Breaking: CME Group won't be first to offer Bitcoin Futures trading - CBOE announces Dec 10 launch!


The big buzz in the cryptocurrency market lately has revolved around what will happen when Wall Street dives in head first and begins offering Bitcoin futures trading.

Virtually all that buzz centered on the plans CME Group, the Chicago/New York firm with over $3 Billion in annual revenue.

But in a surprising move - a rival firm is beating them to the punch! CBOE announced today they'll be offing Bitcoin futures on December 10th.

CME will now be jumping in a week later, on December 18th.

CBOE is roughly 1/3 the size of CME Group, the world's largest player in futures. 

Today in a press release CBOE stated:

Cboe Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE) plans to launch trading in Cboe bitcoin futures at 5:00 p.m. Central Time on December 10 under the ticker symbol "XBT". This brings many benefits to traders, including transparency, efficient price discovery, deep liquidity and centralized clearing. XBTSM futures provides a centralized marketplace for participants to trade based on their view of bitcoin prices, gain exposure to bitcoin prices or hedge their existing bitcoin positions.

CBOE is encouraging their clients to either "trade based on their outlook" of Bitcoin's future, or "Hedge their Bitcoin risks".

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Author: Ross Davis
San Francisco News Desk


How Facebook made the Winklevoss twins Bitcoin BILLIONARES!


So follow along.  The Winklevoss twins, who became better known following the movie about the beginnings of Facebook "The Social Network" sued Facebook claiming they were the actual creators, way back in 2008.

Facebook settled, and the Winklevoss twins invested $11 million of that money received from Facebook into cryptocurrencies. It was a total of 1% of all the Bitcoins mined at the time.

Today, they were named official Bitcoin billionares as BTC's price hit $11,700.

The twins have gotton deeply involved in the cryptocurrency space, and also founded the Gemini exchange.

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Author: Adam Lee
Asia News Desk


4 Companies Revolutionizing Industries with Blockchain...


This is the first of a three article series about the companies featured at Blockchain Expo 2017 this past week in Silicon Valley!

Today, we're looking at 4 companies that are bringing powerful blockchain based solutions to existing industries.

doGood: Crowd-sourcing.

What stands out about doGood is they've taken crowd sourcing and crowd funding to new levels. It goes well beyond what you might think when you initially hear those terms, but this isn't yet another "Go Fund Me" clone.

That's because it aims to solve problems beyond people begging for money online.  From smaller, personal ones, to businesses seeking solutions to hurtles on major projects.

In a nutshell, it works like this: The problem/challenge is shared in their online platform.  Others post viable solutions and the community weighs in on the route to take via a points based system.  A structure that could do anything from help someone determine the next car to buy - to corporations letting shareholders weigh in.  They can even give more voting power based on how many shares the individual owns.

We spoke to the founder and CEO Adam Harriss, who previously worked in corporate strategy for HP, on his inspiration for the project "I thought, in order to solve these huge problems, what do we actually need to provide real solutions? Thinking back though my experience - you have to define the problem and define and scope the potential solutions. Once you've done that you can actually break down a large problem like climate change, into smaller and smaller pieces - until you get to something that is addressable".

But their boldest vision may be their escrow service which ties in to all of this.  Where an ICO's funding can be held in escrow, and released to the ICO to use only after promises are completed, and the as community votes they receive the next round of funding. Harriss believes legitimate ICO's wouldn't fear this transparency saying investors are asking more often "Why would I invest in this black box?"

doGood's ICO presale begins December 5th, and can be found online at doGood.io


Map Platform: Global mapping.

The Mapping Aggregation Platform is a decentralized mapping protocol - creating a crowd sourced 3d map of the world.

The demand for pinpoint accurate world mapping is already growing at a rapid pace, as the augmented reality industry explodes and relies on this information.

While privately owned corporations are working on gathering similar data, they don't share it without a price. Using blockchain to keep data constantly updated MAPS aims to be the decentralized solution, where anyone can contribute, or access the data.

