Tesla CEO Elon Musk Opposes Governments Regulating Crypto, Says They Should ‘Do Nothing’

Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks governments should not try to regulate cryptocurrency. “I would say, do nothing,” he recommended. Musk believes that it is not possible to destroy crypto, but governments can “slow down its advancement.”

Elon Musk Says Governments Should ‘Do Nothing’ and Leave Crypto Alone

Tesla CEO Elon Musk discussed cryptocurrency and China on Tuesday at Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California. Responding to a question from New York Times columnist Kara Swisher about whether it is “the right thing” for governments to regulate and take control of cryptocurrency, and whether it is possible for them to do so, he said:

It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto but it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement.

Musk was specifically asked what the U.S. government should do regarding cryptocurrency. The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, was on stage at the conference earlier and he called cryptocurrency the Wild West of finance. The SEC chief also stressed that cryptocurrency will “not end well” if it stays outside the purview of regulators.

Responding to the question of what the SEC should do about crypto, if anything, the Tesla boss said:

I would say, do nothing.

He emphasized, “I wouldn’t [do anything], seriously,” elaborating that governments should “just let it play.”

Musk proceeded to talk about the long-term role of cryptocurrency in monetary systems. He noted that crypto “will hopefully reduce the error and latency in the money system, the legacy money system.”

The Tesla technoking has shown his support for cryptocurrency on several occasions. In August, he spoke against governments proposing “hasty” crypto legislation. Musk previously revealed that he personally owned bitcoin, ethereum, and dogecoin while his companies, Tesla and Spacex, just owned bitcoin. He hinted in July that Tesla owned about 42K BTC. Furthermore, Musk is sometimes called the Dogefather for his support of the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin. He sees DOGE as the “strongest” cryptocurrency for payments.

Regarding cryptocurrency in China, Musk was asked at the conference what the Chinese government is doing about cryptocurrency and bitcoin. He replied: “Well, it would appear that they don’t love cryptocurrency.”

Without specifically stating the reasons why China has been cracking down on crypto, he said, “China is having some significant electricity generation issues.” The Tesla CEO opined: “So, I think part of it may actually be due to electricity shortages in many parts of China. A lot of South China right now is having random power outages because the power demand is higher than expected so crypto mining might be playing a role in that. I’m not sure.” He concluded:

I suppose cryptocurrency is fundamentally aimed at reducing the power of a centralized government and they don’t like that.

Do you agree with Elon Musk that governments should “do nothing” and leave crypto alone? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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Miami Mayor: China’s Crypto Crackdown ‘Creates Incredible Opportunity for America’ in Bitcoin Mining

The mayor of Miami, Florida, sees China’s cryptocurrency crackdown as “the turning point” that “creates an incredible opportunity for America.” He said: “Their loss is our gain and America can and will lead the future by providing a clean power home for bitcoin miners and all who are building on/with/for bitcoin.”

Miami Mayor Sees US Benefiting From China’s Crypto Crackdown

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who has been trying to build his city into a bitcoin hub, sees the crypto crackdown by the Chinese government as an opportunity for his city and the U.S. He told Bloomberg:

The turning point is now. It creates an incredible opportunity for America.

Suarez commented on China’s crackdown this week: “China banning bitcoin is a massive mistake with impacts that will be felt for generations. Their loss is our gain and America can and will lead the future by providing a clean power home for bitcoin miners and all who are building on/with/for bitcoin.”

The mayor of Miami is not the only politician who sees China’s crackdown on crypto as an opportunity for the U.S. “China’s authoritarian crackdown on crypto, including bitcoin, is a big opportunity for the U.S. It’s also a reminder of our huge structural advantage over China,” said Senator Pat Toomey. Congressman Patrick McHenry said, “China’s decision to restrict access presents a perfect opportunity for American leadership on cryptocurrency.”

Mayor Suarez said earlier this week that he has been actively trying to convince cryptocurrency miners that South Florida offers great opportunities for mining, including clean energy options, such as nuclear, solar, and hydroelectric.

He confirmed that he has spoken to the CEO of Florida Power & Light, Eric Silagy, about attracting crypto businesses to the area. He tweeted in May that the City of Miami “can mine bitcoin with clean nuclear energy provided by Florida Power & Light,” emphasizing:

We want to be the crypto mining capital of the world and know it can be done sustainably and incorporate solar.

Do you think that China’s crypto crackdown is an opportunity for the U.S. to lead in the area of crypto and crypto mining? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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Salvadoran President Shares Video of Volcano-Powered Bitcoin Mining Facility

On Tuesday, Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele shared a video of a bitcoin mine operating adjacent to a volcano. Bukele discussed the volcano-powered bitcoin mining on June 9 when he talked about the “95MW of 100% clean, 0 emissions geothermal energy from our volcanos.”

