This is the first of two articles providing a deeper dive into the eternal debate between the proof-of-stake and proof-of-work consensus algorithms. This part will focus on the basics, while also discussing the issue of wealth concentration and inequality, which is often at the center of any community argument. Bitcoin (BTC) and many of the original cryptocurrencies were born as pure proof-of-work systems. Proof-of-stake was first pioneered in 2013 by Peercoin, a project that exists to this day. Peercoin’s contribution to the popularity of PoS is likely dwarfed by Ethereum (ETH) and its goal to transition from PoW — which …

Whether crypto markets are up or down, people will still buy beer. The American beer industry has seen a 600% increase in the number of breweries between 2008 and 2016, according to data from The Atlantic. And the crypto industry really boomed from nothing in 2008 with the release of pseudonymous author Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin white paper. By 2017, thousands of new digital assets built on top of that work had found their way onto exchanges. Nowadays cryptocurrency lives somewhere in the public consciousness between a Bloomberg headline and a subculture. Cryptocurrency remains less than 100% accessible to the general …

A new report on the PlusToken Ponzi scheme shows regulated exchanges are being used to dump coins, despite stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) identify verification rules. Investigative company OXT Research has released a second edition of their in-depth blockchain analysis on the PlusToken scam. The report explained PlusToken funds generally moved from unmixed allotments and locations, to mixers. After mixers, the funds saw consolidation, and then finally distribution. OXT’s report said: “Approximately 80% of coins entering mixing have been distributed while up to 33,872 BTC remain in the mixer and 3,853 BTC are in the distribution process, resulting in a …

Bitcoin Gold (BTG)’s price is being manipulated by a whale controlling close to half of the circulating supply. These are the findings of an analysis conducted by an independent trader and analyst, who preferred to remain anonymous. He published his findings in a blog post, where he explained why he believes a single group of people accumulated their way into a huge Bitcoin Gold position, and are now using that supply to control the market. Accumulation through Bitfinex The events started in August 2018, when Bitfinex margin long positions began its sharp ascent to include almost two million BTG. The …

Blockstack PBC announced on Jan. 29 the completion of its “Milestone II” that unlocked $6.8 million from its 2017 initial coin offering. The project claims to have on-boarded one million verified users, an achievement that some in the community did not believe. Cointelegraph conducted an analysis of blockchain data to see if this claim could be confirmed. The importance of the milestone The Blockstack initial coin offering (ICO) was conducted in November 2017 through the CoinList platform. It was notable for being “SEC-qualified,” meaning that it had stronger reporting obligations to the regulators and implied that it was not at …

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has announced the launch of its on-demand compliance and investigations software for several Ethereum (ETH)-based ERC-20 tokens. The company announced in a press release published on Oct. 3 that its Know Your Transaction (KYT) tool now supports tokens such as Basic Attention Token (BAT), DAI, GoldX, Maker (MKR), OmiseGO (OMG) and 0x (ZRX). Aggressive support expansion Furthermore, the company also announced plans to roll out support for 23 additional cryptocurrencies, including XRP, DASH, unshielded ZCash (ZEC), Dogecoin (DOGE) and Ethereum Classic (ETC) over the next three months. Per the release, Chainalysis’s KYT tool is currently being …

A blockchain monitoring and intelligence platform is now offering its analytics tools to both businesses and customers to give them “insightful blockchain data for sound decision-making.” The rapid growth and increasing complexity of cryptocurrency market nowadays requires new tools for blockchain monitoring at scale and in real-time. Parsiq notes that current tools like block explorers are lacking the ability to monitor entire blockchains in real time, and they lack sophisticated analytics or abilities such as cross-chain analytics. Parsiq is a blockchain monitoring and forensics platform that offers “advanced analytical tools.” The company says that its goal is to reduce market …

Despite all of the bad press that the digital asset industry continues to receive on an almost daily basis, it appears as though the overall sentiment of the online communities in regard to this burgeoning domain is still pretty positive. For example, Comparitech — a research firm that provides its consumers with a host of specialized data that allows one to make more informed decisions — recently used a machine learning-based analysis tool to study more than 48K Reddit posts to determine which cryptocurrencies were viewed most favorably by the masses. Not only that, the study also took into consideration …

Are there any tools that make analyzing market movements simpler? If staring at charts all day isn’t your scene, there are alternatives. As we mentioned earlier, our regular price analysis feature prepares charts for you and provides written context about what might have caused these movements. Of course, data can be interpreted in different ways, and no two analysts are the same, meaning each will pick up on trends based on their own research. Therefore, it’s a good idea to stay plugged into as much crypto news as possible to guarantee that you’re getting the bigger picture. Charts and articles …

New York-based blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round led by venture capital giant Accel, the company confirmed in a post on Feb. 12. The fresh funding will reportedly be used to expand Chainalysis’ corporate operations, which include a proprietary Know Your Customer (KYC) product that allows financial institutions and digital asset trading platforms to vet and verify the identity of their clients. The firm reports that the latest funding round was led by Accel, “with participation from existing investors.” Chainalysis reports that it also plans to open an office devoted to research …

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) completed in the first half of January have raised around $160 million. The figure was provided in a report by ICO rating service ICObench shared with Cointelegraph on Jan. 18. ICOs completed by Jan. 15 have managed to raise about 33 percent of the combined amount raised in the previous month of December. Half of that sum was secured by just one project, the report notes. According to ICObench, the number of fundraisers that are set to take place in January is more than 150, a figure similar to the past seven months, excluding December. In …

Anyone involved in marketing knows the adage as old as advertising itself: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.” The reality may be worse though - not just a half, but an absolute majority of marketing budgets is wasted on customers that don’t generate enough profitability, says Peter Fader of the Wharton school of economics at the University of Pennsylvania. The rise of big data and analytics technology promises to change that situation. Today, decision-makers are increasingly able to tell a wasted marketing budget from an effective one. Nevertheless, few …