US Pentagon Created a War Game to Fight the Establishment with BTC

Documents reveal the Pentagon created a war game in which players were rewarded in Bitcoin for taking down financial institutions.

June 08, 2020

US Pentagon Created a War Game to Fight the Establishment with BTC - NEWS

In the midst of ongoing protests across the United States, some turned violent by police brutality, one publication has uncovered information on a Pentagon war game created in 2018 that has an uncanny resemblance to current events.

According to a June 6 article on The Intercept, documents reveal the United States Pentagon created a game called the 2018 Joint Land, Air and Sea Strategic Special Program (JLASS). In the scenario, members of Generation Z — people born starting in the mid-1990s — are rewarded in Bitcoin (BTC) for their efforts starting a rebellion, i.e. “Zbellion”.

Players in the fictitious United States in the 2020s are given the proceeds of their attacks on target corporations, financial institutions, and political and non-profit organizations that support "the establishment" in the cryptocurrency.

According to the document, “Zbellion uses software programs to route any proceeds into laundering programs that ultimately convert national currencies into Bitcoin” and makes "small, below the threshold donations" to "worthy recipients", including members who conduct the attacks or have a financial need.

Echoes of the real 2020s
Though purportedly created in 2018 — before the coronavirus pandemic and the rising authoritarianism of Trump and his supporters in Congress — the backstory of the game resembles the current forces driving some towards cryptocurrency in the United States.

The JLASS cites governments providing “erroneous or misleading information into official websites intended to confuse citizens and create mistrust” while citizens lose faith in traditional information networks. The scenario accurately describes Trump’s attempts to use social media to obfuscate the truth.

Meanwhile, the Zbellion begins with rallies and protests to “expose injustice and corruption”. People across the country are currently gathering in major cities to demand justice for the police murder of African-American George Floyd.

Protesting with Bitcoin
In the actual 2020s, it’s not just the youngest generation moving towards crypto in response to “a feeling of unsettlement and insecurity”.

Cointelegraph has reported on how Bitcoin can be a tool for protesters of all ages against financial institutions. One crypto YouTuber even moved to Saipan to escape the “totalitarian tyranny” he predicted was about to occur in America.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-pentagon-created-a-war-game-to-fight-the-establishment-with-btc

US Pentagon Created a War Game to Fight the Establishment with BTC

Documents reveal the Pentagon created a war game in which players were rewarded in Bitcoin for taking down financial institutions.

June 08, 2020

US Pentagon Created a War Game to Fight the Establishment with BTC - NEWS

In the midst of ongoing protests across the United States, some turned violent by police brutality, one publication has uncovered information on a Pentagon war game created in 2018 that has an uncanny resemblance to current events.

According to a June 6 article on The Intercept, documents reveal the United States Pentagon created a game called the 2018 Joint Land, Air and Sea Strategic Special Program (JLASS). In the scenario, members of Generation Z — people born starting in the mid-1990s — are rewarded in Bitcoin (BTC) for their efforts starting a rebellion, i.e. “Zbellion”.

Players in the fictitious United States in the 2020s are given the proceeds of their attacks on target corporations, financial institutions, and political and non-profit organizations that support "the establishment" in the cryptocurrency.

According to the document, “Zbellion uses software programs to route any proceeds into laundering programs that ultimately convert national currencies into Bitcoin” and makes "small, below the threshold donations" to "worthy recipients", including members who conduct the attacks or have a financial need.

Echoes of the real 2020s
Though purportedly created in 2018 — before the coronavirus pandemic and the rising authoritarianism of Trump and his supporters in Congress — the backstory of the game resembles the current forces driving some towards cryptocurrency in the United States.

The JLASS cites governments providing “erroneous or misleading information into official websites intended to confuse citizens and create mistrust” while citizens lose faith in traditional information networks. The scenario accurately describes Trump’s attempts to use social media to obfuscate the truth.

Meanwhile, the Zbellion begins with rallies and protests to “expose injustice and corruption”. People across the country are currently gathering in major cities to demand justice for the police murder of African-American George Floyd.

Protesting with Bitcoin
In the actual 2020s, it’s not just the youngest generation moving towards crypto in response to “a feeling of unsettlement and insecurity”.

