This week, Bitcoin mining is getting a boost from two different directions. The first is from John McAfee’s MGT Capital Investments, which just spun up its first mining operation in the U.S. at 2.6 PetaHash, a company that also intends to develop security services for Bitcoin users, merchants and miners. The second is from Bitcoin hardware and service company Bitmain that is adding a mining pool offering zero mining fees until the end of 2016.

The cryptocurrency mobile app industry continues to wrangle with Apple’s black-box when it comes to the App Store. Last week it was revealed that Apple had six “authorized cryptocurrencies” allowed in the store (including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, etc.) this week the company revealed it had added three more.

Blockchain technology also received a look from financial professional services company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in a study looking at tapping its potential for the reinsurance industry revealing a look at how blockchain-based fintech could save $10 billion. 2016 has been a year with a lot of interest shown in blockchain-technology from the fintech industry due to how easily it automates and secures an auditable ledger of transactions.

photo credit: John McAfee via photopin (license)

McAfee’s new cybersecurity company spins up its Bitcoin mining operation

Things continued to get more interesting at MGT Capital Investments, Inc. the company pending a rename to John McAfee Global Technologies after John McAfee announced his appointment as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. The company recently reported that the Bitcoin mining operation, announced in July this year, has “reached full phase one production output with a larger than expected 2.6 PetaHash of processing power,” according to Street Insider.

Reports from MGT state that the mining outfit is producing 90 BTC per month at a value of $55,000. The company intends to expand processing power to 5.2 PetaHash (also PH/s) by the end of 2016 with a current goal is to upgrade to above 10 PetaHash. For comparison, right now the Eobot mining pool is at number 17 globally and runs 4.31 PH/s (according to BTC.com pool stats) when MGT reaches its 5.2 PH/s goal at the end of this year it will take that spot.

John McAfee, Executive Chairman of MGT, stated that he believes the current trajectory “makes MGT one of the top five Bitcoin miners in the U.S,” and that, “we believe our overall goal of 10 PetaHash for this facility would put us in a leadership position in the global Bitcoin network.”

As with all Bitcoin mining operations MGT’s concern will use a considerable amount of power and the company intends to use low cost hydro power and hosting services in central Washington state.

Under the auspices of John McAfee, MGT will also become a cybersecurity outfit and will incorporate technology from Demonsaw, an encrypted information sharing application founded by MGT CTO Eric Anderson (Eijah).

In an interview with Crypto Hustle, Eijah outlined the ins-and-outs of the Demonsaw suite, but could not give details on how its technology would integrate with MGT’s operations.

Screenshot from PwC’s report on how the blockchain could change the insurance industry (2016).

PwC reports that blockchains could save the reinsurance industry $10 billion

Bitcoin.com News reports that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has published a report that blockchain-technology and smart contracts could save the reinsurance industry $5 to $10 billion. Blockchains have become a darling of the fintech industry and financial think tanks due to the relegation of trust, programmable capability and accountability (for compliance purposes).

While the high-profile application for blockchains happens to be cryptocurrencies–such as the Bitcoin blockchain–the technology also has potential for securities trading, government document registry (such as real estate) and fintech solutions such as payment remittance. By using a secured blockchain, it would be possible to attach difficult-to-forge (or change) historical and auditable records of document creation and changes.

With any set of contracts with multiple participants recordkeeping and logistics becomes a burdensome task–for example, in reinsurance, multiple insurers spread out liability by sub-segmenting out insurance contracts, which leads to complexity tracking who shouldered what amount and what risks according to contacts. Add on the needs to follow and comply with local laws and regulations while also making it easier to show compliance and provide audits.

PwC reports that 56 percent of firms surveyed recognise the importance of blockchain and 57 percent say they don’t know yet how to respond to that need.

For reinsurance alone, PwC says that it is working on a proof-of-concept blockchain solution that could remove 15 to 25 percent of expenses, thus delivering an industry-wide saving of $5 to $10 billion.

The company outlines these opportunities for the industry on its “Chain Reaction: How Blockchain Technology Might Transform Wholesale Insurance” website.

Bitmain run BTC.com launches open-source mining pool with zero fees

Bitmain Technologies Ltd., maker of Bitcoin mining hardware and service provider, just announced the launch of the BTC.com open-source mining pool that will feature zero fees for miners. This mining pool launch will join Bitmain’s industry service ecosystem which already includes a free block explorer, analytics and wallet.

