International peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange LocalBitcoins will soon become supervised by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Finland, as the firm announced on its blog on March 25.

Helsinki-based LocalBitcoins wrote that the Finnish Parliament approved new legislation that will provide a legal status for cryptocurrency assets on March 13, 2019.

The authority has passed a proposal for a new Act on Virtual Currency Service Providers that is expected to come into force in November 2019.

The parliament also voted for an amendment to the Act on Detecting and Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing that will bring all crypto-related services such as wallet providers and exchanges under Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws.

According to LocalBitcoins, the adoption of the acts will contribute to public recognition of crypto by presenting major cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) as a viable and legit financial network.

Along with the regulatory announcement, LocalBitcoins also stated that it is developing tools to increase compliance with regulators.

On March 18, LocalBitcoins launched a new account registration process, and is now working on a more efficient and safe identity verification process. The company noted that corporate accounts will undergo a separate verification process.

Previously, Cointelegraph reported that a crypto exchange and wallet service in Finland was experiencing issues with local banks that refused to work with crypto-related businesses. Specifically, Prasos platform became a subject of concerns among the banks, with at least four banks refusing to deal with the entity.

Earlier this year, Cointelegraph also reported on a hack attack that led to a phishing LocalBitcoins clone website link being posted on the official LocalBitcoins forum. As a result, the alleged attackers reportedly managed to steal around $28,000 worth of Bitcoin at the time of the report.



SOURCE: https://cointelegraph.com/news/localbitcoins-announces-supervision-by-financial-supervisory-authority-of-finland

Microsoft-owned search engine and advertisement platform Bing noted that it blocked over five million cryptocurrency-related ads last year in its “Ad quality year in review 2018” report published on March 25.

Bing notes that the pseudo-anonymity of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) “made cryptocurrency a prime target for fraudsters and scam artists to defraud end-users.” Bing claims that this is the reason for the ban of cryptocurrency-related content from its advertising platform that resulted in over five million ads being blocked.

Bing also notes that its ban against weapon advertisement resulted in over 18 million ads being blocked alongside over 5,000 websites. Lastly, the company claims that its efforts to fight tech scams lead to the closure of over 12,000 Bing Ads accounts.

In May last year, Bing joined other internet giants in announcing it would ban cryptocurrency-related advertisements on its network by July 2018. The company then stated in an official post:

“Because cryptocurrency and related products are not regulated, we have found them to present a possible elevated risk to our users with the potential for bad actors to participate in predatory behaviors, or otherwise scam consumers.”

Before Bing, Facebook banned cryptocurrency ads in January 2018, as did Google in March of the same year. Twitter soon followed with a ban on advertising for initial coin offerings (ICO) and token sales.

While the firms have previously introduced bans on crypto content, those policies have not necessarily reflected the thoughts of their top executives. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is a vocal Bitcoin advocate. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also expressed interest in digital assets, telling CNBC last year:

"There are important counter-trends to this, like encryption and cryptocurrency, that take power from centralized systems and put it back into people's hands. I'm interested to go deeper and study the positive and negative aspects of these technologies, and how best to use them in our services."

SOURCE: https://cointelegraph.com/news/microsofts-bing-blocked-over-five-million-cryptocurrency-related-ads-in-2018

Dash News presenter Isabel Barrios unboxing review of the KRIP K55 Dash-enabled smartphone by Kripto Mobile that was purchased from market mall in Caracas, Venezuela.

Kripto Mobile, announced in December 2018 that they had sold more than 66,000 Dash-enabled KRIP phones in Latin America.

All KRIP phones come with a suite of Dash apps designed to make a complete Dash ecosystem user-friendly experience possible. These apps include the official Dash wallet for custody, Bitrefill for spending Dash and Uphold for buying Dash.


SOURCE: https://dashnews.org/isabel-unboxing-review-of-dash-enabled-krip-k55-kripto-mobile/

From previous posts and comments, I observed that many here are hodlers. If guinness would ask for candidates for the World's Strongest Hands, would you nominate yourself? This is just for fun guys. Let's vote!

Crypto-currencies have faced a lot of criticism since Bitcoin first came on the scene 10 years ago. But for one group of people, they're proving very useful.

Venezuela has seen its currency rendered practically valueless after suffering one of the worst periods of hyperinflation since World War Two.

