<a href="http://zentrade.online/bitcoin-news-digest-saturday-november-18-2017/"><img alt="CryptoDigest@Steem Saturday, November 18, 2017" src="http://zentrade.online/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/btc_steem-17.png"></a><br><br><p>Dear Steemians!<br><br>Here is the daily press review for bitcoin and other crypto currencies.</p>

<p><b>Path Towards Better Privacy in Bitcoin Becomes Clearer, But Will Still Take Time</b><br>Saarland University’s Tim Ruffing covered the three reasons why Bitcoin mixing sucks at the recent Scaling Bitcoin workshop at Stanford. It’s too early to put together a timeline on adding Confidential Transactions to Bitcoin, but the good news is that there is now at least a clearer path for better privacy avail According to Litecoin creator Charlie Lee, early versions of Confidential Transactions involved creating Bitcoin transactions that were sixteen times their normal size. It’s likely that Confidential Transactions or MimbleWimble (a relative of Confidential Transactions) will be tried out on a sidechain before being deployed on the main Bitcoin blockchain. The key issue with Bitcoin privacy is that all transactions are published on the blockchain. (coinjournal.net)</p>
<p><b>Millions Gone? Broker Takes Fire for Bitcoin Cash Trading Freeze</b><br>The goings on at Trading 212, then, perhaps represent a collision of worlds, where crypto traders meet old-school middlemen. In a CFD, traders don't buy assets directly but take positions on price movements. (CFDs are banned in the U.S.). "Today we have settled with most of the affected clients," Borislav Nedialkov, a co-founder of Trading 212, said Friday. Justin Galvin, one of the Trading 212 customers battling to get what they see as their rightful profits, blamed the company for the situation, however. The outbreak of influenza at Trading 212 may be an early warning sign. (coindesk.com)</p>
<p><b>$3.5 Million: Turkish Kidnapping Gang Targeting Bitcoin Holders Busted</b><br>The extortionists, according to reports, managed to steal 450 bitcoins, worth about $3.54 million, from a businessman earlier this week. Police started investigating the case and, as the gang was presumably sloppy at covering its tracks, managed to quickly identify its members. Moreover, Turkish cybercrime officials followed the stolen funds’ trail on the blockchain, and it’s unclear whether or not these were recovered. Police operations were successful, as the gang was then caught red-handed as it was getting ready to kidnap a second victim to extort. An investigation also found the suspects had stolen “bitcoin mining devices” from other people in the Esenler district. (cryptocoinsnews.com)</p>
<p><b>VC Expert Gurley: Bitcoin is Incredible Store of Value</b><br>Venture Capitalist expert and investor Bill Gurley believes Bitcoin is an incredible store of value. However, the reality of the need for utility to create stores of value continues to plague the minds of some experts. He said:"I think of it as an incredible store of value in the rest of the world.  For a digital currency to be useful as SoV it probably has to be useful for other purposes.” Gurley stated during the interview that he’s positive on Bitcoin’s future and sees a clear path forward, especially in places where other currencies are not an option, since it represents a stable store of value. (cointelegraph.com)</p>
<p><b>Bitcoin Cash Price Rally Continues as Value Soars Past $1,250</b><br>More specifically, we have seen the Bitcoin Cash price increasing for two days in a row now.  At the same time, we may see the Bitcoin Cash price drop again in the coming hours. In fact, the Bitcoin Cash price has remained above US$1,000 for quite some time now, despite the dip to US$885 not too long ago. It would appear the Bitcoin Cash price rally is still in full effect. As has been the case for nearly two full weeks now, the Bitcoin Cash trading volume is mainly dominated by Bithumb these days. (themerkle.com)</p>
<p><b>Privacy-Centric Protocol Mimblewimble Now Being Trialed on the Bitcoin Testnet</b><br>Essentially the protocol adds a cryptographic ‘blinding factor’ to a bitcoin transaction’s input and output values which obfuscates the transaction’s destination and the sum of funds sent. The development team behind the project has announced that an early version of the Mimblewimble platform is now being tested on the Bitcoin testnet. Do you look forward to privacy-centric protocols tethered to the Bitcoin network? There are many projects being built on the Bitcoin network, and within the altcoin space that attempt to provide stronger anonymity such as Tumblebit, and other methods of privacy. Back in August of 2016, a paper named after the Harry Potter movie series called “Mimblewimble” was proposed to the bitcoin community. (bitcoin.com)</p>
