China is building smart cities on the blockchain

JD finance, the financial subsidiary of a Chinese e-commerce company, JD.com, offers financial services to individuals and businesses. The fintech arm of JD.com, that deals mainly in financing loans, asset management, payment solutions, and crowdfunding, has opened a smart city research institute in Nanjing. By using blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and big data, JD.com aims to ease the construction of a smart city with its latest research institute established at its headquarters.

Pay for your starbucks with crypto

New website that let's you buy your coffee up to $10 at starbucks with cryptocurrency. Coffee 4 Crypto is the new website that allows for this ease of conversion.

Ripple Officially Launches xRapid

xRapid Now fully Available for Commercial Use as Announced by Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse at the Ripple Swell 2018 conference in San Francisco.

Garlinghouse also made known that three financial firms are already set to first utilize this crypto product, Mercury FX , Cuallix, and cooperative financial firm Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union.

xRapid is Ripple’s product that will allow financial institutions to easily send cross-border transactions instantly with very cheap fees when compared to other traditional ways of transaction formats.

This Integration is the first time XRP is fully going out to the global market for widespread commercial use by financial institutions and is a huge development that will definitely take the crypto sphere for massive adoption and Part of financial Mainstream

Investors are getting too optimistic about AMD's prospects

AMD's stock is significantly outperforming the market this year. Its shares are up 213 percent year to date through Wednesday versus the S&P 500's 9 percent gain. The company's stock is the top-performing name in the S&P 500 this year.

Celebs that love cryptocurrency

Ashton Kutcher

That ‘70s Show actor, Ashton Kutcher, is a keen technology investor. He owns his own venture capital firm, A-Grade Investments, which has financed companies like Uber, Spotify and Airbnb in recent years. His company has invested in BitPay, the payment processor that allows merchants to accept payments in Bitcoin. Kutcher is also big on blockchain tech and the benefits of decentralised currencies, about which he spoke in detail at the 2012 TechCrunch Disrupt NY.

Mel B

The former Spice Girl, Mel B, has partnered with London-based CloudHashing, to become one of the first artists to accept payments for music in Bitcoins. She believes that the use of digital currency lets her fans from across the world unite, using one currency.

Jamie Foxx

Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx has been involved in promoting the cryptocurrency exchange, COBINHOOD, which allows investors to trade cryptos with zero trading fees. While COBINHOOD’s ICO launch practices were regarded as somewhat controversial, celebrity involvement helps to crease a buzz around crypto trading and investing.

Nas

Rapper Nas has a flourishing career in the venture funding sector. His firm, QueensBridge Venture Partners, has invested in many companies, including the digital-wallet company, Coinbase.

Lionel Messi

Football star Lionel Messi is the global brand ambassador of Sirin Labs, the creator of a blockchain-based secure smartphone and PC. As a star with more than 90 million followers on his social media channels, Messi helped in spreading awareness about the benefits of blockchain.

Mike Tyson

Speaking of sport stars, boxing-legend Mike Tyson got into a partnership with Bitcoin Direct to introduce Bitcoin ATM, including a digital wallet for Android and iOS. He is a firm believer in the “Bitcoin Revolution” and the huge potential of the underlying technology.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Renowned actress Gwyneth Paltrow is also an entrepreneur. Bitcoin-based wallet start-up, Abra, pitched an idea to her during the shoot of one of her movies, which she liked immensely. Paltrow joined the project as an advisor.

Rapper Ghostface Killah

Famous rapper Ghostface Killah has invested in Cream Capital, which is involved in building the largest network of crypto ATMs in the world. The company offers tokens, called Cream Cash.

The Game

Hip-hop musician The Game joined the team at ParagonCoin in its 2017 ICO, which aimed to create a cannabis revolution on the blockchain.

Richard Sherman

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman had announced on Facebook that his online store would start accepting Bitcoin payments, since it is the “currency of the future.” Sherman wanted to support an increasing number of fans who wanted to pay through this medium.

Argentina & Peru

Peer-to-peer market crypto trading hits record high in Peru and Argentina: P2P cryptocurrency trading activity has witnessed record highs in recent times in Latin American countries of Peru and Argentina following a lowly performance back at the start of this month.

In the previous week, Argentinian Peso (ARS) and Peruvian Sol (PEN) both experienced record activities in trading pairs with Bitcoin (BTC). The fragile economic condition and global interest in cryptocurrencies are seen as the vital reasons behind this sudden increase.

Could this be the running of the Bull for crypto?

Fingers crossed and my eyes are glued to the charts.

Cryptocurrency Will Revolutionize E-Commerce And Enrich Small Business

2018 has proven to be a remarkably difficult year for cryptocurrencies and at the moment it seems like the bear market will never end. Fortunately, cryptocurrencies exist for more than mere speculation and while the 2018 bear market may have crushed cryptocurrency prices, partnerships and adoptions have been on the rise. It’s during trying times such as these that we should remind ourselves that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology exist to provide transparent, secure transactions that free up commerce from invisible hands and return power to the so called ‘little man’.

Venezuela Raises Minimum Wage 3,000% and Lots of Workers Get Fired

Since the new minimum wage was announced, business and industry groups in Caracas held a flurry of meetings. Lawyers have been holding advisory sessions with clients, and there have been difficult sit-downs among owners, employees and unions, all players in the nation’s heavily regulated employment economy.

