12bit trade

Coinspeaker Microsoft Partners with Enjin to Launch Azure HeroesIt seems that the biggest tech behemoth Microsoft in the world decided to enter the crypto space with the leading blockchain gaming project. It plans to use the ENJ token in order to back-up blockchain assets.The biggest technological company on Wednesday introduced Azure Heroes. It works as a rewards system using digital collectibles. In order for this to happen, Microsoft decided to partner with the blockchain gaming project Enjin to create a blockchain-based recognition program.As per the statement:“Microsoft and Enjin have collaborated in a local pilot to create a blockchain based recognition programme. The Azure Heroes badgers were created in a number of original and unique designs which have been tokenized into a digital asset on the Ethereum public blockchain.”Individuals who make a valid and valuable contribution to the community can be therefore rewarded. All they have to do is fulfill some tasks such as coaching, creating demos and even blogging about Azure. After they do that, they will receive special badges. Users also have to download the Enjin wallet in order to store received badges that can be later transferred to any Ethereum address or destroyed.Every badge is tokenized and is “wrapped” around a certain amount of ENJ token using the ERC1155 protocol. Each token’s supply is limited and backed by the Enjin Coin. For example, their Inclusive Leader token has only 100 supply while the Maker Token has 10k supply.More than 30 games have been built on Enjin and many other platforms decided to utilize Enjin for other businesses as well. The number of possibilities for its ERC-1155 tokens usage is humongous. NFT enables its users to experiment with things such as identification or authorization. Even the simplest tasks such as having digital name cards can open the entrance into the crypto space.Users can get the digital collectibles by scanning a QR code with the Enjin wallet. The app is available in the Apple or the Google store.As Microsoft can brag with its huge users’ network, there is a big chance the digital collectibles’ exposure will be huge as well.With Microsoft on board, the company says they see no reason why other big players wouldn’t try it out as well. From Microsoft, they said they intend to continue the reward tokens issuing until the end.This magnitude of the community’s inclusivity by utilizing digital collectibles creates a different playing field due to its insufficiency. It will probably make the community more competitive in attempts to achieve the rarest of collectibles. This, in turn, helps in the spreading and appreciation of their business while saving marketing money.However, this is not Azure’s first attempt to enter the crypto sector. This major cloud computing platform already in March presented a blockchain development kit in partnership with America’s largest bank J.P. Morgan. Azure CTO Mark Russinovich then said that this was a ‘natural choice’ given that it is powered by the Ethereum protocol. The partnership helped both companies advance their Blockchain ambitions by making Quorum more accessible to customers.At the time of writing ENJ rocketed 32.72% to $0.078.Microsoft Partners with Enjin to Launch Azure Heroes

Coinspeaker Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler Picked for U.S. Senate SeatUnited States Governor from Georgia Brian Kemp on Wednesday officially appointed Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler to the U.S. Senate, where she will succeed current Senator Johnny Isakson.Some media already reported on Friday that Kemp was considering Loeffler and today it is confirmed that she will take office on January 1, 2020. Even though Isakson’s term ends in January 2023, Loeffler will have to run for election next year if she plans to serve past January 2021.Loeffler, a Republican, was appointed even though President Donald Trump preferred another candidate, probably Rep. Doug Collins who, as the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee and one of the highest-profile Republican figures involved the impeachment probe, would probably have the best contacts possible to reach pro-Trump donors across the country.Still, Loeffler got the support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.Loeffler is famous for saying she is “pro-Trump,” pro-border wall on the Mexican border, the Second Amendment advocate and, of course, against abortion and socialism. However, she somehow forgot to address crypto or Bitcoin in her introductory comments.According to reports, Kemp opened an online application process for this position after Isakson announced he would retire on December 31, 2019 for health reasons. On the last day of the deadline, Loeffler applied for the position. Before opening the application process Kemp said that “while unorthodox, we opened the process to everyone.”Loeffler has