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Agustin Carstens, the general manager at the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), has claimed that cryptocurrencies are “used to evade laws and should therefore face more regulation.” Carstens, who has attacked bitcoin in the past, suggests that many crypto assets are “used to do some arbitrage, or to circumvent some regulations.” Carstens Repeats the Same Arguments Speaking during an interview, the BIS general manager also claims that “laws against money laundering and the financing of terrorism were absent in many applications of some cyber currencies.” Still, despite this ongoing opposition by global regulators and central banks, the use of crypto assets like BTC as a means of payment or as a store of value continues to grow. Also as Bitcoin.com News previously reported, cryptocurrency use surged in 2020 with more mainstream organisations now holders of mainly BTC. However, despite mounting evidence that suggests otherwise, Carstens, who is a prominent BTC opponent, continues to deny that cryptocurrencies are being used as an alternative to fiat cash. He also repeats the claim that cryptocurrencies are primarily used as a “speculative vehicle.” Furthermore, to support his negative disposition towards cryptocurrencies, Carstens added: I don’t see any dominance of cyber currencies (and they have not had) any inroads in terms of working as money. Also, the BIS general manager similarly dismisses claims that stablecoins, which he says “have some limited applications”, represent a threat to sovereign currencies. Renewed Push Against Cryptos Meanwhile, Carstens’ latest attack on cryptocurrencies appears to have coincided with the recent pushback against cryptocurrencies by the US Federal Reserve chief as well as the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF)’s announcement of its revised virtual assets guidelines. However, despite this significant opposition, more businesses are adding or are contemplating cryptocurrencies to customer payment options. For instance, Tesla’s Elon Musk recently said the company would now accept BTC as payment for its electric cars. On the other hand, software giant Microsoft is asking its Xbox customers if they are amenable to buying the product using cryptocurrency. What are your thoughts on Carstens’ latest remarks about cryptocurrencies? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das says that there is no difference of opinion between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the finance ministry on cryptocurrencies. While the finance minister said that the government will not shut off all options and will take a calibrated position regarding crypto legislation, the central bank has voiced some “major concerns.” No Difference of Opinion on Crypto Between RBI and Finance Ministry RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das answered some questions regarding cryptocurrency, the digital rupee, and upcoming digital currency legislation Thursday at the India Economic Conclave organized by The Times Network. There have been questions about whether the finance ministry and the central bank share the same view on cryptocurrency in India. While Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government will not shut off all options regarding cryptocurrencies and will take a calibrated approach, the central bank has voiced “major concerns” about cryptocurrencies. When asked during the Economic Conclave event on Thursday if there is a difference of opinion coming from the central bank and the finance ministry on cryptocurrency, the RBI governor affirmed: I do not think the finance ministry or the Reserve Bank has given any different points of view … I have reasons to believe that the government is in agreement. “I don’t think that is any difference of opinion,” Das reiterated, adding that “The central bank digital currency is one thing, while the cryptocurrencies which are being traded in the market are something else.” The governor of India’s central bank emphasized that both the RBI and the government “are committed to financial stability,” elaborating: We have flagged certain concerns around these cryptocurrencies which are being traded in the market. We have flagged certain major concerns to the government. “It is still under examination and the government will come out with a decision sooner than later,” Das concluded. What do you think about the RBI governor’s words about cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

A new study revealed that cryptocurrency-related scams almost doubled over the last year. However, forecasts are not optimistic going forward, as the report forecasts another significant increase in the number of cases in 2021. Research Scanned Over 300 Million Websites According to the “Cryptocurrency Scam Report” published by fraud prevention company Bolster and shared with Bitcoin.com News, the correlation with the surge of cryptos’ popularity and the coronavirus pandemic boosted the figures of crypto scams in 2020. Bolster analyzed over 300 million websites and found out that more than 400,000 crypto scams were created over the last year. In fact, it represents a 40% increase in comparison with the numbers seen in 2019, said the study. With such a number in place, and considering the bitcoin (BTC) becoming increasingly mainstream, crypto scams could witness an increase of 75% in 2021, stated Bolster. Shashi Prakash, co-founder and CTO of Bolster, told Bitcoin.com News: The rise in crypto-scams really hurts the industry’s goal of establishing credibility as an asset class, and it will have to be addressed as these currencies become more mainstream and less sophisticated people start buying and selling them. Proactive removal of frauds and scams is an opportunity for a currency to differentiate itself and build trust with the market more quickly. Chainlink Is Among the Top Three Cryptos Used for the Scams in 2020 Most of the scams were related to fake prizes, giveaways, or sweepstakes, as well as celebrity impersonations. Elon Musk, John McAfee, and Yusaku Maezawa were the top three celebrities impersonated over 2020. Also, the top three of the most used cryptos for the scams were bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and chainlink (LINK). Moreover, scammers impersonated crypto exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, and Gemini. The Cryptocurrency Scam Report provided further details on the correlations found during the research: Perhaps the starkest condition we observed is the correlation between cryptocurrency value and hype and fraud. Across virtually all the major cryptocurrencies that we monitored, we observed a direct correlation between increases in individual cryptocurrency trade volumes and value and phishing and scam-related activity. What are your thoughts on the study’s findings? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

As the Indian government prepares to introduce the cryptocurrency bill, there are reports that it is considering blocking the IP addresses of cryptocurrency exchanges. Despite ban reports, many people in the Indian crypto community believe that the government will not impose an outright ban on cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. Blocking IP Addresses of Crypto Trading Platforms The Indian government is reportedly “considering the blocking of internet protocol (IP) addresses of companies/exchanges on which trading in cryptocurrencies is happening,” Business Standard publication reported Monday, citing an unnamed “source in the know.” This measure, if implemented, will be part of the government’s efforts to impose a ban on cryptocurrencies. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently said that the cabinet note regarding cryptocurrency legislation is being finalized and will be soon submitted to the cabinet. A bill entitled “The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021” is listed for consideration in the current parliamentary session. The Indian government has attempted to block the IP addresses of adult sites and hundreds of Chinese applications before, the publication conveyed, noting that people were still able to access the sites through virtual private networks (VPNs). An industry expert was quoted by local media as saying: Various routes — like VPNs, peer-to-peer trading, using cash to buy/sell cryptocurrencies and use wallets outside India to store and transfer cryptos, using part of the money permitted to send abroad for investment within the liberalised remittance scheme limit of $250,000 can be diverted for buying cryptocurrencies — remain loopholes. Earlier this month, the Indian finance minister said that “There will be a very calibrated position taken” regarding cryptocurrencies. She subsequently emphasized that the government is “not shutting all options off.” Her statements have given the Indian crypto community hope that India will regulate the crypto industry instead of imposing an outright ban. Do you think the Indian government will block the IP addresses of crypto exchanges? