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21  Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / The America and the Crypto - Getting on wrong foot on: April 25, 2023, 01:13:56 PM
I don't think anyone would deny the fact that the title mentions it here. Read an article that depicts the thoughts of Bitcoin bull Chamath Palihapitiya from the U.S.

The guy has outplayed in the bitcoin investments during his career and has time to time believed that bitcoin is worth $100K or followed by a $200K benchmark in the future. However, with ever-increasing regulatory constructions over crypto and that too in the most promising country like America, things are going south now.

Crypto is dead in America. That's what Mr. Chamath said in a podcast interview. All the blame is be put on both sides which are Security Exchange Commission as well as Crypto Exchanges/banks which are being operated with malpractices all the time.

However, various exchangers stated clearly that if the crypto regulations are not plotted properly then how could they understand what is to be expected from their accounts? This is also true on one note while SEC and FED are just shooting in the air without any professional outline of the crypto laws.

They are being very spurious about the crypto laws and that is one of the reasons Silicone Valley Bank failed. That is the reason why exchangers like Bittrex and Coinbase are already on the verge of shifting their offices to other viable countries.

Has the American government taken any sort of oath to put down Bitcoin?

My thought is, US legislation is brutally scared about bitcoin. They definitely thinking it could misplaced the American Dollar position from the market and give rise to another era of economics. They might be thinking they are losing the dollar value and it's world domination slowly. THese could be real aggreavitng factors. I am not sure what is the truth but such aggression was not expected from the top developed country like America.


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KEY POINTS
Tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya, who previously claimed bitcoin has replaced gold and would eventually get to $200,000, now says “crypto is dead in America.”
“The United States authorities have firmly pointed their guns at crypto,” Palihapitiya said on the latest episode of the All-In podcast.
The SEC has ramped up its enforcement of the crypto industry, bearing down on companies and projects that were allegedly selling unregistered securities.


Tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya, who said two years ago that bitcoin has replaced gold and predicted the digital currency would climb to $200,000, has a much more cautious view on cryptocurrencies these days.

“Crypto is dead in America,” Palihapitiya said in the latest episode of the All-In podcast.

Palihapitiya blamed crypto’s demise largely on regulators, who have gotten much more aggressive in their pursuit of bad actors in the industry. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler has said crypto trading platforms should abide by strict U.S. securities laws.

In answering questions in front of lawmakers recently, Gensler connected the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank with the crypto industry.

“You had Gensler even blaming the banking crisis on crypto,” Palihapitiya said. “The United States authorities have firmly pointed their guns at crypto.”

The SEC has ramped up its enforcement of the crypto industry, bearing down on companies and projects that the regulator alleges were selling unregistered securities.

In February, the agency proposed rules that would change which crypto firms can custody customer assets. In March, the SEC issued crypto exchange Coinbase a Wells notice — typically one of the final steps before it files charges — warning the company that it identified potential violations of U.S. securities law. Last week, the SEC charged the crypto asset trading platform Bittrex and its ex-CEO with operating an unregistered exchange.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told CNBC that his company is preparing for a yearslong court battle with the commission, and is also considering relocating outside the U.S. if it doesn’t get improved regulatory clarity. Meanwhile, Bittrex has already announced it would wind down U.S. operations specifically due to “continued regulatory uncertainty.”

They “were probably the ones that were the most threatening to the establishment,” said Palihapitiya, referring to crypto companies. “And they were the ones that, in fairness to the regulators, did push the boundaries more than any other sector of the startup economy.”

“Now they’re paying the price for that,” he said. “The bill has come due for them.”

Gensler faced similar criticism from House Republicans over the agency’s crackdown on cryptocurrency platforms during four hours of congressional testimony last week.

“Regulation by enforcement is not sufficient nor sustainable,” said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. “You’re punishing digital asset firms for allegedly not adhering to the law when they don’t know it will apply to them.”

McHenry said the SEC’s approach was “driving innovation overseas and endangering American competitiveness.”

Gensler defended the agency’s actions.

“We have a clear regulatory framework built up over 90 years,” he said, adding that the exchanges “are “noncompliant generally, and they need to come into compliance.”

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, reached a record of about $69,000 in November 2021, when the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate was near zero and investors were flooding into risk. The market changed in a hurry last year, as the Fed began steadily raising rates to fight inflation.

In early 2021, Palihapitiya predicted on CNBC that bitcoin would rise from $39,000 at the time to $100,000 and then up to $200,000.

“In what period, I don’t know,” he said. “Five years, 10 years, but it’s going there. And the reason is because every time you see all of this stuff happening, it just reminds you that, wow, our leaders are not as trustworthy and reliable as they used to be.”

Later in 2021, just before the peak, he said bitcoin had “effectively replaced gold.”

Bitcoin is currently trading at just over $27,300, down 60% from its all-time high.

‘Crypto is dead in America,’ says longtime bitcoin bull Chamath Palihapitiya
22  Economy / Economics / John Oliver - carving the old wounds of Crypto - Calls it Fiasco! on: April 24, 2023, 05:14:04 PM
The market cap fell from $3 trillion to $1 trillion. This happened over a period of eight months. Unfortunately most devastating incidence of all time. I am definitely sure John Oliver hates crypto as much as we love crypto and there are some true stories that can make users hate crypto in all senses. I read the article but I was not sure if John Oliver reacted honestly about it or not.

Oliver has given three worst failures of the crypto time which include: 1) Terra Fall, 2) Celsius, and 3) FTX collapse.

As we know that Terra was a cryptocurrency and meant to be a stable asset, failed to be even slightly stable and far away from the reality of becoming a true dollar. The founder of Terra incorporated Luna as the backing cryptocurrency to Terra's powerhouse which was converted to it with some sort of algorithm. Now whether that was reality or not is just a myth and no one would ever know about it anyways. Oliver calls it stupid and confusing corporate control.

The next corporate failure was done by Celsius, a crypto bank that was supposed to be the most secure bank of all and the easiest way to avail the international transfers. The failure reason: unsecured loans, unplanned loans, and most dangerous, the founder used people's money to pay back the high-yield schemes. In the end, he obviously got tangled up with too many repayments above the gross income. Preferably it was the worst bank to put your money into. Celsius still owes more than $4.7 billion.

On the other hand, the last was the FTX collapse which was done by the owner himself by introducing his own currency and injecting the virtual loop money into the system. It was like, there was money but there was no money. Bankman actually pitched for a strict policy for crypto so that it can be regulated properly. However, he was a failure himself without a second thought.

This was John Oliver's analysis about the crypto timeline that was crooked and are the burn marks that may not heal real soon.

What do you think about the rage of Oliver? Have you felt the same way and do you think it's recoverable in the upcoming timeline?


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Five years after he first dissected cryptocurrencies on Last Week Tonight, John Oliver took another look at the sector on Sunday’s episode, after a series of high-profile and expensive busts. The most dramatic implosion was that of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange hyped by celebrities such as Steph Curry and “pre-divorce but post-love” Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen, which collapsed at the end of 2022 to the tune of billions of dollars.

The arrest of FTX’s billionaire founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, on charges of defrauding investors, was “a big deal”, said Oliver, though it’s just “one of the many dominoes that fell in the crypto world”. From late 2021 until June 2022, the total market value of all cryptocurrencies fell from about $3tn to $1tn .

“And there are small investors who got badly hurt by all of this,” Oliver continued, as one in five Americans has invested in, traded, or used cryptocurrency, and plenty have had their savings wiped out in various meltdowns.

Oliver looked at the collapse of three companies, each “founded on the promise that they would replace some part of our financial system”. There was Terra, a cryptocurrency; Celsius, a crypto bank; and FTX, a crypto-trading platform. “In theory, they were supposed to be our next dollar, our next Bank of America, and our next stock exchange,” said Oliver. “But in reality, they are fiascos.”

To start, Oliver offered a reminder that “every single crypto coin is just something that someone with a laptop made up”. The coins have value to the extent that people believe they have value, which often comes down to one’s confidence in the person or group who made the coin. The story for all three companies was “one of confidence gained and then squandered”.

He started with Terra, launched in 2018 by South Korean entrepreneur Do Kwan as a supposedly stable cryptocurrency – one unit of Terra was alleged to always equal one US dollar, guaranteed by another cryptocurrency called Luna, also made up by Terra and converted using the company’s “special algorithm”.