<p><b>Bitcoin investments new attraction for Indians, say experts</b><br>Zebpay claims that there are more than 1.5 million bitcoin users in India and 200,000 users are being added each month. Gox is the largest bitcoin exchange.The research conducted by Cambridge University in 2017 revealed that there are 2.9 to 5.8 million unique users using a crypto-currency wallet, most of them using bitcoin. The acquiring of bitcoins is hassle-free as several market places called " bitcoin exchanges " allow people to buy or sell it using different currencies. We believe this technology will be a game-changer, probably even bigger than what the internet did for us in the 90s. India's annual bitcoin trade volume stands at USD 20 billion. (indiatimes.com)</p>
<p><b>Bitcoin Bears Get Boost with Swiss Short Notes Offering Limited Loss Potential</b><br>Now from the Swiss comes a first set of bitcoin short notes designed to profit from price drops. And especially for the droves of newer investors bitcoin is bringing to market, cryptocurrencies are the ultimate scream machine. Clients do very much appreciate the possibility of choosing between a long or a short investment in bitcoin,” he told Mr. As has been widely reported, Chicago Merc (CME) will create a futures market for bitcoin before year’s end. News of pending futures from Chicago by Christmas, price upticks, and all-time highs ignore bears altogether. (bitcoin.com)</p>
<p><b>European Central Bank Considering Bitcoin Regulation According to Council Member</b><br>According to Reuters, the European Central Bank (ECB) is considering regulating the use of digital currencies. Governments around the world are struggling to cope with Blockchain technology and the digital currencies it has spawned. Nowotny further stated:Based on the above statement, it’s possible that the ECB could take a “buyer beware” attitude toward digital currencies rather than attempting outright regulation or bans.  Regulators seem to be thoroughly confused, with nations like China taking a highly restrictive approach, but countries like Japan officially making Bitcoin legal money. One also wonders about the wisdom of basing Europe’s regulatory scheme on actions taken by the world’s largest Communist country. (cointelegraph.com)</p>
<p><b>Coinbase Custody Targets $10 Billion in Institutional Funds for Bitcoin Investment</b><br>Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong officially introduced Coinbase Custody, a platform targeted at institutional investors. In particular, we feel that institutional clients require:According to Armstrong, Coinbase currently holds $9 billion in user funds in various cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin. The new product is intended to be ultra-secure:We are designing Coinbase Custody to meet the needs of institutional clients. Coinbase Custody is exclusively for institutional investors with at least $10 mln on deposit. There is a $100,000 initial setup fee and a fee of 10 basis points per month on all deposits stored on the Coinbase Custody platform. (cointelegraph.com)</p>
<p><b>Coinbase Announce Cryptocurrency Custodianship as Institutional Money Floods In</b><br>In Europe, meanwhile, Swiss bank Vontobel will be launching bitcoin futures as of today, Friday November 17. In a blogpost published yesterday, CEO Brian Armstrong announced news of Coinbase Custody, a digital vault for institutional investors. See also: Wall Street Fears Bitcoin Futures Will “Destabilize the Real Economy”One of the biggest deterrents for institutional investors eyeing an entry into the bitcoin market is risk. Coinbase have thrust their weight behind the growing movement, announcing a digital custody custodianship for institutions amidst a slew of similar global stories. From futures contracts to bitcoin trading desks, big money is pouring into cryptocurrency. (bitcoin.com)</p>
