Monthly Archives: April 2022

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One of the first casualties of the Ukraine-Russia conflict was the ruble. Russia's currency plummeted after the conflict broke out, but has now rallied strongly following numerous moves by Russia to defend it.

Most recently, Russia has enacted a temporary fixed ruble/gold exchange, which has led many to claim that it is back on a gold standard.

In this article, I discuss the effects of this policy on Russia and the world and dive into how this affects Bitcoin (BTC-USD), which is often described as "digital gold"

Between March 28th and June 30th, Russia's Central Bank will be buying gold from banks at a fixed rate of 5000 rubles per gram.

Does this mean that the ruble now has a fixed exchange for gold? Not exactly.

For a gold standard to be in effect, this arrangement would have to work both ways, which it doesn't. The Russian Central bank is buying gold at that fixed rate, but it won't be offering to sell it at that price.

In a "gold standard", the value of the currency is supported because there are arbitrage opportunities when the price deviates from its peg. Let's say the Russian Central Bank offers to buy and sell Rubles for gold at a fixed exchange, and the ruble is trading below this exchange. (It is weak) Demand for Rubles would go up, since countries and banks have a chance to buy gold at cheaper prices, but only with Rubles.

Alternatively, if the ruble became too strong, going above the exchange price, people would sell gold to the Central Bank at the established price, get Rubles, and then use these Rubles to buy more gold on the international market. Rinse and repeat until there is no longer a price disparity. That's how arbitrage works.

As it stands now, 1 gram of gold is worth $63 in the international market, and 5000 rubles are worth close to $58. This means Russia is paying below-market prices for gold, which wouldn't support the ruble.

For there to be an arbitrage opportunity here, the value of gold would have to decrease, so that Russia is paying above-market prices for gold. In that scenario, one could sell gold to the Russians for say $65, and then use the Rubles to buy $70 worth. This would eventually weaken the ruble in terms of gold, taking it back to parity.

What Russia has created, therefore, is not a floor price for the ruble, but rather a ceiling price. Russia is happy to buy all the gold in the world at 5000 ruble/gram, but it won't be selling gold at this price or below it to "defend" the ruble.

With that said, the ruble has rallied in the last month, but this can be tied to other significant moves made by the Russians. All of these have to be put together to understand what's going on behind the scenes.

Firstly, the Russian Central Bank has doubled its interest rate from 10% to 20% on the 28th of February. Secondly, and most importantly, the Russian government is forcing foreign governments to use Rubles to pay for their products, i.e energy, which is propping up demand for the ruble.

We can visualize how these events have affected the ruble/USD exchange on the chart below.

Ruble Price (Author's work)

Russia has therefore created a link between energy, its currency and gold. Its exports are now priced in Rubles, which in turn are partially linked to gold. Ultimately, Russia is saying that it is happy to receive both Rubles and Gold for its exports.

Those that wish to trade with Russia can always obtain Rubles at a fixed price, for gold, but they can't obtain gold at a fixed price for Rubles, which is an important distinction. However, they can obtain energy at a fixed price for Rubles, which means that there is indirectly a link between Russian energy and gold.

If a barrel of oil is worth 5000 RUB, which in turn are worth 1 gram of gold, then the barrel is worth 1 gram of gold. This won't change, because the Russian Central Bank has agreed to buy 1 gram of gold for 5000 Rubles at all times, or at least until June 30th.

So Russia is now selling its energy for rubles/gold and based on how the market has reacted, it is getting away with it.

Russia, by itself, can hardly replace the USD denominated financial system. But with the help of strategic allies, very big steps can be taken to reduce the world's dependency on it, which is very bad news for the USA.

Russia holds 1,688 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, accounting for 24% of the world's reserves. China will soon become the largest economy in the world. Russia, China and India, collectively possess 16% of the Central Bank's gold reserves. India and China also have close to 2.8 billion people combined.

An allegiance between these three countries could replace the world's dollar-based financial system. Each of them has something to add, and a lot to gain from this, and gold would be the ideal vehicle to make this happen.

