roadrunner

With the recent rise of Bitcoin prices and the Bitcoin halvening, new entrants into the cryptocurrency field may wonder where they can self-custody their Bitcoin in the most secure way. BitAmp’s Emphasis on Privacy and Security The developers behind new entrant Bitamp’s Bitcoin wallet have created an easy-to-use client-side open-source Bitcoin wallet to fill this need. The Bitamp wallet allows users to send and receive Bitcoin from anywhere, on any device. The interface also allows users to create new Bitcoin wallets in an instant by writing down a 12 word seed. Users who have generated seed phrases on other platforms such as Electrum, Mycelium, Ledger, can access their Bitcoin anonymously and securely via the Bitamp site. With Bitcoin’s open source roots, it comes as no surprise that Bitamp’s product was developed as a web based open-source wallet free for everyone. The Company’s developments are funded by donations and the product is released under an MIT license. With the rise of consumer internet, users may fear that their user data may be exploited when interacting with consumer facing apps. However, Bitamp does not cut corners when it comes to anonymity and security. The company’s operations are performed locally in users’ browsers using javascript and users’ seeds and private keys are never transmitted, stored or saved, leaving users in full control of their Bitcoin. BitAmp’s Content And Community Support BitAmp not only contains a wallet interface, but has basic primers on various topics, introducing the novice user to topics such as “Buy Bitcoin”, “Spend Bitcoin”, “Bitcoin Mining”, “Crypto Exchanges”, “Hardware Wallets”, and “Block Explorers.”Although the company is open source, the team seeks to provide basic support to users who may face challenges in accessing the product. The company also will respond to community feedback and bug reports to inform future roadmap developments. For those users seeking a fresh, easy-to-use self custody Bitcoin wallet, Bitamp might be the perfect solution. What do you think about Bitamp? Let us know in the comments section below. The post BitAmp – The Next New Open Source Wallet appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has confirmed that there is no longer any banking ban on crypto exchanges, companies, or traders. This follows the supreme court decision to quash the RBI circular prohibiting banks from providing services to any customers dealing in cryptocurrencies. The ban lasted for almost two years. RBI Finally Confirms No Banking Ban The Reserve Bank of India has confirmed in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request that there is currently no banking ban on the crypto industry. The RTI query was filed on April 25 by B.V. Harish, co-founder of Unocoin, a major Indian cryptocurrency exchange. He asked whether the RBI has “prohibited any banks from providing the bank accounts for crypto exchanges, companies or crypto traders.” The RBI replied on May 22: As on date, no such prohibition exists. Part of the RBI’s reply to the RTI query filed by Unocoin co-founder B.V. Harish. Image courtesy of B.V. Harish. After several hearings, the Supreme Court of India quashed the RBI circular which banned banks from providing services to anyone or any businesses dealing in cryptocurrencies in March. The circular was issued in April 2018. Soon after the court’s verdict, cryptocurrency exchanges began bringing back INR support after about two years without it. Nonetheless, some banks are reportedly still refusing to open accounts for crypto exchanges, claiming that they are waiting for further instructions from the RBI regarding cryptocurrency. “Bankers have been saying that they need new RBI circulars mentioning that there are no more restrictions for them to provide bank accounts for crypto businesses,” Harish was quoted by the Economic Times as saying. “Now, we have received a positive response from the RBI.” However, the central bank is not obligated to inform commercial banks of the supreme court’s ruling. The RBI also previously confirmed that cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, are legal in India. After the banking restriction was lifted, several cryptocurrency exchanges began seeing 10X trading volumes and a substantial increase in new users. While economists have predicted the worst recession ever for India, the crypto industry is booming despite the extended nationwide lockdown. Peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplaces for bitcoin are growing in India, new crypto exchanges are launching and new investments are flowing in. Meanwhile, the Indian government is still discussing whether to regulate cryptocurrency; the process has been delayed due to the coronavirus crisis and the nationwide lockdown. In March, it was reported that the Indian government was discussing ways to regulate cryptocurrencies with the central bank. Do you think India will soon regulate cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below. The post RBI Confirms No Ban on Cryptocurrency Exchanges, Businesses or Traders in India appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

As interest in cryptocurrency grows among institutional investors, global investment banks, like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, are reexamining their views about bitcoin. Goldman Sachs is hosting a call for its clients to learn about the implications of current policies for bitcoin, gold, and inflation. Goldman Sachs’ Bitcoin Call for Clients New York City-headquartered investment bank Goldman Sachs is hosting a call for clients on May 27 entitled “US Economic Outlook & Implications of Current Policies for Inflation, Gold and Bitcoin.” Goldman Sachs’ Investment Strategy Group, part of the firm’s Consumer and Investment Management Division, has issued a notice inviting clients to the call where they can learn about bitcoin. Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, Goldman Sachs’ head of Investment Strategy Group and chief investment officer for Wealth Management, will host the event. She is responsible for the firm’s overall strategic asset allocation and tactical investment strategy. Two other economists will join her for the call. One is Jason Furman, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and professor at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). The other is Jan Hatzius, Goldman Sachs’ chief economist and head of Global Economics and Markets Research. According to the firm, Hatzius is also a two-time winner of the Lawrence R. Klein Award for the most accurate U.S. economic forecast, including during the global financial crisis. Goldman Sachs Schedules Bitcoin Call Amid Rising Institutional Demand for Cryptocurrency Cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin, have been gaining interest among institutional investors. A recent report by PWC and Elwood Asset Management shows that cryptocurrency hedge funds’ assets under management have been growing steadily, rising more than $2 billion at the end of last year. “I expect the crypto hedge fund industry to grow significantly over the coming years,” PWC partner and global crypto leader Henri Arslanian said. Institutional investors have been gaining exposure to bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies via Grayscale Investments’ products. The company revealed that the majority of its record-high investment in the first quarter (88%) came from institutional investors, dominated by hedge funds. Most went into Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). It was further revealed that the company bought a third of all bitcoin mined in three months. The average weekly investment in the first quarter was $29.9 million in Q1 2020, a substantial increase from $3.2 million in the same time period last year. Grayscale CEO Barry Silbert hinted that the purchase in the second quarter will be even higher. “Just wait until you see Q2,” he tweeted. An increasing number of billionaire investors are also increasing their investment portfolios’ exposure to bitcoin or recommending bitcoin as a hedging strategy. Among them are Virgin Galactic chairman Chamath Palihapitiya, Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz, and famous hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones. Several economists and analysts have predicted that more institutional investors will be investing in cryptocurrency post the covid-19 crisis, such as this Japanese analyst and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. Investment firms, like JPMorgan Chase, that were previously skeptical about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are coming around and beginning to embrace them. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon used to call bitcoin a fraud but later regretted making the statement about the cryptocurrency. In addition, JPMorgan Chase is recently said to have accepted two bitcoin exchanges, Coinbase and Gemini, as banking clients. Many people in the cryptocurrency community view Goldman Sachs’ bitcoin call as a bullish move for the industry. “Bitcoin is inevitable, all who have gone against it are now being forced to kneel, first JPMorgan, now Goldman Sachs,” one Twitter user wrote. “Even banks realize fiat money is losing value … The race is on,” another tweeted. A different Twitter user chimed in: “After having criticized bitcoin so much, calling it a scam, Goldman Sachs is now feeling the wind shift. Many opponents will do the same by changing their opinions in the months and years to come. The bitcoin revolution will take place with or without their support.” Goldman Sachs has not released the details of what aspect of bitcoin it will discuss during the call, drawing an array of speculation on social media. While some are optimistic, others believe the hype may be premature. Goldman Sachs recently predicted the worst recession for India and believes that a deep and prolonged recession would warrant negative interest rates in the U.S. despite Fed Chairman Jerome Powell dismissing the strategy. What do you think about Goldman Sachs discussing bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Goldman Sachs Hosting Bitcoin Call as Institutional Interest in Cryptocurrency Surges appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

As world governments push through legislation to levy taxes on capital gains from bitcoin (BTC) transactions, seeking to earn more from an asset class that frowns on regulatory oversight, there are still a few countries that remain pro-crypto, allowing investors to buy, sell or hold digital assets at zero taxes. Circumstances vary, but the real motivation leans more toward facilitating increased investment within the respective jurisdiction’s cryptocurrency industries, perhaps as a base for future taxation. For now, that has not happened yet. Here’s a list of eight countries – in no order of importance – which may be considered as bitcoin tax havens, states that don’t want your BTC investment gains. Portugal In Portugal, tax authorities waived all tax on cryptocurrency trading and transacting – meaning that individuals do not have to pay capital gains tax or value added tax (VAT), when buying or selling BTC and other digital assets. The Portugal Tax Authority (PTA) said “an exchange of cryptocurrency for ‘real’ currency constitutes an on-demand, VAT-free exercise of services.” While citizens are under no obligation to pay income tax when exchanging crypto for fiat, the PTA, however, indicated that businesses which accept digital currencies as payment for goods and services are liable to paying taxes such as VAT and income tax. The income tax relief makes Portugal’s laws some of the most favourable throughout the world, given how income tax is a huge expense on the accounts of most crypto traders. Germany If you hold bitcoin for one year or more in Germany, you won’t have to pay any taxes. Regardless of how much money you make selling your BTC, you do not pay capital gains as long as you have held your coins for a period exceeding 12 months. Europe’s biggest economy regards BTC as private money, contrary to the widespread view in most developed countries, which look at crypto as currency, commodity or equity. In Germany, private sales that do not exceed 600 euros ($654) are tax-free. Businesses, however, are still obliged to pay taxes on gains emanating from bitcoin through corporate income taxes. Singapore Both individuals and corporates who hold BTC or other digital assets as a long-term investment are not taxed in Singapore – simply because capital gains tax does not exist in the city-state itself. However, enterprises based in Singapore are liable to income tax, should they be involved in cryptocurrency trading as a core business. Those that opt for bitcoin as payment for services rendered, or revenue, are subject to normal income tax rules. Companies are taxed on the profit generated within Singapore. Malaysia As with neighboring Singapore, there are no capital gains tax in Malaysia. Cryptocurrency trades involving cash or another digital asset are not taxed in the Southeast Asian country. However, this will likely change if BTC is recognized as legal tender in Malaysia, as has been rumoured in the local press in recent months. Belarus In the Eastern European