What is the future of blockchain in the ridesharing industry? The potential for blockchain technology to change the ridesharing sector by bringing improved transparency, security and efficiency is promising. By incorporating blockchain technology into ridesharing services, it is possible to develop decentralized networks that link drivers and passengers directly, cutting out the middleman. This may result in a more egalitarian system with lower transaction fees and the requirement for third-party payment processors, which would minimize driver and passenger expenses. Furthermore, by leveraging blockchain’s tamper-proof and secure platform, drivers and riders can trust the system, leading to increased participation and greater …

Finland-based peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency platform LocalBitcoins is shutting down operations after serving its customers for more than 10 years. LocalBitcoins officially announced termination of services on Feb. 9, citing tough market conditions of the ongoing cryptocurrency winter. “Regardless of our efforts to overcome challenges during the ongoing very cold crypto-winter, we have regretfully concluded that LocalBitcoins can no longer provide its Bitcoin trading service,” the firm said. LocalBitcoins encouraged all customers to withdraw their crypto assets from the platform, asking to proceed with withdrawing Bitcoin (BTC) from the LocalBitcoins wallet. According to the announcement, users will be able to withdraw …

Mark Alexander Hopkins, also known by the moniker ‘Doctor Bitcoin’ or their handle Rizzn, has claimed that “transacting Bitcoin p2p is a federal crime” after announcing the sentence in their case to social media followers. In a Sunday Twitter thread, Hopkins said that they were facing between 6 to 15 months at a federal correctional institution in Texas following a guilty plea for allegedly operating a crypto business without the necessary licensing. According to Rizzn, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, used a 2019 interpretation of a law — 18 U.S.C. 1960 — originally enacted in 1992 to …

Despite some level of regulatory uncertainty around cryptocurrency in the Philippines, one platform has recorded a massive influx of Bitcoin (BTC) trading activity recently. Bitcoin trading volumes in the Philippines have been on the rise over the past few months on the major peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange Paxful. According to data from the Bitcoin tracking website Coin Dance, Bitcoin trading volumes denominated in the Philippines peso (PHP) have been steadily growing on Paxful and eventually hit a new high in July. Paxful’s Bitcoin trading volumes peaked at 111 million PHP ($1.9 million) during the week ending on Saturday, July 9, …

While the Ukrainian government has moved to legalize Bitcoin (BTC) amid the ongoing attacks from the Russian military, some of the largest local banks have reportedly banned their clients from buying BTC using the national currency. PrivatBank, the largest commercial bank in Ukraine, has temporarily restricted its customers from purchasing Bitcoin with the national currency, the hryvnia (UAH), industry publication Forklog reported on Thursday. Citing a spokesperson from PrivatBank, the report notes that the latest PrivatBank’s restrictions fall in line with an order from the National Bank of Ukraine. The restrictions will reportedly apply during the current period of martial …

The decentralized exchange aggreagator 1inch Network introduced peer-to-peer, or P2P, order functionality within the 1inch decentralized application, or dApp. This feature allows users to specify the person or wallet that will fill the other side of the trade, as opposed to over-the-counter, or OTC payments where 1inch matches the order with a taker. 1/ It’s time to broaden the scope of DeFi services available to our users! #1inch is happy to introduce a #P2P feature, which facilitates ️ secure #crypto swaps between individual users. Read more ⤵️https://t.co/CoH2YhvC69 — 1inch Network (@1inch) March 3, 2022 According to the company website, this …

Even though the digital asset market seems to be witnessing a bit of a lull at the moment, the adoption of crypto-centric tech has continued to move forward with a full head of steam globally. Africa, in particular, is a continent where a growing list of mainstream financial entities have continued to make their presence felt, as they have begun to realize that the economic opportunities presented by the region are immense. To put things into perspective, a recent report released by Singapore-based crypto data provider Triple A shows that the North African country of Morocco currently boasts one of …

To understand the complexity of digital rights management, or DRM, one must first understand the DRM challenges of current systems and then the challenges (and opportunities) presented by blockchain technology that prides itself on transparency, data linkage and immutability as some of the main characteristics that lends itself to the trust systems. With Web 2.0, content creation and dissemination are via a platform that acts as an intermediary and, like any intermediary, has developed business models that monetize the avenues of content distribution, resulting data and metadata. Digital content (movies, images, music, etc.) can be replicated easily, and the platforms …

Peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange Paxful has integrated Lightning Network into its platform, giving its 7 million users access to near-instant Bitcoin (BTC) transfers. The new feature gives users the ability to send and receive BTC from their Paxful Wallet in a matter of seconds and with much lower fees than existing blockchain transactions, the company announced Tuesday. Paxful co-founder and CEO Ray Youssef described Bitcoin as “the best financial option” but acknowledged that scalability issues could be hindering adoption. He said Lightning Network is Bitcoin’s greatest chance of achieving the scalability needed to make microtransactions a reality. Related: Journeys in Blockchain: …

Though he has had 11 business failures, today Ray Youssef is building Bitcoin-funded schools across Africa as executive director of the Built With Bitcoin Foundation and is helping millions of people buy and sell cryptocurrency as CEO of Paxful. However, Youssef also admits to looting hardware stores on behalf of a convent school after Hurricane Katrina and says he was nearly shot as a suspected CIA agent during the Egyptian Revolution. He has just returned from El Salvador, where he spent time at Bitcoin Beach — where he says even children are using Bitcoin (BTC). Crypto payments services are important …

Two former PayPal workers in business and technology have launched a cross-border payment system aimed at “faster, cheaper, and more transparent payments.” In an announcement on Tuesday, fintech infrastructure firm Six Clovers said it launched its Rapid network, which connects banks, merchants and payment providers, allowing clients to transact in digital currencies and fiat. Founded by former PayPal employees Jim Nguyen and Nas Kavian and backed by venture capital firm Borderless Capital, the network is built on the Algorand blockchain and employs the technology behind stablecoins to represent fiat. “Six Clovers is creating a bridge between traditional and decentralized finance, …

In this hyperconnected world, where personal data is a precious commodity, privacy has become a hot-button topic. Now more than ever, many consumers are craving confidentiality — especially when it comes to the transactions they make and the digital trails they leave behind. And that’s what the anonymous team behind a peer-to-peer ecosystem called Utopia say they provide. The platform has been built out of “fundamental respect for, and protection of, individual freedom and liberty online” — and is designed to eliminate surveillance and censorship. Its goal is to ensure that financial transactions, user data and personal communications are kept …