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele Shares a Video of the ‘First Steps’ Behind the Volcano-Powered Bitcoin Mine Construction

The president of El Salvador shared a video via the social media platform Twitter that said “First steps,” as the film shows ASIC bitcoin mining rigs being installed at a geothermal energy plant. The video shows containers that are emblazoned with the Salvadoran government logos and a large quantity of ASIC mining devices. The video has been viewed around 2 million times on Twitter, and Bukele’s video tweet has over 50K likes and over 12,000 retweets.

First steps…

🌋#Bitcoin🇸🇻 pic.twitter.com/duhHvmEnym

— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) September 28, 2021

While many bitcoin proponents said the mining facility was “impressive,” a few Salvadoran citizens complained about the use of energy. “So, there are centers to produce more energy, but to mine bitcoin,” one individual asked the Salvadoran president. “People who have been waiting for electricity for more than 30 years. Not that you would help those most in need? Hypocrite,” the person added.

A lot of people gave the woman flak for asking Bukele that question, but a number of people stuck up for her. “She just wonders, like any normal person,” another individual replied in Nayib Bukele’s tweet thread. “Why is there money to set up power plants for [bitcoin] mining and there is no money to supply the entire population. Before insulting people, make an argument,” the person added. Besides the introduction to volcano-powered bitcoin mining this past June, Bukele also discussed the subject in greater detail on an episode of “What Bitcoin Did.”

‘Very Clean Source of Energy With Almost No Downsides,’ Project Construction to Cost $480 Million

The Salvadoran president told the host Peter McCormack about how “El Salvador has not been the country that’s recognised to be the first in innovation,” but he asked, “Why not this time?”

While Bukele stressed during his interview that geothermal energy was “a very, very clean source of energy” and that it has “almost no downsides,” the Salvadoran president did not go over the subject of specific Salvadorans not having access to electricity. “Currently, the electrification index is 83.4%” in El Salvador according to the latest statistics. Major urban areas in El Salvador have around 97% access to electricity, while ruralized regions in the country today show an electrification index estimate of around 72%.

El Salvador is the largest producer of geothermal energy in Central America and in July, the country suffered from a massive power outage. The Regional Operator Entity (EOR) based in El Salvador told the press that they witnessed a “load loss of 2,300 megawatts.”

The power outage in El Salvador and other regions in Central America cost around $18.2 million from failures. “The demand we had at that time was around 8,300 megawatts in the Central American region. We have lost 30% of the electrical power load,” the EOR director, René González, told reporters.

When discussing the volcano bitcoin mining experiment with Peter McCormack, Bukele emphasized that the project will be costly. “It’s going to cost $480 million, so that’s going to be a legacy for the country because we are building infrastructure paid by bitcoin,” Bukele said in his interview. Alongside this, demand for electricity in El Salvador is expected to grow annually at a rate of 5% year-over-year.

What do you think about the ‘first steps’ volcano-powered bitcoin mine video shared by Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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Thailand to Develop ‘Cryptourism,’ Considers Issuing Utility Token

In search of ways to heal its travel industry, hurt by the pandemic, Thailand is now recognizing an opportunity to tap into a growing market of cryptocurrency holders. Fostering a “cryptourism atmosphere” is what the country’s tourism agency intends to do, including by minting a new token and facilitating bitcoin card payments.

Tourism Board of Thailand Plans to Employ New Coin to Spur Demand From Crypto Market

Pondering how to capitalize on the expanding global crypto user base, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has pitched the idea of issuing its own utility token dubbed TAT Coin. The Bangkok Post revealed on Wednesday that the body wants to examine relevant regulations and the viability of such a project before embarking on the initiative.

The state-run agency is now holding talks with the Stock Exchange of Thailand on the possible introduction of the token, the report details, quoting TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn. TAT Coin would allow the transfer of travel vouchers into digital tokens that could help operators to gain greater liquidity, the newspaper added, without being a subject of speculative trading.

Another aspect that has to be clarified is whether the tourism board has the authority to issue a digital currency in the first place. In any case, Yuthasak emphasized that technology is changing the world and cryptocurrency is part of that process. In his opinion, TAT has to take the chance and enhance the competitiveness of Thailand’s tourism sector which was greatly affected by the spread of Covid-19. The official further elaborated:

We have to prepare digital infrastructure and digital literacy for our tourism operators in order to commence cryptourism as the traditional business model might not be able to keep up with the new changes.

TAT’s short-term goal is to increase income in the industry by attracting potential travelers and visitors. The long-term plan, according to the report, is to upgrade the nation’s business and leisure tourism platform in cooperation with Bitkub, a local cryptocurrency exchange.

The authority hopes to use the future TAT Coin, or a non-fungible token (NFT), to encourage demand from the cryptocurrency market and increase traffic at specific tourist spots. Bitkub CEO Jirayut Srupsrisopa has been quoted noting that the global crypto market capitalization is now four times larger than Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP).

