Kazakhstan Introduces Surcharge for Electricity Used by Crypto Miners

Cryptocurrency miners in Kazakhstan will pay more than other consumers for the electricity they use to mint digital coins. The country’s president has signed a law that imposes an additional fee for the power utilized by the energy intensive industry.

Coin Miners in Kazakhstan to Pay Extra Fee per Kilowatt-hour of Electricity

Crypto mining entities in Kazakhstan are going to pay a surcharge for the electrical energy they burn. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a new law this week amending the Central Asian republic’s legislation “on taxes and other obligatory payments to the budget.”

The bill, which was voted by the Senate earlier in June, introduces a new fee of 1 Kazakhstani tenge (approx. $0.0023) per kilowatt-hour used by cryptocurrency miners. The new electricity rate will be imposed starting from Jan. 1, 2022, Forklog reported.

Authorities in Nur-Sultan claim the additional charge will “bring out of the shadow” those cryptocurrency miners that currently operate in the gray economy. Albert Rau, the lawmaker named by local media as the author of the bill, said he couldn’t foresee any “critical consequences” from its adoption. Rau insists the parliament has approved a “government version” of the initially proposed amendments.

Crypto Industry Fears New Electricity Rate Will Turn Chinese Miners Away

Representatives of the crypto sector disagree with Rau’s position, warning that the move comes at a very inappropriate moment. Members of Kazakhstan’s National Association of Blockchain and Data Center Industry told the crypto news outlet that the decision “will have a very negative impact on the investment attractiveness of the industry.”

The main concern is that the fee could turn away Chinese companies that have been looking around for other jurisdictions amid the ongoing crackdown on cryptocurrency mining in the People’s Republic. Kazakhstan has been considered among other potential mining destinations, as over the past few years the country has gradually warmed towards the crypto industry.

In May, Shenzhen-based Bit Mining announced it’s planning to build a 100 MW mining data center in Kazakhstan in partnership with two local firms. In June, as Chinese authorities intensified the pressure on bitcoin mining operations, the company started shipping mining devices there. Earlier this month, the Hangzhou-headquartered mining hardware manufacturer Canaan established an after-sales service center in Kazakhstan as more Chinese miners are considering relocation to Central Asia.

What effect do you think the new fee will have on the crypto mining industry in Kazakhstan? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

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Ventup, the IDO Launchpad by Vent, Connects Game-Changers With Investors

Vent is excited to announce the launch of their IDO on the Ventup platform, nurtured by Vent Finance. This innovative community-driven platform promises to usher in a new era of decentralized funding for vetted projects and help empower entrepreneurs on their journey to success.

Vent – Welcome to the All-in-One Ecosystem

Vent has announced it is launching the Ventup IDO Launchpad on Polygon to provide startups that launch on the platform with scalability, modular security solutions and compatibility with Ethereum tools. Vent will also construct the first Polygon-Cardano bridge and plans to migrate Ventup to the Cardano blockchain upon the rollout of the Alonzo smart-contract mainnet.

Ventup offers easier access to DeFi investment opportunities for everyone, with powerful features such as a social community, vetted investment opportunities and low transaction fees. The launchpad is also a critical part of the larger Vent ecosystem that provides new projects with an all-in-one solution, from token launch all the way to swapping. The ecosystem also includes VentSwap – a decentralized exchange enabling token holders to trade tokens in an easy, cheap and fast way – and VentCommerce – a marketplace where project can engage with top service providers through the simplicity of a token.

What Makes Ventup Stand Out

There are a number of factors that make Ventup stand out from the cowed of current launchpads, such as its focus on simplicity, security, transparency, and inclusiveness. Above all else, is its unique centralized – decentralized finance (CeDeFi) model – aiming to combine the best of both worlds, the security of a centralized platform and the great investment opportunities of a DeFi platform.

To prevent the current situation going on other platforms – that are full of meaningless hype, scams and fraud – Ventup will only empower vetted and high quality projects. For example every new project launching on the launchpad will be security audited. And the majority of the vetting will be done by the community of investors.

Users can upvote, comment and be active in forums and the community will decide if a project is eligible for IDO or not. Only when a project reaches a threshold of upvotes it will be able to apply for its token launch. The project will then be analyzed by the Vent team to recognize whether or not the project matches the Vent Quality standards before it can launch its tokens and users can transact.

Providing additional safety, Bridge Mutual will provide insurance on smart contracts to protect investors from potential rug pulls. To be eligible to invest into a project, every user needs to pass KYC, but unlike current solutions, Ventup simply requires the process to be completed once.

To learn more information on Ventup visit the platform’s website, and join the community on Twitter and Telegram.

Vent Finance has announced that the registration for the Vent IDO on the VentUp Launchpad will open on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. See full details on how to apply for the whitelist here.

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As the Top Coins Lag Behind, an Odd Bunch of Crypto Assets See Double-Digit Gains

The market capitalization of all 10,722 cryptocurrencies in existence is around $1.42 trillion on Wednesday and during the last 24 hours, all of these crypto-assets combined lost 3.92%. Meanwhile, bitcoin captures 45.73% of the entire $1.42 trillion capitalization and ethereum commands 17.8%. As both of these leading assets have improved this week, seven-day changes against the U.S. dollar show a great number of other crypto-assets have seen much bigger double-digit gains.

