california

INX Becomes the First SEC-Registered IPO to Accept Crypto

15/09/2020 by Idelto Editor

15th September 2020, New York, United States: INX will start accepting bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and USDC stablecoin, starting today. INX said over 3,000 retail and accredited investors registered for the INX token offering during its first three days. Now that the minimum requirement INX has set to raise the first $7.5 million of its up to $117 million IPO in dollars and not crypto, has been met, investors will be able to purchase INX tokens with these coins, here: https://token.inx.co/

INX has set the offering price at $0.90 per token with a minimum investment of $1,000. The offering is available in 14 U.S. states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

The company plans to use IPO proceeds to continue developing INX Trading Solutions, a regulated exchange for cryptocurrencies, security tokens, and derivatives. Founded in 2017, Gibraltar-based INX first revealed its IPO plans in 2018 and filed a draft prospectus with the SEC in August 2019. The company is headed by Alan Silbert, brother of Digital Currency Group’s founder Barry.

About INX Limited

INX aims to provide a regulated trading platform for digital securities and cryptocurrencies combining traditional markets expertise and a novel fintech approach. INX is led by an experienced team of business, finance, and blockchain technology experts unified by the vision of redefining the world of capital markets via blockchain technology and novel regulatory approach.

Media Contact Details

Contact Name: Alona Stein (For INX)

Contact Email: [email protected]

This press release is not a prospectus and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation of sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. This press release is being issued pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 134 under the Securities Act of 1933. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release.

INX Limited is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. Cryptocurrencies and tokens are extremely volatile. There is no guarantee of a stable value, or of any value at all.

About Bitcoin PR Buzz: Bitcoin PR Buzz has been proudly serving the crypto press release distribution needs of blockchain start-ups for over 8 years. Get your Bitcoin Press Release Distribution today.

This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

The post INX Becomes the First SEC-Registered IPO to Accept Crypto appeared first on Bitcoin News.

The Mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto Allegedly Leveraged a Russian Proxy for Communications

05/06/2020 by Idelto Editor

4,171 days ago in 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto invoked the Bitcoin network after sharing the white paper with people since Halloween 2008. Just recently, it has been discovered that Nakamoto leveraged a Russian proxy to obfuscate his whereabouts and the inventor used the proxy back in January 2009. For quite some time now, armchair sleuths have been finding interesting clues within Bitcoin’s earliest codebases.

Satoshi Nakamoto and Ties to a Russian Proxy

The Satoshi Nakamoto mystery is like a holy grail of sorts, for a large number of cryptocurrency advocates. People have tried to hunt him down for well over 11 years now, and to this day no one knows his true identity. Just recently online detectives have discovered in the first version of Bitcoin (v0.1.0), Satoshi Nakamoto allegedly used a Russian proxy to hide his location and identity. The clues can be found in the file “irc.cpp” and line 212 is leveraged in a way where the proxy is hidden by a cipher.

After the discovery, people have been discussing a variety of theories as to why Satoshi may have used a Russian proxy. A proxy server is a tool that can be utilized to access web pages and networks without giving certain communications to the server. A proxy can also be leveraged to create a false IP address location. For instance, a person from China might leverage a EU-based proxy, in order to bypass the Great Firewall in the country. It is quite possible that Satoshi used the Russian proxy because he was located inside Russia’s borders. But it is more likely he was outside of Russia’s borders and he used the proxy to hide from Western intelligence services or the Five Eyes (FVEY).

Satoshi’s Alleged West Coast IP Address

A number of findings have been discovered as far as Satoshi’s original code is concerned. There is one theory that indicates Bitcoin’s inventor may have been in California. One clue we have is how back in January and February 2009, Hal Finney and Satoshi communicated together while working on the Bitcoin alpha codebase using an IRC.

At the time, Hal discovered an error in the code and he posted the vulnerability in the mailing list with a debug log. In the earliest versions of Bitcoin, the software included IP addresses within the debug log. The log on January 10, 2009, shows that there are three IP addresses available and one stemmed from Hal Finney.

Finney’s IP shows that his location was in California where he resided for years, while Satoshi’s IP and the unknown IP address indicates that the inventor’s location at the time was possibly Van Nuys, California. What is interesting is that the discovery from Van Nuys was not a Tor exit node, and it indicates that Satoshi was likely in Van Nuys on the 10th of January 2009.

Even though Satoshi Nakamoto wrote his words with double spaces and wrote like he was from the UK, for the first few months during Bitcoin’s launch many people have assumed he was on the West Coast in the United States. Unfortunately for Hal Finney and his family, as well as Dorian Nakamoto and his family, the California clues have made it so their private lives have been invaded on various occasions.