“If that sounds both complicated and stupid to you, it is,” said Oliver. “Imagine if someone came up to you when you’re at the ATM and said ‘give me that money, and instead, I’ll give you blorps. One blorp is always worth $1, and the reason I can guarantee that is I’ll sell as many fleasles as it takes to make that happen. Also, I make the fleasles.’” Most people would say no, “but if they then said ‘I do it with a special algorithm,’ suddenly you might think that they know something that you don’t. Well, that’s basically what happened here.”

Kwon’s confidence game worked for a while – he shouted down skeptics (“I don’t debate the poor on Twitter,” he tweeted about one detractor) as Luna’s value ballooned to $40bn. But several big trades in 2022 destabilized the price, as people rushed to sell Terra and Luna valued at essentially zero. After months on the run, Kwon was arrested last month in Montenegro on fraud charges in several countries.

Celsius, a crypto bank, was founded by Alex Mashinsky, who went out of his way to build trust in Celsius as a crypto bank friendlier to customers than traditional ones. As he insisted: “We are probably one of the least risky businesses that regulators worldwide have ever seen.”

“Which was just flagrantly untrue,” said Oliver. Investigators found that Mashinsky was making incredibly risky loans and using customer funds to pay the promised high yields, “which sure sounds like the textbook definition of a Ponzi scheme”.

Mashinky and Celsius haven’t been charged with a crime, but because the company’s terms of use stated that customers transferred all rights of ownership over assets deposited in a Celsius account, tens of thousands of customers still have digital assets trapped on the platform; the company owes customers $4.7bn .

So, in summary, “bullshit money and bullshit banks” with Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX rounding things out as a “bullshit trading platform”. Bankman-Fried cultivated a persona as a “shy, self-effacing genius,” said Oliver. “It’s why he dressed like every day was laundry day and combed his hair with a balloon.”

Bankman-Fried, who lobbied Congress for tighter regulation of the crypto market, pitched FTX as a stable platform akin to the new stock exchange, but in reality propped up the company with a currency he made up, tied to his hedge fund filled with the same coin.

As the new CEO brought in during the company’s bankruptcy put it: “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here” – “which is really saying something, given that his career includes overseeing the bankruptcy of Enron,” said Oliver.

The throughline with all three companies is “confidently projecting a veneer of expertise even as, beneath the surface, they were a complete shitshow,” said Oliver.

“The thing is, there are still companies out there making all the same claims that you’ve seen tonight,” he added. “And I’m not saying that they’re all scams. Maybe these three are the exceptions,” though he could cite many other exceptions. “But the truth is, in a financial system where the only real currency is confidence, scammers are going to thrive.”

Oliver wasn’t even sure about advocating for more regulation, as doing so would legitimize volatile, risky companies, nor would he fully disavow cryptocurrencies. “But we should recognize that right now, the main thing you can really do with crypto is gamble with more crypto,” he concluded. “This is all still a casino.”

John Oliver on cryptocurrencies: ‘This is all still a casino’
23  Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / European Institutions who adopted Blockchain, way beyond US in development on: April 23, 2023, 04:55:51 PM
This is a type of article that I love sharing about the blockchain and its adoption. It's filled with positivity and you can sense it already after reading the title itself. I mean there is one side of Europe or most of the developed nations there, crypto being humiliated with MiCA regulations and other restrictions on its usage.

However, there are multiple institutions that are actually using the same technology on which Bitcoin runs that is Blockchain. Its adoption can be seen in the banking sector, digital securities, engineering sector, solar energy field, and investment institutes. If you take any sort of sector, blockchain can make those businesses prosper in some way or another.

The article lists an example of well-known institutes or companies that have undertaken blockchain way more seriously as compared to other continents such as the USA which had a higher probability of using blockchain on a mass scale but they seemingly failed at it.

Do you think such adoption is blissful for the progressive future of the blockchain and then cryptocurrencies along with them?

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For a while now, European institutions have been showing signs of significant participation in the blockchain industry, demonstrating its range and impact on traditional finance.

Banks and other major players have clearly paid attention to increased institutional demand for digital assets and built products accordingly. Blockchain’s potential to revolutionize the way the world does business is being recognized.

European institutions are focusing on custody to digital finance strategy and tokenization — often outstripping the US for development and adoption.

Below is a look at some initiatives by European financial institutions that demonstrate the blockchain space is maturing:

Societe Generale

France’s third biggest bank Societe Generale deployed the Ethereum contract for a euro-pegged stablecoin, EUR CoinVertible (EURCV), on April 20.

The bank’s blockchain-focused subsidiary, Societe Generale-Forge said the new stablecoin will only be made available to institutional investors who are vetted through know your customer and anti-money laundering checks.

EURCV will also be compliant with the Basel Committee’s prudential treatment of crypto asset exposures, which likely makes this offering robust in the eyes of European regulators.

European Investment Bank

European Investment Bank (EIB) launched its first sterling-denominated digital bond on Ethereum earlier this year.

The EIB is the primary lender of the European Union, and its blockchain undertaking represents significant affirmation on behalf of the bloc.

This move was followed by the EIB’s previous sales of euro-denominated digital bonds on Ethereum in 2021.

Deutsche Börse

German multinational Deutsche Börse in February chose Google Cloud to support its digital securities platform D7, which has an institutional-grade offering. It eventually intends to support “multiple blockchains and protocols.”

Siemens

German engineering titan Siemens in February issued a $65 million one-year bond on Polygon, in accordance with the country’s Electronic Securities Act.

DekaBank, DZ Bank and Union Investment are among investors in the digital bond.

ABN AMRO

In January, Dutch bank ABN AMRO used the Stellar blockchain to issue a $492,000 bond on behalf of an aircraft parts company.

The bank partnered with tokenization firm Bitbond and Fireblocks to facilitate custody.

UBS

While not a public blockchain, UBS issued a $370 million bond on the SIX Digital Exchange blockchain platform, geared towards regulated tokenized offerings.

The bond was also sold on the Six Swiss exchange. The three-year bond carries a 2.33% coupon.

Investors could choose to clear the bond on either SDX or on SIX.

BNP Paribas

In July last year, BNP Paribas tokenized a bond to fund a solar energy project under French utility giant EDF using Ethereum.

The move enabled investments of smaller amounts, enabling the development of smaller renewable energy projects.

Banco Santander

In Sept. 2019, Spanish bank Banco Santander issued itself a $20 million bond, which it said was the first end-to-end blockchain on the Ethereum mainnet. The bond matured in a year, paying 1.98% returns every quarter.

More recently, the bank is reportedly testing a blockchain-based tokenization platform to transfer car ownership of used cars in Brazil.

JPMorgan

JPMorgan is not to be left behind. The US banking giant executed trials for foreign transactions in November, using Aave and Uniswap as directed by Singapore’s central bank.

Although, the trial wasn’t technically for the benefit of the US. The trade was part of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Guardian pilot, which aims to explore DeFi applications.


Real Examples of European Institutions Using Public Blockchains
24  Economy / Economics / Crypto Industry thinks green! - Story that tells us Crypto is going Green on: April 23, 2023, 02:18:54 PM
I read a fabulous article today and just thought to share about it.

Crytpo is an industry that is powering up itself with 120 Terrawatts per hour. That's huge energy consumption and thus as law pertains, every energy is converted to the other one and in our case it's heating and carbon emission. For a basic understanding, we can assume that 120 terawatts per hour of energy are being converted to carbon/heat which can not be good for the environment in which we breathe in.

The good news is?
We have cut down this soaring energy consumption last year when a mega event happened called The Migration. This was associated with he Etherem mainet when they converted the blockchain work from PoW to PoS. This has enormously lowered the mining since ETH constituted to the top most mined coin all over the world after Bitcoin.

ETH chain has an overburden of other coins too which existed on it. Plus, after the NFT came into effect this skyrocketed as well. We can imagine how ETH alone was doing dreadful harm to the environment.

However, it seems that every CEO, owner, project lead, or government in some instances is thinking about the green environment and turning their project into less carbon emitting protocols.

