In the last three days, the cryptocurrency market has experienced a minor reversal of sorts, with more than $31 billion wiped from the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies in the last three days.

Much of this loss can be attributed to the recent bearish momentum seen by Bitcoin (BTC), which fell from over $10,300 on February 15 down to briefly touch below $9,500 today as more than $14 billion was wiped off its market cap. Bitcoin has since recovered slightly and currently sits at just south of $9,600.

Other major cryptocurrencies are also experiencing similar, if not greater losses. As it stands, every cryptocurrency in the top ten by market capitalization is in the red today, with Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and XRP currently performing the worst after losing between 7-8% apiece. Likewise, Ethereum (ETH) and EOS are down around 4% each.

Although it is currently unclear why the market has taken a bearish turn, recent performance issues seen by Binance may have contributed to a change in investor sentiment. Nonetheless, despite its recent losses, the global cryptocurrency market is still up by almost 14% in the last month, and almost 17% in the last three months. As such, there is still some leeway before this adverse market movement can be considered a long-term change in market dynamics.

The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.

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Bitcoin touches $9,500 as $31 billion wiped off cryptocurrency markets - Yahoo Finance

The cryptocurrency market is on Friday being painted by one massive green brush. The gains come to correct the negative correction recorded this week when Bitcoin dived to $9,500 twice, Ethereum touched weekly lows at $245 while Ripple crashed to $0.26. On the flip side, the bulls have made a decision to end the week in the positive ahead of the weekend session. Some of the market leaders include Ethereum Classic up 3.69%, EOS after growing 3.03% on the day and Litecoin with a 3.27% hike.

The fight against the Coronavirus could see the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) accelerate its plans to release its digital currency according to remarks by the central banks former president Lihiu Li. His argument is that a digital currency system presents efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and convenience during a time of distress. Li is currently the head of blockchain at the state-run National Internet Finance Association.

The government has already taken measures such as quarantining the old paper cash and made a fresh distribution of 600 billion yuan to stop the spread of the virus, especially in Huobei. China has also restricted movements in affected regions.

Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) is in agreement with the Central Bank of Russia that digital payments should not be allowed in the country. A letter sent to the President, Vladimir Putin from the Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko indicated that the two government institutions have agreed to outlaw cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.

A decision was made following a meeting in the government to establish a ban on the issuance and use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.

Bitcoin price is settling above $9,700 after recovery from the range between $9,500 and $9,600. The resistance at the 50 SMA at $9,800 on the 2-hour chart must come down to open the door for the final leg towards $10,000. The RSI signals that bulls are relatively in charge, but the sideways movement shows that the current session is likely to be characterized by sideways trading.

Ethereum is trading at $261 after adding about $4 to the opening value at $257. An intraday high as been formed $264. Further movement north is limited by the developing bearish momentum and the volatility levels.

Ripple price, on the other hand, teeters a $0.2757 following a jump from $00.2711 (opening value). Upward movement have failed to rise past $0.2786 (intraday high) leaving the resistance at $0.28 untested.

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Cryptocurrency Market Update: Hostility ousted as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple make blissful moves - FXStreet

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, FTX, launched in May 2019, now ranks as a top 5 exchange by adjusted volume. Moreover, such has been their rise, they now seek to expand operations with a $15 million equity round. This puts a $1 billion valuation on the company.

In nine short months, FTX has managed to make a huge splash in the world of cryptocurrency exchanges. Yesterday, the adjusted trading volume reached an all-time high for the platform, at around $1.3 billion.

FTX provides a futures trading exchange for digital assets. Their platform features an easy-to-use interface offering futures trading, leveraged tokens, as well as an over-the-counter (OTC) portal.

Much of FTXs rise through the ranks can be attributed to trading firm Alameda Research, who founded FTX in the spring of last year. Alameda Research trades up to $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency each day, and are responsible for managing $100 million in digital assets.

This allows us to trade hundreds of millions of dollars per day, accessing all of the major sources of flow and liquidity. This allows us to show tight spreads, for large size, consistently.

Indeed, as major shakers in the world of cryptocurrency, Alameda Research also functions as a market maker. Their role in the cryptocurrency markets is such that they rank as the biggest provider of liquidity on Bitfinex.

Bitfinex leaderboard. (Source: bitfinex.com)

And while many institutions and individuals prefer to remain anonymous, Almeda Research, and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried take great pride in standing up to be counted.

One of the things about a leader board is, its actually quantifiable and verifiable. Its something that made it stand out from other firms.

Not only that but FTX market themselves as a platform built by traders, for traders. And this is something highly evident in the raft of features available which makes it a highly liquid cryptocurrency exchange. For example, FTXs liquidation engine prevents clawbacks by slowly closing overleveraged positions while minimizing the impact on the market.

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO and co-founder of FTX and Alameda Research started the firm in his Berkeley apartment in late 2017 using a combination of his own money and by borrowing from family and friends.

He cut his teeth as a trader on Jane Street Capitals international exchange-traded fund desk. Here he worked for three years trading traditional investments such as currency and equities.

But he began getting interested in cryptocurrency when he spotted simple LTC arbitrage opportunities based on a 30% premium of LTC on Coinbase.

Profile of Sam Bankman-Fried. (Source: alameda-research.com)

On launching FTX, Bankman-Fried spoke about his vision for the company, and how he sees FTX as different from other cryptocurrency exchanges:

In creating FTX, I wanted to build a platform for professional traders like me. While also bringing crypto trading to the mass market and first-time users.

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How This Cryptocurrency Platform Grew From Nothing to Top 5 Exchange Worth $1 Billion in 9 Months - newsBTC

Thesuicide note cited personal reasons. But Ashraf Nusubuga, a radiology studentat Kampalas Makerere University Ugandas leading higher educationinstitution didnt hang himself over a love affair gone wrong or because ofacademic pressure. The 22-year-old killed himself after losing money he hadinvested in a bogus cryptocurrency firm.

He had put all of his money and some he had borrowed into what turned out to be a Ponzi scheme, lured by the promise of high returns, according to Luke Oweyesigire, deputy spokesperson for Kampala Metropolitan Police. But Nusubuga isnt the only one to have fallen victim.

A series of large cryptocurrency scams is rocking Uganda, turning the East African nation into an unlikely hub for fraudulent firms claiming to offer digital currencies, while preying on weak governance and low financial literacy. Other major cryptocurrency scams in 2019 involved developed economies Japans BITPoint exchange lost $28 million, and con men in the U.K. and the Netherlands stole $27 million from Bitcoin users. Globally, cybercriminals stole $4.3 billion from users and exchanges last year. But Uganda is the worst hit by far.

At least five cryptocurrency firms have closed shop and walked away with a total of more than $26 million of their clients money in the past six months. From students and churchgoers to army officers and government officials, the victims span Ugandan society. Robert Bakalikwira, a criminal investigations officer probing these cases, estimates that in all, 200,000 Ugandans have lost about $1 billion, or almost 4 percent of the countrys GDP of $28 billion, over the past two years.

Ugandans are better off investing their money in cows than plunging into the unknown world of cryptocurrencies.

Patrick Mweheire, chairman, Uganda Bankers Association

These scams are different from those in the West, where hackers have stolen from exchanges or robbed from people. In Uganda, fake firms claiming to offer cryptocurrencies are luring people to buy in, before walking away with their money. The countrys growing crisis holds lessons for other poor nations with weak regulations unable to keep up with the sometimes misleading promise of technology.

We have receivedvery many cases of cryptocurrencyscams,says Fred Enanga, Ugandas national police spokesperson. We advise Ugandans toavoid being fleeced off their money in such deals.

But the role of President Yoweri Musevenis government is coming under scrutiny. It has set up a 10-member commission of inquiry, and is issuing public statements to alert Ugandans that the government and central bank dont recognize any cryptocurrency. Yet even though the country has no regulations for the sector, the government hasnt made it illegal to operate a cryptocurrency firm in Uganda. In parliament earlier this month, an MP pointed out that Kwame Rugunda, the son of Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, is CEO of CryptoSavannah, a cryptocurrency advisory firm.

Museveni himself appeared to be an early proponent of cryptocurrencies. At an event in Kampala in January 2017, where Bank of Uganda Governor Emmanuel Mutebile said he wasnt confident about the credibility of cryptocurrency, the president rebuffed him. Museveni said Mutebile wasbeing dogmatic, and emphasized the need to embrace technology.

Many ordinary people in the country which has the lowest literacy rate in the region took it as a government endorsement of digital currencies. A flood of firms some legitimate and several fraudulent entered the country.

Museveni is partly responsible for our suffering, says 50-year-old Ken Wamala from the southern Uganda town of Masaka who says scams have cost him around $41,000.

The fraud firms include Dumanis Coins, whose management disappeared on Dec. 3, 2019, after collecting $2.7 million in Ugandan shillings. More than 10,000 people had invested in the company. Police have arrested one of the firms directors but are still searching for four others, says Kampala police spokesman Patrick Onyango. John Kalevu, whose shop is next to Dumanis Coins former office, says he came to work one day to find the cryptocurrency firms doors open, but the office empty.

