roadrunner

Hundreds of thousands of businesses and individuals with tax obligations to the Turkish state have received foreclosure notices this week informing them about their frozen bank accounts. The government of Turkey, which is struggling with financial and economic problems under geopolitical pressure, is likely to push even more of its citizens towards cryptocurrencies with the move that comes instead of the promised help to restructure the debt. Also read: Russia Regulates Digital Rights, Advances Other Crypto-Related Bills Millions of Taxpayers Receive Foreclosure Notices Around 2.5 million taxpayers who have not been able to pay their debts and another 800,000 companies and persons owing money for social security expenses have received the notices on Monday, Turkish outlet Sözcü Gazetesi reported quoting the tax expert Nedim Türkmen. The total debt of both groups amounts to 150 billion Turkish lira (over $26 billion). According to the publication, all Turkish accounts of the 3.3 million debtors have been affected. The foreclosure notices were sent just as Turkey’s Finance Minister Berat Albayrak announced a new government economic program. In his presentation, Albayrak didn’t mention anything about supporting those who are unable to cover their overdue arrears to the state. That’s despite an earlier statement this summer in which he hinted of a possible government aid. “Tax and debt restructuring requests are coming in. Steps can be taken to suit different needs in different periods,” the minister said in July. His comments received a positive response from the Turkish business circles at the time, as he also noted that the necessary steps should be taken as soon as possible. But his latest address did not contain any reference to debt restructuring. What’s more, Türkmen pointed out that the bank accounts now have been frozen at a very inappropriate moment, when many companies were preparing to pay monthly salaries. He believes tax agents won’t find much in many of them but will cause businesses to go bankrupt. During an annual presentation of economic forecasts, Berat Albayrak said authorities in Ankara have made “innovative steps” that would allow Turkish banks to start lending again and urged financial institutions to take a “proactive role” in extending credit. “We will see the beginning of a clean slate for banks in the upcoming period. We think they will return to providing financing,” said the cabinet member, as quoted by Reuters. Ankara Forgets a Promise to Help Debtors Albayrak was referring to the government’s recently issued directive for banks to reclassify around 46 billion lira in debt ($8.2 billion) as non-performing loans, many of which resulted from the 2018 crisis with the nation’s fiat. Last year, the Turkish lira lost a third of its value. The drop left many local businesses unable to service their credits in foreign currencies. In August, the bad loans held by Turkish banks totaled approximately 124 billion lira, or almost $22 billion according to exchange rates at the time of writing. The popularity of cryptocurrencies has been growing exponentially in Turkey and last year’s currency crisis coupled with high inflation pushed even more Turks to seek refuge in decentralized digital money. A 2019 study exploring how common cryptocurrencies are around the world placed the country at the top of the chart, with a fifth of the Turkish respondents declaring they own crypto. If you need to securely exchange your fiat money for leading cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin core (BTC), you can do at buy.Bitcoin.com. You can also start trading your digital assets freely on our noncustodial, peer-to-peer marketplace, local.Bitcoin.com, or try our new premier trading platform, exchange.Bitcoin.com. Do you expect more Turkish citizens and businesses to start using cryptocurrencies following their government’s offensive against taxpayers who owe money to the state? Tell us in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Do you need a reliable bitcoin mobile wallet to send, receive, and store your coins? Download one for free from us and then head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can quickly buy bitcoin with a credit card. The post Turkish Government Freezes Over 3 Million Bank Accounts appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Four months of protests continue in Hong Kong as the world is witnessing the biggest uprising of political dissent in the territory since the 1997 ‘handover’ from Britain to China. Protesters have recently embraced wearing Guy Fawkes masks but on October 3, Hong Kong’s current Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, implemented colonial-era emergency powers banning the use of masks. Lam also told Hong Kong residents the government can “make any regulations whatsoever” and since she enacted the laws the public has been livid. Also Read: Hong Kong Protest Leader Hopes to Incite Run on Chinese Banks Hong Kong Leaders Enrage Protesters With Colonial-Era Emergency Powers and Banning Masks Political unrest in Hong Kong continues as the entire administrative region has been embattled in a feud between its citizens, Hong Kong officials, and China. What started as a protest against the 2019 extradition bill has become a full force revolt for political freedom from China’s binds. For months the demonstrators demanded that Lam withdraw the bill that would allow Chinese law enforcement to extradite anyone from the territory to mainland China if they stand accused of a crime. The protesters also demand that individuals charged with crimes for protesting be pardoned and they want a full investigation into the Hong Kong police force. The last two of the “five demands” requires Lam to change the definition of peaceful protests as they are currently called “riots” at the moment and they also want universal suffrage. Essentially, this means that citizens would be allowed to vote for their leaders without Chinese interference. Hong Kong independence proponent now wear Guy Fawkes masks from the film “V for Vendetta.” Hong Kong independence proponent Chen Haotian also told citizens to free themselves from China’s financial chains and insisted people should incite a bank run on Chinese banks operating in the territory. Then on September 4, Lam held a press conference and announced she would withdraw the extradition bill. On the other side of the argument, protest leaders wearing masks also held a news conference and said Lam’s removal of the bill was not enough. Hong Kong protesters now regularly wear smiling Guy Fawkes masks from the film “V for Vendetta.” Guy Fawkes masks have become a well known symbol for the underground hacktivist organization Anonymous and many individuals donned them during the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. On October 1, as China honored the 70th anniversary of communist rule, Hong Kong streets were filled with turmoil. Clashes broke out between the dissenters and the police, a military parade of officers fired water cannons and tear gas at the crowds of people. Protesters besiege a Bank of China branch in Hong Kong. Lam has since enacted extremely old rules over Hong Kong citizens which basically give the government the power to do anything it wants. People can be arrested for wearing Guy Fawkes masks and the territory now has emergency curfews, media censorship, and full control over all transportation systems. The dictatorship style rules have made it worse for Lam and her Chinese comrades as protesters took to the streets at nightfall and confronted police again. Hundreds of opponents of the Chinese government also stormed a Bank of China’s Hong Kong branch. Protesters smashed the storefront glass of another Chinese bank called China Life. “This is an ancient, colonial set of regulations, and you don’t use them unless you can’t legislate anymore,” said Martin Lee, a veteran activist and eminent attorney from Hong Kong. “Once you start, there’s no end to it.” Onlookers Believe China Will Advance the Fight by Utilizing Capital Controls and Cutting the Hong Kong Conduit to Global Finance While it’s true BTC prices in Hong Kong have seen some significant premiums, the rise is not a hyperbitcoinization event. That is at least until Lam and the government decides to push more than banning just masks and adding emergency curfews. Coincidentally, at the same time of unrest from the protests, Charles Li, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, discussed the subject of Chinese capital controls. “The idea that China will actually one day relax its capital controls… we’re going to continue to talk about it for 20 more years,” Li gibed at an event last week in London. BTC volumes on the platform Localbitcoins.com touched all-time highs for the second week of September. The fact of the matter is, Hong Kong has always been China’s global finance conduit. Many cryptocurrency advocates witnessed the time when China banned digital currency exchanges that operated on the mainland. Most of the crypto businesses headquartered in China did not quit their operations, they simply shifted everything over to Hong Kong. With Carrie Lam now possessing dictatorship-like powers similar to North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, the financial sector could be harmed indefinitely. Chief Investment Officer at Hayman Capital Management Kyle Bass tweeted on October 4 that Hong Kong was “spinning out of control.” “People lining up at ATM machines to pull cash,” Bass remarked. “So much for the financial center of Asia. The devolution of the British Common Law into the communist’s rule by Law has been truly remarkable.” Bass believes Lam will execute more draconian powers and added: Hong Kong capital controls are next. The ERO gives lam(b) eminent powers to seize bank accounts, turn off the Internet, seize property, and arrest at will. This is all coming to you courtesy of Carrie and Xi’s great misadventure. Traders in Hong Kong are also buying and selling bitcoin cash (BCH) via the Local.Bitcoin.com platform. Secessionism is becoming a popular idea and many liberty activists believe that people have the right to secede and start their own way voluntarily. Cryptocurrencies and the Bitcoin invention in a general sense are an act of secession by removing the monetary system from the state. Hong Kong has been fighting for its own autonomy for quite some time and most of the world agrees with the region moving away from ancient forms of colonialism in a modern world. It’s not the first time Hong Kong has seen massive protests but every time China is allegedly ‘tamed,’ Beijing advances by other tactics. In 2003, China attempted to stifle free speech and freedom of association, and 500,000 citizens took to the streets to protest. Seven years later, China initiated electoral changes which gave Beijing more political power over Hong Kong. In 2014, Beijing revealed it would assume control over city elections and two years later China removed pro-democracy candidates from the elections. In the last few years, independence activists from Hong Kong have been imprisoned and kidnapped by Chinese officials. Because of the cruel Chinese government crackdown, Hong Kong residents are forced to use any means necessary to protect themselves from their egregious invaders. Whether it be Guy Fawkes masks, encrypted messenger applications, mesh-net services or cryptocurrencies, Hong Kong protesters are using every tool they can to fight for freedom. What do you think about the ongoing protests in Hong Kong? Do you think tools like cryptocurrencies can help them? How do you see the protests in Hong Kong turning out? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Reuters/Tyrone Siu, Local.Bitcoin.com, Coin Dance, and Pixabay. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Protesters Wield Tools of Freedom as Hong Kong Imposes Dictatorship appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Last spring and the beginning of summer 2019 saw digital asset markets spike considerably in value, and many speculators assumed the rise was due to institutional investors. However, BTC and a variety of other popular digital asset prices started plummeting in August. Reports now detail that institutional interest is waning and new data that analyzed the collaboration between institutions and cryptocurrency headlines has dropped significantly. Moreover, the highly anticipated Bakkt futures launch didn’t match the initial hype. The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) physically-settled bitcoin futures products continue to see low volumes despite the first block trade settled. Also Read: Money and Democracy: Why You Never Get to Vote on the Most Important Part of Society Institutional Interest Headlines Drop Significantly, While GBTC Premium Slides to a 7-Month Low A few months ago everyone heard about the strong institutional interest trend stemming from speculators who believed financial incumbents and well known investors were joining the crypto revolution. Headlines at the time declared the bullish price charge was different this time around as there was very little retail interest in digital currencies. The last price spike was allegedly started by institutional participants. However, things have changed and the overall market valuation of all 2000+ digital assets has lost billions over the last month. Adding more insult to injury, on October 2 the cryptocurrency trading researchers called The Tie explained that headlines involving the terms “institutions” and “bitcoin” have dropped expressively low. “Mentions of institutional interest in bitcoin in news headlines have plummeted to a 2019 low after seeing significant growth throughout the summer,” The Tie researchers detailed. “The data used more than 85,000 unique publication headlines since October 2017.” Similarly, mentions of the word “gold” in bitcoin-related headlines have hit a low since October 2017 the analysts said. “After bottoming in April conversations around bitcoin and gold had surged over the summer,” the staff added. There have been other signs of institutional interest leaving the cryptocurrency space like the price of Grayscale’s GBTC dropping to its lowest point in seven months. Institutions can capitulate? GBTC premium is at 7 month low. pic.twitter.com/7rdjurq3nf — CL (@CL207) October 4, 2019 Then there’s the recent Bakkt launch, which saw its first week of volume pale in comparison to mere minutes on an exchange like Binance, Bitmex or Coinbase. On Twitter, The Block analyst Larry Cermak called the first seven days of trading “quite underwhelming.” “Total volume has so far been $6.5 million and even though it’s not very comparable, Bitmex does that kind of volume in less than 4 minutes,” Cermak emphasized. Bakkt’s Lackluster Bitcoin Volume However, Bakkt and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) believe the organization is just getting started. For instance, Bakkt said on October 1 the exchange executed its first block trade between Galaxy Digital and XBTO, and was cleared by ED&F Man. A block trade is basically a private futures swap that’s filed with the exchange and cleared through ICE Clear US. “Last week, we bought the first Bakkt Bitcoin Daily Futures contract and took the first physical delivery of a digital asset under existing commodity futures laws and regulations,” XBTO stated. “This week, we executed the first block trade. We’re pleased to report that the launch was successful and can accommodate large trades.” Bakkt two weeks on – not much occurring yet with three consecutive sessions pic.twitter.com/meBsGxVOfb — skew (@skew_markets) October 4, 2019 Despite the data pointing to current lack of institutional interest, many speculators believe that institutions and big name investors have already joined the cryptoconomy. An example of this is how Bitmex was probed by the CFTC for allegedly allowing U.S. customers to trade leverage. However, even after the regulatory crackdown, Bitmex continues to swap massive amounts of futures and it’s still the market leader when it comes to derivatives. Moreover, the data analytics company Skew shows that the newly launched Binance Futures products swapped more than $170 million on the first day. Since the launch day, Binance is still trading close to $2 billion in derivatives every week. Further, there’s a strong interest in other crypto derivatives products as well. Reports detail that Bitcoin Cash futures will be initiated on a CFTC-regulated exchange in Q1 2020. From the signs of things, crypto futures products remain hot while institutional interest in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, is not. What do you think about the waning institutional interest in relation to bitcoin and the cryptoconomy? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Twitter, The Tie, @BakktBot, Skew research, @CL207, and Pixabay. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Data Shows Institutional Interest in Bitcoin Has Diminished appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

