PRESS RELEASE. The most awaitedAladdin Exchange $1,000,000 eventis finally live. The giveaway event is open to the public. People can register on the exchange’s official platform and win prizes. The Aladdin Exchange team announced that the event starts on March 29, 2021, and ends on April 27, 2021.
With more than 2 million people already registered, Aladdin Exchange keeps doors open for those who want to register and participate in thesimulated trading event. To successfully register and be eligible, users must complete the verification process.
Users need to verify the SMS and Aladdin Pro Wallet verification (Level 3) in order to compete and win big rewards. After the registration process, users will get coins to participate in the simulation trading competition.
Users who make more profit during the giveaway will be entitled to prizes. 316,752 participants will get the chance to win up to 1,000,000 USD. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place holders will win $100,000, $50,000, and $10,000 respectively.
The exchange has an ever-growing number of digital asset pairs for users to invest in. These include BTC, ETH, TNC, LINK, BCH, LTC, PLF, USDT, ABBC, and HMR.
Aladdin exchange is a cryptocurrency exchange based in Dubai. The Aladdin Exchange team said that the platform offers spot and margin trading amongst its various services. Furthermore, they also said that they provide great tools and features to leverage as users grow their trading portfolios.
Moreover, Aladdin Exchange intends to give its users and global liquidity providers the ultimate cryptocurrency trading experience. The platform also provides state-of-the-art cryptocurrency trading services.
The Aladdin exchange team is devoted to giving safe, professional, reliable, and world-class services to its global clients. While they strive to offer excellent services, they also intend to accelerate the adoption of digital assets.
The exchange is developed byTNC IT Solutions Group. The company is a blockchain company that intends to unite the cryptocurrency world. TNC IT Solutions Group’s activities cover investing both its resources and guidance in blockchain companies. Also, the company aims to integrate blockchain technology, finding global standard developers, and many other things. In other words, it is a network-focused international blockchain company.
This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.
Spanish financial authorities don’t seem to be happy with the massive crypto-related advertising campaigns deployed across Madrid’s streets. The National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) is rushing to approve a regulation on such ads that promote bitcoin in Spain.
Proposal Comes in the Wake of a Bitcoin Advertising Campaign Ran by a Local Exchange
During a speech at the “Observatory of Finance” conference hosted by El Español, Rodrigo Buenaventura, CNMV president, was vocal on his stance against these ads, considering them “risky.” He referred to all crypto-related advertising, rather than just only promoting bitcoin (BTC).
Although, he didn’t mention specifically the reasons behind the sudden interest in regulating crypto advertising on streets, it came just after a local crypto exchange, Bit2me, deployed a massive campaign promoting bitcoin in Madrid.
In fact, the firm put over 800 posters across the Spanish capital city, and some of them very close to the CNMV headquarters. Buenaventura mentioned how the regulation’s approval would be handled:
We will conduct a broad public consultation, consult our advisory committee, and submit it to the Council of State before approval. It is also necessary to emphasize that what is controlled by the CNMV are not the assets (cryptocurrencies) or the providers or the operations, but only the advertising when they are offered as an investment alternative.
CNMV’s Stance Against Cryptos Remains Unchanged
Still, the CNMV president clarified the financial watchdog should abide by the regulation during this process not to hurt any legitimate business with the proposed ruling.
But the Spanish financial watchdog’s rhetoric against cryptocurrencies, specifically bitcoin, is well-documented by the press. The CNMV has been active in issuing several warnings about the high risks that cryptos bring due to “its increased speculative nature.”
Early in February, the CNMV gave some hints on regulating the bitcoin-related ads, citing “the increasing volatility” among cryptos. The watchdog claimed it bolstered firms to run these “aggressive” campaigns to attract investors – the same time as Bit2me deployed its posters.
What are your thoughts on this forthcoming regulation on crypto ads in the streets of Spain? Let us know in the comments section below.
The key to properly filing taxes on cryptocurrency comes down to excellent record-keeping, the correct IRS tax forms, and knowledge about what qualifies as income versus capital gains.
Handle Tax Filings With Care to Avoid Any Audits
Although the traditional April 15th deadline for filing US taxes has been pushed to May 17th, there is no time like the present for organizing cryptocurrency transaction records.
At this point, all cryptocurrency transactions are taxable in some constellation, so it’s vital to familiarize yourself with the nuances to ensure you fill in the accompanying tax forms correctly. To give you the inside scoop on streamlining your filings, Bitcoin.com has enlisted advice from Shane Brunette, the CEO of Cryptotaxcalculator.
How Capital Gains In Crypto Work
Like a stock sale can result in a positive return, resulting in capital gains tax exposure, cryptocurrencies operate similarly. However, exchanging cryptocurrency for fiat currency is only one type of taxable event.
According to Brunette,
Crypto to crypto trades trigger a capital tax event, whereas transactions such as airdrops and staking rewards are classified as income. Importantly, you can only use capital losses to discount a maximum of $3,000 from any ‘income’ earned from crypto.
