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The Turkish government has prepared a bill designed to implement new regulations for the country’s crypto space. The legislation, which will be filed in the parliament this fall, will introduce taxation for crypto holdings and specific capital requirements for companies operating with digital assets. New Legislation to Regulate Turkey’s Crypto Market Following in the footsteps of the West, Turkey is planning to soon put its crypto space in order. The work on a draft law aiming to strengthen investor protection, prevent dirty money laundering, and improve control over cryptocurrency trading has been completed, the Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance Şakir Ercan Gül announced. Quoted by the Sabah daily, Gül noted that the Turkish regulations will be similar to those that are being introduced in Western Europe and the United States, although a “little more stringent,” the official remarked, citing the country’s free-floating exchange rate regime as a factor. Speaking to the parliamentary Planning and Budget Committee, Gül stated: Those that ban [cryptocurrencies] are generally countries with democracy problems. There are free mechanisms in Western Europe and America. In October, the new bill will be submitted to the parliament in Ankara. Like some European jurisdictions, the Turkish government intends to introduce taxation for cryptocurrency holdings above a given threshold. Lawmakers will review various proposals such as introducing mandatory reporting for crypto transfers over a certain value to the country’s tax office. Turkish Crypto Companies to Meet Capital Requirements The new legislation will also define the different types of crypto assets and deal with matters related to the issuance and distribution of digital coins. The draft law lists key principles traders should abide by and conditions under which crypto platforms may provide custodial services for digital currencies. Businesses will be given time to adapt to the new regulatory framework. Companies involved in the crypto economy will also have to meet minimum capital requirements, the deputy finance minister revealed. The Capital Markets Board of Turkey will take responsibility for the oversight of their activities. The Financial Crimes Investigation Board will be tasked with establishing a surveillance mechanism for consumer protection, preserving market integrity and competition. Turkey, which is one of the nations where cryptocurrencies have gained significant popularity, prohibited the use of digital assets for payments in April with a regulation issued by the central bank. The measure was enforced as the Turkish lira kept depreciating for months. Following the ban, Ankara updated its existing crypto regulations, adding coin exchanges to a list of entities governed by its anti-money laundering rules. What do you think about the proposed crypto regulations in Turkey? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. View the full article

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood will be featured speakers at the Bitcoin event “The B Word,” which will feature a live discussion between the three focused on how Bitcoin is perceived by the mainstream. The ₿ Word event organizer announced Monday that Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk will be a featured speaker, along with Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Ark Investment Management (Ark Invest) CEO Cathie Wood. The event is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 21. It will feature a live discussion with Musk, Dorsey, and Wood. Musk and Dorsey initially agreed to have a discussion about Bitcoin at The ₿ Word event in June. Dorsey tweeted to Musk at the time: “Let’s you and I have a conversation at the event. You can share all your curiosities.” According to the event website, “The ₿ Word is a Bitcoin-focused initiative that aims to demystify and destigmatize mainstream narratives about Bitcoin, explain how institutions can embrace it, and raise awareness around areas of the network that need support.” The event is hosted by the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI), a global alliance of crypto industry leaders. The topics of discussion include demystifying Bitcoin, Bitcoin as a tool for economic empowerment (live discussion), supporting the developer ecosystem, securing the Bitcoin network, regulating bitcoin, and preserving the Bitcoin ethos. The event will feature presentations from Adam Jonas (Chaincode Labs), Conor Okus (Square Crypto), Hester Peirce (SEC), Hong Fang (Okcoin), John Pfeffer (Pfeffer Capital), Lyn Alden (Lyn Alden Investment Strategy), Nic Carter (Castle Island Ventures), Dr. Neha Narula (MIT Digital Currency Initiative), Peter McCormack (What Bitcoin Did Podcast), Phillip Gradwell (Chainalysis Inc.), Sam Korus (ARK Invest), Steve Lee (Square Crypto), and more. What do you think about this discussion between Musk, Dorsey, and Wood? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Zimbabwean government recently revealed its intention to widen the definition of securities to include virtual asset service providers (VASPs). According to a document released by the cabinet, the proposed inclusion of VASPs into the category of defined securities will be made possible via the amendment of the Securities and Exchange Act. The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Factor According to one local report, it is this amended law that will “enable Zimbabwe’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SECZ) to come up with regulations to supervise the VASPs on a risk-based approach.” Similarly, the document states that Zimbabwe’s anti-money laundering law will be amended to enable authorities to deal with the possible abuse of crypto assets by bad actors. The cabinet document explains: The Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act will be amended to in order to provide for identification and assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risks that may arise in relation to Virtual assets, acts and activities. In addition, Zimbabwe — which itself is under U.S. financial sanctions — says the same law will be amended to “ensure sanctions are also applicable to VASPs, their directors and senior management.” Proposal Applauded Meanwhile, in his reaction to the Zimbabwean government amendment proposal, Prosper Mwedzi, a prominent proponent for crypto regulation, applauds the move which he says is a step in the right direction. However, Mwedzi tells Bitcoin.com News that his only concern with the proposed amendments is the lack of clear timeframes. He said: The amendment looks like a step in the right direction for the country as it is the first time that digital assets are expressly mentioned under Zimbabwean law. When effective, it will designate SECZ as the official regulatory body to have oversight of crypto for AML purposes and will pave [the] way for policy development in this space. The main question is how long will this process take. Other Zimbabwean commentators have suggested that the proposals could be part of the government’s wider objective of aligning its laws with FATF guidelines. In his July 15 Twitter thread, Mwedzi insists the proposals show that Zimbabwe is moving away from its previous anti-crypto stance. What are your thoughts on Zimbabwe’s proposal to include VASPs in its Securities Act? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

A week after more than 1,400 ATMs in South Africa were attacked during a looting spree, the country’s central bank is now asking citizens to reject banknotes that are stained with traces of blue and green ink. Increasing Circulation of Stained Banknotes According to an EWN report, the South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB) has also warned South Africans caught in possession of such banknotes that they risk becoming targets of a criminal investigation. The warning follows what the SARB termed an “increase in the circulation of dye-stained notes in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.” Immediately following the jailing of former President, Jacob Zuma, South Africa plunged into chaos after supporters of the jailed leader violently protested the incarceration. The chaos enabled criminal elements to embark on a looting spree whose cost is now estimated to run into the billions of dollars. Looting of ATMs As the EWN report suggests, the chaos that followed the initial looting and torching of real estate property provided ATM robbers with a perfect opportunity to increase their attacks. However, South African ATMs reportedly “hold cash in special containers protected with dye-stain technology.” This technology is “activated when the container is broken open.” When that happens, “the cash is stained with a green and blue dye, thus defacing the notes, rendering them unusable as currency.” Meanwhile, the central bank has also urged South Africans who were given or unknowingly accepted such notes to take them to their nearest police station immediately. At the time of writing, the SARB had not shared the exact number or value of the stolen banknotes. Do you think South Africans will heed the call to return the stained banknotes? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