Cointelegraph has reported on how Bitcoin can be a tool for protesters of all ages against financial institutions. One crypto YouTuber even moved to Saipan to escape the “totalitarian tyranny” he predicted was about to occur in America.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-pentagon-created-a-war-game-to-fight-the-establishment-with-btc

Trending Bitcoin News and Market Sentiment June 5th, 2020: Celsius Network DeFi Platform Breaks $1 Billion in Crypto Deposits, CME Bitcoin Futures Records Fast Q2 Growth

Bitcoin daily high at USD 9,875
Celsius Network breaks USD 1 billion in crypto deposits
CME Bitcoin futures record fast growth this quarter

Bitcoin prices are still hovering in the same range, with a higher daily high of USD 9,875 (CoinDesk) so far, suggesting that another weekend piercing of the USD 10,000 barrier could be on the cards. Traders will be wondering if this is deja vu, since last weekend we saw a huge breakout, only for the past week to take down the price brutally to even USD 9,000 before the slow ascent began.

In any case, we now turn our attentions to decentralized finance (DeFi), with one of the largest such platforms for lending and borrowing has seen a record of USD 1 billion in total crypto deposits since it first appeared in 2018. Celsius Network claims to have returned some 80% of its total revenue to all users, paying out the crypto community some USD 17 million in interest payments, of which USD 12 million was in Bitcoin, and USD 3 million was in its native CEL token.

This is good news for many in the blockchain industry, who will see this as a sign of strength even despite the huge economic repercussions of this year as a result of stagnating growth and a pandemic lockdown still in effect. Earlier in March, Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky said that theirs had been the first platform of its kind to finally turn a profit, as others like Maker DAO experienced huge losses when Black Thursday liquidated hundreds of users’ deposits.

Celsius also revealed last month that it had expanded its userbase by supporting tokenized gold, with other commodities to also be tokenized in the near future.

DeFi firms have been talking a lot about bringing financial and banking services to the unbanked, although this has yet to happen seriously. Celsius will look to address this and its CEO says they will provide the superior alternative through crypto. He explained that the Celsius app was designed in such a way that people would use it to bypass the “race, gender, credit score or job status” restrictions imposed on them by traditional finance:

“We look forward to the day when billions of people leave the antiquated traditional banks behind and choose to unbank with Celsius. We proved we can bring the power back to the people.”

Very big dreams from a DeFi platform but let’s give them the chance to make it work!

Meanwhile, blockchain data analysts Skew has put out fresh data that shows that the interest in Bitcoin derivatives interest is growing quickly in this quarter, propelled by leader CME Group, which offers Bitcoin options. This is based on the fact that during the past weeks, the brokerage has increased its share of Bitcoin options open interest by a distance, dominating the derivatives market.

Open interest is the total volume of derivative contracts yet to be settled. An all-time high was already set in May but that mark has been growing quickly. As of today, there is a total of USD 256 million in open interest, only USD 3 million short of the record. This compared to only USD 2 million in open interest at the start of the year. Skew summarized: “Bitcoin options open interest growing fast this quarter.”

When looking at it on wider timframes, Bitcoin markets continue to be dominated by exchange-based futures operators such as Deribit, OKEx, and LedgerX. Others who have been hyped like Bakkt, which is physically settled Bitcoin futures and not an exchange, has almost negligible figures when compared to CME, with just USD 69,000 in open interest.

Coin Metrics had earlier said that overall Bitcoin trading volume was mainly pushed up by derivatives markets. It said:

“Similar to other asset classes, derivatives markets in Bitcoin are several times larger compared to spot markets. If reported volumes are to be believed, gaining exposure through derivatives markets may be the most efficient path.”

https://bitcoinnews.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/trending-bitcoin-news-and-market-sentiment-june-5th-2020-celsius-network-defi-platform-breaks-1-billion-in-crypto-deposits-cme-bitcoin-futures-records-fast-q2-growth/

Top Analysts Lay Out Compelling Case for $12K Bitcoin Within a Month

The price of Bitcoin may hit $12,000 within the next month if it sees a breakout above $10,000, traders say.

June 01, 2020

Top Analysts Lay Out Compelling Case for $12K Bitcoin Within a MonthMARKETS NEWS

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) could rise to as high as $12,000 within the next month, some traders say. Predictions for an extended uptrend emerged as the dominant cryptocurrency steadied amid declining volatility for about five days.

Historically, Bitcoin tends to see large price movements following a long period of stability. For over 100 hours, the price of Bitcoin remained in a 2% range, which is an abnormally low level of volatility for BTC.

