So far, 2019 hasn’t brought along much price volatility on the cryptocurrency market, but the trend is quickly changing. With this in mind, the bitcoin price recently went through a 19% increase, thus breaking the $4,200 technical barrier. This quickly led to a price growth that managed to hit $5,000 in only a few hours. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $5,245.

As it often happens, following the price swing, numerous other important cryptocurrencies went through the same change. As such, the XRP, Litecoin and EOS all increased in value. The ether price grew from $137, and is currently trading at approximately $155.

Any price swing of this magnitude begs a simple, yet highly-relevant question – why? So far, several price analysts have shared their opinion on the matter. Before we dwell into the reasoning behind the uptrend, it is important to mention that this is pure speculation, granted bitcoin’s complex marketplace.

The increasing popularity of the digital currency market has encouraged central banks throughout the world to consider developing their own centralized digital currencies. This trend is understandable, granted that governments and traditional financial institutions are interested in keeping their control over the financial system.

Recent reports indicate that Ukraine has ramped up development of its central bank-based digital currency (CBDC). In fact, the country’s central bank has already finalized a pilot scheme for the national cryptocurrency, referred to as the e-hryvnia.

During the last two years, the cryptocurrency market has seen an increased number of regulatory efforts from financial institutions throughout the world. In general, most frameworks attempt to limit illegal activities tied to digital currencies, while also establishing a set of guidelines for crypto users. On the other hand, other laws are focused on limiting the use of crypto altogether.

With a population of over 1 billion, it’s no surprise that digital assets have gained quite a bit of popularity in India – especially since a large percentage of the population is unbanked. This has encouraged the government to pursue the adoption of a regulatory framework. Shortly after, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), released a circular, informing banks that they are no longer permitted to offer financial services to individuals or businesses involved with digital currencies. In other words, the RBI urged banks to sever ties and close the accounts of crypto traders and businesses accepting it as a form of payment.

Cryptocurrency investors have certainly had a difficult year, given the fairly stable prices for all popular digital currencies. However, recent market developments are once again adding volatility to the market.

This has led to a bullish trend for Bitcoin, since the cryptocurrency has surpassed the $4,000 threshold. In fact, the price recently saw a $200 growth, bouncing from $3,900 to $4,100. In return, this helped increase bitcoin’s market capitalization to over $70 billion, whereas the entire market’s worth is now situated at over $140 billion.

The recent price volatility has also encouraged price spikes for other cryptocurrencies. As such, Ethereum saw a 6% increase, whereas XRP and Litecoin gained around 5%.

Since the dawn of the internet, people throughout the world have been dealing with computer malware. With time, viruses have become more advanced, and the emergence of digital currencies brought along a new trend – crypto malware.

According to a research study carried out by McAfee, in the year of 2018, instances of mining malware have increased by approximately 4,000%. To put things better into perspective, in the third quarter of 2018, a total of four million mining malware threats have been discovered, which is a significantly higher number when compared to 2017 and 2016, when no more than 500,000 threats were discovered.

Dear Clients!

It's 24th of December and it means that the most festive and special time of the year has come! We want to thank you for choosing our hosting products and services and staying with us throughout this year. May your festive season sparkle and your holiday overflow with gifts and love.

Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

CoinsHOST team.

Throughout 2018, most cryptocurrencies were affected by strong volatility, thus leading to reduced investor interest and lower prices. However, the crypto sector is far from being dead, and governments are well-aware of this aspect.

With this in mind, numerous countries have stepped up their regulatory and taxation frameworks for the digital currency market. Recent reports indicate that following public consultation, the U.K Tax Collection Service published their crypto taxation legislation, applicable to private digital asset holders.

The biggest sale of the year is now live! Get 50% off your first month payment for any dedicated server, VPS, cloud hosting and DDoS protection order of over 50 CHF in value. To get the discount simply redeem the code BLACKWEEK on checkout, valid through Novmber, 28.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if your have any questions about the sale terms or need assitance.

As you may already know, blockchain technology has massive potential to disrupt numerous industries throughout the world. However, the worldwide adoption of the technology is only possible with a supportive regulatory framework.

A study carried out by the University of Cambridge in partnership with the Queen Mary University of London, discusses whether private blockchains are compatible with the recently-adopted European Union GDPR privacy law.

To put things better into perspective, the GDPR law is responsible for regulating how personal data of EU citizens is stored and processed. As such, all companies that control personal data operating within the EU must respect a set of rules concerning the storage, transfer and use of personal data. Failure to do so leads to a fine as large as €20 million EUR, or a percentage of the global revenues obtained by the company breaching the law.

One of the biggest advantages that cryptocurrencies have over their fiat counterparts is the decentralized status, which provides higher security, reduces attack risks, and ensures that coins are not controlled by a central entity. Despite this aspect, recent research has concluded that the majority of digital assets available on the market are centralized.

To put things better into perspective, CryptoCompare, which is a market data aggregator, has recently published a digital asset analysis for over 200 coins. The authors analysed the digital assets from a variety of different perspectives, and using more than 30 attributes. When doing the analysis, researchers considered the supply concentration, distribution, market cap, governance, volume data, regulatory classification, and decentralized status of the coins.