country of Belarus, a new law that came into effect in March 2018 legalized cryptocurrency, exempting individuals and businesses from any form of taxation for dealing in or with digital financial assets in whatever way, at least until 2023. Individual activities such as mining or buying and selling of crypto, are considered personal investments, and therefore, are not subject to tax. Similarly, registered businesses operating in the special economic zone of High Technologies Park near the capital Minsk, involved in mining, trading, initial coin offerings or other crypto-related operations are not taxed. Slovenia For Slovenia, the tax system for individuals and companies involved with BTC is rather different. While no capital gains is levied on citizens for the sale of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, they are still expected to pay income tax regardless of the currency being exchanged. However, companies that receive payment in BTC or from crypto mining are required to pay tax at the corporate tax rate. The taxation of corporations “depend on the circumstances of a particular case and the information provided in the declaration: income recipient status; type of income. If profits are recognized as capital gains, then the tax is 19%,” say experts. Malta The famed “blockchain island” of Malta does not tax long-held digital currencies, either for capital gains or VAT. However, crypto trades executed within the day are considered similar to day trading in stocks or foreign exchange, attracting tax as business income at the rate of 35%. Malta is perhaps one of the most crypto-friendly countries in the world, initiating legislation that has legalized a variety of crypto operations in the country. The government recognizes bitcoin “as a unit of account, medium of exchange, or a store of value.” Switzerland In Switzerland, one of Europe’s crypto havens, qualified individuals that buy, sell or hold cryptocurrencies for personal benefit are not required to pay tax on their capital gains. However, income from mining, considered self-employment income, is taxed through income tax. Profitable crypto trading by qualified professionals is subject to corporate tax while wages paid in bitcoin must be declared for income tax purposes. What do you think about bitcoin taxation around the world? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Eight Countries That Don’t Tax Your Bitcoin Gains appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Not too long ago, news.Bitcoin.com reported on Craig Wright’s recently submitted bitcoin address list that contained at least three spent blocks. Following the court filing, on May 24 a pastezone dump of 144 addresses, some of which are also represented in Wright’s list, contained a verified message that notes “Craig Steven Wright is a liar and a fraud.” The addresses verify the private keys belong to the messenger and Wright may have some issues in court explaining why this happened. OG Bitcoiner Signs 144 Bitcoin Addresses from 2009 and 2010 On May 24, 2020, someone who possesses the keys to 144 different bitcoin addresses wrote a message with the corresponding address keys calling Craig Wright “a liar and a fraud.” Wright is the Australian native who has claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto for years now, but has yet to prove it to the greater crypto community. The reason the person used 144 addresses and created a message calling Wright a fraud is because the addresses he or she used to sign, were filed in the Klieman v Wright lawsuit on May 21. The addresses were publicized via platforms like Courtlistener and Pacer and the crypto community had access to the list for days. News.Bitcoin.com leveraged our message verification tool, in order to double-check the validity of the signed message. The message shows that the author is the owner of many of the 144 separate addresses leaked via the Debian pastezone platform. The message reads: Craig Steven Wright is a liar and a fraud. He doesn’t have the keys used to sign this message. The Lightning Network is a significant achievement. However, we need to continue work on improving on-chain capacity. Unfortunately, the solution is not to just change a constant in the code or to allow powerful participants to force out others. We are all Satoshi. The Debian pastezone dump that has the crypto community researching the relationship between these addresses and the message. Bitmex Research Samples 20 Addresses Claims None of Them Were Allocated to the Dominant Miner in the ‘Patoshi Study’ Armchair sleuths and onchain detectives have been trying to figure out whether or not the signed message stemmed from the creator of Bitcoin. Anyone can cross-check the pastezone addresses with the one’s Wright filed in court as well. The crypto community has been discussing the subject at great length on Monday afternoon. Bitmex Research has tweeted that the organization studied 20 different addresses and none of them resembled Satoshi or “Patoshi blocks.” “We took a random sample of 20 of them,” Bitmex Research said. “None of them were allocated to the dominant miner according to our allocation, using Sergio Demián Lerner’s non-overlapping extra nonce slope analysis.” Crypto Community Members Look Forward to Seeing ‘Damage Control’ Redditors on the r/btc forum jokingly laughed at Wright’s recent attempt to submit addresses and now he will have to explain this incident. “This gets really hilarious,” one Redditor wrote. “I can’t wait for the damage control from the Craig shills, my bet is on that Craig will just write on Slack how he made that message to deceive non-believers or something retarded cult-like sh** like that.” Most of the crypto community discussing the subject on Twitter and Reddit were pleased to find out that Wright has some explaining to do. What we know so far is that the anonymous message posted to the Debian pastezone was signed by private keys and the coinbase transactions correspond with addresses created in 2009 and 2010. A number of the 144 addresses dumped on Monday were provided by Wright and his legal team on May 21. The message tied to the addresses calls Wright a “fraud” and each address provides a corresponding signature. The pastezone news also follows the recently spent Bitcoin Block 3,654, which was created one month after the network launched. What do you think about the person who signed a message using 144 different bitcoin addresses? Let us know in the comments below. The post Over a Hundred 10-Year-Old Bitcoin Addresses Signed: Message Calls ‘Craig Wright a Fraud’ appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

BigONE, one of the world’s safest cryptocurrency trading platforms, is excited to launch its new Star Program, a referral system that comes with a advanced backend platform that allows BigONE Star members to track the detail of every user they referred to BigONE, not to mention a decent trading fee rebate along with high commission that they can receive from their invitees. “BigONE’s Star Program is a true bonus to every BigONE user. Compared with other exchanges that offer trading fee rebate and commission products only to well-endowed influencers or investors, Star Program caters to every contract trading enthusiast with features such as trading fee rebate and commission.” said Kevin Cheng, COO at BigONE Exchange. “So even if you are not a big Twitter influencer or famous Youtuber, you can still enjoy the trading fee rebate from your invited friend, not to mention the commission you get from your friends’ trading fee.” The rule of the program is simple. To become a member of the Star Program, all he or she needs to do is to apply on BigONE’s website. If the person is not a BigONE user yet, he or she needs to register on BigONE first, then the person can apply to become a member. The program is open to every BigONE user without any restriction. The program features a multidimensional backend dashboard that allows its members to track every detail of the invitees in three separate tabs – Referral History, Commission History, and Rebate History, with details including Time, commission / commission rate, conversion rate, and etc. It also deploys Real-time Commission Settlement – all commissions are calculated and transferred to referrers’ account in real-time. In the wake of personal information leaking and security breaches from many other well-known exchanges, Data transparency is something that very few exchanges have, but everyone covets. BigONE’s new product not only adds significant value to its users, be it retail traders or institutional investors, but also sets a standard in the industry that other exchanges can follow. Learn more about Star program: https://bigone.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/900000790763-BigONE-Launches-Star-Program To become a Star member: https://www.bigonezh.com/star BigONE’s website: Big.one Twitter: https://twitter.com/BigONEexchange Telegram: https://t.me/B1_EN Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bigone-exchange/ New User Registration: https://bigone.com/users/new?code=NVZCLXKE *Please note – If you register through the link above, you will get a 30% discount on Perpetual Contract trading fees, and the discount will remain effective until June 30. 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 BigONE Exchange Unveils Star Program appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Monday, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) supporters were introduced to a Simple Ledger Protocol alliance called the SLP Foundation. According to the initial members, the SLP Foundation has been in the works since December 2019, and the primary goal is to foster SLP innovation and standards. Meet the SLP Foundation: A Nonprofit Aimed at Fostering a Healthy Environment for SLP Growth and Innovation A new organization has been created called the SLP Foundation and it aims to bolster SLP development, growth, and common practices. The Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) is an easy-to-use system that allows anyone to create tokens on top of the BCH chain. The new SLP Foundation will be a nonprofit group and it has already been funded by many crypto proponents since the idea came to life. The foundation will be overseen by three directors including Peter NG, Joey Wong, and Bitcoin.com’s former CEO Stefan Rust. Directors will help the foundation grow and “assist in communications,” according to the announcement. The SLP Foundation announcement states: The SLP Foundation’s primary focus is to coordinate the common interests of the open-source developers working within the SLP ecosystem and to foster a healthy environment for growth and innovation. A Foundation and a Grassroots Open-Source Community The key developers will have the final say on SLP subject matter and the SLP Foundation believes this is the best way forward. News.Bitcoin.com spoke with Peter NG and he explained how the nonprofit envisions the foundation bolstering the SLP infrastructure and standards. “A foundation in a grassroots open source community operates as a constant tricky dilemma. We have to be aware of the existing developing community initiatives because sometimes funding deters open source development,” Peter NG detailed during our conversation. “With regards to infrastructure, SLP 2020 was a no brainer, as we needed across the board performance improvements to keep up with the unexpected rapid growth of token usage. Future developments in infrastructure would first need ample understanding with businesses within our industry as well as beyond. We also have to be very careful that there is minimal bias so the benefit is more universal.” The SLP Foundation director added: With regard to standards, SLP by design allows anybody to develop their own. So we are getting out of the way of that. Where standardization may be important is when we’re front-facing more traditional businesses that require this type of standardization to fit their existing business model. Stefan Rust said that he believes SLP is an awesome protocol. “Simplifying the tokenization on top of BCH. The foundation will continue to support the efforts of open-source projects enhancing the protocol fit to market needs while increasing its awareness among enterprise and consumers,” Rust noted. The creator of Blockparty and a key SLP developer, JT Freeman, feels the same and believes coordination will be helpful. “​SLP is the realization of colored coins on top of Bitcoin, making it easy to understand and to start building on almost immediately,” Freeman said. “I’m very happy to see the coordination around the SLP Foundation to help this technology grow, and as a developer, knowing that the foundation will continue innovating and supporting SLP development makes it a safe bet to build on,” the developer conceded. What do you think about the new SLP Foundation? Let us know in the comments below. The post Bitcoin Cash Tokenization Bolstered by the Creation of an SLP Foundation appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

