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Vienna seriously loves blockchain! There's two big programs already announced, the first of them they're calling "digital food stamps" a program which differs from what you may associate those words with if you're from elsewhere, this is a benefit for government employees.

Using an ERC20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, they can spend the food tokens at 800+ locations that have agreed to accept them. 

That program is pretty straightforward, get tokens, spend tokens. The real interesting one is a collaboration with Vienna University of Economics and Business and city government.

Using a token they plan to call "The Vienna Coin" they hope to enable a whole new way for the city to interact with it's citizens.  Tokens could be given out to citizens for a variety of reasons - from riding their bike to work instead of driving, to reporting something that needs repair, even doing charity or volunteer work.

Making the token actually desirable to earn will revolve around insuring there's good places to spend them.  The Vienna-based Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics suggests things like paying for parking and movie tickets.

It's too early for the specifics, Shermin Voshmgir, the head of the Research Institute says:

“We are in a very early design phase in which we are considering together with the City of Vienna what such a Vienna token could look like. It’s about understanding how we can generate a token that adds value for the city.”

Another idea on the horizon is using blockchain to enable citizens to secure their data. "If an agency requires data, the citizen can decide to release it" allowing them to control what they provide to for things like insurance, banking, and health care.

It is my job to ask - once implemented how else could a system like this be used?  Are there any downsides?

Well, in China they have a blockchain-powered system capable of both giving reward 'points' and taking them away as a form of punishment.  If your score goes too low you're banned from things like public transportation.

Theoretically, any system that could be used to reward citizens could be used to more nefarious purposes.  But for now, that's just paranoia.

The new cryptocurrency app "Voyager" is undergoing the final leg of beta testing now. 

Also just launched - the $25 bitcoin credit every new user will receive now that they're open for sign-ups, the app is even free to use.

Voyager's founders include Uber co-founder Oscar Salazar, as well as early Uber investor Philip Eytan.  Stephen Ehrlich serves as the CEO, and online trading is hardly new to him - he comes from ETrade.  They're betting big because like many, they believe best is yet to come.  On the topic, Ehrlich says:

"The next bull run is set to be bigger than ever before, and when it arrives, the industry will be fully prepared."

With the market full of skepticism, Voyager may have found the only remaining way to draw in new users - free cryptocurrency.   It worked for Uber giving away free rides, and Coinbase's $10 referral fee worked for them quite well - I imagine doubling that may be enough to sway the average trader.

Tokens already featured are:
Bitcoin (BTC)
Ethereum (ETH)
Ripple (XRP)
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV)
EOS (EOS)
Stellar Lumens (XLM)
Litecoin (LTC)
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
Ontology (ONT)
Zcash (ZEC)
Tron (TRX)
Cardano (ADA)
Iota (IOT)
Neo (NEO)
VeChain (VET)
Qtum (QTUM)
ICON (ICX)

Voyager has partnered with universal wallet Ethos which will provide integrated storage for all of the coins you've traded with Voyager, keeping them in 1 central wallet that you control.

Check them out for yourself, and grab your $25 http://www.TheVoyagerExchange.com/

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Author: Oliver Redding
Seattle News Desk

The spark that lit this fire happened earlier this week when research firm 'Messari' came out with a report on why they believe Ripple's XRP token is greatly overvalued - by up to 46% meaning "Ripple’s $XRP market cap is likely overstated by $6.1 billion".
Others have covered that and the initial reaction from Ripple/XRP fans calling it all lies.

But that's not the whole story - there's several important factors to take into account to truly understand how things reached the level of intensity we're at today. The other reports i've seen this week we're all missing crucial parts of the story.

Before diving in I must add - I neither own any XRP, or have a grudge against Ripple.  I understand how Ripple's involvement with the big banks turn some people off to it.  I also think expecting the banking industry to sit back and simply watch cryptocurrency grow is unrealistic. If Ripple wasn't working with them, someone else would be. So i'm literally neutral, making me qualified to cover all this fairly.

So let's begin - at the actual beginning.

Grudges between the two sides goes way back:

Ryan Selkis is the founder of Messari, the firm that made this week's claims against Ripple.

But the hate between Ryan Selkis and Ripple fans goes way back, long before this report.

Ryan shared his opinions on Ripple over a year ago, calling XRP "a sham". On his personal blog, he wrote an entry called "I See You, $XRP" where he explained his stance at length.

From then on he was among the 'most hated' by Ripple's community, with leaders like Tiffany Hayden labeling him a 'liar'.

But that just seemed to motivate Ryan more, he explains it:

"The XRP community is irredeemably awful"  their hate for him is actually "a badge of honor."

Then this week's research report calling XRP overvalued was released:

Knowing the long-standing animosity between the two sides, the response was fairly predictable.

Ripple's supporters argue that it would be impossible for a company founded by someone who takes pride in being hated by them, to conduct honest unbiased research.

But those supporting Ryan say he has such a nasty history with Ripple fans because he's long known 'the truth' - and they just hate hearing it.

Which now brings us to the last 72hrs:

Following the release of the report from Messari, Ryan claims he's been on the receiving end of threats and harassment, saying:

"Someone just called me from a Nashville number and recited my wife’s birthday to me. Then hung up.[Ripple's CEO] these are the type of animals you and your fucking company enable."

He then demanded the company's leaders step in and tell their fans to back off:

"I want [Ripple executives] to denounce any $xrp community threats against my family. I’m going to the fbi and local police after THREE calls. Ensuring our family doesn’t get swatted.  I’m not going home until it’s publicly stated."

Where things stand today:

As you can see there's an established history of each side responding to the other by stepping up their attacks.  Keeping that tradition - things have gotten even worse.

