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Following the arrest of 109 accused members of the $6 billion Ponzi scheme called Plustoken, six alleged members of the team were prosecuted according to a court filing submitted on Monday. The prosecutors say the individuals are “suspected in organizing and leading criminal pyramid schemes.” The Plustoken scam was a large heist that managed to gather a large number of crypto assets during the scheme’s short tenure. Essentially Plustoken was a pyramid scheme that pretended to offer high-yield returns after people deposited funds into the system. The system promised rewards in its native token eponymous token (PLUS) and managed to gather over 200,000 BTC, 26 million EOS, and roughly 789,000 ETH. After the fraudsters racked up all the funds, they left a simple message behind and wrote: “sorry we have run.” On July 31, news.Bitcoin.com reported on Chinese law enforcement arresting approximately 109 individuals allegedly connected to the Plustoken project. According to the report, 27 members were reportedly masterminds within Plustoken’s empire, which was extremely popular in China and South Korea. Following the mass arrest, a court document from China details that Zhang Qin, Liu Jianghua, Wang Yin, Chen Shaofeng, and Lu Qinghai were named in the indictment. The formal charges stem from Xiangshui County and Yancheng City prosecutors say the six defendants are “suspected in organizing and leading criminal pyramid schemes.” Despite the mass arrests, crypto funds from the Plustoken scam have still moved and many people still assume the Ponzi scheme’s kingpin is still on the run. During the scheme’s height before its demise, Plustoken attracted over two million investors. Reports noted that the Plustoken application allowed people to easily convert KRW or renminbi into a myriad of digital assets. While BTC, EOS, and ETH were the most popular, Plustoken scammers allowed for the conversion of crypto assets like litecoin (LTC), and dogecoin (DOGE) as well. Back in May, regional reports detailed that key members of the Wotoken project (a similar scam) were indicted in Yancheng City. Wotoken scammers are allegedly connected with the Plustoken Ponzi ringleaders and that scheme managed to steal $1 billion in digital assets. The Wotoken scheme was not as sizable as Plustoken’s four million members but still managed to swindle 715,000 victims. What do you think about Yancheng City prosecutors formally charging six members of the Plustoken Ponzi scam? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post 6 Members of the Multi-Billion Dollar Plustoken Scam Charged With Fraud in China appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has started sending out new letters to cryptocurrency owners suspected of owing crypto-related taxes. A tax expert has shared with news.Bitcoin.com what crypto owners should know, including how to handle tax letters from the IRS and avoid an audit. How to Deal With IRS Letters The IRS has ramped up its efforts to ensure that cryptocurrency owners pay all crypto-related taxes. It has begun sending out a new round of tax letters similar to the ones sent to about 10,000 crypto owners last year. There are three types of letters, referred to as Letters 6173, 6174, and 6174-A. In addition, the IRS recently moved the cryptocurrency question from Schedule 1 to the top of Form 1040, the main form used by about 150 million people to file their taxes. Clinton Donnelly, the founder of Donnelly Tax Law, has helped over 12,000 crypto owners with their tax returns, avoiding over $40 million in gains by using like-kind exchange calculations. He has shared some insights with news.Bitcoin.com to help crypto owners deal with the IRS, its crypto question, and tax letters. BC (Bitcoin.com): What are the differences between the three IRS letters, and how should cryptocurrency owners react to each of them? CD (Clinton Donnelly): Letters 6174 and 6174A are similar. They advise the taxpayer to double-check that they reported all their income. Letter 6174A goes into a little bit more detail. Letter 6173 differs by requesting that the taxpayer submit a signed statement if they don’t amend their returns. This statement reads: “I declare under penalties of perjury that I have examined this entire document, including all attachments and accompanying statements, and that the enclosed is true, correct, and complete.” Perjury is the intentional act of swearing a false oath. The sentence is one year in prison and or fines. The wording of this oath is the same as on the Form 1040 when you sign. Additionally, Letter 6173 is the letter sent to taxpayers suspected of engaging in criminal tax evasion. If you get this letter, you should be concerned. Receiving this letter means that the IRS has evidence suggesting criminal wrong-doing. Ultimately, it would be best if you contracted with a tax attorney experienced in criminal tax cases. This attorney should employ a top-notch crypto tax audit specialist to do the crypto aspects under the protection of a Koval letter that extends attorney-client privilege to the tax audit team’s work. BC: What should cryptocurrency owners do if they receive a tax letter from the IRS? CD: You should contact a tax professional specializing in crypto audits. It would be best if you talked to someone who understands the audit process and how the IRS is treating crypto income in audits. He/she would be the best person from whom to gain your knowledge. If you receive a letter, it is crucial to understand that you are now on the IRS’ audit radar. That means your odds of being audited are significant. Remember, an auditor’s job is to find mistakes in your return. It can be expensive to defend yourself against the IRS because audits often take a year and a half to resolve. This stress can take a heavy toll on letter recipients. Anyone not experienced in crypto audits will make a poor advisor if you’ve received a letter. It’s essential to ask your advisor if they have experience in crypto audits. BC: Can you elaborate on the crypto holding threshold of taxpayers who got an IRS letter last year versus this year? CD: I had a couple of dozen clients who got the 2019 letters. These recipients had in common that they all had a crypto portfolio valued at over $900,000 or more in 2017. It is a mystery how the IRS determined these recipients. Some of them never used U.S. exchanges, yet the IRS was aware that they were whales. The recipients of the 2020 letters have maximum portfolio balances in 2017 of only $100,000 or more. They also appear to be recipients of Coinbase 1099 forms. BC: Are taxpayers with only small crypto holdings likely to receive one of these letters from the IRS? Is there a level of crypto holdings the IRS deems “too small” to send letters about? CD: Every time the IRS mails out a letter, it generates work for them when the taxpayer responds. They do not have the workforce to send out millions of letters. Also, there are diminishing returns as they pursue smaller taxpayers. BC: How does the IRS find out about taxpayers’ crypto holdings? CD: The IRS doesn’t disclose their methods, but we gather clues from what IRS executives say and past methods. They have said that they are using data mining techniques to identify those to examine. An obvious clue is receiving a 1099 tax form from U.S. crypto exchanges. They then correlate those against taxpayers who have words like bitcoin, cryptocurrency, or BTC on their return. The methodologies used in IRS criminal investigation are different than the non-criminal selection process. In a criminal investigation, they use Chainalysis applications, etc., to follow the path of ownership. This methodology is not used in non-criminal cases. The U.S. has partnered with Australia, UK, Canada, and the Netherlands to collaborate on cryptocurrency criminal activity and money laundering enforcement. This group, known as the J5, share intelligence, and coordinate enforcement. BC: Do you expect the IRS to send out letters to more than 10,000 crypto owners this year? The number of letters sent out will match the amount of workload they want to take on. BC: What kind of audit is the IRS likely to conduct on crypto owners? CD: I have two clients in full IRS audit of their cryptocurrency reporting, so this is still an evolving story. The IRS auditors, called Revenue Agents, are specialists in investigative accounting. Different specialists support them. There are crypto-trained specialists that the auditor relies on to understand the crypto results. They can also contract crypto gain calculator companies to do their gains calculations and participate in interviews. It is clear to me that these initial audits will be a learning experience for the IRS. Crypto reporting is so complicated that they will be studying the best ways to do a crypto audit. BC: What fees and penalties are taxpayers who do not report their crypto income likely to incur? CD: The purpose of the audit is to determine the correct amount of tax owed by a taxpayer. If a taxpayer is determined to owe more taxes than were paid, this amount is called the understatement. Since this amount should have been paid originally, a failure-to-pay penalty is added. This amount is 0.5% of the understatement per month for the first 36 months from when it was originally due. Interest is charged on the understatement from the original due date. The interest rate is changed quarterly. Presently, the annual interest rate is 5%. Finally, the accuracy-related penalty is added under tax code section 6662. This penalty is 20% of the understatement if the additional tax more than the greater of 10% of the tax required to be shown on the return for the taxable year or $5000. In certain situations, the penalty can be increased to 40%. If the auditor determines that the taxpayer had been intentionally deceptive on the return, the accuracy penalty is replaced by a 75% fraudulent return penalty. BC: What do you think of the crypto question the IRS asks on Form 1040? CD: The question intends to educate the taxpayer on the need to report crypto income. The term “virtual currency” is not defined in the tax law or regulations. It only appears on an IRS Notice 2014-21, which is not binding. Further, the definition of virtual currency is very broad, including frequent flyer miles and shopper loyalty point cards. So, by the IRS definition, almost every taxpayer should say Yes. They could have just made a statement on the front page of Form 1040. Instead, they expressed it as a yes or no question. That converts the answer into a legal statement signed with an oath of perjury. To me, this question seems to violate the first amendment protections on free speech by making the act of owning virtual currency a stigma. The fifth amendment protection against self-incrimination entitles a citizen not to answer such a question without due process. BC: What is the significance of the IRS moving the crypto question from Schedule 1 to the top of Form 1040? CD: A common complaint is that taxpayers were unaware of the need to report cryptocurrency income. All taxpayers will be without excuse in 2020. In 2019, the virtual currency question was on Schedule 1, which is not a Schedule that is always required. BC: Will taxpayers who answer “yes” to the crypto question on Form 1040 (or Schedule1) still receive a tax letter from the IRS? CD: Most taxpayers are terrified of this question. The existence of the question has caused many people to be more diligent in reporting their crypto income. But I strongly doubt all who check “Yes” will receive a letter. BC: If taxpayers used to trade crypto but not in the past couple of years, does answering “no” to the crypto question on Form 1040 raise a red flag to the IRS and increase their chance of an audit? CD: Good question. The IRS is using data mining techniques for determining who to examine. The method outlined in the question could be part of that analysis. The U.S. federal tax system is voluntary. (It is much more voluntary than other developed countries.) The IRS depends heavily on collective fear to encourage compliance. The fear of being audited is massive. In my experience, smaller investors have a greater fear of being out-of-compliance than larger investors. No question placing the virtual currency question on the top half of the first page of the return is designed to increase crypto-owners’ fears drastically. Are you worried about receiving a letter from the IRS? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Targeted by IRS? What Cryptocurrency Owners Should Know appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Ukraine, Russia, China, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and the U.S. are among the top-ranking countries by cryptocurrency adoption, according to the 2020 Global Crypto Adoption Index compiled by blockchain data analytics firm Chainalysis. Countries With Highest Crypto Adoption Chainalysis’ 2020 Global Crypto Adoption Index, released Tuesday, ranks 154 countries based on their cryptocurrency adoption. “The goal of this metric is to rank each country by total cryptocurrency activity, but weight the rankings to favor countries where that amount is more significant based on the wealth of the average person and value of money generally within the country,” the firm explained. The crypto adoption index is made up of four metrics, calculated by “estimating total cryptocurrency received by that country, and weighting the on-chain value based on PPP per capita, which is a measure of the country’s wealth per resident,” Chainalysis described. “The higher the ratio of on-chain value received to PPP per capita, the higher the ranking, meaning that if two countries had equal cryptocurrency value received, the country with the lower PPP per capita would rank ahead.” Noting that it will continue to tweak the methodology used, the firm claims: This methodology represents one of the first ever attempts at a comprehensive country-level breakdown of global cryptocurrency activity. According to Chainalysis, Ukraine ranks first, followed by Russia, Venezuela, China, Kenya, the U.S., South Africa, Nigeria, Colombia, and Vietnam. The top 10 countries by Chainalysis’ 2020 Global Crypto Adoption Index that ranks 154 nations based on crypto adoption. Of the 154 countries analyzed, only 12 had “very little” crypto activities and are ranked the lowest, Chainalysis detailed, adding that the countries are Afghanistan, Algeria, Cape Verde, Chad, Fiji, Laos, Libya, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, West Bank and Gaza, and Zimbabwe. Following Chainalysis’ ranking publication, the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation commented: “The market of virtual assets in Ukraine is quite developed and has a significant turnover even on a global scale, but most of it is concentrated in the shadow zone, which creates potential risks for both the state, business and users.” The ministry added that it “continues to create a legal framework for regulating the cryptocurrency market in Ukraine and hopes that in September the draft law on virtual assets will be considered by the parliament.” What do you think about Chainalysis’ crypto adoption ranking? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Ukraine, Russia, South Africa, Nigeria Among Top Countries by Cryptocurrency Adoption appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Hash power broker Nicehash denies that it enables bad actors to use its hash renting platform to launch 51% attacks on blockchain networks. The broker insists that it does not have any way of monitoring or determining which blockchain is benefitting from a particular algorithm hash data. Only buyers of hashrate know this, as well as pools that receive such hashpower. The comments by Nicehash are in response to pointed allegations from Ethereum Classic (ETC) Labs developers stating that the hash power used to initiate the 51% attacks on their network was purchased from the broker. To further support their allegations, the ETC devs claim an unnamed Nicehash cofounder has already been convicted in Slovenia on similar offenses. In a statement released September 8, the Nicehash team does admit that “its hash-power might be abused by the attacker’s pool.” Still, the broker says it takes the “necessary steps to prevent or help prevent market disruptions, market manipulations, or misuse of the NiceHash hash-power marketplace.” In cases where there are complaints against the hashing power coming from its platform, the broker says: “Upon receiving or identifying sufficient evidence of activities violating our Terms of Service, Nicehash takes all the necessary steps to prevent further abuse or misuse of Nicehash Services.” Furthermore, the broker’s statement implies a readiness to cooperate with law enforcement to “ensure that further investigations and undertakings are conducted swiftly and lawfully.” The broker’s remarks appear to be aimed at assuaging the ETC Labs devs who on August 31 said they are “working with authorities in relevant jurisdictions” on the issue. However, the language used in the Nicehash press release points to the readiness to fight. In the statement, Nicehash officials clarify that such investigations must be carried out “according to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.” The statement, however, does not elaborate on what Nicehash’s terms of service or the privacy policy entail. Still, despite the seeming disagreements, both ETC Labs and Nicehash appear to agree that the former’s low hash rate is the primary reason why the 51% attacks are recurring. An earlier statement by the team that ETC hash rate was “~3% of the overall ETH network hash rate” confirms this. Differences seem to emerge on what is the best way forward. As part of their recommendations, the ETC Labs team wants hash rental platforms such as Nicehash to be “subjected to robust KYC and anti-money laundering programs.” The statement by ETC Labs explains the rationale for this: With little or no KYC, AML, or crypto address screening, customers have the ability to rent hash rate to potentially launder cryptocurrency for freshly minted tokens with no history. However, for their part, the Nicehash team says in order to keep a proof of work (PoW) based blockchain with a small hash rate safe, “we highly recommend periodically renting of hash-power through NiceHash.” This makes the PoW blockchain more secure and “furthermore, coins produced in the process can cover almost the entire investment in security.” Team Nicehash ultimately believes that PoW blockchains can only become immune from attacks if “the price of an attack is higher than the attacker reward.” Concluding its statement, the hash power broker says “the question of security becomes the question of the community and its creators. We must accept that if we want a true decentralization.” What are your thoughts about the allegations against Nicehash? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. The post Hash Power Broker Nicehash Denies It Enables 51% Attacks on ETC Network appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

LONDON, the United Kingdom – CEX.IO, one of the largest international exchanges in the cryptocurrency market, is set to launch a digital asset-backed lending service in September. Available in 217 countries and territories – including Australia, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and most nations in Asia – CEX.IO LOAN will allow various cryptocurrency market participants to borrow funds against their digital asset holdings within a few minutes and without credit checks. As part of a flexible lending service, CEX.IO customers can decide on the duration and size of a loan they take out. Loan durations range from a week to one year, while CEX.IO customers can borrow any amount between $500 and $500,000. Larger and longer duration loans will enjoy smaller interest rates. The service will be facilitated by a multimillion dollar liquidity pool, a significant portion of which has already been committed by CEX.IO and its partners. To borrow funds, users first have to deposit cryptocurrency, which serves as collateral for a loan, to their accounts. Currently, CEX.IO LOAN users can borrow funds against their Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) holdings, with a 50% Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio. Registered and verified customers receive the loans instantly. New clients will need to open an account at CEX.IO and complete a KYC procedure before sending a loan request. Successfully issued USD or EUR loan gets credited to the borrower’s user account. The borrower can then withdraw the funds to a card or a bank account or use money to trade cryptocurrency on the platform. After the full repayment of the loan’s interest and principal, CEX.IO automatically releases the digital asset collateral back to the borrower. Digital asset-backed loans provide use-cases for multiple participants of the cryptocurrency market. Borrowing fiat against digital assets, instead of selling these assets, becomes a practical alternative for those who need extra capital. A loan provides necessary funds without having to give up a potential upside from cryptocurrency appreciation. For traders and investors, this liquidity injection can fuel uninterrupted market activity. For startups and sole entrepreneurs, a loan can cover operational and growth expenses. “Our clients are a vibrant and diverse group of market participants, whose needs evolve with the industry. We aspire to provide our clients with capital that helps them capture opportunities coming their way. Our loans offer that extra boost, which traders, investors, startups, and entrepreneurs in general, need, while they can still benefit from the potential appreciation of assets they own,”- Anton Chashchin, Commercial Director for the CEX.IO LOAN service, stated. About CEX.IO CEX.IO LOAN is a part of the CEX.IO Group. Founded in 2013, the London-based CEX.IO operates one of the largest international exchanges of the cryptocurrency market, which has been featured among Crypto Compare’s ten best exchange services and Coin Metrics’ trusted service providers. With a multi-functional digital asset exchange, CEX.IO serves over 3 million customers worldwide with a team of over 250 professionals and offices in the UK, USA, Ukraine, Cyprus, and Gibraltar. From entry-level cryptocurrency users to professional traders as well as institutions and businesses, CEX.IO suits the needs of various crypto market participants with a reliable, high-security digital asset service. 