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Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the popular book “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” talked about the death of the U.S. dollar and how one should take the government’s free money and buy bitcoin. The best-selling author also explained the cost of free money. Also read: IMF Declares Global Recession, 80 Countries Request Help, Trillions of Dollars Needed Take Free Government Money and Buy Bitcoin The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad has chimed in on the impact of the free money the U.S. government is giving to small business owners on the U.S. dollar. From his Twitter account with over 1.3 million followers, he wrote on Saturday: “Death of dollar. People desperate for money. Very sad. If [the] government gives you free money, take it yet spend it wisely. Do not save. Buy gold, silver, bitcoin. Dollar is dying.” Rich Dad Poor Dad is a 1997 book co-authored by Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. Over 32 million copies of the book have been sold in over 51 languages across more than 109 countries. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over six years. The book teaches the importance of financial literacy, financial independence and building wealth through various methods, such as investing in real estate and owning your own business. This is not the first time Kiyosaki has advocated for bitcoin. In August 2018, he proclaimed that “The US dollar is a scam,” adding that “the dollar is toast because gold and silver and cybercurrency are going to take it out.” The best-selling author was also quoted as saying: “The US Dollar is gone … In the year 2000 there was one currency, the US Dollar. It was called the reserve currency of the world … and then came bitcoin or cybercurrency.” Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, the best-selling book with 32 million copies sold, has been saying that the U.S. dollar is a scam and people should buy bitcoin. The Cost of Free Money Kiyosaki’s tweet advocating for bitcoin on Saturday was one in a series responding to the U.S. government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which promises $350 billion to small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic. “Small biz entrepreneurs offered payroll for employees for free,” he tweeted on Thursday, a day before the program was expected to go live. “Example. If company payroll for 8 weeks [totals] $1 million, banks will give [a] $1 million loan. Don’t have to pay back. Entrepreneurs win again. Socialism for rich.” While emphasizing that most people want free money, even himself, Kiyosaki questioned, “What is the price of free money?” Assuming the role of a financial literacy teacher once again, Kiyosaki asked his Twitter followers how free money could destroy the U.S. dollar. He explained that by definition, “Money is an idea backed by confidence representing work truly done and is exchangeable.” The Rich Dad Poor Dad author concluded: “Paying people not to work destroys confidence in government $ and [the] exchange of $. Trust gold and silver-gods money [and] crypto-peoples money.” What do you think of Kiyosaki’s advice to buy bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Rich Dad Poor Dad Author Robert Kiyosaki: Dollar Is Dying, Buy Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Despite the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting financial crisis, at least 10 countries have made announcements regarding cryptocurrency regulation since our last regulatory roundup. They include Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Spain, Germany, India, the Philippines, the U.S., and South Korea. Also read: IMF Declares Global Recession, 80 Countries Request Help, Trillions of Dollars Needed Regulations Directly Affecting Crypto Exchanges, Businesses and Individuals The world is going through a crisis with an escalating number of covid-19 cases causing economic turmoil in many countries. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has declared a global recession, noting that at least 80 countries have asked for its assistance. Nonetheless, since our last regulatory roundup, a number of countries have made announcements relating to their cryptocurrency regulations. During the past week, two countries approved new cryptocurrency exchanges. Japan approved its 23rd crypto exchange while Malaysia followed suit and fully approved a crypto exchange operator even as the country extended the nationwide lockdown. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has granted a temporary exemption from holding a license to a number of cryptocurrency companies under the new Payment Services Act. Among the companies benefiting from this six-month grace period are Binance, Coinbase, Gemini, Bitstamp, Luno, Upbit, and Wirex. A new cryptocurrency exchange has been approved in Japan despite the rising number of covid-19 cases. Malaysia also gave full approval to a crypto exchange operator despite the nationwide lockdown extension. In Spain, the tax authority has begun sending notices to 66,000 crypto owners. This number represents a massive increase from the 14,700 tax letters the agency sent to crypto owners last year. The letters will be sent until the end of June. Crypto Regulations Progressing Worldwide In Germany, the Federal Finacial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) published guidelines in English on March 30 regarding how companies can apply for its authorization to offer a crypto custody service. The new German crypto regulation went into effect in early January and companies had until March 31 to submit their intent to operate a crypto custody business. They now have until Nov. 30 to submit their complete application. BaFin published instructions in English for businesses wanting to offer a crypto custody service in Germany. The deadline for them to submit a complete application for crypto custody authorization is Nov. 30. India is also working on cryptocurrency regulation despite the fact that there is a draft bill that seeks to categorically ban all cryptocurrencies except state-issued ones. The government is reportedly discussing the matter with the central bank. Furthermore, a state official has been discussing hosting educational events with the founders of India Crypto Bulls, the organizer of a crypto roadshow to take place in 15 major Indian cities. A number of countries have warned about cryptocurrency investment schemes. In the Philippines, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued several warnings, including one on Bitcoin Revolution. The United States has also been involved in several crypto-related cases. For example, the U.S. SEC recently charged two individuals for allegedly defrauding hundreds of investors with an alkaline water-backed cryptocurrency. The commission is also involved in an ongoing battle with Telegram. Another country that likes to issue warnings about cryptocurrencies is China. The National Internet Finance Association (NIFA), a self-regulatory organization initiated by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), published a notice on Thursday regarding the risks associated with cryptocurrency. The association specifically warned of fake volumes at crypto exchanges. Meanwhile, the PBOC has reportedly completed the basic development of the nation’s central bank digital currency and is now drafting legislation for its circulation. Last but not least, South Korea has also started a pilot program for its national digital currency. The country’s central bank, the Bank of Korea, announced the launch of this pilot program on Monday, April 6. The system will be set up and tested throughout the year. This announcement followed the approval of the bill by the Korean government to regulate cryptocurrencies. What do you think about these countries pushing ahead with crypto regulations amid the crisis? Let us know in the comments section below. The post 10 Countries Actively Regulating Cryptocurrency Despite Global Crisis appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin.com’s Cashfusion Fund officially surpassed the fundraiser goal by 103.3% or $51K worth of bitcoin cash spread out between 623 donations. The funds will go toward Cashfusion developer expenses and a security audit from Kudelski Security. Bitcoin.com also matched the funds donated so Cashfusion can provide bitcoin cash users with the best privacy methods available today. Also read: Freebitco.in Gaming Site Launches Covid-19 Relief Fund – Donating 20% House Edge to Healthcare Efforts Cashfusion Provides Greater Privacy Than Traditional Coinjoin Protocols Cashfusion has been considered a powerful tool when it comes to obfuscating bitcoin cash transactions and ensuring privacy. The project made a lot of headway last year and into the new year as well as 3,139 Fusions have been processed since November 28, 2019. Furthermore, Cashfusion has also been complemented by well known privacy advocates like the creator of the Wasabi Wallet. On January 29, data analyst James Waugh sifted through a number of Cashfusion transaction inputs and outputs and realized that it’s “not possible to establish a concrete link” between them. The Cashfusion protocol is an extension of Cashshuffle, which adds a greater layer of privacy to BCH transactions. However, if a shuffling participant mixes their BCH and eventually consolidates the UTXOs, it’s possible the transaction can leave behind some clues for blockchain analysis. Want to learn how to use Cashfusion with bitcoin cash? Check out this tutorial here. Are you looking for a secure way to buy bitcoin cash online? Start by downloading your free Bitcoin wallet from us and then head over to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can easily buy cryptocurrencies like BTC and BCH. Two months ago, Electron Cash developer Jonald Fyookball published a paper about the combinatoric math in Cashfusion. The paper has a quote from independent software developer Mark Lundeberg that explains how Cashfusion doesn’t use equal-amounts when fusing. “In Cashfusion, we have opted to abandon the equal-amount concept altogether. While this is at first glance no different than the old naive schemes, mathematical analysis shows it in fact becomes highly private by simply increasing the numbers of inputs and outputs,” Lundeberg wrote. “For example, with hundreds of inputs and outputs, it is not just computationally impractical to iterate through all partitions, but even with infinite computing power, one would find a large number of valid partitions,” the developer added. Bitcoin.com’s Cashfusion Fundraiser – Bitcoin Cash Community Raises $51K Since Cashfusion provides greater privacy to BCH participants, Bitcoin.com decided to raise funds for the tool’s creators for a security audit and developer expenses. Just like the Cashshuffle software, Cashfusion will get an audit from Kudelski Security in order to make sure the code is solid and doesn’t have vulnerabilities. At the end of February, privacy advocates from Bitcoin.com decided to launch the fundraiser for the Cashfusion team so they can further the project’s goals. As we stated in the initial announcement, Bitcoin.com knows the community is waiting for Cashfusion and our company wants to make the project’s official launch come to realization sooner. By March 6, the BCH community raised over 100 BCH in the midst of the looming economic effects of the covid-19 crisis. Despite the coronavirus and its effects on the world’s financial system, the greater BCH community managed to surpass the Cashfusion Fundraiser’s goal. As of Sunday, April 5, the fundraiser has 103.3% raised from 623 transactions which add up to $51K. Bitcoin cash proponents sent 21.9 billion satoshis since the start of the fundraiser. Bitcoin.com wholeheartedly believes in the right to privacy and our team has always pushed for tools that further economic freedom. With privacy-enhancing protocols like Cashshuffle and Cashfusion, as well as the recently added Schnorr Signatures, BCH has set itself apart from the rest of the cryptocurrencies in existence. “I think it’s great the Bitcoin Cash community appreciates privacy and economic freedom,” said Bitcoin.com executive chairman Roger Ver after the fund reached its goal. Ver added: Raising funds for Cashfusion shows the BCH community cares about privacy a great deal and the security audit should forward that goal. Privacy is of utmost importance these days and it’s more apparent than ever during this current crisis. The covid-19 crisis has highlighted the need for liberty and how everyone should have the right to do what they want with their own money. As banks around the world have been stopping people from withdrawing their own hard-earned cash, it’s pretty apparent fractional reserve banking has glaring issues. While governments and central bankers try to install a greater form of surveillance capitalism and monitor all of our financial transactions, tools like Cashfusion will be there to make sure privacy is protected. The Cashfusion Fundraiser reaching its goal is proof that the BCH community cares deeply about promoting privacy. What do you think about the Cashfusion Fundraiser surpassing its goal? Let us know in the comments below. The post Bitcoin.com’s Cashfusion Fund Exceeds Goal: $100K Raised for Bitcoin Cash Privacy appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A number of class-action lawsuits have been filed against various digital asset firms and exchanges on Friday. The U.S.