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Nicehash Crypto Mining Pool ‘Fully’ Reimburses All Users Affected by 2017 Hack

19/12/2020 by Idelto Editor

A Slovenian cryptocurrency mining pool and trading platform announced that they’ve managed to fully compensate their users affected by a hacking attack that took place in December 2017, which took over 4,600 bitcoins.

Nicehash ‘Fully’ Reimburses Users Affected in 2017 Hack

According to the letter published by Martin Škorjanc, CEO of Nicehash, the company “fully” reimbursed all its user affected in what they called the “largest theft in Slovenian history,” and said that still unknown criminals stole 4,640 bitcoins from our users, worth 55 million at the time and over 100 million US dollars today, during a security breach.

Nicehash was hacked on December 6, 2017, when its website went down and it was forced to interrupt all its operations. At the time, the company said in a Reddit post that “our payment system was compromised, and the contents of the Nicehash bitcoin wallet have been stolen.” The platform was back online just two weeks after the security breach.

Škorjanc added more comments on the letter addressing the reimbursement process:

At the time, many tried to convince us that there was no solution for us. A flock of various consultants and experts began circulating us, persistently telling us that our story was over. Everybody started offering us different ways to shut down the company most elegantly and make the most of the collapse.

No Indications on Who Are the Authors of the Cyberattack

Slovenian police officials took the case as a criminal investigation right after the cybersecurity attack happened against Nicehash, who said they’re still working on the matter with international support, as hackers are usually based abroad.

However, there are no fresh updates on who the alleged culprits are behind the attack, nor indicate whether they’re state-sponsored hackers or not.

The Ljubljana-headquartered Nicehash claims to be the “largest crypto-mining marketplace.” The service connects sellers and buyers of hashing power.

Do you think that one day the authorities will be able to identify the authors of the theft of Nicehash’s bitcoins? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Nicehash Crypto Mining Pool ‘Fully’ Reimburses All Users Affected by 2017 Hack appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Ron Paul Advises Bitcoin Proponents to ‘Be Vigilant’ of Government ‘There’s Information Collected’

07/12/2020 by Idelto Editor

On December 5, the American author and retired politician, Ron Paul, joined the Stephan Livera Podcast episode 234 and discussed cryptocurrencies and bitcoin at great length. During the interview, the prominent libertarian said when bitcoin came out he was still in congress and he thought the most important thing to do at the time was make it legal. Paul stressed that he advises cryptocurrency advocates to be vigilant toward the government’s future intrusive financial meddling.

Making Sure Bitcoin Remains Legal

Ron Paul is one of the most beloved libertarians alive today and when he speaks a great number of people listen. Paul is an author of many books that encourage liberty and he also argues for the circumvention of unwarranted government entities like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Federal Reserve. The former congressman and presidential candidate has always been a staunch supporter of free markets, libertarianism, and a proponent of safe-haven assets like gold.

During the last few years, Paul has shared his thoughts about bitcoin and the crypto economy many times in the past. Moreover, even though he’s not super well-versed in the technology, he likes cryptocurrencies for “philosophic and legalistic reasons.”

On December 5, 2020, Paul appeared on the recent Stephan Livera Podcast episode 234 and discussed bitcoin and free markets for over 30 minutes. As usual, Paul was a critic of the U.S. federal government’s fiscal policies on the show, and he even questioned the existence of the American tax policy. As far as bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are concerned, Paul said: “I think there’s a lot of questions to be answered and I don’t think the conclusion is there yet.”

“I’ve been impressed with what’s happened in the last few years because some people predicted [bitcoin] would be this popular, [and] other people were skeptical,” Paul told Livera during the podcast. “I think [skepticism] still exists, and my introduction to [bitcoin] has been mainly for philosophic and legalistic reasons, because I knew about this when it was becoming vogue when I was in congress. I thought the most important thing is to do is whatever we can to make [bitcoin] legal. This is why I [drafted] a bill that would legalize competing currencies because if it’s to be used as money, you are competing with the dollar and there’s some people who don’t like that.”