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The NFT sector continues to grow, and it is no surprise that Dvision Network is looking to release NFTs. The Virtual Reality blockchain platform offers users the opportunity to purchase virtual space within its ecosystem, and NFTs are a significant part of this. Limited-Edition NFT Characters Dvision Network, a virtual reality blockchain ecosystem, has announced that it is set to pre-release the designs of five limited-edition NFTs. This information was revealed on March 15 and signaled the first major foray into the Non-fungible tokens sector by Dvision Network. According to the report, the five designs are from the limited-edition NFT originally scheduled to be available before the end of March. The NFT characters are built based on the avatar of major stakeholders within the cryptocurrency industry and will be auctioned in the coming days on NFT Marketplace OpenSea. The NFTs released by Dvision Network are unique and scarce since they are obtained from the limited edition collection. Investors that acquire one of these five NFT characters will be eligible to acquire additional NFT assets from the limited edition series. Also, the NFT characters will be usable within the Dvision Metaverse in the future and can also be traded on the primary and secondary markets. Dvision Network will also incentivize those who purchase the limited edition NFTs in the form of DVI tokens. Eom, Jung-hyun, CEO of Dvision Network echoes similar sentiments. “We intend to supply these sort of unique NFT items to the prospective Dvision Network users in order add the fun elements to their gamified metaverse ecosystem experience, and to let them play joyfully, surfing across the virtual reality and open world via the usage of the celebrity characters,” he said in a statement. Bithumb Set to List DVI/KRW Trading Pairs Bithumb, the largest exchange in South Korea, is set to list DVI/KRW trading pairs. This comes after the exchange listed the DVI/BTC trading pairs on its platform. Dvision Network took part in the Bithumb’s native competition, the “BTC Open“, where the winner would be guaranteed listing on the KRW market within three months after the contest ends. Dvision Network led the competition in the third round of the “BTC Open” and is guaranteed the listing into the KRW market in three months. This is a significant development for DVI token holders as the listing will enable Koreans the opportunity to trade their native KRW directly to DVI, increasing liquidity for the token. Dvision Network earlier in January secured the listing of DVI on the popular custodial platform “Coinbase Custody.” The Dvision Network continues to develop its ecosystem and is set to conduct the DVI conference in Q3 2021. About DVision Network Dvision Network is a blockchain-based VR content ecosystem. Dvision Network presents a new virtual reality world and humanity that can lead a prosperous life at the center of the 4th Industrial Revolution, which refers to a new industrial era based on information and communication technology (ICT). Precisely, the Dvision Network consists of three major products. The VR-Market is essentially an NFT marketplace where users can create, develop and transact NFT items. VR-Space, where gamers can acquire virtual spaces and sell for-profits, and the VR-City, serves as an open VR world where gamers can interact across multiple virtual spaces. These products are powered by Dvision Network native token DVI, which is listed on Uniswap, Bithumb, Coinone, and Hoo. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

The Turkish lira currency plunged by more than 10% on March 22 after the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unexpectedly fired Naci Agbal, the country’s central bank governor. Having initially touched a new low of 8.280 a dollar, the lira recovered to close at 7.75 a dollar by 20.00 hours GMT. Inflation Fears On the other hand, a day before the lira crashed, bitcoin became the most searched word in Turkey. As Google trends data shows, searches for bitcoin spiked by more than 500% as inflation fears grew following Agbal’s ouster. Before his sacking, Agbal, who favored using higher interest rates to tame inflation, had helped make the lira “one of the best performing emerging market currency this year.” According to a report, satisfied overseas money managers had reacted to Agbal’s policies by pouring funds into the Turkish economy. The report said: Overseas money managers had added a net of $4.6 billion to Turkish stocks and local currency bonds during Agbal’s tenure, betting that higher interest rates would help limit inflation and stabilize the lira. However, some money managers have expressed fears the new governor, Sahap Kavcioglu will pursue populist policies that are favored by President Erdogan. Yet in his initial comments following his appointment, Kavcioglu, who is the central bank’s fourth chief in less than two years, attempted to calm markets by pledging to maintain the same objectives as those of his predecessor. Depreciation of Lira Nevertheless, the new governor has also pledged “to foster economic stability by lowering borrowing costs and bolstering growth.” Concerned money managers believe these remarks could be a signal that the central bank will in the future “allow the lira to depreciate, and accept elevated inflation levels, to lower interest rates.” At the time of writing, Turkey’s interest rates stood at 19%. In addition to sparking the lira sell-off, the report states that Agbal’s sacking may have contributed to the plunge of Turkey’s benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 stock index by 9.8% on March 22. According to the report, this plunge is the Borsa Istanbul Index’s “sharpest sell-off since June 2013 and triggering two trading halts.” Similarly, the Nasdaq-listed iShares MSCI Turkey exchange-traded fund fell more than 19% in U.S. trading. In the meantime, the report states that some investors have grown concerned that Turkey “would restrict their ability to sell local assets to stem the market turmoil.”However, Lütfi Elvan, Turkey’s Minister of Finance and Treasury, has issued a statement allaying the fears saying Turkey “wouldn’t impose capital controls or determine a fixed exchange rate.” What are your thoughts on the lira’s plunge following the appointment of a new governor? You can tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

On March 19, 2021, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board published a press release that detailed the temporary supplementary leverage ratio easements will be expiring as scheduled. U.S. banks will no longer have the relaxed capital requirements they once held since the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak. Despite Wall Street’s Protest Federal Regulators Deny SLR Extension During the first week of March, members of the U.S. Federal Reserve shrugged off concerns over inflation and erratic bond markets. More recently, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell explained that he looks at bitcoin as a substitute for gold. Now analysts and economists think the Fed may have some different issues ahead, as the U.S. central bank is ending the supplementary leverage ratio (SLR) easements invoked back in April 2020. “[The] Federal Reserve Board announces temporary change to its supplementary leverage ratio rule to ease strains in the Treasury market resulting from the coronavirus and increase banking organizations’ ability to provide credit to households and businesses,” the central bank noted and enacted at the time. The loosened rules supplementary leverage ratio meant that banks could exclude certain items from capital positions like cash and bonds on their balance sheets. The ruling was a stark difference to the words uttered back in 2013, when former Chairman Ben Bernanke wanted to “maintain strong capital positions.” When the Fed eased up on the SLR in April 2020, the central bank and major financial institutions caught a lot of flak from the media and economists. SLR Changes Will End March 31, CEO of JP Morgan Is ‘Not Happy’ Bank failures can severely harm an economy and without transparency, the importance of bank capital can be tossed to the wayside. The major Wall Street banking institutions attempted to get U.S. regulators to extend the SLR easements but they were ultimately denied. In April 2020, the Federal Reserve exempted big bank’s from certain capital requirements in order to stabilize the economy because of Covid-19. Now the temporary supplementary leverage ratio (SLR) easements will end this month. CNN Business contributor Matt Egan called the SLR measure the “big banks’ ‘get out of jail free’ card.” Then on March 19, 2021, the Federal Reserve Board announced the ending of the SLR provisions from last year. “The federal bank regulatory agencies today announced that the temporary change to the supplementary leverage ratio, or SLR, for depository institutions issued on May 15, 2020, will expire as scheduled on March 31, 2021,” the press release details. “The temporary change was made to provide flexibility for depository institutions to provide credit to households and businesses in light of the Covid-19 event.” A recent report from Bloomberg’s Peter Coy says Jamie Dimon, the American billionaire businessman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase is “not happy” with the temporary change ending. Coy also noted that Dimon “may soon turn away deposits” after revealing a snippet from the January 15 earnings call. Because the money supply spigot was turned on during the same time capital requirements easements were enacted, banks have a lot of liquidity. Coy notes that it’s a “strange problem” and “JP Morgan Chase and other big banks are getting more assets than they even want.” What do you think about the supplementary leverage ratio easements ending on March 31? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Crypto adoption is on the crest of a wave and so is India’s Antier Solutions that has aced the business in a short span. The blockchain and cryptocurrency development company has launched tokens worth USD 500M for its customers all over the world. In an industry that values worth USD 1 Trillion, this is an encouraging achievement for one of the earliest entrants in decentralized finance development. “We take immense pride in devoting our efforts towards the futuristic scope of decentralized finance that has had a scintillating take-off in the past 2 years. Despite an irregular sentiment curve towards the business, we never deviated from our core areas and built products that have churned explosive returns for businesses. “– as told by Shashi Pal, COO, Antier Solutions. For Antier, crypto token development is an integral part of their center-of-excellence. The company provides full-stack support from planning, development, and listing a token on leading platforms. “Writing complex algorithms in smart contracts and simplifying them in the form of user-centric language through whitepapers, we do it all. Furthermore, we excel in market-making services to expand the user adoption of a token in the primary markets. Besides BFSI, our Smart Contract Development Services are expanding across contemporary areas such as Gaming, Lottery and NFT asset space. “– Adds Shashi. It is important to note that DeFi is growing by leaps and bounds reaching more than a billion USD in worth. As a result, various ‘Fortune-500’ companies have woken up to the exponential potential and are proactively associating with Antier to transform their vision into reality. Excited about the company’s plans, Shashi adds “we are tirelessly working towards the world’s first DeFi Wallet that will let users lend and invest in different DeFi protocols on the same dashboard and assure seamless passive income. This will also include our signature Portfolio Management Services for institutional as well as individual investors. “ Antier Solutions is a growing team of 150+ blockchain consultants and operates from a fast-growing Tier 2 city in Northern India named Chandigarh. The company has global offices in the UK, Canada, UAE and USA. Over the years, the company has been proactively working on digital currency based products. In the blockchain fraternity, it is renowned for its crypto banking services, crypto exchange development, DeFi solutions development, wallet development, smart contract development, and a range of custom blockchain development services. Media contacts: Antier Solutions: +91 98550 78699 (India) , +1 (315) 825 4466 (US) Email: info@antiersolutions.com Website: https://www.antiersolutions.com/ Telegram: https://t.me/antiersupport Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/antiersolutions Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/antiersolutions/ 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

A communications provider is in legal trouble with the U.S. authorities for a money laundering case involving cryptocurrencies. A federal court incited Sky Global for allegedly having facilitated criminal organizations to launder millions worth in crypto. Sky Global Is Also Accused of Remotely Destroying Devices to Avoid Seizing Per the filings, the Southern District of California stated that the Canadian-based company had been selling encryption devices to allegedly facilitate drug trafficking into Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America. The court believes Sky Global committed obstruction of justice by “creating, maintaining, and controlling” a system whereby the firm would remotely delete evidence of the illegal activities once authorities arrived to seize the equipment. Moreover, law enforcement accused the Canada-based telecom provider of using its infrastructure for the following purpose: To avoid detection of its illicit conduct by, among other things, laundering its illegal proceeds, communicating with encrypted devices, and transferring illegally obtained funds into cryptocurrency, specifically bitcoin. Sky Global allegedly charged their clients a subscription fee of approximately $1,200 – $1,200 per six-month period. Also, authorities commented that the firm used bitcoin (BTC) “to facilitate illegal transactions” on the customers’ website “to protect the membership’s anonymity, and to facilitate the laundering of the membership’s ill-gotten gains.” US Govt Vilifies Anyone Who Is Against ‘Unwarranted Surveillance’, Says CEO In response to the indictment, Jean-François Eap, CEO of Sky Global, rejected the accusations from the U.S. authorities, and issued the following statement: To date, the authorities have not informed us of any of the proceedings which have been reported in the media. As I have been following the media reports in the past week, it is with great sadness that I see far-reaching coverage of what can only be described as erosion of the right to privacy. Eap added that Sky Global “was not created to prevent the police from monitoring criminal organizations; it exists to prevent anyone from monitoring and spying on the global community.” “The indictment against me personally in the United States is an example of the police, and the government trying to vilify anyone who takes a stance against unwarranted surveillance,” he said. What do you think about the indictment against Sky Global? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On Monday, Jack Dorsey the founder of Twitter and Square witnessed a digital certificate or non-fungible token (NFT) of his first tweet being sold for $2.9 million. The new owner of the NFT Jack Dorsey tweet is the CEO of Bridge Oracle, Sina Estavi, who outbid the founder of Tron Justin Sun for the tokenized tweet. The non-fungible token (NFT) asset hype has grown immensely and on Monday, March 22, 2021, Jack Dorsey’s tokenized tweet from March 21, 2006, was sold for $2.9 million in ether. Bitcoin.com reported on the tokenized 2006 Dorsey tweet during the first week of March when bids were up to $1.5 million for the tweet. Jack Dorsey’s first tweet was tokenized by an application called Valuables, which is operated by a company named Cent. The Web3 compatible website v.cent.co leverages the Matic blockchain for the tokenization process. The final bid from the Bridge Oracle CEO Sina Estavi was for $2,915,835 or a touch over 1,630 ETH. The project Bridge Oracle is an oracle system built on the Tron network. Tron founder Justin Sun has also been trying to bid on the tweet and his last bid for Jack Dorsey’s first tweet was for $2 million or 1,304 ether. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey plans to donate the $2.9 million in ETH to a charity called Givedirectly, after transferring the ether into bitcoin (BTC). “Ending this March 21st [we] will immediately convert proceeds to bitcoin. And send to Givedirectly Africa Response,” Dorsey said on March 9, 2021. The tokenized tweet sale also follows the recently heightened criticism aimed at permanence vulnerability issues when it comes to long-term non-fungible token (NFT) asset storage. The debate has grown thick, as tokenized tweets similar to Jack Dorsey’s recent tokenized tweet, have been deleted and NFT images have been replaced. The NFT hype continues to swell as Monty Python’s John Cleese is selling an iPad drawing of the Brooklyn Bridge on Opensea, and Swedish musician and artist Jonas Quant announced launching an NFT called Dreamfng. What do you think about Jack Dorsey’s tokenized tweet selling for $2.9 million? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Tony Hawk joins a growing list of celebrities digitizing and selling their collectibles as non-fungible tokens. The skateboarding icon plans to auction a film of the last time he performed the Ollie 540 – the trick he first mastered 32 years ago. Ethernity Chain to Mint and Auction the Digital Collectible as NFT Boom Accelerates On the heels of numerous blockbuster NFT auctions by artists, celebrities, entertainers, and crypto evangelists, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk is set to auction his digital collectible at a still-unannounced date and time. The 52-year old pop-culture icon announced on Instagram that he had completed his final performance of the 540-degree “Ollie” that he landed first in 1989, underlining the scare and danger of doing the trick. On Twitter, he added, “Did my last ever ollie 540 today. You can compare it with my first one 32 years ago. This one meant a lot to me.” Did my last ever ollie 540 today. You can compare it with my first one 32 years ago. This one meant a lot to me https://t.co/tExDDRFzb4 pic.twitter.com/Ggql2uADtg — Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) March 18, 2021 According to the pro skateboarder, @tweestophers, angle of the shot of him completing the trick would be minted as an NFT on the Ethernity Chain and auctioned. Ethernity, a rapidly-expanding NFT blockchain network, is known for its social bent, given that all NFTs auctions donate a portion of the proceeds to charitable causes. The network has recently been tasked with building a collection of Muhammad Ali NFTs to benefit the Ali Center. Growing Chorus of Celebrity NFT Sales Echo Big Auction Results Hawk’s decision to turn to Ethernity for this event highlights the network’s growing cache following the launch of a 2500-piece lineup of Bosslogic’s NFT images specifically for Ethernity’s community. Bosslogic’s sales, while significant, were dwarfed by Beeple’s recent results in a Christie’s auction, which saw the artist sell one single JPEG made of 5000 smaller images for an eye-watering $69.3 million by Singapore-based cryptocurrency investor Metakovan. Beeple has also auctioned NFTs for charity. The NFT-craze has attracted many other celebrities, including Lindsey Lohan, Grimes, and key cryptocurrency evangelists like Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Gemini’s Winklevoss twins. Still, some are more hesitant to embrace the movement, like Litecoin’s Charlie Lee, who likens the auctions to the speculative ICO bubble. Tony Hawk hasn’t been as vocal as some of his celebrity counterparts in talking up cryptocurrency and NFTs, yet he’s been a surprisingly long-time advocate of Bitcoin. Tweets in past years establish that he’s “hodled” Bitcoin since 2013. Hawk was also slated to present at the Bitcoin 2020 conference in San Francisco last March before it was canceled due to the pandemic. Are NFTs turning into a go-to quick-cash machine for celebrities, or are they seeing it as a legacy-cementing instrument? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

