The US government finally claimed $48 million USD earned from the sale of bitcoins seized from Silk Road, the online drug marketplace that was shut down in 2013.

It may have taken a couple of years, but the US government finally has their grasp on the money earned from their seizure and shut down of the notorious Silk Road marketplace. The online drug market was shut down in 2013, and the government seized a total of 144,336 bitcoins, which they auctioned off in 2014 and 2015. The holdup in getting the auction proceeds was a series of legal challenges from Ross Ulbricht, the original operator of Silk Road, that contested the legality of the seizure. Ulbricht has decided to drop his claims, which means that the US Justice Department now has $48 million USD in their pocket.


The online Silk Road marketplace was a haven for anonymous transactions for all sorts of illicit goods and activities, particularly narcotics. The main figure associated with Silk Road was Ross Ulbricht, who went by the moniker of the Dread Pirate Roberts (from the movie The Princess Bride). The site began as an anonymous venture, requiring word-of-mouth for exposure. Yet eventually the site became more well known, with Ross Ulbricht even giving Forbes an interview. Eventually, the authorities took notice and went to work to take Silk Road and the Dread Pirate Roberts down.

The operation was a success, and the FBI managed to track down Ross Ulbricht by examining a number of counterfeit ID documents in packages coming from Canada to the same address in San Francisco. Silk Road was shut down (even though other versions have popped up), and Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for money laundering, computer hacking, and conspiracy to traffic narcotics.


Now we get to the part of the story where Bitcoin holders will shed some copious tears. The US Justice Department sold off the 144,336 bitcoins seized for an average of $334 each back in 2014 and 2015. If they had waited until Ross Ulbricht finally dropped his claim about illegal seizure, those same bitcoins would net around $630 million today.

As for the $48 million USD, there’s no word on where exactly the money will go. It could go to the FBI, IRS, or even the US Treasury. Of course, one can assume that the money will be wasted as the federal government is rarely a good advocate of financial responsibility.

http://bitcoinist.com/us-government-nets-48-million-sale-silk-road-bitcoins/

Yeah, this project really taught me not to buy assets on their top. Only whales can say when OAX will cost 1-1.5 USD again. But in any case the project is forward-looking, and worth drawing attention.

I am interested about new project from Humaniq team - Protectiq. As i understood from their youtube channel, this is a medical insurance program, which focuses on cancer treatment. Very interesting and ambitious project.

Почему нет новостей, есть новости. На youtube канале проэкта постоянно появляются свежие ролики. Происходят митинги команды, укомплектовывается штат программистов. Проэкт долгосрочный, плюс в том то разработка будет проиходить посредством наращивания функционала с каждым релизом версии кошелька. Так что если затея не обман, цена коина вскоре должна расти.

Those bureaucratic and unwieldy institutions will argue and discuss cryptocurrencies  long years. During that time the blockchain technology will spread around the world, like spider`s web. So please dear officers, just step aside and let btc build new transparent economy.

Happy to hear that, maybe US gov. institutions would develop effective licensing model for new ICO`s too. US is a huge market, after this legalizing steps BTC and ETH exchange rate will rize to the moon.

Russia Proposes Adding Cryptocurrency to the Population’s Financial Literacy Strategy

The Russian Ministry of Finance has proposed adding cryptocurrency to the country’s financial literacy strategy, which was jointly developed with the World Bank. Interest in cryptocurrency is growing in Russia, even among children.


Russia’s finance ministry has proposed including cryptocurrency in the country’s strategy to increase the financial literacy of the population from 2017 to 2023, according to reports on Friday.

The strategy was approved by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev last week. It was based on a joint project between the Russian Ministry of Finance and the World Bank. The program will be implemented in two phases, one in 2017-2019 and the other in 2020-2023, with the Finance Ministry overseeing their implementations.

“In the strategy to increase the financial literacy of Russians, it is necessary to include the topic of cryptocurrency,” Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov said in a broadcast on the TV channel “Russia 24”, according to Lenta. He added:

        "The question of investing in instruments such as cryptocurrencies will, of course, be discussed, and we now see more risks than recommendations on investing in such instruments. So, explaining the possible consequences of investing in unregulated instruments will be one of the issues with which we will speak for the current year and until 2023."

