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Tag: cryptocurrencies

  • China Considering Cryptocurrencies as an Investment Tool

    The Chinese government has maintained a tight grip on the cryptocurrency sphere in the country. The launch of the digital yuan is also expected to further discourage the crypto market in the country. The high risk of the cryptocurrency market had led the government to impose bans on initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency exchanges. However, the country may be re-evaluating its stance on cryptocurrencies.

    The high risk of the cryptocurrency market also translates into high rewards. Moreover, the largely untapped potential of the blockchain technology is something to be explored. This may have resulted in the Chinese government re-thinking about their harsh stance on cryptocurrencies.

    The deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, Li Bo, recently spoke on the potential of cryptocurrencies as an investment tool. The governor further stated that Bitcoin and stablecoins are encrypted assets and; hence, alternative investments. Li disregarded the role of cryptocurrencies as currencies but rather focused on the future potential as investment tools or alternative investment.

    Li has been a strong advocate of cryptocurrencies and their incorporation into the economy. However, Li also stressed on the unclear and ambiguous regulation in the market. According to Li, if cryptocurrencies are to be established as payment tools then strict regulation and supervision is required.

  • Bitcoin Crash: Did The Chinese Cause It?

    Bitcoin Crash: Did The Chinese Cause It?

    The king of cryptocurrencies soared to $64,000 but suffered a massive crash afterwards to around $53,000. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $57,000 apiece. But what caused the hard crash of the cryptocurrency in the middle of strong bullish momentum? One analyst suggests it was the Chinese!

    Chinese mining hub in Xinjiang had suffered from power outages and on-chain analyst Willy Woo speculates it to be the cause of the fall of Bitcoin’s price. In the aftermath of a flooding accident in a coal mine, blackouts in the region were rampant to facilitate safety inspections.

    Around 25% of the global hashrate can be attributed to Xinjiang and amidst the blackout one of the largest drops in Bitcoin network hash was recorded – from 172 million terahashes per second to 154 TH/s. The analyst Willy Woo has attributed the fall in Bitcoin price to the drop in the hashrate on account of power outages in Xinjiang.

     

    However, not everyone agrees with the analysis. Adam Cochran – a partner at Cinneanhaim Ventures – regarded the idea of the Bitcoin crash due to hashrate fall as nonsense. Cochran further talked about the events merely occurring at the same time while there is no causation or correlation between Bitcoin price and hashrate.

  • The IRS is After Cryptocurrency Holders With John Doe Summons

    The IRS is After Cryptocurrency Holders With John Doe Summons

    The United States Internal Revenue Service is after the cryptocurrency market and it is not going to back off anytime soon. The IRS Commissioner, Charles Rettig, had held the crypto market responsible for a gap of $1 trillion in the tax revenues. Per the commissioner the complexity and lack of transparency in the crypto market when it comes to taxpayers’ information has resulted in uncollected revenues.

    The commissioner had also stated IRS’s cybercrime unit to be actively looking into the matter. Operation Hidden Treasure has been initiated by the IRS which tracks taxpayers who omit cryptocurrency holdings from their tax returns.

    A federal court has authorized the IRS to serve John Doe summons to Circle Internet Financial Inc. and any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. The Circle is a digital currency exchanger based in Boston and the IRS plans on accessing records of Americans who have engaged in any sort of business through Circle. The John Doe Summons does not identify or list any names, neither does it alleges the Circle of wrongdoings. It is a mere tool of the IRS to identify any person or group of persons who are suspected to have been non-compliant.

    According to the commissioner of IRS, the authorization of John Doe summons has brought the IRS one step closer to its aim of tax collection. It will enable the IRS to identify tax evaders and enforce the law.

  • Woes of Australian Cryptocurrency Industry on Regulation

    Woes of Australian Cryptocurrency Industry on Regulation

    The Australian government has been supportive of the block chain technology and the cryptocurrency market. The government had been partnering with various crypto firms in order to better explore the potential of the block chain technology. Grants up to $3 million had also been made available to block chain firms working towards mineral certification and excise taxation solutions.

