The new Raspberry Pi 4 is the undisputed champion of affordable full node hardware



The Raspberry Pi Foundation has launched the fourth major revision of its single board computer, the Raspberry Pi 4. This refreshed credit card-sized computing device introduces many long-awaited improvements, including Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band 802.11 WiFi, USB 3.0 ports, and optional memory choices.

At a mere $35, the starting price of the new board remains unchanged when compared to its predecessor. This means that the already popular Raspberry Pi platform has become an even more attractive starting point for those foraying into hosting a Bitcoin full node for the very first time.

The Pi 4: A Crypto Owner’s Dream?

The Raspberry Pi project is spearheaded by a UK-based nonprofit that aims to promote basic computer science and literacy at an affordable price point. Much like a typical computer, every single consumer iteration of the Raspberry Pi is capable of running a full Linux desktop, general purpose applications and even games such as Minecraft. However, the platform’s popularity outside the target market has exploded in recent years, and is now promoted by everyone from electronics hobbyists to cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

For the uninitiated, a full node enforces the rules of a particular cryptocurrency by fully validating new blocks and transactions. Running a fully functioning node contributes to the strength of the network and ensures that block verification remains decentralized. Needless to say, however, the vast majority of cryptocurrency users do not run a full node in their homes. While there are currently millions of Bitcoin wallets in existence, a mere 10,000 nodes are currently servicing the Bitcoin network.

Even though running a full node does not provide a user with any financial incentive, there are many non-altruistic reasons for installing one. Unlike lightweight desktop wallets, a full node eliminates the reliance on third-party servers and service providers. This guarantees user privacy and ensures that the transaction remains unaltered throughout the broadcasting process.

Many users choose to install full node software on a Raspberry Pi simply because the barrier for entry is much lower. At a mere $35 for the board and $20-50 for storage and other peripherals, the Raspberry Pi family of devices are quite inexpensive. Operating costs are also extremely minimal, with the maximum power consumption of the Pi 4 clocking in at around 10 to 15 Watts. Getting started requires relatively little technical knowledge, with detailed guides on the subject available freely on the internet.

New Possibilities

While previous iterations of the Raspberry Pi have demonstrably run full node software all the way back to the Pi 2, the initial setup process would take significantly longer than on a typical computer. This was largely due to bottle-necking at either the I/O, CPU or network level. With the Pi 4, however, all of those have been beefed up significantly. The inclusion of USB 3.0 and Gigabit Ethernet, in particular, should improve the setup experience. Furthermore, the added CPU horsepower and optional 2 or 4GB memory means that the Pi 4 can simultaneously serve as a Lightning Network node as well.

The Raspberry Pi 4 is not limited to basic web browsing or even running a Bitcoin or Ethereum full node. According to a report by TechRepublic, an 18-board Pi 4 cluster was sufficient to host a significant portion of the official Raspberry Pi website, even on the day of the launch and during peak traffic. According to the ISP responsible for hosting the website, the cluster served several million requests, while consuming no more than 100W of power.

The Raspberry Pi 4 comes with a host of additional improvements as well, including the ability to power dual 4K monitors, a faster and more powerful GPU, and support for additional communication interfaces such as I2C and UART. While these features do not directly contribute to the performance of a full node in particular, they certainly go a long way towards the Foundation’s goal of delivering a more PC-like experience for the masses.

https://beincrypto.com/the-new-raspberry-pi-4-is-the-undisputed-champion-of-affordable-full-node-hardware

Kraken Raises $13.5 Million in Crowdfunding From 2,264 Investors



American cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has secured a staggering $13.5 million in funding from over 2,000 individual investors on the online investment platform BnkToTheFuture.

Notably, the company’s minimum investment goal of $6.2 million was breached within the first couple days of the campaign.

Kraken is one of the few established cryptocurrency exchanges in North America that also offers margin and futures trading.

Crowdfunding Over Venture Capitalism

The overwhelming success of the crowdfunding event prompted Kraken to revise its total investment target from $10.2 million to $15.45 million. The final figure, however, sits between the two goals at $13.5 million, thanks to contributions from 2,264 investors.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Kraken boasts a user base of over four million and an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 387 percent. In its elevator pitch, the company said that it hopes to use these fresh funds to add new financial services and products related to the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.

