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Showing posts from May 7, 2021

MLB Team Washington Nationals Partners With Terra Blockchain Community, Ballpark Plans to Accept UST

On February 9, the American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C., the Washington Nationals, announced the team has partnered with Terra, the open-source blockchain platform and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The Washington Nationals detail that the team is a “leading innovator” and is “consistently introducing new technologies to enhance the fan experience.” Washington Nationals Ink Long-Term Deal With Terra Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Washington Nationals has partnered with the blockchain platform and DAO Terra, according to an announcement published by the team on Wednesday. The deal with Terra follows a slew of sports-related deals with crypto firms, but the MLB team will be the first to partner with an open-source blockchain project. In addition to the partnership, the algorithmic stablecoin UST that’s issued on the Terra blockchain will be “accepted as a payment method at Nationals Park as early as next season.” “The Nationals continue t...

South Korea to Impose a 20% Tax on Crypto Mining Activities

The cryptocurrency industry in South Korea keeps facing regulatory challenges, and it seems that dust is far from settling. Now, crypto miners will be required to pay taxes, following the same path as digital assets traders. Ruling to Take Place Starting 2022 According to a report published by Donga, miners should be accountable for paying taxes by deducting the amount from their earnings. Expressly, officials from the South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance are set to apply a new rule for those who earn tokens over $2,220 annually by imposing a 20% tax rate. However, regulators clarified that crypto miners would be able to deduct their electricity from the taxable income total in the filings, as those are considered as “necessary expenses.” An official from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance cited by Donga commented on the matter: You have to prove how much you have mined the virtual currency by putting your computer in a specific place and how much the electricity bil...

Real Estate Listings Accepting BTC Touch Record Highs, 14.3 Homes per 100,000 Accept Crypto

Bitcoin and the crypto economy have been making their way into the world of real estate these days. A recently published report shows that Realtor.com data indicates that people selling property for crypto assets have risen a great deal. Statistics show that there are 14.3 crypto accepting listings per 100,000 homes in the company database. Real Estate Listings Are Seeing More Bitcoin Acceptance for Homes and Properties According to a report from Yahoo Money, the housing market and bitcoin are starting to “collide.” The report talks with real estate agent Whitney Pannell who listed a renovated home for $300,000 and wrote in the listing: “Sellers are accepting Bitcoin for this home.” Pannell says that she is a “firm believer in bitcoin” and told Yahoo Money contributor Janna Herron that she believes “it will be the future.” Bonnie Heatzig, a South Florida MLS realtor, has also seen an increased amount of real estate listings for crypto in the Sunshine State. “It’s certainly indica...

NFT Weekly Roundup: Earning Through NFTs, Legendary Muhammad Ali Collectibles, NFT Display in Times Square, and More

The NFT ecosystem is in full bloom, with several renowned names entering the playing field. As more and more artists and creators join the cash-strapped world of NFTs, we’ve got you covered with the latest announcements and launches of the week that are taking the world by storm. Hashmasks Introduce a Passive Opportunity to Earn Two of the biggest creative platforms, Terra Virtua and Hashmasks , recently collaborated to launch a unique set of NFTs called the Vflect Hashmasks. Setting a new benchmark in the NFT industry, Terra Virtua and Hashmasks have joined hands to implement a “rolling royalty” framework where Hashmasks NFT owners will be entitled to royalties and proceeds from the forthcoming Vflect Hashmasks Collection sale. Hashmasks owners need to apply to license their Hashmask to be eligible to earn royalties. With over 16,000 unique Hashmasks and hundreds of special features of each Vflect collectible, this collaboration can generate millions of possible combinations. ...

Crypto Payment Firm Simplex Acquired by Publicly-Listed Canadian Firm Nuvei for $250 Million

The publicly-listed Canadian firm Nuvei Corporation announced the acquisition of the cryptocurrency company SimplexCC Ltd in an all-cash deal for $250 million. The deal is pending regulatory approval and Nuvei expects Simplex to “enhance” the firm’s portfolio of alternative payment method solutions. Nuvei Acquires Crypto Payments Provider Simplex On May 6, the Canadian company Nuvei (TSX: NVEI), a global payment technology firm, revealed the acquisition of the crypto asset payment operation Simplex. The digital currency startup offers fiat to the crypto on and off-ramps alongside the ability to provide Visa cards to crypto consumers. The company notes that it “processed approximately $500 million of total volume” last year and estimates it will process $2 billion this year. “We expect Simplex to enhance and expand Nuvei’s steadily growing portfolio of alternative payment methods, adding turnkey simplicity to the process of buying and selling cryptocurrency and converting it back to...

