Exclusive Pre-Sale Begins May 20, World’s First “Reversible Initial Coin Offering” to Follow on May 27
LUKSO is a blockchain network dedicated to the new digital lifestyle, where the worlds of fashion, gaming, design and social media intersect. LUKSO will hold an exclusive pre-sale on the KuCoin Spotlight program on May 20, shortly before the first Reversible ICO takes place on May 27. This will be the first Spotlight project this year on KuCoin, an IDG-backed exchange.
LUKSO is founded by industry veteran Fabian Vogelsteller, who laid the foundation for today’s DeFi protocols. His tools like web3.js are used by the majority of current Ethereum developers, and his Mist browser became the first decentralized web3 browser. Vogelsteller’s wife and co-founder of LUKSO, Marjorie Hernández is a Caracas-born architect, strategist and innovation consultant, who in 2015 built and led the EY’s Innovation Lab in Berlin, before creating LUKSO.
“Fabian Vogelsteller has redefined the Blockchain space as we know it by authoring the ERC20 standard,” says Johnny Lyu, CEO at KuCoin Global.“He and his team will continue this forward-thinking vision by bringing Blockchain to the masses with LUKSO. KuCoin is thrilled to be part of LUKSO’s history by launching this incredible project on our Spotlight platform.”
“LUKSO will bring Blockchain technology beyond finance. We are building a Web3 ecosystem specifically to support the creative economies and make the technology inclusive and accessible for everyone,” says Marjorie Hernandez, co-founder of LUKSO. “We are excited to launch this exclusive pre-sale sale with KuCoin, to allow their community to participate, get excited and have a stake in the future network.”
LUKSO will follow the exclusive pre-sale on KuCoin of one million LYXe (valued at 220,000 USD), with the launch of the world’s first Reversible Initial Coin Offering (rICO) one week later on May 27.
The Reversible ICO was conceptualized by Fabian Vogelsteller in 2018 to make fundraising safer by allowing investors to buy tokens over time. It is not only meant as a fundraising mechanism for LUKSO, but also to showcase how to make ICOs regulatory friendly and safe by design. The Reversible ICO was verified with the BaFin, the regulatory authority in Germany and is compliant with German security law. It is important to note that this does not mean the BaFin endorses any sale using the rICO nor LYX.
LUKSO’s rICO will take place on May 27 shortly after the Spotlight token sale on KuCoin.
Founded in September 2017, KuCoin has grown into one of the most popular crypto exchanges, and it currently provides a series of financial services including fiat-to-crypto, crypto-to-crypto, futures, staking, borrowing, token launch and more to its 5 million users across 207 countries and regions around the world.
LUKSO, the brainchild of husband-wife duo Fabian Vogelsteller and Marjorie Hernández, is a Blockchain network created for digital lifestyle use cases. A platform for fashion, gaming, design and emerging trends like virtual fashion, cross-game characters, and virtual reality. The team behind LUKSO also sees community governance through tokens, new forms of brands and engagement and tools built to help brands, influencers, creatives of all types as its future.
Basic building blocks like Universal Public Profiles, Digital Identities and Certificates will bring this future to life. LUKSO delivers a set of core tools and standards to make the Blockchain easy to use and build. The LUKSO ecosystem is targeting a new wave of Blockchain applications and encourages developers to create a future of decentralized communities, brands and a new digital world.
NewsBTC
Spotlight on Bitcoin as HSBC Shuts Hong Kong Protest-Linked Account
n The importance of Bitcoins non-seizability has been highlighted yet again as HSBC closes an account reportedly used to fund Hong Kong protestorsn
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Why Cryptocurrency is in The Spotlight For More Central Banks
For most of its short life Bitcoin has been a plaything for computer geeks and largely ignored by banks and governments. That all changed in late 2017 when an epic rally sent prices soaring to new peaks. Since then central banks have been paying closer attention to cryptocurrency, especially in recent months as Facebook threatens to usurp their dominance.
Bankers Need Their Own Cryptocurrency
The benefits of a digital currency are clear, faster and more efficient payments are good news for all. Banks already make huge profits moving people’s money around for them and digital cash will aid them even further.
Facebook has rattled the regulatory cages of the world and given bankers a wake-up call. If they cannot improve their archaic and costly transfer mechanisms, which are mostly based on SWIFT, better alternatives will emerge.