<p><b>Ron Paul is now selling your grandparents Bitcoin on Fox News</b><br>And just what is it that Ron Paul is pushing, exactly? That's right, a gold company is presumably paying Ron Paul to convince old timers to bank their retirement on cryptocurrency. There is one thing we can guess, however: Coin IRA is likely helping at least one person's retirement plans, and that would be in the form of checks made out to Ron Paul. Notably, Paul has said Bitcoin "can be a participant in bringing down the dollar," so who knows what's really going on in that dude's head. That's right, the former congressman is shilling for Bitcoin on Fox News. (mashable.com)</p>
<p><b>Gox ICO? CEO Karpeles Floats Token Sale to Revive Bitcoin Exchange</b><br>A Mt Gox initial coin offering (ICO)? This could be accomplished either through a recapitalization by way of an equity sale or an ICO, according to Karpeles. One possible avenue around the issue: reviving Mt Gox, with a price tag of $245 million. In the aftermath, Mt Gox entered bankruptcy, and has since been at the center of an acrimonious, years-long claims process, including a $75 million claim from CoinLab. It's not unthinkable, according to the defunct bitcoin exchange's controversial CEO.In a blog post published yesterday, Mark Karpeles detailed possible avenues for reviving Mt Gox, the once-dominant Japanese bitcoin exchange that collapsed amid allegations of fraud and mismanagement in early 2014. (coindesk.com)</p>
<p><b>3 Reasons the Bitcoin Price Hit $8,000 Today</b><br>At present, the bitcoin price is trading at a global average of $7,741, which translates into a $129.2 billion market cap. The bitcoin price touched the $8,000 mark on Friday morning (or Thursday night, depending on your time zone), enabling the flagship cryptocurrency to check another milestone off its to-do list before it reaches five-figure territory. Just days prior, the bitcoin price had been trading below $6,000, but a mid-week rally raised bitcoin back to its pre-dip level and ultimately vaulted it to a new all-time high of $8,040 on cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. Anecdotal evidence indicates that prominent institutional investors are eying the markets with interest — enough interest that Coinbase is launching a cryptocurrency custodial service specifically targeted at institutional investors with more than $10 million in crypto assets. Related to this is the fact that Wall Street investors are increasingly bullish on publicly-traded companies that enter the bitcoin or blockchain space. (cryptocoinsnews.com)</p>
<p><b>UBS CIO: We Aren't Getting Involved With Bitcoin</b><br>Because bitcoin isn't sponsored or backed by any government, it can be used to avoid being monitored, he argued. That's a risk, an unquantifiable risk, bitcoin has that another currency doesn't." Financial services giant UBS has no plans to get involved with bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, according to one of its senior executives. Haefele also said that the idea the government could crack down on bitcoin, citing its possible use for terrorism financing, has also dampened any prospects of UBS getting involved. Haefele is not the first UBS member to openly express concerns about bitcoin. (coindesk.com)</p>
<p><b>Square's Bitcoin Bet, Retail Survivors, & Walmart Earnings</b><br>Finally, the hosts dove into the latest earnings report from Walmart WMT . See the pot trades we're targeting>>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? The red-hot payments company said that it is testing support for bitcoin through its mobile application, Cash App. Maddy and Ryan also chatted about Dick's Sporting Goods DKS , which posted relatively lackluster earnings results earlier this week. Still, analysts from JPMorgan upgraded the stock and declared the company a "long-term survivor" in the struggling retail sector (also read: ). (nasdaq.com)</p>
<p><b>Blockchain Coalition Seeks to Make Bitcoin Welcome in Wyoming</b><br>The Wyoming Blockchain Coalition announced its formation this week. Next, they need to educate the citizens of Wyoming and the legislators about the benefits of Bitcoin and blockchain technologies. Bitcoin used to be welcome in Wyoming. Its volunteer members aim to create a legal and regulatory environment in the state that welcomes cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology companies with open arms. Long offered up her services as an advisor member. “I’m in the business,” she said. “So I volunteered to help with both the bitcoin and the blockchain education efforts.”The coalition is moving quickly. (bitcoinmagazine.com)</p><br><br>More on these and other related news can be found at http://zentrade.online/bitcoin-news-digest-saturday-november-18-2017/