Global Cryptocurrencies closed overnight in November. Andrew Kagwa, its chief executive, was arrested after two weeks on the run. More than 10,000 people had invested $8.2 million in the firm. Lion Cryptocurrency closed down in October 2019, taking with it $5.4 million in investments made by 17,000 people, says Henry Musagala, the investigating officer. One Coin, another of the fraud firms, duped 12,000 people out of $6.8 million. The D9 cryptocurrency company shut shop with $3.2 million in investments from 9,000 people.

Other cryptocurrency companies that have closed since early 2018 leaving thousands of people confused and stranded include Team, Dutch International, Finetegry and Fital-Science.

Employees of these firms havent escaped unscathed either. Sheila Nassali, a nurse by training, recalls how a Global Cryptocurrency director convinced her to join the company as a secretary and a customer. She was shocked when the director disappeared, leaving me to face angry customers who wanted to get their money.

Patrick Mweheire, chairman of the Uganda Bankers Association, says, Ugandans are better off investing their money in cows than plunging into the unknown world of cryptocurrencies.

But experts and former employees of these firms say ignorance isnt the only problem. Muzamiru Kigundu, who used to work with Lion Cryptocurrency before it shut down, alleges that many government officials are among the owners of cryptocurrency companies mushrooming in Uganda. That lends the industry legitimacy in the eyes of ordinary people. The directors of these firms rent fancy offices and drive expensive cars to create the impression that theyre wealth creators, he says.

Ugandas corruption it ranks 160 in Transparency Internationals index is also to blame. Some of the fake firms were registered as companies even though they didnt meet statutory requirements. The major cause of the cryptocurrency scams is corruption, says Joseph Bogere, professor of economics at Makerere University.

Ultimately, though, its the responsibility of the countrys leaders and security organizations to protect citizens against such crooks, says Solomon Male, a pastor. That isnt happening yet. An already poor nation is bleeding further, while gaining an unwanted reputation.

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The Billion-Dollar Cryptocurrency Scams You've Never Heard About - OZY

The cryptocurrency known as Tezos is among the years best performing altcoin assets, rising more than 200% year-to-date.

And while the surging crypto asset is showing no signs of stopping, it could go on to double from here, according to a prominent crypto analyst and short-term parabola.

Tezos is a clear cryptocurrency industry standout.

The altcoin recently exploded into the top ten crypto assets by market cap, after an early 2020 rally smashed all expectations and then some.

Related Reading | Top Trader: Tezos Cryptocurrency Can Surge 5-10x After 100% Rally in 2 Weeks

Since the start of the year, Tezos is up an insane 200%.

From the assets late 2019 downtrend bottom, Tezos has quadrupled in value, with a sky-high, over 420% return.

And from the assets bear market bottom, it has grown in value by a staggering 1,125% in a little over a years time.

Analysts have been warning late-to-the-game investors from FOMOing into an asset that has already risen so much, but Tezos has continued to rally, leaving cautious traders filled with regret.

That regret will only grow if Tezos does as one analyst believes and extends its parabola to as much as $6.30 per XTZ token.

The current high is set at $3.70, so reaching such a target would mean that Tezos price doubles from current levels.

Such a rally would cause yet another 100% push from here, taking year-to-date gains to over 400%.

It would also take any investments made from the very bottom to as high as just under 2,000% returns in less than 16-months.

Tezos has completed these amazing feats, all before the bull market has truly begun for cryptocurrencies.

And because Tezos is a relative newcomer alongside other altcoins like Link, who missed out on the last crypto bubble, these shiny new altcoins have less tarnish and negativity to break free from.

The assets also dont have support levels turned resistance to contend with, and instead are in price discovery mode.

Related Reading | Tezos & Ethereum: These Top Performing Altcoins Flash Dangerous Sell Signals

This means that any peaks are just psychological barriers while a true value is established by the way of the push and pull of market dynamics.

This is the exact reason why Tezos could easily double from here, and reach prices of $6.3 in the coming days because no one knows truly what Tezos should be worth, so the speculative asset is likely to explode further until a strong psychological resistance is reached.

When assets perform like Tezos, sky is the limit. But remember, just like Bitcoin at the last bull market peak: everything that goes up that fast, eventually falls back down quite hard.

And with how much Tezos has rallied, while it can certainly go a lot higher, when it does turn around, much of the gains could be erased.

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Tezos to the Moon: How The Unstoppable Cryptocurrency Rally Could Double - newsBTC

Tax season is one of the most dreaded times of the year for many, and when the added confusion of filing crypto returns is thrown into to the mix, things can get even stickier. News.Bitcoin.com recently talked with Clinton Donnelly of Donnelly Tax Law, a service that specializes in crypto returns. The U.S. Treasury-licensed Enrolled Agent shared some of his opinions and insights regarding crypto audits and what triggers them, as well as an example from a client.

Also read: Tax Rules Hit Brazilian Crypto Exchanges, Forcing Trading Platforms Out of Business

The IRS announcement that thousands of tax warning letters would be issued to United States crypto holders last summer elicited calls for greater clarification and guidelines, but it hasnt stopped the Internal Revenue Service audit train from steaming forward. The presence of a new crypto question on 2019s Schedule 1 form has individuals concerned about reporting their crypto assets correctly more than ever, and according to experts, this is for good reason.

That is massive says Enrolled Agent Clinton Donnelly of Donnelly Tax Law. This question in the 2019 return it forces every taxpayer in the United States to make a decision whether or not theyre going to be honest or not on this question, because its a yes or no and when you sign the tax return its in small print, it says under penalty of perjury I have reviewed this return and its true, complete and correct, so failing to check the box is incomplete. He emphasizes:

Its a yes or no its kind of like coming out of the closets Anybody who was a trader in 19, well, they were probably a trader in 17 as well.

Donnelly went on to explain that by reporting crypto gains in light of the new question, many crypto holders will inadvertently reveal that they first acquired their digital assets years back, which calls their previous years returns into suspicion and makes an IRS investigation more likely.

Donnellys service has so far seen two cryptocurrency audits with its clients, and the tax professional is interested in learning more about what triggers an IRS investigation. One client claimed to have never received the 2019 warning letters, but was audited all the same. According to Donnelly, the focus of the IRS is not so much on the methods by which capital gains are reported, but that all inputs and outputs are accounted for, and that the AML (anti-money laundering) narrative remains in central focus.

I think people sense that the government views crypto traders as possibly engaging in some sort of crime, Donnelly notes. We shouldnt feel that way, but we do. He cites a recent Chainalysis report showing the darknets share of crypto usage is less than 1% of the total. The tax expert went on:

I would say most of these questions, as you read them, fall into the category of anti-money laundering My suspicion is that if the IRS wanted to crack down on every American that traded cryptos they could do it, but the backlash from voters back to congress would snap the IRS in the face and they would be sent packing So I think as long as they stay on the money laundering theme, then they look above board.

Donnelly also shared a non-confidential snippet of a clients IRS audit letter for a 2017 return relating to just under $40,000 in crypto gains. This client claims to have never received the warning letters from the agency.

Donnelly emphasized throughout our conversation that it is not so much the various means by which a crypto holder reports gains using different tax tools can and often does result in slightly different numbers but that the IRS wants to verify total asset amounts add up, with all inputs and outputs accounted for. Especially where cash is concerned. The image of the form above lays out in detail what types of specific information the agency wants to know.

Donnelly further detailed that high frequency traders are sometimes concerned when seeing large proceeds calculated for their trades on 1099-K forms from crypto exchanges, but that costs are not yet factored into these amounts. This can make some traders understandably hesitant to file, but audits are less likely if the proceeds amount is reported fully.

Half the court cases in tax court are because the IRS didnt do the procedure right, the due process, if you will, Donnelly details, but theres this form called the FBAR form that form is not a tax form, its not a part of the tax laws. The IRS administers it, but its not a part of the tax laws. Its part of the Bank Secrecy Act, Title 18. He goes on:

Prosecutors love the FBAR form because they can say you didnt file it, you should have, whammo, heres the penalty and we can assess it right now. Theres no due process defense on that.

The FBAR form has to do with assets held in foreign bank accounts, and must be filed by U.S. taxpayers if the aggregate value of those foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year reported. The FBAR brings Fincen (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) into the tax action, and has to do directly with combating money laundering, so Donnelly suspects this may be part of the reason the AML narrative has become the focus of crypto tax reporting. It is also a frightening prospect for crypto traders utilizing overseas exchanges and accounts.

The penalty for the anti-money laundering form this is FBAR is $10,000, plus $10,000 for every foreign account that youve never reported, Donnelly elaborates. If you never filed the FBAR, you just told the IRS all the exchanges you were on you just incriminated yourself. They say ah, well youre on Huobi, Kucoin, Binance, you got five of em. Thats $50,000 plus the $10,000 I originally smacked you with for not filing a form. You didnt do this in 17, you didnt do it in 18, you didnt do it in 16 either, so I can just add these penalties up. Before you know it youre up to $200, $300,000 and they can get worse if they want to be hostile about it. He concludes:

The IRS controls the narrative. Were not going after crypto traders, were going after people that are violating the anti-money laundering laws Its implicitly dirty, right? to be caught for money laundering.