The full article
https://news.bitcoin.com/russia-cryptocurrency-financial-literacy-strategy/

A group of six individuals in New Delhi, India, have been arrested by the police for robbing people that they had convinced were buying Bitcoin with actual cash.

Just when you think it’s safe to buy Bitcoin and other digital currencies, you hear horror stories about being robbed in some sort of online scam or Ponzi scheme. The decentralized nature of cryptocurrency means that those looking to get involved in it must do their due diligence and always be aware of potential risks. However, such situations are a far cry from what some people in New Delhi, India, experienced as they were robbed while attempting to buy Bitcoin from some unscrupulous people.

What Can Go Wrong Buying Bitcoin with Cash from Strangers?

Police in New Delhi, India, arrested a gang of six individuals who had targeted people interested in buying Bitcoin. The leader of the group is Aditya Rajput, who is a law graduate from Dehradun. Overall, police recovered numerous SIM cards, eight mobile phones, jewelry, and lakhs of rupees in cash (lakhs are the equivalent of one hundred thousand rupees). A spokesman for the New Delhi police described how the crimes would go down thusly:

    "This module used to contact interested party through phone calls and Facebook messages and convinced the buyers to deal in cash for buying the Bitcoin. Once, they convinced the buyer and called them to the designated place, the other gang members would came into action…and…would then rob the victim."

So far, the police have identified seven victims of this Bitcoin robbery scam.

The full article:
http://bitcoinist.com/police-new-delhi-arrest-gang-robbing-bitcoin-buyers/

A rumor has been circulating that claims Amazon will decide to accept bitcoin within the near future, potentially as early as October. Unfortunately, this rumor is based on a misleading blog post and is almost certainly false.


The report, which was first published by conservative news blog Squawker Media, cites a newsletter purportedly written by entrepreneur and stock researcher James Altucher.

In the newsletter, the author claims complete assurance that Amazon will begin accepting bitcoin payments, initiating a massive disruption in the monetary sector:

    ''I am certain that Amazon WILL ACCEPT Bitcoin. They have no choice. And this will be the tipping point that will create massive generational wealth unlike we’ve ever seen before.''

Once this happens, “we’ll see a buying frenzy like never before,” the newsletter continues. “It’ll be like a Black Friday crowd at best buy.”

Moreover, the author speculates that Amazon could make the announcement as early as October 26, which is the date of its next earnings call.

The full article
https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/debunked-rumor-amazon-will-accept-bitcoin-fake-news/

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are unlikely to weaken the Fed Reserve's influence on the U.S. economy.

That's according to the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Patrick Harker, who issued the new remarks on the second day of a fintech event hosted by his organization, one of 12 regional institutions that today comprise the U.S. central banking system.

But while some have worried that the rise of a cryptocurrency would make it harder for the Fed to manage the rate of inflation, Harker showed that he isn't concerned about the prospect.

Onstage, he went so far as to contend that bitcoin has yet to be tested by a real catastrophe, but that when one happens, people will be more likely to flock to government-backed money.

"The paper that's in your pocket, that we call money, only has value because we believe it has value, because we believe the government stands behind it. It's all trust issues," Harker said.

He told attendees:

    "And so, when cryptocurrencies and other forms of currency emerge, I think the basis of that has to be how do they create that trust?"


Harker went on to acknowledge that while citizens have put varying degrees of trust in what he called the "sovereign states" that stand behind currencies today, other currency models might be possible. This includes, he said, ways in which trust might come from another "large player," or as in the case of bitcoin, an algorithm.

But his most pertinent critique was perhaps that cryptocurrencies have not been significantly tested enough to ensure confidence.

Despite issues such as the collapse of Mt. Gox, once the bitcoin's network's largest exchange, or the ongoing bitcoin scaling debate, Harker argued that cryptocurrency has been largely insulated from "bad times."

"Everything can work in good times," he added.

