For many years, China was an extremely important member of the digital currency market, with over 90% of the global trading volume being conducted in the region. However, back in September, the Central Bank of China decided to crackdown on cryptocurrencies and hence ban Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and stopping exchanges from serving customers in China.

Following the crackdown, there have been many rumours that China was planning to resume trading, yet a recent statement from a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China dismisses these rumours.

While the popularity of bitcoin has increased considerably over the last few years, the electricity usage for transactions and mining are coming under scrutiny. Recent studies showcase that the amount of energy being used by computers which mine the digital currency this year, is much greater when compared to the annual usage of around 160 countries.

For those who do not know, mining is the process through which transactions are verified by the network, through the solving of complex cryptographic problems. To make sure that transactions aren’t falsified, and that records of ownership remain unchanged on the blockchain network, transactions must be signed off into blocks, which are then verified by the miners. Once a block is solved, a 12.5 BTC reward is given to the miner, or mining pool responsible. This amount serves as the main incentive for miners, but is also the way that new bitcoin is added to the market.

It has often been said that bitcoin may reach the $10,000 milestone by the end of the year. While many speculated that this isn’t possible, the digital currency has recently hit the $9,000 milestone, and set a new all-time high.

The year of 2017 has been incredibly positive for bitcoin, considering the fact that its value multiplied 9 times, from $800-$1,000, to over $9,000.

Mt Gox, the now-defunct bitcoin exchange, has been out of the media headlines for a few years now, given the fact that it entered bankruptcy following the disappearance of hundreds of millions of dollars-wroth of bitcoin.

However, recent reports now indicate that the Mark Karpeles, the CEO of the digital currency exchange is considering the idea of launching an Initial Coin Offering, in order to revive the exchange. As controversial as this may sound, Mark Karpeles wrote a blog post detailing the possible implications of an Mt Gox ICO.

The month of November has been fairly shaky for digital currencies, hence bringing in high volatility for Bitcoin and other coins. Following the decrease in value to roughly $5,500, bitcoin has quickly managed to regain its value, and even hit a new all-time high, hence surpassing the $8,000 threshold for the first time ever. At the moment of writing, the digital currency is trading at approximately $8,200.

On the 12th of November, the bitcoin price fell to around $5,500 after the SegWit2X hard fork plans were cancelled. The reasons behind this include general lack of consensus, supporters backing out, and bugs in the code. Following the failure of implementing SegWit2x, and splitting the bitcoin network into two separate coins, many of the SegWit believers decided to invest their money into Bitcoin Cash, thus causing a massive value spike for it.

At this moment in time, internet users throughout the world do not have full control over the data that they share across all websites. Instead, all of the data shared goes through a middleman that processes it and then sends it to the next interested party.

Decentralized Apps (dapps), built with the help of the Ethereum network are bound to change this in the future. Their sole purpose is to connect providers and the afferent users directly. Another main characteristic associated with dapps is the fact that they often have an open-source API, provide immutability thanks to the blockchain and most do not have a point of failure.

During the last couple of months, Bitcoin has gone through a two different hard forks, and the creation of two additional and separate digital currencies – bitcoin cash and bitcoin gold. Now, the deadline is quickly approaching for another hard fork, and this will likely have larger implications for the network.

The plan to introduce SegWit2x has been around since May, and has quickly gained favour with numerous mining pools and bitcoin start-ups. While the number of those supporting the hard fork has changed over the last few months, we’ll attempt to explain what this protocol change wishes to achieve, and the means of doing so.

Judging by the recent price increases for digital currencies, more and more investors are considering the idea of getting their very own digital currency portfolio. However, as easy as it may sound, having a crypto portfolio with a high-yield potential can often be difficult if certain tips aren’t followed, and especially if investors are on a budget.

Therefore, when making digital currency investments, it is often essential to reach a perfect balance in your portfolio, by finding smart ways of diversifying it. In return, this will lead to an increase of the potential yield, while also reducing possible loses, based on market volatility.

During the last couple of months, Bitcoin has been on a bullish streak, with prices considerably increasing day after day. At the moment of writing, Bitcoin is just short of hitting the threshold of $7,000 per unit, after reaching $6,900 for the first time ever, and currently trading at $7,359.

The increase in price has also lead to a big increase of the digital currency’s total market cap, which is now situated at $120 bln. Not only this, but the overall market cap of all digital currencies combined is situated at $188 bln.

During the last couple of months, Russia’s attitude towards Bitcoin and other digital currencies was quite conflicting, yet surely negative for the market. Recent reports indicate that the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has just ordered the government to begin drafting up legislation for digital currencies, ICOs and mining.

At this time, there are several reports available on what these laws will do, and what they will restrict.