Donnelly says his mission is to help people file what he calls a bulletproof tax return, as the penalties for simple mistakes and omissions can be so egregious, and so few tax advisors know how to help their clients when it comes to crypto.

News.Bitcoin.com also regularly publishes articles on available tax tools and software which may make the job of reporting easier for bitcoiners. Of course, when dealing with unpredictable and potentially dangerous groups like the IRS, individuals should exercise due diligence and research thoroughly before pursuing any course of action. Not surprisingly, the permissionless, peer-to-peer money designed to fight financial censorship that is bitcoin, has fast become a prime target for the very groups of middlemen, banks, politicians and other third parties it makes largely unnecessary.

What do you think of Donnellys views on crypto tax audits? Let us know in the comments section below.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Cryptotaxaudit.com, fair use.

Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here.

Graham Smith is an American expat living in Japan, and the founder of Voluntary Japanan initiative dedicated to spreading the philosophies of unschooling, individual self-ownership, and economic freedom in the land of the rising sun.

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How the IRS Audits Cryptocurrency Tax Returns - Filing Expert Shares Example, Insights on AML Focus - Bitcoin News

In a recentWall Street Journalarticle, Mary Anastasia OGrady writes that VenezuelasNational Superintendency for the Defense of Socio-Economic Rights is reportedly pressuring stores to accept the governments new digital fiat currency, the Petro.The Venezuelan government claims its digital currency, which launched in early 2018, is backed one-for-one by a barrel of oil. The petro is also intended to circulate at a fixed exchange rate with the bolvar soberano, the latest iteration of Venezuelas fledgling currency.

Ms. OGrady quotes me summarizing some of the work I have done with Josh Hendrickson and Thomas Hogan, which shows that a government canget its citizens to use its preferred money so long as it issufficiently bigor is willing to levysufficiently large punishments. But she leaves another question unanswered:why would the Venezuelan government prefer the petro? Stays Alive

Three reasons stand out.

Venezuela relies heavily on oil revenues.According to OPEC, oil revenues typically account for around 99 percent of Venezuelas total export revenues. And, historically, much of those oil exports have gone to the U.S. However, its oil exportsfell by a third in 2019, in large part because ofeconomic sanctions levied by the U.S.

To fully appreciate the nature of the problem, it is useful to make a distinction between primary and secondary sanctions. Primary economic sanctions levied by the U.S. government prevent Americans from purchasing oil from Venezuela. However, the U.S. government has also announced that it will impose sanctions on anyone else trading with Venezuela. And these secondary sanctions have been pretty effective.

Why are U.S. secondary sanctions so effective?J.P. Koning is certainly correctwhen he writes that most companies and countries do not want to risk losing access to U.S. markets. But he probably goes too far in claiming this has very little to do with the U.S. dollar functioning as the worlds reserve currency. The U.S. government has a much easier time monitoring international transactions executed in U.S. dollars.

International transactions executed in U.S. dollars are typically cleared in a New York bank. Those banks know their customers and are obliged to hand over transactions data to the U.S. government when subpoenaed or if they suspect a crime is being committed. Related: Texas Oil Production To Rise In 2020 Despite Lower Prices

If the international transaction is executed in some other currency, like euros, the information is a little more difficult for the U.S. government to access. Of course, most European banks will refuse to clear the transaction as well since the U.S. government can require they hand over the relevant transactions data, in which case they would be found to have violated sanctions by processing the transaction, or they would lose access to U.S. markets on grounds of non-compliance; and, since most international transactions are executed in U.S. dollars, a European bank that cannot transfer money to and from U.S. banks will struggle to serve its international transactions-making customers.

Nonetheless, the risk of detection is probably a little lower than it would be if the transaction were made in U.S. dollars. And, as a result, the transaction is more likely to be executed.

The international financial plumbing has a lot of pipes running to and from the U.S. And that gives the U.S. a lot of power to levy sanctions, not just on its own citizens, but also on citizens and companies of other countries interested in international trade.

You can probably see where this is going. If Venezuela were able to create a parallel financial system, one with no pipes going to and from the U.S., it could make and receive international transactions with even less risk of detection than is afforded by other national currencies, like the euro, ruble, or renminbi.

Thats where the petro comes in. As a digital currency, it enables one to send or receive funds virtually anywhere around the world. And, to the extent that those transactions are disconnected from the U.S. financial system, they are much less likely to be detected by the U.S. government.

Again: the sanctions still apply. But, by conducting transactions in petros, they are easier to get around.

Why, then, does Venezuela push the petro at home? Why not just require it for international transactions? For one, few will be willing to accept the petro if there isnt a very big market for petros. Hence, by increasing the demand for petros at home, Venezuela makes it less risky for foreigners to accept them if only for a short period of time.

For international transactions, the petro offers those interested in skirting U.S. sanctions some financial privacy not afforded by traditional cross-border electronic transfers. For internal transactions, in contrast, it almost certainly offers far less financial privacy than hand-to-hand currency.

As Josh Hendrickson and I explain in arecent working paper, hand-to-hand currency cash affords a lot of financial privacy. There are drawbacks to using cash, to be sure.

Cash does not bear interest. It is easier to lose and easier to steal than balances held at a bank and less likely to be insured due to loss or theft. It is more cumbersome for high-valued transactions, since one must carry many notes, and odd-amount transactions, since one must provide the correct denominations. And it typically requires the sender and receiver to be physically present in the same location when funds are transferred. Related: U.S. Administration Discusses Plan To Oust Venezuelas Maduro

But, for relatively small, local transactions where financial privacy is important, cash is still king.

It is easy to imagine, then, why the Venezuelan government might want to push its citizens to swap physical bolivares for digital petros even in the absence of international sanctions. The petro makes it much easier to monitor transactions and punish those conducting transactions inconsistent with the prevailing governments objectives.

It is difficult to mount much opposition without funding. And it is difficult to raise funds for an opposition movement if would-be contributors worry they will be caught and punished. By requiring petro use, the Maduro regime tightens its grip on power. YOUR INBOX

Bottom of Form

Finally, widespread petro use would presumably help Venezuela with another one of its self-inflicted problems: cash shortages.

When the money supply (i.e., cash and deposit balances) increases, as it tends to do quite rapidly in Venezuela, the purchasing power of that money falls. As a result, more cash is needed to make routine transactions. But Venezuela does not print its bolivares notes. And, for obvious reasons, the private companies willing to crank out its ever-increasing supply of bolivares notes are not willing to receive payment in bolivares.

This has led to some amusing headlines. In April 2016,Bloombergreported thatVenezuela Doesnt Have Enough Money to Pay for Its Money. In July 2018, theEconomistreported thatVenezuelan cash is almost worthless, but also scarce. The reality on the ground is far from amusing, though. The inability to make routine transactions leads to a decline in production, leaving ordinary Venezuelans even poorer than they already were.

There are two solutions to this problem.

If the National Superintendency for the Defense of Socio-Economic Rights is successful in pressuring stores to accept the petro, it would serve the Maduro regime well. By making it easier to avoid sanctions, the petro enables the government to regain some of its lost oil revenues. By making it easier to monitor domestic transactions, the petro aids efforts to stamp out political opposition. And, by reducing the need to print up so many new notes during periods of hyperinflation, the petro reduces the likelihood and magnitude of cash shortages.

Alas, in helping the Maduro regime maintain power, the petro seems unlikely to improve the lives of ordinary Venezuelans.

By William Luther via Zerohedge.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

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Why Venezuela's Oil Based Cryptocurrency Is Still Alive - OilPrice.com

Two leading cryptocurrency analysts say they believe Bitcoin is in a new bull market cycle, but predictions that BTC is poised to soar to $100,000 are far too bullish.

In a recent episode of Trading Bitcoin, Tone Vays and the pseudonymous trader Filbfilb debate the current state of the crypto market and where it may head in the months to come.

Vays says BTC needs to close above $10,450 to signal that a bigger move to the upside is in store. Bitcoin came extremely close to that number on Wednesday, reaching $10,444 before plummeting to its current price of $9,568, according to CoinMarketCap.

Filbfilbs says his target for opening a long position is significantly higher. Hes looking to see if and when BTC can cross $11,500.

As for how high Bitcoin may climb in the next long-term market cycle, both analysts say they expect a new bull market top to hit well below a litany of predictions calling for a parabolic rise to $100k. Says Filbfilb,

I think were going to struggle to get past $60k. I think $60k is going to be a really, really troublesome level to get across. Ill certainly be looking to book in some serious profits at that point.

I think you said it right in Fiji. I think you said the return you get off of these long-term positions versus the risk of you getting it wrong is a terrible trade. So trying to go higher than $60k I think would be a little bit foolish at this point. But certainly around $50k, $60k would be sensible.

Vays says hes looking for BTC to top out at a slightly lower price of around $45,000.

