Nick Szabo believes that the block size debate needs more computer science and less noise; BitShares 2.0 integrates SmartChain technology and more top stories for June 11.
Nick Szabo: Block size debate "needs more computer science, less noise"
Renowned cryptographer, Nick Szabo, who many believe to be the creator of Bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto, has weighed in on the debate about changing the block size. In a tweet reply to another famous cryptographer, Adam Back, Szabo thinks that there is too much noise in the debate and not enough computer science.
BitShares Integrates SmartChain tech
BitShares has become the first company integrate the new Graphene toolkit powered Smartchain technology on its platform. The technology, which was developed by Virginia-based Cryptonomex Inc., is part of the new features that the newly upgraded BitShares 2.0 utilizes.
BitShares:
"This is the next step in the evolution of BitShares, and incorporates all of the feedback and lessons learned from the BitShares stakeholders, partners, developers, marketers, and other community leaders throughout this past year of research and development."
Visa predicts boom in mobile payments by 2020
A report from Visa Europe has indicated that Mobile payment methods will replace cash and cards in the UK by 2020. By 2015, only one in 12 Britons uses mobile payment methods. This figure is expected to grow to six in ten.
Over 12,000 UK consumers participated in the study, which also predicted that the UK mobile markets will handle a whopping £1.2 billion per week.
Visa Europe:
“The UK mobile payments boom will see an upsurge in the weekly value spent using mobile devices, with the market growing to an estimated £1.2 billion per week by 2020,”
10,000 convenience stores selling bitcoin in Taiwan
Taiwanese users can now buy bitcoins over the counter and at in-store terminals in 10,000 convenience stores across the South East Asian country thanks to a system that Maicoin, a local Bitcoin exchange startup, has launched.
The company is also targeting foreign workers who send money home and do not have a bank account.
Founder and CEO Alex Liu:
"The conversation here is no longer about the legality of buying and selling bitcoin. It's about being a full payment processor. That's a huge step forward from last year."
African entrepreneurs selling handcrafted Bitcoin shirts for BTC
Dream Bitcoin Foundation of Ghana, a nonprofit organization, has invented an new way to funds its projects. Its members are designing and handcrafting Bitcoin themed shirts and hand bundles for shipping around the globe. All of them are paid for in bitcoins.
Philip Agyei Asare, President of Dream Bitcoin Foundation:
"Our dream is to start a Booster Center to help young entrepreneurs be part of the worldwide digital economy and the Bitcoin payment network. Through it, we will also educate and guide our community in this new form of economy."
Bitcoin Wallet Software Providers Support Block Size Increase
Cointelegraph has reached out to several Bitcoin wallet providers to find out where they stand in the block size debate. The majority did express support for the increase in the bitcoin block size from 1 to 20 MB.
MultiBit’s Jim Burton:
"Gavin presented his reasoning for 20-megabyte blocks at the recent DevCore London that I attended, and he has a convincing argument. We need bigger blocks in Bitcoin to enable the regular Jo to stay on the chain and not be forced to off-chain solutions."
Cointelegraph has launched a Super writers competition, 5 BTC is up for grabs!
Cointelegraph has launched a Super Writers competition. Guest authors are invited to submit news or opinion stories on FinTech or cryptocurrency. The articles will be published on the news resource while the authors have a chance to win up to 5 BTC.
Cointelegraph:
“This competition is ongoing: submit your article by the 27th of each month and you’ll be in with a chance of having it published in the following month. We will select only the very best articles from each category for publication, one of which will also win an additional prize of 1 BTC.”