Digital Currency to Shape Future of Money

Digital Currency to Shape Future of Money

Cryptocurrency is the future of money, with Malta’s chief minister emphasizing the emerging currency is an “inevitable” part of a digital future.

“Blockchain makes cryptocurrencies the inevitable future of money, more transparent since it helps filter good businesses from bad businesses,” Joseph Muscat, Malta’s prime minister, said at the 73rd Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The Malta premier argued the distributed ledger technology can give patients “real ownership” of their medical records, as well as “verify that humanitarian assistance is reaching it’s intended destination” and helps bring more accountability to governments and corporations.

Muscat justified the country’s decision to establish the blockchain island, saying they are the “first jurisdiction worldwide” to oversee the technology which “previously existed in a legal vacuum.”

Earlier, the island nation in the Mediterranean Sea fulfilled its promise of giving a “lovely sanctuary” for cryptocurrency firms and exchanges with its arguably the “most forward-thinking regulatory agenda.”

Malta, through MSX, Malta Stock Exchange’s financial technology unit, signed several new agreements aimed at establishing new marketplaces for tokenized securities which include a partnership with Neufund, a platform designed for securities tokenization and issuance.

Both parties shall create a “regulated and decentralized, global stock exchange for listing and trading tokenized securities alongside crypto-assets.” However, they did not provide additional details about their collaboration.

In June, Malta approved three bills related to blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and distributed ledger technology, marking a significant step towards making the nation a “blockchain island.”

The bills, entitled “The Innovative Technology Arrangements and Services Act,” “The Virtual Financial Assets Act,” “The Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act” are expected to guide the government on maximizing the potential of blockchain and attaining its goal of becoming a global crypto business hub.

Since these developments, numerous cryptocurrency-focused firms such as the Binance exchange have moved to set up business entities on the island, with some agreeing to forge partnerships with the local bourse.

Taking the heed from Malta, other jurisdictions are also gearing towards putting up frameworks governing companies using the technology, but aimed not to impair business or innovation.

For instance, Bermuda is eyeing to attract more firms by providing regulatory certainty with new legislation which would enable initial coin offerings (ICO) under certain requirements. It has also formed a task force to promote cryptocurrency commerce.

“Bermuda has an opportunity to become a global leader in the Fintech space by being one of the first countries in the world to specifically regulate ICOs. The proposed regulatory framework will provide legal certainty to companies looking to conduct ICOs in Bermuda,” David Burt, prime minister of the British Overseas Territory, said in March this year.

There are similar moves within the European Union to institute new rules for digital currencies, with one legislator also proposing standards for ICOs that would allow token sale projects to operate across their economic zone.

“Be assured, that as legislators we’re trying to make ICOs more possible and more successful, that certainly is our objective,” Ashley Fox, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), said last month.

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Venezuela Crypto Coin to Enter Global Market

Venezuela Crypto Coin to Enter Global Market

Venezuela’s government announced that petro, the state-created digital currency, will be integrated in international trade beginning this October.

“The Petro enters … as a currency of exchange, purchase and convertible currencies for the world,” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said during his speech, as reported by the country’s television channel.

“Announced that explain the starting mechanisms final installation of Petro and after stages of development and deployment of this criptoactivo supported on mineral wealth of Venezuela and is the seventh line Recovery Program, economic growth and prosperity,” the report stated.

Maduro noted the inclusion of the petro is a product of the development and deployment of the token as part of the country’s economic recovery program. However, it is not certain what exact sectors of Venezuela’s global trade business will utilize the virtual currency unveiled in February this year.

He also revealed that 34 supermarket managers were imprisoned on charges on concealing foods and manipulating prices amid an economic turmoil.

“We had a group of supermarkets that hid the products from people and started to charge them whatever they wanted. There are 34 managers of big supermarkets behind bars for violating the law,” Maduro said.