Although the traders say hype around Bitcoins halving is fueling price action in early 2020, they say rising trading volumes and an increasing number of outstanding derivative contracts are key metrics to watch in order to gauge real long-term interest in the space.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/sustainableart

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Top Cryptocurrency Analysts Say $100,000 Bitcoin Predictions Way Off Base Heres Where They Think BTC Will Land - The Daily Hodl

Cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin are barely a decade old. But they have already had a significant impact on the world of finance. When Facebook announced that it will float its own digital currency Libra, it was another sound reminder that the world is about witnessing a major shift in paradigm in the finance sector.

Now a prominent figure in the finance sector has come out again to warn those in the mainstream to keep up with the rapid changes taking place in the finance sector as a result of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin.

U.S. Federal Reserve governor and chair of the Financial Stability Board, Randal Quarles, has warned central bankers and finance ministers to take note of the quick changes happening within the finance industry, brought by cryptocurrencies and bitcoin.

In his statement,

Technology is changing the nature of traditional finance, bringing innovations that create both potential benefits and risks.

He made this statement in a letter for the G20 summit this week. According to him, the rapid changes in the finance sector may bring about new challenges for many central banks and governments around the world.

Earlier this week, the U.S. government stated that cryptocurrency and Bitcoin can pose a challenge to the USD in retaining its status as the worlds reserve coin. Currently, its looking for researchers who would look into the extent of risks digital coins pose to the continued dominance of the USD.

And there has been growing support for the US to start developing its own government-backed digital currency.

Already, many central banks and governments believe that the introduction of Libra could have an impact on governments stronghold on their economies if the digital currency becomes widely used around the world. Some are having fears that it could lead them to lose their financial and regulatory control of economies. `

Some E.U. countries, including Spain, Italy, Germany, and France, have reiterated their desire to block the use of Libra in their respective countries because of the risk it poses to the financial sector. However, instead of using Libra, the countries are supporting the proposal of an alternate public cryptocurrency run by the central bank.

On a similar note, some top companies like eBay, PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa, who initially supported the introduction of Libra, are now backing out. They view the Libra currency as a major competition, which can put their line of business at risk, should the digital coin become a reality.

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Finance Sector Concerned Over the Increasing Dominance of Cryptocurrency - Inside Bitcoins

The Swedish Central Bank will establish a test group for its potential digital currency the e-krona. It will run for a year and should confirm if theres an actual need case for launching a digital krona.

Recently reported by local news, the Riksbank is ready to launch a group to examine the potential e-krona. The participants will play out different scenarios to determine if the digital currencys performance is sufficient and reliable. A statement from the bank outlines the various requirements that the e-krona needs to address before launching:

The aim of the project is to show how an e-krona could be used by the general public. A digital krona should be simple, user-friendly as well as fulfill critical requirements for security and performance.

The project will run on the blockchain technology in an isolated test environment. The participants will store the e-krona in a digital wallet. They will use a mobile app to make payments, deposits, and withdrawals. Additionally, users will also make payments via cards and smartwatches.

The bank will run the test group for a year until February 2021.

The Swedish central bank will also collaborate with other countries to discuss potential cases for issuing their cryptocurrency. To do so, the Riksbank will enter a dedicated group with the banks of Britain, the Eurozone, Japan, and Switzerland.

The report also outlines the real purpose of the potential digital krona. It informs that the Swedish population has stopped using cash as the primary source of payment transactions. More specifically, the percentage of people paying with cash has dropped from 40 to 13 between 2010 and 2018.

Despite that, though, the Riksbank doesnt plan to replace cash entirely if it launches the digital krona. Instead, the central bank said that it would be used as a complement. It will continue to issue banknotes and coins, as long as theres a demand in the country.

Deutsche bank recently also touched upon the topic of cash necessity in todays society. It concluded that some banks, debit, and credit card providers, and governments are attempting to eliminate cash from daily usage. However, their document ultimately refuted the option of the end of cash.

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Swedens Central Bank To Begin Testing National Cryptocurrency - CryptoPotato

Whether you text, type, scrawl chicken scratch onto a doctors pad, or inscribe calligraphy in your bullet journal, everyone who shares a language uses the same alphabet. But where does it come from? And who invented it? Even as our own alphabet changes and we devolve into the pictorial non-syllabic communication of emojis, tracing the history of writing is its own form of investigative journey.

And now archaeologists have found another piece of the puzzle: excavations in Israel have unearthed a 3,200-year-old Canaanite temple that once served the city of Lachish, the last Canaanite city. The discovery promises to shed light on the political and religious relationship between the Canaanites and Egyptians, ancient Canaanite religion and deities, and even the Israelite conquest. But among the most important discoveries at the site was the earliest example of the proto-Canaanite letter samekh a letter that would survive in Hebrew and Aramaic, find its way into ancient Greek, and enjoy an afterlife in 21st century technology.

The discovery was made by a team jointly led by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Prof. Michael Hasel at Southern Adventist University in Tennessee. Though the temple was unearthed two years ago, it has taken several years for the finds and evidence to be analyzed and news of the discovery only emerged this week.

In the Bible, Lachish is mentioned several times; in particular with the conquest of the land of Canaanites by the Israelites (Joshua 10:3, 5, 23, 31-35). According to the book of Joshua, Japhia, the King of Lachish, was one of five kings who tried to push back the Israelite invasion. After being caught unawares by a surprise attack, Japhia and his allies took refuge in a cave, were captured, and then executed. Joshua then launched a siege of Lachish that lasted for two days before the city fell and Joshua had the inhabitants of the city exterminated. The city and land surrounding it was then assigned to the tribe of Judah. If all of this sounds like a war crime to you, then youre correct: the Israelite conquest narratives are stories about divinely mandated and supported genocide. The city is mentioned again on a variety of occasions; the prophet Jeremiah names it as one of the last cities to fall to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, for example.

The city itself is located in central Israel about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem in the Shephelah (lowlands) region of Israel between Mount Hebron and the Mediterranean coast. In both the Canaanite and Judahite periods Lachish was second in importance only to Jerusalem. For an ancient city, Lachish is remarkably well-documented in our historical records. It appears in ancient Assyrian, Egyptian, and Biblical texts and is even referred to on stone panels found in Nineveh (modern day northern Iraq). The earliest literary reference to Lachish is in Egyptian sources: the so-called Amarna letters, a set of clay tablets that document correspondence between Egypt government and their representatives in Canaan. These everyday administrative letters reveal that Lachish was an important and powerful city in the foothills of Judea.

Even before the arrival of the Israelites, the city had had a violent history: It first rose to prominence in 1800 BCE and, for some 400 years thereafter, it flourished and prospered. It was then destroyed by Pharaoh Thutmose III in 1550 BCE as part of the 18th Dynastys expansion into Canaan. The city was rebuilt and destroyed on multiple other occasions throughout its history but the newly discovered temple dates from the citys resurgence between roughly 1200-1150 BCE. Garfinkel calls this incarnation, the last Canaanite city.

The structure of the temple is unusual for the Late Bronze age: The entrance, which featured two towers and pillars, led to a large rectangular hall. Garfinkel told Haaretz that this kind of structure was more common in earlier temples found in Syria. But the style appears to have influenced the first Temple in Jerusalem built by King Solomon which, according to the Bible, also featured pillars, towers and a central hall.

As we would expect for an urban center with close ties to Egypt, many of the artifacts found at the site revealed Egyptian influence in the region. In addition to bronze cauldrons, axes, and daggers adorned with bird heads and scarabs, the team found a gold-plated bottle inscribed with the name of Rameses II. They also discovered an amulet that references the goddess Hathor, an Egyptian bovine deity who might also have been local to Canaan. In Egyptian mythology Hathor was associated with music, fertility, love and sex and was often charged with greeting the dead in the afterlife. The discovery of Egyptian religious traditions at the temple at Lachish is evidence of the contact between and mutual influence of Canaanite and Egyptian culture on each other.

Also discovered within the Temple, however, were religious elements that would not have been found in either ancient Egypt or ancient Israel. In particular, the discovery of two small statues of the god Baalone of the God of Israels principle competitors in the Biblereveal that this was unambiguously a center of Canaanite religious life.

Arguably the most stunning revelation from the temple was the discovery of an early Canaanite inscription on a shard of pottery. Among the letters etched into the clay was the proto-Canaanite letter samekh. This letter resembles a mirrored capital letter E (a vertical line crossed by three perpendicular shorter lines). The example from Lachish is the earliest example of samekh that we have and thus adds to our understanding of the development of alphabet writing systems. Many scholars believe that ancient writing began in ancient Sumer (Mesopotamia) with the development of pictographic writing forms such as that found on the limestone Kish tablet. The Kish tablet is often seen as a bridge or transitional example between proto-writing systems (symbolic systems of communication that arose independently in various regions of the ancient world) and syllabic writing systems; in the case of the Kish tablet cuneiform, a system of wedge-shaped marks.

