litecoin

Litecoin Gambling on the Rise

Digital currencies have been around for quite some time now and therefore it is safe to say that at least every single person will be familiar with at least one of them. In most cases, it is bitcoin, which is considered to be the mother of all cryptocurrencies having been around for the longest time. People and businesses have used these digital currencies in different capacities as they offer an alternative to cash and cards while at the same time offering transparency and anonymity, both of which are not really readily offered by fiat currency.

While digital currencies are yet to fully replace fiat in most areas, they have grown to become very useful forms of exchange and one of the most notable applications is in gambling. Still, bitcoin is by far one of the most widely accepted cryptocurrencies on online gaming platforms. However, things are changing rapidly in this regard and even though it will be almost impossible for bitcoin to be dethroned as the king of cryptocurrencies, other digital coins are beginning to at least match up to the threshold that bitcoin has reached. One of the cryptocurrencies that are headed in that direction is Litecoin.

The Perks of Litecoin

Just like bitcoin, Litecoin relies on a specific encrypted protocol that creates and transfers the Litecoin with no central authority overseeing or managing the transactions. However, unlike bitcoin, Litecoin processes a block of the ledger every 2.5 minutes as opposed to the just a little less than 10 minutes that bitcoin takes to produce a block – in essence, this implies that Litecoin confirms transactions faster than bitcoin and this great for gamblers who prefer to have their transactions to be processed as quickly as possible.

Litecoin also utilizes a memory-based algorithm which implies that there is more memory in the Litecoin system than there is in the bitcoin system. With all these goodies that are offered by the Litecoin technology, there is bound to be a catch which, in this case, happens to be that the faster and larger memory that the digital currency boasts of are much more expensive to operate.

Even so, Litecoin has managed to offer a plethora of exclusive features that have kept users streaming in for the same. Not only did the digital currency adapt very well to new technologies, but it also introduced such features as transaction canceling which is something that other cryptocurrencies are lacking. Furthermore, player safety and security are always guaranteed but as always this may depend on whether you are playing at a reputable and recommended online gaming platform that accepts Litecoin as a form of payment.

minephone-wx

A Look at the Crypto-Mining Smartphone Trend

Smartphone innovation has been at the very top of technological trends for over a decade now and just when we thought we had seen it all, we have once again come to see that there is still more to come. From the folding phones to the 5G phones that were showcased at the recent Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona Spain, tech enthusiasts were treated to bizarre and incredibly unique takes on the gadgets that have nowadays become a part of our day-to-day lives.

That said, one of the standout presentations at the MWC this year was the world’s first ever crypto mining smartphone. There have, of course, been other crypto-related smartphone innovations in the recent past but all of them mainly involved phones that could support blockchain technology. Great examples of these included the HTC Exodus 1 which was launched at a fairly reasonable starting price and could be purchased using either fiat currency or digital currency. The company hoped the new innovation would help them to steer the mobile and crypto industries to the new era of the next internet but it remains to be seen how this will all play out – the company’s mobile division has been on the rocks for quite some time now.

Wings Mobile, an Italian company headed by Antonio Milio, an Italian entrepreneur, has however chosen to take a totally different approach with by unveiling a smartphone with crypto-mining capabilities. Dubbed the Minephone WX (Wings WX), the smartphone will reward its user with a “prize” amounting to up to 2 ETH (Ethereum) on a monthly basis. This is some serious value, especially because Ethereum (ETH) and bitcoin (BTC) remain to be the top most valuable digital currencies on the planet.

How It Works

The limited-edition Minephone WX is basically a regular smartphone that uses glasses and steel to deliver on both durability and great visual appeal. At its core is a high-performance MediaTek Helio P60 oct-core SoC that powers the phones operating system and its “mining operations”.  It also has 128 GB of internal storage, 8 GB RAM and two high resolution (24 + 16 MP) rear cameras.

Obviously, there is no specialized mining equipment that can fit it into existing smartphones in order to allow mining on the Minephone WX more efficient. As such, the actual mining occurs in a third-party mining pool which the phone is connected to through a Smart Contract. The phone then receives a daily reward based on the mining power contracted.

Now, this is definitely innovation at its best but it is still hard to see how it will all play – maybe it will be a success among crypto and tech enthusiasts, or maybe not.

binance-simplex-card

Binance Now Allowing Bitcoin Purchase Using Credit Cards

On January 31, Binance, which is the largest cryptocurrency exchange on the planet announced that users of the platform will now be able to buy digital currencies using debit and credit cards. This will facilitate through a partnership that the exchange has recently inked with Simplex, a fully-licensed financial institution that is known for its fraud-protected payment processing services.