Founded in 2011 as a Bitcoin-only exchange, Kraken managed to raise $1.5 million in seed funding. Nearly a year later, the exchange bagged $5 million in its Series A round. This year, the company raised a further $100 million from a handful of undisclosed investors. According to data from CrunchBase, Kraken has cumulatively raised $120.1 million to date.

In comparison, Coinbase has accrued capital worth $525 million over the course of ten funding rounds since 2012. However, while other exchange platforms have raised funds solely from venture, Kraken has gone the opposite route by choosing to approach individual investors and those familiar with crypto and blockchain technologies. In February 2019, Yahoo! Finance quoted Kraken CEO Jesse Powell as explaining,

“The reasons to not do more VC is that we don’t really need the money, and longer term it makes sense for the business to be majority owned by the users. We’d eventually like to have our interests aligned with users.”

What’s Next for Kraken?

Along with equity and other investor-exclusive benefits, the exchange told participants that they would also be given a complementary Cryptowatch Premium membership in a follow-up email. Kraken notably purchased the real-time charting and market data provider in 2017.

The company made another major acquisition earlier this year with Crypto Facilities, a UK-based futures firm, for a nine-figure amount.

While the recent $13.5 million round is undoubtedly a major success for Kraken, it remains to be seen how the company will expand its portfolio and offerings. A roadmap detailing the company’s plans for 2020 and beyond was made available for potential investors on BnkToTheFuture but restricted behind a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

https://beincrypto.com/kraken-raises-13-5-million-in-crowdfunding-from-2264-investors/

FATF tightens grip over crypto exchanges to combat money laundering



The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international organization focused on preventing money laundering and financial terrorism, finalized its recommendations on regulating cryptocurrencies. The new standards will require crypto exchanges to identify their users and share that data.

Crypto exchanges will be held to bank standards

Regulating the crypto industry has been a hot topic for years, but concrete law and regulations were rarely passed. With the exception of local regulation, there hasn’t been a well-organized, international effort to introduce new laws into the industry.

However, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization focused on combating money laundering, released a set of new standards that its 200-member states will likely implement.

According to Bloomberg, all “virtual asset service providers” (VASPs) will have to collect information about its customers and the recipients of funds and send that data to the receiver’s service provider with each transaction.

As FATF recognizes cryptocurrency exchanges as VASPs, they will essentially be held to the same standards banks and other financial service providers are. The new standards, published on Friday, June 21, are the officialization of FATF’s proposal made earlier in February.

The controversial rule was not well received by the crypto industry, as many crypto exchanges and wallet providers aren’t equipped to collect and send the data required by FATF.

New guidelines take exchanges out of the shadows

FATF’s new rules, however, were welcomed by the U.S. Treasury. Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, spoke at the annual FATF gathering in Florida, where he voiced his support for the new regulatory standards.

“By adopting the standards and guidelines agreed to this week, the FATF will make sure that virtual asset service providers do not operate in the dark shadows,” Mnuchin said.

He said that this will also enable the fintech industry to stay “one step ahead of rogue regimes” as anonymous money transferring would essentially be rendered impossible.

The task force, which is currently led by a U.S. representative, will conduct a review of how countries subject to its rules are implementing the requirements. The audit will start in June 2020.

Refusal or inability to comply with the newly established rules will be punishable by penalties and service shutdown.

According to Mnuchin, a working group has been created with the Federal Reserve that will make sure cryptocurrencies are “only used in legitimate ways.”

https://cryptoslate.com/fatf-tightens-grip-over-crypto-exchanges-money-laundering/

Major Zcash protocol upgrade to make It easier to use private transactions



The Electric Coin Company (ECC), the organization behind the development of Zcash (ZEC), is reportedly planning to make the privacy-oriented cryptocurrency as easy to use as making cash payments.

The developers of Zcash will also be adding features to the cryptocurrency which would further enhance its privacy.

Zcash should be usable by billions of people by 2050

Initially developed and launched in 2016 by the Zcash founding team, which included Zooko Wilcox, a Colorado-based computer security expert, the privacy coin currently has a market capitalization of around $778 million.

