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The following opinion editorial is a Jacobin Podcast review written by the author Sterlin Lujan, the chief risk officer with Cryptospace. The Jacobin Podcast episode called: “Dig: Cryptocurrency w/ Edward Ongweso Jr & Jacob Silverman,” touches upon “cryptocurrency, NFTs, Elon Musk, the metaverse, meme stocks, and techno-utopianism amid the crushing reality of our neoliberal hellscape.” Cryptocurrency isn’t fringe technology anymore. Over the last decade, it has become embedded into finance, culture, and even our social life. It’s drastically changing the way we think about money, economics, and human action. However, some people, primarily on the left, are skeptical of cryptocurrency. Many of them hate it, regardless of how much of a godsend it has been for many. My friend, thought leader, author, and psychedelic visionary, Daniel Pinchbeck, pointed out a recent podcast episode of Jacobin called “Dig: Cryptocurrency w/ Edward Ongweso Jr & Jacob Silverman.” He asked me if I would listen to the podcast, and take the time to address their claims and concerns. I would not typically use the time to do this — but Daniel is interested in furthering the discussion around crypto. I also believe a review and critique of the material will benefit others who want an insider’s opinion, as I have been working actively in the industry for 6 years. It’s my hope, then, that this in-depth response will create an evolutionary and freewheeling discussion about the benefits, capabilities, and fears behind crypto. Notes: Moving forward, I refer to the podcast speakers and guests as the “Podcasters” for simplicity sake. All of their arguments are numbered and in bold. My response immediately follows each of their arguments. I also sometimes separate my use of “crypto” and “bitcoin.” I may use crypto to refer to the ecosystem generally, and I may use bitcoin to address a specific point they made about it. The context of each section and the argument I am addressing will help clarify. I have also left many links for follow-up research and to provide factual evidence. “Crypto supporters believe these digital tokens are supposed to have value somehow.” The podcasters believe “cryptocurrency” cannot or does not have value. They attempt to dismiss cryptocurrency by claiming it is not really a currency, but only “digital tokens” or digital faberge eggs. The reality is these “digital tokens” do have value. They have literal value as demonstrated by their market capitalization and trading activity at exchanges. Even the podcasters reference the trillion-dollar valuation of the crypto markets throughout the podcast, undermining their own claims. Naturally, their perspective leads them down the rabbit hole of believing crypto is not currency or money. Using semantics, they try to devalue cryptocurrency by dismissing or ignoring its impact, although their critique misses the reality of what’s happening in the world. “Bitcoin (and other cryptos) are not “currency, because they can’t be exchanged for goods and services” This claim is patently false. With a quick Google search, we can ascertain that roughly 15,000 businesses currently support accepting bitcoin for payment. This is not an insignificant amount. The number of businesses that accept crypto is also likely an underestimate, because many retailers also accept various alt-coins. To add an anecdote, I have personally exchanged crypto for goods and services…directly and on multiple occasions. So what is the point of the anecdote? You can disprove the podcaster’s claims yourself without having to strain too many neurons. Just navigate onto overstock.com, place some items into your cart, and proceed to pay with the crypto. Here is another salient point. Not only can you purchase goods and services for crypto directly, you can also leverage various intermediaries to purchase goods with your crypto. With purse.io, you can use a middleman to buy your wares from Amazon and earn a 10 to 15% discount. Or, if you use Dash cryptocurrency, you can download dash direct app, buy gift cards, and then purchase from a variety of stores at a discount. I mention these options and innovations to demonstrate the podcasters are ignorant of all the ways to purchase goods and services with crypto, or they are lying to support an anti-crypto agenda. I hope it’s the latter. “Crypto is too volatile to support any kind of major use case.” Cryptocurrency does suffer from violent swings on the market and seemingly excess volatility. But the podcasters missed the solution. The beautiful thing about crypto is innovation is not hamstrung by inefficient bureaucracies or sluggish banking regulators. In comes the stablecoin. It was invented as a way to mitigate market volatility. Of course, many object to stablecoins as they are just pegged to the US dollar. It is certainly true many stable tokens are pegged to the dollar, but luckily stablecoins can be pegged to anything; silver, gold, oil, leprechauns (that is the beauty of programmable tokens). The point is stablecoins solve the volatility problem and allow crypto to morph into a stable unit of account when necessary. As a side argument, some people don’t view the volatility of bitcoin and crypto as a problem. There is a huge amount of volatility in the fiat and FX markets. However, a lot of the volatility is obscured by capital controls and other government meddling. In nature, nothing is consistently stable; there are waves and troughs; tops and bottoms; sine waves. Early crypto thinker Daniel Krawisz wrote a piece called I love Bitcoin’s Volatility over at the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute. Daniel elaborated poignantly on the volatility problem, “To complain that no one will use Bitcoin because it is too volatile is therefore like saying, ‘Bitcoin’s adoption rate is so astonishingly fast that it will never be popular!’ It’s like saying, ‘This oven is heating up so fast that I’ll never be able to cook with it!’ It’s like saying, ‘This novel is so exciting that no one will ever read it!’ There is no evidence that Bitcoin’s volatility is hurting it. Any imaginable indication of Bitcoin’s adoption rate will show that its adoption rate is extraordinarily rapid. So how, exactly, can volatility be a problem? If Bitcoin were less volatile, would it have an even more rapid adoption rate? This is nonsense because Bitcoin’s price has to go up as more people start using it, and if a lot of new people start using it, then it has to go up fast (that is, be volatile).” “Main use case for cryptocurrency is market speculation.” I rebutted this claim earlier by addressing the idea that crypto has no use case as a currency. However, one may say the main use case is still speculation. I believe this argument is primarily a diversion or red herring. Speculation is not a use case. It’s simply a byproduct of emergent technology. Saying that cryptocurrency’s primary use case is speculation is just like claiming the internet’s primary use case was speculation, which is what happened during the dot-com bubble. Of course, speculation is just investor activity, regardless of the merits or faults of that activity. In reality, cryptocurrency (especially blockchain) has a myriad of use cases, but the main use case is money, which was the original utility of bitcoin as a result of Satoshi Nakamoto solving the double-spend problem. Other use cases (for crypto/blockchain) include utility tokens serving a governance function, as a stablecoin, as a coin powering prediction markets, or as a reward token fueling lending platforms. Use cases in the cryptocurrency ecosystem are legion, and anyone who thinks otherwise is out of touch. For people requiring additional reading of all the real-world blockchain/crypto token use cases visit this link. “Productive value of cryptocurrency is none. I can’t see it as a currency. It is for speculators. It is used to facilitate movements of funds from one pocket to another. Pump-up self-dealing assets (AKA rug pull).” The podcasters continue to harp on the idea that crypto has no “productive value,” except to facilitate scams and pump-and-dump schemes. I’ve already shown plenty of value and use cases in my previous rebuttals, but I want to address the notion that crypto is largely used for pump-and-dumps. The podcasters have a valid concern regarding rug pulls and pump-and-dump schemes in the space. There have been enough of these that it has certainly tarnished the reputation of crypto in some circles. However, this problem does not exist as a permanent scar within the ecosystem. It’s partially the product of new technology and ignorance. Scammers have emerged because newbies get involved in the ecosystem and fail to educate themselves. They fall for hype and get sucked into a rug pull or Ponzi scheme. When enough time passes, the ecosystem will mature and most of the scammers will be weeded out. Many crypto companies are starting to warn users not to invest in crypto tokens they don’t understand and to educate themselves before diving in. This education mentality is becoming a sticking point in the industry, because — contrary to popular opinion — many industry players actually care about supporting users and customers. We will continue to see this trend grow as the ecosystem matures. As a final point, I want to reemphasize the fact that crypto has massive “productive value.” Here is one example: The bitcoin cash community started a program called “Eat BCH.” They developed this program to feed the poor and destitute in Venezuela and South Sudan. To date, the BCH advocates have fed thousands of people in Venezuela. It makes sense people in the crypto industry would conduct such charitable initiatives, because fiat in countries like South Sudan and Venezuela are useful as toilet paper due to runaway hyperinflation. The “Eat BCH” initiative is what I call “productive value,” and it’s these “selfish capitalist crypto bros” engaging in it. “Currency needs to be tied to the state or some kind of political governance.” The most asinine argument the podcasters on Jacobin made is that private money is dangerous and money should be tied to a state or political governance. Currency maintained by governments, politicians, and despots has caused tremendous suffering. When governments control the money supply, they can (and will) print out as much of it as they want to fund endless wars, enrich their friends at the expense of the people, and inflate its value away. In effect, government-monopolized, centrally controlled money is the harbinger of death and destruction. This is not hyperbole. For more understanding of the perils and pitfalls of fiat currency, please read The Fiat Standard by Saifedean Ammous. When the podcasters make the claim they want to see currency tied to a government, they effectively want to enslave the rest of mankind to a life of inflationary, debt servitude. Bitcoin was invented on the heels of the 2009 financial collapse as an answer to reckless government spending, bank bailouts, and systemic corruption. It’s my belief if people, especially on the left, are educated on financial matters, they’d be more willing to embrace “private monies” without the fears they apply to them. To date, nothing has been more destructive and unproductive than the monopolization of money by a cartelized governmental system. In essence, currency should never be tied to the State or any organization of violence. Bitcoin