After much deliberation in the past months and years, Moscow has recently taken important steps toward regulating the crypto space. These are part of the efforts to open the way for the development of the Russian digital economy. The country, heavily dependent on energy exports and hurt by Western sanctions, needs alternative sources of revenue and cannot afford to turn a blind eye to bitcoin for too long. Also read: German Bank Predicts BTC at $90,000 After Next Halving Law ‘On Digital Rights’ Enters Into Force in Russia Three bills concerning the future of cryptocurrencies and the regulation of related activities are now at different stages of adoption in the Russian Federation. On Oct. 1, the law “On Digital Rights” entered into force. It establishes the basic legal definition of rights in the digital realm and determines their status under the country’s civil rights law. “Digital right” in this context is a new legal term, the scope of which can be interpreted to include tokens such as those used in the crypto industry. Other norms in the law regulate the use of smart contracts, incorporating conditions of automated execution of certain agreements. Quoted by Regnum, Russian lawmaker Pavel Krasheninnikov, head of the parliamentary Legislation Committee, elaborated that this type of contracts are already widely used in traditional banking, such as in recurring utility bill payments. To legalize this type of arrangements in other related spheres including the crypto space, the law “On Digital Rights” amends Russia’s Civil Code, which now postulates that a transaction may provide for the fulfillment of obligations by its parties under certain circumstances through the use of information technology. That means an information system can now execute contracts by itself, according to Russian media. Law ‘On Crowdfunding’ to Be Implemented in January Another bill that deals with issues relating to digital tokens has already passed the long legal process to become part of Russia’s current legislation. The law “On Attracting Investments Using Investment Platforms,” commonly referred to as the “law on crowdfunding,” was signed by President Vladimir Putin in August after the Russian State Duma approved it, and will enter into force on Jan. 1, 2020. Despite its relatively soft requirements for potential participants in investment platforms, the law also introduces a number of restrictions. For instance, aiming to protect ordinary people from risky investments, it limits the annual amount “unqualified investors” can spend on such projects to 600,000 rubles (around $9,000). Besides, only entities registered with the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) will be allowed to facilitate crowdfunding initiatives. Legal experts quoted by Forklog have determined that the law applies to the crypto industry’s widely employed capital raising method of token sales, or initial coin offerings (ICOs), and theoretically legalizes it. They believe that in practice the utilitarian digital rights introduced in the new Russian laws correspond to utility tokens providing access to a blockchain platform and the services it may offer to investors. Critics have pointed out that neither of these pieces of legislation explicitly mentions cryptocurrencies, despite the initial intentions, and noted that the imposed restrictions may push crypto projects and investors to seek friendlier jurisdictions. Some policymakers, however, continue to think it’s too early to allow the free circulation of cryptos in Russia. A reason for their reluctance to do so is the postponed adoption of the main bill in the package, the law “On Digital Financial Rights.” In the past year, multiple deadlines had been breached, and the last one — Nov. 1 — was set by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in August. The text of the bill has been amended more than once since its filing in the Duma last May, with the finance ministry and a leading business organization pushing for the legalization of cryptocurrencies. Russia’s central bank, however, remains strongly opposed to the phenomenon, which its deputy governor Sergei Shevtsov recently described as a “high-tech financial pyramid.” The latest proposal from the pro-crypto camp is to divide digital currencies into three categories — virtual assets (cryptocurrencies), “technical” (utility) tokens, and digital financial assets (security tokens). You can become part of the cryptocurrency world even before any part of it is regulated by purchasing bitcoin cash and other major coins at buy.Bitcoin.com. You can also start trading with other crypto enthusiasts at our noncustodial, peer-to-peer marketplace, local.Bitcoin.com. Do you think Russia will eventually legalize and regulate cryptocurrencies? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Do you need a reliable bitcoin mobile wallet to send, receive, and store your coins? Download one for free from us and then head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can quickly buy bitcoin with a credit card. The post Russia Regulates Digital Rights, Advances Other Crypto-Related Bills appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Ross Ulbricht is forced to spend the rest of his life in prison, and October 1 marked the beginning of his seventh year behind bars. Ulbricht has recently authored a letter explaining that he’s “forgotten what freedom actually feels like” and he’s also realized that he lost some of the “best years of his life.” Meanwhile, Ulbricht’s clemency petition has been gaining significant traction and has gathered more than 212,000 signatures to date. Also read: Global Law Enforcement Has Auctioned Massive Amounts of Bitcoin Ross Ulbricht’s Seventh Year Behind Bars Begins It’s been six years since Ross Ulbricht was arrested and put behind bars for his involvement with the Silk Road marketplace. The 35-year old is serving a double life sentence, plus 40 years without the possibility of parole. He was arrested in October 2013 by the FBI in the San Francisco Public Library and this month marks the start of his seventh revolution around the sun locked in prison. A week before his seventh year anniversary, Ulbricht wrote a meaningful letter about how Bitcoin equals freedom. Ulbricht recalled the early days when two pizzas were sold for 10,000 BTC and he said at the time no one knew how the experiment would turn out. However, Ulbricht insists the power behind the Bitcoin phenomenon came from the dream, a conviction and “enough infectious enthusiasm to bootstrap a digital contrivance into a multi-billion dollar phenomenon we are only beginning to see the effects of.” He says it was like “magic” that bitcoins became valuable without authoritative decree because of the community’s passionate vision. Ulbricht adds: Bitcoin did not appear in a vacuum. It was a solution to a problem cryptographers had been struggling with for many years: How to create digital money with no central authority that couldn’t be forged and could be trusted. A week later, Ulbricht wrote another letter to his supporters explaining how he was starting to spend his seventh year in a cage. He says that even though he can imagine freedom, he forgot what freedom feels like. “Living in my own space, choosing who to be with, where to go, and living into a future of possibilities and growth — These have become foreign to me.” Ulbricht continued by saying that he’s lost some of the “best years of his life” and asked what will keep him there another year. “What will it cost — And what opportunities are being missed?” Ulbricht’s recent letter from Oct. 1, 2019. The heartfelt letter was shared across social media and many supporters tagged Donald Trump on Twitter asking the U.S. President to pardon Ulbricht. Additionally, Ulbricht’s mother Lyn Ulbricht recently appeared on the Free the People podcast, on October 2, in an episode called “Does the Silk Road Founder Deserve Two Centuries in Prison?” Lyn joined Matt Kibbe in a discussion in regards to the “cruel and unusual punishment inflicted on her son by the criminal justice system.” In one clip Lyn insisted: “He’s being held accountable for and responsible for everything that happened on a website that he was not controlling,” Lyn insisted during her interview with Free the People. “[Moderators] did monitor it for things that created victims but he wasn’t controlling it. If it were a civil case they wouldn’t do that because there is a law where you cannot hold a website host accountable for what is said and done on the site.” She added: But because it was a criminal case that [law is] not covered but it’s exactly the same principle its vicarious liability — It’s extending the criminal liability umbrella to include things you didn’t even do. Lyn Ulbricht discussed her son’s situation on the Free the People podcast. Close to a Quarter of a Million Petitioners Want Ross to See Freedom The website Freeross.org emphasizes that there is a growing consensus that “Ross’s case is a miscarriage of justice and over 100 eminent organizations and individuals have voiced their support.” Many freedom lovers agree with Lyn’s opinion and have been supporting Ulbricht for years. The well known actor and documentary film director Alex Winter said that no matter where you stand on the Silk Road and Ross’s case, “this is an egregious sentence.” “It cannot be denied that the sentence Ross Ulbricht received was unnecessarily inhumane and frankly horrific,” Winter added. Jeff Deist, president of the Mises Institute has also called Ulbricht’s sentence a miscarriage. “Clearly Mr. Ulbricht is the victim of shocking injustice,” Deist stressed. The list of popular activists and global influencers who support Ross Ulbricht’s freedom is quite massive and continues to grow. Lyn’s recent interview and Ross Ulbricht’s letters have made a lot of people question whether or not imprisoning non-violent offenders in cages is moral. Thousands of people have voiced their opinion over the years supporting Ulbricht and have declared that his double-life sentence is draconian given the victimless nature of his crime. Ulbricht’s family and a great number of supporters behind him have been relentlessly getting people to sign a petition for Ulbricht’s clemency. The petition addressed to U.S. President Donald Trump asks the American leader to free Ross by pardon. “Mr. President, please commute Ross Ulbricht’s unjust sentence,” the petition reads. Ulbricht’s clemency petition has close to a quarter of a million signatures and the Ulbricht’s are shooting for a whole lot more. In the last few weeks, especially after profound letters to the public, Ulbricht’s petition has gained a lot of steam and so far it has gathered a whopping 212,000 signatures. With close to a quarter of a million people supporting Ulbricht’s clemency, the family is shooting for a lot more signatures. Ulbricht’s petition appeal to the President says Ross still clings to hope of getting a second chance. The hundreds of thousands of signatures so far show people wholeheartedly support his freedom. “[Ross wants] a future where he can be reunited with his loved ones, and use his education, knowledge, and skills to give to his community and society as a whole — Please sign this petition and help us bring Ross home,” the clemency appeal concludes. What do you think about Ross Ulbricht spending his life in prison for operating a website? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Freeross.org, Shutterstock, Change.org, Free the People, Twitter, and Pixabay. Do you want to dig deeper into Bitcoin? Explore past and present cryptocurrency prices through our Bitcoin Markets tool and head to our Blockchain Explorer to view specific transactions, addresses, and blocks. The post 200,000 People Have Signed Ross Ulbricht’s Clemency Petition appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Crypto investment firm Grayscale has just released “An Introduction to Bitcoin Cash” highlighting the basics of BCH for those who may be yet unfamiliar, or just wish to brush up on the popular token forked from Bitcoin Core on August 1, 2017. With a significant reputation in the industry, Grayscale’s release of the document marks yet another important milestone in BCH recognition and adoption worldwide. Also Read: Ohio Removes Option to Pay Taxes With Crypto While Local SLP Project Presses Forward Grayscale Talks Bitcoin Cash Grayscale Investments is a well-known firm in the crypto space, creating and managing billions in cryptocurrency investment trusts. A subsidiary of the Digital Currency Group, Grayscale announced in August that it would utilize Coinbase Custody’s services for storing underlying digital assets. Grayscale offers investment trusts in BTC, BCH, ETH, ETC, ZEN, LTC, XLM, XRP, and ZEC, as well as a diversified option. The newly released document, “An Introduction to Bitcoin Cash,” is a 14-page overview of the bitcoin cash token covering topics such as history, defining characteristics, differences between BCH and BTC, and advantages and potential disadvantages to BTC. The intro to the report notes: Bitcoin Cash is one of the most successful hard forks of Bitcoin. Like its predecessor, Bitcoin Cash is a decentralized, peer-to-peer (P2P) digital currency and payment network supported by an open-source blockchain protocol. Citing the implementation of Segwit and the Lightning Network, the report notes that “Bitcoin’s solution to the scalability issue was met with some resistance due to the removal of digital signatures as previously described in the Bitcoin whitepaper, leading to the simultaneous creation of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain.” Advantages and Potential Disadvantages The main advantage of Bitcoin Cash over Bitcoin Core, according to Grayscale, is that on-chain scalability ultimately lowers transaction fees and encourages adoption. The report states: As of September 30, 2019, the average fee for a Bitcoin Cash transaction was $0.002 USD, compared to Bitcoin, which was $1.07 USD. Furthermore, the 32 MB block size limit for Bitcoin Cash allows for approximately 106 on-chain transactions per second versus seven for Bitcoin. The potential disadvantages of BCH when compared to BTC are identified as level of decentralization, low adoption and regulatory uncertainty. As for the regulatory uncertainty aspect, the report seems slightly misleading. Grayscale states that “To date, the SEC has only identified two digital assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum, for which it does not intend to take the position that they are securities,” noting that Bitcoin Cash runs the risk of being viewed as such by SEC guidelines. However, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, William Hinman, no such solid statement of intent actually stands. In a June, 2018 speech Hinman clarified: “I would like to emphasize that the analysis of whether something is a security is not static and does not strictly inhere to the instrument. Even digital assets with utility that function solely as a means of exchange in a decentralized network could be packaged and sold as an investment strategy that can be a security. If a promoter were to place Bitcoin in a fund or trust and sell interests, it would create a new security.” Decentralization debates continue concerning both the Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Cash networks, with large mining takeovers being one of the top concerns. Another point of potential trouble cited by the report is Bitcoin Cash’s large block size, which some presuppose may “introduce the possibility that less node operators have the resources to run BCH software, thereby potentially increasing the risk of further centralization.” Advocates for Bitcoin Cash respond conversely that the “don’t spend, just hodl” mindset and high transaction fees promoted by BTC maximalist camps have a more detrimental effect, repelling would-be adopters (less nodes), and centralizing network power away from everyday users of Satoshi’s “purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash.” Summary The Grayscale report closes with praise for the BCH network: Over the last two years, Bitcoin Cash has shown continued resilience in the face of adversity, making it difficult for investors to ignore, and proving that it can coexist alongside Bitcoin. To many in the space, Bitcoin Cash is Bitcoin, but flippant discussions in this vein usually risk unnecessary contention and squabbling. As always, the free market is the final proving grounds for any asset, and where the original Bitcoin white paper is concerned, what the market needs according to Satoshi Nakamoto is a peer-to-peer, permissionless electronic cash. What are your thoughts on Grayscale’s Bitcoin Cash report? Let us know in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, fair use. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Crypto Investment Group Grayscale Releases Bitcoin Cash Primer appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Switzerland’s principal stock exchange now has seven cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) listed. They allow investors to either gain exposure to individual cryptocurrencies or invest in portfolios of top cryptocurrencies. Four ETPs track the prices of single cryptocurrencies. Also read: New Evidence Escalates Panic as RBI Still Limits Bank Withdrawals Crypto Index in Swiss Franc MV Index Solutions (MVIS) and Swiss fintech firm Amun AG announced Thursday the launch of their newest crypto ETP, in association with Bitcoin Suisse. The Amun Bitcoin Suisse ETP (ticker: ABBA) has started trading on SIX Swiss Exchange, the main stock exchange in Switzerland for traditional investments such as stocks, bonds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The new crypto ETP is designed to track the prices of both BTC and ETH. MVIS Managing Director Thomas Kettner commented: It’s our first index in CHF and especially designed to serve the Swiss market which has been demanding such an index. Details of the Amun Bitcoin Suisse ETP. Source: SIX Swiss Exchange. “The Amun Bitcoin Suisse BTC/ETH ETP was designed for the Swiss by the Swiss,” Amun CEO Hany Rashwan remarked. “It represents a unique way for investors to add the two major cryptocurrencies globally to their portfolio via a regulated product listed on SIX exchange and backed by a Swiss-based custodian.” As of Oct. 4, the ETP’s underlying index comprises 88.68% BTC and 11.33% ETH. “Index weightings are reviewed on a monthly basis, based on the current market capitalization of each coin. The index is market capitalization-weighted, no cap or floor is being applied,” the Zug-based company clarified. As news.Bitcoin.com previously explained, ETPs listed on SIX Swiss Exchange are not ETFs. MVIS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Van Eck Associates Corporation. Van Eck recently withdrew its application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to trade a bitcoin ETF on the Cboe BZX Exchange. Instead, the company is now offering its bitcoin product to institutional investors under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, which is exempt from the SEC’s registration requirements. 