That means that converting cryptocurrency to fiat currency, another crypto, or using cryptos to purchase goods and services can all be treated as capital gains events. In terms of tax rates, it depends on how long the cryptocurrency was held.
For short-term trades or activities (less than one year), any gains will be taxed at the individual income tax rate. Cryptocurrencies held for more than one year will likely be taxed at lower rates, ranging from 0-20%, depending on an individual’s income tax bracket.
When Crypto Returns Are Treated as Income Instead of Capital Gains
As mentioned above, not all crypto transactions fall under the capital gains umbrella. Many other potential activities can fall under the income category.
These include any income received from cryptocurrency mining, liquidity pooling, node staking and validation, interest earned from decentralized finance (defi) lending, and receipt of crypto payment for goods and services.
When income is received from any of the above activities, it is taxed at the same prevailing rate that the individual pays on other income received during the year.
Airdrops, Awards, and Giveaways
Like the treatment of mining and staking rewards, crypto airdrops, awards, giveaways, and even bug bounties are also treated as crypto income. Because these activities all result in some sort of income derived from the crypto ecosystem, they fall under the income tax category instead of being treated as capital gains or losses.
How to Pull Transactional Records
Due to a lack of uniformity across platforms, pulling information can be entirely straightforward or slightly confusing. Accordingly, it’s essential to keep good records and ensure you can combine all the transactions within one report to make filing that much easier.
Cryptotaxcalculator’s Brunette adds the following valuable, actionable tip,
Carefully account for fees. You will be surprised how quickly this can add up to significant savings. If the fee is paid in crypto, you will also need to account for the capital gain/loss on the fee itself.
The Forms You Need Ready
After compiling all the cryptocurrency transactions carried out over 2020 and determining whether they fall under capital gains or income, the filing process can commence. Several forms need to be completed depending on the nature of the transactions.
Per Shane Brunette,
Form 8949 and Schedule D are used for reporting capital gains, but if you have any transactions that are classified as income, you will also need to complete Schedule 1 (Form 1040).
Some Final Thoughts On Taxes
As entering the cryptocurrency ecosystem becomes ever-easier, taxable actions are on the rise in tandem. Fortunately, it is easier than ever to file taxes on cryptocurrency, and organization is a crucial element of this effort. In his final actionable tip, Brunette concludes that the best preparation starts with excellent recordkeeping.
Keep your records up to date throughout the year. Even moderate trading activity can quickly add up to hundreds of transactions, and the IRS requires you to record everything in USD. If you take some time to get set up with automated tax software at the start of the year, it will become trivial to file your taxes come tax time.
Are you planning to do your crypto-taxes by yourself or do you plan to have an accountant do it for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
The popular safe-haven asset gold recently posted the lowest settlement in three weeks, as a firm dollar and bond market yields have weakened support for the precious metal. The financial goliath BNY Mellon also published a report about the differences between gold and bitcoin and the study said that the crypto asset “fits the description of a nascent currency.”
A Firm Dollar and Treasury Yields Takes Some Steam Out of Gold’s Market Performance
The U.S. dollar has gainedsome strengthin the last two weeks, and crypto-assets likebitcoin (BTC)have increased in value as well. However, the precious metal (PM) gold has seen better days, as gold prices have retreated during the last few weeks. The price of gold dropped under the $1,700 per ounce range last week but today, the PM has managed to climb back above the psychological price zone. At the time of publication, an ounce of .999 fine gold is trading for $1,716.30 after jumping 1.7% in the last 24 hours.
Today’s gold and silver prices.
Gold bugs and economists have been discussing Joe Biden’s proposed$3 trillion stimulus package, and it could kickstart gold, silver, and other types of assets that are considered a hedge against inflation. Kitco Metals’ Jim Wyckoff said the dollar’s recent rise and the crazy Treasury yields “are limiting buying interest.”
“The gold and silver market bulls need a fundamental spark,” Kitco Metals senior analyst stressed. Wyckoff also noted that the top two PMs, gold and silver, saw “technically-related selling pressure from the shorter-term futures traders amid still-bearish near-term charts.” Meanwhile as gold has been in a slump, cryptocurrency markets have seen some fresh fervor after prices dropped from highs settled on March 13, 2021.
BNY Mellon Report Compares Bitcoin and Gold
Moreover, the financial institution BNY Mellon has also published acomprehensive studyon the attributes of the crypto asset bitcoin (BTC) and the PM gold.BNY Mellon’s report zeroes in on the controversialstock-to-flow ratio (S2F) and the creator Plan B’s alternative model called the stock-to-flow cross-asset model (S2FX).
“The implication from this model is that as bitcoin gains more mainstream momentum and is viewed more like gold,” the BNY Mellon report says. “The scarcity value (as measured by S2F) and the subsequent halving will ultimately drive prices to the gold dot cluster and implied total market value.”
The researchers at BNY Mellon are not buying the digital gold theory and highlighted that BTC “fits the description of a nascent currency.” Although the financial institution’s report does say bitcoin can gold have “similarities” and that BTC could look up to the popular PM.