With this new system, the crypto exchange’s users will be able to buy Ethereum, bitcoin, and Litecoin among other currencies using Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards with the process taking an average minimum of 10 minutes and a maximum of 30 minutes. There will also be a transaction fee of $10 or 3.5 percent of the transaction.

According to Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, the move to integrate credit and debit cards onto the platform was mainly motivated by efforts by the company to give the traders faster, easier and more accessible methods of trading digital currencies. The partnership with Simple was therefore well thought-out since it will effectively assist in bridging mainstream payments and crypto for traders all over the world.

The use of credit cards and debit cards in crypto trading is very rare since most exchanges usually refuse them altogether or charge very high transaction processing fees in order to discourage traders from using them. This is quite justifiable due to the risk of chargebacks. These occur when fraudsters gain unauthorized access to a credit or debit card then use it to buy crypto – usually, once the owner of the card regains control of their banking accounts, the credit/debit companies will issue a chargeback and the cost may then be passed on the merchant which, in this case, is the cryptocurrency exchange. Simplex is the perfect partners for Binance since it not only solves the risk problem through what they are calling a “guaranteed fraud-less payment processing” system but also because they are one of the very few companies that will absorb chargeback-related costs.

Is This the Key to Mainstream Adoption?

Binance’s long term goal has been to avail its services available to the wider public and the integration of card payments is certainly going to help with this. As parts of its global expansion plans, the company recently launched two fiat-to-crypto exchanges; Binance.je supports trading in British Pounds and Euros with crypto while Binance Uganda is supporting trading crypto with Ugandan Shillings.

“The crypto industry is still in its early stages and most of the world’s money is still in fiat. Building fiat gateways is what we need now to grow the ecosystem, increase adoption and introduce crypto to more users,” the company’s CEO pointed out.

If crypto is going to go mainstream in the near future, there is no company that is better suited to lead the industry than Binance. The fact that it remains to be the leading crypto exchange will help a lot in pushing this agenda.

cyberdice

OneHash Announces the Release of New Bitcoin Dice Game

OneHash is a mutual bitcoin betting platform that aims to be the world’s leading mutual bitcoin betting platform. The platform focused on two broad kinds of betting, that is, sports betting and market, and since it is a mutual platform, all the odds are created by the user’s themselves as opposed to a centralized oddsmaker authority. It features bets on all major traditional sports like basketball, hockey, soccer, and rugby with esports betting being one of the latest additions to its neat portfolio. Market betting on OneHash’s platform involves betting on cryptocurrency prices as well as the prices on foreign currencies.

Sports betting aside, the platform also offers other gambling games including crypto slot titles and a dice game, the latter of which was just recently launched. Known as CyberDice, the new game is the platform’s attempt at keeping up with the competition in the Dice market. The dice game is a huge step towards strengthening the platform’s leadership position in the bitcoin entertainment market. Some of the best things that set CyberDash apart from all the rests is the improved gameplay and new features that it offers – these include regular contests, leaderboards, as well as chat communities which go a long way in strengthening the community and making it more vibrant.

More Features

The community features and contests that are featured in the game are just a part of the gaming experience but they are not all that makes it as good as the company claims it is. In essence, most of the other features are designed to appeal to the most demanding games who are always keen to see if the games they play have:

  • A provably fair system
  • Regular faucet
  • Low house edge
  • 100% mobile-friendliness
  • Unique design and UX
  • Affiliation program
  • 24/7 active support
  • Full security

Aside from all the technical details and comprehensive features, the game was further designed to offer the best possible experience, something the developer achieved by embedding it in the post-apocalyptic cyberpunk universe. The developers of CyberDash even introduced the Oracle concept which essentially foretells the future to players who are not afraid to know it. These added to the beautiful graphics and strong storytelling techniques make the game extremely fun to play.

For players who are concerned about fairness, CyberDice was designed for a wide range of users with absolute transparency being the project’s main inspiration. In fact, users are even able to check the integrity of every single roll and confirm that there is zero manipulation. The developer has also promised that the game will be improved constantly and many more features will be available in the next few weeks.

bitcasino

Bitcasino.io Launches New and Improved Crypto Casino Site

Coingaming Group-operated leading licensed bitcoin (BTC) casino, Bitcasino.io has relaunched its gaming platform with a ton of improvements that are designed to offer players the fastest and the most user-friendly casino experience in the market. In fact, the company claims that its new and improved site offers load speeds of up to eight times what its competition has to offer – the new mobile-first site loads in just two seconds, something that the new generation of tech-savvy players will certainly appreciate especially because such load speeds were unheard of in the online casino gaming scene.