A new museum dedicated to the history of bitcoin mining opened its doors in Venezuela last weekend. The institution will allow visitors to learn about the history of cryptocurrency mining, going from its roots to the current state of the mining industry. The museum is part of a private initiative started by Criptoavila, a mining-dedicated company. Museum of Bitcoin Mining History Debuts in Venezuela A newly created Museum of Bitcoin Mining History opened its doors to the public in Venezuela last weekend. The new initiative pushed by Criptoavila, a private company whose members have nine years of experience in the mining business, aims to introduce people to the world of bitcoin mining. The museum, which is located in Caracas, will be open to all audiences and will be free to enter. According to Criptonoticias, the exhibition will show the evolution of Bitcoin mining since its central processing unit (CPU) origins, passing through the graphics processing unit (GPU) mining stage. Then finally arriving at the current application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or integrated circuit (IC) mining era that the industry is experiencing. One of the objectives of this museum is to increase awareness about bitcoin mining in the general population, as Joan Telo, a member of Criptoavila stated. He stressed: We decided to take this step because, until now, there is no, or at least not publicly, place where people can observe evolution and we felt it was necessary. Telo also stated they would be adding new equipment to keep up-to-date with the latest trends in mining. He declared: Our idea is to add equipment to the museum as we get them because we want to be a world reference on this issue of the evolutionary process of cryptocurrency mining. Bitcoin Mining Has a Dark Background in the Country While Venezuela’s government has now recognized and legalized bitcoin mining in the country, it was not always like this. Miners in the country often operated underground and there have been some horror stories of authorities abusing miners, arresting them, and confiscating their mining equipment. Now times have changed, and miners only need to be registered and licensed by the national cryptocurrency watchdog (Sunacrip) to operate. But some are still operating without these permits due to fears and general lack of knowledge, leaving them vulnerable to equipment seizures and fines from the government. For example, 400 mining machines were just seized in two operations in June due to a lack of permits. According to the University of Cambridge, Venezuela was in the top ten countries worldwide providing hashrate for the Bitcoin (BTC) network, with 0.42% as of April last year. What do you think about the first Venezuelan Bitcoin mining museum? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

On photo left to right: Saif Al Mansouri – CEO TRES OTC DMCC; Ahmed Bin Sulayem – Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC; Dmitry Krasnogor – Managing Director TRES OTC DMCC; Antony Katin – CEO SIMBA Storage; Alexey Liakhovnenko – CEO TRES Group GmbH. Back in 2020, at the Davos Summit, the DMCC (UAE Free Economic Zone) announced a strategic partnership with CV VC and CV Labs to launch Crypto Valley, the world’s largest ecosystem of cryptography, blockchain and distributed ledger in Dubai. More and more countries are adopting cryptocurrencies after a long resistance. The UAE is rightfully one of the most progressive countries in recent decades, which does not stand still and sees a prospect in the development of the cryptocurrency industry within the country, after a long denial and misunderstanding. The cryptocurrency industry has already shown its strength and serious intentions to conquer the whole world and make it better. The capitalization of cryptocurrencies is growing every year and the adoption of the industry continues to develop rapidly. Recently, the official opening of Crypto Valley in Dubai took place and active work began, the Swiss company TRES Group, the developer of SIMBA Storage, received a сrypto assets trading license for making over-the-counter transactions with cryptocurrencies in order to develop the crypto industry in the United Arab Emirates. So far, it is the first, but not the last license in the country. “Time and time again, we have seen that innovation has been spurred on by first-class support, whether through incubator and accelerator programmes for SMEs, or business-friendly environments, specialised licencing options, and progressive regulations for larger multinationals. The DMCC Crypto Centre, operated in partnership with CV Labs, achieves exactly that – a comprehensive ecosystem that fully supports all types and sizes of businesses operating in the crypto sector. Two of our main aims for the Crypto Centre are to facilitate innovation within the blockchain and crypto space and drive global adoption of the technology. With a range of industry leaders at the Crypto Centre, progressive regulations set out by the Dubai authorities, and the pre-existing supportive framework set out by DMCC, we expect that Dubai will be the place that every crypto firm looks to for growth opportunities. As Ralf Glabischnig, the founder of CV Labs, put it at the launch of the Crypto Centre, the DMCC Crypto Centre is well-placed to become the largest crypto ecosystem in the world.”, – Ahmed Bin Sulayem – Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC. “The global cryptographic industry, whilst still in a fairly nascent stage, has a great deal of potential, to the extent that it will likely positively disrupt every industry and sector. As found in our recent Future of Trade report, trade experts and business leaders from across the world believe that digital infrastructure, and particularly blockchain and other crypto technologies, will play an increasingly important role in the future of global trade. Dubai has become synonymous with innovation, and the emirate has certainly embraced the adoption blockchain technologies. With government-led initiatives such as the Dubai Blockchain Strategy driving the application of blockchain wherever possible across its public and private sectors, Dubai is demonstrating how blockchain can offer a vast range of benefits. Through the DMCC Crypto Centre, the UAE is unequivocally taking the lead in the development of the global crypto industry.”, – Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC Previously, crypto assets trading license in the UAE was illegal and inaccessible, which imposed a number of restrictions on large banking and institutional structures that are ready to carry out activities with cryptocurrency in the country. Crypto assets trading license is a huge step in the development and formation of the blockchain technology industry, business development, the influx of technological projects and startups, as well as the money supply for the country. The trading in crypto assets license opens up opportunities for large institutional investors and banking structures in the crypto industry that were previously not available to them. This will provoke an increase in the capitalization of the cryptocurrency market as a whole. “The DMCC Crypto Centre ecosystem is the latest crypto and blockchain sector focused business community in DMCC Free Zone Dubai. It provides the perfect landing for any business focused on any number of areas across this booming innovative tech sector and offers a wide array of support, products and services, including the first sector focused co-working accelerator space CV Labs. It’s great to see companies like TRES coming into the DMCC Crypto community and taking advantage of everything provided by the Free Zone. Dubai is fast becoming the center of the global Crypto world and for good reason”, – says James Bernard, Director Sales/Business Development & Head of Corp Sales at DMCC. TRES specialists highlight the great prospects for the development of the cryptocurrency industry in the Arab countries, including ones originating from the global change of guidelines, especially in terms of technology. SIMBA CEO Anton Katin draws analogies, mentioning the widespread transition to electric cars, solar energy and the desire of many countries to move away from the usual patterns of consumption, import and export of non-renewable resources. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Binance, the leading P2P exchange in Venezuela, is now present in several popular dollar indexes in the country. The price of USDT on Binance’s P2P platform is now used to calculate the average price of the dollar with other P2P and electronic markets. The Venezuelan currency, the Bolivar, took a plunge last week losing 10% against the dollar as the government considers a currency redenomination. Binance Makes Its Way Into Dollar Indexes Binance has made its way into popular dollar indexes in Venezuela, after becoming one of the most well-known crypto markets in the country. Now, the average USDT price of its P2P exchange is being used to get a grip on the real price of the dollar in the country by two known indexes: enParaleloVzla and MonitorDolar. Binance P2P is the second cryptocurrency-related platform that is being taken as representative of how the dollar price moves in the market, with the first one being Localbitcoins, another P2P market. Now, Binance P2P has become a big factor in setting the informal dollar price in the country. While Binance P2P trading volumes are not made public by the company, analysts speculate it moves an important part of the dollars that travel internationally from and to Venezuela. In an interview with Diario Bitcoin, Mariangel Garcia, spokesperson of Binance Spanish, stated that in Q1-2020 Venezuela was one of the markets with the biggest growth in all Latam. Venezuelan Currency Plunges More Than 10% in a Week In recent news, The Venezuelan fiat currency, the Bolivar, faced a terrible week losing more than 10% of its value against the U.S. dollar. The Bolivar traded at 3,318,055 VES per dollar July 12, and in days the exchange rate rose to 3,665,450 VES on July 16. This exchange rate is calculated using several indicators from various P2P and electronic markets. This seems to show the government has failed to tackle several factors that are still making the exchange rate grow. As a consequence of the exchange rate, earlier this month it was announced there have been talks about redenominating the Venezuelan fiat currency to make it easier for some big companies to make tax and salary payments. The Central Bank of Venezuela would slash six zeros off the nominal rate and would have to print new banknotes. As stated before, a dollar is valued at more than 3 million bolivares, so this makes calculating payrolls and taxes very difficult for a large number of companies and institutions. What do you think about Binance entering dollar calculation indexes in Venezuela? Tell us in the comment section below. View the full article

Investment advisor and former Prudent Bear Fund manager David Tice has warned about investing in bitcoin. Citing “negative statements” by central bankers and regulators, such as the Bank of England, he said that it is “very dangerous to hold” bitcoin today. Investment Advisor David Tice Warns It’s Dangerous to Invest in Bitcoin David Tice, who sold his bear fund as the 2008 financial crisis was unfolding, talked about the stock market and bitcoin in an interview with CNBC Friday. A former Prudent Bear Fund manager, Tice is known for making bearish bets during bull markets. He now advises the Advisorshares Ranger Equity Bear exchange-traded fund (ETF), which has $70 million in assets under management. Tice was a bitcoin bull early this year but he became bearish when the price of the cryptocurrency hit all-time highs in March. He now cautioned investors in the crypto space that BTC is very dangerous to hold right now. “We had a bitcoin position when bitcoin was at $10,000. However, when it got to $60,000, we felt like that was long in the tooth,” he described, elaborating: Lately, there’s been a lot more uproar from central bankers, Bank for International Settlements, [and] the Bank of England have made profound negative statements. I think it’s very dangerous to hold today. Bitcoin is not the only market Tick thinks it is dangerous to be in. He also believes it is very dangerous to be in the stock market. “The market is very overpriced in terms of future earnings. We are adding debt like we’ve never seen. We have the Treasury market acting very strange with rates falling dramatically,” he detailed. The Bank of England has been quite vocal in expressing its view on cryptocurrency. The governor of the British central bank, Andrew Bailey, said in May that cryptocurrencies were dangerous and had no intrinsic value. He said investors should put money in cryptocurrencies if they expect to lose it all. The president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, agreed with him. Bailey also predicted that cryptocurrencies will not last. In addition, he said in June that “There will inevitably be elements of tough love” in crypto regulation. Last week, Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said he believes that cryptocurrencies were not big enough to pose financial stability risk. What do you think about David Tice’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has continued to tweet about the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin. He has changed his profile image on Twitter to include an image of the Shiba Inu dog that represents dogecoin. He also tweeted that his son is “hodling his Doge like a champ.” Meanwhile, dogecoin’s trading volumes soared 1,250% in the second quarter on the world’s major cryptocurrency exchanges, according to data by Coinbase. Elon Musk’s Continued Support for Dogecoin The Doge community was thrilled over the weekend when many people noticed that Elon Musk, whom they call the Dogefather, had changed his profile image on Twitter to one of him wearing sunglasses that have a Shiba Inu dog in the reflection. Following his profile picture change, the price of dogecoin got a slight boost but has since fallen down, shedding all of its weekend gains. The DOGE price at the time of writing is $0.174 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. Elon Musk’s Twitter profile page. Source: Twitter Prior to Musk updating his profile picture on Twitter, he tweeted about dogecoin Saturday confirming that his baby son, named “X Æ A-12,” is not selling his DOGE. Musk wrote: Lil X is hodling his DOGE like a champ. Literally never said the word ‘sell’ even once. Musk has previously said he bought dogecoin for his son “so he can be a toddler hodler.” He also indicated that he owned DOGE himself but did not disclose how much, tweeting on May 20, “I haven’t & won’t sell any doge.” Meanwhile, dogecoin’s trading volumes had increased rapidly. According to data compiled by Coinbase, as reported by the Insider: Dogecoin’s trading volumes soared 1,250% in the second quarter of the year on the world’s major cryptocurrency exchanges. Dogecoin’s average daily trading volume shot up to $995 million in the April to June period, from $74 million a day in the first quarter. In comparison, Coinbase’s data shows that ether’s trading volumes rose 53% quarter-on-quarter to an average of $3.25 billion a day on global exchanges. Meanwhile, bitcoin’s daily volumes fell 14% to $4.01 billion. What do you think about Elon Musk’s tweets about dogecoin and him changing his profile picture? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Grayscale Investments has launched a decentralized finance (defi) fund. The new defi fund is the crypto asset manager’s 15th investment product and its second diversified product. “The emergence of decentralized finance protocols provide clear examples of technologies that can redefine the future of the financial services industry,” said the Grayscale CEO. Grayscale Debuts Decentralized Finance Fund Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital currency asset manager, announced Monday the launch of its newest diversified investment product, the Grayscale Decentralized Finance Fund. The announcement explains that the Grayscale Defi Fund “provides investors with exposure to a selection of industry-leading defi protocols,” adding: The Grayscale Defi Fund is Grayscale’s fifteenth investment product, and its second diversified fund offering. Its other diversified fund, the Grayscale Large Cap Fund, recently became a reporting company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund also recently added cryptocurrency cardano (ADA) as its third biggest component. The newly launched defi fund has a market capitalization-weighted portfolio designed to track the Coindesk Defi Index, also launched Monday. The index’s “methodology includes liquid defi assets on a market cap-weighted basis,” the announcement notes. The fund is now open for daily subscription by eligible individual and institutional accredited investors. As of July 14, the fund consisted of uniswap (UNI), 49.95%; aave (AAVE), 10.25%; compound (COMP), 8.38%; curve (CRV), 7.44%; makerdao (MKR), 6.49%; sushiswap (SUSHI), 4.83%; synthetix (SNX), 4.42%; yearn finance (YFI), 3.31%; UMA protocol (UMA), 2.93%; and bancor network token (BNT), 2.00%. Components of the Grayscale Defi Fund. Source: Grayscale Investments. Grayscale Investments CEO Michael Sonnenshein commented: The emergence of decentralized finance protocols provide clear examples of technologies that can redefine the future of the financial services industry. The company currently has nearly $30 billion in assets under management. It is currently considering 31 crypto assets for investment products. Besides the new defi fund, Grayscale’s 14 other investment products are the Bitcoin Trust, Basic Attention Token Trust, Bitcoin Cash Trust, Chainlink Trust, Decentraland Trust, Ethereum Trust, Ethereum Classic Trust, Filecoin Trust, Horizen Trust, Litecoin Trust, Livepeer Trust, Stellar Lumens Trust, Zcash Trust, and the Digital Large Cap Fund. Last week, the asset manager announced that the oldest bank in the U.S., BNY Mellon, will provide its flagship product, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), with asset servicing and exchange-traded fund (ETF) services. What do you think about Grayscale launching a defi fund? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on July 19, 2021. Another token that’s used within the game is a coin called smooth love potion (SLP) and the crypto asset has also seen its value drop since tapping an all-time high (ATH). However, SLP tapped an ATH two days before AXS did when it reached $0.39 per unit. While battling in Axie Infinity’s adventure mode, players can earn SLP as rewards. SLP has lost 4.3% during the last week and 24-hour statistics show SLP is down 8.6%. SLP has a market capitalization of $133 million on Monday while AXS commands a market valuation of around $922 million. Axie Infinity’s protocol revenue Towers Over Competition, Tether Is Axie Infinity Token’s Biggest Pair Capturing 83% of AXS Trades Meanwhile, statistics from tokenterminal.com indicate that as far as protocol revenue is concerned, Axie Infinity towers over the competition. Axie Infinity’s protocol revenue eclipses projects like Pancakeswap, Metamask, Maker DAO, Sythetix, and Sushiswap. Statistics from tokenterminal.com during the last 30 days. While the second-place position Pancakeswap’s 30-day statistics show $11.9 million in protocol revenue, Axie Infinity’s is 84.9 million. Seven-day records show Axie Infinity’s protocol revenue was 38.3 million while Pancakeswap saw $2.3 million. AXS is 42.8% down from the coin’s ATH and SLP is down 38.4% from its ATH. The biggest pair with AXS on Monday is tether (USDT) as it commands 83.88% of all AXS trades according to cryptocompare.com stats. Tether is followed by BUSD (7.71%), BTC (6.41%), USD (0.97%), and BNB (0.84%). While SLP is down more than 38% today, the token is still up 93.6% during the last three months. AXS has done a lot better as the token is up 87.5% in just two weeks, and three-month data shows AXS is still up 281.4% despite this week’s losses. What do you think about the Axie Infinity blockchain gaming universe and the project’s associated tokens? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

An aspirant to the post of commissioner with the Kenyan Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has urged the elections body to consider adopting blockchain technology. According to Justus Abonyo, a former official with the Social Democratic Party of Kenya, doing this will help Kenya reduce the cost of “running an election by up to 300 per cent.” Enhanced Transparency As the breakdown of the costs shared by Abonyo suggests, using an electoral management system based on a blockchain will see the cost of the ballot going down to as low as $0.50. The candidate explained: The cost of a ballot in Kenya ranges between US$7 US$25 (Sh700-Sh2,500). If we use blockchain technology, this cost will go down to US$0.5 (Sh50). This is an area I would explore as a commissioner. In addition to significantly reducing the running costs, one local media outlet, the Star, also quotes Abonyo detailing other benefits that could be realized and these include “greater security and transparency.” Further, improved transparency could increase trust in election systems and help to prevent a repeat of the post-election violence seen in 2007. The violence, which resulted in a serious humanitarian and economic crisis, had been sparked by allegations of electoral manipulation. Credibility Enhanced With Blockchain In his comments before the selection panel for the appointment of IEBC commissioners, Abonyo used the opportunity to highlight the extent of his confidence in blockchain technology. Still, the aspiring commissioner suggested he will step down if the credibility of elections he presides over is questioned. He said: I will listen to what observers are saying and other stakeholders like the voters themselves and if they are unanimous that the elections were not credible, I will step down. However, Abonyo says he still expects any aggrieved party to follow due process. This according to Abonyo means he will only move to act once someone has lodged a complaint with the court. He explained: “People are taken to court. I will not take myself to court. I will not go to court and accuse myself.” Do you agree that blockchain technology can help enhance the credibility of elections? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

As cameras flashed at tonight’s 27th amFAR gala at the Cannes film festival in the south of France, one-star continued to shine, the world’s second highest-selling living artist, Sacha Jafri. The lavish gala celebrated its 27th edition with host Sharon Stone as Alicia Keys gave a dazzling performance in a continued effort to raise money for AIDS returned. One of the most anticipated nights of the festival, the 27th edition was a smaller, more intimate affair than previous years, with the exclusive guest-list slimmed down from 900 to 400 people with COVID-19 protocols in place. After the performance, came Sacha’s live painting and a presale of his open edition NFT. As some buyers left to head back to their penthouse suite, the auction kicked off what would be the grand finale of the event. Even though some had already left, with less than 5 minutes to go Sacha alongside Billionaire philanthropist Javed Fiyaz, co-founder of Infinity8.io, sold just over 1,500 units for a total of 750,000 euros ($950,000.) in less than one minute. Tech Entrepreneur and Crypto investor Scott Fletcher did not just purchase all 1,500 editions, but also took the winning bid for the artist’s live painting for over 1,000,000 euros. In total, Sacha raised over 1.75M euros, with 100% of the proceeds from the NFT sale and physical print going to Aids and Covid 19 research. What is interesting to note is the NFT sale, which in collaboration with Javed Fiyaz and his charity focused NFT platform, infinity8.io, outsold an Andy Warhol Mickey Mouse piece which raised 375,000 euros ($442,702), a Chopard 18-karat white gold diamond, and a Michael Kagan Astronaut that sold for 400,000 euros ($472,215.60). Not only did Sacha take home the number one slot for the amount raised, but this open edition NFT was just the pre-sale. What is set to be one of the biggest NFT launches this year, Fans of the artist will have the opportunity to get their hands on one starting July 22nd to Monday the 27th. The price will start at 635.30 Euro for the first 30 minutes, 1,000 euros per unit after the first hour, and continue to increase regularly until the end of the auction. About Infinity8 Infinity8.io is the first-ever Philanthropic NFT Marketplace, creating a bridge between fine art and digital art, by supporting great masters as well as showcasing up-and-coming talent. Instagram This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

On Saturday, former heavyweight boxing champion, Mike Tyson, asked his 5.6 million followers on Twitter which crypto asset they prefer: bitcoin or ethereum. Tyson is no stranger to the world of crypto and just recently stepped into the realm of non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles. Iron Mike Asks His Fans: ‘Which do you prefer, Bitcoin or Ethereum?’ The former professional boxer, otherwise known as “Kid Dynamite” and “Iron Mike,” tweeted about bitcoin and ethereum on Saturday and asked his followers which crypto asset they preferred. Tyson is quite familiar with bitcoin and on July 25, 2015, he tweeted about a bitcoin automated teller machine (ATM) that featured his image. He also shared a website called miketysonbitcoin.com which is now offline. At the time, Tyson connected with a firm called Bitcoin Direct LLC but the venture was quickly forgotten after some drama. In more recent times, Tyson has teamed up with the full-service creative agency, NFT studio 1ofone. According to the announcement, Tyson will drop his first official NFT collection with 1ofone this August and it will be available via opensea.io. The former heavyweight champion collaborated with digital artist Cory Van Lew and the NFT collection will present “iconic moments from his career,” unlockable content, and a limited release as well. “The more I learn about NFT’s the more excited I am to be a part of the crypto/tech community,” Tyson said in a statement about the NFT project. “It’s the future and I chose to partner with 1ofone to help me navigate through the NFT community with something truly innovative and creative that tells a story about who I am.” Tyson’s tweet on Saturday not only got attention from a great number of crypto supporters but also legendary rapper Busta Rhymes. Rhymes has been intrigued by cryptocurrencies as well recently and tweeted about his curiosity to his Twitter followers. After Tyson asked: “Which do you prefer, BTC or ETH?” Rhymes replied and said: “Mike, I’m right there with you. Spent the last 30 min reading the comment section.” In the comment section of Tyson’s tweet, there’s a myriad of responses from the crowd. Microstrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor responded and said: “Mike, I spent more than a thousand hours considering this question and chose bitcoin. So far, I have purchased $2.9 billion in BTC because I think it’s the future of digital property.” Even Twitter’s Jack Dorsey replied to Tyson and shared a website called hellobitco.in. Tyson’s Question Sees a Number of Responses Of course, a number of people shilled other crypto assets and a wide variety of cryptocurrencies are mentioned in Tyson’s thread. The official Baby Doge Coin Twitter account said: “Mike let’s talk #BabyDoge” with a boxing glove and dog emoji. Paxful executive Ray Youssef also responded to Tyson’s question. “Great to have you with us Mike,” Youssef remarked. “Bitcoin is halal and peaceful, honest money.” Youssef further added: [Ethereum] is a platform for defi which is permissionless protobanking. Both have their place but I hold most in bitcoin and the people of Africa are using it everyday as a way out of economic apartheid. Others simply implied that Tyson didn’t have to choose if he owned both crypto assets. Of course, the Tyson tweet also led to a number of bitcoin fans and ether supporters battling. Most of which stemmed from the bitcoin maximalist crowd, while other crypto asset fans claimed there are superior coins Tyson didn’t mention. Another individual said: “ETH is an entire decentralized secure economy. BTC is [a] decentralized secure orange coin. So I prefer ETH.” The number of replies to Tyson’s question is very large and like Busta Rhymes said, one could easily spend thirty minutes reading them. What do you think about Mike Tyson’s recent tweet about bitcoin and ethereum? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