Steemit Coins, 51% Attacked Tokens, and Forgotten Crypto Assets

An interesting assortment of crypto assets have seen double-digit gains as larger competitors like bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) have seen weaker improvements. For instance, BTC has gained 2.74% against the U.S. dollar during the last seven days.

ETH has jumped close to 10%, but not quite, with an 8.89% rise over the last week. While they are at the very least weekly improvements against the dollar, a number of unconventional crypto assets have jumped much higher.

STEEM/USD (left) and REP/USD (right) on June 30, 2021. Charts show a five-day span

Steem (STEEM) has gained 54% this week and the crypto asset’s cousin steem dollars (SBD) spiked over 31% during the last seven days. The two digital currencies are leveraged for upvoting and tips on the Steemit blogging platform.

Below, steem’s 54% rise, the prediction market crypto-asset augur (REP) jumped 51%. REP tokens are used in the Augur system to give users the ability to create a prediction market on any topic. Another unconventional rise this week was monero classic’s (XMC) 45% jump. XMC is a fork of the privacy coin monero (XMR).

XMC/USD (left) and FTC/USD (right) on June 30, 2021. Charts show a five-day span.

Then crypto assets that have seen 51% attacks, also saw double-digit gains this week. For example, below XMC’s rise, the digital currency vertcoin (VTC) rose 40% during the last seven days. And the coin below VTC, which has also been 51% attacked, is bitcoin gold (BTG) rising 38% this week.

Seven-day changes against the U.S. dollar also show the 51% attacked ethereum classic (ETC) saw a 31% rise during the trailing seven-day week. Interestingly, a forgotten digital currency launched on April 16, 2013, feathercoin (FTC) has gained 29% this week.

FTC is an ancient coin that used to be a top ten crypto market cap contender, but today feathercoin holds the 100th position. Market aggregators also show that Vinny Lingham’s civic (CVC) token has jumped 26% over seven days.

The newer meme-based ERC20 token, that shares the concept of dogecoin (DOGE), shiba inu (SHIB) rose 22% during the course of the week. While seven-day gains have been higher for these crypto coins, 24-hour statistics have been different. For example, ETC is down -1.57% on Monday, VTC -4.12%, and FTC is down -8.29%.

What do you think about the double-digit gains seen by this unique bunch of crypto assets? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

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Fed Vice Chair Quarles Says Digital Dollar Could Pose Significant Risks to US Banking System

The Federal Reserve’s vice chairman of supervision and the chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), Randal K. Quarles, doubts the benefits of the digital dollar but says it “could pose significant and concrete risks” to the U.S. banking system.

Fed Vice Chair Speptical About Digital Dollar

Federal Reserve Vice Chair of Supervision Randal Quarles talked about bitcoin and the Fed’s work on a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital dollar, in a speech at the Utah Bankers Association Monday. Quarles is also the chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB). He said:

The potential benefits of a Federal Reserve CBDC are unclear. Conversely, a Federal Reserve CBDC could pose significant and concrete risks.

He then outlined the risks. “First, a Federal Reserve CBDC could create considerable challenges for the structure of our banking system … An arrangement where the Federal Reserve replaces commercial banks as the dominant provider of money to the general public could constrict the availability of credit, fundamentally alter the economy, and expose the public to a host of unanticipated, and undesirable, consequences.”

Quarles further added that “a dominant CBDC could undermine the consumer and other economic benefits that accrue when commercial banks compete to attract customers” and “A Federal Reserve CBDC could also present an appealing target for cyberattacks and other security threats.”

Quarles doesn’t believe there is any real threat against the U.S. dollar. Talking about threats, he said, “Gold will always glitter, but novelty, by definition, fades.” Noting that he sees little threat from cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, the Federal Reserve’s vice chairman of supervision described:

Bitcoin and its ilk will, accordingly, almost certainly remain a risky and speculative investment rather than a revolutionary means of payment, and they are therefore highly unlikely to affect the role of the U.S. dollar or require a response with a CBDC.

In conclusion, Quarles said “the U.S. dollar payment system is very good, and it is getting better,” emphasizing that “the potential benefits of a Federal Reserve CBDC are unclear” and “developing a CBDC could, I believe, pose considerable risks.”

What do you think about the comments by Quarles? Let us know in the comments section below.

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US Congressman Calls for Law Allowing Government to Reverse Cryptocurrency Transactions

A U.S. congressman has called for a law that allows the government to identify cryptocurrency users and reverse crypto transactions. “There’s a significant sentiment, increasing sentiment, in Congress that if you’re participating in an anonymous crypto transaction that you’re a de-facto participant in a criminal conspiracy,” he said.

Rep. Bill Foster Stresses the Need for Law to Allow the Government to Reverse Crypto Transactions

Democratic Rep. Bill Foster of Illinois, who is also co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, talked about cryptocurrency regulation during an Axios virtual event Tuesday. Addressing the problem of ransomware attacks and how criminals are asking for bitcoin and not cash, the congressman stressed that “there is a fundamental difference between crypto assets and real-world assets. That’s an important distinction that we must make ultimately in the law.”