On Monday, the New York-based company Greenidge Generation Holdings revealed the business aims to be the first publicly-listed mining operation with a wholly-owned power plant. Greenidge expects to be publicly listed on Nasdaq via a merger with the firm Support.com. Greenidge Bitcoin Mining Operation and Gas Power Plant Plans to be Listed on Nasdaq Last year in March, Bitcoin.com reported on the company Greenidge Generation Holdings joining the bitcoin mining ecosystem, as it launched a fleet of mining rigs at the 65,000 square-foot natural gas utility plant in Dresden New York. Because Greenidge leverages the utility plant’s natural gas as its native energy source the company developed a direct “behind-the-meter cryptocurrency mining operation.” The following month, the gas power plant sold a fully compliant hashpower contract of 106 petahash to an undisclosed buyer as well. On March 22, 2021, Greenidge announced it plans to be publicly listed via Nasdaq through a merger with Support.com (Nasdaq: SPRT). The two companies signed an agreement to merge through a stock-for-stock transaction and after Support.com approves, Greenidge will become the firm’s wholly-owned subsidiary and will be listed on Nasdaq. At the time of publication, Greenidge’s power plant is a 106 MW gas plant with 19 MW dedicated to bitcoin mining. Greenidge is shooting toward 41 MW of capacity by Q2 2021 and 85 MW by the end of 2022. ‘500 MW of Mining Capacity by the Year 2025’ Greenidge’s CEO Jeff Kirt explains that the merger is a milestone for the power plant. Moreover, investing in bitcoin mining companies has been very profitable in 2021 according to a recent report published by Fundstrat Global Advisors. With plans to replicate its vertically integrated mining model, Greenidge aims to capture 500 MW of mining capacity by the year 2025. “This merger is an important next step for Greenidge as we build upon our existing, integrated and proven platform for bitcoin mining and generation of lower-carbon affordable power,” Greenidge’s chief executive Jeff Kirt said. Kirt added: The transaction is a validation of our transformational journey, our proprietary relationships, and our industry expertise. It will allow for public market growth capital to propel Greenidge as we look to replicate the business model, which we have successfully executed in Upstate New York, in other locations. A Greenidge worker tends to bitcoin miners installed at the natural gas plant. Low-Cost Gas Gives Greenidge 1,186 Bitcoins at a Cost of Approximately $2,869 per Bitcoin During the last six months, the bitcoin mining ecosystem has grown more robust and expanded toward a large number of institutional investments. The President and CEO of Support.com, Lance Rosenzweig, explained the customer and technical support firm looks forward to evolving with Greenidge in the crypto economy. “As Greenidge looks to scale and seize new opportunities for growth, we are their ideal partner,” Rosenzweig said in regard to the Greenidge merger. “In addition, the transaction represents a significant value proposition for our shareholders by providing them with enhanced liquidity and the opportunity to participate in the growth of what we believe will be a successful competitor in the rapidly evolving domestic bitcoin mining space.” The Greenidge’s Upstate New York company claims to offer the “lowest-cost natural gas in North America.” The firm details that in 12 months the company’s mining operation raked in “1,186 bitcoins at a net variable cost of approximately $2,869 per bitcoin.” The power plant and its upcoming listing prospects aim to bolster the company as the first “U.S. public company operating a vertically integrated power generation asset and bitcoin mining operation.” What do you think about the merger between Greenidge and Support.com and the company’s mining expansion plans? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sees cryptocurrency as a substitute for gold, rather than the dollar. However, he cautioned that crypto assets, including bitcoin, are highly volatile and not useful as a store of value. Fed Chair Sees Bitcoin as a Gold Substitute During a webinar sponsored by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) on Monday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell talked about cryptocurrency, mentioning bitcoin in particular. The Fed chair detailed: “Crypto assets are highly volatile, see bitcoin, and therefore are not really useful as a store of value. And, they are not backed by anything. They are more of an asset for speculation. They are also not particularly in use as a means of payment.” He elaborated: It’s more a speculative asset. It’s essentially a substitute for gold, rather than for the dollar. Powell proceeded to say that with crypto assets, “the public needs to understand the risks. The principal thing is there’s the volatility. There’s also the outsized energy requirement for mining, and the fact that they’re not backed by anything.” What do you think about what Fed Chair Powell said? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Deutsche Bank has published a report stating that bitcoin is too important to ignore, noting that it is now the third-largest currency in terms of the total value in circulation. In addition, the bank says that governments and central banks know that cryptocurrencies are here to stay and are expected to start regulating the industry this year. Bitcoin Is Too Important to Ignore Deutsche Bank Research published a report last week entitled: “Bitcoins: Can the Tinkerbell Effect Become a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?” It is part three of “The Future of Payments: Series 2.” The report author, research analyst Marion Laboure, Ph.D., wrote: Bitcoin’s market cap of $1 trillion makes it too important to ignore. As long as asset managers and companies continue to enter the market, bitcoin prices could continue to rise. At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin stands at $57,455 and the cryptocurrency’s market cap is approximately $1.07 trillion based on data from markets.Bitcoin.com. The report also discusses bitcoin as a commodity, currency, and equity. While noting that “bitcoin transactions and tradability are still limited,” the report states that the cryptocurrency’s “market cap is among the top ten, both as a currency and as a stock.” Comparing bitcoin to fiat currencies, the report details: In terms of total currency in circulation, bitcoin is the third-largest in the world, after the US dollar and the euro. Value of currencies in circulation. Source: Deutsche Bank “This is mainly due to the vast increase in bitcoin’s value recently,” the report continues, adding that “In early 2019, bitcoin represented ‘only’ 3% of the US dollars in circulation, but in February 2021 it surged beyond 40% of the US dollars in circulation.” The fourth-largest currency, according to Deutsche Bank Research, is the Japanese yen, followed by the Indian rupee. Laboure asserted that “Bitcoin’s value will continue to rise and fall depending on what people believe it is worth.” She explained that “This is sometimes called the Tinkerbell Effect,” which is “a recognised economic term stating that the more people believe in something, the likelier it is to happen based on Peter Pan’s assertion that Tinkerbell exists because children believe she exists.” Furthermore, the Deutsche Bank analyst opined: Central banks and governments understand that cryptocurrencies are here to stay, so they are expected to start regulating crypto-assets late this year or early next year. The Deutsche Bank report also notes that central banks “are also speeding up research on their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and launching pilots.” Laboure proceeded to discuss the future of bitcoin. In the short term, she said, “bitcoin is here to stay and its value will remain volatile.” In the medium to long run, the analyst believes that “due to very strong network effects, there will likely be little room for using cryptocurrencies as a widespread means of payment.” Moreover, she cautioned that in the long term, bitcoin “will have to transform potential into results to sustain its value proposition,” elaborating: In the long run, central banks are unlikely to give up their monopolies. And as long as governments and central banks exist and hold the power to regulate money, there will be little room for bitcoin—as a means of payment—to replace traditional currencies. What do you think about Deutsche Bank’s view on bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The founder and chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund firm, has warned that the government could “impose prohibitions against capital movements” into assets such as bitcoin. He added that regulators may also impose changes in