“Bitcoin is also frequently compared to gold,” BNY Mellon’s study notes. “Indeed, there are many similarities and gold is a worthy role model for bitcoin. After all, gold has been accepted as a store of value and medium of exchange for centuries (nowadays, mostly as a store of value, almost none is used as a medium of exchange). We believe gold is also the only globally accepted ‘currency’ that has circumvented the issue of sanctioning entities.”
However, in mid-February 2021, BNY Mellon set up a digital currency unit that plans to “hold, transfer, and issue” bitcoin.
What do you think about gold’s recent performance and BNY Mellon’s bitcoin and gold comparisons? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
Just recently, an individual lost all of his life savings in a matter of no time after he downloaded a malicious and phony Trezor application onto his iOS smartphone from Apple’s App Store. Phillipe Christodoulou lost 17.1 bitcoin or over a million dollars worth of the cryptocurrency using today’s exchange rates. Christodoulou detailed that he’s more upset with Apple than the hackers who stole his precious digital assets.
Individual Loses His Life Savings- 17 Bitcoin Gone
Malicious and phony applications for smartphones can be a problem for crypto users and not too long ago, Phillipe Christodoulou, lost over 17 BTC. At the time of the theft his stash was worth over $600k, and today it would be well over a million dollars. On that particular occasion, Christodoulou wanted to check his balance, so he headed over to Apple’s App Store and downloaded the fake Trezor application for iOS. However, Trezor doesn’t offer such an application and in fact, the company had been warning about the problem for some time now.
On December 2, 2020, the hardware wallet manufacturer tweeted about a similar scam application on Google’s Play Store. “A warning to all the Android users owning Trezor devices,” the company warned at the time. “This app is a scam and has no relation to SatoshiLabs and Trezor. We’ve already reported it to the Google team. Always confirm any action on your device and never type seed words until your Trezor asks you to.”
Coalition for App Fairness Executive Says ‘Apple Pushes Myths About User Privacy and Security’
The application Christodoulou downloaded was not only a phony decoy, but the malicious hackers also stole his funds. Christodoulou says he’s more heated at Apple and he was once a loyal Apple customer. “They betrayed the trust that I had in them,” Christodoulou detailed to the press. “Apple doesn’t deserve to get away with this.” Apple is supposed to do due diligence and applications downloaded from the App Store are touted as safe.
“Study after study has shown that the App Store is the most secure app marketplace in the world,” Apple spokesperson Fred Sainz stressed. However, according to a report from the Washington Post, Meghan DiMuzio, executive director of the Coalition for App Fairness disagrees.
“Apple frequently pushes myths about user privacy and security as a shield against its anti-competitive App Store practices,” DiMuzio explained. “The truth is, Apple’s security ‘standards’ are inconsistently applied across apps and only enforced when it benefits Apple.”
What do you think about the guy who lost 17 bitcoin from the scam application? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
PRESS RELEASE. PARSIQ launches its highly anticipated IQ Protocol – the first risk-free collateral-less decentralized finance protocol built specifically for the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market.
31st March 2021, Tallinn, Estonia –PARSIQhas launched their revolutionary IQ Protocol on testnet (Ethereum) – a decentralized finance (DeFi) solution for the SaaS market. IQ Protocol is the world’s first risk-free, collateral-less DeFi protocol to tokenize SaaS subscriptions in the DeFi space with a circular economy. IQ Protocol features several standard DeFi services, including staking, lending, and borrowing.
The launch marksPARSIQ’s official entry into the DeFi space. If the testnet release is successful, IQ Protocol’s mainnet is scheduled to launch in Q2 this year, and the team already has interest from several DeFi projects. Furthermore, thePARSIQteam is considering launching the mainnet on several other chains, including Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and Solana (SOL),with which PARSIQ has already integrated.
IQ Protocol & Power Tokens
The IQ Protocol brings a new perspective to DeFi solutions for the mainstream environment. Not only is the maintenance of the protocol’s network fully-trustless, but the protocol itself is open-source. Additionally,PARSIQ’s innovative decision to remove the requirement of collateral to participate in or build on IQ is another first for the DeFi space, nullifying the risks associated with DeFi participation.
IQ Protocol also takes an innovative approach to token utility through the introduction of Power Tokens. Unlike conventional utility tokens which represent a fixed amount of utility, Power Tokens generate utility over time. Therefore, holders of Power Tokens “subscribe” to utility rather than possessing a fixed quantity.
For example, the conventional “tomato token” would represent rights to collect 1 kg of tomatoes, whereas a Power “tomato token” (with weekly flow and expiry in 1 year) would represent a right to collect 1 kg of tomatoes per week for a year.
Power Tokens are housed in a “Power Enterprise” – a series of smart contracts which aggregate several IQ Protocol features, including governance, funding, and the ability to mint new Power Tokens.
The shift to a subscription-first model provides huge performance benefits for blockchain-based networks including off-loading a significant load of transactions away from the main-chain. And in the best case, most main-chain transactions aren’t needed anymore.