Apart from this, we have,
Green energy protocols,
Hedera - use a mining-less protocol
Solana - Based on Proof of History that is PoH protocol which also consumes minimal energy.
Tezos - Based on Liquid Proof of Stake that is LPoS, which is a consensus algorithm thus no mining at all.


Further to the scenario we have, "Carbon-Neutral" strategies by various crypto-based companies.

CEO of KuCoin, has given their insights in a detailed article written below. I think everyone must read it to see how we are progressing towards the greener crypto industry.

Did you love to read this?

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The crypto industry, like any other, has the responsibility to tread a sustainable path. This year’s Earth Day theme of “Invest in our planet” resonates strongly with us. Building a sustainable economy is one of the goals echoed across the world this year. We recognize this is critical not only for our planet’s future, but also for the development of blockchain technology.

Sustainability is the path to prosperity for humanity and businesses alike. While ESG (environmental, social, and governance) has been a priority in many industries for many years, the urgency became clear for blockchain and crypto space when the recent surge in crypto mining and blockchain maintenance stressed the global energy grid.

In the past, the crypto industry has been criticized for its environmental impact due to the high energy consumption required for mining. In fact, Bitcoin mining drains so much energy that it has been equated to that of smaller countries, such as Norway, with an estimated annual energy consumption of 120 terawatt-hours. Fortunately, the industry has taken steps to address this issue. With years of effort put into developing more energy-efficient protocols, it’s now making great strides in reducing crypto’s energy burden.

Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, previously operated on a proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism, which relied on the same energy-intensive process as Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies. The underlying principle was such that it required miners to solve complex mathematical problems to validate transactions and create new blocks of ledgers. Because members on the blockchain competed against each other to earn rewards, many miners set up “farms” of GPUs and ASICs to increase their chances of solving the problem first, greatly taxing the electrical grid. As DeFi and NFTs bloomed on Ethereum, its energy consumption also skyrocketed.

However, Sept. 15, 2022 marked a watershed moment for Ethereum. On that day, Ethereum underwent an event called The Merge, fusing the Beacon Chain with the Ethereum Mainnet and migrating the blockchain from a proof-of-work (PoW) chain to a proof-of-stake (PoS) chain.

PoS is a consensus mechanism that does not require miners to solve calculation-intensive problems like PoW. Instead, validators are chosen based on the amount of cryptocurrency they hold, aka their stake, and they are responsible for validating transactions and creating new blocks.

Such a consensus mechanism makes the new PoS Ethereum much more energy-efficient than the legacy PoW Ethereum. According to ethereum.org, After the Merge, PoS Ethereum reduced 99.5% of annualized energy consumption, from 78TWh to only 0.0026 TWh. For a clearer comparison, the annualized energy consumption of gold mining, PayPal and YouTube is 240TWh (92,000x), 0.26TWh (100x) and 244TWh (94,000x) respectively.

Digiconomist also reported that the carbon footprint of PoS Ethereum has also been lowered to 0.02 kgCO2, equivalent to that of 44 credit card transactions. In addition to increasing the scalability of the Ethereum ecosystem, the Merge has also made it a more environmentally friendly cryptocurrency.

Other greener consensus protocols

Here are some interesting facts. Varieties of PoS protocols account for up to 60% of all active blockchains. There are nearly 20 other consensus protocols out there that do not require a significant amount of energy. And out of all consensus protocols, PoW is the only energy-intensive one.

In parallel with PoS, other consensus protocols are also under active development to make the crypto industry more sustainable. For instance, Hedera utilizes the Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT) hashgraph consensus algorithm that doesn’t require mining, meaning that it consumes less energy than other blockchains. It also supports smart contracts, which makes it a viable option for decentralized applications. Another example is Solana, a blockchain that uses a consensus protocol called proof-of-history (PoH), which also reduces energy consumption by reducing the number of confirmations required for transactions.

Other blockchain platforms, like Tezos and Algorand, also explore greener alternatives. For example, Tezos uses a consensus algorithm called Liquid Proof-of-Stake (LPoS) that allows token holders to delegate their stake to a validator, which then confirms transactions on the blockchain. This approach eliminates the need for miners to compete for rewards, reducing energy consumption in turn.

And this is just the beginning. As the industry forges ahead, we can expect more innovations and initiatives to emerge in the coming years.

Blockchains that practice decarbonization

No matter how energy-efficient a blockchain is, energy consumption and carbon emission are inevitable. On that end, several blockchains have implemented carbon-neutral strategies to mitigate the environmental impact created by sustaining their operations.

One of the examples is Solana. In addition to developing its PoH protocol that is faster and less energy-consuming than traditional consensus protocols, the Solana Foundation also began tracking the carbon footprint of the Solana blockchain and publishing reports of their energy use in 2021. The network is also carbon-neutral for the platform offsetting its carbon footprint by purchasing carbon credits.

Algorand strives to be not only the greenest high-performance blockchain, but also a carbon-negative one. They partner with ClimateTrade, a verifiable carbon credits marketplace running on the Algorand blockchain to launch the first smart contract to offset carbon emissions by automatically allocating a portion of every transaction fee to offset its carbon emissions.

The next Bitcoin halving could drive renewable energy adoption

Bitcoin halvings, which occur every 210,000 blocks or about every four years, could serve as another driver for its miners’ adoption of renewable energy. These events involve a 50% reduction in Bitcoin block rewards, thereby reducing miners’ earnings by a similar amount unless the Bitcoin price rises. The next halving is expected in 2024 and will decrease block rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block.

Lower rewards mean cooler incentives for miners. When the block reward halves, miners must either find ways to reduce their costs to maintain profitability or risk being priced out of the market. As competition and halvings pressure miners to improve their efficiency, they search for sustainable and cost-effective practices as keys to their future success.

Renewable energy, like solar energy and hydropower, is an attractive option for Bitcoin miners because it provides a reliable source of power that is not subject to the same price volatility as traditional energy sources. It can also be more cost-effective over the long term, as the cost of solar panels and wind turbines continues to fall.

In recent years, we have seen a growing trend of Bitcoin miners setting up shops in regions with abundant renewable energy resources, such as hydroelectric dams in China and geothermal power plants in Iceland. This trend is expected to continue as halvings and competition drive miners to seek out more efficient and sustainable practices.

The crypto industry is responding to the nature’s cry

From my vantage point, I’m proud to say that the industry is responding to this call and making significant progress toward sustainability.

We’ve seen how crypto mining, once criticized for its energy consumption, is now powered by renewable energy sources like hydroelectric and solar power. We’ve also witnessed the successful migration of Ethereum from PoW to PoS, reducing its carbon footprint and energy consumption. And we’ve seen the emergence of other greener consensus protocols and carbon-neutral practices helping blockchain become more sustainable.

The crypto industry is still relatively new and has its fair share of challenges, but we’re committed to making it a force for good. By investing in green technologies, adopting sustainable practices, and prioritizing ESG standards, we can ensure that crypto plays a positive role in building a healthy economy and protecting our planet.

How crypto is going green: An overview for Earth Day 2023
25  Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Institutional holder paying their debts from BTC share - doesnt affect prices on: April 21, 2023, 11:57:21 AM
I was reading this article about Bernstein, CEO of MicroStrategy and he gave very positive thoughts on how institutional repayments for their debts work without actually hampering the prices of Bitcoin in the real market.

For example, their balance sheets are worth billions of dollars and so as to their debts in the long-running business. One may think that so many debts must be pulling down the bitcoin price in the market that we trade. Like, someone may think it's huge concentrated debt and thus could aggravate the market to go bear if they start selling in large chunks.

However, he stated that though the debts are heavy, they are paying it in installments,s and thus compare to the market volume the sold bitcoins are nothing.

Even if you think about all the institutional debts out there combined, it has a tiny effect on the market. This could be probably because of the large volume of buying and selling.

Apart from this, these institutes are gaining a good grip on profits. Whenever the prices are going up in the market, they have very strong balance sheets and thus they easily pay off debts and keep holding an even better amount of bitcoins.

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Rising bitcoin prices mean a stronger balance sheet, higher stock prices and easier debt repayment, without the company needing to sell its holdings, the report said.

