Vendor on British Real Estate Portal Ready to Accept BTC Payment For 150-Year-old Property’s Sale
As per a property listing on a leading online real estate and property portal of the United Kingdom called Rightmove, a vendor has put up a property for sale and is ready to accept payment in number one cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The property that the vendor is trying to sell is a 150-year-old church, built in the 18th century, that is later converted into a 7-bedroom character property.
The reports note the price of the property to be 1.2 million British Pounds that amounts to around 1.5 million dollars. The listing also mentions that the closing price in BTC is subject to agreement and confirmation by the vendor. Moreover, the pricing in Bitcoin would be based on the cryptocurrency’s market pricing at the same time.
Divulging more information, the listing revealed that the property was once St. Laurence’s Church, built in the year 1871, located in Middleton One Row, County Durham. It was designed by an architect named JP Pritchett, who was based in Darlington.
It is important to consider that the United Kingdom has been quite friendly so far when it comes to digital currency payments. In April this year, Corporate Traveller, the biggest travel management firm of the UK, announced its decision to start accepting payments in Bitcoin. Corporate Traveller entered into a collaboration with BitPay, a renowned crypto payments firm, for the purpose.
As per a property listing on a leading online real estate and property portal of the United Kingdom called Rightmove, a vendor has put up a property for sale and is ready to accept payment in number one cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The property that the vendor is trying to sell is a 150-year-old church, built in the 18th century, that is later converted into a 7-bedroom character property.
The reports note the price of the property to be 1.2 million British Pounds that amounts to around 1.5 million dollars. The listing also mentions that the closing price in BTC is subject to agreement and confirmation by the vendor. Moreover, the pricing in Bitcoin would be based on the cryptocurrency’s market pricing at the same time.
Divulging more information, the listing revealed that the property was once St. Laurence’s Church, built in the year 1871, located in Middleton One Row, County Durham. It was designed by an architect named JP Pritchett, who was based in Darlington.
It is important to consider that the United Kingdom has been quite friendly so far when it comes to digital currency payments. In April this year, Corporate Traveller, the biggest travel management firm of the UK, announced its decision to start accepting payments in Bitcoin. Corporate Traveller entered into a collaboration with BitPay, a renowned crypto payments firm, for the purpose.
Despite a Row of Defections, Facebook Unveils its Crypto Libra
The recent row of defections by major global companies doesn’t seem to have deterred Facebook’s spirits. The leading social network giant, on Monday, has officially taken a step forward with its plans of creating its own cryptocurrency known as Libra. The Libra Association has signed up 21 members officially on October 14, 2019, at their first inaugural meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland. For those wondering, the Libra Association is the non-profit entity that will have governance over the crypto Libra.
The Geneva meeting was held with the aim of crafting a structure for the organization as well as form a board of directors. In its recent statement, the Association has shared that as many as 180 organizations have expressed their interest to become a part of the Association. However, the names of these firms were not revealed.
The meeting also saw the Association appointing David Marcus, Libra co-creator and Facebook executive, as one among its 5 directors. Katie Haun, a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, was also elected as a board member. The remaining three board of directors are Kiva Micro-funds’ Matthew Davie, PayU’s Patrick Ellis, and Xapo Holdings Ltd.’s Wences Casares.
It is critical to note that the Libra Association has lost 7 big players from its initial list of 28 founding members in the course of the past two weeks. While PayPal was the first to pull the plug, Visa, Mastercard, eBay, Stripe, and Mercado Pago announced their decision of backing out of the Libra project in the previous week. Booking Holdings became the latest one to have withdrawn as a member on October 14, 2019.
Hence, the Association now only comprises of non-profits, blockchain entities, along with venture capital companies. There is no globally leading payments processing firm in the member group now. However, the project still has a few known names in the form of Uber, Vodafone, Lyft Inc., and Spotify.
It seems the growing stringent stance taken by regulators and lawmakers from around the world has taken a toll, leading to major organizations choosing to drop out of the project. From addressing privacy concerns to potential money laundering issues, Libra has a tough battle ahead to obtain regulatory clearance from the authorities.
The company has previously assured the regulators that they wouldn’t begin accepting deposits or trading Libra until all the regulatory concerns are addressed. Dante Disparte, who heads Libra’s department of policy and communications, stated that they are actively talking to the regulators now for obtaining approvals.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, is supposed to appear before the US House Financial Services Committee on October 23, 2019, to talk about the Libra project.
The recent row of defections by major global companies doesn’t seem to have deterred Facebook’s spirits. The leading social network giant, on Monday, has officially taken a step forward with its plans of creating its own cryptocurrency known as Libra. The Libra Association has signed up 21 members officially on October 14, 2019, at their first inaugural meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland. For those wondering, the Libra Association is the non-profit entity that will have governance over the crypto Libra.
The Geneva meeting was held with the aim of crafting a structure for the organization as well as form a board of directors. In its recent statement, the Association has shared that as many as 180 organizations have expressed their interest to become a part of the Association. However, the names of these firms were not revealed.
The meeting also saw the Association appointing David Marcus, Libra co-creator and Facebook executive, as one among its 5 directors. Katie Haun, a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, was also elected as a board member. The remaining three board of directors are Kiva Micro-funds’ Matthew Davie, PayU’s Patrick Ellis, and Xapo Holdings Ltd.’s Wences Casares.
It is critical to note that the Libra Association has lost 7 big players from its initial list of 28 founding members in the course of the past two weeks. While PayPal was the first to pull the plug, Visa, Mastercard, eBay, Stripe, and Mercado Pago announced their decision of backing out of the Libra project in the previous week. Booking Holdings became the latest one to have withdrawn as a member on October 14, 2019.
Hence, the Association now only comprises of non-profits, blockchain entities, along with venture capital companies. There is no globally leading payments processing firm in the member group now. However, the project still has a few known names in the form of Uber, Vodafone, Lyft Inc., and Spotify.
It seems the growing stringent stance taken by regulators and lawmakers from around the world has taken a toll, leading to major organizations choosing to drop out of the project. From addressing privacy concerns to potential money laundering issues, Libra has a tough battle ahead to obtain regulatory clearance from the authorities.
The company has previously assured the regulators that they wouldn’t begin accepting deposits or trading Libra until all the regulatory concerns are addressed. Dante Disparte, who heads Libra’s department of policy and communications, stated that they are actively talking to the regulators now for obtaining approvals.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, is supposed to appear before the US House Financial Services Committee on October 23, 2019, to talk about the Libra project.
Users of UltrAlpha Digital Asset Management Platform Get Long/Short Trading Strategy From Algoz
Users of the UltrAlpha digital asset management services woke up to great news on Thursday as algorithm-based trading platform Algoz announced that it would be offering a long/short trading strategy to UltrAlpha customers. As per the announcement, UltrAlpha users will get access to services statistical correlations and difference analysis between crypto pairs to identify market trends. It will help the users in laying down investment plans and create hedges against risk.
Tal Teperberg, Algoz’s CEO, stated that the collaboration is the first of its kind for the company, and added that the company had a focus on liquidity and brokerage solutions since its inception. He further said,
Our choice to collaborate with UltrAlpha is completely based on our synergy and match in vision. Like UltrAlpha, our background is strongly based on traditional financial markets. By combining Algoz’s strategy and UltrAlpha’s platform, current and future investors will be able to invest their funds more reliably and generate greater profits.
Algoz was created in 2016 as the digital asset trading services arm of the financial services conglomerate Fingemon. The firm provides a plethora of financial services to the crypto industry, like OTC Services, market making, brokerage, liquidity management, and financial strategy. Algoz has been striking big partnerships with crypto companies for the past few months, the popularity of them was the one with Cardano (ADA), for providing liquidity and trading management.
Commenting on the collaboration, UltrAlpha’s CEO, Han Liu said,
Unlike traditional finance, digital asset management is still a young and growing business, but the industry is clearly seeing a strong trend towards the adaptation. Algoz and UAT share the same vision in the future of this business, and I have faith in our abilities to deliver fruitful results from this partnership.
Though the crypto industry has grown leaps and bounds in the last decade, it remains significantly behind the traditional finance industries in terms of strategic services. It leaves a big void, which is essential to be filled if the industry has to grow beyond a certain level. Strategic planning and services will help the users to understand crypto, and trust decentralized currencies.
Users of the UltrAlpha digital asset management services woke up to great news on Thursday as algorithm-based trading platform Algoz announced that it would be offering a long/short trading strategy to UltrAlpha customers. As per the announcement, UltrAlpha users will get access to services statistical correlations and difference analysis between crypto pairs to identify market trends. It will help the users in laying down investment plans and create hedges against risk.
Tal Teperberg, Algoz’s CEO, stated that the collaboration is the first of its kind for the company, and added that the company had a focus on liquidity and brokerage solutions since its inception. He further said,
Our choice to collaborate with UltrAlpha is completely based on our synergy and match in vision. Like UltrAlpha, our background is strongly based on traditional financial markets. By combining Algoz’s strategy and UltrAlpha’s platform, current and future investors will be able to invest their funds more reliably and generate greater profits.
Algoz was created in 2016 as the digital asset trading services arm of the financial services conglomerate Fingemon. The firm provides a plethora of financial services to the crypto industry, like OTC Services, market making, brokerage, liquidity management, and financial strategy. Algoz has been striking big partnerships with crypto companies for the past few months, the popularity of them was the one with Cardano (ADA), for providing liquidity and trading management.
