Author: Free Bitcoin News

  • It’s a Multi-Chain World, Bitcoin Just Dominates It

    It’s a Multi-Chain World, Bitcoin Just Dominates It

    On Tuesday, CoinDesk Research will drop its Quarterly Review for Q3, featuring 60 slides jam-packed with insights, analysis and data. For me, one of the takeaways is that like it or not, we live in a multi-chain world.

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    For example, the report notes that in September bitcoin dominance – that is, the original cryptocurrency’s share of total crypto market capitalization – was 42%. That’s the lowest it’s been at that point in the year in any of the previous four years.

    The report’s authors, CoinDesk Research analysts George Kaloudis and Teddy Oosterbaan, are careful to note this is due to an explosion in growth of other networks rather than a lowering of bitcoin’s power.

    “BTC losing dominance does not imply that it is losing, especially as it continues to cement itself as a sound money and global monetary network,” they write. “Waning dominance for bitcoin more accurately suggests that there is money flowing into other projects with different use cases, as typically occurs during times of optimism in digital assets.”

    And flow it has. Note that while Ethereum’s share was higher in the most recent September than at any time in the series since 2017 – the heyday of initial coin offerings and CryptoKitties – the share for all other blockchains was the highest of any of the last five Septembers.

    As Kaloudis and Oosterbaan note throughout the report, alternative “layer 1″ (L1) blockchains gained popularity as the congestion and high fees on Ethereum spurred demand for networks with similar smart contract capabilities but faster throughput. At least, faster for now. Baseball legend Yogi Berra’s quote comes to mind: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

    You see this demand reflected in the market capitalizations of these L1 networks’ native currencies and the total value locked (TVL), or money invested, in their decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. Cardano’s ADA, Binance Smart Chain’s BNB, Solana’s SOL, Avalanche’s AVAX and Terra’s LUNA are now in the top 12 coins by market cap.

    While Ethereum remains king among DeFi host networks, look at how diverse these bars measuring TVL have become:

    Again, bitcoin remains the crypto market’s bellwether, the coin with the greatest institutional adoption and network effect, with an unparalleled level of security hard-won by miners’ politically incorrect energy consumption. (Disclosure: It’s the only coin I own.) That seems unlikely to change.

    But the Bitcoin network’s scaling limitations, along with those of its largest competitor, Ethereum, mean neither can count on becoming the only game in town any time soon.

    The CoinDesk Quarterly Review for Q3 also covers NFTs, stablecoins, BTC’s performance relative to gold and stocks and more. Mark your calendars for Oct. 5 and be sure to bookmark the CoinDesk Research page.

  • Binance Hires Former IRS Special Agents to Ramp Up Its Compliance Team

    Binance Hires Former IRS Special Agents to Ramp Up Its Compliance Team

    Binance cryptocurrency exchange has announced hiring two IRS special agents to ramp up its compliance efforts as it navigates complex regulatory issues in a still-evolving industry. 

    Last Thursday, September 30, Binance announced that it has named former IRS special agent Tigran Gambaryan as the vice president of Global intelligence and investigations.

    Besides that, Binance also disclosed that it has appointed another IRS special agent, Matthew Price, to serve as its senior director of investigations.

    Russian-born Gambaryan spent more than ten years at the Internal Revenue Service – criminal investigation cyber-crimes unit. He started his IRS career at the Oakland expert, a well-known blockchain expert in crypto law enforcement circles. Gambaryan’s most career achievements involved leading several successful multi-billion-dollar cyber investigations, including those concerned with the notorious Silk Road drug marketplace and the Mt. Gox hack.

    Price also has a profound experience in the crypto industry, having led the IRS’s investigations into Bitcoin mixing services Helix whose founder and CEO – Larry Dean Harmon – recently pled guilty to charges related to money laundering.

    The hiring of the two agents from the IRS and prominent individuals who helped run sophisticated law enforcement operations is likely to assist Binance in uncovering illicit activity on its platform – an activity that critics stated the exchange turned a blind eye to until recently.

