keys

If You Don’t Trust Yourself, These Crypto Vaults Will Help You Hodl Safely

18/03/2020 by Idelto Editor

Hodling in difficult times has historically proven to be a long-term winning strategy. Keeping your cryptocurrency in your own cold storage is by default a good idea as far as security is concerned. But if you don’t trust yourself to not lose a small hardware device or a piece of paper, then there are alternatives that involve trusting others, for good or bad.

Also read: An In-Depth Look at the Multi-Currency Cold Storage Card Ballet

Bunker in the Alps Sounds Like a Good Option

Companies providing vault storage services for crypto assets gained prominence a couple of years ago, following the Bitcoin boom that brought many new investors into the space. A few of them have already established themselves as reliable platforms for crypto storage. Hong Kong-headquartered bitcoin wallet and cold storage provider Xapo is a good example. In the spring of 2018, it was revealed that the company held an estimated 6.25% of BTC’s almost $160 billion market capitalization at the time, or more than 1,000,000 BTC.

Xapo, founded by Argentine entrepreneur Wences Casares, attracted media attention with its focus on building ultra-secure facilities for cryptocurrency storage. The company had reportedly built a network of underground vaults on five continents, most notably one in a decommissioned military bunker in Switzerland, where clients’ private keys are kept on encrypted drives behind steel doors designed to withstand a nuclear blast and guarded by security personnel and systems. Even owners would need a couple of days to get access to their money.

In August 2019, U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase bought Xapo’s institutional businesses. Announcing the acquisition, the trading platform revealed that its Coinbase Custody subsidiary had grown to over $7 billion in assets under custody in just over a year since its launch in July 2018. The funds are stored on behalf of more than 120 clients in 14 countries, the company detailed. Coinbase acknowledged Xapo’s expertise in security techniques. Its custody arm now serves hedge funds, family offices, endowments, and proprietary trading desks, supporting major cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH and XRP. The assets are insured by global leaders such as Lloyd’s of London.

Switzerland a Magnet for Crypto Riches

With its crypto-friendly regulations, Switzerland is very attractive for companies operating with cryptocurrencies and over 800 of them are based or represented in the country, including providers and developers of crypto custody solutions. Another company working in the niche, California-based Bitgo, announced in February the establishment of new custodial entities in Switzerland and Germany, which introduced a licensing regime for crypto custodians. The Swiss subsidiary is based in Zug, epicenter of the Alpine nation’s Crypto Valley. Both firms are regulated in their respective jurisdictions and will address increased European demand.

Bitgo is a major player with global presence in the market for institutional grade security solutions for blockchain-based currencies. Its Bitgo Custody platform employs a multi-signature system to secure your digital assets including security tokens. It supports a total of more than 100 coins and tokens that can be held with the Bitgo Trust Company, a qualified custodian and liquidity provider, in a cold storage bank-grade vault.

The service implements various controls including multiple approvals, spending limits, and whitelists, Bitgo’s website explains. The company’s $100 million insurance policy covers crypto assets when the private keys are held exclusively by Bitgo Trust Company or Bitgo Inc., in the event of third-party hacks, copying, theft or loss of private keys, insider theft or dishonest acts by Bitgo employees or executives.

Bitcoin Suisse is a Zug-based company specializing in crypto-financial services offering cold storage for digital assets. The Bitcoin Suisse Vault has been built to provide institutional-grade and fully audited crypto asset custody. The platform caters to the specific needs of its clients allowing them to customize the multi-signing process and define who can view and withdraw the stored assets. Besides corporate users such as financial service providers and institutional investors, private investors can also use it to store a list of cryptocurrencies including BTC, BCH, ETH, XRP, LTC as well as ERC20/223 tokens.

Bitcoin Suisse Vault is based on a solution developed by Swiss Crypto Vault AG, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bitcoin Suisse AG. Clients can deposit funds into the Swiss Crypto Vault by sending the coins to a unique public address, and their holdings are never mixed with assets belonging to others. Withdrawals are initiated by filing a request through the online portal which has to be verified independently by the user, Swiss Crypto Vault and Bitcoin Suisse before its execution, which can still be canceled by controllers appointed by the client. Before a transaction can be broadcasted to the blockchain, it must also get the green light from approvers, again chosen by the account holder.