During the annual Zcon1 conference, held recently in Split, Croatia, Zcash’s #DevelopmentTeam  explained how they intend to greatly improve the existing privacy coin network. Nathan Wilcox, the Chief Engineer at ECC, noted:

"I think we should make Zcash usable by 10 billion people by 2050 if we can."

The current architecture and codebase of the Zcash blockchain network closely resembles that of Bitcoin (BTC), the flagship cryptocurrency. However, Zcash (like BTC) faces significant scalability challenges and its #DevelopmentTeam  intends to make modifications to its protocol that would allow it to handle thousands - or even millions - of transactions per second (TPS).

Using sharding to scale the Zcash Platform

As explained during the conference, the changes to the Zcash platform will most likely involve major modifications to its existing blockchain network. In order to scale the current platform, Zcash’s #DevelopmentTeam  is considering the use of “sharding” - which involves splitting the crypto's network into subnetworks and processing the data associated with them separately.

This type of implementation ensures that the network can handle a significantly large number of transactions, thus achieving considerably greater throughput.

New Zcash design could be “Entirely New Protocol”

To implement sharding on Zcash, the platform’s developers claim the current privacy coin network will have to be built (again) from scratch - or the ground up. This, according to Daira Hopwood, a Product Designer and Software Engineer at ECC, who noted that the new Zcash design could potentially be an “entirely new protocol and blockchain.”

Some key design considerations, while making updates to Zcash, would be to allow users’ ZEC holdings to be transferred to the upgraded privacy coin network. Efforts will be made to ensure that the crypto’s existing users do not lose their coins during the transition process, ECC’s team noted.

Zcash’s private transactions not being widely-used

Notably, one of Zcash’s major challenges, which the upgrade intends to address, is that hardly anyone is using the cryptocurrency’s private transactions (TXs). While private TXs are the default setting on leading privacy coin Monero (XMR), the Zcash network does not enable private transactions by default.

At present, less than 2% of ZEC transactions are private, however the planned upgrade will reportedly aim to resolve this issue - in order to make it easier for a larger number of users of use private TXs.

Project’s development requires sustainability

To ensure that the project’s development is sustainable, its developers believe that ECC and the Zcash Foundation (an organization that also supports Zcash’s development) will have to continue to work cooperatively.

There also needs to be adequate funding for the project in order for it to achieve its long-term development goals. Currently, the day-to-day operations of the ECC and the Zcash Foundation are mainly funded through mining rewards. However, compensation via mining will reportedly end at some point next year.

https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2019/06/major-zcash-protocol-upgrade-to-make-it-easier-to-use-private-transactions

Cardano: Shelley Testnet’s ‘networking and incentive reward model’ features will be rolled out soon



Cardano’s long-awaited Shelley Testnet was launched on 21st June. The latest upgrade which has been categorized into different stages involves hosting a “self node” as its first stage, with the big potential of setting up the incentive system as its third stage.

David Esser, Senior Product Manager for Cardano at IOHK, defined the first stage as “blockchain in a box.” The “self node” is basically a full blockchain which could be run on a user’s computer and also allow them to test the “core capabilities.”

In the latest edition of “The Cardano Effect,” Esser stated,

“This is the beginning of Shelly, not the end. We’re still going to deliver the full capabilities we talked about but we’re going to start by working with the community and testing core capabilities”

The senior executive also revealed that “networking between different servers” and setting up an “incentives model” had not been launched on the testnet yet. Esser further added that the two features will be rolled out soon.

The next phase of the testnet is implementing “networking” capabilities. This essentially, would enable users to run nodes on separate servers and “have those servers be talking to all the other servers,” stated Esser.

Following the same is the incentive model which will not only involve delegation and staking, but also testing the incentive reward model for the purpose of studying how testnet supports human interaction. Esser added,

“Humans are unpredictable, so we have this model designed with parameters built in and now we have to see how it behaves in the real world and adjust the parameters to match what humans do and so that’s going to be really really really interesting.”

https://ambcrypto.com/cardano-shelley-testnets-networking-and-incentive-reward-model-features-will-be-rolled-out-soon/

Cryptocurrency is “More Convenient” than cash and society is ready for adoption, head of the Central Bank of Russia says

Cryptocurrencies are being used more each time in the field of geopolitics, transcending the image of being just an experimental technology promoted by some fintechs and enthusiasts. After drawing the attention of the G20, several countries began to evaluate the possibility of issuing their own cryptocurrency, however, no powerful nation had shown a real, concrete interest … until now.