Whether one is willing to name the Sumerians as first (and some arent) its clear that ancient writing systems developed in the Early Bronze Age in a variety of places including Sumer (cuneiform), Egypt (hieroglyphics), Crete (hieroglyphs), China (logographs), the Indus Valley (Indus/Harrapan Script), and Mexico (Cascajal block). The aleph-bet-gimmel semitic writing system known as proto-Canaanite that would eventually develop into Hebrew and Aramaic emerged in 1800 BCE and can be seen in early examples from Egypt and Sinai. In the Lachish temple example we see for the first time how the proto-Canaanites wrote the letter samekh. Garfinkel told Haaretz [Other examples of proto-Canaanite writing] had the other letters, het and resh and shin and so on, but not samekh. Scholars were able to identify the letter because sometime between 1000 and 950 BCE the Phoenicians adopted the proto-Canaanite alphabet, refined it, and formalized it into a more structured and organized system and in the Phoenician system this is exactly how samekh looks. Now we know for sure where they got it from.

The discovery at Lachish helps us chart the shifts and changes from proto-Canaanite to Pheonecian and then to Hebrew and beyond. Dr. Robert Cargill, an archaeologist and professor of ancient Judaism and Christianity at the University of Iowa told me the samekh has an odd history because even though it is a somewhat redundant sibilant (a hissing sound, to you and me), it persists in Hebrew and Aramaic, and even in the Greek alphabet via the Phoenician alphabet. In other words, even though it was somewhat redundant, the influence of this letter is felt in a number of important writing systems. In Greek it gave rise to the letter Xi, which continues to be used (outside of just the Greek and old Cyrillic alphabets) in mathematics and science where it has over a dozen applications. Perhaps most strangely it is a monetary unit of Ethereum, a cryptocurrency that some have claimed is used by criminals to run Ponzi schemes and investment fraud. From ancient temple pottery to sophisticated Ponzi schemes, this letter has come a long way.

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Inside the Lachish Temple, the Earliest Example of the Letter Samekh - The Daily Beast

Ripple has launched a new portal designed to give cryptocurrency investors a way to report malicious activity connected to the XRP Ledger.

People can now fill out a request form asking Ripple to explore a long list of unusual activity, including theft, phishing attempts, giveaway scams, suspicious exchanges, money laundering, unauthorized transactions and other financial crimes.

Although it will investigate matters connected to the XRP Ledger, Ripple says it will not make victims whole and cannot reverse transactions.

Ledger and the users of the XRP Ledger are not customers of Ripple therefore Ripple does not have the power to reverse transactions, even in the case of a reported financial loss (ex: theft).

By submitting a request to Ripple, the company says consumers are effectively giving the company permission to report the matter to US lawmakers on the federal, state, or local level.

Ripple may also report the issue to international law enforcement or regulatory agencies.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/Dmitriy Rybin

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Ripple Battles XRP Scams, Launches Initiative to Combat Cryptocurrency Theft, Fake Giveaways and Financial Crimes - The Daily Hodl

CoinList co-founder and president Andy Bromberg discusses the trajectory Libra and Bitcoin could take in 2020.

Bitcoin is largely believed the be the most popular cryptocurrency.

The crypto coin made national news in 2017when its value unexpectedly skyrocketed to $19,873 per share, highlighting the general idea of cryptocurrency and blockchain on a global scale before it was largely being considered as an alternative currency option.

6 REASONS BITCOIN HAS NEARLY TRIPLED IN 6 MONTHS

"The most popular crypto is Bitcoin ... because it was the first one to be widely used and is generallyconsidered the safest to own,"Alex Mashinsky, CEO at Celsius Network, a crypto lending and depository company, told FOX Business. "Bitcoin is up 9 million [percent]in the last decade, outpacing Wall Street top performer Netflix, which returned 4,000 [percent]during the same time."

One Bitcoin is worth nearly $10,000 as of Feb. 8, according to Google Disclaimer.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF CRYPTOCURRENCY?

Mashinsky noted that cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly popular because they "bypassall the fees and tolls banks [that] credit cards and financial platforms charge us today. These new rails enable new services and products to be created that act in the best interests of the user and the community and not the banks and Wall Street."

HACKERS STOLE $41B OF BITCOIN ON ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST CRYPTO EXCHANGES

"The young crypto community is trying to create these new services and convince hundreds of millions of users to move their assets to the new rails," he added.

A collection of Bitcoin tokens (REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Illustration)

Richard Dennis, founder and CEO of a cryptocurrency calledTemTum, noted that while the "speed of settlement, which takes several days on the traditional banking system," it takes only about an hour with cryptocurrency, and banking hours are not an issue.

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The popularity of cryptocurrencies is clear to see," he said, adding that benefits include "greater security, faster payments and audible qualities" that have "made the industry take notice of cryptocurrencies so much so that national states and central banks and frantically working on trying to catch up and deploy this technology for their people."

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Other popular cryptocurrencies include Ethereum, XRP, Tether, Litecoin, Monero and EOS. Even Facebook announced plans to start a cryptocurrency called Libra --- an idea that came under strong government scrutiny and quicklylost support.

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What is the most popular cryptocurrency? - Fox Business

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are an incredibly young industry despite this it already has many heroes

February10, 202012 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Although cryptocurrencies are based on blockchain technology, where each transaction is a strict set of accurate digits that form a cryptographic hash, people are still creative in the industry. These professionals all come from differing backgroundsone person might have come from working in development, whilst another from economics, or a director from an executive corporate environment, but one thing they all have in common is their imagination and willingness to think outside of the box. Each of our heroes are united by that rare quality of being visionaries with the ability to spot and seize and act upon the technological opportunities of the future. For each of them their victory is to analyse, to innovate, to build, and to implement an effective action strategy for success.

Today, weve gathered the top 10 most influential people in the cryptocurrency marketthe creators of the largest projects that have influenced the development of the entire industry.

The creator of Bitcoin

Age: Unknown

Rocking in as the undisputed number one on our list is Satoshi Nakamoto the creator of Bitcoin, and the most mysterious personality in the cryptocurrency industry. Indeed, not only does nobody know whether it is one person, or a group of developers, the very fact that of whether this legendary figure actually exists has often been called into question. Is Satoshi Nakamoto just a pseudonym?

Be that as it may, it was Satoshi Nakamoto who developed the Bitcoin protocol and created the first version of the software.

Of course, theres a wealth of speculation as to real identify of Nakamoto, and several theories have come to light to unmask him. Indeed, as we seek to unmask his true identify, lets take a look at the two leading suspects.

Nick Szabo is one of the rumoured candidates for the Nakamoto crown. Szabo is a well-known cryptologist and lawyer, the developer of smart contract technology, the Bit Gold algorithm of decentralised virtual currency and the publication of which appeared just a few short months before Nakamoto's article on Bitcoin.

Craig Wright is one of the most scandalous candidates for being the real Satoshi Nakamoto. In 2015, this Australian entrepreneur told the world that it was he who created the unique technology and filed more than 150 patent applications for the authorship of distributed registry technology, smart contracts, and six cryptocurrencies. In his favour, the patents were undisputed, and this didnt lead to any legal consequences.

The founder of Ethereum

Age: 26 years old

Buterin gained his fame as the creator of the world's second-largest digital currency in terms of capitalization: Ethereum. Buterin is a true child prodigy:at the tender age of just 7, he wrote his first computer game using Excel macros! Then, aged 10 he studied C ++ and began developing full-fledged games. Blockchain arrived into his life in 2011, and by 2013 hed already realized the shortcomings of Bitcoin. This gave him the idea to create his own unique cryptocurrency platform, and by 2014 he had funded and launched his project Ethereum through an online crowd-sale.

It can be said that it was Buterin who indirectly initiated the ICO (initial coin offering)-hype, made the Ethereum code open-source (made it available to the general public). This allowed hundreds of developers to write their own projects on the Ethereum blockchain, while saving resources and time. Tokens created on Ethereum are called ERC-20 (Ethereum Request For Comments and 20)today there are more than a thousand.

The founder of VK and Telegram

Age: 35 years old

Pavel Durov is the talented Russian entrepreneur and the developer best known for founding the social networking site VK, and then later Telegram. At just 22 years of age, Durov had already launched his social network VKontakte, but at 28 he was forced to leave the project due to disagreements with shareholders. This allowed him to focus on Telegramthe messenger that brought Durov worldwide fame. By the end of 2017, Telegram was already worth more than $1 billion, which made its creator a dollar billionaire.

Until 2018, the name of Durov wasnt associated with cryptocurrencies, however, in that Telegram announced the development of the Telegram Open Networka secure embedded proxy and blockchain platform anonymizer. Durov plans to launch messaging and data storage services on it, as well as payment tools in his own cryptocurrency of the GRAM project. They will also add the ability for developers to create their own applications. 2018 also marked the time when the messenger attracted $1.7 billion from more than 170 investors for the development of new two projects: the Gram cryptocurrency, and the TON blockchain platform.

The founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance

Age: 43 years old

The Chinese Canadian Changpen Zhao is one of the most prominent figures in the crypto industry. Hes the founder and CEO of Binance,the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, as of April 2018, an international cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in Hong Kong. Changpen Zhao is better known in the cryptocurrency community as CZ. And, CZ has an enormous following. His Twitter account has almost half a million crypto zombie followers who feast on reading his hundreds of articles and posts and hanging on his every word. With an estimated net worth, according to the Forbes rich list, of$1.2 billion,Zhao earned his first billion dollar in less than six months and is today one of the richest representatives of the crypto industry.

