soon vote on the bill to regulate the country's fintech institutions including cryptocurrency exchanges, which the Senate has already approved.

The bill "establishes a regulatory framework that regulates the platforms (called Financial Technology Institutions or ITFs)" which includes crypto exchanges, the document states. "The bill recognizes two types of ITFs: collective financing institutions and electronic payment fund institutions."

Sneak Peek: Mexico's Regulations for Crypto Exchanges Expected in 'Weeks'News.Bitcoin.com (BC): Does the bill legalize bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies?

Daniel Luévano (DL): Bitcoin and other cryptos will not be legal tender. However, ITFs that the Bank of Mexico gives consent [to] will be allowed to operate with them.

BC: Can people legally use cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services?

DL: Yes, they can!

BC: What are the most important changes brought about by the bill?

DL: Financial institutions will be able to operate with virtual assets, but also, they are allowed to invest in ITFs. ITFs will be constantly audited; everything must be transparent to regulators and consumers. AML/CFT [anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism] practices will be a really important requirement for exchanges.

BC: What major changes to the existing Mexican crypto ecosystem will result from the bill?

DL: Changes in the Mexican financial ecosystem? Huge ones.

ITFs will be considered just as important as banks. All trade finance companies will be operating with them.

Only 44% of people in Mexico have a bank account, while the rest only use cash. The amount of money and transactions that can migrate to crypto and its technology is huge.

Licensing & Approved Crypto

Sneak Peek: Mexico's Regulations for Crypto Exchanges Expected in 'Weeks'BC: What is the role of the Bank of Mexico with respect to the crypto market going forward?

DL: They are more than open to keep new technologies [and] strengthen the Mexican financial ecosystem. They don't want to lose control of things they still don't understand widely, that's why the Bank of Mexico will decide which virtual assets can be operated in the Mexican territory.

BC: Are crypto exchanges now required to get a license from the Bank of Mexico? What kind of authorization do they need?

DL:

Yes, now we will have an authorization as an ITF. But this is positive, because now all the financial institutions have permission to work with the now-called ITFs. Mainly, the authorization depends on how strong your security is, and several KYC [know your customer] and AML/CFT practices an exchange should have.

BC: Are there restrictions on what cryptocurrencies are approved in the bill?

DL: The Bank of Mexico will decide which ones [cryptocurrencies] are allowed to be listed on the exchanges.

They will decide according to Article 30 [which states that] "Bank of Mexico will take into account, among other characteristics, the public acceptance (its use, the trade of it, the storage, and the volume of transaction), other jurisdictions' acceptance, other agreements, mechanisms, rules or protocols that allow to create, identify, partition, and control the replication of these assets."

Penalties

BC: What are the penalties for non-compliance?

DL: The penalties are applicable only for the ITFs in case they don't comply or they don't follow the law. If you don't have the authorization, the penalty is from 30k UMA to 150k UMA, according to Article 104 I. 1 UMA (Unit of Measurement and Update) = 80.6 MXN = 4.27 USD.

BC: When will this bill become law? And how long do exchanges have to comply?

DL: The bill will become law in the following weeks, as soon as the Chamber of Deputies votes for it.

Exchanges will have one year to comply.

Bitcoin Cash Price Rises Above $1,500 for the First Time This Week

After a few days of positive cryptocurrency momentum, it seems the markets may turn bearish as we head into the weekend. Such a  turn of events is anything but surprising, as we have seen some very solid gains all week long. Even though the mood is souring, the Bitcoin Cash price is still making some major gains. With a 10.78% increase over the past 24 hours, it seems things look pretty good.

SOLID BITCOIN CASH PRICE GAINS HAVE ARRIVED

Even though most cryptocurrency enthusiasts and speculators only focus on Bitcoin and Ethereum, the ecosystem is about so much more than just two currencies. While not everyone is convinced Bitcoin Cash is here to stay, it has become evident this altcoin has a more than loyal following. Additionally, we see various service providers and retailers switch from Bitcoin payments to Bitcoin Cash in recent months.

All of this is also impacting the Bitcoin Cash price. With the rough start of 218 seemingly behind us, it is time to look toward the future. In the case of the Bitcoin Cash price, the future seems to rest somewhere above a $1,500 valuation. As the Bitcoin Cash price surpassed this $1,5000 threshold a few hours ago, it seems evident the road to $2,000 will be long and hard. It is not impossible to overcome, mind you.