This leads to the second reason Harker said he's not concerned about cryptocurrency hamstringing the Fed's monetary influence: If – and, according to Harker, when – things go wrong, the Federal Reserve and other state agencies will likely be asked to get involved anyway.

"When things really go bad, where do Americans turn?" he asked "Well, they're going to come back to the government. That's the history of the country."


Elsewhere, Harker responded with his thoughts on cryptocurrency regulation, with his interviewer, Knowledge@Wharton founder Mukul Pandya, asking directly how the Federal Reserve might assist or advise on such a strategy. (The Federal Reserve has previously noted that it does not have the authority to directly regulate the technology.)

On this point, he was inconclusive, suggesting any ideation is today in early stages.

"How do you regulate an algorithm?" he asked, drawing laughs from the audience. "I don't know yet. The answer is we have to continue to study this."

Still, that doesn't mean there aren't possible next steps.

For example, those studies might include looking more closely at how another algorithm, perhaps one created by the Federal Reserve, might ensure fairness in mathematical form, something Harker said is crucial to any potential cryptocurrency controls.

He concluded:

    "Before we even think about how you regulate an algorithm, how would you even build an algorithm that would have that sense of fairness in it? It is a fairly deep technical question."

https://www.coindesk.com/philadelphia-fed-chief-bitcoin-yet-tested/

On the 28th September, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) published a document providing regulatory guidance for businesses that may be engaging in operations pertaining to initial coin offerings (ICOs). The release seeks to clarify the circumstances under which different types ICO may be subject to the Corporations Act, and identify the legal requirements of different types of ICOs.

ASIC Hopes “To Assist Businesses to Understand Their Potential Obligations Under the Corporations Act”

This week, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission published a media release seeking to clarify the regulatory requirements of ICOs operating in Australia. ASIC has avoided adopting a one size fits all regulatory approach to ICOs, stating “whether the Corporations Act applies to an ICO will depend on the type of ICO offering and what rights attach to the coins from the ICO itself, underlying coins or tokens used in the ICO… In Australia, the legal status of an ICO is dependent of the circumstances of the ICO, such as how the ICO is structured and operated, and the rights attached to the coin (or token) offered through the ICO.”

ASIC concludes “that ICOs have the potential to make an important contribution to the options available to businesses to raise funds and to investment options available to investors”, however, specifies that “an ICO must be conducted in a manner that promotes investor trust and confidence, and complies with the relevant laws.” The regulator also states that “crowdfunding using an ICO is not the same as the ‘crowd-sourced funding’ (CSF) that will be regulated by the Corporations Act from 29 September 2017,” emphasizing the need to “ensure the public is not misled about the application of… CSF laws to an ICO.”

The full article
https://news.bitcoin.com/63601-2/

The price of bitcoin has been trending higher since our last markets update and is currently hovering around the $4,275 – $4,295 zone on September 30 at 11:00 pm EDT. The decentralized cryptocurrency has climbed roughly 2 percent on a daily basis over the course of last week as buyers steadily chew through market resistance.


Bitcoin Markets Feel a Quick Upwards Rush

Bitcoin markets and traders betting on bitcoin’s uptrend had an active week closing out the month of September. Currently, traders and bitcoin proponents seem optimistic, as there have been a few positive announcements this week like 11 Japanese exchanges being approved by the FSA. News from China seem optimistic as cryptocurrencies are expected to be regulated on October 1. Bitcoin trade volume has ticked up a tad capturing $1.3B in daily trade volume, with global Localbitcoin’s trade volumes at an all-time high. Since the announcement of Chinese exchanges closing, Localbitcoin’s volumes in China have been the highest in recorded history.



https://news.bitcoin.com/markets-update-bitcoin-prices-see-some-uptrend-during-the-weekend/

The Middle East island country of Bahrain is becoming interested in bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Their government hopes to be on the cutting edge of fintech innovations. Khalid Al Rumaihi, the chief executive of the Economic Development Board of Bahrain, mentioned the country has been eyeing the blockchain sector for some time. He hopes Bahrain can “issue bonds on digital currency.”