Craig Wright’s ‘Bonded Courier’ Allegedly an Attorney Who Can’t Communicate

04/02/2020 by Idelto Editor

During the first week of February, the Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit continues with more tales about the alleged bonded courier. In mid-January, Craig Wright revealed a third party provided him with the necessary information to unlock an encrypted file he could not access previously. Now Wright is claiming attorney-client privilege over 11,000 documents and he also claims the bonded courier is a lawyer who cannot share any information with the court.

Also Read: A List of Self-Proclaimed Bitcoin Inventors and Satoshi Clues Debunked in 2019

Defunct Businesses and Privilege Assertions

New court filings from the Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit in Florida have been published and as usual, there’s a slew of new information that thickens the plot. The infamous Craig Wright, who has relentlessly asserted he is Satoshi Nakamoto, is being sued by the family of his former business partner Dave Kleiman. The security expert Kleiman is now deceased, but his brother Ira believes Wright defrauded Dave of billions of dollars worth of bitcoin assets and intellectual property. The Kleiman family thinks Wright tampered and manipulated Dave’s inheritance after his death and the court case has been ongoing since February 2018. The reason the Kleimans may think that Wright and Dave had a partnership together that acquired 1.1 million BTC is due to articles published on December 9, 2015 by Gizmodo and Wired. Moreover, Wright has been telling the public he invented Bitcoin for well over four years.

Additionally, the Wired and Gizmodo articles, as well as documents filed in the Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit, shows the ostensible existence of a trust that holds the 1.1 million BTC. Wright has discussed the trust on various occasions in court and said that he was waiting on a bonded courier to unlock an encrypted file he could not access previously. This file allegedly holds all the BTC addresses Wright has owned and because the file was locked he could not share the addresses with the Florida court. The trust known as the “Tulip Trust” expired in January 2020 and the Judge gave Wright until the first week of February to await the “mysterious” bonded courier. Following the order from the Judge, a document filed on January 14 explained that Wright had met with a “third party.” Wright’s legal team stated:

“A third party has provided the necessary information and key slice to unlock the encrypted file, and Dr. Wright has produced a list of his bitcoin holdings, as ordered by the Magistrate Judge, to the plaintiffs today.”

Another document filed on Sunday shows that Wright has asserted privilege over 11,000 documents. “That number continues to grow, with 2,100 documents added just last week,” Kleiman’s legal council detailed. The number of privilege assertions stems from over a dozen firms Wright was formerly involved with or created. Kleiman’s attorney noted that the asserted privilege is not the only thing stopping them from analyzing the documents properly. “The vague descriptions of what is being withheld makes any meaningful analysis on a document by document basis impossible,” the latest court document’s notes assert. “But most troubling is the web of companies defendant has used to shield what will likely end up being tens of thousands of documents.” The Kleiman’s legal team Roche, Cyrulnik & Freedman LLP decided to make a list of all the companies Wright has used for privilege assertions. The lawyers write:

Based on that investigation, plaintiffs [has] determined that all but two companies and Nchain have already ceased to exist; and those two are in the process of being liquidated by an external administrator in Australia.

Mysterious Bonded Courier Is Allegedly a Lawyer Who Cannot Communicate Due to Attorney-Client Privilege

Further, the plaintiffs’ memorandum discloses that Wright claims the “bonded courier is an attorney and his communications are privileged.” Wright’s legal team submitted this information on January 28, 2020, and Kleiman’s legal team said they will challenge this new assertion shortly. In the last court filings, when the third party allegedly appeared in January, the plaintiffs said they deserve answers about the courier and cited that Wright had previously “forged documents, submitted false declarations and perjured himself in open court.”

Roche, Cyrulnik & Freedman had already requested “seven interrogatories about the courier.” The lawyers noted at the time that they want pertinent information in regards to “the bonded courier and his company.” Because of Wright’s recent privilege assertions with numerous companies and the fact that he insists the bonded courier is an attorney who cannot communicate, the plaintiffs’ legal team now “seeks relief.”

What do you think about Kleiman and Wright’s latest court filings? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Bitcoin.com, Twitter, Pacer, Court Listener, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, and Pixabay.

Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see what’s happening in the industry.