These solid price gains are the direct result of an increase in USD value. Thanks to Bitcoin's uptrend, the Bitcoin Cash price has gained 10.78% in USD value over the past 24 hours. However, BCH also managed to gain on Bitcoin itself, resulting in a 9.19% increase in the BCH/BTC ratio. With Bitcoin Cash back above 0.15 BTC, it will be interesting to see how this trend evolves in the coming weeks. Reaching a new all-time high price will not happen anytime soon, though.

With $849.976m in 24-hour trading volume, the demand to buy BCH seemingly outweighs the desire to sell. All cryptocurrency speculators want to maximize their profits at all times and the current trend indicates we may see a Bitcoin Cash price of $1,750 before the week is over. Even so, this trading volume is a lot lower compared to what we have seen in recent days, as BCH usually generates close to $2bn in volume on a good day. This current price increase seemingly doesn't impact the volume in a positive manner.

OKEx is the leading exchange when looking at the BCH trading volume. Their lead over Upbit is just $1.3m, though, and these two exchanges will one-up one another throughout most of the day. OKEx is also in third place with their USDT trading pair. The first non-Korean fiat currency pair comes in the form of Bitfinex's BCH/USD market, followed by the GDAX BCH/USD market. All things considered, things look pretty promising for Bitcoin Cash, even though the momentum can turn bearish at any moment now.

It is unclear what the rest of today and the weekend will bring in terms of the Bitcoin Cash price. With all markets suffering from a bearish fever right now, it is possible Bitcoin Cash will elude the bears' grasp, for the time being. Assuming that is the case, a Bitcoin Cash price of $1,750 by Sunday afternoon is not entirely impossible. If the markets were to turn bearish, however, the decline may go as deep as $1,325. An interesting weekend lies ahead, that much is rather evident.

Markets Update: Bitcoin Recovers to Test $10,000 Area

The BTC markets have ramped up to test the $10,000 USD area on leading exchanges following a break above resistance at $9,000. Bitcoin has recovered by more than 60% since testing the $6,000 area on February 6th.

Bitcoin Tests $10,000

Bitcoin has produced bullish action in recent days, forming an inverse head and shoulders pattern on the 4-hourly chart before breaking above resistance at roughly $9,000 area yesterday.

The bearish action of recent weeks saw bitcoin lose approximately 65% of its value – falling from approximately $17,000 at the start of January to the recent low of less than $6,000 on the 6th of February. When compared with the all-time high of approximately $19,700 from December 17th, the drop down to $6,000 comprised a 70% loss in the value of BTC in just seven weeks.

Bullish Recovery Signs for BTC

The recent bullish momentum has seen bitcoin break above the 23.6% retracement area of the crash when measuring from the all-time high area of $19,000 – $20,000. Many traders are anticipating that BTC may soon test the major descending trendline stemming from the all-time high should the markets continue on their bullish trajectory.

When looking at the weekly chart, the stochastic RSI appears poised to retest the 20 threshold after having dropped below such for the first time since mid-2017.

According to Cryptocompare, Japan's markets are by far the most dominant – with JPY/BTC trade currently comprising over 51% of the total volume of BTC traded globally during the last 24 hours. USD and USDT trade is estimated to represent approximately 37% of global trade combined, followed EUR/BTC trade with just under 5%. The shifting regulatory sands in South Korea have significantly reduced the dominance of the KRW/BTC markets – which presently comprises just 3.5% of BTC traded in the last 24 hours.

Altcoin Markets Correlated to BTC

The dollar-value of most altcoins have shown a strong correlation to BTC in recent months, with nearly every cryptocurrency producing a strong bounce in unison with bitcoin during February.

Among the best performing altcoins boasting a high market capitalization have been Litecoin and Ethereum Classic – both of which appear to have benefited from FOMO leading up to their respective forks, gaining over 100% since early February.

According to Coinmarketcap, bitcoin is currently exerting a market dominance of approximately 35%. Ethereum is second largest cryptocurrency market, boasting a 19.5% market dominance, followed by Ripple with 9.5%, and Bitcoin Cash with almost 5%.

Lisk Price Retakes $23.5 Level With Solid Gains Over Bitcoin

As all cryptocurrency markets show a sign of life again, things are looking pretty good all across the board. So far, the Lisk price has seen some positive changes over the past week. Even though there was a big dip along the way, the overall trend seems to be intact right now. With the current Lisk price of $23.83, things are looking rather interesting for this particular altcoin. Maintaining a positive trend will prove to be difficult in the long run, though.

It is quite interesting to see how things evolve in the world of cryptocurrencies. More specifically, we have seen several weeks of negative pressure, but things are certainly heading in the right direction once again. Even the Lisk price is noting some solid gains, as this particular altcoin has been on the rise for quite some time now. With a solid 16.83% gain over the past 24 hours, the Lisk price is making up a lot of lost ground in quick succession. All of this is achieved despite a rather low trading volume, though.