As part of its initiative to create a “cryptourism atmosphere,” the Tourism Authority of Thailand also considers offering bitcoin debit card services at the country’s airports. Crypto nomads, the agency says, can use these cards during their trips to make purchases without having to pay high fees at ATMs or money exchange shops. In August, Bank of Thailand announced it’s going to test its own digital currency which can potentially facilitate payments in the travel industry as well.

Do you think Thailand will become a crypto-friendly travel destination? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

via Lubomir Tassev

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SwissOne Capital AG Makes It Easy for New Investors to Take Advantage of the Top 50 Cryptocurrencies With Smart Index Crypto Fund Tracker Certificate

PRESS RELEASE. Zug, Switzerland: SwissOne Capital AG, a specialized digital asset manager with a focus on blockchain investment funds, has partnered with ISP Securities AG for the launch of their Smart Index Crypto Fund Tracker Certificate. This fund tracker certificate is the first of its kind to capitalize on 50 of the best-performing cryptocurrencies, offering unprecedented market exposure compared to individual currencies, exchanges, DeFi, and other platforms. SwissOne Capital’s deep experience in the crypto space combined with their premiere concierge service can give professional, qualified investors in their jurisdictions the edge they need to increase their portfolio’s performance (via this completely uncorrelated asset class).

“Our first flagship financial product received a lot of attention and enthusiasm from the market when we launched in 2019. This new Tracker Certificate provides professional investors the opportunity to invest as little as €1,000, making this a far more accessible investment than the underlying fund. Each certificate is backed by an equal investment into the underlying registered Mutual Fund, providing certificate holders peace of mind that their investment is in safe hands. And year-to-date, SwissOne’s Smart Index has beaten the investment performance of Bitcoin: 383.6% over 62.6%, respectively,” states Antony Turner, SwissOne Capital COO.

Committed to offering continuous financial innovation, SwissOne’s fund tracker certificate has been carefully constructed with tested trading parameters, aiming to replicate the performance of an equally-weighted portfolio of the top 50 crypto assets in the world. This is the broadest asset offering by any crypto investment fund to date, and new clients can start with only a €1,000 investment. These assets are ranked by market capitalization and passively determined by the market, using smart rebalancing and allocation rules that produce superior returns by overweighting strong performing assets.

The increased market exposure offered by this fund tracker certificate reduces risk, especially for those who lack experience in the potentially volatile crypto market while allowing investors to take advantage of promising up-and-coming projects.

“Just do a simple search on cryptocurrencies and you’ll see how complex and convoluted this asset class truly is. An individual could barely keep track of Bitcoin alone, let alone the top cryptocurrencies on the market. Our objective is to provide investors with a simple, safe, and cost-effective means to invest into the broader crypto market, through a regulated fund structure where we allow the market to do the talking by means of a passive strategy,” adds Steffen Bassler, SwissOne Capital CEO.

The crypto investment space has continued to gain interest from both experienced investors and newcomers. Yet, with increased potential comes added complexity. As experts in blockchain investment funds, SwissOne Capital is uniquely equipped to help both new and experienced investors reach their goals. One of SwissOne’s main objectives is to keep its investors’ assets safe. To this end, they have partnered with blue-chip service providers to ensure that the crypto assets are stored safely, and transactions ringfenced to trusted parties.

The Smart Index Crypto Fund Tracker Certificate follows the highest quality financial and blockchain standards — exactly what is expected of a Swiss-made service — and is fully backed by an investment into the underlying Cayman registered Mutual Fund. Client assets are protected by institutional-grade security via multi-signature authorization required for all transactions, and all private keys are secured within custom-developed, redundant Hardware Security Modules.

More information about SwissOne Capital and the Smart Index Crypto Fund Tracker is available at https://www.swissone.capital/

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To learn more about SwissOne Capital AG, or to schedule an interview with their team, please call +1-603-306-3645 or e-mail brian@contentfac.com. You can also learn more at the SwissOne Capital AG website at https://www.swissone.capital.

 

The Smart Index Crypto Fund Limited is registered as an exempted company, limited by shares, under Cayman Islands law with registration number [C344261]. It is registered as a mutual fund under section 4(3) of the Cayman Mutual Funds law and it is subject to continuing obligations under the Cayman Mutual Funds law. It is only available to investors qualifying as professional Qualifying investors outside of the US and as defined in your local jurisdiction.

 

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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.