    The two new officers will help Binance to improve its compliance as part of a broader push to reform the firm’s reputation as recent violations of regulations brought the firm into the limelight from regulators around the globe.

    Binance’s audit and investigations team will focus on external and internal investigations to prevent threats and financial losses while continuing working with law enforcement and regulators around the globe, the firm stated.

    Investing in Compliance Roles

    Currently, Binance has been on a hiring spree to add compliance teams as the firm faces regulatory scrutiny over tax evasion and money laundering issues.

    Last month, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance exchange, announced that his top priority is to hire people with compliance and regulatory experience.

    Regulators across the globe have been taking a more complex look at the freewheeling cryptocurrency industry, which boomed as the prices of Bitcoin surged to record highs this year.

    Regulators have been concerned that criminals use cryptocurrency exchanges to conceal transactions linked to everything from ransomware attacks, drug tracking, fraud to money laundering. 

    In May, the US Justice Department opened an investigation into the Binance operations. US officials expressed concerns that crypto assets are being used to conceal illegal transactions, including drug deals and theft.

    Several nations recently announced probes and demanded that Binance affiliates cease operations within their jurisdictions.

    In early July, the CEO of Binance admitted that the crypto exchange did not get everything right in the past and stated that the firm has plenty of room to grow, following a crackdown from regulators around the world.

    One of the key measures that Binance recently took is investing in its compliance roles.

    Image source: Shutterstock

  • Blockchain newsletter: Emerging coronavirus variants spur blockchain innovations in healthcare

    Blockchain newsletter: Emerging coronavirus variants spur blockchain innovations in healthcare

    Share this post:

    Get a first look at the Gartner report for decentralized identity and verifiable claims. Access promising use cases, risks and considerations, and expert recommendations on creating value for a fully decentralized future.

    Here’s your complimentary access to Gartner’s Innovation Insights.

    Delta variant refocuses attention on vaccine passports

    The surge of COVID-19 cases due to the Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant is driving organizations to expand the use of vaccine passports with interoperability and extensibility in mind.

    Compatibility with open standards organizations and frameworks can enable cross-border recognition for vaccine passports. The same technology can provide user control over access to other health records, from lab test results to genomic data. A travel technology company has integrated digitized credentials like airline tickets with IBM Digital Health Pass to simplify travel.

    Receive your free access of Gartner’s Innovation Insights

    Outside of healthcare, using the core blockchain-based self-sovereign verified credentialing technology behind our vaccine passport, governments can offer broader services like digital driver’s licenses or other digital identities and organizations can offer digital employee identification.

    Identity and credentials outside of healthcare

    The need to have identification information and credentials in digital form is pressing, because modern information systems are geared to digital formats. However, we’re in a time when identities are often stolen and credentials can be counterfeited. To move forward securely and confidently, you need the kind of full-featured support offered by IBM Blockchain.

    Blockchain and healthcare efficiency

    Industry leaders Aetna, Anthem, Cleveland Clinic and IBM are joining forces to launch Avaneer Health, a new venture that uses blockchain technology to improve efficiencies in the American healthcare system. The project is an outgrowth of the 2019 Healthcare Utility Network collaboration between Aetna, PNC Bank, IBM, Anthem and HCSC.

    Watch, read and listen

    White paper: Digital health credentials for COVID-19 and beyond
    Read this recent Frost & Sullivan report to learn how digital credentials are helping organizations and economies re-open safely and why they’re here to stay.

    Event: Blockchain Expo North America 2021
    Attend this virtual conference September 29–30 to explore blockchain innovations. Catch Shyam Nagarajan, Executive Partner, IBM Blockchain Services on the Day 1 Keynote and Ryan Rugg, Americas Blockchain Partner, IBM, on the Day 2 panel on central bank digital currencies.

    Webinar: Validating personal identity information with digital credentials
    Join our webinar: Proving you are you – Digital credentials powered by blockchain, which will be held Wednesday, October 13 at 12:00 PM (EDT), also available for later playback.