“I say one thing and the supermarkets come along and say another… What excuse do they have to not follow the rules?” he said, urging Venezuelans to report any incident of unfair prices to avoid “getting robbed.”

Maduro has repeatedly said the petro token would help solve the country’s worsening inflation and stabilize the economy.

He earlier said Venezuela’s new fiat currency, the sovereign bolivar, would be pegged to the oil-backed petro. He also ordered local financial institutions to use the petro as a unit of account, as well as some state-owned businesses to convert a percentage of their sales into petros.

“The economic reconversion will start on August 20 definitively with the circulation and issuance of the new Sovereign Bolivar, the new monetary cone [sic] that is going to have a new method of anchoring the Petro,” Maduro had said.

“We have the correct vision of what the economic future in Venezuela should be, above all, we will achieve it.” Petro “will end up being consolidated technologically and financially” and will manage to “permeate all the national and international economic activity,” he added.

Legislators in the country denounced the virtual currency, saying it is illegal under existing laws. Venezuela’s Asamblea Nacional had stated the digital currency is unconstitutional, adding this plan imposes a threat to potential investors. “This deepens the crisis that we are living in. The PTR is another [example] of corruption, and we will come out of this crisis with measures that we have announced from this Parliament,” it added.

US President Donald Trump previously signed an executive order to impose new sanctions against the country prohibiting transactions in the petro.

“All transactions related to, provision of financing for, and other dealings in, by a United States person or within the United States, any digital currency, digital coin, or digital token, that was issued by, for, or on behalf of the Government of Venezuela on or after January 9, 2018, are prohibited as of the effective date of this order,” the document reads.

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Brazil Largest Broker Joins Crypto Trend

Brazil Largest Broker Joins Crypto Trend

Brazil’s biggest independent brokerage is the latest company to join the cryptocurrency bandwagon.

Grupo XP, which owns brokerage firm XP Investimentos SA, unveiled its plans to set up an exchange for Bitcoin and Ethereum trading in the coming months, said Guilherme Benchimol, its chief executive officer.

Benchimol said Grupo XP decided to venture into crypto trading because approximately 3 million Brazilians are exposed to bitcoin, while some 600,000 others have holdings in stocks. However, he noted the company’s reluctancy to enter the crypto arena.

“I must confess, this is a theme I’d rather didn’t exist, but it does. We felt obligated to start advancing in this market,” Benchimol told attendees of an event in Sao Paulo.

The new crypto exchange, to be called XDEX, will be set apart from other brokerage entities of Grupo XP. To be operated by Thiago Maffra, it shall have about 40 employees.

Grupo XP made the announcement after Brazilian regulators issued a set of rules which aims to provide relief to crypto businesses in the country, with certain limitations.

Earlier, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) said it was investigating the supposed malpractice in digital currency trading by Banco do Brasil SA, Banco Bradesco SA, Itau Unibanco Holding SA, Banco Santander Brasil SA, unlisted Banco Inter, and cooperative bank Sicredi.

These monopolistic practices “could be limiting the action of brokers” within the cryptocurrency industry… In fact, the main banks are imposing restrictions or even prohibiting … access to the financial system by cryptocurrency brokerages,” Brazil’s antitrust watchdog had said in a statement.

A source privy to the matter divulged that “many banks are closing (crypto) exchange accounts with no explanation.”

In response to the independent agency’s statement, the banks in question argued that the accounts were closed due to absence or insufficient client data as required by existing laws in order to prevent money laundering.

CADE launched the inquiry upon the request of Brazilian Association for Cryptocurrency and Blockchain (ABCB) in June. ABCB said these financial institutions were abusing their authority as financial players by closing accounts of brokerages with bitcoin-related transactions.

Brazil is a groundswell of cryptocurrency activity in Latin America. The number of people trading bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency has soared from a few dozen thousands two years ago, to about 1.4 million today. More than $2.4 billion worth of bitcoin was traded in the country last year, up from just $160 million in 2016.