The Ripple community maintains their stance that he's a liar, and now adds that he's even lying about the threats made to him. As one member who goes by 'Cryptocrusader' says:

"Can this lying sack of shit prove anything that exits his pie hole. Selkis makes a living telling lies
Don't you think he would go to the FBI first instead of tweeting about it? Ryan is a worthless piece of shit."

Now Ryan out for more blood than ever, and he's hoping someone inside of Ripple will help him throw his next punch - he's looking for leakers:

"If you’re a current or former partner, investor, customer, employee of Ripple and you want to share anonymous tips regarding the company’s XRP sales, marketing or general business practices, you can do so with our team.  Off the record: anontips@Messari.io"

My thoughts so far:

The data showing Ripple is overvalued may be totally true - but it's tainted by the history of Ryan acting like a man-child on Twitter and openly saying he loves doing things that make Ripple's community hate him, and the fact he's the research company's founder.

A researcher who stands by their findings should simply keep pointing to those findings - demanding them to be disproven.  When you're right, winning the argument really is that simple.  Everything else is a step in the wrong direction, and he's walked a mile.

Likewise, Ripple's community may have valid points to dispute the report - but those are tainted as well, by them resorting to personal attacks, and if true, making threats. 

There's also a disturbingly high number of accounts with anonymous ownership among Ripple's supporters . To Ryan's credit, he's willing to make his claims under his own name, while Ripple's community appears be made up mostly of people using 'screen names' - they won't face consequences for being wrong, they can just move on with a new name.

In closing, because of this I cannot imagine either side being the one to settle this. The only solution would be a neutral, 3rd party of qualified researchers reviewing all of the claims made so far and sharing their findings.

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When it comes to gathering, and analyzing the information we need to make wise trades - there's some problems with the current standard methods.

The worst of the worst - downright bold and manipulative tactics.

A perfect example of this would be organized 'pump and dump' groups, and while the SEC has taken some action targeting them, there's still plenty out there.

These groups usually work by telling members to meet up online through Telegram or Discord. Then, the group leaders announce which coin every member should buy immediately.

Let's imagine they choose a coin that's worth around $10, the ring leaders get it at that price.  Then regular members of the group are told to buy it, they may raise it up to $13 if it's a larger group with hundreds of members.

Now that everyone in the group has their coins, they begin the next phase - publicly spreading fake news and rumors all across social media. They'll tweet things like 'just heard that this token is about to announce a major new partnership' and 'the coin is probably going to hit $20 by the end of the day'.

To those unfamiliar with what they're looking at, things may appear legitimate.  They search twitter and see multiple people saying the same thing. Then they check the charts and see - this coin is on it's way up! For many, this is enough to trigger an impulse buy.

In reality, they're buying coins the scammers bought an hour earlier - because now the scammers are selling (dumping) them at a profit.

That's the worst of the worst, on the other end of the spectrum are those who share their thoughts and analysis of the market with the absolute best intentions. Genuinely good people who honestly aim to help fellow investors. The problem here just can't be fixed - subconscious bias.

Everyone, even the expert seasoned traders have their own personal favorite coins & projects. When there's valid criticism or bad news they may acknowledge it, but often it's downplayed or followed by an explanation of why that coin will 'bounce back.'

I'm absolutely not saying to stop listening to the opinions of other traders, there's some great minds in the cryptocurrency world and to ignore them would be a mistake. The honest ones would be the first to agree with me - that's why they say "but do your own research" right after they share theirs.

Point being - there's no such thing as someone giving unbiased advice.

Doing your own research...

Clearly, it's essential to have information that comes from a source immune to human manipulation.

Those seeking this kind of data are typically led to Technical Analysis (TA for short).   For those who may be newer to all this, you've probably seen it, it's those charts people post that continue on into dates in the future and they've then drawn in what they think will happen next.

To be clear, I'm not taking a view against it - but be aware of its shortcomings. While current daily volume levels can be taken into account, TA relies very heavily on historical market data.

Many argue that there simply isn't enough historical data, period.  Bitcoin turned 1 decade old just last week, but these methods come from stock traders who developed them with plenty of historical data to take into account.

An even larger point often ignored is how drastically the crypocurrency market changed in 2017. Late 2017 specifically, so barely over a year ago.  The year ended with millions of people first discovering cryptocurrency even existed, and a market of around a dozen coins became thousands of coins competing with each other.   I would argue that 'historical' data before this is virtually useless - it's historical data on a fundamentally different market.

With that in mind we're now left with 1 year of data. I'm not trying to be a downer here, but 2018 was spent correcting 2017, so I'd question even using that.

Point being - TA predictions should be taken with a grain of salt, and i'd strongly discourage making any trades based on TA alone.

The solution:

We need to be able to look at the information that’s important, and come up with an honest prediction of what will come next.

Sounds simple, it's not. Since the human element must be removed to guarantee there is no bias, what we're really talking about here is giving data to a computer and saying 'here's everything we know up to today, tell us what will happen tomorrow'.

While computers haven't been turned into digital crystal balls that perfectly predict future events - we have reached a point where those with access to their answers are given a clear indisputable advantage.

I first heard of these methods using complex algorithms, machine learning, and artificial intelligence a few years ago. At the time, it was only in reference to the stock market. Since then developers have made some significant technical advances, and more importantly - it's now being applied to the cryptocurrency markets.

Wanting to try these tools in my own hands, I found US based Quantamize. (not an affiliate link, I don't get anything if you join).

There are others saying they use similar technology, but the ones I came across were either very expensive with no way to try it first, one was an ICO recently and you need to first acquire their token as they only accept that for payment, and the last one I looked at sells software that you need to keep running on your own computer.

