Nick Ayton is back with another report from the London Scene. ICO mania, new coins, and Trezor hack. See inside!
Our London Correspondent Nick Ayton the Sage of Shoreditch explores the past few weeks’ activity in London which despite Brexit and a wet August pushes on with renewed optimism and exciting news.
What a month it has been in the world of Blockchain! Bitcoin breached $4,000 and soared to new heights. More and more ICOs are fuelling the new Crypto Capital Markets, where Filecoin broke new ground in more ways than a ton of cash. Another exchange is hacked, more posturing comes from Regulators, and SegWit and Bitcoin Cash hype replaced by the pending new breakout Bull of Bitcoin as it pushes on to $5000. Oh, and yes, the VC Ponzi boys and Institutional cash is on its way as they fall victim to the fear of missing out (FOMO).
ICOs entering a second phase…
Filecoin was a milestone in ICO history not because it raised $252m in short order, but because brought in institutional monies from the likes of Sequoia Capital, Union Square and other venture capitalists.
Of course the attraction of Filecoin is that it attempts to solve Blockchain storage challenges, taking a different approach than Storj and IPFS. With Filecon, essentially anybody with a computer can become a ‘miner’ and join a community offering their devices for storage. Brilliant! But even this is not the big news.
SEC-compliant Initial Coin Offerings! WTF, you say! I thought the USA was a no go area for crypto, for Bitcoin and especially for ICOs! Well not so much, apparently. Under SAFT, which stands for Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (or Equity), under SEC Reg D section 506 you can register an ICO confirming it is ONLY available to accredited investors. BOOM! You have a fully compliant ICO. The only downside is that you have to be a millionaire to be an accredited investor. But oh well, what are you gonna do?
SpartaCoin tools up to help you fight your battles…
SpartaCoin launches in the Mediterranean coastal town of SotoGrande better known for ‘Ballers’ and Polo. Yes, you guessed it our very own Gibraltar Correspondent Nick Ayton was there to speak with founder Diagelese ‘very’ Hardus on the latest crypto coin about to hit the streets.
CT: What was the idea behind SpartaCoin?
DvH: We wanted to create an asset class that improve the outcomes for people facing overwhelming odds… Enabling coin holders to group together to help even the odds when it comes to market competition, purchasing power and reach…
CT: How does SpartaCoin work?
DvH: We decided to restrict coin supply to 300 coins which makes each coin much stronger, and we will go to 3 decimal places where the smallest denomination is called a Spartacus.
SpartaCoins work together, so having one isn’t much good, you needs at least 10 coins to create a ‘huddle’ that has more impact in the market. But huddles can be formed by SpartaCoin owners grouping together. Our MeshChain protocol integrates a new kind of smart contract that we call Leconia Contracts that allow coins holders to pool their resources and spending power, automatically creating a simple agreement to share the rewards and cover any losses.
CT: Which Blockchain are you using?
DvH: Our Blockchain doesn’t use conventional Blocks, instead we use Directed Acyclic Graph or DAG which creates strength around transactions, a Tangle which is exactly what happens on the battlefields. As armies start in an orderly structure they soon move into a ‘tangle’ where pockets work together and cooperate. It is a wonderful thing…
CT: How does someone invest?
DvH: You can’t. We have pre-allocated all the tokens but you can fight us for them. We offer everyone a chance to win tokens in the arena in a physical tangle…
Gosh that would make a great ICO with investors having to fight for Tokens, I would love to see that one!
Events – ICO 2017
I am very pleased to report ICO 2017 the Crypto Economy at Fira de Barcleona announces its speakers for the main Event 3rd, 4th, 5th October 2017 where I will be delivering a keynote on “the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in ICOs” and chairing the ICO forum panel discussions.
Satoshi spotted up a Ladder in Shoreditch High Street
CT: Hey Vittalark what are you doing up there?
Vittalark Buttering was 10 foot up a metal ladder looking through a window above the Bike Shop in Shoreditch, and seemed startled when I mentioned his name…
VB: I can see her… (both hands gripping for all he was worth and the ladder wasn’t anchored very well in what was a windy day, rucksack on his back and the Bitcoin sold here sticker blowing in the wind)…
CT: I assume you mean Satoshi…?
VB: yes Satoshi, I mean no not Satoshi…
CT: Who…?
VB: Look I am coming down as I have to go…
“I was watching Satoshi’s flat mates girlfriend getting changed when you arrived” he said angrily. “I heard Satoshi was coming back to his girlfriend’s flat so I thought I would wait”…
CT: Why is Satoshi here…?
VB: He was really unhappy with Bitcoin Cash and he feels there are dark forces trying to create a 51% attack on the Bitcoin network and he was meeting some core devs at the Barclays accelerator…
“Just imagine Satoshi was in their building and they didn’t even know it was him” said a delighted Vitalark Buttering…
CT: How did you find out?
I had a tip off from John C on the 9th Floor at the We Work office at Primrose Street who had breakfast with Satoshi that morning, told me he was going to collect his bags at his girlfriend’s house before flying to Moscow.
Then VB scanned his QR code on the BTC ATM machine glass, removed £20 and sped off…
Another brief encounter, apparently so close but yet so far… One day VB… One day.
The Movement Economy is already here…
I recently downloaded an new app called Sweatcoin you can see here. It rewards you for movement, earning you “Sweatcoins” that can be exchanged for goods and services to help us all live a healthier existence.
The genius of Sweatcoin is its simplicity and it is already the top downloaded UK app, approaching 1 million users worldwide. That is the beginning of a real movement, of a movement economy. And yes I have started using it along with the rest of the Aytons.
Sweatcoin is gaining ground and rapidly marching towards an ICO, so it’s time to download the apps, get on your starting blocks and join the sprint for Sweatcoins and prizes.
So you use a cold store then… How safe are your Bitcoins?
Not very it seems. Trezor has issues because the chips made by STMicroelectronics can be penetrated. If you lose your Trezor you don’t have time to access your cold store to transfer your funds. Apparently you can reset your Trezor and swap it with an identical device and you wouldn’t even know.
I own a Trezor and I was keeping BTC on it but moved them because of the BTC rally. And then I found this Trezor hack then BOOM. So it’s now in a box with no balance and yet again this emerging economy is Leaky55…another gadget with no place to go… What a shame…as we need Trezor, we need the simplicity if the concept and they need to find better tech…