Map Platform's ICO begins December 5th, and can be found online at MapPlatform.com


Neuromation: Deep learning / AI.

What first caught my eye about Neuromation was their bold proposition to cryptocurrency miners: you may make more money giving your processing power to our project, than you do mining coins.

We spoke to Yuri Kundin, an adviser on the project says that's the goal long term but points out they are first to the market, saying "currently people are paying Google for $4 an hour for 4 GPUs, that's our key point for democratizing access to AI, we could offer this processing power for $1 or even 50 cents".

Neutomation also has a bold retail automation project - putting this deep learning power to use. Shelf project management could streamline how large retailers operate, with AI monitoring product supply on the floor "the system recognizes all the products on the shelf's, and how many our left, we can send a signal back to the wearhouse letting them know to restock" says Kundin.

Neuromation's ICO presale is live now and can be found online at Neuromation.io


TRNXNHUB: Transaction services.

The first solution they offer is one most who actually use cryptocurrency can see a benefit for.  I have yet to meet anyone with their wallet address memorized, they call it AliasID - where you can register any word or phrase just like a domain name, then cryptocurrencies can be sent there.

We spoke to Matthew C James, founder and chairman of TRXNHUB, he said "currently public keys on blockchain are 40 characters in length and a random string of letters and numbers" he continued "with AliasID we can associate an e-mail address, phone number, or name to a public key".

They also have transaction protection for peer to peer sales, called 'Smart Contracts AI' where smart contracts tie into an escrow service "when UPS or someone delivers an order, it updates the smart contract and releases the funds" James said.  Providing buyer/seller protection for online goods sales made in cryptocurrencies.

TRXNHUB expects to ICO mid 2018 and can be found online at Trxnhub.com

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A collaborative article from our Silicon Valley news team:
Ross Davis (Editor in Chief), Harvest Hill, Drew Jackson, and Kevin Williams.
Silicon Valley News Desk


Wall Street Billionare Michael Novogratz: Bitconnect a "SCAM" an "old school ponzi"...


Mike Novogratz is a former Goldman Sachs partner, and head of Galaxy Investments.  Currently building a $500 Million cryptocurrency fund for large investors.

He is now the latest to add his name to the list of experts openly calling out Bitconnect for what it is - a scam.

Yesterday, after Bitconnect refused to answer questions unless they were from a pre-approved list, one of our reporters confronted them.

Cracks in the pyramid are beginning to show, from suspicious missing funds, to questionable data on their business registrations, and multiple registrations under multiple names. 

Another reporter here is working on a full investigative report to be published soon.

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Author: Justin Derbek
New York News Desk


Big Bang Theory airs their "Bitcoin" episode...


Big Bang Theory aired their Bitcoin themed episode tonight.

*SPOILER ALERT*

The episode centered around a very real situation - one another reporter from GCP covered just a few days ago - that $39 Billion dollars in Bitcoin are lost in wallets people no longer have access to.

The episode should be available for streaming soon on the CBS website.

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Author: Adam Lee
Asia News Desk


Bitconnect Ponzi-scheme CONFRONTED by reporter at Blockchain Expo 2017!


IMPORTANT NOTE:   This video occurred AFTER Bitconnect agreed to speak but ONLY IF WE ASKED NICE QUESTIONS FROM A PRE-APPROVED LIST.  That's why this isn't an interview - it's a confrontation.

Before this video, we attempted a to arrange a quiet, sit down interview, to go over the numbers with them. Bitconnect made this impossible...THEN we decided to talk to them anyway.


Bitconnect is already under official investigation in the UK, and soon may have their operations in that country shut down, and assets seized.

Just in from our Silicon Valley team covering the Blockchain Expo North America today.

My phone chimed with a text message from one of our staff at the event - only reading "check the company dropbox" and behold, this amazing video!

Ross Davis, seen in this video confronting Bitconnect staff about their impossible to sustain business model at their booth is our Editor In Chief, and heads up our Silicon Valley news desk.

