Crypto traders to file lawsuit against Coincheck over freezing of withdrawals

Crypto traders of Coincheck are suing the exchange to get their money back after freezing of wallets.

The biggest hack of the crypto world in 2018 happened last month when the popular Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, Coincheck claimed to lost at least $400 million worth of crypto coins in users' funds to hackers. Afterwards, the company restricted withdrawals of all currencies, including Yen, and trading of cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin.

For now, it appears that crypto traders of Coincheck will not let it go like that and they can't bear any delay in withdrawals. According to Reuters, ten traders will file the claim at the Tokyo District Court over Coincheck's freezing of cryptocurrency withdrawals. This has been revealed by a lawyer representing the plaintiffs named Hiromu Mochizuki.

Coincheck froze transactions on its platform, holding plenty of virtual wealth hostage in the process after the hack of around 500 million NEM tokens occurred on its website. For now, the expected lawsuit demands that Coincheck let the plaintiffs withdraw their virtual currencies in order to remove them from the platform and relocate the coins to external wallets.

According to Reuters, the group may pursue a follow-up lawsuit for damages related to the hack later in February. However, Coincheck has earlier ensured that it will resume withdrawals after "[completing] the technical safety confirmation with the cooperation of external experts."

The representatives of plaintiffs, Mochizuki has said that "the traders will request that Coincheck allows them to withdraw cryptocurrencies to "wallets" – folders used for storing digital money – outside the exchange. The group may launch a second lawsuit at the end of the month to claim for damages over the heist."

Meanwhile, another crypto firm based in Italy has recently claimed that it has lost $170 million worth of Nano tokens to hackers, a digital coin which was called RaiBlocks previously

Google unveils Snapchat-style format for its AMP stories

Snapchat has got another copier in the industry. Google has launched its AMP "Visually Rich' stories today which are similar to Snapchat's stories format. Google is introducing a feature for publishers through which they can share pictures, videos in its search engine. It's a "moble-focussed format for developing news and information as visually rich, tap-through stories". Moreover, the template is free and available for everyone. There are no ads in AMP stories, which hints towards a distraction-free tool for Google users. Google's AMP stories have the ability to transform quick short mobile magazine format which would be very effective for publishers to work more creatively and to produce easy-to-read articles. This format also attracts young generation through this story format as Google has adopted this style from Snapchat and everyone knows that Snapchat has mostly young users under its umbrella. Rudy Galfi product manager for AMP at Google said in a blog post "AMP stories are built on the technical infrastructure of AMP to provide a fast, beautiful experience on the mobile web." The publishers which have been working with Google in developing AMP stories for the web are; Time Warner's CNN, Hearst, Mashable, Meredith, Mic, Vox Media and Washington Post. If you want to preview the AMP stories feel free to click on the link. Meanwhile, Snapchat is still cool and welcoming the search giant. "Our ambition at Snapchat is to empower great storytelling, and we think we have pioneered the best format for doing that on mobile. We're delighted to see that the industry is starting to form around that, and hope that it will encourage more newsrooms to invest in teams that focus on made-for-mobile content." said, Nick Beel VP of Snapchat. Snapchat was the one who came up with the idea of visual stories in 2015, sooner and later other social media platforms joined in this discovery including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and now even Google. In addition, Google has also announced to bring AMP tech to Gmail, to make mails more connected and creative for mail's senders and receivers

Galaxy S9 to copy iPhone X’s Animoji feature, report

Samsung's flagship from S-series lineup Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are about to be unveiled in a couple of weeks and the rumors of the upcoming phones are like an evergrowing hunger which seems to be never fulfilled. Samsung was earlier accused to be stealing the top-notch design of the iPhone X, the champion of its old-time rival Apple, for its upcoming phones but not for S9. But now a Korean media outlet reports that Galaxy S9 may come with a 3D emoji feature which will be quite similar to iPhone X's Animoji feature.

According to a recent report by ETNews, the 3D emoji feature of Galaxy S9 works by scanning your face and creating a 3D character that copies your facial movements and expressions. You could even send such 3D emojis instead of normal ones in messages.

iPhone X Animojis

The feature is quite similar to iPhone X's Animoji feature, however, the report hints that Samsung's version of 3D emoji is a step ahead of Apple's. 3D emojis will be powered by the Galaxy S9's facial recognition system, which is expected to remain less secure than Face ID on the iPhone X appeared in earlier reports. The 3D emojis will include various 3D characters, including animals, that mimic facial movements as earlier seen in iPhone X's Animojis.

Samsung has already been working to improve messaging skills of its flagships. The Galaxy S8 introduced stickers you could attach to your face, Snapchat-style, to turn yourself into a carrot-chomping bunny, a kerchief-wearing cowboy and so on. The Galaxy Note 8 also turned messages and drawings you created with the S Pen stylus into a short animated GIF to attach to a message.

Samsung will possibly reveal the name of its Animoji competitor when the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress on February 25 in Barcelona.

Smartphone with the biggest battery ever that can last a week goes official

The biggest problem with any smartphone is it's battery life, what if I told you there's a smartphone that can actually last an entire week with a single charge? Yes, an entire week, a Chinese smartphone maker by the name of "Ulefone", that you might not even know about created a smartphone with a 13,000 mAh battery that's actually decent. And yes, before you ask, you can use that 13,000 mAh to recharge other electronic devices as well. The Ulefone Power 5 is an Android-powered brick, a rugged phone that can take a beating, although the design is clearly a result of Ulefone having to cram a 13,000 mAh battery in there. According to the company, the 13,000 mAh dual-cell battery offers one week of power and supports Super Fast Charge (5V/5A) and fast wireless charging support (10W). The Ulefone Power 5 will get a full charge in 2.5 hours on wired and 9 hours on wireless charging. The smartphone features a 6-inch Full HD display with a 2160 x 1080 resolution that makes it an all-screen design, powered by MediaTek MT6763 processor, 6 Gigs of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, microSD support as well, the dual-lens cameras which are 21-megapixel and 5-megapixel shooters with optical image stabilization(OIS). There are also dual-selfie cameras which are, 8-megapixel and 13-megapixel cameras, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor ("Touch ID"), "Face ID" unlock, dual-SIM support, USB 2.0 and USB-C ports, and Android 8.1 Oreo. Ulefone Power 5 phone looks good on paper and should provide a decent experience. For the people who have been lugging around an external battery for years, this smartphone is the answer to your prayers. I'm sure smartphone buyers looking for amazing battery life will find it equally intriguing. There is no notch on the display. The Power 5 will be available in stores on April 24th, but pricing details aren't available or when will it come to Pakistan. Will you buy this smartphone with a monster battery? Let us know in the comments below.