Quantamize, however, gives you 3 free weeks. Their business model isn't 'hope they forget to cancel the trial' they didn't even ask for a credit card number, which seemed like a good sign.

They also seemed to cover the most ground and include 30 coins, it's web based so no need to run software on your computer - they handle all that, then you get the results on their site.

How it works, and why it makes sense:

Imagine you're not just an investor - you're starting a cryptocurrency trading fund. First thing to do is hire your research team.

You hire someone whose only job is to analyze daily trading volume, another person to focus only on price movements, another to analyze using all historical data, another to scan social media and gauge public sentiment, and another who reads every news article about cryptocurrency every day.

At the end of the day, you call a team meeting. You go through the list of coins your fund invests in,  and each team member answers based on the data they looked at - will the coin go up or down in price?  If most of the team says a coin is going up, it probably will.

Now - replace all of these people with artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms running non-stop on a network of high powered computers, endlessly consuming and analyzing new data as it's available - this is Quantamize!

Called a multi-factor approach, for each market fundamental (daily volume, sentiment, etc) Quantamize develops a proprietary version of their artificial intelligence that only looks at the 1 cryptocurrency it was built for – there are unique AI algorithms for every cryptocurrency that Quantamize analyzes.

Let's circle back to the introduction where we discussed pump and dump scammers colluding to create false excitement around a specific coin to artificially 'pump' the price up.

First, Quantamize's AI dedicated to scanning social media posts will detect that currently there is a large increase in positive things being said about this coin.  But - the AI's analyzing market fundamentals may see this coin has been on the decline for some time, daily trading volume has been low, and for months the long term outlook has been negative.

The end result would be a 'do not own' signal - because tricks that rely on using human emotion to make someone buy or sell simply won't fool the algorithms.

Using the data:

You still do all your own trades, on whatever exchanges you currently use.  You don't put your cryptocurrency in the control of artificial intelligence or group of traders, you simply see what Quantamize is suggesting and decide if you want to act upon it or not.

Quantamize presents the data to be used in 3 different ways.

● Signals - All this research summed up and shared as a simple list of the 30 coins, with a green "buy" or red "do not own" (sell) next to it.

You don’t need to be a day trader to use these, the term 'signals' is often associated with high frequency traders who watch for signals changing minute by minute - Quantamize’s signals  represent a 3 day outlook.

I consider myself a trader who manages his own portfolio, most cryptocurrency investors are. So for myself and most of you reading this, Quantamize's signals are a resource to check before you press that buy/sell button - make sure Quantamize isn't seeing something you may have missed.

● Portfolios - Quantamize uses their research to suggest full portfolios for those who may want to build one from scratch based on Quantamize’s research.  There’s multiple options depending on if you who want to play it safe, or willing to take larger risks for potentially larger rewards.

If you're looking for a complete strategy where all you need to do is follow suggestions - this is for you.

● Research reports - in depth look at the news affecting the market, and in depth reports on specific coins and projects.  If you've been hearing about a coin and want to really dive in and learn more, this is the place you would find the information.

Take a look, try adding this data to your decision making process, and see if it leads to better, more profitable trading. For 3 weeks of full access for free visit: https://www.quantamize.com

Leaked images show the ability to create/import wallets (click image to enlarge)

Coming from German site "All about Samsung" the leaked images are described as "prototypes" - so assuming they're legitimate, it's worth noting this is far from the final version.

While there's no shortage of wallet options for mobile devices, there's one fairly huge advantage to the manufacture building it as opposed to using a downloadable app - this cryptocurrency wallet can use Samsung's hardware biometric security.

So far (as you can see in the image above) the only cryptocurrency listed as 'supported' is Ethereum.  Safe to assume this includes all ERC20 tokens, so that's several thousand to begin with.   Also safe to assume that Bitcoin will be supported by launch.

For now the big question is - what other coins will be supported? 

Any number of cryptocurrencies can be added eventually, but being included at launch will come with some clout.

Samsung has sold a total of 295 million smartphones in the most recent 4 quarters (1 year) on record. This is a quick way to having a world with a lot of people with crypto wallets in their pocket.

Release date is less than a month away - Feb 20th!

------- 

With a cryptic quote of "I have nothing to hide but my body from people trying to collect it" McAfee has fled the United States.

Since then he's been posting a string of tweets showing him at sea on what he's calling the 'Freedom Boat'.

"Many people say they've never seen anyone live cast their US evasion before" McAfee says in a video posted to Twitter.

McAfee hopes the crypto community will have his back, adding “Today, crypto community, we are at war, and I am on the front lines”.

Unfortunately for McAfee - backup isn't coming.

Crypto doesn't seem to be the reason for him needing to flee - according to his own words he has “not paid taxes in eight years” and the way he earned much of his income hasn't made the crypto world very happy with him.

McAfee angered the crypto world on two fronts at once with his "coin of the day" tweets that turned into "coin of the week" following backlash. He kept going until literally nobody cared, and an endorsement from McAfee became worthless - he would tweet, but nobody would buy.

Initially the controversy centered around accusations he was using these tweets to pump and dump his own coins, then it got worse as Twitter DM screen shots were leaked of him asking for payments of $105,000 to promote a coin.  McAfee admitted - that's his price.

Oblivious to all the above, he ends a video sharing how he sees things, insisting "I did not choose this, it was chosen for me". Which is true except for the part where he chose to promote any coin willing to pay him, then not to pay the taxes on it.

If you think this is the craziest the story can gets, you don't know John McAfee.

