Cryptocurrency & Blockchain News and Discussions

weatheriscool
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Post by weatheriscool »

El Salvador becomes first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender after passing law
Published Tue, Jun 8 202111:45 PM EDTUpdated 12 Min Ago
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/09/el-salv ... ender.html

El Salvador’s has become the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.
Lawmakers in the Central American country’s Congress voted by a “supermajority” in favor of the Bitcoin Law.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
El Salvador has become the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.

Lawmakers in the Central American country’s Congress voted by a “supermajority” in favor of the Bitcoin Law, receiving 62 out of 84 of the legislature’s vote.

The price of bitcoin was up 5% to $34,239.17 shortly after the vote.
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Bitcoin crackdown sends graphics cards prices plummeting in China after Sichuan terminated mining operations

21 Jun, 2021

China’s ongoing bitcoin mining crackdown has sent the price of graphics cards plummeting, making the critical component in mining operations much more affordable in the country but leaving miners with fewer places to set up shop.

The Nvidia Quadro P1000 model, an entry-level graphics card, was going for 2,429 yuan (US$376) on a JD.com franchise store on Monday morning, down from a peak of nearly 3,000 yuan in early May, before the State Council’s financial watchdog vowed to crack down on bitcoin mining.

The Asus RTX3060, a more advanced card, was down to 4,699 yuan on Monday from its peak of 13,499 yuan in May on Tmall.

https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/articl ... hina-after
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Ken_J
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Post by Ken_J »

The US may get a central bank Crypto currency soon.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/20/the-fed ... rency.html
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raklian
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Post by raklian »

Ken_J wrote: Sat Jun 26, 2021 3:05 am The US may get a central bank Crypto currency soon.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/20/the-fed ... rency.html
One of the steps towards a completely cashless society. There is a possibility that fiat currency will be replaced with something like a stable cryptocurrency backed by central banks.
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caltrek
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Washington Wakes up to Crypto Influence Amid Infrastructure Fight
by Victoria Guida
August 9, 2021

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/0 ... ght-502792

Introduction:
(Politico) An intense infrastructure bill brawl between Bitcoin advocates, Congress and the White House has revealed a new power player in Washington that’s starting to find its footing: the cryptocurrency lobby.

The industry was first caught off guard when lawmakers and the Biden administration targeted it with new tax rules tucked into the bipartisan Senate infrastructure bill announced last month. But it fought back with a vengeance, showing that startup digital trading platforms and other firms could rally a small army of recently requisitioned trade associations, lobbyists and public relations experts to put up a real defense. Still, they failed to secure changes as of Sunday night.

The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden of Oregon, took on the White House to shield virtual currency players, as did the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

Unlike Wall Street banks, the industry was able to direct thousands of crypto enthusiasts on social media to join the battle by providing a real-time play-by-play of Senate negotiations. Jack Dorsey, the top executive of financial payments company Square, called on his 5.6 million Twitter followers to fight bill language that he called “unworkable.” Even Kiss bassist Gene Simmons was involved, announcing in a tweet that he supported an amendment to protect the industry.

“This has definitely been a wake-up call to crypto,” said Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association, an industry lobbying group. “But on the flip side, I think Washington is starting to see that crypto is more of a force than anybody ever anticipated.”
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erowind
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That article is grossly misrepresentative. The crypto lobby pushed back because the new law would have effectively banned most cryptocurrency in the United States as it was and still partially is trying to classify anyone who interacts with most blockchains as a “broker.”

This would require every American using any cryptocurrency that isn’t Bitcoin and a few select others to provide a 1099 form for every person they transact with. The problem is that this is impossible. If you use a decentralized finance platform you can’t do that because you don’t know who you’re transacting with. The whole point is that it’s decentralized and private and each transaction can go through dozens of different addresses touching multiple liquidity pools.

It’s not about taxes either. Everyone involved in crypto already has to pay income and or capital gains tax on it just like every other industry.
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caltrek
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Regulating Crypto is Essential to Ensuring its Global Legitimacy
by Henrik and William Noffke
August 16, 2021

https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/16/regul ... egitimacy/

Extract:
(TechCrunch) The past decade has seen several structural changes in know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations in Europe and globally. High-profile money laundering cases and the penetration of illicit funds into global markets have caught the attention of regulators and the public, and rightfully so.