    Blog: Opening New York State for business with blockchain
    Read the story of the Excelsior Pass Plus, IBM Blockchain and digital credentialing coming together to help New York re-open its economy.

    Our solutions and how to get started

    No matter where you are in your adoption journey or what industry you’re in, we’re here to help you use blockchain technology to reach your business goals.

    Still not sure where to start? Schedule time to talk with one of our experts specific to your industry, and they can help guide you in the right direction.

    We’ll be back next month with more news you can use from IBM Blockchain. In the meantime, if someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to subscribe, sign up here.

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    Join blockchain innovators who are transforming industries around the world. Let’s put smart to work.

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  • India Plans to Unveil Central Bank Digital Currency Model by Year End – Regulation Bitcoin News

    India Plans to Unveil Central Bank Digital Currency Model by Year End – Regulation Bitcoin News

    The deputy governor of India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), says the bank should be able to come up with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) model by the end of this year.

    India May Unveil a CBDC Model by Year End

    The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may unveil a model of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by the end of the year, Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar said Friday at the post-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference.

    Without providing further details, he described:

    These are extremely evolving technologies and business choices that one has to make, and therefore it’s difficult to put a date, but we should be able to come up with a model in the near future, probably by the end of this year.

    The deputy governor continued: “We are evaluating the issue of scope, technology, distribution and validation mechanism etc.”

    Last month, he revealed that the central bank was working on a “phased implementation strategy” for India’s CBDC and also “examining use cases which could be implemented with little or no disruption to India’s banking or monetary systems.”

    According to a recent report, 81 countries, representing over 90% of global GDP, are exploring launching their own central bank digital currencies.

    Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) say CBDCs “have the potential to enhance the efficiency of cross-border payments, as long as countries work together.”

    What do you think about India launching a central bank digital currency? Let us know in the comments section below.

    Tags in this story

    CBDC, india cbdc, india central bank digital currency, indian cbdc, innovation offshore, mike lee bitcoin, mike lee crypto, mike lee cryptocurrencies, rbi cbdc, senator mike lee, utah senator

    Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

    Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

  • Circle plans to become a full-reserve national digital currency bank

    Circle plans to become a full-reserve national digital currency bank

    Goldman Sachs-backed digital payment company Circle has officially disclosed plans to become a full-reserve national digital currency bank in the United States.

    Announcing the news on Monday, Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire noted that Circle is willing to operate under the supervision and risk management requirements of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

    “We believe that full-reserve banking, built on digital currency technology, can lead to not just a radically more efficient, but also a safer, more resilient financial system,” Allaire stated.

    The CEO added that Circle anticipates the company’s stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) will grow t “hundreds of billions of dollars in circulation,” continuing to support high-trust economic activity and becoming a popular tool in financial services and internet commerce applications.

    “Establishing national regulatory standards for dollar digital currencies is crucial to enabling the potential of digital currencies in the real economy, including standards for reserve management and composition,” Allaire added.

    Circle is known as the principal developer of USDC, the world’s second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization after Tether (USDT). At time of publication, USDC is the eighth largest cryptocurrency by market value of $27.8 billion, while USDT holds nearly a $63 billion market cap, according to data from CoinGecko.

    In contrast to fractional-reserve banking, full-reserve banking requires banks to keep the full amount of each depositor’s funds in cash and cash equivalents, ready for instant withdrawal on demand. Also known as 100% reserve banking, full-reserve banking provides an alternative to a system in which only a fraction of bank deposits are backed by actual cash on hand and available for withdrawal.