While the current Lisk price momentum appears to be positive, the past week has been subject to a massive dip as well. A few days ago, the LSK price went from $23.5 all the way to $12 in quick succession. Considering how Bitcoin and other currencies saw losses of up to 45% during this time, that is no big surprise whatsoever. In fact, the Lisk price lost nearly 50% of its value as well, indicating the currency is just following the general trend of major cryptocurrencies right now.

With a solid 16.83% gain in USD value and a 13.56% increase in the LSK/BTC ratio over the past 24 hours, things are looking pretty good for Lisk right now. While this results in solid Lisk price gains as of right now, it is certainly possible the momentum will turn against most cryptocurrencies again in the near future. With such strong gains in just 24 hours, it seems a small correction will become apparent in the coming weeks hours and days.

One thing to keep in mind is how Lisk has virtually no trading volume to speak of. Although $78.21m in 24-hour trading volume is not all that bad, it is a rather disappointing number first and foremost. Especially given the current Lisk price, one would expect there to be an even bigger interest in LSK, things are not adding up by the look of things. It is possible we will see a bigger interest in Lisk over the next few days, especially if this Lisk price trend continues at this rate.

Most of the Lisk trading volume comes from Upbit, which is quickly becoming the go-to exchange for most altcoins right now. Bittrex is in second place, with a marginal difference compared to both Upbit and CoinEgg in third place. It is good to see the current volume being spread out a bit across multiple trading platforms. Binance is barely in the top five right now and they value Lisk nearly three dollars lower. An interesting trend well worth keeping an eye on.

For the time being, it remains unclear what the future will hold for the Lisk price. So far, the uptrend is in place, but the cryptocurrency markets remain extremely volatile first and foremost. It is evident interesting things are bound to happen in the next few hours and days, but no one knows for sure if it will be a positive or negative outcome. Always take profits whenever the opportunity arises, as any gains can be wiped out extremely quickly in this industry.

More Crypto Jobs in India, Despite Delhi’s Stance on Bitcoin

Jobs and applicants for employment in the cryptocurrency sector have increased substantially in India, despite current attitudes in Delhi towards bitcoin. Significant growth has been registered in the second half of last year, a period of great uncertainty about the crypto future of the country. This month Indian government reaffirmed its commitment to eliminate illicit use of cryptocurrencies. New regulations are expected in March.

The number of cryptocurrency and blockchain related job postings has increased by 290 percent in the six months to November 2017. The trend was reported by the Indian branch of the global job site Indeed. During the same period, job searches with crypto related keywords also rose – by 52 percent.

Describing it as a promising and exciting new field of work, the Managing Director of Indeed India, Sashi Kumar, noted the sector was still in a very nascent stage. He said that the global market for blockchain related products and services is expected to reach $7.7 billion in 2022, Business Standard reported. The expert believes this is "indicative of even more jobs being created in the future".

According to Indeed, India can look forward to a truly digital economy, despite Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's recent confirmation that cryptocurrencies are not a legal tender in country. His announcement came with the presentation of Budget 2018. The Indian crypto community had hoped for more clarity about taxation of cryptocurrency incomes, profits and transactions. Businesses willing to invest in mining and companies involved in trading have also asked for clear policy guidelines.

The Indian government has responded by forming a special committee expected to propose a regulatory framework after studying cryptocurrencies and their legal implications. New regulations should be presented by the end of March. They are likely to involve anti-money laundering procedures and measures to prevent tax evasion. Cryptocurrency exchanges in the country have already been targeted by financial authorities and institutions in regards to suspected dubious transactions.

According to media reports, 10% of bitcoin transactions in the world take place in India. As of September 2017, there were around 15 million blockchain wallet users worldwide, with 200,000 new accounts added each month, Indeed claims. An estimated 1.5 million of these users are based in India, their report says.

Global Jump in Crypto Jobs

The growth on the Indian crypto labor market is not an isolated case but rather part of a global trend. As news.Bitcoin.com reported, other employment websites have also announced that bitcoin-related jobs are booming. Freelancer.com reported 82 percent growth in the third quarter of 2017. The Australian company maintains a global platform connecting employers and freelancers.

A research by the UK-based freelance marketplace Peopleperhour.com revealed demand for experts in blockchain development, cryptocurrency and ICOs had soared by over 500% last year. According to the British platform, crypto freelancers can ask for as much as £215 per hour for their services. With 40 working hours a week their monthly earnings would exceed the annual return of most employees in the service industry, Engage Employee reported. Some of those crypto specialists can take an average UK salary with just 25 working hours a month.

