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Showing posts from July, 2019

When Cash Is Banned, Centralized Cryptos Are Not Going to Save You

Australia is now moving forward with its proposed legislation to ban cash purchases over 10,000 AUD ($6,900) for business purposes. According to the treasury website: "The Black Economy Taskforce recommended this action to tackle tax evasion and other criminal activities." While many Aussies are celebrating Bitcoin's exclusion from this clause, others find the move away from hard cash somewhat chilling. After all, if this finally goes through, banks and the state will be given sole power to deny or approve any and all purchases above this limit. Crypto is not yet affected, but when cash is erased, and the control grid is tightened, be sure that centralized shitcoins are not going to save anyone, either. Never Mind the Hype Parade There's always been a lot of zealous hype in crypto circles. Search "bitcoin" on Twitter and you'll be overwhelmed with an avalanche of largely meaningless noise. "Feeling really bullish right now thanks to X, Y, Z!" ...

Deutsche Bank Collapse Could Crash Global Financial Markets

German financial services giant Deutsche Bank AG is one of the largest and most important economic institutions in the world. Mainly due to self-imposed scandals, the bank is now having to take drastic measures to stay afloat. Investors everywhere should note that if such a critical piece of the too-big-to-fail banking system falters, it could trigger another global financial crisis. Deutsche Bank Struggles to Survive Deutsche Bank AG, the largest banking services group in Germany with well over a trillion dollars worth of assets, has been a major source of concern for international investors, economists and policy makers for more than a couple of years now. In fact, the International Monetary Fund called the bank in 2016 "the most important net contributor to systemic risks" to the global financial system. That same year, various financial publications around the world also started warning that Deutsche might be the "next Lehman Brothers," referring to the investme...

Crypto Terminals Offer Venezuelans a Bridge to Economic Prosperity

Arley Lozano, founder of the cryptocurrency based startup Panda Group, recently explained how his firm is spreading cryptocurrency adoption throughout Colombia and Venezuela. Panda Group has deployed 10 hybrid cryptocurrency point-of-sale (PoS) terminals that also act as automated teller machines (ATM). Four of the machines are situated near the border of Venezuela, giving refugees from the country and Colombian citizens access to cryptocurrencies like BCH, DAI, and BTC. Spreading Crypto Adoption Throughout Colombia and Into Venezuela In January, news.Bitcoin.com reported on Panda Group installing a hybrid PoS terminal that also works as a digital currency dispensing automated teller machine (ATM). At the time the machine was dubbed the "Exeler," but since then the product has been rebranded as Pandabtm. Panda Group's founder Arley Lozano said his team so far has installed 10 Pandabtms around Colombia and four machines are on the border of Venezuela in Cucuta city. The m...

India to Educate High-Ranking Police Officers on Cryptocurrency

India's national police academy has launched a cryptocurrency course for high-ranking officers of the Indian Police Service. Among the objectives of the course are the functioning and legal aspects of cryptocurrencies, as well as investigations of cases involving digital coins. The Indian police continue to regularly uncover crypto-related schemes as the government deliberates on the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. Crypto Course for Indian Police Officers As the Indian government prepares the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, the country's police force is working on educating law enforcement officers on cryptocurrency. India's premier police training academy, the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVP NPA), has announced a course on the subject to train officers of the Indian Police Service (IPS). The course entitled "Investigation of cases involving cryptocurrencies" is scheduled to be held on Sept. 5 and 6 at the institute which is...

Satoshi Comparisons Surface After Grin Founder Exits in Similar Way

Pseudonymous Grin founder Ignotus Peverell has stepped away from the project, reassuring the privacy coin's community that it is in "safe hands." The move has sparked inevitable Satoshi Nakamoto comparisons. Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator used almost identical language eight years ago, writing in an email that "I've moved on to other things," before adding "It's in good hands with Gavin and everyone." Ignotus Peverell Pulls a Satoshi Nakamoto Digital currency obsessives love a good mystery, and in Satoshi Nakamoto and to a lesser extent Ignotus Peverell, they've got a couple of crackers. The former needs no introduction, while the latter is the founder of Mimblewimble cryptocurrency Grin. The privacy technology underpinning the coin was posted to a bitcoin IRC chat in 2016 by someone called Tom Elvis Jedusor (Voldemort's real name in the French version of Harry Potter), who then disappeared. It's possible that Jedusor is also Ig...

V20 Summit Concludes With Promises for Crypto Industry

As the G20 leaders' summit came to a close, the nearby V20 summit concluded with a set of promises for the crypto industry in response to the global crypto standards set by the Financial Action Task Force. A group of national crypto associations aims to engage with government agencies and global policymakers to ensure the industry's best interests are understood and valued at an international level. V20's Commitment The two-day Virtual Asset Service Providers Summit or V20 in Osaka, Japan, wrapped up Saturday. Policymakers and representatives of major companies in the crypto industry gathered "to develop a clear roadmap toward full compliance with a new set of recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for the global regulation of crypto asset transactions," the V20 declared. At the same time and in the same city, the G20 leaders' summit also wrapped up Saturday. At the conclusion of the summit, the V20 announced that a group of national trade...