2020 has been a turbulent year for the cryptocurrency market, but it has established the resilience of blockchain technology. Despite a single-day market plunge that battered the entire market valuation with a 50% drop, the following rapid uptick in Bitcoin price has led it to outperform the S&P500 index by a large margin. To Receive GHOST, You Must Hold ESH Tokens Such a milestone has made way for significant opportunity as crypto’s Store of Value narrative expands its appeal to a new market, and cryptocurrency headlines are already sparking with famous personalities seeking to learn more about the technology. John McAfee has announced a new privacy coin called GHOST. However, the coin won’t be distributed through an initial coin offering, nor through an initial exchange offering. Given the poor performance of past token sales, as highlighted by the grim IEO stats, novel token distribution mechanisms are on the rise. Alternatives, like Dynamic Coin Offerings, designed by blockchain software developer and consultancy DAO Maker, are making waves for their proposal of a token sale where buyers are given downside protection. McAfee has announced a new distribution, one that requires recipients to hold a particular ERC-20 token. In 2019, John McAfee launched his own DEX. The McAfee DEX operates on the technology created by the Switch Ecosystem, which has a native token called ESH. The Switch token consists of a Swap platform, the Switch decentralized exchange, and an upcoming gaming platform. The ESH token is used throughout the ecosystem. 25% of the token supply of GHOST will be distributed to ESH holders based on a snapshot due for May 24. ESH holders will receive 1 GHOST for every 1 ESH in their wallets. The recent news has led to a surge in ESH demand, driving up the token’s price. A surge in price (and volume) is attracting interest from exchanges across the space, with new listings in the coming pipeline. The Relation Between Switch and McAfee McAfee has been an advisor to Switch, primarily due to the shared principles of the two. McAfee has long backed privacy and fair distribution of wealth, traits he found in Switch. Switch offers a true decentralized exchange, one without any centralized party to claim massive listing fees, demand users to pass KYC, or extort high fees. In fact, Switch even offers users to pay a one-time fee for a life-time to traders. As a long-standing supporter of privacy, McAfee, whose passion for the world’s data protection led him to build the world-renowned namesake antivirus technology, stands by Switch as the ecosystem shares his vision of privacy. GHOST is a Materialization of McAfee’s Dreams John McAfee has long sought to make privacy a global norm. In his fight to make this a reality, he has been a cryptocurrency evangelist to detach money from the state, initiate p2p value transfers, and, now, create a private means of transacting across the web. His support of the Switch ecosystem allowed private trading of digital assets, but the use of cryptocurrencies extends well beyond trading and he now aims to bring to the masses a privacy-focused coin led by some of the top minds in the security space. GHOST is created to allow holders to trade across the web without a trace. Monetary standards like payment cards are not only attached to identities, but also record transactional data to sell to advertisers. This is not only not private, but also a breach of people’s data, but the masses lack an alternative, with Bitcoin long being the only exception. Bitcoin indeed limits the loss of privacy that would otherwise be the issue with payment cards. Even then, Bitcoin makes transaction hashes available to the web, and so do other major coins like ETH. Transacting with such coins can allow people to trace the transactional history of a wallet, and potentially even identity the person through IP tracking. McAfee aims to address this to reach the peak of web privacy, at least to the point of web transactions. And that is precisely what GHOST aims to do: private transactions across the web, without sacrificing ease of transacting. People who share McAfee’s vision in valuing the sanctity of privacy and are upset with the consistent recession in user privacy across the growing web conglomerates have flocked to ESH to be the sole first recipients of GHOST during the May 25 airdrop. What do you think about GHOST? Let us know in the comments section below. The post John McAfee Announces Privacy Coin – Airdrop Today appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In the last few months, giant American corporations and financial incumbents that are subsidized by the U.S. government, have profited immensely during the coronavirus outbreak. This has caused certain groups of people and those who despise wealth to claim that “capitalism is broken.” However, today’s system, that’s currently practiced in the U.S. and many other nation states, resembles fascism far more than any capitalist ideal. How Covid-19 Has Caused Illiterate Pundits to Blame Capitalism on Society’s Recent Blunders Since the initial predictions came out from Neil Ferguson and Anthony Fauci’s recommendations; Europe, the U.K., and the U.S. shut down their economies. You see, in America, the U.S. government shut down small businesses and allowed a number of its favorite corporate pets to prosper. Amazon, Walmart, Target, and all the big corporations were allowed to remain open. This scheme involved members of the American government who leveraged executive orders, which classified “essential” and “non-essential” businesses. A government that seizes the private sector and the means of production is not the definition of “capitalism.” Despite this fact, millions of citizens who have been indoctrinated for years believe such absurdities and blame capitalism for the government’s errors. In the U.S., companies like Amazon, Target, Costco, BJ’s and Walmart continued to rake in billions, while small businesses floundered because they were not allowed to remain open. Because most everything else was closed and considered “non-essential,” Americans had far fewer choices. U.S. citizens were only allowed to choose between the government’s favorite entities. So Amazon and Jeff Bezos made billions during the Covid19 crisis because people didn’t have many choices, as the government told them to stay home as much as possible. The definition of this method of central planning is essentially fascism because both parties are identical as far as the ends are concerned, but the means may be slighlty different. Fascism has always put the nation above everything else, including the private sector and the common individual. The famed Austrian School economist and historian, Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises, detailed how fascism can lead the populace toward great dangers. His words show how the government has used fascist concepts in modern times, in order to bolster tyranny during the Covid-19 outbreak. Mises’s wise words had forecasted the great perils society is experiencing today when he stated: It has been said that the problem lies with public education and information. But we are badly deceived to believe that more schools and lectures, or a popularization of books and journals could promote the right doctrine to victory. In fact, false doctrines can recruit their followers the same way. The evil consists precisely in the people’s intellectual disqualifications to choose the means that lead to the desired objectives. The fact that facile decisions can be foisted onto the people demonstrates that they are incapable of independent judgment. This is precisely the great danger. An Objectivist and Austrian Definition of Capitalism Capitalism has nothing to do with the state. Capitalism is merely an economic system that is defined by private ownership of capital goods. A person must leverage either a medium of exchange, store of value, or a product and service in order to prosper in the system. Walter Williams once wrote: Prior to capitalism, the way the people amassed great wealth was by looting, plundering, and enslaving their fellow man. Through capitalism, the means of exchange and voluntary trade, men and women can remove stealing, bullying, and slavery tactics from the financial system. A speech written in 1957 and spoken by a fictional character named, Francisco d’Anconia, explains why money is the least understood innovation man has ever seen, but one of the world’s most powerful tools. “So you think that money is the root of all evil?” asked Francisco d’Anconia. “Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can’t exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce.” Francisco d’Anconia’s speech added: Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to be the tool by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of men. Blood, whips, and guns–or dollars. Take your choice– there is no other–and your time is running out. False Altruism and Fascist American Beliefs The American financial system that rewards fraud and manipulation is certainly not “capitalism.” Mega-corporations and banks empowered by the state would not be allowed to survive under true, unfettered capitalism. Capitalism doesn’t provide the means to bail out “too big to fail,” after these financial incumbents made too many mistakes. Fascism on the other hand does allow failure to succeed and this is because it is powered by cronyism, a sick and twisted mixture of the private sector and government. These financial giants and large corporations never have to worry, because the Fed’s surplus of dollars will keep them afloat. Laissez-faire capitalism is totally different than the social system that worships the nation state and collectivist rights. Laissez-faire capitalism is not a system that gives the government the means of production, but that is what happened during these last few months. The scheme during these last few months is also not “socialism” or the means of production controlled by workers and unions. The economic situation during the Covid19 outbreak is pure fascism mixed with very small fragments of socialist and capitalist ideas. Remember that fascism doesn’t recognize individual rights and puts the government and the collective above it. Socialism also does not recognize the individual’s rights unless the system is completely voluntary. Capitalism Doesn’t Involve the State’s Edicts and Isn’t Dependent on Political Schemes Free market capitalism is also purely voluntary and it is based on a social system that recognizes individual rights and property rights. As Ludwig von Mises also said: “Only the individual thinks. Only the individual reasons. Only the individual acts.” Once people realize that Laissez-faire is essentially the recognition of individual rights they understand that there is no need for the means of force. A true capitalist system does not need to leverage force, coercion, and theft as a means to get its ends. In the novel called “Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal” it defines the system as one where “no man or group may initiate the use of physical force against others.” In the “Virtue of Selfishness” the definition is even more defined and explains that Laissez-faire is completely removed from the state’s edicts, otherwise, it is not capitalism. “When I say ‘capitalism,’ I mean a full, pure, uncontrolled, unregulated laissez-faire capitalism—with a separation of state and economics, in the same way, and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church,” the “Virtue of Selfishness” page 33 notes. Fascism and non-voluntary socialism, depend on artificial altruism to survive. These systems claim to represent the “common good” of society, but they often rely on coercing the populace, indoctrination, and phony altruistic behaviors. These ideological concepts are also never successful at solving the common good problem and every time they are practiced, one group or many groups and individuals are left out. Capitalism does not have a moral justification, as it is explained on page 20 in the “the Unknown Ideal.’ “The moral justification of capitalism lies in the fact that it is the only system consonant with man’s rational nature, that it protects man’s survival qua man, and that its ruling principle is: justice.” Bitcoin Is Very Attractive to the Libertarian Viewpoint Bitcoin and a number of other digital assets are free-market tools that aim to bolster the Laissez-faire attitude. Even the creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto detailed in 2008 that the cryptocurrency is “very attractive to the libertarian viewpoint if we can explain it properly.” The reason digital currencies are attractive to free-market capitalists and libertarians is because it gives individuals 100% control over their funds. Bitcoin and other crypto assets are not controlled by centralized platforms, companies, politicians, single entities, or any one person. Leveraging bitcoin doesn’t mean that people cannot use other means of counter-economics to help circumvent fascist systems. Individuals still can leverage barter and trade, find a hedge in precious metals, and utilize black, gray, and white markets to the best of their abilities. In America, there may be two parties who show a few fundamental differences, but when all is said and done they want to obtain the same goals. When people blame capitalism for the faltering economy and the 1% getting richer, they should probably focus that energy on the real enemies like the Federal Reserve and bureaucrats on the hill. During the last three months, humans witnessed fresh tyranny and the true colors of the American fascist regime. Politicians would love for the younger generations to beg for more ‘nanny state’ concepts and so-called ‘free money’ and benefits. The fascist oligarchs who run the American system today, don’t mind at all that millions of people are confused by the misinterpretated definitions of capitalism. As long as it serves the interests of the oligarchy, blaming the world’s problems on capitalism is a perfect Hegelian dialectic solution that doesn’t even need much effort to enforce. If You Blame Anything— Blame the Government, Oligarchs, and Central Planners for Bolstering America’s Fascist Regime Next time people blame capitalism for the government-induced lockdowns, the favoritism toward mega-corporations who were deemed “essential,” and the closure of small private businesses, you can tell them they are very wrong. The political regime, their so-called experts, and the Federal Reserve should be blamed for the financial hardships and the destruction caused by tyrannical measures. Capitalists don’t have the power to shut down the world’s industries and means of production in a systematic fashion, but the government does. What do you think about the claim that America is a fascist nation state? Let us know in the comments below. The post This Is Not Capitalism: How Covid-19 Shined a Light on America’s Fascist System appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The US real estate market is facing a crisis as unemployment soars amid the coronavirus pandemic. Home sales have plunged to a nine-year low and a record-high number of homeowners are defaulting on their mortgage payments. The impact of the real estate crisis is also seen in rental and commercial real estate markets. Massive Declines in Home Sales, Housing Starts The economic crisis, coronavirus pandemic, lockdowns, and record-high unemployment have severely affected the real estate market. Existing home sales, which make up about 90% of all U.S. home sales, plunged 17.8% month-on-month in April, an equivalent of 17.2% slump year-on-year, according to the National Association of Realtors. The percentage decline was the largest since July 2010. The annualized figure of 4.33 million units represents the slowest sales rate since September 2011. The numbers are based on closed sales of contracts signed in late February and March. The April drop in closings is the largest one-month decline since July 2010, during the subprime mortgage crisis when the homebuyer tax credit expired. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, was quoted by CNBC as saying: Certainly with the lock-down occurring from mid-March, and given the shakiness from the stock market in February, that hurt pending contracts, so now we are seeing an almost 20% decline in existing homes sales. In addition, the supply of homes for sale fell 19.7% annually in April to 1.47 million units. Noting that this is “the lowest April inventory figure ever,” the news outlet conveyed, “Not only did potential sellers decide not to list their homes, as job losses mounted and the economy shut down, but some sellers already on the market pulled their listings.” The inventory drop pushed home prices to a new nominal high. The median price of an existing home sold in April rose 7.4% from a year earlier to $286,800. “Price appreciation in the 7% range is unhealthy,” Yun explained, adding that the only way for the price growth to slow down is to “get more listings and also more home construction.” Existing-home sales in the U.S. plunged 17.8% month-on-month in April due to the effects of high unemployment and coronavirus lockdowns. Inventory, homebuilding, and new home construction permits also fell sharply. U.S. homebuilding dropped by the most on record in April while housing starts plunged 30.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 891,000 units, the lowest level since early 2015. Permits for future home construction also dropped 20.8% to 1.074 million units during the month, the lowest level since January 2015. Mortgage Delinquencies Forecasted to Exceed Great Recession Level As unemployment soars and the effects of the shutdown are further realized, a record number of homeowners are defaulting on their mortgage payments. A recent report by U.K.-based economic forecasting firm Oxford Economics estimates that 15% of homeowners will fall behind on their monthly mortgage payments due to the coronavirus crisis — a level exceeding that seen during the Great Recession when the peak delinquency rate was 10%. In April, mortgage delinquencies surged by 1.6 million, the largest single-month jump in history, according to mortgage data analytics provider Black Knight. The national delinquency rate soared to 6.45% in April, nearly doubling from 3.06% in March and three times the previous single-month record set in 2008. Over four million borrowers are now past due, the most since 2015. The Washington Post reported: Not even during the Great Recession did delinquencies rise this fast. During that time, it took 18 months before there was a single-month increase as large. The latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that more than 4.1 million homeowners (about 8.16% of all mortgages) are in forbearance. Mortgage rates have also gone up as increased risk of default has caused a number of lenders to impose stricter borrowing requirements. JPMorgan, one of the country’s largest lenders, now requires customers to have a credit score of at least 700 to be eligible for most new home loans and must have saved funds equivalent to a 20% down payment. “Lenders are announcing more stringent underwriting requirements and exiting some products completely,” said Lendingtree chief economist Tendayi Kapfidze. “This means many potential homebuyers and those looking to refinance will have greater difficulty accessing credit.” Oxford Economics wrote, “The uncertainty in the mortgage market has contributed to a significant tightening of lending standards that may persist even once a recovery is underway.” Oxford Economics has estimated that 15% of homeowners will fall behind on their monthly mortgage payments — a level exceeding the number seen during the Great Recession. The flood of forbearance requests and delinquent loans has put enormous strain on servicers, the companies that collect monthly payments and distribute them to the investors who own the loan, including mortgage-backed securities. Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) have taken steps to reduce the burden on servicers. The two U.S.-government sponsored entities will be allowed to purchase loans in forbearance. While Oxford Economics said an increase in foreclosures is “inevitable,” many people are likely able to stay in their homes due to the wide availability of loan forbearance. Rental and Commercial Real Estate Need Help to Avoid Unprecedented ‘Housing Disaster’ The economic crisis has also hit the rental and commercial real estate sectors. A growing number of office and apartment building owners are falling behind on their mortgages while commercial real estate tenants fall behind on rent at unprecedented rates in some areas, particularly those with lockdowns lasting months. The biggest shopping center in the U.S., the Mall of America, has missed two months of payments on its $1.4 billion mortgage. With over 43 million renters nationwide, the rental market makes up nearly 40% of all U.S. housing. Over 62% of renters are concerned about being able to make rent payments, according to Edison Research. An April survey from the Washington D.C.-based think tank Urban Institute shows that almost half of renters report some kind of financial hardship. Some of the largest commercial landlords in New York City, for example, have reported steep declines in rent payments from its tenants over the past month. One landlord in New York City reported that 80% of retail tenants missed rent. The Community House Improvement Program, representing around 4,000 landlords of rent-stabilized apartment buildings, said this week that two-thirds of its members’ commercial tenants did not pay rent in April and May. Moreover, nearly 25% of its members’ residential tenants did not pay rent this month compared to the usual 15% before the coronavirus pandemic. Jay Martin, the group’s executive director, commented: Unless the federal government steps in to help renters and owners in a big way, we are going to see a housing disaster the likes of which we have never seen. The effect of unemployment, exacerbated by coronavirus lockdowns, is severe on the rental market, especially in cities like New York, where about 70% of the population rents. While renters struggle to make their rent payments, landlords struggle to pay the annual property taxes on their buildings. Jan Lee, a third-generation landlord, told Bloomberg that there is no forbearance on property taxes, so the city can impose fees, fines and liens, and eventually seize his properties. “My entire family’s work over three generations will be gone,” he bewailed. In most places, rents are still due. Ashford Westchase apartments in Houston, the fourth-largest U.S. city where 55% of all residents are renters, for example notified its tenants that “Despite what you may have heard in the media, rent is still due and evictions will be filed.” Meanwhile, New York-based Real Capital Analytics Inc. revealed last week that commercial real estate transactions in the U.S. fell 71% to $11 billion in April, the lowest level since April 2010. Economists, such as those at Deutsche Bank, expect the housing market downturn, coupled with a collapse in consumer spending, business investment, and manufacturing, to shrink the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) nearly 40% in the second quarter, the deepest fall since the 1930s. What do you think about the US real estate situation? Let us know in the comments section below. The post US Real Estate Crisis: Home Sales Plunge to 9-Year Low, Mortgage Delinquencies to Soar Past Great Recession Level appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

According to an online monitoring web portal called, Under the Breach, a hacker is purportedly trying to sell customer information that stems from companies like Keepkey, Trezor, Ledger, and even the investment platform Bnktothefuture. The hacker doesn’t seem to have any passwords, but is offering detailed information that was stolen from a Shopify breach like email addresses, home addresses, and phone numbers. The cybercrime resource known as Under the Breach has disclosed that customers who have purchased products using Shopify and purchased items from companies like Ledger, Trezor, Keepkey, and even Bnktothefuture may have had their identities leaked. The hacker is said to be the same person that attacked the forum Ethereum.org and he claims to have a massive cache of customer information. The Ethereum forum hacker is now selling the databases of @Trezor and @Ledger. Both of which obtained from a @Shopify exploit. (suggesting there are many more underground leaks). The hacker also claims he has the full SQL database of famous investing site @BankToTheFuture. pic.twitter.com/4M3f2bQKvB — Under the Breach (@underthebreach) May 24, 2020 Under the Breach documents show that the hacker has three large databases with information pertaining to an alleged 80,000 customers. This includes the customer’s email address, name, phone number, residential address, and other pieces of data. The databases from Shopify are allegedly tied to Ledger, Trezor, and Keepkey. However, on May 24, 2020, the firm Ledger addressed the Shopify discussion and called it a “rumor.” “Rumors pretend our Shopify database has been hacked through a Shopify exploit,” Ledger tweeted. “Our ecommerce team is currently checking these allegations by analyzing the so-called hacked DB, and so far it doesn’t match our real [database] DB. We continue investigations and are taking the matter seriously.” The company that manufactures Trezor hardware wallets has also denied the situation. Trezor’s official Twitter account stated: There are rumors spreading that our eshop database has been hacked through a Shopify exploit. Our eshop does not use Shopify, but we are nonetheless investigating the situation. We’ve been also routinely purging old customer records from the database to minimize the possible impact. The information provided by Under the Breach shows that there are no passwords available and only identity information per request. Allegedly, the hacker also breached the Bnktothefuture SQL database and scooped up identity information from that investment platform as well. The hacker has a number of dubious claims and supposedly has the databases for close to 20 crypto exchanges worldwide. No one can confirm whether or not the hacker really does have these databases, and so far it seems to be merely hearsay. The individual also has told the public he hacked two digital currency tax companies and is planning to sell that data as well. What do you think about this so-called hacker? Let us know in the comments below. The post Hacker Attempts to Sell Data Allegedly Tied to Ledger, Trezor, Bnktothefuture Customers appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The price of bitcoin and a number of other popular cryptocurrencies have been collectively holding a market valuation of around $255 billion. The fiat value of these cryptocurrencies has slipped downwards during the last four days. Despite the weekly losses of around 3-6%, many digital currency proponents are still very optimistic. Mainly because of how well crypto markets have performed during the coronavirus outbreak and the global economy’s current hardships. Entire Crypto Market Cap Still Hovers Above a Quarter of a Trillion US Dollars Digital currency supporters can safely say that so far, crypto assets have performed extremely well since the March 12, 2020 market carnage, otherwise known as ‘Black Thursday.’ The entire crypto economy of over 5,000 cryptocurrencies is currently worth $255 billion using today’s exchange rates. Today, BTC is trading for $9,156 per coin and has around $4.8 billion in 24-hour global trades. Ethereum (ETH) is swapping for $207 per unit and there’s just under $2 billion worth of ETH trade volume on Sunday. The digital currency XRP is still commanding the third-largest position by market cap as each coin is trading for $0.19. The stablecoin tether (USDT) is the fourth largest market valuation today and the USDT market is worth $5.74 billion. Bitcoin Cash (BCH/USD) Market Action Bitcoin cash (BCH) lost its footing price wise, as well on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. At that time, BCH was trading for $247 per unit, but today each coin is swapping for $233. The BCH market cap is worth $4.3 billion today and tether recently eclipsed the coin’s market share. In fact, close to 100 million USDT was created on May 23, 2020 according to Whale alert data. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) price on Sunday, May 24, 2020. On Sunday morning, 70% of BCH trades are in tether, which is followed by 17.4% worth of BCH/BTC swaps. Additionally the top trading pairs with bitcoin cash include the USD (3.06%), KRW (2.35%), ETH (2.32%), GBP (1.50%), and the stablecoin USDC (0.59%). Bitcoin cash has around $99 million in total global trades on Sunday. Andreessen Horowitz Predicts a ‘Fourth Crypto Cycle’ Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz executives have recently published a blog post called “The Crypto Price-Innovation Cycle.” Chris Dixon and Eddy Lazzarin say that a “fourth crypto cycle” is on the horizon. “Even though crypto cycles look chaotic, over the long term they’ve generated steady growth of new ideas, code, projects, and startups— the fundamental drivers of software innovation,” Dixon and Lazzarin wrote in the post. “The 2017 cycle spawned dozens of exciting projects in a wide range of areas including payments, finance, games, infrastructure, and web apps— Many of these projects are launching in the near future, possibly driving a fourth crypto cycle.” Just recently news.Bitcoin.com reported on how Andreessen Horowitz raised over $515 million for a cryptocurrency-focused fund. Bitcoin (BTC) price on Sunday, May 24, 2020. Golden Cross Decline Despite the recent “golden cross formation,” BTC prices saw a 3% loss since May 20, 2020. This particular golden cross predicted a bullish scenario for BTC. Essentially, the 50-day moving average (MA) and 200-day MA initiated the golden cross, but the price never followed the traditional northbound outcome. Even though the golden cross came to fruition, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) has not shown any bullish signals whatsoever. A chart that shows the coming of the “golden cross” four days ago. Although, it is hard to measure the market with divergence, especially when weighing the options of a reversal. While the 50-day and 200-day MA had shown a definitive golden cross, the market trade volume just hasn’t been enough to push prices forward. Various traders were hoping for some kind of indication from the golden cross event just as they do for the death cross. Unfortunately, the BTC chart indicating the formation of a golden cross, was meaningless this time around. What do you think about the current crypto market action? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Market Outlook: Golden Cross Invalidated, Andreessen Horowitz Predicts ‘Fourth Crypto Cycle’ appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Russian lawmakers have proposed new laws that seek to ban the use of bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies in the country, local media reported. According to draft bills submitted by a group of deputies to the Russian parliament recently, individuals may face up to seven years in prison and fines of up to $7,000 for using BTC in financial transactions. People will also be penalized for buying crypto with cash or transferring to accounts opened with Russian banks. If signed into law, the bills will punish companies that issue or operate virtual currencies without approval from the Russian central bank, with fines of up to two million rubles or about $28,000. Furthermore, “for violation of the rules for transactions with cryptocurrencies, if they are used as payment for goods or services,” companies would have to pay the equivalent of one million rubles ($13,900) and individuals at least 200,000 rubles ($2,800). The draft bills were lodged with Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development earlier this week, says a report published by local news company RBC on May 21. One of the proposed laws plans to completely stop digital assets from being used as a means of payment by citizens or corporations. People that already hold digital assets will be forced to register them with Russia’s tax agency and explain how they acquired them. Another bill proposes to add new sections to the country’s criminal law for illegal operations with cryptocurrencies. Companies that issue or circulate digital financial assets “using sites registered in Russia or technical equipment located in Russia” are especially liable under this second draft proposal. Penalties may be compounded for both individuals and firms “if major or especially large damage was caused to citizens, organizations or the state, or if these actions led to enrichment on a large or especially large scale.” Local lawyers fear that if these laws are enforced, they will paralyze the Russian cryptocurrency industry. Dmitry Kirillov, a senior tax lawyer at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and a teacher at Moscow Digital School, told RBC: People who currently own cryptocurrencies will be forced to get rid of them before the law comes into force or risk ‘going underground.’ Goals that will be achieved this way are the direct opposite of what’s being declared. In general, the idea of ​​dropping a crypto ‘Iron Curtain,’ in my opinion, does not contribute to the development of businesses or Russia’s interaction with the world economy on a digital level. What do you think about Russia’s draft bills on cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Russia Proposes Law That Criminalizes Buying Bitcoin With Cash, Offenders Face 7 Years in Jail appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In the early stages of trade, when economizing individuals are only slowly awakening to knowledge of the economic gains that can be derived from exploitation of existing exchange opportunities, their attention is, in keeping with the simplicity of all cultural beginnings, directed only to the most obvious of these opportunities. **The following essay was written by the father of Austrian Economics, Carl Menger, and was published in 1892. “The Nature and Origin of Money” was originally published after Menger testified before the Currency Commission in Austria-Hungary the same year. The essay is reprinted here on Bitcoin.com for historical preservation. The Austrian school of economics, Bitcoin, and other free-market, permissionless cryptocurrencies have a lot in common. The opinions expressed in this essay are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any opinions, content, accuracy or quality within the historical editorial.** In considering the goods he will acquire in trade, each man takes account only of their use-value to himself. Hence the exchange transactions that are actually performed are restricted naturally to situations in which economizing individuals have goods in their possession that have a smaller use value to them than goods in the possession of other economizing individuals who value the same goods in reverse fashion. A has a sword that has a smaller use value to him than B’s plough, while to B the same plough has a smaller use value than A’s sword—at the beginning of human trade, all exchange transactions actually performed are restricted to cases of this sort. It is not difficult to see that the number of exchanges actually performed must be very narrowly limited under these conditions. How rarely does it happen that a good in the possession of one person has a smaller use value to him than another good owned by another person who values these goods in precisely the opposite way at the same time! And even when this relationship is present, how much rarer still must situations be in which the two persons actually meet each other! A has a fishing net that he would like to exchange for a quantity of hemp. For him to be in a position actually to perform this exchange, it is not only necessary that there be another economizing individual, B, who is willing to give a quantity of hemp corresponding to the wishes of A for the fishing net, but also that the two economizing individuals, with these specific wishes, meet each other. Suppose that Farmer C has a horse that he would like to exchange for a number of agricultural implements and clothes. How unlikely it is that he will find another person who needs his horse and is, at the same time, both willing and in a position to give him all the implements and clothes he desires to have in exchange. This difficulty would have been insurmountable, and would have seriously impeded progress in the division of labor, and above all in the production of goods for future sale, if there had not been, in the very nature of things, a way out. But there were elements in their situation that everywhere led men inevitably, without the need for a special agreement or even government compulsion, to a state of affairs in which this difficulty was completely overcome. The direct provision of their requirements is the ultimate purpose of all the economic endeavors of men. The final end of their exchange operations is therefore to exchange their commodities for such goods as have use-value to them. The endeavor to attain this final end has been equally characteristic of all stages of culture and is entirely correct economically. But economizing individuals, would obviously be behaving uneconomically if, in all instances in which this final end cannot be reached immediately and directly, they were to forsake approaching it altogether. Assume that a smith of the Homeric age has fashioned two suits of copper armor and wants to exchange them for copper, fuel, and food. He goes to market and offers his products for these goods. He would doubtless be very pleased if he were to encounter persons there who wish to purchase his armor and who, at the same time, have for sale all the raw materials and foods that he needs. But it must obviously be considered a particularly happy accident if, among the small number of persons who at any time wish to purchase a good so difficult to sell as his armor, he should find any who are offering precisely the goods that he needs. He would, therefore, make the marketing of his commodities either totally impossible, or possible only with the expenditure of a great deal of time, if he were to behave so uneconomically as to wish to take in exchange for his commodities only goods that have use value to himself and not also other goods which, although they would have commodity-character to him, nevertheless have greater marketability than his own commodity. Possession of these commodities would considerably facilitate his search for persons who have just the goods he needs. In the times of which I am speaking, cattle were, as we shall see below, the most saleable of all commodities. Even if the armorer is already sufficiently provided with cattle for his direct requirements, he would be acting very uneconomically if he did not give his armor for a number of additional cattle. By so doing, he is of course not exchanging his commodities for consumption goods (in the narrow sense in which this term is opposed to “commodities”) but only for goods that also have commodity-character to him. But for his less saleable commodities he is obtaining others of greater marketability. Possession of these more saleable goods clearly multiplies his chances of finding persons on the market who will offer to sell him the goods that he needs. If our armorer correctly recognizes his individual interest, therefore, he will be led naturally, without compulsion or any special agreement, to give his armor for a corresponding number of cattle. With the more saleable commodities obtained in this way, he will go to persons at the market who are offering copper, fuel, and food for sale, in order to achieve his ultimate