Commenting on the collaboration, UltrAlpha’s CEO, Han Liu said,
Unlike traditional finance, digital asset management is still a young and growing business, but the industry is clearly seeing a strong trend towards the adaptation. Algoz and UAT share the same vision in the future of this business, and I have faith in our abilities to deliver fruitful results from this partnership.
Though the crypto industry has grown leaps and bounds in the last decade, it remains significantly behind the traditional finance industries in terms of strategic services. It leaves a big void, which is essential to be filled if the industry has to grow beyond a certain level. Strategic planning and services will help the users to understand crypto, and trust decentralized currencies.
ECB Executive Board Member Says There is a Requirement of ‘Highest Regulatory Standards’ on Stablecoins
Benoit Coeure, the respectable Executive Board Member of the European Central Bank, has urged a need for a stringent supervisory framework for governing digital currencies and stablecoin projects like Facebook’s Libra, stated a report by Bloomberg on Thursday, i.e., October 17.
Mr. Benoit in an interview quoted that,
In the case of Europe, neither the Commission nor the ECB intends to make Europe a no-fly zone for stablecoins. But stablecoins will have to meet the highest regulatory standards and adhere to broader public policy goals.”
He also added that “There is certainly no judgment that stablecoins shouldn’t exist.”
Coeure is the unprecedented leader of the G7 task force constituted for stablecoins. The team is gearing up for a presentation at the annual meeting of the globally reputed organization, the International Monetary Fund, or the IMF on Thursday in Washington, D.C.
The dignitary shared with Bloomberg his views on the existence of the stablecoins in the present scenario as well in the future space. He opined that there is a high probability that the stablecoins, which serve as a virtual currency backed by a reserve asset, prosper in the future as a part of the financial niche. He said that as the nature of money will transform, “we’ve got to adapt so we can reap the benefits of technology.”
Coeure added,
Until recently, we’ve taken a sandbox approach to FinTech regulation under which we could afford to give projects a chance and see how risks materialize. But now we have an elephant in the sandbox, so that approach doesn’t work anymore.
Since the news of its launch, which is slated for in the approaching year 2020, Libra has been under constant scrutiny from the regulators worldwide. Countries like France and Germany are concerned that the size and scale of Libra project is likely to hamper the control of the legal network over the stablecoin. The nations stated that the Libra stablecoin poses a threat to the autonomy of the EU states.
Benoit Coeure, the respectable Executive Board Member of the European Central Bank, has urged a need for a stringent supervisory framework for governing digital currencies and stablecoin projects like Facebook’s Libra, stated a report by Bloomberg on Thursday, i.e., October 17.
Mr. Benoit in an interview quoted that,
In the case of Europe, neither the Commission nor the ECB intends to make Europe a no-fly zone for stablecoins. But stablecoins will have to meet the highest regulatory standards and adhere to broader public policy goals.”
He also added that “There is certainly no judgment that stablecoins shouldn’t exist.”
Coeure is the unprecedented leader of the G7 task force constituted for stablecoins. The team is gearing up for a presentation at the annual meeting of the globally reputed organization, the International Monetary Fund, or the IMF on Thursday in Washington, D.C.
The dignitary shared with Bloomberg his views on the existence of the stablecoins in the present scenario as well in the future space. He opined that there is a high probability that the stablecoins, which serve as a virtual currency backed by a reserve asset, prosper in the future as a part of the financial niche. He said that as the nature of money will transform, “we’ve got to adapt so we can reap the benefits of technology.”
Coeure added,
Until recently, we’ve taken a sandbox approach to FinTech regulation under which we could afford to give projects a chance and see how risks materialize. But now we have an elephant in the sandbox, so that approach doesn’t work anymore.
Since the news of its launch, which is slated for in the approaching year 2020, Libra has been under constant scrutiny from the regulators worldwide. Countries like France and Germany are concerned that the size and scale of Libra project is likely to hamper the control of the legal network over the stablecoin. The nations stated that the Libra stablecoin poses a threat to the autonomy of the EU states.
AT&T Customer Files Case Against the Firm For Causing $1.8 Million Loss
A complaint has been filed against telecom giant AT&T by a customer accusing the firm of channelizing an employee-aided SIM swap, which has caused the complainant a loss of $1.8 million, including crypto assets theft. The complaint has been filed by Seth Shapiro who is a well-known Californian resident. The person is a two-time Emmy Awards winner, author, an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, and not to mention a subscriber of AT&T network.
Mr. Shapiro has dragged the firm to the court by stating that AT&T failed to safeguard his wireless number, which eventually resulted in a SIM swap making him a victim of major cryptocurrency theft.
As per the complaint filed by Mr. Shapiro:
On at least four occasions between May 16, 2018 and May 18, 2019, AT&T employees obtained unauthorized access to Mr. Shapiro’s AT&T wireless account, viewed his confidential and proprietary personal information, and transferred control over Mr. Shapiro’s AT&T wireless number from Mr. Shapiro’s phone to a phone controlled by third-party hackers in exchange for money.
The complaint further read:
The hackers then utilized their control over Mr. Shapiro’s AT&T wireless number — including control secured through cooperation with AT&T employees — to access his personal and digital finance accounts and steal more than $1.8 million from Mr. Shapiro.
Interestingly, there are evidence of chat logs between AT&T employees and the outside hackers celebrating their notorious victory. The chat logs read:
At the end of the chat, a group member brags that they “made 1.3 million” and they begin plotting about how to route the stolen cryptocurrency through various accounts and currencies in order to cover their trail. They also brag about plans to “buy some Gucci” or a “dream car” with the money they stole from Mr. Shapiro.
“AT&T’s Repeated Failures to Protect Mr. Shapiro’s Account from Unauthorized Access Are a Violation of Federal Law,” read one of the headers in the lawsuit. Mr. Shapiro has accused that AT&T failed to take the necessary steps which were required to be undertaken to protect the sensitive and crucial information. As per the reports, Mr. Shapiro was subjected to SIM swap fraud several times, and also his personal information was compromised. He was also threatened by the fraudsters.
With the involvement of two eminent parties, the case has garnered a lot of attention from the financial world. AT&T is surely going to face some major backlash from its subscriber circle of more than 153 million in case the allegations turn out to be true.
A complaint has been filed against telecom giant AT&T by a customer accusing the firm of channelizing an employee-aided SIM swap, which has caused the complainant a loss of $1.8 million, including crypto assets theft. The complaint has been filed by Seth Shapiro who is a well-known Californian resident. The person is a two-time Emmy Awards winner, author, an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, and not to mention a subscriber of AT&T network.
Mr. Shapiro has dragged the firm to the court by stating that AT&T failed to safeguard his wireless number, which eventually resulted in a SIM swap making him a victim of major cryptocurrency theft.
As per the complaint filed by Mr. Shapiro:
On at least four occasions between May 16, 2018 and May 18, 2019, AT&T employees obtained unauthorized access to Mr. Shapiro’s AT&T wireless account, viewed his confidential and proprietary personal information, and transferred control over Mr. Shapiro’s AT&T wireless number from Mr. Shapiro’s phone to a phone controlled by third-party hackers in exchange for money.
The complaint further read:
The hackers then utilized their control over Mr. Shapiro’s AT&T wireless number — including control secured through cooperation with AT&T employees — to access his personal and digital finance accounts and steal more than $1.8 million from Mr. Shapiro.
Interestingly, there are evidence of chat logs between AT&T employees and the outside hackers celebrating their notorious victory. The chat logs read:
At the end of the chat, a group member brags that they “made 1.3 million” and they begin plotting about how to route the stolen cryptocurrency through various accounts and currencies in order to cover their trail. They also brag about plans to “buy some Gucci” or a “dream car” with the money they stole from Mr. Shapiro.
“AT&T’s Repeated Failures to Protect Mr. Shapiro’s Account from Unauthorized Access Are a Violation of Federal Law,” read one of the headers in the lawsuit. Mr. Shapiro has accused that AT&T failed to take the necessary steps which were required to be undertaken to protect the sensitive and crucial information. As per the reports, Mr. Shapiro was subjected to SIM swap fraud several times, and also his personal information was compromised. He was also threatened by the fraudsters.
With the involvement of two eminent parties, the case has garnered a lot of attention from the financial world. AT&T is surely going to face some major backlash from its subscriber circle of more than 153 million in case the allegations turn out to be true.
Japan to Launch Pilot Crypto Token for Its Popular Tourist Attraction Spot
A globally famous tourist spot in Japan’s Mie Prefecture area is all set to serve its visitors with a local cryptocurrency asset named Kintetsu Shimakaze Coin. The coin will operate as a stablecoin which will be pegged to the Japanese native currency, Yen.
The coin will aid the tourists by allowing them to indulge in easy and reliable transactions in the region during their travel expeditions. According to the latest piece of information, the newly-launched token is the brainchild of a joint effort by Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI) and a railway firm based in Osaka, the Kintetsu Group.
The official announcement made by the MRI, the sister concern that operates under the Mitsubishi Group companies, revealed that the highly anticipated token project will employ the new-age technology of blockchain which has established itself as one of the safest and trustworthy mechanisms in the crypto domain. The firm clarified that the token will be available for the people only from November 11, 2019, to January 31, 2020.
Launch of the Kintetsu Shimakaze Coin is not the first project of its kind. The project led by MRI and the Osaka-based railway company stands tall as the fourth unit that is being strategically helmed by the two leading organizations. The firms are working together with an aim to fine-tune the technology space as well as lead to an improvement in the processes and services arena.