taxes that “could be more shocking than expected.” Ray Dalio Warns About Government Prohibitions and Taxes Ray Dalio, founder and chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, wrote a post on Linkedin last week entitled: “Why in the World Would You Own Bonds When…” He pointed out that the bond markets currently offer “ridiculously low yields,” which “do not meet these asset holders’ funding needs.” The executive wrote, “There is now over $75 trillion of US debt assets of varying maturities,” adding that their holders will at some point want to sell them to get cash to buy goods and services with. However, Bridgewater’s chief investment officer estimates that “at current valuations, there is way too much money in these financial assets for it to be a realistic expectation that any significant percentage of that bond money can be turned into cash and exchanged for goods and services.” He elaborated: “It has to be accommodated … via printing a lot of money and devaluing it, and restructuring a lot of debt and government finances, usually including large increases in taxes.” Dalio explained: “Based both on how things have worked historically and what is happening now, I am confident that tax changes will also play an important role in driving capital flows to different investment assets and different locations, and those movements will influence market movements.” The billionaire fund manager emphasized that “If history and logic are to be a guide, policymakers who are short of money will raise taxes and won’t like these capital movements out of debt assets and into other storehold of wealth assets and other tax domains,” warning: They could very well impose prohibitions against capital movements to other assets (e.g., gold, bitcoin, etc.) and other locations. These tax changes could be more shocking than expected. The Bridgewater Associates founder used Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax as an example, stating that it “is of an unprecedented size.” Citing his study of “wealth taxes in other countries at other times,” he expects this proposal “will most likely lead to more capital outflows and other moves to evade these taxes.” Consequently, “The United States could become perceived as a place that is inhospitable to capitalism and capitalists,” Dalio opined, emphasizing that “the chances of a sizable wealth tax bill passing over the next few years are significant.” In conclusion, the Bridgewater executive cautioned: One should be mindful of tax changes and the possibility of capital controls. Dalio has been studying bitcoin over the recent months. In November last year, he admitted that he may be wrong about bitcoin but was nonetheless worried about governments outlawing cryptocurrency. In December, he said bitcoin could “serve as a diversifier to gold and other such storehold of wealth assets.” Then, in January this year, he said that “bitcoin is one hell of an invention,” revealing that his firm looking closely at the cryptocurrency. What do you think about Ray Dalio’s warning? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Six people involved with the Free Keene movement have been arrested and charged for allegedly operating an illegal cryptocurrency exchange business. “They operated their virtual currency exchange business using websites, as well as operating virtual currency ATM machines in New Hampshire,” the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said. FBI Raids Properties and Charges 6 People The DOJ announced this week that it has charged six New Hampshire residents with crimes related to a cryptocurrency exchange business. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided several Keene properties associated with members of the liberty-minded Free Keene movement on Tuesday and arrested the six defendants. The individuals charged are Ian Freeman (formerly Ian Bernard), 40, of Keene; Colleen Fordham, 60, of Alstead; Renee Spinella, 23, of Derry; Andrew Spinella, 35, of Derry; Nobody (formerly Richard Paul), 52, of Keene; and Aria DiMezzo (formerly James Baker), 34, of Keene. DiMezzo is the self-described “transsexual satanist anarchist” who ran as the Republican candidate for Cheshire County sheriff in 2020. Both Freeman and Nobody ran for Governor. Freeman reportedly had accessed $1.66 million worth of bitcoins and had $178,000 in cash in his safe when his house was raided by the FBI, prosecutors said on Friday, adding that he also has access to gold, silver, and possibly other liquid assets and cryptocurrencies. The indictment details that since 2016: The defendants have operated a business that enabled customers to exchange over ten million dollars in fiat currency for virtual currency, charging a fee for their service. They operated their virtual currency exchange business using websites, as well as operating virtual currency ATM machines in New Hampshire. The Free Keene Project describes itself as “New Hampshire’s liberty activism destination.” Long-time supporters of cryptocurrency, in 2018, the group launched a Bitcoin Embassy in Keene. The indictment also “alleges that the defendants knowingly operated the crypto exchange business in violation of federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations,” noting that “Some defendants opened bank accounts in the names of purported religious entities.” They include Shire Free Church, the Crypto Church of NH, the Church of the Invisible Hand, and the Reformed Satanic Church. According to the DOJ, “some defendants then engaged in substantial efforts to evade detection of their unlawful virtual currency exchange scheme by avoiding answering financial institutions’ questions about the nature of the business and misleading financial institutions into believing their unlawful virtual currency exchange business was instead a religious organization receiving charitable contributions.” Acting U.S. Attorney John J. Farley explained that all six individuals were indicted “and charged with participating in a conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and other offenses.” Freeman and DiMezzo are additionally charged with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Moreover, Freeman, Fordham, Renee Spinella, Andrew Spinella, and Nobody are charged with wire fraud and participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Freeman is further charged with money laundering and operating a continuing financial crimes enterprise. What do you think about this case? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. BitMax.io (BTMX.com), an industry-leading digital asset trading platform built by Wall Street quant trading veterans, has announced the listing of Fire Tokens (FIRE) under the trading pair of FIRE/USDT on March 19th at 9:00 a.m. EDT. Fire Protocol is the first infrastructure project built based on the Huobi Eco Chain (HECO). Fire Protocol seeks to build more comprehensive functionality and use cases than other DeFi projects in the marketplace by combining various components on one platform. In the future, Fire Protocol will also be supporting Cross-chain functionalities to bridge assets between various blockchains such as Polkadot and BSC. The native token of Fire Protocol, FIRE, is a governance token, used to power the economic incentive mechanisms, support community proposals, and voting. Fire Protocol’s key products include Fireswap, a fast and secure trading service and Liquidity Mining feature, Cross Chain Wrapping solutions to bring non-Huobi Chain assets into the Huobi Ecosystem, and a lending and borrowing platform fully integrated with the DEX where Liquidity Providers’ tokens serve as collateral. Fire Protocol brings together a leadership team with over 80 years combined experience in finance and cryptography. The leadership team’s rich experience in Blockchain related businesses represents a solid foundation for the future growth of Fire Protocol. About BitMax.io Launched in August 2018, BitMax.io is a leading digital asset trading platform with a broad range of financial products and services for both retail and institutional clients, with robust design ranging from cash to margin trading, derivatives trading, staking products, and other investment solutions. For more information and updates, please visit: Website: https://bitmax.io/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitMax_Official Telegram: https://t.me/BitMaxioEnglishOfficial Medium: https://medium.com/bitmax-io About FireProtocol Fire Protocol is the first infrastructure built based on the Huobi Eco Chain (HECO). Fire Protocol contains DeFi components including DEX, Loan Platforms and Cross-chain Wrapping. For more information and updates, please visit: Website: https://fireprotocol.io/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FireProtocolOS Telegram: https://t.me/fireprotocol Medium: https://medium.com/fireprotocol 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