been the chief executive of Bitcoin Futures Market Bakkt since its announcement in 2018. Under her ruling, the company succeeded in launching its physically-settled Bitcoin futures contracts earlier this year.Bakkt recently announced its plans to develop a consumer-focused app that will help its customers easily use this app for proper business interactions with several merchants, using digital assets. Also, it plans to expand its custody services, as well as roll out options and cash-settled futures contracts in the next few weeks.For now, it’s still not known who will take charge over Bakkt once Loeffler leaves her position on January 1, 2020. The most probable choice will fall on current COO and former Coinbase executive Adam White.Be it as it may, Loeffler doesn’t plan to save money. As per Politico’s report, she plans to spend $20 million of her own money on her 2020 Senate campaign in Georgia — a sum so big that it could discourage potential rivals in big time.She is sure to join other extremely rich candidates to tap their personal wealth in recent years. Now-Sen. Rick Scott spent more than $60 million of his own on his successful 2018 bid, while New Jersey Republican Bob Hugin spent $36 million on his effort the same year but he failed.Still, one thing is pretty sure. Loeffler will not insist on accusing digital assets of all the sins after she gains a senate seat. There is a hope she could become the most active advocate of electronic peer to peer cash that is in use among millions worldwide.Meanwhile, the Bakkt platform is still setting records and has just pulled in a new one on its Bitcoin futures weekly volume of $124.0 million as well as its max open interest of $4.3 million.Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler Picked for U.S. Senate Seat

Coinspeaker Crypto CREDIT is Africa’s Sleeping GiantIt has been one year since the first block was produced by the CREDIT cryptocurrency brainchild of African blockchain firm Terra. Dubbed “the cryptocurrency for everyone”, this decentralized proof of stake crypto has remained as easy to mine as it always has been, continuing to give holders and stakers a trusted way of passive crypto generation.In that one year, Johannesburg-based TERRA has continued to roll out an incredible range of products centered on building digital payment processing solutions in developing economies on the continent, such as Nigeria.2 billion people are disconnected from the financial world. These unbanked do have smartphones, but cannot access baking services, placing trillions or more US dollars outside the global financial system. CREDIT mining can happen on these smartphones, giving real-world solutions to those seeking to store value and increase wealth outside the banking system.Besides staking for guaranteed 100% annual returns, CREDIT is also facilitating online and physical payments using simple smartphones and other basic devicesTerra Foundation founder and CREDIT creator Dan Ronchese said:“The only way a cryptocurrency can become a global payment system is if everyone who makes payments has access to it”.As such, CREDIT is designed to ensure everyone can have access. Via MiniPOS, anyone can stake CREDIT and earn every hour.Alongside a focused development on its decentralized crypto CREDIT, Terra has supported the creation of eight other products complementing each other, all of them introducing innovations that will change the way emerging markets view money.These are the details of these 8 products:MiniPOS – Which is a web wallet for staking CREDIT, letting holders earn more easily with every block produced. Instead of requiring a CPU, even smartphone users can now partake in passive generation via staking with 100% returns every year, rewarded to them every hour.Terra.Credit – The decentralized public ledger and CREDIT blockchain explorer enabling complete and immutable transparency.Terra Hub – Terra-hub is a social network offering CREDIT as a reward for incentivized action. This is a fair and democratic monetization of over 250,000 users.The Tellus Ecosystem – Tellus-pay and Tellus-merchant together form a payments ecosystem for the unbanked, allowing users to access Fiat (Naira and Rand included) and Crypto support as well as MiniPOS access to stake CREDIT, all this without a bank account. Physical and digital sellers can now integrate Tellus to accept instant payments, without being charged any fees or commission.Terra Mart – Terra and Tellus-pay together operate Terra-mart, the shopping marketplace with absolutely zero fees. Vendors can now put up all goods and services online, via their own unique digital store and customized URL. Buyers must use CREDIT to buy from vendors. The price you see is the price you pay, and the price you get – buyers and sellers pay no fees!Terra Wallet – An app wallet also available via web, Terra Wallet is still in development, but all major functions are available. Once