The question is simple: With the current business model of Bitconnect, if someone invests $10,000 today, they will be paying them over $4,000,000 just six years from now. They make people believe it's possible because the value of their coin is going up 'just like bitcoin' but what they don't tell you is, virtually no one is buying their coin except their own customers.

I gave Ross a quick call for some background story, he said:

"Yesterday at the expo after getting past the shock that these guys were getting bold enough to show their faces at an event like this, I asked if we could schedule an interview for the following day (today), the reaction set up red flags immediately.

Our team has interviewed somewhere around 30 companies here over the last two days, about half of them reached out to us first, and all we're more than happy to be interviewed.

But only 1 asked for the questions in advance, and couldn't commit to more than a "maybe" for an interview today.

Of course, no reporter gives questions in advance unless it's a fluff piece, and like I said, nobody else wanted them - legitimate companies with nothing to hide welcome questions!"

I asked, why not just let it go?

"The day this comes crashing down, it's going to be in major newspapers and financial TV shows.  The general public still hasn't quite figured out what cryptocurrency is all about, and the day they open the New York Times or turn on CNN and hear about what Bitconnect pulled - it's going to be a stain on this entire industry."

In closing:

"We need to draw a line in the sand.  There's 'get rich quick' hustlers like Bitconnect and legitimate companies really pushing this tech, and no, we don't need to play nice with eachother."

Bitconnect has been called a ponzi scheme by virtually every respectable person in the cryptocurrency industry.  From Ethereum creater Vitalik Buterin, to Litecoin creator Charlie Lee.



We will be following Bitconnects case with the UK government over the next several weeks.
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Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk


Bitcoin breaks the $10,000 mark! But now, should we brace for a dip?


It's an historic day as Bitcoin sets a new all time high, and adds a whole new digit to it's value!

So - now what?

Predicting what the cryptocurrency market will do is an impossible task, but let's try to make an educated guess.

First let me say, i'm a firm believer that Bitcoin hasn't reached it's peak yet, so don't take this as FUD - but a small dip may be coming.

It's important to understand the difference between a correction and a crash, what I think we will see is only a correction.

So first is just what comes with hitting a milestone like 10,000. It's a psychological reaction to a round number. It's seen in the stock market as well - people sell at 100, 1000, 10,000 marks just because it "feels like a good number" to sell at.

Secondly, it's important to understand the demographics that brought Bitcoin here - millions of small investors. Many of which have been pouring every dollar left from their paychecks into cryptocurrency.

It might sound crazy at first, but don't underestimate the power of Christmas on the market! 

It's important to understand many young, smaller investors have used cryptocurrency in place of a savings account. So with that fact in mind, it wouldn't surprise me to see lots making withdraws to fund their holiday shopping and travel. If this holds true for enough people, it could have an impact.

So here's a scenario I see possible:  slight dip, maybe to the high $8000's, followed by a strong rally of people "buying the dip" to bring it back to $10,000+.

Once again - it's impossible to predict the future, just an educated guess!  But I am saying, regardless if this dip happens or not - I don't think Bitcoin's rise is over! So you can try to time things right to sell now and buy back in at a lower price - or just play it safe and hold!

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Author: Ross Davis
San Francisco News Desk


Kala token ICO's first phase sells out in just 4 hours - raising $7.5 Million! Here's why...


The appeal and potential behind Kala is actually quite simple: tokens that are easy to earn, and easy to spend.

The Kala ICO pre-sale began Monday morning, and their first group sold out in just over four HOURS!

750 million Kala tokens were sold at $.01 per token. In a flurry of activity, 1,562 people took
advantage of the presale rate and an impressive $7,500,000 was raised.

Group 2 is now officially launched at $.02 per token. There will be 1.5 billion available in this
group. After group two sells out, the rate will go to $.03. Pre-sales will continue through Nov. 30,
and public sales will open Dec. 1 at 11:00 a.m. MST.