There is a definite demand for a Libra like cryptocurrency but Facebook is clearly not suitable to be in charge of it. Bitcoin does exactly what is required but is price volatility is still preventing everyday use and is off-putting for most.
Central banks in China, Sweden, the Bahamas and Thailand are experimenting with their own cryptocurrencies and many will be launching soon. The FED is still waiting on the sidelines according to Bloomberg and is likely to be left behind by rafts of innovation hampering regulations.
The threat to national sovereignty by the social media giant was large enough to bring down an avalanche of criticism for its Libra project. There was also the threat that central banks would not be able to effectively manage monetary policy (print more money) if an alternative global currency existed.
Central banks are looking into wholesale solutions which would limit access to any stablecoin to the banks and financial institutions. They would be used internally to make payment flows within the existing financial system faster and cheaper.
A retail solution would be to allow account holders to use the digital currency under tight control. The central bank would manage the ledger and have full control over the supply and flow of any stablecoin it develops.
China Forging Ahead
China is likely to be the first major nation to roll out its own central banks cryptocurrency as Asia forges ahead with innovative research and development. However there has been no time frame for launch as yet. A recruitment notice by the PBoC, shows that it wants to hire six more tech experts with expertise in cryptography, econometrics, and micro-electronics to join the development for the bank’s new cryptocurrency.
China’s stance on decentralized crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum has not changed. It still will not allow people to buy crypto with fiat. Central banks are unlikely to ever see public cryptocurrencies in a good light simply because they are beyond state control and have no such transaction limits.
Whether Libra goes ahead or not is now looking dubious but Facebook has accelerated the research process for the banks of the world and a slew of new centralized stablecoins are likely to be launched in the coming years.
Image from Shutterstock
The post Why Cryptocurrency is in The Spotlight For More Central Banks appeared first on NewsBTC.
Pompliano: Trump’s Tweet Puts Spotlight on Lack of Trust Bitcoin Solves
Last night, the entire crypto Twitter became electrified with chatter when United States President Donald Trump tweeted about “magic internet money,” also known as Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
According to Morgan Creek Digital partner and co-founder Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano, while Trump’s tweet was indeed significant, it also sheds a light on how Bitcoin is designed to address the trust issues that humanity faces with governments, and corporations in charge.
Pomp: Trump Tweets About Bitcoin and Crypto, Highlights Trust Issues
In a recent interview appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box with host and recent Bitcoin supporter Joe Kernen and correspondent Melissa Lee, Morgan Creek Digital partner and co-founder Anthony Pompliano discussed the significance of United States President Donald Trump tweeting about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, or as he calls them “magic internet money.”
Related Reading | Crypto Pundit and Goldbug Peter Schiff Begins to Warm Up to Bitcoin
The outspoken Bitcoin evangelist who recently gifted goldbug Peter Schiff his first BTC says he never envisioned the day when the president would be tweeting about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
"If you said 10.5 years ago the President of the United States is going to be tweeting about magic internet money, we would have never envisioned that day," says @APompliano on bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/lQQY46kZUl
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) July 12, 2019
It wasn’t just Trump yesterday that made comments about crypto that caused an uproar. The Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell also made a comparison of Bitcoin to gold, which caused the crypto industry to erupt with bullish sentiment.
While these comments don’t necessarily mean that Bitcoin is favored by these government officials, in fact it’s the opposite – Trump’s tweet was negative toward crypto, saying its used for illicit activities and its value is made of thin air. Still, the exposure cryptocurrencies have received lately is nothing short of amazing considering how new the asset class is and how it was treated during the last bull run.
Now, it’s getting the respect it deserves, and it appears governments are starting to fear what comes next now that the cat is out of the bag with crypto. Much of the negative comments actually come from Facebook entering the arena with Libra, which has shaken up the political world over concerns of trust and privacy.
No turning back! https://t.co/VBc8INJHHz
— Joe Kernen (@JoeSquawk) July 12, 2019
However, as Pompliano points out, Bitcoin addresses many of the trust issues all of humanity faces with governments and major corporations like Facebook becoming so powerful and so controlling, freedom is in jeopardy. Unlike Facebook’s trojan horse, designed to mine user date that can be sold to the highest bigger, Bitcoin is entirely decentralized, trustless, and needs no controlling party for it to operate.