In January, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (CVM) halted local investment funds from purchasing digital currencies since these are not considered as financial assets. But the CVM stated that indirect ownership is allowed, meaning Brazilians could buy crypto investment funds. But they are told to await further clarification.

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Texas’ securities watchdog has halted operations of the three cryptocurrency firms

Texas’ securities watchdog has halted operations of the three cryptocurrency firms

Texas’ securities watchdog has halted operations of the three cryptocurrency firms operating in the state following their attempts to deceive investors.

In a statement, the Texas State Securities Board said it entered a first emergency cease-and-desist order against Coins Miner Investment Ltd., a cryptocurrency investment promoter operating in Russia; DGBK Ltd., an offshore digital “bank” that claims it has developed hack-proof storage for virtual currencies; and Ultimate Assets LLC, a supposed cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trader.

“Coins Miner is soliciting funds from Texas residents by pretending to represent an established U.S. cryptocurrency platform,” the securities regulator said, adding it manipulates their email solicitations to make them appear as if they originate from Coinbase, a digital currency exchange based in San Francisco.

The supposedly United Kingdom-based firm also used images and video to delude state residents. For instance, a certain Ana Julia Lara, a person affiliated with Coins Miner, said she was a cryptocurrency trader for Coinbase. Lara also sent prospective investors a photograph of herself with Ripple’s president. But the person identified as Lara is a vice president of CoinTelegraph Media Group.

“The solicitation directs prospective investors to a website maintained by Coins Miner, where the company offers investments in programs tied to the mining of cryptocurrencies. On the site Coins Miner makes numerous fraudulent misrepresentations to try to make its investment offering appear legitimate,” the statement reads.

DGBK Ltd., or DigitalBank, is a Belize-based company which said it is creating a hack-proof device to store and transfer digital currencies. It is seeking funds to design a digital wallet for cryptocurrencies called Photon Encrypted Ledger Key which can be opened using an individual’s biometric data.

“DigitalBank is offering prospective investors both shares in the company and the opportunity to buy its own virtual currency, a digital token called DGBK. According to the company, investors who purchase the token now can earn a return of 1,900% once it is sold in an initial coin offering next year,” the watchdog said.

The investments offered by the company are unregistered securities under the state’s law.

DigitalBank is promoting itself by utilizing a 33-second video of Barack Obama wherein the former American president talked about technology advances which could enable hack-proof devices in the future.

“DigitalBank is telling investors to view the video to ‘try to understand what Obama in 2016 already understood about the company.’ The company embedded the video throughout its website, on social media, and in correspondence to investors,” it added.

Ultimate Assets is releasing online advertisements soliciting funds for its cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trading program. It is informing potential clients that an initial investment of $1,000 will become $10,000 in three weeks.

“Ultimate Assets and its representatives claim an initial investment in the trading program is fully guaranteed. Its investment contract says, ‘a refund will be issued in cases where [the] investment could not yield profits,’” the agency said.

While the investments offered are registered securities, Daniel Dishmon and John Jason Woodard, the people named in the cease-and-desist order, violated the Texas Securities Act by offering securities investments without being registered with the Securities Commissioner.

“Ultimate Assets, Dishmon and Woodard are also engaging in fraud by failing to inform investors of the regulatory, market, and technical risks in the trading of cryptocurrencies and foreign currencies,” it added.

Coins Miner did not reply to a request for comment as of writing, while Ultimate Asset could not be reached for a comment.

Ranca Romic, DigitalBank director, lashed back at these charges. “We don’t sell anything. No ICO. We are a software developer company. We planned maybe a future ICO in late 2019. But for the moment we are just developing the software,” Romic said.

“We just took emails of people that might be interested to invest in the future. The plan was to get back to those potential investors the moment we complete the full development and to cooperate with an investment firm that will legally arrange the ICO [initial coin offering],” she added.