Regulatory Sandbox for Bitcoin in Bahrain

According to a Hindu business site, Bahrain wants to implement a regulatory sandbox for bitcoin to experiment with blockchain technology. The site quoted Rumaihi, “This [regulatory sandbox] is much like Singapore and what the UK is looking at. This is not just talk. We have launched it. You can go to the website and application process is clear. We are open for business.”

The country is open for business indeed. They recently put the regulatory sandbox into action. One news source said four businesses have already applied. Only two had currently been approved. The site specified:

        "Rumaihi said the Bahrain Central Bank had recently put in place Regulatory Sandbox regulations and as many as four companies had so far applied in this regard. Two of the four had already received approval from the central bank."

Continue reading > https://news.bitcoin.com/bahrain-may-adopt-bitcoin-in-the-near-future/

BTCC has stopped accepting yuan and cryptocurrency deposits today as it prepares to shutter its operations in China this month.

Chinese cryptocurrency giant BTCC, the operator of the oldest cryptocurrency exchange in what was previously the largest trading market in the world, has stopped accepting deposits today at 12:00 noon, Beijing time. The exchange first opened its trading platform seven years ago.

Today’s notice follows up the announcement from a fortnight ago, when BTCC confirmed it would “stop all trading” on September 30 following the regulatory crackdown led by Chinese financial authorities including China’s central bank.

Further, BTCChina announced its deadline for withdrawals of digital assets and renminbi – on October 30. The exchange operator insists that all withdrawals will be processed within 3 days, regardless of the digital asset reserve.

A loosely translated excerpt from today’s notice reads:

    "BTCChina has adhered to the implementation of a 100% reserve system from the first day of its establishment to ensure users of their assets’ security. Withdrawals (including RMB, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether etc.) will be completed within 72 hours of processing…"

The People’s Bank of China announced a blanket ban on all initial coin offering (ICO) funding, a radical new form of fundraising powered by cryptocurrencies, on September 4. The ban has also extended to bitcoin exchanges in the country.

As BTCC winds down operations in mainland China, its global exchange BTCC DAX, a recently launched ‘pure crypto-to-crypto exchange’, mining operation BTCC Pool, BTCC’s USD exchange and other company operations will continue to operate.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-exchange-btcc-stops-deposits-ahead-complete-shutdown-china/

Maybe it was just accidental price pump on local exchange. I`m confident, the price dropped very fast. Bitcoin is worldwide currency, it cant be worth 7200$ in Zimbabwe, and 3900 elsewhere.

Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has indicated that his institution does not have the powers to regulate cryptocurrencies.

Making his statements to the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Draghi said that "it would actually not be in our powers to prohibit and regulate" bitcoin and other digital currencies.

The comments came in response to a question from the committee over whether ECB intends to issue a regulatory framework or an all-out ban on cryptocurrencies, and whether Draghi felt that higher capital requirements for fintech were required to protect the banking sector.

Draghi revealed that the ECB has yet to discuss the potential impact of cryptocurrencies, but likely areas of analysis include the risk posed by cryptocurrency due to its scale, usage and economic impact.

"We have to ask what effects cryptocurrencies have on the economy," Draghi stated, adding that they are still too immature to be considered a viable method of payment.

The primary concern for the ECB surrounding cryptocurrencies, and digital innovation more generally, is cybersecurity, he went on, stressing that protecting against cyber risks is central to the ECB's agenda.

Earlier this month, Draghi also criticised the proposed initiative by Estonia's e-Residency project to launch a national cryptocurrency called "estcoin," reportedly stating:

    "I will comment on the Estonian decision: no member state can introduce its own currency. The currency of the Eurozone is the euro."

Draghi is not the only senior ECB official to comment on cryptocurrencies in recent days.