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. The post CEX.IO to Offer Instant Cryptocurrency-Backed Lending Service in 217 Countries and Territories appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The government of Argentina has reportedly refused to pay a $4 million bitcoin ransom demanded by hackers who hijacked the country’s immigration systems, temporarily crippling cross-border movements. On Aug. 27, the cybercriminals – now identified as a group calling itself Netwalker – hacked Argentina’s immigration agency, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, in an attack that halted border crossing in and out of the Latin American country for up to four hours. The thieves allegedly stole sensitive information and are demanding millions of dollars in bitcoin (BTC) before they can decrypt the files, according to a Sept. 6 report by Bleeping Computers. Initially, Netwalker wanted $2 million worth of bitcoin but later doubled the ransom to about 356 BTC (or $4 million at the time). However, the Argentinian government is refusing to negotiate with the hackers and will not pay the demanded ransom. As reported by Infobae, a local publication, officials say that the cybercriminals “did not attack the critical infrastructure” of the immigration agency and did not steal anything sensitive, whether personal or corporate. Authorities are adamant that they “will not negotiate with hackers and neither are they too concerned with getting that data back,” Infobae reported, quoting María Eugenia Lachalde, a lawyer who represents the agency. Lachalde detailed that the attack affected “the normal operation” that attends to the public, “both in administrative offices and in immigration control posts.” In response, the government shut down the entire computer system of the immigration department to prevent the malware from spreading to other networks. The action resultantly stopped all border crossing throughout Argentina for four hours. When immigration officials first noticed the attack on Aug. 27, they made an SOS call to higher offices: (The team) realized that it was not an ordinary situation, and evaluated the Central Data and Distributed Servers infrastructure, noting the activity of a virus that had affected the system’s MS Windows-based files (mainly Adad Sysvol and System Center DPM) and Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, etc.) in users’ jobs and shared folders. What do you think about the Argentina ransomware attack? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Argentina Government Refuses to Pay $4M Bitcoin Ransom to Hackers Who Paralyzed Its Borders appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

During the last week, Bitcoin Cash proponents have been discussing Zapit, the noncustodial BCH wallet that also supports Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) tokens. Zapit’s team recently revealed on Twitter that developers have been working with a new dividends tool built into the mobile wallet. Zapit is a bitcoin cash (BCH) wallet that was released on the Google Play store roughly five months ago. The wallet also supports SLP tokens and the team aspires to “build the best on and off-ramp to cryptocurrencies from traditional finance.” According to the Google Play store description, the client is still in beta and is “powered by a noncustodial escrow.” Additionally, Zapit leverages the cashaccounts protocol, which allows the wallet’s owner to send bitcoin cash (BCH) to other Zapit users by simply entering their username. Zapit also registers a new cashaccounts name with either an existing name or a new one. The developers have also added a referral program that rewards users with the firm’s custom SLP token ZAPT. On September 5, the Zapit team’s Twitter account announced that the wallet’s latest update 0.1.8.6 is now live. Further, the team detailed it was working on a new dividends tool that disperses coins to a number of individuals. “We have been working on a new dividends tool that’s built right into the wallet and it’s highly customisable and automated,” Zapit detailed. “We are coordinating with a few token projects to demo the tool,” the announcement added. The Twitter thread continues by showing a demo of the new tool. “Here is a demo of sending a BCH Dividend to ZAPT holders with custom options,” the team said. “The total supply is re-calculated based on the total tokens held by the addresses that will receive the dividend instead of the total supply of the token.” In the demo, the Zapit developers sent an airdrop of ZAPT to 900 addresses spread over 50 transactions. Bitcoin.com also offers a dividend tool at mint.Bitcoin.com and among the myriad of services offered via tools.Bitcoin.com. What do you think of Zapit’s dividend tool demo? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Noncustodial Bitcoin Cash Client Zapit Demos In-Wallet SLP Dividends Tool appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The infamous “Bitcoin Obituaries” has seen another addition to the long list of deaths since bitcoin’s oldest death on December 15, 2010. According to the list of articles with 382 deaths to-date, bitcoin was declared dead again on September 4, 2020. Ever since Satoshi Nakamoto released the decentralized network, a number of people have doubted bitcoin and over the years some individuals have deemed the project “dead.” Famous people, journalists, economists, luminaries, and many more have written long-winded essays on why the cryptocurrency is sure to fail. The website 99 Bitcoins maintains a list of “Bitcoin Obituaries” collected over the years and so far there’s been 382 deaths in total. This past weekend the crypto economy slid in value considerably, as a number of digital currencies lost between 15-35% during the last seven days. Out of the top ten coins in terms of market capitalization, binance coin (BNB) staved off the market rout by only losing 12% and bitcoin (BTC) lost a touch over 16%. The rest of the top ten crypto assets lost a much larger percentage, as coins like ETH and DOT lost close to 30%. Despite this, another bitcoin obituary was listed on September 4, when BTC dropped to $10,500 per coin. The death stems from the web portal Newsbtc and it was written by Uri Shalev who titled the article: “Bitcoin is Worthless in Long-term.” Shalev says that even Warren Buffet won’t go near the crypto asset and BTC must be a bubble. “In contrast, bitcoin or other digital currencies are very likely worthless in the long term, and those are the kind of assets that investing legend Warren Buffet won’t touch,” Shalev writes. “It’s these latter kinds of assets that have a greater chance to be in bubble territory because they don’t generate cash flow to support their valuations.” Of course, most crypto proponents understand that bitcoin is not dead and the digital asset has seen much bigger losses than a mere seven-day 16% cut. In fact, the “Bitcoin Obituaries” list has gotten lighter over the years, as 2020 has only seen three deaths total with Shalev’s piece included. 2017 saw the greatest number of bitcoin deaths with 124 that year, but it dropped to 93 in 2018. The bitcoin obituary metric then chopped in half in 2019, as last year only saw 41 deaths. 2020 has been a crazy year, in general, with the faltering global economy and Covid-19 outbreak that plagued the world. Despite this tumultuous year, 2020’s death list, at least so far, is much lighter than most years and could compare to 2010, 2011, 2012’s single-digit numbers. What do you think about bitcoin’s latest ‘death’ and the catalog of bitcoin obituaries over the years? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. The post Bitcoin Obituaries Lists Another Crypto Eulogy, 2020 BTC Deaths in the Single Digits appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency is sizing up traditional finance on its legacy turf of lending and borrowing with competitive interest rates (currently as low as 0.44% for ethereum and 4.50% per year for bitcoin) as well as less cumbersome verification procedures. Crypto holders present their virtual assets as collateral to get loans paid out in fiat or stablecoin. The option allows one to keep an immediate financial need separate from long-term crypto investment as well as evade a taxable sale of their crypto funds. Investors are also able to lend their digital assets and pick up significantly higher passive income – of as much as 12% on their deposits – than generally offered by conventional institutions. Whereas bank customers may currently be recording negative interest for their money due to the Covid-19-induced global economic recession, crypto lenders put their money to work for them. Risks in the growing market include the theoretic vulnerability of smart contracts to hackers and a lower level of regulation for the exchanges, including decentralized ones, and wallets offering the service. News.Bitcoin.com briefly profiled platforms that offer the best virtual assets borrowing rates. Services are ranked for BTC and ETH, according to data provided by Coinmarketcap. The ethereum space is dominated by decentralized finance (Defi) protocols while bitcoin borrowing is dominated by centralized wallets and exchanges. All featured services also allow the lending function. Dydx Dydx offers the best borrowing rate for ether at 0.44% per annum. The decentralized exchange’s interest rates fluctuate based on the supply and demand of loans and deposits of the particular crypto-asset. Dydx allows users to leverage positions up to 4x. Users can borrow directly to a wallet. The minimum starting account collateralization is 125% and must be maintained above 115% to avoid liquidation of the account. Nuo Nuo offers a rate of 2.33%. Like Dydx, the decentralized platform allows users to margin trade cryptocurrency in addition to lending and borrowing. Rates similarly fluctuate depending on supply and demand. Users can leverage trade up to 3x and borrow up to 0.7x of the collateral amount. Compound Finance