objective, the acquisition by trade of the consumption goods that he needs. But now he can proceed to this end much more quickly, more economically, and with a greatly enhanced probability of success. Carl Menger is responsible for the school of Austrian economics and he has been revered by people like Murray Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises, and more. As each economizing individual becomes increasingly more aware of his economic interest, he is led by this interest, without any agreement, without legislative compulsion, and even without regard to the public interest, to give his commodities in exchange for other, more saleable, commodities, even if he does not need them for any immediate consumption purpose. With economic progress, therefore, we can everywhere observe the phenomenon of a certain number of goods, especially those that are most easily saleable at a given time and place, becoming, under the powerful influence of custom, acceptable to everyone in trade, and thus capable of being given in exchange for any other commodity. These goods were called “Geld” by our ancestors, a term derived from “gelten” which means to compensate or pay. Hence the term “Geld” in our language designates the means of payment as such. The great importance of custom in the origin of money can be seen immediately by considering the process, described above, by which certain goods became money. The exchange of less easily saleable commodities for commodities of greater marketability is in the economic interest of everyeconomizing individual. But the actual performance of exchange operations of this kind presupposes a knowledge of their interest on the part of economizing individuals. For they must be willing to accept in exchange for their commodities, because of its greater marketability, a good that is perhaps itself quite useless to them. This knowledge will never be attained by all members of a people at the same time. On the contrary, only a small number of economizing individuals will at first recognize the advantage accruing to them from the acceptance of other, more saleable, commodities in exchange for their own whenever a direct exchange of their commodities for the goods they wish to consume is impossible or highly uncertain. This advantage is independent of a general acknowledgement of any one commodity as money. For an exchange of this sort will always, under any circumstances whatsoever, bring an economizing individual considerably nearer to his final end, the acquisition of the goods he wishes to consume. Since there is no better way in which men can become enlightened about their economic interests than by observation of the economic success of those who employ the correct means of achieving their ends, it is evident that nothing favored the rise of money so much as the long-practiced, and economically profitable, acceptance of eminently saleable commodities in exchange for all others by the most discerning and most capable economizing individuals. In this way, custom and practice contributed in no small degree to converting the commodities that were most saleable at a given time into commodities that came to be accepted, not merely by many, but by all economizing individuals in exchange for their own commodities. Within the boundaries of a state, the legal order usually has an influence on the money-character of commodities which, though small, cannot be denied. The origin of money (as distinct from coin, which is only one variety of money) is, as we have seen, entirely natural and thus displays legislative influence only in the rarest instances. Money is not an invention of the state. It is not the product of a legislative act. Even the sanction of political authority is not necessary for its existence. Certain commodities came to be money quite naturally, as the result of economic relationships that were independent of the power of the state. What do you think about Carl Menger’s Origin of Money essay? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Carl Menger: The Nature and Origin of Money appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for a mining strategy throughout the oil-rich nation. The latest statements from the Iranian President follows Iran’s moves to restrict specific crypto trading platforms over “currency smuggling” mandates. On May 20, 2020, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani told the press that the country needs to spur a cryptocurrency mining strategy, in order for the country to prosper economically amid U.S. sanctions. Reports stemming from the regional news outlet Arzdigital which claims Rouhani has told his administration to start drafting a crypto mining strategy for Iran as soon as possible. Rouhani said that the energy department, the country’s central bank, and the finance minister need to devise a new scheme that welcomes bitcoin miners. This includes Iranian regulatory policy toward mining farms located in the country and taxes. Iran recently recognized cryptocurrency mining operations as an official industry last year. Iranian officials have already been issuing licenses to farms that are willing to cooperate with the Iranian governments. In January 2020 it was reported that the Iranian lawmakers licensed over 1,000 mining operations in the country. In the summer months of 2019, Iran represented 2% of the Bitcoin network’s entire global hashrate. Since then however, recent migration has made it so Iran now has 4% of the total hashrate according to statistics. As of May 23, 2020, Iran captures 4% of the overall Bitcoin network hashrate. Rouhani’s statements are a bit confusing after the Iranian government made it harder for international crypto exchanges to operate in collaboration with the country. This week the Iranian parliament released a proposal that aims to curb “currency smuggling” by heightening regulations for international crypto exchanges. Essentially, the Iranian parliament wants the exchanges that are based in Iran licensed and they are required to follow currency smuggling mandates. Speculators assume that Iran is trying to keep funds from being spent abroad and wants to squash capital outflow by putting pressure on Iranian crypto exchanges for working with international operations. Iran, despite the fact that it is heavily sanctioned by the U.S. is prospering because of cryptocurrency innovation and encouraging the mining industry to migrate to the region. Data shows that mining farms in Iran are paying as little as $0.01 to 0.05 for hourly kilowatt rates. However, during certain times of the year, the Iranian government has said that electrical rates could shift for mining operations when electricity demand is high. What do you think about President Hassan Rouhani’s statements about encouraging an Iranian mining strategy? Let us know in the comments below. The post Iranian President Calls for Launching a Cryptocurrency Mining Strategy appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin mining rig manufacturer Canaan Creative reported a net loss of $5.6 million for the first quarter of 2020, down from $9.5 million a year earlier. The Chinese company cut prices of its ASIC-based machines by over 50% in an effort to improve sales, but that wasn’t enough to prevent the heavy loss. Demand slumped as the coronavirus pandemic, which disrupted the movement of goods worldwide, took its toll. Shares of Canaan fell as much as 3.51% to $3.85 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, at Press time. The stock has tanked from a 52-week high of $13 For the period January to March, revenue climbed 45% to $9.4 million from $6.6 million the previous year, driven by a 19% increase in total computing power sold. According to Canaan’s earnings release published on Friday, the firm sold 0.9 million terahash per second (TH/s) of Bitcoin hashpower, up from 0.7 million TH/s in the same period in 2019. This year’s terahash sales account for about 1% of the BTC network’s current total. Canaan chief executive officer Zhang Nangeng told analysts in an earnings call that: “The overall market situation since December last year until January had not been too good. So the unit price per TH/s was indeed lower.” He added: And the logistics in mainland China had basically stopped around the Chinese new year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. So even though bitcoin’s price was at a higher point in February and early March, the pandemic largely affected our sales. In the review quarter, research and development expenses rose to $5.9 million from $4.38 million previously, said the firm. Canaan reported cash and cash equivalents of $37.3 million for the March quarter, down from $72.3 million at the end of December last year. “The decrease was mainly due to higher short-term investments as the company invested $24.5 million in short-term investments as of March 31, 2020,” it said. Canaan, which has a market value of $603 million, did not issue second-quarter forecasts citing the uncertainty created by the coronavirus and the recent third halving of Bitcoin. What do you think about Canaan’s financial results? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Canaan Narrows Q1 Loss to $5.6 Million Amid Weakening Demand for Mining Hardware appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The cryptocurrency community has noticed a number of bitcoins from the August 2, 2016, Bitfinex breach has been moved. A small 30 BTC transaction ($282,000) from the stash has moved from the hacker’s address to an unknown bitcoin address. The last time coins from the Bitfinex incident moved was June and August 2019, as the bitcoins hadn’t transferred for three years since then. On August 2, 2016 the popular cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex was hacked for approximately 119,756 BTC, which is worth a touch over $1 billion using today’s exchange rates. The breach crippled trader confidence that day, and the price per BTC slid 22% immediately after the event. After the incident, the value of bitcoin staged a modest comeback a week later and Bitfinex promised customers they would be paid back. Those stolen coins were moved to an address that anyone can follow using a standard blockchain explorer. The bitcoins sat for three years and didn’t move until June and August 2019. When a BTC transaction in August took place, the transaction monitoring account Whale Alert notified the public on Twitter that roughly 300 BTC ($2.7M) was moved in ten transactions. During the first week of June 2019, the hackers also moved around 170 bitcoins worth more than $1.5 million using today’s exchange rates. At the time, BTC prices were much higher and came awfully close to touching $14,000 per coin. It is common for hackers to move digital assets when prices are higher than usual. Armchair sleuths and observers have noticed this type of trend taking place with the Plustoken scammers as well. When the prices of bitcoin and ethereum are higher, the Plustoken bandits start moving coins to different wallets. No one knows if these stolen coins are being exchanged on a well known trading platform, but it is suspected that it’s more likely coins like these are sold using an over-the-counter (OTC) desk after being mixed. 30 bitcoins from 3CA1UDYQy47Z46HKCVqRV8b1XVduocWAcW moved on May 21, 2020, @ 19:41:16 UTC. At the time of publication those 30.667 BTC would sell for $282,466 USD. On May 21, 2020, 30 coins from the August 12, 2019 move, had been transferred once again to another unknown address. Back when Bitfinex was breached in 2016, the going exchange rate for BTC was around $600 per unit. The moved coins on Thursday saw approximately 30.66754180 BTC or $282,000 moved and back then they would only be worth $18,000. It is also common for hackers to move coins into smaller increments and they may not have been sold on the market. This type of method is noticed because the 30 coins moved on Thursday, stemmed from the 300 BTC ($2.7M) transfer that was done in 10 separate transactions. Blockchain surveillance firms and law enforcement officials have these addresses flagged and it becomes difficult to move a stash of 119,756 BTC without being seen. Unless of course you split up the stolen bitcoins and possibly mix the UTXOs using the Coinjoin process. What do you think about the recent 30 bitcoin ($282,000) move from the 2016 Bitfinex hack? Let us know what you think in the comments below. The post Bitcoin Worth $282K from the 2016 Bitfinex Hack on the Move appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On May 21, 2020, the infamous Craig Wright, the man who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, submitted a list of blocks and bitcoin addresses to the court that stem from the alleged Tulip Trust. However, armchair sleuths and blockchain analysis shows that a few blocks recorded in Wright’s recently filed list have been spent. Craig Wright Files a New List of Bitcoin Blocks and Addresses That Allegedly Belong to the Tulip Trust(s) The ongoing Kleiman vs. Wright lawsuit is heating up once again, as Craig Wright submitted a list on May 21, that allegedly belongs to the infamous Tulip Trust(s). The Kleiman estate, specifically Ira Kleiman represents the now deceased David Kleiman. Kleiman who was also known as ‘Dave,’ was a security