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has found its way onto the deep web and during the last few months, researchers have found a great number of individuals turning to darknet markets (DNMs) for employment. The organization Check Point Research has recorded a rising trend of people looking for jobs on hacking forums and DNMs. Additionally, alleged versions of the coronavirus vaccines from the top manufacturers are being sold on DNMs alongside vaccination records. Mass Darknet Market Closures in 2020 Invoked Opioid Product Premiums In 2020, a great number of darknet markets (DNMs) went dark by either voluntarily closing, exit scamming, or getting busted by global law enforcement. Despite the loss of many DNMs, the vast amount of spontaneous underground markets saw record revenues in 2020. However, the numerous amounts of DNMs disappearing have led to an increased demand for opioids. A new report from the Australian National University (ANU) shows that the effects of global law enforcement takedowns and other types of DNM closures have decreased the accessibility for opioids. The study by ANU was led by Emeritus Professor Roderic Broadhurst, and for 352 days the team collected data from DNMs like Berlusconi, Valhalla, Wall Street, Apollon, Empire, Dream, Nightmare, and Tochka. Broadhurst noted that DNM operators, after closing shop, simply create another illicit shop again with higher prices on opioid products. Essentially, the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions fueled DNM operations. “Since the pandemic, everybody’s going online,” Professor Broadhurst said. “Markets have been boosted by increased demand by buyers and vendors able to supply or substitute products such as opioids, partly to get around problems with lockdowns, and border closures.” Covid-19 Vaccines and Vaccination Records Advertised on Darknet Markets The Covid-19 pandemic has not only put a stronghold on opioid sales, but researchers have also noticed that ostensible vaccines meant for the coronavirus are being sold on DNMs on the deep web. A number of reports have been published on this subject in the last few weeks, and just recently Kaspersky researchers published a comprehensive report on a number of coronavirus vaccine and vaccination record adverts found on darknet marketplaces. Kaspersky said that while scraping data across 15 markets they found advertisements for the top three Covid-19 vaccines. Of course, the legitimacy of the Pfizer/Biontech, Astrazeneca, and Moderna products being sold on DNMs is quite questionable, to say the least. Additionally, Kaspersky’s team found generic or unnamed Covid-19 vaccines being sold on these markets as well. Of course, Kaspersky researchers recommend not buying anything on DNMs and the research team doesn’t think it’s a good idea to purchase a so-called vaccine online either. “Over the past year, there have been a whole host of scams exploiting the COVID topic, and many of them have been successful,” Dmitry Galov, a security expert at Kaspersky said. Right now, not only are people selling vaccine doses, but they’re also selling vaccination records— pieces of paper that can help you travel freely. It’s important for users to be cautious of any ‘deal’ related to the pandemic, and, of course, it’s never a good idea to buy a vaccine from the darknet.” ‘Breaking Bad:’ Check Point Research Notices an Uptrend in the Number of People Looking for DNM Work Recent research reports have found that Covid-19 has also fueled DNMs in another way. A study published last week by Check Point Research called “Breaking bad: desperate job seekers turn to the Darknet and hacking forums for opportunities,” explains how people are looking for employment from DNM operators. Check Point has noticed a rise in the number of people engaged in looking for jobs on DNMs. Unemployment levels have risen and Check Point documented that there are continued lockdowns in Italy, Greece, Spain, France, and other nations. “Within this backdrop, Check Point Research noticed a growing trend that began towards the end of 2020 and continues to develop in 2021– people are turning to the darknet and various hacking forums to offer their services and availability for work for any kind of work available, including less than legitimate roles,” the study details. “From the beginning of 2021, we noticed that there was an increase in the number of individuals taking the initiative to send out ads seeking work. In fact, we started observing 10-16 new ads being placed monthly in select hacking forums,” the Check Point Research study adds. Check Point highlights one individual who is looking for employment and says: This jobseeker, who says he is in a difficult financial situation, is offering to work in the sphere of ‘financial cash-out, DDOS, security’ and promises not to ask too many stupid questions. The researchers surmise that because of “desperation,” jobseekers are willing to participate in DNM activities even if they are illegal. Check Point Research says that countries need to realize that the shadow economy is growing under the backdrop of the gloomy economy. “From our research,” Check Point concludes. “You can see that people from different parts of the world are offering their abilities, expertise, and availability on these platforms. As countries grapple with the realities of a struggling global economy, it is important they also turn their attention to the underground job marketplace that is growing.” What do you think about the effects Covid-19 has had on darknet markets (DNMs)? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

A senior executive with Nigeria’s central bank, Adamu Lamtek, has reportedly denied that his institution had placed restrictions on the use of cryptocurrencies. Instead, Lamtek, who is the deputy governor responsible for corporates services at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says his organisation’s directive only applies to the banking sector. Prohibition Only Applies to Banks The remarks by Lamtek, who spoke on behalf of the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele, follow the central bank’s February 5, 2021, directive which prohibited banks from facilitating crypto-related transactions. Immediately following the announcement, financial institutions began to comply with the directive. Since then volumes on centralized crypto exchanges have plunged while reports suggest that volumes on peer to peer platforms are on the rise. In the meantime, before the latest communication from the CBN, rumours circulated that authorities would soon clampdown on peer to peer trading like Binance’s P2P platform. However, Lamtek, who spoke at a seminar for the country’s finance correspondents and business editors, clarified that the CBN directive did not in fact ban cryptocurrency trading. Meanwhile, after the CBN ordered banks to stop facilitating crypto transactions, many leaders from Nigeria’s blockchain and fintech space reacted by expressing their opposition. One of these leaders, Adedayo Adebajo, the Managing Director at Jelurida Africa DLT, tells Bitcoin.com News that after extensive deliberations, many were in favour of regulating the industry rather than a total ban. CBN Has No Power to Stop P2P Trading As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, this CBN prohibition has been opposed by non-crypto parties that include members of the Nigerian Senate as well as the country’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo. Now, according to Adebajo, this latest CBN stance on cryptocurrencies could well be a response to the voices that are opposed to a complete ban. Adebajo said: Let’s not forget that the initial attempt only scratched the surface a bit as trading continues on the peer to peer platforms despite the CBN directives. Allowing trades to continue can’t be said to be subject to CBN’s power anymore as the financial sector has partially been decentralized. While the CBN is not in a position to stop peer-to-peer trading, Adebajo however believes this latest clarification to be “a way forward one which we all hope with continuous effort to regulate the industry, adoption will be broad and fast.” What do you make of the CBN’s clarification that crypto trading is not banned? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Chicago, Illinois, USA – Hummingbot.io, a premier open-source algorithmic trading project, has chosen to incorporate Beaxy Exchange into its most recent software release, allowing Beaxy users to take advantage of 24/7 automated high-frequency trading on a U.S. based cryptocurrency exchange. Previously, traders could use the open source codebase to run their own versions of Hummingbot. Now, a version exists which was custom tailored by the Hummingbot Development Team to ensure a streamlined integration with beaxy’s trading interface. Hummingbot differs from other trading bots in several respects. It is an open source program and is free to download and use. The core strategy of the bot enables a trader to function as a market maker on multiple exchanges – put simply, the bot will place both limit buy and limit sell orders for others in the market (termed “takers”) to meet. While there are numerous strategy templates and operating styles, the bottom line is that Hummingbot has removed key barriers to entry for those in crypto who are keen to get their feet wet in algorithmic arbitrage and market making. Traders can exchange BTC to USD, USD to ETH, ETH to DRGN, DRGN to USD and dozens of top performing crypto currencies on Beaxy. Beaxy’s Head of Customer Service, Cooper Craighead, added that, “Hummingbot is a great option for both users just starting into bot/algorithmic trading and experienced veterans. It’s easy for anyone to set up, regardless of technical background, but has a depth of configuration options that will allow seasoned traders to tweak strategies to their heart’s content.” With this integration, Beaxy and Hummingbot forward a shared vision of providing the tools and insight that allow those who trade in crypto to trade profitably. Thanks to the developers, operation of the bot requires little more than some elementary knowledge of the scripts it uses to trade, so even novice traders can set their parameters and be up and running in less than 15 minutes. Having grown 728% since January 2020, Beaxy Exchange has been working since its inception in 2017 to bridge the gap between cryptocurrency and legacy financial trading. Reflecting that goal, Beaxy’s digital trading platform comes with many of the advantages of a legacy trading platform. For example, the overall speed between interactions on the platform is faster than many U.S.