Major US-based crypto exchange Coinbase was temporarily overwhelmed by a traffic spike during Bitcoin’s latest surge towards $10K. 

Exchange overwhelmed by 5x normal traffic

According to a 6 June blog post from a Coinbase software engineer, the exchange saw its autoscaling overwhelmed when hit by 5x normal volume for more than 4 minutes at around 16:05 PDT on 1 June, as the price of Bitcoin (BTC) neared $10K. 

The traffic spike hit several internal Coinbase services, increasing latency, and leaving many users unable to login. Apparently, the request error rate hit 50% at one point during the incident. 

At 16:20, Coinbase redeployed the API, increasing the number of machines dealing with the traffic. Though this led to another two-minute outage, the exchange was back fully operational shortly after. 

It is the fifth time Coinbase has gone offline during the past three months during significant Bitcoin (BTC) price moves. 

Coinbase failing users at most pressing times

On 1 Just, when Bitcoin rallied from around $9,600 to $10,380 in under an hour, Coinbase users were unable to access their accounts. On 9 May, two days before the halving, BTC crashed by nearly $2,000 in under 24 hours, and again, Coinbase users found the service unavailable. On 29 April, BTC rose almost 12%… and yet again users were locked out. And, on 12 March, during that month’s crash, some Coinbase users found themselves unable to login and make trades.

Coinbase has said the issues were caused by “connectivity issues” on 1 June, 9 May, and 29 April, and network congestion on 12 March.

AYO.NEWS says:

To a casual observer, this may not seem like a big deal, but it is potentially very serious. Coinbase is proving itself unreliable just at the times when it is most important for traders to be able to access their accounts – obviously leading to significant potential losses for some. 

Furthermore, these outages are rapidly eroding trust in the platform, with some social media users openly speculating that the United States’ busiest exchange is intentionally crashing its own website to manipulate the markets. 

While Coinbase’s technical explanations may well be perfectly valid, with several major exchanges already being accused of market manipulation in the law courts, Coinbase can’t afford to be looking suspicious right now. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

It seems the Pentagon has been preparing for a rebelling fuelled by Bitcoin, after leaked documents revealed a 2018 wargame with a difference. 

According to The Intercept, the US military created a game called the 2018 Joint Land, Air and Sea Strategic Special Program (JLASS), which saw Generation Z instigate a nationwide rebellion, dubbed “Zbellion.”

Set in the 2020s, the wargame set out a scenario in which rebels were rewarded with cryptocurrency payments for attacking corporations, financial institutions, political and non-profit organisations that were seen as supporting the establishment. 

Basically, the Zbellion used software to route any proceeds gained from the attacks into laundering programs, and then distributed it to “worthy recipients”, including those who were responsible for the attacks. 

As with all major wargames, the scenario came complete with a detailed backstory, which described how, by providing “erroneous or misleading information into official websites intended to confuse citizens and create mistrust”, a large chunk of the population, particularly the young, completely lost faith in mainstream media. 

The documents described the origins of the uprising thus:

“Both the September 11 terrorist attacks and the Great Recession greatly influenced the attitudes of this generation in the United states, and resulted in a feeling of unsettlement and insecurity among Gen Z. Although Millennials experienced these events during their coming of age, Gen Z lived through them as part of their childhood, affecting their realism and world view … many found themselves stuck with excessive college debt when they discovered employment options did not meet their expectations. 

“Gen Z are often described as seeking independence and opportunity but are also among the least likely to believe there is such a thing as the “American Dream,” and that the “system is rigged” against them. Frequently seeing themselves as agents for social change, they crave fulfillment and excitement in their job to help “move the world forward.” 

“Despite the technological proficiency they possess, Gen Z actually prefer person-to-person contact as opposed to online interaction. They describe themselves as being involved in their virtual and physical communities, and as having rejected excessive consumerism.”

This mistrust and disenchantment then led to mass rallies and protests, gelling together around perceived social injustices and inequality, before turning into full-scale rebellion – fed by Bitcoin (BTC). 

AYO.NEWS says:

With mass social unrest and disorder sweeping across a bitterly divided United States, and now spreading to Europe – particularly the United Kingdom, the news that the Pentagon has been preparing for a youth rebellion is a little unsettling. 

Obviously this wargame was played out before the current COVID-19 pandemic, and the specific circumstances that triggered the current unrest may differ from the plans, but the general feeling of division, hate, inequality and a rotten financial system has clearly been worrying US military planners for a while. 

As we’ve been reporting over the past few months, as chaos and uncertainty grows, and the fragility of the forces of law and order grows clear, many see the opportunity for Bitcoin (BTC) to emerge as the safe haven asset many have long assumed it would become. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Derivatives accounted for 32% of the crypto market in May, reaching a record volume of USD $ 602 billion. 

According to UK-based cryptocurrency data aggregator CryptoCompare, May’s figures beat the previous record of $600 billion, set in March 2020. 

The lion’s share of May’s derivative volume was handled by Huobi, OKEx, and Binance – which together accounted for approximately 80%. Huobi, the market leader, saw volume surge 29% to $176bn, while OKEx saw volume grow 33% to $152bn, and Binance recorded growth of 58% to $139bn. However, in terms of percentage growth, institutional player CME actually saw the biggest increase at 59%, which took it to $7.2bn. 