If something like this were to happen, it could cripple dollar-denominated economies. The west has built a very fragile system based upon increasing amounts of dollar-denominated debt. This has only been possible because this debt is accepted as a reserve. But what happens when it doesn't?

Gold has been the world's money of choice for millennia. The world was actually on a gold standard, of sorts, until as recently as 1971, when Richard Nixon closed the gold window. Since then, governments and central banks have done their best to eliminate gold from world trade, but even they know how useful gold is, which is why Central Banks hold it in their reserves.

The current move in Russia brings gold to the forefront of finance once more. Gold now has a very real utility for a lot of countries, enabling them to buy Russian gas.

Furthermore, a gold-backed currency is perhaps the only way to dethrone the US dollar. Foreign countries don't want to switch from a US-controlled fiat, to a Chinese controlled one. However, gold makes money neutral, and that is something everyone can get on board with.

What does this mean for investors? Owning gold is now more important than ever, and though the yellow metal has underperformed in recent years, now could be its time to shine.

Russia is opening the doors to a new monetary paradigm, which creates a unique opportunity for countries around the world. The US dollar is being challenged as the standard of value. What will replace it?

Gold is the first choice. It has been used as a store of value for millennia, and countries like Russia, China and India have been accumulating it for years. But in the current conflict, we have seen evidence of a new standard of value emerge, one that has even outshone gold, and that is Bitcoin.

Bitcoin was designed, by no accident, to possess very similar characteristics to gold. It is hard to mine, with mining becoming increasingly difficult over time. The supply is finite, and around 80% has already been mined, a similar proportion to gold. And, like gold, it withstands the passage.

However, Bitcoin also has key characteristics that make it superior to gold, and Russia knows this first-hand. The G7 has actively tried to stop Russia from using its gold reserves, banning people and institutions from transacting with the Russian central bank.

What's more, in a geopolitical conflict like this, it wouldn't be unheard of for gold held in foreign banks to be seized, or mining operations to be disrupted.

And this is where Bitcoin makes a difference. For starters, Bitcoin is much harder to track and "sanction". Speculation over how Russia could use Bitcoin to avoid financial repression has been common in the past few weeks.

To top things off, Russia also has a significant competitive advantage when it comes to mining Bitcoin. Russia is the third-largest contributor to Bitcoin's hash mining power. Also, 11.9% of Russia's total population already owns cryptocurrency.

But if Russia already has gold as the base of its monetary system, why would it want Bitcoin?

Beyond the reasons stated above, Bitcoin would provide a diversification element. It would also give Russia access to the flourishing DeFi market that is developing in crypto, of which Bitcoin is the store of value. And finally, the best defence is a good attack. Bitcoin would be a great way for other nations to compete with the gold-based system. So why not get ahead?

What does this mean for Bitcoin investors? The world's reserve currency, the USD, is being put into question, and Bitcoin was created with the purpose of acting as a store of value. This makes cryptocurrency a more attractive investment than ever. Bitcoin can step in to feel this void, as there will be a real necessity for a neutral store of value, free of political agendas and government. control.

In conclusion, as the world becomes less dependent on the US dollar, other standards of value will rise to take its place. Gold and Bitcoin are at the top of this list in my opinion. Together they bridge the gap between the past and the future. The physical and the digital. They complement each other.

While Russia is not operating a gold standard system, it is tying its exports to gold, which marks a very significant move. People should understand that the current conflict in Ukraine is only the tip of the iceberg. Another war is being fought between world superpowers. A world for control of money. And he who controls the money controls the world.

Read more from the original source:
Russia's 'Gold Standard': What This Means For Gold And Bitcoin - Seeking Alpha

Bitcoin is becoming one of the biggest buzzwords in the world. Data from a July 2021 survey conducted by analysis firm Exploding Topics found that roughly 1,700 American adults, or 89% of participants, had heard of Bitcoin. A recent survey from the cryptocurrency platform Paxful also found that 95% of women out of 1,555 females polled in the United States were familiar with Bitcoin.