Compound Finance is also a decentralized exchange. It currently offers a borrowing rate of 3.06%. Users can also deposit one crypto-asset and request for a loan of other digital tokens. Rates fluctuate based on supply and demand. The collateral factor for ETH is 75. For example, a user with assets worth $100 can borrow up to $75. Celsius Network Sitting atop the BTC list for best borrowing rates with 4.50%, Celsius is a wallet that allows customers to deposit and loan virtual currencies. The centralized service fixes all interest rates for its users. Celsius incentivizes use of its CEL token with better rates for deposits. Celsius started in 2018 with a minimum loan of $10,000 which has gone down a few times to the current minimum of $1,000. Coinloan Coinloan is tied with Celsius on the top spot with a 4.50% loan. Depositors can monitor interest for their crypto, stablecoin, or fiat investments in real time and get back funds any time on demand. To get 100,000 euros ($118,000) with a loan-to-value ratio of 60, a user needs to deposit 26 BTC. Bitrue Bitrue offers an interest rate of 5.85%. The centralized exchange sets the asset-type, capacity, and yield for each deposit product. It also offers loans of crypto-assets, backed by the user’s deposits. Nexo Nexo has a remarkable minimum loan of $10, at interest rates of 5.9% per year. Like most wallets and exchanges in the business, no credit checks are involved. The credit line limit is calculated according to the value of assets. Nexo fixes interest rates for its users and offers a variety of currencies including stablecoins, U.S. dollar, British pound, and euro. What do you think of the prevailing interest rates for borrowing cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Crypto Borrowing: Here Are Seven of the Best Interest Rates on the Market appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The international cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO made it into the CryptoCompare top 10 July 2020 report, with an overall A grade. The CryptoCompare Exchange Benchmark rating evaluates over 165 exchanges around the world on aspects like adherence to regulations, platform security, liquidity, asset diversity, senior management team, API connectivity stability and performance, and number of negative events, while ensuring the necessary transparency in crypto asset trading. CEX.IO, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, is based in London. It has been in operation since 2013 and has over 7 years’ experience in the digital currency market. It currently has offices in the UK, USA, Ukraine, Gibraltar, Cyprus and Singapore. CEX.IO is aimed at a broad target audience, from novice private traders to professional financial institutions. CEX.IO’s highest score in the rating, at 12.5 points out of 15, was in the Security category, putting it in the third place among all the competing exchanges. The evaluation took into account security certificates, two-factor authentication, SSL rating, percentage of cold wallet usage, distribution of keys, and the number of hacking attempts. According to CryptoCompare’s data, in 2020 CEX.IO did not experience a single negative event. “The security of our customers and their funds is CEX.IO’s top priority,” comments Dmytro Volkov, the exchange’s CTO. “We use a comprehensive, thoroughly thought-through system of protection measures to ensure it. High-level certificates protect the platform against phishing, while constant monitoring allows us to track both suspicious activity within the system and manipulations on the market and catch them in time.” To increase its level of security, CEX.IO decided to minimize its use of third-party services. All the key components and decisions, including KYC and AML, wallet operations, server maintenance, and trading, are proprietary intellectual property, developed by the CEX.IO’s internal outstanding R&D department. In particular, for the sake of security hot wallets hold only the amount necessary for the exchange’s normal operations, while 95%+ of funds are kept in cold storage; transactions are reliably secured using a system of multiple signatures and two-factor authentication. The platform’s operations also include several additional measures to protect against hacking, including a ban on withdrawals for several days after changing important account security settings, as well as confirmation of important transactions via multiple independent channels. In addition to security, the exchange earned high scores in Market Quality (11.2), Team/Exchange (11.0), Data Provision (10.1), and Legal/Regulation (9.2). The exchange team’s expertise in cryptocurrency regulation in various world countries has frequently given them a seat at the table in task forces working on developing and implementing industry standards. “We appreciate this evaluation of our work and our competence. July was a fruitful month for us: in addition to the CryptoCompare rating, CEX.IO also made into the Coin Metrics list of trusted exchanges” notes Oleksandr Lutskevych, the exchange’s founder and CEO. The analytics platform developed by Coin Metrics makes it possible to gather data from exchanges, evaluate real trends and trading volume, as well as identify exaggerations in public metrics. Successfully passing independent verification by this platform is an additional important indicator of an exchange’s reliability. Press Contact Email Address pr@cex.io Supporting Link https://cex.io 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. The post CEX.IO Cryptoexchange Makes CryptoCompare Top 10 appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Renowned investor Jim Rogers believes that the U.S. dollar dominance is coming to an end as the tensions between the U.S. and China mount. The growing national debt, the protests, the political uncertainty surrounding the presidential election, and countries seeking a USD alternative in fear of sanctions will take a toll on the dollar, he explained. Jim Rogers Discusses End of USD Dominance Jim Rogers shared his view on the end of the U.S. dollar dominance in an interview with RT publication Saturday, factoring in recent world events. He co-founded the Quantum Fund in 1973 with billionaire investor George Soros, which was considered one of the most successful hedge funds in its heyday. Firstly, Rogers explained that “the US is now the largest debtor nation in the history of the world, and it’s getting higher and higher every day,” emphasizing that it will take a toll on the dollar. The U.S. national debt is currently more than $26.73 billion. The veteran investor opined: Traditionally, the US dollar has been the soundest currency in the world. But tradition changes … the US dollar is coming to its century or so of dominance, and something else will replace it. The investment guru pointed to the examples of the British pound and Dutch guilder, noting that both were previously considered the most reliable currencies. According to Rogers, the dollar could still show strength next year once the current turmoil in the U.S. is over, including the protests and the November presidential election. However, he added that it will “probably be [the dollar’s] last shot,” reiterating his stance that the dollar is just a few years away from losing its dominance. Some analysts have predicted that the presidential election outcome could collapse the U.S. dollar and send the prices of gold and bitcoin skyrocketing. Meanwhile, the world’s second-largest American debt holder, China, is planning to cut its U.S. debt holdings as tensions with Washington escalate, Chinese state-run newspaper The Global Times reported. Experts in Beijing expect China to reduce its U.S. debt holdings by 20%, from $1 trillion to $800 billion. The paper further warns that it could even “sell all of its US bonds in an extreme case like a military conflict.” Rogers emphasized that China reducing American debt will put pressure on U.S. interest rates, adding that they “should be going up.” From the Chinese standpoint, the famed investor said that “it’s a smart economic and investment move,” one that would strengthen the Chinese yuan, which he noted has already been happening for several weeks. Rogers elaborated: If they sell US debt, they sell dollars, therefore their currency goes higher. In addition, several countries have already started looking for an alternative currency to the U.S. dollar due to the current turbulence in the U.S. and the Trump administration’s tough foreign polices. News.Bitcoin.com recently reported that the Russia-China de-dollarization is approaching a “breakthrough moment.” While these plans are likely underway in Beijing, Rogers believes that the Trump administration will downplay this threat. “You know, Trump thinks he’s smarter than everybody in the world, so they’ll probably do whatever they want to do and think, ‘Don’t worry – we’re Washington and we can take care of it,'” he was quoted as saying. This is not the first time Rogers has warned about the U.S. dollar losing its dominance; he also warned about the USD losing its world’s reserve currency status, as did Goldman Sachs. Last month, the investor also predicted that the worst economic downturn in his lifetime is coming. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley recently estimated that the Chinese yuan will become the world’s third-largest reserve currency within 10 years, and several analysts are expecting the U.S. dollar to crash. A growing number of investors now say bitcoin is a good investment for this environment, but Rogers believes that governments will not let cryptocurrency flourish. Do you agree with Jim Rogers? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Jim Rogers Predicts End of Dollar Dominance as US-China Tensions Escalate appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Latin Americans have embraced cryptocurrency as a store of value while their fiat currencies depreciate, a new report shows. Bitcoin adoption in the region is further driven by the lack of banking access and remittance needs. Latin American Bitcoin Adoption Blockchain data analytics firm Chainalysis released a new study of cryptocurrency usage in Latin American countries based on on-chain data and interviews with experts in the region last week. The study is part of the firm’s Geography of Cryptocurrency Report, due to be released this month. Cryptocurrency adoption in Latin America is driven by factors such as a lack of banking access, remittance needs, and the devaluation of local fiat currencies. Sebastian Villanueva, who manages the Chile operations of crypto exchange Satoshitango, explained that the lack of banking access for individuals and businesses is a major drive for cryptocurrency adoption in Latin America. “Lots of people here have uneven income because they do gig work for Uber or places like that, which makes it hard for them to get a bank account,” he said, asserting: Without easy banking access, many young people in Latin America turn to cryptocurrency as a means of storing value. Many Latin Americans use stablecoins like DAI and USDC to lock in their savings, Villanueva noted. Chainalysis explained that a significant share of the stablecoin transfer volume in the region is from traders using fiat to buy bitcoin or stablecoins, like tether, from local exchanges or P2P exchanges, and then use those funds to trade on larger exchanges like Binance that provides more trading pairs and greater liquidity. “This is a common pattern not just in Latin America, but in other developing regions as well,” the firm noted. “Currency instability is another factor driving cryptocurrency adoption in Latin America,” Chainalysis claims, noting that “the amount of P2P trading volume in many Latin American countries rises as native currency depreciates.” The firm elaborated: The correlations, each of which is statistically significant, suggest that cryptocurrency users in Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, and Chile in particular are turning to cryptocurrency as a means to store value when their native fiat currencies are losing value. “Venezuela and Argentina especially are printing money like crazy, so their fiat currencies are losing value. That drives a lot of cryptocurrency adoption,” Villanueva continued. “Some countries, like Argentina, limit the amount of U.S. dollars citizens can buy per month, which further limits their options for secure savings and increases the need for cryptocurrency.” Reiterating that worsening economic conditions and associated civil unrest are driving cryptocurrency adoption in Latin American countries, Villanueva further noted: Last October in Chile, there were mass protests over education, healthcare, and overall economic conditions. Fiat pay platforms saw huge decreases in activity during that time, but we grew by about 35% … People just want a safe way to store money, and there are no gatekeepers in crypto. Latin America also has a robust crypto trading scene, with Brazil in the lead in terms of the most cryptocurrency usage by on-chain volume. Venezuela is a distant second, but the country accounts for the third-highest number of transfers on Localbitcoins and Paxful, two of the most popular worldwide P2P exchanges, as news.Bitcoin.com recently reported. The region has the second-highest share of retail crypto activity, defined as transfers of less than $10,000 worth of cryptocurrency. However, professional traders still account for roughly 80% of all volume transferred in a given month; they prefer using large international exchanges like Binance rather than local exchanges to access more trading pairs and greater liquidity. Overall, Latin American countries sent $25 billion worth of cryptocurrency and received $24 billion worth in the past year, representing between 5% and 9% of all cryptocurrency activity in any given month, Chainalysis detailed. Representatives from Brazil-headquartered crypto hedge fund Hashdex told Chainalysis that “a desire for potential high yield assets with uncorrelated returns is driving cryptocurrency adoption amongst professional investors, such as those representing pension funds and family offices.” What do you think about bitcoin adoption in Latin America? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Latin Americans Turn to Bitcoin as Local Fiat Currencies Plunge appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Barter Smartplace blockchain ecosystem team believes that closing deals in the fast-paced digital age can be as fast, reliable, and efficient as using online-banking. However, without the participation of intermediaries, the execution of contracts, and the physical presence of both parties, it is impossible to legally formalize the transaction. The revolutionary Barter Smartplace marketplace is in a hurry to help! What is Barter Smartplace? Barter Smartplace is a confidential blockchain platform where users can enter into transactions through smart contracts that can have the same legal force as a real contract, certified on paper by a notary. Barter Smartplace offers robust exchange legal offerings compared to existing ones today for the following markets: OTC digital asset market — over $12 billion OTC securities market of Russia reaches $2 trillion The luxury market is over $1 trillion The volume of the world art market — more than $70 billion Benefits of the Barter Smartplace Platform Barter Smartplace still has no direct competitors in the decentralized commerce (DeCo) market. Real asset tokenization is another plus on Barter Smartplace, which allows you to exchange and sell assets within the platform. The Barter Smartplace team began developing the Barter Wallet concept for the decentralized finance economy in 2019 before the DeFi sector went mainstream. A 20% capture of the target market will provide Barter Smartplace with annual processing of contracts worth more than $220 billion, which will capitalize on revenue of over $40 million per year. Now the startup Barter Smartplace conducts a public sale of tokens with a 50% discount on the international cryptocurrency exchange for only $50 thousand from September 7 to October 7, 2020. Take a chance and join the future unicorn of decentralized commerce! Learn more about Barter Smartplace: http://barter.company/ Contact us: team@barter.company Join our community: t.me/barterteam Telegram wallet: t.me/barterwalletbot 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. The post Digital Platform for Smart-Contracts Barter Smartplace: Future Unicorn of Decentralized Commerce Sells Tokens With a 50% Discount appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Food orders from over 15,000 restaurants in France can now be paid with bitcoin and a number of other cryptocurrencies through a major online food ordering website, Just Eat. Just Eat Accepts Cryptocurrencies for Restaurants in France Online food ordering platform Just Eat has begun accepting cryptocurrencies for over 15,000 restaurants in France. The Just Eat group operates in 13 countries. Its website for France has recently undergone a significant makeover following the acquisition of Just Eat Plc by Takeaway.com. The latter has been accepting bitcoin for quite some time. The Just Eat website for France details that with the site makeover: Payment methods have been expanded and now include Apple Pay, Google Pay (via our Just Eat app) and bitcoin, in addition to other payment methods if offered by restaurants (credit card, Paypal, cash, checks or meal vouchers ). The payment methods shown during the checkout process for an order on the French Just Eat website, which lists over 15,000 restaurants. Bitcoin is among the payment options. To pay with bitcoin or other supported cryptocurrencies, choose the “Bitcoin” option when placing your order. After clicking “order,” you will be transferred to the Bitpay website where you will choose from a long list of wallets and exchanges. You can also choose from a number of cryptocurrencies supported by Bitpay: BTC, BCH, ETH, GUSD, USDC, PAX, BUSD, and XRP. A list of crypto wallets and exchanges to choose from on the Bitpay website after selecting to pay with bitcoin on the Just Eat website. Once you have chosen your wallet or exchange, you will be prompted to choose the cryptocurrency to pay with. In our example below, we chose the Bitcoin.com wallet and were asked to select between BTC and BCH to make the payment with. We were then presented with a QR code to complete the payment. The options to pay with BTC and BCH appear after choosing the Bitcoin.com wallet to pay with (left). Then a QR code is provided to complete the payment. When payment is successful, you will be redirected back to the Just Eat website. “The order will arrive in our system and will be sent directly to the restaurant,” the site details, adding: We do not charge any fees for bitcoin payments. Founded in 2001, the Just Eat group has 240,000 restaurant partners, according to the company’s December 2019 presentation. Besides operating in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Ireland, Norway, Spain and Switzerland, the group also has a stake in Ifood in Brazil and Mexico. In April, the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) greenlighted the acquisition of Just Eat by Takeaway.com. Just Eat is one of the main food delivery firms in the U.K. market, while Takeaway.com operates in 11 countries overseas, including the Netherlands and Germany. At the time of writing, the U.K. Just Eat website does not accept bitcoin. What do you think about Just Eat accepting cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Cryptocurrencies Now Accepted for 15,000 Restaurants in France on Just Eat appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

8th September, 2020, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Bridge Oracle may very well be on the cusp of achieving the holy grail of the crypto-sphere: mass adoption. Between blockchain’s theoretical superiority based on hard code, and the nuanced language that is real life, it finally provides the means for the physical world to convey information to a form that blockchain programming can understand. On 15th September, Bridge Oracle will launch their IEO on bw.com, becoming the first public oracle system on the TRON network. This project has already allied itself with advisors like Bitcoin.com Co-Founder Mate Tokay, TRON influencer Mike McCarthy, and media heavyweight Sydney Ifergan indicating the belief from three hugely influential blockchain figures that Bridge Oracle is an important piece of the mass adoption puzzle. Responding to Urgent Real-World Needs Mate Tokay’s role as Advisor to this project is a logical one. As a proponent of Bitcoin Cash, Tokay envisioned a cryptocurrency that did what it promised — a cheap, fast and fair way for people to securely send money to each other. Bridge Oracle shares that philosophy of directly addressing pressing real-world problems, through their focus on smart contracts’ inability to access real-world data. Until smart contracts can do that, their use cases are limited, as are their likelihood of mass adoption. A public oracle system — such as Bridge Oracle — solves that problem by acting as a link between blockchains and the outside world, allowing for accurate external information to be injected into smart contracts, allowing them to operate as they should — programmable conditions that are automatically executed based on the fulfilment of these conditions. Some use case examples include: Securities. Bridge Oracle will pull real-world data from bonds, interest rate derivatives, and other market prices and reference data. This data is ready for use by smart contracts in dApps that serve fintech, DeFi, and other