The post Craig Wright’s ‘Bonded Courier’ Allegedly an Attorney Who Can’t Communicate appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Data Shows $25 Billion Worth of Bitcoin and Ether Held by Seven Crypto Exchanges

26/01/2020 by Idelto Editor

On January 3, 2020, a small group of crypto enthusiasts celebrated the second annual Proof-of-Keys day with hopes to get people to withdraw funds from centralized digital currency exchanges. However, exchanges holding massive amounts of BTC only saw their reserves grow larger and data shows that Coinbase now holds 1 million BTC ($8.4 billion). Crypto users are still keeping large sums of digital asset holdings on trading platforms despite the fact that 2019 saw the most exchange hacks in one year over the last decade.

Also read: The Fallout From Onecoin’s Ponzi Scheme Continues to Impact Investors

Despite Proof-of-Keys Day, Seven Trading Platforms Have More Than $25 Billion in Crypto Reserves

2019 saw a significant amount of trading platform hacks and exchange losses according to a recent report authored by the blockchain surveillance firm Chainalysis. The company noted that even though there were more attacks there was less money stolen. However, Chainalysis highlighted that malicious hackers are becoming smarter. “2019 saw more cryptocurrency hacks than any other year,” the report underlined. “But of the 11 attacks that occurred this year, none of them came close to matching the scale of major heists such as [2018]’s $534 million Coincheck hack.” Last year digital currency exchanges lost approximately “$283 million worth of cryptocurrency” due to breaches and malicious hackers.

About a month before the second annual Proof-of-Keys day initiated by Trace Mayer, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the vast number of coins centralized exchanges held in reserve. The list was provided by Bituniverse using the firm’s Exchange Transparent Balance Rank (ETBR). The ETBR list had shown that Coinbase held roughly 966,000 BTC during the first week of December 2019. Today, the ETBR report from Bituniverse shows the San Francisco-based exchange now has 1.03 million BTC ($8.5 billion) held in reserves. The data from Bituniverse stems from onchain exchange balances recorded by Etherscan and Peckshield.

Additionally, the numbers from Bituniverse can also be cross-referenced with data from Chain.info’s crypto exchange reserve list. Chain.info’s data is slightly different, showing that Coinbase holds 983,000 BTC but most of the data is fairly consistent with the findings from the Bituniverse application. Figures indicate that Huobi is the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by reserve count with 462,000 BTC ($3.8 billion), 1.8 million ETH, and a large number of USDT as well. Binance has around 307,000 BTC ($2.5 billion) as of Saturday and 2.6 million ETH held in reserves as well. Then there’s Bitfinex (290,000 BTC or $2.8 billion), Bitmex (274,000 BTC or $2.28 billion), Bitstamp (242,000 BTC or $2 billion), Okex (211,000 BTC or $1.83 billion), Kraken (173,000 BTC or $1.8 billion), Bittrex (125,000 BTC or $1.2 billion), and Gemini (95,000 BTC or $922 million).

Proof-of-Solvency and the Recent Trend of Independently Recorded Crypto Reserve Lists

Other exchanges with a vast amount of digital assets held in reserves include Bitflyer, Gate.io, Poloniex, and Hitbtc. Bituniverse and Chain.info’s data shows that overall the centralized exchanges accumulated more reserves since the first week of December. Not only are a few crypto advocates afraid that large exchanges could be compromised for billions in digital assets by hackers, but there’s also the fear of fractionally reserving bitcoins.

There have been many articles and academic papers discussing the subject of proof-of-reserves when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Researchers from Stanford University published a report in 2015 called “Provisions” which tackles the subject of exchanges and reserve transparency. The Stanford researchers explained that proof-of-solvency “demonstrates that the exchange controls sufficient reserves to settle each customer’s account.” The paper introduces a privacy-preserving proof-of-solvency. “Whereby an exchange does not have to disclose its Bitcoin addresses,” the 33-page long academic paper notes.

During the last few months, platforms like Bituniverse and Chain.info have published reserve lists based on data provided by independent parties like Peckshield. Exchanges shown on these lists have neither confirmed or denied the bitcoin reserve data is legitimate. A number of community members within the cryptosphere believe trading platforms should provide their own reserve numbers so they can exemplify transparency themselves. Meanwhile, even though a lot of crypto influencers and proponents tell people regularly to store cryptos in a noncustodial fashion, the great majority of digital asset owners continue to store them on centralized trading platforms.

What do you think about the billions worth of BTC held on centralized digital currency exchanges? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Bituniverse App, Stanford, Chainalysis, Chain.info, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, and Pixabay.