Whether MicroStrategy (MSTR) sells its bitcoin (BTC) tokens to pay down debt is closely tied to how the cryptocurrency performs. The position is not large enough to distort prices but it does present a sentiment risk in a down cycle, Bernstein said in a research report Wednesday.
The business analytics software company is the largest corporate holder of bitcoin as a balance sheet treasury asset, owning around 140,000 BTC at an average cost of $29,800. The stash is worth about $4 billion at current prices, the report said.
The company has about $2.2 billion in debt, with repayments due in 2025 and beyond. It has pledged 15,000 of its bitcoins, Bernstein said.

“High BTC prices mean a stronger balance sheet, higher stock prices and easier debt repayment without selling its BTC holdings,” analysts Gautam Chhugani and Manas Agrawal wrote.
MicroStrategy holds around 0.7% of total bitcoin in circulation, representing about 20% of daily average traded volume in spot markets, the note said.
At those levels, MicroStrategy does not “necessarily pose a concentration risk” even if trading volumes fell during a bear market, though it may affect market sentiment.
“The potential liquidation of MicroStrategy’s BTC during bear markets creates an overhang for BTC in a down cycle,” it said.

MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Holding Doesn’t Necessarily Pose a Concentration Risk: Bernstein
26  Economy / Economics / COIN says regulate but have a rulebook - can help run Business or we leave US! on: April 19, 2023, 02:29:36 PM
I just recently posted news regarding the COINBASE CEO Armstrong who stated how he seeks opportunities elsewhere but not in the USA anymore.

In an another interview Armstrong had strong urge of leaving the USA for better business opportunities. He clearly stated, it's not the regulations that is the problem and he actually thinks that it should be regulated just like other businesses for example, a software company or service provider etc.

The problem in his perspective is, various regulatory bodies having turf war against who will regulate what and up to what extend. Besides this, USA does not have proper rulebook for the crypto regulations neither the situation is going to change for the years to come. This is keeping the exchangers hands under the rock and they are not able to develop the business at all.

In previous article and in the current one, he again mentions how he sees UK as next crypto hub for better opportunities. What divides UK from USA in terms of regulations is, UK has only one regulatory body who works closely on commodities as well as securities of the market. This makes it way better to tie hands with them and have proper rulebook for the Crypto Business.

On the other hand, Armstrong did try all the way up and met with SEC regulators almost 30 times. But all in vain.

Interesting to read this news and what is more exciting is to see where this leads and whether USA will lose the importance of crypto soon if situation persisted like this forever.

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Armstrong said "anything is on the table" in terms of the crypto exchange's plans should greater regulatory clarity not emerge in the U.S.

Coinbase (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong indicated that the crypto exchange would consider moving away from the U.S. if the regulatory environment for the industry does not become clearer.
"Anything is on the table, including relocating or whatever is necessary" he said after former U.K. Chancellor George Osbourne asked whether he could see Coinbase leaving the U.S. at Fintech Week in London.
"I think the U.S. has the potential to be an important market for crypto, but right now we are not seeing that regulatory clarity that we need," he said. "I think in a number of years if we don't see that regulatory clarity emerge in the U.S. we may have to consider investing more elsewhere in the world."

Armstrong's comments come weeks after rival exchange Bittrex said it planned to exit the U.S. by the end of April, citing "the current U.S. regulatory and economic environment." Bittrex received a Wells Notice – a statement that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Enforcement Division found evidence of legal violations – in March, general counsel David Maria told the Wall Street Journal. The SEC filed a lawsuit against the exchange on Monday.
Armstrong compared the U.K. situation, where there is only one regulator – the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – responsible for both commodities and securities, with the U.S., where there are separate bodies: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the SEC.
"You don't have this unfortunate thing happening where the CFTC and the SEC are having a turf battle," he said. "We actually have contradictory statements from the heads of the CFTC and the SEC coming out almost every few weeks. How's a business going to operate in that environment? We just want a clear rulebook."
Coinbase received a Wells Notice from the SEC in March. Armstrong said Coinbase had met with the SEC "30 times" without getting feedback regarding the nature of its business before receiving the notice.

He said there's a lack of distinction or nuance in how regulators view the different arms of the cryptocurrency industry. Exchanges like Coinbase should be regulated like financial services companies, whereas the decentralized areas of the industry should be handled very differently because there is no central authority to regulate.
"Things like Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi and even self-custodial wallets should be regulated like a software business or something like that," he said.

Coinbase Beyond Crypto
Armstrong also spoke of decentralized identity as one of the most compelling use cases for blockchain technology beyond cryptocurrency.
“Decentralized identity is a way for people to kind of have their own, information ... because they actually own it," Armstrong said.
“Decentralized social media is on the horizon. I think that's pretty important in terms of freedom of speech.”
Earlier this year, Coinbase unveiled Base, an Ethereum layer 2 network upon which developers can build decentralized apps (dapps), sending a signal it wants to go beyond the trading of digital assets and into developing and expanding the broader uses of blockchain technology.

Coinbase Could Move Away From U.S. if No Regulatory Clarity: CEO Brian Armstrong
27  Economy / Economics / Coinbase CEO asks UK to slow down on Crypto Regulations - lift bank bans on: April 18, 2023, 04:11:13 PM
Brian Armstrong says, UK and Europe could take it slow on the crypto regulations and have proper framework so that it can become center for the eased crypto regulations. Considering what is up in the USA, that is bans, SEC getting stricter about various exchangers, failed crypto associated banking and what not.

Brian thinks, its an opportunity for the developed regions like UK to up lift the blanket bans from the crypto purchasing and trading.

In his tweet, Brian portrayed himself alongside the UK for building up the framework that would help them shape the up coming crypto infra. For example, Sky news reportedly stated that Financial Taskforce in UK is exploring various blockchain based projects specifically web3 application within the country. This is in the hope that it will boost the fund industry and other benefits.

Europeans are actually all set to caste a vote in the upcoming Markets in the Crypto Assets (MiCA). This can up lift crypto regulations to the positive side of balance.

Quote
Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong appears as bullish as ever on crypto regulations in the UK.

“The UK is moving fast on sensible crypto regulation to both drive economic growth AND consumer protection,” he said in a tweet picturing himself alongside the UK’s Economic Secretary and City Minster Andrew Griffith. “Excited to keep investing in the UK.”

The crypto exec also took the occasion to boost a bit of thought leadership from the exchange, which describes the UK as a “Web3 innovation hub.”

Griffith, for his part, has reportedly revived a body called the Asset Management Taskforce.

Sky News reported that the body will be investigating how to deploy blockchain technology across the fund management industry, among other objectives.

Coinbase has also provided nine recommendations that would cement the "UK as a leader in the sector."

These recommendations included ensuring that banks remove blanket bans on purchasing crypto, establish a good regulatory framework, and to set out a plan to bring decentralized ID into fruition.

The post also read that “things are happening in Europe that are edging the region ahead when it comes to embracing the digital economy,” citing the upcoming Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations up for vote this week.

UK ‘Moving Fast’ on Crypto Regulations, Says Coinbase CEO
28  Economy / Economics / G20 Meet - Always consider Crypto as problem to the monetary world. New update on: April 14, 2023, 11:57:37 AM
As we all know G20 happened, and all the 20 countries gathered to discuss various agenda's about current and past schemes that are underway in terms of national and international developments. G20 houses one of the highly developing/developed countries and with classic economic status. So what they discuss and what they propose does matter to the world in some way or the other.

In the recent news interview India Finance Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, clearly stated that all the 20 nations should also involve rest of the world on deciding new framework of the crypto. She thinks that crypto poses various threat to the economy and it is not the issue of one nation or 20 but it's an issue related to the entire global economy.

Speaking of which, she added it's far better to have Global Framework for the crypto and we should have collective rules and regulations for the same.

Day by day, they are getting stringent about Crypto usage.

Quote
India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman participates in a news conference at the 2023 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, U.S.(REUTERS)
"I am glad to say that there is a greater acceptance among all G20 members, that any action on crypto assets will have to be global. The G20, I think, has responded fairly with alacrity (on the crypto challenge)," Sitharaman told reporters at a news conference after a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors.

"The G20 and its members agree that it's not going to be possible to have an independent, standalone country dealing with the crypto assets," the minister added.

Sitharaman told reporters that the group has willingly responded to the issue. A "synthesis paper" would be taken up on matters related to crypto assets during India's G20 presidency.