To address the challenges of the fast-evolving blockchain ecosystem, the European Union has begun to introduce more stringent financial regulations that further bolster the regulatory system in order to improve licensing models. Many member states now regulate crypto assets individually, and Germany is leading the way in being the first to regulate cryptocurrencies.

…At the heart of the issue is the fundamental misunderstanding that blockchain transactions are anonymous or untraceable. Blockchain transactions are pseudo-anonymous and, in most circumstances, can offer more traceability and transparency than traditional banking. Illegal activity conducted on the blockchain will always be far more traceable than cash transactions, for example.

….Activity can already be monitored through a collective database of users known to abide by international standards. This knowledge of approved users and vendors allows the industry to spot misconduct or malfeasance far sooner than usual, singling out and restricting illegitimate users.

By means of a well-thought-through tweaking of the suggested regulations, a verified network can collectively be built to ensure trust and properly leverage blockchain’s potential, while barring those bad actors intent on corrupting or manipulating the system. That would be a huge step forward in prosecuting international financial crimes and ensuring crypto’s legitimacy globally.
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El Salvador becomes first country to adopt Bitcoin as an official currency

Sep 7, 2021, 4:58am EDT

As of today, Bitcoin is an official currency of El Salvador alongside the US dollar, after the Central American country became the first to adopt the cryptocurrency as legal tender. At three minutes to midnight local time, the country’s populist president Nayid Bukele tweeted that the country was about to “make history” with the move, after previously confirming that it had purchased 400 Bitcoins, the equivalent of around $20.9 million at today’s prices.

Supporters argue the move will make it cheaper and easier for migrants to send money home to El Salvador, which is important given such remittances account for over 24 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to figures from the World Bank reported by CNBC. There are also hopes the move could improve citizens’ access to financial services. The CEO of Strike, a digital finance company that helped with the logistics of the new law, told CNN that over 70 percent of the country’s “active population” do not currently have a bank account.

But there are fears that the adoption of such a historically volatile currency could harm Salvadorans, and risk economic stability. Bitcoin hit a historic high of over $60,000 in April, before losing nearly half its value in a crash later in the summer. The law has contributed to rating agency Moody’s decision to downgrade El Salvador’s debt rating, according to The Financial Times, and the IMF has also warned about its potentially destabilizing effects.

The law means citizens will be able to pay taxes in Bitcoin, and shops will be able to display prices in the digital currency. Money exchanged into the currency will also not be subject to capital gains tax. CNBC notes that the move makes El Salvador the first country to officially have Bitcoin on its balance sheet and to hold it as part of its reserves.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/7/22660 ... ivo-wallet


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caltrek
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Treasury Sanctions Cryptocurrency Exchange to Fight Ransomware Attacks
by Makena Kelly
September 21, 2021

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/21/2268 ... l-pipeline

Introduction:
(The Verge) The Treasury Department issued its first sanctions against a cryptocurrency exchange on Tuesday as part of a series of actions targeting the use of digital currencies in ransomware attacks.

Tuesday’s sanctions will block all trades involving the cryptocurrency exchange Suex and US entities. According to the Treasury Department, around 40 percent of all Suex transactions involve illegal activities. The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is also issuing a new advisory warning that it may issue new sanctions against cryptocurrency exchanges, cyber insurance companies, and other financial institutions that facilitate ransomware payments.

“Ransomware and cyber-attacks are victimizing businesses large and small across America and are a direct threat to our economy,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement on Tuesday. “We will continue to crack down on malicious actors.”
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Nanotechandmorefuture
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Cryptocurrency

Post by Nanotechandmorefuture »

I'm not sure if this is the right topic area so my apologies. Is anyone looking into new cryptos for future viability to profit like Bitcoin? I love the fact this forum called Bitcoin way back.

I downloaded Pi and was wondering if anyone on here has Pi too. In my opinion it looks like something that could be useful though it requires an invite code.
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