Timechain, Virtual Poker, Coin, and Sergey’s Hotel Reviews

Bitcoin v0.1.0 and the earliest versions of Satoshi’s codebase, also has a number of other interesting factoids. Many people have discussed the fact that Satoshi had given copies of the original codebase to others, prior to the January 2009 launch. On November 17, 2008, Satoshi’s writings indicated that he had given the software to a pseudonym named “James A. Donald.” The source code was also reportedly distributed to Bitcointalk.org member “Cryddit”

Early versions of Bitcoin show that Satoshi used the words “coin,” “cent,” “timechain,” and “miners.” Satoshi named Bitcoin’s smaller units a “coin” (1,000,000) and “cent” (10,000) rather than “satoshis,” the term most people use today. Early code also shows Satoshi wanted bitcoin to have a virtual poker game and marketplace built within the codebase.

The Russian proxy evidence indicates that the user may have been named “Sergey,” and the individual also used the Russian proxy for hotel surveys. Despite the recent discovery, not everyone believes Satoshi used a Russian proxy and the theories that suggest he did. Just like a great number of the Satoshi Nakamoto theories, the Russian proxy story was quickly dismissed by well known individuals within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

What do you think about reports that are saying Satoshi Nakamoto leveraged a Russian proxy? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

The post The Mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto Allegedly Leveraged a Russian Proxy for Communications appeared first on Bitcoin News.

How to Buy Weed With Bitcoin

24/03/2020 by Idelto Editor

So you’ve got a little bitcoin to your name but are all out of weed. What you gonna do? Well, if you’re fortunate enough to live in a region where marijuana is legal, there are ways to exchange the two. While if you don’t inhabit such an enlightened area, rumor has it there are still ways and means to get your fix without touching fiat. Here are five options for legally buying weed with bitcoin.

Also read: California City Official Uses Bitcoin Cash to Purchase Cannabis

How to Swap Sats for Sativa

Bitcoin and weed go all the way back to the Silk Road in 2011, and the duo remain staples of the darknet. The weed world has come a long way since then, however, with scores of U.S. states legalizing recreational use of marijuana starting with Colorado and Washington in 2012. Today, medical marijuana is legal in 29 U.S. states and it’s recreationally legal in nine. Around the world, 30 countries have legalized medical marijuana, while there are four countries where it is recreationally legal (Canada, South Africa, Uruguay, and Georgia) subject to certain conditions, and dozens more where it is decriminalized.

Unless you reside in Asia, you’re probably not far from a country where it’s legal to blaze up, and are almost certainly near a locale where the authorities have no interest in what you do in your own home, provided you’re not bothering anyone. Failing that, you can at least benefit from the non-psychoactive part of the marijuana plant, by legally purchasing CBD products such as coffee with bitcoin. However, with a number of vendors willing to ship weed directly to your door, it’s possible to swap sats for sativa without leaving the house. Here are five ways to buy weed with bitcoin.

Visit a Physical Dispensary

There are medical marijuana dispensaries dotted all over the U.S. and Canada, while the Netherlands is home to an array of coffee shops that serve the same purpose, with a handful of other European nations following suit. Bitcoin acceptance is very much piecemeal, but if you can find a store that will let you spend sats, you’ll be hooked up for as long as you’re in the neighborhood. Ohana dispensary in Emeryville, California, accepts crypto, and last year was the setting for the first crypto purchase of marijuana by an elected official. A few other dispensaries along America’s West Coast, including Seattle, are also known to accept bitcoin.

Visit an Online Marijuana Dispensary

If you’re fortunate enough to live in a region where weed is legal, you should be able to find an online store that will ship to you. Naturally you’ll need to pass verification checks, which include proving your residence, but once approved, you’re free to order all manner of THC-laced goods, from edibles to smokables. Canadians can get hooked up by Herb Approach which accepts BTC. Current deals include an ounce of Cheese for CA$170 – that’s 40% off – or a half ounce of Violator Kush for CA$87. The store also sells extremely potent shatter hash.

Visit a Seed Bank

If you’re choking for a smoke, this option isn’t for you. Bitcoiners in less of a hurry, however, may like the idea of ordering cannabis seeds by mail, bought with BTC. Dutch company Royal Queen Seeds accepts bitcoin and ships globally. The highly rated store stocks a wide range of autoflowering, feminized, and CBD seeds as well as CBD oil. Choose from such strains as Northern Light Automatic, Quick One, and perennial favorite Amnesia Haze. Bitcoin holders are known for their low time preference. If you can wait 12 weeks, while lovingly tending your crops, you’ll take receipt of some of the finest cannabis known to man.

Other online seed stores that accept bitcoin include U.K-based Attitude Seedbank and Seedsman, which promises offers such as three feminized white widow seeds free when you spend €30.