Emphasizing that laws must be passed to allow federal courts to identify crypto users and reverse transactions in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, he said:

You have to be able to go to a court to unmask participants under some circumstances.

He discussed “The condition under which we can reclaim” cryptocurrencies, such as ransoms paid to criminals, noting that it is one of the fundamental decisions which has to be made about crypto assets.

The congressman pointed out that the law needs to address whether cryptocurrency is “truly anonymous or is there a court you can go to, to unmask the participants.” In addition, “is there a court, a third-party, that you can go to, to reverse fraudulent or mistaken transactions.”

Foster gave an example. “If someone dragged you into an alley and put a gun to your head and say get out your cell phone and transfer all your bitcoin to my wallet. Are you just out of luck or can you go to court, have them unmask the participant.” Furthermore, “can the court — if they decide that the transaction was fraudulent, criminal, or mistaken … use its access to very heavily guarded key, cryptographic back door, in a sense, that allows them to cryptographically reverse transactions on a blockchain.”

The lawmaker claims that such tools are necessary for the government to protect itself, the people and companies from ransomware attacks, like the one suffered by Colonial Pipeline.

Rep. Foster opined:

I’ve just said about three things there that will drive the crypto purists berserk, like the trusted third party and so on.

He believes that “For most people, if they are going to have a big part of their net worth tied up in crypto assets, they are going to want to have that security blanket of a trusted third-party that can solve the problem when they get hacked, when they get stolen or even just a mistaken assumption.”

Foster further said that cryptocurrencies must become compliant with federal regulations and laws for them to ever become mainstream instruments for conducting transactions. Replying to a question about how the U.S. would regulate cryptocurrencies given their global and borderless nature, he affirmed, “We’re going to have to establish a law between the legal and illegal regimes here,” elaborating:

There’s a significant sentiment, increasing sentiment, in Congress that if you’re participating in an anonymous crypto transaction that you’re a de-facto participant in a criminal conspiracy.

Many people took to social media to ridicule the congressman and his attempt to reverse bitcoin transactions, stating that he does not understand how bitcoin works. Some responded to Foster’s criminal allegation, stating that they are “not de-facto criminals.”

What do you think about Rep. Foster calling for legislation to give the government power to reverse cryptocurrency transactions? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Coinbase to Launch Apple-Like Crypto App Store

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has unveiled its plan to build “the crypto app store,” inspired by how Apple Inc. built its app store. CEO Brian Armstrong said: “Apple didn’t attempt to build every app for the iPhone, it empowered developers and gave mobile users an easy way to access new innovative apps.”

• In a blog post published on Tuesday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong detailed several opportunities in the crypto space the Nasdaq-listed company is pursuing. One of them was to “Build the crypto app store.”
• The CEO detailed, “Like the internet, or the mobile app stores, we’re seeing developers rush into the space to use these new tools to develop innovative use cases that we couldn’t have imagined before,” adding:

Apple didn’t attempt to build every app for the iPhone, it empowered developers and gave mobile users an easy way to access new innovative apps … We’ll work to give our users easy access to all of this from the main Coinbase product.

• Armstrong stressed: “We need to do the same [as Apple] in crypto. There is now 10s of billions of dollars of economic activity running on Dapps, and a new trend coming out every three months.”
• He further shared:

Soon any app built on decentralized crypto rails will be accessible to users of the Coinbase app … In the future you will have the option to do self-custody of your crypto, right in the main Coinbase app.

What do you think about Coinbase launching an Apple-like app store? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Triall: Bridging the Gap Between Medical Research and Blockchain Technology

The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the global economy, leaving many industries re-evaluating the robustness of legacy models in times of crisis. Unsurprisingly, one of the most impacted industries has been the global healthcare industry, as governments raced to test for, treat and develop a vaccine for the fast-spreading virus. Whilst, on the whole, the testing regimes, treatments and vaccination programs have been somewhat successful in developed countries (especially the United Kingdom and Israel), existing pain points in pharmaceutical research and development have exacerbated delays according to a number of experts.

Namely, the clinical trial industry, a sector responsible for testing the safety and efficacy of new vaccines and therapeutics before these enter the market, is currently hampered by various inefficiencies. The pandemic has exemplified the need for solutions to tackle these inefficiencies and thereby help ensure an efficient influx of new medicines.

This is where Triall enters the scene.

Triall is building a global digital ecosystem for clinical trials. Capitalizing on both the rapid digitalization of healthcare and the technological advances in the blockchain and crypto space, Triall is applying blockchain-based technologies to a sector that has become increasingly complex, data-heavy and fragmented over the past decade.

Increasing Costs and Longer Development Timelines

Clinical trials are integral to the healthcare industry’s response to new and existing diseases and viruses. They involve a number of industry stakeholders, including pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations, and hospitals, as well as external parties such as governments and regulators.The clinical trial industry plays a crucial role in ensuring that society’s unmet medical needs can be addressed, inside and outside of crisis situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the clinical trial process is currently fraught with complexity and resource-inefficiency which artificially lengthens development timelines. There are several notable reasons for this, including:

• Fragmentation: Data is scattered across sites and systems.
• Oversight issues: Clinical trial professionals experience a lack of oversight over their clinical trial processes and activities.
• Inefficient record-keeping: There is no efficient and universal way to manage and store data, causing significant delays and safety risks, as well as increasing costs.
• Data integrity issues: There are a growing number of data integrity issues being uncovered during clinical trial inspections according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
• Low patient engagement: As much as 85% of trials fail to retain enough patients which also leads to costly delays.