The program is set to kickstart in the Ise-Shima region of the country in its initial phase. Currently, there are only fifteen institutions in the area that will accept the Kintetsu Shimakaze Coin. These regions include the Shima Spain Village, Miyako Resort Shima Bayside Terrace, Kashikojima Espana Cruise, and the Makonde Art Museum.
The interested investors willing to register themselves will have to download the app designed for the Kintetsu Shimakaze Coin. The customers will be entitled to top-up in 1,000 yen blocks along with a payment of ten percent premium which is equal to 100,000 yen in entirety. The token project will expire after the ending of the trial period. Though, the project is a pilot venture for the participating organizations.
The Osaka-based local firm named Kintetsu Group which is collaborating with MRI for the project is a listed firm finding its place on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It is the owner of the transportation resources including the lines concentrated in the project area.
A globally famous tourist spot in Japan’s Mie Prefecture area is all set to serve its visitors with a local cryptocurrency asset named Kintetsu Shimakaze Coin. The coin will operate as a stablecoin which will be pegged to the Japanese native currency, Yen.
The coin will aid the tourists by allowing them to indulge in easy and reliable transactions in the region during their travel expeditions. According to the latest piece of information, the newly-launched token is the brainchild of a joint effort by Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI) and a railway firm based in Osaka, the Kintetsu Group.
The official announcement made by the MRI, the sister concern that operates under the Mitsubishi Group companies, revealed that the highly anticipated token project will employ the new-age technology of blockchain which has established itself as one of the safest and trustworthy mechanisms in the crypto domain. The firm clarified that the token will be available for the people only from November 11, 2019, to January 31, 2020.
Launch of the Kintetsu Shimakaze Coin is not the first project of its kind. The project led by MRI and the Osaka-based railway company stands tall as the fourth unit that is being strategically helmed by the two leading organizations. The firms are working together with an aim to fine-tune the technology space as well as lead to an improvement in the processes and services arena.
The program is set to kickstart in the Ise-Shima region of the country in its initial phase. Currently, there are only fifteen institutions in the area that will accept the Kintetsu Shimakaze Coin. These regions include the Shima Spain Village, Miyako Resort Shima Bayside Terrace, Kashikojima Espana Cruise, and the Makonde Art Museum.
The interested investors willing to register themselves will have to download the app designed for the Kintetsu Shimakaze Coin. The customers will be entitled to top-up in 1,000 yen blocks along with a payment of ten percent premium which is equal to 100,000 yen in entirety. The token project will expire after the ending of the trial period. Though, the project is a pilot venture for the participating organizations.
The Osaka-based local firm named Kintetsu Group which is collaborating with MRI for the project is a listed firm finding its place on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It is the owner of the transportation resources including the lines concentrated in the project area.
Trump’s Former Federal Reserve Nominee Planning to Unveil a Stablecoin
US President Donald Trump’s former nominee for the Federal Reserve, economist Stephen Moore, is all set to unveil a new stablecoin, according to the reports published on October 21, 2019. The stablecoin, referred to as Frax, is being planned by Moore along with other entrepreneurs namely Ralph Benko and Sam Kazemian. While Benko has served as the deputy general counsel to Reagan, Kazemian is the co-founder of Everipedia.
The reports also revealed that Moore would be serving as Frax’s Chief Economic Officer and co-founder alongside Kazemian. Benko will handle the position of the general counsel at Frax. The co-founders of Frax will apparently make an official announcement soon.
The proposed stablecoin, Frax, would be pegged to the United States Dollars but not in the ratio of 1:1. Its reserve would be given out as loans to generate interest so that Frax value remains close to a dollar. The record of these loans would be kept using the blockchain-based algorithms, eradicating the need to have a central bank.
In his statement to Fortune, Moore said that unveiling digital currency is in alignment with his libertarian views. He also shared his belief saying that crypto is a key alternative to the money backed by the states.
Continuing further, Moore also shared that he has followed the government’s monetary policy for as many as 30 years and all this while, he has been troubled regarding their currency monopoly as it’s unhealthy for the market. According to Moore, it is extremely healthy when private competitors challenge the central banks regarding the monetary supply.
As of now, Frax has not gained support from outside investors, per the reports.
Meanwhile, the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) has expressed its concern regarding the potential illicit usage of stablecoins. The group worries that stablecoin’s possible widespread adoption would easily help criminals break laws through its use.
US President Donald Trump’s former nominee for the Federal Reserve, economist Stephen Moore, is all set to unveil a new stablecoin, according to the reports published on October 21, 2019. The stablecoin, referred to as Frax, is being planned by Moore along with other entrepreneurs namely Ralph Benko and Sam Kazemian. While Benko has served as the deputy general counsel to Reagan, Kazemian is the co-founder of Everipedia.
The reports also revealed that Moore would be serving as Frax’s Chief Economic Officer and co-founder alongside Kazemian. Benko will handle the position of the general counsel at Frax. The co-founders of Frax will apparently make an official announcement soon.
The proposed stablecoin, Frax, would be pegged to the United States Dollars but not in the ratio of 1:1. Its reserve would be given out as loans to generate interest so that Frax value remains close to a dollar. The record of these loans would be kept using the blockchain-based algorithms, eradicating the need to have a central bank.
In his statement to Fortune, Moore said that unveiling digital currency is in alignment with his libertarian views. He also shared his belief saying that crypto is a key alternative to the money backed by the states.
Continuing further, Moore also shared that he has followed the government’s monetary policy for as many as 30 years and all this while, he has been troubled regarding their currency monopoly as it’s unhealthy for the market. According to Moore, it is extremely healthy when private competitors challenge the central banks regarding the monetary supply.
As of now, Frax has not gained support from outside investors, per the reports.
Meanwhile, the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) has expressed its concern regarding the potential illicit usage of stablecoins. The group worries that stablecoin’s possible widespread adoption would easily help criminals break laws through its use.
Litecoin Foundation’s Loafwallet Joins Hands With Cornerstone Global Management, LLC for Its CP3 Employee Pay Program
The leading cryptocurrency-oriented firm, Cornerstone Global Management, LLC, has announced its partnership with the globally reputed platform, the Litecoin Foundation.
The strategic partnership is aimed at providing the Loafwallet, serving as Litecoin’s native wallet, as the potent Litecoin wallet solution for Cornerstone’s forthcoming employee pay program named CP3 (Crypto Pay & Pension Plan). The highly anticipated project will be unveiled by the company through its website on October 26, 2019, Saturday.
Presently, the Loafwallet supported by the Litecoin Foundation has achieved the milestone of 50,000 downloads from the customers worldwide. It serves as one of the most preferred destinations for Litecoin owners to store their crypto assets. Through the collaboration, Loafwallet has made its position strong in the marketspace by establishing itself as a one-stop solution for users’ everyday requirements.
With the application of the CP3 program, any US-based employee will get a golden opportunity to convert a certain portion of his/her income into any of the three premium crypto coins, namely Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum at the very point of receiving the pay at his/her will. The converted crypto assets will then be transferred to any of the wallets chosen by the user. This amazing feature will allow the employees to indulge in the goodness of cryptocurrencies without taking the pain of visiting an exchange to receive the assets in their wallets. The smooth functioning of the CP3 program will allow them to immerse themselves in their daily routines without having to bear any tension for their digital assets, similar to fiat currencies.
The Litecoin Foundation community works as a non-profit entity that strives to promote Litecoin for the betterment of the global society through its revolutionary and state-of-the-art blockchain solution. Singapore registered enterprise, Litecoin Foundation is renowned in the crypto niche as one of the most potentially active and ‘real-world adoption’ employing groups.
Charlie Lee, the notable Managing Director of the Litecoin Foundation, shared his overwhelmingness over the team-up by saying that,
Being involved in the CP3 program is great for getting Litecoin and Loafwallet into the hands of as many people as possible. Having some of your pay sent to you automatically in crypto is now a seamless, automatic process, which can bring more applications into the hands of hard-working people throughout the US and beyond.
The leading cryptocurrency-oriented firm, Cornerstone Global Management, LLC, has announced its partnership with the globally reputed platform, the Litecoin Foundation.
The strategic partnership is aimed at providing the Loafwallet, serving as Litecoin’s native wallet, as the potent Litecoin wallet solution for Cornerstone’s forthcoming employee pay program named CP3 (Crypto Pay & Pension Plan). The highly anticipated project will be unveiled by the company through its website on October 26, 2019, Saturday.
Presently, the Loafwallet supported by the Litecoin Foundation has achieved the milestone of 50,000 downloads from the customers worldwide. It serves as one of the most preferred destinations for Litecoin owners to store their crypto assets. Through the collaboration, Loafwallet has made its position strong in the marketspace by establishing itself as a one-stop solution for users’ everyday requirements.
With the application of the CP3 program, any US-based employee will get a golden opportunity to convert a certain portion of his/her income into any of the three premium crypto coins, namely Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum at the very point of receiving the pay at his/her will. The converted crypto assets will then be transferred to any of the wallets chosen by the user. This amazing feature will allow the employees to indulge in the goodness of cryptocurrencies without taking the pain of visiting an exchange to receive the assets in their wallets. The smooth functioning of the CP3 program will allow them to immerse themselves in their daily routines without having to bear any tension for their digital assets, similar to fiat currencies.
The Litecoin Foundation community works as a non-profit entity that strives to promote Litecoin for the betterment of the global society through its revolutionary and state-of-the-art blockchain solution. Singapore registered enterprise, Litecoin Foundation is renowned in the crypto niche as one of the most potentially active and ‘real-world adoption’ employing groups.