solves all the above problems by being impregnable to hyperinflation, by being peer-to-peer, and by being decentralized enough to prevent monetary censorship. It’s no wonder the genesis block of the bitcoin blockchain is inscribed with this message: Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks. “Currency side of blockchain is not emancipatory or economically liberating.” The podcasters not only deny cryptocurrencies are “currency,” but they believe it cannot be emancipatory or economically liberating. Their “argument” is a falsehood and error; a comedy of errors. It’s not only tragic because the podcasters are wrong, but because they’re ignoring potential economic salvation. They are also misleading others about the liberatory capabilities of crypto. Let’s look at Africa as a case in point. In Nigeria, the unemployment rate has hovered around 27%, and most people struggle to make ends meet. When bitcoin gained popularity in 2017, a number of people learned how to earn a profit from trading. This foray into the crypto markets helped them escape poverty. Bitcoin directly and intimately impacted them in a financially positive way. It may have even saved them from suffering the pains of abject poverty. For anecdotes and facts about bitcoin in Africa, read this Coindesk article. Similarly, crypto-fueled emancipations have occurred in Venezuela, Sudan, and Colombia. Some will agree that bitcoin can liberate people in third-world countries, but what about in the U.S.? It is true people are wealthier and have easier access to financial services. However, people in the US have also built themselves a better life as a result of their crypto endeavors. Here is a personal anecdote: Before bitcoin, I was working as a salaried manager at Walmart — making 38k a year (less with taxes) — and spending hours languishing at work. I was selling my labor to effectively live there. It was grueling. I could have been a poster child for communist resentment. Then I discovered bitcoin and crypto. I learned about emergent tokenized platforms like Steemit. Steemit provides crypto rewards for publishing content. I was an early adopter, and I posted my thoughts with zeal. I earned Steem tokens galore. I traded what I earned for bitcoin when it was $1200 per coin. This move lessened my debt and pulled me out of workaday 9-5 drudgery. The innovative and novel feature about using Steemit is that I was “working for the community.” I didn’t have a boss or some “evil capitalist” looming over me with a whip. Blockchain and crypto saved me from living a strenuous, check-to-check lifestyle. The Steem platform still exists, but the platform went through some community drama and ultimately became a Chinese platform. You can still view my posts here. My story is not unique. A lot of early crypto adopters in the US did not come from a privileged background. They just happened to get into it before everyone else. This is what’s led to one of the largest transfers of wealth that history has ever known, and it is amazing. Leftists, syndicalists, and communists still tend to be extremely skeptical of crypto. Many of them outright hate it. They see it as another oppressive form of “money,” with the exception of a few blockchain use cases. But as I have demonstrated, people have leveraged cryptocurrency to escape poverty and earn a living. In some cases, they even became wealthy. Crypto has created more economic equality and opportunity than any other technology. Ironically, instead of seeing this as a beautiful tool to fight oppression, leftists erroneously view it as a tool of the oppressors. This boggles my mind, but I believe it is the result of leftists not wanting to work, innovate, or build a path to financial abundance. They’d rather take from others; they’d rather steal bread than bake it. It’s the philosophy of envy, so they can just call all the poor people who pulled themselves out of destitution with crypto the new “rich.” Matter of fact, the podcasters even admitted it when they said all crypto did was “reshuffle power relations.” I find their views intellectually lazy and exhausting. “Crypto people use utopian rhetoric.” The podcasters claim a lot of crypto supporters leverage “Utopian rhetoric” when they discuss the benefits of the technology. Their claim is a way to devalue or dismiss the paradigm-shifting implications of the tech. It’s a way to downgrade the utility, benefit, and power of crypto. In reality, people fully engaged in crypto promote it as a way to benefit the world, help equalize the playing field, and eventually stop tyrants from lording over the money supply. This “rhetoric” is not “Utopian.” It’s the language of disruption and decentralization and disintermediation. The term “Utopian” implies the perfection of society or perfect social order. No proponent of crypto believes the technology will perfect society or create a society devoid of anthropocentric pitfalls and problems. Issues will always exist, but the idea is that crypto is provably making society a better place. “Crypto can’t be overcome. It is firmly embedded in finalization. Most of the use cases solely to advance esoteric forms of commoditization. More ways to launder money. More ways to speculate. Leftists can’t roll it back. Get rid of it altogether?” There is a lot to unpack, but the podcasters are accurate in the primary point: crypto is here to stay. Pandora’s Box has been emptied; or as Max Borders said, the djinn has escaped the lamp. The podcasters, however, inject a ton of fear into crypto. They speak about how crypto will be embedded into “esoteric forms of commoditization,” which just means it will be used by the elite to trade or manipulate strange tokens that represent some other asset, I.E wrapped tokens, governance tokens, etc. These fears are not true, though…unless the nerds in grandma’s basement or the average Joe living in his apartment are the new elites. What’s actually happening is normal people are learning how to trade crypto, leverage decentralized finance (defi) networks, and play around in various markets. They are participating in an ecosystem that has been traditionally managed and puppeteered by elite financial gatekeepers. Now everyone can play, frolic, and dance in the realm of “high finance” without needing privilege or resources to engage; without needing permission from someone wearing a pompous suit or tacky hairpiece. So here is the burning question: why would leftists — or anyone else for that matter — want to “liberate” the world from crypto? That would be worse than “rolling back” the internet. Not only is it impossible, but it’s also a puerile notion festering with Luddism. The podcasters mentioned their concern that crypto is allowing for more money laundering to take place. These are the same kind of arguments people marshaled at the birth of the internet, saying it would only be used by criminals, thieves, pederasts, etc. Not only are these kinds of arguments wrong, they conveniently forget about other facts. In the case of crypto being used for criminality, naysayers obfuscate the truth that a massive amount of financial crime occurs in the fiat world (substantially more than in crypto). There is a darker side as well. In the fiat system, the elite get to launder money, hyperinflate the currency, type their balance into their bank accounts, and control the credit supply on a whim. To wit, the detractors only condemn crypto for its criminal uses when it serves their agenda. Luckily, the podcasters don’t have much to worry about. We have facts on how much crypto transactionality is used for criminal or illicit purposes. According to a Chainalysis study in 2019, criminal activity only represented a modicum of crypto transactions. A Forbes article summarised the study: The majority of cryptocurrency is not used for criminal activity. According to an excerpt from Chainalysis’ 2021 report, in 2019, criminal activity represented 2.1% of all cryptocurrency transaction volume (roughly $21.4 billion worth of transfers). In 2020, the criminal share of all cryptocurrency activity fell to just 0.34% ($10.0 billion in transaction volume). “Crypto is very concentrated in a small number of accounts. Wealth inequality is the greatest. Gestures toward egalitarianism are either facetious or wrong.” In any market, especially technology, there will always be early adopters and investors. That means there will be people who get “luckier” as a result of their financial knowledge and future-scoping acumen. Likewise, there will always be laggards and a late majority who get in at the end as a result of their inaction or ignorance. This is called the technology adoption lifecycle, and it’s typically plotted out on a bell curve with early adopters and laggards making up a small percentage of the total population. The technology lifecycle adoption explains why some people, especially the few, acquired crypto earlier and became wealthier. It’s natural inequality as a result of investor or entrepreneurial skills. In this sense, it’s not “wrong” or “immoral” for a few to have more than the rest. It’s a function of how the market erupted, congealed, and eventually settled. It’s true a few previously wealthy entities and people bought into the market later, but this is also not a detriment to the space, but rather a boon. When people buy into the market, it benefits the ecosystem as a result of “network effects.” A network effect by definition denotes that a community or network gains in value as more people use it and as more money pours into it. The larger the network effect, the more the users of that network gain and prosper. So having more people and capital enter the ecosystem represents a net positive for crypto. It means even the “poorer” people gain additional value in their holdings. Besides “inequality” being a natural function of the market, pointing out “inequality” in crypto behaves like a red herring. Even if the few possess more crypto than the rest, it does not diminish the fact that crypto has raised people out of poverty and improved their quality of life, as I previously argued. So why should anyone focus on inequality when crypto has helped so many people? Why worry about inequality when crypto actually equalizes the playing field? In my mind, the argument from inequality is a tired bromide that is largely based on an envy mentality. It has nothing to do with the facts, especially within crypto, where the benefits are tangibly felt by many people“ “Any sense of decentralization is specious.” The podcasters make the case that wealth is so centralized in the crypto economy that decentralization is largely a chimera. The problem with their concern is they are using “decentralization” erroneously. Decentralization does not mean the disbursement of wealth or distribution value. Wealth in crypto does not also automatically equate to control over an ecosystem. Control over a blockchain is dependent upon its governance model and technological architecture. Decentralization means the networks involved in various blockchains are distributed to the extent they can withstand an attack and they don’t have a single point of failure. It means they are not honey pots susceptible to attack by bad actors. A byproduct of decentralization is censorship resistance. A person can send crypto from their wallet to another person, and they don’t have to worry about those funds being rerouted, stolen, frozen, or otherwise “censored.” A properly decentralized system