Tokenomics
A new, upgraded tokenomics model also accompanies IQ’s launch, requiring users to hold PRQ,PARSIQ’s native token. IQ allows users to borrow or “rent” PRQ via IQ Protocol by paying a fee. In effect, they pay a subscription fee, with the proceeds rewarding lenders in a risk-free fashion. Accordingly, IQ’s model rewards holding in a simple but effective way which also ensures the long-term security of its network.
Strong Partnerships & Developments
IQ’s launch comes after a successful start to the year for the PARSIQ team. The current network recentlyintegrated with the Solana ecosystem, allowing SOL users to combine data streams and write custom scenarios using PARSIQ’s user-friendly scripting language.
PARSIQalso integrated its Smart Triggers feature with data marketplace platform Ocean Protocol. Theintegrationgives Ocean users the ability to automate reactions to specific data inputs using PARSIQ’s unique monitoring solution.
This was also extended to Binance Smart Chain (BSC), with BSC users able to benefit from the same Smart Triggers feature. As part of the BSC integration, PARSIQ also became part of Binance’s$100 million accelerator fundas part of the top-exchange’s efforts to encourage innovative new projects to build on BSC.
Moreover, PARSIQ has integrated with several other projects in the DeFi space, including Balancer, PAID Network, Injective Protocol, and many more. For more on these integrations, check out PARSIQ’sblog.
About PARSIQ
PARSIQis a next-generation blockchain analytics platform built to connect blockchain activity to off-chain applications and devices. It provides a number of innovative solutions for actionable data including customizable event-based triggers, data monitoring solutions, and real-time automation targeted at the SaaS space.
For more about IQ Protocol, PARSIQ, and its future plans, visitPARSIQ’s website.
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PARSIQis the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only.The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.
This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.
I opened my Telegram and noticed I had way more messages than usual. I knew something was askew. The headers of the messages were all very similar, “John McAfee just called you an idiot on Twitter.” Here we go I muttered under my breath as I further investigated what all the hype was about. I wandered over to John’s Twitter account and sure enough, John had tweeted that he was abandoning the Ghost project and that Josh Case is an idiot. Let’s back up…
**The following essay was written by guest author Josh Case and submitted to Bitcoin.com’s newsdesk to publish as a featured editorial. The work will appear in a book titled “Ghosted,” with never-before-told stories authored by Case. The opinions expressed in this editorial are the author’s own and do not reflect the opinions of Bitcoin.com and its newsdesk. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any opinions, content, accuracy, or quality within the article.**
I first met John McAfee at his home in Tennessee in the early days of 2018. I had emailed his manager Jimmy trying to set up a meeting and an interview with John, and I was kind of surprised when they agreed and set a date. I immediately jumped into full research mode and began a deep dive into John McAfee’s history. I had been following him for years, but his story was even more interesting than I had thought.
After McAfee Associates, the company behind McAfee Antivirus, John went on to start a pharmaceutical company, opened a yoga/meditation retreat, tried his hand at real estate, and even ran for the President Of The United States, twice. Some also speculate he developed new recreational drugs, tried to overthrow the Belizean government, murdered his neighbor, and a lot of other things, but these accusations were never backed up with any evidence and were always chalked up as speculation.
A couple of hours from John’s town and I had still yet to receive the address of where I was going. They had told me they wouldn’t send me the address until the day of the meeting, for security purposes, but I was starting to get a little worried. I sent Jimmy a text trying to get the info I needed, but he had yet to read my last few texts, so I didn’t expect a quick reply from this one either. I was listening to an interview with John on Youtube when Jimmy texted me back, and the address flashed across the top of my screen. As I punched it into my GPS my mind was racing with thoughts about how the night would go.
As I approached his house, a really nice two-story home tucked away in a small town, the butterflies started kicking in. I was staying the night at John McAfee’s house, fresh off the bull market of 2017, before anyone even realized 2018 was going to be a bear market. I knew this was going to be a night to remember… And it sure was.
I lugged my stuff to the door, rang the buzzer, and waited for someone to answer. I wondered to myself if John was going to answer? Or one of his security. The door creaks slowly open, and two very large guys, personal security for John McAfee answer the door and ask who I am. I tell them, and they see me into the guest living room. I can hear John in the room next to me whining and dining lawyers and politicians and it’s not long until the guests leave, and the only people left in the house are those that live there. John has his wife Janice of course, several live-in bodyguards, his manager Jimmy, and a couple of others. Friends, traders, etc.
It’s not long until we are all drinking whisky, philosophizing the meaning of life, and being schooled by John on the history and usefulness of suspenders. “Suspenders lost their popularity after WWI, but they are coming back,” John shouted with excitement. “All great men know that you can’t think while wearing a belt, it cuts off your circulation.” John quickly left the room and came back with a pair of suspenders to give to me. “Here, this will change your life,” John proclaimed. I am not a suspenders kind of guy, but I always wonder if John was right. Had I adopted the suspenders when he told me too, and increased my blood circulation, who knows what kind of man I could be today. A friendship was born that day, and John and I began speaking more frequently.