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Fed Chair Says US Inflation ‘More Enduring Than Anticipated’ — Strategist Predicts 10% Market Correction

Americans are not only worried about future inflation, but they are also dealing with dwindling purchasing power in real-time. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell plans to address the Senate Banking Committee and discuss inflation. In the remarks pre-published from Powell’s speech, the Fed chair noted that the recent inflation spike may last longer than the central bank anticipated.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell: ‘Inflation Effects Have Been Larger and Longer-Lasting Than Anticipated’

If you were to read reports published by news outlets like CNN or Axios, it’s likely the reporter would say something like “maybe we can ignore inflation expectations.” While CNN admits inflation is here, reporters like Dana Peterson blame things like the Covid Delta variant, chip shortages, labor costs, and the cost to rent. Similar to the opinions of politicians and Fed board members, CNN’s Peterson concludes that “inflationary pressure probably will be with us for a while longer.”

Jerome Powell’s speech on Thursday reflects a similar message as he explains to the Senate Banking Committee in his pre-published statements that the rise in inflation may persist for a bit longer. “Inflation is elevated and will likely remain so in coming months before moderating,” Powell’s remarks from Thursday’s upcoming testimony note. The central bank lead blames supply chain issues and further adds:

As the economy continues to reopen and spending rebounds, we are seeing upward pressure on prices, particularly due to supply bottlenecks in some sectors. These effects have been larger and longer-lasting than anticipated, but they will abate, and as they do, inflation is expected to drop back toward our longer-run 2 percent goal.

Long-Time Market Bull Predicts a 10% Market Correction, Fed Says It Will ‘Do All We Can to Support the Economy’

At the same time, “long-time market bull” Phil Orlando said on Monday that a 10% correction may take place “over the course of the next five weeks or so.” The Federated Hermes chief market strategist explains that there is a lot of uncertainty around “fiscal and monetary policies” right now. “We’re seeing how events develop and evolve here,” Orlando said during an interview on CNBC’s “Trading Nation” broadcast. The market strategist continued by adding:

On the monetary policy side, inflation has been running much hotter than the Fed and the administration has been prophesying. We think inflation is more sustainably higher. That’s going to result in the Federal Reserve changing monetary policy both in terms of their taper and their interest rate increases much more quickly than they originally told us.

The news follows the recently published statements from the Fed last week and a few members of the Fed board being scrutinized for their stock purchases in 2020. Fed chair Jerome Powell has also been criticized for owning bonds of the same type the U.S. central bank bought during the pandemic last year. Of course, Powell’s pre-published remarks from the upcoming Senate Banking Committee testimony note that the central bank will always step in until the U.S. economy has recovered.

“We at the Fed will do all we can to support the economy for as long as it takes to complete the recovery,” Powell’s pre-published commentary emphasized.

What do you think about the upcoming speech Powell will give to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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Swiss Regulator Approves First Crypto Fund: Asset Manager Says ‘It’s an Exceptional Achievement’

Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has approved the first Swiss crypto fund. It is managed by asset manager Crypto Finance and custodied by Seba Bank. “For the first time, FINMA has approved a Swiss fund that invests primarily in cryptoassets,” said the regulator.

First Crypto Fund Approved Under Swiss Laws

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) announced Wednesday that it “has approved the first crypto fund according to Swiss law.” The regulator elaborated:

For the first time, FINMA has approved a Swiss fund that invests primarily in cryptoassets.

FINMA explained that the fund is called “Crypto Market Index Fund,” noting that it is “an investment fund according to Swiss law belonging to the category ‘other funds for alternative investments’ with particular risks.”

The financial regulator added that there are some requirements tied to the approval. For example, the fund “may only invest in established cryptoassets with a sufficiently large trading volume.” In addition, the investments must be made through “established counterparties and platforms” based in member countries of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Crypto Finance (Asset Management) AG independently announced Wednesday the launch of the FINMA-approved Swiss crypto fund. It is administered by fund management company Pvb Pernet von Ballmoos AG, with Seba Bank AG as the custodian and Crypto Finance as the manager. Crypto Finance described:

For Crypto Finance, as the first asset manager to launch a Swiss crypto asset investment fund, it is an exceptional achievement to launch this crypto investment fund together with strong Swiss partners.

The fund is restricted to qualified investors, such as Swiss wealth management banks, asset managers, pension funds, and other professional investors, “who collectively manage several trillion CHF in assets,” Crypto Finance detailed, adding:

This passive investment fund from Crypto Finance tracks the performance of the Crypto Market Index 10, which is administered by the SIX Swiss Exchange.

According to the exchange’s website, “The objective of the SIX Crypto Market Index 10 is to reliably measure the performance of the largest and most liquid crypto assets and tokens and provide an investable benchmark for this asset class. The prices for the crypto assets and tokens are obtained from multiple crypto exchanges and trading venues.”

Meanwhile, Seba Bank announced Tuesday that it “has been granted a license to act as a custodian bank for Swiss collective investment schemes pursuant to Art. 72 CISA (KAG).” The bank added, “This is the first license granted in Switzerland by the Swiss Financial Market Authority (FINMA) to a custodian bank focused on digital assets.”

What do you think about FINMA approving the first Swiss crypto fund? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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