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Korea Crypto Bourse to Open Singapore Ops in October

Korea Crypto Bourse to Open Singapore Ops in October

Major South Korean cryptocurrency player Dunamu, Inc. is scheduled to open its crypto exchange in Singapore next month, a report by Yonhap said.

In a statement, Dunamu, the operator of the Kakao-backed exchange Upbit, said it is launching a crypto bourse in the Asian country. Although Dunamu refused to divulge the exact launch date, the company said it would happen sometime in October.

For the launch promotion, trading fees in the Singapore dollar market will be waived on the first months for “users who complete their subscription and self-certification,” the report said.

Since the firm opened a Singaporean office in February this year, it has been preparing for operating an exchange. “As Singapore has proactively supported blockchain technology, our advancement into the nation will help us secure many chances to lead a variety of relevant projects and to have global competitiveness,” Kim Kook-hyun, head of Upbit’s Singaporean branch, said.

Alex Kim, who previously served as the head of Kakao Indonesia, will head the new bourse. “The Upbit Singapore [exchange] will be serviced in English and offer Singapore dollar trading. It will also support crypto-to-crypto pairs, including Upbit’s US partner Bittrex’s bitcoin, ethereum and tether markets,” Dunamu said.

Singapore was chosen as the first location of Dunamu’s overseas expansion because of the nation’s “the city-state’s strong support for blockchain and related technologies.” The crypto exchange operator plans to open more offices in other parts of the globe in the future.

Upbit will not be issuing its own digital currency, Lee Sir-goo, chief executive officer of Dunamu, said at the Upbit Developer Conference in Jeju Island. “We don’t want to lose out on the opportunities now…If we wait until the Korean crypto exchange environment improves, we could lag behind our global competitors,” he added.

But, moving forward, the company is looking at introducing other fiat currencies and reaching new territories in Southeast Asia.

“In the future we would like to add other fiat currencies and expand to other countries in Southeast Asia,” Lee said, emphasizing that Upbit will continue to strengthen its partnership with Bittrex as it expands globally.

At present, Upbit is the second largest crypto exchange in South Korea. As of press time, the company’s 24-hour trading volume is valued at approximately $229 million, second only to Bithumb which holds a 24-hour trading volume of $392 million.

It is also ranked the 10th biggest crypto exchange in the world, seeing around $241 million in trades over the past 24 hours as of press time.

Upbit has 271 digital currency listed on the platform. Based on Kakao’s latest Semiannual Report, Upbit posted a $100 million profit in the third quarter of this year, surpassing the bearish crypto markets worldwide.

Recently, many companies have marked their expansion in Singapore. Line, the Japanese subsidiary of Korean internet giant Naver, unveiled a crypto exchange known as Bitbox in the country. Asude from Line, Binance is presently testing a beta fiat exchange in the country, CEO Changpeng Zhao announced last week.

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Over Half of Bitcoins Parked in Digital Wallets

Over Half of Bitcoins Parked in Digital Wallets

More than half of bitcoins are yet to be transacted as these virtual coins are sitting pretty in digital wallets, estimates by Diar showed.

“Data crunching by Diar shows that the majority of circulating Bitcoins, 55 percent, are sitting in wallets that are valued north of $1.3 million at current prices,” Diar said in a statement. This, as long-term investors are keeping the faith in the world’s first virtual currency despite the bears market this year.

Some 25 percent of all bitcoins are stored in such wallets which were created before last year’s price peak and have not made any outgoing transactions, based on projections. A quarter of all bitcoins is taken up by long-term investments, while the lost and illiquid ones comprises the other 30 percent.

“The wallets may have never made an outgoing transaction since November 2017, however current balances reflect new wallets, as well as Bitcoins added to the wallets,” Diar said.

“At pixel time, over 87 percent of Bitcoins are stored in wallets that are above 10 Bitcoins ($60K+) – the total value just shy of $100 billion of the total market capitalization. These coins sit in only 0.7 percent of all Bitcoin addresses,” it added.