financial services. Shipping. Smart contracts ensure proper delivery and release payment when items are delivered. This, however, requires real world data, which Bridge easily provides. IoT. The age of interconnected devices means real world data sources that can be used by Bridge Oracle to inject smart contracts with accurate information. The Right Advisors Make or Break a Company Hakan Estavi is the CEO of Bridge Oracle, with access to experienced advisors. The first is Mate Tokay, the Co-Founder of Bitcoin.com and world-renowned thought leader in blockchain solutions. Like-minded in Bridge Oracle’s quest for mass adoption, he saw the potential of its solution early, believing that only by addressing actual needs can blockchain technology see real-life applications in real-life scenarios. Tokay said of Bridge Oracle: “I like to support projects that are actually solving real-world problems. Accessing external data for smart contracts will be made easy using the Bridge Oracle. It will help with making smart contracts used by more and more businesses.” The second key advisor is Sydney Ifergan. His 20+ experience in commercial enterprise as well as his computer science degree and talents are the one-two combo punch needed to launch this project into high gear. He stated: “There is no dearth of dedicated oracle systems today but they are strictly for powerful enterprises. Small businesses barely have the high budget, time and ability to access them or prepare one. Being a ‘public’ oracle, Bridge will enable small businesses to benefit from an Oracle system and attract them to implement their businesses on TRON which will eventually lead to progression of the overall TRON network. It’s a win-win for all.” The third is Mike McCarthy, an early beta tester on TRON whose continued support and educational awareness on the smart contract network has seen TRON emerge as one of the largest players in the industry. Be Part of the Progress Bridge Oracle clearly has a bright future ahead, addressing real-world problems with needed solutions. The prospect of solving the smart contract problem has clearly excited investors, with the project’s private sale fully subscribed. Bridge Oracle is also launching a limited round of its IEO lasting for only one week beginning September 15th, 2020. Visit bw.com and share in the beginnings of crypto mass adoption, with listing confirmed at Digifinex and bw.com itself. Learn more about Bridge Oracle advanced DeFi protocol: https://bridge.link/ Read the technical whitepaper at: https://bridge.link/Bridge_White_Paper.pdf Join the official Bridge Oracle Telegram channel: https://t.me/bridge_oracle Follow on Twitter – https://twitter.com/bridge_oracle Media Contact Info Contact Name: Hakan Estavi Contact Email: Estavi@bridge.link About Bitcoin PR Buzz: Bitcoin PR Buzz has been proudly serving the crypto press release distribution needs of blockchain start-ups for over 8 years. Get your Bitcoin Press Release Distribution today. Bridge Oracle is the sole source of this information. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. 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. The post Bridge Oracle IEO Launches with Bitcoin.com Co-Founder Mate Tokay as Advisor appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The latest report by Cryptocompare shows August spot cryptocurrency traded volumes by the 15 largest top-tier exchanges increased by 58.3% to $529 billion versus July figures. Low tier exchanges volumes, on the other hand, increased by 30.2% to end the month of August with a total of $291 billion. Binance leads the top tier list with volumes traded on its platforms having jumped by 83% overall to $129.9 billion. Huobi Global and Okex, which ranks second and third, recorded traded volumes valued at $65 billion and 64.7 billion respectively. Also making the list of top tier exchanges is Coinbase, Kraken, Bitfinex, Liquid and Bitstamp. All the remaining top tier exchanges recorded spot trades volumes that did not exceed $25 billion, according to CryptoCompare. In the meantime, the same report shows growing demand for derivatives after volumes surged by 54% to $711.7 billion. Derivatives now constitute just over 40% of total market share after spot markets garnered a total of $944.9 billion. Huobi had the biggest derivative volumes with $208.5 billion followed by Okex with 190.8 billion and Binance, which had the biggest jump in August (74%), with $184.6 billion. Meanwhile, monthly CME futures contract volumes increased by 36.3% since July to reach 203,867 contracts traded in August. In terms of total trading volume in August, “CME’s crypto derivatives volumes have increased 55.7% in line with many unregulated derivatives competitors to reach $12.02bn.” At the same time, exchanges that “charge traditional taker fees represented 84% of total exchange volumes in August when compared to 82% in July.” Exchanges that “implement Trans-Fee Mining (TFM) represented less than 16%.” In value terms, “fee-charging exchanges traded a total of $685bn in August, an increase of 50.13% since July while those that implement TFM models traded $125bn up by 53.94% since July.” Bitcoin volumes that were converted into fiat or stablecoin also increased. The reports states: BTC trading into USDT increased 16% in August to 6.25mn BTC vs 5.41mn BTC in July. Trading into USD and JPY also increased to 1.28mn BTC (up 21%) and 1.12mn BTC (up 26%) respectively. EUR markets increased by 10%, while BTC trading into KRW increased by 23%. The BTC/USDT pair still represents the majority of bitcoin traded into fiat or stablecoin in August at 65%. Bitcoin’s proportion of total volume in July was 66%. What are your thoughts about these rankings? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. The post Crypto Volumes Surge in August: Binance Largest Spot Exchange as Huobi Leads Derivatives appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

According to onchain data, there’s now 69,836 synthetic bitcoin tokens (over $700 million) circulating on the Ethereum blockchain. Out of the six synthetic bitcoin token projects, wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) commands the largest number of coins with over 63% and 44,622 WBTC. Synthetic bitcoin (BTC) has grown massively in recent weeks and since news.Bitcoin.com’s last report on the subject, there was 38,021 BTC circulating on the Ethereum chain. Since then, that metric has jumped more than 83% as there’s now 69,836 synthetic bitcoin tokens in the wild on September 7, 2020. Dune Analytics shows there are seven synthetic BTC projects but tBTC has zero coins minted, while the other six projects have between 45 BTC to over 40,000. The top project minting the most synthetic BTC is the Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) protocol which commands roughly 44,622 BTC to-date or 63%. The Ren Protocol’s renBTC has over 23% of the aggregate total of synthetic BTC with 16,268 renBTC in circulation today. The token hBTC has 4,810 and sBTC has a total of 2,918 at the time of publication. The two projects with the least amount of synthetic BTC is imBTC (1,173) and pBTC (45). WBTC has gained a lot of traction, and on Monday reports detail that the organization Alameda Research obtained 70% of the WBTC minted in August. Alameda was cofounded by the FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. A great percentage of synthetic bitcoin is circulating among holders while the rest is used on platforms such as Compound, Balancer, Aave, and Uniswap. Synthetic bitcoin trades take place on a few centralized exchanges like FTX and Binance has revealed listing WBTC this week. On decentralized exchange (dex) platforms, Synthetic bitcoin trades are happening on 0x, Bancor, Synthetix, Balance, Curve, and Uniswap. Despite the massive growth and popularity, Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin detailed that he has concerns about synthetic bitcoin projects. “I continue to be worried about the fact that these wrapped BTC bridges are trusted,” Buterin wrote on August 16. “I hope they can all *at least* move to a decently sized multi-sig,” the developer added. Following Buterin’s statements, the community discussed a research paper by the Wanchain project which claimed the Ren Protocol kept all the collateralized bitcoin in one address. “Paradoxically, we found that the Bitcoin address provided by renBTC that users transfer their real BTC to for locking has not changed since the first day it went online,” the Wanchain report wrote. Despite the trust issues, with 69,836 synthetic bitcoin tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, the ETH network continues to solidify itself as BTC’s most dominant offchain solution. What do you think about the $700 million worth of BTC circulating on the ETH chain in synthetic form? Let us know in the comments below. The post $700 Million Worth of Synthetic Bitcoin Is Circulating on the Ethereum Blockchain appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

London-based challenger bank Ziglu said Monday that it has been licensed as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority. After receiving the permit, the fintech start-up immediately launched peer-to-peer (P2P) payments for both crypto and fiat currencies. Ziglu founder and chief executive officer Mark Hipperson said the EMI license allows the firm to issue electronic money (e-money) and to provide payment services. The permit was issued on September 1, more than a year since the initial application. It also required the company to comply with stringent anti-money laundering rules. The digital bank now supports the British pound and four other crypto assets – bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ethereum (ETH) and litecoin ( LTC). This means users of the Ziglu app can now make payments peer-to-peer over the network, or to other banks within the UK, using the supported coins. “Paying people should be instant, free, and easy regardless of their location or the currency, whether that is splitting the cost of your Airbnb or sending a bitcoin birthday present,” Hipperson opined, in an emailed statement to news.Bitcoin.com. Launched in June, Ziglu raised £5.25 million ($6.93 million) in seed funding, ostensibly “to provide transparent and simple access to cryptocurrency.” The company says total digital assets are insured against cyber-attacks, up to the value of £50,000 ($66,000), with commission fees of 1.25% on all trading activities. Hipperson said the Ziglu app user numbers currently range in “the low thousands… [but] I’m aiming for a hundred million customers over the next six or seven years,” according to an industry publication. The firm is also planning to unveil a crypto-enabled Mastercard debit card in three weeks while angling for expansion into Europe and the U.S. early 2021, said the report. Crypto-oriented banks have