Since the beginning of his career, CZ has specialised in tradinghe first worked in the IT department of the New York Stock Exchange, and then moved on to Bloomberg to develop a service for traders. Thanks to the experience of the fundraising, it took the Binance exchange only 180 days to become the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange. Today, according to the exchanges blog, the average daily trading volume of Binance is $2,852,591,354, with more than 15 million traders from around the world trading on the exchange. Additionally, Binance is one of the few exchanges that provides margin and futures trading services.

The co-founder of Coinbase

Age: 35 years old

Brian Armstrong is the founder and CEO of Coinbase, a California cryptocurrency exchange. Brian has been interested in development since his high school daysas a teenager he studied the Java and CSS programming languages, and then, having received two degrees in computer science and economics, he worked as a programmer for major companies.

In 2012, after receiving venture capital funding, he launched Coinbaseone of the worlds first cryptocurrency exchanges. Today, Coinbase is one of the most popular platforms for exchanging fiat money for cryptocurrencies. Traders can buy Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether and Litecoin using their regular bank cards. In August 2017, when cryptocurrency fever first swept the world, the mobile version of the Coinbase exchange in the AppStore became the most downloaded application in the US.

The CEO and founder Coinmarketcap

Age: 33 years old

Brandon Chaz is a 33-year-old US programmer, and the founder of Coinmarketcap, the largest online cryptocurrency aggregator. This site consolidates data from all exchanges and based on this data determines the value of cryptocurrency. Users can learn basic information about cryptocurrencies: capitalization, price, number of circulating coins, trading volume in 24 hours, percentage of price change per hour, 24 hours, and per week.

The name of Brandon Chez is associated with the largest crash in the cryptocurrency market in history. On January 8, 2018, almost all cryptocurrencies fell in value by 15 per cent or more, and the market capitalization decreased by $100,000,000,000. Chez was figured as the culprit; it turns out that on February 7, his Coinmarketcap excluded data from South Korean exchanges without warning, the prices of which are consistently above the world average, and resultantly, the value of Bitcoin fell, pulling down all the other cryptocurrencies along with it.

Litecoin creator

Age: Unknown

Charlie Lee is a talented programmer and computer scientist from Japan, an iconic figure in the crypto industry, and the creator of the third cryptocurrency in history: Litecoin. Before Litecoin, Lee worked as a developer for Google. He learnt about blockchain in 2011 by reading an article on Bitcoin. The innovative technology was incredibly interesting to him, and he immediately bought one Bitcoin for $30. In that same year, in October 2011, Lee created the open source cryptographic protocol Litecoin, an early Bitcoin spinoff of Altcoin, and also got a job at the largest Coinbase exchange. In the summer of 2017, Charlie Lee left Coinbase and completely focused on developing Litecoin.

The main purpose of Litecoin is payments on the Internet. In addition, like Ethereum, on Litecoins blockchain developers can create their own applications.

The Founder of PLATINCOIN

Age: 38 years old

Alex Reinhardt is a serial entrepreneur, and venture investor from Germany. Alex is the founder of more than 10 projects in the IT and fintech industries with a total capitalisation of over200 million. In 1996, when Alex was 15 years old, his family emigrated to Germanyand lived on social security benefits for the first few years. None of the family knew German, so they faced many challenges, were living hand to mouth, and facing a difficult future. It was Reinhardt who pulled the family up by the bootstraps and used his charisma to help him to urgently learn to speak the German language. The rest, as they say is history, and by the 11th grade, in 1998, Alex had begun to earn thousands of marks by selling products to German pension funds. Between 2002 and 2013, he was involved in attracting investments in start-ups and young companies, and in just over 10 years hed raised more than500,000,0000 for them.

In 2015, he survived the betrayal of partners who had effectively bankrupted his business. Huge debts and the necessity to pay bills became a call to action, so by using all his experience and innate talent as a salesman, as well as his brilliant experience in crypto trading, Alex launched his most successful project to datePLATINCOIN. PLATINCOIN is a global cryptosystem that includes more than 10 high-tech products and services. The audience of the company's product audience is more than 500,000 people around the world, and every day there are more and more users.

The main goal of all PLATINCOIN products is to make cryptocurrencies accessible to every user in the world and give people a simple tool to enter the financial market, which today is more than 2 billion people are deprived of.

Libra director, and the former president of PayPal

Age: 46 years old

David Marcus is an American entrepreneur born in Paris. Since April 2012, David has been the director of PayPal. In August 2014, he became the vice-president of messaging products at Facebook where he heads the Facebook Messenger unit. In parallel with his work on Facebook, David actively studied blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and in 2017 became a member of the board of directors of the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange. Since 2018, David has been responsible for the Facebook blockchain business, and since June 2019 he has headed the Calibra project.

Calibra or Libra is a new cryptocurrency developed by Facebook and other companies. Libra is perhaps one of the most controversial blockchain projects, and opinions are divided about it. On the one hand, some sees the Facebook initiative as a threat to the anonymity and decentralisation of the blockchain, whilst, on the other hand, others see it as the long-awaited breakthrough for the technology.

According to a white paper published in the summer, Libra is a global currency based on blockchain technology, the value of which is tied to a basket of real world currencies (for example, US dollar, euro, Japanese yen). The cost of Libra is equal to the weighted average exchange rate of these currencies. The initial issue of Libra is scheduled for this year in 2020.

CEO of Bitcoin.com

Age: 40 years old

Roger Ver is a true crypto world legend. Known as the Bitcoin Jesus for his promotion of Bitcoin, Roger made his first profit by buying and reselling hard drives on his summer school holidays. The business grew, and in 1999, Ver launched an online personal computer accessory shop, which he still runs to this day.

When Roger Ver found out about Bitcoin in 2011, he started investing heavily in technology and also began conducting educational activities. He posted advertisements on roadside billboards and posted them on the Internet, he lectured to schoolchildren and distributed free tokens. It was then that he earned the title of the Bitcoin Jesus.

Ver is quite the colourful character, and between these two stages of his life, Ver spent 10 years in prison forillegally selling explosives,ran for the California State Assembly from the Libertarian Party, left the US for Japan, and renounced US citizenship.

In the crypto community, Roger Ver is known as an ardent supporter of Bitcoin Cash: one of the famous forks of Bitcoin. Right after the spinoff, Roger announced that this digital asset was developing exactly along the path that was originally intended for Bitcoin. His main bugbear with Bitcoin is what he claims is its too small block size and his gripe with the low transaction speed.

And remember, cryptocurrency:Its money 2.0, a huge, huge, huge deal. Chamath Palihapitiya, venture capitalist

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The Ten Most Prominent Figures in the Cryptocurrency World - Entrepreneur

There are many reasons why people own cryptocurrencies. One is to store cryptocurrencies as value due to the limited supply of coins like Bitcoin. Some people store cryptocurrency for speculation meaning they aim to make a profit when a coins value increases against the United States dollar or other coins.

One of the major reasons why people own Bitcoin is to be able to make daily transactions, from shopping in a grocery store to travelling around the world. But are businesses keeping up with the crypto revolution? Lets take a look.

The travel industry is one of the biggest industries in the world. According to Travel Agent Central, its the worlds second-fastest growing industry. About $1.7 trillion is expected to be spent in the travel industry this year.

With this development, a growing number of travelers who own cryptocurrencies are expected to pay for hotel rooms or for flights from their crypto wallets. A growing number of companies are adapting to this development. For example, both parking reservation company Parking Access and airport shuttle booking company Shuttlefare recently added the Bitcoin payment service provider BitPay to their websites, allowing customers to use cryptocurrency as a payment method.

Humans have relied heavily on banks to make daily payments and securely store their money. Banks are also responsible for investing assets to create more wealth. The number of people using banks is on the rise every year, according to the Global Findex database of the World Bank: 1.2 billion adults opened a bank account from 2011 to 2017.

The traditional financial industry has not been without some challenges in the past few years, with central banks of countries like Venezuela and Zimbabwe printing fiat currencies to address crumbling economies, and market leaders like Deutsche Bank caught in money laundering scandals. Many people are beginning to doubt if the traditional banking system will even continue in the coming years.

With services like PayPal and Alipay offering fast transaction speeds, the crypto space will have to compete in order to partially or completely replace the traditional banking system.

The greatest advantage the cryptocurrency space has is its promise for a transparent banking system. Decentralization and immutability ensure that everyone in the network understands what is occurring within the system a feature lacking in the current banking. Banks understand this, which is why some entities such as Bank of America are using a single, blockchain-centred network to house banking records and to authenticate personal and business data.

Related: The Unstoppable Trajectory: Stablecoins Are Evolving Traditional Finances

The online shopping industry is on the increase as more people are choosing to receive goods from the comfort of their homes rather than trekking to a nearby grocery store. With the online shopping market size expected to reach $4 trillion in 2020, more cryptocurrency companies will need to be involved to make a worldwide adoption of cryptocurrencies a reality.