6 Other ETPs Listed on SIX Swiss Exchange Other than the newly listed ETP, there are six other crypto ETPs trading in USD on SIX Swiss Exchange. Four of them seek to track individual prices of single cryptocurrencies: BCH, BTC, ETH, and XRP. Amun’s six other crypto ETPs currently listed on Six Swiss Exchange. Source: Amun AG. The Amun Bitcoin ETF (ticker: ABTC) started trading on Feb. 26; it seeks to track the price of BTC only. The next to launch was the Amun Ethereum ETP (ticker: AETH), which started trading on March 5. The Amun Ripple ETP (ticker: AXRP) started trading on April 2, followed by the Amun Bitcoin Cash ETP (ticker: ABCH) on July 4. The other two ETPs track the performances of baskets of cryptocurrencies. The Amun Crypto Basket Index ETP (ticker: HODL), the first crypto ETP listed on SIX Swiss Exchange, started trading on Nov. 21 last year. This product seeks to “track the investment results of an index composed of top five cryptocurrencies ranked by market capitalization,” Amun described. As of September, the portfolio comprises 50.27% BTC, 21.29% XRP, 19.10% ETH, 4.89% BCH, and 4.45% LTC. The September asset allocation of the Amun Crypto Basket Index ETP. Source: Amun AG. The other basket crypto product by Amun AG is called the Bitwise Select 10 Large Cap Crypto ETP (ticker: KEYS). It “seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of up to the top 10 cryptocurrencies ranked by inflation-adjusted market capitalization,” Amun detailed. The underlying index is the Bitwise Select 10 Large Cap Crypto Index. As of Oct. 3, BTC accounts for 77.84% of this index, followed by ETH (9.10%), XRP (5.70%), BCH (2.11%), LTC (2.11%), EOS (1.46%), XLM (0.60%), XMR (0.52%), ADA (0.47%), and DASH (0.42%). What do you think of SIX Swiss Exchange listing these crypto investment products? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, SIX Swiss Exchange, and Amun AG. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post 7 Crypto Exchange-Traded Products Now Live on Swiss Bourse appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. The Singapore-based exchange, Bitsoda.com, is the newest force in digital asset trading platforms. Invested by Digital Finance Group with Ledger X, Circle and other well-known blockchain projects in the portfolio, Bitsoda.com stands out with adequate resource and enters global market fast with unique competitiveness. With education background of top universities and leading Internet & blockchain companies such as Alibaba, Temasek and Binance, the core team manifests rich experiences in system security, financial product innovation, and market operation. A streamlined user experience for desktop now and mobile soon simplifies the process for beginners and the excellent matching engine and complete API are attractive for professionals. Hot-cold wallet separation, multiple encryption mechanisms, and world-class security audits ensure top security. Unlike traditional cryptocurrency exchanges, Bitsoda.com is the very first who develops social investing model, e-commerce platform operation strategy and innovative project incubation mechanism globally, aiming to power financial inclusion, SME development, as well as blockchain industrial transformation with more practical use cases and massive user adoption. “By learning from Pinduoduo group-purchase model, Bitsoda could obtain users quickly with low cost. Coupled with other incentives such as Taobao Snap-up model, Bitsoda manages to increase the user engagement. Secret killer product and features will be released soon showing the strong innovation and fast execution of the team.” comments the leading investor James Wo. Leo, founder of Bitsoda says, “Inspired by crowdfunding and valuation adjustment mechanism, we creatively design a new model of financing which solves the IEO pain points of short-term oriented defeat due to information asymmetry and moral hazard. We wish to solve the phenomenon of bad coins driving out good coins that means projects good at market making rattle those developing technology and products. This plan is called ‘Singularity’ showing our vision to bridge the real world and blockchain universe by powering the real vetted assets”. The research and investment team collaborates with abundant institution & communities to select high-quality projects. The first group-purchase token is CKB (Nervos) and then 2nd DOT (Polkadot) with advanced technology. To promote the DeFi ecosystem, Bitsoda cooperates with Woodstock Fund to accelerate the DeFi-as-a-Service project Helis. To deliver better staking service, Bitsoda runs nodes for YouChain, Insight Chain,etc to give users interest for locking. To boost real products utilizing blockchain technology, Bitsoda will list AQ Coin firstly worldwide for one-stop asset management and interest sharing and tracing. Besides all of these, Bitsoda will also start promotion activities in October so that users can earn free ETC and accumulate loyalty points by retweeting news of Bitsoda, registering on website, and inviting friends to trade, etc. The refreshing choice for new generation, only Bitsoda. Learn more about Bitsoda: Website: https://www.bitsoda.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/bitsoda Telegram: https://t.me/Bitsoda_EN ETC Giveaway Campaign: https://support.bitsoda.com/hc/en-us/articles/360036039574 Contact Email Address media@bitsoda.com Supporting Link https://bitsoda.com/ This is a paid 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 The Exchange for the New Generation — Bitsoda.com Launches Globally appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The effects of banking restrictions by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have reached an Indian police department. The police sold some cryptocurrencies they seized only to find out that they cannot access the Rs 8.42 crore (~$1.2 million) proceeds due to the current RBI banking ban. Also read: India’s Popular ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ Show Gives Crypto a Boost Police Funds Locked Restrictions on banks placed by the RBI have caused trouble for police wanting to cash out seized cryptocurrencies. Last week, the central bank also blocked customers of Mumbai-based Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank) Ltd., with 137 branches across India, from accessing their savings. Now the Pune city police department is unable to access Rs 8.42 crore which was converted into INR from the cryptocurrencies it seized last year from Akash Kantilal Sancheti, an accused in the Gainbitcoin Ponzi scheme, the Times of India reported Wednesday. The number of coins sold was 244.0925, which included an unspecified amount of BTC. The police hired Discidium Internet Labs Private Ltd., which operates Indian crypto exchange Koinex, to sell the seized coins. The news outlet detailed that the proceeds are now sitting frozen in the company’s bank account at a branch of the Central Bank of India, a government-owned bank which is one of the oldest and largest commercial banks in the country. District government pleader Ujjwala Pawar explained that “The police’s plea is pending before the sessions court.” The RBI has replied to the court notice, claiming that it had neither frozen the Discidium Internet Labs’ account nor directed the commercial bank to do so. According to the news outlet, Discidium Internet Labs has filed an interlocutory application before the country’s supreme court to direct the RBI to instruct the Central Bank of India to unfreeze its account. Banks Close Crypto Exchanges’ Accounts The RBI issued a circular, dated April 6 last year, prohibiting all banks and payment system providers from dealing in cryptocurrencies. Prohibited services include “maintaining accounts, registering, trading, settling, clearing, giving loans against virtual tokens, accepting them as collateral, opening accounts of exchanges dealing with them and transfer / receipt of money in accounts relating to purchase/ sale of VCs [virtual currencies],” the RBI specified. The ban went into effect three months later, and banks subsequently closed the accounts of crypto exchanges, forcing some of them to shut down, including Koinex. The exchange announced in June the permanent closing of its crypto trading services, citing that their “bank accounts with user funds are still frozen and the capital is held up.” Koinex CEO Rahul Raj revealed: “We have consistently been facing denials in payment services from payment gateways, bank account closures and blocking of transactions for trading of digital assets.” He continued: “Even for non-crypto transactions like payment of salary, rent and purchase of equipment, our team members, service providers and vendors have had to answer questions from their respective banks  —  just because of an association with a digital assets exchange operator.” Several writ petitions have been filed with the country’s supreme court to challenge the RBI ban. The case is ongoing, and the court was expected to resume hearing the case last week. Meanwhile, the Indian government is deliberating on a bill to ban cryptocurrencies. The case in the supreme court relating to the country’s crypto policies has been postponed to January next year since the government told the court that the crypto bill may be introduced in the next parliament session. What do you think of the police being unable to access funds due to the RBI crypto banking ban? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post RBI Ban Stops Indian Police From Cashing Out Seized Crypto appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

If you could go back in time and do the internet all over again, what would you change? Would you think twice about joining Facebook, decline to upload those fancy dress photos from ‘09 and delete that rhetoric-laden blog post instead of hitting ‘Publish’? It’s too late to undo the mistakes of the past, but it is possible to start afresh by creating a new online identity using privacy tools and cryptocurrency. Here’s how. Also read: No Victim, No Crime: How the Darknet Drug War Is Ruining Young Lives How to Disappear (Almost) Completely Disappearing in real life is hard. It calls for giving up your friends, family, and favorite places. It means changing your name, documents, ID, employer, and location. It’s a virtually impossible task, which is why so few people achieve it. Criminals who go on the run rarely last long; they’re usually busted by a phone call home or an inability to blend into their new surroundings and keep a low profile. The internet, though, is different. As the adage goes, on the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog. But what if you tired of being a dog and decided you wanted to reinvent yourself as a cat, bear, or anonymous panda? Today, all the tools exist to do just that: retire your public profile and emerge, reborn, like a butterfly from a cocoon. To live life in technicolor, first you have to go dark. Quick tips: 1. Buy(or earn) without kyc: bisq, hodlhodl, mining. 2. Coinjoin often, especially if you do KYC. 3. Control your own keys. My favorite hardware is coldcard, consider multisig. 4. Use your own full node. 5. Use VPNs & Tor. Great wiki here: https://t.co/N3FAtLzPU6 — Matt Odell (@matt_odell) September 24, 2019 A Life Worth Living Twice This article is intended as a guide for how a person might start afresh online, using encryption, anonymity tools, pseudonyms, and cryptocurrency. It’s not a blueprint to follow meticulously, and it’s not going to be for everyone. Remember how bitcoiner Jameson Lopp took extreme measures to conceal his real life whereabouts, while maintaining his real name on the web? Well, this is basically the reverse of that. Even if you’re not intent on retiring your public persona and starting from scratch, there are tools and techniques contained herein that everyone – cryptocurrency users especially – can use to reclaim some privacy. We were free and easy with the information we shared online in the early aughts because we didn’t foresee the compliance-crazy, language-policed, blockchain-surveilled panopticon we now inhabit. Who knows what the AI-powered internet of the future will look like, but it’s a safe bet it will be a distinctly less private one. The steps you take now to bolster your pseudonymity could pay dividends further down the line. Step 1: Pick Your Persona While it’s possible to operate as more than one persona on the web, complete with multiple Twitter accounts, business profiles and emails, it’s a mission best left to the spooks. Assuming a single pseudonym allows you to be yourself, minus the real name. Trying to run two or more identities in parallel is fraught with risk, and you’re never more than a misplaced message away from blowing your cover. Crypto Twitter is full of anon accounts, some of whom have maintained their cover for years, while operating full-time in the cryptosphere as professional traders, shitposters, writers, token economists, and project advisors. Which brings us onto our next step… Step 2: Pick Your Profession While there’s nothing stopping you from working a 9-5 at Starbucks while larping as a gender neutral unicorn on the web, the beauty of living today is that you can work remotely, and be handsomely remunerated without needing to disclose your real name, address or social security number. There are numerous industries where this is achievable, but tech – and crypto in particular – are ideal. Aside from the obvious benefit of getting paid in digital currency, crypto is a sector where what you can do is worth a lot more than who you are. If you’re a proficient programmer, your Github commits are the only validation your username needs. If your code checks out, you won’t struggle for work. For programmers just starting out, responding to bounties on Gitcoin is a good place to show your skills and earn some digital crumbs. Other jobs that lend themselves well to aspiring anons include copywriting, video editing, graphic design, and web development. Step 3: Set Your Privacy Level Privacy exists on many levels, and unless you’re performing something illicit like operating a darknet marketplace, you don’t need to obsess over opsec. For most people, privacy can be categorized into consumer and professional levels, with the latter describing anyone who wishes to hold down an online job anonymously. Consumer-grade privacy: Use a pro-privacy web browser, disable trackers, consider using encrypted email, limit your reliance on crypto platforms that require KYC, and mix your coins before sending them to long-term storage. Professional-grade privacy: Use an encrypted email service, thoroughly mix your coins before sending them to accounts that could be tied to your identity, always use a VPN, disable Javascript in your browser, and take an array of other opsec steps that may seem onerous at first but will soon become second nature. Step 4: Cash Out Carefully Getting paid in cryptocurrency is relatively easy these days, as is paying for goods and services, now that thousands of retailers accept digital assets such as BCH and BTC. You can’t pay for all of life’s expenses in crypto, though, and converting from cryptocurrency to fiat can be tricky. Selling coins for cash P2P is the obvious answer. Although Localbitcoins has now removed that option, many sellers provide their contact details alongside their listings, and some will be happy to trade in person. Alternatively, local.Bitcoin.com will allow you to buy and sell BCH privately in whatever manner you prefer. Living Pseudonymously Is Not as Lonely as It Sounds Living a pseudonymous life on the web, never revealing your real face or name, may sound like a lonely and even paranoid existence, but it needn’t be. You’re not in the witness protection scheme, and are free to associate with friends and family. Discretion is required, admittedly, and there will be aspects of your life you’ll need to compartmentalize. For a subset of crypto proponents, shedding the social metrics and personal branding typically associated with success is a small price to pay for economic freedom and absolute privacy. Do you think it’s feasible to lead a completely anonymous online existence? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see what’s happening in the industry. The post How to Create an Anonymous Digital Identity Using Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