India has maintained it wants a collective global effort to deal with problems posed by cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, and the finance ministry back in February said it had held a seminar for G20 member states to discuss how to come up with a common framework.

Earlier in February, Sitharaman had said, "We are going through the study process so that there can be informed discussion. International Monetary Fund (IMF) and also the Financial Stability Board (FSB) have been doing their own little work on the crypto matter and progressing on their own. We've now asked them to do the papers and give it to us and the rapidity with which these papers have been already from IMF given and from FSB which will be given in time for the July meeting. I feel that we are progressing in this direction. So something should develop."

She made the remarks while responding to a question regarding a consensus among the G20 nations on crypto assets during India's Presidency.

"Recognising the risks attached to the private virtual assets, G20 nations moved a step closer to developing a coordinated and comprehensive policy approach to deal with the crypto assets by considering macroeconomic and regulatory perspectives," she said.

Need global coordination to regulate crypto assets: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
29  Economy / Economics / James Zhong captured for $3.4 billion worth stolen bitcoin- USA cracks hesit on: April 13, 2023, 10:56:08 AM
James Zhong surprisingly possessed more than 50,000 Bitcoin and you would not believe how he got them all. By stealing the Bitcoin with Silk Road website, which was involved in criminal transactions.

There was a catch on the website. Zhong used to buy cocaine from the Dark Web, and when he accidentally clicked withdraw button twice on one of the sites, he received double the amount of bitcoin that he deposited with them. This was shocking for him.

He became $600,000 worth rich in just a few hours after working out some strategy behind it and stole 50K bitcoins in no time.

By 2021, his Bitcoin became worth $3.4 billion and he was a billionaire of the time. He lived a lavish life, with beach homes, Ferrari at the door, a $150,000 Tesla, and partying all the time.

Zhong was arrested after Warrant was issued by FED. They seized his computers and keys and also traced down the world of criminals with that information. His transactions linked back to every crime that he might have done or someone who was a criminal as well.

After the USA seized many transactions like that (~ $10 billion in the past two years), many investors believe blockchain is fun and serious stuff at the same time.
Quote
“If there’s one thing the blockchain does really well, it preserves evidence perfectly,” said Jonathan Levin, a pioneer cryptocurrency sleuth and one of the founders of Chainalysis.

I would recommend reading the whole story in the article linked. IT walks you through Zhong's life and how he committed this crime from the young age of 21 years old!


Quote
James Zhong appeared to have pulled off the perfect crime.

In December 2012, he stumbled upon a software bug while withdrawing money from his account on Silk Road, an online marketplace used to hide criminal dealings behind the seemingly bulletproof anonymity of blockchain transactions and the dark web. Mr. Zhong, a 22-year-old University of Georgia computer-science student at the time, used the site to buy cocaine.

“I accidentally double-clicked the withdraw button and was shocked to discover that it resulted in allowing me to withdraw double the amount of bitcoin I had deposited,” he later said in federal court. After the first fraudulent withdrawal, Mr. Zhong created new accounts and with a few hours of work stole 50,000 bitcoins worth around $600,000, court papers from federal prosecutors show.

Federal officials closed Silk Road a year later on criminal grounds and seized computers that held its transaction records. The records didn’t reveal Mr. Zhong’s caper at first. Authorities hadn’t yet mastered how to track people and groups hidden behind blockchain wallet addresses, the series of letters and numbers used to anonymously send and receive cryptocurrency. One elemental feature of the system was the privacy it gave users.

Mr. Zhong moved the stolen bitcoins from one account to another for eight years to cover his tracks. By late 2021, the red-hot crypto market had raised the value of his trove to $3.4 billion. He still lived in a modest house in Athens, Ga., and dressed in shorts and T-shirts. He also had a lake-house getaway in Gainesville, Ga., a Lamborghini sports car and a $150,000 Tesla.

In November 2021, federal agents surprised Mr. Zhong with a search warrant and found the digital keys to his crypto fortune hidden in a basement floor safe and a popcorn tin in the bathroom. Mr. Zhong, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in New York federal court, where prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of less than two years.

Mr. Zhong’s case is one of the highest-profile examples of how federal authorities have pierced the veil of blockchain transactions. Private and government investigators can now identify wallet addresses associated with terrorists, drug traffickers, money launderers and cybercriminals, all of which were supposed to be anonymous.

Law-enforcement agencies, working with cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain-analytics companies, have compiled data gleaned from earlier investigations, including the Silk Road case, to map the flow of cryptocurrency transactions across criminal networks worldwide. In the past two years, the U.S. has seized more than $10 billion worth of digital currency through successful prosecutions, according to the Internal Revenue Service—in essence, by following the money. Instead of subpoenas to banks or other financial institutions, investigators can look to the blockchain for an instant snapshot of the money trail.

......continue reading

The U.S. Cracked a $3.4 Billion Crypto Heist—and Bitcoin’s Anonymity
30  Economy / Economics / Woman loses $73,000 in Crypto Investment Fraud -Scammer plays Book of Friendship on: April 12, 2023, 03:54:55 PM
The news related to scams are never ending and sorry but they are always laughable incidences. I can't digest what happened to the victimized woman but I just laugh at it. This is not the first time someone got scammed with the "Book of Friendship" role play.

So this news is from an Arabian country, Shrajha, and the woman in the news lost over a million Dirham. That's sad to hear but what is sad is that she lost it in greed and with the unknown person who mates here online via WhatsApp.

Seriously guys, how can one believe a stranger who just texted you randomly, calling it a sweet accident, telling some sweet stories with you, and luring you into the world of scams!!

What's funny is, she is a 51-year-old woman with all kinds of experiences she might have had in her lifetime.

This guy contacted her from Hong Kong. Made up some stories, and shown her proof of investment and how he is earning millions of dollars. One day he sends her a fraud email which she believed is part of the process and sends away $73,000 in a single click.

The other day, everything vanishes. Her virtual friend is gone, that website vanishes and nothing is traceable. That kind of stupidity is there in the world.

Quote
An Arab businesswoman in Sharjah is reeling from the aftermath of a crypto scam that swindled her out of over a million dirhams.

The loss was even more devastating for Sara (name changed), a 51-year-old confectionery business owner and mother of six, as she had saved the money for her son’s wedding and to buy a house.

Sara recounted her traumatic experience with Khaleej Times, saying that it all began in mid-2022 with a seemingly innocuous WhatsApp message that read, “Hello, is this Mr John? My assistant recommended you to me. Are you still selling beauty equipment? I’d like to buy a batch of equipment from you.”

Sara quickly texted back to clarify that she was not the intended recipient of the message. The person on the other end responded by asking, "So what can I call you dear?" Sara gave her name. Much to her surprise, she received a friendly message in return that read, "Nice to meet you. I hope this is a beautiful accident. I am Coco from Hong Kong. Where are you from?"

The brief exchange quickly escalated into friendly conversations about their work and family. Coco said that she was divorced and had a flourishing skincare business in Hong Kong and London. Sara was impressed and the two began chatting regularly.

Not long after striking a friendship, Coco began telling Sara about her aunt who was supposedly helping her make money through cryptocurrency trading.

Despite her initial scepticism, Sara became interested when Coco told her that she could be operating her own account.

In October 2022, Sara made an investment of $12,000 in the crypto trading platform recommended by Coco. Initially, Sara saw some returns, but Coco kept pushing her to invest more and more money to maximise her profits.

By March 2023, Sara had forked out around $200,000 (Dh734,000) including Dh100,000 borrowed from her 26-year-old daughter.

Investigations have since revealed that the crypto trading platform was fake. It was designed to simulate trade activity and mislead investors into believing they were making huge returns.

Pipe dreams
Sara was thrilled when the platform showed that investments had swelled to $400,000.

“I was excited and started planning about all the wonderful things we would do with the money.”

Sara said when she tried to withdraw the money, she got an email asking for $73,000 in taxes. “Coco assured me that this was standard practice so I wired the money.”

However, a few days later, the website disappeared and Coco stopped responding.

Sara was a victim of a long-term fraud scheme.

