Monero Is Now The Only 100% Anonymous Cryptocurrency

by Will Long | Sep 30, 2017 | Bitcoin, Dash, Facts, News

A new blockchain analysis firm has released surprising news about Dash and ZCash. There is only one true anonymous cryptocurrency on the market at this time, and it is Monero.

BlockSci, a new blockchain analysis firm, has successfully traced transaction from beginning to end on both DASH and ZCash. This is bad news for these blockchain projects as their biggest focus and value add is anonymity. Now this is technically gone.

The good news is that they were not able to trace transactions on Monereo. Monereo’s level of anonymity and obfuscation is still impenetrable.

MONERO Is Still 100% Anonymous. 👍

From themerkle.com:

Criminals flocking to other cryptocurrencies may want to think twice about those as well. As BlockSci’s whitepaper explains, there are very few cryptocurrencies which have eluded their scrutiny. One of those currencies is Monero, as it provides a degree of anonymity and obfuscation the group has not been able to crack just yet. Monero is officially labeled an “unsupported blockchain due to it not following the one-input one-output paradigm.” That is an interesting point which shows how Monero may be the only cryptocurrency providing full privacy and anonymity right now.

Some people may wonder how Monero is any different from Dash or even ZCash in this regard. While it is true the latter two cryptocurrencies have focused on privacy and anonymity to a degree, their implementations are far from perfect. BlockSci describes how they successfully traced both ZCash and Dash transactions from beginning to end, regardless of features like PrivateSend. This is anything but good news for people who value these currencies for their privacy or anonymity features.

In reality Dash and ZCash user don’t have to worry much. It would be expensive to hire a blockchain analysis consultant to track transactions on these privacy centered blockchains. Just know it can happen.

We still think Dash and ZCash are great. Even if transactions can be traced, it’s still a blockchain asset protected by cryptography. No one can take your crypto assets without your private key.

About Monero:

STEEM Launches Smart Media Tokens

by Will Long | Sep 30, 2017 | blog, Facts, News, Steemit

Steemit just released some very exciting news! Anyone can now launch a blockchain token on the STEEM blockchain using what is called SMTs or Smart Media Tokens.

Blockchain tokenization is becoming extremely popular with the rise of ICOs or Initial Coin offerings on Ethereum like the ERC-20 tokens and on BitShares with User Issued Assets.

Now Steem joins the world market for user created blockchain tokens, but with some unique features. Smart Media Tokens utilize a Proof of Brain algorithm by which the cryptocurrency is distributed. This simply describes the upvoting and payout structure for a system like Steemit. Now anyone can create a token for their content based project, just like Steemit.

From the Whitepaper:

Steem’s Smart Media Tokens (SMTs) give anyone the power to launch and sell Proof-ofBrain
[1] tokens, which are tokens distributed by “upvote” and “like”-based algorithms
and can be integrated with websites to align incentives and spur growth, while websites are
empowered to adopt sustainable, currency-centric revenue models. This model has been
tested and continues to be proven by steemit.com, busy.org, chainbb.com, dsound.audio,
dtube.video and other Steem interfaces, which are monetizing content, tokens and media
in a way never before seen. Source: smt.steem.io

The possibilities are vast with this development. ANY PERSON can now launch their own crypto on STEEM wich has NO FEES! That is huge. Established brands, new brands, even a competitor like Reddit could utilize SMTs for their content.

*It is important to remember that growth of SMTs will lead to more transactions on the STEEM blockchain and demand for the STEEM Crypto assets. This is great news for holders of STEEM and STEEM Power.

The News via Ned Scott – CEO, Steemit Inc:

How Smart Media Tokens Work: An Animated Explanation

Shoutout to @dougkarr for creating the video! Way to go! 👍

Steem STMs are similar to “User-Issued Assets” which can be created on the BitShares DEX. Both BitShares and Steem blockchains utilize Graphene 2.0 technology for cryptographically secure decentralized ledgers.

Graphene Technical Documentation

User-Issued Assets on BitShares Decentralized Exchange:

The BitShares platform provides a feature known as “user-issued assets” to help facilitate profitable business models for certain types of services. The term refers to a type of custom token registered on the platform, which users can hold and trade within certain restrictions. The creator of such an asset publically names, describes, and distributes its tokens, and can specify customized requirements, such as an approved whitelist of accounts permitted to hold the tokens, or the associated trading and transfer fees.

*Regulation-compatible cryptoasset issuance

Source: bitshares.org

Read The STEEM SMT Whitepaper

Earning And Rewarding On Steemit – An Explanation Of Voting Power [STEEM POWER]

by Will Long | Jul 17, 2017 | BitcoinShirtz, blog, Facts, Steemit, Video

We love the Steemit platform here at BitcoinShirtz. We think the Steemit is truly revolutionary and we produce tons of content under @bitcoinshirtz.

So What is Steemit? And what is STEEM POWER?

Steemit.com is the world’s fastest growing decentralized social media platform. Steemit connects to a robust blockchain database called Steem. This blockchain database distributes rewards in cryptocurrency to the users who bring the best content (blogs, comments, videos etc.) to the Steemit site.

STEEM can be traded for Bitcoin or other crypto assets on almost all crypto exchanges.

STEEM can be bought, but also earned. Earn STEEM POWER or STEEM DOLLARS for producing blog type content on the platform. Earnings depend on the amount of upvotes or downvotes a post receives. The voting system of Reddit works in a similar way just without cryptocurrency.

The role of voting power or STEEM POWER sounds complicated, but it is quite simple. Users with STEEM POWER are invested in the platform and have vested their stake. In return users get voting power. Everyday the Steemit blockchain pays content creators. Those that are invested get to decide with their upvotes, who should get paid. Think of a board of directors voting on a proposition, each person votes with their unique percentage. Steemit rewards work in a similar way.

