Markets Tumble Again – How Many Times can China Cry Wolf?
The accuracy of the Chinese news sources is also unconfirmed. Chinese news source Caixin elaborated on what is going on, but did not provide hard proof of the proposed closings.
The site said; “The supervisory authority has decided to close virtual currency exchanges in China, which involves all virtual currencies and denominations kept by ‘OKcoin,’ ‘Bitcoin China,’ and others. The new financial reporter from the Internet financial risk special rectification Work leading group confirmed the news. Allegedly, government agents intend on deploying a resolution shortly.”
A CNledger Twitter post, however, contradicted Caixin, saying, there is plenty of fake news circulating and nothing is confirmed. They said, “Lot’s of false news. Don’t believe them unless they’re confirmed or verified. Up to now, no exchange is forced to close, no body is arrested.”
Full story at http://bit.ly/2xZ4WLV
Source: Bitcoin News
Can Any Government Ban Bitcoin?
Bitcoin has been around the fringes of financial markets for less than a decade, but is slowly gaining prominence as an alternative asset class. Can the government of any major country step in and do the unthinkable – ban Bitcoin?
Those who think that no government (except those run by tinpot dictators) would take the extreme step of banning Bitcoin need a lesson in history. There was a time when holding goldbullion was a crime in America, punishable by a sentence of up to ten years in prison. In 1933, American President Franklin D Roosevelt issued an order requiring all Americans to hand over their gold holdings to the Federal Reserve Bank. The ban on owning gold remained in place for more than four decades, before President Ford legalized gold ownership. This move was made easy by the fact that America had abandoned the gold standard a short while prior and hence had no need to own vast quantities of gold to back up the amount of currency it printed.
Another oft-repeated argument against a ban on Bitcoin is that in the age of the globalized internet economy, individual governments lack the authority and power to act against a decentralized currency like Bitcoin. However, we only have to look at how China has bent even the Internet to realize that this is not the case. By a mix of government legislation and the blocking of popular foreign websites by the Chinese internet service providers, the Chinese government has tried to limit the Chinese to a walled garden, instead of viewing the whole world wide web. Traffic monitoring tools are used by the government to stifle political dissent. Taking a step to ban Bitcoin would not be too large a leap for the Chinese government.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2y01eSj
Source: CoinTelegraph
Bitcoin Maintains $4,200 Value Despite Troubling “News” From China
Things are not looking all that great in the cryptocurrency markets right now. Yesterday’s “fake news” regarding Chinese regulators looking to ban all exchanges has created a lot of fear among cryptocurrency holders. This has had a negative effect on virtually all currencies in the top 20. The Bitcoin price, for example, dropped by nearly 8% on the purported news.
It is not entirely surprising to see the Bitcoin price responding negatively to yesterday’s China news. There is still some uncertainty regarding what the regulation entails exactly. Some news sources claim all exchanges will be banned from operating, whereas other sources indicate this was just a misunderstanding based on the earlier news regarding China’s ban on initial coin offerings. It is hard to make sense of it all, but for now, major Chinese exchanges are still operating normally.
Unfortunately, a lot of damage has been done in the wake of this “news”. The Bitcoin price took a very sharp tumble, resulting in an 8% loss over the past 24 hours. Although it is not the biggest dip we have seen in history, it also shows it only takes one (potentially fake) shred of news from Chinese regulators to send the price downward. This goes to show that many people still pay close attention to what the Chinese government aims to achieve.
With the Bitcoin price having declined by 8%, its market capitalization has also taken a big hit. More specifically, the Bitcoin market cap hovers around the US$70 billion mark for the time being, whereas it was nearly US$76 billion not too long ago. Rest assured this lost value will be recovered sooner or later, as there is no way regulators can keep the Bitcoin price down for long periods of time. It’s also not the first time we have seen the Chinese trying to crash the market with news that can be interpreted in many different ways.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2xZpiVb
Source: The Merkle
Bitcoin Mining Thrives in Venezuela Thanks to Hyperinflation and Free Electricity
Venezuela is home to one of the world’s worst cases of hyperinflation since the Weimar Republic. For example, a McDonald’s Big Mac there now costs half a month’s salary. The country’s annual inflation rate has surged to 1,600 percent, The Atlantic reports.
This might not be an ideal situation to live in. As the high percentage of inflation continues to soar annually, citizens do not enjoy time queuing for lines with empty shelves, nor piling stacks of bills in front of the store’s cashier.
Venezuelans have found a better alternative to escape hyperinflation. They’ve taken Bitcoin as an alternative, and mining Bitcoin has become big in the country.
To further utilize the cryptocurrency, data-crunching power is implemented to earn more Bitcoin. People utilize digital equipment such as specialized computers, with Bitcoin miners helping the cryptocurrency market to hit its record high in 2016.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2xRNtnx
Source: CoinTelegraph
Chiasso, Switzerland Municipality to Allow Citizens to Pay Taxes in Bitcoin
Chiasso, Switzerland is seeking to establish itself as a global hub for bitcoin adoption, announcing that citizens can now pay their taxes using bitcoin. The announcement further solidifies Switzerland as a world leader in bitcoin adoption, with Chiasso moving to compete with Zug as the dominant Swiss center for cryptocurrency innovation. Chiasso will begin accepting bitcoin as a form of taxation payment beginning in January 2018, with the city planning to trial the method by initially restricting payments to values up to 250 Swiss francs (CHF). Zug currently accepts taxation payments in bitcoin of up to 200 CHF, and since July has received more than 40 payments in bitcoin.
Chiasso officials are hoping that the expanding cryptocurrency industry can replace lost tax revenues from the diminishing local banking sector. Chiasso mayor, Bruno Arrigoni, has stated that “Chiasso is recognized internationally as an epicenter of a growing technological and economic growth for both the canton and in Switzerland”. Local officials have sought to brand the municipality as “CryptoPolis” in a bid to attract cryptocurrency start-ups.
The Chiasso administration has taken a number of steps designed to attract cryptocurrency companies. Chiasso’s mayor is reported to have met with numerous cryptocurrency entrepreneurs in recent months, with the mayor claiming that eight start-ups have recently established headquarters in the municipality. The press release also states that “the Executive will evaluate the possibility of participating as a founding partner in the formation of a non-profit BHB foundation, which will involve some of the highest representatives of Chiasso’s Blockchain / Bitcoin technology.”
Full story at http://bit.ly/2xZg9Mf
Source: Bitcoin News
Why Proof of Stake Is Power of Saving
In a proof of work (PoW) system, a reward is given for undertaking complex computational work involving solving problems. This exercise is termed mining and people who undertake this work are called miners. Miners compete with each other to find solutions to problems and are rewarded whenever they are able to do so first.
In theory, this is a wonderful principle but it requires complex hardware and a lot of electricity to run this hardware.
On the other hand in a proof of stake (PoS) system, the creator of each block is determined by the wealth it holds, there are no rewards involved, so the miners get the transaction fee.
The cost-effectiveness of PoS is immense compared with PoW.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2xRRFnl
Source: CoinTelegraph
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