While Bitcoins(BTC) presence is notable, there still seems to be a lack of understanding regarding BTC and cryptocurrency. For instance, Paxfuls survey discovered that 43% of women polled in the United States want to learn more about Bitcoin, even though 95% of these individuals know that BTC exists. In addition, underprivileged communities and minorities have expressed interest in learning about Bitcoinand cryptoas digital assets gain popularity.

In order to bring crypto education to those who need it the most, grassroots initiatives are launching throughout the U.S. that target disenfranchised communities.

For example, Najah Roberts, CEO of Crypto Blockchain Plug a Black-owned crypto education center based in Inglewood, California told Cointelegraph that she will soon be traveling to 41 cities across the U.S. to help disenfranchised communities understand Bitcoins importance:

Known as The Digital Financial Revolution Tour, Roberts explained that this will be the second year she will travel across the country with a team of crypto experts to promote Bitcoin education. We previously reached about 2,000 people last year, which was incredible given that the world was still coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Roberts said. Given the projects previous success, Roberts believes this years tour will produce phenomenal results.

Roberts elaborated that the second Digital Financial Revolution Tour will begin in California in cities including Los Angeles and Oakland, and will then head to Las Vegas, Arizona and New Mexico. We plan to go to the poorest places first, like Lake Charles in Baltimore. We picked the most disenfranchised, unbanked and underbanked areas to get folks educated. Rather than hosting corner classes outside neutral locations like a local church, for instance, Roberts explained that groups will congregate in front of beauty shops and neighborhood storefronts. I try to be objective about locations so everyone feels comfortable to come out and learn.

While the idea of traveling across 41 different cities in the U.S. within a 45-day timespan may sound difficult, Roberts shared that the biggest challenge this year is to help people in low-income communities understand why they actually need Bitcoin:

Roberts isnt the only one aiming to bring financial literacy to the masses. Bitcoin analyst Tony Tate told Cointelegraph that no one ever talked about money when he was growing up due to community values. No one ever talked about politics, religion or money where I came from, he said. Yet, Tate stated that education has always been a priority for him, which is why he believes educating disenfranchised communities will make it easier for individuals to understand the potential of cryptocurrency:

In order to accomplish this, Tate recently launched Litchain, a Bitcoin educational initiative expected to spur economic growth in the rural town of Gaffney, South Carolina. We opened the doors of the first Black-owned Bitcoin data center in Gaffney. The 20 modular data centers will house Bitcoin mining computers and create jobs that pay $60,000 or more, he explained. The Litchain Corporations new data center is one of Tates first three mining centers in the U.S. He said that the company aims to open 144 more across the country:

In addition to the Litchain data center, Tate said that he is launching a five-year crypto education initiative on crypto literacy:

According to Tate, this initiative will include a grassroots campaign, digital advertising and online courses provided by LitU, which is Tates online university that will also feature pop-up community classes in Philadelphia, New York, Washington D.C., Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Cleveland, Charlotte and Charleston. Tate hopes these initiatives will inspire others to look at Bitcoin as an improved financial inclusion system and a major step in closing the racial wealth gap in the United States. Everyone has to wrap their minds around crypto before the world wraps their arms around it, he remarked.

While both Roberts and Tate are launching large scale initiatives, crypto influencer and YouTuberWendy Otold Cointelegraph during NFT LA that she will soon be launching a local grassroots initiative in Los Angeles to teach youth between the ages of seven and seventeen about Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. Wendy O explained that she will partner with the Los Angeles based Self-Care Lab Boxing and Fitness Club to host monthly meetups to teach children about the blockchain and crypto ecosystem:

Related: NFT LA: Attract the mainstream, focus on Web3 and use cases

Like Roberts and Tate, Wendy O wants to use cryptocurrency education as a way to promote personal finance. Financial literacy isnt taught in schools, unfortunately. But, when individuals learn how money works, they are able to change their spending habits and even break away from generational curses, she said. Wendy O explained that when she initially learned about Bitcoin in 2011 and was able to better understand fiat money and inflation. I think these kids will be able to take this information and retrain their minds to do things differently than previous generations.

