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Vietnam Calls for Crypto Mining Equipment Import Ban

Vietnam’s ministry of finance has made an official proposal to ban the import of cryptocurrency mining equipment. This is another step towards a total ban of cryptocurrency activity in Vietnam, which is what the government is pushing for. Any non-cash payments are illegal in Vietnam according to Decree 101 and, therefore, all cryptocurrency payments are illegal.
The ministry argues that at this point cryptocurrency mining machines are not on the list of specialized management or unsafe goods, so individuals and companies can easily import them. This makes the use of cryptocurrency mining equipment difficult for the ministry to manage.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/vietnam-calls-for-crypto-mining-equipment-import-ban/

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Valerie Szczepanik Appointed as First SEC ‘Crypto Czar’

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday appointed Valerie Szczepanik to a new position being referred to as “crypto czar”. Szczepanik’s official title is the Associate Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Senior Advisor for Digital Assets and Innovation for the division’s acting director Bill Hinman.
What crypto czar entails
The creation of this position is being interpreted as an indication of the SEC’s commitment to further regulating the cryptocurrency industry. Szczepanik’s role as a senior advisor will entail overseeing digital asset technologies, including initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrencies

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/valerie-szczepanik-appointed-as-first-sec-crypto-czar/

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Crypto Investor Apologizes for Earning $8 Million

John Lore, a lawyer who has managed over 30 cryptocurrency hedge funds, has shared his experience with an investor who approached him for his services while apologizing for turning his USD 600,000 into USD 8 million.
Embarrassed by crypto riches
The investor in question reportedly apologized for how much money he had made, even seeming embarrassed with his newfound cryptocurrency riches.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/crypto-investor-apologizes-for-earning-8-million/

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Moving to Montana Soon: Next Bitcoin Mining Haven Says Economist

An article written by Brandon Bridge, an economist, and director of forecasting at the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, has suggested that the state is ripe for Bitcoin mining to boost its economy, according to Big Sky Business Journal.
According to the Montana Business Quarterly, three companies have recently invested or are planning to invest in building data centers in the state:
“There’s a huge potential for locations and jurisdictions around the world that are favorable to the Bitcoin industry – most notably right here in Montana,” writes Bridge, in view of Montana’s relatively low energy rates, a cold climate and lots of unused warehouse space.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/economist-forecasts-montana-as-bitcoin-mining-haven/

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Cryptsy Customers vs Coinbase Case Reopened

A court case stemming from a class action lawsuit brought against Coinbase by Cryptsy customers has been reopened by Judge Marra in the US District Court of the Southern District of Florida. Cryptsy was a popular cryptocurrency exchange that closed down and went bankrupt in early 2016.
Supposedly, Cryptsy was hacked in July 2014 resulting in the loss of BTC 13,000 (Bitcoin) and LTC 300,000 (Litecoin), worth USD 7.5 million and USD 2.1 million respectively at the time of the hack. The CEO of Cryptsy, Paul Vernon, said he did not disclose information about the hack when it happened to avoid panic. He also said he wanted to try and repay losses from the hack with exchange profits.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/cryptsy-customers-vs-coinbase-case-reopened/

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McAfee’s Bid For POTUS Race Stirs Crypto Community

Hundreds of cryptocurrency enthusiasts have reacted to John McAfee’s Sunday night Twitter announcement of his intention to run for the US presidential elections in 2020. The Tweet has currently generated almost 800 comments, generally positive, and over 5,800 likes. In 2016, he was nominated for the Whitehouse race by the Libertarian party. He lost to Garry Johnson; the New Mexico governor.
In his Sunday message on Twitter, McAfee openly expressed his love for the cryptocurrencies, saying he aims at serving the crypto community if he is elected as the president of the United States.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/mcafees-bid-for-potus-race-stirs-crypto-community/

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German Banks Can Offer ATMs Exchanging Bitcoin and Ether to Euro

The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), has clarified that banks have the right to upgrade existing ATMs in the country to facilitate certain cryptocurrencies, according to Trustnodes.
The German FCA has announced that the country’s banks can take up the new option, but as yet none have responded to the opportunity to allow customers to exchange BTC or Ether for Euros using the machines.
Responding to a question by Thomas Lutze, representative of a left-wing party in Germany, BaFin stated:
“Each institute, which has permission for proprietary trading, also has the right to set up machines that allow the exchange of Bitcoin in euros and vice versa. So far it is not known that this was done.”