The former politician further added:

There are tax collectors out there too that want to know exactly what people are doing with alternative currencies.

Paul said when he was a politician, he was “mainly interested to make sure that it was legal.”

“I think it basically is and a lot of people trust it, a lot of people are buying and selling, but that doesn’t totally reassure me because I have a skepticism toward the government all the time,” Paul stressed. “You see I don’t even have total reassurance that the government won’t come along and want to confiscate my gold. Governments are pretty ornery, ya know, the more successful crypto is going to be and bitcoin, I think the more you have to be aware of what’s going on with the government becoming more aggressive.”

Ron Paul’s Advice to Crypto Advocates Is to Remain Vigilant

Paul then compared crypto assets to those in the private sector offering better services in the world of education in comparison to the government school system. “If you are doing private education outside the government’s education [system], such as homeschooling or private schooling and if you are too successful, the government is going to want to close you down— I think that’s the way it is in finance too,” Paul explained. During his conversation with Livera, Paul continued to criticize the IRS and the Fed’s massive 2020 money creation.

“As of now it looks like a lot of people believe in the marketplace and believe it can work,” Paul said about crypto advocates who support free markets. “My advice is to be vigilant. There’s information collected, the [crypto] exchanges are not totally anonymous and I read the stories about the IRS checking up on things. For somebody like myself, I don’t even believe in the IRS let alone being flexible enough [to say] ‘well as long as they are investigating me even if I follow the rules,’ well… In 1932 in the depth of the depression, people were allowed to own gold, and we were on the gold standard,” Paul declared.

The former congressman continued:

But immediately what did they do? They made it illegal to own gold all the way up until 1975.

During the podcast, Paul was very adamant about letting people make their own financial decisions. He highlighted that he likes the idea of how “cryptocurrencies have made people think” about that specifically. The self-professed gold bug and precious metals fan also added that he likes bitcoin’s supply limitation as well.

“The other thing I like about it is so far, [is] there’s a limitation of the creation of new currency. When I endorse cryptocurrency, I always admonish and say it will work if fraud is prohibited. Governments are used to doing fraud and that’s why the systems always go badly,” Paul added.

What do you think about Ron Paul’s recent statements about the federal government and bitcoin? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

The post Ron Paul Advises Bitcoin Proponents to ‘Be Vigilant’ of Government ‘There’s Information Collected’ appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Calling Tops and Bottoms: 2020’s Most Popular Bitcoin Traders and Analysts

15/11/2020 by Idelto Editor

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading is quite popular these days. With the price upswings and volatility in 2020, crypto traders have made and lost a lot of money. In the last few years, a number of digital currency enthusiasts have been attracted to professional traders and analysts routinely publishing technical analysis (TA) online. Crypto asset trading has exploded this year and there’s a great number of sophisticated traders sharing secrets, alongside short and long-term market outlooks.

Digital currency traders can make a lot of money by calling the tops and bottoms by leveraging insight and technical analysis (TA). For instance, if a trader played their positions correctly they could have gained big time (358%) from the dip in mid-March (Black Thursday) up until this week’s 2020 high at $16,495. This weekend the price of BTC has slid some, and the crypto asset is currently trading at prices between $15,850 to $15,950 per unit.

This year, cryptocurrency fans have been following a number of crypto traders and analysts on social media platforms like Twitter and charting websites like Tradingview. The following post is a collection of today’s most popular cryptocurrency traders, in no particular order, but have amassed a massive following from their digital currency trading tips this year.

Tradingview – Crypto Traders & Analysts

The website Tradingview is a web portal that shows live quotes for stocks, futures, forex, and cryptocurrency markets. The website is one of the most popular chart and technical analysis sites for crypto traders, and the portal also offers a social network of traders as well. While perusing the BTC/USD market section on Tradingview one will see the top traders sharing insights during recent days and all-time statistics. On Saturday, November 14, 2020, the top BTC/USD traders on Tradingview include six individuals who share insights about bitcoin’s market movements.