He's running for President, and now says he'll be doing it remotely by video, and covering in-person appearances using volunteers wearing McAfee masks.

Inside the organization things may be falling apart as his staff start to wonder what the hell they got themselves into.  I spoke with a member of 'Team McAfee' who requested to remain unnamed, he says:

"We're worried about him.  Honestly no one I've talked to knows if this is even real. He just does this sh*t. That's all i'm gonna say for now." I asked what specifically they were questioning was 'real' he responded "The whole IRS thing. People above me and closer to him are saying they think he made the whole thing up". 

You can follow the madness on his Twitter.

Smart Valor believes they have what's needed to take on a mission this bold, their goal: disrupt access to assets and wealth.

The SMART VALOR platform is the world's first for tokenized alternative investments. Its main goal is to give everyday investors from around the globe simple, secure and regulation compliant access to the universe of alternative investment.  It promises to being better liquidity and availability through issuance and transfers on the blockchain. It can possibly be the key to granting the public access to riches in this 7 trillion USD market. The initial assets to be tokenized on SMART VALOR will be venture capital, reserves, real estate, and emerging tech startups.

Operating out of Switzerland and Liechtenstein aka "crypto valley" they will be a fully regulated platform for security tokens. All 3 major regulatory goals have already been met. The company has been named a legal Financial Intermediary, they are a licensed foreign currency exchange, they have finished the process of applying for to be a licences bank.

Exonomists estimate growth of the alternative investments world to grow to 18 trillion dollars worldwide constantly 2020. Be that as it may, this expectation may not occur later on in light of expanding consideration financial specialists put in blockchain innovation.

Like any investment, the ROI (Return of Investment) isn't promised, yet these kind of monetary instruments can conceivably give a higher return than the conventional ventures. Alternative Investments can be extremely worthwhile and a complex sort of venture too, which is the reason speculators who are more pulled in to attempt an elective methodology are viewed as wealthier and systematized like establishments and that's just the beginning.

Olga Feldmeier is the company Founder and CEO, and her background makes her more than qualified. She was Executive Director of the Wealth Management Division of UBS, VP Corporate Strategy at Barclays Capital, and a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group.

"We're building an investment platform that gives people safe and easy access to digital assets. This new asset class primarily includes cryptocurrencies and other tokens. Cryptocurrencies simplify the transfer of money on the one hand. On the other hand, these currencies and tokens can also be used to finance start-up businesses." says Feldmeier.

One of the larger ICOs at it's start, the Smart Valor team is 35 people strong and made up of professionals with combination of skills in blockchain technology. cryptography, banking, software development and the implementation of large-scale IT projects.

The VALOR token will serve as part of a reward system for contributions, give users voting rights, taking, and other 'special privileges' still to be determined.

The ICO comes to a close soon, visit https://smartvalor.com

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss discuss the future of cryptocurrency regulations, building trust among instutional investors, the potentional of a Bicoin ETF, and more.

The Winklevoss twins are the founders of the Gemini exchange, but known outside the cryptocurrncy world best as the twins who sued Mark Zuckerberg claiming they were the actual creators of Facebook, as seen in the movie "The Social Network".  Zuckerberg settled for an undisclosed amount.

It's happening - I can now confirm that two senators, 1 Republican and 1 Democrat, are preparing to submit what I believe to be the most powerful, pro-cryptocurrency bill among all those discussed in the final days of 2018 - the 'Token Taxonomy Act'.

The bill would implement the a vital and important change - giving tokens their proper legal classification and pulling them out of the legal 'grey area' we hear about so often.

Perhaps you visited a crypto exchange or projects over the last year, but instantly it detected your US based IP address, and kicked you off with a message like 'Unfortunately citizens of the United States cannot currently participate' - well, this is why.

International crypto projects banned US citizens from investing, US based crypto projects left the country, and the theory is - there's billions of dollars sitting on the sidelines as crypto has the attention of large investors who are only waiting for these simple issues to be resolved. 

First, You Need To Understand The Problem...

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain are often mentioned alongside Artificial Intelligence and IOT technology as the 'cutting edge' tech of our time - but cryptocurrency is the only one being held back by government regulations written in the 1940's.

While cryptocurrencies are intended to be freely exchanged, the laws surrounding them are so outdated they were written for the stock market at a time when stocks were traded on paper certificates. 

In fact, the hottest new tech at the time these laws were written - color TV!

In the US cryptocurrencies are being legally classified as 'securities' (something people buy only because of the belief it will go up in value) so oversight of them goes to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). But those laws were written for the stock market, and transactions between a corporation and investor.  Most crypto transaction are one person to another (P2P) and even many business transactions are only a simple transfer of value.

Basically - a huge amount of crypto transactions are not people making investments, so can the same digital token be a security one minute, and seconds later be nothing more than the $20 your friend owes from dinner last week when he forgot his wallet?

This is why the heavy hand of the SEC simply doesn't belong here - a number of SEC staff have publicly shared this viewpoint as well.  This bill rightfully removes them from oversight of cryptocurrencies.  

Won't that leave investors/traders less protected from scammers?

No at all! Firstly, no arrests of those running crypto based scam operations saw the accused charged with being an unlicensed security. 

Secondly - fraud has been illegal even before crypto, just like lying to investors is as well - security or not. If it's a scam, there generally will be a variety of felonies for law enforcement to choose from.

The only difference would be that the CFTC would likely be the agency pressing these charges.

There's no downplaying the self-inflicted damage already caused...

As companies in the cryptocurrency space that began in the US packed up and left, they also took hundreds of jobs with them.

These companies still exist in their new locations, because they always were legitimate businesses - now they just don't pay taxes to the US government, and employ less US citizens.