Related: New Year 2020 Crypto Shopping Guide for Filthy Rich Hodlers

Blockchain can help to improve supply chains in terms of secure and transparent payment service as well as in the online shopping industry. For example, a user can scan a QR code on a container of orange juice to see the products journey to the store, which helps to fight counterfeit goods.

Related: How Can Blockchain Disrupt Supply Chains in the Fashion Industry?

Some companies are also offering an easy way to shop some of the largest online stores, including Amazon. For example, Olodolo enables users to shop on AliExpress while paying in various cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Cash, Ether and Litecoin.

The cryptocurrency revolution is moving fast, but to help this happen, we need to increase the number of businesses around the world that accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. From online shopping to traveling around, we have seen how a lot of businesses are adapting to the crypto revolution.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Oluwatobi Joel is a U.S.-based freelance copywriter, community manager, blockchain expert and serial entrepreneur. He has worked with various blockchain startups as a marketing strategist.

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Cryptocurrency Adoption: How Businesses Are Adapting to the Blockchain Revolution - Cointelegraph

The 2017 cryptocurrency bull market will go down in history as one of the most remarkable and extraordinary events in financial markets.

It saw Bitcoin rise to $20,000, Ethereum to $1,420 and a plethora of newly-launched ICO projects experience gains of up to 3,000%.

More than two years later, Bitcoin has failed to breach its previous all-time high while the likes of Ethereum continue to trade 80% lower than it once was.

However, 2020 has caused a newfound sense of optimism across the industry, which has been highlighted by a dramatic rise in prices across the board in the first six weeks of the year.

With a number of altcoins right on the brink of a major breakout, it does seem as though a bull market is currently in effect for the cryptocurrency sector.

Whether it has become a safe haven amidst economic uncertainty due to the coronavirus, or simply a move to anticipate leading up to Bitcoins halving, the overall level of cryptocurrency sentiment is brewing towards euphoria.

In May, Bitcoin will undergo a third halving in its 10-year history, which will see block rewards for miners slashed from 12.5BTC to 6.25BTC per block.

The theory is that the mining industry will be more incentivised to hold onto the extra coins mined until the halving, thus drying up supply.

When the supply is reduced, the price naturally begins to rise which, in turn, causes a new wave of demand from both new and old investors.

The previous two halvings in 2012 and 2016 both came before a series of bull markets that saw Bitcoin surge to two consecutive all-time highs with altcoins eventually following.

Global markets have experienced a decline since the turn of the year as concerns begin to mount in regards to the coronavirus outbreak in China.

Companies have begun removing foreign workers from Chinese offices and factories in light of recent concerns, which is expected to hit the worlds second largest economy hard over the coming months.

As uncertainty reigns over the far eastern manufacturing hub, traders and investors are beginning to fear a global bear market, which naturally causes people to turn towards traditional hedges like gold and Bitcoin.

For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here.

The post Is the cryptocurrency bull market finally here? appeared first on Coin Rivet.

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Is the cryptocurrency bull market finally here? - Yahoo Finance

The Peoples Republic of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative has provided an interesting window into the economic practices of the PRC in developing nations. While the Belt and Road Initiative, often referred to as BRI, promises immense growth potential for those involved in its construction, it has also brought the PRCs predatory lending practices, also termed debt-trap diplomacy, to light. These actions provide an excellent context to potential future PRC actions in the cryptocurrency market, particularly given the increasing potentiality of a PRC-backed cryptocurrency.

The rise of PRC-backed debt-trap diplomacy

Debt-trap diplomacy can most clearly be seen in the example of Sri Lankas Hambantota Port. The Sri Lankan government eagerly took on multiple loans in the hundreds of millions of dollars from PRC-backed banks to fund the development of the Hambantota Port starting in 2007. However, the increasing amounts of debt and rising project costs surrounding the fledgling port caused Sri Lankan officials to accept an agreement for a PRC State-Owned Enterprise to take a dominant equity share in the Hambantota Port. These actions eventually culminated in the Sri Lankan government handing the port and fifteen thousand acres of land around it to the PRC for 99 years in 2015. Similar examples of debt-trap diplomacy can be seen in other developing countries throughout the world, to include Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and even South America.

The actions of debt-trap diplomacy coincide directly with strategy from a 1999 book titled Unrestricted Warfare by Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Colonels Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui. Unrestricted Warfares Chapter 5 directly states that the great masters of warfare techniques during the twenty-first century will be those who employ innovative methods to recombine various capabilities so as to attain tactical, campaign and strategic goals. Debt-trap diplomacy embodies the very definition of innovative methods with PRC loans enabling the PRC to possess a commercial port along a critical waterway just several hundred miles away from India, a noted strategic rival.

Therefore, the development of a PRC-backed cryptocurrency must be given close scrutiny within the context of the global cryptocurrency market. The PRC has demonstrated an ability to leverage its assets to an eventual strategic advantage, showcasing this example of economic warfare through the Hambantota Port. Consequently, the use of a digital economic asset to disrupt a global market is one that does not require a far leap of the imagination.

The growth of cryptocurrency in China

Cryptocurrency emerged just over a decade ago, with an individual by the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto laying out his or her framework for a peer-to-peer version of electronic cash in 2009. Blockchain technology emerged from this creation, allowing for the formation of a publicly-available distributed transaction ledger for digital currencies. The Chinese have enthusiastically received the idea of the blockchain, spurred on by a multitude of other factors such as the welcoming of a non-PRC backed commodity as well as relatively low prices of hardware and electricity, among others. These low prices of both hardware and electricity enable China to comprise a critical role in global Bitcoin mining operations, accounting for over two-thirds of all mined bitcoins in recent past months. This initial embrace of digital currencies continues to rise even to this day, with particular increases in searches for the keyword Bitcoin coinciding with interests towards U.S.-China trade talks.

The popularity of cryptocurrencies in China remains high despite regular PRC bans of digital currencies. This popularity can be attributed to the Chineses populaces a mobile-first mindset, with the Chinese pioneering the acceptance of technology-driven societal changes to include tools such as digital payment systems and bike-sharing services through popular organizations such as Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent.

The rising dragon: the emergence of the digital yuan

Some may consider it ironic that the PRC constantly issues notices prohibiting the use of cryptocurrencies while simultaneously praising digital currencies through platforms such as President Xi Jinping and the PRC-run newspaper Xinhua. However, these types of actions speak more to a PRC desire to dominate the cryptocurrency space and not to internal PRC confusion. Having this viewpoint allows for additional clarity of the PRCs actions. Through this, it becomes easily understandable that the PRC is simply attempting to capture a large part of the global digital currency market with its own state-backed cryptocurrency through its relative suppression of private digital currencies.

The PRC has been developing its concept of the digital yuan since as early as 2014. Tests of a blockchain-backed digital currency were conducted in late 2016, with the eventual report announcing that these trials helped to reduce circulation costs, increase transparency, and curb money laundering and tax evasion. These efforts were further bolstered with the creation of a PBOC-backed Digital Currency Research Institute in mid-2017. In fact, this Digital Currency Research Institute is even based in the same building as the PRC-backed China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, the PRCs equivalent of a state mint. During theyear 2018,the PBOC announced in its official magazine, China Finance, that it haddevelopeda digital currency;the magazineanalyzed the necessity of issuing a true PRC-backed digital currency. The following year, the PRC established its national cryptography law, which granted the Communist Party authority over three defined encryption categories: core, common and commercial.

With an already-developed stranglehold over the internal Chinese market, the PRC has set the stage for the emergence of its cryptocurrency. The tactic of limiting access to private cryptocurrencies as early as 2013 and as recently as 2019 has enabled the PRC the time and the opportunity to develop its own cryptocurrency, which we will surely see at least glimpses of in the year to come.

Into the future

The PRCs expanding soft and hard power has catapulted the PRC into the global political and economic stage. Huge infrastructure projects such as the BRI have helped solidify this power alongside corresponding growth in the PRCs military might. The development of a PRC-backed cryptocurrency is interesting to note within this context, given the critical importance of China in global cryptocurrency mining operations and markets.

Chinas influence on the global cryptocurrency market is one that must not be underestimated, with some figures having China accounting for over 90 percent of all global trading volume pre-PRC ban on bitcoin trading several years ago. Since then, popular Chinese Bitcoin exchanges such as Bitfinex, OkCoin, and BTCC have comprised over 45 percent of total global digital currency market share at one point or another, though these exchanges are frequently blocked/closed in China to this day. These significant numbers showcase how dependent the global cryptocurrency ecosystem is on China as a cryptocurrency market and as a cryptocurrency miner.