The top trader on Tradingview is an individual named “Botje11” who runs his own public Telegram group and writes frequent updates on BTC/USD markets. Botje11, a trader from the Netherlands who joined the website three years ago has shared 939 ideas to-date. Additionally, Botje11 has a lot of reputation points and also has 35,393 followers on Tradingview. The last BTC/USD market outlook Botje11 shared was on September 14 called “Bitcoin’s consolidation phase.”

Behind the trader Botje11 is “Magicpoopcannon” an American-based cryptocurrency trader who also shares trading ideas about BTC/USD markets. Magicpoopcannon (MPC) also joined three years ago and has 73,569 followers on the Tradingview website. The trader calls himself a “Crypto Pop Legend” and “Master of Charts” and the trader also has 30,000 followers on Twitter as well. The last BTC/USD insight MPC shared was called “Here’s How & Why BTC Could Reach 80,000-90,000 By Mid 2021,” published on November 4.

Goldbug1 is the third most popular trader on Tradingview today and the analyst has around 38,003 followers on the platform today. During the last three years, Goldbug1 has shared 352 insights on Tradingview to-date. The last few BTC/USD charts Goldbug1 published had shown that he is long on bitcoin and his last TA was on November 11, 2020. The post called “BTC – Can You Fold a Winning Hand? Managing Risk” explains that bitcoin has been consolidating but to Goldbug1, he believes “this is an area to take a little profit from lower levels, not to add more risk.”

Following the top three traders on Tradingview (TV) according to all-time stats, the traders Alanmasters, Excavo, and Tradingshot follow. Alanmasters has 89,657 TV followers and has published 3,784 public ideas. The trader Excavo has 98,891 TV followers and has publicly shared 1,647 ideas on the platform. During the last two years, the sixth most popular BTC/USD analyst on TV is Tradingshot, a trader that has published 1,051 ideas to his 19,469 TV followers.

Twitter – Crypto Traders & Analysts

The trader list news.Bitcoin.com collected from Twitter is a more randomized list and a tabulated count of social media followers as well. Unlike the aforementioned traders from Tradingview, the Twitter traders and analysts are listed in no particular order.

Cryptoyoda (@Cryptoyoda1338) is a crypto enthusiast, technical analyst, and writer who doesn’t take the easy road. Digital currency proponents can follow Cryptoyoda on Twitter but also on yoda.substack.com and cryptoyoda1338.com. Cryptoyoda’s profile says he’s from Dagobah and he joined in 2017. The account shares digital currency charts and trading insights regularly and has over 207,000 Twitter followers.

Nick Core (@Crypto_core) is another popular bitcoin trader who shares trading ideas on Twitter regularly to his 35,500 Twitter followers. Core’s analysis can be routinely seen on the website thetradingwizard.com and his market watch is for members only. The trader is also featured on Youtube, Twitch, and Tradingview as well.

Calling Tops and Bottoms: 2020's Most Popular Bitcoin Traders and Analysts — From top to bottom and left to right: Cryptoyoda, Nick Core, Peter Brandt, Mr. Jozza, ฿TF%$D!, and The Crypto Dog.

The veteran and seasoned trader Peter Brandt (@Peterlbrandt) has been trading futures and has been an FX trader since 1975. Brandt is very popular on social media and has amassed a whopping 379,800 followers on Twitter to-date. The veteran trader shares insights on a number of assets including his BTC/USD thoughts. Brandt is an author and publisher of the Factor Report and the analyst joined Twitter in 2011. The last crypto tweet Brandt sent out was on November 6, when he tweeted about BTC paired with XRP.

Another popular trader on Twitter is Mr. Jozza (@Mrjozza) who often tweets about BTC/USD and a few other coin markets to his 15,900 Twitter followers. Mr. Jozza joined Twitter in 2015 but has been flipping bitcoin since 2013. The trader tweeted about the BTC/USD action on October 24 when he said that the “bitcoin breakout is on fairly tame volume so far.”