fully rolled out, users can use basic Androids to transact with and store CREDIT on the go.TerraceX – TerraceX is a South African cryptocurrency exchange platform, featuring conventional exchange services on the spot market with stop/loss features across all major currency pays. 100% of fees collected are given back to users through referral. CREDIT users benefit from wider access to exchange options. TerraceX currently offers fiat to crypto services in 5 African countries, with Colombia about to be added.Terra DAX – Users can connect to all their favorite exchanges and trade from one place via the Terra-DAX native trading app.The CREDIT BlockchainBeginning life as a hybrid PoW/PoS blockchain, CREDIT is now producing blocks only via proof of stake, with thousands of miners securing the CREDIT Blockchain and getting rewarded with new coins every new block. Terra is supported on a wide range of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and even Raspbian from the start. Since miners don’t compete, everyone gains from supporting the blockchain.CREDIT on the Free MarketCREDIT price movements and trading volumes have been showing a generally positive trend, with trading volumes also on the increase. Most recently, credit moved about 40% from the previous month to trade around $0,000012. CREDIT is available across several exchanges, including Bitforex, Catex, Hubi and TerraceX.To learn more about African crypto for everyone, meet the community on the Terra Telegram channel.Crypto CREDIT is Africa’s Sleeping Giant

After experiencing a nasty 51 percent attack roughly one year ago, Vertcoin has been subjected to another such attack on its blockchain.
Vertcoin: The Victim Once Again
51 percent attacks occur when hackers secretly infiltrate a specific blockchain and then begin mining their own chain through the ledger. Granted the attacker has enough mining power under his or her belt, their chain can potentially overtake the ledger originally governed by the cryptocurrency or company in question.
After a while, the attacker reveals their chain and it automatically becomes the new chain for the currency, taking on the form of a “mini-fork.” This is often done because the attacker is eager to cash in on all the original block rewards they’ve mined. However, this doesn’t always work given that it takes an exorbitant amount of time to do this, which presents a window for the hacker to be discovered.
In addition, there’s also risk of the cryptocurrency falling in price or value, meaning that the hacker’s rewards can fall significantly. To avoid this, a hacker may seek to utilize what are known as springboards or double-spend attacks.
This causes someone to spend money two times in a row. A transaction can occur on a standard blockchain, but if a hacker has overtaken it and is now mining on the new chain, they can undo that transaction and force the user to spend the money on their own chain, ensuring they retain a cut or some of the profits (i.e. fees) associated with the transaction.
In the case of Vertcoin, it is reported that the attacker may have spent more than a full day trying to mine from their secret blockchain through a site called Nice Hash. This is likely because Vertcoin is only listed on a limited number of exchanges, one being Bittrex. That platform typically requires a full day to go by before any Vertcoin funds can be spent – a strategy designed to override such attacks.
With so much time at their disposal, the hacker is forced to spend more money and time mining new coins. This, for the most part, diverts the attacker from revealing their own chain, and thus they wind up losing a lot more money in the end.
The Attack Wasn’t Profitable
This was the case with Vertcoin’s attacker, who despite their “best” efforts, wound up on the losing end of the spectrum. It is widely believed that the culprit may have spent as much as $7,300 to maintain the equipment necessary to carry out the attack, yet only made half that much through the attempt. With such an expensive method taking place, the motives of the person behind the attack remain a mystery.
Vertcoin, however, remains vulnerable to these kinds of attacks in the future, despite the unprofitability of the recent attempt.
The post Someone Performed a Very Unprofitable 51% Attack on Vertcoin appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

A bank in South Africa is introducing new regulations regarding how people can – and should – hold cryptocurrency.
South Africa: The New Crypto Hotspot?
The South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB) says that the new rules will become applicable during the early months of 2020 following a consultation period that has lasted nearly five years. The country has been virtually lost regarding how cryptocurrencies should be monitored and governed and has been seeking advice and outside counsel from digital currency experts since 2014.