An industry association representing the Russian crypto sector has launched a project to entice bitcoin miners. Despite its abundant sources of cheap energy, Russia is now lagging behind Kazakhstan, another Eurasian Economic Union member, in terms of cryptocurrency production. Russian Project Aims to Expand Country’s Crypto Mining Capacity The Russian Association of Crypto Industry and Blockchain (Racib) has unveiled a project to bring a larger portion of the global computing potential engaged in cryptocurrency mining to Russia. The Russian Federation, Racib noted in an announcement, ranks among the top five nations by total electricity production. What’s more, the country’s energy system features unique characteristics that can benefit enterprises involved in the minting of digital coins. Racib has listed a number of them, including the large surplus of power-generating capacity which reaches 50% in certain regions. The colder Russian climate is another advantage as it allows the cooling of mining equipment at little cost, thus improving the efficiency of data centers. Add to that the wide availability of traditional fuels and other energy resources, as well as the low population density in many areas that makes it possible to deploy large-scale facilities and infrastructure. Racib emphasizes: All this … provides the best conditions for the formation of specialized clusters in the country to support the global cryptocurrency networks and the infrastructure of the global digital economy. The crypto association says it will implement the project in close cooperation with central and regional Russian authorities and state-run corporations. Several working groups have been established already with the participation of the energy industry and public institutions. The organization claims its main foreign partner in the project is a “consortium of the largest mining companies in China.” Amid an ongoing crackdown on crypto miners in the People’s Republic, Racib hopes some of them will transfer their computing power to the Russian Federation to increase Russia’s share of the global hashrate. Kazakhstan Overtakes Russia as Crypto Mining Destination Environmental concerns are believed to be a major motive behind Beijing’s squeeze on crypto mining and Racib thinks Russia has an answer. Eco-friendly hydro and nuclear energy sources form around 40% of the country’s energy balance. And as far as Bitcoin is concerned, Russia’s involvement in the miners’ migration from China should “provide a more decentralized network format of the main digital currency” and help “avoid another concentration of mining resources in one region, in this case North America.” Chinese miners are already on the move, however, and Russia should hurry up if it wants to lure some of them to its territory. Others have been quicker to take advantage of the shift, including Kazakhstan, another former Soviet Republic, and a member of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Evolution of country share in global hashrate (monthly average). Source: University of Cambridge. In less than two years, the Central Asian country has increased its share in the global bitcoin extraction by almost six times, from 1.4% to 8.2%, according to a study conducted by the University of Cambridge. By crypto mining volume, Kazakhstan is now third in the world, the data quoted by RBC (a major Russian business news portal) shows, overtaking Russia which ranks fourth with 6.8%. During the same period, between September 2019 and April of 2021, China’s share has dropped from 75.5% to 46%, while the United States has climbed to second place, increasing its share from 4.1% to 16.8%, the report details. According to the research, the Islamic Republic of Iran is now fifth with 4.6%. Still, Russia has a chance to improve its position as Kazakhstan recently introduced a surcharge for electricity consumed by miners despite opposition from the local crypto industry. Do you think Russia will be able to attract cryptocurrency miners to its jurisdiction? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

A group of Paraguayan lawmakers presented a ‘Bitcoin bill’ in the National Congress last week, but it turned out to be a very different proposal than what crypto followers expected. The bill seeks to control and regulate cryptocurrency transactions and establish taxes. There is no mention of declaring bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies as legal tender anywhere in the proposal. “Bitcoin Bill” Presented in Paraguay The long-hyped ‘Bitcoin bill’ was at last presented in Paraguay to the National Congress by two lawmakers last week, but it was not what some had anticipated. The project presented by deputy Carlos Rejala and the liberal senator Fernando Silva Facetti doesn’t aim to declare bitcoin as legal tender, as El Salvador did last month. In fact, it states the opposite. An early draft states: “Digital assets are not legal tender currencies used by the Paraguayan State, and for this reason they are not backed by the Central Bank of Paraguay” Instead, the proposed law seeks to regulate crypto transactions for the state to collect taxes for trading and other use cases. The law proposes the Central Bank of Paraguay as the comptroller of all the entities related to cryptocurrencies. Facetti, when consulted about the direction of the proposed law, stated: This is not a legal tender, this is a commodity and the purpose of the law is to regulate and control this industry. That is the base project that we really have today. Mining and Trading Also Regulated The law also mentions bitcoin mining and trading as activities under its scope. Mining-related imports will be taxed with 5% corresponding to an aggregated value tax if the project gets approved. Also, cryptocurrency traders will have to be licensed annually and to-be-created state institutions will carry a record of these. The project states: “Any person whose main activity is that of trader must have an authorization issued by a competent authority, which enables him to carry out consultancies or transactions through a mandate or administration contract. The law describes sanctions for not complying with these mandates, but it doesn’t specify the forms these sanctions would take. If approved, the law would give a period for miners to register with the government and get operational licenses. To conclude, the law mentions the creation of the Digital Securities Fluctuation Reserve Fund, which would aid traders that lose digital assets in the market. What do you think about the newly proposed Paraguayan “bitcoin bill”? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Just before the antivirus tycoon John McAfee was found dead in Spain, he told the public from prison that U.S. federal authorities seized all of his assets and he had “nothing.” Now a biographer who is writing a McAfee-based biography has corroborated McAfee’s story. The author Mark Eglinton says that McAfee was also unable to pay for the requested biography. McAfee Wasn’t Able to Pay for Requested Biography Expenses In 1987, John McAfee wrote the first commercial-grade antivirus software and by 1994 he sold his stake in the company and resigned. By 2007, reports show that McAfee’s net wealth peaked at $100 million but allegedly his funds quickly evaporated in the 2008 financial crisis. A picture of John McAfee when he lived in Belize for a number of years. McAfee’s antivirus firm called McAfee was bought out by Intel in 2010 for $7.6 billion. After Intel changed the name of the company to “Intel Security,” McAfee made a statement that he was freed “from this terrible association with the worst software on the planet.” In 2016, Intel rebranded again and reverted the name back to McAfee. McAfee started close to ten companies after leaving the antivirus software firm and he resided in Belize for a number of years. In 2013, McAfee came back to the U.S. when it was discovered he was being questioned for murder by the authorities in Belize. Speaking with the publication the dailymail.co.uk, Mark Eglinton, an author who was working on McAfee’s biography said the former antivirus tycoon was broke. The author’s book is called “No Domain: The John McAfee Tapes” and it contains a large quantity of interviews with McAfee. I built this house in 1993, for a cost, including land and outbuildings, of over $37 million. I sold it in 2005 for less than $5 million. The man who bought it could not afford the $3 million per year to maintain it and went bankrupt. 