The "dark net" has found an online currency even more secretive then Bitcoin

[EE_]

The "dark net" has found an online currency even more secretive then Bitcoin.

Criminals on the dark net have always sought after an anonymous currency to carry out illegal and illicit activity. Cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin has been the payment of choice for most people who are buying and selling drugs and other illegal items on the dark net.

This picture taken on June 20, 2014, shows a man placing his phone next to a Bitcoins (virtual currency) dispenser at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris.
© AFP 2016/ Stephane De Sakutin
This picture taken on June 20, 2014, shows a man placing his phone next to a Bitcoins (virtual currency) dispenser at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris.
However, although it allows criminals to buy drugs with a degree of privacy, it is also set up to allow every transaction to be traceable on a public ledger called blockchain, which means that if you wanted your transaction to remain secret, it's not exactly ideal.

Alphabay, one of the largest online markets for drugs and other illicit items announced that they will be accepting Monero as alternative payment to Bitcoins, starting from September 1, 2016.

How is Monero different than simply using a Bitcoin mixer? https://t.co/081cdSZIOD

— /r/Bitcoin (@RedditBTC) 24 August 2016

​So why is it that Bitcoin is not as good at keeping transactional secrets as Monero? Well, it appears that Monero is based on CryptoNote protocol, which has significant algorithmic differences in regards to blockchain obfuscation, which is what Bitcoin uses. CryptoNote protocol transitions cannot be traced, which means it does not reveal who sent or received the coins. This feature is missing from Bitcoin.

​Bitcoiners will often use a single wallet address, which means that all transactions connected to it are viewable by anyone. But with Monero it creates a unique address for every transaction, with a private viewkey, which means that the receiver, who has the viewkey can access the full transaction information. In theory, that means nobody can spy on what you buy and transactions remain untraceable by the police.

"It makes perfect sense for the dark net auction site to welcome Monero, it's more secure than Bitcoin since the transaction blockchain of bitcoin can be viewed publicly," said Tyler Moffitt, senior threat researcher for security firm Webroot in a recent interview.

The Bitcoin Foundation have said that Monero is good, but they do believe users privacy can be compromised. The fact that there's still only a relatively small number of Monero users means that any massive transaction will stick out like a sore thumb: there just won't be many others of a similar size to mix with.

http://sputniknews.com/science/20160824/1044590564/bitcoin-dark-web-monero.html

[EE_]

Big banks buckle down to build better bitcoin
Published time: 24 Aug, 2016 11:45

UBS, Deutsche Bank, Santander and BNY Mellon have partnered up to create a new digital currency to facilitate intra-bank settlements, the FT reports. The cryptocurrency will use blockchain technology underpinning the Bitcoin.
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A traffic light is seen at the financial Central district in Hong Kong. © Bobby YipUsers of hacked bitcoin exchange may be forced to share loss
The banks are working with London-based blockchain startup Clearmatics, and the official launch is expected in 2018, according to the media.

“Today trading between banks and institutions is difficult, time-consuming and costly, which is why we all have big back offices. This is about streamlining it and making it more efficient,” Julio Faura, head of R&D and innovation at Santander told the FT.

All four banks are members of the 50-strong R3 consortium of financial institutions exploring ways of blockchain usage in the financial system.

“You need a form of digital cash on the distributed ledger in order to get maximum benefit from these technologies. What that allows us to do is to take away the time these processes take, such as waiting for payment to arrive. That frees up capital trapped during the process,” said Hyder Jaffrey, head of financial technology innovation at UBS.

According to a report by a consulting firm Oliver Wyman, the world spends up to $80 billion every year to clear and settle trades.

If implemented, the new cryptocurrency would be the first to be used officially between major financial institutions. The concept resembles the IMF’s Special Drawing Right (SDR), introduced in 1964. Based on a basket of currencies (the US dollar, euro, the Japanese yen, pound sterling and the soon to be joined Chinese yuan this October), it is used to supplement the IMF’s member countries’ official reserve. As of March 2016, 204.1 billion SDRs equivalent to about $285 billion had been created and allocated to countries.

https://www.rt.com/business/356992-big-banks-blockchain-bitcoin/

[Joshua01]

Anything of value that you don't hold, you can't rely on

[Ponce]

Anything of value that you don't hold, you can't rely on

Come on Joshua, say it........"If you don't RA RA RA RA "

V

[Joshua01]

Come on Joshua, say it........"If you don't RA RA RA RA "

V

That's my belief and my comfort zone. Others may feel differently and I don't try to talk them out of their comfort zone. Everyone is different.