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Showing posts from November 17, 2021

Russia’s Prosecutor General Wants Cryptocurrency Recognized as Property Under Criminal Law

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia has proposed to define cryptocurrency as property in the country’s Criminal Code. Decentralized digital money has already been qualified as such in the provisions of several other laws although various aspects of cryptocurrencies remain unregulated. Prosecutors in Russia Draft Legislation Granting Cryptocurrency Property Status The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation has prepared a draft law to recognize cryptocurrency and other virtual assets as property . The legal definition will be used in court proceedings within the framework of the Criminal Code, Russia’s Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov explained in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. Krasnov also expressed concerns over the growing use of modern financial technologies to commit crimes which, in his view, is facilitated by existing gaps in the legal regulation of this particular field. Quoted by the Interfax news agency, he further elaborated: The stat...

Lawmakers push back on crypto provisions in Infrastructure Bill

The latest proposal from a group of House Democrats seeks to change how updates to the tax code affect crypto entities “who do not engage in brokerage services.” Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are fighting back against changes to tax reporting rules for crypto brokers and transactions over $10,000 in the newly passed Infrastructure Bill. Ten U.S. Democratic Congresspeople led by Rep. Darren Soto from Florida called for revisions to the definition of a broker in the infrastructure bill that was passed into law on Nov. 15. The group issued an open letter, signed by Soto along with Representatives Ro Khanna, Stacey E. Plaskatt, Eric Swalwell, Tim Ryan, Susan Wild, Marc Veasy, Jake Auchincloss, Al Lawson, and Charlie Crist calling for updates to section 6045(c)(1) in the tax code under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF). Experts warned that the contentious new rule could see miners, validators, and wallet developers considered as brokers for tax purposes. The ...

Famed Economist Doubts Bitcoin Will Become Global Currency

Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at financial services company Allianz, says that bitcoin is not going to be a global currency and will not replace the U.S. dollar. However, he believes the cryptocurrency will always exist in the ecosystem and will not be regulated out of existence. Bitcoin Won’t Become Global Currency Rivalling US Dollar, Says Economist El-Erian Famed economist Mohamed El-Erian talked about the future outlook for cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin, in an interview with CNBC Monday. El-Erian is the chief economic advisor at Allianz, the corporate parent of PIMCO, one of the largest investment managers, where he was CEO and co-chief investment officer. The Egyptian-American businessman is also president of Queens College, Cambridge University. While El-Erian believes that bitcoin is a “very disruptive force,” he does not think it will ever become a “global currency” that rivals the U.S. dollar. He said: I think it will always exist in the ecosystem bu...

VR Metaverse comes closer to reality as Meta previews haptic gloves

Meta says the VR gloves rely on haptic rendering to send “precise instructions to the actuators on the hand,” and outlined a vision where people’s sensations match what they are doing in the Metaverse. Meta — the company formerly known as Facebook — is diving straight into virtual reality with a preview of its latest research and development on haptic gloves which give sensory feedback while in digital realms. Facebook rebranded to Meta in late October to shift its focus from social media to Metaverse and VR tech development. In a Nov. 16 blog post, Meta shared the latest breakthroughs in haptic glove research from its VR tech firm Reality Labs, noting that the product has been seven years in the making. The firm shared a video that shows two people testing the haptic gloves in a demo Metaverse, as they clench their fists, pick up blocks, throw objects, shake hands, knock over dominoes, and play Jenga together. Haptic glove preview: Meta Meta says the gloves rely on haptic r...

Games Coins, Defi Tokens, Metaverse Assets Rise Above Market Downturn With Double-Digit Gains

While digital currencies like bitcoin and ethereum lost roughly 10% in value during the last seven days, the decentralized finance (defi) economy has weathered the storm better than the top two leading crypto assets. A slew of blockchain games coins, defi tokens, and metaverse assets like gala, crypto.com coin, wax, kadena, wonderland, and avalanche have seen double-digit gains during the last 24 hours. TVL in Defi Weathers the Crypto Economy Storm While bitcoin ( BTC ) has hovered just above the $60K zone in consolidation, the defi economy and a number of other crypto assets have seen decent gains. Statistics from defillama.com show that on November 9, the total value locked (TVL) in defi protocols tapped $275 billion and today it’s only 6.54% lower at $257 billion. The defi protocol Curve commands 8% dominance amid the $257 billion with $20.63 billion TVL. Curve’s TVL is followed by Makerdao ($18.16B), Aave ($15.59B), Convex Finance ($15.34B), and WBTC ($14.66B), respectively. Th...