is therefore also resistant to censorship. With that said, not all blockchain infrastructures are created equal. Some of them are indeed scams and lack any kind of decentralization. But the beauty of engaging in crypto is that we can opt-in and out of blockchains we wish to use. It’s a voluntary ecosystem, thanks largely to the beautiful innovation of computerized decentralization. “Crypto operates like an MLM.” I often hear people make the claim bitcoin is an MLM scheme or functions like an MLM. This argument is a reach at best, and willful ignorance at worst. The podcasters made this claim as well. An MLM is a multi-level marketing scheme. In an MLM, a pyramid forms in which an enterprise or business gains revenue from a non-salaried workforce selling its goods. When they sell these goods they typically earn a commission. They also earn money by recruiting others into the organization. Sometimes, these MLMs are fraudulent schemes where no legitimate business or organization exists. Without getting into the details, it is true some “cryptos” have been pyramid schemes as I have admitted previously. However, I also agree they were detrimental to the ecosystem and have tarnished crypto’s reputation. The problem is many crypto naysayers want to throw the baby out with the bathwater and generalize the whole ecosystem as being an MLM. They even call bitcoin an MLM. This claim is demonstrably false. Bitcoin is not a “business” or “organization.” It does not require recruiters. It’s just digital money or digital gold (depending on who you ask). It gains its value from network effects — from developers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries working in the community and allocating capital to innovate in and around the ecosystem. Of course, this entrepreneurial activity is not contingent on any kind of recruitment or similar claims made by any person or entity. It’s not a pyramid either, because no business organization exists. The network is decentralized, peer-to-peer (P2P) and network-driven. The argument simply lacks intellectual rigor and is typically marshaled against bitcoin by people who have not done ample research and come to understand the technology. It’s almost like a last-ditch effort to throw shade at an innovation that is making tremendous headway into the mainstream economy. What do you think about Sterlin Lujan’s Jacobin Podcast review? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Russian banking giant Sberbank has presented the country’s first exchange-traded fund (ETF) giving investors access to the blockchain space. The new instrument holds securities of companies dealing with cryptocurrencies and the technologies that underpin them. Sberbank Introduces ETF Tracking Blockchain Economy Index The largest banking and financial services provider in Russia and the post-Soviet space, Sberbank, has announced the launch of a blockchain ETF. The new product, called ‘Sber – Blockchain Economy,’ aims to provide Russian investors with an opportunity to profit from the crypto sector without the need to get involved directly in the development, acquisition, storage, and sale of digital assets. The ETF tracks the Sber Blockchain Economy Index which includes securities of companies operating with cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. “Today, they are used in a variety of industries and solve a variety of problems — from protecting personal data and confirming copyright to creating platforms for the internet of things and online voting,” the bank explained. Among those covered by the index are producers of crypto mining hardware and software, entities issuing crypto assets, and businesses providing consulting services in the field of blockchain, the state-owned bank added. Well-known names in the space, like crypto exchange Coinbase, blockchain software developer Digindex, and crypto financial services provider Galaxy Digital, are on the list. Sberbank emphasized that its blockchain economy ETF (ticker: SBBE) is the first of this kind on the Russian stock market. The fund’s currency is U.S. dollars but investors can buy shares with Russian rubles through the Sberinvestor application or with the help of any Russian broker, the bank detailed. The price of shares starts at 10 rubles. The crypto-related instrument is being introduced after the head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, stated in October that the monetary authority is not prepared to allow the trading of a bitcoin ETF in the Russian Federation. In December, the governor reiterated the regulator’s hardline stance on cryptocurrency investments and a report revealed that the CBR wants to block card payments to crypto exchanges. “We don’t see a place for cryptocurrency in the Russian financial market,” Nabiullina’s deputy, Vladimir Chistyukhin, was quoted as saying by Russian media. Earlier this year Bank of Russia advised stock exchanges to avoid the listing and trading of instruments tied to crypto assets, changes in crypto indices, as well as the value of crypto derivatives and securities of cryptocurrency funds. Do you expect to see other offerings such as Sberbank’s blockchain ETF in Russia? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has shared his cryptocurrency investment strategy and which coins he owns. He also discussed crypto market bubbles, diversification, regulation, and why he thinks non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will be bigger than bitcoin. Kevin O’Leary Discusses His Crypto Investments, Market Bubbles, and NFTs Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary discussed cryptocurrency, his investment portfolio, diversification, market bubbles, meme coins, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a recent interview with Forbes, published Friday. He explained that he views “the entire crypto industry as software development teams,” adding that he is betting on “really strong creative software engineers.” While talking about his cryptocurrency holdings, he revealed: Ether is my largest position, bigger than bitcoin. “It’s because so many of the financial services and transactions are occurring on it,” the Shark Tank star described. “Even new software is being developed like Polygon that consolidates transactions and reduces the overall cost in terms of gas fees on Ethereum.” O’Leary then mentioned some of the cryptocurrencies he owns, stating: I own hedera, polygon, bitcoin, ethereum, solana, serum — these are bets on software development teams and there are many, many use cases for them. Moreover, Mr. Wonderful added that he holds “a significant and material position in USDC,” noting that he is “starting to pay for assets and get paid in the stablecoin.” “At the end of the day, what determines the platform’s success and value is the speed and level of adoption. That occurs when the team has developed a platform that solves an economic problem,” he opined. O’Leary proceeded to offer his opinion about meme cryptocurrencies. Noting that “long term coins that have no economic value are that because they don’t solve anything or create any value,” he cautioned: I’m very skeptical of meme coins long term. The Shark Tank star was also asked whether he thinks bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies are in a bubble. He replied: “The thing to realize is, the market is the market. No one person can manipulate it, even though people claim they can … It’s millions of decisions being made every second in terms of what something is worth. And it applies to every market, whether it’s tulips, watches, bitcoin, real estate or gold.” Noting that “Over the long run, it’s a fool’s game and you can’t win,” he stressed: You can’t know when it’s a bubble, you simply can’t. And if you think you do, you’re absolutely wrong. O’Leary believes in portfolio diversification. The cryptocurrency portion of his portfolio has been growing. He detailed that at some point cryptocurrency “might get to 20% of my operating company — but right now, it’s about 10.5%.” He clarified: Within that portfolio, there’s no one token coin or chain that’s more than 5% of that portfolio. So yes, I am actively adding and trimming based on volatility. In addition, he said that he is doing a lot of staking. “Most of my positions are now being staked,” he confirmed, noting that he’s using the crypto exchange FTX for staking. Mr. Wonderful announced in October that he is taking an equity stake in the crypto exchange and will be “paid in crypto to serve as an ambassador and spokesperson for FTX.” When asked whether there is a chance that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could determine some of the cryptocurrencies he owns to be securities and what he will do if that happens, O’Leary promptly replied: The minute that information gets out, I will want nothing to do with them. If I had a position I would sell it. I have no interest in going into conflict with regulators over my crypto portfolio. I want to be 100% compliant. He said the same about XRP in November. XRP is the subject of an SEC lawsuit against Ripple Labs and its executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. “I have zero interest in investing in litigation against the SEC. That is a very bad idea,” he stressed. O’Leary also discussed non-fungible tokens (NFTs). “They offer so much value around authentication, inventory management, and all kinds of use cases in different asset classes,” he described, adding: I think non-fungible tokens are going to be bigger than bitcoin. He proceeded to draw attention to his NFT project. “I prefer NFTs tied to hard assets, physical assets; the one that I’m working on developing a white paper for is the watch industry,” he said. “I made a material investment in Jordan Fried’s company, Immutable Holdings, which owns nft.com, which he’s launching in January, as well as Wonderfi.” What do you think about Kevin O’Leary’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Trading platform Robinhood has announced the beta launch of its cryptocurrency wallets, which is set for mid-January. The company said 1.6 million people have signed up for the crypto wallets. Robinhood’s Crypto Wallets to Launch in Beta This Month Robinhood announced this week the upcoming beta launch of its highly anticipated cryptocurrency wallets. The company unveiled its crypto wallet project in September to allow customers to trade, send, and receive cryptocurrencies using the Robinhood app. Noting that 1.6 million people have signed up for its crypto wallets so far, the announcement details: In mid-January, we will launch the wallets beta phase, which will roll out to thousands of customers from the waitlist. Robinhood also revealed that during the wallet’s alpha launch, which recently wrapped up, “a tight-knit group” of customers from the waitlist tested the company’s first crypto wallet iteration “and shared detailed design and functionality feedback.” For example, the alpha testers “requested signposting and explanations of terms like ‘network fees’ and ‘transaction ID.’” In response, the company said that it will provide more crypto articles and offer 24/7 phone support. Robinhood added: We will be rolling out some additional security features for crypto transactions. These include multi-factor authentication in-app, so we know it’s you when you initiate a transfer, and transaction checks to better understand the risk of where coins are being sent. “While some say 2021 is the year that crypto went mainstream, the truth is that most people are still familiarizing themselves with the asset class and how to navigate the blockchain,” the trading platform noted. In December, Robinhood partnered with Chainalysis to leverage the blockchain data analytics firm’s “data and tools to meet compliance requirements and provide Robinhood customers with the confidence they need to trade cryptocurrency safely,” Chainalysis described. What do you think about Robinhood launching crypto wallets? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