    Related: Jeremy Allaire: ‘USDC is halfway to flipping PayPal’

    The news comes shortly after Circle filed a registration statement on Form S-4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, providing a preliminary statement and prospectus regarding its planned listing through a merger with blank-check firm Concord Acquisition. Under the terms of the agreement, a new Irish holding company will acquire both Concord and Circle and become a publicly-traded company that is expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

  • Senator Lummis: Voting on Infrastructure Bill Amendments Will Be a Win for the Digital Asset Community

    Senator Lummis: Voting on Infrastructure Bill Amendments Will Be a Win for the Digital Asset Community

    Last week saw a great amount of vocal power from the digital currency ecosystem per the controversy that rocked the Infrastructure Bill and how it affects the crypto community. The bill is primarily an effort by the Biden Administration to rebuild the country’s weakening infrastructural facilities, and the plan is to use taxpayer’s money.

    The original bill wants crypto brokers with the wide inclusion of Proof-of-Work (PoW) miners and other stakeholders to report crypto transactions. Individual crypto users are also required to do the same for transactions of $10,000 and above. These propositions have been tagged as a license to choke the crypto ecosystem. Complying with these regulations for established exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken is easy. However, the community posits that miners do not even know the customers they validate transactions for. Filing any tax report will not just be unrealistic. It will be impossible.

    Lawmakers have had two different amendments to the bill, with the Wyden/Toomey/Lummis proposal more geared to the broader community’s interests. However, this amendment is opposed by key government figures, including Treasury Sec Janet Yellen and some White House officials. According to Senator Cynthia Lummis, the stalemate amongst the Senators is fueling a move by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to prevent the 30-hour rule.

    Under the provisions of the rules explained by Sen Lummis, lawmakers have to debate a proposal for 30 hours before voting on it. Sen Schummer wants a hasty vote on Tuesday as the deliberations have not exceeded the stipulated time frame.

    “Right now, we need an agreement on allowing amendments, which is being held up because of conflict between senators over the 30-hour rule, which allows the Senate to consider/read/review a bill for up to 30 hours before voting on it,” she wrote on Twitter, “Some senators want to keep focusing on the infrastructure bill for 30 hours to raise awareness about its price tag. Senator Schumer wants to quickly vote to focus on other legislation and won’t allow amendment votes unless that happens.”

    Both the amendments from the Wyden led group, and the Portman led group are under threat. Per Senator Lummis submission, a vote on any amendments, with major emphasis on the Wyden option, would make the digital currency community pleased with the outcome.

    Image source: Wiki

  • HUB Security Teams with Marsh to Offer Unique Insured Storage Solution for Digital Asset Custodians

    HUB Security Teams with Marsh to Offer Unique Insured Storage Solution for Digital Asset Custodians

    TEL-AVIV, Israel, Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — HUB Security, a leading hardware cybersecurity solutions provider, announced today its collaboration with Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk adviser, to offer a unique insured storage solution that enables US-based financial institutions to securely and with confidence offer digital asset custodial services.

    Financial institutions can now store and manage digital assets, including cryptocurrency, on HUB’s military-grade technological platform and purchase up to $400 million in “cold storage” insurance through Marsh’s Digital Asset Risk Transfer (DART) team to cover the risk of theft or damage to the assets or destruction of private keys.

    The solution, backed by A rated insurers, follows the August interpretive letter from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) clarifying that national banks and federal savings associations may provide cryptocurrency custody services on behalf of customers, including the holding of unique cryptographic keys associated with cryptocurrency.

    “The crypto custody market is poised to grow significantly following the OCC regulatory clarification,” said Ankur Kacker, Senior Vice President and a Specie specialist on Marsh’s DART team. “Our combined insured storage solution can provide financial institutions seeking to enter the market a secure place to safeguard their clients’ assets and peace of mind knowing their exposures are covered.”

    “Together, HUB and Marsh are empowering banks and other financial institutions to offer services for storing their clients’ digital assets by ensuring they are digitally secure and protected,” said Eyal Moshe, CEO & Co-Founder of HUB Security.