There’s also the crypto proponent known as ฿TF%$D! (@Cryptohustle), who considers himself a “semi-retired crypto trader.” The trader runs the website cryptohustle.com has a Youtube channel, and discusses BTC/USD markets regularly. On Twitter he also has 114,400 followers and the trader talked about “altcoin season” after “BTC is done stealing the show” on November 5.

The Crypto Dog (@Thecryptodog) calls himself a PhD dropout, a “crypto-trading dog,” and bitcoin miner since 2011. The trader discusses bitcoin and digital currency markets routinely and since joining Twitter in 2017 he’s amassed 235,300 followers on social media. Most of the K9’s outlooks on bitcoin markets can be found on Twitter, but the Crypto Dog also writes regularly on Medium as well.

Another crypto trading expert on Twitter is Crypto Bitlord (@Crypto_Bitlord) an Australian-based individual who often shares ideas about bitcoin markets. Crypto Bitlord joined Twitter back in 2012 and has 130,600 social media followers on the platform. On November 14, 2020, Crypto Bitlord started a poll asking which bitcoin price would be next from the two choices $13k or $18k. At the time of publication, the tweet had 2,350 votes and 48.6% chose $18k while 36.7% chose the lower price.

Willy Woo (@Woonomic) is a popular crypto analyst with 157,600 Twitter followers to-date. Woo considers himself a pioneer of onchain analysis and the “art of extracting investment signals from the Bitcoin blockchain.” Woo’s charts can be seen at charts.woobull.com and his forecasts can be viewed at willywoo.substack.com. The crypto analyst joined Twitter in 2008 and often tweets about BTC/USD markets and onchain data.

A well known trader in the crypto Twitter universe is the trader Parabolictrav (@Parabolictrav). The individual is another person who regularly discusses crypto markets and calls himself a “slave to bitcoin.” Parabolictrav has roughly 65,800 followers on the social media platform and he is always tweeting about BTC. The last time Parabolictrav shared his BTC/USD market insights was on November 11.

The individual who goes by the name Donalt (@Cryptodonalt) is a digital currency trader and analyst who is often quoted in a number of crypto publications. Donalt joined Twitter in 2017 and has amassed 160,800 followers on the platform since then. The trader discusses BTC/USD market insights routinely and his last insight was on November 13, 2020.

Technical Analysis or Pulling Numbers from Thin Air

There are many other traders and analysts who discuss bitcoin regularly and have shared their cryptocurrency market prognosis to tens and hundreds of thousands of followers. A few of the aforementioned bitcoin traders speak about the long term game, but most of them speak about the short term cycles and swings more regularly.

The projections many of these traders throw out are based on sophisticated technical analysis, charts, signals, indicators, and theories as well. Lots of times people take seasoned crypto traders, researchers, and analysts more seriously than Wall Street executives, venture capitalists, and traditional financiers pulling numbers out of thin air. Although, there are plenty of skeptics who believe technical analysis (TA) is no different than pulling numbers from thin air or leveraging tarot cards.

What do you think about the most popular cryptocurrency traders in 2020? Are there any traders you like that you think we left out? Let us know what you think about these crypto traders and analysts in the comments section below.

The post Calling Tops and Bottoms: 2020’s Most Popular Bitcoin Traders and Analysts appeared first on Bitcoin News.

A Deep Dive Into Satoshi’s 11-Year Old Bitcoin Genesis Block

03/01/2020 by Idelto Editor

11 years ago today, Satoshi Nakamoto launched the Bitcoin network at approximately 18:15:05 UTC and the world hasn’t been the same since. The Bitcoin blockchain came to life on January 3, 2009, and so far, more than 600,000 blocks have been mined into existence. Nakamoto’s genesis block is special and the hardcoded block has a few unique characteristics compared to the rest of the chain of blocks that followed.

Also Read: BTC’s Hashrate Touches 120 Exahash, But the Price Has Not Followed

The Genesis Block

This week the cryptocurrency community is celebrating the 11th anniversary of the Bitcoin network. Satoshi brought the network to the world two months after publishing the whitepaper on October 31, 2008. The launch of the Bitcoin blockchain started with a hardcoded block called the ‘genesis block’ or ‘block zero.’