No one wanted to risk continuing with building something that could be torn down the next day - even if they conducted honest ethical business. The law meant that a company based around a cryptocurrency could still be shut down - simply for existing as an 'unlicensed security'.

For some perspective, just in the first half of this month (Jan 1st-Jan 15th 2019) cryptocurrency startups raised $160 million.  Look at where those funds went - Canadian based companies brought in a hefty $80 million, the Netherlands $10 million, the UK around $5 million... but the USA? Bottom of the list with an embarrassing $100k.  Remember, that's just half of 1 month - imagine a full year.

That's not the only downside for the United States and it's citizens. Even if a startup in the cryptocurrency space isn't located in US, doing business with someone in the US means they must follow US regulations as well. Not wanting to deal with it, they've ignored the country entirely.

Even with other countries competing to take in the companies the US was losing, lawmakers failed to see this as a red flag...

I'll never understand how US leaders did not find it odd that companies leaving the US were immediately met with open arms by other developed nations. Switzerland among the most aggressive encouraged them to choose an area of their country being called 'Crypto Valley' because of the amount of companies that have accepted the invitation.

It's one thing to watch your Nation's elderly leadership simply not understand what was happening or why it mattered, it's another thing to then see one getting it right. 

Once the birthplace of countless breakthrough technologies, the United States now finds itself being abandoned, and ignored.

Light at the end of the tunnel...

The Token Taxonomy Act is on the verge of being introduced in the House, where it will soon begin the process of becoming law. The bill's original authors, Congressmen Warren Davidson (Republican, Ohio) along with Darren Soto (Democrat, Florida) are working together to give it a bipartisan introduction.

Speaking directly with Michael Hiles, Congressman Davidson's adviser on the issue and CEO of blockchain solutions company 10XTS, I was able to confirm a target date of February 14th (Valentines day) for the bill to be officially introduced.

The objectives as explained by Congressman Davidson are:

“This bill clarifies a 1946 court case that the SEC has been using to determine what a security is and effectively makes it clear that the finished product (cryptocurrency token) is no longer a security." he's also fully aware of the issues causing the US to fall behind, adding "This bill provides the certainty American markets need to compete with Singapore, Switzerland, and others who are aggressively growing their blockchain economies. To be certain, there will be other regulatory initiatives at some point, but this legislation is an essential first step to keeping this market alive in the United States."

There's a number of reasons to believe these efforts will be successful.  With members of both political parties presenting it, assistance from newly launched cryptocurrency advocate groups in Washington DC, and a US President who currently has a cryptocurrency fan as his Chief Of Staff in the Whitehouse.   I go into detail in another article i've written "Why the new pro-cryptocurrency bill WILL PASS in 2019..." read that here.

But just because the odds seem in our favor, the cryptocurrency community should't just relax and hope for the best.

Tweet, e-mail, and post on the Facebook pages of your representatives! Click here to find your Congressional representative by zip code - and feel free to take any of the points made in this article and use them in your message.

Michael Hiles tells me the bill is currently getting it's final touches, they're 'adjusting the language based on feedback' - then it's ready to go! 

We have several reporters assigned to following it's progress, we'll have updates as soon as they're available.

After another reporter here at the Global Crypto Press Association uncovered a fake CoinBase tech support phone number appearing on various Google search results (read that here) we reached out to CoinBase to make them aware of the issue.

A page located on LinkedIn created by the scammers to help distribute the fraudulent phone number.

Today in a post on the official company blog, CoinBase's VP of Security addressed the issue directly, saying:

"If someone calls you posing as a Coinbase or computer support agent, watch out! This is most likely a tech support scam. The fraudster will tell you that there’s a virus on your computer or something wrong with your Coinbase account, and ask you to install remote desktop software or provide your Coinbase login credentials so they can “diagnose the problem.” In reality, they’ll use the access you’ve granted to transfer your cryptocurrency to their own wallets. Remember, Coinbase will never call you."

We're always on the hunt for the latest methods used by scammers, if you spot something new contact us at Contact@GlobalCryptoPress.com

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As you may remember, we ended 2018 with members of congress submitting new pro-cryptocurrency laws via bills designed to update US regulations - allowing for industry growth, and giving citizens the freedom to fully participate in the markets once again.

However, this was submitted on their final day of 2018 in Washington DC. This means it was only symbolic, because there's not enough time to actually call a vote before they're dismissed to return in the new year. Officials do this to simply show citizens and fellow members of congress what's on their agenda.

We thought it could be months in to 2019 until anything cryptocurrency related would be addressed again.  Even when thinking optimistically, expecting anything during the ongoing "government shutdown" seemed unrealistic.

Well i'm happy to admit - we were WRONG!

Barely 2 weeks in to the new year, things have just been set into motion. Wasting no time, the first of several bills has just been introduced - along with a new route towards it becoming law.

This is perhaps a good time to read why i'm predicting all of these bills will pass if you missed that report a couple weeks ago. It's not just wishful thinking, the odds are highly in our favor for several reasons.

I'll be honest - isn't the most exciting bill of the bunch, but it's an important first step.

Now officially submitted as House Resolution 528 and titled "To provide a safe harbor from licensing and registration for certain non-controlling blockchain developers and providers of blockchain services."

In short, this addresses laws regarding the transferring of money.

The current laws were written before cryptocurrency existed, but because they are worded with such broad terminology, they still apply to it. These strict guidelines also come with large fines for companies violating them.

However, as cryptocurrency advocates will point out - these laws were intended for the banking industry and simply don't make sense when applied to cryptocurrencies. They provide no protections for businesses or consumers in regards to cryptocurrency transactions, but they do slow down technological progress and business growth.  Many in the cryptocurrency industry simply left the U.S. to find other countries with more reasonable and up-to-date laws to take their companies to.