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/german-banks-can-offer-atms-exchanging-bitcoin-and-ether-to-euro/

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IMF Exec: Crypto Could Weaken Central Bank Power over Monetary Policy

The deputy director of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) monetary and capital markets department, Dong He, has shared his views on how global adoption of cryptocurrency could change the financial world. One of the biggest takeaways from Dong He’s analysis is that he thinks cryptocurrency could deprive central banks of their ability to carry out monetary policy.
Clearly, cryptocurrency is now on IMF’s radar based on Dong He’s analysis, and the sentiments of a pivotal player in the global financial system could bear implications on the industry.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/imf-exec-crypto-could-weaken-central-bank-power-over-monetary-policy/

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Forget Millennials, Tokyo Seniors’ Center Proves Age No Barrier to Bitcoin

A center is Japan has launched an intensive course for seniors and the middle-aged to assist them to learn and invest in cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin.com reports.
The center based in Tokyo, according to local media, is “Japan’s first virtual currency investment course for seniors”, with some of its students in their 80s.
In most countries around the world, it is millennials who are making crypto headlines. In a recent poll on cryptocurrency’s popularity reported by The Korea Times, statistics showed that 21.6% of the 2,511 participants were aware of cryptocurrencies with 29.4% and 40.3% among respondents in their 20s and 30s, respectively, but only 5.7% of those in their 60s and a tiny 2.2% of those in their 70s were actually aware of cryptocurrency.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/forget-millennials-tokyo-seniors-center-proves-age-no-barrier-to-bitcoin/

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Gavin Brennen: 100GHz Quantum Computers Aren’t a Threat to Blockchain

In May 2018, Australian physicist Gavin Brennen shared his team’s research into how quantum computing would affect blockchain. Jeffrey Tucker reported: “He began with his frustration over the headlines that swept the tech world last October and November. They were as alarmist as they were misleading.”
Scaremongering around how quantum computers will disrupt the security of blockchain technology is often exaggerated and not balanced with the possible solutions or counterplays to defend against the underdeveloped hardware.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/gavin-brennenc100ghz-quantum-computers-arent-threat-to-blockchain/

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Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Prefers Bitcoin Over All Other Currencies

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, is exuberant about Bitcoin and hopes that it will become the single global currency. He states that Bitcoin goes along with his personal ideology of mathematics, purity, and science. He likes how Bitcoin is not controlled by any individual or organization, instead it is decentralized and controlled by mathematics. He sees Bitcoin as a naturally evolving force of nature.
He said all this during an interview by CNBC on 4 June 2018 at the Money 20/20 conference in Amsterdam, an event where the financial tech, payments, and financial services industry experts came together to discuss the future of money.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/apple-co-founder-steve-wozniak-prefers-bitcoin-over-all-other-currencies/

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EU Terrorist Funding Study: Crypto No Greater Threat Than Traditional Currency, Increased Regulations Required

In a study published Monday, the EU parliamentary think tank has concluded that cryptocurrencies present no more of a threat to terrorist financing than fiat currencies, while improved regulations, industry intelligence, and community relationship building offer the strongest policy actions to combat the threat.
The report was commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs, conducted to asses the risks imposed by the rapidly changing, decentralized space of virtual currencies.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/eu-terrorist-funding-study-crypto-no-greater-threat-than-traditional-currency-increased-regulations-required/

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Russian Researchers Experimenting with Quantum-Secured Blockchain

Researchers at the Russian Quantum Center published a paper in May 2017 describing successful experimentation with a quantum-safe blockchain via integrating quantum key distribution technology.
According to the MIT Technology Review, any information encrypted with conventional cryptography will become unsecure as soon as the first powerful enough quantum computer is turned on. This event appears inevitable to some as researchers around the world are working feverishly to develop quantum computers.
The researchers at the Russian Quantum Center theorize that those with access to quantum computers will be able to generate mining rewards at an unfair rate, making conventional mining equipment like application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) obsolete. They believe that eventually, quantum computers will be able to obtain private keys from public keys using Shor’s algorithm, compromising modern-day cryptocurrencies, possibly as soon as 2027.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/russian-researchers-experimenting-with-quantum-secured-blockchain/

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Retail Complex in Slovenia for “Bitcoin City” as Ljubljana Embraces Fintech

The largest shopping area in Slovenia, coincidentally named BTC, has plans to extend its cryptocurrency profile through a fintech startup in an effort to make it become a ‘Bitcoin City’.
The complex, which stretches over a huge 475,000 square-meter space, filled with 500 stores, was visited by Prime Minister of Slovenia Miro Cesar, who recently experienced the shopping center’s existing strategy hands on. He was greeted by a cup of coffee purchased for him by state secretary Tadel Slapnik, using the Elipay cryptocurrency transaction system.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/retail-complex-in-slovenia-for-bitcoin-city-as-ljubljana-embraces-fintech/

