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The moment Facebook released the whitepaper for its planned Libra coin, social media was flooded with claims about Zuckerberg’s new drive to take over the cryptocurrency market, with some even calling it a Bitcoin killer. However, looking at the actual details of the plan, it has little to do with cryptocurrency and is in fact more of a threat to government fiat.
Also Read: Zuckbucks or Bust: How SEC Rulemaking Hurts Startup Cryptos and Favors Big Tech
No sooner had the victims of the Christchurch attack fallen than governments were clamoring to mine the tragedy for political capital. Despite the shooting having been live streamed on Facebook, antipodean officials have directed their ire against fringe websites in a desperate bid to control the narrative and criminalize curious civilians.
Also read: Bitcoin Cash Developers Launch Privacy-Preserving Light Client Neutrino
Cryptocurrency’s resistance to government control is countered by the fact that a number of governments, including Chile, Romania, Spain and South Africa, are looking to cash in by taxing crypto assets. These countries are crafting laws that bind citizens to annually disclose cryptocurrency investments that, in some cases, are held at home and abroad, and to pay anything from 10-35 percent income tax on crypto gains.
Also read: Italian Court Orders Bitgrail Founder to Refund $ 170M of ‘Missing’ Cryptocurrency
A group of Amazon shareholders, organized by a non-profit called Open Mic, are demanding that Amazon cease sales of its Rekognition software to government agencies. Open Mic bills itself as “a non-profit that fosters shareholder engagement at leading tech and media companies.” The facial recognition suite has been proven in independent tests to be inaccurate,
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It seems not every government official in India has an eye toward draconian or restrictive blockchain regulation, as we’ve seen this year from some in the country’s government. In the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, where they have the APIS – Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society, blockchain is being actively promoted at various levels of government.
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A decision by a New Zealand government agency to award a grant to a bitcoin startup has been met with condemnation. The criticism over the decision by Callaghan Innovation to award Vimba a NZ$ 315,000 grant has largely come from tech executives. Some have questioned the priorities of the innovation agency saying that there were more
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Blockchain’s organizational power is vast and nowhere is it more applicable than in communities of disparate people. With decentralized technology encouraging better collaboration, transparent communication, and accountability, the question remains how practical blockchain can be to a traditionally centralized public sector. Blockchain was first conceived and perfected in the hands of enthusiasts and businessmen who have since tested it by applying these advantages to finance and eCommerce, for example. However, the young industry is slowing moving towards its biggest test yet. The debut of blockchain in government will demonstrate its potential to a greater degree than in any other area, and it only takes a short look at some examples being designed today to understand why.
Starting next week, Venezuelans will have to pay their passport fees with the petro, the controversial state-supported cryptocurrency that is allegedly backed by oil. This was announced in a press conference on Friday, Oct. 5, by the country’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, ahead of the coin’s official launch in November. This follows a similar press … Continued
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A smart robber fleeces you with a pen and a handshake. From Zimbabwe to Kenya, Uganda to Benin, African governments are on a tax-raising spree, looking for easy money, ostensibly to help fund successive revenue shortfalls and budget deficits. Often, the money ends up being misappropriated by corrupt public officials. The best weapon in government hands is now your mobile phone – the closest thing most citizens in the continent have to a functional bank account.
Also read: Banks, Money Mules And Front Companies Aid Terrorists in Conflict Zones Launder Money
Bitcoin is digital gold for a digital generation.
Libertarian proponents of cryptocurrencies, like America’s Founding Fathers before them, argue that fiat currencies are nothing but Monopoly paper: Why does fiat cash have value when it’s not backed by any real asset, such as gold or silver?
In 1786, Thomas Paine wrote: “Gold and silver are the emissions of nature: paper is the emission of art. The value of gold and silver is ascertained by the quantity which nature has made in the earth.” He added, “But the evils of paper money have no end.
With the recent rise in mainstream popularity of cryptocurrencies and the ever-present allegations of cybertheft and market manipulation, it has become a top priority for governments to put a lid on the madness.
The very nature of cryptocurrencies and decentralized, autonomous systems pose a serious threat to the current structure of the global economy, but a more imminent issue in the eyes of world governments is the threat to the security of the average investor.
There are reportedly more than 100 exchanges in South Korea, most of which are not using the government’s real-name system. None of the small and medium-sized exchanges can use this system since banks have opted to only provide this service to the country’s largest exchanges.
Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space
It has been over 100 days since the government’s real-name system was implemented at the end of January. However, most crypto transactions are still not made through this system. All small and medium-sized exchanges continue to transact through corporate accounts. Business Korea elaborated:
Bitfury was one of the first companies built around the process of bitcoin mining, but the startup also now works on private blockchain software. Some would assume this might have a negative impact on the bitcoin-focused aspects of their business. But, while it’s true that the development of private, permissioned ledger systems means there could be less activity on public blockchains over the short term, Bitfury views private blockchains as an intermediate step for governments and other large entities to use public blockchains like Bitcoin.