I have always been an idea guy, and like brainstorming concepts and ideas with like-minded people. John McAfee was the same. We began talking almost daily and found ourselves brainstorming all kinds of different concepts in which blockchain and cryptocurrency could solve real-world problems in a meaningful way. We came up with new ideas almost every day, and at times these calls felt more like an exercise in coming up with ideas than actually trying to build any of them. It was just fun talking about ways this technology can and will change the world. One idea we talked about for a few days, that John was always very interested in pursuing, was an app we were calling “History Day One” on our calls.
The concept was this. Imagine if we had verifiable records of random events in history. For instance, if 500 people were to add a tiny note to a blockchain ledger that said something like “On October 2019 at 5:00 p.m., John McAfee gave a speech at Barcelona Blockchain Week”, and they embedded a picture, video, or geolocation tag, showing when and where the event happened, it would give us a very good reviewable history of events all across the world. Users could retain their pseudo-anonymity by doing this with cryptocurrency addresses, but the sheer amount of volume of entries per event would lend credence to its authenticity.
After talking nearly every day for months, all of a sudden there was a break in communication.
In January 2019, after receiving inside information that he would be indicted by a grand jury in TN, McAfee took to the sea on a Yacht, fleeing the U.S. for good, and set up shop on a small island in the Bahamas. Once he was all set up, he invited me down to visit, and I obliged.
My first hour in the Bahamas wasn’t a great one. We brought too much camera equipment, the customs official said, and they wanted to deport us for not applying for a license to film commercially. We had two cameras, and a drone. We ended up making a deal with them, where they could keep some of our equipment at the customs office until the end of our trip, and in return, they do not deport us. We had other friends showing up later with equipment too, so we figured we would be fine. Surprisingly they agreed to this.
We rented a car from the only place that had one on the 900-person island and proceeded to drive on the left side of the road till we got to the Exuma Yacht Club, where John McAfee was docked.
John was a local celebrity there and it only took a few moments for someone to point us to where John was docked. Intimidating bodyguards and even more intimidating dogs greeted us and we walked up to Johns Yacht. With barely as much as a hello, John was off to the races talking about politics, cryptocurrency, freedom, his charges that were yet to be announced, and of course his Yacht. Built for a drug lord with lower-level bunkers, multiple bedrooms and decks, and bells and whistles that only a true man of the waters would understand. John was that and more.
Our time in the Bahamas only lasted a few days, but John told stories that encompassed his entire lifetime. From his early days with computers, to the founding of McAfee Antivirus, to what he wanted his legacy to be, John spoke like his life was still completely ahead of him. He had been jailed in nine countries, sued by hundreds of people and companies, bribed police officers and governments around the world, and lived to tell all the stories. John knew charges were coming down the line for him and in light of this, you would think John would slow down a bit, but his foot was on the gas as usual. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you just can’t change who you are.
The last thing I heard them talking about as we were leaving, was the logistics of their SUV being flown in by helicopter. Within weeks of our departure, John would be arrested in the Dominican Republic for “traveling on a yacht carrying high-caliber weapons, ammunition, and military-style gear.” Add another country to the list that John has been arrested in. That makes ten….so far.
Surprisingly and yet unsurprisingly, John was released and it was back to business as usual, although this time John got a lot more secretive. We continued to talk, but he would never disclose his location and was generally just more cautious with things. He was moving very often and was more concerned than usual about being monitored. He craved privacy and freedom and naturally, our conversations lead back to cryptocurrency.
Ghost by McAfee is a proof-of-stake privacy coin that was released in the summer of 2020. John was tired of what the industry was selling, and really wanted to put out something reflecting his ideals and values. A real thriving ecosystem of privacy-related products, a private stable coin, and a legacy bearing his name.
Fast forward a few months, and I open my Telegram to see I have way more messages than usual. John McAfee just called me an idiot on Twitter. Wtf…
For the previous few days, John had expressed his concern about the rate of development that was happening with Ghost. The project was only a few months old, and ran on a shoestring budget, but John wanted it to be ready to take on the world now and was not pleased that it wasn’t. John has been known to be very erratic and change his mind on a dime and it seemed like this would be one of those times. Sometimes when John has the gas, and has the matches, he can’t help but to put them to use, and John announced he was leaving the Ghost project…but it wouldn’t be long until he was back.
The community around Ghost is one of the strongest in the industry and John recognized that, and announced he was coming back and will continue to support Ghost.
Soon after the announcement of John’s return to Ghost, an even bigger event happened. John was arrested in Spain on U.S. charges of tax evasion, money laundering, and more. Sadly that makes 11 countries John has been arrested in, and where John still remains today. Although John has been locked in a jail cell in Spain for almost six months, he has continued to support Ghost via tweets from jail, and regularly gets and transmits messages about the development of the project from his wife Janice.
Ghost by McAfee recently announced a partnership with Poltergeistexchange.com for a sidechain named Ghoul on the Ghost blockchain that will allow private cross-chain atomic swaps, a private stable coin, private Ethereum transactions, and more coming this year. John is very pleased that development is moving forward with the vision he believes in, regardless of his personal situation.