You wouldn’t expect a traditional financial institution to come up with a very optimistic forecast about the future of a cryptocurrency or an honest appraisal of its design. But Bayern LB, a lender based in the rich German province of Bavaria, has surprised the crypto community. In a recently published research paper, the bank asks a rather rhetorical question: “Is Bitcoin outshining gold?” and predicts a tenfold increase in BTC’s price by the spring, when the next bitcoin block reward halving takes place. Also read: Bankers Start to Recognize Bitcoin’s Role in Financial Evolution Measuring the ‘Hardness’ of a Crypto Asset Comparing the first cryptocurrency with the oldest precious metal, the report titled “Megatrend Digitalisation” focuses on the commodity-market analysis, and in particular the stock-to-flow approach which serves to measure the “hardness” of an asset. “Applied to Bitcoin, an unusually strong correlation emerges between the market value of this cryptocurrency and the ratio between existing stockpiles of Bitcoin (stock) and new supply (flow),” the authors note. On the backdrop of even looser monetary policies by central banks and ever lower, subzero interest rates, the attractiveness of gold, the traditional store of value, is growing again, as is its price. Its appeal, the Munich-headquartered bank points out, stems from the fact that the supply side cannot be increased indiscriminately. And at the same time, the limited annual production of new gold, the flow, only adds incrementally to an already very substantial stockpile, the stock. The article emphasizes that gold has a high stock-to-flow ratio and a price increase won’t lead to significantly higher production that would be a threat to its price. What sets bitcoin apart is that whereas gold needed millennia to achieve its high ratio, the digital design of the crypto, as “an ultra-hard type of money,” has allowed its supply to be engineered in a way that causes its stock-to-flow ratio to rise much faster. It is likely to reach values comparable to those of the gold’s ratio as early as next year. BTC to Reach Gold’s Stock-to-Flow Ratio In order to demonstrate that the market value of bitcoin can be explained by a stock-to-flow model, the researchers have collated the number of created bitcoins (BTC) and the available historical price data from cryptocurrency exchanges. Then they have established that bitcoin core’s market value increases in a linear fashion as the stock-to-flow ratio rises. “The harder Bitcoin is, the greater the value,” Bayern LB’s experts conclude. Just like gold, but unlike other precious metals with alternative utility value such as palladium, demand for bitcoin is due to its monetary qualities as a store of value and means of exchange, and not because it’s subject to other uses, industrial for example. Logarithmic scales, x-axis: stock-to-flow ratios, y-axis: market capitalization in U.S. dollars. Source: Bayern LB Research The paper stresses that Bitcoin’s stock-to-flow ratio is set to increase significantly after the upcoming BTC block reward halving in May 2020, from approximately 26 now, to 53. The indicator will almost catch up with that of gold, which is currently around 58 but is expected to change insignificantly by next spring. “If the May 2020 stock-to-flow ratio for Bitcoin is factored into the model, a vertiginous price of around USD 90,000 emerges,” the Bayerische Landesbank’s analysts predict. “This would imply that the forthcoming halving effect has hardly been priced into the current Bitcoin price of approximately USD 8,000,” the German bankers remark. If you want to enter the crypto space before bitcoin’s halving occurs, you can safely and securely purchase bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin core (BTC) at buy.Bitcoin.com. You can also freely trade your digital assets on our noncustodial, peer-to-peer marketplace, local.Bitcoin.com, or try our recently launched premier trading platform, exchange.Bitcoin.com. What are your expectations about the price of major cryptocurrencies in 2020? Tell us in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bayern LB. Do you need a reliable bitcoin mobile wallet to send, receive, and store your coins? Download one for free from us and then head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can quickly buy bitcoin with a credit card. The post German Bank Predicts BTC at $90,000 After Next Halving appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

U.S. President Donald Trump is pressuring the central bank to cut interest rates even further as a spike in oil prices has offset the Federal Reserve’s ‘normalization’ tactics like rate-cutting and overnight repos. Additionally, the mega bank JP Morgan Chase (JPM) is being blamed for the lack of liquidity in the repo market’s cash reserves, as JPM’s recent reduction move accounted for a third of the Fed’s bank reserves for Q3. Also Read: Central Banks in Panic Mode – Extreme Tactics Like Helicopter Money Discussed Trump Calls the Fed’s Easing Tactics “Pathetic” Central banks are in a state of panic. No matter what they do, the economy is not being guided well by their easing tactics. In the last few months, at least 19 central banks have started participating in monetary easing practices in order to combat what’s called “stagflation.” The term refers to a period of slow economic growth combined with rising prices across products and services worldwide. The U.S. Federal Reserve has just started cutting rates and conducted spot repo operations to stimulate the economy. President Donald Trump has been pressuring Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and the central bank’s board members to cut rates even further. The Fed has already printed $128 billion in mid-September and added another $63 billion in collateral on the Q4 balance sheet last minute. Jerome “Jay” Powell, the 16th and current Chair of the Federal Reserve (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump. On September 11, Trump said: The Federal Reserve should get our interest rates down to zero, or less, and we should then start to refinance our debt. Interest cost could be brought way down, while at the same time substantially lengthening the term. We have a great currency, power, and balance sheet.” Trump says the prior rate cuts have not helped the U.S. dollar regain strength and he wants the Fed to chop rates as soon as possible. “As I predicted, Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve have allowed the dollar to get so strong, especially relative to all other currencies, that our manufacturers are being negatively affected,” Trump tweeted on October 2. “[The] Fed rate is too high — They are their own worst enemies, they don’t have a clue — pathetic.” However, not everyone agreed with Trump and the well known gold investor and economist Peter Schiff told Trump he was wrong. “You’re the one who’s pathetic,” Schiff replied. “The U.S. dollar index was slightly higher on the day you took office than it is today — Your trade policies and the growth of government spending and deficits that you support are hurting manufacturing — The Fed actually did more damage under Obama,” Schiff added. However, Trump is in full support of his trade war, the current monetary easing tactics, rate cuts, overnight repos, and he seems to want a lot more. Trump emphasized last month that “the U.S. should always be paying the lowest rate.” Many pundits like Schiff and other economists blame Trump’s trade war with China for the economy’s problems. The pressure from Donald Trump has many economists thinking that more rate cuts will be implemented in October. For instance, CME Group’s Fed Watch tool shows there’s a 64% chance that the Fed will cut rates by another quarter-point during the October Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. CME’s tool uses the futures market prices in order to determine how the economy is doing. A good example of CME’s metrics in use is the U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, which dropped to a low of 47% last month. The manufacturing index has not dropped that low since 2009 after the financial crisis was in full swing. However, these days financial experts don’t think the Fed’s small rate cuts will even help and many believe Trump’s trade war with China is the main issue. U.S. rates strategist at BMO Capital Markets Jon Hill blames the trade war. “Clearly the trade war and strong dollar continue to weigh on domestic goods producers,” Hill explained in a note to investors on Tuesday. “Given this, one has to wonder how impactful incrementally lower rates may or may not be.” Trump’s Trade War Timeline according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). Mega Banks Like JP Morgan and Bank of America Are Becoming Too Big to Lend In addition to the theatrics between Trump and the FOMC board members, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) is being scrutinized for creating a massive repo market spike. Researchers have attributed JPM’s $2.7 trillion balance sheet to the jump in repo operations in mid-September and repurchase agreements jumped as high as 10%. Before the Fed’s overnight repos, publicly filed data shows that JPM removed a great portion of cash on deposit held by the Fed by 57%. Reuters reports that the demand for overnight Fed-induced cash exceeded the supply on September 17. JPM wasn’t the only culprit as another mega financial giant Bank of America (BoA) and its $2.4 trillion balance dropped 30% ($29 billion) of its deposits. An unnamed executive at a competing bank said the recent reductions were a “very big move” and “massive.” Bankers and Wall Street analysts blame mega banks like JPM and BoA for the cash crunch because they reduced reserves a great deal prior to the overnight repos in September. Fed watchers and economists say that the crunch for cash has hurt the Fed because the central bank was depending mainly on its bond portfolio. The sluggish economy has made smaller financial institutions and corporations feel the need to obtain more cash reserves. As CME’s Fed Watch tool and the recent tweets stemming from Trump show, there’s definitely a chance the Fed and FOMC governors will slash rates again this month. Alongside this with JPM, BoA, and other incumbents reducing deposits considerably, the Fed will likely fire up the printing press to ease the demand pressure. What do you think about the central banks’ extreme measures and ideas to help save the economy? Do you think cryptocurrency will help the situation? What do you think about Donald Trump pressuring the Fed? Let us know in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, Dan Burns Reuters, FRED, and Pixabay. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Trump Pressures Fed for More Rate Cuts as Mega Banks Drain the Balance Sheet appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Software developers wrapped up the first Simple Ledger Protocol Virtual Hackathon (SLPVH) which ended on September 30 with the first place prize awarded to the Project Ignite team. The developers’ project, called Hamingja, is a non-tradeable SLP token that utilizes checkdatasig covenants for a loyalty points system. The second and third place teams created an SLP paper wallet generator and a full client-side SLP management suite. Also read: SEC Commissioner Speaks Positively About Digital Assets Despite Recent Enforcement Flurry The First Annual Simple Ledger Protocol Virtual Hackathon The Simple Ledger Protocol has grown quite popular and this week witnessed the first SLP hackathon which saw developers code with the token standard in order to create innovative ideas. SLPVH was sponsored by cryptocurrency operations such as Coinflex, Cryptophyl, Satoshi’s Angels, Bitcoin.com, Sideshift.ai, Spicetoken, and Fountainhead. Various teams participated with names like Bluewire, Cryptopandas, Dune Squad, Lower the dust, SLP stream, and Tokenvend. There was a limit to a maximum team size of six people and all of the hackathon projects had to involve the Simple Ledger Protocol. The rules further added that “all team members should be present in the chat for the event and should have their Github connected.” Software developers wrapped up the first Simple Ledger Protocol Virtual Hackathon (SLPVH) on September 30, 2019. The teams from around the world used an official SLPVH token to vote on the best project which added a unique voting system to the contest. Participating teams had to vote for another SLPVH project and could not vote for a project they worked on. Project Ignite won the first place prize by gathering 2,830 votes with the loyalty points system Hamingja. According to the specifications, the project uses “SLP transactions combined with BCH checkdatasig covenants” which make non-tradeable tokens. Project Ignite’s website shows how SLP loyalty points are durable, portable, and “should be reliable.” “[A] cheaper alternative solution for merchants — It only requires a fraction of BCH to create own SLP loyalty cards,” explain the Hamingja creators. The SLP loyalty points system called Hamingja which uses a combination of SLP transactions with BCH checkdatasig covenants. Paper Wallets and a Client-Side SLP Management Suite The second place team, ‘BitCH SLaP,’ had 1,535 votes with a customizable, client-side SLP wallet generator. People who want to use the software can find the paper wallet landing page at wallet.bitchslap.tech and the team has also created a video demo. Alongside the demo, the creators released another video on how to change wallet templates. According to the repository’s documentation, the generator was forked from Bitcoin.com’s paper wallet generator. Just like a traditional paper wallet or address generator, people must download a local copy and run the program on an offline machine for better security. The creation of an SLP paper wallet creator will allow people to mint and distribute SLP-token-based bearer bond instruments. Now anyone can make a paper wallet with any SLP token. Team Pitico’s full client-side SLP management suite won third place with 1,389 votes. The open-source documentation explains that the platform is a “full client-side web app to create and manage your SLP tokens in a user-friendly way.” The project developers detail in the repository that the platform is in its early stages and note that the suite can create, mint, transfer, import wallets, and change the REST APIs. People can mess with the platform by visiting the website pitico.cash or build and run the app in development mode. Team Pitico’s SLP full client-side web app. The Coinspice.io crypto news outlet recorded the SLPVH event so the BCH community could get a glimpse of the action. The SLPVH organizer JT told the community that it was a fun weekend he can’t wait to do again. Many of the SLPVH developers worked tirelessly on each project and shared a few project ideas on social media. Bitcoin Cash Developer and the creator of SLPDEX, Tobias Ruck, published a video of his project after the event. “Cryptopandas Hackathon demo — We didn’t quite finish it but all the pieces are in place — Also I’m tired,” said Ruck. What do you think about the projects that won the first SLPVH prizes? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, SLP, bitchslap.tech, Team Pitico, and Project Ignite. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post SLP Hackathon Produces a Variety of Innovative Token Ideas appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash are ideally suited to payments. While their popularity increases with growing awareness of the benefits of peer-to-peer electronic cash, mass adoption remains a long-term goal. In the meantime, some fintech products are helping to improve dramatically the spendability of decentralized digital money in a fiat-dominated world. There’s now a choice of crypto debit cards that will help you pay with BCH anywhere bank cards are accepted. Also read: Bankers Start to Recognize Bitcoin’s Role in Financial Evolution US Crypto Cards That Can Be Topped Up With BCH The Bitpay card is the leading product of its kind in the U.S. and in fact one of the few remaining options for American crypto users after alternatives like Shift became unavailable. The card issued by the well-established crypto payment service provider supports bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin core (BTC). Those who have a Bitpay wallet can convert their coins into U.S. dollars and spend them with any retailer accepting Visa. U.S. residents can now also use a crypto debit card from Blockcard. Once you sign up, add digital money, and pass KYC, you’ll be able to get a virtual Visa card. You can fund your account with a number of major cryptocurrencies such as BCH, BTC, ETH, and LTC, as well as several stablecoins. Note that the deposited amount is converted to ternio (TERN) which is then sold for fiat at the time the purchase takes place. According to the platform’s website, you can also use your account to make payments via Apple Pay and Google Pay. The Blockcard crypto debit card is currently available in the United States only but the company plans to launch in over 30 European jurisdictions in the future. Coinbase, America’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, is already offering a debit Visa in 19 countries in Europe. The plastic Coinbase Card is currently available to customers in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and the U.K. The trading platform intends to add other markets. The card can be employed for online and offline payments, at all retail locations that accept Visa. Holders can also withdraw fiat at ATMs around the world. The daily spending limit is £10,000 or €10,000, while cash withdrawals are limited to £500 or €500 respectively. More Options Available to Europeans BCH enthusiasts on the Old Continent definitely have more options at their disposal than Americans. At least two other card providers support bitcoin cash. 2gether is a financial platform providing services in the Eurozone, where it allows users to send and receive euros and cryptos from the same wallet app. It also issues a Visa debit card linked to its wallet. As its website explains, your money is managed by Pecunia Cards, an electronic money institution regulated under EU law and supervised by the Bank of Spain. Bitnovo, another Spanish platform, buys and sells more than 20 major cryptocurrencies. Besides facilitating trades, it has a mobile application and issues debit cards that don’t require a bank account and can be topped up with BCH and other coins with large market cap. Its Bitcard can be used to pay bills online and purchase items in brick and mortar stores as well as withdraw fiat cash at ATMs. It’s currently available only to EU residents. Europeans can also order a virtual or plastic debit card from Uquid. The cards are powered by bitcoin cash among other cryptocurrencies that can be converted to British pounds, euros and U.S. dollars. The platform promises unlimited online spending, ATM withdrawals and fee-free POS purchases. But to find out if the card is available in your country, you need to create an account first. It’s free of charge but you’ll have to pay for the physical card itself. Other cards that support bitcoin cash and are available to customers elsewhere include Crypto.com’s MCO Visa. The company started shipping its cards to clients in Singapore last year and added BCH this past May. It plans to introduce the card in the U.S. through a partnership with a local affiliate and the New York-based Metropolitan Commercial Bank. If you need to acquire bitcoin cash you can safely and securely purchase BCH and other cryptocurrencies at buy.Bitcoin.com. You can also freely trade your crypto assets on our noncustodial, peer-to-peer marketplace, local.Bitcoin.com, or register at our recently launched premier trading platform, exchange.Bitcoin.com. Are you using a crypto debit card that supports BCH? Do you expect to see more cards on the market soon? Tell is in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Blockcard, Bitcard. Do you need a reliable bitcoin mobile wallet to send, receive, and store your coins? Download one for free from us and then head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can quickly buy bitcoin with a credit card. The post These Debit Cards Will Help You Spend Your BCH Anywhere appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