    About HUB Security

    Hub Security is a top-tier, military-grade provider of programmable HSM and key management solutions for fintech, cloud, and blockchain security. Leveraging military-grade cybersecurity tactics and utilizing cutting-edge innovations, HUB Security has developed a family of products that provide the highest level of enterprise security available on the market today. https://hubsecurity.io/

    About Marsh

    Marsh is the world’s leading insurance broker and risk adviser. With over 35,000 colleagues operating in more than 130 countries, Marsh serves commercial and individual clients with data driven risk solutions and advisory services. Marsh is a business of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC), the leading global professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people. With annual revenue approaching US$17 billion and 76,000 colleagues worldwide, MMC helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment through four market-leading businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer, and Oliver Wyman. Follow Marsh on Twitter @MarshGlobal; LinkedIn; Facebook; and YouTube, or subscribe to BRINK.

    SOURCE Hub Security

    Related Links

    https://hubsecurity.io/

  • The End of Traditional ETH Mining

    The End of Traditional ETH Mining

    

    Ethereum’s London upgrade will end traditional ETH mining, a former Monero developer is arrested on non-crypto charges, and crypto debate hits the floor of the US Senate on Capitol Hill. These stories and more this week in crypto.

    Ethereum’s price has surged over the past few days following a recent upgrade that analysts have codenamed “London.” The upgrade is slated to make the Ethereum network more efficient and will purportedly bring it closer to a proof-of-stake model, which will allow holders to garner profits on the assets they already own.

    The US Senate faced pushback from the crypto community when it introduced a section into its proposed infrastructure bill that would clamp down on underreported digital asset tax liability. At issue is ambiguous language as to reporting requirements for developers and miners, and whether they would have to collect and report information on users as a ‘broker.’

    Former maintainer of the anonymous Monero cryptocurrency Riccardo Spagni has been arrested on fraud charges pertaining to events that occurred between 2009 and 2011 – before he joined the Monero community. Spagni, who is known in online forums and platforms as ‘FluffyPony’, is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and will be held without bail until his extradition to South Africa.

    Bitcoin SV—a cryptocurrency that emerged following a bitcoin cash hard fork—has been victimized by a 51% attack that caused the asset’s price to fall. The attack allegedly occurred at the hands of miners when three separate blockchains were created causing several units of BSV to be double spent.

    The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has enabled crypto buys with Apple Pay, and instant cashouts of up to $100,000 per transaction. While the Apple Pay option has been available to Coinbase users since June, it required users to have a Coinbase-branded debit card, but now that workaround is no longer needed with the update.

    Fidelity Investments has bought a 7 percent stake in Marathon Digital Holdings, one of North America’s biggest and most prominent crypto mining firms. Over the past year, shares in Marathon have surged by more than 660 percent, suggesting that Fidelity joins the growing trend among investors of gaining exposure to the crypto industry through traditional securities as well.

    Melanion Capital—an asset management firm in Paris—has become the first company of its kind to launch a bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed to track the price of bitcoin. The product will be offered to investors in the European Union (EU) and will track 30 stocks with a high correlation with bitcoin’s price.

    Popular sandwich shop Quiznos has partnered with Bakkt—an institutional crypto trading platform—to allow customers to pay for food with bitcoin. Several stores in high-traffic areas will be accepting crypto payments beginning in mid-August. The move is part of a pilot program that, if successful, could see all U.S. based Quiznos accepting crypto by the end of 2021.

  • Bitcoin Accumulation Patterns Shows Rally Might Only Be In Its Early Stages

    Bitcoin Accumulation Patterns Shows Rally Might Only Be In Its Early Stages

    Bitcoin accumulation patterns continue to point to the fact that the recent rally might not be ending anytime soon. Investors have continued to hoard assets as the volume of bitcoins sent to exchanges to be sold off or traded falls below the accumulation rate.

    Outflows from exchanges have continued to exceed inflows into exchanges. Signaling accumulation patterns rather than sell patterns.

    Related Reading | On-Chain Expert Predicts $162K Bitcoin Peak This Cycle

    Wednesday saw the price of bitcoin dropping below $38,000 to be trading in the $37,000 range. Inflows of 11.3K BTC to exchanges correlated with this drop in price. But then the next two hours following this price dip saw more outflows of bitcoins from exchanges. 19.3K BTC were removed in the next two hours following the price dip. Showing investors were accumulating their coins rather than selling.