Indeed, the data show that these problems are only getting worse, with the cost of clinical trials increasing up to 9% per year on average. More shockingly, the sector suffers from a development success rate of just 11%.

Upgrading Global Healthcare with Technology

Triall’s innovative new platform is laser-focussed on resolving these critical issues and shortening the time to market of new medicines. The company is building a global ecosystem for clinical research professionals that crosses organizational boundaries and domains. Participants in the platform include: clinical research professionals, medical staff, patients and software developers, as well as other contributors and maintainers such as blockchain engineers and node operators.

Fundamentally, the platform allows for the efficient exchange of clinical trial data leveraging blockchain-enabled technologies and open standards for identity and access management. Triall will implement Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs) to integrate the severely fragmented landscape of industry stakeholders in the clinical trial sector. As a result, Triall’s platform will ensure clinical trials can be conducted smarter, safer and more-efficient due to more closely integrated workflows.

Speaking about Triall’s driving philosophy, the company’s CEO, Hadil Es-Sbai had this to say:

“We believe state-of-the-art Information Technology and scientific insights make a difference. Our passion lies in advancing clinical development, consolidating the unconnected, and fostering a global ecosystem that promotes trust and reliability throughout all phases of clinical development.”

The Future of Clinical Trials

Combining this driving philosophy with the rapid digitization trends resulting from the pandemic, Triall is positioned to take a leading role in revolutionizing the clinical trial space.

In addition to its unique approach, Triall also leverages a breadth of experience in the field. The Triall team has managed over 100 clinical trials in more than 30 countries. Accordingly, the company has curated a strong and global network of stakeholders that will be instrumental to driving its platform’s development. Moreover, with 250+ peer reviewed papers published in various top-tier scientific journals, Triall also brings a wealth of academic knowledge, combining academic experts from several medical disciplines that support the shaping of its platform’s features. These include experts on topics such as immunology, infectious diseases, vaccinology, microbiology, eHealth technologies, drug and vaccine development.

Finally, Triall is already more than just a proof of concept. Its first application Verial eTMF, a blockchain-integrated document solution, was piloted in the summer of 2019. According to the team, this was the world’s first implementation of blockchain in a live and running clinical trials. The commercial version of Verial eTMF is now being onboarded in 6 clinical trial projects around the world. Indeed, this serves as the ultimate mark of validation, from both the market and industry.

For more info on how Triall is bridging the gap between the healthcare and crypto domains, visit their website here

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Formula 1 Secures Multimillion Crypto Sponsorship Deal

Formula 1, the international auto racing organization, has found a new sponsor from the crypto industry. The long-term deal will provide a digital asset trading platform with brand presence at F1 events while the car championship hopes that the partnership will allow it to “explore the world of cryptocurrency.”

Crypto.com to Support Formula 1 as Part of Reported $100 Million Sponsorship Agreement

The deal between Formula 1 and Crypto.com, which was announced on Tuesday, has been negotiated with the help of sports firm Creative Artists Agency. The terms were not immediately disclosed but according to CNBC, quoting sources familiar with the details, the five-year agreement has a price tag of over $100 million.

Crypto.com, a platform with a claimed 10 million users, will become a global partner for Formula 1 races, including the new Sprint series. The qualifying format will be employed to determine the starting positions in some races, with the first such event to be held at Silverstone Circuit in July, ahead of the F1 Pirelli British Grand Prix 2021. Sprint Qualifying will debut at three Grands Prix this year.

The crypto company will also unveil a new award at the Belgian Grand Prix in August and become its non-fungible token (NFT) partner. Crypto.com will have trackside slots at all F1 races for the rest of the season as part of the agreement with Formula 1, which takes effect on July 17.

Commenting on the deal, F1 Director of Commercial Partnerships Ben Pincus stated that the racing entity is planning to use Crypto.com’s expertise “as we explore the world of cryptocurrency, an area we are very interested in.”

Formula 1 is the world’s leading auto racing competition, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), or the International Automobile Federation. The ‘formula’ in its name refers to a set of rules to which all participating teams must conform. In 2016, F1 was bought by Liberty Media Corporation for $4.4 billion.

In a press release published on its website, Crypto.com reminded this is not its first sponsorship in sports. The platform, which allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, also had a partnership deal with F1 team Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One which commemorated their return to Formula 1 with NFTs. It’s also a partner with NHL team Montreal Canadiens as well as the major Italian soccer league, Lega Serie A.

What do you think about the sponsorship agreement between Formula 1 and Crypto.com? Tell us in the comments section below.

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Blockware Mining Raises $25M — Firm Looks to Make ‘Hashrate in the US More Globally Competitive’

On Wednesday, the North American bitcoin mining operation Blockware Mining announced the firm closed a $25 million investment round. According to the company, Blockware Mining aims to leverage the financing to expand operations “beyond its currently installed North American footprint.”