There aren’t many areas of modern society unaffected by the draconian war on drugs, and non-violent crypto exchange is no exception. Two San Diego men in their twenties reportedly pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of money laundering conspiracy, for selling cannabis on the darknet for bitcoin and operating an unlicensed crypto exchange service. The two young men could face a maximum of 20 years in prison for the victimless crimes, further highlighting the escalating and ongoing war against peaceful trade via crypto worldwide. Also Read: SEC Imposes Multimillion Dollar Fine for Unregistered EOS Token Sale Two More Victims of Senseless Violence In the case of Aidan Curry and Connor Brooke, the two San Diego men involved in this most recent episode of Homeland Security muscle flexing, the Times of San Diego reports the apparent “crime” the men committed was trading without government permission. Cannabis is only a plant, now legal in many parts of the world, and Bitcoin simply a network open for anyone to use. The interesting aspect of the guilty plea is the fact that the whole thing revolves around an assumption: that one needs a license to start a private business. There’s a reason, however, that roadside farmer’s markets and even non-crypto cannabis dealers aren’t made such a sensationalized example of: they’re not a big threat to the prevailing monetary system. Marketplaces and businesses like the Silk Road, and Curry and Brooke’s “Craigslist of Crypto” definitely are. The 25 and 23-year-old business partners are just another example in a long line of victimless crime pariahs of the drug war and USD fiat money racket. Their January sentencing could end up taking nearly a quarter decade of each of their lives, much as Ross Ulbricht of the now defunct Silk Road has already been robbed of seven years of his. October 1st 2019 marks the beginning of my 7th year in prison. https://t.co/2hEsnJkKqr pic.twitter.com/8eyDMD55rL — Ross Ulbricht (@RealRossU) October 1, 2019 Should things continue as they are for Ulbricht, without a pardon, he’ll die in prison. When one imagines the innovation and new ideas minds like Ulbricht’s — and entrepreneurs like the creators of Baycoins — could potentially bring to the table of human progress, the legitimacy of the justice system as a whole is called into serious question. This not even to mention the more obvious violence and inhumanity of systematically caging non-violent individuals in the first place. Regardless of what one thinks of Ulbricht or the young men from San Diego, it is logically irrefutable that monetary and drug laws as they stand now punish non-violent, completely consensual market action. Defining Victimless Crime In describing the nature of his business over text messages, Curry reportedly told an acquaintance “I’m basically like a currency-exchange place for Bitcoin.” Baycoins is said to have had at least two online advertisements, and accepted only cash. It stands to ask in such a scenario: “Who’s the victim?” Curry and Brooke received money for their services of selling bitcoin, and customers received the bitcoins they voluntarily wished to purchase for a premium. Similarly, those who purchased cannabis from the pair on the darknet felt the plant was worth their crypto. As far as one can tell from current reports, no one was violated, and there were no threats of violence, either. While deciding what specifically might constitute an actual victim, it is true there are many gray areas. For legal purposes, however, this is not so difficult from a logical perspective. If the body or property of another individual is not violated, no violence has occurred, and thus no crime. To determine what does and does not constitute property is then the issue, but this is also relatively cut and dry. The voluntaryist perspective on such matters says simply: my body and the property legitimately derived thereby are mine, and the same is true for you. In cases like Ulbricht’s and the guys from San Diego, this is not the case. The drug war says “Do what we say, or else we will violate you, just because we say so.” The god-complex inherent to this religious line of thinking is truly mind boggling. Order Without Centralized Government Some may fairly object that things like driving recklessly on a highway may endanger all other drivers, without actually victimizing anyone in the final reckoning. This sort of behavior would not be desirable in most sane societies. How then could a “no victim, no crime” paradigm work? The fact is, it already does, and private property owners and markets already create rules in given societies without the illogical, religious violence currently leveraged by governments and failed campaigns like the war on drugs, which assume that one specific class of humans has authority over another class by fiat alone, or mere decree. Getting back to the roadside farmer’s markets mentioned above, no government agency is guaranteeing the produce they are selling isn’t poisoned in most cases. Still, should they lace their apples with arsenic, community members would soon find out and the vendors would find themselves without customers (economic means to survive). They’d also likely be on the run from angry individuals, or in an anarchist society, defense agencies seeking justice. As it stands, even the largest federal regulatory bodies today are guilty of the very crimes they prosecute, on a scale no private ne’er-do-well could ever hope to match. Whether it be falsely advertising and selling highly addictive and dangerous drugs, shipping cocaine, or child porn and human trafficking. The bullshit story that two kids in their twenties selling bitcoins is cause for alarm begins to ring phonier than ever. Decentralizing Justice The sentencing of Aidan Curry and Connor Brooke will come and go, and many will view it as just another criminal case passing through the courts. For some in the crypto space, however, it symbolizes yet another failure in a long list of a broken, centralized fiat system of governance. As fiat money has been divorced from original value and the backing of sound assets like gold, so has governance been divorced from individual self-ownership and sound conceptions of property. Now, it is merely a fiat proclamation of rules. “Because I say so.” Until sound, decentralized and permissionless conceptions of governance are restored, the war on people – falsely known as the war on drugs – will continue unabated. What are your thoughts on the San Diego case and unlicensed bitcoin exchanges? Let us know in the comments section below. Op-ed disclaimer: This is an Op-ed article. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the Op-ed article. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the content. 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 information in this Op-ed article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post No Victim, No Crime: How the Darknet Drug War Is Ruining Young Lives appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Customers of a cooperative bank with 137 branches across India still do not know the fate of their money, which was restricted by the central bank. Evidence of alleged bank fraud has since surfaced, but the RBI still insists that India’s banking system is safe, despite many citizens being unable to withdraw their money. Also read: Panic at 137 Bank Branches as RBI Limits Withdrawals to ₹1,000 RBI Claims Banking System Is Safe The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) put Mumbai-based Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank) Ltd. under regulatory restrictions last week, which include limiting customer withdrawals to 1,000 rupees (~$14) for six months. PMC Bank is a major cooperative bank in India with 137 branches in multiple states. After days of protests by panicked customers, the central bank decided to increase the withdrawal limit to a total of 10,000 rupees, with other restrictions remaining unchanged. However, more than one week later, customers of PMC Bank are still waiting for answers about the fate of their deposits. Meanwhile, more details have surfaced pointing to alleged fraud by PMC bankers. In an attempt to alleviate the situation, the RBI issued a statement on Oct. 1, stating that “There are rumors in some locations about certain banks including cooperative banks, resulting in anxiety among the depositors,” adding: RBI would like to assure the general public that Indian banking system is safe and stable and there is no need to panic on the basis of such rumours. RBI’s Statement Attacked Within the 24 hours following the RBI’s statement, over a thousand upset comments flooded Twitter in response. “Without prior notice [or] any information you lock down our money,” one comment reads, adding that no one would trust when the RBI says the system is safe after the PMC Bank crisis. Many were appalled that the RBI continues to suggest putting money in banks such as PMC Bank is still safe. “Money is safe but you have no access to it,” one commenter sarcastically exclaimed. “People are going insane now, already one week has passed. No clarification about depositors’ money,” another stressed. “You can’t even provide the preliminary report even after eight days and you expect everything to be safe,” a third concurred. A different user proposed: “If you want the confidence of [the] public in the banking system, safeguard the depositors’ money of PMC Bank. Let them withdraw or transfer their entire money to some other bank.” Customers queuing outside PMC Bank. Image source: PTI. Numerous people were upset that the RBI has downplayed the situation since the central bank suggested that some facts are just rumors. “These are not mere rumors. You, RBI, have stopped us from accessing our own money. This a harsh and unreasonable step taken against the depositors of PMC Bank,” one commenter disputed. Some question if any bank is safe at all. One user concluded: It is not rumor. It is truth. Our money is not safe in [a] bank. Others share the sentiment, leaving rebuttals such as: “We are panicking on the basis of reality, not rumors. You have turned into spineless wimps who are cheering as the Megalomaniac drives the country down into disaster” and “You are responsible for panic rumor among [the] general public due to your irresponsible act. You have looted depositors of PMC Bank … Freezed their accounts and no clarity to return the money.” Alleged Fraud at PMC Bank On Tuesday, local media reported on a confession letter sent to the RBI by suspended PMC Bank managing director Joy Thomas. The five-page letter details how the bank misreported to the RBI for over 10 years in order to hide its fraud. Thomas revealed how the bank hid its exposure to Mumbai-based slum developer Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd. (HDIL) for six to seven years, even when it was facing insolvency proceedings in the National Company Law Tribunal. In the beginning, the relationship was profitable. However, in 2012-2013, HDIL started to default on its dues after the cancellation of its slum rehabilitation project near the Mumbai airport. Thomas said the bank looked the other way on these defaults in fear of risking its reputation, and while the bank was growing, the auditors only checked the incremental advances, not the entire operations of all accounts and loans to HDIL. In the confession letter, Thomas claimed that the bank’s exposure to bankrupt HDIL was Rs 6,500 crore (~$914,095), which is over 70% of its total assets. To classify these loans as non-performing assets would affect the bank’s profitability and it would have faced regulatory action from the RBI. The letter continues: It took six senior bank officials, almost 21,049 dummy accounts and over ten years of misreporting to execute what is probably the biggest case of swindling at any cooperative bank in the country. The RBI clamped down on the bank’s operations after it received the letter on Sept. 17, the Economic Times detailed, adding that the default at PMC Bank “points to the possibility that the very core of the cooperative bank’s operations was rotten.” The central bank has also placed banking restrictions on all banks, prohibiting them from providing services to crypto businesses. The ban has been challenged in the supreme court, which is expected to resume hearing the case this week. What do you think of how the RBI is handling PMC Bank’s situation? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, PTI, and Business Standard. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post New Evidence Escalates Panic as RBI Still Limits Bank Withdrawals appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Crypto is a constant learning curve. Keeping pace with developments in bitcoin, blockchain, and the ever-evolving cryptocurrency ecosystem feels like a full-time job, and that’s just for experienced heads. For novices, it’s tough enough working out where to even start. While crypto wisdom accrues over time, there’s now an array of resources to jumpstart your bitcoin education, with some even rewarding you with tokens to sweeten the deal. Here are five of the best resources for autodidacts of all ability levels. Also read: Bankers Start to Recognize Bitcoin’s Role in Financial Evolution Tokentuber Tokentuber is a video streaming platform making a concerted effort to better educate its audience on all things crypto. It’s formed an alliance with a growing number of cryptocurrency exchanges to integrate a quiz that pays users to demonstrate their knowledge of digital assets, and to be duly rewarded with tokens and a certificate of achievement. At the beginning of the 10-question quiz, you’re allocated 1,000 TUBER tokens, but there’s a catch – tokens will be deducted for each incorrect answer. Participants who attain pass marks will be styled as an ‘Accredited Crypto Holder,’ while for those who fail, Tokentuber will recommend further learning on its website. A quick run through of the test confirms that the questions aren’t aimed at complete novices, so if Tokentuber can match knowledge gaps with useful educational content, all the ingredients are here to effectively upskill crypto aficionados. For those who find the promise of 1,000 TUBER a little light for their tastes, participation in the quiz also offers the possibility of winning $10,000. Tokentuber hosts third party content from original content creators on Youtube, which covers topics such as an Introduction to Bitcoin and How Does a Blockchain Work? Tokentuber aims to lower the barriers to entry to the crypto world so that mass adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrencies can be achieved. Cointelligence Academy In addition to providing unique market data on cryptocurrency exchanges and digital assets, Cointelligence runs free weekly seminars on all things crypto. Sessions are broadcast live on Youtube every Thursday at 4pm UTC, with an advance schedule detailing forthcoming topics. Blockchain agnostic and about as impartial as it gets, Cointelligence Academy is well worth your time. Earn.com Earn.com, which was purchased by Coinbase in April 2018, has ramped up its crypto focus, with many of its incentivized tasks now relating to blockchain projects and rewards paid in BTC. However, for the chance to grab more than just a few dollars of crypto at a time, Earn at Coinbase offers a range of cryptocurrency-specific courses with payment in the cryptocurrency for which the tutorial is based. For example, the course on DAI pays $20 worth of the stablecoin for the successful completion of all modules, while the course on EOS pays $50 of EOS tokens. In most cases these rewards are spread across a number of lesson modules such as ‘Lesson 1: What is Dai?’ ($2) and ‘Lesson 2: What is DAI used for?’ ($2), so it will take time and effort to earn the full amount offered. That’s the bad news for anyone looking to earn crypto quick rather than treating the rewards as a learning bonus, but the site is currently offering up to $130 of payments across a number of tutorials and currencies, making it one of the most lucrative learning opportunities in the cryptosphere right now. Binance Academy Binance Academy is the educational division of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Unlike Token Tuber, Binance Academy has not gamified this content to incentivize participation, but instead offers it as a free resource. Content has been sorted into five categories: blockchain, security, economics, tutorials and video, and is characterized by deep, original research complemented by clean presentation that aids learning. Another neat feature of Binance Academy is that every article comes with an estimated time to read as well as an audio transcript. The audio transcript is clearly computer generated, but the technology is sophisticated enough that the synthetic voice isn’t overly distracting. Captain Bitcoin Similar in concept to Token Tuber, Captain Bitcoin hosts video content and offers financial rewards for the completion of designated tasks. In the case of Captain Bitcoin, those rewards are activated by a referral competition, boosting the profile of the site toward its target of 100k users before launch. Right now Captain Bitcoin is offering $15,000 in BTC for users who help to build the community as well as 1,000 captain tokens for each successful referral. In future, the site intends to give away $1,000 in BTC daily, with users qualifying by watching at least two videos every day. At the moment, the site is in its pre-launch phase, so it isn’t currently possible to stake a claim to the prize pot, since the required video content does not yet exist. As it stands, Captain Bitcoin remains an intriguing concept that could incentivize greater content engagement while boosting learning. Bitcoin.com If you’re looking for a no-nonsense introduction to cryptocurrency that gets you up and running as quickly as possible, Bitcoin.com has a wealth of useful resources. From A quick introduction to bitcoin to How do I easily buy and sell Bitcoin? the lessons and tutorials will provide the knowledge you need to safely buy and store crypto and participate in the digital economy. For developers, Bitcoin.com is equally instructional, providing tools and support to develop products on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. This opens the possibility of creating censorship-resistant applications, as well blockchain commerce options, while providing a range of educational resources specifically aimed at developers. Lifelong Learning Whether you’re a bitcoin novice or a cryptocurrency enthusiast looking to smooth over any gaps in your knowledge, there are some great wells of information to draw upon. While the long-term reward derived from exploring these resources is to make you richer in knowledge, a little short-term enrichment of the pocket won’t hurt either. Happy learning. What other crypto educational resources do you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see what’s happening in the industry. The post 5 Educational Resources That Will Level up Your Cryptocurrency Knowledge appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Central bank digital currency has become a hot topic among finance ministers and central bankers worldwide, with some G20 countries ahead of the rest on work done toward issuing their own digital currencies. Experts have weighed in on their expectations of when the first G20 digital currency will be introduced. Also read: Central Banks Worldwide Testing Their Own Digital Currencies When Will a G20 Central Bank Issue a Digital Currency? Central bank governors and finance ministers of many G20 countries have been working on their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), particularly in response to Facebook’s planned Libra coin. Mark Cliffe, chief economist and head of global research at ING Group, expects to see the first G20 central bank digital currency soon. In a blog post published Friday, he wrote: When might we see a fully-fledged digital currency from a G20 central bank? … they’ll be making moves towards just that in the next two to three years. Philip Middleton Last week, ING Group held a joint event with the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), an independent think tank for central banking. At the event, OMFIF Deputy Chairman Philip Middleton revealed a less optimistic view. Discussing the prospects of CBDCs, including the advantages and drawbacks of such an offering, he opined: “I think we’re a long way off a G20 central bank issuing a fiat digital currency.” While asserting that Sweden’s efforts are the closest a central bank has come to issuing a CBDC, he expects Asia will be ahead of most other countries in this area. Various G20 Nations’ CBDC Projects Some G20 central banks are already experimenting with CBDCs, many of which have publicized their progress. China, for example, has frequently been in the news lately because its central bank was rumored to soon introduce a digital yuan. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) claimed last month that the country’s sovereign digital currency was “almost ready.” However, PBOC Governor Yi Gang clarified last week that there is no timeframe for the launch and more time is needed for further research, testing, trials, assessments, and risk prevention. Unlike China, other G20 nations are not claiming that their CBDCs are near launch-ready. In the U.S., Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said this month that the Fed is not considering issuing a CBDC right now. “We are following very carefully the whole question of digital currencies,” he remarked. “It’s not something that we are actively considering … For us, it raises substantial, significant issues that we want to see carefully resolved.” Japan’s Masayoshi Amamiya Japan is also not planning to issue a CBDC in the near future, partly due to uncertainties over how it would affect conventional commercial banking, Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya explained in July. “If central bank digital currencies replace private deposits, that could erode commercial banks’ credit channels and have a negative impact on the economy,” he detailed, dismissing the idea that central banks can boost the effectiveness of negative interest rate policies by issuing digital currencies. South Korea is another crypto-advanced Asian country without a plan to issue a central bank digital currency. Earlier this year, the Bank of Korea released the results of a study it conducted on the prospect of issuing a CBDC. “We have no plans to issue any type of CBDC that is available for all people in the near future … We have to work further on [the] benefits and costs of CBDC implementation first,” an official of the central bank told the press. India is currently deliberating on a draft bill containing a provision for a CBDC. The bill seeks to regulate state-issued digital currencies while banning other cryptocurrencies. It has not been introduced in parliament and the Indian crypto community is arduously lobbying lawmakers to change it. Russia’s Elvira Nabiullina Russia, on the other hand, has repeatedly indicated that it plans to issue a CBDC, but not in the immediate future. Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina said in June that the technologies must be reliable in order to launch such a project. “If we are talking about the national currency which works for the whole country … this requires that the technology allows for reliability and continuity. Technologies, including distributed ledger technologies, must be mature.” Meanwhile, Canada’s central bank is taking a unique approach, collaborating with Singapore’s central bank on a digital currency project. The two trialed cross-border and cross-currency payments using a test CBDC. Turkey published an economic roadmap in July which includes the creation of a central bank digital currency. The South African Reserve Bank is also exploring the possibility of a CBDC, which it described as “a domestic, general-purpose central bank digital currency” it would issue and back. Earlier this year, the central banks of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) jointly trialed a common digital currency. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney recently proposed a digital reserve currency to replace the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. He suggested that such a currency could help provide equilibrium to the financial system during periods of uncertainty. England’s Mark Carney European Optimism Several European central bankers have expressed their optimism and support for central bank-issued digital currencies. European Central Bank board member Benoit Coeure said this month that Facebook’s Libra was “a wake-up call” for central banks. In response to the social media giant’s plan, he further suggested: “We also need to step up our thinking on a central bank digital currency.” In a joint statement, France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and his German counterpart, Olaf Scholz, said: We encourage European central banks to accelerate work on issues around possible public digital currency solutions. The Swiss National Bank’s governing board member Thomas Moser believes that a CBDC will be introduced sooner rather than later. Reuters reported him saying Friday that he “wouldn’t be surprised to see a first central bank issue its own digital currency within the next year.” What do you think of the G20 countries issuing their own central bank digital currencies? Which country do you think will issue the first one? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Channel 4. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post How G20 Central Bank Digital Currencies Are Progressing appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

27-year-old Agatha Bacelar is a Brazilian-American immigrant from a STEM background, and she’s targeting Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s seat in the California Congress (CA-12) in the next election cycle. Her campaign is seeking to raise $1 million in crypto (BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC or USDC) to match the amount of stock Pelosi holds in Facebook, and upset an antiquated governing body Bacelar feels runs the risk of rendering the U.S. “left behind.” Also Read: SEC Commissioner Speaks Positively About Digital Assets Despite Recent Enforcement Flurry Bacelar’s Crypto Campaign Bacelar’s campaign donation page for crypto reads like an anti-luddite, utopian futuristic manifesto. But it does so in very compelling fashion, stating that “Agatha is running against Nancy Pelosi because it’s clear that the political establishment wants to hold back a future where economic freedom is afforded to all.” Mirroring millennial favorite presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s blockchain buzzword slinging, the page goes on to proclaim: We need a future where we are able to use the incredible people-power of blockchain technologies to build a better, more just, and innovative society. Bacelar comes from a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) background, and as such falls within a key subset of politicians for younger voters. She states on her campaign page, citing issues like systemic inequality and climate: “These problems keep me up at night, and they’ve been getting worse for as long as Nancy Pelosi has held office—which is longer than I’ve been alive.” Shots fired. Popular U.S. exchange Coinbase is facilitating Bacelar’s crypto funding drive, with several major coins being accepted to help spur on the San Franciscan’s push to kick the old blood out of congress. Pelosi, who has been a congressional representative since 1987, will be defending her spot in the upcoming 2020 primary elections against three other democratic candidates (at press time), with Bacelar being recognized by many as the long shot. The incumbent certainly has time and a lengthy résumé on her side, but with the tectonic plates of the tech world rumbling more than ever, and increasing fears that the global economy is facing an unprecedented downturn, a fresh face with an understanding of crypto might be an easy sell for many. Bacelar’s campaign page declares: The once-bright future for crypto in America has been dimming. San Francisco, once a headquarters for the crypto industry, has suffered as federal intervention pushed innovators out of our district and the country. Blockchain startups no longer incorporate in the US, while regulatory inaction and policies favoring big tech companies have allowed monopolies to block out competition that the next web would bring. More Vague Blockchain Talk vs. Real Progress Of course, many crypto OGs and libertarian Bitcoin enthusiasts aren’t buying the political rhetoric hook, line and sinker, as talk of the virtues of blockchain is in no short supply, even among federal anti-crypto dinosaurs like U.S. treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin. When asked about Bitcoin in a recent interview, the former Goldman Sachs executive stated “I think the technology has certain clear uses,” but preemptively added “I would separate blockchain from bitcoin.” Andrew Yang’s ostensible support also seems to boil down to more of a general praise for the vague buzzword, and not for permissionless, decentralized electronic cash in and of itself. Bacelar hums a slightly more focused tune, perhaps, but only time and election results will tell if the innovation she hopes to bring will amount to anything significant for those in the crypto space. As for the commentary on Pelosi’s Facebook stock, it seems the young San Fran upstart may see hypocrisy and ineptitude in accusing the group of allowing Russian election interference to occur, while still holding a hefty chunk of shares and demanding unilateral internet censorship. What are your thoughts on Bacelar’s congressional bid? Let us know in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, fair use. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Nancy Pelosi Challenger Bacelar Funds Campaign With Crypto appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Banks are laying off workers across the globe as revenue declines throughout the sector. According to reports, banks have announced nearly 60,000 job cuts so far this year, with most of the layoffs happening in Europe, especially in Germany. Also read: Panic at 137 Bank Branches as RBI Limits Withdrawals to ₹1,000 Almost 60,000 Job Cuts Bank employees are being laid off worldwide. Negative interest rates, political uncertainty and threats of trade wars on a global level have all played their part in eroding banks’ balance sheets, along with interest rate cuts which further reduce margins. According to year-to-date company filings and labor union disclosures compiled by Bloomberg, banks have announced that they are cutting 58,200 jobs so far this year. The biggest layoffs are in Europe, where 52,424 jobs, or 90% of the total layoffs, are being slashed, as the European banking sector continues to struggle with profitability. Moreover, 2,769 workers in North America are being let go, as are 2,487 in the Middle East and Africa and 513 in the Asia Pacific region. Global layoff breakdown. Source: company filings, labor union disclosures, and Bloomberg. Furthermore, the data shows ten banks that have laid off the most workers in Europe, with Deutsche Bank leading the pack with 18,000 job cuts. The other banks on the top 10 list are Banco Santander, Commerzbank, HSBC, Barclays, Alfa Bank, KBC, Societe Generale, Caixabank, and the National Bank of Greece. German Banks Lag Behind Others The health of Germany’s financial sector has been a top concern for regulators and politicians for quite some time. The low interest rate environment, a global economic slowdown, trade tensions, geopolitical uncertainty, added to structural vulnerability and domestic economic weakness, have negatively impacted German banks. Lenders in Europe’s largest economy sit on large deposits so they are more dependent on lending than those in many other European countries. The European banking sector has long faced calls for consolidation as banks struggle to generate profits. Two leading German banks — Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank — have attempted a merger, but it fell through early this year, resulting in the pair independently announcing major layoffs. At the top of the downsize list is Deutsche Bank, which began laying off 18,000 workers in July as part of an $8.3 billion overhaul. According to reports, Germany’s largest bank plans to exit its equities sales and trading business as well as its fixed-income business, but will retain a small equity capital markets business. The bank had 91,737 employees at the end of 2018, almost 6,000 fewer than the previous year. The layoffs would shrink its workforce to roughly 74,000 employees by 2022. Deutsche Bank is also dealing with German authorities probing for information about the relation of its Frankfurt headquarters to Danske Bank, which is currently at the center of a massive money-laundering scandal. Domestic rival Commerzbank, with about 1,000 branches and offices in almost 50 countries, is also downsizing. The German government is a major shareholder of this bank. Commerzbank announced last week a plan to lay off 4,300 of its 49,000 employees in some areas, but will add 2,000 jobs in “strategic areas.” A fifth of its branches will also be closed down in a strategy overhaul. Layoffs Happening Worldwide Other European and global banks have made similar announcements. “The main factors that could substantially impede European economic sentiment and growth remain the risk of further economic de-globalization, including an escalation of trade conflicts, Brexit and political turmoil in some euro area countries,” KBC Group detailed in its second-quarter earnings presentation for analysts. The bank-insurance group employs 42,000 people, has 1,389 bank branches, and operates primarily in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Ireland. The group also announced this month that its Belgian workforce will be reduced by 1,400 in three years. Banking giant HSBC is also downsizing. Following the stepping down of former CEO John Flint after being on the job for only 18 months, the bank announced in August that it will cut 4,700 jobs. CFO Ewen Stevenson said up to 2% of the bank’s workforce will go. HSBC group employes 237,685 as of June 30. British multinational bank Barclays already cut 3,000 jobs in the second quarter, CEO Jes Staley and CFO Tushar Morzaria confirmed on an earnings call in August. At the end of last year, the group employed 83,500 staff, according to its annual report. Spain’s largest bank, Banco Santander, agreed with unions in June to lay off 3,223 workers in Spain as part of the bank’s effort to integrate Banco Popular, a financial services conglomerate with 1,600 branches across Spain. At the end of March, Santander had 32,366 employees and 4,366 branches in Spain. Earlier this year, the bank said it will close 140 branches in the U.K., putting more than 1,200 jobs at risk. Another Spanish bank, Caixabank, announced in January a layoff of 2,157 employees, cutting 7.3% of its total workforce. The largest Catalan bank also plans to close down over 800 branches in Spain out of its 4,461 branches in operation by 2021. One of the largest privately owned banks in Russia, Alfa Bank, is also reducing its workforce. The bank currently employs more than 24,000 workers. CEO Vladimir Verkhoshinsky reportedly said that 3,000 employees, or 12% of the bank’s workforce, will be laid off by the end of the year. This number adds to the 2,000 workers who left the bank during the first quarter. According to reports, the layoffs are mainly due to the bank’s decision to migrate from providing loans in brick-and-mortar stores to offering them online. France’s third-largest bank, Societe Generale, has also revealed its plans to cut 1,600 jobs, mainly at its corporate and investment banking arm. The bank, which employs 18,000 people in 30 countries, also said in April that it would cut 750 jobs in France. Other banks that are downsizing include Citigroup, which revealed in July its plans to lay off hundreds of people. BNP Paribas reached an agreement with unions in March to cut as many as 2,500 jobs at its Belgian retail banking unit by 2021. The bank employs 13,000 people in Belgium. Further, the data compiled by Bloomberg shows that the National Bank of Greece is laying off 1,700 workers. What do you think of banks’ massive layoffs? Let us know in the comments section below. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Bloomberg. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post Massive Layoffs: Banks Cutting Nearly 60,000 Jobs Worldwide appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a new report and infographic on Thursday illustrating unpaid or underpaid taxes for the years 2011 – 2013. The numbers reflect estimates based on the last such findings, for the years 2008 – 2010. With commissioner Chuck Rettig citing the importance of voluntary compliance, and crypto’s popularity on the rise, the IRS is growing increasingly concerned with opportunities for tax evasion afforded by the new digital money. Also Read: Bitcoin Is a Viable Way to Remove the State From Your Life Voluntary Compliance The new report and colorful, accompanying infographic don’t show anything out of range from the agency’s estimates last go-round, which found that 83.8% of taxes were paid “voluntarily and on time” for the years 2008 – 2010. The new data shows an 83.6% rate, which is basically unchanged, but also doesn’t show any marked improvement, either. The gross tax gap for the current data has $441 billion in taxes unpaid and/or underreported, with an expected net gap of $381 billion to remain after predicted payments and enforcement results come in. IRS commissioner Chuck Rettig stated: Voluntary compliance is the bedrock of our tax system, and it’s important it is holding steady. Those who are familiar with the IRS’s collection methods may question the idea of “voluntary compliance,” with some Americans even viewing the entire scheme as immoral. That notwithstanding, the agency wants its money, and is increasingly concerned with a free radical called crypto that has since entered the scene, facilitating non-compliance. Source: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5364.pdf Thanks to Bitcoin, tax gap data for the next few years will be interesting to see. The years 2011 – 2013 represent a slice of time when crypto was still basically a cultural obscurity. That obviously no longer is the case, and growing IRS concern with tax evasion via crypto is all too palpable in the current climate. Decentralized, permissionless digital assets afford knowledgeable users the ability to barter, trade and transact in relative anonymity. Given the masses of taxpayers required to keep the current U.S. Keynesian debt-liner afloat, and not come crashing into the iceberg of economic reality, the understaffed and underfunded agency is forced to resort to what some see as fear-mongering in place of logical, well-organized policy. Supporting this thesis is Rettig’s almost desperate proclamation that: Maintaining the highest possible voluntary compliance rate also helps ensure that taxpayers believe our system is fair. Hopefully it is more than belief upholding an expected $3.4 trillion-yielding federal tax collection drive for 2019, much of which will be spent on policies and actions large slices of the populace view as objectionable, inefficient, or immoral. An IRS Criminal Investigation Division agent practices encouraging voluntary compliance. The Global Crypto Threat The IRS’s concern with tax evasion via crypto doesn’t end at the U.S. border. The recently formed J5 (Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement) is a coalition of enforcement agencies around the world comprised of the IRS’s criminal investigation division (IRS-CID), the “Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the Fiscale Inlichtingen- en Opsporingsdienst (FIOD), HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).” The goal of the coalition is “combatting transnational tax crime through increased enforcement collaboration.” The J5 declares: We will work together to gather information, share intelligence, conduct operations and build the capacity of tax crime enforcement officials. Regarding tax evasion and money laundering via cryptocurrencies, the group maintains “We will also collaborate internationally to reduce the growing threat to tax administrations posed by cryptocurrencies and cybercrime and to make the most of data and technology.” In light of the not-so-subtle language coming from the IRS and related agencies, many crypto traders are turning to groups and services aimed at making the murky waters of crypto tax reporting more navigable. These services include actual CPAs as well as DIY software, some of which is guided by professional advice. Whatever one’s path, the age of crypto has arrived, and the next “hard fork” may be between those who wish to leverage the full capabilities of crypto as permissionless digital asset, and those whom the IRS succeeds in pressuring to voluntarily comply, completely. The next tax gap report will likely tell the tale. What are your thoughts on the new IRS data? Let us know in the comments section below. Image credits: Shutterstock, fair use. Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here. The post IRS Releases ‘Tax Cheat’ Info Raising Concerns About Crypto Theft appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The last decade has seen central banks print trillions of dollars, governments grown much larger, wars continue with no end, and ordinary citizens taxed even more. Thankfully there are individuals and small pockets of people all around the world who believe something is wrong. Many of these people have a plan to help end the illegitimacy of the nation states. Whether it be through protests, unschooling, and spreading stateless education, there are various methods available in this day and age. Bitcoin and the cryptoconomy are also great forms of protest, providing an experiment of voluntarily trade in an untaxed, unregulated economy. Also read: Software Engineer Reveals Oracle Creation Platform for Bitcoin Cash Satoshi’s Invention Unleashed an Alternative to the Rigged Financial System Despite the negativity surroundings stemming from the failures of governments worldwide, some people have a strategy to fight back. As the years have progressed, bureaucrats have continued to plunder the everyday lives of billions of people worldwide. They wage wars, devalue currencies and cause inflation. The state and colluding corporations pollute and perpetuate violence on a regular basis. Even though things look bleak, there are people fostering a slow evolution toward a free society. Various methods and tools can be used to build a comprehensible plan that removes the state from every individual’s life. One of the tools that’s being used to achieve more liberty is Satoshi’s bitcoin and the wide variety of other digital currencies born afterward. Using a digital currency can remove the state from economic equations and bypass intrusive bureaucracies. "Bitcoin is Weaponized Agorism"- @BitcoinBlake — Eric of Last Resort ⚡️ (@allene418) December 14, 2018 Governments get most of their power from the financial system and they have rigged the structure so as to drain the world’s wealth to a small corrupt group of individuals. To a lot of people, using a digital currency to circumvent the rigged system is morally valid in the face of the nation state’s deceit and fraud. At any point in time, individuals can use a cryptocurrency like bitcoin cash to remove themselves from the manipulated economy that funds evil. When Satoshi unleashed the network in January 2009, the creator gave people an alternative to the state’s tender and the ability to remove ourselves from the global banking system. Cryptocurrencies have been around for over 10 years now and they have provided individuals and organizations with the ability to pull value away from the corrupt monetary system the world’s bureaucrats have created. Alternative monetary systems can make the nation state’s filthy fiat irrelevant. Anarchy, Agora, Action: Building a Strong Counter Economy Despite the fact that a lot of digital assets are tied to public ledgers, there are still ways to transact anonymously. People can barter or work for cryptocurrencies and obtain them in a private fashion. They can pay cash for digital currencies as well by skipping over the banking rails entirely. Certain cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash (BCH) can be mixed with shuffling platforms like Cashshuffle. There are coins have high sets of anonymity and blockchains that render transaction analysis null and void. People can still use Tor, virtual private networks (VPNs) and trade printed paper bearer bonds as well. Using bitcoin or cryptocurrency solutions to bypass the state is a form of agorism. The philosophy of agorism is based on the principles of counter economics and free markets. State monopolies are challenged because there is no restriction on the voluntary exchange of goods and services in the counter economy. With some determination and good operations security (opsec), anyone can transact with cryptocurrencies in a private manner. Over time, individuals can create a better financial system that’s both anti-establishment but which also develops a priori axiomatic tenets toward a strong counter economy. All it takes to join this sub-economy is some effort and a passionate drive toward freedom. In April 2014, Bitcoin Not Bombs founder Davi Barker explained in a Daily Anarchist blog post that the counter economy is the most efficient tactic against the state, writing: The key to putting both feet in the counter economy is taking the initiative, soliciting feedback, and making a profit. Agorism provides the most sustainable activist strategies because it’s rooted in the market, not in the political system. It may take a while for the counter economy to defeat the state but it’s wielding more strength every day. Satoshi’s invention has, at the very least, shown the world that there are alternatives to this manipulated monetary system. There are lots of people who believe Nakamoto was a libertarian who gave the world a new tool to fight against the status quo. “We will not find a solution to political problems in cryptography, but we can win a major battle in the arms race and gain a new territory of freedom for several years,” Satoshi said in November 2008. “Governments are good at cutting off the heads of a centrally controlled networks like Napster, but pure P2P networks like Gnutella and Tor seem to be holding their own.” Bitcoin’s inventor outlined a permissionless roadmap for peer-to-peer electronic cash that attracted people who rejected the traditional financial incumbents. An interview I did with Cody Wilson in 2015. Cryptocurrencies derive their value and power from voluntary consumers while the state takes its power from stealing from nonviolent consumers they call citizens. Without continued support from consumers, the state and its monetary system will eventually fall apart. All people have to do is convince enough individuals to support the counter economy. Do you want to learn more about the counter economy? Check out these links below. Samuel E Konkin III (SEK3): The New Libertarian Manifesto Samuel E Konkin III (SEK3): The Agorist Primer Peter Kallman: A 21st Century Introduction to Agorism Not Being Governed: The Vacate Manifesto Timothy C. May: The Cryptoanarchist Manifesto Eric Hughes: A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto What do you think about bitcoin and digital currencies being used as a tool to circumvent the state? What do you think about the relationship between cryptocurrencies and agorism? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Op-ed Disclaimer: This is an Op-ed article. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the Op-ed article. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the content. 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 information in this Op-ed article. Image credits: Shutterstock, Bitcoin Not Bombs, Davi Barker, Jamie Redman, Wiki Commons, and Pixabay. Did you know Bitcoin.com offers a peer-to-peer trading platform that allows for private, noncustodial over-the-counter trading? Check out Local.Bitcoin.com today. Alternatively, you can head over to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can easily buy BTC and BCH with a credit card. Or register for our online trading platform Exchange.Bitcoin.com. At Bitcoin.com we want everyone to get access to cryptocurrencies. The post Bitcoin Is a Viable Way to Remove the State From Your Life appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Luno exchange has added bitcoin cash trading to the platform following feedback from its client base. BCH is now only the third cryptocurrency available for trading on the exchange, in addition to BTC and ETH, but more options could be on the way once Luno determines that they are credible enough. Also Read: Bitflyer Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading Across Europe and the US Luno Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading Luno, the London-headquartered company formerly known as Bitx, recently announced that bitcoin cash was made available on its cryptocurrency exchange. Starting from Monday, September 23, customers at Luno are now able to store, buy and sell BCH on the platform. The reason given for adding BCH to the exchange is feedback from users in developing markets that convinced Luno to expand their offering from previously just BTC and ETH. Marcus Swanepoel, CEO of Luno, said, “We are in a new and exciting financial era. Developing economies are leading the large-scale adoption and application of cryptocurrencies. Luno has been part of this change and has listened to, and always worked hard to understand the needs of these developing economies. It is for this reason we have moved to expand our offering of secure and legitimate digital currencies to individuals, enabling cross-functional accessibility and transfer of funds.” Available in 40 Countries Around the World The Luno team promised their clients that the offering will continue to expand after the addition of bitcoin cash, with new digital assets to trade on the platform. However, they also assured users that safety will continue to come first and explained that any new coins added to the platform will have been monitored by the company for several years, having the credibility to make it onto one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges. Marius Reitz, General Manager Africa for Luno, commented, “There are over 2,000 cryptocurrencies in the market and we take our role as a trusted platform very seriously. We are therefore very cautious about new coins. We only add new coins once we are confident of their security, credibility, and market traction.” The company claims to have around 3 million users worldwide, spread across 40 countries. Luno also has local offices in South Africa, Indonesia, Nigeria, Singapore and Malaysia, with a workforce of over 300 employees around the world. If the platform you are using does not support bitcoin cash, besides convincing the company to do so, you can purchase it directly at buy.Bitcoin.com, buy it from peer-to-peer traders at local.Bitcoin.com, or simply join exchange.Bitcoin.com. What do you think about Luno adding bitcoin cash trading? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Bitcoin.com Markets, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post International Crypto Exchange Luno Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Digitization, disruption, blockchain, and frictionless payments. It’s amazing how prominent figures from the financial elite can provide a pretty detailed description of decentralized money without uttering “bitcoin” or “crypto.” But the fact of the matter is that clever businessmen in any industry, banking is no exception, would quickly spot emerging competition, analyze its strengths, and move to catch up with it before it’s too late. Cryptocurrencies bring financial evolution that’s hard to ignore anymore. Also read: The Number of Cryptocurrency Wallets Is Growing Exponentially Central Banks Have No Tools Left to Deal With Crisis Speaking during the Sibos 2019 conference held recently in one of the world’s financial capitals, London, Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing turned attention towards the problems of the global economy, the serious challenges his and other banks are facing, and emphasized the need to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. Sewing was appointed head of Germany’s leading financial institution in April 2018 with the task to conduct a major reorganization. Christian Sewing This summer, Deutsche Bank confirmed it’s laying off a fifth of its global workforce and refocusing on corporate banking, its most stable revenue source, to prepare for the downturn many analysts claim has already started. In his address to the delegates, the executive spent a lot of time describing the threats, including an ongoing war over trade and technology between the U.S. and China, as well as Europe’s legging behind in terms of investing in technological progress and maintaining competitiveness: Europe should not focus primarily on regulating new technology, Europe should drive innovation itself… The competition for technological supremacy will determine the future division of global economic power… The financial sector must also make its contribution. Global macroeconomic risks, low and negative interest rates, and a fragmenting European Union in the light of Brexit come together to form a perfect storm. On this backdrop, Christian Sewing also tried to raise awareness about the inability of financial authorities to cope with an upcoming meltdown: In this scenario, with plenty of uncertainty, what is worrying is that the central banks have used their tools to a large extent already. So there are no conventional measures left to effectively cushion the real economic crisis. They’ve already turned on the money tap to the limit. Negative Interest Rates Come With Social Implications Singling out the European Central Bank in that respect, Sewing reminded the audience that the ECB has just announced an even looser monetary policy, cutting the interest rate in the Eurozone to a record low of -0.5%. He also emphasized that very few among economists and his clients now believe that cheaper money would have any effect. “While we probably won’t see the positive effects, there are lots of negative ones, like the distortion of asset prices, the continued redistribution of wealth in favor of the asset owning affluent, and the social implications these things aggregate,” the banker warned. Christian Sewing then spoke about how banks should respond to the changing business environment and the competition they are starting to feel from tech giants and non-bank payment providers, fintech companies and disruptive technologies in general. At the same time, he noted, clients’ requirements are becoming ever more sophisticated and demanding. When it comes to transaction banking, frictionless and reliable real-time payments are influencing consumer choices at the end of the day, he remarked. Whether through standalone investments or via partnerships with startups, banks which are able to deliver these solutions will enjoy compelling opportunities, the Deutsche Bank executive concluded. Cryptos Bring Unprecedented Change to Payments And while Bitcoin did not get a deserved mention in Sewing’s speech, it became obvious that decentralized cryptocurrency has been recognized as one of the driving forces behind many of these developments and advances. Actually, digital-era, independently-minted coins did make their way to the stage during the Sibos conference. And they did so in a quite unexpected way. “The financial industry is undergoing an extraordinary change, because of new entrants like Facebook’s Libra and the emergence of technologies like crypto assets,” said Yawar Shah, chairman of Swift, the global interbank financial telecommunication system used by banks around the world to send and receive information about financial transactions. His comment quickly spread across the crypto Twitter. “The financial industry is undergoing an extraordinary change, because of new entrants like Facebook’s Libra and the emergence of technologies like cryptoassets.” – Yawar Shah @swiftcommunity https://t.co/KffvCcFk6I — ConsenSysEvents (@ConsenSysEvents) September 23, 2019 Shah’s presentation concerned payments and recognized four factors that influence their development. Three of them – the aforementioned emergence of crypto assets, changing technology, and competition from ecosystems are in one way or another related to the phenomenon catalyzed by Bitcoin. That includes other attempts to develop faster and more reliable digital payments than those offered by the traditional fiat world. If you are looking for a safe and secure way to enter the crypto space, you can acquire your first digital coins at buy.Bitcoin.com, including bitcoin cash (BCH) among major cryptocurrencies. You can also freely trade your crypto assets on our noncustodial, peer-to-peer marketplace local.Bitcoin.com, which already has thousands of users around the world. Also, try our recently launched premier trading platform, exchange.Bitcoin.com. Registered users can access it right now. Do you expect leading traditional banks to get involved in the crypto market soon? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Deutsche Bank. Do you need a reliable bitcoin mobile wallet to send, receive, and store your coins? Download one for free from us and then head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can quickly buy bitcoin with a credit card. The post Bankers Start to Recognize Bitcoin’s Role in Financial Evolution appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Our newsdesk recently caught up with Bitcoin.com’s community manager Chris Bridgman who discussed the recent expansion of Bitcoin Cash-focused meetups worldwide. Over the last two years, Bridgman and his partner Akane Yokoo have seen BCH meetups grow from a small handful to around 90 BCH-based gatherings in a number of different countries. Also read: Software Engineer Reveals Oracle Creation Platform for Bitcoin Cash Growing the Bitcoin Cash Community There are numerous ways people can learn about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology and most of the time individuals research these subjects online. However, learning everything online can be daunting to some people as it can be much harder to ask questions and sometimes online forums are filled with useless trolling and infighting. Bitcoin Cash meetups, however, offer a different ‘hands-on’ approach to learning and spreading the knowledge of BCH to the masses. In the last few years, the BCH community has grown significantly and individuals worldwide are organizing small groups or assemblies of like-minded people to discuss and promote the innovative benefits of bitcoin cash. Bitcoin.com is a big believer in spreading economic freedom through tools like bitcoin cash. A testament to this is how many of our staff members, alongside well known members of the BCH community, have been passionately bolstering BCH-centric meetups. Bitcoin Cash meetups worldwide have been growing and Akane Yokoo says that people have been reaching out to the team and they have been working on initiating a few more meetups including Aix en Provence (France), Philadelphia, and Boynton Beach in Florida. On Friday, news.Bitcoin.com spoke with Bitcoin.com’s community manager Chris Bridgman about the expansion of BCH meetups and how they plan to continue advancing these efforts. Bridgman explained that with the help from Bitcoin.com staff members, Akane Yokoo, Monica Rea, and many Global Bitcoin Cash Leaders, the team has been working to grow the Bitcoin Cash meetups around the world and looking to provide the support individuals need. “We’ve been setting up new meetups with local organizers onsite in areas like Miami, Jakarta, Dubai, Seoul, Mexico City, Budapest, London, Sweden recently and we’ve also been working with existing meetups,” Bridgman remarked. “We’re looking to grow the engagement there, grow the volume of these groups, enhance the frequency of meetups and things like that.” The community manager added: We’re also doing something new which is expanding into new demographics and new industries. Essentially trying to bridge the gap and showcase the benefits of using bitcoin cash. Whether it’s in a totally different ecosystem or cross-coin platforms and really just trying to enhance this incredible global community any way we can. Bitcoin.com community managers Chris Bridgman and Akane Yokoo. Many other Bitcoin.com staff members, including executive chairman Roger Ver and CEO Stefan Rust, have been volunteering to help grow BCH-focused meetups as well. Bridgman emphasized that the individuals they call Global Bitcoin Cash Leaders are inspiring and the team has connected with people that are really driving adoption and working to grow the BCH ecosystem. Both Bitcoin.com community managers believe these individuals are literally planting the seeds of global adoption and the growth of peer-to-peer cash. Bridgman noted that the meetup community comes from all walks of life and they all bring ideas of their own. He said that if people are interested in getting involved with the BCH meetup community, the first thing to do would be to check and see what’s around you. “We’ve got an awesome platform called events.Bitcoin.com and there’s a great interactive map there that showcases where all the existing BCH meetups are,” Bridgman detailed. “If you can’t find one, you can reach out to us at events.Bitcoin.com and we’ll set you up with a meetup if there isn’t an existing one already.” Bitcoin.com’s executive chairman Roger Ver and CEO Stefan Rust will be appearing at the BCH meetups in Stockholm and in London in October. 90 Bitcoin Cash Meetups Worldwide Additionally, Yokoo and Bridgman have also been utilizing Telegram as a platform to connect individuals and working with other global leaders in a collective group. The members of the group could be starting BCH meetups or driving bitcoin cash adoption Bridgman said. “Within that group, we can then branch off and create individual groups and pull in the right people to really grow the BCH meetup community’s connectivity — Provide the support these individuals need, but also connect the dots with other passionate people,” he noted during the conversation. Roberto, a BCH Global Leader who runs a Bitcoin Cash meetup in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Bridgman went on to explain that when it comes to meetups, there really is no guide book and there is no right or wrong way to accomplish local gatherings that bolster adoption. As long as you set a date, a location, you can just bring yourself, some enthusiasm and your mobile device. “It’s really just that energy of people getting together — And it can be different with unique organizers, and distinctive locations,” Bridgman added. The Tokyo BCH meetup has 1,522 members. For instance in Tokyo, Bridgman said, Yokoo is hosting meetups every week on Wednesday evening and she’s been doing incredible work onboarding new merchants. To the community manager that’s just one aspect of how a meetup can be created and how it showcases the benefits of the BCH community. Bridgman asserted: There are so many ways you can start a meetup. We’ve had individuals host meetups in public parks in New York from people meeting up at the local coffee shop. Meetups can discuss adoption, new developments that are happening, using social media and the censorship-resistant platforms that are being created on Bitcoin Cash. North Queensland BCH meetup. Bridgman further said that he, Yokoo, and many others have been involved for close to two years working directly with the community. The community managers have seen it grow from just a handful of meetups and now there are about 90 different meetups around the world. “It’s really awesome to see because a lot of these gatherings are grassroots and just electric — You can also see the meetups growing alongside the network as it’s echoing the progress that’s happening with Bitcoin Cash development and adoption,” Bridgman said. He went on to highlight that at meetups, you might see different facets open up that individuals can identify with whether it’s the social aspect, development, or just merely sharing the benefits of peer-to-peer cash. #BitcoinCash meetup over the weekend. Loved the debate #BCH v #BTC Join us @ #crypto #meetups #Bangalore #India "In Crypto We Trust" by InstaCryptohttps://t.co/EDz7VoLUwt pic.twitter.com/mCZ2yOMG5f — InstaCrypto (@InstaCryptoIN) September 9, 2019 Bitcoin.com’s community manager further stated that there are many outlets that people can get excited about and the team has started to tap into new industries. “In the past, we’ve worked with Students for Liberty and the events they hold like Libertycon are great outlets to share bitcoin cash with people,” Bridgman opined. “What we’ve found recently is that with Ethereum groups, there’s a lot of development that’s been happening there and we’re working toward bridging both communities. Like creating events around hackathons and with the introduction of the SLP tokens it really opened up an opportunity to showcase all the awesome potential that can now be built on Bitcoin Cash to various blockchain communities.” An interactive map hosted on events.Bitcoin.com shows Bitcoin Cash meetups all around the world. Incentivizing the Ongoing Growth of the Bitcoin Cash Community Bridgman later highlighted that lots of progress have been due to community leaders like Akane Yokoo, Monica Rea, a slew of Bitcoin.com staff members and individuals from organizations like Eatbch. He said that Bitcoin.com has also helped a great deal by paying for Meetup.com sponsor fees and donating educational resources, stickers, and swag. A few Bitcoin.com staff members have also volunteered to be organizers/co-organizers for some of the meetups as well. “The passionate members of the Bitcoin Cash community and Global Bitcoin Cash Leaders have really been the ones that have pushed BCH meetups to new levels,” Bridgman emphasized. Korea #BlockchainWeek is coming to Seoul. #Join the new #BitcoinCash Seoul meetup group to keep up with all upcoming #BCH meetups & events! Visit the link below & be sure to share!https://t.co/jVQrvUg8gz — BCH Tribe (@BitcoinTribe) September 27, 2019 Additionally, Bridgman concluded by explaining that the team is in the midst of creating a BCH meetups reward program. “We’re hoping to incentivize the ongoing growth of the BCH community and structure with a BCH meetups reward program. Essentially we’re creating an SLP token idea that will essentially be for Global Bitcoin Cash Leaders and the token will be a backbone for the rewards program,” he added. If you are looking to get a BCH meetup started or want to connect with Chris Bridgman for BCH meetup support, you can email him at: Chris@Bitcoin.com. You can also reach out to the team at: meetup@bitcoincashers.org. Also, check out the existing BCH meetups across the globe: South America: Acarigua, Portuguesa, Venezuela | Anzoategui, Venezuela | Bogotá, Bogota, Colombia | Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, Colombia | Porlamar, Nueva Esparta, Venezuela | Recife – State of Pernambuco, Brazil | Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | São Paulo, State of São Paulo, Brazil | Indaiatuba, SP, Brazil | Venezuela | Acarigua, Portuguesa, Venezuela | Porlamar, Nueva Esparta, Venezuela | Anzoategui, Venezuela | Barquisimeto Metropolitan Area, Venezuela | Caracas, Capital District, Venezuela | Cumana, Sucre, Venezuela | Merida, Mérida, Venezuela North America: Albany, NY, USA | Boston, MA, USA | Denver, CO, USA | Gainesville, FL, USA | Orange County, CA, USA | Los Angeles, CA, USA | Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico | Montreal, QC, Canada | New Brunswick, NJ, USA | New Orleans, LA, USA | New York, NY, USA | Norfolk, VA, USA | Phoenix, AZ, USA | San Francisco, CA, USA | San Juan, Puerto Rico | San Pedro, Los Angeles, CA, USA | Toronto, ON, Canada | Vancouver, BC, Canada | Chicago, IL, USA | Laguna Beach, CA, USA | Miami Beach, FL, USA Europe: Amsterdam, Netherlands | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Barcelona, Spain | Benidorm, Alicante, Spain | Belgium | Berlin, Germany | Dublin, Ireland | Gijón, Asturias, Spain | Hamburg, Germany | London, UK | Madrid, Spain | Milan, Metropolitan City of Milan, Italy | Paris, France | Valencia, Spain | Zürich, Switzerland | Budapest, Hungary | Edinburgh, UK Asia: Bangkok, Thailand | Beijing, China | Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China | Hong Kong | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | Be’er Sheva, Israel | Kobe, Hyogo, Japan | Osaka, Japan | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Seoul, South Korea | Tokyo, Japan | Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel | Singapore Oceania: Christchurch, New Zealand | Brisbane QLD, Australia | Cairns QLD, Australia | Sydney NSW, Australia | North Queensland, QLD, Australia Africa: Johannesburg, South Africa | Kenya | East London, South Africa | Juba, South Sudan Other: 2701 Fairview Rd, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, USA | Ko Pha Ngan, Ko Pha-ngan District, Surat Thani 84280, Thailand | Waynesville, NC 28786, USA What do you think about the growth of BCH meetups? Do you think BCH meetups are important for spreading adoption and crypto education? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images credits: Shutterstock, Twitter, Chris Bridgman, Akane Yokoo, Bitcoin.com, and Pixabay. Do you want to dig deeper into Bitcoin? Explore past and present cryptocurrency prices through our Bitcoin Markets tool and head to our Blockchain Explorer to view specific transactions, addresses, and blocks. The post Bitcoin Cash Meetups Help Plant the Seeds of Economic Freedom appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article