The block is unique because it has a 50 BTC reward subsidy that can never be spent. Alternative coins that have copied Bitcoin’s framework also use a hardcoded block to start a new chain. Most early bitcoin blocks and the hash of the genesis block have two more leading hex zeroes. In addition to this characteristic, block zero has a message in the coinbase parameter, which represents a possible reminder of why the cryptocurrency was created. The genesis block’s message reads:

The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks

During the last 11 years, members of the crypto community have sent small fractions of BTC to the genesis block’s address. To date, block zero has 68.13 BTC, which is 18.13 BTC ($131,527) more than it originally started with. There are messages sent with the satoshis as well, as most transaction messages sent to block zero beg Bitcoin’s creator for money. Three people sent the address some funds today, and there’s been a number of satoshis sent to the address all week long. An interesting fact about the 18.13 BTC worth of outputs sent to block zero is that the funds can be spent, if Nakamoto still possesses the keys to the wallet address. Another interesting fact about the “bailout for banks” quote is that Satoshi added the statement twice into the codebase. When someone decrypts the original hexadecimal format, the “bailout for banks” quote is also written backward.

Seven-Day Theory

No one knows who Satoshi Nakamoto was, but many people believe that Bitcoin’s creator was a Microsoft user. Bitcoin version 0.1, the original Bitcoin codebase implementation, is written in the coding language C++ and blocks that were mined in the early days used a Windows GUI mining application. Nakamoto mined the first bitcoin blocks after block zero by leveraging a central processing unit (CPU), which is much less powerful than the warehouses filled with ASICs today. The network did not kick into gear right away and unlike today, with blocks processed roughly every 10 minutes, the subsequent block after the genesis block took six days. There are those that assume Bitcoin’s creator took a break between block zero and block one. Some say Nakamoto purposefully made it so the timeline was similar to the Bible’s Genesis tale when the earth was created in seven days.

Hal Finney was the first person to transact with BTC in coordination with Satoshi Nakamoto. The first transaction took place three days after block one and coins were sent to Hal Finney from block nine. Finney told the world a few days earlier he was “running Bitcoin” on Twitter on January 10, 2009. In addition to the very first transaction, Nakamoto had decided to send BTC to other network participants on the same day he sent funds to Finney. The veteran cryptographer Finney told the public in 2013 that he was the first person to mine Bitcoin alongside Nakamoto. “When Satoshi announced the first release of the software, I grabbed it right away — I think I was the first person besides Satoshi to run bitcoin,” explained Finney.

Nakamoto’s Pre-Release Source Code Tells a Story

While examining the first versions of the Bitcoin source code, which was a pre-code release prior to Jan. 3, 2009 distributed to bitcointalk.org member “Cryddit,” people have found some interesting details. The source code mentions certain terminology that crypto users did not know Nakamoto used at the time. For instance, he referred to the blockchain as a “timechain” and the words “bitcoin miner” can be found as well. The words “bitcoin miner” in the early code are meaningful to some individuals because Nakamoto never used that term within the original whitepaper.

Other intriguing words can be found in the early code like how Nakamoto referred to Bitcoin’s smaller units as “coin” (1,000,000) and “cent” (10,000) rather than today’s popular term “satoshis.” The source code also describes the “timechain” as “a tree-shaped structure starting with the genesis block at the root.” The pre-release Bitcoin code also contained early framework for an IRC Client, a peer-to-peer marketplace and a virtual poker game.

To a great number of people, Nakamoto’s code and initial Bitcoin launch on January 3 were the start of a monetary revolution. The software has sparked the idea that peer-to-peer and censorship-resistant money can exist, removed from governments, corporations, and any single entity. Bitcoin has also given birth to over 4,000 individual blockchain networks that have allowed transactions between global individuals across any border. The fact that the Bitcoin network and the protocol’s offspring continue to thrive today after 11 years is quite a milestone. Nakamoto’s creation has been a gift that keeps on giving.