A cup of coffee now costs 2,800 bolivars (21p; 28 cents), up from 0.75 bolivars 12 months ago - an increase of 373,233%, according to Bloomberg data. And that's after a 2018 devaluation that knocked five zeros off the currency.

More than three million Venezuelans have left the country, as essential goods such as toilet paper and medicine have become unaffordable and crime has soared.

As a result, many are turning to digital assets such as Bitcoin as an alternative to the Venezuelan bolivar.

And given how volatile Bitcoin is - its value has plunged from nearly £15,000 in 2017 to less than £3,000 now - it's an indication of just how desperate people have become.

Even the government has launched its own crypto-currency, the Petro, supposedly backed by oil, to provide a solution to the economic crisis.

But critics say it is a sham and there is no evidence of anyone using it.

Eli Meregote, 28, has been using Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies as a way of sending money home from Colombia where he now lives and works, avoiding the fees usually associated with money transfer services such as Western Union.

"I first discovered crypto in 2017 when I lost my job in Venezuela," the CCTV technician says. "Even if I had my job, it would've been useless anyway, because the minimum wage was $4 a month."

Cryptos offered him "total control" of his money "without banks or third parties", he says. "With Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies, I can send money home faster and without obstacles."


Bitcoin was designed to be a global, digital currency that governments and banks couldn't interfere with. Like many other crypto-currencies it works by recording all transactions permanently on a distributed ledger called the blockchain.

Critics say Bitcoin and other cryptos - there are more than 1,600 globally - are unstable, use too much energy, and are used by money launderers or those wanting to buy illicit goods on the web.

But for Venezuelans, storing their money in a digital wallet in the form of Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dash or any of the others, is still a better option than holding on to the national currency.

Adoption has rocketed, with trading volumes on Localbitcoins.com - a person-to-person Bitcoin trading platform - rivalling those of the US.

Although trading volumes dipped in March due to a power cut that plunged the country into darkness for days, February saw trading levels reach £6.84m ($8.76m) per week and nearly £1m per day, according to crypto-currency data tracker Coin Dance.

"Many Venezuelans are using Bitcoin to convert their bolivars, which are being permanently devalued by hyperinflation, to keep something of value," says economist Asdrubal Oliveros of Caracas-based consultancy Econanalitica.

"It is practically a vehicle for buying foreign currency and to conserve value, as it is relatively easy and you can keep small amounts which do not involve large investments.

Mr Oliveros points out that in Venezuela many people work as freelancers, receiving their pay in bitcoin since in most cases they do not have accounts abroad that allow them to make transfers in dollars.

"Receiving payments in bolivars does not make much sense," he says.

Matt Aaron, who manages the Venezuela arm of Bitcoin.com, the crypto-currency news and trading platform, says: "We pay our team members in Caracas in Bitcoin Cash. Transactions are instant and cost less than a cent to make."

Ricardo Carrasco, 29, an IT engineer who is paid in bitcoin, is a fan of the crypto-currency.

"It has given me access to the financial world outside Venezuela," he says. "We are not free to exchange our currency for US dollars or any other currency. We don't have access to the banking services of the world, so crypto allows you to bypass those barriers."

Mr Carrasco sells small amounts of Bitcoin on Localbitcoins.com and other exchanges, and receives money in bolivars to his Venezuelan account. He is then able to buy goods with his card as and when he needs to.

"It is a pretty simple, straightforward process," he says.

But Venezuela's government is intervening, recently launching a remittance service that caps the amount of crypto-currency someone inside the country can receive. It has started earning commissions from the transactions.


SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47553048

Dash trading pairs have been added to the Cryptofacil exchange including a promotion for free trading, expanding Dash liquidity.

The Latin America-based exchange announced last week the integration of Dash trading pairs to the platform. These pairs are with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the popular USD-based stablecoin Tether. In addition, the exchange also launched a temporary promotion, where customers using the “DASHFREETRADES” invite code may trade on the platform at no fee. This promotion lasts until the end of March.

Launched in September of 2018, Cryptofacil has partnered with Bittrex, a top-50 cryptocurrency exchange with over $50 million in daily adjusted volume. This partnership expands cryptocurrency trading options to Latin America and the Caribbean.


Dash’s focus on expanding access in Latin America
The addition of Cryptofacil expands Dash’s liquidity and accessibility in Latin America, a key region for the currency. Last month CoinBene added Dash as well, bringing Dash to Brazilian markets with more than 3 million active users.