    Exchange Reserve Volumes Continue to Plummet

    Outflows from exchanges to personal wallets for safekeeping continue to be on the rise. Bitcoin exchange reserve volumes have seen decreasing numbers following the price crash from the all-time high, and the number has continued to go down. More coins leaving the exchanges than coming in shows that there is currently no selling pressure. Thus, accumulation is the order of the day as investors try to get their hands on as many coins as they can.

    Related Reading | Bitcoin Set To Outperform In Second Half Of 2021, Bloomberg Analyst

    Just over a week ago, a report from CryptoQuant showed that the volume of BTC currently held on exchanges dropped over 100K in just the span of two days. Numbers like these often indicate that there is significant buy pressure in the market. And buy pressures usually lead to accumulation, which in turn drives the value of the asset higher.

    Top exchanges continue to see large volumes of BTC leaving their exchanges on the daily. Centralized exchanges like Binance and Coinbase have seen the highest number of Bitcoins moved out of their exchange.

    Related Reading | Bitcoin To Surpass $120,000 In A Year, Says Pantera CEO

    Investors continue to see the merit in investing in cryptocurrencies like BTC. Indicators show that general market sentiment continues to buy and hold. So, these investors are going to continue to buy as many bitcoins as they can, and hold these coins in wait for bull rallies.

    Bitcoin Continues To Move Forward

    Bitcoin continues to see favorable outlooks despite the price taking hits in the market. Following El Salvador’s lead, as they make BTC a legal tender, Uruguay recently proposed a bill to also make the cryptocurrency legal tender in the country.

    Megabanks JP Morgan and Wells Fargo have both announced that their high-net-worth clients would have access to investment options that would provide them exposure to the crypto market. Hopefully leading to the opening of these investment options to the rest of the general public.

    BTC price close to testing $41K resistance point | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

    Market analysts continue to see bullish movements in the price of the asset. With on-chain data analysis showing that daily transaction volumes are up following the recent price rally.

    With so many bullish indicators, it is no stretch to think that the rally might just be beginning. Bitcoin still may be able to break $50K before the year runs out if these indicators are anything to go by.

    Featured image from Flickr, chart from TradingView.com

  • Sentinel teams with StrongBlock for node growth and enhance dVPN utility

    Sentinel teams with StrongBlock for node growth and enhance dVPN utility

    Sentinel, an interoperable networking layer for distributed services, today announced a new partnership with StrongBlock, a Nodes-as-a-Service (NaaS) provider. Sentinel is a blockchain framework for building decentralized VPN (dVPN) applications.

    StrongBlock is a trailblazer in monetizing node operation, utilizing DeFi protocols and NFTs to incentivize the node community. It provides tools allowing anyone, even a non-technical user, to launch blockchain nodes and be a part of the blockchain ecosystem while earning rewards for running them.

    With a community of over 55,000 StrongBlock nodes running through more than 8,300 operators; this partnership will be another step in truly scaling Sentinel’s decentralized VPN. In contrast, existing centralized VPN competitors fail to provide this scale and are at a high risk of a single point of failure.

    StrongBlock + Sentinel

    Led by blockchain and enterprise software veterans CEO David Moss, CTO Brian Abramson, and CPO Corey Lederer; StrongBlock is the first and only cross-chain protocol to reward nodes for supporting the infrastructure of their blockchain.

    The STRONG protocol and node reward mechanism integrated with NFT token incentives, lays the foundation for stronger, more secure, and economically sound blockchain networks.

    Sentinel’s network consists of nodes that share their bandwidth and which decentralized VPNs and other such services are built. The purpose of the Sentinel ecosystem is to empower universal access to the internet in a trusted and provable manner.

    Besides this news today, Sentinel offers an opportunity to be part of its ecosystem through its Ambassador Program; inviting like-minded individuals from across the globe to participate, grow the network and build communities.