The central bank's vice president, Vitor Constancio, made headlines last week when he stated that cryptocurrencies were a purely speculative asset, and compared them to "tulip mania" – the 17th century trading bubble experienced in the Netherlands. Constancio stated that the ECB doesn't see the technology as a "threat to central bank policy."

https://www.coindesk.com/mario-draghi-european-central-bank-has-no-power-to-regulate-bitcoin/

Today, on September 25, bitcoin price surged from $3,690 to $3,950, recording a staggering 7.11 percent increase over the past 24 hours. Analysts attributed the overnight surge in the price of bitcoin to the intensifying conflict between the US and North Korea.


Earlier today, North Korea’s foreign minister Ri Yong-ho held an abrupt press conference in New York, accusing the US President Donald Trump of declaring war against North Korea. Ri emphasized that the “world should clearly remember” that it was the US which supposedly declared war against North Korea. Ri told reporters:

“In light of the declaration of war by Trump, all options will be on the operations table of the supreme leadership of the DPRK [North Korea].”

The North Korean government’s threats against the US and the completion of a collaborative military drill between the US and Japan in which B-1B bombers from Guam and F-15 fighter escorts from Okinawa, Japan flew over the waters of North Korea, led global stocks to plunge. More to that, reserve currencies such as the US dollar and Japanese yen declined in value.

As a result, major stock market indexes including the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined in value for three days in a row and analysts explained that stocks and assets could fall further in value if global markets volatility and economic uncertainty continue.

John Caruso, senior market strategist at RJO Futures told CNBC:

“I think the market got a little nervous about that [US bombers flying over North Korean air space]. On top of the German elections it makes the market a bit unsure right now.”


For the past three weeks, bitcoin has shown resilience towards the Chinese government’s nationwide ban on local bitcoin exchanges. Still, the global bitcoin market has struggling to recover beyond its previous all-time high of $5,050, considering that the international bitcoin exchange market is still restructuring.

But, as analysts including Max Keiser and Vortex noted, in times of global markets volatility and financial instability, an increasing number of investors and traders seek safe haven assets and long-term investments that are liquid, secure, and stable.

In the past 24 hours, the bitcoin price increased by $260, after struggling to surge past the $4,000 mark over the past five days. It is likely that investors and traders in the US, Japan, and South Korea, three of the largest bitcoin exchange markets in the world in terms of daily trading volumes, are turning toward bitcoin to avoid the devaluation of assets, stock market indexes, and currencies.

Already, the US dollar and the Japanese yen have weakened and Wall Street strategists expect the value of most assets to decrease in the upcoming weeks.

Such volatility in global markets is a positive indicator of growth for bitcoin. More to that, the global bitcoin exchange market is finding stability at a rapid pace. Japan has already evolved into the largest bitcoin exchange market with around 50 percent of the market share and traders from the Chinese market have moved onto Japan, the US and South Korea.

If the conflict between the US and North Korea continue, and Japan and the South Korean government also pursue active military drills, global markets will likely decrease further in value while the bitcoin price surges to new highs.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-price-surpasses-3950-recording-7-11-increase-us-north-korea-tension-intensifies/

A new invention patent has been filed by FICO. The invention is a tool that will allow FICO, government, and others to collect financial data from Bitcoin exchanges. The tool is designed to support AML and KYC regulations. The patent is called “Advanced Learning System for Detection and Prevention of Money Laundering.”


The patent filing suggested the product was created to curb fraud. Government offices intend to collect data from exchanges to catch criminals and others. They want to “centralize” all the information. The patent filing elaborated:

        "KYC on-boarding and customer updates can include questions on such topics, as well as from public records and regulators. While it may be difficult to get timely information on illicit Bitcoin sources, it is important to collect and centralize information on legal exchanges and administrators (miners, etc.). Regulations now require that certain entities associated with BitCoin be classified as “money services businesses” (MSBs) and must comply with appropriate regulations, such as the Bank Secrecy Act."


The product’s intended purpose is making sure entities comply with regulations by collecting data from the cloud. The patent filing suggests that the AML threat score can be deployed from various servers. This allows agencies to track data from multiple institutions.

The patent filing continued, “This allows the predictive model to have access to SAR information and other risk factors from a variety of institutions that are members of the AML Consortium. The predictive model can therefore have access to a wider view of risk information than would be possible when viewing only transactions and customer information from a single institution.”