Federal Reserve Governor Argues Against Subjecting Stablecoins to Full Banking Regulation

Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller says that stablecoins do not need to be regulated with all the same rules as banks. He disagrees with some of the recommendations on stablecoin regulation by the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets. He explained that while banks should be able to issue stablecoins, not all stablecoin issuers need to be banks. Fed’s Waller Disagrees That Stablecoins Need to Be Regulated With Full Banking Regulation Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller talked about stablecoin regulation Wednesday during a virtual conference organized by the Cleveland Fed. While emphasizing that “The regulatory and supervisory framework for payment stablecoins should address the specific risks that these arrangements pose — directly, fully, and narrowly,” he noted: It does not necessarily mean imposing the full banking rulebook, which is geared in part toward lending activities, not payments. Waller said that he disagrees with some of the re...

Was the first reply to the Bitcoin White Paper Satoshi himself? In-depth theory

Gerald Votta from Quantum Economics has a new theory on the true identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto: the author of the first reply to the White Paper itself. Ever since Satoshi Natamoto, the anonymous inventor of Bitcoin, disappeared in 2011 there has been no shortage of theories about his identity. Hal Finney, Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, Nick Szabo and Craig Wright have all be cited as possible contenders (even if CSW is the main person pushing that last theory.) Now, after months of research Quantum Economics ’ Director of Gamefi Research Gerald Votta thinks that he has found the answer to Satoshi’s true identity — Canadian cryptographer James A. Donald. In a new research article piece on Nov. 17 Votta outlined intriguing circumstantial evidence he believes proves the link. Donald was the very first person to comment on the Bitcoin White Paper in 2008 , which piqued Votta’s interest. Votta wrote that the “almost instantaneous” timing was “very suspicious,” and led him t...

Opulous (OPUL) rallies 785% as fans dig the sound of NFTs in the music industry

OPUL price climbs the crypto charts after the successful launch of its first security-NFT sale and its wide-ranging cross-chain capabilities that aim to usher tokenization into the music industry. There is potential for the use cases of nonfungible token (NFT) technology to expand far beyond the simple tracking of unique images with varying degrees of rareness and analysts project that one NFTs will touch every facet of our lives. Already, developers, artists and corporations are considering the tokenization of all assets and some have already experimented with NFT-based concert tickets and sports passes. One NFT project that has been gaining traction since September is Opulous (OPUL), a protocol focused on the tokenization of the music industry. The project claims to be angled toward empowering artists to the extent that music rights can be utilized as value-backed assets in decentralized finance (DeFi). Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since h...

Blockchain Industry to Surpass $67 Billion by 2027: Fintech Report Names 2021’s Most Influential Blockchain Companies

Financial technology (fintech) has exploded during the last two years and cryptocurrency and blockchain firms have bolstered the billion-dollar industry. A recently published study by Utility Bidder indicates that the industry is predicted to surpass $382 billion by 2027. Moreover, fintech firms that are blockchain-specific are projected to be worth over $67.4 billion by 2027. The recent study also highlights that Kraken is the most influential blockchain company of 2021. Kraken Named 2021’s Most Influential Blockchain Company Numerous research studies have shown the fintech universe continues to grow exponentially and digital currency and blockchain solutions are a big part of this trend. This week, researchers at Utility Bidder analyzed 50 fintech firms that were selected in Forbes’ 2021 Fintech 50 report. Utility Bidder’s study broke the selected firms down into four factors, with a normalized score out of ten for each factor. Factors included total funds raised, the latest kn...

Moledao Launches Pioneering Web 3.0 Hackathon on the Metaverse

PRESS RELEASE. Moledao, a social platform for blockchain enthusiasts, announced today its upcoming Web 3.0 Hackathon. This pioneering global hackathon will be held in the metaverse, and take place from 15th November 2021 to 9th January 2022. Web 3.0 is the vision for the next internet generation that is decentralized, verifiable and secure. Participants are invited to work on real-life solutions related to the main hackathon theme of Web 3.0 with the three recommended tracks: Multi-chain Decentralized Applications (dApps) – create cross-chain interoperability solutions Metaverse – create a purpose-built metaverse or build on top of existing metaverses Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) – build and govern truly community-owned DAO initiatives Participants will have the opportunity to obtain VC institutional investment, industry mentorship and win a total of $100K in grants and prizes. Moledao, a global blockchain ecosystem builder, wants to bring the best develope...

