A record-setting round of fundraising by Israel-based blockchain startup Bancor has focused international attention on the new and fast-moving technology in the country.Bancor on Monday (June 12) managed to gather around $150 million in what is called an ICO, an Initial Coin Offering, from a range of investors, accredited and non-accredited.It was one of the largest ICOs ever and was completed online in just a few hours.Blockchain is a distributed and cryptographically secured database method best known for its use in Bitcoin and other more recent cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum's Ether.Bancor, which is still under development, sets out its business model in a 'white paper' on its website.Using its own tokens, it seeks to provide a method to easily switch between different cryptocurrencies, thus addressing the market's liquidity problems.It intends also to allow users to create tokens for use in their own projects, for example for their own ICO.It's these virtual tokens that Bancor, which is registered in Switzerland, sold off this week to anyone who was interested.

In an ICO investors don't get equity in a venture, nor do they lend money, they speculate on the future value of the tokens they buy.bitcoin ponzi scheme 2017Even some of the people close to the startup warn about the uncertain and unregulated nature of such investments.litecoin brasil"There's a lot of hype about ICOs currently.bitcoin precio historicoBancor raised a lot of money, which is nice but it leaves you to wonder whether they actually need all this money and whether the issuing was valuated correctly," says Meni Rosenfeld, chairman of the Israeli Bitcoin Association and a member of the advisory board of Bancor, in a technological capacity.bitcoin-qt on tails

The Bancor ICO is likely to reverberate both in the blockchain sector in Israel and in the wider venture capital field, which may be encountering its own disruptors.litecoin table"I think it's a bit inflated right now, this whole economy of investments in ICOs but even after the dust settles it will still be a new innovative way to raise money, with more and more investors and VC funds looking to get in on the action," said Rosenfeld.bitcoin hexIsraeli investor Eden Shochat has invested in Israeli blockchain startup Colu with his VC company Aleph and now has also put money into Bancor's ICO, but only his own, not his company's.bitcoin core not respondingHe's "not confident at all" that he'll recoup his stake, let alone make a profit, but he likes Bancor's concept.bitcoin ticker for mac

Shochat calls ICOs "a disruption to the investment industry" and says they have great potential.He expects VC funds to start participating in them but he cautions especially non-accredited investors against the unsettled nature of the mechanism and compares it at the moment to penny stocks.bitcoin ios github"I don't think ICO's change the basic issue with startups that more than 90 per cent or, it depends how you count, more than 99 per cent of startups fail," he says.He is enthusiastic about the prospects of the blockchain sector in Israel, saying: "Israeli adoption of Bitcoin and blockchain has been very, very early."Deloitte Israel has been following blockchain startups in recent years and Amit Harel says Bancor's ICO is bringing new attention."The blockchain industry in Israel has been showing big potential for a couple of years already but we're coming now to the success stories."His colleague Hagai Zachor emphasizes that blockchain is much more than only Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

"The blockchain technology as a whole gained much interest for things such as supply chain security from many international companies that are now focusing on Israel for the next round."Blockchain can basically be used to securely tag, track and trace almost any digitalized item.Says Harel: "One of the trends we're seeing is that we used to have mostly blockchain startups but now we see companies that are utilizing blockchain for their business objective… We're seeing it with merchants, goods, diamonds, art, shipments."It is also thought to have potential for use in tracking intellectual property and digital rights, for example in music.As for the sector's importance to the overall Israeli high-tech industry, he says it has great potential, although a lot of it will be so integrated into other solutions that it will be hard to define it as purely blockchain."To say that it will have the same percentage as cyber, or automotive or fintech, probably not but as a niche that is driving other industries and is providing out of the box innovation, we think it has in Israel huge potential."

Apart from the obvious cybersecurity-related cryptography aspect that makes blockchain a good fit with Israel's high-tech industry, it also fits with the country's financial technology sector.Roy Keidar, at the Yigal Arnon & Co.law firm in Tel Aviv, has been following blockchain development in Israel for years.He emphasizes the fintech aspect: "A lot of Israelis work in the fintech industry and they're looking for additional and innovative ways of doing business and getting cash, finding investments, doing crowdfunding, you have a lot of that in Israel."But security issues and regulation still have to catch up, he says: "There's not enough certainty, which keeps some of the investors away but as usual, the movers and shakers, the early adopters are really into it."Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.Need assistance with your subscription?« | » If there’s one thing that unites (almost) all games, it’s currencies.From simoleons and gil to bottle caps and scrap, there’s as much creativity involved in digital economics as in level and monster design.

Bitcoin, while only becoming a fixture of Android games after its inception, is nevertheless, a virtual currency too (unlike dollars, it has no physical token), albeit one that a technological Geppetto brought to life back in 2008.In the ensuing years, bitcoin became the babe of the gaming industry.There’s not much you can’t already buy with Satoshi Nakamoto’s seminal cryptocurrency.You can even coax Sir Richard Branson into taking you into space with a sack of bitcoins.It’s just a question of finding the right websites or stores.So, here’s a quick rundown of how to spend your bitcoin on casino games, Xbox, and PC titles.There’s an expansive niche of bitcoin-only casino sites online for players interested to ante up with the cryptocurrency.For example, the website Vegas Casino has casino games and slot machines available to play including Cinco de Mayo, Sushi Cuties, and Satoshi’s Secret, a unique hacking-themed game.If you’ve never played slots before, Vegas Casino recently published an article that talks the beginner through the basics of playing bitcoin slots, arguably the most newbie-friendly game the virtual casino has to offer.

You can click here for full article or simply head over to their homepage; there are tutorials posted all over the site.As one of the more “open” platforms, PC is a paradise as far as buying games with bitcoin is concerned.Gabe Newell’s Steam accepts bitcoin as of April 2016 via payment handler BitPay, a development that omits only a handful of franchises and developers from the bitcoin-friendly world.The biggest disappointment involves EA – if it’s confined to the Origin storefront, the developer’s official stance is that it can’t be bought with bitcoin.EA recommends buying official Game Cards in stores that accept the cryptocurrency instead.However, bitcoin-accepting site Humble Bundle provides an alternative in the US, given that it sometimes hosts Origin sales.The fact that Microsoft accepts bitcoin makes buying Xbox games with the token easy.With the exception of hardware and gift cards, you can purchase just about every piece of software Bill Gates’ company makes, including apps for Windows Phone and games, music, and video for Xbox devices.

Microsoft also supports bitcoin payments to a store wallet via mobile.On a related topic, Microsoft’s latest initiative, the Universal Windows Platform, means that Xbox and PC share some of the same games.For example, you can now play one of Xbox’s flagship game franchises, Gears of War, on PC (let’s ignore the janky port of the original) – another boon for PC gamers with bitcoin to spend.Finally, to answer an obvious question: Officially, Sony and Nintendo don’t have much to say about bitcoin, meaning that anybody interested in purchasing The Last of Us or Breath of the Wild with cryptocurrency has to go independent.For example, eGifter sells time cards for PlayStation Plus memberships and for the Nintendo eShop.Again, Humble Bundle also ran a PlayStation-only pack of THQ Nordic games (Darksiders, Red Faction) during April./Patrick Waters Passionate about anything digital with a specific interest in virtual reality.«Previous post | Next post» More by Jonas Ek: Tags: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Gaming, Digital economics, Gamers, Gaming, PC games, Xbox One