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Indonesia Gets Green Light for Bitcoin Futures as Supervisory Board Says “Yes”

The Indonesian Futures Exchange Supervisory Board (Bappebti) is reported to have been given the green light for cryptocurrencies to be traded on the country’s futures exchange, having finally been designated as commodities, writes Coindesk.
Bappebti is an agency that was launched in 2005 to regulate certain sections of the financial services industry in Indonesia. It stands for Badan Pengawas Perdagangan Berjangka Komoditi, or the Indonesian Commodities and Futures Trading Regulatory Authority. It is the only agency with regulatory responsibility for various financial institutions. It operates under the supervision of the Indonesian ministry of finance and is managed by a board of administrators, all of whom are selected by the government from industry experts.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/indonesia-gets-green-light-for-bitcoin-futures-as-supervisory-board-says-yes/

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Wind-Powered Crypto Mining Farm Built on Baltic Sea Island

Estonian government-owned Salme wind farm operated by Eesti Elekter has set up a cryptocurrency mining farm on the island of Saaremaa in the Baltic Sea off the west coast of Estonia, demonstrating the beneficial synergy between wind power and cryptocurrency technology.
The Salme wind farm has seven turbines which produce 6 MWh of power for computers that will be mining cryptocurrency. Oleg Sonajag, board member of Eesti Elekter, believes that the company and Estonia will be more competitive if they continue pursuing synergy between future technologies like this.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/wind-powered-crypto-mining-farm-built-on-baltic-sea-island/

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Take a French Leave from Taxes, or How to Keep Your Cryptocurrency Safe from the Taxman

When cryptocurrencies go through their periodic pumps, cryptocurrency investors are placed in a position of having to stop thinking so much about how to make more profit and start worrying more about how to protect their gains from the avaricious reach of the taxman. Depending on the laws in specific localities, and on the amount of trading an investor does, tax obligations can double or more. Experts from international company Worldcore have given a lot of thought to how investors can protect their earnings from unfair taxation.
According to a recent survey conducted by Worldcore, the majority of both novice and experienced traders are already familiar with, if not actively investing in, cryptocurrencies. Fully 89% of bankcard holders are aware of what cryptocurrencies are – but they may not be as aware of the legal and taxation grey area their crypto transactions and trades are in. This is as true for experienced investors and tax professionals as it is for novices.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/take-a-french-leave-from-taxes-or-how-to-keep-your-cryptocurrency-safe-from-the-taxman/

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Australia on Trend With Its First Crypto Friendly Town, Complete With Bitcoin Billboard

The small Australian beachside town of Agnes Water in Northern Queensland has gone crypto crazy with 30 local businesses accepting Bitcoin, claiming to be the country’s first “digital currency-friendly” town, reports ABC News Australia.
The town is launching its campaign this week with a new billboard announcing their claim which proudly sports the Bitcoin icon. Crypto groups and tourists from Japan have been invited to the launch in the town of 1800 inhabitants. The project plans to attract international tourists to pay for goods in Bitcoin, which can immediately be converted into Australian dollars.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/australia-on-trend-with-its-first-crypto-friendly-town-complete-with-bitcoin-billboard/

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Sweetbit Candy Dispenser Proves Efficiency and Practicality of Using Bitcoin as a Currency

David Knezic finished building a machine called Sweetbit on 27 May 2018 which dispenses candy in exchange for Bitcoin, and it proves the practicality, efficiency, and seamlessness of using Bitcoin as a currency. In the video, David Knezic scans a QR code attached to the Sweetbit machine with a Bitcoin wallet on his mobile phone, and this instantly tells his wallet which address to send the Bitcoin to. Using QR codes is an excellent way to avoid errors when sending Bitcoin, since missing one letter or number in a Bitcoin address can result in your Bitcoin payment getting lost.

Read the full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/sweetbit-candy-dispenser-proves-efficiency-and-practicality-of-using-bitcoin-as-a-currency/

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ASIC: Resistance Is Futile! Crypto’s Battle a Losing War?

At Consensus 2018, many blockchain software developers viewed Bitmain’s recent launch of their newest Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) miners as proof of the impending future for all cryptocurrencies. ASIC hardware will soon hit the markets for previously deemed ASIC-resistant cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Monero, and Zcash.

Read full article at https://bitcoinnews.com/asic-resistance-is-futile-cryptos-battle-a-losing-war/