Scammers involved in the racket initiate contact through social media, dating apps, WhatsApp, or text messages, often by pretending to have made a mistake. They persist in striking up a conversation even after being informed they've reached the wrong person. Over several months, scammers build trust with their victims and then encourage them to invest in cryptocurrency trading, offering insider tips or investor knowledge. They direct victims to download an app or visit a website and sometimes offer to trade alongside them. Unknown to the victims, the platform is controlled by scammers.

“My total loss exceeds one million dirhams,” said Sara who has since filed a police complaint.

“I have only myself to blame. I regret not making an attempt to talk to Coco verbally. We just exchanged text messages I thought she was a friend and genuinely wanted to help me make money.”

Sara reached out to Khaleej Times last week after discovering a report about a similar scam in the newspaper, regretting not reading it earlier. A previous report from January this year featured the story of an ex-IT director in Dubai who lost Dh650,000 in a crypto-romance scam after receiving messages from a fraudster who also identified herself as Coco. Last year, Khaleej Times reported how an Ajman resident lost $47,000 to a similar scam.

Dad-of-five Sajjad Khan, 40, was sweet-talked into investing the money in a dodgy crypto trading platform by a ‘woman’ he met on a popular dating app but never in real life.

Law authorities in the UAE has repeatedly urged the public to remain vigilant when using social media.

Huge costs
Cybercrime is expected to cost the world $10,5 trillion annually, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, the world’s leading researcher and publisher covering the global cyber economy.

BIlionaire businessman and philanthropist Warren Buffet calls it the number one problem with mankind and cyberattacks are a bigger threat to humanity than nuclear weapons.

The scammer’s playbook
Initiate contact with the target by sending a “wrong number” text message or through a dating app.
Build a relationship through friendly, romantic messages over several months
Encourage the target to invest money in a crypto trading platform
Gain trust by letting the person withdraw small amount as supposed profit.
Seek bigger investment.
Disable the website and disappear with the money

Sharjah mum of six loses over million dirhams to crypto scam after being befriended by cybercriminal on WhatsApp
31  Economy / Economics / Coinone Exchanger Employees Arrest - $1.51 million fees for scam project listing on: April 11, 2023, 02:20:14 PM
This news is basically from South Korea.

Coinone is a South Korean-based exchanger and it is confirmed that employees of this exchanger have been booked for suspicious involvement with the "Fuvriever Coin" listing.

What is the crime here?
At first, it may seem that why someone is booked for listing a virtual asset if the exchanger's whole and sole purpose is to list the coins and trade them.
Well, the coin was listed after the whooping fees of 2 billion WON which if converted to USD comes to $1.5 million.

Now that is a lot of fees just for listing a coin. The coin's owner is "Hwang". The problem is, the stated person is directly involved in the kidnapping and murder of a woman who was an investor in the coin.

This gave rise to millions of concerns regarding such high fees for listing and fleeing away with whatever money that could get generated with the coin listing.

This really as a shock that project owners can go wild on their investors themselves.

This kind of news makes us think, why people are not investing in Bitcoin?


Quote
Employees of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone have been arrested in connection with exchanging money in return for listing certain crypto assets, CoinDesk Korea reported on Tuesday.
"There is concern about escaping," said Seoul Southern District Court Chief Judge Kim Ji-Sook, who issued a warrant for the arrests on Monday.
Coinone's listing team leader Kim Mo has been accused of violating the Concealment of Criminal Proceeds Act and a breach of trust. Listing broker Hwang Mo was also charged with breach of trust.

According to the report, Hwang paid as much as 2 billion won ($1.51 million) to Kim and Coinone's former director of listing "Mr Jeon" in return for listing certain virtual assets.
Among these cryptocurrencies was "Furiever Coin," a crypto that was listed exclusively on Coinone and that has been linked to a recent kidnapping and murder investigation in the Gangnam district in Seoul. Police suspect that a 48-year old woman may have been abducted and murdered as revenge for a failed investment.

Employees of South Korean Crypto Exchange Coinone Arrested: Report
32  Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / American Nuclear Powered Bitcoin Mining - A success glimpse on: April 10, 2023, 09:36:07 AM
This is some good news coming from America after a very long time. Considering we are just hearing about how US regulators are imposing the strictest rules on various banks, exchangers, and whatnot.

However, the technical side of Bitcoin is prospering on one end in the same America!

Reportedly, a nuclear-powered mining facility that is Nautilus which is operated by TeraWulf utilizes 91% of zero-carbon energy. The number of miners they have installed is around 9,200.

These are the actual number of miners which are in the Nautilus facility however TeraWulf has more than 27,000 miners across their all facilities. They are powering the mining at 5.5 EH/s and have already boosted the network with 65% power-ups.

Nuclear Power Plant producing 2.5 GW of energy. The fact that TeraWulf wanted to have GREEN DATA centers, they have merged and have a stake of 25% in the same.

Definitely, we need more such Green miners so that problem of an environmental issue that has been raised from time to time can fade away and we will finally have Green Bitcoin!

Quote
America’s first nuclear-powered Bitcoin mine has announced remarkable results for the month of March 2023. This pioneering facility, which harnesses the power of nuclear energy to mine the world’s leading cryptocurrency, has surpassed all expectations and cemented its position as a trailblazer in the field.

The mining center, Nautilus, which is owned and operated by TeraWulf, utilized over 91% of zero-carbon energy to power approximately 9,200 miners.

These powered miners played a significant role in contributing to TeraWulf’s remarkable average operating hash rate of 3 EH/s for the month, representing a massive 50% increase compared to February.

According to the latest unaudited monthly production and operations news release from TeraWulf, Nautilus continues to outshine its competitors in the Bitcoin mining realm.

TeraWulf’s Mine Fleet Boosts Hash Rate Capacity By 65%
TeraWulf’s operational miner fleet of around 27,200 miners, which includes 18,000 operational miners at the Lake Mariner facility and 9,200 self-miners at the Nautilus facility, has played a crucial role in achieving an outstanding self-mining hash rate capacity of 2.8 EH/s.

This marks a phenomenal 65% increase in the first quarter of 2023.

“We continue to execute as promised, delivering strong results in Q1 2023,” Kerri Langlais, Chief Strategy Officer of TeraWulf, stated. “We believe the continued hard work and commitment of our people has positioned us to achieve our goal of 5.5 EH/s of capacity in the second quarter.”

Pioneering Green Bitcoin Mining With Nuclear Power
In August 2021, TeraWulf and Cumulus Data, a subsidiary of Talen Energy, announced their joint venture, Nautilus. The aim was to build a green data center that would operate using nuclear power. Fast forward to January 2023, and the shell for the data center has been completed, thanks to the 2.5 GW nuclear power station that’s powering it.

TeraWulf has a 25% stake in the project, which is expected to reduce the company’s energy costs and achieve a computing power of 5.5 EH/s by the second quarter of 2023.

While concerns about the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining persist, the trend of upgrading machines and adding new fleets shows no signs of slowing down. Since 2016, the global hash rate for mining has continuously increased.

The Nautilus project is not only considered a significant step towards more sustainable Bitcoin mining practices, but it also marks a crucial milestone in the adoption of nuclear energy in the tech industry.

By harnessing the power of nuclear energy, Nautilus Cryptomine has the potential to significantly reduce the energy costs associated with Bitcoin mining and mitigate its environmental impact.

1st Nuclear-Powered Bitcoin Mine In U.S. Reports 9,000 Facilities Energized In Q1

33  Economy / Economics / Invest your money wisely - another lesson, Techie tries to suicide. on: April 09, 2023, 12:42:53 PM
This news is from the IT Hub of India, that is Kolkata. The Techie who is just 23 years old had invested a big amount of money in the Crypto space. The investment when asked him was around INR 30 lakh ~ $ 36,600 in US dollars. That is a definitely huge amount considering his age and country of residence. Even in America, 36K USD is pretty handsome money and you can do many things with it.

So the gravity of this can be sensed easily.

He was saved by the Cops after a local Cab driver alerted the police and the response team was at the incident quickly.

He was trying to jump from the largest bridge on the river named "Hooghly" to end his life.

The investment was not his alone but he collected the money from various sources. He took loans and also was using the pension from his mother. Definitely, he had no plans and no idea what he was doing.

Just save up your bitcoins in cold storage, only buy what you can afford to lose and most importantly don't fall for the traps of crypto space.
Bitcoin is the only savior in crypto and if you own the keys, you win the market.


