Crypto News

The US Stock market took a nosedive when the markets closed on Friday as the US went for a long labor day weekend.

Bitcoin mirrored the plunge by losing 17% of its value to land on low $10,000.

While Bitcoin maximalists (and some technical analysts) say this is the last chance to get Bitcoin under $10,000, many others have sound alarm pointing bearish winds ahead.

Who will prove right?

Well, we will leave that to the time to decide while we dive into the exciting developments in the crypto and blockchain space.

Token Launch Platform coming to Coinbase

Future may be one of launching tokens, instead of stocks, on crypto exchanges. ICOs, IEOs and STOs, all have occupied the crypto space but they all lack the brand power that could lure the big brands to take the bite. Coinbase, one of the most popular crypto exchanges in the US, may soon launch Token Launch Platform. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, confirmed: “We’re working on a product, we’ll probably call it Coinbase Launch or something like that,” said Armstrong, “but it’s a way for anybody who wants to do a crypto startup to come in and say, ‘All right, I want to issue a token. Maybe I want to raise money. Maybe I just want to use it to build my community.’”

Congress asks IRS for sensible tax policy for Proof of Stake

“It is important that tax policy does not indirectly dissuade U.S taxpayers from participating in this promising new technology,” read the letter sent by Congress to the IRS. While Bitcoin remains a Proof-of-Work protocol, more and more projects are turning to Proof of Stake protocol in which users can lock their tokens to earn tokens, like dividends for holding stocks. This process of holding the tokens in a method specified by the token ecosystem is called staking. Many industry experts expect that staking will attract a lot of investors to the crypto with some staking protocols yielding as much as double digit percentages.

Chainlink oracles come to Bitcoin through RSK

Bitcoin may soon be benefiting from the massive connectivity boost as Chainlink is now integrated onto Bitcoin sidechain using RSK interface. The launch that is expected to take less than a month will bring the smart contracts, connectivity with real world businesses to the world’s strongest blockchain network. Bitcoin, while still remains to be the king of cryptos, has lacked smart contract capabilities which RSK has brought about, now that effort is getting a boost with Chainlink integration.

Leading Stock Exchanges in Switzerland, Germany, Austria Now List Bitcoin ETP

Zug based 21Shares announced that Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Product (ETP) is getting listed on 3 major exchanges in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. “The 21Shares Short Bitcoin ETP (Ticker: SBTC) seeks to provide a -1x return to the performance of bitcoin for a single day. This product obtains short exposure through borrowing bitcoin and simultaneously selling it on an execution platform,” the company explained on its website. “SBTC is an innovative financial instrument that allows investors to gain exposure to the negative price movement of bitcoin,” the announcement clarified.

Swiss Insurance company now accepts bitcoin and crypto payments

Atupri Health Insurance became the first insurer to accept Bitcoin and crypto for payments. “Our range is characterized by a high degree of customization. Our customers are free to choose which payment method they choose at any time. As digital pioneers in the health sector, we anticipate social trends and offer insurance solutions with long-term prospects. Blockchain technology and the associated use of cryptocurrencies will become increasingly important. Accordingly, we want to offer the necessary structures for our policyholders,” said Caroline Meli, Head of Marketing and Sales at Atupri.

Thank you for reading and sharing this article. We appreciate you.

We have been tracking the most important news in blockchain and crypto space since 2017. You can check out all the chronicled news here.

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Stay safe and healthy!

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

Everything in this article is an opinion, not an advice of any kind. This material has been prepared for general informational purposes only and it is not intended to be relied upon as accounting, tax, investment, legal or other professional advice. Please consult with a professional for specific advice.

We do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information and claims made.

All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.

Crypto News

Is the US losing the race of Central Bank Digital Currency to China?

We personally believe that it’s not just the first mover advantage that matters when you aspire to be the global reserve currency.

We trust the US (even with its own flaws and bureaucracy) more than China.

Why is that trust factor important now?

Because, it seems a race is underway right in front of the oblivious world. A race to dominate the digital currency space. China is enjoying the ‘early adopter’ status now, but the US is not too far behind as it ramps up its plans to launch its own CBDC.

IRS Memo clarifies that virtual currency received in microtasks is taxable

IRS memo 202035011 clarified that the virtual currency received for performing microtasks is considered taxable. The question posed to the IRS “Is convertible virtual currency received by an individual for performing a microtask through a crowdsourcing or similar platform taxable income?” was referenced and the conclusion was arrived stating that “Yes, a taxpayer who receives convertible virtual currency in exchange for performing a microtask through a crowdsourcing platform has received consideration in exchange for performing a service, and the convertible virtual currency received is taxable as ordinary income.”

Chinese bank disables digital asset wallet due to attention

There is such a thing called too much attention. Chinese Commercial Bank (CCB), one of the four major banks in China, had a silent launch of its digital asset wallet on their official CCB app. However, the crypto community got the wind of this capability; the news spread like a wild-fire and CCB disabled the feature to avoid too much attention to the matter, which seems like a moot point now as the news has become a sensation. “The brief availability of the wallet shows the Chinese commercial bank has been working towards adoption for the digital yuan initiative, also known as DCEP, which is led by the Peoples’ Bank of China (PBoC),” read the news.

Chainlink acquires DECO from Cornell University

In a press release, Chainlink announced that they have acquired a new technology to bring HTTPS/TLS data security capabilities to Chainlink. “By extending the data security capabilities of HTTPS and TLS, the most widely formats for transmitting all internet data, DECO is able to guarantee that data remains private and untampered with during its delivery from various private and premium data sources. It does so by employing advanced cryptography and zero-knowledge proofs from any server using HTTPS/TLS, without revealing that data to the outside world or even to the final computation using the data. DECO creates a new method of providing private and premium data across the internet, while maintaining its confidentiality and security at previously unachievable levels,” press release informed.