US is not moving fast enough to develop a CBDC, says former CFTC chair

“We should act now to improve access to financial services through other means as well — the need is too great," said Tim Massad. Tim Massad, who served as chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission until 2017, said the United States is too slow in developing a plan to modernize its payment systems. In a Wednesday hearing of the Joint Economic Committee on the role of digital assets in government, Massad said a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, could be one solution for the United States to improve its existing payments systems, which he referred to as “slow” and “expensive.” In addition, the former CFTC chair said while stablecoins could be used for this purpose, they also presented some of the most urgent challenges for U.S. regulators, posing significant risks. Massad said that people using stablecoins like Tether ( USDT ) to move funds between exchanges was a good example of why the U.S. payment system needs to be modernized. However, he added the stablecoin...

Here’s why bears hope to pin Bitcoin under $60K ahead of Friday’s $1.1B options expiry

Last week, bulls had a $715 million advantage when Bitcoin price was above $68,000, but the current downturn gives bears a chance to turn the tables. Bitcoin ( BTC ) bulls were euphoric when the price soared to $69,000 on Nov. 10 because the 14.5% gain accumulated over five days meant they were in for a $715 million profit on Nov. 12's options expiry. However, the 9% negative price move on Nov. 16 caught bulls by surprise, especially since most of the call (buy) options for Nov. 19 have been placed at $66,000 or higher. Curiously, that price level has been the exception rather than the norm. Bitcoin/USD price on FTX. Source: TradingView Bears might have been lucky because the two negative events happened in the past few days. On Nov. 12, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission denied VanEck’s spot Bitcoin ETF request. But more important than the rejection, itself, which was largely expected, was the rationale behind the decision. The SEC explicitly mentioned t...

China Targets Crypto Mining at State-Owned Enterprises, Threatens Punitive Measures

Authorities in China are continuing to crack down on activities linked to cryptocurrencies which they consider illegal. The country’s top economic planning body has clearly indicated it intends to go after large-scale cryptocurrency mining taking place at government-operated industrial facilities. State Firms Mining Crypto in China to Face Higher Electricity Bills China’s National Development and Reform Commission ( NDRC ) announced Tuesday it plans to concentrate on the “comprehensive rectification” of state-run industrial enterprises involved in the extraction of digital currencies. The initiative is part of an ongoing crackdown on crypto-related operations that are banned in the People’s Republic. The economic planner cited concerns over energy waste associated with crypto mining as well as financial activities linked to cryptocurrencies, reiterating these are deemed illegal in China. Virtual currency does not have the same status as legal currency, the commission emphasized, q...

Fidelity clears regulatory hurdle to become Canada’s first institutional Bitcoin custodian

The service would only be available to institutional investors for now, but Fidelity is also launching Bitcoin ETFs to cater to retail interest. As reported by The Globe and Mail, Fidelity Clearing Canada received approval from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada on Wednesday to launch a Bitcoin ( BTC ) trading and custody platform. It is designed for use by institutional investors — such as pension funds, portfolio managers and mutual funds — and would be a first-of-a-kind service in the country. The firm also plans to cater to retail investors with its regulatory filing for a Bitcoin exchange-traded funded and mutual fund, which was submitted earlier this week. As of September, Fidelity has over $4.2 trillion in assets under management around the world. In addition, exchange-traded cryptocurrency products are rapidly gaining traction, with more than 40 such instruments awaiting approval in the United States alone. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, ...

Xbox head Phil Spencer is skeptical about NFTs in video games

The worlds of gaming and NFTs continue to blend, but Microsoft's gaming head is weary that NFTs are “more exploitative than about entertainment." Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s head of gaming, commented on his skepticism towards nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, in an interview with Axios: “What I'd say today on NFT, all up, is I think there's a lot of speculation and experimentation that's happening, and that some of the creative that I see today feels more exploitive than about entertainment." As head executive of Microsoft's Xbox division, Spencer’s words carry weight. Xbox is the game console operating system with the second-largest global market share behind only PlayStation. This gives Xbox a lot of power over the acceptance or rejection of NFT projects into the gaming ecosystem. What console wars? PlayStation has diverted from the pack to lead in global market share. Source: Statcounter Spencer added that he is not completely against all NFTs, clari...

