Duncan Riley

Duncan Riley is a senior writer at SiliconANGLE covering Startups, Bitcoin, and the Internet of Things. Duncan is a co-founder of VC funded media company B5Media and founder of news site The Inquisitr, and was a senior writer at TechCrunch in its earlier days. Tips? Press releases? Intersting startup? email: duncan@nichenet.com.au or contact Duncan on Twitter @duncanriley

Latest from Duncan Riley

Bitmain lays off up to 50% of staff as crypto crash continues to bite

Leading Chinese cryptocurrency hardware maker and miner Bitmain Technologies Inc. is cutting up to 50 percent of its staff as the cryptocurrency crash that started in January continues to affect major players in the industry. The up to 50 percent figure was first reported on social media Dec. 23, but at the time, Bitmain said only that it ...

Hot tub hack machine: Hackable spas are now a thing, thanks to security vulnerabilities

In what sounds like a plot in a bad Adam Sandler film, a security company has discovered a brand of hot tubs that can be easily hacked. Described in excruciating details over the weekend by security researchers at Pen Test Partners Ltd., the vulnerability relates to the Balboa Water App, a mobile app used for controlling around ...

Japan blames declining eyesight levels among kids on smartphone use

Smartphone use is causing declining levels of healthy eyesight among children, according to the Japanese Government. The finding comes from the country’s Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry. It found that the eye health of younger children in particular is rapidly declining. Students who earned a healthy eyesight rating of 1.0 on the Japanese system ...

Report: Wall Street banks back away from cryptocurrencies

Wall Street banks are backing away from introducing cryptocurrency related products after the precipitous decline in their value this year, according to a report from Bloomberg. Multiple leading firms had either announced or were rumored to be entering the market earlier in the year, but few have come to fruition. The report said that “while ...

Bitcoin investors have a jolly lead up to Christmas as price continues to rise

The price of bitcoin continues to defy skeptics in the lead up to Christmas as some experts predict it may return to its highs last seen in 2017. As of 9:15 p.m. EST Sunday, bitcoin had hit $4,158.02 and appeared to be on track to pass $4,200, its highest level in nearly a month as part ...

Report: Facebook is developing its own cryptocurrency for use with WhatsApp

Facebook Inc. is looking at entering the cryptocurrency market with its own stablecoin, according to a new report. Bloomberg, quoting people familiar with the matter, claimed the Facebook is designing the stablecoin for use with its WhatsApp messaging app, focusing first on the remittances market in India. Stablecoins offer the benefits of a cryptocurrency, including ...

Bitcoin breaks through $4K as ‘Santa Claus rally’ continues to gather steam

The price of bitcoin today broke through $4,000 as the so-called “Santa Claus rally” that started on Dec. 17 continues to gather steam. After a horrific year that saw its price drop from a high of nearly $20,000, bitcoin hit its bottom of $3,139.96 on Dec. 15. On Dec. 17, bitcoin rose from $3,236.84 to $3,503.20 while ...

Report: Ethereum blockchain firm ConsenSys to lay off 50-60% of employees

Two weeks after it was reported to be laying off around 13 percent of its workforce, Ethereum blockchain startup and venture capital firm ConsenSys is cutting even more workers in an apparent sign that it may be in serious trouble. Problems at the company, formally called Consensus Systems Inc., were first detailed in an article Dec. 5 that ...

Major UK airport shut down after rogue drones spotted

One of the U.K.’s largest airports remains closed after rogue drones were seen near its main runway on Wednesday and Thursday. After the first drone sighting, Gatwick Airport, one of a number of airports in the greater London area and the second-busiest in the country behind Heathrow, ceased all inbound and outbound flights at 9:10 ...

Justice Department indicts two Chinese nationals over global hacking campaign

The U.S. Department of Justice today indicted two Chinese nationals over their role in a hacking group that allegedly broke into and stole data from 45 U.S. tech companies and government agencies. The two men are Zhu Hua, known online as Afwar, CVNX, Alayos and Godkiller, and Zhang Shilong, also known as Baobeilong, Zhang Jianguo ...