While its extremely notable that grassroots initiatives are being launched by members of the crypto community, its also important to recognize the challenges that may arise along the way.

For instance, Roberts pointed out that last years Digital Financial Revolution Tour was entirely self-funded, noting that she hopes to secure sponsors this year. We are in the process of speaking with the hardware wallet provider Ledger, as we aim to give everyone physical wallets and show them how to store their seed phrases. Wendy O also hopes to partner with a cryptocurrency wallet provider or an exchange to ensure that food and drinks for her monthly meetups can be covered. I would like to give $25 worth of BTC to everyone who attends, she said. Regardless of sponsorships, both Roberts and Wendy O are optimistic that their projects will teach those in need about financial literacy simply byexplaining how Bitcoin and cryptocurrency work.

Grassroots initiatives sponsored by crypto companies have proven to be very successful given the added help. For example, GoodDollar a nonprofit protocol for financial education and inclusion in Web3 launched an ambassador program early last year to allow its 350,000 community members to distribute free crypto universal basic income to anybody with access to a cell phone and an internet connection.

Jessica Salama, community lead at GoodDollar, told Cointelegraph that individual GoodDollar ambassadors are making headway in spreading the word about crypto by showing others how to use and access digital currency.

She said that GoodDollar ambassador Etugbo Obokparo Stephen in Nigeria has hosted local meetups at his university to help fellow students open their first digital wallets and begin learning Web3, crypto and blockchain fundamentals. His initial gathering was the first blockchain conference ever held in his locality, Salama said.

Stephen further told Cointelegraph, Ive always communicated with people on social media, but when I joined GoodDollars ambassador program, I was able to bring more people into crypto because they supported my initiative financially and with words of encouragement.

Read the original here:
Grassroots initiatives are bringing Bitcoin education to communities across America - Cointelegraph

As responses from exchanges with those users identity information began to pour in, the team started the process of assembling more complete profiles of their targets. They began to collect the names, faces, and photos of hundreds of menthey were almost all menfrom all walks of life, everywhere in the world. Their descriptions crossed boundaries of race, age, class, and nationality. All these individuals seemed to have in common was their gender and their financial connection to a worldwide, hidden haven of child abuse.

By this time, the team felt theyd pinned down the sites Korean administrator with confidence. Theyd gotten a search warrant for Son Jong-woos Gmail accounts and many of his exchange records, and they could see that he alone seemed to be receiving the cashed-out proceeds from the sitenot his father, who increasingly seemed to the investigators like an unwitting participant, a man whose son had hijacked his identity to create crypto-currency accounts. In Son Jong-woos emails, they found photos of the younger man for the first timeselfies hed taken to show friends where hed chipped a tooth in a car accident, for instance. He was a thin, unremarkable-looking young Korean man with wide-set eyes and a Beatles-esque mop-top of black hair.

But as their portrait of this administrator took shape, so too did the profiles of the hundreds of other men who had used the site.* A few immediately stuck out to the investigative team: One suspect, to the dismay of Thomas Tamsi and his Homeland Security colleagues, was an HSI agent in Texas. Another, they saw with a different sort of dread, was the assistant principal of a high school in Georgia. The school administrator had posted videos of himself on social media singing duets, karaoke-style, with teenage girls from his school. The videos might otherwise have been seen as innocent. But given what they knew about the mans Bitcoin payments, agents who had more experience with child exploitation warned Janczewski that they might reflect a form of grooming.

These were men in privileged positions of power, with potential access to victims. The investigators could immediately see that, as they suspected, they would need to arrest some of Welcome to Videos users as quickly as possible, even before they could arrange the takedown of the site. Child exploitation experts had cautioned them that some offenders had systems in place to warn others if law enforcement had arrested or compromised themcode words or dead mans switches that sent out alerts if they were absent from their computer for a certain period of time. Still, the Welcome to Video investigation team felt they had little choice but to move quickly and take that risk.