In the midst of the hype surrounding the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles, two NFT projects have appeared offering near-identical or mirrored versions of the original BAYC NFTs. The NFT marketplace Opensea has removed the NFT projects from the market for breaking the rules against copyright infringement. 2 Copycat Bored Ape Yacht Club Projects Cause a Stir NFT fans have been discussing two controversial copycat NFT projects called PHAYC and PAYC (Phunky Ape Yacht Club) in recent times. The two projects introduced the copycat versions of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs that were slightly altered or mirrored. Essentially, the phony BAYCs face left instead of right, and they share the exact same avatars as BAYC originals. When the PAYC project revealed its concept, it paid homage to the Cryptophunks which were also similarly styled, copycat versions of the popular Cryptopunks NFT collection. “Once upon a time, the Cryptophunks waged war against the tyranny of DMCA,” the PAYC creators wrote on December 6. “We are joining the battle. It’s time to get phunky. We are launching 10,000 hand-coded and phlipped NFTs.” The other project, PHAYC, was covered by Coindesk author Tracy Wang on December 30. Wang detailed that the PHAYC project “launched Tuesday evening as a free mint to the first 8,500 claimers and generated about 60 ETH from the remaining 1,496 sales.” The Battle Over Which Phony BAYC Project Was First Additionally, both PAYC and PHAYC have been battling on Twitter about which project is the true copycat of the popular BAYC NFTs. “I have just been informed that there is a copycat PHAYC that launched after us. Anybody else hear of this blasphemy?” the PAYC project tweeted on December 29. An individual responded and said: I guess the first one of you with your own independent market wins. Victors get to write the history books good luck. Following the significant demand for Cryptopunks (CP) and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs in 2021, a number of unoriginal copycat ideas were launched but none of them were near-identical, mirrored copies of the originals. Yuga Labs, the creators of BAYC have copyrighted the original BAYC artwork and the artists could take legal action and file a DMCA claim. To date, both CP and BAYC have been the most popular NFT collections in terms of volume. While CP captured $2.98 billion in all-time volume, the original BAYC NFT collection obtained $1.04 billion in volume. What do you think about the 2 copycat BAYC NFT projects? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

During the last half of 2021, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) have been popping out of the woodwork in mass numbers, airdropping tokens and creating governance systems for specific projects. Just before the end of the year on December 31, the developers behind the Shiba Inu crypto protocol have announced the launch of a “Doggy DAO” in order to give more power to shiba inu users. Shiba Inu Project Announces Doggy DAO The second-largest crypto meme token in terms of market capitalization, shiba inu (SHIB), has announced the launch of a “Doggy DAO” in order to reward SHIB users. The SHIB development team says the project has always focused on “working towards decentralization.” The meme token has propelled itself into the limelight this year, gathering 43,685,107% against the U.S. dollar in 12 months, and getting listed on numerous crypto platforms, as well as gathering merchant acceptance. On January 1, 2022, SHIB has been swapping for prices between $0.00003282 to $0.00003450 within the 24-hour range. While SHIB is up 8.1% during the last two weeks, over the last seven days, SHIB is down 7.6%. SHIB’s market valuation of $18.5 billion represents 0.79% of the $2.3 trillion crypto-economy on Saturday. The meme coin dogecoin (DOGE) is the only crypto meme market that’s larger than SHIB’s with $22.7 billion. The announcement from the SHIB team on Friday notes: [The] Doggy DAO will be released in a stage-by-stage metric and phased approach. This allows the community to understand what are the needs, and requirements of the project while also attending to the possibilities that this ecosystem brings to our community. Shiba Inu’s DAO to Provide ‘Immediate Power to the Community’ The Doggy DAO phase 1 will provide “immediate power to the community to decide which crypto projects and pairs on the Shibaswap WOOF Pools will be, and how the $BONE rewards (Allocation Points) are to be distributed amongst them,” the blog post explains. The governance system will leverage $tBONE for votes and $BONE for staking. “This is a crucial first step, orienting our Decentralized Exchange to grow, while promoting all the benefits to the #Shibarmy from such pairs, and welcoming new investors to use the platform,” the SHIB team says. The Doggy DAO follows a slew of decentralized autonomous organizations that have been discussed during the last week in the crypto space. Digital currency advocates have been talking about the Opendao airdrop and Gas DAO airdrop in recent times as well. While both of those DAOs are less established, the SHIB team — and community dubbed the ‘Shibarmy’ — has been around for quite some time. What do you think about SHIB’s Doggy DAO? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The privacy-centric crypto asset monero has seen significant gains during the last two weeks, jumping 36% in value against the U.S. dollar. Despite the negative press from the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” torrents with monero mining malware, seven-day statistics indicate the crypto asset has gained more than 21%. Monero Sees Double-Digit Gains Amid Mining Malware Headlines The privacy-focused digital currency monero (XMR) has seen double-digit gains this week, while most of the crypto economy has suffered losses and seen a period of consolidation. Just recently, XMR made headlines after a cybersecurity firm warned that torrent files containing the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” film may contain malicious monero mining malware. Mining malware reports have plagued the Monero community for years as some applications exist which hijack a victim’s CPU, and then mine monero without the victim knowing. The act is sometimes referred to as “cryptojacking.” Year-to-date, monero (XMR) has gained 58% against the U.S. dollar and the crypto asset has a market capitalization of around $4.4 billion, ranked 44th among 12,135 crypto assets. XMR represents 0.19% of the $2.3 trillion crypto-economy on January 1, 2022. XMR has a 24-hour price range of around $227.51 to $248.45 per unit and tether (USDT) is the asset’s biggest trading pair with 42% of all trades. This is followed by BTC (18.39%), ETH (7.83%), USD (5.94%), EUR (3.35%), GBP (2.32%), and JPY (2.32%). Monero (XMR) is an open-source digital currency network based on Cryptonote technology authored by Nicolas van Saberhagen in 2013. The blockchain network is said to be obfuscated but the blockchain surveillance firm Ciphertrace claims it has monero tracing capabilities. The project’s privacy techniques include IP address obscuring, ring signatures, zero-knowledge proofs, bulletproofs, and stealth addresses. At the end of August 2021, a Monero developer announced BTC to XMR atomic swap capabilities. Additionally, monero (XMR) is leveraged on a number of darknet marketplaces. Monero also faces numerous privacy-coin competitors such as horizen (ZEN), dash (DASH), and zcash (ZEC). ZEN, for instance, has gained 438% year-to-date against the U.S. dollar and ZEC increased 130.8% this past year. What do you think about monero jumping 36% in value against the USD over the last two weeks amid the mining malware reports? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

India’s Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) reportedly raided major cryptocurrency exchanges Saturday. Their offices were searched and “massive goods and services tax (GST) evasion has been detected by DGGI.” Tax Authorities Say Cryptocurrency Exchanges Have Been Evading GST Tax India’s Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) reportedly raided major cryptocurrency exchanges across the country Saturday. Citing official sources, ANI news agency detailed: Around half dozen offices of cryptocurrency service providers have been searched and massive goods and services tax (GST) evasion has been detected by DGGI. According to the sources, the authorities are investigating Coinswitch Kuber (Bitcipher Labs), Coindcx (Neblio Technologies), Buyucoin (Iblock Technologies), and Unocoin (Unocoin Technologies). The crackdown has uncovered tax evasion worth about Rs 70 crore ($9.4 million), the publication conveyed. The raid followed the discovery of a major GST tax evasion of Rs 40.5 crore by cryptocurrency exchange Wazirx Friday. The authorities subsequently recovered Rs 49.20 crores in cash pertaining to GST evaded, interest, and penalty from the exchange. Noting that cryptocurrency exchanges charge a commission for facilitating the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies, official sources stressed: These services attract GST rate of duty of 18% which all of them have been evading. Another official source, who was part of the search, told the publication, “These transactions were intercepted by DGGI and they were confronted with evidence that proved non-payment of GST.” Crypto exchanges subsequently paid Rs 30 crore and Rs 40 crore as GST, interest, and penalty for non-compliance to the statutory provisions of GST law, according to the publication. Moreover, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has recovered Rs 70 crore from them. What do you think about Indian authorities raiding crypto exchanges for tax evasion? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Former chief executive of the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Wex, Dmitry Vasiliev, has been released from arrest in Warsaw earlier this month. The ex-head of the now-defunct coin trading platform has since returned to Russia while court proceedings against him in Poland are still ongoing. Polish Court Rejects Extradition of Wex Executive to Kazakhstan Authorities in Poland have released Dmitry Vasiliev, the man who was at the helm of Wex, once Russia’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The 34-year-old native of Belarus was detained at the Warsaw airport on Aug. 11, initially for a period of 40 days but he remained in custody for almost four months. Vasiliev told the Russian business news portal RBC that he was allowed to leave on Dec. 7 and has since returned to Russia where he resides. His Polish lawyer further explained that the court has dismissed his extradition to Kazakhstan but is yet to make a final decision on his case. The former Wex executive was arrested after the disappearance of $450 million from accounts linked to the exchange. According to the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, the exchange’s management is responsible for the loss of money that belonged to citizens of EU member states, including Poland, and other countries. Wex launched in September of 2017 and is regarded as the successor of the notorious BTC-e exchange. The latter ceased activities earlier that year, following the detention in Greece of one of its alleged operators, Alexander Vinnik, who was apprehended on a U.S. warrant. American prosecutors accuse the Russian IT specialist of laundering up to $9 billion through BTC-e. He was sentenced to five years in prison by France last December. French judicial authorities also rejected his extradition to Russia, where he is implicated in other crimes. Dmitry Vasiliev was also detained in Italy, in the summer of 2019, on a request from Interpol in connection with the criminal case against him in Kazakhstan where he is wanted on fraud charges. Then, in August of the same year, Italian authorities released Vasiliev despite ongoing criminal proceedings against him in a number of other countries such as Russia, Belarus and China. In September, reports revealed that 100 ETH had been withdrawn from a Wex wallet, the first movement of the funds in three years. The remaining balance of 9,916 ETH, worth $30 million at the time, was also transferred to a new address a few days later. In November, the Russian interior ministry, MVD, was accused of failing to act on a request from victims of the exchange to seize its assets. What are your thoughts on the release of the former Wex executive Dmitry Vasiliev? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Gold bug Peter Schiff has claimed that though bitcoin went up by 60% during the past twelve months, most of these gains were achieved during the first five weeks of the year in 2021. He insists that the majority of those that bought the asset in 2021 have not gained. Bitcoin Gains Higher Than Those of Gold With the calendar year ending and bitcoin up more than 60% since last January, one of the crypto asset’s chief critics, Peter Schiff, has claimed in a tweet that this gain was only achieved in the first five weeks of 2021. Schiff argues that the majority of people who bought the digital asset in 2021 have not gained. Indeed, after starting 2021 trading at just above $29,300, the price of bitcoin — as shown by Bitcoin.com data — more than doubled and was trading just above $63,500 by mid-April. This is in contrast to Schiff’s gold which started the year trading at around $1,900 per ounce but had dropped to $1,730 at around the same time. While prices of both assets continued to fluctuate throughout 2021, year-end data shows that the crypto asset had again outperformed gold after it recorded double-digit gains once more. This performance suggests that despite it being a very volatile asset, it still generated positive returns for investors, even after February. Gold, on the other hand, ended the year nearly 4% lower, a fact Schiff does not mention in one of his last anti-bitcoin tweets of 2021. Instead, he uses the crypto asset’s price in February 2021 to support his argument that bitcoin has not generated positive returns for a majority of investors. Schiff said: Bitcoin bulls point to bitcoin’s 60% gain in 2021 as more evidence that it’s the best asset to buy. But all of those gains occurred during the first five weeks of the year. Bitcoin is lower now than it was in Feb. The vast majority of people who bought Bitcoin in 2021 are down. Five-Digit Gains Besides bitcoin, which ended the year 60% higher than it started, numerous other cryptocurrencies also outperformed gold. Ethereum, which hit an all-time high of $4,891 in November, had a net gain that surpassed 500% by the end of 2021. Also, a Bitcoin.News report shows that about ten crypto assets had gains of more than 10,000% during the same period. Schiff’s tweet has riled bitcoin proponents. For instance, in their response to the gold bug’s latest attack on BTC, one Twitter user named Moon Landing asked why Schiff worries too much about bitcoin. Another user, Benjamin Cowen suggested that gold no longer keeps up with inflation. He tweeted: “The vast majority of people who bought gold over the last decade have just watched it not even keep pace with inflation.” Do you agree with Peter Schiff’s latest claims? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The government of Mexico announced that the country’s central bank will issue its own digital currency. The statement of the official account of the presidency of Mexico informed that the development should be ready towards 2024, and remarked about the importance the technology has for the future of the financial structure of the country. Banxico to Issue Digital Peso A statement issued by the official account of the presidency of Mexico on Twitter reported that the institution was planning to issue its own digital currency. The announcement also informed that this development was likely to happen towards 2024, putting the country on the list of the nations that are studying, or plan to release, their own central bank digital currency (CBDC). The issued statement declared: The Banxico reports that by 2024 it will have its own digital currency in circulation, considering these new technologies and the next-generation payment infrastructure are extremely important as options of great value to advance financial inclusion in the country. Mexico Lacks Financial Inclusion Mexico is among the top five countries with the least financial inclusion in the world, according to a study realized by a company called Merchant Machine. The study, which was released in the month of March, found that Morocco, Vietnam, Egypt, the Philippines, and Mexico are the nations where the unbanked population is largest. This data is backed by findings of the Banking Association of Mexico, which recognizes that 53% of the adults in the country do not have a bank account, and 7 out of 10 do not have access to credit. This represents a problem in the Mexican economy, that has to deal with a lack of trust that citizens have in financial products and services and the complications that citizens have to face in accessing these services. Other countries, like the Bahamas (that launched the sand dollar) and China (that released its digital renminbi), are already in implementation phases of their central bank digital currencies, even running tests or allowing citizens to use them for retail purchases in some cases. The EU is also still studying the launch of a digital euro. What do you think about Mexico preparing to launch its own digital currency? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The stock exchange of Gibraltar, a British territory, has received a purchase offer by a blockchain firm called Valereum. The purchase, that is set to occur in the new year, if effective, might make the Gibraltar Stock Exchange the first bourse where cryptocurrencies and stocks could be traded with cryptocurrencies. Regulators are currently reviewing this offer. Gibraltar Could Become a Crypto Haven Gibraltar might make history as the territory in which the first mixed bourse, with crypto assets and stocks available for investors, operates. The main bourse of the British territory, the Gibraltar Stock Exchange, has received a purchase offer from Valereum, a blockchain firm. The firm, which is based in Gibraltar, would be seeking to acquire 80% of the said bourse, with its actual owner, the Global Stock Exchange Group, keeping 20% of the company. The two companies signed an option for this acquisition back in October, where the company announced its intention of completing this deal. However, the details of the acquisition had not been released to the public. The option reveal document states: The exercise of the Option and the acquisition of 80% of the GSX (the “Acquisition”) are subject to approval by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (“GFSC”). Valereum will seek approval from GFSC to establish the GSX as one of the world’s first fully regulated, integrated fiat and digital exchanges. The report also stated that the group will seek to integrate cryptocurrency in the bourse if the deal passes. Regulatory Complications The possible approval of the deal by regulators of the country has caused a series of reactions from experts and people observing the outcome. Richard Poulden, chairman of Valereum, is extremely positive about the deal, and has stated that this is a step in the evolution of digital assets in their way of becoming tradeable at a worldwide scale. However, not all are so optimistic about this probable deal. Many are hesitant about the effect that this could have on the oversight that other global regulator groups, like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), could exert on the country. Charlie Steele, a partner at Forensic Risk Alliance, a consulting firm says: It could enable or facilitate money laundering, sanctions evasion, terrorist financing, so everyone’s wary of that as well, Valereum also signed a purchase agreement with the Juno Group, a trust management company that will be able to provide custody services for the cryptocurrency assets acquired in the exchange, even if the deal needs to be ratified by regulators. What do you think about the purchase of the stock exchange of Gibraltar by Valereum? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Lee Kwang-jae, a South Korean lawmaker, recently stated that he will be accepting cryptocurrency donations starting mid-January 2022. According to the politician, this plan represents his attempt to raise awareness about cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens among South Koreans. Donations to Be Converted Into Korean Won A Korean lawmaker, Lee Kwang-jae, has said he will start accepting cryptocurrency donations sometime in mid-January of 2022. According to the lawmaker, anyone that wishes to sponsor his campaign will be able to do so by directly transferring funds to his office wallet. As explained in The Korean Times report, once received, the donated crypto will be converted into Korean won and then deposited into his sponsorship account. The report meanwhile reveals that receipts for such donations will be issued in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and sent to the respective donor’s email address. Explaining his reasons for choosing to accept digital currency donations, Kwang-jae — a member of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea — claimed that this decision will help raise awareness about crypto assets and NFTs. He explained: I have had a deep sense of regret that the politicians here have had an outdated perception of digital assets at a crucial time when the blockchain technologies used for cryptocurrencies, NFTs and the metaverse, are advancing rapidly day after day. The lawmaker also suggested that now might be the appropriate time to undertake innovative experiments to enhance Korean politicians’ understanding of future technologies. According to the report, the lawmaker’s hope is that such experiments might ultimately help to change perceptions about digital currencies and NFTs. The report, however, states that since the acceptance of crypto donations is yet to be institutionalized, Kwang-jae can thus only receive a maximum of $8,420 or 10 million Korean won. On the other hand, sponsors can only donate digital assets that are worth not more than $842. Growing Criticism of Korea’s Crypto Regulations The plan by Kwang-jae, who is set to become one of the first lawmakers in South Korea to accept crypto donations, comes as the South Korean government exerts more regulatory pressure on the cryptocurrency industry. Meanwhile, the lawmaker’s decision to accept crypto donations follows reports that stakeholders from the local cryptocurrency industry have been stepping up their criticism of financial watchdogs. In their criticism of what the report refers to as Korea’s overly strict set of regulations, the stakeholders assert that such a regulatory regime will continue to prevent the country from becoming one of the leading nations in this emerging financial field. What are your thoughts on the lawmaker’s plan to accept crypto donations? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Police in Malaysia have shut down a bitcoin mining operation and seized 1,720 bitcoin mining machines in a major electricity theft crackdown following public complaints. “Police inspected 75 premises around the district and 30 of them were found to be carrying out illegal bitcoin mining activities and stealing electricity.” Malaysian Authorities Shut Down Bitcoin Mining Operation Malaysian police have cracked down on a major electricity theft case involving bitcoin mining, local media reported. Perak police chief Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said at a press conference Thursday at the Manjung district police headquarters that the crackdown was carried out following public complaints. Noting that the operation involved the Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and the Sitiawan Fire and Rescue Station, the police chief explained: This operation is the biggest success with TNB this year. He noted that according to the TNB, the theft of electricity was worth about RM2 million ($478,870). “Police inspected 75 premises around the district and 30 of them were found to be carrying out illegal bitcoin mining activities and stealing electricity,” the police chief explained, adding: We seized 1,720 bitcoin mining machines. In addition, “15 monitors, 22 central processing units (CPUs), 16 keyboards, seven mice, 56 modems, and a laptop” were also seized, the police chief detailed. He added: “Also seized was a Toyota Hilux, 44 exhaust fans, five alarms, and seven closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.” Mior Faridalathrash explained that further investigation is being conducted to identify the mastermind behind the illegal bitcoin mining operation and establish how long it has been going on. The police also arrested a 28-year-old caretaker of the premises in Ayer Tawar on suspicion of carrying out illegal bitcoin mining activities and being involved in stealing electricity. The chief of police noted: The arrested man was remanded for four days and is being investigated under Sections 379 and 427 of the Penal Code and the Electricity Supply Act 1990. In July, Malaysian authorities completely destroyed 1,069 bitcoin mining machines with a steamroller. The coins were confiscated earlier this year. What do you think about this case? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) claims that Binance has rescinded its commitment to comply with previously agreed requirements. The crypto exchange told the regulator that there would be no new transactions involving Ontario residents after Dec. 31. However, Binance recently informed its Ontario users that they no longer have to close their accounts by year-end. OSC Says Binance’s Action Is ‘Unacceptable’ Cryptocurrency exchange Binance got into trouble with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) Thursday. Binance notified its users in June that Ontario was becoming a restricted jurisdiction and users may need to close their accounts. However, the crypto exchange sent a letter to its users Wednesday stating: As a result of ongoing and positive cooperation with Canadian regulators, there is no need for Ontario users to close their accounts by December 31, 2021. The exchange also informed its users: “Binance in Canada has been successful in taking its first steps on the regulatory path by registering in Canada as a money services business with FINTRAC. This registration allows us to continue our operations in Canada and resume business in Ontario while we pursue full registration.” However, the Ontario Securities Commission issued a notice Thursday “notifying investors that Binance is not registered under securities law in Ontario.” The regulator wrote, “Binance represented to OSC Staff that no new transactions involving Ontario residents would occur after December 31, 2021,” elaborating: Binance has issued a notice to users, without any notification to the OSC, rescinding this commitment. This is unacceptable. “No entity in the Binance group of companies holds any form of securities registration in Ontario,” the Canadian regulator stressed. “This means they are not authorized to offer trading in derivatives or securities to persons or companies located in the province.” The OSC clarified: “Unregistered platforms operating in Ontario may be subject to action, including temporary orders, to ensure compliance which could affect their ongoing local business operations.” The regulator further noted that there are currently six crypto-asset trading platforms registered in Ontario. Besides Canada, Binance has gotten into trouble with a number of regulators in other jurisdictions including the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Australia, Norway, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, and Lithuania. The exchange says it is currently focusing on compliance. This week Binance received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain to operate a cryptocurrency service provider in the country. What do you think about Binance’s situation with the OSC in Canada? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The co-founder of Twitch, Justin Kan launched a gaming-centric non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace called Fractal on December 30. Fractal’s focus is on NFTs with video game utility and the project launched an NFT collection called “Fractals,” a 100,000 unique snowflakes that give users benefits while using the primary and secondary NFT marketplace. Twitch Co-Founder Launches Fractal NFT Market On December 30, the co-founder of Twitch, Justin Kan, told his 245,600 Twitter followers that he launched an NFT marketplace called Fractal. Kan also tweeted about the Fractals NFT collection that leverages the Solana (SOL) blockchain network. “Today, we are excited to launch our gaming NFT marketplace: Fractal,” Kan said. “We are also dropping our Fractal NFTs, the largest NFT airdrop in Solana history,” the entrepreneur added. In addition to Kan, Fractal was also founded by Robin Chan, David Wurtz and Mike Angell. Fractal hosts a number of digital goods from The Sandbox, Solchicks, Nyan Heroes, Photo Finish, Mini Royale, and Portals. The Fractals NFTs are 100,000 unique NFTs with power levels “from 23 to 100.” There’s 1,000 HEXA, 4,000 PENTA, 25,000 QUAD, and 70,000 TRI Fractals. “Higher power fractals are more rare, as they are not easy to find in nature because of their instability,” the Fractal marketplace team says. It is our hope that fractals will give you special powers in your favorite blockchain-based games. We believe “cross-game” assets like these, that are truly yours, is the future of gaming. Together, we can unlock that future,” the Fractal marketplace developers add. At the time of writing, the top trending project on the Fractal NFT marketplace is Panzerdogs followed by Aurory, Portals, Photo Finish, and Fractals. Following the marketplace’s native NFT project, the projects Genopets, Caveworld, Nyan Heroes, and Mini Royale capture the sixth through the ninth positions. The tenth highest trending NFT project hosted on the Fractal marketplace is Solchicks. What do you think about Twitch co-founder Justin Kan’s NFT marketplace called Fractal? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

There’s a New Year’s Eve fiesta in the metaverse called the Metafest 2022 Global Party hosted by the real estate firm Jamestown and the crypto investment firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) in Decentraland. According to the announcement, the owner of One Times Square, Jamestown will recreate the iconic site in Decentraland for the 2022 ball drop. NYE Meets the Metaverse There’s New Year’s Eve ball drop celebration taking place in the Decentraland metaverse and it’s hosted by the real estate firm Jamestown and Digital Currency Group (DCG). According to the announcement, DCG is one of the largest land owner in Decentraland, while Jamestown owns the well known One Times Square. DCG’s head of real estate, Simon Koster, explains how the digital world can meld with the real one. “The metaverse is quickly evolving to bring together the most interesting and alluring parts of our favorite physical places around the world,” Koster remarked during the announcement. “From destinations, to gaming, education, retail and more, we can expect the metaverse to revolutionize our current online experience.” The DCG executive further added: This event highlights how virtual events can cohesively integrate with real ones in an effort to bring once-in-a-lifetime experiences to so many that would have never been able to participate otherwise. Virtual One Times Square to Feature Entertainment Acts, Rooftop VIP Lounges, Live Feeds From NYC Michael Phillips, the president of Jamestown agrees and he believes the future of real estate is “the thoughtful integration of the virtual and physical worlds, optimized for user experience.” According to the announcement, the virtual One Times Square in Decentraland will be located at section -106, -119. The party will feature music and entertainment acts including “rooftop VIP lounges.” There will also be live feed of the real-world Times Square ball drop celebration in New York. “The metaverse is an important part of the evolution of real estate and the built environment,” Phillips added. “Whereas physical real estate is largely limited to people with geographic proximity, the metaverse can give people around the world meaningful access to places through immersive virtual experiences.” Phillips continued: Recreating One Times Square in the Decentraland metaverse is part of a larger digital asset strategy to evolve and enhance our physical real estate for Web 3.0 and open new pathways for our assets to exist in multiple metaverses in the future. Socialite Paris Hilton to DJ an Electronic Music Set on NYE in the Roblox Metaverse DCG, Decentraland, and Jamestown are not the only ones throwing a New Year’s Eve (NYE) bash. Paris Hilton is planning on playing an electronic set of music on NYE on her virtual Roblox island called “Paris World.” “For me, the metaverse is somewhere that you can do everything you can do in real life in the digital world,” Hilton said in a statement. The socialite and entrepreneur added: Not everybody gets to experience that, so that’s what we’ve been working together on over the past year — giving them all my inspirations of what I want in that world. What do you think about the NYE metaverse celebrations taking place in Decentraland and Roblox? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has added a number of advisers to Chairman Gary Gensler’s executive staff. Among them is Corey Frayer, who advises Gensler on “SEC policymaking and interagency work relating to the oversight of crypto assets.” SEC Has New Adviser for the Oversight of Crypto Assets The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Thursday the appointments of Corey Frayer, Phil Havenstein, Jennifer Songer, and Jorge Tenreiro to Chairman Gary Gensler’s executive staff. The announcement details: Corey Frayer advises Chair Gensler on SEC policymaking and interagency work relating to the oversight of crypto assets. Before joining the SEC, Frayer served as senior professional staff on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for Chairman Sherrod Brown. He also spent a decade as a senior adviser for Rep. Maxine Waters on the House Financial Services Committee and Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina. Havenstein serves as an adviser to Gensler on matters related to agency administration, operations, and management. Songer counsels him on matters related to investment companies and investment advisers while Tenreiro counsels him on matters involving the Division of Enforcement. In December, Gensler called for more investor protection in crypto markets. “This asset class is rife with fraud, scams, and abuse in certain applications,” he said. “In many cases, investors aren’t able to get rigorous, balanced, and complete information on tokens or trading and lending platforms.” The SEC, under Gensler, has approved some bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs). However, the commission has not approved any spot bitcoin ETFs. In November, U.S. Reps. Tom Emmer and Darren Soto sent a letter to Gensler urging the SEC to permit the trading of spot bitcoin ETFs. What do you think of the SEC adding a crypto adviser to Gensler’s executive staff? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

According to reports, roughly $2.2 million worth of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were stolen from a collector. The owner of the NFTs Todd Kramer said the incident was “arguably the worst night” of his life. Furthermore, there’s claims that the NFT marketplace Opensea froze the collectibles, and crypto advocates are complaining about the lack of decentralization. 15 BAYC and MAYC NFTs Stolen — Victim Begs Opensea for Help, Reports Claim NFTs Were ‘Frozen’ On December 30, 2021, a BAYC collector told the public that 15 Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFTs were stolen. “NFTX these apes and mutants have been stolen and flagged on Opensea. Please remove from your liquidity pool,” he added. Todd Kramer also listed all the apes that were stolen. Kramer also stressed in another tweet that it was “arguably the worst night” of his life. The 15 ape theft is one of the first NFT collection crimes since NFT collections like Cryptopunks, BAYC, MAYC, and others have seen significant demand. After the incident, there have been claims that Opensea stepped in and froze the NFTs. However, there is no official confirmation that the leading NFT marketplace performed this task. Moreover, there’s been complaints about the alleged frozen BAYCs, as the “lack of decentralization” was called into question. “Who was able to freeze the NFTs?” an individual replied to Kramer’s now-deleted tweet. “Feels pretty anti-crypto to be asking third parties to do this and ideally they shouldn’t be able to. This was just extremely poor OPSEC on your part. True decentralized ownership no one should be able to step in. Good luck.” The co-developer of the Unified Modeling Language and renowned software engineer Grady Booch also replied to the now-deleted tweet. “Silly me,” Booch tweeted. “And here I thought that the code is the law and that one of the very ideas of cryptocurrencies was the elimination of any possibility of centralized intervention.” Booch added: Hypocrites; everyone of you. The end result of the stolen BAYC and MAYC NFT fiasco has not been disclosed publicly, but it seems a few individuals helped ease Kramer’s worries. We also don’t know why Kramer decided to delete a few of the tweets he wrote on December 29th and the 30th. However, the tweets were saved to archive.org and the statements are still accessible. What do you think about the 15 BAYC and MAYC NFTs that were allegedly stolen? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Non-fungible token (NFT) assets were extremely popular this year and to date, there’s been more than $20 billion in volume recorded in terms of NFT sales among 100 collections. While many single NFTs sold for millions of dollars a number of NFT projects and collections saw hundreds of millions and even billions in all-time volume. According to defillama.com metrics, the popular NFT collection Cryptopunks captured $2.98 billion in all-time volume. 100 NFT Collections, 6 Chains, $20 Billion in Volume Numerous NFT collections have been very prominent in 2021 and have been the topic of various discussions. While Bitcoin.com News published the top ten most expensive non-fungible token sales this year, a large quantity of NFT collections saw significant trade volume and demand. Data from defillama.com tracks 100 NFT collections and so far there’s been $20.13 billion in all-time sales from these specific NFT series. The NFTs stem from blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, Immutablex, Binance Smart Chain, Arbitrum, and Terra. The project with the most volume is the Cryptopunks collection with $2.98 billion in all-time volume and 3,286 owners. Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) holds the second-largest volume with $1.04 billion in all-time volume and 5,961 owners. Decentraland recorded just under a billion with $930.98 million and 6,051 owners. Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) holds the fourth position with $513.23 million in all-time volume and 10,711 MAYC owners. The Sandbox takes the fifth position this year with $450.7 million in volume and 17,315 owners. The Cool Cats NFT collection saw $239.3 million, Superrare processed $237.94 million, Cryptoadz recorded $204.29 million, and Parallel Alpha had roughly $202.87 million in volume. Lastly, the tenth-largest volume belongs to Punks Comic with $181.46 million and 5,912 owners. Following Punks Comic, other notable NFT collections included Clone X ($154.55M), Cyberkongz ($151.26M), Veefriends ($130.47M), Doodles ($121.89M), Creature World ($115.19M), RTFKT ($93.8M), Vox Collectibles ($66.4M), Town Star ($65.7M), Gutter Cat Gang ($61.6M), and Rumble Kong League ($52.6M). Town Star, Parallel Alpha, The Sandbox Assets, Adidas Originals NFTs Have the Greatest Number of Owners The NFT project with the greatest amount of owners listed on defillama.com’s NFT volume metrics page is Town Star with 31,721 owners. Parallel Alpha has 30,250, The Sandbox assets have 22,387 owners, Adidas Originals has 18,869, and as mentioned above The Sandbox virtual universe has 17,315 owners. Adidas Originals, being a fairly new NFT project, sold $38.3 million in a very short period of time. The Adidas Originals NFT collection at the time of writing has a floor price of around $3,523. Bored Ape Yacht Club floor price is the highest at $193K and the floor price is followed by Inft Personality Pod Sale with $79,173. The collection with the lowest floor price at the time of writing is Levana Dragons at $12.00. What do you think about the top NFT projects and collections in terms of volume this year? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Starting in the year 2022, donated or inherited virtual assets will be assessed and taxed accordingly, South Korea’s National Tax Service has said. Dunamu, Bithumb Korea, Korbit, and Coinone are the new virtual asset service providers (VASPs) tasked with evaluating digital assets for such tax purposes. Virtual Asset Service Providers Tasked With Evaluating Crypto Gifts South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) recently announced that starting in 2022, digital assets that are inherited or donated will be taxed, a report has said. It added that such digital assets will be taxed at the average amount for each month before and after the date of commencement of inheritance or the date of donation. In a KBS report explaining the upcoming changes, the tax body also revealed the virtual asset service providers (VASPs) that are tasked with evaluating the property that is being inherited or donated. According to the report, these VASPs include Dunamu, Bithumb Korea, Korbit, and Coinone. Obtaining the Daily Average Price Meanwhile, the NTS is quoted in the report explaining how the process of evaluating gifted or inherited virtual assets is done. We plan to evaluate virtual assets traded on other exchanges at a value that is reasonably recognized, such as the daily average price of the trading day announced by the business operator or the market price announced at closing. In terms of taxpayers calculating the average monthly price, the report said an average daily price of virtual assets inquiry service tool “will be provided at Hometax [NTS site] from March next year.” What are your thoughts on the Korean National Tax Service’s decision to tax inherited digital assets? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The government in Kazakhstan is considering building a nuclear power plant to overcome an electricity deficit allegedly caused by the booming crypto mining industry. Problems with power supply are driving away miners that saw the Central Asian country as a new home when China recently cracked down on the industry. NPP Project Revived Amid Short Supply of Energy for Crypto Mining Sector in Kazakhstan Authorities in Kazakhstan are now thinking of implementing a decade-old plan to construct a nuclear power plant (NPP) in order to solve the country’s pressing issues with a growing electricity deficit. With capped tariffs and a crypto-friendly attitude, the former Soviet republic attracted a throng of Chinese miners chased away by Beijing’s offensive against the crypto industry launched in May of this year. However, some of them are now leaving the country as their hardware is idling. Two locations are currently under consideration as potential sites for a nuclear station, Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Magzum Mirzagaliev revealed this week. These are the village of Ulken in the Alma-Ata region and the city of Kurchatov in the East Kazakhstan region. Quoted by the Russian news agency Tass, Mirzagaliev elaborated: We are ready with the production and consumption balance until 2035. We clearly see the need to build a nuclear power plant in order to provide electricity to our population and our economy. Kazakhstan is a global leader in uranium ore mining and has contemplated building a nuclear plant for over a decade. Another 10 years will be needed to construct it, Mirzagaliev admitted. The government in Nur-Sultan is now in talks with Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom, which has constructed NPPs in China, India, and Belarus. The nuclear power plant will also help Kazakhstan reach its carbon neutrality goals by 2060, the official noted. The country started experiencing electricity shortages this past summer, when the influx of Chinese miners caused a power supply deficit of 7% in the first three quarters of the year. The energy-hungry data centers were quickly blamed for the shortages and authorities estimated that a single crypto farm needs as much energy as 24,000 homes. The deficit forced Kazakhstan, a major producer of fossil fuels, to buy expensive electricity from Russia to fill the gap. Kazakhstan has maintained a generally positive attitude towards the crypto industry. It welcomed miners and took steps to regulate the sector. Recently published estimates suggest that crypto mining can pour some $1.5 billion into its economy in the next five years, with over $300 million expected as tax revenue. A fee of $0.0023 per kilowatt-hour of electricity used by registered mining enterprises will be levied in January. Do you think a nuclear station will solve Kazakhstan’s problems with power supply and ensure enough electrical energy for its crypto mining industry? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