researcher that some believe may have been a member of a pseudonymous group operating under the Satoshi Nakamoto moniker. According to Ira Kleiman, his brother David’s inheritance was manipulated during a multi-year partnership with Australian native Craig Wright. The Tulip Trust is an alleged trust that claims to have 1.1 million BTC from mining bitcoins in the early days. Throughout the two year lawsuit filled with depositions and discovery, the judge asked Wright to produce a list several times. The list submitted on Thursday, is the third list filed during the lawsuit and cryptocurrency detectives are already scrutinizing the addresses and blocks. The list filed on May 21, 2020 is extensive and people have already been scrutinizing the list for errors. This list has a few blocks that have been spent between 2017 and 2019. Blocks 57,585 – 63,790 – 67,690 were spent between July 8, 2019 and September 2, 2019. According to a Reddit post published on Friday, there are three lists called the CW list, the DK list, the Shadder’s list, and the recently submitted CSW filed list which was produced on May 21, 2020. The Three Lists Contain Spent Blocks and ‘None of the Lists Contain Any Blocks That Are Well-Known to Have Been Mined and Spent by Satoshi Nakamoto’ “All three lists have recently spent blocks in them, when Wright testified that the keys are inaccessible,” explains a Reddit post written on Friday, which studies the list in great detail. The Redditor notes that after the first list (CW list) and another grouping of addresses called the ‘Shadders list,’ the judge gave Wright one more chance to give the court a better list. This led to the ‘bonded courier’ theory and allegedly the courier showed up and provided Wright with the necessary information. The Redditor also notes there is a list called the ‘DK list’ which belongs to the plaintiffs. “None of the four lists (Shadder’s List, CW list, DK list, CSW list) contain any blocks that are well-known to have been mined and spent by Satoshi, including block 9,” the armchair sleuth wrote. The individual further stated: Again, as the CW list is a forgery, and the [recent] CSW filed list is obviously derived from it, the CSW filed List is also a forgery. To bring this all back to the early block that was spent yesterday, it was included in the Shadder’s List. At this point, we don’t know whether it was in any of the other three lists. However, it’s not particularly important, since the Shadders list, CW list, and CSW filed list already have recently spent blocks. Essentially, the Redditor and other crypto proponents following the case, believe that Craig Wright’s latest address and block submission is another fake. The first Reddit post called “A primer on Craig Wright’s claimed blocks, Tulip Trust(s), and list of addresses” finds three definitive faults with the three lists submitted to the Florida court. “The Shadder’s List – a bug-ridden list made in 2019 meant to simply narrow down the blocks that could potentially belong to Wright,” the post stresses. “CW List – a list produced by the ‘Trust” that is an obvious forgery derived from the Shadders List, [and] the CSW filed List – the list submitted by Wright to the court [on May 21, 2020], which is supposed to be an accurate list of his actual mined bitcoin. This is also an obvious forgery based on the CW List (and the Shadder’s List). It was supposedly made around 2010,” the post concludes. What do you think about the recent list Craig Wright submitted to the court on Thursday? Let us know in the comments below. The post Craig Wright Submits List of Bitcoin Addresses to the Court – Roster Contains Spent Blocks appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A well-known hedge fund manager has warned that governments may ban private gold ownership. He explained that central banks may attempt to demonetize gold, making it illegal for private individuals to own, as the authorities lose control of inflation amid the coronavirus-led economic crisis. Is Gold Safe? Governments May Make Owning Gold Illegal for Private Individuals Central banks might outlaw private gold ownership if they lose control of inflation amid the coronavirus crisis, London-based hedge fund manager Crispin Odey warned clients in a letter seen by Bloomberg on Wednesday. He was quoted by the news outlet as saying: It is no surprise that people are buying gold. But the authorities may attempt at some point to demonetise gold, making it illegal to own as a private individual. U.K.-based hedge fund manager Crispin Odey has warned that governments may ban personal gold ownership for private individuals if they lose control of inflation. The hedge fund manager added that the governments “will only do this if they feel the need to create a stable unit of account for world trade.” He has compared the current coronavirus crisis to the Great Depression of the 1930s, arguing that central banks would fail to contain inflation as the economy eventually recovers from the impact of global lockdowns. Odey, a high-profile hedge fund manager known for his apocalyptic predictions, has repeatedly criticized central banks’ policies. He launched his company, Odey Asset Management, in 1991. Citing inflation forecasts of 5% to 15% within 15 months, he predicted that high inflation would hurt long-dated bonds and growth stocks, betting that gold will benefit as high inflation follows the coronavirus crisis. His flagship investment fund, the Odey European Inc., gained 21% in March but was down 9.5% in April, his letter to clients discloses. He increased his fund’s gold position during April and holdings of June gold futures represented 39.9% of the fund’s net asset value at the end of the month, up from 15.9% at the end of March. Possibility of Governments Seizing Gold During Crisis Many gold owners fear that their governments could seize their gold, pointing to the U.S. confiscating people’s gold during the Great Depression in 1933. The government of then-president Franklin D. Roosevelt seized all gold bullion and coins via Executive Order 1602, forcing citizens to sell their gold at well below market rates. A new official rate for gold was subsequently set that was much higher as part of the Gold Reserve Act 1934. In his letter to clients, Odey warned: History is filled with examples where rulers have, in moments of crisis, resorted to debasing the coinage … I very much expect that the authorities will fight these prevailing trends for every inch of the way, but I also expect them to lose the fight. What do you think about governments banning private gold ownership? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Illegal to Own Gold? Hedge Fund Manager Warns Governments May Ban Gold Ownership appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

It’s been 11 days since the third bitcoin block reward halving. Data now shows that the overall SHA256 hashrate lost around 47 exahash per second (EH/s), since the all-time high of 140 EH/s on May 3. With more than 33% of the hashrate lost, reports stemming from Sichuan China indicate that bitcoin mining operations have been dealing with electrical shortages, and some operations have been forced to shut down machines. Bitcoin Hashrate Lost 47 Exahash of Hashrate Since the ATH, Difficulty Sees a 6% Downward Adjustment Just before the third bitcoin halving, which cut miner revenue by 50%, the overall BTC hashrate spiked to around 140 EH/s on May 3, 2020. The network hit this monumental milestone, seven days before the notorious block reward halving. After the halving was complete, observers noted that the hashrate only dipped by 10-15% around 48 hours later. However, hashrate charts and data have some significant lag, and most of the time hashrate is measured in 3-12 hour intervals. May 20, 2020, Blockchain.com BTC hashrate stats. For instance, Blockchain.com statistics show the BTC hashrate is 93 EH/s on May 20. Fork.lol data shows that the hashrate has dropped even lower to just above 80 EH/s during certain periods, between May 20 until May 22. From the all-time high (ATH) on May 3, the BTC chain has lost 47 EH/s so far or roughly 33% since the ATH. May 22, 2020, Fork.lol BTC hashrate stats, 12-hour intervals. The BTC network difficulty also dropped by 6% on May 20, 2020, and whenever the difficulty drops it can be attributed to miners leaving the network. Additionally, the price of BTC has dropped from a high of $9,900 to a low of 9,100 on May 22. When the price of BTC drops lower in value it makes it more difficult for miners to prosper. Even the first signs of miners dropping off the network, meant a downward adjustment was in the cards for BTC’s overall mining difficulty. Today there are 17 known mining pools processing blocks on the BTC network. The top five BTC mining pools include F2pool, Poolin, Antpool, Btc.com, and Okex. F2pool on May 22, 2020 shows that it currently commands 27% of the BTC network hashrate. Sichuan Miners Face Delayed Wet Season, Electrical Shortages, and Kickback from Local Governments One reason miners may be dropping off the network is due to issues in the Chinese province of Sichuan right now. There are two reports written by the regional financial columnist, lylian Teng, that show miners in the Sichuan region have a number of difficulties to deal with at the moment. One issue is the fact that the temperature in Sichuan has been hotter than usual which has been deterring the start of the region’s massive wet season. The wet season every year, helps fuel hydropower plants that are located all around the province of Sichuan. Chinese bitcoin miners have always flocked to Sichuan, and the region is probably one of the most densely populated mining operation locations worldwide. lylian Teng reports that the local Sichuan government has been complaining that the region’s electrical load has increased by 22%. Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. The photo shows a man with an umbrella watching Jinjiang river in flood after heavy rain in Sichuan province, two years ago when the wet season was very powerful. There has been a “shortfall of hydroelectricity supply,” the report notes. This issue has led to electrical shortages and some mining operations have had to shut down machines. Teng discussed the subject with local mining operations who have told her that the “rainy season this year has delayed and the prolonged high temperatures in Sichuan have led to a surge in electricity demand.” “Some mines have got power cut for over three days, and some are only allowed to mine during the night,” explains a mining farm owner who operates in Sichuan. “Areas close to Sichuan’s capital city Chengdu like Wenchuan are suffering from severe power outages, while remote places like Ya’an and Kangding, with small electricity demand and sufficient rainfall, see few power failures,” the miner added. Concentrations of global bitcoin miners according to Coinshares stats in December 2019. At that time, China captured 65% of BTC’s processing power and the Sichuan region has always been the most densely populated mining region in the world. Another report notes that bitcoin mining in the province may be “attracting too much attention” and assumes a government “crackdown” could come to fruition. A leaked Sichuan government document indicates that local officials believe bitcoin miners are taking advantage of the region’s cheap electricity. “The notice has since surfaced which indicates that the province’s top finance regulator, Sichuan Financial Office has requested local governments to make an orderly exit from supporting bitcoin mining,” lylian Teng’s second report discloses. Teng’s findings further state: The notice reportedly issued to all local offices of the financial regulator went on to request that regional governments use mandatory measures around power supply, electricity price, land use, taxation and environment protection to ensure existing bitcoin mining activities are phased out. Documents that allegedly stem from China’s Sichuan province and obtained by the regional reporter lylian Teng. Document one (left) discusses the electrical shortages, and document two (right) talks about regulating bitcoin mining operations. There’s a lot of mixed messages when it comes to the local Chinese governments and bitcoin mining rules. The latest news on alleged crackdowns in Sichuan, follows the report that had shown the local government of Ya’an city in China’s Sichuan province, was encouraging bitcoin mining throughout the province. In 2018, however, Sichuan lawmakers had an entirely different opinion and a number of statements published or leaked had shown a few Sichuan politicians called mining operations “wasteful” and discouraged the business. What do you think about the hashrate drop and issues in China’s Sichuan province? Let us know in the comments below. The post Bitcoin Hashrate Slides 33% Since Halving – Difficulty Drops, Issues in Sichuan China appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Africans rank atop global cryptocurrency ownership rates, according to a new report by Arcade Research. South Africa ranks third globally with 13% of its internet users owning or using cryptocurrencies, while 11% of connected Nigerians own cryptocurrencies in the fifth-placed populous West African country. Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana are listed in the report among the top 10 countries where “cryptocurrency” is most searched on Google. Economic challenges work both ways, as the digital divide slows the adoption of cryptocurrency while high financial fees make virtual currencies an attractive alternative. Africa also has some of the world’s most inflationary economies where fiscal indiscipline and controversial monetary policies sometimes erode citizens’ savings overnight. Apart from governments’ heavy hand, external factors such as sanctions and conflict also threaten savings, making cryptocurrency a less exposed investment. Sub-Saharan Africa records $48 billion remittances annually but transaction fees go as high as 9%, while some mobile payment transfer services charge around 11%. Cryptocurrency use is also a way to undercut the disadvantages of centralization while eliminating high remittances cost. Arcane Research notes lack of infrastructures such as crypto mining operations, supporting merchants, smartphone penetration, and internet connectivity as slowing the uptake of cryptocurrencies. With rural-majority populations in some countries, significant swaths of the continent are not electrified, limiting the reach of bitcoin and other digital assets. . According to the report, lack of policy clarity, with close to 60% of African governments yet to announce their positions on cryptocurrencies, slows down adoption. “Africa is one of, if not the most promising region for the adoption of cryptocurrencies,” said the report. “This is due to its unique combination of economic and demographic trends. While the overall adoption is relatively low, the potential is enormous, the growth is rapid, and the development is likely to become defining for the cryptocurrency industry going forward,” it added. What do you think about cryptocurrency adoption in Africa? Let us know in the comments section below. The post South Africa Leads Crypto Revolution in Africa – Challenges Spur and Slow Adoption appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Gox Rising has offered to buy out creditor claims from the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox. The Brock Pierce-led outfit will pay $800 per bitcoin claim, either in BTC or cash, to creditors who are unwilling to wait for the finalization of the ongoing civil litigation. “Our payment would be put in escrow and made within 10 business days of the claim transfer confirmation,” the company announced in a statement Thursday. “We recognize that some investors may not wish to wait any longer to see what the final resolution and payout will be and how much longer that payout will be delayed,” it said. At the time of Mt. Gox’s collapse six years ago, each BTC traded for $451, it claims. Gox Rising was launched early 2019 as an alternative to Mt. Gox bankruptcy monitor Nobuaki Kobayashi’s civil rehabilitation effort. The Japanese exchange went from handling 70% of global bitcoin trades in 2013 to bankruptcy in 2014 after more than 850,000 BTC were supposedly lost to hackers, with 200,000 bitcoins recovered two weeks later. As the effects of the discrepancy became apparent, the exchange initially delayed withdrawals for up to three months before completely ceasing them altogether, ostensibly over the theft of bitcoin. Mt. Gox entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2014 but has since undergone civil rehabilitation processes to enable it to pay bitcoin still owed to investors. However, the repayments have been delayed by a series of lawsuits brought against the exchange’s estate. In its statement, Gox Rising pointed out that “each claim will need to be individually reviewed,” adding that “we have also been investigating potential avenues for bringing better liquidity options to claim holders and any interested parties should reach out.” Gox Rising’s plan is to ensure that creditors receive as much of their money as possible, but this also means that no additional BTC from Mt. Gox’s estate would be sold, and “equity (holders) will make no claim on any of the cash held by the trustee.” Mt. Gox’s major shareholder and former chief executive officer, Mark Karpeles, has previously questioned the feasibility and legality of the plan. What do you think about Mt. Gox’s continuing saga? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Gox Rising Offers $800 per Bitcoin Claim to Buy out Mt Gox Creditors appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Since the market rout on March 12, otherwise known as ‘Black Thursday,’ bitcoin futures and options contracts have seen significant demand. On May 14, CME Group saw the total number of outstanding derivatives contracts (open interest) touch a high of $142 million. Four days later, CME broke records again. Data from the researchers at Skew.com detailed that CME’s regulated bitcoin options open interest is up 10x this month. Deribit’s Massive Options Volumes and CME Group’s Regulated Bitcoin Derivatives Markets Touch New Highs Ever since the halving on May 11, there’s been a lot of action when it comes to bitcoin-based derivatives products. The research and analysis team from Skew.com publishes daily information about CME’s bitcoin futures and options, products from Bakkt, and a slew of other exchanges that offer crypto derivatives. For instance, Skew detailed that the exchange Deribit’s bitcoin options open interest had touched $1 billion for the first time this week. On May 14, CME Group saw $142 million in 10-day combined daily volumes, which is far smaller than Deribit’s volumes but still a milestone for CME. The regulated exchange touched $172 million in total CME BTC options open interest, following the record performance four days prior. On May 8, CME Group published a blog post about the bitcoin halving and discussed its derivatives products as well. “The emergence of a futures and options market has created a new ecosystem for bitcoin markets, which faces its first supply cut since 2016,” CME Group’s Payal Lakhani wrote at the time. The May 14, open interest breakout for CME Group’s bitcoin options was the first time it has ever crossed $100 million, Skew noted. Deribit open interest only. Between Deribit, CME, Bakkt, Okex, and Ledgerx the volumes pushed “total bitcoin options open interest to a new record [of] $1.1 billion,” Skew explained. Additionally, “CME bitcoin futures traded nearly $1 billion,” on May 12, 2020 the researchers disclosed. Bitcoin Halving Fuels Speculation, the Very Driver of Crypto Derivatives Markets Even Bakkt’s trade volumes increased after the halving, despite lackluster trading volume months prior to the event. “Bakkt had a solid halving session with a record volume day in $ notional, $51.8 million bitcoin futures crossed,” Skew tweeted the day after bitcoin’s third halving. Total BTC options open interest between five exchanges. There’s been a lot of action with ethereum-based (ETH) derivatives products as well. Skew explained on May 21 that “17,500+ Jun20 240 calls traded yesterday on Deribit [at] $10.1 average dollar equivalent price.” When looking at Deribit’s ETH options buy/sell ration Skew said it “reads like overwriting as 76% of liquidity takers were sellers yesterday.” The market carnage in mid-March was devastating to a lot of traders, and many derivatives players lost their shirts during massive liquidations. The price of BTC has strengthened since it dropped to $3,600 per coin on March 12, and cryptocurrency derivatives markets have seen a great deal of increased action since then as well. Moreover, the third bitcoin halving that took place on May 11, 2020, at 2:30 p.m. ET, sparked even more interest in bitcoin-based futures and options contracts betting on the next few months. What do you think about the latest interest increase in bitcoin derivatives products? Let us know in the comments below. The post Bitcoin Futures, Options, and Open Interest: Crypto Derivatives Break Records After the Halving appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to eliminate “unnecessary regulations that impede economic recovery” following the coronavirus crisis. With this deregulation, government agencies are “encouraged to promote economic recovery through non-regulatory actions.” Trump Signs Deregulation Order to Help Economic Recovery Following Coronavirus Crisis At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to eliminate “unnecessary regulations that impede economic recovery,” the media quoted him as saying. This latest deregulatory effort is aimed at helping the U.S. economy recover from the impact of the covid-19 crisis, Trump announced. According to the executive order published by the White House: The heads of all agencies are also encouraged to promote economic recovery through non-regulatory actions. Trump’s deregulation order directs federal agencies to “identify regulatory standards that may inhibit economic recovery” and take appropriate action, including “issuing proposed rules as necessary, to temporarily or permanently rescind, modify, waive, or exempt persons or entities from those requirements … for the purpose of promoting job creation and economic growth.” U.S. President Donald Trump signed a deregulation executive order to help speed up the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Some Democratic lawmakers were quick to criticize Trump’s action, arguing that it will allow the government to get rid of important protections. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Ted Cruz commented: Every regulation that was waived during this crisis should remain waived and we should begin repealing the most costly of the major regulations that have accumulated over the past decade. Some people in the cryptocurrency industry view this deregulation order by Trump as a positive move, hoping that less regulation would lead to fewer enforcement actions on crypto activities. Some also hope that the deregulation would increase the chance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) while others are more skeptical. So far, the SEC has not approved any bitcoin ETF proposals. Do you think Trump’s deregulation order will affect the crypto industry? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Trump Signs Deregulation Order to Boost US Economic Recovery appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis has dismissed claims ISIS is holding a $300 million bitcoin (BTC) war chest. In a “fact-checking” report, published on May 20, 2020, the U.S. company accused the media of sensationalizing allegations about BTC and other cryptocurrencies being used to fund terror groups. Most terrorism financing campaigns have raised less than $10,000 via crypto, indicating limited adoption, said the report. A few days ago, the director of the Counter Extremism Project claimed that ISIS had up to $300 million stored in bitcoin. Funds of equal value have been missing in a search conducted since 2017. “This would be an ideal storage mechanism until it is needed. If done right, it would be unfindable and unseizable for most governments,” said Hans-Jakob Schindler, who heads the terrorism-related think tank. Major news media published Schindler’s speculative allegations, even without hard evidence to back up his claims. “Schindler’s theory is also highly unlikely,” Chainalysis asserted. The company explained that if the terrorist organization “funneled oil proceeds into bitcoin, trading volume of regional exchanges and money service businesses would have reflected this flow of funds.” It highlighted that cryptocurrency is not an ideal form of storing illicit money because of the transparency associated with the underlying blockchain technology. Cash and other traditional assets are better suited for this purpose, Chainalysis added. Chainalysis also spoke about the reports of terrorism fundraising campaign run by Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) through Cash4ps, a Gaza-based money service business, to raise $24 million through crypto, calling it “misinformation.” Investigations revealed that “if PRC raised any money at all, it was substantially less than $24M.” Another crypto crime report released earlier this year mentioned the use of BTC payments to facilitate the bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, carried out by ISIS. An Israeli blockchain company called Whitsream announced the findings. However, according to the fact-checking report, “media reports amplified the (Israeli) firm’s findings.” “The firm…claimed that the balances in Coin Payments’ wallets surged from $500,000 to $4.5 million just one day before the Easter attacks but dropped back to $500,000 right after the attacks took place,” said Chainalysis. “However, our analysis suggests those findings are likely incorrect and that both the $10,000 transaction and $4 million balance increase were simply internal transactions that are standard practice for a payment processor like Coin Payments,” it added. Chainalysis observed that “terrorism financing is generally nascent but capabilities are advancing quickly.” What do you think about bitcoin and terrorism financing? Let us know in the comments section below. The post No Evidence ISIS Is Storing $300 Million in Bitcoin, Says Chainalysis appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article