Why are analysts saying $12,000 is possible, and why is Bitcoin set to see high volatility?
Since late 2019, the price of Bitcoin has moved within a cycle determined by its all-time high in 2017 and local peak in June 2019. Every attempt to break out of the cycle in the past 10 months led to a steep sell-off in the cryptocurrency market.

Bitcoin failed to break out of its multi-year cycle in the last three attempts

Bitcoin failed to break out of its multiyear cycle in the last three attempts. Source: TradingView

In October 2019 and February of this year, the price of Bitcoin rose to as high as $10,584 and $10,550, respectively. In the following four weeks after surpassing $10,000, the price of BTC dropped to $6,400 and $3,600, respectively.

The question technical analysts are asking is whether Bitcoin is ready to break out of the dreaded cycle this time around, starting a new bullish trend.

The most compelling case for a breakout above $10,500 in the near term, which would kick-start a new bull market, is the ongoing consolidation of BTC at $9,500.

The term "consolidation" in trading refers to the price of an asset declining slowly as traders approach the market with caution. Continued consolidation just below a key level such as $10,000 for a relatively long period of time indicates the probability of a breakout is increasing.

A trader known as Benjamin Blunts who predicted the $3,150 bottom of Bitcoin in 2018 said:

“When BTC finally does break out of this range it's going to be explosive, I’d say $11k within 3 weeks and possibly $12k within a month.”

A bullish scenario for Bitcoin in the short-term

A bullish scenario for Bitcoin in the short-term. Source: Benjamin Blunts

Prominent Bitcoin options trader Theta Seek raised a similar point. Looking at a different data set, the trader suggested that BTC is unlikely to stay in the $9,000s for a long time:

“Been seeing alot of bearish tweets, but I think that this is the last 1-2 weeks that you'll ever be able to buy BTC under $9k.”

https://cointelegraph.com/news/top-analysts-lay-out-compelling-case-for-12k-bitcoin-within-a-month

Ethereum Classic Follows Its Sibling’s Footsteps With Phoenix Hard Fork

Ethereum Classic performed its scheduled upgrade to bring Ethereum’s Istanbul features to the classic chain, making the two protocols fully compatible with each other.

June 02, 2020

Ethereum Classic, the twin sibling of the Ethereum network, performed its scheduled Phoenix hard fork on May 31, which included features from Ethereum’s earlier Istanbul fork.

The upgrade means that the two networks share virtually the same protocol, and are thus fully intercompatible. The hard fork was scheduled for block 10,500,839, which was mined at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time on May 31.

The fork is the third in a series of recent upgrades aiming to bring Ethereum Classic in line with its more popular sibling. In December, the Agharta fork ported Constantinople features to ETC, while Atlantis was activated earlier in September 2019.

The inclusion of Istanbul features means that the two projects “reached protocol parity,” Ethereum developer Afri Schoedon said.

Some minor inconveniences occurred as a result of the fork, with a small portion of miners remaining on the old chain. Some clients have also not been synchronized with the hard fork, notably Hyperledger Besu. The ETC team said that this should not affect the network as Besu was primarily used in enterprise settings.

What’s next for Classic?
Ethereum Classic can be considered the “original” Ethereum, where the consequences of the DAO hack were not reverted. Despite this, it has so far failed to attract major decentralized app developers, while its own native DApps remain small in comparison to competitors.

Its ETC coin has nevertheless obtained some traction. It was recently introduced to Gitcoin as a payment option for developer bounties, even those not for Ethereum Classic.

In February, ETC was introduced as a collateral form for Fantom-based decentralized finance, acting in a similar fashion to Ether (ETH) on MakerDAO.

Reaching protocol parity could allow Ethereum developers to directly port their apps to the sister blockchain. However, many other smart contract platforms are also compatible with Ethereum, for example Binance’s recently introduced Smart Chain.

It remains to be seen if Ethereum Classic will succeed in attracting a robust developer community as a result of its recent developments.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-classic-follows-its-siblings-footsteps-with-phoenix-hard-fork

Phoenix hard-fork successfully activates on Ethereum Classic  - ETC coin
Stevan Lohja

May 31, 2020

Phoenix marks the 3rd hard-fork completed within 1 year on the Ethereum Classic blockchain. The Atlantis, Agharta, and Phoenix hard-fork completed the ETC-ETH agenda making way for more valuable research and innovations to come.

Miners

The vast majority of the network hash is onboard Phoenix with a fraction of hash still on the old chain, but slowly decreasing as seen here.