Charlie Lee, the notable Managing Director of the Litecoin Foundation, shared his overwhelmingness over the team-up by saying that,
Being involved in the CP3 program is great for getting Litecoin and Loafwallet into the hands of as many people as possible. Having some of your pay sent to you automatically in crypto is now a seamless, automatic process, which can bring more applications into the hands of hard-working people throughout the US and beyond.
FreeFaucet Offers Crypto Rewards For Viewing Online Content on Its Website
According to the official press release, Online Blockchain plc’s FreeFaucet.io has unveiled ‘impression faucets’ that is a pioneering kind of digital currency faucet. It lets anyone tap into the huge crypto-centric userbase of FreeFaucet and offer them Bitcoin rewards for their content views.
What that means is, all the users of the FreeFaucet website are able to claim free digital currency simply through their 10-second engagement with the projects featured on the site. The users then need to confirm their interaction, post which they receive Bitcoin directly in their online wallet with a single click.
Divulging further details, the announcement said that all the registered users stand a chance to earn up to a hundred Satoshi every twelve hours per impression faucet. In fact, it also lets users make a claim numerous times in a single day from various innovative cryptocurrency faucets available through the site such as External Webfaucets and Geofaucets.
While in conventional online advertising, there are intermediary channels that take away considerable cuts, impression faucets enable the creators of the content to directly pay the persons who are viewing their content. The concept seems to be getting popular as the site has registered more than half a million faucet claims ever since the beta launch that took place in the month of May 2019.
At the same time, the advertisers are certain that they are rewarding the human audience, thanks to FreeFaucet’s powerful anti-bot mechanism. The anti-bot system needs the users to get their accounts verified through gesture verification.
Clem Chambers, Online Blockchain plc’s CEO, expressed that impression faucet is the next major thing in the advertising space. Continuing further, he said that their company is the United Kingdom’s prominent listed blockchain firm already with cryptocurrency applications while FreeFaucet.io is their 1st product to have attained an extensive audience. He was also quoted saying,
We’re very excited by the growth and potential growth of the FreeFaucet website; impression faucets will be a disruptor in advertising, one of the biggest industries there is.
The official press release also revealed that they would add more currencies in the future for the users to claim through impression faucets.
According to the official press release, Online Blockchain plc’s FreeFaucet.io has unveiled ‘impression faucets’ that is a pioneering kind of digital currency faucet. It lets anyone tap into the huge crypto-centric userbase of FreeFaucet and offer them Bitcoin rewards for their content views.
What that means is, all the users of the FreeFaucet website are able to claim free digital currency simply through their 10-second engagement with the projects featured on the site. The users then need to confirm their interaction, post which they receive Bitcoin directly in their online wallet with a single click.
Divulging further details, the announcement said that all the registered users stand a chance to earn up to a hundred Satoshi every twelve hours per impression faucet. In fact, it also lets users make a claim numerous times in a single day from various innovative cryptocurrency faucets available through the site such as External Webfaucets and Geofaucets.
While in conventional online advertising, there are intermediary channels that take away considerable cuts, impression faucets enable the creators of the content to directly pay the persons who are viewing their content. The concept seems to be getting popular as the site has registered more than half a million faucet claims ever since the beta launch that took place in the month of May 2019.
At the same time, the advertisers are certain that they are rewarding the human audience, thanks to FreeFaucet’s powerful anti-bot mechanism. The anti-bot system needs the users to get their accounts verified through gesture verification.
Clem Chambers, Online Blockchain plc’s CEO, expressed that impression faucet is the next major thing in the advertising space. Continuing further, he said that their company is the United Kingdom’s prominent listed blockchain firm already with cryptocurrency applications while FreeFaucet.io is their 1st product to have attained an extensive audience. He was also quoted saying,
We’re very excited by the growth and potential growth of the FreeFaucet website; impression faucets will be a disruptor in advertising, one of the biggest industries there is.
The official press release also revealed that they would add more currencies in the future for the users to claim through impression faucets.
Biscuit & TRON Partner to Deliver Hit Sequel, Knight Story
After much anticipation, TRON announces its partnership with Biscuit to build and distribute the next generation of blockchain games with the goal of accelerating adoption. TRON joins as a strategic investor to the promising blockchain game studio, widely celebrated for its chart-topping hit, Knight Story (previously EOS Knights).
Knight Story topped the charts across all public chains in terms of DAU and transaction volume from 2018-2019. Players loved the RPG’s cute character models, polished UI, and plentiful loot. They progressed through the game by raiding dungeons, acquiring new equipment, and upgrading heroes to find more valuable loot. At its peak, the DApp had over 6,000 daily players and brought in almost $20,000 in daily revenue.
The partnership will begin with the release of an upgraded version of Knight Story, built using the TRON blockchain, in December 2019. The game will be available for download on most iOS and Android devices and feature a revamped economy powered by TRX and TRC-based tokens (including NFTs). Players will accrue value from their gameplay, with even greater earning opportunities on the horizon as TRON continues to grow.
Biscuit chose to migrate its next iteration of Knight Story from EOS to TRON to take advantage of the TRON network’s performance, developer-friendly tools, and robust ecosystem of applications. For the Biscuit team, building on TRON presents greater opportunities to create synergistic partnerships and attract the largest audience possible.
Jay Lee Quote Jay Lee, CEO of Biscuit says,
We are very excited to partner with TRON and we’re eager to see Knight Story thrive on the TRON network. This collaboration will help us to realize Biscuit’s mission and continue to innovate games using blockchain technology.
Likewise, TRON has been inspired by the Biscuit team’s prodigious development talent and passion for enabling greater blockchain adoption. As such, in addition to investing through the TRON Arcade fund, TRON intends to support the project as the game’s publisher. TRON plans to promote Knight Story throughout its expansive distribution network that includes partner ecosystems like BitTorrent and Opera. In total, TRON will distribute Knight Story to hundreds of millions of players, making this the most ambitious DApp ever launched. There has never been a decentralized game of this scale ever before.
Justin Sun, CEO of TRON & BitTorrent says,
There has never been a decentralized game of this scale before. Biscuit’s successful rollout of blockchain gaming for mainstream audiences marks a turning point for the space. I want to thank Biscuit for their hard work and passion for blockchain. Together, we will progress mass adoption of blockchain for everyone.
About Biscuit
Biscuit Labs is a development team that launched the legendary first-generation blockchain game, EOS Knights accounting for more than 66 million transactions. The team is focusing on overcoming the UX challenges of blockchain to create innovative games and applications.
About TRON
TRON is dedicated to creating a boundary-free internet that inspires innovation across industries. TRON, one of the largest blockchain protocols, offers high throughput, high scalability, and high availability for all Decentralized Applications (DApps). The ecosystem is governed by Super Representatives and the community. You can learn more about TRON at www.tron.network.
After much anticipation, TRON announces its partnership with Biscuit to build and distribute the next generation of blockchain games with the goal of accelerating adoption. TRON joins as a strategic investor to the promising blockchain game studio, widely celebrated for its chart-topping hit, Knight Story (previously EOS Knights).
Knight Story topped the charts across all public chains in terms of DAU and transaction volume from 2018-2019. Players loved the RPG’s cute character models, polished UI, and plentiful loot. They progressed through the game by raiding dungeons, acquiring new equipment, and upgrading heroes to find more valuable loot. At its peak, the DApp had over 6,000 daily players and brought in almost $20,000 in daily revenue.
The partnership will begin with the release of an upgraded version of Knight Story, built using the TRON blockchain, in December 2019. The game will be available for download on most iOS and Android devices and feature a revamped economy powered by TRX and TRC-based tokens (including NFTs). Players will accrue value from their gameplay, with even greater earning opportunities on the horizon as TRON continues to grow.
Biscuit chose to migrate its next iteration of Knight Story from EOS to TRON to take advantage of the TRON network’s performance, developer-friendly tools, and robust ecosystem of applications. For the Biscuit team, building on TRON presents greater opportunities to create synergistic partnerships and attract the largest audience possible.
Jay Lee Quote Jay Lee, CEO of Biscuit says,
We are very excited to partner with TRON and we’re eager to see Knight Story thrive on the TRON network. This collaboration will help us to realize Biscuit’s mission and continue to innovate games using blockchain technology.
Likewise, TRON has been inspired by the Biscuit team’s prodigious development talent and passion for enabling greater blockchain adoption. As such, in addition to investing through the TRON Arcade fund, TRON intends to support the project as the game’s publisher. TRON plans to promote Knight Story throughout its expansive distribution network that includes partner ecosystems like BitTorrent and Opera. In total, TRON will distribute Knight Story to hundreds of millions of players, making this the most ambitious DApp ever launched. There has never been a decentralized game of this scale ever before.
Justin Sun, CEO of TRON & BitTorrent says,
There has never been a decentralized game of this scale before. Biscuit’s successful rollout of blockchain gaming for mainstream audiences marks a turning point for the space. I want to thank Biscuit for their hard work and passion for blockchain. Together, we will progress mass adoption of blockchain for everyone.
About Biscuit
Biscuit Labs is a development team that launched the legendary first-generation blockchain game, EOS Knights accounting for more than 66 million transactions. The team is focusing on overcoming the UX challenges of blockchain to create innovative games and applications.
