Month: January 2020

Blockstream reps have long been pushing for full implementation of the perpetually-delayed Lightning Network as the main solution for BTC scalability. With the recent announcement of “federated sidechain” Liquid’s integration with Btcpay, however, the tune seems to have changed. Past weeks have found Blockstream execs Adam Back and Samson Mow not only pushing Liquid hard, but going so far as to belittle Lightning, the once almost messianic layer-2 solution to Bitcoin Core’s scaling ills. Also Read: Researcher’s Scathing Lightning Network Analysis Finds Flaws Liquid and Lightning With last week’s announcement…

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In this roundup, we cover an exceptionally busy week for crypto regulations around the globe. We start our coverage with the U.S. Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act of 2020, actions by the SEC, Ripple’s lawsuit, India’s supreme court hearings, Australia green-lighting a bitcoin retail fund, Thailand approving a new crypto exchange, and new crypto guidelines in Canada and Malaysia. We also cover the FATF’s progress to ensure countries implement its crypto standards, the regulatory developments in South Korea, China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and six central banks and the Bank for…

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Remember Polkadot? It’s the multi-chain network that raised $145 million in 2017 and hasn’t been seen since. But unlike many of the blockchain projects from that era, Polkadot hasn’t taken the money and run. Its team, led by Ethereum founder Gavin Wood, has been beavering away at the ambitious task it set itself. Two and a half years on from, Polkadot is finally poised to launch. Can it live up to its promise, or is Polkadot arriving too late? Also read: Bitcoin Cash Miners Plan $6M Development Fund by Leveraging…

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A group of Bitcoin Cash mining pool operations have decided to help fund BCH infrastructure development. On January 22, Btc.top founder Jiang Zhuoer revealed that five mining pools are preparing a short-term developers donation plan. Miners from Btc.top, Bitcoin.com, Viabtc, Antpool, and Btc.com plan to give “12.5% of [the] BCH coinbase rewards to a fund that will support Bitcoin Cash infrastructure.” Also Read: Bitcoin Cash Sees Mining Pool Shift and Hashrate Surpass 4 Exahash Btc.top Founder Announces Bitcoin Cash Development Fund Lately, there’s been discussions regarding funding BCH infrastructure development.…

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The global markets company Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has seen considerable demand since launching its options contracts in the wake of the firm’s bitcoin futures. On the first day of swaps, CME’s bitcoin options saw 55 contracts ($2.3 million). By the end of the week, the firm’s bitcoin options volume more than doubled with 122 contracts ($5.3 million) sold. Also read: Bitcoin Futures Hit 3-Month High in Frenetic Tuesday Trading CME Bitcoin Options See Steady Growth Regulated crypto derivatives products have seen strong demand and just recently the forex marketplace…

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Former bank employees have received bonuses worth millions of euros in an illegal trading scheme that also involved a tax lawyer, prosecutors in Frankfurt revealed this week. The case is part of multiple investigations carried out across Germany, the hardest hit country in a notorious tax fraud scandal known as the Cum-ex Files. Also read: European Banks Struggle With Low Interest Rates and Strict Regulations Frankfurt Fraud Costs Germany €389 Million The six bankers got 29.5 million euros (close to $33 million) in bonuses from the alleged fraud, German prosecutors…

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India’s supreme court spent all day on Wednesday hearing extensive arguments from both the counsel representing crypto exchanges and the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The counsel for the central bank confirmed again that cryptocurrency is not banned in India, but still justifies the banking restrictions on the crypto industry. Also read: Crypto vs RBI — 3 Days of Intense Supreme Court Hearings All-Day Hearing at Supreme Court The Supreme Court of India resumed hearing the crypto vs. RBI case on Wednesday. Local news and regulatory analysis…

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After a spate of big names parting ways with the Libra Association late last year such as Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, and Ebay, British telecommunications giant Vodafone has become the latest to bid the ambitious digital asset project farewell. While Vodafone’s statement notes it does not rule out the possibility of working with Libra in the future, a statement issued Tuesday by the Libra Association confirms the exit. Also Read: EU Finance Ministers Place Defacto Ban on Libra Another Big Name Exits the Libra Association The Libra Association‘s membership continues to…

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A new presidential decree in Uzbekistan envisages the introduction of tax exemptions for income obtained from operations involving crypto assets. The draft document published recently also incorporates proposals for the establishment of a blockchain valley and licensing regime for cryptocurrency miners. The country has just launched its first licensed crypto exchange. Also read: Uzbekistan to Create National Mining Pool, Launch Licensed Exchange Tax Free Crypto Operations The Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan legalized cryptocurrency trading and introduced licensing for crypto exchanges with a decree signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in…

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While people have watched the BTC network surpass 100 exahash per second (EH/s), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has been steadily gathering hashrate as well. Since the November 15, 2018 blockchain split, which produced the Bitcoin SV (BSV) chain, BCH hashrate has jumped by more than 3x. Bitcoin cash is often more profitable to mine than BTC and during the last seven days, the BCH hashrate has averaged around 4EH/s. Also Read: Debate Ensues After 68% of BCH Hashrate Mined by Stealth Miners Bitcoin Cash Hashrate Climbs Over 4 Exahash per Second…

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