Read the news here:Techie loses Rs 30 lakh in crypto market, tries to jump off  ..
34  Economy / Economics / Mt Gox Creditor Repayment window open | Do Kwon $10 mln penalty on: April 07, 2023, 07:01:30 PM
This news comes with some positivity considering Robinhood is penalised with the penalty of around 10 million dollars. However it’s still unclear that why they only have such tiny bounty to be repaid considering the fraud of more than 60 million dollar was done by Terra company.

Do Kwon is the target while his associates were also charged in the crime they did. They have done worst to the crypto sphere, shook the economic balance and trust of thousands of peoples.

They have opened up the repayment window and hopefully everything gets settled. However, the question still remains whether this is enough money to recover all the loses?

Quote
Legal news

South Korean prosecutors identified $314.2 million in illicit assets associated with Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon and his associates, out of which $69 million is directly linked to Kwon. He, however, converted most of the illicit funds into Bitcoin using overseas crypto exchanges, KBS reported, so the assets tied to him are not recoverable or under South Korean jurisdiction.
Major US online trading platform Robinhood “will pay up to $10.2 million in penalties for operational and technical failures that harmed main street investors,” the USA, California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced. The DFPI joined the multi-state settlement that followed a North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) investigation into the platform outages in March 2020.
The deadline for Mt Gox creditors to provide their repayment information has passed, opening the window for repayments to be made, according to an April 7 letter from the exchange Trustee. The Trustee will carry out the necessary preparations to make the repayments, coordinating with several financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, which will receive and distribute the payments to creditors. “In light of this, it is expected to take some time before the repayment is commenced,” it said.

Do Kwon Converted Millions in Illicit Funds to BTC, Robinhood to Pay $10.2M in Penalties, Mt Gox Creditors Repayment Window Now Open
35  Economy / Economics / U.S. Treasury under pressure of DeFi market threat! on: April 06, 2023, 03:21:30 PM
This is not good considering the current market situation of crypto. There are already hundreds of bad news out there, for example, exchangers collapse, Bank collapses, a few exchangers getting licenses banned, and much more. Most of the news also came from the USA only.

Here, if you read this news then it's coming as a shock that US security is at stake after careful reviewing of how the DeFi market is home to illicit spammers, money launderers, and much more! This side of crypto is helping them move the funds around the world without any hesitation and thus keeping all the regulators under pressure.

Recently, a US treasurer made an official statement that US security is not good in terms of financial management considering the large volume of money is getting diverted through the DeFi line which is for illegal stuff.

We have awakened the regulator's dragon, and I don't know but this could place crypto at risk.

Quote
WASHINGTON—The burgeoning decentralized cryptocurrency market threatens U.S. national security and needs greater oversight and enforcement against money-laundering, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday.

The warning, in a new Treasury report assessing the risk of the so-called DeFi markets, lays the foundation for tougher regulations and punitive action by federal agencies.

DeFi platforms enable crypto investors to transact with each other through software running online, without a central intermediary overseeing transactions. Without the intermediaries of traditional finance such as banks, regulators currently have little insight into DeFi transactions.

Ransomware hackers, rogue states and other national security threats have seized upon the market’s opaqueness to move money around the world without detection, facilitating the financing critical to their operations, the Treasury Department report said.

“Illicit actors, including criminals, scammers, and North Korean cyber actors are using DeFi services in the process of laundering illicit funds,” said Brian Nelson, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. “Capturing the potential benefits associated with DeFi services requires addressing these risks.”

The report sketches out how the Treasury Department plans to bring the market under greater federal oversight, suggesting that platforms that fail to establish sufficient vetting policies risk enforcement action.

The private sector should use the department’s findings to inform their own risk mitigation strategies, the Treasury undersecretary said. Companies need to take clear steps, in line with regulations to counter money laundering, terror financing and sanctions-evasion, to prevent illicit actors from abusing DeFi services, Mr. Nelson said.

Among its recommendations, the Treasury Department said the federal government needs to bolster its existing supervision and enforcement of the market by requiring platforms to adhere to the same anti-money-laundering rules that banks and other financial institutions must follow. Federal agencies also need to expand their regulatory powers to cover potential gaps in oversight of the markets, it said, and work with other governments to establish international standards.

Decentralized Cryptocurrency Markets Threaten U.S. Security, Treasury Says
36  Economy / Economics / Binance Trouble rises - Australian Regulator Cancels Derivatives License on: April 06, 2023, 12:53:23 PM
This is heartbroken for any Binance exchange fan. I am not sure why this is happening but you will read 3 out of 5 news about Binance and all of them lead to the negative side of the whole story. As we know Binance which is the world's largest crypto exchanger and has a global presence, got its warning warfare from the USA regulator. The CEO is already under the radar of the USA Jury and they have pointed out some serious accounting books and securities issues.

That is still unsettled and here we are again with the Australian regulators bombarding Binance with another stressful scenario by literally canceling the Derivatives license to operate in Australia.

Australian Binance has 1 million users who have operational accounts. However, ASIC, that is Australian Securities and Investment Commission has asked Binance Australia to halt all the operations of the Derivatives Exchange and close all orders before April 21.

Quote
ASIC has been conducting a targeted review of Binance's businesses, the press release said.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has cancelled Binance Australia's derivatives license, according to a press release on Thursday.
Binance Australia, an arm of the world's largest crypto exchange by trade volume, has been ordered by the regulator to close all client's open derivatives positions by April 21.
ASIC has been conducting a targeted review of Binance's businesses, the press release said.

“It is critically important that AFS licensees classify retail and wholesale clients in accordance with the law. Retail clients trading in crypto derivatives are afforded important rights and consumer protections under financial services laws in Australia, including access to external dispute resolution through the Australian Financial Complaints Authority," ASIC Chair Joe Longo said.
Longo added that ASIC supports a regulatory framework for crypto in Australia, insisting that the final decision lies with the government.
Binance found itself in hot water with regulators last week, with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filing a lawsuit against the exchange over allegedly operating derivatives products in America.

In a statement, Binance Australia said that it was "winding down" its derivatives product to "pursue a more focused approach." Former Binance Australia CEO Leigh Travers, who stepped down from his role on March 10, said in December that the exchange had over one million users in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.

Binance Australia's Derivatives License Cancelled by Regulator
37  Economy / Exchanges / Financial Service Agency of Japan, issues warning letter to BitGet on: April 05, 2023, 09:24:19 AM
We have positive news from Japan already, where they are going to perform a fundraiser to support the WEB3 applications in the country. The target of the fundraiser is set to $100 million, and the news which I already shared in the past week I guess.

However, it turns out Japan's friendliness towards crypto sector acceptance is yet to be set with proper guidelines. Recently, FSA has issued a warning to one of the major exchanges such as BitGet, BitForex, and MEXC Global who are said to be operating in Japan without proper registration. They concluded the business was being run unlawfully and for now, they are just under warning.

BitGet is a global player in the crypto exchanges and they have carefully stated that BG limited has proper registration in Seychelles and they would never operate without proper licensing.

A similar warning letter was issued by Japan FSA in the year 2021. Now, it's time to see how these regulatory frameworks will work in the future considering the nation is friendly towards crypto but always has some issues with exchangers or crypto companies at another end.

Quote
Japan's Financial Services Agency in a warning letter published on Friday said foreign crypto exchanges Bybit, BitForex, MEXC Global and Bitget are operating in the country without proper registration.
The regulator said at the time of the notice the exchanges were violating the country's fund settlement laws by "conducting crypto asset exchange business without registration" and also said the list of unregistered traders "does not necessarily indicate the current state of unregistered business."
Although Japan is working on new regulations for the crypto and Web3 sectors, the country hasn't cracked down on the industry as hard as some other larger economies such as the U.S. following what was a turbulent year for the markets in 2022.

When reached for comment, a representative for Bitget said the exchange will be getting in touch with the FSA "for more information."
"Bitget operates through BG Limited, a Seychelles-registered company. As a global crypto exchange, we are following the rules and regulations in Seychelles. All our operations and services remain normal at the moment and we will update our customers when there is an update," the representative said in an emailed statement to CoinDesk.
The FSA issued a formal warning letter to Bybit for operating without necessary permissions back in 2021.