    The government has tried to create an environment that fosters innovation but regulating the cryptocurrency market is not an easy feat and has become a sore topic in the country. The Australia Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has appealed to the local crypto community to collaborate with regulators to help ensure the fostering environment is strengthened. However,

    At the Australia Blockchain conference, senior advisor of strategic intelligence at ASIC, Jonathan Hatch, stressed upon the need for collaboration for regulation. Hatch also pointed out towards ASIC is trying to build trust in the crypto sphere.

    However, Hatch did not receive any positive response as the industry leaders were quick to point out the ambiguities in the regulator’s crypto regulation. Kevin Saunders, CIO of Monochrome Asset Management, urged the regulator to understand the cryptocurrency market more deeply in order to provide clarity on the regulation. CEO of Lygon 1, Justin Amos, also took a hit at the ASIC stating tight regulation will only stifle growth in the industry.

  • Google Cloud Incorporating Band Protocol’s Price Oracle

    Google Cloud Incorporating Band Protocol’s Price Oracle

    Google Cloud has incorporated the price oracle technology of Band Protocol for cryptocurrency price data. Head of Business Development at Band Protocol, Kevin Lu, announced the Bank protocol’s standard dataset is now lie on Google BigQuerywhich will enable users to have access to accurate financial data.

    Lu furthered that price oracles of Band on BigQuery is one of the major collaborations of Google Cloud with decentralized block chain sphere. Google will employ machine learning algorithms to convert raw financial data extracted from the Band network through BigQuery into real-time analytics.

    Band Protocol was originally launched as an ERC-20 token in 2019. Subsequently, the Protocol shifted to the block chain of Cosmos. Band Protocol has been garnering increasing interest with the rise of the decentralized sphere. It has proven to be a strong competitor to Chainlink which is the major decentralized Oracle service provider in the market. BAND, the token of the protocol, has also been performing well – with around 300% growth year-to-date. BAND is trading hands at $20.5 apiece at the time of press, which has also been established as the all-time high.

    Oracles have a major role to play in the decentralized sphere as they provide a channel to securely transfer data between block chains and networks.

  • Turkey’s Ban on Cryptocurrency Payments

    Turkey’s Ban on Cryptocurrency Payments

    Turkey has announced a new ban which will restrict cryptocurrency holders to make payments in cryptos. Payment providers are also prohibited from adding funds to digital wallets at cryptocurrency exchanges. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has announced the ban to come in effect on April 30th.

    The ban has excluded banks which means wire transfers from bank accounts can be used to deposit Turkish Lira on cryptocurrency exchanges but that process would entail additional fees and hassle. Payment providers can no longer provide deposit or withdrawal services to cryptocurrency exchanges, per the ban. Payment providers were widely used in the country especially with the rise in cryptocurrency adoption; however, with just a two-weeks deadline, users only have until April 30th to clear out their wallets.

    The Turkish government has had been strict when it concerns the digital payment ecosystem in the country and the entrance – and increased acceptance – of cryptocurrencies has disrupted the payment ecosystem in a lot of country with regulators being clueless as to how to navigate through the crypto sphere. The harsh ban on cryptocurrencies is the government’s way of taking back control as regulations in the crypto market are cloudy.

  • Celsius Network’s Email Breach May Have Resulted In Losses of As Much As 0,000

    Celsius Network’s Email Breach May Have Resulted In Losses of As Much As $300,000

    As Celsius Network’s token, CEL, went live on the major crypto exchange OKEx, an email breach occurred and a subsequent pishing attack which targeted Cel token holders. Unfortunately, many users fell prey to the phishing attack and resulted in as much as $300,000 worth of cryptocurrencies being stolen – suggested by users on Reddit.

    The cryptocurrency asset lending platform, Celsius Network, was quick to note the email server breach after noting customers have been receiving malicious emails and text messages. The pishing email linked towards a new crypto wallet of Celsius and a giveaway of $500 for those who sign up. Those who opened the link would be asked for the seed phrase to their wallets, giving access to the funds of the users.

