Japan’s Mitsubishi Financial Group latest firm to adopt Blockchain

Colleagues, payment speed increase and OPEX reduction once again are the business drivers behind Japan’s largest bank to adopt Blockchain. Sounds familiar. MUFG in partnership with Akamai expect it to process over a million transactions per second with less latencies of less than two seconds per transaction and ultimately with underlying Blockchain architecture that is “expected to be extensible to 10 million transactions per second.” By comparison, when Bitcoin backed by the world’s first Blockchain can process seven transactions per second with latencies exceeding 10 minutes. Read the joint May 21, 2018 announcement by clicking here. This action comes just months after MUFG announces plans to issue its own yen-backed cryptocurrency in January of this year. The Cryptocurrency Academy is not surprised by this move. Moreover, we predict a veritable tsunami of cryptocurrency related Blockchain initiatives from major financial institutions across North America, Asia and Europe in the coming months. So who is next in line? Send us your comments and subscribe today! Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

How does the new Japanese GMO Titan V 8GPU Bitcoin Miner Stack-up against the Competition?

Colleagues, GMO Internet, the Japanese technology firm will launch its new B2 miner with 7nm capabilities on June 6 with mass production and shipment starting by late October. The GMO B2 7nm product uses semiconductors are very small yet house over 20 billion transistors that will allow devices to perform more complex calculations and purportedly at lower energy consumption levels (… to be verified). We at the Cryptocurrency Academy we unable to locate a publicly published price for the new mining device. Nonetheless, the key question remains: How will the GMO B2 measure-up on a performance-to-cost basis (when energy consumption is included in the equation) against leading products today? Well, the TITAN V 8GPU rig sells for $33.5k, Bitcoin Miner A1 costs $11.9k, TITAN XP/V 8 GPU has an $8.9k price tag and the Bitmain Antminer S9 which sells for $6.9k. Send us your comments and subscribe today! Lawrence, CryptocurrencyAcademy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

Will PayPal’s Expedited Virtual Currency Transaction System Speed-up Payments?

Colleagues, the goal of PayPal’s application for a “Expedited Virtual Currency Transaction System" with the US Patent and Trademark Office is to speed-up payment processing. Reducing speed generally carries the benefit of lower OPEX. To achieve this the leading payments services firm proposed a method creating secondary wallets with their own unique private keys for sellers and buyers. This innovative system would transfer private keys tied to an exact amount of a cryptocurrency. PayPal joins the ranks of JP Morgan and other firms seeking a first mover advantage in the processing of Blockchain-based cryptocurrencies. On a broader front, PayPal is among the growing list firms such as Microsoft, PizzaforCoins, Overstock, Shopify and Subway who accept payments in cryptocurrencies. Will PayPal’s new technology – once approved – expedite payments (and lower transaction costs)? And which firm(s) are next in line to accept cryptocurrency payments? Send us your comments and subscribe today! Lawrence, CryptocurrencyAcademy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

Sizing-up the new Infinito ‘Universal’ Wallet – Reality or Hype?

Colleagues, cryptocurrency wallets … hardware, software, paper-based and electronic. They come in a variety of form factors. Enter the Infinito Wallet which purports to universally carry your codes for a multitude of cryptocurrencies. Among its key features are enhanced speeds, price optimization, QR code scanning, contracts management, touch ID support and more. The Crytocurrency Academy’s chief concern is security and convenience, otherwise this next gen feature set is quite impressive. While the concept of a ‘universal’ coin wallet is not new, if Infinito can in fact deliver on its feature and function claims this new wallet would appear to be bleeding edge. Any crypto wallet is no better than the security it provides to its owners. By contrast, the ability to carry one wallet from which you can trade multiple currencies offers significant convenience. Bottom line: How does the Infinito Wallet compare to the most popular wallets on the market today including TREZOR, KeepKey, Coinbase, Ledger BLUE and the Ledger Nano S? Send us your comments and subscribe today! Lawrence, CryptocurrencyAcademy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

J.P. Morgan Pioneers Blockchain for Inter-Bank Payments with US Patent application

Colleagues, after initial hesitation toward Blockchain in 2015-2017 Jamie Dimon’s team a J.P. Morgan filed a patent for inter-bank payments using the technology late last year as disclosed by the US Patent Office this month. The focus of this patent – awaiting approval – in on cross-border payments which require “a number of messages” be sent between the bank and 3^rd party clearing houses involved in the transaction. These transactions on a Blockchain would reduce high costs, process payments in real time with a verifiably true audit trail while providing accurately logging of the transactions. Cryptocurrency Academy believes this is a sign of things to come and fully expects other money center banks worldwide to file their own patents. Bottom line: Blockchain has the potential to reduce costs, speed-up payment processing and do so in a secure manner. In March 2018 financial messaging provider SWIFT worked with 34 global banks to test a DLT proof of concept (PoC) to help with Nostro account reconciliation. Share a comment and subscribe today! Lawrence, CryptocurrencyAcademy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

How Pervasive is the Google Chrome Malware Nigelify Used for Crypto Mining?

Colleagues, StatCounter reports that 58.4% of Internet users use Chrome which we know if the target of numerous cyber security attacks: Enter Nigelify. Radware, an Israel-based security firm recently detected this new malware which purported has infected 1000,000 systems globally and uses the CryptoNight algorithm for crypto mining. The cryptocurrencies most likely affected include Bytecoin, Electroneum and Monero. Our check of the Chrome security portal does not identify any specific extension patches for Nigelify. Nonetheless, it is incumbent upon individual and enterprise users to install all appropriate patches once available. Is your system be used by Nigelify for crypto mining? Guidance: Perform a Chrome security scan and follow the instruction from VirusResearch.org. Share a comment and subscribe today! Lawrence, CryptocurrencyAcademy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

Will Iran Use Cryptocurrencies to Evade US Sanctions Following JCPOA Exit?

Friends, the US stands ready to aggressively apply economic and technology sanctions on Iran following its May 9, 2018 withdrawal from JCPOA. However, do not expect Iran to passively accept the reinstatement of sanctions which have crippled its economy. A key premise shared by the Cryptocurrency Academy and other entities is that Iran will actively pursue the use of trans-border trade with Russia and its other allies to evade US sanctions. Security vulnerabilities, money laundering and limited ability to monitor international trade transactions represent the dark side of cryptocurrencies. We predict that Iran is not alone, rather bad actors – whether state-sponsored or independent – including Russia, Syria, North Korean, Venezuela, ISIS and AOAP should all be on the US intelligence radar screen for using Cryptocurrencies to conduct transactions which defy international law and United Nations degrees. Bottom line: The US CIA in conjunction with the Treasury Department need to double-down on their proactive and forensic crypto surveillance capabilities to thwart illicit trade using Cryptocurrencies. Comment and subscribe today! Lawrence, CryptocurrencyAcademy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)