Visit the Darknet

Technically speaking, none of the darknet vendors selling weed are licensed to do so. Technically speaking, that’s not your problem. If it’s legal to consume weed where you live, who are you to police the sellers and worry about whether their paperwork’s correct and tax is filed? Leave that to the cyber cops. If you can access the darknet, you can find your way to a store that’s stocked with everything you need to make it through long weekends, quarantine, and extended house arrest.

What other methods of legally buying weed with bitcoin have you heard of? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post How to Buy Weed With Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Bitcoin Cash Meetups Go Virtual in Japan to Combat Virus, Allowing Members to Choose

15/03/2020 by Idelto Editor

Due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, BCH meetup groups in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, have announced they will be offering a virtual option for those wishing to avoid crowded places and to participate digitally, while still supporting merchants. In Tokyo, physical venues will still be independently booked for those opting to meet face-to-face, allowing bitcoiners to choose their own experience. News.Bitcoin.com asked organizers some questions about the announcement, how it will work, and difficulties in coming to consensus on how to best navigate this challenge.

Also read: These Online Stores Will Sell You Masks, Gloves, Emergency Items for Cryptocurrency

Japan BCH Meetups Go Virtual

Finding a local Bitcoin Cash meetup group near you isn’t hard to do. As BCH enthusiasts are all around the world, a simple scan of Bitcoin.com’s Events page map can have you meeting up with your fellow crypto heads, chewing the fat, and supporting local BCH merchants in no time.

In light of the current coronavirus health concerns, two of these meetups — until now canceled for the month of March — have announced they will be heading to the virtual realm to help protect their health and that of others, while still getting together to support Bitcoin Cash. In an announcement shared today by Tokyo Bitcoin Cash Meetup organizer Akane Yokoo, members were notified that both Osaka and Tokyo bitcoin cashers can now get together as one group online:

Our virtual meetups will start this coming Wednesday March 18th from 7:30pm and we plan to host every Wednesday at the same time when our physical meetups happen. To join, please RSVP on Meetup.com and we will send you instructions and links to join the meetup. We will also update details for each meetup on Meetup.com including the venues.

Organizers Weigh in on the Decision, Discuss Details of Virtual Meetups

Tokyo organizers Aaron Gutman and Akane Yoko, along with Osaka organizers Yumeno and Cheaplightning, answered some questions for news.Bitcoin.com, weighing in on the organization process.

“Most of us are already engaged in some form of remote work and are accustomed to using online collaboration tools, and some of us are pretty big on VR,” said Gutman. Yumeno of the Osaka group noted:

It will also give the somewhat small Osaka community a better opportunity to mix with the larger Tokyo community. I am looking forward to hearing the Osaka meetup community members perspective.

In her own read.cash post on the matter, Yokoo noted some of the potential difficulties and also possible opportunities of the virtual meetups, which will continue indefinitely until the virus situation normalizes. “One of the things we were concerned that we won’t be able to do with online meetups is it is hard to create an environment where people can talk to whoever they like, with the language they choose if the tool only allows certain people to talk at a time such as a zoom call.” She continued:

VR (Virtual Reality) should be able to solve these issues all together but it will be expensive to make this happen soon. We do hope to eventually offer the VR options, while allowing people without it to be able to join too.

When asked about struggles in addressing the challenging COVID-19 situation, she responded: “It had been frustrating because we wanted to keep hosting meetups because many of our members wished to continue the meetups but at the same time we did not want to encourage opportunities for people to get sick and spread it.”

Cheaplightning also expressed frustration with the difficult situation:

At our last meetup I had to really think about if it is rude to be wearing a mask and offer alcohol tissues to people. There is this weird stigma and sort of damned if you do damned if you don’t aspect to it.

In fact, though official meetups had been canceled for March, some resolute bitcoin cashers in Tokyo nonetheless ventured out and participated in their own meetups at bitcoin cash-friendly merchants for the first two weeks of the month. Yokoo clarified:

Even though we do not want to encourage members to go out and get sick, members should be free to do whatever they choose to do. If they choose to get together physically, the merchants are open for business as usual (look at our Meetup.com group to find which venues are scheduled for each meetup).

Cheaplightning of the Osaka meetup elaborates: “Of course people are free to still meet however they like, but we will not be organizing anything here ourselves for a while. I think of our community as friends. So it is certainly possible that we may meet a few of them.”

Gutman, for his part, stresses the virtual meetups should be preferred, saying, “I feel strongly that, regardless of whatever we do on our own accord, as a group we should always make positive social choices and demonstrate leadership. I urge those who have chosen to attend physical meetups to choose the virtual meetup.”

Supporting Merchants a Big Concern

One of the main concerns of members was how to continue supporting merchants, while some members choose to meet virtually. “We came up with a good solution for that,” says Yokoo, “For each meetup, we pick one venue and we provide a BCH address of that merchant to the virtual meetup participants. Members can feel free to donate BCH, as if they are buying drinks at actual meetups. I feel like this is a good solution for people who want to help the merchants but don’t want to go out, and the same way for the merchants.”