steadily increased in number in recent years, stepping up to fill in the gap by providing services to an industry long eschewed by traditional banks. What do you think about Ziglu launching bitcoin P2P payments? Let us know in the comments section below. The post UK Digital Bank Ziglu Launches P2P Payments for Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Onchain data shows that during the market carnage this past weekend the number of ethereum whales increased significantly, while ETH prices dropped by 30%. Analytics from the data firm Santiment shows 68 new whales joined the network during the last three days. During the last three days, cryptocurrency prices dropped considerably but ethereum (ETH) and a handful of defi tokens took some deeper losses in comparison. Over the weekend after the Sushiswap fiasco, ETH and a number of ERC20 token prices plummeted, losing 30% in value. The lower prices of ETH sparked a buying frenzy and according to Santiment data, 68 new whales (1,000 to 10,000 ETH) joined the ETH ecosystem. “Santiment‘s holder distribution chart shows that as ethereum was falling, there was a spike in the number of addresses with millions of dollars in ETH, colloquially known as whales,” the crypto proponent Ali Martinez tweeted on Sunday. “Roughly 68 new whales holding 1K to 10K ETH have joined the network in the past three days.” Bitcoin (BTC) token summary on September 7, 2020. At the time of publication, the entire market cap of 6,700+ crypto assets is just above the $300 billion mark losing 7% in value during the last 24 hours. Looking at the top ten digital assets, in terms of market valuation, ETH’s concentration of large holders is 40% according to Intotheblock’s onchain metrics. In contrast to ETH’s concentration of large holders, bitcoin (BTC) has around 10%. Ethereum (ETH) token summary on September 7, 2020. ETH’s holders’ composition by time held is 56% today, while BTC’s time held aggregate is roughly 65%. Holders’ composition by time held is the classification of addresses according to their weighted average holding period. Chainlink (LINK) token summary on September 7, 2020. Meanwhile, tether (USDT) has a decent concentration of whales equal to ethereum at 40% but of course holders composition by time held for USDT is much less. Chainlink’s (LINK) concentration of whales is by far much larger, resting at 82% today. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) token summary on September 7, 2020. Bitcoin cash (BCH) whales on Monday is around 30% and holders’ composition by time held stands at 93%. Bitcoinsv (BSV) the fork of BCH has a touch lower concentration of whales at 28% today and holders’ composition by time held is around 89%. Litecoin (LTC) has a bigger concentration of large holders in contrast to BSV and BCH with 48% today. Holders’ composition by time held is resting at 66% for litecoin as well. Lastly, the tenth market position held by cardano (ADA) has 33% a concentration of whales and ADA’s time held holders’ composition is only 37% on Monday. The top ten’s onchain data shows that BTC has the least number of whales, while Chainlink (LINK) has the most concentration of large holders. What do you think about the concentration of large holders in the crypto asset economy? Let us know what you think in the comments below. The post Whale Watch: 68 New Whales Join ETH Network, BTC Holds Lowest Concentration of Whales appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Ethereum network gas fees that averaged $15.13 on September 2 have been declining in the past four days ending the day at $3.43, according to Token View charts. At that cost, ethereum fees are still ahead of those on the Bitcoin network that averaged $2.75 on September 6. The highest average daily fee on the Bitcoin network of $5.31 was recorded on September 4. In the meantime, the Token View charts also seem to support the notion that the start of the Defi boom coincided with the spike in Ethereum gas fees. For example, between early June and July 19, daily average gas fees stayed under one dollar with the exception of June 6 when they topped $4.11. However, from July 20 onwards, the daily gas fee has averaged more than a dollar and is unlikely to return to levels below that anytime soon. Despite Ethereum network fees consistently outpacing those on the Bitcoin network, supporters of ETH are not overly concerned. Justin Bons, founder and fund manager at Cyber Capital, believes higher gas fees can be solved, while those of the Bitcoin network cannot. In a tweet on September 6, Bons makes his case by arguing that “there is a big difference between the high fees of BTC [and] ETH.” Bons explains his reasons as follows: The big difference is that ETH is already at 6x the capacity of BTC with the intent to scale on-chain as much as possible, unlike BTC. ETH high fees are a problem to be solved, BTC high fees are its intended design. Bons was asked by another Twitter user why anyone would buy “something with a problem that has to be solved versus others that already have low fees.” In his response, Bons talks of the network effect and claims that “if ETH does not scale more in time it will lose this network effect to more competitive protocols.” The fund manager adds that ETH has a roadmap unlike competitors and that makes him “think that continued ETH dominance is plausible. It could get overtaken but that is not happening now.” While Bons defends the high gas fees some organizations are contemplating leaving the network as a result. Ethereum developers and supporters insist the much delayed 2.0 upgrade will be the panacea to the network’s challenges. Can ETH gas fees return to below $1? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. The post Declining ETH Gas Cost Still Higher Than BTC Fees: Supporters Insists ETH 2.0 to End High Fee Woe appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The founder of Begin India Think Tank says that bitcoin should be regulated as stock, which he believes is the legal status the cryptocurrency should get in India. He also believes that Bitcoin may be the most secure technology in our lifetimes. How Bitcoin Should Be Regulated in India Begin India Think Tank founder Deepak Kapoor has shared his view on how bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies should be regulated in India in an interview published by local business magazine BW Businessworld on Sunday. Begin India Think Tank assists the Indian government and investigative agencies in fighting crimes involving cryptocurrencies. On the legality of bitcoin, Kapoor stressed “there was no ban on cryptocurrency,” noting that the only crypto ban was the banking ban imposed by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which the supreme court quashed in March. He proceeded to discuss private cryptocurrencies. “Globally everyone wants to make bitcoin into a private currency which will not be allowed because it will lead to the collapse of the economies,” he opined. “You make it legal and you might put the entire economy of the country at stake,” the Begin India Think Tank founder asserted, elaborating: I think bitcoin should be traded like stock. That is the only legal status that it can get and it should get this status. This could possibly be the most secure technology cryptographically that we have ever seen in our lifetimes. Kapoor further explained that cryptocurrency is not even a registered crime category in India, adding that the authorities should acknowledge this first. “I would want senior people from investigative and law enforcement agencies to first at least know about it and to know what is the world moving towards,” he told the publication. “We must have a body, but investing in bitcoins or any other currency is almost similar, so why does not SEBI [The Securities and Exchange Board of India] just qualify it as a digital form of asset and go with it.” He additionally shared, “The most scary and challenging part is that I can have the entire economy of the US or the world converted into a small thing and carry it in my pocket or laptop.” Nonetheless, he emphasized, “The technology is actually custom-built and cannot be hacked.” He then talked about China, noting that “Almost 68% of all bitcoins originate in China on their servers.” The think tank founder continued: “Today we are so scared of their apps that are taking our data away sitting somewhere else. Imagine if I have to invest in bitcoins then 68% of all those will still originate in China. They already have the data and I won’t be surprised if they have the passport or replica of whatever I do.” India currently does not have any direct crypto regulations. However, the government is reportedly discussing a draft bill to ban cryptocurrencies, submitted by the interministerial committee headed by former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg. However, the crypto community in India firmly believes that the government will not ban cryptocurrency and this bill will not be introduced as is. In December, Begin India Think Tank co-organized a closed-door conference at the UN India’s headquarters in New Delhi. Parliament member Dr. Subramanian Swamy, who said “Cryptocurrency is inevitable,” participated. Methods, technology, and delivery mechanisms of cryptocurrencies that make countries, particularly their law enforcement, vulnerable were discussed at the conference. Do you think India will regulate bitcoin as stock? Let us know in the comments section below. The post ‘Bitcoin Should Be Traded Like Stock,’ Says Begin India Think Tank Founder appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