Bank of England governor issues crypto investment warning

England’s central bank warns crypto investors to be wary of the risks associated with buying cryptocurrencies. Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England has warned crypto investors of the dangers of participating in the market. Speaking during a conference on Thursday, Bailey balked at the notion of “cryptocurrencies,” stating that "crypto assets" was a more suitable nomenclature for describing virtual currencies. The BoE governor espoused well-worn anti-crypto rhetoric, specifically the argument that cryptocurrencies lacked intrinsic value. “I would only emphasise what I've said quite a few times in recent years [and] I'm afraid they have no intrinsic value,” Bailey added. Delivering his stark warning to crypto investors, Bailey said: “I'm sorry, I'm going to say this very bluntly again: buy them only if you're prepared to lose all your money.” The BoE governor’s remarks bear a close resemblance to statements issued by the United Kingdom’s Fi...

Elon Musk scales back Dogecoin hype while DOGE price rebounds 23%

Musk appeared to cool the hype on Dogecoin while suggesting the meme coin's fate was now in the hands of the gods. Hours ahead of Elon Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, the Tesla CEO appeared intent on cooling the flurry of hype he’d created around the meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin ( DOGE ). Months of light-hearted build-up lead to a sobering punchline on Thursday, as Musk reminded TMZ viewers that cryptocurrency investments remained speculative. Responding to whether he thought Dogecoin was made less valuable by the fact of its inflationary supply, Musk conceded that this was the case, adding: “I think people should not invest their life savings in cryptocurrency, to be clear. I think that’s unwise.” Musk said he thought there was a chance that cryptocurrency could become the primary currency used on earth, but knowing which one it would be remained guess work. “There’s a good chance that crypto is the future currency of earth… and then it’s like: which one is it gon...

Wallstreetbets Forum Members Targeted by a Crypto Scam That Reportedly Left Over $2M in Losses

The famous Wallstreetbets (WSB) Reddit forum has made headlines again in the cryptocurrency community, but this time around, it’s not because of ban-related topics or endorsements on a digital asset. Some WSB members reportedly fell into a crypto scam which has left people with millions of dollars in losses. Fraudsters Promoted a Fake Coin Named ‘WSB Finance’ According to BNN Bloomberg , a bogus Telegram account named “WallStreetBets – Crypto Pumps” has been offering a fake token called “WSB Finance” that was designed by the WSB team, which is not true. In fact, fraudsters claimed that users could have the chance to acquire the coin before it gets listed on exchanges. To make the acquisition possible, victims sent binance coin ( BNB ) or ethereum ( ETH ) to a wallet. Afterward, they should contact right away to a “token bot” to get their WSB Finance virtual currencies. However, things started to get shady when people received messages notifying them about a “problem with the bot.”...

'Unprecedented' capital inflows into Bitcoin remove 12K BTC from Coinbase in an hour

Investors mean business as current prices remain more than attractive to new buyers. Another day, another spike in Bitcoin ( BTC ) leaving major exchange Coinbase as funds pour into the largest cryptocurrency. Data from on-chain monitoring resource Glassnode showed 12,354 BTC ($694 million) being withdrawn from the Coinbase order book in a single hour on May 7. Coinbase sees another BTC balance squeeze As the largest exchange in the United States, Coinbase has frequently been the venue for major Bitcoin buy-ins this year. As Cointelegraph reported , sudden tranches in excess of 10,000 BTC heading to private wallets is far from unheard of, but nonetheless demonstrates a desire to at least store Bitcoin for the long term instead of keeping it within easy reach of a point of sale. Coinbase Pro Bitcoin balance chart. Source: Bybt For analyst Lex Moskovski, the type of investor behind such transactions remains uncertain — it could be a private individual or small group, as well a...

Turkish government to track crypto transactions over $1,200

Turkey's Minister of Treasury and Finance sheds light on regulatory actions following an alleged $150 million crypto exchange scam. Crypto exchanges with a presence in Turkey must now inform the Financial Crimes Investigation Board, or MASAK, about any crypto transactions over 10,000 Turkish liras ($1,200).  Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance Lütfi Elvan announced the new policy on a CNN Turk live broadcast last night.  Two weeks after a $150 million fraud involving a major crypto exchange in Turkey, Elvan shared updates on the government’s draft crypto regulation on live TV. Turkey’s central bank has defined crypto as a nonmonetary asset and banned the use of cryptocurrency as a form of payment .  Elvan noted that the second step was to grant MASAK, Turkey’s Financial Action Task Force cooperative, the authority to audit and oversee crypto exchanges. According to Elvan, MASAK has prepared a guideline for crypto exchanges that includes the rules and penaltie...