About TRON
TRON is dedicated to creating a boundary-free internet that inspires innovation across industries. TRON, one of the largest blockchain protocols, offers high throughput, high scalability, and high availability for all Decentralized Applications (DApps). The ecosystem is governed by Super Representatives and the community. You can learn more about TRON at www.tron.network.
Bitcoin Price Explodes With One of the Biggest Rally in History
The Cryptoverse is stunned. While many analysts, traders were discussing where will bitcoin price go next - below USD 7,000 or USD 6,000 - the most popular cryptocurrency made one of its largest moves up.
In less than one day, the price skyrocketed from c. USD 7,500 to more than USD 10,100. At pixel time (05:52 UTC), it corrected lower and trades at c. USD 9,710. It's up by 30% in the past 24 hours, by 22% in the past week and by 14% in the past month. Last time bitcoin price was at this level is the end of September.
Moreover, bitcoin dominance, or the percentage of the total market capitalization, jumped by c. 3 percentage points, to 67.6%. The total market capitalization increased by 24%, to USD 257.9 billion.
“This positive sentiment, along with a good buying opportunity at the key USD 7,500 support level, has led to there being more buyers than sellers — which, at the end of the day, always leads to markets going higher,” Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer at Arca, a Los Angeles-based asset manager that invests in cryptocurrencies, told Bloomberg.
While opinions are mixed as for what caused the rally, some analysts are attributing it to a recent news from China. China’s President Xi Jinping urged the country to accelerate the development of blockchain technology due to its importance "in the new round of technological innovation and industrial transformation" of China.
Also, on Friday, Bakkt, the U.S.-based physically-settled Bitcoin futures trading platform, set a new daily record of 1,179 Bakkt Bitcoin Futures contracts traded, or 84% more than the previous record set earlier this week.
Meanwhile, other coins from the top 10 by market capitalization are up by 7%-31%. Ethereum increased by 16%, XRP is up by 9%. However, when measuring the returns in terms of bitcoin, only a few coins from top 100 by market capitalization are in green today. For example, ether is down by 10% against BTC, while XRP crashed by 15.5%.
Crypto researcher and analyst Willy Woo said that, in his view, Bitcoin bull market are in 3 phases.
"A pop out of accumulation. We are still playing this out. The second phase is a nice long, steady climb with lowish volatility. (The 3rd stage is mania when volatility goes out of control). On current timelines we'll enter phase 2 a few months before the May 2020 halvening when a bullish on-chain structure should coincide with halvening front running. That's the best time to deploy capital or go long with high certainty," he said.
BTC price chart:
The Cryptoverse is stunned. While many analysts, traders were discussing where will bitcoin price go next - below USD 7,000 or USD 6,000 - the most popular cryptocurrency made one of its largest moves up.
In less than one day, the price skyrocketed from c. USD 7,500 to more than USD 10,100. At pixel time (05:52 UTC), it corrected lower and trades at c. USD 9,710. It's up by 30% in the past 24 hours, by 22% in the past week and by 14% in the past month. Last time bitcoin price was at this level is the end of September.
Moreover, bitcoin dominance, or the percentage of the total market capitalization, jumped by c. 3 percentage points, to 67.6%. The total market capitalization increased by 24%, to USD 257.9 billion.
“This positive sentiment, along with a good buying opportunity at the key USD 7,500 support level, has led to there being more buyers than sellers — which, at the end of the day, always leads to markets going higher,” Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer at Arca, a Los Angeles-based asset manager that invests in cryptocurrencies, told Bloomberg.
While opinions are mixed as for what caused the rally, some analysts are attributing it to a recent news from China. China’s President Xi Jinping urged the country to accelerate the development of blockchain technology due to its importance "in the new round of technological innovation and industrial transformation" of China.
Also, on Friday, Bakkt, the U.S.-based physically-settled Bitcoin futures trading platform, set a new daily record of 1,179 Bakkt Bitcoin Futures contracts traded, or 84% more than the previous record set earlier this week.
Meanwhile, other coins from the top 10 by market capitalization are up by 7%-31%. Ethereum increased by 16%, XRP is up by 9%. However, when measuring the returns in terms of bitcoin, only a few coins from top 100 by market capitalization are in green today. For example, ether is down by 10% against BTC, while XRP crashed by 15.5%.
Crypto researcher and analyst Willy Woo said that, in his view, Bitcoin bull market are in 3 phases.
"A pop out of accumulation. We are still playing this out. The second phase is a nice long, steady climb with lowish volatility. (The 3rd stage is mania when volatility goes out of control). On current timelines we'll enter phase 2 a few months before the May 2020 halvening when a bullish on-chain structure should coincide with halvening front running. That's the best time to deploy capital or go long with high certainty," he said.
BTC price chart:
Twitter CEO Dismisses Facebook’s Libra Project as a ‘Gimmick’
Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, has launched a scathing attack on rival social media platform Facebook’s Libra plans.
Dorsey was speaking at a Twitter event held in New York, and was asked about the possibility of Twitter joining the Libra Association – with Facebook representatives in attendance.
Dorsey did not pull any punches in his response. Per a tweet from CNN journalist Kerry Flynn, the Twitter chief replied,
“No. Hell no. Nothing within Libra had to be a cryptocurrency to do what they want to do. They use that label liberally. It’s completely incorrect. I don’t know if it’s a gimmick but cryptocurrency wasn’t necessary to make that thing work.”
The CEO is a well-known Bitcoin proponent, but skeptics may wonder if Dorsey’s comments may have anything to do with deflecting attention from Twitter’s own finances.
While regulators have heaped the pressure on Facebook to halt Libra, slating the company for its past privacy-related issues, Twitter has found itself in a financial quagmire.
Twitter stock plunged by 21% on Thursday after the company told its shareholders that its third-quarter results had been blighted by product issues and advertising “headwinds” – claiming more trouble could be ahead in 2020.
Regulators and politicians, meanwhile, will not likely let up in their attempts to push Facebook into a Libra climb-down.
Maxine Waters, the head of the Congressional Committee on Financial Services, stated this week,
"It would be beneficial for all if Facebook concentrates on addressing its many existing deficiencies and failures before proceeding any further on the Libra project.”
Facebook’s Head of Content and Algorithm Policy Andy O'Connell, also speaking at the Twitter event in New York, conceded that Facebook had made mistakes in the past. He remarked, again per Flynn,
“I think a lot of challenges Facebook has faced is because we haven’t been transparent about our decisions. That’s why we [now] have an oversight board.”
Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, has launched a scathing attack on rival social media platform Facebook’s Libra plans.
Dorsey was speaking at a Twitter event held in New York, and was asked about the possibility of Twitter joining the Libra Association – with Facebook representatives in attendance.
Dorsey did not pull any punches in his response. Per a tweet from CNN journalist Kerry Flynn, the Twitter chief replied,
“No. Hell no. Nothing within Libra had to be a cryptocurrency to do what they want to do. They use that label liberally. It’s completely incorrect. I don’t know if it’s a gimmick but cryptocurrency wasn’t necessary to make that thing work.”
The CEO is a well-known Bitcoin proponent, but skeptics may wonder if Dorsey’s comments may have anything to do with deflecting attention from Twitter’s own finances.
While regulators have heaped the pressure on Facebook to halt Libra, slating the company for its past privacy-related issues, Twitter has found itself in a financial quagmire.
Twitter stock plunged by 21% on Thursday after the company told its shareholders that its third-quarter results had been blighted by product issues and advertising “headwinds” – claiming more trouble could be ahead in 2020.
Regulators and politicians, meanwhile, will not likely let up in their attempts to push Facebook into a Libra climb-down.
Maxine Waters, the head of the Congressional Committee on Financial Services, stated this week,
"It would be beneficial for all if Facebook concentrates on addressing its many existing deficiencies and failures before proceeding any further on the Libra project.”
Facebook’s Head of Content and Algorithm Policy Andy O'Connell, also speaking at the Twitter event in New York, conceded that Facebook had made mistakes in the past. He remarked, again per Flynn,
“I think a lot of challenges Facebook has faced is because we haven’t been transparent about our decisions. That’s why we [now] have an oversight board.”
China Approves a New Cryptography Law Prior to The Launch of Its Digital Currency Project
In yet another substantial step to strengthen its plans for the launch of its highly anticipated digital currency, China’s rubber-stamp parliament has approved a new law for governing cryptography, according to the latest state media report published on Saturday. The law will become effective from January 1, 2020.
The modern era has started accepting cryptocurrencies as a potential replacement to fiat money owing to the lucrative and widescale features it offers to the users. With a view to exploiting the benefits of the virtual currency domain, China’s central bank in 2014 formulated a research team to put forward its own digital currency in the market. This pathbreaking announcement by Chinese authorities placed it a notch higher in comparison to its competitors. China is adamant to launch a digital currency which is capable of reducing the costs related to traditional paper money and also aids in maintaining better control over the money supply.
As per the information, China’s digital currency is likely to have similarities with Facebook’s Libra project. A senior official of the central bank stated last month during an interaction that the currency will be able to use as a medium across reputed payment solutions like WeChat and Alipay.
The official Xinhua news platform revealed that the new law would be focused at “facilitating the development of the cryptography business and ensuring the security of cyberspace and information.” The law affirms that the state is committed to render support and encouragement to the research and utilization of science and technology in cryptography while giving due importance to confidentiality.
