Site icon TrustedBrokerz

Bitcoin: Weekly News Round Up

Bitcoin: Weekly News Round Up

 

Gold Bull, Bitcoin Bear Peter Schiff lost his Bitcoin

Euro Pacific Capital Chief Economist Peter Schiff

Peter Schiff is one of my favorite personalities and investing experts. He’s just one of the few financial experts that are really comfortable and good at talking to people and telling them how it is. He was quoted by Kitco News (a precious metal news network) saying, ‘Crypto was my worst investment because I lost 100%’. Schiff tells of a debate between him and Eric Voorhees at the SoHo Forum, where Voorhees opened a wallet for Schiff and gifted some Bitcoin to Schiff. Schiff stated that he tried to check his portfolio, but his password was not recognized – even though he didn’t change anything. I’m optimistic though – you can still get access to your wallet, there are ways. Regardless, I find the news bullish – mainly because it appeared on Kitco.

 

Square (SQ) granted US patent for multi-crypto fiat conversion

Square (SQ:NASDAQ)

This news is some of the biggest stories in cryptocurrency history – but is surprisingly quiet in the crypto sphere. One of the single most significant problems facing cryptocurrency bulls is broad adoption by the general public. Hell, even for hodlers of cryptocurrency, the adoption is difficult because so very few vendors accept cryptocurrency as payment, even online. Additionally, the time to transfer cryptocurrency from one wallet to the next can be time-consuming – Jack Dorsey’s Square aims to solve this issue. Reported via Yahoo! News, Square (SQ) was granted a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office for converting multiple cryptocurrency assets into a single fiat value. In other words, if I want to buy something from a vendor with a combination of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC), I don’t have to sell it into fiat to do so – Square’s new patented payment system will automatically convert crypto to fiat at the point of sale. Square also indicated that privacy coins could be used.

 

U.K. Revenue Bosses issue bounty to track crypto

HMRC

There are two things about this news story that makes me smile. First, it is the tax-collecting arm of the UK utilizing the free market to develop a tool to prevent money laundering, protect citizen’s wealth, capture stolen digital assets, etc., etc. Second, look at the simplicity of the notice. Listen, I am from the US and if this was posted on the Federal Government’s website as an open bid project, it would be pages and pages and pages long with ridiculous amounts of redundant language and confusing legal speak. Contrast that with what the UK Government has listed here and its just a breath of fresh air.

In a nutshell, the tax enforcement arm of the UK, the HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs), is offering roughly $130,000 (100,000 pounds) for software that can track cryptocurrency transactions. Heck, their own description is so concise and straightforward it explains it better than I can: “Provision of a tool that will support intelligence-gathering methods to identify and cluster Cryptoasset transactions into linked transactions and identify those related to Cryptoasset service providers. The key phrase here is this: identify those linked to Cryptoasset service providers. Why is this the keyphrase? Because the UK wants to target those providing the medium of exchange – they want the exchanges to be held responsible. Any large cryptocurrency exchange that wants to maintain a good relationship with major governments and remain in business is always going to put your privacy second to their business. Smart move by the regulators – not so great a step for those who value privacy.

Exit mobile version