Thursday, February 1, 2018

Opinion: All Crypto Must Go; Bitcoin on Sale!

The post Opinion: All Crypto Must Go; Bitcoin on Sale! appeared first on CCN

This month, I spoke about bitcoin’s first bottleneck, the price and the second bottleneck, exchanges. I feel the series needs a brief interruption so that we can discuss, yet again, the price; before we move onto different subjects, more technology related. Some are calling this correction a complete bloodbath. I’ve read in many places how this … Continued

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Square Cash App Releases Bitcoin Buy/Sell Option To Almost All Users

Square’s Cash App now allows almost all users to buy and sell Bitcoin, the company’s CEO announced in a tweet.

The Square Cash App, an app for sending and receiving fiat currency from the mobile payments company Square, has now made Bitcoin (BTC) trading available for almost all of its users, excluding those in New York, Georgia, Hawaii, and Wyoming.

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square and Twitter, announced the news in a tweet Jan. 31, which also included a short cartoon entitled “My First Bitcoin”, explaining Bitcoin to industry newcomers.

Since Square operates on a Point of Sale (PoS) network, the addition of BTC to its mobile services means that in the future any merchant that uses Square’s payment system will potentially be able to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment.

While the company says they will not add additional transaction fees for buying and selling BTC on the Cash App, the app calculates the price at which you can buy and sell from the quoted mid-market price, an average across major exchanges. According to Square’s site, users will be allowed to buy up to $10,000 in BTC a week, while there is no limit for selling.

Square had previously announced in November 2017 that they would release a BTC trading option to a select 3 million customers, causing their stock to jump $1 billion in five days. Since the announcement Square’s stock had increased by more than 3 percent when it closed Wednesday, Jan. 31.

Chart

Jack Dorsey, CEO at both Square and Twitter, when tweeting about the wider release today, included a link to a short comic, made by Square, about the history of Bitcoin:

https://twitter.com/jack/status/958743238512328704

The comic, entitled “My First Bitcoin and the Legend of Satoshi Nakamoto,” ends with a warning for users to make “wise financial decisions” due to the volatility of Bitcoin’s price.

Square’s announcement comes shortly after Robinhood, another trading app, announced that it would begin allowing users to trade in Bitcoin and Ethereum without fees starting in February.

Coinbase, which charges transaction fees but has more users than brokerage firm Charles Schwab, has long been considered the most reliable exchange for crypto trading. With the addition of Robinhood and Square to the crypto trading sphere, with already more than 1 mln users on the waitlist for Robinhood’s crypto trading platform, it’s clear that the market for crypto trading applications is heading in a less centralized direction.



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Startup to Give Beauty Industry a Blockchain Facelift

A new platform aims to connect clients, beauty salons and manufacturers using the Blockchain.

Online hair and beauty bookings system JOLYY plans to build a Blockchain-powered platform, in a bid to increase its efficiency and lower costs for salons and clients alike.

The company believes that the beauty industry is one of the noticeable few markets yet to tap into the enormous potential of digital technologies. Many professionals still rely on a telephone, pen and paper for bookings and customer management.

“Many of the existing beauty booking platforms aren't taking full advantage of the abundant technological capabilities. Most charge high commissions of over 20 percent or are otherwise inefficient,” JOLYY says.

Decentralized beauty

The company wants to offer a solution to many of these problems, also providing an innovative and smart platform, already operating in its home country Bulgaria. Now it intends to upgrade its system with the help of the Blockchain technology.

It is building a platform, based on the Origin Protocol, with the ambition of becoming a one-stop shop for beauty services and salons. The Origin Protocol uses the Ethereum Blockchain to help buyers and sellers transact in a decentralized environment without traditional intermediaries.

The new JOLYY platform will allow clients to book beauty appointments, pay using its native currency and receive multiple rewards. They will be able to review and recommend products and salons, invite friends, and add new salons, which will give them a certain amount of bonus coins.