Blockware Raises $25 Million, Purchases 14,000 ASIC Miners

Blockware Mining, a bitcoin mining infrastructure and colocation service operation revealed the company has raised $25 million on June 30. The U.S.-based firm claims to “generate bitcoin below market prices” by utilizing three different revenue streams.

Blockware specializes in mining bitcoin, the resale of mining rigs, and hosting services. The company says the latest financing will help the business expand and after the $25 million capital raise, Blockware has obtained more than $32 million from investors total.

The company’s announcement notes that since 2019 it has been focused on acquiring mining rigs and constructing Blockware’s Paducah, Kentucky-based mining facility. The recent funding has allowed the company to purchase 14,000 mining devices for Q2 2021 and 8,000 will be leveraged by Blockware’s Kentucky operation. The rest of the mining units will be sold to other bitcoin miners operating in the United States.

“We successfully negotiated the acquisition of a robust supply chain of mining rigs, a complex process made even more challenging by the pandemic,” Michael Stoltzner, the president and CEO of Blockware Mining said in a statement sent to Bitcoin.com News. Stoltzner also touched upon the fact that bitcoin mining rigs are scarce these days and resources have been dedicated to making deals.

“The scarcity of rigs creates a significant barrier to entry for companies looking to enter this business and we have allocated significant resources to making more deals and funding our rapid growth,” Stoltzner added.

According to Blockware, the business is focused on Paducah’s 30-megawatt facility as it has the capacity to expand to 100 megawatts. Since establishing in Kentucky, Blockware has built relationships with the City of Paducah, Greater Paducah Economic Development, Big Rivers Electric, Jackson Purchase Energy, Paducah Power, the Paducah McCracken County Industrial Development Authority, and a number of other community partners.

“Currently, only an estimated 10% of the hashrate worldwide is generated in the U.S.,” Stoltzner’s fundraising announcement concluded. “By providing low hosting rates, Blockware Mining will create better worldwide distribution of the Bitcoin network while making the hashrate in the U.S. more globally competitive.”

Blockware is not the only bitcoin mining firm raising funds. Last week, Stronghold Digital Mining, Inc., an ESG-friendly cryptocurrency miner announced it raised $105 million in two private equity securities funding rounds.

What do you think about Blockware Mining raising $25 million? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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There Are Now Twice as Many 2021 ‘Bitcoin Deaths’ Compared to 2020’s BTC Obituaries List

Bitcoin is down in value 45% since the crypto asset’s all-time high (ATH) three months ago and the downward movement has ignited significant speculation about another bear market. Other skeptics believe that bitcoin has died, as the web page that hosts bitcoin obituaries indicates 2021 bitcoin deaths have doubled in comparison to all the bitcoin obituaries in 2020.

According to Skeptics Bitcoin Has Died 29 Times This Year

The price of bitcoin (BTC) is lower than it was three months ago when the crypto asset touched an ATH of $64,895 per unit roughly 90 days ago. Since then, BTC has been consolidating above the $30K region and many are uncertain of what prices will come next.

Then there are those who are certain that bitcoin is dead or at the very least prepping for its own funeral as they believe the value is surely headed to zero. The infamous bitcoin obituaries web page, hosted on 99bitcoins.com, showcases these types of “bitcoin is dead” skeptics who have written long bitcoin eulogies since 2010.

Bitcoin has already been declared dead twice as many times in 2021 as in all of 2020.😏

— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) June 29, 2021

Bitcoin obituaries have doubled in 2021, in comparison to last year, which indicates that critics are more willing to pounce on the crypto asset’s market slides. There were 14 bitcoin deaths recorded by 99bitcoins.com in 2020 and today there are 29 deaths for 2021.

As of today, there are roughly six months left until 2022, and this year’s BTC deaths record may compete with years like 2019 (41) and 2015 (39). It will take a lot of deaths for bitcoin to catch up to the record high in 2017 when 99bitcoins.com recorded 124 deaths.

2021 bitcoin obituaries chart on June 30, 2021. Bitcoin died 29 times this year so far, while bitcoin died 14 times in 2020. Since 2010 up until the last day of June, bitcoin has died 422 times, according to 99bitcoins.com stats.

The very first bitcoin obituary was recorded on December 15, 2010, and the author’s decade-old eulogy was called “Why Bitcoin can’t be a currency.” Fast forward to today and bitcoin died just recently on June 21, when the renowned author Nassim Nicholas Taleb wrote a summary of bitcoin’s failures called “BTC Is Worth Exactly Zero.”

“In its current version, in spite of the hype, bitcoin failed to satisfy the notion of ‘currency without government’ (it proved to not even be a currency at all), can be neither a short or long term store of value (its expected value is no higher than 0),” Taleb said.

“[Bitcoin] cannot operate as a reliable inflation hedge, and, worst of all, does not constitute, not even remotely, safe haven for one’s investments, shield against government tyranny, or tail protection vehicle for catastrophic episodes,” the “Black Swan” novelist further stressed.

