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Sukhavati Network is to host its startup sale on Gate.io’s platform as part of the “Startup Project Free Airdrop Program”. The “Startup Project Free Airdrop Programme” was launched by Gate.io to provide users with early access to innovative and advanced projects, where VIP and GT users are entitled to a variety of token airdrop benefits. Additionally, Sukhavati Network will be listed on MEXC’s platform, see below for more regarding both events. Built on a hardware-based Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and the Substrate framework, Sukhavati Network is a decentralized cloud network service that focuses on storage. With its low-consumption storage verification mechanism EPoSt (Efficient Proof of Spacetime), Sukhavati provides unified data storage, retro and management services for Web 3.0 applications. Gate Startup Sale Details The startup sale will commence on August 10th at 03:00 am (UTC), and last for 24 hours until August 11th at 03:00 am (UTC). To participate in the event, users will need to hold a VIP1 account level or higher on Gate.io, and would need to clear the KYC procedures to purchase the tokens. The price will start at 0 USDT with a startup supply of 125,000 SKT. Gate.io will collect qualified orders and tokens will then be distributed depending on the ratio of individual purchase orders to purchase orders in total. Qualified orders will receive the tokens on August 11th at 06:00 (UTC). Note that users from the following countries will not be supported: Afghanistan, Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Burma, Canada, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cuba, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Liberia, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, United States of America, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe Launching on Gate.io Gate.io is a cryptocurrency trading platform that holds integrity, transparency, and fairness to a high standard. The exchange acts as a one-stop-shop trading service, providing efficient trading and instant deposit/withdrawal for users. Gate.io is ranked 16th by coinranking.com with a daily trading volume of 629 million USD and 4 million active users. As one of the largest exchanges for cryptocurrencies alike, Sukhavati Network recognises the potential this startup sale can achieve with support from a wider community. The launch will enable the growth of Sukhavati’s community, as well as build its support system and establish future partnerships. Click here to visit Gate.io’s website for more information regarding the startup sale and details to participate. Listing on MEXC and Details About “MX DeFi” Sukhavati will also be listed in the Innovation Zone of MEXC’s platform for open trading with the SKT/USDT pair on the 12th of August at 11:00 UTC. Withdrawal will be available 30 minutes after listing. Alongside that, MEXC will launch the 75th “MX DeFi” session to enable MX and SKT staking to earn liquidity yield, the staking period will last from August 12 to August 16. The total yield pool will contain 62,500 SKT, MX covers 60% of the yield pool (at 37,500 SKT liquidity yield), while USDT covers 40% of the yield pool (with 25,000 SKT liquidity yield). Participants can join through MEXC.com (select “Finance” > “MX DeFi” > find “Stake to mine SKT”) or the MEXC app (find “MX DeFi” > find “Stake to mine SKT”). MEXC Global is a centralized exchange that promotes a safe and stable ecosystem by the use of their multi-tier, multi-cluster system architecture. MEXC has a high-performance matching engine technology, which can handle up to 1.4 million units per second. It has around 5 million users in more than 70 countries around the world. Interested parties may visit Sukhavati’s social media networks below to keep up to date with any future updates or developments. — About Sukhavati Network Sukhavati Network is a decentralized cloud network service that is focused on storage. The network is built on hardware-based Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and the Substrate framework to inspire and incentivize improvements on distributed storage ecosystems. Sukhavati creates a decentralized gateway that covers both Web 3.0 and Web 2.0 storage services. It allows unified data storage, retrieval, and management on Web 3.0 applications. Website: https://sukhavati.io/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sukhavati_N Telegram Channel: https://t.me/SukhavatiNetwork Telegram Announcement Channel: https://t.me/SukhavatiN Medium: https://medium.com/@Sukhavati Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/SukhavatiNetwork/ This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

The Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, is now looking to hire someone who understands digital currencies. According to the job posting, the role requires extensive expertise in the field of financial technologies. Mossad Recruiting Expert With Fintech Background Israel’s Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, Mossad, is seeking an expert with a deep understanding of cryptocurrencies and a fintech background, the online edition of the Israeli national daily Yediot Ahronot, Ynet, reported. The job posting has appeared on the agency’s website. The full title of the vacant position is “A Technological Leader in the Field of Fintech.” It requires candidates to demonstrate knowledge in financial technologies and digital currencies. Responsibilities include “leading, initiating, planning, and accompanying systems development activities.” At least three years of experience in the fintech space is a must for those who apply, according to the Israeli intelligence service. The future Mossad employee should also be an expert in e-commerce, the brief listing details. Ynet speculates that the organization might be interested in using cryptocurrencies to make anonymous payments to its agents around the world. Another possible application for digital coins would be in the acquisition of sensitive equipment. Israel has been working to increase its capabilities in the crypto field for other reasons, too. In July, the country’s defense minister at the time, Benny Gantz, ordered the seizure of cryptocurrency funds raised by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip. The department published a list of targeted cryptocurrency addresses. It also said it had begun taking control over crypto wallets employed by Hamas to collect money from foreign sponsors in the wake of its conflict with Israel in May. In a statement, Gantz was quoted noting that “the intelligence, technological and legal tools that enable us to get our hands on terrorists’ money around the world constitute an operational breakthrough.” The official did not elaborate further but according to a blog post by Chainalysis, the Israelis focused on analysis of intelligence and blockchain data to track the funds and identify individuals and exchanges involved in the donation campaigns and previous terrorism financing cases. Do you expect other intelligence services to follow Mossad’s example? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Uganda’s blockchain community welcomes the recent call on authorities to create a cryptocurrency regulatory framework, a board member of the Blockchain Association of Uganda (BAU) has said. The member, Suleiman Murunga, explains that such a framework “will create investor confidence and boost participation by innovators.” Uganda’s FIA Calls for Crypto Framework The remarks by BAU’s Murunga come just a few months after the country’s Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) told the country’s Ministry of Finance to look into the possibility of regulating cryptocurrency. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the FIA took the step of calling for regulation of cryptocurrencies after noting that only a few crypto entities had voluntarily registered. The FIA hoped to use the crypto industry’s compliance with the voluntary registration policy to bolster its own ability to “protect users and the larger economy” from the possible misuse of cryptocurrencies. Central Bank Prioritizing Implementation of Payment Service Provider Guidelines Meanwhile, Murunga tells Bitcoin.com News that while Ugandan authorities have seemingly acknowledged the FIA’s call, there has not been any notable movement on this front just yet. He explained: “[The] Bank of Uganda is still focused on the implementation of the payment service provider [PSP] guidelines and can’t be bothered with crypto at the moment.” As suggested by Murunga, the central bank has so far prioritized the implementation of PSP guidelines ahead of creating a crypto regulatory framework. This is evidenced by a report in Ugandan media which suggested that the central bank had taken over the regulation of mobile money service providers. It remains to be seen if Ugandan authorities will turn their attention towards cryptocurrencies once the implementation of the so-called PSP guidelines is complete. Do you agree with the Blockchain Association of Uganda’s endorsement of a call to regulate cryptos? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Tether Limited has released an assurance report reviewed by Moore Cayman, an auditor of investment funds and digital assets. The report provides a breakdown of the company’s assets and reserves which Moore Cayman claims are around $62.7 billion as of June 30. Tether Publishes Assurance Report On August 9, 2021, Tether’s chief technology officer tweeted that the company had published the firm’s “latest attestation” and a detailed “breakdown of reserves.” “Guess what? Tether is fully backed,” Tether’s CTO Paolo Ardoino said. “Rating of commercial papers is provided by S&P. Many people surely are already missing our famous pie chart,” he added. Vaneck’s Gabor Gurbacs also tweeted about the report on Monday and said: The latest Tether attestation is now out. Tether is continuing its effort to provide more transparency on the leading $62 billion stablecoin. In the recent attestation, asset breakdown, quality, and maturity/duration metrics are available. Well done. The assurance report published by the independent auditor Moore Cayman details that in the company’s “opinion, the CRR as prepared by the management of Tether Holdings Limited group as of 30 June 2021 at 11:59 PM UTC, is presented in accordance with the criteria set out therein and is, in all material respects, fairly stated.” Moore Cayman added: Our findings as of 30 June 2021, at 11:59 PM UTC are: Consolidated total assets amount to at least USD 62,773,190,075 which is correctly classified as set out in the CRR. Consolidated total liabilities amount to USD 62,628,932,116 of which USD 62,610,829,196 relates to digital tokens issued. A Slew of Stablecoin Issuers Publish Attestation Reports Concerning Reserves This Past Month Tether’s assurance report follows a number of stablecoin providers who have published attestations during the last 30 days. On July 20, Circle Internet Financial LLC. published a blog post that explains the firm’s stablecoin is backed by “prioritized trust, transparency, and accountability.” Approximately 24 hours later, the regulated blockchain firm Paxos released data on the stablecoins it backs. Furthermore, Huobi and the stablecoin issuer Stable Universal revealed monthly HUSD attestation reports. Tether issues USDT and EURT via various blockchain networks like Omni, Tron, EOS, the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP), Algorand, Liquid, and Solana. Additionally, Tether’s Ethereum-issued contracts also disperse USDT, EURT, CNHT, and XAUT. What do you think about Tether’s recent assurance report? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

In July 2021, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Save the Children in Rwanda announced it partnered with the Cardano Foundation on a project that allows well-wishers to make donations in the form of cryptocurrencies. Save the Children Meets ADA At the time, it was revealed that Save the Children’s acceptance of ADA donations was not the first time the non-governmental organization (NGO) had accepted crypto. In fact, Save the Children says it has been accepting donations in cryptocurrency form since 2013. However, some have questioned the wisdom of accepting donations in a form of currency that they argue is too volatile. On the other hand, others want to know why a charity organization that is over a hundred years old has chosen to work with Cardano. To understand why the NGO has made these choices, Bitcoin.com News reached out via email to Ettore Rossetti, Save the Children’s Senior Advisor, Digital and Marketing Innovation. Bitcoin.com News (BCN): Cryptocurrencies are generally volatile yet Save the Children is one of the first NGOs to accept them. How did this start? Ettore Rossetti (ER): In late 2013, the bitcoin community approached us wanting to support our typhoon relief in the Philippines. We already knew about bitcoin from some of our gamer supporters and this inquiry was the tipping point for us to set up internal mechanisms, policies, and procedures to accept it. BCN: Can you tell us the motivation behind Save the Children’s pivot to cryptocurrencies? ER: I wouldn’t call it a pivot, I would call it an additional way to support our mission and our belief that children have the right to a bright future: good health, quality education, and protection from violence. We do whatever it takes to help children in more than 100 countries. BCN: There is a divided opinion about cryptocurrencies, yet Save the Children continues to embrace them. Are you not concerned that some of the negative stories about crypto might upset some of your traditional donors? ER: Right now, cryptocurrency donations by percentage is a very small portion of our private revenue. However, it has the hope and the potential for us to reach a new and different type of donor and inspire the next generation of donors and philanthropists. No one is compelled to buy, hold or donate cryptocurrency if they do not want to do so. We accept both fiat and crypto donations on our website: https://www.savethechildren.org/bitcoin. BCN: You recently launched a platform that allows wellwishers to donate via the ADA cryptocurrency. What has been the response or reaction from the donor community? ER: It is still too early to draw a conclusion. In order to come up with a successful innovation, we need to try new and different solutions, to test and learn what works and what doesn’t. One key to successful innovation is timing: if it is too early or too late it will fail but if the time is right it may work. BCN: Can you explain the importance of blockchain technology? ER: DLT (distributed ledger technology) like blockchain has the potential to disrupt and revolutionize traditional systems and processes. The social sector is no exception. Some people are calling it web 3.0 just like the internet and social media change the game for social change, so can Web 3.0. BCN: How much has Save the Children raised via crypto over the years? ER: We have raised more than seven figures in fiat value of cryptocurrency over the past couple of years alone. BCN: After the bull market led to new all-time highs, many cryptocurrencies have pretty much lost over a quarter of their values. So how do you ensure crypto donations that are received in a bull market are preserved? ER: Our current policy is to exchange the cryptocurrency donation to fiat shortly after the contribution. Thus, our approach is to use it as an immediate impact vehicle rather than an investment vehicle. BCN: Can you explain why you have chosen to partner with Cardano? ER: Cardano (ADA) is backed by The Cardano Foundation, is interested in community-driven projects in Africa — one of the continents we work in — and has committed a stake pool for nonprofits. BCN: Are you also open to working with other crypto organizations? ER: Yes, Save the Children is open to working with other cryptocurrencies, blockchain, NFT projects and charity tokens. For inquiries, email bitcoin@savechildren.org. What are your thoughts about this interview? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Refinable, a leading NFT marketplace, today announced the Refinable Gaming Initiative, an industry-specific program aimed at deepening its collaboration with the gaming developer community, supporting NFT communities with a community push to Play-To-Earn (P2E) initiatives within NFT gaming. Refinable’s decision reflects the incredible momentum in its marketplace as it relates to gaming NFTs. The company’s gaming partners – which include Seascape and ChainGuardians among others – have been gaining traction among Refinable marketplace’s users, as it continues to break new ground in blockchain gaming, creating compelling new experiences. Under this gaming initiative, the company has announced a series of service offering enhancements to provide greater flexibility, adaptability and monetary benefits to gamers and developers alike. Such enhancements include: Dedicated gaming marketplace Branded and verified profiles and collections Integration with existing NFT configurations Royalties & Logic Integration Customized service fee Smart contract advisory services Increased liquidity access Community outreach & marketing support In addition to customized service offerings to the gaming sector, Refinable would also earmark US$150,000 to the development and growth of Refinable’s P2E communities. For additional information, visit the official Refinable Gaming Initiative landing page for the latest updates. Refinable’s announcement today also reflects the broader growth in NFT gaming as an industry. Sky Mavis, developers of Axie Infinity, has seen its active user base grow by 350,000 every month. It has also recorded $42 million in sales in June 2021 alone, and is valued at approximately $2 billion. For more updates and enquiries, get in touch with Refinable here About Refinable Refinable is the definitive solution to create, discover, trade, and leverage NFTs. Our marketplace provides an accessible environment, for any user, brand, or community, by offering multi-chain flexibility, ultra-low cost alternatives, and high performance options to engage with NFT content. Beyond the marketplace, Refinable also offers custom solutions for brands and projects looking for new engagement opportunities. Contact us for more information. Contact Refinable Website: https://refinable.com Telegram: https://t.me/refinablenft Telegram ANN: https://t.me/RefinableAnn Twitter: https://twitter.com/refinableapp Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinableapp Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Refinable Media contact: Adrian Fu (media@refinable.co) This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Bitcoin Cash Argentina, a nonprofit foundation destined to increase the knowledge and adoption of the cryptocurrency in the