For wallets with more than 100 coins, or about $640,000, the number declines to under 0.1 percent of all addresses but represent 62 percent of all outstanding bitcoins.

“The top-heavy ownership of Bitcoins of course does not indicate a select number of wealthy individuals solely however, as the largest wallets are owned by cryptocurrency exchanges that are holding the coins on behalf of clients. In fact, 3.8 percent of the total bitcoin supply are currently sitting in the top 5 wallets that are known to be managed by major exchanges – approx. $4.2 billion in value,” Diar noted.

In a previous analysis by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, 42 percent of bitcoins hidden in the investment wallets (more than 200 bitcoins) made no movement or transaction during the price peak in December last year and sat in wallets before the markets witnessed the bitcoin hitting close to $20,000.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis also indicated in a report in April that as much as one third of the current bitcoin supply is concentrated in the hands of 1,600 individuals. “And 27 percent of these Bitcoin wallets have continued to add more coins to their stash since then.”

“The report placed, back in April, 1/3 of Bitcoin supply in the concentrated hands of 1600 individuals. But there is a cherry on top for long-term investors. Chainalysis places the possibility of 30% of Bitcoin supply to be lost, and unmined,” Diar said, citing the same report released earlier this year.

Incidentally, during the plunge which bitcoin sustained this year, the hashrate of the network has surged. This increasing hashrate could be considered a sign of the improving security infrastructure, further bolstering of the first virtual currency’s appeal, not least to long-term investors who can find refuge from the fact that the network is safer than before.

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The cryptocurrency versus artificial intelligence (AI) dichotomy will shape the future of humanity Says Thiel

The cryptocurrency versus artificial intelligence (AI) dichotomy will shape the future of humanity Says Thiel

The cryptocurrency versus artificial intelligence (AI) dichotomy will shape the future of humanity which, according to Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder and venture capital billionaire, can present everyone with a choice between a Big Brother totalitarian government and a world of greater liberty.

“But I think…the crypto versus AI dichotomy goes to the sort of question about what’s the future of the computer age going to look like. And is it going to be more centralized or more decentralized,” Thiel said in a recent interview on The Rubin Report.

“…on Bitcoin, so if crypto is libertarian, AI is communist. Everyone thinks crypto is libertarian because you have all these ideas about decentralizing money and things like this. Nobody says AI is communist and that’s because we are sort of more conscious of people with different views like libertarian and we are less conscious of people with collectivist views because that’s more the zeitgeist,” Thiel explained.

“In history we’ve had these very different pictures [of the future]. In the late 60s, the early Star Trek episodes you had one planet they got to where there was one big computer that ran the whole planet for 8,000 years. And the people didn’t have any thoughts. They were all docile, kind of happy. Nothing ever happened and that was what the people thought the future would be in the late 60s. That was in the late 60s when we had centralized big computers. In the late 90s, it was going to be crypto, to be decentralized. The internet was going to split up all these sorts of structures,” he added.

Thiel pointed out that 68 was centralized while 98 was decentralized in 2018. In some instances, the pendulum has swung back to centralized. Huge governments and large databases which can monitor and survey people know more about a person than what that person knows about himself, adding this is somewhat creepy, big brother type thing.

“I think since the pendulum has swung back and forth so much over the last 50 years, there is no reason that that’s the future. And it’s actually a choice. Do we want it to be centralized? Do we want it to be decentralized? And what I think AI can mean many different things but if it means you have large databases that are controlled by large governments that can monitor people more effectively, it’s something that could make communism maybe more effective, certainly more scary, more totalitarian than it ever was in the 20th century. It’s not a coincidence along these lines that the Chinese communist party hates crypto and loves AI,” Thiel said.

