Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Coinapult Finds Solution to Crypto Regulation and Reopens Services to US
‘Best Crypto Currency Startup’ Nominees Revealed for The Europas Awards
MAY 20 DIGEST: NYSE Launches Bitcoin Index, Overstock Invests in 'Alternative Trading' Company
MasterCard Announces Centralized ‘P2P’ Payments
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
AlphaPoint Integrates 2FA Service Clef for Secure Logins to Bitcoin Exchanges
AlphaPoint has just announced that it is integrating two-factor authentication service Clef into its platform, making it convenient to login securely to more than 20 exchanges that depend on its digital currency exchange technology.
According to the company, AlphaPoint “offers a white label solution that allows clients to launch their own digital currency exchange in under 20 days.” AlphaPoint has also recently partnered with IdentityMind to solve know-your-customer and anti-money laundering compliance issues.
No more passwords, no more tokens
Security has always been an important focus in the digital currency world, but high-profile hacks of several exchanges have only heightened these concerns. Clef, which has already integrated its authentication service into more than 64,500 websites, also works with Apple’s Touch ID technology on iOS devices. This allows users to sign in using biometric authentication, increasing the difficulty to compromise an account secured this way.
Typically, two-factor authentication (2FA) requires users to remember a number shown to them through an app or device and enter it into a login page. Clef automates this process by using the phone’s camera and an animation called the Clef Wave; the phone seamlessly syncs with the computer and logs the user in. The service is readily available for iOS and Android, and can be downloaded for free on the App Store or Google Play.
“We take security extremely seriously and are always looking to leverage the latest solutions for our exchanges and their users,” said AlphaPoint CTO Joe Ventura. “We’re very excited to offer Clef’s robust, intuitive solution and believe it will help ensure more traders use 2FA to protect their accounts.”
2FA from the future
While relatively new in the digital currency ecosystem, Clef has already announced deals with major players such as Koinify, a marketplace for decentralized applications, and Ziftr, a service that allows shoppers to use credit cards and bitcoin seamlessly. When asked about AlphaPoint, Clef CEO Brennen Byrne said, “They also have huge reach into bitcoin so it’s exciting to work with them and help make 2FA on their client exchanges more accessible and user-friendly.”
It is this ease of use that is Clef’s major advantage over other 2FA solutions such as receiving a second code via SMS. Traditional forms of 2FA see fewer than 1 percent of users opt in to protect their accounts, but Clef claims that sites using its service have seen more than 50 percent of their users opt in to safer login.
The company offers five packages for security, ranging from a free service without premium features for unlimited logins and users to an enterprise solution with fraud and usage metrics and dedicated support.
MeXBT, a Mexican-based exchange, will be the first AlphaPoint exchange to use the new integration, followed by Brazilian FlowBTC and Barbados-based Bitt.
Film 'Satoshi's Last Will' to Feature a Future World 'as Murray Rothbard Would Imagine It'
Bitcoin Shop Invests $1.5M into Spondoolies-Tech as Part of Merger Plan
London’s Bitcoin-Only Photographer Refuses to Accept Fiat for Her Work
17 Arrested and $80,000 Worth of Bitcoin Seized in Dark Web Sting Operation
As a result of a six-month joint investigation between the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS), law enforcement agencies charged four Australians with attempts to purchase illegal firearms and arrested 17 Dark Web buyers and merchants across Europe and North America.
Following the arrests from the undercover operation, all firearms, ballistic armor, and illicit drugs were seized and around $80,000 USD worth of bitcoin was confiscated.
In September of 2014, the joint investigation between the law enforcement agencies in the United States and Australia focused on the illicit trade of firearms via the Dark Web which led to the identification of an online alias account for a 33-year-old man in Montana.
The operation officially began as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security received relevant information from the ACBPS. In the same month as the investigation, HIS initiated a secret operation with an online alias account. HIS was able to identify Australian suspects attempting to engage in illicit trading of firearms.
Two months after, AFP partnered with HIS to instigate another secret operation targeting the Australian suspects.