country, has achieved its second milestone by crowdfunding a new circular economy campaign using Flipstarter. This new campaign goes even further with the goal of onboarding 250 merchants in the near future. Bitcoin Cash Argentina Funds Second Flipstarter Campaign Bitcoin Cash Argentina, a nonprofit organization that seeks to increase the knowledge and adoption of bitcoin cash (BCH) in Argentina, has successfully funded its second Flipstarter campaign, receiving 250 bitcoin cash to support its operations for the next proposed set of goals Bitcoin Cash Argentina expressed its gratitude with everyone that donated to reach this milestone via its official Twitter account. Big figures in the Bitcoin Cash community as Roger Ver and Marcelo Fleischer, also know as Majamalu, an Argentinian Bitcoin Cash supporter, donated to the initiative. Now Bitcoin Cash Argentina is proposing to further expand its reach, using these new funds to onboard the next 150 merchants in the country during the next 180 days. Also, it has proposed to bring remittance operations to propose the use of Bitcoin Cash for this function. New Adoption Map Bitcoin Cash Argentina also mentions the creation of a new adoption map, that will show Argentinians where to find businesses that accept bitcoin cash for their services. The proposal states: We are working on incorporating into our website a new search engine that simplifies directing clients to the merchants that accept bitcoin cash in Argentina. Our objective is that users may have a frictionless experience when searching and choosing a merchant that accepts bitcoin cash in Argentina. While there are already similar tools, most are not up to date with the latest business moves, and many users can feel frustrated when going to a store that supposedly accepts bitcoin cash only to find out it is not doing it. Bitcoin Cash Argentina’s approach is to minimize this possibility by running its own map tool, maintained by its team. The organization has already onboarded more than 100 merchants using the funds of its first Flisptarter campaign, even onboarding K24, a convenience store chain with more than 80 PoS in the country. The team also coordinated to meet K24’s suppliers, opening the door for B2B bitcoin cash-based operations among these companies. What do you think about the latest Bitcoin Cash Argentina’s Flipstarter campaign? tell us in the comment section below. View the full article

Regional authorities in one of the key states of the country, Carabobo, suspended the power supply of all registered miners, effectively shutting down their operations in the industrial state. While there have been no official explanations for this measure, some people with knowledge on the matter state the action was taken due to the enormous energy consumption these operations have in the zone. Mining Operations Suspended in State of Carabobo Regional authorities in Carabobo suspended the power supply of registered miners in the key industrial Venezuelan state yesterday, with no official explanation. People with knowledge of the matter allege that the mining userbase is consuming too much energy, threatening the power supply and the electric grid for the other subscribers. According to Criptonoticias, which has allegedly been in contact with people affected by these measures, the national power corporation and the Venezuelan cryptocurrency watchdog, Sunacrip, are planning to meet to assess the situation and try to find a solution for miners to keep operating amidst the power contingency the state is supposedly going through. Carabobo hosts an important part of the cryptocurrency and bitcoin mining companies that operate in the country, and this measure affects the sustainability of these operations. Registered Mining Cryptocurrency mining has been legal in Venezuela since Sunacrip passed a bill that regulated mining activities in the country. But all Venezuelans in the industry must obtain a license issued by Sunacrip. Miners must also detail their activities and keep a record of these for 10 years, according to the law. However, there are many miners that don’t trust the government and have decided to mine underground. This measure might be a pressure signal to all miners, to make them register with the national watchdog and to start mining in a legal fashion. Another potential reason for this suspension is that government officials could have foreseen an unstable power grid situation occurring at the same time the election of government party officials happened this weekend. However, sources explain that the measure would have been suspended after the electoral process, were that the case. Industry insiders have decided not to issue compromising comments on the measure until they can meet with the authorities responsible for taking these measures this week. What do you think about regional authorities shutting down miners in the Carabobo state of Venezuela? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published the Survey of Consumer Expectations report on Monday, which shows U.S. consumers are expecting short-term inflation levels to be higher than usual. Meanwhile, the report also shows American consumers’ expectations of long-term inflation have reached the highest level since 2013. New York Fed’s Survey of Consumer Expectations Report Shows Dismal Findings While the 2,702-page, trillion-dollar infrastructure proposal is being debated, the U.S. central bank’s latest charts show Americans are very concerned about inflation. On Monday, the Fed’s New York branch published the Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE) report, and the findings suggest worry over the loss of purchasing power is growing. It’s been noted for a few months now that short-term inflation expectations have been on the rise and the SCE report indicates this expectation has not changed. The SCE study shows that median expectations for inflation over the next 12 months have tapped a high of 4.8% for the month of July. A month prior, the New York Fed survey had shown inflation expectations were the highest ever recorded. Chart via New York Fed, University of Michigan, and Zerohedge. To make matters worse, the latest SCE report shows long-term inflation expectations have been the highest since August 2013. The SCE study takes a revolving panel of 1,300 American households in order to gauge the U.S. consumer outlook. Long-term expectations essentially represent what consumers believe will happen during the next three years. According to the New York Fed’s respondents, it jumped from 3.6 in June to 3.7 in July. While inflation expectations have risen across the board, American consumers are also not too sure about their financial prospects over the next 12 months. The New York Fed’s survey showed the 12-month financial outlook was dimmer than usual but also claimed: Consumers expect higher earnings growth and greater ease of finding jobs over the next year. Deutsche Bank Analyst Studies Long-Term Inflation Expectations, Working Paper Questions the Effects of Infrastructure Investment For most of the year, long-term inflation expectations did not budge much but last month’s findings show things have changed. According to an analysis by Deutsche Bank’s Jiefu Luo published on Zerohedge, “long-term inflation expectations are starting to show signs of a break from the post-2013 low inflation regime.” Furthermore, on the heels of the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill, the National Bureau of Economic Research published a working paper that reviewed the infrastructure investment’s effects and said it showed the “approach raises questions about the suitability of investment in infrastructure and other public capital as a short-run stimulus.” Chart via New York Fed, University of Michigan, and Zerohedge. Despite the negative outlook, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin believes inflation will be “temporary.” Reuters reports that Barkin thinks inflation will recede in Q4 2021, and said: “I do believe where we are right now is in a temporary thing.” Wall Street Journal contributor Stephen Miran questions the current monetary policy and notes that the last bill bipartisan politicians passed was “wildly excessive.” In an opinion editorial called “The Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Bill Will Fuel Inflation” published on Sunday, Miran writes: Monetary policy is stimulating the economy more aggressively than at any time since the Great Depression. Households also have more than $2.5 trillion in excess savings they are beginning to spend, unemployment benefits have pushed up the wage demands of new hires, and the economy is still turbocharged from the wildly excessive American Rescue Plan Act, passed this spring. Bitcoin Shines as Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Bill Is Debated, Activists Plead for a Federal Bailout to Combat Rising Energy Prices Meanwhile, even though it seems the trillion-dollar bill may pass, the hedge investment gold hasn’t performed as well as the precious metal usually does during massive spending discussions. The analyst and trader from Northmantrader.com’s Sven Henrich said on Monday: Judging from the market reaction the biggest winner from the infrastructure deal is bitcoin. As inflation expectations rise among American consumers, real-time inflation is hitting their wallets. The value of commodities such as barrels of oil, beef, cars, retail and commercial homes, and a myriad of other items have risen dramatically higher than 2020 prices. So much so that Energy News Network reported that American energy activists want a bailout to fix the high energy costs hurting the American economy. The Michigan activists believe utility customers need a bailout and U.S. representative Rashida Tlaib plans to introduce the bailout idea to federal policymakers on Thursday. What do you think about the expectations of short-term and long-term inflation expectations growing in the U.S.? What do you think about the 2,702-page infrastructure bill? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The price of an ounce of gold dropped dramatically this week, slipping under the $1,700 handle to $1,688 per ounce on August 8. On Monday, gold regained some of the losses jumping 2.36% back above the $1.7K region to $1,727 per ounce of fine gold. Gold’s Volatile Movements This Weekend Blamed on a Number of Elements While bitcoin (BTC) prices are up more than 4% on Monday and over 16% during the last week, the value of gold has been dropping lower in fiat value. On August 6, 2021, the price of gold per ounce was trading for just over $1,800 per unit and slid to $1,688 per unit two days later losing 6.22% in value. The precious metals (PM) news outlet Kitco said the drop was due to an “overnight flash crash in gold and silver prices.” The report blamed the crash on “summertime doldrums” and “thin trading conditions.” Moreover, the Delta Variant strain of Covid-19 has caused alarm across markets, Kitco’s Jim Wyckoff details. Peter Brandt, a veteran futures and FX trader since 1975, discussed gold’s action on Sunday. “I’ve seen similar price action to $GCF $SIF many times over the years. This has all the fingerprints of a bank/brokerage house conducting forced liquidation upon a huge leverage speculator,” Brandt tweeted. The trader added: The leverage in the futures market for trading Comex (CME) Gold is about 15 to 1. Thus, a leveraged position can get into serious trouble with the type of decline experienced on Friday — resulting in forced liquidation on Sunday’s open. Peter Schiff Knocks Bitcoin While Gold Is Down, Analyst Sees Gold on Road to Recovery Of course, given the fact that bitcoin (BTC) was rising in contrast to gold prices, Peter Schiff didn’t sound too pleased about the market action. “Bitcoin rising as gold falls doesn’t mean [it has] replaced gold as an inflation hedge,” Schiff said. “Gold is down as traders mistakenly think the Fed will successfully fight off inflation by tapering QE and raising interest rates. Bitcoin doesn’t trade like gold because it’s not digital gold,” the economist and gold bug added. A few crypto fans made fun of Schiff on Twitter. One example is when the Ethereum proponent Anthony Sassano said: “ETH and BTC pumping on news that Peter Schiff got liquidated due to the massive gold dump.” Fxstreet analyst Anil Panchal explained on Monday that “XAU/USD looks to recapture $1750 on its road to recovery.” Similar to the Kitco report, the Fxstreet analyst also discussed the rise of Covid infections and China’s inflation. However, in contrast to Wyckoff’s report, Panchal views these events as having bolstered gold’s rebound. “It should be noted that China’s upbeat inflation data and Australia’s easy covid infections, after refreshing multi-day high, also back the gold’s bounce,” Panchal said on Monday. What do you think about gold prices and the recent gold and silver flash crash? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Five U.S. senators have been working with the Treasury Department and have come up with a compromise crypto amendment to the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. “We’ve worked with the Treasury Department to clarify the underlying text and ensure that those who are not acting as brokers will not be subject to the bill’s reporting requirements.” Senators, Treasury Department Agree on Compromise Amendment for Crypto Reporting Requirements The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs announced Monday that Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa,) Mark Warner (D-Va.) Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Az.), and Rob Portman (R-Oh.) have reached “an agreement on digital asset reporting requirements” in the infrastructure bill. The announcement details: We’ve worked with the Treasury Department to clarify the underlying text and ensure that those who are not acting as brokers will not be subject to the bill’s reporting requirements. In the press conference held Monday on the subject, Senator Toomey explained that this compromise amendment is not a perfect solution, but it is “much better than the underlying text” currently in the bill. Emphasizing that “crypto software developers, crypto transaction validators, node operators, and other non-brokers” are excluded, Toomey said: Our solution makes clear that a broker means only those persons who conduct transactions on exchanges where consumers buy, sell, and trade digital assets. Coin Center’s executive director, Jerry Brito, agrees that the compromise amendment “tightens the expanded definition of ‘broker’ sufficiently that it would be difficult to argue it covers protocol devs who only write and publish code,” adding that it also “has exemptions for validators and hardware/software wallet makers.” Last week, two amendments to the crypto provisions in the infrastructure bill were introduced. One was sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden, Toomey, and Lummis. Wyden is the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. He has not signed on to the new compromise amendment but “he does agree that this is a big step in the right direction,” said Lummis. While the crypto community supported the Toomey-Wyden-Lummis amendment, the White House chose to back a competing amendment sponsored by Senators Warner, Portman, and Sinema. However, their amendment originally excluded only proof-of-work miners, which caused major concerns that the U.S. government was picking winners and losers in innovation. There were also reports that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had been lobbying against the Toomey-Wyden-Lummis plan. The pro-bitcoin senator from Wyoming opined Monday: We’ve been working all weekend to come up with a compromise to address the digital asset broker issue in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework. While it’s not perfect, it protects innovation and doesn’t choose winners and losers. “Today, we’re going to push for a unanimous consent agreement on the Senate floor, which we are hoping will be successful,” she added. What do you think about this new crypto amendment? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Poloniex with operating an unregistered cryptocurrency exchange. Poloniex has agreed to a cease-and-desist order and to pay $10.34 million. SEC Hits Poloniex With Cease-and-Desist Order, Penalties The SEC announced Monday that “Poloniex LLC has agreed to pay more than $10 million to settle charges for operating an unregistered online digital asset exchange.” From July 2017 through November 2019, Poloniex “facilitated buying and selling of digital asset securities.” The SEC explained that the platform was available to U.S. investors but “Poloniex did not register as a national securities exchange” and was not exempt from registration. Its failure to do so was a violation of Section 5 of the Exchange Act. “Poloniex attempted to circumvent the SEC’s regulatory regime,” said Kristina Littman, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Cyber Unit. “Poloniex chose increased profits over compliance with the federal securities laws by including digital asset securities on its unregistered exchange.” Noting that “The order establishes a Fair Fund for the benefit of victims,” the SEC detailed: Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Poloniex agreed to the entry of a cease-and-desist order and agreed to pay disgorgement of $8,484,313, prejudgment interest of $403,995, and a civil penalty of $1.5 million for a total of $10,388,309. Poloniex is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pluto Holdings Inc., a Delaware corporation, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Circle Internet Financial Ltd. The SEC noted that in November 2019, Pluto sold the Poloniex trading platform to a third party. What do you think about Poloniex paying $10 million to settle with the SEC? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The deputy governor of India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), says the bank should be able to come up with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) model by the end of this year. India May Unveil a CBDC Model by Year End The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may unveil a model of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by the end of the year, Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar said Friday at the post-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference. Without providing further details, he described: These are extremely evolving technologies and business choices that one has to make, and therefore it’s difficult to put a date, but we should be able to come up with a model in the near future, probably by the end of this year. The deputy governor continued: “We are evaluating the issue of scope, technology, distribution and validation mechanism etc.” Last month, he revealed that the central bank was working on a “phased implementation strategy” for India’s CBDC and also “examining use cases which could be implemented with little or no disruption to India’s banking or monetary systems.” According to a recent report, 81 countries, representing over 90% of global GDP, are exploring launching their own central bank digital currencies. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) say CBDCs “have the potential to enhance the efficiency of cross-border payments, as long as countries work together.” What do you think about India launching a central bank digital currency? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The largest telecommunications provider in Europe, Deutsche Telekom AG, announced on Monday that it will be leveraging Coinbase Custody to hold the firm’s celo tokens. Celo is a mobile-first platform that connects to decentralized apps, is EVM compatible, and the network allows holders to stake the crypto asset. While keeping the celo tokens with Coinbase Custody, Deutsche Telekom will stake the tokens for its subsidiary T-Systems MMS. Deutsche Telekom Plans to Secure Celo Tokens With Coinbase Custody Deutsche Telekom AG, the owner of mobile communications brand T-Mobile, has revealed the firm is participating in the decentralized cryptocurrency economy. The major telecom company is the largest in Europe since it was introduced in 1995, after breaking away from the state-owned Deutsche Bundespost in order to become privatized. Deutsche Telekom has since managed to become a Fortune 500 company and is currently ranked in the top 100 firms. On Monday, the firm revealed it was utilizing Coinbase Custody to stake the firm’s celo holdings. Deutsche Telekom revealed it was participating with the Celo network on April 20, 2021, and the firm disclosed it was providing “infrastructure for the Celo network.” At the time, the CEO of T-Systems, Adel Al-Saleh, explained the move is a calculated procedure to move toward blockchain tech. “Our investment in Celo, combined with infrastructure operated by T-Systems, allows our company to take a strategic approach to participating in a public blockchain network,” Al-Saleh explained at the time. The announcement on Monday details that Deutsche Telekom has entrusted the firm’s celo tokens to Coinbase Custody. The telecom firm said that Coinbase’s services provide “safety and security” and the firm’s “cold storage function was a major factor in Deutsche Telekom’s decision to place its CELO tokens with the custodian.” The head of institutional sales EMEA at Coinbase, Guillaume Chatain, explained the firm is pleased Deutsche Telekom chose them to custody the token assets. “We’re delighted that Deutsche Telekom, Europe’s largest telecommunications provider, picked us as custodian for its CELO tokens. CELO tokens, CUSD and CEUR will play a vital role in revolutionising mobile payments, helping to build a fairer, more accessible and transparent financial system,” Chatain concluded during the announcement. What do you think about Deutsche Telekom using Coinbase Custody to secure the company’s celo tokens? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

To demonstrate the use case and commercial viability of Unido Enterprise Platform (EP), it is helpful to compare with an established digital asset management platform which has built in DeFi options. Enzyme (MLN) has been selected for competitor comparison and analysis, given it launched in July 2016 and provides similar services and features as EP, albeit delivered in very different formats. Enzyme is delivered in two parts, a front end website for asset management and an Ethereum-native blockchain protocol to deploy custom liquidity pools, allowing investors to deploy their digital assets (limited to Ethereum-based tokens) in yield returning activities, without the use of investment managers, hedge funds, or other fund management companies. Given on-chain assets on the Enzyme platform are governed by a client’s single private key, the product offering is only suitable for individuals willing to take responsibility for their private key. There is no multi party signoff or compatibility with 3rd party signing custodians, meaning partnerships comprising several members, or sophisticated organisations such as enterprises and asset managers are unable to utilise these types of solutions, due to lack of corporate governance processes around security and operation of transaction signing. In comparison, the product offering of EP delivers an integrated custodial function, which is cross chain interoperable, and has blockchain-level multi party sign-off for private key operation, making it suitable for all investor classes, including the underserved enterprise and asset manager investor segment. EP offers a Defi dashboard, which aggregates various 3rd party yield farming and staking solutions over various digital assets on multiple blockchains, presented as an investment “market place”. EP will also include access to tokenized real assets, such as precious metals and hard assets, broadening the investment options beyond blockchain-native utility tokens. Enzyme Finance vs Unido summarized Despite Enzyme’s limitations regarding addressable market due to lack of key management solutions enabling sophisticated investors to use their platform, they have demonstrated; 1. Investors demand easy to use investment platforms to derive a yield from their digital assets, and 2. Investors are willing to pay fees to utilise such services. Enzyme has been extremely successful in attracting retail investors to their platform and have over $90 million in assets under management. In recognition of this AUM and future growth potential, the market has ascribed a market capitalisation of over $126mm to $MLN (the protocol governance token), based on a current token price of $69.41 (fully diluted value, as of 27/07/2021). In comparison, EP core technology is already built and the Defi dashboard will launch in 3Q2021 and is equipped with functionality to address a much wider client base. The fully diluted, post token burn market capitalization of $UDO (the utility token used for governance and services payment) is currently $7.36mm based on token price of $0.08 (as of 27/07/2021). The Unido leadership team view Enzyme as an excellent example to show the commercial attractiveness of the asset management dashboard space in cryptocurrency. $MLN trades at a 17x premium to $UDO (as of 27/07/2021), which would appear to be the result of Enzyme being in the market for several years, opposed to EP entering now. The Unido leadership team are very excited by $MLNs market appeal, given the EP product can compete directly with Enzyme for the retail investor segment, but also can win enterprise and asset manager business, which represents significantly greater AUM possibilities. About Unido Unido offers a suite of crypto custody solutions for enterprise and institutions, based on a state of the art fragmented private key signing engine, allowing distributed transaction signing at the blockchain level and providing corporate governance framework over crypto ownership. This level of corporate governance workflow and security technology is needed by sophisticated organizations to confidently take the leap into crypto, augmented with a Defi investing dashboard to make earning a yield on digital assets a point-and-click activity. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

In much of Africa, many people still lack access to basic financial services for many reasons. One of the reasons is that financial institutions have set standards or thresholds that make it impossible for low-income earners to even open a bank account. Access to soft loans or other forms of financing is even more cumbersome while the punitive interest rates charged ensure that SMEs, farmers, and other groups do not even entertain the idea of borrowing banks. The fact that this has been ongoing for many years is a clear indication that the conventional banking system has failed these groups. This particular failure is another example of why an alternative financial system is needed. It also explains why more emerging fintech start-ups are now attempting to solve this. One of such start-ups is Koinwa, a crypto borrowing platform. Bitcoin.com News recently discussed solving the problem with the startup’s CEO, Disu Hakeem to understand how the application is helping financially excluded groups from Africa. Bitcoin.com News (BCN): When was the app launched? Disu Hakeem (DH): The platform was launched in 2019 but the mobile application was released in May 2020. BCN: How has been the response so far? DH: The reception has been enormous, as people want to experience what it feels like to own bitcoin. In addition, we have made it possible to purchase bitcoins that are worth as low as $2 on the Koinwa app. BCN: You say have you created an app that allows Nigerians to borrow bitcoin yet the Central Bank of Nigeria has imposed restrictions that have essentially kicked out the crypto players from the banking ecosystem. How then will the borrowers convert from crypto to fiat when there is this directive? Disu Hakeem (DH): Koinwa app is not meant for Nigerians alone, it is majorly built for Africans and can be accessed from anywhere in the world. So anyone from any part of Africa can access the Koinwa app as we are also a registered limited liability company in the United States. We also have a peer-to-peer (P2P) escrow-based bitcoin trading service on the platform, where you can exchange bitcoin for local currency