Libra, Facebook’s stablecoin project, has been under strict scrutiny since the announcement of its launch, which is slated for 2020. The regulators worldwide are stressing over the fact that Libra will facilitate money laundering as it has the power to gain popularity as a prominent digital payment system. Libra will be pegged by a reserve of bank deposits and short-term government securities. The Libra Association, the main driving force behind the Libra project has always refuted the allegation by saying that the introduction of Libra will improve transparency and will also help in stabilization of prices.
China has been at the forefront of exploring blockchain technology. Last week, Xi Jinping, the honorable President of China stated that the country should work in exploiting the merits of blockchain technology.
In yet another substantial step to strengthen its plans for the launch of its highly anticipated digital currency, China’s rubber-stamp parliament has approved a new law for governing cryptography, according to the latest state media report published on Saturday. The law will become effective from January 1, 2020.
The modern era has started accepting cryptocurrencies as a potential replacement to fiat money owing to the lucrative and widescale features it offers to the users. With a view to exploiting the benefits of the virtual currency domain, China’s central bank in 2014 formulated a research team to put forward its own digital currency in the market. This pathbreaking announcement by Chinese authorities placed it a notch higher in comparison to its competitors. China is adamant to launch a digital currency which is capable of reducing the costs related to traditional paper money and also aids in maintaining better control over the money supply.
As per the information, China’s digital currency is likely to have similarities with Facebook’s Libra project. A senior official of the central bank stated last month during an interaction that the currency will be able to use as a medium across reputed payment solutions like WeChat and Alipay.
The official Xinhua news platform revealed that the new law would be focused at “facilitating the development of the cryptography business and ensuring the security of cyberspace and information.” The law affirms that the state is committed to render support and encouragement to the research and utilization of science and technology in cryptography while giving due importance to confidentiality.
Libra, Facebook’s stablecoin project, has been under strict scrutiny since the announcement of its launch, which is slated for 2020. The regulators worldwide are stressing over the fact that Libra will facilitate money laundering as it has the power to gain popularity as a prominent digital payment system. Libra will be pegged by a reserve of bank deposits and short-term government securities. The Libra Association, the main driving force behind the Libra project has always refuted the allegation by saying that the introduction of Libra will improve transparency and will also help in stabilization of prices.
China has been at the forefront of exploring blockchain technology. Last week, Xi Jinping, the honorable President of China stated that the country should work in exploiting the merits of blockchain technology.
Crypto Coin Tether Becomes Hot-shot Payment Method at Gambling Sites, Pot Shops
Tether, the notoriously famous crypto coin, is, unfortunately, paving its way into the depths of the digital currency niche by evolving as a strong medium for the trading of goods and services. The virtual currency has been at the center of focus for all the bad reasons in recent times. Many researchers accused Tether of being employed as a tool for manipulation of prices of many reputed digital coins.
Despite all these allegations, the position of Tether in the crypto domain appears to be quite strong in comparison to many other digital coins. The coin accounts for nearly 30% of trading volume at one of the largest crypto payment processors, CoinPayments.net. At B2BinPay, the controversial coin, Tether, has shown a surge of about 20% in the transaction volume involving both customers and merchants.
The primary reason for the success of Tether can be attributed to the fact that it is a stablecoin. The primary aim of stablecoins is that they help in avoiding price variations while keeping intact a one-to-one ratio with the native dollar by maintaining a reserve for it. Cryptwerk, which works as a store directory, has listed 265 firms that accept Tether as a mode of payment for transactions.
Sean Mackay, operations chief at CoinPayments.net stated that
Merchants used to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and convert it into Tether in order to hedge against the volatility. Now we are seeing the payments just being done directly in Tether.
As per the recent stats, the success of Tether is being held responsible for the plummeting figures of leading crypto coins, Bitcoin and Ether. At CoinPayments.net, Bitcoin has seen a drastic fall of nearly 60% in the payment settlement volume. Interestingly, Tether stands a place ahead of Ether in the ranking, which grabs the third spot on the platform.
The popularity of Tether can also be attributed to its widescale acceptance in the marketspace. The merchants who face issues in credit-card processing services or have to pay heavy processing charges often resolve to Tether as a medium of exchange. According to Michael Chrzan, the co-owner of Green Earth Robotics Inc. has revealed that Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether are the most widely used crypto payment coins on the platform.
Tether, it’s started catching up. Since their community is growing, we believe it will expand in time. When the community is growing, they start using the coin,
said Chrzan.
CoinMarketCap.com has revealed that the market capitalization of Tether has risen to $4.12 billion from $2 billion in a year’s span.
Recently, Tether’s parent companies were being sued by the Ney York Attorney General for concealing the loss of more than $850 million in corporate funds. Though, Tether has refuted the allegations. Also, it was clarified through a court filing this year that only 74% and not 100%, as it was earlier claimed by the firm, of the Tether assets are secured by cash and short-term securities.
John Griffin, a renowned finance professor at the University of Texas, blamed Tether-backed manipulation for Bitcoin’s fall in 2017.
Despite all this, Tether has managed to maintain its position in the niche. Sean Mackay concluded, saying that “The fact that they have so many users just goes to show even if there’s nothing backing it, people are still using it.”
Tether, the notoriously famous crypto coin, is, unfortunately, paving its way into the depths of the digital currency niche by evolving as a strong medium for the trading of goods and services. The virtual currency has been at the center of focus for all the bad reasons in recent times. Many researchers accused Tether of being employed as a tool for manipulation of prices of many reputed digital coins.
Despite all these allegations, the position of Tether in the crypto domain appears to be quite strong in comparison to many other digital coins. The coin accounts for nearly 30% of trading volume at one of the largest crypto payment processors, CoinPayments.net. At B2BinPay, the controversial coin, Tether, has shown a surge of about 20% in the transaction volume involving both customers and merchants.
The primary reason for the success of Tether can be attributed to the fact that it is a stablecoin. The primary aim of stablecoins is that they help in avoiding price variations while keeping intact a one-to-one ratio with the native dollar by maintaining a reserve for it. Cryptwerk, which works as a store directory, has listed 265 firms that accept Tether as a mode of payment for transactions.
Sean Mackay, operations chief at CoinPayments.net stated that
Merchants used to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and convert it into Tether in order to hedge against the volatility. Now we are seeing the payments just being done directly in Tether.
As per the recent stats, the success of Tether is being held responsible for the plummeting figures of leading crypto coins, Bitcoin and Ether. At CoinPayments.net, Bitcoin has seen a drastic fall of nearly 60% in the payment settlement volume. Interestingly, Tether stands a place ahead of Ether in the ranking, which grabs the third spot on the platform.
The popularity of Tether can also be attributed to its widescale acceptance in the marketspace. The merchants who face issues in credit-card processing services or have to pay heavy processing charges often resolve to Tether as a medium of exchange. According to Michael Chrzan, the co-owner of Green Earth Robotics Inc. has revealed that Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether are the most widely used crypto payment coins on the platform.
Tether, it’s started catching up. Since their community is growing, we believe it will expand in time. When the community is growing, they start using the coin,
said Chrzan.
CoinMarketCap.com has revealed that the market capitalization of Tether has risen to $4.12 billion from $2 billion in a year’s span.
Recently, Tether’s parent companies were being sued by the Ney York Attorney General for concealing the loss of more than $850 million in corporate funds. Though, Tether has refuted the allegations. Also, it was clarified through a court filing this year that only 74% and not 100%, as it was earlier claimed by the firm, of the Tether assets are secured by cash and short-term securities.
John Griffin, a renowned finance professor at the University of Texas, blamed Tether-backed manipulation for Bitcoin’s fall in 2017.
Despite all this, Tether has managed to maintain its position in the niche. Sean Mackay concluded, saying that “The fact that they have so many users just goes to show even if there’s nothing backing it, people are still using it.”
Bitmain Terminates Executive Director Micree Ketuan Zhan; Employees Threatened Not to Maintain Contact With Him
Leading Chinese Bitcoin mining firm, Bitmain Technologies Limited has dismissed its co-founder and executive director, Micree Ketuan Zhan, from his position in a sudden turn of events. The critical news got viral in the crypto niche when Jihan Wu, the fellow co-founder and Board Chairman of Bitmain warned the company employees not to indulge in any interaction with Zhan as in the case of negligence of his orders the particular employee will be terminated from the job.
The controversial email from Jihan read,
Bitmain’s co-founder, chairman, legal representative, and executive director Jihan Wu has decided to dismiss all roles of Ketuan Zhan, effective immediately. Any Bitmain staff shall no longer take any direction from Zhan, or participate in any meeting organized by Zhan. Bitmain may, based on the situation, consider terminating employment contracts of those who violate this note.
As per the reports of CoinDesk, the reason behind the sudden termination of Zhan from the firm is still not disclosed by the officials. Though this shocking dismissal has surely evolved as a surprise for the crypto world as Zhan was amongst the biggest shareholders of Bitmain, holding nearly 36% stake in the firm. One of the most potent possibilities about the ousting of Ketuan Zhan from the Bitmain ecosystem is apparently the clash of strategies.
Hackernoon’s report stated that Zhan is a die-hard supporter of AI chip development while Wu is adamant to lend support to Bitcoin Cash development. This difference in thinking has been rumored to be the prime reason behind Zhan’s termination. Zhan was also cornered during the launch of Bitmain’s biggest mining farm in Texas some time back.
Bitmain has not released any official statement concerning Zhan’s dismissal from the firm, and the officials have been restraining themselves from commenting anything on the critical subject matter.