Thiel, who is known for being long on Bitcoin, the world’s first digital currency, has discussed several other interesting subjects such as US President Donald Trump and his decision to leave the Silicon Valley. Specifically, he tackled his support for the world’s most powerful leader, investing in Facebook, generational economics, contrarian thinking, the problems plaguing Silicon Valley, sexuality, freedom of the press against the right to privacy (note: the Gawker Hulk Hogan sex tape saga), and seastanding, among others.

During that interview, he started with a refusal to smoke a joint on the air to avoid competing with his fellow Paypal co-founder Elon Musk. Initially, he thought about the idea for the firm as he was very keen on virtual currency and new forms of money for the internet age.

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Cryptocurrency assets are slated to remain in the market for good, an official of the European Commission said in a press conference

Cryptocurrency assets are slated to remain in the market for good

“We also had a good exchange of views on crypto-assets. We see that crypto-assets are here to stay. Despite the recent turbulence, this market continues to grow. In particular initial coin offerings, or ICOs, we see they have the potential to emerge as a viable form of alternative financing. Already last year, ICOs helped raise over 6 billion dollars in funding and this year this figure will be substantially bigger,” Valdis Dombrovskis, vice president of the European Commission, said after a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council.

Classification is one of the challenges associated with crypto assets. Another is the application of existing EU financial rules or the ratification of new EU laws to govern such virtual assets.

“In this context, we are currently working together with European Supervisory Auhtorities on what we call regulatory mapping of crypto assets to answer exactly these questions. Many Member States today supported the need for such mapping, so we expect to conclude this assessment later this year. This will provide a solid ground to build on and to decide on further steps in this area,” Dombrovskis said.

“I also note that we have already expanded the scope of the EU anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism finance legislation to crypto-asset exchanges and custodian wallet providers,” he added.

This year, the Commission, the executive body which proposes legislation for the European Union, will conclude a regulatory assessment for the oversight of crypto assets.

In February, the official implied the regulators would take more of a case-by-case approach to govern certain token projects although he conceded the Commission would undertake more work to do so.

“This depends very much on the facts and circumstances around specific crypto-tokens. Based on the assessment of risks and opportunities and the suitability of the existing regulatory framework for these instruments, the Commission will determine if regulatory action at EU level is required,” he said at that time.

“[ICOs] have become a way for innovative firms in this field to raise substantial amounts of funding,” he was quoted as saying. “This is an opportunity, but there are also problems that expose investors to substantial risk, such as the lack of transparency regarding the identity of the issuers and underlying business plans,” the official added.

Recently, an EU legislator hinted at new guidelines for the oversight of ICOs which would set an upper cap on token sale proceeds, but would also make eligible projects accessible throughout EU member countries.

“What I’m aiming to do is bring transparency to ICOs, allowing intermediaries to perform the required due diligence. And the effect of this will be to provide an EU-wide law which gives a passport to the whole market,” Ashley Fox, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), had said.

“ICOs can carry on, but if they don’t fill the [criteria], they won’t benefit. [Introducing the regulations] will give them a passport to the whole of the EU market, and I also think it increases transparency. Right now you have 28 countries, some have national rules for raising money and some don’t have any rules at all. If you raise money in France, for example, you can only use that money in France,” he added.

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New Tax Merit Awaits Crypto Bourses in Uzbekistan

New Tax Merit Awaits Crypto Bourses in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is preparing new tax benefits to companies that are planning to establish cryptocurrency exchanges within the country, signaling its willingness to welcome digital currencies with open arms.

Foreign exchanges will receive a number of benefits once their bourses are up and running, based on an order promulgated by President Shavkat Mirziyoev earlier this month.

Some of the provisions are cryptocurrency-related income will be exempt from taxes, licensed exchanges transacting with cryptocurrencies and foreign fiat currencies are not subject to existing foreign currency rules, and crypto bourses are not subject to the country’s securities and exchanges regulations.

But here’s the catch: these entities will only be able to secure a license to run a crypto exchange after opening a subsidiary in Uzbekistan.