So what’s all the excitement about? Simplicity is the key. To start: it’s very easy to earn Kala tokens after the ITO. Anyone with internet access can earn Kala with Symatri’s unique way of “mining” through Proof of Effort, rather than Proof of Work or Proof of Stake. This makes the token accessible to the masses.

People earn points by completing activities like taking surveys, testing products, downloading apps, etc, through Symatri’s CORE platform, then transfer those points into Kala. There’s no roomful of servers, no expensive buy-in to mining pools. It doesn’t take special knowledge or equipment. In fact, anyone with a computer or smartphone can participate.

Next, unlike many cryptocurrencies which are created for technology or projects that are still being
developed, Kala will integrate within an already existing ecosystem with more than 300,000
members in over 140 countries. Symatri’s CORE platform and marketplace are being used, tested,
and improved before integrating Kala. In fact, people can already participate before the first Kala
Token is even issued.

Finally, what makes any medium of exchange valuable is whether or not owners can use it to for
real world transactions. Kala will have value from the onset, because shortly after issuance Kala
users will be able to purchase discounted products, services, and gift cards through Symatri’s online
marketplace.

Symatri chose to build Kala on the ERC20 specifications of the Ethereum blockchain. This allows Kala to take full advantage of the benefits of the Ethereum network, and will make it easier to add to
exchanges.

After the close of the ICO, the sold tokens will be issued. Those who participate in the ITO will be
ready to use Kala as soon as it’s fully integrated into the Symatri Ecosystem. Kala will be fungible,
transferable, and expected to trade on exchanges. In addition to using Kala to purchase items online at Symatri’s marketplace, Kala owners can take advantage of the fluctuations in value that is a
fundamental characteristic of all cryptocurrencies.

For more information on Kala, the ICO, to sign up for early access, and to view the full white paper, visit https://kalatoken.io/
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Information provided by press release.

Shocking Study: Up to 4 million bitcoins, worth $39 billion dollars are lost forever.


NY based Chainalysis, an analytics firm, has published a study stating nearly 4 million bitcoins are lost forever.

The study points to wallets that were created, and miners, from the days when bitcoin was only worth pennies or low dollar amounts.

Years ago when people had 20 bitcoins in a wallet and they were worth a total $10 - people weren't so concerned with keeping their wallet/key saved and safe.

Chainalysis says the years of 2009-2010 are when the vast majority of the coins were lost.

But even more shocking, while the early nearly worthless bitcoins were lost at a percentage between 15%-20% - they estimate up to 2% loss rate for 2017.

That's another $2 Billion worth of lost coins this year alone.

Still, that's a dramaticly lower percentage than years ago, and is expected to get even lower as the value of bitcoin rises and people learn the importance of carefully guarding their wallet & key.

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Author: Ross Davis
San Francisco News Desk


MasterCard files patent application full of Blockchain based tech...


A patent application placed by MasterCard and posted by the US Government on the Patent and Trademark office's website is drawing some attention for how heavily MasterCard is adopting blockchain technology.

In fact, the word "blockchain" appears 101 times in the application.

The "abstract" summary of the patent reads as follows...

A method for processing a guaranteed electronic transaction, includes: storing account profile, each include an account number and balance; receiving a transaction message from an acquiring financial institution via a payment network, the message including a specific account number, transaction amount, and payment guarantee data; identifying a specific account profile that includes the specific account number; deducting the transaction amount from the account balance in the specific account profile; generating a record of payment guarantee that includes the transaction amount and data associated with the payment guarantee data; generating a return message including a response code indicating transaction approval and data associated with the generated record; transmitting the generated record to a computing system via a communication network; and transmitting the generated return message to the acquiring financial institution via the payment network.

All 3 of the big players in the credit card industry are now diving into blockchain tech.

Visa is using Chain's blockchain code for its latest pilot, looking towards using blockchain for international payments, and just over a week ago we covered American express announcing a partnership with Ripple.

MasterCard's full patent application can be viewed here.
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Author: Adam Lee
Asia News Desk