Another company moves to Bitcoin as reserve

Founder of Snappa, Christopher Gimmer, wrote an extensive thesis on why he believes Bitcoin to be better money and hedge against failing fiat. He announced that his company is moving to Bitcoin as ‘reserve’ currency. This is in the wake of MicroStrategy moving $250 Million cash to Bitcoin as reserve.

Cardano & Bidali to bring crypto to retail

Bidali, a payments processing company that is bridging the gap between traditional payment systems with digital currencies has partnered with Emurgo to bring Cardano to retail payments. In a press release, Emurgo announced that “it has entered into a strategic partnership with Bidali. The partnership enables ADA holders to directly purchase items from more than 1,200 major retail brands, such as Amazon, Nike, Starbucks, Airbnb, and many more via Bidali’s online gift card platform.”

Thank you for reading and sharing this article. We appreciate you.

We have been tracking the most important news in blockchain and crypto space since 2017. You can check out all the chronicled news here.

Consider subscribing to our newsletters to receive these news updates in ONE neat email per week along with other freebies that we give away once-in-a-while.

Stay safe and healthy!

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

Everything in this article is an opinion, not an advice of any kind. This material has been prepared for general informational purposes only and it is not intended to be relied upon as accounting, tax, investment, legal or other professional advice. Please consult with a professional for specific advice.

We do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information and claims made.

All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.

Welcome to the ICO craze (read scam) of 2020, it goes by a different name called DeFi.

No, we are not saying DeFi is a scam, we are saying that there are a lot of scams going in the name of DeFi.

We wrote an article on people getting Yammed and it went bonkers on Reddit - do check it out. It is a stark reminder for the crypto community on how the FOMO exploiters take new forms.

We thought that reminder is worth repeating before we got on with our news.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) explains cryptocurrency

There are risks of using cryptocurrencies and it’s quite volatile BUT if we can mitigate those risks, this could be the change the way we transact…that was the core message of the video posted by the IMF explaining cryptocurrencies. Every crypto enthusiast should watch this short video to see how the ‘rhetoric’ is changing from ‘cryptos are for the crooks’ to ‘cryptos could change the way we transact’.

River Financial brings Bitcoin to Hawaii

Hawaii has been on the sidelines for Bitcoiners, but no more. River Financial announced that it has become the first digital assets company to participate in Hawaii’s state sponsored sandbox. Company issued a statement: “We are incredibly excited to bring the best of Bitcoin to the residents of Hawaii, many of whom have long awaited this day. River Financial’s participation in the DCIL regulatory sandbox program will play a crucial role in shaping the State’s long-term regulatory framework for digital assets.” ‘River Financial is the first regulated financial institution to legally provide cryptocurrency services to Hawaiian residents.’

Citi and Consensys use blockchain to Commodity trading

End-to-end blockchain solutions to commodities trade financing is becoming a reality because of komgo (an initiative by Consensys). Citi, one of its members, shared the way komgo is shaping the future of commodity trading and how blockchain is solving issues that used to take weeks into mere hours. One of the quotes shows the power of Blockchain: “reduced the time to issue a digital letter of credit from an average of 10 days to 1 hour.”

IRS brings digital currency question to the front page

On the 2019 US tax returns, the IRS asked a question about digital currencies in one of the schedules. It was quite unassuming but it was there. On the 2020 US tax returns, the IRS is bringing the same question to page 1 so that people know how serious the IRS is about the whole issue. In a draft Form 1040 released by the IRS, the question about digital currencies stares at the taxpayers on the front page.

Fidelity backed BC Group gets Tentative Licensure Approval in Hong Kong

Fidelity backed BC Group’s OSL Exchange got a tentative license in Hong Kong to offer digital asset trading services. According to Reuters, “Hong Kong’s markets regulator has agreed in principle to issue a license to cryptocurrency firm OSL Digital Securities, a unit of Fidelity-backed BC group, the company said in an exchange filing on Friday.”

China’s Blockchain Service Network could use Stablecoins

Blockchian Service Network (BSN) stated in a tweet that it will never issue a cryptocurrency of its own or be associated with a crypto project, however, there is a possibility that it will make use of stablecoins on its network. We surmise that this will be Digital Yuan and not other currencies like Digital dollar.

2. BSN services will NEVER involve the usage of any cryptocurrencies. We may integrate stablecoins as a means of payment on BSN. (3/4)

— BSN (@bsnbase) August 11, 2020

The dialogue around the blockchain and cryptocurrencies is changing from that of ‘anti-social’ to ‘society changing’ and we are witnessing it in real time.

You can see the news chronicles from 2017 to now to see how we have come through ups and downs. It’s all in one place (and free) for you to relive the most important news in the crypto space.

Thank you for reading and sharing this article. We appreciate you.

We have been tracking the most important news in blockchain and crypto space since 2017. You can check out all the chronicled news here.

Consider subscribing to our newsletters to receive these news updates in ONE neat email per week along with other freebies that we give away once-in-a-while.

Stay safe and healthy!

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

Everything in this article is an opinion, not an advice of any kind. This material has been prepared for general informational purposes only and it is not intended to be relied upon as accounting, tax, investment, legal or other professional advice. Please consult with a professional for specific advice.

We do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information and claims made.

All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.