Japan Regulator Flags 4 Crypto Exchanges Including Bybit for Operating Without Registration
38  Economy / Economics / Crypto Clients getting turned down by United Kingdom Banks | PM on other quest on: April 03, 2023, 08:32:07 AM
Prime minister Sunak led the country to the UK, and his dream to make the UK a Crypto Hub is breaking apart considering the main system is ignoring the whole concept of what the PM stated in the first place.

With the recent news, UK banks are not accepting any Crypto-associated users and companies to open their bank accounts with them, banks are also freezing the accounts of current users/companies, and those who have accounts already approved, are asking for more and more documentation.

In short, they do not want anyone to operate crypto-related accounts.

On the other hand, Gordon Duff said that European Union is also trying to make efforts which are in turn making various banks "receptive" to the technology but the UK is doing exactly the opposite to that.

It also contradicts Rishi Sunak's statement associated with Royal Mint NFT creation which is:
Quote
Chancellor @RishiSunak has asked @RoyalMintUK to create an NFT to be issued by the summer.

This decision shows the the forward-looking approach we are determined to take towards cryptoassets in the UK.


Quote
Crypto companies are facing difficulties accessing banking services in the United Kingdom, according to multiple sources interviewed by Bloomberg. The few banks still working with crypto firms are requesting more documentation and information about how they monitor clients’ transactions.

Challenges include having applications rejected, accounts frozen and overwhelming paperwork. Crypto companies have even complained to the government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as the situation worsened in the past weeks. The move goes in the opposite direction of Sunak’s plans to prioritize financial technology disruption and make the U.K. a global crypto hub.

“The U.K. banking reaction has been more acute than the EU one,” Tom Duff-Gordon, vice president of international policy at Coinbase, told Bloomberg. According to Duff-Gordon, the European Union’s efforts to establish a framework for digital assets are making banks more receptive to crypto firms in other countries. The European parliamentary committee passed the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation in October, nearly two years after it was first introduced in September 2020. Its final vote is scheduled for this month.

So far in 2023, venture capital investment in digital asset companies reportedly dropped 94% to $55 million in the U.K., according to data from PitchBook, against a 31% increase in other countries in Europe. Crypto companies are turning to payment service providers such as BCB Payments and Stripe to maintain business operations in the U.K.

Earlier in March, the HSBC Holdings and Nationwide Building Society banned cryptocurrency purchases via credit cards for retail customers, joining a growing list of banks in the country to tighten restrictions on digital assets.

Also in March, the self-regulatory trade association CryptoUK proposed the creation of a “white list” of registered firms in the country to address banks limiting or banning transactions with crypto companies. “Many of the major U.K. banks have now put in place bans or restrictions, and we are concerned that other banks and Payment Services Providers (PSP’s) may also soon follow suit,” said CryptoUK. “We believe that government action is now warranted.”

Similar to the United States, authorities in the U.K. are tightening regulations on crypto companies. The Financial Conduct Authority proposed in February a set of rules that could subject executives of crypto firms to two years in prison if they don’t meet certain conditions related to promotion.

UK banks are turning away crypto clients: Report
39  Economy / Economics / $19 million worth TDS by Indian Government on all VDA (Virtual Digital Assets) on: April 02, 2023, 01:16:30 PM
The amount of tax that was collected is set to 1% TDS, no matter if you are buying crypto or selling crypto, or exchanging it into fiat. That's how they plotted the whole game and made it the hardest regulation ever. This makes sense, the Indian finance minister is keeping it at strictest terms so that "Money Laundering" can be avoided which may be done via Crypto Transfer.

The whole point of TDS is now clear. In fact, various exchanges also reported that most of the revenue was lost in the process of TDS considering the volume they are playing with.

Due to this reason most of the WEB 3 startups in India now have offices offshore to evade the hard tax rules. Not only this, anything converted into the fiat gets taxed flat 30%.

That is harsh and the best way to flee crypto investors out of the country.

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The high tax rate on a low threshold ($125 in a financial year) made crypto trading unprofitable, and exchanges unviable in India.

Indian tax authorities collected Rs 158 crore (approx. $19 million) in TDS on the transfer of virtual digital assets (VDA) till March 20, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Parliament on Tuesday.

Given that the financial year ended on March 31, it can be taken as the final figure for the entire 2022-23 fiscal.

1% TDS at $125 Threshold
The Indian government brought crypto transactions under a new tax regime through the budget for 2022-23. It provided for 1% TDS on VDA transfers exceeding Rs 10,000 (approx. $125) in a financial year. Besides, all gains on VDA transfers were subjected to a 30% income tax.

The 1% TDS began to be deducted from July 1, 2023. In November, the minister informed the Indian Parliament that TDS collection on VDAs from July 1 to November 1 was Rs 60.46 crore ($7.4 million). Given the low tax collection, it was expected that the government would ease the tax rate and bring it between 0.05% and 0.1%, in line with the industry’s demand. But the authorities did not provide any such relief.

Regulatory Vacuum
Subsequently, crypto transactions were placed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Industry representatives surprisingly hailed the decision as it provided some kind of clarity, a break from a complete regulatory vacuum.

Due to the high taxes, along with a hostile regulatory environment, India, which had a burgeoning crypto ecosystem, began to cede the advantage to the neighboring and more friendly jurisdictions such as UAE and Singapore.

As per a Nasscom study, 60% of India’s 450 Web 3 startups are registered outside the country. The report also highlighted that India is well set to drive the Web 3 transformation thanks to its large talent pool, which accounts for 11% of the global market. 

Crypto Adoption Growing
As per the latest Statista data, India has 150 million crypto users. By the end of 2023, India’s crypto adoption rate could become higher than that of the UK and the US, and 11% of locals will have experimented with digital asset transactions.

India hosted G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governors meeting last month, where discussion on crypto regulations figured prominently. And it seems by the end of 2023, the powerful economic block will have some kind of regulation in place for the cryptocurrency sector.

India’s 1% TDS on Crypto Transfers Yields $19 Million in 9 Months
40  Economy / Economics / U.S. Court still in conflicted stage against Binance.US Voyager on: April 02, 2023, 09:08:56 AM
This is crooked. I do not think the government is doing any bold moves or giving proper arguments for the ongoing case of Binance.US and its tax fraud. That is not proven yet and Binance's CEO says, the judgment is merely based on the facts and unproven collected data from various sources. It is shameful that a nation like the US has the world's best accounting system and tracking is at its best, still not able to continue this case with rightful documentation and proof.

However, US judge Readren claimed that she would fast forward the whole matter after looking into the Binance.US actual sale of the Voyager and help them expedite the case results.

Somehow, it's a tricky case. If there was any tax and securities fraud then Zaho would not have been so confident about the counterclaims.

There is a high probability that Binance will win this case and it could push the market to all new levels. We would be able to thank the Government at last, for indirectly making bold moves for us. Lolz.

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District Judge Jennifer Rearden has put the $1 billion deal on hold but said she’d expedite an appeal to avoid too much delay

The U.S. government has a “substantial case on the merits” in its bid to quash a $1 billion deal by Binance.US to buy the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager, a New York judge said Friday.
District Judge Jennifer Rearden said she’d try and move quickly to settle a dispute, given that delays could cost as much as $10 million per month for the estate.
Earlier in March, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles approved the sale, but this week Rearden said she would put that on hold while she considered objections from the U.S. Attorney that the contract effectively rendered Voyager immune by exculpating it from breaches of tax or securities law.

Government arguments have “gone entirely unrebutted” by Voyager and its creditors, “neither of which has provided any authority for the proposition that a bankruptcy court can release criminal liability,” Rearden said.
In her further reasoning published Friday, Rearden appeared sympathetic to government arguments, saying that “the Exculpation Clause appears to go further than the quasi-judicial immunity doctrine allows.”

Binance's U.S. arm bid for Voyager last year after FTX, the previous bidder, itself collapsed. This week saw Binance’s global entity and its chief executive officer, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for offering unregistered crypto derivatives. ​​Zhao said the suit is an “incomplete recitation of facts.”
Rearden has set a swift deadline to resolve the Voyager issue, with the government asked to send its brief by April 7 and a response to Voyager due by April 18

U.S. Government Case Against Voyager-Binance.US Deal Has 'Substantial' Merits, Judge Says
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