A New Smartphone Aims to Keep Your Crypto Safe

Adam James · February 27, 2018 · 1:30 pm

With large and small-scale cyber attacks costing exchanges and individuals their hard-earned digital currencies, one company is releasing a smartphone aimed at securing your investments from even the most skilled would-be cryptocurrency thieves.

One Phone to Secure Them All

Sikur, a cybersecurity firm based in Germany, has released a smartphone designed to protect your cryptocurrency from even the most skillful hackers.

Unveiled today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the SIKURPhone features — in addition to a 5.5-inch full-HD display and 13-megapixel rear camera — a built-in cryptocurrency software wallet.

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According to CNBC, Sikur hired professional hackers to assault the smartphone on all fronts. According to the company, none of the cyber attacks were successful after “rigorous hacking tests for two months.”

Additionally, the company plans on releasing their secure cryptocurrency platform outside of the smartphone itself. Sikur’s CEO, Cristiano Lop, told CNBC:

At the end of second quarter of 2018 we will deliver a crypto wallet inside our platform, expanding the wallet use beyond SIKURPhone, it means that our customers should be able, through a physical device, to securely store their cryptocoins.

If you’re looking to get your hands on the crypto-keeping smartphone, it will run you $799. The pre-sale begins today, with the first units scheduled for delivery in August 2018. According to the company, only 20,000 units will be available at this price.

Growing Concerns over Crypto Security

Sikur’s cryptocurrency-focused phone comes following growing concerns over securing digital currencies, which are vulnerable to hacks.

Most notably, the recent hack of Coincheck sent a shock wave through the crypto world — with roughly $530 million in funds stolen from the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange. DataTrek Research cofounder Nicholas Colas afterward claimed more hacks are on the way, telling CNBC:

I think [the attack] does highlight the fact that the industry still has a long way to go in terms of basic issues of security. This is certainly not the first, nor will it be the last, such hack attack on cryptocurrencies …

Colas was right. Popular cryptocurrency exchange BitGrail recently reported a loss of 17 million Nano — valued at over $170 million at the time of the hack.

Would you be interested in a secure smartphone to house your cryptocurrency holdings? Do you think $799 is a fair price? Let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of The Japan Times, YouTube/@Sikur Official, and Pixabay.

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Published at Tue, 27 Feb 2018 18:30:22 +0000

bitcoin Wallet

April 8, 2017

Does Regulation Slow Down or Accelerate Adoption?

Recently, many countries and cities have published new laws and legislations to regulate bitcoin. Does this help contribute to mainstream adoption, or is it merely a hindrance to it?

Regulation Slowing Adoption

New York was the first state in the USA to tighten regulation on bitcoin and other virtual currencies, via its BitLicense. This is issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services, and it regulates businesses which work with virtual currency.

The implementation of this law caused some bitcoin companies to cease operations in the state, while some others decided to go through the regulatory process to operate legally. However, to date, only 3 BitLicenses have been granted. Circle, Ripple and Coinbase are the only companies with the right to operate, and they must collect information on New York residents and report it back to the NYSDFS.

Other companies, like BitFinex and Kraken, decided to cease operations in the area and ban New York residents from using their services. They deemed the BitLicense to be too complicated to work with, and simply moving out of the area was the simplest option.

In other countries like China, regulation has been a bit harsher. Major exchanges were forced to introduce fees, freeze withdrawals and disable margin trading to comply with new regulation from the People’s Bank of China. Zhou Xuedong, director of the PBoC’s Business Administration unit, stated:

“There is a significant risk, one is the risk of customer funds security, the second is the risk of money laundering, the third is the risk of leveraged transactions.”

Ways Around Regulation

However, the bitcoin community has developed solutions to avoid regulation. Decentralized, peer-to-peer marketplaces exist, where users can spend and obtain bitcoins without adhering to any official regulation since the platform isn’t run by a third party.

BitSquare is a decentralized bitcoin exchange, where users can buy and sell bitcoins without proving their identity. OpenBazaar employs a similar concept and allows users to set up stores to sell their products.

There are also other platforms that aim to promote decentralisation. For example, Blockonomics.co provides a free, detailed bitcoin invoice services for freelancers and businesses, as an alternative to Coinbase or BitPay. This means that again, users can enjoy the same services without having to go through long verification processes.

Regulation Fueling Adoption

Contrary to popular belief, regulation doesn’t necessarily have to slow down adoption. In some cases, regulation could help bring cryptocurrency technology to the masses; an excellent example of this is Humaniq.

Humaniq is a new platform which aims to bring mobile banking services to those who reside in emerging economies. The platform is powered by blockchain technology, but they aim to be compliant with KYC/AML laws in the countries they will operate in.

However, users no longer have to go through a complicated verification process. Instead, the users’ identity can be verified by simply having them take a photo of themselves or by reading a short piece of text.

This could mean a significant step forward for blockchain technology. Users would be able to access all of its advantages without too much trouble, which is very important for those who live in emerging economies.

Nonetheless, any person can use Humaniq; their ICO (Initial Coin Offering) begins today, April 6th, which is a great chance to contribute to the project if you haven’t yet already done so.

[Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article. Publication does not constitute an endorsement and should not be considered as investment advice. Bitcoinist is not responsible for any outcome that may result from investing in this ICO.]

Do you think that cryptocurrency businesses should be regulated? If so, why? Let us know your thoughts below!

Images courtesy of Blockonomics.co, BitSquare, Humaniq, NewsBTC, CoinFox and The Houston Free Thinkers.

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