According to the Russian news website TASS, the Bank of Russia is considering the possibility of issuing a national cryptocurrency, although they are not yet able to see this as a priority for the near future.

In statements to the Russian press, the head of the Central Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina praised the technology behind cryptocurrency, putting the “crypto vs fiat” debate on the table: “It will be more convenient, it is electronic money for people, for citizens. Are we ready, as a society, to refuse cash?” – she said, flirting with the possibility of crypto winning the fight by adding that “digital currencies are in some sense the readiness of society”

Nabiullina also commented that the Russian government is evaluating this possibility even though the legal framework makes it difficult. She explained that besides the legal aspect, technologies must mature a little before cryptocurrencies can be considered a state policy:

“Indeed, the Central Bank Digital Currency cannot be realized immediately, however many central banks, including the Russian Central Bank, are exploring this possibility .. If we are talking about the national currency, which works as a whole in the country, that is, these are not private assets, of course, this requires that the technology allows ensuring reliability and continuity. Technologies must be mature, including distributed registry technologies“

Is Russia Tempted to Use a National Cryptocurrency for Strategic Reasons?

Since 2017, there has been much speculation about the government’s interest in issuing a “Crypto Ruble” but after several contradictory statements, it seems that the official position of the Russian government tends more towards the “Blockchain yes, Crypto no” kind of philosophy.

Just two weeks ago, Ms.Nabiullina talked about how the Russian bank was against the legalization of cryptocurrencies due to the risks associated with their volatility.

“We are against the legalization of cryptocurrency as a means of payment. We believe that there are big risks for those who hold cryptocurrencies, we need to protect our citizens from risky investments” She said to Russian outlet Pravo. But this problem would not apply in the case of stablecoins, much less in the case of a Central Bank Digital Currency or a state-issued cryptocurrency – that is, there is no inconsistency between this statement and the one issued two weeks later.

Interest in using cryptocurrencies has increased after U.S-imposed trade sanctions intensified, affecting Russian commercial and banking activity – and draining Vladimir Putin’s patience. Russia’s State Duma member Vladimir Gutenev suggested the emission of a gold-backed stablecoin used for mutual settlements. It is important note that in february this year, an oil-backed stablecoin was also proposed

The Central Bank of Russia reported in May a growth in its gold reserves, which went from 487 to 492 billion dollars in one month. This movement has placed Russia in the number one position among the biggest global purchasers of gold.

Also, recently a senior executive of the Venezuelan government also stated that both countries are discussing the possibility of using russian Rubles and venezuelan Petros (a cryptocurrency issued by Venezuela) as a means of payment in bilateral trades

https://ethereumworldnews.com/cryptocurrency-is-more-convenient-than-cash-and-society-is-ready-for-adoption-head-of-the-central-bank-of-russia-says/

Cardano Updates Its Roadmap – What’s In For Investors?



Cardano (ADA), the proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain network built on peer-reviewed academic research, is being developed into a decentralized application (dapp) development platform with a multi-asset ledger and verifiable smart contracts.

Cardano’s blockchain aims to be highly scalable, interoperable, and sustainable for real-world applications on an enterprise level to build the economy of the future.

While that all sounds amazing, the project still has a lot of work to accomplish, and IOHK (Input Output Hong Kong), the parent company of Cardano, has released an updated roadmap outlaying progress towards its 2020 vision:

https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1136201044323708928

Cardano’s 5 Eras

Cardano’s roadmap can be broken down to 5 eras, namely Byron (Foundation), Shelley (Decentralization), Goguen (Smart Contracts), Basho (Scaling), and Voltaire (Governance). Each of the eras is centered around a primary goal with various releases and developments throughout the era to achieve this goal.