304 days or roughly nine months ago, 42 companies held bitcoin on their balance sheet with an aggregate total of 1,350,073 bitcoin on March 1, 2021. Today, metrics indicate there are 59 companies, a few countries, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with 1,499,493 bitcoin held in treasuries. Private and Public Companies, ETFs, and Countries — Treasuries List Highlights 59 Firms With Bitcoin on Their Balance Sheets Over the last 12 months, a great number of companies have disclosed that they have added bitcoin (BTC) to the firm’s balance sheet and even countries like El Salvador are now storing BTC in their national treasury. On March 1, 2021, Bitcoin.com News reported that there were 42 firms that consisted of public and private companies, alongside bitcoin funds as well. At the time 1,350,073 BTC was held by the company’s and it represented 6.43% out of the 21 million maximum supply. Now similar to Microstrategy announcing a BTC purchase every so often, the Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele has also been telling the public about El Salvador’s BTC acquisitions. For instance, El Salvador purchased 21 BTC to celebrate the 21st day, year, and century on December 21. The Bitcoin Treasuries list hosted on buybitcoinworldwide.com shows that there are 59 companies that hold BTC on their balance sheets and five different countries. At the time of writing, the web portal claims 1,499,493 BTC is held by these entities. This equates to $71.6 billion in USD value and 7.14% of the 21 million BTC supply cap. Now the Bitcoin Treasuries list notes that five countries own BTC and the first one on the list is Bulgaria, however, the stash of 213,519 BTC held by Bulgarian authorities is controversial and many people believe the coins were sold. In April 2018, the regional news publication Bivol explained that Bulgaria’s finance minister, Vladislav Goranov, explained that the BTC was sold. Goranov noted that the BTC was sold to “several sovereign wealth funds and Asian investors.” It also noted that Deloitte and the FBI helped facilitate the sales and the BTC was sold for €15,000 per unit. If that stash is taken off the Bitcoin Treasuries list’s aggregate, the current BTC held by companies and four countries would be 1,285,974 BTC worth $61.1 billion. The Bitcoin Treasuries list then says El Salvador holds 1,391 BTC, the UK government holds 46,351 BTC, Finland has 1,981 BTC, and Georgia has 66 BTC. Microstrategy, Tesla, Galaxy Digital Hold the Top 3 Public Company Positions — Block.one, Tezos Foundation, Stone Ridge Hold the Top 3 Private Company Positions That would leave the Bitcoin Treasuries list down to ETFs, private companies, and public firms. The publicly listed company with the most BTC at the time of writing according to the Bitcoin Treasuries list is Microstrategy, with 122,478 BTC or $5.8 billion worth of coins. However, the company’s CEO Michael Saylor told the public it purchased 1,914 BTC on Thursday. The Bitcoin Treasuries list shows that Tesla and Galaxy Digital hold the second and third largest amount of bitcoin in terms of public companies. Tesla holds 42,902 BTC according to the list and Galaxy Digital has a stash of 16,400 BTC. Those two public firms are followed by Voyager Digital LTD (12,260 BTC), Square Inc. (8,027 BTC), and Marathon Digital Holdings (7,649 BTC). That leaves 39 public companies holding BTC on their balance sheets with firms like MOGO Financing (18 BTC), Phunware, Inc. (127 BTC), Coinbase Global, Inc. (4,482 BTC), and Brooker Group’s BROOK (BKK) (1,150 BTC). Six private companies hold bitcoin as well including Block.one (140,000), The Tezos Foundation (17,500), Stone Ridge Holdings Group (10,000), Massachusetts Mutual (3,500), Lisk Foundation (1,898), and Seetee AS (1,170). Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust Dominates the Entire Bitcoin Treasuries List, ‘Who Owns All the Bitcoin’ Lists Are Not Entirely Accurate 14 funds hold 809,848 BTC according to the list and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) holds 648,069 BTC of that total. Following GBTC, there are funds like CoinShares / XBT with 48,466 BTC, Purpose Bitcoin ETF with 22,411 BTC, and 3iQ Coinshares Bitcoin ETF that holds 21,237 BTC. The Bitcoin Treasuries list gives a fairly good glimpse of a number of companies claiming to hold BTC on their balance sheet and it’s a great deal larger than it was last year. However, just like the discrepancy with the Bulgaria bitcoin stash mentioned above, none of the so-called “who owns all the bitcoin” lists are entirely accurate. In fact, without cryptographic proof, these types of lists don’t hold water when it comes to actual onchain verification and actual “proof-of-reserves.” Despite this issue, the lists are useful for a visual perspective, of what could be the case, if a majority of these entities are being truthful about their BTC reserves. What do you think about the Bitcoin Treasuries list at the end of the year? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reportedly asked mutual fund companies not to get involved or invest in any type of crypto asset-based investments until the Indian government has come up with cryptocurrency legislation. SEBI Asks Mutual Fund Companies to Wait for Crypto Legislation The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Ajay Tyagi, reportedly said Tuesday that the market regulator does not want mutual fund companies to get involved or invest in any type of crypto asset-based new fund offers (NFOs) until the Indian government has come up with cryptocurrency legislation. There is currently no law governing cryptocurrencies directly in India. However, the Indian government is actively working on cryptocurrency legislation. A crypto bill was listed to be considered in the winter session of parliament but it was not taken up. The government is now reportedly reworking the bill. Last month, Indian asset management firm Invesco Mutual Fund delayed launching its Invesco Coinshares Global Blockchain ETF Fund of Fund due to regulatory uncertainty around crypto assets even though it was approved by SEBI. The fund is an open-ended scheme investing in Invesco Coinshares Global Blockchain UCITS ETF. It is the first fund in India with exposure to the blockchain ecosystem to receive approval from SEBI. The underlying fund’s portfolio as of Nov. 2 includes Coinbase Global, GMO Internet, Kakao Corp. SBI Holdings, Hive Blockchain Technologies, Bitfarms, Bit Digital, and Microstrategy. While the Indian government has not made an official announcement whether it will ban or regulate cryptocurrencies, there are reports that crypto assets will be regulated with SEBI as the main regulator. Meanwhile, India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has been calling on the government to completely ban cryptocurrency, noting that a partial ban will not work. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has been saying that the central bank has serious and major concerns regarding cryptocurrencies. What do you think about SEBI asking mutual fund companies not to invest in any type of crypto asset-based funds until legislation is in place? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk says dogecoin is “fundamentally better than anything else” he has seen while he criticizes bitcoin. He also discussed the identity of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, and the official currency of Mars. Elon Musk Discusses Crypto, Dogecoin, Bitcoin, Mars’ Currency, and Who Satoshi Nakamoto Is Elon Musk shared his thoughts on cryptocurrency, dogecoin, bitcoin, and the identity of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, in an interview with Lex Fridman, published Tuesday. Musk, who has long been a supporter of the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE), revealed: Part of the reason why I think there is some merit to dogecoin, even though it was obviously created as a joke, is that it actually does have a much higher transaction volume capability than bitcoin. “The cost of doing a transaction, the dogecoin fees are very low,” the Tesla executive added. In contrast, he said: “Right now, if you want to do a Bitcoin transaction, the price of doing that transaction is very high, so you could not use it effectively for most things, and nor could it even scale to a high volume.” Following the publication of this interview, many people took to Twitter to remind Musk of the Lightning network. This is not the first time Musk said that dogecoin is better than bitcoin for transactions. During his “Person of the Year” interview with Time Magazine, he noted that bitcoin is better as a store of value while dogecoin is better suited for payments. He also recently announced that his electric car company, Tesla, will start accepting DOGE. The Tesla CEO, who is sometimes known in the crypto community as the Dogefather, further opined: I’m not saying that it’s the ideal system for a currency but I think it actually is just fundamentally better than anything else I’ve seen, just by accident. Musk was also asked if he is still considering making dogecoin the official currency of Mars. He replied: “I think Mars itself will need to have a different currency because you can’t synchronize due to the speed of light, or not easily.” He explained: “Mars is, at closest approach, it’s four light minutes away roughly, and then at furthest approach, it’s roughly 20 light-minutes away, maybe a little more. So you can’t really have something synchronizing if you’ve got a 20-minute speed of light issue if it’s got a one-minute blockchain. It’s not going to synchronize properly.” The Tesla boss continued: I don’t know if Mars would have a cryptocurrency as a thing, but probably, seems likely. But it would be kind of localized thing on Mars. The Spacex boss was asked whether he is Satoshi Nakamoto as some people believe him to be. “I’m not,” he quickly replied. “Would you tell us if you were?” he was asked. “Yes,” he affirmed. He proceeded to share his theory of who Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, might be. “You can look at the evolution of ideas before the launch of Bitcoin and see who wrote about those ideas,” he began. While emphasizing, “Obviously I don’t know who created bitcoin for practical purposes,” he detailed: The evolution of ideas is pretty clear for that, and it seems as though Nick Szabo is probably more than anyone else responsible for the evolution of those ideas. “He claims not to be Nakamoto but I’m not sure that’s neither here nor there but he seems to be the one more responsible for the ideas behind Bitcoin than anyone else,” Musk concluded. What do you think about Elon Musk’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article