-based crypto exchanges. To enable insight, the platform offers automated technical analysis to save traders the legwork while simultaneously offering the entire suite of technical analysis tools for those who prefer to do it themselves. Add these perks to seven advanced order types and Beaxy looks a lot like the ideal set-up for market veterans. Algorithmic trading programs like Hummingbot fill the last key gap for traders on Beaxy by executing trades around the clock and operating with microsecond instinct based on their set strategy. If you would like more in-depth information on Hummingbot and other integrations, click here to visit our blog. Media Contact: James Carney james(at)beaxy.com About Beaxy Beaxy Exchange is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA and is operated by Windy Inc in the United States and around the world. Windy Inc is registered with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as a Money Services Business. Beaxy services 42 U.S. states, in addition to serving an active global customer base in many international markets. Fiat currency on-ramps are offered by wire transfer in USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CAD and AUD, as well as credit/debit card on-ramps offered through Simplex in USD, EUR, GBP, ILS, TRY, CAD, CHF, KRW, JPY, RUB, AUD, CZK, NOK, DKK, NZD, SEK, ZAR, HUF, and PLN. Beaxy Exchange offers safe, compliant, and protected cryptocurrency trading and fiat ramp services for its customers. Digital assets are secured by Curv Institutional Custody, with USD deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [FDIC] up to $250,000. About Hummingbot.io Hummingbot is a community-driven open source crypto market making and arbitrage bot that aims to democratize algorithmic trading by making sophisticated high-frequency trading strategies freely available to everyone in the world. We believe this will lead to a more open, fair, and inclusive global financial system. 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

The founder of Bytetree Asset Management, Charlie Morris, has suggested the reduction of the GBTC management fee as one way Grayscale Investment can ease the current selling pressure and possibly reduce the discount on the shares. Morris says if no action is taken, “the selling pressure will build” and “could morph into a systemic risk.” Recent GBTC Buyback Insignificant On the other hand, Morris, who is also the chief investments officer (CIO) at Bytetree, thinks Grayscale’s recent $250 million GBTC may be too insignificant to make a difference. However, in his Bytetree Market Health Update, Morris does acknowledge that 2020 was a year of “record inflows” for Grayscale Investment. During this period, the premium on GBTC shares averaged 30% while the value of assets under management (AUM) soared to over $30 billion. However, when the premium began to ease, the inflows into the trust similarly began to slow down. This subsequently led to the premium on the GBTC shares turning into a discount. Yet as Morris explains, this discount might still widen as the supply of GBTC shares continues to outstrip the demand for the same. In his analysis, Morris said: The trouble is, there is nothing in place to prevent the discount from widening further. Grayscale has announced a $250m share purchase, which is great, but it is too small to make a difference within a $33 bn fund. To be taken seriously, they need to pledge to buy back that quantity each week. Threat From Competitors Still, as Morris notes, Grayscale Investments may not be in a position to buy-back more GBTC shares due to “their legal structure (which) prevents this.” Similarly, the CIO says he is “not entirely sure of the benefits” of Grayscale’s plan “to launch an ETF that invests in GBTC in a feeder structure of sorts.” The CIO goes on to explain: “When Osprey (OBTC) offers Bitcoin exposure at 0.49% per annum, you might think GBTC would drop their fees down from 2%; they are unrealistically high given the new world of competition.” While Morris touts ETFs as a better alternative, he, however, acknowledges that the only reason investors will/may stay in GBTC is capital gains taxes. Meanwhile, Morris concludes his report by saying he “very much hopes they (Grayscale) restore investor confidence without delay.” Do you agree that lowering fees will help Grayscale’s cause? You can share your views in the comments section below. View the full article

On the week of March 7 through the 13th, the term “NFT” touched an all-time record high in terms of popular search queries according to Google Trends (GT). The highest score is 100 and this week, GT shows interest has dwindled a hair down to 97. Meanwhile, while the NFT hype affects the cryptocurrency and blockchain community, not everyone is thrilled with this technology. Some critics think NFT tech needs to be more robust in order for collectibles to last more than a decade without them disappearing. The Rift Between NFT Hype and NFT Criticism Over the last few weeks, the NFT craze has jumped to new levels as people have sold artwork for millions of dollars, unique audio recordings of farts have been tokenized, and even blockchain-backed signature dance moves are NFTs. And of course, by now everyone has heard about Beeple, the digital artist who sold an NFT via Christie’s auction house for a whopping $69 million. This sale propelled NFT mania to new heights, and Christie’s auction invoked Sotheby’s to partner with an artist named Pak. The mysterious digital artist Pak was selling an NFT on Makersplace called “Metarift.” An NFT art collector named “888” placed a bid on Metarift for $888,888 on March 19. The following day, the bid had been upped to $904,413 by a bidder named “Danny.” The auction ended on Pak’s latest NFT artwork sale on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (PST) with Danny’s winning bid. As of 3:30 p.m. (EST), Pak’s “Metarift” NFT’s highest bid was for $904,413 by a bidder named Danny who now owns the NFT. Despite all the mega-auctions and all the celebrities joining in on the fun, non-fungible token (NFT) assets have come under a lot of criticism. Bitcoin.com’s newsdesk discussed the topic of NFT immutability which has been the industry’s biggest weak point so far. In that editorial tokenized NFT tweets were deleted and artwork was replaced with other images. On March 17, the Twitter user Jonty Wareing told his 6,932 followers how non-fungible tokens reference the media people are purchasing today. His first tweet went viral with more than 27,000 likes and close to 10,000 retweets. Out of curiosity I dug into how NFT's actually reference the media you're "buying" and my eyebrows are now orbiting the moon — Jonty Wareing (@jonty) March 17, 2021 File Vanishes from the Host ‘Your Token Is Now Worthless’ He discussed a sale of an original Beeple sold on Nifty Gateway, and detailed how the Beeple JSON file was hosted on Nifty Gateway’s servers. Wareing then explained how the NFT is also hosted on Cloudinary. “So if Nifty goes bust, your token is now worthless,” Wareing said. “It refers to nothing. This can’t be changed,” he added. Then Wareing also talked about files that are using the Interplanetary File System (IPFS) as well. In this tweet, he specifically discussed the Beeple sold by Christie’s which is connected to IPFS. “So, well done for referring to IPFS – it references the specific file rather than a URL that might break,” Wareing continued and showed the metadata link to an IPFS gateway run by Makersplace. But if something happened to Makersplace, then once again, the link may be useless over time. “You might say ‘Just refer to the IPFS hash in both places’” Wareing added. But further scorned that “IPFS only serves files as long as a node in the IPFS network intentionally keeps hosting it.” Wareing also said: Which means when the startup [that] sold you the NFT goes bust, the files will probably vanish from IPFS too. Twitter Account Dubbed Check My NFT Discovers Current NFT Flaws in the Wild Moreover, he also tweeted about an example of the issue happening today and said “NFT’s are built on an absolute house of cards constructed by the people selling them.” He claims the tech will be “broken” within a decade. The Twitter account called “Check My NFT” (@checkmynft) has also been tweeting about a bunch of missing art, and inaccessible NFT assets. The Twitter account called “Check My NFT” has been investigating the permanence issue with non-fungible token (NFT) assets. In our last report, Check My NFT explained that metadata, URLs, and image files “should be backed by an immutable and permanent storage provider.” One way of doing this is leveraging IPFS2Arweave.com, which utilizes a project called Arweave. IPFS2Arweave.com leverages the Arweave network to store the files and also pin the NFT data to the Interplanetary File System. The IPFS + Arweave solution claims to solve the permanence problem by using Arweave for storage and pinning the NFT data to the Interplanetary File System. “IPFS is a popular P2P network for sharing data in a decentralized way, but it lacks one feature: Permanence. Content on the IPFS network can disappear. If no-one hosts the data, it could be lost forever,” the Arweave website details. “The Arweave blockchain can now store and pin files onto IPFS and keep them available permanently. This simple API takes an IPFS Hash, stores the data onto Arweave, and pins it to IPFS.” It will be interesting to see if NFT projects take the recent scrutiny seriously, and leverage immutable and permanent storage as Check My NFT and Arweave recommends. Projects going forward may work toward building stronger permanence models. Projects that have already minted million-dollar NFT works might want to make sure the non-fungible token assets are truly deemed immutable. Meanwhile, other blockchain NFT solutions believe their distributed ledger protocol alone is reliable enough to preserve an NFT for centuries to come. Much of this NFT debate will still require the test of time or exposure to vulnerabilities. What do you think about the NFT permanence problem? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Thailand’s central bank has declared a stablecoin pegged to the Thai Baht illegal, citing violation of the country’s currency law. The Bank of Thailand (BOT) is currently working on a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Thailand Bans Baht-Pegged Stablecoin The Bank of Thailand, the country’s central bank, issued a press release Wednesday declaring a stablecoin called the Thai Baht Digital (THT) illegal. “It has come to the BOT’s attention that a new stablecoin, THT, has been created abroad on the Terra platform. One unit of THT is denominated in and valued at one Thai baht,” the announcement describes. The central bank claims that “Although THT is currently not used as a medium of exchange, it could cause fragmentation to the Thai currency system should THT or other similar stablecoins come to replace, substitute or compete with baht issued by the BOT,” asserting: This would ultimately affect the general public’s confidence in the stability of the national currency system, which is the cornerstone of all economic activities. Therefore, any activity involving THT is deemed illegal, as the creation, issuance, usage or circulation of any material or token for money is a violation of Section 9 of the Currency Act 1958. Following the announcement regarding the stablecoin THT, the Bank of Thailand said that it expects to issue regulations on stablecoins this year, Reuters reported Friday, citing a BOT assistant governor, Siritida Panomwon Na Ayudhya. The central bank “will regulate foreign currency-backed stablecoins, asset-backed stablecoins, and algorithmic stablecoins that are not illegal,” the assistant governor revealed, noting that this regulation will not cover cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether. She further explained that under the new regulation, “service providers of baht-backed stablecoins would need central bank approval as they may be classified as electronic money (e-money) and the BOT oversees risks associated with e-money, such as settlement and money laundering.” What do you think about the Thai central bank declaring the stablecoin illegal? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

South Korean tax authorities are unstoppable in keeping crypto holders in their eyes and making them accountable to pay taxes. The National Tax Service (NTS) has issued a warning to the crypto traders that they have to report their earnings even from tokens held in foreign exchanges. No Details on How the Agency Will Supervise the Process According to MBC, the agency alerted that South Koreans who are using overseas exchanges are also responsible for reporting all their profits gained. By doing so, crypto holders should pay correspondent taxes on them from 2022. That year is where the government seeks to deploy the new tax laws on cryptocurrencies. As Bitcoin.com’s newsdesk recently reported, the South Korean central government is expected to introduce a 20% on crypto trading profits from domestic crypto exchanges, only if gains cross the $2,300 threshold. The NTS is concerned about crypto traders using foreign crypto exchanges to bypass their tax obligations in South Korea. Still, it didn’t provide details on how it would oversee the process to make people compliant with the tax rule on declaring profits from abroad crypto exchanges. Domestic crypto exchanges are required with the new legal framework to submit data from traders to both the financial watchdog and the tax authority. However, there are no legal ways to force foreign crypto exchanges to do it so. The NTS clarified that the same tax rules apply to transactions made with these crypto exchanges without in-depth details. Traders Should Pay Taxes on Cryptos Held Abroad if They Are Worth $442K or Above Moreover, the tax authority reminded that those who hold 500 million won ($442,700) or more in assets, including cryptos on foreign financial institutions such as banks or fiat trading platforms, should report them in the fillings. Earlier this week, Bitcoin.com News also reported that the NTS identified 2,416 individuals who reportedly hid their assets in cryptos to avoid taxation. The agency stated that evaders used bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), ripple (XRP), among other cryptos, to avoid being scrutinized by the authorities. What do you think about the warning issued by the National Tax Service? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

In just over two weeks, a company called Wisemining plans to launch a new product called Sato, a boiler that can provide heat to a home by leveraging ASIC mining rigs for heat production. It also means that the heater provides revenue in the form of cryptocurrency, which offsets the costs of heating a home a great deal. Bitcoin Mining and Cogeneration While bitcoin (BTC) and a slew of crypto assets have seen values increase a great deal, there’s been a lot of criticism aimed at digital currency mining and how it utilizes lots of electricity. Despite the numerous rebuttals written over the years and even books that explain that proof-of-work (PoW) mining’s electrical consumption is way overhyped, people continue to spread the myths. Another subject that is often missed is the fact that bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining can bolster cogeneration concepts. Essentially, cryptocurrency miners have the ability to provide cogeneration ideas for a myriad of heat-producing mechanisms. This has led people to come up with innovative ideas with bitcoin miners, like growing tomatoes and distilling alcohol products. Basically, cogeneration is the use of energy and another energy used jointly, like leveraging excess steam from electricity to produce heat. This April, a company called Wisemining plans to release a new product that produces PoW-powered cogeneration. The company is selling a product called Sato, a boiler that allows you to mine bitcoin (BTC) while heating your home at the same time. Essentially, Sato comes with a tank container for ASIC devices, 200-liter water tanks with two heat exchangers, a dielectric coolant, fittings for the tank, and a cartridge for your hashboard. ASIC miners are not included with the Sato kit that costs $8,990 but the website says that the machine supports the Antminer S9 / S17 / S19 / S19 Pro/ S19+ series of BTC mining rigs. The home needs to have a power supply and internet access of course to run the cogeneration mining unit. Wisemining’s website says that customers can integrate the hardware or for an extra cost, the company can install hashboards for clients who are not interested in doing it themselves. The pre-order cost for a Sato bitcoin mining boiler is $8,990 according to the website and the company accepts BTC for payments. Sato Calculator: Five Hashboards, Four Years, Two Bitcoin The hashboards are the ASICs housed inside a metal cage the size of a large shoebox and in order to leverage the Sato boiler, the chips are removed and placed in Wisemining’s tank container design for ASICs. The cost of a Sato is definitely more expensive than the average cost of a reliable 200-liter boiler which can run around $2,500 to $5,000 a unit. Wisemining’s website also has an online calculator, which estimates how much money could be made by leveraging a Sato kit. For instance, a home with about 2,000 square meters of space, four residents, and five of the best hashboards in the Eastern part of the United States for four years would earn over 2 BTC. During the last few years, bitcoin mining and cogeneration concepts have increased a great deal. Just recently Bitcoin.com reported on Genesis Mining’s greenhouse project in Sweden. Containers of Genesis-operated ASIC miners are being used to produce heat in order to fuel greenhouses during the cold winter months. Moreover, last summer, the bitcoin proponent Jesse Peltan tweeted about a cogeneration idea with bitcoin miners that heated a hot tub. The tweet called “SPA256” said “Every citadel needs a Bitcoin Hot Tub. Few understand this.” Every citadel needs a #BitcoinHotTub. Few understand this.#Bitcoin#SPA256#BraiinsOS@slush_pool @BITMAINtech @alexa99 pic.twitter.com/KzhbQJoKUT — Jesse Peltan (@JessePeltan) July 26, 2020 Wisemining’s Sato boilers will begin selling in April according to the website and the company will be taking pre-orders for the first batch of 100. A few days ago, Wisemining’s product was also discussed on the French web portal bitcoin.fr as well. The calculations above are just informative the company says and gives a person a “sense of scale.” People can check out a complete case study by utilizing the company’s forecasting tool which is available via Discord. What do you think about Wisemining’s Sato boilers? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article