Currently, the Latin American countries of Colombia and Brazil represent some of the strongest areas for Dash adoption, with 2,454 Dash-accepting businesses currently listed in Venezuela on the largest merchant directory listing Discover Dash, and 327 currently listed in Colombia. Expanding liquidity in this key region to support growth is a major goal of the global Dash community.


Dash is a top-three performing coin following initial exchange listing
Dash has fared as one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies following initial exchange listing. According to data pulled from DataLight, Dash ranks in the top-three best-performing cryptocurrencies following their first listing on an exchange with 39,500% increase, behind only Bitcoin and Ethereum with 1.3% million and 68,200% respectively. The nearest competitor, Binance Coin, ranks a distant fourth with 13,100% growth since its initial exchange listing.


SOURCE: https://dashnews.org/cryptofacil-exchange-adds-dash-trading-pairs/

Let’s get started:

There’s a huge learning curve for any experienced developer looking to break into the world of decentralized applications (dapps) for the first time.

Building with blockchains is hard — from deciding which platform to build on top of to learning the intricacies of each smart contracting protocol… There is a lot of ground to cover for new developers.

And even after learning the ins and outs of core Ethereum tools — solidity, truffle, infura — you still have to solve for usability hurdles.

Luckily, there are a number of tools that have been shipped over the last couple of months to take on some of these challenges for you. We’ve compiled this list to help you understand which projects are solving different web 3 UX challenges.

Hopefully this will give you a better picture of usability in the Ethereum ecosystem, and enable you to create a dapp that is easy for the average web consumer to use!


Let’s dive in:

1. Wallets:

While we are all familiar with wallets like MetaMask, EQL, Balance, and Coinbase Wallet, there are a lot of new innovations happening around wallets to improve user onboarding.


Portis - https://www.portis.io

Portis has a javascript SDK that enables dapps to provide users a local walletless experience. Portis handles setting up a wallet, signing transactions, and gas fees. Portis makes engaging with your dapp feel like a web 2.0 experience. And users still control their keys — Portis just stores them securely.


Fortmatic - https://fortmatic.com

Fortmatic is a Web 3-compatible JavaScript SDK that enables end-users to interact with any dapp with just their phone numbers on any modern desktop or mobile browser.


Burner Wallets - https://github.com/austintgriffith/burner-wallet

Burner wallets enable new users to quickly transact right from their browser. Austin Griffith has been leading the community in developing this approach — which worked flawlessly at ETH Denver.


2. Out of the Box Tools:

Embark by Status - https://embark.status.im

Embark is a developer environment that’s designed to help you get a dapp up and running as quickly as possible. It comes packed with some pretty powerful features right out of the box:

- Automatic smart contract deployment — Embark takes care of deploying your smart contracts as well as re-deploying them as you make changes to your code.

- Client development — Build your application with the framework of your choice within Embark.

- Testing — Test your applications and smart contracts through Web 3 in JavaScript.

- Decentralized app distribution — Embark integrates with decentralized storages like IPFS and helps you distribute your app in the network.

- Peer-to-peer messaging — Send and receive messages via communication protocols like Whisper.


Blocknative Assist - https://blocknative.com

disclosure: I’m working with Blocknative and am a huge fan of the tool.

Assist.js helps dapp #DevelopmentTeam s onboard new users easily — enabling them to transact with more clarity and confidence.

How? By programmatically identifying and outlining clear steps for end-users to follow. This helps users overcome common obstacles, and prevents common pitfalls.


Assist is broken into four parts:

1. Readiness Assessment — programmatically detects each user’s technical readiness to engage with your dapp.
   
2. Onboarding Assistance — an out-of-box, componentized UI that guides users through the actions they need to take to be ready to use your dapp.
   
3. Transaction Awareness — gives onboarded users real-time feedback on their in-flight transactions, including how to handle common pitfalls and errors.
   
4. Performance Analytics — gives developers baseline visibility into both the ‘transaction readiness’ and the ‘transaction experience’ of your dapp so you can understand where users are struggling.


Dapparat.us - https://github.com/austintgriffith/dapparatus

Austin Griffith created a set of reusable react components for dapps. Some of the components included are: contract loader, metamask, gas, transaction ui, event parers, etc. It’s a great starting place for those looking to own their full code base.


3. Design Systems:

Design systems are a series of components that can be reused in different combinations. They’re meant to enable designers and developers to scale best practices and consistent design across large projects. Think of bootstrap as one of the OG design systems.