Related Reading | Venture Capitalist: Bitcoin is the Single Best Hedge Against Traditional Finance
Bitcoin cannot be stopped or controlled, and to many, Bitcoin is the first glimmer of freedom from the control governments have over them, just as Satoshi Nakamoto designed it to be amidst the last economic collapse.
Featured image from Shutterstock
The post Pompliano: Trump’s Tweet Puts Spotlight on Lack of Trust Bitcoin Solves appeared first on NewsBTC.
Tether Spotlight Once Again: Controversy Over 100% Peg to USD
Popular stablecoin Tether (USDT) – the world’s 9th largest cryptocurrency by means of market cap, has once again attracted the attention of the crypto community.
As noticed by existing Tether investors, the project has removed previous claims that the stablecoin was entirely backed by US dollars.
A new update, the date of which is unknown, to the website of Tether, has raised more than just a few eyebrows. The updated terms on the website suggest that the project’s USD holdings no longer cover the entire supply of USDT.
Did Tether just admit that they loan their cash reserves out to others, presumably Bitfinex? That's literally fractional reserve banking.https://t.co/vNCoxBrvkr
— Emin Gün Sirer (@el33th4xor) March 14, 2019
Every tether is always 100% backed by our reserves, which include traditional currency and cash equivalents and, from time to time, may include other assets and receivables from loans made by Tether to third parties, which may include affiliated entities (collectively, “reserves”). Every tether is also 1-to-1 pegged to the dollar, so 1 USD₮ is always valued by Tether at 1 USD.
The Hurdles Continue
NewsBTC reported in May 2018 that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into cryptocurrency manipulation. Shortly afterwards, a 66-page report claimed the discovery of information, suggesting that Tether was printed and used following “market downturns,” resulting in “sizable increases in Bitcoin prices.”
The company was long under scrutiny that the stablecoin isn’t actually tied 1-to-1 to a corresponding US dollars, as it claimed. Despite Tether releasing reports from third-party auditors which confirmed the stablecoin’s supply is appropriately backed, the community remained skeptical.
In late December 2018, the concerning rumors regarding Tether’s dollar pegged, however, started to look particularly thin. Bloomberg revealed bank statements which indicated that .2 billion was actually present in Tether’s accounts at Noble Bank on January 31st, 2018. Information gathered from CoinMarketCap showed that roughly the same amount of Tether was existed on that date.
Nevertheless, the newest move by Tether to amend its policies seem to have sparked the lights of ambiguity once again.
Community Reacts
Needless to say, the crypto community was quick to react.
Popular cryptocurrency commentator on Twitter, I am Nomad (@IamNomad) expressed his concerns on the matter, outlining the following:
“Loans made by tether to third parties” ie tether is loaning money given to them for reserves out to make interest to third parties and counting collateral as part of their reserves… definitely not what was in the TOS. and id think Tether_to need to do a press release”
Furthermore, he stressed the ambiguity on the lack of clarification of the new update, saying:
“Without clarification “loans to third parties” and “collateral” could mean a whole mess of things. Are they being put in some 30d cash bond (ie corporate loan) to get interest or worse case lending it out on bitfinex margin pool”.
"loans made by tether to third parties" ie tether is loaning money given to them for reserves out to make intrest to third parties and counting collaterial as part of their reserves.. definitely not what was in the TOS. and id think @Tether_to need to do a press release /1 pic.twitter.com/I5jnkDCFga
— I am Nomad (@IamNomad) March 14, 2019
At the time of this writing, Tether hasn’t come up with any official statement, which the community is anticipating.
The post Tether Spotlight Once Again: Controversy Over 100% Peg to USD appeared first on NewsBTC.
HitBTC Account Freezes in Spotlight as Trace Mayer, John McAfee Claim Foul Play
n Proof of Keys organizer Trace Mayer and other crypto advocates accuse HitBTC of deliberately freezing withdrawalsn
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Blockchain Security Takes Spotlight At NYC Innovation Summit
Blockchain use cases, but also the technologies vulnerabilities, were discussed at length at the CDX Academy’s Blockchain forum on Friday.
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Blockchain Security Takes Spotlight At NYC Innovation Summit
Blockchain use cases, but also the technologies vulnerabilities, were discussed at length at the CDX Academy’s Blockchain forum on Friday.
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