Wolf Of Wall Street Says Bitcoin Could Hit $50K Before Crashing

Jordan Belfort, known colloquially as the "Wolf of Wall Street", has yet again cast doubt on Bitcoin, this time in a video interview with entrepreneur Patrick Bet-David, posted on Bet-David's Facebook Jan. 31.

Belfort told Bet-David that he doesn't believe Bitcoin (BTC) itself is a scam, referring to it as the creation of "financial anarchists". He does think, however, that the way the cryptocurrency was built is a "perfect storm for manipulation".

Belfort believes that the rising price of BTC can be attributed to wild speculation because of what he sees as improper use of the cryptocurrency:

"Something [BTC] was designed to be used as a currency, and it's being used as an investment vehicle [...] As a currency, Bitcoin is no more useful at $20,000 or $100."

Belfort spoke negatively about the potential for manipulating crypto markets due to the thinness of the market, specifically referencing the case of Olaf Carlson-Wee, an early adopter of BTC who was paid in crypto when working at Coinbase in 2013.

According to Belfort, Carlson-Wee sold all of his Bitcoin, bought Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and then gave a televised interview saying that BTC was dead and that Bitcoin Cash was the future, causing its price to skyrocket.

CT could not confirm that Carlson-Wee ever mentioned dumping all of his BTC for BCH, although he did give an interview to CNBC about Ethereum that some Reddit users misconstrued as Carlson-Wee moving all his holdings to Ether.

Belfort predicts that while Bitcoin is, in his words, a "wolf in sheep's clothing,"  it also "might go to $50,000" before what he is certain will be its eventual fall to zero.

In September 2017, Belfort had said that Bitcoin was problematic because of the potential ease for hackers to steal virtual currency. In October, he commented that ICOs were the "biggest scams ever".

Belfort told Bet-David he had invested "not a penny" in cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin.com Introduces the New Buy Bitcoin Cash Portal PROMOTED 17 hours ago | Bitcoin.com | 9888 | 13

The web portal Bitcoin.com has just launched its Buy Bitcoin Cash page that enables users to easily buy bitcoin cash (BCH) using a credit card. The new addition makes purchasing peer-to-peer digital cash simple and safe for those looking to join this innovative environment.

The New Buy Bitcoin Cash Portal

Sometimes trying to acquire bitcoin can be a tedious task that requires verification from an exchange, and often times they don't accept credit cards. Now with Bitcoin.com's Buy Bitcoin Cash portal allows users from many countries all around the world the ability to obtain BCH easily (Bitcoin.com also offers a page where users can purchase BTC, bitcoin core). Bitcoin cash is a decentralized cryptocurrency that offers fast on-chain transactions, and fees are less than a penny to send any amount of funds. The Buy Bitcoin Cash tool is a quick and easy way to get involved in the growing cryptocurrency economy.

A Safe Way to Purchase Digital Currencies With a Credit Card

To get started all a user has to do is visit buy.bitcoin.com and they can choose between bitcoin cash (BCH) or bitcoin core (BTC). After clicking the 'Buy Bitcoin Cash' tab, a user simply enters the denominated amount of BCH they want to purchase and the receiving BCH address.

If you don't have a place to store bitcoin cash check out Bitcoin.com's non-custodial wallet that safely stores both BTC and BCH. After the denominated amount of BCH is filled in with an address you simply head to the checkout page to enter your credit card's credentials. After the purchase is complete you'll soon be a proud owner of the decentralized cryptocurrency bitcoin cash.

Bitcoin.com's Chief Operations Officer, Mate Tokay, is excited to see the Buy Bitcoin Cash page implemented into the websites' growing services.

"A tool that allows the convenience of purchasing digital assets like bitcoin cash is essential to the cryptocurrency environment," Tokay states during the announcement.

Not only is our Buy Bitcoin Cash web portal easy and accessible, it offers a safe way to purchase digital currencies using a credit card — The cryptocurrency economy is growing fast and Bitcoin.com will continue to remain a leader by providing educational resources and tools like this one.

Certain Countries and U.S. States Will Be Supported Gradually

Currently, the Buy Bitcoin Cash web portal is available in most countries however the service is not yet accessible in the U.S. just yet. Each state in the U.S. will be added gradually when the provider obtains certain regulatory licenses. Additionally, the Buy Bitcoin Cash service is not available in other areas like Afghanistan, Iran, Uganda, Cuba, and a few other nation states with stricter laws towards digital currencies.