On Youtube, economist Maurice Hoefgen gives the bitcoin obituaries web portal its next death that precedes Taleb’s scathing review. Hoefgen in his interview with DW News on June 17, says bitcoin doesn’t have good characteristics of money. The economist wholeheartedly believes that “Over the long term bitcoin will fail.”

The 27 other 2021 bitcoin obituaries all have similar reasons as to why BTC is resting in its casket and prepping for a funeral service. Reasons such as volatility, scarcity, speculation, hype, criminal use, government crackdowns, and environmental arguments are the main talking points in these eulogies.

Economist Paul Krugman and Author JP Koning Don’t Think Bitcoin Is Dead but Now Consider It a ‘Natural Ponzi Scheme’

Many bitcoiners would say that it’s safe to say that bitcoin is not dead. However, it’s guaranteed to be doubted and considered a complete failure along the way by pessimists who don’t understand Satoshi’s creation.

Even the fax machine-loving Nobel laureate and economist, Paul Krugman, took a crack at the crypto asset this week. Krugman didn’t say BTC was dead but referred to JP Koning’s critique and called it a natural Ponzi scheme.

“Nice essay via Ftalphaville,” Krugman said. “Bitcoin has clearly failed in its mission to become money, but its value is sustained because it has become a sort of natural Ponzi scheme.” However, not everyone appreciated Krugman’s borrowed assessment from Koning’s essay.

“Honest question: is there any example of a Ponzi scheme which had a second major rally to new ATH’s after the first growth phase collapsed?” Shapeshift founder Erik Voorhees asked in response to Krugman’s tweet.

What do you think about the quantity of bitcoin obituaries doubling in 2021? What do you think about the statements from Paul Krugman? Let us know what you think about these subjects in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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Payments Giant NCR Bringing Bitcoin Trading to 650 U.S. Banks and Their 24 Million Customers

Payments giant NCR and New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) are collaborating to allow 650 U.S.banks to offer bitcoin trading to their 24 million customers through their mobile applications.

24 Million Customers of 650 Main Street Banks May Soon Have Access to Bitcoin Trading

New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) said Wednesday that 650 banks and credit unions in the U.S. will soon be able to offer bitcoin trading to their customers through their mobile applications.

The bitcoin option is made possible through a collaboration between NYDIG and enterprise payments giant NCR. NYDIG is a bitcoin technology and financial services subsidiary of Stone Ridge, a $10 billion alternative asset manager.

NCR’s president of digital banking, Douglas Brown, was quoted by Forbes as saying:

We’re firm believers in the benefits of crypto and the strategic application. And that’s true for our banking relationships, as evidenced by NYDIG, and across retailers as well as restaurants and the like.

Founded in 1884 as National Cash Register, NCR now has over 34,000 employees in 160 countries; its products are distributed in 141 countries. The company was acquired by AT&T in 1991 but re-established as a separate company in 1997. NCR’s website says that the company is “the #1 global POS software provider for retail and hospitality” and “the #1 provider of multi-vendor ATM software.”

According to research firm RBR, NCR is the largest provider of point of sale software to grocery and other retail stores globally, with a 45% market share. The company serves 180,000 restaurants, retail chains, hotels, and more.

Bitcoin purchased via NCR’s platform will be sourced from various regulated OTC exchanges and sold at a markup, the publication conveyed, adding that the bank will set the transaction fee. NYDIG will provide custody of the bitcoin. However, Brown said that in the future, NCR may custody the cryptocurrency itself.

NCR’s chief technology officer, Tim Vanderham, is also working with nearly 200,000 restaurants and other retail clients to help them accept bitcoin payments, Brown further revealed, noting NCR may also make bitcoin trading available via 800,000 ATMs and more.

NYDIG has been busy partnering with various companies to enable financial institutions to offer bitcoin trading to their customers. The company announced a collaboration with Finserv last week to let 10,000 financial institutions offer bitcoin trading. It is also collaborating with Q2 to enable 18 million users to buy and sell bitcoin.

What do you think about NCR making it possible for 650 banks to offer bitcoin trading to their clients? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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‘Doctor Bitcoin’ Pleads Guilty to Running Illegal Crypto Exchange in US, Faces 5 Years in Prison

A Texas man, who calls himself “Doctor Bitcoin,” has pleaded guilty to running an illegal cryptocurrency exchange business, converting cash to bitcoin. He faces five years in federal prison.

Crypto Exchange Operator Pleads Guilty

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday that a Texas resident, Mark Alexander Hopkins, has pleaded guilty to “illegally operating a cash-to-cryptocurrency conversion business.”

The 42-year-old man, who calls himself “Doctor Bitcoin,” pleaded guilty to one count of operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business. Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah detailed:

This defendant ignored federal law and allowed fraudsters to use bitcoin to operate under the radar of law enforcement. We are determined to rid the bitcoin marketplace of anyone who knowingly helps criminal actors stash illegal profits inside crypto wallets.

Hopkins admitted to running a cryptocurrency exchange business, converting U.S. dollars to cryptocurrency, primarily bitcoin, for a fee. He also admitted that he frequently sent BTC to customers’ crypto wallets without taking additional steps in verifying the source of the cash.

Court documents show that Hopkins helped a customer identified as “M.H.” convert U.S. dollars from a lottery scam he was running in Nigeria to bitcoin. Over the course of about a year, he conducted 37 transactions with the scammer converting between $550,000 and $1.5 million.

