Items tagged with cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency has been a hot topic in 2018, and Google claims that “What is bitcoin?” was one of its top questions this year. A lot of people (and companies) jumped on the cryptocurrency train, including Razer. The company is now offering users store credit in exchange for cryptocurrency mining. But is this program too good to be true? Many argue that the Razer SoftMiner rewards program is misleading and exploitative. How does this rather confusing program work? Users are asked to download SoftMiner, a blockchain-based app that has been integrated into Razer’s software. The software...
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HTC is accepting pre-orders for a new flagship phone, though there is a caveat. Users can only purchase the Exodus 1, as it's called with cryptocurrencies—specifically either Bitcoin or Ethereum, the two most popular blockchain currencies in existence. It is, for all intents and purposes, a blockchain phone and not a typical Android handset. That would not be evident at first glance of the specs. The Exodus 1 sports a 6-inch HD+ display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and 6GB of RAM. It also features 128GB of onboard storage, dual 8-megapixel...
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At least for the time being, it looks like the mad rush to buy graphics cards for cryptocurrency mining and leave gamers with overpriced options is in the rear view mirror. That doesn't mean cryptocurrency mining doesn't still present an annoyance in some sectors, though. Security researchers warn that cryptocurrency malware is currently hiding in a fake Adobe Flash update that is making the rounds. Adobe Flash can't disappear fast enough. In the meantime, it continues to present security issues, sometimes directly through discovered vulnerabilities, or in this case preying on the vigilance of...
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Let's start with the good news. Cryptocurrency mining on GPUs has waned considerably, and the shortage of graphics cards that made it nearly impossible to score a mid-range or high-end GPU at or near MSRP is over (for the most part). Are you ready for the bad news? Be that as it may, cryptocurrency mining hacks are on the rise, and a leaked tool by the US National Security Agency (NSA) may be partially to blame. That's the takeaway from a new report by Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA), a cybersecurity association with some major names among its members, including Cisco, Juniper Networks, McAfee, Sophos,...
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If you've invested heavily in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum over the past year, you probably need a stiff drink right about now. The cryptocurrency "boom" is no more, and values are heading south, much to the chagrin of crypto miners that thought mining with off-the-shelf [and custom] hardware would bring them digital fortunes. Take Bitcoin, for example; the cryptocurrency fell to as little as $5,900 in the past 24 hours before rebounding to just over 6,000 as of this writing. As recently as May, Bitcoin was trading at around $10,000 and in late 2017, it was topping $19,000....
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When it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges, most of the news that we hear is regards to the latest hack attempt, where poor souls lose millions of dollars (usually never to be seen again). This Wild Wild West atmosphere in the cryptocurrency market has led many to doubt the sustainability of investing in Ethereum and Bitcoin. However, Coinbase is doing its best to help legitimize its cryptocurrency exchange in the eyes of investors with the hiring of veteran finance exec Jeff Horowitz. Horowitz served as the managing director and global head of compliance for Bank of New York...
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The ups and downs of the cryptocurrency market have meant that it's been a wild year for PC gamers. Cryptocurrency miners rushed out to purchases hordes of NVIDIA and AMD GPUs, which drove up the prices for people that just wanted to play Doom in 4K without having to pay an arm and a leg for a graphics card. Luckily, graphics cards prices are starting to fall back to normalcy as the cryptocurrency craze wanes, and the latest deal to come as a result is on the MSI Gaming Radeon RX 580 8G V1. Amazon has the card on sale for $259.99 with free two-day shipping for Amazon...
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To the delight of anyone who's been eying a new graphics card for a while, there seems to be a definitive end in sight to the price-gouging supply/demand effect in the GPU market. In recent months, mining has seemingly died down quite a bit, as a result of cryptocurrency values likewise taking a major turn for the worse. Currently, crypto values are low enough that for the vast majority of people, mining is much less lucrative than it was even just a few months ago, with the most ardent miners continuing along in hopes that the value of their coins of choice increase over time. Some of those miners...
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It was only a few months ago when there was talk of Bitcoin being on a trajectory to perhaps hit $50,000 or even $100,000, which could make late adopters wealthy and early adopters obscenely rich (more so than they have already become). Fast forward to today, however, and the future is as murky as ever. Not that it was ever crystal clear. However, the virtual currency dipped below $6,000 today, it's lowest value since November. The recent drop further underscores the volatility of cryptocurrency, and the overall uncertainty over its future. Proponents of cryptocurrency will say they have heard...
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If you're a developer thinking of a way to slip a cryptocurrency mining app into the iOS App Store to make a quick buck, Apple is putting stop to that. The company has updated its developer guideline to explicitly ban cryptocurrency mining on the iPhone and the iPad. The updated rules can be found in Apple's App Store Review Guidelines under the "Hardware Compatibility" heading. Apple clearly states that power efficiency should be a clear goal for developers, given the battery constraints of a portable device like an iPad or iPhone (but especially the iPhone). "Apps should not rapidly...
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Things aren't exactly rosy in the cryptocurrency world; particularly when it comes to Bitcoin. Over the weekend, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinrail confirmed that it had been hacked. The site says that it was the victim of a "cyber intrusion" and that roughly 30 percent of the coins trades on the exchange were stolen. Coinrail said the remaining 70 percent of coins were safeguarded and have been moved to a "cold wallet". At this moment, it is believed that hackers got away with 40 billion won in Bitcoin, which amounts to $37.2 million. Not surprisingly, this latest hack sent the...
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Cryptocurrency mining appears to be evening out somewhat with regards to demand on hardware, which has thankfully resulted in GPU prices heading closer towards normalcy. However, for those that are still committed to build kickass rigs to mine for cryptocurrencies, ASUS is launching the new H370 Mining Master motherboard, which is based (obviously) on Intel's H370 Coffee Lake chipset. The LGA 1151 motherboards supports 8th generation Intel Core, Pentium and Celeron processors, and includes two DIMM slots for a maximum of 32GB DDR4-2666 memory. You'll find a single PCIe x16 slot,...
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One of the biggest criticisms of cryptocurrency, and Bitcoin in particular, is the highly volatile nature of digital coins. However, that's for investors and miners to worry about. A larger concern that is starting to draw increased attention is the power usage that comes from mining cryptocurrencies on a large scale. Over in Washington, where power is relatively cheap compared to other parts of the country, there's a twofold concern—that power bills will go, and that electric utilities will not be able to keep up with demand. These are not new concerns. It was reported earlier this month...
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If the current political climate has you wanting to pack your bags and get off the grid, you might be interested in what is to become the world's first independent floating nation. Called the Floating Island Project, this independent nation will consist of around 300 homes built on the island, along with a spattering of hotels, restaurants, an airport, and more, and will run under its own government using a cryptocurrency called Varyon. The concept has drawn the attention of philanthropists, academics, and various investors. It will cost up to $50 million and is being funded in large part by PayPal...
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