Leading Chinese Bitcoin mining firm, Bitmain Technologies Limited has dismissed its co-founder and executive director, Micree Ketuan Zhan, from his position in a sudden turn of events. The critical news got viral in the crypto niche when Jihan Wu, the fellow co-founder and Board Chairman of Bitmain warned the company employees not to indulge in any interaction with Zhan as in the case of negligence of his orders the particular employee will be terminated from the job.
The controversial email from Jihan read,
Bitmain’s co-founder, chairman, legal representative, and executive director Jihan Wu has decided to dismiss all roles of Ketuan Zhan, effective immediately. Any Bitmain staff shall no longer take any direction from Zhan, or participate in any meeting organized by Zhan. Bitmain may, based on the situation, consider terminating employment contracts of those who violate this note.
As per the reports of CoinDesk, the reason behind the sudden termination of Zhan from the firm is still not disclosed by the officials. Though this shocking dismissal has surely evolved as a surprise for the crypto world as Zhan was amongst the biggest shareholders of Bitmain, holding nearly 36% stake in the firm. One of the most potent possibilities about the ousting of Ketuan Zhan from the Bitmain ecosystem is apparently the clash of strategies.
Hackernoon’s report stated that Zhan is a die-hard supporter of AI chip development while Wu is adamant to lend support to Bitcoin Cash development. This difference in thinking has been rumored to be the prime reason behind Zhan’s termination. Zhan was also cornered during the launch of Bitmain’s biggest mining farm in Texas some time back.
Bitmain has not released any official statement concerning Zhan’s dismissal from the firm, and the officials have been restraining themselves from commenting anything on the critical subject matter.
Bitcoin-Mining Machine Manufacturer Canaan Plans to Undertake a U.S Initial Public Offering
Ruling the crypto market as the world’s second-leading manufacturer of Bitcoin mining machines, Canaan Inc. has filed for a US IPO or Initial Public Offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday.
The highly reputed firm of Hangzhou, China, has unveiled its offering volume as US$400 million during the filing with SEC, which will serve as a place holder and will be subjected to changes in the future. Apparently, last year, Canaan strived hard to earn a Hong Kong listing prior to the lapse of its application in November. The insiders revealed that Canaan was adamant to raise nearly $1 billion through the share sale during that time.
According to a report of the South China Morning Post, the regulatory bodies of the concerned city addressed IPOs triggered by cryptocurrency firms as “premature.” There has also been a sharp decline in the profits of the company in comparison to last year figures. Canaan has to face a net loss of $48.2 million in the six months span that ended on June 30. This loss stood as an unfavorable event in comparison to the 216.8-million-yuan profit that the firm earned in the preceding year in the same period.
The initial public offering of Canaan will be chaired by Credit Suisse Group AG, Citigroup Inc., China Renaissance Holdings Ltd., and CMB International Capital Ltd. The company is also planning to mark its presence on the Nasdaq Global Market by listing its shares under the symbol “CAN.”
Canaan’s ultimate rival firm in the field of crypto mining, Bitmain Technologies Ltd., is also contemplating to work out a U.S IPO. The news was reported by Bloomberg earlier in June this year.
Ruling the crypto market as the world’s second-leading manufacturer of Bitcoin mining machines, Canaan Inc. has filed for a US IPO or Initial Public Offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday.
The highly reputed firm of Hangzhou, China, has unveiled its offering volume as US$400 million during the filing with SEC, which will serve as a place holder and will be subjected to changes in the future. Apparently, last year, Canaan strived hard to earn a Hong Kong listing prior to the lapse of its application in November. The insiders revealed that Canaan was adamant to raise nearly $1 billion through the share sale during that time.
According to a report of the South China Morning Post, the regulatory bodies of the concerned city addressed IPOs triggered by cryptocurrency firms as “premature.” There has also been a sharp decline in the profits of the company in comparison to last year figures. Canaan has to face a net loss of $48.2 million in the six months span that ended on June 30. This loss stood as an unfavorable event in comparison to the 216.8-million-yuan profit that the firm earned in the preceding year in the same period.
The initial public offering of Canaan will be chaired by Credit Suisse Group AG, Citigroup Inc., China Renaissance Holdings Ltd., and CMB International Capital Ltd. The company is also planning to mark its presence on the Nasdaq Global Market by listing its shares under the symbol “CAN.”
Canaan’s ultimate rival firm in the field of crypto mining, Bitmain Technologies Ltd., is also contemplating to work out a U.S IPO. The news was reported by Bloomberg earlier in June this year.
U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer Announces Plan to Launch a New Bill For Cryptocurrencies and Other Evolving Technologies
Tom Emmer, the U.S Congressman’s recent announcements concerning the introduction of new legislation during the hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, has created a lot of buzz in the digital currency domain. The dignitary stated that the legislation would provide the necessary aid to the cryptocurrencies and other new-age technologies by paving “a path to regulatory certainty.”
The event also marked the presence of social media giant Facebook’s chief Mark Zuckerberg. The dynamic leader was invited to certify about the highly controversial, Libra Project. Tom stated that he certainly had serious concerns about the Libra stablecoin project but was more critical about Congress and U.S regulatory authorities.
Unfortunately, my colleagues have offered several proposals in conjunction with this hearing that could have a tremendously harmful impact on innovation in the United States,
Tom stated.
While pointing towards the U.S watchdog, Securities, and Exchange Commission, Emmer quoted that “A few of these provisions appear to apply securities regulation beyond actual securities.”
Emmer affirmed that he wants to draw a bill that
will make it clear that as long as you register as a security or comply with an exemption under existing law, you will not continue to have prosecution from a regulator hanging over your head when that asset is publicly distributed and, in fact, is a commodity.
Tom Emmer also holds the position of the co-chairperson of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus. He said that he often bumps into the players of the crypto space who “try to follow the rules and never receive a clear answer from regulators that what they’re doing is legal.” He further added that
It has not been clear whether innovators who play by the rules of the road will ever receive the assurances that the U.S. government will not come after them.
As per a press report published on the official page of Emmer on the House of Representative’s web portal stated that “Companies that have followed our current rules of the road, even if convoluted, deserve the certainty that they can offer their digital asset to the public and help contribute to a truly decentralized network.”
I am hopeful this non-partisan legislation will receive strong support and help ensure investment in the United States for these extraordinary technologies.
Earlier in July, Emmer reintroduced his “Safe Harbor for Taxpayers with Forked Assets bill.” The legislation was focused to restrain “penalties against taxpayers until the IRS issues guidance on how to report gains or losses in ‘forked’ digital assets.” The bill was for the first time presented in 2018 and promised to “establish a safe harbor for taxpayers attempting to report gains or losses in these forked digital assets.”
Tom Emmer, the U.S Congressman’s recent announcements concerning the introduction of new legislation during the hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, has created a lot of buzz in the digital currency domain. The dignitary stated that the legislation would provide the necessary aid to the cryptocurrencies and other new-age technologies by paving “a path to regulatory certainty.”
The event also marked the presence of social media giant Facebook’s chief Mark Zuckerberg. The dynamic leader was invited to certify about the highly controversial, Libra Project. Tom stated that he certainly had serious concerns about the Libra stablecoin project but was more critical about Congress and U.S regulatory authorities.
Unfortunately, my colleagues have offered several proposals in conjunction with this hearing that could have a tremendously harmful impact on innovation in the United States,
Tom stated.
While pointing towards the U.S watchdog, Securities, and Exchange Commission, Emmer quoted that “A few of these provisions appear to apply securities regulation beyond actual securities.”
Emmer affirmed that he wants to draw a bill that
will make it clear that as long as you register as a security or comply with an exemption under existing law, you will not continue to have prosecution from a regulator hanging over your head when that asset is publicly distributed and, in fact, is a commodity.
Tom Emmer also holds the position of the co-chairperson of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus. He said that he often bumps into the players of the crypto space who “try to follow the rules and never receive a clear answer from regulators that what they’re doing is legal.” He further added that
It has not been clear whether innovators who play by the rules of the road will ever receive the assurances that the U.S. government will not come after them.
As per a press report published on the official page of Emmer on the House of Representative’s web portal stated that “Companies that have followed our current rules of the road, even if convoluted, deserve the certainty that they can offer their digital asset to the public and help contribute to a truly decentralized network.”
I am hopeful this non-partisan legislation will receive strong support and help ensure investment in the United States for these extraordinary technologies.
Earlier in July, Emmer reintroduced his “Safe Harbor for Taxpayers with Forked Assets bill.” The legislation was focused to restrain “penalties against taxpayers until the IRS issues guidance on how to report gains or losses in ‘forked’ digital assets.” The bill was for the first time presented in 2018 and promised to “establish a safe harbor for taxpayers attempting to report gains or losses in these forked digital assets.”
Bitmain Terminates Executive Director Micree Ketuan Zhan; Employees Threatened Not to Maintain Contact With Him
Leading Chinese Bitcoin mining firm, Bitmain Technologies Limited has dismissed its co-founder and executive director, Micree Ketuan Zhan, from his position in a sudden turn of events. The critical news got viral in the crypto niche when Jihan Wu, the fellow co-founder and Board Chairman of Bitmain warned the company employees not to indulge in any interaction with Zhan as in the case of negligence of his orders the particular employee will be terminated from the job.
The controversial email from Jihan read,
Bitmain’s co-founder, chairman, legal representative, and executive director Jihan Wu has decided to dismiss all roles of Ketuan Zhan, effective immediately. Any Bitmain staff shall no longer take any direction from Zhan, or participate in any meeting organized by Zhan. Bitmain may, based on the situation, consider terminating employment contracts of those who violate this note.