Besides this new data-collection tool, the IRS has attempted to collect data directly from bitcoiners. There is still an ongoing legal battle between Coinbase and the IRS. In this sense, there seems to be a large push from various sources to centralize and analyze bitcoin data. However, Coinbase has not caved into IRS demands. They are trying to push back against initiatives to acquire financial and security information from users.

Fraud is government’s main concern, but tax evaders also seem to be on their radar. It will be interesting to see how the battle of centralization of data versus decentralization of data unfolds in the future.

https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-exchanges-may-be-monitored-for-fraud/

According to a video filmed by the Slovenian savings bank Hranilnica Lon, the firm has enabled the ability to purchase bitcoin with its classic automated teller machine (ATM) located in the company’s lobby. The Kranj-based bank believes it’s the first bank worldwide to implement bitcoin into a traditional ATM.


Hranilnica Lon bank is a financial banking products provider offering services to citizens based in Slovenia. The company founded in 1992 manages money market instruments for clients and has multiple locations. This week Lon’s Facebook page announced the implementation of bitcoin into the firm’s traditional ATM located in the Kranj headquarters front lobby. While explaining the new ATM feature, the bank’s senior executive, Jake Vadnjal, unveiled the ATM to a swarm of Slovenian news reporters. During the video, the Hranilnica Lon executive cuts a ribbon tied to the machine and performs a transaction in front of the media’s cameras.


The machine dispenses bitcoin using a voucher system which can be redeemed online. “We made a significant leap in thinking,” said Hranilnica Lon’s executive Vadnjal’s translated statements. “We do not know what will happen in ten years or what the fight for ‘survival’ and successful businesses will mean in the future — cryptocurrencies are difficult to predict.”

According to Vadnjal cryptocurrencies have great potential and will likely transform the financial industry. However, even though they are offering digital assets through the company’s office ATM, Vadnjal states these investments are still risky. “As bankers, we have to be conservative, so we are warning all that the markets cryptocurrencies can be risky and are subject to a fall greatly in value,” Vadnjal warns.

https://news.bitcoin.com/a-slovenian-savings-banks-traditional-atm-dispenses-bitcoin-vouchers/

The month of September is wrapping up, and the planned November Segwit2x (BTC1) hard fork is steadily approaching. According to the BTC1 roadmap, a block between 1MB and 2MB in size will be generated by miners raising the block size limit at block height 494,784. Over the past few months, Core developers and supporters have been vehemently against the block size increase but are also upset that the Segwit2x working group will not add replay attack protection.

The Question Remains — Who Should Add Replay Attack Protection?

The Segwit2x hard fork is drawing near, and we may see another blockchain split in the near future. At press time the intention to upgrade the block size to 2MB is backed by 93.8 percent of the entire Bitcoin network hashrate. However, the 2MB increase is not supported by a particular group of Core supporters, and the Core client’s developers are also outspoken against the fork. One of the biggest controversies about the fork is the lack of replay attack protection, and bitcoin proponents have been quarreling about this issue for quite some time.

If Segwit2x and the Core software side splits, all transactions, addresses, and balances will be a direct reflection of the legacy chain. This means Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXO) can be verified by miners on both chains and an ‘attacker, ’ or unknowing investor can spend the “same” funds on both chains. Those who are against Segwit2x believe if the developers do not implement replay attack protection a malicious actor or group can replay transactions deceptively claiming coins on the other chain. In the case with the August 1st Bitcoin Cash hard fork, developers had implemented replay attack protection to avoid this problem. 

Now, Segwit2x’s working group are not the only ones who can implement replay protection, as there are many who believe Core should add the safeguard. One of the biggest arguments happening across social media is which software should be ‘obligated’ to adding the protection. Further, the Segwit2x developers have added Gavin Andresen’s Opt-in Replay Attack protocol as a means of protection. Segwit2x developers believe the “OP_RETURN” implementation is good enough and that it essentially would block invalid transactions on that particular chain after a split.

https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-software-wars-the-case-against-replay-attack-protection/