What do you think about the 11-year anniversary of the genesis block and Satoshi Nakamoto’s infamous creation? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, bitcointalk.org, cypherpunk mailing list, pre-release code, Twitter, Wiki Commons, Fair Use, and Pixabay.

Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH, and other coins, on our market charts at Bitcoin.com Markets, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com.

The post A Deep Dive Into Satoshi’s 11-Year Old Bitcoin Genesis Block appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Only 375 Days Left for McAfee’s $1M Bitcoin Price Wager

22/12/2019 by Idelto Editor

As the end of 2019 approaches, it means there will be one year left for John McAfee’s infamous wager that said the price per bitcoin would “reach $1,000,000 before the end of 2020.” If the forecast doesn’t come to fruition, he said that he would eat his family jewels on television. At the moment, the price of BTC is 95% below McAfee’s prediction.

Also Read: John McAfee Weighs in on Maximalism, Epstein’s Death, and ‘the Greatest Gift Since Fire’

John McAfee’s Infamous Bet

In 2017, John McAfee made a bet that the price of BTC would touch one million dollars before the end of 2020. The new year is less than 10 days away and BTC has a long way to go in order for McAfee to win his notorious wager. At the time of publication, the price per BTC at $7,400 per coin is 95.47% below the $1 million mark. The bet is well known throughout the cryptosphere because McAfee promised to indulge in an interesting endeavor on television. The 2020 U.S. presidential candidate promised to “eat” his genitals “on national television” if he loses. At the time, McAfee’s bet was lower as his target price was initially $500K per bitcoin. However, he upped the stakes to $1 million and insisted he would still perform the crazy act on TV if he is wrong.

Later in 2019, McAfee discussed his price prediction again when he told the public he was misquoted in regards to the technical terms of his wager. “Dec. 31, 2020, is not an exact date — Let’s all be clear again: I predicted Bitcoin would reach $1,000,000 before the end of 2020. That is not saying it will hit that price on that date,” McAfee explained in February. 2020 is fast approaching and McAfee has been on the run from U.S. authorities and living off the grid. He’s still super busy and launched a crypto trading multi-platform called ‘Magic’ and started a decentralized token exchange with no restrictions. McAfee recently caught up with news.Bitcoin.com during the first week of December and discussed a variety of subjects.

Price Tracking and Countdown Websites Dedicated to McAfee’s Wager

McAfee’s wager has sparked lots of conversations on social media and crypto forums but it’s also invoked a data analysis site called dickline.info. The website shows how far BTC has to go to reach McAfee’s predicted target. Right now the digital asset would have to climb at a rate of 0.484095526 % per day to get to the $1 million mark. The creators of the data website dedicated to McAfee’s wager do not dismiss the fact that it’s quite possible McAfee’s prediction could come to fruition. “Compared to the enormous price changes, half a percent does not sound like much to you — This is the magic of exponential growth,” the website states.

The website also lets users make their own price prediction and there’s a calculator that allows visitors to change parameters. In addition to dickline.info’s statistical information, there’s the countdown website dickening.com. The site is fully dedicated to the McAfee wager and it says there are 375 days left until the last day of 2020. The website also notes that the ‘Halvening’ will take place first and also explains that McAfee could be correct.

“Conversely, if bitcoin is worth one million dollars by that day, most of the world is going to feel like dicks for not listening,” the website states. At this time of year, thought leaders and crypto influencers are prone to make price predictions, but it’s likely most people will forget these forecasts. McAfee’s bet, on the other hand, will be remembered as people are eagerly tracking his prediction.

Do you think McAfee’s prediction could happen or do you think he will be forced to perform his stunt on TV? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Disclaimer: Price prediction articles are intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.” BTC prices referenced in this article were recorded at 4:05 pm EST on December 22, 2019.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Twitter, Fair Use, Pixabay, dickening.com, and dickline.info.

Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH, and other coins, on our market charts at markets.Bitcoin.com, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com.

The post Only 375 Days Left for McAfee’s $1M Bitcoin Price Wager appeared first on Bitcoin News.