Bitcoin Foundation Chief Scientist and former lead developer of Bitcoin Core, Gavin Andresen, believes to have come up with a solution to vastly speed up block validation, the global bitcoin exchange Coinsetter announced Project High Line, and other top stories for February 27.

Gavin Andresen improves Bitcoin's block validation performance

Bitcoin Foundation Chief Scientist and former lead developer of Bitcoin Core, Gavin Andresen, believes to have come up with a solution to vastly speed up block validation. According to his post on GitHub:

“The old code would spend about 600ms CPU time per hop propagating blocks with already-seen transactions, this new code will spend under 10ms.”

Coinsetter Aims to Improve Trade Using Bitcoin's Blockchain

Coinsetter, the global bitcoin exchange based in New York City, announced Project High Line, a new venture that aims to improve how trades across Wall Street are cleared and settled through the application of Bitcoin’s blockchain technology. The technology in Project High Line will allow any client on the Coinsetter exchange to have a line-of-sight view of their funds, on the blockchain, after trades are executed.

Jaron Lukasiewicz, CEO of Coinsetter, said:

“Project High Line will introduce mechanisms that settle trades in near real-time, 24/7. Additionally, the accounting involved in tracking and reconciling asset movements between global intermediaries will be dramatically improved, as On-Blockchain Settlement creates a traceable P2P atmosphere.”

The World's ‘Most Secure’ Operating System Adds a Bitcoin Wallet

Tails OS, which experts consider the world’s most secure operating system and that the NSA called a “threat,” has released a new version that includes a Bitcoin wallet option.

This means you can now hold your washed or tumbled bitcoins in a wallet stored on arguably the world's most secure internet-connected operating system. This will undoubtedly be a significant tool in the war for privacy.

Commonwealth Secretariat Commissions Bitcoin Report for Developing Nations

The main intergovernmental body behind the Commonwealth of Nations, the Commonwealth Secretariat, which represents 53 states mainly in the developing world, held a two-day event that has ended with agreement that member states draft a formal report on virtual currencies.

According to a spokesperson for the organization:

“At the end of the two days, representatives of member governments issued a set of recommendations – these included preparing technical guidance for member states on effective legislative, regulatory and criminal justice responses to virtual currencies.”

Coinbase launches Coinbase Sandbox

Coinbase announced the launch of Coinbase Sandbox, a dedicated test environment where merchants and developers can easily and safely test bitcoin functionality. The Coinbase Sandbox runs on testnet3, an alternate blockchain specifically designed for this purpose, and as such does not require the use of live Coinbase accounts or real bitcoin.

MapOfCoins Unleashes Technologies Library for 800+ Cryptocurrencies to ‘Facilitate Digital Learning’

Cryptocurrency reference service MapOfCoins launched its Technologies tool aiming to give insight into the inner workings of the most popular currencies in the cryptospace. The new resource is being released in tandem with a contribution portal intended to make it easier for users to suggest improvements and updates.

MapOfCoins stated:

“Currently, more than 800 cryptocurrencies are presented on the website. From the beginning the project’s core idea was to draw attention of people engaged in the cryptocurrency world and to facilitate digital learning.”

Bitstamp to Introduce New Fee Structure

Bitstamp will simplify its fee schedule next month, a move that will reduce costs for the "vast majority" of clients, according to the company. While he current fee structure states that a buyer or seller trading less than US$500 is subject to a 0.50% fee, the revised proposal will mean that traders spending less than US$20,000 will incur a 0.25% charge. The revised charges will go live on March 2.

'Igot.com Has Stopped Over $1.2M Worth of Frauds in the Past 6 Months,' Says Founder

In light of users’ complaints over withdrawal delays on Australian Bitcoin exchange Igot, founder Rick Day, responds to clients concerns and sheds light on his exchange's verification process.

Igot, which is closely monitoring for suspicious activities occurring on its exchange, has stopped over AUD$1.2M worth of frauds in the past 6 months alone by imposing 'manual verification' when an account is flagged, according to Day, who explained:

“Bank frauds, BPAY frauds, and Bitcoin frauds are way too common for us, or any exchange to ignore. The risk is bigger than the reward. We’re not in this business for fraudulent people to move money anonymously. We require full disclosure from our users.”

WeChat Helps Bitcoin Get a Festive Boost from Chinese New Year gifting

Bitcoin enthusiasts in China exchanged a total of RMB 10 million (US$1.6 million) through the popular messaging app WeChat in Chinese New Year gifts using the cryptocurrency, according to Beijing-based exchange OKCoin. Users sent the bitcoin gifts in the form of virtual red envelopes, a modern twist on the traditional, cash-stuffed red packets given to younger family members during Chinese New Year reunions.

Mega's Kim Dotcom on twitter: 'Let's Give Bitcoin a Boost'

After coming under intense pressure from SOPA proponent Senator Patrick Leahy, PayPal has closed the account of cloud-storage service Mega. Bizarrely, Mega's encryption is being cited as a key problem.

It seems, however, as if Kim Dotcom is not too worried, as he sent out a tweet reading:

“Let's give Bitcoin a boost :-) #Mega”

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