The eras are completed sequentially, with research and development of future eras overlapped with one another (some of the work is being done in parallel). The first era (Byron) was officially completed this year, and now the primary focus is on completing the Shelley era.

Currently, Cardano is in the Gougen era but is still very much focused on Shelley, which is supposed to be completed by the end of the year. Shelley’s mainnet is now live, and as its development continues, research and development for Goguen, Basho, and Voltaire will begin in parallel.

Cardano’s roadmap is only updated until the end of 2020. By this time, Cardano’s development is expected to be vastly completed, and the focus will be on the blockchain’s governance (the Voltaire era).

See below, a visualization of the 5 Cardano eras, and how they are being developed in parallel with one another:



Final Thoughts

As seen in the image above, the era we are currently in (Goguen) is right in the middle. It is intended to be one of the most formative eras of Cardano’s roadmap, as it’s tipped to be the one that brings mass adoption. However, IOHK is still working on finalizing Shelley, and then Goguen is set to be completed in the first half of 2020.

By then, it’s expected that Cardano will have achieved a sufficient level of adoption with real-world use cases.

A competing cryptocurrency project that has already achieved real-world adoption is Ethereum (ETH), which is being adopted by enterprise businesses such as Deloitte, Microsoft, Amazon, Ernst & Young, and others.

Therefore, Cardano has some serious competition, and it will be interesting to see how these two projects compete once their roadmaps and blockchain technology are completed.

https://www.investinblockchain.com/cardano-updates-its-roadmap-whats-in-for-investors/

World’s Major Banking Giants Invest $63M into the New Digital Token



Global banking giants together announce the Utility Settlement Coin (USC) cryptocurrency to leverage instant cross-border settlements at reduced costs.

Despite showing major hostility for several years, global banking institutions are warming up to the idea of digital currencies. Earlier this year in February 2019, Wall Street giant JP Morgan became the first banking giant to join the crypto bandwagon by announcing JPM Coin.

Now, a number of financial firms are falling to the idea of having a digital currency for quick international settlements. Fourteen banking institutions from across the U.S., Asia, and Europe have partnered with London-based Fnality International for the development of blockchain-based digital currency dubbed as Utility Settlement Coin (USC).

Leveraging the blockchain technology will help these companies to achieve instant high-value international settlements at low costs. For this USC project, Fnality has supposedly received over $63.1 million in capital investments by these banks. Some of the participating banks include State Street of the U.S., Barclays from Europe, Credit Suisse, UBS, Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and MUFG Bank.

In fact, the WSJ report notes that the UBS token will function as a payment device as well as a “messenger that carries all the information required to complete a trade”. Besides, it will function under a fully permissioned blockchain system.

Speaking to WSJ, UBS investment strategy head Hyder Jaffrey, said: “You remove settlement risk, the counterparty risk, the market risk. All of those risks add up to costs and inefficiencies in the marketplace.”

Digital Token For Banks

Although banking institutions are joining the crypto bandwagon, their concept of using digital tokens differ largely from the other decentralized crypto tokens like Bitcoin, Ether, etc. The decentralized tokens are driven by the demand-supply economy and function over a distributed ‘public’ ledger.

On the other hand, these banking institutions plan to use their crypto tokens internally among themselves. The idea is just to leverage the potential benefits of blockchain like instant settlements, lower costs, reduced risks, higher transparency, etc.

Like for e.g. JP Morgan has already cleared that its JPM Coin will be available only to its institutional clients for instant global settlements. However, if all works out fine, the bank could possibly release the digital token for retail use in the future. Head of JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon, said: “JPMorgan Coin could be internal, could be commercial; it could one day be consumer”.

Similarly, Fnality will create individual accounts of all the participating central banks. Then, it will issue the USC against the digital equivalent of these major currencies. Once the transfer of USC tokens is done, they will get converted into the paired currencies before getting deposited.

Thus, the USC token will be a facilitator and intermediary for instant money transfers. Besides, being backed by central bank currencies reduces the risk of price fluctuations while offering a stable method for interbank transfers.

The USC coin will work similarly to Ripple’s xRapid solution that uses the XRP tokens for instant settlements.

https://www.coinspeaker.com/banking-giants-invest-63m-new-digital-token/