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 Data Shows $25 Billion Worth of Bitcoin and Ether Held by Seven Crypto Exchanges appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Bitcoin Lawsuit Heats Up With More Bonded Courier Tales

16/01/2020 by Idelto Editor

During the last few days, cryptocurrency participants have been discussing the notorious Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit as new developments have revealed a third party provided Craig Wright with the necessary information to unlock an encrypted file he could not access previously. Additionally, another court filing explains that Wright provided the court with a list of his “bitcoin holdings” so he can comply with the court magistrate’s prior orders.

Also read: Scottish Novelist Andrew O’Hagan Asked to Testify in Kleiman v. Wright Lawsuit

Craig Wright Reveals a Third Party Has Provided the Final Key to an Alleged Encrypted File Listing His Bitcoin Addresses

The billion-dollar bitcoin lawsuit between the Kleiman estate and the self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright continues to heat up. The Kleiman family is suing Wright for allegedly tampering and manipulating the late Dave Kleiman’s bitcoin assets and intellectual property after his death. Last week, Judge Beth Bloom gave Wright an opportunity to wait for a “mysterious” bonded courier who is supposed to deliver the last key to unlock an encrypted file. According to the story on record, Wright could not produce a list of his early bitcoin addresses because the list was kept in an encrypted file using Shamir’s Secret algorithm. Allegedly there were eight keys total and a bonded courier was to deliver the information regarding the final key in January 2020. Wright was previously ordered to forfeit half of his bitcoin holdings prior to 2013 and 50% of his intellectual property as well. But Judge Bloom realized the order was implemented before the January 2020 courier delivery, so she gave Wright until February 3, 2020, to await the courier.

Bitcoin Lawsuit Heats Up With More Bonded Courier Tales — David Kleiman (left) and Craig Wright.

Now according to a document filed on January 14, Wright’s legal team has told the court that “a third party has provided the necessary information and key slice to unlock the encrypted file, and Dr. Wright has produced a list of his bitcoin holdings, as ordered by the Magistrate Judge, to the plaintiffs today.” Another court filing says that Wright also submitted 16,404 bitcoin addresses that he allegedly owns. The Kleiman estate immediately responded to the compliance submission from Wright and said that the plaintiffs request they be provided with “seven interrogatories about the courier.” The plaintiffs want answers about the bonded courier within 10 business days so they can “seek discovery from the bonded courier and his company.” Moreover, the Kleiman estate plans to have experts review the list of bitcoin holdings Wright submitted on Tuesday.

Kleiman Estate Wants Answers Regarding the Bonded Courier and Company

The plaintiffs believe they deserve answers about this new information because they think Wright “has forged documents, submitted false declarations and perjured himself in open court.” Kleiman’s legal team has also asked to reschedule depositions with London Books novelist Andrew O’Hagan and Wright’s wife. In addition, the plaintiffs want to depose other fact witnesses and obtain new document discovery. They are also seeking to depose Nchain’s chairman Stefan Matthews for information regarding the case. Coingeek owner Calvin Ayre is also mentioned in the plaintiff’s filing on Tuesday.

The Kleimans are seeking more time for additional discovery and have reminded the court that past discovery cut-off dates were that were transgressed upon is “entirely a byproduct of [Wright’s] own misconduct.” The filing stresses that the plaintiffs want this case to go to trial as expeditiously as possible. “Plaintiffs request the Court grant a 90-day extension of the discovery period for Plaintiffs, the pretrial deadlines and the trial of this matter,” explains the Kleimans’ latest court filing. Kleimans’ court document also seems to suggest that the plaintiffs want a trial to proceed in Miami, around June if the court grants them a 90-day extension for more discovery and depositions.

What do you think about Kleiman and Wright’s latest court filings? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Bitcoin.com, Twitter, Pacer, Court Listener, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, and Pixabay.

The post Bitcoin Lawsuit Heats Up With More Bonded Courier Tales appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Court Gives Craig Wright More Time to Await the Mysterious Bonded Courier

11/01/2020 by Idelto Editor

Court Gives Craig Wright More Time to Wait for the Mysterious Bonded Courier

10 days after the Tulip Trust expired, new court filings have appeared in the billion-dollar Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit. One document describes the professed existence of a Tulip Trust III, which was shown to the plaintiffs on January 6, 2020. Another filing shows that Judge Beth Bloom has affirmed part of the sanctions against Craig Wright and dropped other sanctions if the bonded courier arrives by February 3, 2020.