The company states that the mining pool will maintain a zero-fee pool until 2017 to entice miners to join its ecosystem. After December 31, 2016 a mining fee of 1.5 percent will apply.

As the mining pool market for Bitcoin already has some powerful actors such as AntPool, BTCC, and F2Pool (each of which represent 14 percent of the entire network alone) and the list goes on. BTC.com looks to differentiate itself by offering unique services.

Screenshot from https://pool.btc.com/ showing the current hashrate and number of miners in the pool (2016).

First, BTC.com’s pool will implement a “PoolWatcher”, which will “listen” to other pools in order to start mining the next block as quickly as possible after the previous block’s discovery. Analytics software “BtcAgent” will permit mining farm owners to view workers on the LAN in the pool to gain useful data about their operation–like the BTC.com pool source code it can also be downloaded from GitHub. Real-time stats will be available for users about the pool to all users and payouts are calculated almost instantly.

For the on-the-go miner BTC.com will also feature a mobile app available in the Apple App Store (for iOS) and the Google Play Store (for Android).

The pool website is available at https://pool.btc.com/ and, as mentioned above, the software that runs the pool is fully open source and can be downloaded from GitHub at https://github.com/btccom/btcpool.

photo credit: Bitcoin: Crypto Imperator via photopin (license)

Apple adds Lisk, Digicash and Steem digital currencies to approved list

Last week’s Bitcoin Weekly noted that Apple, Inc. had leaked an “approved list” of digital currencies in the wake of the Jaxx cryptocurrency wallet’s removal from the iOS App Store. That list included Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, the DAO and Ripple. And now Apple has expanded that list to include Lisk, Digicash and Steem, reports Bitcoin.com News.

Jaxx CEO Anthony Di Iorio said Monday that he had learned of the additional digital currency approvals:

“On Monday we learned that Apple permits apps using nice specific digital currencies, critical information to the community. At Jaxx, we’ve been committed to supporting a global blockchain ecosystem, every day our developers work to build a consistent infrastructure across blockchains and across platforms. To that end, the insight we have gleaned from Apple thus far has been invaluable, and we how to learn more about Apple’s policies and procedures for blockchain in the near future.”

Apple has a strained relationship with blockchain-related apps and technology. It took the company until 2013 to start allowing Bitcoin apps on its market (only to restrict it again); the company would not open up the App Store until mid 2014. Then, earlier this year, Apple had trouble filtering out Trojan fake Bitcoin wallet apps that cloned already-existing wallets.

Most recently, already-approved wallet apps began to get rejected–such as the previously mentioned Jaxx wallet.

The original set of approved currencies are all well known in the cryptocurrency industry–although Dogecoin started as a joke-currency it does have value and is traded and The DAO is part of a controversy involving an attack on its underlying trading machinery. Lisk is a blockchain-based cryptocurrency designed for on-platform application development using a blockchain infrastructure. Steem is a cryptocurrency connected to a blockchain-based social media platform designed to reward participation.

App stores like Apple that employ a curated walled garden may make themselves a moving target for cryptocurrency and blockchain-based application developers. This is especially a problem because up until the revelation by Jaxx’s CEO this month it was difficult to tell what Apple accepted and did not.

To this end, the iOS application for ShapeShift, a unique registration-less cryptocurrency exchange, was ejected from the App Store by Apple this week. Presumably because ShapeShift supports 38 currencies, far more than the 9 approved by Apple.

TED Talk: MIT’s Neha Narula on “The Future of Money”

The future of money includes cryptocurrency, argues Neha Narula, director of research at the Digital Currency Initiative at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She says things are only going to get more interesting. In the above TED Talk, Narula argues that cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin as the foremost popular, may be the first Model T compared to the “horse and buggy” of current digital money (credit cards and website payments).

“What happens when the way we buy, sell and pay for things changes, perhaps even removing the need for banks or currency exchange bureaus?” asks the synopsis for the talk. “That’s the radical promise of a world powered by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. We’re not there yet, but in this sparky talk, digital currency researcher Neha Narula describes the collective fiction of money — and paints a picture of a very different looking future.”

Readers with a basic understanding (or no understanding) of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies would benefit hugely from watching this talk. As would those with an advanced understanding, if only to give them a better way to communicate how Bitcoin works to people with limited experience.

Featured image credit: Bitcoin Logo, https://www.flickr.com/photos/thelastminute/12350379324.