As a part of the operation, HIS and AFP manipulated the secret account to complete six deals over Dark Web markets, which allowed them to identify the addresses of the buyers.
After identifying the addresses, HIS and AFP received 15 search warrants in February and March of 2015, and seized most of the items in the addresses including four illegal firearms, ammunition, steroids, computer equipment and mobile telephones. Supported by the Queensland Police Service and Australian State and Territory Law Enforcements, the operation filed 34 charges against the individuals involved.
“Disrupting the supply of illegal firearms remains a priority for the AFP, and the success of this operation is another example of the results that can be achieved through cross-agency collaboration,” said Steve Lancaster, ACBPS national director of investigations and assistant commissioner. This secret operation was the most successful Dark Web investigation in the history of Australia, he added.
“People using these sites should not be fooled by claims of online anonymity,” he said. “Each transaction builds up a global web of intelligence which international partners are using to target you.”
Due to the success in the recent secret operation, Australian law enforcement will continue to target illicit online trades, especially firearms, with a strong support from national and international law enforcement partners.
Danish Exchange CCEDK launches MasterCard Bitcoin Debit Card
Danish cryptocurrency exchange CCEDK has announced a MasterCard Bitcoin debit card product, building a bridge between bitcoin users and MasterCard-enabled merchants all over the world, while adhering to strong compliance standards in accordance with E.U. financial regulators.
The Bitcoin Debit NanoCard MasterCard will enable withdrawals from their multi cryptocurrency exchange to ATMs and MasterCard-enabled merchants worldwide.
Unlike other Bitcoin debit cards including BitPlastic, CCEDK claims this card “is regulated by The European Union (EU) MasterCard rules” and as such it is covered under their fraud protection programs.
As such, CCEDK and any financial movements of its customers are strictly regulated under European anti-money laudering (AML), know-your-customer (KYC) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) guidelines, as explained on their website.
While this will alarm privacy buffs and does not provide anonymity or privacy like that advertised by BitPlastic, it nevertheless should provide fraud protection under the MasterCard umbrella.
Verified users can expect service as if they were using a regular MasterCard, up to unlimited withdrawal limits, depending on your level of verification with CCEDK and their banking partners.
“At first, the Bitcoin Debit NanoCard MasterCard will only support bitcoin, but CCEDK plans to implement further cryptocurrencies as there is demand – including NuBits, BitUSD, NXT and LTC. In the meantime, other coins can of course be exchanged for bitcoin on the exchange, to be used to fund the NanoCard,” said a CCEDK spokesperson in a written statement.
The NanoCard will start shipping mid-June. Those who cannot wait that long can get it with CCEDK’s partner at Bit-X.
Is it really anonymous?
The card is also advertised as anonymous, but true anonymity is very difficult, particularly when interacting with the banking system. For example, while you may indeed be able to create an account with CCEDK using fake information and a VPN and order a NanoCard with no verified information, the withdraw limits are much lower than with a verified account.
For cash withdrawals from ATMs, nonverified or “Level 1” users can withdraw 100 euros a year. For point-of-sale purchases, Level 1 users can spend 250 euros per year. This is presumably per card. Here are the costs of getting a card and transaction fees.
- Embossed name on card – 0.10 BTC
- Card activation – 0.05 BTC
- Card delivery via airmail – 0.05 BTC
- Card delivery via DHL – 0.30 BTC
- Monthly fee – FREE for the first 10,000 users
- Monthly fee (no activity*) – 0.05 BTC
- Cash withdrawal at ATM – 0.02 BTC (plus 3 percent MasterCard commission)
- Payments (POS) – 0.005 BTC (plus 1 percent MasterCard commission)
Like any other MasterCard, all debit card and credit card transactions are recorded and transmitted as per standard operations. This means that the privacy concerns associated with using any credit card that can be tied to a series of transactions also apply to the NanoCard.