and vice versa. This by the way enables one to be their own bank and control bitcoin price. So with this app, an individual can decide to sell on our P2P trading solution or preferably sell to a third party. Alternatively, an individual can use the borrowed cryptocurrency to make payments for goods and services from many companies that now accept bitcoins. BCN: Who else can use this app? DH: The platform is built majorly for Africans to bridge the gap between Africans and the Western world in terms of trade and payment. This app has been created for the purpose of providing financial services to the unbanked African population. BCN: Regular banks will often ask for collateral security before approving a loan. This is done to protect banks from defaulting clients. How is Koinwa approaching this need for collateral? DH: The loan system is (only a) value-added service to our customers as it has been built to target the underserved groups such as SMEs, farmers, market traders, widows, students, etc. We are not collecting collateral for any of the loan application just to make seamless for everyone, but there are terms and conditions in place to help savage the loan recovery system. BCN: You have said crypto loans offer a cheaper alternative to regular bank loans which as you say can come with interest rates as high as 25%. However, some might argue that the volatility of crypto assets works against the low interest rate that is charged. How do you respond to this? DH: Every cryptocurrency enthusiast is certainly aware of the volatility. The Koinwa app was launched after the findings of our research found that many people probably want to be involved in the cryptocurrency market but do not have the requisite funding. We now understand these challenges and that’s why we have taken care of this by providing a cryptocurrency-based lending platform at Koinwa. Every cryptocurrency loan approved is pegged to the local currency of the user. For instance, a user from Kenya can apply for a bitcoin loan of 0.0002, and let us say this is equivalent to 10,000 Kenyan shillings as at the time of applying for the loan. Therefore, whenever the user is paying back the loan the user will pay Koinwa 10,000 shilling plus the interest rate which is 10 percent. So this solves the problem of volatility if the cryptocurrency rate increases or drops at the time of loan repayments. BCN: We are witnessing some kind of coordinated crackdown against cryptocurrency exchanges and related businesses. Do you think this is going to slow down interest in cryptocurrencies? DH: The crackdown was expected as cryptocurrency is yet to be regulated worldwide and also considering the huge market cap and the acceptance of bitcoin. But I don’t think that it will slow the pace of acceptance of cryptocurrency as most countries are now planning to launch their own digital currencies (CBDCs). For example, China is already piloting its digital currency while Nigeria and Tanzania are planning to launch their own CBDCs as well. In any case, countries that are not adopting cryptocurrency in this 21st century will be left behind. Also, I have a feeling that in 2022/2023 there will be a conflict between governments and the crypto community when bitcoin goes mainstream beyond our imagination. What are your thoughts about this interview? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. 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Arbitrum, an Ethereum Layer-2 (L2) scaling solution, announced it would launch its mainnet for users this August. The tool, which allows Ethereum users to transact with very low fees, had launched in beta version last June, with support from some key projects in the Ethereum sphere, like Uniswap, who received a community vote to integrate it. The project will also launch Arbitrum One, which will have up-to-date information about the projects using its network. Arbitrum To Launch This August Arbitrum, the Ethereum L2 rollup, has announced it will launch in mainnet beta this month, opening its service to regular users who want to issue projects using the scaling solution. Till now, Arbitrum had been operating in a sort of a sandbox, with more than 250 projects applying to build using the Optimistic rollup tech. Arbitrum will allow users to transact almost instantly with negligible fees, aiming to massify adoption. Offchain Labs, the company behind the Arbitrum project, states that determining the launch of its rollup was very difficult, having to coordinate the launch and deployment with several projects, including stablecoin companies in the process. It stated: When deciding when to launch, we had to weigh many factors. We’ve been hard at work over the last few months coordinating deployments with hundreds of projects and bridging many of the most popular stablecoins and tokens onto Arbitrum. However, it won’t be launched at its full capacity just yet. Offchain Labs stated that, while the network will be available for all users, they will put “initial limits on the volume of activity,” committing to raise these limits over time as their solution matures. Optimistic Rollups Technically, Arbitrum is a rollup, a kind of second layer expansion structure that, while executes its operations outside of Ethereum’s L1 network, posts information to it as proof of these operations. Arbitrum is one of the first Optimistic commercial rollup solutions. This means the network assumes operations are always honest and does not do any computation to prove this is right. When a possibly fraudulent operation is conducted, there are protection mechanisms in place to punish the issuer. Arbitrum was selected by Reddit to place its community points system recently. However, it is not the only optimistic rollup solution in development. Optimism, another similar L2 rollup, is also currently in testing phases. Uniswap has also launched an integration with Optimism, allowing users to transact their funds through a gateway on its site. Arbitrum also faces competition from the scaling solution Polygon (MATIC). While Polygon is more of a sidechain solution, both Arbitrum and Optimism leverage Optimistic rollups. What do you think of Arbutrum’s launch? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

A Brazilian federal court ordered the sale of a bitcoin stash worth $1.1 million. The sale was conducted by the largest regulated exchange in the country, Mercado Bitcoin. The Federal Police seized the bitcoin sold from Tradergroup, a company that allegedly was operating as a Ponzi scheme, under the facade of being a cryptocurrency investment company. This is the first time a Brazilian court order initiated a bitcoin sale from seized assets in the country. Brazilian Court Ordered to Sell Tradergroup’s Seized Bitcoins A federal court in Espirito Santo ordered the sale of $1.1 million worth of bitcoins that were seized by Federal police back in 2019 from Tradergroup, an alleged Ponzi scheme that was operating under the cover of a cryptocurrency investment company. The company was intervened as part of the “Madoff” operation, where 43 Federal Police officers executed five searches and seizure warrants in Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Acre. The proceeds of this sale will be destined to pay for some of the obligations that Tradergroup still has with its former customers. Last month, the court decided the sale to be conducted in Mercado Bitcoin, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the country. The exchange sold nine lots of 3 bitcoin, and the last lot for the remaining value, at no less than 2% of the market price. Then, the fiat funds received for the sale were transferred to a court account. Federal Public Prosecutor Alexandre Senra. who ordered the sale of the bitcoins, stated: There are many victims of Tradergroup with lawsuits, mainly in the State Court, asking for the money invested back, and now a portion of this money will be able to be returned, not all because the credit sold in [bitcoin] was not enough to reimburse the losses. Historic Sale This is the first time that a federal court of Brazil orders the sale of a cryptocurrency asset via a commercial exchange. However, this does not mean that Brazilian authorities have lax regulations regarding cryptocurrency-related crimes. In fact, the country has been one of the most active in the cryptocurrency sphere in South America. Just last month, authorities arrested Claudio Oliveira, also known as the Brazilian “King of Bitcoin” due to his alleged involvement in a $300 million fraud scheme. The police also seized more than $33 million in a probe that linked unnamed cryptocurrency schemes to money laundering shell companies in the country. What do you think about the first bitcoin sale ordered by a federal court in Brazil? tell us in the comment section below. View the full article