50+ bedrooms. 75 bathrooms. WTF? #Getreal pic.twitter.com/eLlzgI1djv — John McAfee (@officialmcafee) June 7, 2018 Eglinton explained to Dailymail this week that toward the end, McAfee wasn’t able to pay for the requested biography’s expenses. “I don’t doubt that if he could have helped he would have,” Eglinton insisted. McAfee told him at the time: I can’t do it, my financial situation is worse than yours. Biographer Claims McAfee Built Extravagant Homes and Bought ‘Absolutely Bizarre Properties’ Reports have noted on countless occasions that McAfee lost his fortune during the financial crisis in 2008 but Eglinton rebuffed this theory. “We got a lot into where he spent his money over the years,” Eglinton said during his interview. “He had his money in very safe investments, but he built houses, absolutely bizarre properties. Some of them, he never slept a night in the property,” the biographer added. Because of the Great Recession, some of McAfee’s properties were sold at significant losses. John McAfee pictured at his extravagant home in Woodland Park, Colorado. For instance, the report notes that McAfee once owned a Woodland Park, Colorado compound, which was once valued at $25 million when he purchased the property. The property was later auctioned in 2007 to a commodities trader for $5.72 million. The Dailymail reporter Keith Griffith asked Eglinton about McAfee’s last tweet from prison when he told people the U.S. seized all of his wealth. “The U.S. believes I have hidden crypto,” McAfee tweeted before he passed. “I wish I did but it has dissolved through the many hands of Team McAfee (your belief is not required), and my remaining assets are all seized. My friends evaporated through fear of association. I have nothing. Yet, I regret nothing.” Eglinton told Griffith that McAfee liked to brag about being wealthy rather than admitting he was broke. Before McAfee’s final tweet and his issues with U.S. law enforcement, one could assume McAfee still had lots of money at his disposal. “Rather than pretend he didn’t have it, I think he was pretending he did,” Eglinton said. The biographer further noted that the book will showcase a side of McAfee people haven’t really seen. “What will surprise people about this book is the deep philosophy of John McAfee,” Eglinton’s interview concluded. What do you think about the biographer that says John McAfee was broke before he passed away? Let us know what you think about this story in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Toronto, July 19, 2021 – FOHO is building a transparent fractional ownership marketplace that uses the wisdom of crowds to uncover deals, hold sellers and property managers accountable and manage usage and income disbursal for real estate assets. Their modus operandi revolves around a trust-incentivized system. The platform is backed by Tangentia – one of the fastest-growing technology companies in Canada and Tripvillas – a leader in the development and management of Vacation homes. FOHO Coin – a utility token for use on the FOHO Ecosystem today announced that it has concluded agreements for its Initial Exchange Offering or IEO on the Ascent by Bitnbs Launchpad. The IEO will open on the 27th of July 2021. FOHO was founded in 2019 in Goa and raised capital from Tangentia Ventures. It rapidly gained initial traction with deals in Goa and Sri Lanka. In 2021, it received further backing from Tripvillas – a leading manager of Vacation home communities with over 5000 homes under direct management across Asia and Europe. New openings by Tripvillas during the pandemic include Goa’s largest real estate development – Rio De Goa (www.riodegoadabolim.com) and Kenisha Holiday Homes, Khopoli (www.kenishaholiday.com) . In addition, Tripvillas also owns one of the largest repositories of intelligence on international real estate through its ownership of the Holiday Home Times. According to Vijay Thomas, founder of FOHO Holdings, “When we started FOHO Haus in 2019 in Goa, we thought that we had a winning formula to democratize real estate investments globally. We were only dividing properties into 10-12 fractions each. In 2021, we have embraced Blockchain and Crypto and now the same properties can be fractionalized into 10,000 or more fractions easily and I stand corrected, now this is true democratization of global real estate investment and usage.” According to Roshan Dsilva, founder of FOHO Holdings. “FOHO will bridge the gap between the real world and crypto currencies and allow for a safer, more decentralized way to invest in hard assets. Our focus is to ensure that the best deals come onto the platform. We believe that both sellers and investors will see the value and FOHO will become the place to invest in properties. We’re happy to conclude our agreement with Bitbns to launch our initial exchange offering on their platform for Indian investors and will shortly announce subsequent listings elsewhere. ” The FOHO Ecosystem comprises the (1) FOHO Coin – a special cryptocurrency that is the lifeblood of the FOHO Ecosystem which is used to transact with FOHO marketplace participants and rewards early adopters and good ethical behavior. (2) FOHO Haus – is the blockchain-based residential real estate marketplace that allows users to buy and sell fractions of residential property. (3) FOHO Work – is similar to FOHO Haus but allows investors to buy and sell fractional portions of commercial assets like office spaces, warehouses, retail, hotels, wineries, farms and plantations. The usage-only portion of the FOHO Ecosystem is the (4) FOHO Club – which allows anyone to create a club where like-minded people join together to share the usage of a real estate asset or experience. So there you have it, with the FOHO Ecosystem, you have fractional ownership and fractional usage of real estate globally made easy. The FOHO Coin is a utility token that can be used to purchase fractional interests in real properties or else to subscribe to usage clubs where the holders can use real assets. The FOHO Ecosystem mimics real world ownership of properties and owners can vote on key decisions, change the manager of the property and vote to sell the property. FOHO’s focus is to make participants accountable and to bring transparency and lower transaction costs on the platform. FOHO will shortly be announcing additions to it’s advisory board. More details can be seen on www.fohocoin.com. (Registration for private placement is open at fohocoin.com) Company Contact Tanya Furtado +91 8999509332 accelerate@dranding.co Dranding Consulting (Representing FOHO Coin) This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, took to Twitter to tell his thoughts about the statements that Jackson Palmer, co-founder of Dogecoin, expressed last week. While Palmer now has a negative vision of the cryptocurrency industry, Armstrong is in the opposite field. To Armstrong, the cryptocurrency industry has its problems, but it still provides an alternative for people who want more economic freedom. Coinbase CEO Faces Dogecoin Founder for His Views on Cryptocurrency Capitalistic, right-wing, centralized… these were some of the traits that the Dogecoin co-founder Jackson Palmer attributed to the cryptocurrency market as a whole earlier this week. Palmer’s thoughts about the current state of the cryptocurrency industry caused harsh reactions across social media. But one of the few that articulated a structured answer to Palmer’s tweetstorm was none other than Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase. Armstrong stated that while the cryptocurrency system as conceived now has its problems, it is a vastly better offer than what the traditional system offers. Armstrong stated: If you believe government solutions are often inefficient, overpromise/underdeliver, and come with unintended consequences, and that personal responsibility mixed with free markets will create better outcomes for everyone, then crypto is a much needed breath of fresh air. To Armstrong, Palmer is wrong about a fundamental subject: crypto is not designed to solve income inequality. It is more about personal choice and opportunities. Regarding this, Armstrong declared: Crypto is not going to solve wealth inequality – it’s not trying to create the same outcome for everyone. But it does create wealth mobility and more equality of opportunity for everyone. It levels the playing field, at least to some degree. To conclude, the CEO of Coinbase stated that cryptocurrency is just another choice in the financial world, but one that provides freedom to its users. Armstrong stressed: Crypto is simply providing an alternative for people who want more freedom. Everyone can make their own choice, and that is probably a good thing. Brian Armstrong Has Always Strived to Promote Economic Freedom Armstrong’s views on the cryptocurrency market are not new or surprising. He was one of the first individuals that saw a future in the now booming cryptocurrency market back in 2012 when he founded Coinbase. Armstrong has since advocated for economic freedom and has (unsurprisingly) touted Coinbase as a trusted company to achieve that. In a public letter filed when Coinbase went public last April, Armstrong stated the current system was “rife with high fees, delays, unequal access, and barriers to innovation,” and that “everyone deserves access to financial services that can help empower them to create a better life for themselves.” What do you think about Brian Armstrong’s views on Jackson Palmer’s tweetstorm? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