Another suspect, around the same time, came onto their radar for a different reason: He lived in Washington, DC. The mans home, in fact, was just down the street from the US attorneys office, near the capitals Gallery Place neighborhood. He happened to live in the very same apartment building that one of the prosecutors had only recently moved out of.

That location, they realized, might be useful to them. Janczewski and Gambaryan could easily search the mans home and his computers as a test case. If that proved the man was a Welcome to Video customer, they would be able to charge the entire case in DCs judicial district, overcoming a key legal hurdle.

As they dug deeper, though, they found that the man was a former congressional staffer and held a high-level job at a prestigious environmental organization. Would arresting or searching the home of a target with that sort of profile cause him to make a public outcry, sinking their case?

Just as they trained their sights on this suspect in their midst, however, they found that he had gone strangely quiet on social media. Someone on the team had the idea to pull his travel records. They found that he had flown to the Philippines and was about to fly back to DC via Detroit.

There were suitcases still not fully unpacked from the trip. The man had ordered a pizza the night before, and part of it remained uneaten on the table.

This discovery led the agents and prosecutors to two thoughts: First, the Philippines was a notorious destination for sex tourism, often of the kind that preyed on childrenthe HSI office in Manila constantly had its hands full with child exploitation cases. Second, when the man flew back to the US, Customs and Border Protection could legally detain him and demand access to his devices to search for evidencea bizarre and controversial carve-out in Americans constitutional protections that, in this case, might come in handy.

Would their DC-based suspect sound the alarm and tear the lid off their investigation, just as it was getting started?

Read the original post:
Inside the Bitcoin Bust That Took Down the Webs Biggest Child Abuse Site - WIRED

Shark Tank star Kevin OLeary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has predicted that trillions of dollars will flow into cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin. In addition, he said bitcoin mining will save the world.

Shark Tank star Kevin OLeary gave a keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2022 conference Thursday.

He said that based on his experience in the indexing business, massive pools of capital, these trillion-dollar pools are waiting for policy. They currently own zero or very little crypto. Its the purvey of high net worth individuals, hedge funds, and retail investors, he clarified.

Mr. Wonderful detailed:

What were missing is policy. When we get policy and the regulator regulates, thats not a negative thing. The spigots of capital are going to flood into this sector like youve never seen.

So for those of us that can invest in it now, you are going to get ahead of whats going to be a huge wave of interest when policy occurs, he added.

OLeary continued:

I predict in the next 10 years that crypto, blockchain, bitcoin all of this innovation will be the 12th sector of the S&P.

The Shark Tank star also discussed why bitcoin mining is going to save the world.

He explained: Why is bitcoin mining good for the Earth? Because the next generation of bitcoin miners are starting to work with energy that does not require carbon hydroelectricity and nuclear power, wind and solar.

Mr. Wonderful continued: The drive to produce bitcoin is so economic in value that they will go ahead and fund the next generation of machines and turbines. 90% of dams built in America in the last hundred years contemplated hydroelectricity but never installed the turbines.

He exclaimed: Ill install the turbines. Why? Because its great economics if I can use that and not be hassled by a carbon audit. Noting that It provides for communities, it provides extra power, the Shark Tank star opined:

This is the future of bitcoin mining. We will be developing power for all communities while we mine coin in an ethical and 100% green mandate that we can do with hydroelectricity.

OLeary further said: The beautiful strategy here is when we get policy When we make bitcoin an allocation for institutions, which they do not have yet, what I predict will happen: they will put between 50 basis points to 300 basis points into their portfolios. He concluded:

How much money is that? Trillions of dollars. So if you want to see bitcoin appreciate in value, if you are an advocate like I am You want regulation and you stand back and watch the capital pour into this.

What do you think about Kevin OLearys comments? Let us know in the comments section below.

A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

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Read more from the original source:
Kevin O'Leary Predicts Trillions of Dollars Will Flood Into Crypto Says Bitcoin Mining Will 'Save the World' Featured Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News