Vizcaíno says he can’t let go of workers easily. If they believe they have been fired wrongly, they can complain to a Labor Ministry court, setting off a lengthy bureaucratic process akin to a trial.

Not far from Vizcaíno’s auto shop, dozens of workers fired after Maduro’s wage announcement gathered at the Labor Ministry’s doorstep. Many arrived as early as 7 a.m. seeking legal guidance on their dismissals but were prevented from entering after appointment times ran out. Many inspectors had been dispatched to see whether pharmacies, shops and factories closed without permission. Workers anxiously posed questions to officials who told them to come again the next day. Disappointed and confused, many left.

I think i found my new company vehicle

84 MPGe sign me up like asap. Man i need one of these for my freeway car this would really cut down on costs.

Crypto news

Google is reversing part of its sweeping ban on cryptocurrency-related advertising and plans to allow regulated crypto exchanges to buy ads in the United States and Japan. The new policy starts in October.

Bitcoin as A Cure for Africa’s Cash Addiction

Bitcoin is pushing the boundaries of economic change in Africa. In East Africa, a new deal between digital currency exchange Bitpesa and a Japanese firm shows Kenyans are using bitcoin to pay for used Japanese cars, cosmetics and electrical gadgets. In Nigeria, Sure Remit is helping make cash transfers cheaper and in Zimbabwe, TV subscriptions, university fees, and second-hand car imports.

Markets Update: Cryptocurrencies Dip Again Forming Consolidated Support

Just when cryptocurrency prices were starting to look better, digital asset markets shaved around $19 billion USD off the entire crypto-economy. Today the cryptocurrency ecosystem’s 1,900+ coins have an overall market capitalization of about $210 billion and about $14 billion in global trade volume.

This Tuesday bitcoin core (BTC) is valued around $6,435 as the cryptocurrency is down 2.4 percent over the last 24-hours. Still holding the top trade volume position BTC has about $4.4 billion in daily volume with a market valuation of around $111 billion. Ethereum (ETH) prices have dropped by 9.9 percent this Tuesday and one ETH is trading for $210 per coin at the time of publication. The third highest valued market capitalization held by ripple (XRP) saw seven-day gains of over 103 percent last week. This week is different for XRP as the currency is down 12 percent today ($0.45 per coin), but is still up 54 percent for the entire week. Bitcoin cash (BCH)values have dipped 6.4 percent today as one BCH is trading for $434 per coin today. 

The Dollar $ in trouble in Africa

The dominance of the United States dollar as a settlement currency in Africa is being challenged by emerging payment methods in financial technology and by native African fiat currencies. In the four years to 2017, fewer people in the continent of 1.2 billion transacted via the US dollar than they did with their local currencies or mobile money, and perhaps cryptocurrency.

North Korea Allegedly Uses a Mixer to Launder Money Using Crypto

North Korea is reportedly ramping up the use of cryptocurrencies to evade US economic sanctions. It’s also alleged that the country is developing its own native crypto asset to further assist moving money across borders, according to a duo of financial intelligence analysts from Washington D.C.

According to a detailed interview with Hong Kong-based business news publication, Asia Times, independent financial analysts Lourdes Miranda and Ross Delston believe that North Korea has been using cryptocurrencies to circumvent U.S. led economic sanctions.

The pair of analysts explain that North Korea would use a “mixer” also known as a “Laundry, Tumbler and a Washer” to move cryptocurrencies in such a way as to hide their tracks, which often includes sending the same type of cryptocurrency back to the original source.

Price Analysis

Monday, September 24: Both Ripple (XRP) and Ethereum (ETH) have taken hefty price hits today as the wider crypto markets see deep red, as data from Coin360 shows.

Are we doing better today?

When it comes to basic needs, the world is doing better. The amount of children who are dying before they reach five years old has been halved since 1990, The Economist reports. And income, life expectancy and education rates are up across the globe. But conditions like stress, anger and sadness have hit record highs, according to Gallup. And in wealthy nations like the U.S., some measures of well-being — like access to health care — are on the decline.

Become Obsessed with Your Goals

You either live the life you want or live with excuses as to why you never got it. When you make the things you want your life to be defined by an absolute must, rather than something you simply pursue out of interest, your excuses will quickly fade.

Lawmakers in the United States have reached out to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the nation’s tax collection agency, calling for clearer taxation rules concerning cryptocurrency.

The letter has been signed by Representatives David Schweikert, Darin LaHood, Lynn Jenkins, Brad Wenstrup, and Kevin Brady, who is the chairman of the committee on Ways and Means.

The open letter, dated 19 September, recalls a letter sent to the IRS over a year ago with regards to enforcement actions taken by the IRS against cryptocurrency holders. With some tone of complaint, the letter says that after this time, the IRS has expanded enforcement “without issuing any further guidance for taxpayers”.

Long Bitcoin, Short Banks.

JP Morgan, Citibank & Bank of America were part of a group of banks forced to pay a $6.2 Billion fine.

Why?

An antitrust case for forcing merchants to pay fees and prohibiting merchants from encouraging customers to use other payment methods.