    Celsius Network commented that the breach was caused after an unauthorized party managed to gain access to the third-party backup email. The Network assured users that Celsius is completely safe and secure and so are users’ funds. The backend of the network is going strong and the breach did not occur due to any issues in the network.

    The Network is actively investigating the email breach to get to the bottom of it. Celsius Network has warned users to beware of any clickable sites in the meantime as the network figures out how the breach occurred.

  • OCC Fintech Charter Under Fire From House’s Democrats

    OCC Fintech Charter Under Fire From House’s Democrats

    Brian Brooks, the Acting Comptroller for the Currency from May 2020 to January 2021, had to defend the fintech banking charter in front of the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions.

    The fintech charter was introduced by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) which enabled fintech firms – including cryptocurrency firms – to provide lending and payment products without the scrutiny faced by other firms. The charter placed fintech firms out of the inspecting lens of the banking regulators – allowing crypto firms greater freedom.

    Brooks faced lash back from the Democrats as they argued the viability of the charter given the already largely unregulated status of the cryptocurrency industry. Chairwoman of House Financial Services Committee, Maxine Waters, talked about the complaints registered from banks about the greater freedom that firms under the charter have. Waters furthered bashed the OCC stating the office has stepped outside its authority.

    Brooks was quick to defend the charter stating that the charter bought fintech companies under regulation. Moreover, Brooks also described how the charter is aimed at empowering the financial technology sphere in order to provide greater value to consumers. According to Brooks, the charter enables a greater choice to consumers of lending and payment options; hence empowering consumers. Brooks further stated the charter is designed to help propel the country’s technological dynamism.

  • Not a Good Day For The Crypto Sphere: Regulators’ Bashings From All Over The World

    Bitcoin has been surging establishing new all-time highs while Coinbase NASDAQ listing has led to hopes of a further crypto boom. Cryptocurrencies are no more a thing of the future and mass acceptance is insights now. However, regulators throughout the world are taking notice of the cryptocurrency sphere as well. The largely-unregulated market of cryptocurrencies cannot continue to operate so – especially after surpassing a market capitalization of $2 trillion.

    World Economic Forum’s head of blockchain and digital assets – Sheila Warren – has issued a warning of regulations to the cryptocurrency community. Warren commented the increased activity in the sphere is bound to lead to tight regulations being imposed.

    Bank of America has issued the results of a survey conducted with 200 professional investors on their sentiments of the cryptocurrency boom. 75% of the respondents have regarded the crypto boom as a “bubble”, only a meagre 16% of the respondents did not consider it a bubble while the rest were uncertain.

    In the other corner of the world, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol had given the cryptocurrencies a bashing of his own. The governor pointed out towards the numerous shortcomings of cryptocurrencies as a mode of payment – citing their unreliability and price volatility. Ju-yeol’s sentiments are also shared by United States Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell who commented that cryptocurrencies do not have any intrinsic value and are mere instruments of speculation – making them highly unreliable.

  • Macau to amend laws for the launch of e-renminbi

    The Chinese special administrative region is taking measures in order to prepare for the roll out of the Chinese government’s digital Yuan – e-renminbi. The chief executive officer of Macau Ho Lat Seng revealed that the amendment of laws is under works to allow the issuance of the digital Yuan. A feasibility study is to be launched by the island territory in tandem with the People’s bank of China.

    Chinese regulators have not been a fan of cryptocurrencies. The digital yuan is designed to curb problems the tax evasion problem faced in the gambling industry of Macau. The digital RMB is poised to increase government scrutiny and control. Ho further stated the possibility of the digital yuan replacing Macau’s Pataca as the main currency.

    The launch of the Chinese digital yuan has raised concerns in the cryptocurrency community as it is the first regulated digital currency launched by a country as strategically important as China. The cryptocurrency market in the country can be overshadowed by the digital currency as the nearly 1.5 billion population of the country moves to adopt the digital yuan.