As before, the bill is being introduced by members of both parties - Republican Tom Emmer, and Democrat Darren Soto.

The bill will first be examined and discussed within the Financial Services committee, which Congressman Emmer sits on. The financial services committee is made up of members of both parties, and if they sign off the rest of congress is likely to as well.

Following this passing, next up will be the “Resolution Supporting Digital Currencies and Blockchain Technology” and the “Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.” Separate but also potentially to be re-introduced is the "Token Taxonomy Act"which is possibly the strongest, as it clearly removes the 'security' classification from all tokens.

The largest investment firms have repeatedly expressed their hesitation to jump in to the cryptocurreny markets citing the outdated and confusing regulations, never sure which law written long ago for something else would be used to regulate cryptocurrency.

If and when all 3 pass we can expect the full return of the cryptocurrency markets, likely surpassing the all time highs set in 2017.

The first thing to know before you submit a press release is - don't assume it's as simple as choosing anyone who says they can do it, and thinking it's all the same. I'm not saying it's hard, unless it's not done correctly. People thinking 'no big deal' then clicking the first link they see or responding to the first e-mail offer they receive, will likely regret it.

After guiding so many through the process over the last 2 years, I have a pretty good overview of things those launching an ICO or other blockchain/cryptocurrency project need to avoid when posting and submitting their project's announcements.

Many, possibly most of projects that contact us started by making one of these mistakes first. I know i'm a member of a 'rival' organization - so I encourage you to question what i'm saying, see if it all adds up and look for yourself.

Poor targeting:

The first big misstep is going with a service that distributes it to 'all major news outlets'.  Frankly, none of them are going to cover your start-up.

When's the last time you've seen a cryptocurrency/blockchain project like yours on CNN? If you have it's been one of the big players, companies doing $100 million or more in annual revenue. Hopefully one day, but that probably isn't you today. So don't pay someone to contact the mainstream media.

If you're willing to pay some insanely high prices you can get in some of them.  The one I hear of most often is Forbes, and sure it's great bragging material for a couple tweets.  But if your budget matters i'll save you a lot of time and money - their readers invest in stocks, and few crypto investors read it.

That site you think would be great, may not be...

The other very common waste of money is some of 'biggest' cryptocurrency news sites.

Like I said, don't trust me - look. Go to whatever site you see as the biggest for crypto news, I won't name names (and it doesn't matter because the top 3 all do this) then without using Google, find where they publish the press releases.

Now ask yourself - would have ever clicked there if you were't told to?  We both know the answer is no.

Let's think about this logically, who's more likely to get a larger response? Someone in the 'press release' section of a site getting 100,000 hits a day, or someone on the front page of a site getting 50,000? A site may be getting 100,000 daily visitors - but i'd be shocked if even 5000 visited the press release section.

But they'll make you pay like you're going on the homepage, that's actually part of why it works.  It's a popular site and their rates are expensive, so you feel like you're about to get some big-time exposure.  By the time you realize what actually happened it's too late, they already have your money.

What you should be looking for...

I'm biased, but i'm not saying "use us or you'll regret it" and i'm sure there's other quality services out there for your ICO/project announcements and press releases.  I've only heard about what other places do wrong, obviously no one contacts us to say they're happy with someone else.

But the advantages we offer are worth noting, and really you should look for these factors anywhere:

- Make sure your press release isn't just being 'sent out' - it needs to be PUBLISHED. Your press release sitting in the e-mail inboxes of various news site staff member's does nothing. We make sure it's published, on several great crypto-centered sites and newswires.

- We're syndicated! So what we publish here also gets published elsewhere. By working with a syndicated outlet you're paying for exposure on 1 site, but actually getting many.  In our case, this includes several great crypto sites and the Google News platform and app, we are an approved publication there. This this will impact the search result of someone looking up your company too, as Google puts  news results with the search results.

- Focus on sites specific to cryptocurrency, every person who sees your announcement should be potentially interested. Of course, this is unless you have a product with a wide use-case already built and available.

I think that's about it. If you need to get the word out about your project, visit our page on submitting your cryptocurrency press release.

So what's next for McAfee and his campaign?  He hopes to win the libertarian party nomination and make it to the debates - where he says he'll only talk about cryptocurrency!

 “Do not ask me about immigration, foreign relations, education etc. I have no idea. Those claiming that they do are lying to themselves, or if not, they are purposely lying to you."

He keeps this blunt honesty going when discussing the end goal too, saying:

"I don’t want to be president. I couldn’t be ... no one’s going to elect me president, please God."

The guys behind the song have some others worth checking out too, we spoke to them to find out where people can hear more of their crypto-based hiphop:

"You can find us on YouTube and Soundcloud."

...and what else they have planned for 2019:

"We plan on releasing much more music and music videos. We're going to continue focusing on the Coinbros brand and pushing cryptocurrency to the forefront. Also we will be heavily involved in the tunetrade platform. We believe that 2019 will be a great year for the cryptocurrency movement."

You can visit the McAfee 2020 campaign site at https://mcafee2020hq.com

If you're reading this article, odds are your first response will be 'I don't need this' and it's probably true.  What you may be forgetting - the dozens of friends we all have that could seriously benefit.

There's no reason to beat around the bush, the cryptocurrency world can be quite intimidating to someone first dipping their toes into the water.  Ask a question that makes it obvious you're new, you'll find out quickly how that water is scolding hot - we've all seen what happens if someone asks something along the lines of 'what is a private key?' to a website full of experienced traders.