As per the reports of CoinDesk, the reason behind the sudden termination of Zhan from the firm is still not disclosed by the officials. Though this shocking dismissal has surely evolved as a surprise for the crypto world as Zhan was amongst the biggest shareholders of Bitmain, holding nearly 36% stake in the firm. One of the most potent possibilities about the ousting of Ketuan Zhan from the Bitmain ecosystem is apparently the clash of strategies.
Hackernoon’s report stated that Zhan is a die-hard supporter of AI chip development while Wu is adamant to lend support to Bitcoin Cash development. This difference in thinking has been rumored to be the prime reason behind Zhan’s termination. Zhan was also cornered during the launch of Bitmain’s biggest mining farm in Texas some time back.
Bitmain has not released any official statement concerning Zhan’s dismissal from the firm, and the officials have been restraining themselves from commenting anything on the critical subject matter.
Leading Chinese Bitcoin mining firm, Bitmain Technologies Limited has dismissed its co-founder and executive director, Micree Ketuan Zhan, from his position in a sudden turn of events. The critical news got viral in the crypto niche when Jihan Wu, the fellow co-founder and Board Chairman of Bitmain warned the company employees not to indulge in any interaction with Zhan as in the case of negligence of his orders the particular employee will be terminated from the job.
The controversial email from Jihan read,
Bitmain’s co-founder, chairman, legal representative, and executive director Jihan Wu has decided to dismiss all roles of Ketuan Zhan, effective immediately. Any Bitmain staff shall no longer take any direction from Zhan, or participate in any meeting organized by Zhan. Bitmain may, based on the situation, consider terminating employment contracts of those who violate this note.
As per the reports of CoinDesk, the reason behind the sudden termination of Zhan from the firm is still not disclosed by the officials. Though this shocking dismissal has surely evolved as a surprise for the crypto world as Zhan was amongst the biggest shareholders of Bitmain, holding nearly 36% stake in the firm. One of the most potent possibilities about the ousting of Ketuan Zhan from the Bitmain ecosystem is apparently the clash of strategies.
Hackernoon’s report stated that Zhan is a die-hard supporter of AI chip development while Wu is adamant to lend support to Bitcoin Cash development. This difference in thinking has been rumored to be the prime reason behind Zhan’s termination. Zhan was also cornered during the launch of Bitmain’s biggest mining farm in Texas some time back.
Bitmain has not released any official statement concerning Zhan’s dismissal from the firm, and the officials have been restraining themselves from commenting anything on the critical subject matter.
A Mysterious Whale Manipulated Bitcoin Rally in 2017 - Report
Academics who previously alleged that the Bitcoin (BTC) bull run in 2017 was manipulated, now claim that a single market whale was responsible for it.
One unnamed entity on Bitfinex appears capable of sending BTC higher when it falls below certain thresholds, according to University of Texas Professor John Griffin and Ohio State University’s Amin Shams, Bloomberg reported. They claim that the transactions rely on the most popular stablecoin, Tether (USDT).
The authors examined Tether and Bitcoin transactions from March 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018, concluding that Bitcoin purchases on Bitfinex increased whenever Bitcoin’s value fell by certain increments, according to the report.
The academics claim that this pattern is only present in periods following printing of Tether, driven by a single large account holder, and not observed by other exchanges. Moreover, according them, simulations show that these patterns are highly unlikely to be due to chance.
"This one large player or entity either exhibited clairvoyant market timing or exerted an extremely large price impact on Bitcoin that is not observed in aggregate flows from other smaller traders,” their new peer-reviewed paper (not public yet) claims, according to Bloomberg.
Tether rejected the claims, with General Counsel Stuart Hoegner arguing in a statement that the paper is “foundationally flawed” because it is based on an insufficient data set, the report said. The research was probably published to back a “parasitic lawsuit,” the general counsel added.
As reported in October, a major class-action lawsuit has been filed against Bitfinex and Tether. The lawsuit claims that Bitfinex and Tether manipulated the cryptocurrency market and caused "the biggest financial bubble in human history." The plaintiffs insist that defendants' liability to the putative class likely surpasses USD 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars.
At pixel time (08:04 UTC), bitcoin trades at c. USD 9,234 and is down by 0.5% in the past 24 hours and by 2% in the past week. USDT trades above USD 1.
Bitcoin price chart:
Academics who previously alleged that the Bitcoin (BTC) bull run in 2017 was manipulated, now claim that a single market whale was responsible for it.
One unnamed entity on Bitfinex appears capable of sending BTC higher when it falls below certain thresholds, according to University of Texas Professor John Griffin and Ohio State University’s Amin Shams, Bloomberg reported. They claim that the transactions rely on the most popular stablecoin, Tether (USDT).
The authors examined Tether and Bitcoin transactions from March 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018, concluding that Bitcoin purchases on Bitfinex increased whenever Bitcoin’s value fell by certain increments, according to the report.
The academics claim that this pattern is only present in periods following printing of Tether, driven by a single large account holder, and not observed by other exchanges. Moreover, according them, simulations show that these patterns are highly unlikely to be due to chance.
"This one large player or entity either exhibited clairvoyant market timing or exerted an extremely large price impact on Bitcoin that is not observed in aggregate flows from other smaller traders,” their new peer-reviewed paper (not public yet) claims, according to Bloomberg.
Tether rejected the claims, with General Counsel Stuart Hoegner arguing in a statement that the paper is “foundationally flawed” because it is based on an insufficient data set, the report said. The research was probably published to back a “parasitic lawsuit,” the general counsel added.
As reported in October, a major class-action lawsuit has been filed against Bitfinex and Tether. The lawsuit claims that Bitfinex and Tether manipulated the cryptocurrency market and caused "the biggest financial bubble in human history." The plaintiffs insist that defendants' liability to the putative class likely surpasses USD 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars.
At pixel time (08:04 UTC), bitcoin trades at c. USD 9,234 and is down by 0.5% in the past 24 hours and by 2% in the past week. USDT trades above USD 1.
Bitcoin price chart:
UK Introduces New Crypto Tax Rulings, Says Bitcoin is not Money
The British government has updated its cryptocurrency tax rules, adding stipulations for businesses that work with crypto. Also, they stressed that they do not consider Bitcoin and other digital tokens to be money.
The UK’s tax agency, the HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs) had already released a series of guidelines for individuals, which it also amended slightly on Friday last week.
But per the latest document, firms will be obliged to declare cryptocurrency-related business actions on their company tax returns, and could be liable to pay the following taxes on their crypto dealings:
-Capital Gains Tax
-Corporation Tax
-Income Tax
-National Insurance contributions
-Stamp Taxes
-VAT
The tax body also requires that companies make their own calculations about the value of crypto transactions in GBP, and include an explanation of the methodology they use to make these calculations.
In the document, the tax body adds that it generally does not consider cryptocurrencies to be currency or “stock or marketable securities.”
This factor, it would seem, has a particular significance in the way that the tax authority regards cryptocurrency-based loans.
In fact, it would appear that HMRC would like to stay well out of loans that involve cryptocurrencies.
The document outlines,
“HMRC does not consider exchange tokens [Bitcoin and major altcoins] to be money. In addition, there is typically no counterparty standing behind the token and, as such, it does not seem that the token constitutes a debt. This means that exchange tokens do not create a loan relationship.”
It also adds a proviso that companies choosing to pay staff in cryptocurrencies must do so under “benefits in kind” rulings, which means Income Tax and National Insurance would both be payable in the same way as employees would be paid in GBP.
The previous guidelines for individuals document also expressed similar sentiments.
Airdrops, meanwhile, will only be subject to taxation if they are received in exchange for a service.
The tax authority added that yet more rulings would be forthcoming, explaining, “The tax treatment of security tokens and utility tokens will be addressed in future guidance.”
The British government has updated its cryptocurrency tax rules, adding stipulations for businesses that work with crypto. Also, they stressed that they do not consider Bitcoin and other digital tokens to be money.
The UK’s tax agency, the HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs) had already released a series of guidelines for individuals, which it also amended slightly on Friday last week.
But per the latest document, firms will be obliged to declare cryptocurrency-related business actions on their company tax returns, and could be liable to pay the following taxes on their crypto dealings:
-Capital Gains Tax
-Corporation Tax
-Income Tax
-National Insurance contributions
-Stamp Taxes
-VAT
The tax body also requires that companies make their own calculations about the value of crypto transactions in GBP, and include an explanation of the methodology they use to make these calculations.
In the document, the tax body adds that it generally does not consider cryptocurrencies to be currency or “stock or marketable securities.”
This factor, it would seem, has a particular significance in the way that the tax authority regards cryptocurrency-based loans.
In fact, it would appear that HMRC would like to stay well out of loans that involve cryptocurrencies.
The document outlines,
“HMRC does not consider exchange tokens [Bitcoin and major altcoins] to be money. In addition, there is typically no counterparty standing behind the token and, as such, it does not seem that the token constitutes a debt. This means that exchange tokens do not create a loan relationship.”
It also adds a proviso that companies choosing to pay staff in cryptocurrencies must do so under “benefits in kind” rulings, which means Income Tax and National Insurance would both be payable in the same way as employees would be paid in GBP.
The previous guidelines for individuals document also expressed similar sentiments.
Airdrops, meanwhile, will only be subject to taxation if they are received in exchange for a service.
The tax authority added that yet more rulings would be forthcoming, explaining, “The tax treatment of security tokens and utility tokens will be addressed in future guidance.”