Tajik government taps blockchain firm for e-government infrastructure

A new public-private partnership between the Fantom Foundation and the Tajik Ministry of Industry of New Technologies will see the two roll out a range of blockchain-based solutions across nationwide IT infrastructure. President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon is pursuing an ambitious integration of blockchain technology into his government's ongoing modernization drive.  According to an  announcement from smart contract platform Fantom, a new public-private partnership between the Fantom Foundation and the Tajik Ministry of Industry of New Technologies will see the two roll out a range of blockchain-based solutions across nationwide IT infrastructure. The scope of the partnership is to research, develop and implement various blockchain-enabled data-sharing, transparency and automation solutions. As a first step, the partners will establish an R&D hub to train local developers in building blockchain-based systems. In parallel, Fantom will thoroughly review existing...

Three reasons why EOS price has pumped 100% in three days

EOS is the latest large-cap altcoin to experience a massive price surge in the last few days as alt season gains momentum. The EOS price is in double-digits for the first time since mid-2018 after a parabolic advance that began back in March. According to data from Coingecko, the 20th-ranked crypto by market capitalization is currently sitting above $11.50, delivering close to 100% gains over the last three days. First, the current EOS upward advance is occurring at the intersection of two unique price trends. On the one hand, the EOS/Tether (USDT) trading pair is at the top of the range for 2021 while the token price against Bitcoin ( BTC ) fell to its lowest level in three years back in early March. Source: TradingView As of the time of writing, the EOS/BTC price action chart has broken an almost three-year downtrend signaling the possibility for significant upward movement. Secondly, with Bitcoin dominance continuing to slide amid massive altcoin gains, the market cycle ap...

Electronic Transactions Association Proposes 7 Guiding Principles for a Digital Dollar

The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) has put forward a set of guiding principles to be considered in the creation of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC), also referred to as digital dollar. The organization, which unites hundreds of companies in the payments industry, confirms its commitment to ensuring access to financial services for all Americans. Payments Industry Association ETA Issues Guiding Principles for CBDC ETA is the world’s leading trade association representing the interests of companies involved in providing products and services pertaining to electronic transaction processing. Among its more than 500 members are Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Bank of America, Google, Apple, and many other established players in the sector. In a document put out by its official publication, Transaction Trends, ETA lists “ 7 Guiding Principles ,” against which any CBDC should be measured. The trade association is convinced that the U.S. government should carefully conside...

Citigroup considers crypto amid surge in customer demand on Wall Street

Trading, financing and custody services are being pursued by the investment bank. Citigroup is reportedly considering offering crypto-related services to its customers in response to rising demand, specifically from asset managers and hedge funds. The financial services firm’s global head of foreign exchange, Itay Tuchman, told the Financial Times on Friday that the investment bank was already exploring the possibility of providing crypto services to its clients. Trading, financing and custody services are being discussed, but Tuchman said the firm would not be rushed into launching something that would worry regulators. “We shouldn’t do anything that’s not safe and sound. We will jump in when we are confident that we can build something that benefits clients and that regulators can support,” he said. Tuchman said the bank witnessed an increase in the number of clients inquiring about Bitcoin ( BTC ) starting in August 2020. At the time the coin price had just climbed 33% in the...

Ethereum Classic gains 300% in one week as traders rush to buy the 'wrong Ethereum'

The "original" Ethereum, despite its security issues, beats ETH as it ascends to USD levels never seen before. The “original” yet ironically "wrong" Ethereum and Telcoin ( TEL ) are leading a fresh altcoin surge this week. Bitcoin ( BTC ) fans are already calling time on the fun. Ethereum Classic ( ETC ), the pet favorite of Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert, is up 300% in a week. ETC hits $180: Bull market or "casino market"? In the latest incarnation of the 2021 “alt season,” altcoins are passing the torch between each other as investors chase optimal gains. This year has also seen a curious shift in market focus from a token’s use case to the culture around it. This was epitomized with Dogecoin ( DOGE ), the high flyer of 2021, which has gained over 7,000% since January. Memes and other social triggers likewise seem to be driving progress in this week’s round of breakouts, with ETC exploding in value without any noticeable changes. TE...

Fintechs Invited to Work on Georgia’s Central Bank Digital Currency

National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has issued a call for companies in the fintech sector, financial institutions and technology firms to support its efforts to create a digital currency. Georgia’s central bank wants to employ new technologies to raise the efficiency of the country’s payment system and promote financial inclusion. Georgia’s Central Bank Mulling Digital GEL NBG is now inviting companies from innovative industries as well as interested financial institutions to join a public-private partnership tasked to facilitate the adoption of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The bank is considering launching the digital version of the national fiat, Georgian lari (GEL), as a publicly available coin that will have legal tender status. The digital GEL can be used to settle payments or as a store of value, the National Bank of Georgia explained in an announcement published on its website. But what its management really hopes to achieve with the currency is to “unlock the tremendo...