CME also saw institutional options volumes break records in May, with 5,996 contracts traded – that’s an incredible 16 times more than were traded in April. On 28 May alone, CME saw 1,418 Bitcoin (BTC) options contracts traded. It was a similar story at Derebit too, where options volumes more than doubled in May, to $3.06bn. 

CryptoCompare also noted a huge shift in stablecoin use, with USDT dominating, making up 98% of stablecoin to BTC trading, while USDC volume was down 78% and PAX crashed 97% in May. 

As to be expected, 10 May – the day before the much anticipated Bitcoin halving – saw a massive spike in spot trading volumes, which rocketed to $64.7bn. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With the world rapidly destabilising and many fearing an unprecedented crash of the traditional economic system is approaching, it’s not surprising to see a significant uptick in crypto activity among institutional investors and traders. 

Further confirming this uptick was data from Skew in mid-May, which showed open interest on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Bitcoin options exploding by more than 1,000%. And, just last week, it emerged that Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust had embarked on a massive BTC buying spree since May’s halving. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Online casino platform provider Digitain is sponsoring this year’s SiGMA Asia and SiGMA DeepTech virtual online conferences, taking place from 8-10 June. 

SiGMA Asia 2020 will explore a wide range of topics relating to Asia, including new market opportunities and product strategies for the COVID-19 era and beyond. 

SiGMA DeepTech 2020 will focus on important technology issues facing the industry as it evolves, including; Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Game Design, and User Experience. 

Over three days, virtual conference visitors will be able to learn from the shared experiences of more than 80 industry thought leaders, including Digitain’s Director of Product Management, Martin Clarke. 

Clarke will be part of the panel discussing the impact of esports on the industry during the current challenging times. He will also feature in a conference video presentation covering the trends, challenges and future of User Experience. 

Discussing the upcoming virtual conferences, Clarke said:

“We, at Digitain, as event Silver Sponsors, are very pleased to be able to support and take part in this innovative virtual conference, and to collaborate with such a great panel of industry leaders.

“We will have an opportunity to showcase our products to a wide, international audience and to discuss how we have reacted positively and pro-actively to the crisis by introducting new profitable revenue streams for our partners to our product portfolio.”

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s certainly been a challenging few months for the online gambling industry, so it will be fascinating to hear what the movers and shakers are seeing for the future, as we look ahead to the post-pandemic world. 

Staying with Digitain, earlier this week we reported the company had appointed industry veteran Peter Nolan as its new Strategic Consultant. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Kyrgyzstan could be about to legalise cryptocurrency mining, and introduce a regulated tax framework for operations.

Mining or using cryptocurrencies is currently illegal in the Central Asian nation of around 6.5 million people, and in September 2019 authorities went as far as cutting power to 45 mining firms.

The biggest concern with crypto mining in the country appears to be the strain it puts on the Kyrgyz electricity grid – which is underdeveloped and already has to import a substantial amount of power. 

Despite these concerns, the country’s parliament has recently been debating a proposal to allow crypto mining subject to a 15% tax on profits generated from the sale of mined assets. 

Plans to charge crypto miners a 70% premium on their electricity bills have also been discussed.

AYO.NEWS says:

Considering that the Kyrgz Republic is poor, underdeveloped, land-locked, and rather remote, the crypto industry offers a rare opportunity to develop a lucrative new economic sector, so perhaps lawmakers should focus on improving the electrical and internet infrastructure, and encourage international crypto firms to set-up shop there?

Last year Iran also did a u-turn on crypto mining, going from raiding operations to introducing licenses for firms, after the government realised the economic potential of the industry. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Uruguay Can has launched the world’s first blockchain-based traceability platform for medical cannabis. 

The result of eight months’ development work by Inmind, the platform is built on æternity, a decentralized and scalable blockchain, and allows complete traceability in cultivation of medical cannabis. It is scheduled to be put into operation in June and July, during the planting phase. 

The platform documents every phase in the cultivation process, from the sprout to the packaging stages, storing the information immutably on the blockchain. This means complete security and transparency can be guaranteed, increasing the value of the product internationally. The platform can also be used for any other crop. 

Commenting on the news PR director of æternity, Mariana Sanguinetti, said:

“This tool has a great applicability potential, not only for cannabis but for any kind of crops and processes that are enhanced by traceability, transparency and reliability.”

The project was born at the æternity Innovation Centre at ORT University, Montevideo, Uruguay and was led by Enrique Topolansky and Gonzalo Sobral.

In December 2013, Uruguay became the first country to legalise the growing, sale, and consumption of marijuana, and has since become one of the leading Latin American producers of cannabis for both medical and recreational uses. Around 80 countries worldwide are expected to legalise medical use of cannabis in the near future. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Given the very different legal status of cannabis in various parts of the world, it is absolutely vital to precisely document every stage of the production, packaging and distribution process, to avoid potentially serious misunderstandings. The immutable nature of blockchain makes it ideal for such applications, and with so many countries likely to legalise cannabis over the next few years, we’re sure the æternity-based platform will make exporting much easier. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020