For Web 3 design systems, check out:

- Rimble (ConsenSys Design) — https://rimble.consensys.design/
- Lorikeet (Aragon) — https://lorikeet.design/

disclosure: I used to work at ConsenSys.


4. Open Source UI:

A few projects have made parts of their design open for the community to build on:

- Decentraland UI — https://github.com/decentraland/ui
- Bounties UI — https://components.bounties.network/
- Aragon UI — https://ui.aragon.org/
- Meta UI — https://github.com/universelabs/meta
- Metamask UI — https://github.com/MetaMask/metamask-extension/tree/develop/ui/app/components


5. Popular Frontend Ethereum APIs:

These are a collection collection of libraries which allow devs who are already familiar with JS or react to build dapps and/or integrate ethereum smart contracts.

- Web 3 JS — https://github.com/ethereum/web3.js/
- Web 3 React — https://github.com/NoahZinsmeister/web3-react
- Vortex (react) — https://github.com/Horyus/vortex
- Tasit (react native) — https://github.com/tasitlabs/tasitsdk
- Drizzle (react) — https://github.com/truffle-box/drizzle-box
- Ether JS — https://github.com/ethers-io/ethers.js/


Build something that users want…

My good friend Ryan recently gave a talk titled “Dapps are cool… dapp users are cooler.” His point was that decentralized applications can’t change the world if we don’t get people to start using them, and we won’t get people to start using them if we don’t improve the UX.



SOURCE: https://hackernoon.com/ethereum-ux-tools-the-ultimate-guide-aad1cd2c128

Bitrefill has lowered its prices for refills in Venezuela to subsidize mobile phone top-ups, and begun integrating Dash Text, to help in the face of nationwide blackouts.

Bitrefill offers a variety of vouchers and gift cards, as well as mobile phone top-ups, for cryptocurrency. During recent power and internet blackouts in Venezuela, the company noticed a sharp uptick in purchases from that country from customers using cryptocurrency to refill their mobile phone credit, as cellular service has remained operational during the blackouts. In a recent post, Bitrefill outlined a pricing reduction to help alleviate the situation:

“Our team held a meeting to see if there were any ways we could help. We reviewed tweets from Venezuelans teaching each other how to get reconnected using top-ups from Bitrefill.com. We also saw some concern about the pricing of our Venezuelan telecom products.

We don’t have a direct connection in Venezuela and thus we pay a premium above the face value to acquire refills there. We were already selling these products at cost, but we decided to subsidize these products and reduce the selling price to face value, so until further notice, refills in Venezuela will be priced at face value according to the LocalBitcoins.com BTCVES rate.”

Bitrefill currently supports payments in a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Dash, with instant voucher delivery with InstantSend transactions. Additionally, a 10% temporary discount is offered when paying with Dash.

Today we start refilling Venezuelan phones for free! we have enough to do 100 refills, if you want to contribute to help more Venezuelans communicate during the blackout, you can contribute here, each refill is about 1$ USD, we hope to get to 1000 refills. Let’s go! pic.twitter.com/cSdbHRPmD8

— Dash Text (@dash_text) March 13, 2019

Dash Text collaboration to enable offline refill purchases, fund free refills by donations
Additionally, Bitrefill confirmed to be in the process of working with SMS wallet provider Dash Text to integrate into the platform, allowing for the purchase of mobile top-ups via simple text message rather than requiring an internet connection:

“We’re also assisting a Dash Text project trying to make it possible to order via SMS, enabling people without smartphones to top up with our vouchers. Dash is also offering a 10% discount at Bitrefill.com when users pay with Dash.”

To further help Venezuelans struggling with financial and infrastructural issues surrounding the blackouts, Dash Text has launched a donation campaign to subsidize the refills of customers unable to afford them. Dash Text posted a Dash donation address with the hopes or raising enough funding to gift 1,000 free refills.


Offline solutions increasingly important
As power and internet connectivity conditions in some parts of the world become less than ideal, offline solutions for cryptocurrency become increasingly valuable. During recent Venezuelan blackouts causing power to be shut down around the country, cryptocurrency transactions were not able to be performed traditionally. However, Dash Text was still operational, with transactions able to take place due to cellular networks still remaining intact. Because of this, Dash is one of the few payment networks operable in the country during a loss of power.



SOURCE: https://dashnews.org/bitrefill-reduces-prices-on-venezuelan-vouchers-works-with-dash-text-to-circumvent-blackouts/