Yumeno notes: “I also feel bad for our regular BCH accepting merchants. Even at our last meetup the owner said that their customer numbers were low. I want to support them. Our members might come even with the danger as they are passionate. But it is putting more people at risk.”

While it may be debatable how big a risk factor people already out and about meeting up and taking the proper precautions is, supporting merchants is a critical concern that unifies the organizers.

Really enjoyed the #BitcoinCash meetup today. First time at this new place!😋

Even got some of the customers to download a wallet.

I look forward to onboarding more #BCH merchants to come this year.🎉 pic.twitter.com/vOSkAPqiwa

— Bitcoin Cast (@BitcoinCast) March 15, 2020

Meetups Around the World Going Strong

In spite of COVID-19 fears, bitcoin cash meetups worldwide are resilient, with new meetups emerging regularly. From newly announced groups in the Philippines, to upcoming events in Ghana which will help spur support for BCH House Ghana — an educational hub for crypto — permissionless, peer-to-peer cash is steaming forward. User Bitcoin Cast, tweeting about meeting at a new spot in Pasadena, California this week, said: “Really enjoyed the #BitcoinCash meetup today. First time at this new place! Even got some of the customers to download a wallet. I look forward to onboarding more #BCH merchants to come this year.”

In Venice, Italy, where the effects of the virus are being felt extremely heavily and the entire state is under quarantine, bitcoiners of the BTC variety are holding virtual meetups.

So whether meeting on the virtual plane as Tokyo and Osaka will now be able to, or in a local shop, bitcoin cashers can nevertheless see the indomitable power of peer-to-peer cash continue, even in these uncertain times, until meetups in these cities can resume as normal.

What do you think of the idea of virtual meetups in light of the COVID-19 situation? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Graham Smith, fair use.

Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here.

The post Bitcoin Cash Meetups Go Virtual in Japan to Combat Virus, Allowing Members to Choose appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Court Rejects Ripple’s Bid to Dismiss Class Action Lawsuit Filed by XRP Investors

27/02/2020 by Idelto Editor

A court case that has the future of XRP at stake continues after Ripple’s motion to dismiss it was rejected by a court in California. The plaintiffs claim that the blockchain company sold the coin as an unregistered security and demand compensation. Ripple tried to avoid the case with its defense team insisting the lawsuit had been filed too late.

Also read: XRP Plummets 56% in One Candle, Bitmex Traders Outraged Over Flash Crash

Ripple’s Attempt to Dismiss XRP Court Case Fails

The consolidated class action lawsuit was filed last year by a group of investors who accused Ripple, its XRP II subsidiary, and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse of misleading them about the nature of XRP. In early December, the defendants asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to dismiss the case. A ruling on their request was expected last month but on Jan. 15 the court took the motion under submission and postponed its decision, as news.Bitcoin.com reported.

Although Ripple has maintained XRP is not a security, its legal representatives tried to obtain the dismissal on grounds that were different from the substance. They claimed the statute of repose had expired as the case was not filed within three years of the coin’s initial offering, and that the lead plaintiff, Bradley Sostack, bought XRP from a third party in January 2018.

Despite dismissing some of the defendants’ claims on the state level, during a hearing on Feb. 25 District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled that the securities claim was not invalidated under federal law, allowing the lawsuit to proceed. “Here, based on plaintiff’s complaint and the judicially noticeable facts proffered, the court cannot conclude that defendants’ first bona fide public offer to sell XRP occurred before August 5, 2016,” the court stated.

Fate of XRP Undecided Yet

Investments in XRP were made even before 2015 but the public did not learn that Ripple was selling the cryptocurrency, currently the third largest by market capitalization, until August 2016. The court further notes that while the defendants did acknowledge various 2013 offers and sales in their May 2015 settlement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, “the sales activity identified in that settlement does not show that defendants targeted the general public when offering to sell XRP.”

The outcome of the class action lawsuit against Ripple is likely to determine the fate of XRP. If the court recognizes the cryptocurrency as an unregistered security, its value could tumble sharply as it is delisted from regulated exchanges. But even a positive development for Ripple and its management in this case may not bring an end to the problems with the XRP coin.

Federal regulators are yet to determine their stance on XRP’s status. The crypto can either be treated as a security and fall under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which can file its own lawsuit for violation of federal securities laws, or as a commodity, in which case it will be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

What are your expectations about the future of Ripple’s XRP? Share your thoughts on the court case in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Do you want to keep an eye on moving cryptocurrency prices? Visit our Bitcoin Markets tool to get real-time price updates, and head over to our Blockchain Explorer tool to view all previous BCH and BTC transactions.

The post Court Rejects Ripple’s Bid to Dismiss Class Action Lawsuit Filed by XRP Investors appeared first on Bitcoin News.