Digital currency Bitcoin is built on the premise that it exists outside the control of any centralised power.But now it is in danger of losing this credibility because of the growing power of a group that runs some of the computers behind it.In recent weeks, a London-based 'mining pool' called GHash has amassed nearly half of the Bitcoin computing power and has briefly gone over 50 per cent.In recent weeks, mining group GHash has amassed nearly half of the Bitcoin computing power and has briefly gone over 50 per cent.London-based 'mining pool' GHash could, in theory, control the flow of transactions, freeze people out of the network and keep all future bitcoins for itself.Bitcoin is a distributed peer-to-peer digital currency that functions without any central authority, such as the Bank of England.The currency was launched in 2008 and is traded within a global network of computers.Miners operate the computers that keep track of bitcoins and create additional coins.They pool their computing power to spread the financial risk of their operations.Bitcoins can be bought with near anonymity, which supporters say lowers fraud risk and increases privacy.

But critics say that also makes bitcoins a magnet for drug transactions, money-laundering and other illegal activities.The value of bitcoins has fallen six per cent in a week to around $600 (£354) as the threat posed by GHash has become clearer, although the decline is within the range of normal fluctuations for the volatile currency.A bitcoin investor, Norwegian Kristoffer Koch, recently made more than half a million pounds after he forgot he bought £17 of currency four years.This means GHash could, in theory, control the flow of transactions, freeze people out of the network and keep all future bitcoins for itself.Although GHash says it's committed to preserving Bitcoin as a trustable technology, the mere fact that one player can amass majority control could undermine trust in the currency, which is worth only what people are willing to pay for it.The value of bitcoins has fallen six per cent in a week to around $600 (£354) as the threat posed by GHash has become clearer, although the decline is within the range of normal fluctuations for the volatile currency.Bitcoins allow people to send money over the internet without going through banks.

This means transaction costs are low, but it also means they're useful for illegal activities such as money laundering and drug sales.Miners operate the computers that keep track of bitcoins and create additional coins.bitcoin ira reviewThey pool their computing power to spread the financial risk of their operations.Bitcoins have also become a target of speculators betting on a continued run-up in the currency.miglior bitcoin poolIts value has grown a hundredfold over two years.From a technical standpoint, bitcoins are sequences of numbers, painstakingly produced by computers churning through millions of calculations.bitcoin average payoutBitcoin transactions are recorded in a virtual public ledger, known as the blockchain.bitcoin blockchain to mysql

Miners are in charge of maintaining the blockchain.As their computers perform the calculations to do that, the process rewards them with newly minted bitcoins.bitcoin кошелек iosAs their computers perform the calculations to do that, the process rewards them with newly minted bitcoins A single mining computer might take years to produce a single block of coins, and there's no way to know when that might happen.bitcoin casino free faucetIn pools, miners divide the bitcoins they create among themselves in proportion to the work done, providing with them with a steadier stream of income.The pools aren't created to threaten the trust placed in bitcoin; it's a side effect of the pool's growth.GHash is controlled by a British company, CEX.IO Ltd.The company said in a statement Monday that it wants to protect Bitcoin, but it doesn't want to turn away people from the pool or impose other temporary solutions to back away from the 50 per cent threshold.GHash said it's arranging a 'round table' meeting of key players in the Bitcoin system in July to 'with the aim of discussing and negotiating collectively ways to address the decentralisation of mining as an industry.'Eyal

said the problem needs to be fixed in 'a very drastic fashion; to reduce the incentive to create pools.That will probably be with an update to the software the underlies the system, he said.GHash said it's arranging a 'round table' meeting of key players in the Bitcoin system in July to 'with the aim of discussing and negotiating collectively ways to address the decentralisation of mining as an industry'Security experts have warned that Android owners who find their battery life failing could have had their phones hijacked by hackers using it to mine bitcoin.They have found 'rogue' apps that allow hackers to mine for bitcoin in the background.Although Google has already removed dozens of the apps, security firm Lookout warns there could be more out there.The researchers say the rogue apps were available in Google's Play store - and secretly mined bitcoin in the background DID YOU DOWNLOAD A ROGUE APP?Researchers say the key signs area rapidly depleting battery and a handset that feels unusually warm.they also advice:Make sure the Android system setting ‘Unknown sources’ is unchecked to prevent dropped or drive-by-download app installs.Download a mobile security app that protects against malware as a first line of defense.

'Your phone is running low on battery and it seems to be working harder than usual.Would you ever suspect that it was secretly mining Bitcoin for someone you don’t know?'it said.The firm today revealed it found a piece of mobile malware in Google Play that quietly uses the phone’s processing power to create new coins.'We call it BadLepricon,' they said.'Andyes, that is how the malware authors spelled 'leprechaun'.'We hope they were going for a clever play on the word 'con.'Themalware comes in the form of a wallpaper app.Google removed five of these applications after we alerted them to the issue, but it is believed the apps had between 100-500 installs each at the time of removal.Lookout says bitcoin 'rogue apps' could become commonplace.'Weexpect to see more mobile miners come to the foreground,' the firm warned.The warning is the second over bitcoin apps that can install themselves on Android handsets.Last month researchers discovered CoinKrypt that focused on coins such as Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Casinocoin.The people behind this malware decided to go for these 'low-hanging fruit' coins because you can actually mine more coins with less computing power.