Factom Partners with Honduras Government to Build Blockchain-backed Land Registry
Texas-based record-keeping service Factom has reportedly partnered with the Honduras government to pilot a program using the blockchain to record land ownership in the country.
The trail will be made with the help of software company Epigraph, a title registry company building “next generation” solutions, based in Austin, Texas. As reported by Reuters, the Honduras government has agreed to use “a permanent and secure land title record system using the underlying technology behind bitcoin.”
The idea to use the blockchain to record land ownership in underdeveloped countries was a use case Factom had in mind since it went live late last year. According to a video by Factom, nearly 70 percent of Latin America’s land is unregistered, leaving the poor, who have most of their wealth in land, vulnerable.
“In the past, Honduras has struggled with land title fraud,” Factom President Peter Kirby told Reuters. “The country’s database was basically hacked. So bureaucrats could get in there and they could get themselves beachfront properties.”
The details of the project remain scarce, and despite Reuters reaching out multiple times to the Honduran government to comment on the partnership, the publication did not get a response. The cost of the project or to what degree the government will be using the blockchain for land registry remains unclear.
The project makes Honduras the second government to use the blockchain to record government data. Earlier this month, Isle of Man’s Department of Economic Development announced it would begin to record the number of digital currency businesses located on the island with the blockchain of the proof-of-stake digital currency Credits. The small country has been the focus of Bitcoin startups because of its business-friendly environment and has 25 cryptocurrency companies located there.
Violent land disputes
According to Factom, the company will be able to solve the country’s land registry problems by recording ownership on the incorruptible blockchain. Bitcoin technology does have potential to be a better store of record than existing options, but, even so, it seems up in the air whether the technology will be able to solve the country’s brutal land issues.
The roots of Honduras’ land conflicts began in the 1970s and ’80s when the government redistributed land, an estimated 120,000 hectares, to poor peasants. In the 1990s the land reform was reversed and, according to local farmers, much of the land was “sold’ to large businesses and politicians through methods of bribery, threats and coercion.
Today, with 79 murders per 100,000 people, Honduras is considered one of the world’s most dangerous countries, and according to the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, the most unequal country in Latin America. Things have only gotten worse for the country since democratically elected Manuel Zelaya was ousted from power by businessman Roberto Micheletti. Micheletti has reportedly encouraged the oppression of farmers and peasants through “death squads.”
New York Stock Exchange Launches Bitcoin Pricing Index NYXBT
The New York Stock Exchange today launched its NYSE Bitcoin Index (NYXBT) to track the price of bitcoin and give the digital currency’s value a definitive global benchmark.
This move by one of the oldest stock exchanges in the world gives bitcoin new legitimacy and “gravitas” and may seal its spot in first place as the digital currency of choice.
New York Stock Exchange President Thomas Farley made the announcement today saying in a news release:
“Bitcoin values are quickly becoming a data point that our customers want to follow as they consider transacting, trading or investing with this emerging asset class. As a global index leader and administrator of ICE LIBOR, ICE Futures U.S. Dollar Index and many other notable benchmarks, we are pleased to bring transparency to this market.”
Tracking the Price of Bitcoin
The new NYXBT Index will indicate the U.S. dollar value of one bitcoin based on actual transactions occurring at 16:00 London time on selected bitcoin exchanges.
The NYSE Bitcoin Index will initially use data from transactions from Coinbase Exchange. Other bitcoin exchanges will be carefully evaluated by the NYSE and will have to meet the quality standards set by the stock exchange.
The NYSE’s Index Committee will oversee the rules and methodology behind the benchmark, making sure it reflects the current nature of the evolving bitcoin market. The committee will also identify and review the data sources for the index calculation process and identify other bitcoin exchanges that meet NYSE’s “rigorous standards for transparency, liquidity and governance.”
The NYXBT index will be published as a part of the NYSE Global Index Feed and will be publicly available on the New York Stock Exchange’s Index Page.
Currently, sites such as Google and Bloomberg track the price of bitcoin, but the New York Stock Exchange’s Bitcoin Index will likely replace these indices as a single global indicator.
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