BitShares Decentralized Exchange (DEX) gateway CryptoBridge announced on Oct. 1 that it has implemented mandatory user Know Your Client (KYC) verification. European regulation is responsible According to the announcement, the reason for the upcoming mandatory KYC is the 5th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5). Interestingly, CryptoBridge also noted that the company wants to challenge international financial regulation, writing: “While we still strive to present new challenges for international financial regulation, we are facing the 5th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) and will adjust our gateway services to pave the way for CryptoBridge moving forward.” Because of this policy change, all …

China has released its latest government-sponsored rankings of major cryptocurrencies, placing Bitcoin (BTC) in 18th while awarding the top spot to blockchain platform EOS (EOS). The rankings were released in a press release on Dec. 21. China’s Center for Information and Industry Development (CCID) under the Country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology creates the rankings, which first appeared in May this year. Now listing a total of 34 top cryptocurrencies by market cap on the premise of “basic tech,” “applicability” and “creativity,” the results have frequently courted controversy, especially with regard to Bitcoin’s consistently average ranking. EOS began ranking …

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of Cointelgraph.com Proof of Stake (PoS) was first introduced in a paper by Sunny King and Scott Nadal in 2012 and intended to solve the problem of Bitcoin mining’s high energy consumption. At that time, it cost an average of $150,000 a day to maintain the Bitcoin network. Today, this figure is at a staggering $6.7 million (if we assume a $0.12/watt cost and multiply that with the estimated 56,209,833 KWh of electricity that the Bitcoin network consumed on Oct. 13, 2017). Rather than relying …

Last week’s season of mourning saw gloomy markets that were inspiring only fear and panic in Bitcoin and altcoin communities, in particular for those who have not been in the crypto space for long. But this week has begun on a bright note with the green days coming back as most of the tokens have recorded growth. On top 10 cryptocurrencies, for instance, only two tokens continued to fall. But the biggest surprise was a new entrant to the top echelons. EOS in a fairytale manner growth jumped more than 300 percent to occupy the number nine spot on CoinMarketCap …

NXT, the finance 2.0 blockchain platform, has voted unanimously to implement CoinShuffle, a coin mixing anonymity technique to NXTcoin and other 'Monetary System' tokens. Implementation is expected on the next major release. Landslide vote A vote was posed to the community this July 18 on whether the coin mixing implementation would apply just to MonetarySystem (MS) tokens or also to NXT's core token, NXTcoin. After only a day, the community's response was incontrovertible with nearly 100% of the votes supporting coin mixing implementation to NXTcoin. The votes will be weighed on July 26 based how much NXT each voter holds. …

Startup BuyAnyCoin (BAC) wants to hang a prepaid crypto card next to prepaid phone and debit cards in convenience stores. They're currently holding an Indiegogo fundraiser, hoping to raise US$10,000 for merchant outreach and continued backend development. Thor Thurneau, BAC founder, writes: “Imagine this: You walk in to your local convenience store, grab a drink and head to the register. In your peripheral vision you catch a glance of a card on the counter that says BuyAnyCoin Voucher. You ask the cashier about the card. She tells you, 'You just redeem it at their website for any of the popular …

Bitcoins are widely called “digital gold,” so it's fitting that many crypto fans like their physical gold, too. Several companies have sprung up in the last two years to serve this bitcoins-to-gold market. Why buy gold? Some choose it as a savings instrument, others a trading commodity, and still others as a fiat-free hedge against crypto volatility. Whatever your purpose, the following five companies may pop up onto your radar: Serica This San Francisco-based company was rebranded this year from the name DigitalTangible. They've been called a “trailblazer in the gold-bitcoin space” for launching the first online gold/bitcoin trading platform …

Goldman Sachs has joined a round of funding for internet bank Circle, Purse.io has integrated with Shapeshift.io to allow altcoin holders to make third party purchases from Amazon, SilkRoad trial judge rejects retrial demand and many more top stories from April 30. Goldman Sachs invests US$50 million in Circle Leading the start-up’s series C funding round, Goldman Sachs has joined a group of investors in raising US$50million for Circle. Working alongside IDG Capital Partners, Breyer Capital, General Catalyst Partners, and Accel Partners, the involvement of a high profile name like Goldman Sachs is likely to encourage increased interest and attention …

Put the word "blockchain" together with the acronym "DNS" and what do you get? Just like that 1980s commercial in which chocolate collides with peanut butter, you get a result that's really quite remarkable — blockchain-based domain names. This new hybrid could change the way the system works in important ways. The term "blockchain" refers to the underlying technology that powers Bitcoin, a distributed data store that achieves a state of consensus. Every node on the network will agree about the historical facts, with minimal reliance on trusting central authorities. The Domain Name System (DNS) is used every time you …

You know that friend who always tries to score indie snob cred by saying he thinks a specific band’s “early stuff was better?” P2P music startup PeerTracks might have devised a way for your hipster friend to monetize his early adopter status. PeerTracks uses the BitShares platform to allow bands and individual musicians to create and distribute their own cryptocoins to their fans, who are in turn incentivized to spread the word about the artists. “For the first time, artists can now engage and incentivize their fans into sharing their music,” cofounder Cédric Cobban said in a statement Tuesday. “Using …

Organizers of the second North American Bitcoin Conference expect a big turnout for what they describe as “the most community-oriented TNABC yet.” This TNABC will be held in Chicago the weekend of July 19–20, and organizers recently announced that the Hotel Chicago will host the event. “The Official kick-off party will take place in the iconic House of Blues, which will be the best location of the year to meet the movers and shakers of the Bitcoin industry,” organizers said in a release. Organizers say that more than 2,000 people are expected for the conference, and they are trying to …