Crypto-powered casinos are becoming more and more popular which makes the market even more competitive than it was just a little over two years ago. As such, it is great to see that many of the companies are investing in delivering exceptional gaming experiences to their customers. Bitcasino.io’s efforts, in this regard, is definitely going to have a huge impact on the industry.

Putting the Player First

Bitcasino.io’s has a customer-centered philosophy and this is what drove the company to dedicate a whole two months into creating one of the most advanced mobile-first and user-friendly gaming products in the industry.

“Our players wanted a faster loading site, with personalization and a wide range of search parameters at the heart of the offering. We listen closely to every element of feedback we receive and have delivered on our promises with an exceptional product,” Tauri Tiitsaar, Head of Casino at Bitcasino.io, commented.

Some of the new features that customers of the platform can look forward to include a number of options that will allow for more personalized gaming experiences. These include a decent number of configurable search filters, easy-to-use wallet options as well as wide range of revamped promotions designed to keep the players engaged and convince them to make the fast, fair and secure platform their go-to online gaming zone.

Still, on the customer-centric design of the casino, Bitcasino.io also incorporates machine learning into the revamped platform. With this feature, players will be offered games that align with their precise personal preferences. Furthermore, players will find it much easier to search for their favorite games based on the names, types, themes and even the game providers.

The new and improved site includes many other revamped features that will be implemented gradually due to the need for player feedback. However, in addition to the ones mentioned above, one of the improvements that players can look forward to in the coming weeks is the enhanced search feature that will allow them to look for games based on Return to Player (RTP) percentage, volatility, and hit frequency.

BTCXE Also in the Mix

For players who are new to crypto, Bitcasino.io has included BTCXE, the new and sizzling currency converter that turns fiat currency to bitcoin (BTC). This gives players an additional level of control and will be available on all supported devices including desktop computers, laptops, and handheld devices. Bitcasino.io has always been trying to stay ahead of its competitors and this just happens to be one of the innovative ways that they are doing it.

binance

Binance to Launch Combined Stablecoin Trading Platform

Binance, the largest crypto trader on the planet is set to release a combined market for stablecoins. This is great news for stablecoin enthusiasts not just because Tether (USDT), the most popular stablecoin is rumored to be part of the mix, but also because the sector is set to receive a lot of great publicity because of Binance’s actions – as it stands, the exchange does close to double the 24-hour volume of its nearest competitor, which makes a very great ambassador for all things crypto.

The so-called stablecoins have been all the buzz lately simply because they are pegged to solid assets such as the USD and they are growing even more popular as a number of reputable platforms have begun taking them more seriously. Tether (USDT), as mentioned earlier, is the most popular but its popularity tends to lean more towards the controversy that surrounds it.

Why Are Stablecoins Becoming Such a Big Deal?

Well, stablecoins operate based on a pretty simple mechanism, that is, a management team stores money on a bank account and this amount forms the basis of the coins that the management team of a stablecoin provider sells to its users. In essence, the system is entirely dependent on trust from its users. By trusting coin platforms, the users also have a great deal to benefit from with one of the most notable ones being the fact that they will never need to go through the lengthy processes of depositing funds from crypto exchanges back to their bank accounts anymore.

Stablecoins also allow their users to store funds in USD-denominated coins when not trading is going on hence their name. Other than Tether, there are a number of other dollar-pegged stablecoins on the market. However, even combined they are still not capable of covering the whole market once they pick up the pace of their growth. Other popular stablecoins include USD Coin and Paxos Standard. Binance believes that more stablecoins will appear from other platforms in the near future with some even being pegged to non-USD fiat currencies such as the Euro or Sterling Pounds.

Binance’s Plans

In its new joint stablecoin market venture, Binance has plans to launch a platform and there are very strong indications that Tether (USDT) will be one of them. The company further plans to change its ticker to USDⓈ with the S symbol in a circle representing specifically stablecoins on the platform.

