Opera Brings Built-In Cryptocurrency Mining Protection To Its Browsers (HotHardware.com)
Makers of the Opera browser are fighting back against the recent trend of hijacking people’s browsers with cryptocurrency mining scripts. The Scandinavian browser maker became the first to implement built-in protections against such scripts in the desktop version of Opera, and now the company has turned its attention to its mobile browsers, with built-in protections for Opera Mini and Opera for Android. Cryptocurrency mining is obviously very big right now, and somewhat recently, mining scripts that hijack web browsers have started to appear. Known as cryptojacking, it’s estimated that more 3 billion websites are running these scripts, affecting more than 1 billion people around the globe.
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Shop with Cryptocurrency: Where can you pay with Bitcoin, Ethereum or Ripple? (Websites that accept Bitcoins 2018) (Smartereum.com)
4 different ways to spend Bitcoins in 2018: The last 12 months have made Bitcoin mainstream. It is not only popular among the mainstream investors but also in mainstream economy as well. There are plenty of websites as well as vendors which are currently accepting Bitcoins. In 2018, if you’re rolling Bitcoins, you would have no problem at all and spending them. We would today share with you some of the ways in which you can spend Bitcoins in 2018.
Korean Crypto Exchange Korbit Halting Deposits from Non-Citizens (CoinDesk)
South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Korbit has barred non-citizens from depositing local currency – the Korean won – on its platform. Korbit stated in an announcement that its virtual account service will be terminated this month in order to introduce accounts attached to users’ identities, as recently ordered by local regulators in a move aimed to calm speculation in the crypto markets, as well as money laundering. As part of that shift, foreign nationals will no longer be able to deposit funds to their accounts.
India Wants to Collect Taxes from Its Cryptocurrency Investors (Engadget)
India’s income tax department has sent notices to tens of thousands of people dealing in cryptocurrency, after learning that $3.5 billion worth of transactions have been conducted over a 17-month period. The move comes as India’s finance ministry grapples with regulations for virtual currencies, which are attracting around 200,000 users and raking in 20 billion Indian rupees ($315 million) worth of trade per month, reports Reuters.
56% of Russians Know About Bitcoin, New Survey Reveals (Cryptovest)
A new survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) sheds some light on just how aware Russians are of cryptocurrencies, especially when it comes to Bitcoin. Of the 1,200 participants in the survey, 56% are aware of Bitcoin, with 13% saying they have detailed knowledge about it and 14% stating they have only heard the word mentioned somewhere. Awareness of Bitcoin is unsurprisingly stronger among younger participants: 75% of those in the 18-24 age bracket responded positively.
Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies Plunge Again (Investing.com)
Investing.com – The price of digital currency bitcoin along with other cryptocurrencies came under renewed selling pressure on Monday as concerns over a regulatory crackdown continued to weigh. Bitcoin was trading at $10,514.00 by 08:55 AM ET (13:55 GMT) on the Bitfinex exchange, off an earlier high of $11,886. Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was last at $960.9 on the Bitfinex exchange, down around 13%. Meanwhile, Ripple’s XRP token was trading at $1.21 on the Poloniex exchange, 14% lower on the day.
TapJets Adds Ethereum cryptocurrency to Payment Options (BusinessAirportInternational.com)
Private jet instant booking platform TapJets is accepting cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Bitcoin as a form of payment. The update means customer can book their flights through a smartphone and make their way straight to the airport while the blockchain transaction is completed. Since TapJets began accepting Bitcoin payments in 2017, the number of flights booked using cryptocurrency has tripled month to month.
Rise of Bitcoin Rival XRP Unnerves Banking Sector (TheDailyStar)
In October, a five-year-old company called Ripple boasted that it was one of America’s “most valuable start-ups … after Uber, Airbnb, Palantir and WeWork.” Although its core finance technology business has not done much disrupting yet, cryptocurrency mania was growing the value of XRP, the digital coin created by Ripple’s founders and whose supply the company still controlled. XRP’s price rose 36,000 per cent during 2017, challenging bitcoin’s market value, giving Ripple an XRP hoard worth $200bn by Christmas.
Litecoin Getting Hate: 5 Biggest Criticisms Against LTC (Cryptovest)
Litecoin has had a quite good public image in 2017, adding to the phenomenal rise from around $4 to a peak of $370. However, as the digital asset came into the spotlight, and the Litecoin Foundation tentatively started to promote Litecoin more, criticisms appeared. Popularity came with closer scrutiny, and a previously drama-free coin acquired its own negative points.
Japan a Global Leader in Cryptocurrency Investment (The Japan Times)
Japan is the global leader in the market development of cryptocurrencies — a global buzzword recently — some of which have seen their values skyrocket over the past year. As of Jan. 15, yen accounts for 56.2 percent of bitcoin, or BTC, the most popular cryptocurrency, according to coinhills.com. Yen is followed by U.S. dollars at 28.4 percent, while all others account for 15.4 percent. Chinese yuan used to account for the largest until January 2017, but dropped after the state imposed strict restrictions on cryptocurrency trading.