-based “litigation boutique,” Roche Cyrulnik Freedman, filed the lawsuit for three plaintiffs in the Southern District of New York. All three lawsuits claim that organizations like the Tron Foundation, Bitmex, Binance, Bibox and Block.one allegedly sold unregistered securities to retail investors. Also read: IMF Declares Global Recession, 80 Countries Request Help, Trillions of Dollars Needed The Crypto Industry’s “Litigation Boutique” Files 11 Class-Action Lawsuits Against Various Digital Currency Firms The New York law firm Roche Cyrulnik Freedman has been busy, as the attorneys have multiple high-profile lawsuits right now that stem from the crypto industry. The publication Bloomberg Law recently called the firm a “litigation boutique” that specializes in cryptocurrency cases. The two cases Roche Cyrulnik Freedman have been involved with before Friday’s filing include; the trillion-dollar lawsuit against Tether Limited and the Kleiman v. Wright court case. The case against the self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright far exceeds $5.1 billion USD worth of BTC before punitive or treble damages. Offshore Alert was the first to spot the lawsuits as the publication specializes in sharing information about offshore lawsuits, regulations, and other forms of litigation. The class-action lawsuit filings were initiated by the defendants’ Eric Lee, Chase Williams, and Alexander Clifford. Court filings were found by the offshore news and research outlet, Offshore Alert, a think-tank that distinguishes themselves as offshore financial center experts. Crypto operations being sued by the plaintiffs include KayDex, Quantstamp, KuCoin, HDR Global Trading, BitMEX, Bprotocol, Status, Block.one, Civic and Binance. Developers and executives like Dan Larimer, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Vinny Lingham, Arthur Hayes, and Brendan Blumer are all mentioned in each court filing. The class-action lawsuits filed, mentions the allegation of “unlicensed activity” and the sale of unregistered securities through initial coin offerings (ICO) or initial exchange offerings (IEO). Roche Cyrulnik Freedman has 15 lawyers and 12 of them stem from Boies Schiller. Bloomberg Law calls the law firm a “litigation boutique” and they also represent the Kleiman Estate against Craig Wright, and a trillion-dollar class-action lawsuit against Tether Limited as well. For example, the plaintiff Chase Williams’ class-action complaint against Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao says the exchange sold unregistered securities as digital tokens. Tokens named in the lawsuit include EOS, BNT, SNT, QSP, KNC, TRX, FUN, ICX, OMG, LEND, ELF, and CVC. All of the lawsuits were filed with the Southern District of New York court on April 3. There’s a total of 42 defendants named in the class-action suits and the individuals stem from countries like South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, the U.S., China, Seychelles, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands. The 11 class-action lawsuit filings were initiated by Eric Lee, Chase Williams, and Alexander Clifford in the Southern District of New York’s courthouse. Plaintiffs Say Centralization Was Not Apparent at Issuance to a Reasonable Investor The plaintiffs and the litigation firm Roche Cyrulnik Freedman will likely have a difficult time battling jurisdictions. Moreover, there really hasn’t been a government standard or conclusion toward the unregistered securities argument thus far and regulators still seem up in the air. This has been the case with the ongoing Ripple lawsuit, which also alleges that XRP was sold as an unregistered security. In every one of the filings submitted on April 3 by Roche Cyrulnik Freedman, the allegations claim these token sales were completely centralized. The accusation against the Tron Foundation notes: The creation of TRX tokens thus occurred through a centralized process, in contrast to Bitcoin and Ethereum. This, however, would not have been apparent at issuance to a reasonable investor. Rather, it was only after the passage of time and disclosure of additional information about the issuer’s intent, the process of management, and success in allowing decentralization to arise that a reasonable purchaser could know that he or she had acquired a security. Purchasers were thereby misled into believing that TRX was something other than a security, when it was a security. Nobody knows how these 11 cases will turn out, but the crypto community is discussing the subject with great fervor. The attorney Stephen Palley who specializes in cryptocurrencies and litigation explained that the defendants will likely try to get the cases dismissed. “These lawsuits will be dismissed by the defendants in press releases as ambulance-chasing lawsuit trolling,” Palley said. “But it’s not quite that black and white upon closer inspection,” the lawyer added. What do you think about the lawsuits against 11 crypto companies? Let us know in the comments below. The post ICO Crackdown: 11 Class-Action Lawsuits Filed Against Cryptocurrency Companies appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Since the supreme court lifted the RBI ban, more people have been looking to buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in India. Responding to community feedback, a number of cryptocurrency exchanges have lowered their fees as the Indian crypto sector continues to grow. Also read: IMF Declares Global Recession, 80 Countries Request Help, Trillions of Dollars Needed Indian Crypto Exchanges Cutting Fees The Indian crypto sector has been growing ever since the Supreme Court of India lifted the banking ban imposed by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). More people are now interested in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and local crypto exchanges are seeing increased trade volumes and signups, even during the nationwide lockdown. One of the main factors why a user chooses one cryptocurrency exchange over another is the fee structure. Due to popular demand on social media, a number of crypto trading platforms have lowered their fees. Below are some popular bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges in India, as well as the fees they are charging. Wazirx, a popular crypto exchange in the country, charges 0.1% when paid through WRX, CEO Nischal Shetty told news.Bitcoin.com. “We lowered our USDT fees to make it zero fees for transfer to Binance,” he detailed. “So effectively maximum users in India now enjoy 0 fee USDT transfer from Wazirx to Binance and for other withdrawals, the fee has been lowered to 1.5 USDT.” The CEO further shared, “We’re planning to lower withdrawal fees for other tokens as well over time.” Wazirx’s fees can be found here. Zebpay, formerly one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in India, recently relaunched in the country. The exchange announced that starting Friday it is waiving “the normal 1.5% netbanking fee through April 10.” Furthermore, “users can trade BTC-USDT, ETH-USDT, XRP-USDT, ETH-BTC & TUSD-USDT with no trading fees this month.” The exchange currently charges a withdrawal fee of 0.00049 BTC. Zebpay’s fees can be found here. Other Indian Exchanges With Competitive Fees Some cryptocurrency trading platforms have already been focusing on offering competitive fees to their users. Popular Indian crypto exchange Coindcx charges 0.0005 BTC for withdrawals. CEO Sumit Gupta shared with news.Bitcoin.com: “We have been competitive since [the] start as a policy as we believe in crypto adoption. As we have been maintaining the best price, compared to some competitors, we didn’t have to bring the fees down.” Coindcx’s fees can be found here. Unocoin, one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in India, charges a fee of 0.7% to buy or sell bitcoin. Users can upgrade to a gold membership and the fee will drop to 0.5%. Unocoin’s fees can be found here. Other well known cryptocurrency exchanges in India include Cashaa, Pocketbits, Giottus, and Bitbns. London-based banking platform Cashaa launched its Indian operations in October last year; its fees can be found here. Pocketbits advertises 0% trading fees and a BTC withdrawal fee of 0.0003 BTC; its fees can be found here. Giottus offers a BTC withdrawal fee of 0.0001 BTC, and the platform’s fee schedule can be found here. Bitbns charges a BTC withdrawal fee of 0.0005 BTC; its fees can be found here. Furthermore, Indians can also use peer-to-peer marketplaces such as Localbitcoins and Paxful to buy and sell bitcoins directly from sellers in INR. They can also use local.Bitcoin.com to buy and sell BCH. India currently has no direct cryptocurrency regulation but the government is reportedly discussing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies with the central bank. Which Indian crypto exchange do you like the most? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Where to Buy Bitcoin in India: Cryptocurrency Exchanges Lower Their Fees appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The owners of the website Freebitco.in have announced a coronavirus relief fund following the myriad of other crypto companies donating funds to help fight the covid-19 pandemic. Freebitco.in is an extremely popular gaming website that saw more than 40 million visitors last month in web traffic and the site ranks #2,379 globally according to Alexa ratings. The website is donating 20% of the house edge to an organization that will be coordinating with public health authorities in order to provide protective equipment. Also read: Coronavirus Relief: Cryptocurrency Aid Programs Launched to Combat Covid-19 Outbreak Freebitco.in Launches Coronavirus Relief Effort The coronavirus outbreak has massively disrupted the world’s economy and a lot of people are in need of food and healthcare resources. This has caused a lot of firms in the private sector to start providing much-needed supplies and relief funds to those affected by the financial calamity. News.Bitcoin.com recently reported on a slew of crypto companies donating funds to coronavirus relief efforts during the last few weeks. For instance, the organization Binance Charity designated $5 million toward a covid-19 aid program. Now the team behind the popular crypto gaming web portal Freebitco.in has initiated a fund to assist those in need during these times of stress. Freebitco.in is a well known gambling site that was launched in 2013 and the website gets around 40-46 million visitors per month. The gaming web portal’s fundraiser says the site will donate 20% of the house edge toward covid-19 relief efforts. Freebitco.in’s covid-19 fundraiser announcement states: The proceeds from this fundraiser will be donated to Direct Relief, an organization that is coordinating with public health authorities, nonprofit organizations and businesses in the U.S. to provide personal protective equipment and other items to health workers responding to coronavirus (covid-19). Please join us to help the masked superheroes on the front lines that are risking their health to keep us safe. Bitcoin Cash Price Prediction Bet and the Multiply Game So far, statistics on April 4 show there are 1.1 million coronavirus cases worldwide and 62,735 people have died from the pandemic. Freebitco.in has a lot of visitors playing games like “free bitcoins every hour,” “hi-lo game,” “the wagering contest,” “dice game,” and “peer-to-peer event prediction.” Freebitco.in recently added a “bitcoin cash price prediction” bet to the platform which allows players to wager on the future price of BCH. People wagering on the “multiply BTC game between 8 to 11 UTC on Sunday, April 5 will see 20% of house edge revenue contributed during the donation window to the coronavirus relief fund.” Freebitco.in is very web prominent as Alexa ratings note the site ranks #2,379 worldwide and the web portal is also very well known in Russia. Russian traffic statistics show that Freebitco.in ranks #692 in the country. With 1.72 million page visits a day, the site could generate a notable amount of funds for coronavirus relief. There is a shortage of medical supplies, masks, and ventilators worldwide, and the private sector is dedicating lots of energy to sending much-needed supplies to hospitals and makeshift ICUs. The private sector and a slew of crypto companies dedicating time and efforts toward helping those in need clearly shows there’s still a lot of good moral fiber in the world of business and finance. What do you think about Freebitco.in’s coronavirus relief effort? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Freebitco.in Gaming Site Launches Covid-19 Relief Fund – Donating 20% House Edge to Healthcare Efforts appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The coronavirus outbreak has sent shockwaves through the world’s economy and this has caused politicians and central bankers to react in various ways. However, global market leaders, Wall Street CEOs and hedge fund managers had one of the best years in more than a decade since the 2008 financial crisis. In fact, evidence shows that the bureaucracy and the modern banking cartel knew a crash was on the horizon, as the covid-19 crisis was simply the pin that popped the balloon. Also read: IMF Declares Global Recession, 80 Countries Request Help, Trillions of Dollars Needed American Fascists Knew the Bubble Would Pop – Stocks Were Massively Overvalued, Bonds Manipulated Toward the end of 2019 market players and Wall Street’s top CEOs discussed whether or not the U.S. was facing a recession in 2020. This was after the stock market, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average broke records last year. A few months before the coronavirus started spreading wildly, central banks like the Federal Reserve were already slashing rates and funneling billions into the hands of private banks. It’s almost as if the elite knew the bubble would pop in 2020, as bonds were manipulated by banks and stocks were massively overvalued. In fact, a majority of bankers predicted that 2020 would suffer from a really bad recession that could be worse than the last economic fallout. Central banks started easing up on monetary policy and created vast amounts of stimulus throughout the months of August, September, and October of last year. The Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told the press in October that the Fed would be buying Treasuries in mass quantities but he said that it was “not quantitive easing (QE).” Well before the covid-19 event, the Fed slashed the benchmark interest rate three times and funneled billions of USD into the hands of private institutions. When 2020 started, the smoke signals were everywhere, as hedge fund managers and strategists warned that the stock market was extremely overvalued. On January 14, financial experts reported on how the stock market has never been this big relative to the economy. “Such elevated valuations in past periods have weighed on equity returns over the subsequent five years and lowered the odds of positive outcomes,” Goldman Sachs strategist Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani noted in the company’s 2020 outlook. “That the bulk of last year’s returns came from higher valuations, and not growth in earnings, only compounds investors’ concerns,” Mossavar-Rahmani added. Despite, the warnings of a massive stock market bubble, a few Wall Street execs continued to shill company shares that many people had deemed “overpriced.” Wall Street and financial institutions had the best year in 2019 when the S&P jumped 30% and the Dow rose more than 22% last year as both indexes smashed records. Apple and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) were the biggest stocks in 2019 and many market strategists voiced that these stocks were extremely overvalued. The Leveraged House of Cards – $532 Trillion in Global Derivatives Markets Additionally, analysts also cautioned retail investors about how far apart Wall Street trading and the real world economy really is compared to the hyped up news headlines. Markets today are made up of algorithms, futures, options, high-frequency trading, and passive funds and there’s whopping $532 trillion in global derivatives markets. Most of the time stock market derivatives are not even traded by real people, as estimates note that 75% of all trades are computer-driven. Moreover, derivatives like futures and options are usually not dealing with the physical goods themselves and they are simply trading pieces of paper that represent corn, oil, gold, and other commodities. The reason the derivatives markets could be frightening is due to the large separation from real-world goods. Megabanks and financial institutions did not learn from their prior mistakes and many of them are highly leveraged with derivatives products today. This means when real-world prices crash, highly leveraged institutions suffer major losses when spot prices are extremely turbulent like they were in 2008. The biggest recipients of Federal Reserve Bailout Funds from 2007 to 2011 are the same financial institutions that got bailouts months before the covid-19 outbreak. These banks are also getting trillions of U.S. dollars because of the coronavirus event, as politicians have given Wall Street massive stimulus injections and slush funds in the last two weeks. History Repeats For centuries now, a number of people have been aware that the politicians and central banks have manipulated and ruined global economies. The U.S. is a perfect example of how the American bureaucracy and Wall Street moguls from the ‘House of Morgan’ destroyed the nation’s economy by introducing a fraudulent Ponzi system. History shows that the banker families in the early 1900s are the very same banking families who run the country’s finances today. The fraudulent banking cartel is likely the direct cause of all of the economic destruction modern Americans have seen in the last three decades. The Money Trust’s leading members JP Morgan (left) and JD Rockefeller (right). The same banking families who were responsible for the market crashes during the early 1900s through the ’30s run today’s megabanks and American corporations. The Wall Street crashes in 1907, 1929 and in the early ‘30s, all stemmed from the greed and fraudulent activities invoked by the House of Morgan, otherwise known as the ‘Money Trust.’ Members of the Money Trust included the families of JP Morgan, JD Rockefeller and a small group of finance moguls. Morgan’s empire consisted of U.S. Steel, General Electric, International Mercantile Marine, International Harvester, AT&T, and approximately 21 railroads. Interestingly, during the Great Depression years, a slew of politicians and financiers stepped down months before the crash and many large firms restructured. January 2020 Saw the Most CEO Resignations in the U.S. – 219 Corporate Leaders Abruptly Step Down The 2020 crash which started on March 12, otherwise known as ‘Black Thursday,’ was a surprise for most Americans watching the stock market that day. However, today’s Wall Streeters, hedge fund managers, politicians, and bankers didn’t seem surprised by the bubble bursting at all. In fact, one could assume that the banking cartel and the American bureaucracy knew exactly when the crash was coming. One of the biggest signs of the elite knowing the crisis was imminent was how Q4 2019 had the most CEOs step down in years as 1,300 top executives left in November 2019. CEOs from mega-companies and financial institutions stepped down in record numbers again in December 2019. The public also witnessed the same trend in January and February, as January 2020 set a record for the most CEO departures in America recorded in a 30-day time span. 219 major chief execs unexpectedly left their positions with little to no warnings. Even though some of these CEOs ran these companies for decades, they stepped down abruptly. Disney’s CEO Bob Iger stepped down, Adam Bierman from Medmen suddenly up and left, and Mandy Ginsberg of Tinder and Match Group stepped away from her firm’s as well. The list of noteworthy CEOs who stepped down is quite exhaustive, but includes people like Hulu’s Randy Freer, Mastercard’s Ajay Banga, IBM’s Ginni Rometty, Tmobile’s John Legere, Harley Davidson’s Matt Levatich, Linkedin’s Jeff Weiner, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Salesforce’s Keith Block, Lbrand’s (Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Pink) Leslie Wexner, and many more well known chief executives. American Bureaucrats Jump Ship Before the Senate’s Private Briefing The protectors of today’s corporatists and monopolies, otherwise known as U.S. politicians, were also scrutinized for knowing about the economic impact in advance. Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) was accused of sharing insider information and she dumped millions in shares after the Senate’s coronavirus briefing took place. Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) was accused of dumping millions of shares before politicians had a private briefing with President Donald Trump. A slew of other American bureaucrats are accused of the same thing. Loeffler wasn’t the only bureaucrat accused of dumping on the stock markets before ‘Black Thursday,’ as U.S. representatives like North Carolina’s Richard Burr, California’s Dianne Feinstein, and Oklahoma’s James Inhofe all sold stocks before the Senate’s classified briefing on January 24. None of these politicians or corporatists warned the general public of a looming stock market crash. Cryptocurrency Solutions – The Need to Separate Money from the State Has Never Been More Apparent Cryptocurrency advocates have been warning about the monetary manipulation for well over a decade and many bitcoiners predicted these events. The money system has been fraudulent for a very long time and digital currencies like bitcoin could transform the world’s monetary system for the better. Reading this article should tell you that there is no free market within the United States and the capitalism that exists is really cronyism mixed with manipulative profits. Bitcoin.com has numerous resources available for anyone to get started learning about and using cryptocurrencies like BCH, BTC, and ETH. Our comprehensive website has a local peer-to-peer marketplace, an exchange, a fantastic gaming platform, a mining pool, cloud contracts and so much more. Check out our guides, resources, and services today. Concepts like cryptocurrencies and free markets are becoming more enticing to people every single day. The reason for this trend is largely because central bankers and politicians are making it blatantly obvious that they are screwing society. The elite knowing about the mid-March stock market fallout well beforehand should be no surprise to those who understand the collusion between the state and central banks. More than ever, activists and free market advocates wholeheartedly believe that the desire to separate money from the state is a goal worth fighting for. Especially since we have solid proof of fraudulent behavior from our so-called representatives and banking institutions. What do you think about politicians and the elite knowing about the crash well before covid-19? Let us know what you think in the comments below. The post Evidence Shows Politicians and Wall Street CEOs Expected the Market Crash Well Before Covid-19 appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Malaysia’s Securities Commission has given full approval to a cryptocurrency exchange operator to legally operate in the country despite the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Recently, Japan also approved a new cryptocurrency exchange as the country continues to fight the covid-19 outbreak. Also read: IMF Declares Global Recession, 80 Countries Request Help, Trillions of Dollars Needed Crypto Exchange Receives Full Approval During Lockdown Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), has approved a cryptocurrency exchange despite the current coronavirus pandemic crisis the country is facing. The nationwide lockdown has already been extended until at least April 14. By that time, the Malaysian government hopes that aggressive testing will have contained the pandemic. During the lockdown, crypto exchange operator Tokenize Malaysia received full approval from the Securities Commission Malaysia to operate a digital asset exchange (DAX), several local media reported Friday. The platform can now accept clients. Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), has fully approved a cryptocurrency exchange operator despite the country extending the nationwide lockdown until at least mid-April. Referring to the covid-19 pandemic, Tokenize Malaysia CEO Hong Qi Yu was quoted by Malaysian national news agency Bernama as saying: The digital asset industry is by far one of the best equipped and it is business as usual for us as the industry is used to working and communicating effectively across time zones and managing teams remotely. Other Approved Crypto Exchange Operators in Malaysia On Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia’s website, the regulator explained that it has registered three recognized market operators (RMOs) to establish and operate cryptocurrency exchanges in Malaysia. This followed the coming into force of “the Capital Markets and Services (Prescription of Securities) (Digital Currency and Digital Token) Order 2019” on Jan. 15 last year, designed to regulate DAX operators. Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia conditionally approved three crypto exchange operators in June last year: Luno Malaysia, Sinegy Technologies, and Tokenize Technology. Luno and Tokenize have now received full approval. The three conditionally-approved crypto exchange operators were Luno Malaysia, Sinegy Technologies, and Tokenize Technology. According to the national news agency, out of 23 crypto exchanges that applied, only the aforementioned three received any form of approval. Among them, Luno became the first to meet the regulatory requirements and received full approval. Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia also published digital asset guidelines in January this year outlining the requirements for digital token offerings. The regulator previously clarified: Entities which have not been approved by the SC, including those which have previously been operating under the transitional period, are required to cease all activities immediately and return all monies and assets collected from investors. Last week, Japan set an example by approving a new cryptocurrency exchange to operate in the country despite the coronavirus pandemic. The Land of the Rising Sun now has a total of 23 registered crypto exchanges. What do you think about Malaysia approving a crypto exchange despite the lockdown? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Malaysia Becomes the Next Country to Approve Cryptocurrency Exchange Amid Covid-19 Crisis appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has announced that he is airdropping cryptocurrency to every doctor in his country as a token of appreciation for their work to combat the coronavirus outbreak. The national cryptocurrency, the petro, will be distributed via the Homeland card (Carnet de la Patria). Also read: IMF Declares Global Recession, 80 Countries Request Help, Trillions of Dollars Needed Petro Airdrop to All Venezuelan Doctors The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, is airdropping the country’s cryptocurrency, the petro (PTR), to all doctors in Venezuela as a special bonus for their work to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The Twitter account for the Homeland card (Carnet de la Patria) announced on Wednesday: Thanks to President Nicolas Maduro, the delivery of the special bonus for all doctors of the country has begun in the amount of 1 petro through the Carnet de la Patria. Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has ordered an airdrop of one petro, the Venezuelan national cryptocurrency, to all doctors working to combat the covid-19 pandemic. Carnet de la Patria is the Venezuelan identity document that includes a unique personalized QR code; it was created in 2016 by the Venezuelan government. Venezolana de Televisión, a state-run TV station based in Caracas, noted that “through the Homeland platform, this benefit will be delivered to all those doctors as part of the recognition and thanks for the support to carry out the noble work of protecting the health of the Venezuelan people in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic that plagues humanity.” This is not the first time Maduro airdrops the petro to Venezuelan citizens. Last year, he airdropped it to retirees and pensioners and claimed in January this year that almost 6 million families in the country had used the cryptocurrency as a payment method. How Much Is a Petro Worth? According to the Venezuelan government’s official exchange rate, at the time of this writing, one petro can be exchanged for 0.00874729 BTC, 58.92 U.S. dollars, 4,989,701 bolivars, 54.23 euros, or 417.23 yuan. According to the Venezuelan government’s official exchange rate for the petro, 1 PTR is equal to 0.00874729 BTC at the time of this writing. However, the petro can be purchased on the open market at a fraction of the price set by the Venezuelan government, as news.Bitcoin.com previously reported. Venezuelans can use the Petroapp, provided by the government, to manage their petros and other cryptocurrencies: BTC, LTC, and DASH. The app also lets them exchange, buy, or transfer the petro, as well as use it to pay for goods and services. Maduro’s Trouble With US Government Maduro and a number of high-ranking Venezuelan officials have been charged by the U.S. government with “narco-terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking and other criminal charges,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week. Maduro and several other high-ranking Venezuelan government officials have been charged by the U.S. with “narco-terrorism, corruption, [and] drug trafficking.” There is also a $15 million bounty on Maduro.Several of the Venezuelan government officials charged allegedly partnered with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), Colombia’s largest rebel group, to “flood” the U.S. with cocaine, the DOJ claims. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of State is offering rewards of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Maduro. A $10 million bounty has also been placed on a few other high-ranking Venezuelan officials. Meanwhile, last month, Maduro ordered bank closures amid the coronavirus scare. What do you think about Maduro airdropping one petro to all doctors in Venezuela? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Pandemic Assistance: Maduro to Airdrop Cryptocurrency to All Doctors in Venezuela appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network will face a halving on wednesday this week and many BCH proponents are getting ready for the big day. Unfortunately, the covid-19 outbreak has overshadowed the halving and BCH has dropped in value by roughly 30% since the end of February. Also Read: Bitcoin Halving Will Drop Inflation Rate Lower Than Central Banks’ 2% Target Reference Bitcoin Cash Will Experience a Halving – Block Rewards to Drop by 50% BCH supporters are getting ready for the big halving day, at least the best they can since most of the world has been stuck at home due to the coronavirus. So far, roughly 87.4% of the 21 million BCH available are in circulation and there’s around 18,366,500 BCH at the time of publication. Every four years, the BCH network sees a reward halving as the system’s rules are meant to make the issuance rate harder. The Bitcoin Cash halving will take place in four days on or around Passover, April 8. Typically, there’s about 1,800 BCH mined per day, which gives the chain an inflation rate of 3.6%. Bitcoin cash miners finding a block on the BCH network today get approximately 12.5 BCH, but after the halving they will only get 6.25 coins. The Bitcoin Cash network’s drop in issuance will change the inflation rate to an estimated 1.8% per annum. The mathematical and probable monetary system is a stark contrast to the unpredictable monetary system that the world’s central banks provide. Central banks, like the Federal Reserve, claim to keep the inflation rate at 2%, but reports from shadowstats.com note that the real U.S. rate could be as high as 10%. No one knows how bad the inflation rate will get now that central banks worldwide have started creating trillions in fiat currencies out of thin air. Bitcoin cash’s price on April 3. The Fed’s schemes are completely different from the issuance rate Satoshi Nakamoto designed and the 1.8% per annum inflation rate for BCH will continue to get better. For instance, by the end of 2024, it is estimated that the BCH inflation rate will be around 1.1% and it will drop to 0.9% the very next year. By the end of 2028, around 20.5 million BCH should be mined by then and the inflation rate is expected to be about 0.5%. Four days before the halving, there’s around 3.63 exahash per second (EH/s) mining the Bitcoin Cash chain. On Friday, there are 10 different mining pools hashing away at the BCH chain. This includes operations like Antpool, Viabtc, Bitcoin.com, Btc.top, P2pool, Huobi, Poolin, Mining-Dutch, Btc.com, and Prohashing. Antpool captures the most hashpower on April 3, with 32% of the overall hashrate, while 6.5% of the hashrate is mined by stealth miners. Miners have about 8,500 coins left to mine and there are about 680 blocks left until the halving. BCH difficulty is around 486,638,039,618 and mining profitability between BTC and BCH has been less volatile lately. At the time of writing, it is 1.6% more profitable to mine the BTC blockchain and BTC miners face a halving in 39 days. Bitcoin Cash’s hashrate on April 3. Do you want to supercharge your mining potential? Mine bitcoin easily on the cloud without having to buy hardware, or plug your own hardware into the world’s highest paying mining pool. Interesting Times Ahead BCH fans are excited about the upcoming halving and a number of proponents discussed the subject two days ago, when there were six days left until the halving. Electron Cash developer Calin Culianu (Nilac the grim) said that he hopes things work out for the best. “Lord help us make it through these all-around crazy times better than we were entering into them,” Culianu wrote. “Interesting times ahead indeed,” Reddit user Jackandjill22 responded. The following day, Poolin executive Alejandro De La Torre tweeted: Only five days to go for the bitcoin cash halving. This is an event to monitor, might be indicative of what’s to come with the bitcoin halving. With the covid-19 outbreak, it’s likely that there won’t be any Bitcoin Cash halving parties come April 8. Most people will be monitoring the BCH reward reduction from home and they will surely be watching the price and the hashrate after the halving kicks in. If you are interested in reading about specific halving countdown websites for every Bitcoin branch reward reduction, then check out this article on the subject. What do you think about the upcoming BCH halving? Let us know in the comments section below. The post The Bitcoin Cash Halving Countdown – 50% Less Block Reward appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Despite what gold bug Peter Schiff says, economists are uncertain that gold will shine during the current coronavirus crisis. While gold and other precious metals have seen decent gains in the last few weeks, a few investors are terrified that central banks will use their flight-to-safety assets in order to save their economies. Data shows that the U.S. owns the biggest stockpile of gold reserves and the Federal Reserve could very well unload the bullion in times of extreme financial stress. Also read: Homeowners Can’t Pay: US Lenders Prepare for Catastrophic Real Estate Market Central Banks Might Need to Sell Gold, Which Could Crush the Price Long-Term Just like digital assets like bitcoin, investors are curious about gold and whether or not the metal will rise much higher during the financial meltdown. For over a millennia, gold has been considered a safe-haven asset and the yellow metal is far more scarce than the unlimited fiat central banks create regularly. Despite the scarcity, economists understand that central banks are the largest holders of gold and there’s a great possibility they could dump on the market at any time. In 2019, central banks worldwide purchased the most tonnage of gold in more than 50 years. Interestingly, in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, Russia’s central bank surprisingly stopped buying gold and gave no official reason. Russia was not the only country to curb gold purchasing as Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan brought gold purchases to a grinding halt. Speculators assume central banks are simply using gold for its flight-to-safety purpose and they will have to sell the bullion when economies get crushed. Statistics show that the U.S. is the largest holder of gold reserves with 8,965 tons to-date. This is followed by Germany (3,709t), the International Monetary Fund (3,101t), Italy (2,702t), France (2,684t), Russia (2,504t), China (2,159t), Switzerland (1,146t), Japan (842t), India (686t), Netherlands (674t), and the European Union (556t). Financial columnist David Fickling explains in a recent editorial that investors should not “expect a crisis to be good for gold.” “It might be argued that the current crisis is precisely the sort of emergency that proves the enduring value of gold for a central bank, as an asset with no counterparty risk that can be sold in an exchange for any currency if things get tight,” Fickling wrote on April 1. Fickling continued: It’s worth reflecting that the surging price of gold is increasing the share of bullion in most central banks’ reserves right now, in some cases to the point where they need to think about selling. Retail Investors Forced to Pay Higher Premiums for Small Bars and Coins Further, even though investors might want to get some gold to hold onto as a safe haven asset, financial news outlets are reporting on gold dealers explaining there are “big shortages of small bars and coins.” Small bars and coins are popular among retail consumers and people looking to grab some are paying “well above the per-ounce prices being quoted on financial markets.” “People want to buy, not to sell gold,” detailed Mark O’Byrne, the founder of the firm Goldcore. “We have a buyers’ waiting list and we emailed our clients seeing who wished to sell their gold. At this time there are roughly only one or two sellers for every 99 buyers,” O’Byrne added. In fact, retail premiums for gold “have exploded,” remarked Markus Krall, CEO of Degussa, a German-based precious metals dealer for retail investors. Krall said that the price of bullion at certain shops can be 10-15% above spot prices. Furthermore, Ronan Manly, an analyst at Singapore dealer Bullionstar told the press that Kilobars distributed by Argor-Heraeus SA are selling for 6% above spot. Even though there’s a shortage of small bars and coins, gold bugs like Peter Schiff still think that the yellow metal will surely skyrocket in the near future. Thanks to the stimulus plans across the world, gold proponents have always said that gold will be the best store of value. Many other gold proponents agree with Schiff and Bob Haberkorn, senior commodities broker with RJO Futures feels the same way. “With all of the stimulus money, interest rates at zero, loss of jobs and multiple battles on the economic front, I can’t see how gold is not higher next week,” Haberkorn told Kitco on Thursday. The Benefits of Bitcoin: Portable, Harder to Confiscate, and a Superior Rate of Issuance While analysts and wealth managers ponder if gold will be a safe haven asset during the current crisis many believe digital assets like bitcoin will be king. There are various reasons why bitcoiners think crypto is better than gold and one of the biggest is the fact that bitcoin is much harder to confiscate. Gold investors are often reminded of when the U.S. stole everyone’s gold in the 1930s, back when President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) outlawed the yellow metal. Bitcoin is far more portable than gold, as traveling with the metal could weigh hundreds of pounds, which often leads to storing it with a third party. Bitcoin.com has numerous resources available for anyone to get started learning about and using cryptocurrencies like BCH, BTC, and ETH. Our comprehensive website has a local peer-to-peer marketplace, an exchange, a fantastic gaming platform, a mining pool, cloud contracts and so much more. Check out our guides, resources, and services today. Additionally, bitcoiners are more confident in the BTC supply and there’s no central banks to dump on the market. Moreover, BTC’s rate of issuance continues to outshine gold as 3,300 tons of new gold or $200 billion is mined every year. There’s a myriad of reasons why bitcoin and cryptocurrency assets are built for economic calamities such as the one we are experiencing today. If you are interested in learning more about bitcoin then check out our guides and educational resources today. What do you think about gold during the economic crisis? Let us know in the comments below. The post Gold Investors Are Terrified Central Banks Might Dump Bullion During the Economic Crisis appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

An Indian state official recently met with the founders of the “India Crypto Bulls” initiative and discussed cryptocurrency development, investment, and innovation in India. News.Bitcoin.com talked to Kumar Gaurav, one of the founders, to find out more about the meeting. Also read: 2x Bitcoin — Wanna Double Your BTC to the Moon? Forget About It India Crypto Bulls Founders Meet Rajasthan Official Amin Pathan, chairman of the Dargah Committee in Ajmer, under the government of India’s Ministry of Minority Affairs, recently met with the founders of the India Crypto Bulls initiative — the team that is organizing a nationwide roadshow in 15 major Indian cities. News.Bitcoin.com talked to one of the India Crypto Bulls founders, Cashaa CEO Kumar Gaurav, about the meeting. He explained that Pathan is “the president of the Dargah Committee, Ajmer, which is one of the biggest holy pilgrimages of Muslims all over the world. He is exploring blockchain solution to digitize various assets governed by his ministry to finish any corruption due to title unclarity.” Pathan is also chairman of the Rajasthan State Haj Committee (State Minister), former State President BJP Minority Morcha Rajasthan, and the vice president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association. Left to Right: Kumar Gaurav, Cashaa; Shri. Amin Pathan, minister, the government of India; Mr. Naresh, Bollywood producer; Mr. Narendra Khurana. Image courtesy of Kumar Gaurav. Pathan discussed his views regarding India’s crypto development, investment, and innovation. He told the India Crypto Bulls founders: The state is looking to host a conference with participants including Indian administrative service officers who are concerned and relevant with the key affairs relating to bitcoin and other digital asset financial services. “Moreover, the upcoming conference in the state by Rajasthan minister will also comprise of training sessions on compliance, how cryptocurrency investment can be matured, precautions that an investor has to follow before dealing or planning to invest in cryptocurrency and several other factors,” the team conveyed. “They believed India Crypto Bulls’ roadshow is closely aligned with their vision of hosting upcoming conferences.” Shri. Amin Pathan, the chairman of Dargah Committee, Dargah Khwaja Saheb, Ajmer (Ministry of Minority Affairs, the government of India), and also the vice president at Rajasthan Cricket Association. Gaurav Dubey, O1ex CEO and the other founder of India Crypto Bulls, was quoted as saying, “We are sure that India Crypto Bulls will be able to spread the right knowledge on Cryptocurrencies in Rajasthan with tremendous outreach, under his wise guidance.” Cashaa’s CEO further told news.Bitcoin.com: He [Shri. Pathan] supported the nationwide Indian Crypto Bulls roadshow and will host the event in his city Jaipur, and Udaipur. India Crypto Bulls is an initiative by Gaurav and Dubey. They had planned to launch a roadshow across about 15 cities in India in early April to prepare the country for the next crypto bull run and educate the public regarding cryptocurrencies. However, due to the current coronavirus pandemic and the directives from the Indian health ministry, the roadshow has been postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date. The India Crypto Bulls roadshow will be in about 15 major cities in India. It has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Crypto Gaining Traction After Supreme Court Verdict The cryptocurrency ecosystem in India is rebuilding after the damage done by the April 2018 circular issued by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which banned banks from providing services to crypto businesses. The ban forced several crypto businesses to shut down as a result. After multiple delays, the Indian supreme court finally ruled that the circular was unconstitutional. The court lifted the ban on March 4. Since then, crypto exchanges have been busy bringing back INR banking support. Several global companies also plan to expand into India and invest in Indian crypto startups. Furthermore, the Indian government is reportedly planning to regulate the crypto space instead of imposing an outright ban as recommended by the interministerial committee (IMC) headed by former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg. Commenting on his meeting with Shri. Pathan, Gaurav said: “I found Shri. Amin Pathan Ji an inspiration for youth in India and abroad who lost hope from Indian politicians. After meeting Aminji, I feel confident that under his leadership and with the backing of BJP, emerging technologies like blockchain will get the strong support of Indian govt.” Welcoming Pathan onboard the India crypto bulls roadshow, he indicated: The meeting concluded with a futuristic talk on crypto adoption and development in India. In addition to this, the ministry invited India Crypto Bulls to Rajasthan as a way to emphasize on the crypto discussion. What do you think of this meeting with Amin Pathan? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Indian State Ministry Discusses Cryptocurrency Plans With Founders of Crypto Bulls Roadshow appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies may be the only free-market assets left not manipulated by central banks like the U.S. Federal Reserve. Since the covid-19 outbreak, the Fed has unleashed a massive arsenal of monetary weapons to combat the effects on the economy. After the significant rate cuts, quantitative easing (QE), and buying mortgage-backed securities, analysts believe the Fed could start purchasing stocks in order to quell the economy. Also read: US Mortgage Industry Could Collapse as Housing Crisis Looms, Experts Say The Fed Is Deploying More Than Just a Monetary Policy Bazooka, It’s Unleashing the Whole Arsenal On Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve threw another tool into the financial system by announcing an international repo option in order to curb investors from panic-selling Treasuries. Since the covid-19 outbreak started spreading rapidly throughout the nation, the economy has been hit hard by numerous industry shutdowns across the U.S. After closing borders and shutting down major U.S. industries, the Fed has tried to save the American economy by using a variety of monetary schemes. The Fed has introduced rate cuts, quantitative easing (QE), foreign currency swap lines, discount windows, a Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF), a Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), and a Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF). The aforementioned list just scratches the surface when it comes to the newly introduced schemes the Fed has initiated since the covid-19 outbreak. Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the bank’s board of directors have unleashed the big guns citing the covid-19 outbreak as the primary reason to throw unlimited amounts of money at private banks. The Federal Reserve said on March 26 that the central bank recognizes that small financial institutions may need additional time to submit “certain regulatory reports in light of staffing priorities and disruptions caused by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (covid-19).” In order to give Wall Street some leniency, the Fed “will not take action against a financial institution with $5 billion or less in total assets for submitting its March 31, 2020.” The Fed also invoked a Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (MMFLF) and bought $185 billion in mortgage-backed securities. However, all these moves have not helped stock and commodity markets and the mortgage-backed securities purchase threatened the U.S. real estate market. After the Fed bought the mortgage securities it caused a massive margin call and put hundreds of lenders at risk and without capital. To those of you wondering what the US stock market will do on any given day, just remember, the Fed has unlimited purchasing power to buy it all up. They have 100 percent full control over stocks and they will do whatever they please with it. Goodbye price discovery. The end. — Heidi (@blockchainchick) March 26, 2020 Despite the adverse effects on the housing market, the Fed is still attempting to insulate the American economy with the central bank’s parlor tricks. The Fed’s new international repo is an unprecedented move by the central bank, as it will provide foreign central banks with the ability to get USD in exchange for U.S. Treasuries. In addition to the international repo, the Fed also revealed it established a temporary FIMA Repo Facility (FRF) to “help support the smooth functioning of financial markets.” Fed has printed trillion of $ to do what? To purchase financial assets -They already are largest holders of real estate in the world -Have already pushed the short term yields into negative -They will soon buy out stocks Don't fall for dead cat bounce#Buyeroflastresort — Vinay Jaiswal (@vinayjazzi) March 31, 2020 The Fed’s Next Step Could Be Purchasing Large Quantities of Stocks Now economists and investors think the Fed’s next move will see the central bank purchasing stocks. Because the American economy is in turmoil, market analysts say that the Fed will likely use this approach soon to bolster the financial system. “If there were any major dislocations, it is clear that they will go into whatever nook and cranny in the market that starts to choke,” chief market strategist at Prudential Financial, Quincy Krosby, told the media on Sunday. The Prudential executive further stated: We know that when you have choking in one part of the market, you have choking in another part of the market that leads to dislocation. As soon as you cross that line, you are now facing something else that you could conceivably buy. Members of the Federal Reserve and the Shadow Open Market Committee have already discussed the possibility of the Fed buying stocks to help the economy. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren told the committee on March 6 that he thinks the U.S. should “allow the central bank to purchase a broader range of securities or assets.” The Perfect Storm for Digital Assets Like Bitcoin Cryptocurrency participants believe that the current economy is the “perfect storm” for censorship-resistant and a mathematically probable financial system. Bitcoin has a lot of benefits to a society that has been having significant problems doing what they want with their own money. In the last six months alone, news.Bitcoin.com has reported on governments and banks in countries like the U.S., Egypt, Lebanon, India, and Germany limiting cash withdrawals. Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have better properties than gold during an economic crisis, as analysts have questioned gold’s alleged ‘safe-haven’ status since the 2007-2008 financial catastrophe. It’s a well known that central banks oversaturated bullion markets during those years by using bullion-bank repos just like they do with Treasuries today. Cryptocurrency markets did decline with everything else under the sun on March 12th, otherwise known as ‘Black Thursday.’ The decline has made people assume that BTC and other digital assets have a strong correlation with stocks and equities right now. However, historical data shows digital asset markets have always been non-correlated with stocks, commodities, and equities. A higher correlation during a black swan event (covid-19) doesn’t equate to both markets being tethered together whenever economic environments change. As the Fed and central banks worldwide pull out every tool they have in the monetary policy toolbox, bitcoiners understand that digital assets cannot be manipulated as easily as fiat currency, property investments, precious metals, and the stock markets. If you have never read or heard about the positive benefits and economic freedom bitcoin can provide, get started today with some of our educational resources. What do you think about the Fed possibly buying stocks next? Let us know what you think in the comments below. The post Financial Bazookas Revealed – Market Strategists Believe the Fed Will Purchase Stocks Soon appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

As the bitcoin halving approaches, crypto-mining ‘death spirals’ and miner capitulation have become prominent topics among digital currency enthusiasts. Despite the trending discussions, Coinshares head of research Christopher Bendiksen published a study that says “[bitcoin] mining death spirals do not actually happen in real life” and the speculation is a “highly theoretical edge case.” Also read: ‘Bull Run May Not Come Immediately After Bitcoin Halving,’ Says Bitmain’s Jihan Wu Bitcoin Halving, Death Spirals, and Miner Capitulation After approximately 210,000 blocks are mined on BTC’s blockchain, the network’s block subsidy halves and after May 13, BTC miners will get 6.25 coins instead of 12.5. The halving event happens roughly every four years and the upcoming one, in particular, has caused crypto enthusiasts to speculate on what will happen after the event. Moreover, the recent covid-19 outbreak has caused economic calamity worldwide, as cryptocurrency prices were largely affected by fears of a looming recession. Because of these two factors combined, crypto speculators and haters think that miners will be “doomed” after the halving and there will be massive miner capitulation. A few individuals and headlines have called the theoretical event a crypto-mining ‘death spiral’ and people assume BTC miners will face catastrophe. However, a recent research study from the firm Coinshares disagrees with this argument and the company’s head of research called the fears “highly theoretical edge cases without any historical real-world precedent.” Source: Coinshares Research. In the report called “Why Bitcoin Miners Will Keep Mining,” Christopher Bendiksen talks about how current BTC prices are down more than 50% from the 2020 highs. The researcher details that this means miners have lost 50% of their income and a few “high-cost producers will now be unprofitable.” “When miners turn cashflow negative they will turn off their gear and hashrate will fall,” Bendiksen said. News.Bitcoin.com recently reported on how the hashrate had fallen from the 136 exahash per second (EH/s) high at the end of February, to 75EH/s after the market rout on March 12. The close to 45% hashrate reduction caused the network’s difficulty adjustment to drop to the second-lowest point in history. Bendiksen’s report discusses how the difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA) is a key element within the BTC network. In the death spiral scenario, Bendiksen stressed that some people believe that a big enough hashrate drop would slow down block times and eventually “grind the network to a halt since no new blocks are mined.” “This, in turn, will cause prices to drop further causing more miners to shut down until no one is left mining and the price hits zero,” Bendiksen wrote. The Coinshares head of research, however, doesn’t think this situation is plausible in the real world and thinks it only lives in people’s theoretical discussions. Coinshare’s report is also similar to the question answered by bitcoin researcher and evangelist, Andreas Antonopoulos, who discussed mining death spirals on Youtube. “Part of the reason that’s unlikely to happen is that miners have a much more long-term perspective,” Antonopoulos noted in the video. Do you want to maximize your Bitcoin Mining potential? Plug your own hardware into the world’s most profitable Bitcoin mining pool or get started without having to own hardware through one of our competitive Bitcoin cloud mining contracts. Mining Death Spiral and the Network Grinding to a Halt Are Highly Theoretical Edge Cases The Coinshares researcher also explained how in a rare, edge-case scenario it would take an awful lot of factors like gaming the DAA with precision and dumping on market prices at the same time. “In real life though, markets don’t move like that,” Bendiksen’s report highlights. “On top of that there are operational concerns on the part of miners that prevent shutdowns on such rapid timelines,” Bendiksen wrote. “Powering down a several hundred-megawatt mine is not a matter of pulling a socket plug — you would risk severely damaging the local grid. Moreover, many miners have offtake agreements that mandate that they continue their draw for as long as they are able to pay their contracted bills. The point is: even when bitcoin prices significantly fall (which happens pretty much every year) or the mining reward is halved (which happens at predetermined time intervals), the physical and operational realities of the mining network are such that drawdowns in hashrate take time,” the report states. Bendiksen’s research further notes: In practice, hashrate reductions are therefore always smoothly caught by the dynamic difficulty adjustment and block frequencies never get anywhere near ‘crisis levels’ (whatever that even means). Source: Coinshares Research. Bendiksen and Coinshares believe that the network was designed to handle these exact situations and they are confident things will be fine going forward. “Because of the design choices we’ve explained above the mining network has never failed to produce blocks. The difficulty has reset downwards many times — sometimes dramatically as the result of a pullback in price (the November/December 2018 is an excellent example to study), but never has the network ground to a halt or even come anywhere close to it,” Bendiksen’s report concludes. What do you think about the Coinshares mining report and death spirals? Let us know in the comments below. The post Bitcoin Halving Capitulation: ‘Mining Death Spirals Don’t Happen in Real Life,’ Says Report appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The U.S. mortgage industry faces collapse once again, this time due to the economic consequences following the coronavirus outbreak and massive job losses. Up to 50% of borrowers could default on their mortgage payments, according to industry estimates. Since the stimulus bill signed by President Donald Trump provides relief for homeowners but does not provide relief for the mortgage industry, companies are worried they may go out of business. Also read: 2x Bitcoin — Wanna Double Your BTC to the Moon? Forget About It Mortgage Industry at Risk The coronavirus outbreak and subsequent job losses could result in an unprecedented number of people left unable to make their mortgage payments. Facing a second mortgage industry crisis in recent history, many of the country’s largest mortgage lenders are warning they will soon be pushed to the brink of failure. The breadth of the coronavirus pandemic has sparked industry estimates of between 25% and 50% of borrowers being unable to pay their mortgage payments, according to the publication Politico. Jay Bray, CEO of the mortgage servicing company Mr. Cooper, explained that if 25% of borrowers fail to make their mortgage payments, the industry would need $40 billion to survive for three months. Noting that his company has already seen a 50% increase in borrowers seeking assistance, “The magnitude of people who are going to take the plan is going to be like nothing we have ever seen,” he said. Mortgage Bankers Association CEO Bob Broeksmit added that the industry could need more than $100 billion depending on how long the situation lasts. Mortgage lenders are saying that the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent job losses could result in 50% of borrowers left unable to make their mortgage payments. However, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security (CARES) Act, the $2.2 trillion stimulus package President Donald Trump signed into law on Friday, does not include relief for the mortgage industry, the publication noted, adding: While the final bill allocates $454 billion for the Treasury Department to support the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending programs, including for large corporations, there is no overt requirement for lending to mortgage companies, despite a weeklong lobbying push by the industry. Broeksmit noted, “We have been in constant contact with many parts of the administration to ensure that they understand the urgency of this liquidity facility being set up.” New Housing Crisis, Mortgage Companies Face Shutdown Among companies most affected are mortgage servicers, which handle loans and process mortgage payments. About 60% of mortgages in the U.S. are secured through nonbank lenders such as Quicken Loans, the Washington Post explained. “One in three of the country’s $11.2 trillion in mortgages is overseen by nonbank servicers, which collect borrowers’ payments every month, and say the economic fallout from the pandemic represents an unprecedented challenge to their future.” When people stop making payments, these companies are still legally obligated to keep sending money to insurers and investors in mortgage-backed securities using their own money. The publication described: Mortgage lenders are preparing for an avalanche of distressed homeowners that could drive a housing crisis that rivals the one that left millions of Americans in foreclosure a decade ago. “This time, rather than homeowners falling behind on their payments slowly over several years, mortgage delinquencies could spike suddenly as people find themselves without a job or have their salaries cut within the next few months,” the news outlet continued. Inside Mortgage Finance publisher Guy Cecala was quoted as saying: “This time the problems are going to be nondiscriminatory. It will apply to people with good credit, or someone who is well-off, and ran a restaurant. We haven’t had a crisis where everyone is impacted regardless of financial situation.” When homeowners stop making payments, mortgage servicing companies are still legally obligated to keep sending money to insurers and investors in mortgage-backed securities using their own money. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that the Financial Stability Oversight Council is “particularly focused on the liquidity issues that market may have.” He further revealed that he was establishing a task force to report back to the council on the matter. “Concerns about liquidity in the mortgage finance system have been building for years, as the companies that service mortgage loans are increasingly nonbanks — which don’t have banks’ access to Fed loans or their strict capital requirements and deposits to fall back on,” the publication details. Andrew Jakabovics, vice president for policy development at Enterprise Community Partners, an affordable housing nonprofit, believes that the mortgage system would break down if mortgage companies fail across the board. He opined: The kinds of relief we did during the foreclosure crisis — all of that had to do with the fact that we wanted to ensure that investors from across the world would continue to treat U.S. mortgage-backed securities as an incredibly safe investment … That would have very serious ramifications for the availability and price of mortgage credit. Michael Bright, CEO of the Structured Finance Association, which represents 370 financial institutions in the bond market, believes the Fed will eventually come through with an emergency lending program for the mortgage industry. “Even though that language wasn’t included,” Bright said of the stimulus bill, “I do think it’s likely that this could be part of [the Fed’s Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility Program] in the end.” He previously managed Ginnie Mae’s $2-trillion portfolio. Do you think the mortgage industry will get its own bailout? Let us know in the comments section below. The post US Mortgage Industry Could Collapse as Housing Crisis Looms, Experts Say appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance is allegedly in talks with the owners of coinmarketcap.com in hopes of purchasing the website for $400 million. People familiar with the matter explained the acquisition will be announced this week and could be one of the largest procurements in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry to-date. Also read: Bitcoin Mining Roundup: BTC Regains 100 Exahash, Miners Close Shop, Pre-Halving Shake-Up Binance Will Reportedly Purchase Coinmarketcap.com for $400 Million Binance has grown quite large since launching in 2017 when the global cryptocurrency exchange was founded by Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and Yi He. The following year in 2018, the exchange was considered the largest in the world in terms of cryptocurrency trading volume. The firm has also acquired the Indian exchange Wazirx, the Beijing-based Dappreview, a derivatives exchange called JEX, Mars Finance, and a digital currency mobile wallet branch called Trust Wallet. Now according to people familiar with the matter, Binance is set to announce another acquisition and it might end up being the largest procurement in the crypto industry so far. Reports detail that Binance will announce the acquisition of coinmarketcap.com (CMC) later this week. The official story floating around crypto-land is that Binance is close to completing a cash and stock deal with the owners of coinmarketcap.com. The website is one of the most popular cryptocurrency data sites and according to Alexa ratings, coinmarketcap.com is ranked 570 worldwide and 819 in the United States. Coinmarketcap (CMC) gets a lot of traffic from countries like the U.S., India, and Brazil as the site sees millions of users visiting the site regularly. The Binance acquisition of coinmarketcap.com is ostensibly a cash-and-stock deal that involves $400 million. Speculators assume that it will be the largest acquisition within the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry to date. For instance, the coinmarketcap.com transaction would be well over the capital injected into 21 Inc. ($121 million), otherwise known as earn.com. CMC sees millions of users visiting the site regularly. According to Alexa ratings, coinmarketcap.com is ranked 570 worldwide and 819 in the United States. CMC’s Data Discrepancies and the Crypto Community’s Commentary Concerning the Binance Takeover Both Binance and coinmarketcap.com have not spoken to the media about the acquisition, but Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao did hint at some upcoming procurements that he was “very excited” about. Coinmarketcap has an interesting history as the owner Brandon Chez kept his identity unknown, up until he was doxxed by the Wall Street Journal on January 23, 2018. Chez also sat down for a fireside chat with the anonymous Sunny King last year during The Capital conference. Coinmarketcap has had its share of controversy as well and a number of people do not trust the data that stems from the site. The crypto market cap aggregation website was criticized during the first week of January 2018 for delisting the exchange rates of South Korean crypto trading platforms. When cross-referencing coinmarketcap.com’s data with alternative crypto market valuation sites like messari.io, there’s some discrepancies when it comes to “reported” and “real” or onchain trade volumes. The acquisition for $400 million might be the largest in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry to date. Social media posts and forums show that most crypto enthusiasts have been joking about the procurement in a negative fashion. After the Binance acquisition of coinmarketcap.com (CMC) stories hit social media and crypto forums, a great number of digital asset proponents discussed if it would be “good or bad” for CMC. “I don’t like it at all — I guess I’ll continue to use my favorite CMC alternatives,” one person tweeted after hearing the news. “CMC has been bad for years — The amount of scams they’ve allowed to advertise on their site has been awful. Hopefully [Changpeng Zhao] changes that,” another crypto proponent added. A great number of the comments on Twitter were negative and many people talked about the relationship between Tron and Binance as well. “Binance buying [coinmarketcap.com] — How long until BNB and Tron are #1 and #2 and Digibyte is delisted?” the Twitter account @Litecoinfam tweeted on Tuesday. What do you think about the possibility of Binance acquiring coinmarketcap.com? Let us know in the comments below. The post The Crypto Industry’s $400M Cash and Stock Deal – Binance to Acquire Coinmarketcap.com appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Despite the global coronavirus pandemic, Japan continues to approve more cryptocurrency exchanges to legally operate in the country. The latest one was approved on Monday, bringing the total number of legal crypto exchanges in Japan to 23. Also read: 2x Bitcoin — Wanna Double Your BTC to the Moon? Forget About It First Approved Crypto Exchange This Year Japan’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), registered another cryptocurrency exchange operator on Monday. Japan legalized cryptocurrencies as a means of payment under the amended Payment Services Act back in April 2017 and crypto exchange operators are required to register with the FSA. The agency started registering them in September 2017. The latest one registered by the FSA was Okcoin Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of Ok Group. Founded in September 2017, the Tokyo-based exchange has been approved to trade BCH, BTC, ETH, ETC, and LTC, according to the FSA’s website. The exchange will soon launch; it is currently accepting pre-registrations for account opening. Japan’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency, has registered Okcoin Japan to trade five cryptocurrencies, including BCH and BTC. Okcoin Japan is also a member of the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA), a self-regulatory organization approved by the FSA. The agency is closely cooperating and exchanging information with the association. The JVCEA has established some self-regulatory guidelines for crypto exchanges to follow. All 23 FSA-registered crypto exchanges in Japan are “Class 1” members of the JVCEA. The organization also has “Class 2” members comprising companies that are not yet licensed by the FSA, such as Coinbase, Payward Asia, and Wirex Japan. 23 Approved Crypto Exchanges in Total Besides Okcoin Japan, there are 22 other registered cryptocurrency exchange operators in the country. In September 2017, 11 of them were registered: Money Partners, Quoine, Bitflyer, Bitbank, SBI VC Trade, GMO Coin, Huobi Japan (formerly Bittrade), Btcbox, Bitpoint Japan, Fisco Cryptocurrency Exchange, and Tech Bureau. Tech Bureau was acquired by Fisco after it was hacked in September 2018. However, the two platforms continue to operate independently and are still listed on the FSA’s website as two separate entities. Japan legalized cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in April 2017 and all crypto exchanges are required to register with the FSA. On Dec. 1, 2017, DMM Bitcoin, Taotao (formerly Bitarg), Bitgate, and Xtheta were registered. Bitocean followed suit on Dec. 26. In 2018, no crypto exchange operator was registered due to the hack of Coincheck, one of the largest crypto trading platforms in the country. The FSA subsequently tightened its oversight of the industry, conducted on-site inspections of exchanges, and revised its method of approval. After the hack, Coincheck was acquired by Monex Group and was finally registered with the FSA on Jan. 11 last year. In addition, the agency approved five more crypto exchange operators last year. Rakuten Wallet and Decurret were registered on March 25, LVC on Sept. 6, Lastroots on Nov. 27 and Fxcoin on Dec. 24. LVC is a subsidiary of Line Corp., owner of Japan’s most popular chat app, Line. Soon after it successfully registered with the FSA, the company launched a crypto exchange called Bitmax. What do you think of the rate at which Japan approves crypto exchanges? Let us know in the comments section below. The post 23 Approved Cryptocurrency Exchanges in Japan — Number Rises Despite Pandemic appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

While most digital assets have been suffering, stablecoins have been surging since the market downturn in mid-March and tether (USDT) is capturing more than 70% of BTC trades today. Besides tether, a wide range of other dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies have also benefited this month, as the market valuation of eight different stablecoins combined is well over $7 billion. Also read: Bitcoin Mining Roundup: BTC Regains 100 Exahash, Miners Close Shop, Pre-Halving Shake-Up Considerable Demand for Stablecoins Pushes ‘Dollarized-Token’ Market Caps Northbound Crypto assets have seen better days as far as market values are concerned and on March 30 the valuation of all 5,000+ digital currencies is around $182 billion. Today, more than $7 billion from that number represents eight stablecoins including USDT, USDC, PAX, TUSD, DAI, GUSD, BUSD, and HUSD. Most of that $7 billion derives from USDT’s market cap, as the firm Tether has reported it now has more than $6 billion in liabilities. Data shows that the total assets under the company’s control equal: $6,141,809,416. Moreover, there’s a slew of stablecoins with much smaller market caps, but still have seen greater demand since the start of the mid-March market rout. Source: Research report written by Hasu and Coin Metrics data. On Monday, USDT is commanding more than 70% of trades, which is a lot but not very unusual these days either. As news.Bitcoin.com noted in our recent report about the influx of stablecoin demand, USDC and PAX have continued to remain in the top five BTC pairs globally. Both coins are gathering more than 5% of BTC’s global trades each and both of them combined have seen more trade volume than the U.S. dollar. Over the past month, fiat-collateralized stablecoins built on Ethereum have seen substantial inflows. 30 day change in supply: • $USDT: +51.5% • $USDC: +55.4% • $PAX: +26.5% • $BUSD: +186.0% • $HUSD: +74.7% Ethereum's stablecoin economy is growing at a staggering rate. pic.twitter.com/Mp5Yl2k2hE — Cole Kennelly ⬙ 🦄 (@ColeGotTweets) March 29, 2020 According to sites like coinmarketcap.com, there’s an alleged $118 billion in global crypto trades on March 30. BTC captures $36 billion of those trades and tether (USDT) commands $44 billion. However, stats from messari.io indicate BTC is leading in “real volume” with $1.4 billion in worldwide trades and USDT capturing $1.1 billion. Messari’s data also shows USDT’s reported market cap is larger than XRPs now. Messari.io data indicates that USDT’s reported market cap is larger ($5.8B) than XRPs ($5.1B). Stablecoin Transfers Touch All-Time Highs, Tron to Launch a ‘DAI-like’ Dollar-Coin It’s uncertain whether tether is actually doing 22% more volume than BTC, but lots of USDT stats indicate the volume is at least on par with BTC trade volumes regularly. In addition to Pax and USDC, the stablecoins HUSD and BUSD have seen increased demand as well. Competition has increased a great deal among all the stablecoins and Justin Sun revealed Tron is launching a ‘DAI-like’ stablecoin called “USDJ.” The coin will allegedly be pegged to the USD rate by using collateralized digital assets. 24-hour stablecoin and fiat volumes with BTC on March 30, 2020. USDT is commanding 70% of BTC trades, USDC 5.6%, and PAX 5.5%. The recent stablecoin demand was noticed by the entire crypto community and Coin Metrics discussed the situation in the firm’s latest report. “Stablecoin transfer value hit an all-time high amidst the market turmoil,” Coin Metrics wrote. The researchers added: The dual impact of Bitcoin’s USD value halving and massive issuance of stablecoins led to stablecoins’ market cap as a percentage of Bitcoin’s doubling in a matter of days. What do you think about the demand for stablecoins? Let us know in the comments below. The post Stablecoin Market Caps Swell Over $7 Billion – Volumes Surpass Most Trading Pairs appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Anyone venturing into the digital currency scene understands the significance of performing analyses to evaluate potential gains. Security breaches and hacking are a constant risk when it comes to the realm of cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, the level of security and protection offered by the trading platform chosen is often overlooked. Consequently, this oversight has so far resulted in a loss of approximately $4.26 billion. Whenever scammers or hackers are successful in their fraudulent practices, this results in an average loss of $43 million. 2 Notorious Cases where Security Failed Reputability and popularity do not guarantee protection from malicious behaviour. To fully understand the gravity of fraudulent activity and security breaches, one must keep in mind some of the most infamous security failures in recent history. 