The cryptocurrency exchange is currently actively preparing for a stable market for the new stablecoins – in fact, it appears that the company already has a solid operational scheme or plan for the period when the assets eventually begin to flood the market. This is very possible due to the very low lows that the crypto market has been dealing with lately.

whirl

WHIRL Debuts Karma Driven Blockchain Crowdfunding Platform

Over the past couple of years, some of the most mind-blowing innovations have been those that are related to crypto and blockchain technology, both of which are still are making waves in a number of different sectors. One of the latest and most polished developments is the launch of WHIRL, a socially driven crowdfunding platform that operates on the blockchain. Created by an all-star team of accomplished crowdfunding veterans, blockchain gurus, and non-profit experts, the platform will give the world a new way of financing dreams and obligations, while simultaneously introducing a truly revolutionary incentive system that is designed to encourage giving. It is also expected to significantly maximize campaign success.

WHIRL, which is currently powered by a team of 20, launches following years of research and after one and half years of development – this involved, among other things, legal vetting of the platform as the global market’s very first credible blockchain-powered consumer crowdfunding platform.

How It Works

According to the WHIRL team, the platform can be used to finance almost anything, albeit within reason. These may range from personal goals to medical bills, business ventures, and even scientific endeavors. In essence, WHIRL gives individuals, groups or organizations the ability to fund any relevant venture by simply being charitable as opposed to having them take out loans or begging for handouts.

As mentioned earlier, WHIRL is backed by the blockchain which means that it is open to everyone on the planet. The platform also guarantees an exceptional 100 percent success rate to all of the projects that are listed under its campaign – this is to be achieved using a fair and transparent queue system which limits the number that each campaign has listed at any given time. Only those that have a history of contribution on the platform are allowed to create fundraising projects.

WHIRL’s blockchain is powered by WRL tokens that are further supported by the concept of Karma, a reward system that supports the giving economy within the platform. Karma points are issued to contributors with every dollar spent on another person’s campaign earning the contributor between 7 and 20 Karma points. Moreover, in order to launch one’s own crowdfunding campaign, a threshold number of Karma points as to be attained with the size and duration of any given campaign being determined by the number of Karma points accumulated.

Reshaping Crowdfunding

Over the last decade or so, crowdfunding has stagnated significantly primarily due to fraud, oversaturation as well as very frustrating declining success rates. Keeping this in mind, WHIRL aims to solve all of these problems by simply having a limited number of campaigns running at any given time and incentivizing backers with its fair and a transparent Karma points system. This is essentially a classic embodiment of the saying “What goes around comes back around.”

trip-to-japan

Travel Far-East with CryptoSlots’ “Trip to Japan”

CryptoSlots has been making waves in both the online gambling and crypto worlds as it goes from strength to strength with some of the best crypto-powered online slot machine innovations on the planet. The Slotland-owned online gaming platform has been releasing a number of new game projects and nearly all of them have been able to deliver on the company’s mandate to give its players the very best gaming experience. Having crypto in the mix makes it even more appealing to gamblers who happen to be crypto enthusiasts as well.

“Trip to Japan” is the most recent addition to CryptoSlot’s robust portfolio on crypto-powered online slot machine titles and just like the products that came before it, the game offers some of the most attractive deposit bonuses in the business. While these bonuses will only be available until the end of Wednesday, November 14, the game allows players to spice up their far-east adventure with a bunch of other generous promotions and innovative features.

The Details

Trip to Japan is a 5×4 slot machine that includes extra features for high wins coupled with generous bonuses that will make playing a very rewarding. Despite that CryptoSlots is barely six months old, the online crypto casino which is the side project of renowned slot machine operator, Slotland, has managed to stay ahead of the competition by consistently releasing well-designed, innovative and entertaining games. Trip to Japan is its fifth slot machine title release since it was launched earlier this year in May.

In the game, players spin through samurai swords and sushi for exotic wins. It further includes Double Wilds which are meant to help the players to form winning combinations across the reel as well as scatter symbols that activate the game’s built-in Win Multipliers and Free Spins bonus round.

To play the fresh and crisp slot machine games, players only need to be of the gambling age and have an operational email address. As such, the sign-up process is not only very straightforward but very simple even for people who are completely new to online slots machine gaming. The emphasis on the crypto aspect of the online gaming platform is confirmed by its assurance that the gaming environment will always give players from all parts of the world maximum control over their wagers and maximum anonymity.

“Players don’t have to take us at our word that our games are fair, Provably Fair gives them the tool with which to prove it for themselves,” said Michael Hillary, casino manager.