A lot of people want to see John McAfee spend the rest of his days in a jail cell. I am not one of those people. They see John’s loud and often brash personality on the internet and immediately take a love or hate position with him. John McAfee is very polarizing and has probably made a lot of mistakes, but I know John McAfee, and he is a good guy. I hope to see the day John and I can meet again…
Like this story? I am releasing a book titled “Ghosted,” with never-before-told stories from my times with John McAfee through the rise and fall of his time in cryptocurrency. From being robbed by the Italian Mafia in Italy in 2018, to being threatened by big cryptocurrency players in 2020, “Ghosted” will take you for an up-close and personal look at the legend that is John McAfee throughout his rise and fall in cryptocurrency. For more information please join the “Ghosted” Telegram group. You can also check out an exclusive collection of never-before-seen footage of John McAfee on the run as NFTs on Rarible.
What do you think about Josh Case’s inside look at John McAfee’s life on the run? Let us know what you think about this story in the comments section below.
The New Civil Liberties Alliance has objected to FinCEN’s proposed crypto wallet rule, calling it “unlawful.” In addition, the group says that the U.S. Treasury’s “planned ‘crackdown’ on cryptocurrency holders’ private wallets is an unconstitutional power grab.”
FinCEN’s Proposed Crypto Wallet Rule Is Unlawful, Says NCLA
The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, filed its comments on Monday objecting to FinCEN’s proposed rule, entitled “Requirements for Certain Transactions Involving Convertible Virtual Currency or Digital Assets.” The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department.
The NCLA warned:
The U.S. Treasury Department’s planned ‘crackdown’ on cryptocurrency holders’ private wallets is an unconstitutional power grab … The proposed rule represents a radical — and unlawful — extension of FinCEN’s financial surveillance.
The group calls FinCEN’s proposal a “large-scale state intrusion into private digital transactions,” asserting that its “unlawful requirements … would lead to a massive collection of people’s personal information” and would “likely force privacy-sensitive digital assets out of the U.S. banking system.”
Under the proposal, “digital assets would fall into the ‘monetary instruments’ category of regulated currencies,” the NCLA explained. This means private data of bitcoin and other crypto users would be collected as mandated by the Bank Secrecy Act’s (BSA) record-keeping and currency transaction reporting requirements.
Furthermore, FinCEN’s proposed rule “sets in motion a chain reaction of personal information mandatory disclosure,” the NCLA described. For example, whenever a financial institution makes a transaction involving cryptocurrencies worth more than $3,000 with a person, even if the individual is using an unhosted wallet, it must keep detailed records concerning both the customer and the counterparty. The NCLA pointed out that “Even existing BSA requirements for traditional banks do not require this level of disclosure about counterparties.” The alliance argues:
The proposed rule exceeds appropriate constitutional limits by empowering FinCEN to exercise Congress’ exclusive legislative power.
The group further explained that “the proposed rule violates the Fourth Amendment by extending the BSA’s reach to require production of sensitive financial information from those who have never voluntarily disclosed it to a financial institution, and who, like cryptocurrency owners, have been excluded from the BSA’s reach.” The NCLA emphasized that “It would unconstitutionally require disclosure of private information to law enforcement without any suspicion of wrongdoing,” subsequently urging FinCEN to “recognize constitutional limits on its authority and to halt its unlawful rulemaking.”
FinCEN’s proposed rule unlawfully attempts to transform the agency’s limited authority to regulate banks into permission to engage in the mass financial surveillance of innocent individuals who merely use digital assets. FinCEN ought to recognize that its proposal would be grossly unconstitutional and promptly scrap this rule.
Do you agree with the NCLA on FinCEN’s crypto rule? Let us know in the comments section below.
Goldman Sachs has revealed that it will be offering bitcoin investments to its wealth management clients. The investment bank reportedly plans to offer a “full spectrum” of bitcoin investments, “whether that’s through the physical bitcoin, derivatives or traditional investment vehicles.”
Goldman Sachs to Begin Offering Bitcoin Investments to Wealthy Clients
Goldman Sachs is the second major bank to say that it will be offering its wealthy clients access to bitcoin investments. CNBC reported on Wednesday that the bank is close to offering its first investment vehicles for bitcoin to clients of its private wealth management group.
Mary Rich, who was recently named global head of digital assets for Goldman’s private wealth management division, explained that the bank aims to start offering bitcoin investments in the second quarter. She said in an interview last week, “We are working closely with teams across the firm to explore ways to offer thoughtful and appropriate access to the ecosystem for private wealth clients, and that is something we expect to offer in the near term.”
Rich revealed that Goldman Sachs is looking to ultimately offer a “full spectrum” of investments in bitcoin, “whether that’s through the physical bitcoin, derivatives or traditional investment vehicles,” the publication conveyed. She was quoted as saying:
There’s a contingent of clients who are looking to this asset as a hedge against inflation, and the macro backdrop over the past year has certainly played into that … There are also a large contingent of clients who feel like we’re sitting at the dawn of a new Internet in some ways and are looking for ways to participate in this space.
Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley revealed that it will start offering its wealth management clients access to three bitcoin funds, becoming the first major bank to do so. Beside Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, other big banks have yet to make bitcoin available to wealthy clients. Goldman’s private wealth management business mostly targets individuals, families, and endowments with at least $25 million in investable assets.