DeFi project – Xfinance announced they will cooperate with LID Protocol and launch XFI ILO presale on the LID presale Dapp, launch date scheduled for September 10th. LID Protocol solves the issue of Uniswap exit scamming by using standardized non-custodial presale smart contracts that lock liquidity. After the presale is completed, 60% of ETH will be permanently locked in Uniswap liquidity, and 15% of ETH will buyback and burn of XFI tokens within 72hrs after the presale to prevent any form of dump thereby reducing supply and increasing demand. XFI presale details Total supply: 50,000 XFI Presale: 15,000 XFI (30%) Presale Base price: 1 ETH = 4.8387 XFI Hard cap/Soft cap: 3000ETH/1000ETH Bonus: According to the presale progress 0–500 ETH 10% bonus; 500–1000 ETH 5% bonus; 1000–2000 ETH 2.5% bonus; 2000–3000 ETH 0% bonus Uniswap Initial liquidity ETH 1800 XFI 7000 Uniswap Initial Price: 1ETH =3.889 XFI More Details:https://link.medium.com/Z9McoOWDq9 What is Xfinance project? After a month of extraordinary returns of more than 1200%, DeFi darling yearn.finance (YFI) keeps climbing recently, while traders remain divided on whether the top has been reached for the price or if it still has room to grow. At the time of YFI’s price hype, another project directly competing with YFI – Xfinance launched. Xfinance is also a DeFi yield aggregator platform, and DeFi stands for decentralized finance. DeFi is a cryptocurrency movement that aims to provide traditional financial products and services without the need for “centralized” authorization from banks, governments, or companies. Income summary refers to the use of the latest and best strategies to invest to maximize returns. The best strategy is constantly changing, commonly known as the machine gun pool. Xfinance has proposed some innovations that allow the machine gun pool to participate in more high APY contracts and obtain higher returns; withdrawal fees will be allocated to the XFI staking pool, etc. Xfinance token XFI will have more token functionality than YFI. The token function seems to have only governance power, XFI will add more token functionality to truly make XFI valuable. For details, please check the official website:xfinance.io. Join Xfinance Community Twitter: https://twitter.com/xfinance_io Telegram: https://t.me/nowex_io 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. The post DeFi Project Xfinance(XFI) ILO Presale Scheduled for Sept 10th appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrency traders can now protect their tether tokens or bet against the solvency of the stablecoin by leveraging a new crypto derivatives product from the Opium Protocol. Opium founder, Andrey Belyakov, claims the product is the “first CDS (credit default swap) on a centralized stablecoin.” The stablecoin tether (USDT) is the most popular dollar-pegged token out there today, as it captures a large market cap and significant trade volume. Tether’s market valuation is around $14.1 billion and the token has around $13.6 billion in global trade volume on Sunday afternoon. In addition to the stablecoin’s popularity, being number one comes with significant criticism. Over the last few years, a number of people have speculated on whether or not tether (USDT) is backed by real dollars. Especially given the fact that roughly $10 billion worth of the market cap grew in 2020. In the spring of 2019, court documents revealed that every tether was supported by “cash and cash equivalents.” The founder of the Opium Protocol, Andrey Belyakov, says his team has designed a credit default swap (CDS) on USDT. The new CDS will allow users to protect their investment in USDT or even bet against the controversial stablecoin. “Opium Protocol is proud to announce the very first CDS (Credit Default Swap) on a centralized stablecoin — USDT,” Belyakov detailed in a blog post. Belyakov further added: You can use it to protect yourself against (or speculate on) a systemic failure of the most widely used stablecoin in crypto. It also allows you to earn interest on your capital in case you are willing to bet on the quality and sustainability of USDT. Belyakov explained that financial products like derivatives are perfect for centralized stablecoins and “CDSs are used to insure against credit default events.” The Opium founder notes that these centralized stablecoins can be defined as “credit notes.” “For example, USDC can be regarded as a credit issued by Coinbase, GUSD is issued by Gemini and USDT is issued by a firm called Tether, which is closely associated with Bitfinex,” Belyakov details. The Opium founder highlights that USDT in particular has been scrutinized over the company’s reserve status. Belyakov also reveals the project will leverage Chainlink’s price oracle tied to the USDT-USD price and he believes the product will be a great tool for risk management going forward. “[Opium Protocol is] using a decentralized Chainlink price oracle to trigger the derivative logic in the most reliable way,” Belyakov concludes. “At maturity, a USDT-USD price oracle is used to determine whether the market price of USDT is still on a peg or has fallen below $0.95 USD — which would pay out the collateral to the CDS buyer. For example, if USDT is traded at 70 cents per dollar at maturity the CDS holder will receive 30 cents per dollar to compensate for a loss.” What do you think about the Opium Protocol’s new crypto derivatives product tied to the stablecoin tether? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments below. The post Opium‌ ‌Protocol Allows Traders to Hedge or Bet Against the Stablecoin Tether’s Solvency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A Bitclub Network Ponzi scheme promoter has admitted to charges of selling unregistered securities and to subscribing to a false tax return in connection with his role in the $722 million fraud scam. The man, Joseph Frank Abel, pleaded guilty by video conference before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi. The U.S. citizen becomes the second person to plead guilty to charges relating to the scam after Romanian Silviu Catalin Balaci’s admission in July. Abel was initially charged by indictment in December 2019 along with four other co-defendants soon after their arrest. According to the statement released by U.S. Attorney, Craig Carpenito, the defendant, and his accomplices operated “a fraudulent scheme that solicited money from investors in exchange for shares of purported cryptocurrency mining pools.” In addition, the scheme “rewarded investors for recruiting new investors into the scheme.” Furthermore, the statement says Abel, who operated as the scheme’s large-scale promoter, “marketed and sold shares of Bitclub Network despite knowing that the network and its operators did not file a registration statement to register shares with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.” According to regulations in the United States, the conspiracy charge to which Abel pleaded, guilty carries “a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victims.” The tax charge, on the other hand, carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a fine of $100,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2021. However, the court statement suggests that the other four defendants initially charged along with Abel, are off the hook, at least for the time being: The charges and allegations against the other defendants are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. From April 2014 through to December 2019, Abel and his accomplices operated the scheme which specifically targeted “dumb” investors. The operation, which grew to become one of the largest crypto Ponzi schemes, targeted countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Many lost invested funds when the scheme collapsed at around the same time directors were arrested. What does the guilty plea by Abel mean for victims of the Ponzi scheme? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. The post US Man Pleads Guilty in $722 Million Bitclub Network Ponzi Scheme Case appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

After a number of individuals from the crypto community accused the anonymous developer Chef Nomi of exit scamming, the developer transferred the project over to Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of the trading platform FTX. On Saturday, September 5, the decentralized finance (defi) community got upset with the creator of Sushiswap, a forked project copied from the Uniswap Protocol. The reason many in the crypto community are angry toward the anonymous developer called Chef Nomi, is because he withdrew $13 million from the Sushiswap pool and cashed it out for Ethereum. Who woulda thought sushi goes bad after a week — cryptograffiti (@cryptograffiti) September 5, 2020 The Sushiswap general manager called ‘0xMaki’ explained that he needed to discuss the situation with Chef Nomi, but the creator went to bed. 0xMaki also tweeted that he could doxx the anonymous leader and stated: Before accusing anyone publicly since he has been doxxed before I could reveal it. [Chef Nomi] I ask you to do the right thing put the treasury in a multi-sig with trustworthy signers. I will lead the project from here and make it a success. However, on Sunday afternoon, 0xMaki said he didn’t know who Nomi really was or the third developer involved with Sushiswap. When Chef Nomi returned from his slumber, the anon creator said he was “transferring control to [Sam Bankman-Fried] now” from the crypto exchange FTX. “Sent Timelock admin control to [Sam Bankman-Fried], replace me by [Sam Bankman-Fried] for a dev multi-sig contract (currently control more than $1 million worth of SUSHI.)” The developer further added: I hope Sushiswap does well without me. Again I did not intend to do any harm. I’m sorry if my decision did not follow what you expected. But I want to stress again and I did not intend to scam anyone. No LPs are lost whatsoever. I kept all my promises. SUSHI price on Sunday, September 6, 2020, after Chef Nom transferred control over to FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. A number of people from the crypto community seemed to dislike Chef Nomi’s last statement. Andre Cronje from the popular Yearn Finance defi project criticized Chef Nomi’s decision. “What do you mean ‘without me?’ asked Cronje on Twitter. “Are you leaving the project? If so, are you giving the dev funds back? All you did so far was hand over a token that was built off of Uniswap Protocol. Weren’t the funds meant to further develop? Aren’t you that developer?” Cronje further asked. Following the publicly stated transfer, the FTX CEO discussed his plans for Sushiswap after getting the keys from Chef Nomi. Bankman-Fried told the Sushi community that he will transfer the project back into the hands of the community after a number of multi-sig controllers were chosen. A number of crypto proponents explained that they were not too pleased with FTX and Binance for listing the sushi token without due diligence. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) defended his trading platform’s decision to list the sushi token after the fiasco. “As one of the leaders of the space, we support innovation. With innovation comes the chance of high reward, and high risk. Some projects make it to the moon, while some fall short,” CZ tweeted. “Always manage your risk accordingly. In crypto winter, I tell people to HODL. When things are hot, I tell people to be super cautious. I still get heat whenever something goes south. I will take the heat. It just hurts to see people getting rekt, and still not managing their risks,” the Binance CEO added. Since the transfer of ownership from Chef Nomi to Bankman-Fried, the token SUSHI spiked over 47% on Sunday morning. At the time of publication, SUSHI is swapping for $2.79 per token after touching a low of $1.24 per coin. What do you think about the Sushiswap fiasco? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Defi’s Raw Deal: Sushiswap Creator Transfers Multi-Sig Control to FTX CEO appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article