According to the DOJ:

Hopkins admitted he promised not to get involved in the details of M.H’s business dealings, but told M.H. how to circumvent financial institution reporting requirements by keeping deposits under $9,500, and directed M.H. to lie to financial institutions about the purpose of the business.

Hopkins admitted that he was not licensed to conduct a crypto exchange business in the state, and was not registered as a money transmitting business with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Noting that the defendant “failed to follow federal laws that require money transmitting businesses to verify customers’ names, date of birth, and address – a law aimed at identifying those engaged in unlawful activity – and failed to file currency transaction reports for high-value cash-in transactions,” the DOJ stated:

Hopkins now faces up to five years in federal prison.

Do you think this Doctor Bitcoin should go to jail for five years? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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Beyond Oil™ Launches Smart Contract Driven Eco-Friendly Oil Production

PRESS RELEASE. Beyond Oil™ has officially launched the Solar Oil Project – the blockchain powered decentralized oil production platform that recycles abandoned oil wells to produce oil while eliminating a trillion dollar ecological nightmare.

What the Solar Oil Project does differently:

• Partners with local oil Operators and green equipment manufacturers.
• Together, they identify old oil wells that typically produce less than 5 barrels of oil per-day.
• These wells often become serious ecological hazards when abandoned and leak toxins into the soil and water table. Current clean-up costs are estimated to be over $500billion in North America.
• SOP token sales are used to fund purchase of new, patented technology to rehabilitate these old wells into profitable, productive sites.
• This new technology drops cost of production by as much as 50% and carbon footprint by over 90%.
• The oil production achieved is tokenized and distributed to the token holders that purchased the SOP tokens to make the project possible. Tokenized oil holdings can be traded on the Commodity Exchange technology platform by users at their convenience.

The Triangle Operation

SOP eliminates third-party interference allowing direct interaction between the Operators, Manufacturers, and installers.

SOP connects Well owners, Consumers, and Equipment providers thereby forming a triangle form of partnership. It achieves this by incorporating the blockchain technology that operates on a peer-to-peer protocol.

See how the Solar Oil Project works behind the scenes: https://solaroil.io/due-diligence

The Key Token “SOAX”

This Key utility token to access SOP, is a stake-able token that is run on Smart-Contract protocol. The wonder token grants the users unlimited viewership of the available Oil Properties on the platform, while the users can decide to stake the token (SOAX) on the available properties. This triggers several activities in the business world. The Well owners and operators can maximize the staked amount to improve on the infrastructure and installing the latest modern oil extraction equipment and tools. The Oil that is produced is afterward credited to the Token holders who staked on the project or property.

What Happens With SOAX Token?

The token can be purchased on the platform’s website via multiple payment options including other cryptocurrencies, tokens, and fiat options. Being a non-speculative utility token, it has a fixed value of $0.10 and only functions as the mechanism to allow participation in the oil well rehabilitation and subsequent oil production.

Oil produced from these sites is then tokenized and rewarded to users in proportion of their SOAX token holdings. Solar Oil Production Token (SOPX) represents the oil from the staked properties, whose value is linked to the Crude Oil Prices Globally and set at 60% of the WTI Crude Oil Price. If WTI retails at $50, the price of SOPX is $30. However, this is based on the redemption price that is offered by SOP and not the price within various exchanges. A barrel that is extracted from the SOP contracted properties, is equated to 1 SOPX.

The difference between the SOAX, and SOPX, is that whereas, SOAX can only be purchased from SOP, SOPX token may eventually be offered or traded on various open exchanges thereby becoming The Only Open Decentralized Token that is backed by actual commodity production.

How Smart Contract Comes in

The smart contract checks each portfolio daily to assess the amount produced. The proceeds are then fed to the SOP network for validation. The expected oil production is measured with a metric called ‘BPM’ or ‘Barrels per Million SOAX Tokens’, while its value ranges between 1.5 to 3.5 BPM. This means for every 1,000,000 SOAX staked in the platform, the project expects to produce 1.5 to 3.5 barrels of oil per day. However, the amount is not constant and fluctuates often depending on various factors. The good thing is that the entire process is automated and requires no human intervention. For each barrel, 1 SOPX is created and credited to the stakeholder’s account in proportion to the individual staked amount.

Token holders can sell or hold SOPX Token at the prevailing price and receive BTC or ETH Equivalent. After being sold this way, the tokens are either destroyed or burned to beat market inflation, manipulation, and saturation.

That is how SOP intends to solve the challenges related to oil extraction and production by making sure that every participant gains.

For more Information about SOP, get in touch via https://solaroil.io

 

About Beyond Oil™

Led by Chief Strategy Officer Hitesh Juneja, aims to transition the energy sector from fossil fuels to more sustainable green energy overtime in a manner that is practical, and does not cause the economic or ecological harm that sudden and forced changes might cause.

 

Beyond Oil

17918 Blueridge Shores Dr.

Cypress, TX 77433

USA

 

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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.

via Bitcoin.com PR

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British Bank Natwest Imposes Daily Limit on Transfers to Cryptocurrency Exchanges Over Fraud Concerns

A major British bank, Natwest, has put a limit on fund transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges over concerns of fraud and scams related to cryptocurrencies. The bank is also blocking payments to a number of cryptocurrency asset firms. Natwest says the two moves are necessary to protect customers.