Trying to find the information needed to teach yourself is also surprisingly hard now, I just took a look for myself while doing research for this article, and wow - I had no idea how hard it really is.  While there's plenty of sites offering information, among the top google search results - most are actually clever ads for various exchanges and other services hoping to 'help' someone make their first investments.

For someone ready to just dive in, buy Bitcoin and learn as they go, they likely won't understand that the first search results they're seeing are actually misleading pages trying to selling them Bitcoin Cash.  The big headline text simply says "Buy Bitcoin" and the small text underneath reveals it's not BCH, not BTC! Even then, to someone new to cryptocurrency they probably still don't know the difference between the two.

If you started your venture into cryptocurrency before 2017 - clearly things have changed.

With that in mind, think back to when cryptocurrency exploded in 2017 and everyone from old highschool friends, to family members, were asking you about it. It was fun at first, but next bull run get ready for it to happen again.

So it's obvious, there's a need for a place someone can learn the ropes, ask basic questions without being mocked, and get answers that aren't from someone also sending referral links hoping to earn commission.

These are the reasons why Crypto Ed was created!

Created by experts in the fields of technology, telecommunications and financial services, Crypto Ed is designed to give someone who wants to enter the cryptocurrency space all the information they need to do it right.

Here they won't find a specific exchange or coin being promoted, they have a guide that teaches them about several of the top exchanges so the reader can decide which fits them based on what their goals are. 

Similarly, they can read up on coins and clear the initial confusion that comes from seeing multiple ones being called 'Bitcoin' and learn the differences of 'Ethereum' compared with 'Ethereum classic'.

First they'll begin with a basic "How to" course that comes in 4 easy to understand sections - Discovery Stage, Planning Stage, Implementing Stage, and Managing Stage.

Then, to expand their knowledge there's articles covering topics like 'The 5 Most Common Mistakes Made By Crypto Beginners' to help stop someone from making the same mistakes many of us probably did in our first few weeks, plus some serious and vital topics like security and spotting scams. Other articles such as '10 Most Important Crypto Terms' will help ensure they don't start talking crypto in forums/chat rooms and say something embarrassing that gives away their newbie status.

When they've got all the basics down - they can start learning about specific coins and decide which they want to own in the 'crypto list' section.

Now that they're no longer a newbie, they can move on to Crypto Ed's 'pro tips' and continue to learn.

Having something like this would have been great when I first started in cryptocurrency, and really  could be a great shortcut. After a couple weeks at Crypto Ed someone who just started could probably hold a conversation with someone who has been in crypto for years.

Next time someone's asks me 'how did you learn all that?' i'll say 'the hard way but only because there was no Crypto Ed' - then send them over to https://www.cryptoed.io

POZESS, a blockchain based global socially curated fashion marketplace, has officially announced its plans to transition from the current ICO to a Security Token Offering (STO), with exact dates and full details to come. The STO will be fully SEC and ESMA compliant and investors who purchase the POZESS security token will be entitled to future dividends of revenue generated by the platform. In the event that POZESS is sold or goes public, a conversion into common equity is possible.

Earlier in 2018, the company had announced plans to introduce an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) based on ERC-20 compliant utility token (PZS) for use in its ecosystem. A dual token model allows the PZS utility token to continue to be available for the users of the platform for token rewards and transactions within the platform while the company offer its investors security tokens. The decision to launch an STO will provide mutual protection, security, and commitment to valued investors and will ensure that POZESS is complying with regulatory demands across the globe.

The team has also announced a pre-STO equity round where a limited number of early investors can participate in a first come first served manner. This pre-STO equity round will give investors the opportunity to own direct equity of the company and several other early mover advantages during the security token sale.

“The decision involved careful considerations of several factors, but ultimately we believe this is the best decision for our investors and the continued progress of the company. We want the POZESS platform to stand the test of time and to ensure investors of our commitment to make the project a grand success” says Kaustuva Mukherjee, founder and CEO of POZESS.

Why POZESS has decided to transition to STO:
After an initial surge of ICOs in 2017, ICOs saw a significant drop in interest in the crypto community due to several reasons. Regulatory concerns and the increased activity of government regulatory agencies like the SEC & ESMA to clamp down on bad actors was one driving factor behind the cooling off of the ICO market. Perhaps the most pertinent reason, however, was the lack of trust among investors who have become increasingly wary of companies which raise money through an ICO only to fail or disappear with no recourse in getting back their investments.

The POZESS team has invested a significant amount of time, money, and resources in developing the platform and acquiring early users. Having a positive reputation and credibility is paramount to the team to demonstrate their commitment to the future of the project and its longevity. Securitization of their tokens protects their valued investors – each investor will be backed by the equity of the company and is entitled to future dividends and revenue sharing. The security token will also protect the company against regulatory scrutiny as it will abide by all applicable regulatory requirements including a stringent KYC/AML process.

Having a dual token strategy allows consumers to have access to all the functionalities of the platform including earning token rewards and purchasing goods and services while the security token is used to raise capital and is treated as an asset.

About POZESS:
POZESS is a groundbreaking marketplace that combines content curation, social sharing, and digital marketing into a mobile and web application dedicated to shopping and selling fashion and lifestyle products. With a UX that delivers a more seamless customer journey than legacy apps like Pinterest and Instagram, POZESS enables users to share photos and videos of luxury fashion and lifestyle goods, while instantly connecting consumers with verified merchants that they invite to sell on the platform. Each user on POZESS acts as a micro influencer and a potential marketing channel for their favorite merchants and boutiques, and helps bring more visibility and awareness to smaller retailers all over the world.