Salon managers, in turn, will take easy bookings, receiving immediate online payments, which on other platforms may take up to a month, as reported by the company. In addition, salons will have access to detailed analytics about searches, visits by potential and existing clients, and other data to help them optimize their listing on the platform.

1% Commission

The network will bring benefits for cosmetic products manufacturers as well, through the so-called JOLYY Store. It will allow manufacturers to reach salons directly, searching for them by different filters. Also, they will be able to place ads, precisely targeted to the desired salons and ultimately, arrange product deliveries via smart contracts.

The platform will feature a social network, called JOLLY Live. Users will be able to promote their content, follow and like each other. The company hopes to turn the social network into the go-to place for the beauty industry with users uploading and sharing content, following experts, receiving deals, etc. Salons and vendors will be able to advertise their products.

Upon launch, the platform will allow salons and clients to make appointments free of charge. At a later stage, it plans to introduce a one percent commission per booking.

As part of its market entry strategy, the company will be working with a number of partners to gain access to different markets. In addition, it will benefit from the Origin Protocol network, allowing other products built on it to make beauty bookings as well.

A key element of the project is the launch of the “JOY token,” scheduled for the second quarter of 2018. It will act as the main payment tool across the platform. In addition to bookings, tokens will be used by manufacturers to sell their products. Ad space will also be available for sale in exchange for tokens. By attributing an advertising value to tokens, the company hopes to increase the value proposition for its holders. Tokens used for buying ad space will get burned, reducing the total supply.

It plans to issue “700 mln” JOY coins, with 50 percent of them offered for pre-sale. A total 30 percent will be reserved to the community and platform development, “15 percent will go to the company reserve and five percent will be left for advisers, strategic partners, and bounties,” the company COO Ognian Genev says.

Four times faster

Consumers are becoming increasingly accustomed to online and mobile. A 2016 study by research and consultancy company A. T. Kearney showed that online channels were growing four times faster compared to brick and mortar beauty stores.

A report by Inkwood Research predicted a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.15 percent for the global beauty and personal care products market between 2016 and 2024. The volume of the market is expected to reach $750 bln by 2024, the reports claimed. This and other reports identify e-commerce and social media among the main drivers in the industry.

The success of new online cosmetics retailers like Kylie Cosmetics best illustrates such trends. The E-store, launched by 20-year old reality TV celebrity Kylie Jenner, reportedly made $420 mln in sales in its first 18 months.

Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim at providing you all important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor this article can be considered as an investment advice.



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Welocal Gives Every Citizen an Opportunity to Become His/Her Own Boss

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This is a paid-for submitted press release. CCN does not endorse, nor is responsible for any material included below and isn’t responsible for any damages or losses connected with any products or services mentioned in the press release. CCN urges readers to conduct their own research with due diligence into the company, product or service mentioned

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South Korea: $600 Million Uncovered in Illegal Cryptocurrency Forex Trading

The post South Korea: $600 Million Uncovered in Illegal Cryptocurrency Forex Trading appeared first on CCN

The Korea Customs Service (KCS) has revealed an investigation into illicit Forex trading practices, and uncovered $600 million (637.5 billion won) worth cryptocurrencies that were exchanged illegally in South Korea. The statement further disclosed four instances of illegal tradings. In the first case, money was transferred from Japan to an unknown country whereby 53.7 billion won … Continued

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India Signals Crackdown on Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency Usage

The post India Signals Crackdown on Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency Usage appeared first on CCN

In presenting the country’s budget plan for 2018 today, Indian finance Minister doubled down on refusing to recognize cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as legal tender amid talk of a wider crackdown on their usage. Speaking at the Indian Parliament while presenting the Union Budget 2018-19 today, India’s finance minister Arun Jaitley said: The Government does not

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Alt-Right ICO? Social Network Gab to Sell $10 Million in Tokens

A controversial social network seeks funding via an ICO to develop its platform for those disaffected by today's social media monopoly.

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