Natwest Places Limit on Transfers to Crypto Exchanges

National Westminster Bank, commonly known as Natwest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom. A spokesperson for the bank told Reuters Tuesday that the bank has capped the daily amount customers can send to cryptocurrency exchanges due to concerns over investment scams and fraud.

“We have seen a high level of cryptocurrency investment scams targeting our customers across retail and business banking, particularly through social media sites,” the spokesperson said, elaborating:

To protect our customers from the criminals exploiting these platforms, we’re temporarily reducing the maximum daily amount that a customer can send to cryptocurrency exchanges as well as blocking payments to a small number of cryptocurrency asset firms where we have seen particularly significant levels of fraud-related harm for our customers.

The cap is temporary and was imposed on June 24 to target a number of cryptocurrency exchanges and digital asset firms, the spokesperson added, noting that the maximum amount is typically thousands of pounds but the exact amount depends on the platform.

The exchanges targeted by Natwest include Binance, which the U.K.’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), issued a consumer notice about last week. The FCA said that Binance withdrew its application to register a crypto business in mid-May.

Under the crypto regulation, companies wanting to provide crypto-related services must register with the FCA, which oversees compliance with laws designed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

In May, Natwest alerted customers with tips to avoid cryptocurrency scams. “We have prevented millions of pounds from being sent to crypto-criminals who are exploiting the high levels of interest in the currency,” the bank said at the time. In April, there were reports that Natwest reportedly refused to service businesses that accept cryptocurrencies.

Natwest is not the only bank scrutinizing cryptocurrency transactions. Earlier this month, another British bank, TSB, said it planned to ban crypto purchases due to increasing fraud cases.

What do you think about Natwest’s crypto policy? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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Decentralized Exchange Volumes Double Overnight — A Look at the Top 3 Dex Platforms in 2021

As crypto markets saw some recovery on Tuesday, decentralized finance tokens and applications have once again started swelling in value. Decentralized exchange (dex) trade volumes have increased a great deal, as daily swap volumes stemming from Ethereum-based dex applications have doubled since Monday.

Pancakes, Sushi, and Unicorns

Decentralized finance continues to astonish, as billions of dollars have entered this new economy during the last two years. Years ago, there were a few decentralized exchange (dex) platforms but none of them compared to the liquidity that’s provided on dex platforms today.

24-hour and seven-day decentralized exchange statistics for Ethereum-based dex platforms, according to Dune Analytics on June 29, 2021.

Moreover, the Ethereum blockchain hosts the most popular dex applications in existence today and many of these Ethereum-based dex platforms have outshined even centralized exchange (cex) platforms in terms of trade volume.

Furthermore, the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) hosts a dex platform called Pancakeswap which has been steadily capturing large amounts of dex volume since its inception. For instance, on May 18, 2021, Pancakeswap processed $6.7 billion worth of swaps.

Pancakeswap liquidity and daily trade volume on June 29, 2021, according to pancakeswap.info data.

In June, Pancakeswap saw trade volumes between $336 million to $800 million depending on the day. On June 21, the BSC-based dex saw $1.21 billion in global trade volume. These metrics recorded by the web portal pancakeswap.info show Pancakeswap would be the second-most popular dex in terms of 24-hour volume.

The second position, according to Dune Analytics, which only measures Ethereum-based dex platform volume, is Sushiswap. The dex Sushiswap is basically a clone of Uniswap, the largest dex application in terms of daily and weekly trade volume.

Trailing seven-day dex trade volume and market share on June 29, 2021.

Sushiswap’s volume is lower on June 27, than Pancakeswap’s $388 million in swaps as Sushiswap gathered $221,535,002 in 24-hour trades that day. Sushiswap still commands higher daily trade volumes than dex platforms like 0x Native, Curve, Dodo, Bancor Network, and Balancer.

While Sushiswap obtained 9.9% of the seven-day cumulative dex trade volume last week, the top dex application Uniswap processed 67.5% of all global trades.

Cumulative dex stats show over $2 billion was traded on 16 different dex platforms and $15 billion total over the last week. Of that $15 billion, Uniswap captured $10.3 billion of all that volume and outshines Sushiswap and Pancakeswap’s volumes combined.

Cryptocurrency advocates expect dex applications to continue growing in popularity and overall trade volume. Reason being, most dex applications are noncustodial by design and don’t require submitting identity information in order to swap crypto coins.

Daily dex volume and the number of traders (unique addresses) during the trailing last seven days.

As mentioned above, earlier dex applications like Bisq suffered from liquidity issues and since the inception of financial tools like Ethereum-based automatic-market makers (AMMs) and dex smart contracts, that all changed.

As dex trade volumes on networks like Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain continue to climb this summer, just like the heat outside, crypto liquidity is guaranteed to rise as well. In addition to dex apps on ETH and BSC, other blockchains with smart contract and AMM functionality are racing to catch up to these defi giants.

What do you think about growing dex volumes and the major dex players in the space? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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