1. Bitfinex Loss: 120,000BTC or $72 million in assets (2016) Considered as one of the most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges globally with about two million users, Bitfinex sees billions of dollars’ worth of transactions daily. This successful exchange fell victim to a major hack back in 2016, having the amount of 120,000BTC stolen, which was equivalent to $72 million. In today’s prices, that would be a much higher figure. Bitfinex used to offer multi-signature wallets through BitGo, a feature created to enhance user security. However, 12 months after this component was introduced, the hack occurred. The question was raised: what made Bitfinex susceptible to this fate? The way its accounts were structured was the first step towards security failure – to withdraw a large amount of funds, BitGo would likely have had to sign off transactions. The hack caused Bitcoin’s market value to drop by a staggering 20%. 2. Binance Loss: 7,000BTC or $40 million in assets (2019) Binance is widely believed to be the world’s largest crypto exchange, based on trading volumes. Despite this, the exchange was not able to avoid a phishing scam or recognise the virus-type malware that was used to hack into it. The group of hackers got away with $40 million worth of Bitcoin. In one of his blog posts, CEO Changpeng Zhao announced that Binance will make “significant changes to the API, 2FA, and withdrawal validation areas, which was an area exploited by hackers during this incident.” Zhao vowed to work on “more innovative ways” to prevent risks and improve KYC, whilst enhancing user and threat analysis, Providing a Viable Solution When looking into investing assets, finding a trusted source that provides detailed research and relevant information about cryptocurrencies and trading platforms is critical. Nowadays, there’s a smorgasbord of online resources – one never knows which to trust. Nevertheless, it is important to be selective when it comes to deciphering between a trustworthy source and one that gives little to no guidance. Cryptimi.com provides information that examines aspects of payment methods, security, fees, and customer support. For the ultimate user experience, it even lists the latest reviewed and top-ranking cryptocurrency exchanges (with regular updates when positions shift), to make for a more reliable search. The user can customise the search by filtering results and specifying the preferred deposit method, jurisdiction, and the type of platform. Doing the Legwork Before Taking the Plunge Finding the best cryptocurrency exchange is imperative prior to venturing into any kind of financial investment. This holds true for both novice investors, and veteran traders. Both investors and traders should have a reliable point of reference when conducting their research. A reputable reference site like Cryptimi equips the reader with all the right tools to take an informed step by constantly publishing trustworthy, unique, and relevant content. Indubitably, cryptocurrency exchange platforms are an essential piece to the digital currency puzzle, because they are the link that allows individuals to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, before investing or trading on a new broker or exchange, one needs to ensure that the funds being invested will be utilised to their full potential. Fortunately, you can put both your mind and assets at rest with Cryptimi.com – your only go-to reference that guides you to your financial growth. Contact Email Address info@cryptimi.com Supporting Link http://cryptimi.com/ 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 Safeguarding Investments: Cryptimi.com Offers the Solution appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

On Sunday, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced it had instructed financial institutions in the country to put withdrawal limits in place for cash. Regional reports disclose that Egyptian residents can only withdraw 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($640) and businesses can only withdraw 50,000 pounds ($3,200). The CBE cited concerns over the covid-19 outbreak and also limited automated teller machine (ATM) withdrawals to 5,000 pounds per day. Also read: Bitcoin Mining Roundup: BTC Regains 100 Exahash, Miners Close Shop, Pre-Halving Shake-Up Central Bank of Egypt Enforces Cash Withdrawal Limits at Bank Branches and ATMs The global economy has been suffering from the economic hardships tied to the covid-19 outbreak that has ravaged multiple countries. The coronavirus scare has caused people to question the use of cash due to the uncleanliness of bills. For instance, at the beginning of March, the U.S. central bank told the public it was holding U.S. dollars repatriated from Asian countries in a separate area. Further, the faltering economy has also caused banks in countries like the U.S. and Germany to place withdrawal limits on cash. Now Egyptians are facing the same cash issues and the country’s central bank is imposing cash withdrawal limits across the board. In addition to the withdrawal limits imposed, the CBE’s Tarek Amer told reporters on Sunday via Sada al-Balad TV that “Egypt is facing a cash problem.” Amer disclosed that there’s roughly $26 billion being transferred out of Egypt to international banks and Egyptian travelers are also taking lots of cash with them when they travel abroad. However, local media quickly pointed out that Egyptian expat remittances were well over $26 billion and were actually closer to $34 billion. The CBE initiated a new scheme so citizens will use electronic payments more often by removing online fees and certain banking commissions. On Sunday, Egypt’s central bank told smaller banks to limit cash withdrawals to 10,000 Egyptian pounds for individuals per day and limited ATM withdrawals as well. The monetary authority of the Arab Republic of Egypt explained on March 29 that it had told Egyptian banks to impose limits on cash withdrawals. The reason for the CBE’s move is to help curb the rising coronavirus spread in Egypt, Africa and other countries in the Middle East. The CBE’s new guideline says that the daily limit for individual withdrawals will be 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($640) and Egyptian companies can only withdraw 50,000 pounds. Further, the central bank told financial institutions to limit ATM withdrawals down to 5,000 pounds. The Egyptian pound’s inflation rate has been worse than most countries, as it was 13% in 2019 and 9.9% in 2020. Most central banks try to keep the inflation rate around 2%, but the Egyptian pound has suffered since the CBE floated the national currency in November 2016. The Egyptian central bank told financial institutions to also limit ATM withdrawals down to 5,000 pounds ($320). Egyptians have also been told by the CBE that they should “avoid paper currency” and the citizenry should adopt electronic transfers and e-payments so they can control the covid-19 outbreak. “All banks canceled fees on transfers and e-payment methods for the citizens’ convenience,” the CBE said on Sunday. The day prior, the central bank of Egypt started an electronic payments initiative to encourage citizens to stop using physical pounds. Before that initiative, the CBE told smaller banks they could not impose late payments on certain loans and asked banks to delay credit penalties against customers and organizations. The Egyptian people have already been dealing with the high inflation rate between 9.9-13% in 2019 and 2020 due to the CBE floating the Egyptian pound in 2016. Withdrawal Limits Started in Lebanon and India Well Before the Covid-19 Outbreak The covid-19 outbreak is not the first sign of governments worldwide limiting the use of cash within a nation. Lebanese citizens have been dealing with the economic hardship as well. The country’s central bank imposed customer withdrawal limits last October. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed strict restrictions at the end of September 2019, which caused a broad range of Indian citizens to grow angry and rush branches. The CBE’s Tarek Amer told reporters on Sunday on Sada al-Balad TV that “Egypt is facing a cash problem.” Following the coronavirus scare, a few U.S. banks imposed withdrawal restrictions as customers from the Hamptons in New York tried to empty large accounts. Bank customers from a few other U.S. states also complained of withdrawal limit issues from financial institutions like Bank of America, Chase, and JPMorgan. Last week, reports also disclosed that a number of German banks have imposed withdrawal limits and customers can only withdraw 1,000 euros per visit. Meanwhile, throughout the madness of this crazy environment filled with financial calamity, bitcoin supporters believe the time is now for worldwide citizens to adopt a censorship-resistant peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Banks have continued to make it harder for people to do what they want with their own money and with the covid-19 crisis, the problem is far more apparent. Americans, Egyptians, Lebanese, Indians, Germans, and citizens across the globe are starting to realize the glaring issues tied to modern central banking the hard way. What do you think about the CBE imposing Egyptian pound withdrawal limits? Let us know in the comments below. The post Egypt Limits Bank and ATM Withdrawals Citing Rampant Cash Outflow and Coronavirus Fears appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

In 44 days, BTC miners will face the third reward halving as the block subsidy will soon shrink from 12.5 to 6.25 coins per block. Following the market carnage in mid-March, BTC’s hashrate plummeted 44% to a 2020 low of 75 exahash per second (EH/s). Since then the hashrate has climbed back above 100EH/s, but profitability between SHA256 networks like BCH and BSV has been a lot more erratic than usual. Also read: Bitcoin Hashrate Down 45% – Miners Witness Second-Largest Difficulty Drop in History BTC Recaptures 100 Exahash – SHA256 Miners Bounce from Network to Network Chasing Profits Three halvings are just around the corner and people monitoring these networks have been noticing a lot more action within the SHA256 mining ecosystem. The market downturn after March 12, stemming from the covid-19 scare, has caused a massive revenue shift for individuals and organizations mining bitcoins. News.Bitcoin.com recently reported on how bitcoin miners have been selling more coins than they have been generating. Moreover, at the same time, the BTC hashrate lost 44% of its processing power and the network saw the second-largest difficulty drop in history. Now there’s only 44 days left until BTC’s subsidy halving, as the chain will halve on or around May 13. Since news.Bitcoin.com’s report three days ago, BTC miners have managed to jump back above the 100EH/s mark. At the time of publication, bitcoinsv (BSV) miners have 2.4EH/s of hashpower and the network is expected to halve in ten days. Bitcoin cash (BCH) has around 3.4EH/s hashing away at the network and BCH miners will face a halving in eight days. With the significant price drop and the BTC difficulty drop that followed, all three networks have been seeing much longer time frames when it comes to miners shifting between networks for profits on each network. Miners who are mining 2-3 of the most valuable SHA256 chains are bouncing back and forth depending on each chain’s profitability. For instance, from March 13 through the 21st, the profitability between BTC and BCH was considerable and favoring BCH. Similarly, after March 21, the opposite was true for about a week and miners moved hashpower over to BTC for a while. With all three halvings expected to happen roughly around the same time frame, the events make speculators believe that the trend of miners bouncing back and forth will continue to increase. While DPW Holdings Closes a 28MW Operation, Hive Acquires a 30MW Facility The price drop that affected all three SHA256 networks (BTC, BCH, and BSV) has caused a number of mining operations to close up shop or make an acquisition. On March 18, DPW Holdings revealed that because of the adverse effects of the covid-19 outbreak, the firm’s subsidiary mining farm Digital Farms would be closing indefinitely. The company filed an update with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about the decision to shut down operations. The report notes that Digital Farms shut down 28 megawatts (MW) of power “due to the unprecedented market conditions domestically and internationally.” Following the closure of Digital Farms, Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd (TSX.V:HIVE) announced the acquisition of a mining operation with 30MW of power. The facility uses “low-cost green power” and resides in Lachute, Quebec. “The acquisition provides us with an advanced, operating Bitcoin mining facility ready to transition to next-generation mining hardware with access to some of the lowest-cost electricity on the planet,” Frank Holmes, interim executive chairman of Hive told the press on Monday. “The facility is powered entirely by renewable hydroelectricity, thereby maintaining our 100% green energy powered operations globally,” the Hive executive further remarked. Montana Officials Extend Renewable Energy Guidelines for Bitcoin Miners Just recently, Coinshares data and many other researchers have reported roughly 74% of bitcoin mining operations are leveraging some form of renewable energy. While mining bitcoins continues to grow popular, the state of Montana has seen a lot of miners setting up shop in the region. The Cyptowatt facility (10.9 MW of capacity) shown above is one of many bitcoin mining operations located in Montana. State officials want to see all bitcoin miners in the region leverage renewable energy sources. On March 27, officials in Missoula County, Montana proposed extending a guideline that requires miners operating in the state to use renewable energy sources. The proposal passed unanimously among the Missoula County Board of Commissioners and it will last until April 3, 2021. 16nm Chip and S9 Extinction? A recent research report by Securities Daily’s Xing Meng reveals that older mining units like Bimain’s S9 (14TH/s) may not survive with bitcoin prices so low and with the upcoming reward halving. The mining operation F2pool has already reported that an estimated 2.3 million Antminer S9s have been shut off to-date. Did you know you can earn BTC and BCH through Bitcoin Mining? If you already own hardware, connect it to our powerful Bitcoin mining pool. If not, you can easily get started through one of our flexible Bitcoin cloud mining contracts. Securities Daily’s Xing Meng and F2pool’s data shows that 16nm-powered mining rigs that have been the standard since 2016 face extinction. Although, the recent adjustment in BTC’s difficulty has allowed 16nm powered units like the S9s to continue until the halving. According to data, right now an S9 with 14/THs and $0.04 per kWh, will lose $11 a day. This data indicates that electricity prices would have to be near free for S9s to continue going forward after the halving. The current global economy fears mixed with the upcoming halvings on all three SHA256 networks, will surely make things in crypto-land more eventful. Signs of stress and large swings in mining profitability and hashrate, indicate that miners are likely simply trying to survive the best they can. For the last few years, bitcoin mining has been extremely competitive and the competition and stress will likely grow exponentially after these three halvings are said and done. What do you think about the challenges miners face with the current price and upcoming halving? Let us know in the comments below. The post Bitcoin Mining Roundup: BTC Regains 100 Exahash, Miners Close Shop, Pre-Halving Shake-Up appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has declared that we have entered a global recession — one that is as bad as or worse than the previous global financial crisis. 