According to Rich, Goldman Sachs may offer its clients access to bitcoin investment funds, similar to how Morgan Stanley is set up to do. In addition, she said the firm is also looking to offer clients other ways to invest that are “more akin to the underlying asset class which trades 24-7 globally.” The global head of digital assets noted that some cryptocurrency investment funds can only be sold or bought once per quarter. She concluded:
We’re still in the very nascent stages of this ecosystem; no one knows exactly how it will evolve or what shape it will be … But I think it’s fairly safe to expect it will be part of our future.
On March 28, the Scottish school in Edinburgh called the Morningside School of Music decided to accept cryptocurrency payments for tuition. Morningside’s director Linda Boyd said the school had noticed the trend of larger firms joining the crypto economy and it’s “just a matter of time before smaller businesses like ours start doing the same,” she said.
Playing to the Beat of a Different Drum
According to the Morningside School of Music director Linda Boyd, the well known music academy in Scotland is now accepting digital assets as a form of payment. Boyd said during the announcement that the school used bitcoin (BTC) in the past to pay for certain items. “We sometimes use things like Bitcoin to pay for goods for the school, so we know how fast and easy it is and want our music students to be able to do the same,” Boyd detailed in a recent interview.
She added that many of the school’s adult pupils are employed in the fintech industry and a number of the students suggested the school should accept crypto payments. Data shows that Morningside School of Music has roughly 700 students. The decision was made to make it easier for pupils and their families to pay for tuition. “It’s just about giving our customers another way of paying and making life easier for them,” Boyd said.
The music school director added:
Cryptocurrency is here to stay and will eventually become a routine way for people to pay for services of all descriptions.
A Natural Way to Pay for Tuition
During the last few years, schools all across the world have been announcing crypto support for products and services. Edinburgh, Scotland is known for its forward-thinking fintech ecosystem Boyd stressed and crypto acceptance seemed to be the right fit. “Edinburgh’s got a big fintech industry and many of our pupils work or study in that sector so for them, this is a perfectly natural way to pay,” the music school director noted.
The digital wallet and payments platform Zumo and the company’s CEO, Nick Jones said the firm was delighted to see that Linda Boyd announced the school will be accepting payments from customers in the form of cryptocurrency.
“It’s amazing to see crypto take root in my back garden of Edinburgh, but also because it all became about due to requests from students,” Jones said. “This should be unsurprising given that in a recent poll we carried out, it was the youngest respondents who had the most excitement about the future of crypto– indeed, over 50% of 18-24-year-olds believe it will be a normal form of payment in the next 10 years,” he added.
Morningside says it has been raising musical excellence across Edinburgh since 1999. The school’s most popular programs include drums, music theory, ukulele lessons, piano, violin, and singing lessons as well. The Morningside music school is open seven days a week, but strictly by appointment.
What do you think about Edinburgh’s Morningside School of Music accepting crypto for tuition payments? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
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The Canadian anti-money laundering agency, Fintrac, says it recorded official capital inflows originating from Hong Kong that totaled more than $34 billion in the past year. The outflows, which are the highest since 2012 when the earliest Fintrac records are available, “are the first evidence of a significant flight of capital overseas from the Asian financial hub following the security turmoil.”
Accounts Frozen
As detailed by one report, the city’s record capital transfers, which are “up 46 per cent from 2016 and 10 percent from 2019, came in a year when Hong Kong police froze the accounts of several people linked to pro-democracy protests.” This freezing of bank accounts, in turn, triggered “concerns among some residents about asset safety.”
Meanwhile, Darren Gibb, a spokesman for Fintrac suggests that some of the fleeing Hong Kong residents could be using cryptocurrencies to move funds ashore. He said:
The Fintrac data captures only a fraction of total legal inflows into the Canadian economy because many transactions are not included, such as transfers via cryptocurrencies, between financial institutions, or under $8,000.
In addition to the anti-money laundering agency, the report also quotes one Canadian bank executive who claims to have seen “a remarkable increase in balances in existing accounts linked to Hong Kong phone numbers.” The executive adds:
Average balances in these accounts were up 30 per cent between June and mid-March, versus a four per cent rise in accounts with non-Hong Kong phone numbers.
Hong Kong Denies Capital Flight Reports
Meanwhile, a Canadian lawyer, Jean-Francois Harvey, who is based in Hong Kong similarly confirms seeing “a five-fold increase in clients seeking to move to Canada since mid-2020.” According to the lawyer, his clients have transferred at least $0.8 million and, more commonly, between $4 million and approximately $8 million in the last 12 months.
However, the same report still acknowledges that the reported “outflows represent only 1.9 per cent of Hong Kong’s total bank deposits in 2020.” For its part, the government in Hong Kong says “the city has not seen significant capital outflows since the anti-government unrest first began in 2019.” In addition, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority says the city “continues to receive inflows on a net basis, with total deposits growing by 5.4 per cent in 2020 to $1.9 trillion.”