Digital assets have seen great success as investment tools in recent years, but payment adoption is unfortunately still lagging behind. Alchemy Pay is well on its mission to change this by enabling millions of merchants to accept crypto payments and get paid in their local currency. At the same time, Alchemy Pay also opens up investments in the DeFi space to fiat investors. Pay With Crypto at the Bar or Online With Alchemy Pay Alchemy Pay is a hybrid fiat and digital currency gateway solution for businesses and investors. It already operates in 18 countries and regions around the world and has touchpoints with more than 2 million merchants through partnerships with industry giants such as Shopify, Arcadier, QFPay, Binance and more. By enabling businesses to accept crypto clients and get paid in local fiat currency Alchemy Pay solves a major problem for the crypto economy. Crypto payments adoption is vital for the long term and sustainable growth for the industry, but traditional businesses have faced difficulties accepting cryptocurrencies. This can be due to a lack of technical skills, regulatory concerns or just not wanting to deal with price volatility. Alchemy Pay simply removes all of these issues. It also helps make it easier for businesses to accept crypto as they only need to use the same one system for fiat payments (only one payment terminal for offline transactions, and only one API/Plugin to integrate for online payments). From a crypto user’s perspective, this means that thanks to Alchemy Pay you could be spending your crypto to pay for a taxi, in an online store or at the local mall and even a high class bar. Honored to partner one of the world's leading incubator, @TheDaoMaker, on multiple initiatives and support their $DAO on our hybrid payment system. Now you can enjoy a cocktail Singapore's iconic skybar atop Marina Bay Sands and pay with $DAO. (Check out comments for more!) pic.twitter.com/thZ7zjIe0S — Alchemy Pay (@AlchemyPay) March 30, 2021 Alchemy Pay Opens up DeFi Space to Fiat Investors Another way Alchemy Pay is bridging the gap between the old and new economies is opening up the DeFi (decentralized finance) space to fiat investors. Alchemy achieves this by letting investors directly use fiat to gain access to blockchain services. Instead of paying with digital utility tokens, Alchemy Pay – in the background – seamlessly facilitates the exchange of fiat into utility tokens to access DeFi services. And by partnering with a traditional financial institution, Alchemy Pay enables DeFi platforms to offer their investors access to significantly higher returns available only in the crypto lending/staking space right now. The DeFi world has been growing like crazy recently, but it is still limited to the relatively small number of investors in the cryptosphere, compared with those in the larger global fiat economy. This solution from Alchemy Pay can thus significantly accelerates it even further. Demonstrating the popularity of the service, ACH – the token that powers Alchemy Pay, was just added to Coinbase Pro earlier this month. To learn more about Alchemy Pay and how it can benefit your business visit the company’s website and follow the latest developments on Twitter. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Youtube superstar and rapper KSI, also known as JJ, says he is “really into crypto.” Emphasizing that “Bitcoin is the future,” he said a lot of people do not understand that crypto “is a long-haul thing.” KSI Is ‘Really Into Crypto’ Famed rapper and popular Youtuber KSI talked about bitcoin and cryptocurrency in an interview with GQ magazine published Friday. KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, is also known as JJ. He was ranked second by The Sunday Times in its list of the top 100 U.K. influencers in 2019. He is also part of the British Youtube group known as the Sidemen. Responding to a question about the first thing he would do if he were prime minister, KSI said: I’d give everyone £100 worth of bitcoin – like a bitcoin stimulus package for all. I’m really into crypto. I think Bitcoin is the future. “It’s definitely going to be long term, but in ten years’ time, people who invested will be laughing,” he added. KSI proceeded to compare bitcoin to fiat money. “Just look at how money is inflationary compared to bitcoin, which isn’t. There’s a set amount – you can’t increase the amount of bitcoin and that has value,” he emphasized, elaborating: I feel like a lot of people are not really seeing that. They’re trying to look for quick money like, ‘Oh, I want to get in and out.’ This is a long-haul thing and I’m here for the journey. Last month, he shared the story of how he made millions of pounds investing in cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, and “lost it all” when the crypto market “crashed.” Nonetheless, he still believes that “eventually you’re going to get a $100,000 bitcoin, a $500,000 bitcoin, and a $1 million bitcoin. It’s going to happen.” What do you think about KSI’s comments on bitcoin and crypto? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a longtime bitcoin skeptic, has shared her view of the benefits of cryptocurrencies. While noting that “The biggest upside to cryptocurrency could be expansion or democratization of access to the financial system,” she warned that the crypto industry may need federal bailout if something goes wrong, such as “a run on crypto.” Senator Elizabeth Warren Discusses the Biggest Upside and Downside to Cryptocurrencies Senator Elizabeth Warren was asked about what she thought the U.S. cryptocurrency regulation should look like in an interview with Bloomberg last week. “If people are going to be out there trading it, there needs to be a cop on the beat,” she began. “Because when there’s not a cop on the beat in any market, then it’s the small traders who get cheated, and that’s what always worries me.” The senator from Massachusetts continued: “This is about putting some basic rules in place so that anyone can trade with just some basic confidence that the biggest kinds of scams will have a cop on the beat to blow the whistle and put a stop to it.” Responding to a question specifically about what she thought the biggest upside and downside to cryptocurrencies were, Warren replied: The biggest upside to cryptocurrency could be expansion or democratization of access to the financial system. “Right now, in the United States, we have tens of millions of people who are either unbanked or underbanked, which means they have to go to check cashers to pay 3% of their paycheck just to get their cash,” she described. “They have to pay money in order to make a payment on their utilities or to pay the rent payment and that’s costing those people a lot.” The senator detailed: “It is possible that moving to a digital currency system, or I should say expanding to a digital currency system, could bring in more people and there are a lot of different ways that could be designed.” As for the downside to cryptocurrency, Senator Warren said: The downside, of course, is so long as it’s an unregulated system, you might be pulling more people in so that they can get cheated and that’s not what we want. She warned that the bigger the cryptocurrency market gets, and the more it stays outside of the financial system, the more we could be facing another financial crash similar to the one in 2008. She cautioned: “If something goes wrong, there’s a run on crypto, there’s a problem elsewhere in the economy, I don’t want the U.S. taxpayer to be the one who gets called on to back this up.” Many people took to Twitter to respond to Warren’s comment about a run on crypto. Some explained that she is still thinking like a banker and crypto is not like the stock market where bankers go to the government for a bailout after a crash. Edge CEO Paul Puey opined: You can’t have a run on crypto. You can’t bail out crypto. You don’t need to. This is the ‘why’ of crypto. Senator Warren has long been a bitcoin skeptic. In May, she bashed cryptocurrencies citing environmental impact and investor protection. She also agreed with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that cryptocurrencies are mostly used in illicit financing. Recently, Senator Warren has been pressing for regulation of the crypto sector. She has urged Yellen to quickly adopt a policy to mitigate crypto’s risks. She also asked the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, to urgently come up with a policy on crypto and for the SEC to use its “full authority” to regulate cryptocurrency trading. What do you think about the comments by Senator Elizabeth Warren? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, is still concerned that governments could outlaw cryptocurrencies. Nonetheless, he sees bitcoin as digital gold and owns some for diversification. Ray Dalio Worried About Government Outlawing Cryptocurrencies Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio is still concerned that governments may outlaw cryptocurrency. Dalio now serves as the firm’s chairman and co-chief investment officer. Bridgewater Associates’ clients include endowments, governments, foundations, pensions, and sovereign wealth funds. Dalio voiced his concern in an interview with CNBC last week, stating that there is “a reasonable chance” that cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, could eventually be outlawed by the federal government. He pointed to the time when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Gold Reserve Act in 1934, transferring all of the country’s privately held gold titles and certificates to the U.S. Treasury as an example. The executive previously explained that any major economic downturn or inflationary event could prompt governments to take similar action on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The 72-year-old billionaire to CNBC last week: “I own a very small amount of bitcoin. I’m not a big owner.” He added: There are certain assets that you want to own to diversify the portfolio, and bitcoin is something like a digital gold. “I just think of it as diversification. By and large, I don’t really know whether bitcoin is going to go up or down. I could argue both sides of that,” he admitted. The Bridgewater Associates executive explained that it is important to continually reevaluate the investments and avoid buying assets that perform well for a short period of time. “Be careful about what you’re putting your money in⁠,” he said, elaborating: “Make the diversification global, not just in the United States.” While seeing bitcoin as a digital version of gold and a hedge against inflation, Dalio still prefers gold, citing the metal’s longer history of being a “storehold of wealth.” He said: “If you put a gun to my head, and you said, ‘I can only have one.’ I would choose gold.” Dalio’s crypto ban concern is getting less and less realistic over time, however, as cryptocurrency adoption increases globally. Last week, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, said that Satoshi Nakamoto’s “innovation is real.” A growing number of the world’s largest investment banks are also getting into crypto, including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley. In addition, companies are hiring more people to work on crypto projects, including Amazon, Fidelity, and Paypal. What do you think about Ray Dalio’s concern? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Clifford Smith Jr., better known by his stage name Method Man from the rap supergroup the Wu-Tang Clan, announced plans to launch a non-fungible token (NFT) collection called “Tical World.” The tokenized comics and Killa Beez-centric art was designed by the New York artist Alex Smetsky. Wu-Tang Member Method Man to Launch Killa Beez-Centric NFTs The popular member of the rap supergroup Wu-Tang Clan, Method Man has revealed he’s stepping into the non-fungible token (NFT) industry. Method Man is releasing an NFT comic series called the “Tical World” chronicles and “Part 1: The Origin,” which offers a slew of features from the Wu-Tang rapper. The NFT will include never-before-released music from Method Man, 3D animations, and apparel. The well known member of the rap supergroup Wu-Tang Clan, Method Man. Essentially, in terms of apparel, the NFT owner can get a VIP rewards card from the American rapper’s clothing line Tical Athletics. Last year, Method Man also launched a cannabis brand that leverages the name Tical as well. The Wu-Tang rapper coined the cannabis term ‘Tical’ back in 1993 and it’s been represented in hip-hop culture ever since. The Tical World NFT art will also be signed by Method Man and the artist Smetsky. Method Man Teams up With Flow Blockchain and Tunego The NFTs will feature the only copies of the original Tical World characters which will be issued on the Flow blockchain, the same protocol that issues NBA Top Shot. NFT collectors will be able to capture “community-owned crypto-characters,” according to a write-up published by Rolling Stone. Besides leveraging the Dapper Labs’ Flow blockchain technology, the Wu-Tang rapper’s NFTs will utilize Tunego Vault as well. On August 6, a Twitter handle by the name Tical World introduced itself online and said: “Get Ready! Tical World is coming.” The same day, the official Flow blockchain Twitter account also tweeted about Method Man’s upcoming NFTs. “Open worlds continue to collide as incredible musicians make their move to blockchain,” the Flow blockchain account said on Friday. “We can’t wait to enter Tical World with legendary emcee Method Man, a true comic book aficionado launching his very own comic universe of exclusive NFTs with Tunego.” What do you think about the Wu-Tang Clan rapper Method Man introducing NFT comics called “Tical World?” Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The notorious dogecoin has seen double-digit gains this past week as statistics show the meme-crypto asset has gained 19.66% during the last seven days. Out of the top ten digital currencies in terms of market capitalization, dogecoin has outshined the competition, even surpassing ethereum’s 18% weekly gains. Dogecoin’s Weekly Gains Outshine the Competition, Google Trends Data Shows DOGE Interest Dive-Bombed After May At the time of writing, both the topic dogecoin and the hashtag #dogecointothemoon have been trending on social media Sunday afternoon. As far as interest is concerned, Google Trends (GT) data shows that the search queries for the terms “dogecoin” and “doge” have dropped very low. #DogecoinToTheMoon — Vikash Rao 🇮🇳🇦🇪 (@Vikash17971677) August 8, 2021 During the first week of May, the term “dogecoin” topped the highest score on GT with a score of 100, while the term “doge” hit a 29. Today, the query score for “dogecoin” is only 6 and the search term “doge” is 3. Google Trends data for the terms “dogecoin” (blue line) and “Doge” (red line) on Sunday, August 8, 2021. Despite the drop, most crypto assets in terms of GT data that measures overall interest has dropped significantly. On the other hand, dogecoin (DOGE) markets have jumped considerably higher than most crypto assets today, capturing close to 20% in the last seven days. DOGE/USD price according to Bitcoin.com Markets data on August 8, 2021. Additionally if one were to compare 12-month statistics, in contrast to a great majority of the 10,000+ digital assets in existence today, DOGE has outshined them by a long shot. 12-month DOGE stats indicate dogecoin is up 6,849% on August 8. Dogecoin has been trading for roughly 0.00000557 BTC per unit and the stablecoin tether (USDT) is the largest DOGE pair capturing 71% of all trades on Sunday. This is followed by USD (10.81%), BTC, (4.89%), BUSD (4.74%), and the Turkish lira or TRY (3.22%) dogecoin pairs. The sixth-largest trading pair with dogecoin (DOGE) is the euro with 1.75% of Sunday’s trades. Dogecoin Is Down 67% Since All-Time High, Mystery Dogecoin Whale Absorbs 28% of the DOGE Supply However, dogecoin (DOGE), out of the top ten crypto valuations today, is down lower than its all-time high (ATH) than the rest of the top ten pack except for XRP. Three months ago, DOGE tapped an ATH at $0.737 per unit and today it’s down 67% from the ATH. “Token Summary” Into the Block stats for Dogecoin (DOGE) on Sunday. The biggest difference from DOGE, in contrast to XRP, is that XRP is not only down 76% today but that was over four years ago. Currently, 70% of dogecoin holders are making money at the current price according to Into the Block statistics. The infamous “DH5” dogecoin address now holds 28% of the entire DOGE supply on August 8, 2021. This DOGE whale has managed to capture another 1% of the entire supply since February 5, 2021. There is a concentration of large holders today as Into the Block statistics indicate DOGE is around 63%. Data from bitinfocharts.com’s richest dogecoin addresses show the mysterious “DH5” dogecoin address is still the largest DOGE holder today with 36 billion dogecoin. This year, there’s been a number of theories that suggest the “DH5” dogecoin wallet belongs to Robinhood. At the time of writing, the “DH5” dogecoin address has managed to absorb over 28% of the entire DOGE supply. What do you think about the weekly dogecoin (DOGE) gains and the mystery dogecoin holder with more than 28% of the supply? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

U.S. Senator Mike Lee has raised concerns that adopting the crypto tax provision in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill will stifle innovation and make Americans poorer. He explained that cryptocurrencies are not like securities and cannot be regulated with the same policies, noting that to do so would drive innovation offshore. Senator Mike Lee Warns Passing Unproven Legislation Will Stifle Innovation While outlining concerns he has about numerous provisions in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill during the Senate session Saturday, U.S. Senator Mike Lee from Utah drew attention to the provision about cryptocurrency, which he described as “an industry that’s rapidly developing within the United States.” He noted that the crypto provision “seeks to require those who buy and sell cryptocurrency to treat it the same way as they would the exchange of securities.” However, the senator argued that cryptocurrencies are “very different than securities.” He added: “These aren’t just stocks. It’s something very different. It’s a medium of exchange that, if adopted more widely, could facilitate a lot of economic activities and a lot of innovation within the United States of America.” He cautioned: If, in fact, we pass this bill, mark my words, it’s going to have a chilling effect on innovation within this sector … Places outside the United States may well be the ones to reap the benefit associated with the laws here in the United States if we adopt an unproven, untested, unknown strategy. Senator Lee continued: “What you’ll see is the flight of innovation, and investments related to innovation, to offshore locations around the globe.” He warned that the government is “trying to adopt many-decades-old regulatory policies to a completely new form of exchange — one that, by the way, values very highly the privacy of those who exchange in it.” The senator opined: “If what you’re going do is take away that value by requiring that all of it be registered and publicly disclosed by giving the federal government the ability to peer into it, you’re going to stifle innovation, you’re going to make a lot of people upset, and you’re going to make Americans poorer.” What do you think about the argument made by Senator Mike Lee? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article