Unlike the digital offerings currently available that lack real substance, the POZESS platform is not built on just an idea or concept, but is based on a functional product with a well thought out business plan and is backed by an experienced team that has spent the past 3 years doing market research, developing an MVP, building a user community and getting user feedback.

POZESS launched its website application in 2018 and continues to have robust plans for the future, including the release of the alpha mobile application (iOS and Android) in the first quarter of 2019. Development is underway and the fully functioning beta version of the platform is expected to be released in the third quarter of 2019. Selection of retail merchants will begin in the coming months and retailers will be invited to join POZESS as early as the second quarter of 2019!

The team is proud to have built a collaborative platform aimed towards growth, security, and mass adoption, and looks forward to cultivating the multiple strategic partnerships that are in the pipeline.

To support the POZESS project and to participate in the POZESS STO, investors can sign up on the Pozess.io website, and join the telegram and bitcointalk channels.

To participate in the pre-STO round please email kaus@pozess.com.

China's ruling communist party, the People's Republic of China has announced a set of new laws to ensure blockchain technology cannot, and will not ever be used for the proposes of challenging the government.

In the new regulations published just hours ago on the official website of the government regulators, the strict new rules are laid out as follows:

(Translated)

"Follow all provisions of the "Network Security Law of the People's Republic of China", conduct real identity information based on the organization code, identity card number or mobile phone number for the blockchain information service users. If the user does not perform real identity authentication, the blockchain information service provider shall not provide related services."

No ID, no blockchain. You are not permitted to touch the tech until the government knows exactly which computers on the network belongs to you.

"Blockchain information service providers and users shall not use blockchain information services to engage in activities prohibited by laws and administrative regulations that endanger national security, disrupt social order, and infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of others, and may not use blockchain information services. Copy, publish, and disseminate information content prohibited by laws and administrative regulations."

They don't sugar coat the law's purpose one bit - they're implementing this to extend the strict internet censorship already in place, letting citizens know that blockchain technology should never be used as a way to bypass it.

"Service provider must take appropriate measures in a timely manner to prevent the spread of information, keep relevant records, and report to relevant authorities."

If censored information does begin to spread via the blockchain - shut it down, keep the evidence, and call the authorities.

"Service provider shall cooperate with the supervision and inspection carried out by the network information department according to law and provide necessary technical support and assistance."

By operating a blockchain based service, you understand authorities are to be given full access to the network and all computers on it, whenever they may request it.

"The company shall make corrections within a time limit; if it refuses to make corrections or if the circumstances are serious, it shall be given a warning and shall be imposed a fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 30,000 yuan."

Each violation can result in a fine that is between approximately $1500 and $4500 USD

On the rare occasion someone from China's blockchain tech industry speaks up, the point they usually make is how they are concerned government overreach could slow industry growth.  Surely these concerns were heard by the government, which has now answered clearly - maintaining control is priority above all else.

We've noticed many people still generally unaware it's even happening - so with the big day coming Jan 16th - now is the time to catch up and learn what to expect.

This video recorded at Ethereum's Devcon conference, features Vitalik Buterin explaining what this update includes.

To answer the most common question we've been seeing - if you own Ethereum, and don't mine it - you don't need to do anything.

Video courtesy of 'Crypto Trader' on CNBC South Africa...

Li Ka-shing is his name, and his story is an impressive one.  After his fathers death at 15 years old, he left school and went straight to the workforce to help his family, that's where he found a job in a plastics trading company - then started his own. 

It was a success, and using those funds he started a lending company that grew large enough to get listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange.  With those funds he expanded into an electrical company,  bought out investment holding firm Hutchison Whampoa.

But the company really worth watching is Horizons Ventures. The only thing Horizons Ventures invests in cutting edge tech Li Ka-shing himself personally selects. This is what sets him aside from possible rivals for the title of 'world's richest cryptocurrency believer'.  These investments are his own - not a board of directors playing with other people's money.

So far his selections have been impressive to say the least, and include DeepMind before Google bought them, and Siri before Apple bought them.

His track record makes it easy to make the case that him seeing a future in cryptocurrency really means something. Those who disagree should ask themselves - what does Ka-shing see that they don't? Because the problem probably isn't that they're smarter than he is.

This belief isn't new either, he invested in Bitpay back in 2013, and Blockstream in 2016.

However, after 2018's bear market whenever I see a company mention their big-name investors who invested in prior years, I wonder 'do they still believe? or have they been scared off'?

He's now answered that question - he's still in, so far it seems like they all are.  Generally speaking it takes more than 1 bad year to scare off a seasoned investor. In Ka-shing's case it shouldn't be too much of a surprise, Bitcoin was about $85 when it first caught his eye.

This all came to light as cryptocurrency company Bakkt, backed by the New York Stock Exchange, Microsoft, and Starbucks, released the names of 12 of the major investors who took part in their series-A funding which raised $182 million.

Among the "investors who, like us, believe in the future of digital assets" Bakkt shared, was Li Ka-Shingm's Horizons Ventures.

It's way too early to guess how his investment will pay off, currently Bakkt is on hold, pending approval from regulators.  This was expected, just part of the process of launching a service like this.

Bakkt hopes to be the key to unlocking the door to world's largest investors participating in the cryptocurrency market.  To do so, they first are undertaking becoming legal custodians of cryptocurrencies, similar to how banks that are licensed to hold fiat can assure customers that their funds are safe.

They are expecting to get approval 'early 2019' so it could be any day, or a couple months away.

Ka-shing is officially retired from running his companies, with his son replacing him as CEO. He still sits on the board of directors in a more 'advisory' role, and still is behind all of the investment choices of Horizons Ventures.