Nodes

Major exchanges, wallets, infrastructure providers, and other services are updated for Phoenix. Of course, check your apps for updates and ensure the services you use are Phoenix updated.

Core-geth, OpenEthereum, and Multi-geth Phoenix releases are in sync, but Hyperledger Besu became out-of-sync during the activation. Since Besu is not currently used by any services and rather known individuals (devs), then this client’s issue is not negatively impacting the network.

Secure your nodes post Phoenix

We understand a lot of ETC consumers were dependant on the Parity Ethereum client. However, Parity Ethereum is no longer maintained by Parity Tech and moved onto a community-managed OpenEthereum project. Multi-geth is also now a community-managed project. As the Parity Ethereum client family and Multi-geth have no solidified Ethereum Classic support. You should consider migrating to Core-geth sometime after Phoenix to secure your nodes. Hyperledger Besu is a relatively new enterprise client for Ethereum Classic, but it has the support and hopefully back up and running very soon.

More Phoenix/ network stats:

https://phoenix.fault.dev/

https://etcnodes.org/phoenix

https://expedition.dev/stats/miners?network=mainnet

https://etcstatus.live/

Congratulations to the Ethereum Classic community of developers, individuals, and ecosystem consumers who participated in this concensus-wide event. 3 hard forks within 1 year! My god you all are rock stars!

https://medium.com/etc-core/phoenix-hard-fork-successfully-activates-on-ethereum-classic-4f88ef1c50d6

I watched Bitcoin as it hit a high of $10,429 in trading today!!! And it's holding well above the $10,000 price level!!

It hit a high of $10,429 which is over $200 higher than what most of the Bullish analysts were predicting, they were predicting a high of around $10,171, when Bitcoin makes it's Bull run.

Does this mean that the Bulls are a lot stronger than even what the analysts were predicting? What are your thoughts? Where does the Bitcoin price go from here?

Cardano: Update on Shelley’s progress, ADA price extremely bullish

Jake Simmons By JAKE SIMMONS  May 31, 2020

Following the announcement of the rollout plan, IOHK has reported on the development progress of Cardano’s Shelley.
The Cardano (ADA) price has been flying high over the past month, reflecting the high expectations for Shelley’s launch.
As CNF reported, last week, after a long wait, the time had finally come: Charles Hoskinson, CEO of Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK) and inventor of Cardano, announced the launch date for Shelley. According to the published rollout plan, the Shelley hard fork will take place on July 29, 2020, and the first staking rewards at the Shelley mainnet will be available from August 18.

Apart from the great announcement, there have been some other advances last week, which IOHK has now informed about in a new article. On Tuesday the second wave of pioneers for the Friends & Family test network was welcomed, which means that 58 stake pools are now active in the network. IOHK has also created a new faucet to replace the previously manual process of distributing the test (“fake”) ADA. For the time being, the faucet is limited by an API key, but will be available to all testers with the start of the public testnet on June 9th.

Cardano Node 1.12.0 was already re-released on May 28th. The update contains further improvements for Byron on the mainnet, but is also important for Shelley and the testnet, as it includes the integration of most Shelley functions within the node and the corresponding support in the command line tool, which have already been released and are being tested on the Cardano Shelley testnet.

In addition, the Combinator hard fork, which is scheduled to take place on June 23, was run through a first round of testing, with IOHK being “very satisfied” with the results. For the coming week, the focus will be on quality assurance for the Combinator hard fork, wallet integration and the tests by the db-sync team, which form the basis for third-party wallets and the blockchain explorer. IOHK continued on this topic:

Next week, we are wrapping up with exercises and major use cases for stake pool operators. With further updates to the CLI, we are going to test out different protocol parameters. We’re close now to wallet integration with QA activities up next.

The primary focus for the QA team now is to improve the CLI experience. Compared to last week’s ‘big bang’ releases, we are now focusing on a large number of incremental improvements that will provide reliability and improve performance.

Cardano price is extremely bullish!

Probably as a result of the announcements about Shelley, Cardano (ADA) is currently one of the best performing cryptocurrencies on the market. The ADA price has increased by around 13% in the past 24 hours alone. On the weekly chart, ADA’s price has risen by around 42%, and on the monthly chart by as much as 63%. Cardano (ADA) thus outshines all other cryptocurrencies within the top 20 by market capitalization, as did Bitcoin, which “only” recorded a price increase of around 11% in the last 30 days.

https://www.crypto-news-flash.com/cardano-update-on-shelleys-progress-ada-price-extremely-bullish/