As always, players who choose to play Trip to Japan will be able to use some of the most reliable and trusted cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. These include Litecoin, bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.

coingeekweek

Renowned Bitcoin Conference CoinGeekWeek Heads to London

Considered to be one of the most respected crypto-regulated organizations, CoinGeekWeek has earned a lot of praise for the immense effort that it has been putting into ensuring global adoption of Bitcoin BCH. The company has dedicated itself to campaigning for developments that will see to it that the digital currency follows the right path towards being recognized as a legitimate means of exchange as well as a legitimate cryptocurrency.

The cryptocurrency news portal has recently announced on its website plans to host their first ever Bitcoin Cash (BCH) conference and the venue for the conference will be London’s The Mermaid London. This conference will run from November 27 through to November 30 and will focus on all things bitcoin including designated slots for miners, developers as well as retailers.

“We are delighted to host this inaugural event at a time when the cryptocurrency topic is being discussed on a global platform. Over recent years, The Mermaid London’s position as a leading venue of choice for the FinTech industry has strengthened following a rise of new business wins, and we are excited to see how this event will continue to raise our profile within this growing sector,” Alicia Duncan, the general manager at the Mermaid London commented.

To put all this into perspective, the three-day conference will involve several seminars each highlighting different effort to enhance BCH mining activities – expert participation is also going to be feature majorly so as to enlighten miners on how they can get the most out of their mining efforts.

Moreover, the conference is also targeting various aspects of BCH and the roles that the digital currency has played in the global digital retail economy, which is one of its major foundations. BCH is the only digital currency that was created with global and mainstream usability in mind, that is, the goal was to make it usable by everyone and accessible from virtually everywhere in the world. With such strong motivators and clearly defined goal, the digital currency has continued to receive more support from both cryptocurrency traders and merchants who have seen the potential of its superfast network capabilities as well as its incredibly low transaction costs.

Extending Aspects of the Hong Kong Conference

CoinGeekWeek just recently held a conference in Hong Kong and according to Calvin Ayre, the company’s founder, the three-day London conference will be more of an extension of their previous conference.

“Over recent years, The Mermaid London’s position as a leading venue of choice for the FinTech industry has strengthened following a rise of new business wins, and we are excited to see how this event will continue to raise our profile within this growing sector,” Ayre said.

With just a few weeks left until the conference finally kicks offs, there has been an overwhelming number of attendance reservations especially from the enterprises who are looking to get into the crypto ecosystem.

coinbase

Coinbase Now Valued at $8 Billion Despite BTC Price Plunge

Bitcoin just turned ten but this year has been quite shaky for the digital currency. Still, while there have certainly been significant lows with regards to its price, there have also been a number of great things it has brought forth for the thriving and equally resilient crypto community. One of the biggest beneficiaries of this has been Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange whose value has been skyrocketing despite the bitcoin slump the industry has experienced in the past few weeks.

On Tuesday, October 30, the San Francisco-based company officially announced a $300 million fundraising round, which, as it turns out, brings the company’s new valuation at $8 billion. This makes it one of the most highly valued exchanges in the United States and among the top ones in the world. The $300 million deal is a massive increase from Coinbase’s previous valuation, which was $1.6 billion in August 2017.

Led by Tiger Global Management, the Series E round included participants such as Wellington Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain and Y Combinator. Coinbase plans to use the funds from these series to “accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrencies and digital assets.” Already, these plans seem to be already paying off since the company has already landed the No. 10 spot on the 2018 CNBC Disruptor 50 list, something that has been partly attributed to perfect timing – Coinbase took advantage of the huge opportunity that was created when bitcoin skyrocketed to nearly $20,000 towards the end of 2017.

Catering to Institutional Investors

Cryptocurrencies, in general, have had one of hell of a year losing over 65 percent of their value due to less retail interests. Coinbase, on the other hand, managed to invest immensely in its master plan to cater to institutional investors which has been a defining factor of the company’s success in the world of crypto. In 2018, the company has launched a suite of offerings for tailored specifically for professional investors. Coinbase Custody, one of these offerings, has just recently received regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services.

In addition to that, the company also recently partnered with Circle, another crypto-based company for a project aimed at supporting a digital currency known as “stable coin” which is being marketed as a U.S. dollar-backed cryptocurrency. This particular plan plays into Coinbase’s grand plan to bridge the gap between cryptocurrencies and fiat currency in all regulated markets as well as building out its custody offering “to bring more institutional funds into the space.”

“We see hundreds of cryptocurrencies that could be added to our platform today and we will lay the groundwork to support thousands in the future,” Coinbase President and Chief Operating Office Asiff Hirji added.

Coinbase’s equity and valuation should help the company achieve all this and more by allowing it to add new assets to its very popular trading platform.