In the meantime, the report states that the British government is also expecting that “as many as 321,600 Hong Kong residents will migrate there over the next five years, with almost half of those in 2021.”
Do you agree that capital outflows from Hong Kong will be much higher if crypto-based transfers are included? Tell us your views in the comments section below.
The cryptocurrency bull run has been the most notorious headline highlighted in the last few months, but more figures are being watched beyond bitcoin prices. A new report released by Pricewaterhousecoopers (PWC) revealed that crypto merger and acquisition (M&A) deals skyrocketed in 2020.
2021 Is on Track to Surpass Last Year’s Numbers, PWC Says
Quoted by Bloomberg, the consulting firm pointed out that the crypto M&A sector more than doubled last year to $1.1 billion from 2019 figures. Geographically speaking, the United States is still taking the lead by itself, as deals taking place in the region accounted near $785 million.
Still, Europe and Asia together, as EMEA region, generated $303 million in crypto M&A deals, said PWC.
Henri Arslanian, global crypto leader of PWC, highlighted the fact that 2020 numbers posse a record for the sector. However, he added that 2021 is on track “to significantly surpass it from every single metric.”
The study says that findings suggest crypto’s market is increasingly expanding and confirms the widespread endorsement from large investors worldwide. Moreover, PWC foresees that the crypto industry would become “more institutionalized” at some point.
The firm backs up its claims with the all-time highs seen in the bitcoin (BTC) prices across the board this year, reaching levels above the $60,000 threshold.
Also, PWC believes that noise surrounding central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) helped to boost such deals.
Erasing Apocalyptic Forecasts Made in Mid-2020
Interestingly, the report is quite optimistic in comparison with the one published in mid-2020 by the firm. At that time, crypto M&A deals plummeted from $1.9 billion (2018) to $451 million (2019).
Moreover, PWC’s Arslanian was pessimistic in his forecast for 2020 numbers, citing coronavirus pandemic as a significant catalyst to wake up another wave of red numbers in terms of crypto deals:
“The crypto industry is not immune to the global headwinds and the number and value of crypto fund-raising and M&A deals may be impacted in 2020.”
What do you think about the findings of the PWC’s study on crypto M&A deals? Let us know in the comments section below.
Following an initial seed capital round of $1.4 million, Purestake has raised a $6 million strategic round of financing from a consortium of investors to accelerate development, as the team aims to bring the Moonbeam network live in the second half of the year.
Ethereum-Compatible Smart Contract Initiative Aims To Deliver Mainnet By Mid-2021
Ethereum may be the blockchain of choice for many decentralized application (dapp) and smart contract developers at present, but that paradigm is quickly shifting as more roads lead towards Polkadot, an up-and-coming cross-chain communication protocol.
Among the fascinating projects hoping to build on Polkadot’s forthcoming parachains is Moonbeam, a protocol that assists developers with deploying multi-chain projects. By incorporating the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and Web3 compatibility, Moonbeam facilitates direct connections with the Ethereum network, helping smart contracts and dapps operate flawlessly on multiple blockchains simultaneously.
With Moonbeam inching closer to launch on a Polkadot parachain, its parent company Purestake has revealed another injection of capital into the organization designed to help the company deliver its smart contract platform later this year.
The $6 million in strategic financing round came from a broad range of investors, echoing Purestake’s commitment to forging strategic partnerships that could help propel the company’s protocol development. Coinfund led the fundraising round, joined by Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, and IOSG Ventures, among other prominent blockchain venture capital firms.
By focusing on gathering renowned industry names, Purestake plans to leverage these relationships to gain the global awareness needed to push Moonbeam adoption to the epicenters of decentralized finance (defi) and NFT activities.
Closing In On Network Liftoff
Purestake’s new round will address several vital activities in the pipeline like building more developer tools and integrations, handling security audits, and expanding its nascent footprint in Asia.
Similar to the multi-stage rollout effort orchestrated by Polkadot over the last year, Purestake intends to follow up on its live testnet parachain with a Kusama-based Moonriver deployment before an eventual parachain mainnet launch mid-year.
The highly interoperable and anticipated Moonbeam platform helps existing Ethereum smart contract and application developers migrate to the Polkadot ecosystem without requiring total recoding. Besides giving developers more choice, it will also address pain points like scalability and cost-efficiency.
Still, the proposed launch of Kusama and Polkadot parachains will be required first, along with third-party code audits of Moonbeam before Purestake can fully realize these ambitions.
Capital Keeps Coming To Defi Infrastructure
Moonbeam is far from the only network enjoying growing awareness and capital inflows, especially when it comes to improving the defi experience. Blockswap, which provides an accessible defi platform designed to break down the complexity of token staking processes, is the latest in a long line of fundraising recipients after receiving $2.5 million private placement from a group of industry funds and investors.
The new round will help Blockswap bring more defi products to market through its expansion into fixed-income offerings. To provide more stability and less volatility to users, Blockswap’s intense focus on accessibility could be another feather in the cap of greater defi adoption as infrastructure catches up to community interest.
Will the launch of Moonbeam promote a massive migration from Ethereum to Polkadot? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