According to Kuben Naidoo – the bank’s deputy governor – some of the institution’s primary concerns are preventing white-collar crimes and stopping cryptocurrency fraud. Digital currencies, he says, can be used to evade currency controls, and the bank is looking to ensure this risk comes to an end. Thus, one of the new rules will be to limit the amount of currency leaving the region.
This rule would also apply to bitcoin and any of its altcoin cousins. If the bank notices a very large amount of crypto being transferred to an outside wallet or party, an investigation is likely to follow.
Africa has had a relatively mixed relationship with cryptocurrency. Several smaller banks throughout the continent have already sought to limit the amount of crypto activity occurring, such as the First National Bank (FNB). The institution is one of South Africa’s “big five” banks and has already shut down all its customers’ accounts that may be dealing in digital assets.
FNB says there is too much risk involved with crypto, including its volatility and its ties to criminal activity such as money laundering.
At the same time, many see Africa as a prime region to boost crypto trading and blockchain innovation. Recently, Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced he would be moving to an unnamed country in Africa from anywhere between three to six months after touring several regions. His goal is to establish a stronger crypto presence on the continent and potentially bring more crypto trading to Africa’s people.
Among the countries Dorsey toured were Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana and South Africa. Granted South Africa’s new crypto regulations prove to be too strong or constrictive for Dorsey, he may have to settle on one of the other three regions to bring his plans to life.
Establishing a Crypto Presence
Dorsey announced in a recent tweet:
Sad to be leaving the continent… for now. Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!) Not sure where yet, but I’ll be living here for three to six months mid-2020.
In addition, several new blockchain and crypto startups have chosen Africa as their home, among them Bit Hub, which was founded four years ago by John Karanja. The company seeks to promote the presence of crypto in the country and limit the failings of traditional finance in Africa.
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A Danish bank known as Nordea Bank has taken some flak for saying that its employees are not allowed to hold bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. After a long legal battle, the court has ruled in favor of the institution.
Nordea Bank Wins Its Case
At first glance, the entire issue appears unconstitutional. People should be allowed to invest as they deem fit and hold whatever assets they want without experiencing interference from their employers or outside parties.
However, the court ruling over the case says that the volatility and risks present in the crypto space is what sparked the verdict. The court ruled that the bank was simply trying to protect its employees from making any investing decisions that could potentially come back to haunt them.
Despite these good intentions, is it fair to interfere with people’s personal lives like this? A company should probably only be allowed to govern a person while they are performing work-related duties in the office, but anything done outside is beyond the company’s jurisdiction. This is ultimately why the suit was filed by Denmark’s union for financial employees, which issued a statement saying that it was not happy with the verdict and that it plans to continue the fight.
Kent Petersen – the union’s chairman – explained:
We filed suit because of the principle that everyone obviously has a private life and the right to act as a private individual. It was important for us and our members to establish what rights managers have. In this case, it was more far-reaching than what we find to be appropriate.
Banks and crypto have been in a constant battle since bitcoin first arrived on the financial scene in 2008 following the Great Recession. The main problem with banks is that while they are designed to keep customers safe and shield them from financial risk, they often will not provide the tools necessary to allow all customers or individuals to live day-to-day.
For example, garnering a checking or savings account is arguably a necessary task for virtually everyone, but granted a person doesn’t have a valid credit history, they’re likely to be shut out or cast aside. This person has the same needs as someone with valid credit, yet they’re not getting the access to the tools they’ll need to survive.
The Fight Will Go On
Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, is designed to fix this problem. It doesn’t care about your past or any previous financial decisions you’ve made, and instead provides you with a quick method of paying for goods and services. Sadly, crypto is often very volatile, meaning any money you invest in it could easily disappear overnight.
Nordea Bank initially stated that there was too much risk involved with crypto and that it had been linked to criminal activity.
The post Nordea Bank Wins Court Case; Employees Can’t Hold BTC appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.