Price analysis 11/17: BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL, ADA, XRP, DOT, DOGE, SHIB, AVAX

Bitcoin and most major altcoins are attempting to hold above their immediate resistance levels, a sign that bulls could be buying on each dip. Bitcoin ( BTC ) and Ether ( ETH ) are testing psychologically important support levels at $60,000 and $4,000 respectively. Both these levels are critical to keep the uptrend intact in the short term. While the fall may scare off leveraged traders, Bitcoin whales seem to be viewing this dip as a buying opportunity. On-chain data shows that the third-largest Bitcoin whale added 207 Bitcoin to the holdings at an average price of about $62,053 per Bitcoin. After the latest purchase, the whale’s holding has increased by 635 Bitcoin in November, according to journalist Colin Wu. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 However, it is not all bullish news for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The U.S. dollar has risen to a sixteen-month high on expectations that soaring inflation may force the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise rates ...

India to reduce GST paid on cryptocurrency exchanges from 18% to 1% through regulatory reclassification

Despite the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies in India, lawmakers remain deeply divided on implementing a proper regulatory framework. According to a report from CNBC TV18 India, the nation's government plans to reclassify cryptocurrency exchanges as e-commerce platforms, which will reduce the Goods and Services Taxes (GST) users must pay per transaction, or per trade, to 1%. Currently, the Indian Government levies an 18% GST on transactions conducted on registered cryptocurrency exchanges, which is passed to users as trading fees. The process is similar to the tax protocol of stock brokerages in the country. However, depending on the legal domicile of the exchange, the new GST proposal could actually result in more tax liabilities for certain users. Back in July, Business Insider India reported that the government may ask foreign cryptocurrency exchanges to charge the same 18% GST as domestic equivalents to their clients when conducting business with Indian nationals. ...

Angelenos push back on new Crypto.com arena: 'It will always be the Staples Center'

"We are always gonna call it Staples Center no matter what lil name you slap on the building," said writer and professor Roxane Gay, who owns a home in Los Angeles. Residents of Los Angeles, sports fans and social media personalities are making light of Crypto.com’s plans to rename the city’s Staples Center for its own marketing purposes. The Staples Center, a multi-purpose arena that has been home to the Los Angeles Clippers, Lakers and other major sports franchises for years, is scheduled to be renamed as the Crypto.com Arena starting on Dec. 25. This follows a $700 million agreement wherein the platform holds the naming rights for 20 years. However, since its opening in 1999, the venue has always been called the Staples Center, and fans don’t seem to want Crypto.com or observers to forget this fact when the handover o. “It will always be known as the Staples Center, no matter how many hundreds of millions of dollars Crypto.com paid for the naming rights,” said USA T...

Polychain Capital leads Anoma Network’s $26M raise

Venture capital has allocated over $17 billion to crypto projects this year. Anoma’s bartering system offers a fresh take on blockchain development. Private bartering blockchain Anoma Network has raised $26 million (24 million Swiss francs) from some of crypto’s biggest venture funds as it seeks to reimagine the age-old practice of exchanging goods without using money. Anoma Network will use the proceeds to advance its proof-of-stake blockchain, which has been designed to facilitate private transactions using “asset-agnostic bartering.” Bartering refers to the exchange of goods and services for other goods and services without money as the intermediary. In the case of Anoma, traders have the ability to convert assets without the need for a base currency. (In traditional exchange markets, the base currency is the first currency in a currency pair and denotes how many of the quote currency, or second currency, is needed to buy one unit.) The investment round was led by Polychai...

12-Month Mega Gains — A Dozen Crypto Assets Gained More Than 7,000% Since Last Year

The crypto asset bitcoin has seen a phenomenal year gaining 261.5% over the last 12 months and the second leading crypto asset, ethereum, rose by 819.9% since mid-November 2020. However, a slew of digital currencies saw much larger gains during the last 12 months and a dozen crypto assets have gained anywhere between 7,000% to a whopping 27,000% in value. 12 Crypto Assets That Spiked 7,000% to Over 27,000% in Value Since Mid-November 2020 On Wednesday, November 17, 2021, the crypto economy with its 10,870 coins and 523 exchanges, is worth over $2.7 trillion. Meanwhile, during the last year, bitcoin ( BTC ) spiked more than 261% and its $1.1 trillion market valuation represents 41.3% of the crypto economy. Ethereum ( ETH ), on the other hand, is the second-largest market capitalization with just over $500 billion in value or 18.2% of the $2.7 trillion. ETH has risen 819% during the last 12 months, but 12 different crypto assets outpaced both BTC and ETH ’s 12-month gains combined....