The rise of the digital yuan has a variety of far-reaching effects within the global cryptocurrency market. One way that a PRC-backed cryptocurrency might be utilized would be to allow for competitive trade advantage. With the practice of devaluing the yuan already one practiced by the PRC, the devaluation of a PRC-backed cryptocurrency could increase its power over other cryptocurrencies, and therefore, the cryptocurrency market at-large. Another example of such an advantage would be that the digital yuan could have the potential for individual currency holders to have a deposit directly at the PBOC, allowing the PRC to be the predominant, if not only, supplier of digital money to retail customers. This, in turn, would enable the PRC to use monetary easing as it sees fit, thus further increasing PRC dominance of the global cryptocurrency market. Additionally, the proposed centralized digital yuan, which some may say goes against the very core of cryptocurrency ideals, potentially enables the PRC to increase control and access over its monetary policy and population, respectively. On the same note, the PRC would have access to information from all users of the digital yuan, a notion raising privacy concerns worldwide. These are just several ways that would empower the PRC to conduct economic warfare in multiple ways through its use of a PRC-backed cryptocurrency.

Conclusion

While China may not completely unveil its digital currency in 2020, one can surmise that the world will begin to see some portions of the digital yuan being unveiled this year. In fact, recent announcements have already pointed to plans for Alibaba, Tencent, Union Pay, and four others to be the first to be issued the digital yuan. The digital currency landscape could truly be changed if China were to be the first major economy to adopt a native digital currency, with the digital yuan potentially lording significant influence over the global cryptocurrency market. In conclusion, 2020 will most likely see the unveiling of the digital yuan, a cryptocurrency that must be monitored carefully in order to prevent widespread disruption and destruction to the global cryptocurrency market at large.

Hugh Harsono is currently serving as a U.S. Army Officer. He is a regular contributor to TechCrunch, Tech in Asia, and the U.S. Army War College War Room, with a specialty in startups, emerging technologies, and economics in Asia. The views stated here do not reflect officials positions of the U.S. Army or U.S. Government.

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The Emergence of a China-Backed Cryptocurrency in the Era of the Digital Yuan - The National Interest Online

The cryptocurrency known as Tezos is among the years best performers across the crypto market so far in 2020 and is showing no signs of stopping.

In the latest move, Tezos exploded by another 24% before a slight pullback. Can the Tezos rally continue, or is an end to the monstrous rally finally in sight?

From the January low to the current high, the cryptocurrency altcoin known as Tezos has grown by over 190% in just over a month.

Year-to-date, its among the crypto markets top-performing altcoins, easily besting even Ethereums rally where the asset doubled in value in less than 40 days. The latest move added to Tezos sizable returns, with another 24% surge on the day.

Related Reading | This Cryptocurrency Is Up Over 130% YTD, But Analyst Warns Not to FOMO

The cryptocurrency is also up nearly 400% from the bottom it set back in October 2019. The rest of the crypto market went on to set a lower-low in mid-December, which Tezos went on to set its first higher low the first sign an uptrend is forming.

And an uptrend did indeed form, one that took the price of Tezos to new highs.

As if nearly 400% returns in a matter of four months wasnt enough for holders of the altcoin asset, the cryptocurrency is also up well over 1,000%, bringing back deja vu of the alt seasons that would occur prior to the crypto bubble popping.

Tezos insane rally is just one of many signs that the crypto bull market may finally be back. During that time, it wasnt uncommon to see dozens of altcoins each at 1,000% or higher gains.

The wealth generated during this time was the trigger that caused FOMO to surge across retail investors, who flocked to the asset class.

If this happens again, Tezos is only getting started.

And while analysts were warning that the asset had gone parabolic and to not FOMO into a rally this late, those that didnt take the advice are up another 200% since the warning was issued.

Related Reading | Altcoin Market Following Early Bitcoin Path Could Lead to Life-Changing Wealth

Tezos early has significant momentum behind it and is now in price discovery mode. Theres no telling just how high the asset could trend, but given how powerful the recent parabolic rally has been, theres likely to be at least a sizable pullback in the days ahead for holders of the explosive altcoin.

At over 1,000% returns from the absolute bottom, FOMOing into Tezos is a tough call but buying the next dip may be wise if the next bull run truly is beginning, as itll be led by new altcoins like Tezos, Link, and many others.

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This Top 10 Cryptocurrency is Surging 24%, And Its Showing No Signs of Stopping - newsBTC

Today, Wyoming received a donation from IOHK, a leading international technology company, in the sum of $500,000 in Ada Cryptocurrency.

Along with this gift, the college was also excited to announce a partnership with IOHK, which will have a laboratory at the college in order to aid in the organization's research.James Caldwell, a Professor of computer science stated in an article from the university,This funding and partnership between IOHK and UW provide an unprecedented opportunity for the university and the state of Wyoming to establish ourselves on the leading edge of blockchain technology.

Blockchain is a system to store and track transactionsin bitcoin or other types of cryptocurrency in a digital ledger or permanent record. This technology has been transformative for industries such as banking, law, and identity.

Thanks to Wyoming blockchain legislation from 2018 and 2019, the state is an established leader at the forefront of this technology internationally.

Another focus of this partnership to create jobs in Wyoming. As the state has approved the legislature needed for these types of currency to exist, Charles Hoskinson, the CEO and founder of IOHK, feels that it is only right to thank them by providing the states with jobs in this field. Hoskinson has roots in Wyoming, with both his parents being from Gillette and his own family making its home in Northern Colorado. His hope is that through this program, he can hire the great minds of the university to work for his company after graduation, stating "We think it is an obligation that if you hire people you try to keep them at home."

For more information regarding IOHK and their work, please find their website here.

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University of Wyoming Receives $500,000 Cryptocurrency Donation - laramielive.com

The Internal Revenue Service could be doing more to help taxpayers who own Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency to comply with their tax obligations, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

The report, issued Wednesday by the GAO, acknowledged that the IRS has provided some guidance in 2014 and 2019 on what it refers to as virtual currency. In 2014, it issued Notice 2014-21, which said the IRS would treat Bitcoin and other virtual currencies as property for federal income tax purposes and offered some examples of how long-standing tax principles could be applied to transactions involving virtual currency. Despite dramatic increases, decreases and volatility in the prices of various forms of digital currency such as Bitcoin, it took another five years before the IRS responded to the demand for further guidance in the form of frequently answered questions on virtual currency transactions.

However, part of the 2019 FAQ guidance isnt considered authoritative because it was not published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin. The IRS has said that only guidance published in the IRB is its authoritative interpretation of the tax laws. The IRS didnt make it clear to taxpayers that this part of the guidance isnt authoritative and is subject to change.

The IRS has seen the need for taxpayers to report on their crypto trades and holdings, and for this tax season it added a question to the top of Schedule 1 of Form 1040 asking, At any time during 2019, did you receive, sell, send, exchange, or otherwise acquire any financial interest in any virtual currency?

The current IRS guidance says that using virtual currency can produce taxable capital gains, but the GAO report said the IRS could do more to help taxpayers comply. Financial institutions already report information about investment sales to the IRS and taxpayers, to make both aware of any taxable income. But while some cryptocurrency transactions are reported, far from all of them are.

Taxpayers are required to report and pay taxes on income from cryptocurrency use, but the IRS still has limited data on tax compliance for virtual currency. The information returns filed by third parties, such as financial institutions, generally dont require filers to indicate whether the income or transactions they report involved cryptocurrency. The IRS launched a virtual currency compliance campaign in 2018 and worked with other agencies on criminal investigations. Last July, the service started mailing more than 10,000 letters to taxpayers with cryptocurrency activity telling them about their potential tax obligations.

However, the IRS and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, also known as FinCEN, havent clearly and publicly explained when and if the requirements for reporting financial assets held in foreign countries apply to virtual currencies, the GAO pointed out. Clarifying and providing publicly available information about those requirements could improve the data available for tax enforcement and make it less likely that taxpayers will file reports that are not legally required.

The GAO recommended the IRS clarify that part of its 2019 guidance isnt authoritative and take steps to increase information reporting, and that FinCEN and the IRS address how foreign asset reporting laws apply to virtual currency. The IRS agreed with the GAOs recommendation on information reporting, but it disagreed with the other two suggestions, arguing that a disclaimer statement is unnecessary and its premature to address virtual currency foreign reporting.

We continue to engage a broad spectrum of external stakeholders for feedback on how the IRS might balance taxpayer service with proper regulatory enforcement of digital assets, including virtual currency, wrote Sunita Lough, deputy commissioner for services and enforcement at the IRS, in response to the report. The wide variety of currency exchanges and digital assets pose a challenge to issuing guidance on specific circumstances, but the guidance issued by the IRS to date illustrates how longstanding tax principles associated with the sale, exchange or disposition of property can apply to virtual currency.

For its part, the GAO said it believes a disclaimer would increase transparency and the IRS could clarify foreign reporting without waiting for future developments in the industry. FinCEN, however, agreed with the GAO's recommendation. FinCEN will coordinate with the IRS to determine the best approach to provide clarity to the public regarding the application of the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts to virtual currency, wrote FinCEN director Kenneth Blanco in response to the report. Currently, the FBAR regulations do not define virtual currency held in an offshore account as a type of reportable account.

The IRS recently removed wording from its FAQ page about the applicability of the rules to virtual currency used in games like Fortnite and Roblox, according to Bloomberg Tax, with an IRS official saying the inclusion of the in-game currency was an error.

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IRS urged by GAO to offer more cryptocurrency tax guidance - Accounting Today