A panel of crypto experts has predicted that the price of bitcoin will rise to $318,417 by December 2025. The most bullish expert believes that the price of the cryptocurrency will reach $160,000 by the end of the year. Meanwhile, 54% of them think that hyperbitcoinization will happen by 2050. Crypto Experts Share Bitcoin Price Prediction Finder, a major product comparison website, has conducted a study to find out the future outlook of bitcoin as its popularity grows. “As awareness of cryptocurrencies continues to spread, all eyes are on bitcoin’s price. So we asked our panel of 42 cryptocurrency experts what’s in store for the coin,” the company detailed last week. The panelists include crypto asset managers, executives of crypto exchanges and other service providers, crypto analysts, professors, and lecturers at universities. Among various topics discussed was what the price of bitcoin will be at the end of the year and a few years from now. Finder detailed: While there may be some medium term price depreciation, the panel predicts that by December 2025, the price of BTC will go up to $318,417. The company added, “This is 61% higher than the panel’s end-of-2025 prediction in December 2020, but 12% lower than that in April.” Furthermore, the “Panelists predict that by December 2030, the price of bitcoin will go up to a whopping $4,287,591 per BTC. However, the average is skewed by outliers – when we look at the median price prediction, the 2030 price forecast comes down to $470,000,” Finder wrote. As for what the price of bitcoin will be at the end of the year, the majority of panelists (61%) said bitcoin is currently undervalued and on average the panel expected the price of the cryptocurrency at the end of 2021 to reach $66,284 per coin. Morpher CEO Martin Fröhler was the most bullish about the price of bitcoin on the panel. With a year-end prediction of $160,000 per BTC, he opined: Adoption by corporations and institutional investors paired with a loose monetary policy and high asset inflation will propel bitcoin to 6 figures before the end of this year. The next halving cycle will see increased adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender by developing countries, and until 2030, bitcoin will have replaced gold as a global reserve asset. Wave Financial senior trader Justin Chuh gave a lower-than-average price prediction of $56,000 for the year end. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence in bitcoin as the “tried-and-true safe haven” of digital assets. The trader sees the price of bitcoin on an upward trend, predicting that BTC will end 2025 at $210,000 and 2030 at $400,000, with halving events and inflation pushing the price upward. He said: Halving events and inflation along the way to 2025 and 2030 will likely trigger the larger upside moves. Prices are likely to be continuously driven by supply and demand, less availability for a wider group of users. However, not everyone on the panel was as bullish. University of Canberra’s senior lecturer, John Hawkins, was among the most bearish on the panel. His year-end prediction was $20,000 per bitcoin. The lecturer also believes that countries adopting bitcoin will actually have a negative impact on its price. The study also covers when the experts think hyperbitcoinization will happen. Finder found: 54% of the panel thinks hyperbitcoinization – the moment that bitcoin overtakes global finance – will happen by 2050. 29% think it will happen as soon as 2035 and an additional 20% by 2040. The panel includes representatives from Galia Digital, Allnodes, Wave Financial, Morpher, Cryptocompare, Coinsmart, Banz Capital, Arcane Crypto, Rouge International and Rouge Ventures, Celsius Network, Coingecko, Coinflip, Token Metrics, Thomson Reuters, Finder, Morgan Creek Digital, Zebpay, Amber, Decred, UCL, the University of New South Wales, City University of Hong Kong, and the University of Western Australia. What do you think the price of bitcoin will be in 2025 and when do you think hyperbitcoinization will happen? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Over 1,000 bitcoin mining machines have been totally destroyed in Malaysia after they were seized for illegally mining the cryptocurrency using stolen electricity. The mining machines, worth about $1.26 million, were steamrolled in the Malaysian city of Miri and eight people have been arrested so far. Over a Thousand Bitcoin Mining Machines Demolished in Malaysia Malaysian authorities have completely destroyed 1,069 bitcoin mining machines confiscated between February and April with a steamroller, local media reported Friday. The mining machines were seized in a joint operation carried out by police and Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) in Miri, a Malaysian city on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo. They are estimated to be worth 5.3 million Malaysian ringgits ($1.26 million). All seizures that had been settled in court were disposed of at the Miri district police headquarters Friday. Miri police chief ACP Hakemal Hawari said eight individuals were also arrested for being involved in illegal mining activities. He said in a statement: A total of six people have been successfully charged under Section 379 of the Penal Code for electricity theft and have been fined up to RM8,000 and jailed for up to eight months. The authorities said that the mining machines used electricity stolen from SEB’s electricity supply lines to mine bitcoin. According to the police chief, SEB suffered a loss of 8.4 million Malaysian ringgits due to electricity theft from the bitcoin mining activities. He further detailed: The electricity theft for mining bitcoin activities has caused frequent power outages and in 2021, three houses were razed due to illegal electricity supply connections. Local news outlet Dayakdaily posted a video of the destruction of seized bitcoin mining machines Friday. What do you think about Malaysian authorities destroying bitcoin mining machines with a steamroller? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Leading Korean crypto exchange Bithumb is terminating its trademark agreements with two coin trading platforms operating abroad under its brand name. The move comes as digital asset exchanges in South Korea prepare to comply with the country’s stricter regulations for the industry that will be enforced in September. Bithumb Global and Bithumb Singapore to Change Their Brand Names as Bithumb Ends Trademark Agreements Two cryptocurrency exchanges, Bithumb Global and Bithumb Singapore, will not be able to use the Bithumb brand name and trademark starting from the last day of this month. Bithumb Korea Co., Ltd., operator of the leading South Korean digital currency platform, announced its decision to terminate the Trademark License Agreements with the two entities. According to the preliminary notice published this week, the termination date for the contracts has been set to Friday, July 30, 2021. The non-exclusive trademark license agreements apply to the usage of the Bithumb logos and trademark, Bithumb detailed in the press release. The Korean company emphasized: Please be aware that the said exchanges shall not use Bithumb’s brand and trademark after the expiration date, and they need to use their own brand and trademark thereafter. The South Korean exchange pointed out that the two platforms have been operating as independent overseas service providers, separate from Bithumb Korea. Bithumb Global and Bithumb Singapore only borrowed Bithumb Korea’s brand and trademark “to promote their initial business reputation through the usage of the Bithumb brand.” Bithumb is a major digital asset exchange and with a score of 8.1, and it currently ranks first in South Korea and eighth in the world, according to Coinmarketcap’s Top Cryptocurrency Spot Exchanges list. The platform now has a daily trading volume of more than $550 million. Earlier in July, Bithumb Korea banned its employees from trading cryptocurrency and announced it will no longer accept registrations of overseas users starting from Aug. 13. Korean Crypto Exchanges Face Regulatory Challenges In the past few months, Korean cryptocurrency exchanges have been dealing with various challenges due to the changing regulatory environment in the country. Amendments to South Korea’s Special Funds Act, which went into effect this spring, require them to partner with local banks to ensure traders are issued real-name accounts by Sept. 24, when the new rules will be enforced. However, leading banking institutions have been reluctant to work with the coin trading platforms, fearing exposure to money laundering, hacking, fraud, and other risks related to cryptocurrencies. Only the four largest exchanges – Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit – have so far managed to establish such cooperation with commercial banks. NH Nonghyup Bank provides services to Bithumb. Hundreds of smaller exchanges may have to close down in September, as the Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo warned in April, if they fail to secure a partnership agreement with a bank. Addressing the upcoming stricter regulations, a number of platforms, including Bithumb, have started to delist some “high-risk” digital coins and issue warning lists with others. What do you think about Bithumb’s decision to terminate its trademark license agreements with Bithumb Global and Bithumb Singapore? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Jackson, Tennessee’s mayor is a fan of bitcoin and he wants the city to become a bitcoin hub in order to entice technology companies and innovation. Jackson’s mayor Scott Conger is in the midst of discussing creating legislation that allows Jackson residents to pay property taxes with bitcoin. Jackson, Tennessee’s Mayor Is a Fan of Bitcoin, He Wonders Why We Accept Inflation Miami mayor Francis Suarez is not the only bitcoiner trying to get bitcoin companies and technological innovation to reside in his city. Jackson, Tennessee’s mayor is also a bitcoin fan and Scott Conger is the third member of his family to be Jackson’s mayor. Conger has noticed inflation creeping higher after the federal government and central bank created massive quantities of stimulus during the last year and a half. In Conger’s opinion bitcoin is the only solution to this problem. Three days ago Conger tweeted: Why do we accept inflation? Why don’t we demand more from our federal government 6.3% in 2 years? 172.8% in my lifetime. Every year our dollar is worth less. There is no rebound. There is only 1 fix for this… Bitcoin. Scott Conger: ‘Let Us Not Accept Any Inflation’ In a recent interview, Conger said he’s been keeping an eye on Mayor Suarez of Miami and he believes bitcoin can benefit Jackson. Bitcoin is ideal for remote workers leveraging the city of Jackson and it could give the Tennessee city an edge. In another interview, Conger mentioned inflation again and started looking at things priced in satoshis (the smallest denomination of bitcoin). “It really hit home once it was pointed out the price of lumber in dollars… massive inflation vs the price in [satoshis],” Conger detailed. Conger is also known for saying: Let us not accept any inflation as well as the increasing carbon footprint. Conger has also initiated a task force dedicated to studying blockchain benefits and how payments with bitcoin can help bolster Jackson. “Our blockchain task force is looking into how the city of Jackson TN can accept property tax payments in bitcoin and allow our employees to DCA in bitcoin,” Conger tweeted on Thursday. Earlier this year, Eric Adams also joins Conger and Suarez as the New York City (NYC) mayoral candidate wants New York to be a bitcoin hub as well and “the center of all technology.” Prior to Eric Adams, another NYC mayoral candidate, Andrew Yang, also promoted bitcoin during his campaigning in February. As far as Jackson, Tennessee, and Conger, he’s following the footsteps of Suarez. “I’m taking pointers from Francis Suarez,” Conger tweeted. “In the coming weeks I will be forming a Blockchain Task Force to explore how to best position the city of Jackson TN for the future,” the mayor of Jackson added. What do you think about the mayor of Jackson, Tennessee promoting bitcoin for his city? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) have conducted an extensive study of using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for cross-border payments. Their report to the G20 states that enhanced cross-border payments “can be achieved … as long as countries work together.” The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, the BIS Innovation Hub, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank published a joint report to the G20 on July 9 titled “Central bank digital currencies for cross-border payments.” The report explains that “Cross-border payments are commonly criticized for their high cost, low speed, limited access, and insufficient transparency.” To address these challenges, the G20 countries endorsed a roadmap in October last year. It was developed by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and other relevant standard-setting bodies. Various aspects of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) were analyzed in the report. This includes domestic and potential designs, current central bank thinking on cross-border CBDC use, and the potential benefits and risks of using CBDCs for cross-border payments. Enhanced cross-border payments “can be achieved through different degrees of integration and cooperation,” the report claims. “The analysis highlights both the need for multilateral collaboration on macro-financial consequences as well as the importance of interoperability between CBDCs.” According to the main conclusion of the joint report: Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have the potential to enhance the efficiency of cross-border payments, as long as countries work together. Many central banks are currently investigating risks, benefits, and various designs of CBDCs, the report details, noting no major jurisdiction has launched a CBDC so far and many design and policy decisions are still unresolved. Some central banks are already in the testing phase, such as China. The full joint report can be found here. Do you think countries should work together to use CBDCs for cross-border payments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On July 18, the most valuable cryptocurrency in terms of dollars per unit, is bitcoin which is currently trading for $31,693. Besides all the wrapped bitcoins and synthetic bitcoin pegs, the second-highest valued crypto-asset per unit is yearn finance and maker follows behind. Removing the market capitalization positions and viewing crypto assets in this way gives a user an entirely different perspective. A Look at the Top Digital Currencies by Price per Unit At the time of writing, there are only two crypto assets worth five-digits in USD value and only two worth four-digits. Looking at the price of each coin per unit shows a view of how many coins are trading at certain price ranges. Price per unit recorded in this report was accounted for at 8:55 a.m. (EDT) on Sunday, July 18, 2021. Data was collected from the crypto market aggregation sites markets.bitcoin.com and coingecko.com. The top five most expensive crypto assets per unit include bitcoin, yearn finance, maker, ethereum, and bitcoin cash. Price per unit was recorded on Sunday, July 18, 2021, at 8:55 a.m. (EDT). Currently, a person must spend five-digits in U.S. dollars to purchase bitcoin (BTC) and yearn finance (YFI). While BTC is swapping just above $31K per unit, YFI is exchanging hands for $27.9K per token. Similarly, there are only two coins that are priced at four-digits per unit with maker (MKR) and ethereum (ETH). Market aggregation sites show there are eleven crypto assets at three-digits per unit and bitcoin cash (BCH) leads the pack. BCH is followed by coins like compound (CMP), binance coin (BNB), and aave (AAVE) respectively. 23 Crypto Assets Trade for Two-Digits, 20 Coins Are in the Single-Digit Range The last coin in the three-digit position is bitclout (CLOUT) which is trading just above the $100 region at the time of writing. There are only 23 crypto assets that are worth two-digits in value and the leader of the two-digit positions today is zcash (ZEC) running just under a hundred dollars. Horizen (ZEN) and filecoin (FIL) are the only two coins in the $50 range out of the 23 two-digit cryptos. Kucoin token (KCS) holds the 23rd position and is the last two-digit coin out of the batch. 27 coins are in the single-digit range between $1 and $9 and seven of those crypto assets are stablecoins like USDT, USDC, DAI, and TUSD. Only 21 crypto coins have unit values between $0.50 and $0.99. The leader of the 21 is klaytn (KLAY) at the time of writing and the final position belongs to tron (TRX). Of course, a number of crypto market cap aggregators are a touch different as coingecko.com has 8,545 coins recorded and coinmarketcap.com has 10,939 crypto assets recorded. Other aggregators like markets.bitcoin.com and messari.io have different numbers of recorded crypto assets as well. Despite a few discrepancies, most of the market websites show roughly the same number of crypto assets per USD value for every unit. From this perspective, the top five coins in terms of the highest value per unit include BTC, YFI, MKR, ETH, and BCH. What do you think about looking at the crypto economy from this perspective? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article