Also read: Scottish Novelist Andrew O’Hagan Asked to Testify in Kleiman v. Wright Lawsuit

The Tulip Trust III

The Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit continues this week with some interesting developments and the alleged existence of a third Tulip Trust. The self-proclaimed inventor of the Bitcoin protocol, Craig Wright, is being sued by the family of Dave Kleiman for allegedly manipulating his BTC assets and intellectual property after his death. More recently, the alleged Tulip Trust I, which ostensibly holds 1.1 million BTC, has expired. Wright is waiting on a bonded courier to deliver the final key to a set of eight needed to unlock the trust.

Court Gives Craig Wright More Time to Await the Mysterious Bonded Courier — On January 10, 2020, Judge Beth Bloom decided to give Craig Wright more time in hopes the bonded courier will arrive. Wright has until February 3, 2020, to tell the court whether or not the mysterious character arrived.

On January 9, court filings indicate that the Kleiman estate was shown documents three days prior that describe a document called the “Tulip Trust III.” The motion notes that Wright has marked the Tulip Trust III as “confidential,” which is pursuant to the court’s confidentiality order. The Kleiman estate’s legal counsel has said that the plaintiffs don’t believe the third trust should be sealed entirely. However, the plaintiffs do think Wright should propose his redactions to the court, Kleiman’s attorney Velvel (Devin) Freedman stressed.

Wright Has Until February 3 to Wait for the Arrival of the Mysterious Bonded Courier

Following the discovery of a third trust document, the depositions of Craig Wright, Ramona Watts, and Andrew O’Hagan were postponed by Judge Bloom. The Judge also decided to sustain in part and overrule in part some of the sanctions levied against Wright. Bloom noted that Wright argues that he was sanctioned before he “should have been afforded the opportunity to wait until [the date the bonded courier is set to come] to see if he receives the key slices to generate the list of his bitcoin holdings, which he could then provide to plaintiffs.” Despite the fact that the court questions the plausibility of Wright’s tale, Bloom will give him more time to provide evidence on his behalf. Bloom stated:

The court questions whether it is remotely plausible that the mysterious “bonded courier” is going to arrive, let alone that he will arrive in January 2020 as the defendant now contends. However, given that the Defendant maintains that he should at least be afforded this opportunity, the court will indulge him this much.

Wright contends that the bonded courier is due to arrive at some point in January 2020, the filing underlines. Judge Bloom will permit Wright “through and including February 3, 2020” to let the court know if the courier arrived. “To file a notice with the court indicating whether or not this mysterious figure has appeared from the shadows and whether the defendant now has access to the last key slice needed to unlock the encrypted file,” Bloom’s order highlights. “In the event this occurs, and further if the Defendant produces his list of Bitcoin Holdings as ordered by the Magistrate Judge, then this court will not impose any additional sanctions other than the ones discussed above.”

After the public heard the news about the latest court filings, discussions about the case started to trend on Twitter. Bitcoin SV (BSV) jumped more than 40% on Friday afternoon and BSV supporters seem to believe the tides are turning in Wright’s favor. “More to this story tomorrow,” tweeted billionaire gambling tycoon Calvin Ayre on Friday.

What do you think about Kleiman and Wright’s latest court filings? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Bitcoin.com, Twitter, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, and Pixabay.

The post Court Gives Craig Wright More Time to Await the Mysterious Bonded Courier appeared first on Bitcoin News.

keys

Bunker in the Alps Sounds Like a Good Option

Switzerland a Magnet for Crypto Riches

More Providers Working on Storage Solutions

Defunct Businesses and Privilege Assertions

Mysterious Bonded Courier Is Allegedly a Lawyer Who Cannot Communicate Due to Attorney-Client Privilege

Despite Proof-of-Keys Day, Seven Trading Platforms Have More Than $25 Billion in Crypto Reserves

Proof-of-Solvency and the Recent Trend of Independently Recorded Crypto Reserve Lists

Craig Wright Reveals a Third Party Has Provided the Final Key to an Alleged Encrypted File Listing His Bitcoin Addresses

Kleiman Estate Wants Answers Regarding the Bonded Courier and Company

The Tulip Trust III

Wright Has Until February 3 to Wait for the Arrival of the Mysterious Bonded Courier