An Explainer Video On STEEM POWER Produced By @sethlinson

Follow & Upvote @sethlinson On Steemit!

For a more full detailed explanation on STEEM POWER and the Steemit blockchain platform please explore the Steemit white paper. You can check out the PDF in the link below.

Read The Steemit White Paper PDF

We Accept STEEM For Our Products!

Steem is one of the many cryptocurrencies that we accept for our shirts and hoodies.

Crank out some awesome content on Steemit and use some funds to buy crypto clothing! How cool is that?

Let’s build the crypto economy. It starts with you. And it starts with us.

Buy Crypto Gear!

Join Steemit.com!

What Is Money And Where Does It Come From

by Will Long | Apr 12, 2017 | Bitcoin, Facts

Have you ever wondered how money is created, or even what is money?

Some people such as economist point out the differences between money and currency. But for the average person, they are the same.

There are many forms of money. Gold and silver have been considered money for most of human history. But over the last 100 years we have seen a rise in fiat currencies. These currencies begin as worthless paper and governments dictate the value. People must agree to it’s value and use it as a means of exchange.

Cryptocurrencies and money built with blockchain technology will consume the next phase of money. People want control of their assets and they don’t want governments printing more money at random and inflating their currency.

Good money tends to have attributes like wide acceptance, being fungible, being divisible, good at holding value, and easily transportable.

Check out this episode of the True Liberty Podcast.

Watch to learn about money, Bitcoin, fiat notes, and modern systems of central banking (and why decentralized banking is the future)

About The True Liberty Podcast

Why

The world today is broken. There is poverty, suffering, violence, and enslavement. These conditions are not the proper state of the world, nor are they necessary. This world is a reflection of the people within it; people who do not understand Truth, people who are not Free.

How

An answer without a question is a solution without a problem. The world is full of people arguing about answers, but not understanding the questions. One cannot be Free without knowing the Truth, and one cannot learn the Truth without asking questions. One cannot ask questions when one believes he already knows the answer.

What

A better world is possible. A world of Free people, people who seek the Truth. This is the world we wish to create; this is the world in which we want to live. We know it is possible, but we cannot build it alone, for as one suffers, all suffer. By asking questions, and inviting others to ask them with us, together we will learn the Truth, and the Truth will set us Free.

Who

The Co-Founders of True Liberty are Adam Ernest, Nathan Hourt, and Will Long. Read their stories on the True Liberty Blog.

trueliberty.com

Bitcoin Recognized As Currency In Japan

by Will Long | Apr 3, 2017 | Bitcoin, blog, Facts, News

As of April 2017, Bitcoin is now recognized as an official currency in Japan. The change is due to a new law which categorizes the cryptocurrency as a legal payment option.

The Good Part

New money will be flowing into the global cryptocurrency ecosystem. In this regard the recognition of Bitcoin as money is a good thing. As adoption increases, demand for Bitcoin will drive the price up. Early adopters of bitcoin will see great returns on their investment.

From newsbtc.com:

“The new developments are expected to drive the cryptocurrency usage in Japan to over $9 billion in the next three years (2020), which is more than five times the 2015’s $1.7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies in circulation.”

The Bad Part

Because Bitcoin is now recognized as legal tender in Japan, the government will step in and begin to try and regulate the currency and businesses that operate with Bitcoin.

The new law has big implications for cryptocurrency exchanges, as they will come under heavy regulatory scrutiny.

Businesses that use Bitcoin will have to deal with strict anti-money laundering requirements in addition to know your customer stipulations and annual audits.

THIS IS NOT GOOD.

Bitcoin is a decentralized currency with no central authority. The digital currency is a means to escape the regulatory harassment of governments, that only slow innovation and kill productivity.

Bitcoin Is For Free People

Bitcoin is a currency for free people. Free people know and realize that governments are simply large cartels with no real authority. They magically make new laws, that benefit themselves at the cost of their citizens.

Governments will always try to take a cut of your profit, even when you do not consent. Digital currencies built with blockchain technology prevent this.

But Blockchains provide transparency, right?

Yes blockchains are transparent and allow anyone to see the transactions. Governments may track and record Bitcoin transactions all day long, but they can’t steal your account like they can with a traditional bank account that holds fiat currency.

With Bitcoin you are in control. If you do not wish to send someone money, you don’t have to. You hold the private keys.

It will be interesting to see what governments do when they learn this. They still don’t understand blockchain technology, and will likely never fully comprehend the tech as they will always be looking for a way to control the entire currency system.

And with Bitcoin, it is almost impossible, as it is decentralized or distributed. The only way would be to take over the mining network with at least 51% of the total hashrate. At that point the attacking entity could control the public ledger. In reality, they could only deny new transactions and reverse new transactions. The blockchain history is still immutable. The majority controller in this situation would still not be able to reverse transactions from years ago, steal coins from wallets, or creat new bitcoins.

EXODUS Bitcoin Wallet Review

by Will Long | Apr 3, 2017 | Bitcoin, blog, Dash, Ethereum, Facts, Wallets

In order to obtain and store digital currency, you will need a wallet. For this post we will focus on a popular desktop wallet application for storing multiple types of cryptocurrency. Here is our EXODUS Bitcoin Wallet Review:

In layman’s term a wallet is simply software program that can communicate with a blockchain. It must have unique addresses to receive and send cryptocurrency (virtual tokens).

The Exodus Wallet Fully supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. It is rumored that they will soon support Factoids, the digital token for Factom (a project that stores digital records on the blockchain).

Exodus is rated quite well on CryptoCompare. It currently has a 4.8 out of 5 rating.

We prefer Exodus because of the beautiful user interface, private key control, and multi asset support.