Key facts of the Day 11.07.2018

Ethereum Goes to Second Base

Co-founder of Ethereum Joseph Lubin is sure that soon the crypto world will see real scalability as ethereum network enters the next stage of its life cycle. He is sure that the advanced system of the layer two will be based on the same infrastructure as ‘layer one’, and will be characterized by even greater decentralization. Second and third layer solutions will allow users to send multiple, small transactions at almost instant speeds such as buying a coffee or paying for a taxi ride. Take a look at our tutorial to find out how the ‘two layer’ system may operate.

Huobi Commences U.S. Trading Through HBUS Exchange

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has opened trading on its HBUS exchange service in the U.S. The platform launched real-time trading, supporting 22 cryptocurrencies.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

- Huobi one of the world's largest marketplaces entering the U.S. market through a partner exchange in order to address high demand on U.S. - according to HBUS

- Such cooperation will give impetus to the development of an open and competitive market in the country, providing users with an alternative service.

Pirate Bay Mines Monero Through Users

The Pirate Bay torrent tracker website has now confirmed its mining Monero (XMR/USD) on their user’s computers. That’s after an official warning appeared on the website saying that users automatically agree to those terms when using the website.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

- The website states that it only intends to use 20-30% of the processing power of each computer.

- The Pirate Bay has posted its warning in small writing at the bottom of its page, making it difficult for users to spot the announcement.

Europol Intercepts Gang Laundering Millions Through Crypto

The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) followed the trail of $2.9 million money laundering activity conducted through cryptocurrencies. Europol executed an operation against criminal organizations together with Colombian and Spanish police forces in two different locations.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

- Cryptocurrencies and crypto exchanges are increasingly being used by criminal organizations to hide their money trail.

- Operation shows that authorities are conducting robust anti-money laundering activities by utilizing tech-savvy teams, who are well equipped with all the necessary know-how.

Kaspersky Lab: ICO Investors Are in Danger

Potential ICO investors are one of the biggest targets of cyber thieves according to a report by Kaspersky Lab. In the first 6 months of 2018, company’s products have prevented over 100 thousand attempts to redirect users to fraudulent cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges, according to the company.

WHAT TO BE WEARY OF?

- Thieves have a variety of tools at their disposal aside from attacks on the web pages. Cryptojacking tools, smart contract vulnerabilities and exploiting weaknesses in third-party software.

- Criminals collect email contact details of those seeking to invest in an ICO and would distribute a fake email, asking for payments.

- They also use pages that imitate webpages of ICO’s. An example of one such phishing website, copied OmiseGo ICO, managing to steal over $1 million.

Study: Most ICO’s Fail

A small team of researchers from Boston College came to the conclusion that most ICO’ fail in their first four months.

It is worth considering that they only evaluated ICO projects through their activity on Twitter. According to the information received, only 44,2% of the projects show any activity in their account during the fifth month of their existence after the fundraiser has ended.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

- Despite such pessimistic data, researchers still believe that investing in ICO is a profitable venture. The authors of the document concluded that tokens continue to generate anomalous returns, unlike IPOs.

At 19:45 (GMT+1) total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $252,1 billion

Bitcoin (TICKER: BTC.EXANTE) $6 375,61 (-0,30%)

Ethereum (TICKER: ETH/USD.BITFINEX) $439,25 (+0,09%)

XRP (TICKER: XRP.EXANTE) $0,44 (-0,35%)

Bitcoin Cash (TICKER: BCH.EXANTE) $695,96 (-0,09%)

EOS (EXANTE: EOS.EXANTE) $7,05 (-3,88%)

Litecoin (+1,9%) showed the best growth in the top-10

Power Ledger (+9,64%) showed the best growth in the top-100

Market Dynamics

The trading volume of cryptocurrencies for 24 hours reached $12,2 billion

Mining Profitability

BTC $2,8 for 10 TH/s

ETH $0,33 for 10 MH/s

BCH $0,28 for 1 TH/s

LTC $4,2 for 1 GH/s

DASH $0,13 for 1 GH/s

Ongoing ICOs:

Expected ICOs:

Click here for the full list of ongoing ICOs.