80 countries have already requested emergency assistance from the IMF. Meanwhile, the G20 has reported fiscal measures totaling some 5 trillion dollars or over 6% of global GDP. Also read: 2x Bitcoin — Wanna Double Your BTC to the Moon? Forget About It IMF Declares Global Recession Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, talked about the current economic situation during a press briefing on Friday. She also outlined measures taken by the IMF and the G20 countries in an effort to prevent a total economic meltdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. The press conference followed the G20 leaders meeting the day prior. “We have reassessed the prospect for growth for 2020 and 2021,” Georgieva said, elaborating: It is now clear that we have entered a recession – as bad as or worse than in 2009. She added that recovery will only happen this year if the coronavirus is contained globally and liquidity problems are prevented from becoming a solvency issue, emphasizing that a wave of bankruptcies and layoffs can undermine the recovery. IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva talked about the economic measures employed to avoid another financial crisis. She declared that we have entered a global recession. Measures Taken to Avoid Economic Meltdown To avoid a total economic meltdown, many countries have taken extreme measures. “The G20 yesterday reported fiscal measures totaling some 5 trillion dollars or over 6 % of global GDP,” Georgieva detailed. “To support this, last night the IMF launched a policy action tracker for 186 countries to help us all to see who is doing what. We will be updating this information regularly and will provide country-specific analysis in line with our surveillance mandate.” The IMF chief added: We have seen an extraordinary spike in requests for IMF emergency financing – some 80 countries have placed requests and more are likely to come. Normally, we never have more than a handful of requests at the same time. After declaring a global recession, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said: “We have seen an extraordinary spike in requests for IMF emergency financing – some 80 countries have placed requests and more are likely to come.” Georgieva further revealed that the IMF Executive Board approved the first of these emergency requests for the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan) on Thursday. “We also see a wide range of problems building up in emerging markets – the spread of the virus, the shut-down of economies, capital outflows and – for commodity exporters – a price shock,” she continued, adding: Our current estimate for the finance needs of emerging markets is $2.5 trillion – a lower-end estimate for which their own reserves and domestic resources would not be sufficient. The IMF chief explained that her organization is taking a number of measures and collaborating with other entities such as the World Bank. Firstly, the IMF is proposing to double its emergency financing capacity, simplify its processes, and fill the gap in its concessional financing. Secondly, the Fund will review its lending instruments such as expanding the use of precautionary credit lines. The IMF has also approved changes in the application of the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) which it hopes to provide some debt relief to its poorest member countries. The U.K., Japan, and China have already pledged their support to increase the capacity of the CCRT. What do you think of the IMF declaring that we are in a recession? Let us know in the comments section below. The post IMF Declares Global Recession, 80 Countries Request Help, Trillions of Dollars Needed appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin’s price has been dragging downward and on March 29, BTC’s fiat value slipped beneath the $6K zone. Most of the top ten cryptocurrencies are down between 5-8% in the last 24 hours. As the global economy falters and the halving approaches, people are uncertain about the future price of bitcoin as “safe-haven” theories have been steadily vanishing. Also read: In-Between Bitcoin Halvings: Analyst Proves Bitcoin’s Price Not Bound to 4-Year Cycles Top Ten Cryptos See Some Percentage Losses During Sunday’s Trading Sessions The price of bitcoin affects the entire cryptoconomy most of the time and on Sunday, March 29, the story is no different. BTC has slipped beneath the psychological $6K mark after hovering around $6,450 for a while and then $6,200 during the last day and a half. At the time of publication, BTC is swapping for $5,904 per coin and has a market capitalization of roughly $108 billion. As usual, tether (USDT) is the top pair with BTC on Sunday capturing more than 67% of the day’s trades. This is followed by pairs like USD (8.6%), JPY (6.2%), PAX (5.69%), USDC (5.4%) and EUR (2.18%). The two stablecoins PAX and USDC have been commanding a lot of BTC trade volume since the initial market carnage that started on March 12. At $5,904 per coin, BTC has lost 5.15% during the course of Sunday’s trading sessions. The second-largest blockchain by market capitalization, ethereum (ETH), is down 3.6% today and trading for $125 per coin. ETH has a market cap hovering around $13.8 billion and about a billion in reported trade volume on Sunday. Ethereum prices are down 18% during the last 30 days, 4.3% for the last 90, and negative 12% for the last 12-months against the U.S. dollar. The fifth-largest blockchain by market cap, bitcoin cash (BCH) is down 3% today and is swapping for $208 a coin. BCH has around $330 million in global trade volume and the coin’s market valuation is $3.8 billion today. Just like BTC, the top trading pair with bitcoin cash is tether (USDT) capturing 59% of the day’s swaps. BTC is below tether followed by USD (14.5%), ETH (1.5%), KRW (1.4%), and EUR (0.55%). Bitcoin cash is down 3% for the last 30 days, the coin is up 0.27% for the last 90, and BCH is also still up 24% for the last 12-months against the U.S. dollar. Uncertainty Remains Thick Among Crypto Traders Right now many traders on forums, Youtube, social media and other avenues are uncertain about the future of BTC’s price and the rest of the crypto market. The popular analyst Peter Brandt noted on March 27 that for BTC, “This is the perfect storm.” However, Brandt added: “If Bitcoin cannot rally on this, then crypto is in BIG trouble.” “I do not personally think BTC even has that much time to declare itself true or false,” Brandt tweeted the day prior. Digital asset trader Crypto Michaël tweeted to his 50,000 followers that he thinks “every cycle takes longer than the previous one.” The trader’s opinion was similar to our recent report on Benjamin Cowen’s video about debunking four-year cycle periods. “What if that also means that we’re going to find support at the 300-Week MA?” Crypto Michaël asked. “100-Week MA was supported in 2012, 200-Week in 2014-2017. 300-Week MA accumulation before the peak to 2025-2026 with BTC at $150,000?” the trader added. “So you’re saying BTC will be in the range between 3k and 6k over the next 2+ years? I don’t think that BTC holders will be happy with that,” one person replied. “You are right. But I think there will be a new Bitcoin hodler emerging if the price will be $3K,” another crypto proponent added. The Twitter account The Crypto Fam told his 20,000 followers that he thinks $6K as a long term price is good. “But it’s possible that all markets make another big leg down, even gold, in which case BTC would go with it. Gotta have some cash to buy new lows,” he tweeted. “In the last 24 hours, I’ve watched BTC climb in the short-term while XRP remains stable in bitcoin price countless times in which it somehow did not affect the USD price of XRP in the meantime. Mathematically, it just doesn’t compute,” the trader Tommy Tourettes said. Presently, a number of traders and analysts have a range of different theories about where crypto prices will lead, but these days most of them are uncertain of what lies ahead. Where do you see the cryptocurrency markets heading from here? Let us know in the comments below. The post Market Update: Uncertainty Remains Thick as Bears Claw Bitcoin Price Below $6K appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This week, our developers rolled out the latest version of the lightning-fast, noncustodial Bitcoin.com Wallet. The new version now comes with live price graphs so crypto enthusiasts can follow crypto price changes in real-time. Moreover, the wallet software also features price tracking so you can monitor your favorite digital asset’s price changes as well. Also read: ‘Bull Run May Not Come Immediately After Bitcoin Halving,’ Says Bitmain’s Jihan Wu Bitcoin.com Wallet Features Live Price Graphs and Price Tracking Abilities Ever since our developers launched the Bitcoin.com Wallet, they continuously improve the software with every release. During the second week of March, the software surpassed 10 million wallets created and Bitcoin.com also redesigned the wallet’s look. The Bitcoin.com Wallet has always been packed with features and gives users access to our many services like Bitcoin.com’s Games and the ability to instantly purchase BTC or BCH. Not too long ago Bitcoin.com engineers also added the ability to store Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) tokens as well. The latest Bitcoin.com Wallet release improves the network status connection alongside minor stability fixes as well. Furthermore, Bitcoin.com Wallet users can check their transaction history in order to get the best-estimated fiat rate at the time of the transaction. The Bitcoin.com Wallet’s new version now includes live price graphs so crypto market prices can be monitored in real-time. At Bitcoin.com we want to make it easier for you to track your favorite digital currencies at any time. There’s also price tracking abilities so people can track cryptocurrency price changes (midnight, 24h, 7d, 30d). The Bitcoin.com Wallet Aims to Spread Economic Freedom Far and Wide Bitcoin.com’s noncustodial wallet also provides users with Instant Pay, an exclusive feature that lets users auto-pay instantly with bitcoin cash (BCH). The feature outperforms traditional wallet settings because the user presets a threshold amount that can be sent instantly. Bitcoin.com has always strived to be the leading destination for all your bitcoin needs and our lightning-fast wallet is the perfect example. Because the Bitcoin.com Wallet is noncustodial, it provides a secure solution for acquiring crypto instead of storing BCH or BTC on an exchange. Exchange breaches have been prevalent within the cryptocurrency industry for years and 2019 saw a number of big exchange hacks. Over 10 million wallets created is a significant milestone for us, but it’s also just the start. Bitcoin.com hopes to provide wallets, tools, and educational resources to everyone all across the globe. The user-friendly Bitcoin.com Wallet is pushing that goal towards the next level as cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash (BCH) show enormous potential toward giving worldwide citizens access to economic freedom. Whoever and wherever you are, Bitcoin is for you. What do you think about the new Bitcoin.com Wallet app? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. The post Latest Bitcoin.com Wallet Release Features Live Charts and Price Tracking appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

For weeks now, the cryptocurrency community has been fervently discussing the recent acquisition of the Steemit blockchain. Skeptics believe that the Tron takeover has shown significant vulnerabilities with delegated-proof-of-stake (DPoS) projects. Following the takeover, the community still managed to fork the protocol and the new hard-forked blockchain dubbed ‘Hive’ has seen its token price outperform the value of Steem tokens. Also read: In-Between Bitcoin Halvings: Analyst Proves Bitcoin’s Price Not Bound to 4-Year Cycles A slew of Steemit proponents believe the Steemit protocol was rescued from centralization and Justin Sun’s Tron project. On March 3, news.Bitcoin.com reported on how the first community-led fork had failed because a few exchanges used large swathes of DPoS tokens in order to stop the attempt. Then on March 20, community members forked the Steemit protocol and relaunched under the name ‘Hive’ using its own blockchain. Although after the fork took place, Hive’s project leaders had issues with moving steem tokens into the Hive chain. Further, the team discussed blacklisting certain Tron proponents who have a significant stake in the project. Today, hive tokens (HIVE) are trading for $0.21 per coin and steem tokens (STEEM) are selling for $0.17 per unit. Steem trade volume, however, reported by exchanges has been around $2.3 million during the last 24 hours. Hive volume is considerably lower at the time of publication, with only $53K worth of 24-hour swaps. Despite the fork last week, the Tron-backed Steemit project hopes to convince users to come back to the Steemit project. Additionally, Steemit operators also admitted to censoring Steemit-based articles that discuss the Hive project. Essentially, the Tron-owned Steemit project leaders told the community that if they are divided, the project’s original goals will fail. The blog post states: We listened to the Steem community, and we always will. While we do not agree, nor obviously support the recent hard fork, we continue to find ways to show our commitment to developing our Steem ecosystem with the support of our great community. We love Steem and we are always supporting a united community since we believe that united we stand, divided we fall. When Steemit’s new owners confessed to censoring posts they said: “Would any commercial website support a post that encourages all users to migrate to another one? No. That would not be in the best interest of the community and the Steem ecosystem.” Meanwhile, the Hive blockchain community is positive about the new project and the lessons learned. “Hive is unique in that it’s a social blockchain. Bonds have been built over the years. Lives have been changed, saved and improved. Lessons have been learned,” one Hive supporter wrote on Twitter. “Open source so your contributions are immutable — Hive is an idea and no amount of money, government or corporations can kill it,” he added. While speaking of the situation on social media about Steemit’s new project leaders censoring posts and the centralization issues, another Hive supporter tweeted: “Woah, this is scary. Over 4,500 posts and comments, just gone. What’s supposed to be a decentralized social network, has become dangerously centralized. They’re still on Steem, but [they are] censoring me just because I was heavily involved in Hive?” What do you think about the hive token outperforming steem tokens? Let us know in the comments below. The post Free from Tron: Steemit’s Blockchain Fork Hive Outperforms Steem Token Value appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article