Moreover, before opening a bourse, one must have an authorized capital of not lower than 30,000 times the average minimum salary, which amounts to about $700,000; employees must be residing in the country; exchanges must observe anti-money laundering guidelines for users and they must maintain the clients’ transaction and personal details for at least five years.

The circular also covers miners that utilize more than 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power with land without the need for an auction on certain designated territories.

The Uzbekistan government issued this order after unveiling its goal of instituting new regulations for digital currencies in the country. In February, the government also revealed its plans to create a state-funded innovation center for exploring various opportunities of the blockchain technology in Tashkent, a local news report said.

“The creation of a legal framework for the legalization of electronic money and blocking technology is also being conducted in neighboring Kazakhstan, where the issue of the introduction of the national crypto currency is also being considered,” a report by Fergana.ru said, translated from Russian.

“In addition to the registration, the critique of anticipation of the anonymous operations is a consequence of misunderstandings and mismanagement, and in some countries the disadvantages of the economy in the near future,” the statement reads.

“The issue of legalization of crypto-currency is included in the ‘roadmap’ for the cardinal improvement of the information and communication technologies system for 2018-1919. Here, a separate item is the creation of a competence center for distributed registry technologies (block). This structure will begin work on June 1, 2018 on the basis of the innovation center ‘Mirzo Ulugbek Innovation Center,’” it added.

In September last year, Uzbekistan’s central bank said that at this phase of economic development, it is suitable to allow companies to operate cryptocurrency businesses in the country. But it warned that electronic money can be used to fund terrorism and other criminal activities because of limited control by the regulator.

Uzbekistan has become one of the three countries that has managed to extract virtual currency. For instance, the mining of one bitcoin will cost only $1,790 (at the rate of $11.000 for one bitcoin as of writing). On the other hand, less costs will be required only to residents of Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.

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Twitter Wants to Use Blockchain to Avert Scams

Twitter Wants to Use Blockchain to Avert Scams

Social network company Twitter is exploring the blockchain technology to find solutions in fighting scams, Jack Dorsey, the company’s chief executive officer, said in a House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing which devled on user privacy protections, misinformation, content moderation and alleged bias against political conservatives on the site.

“You previously expressed interest in the broad applications of blockchain technology, including potentially in an effort to verify identity to fight misinformation and scams. What potential applications do you see for blockchain?” California Representative Doris Matsui asked Dorsey.

In response, Dorsey said bitcoin would become the Web’s native currency. “First and foremost we need to start with the problems that we’re trying to solve and the problems we’re solving for our customers and look at all available technology in order to understand if it could help us accelerate or make those outcomes much better. Blockchain is one that I think has a lot of untapped potential, specifically around distributed trust and distributed enforcement potentially.”

“We haven’t gone as deep as we’d like just yet in understanding how we might apply this technology to the problems we’re facing at Twitter, but we do have people within the company thinking about it today,” he added.

During the hearing, Matsui also emphasized a proposed measure urging Department of Commerce to establish a blockchain working group to define blockchain.

“As I previously announced in this committee, I am soon introducing legislation to direct the Department of Commerce to convene a working group of stakeholders to develop a consensus-based definition of blockchain,” she pointed out before throwing questions at Dorsey.

Twitter has been ground-zero for targeting scams aimed at deceiving users out of the digital currency holdings. These perpetrators, using their bogus accounts, have lured users into sending their virtual currency to fictitious celebrity and influencer profiles.

Data by CoinDesk shows these scammers have amassed a total of thousands of dollars over the last several days as most of them have successfully deceived holders of virtual currencies through various disguise.

Earlier, Dorsey, a fan of bitcoin, said the world’s first cryptocurrency should become the default currency of the internet.

“I’m just approaching with the principle that the Internet deserves a native currency. It will have a native currency. I don’t know if it will be bitcoin. I hope it will be bitcoin. I’m a huge fan,” he had said during CoinDesk’s Consensus 2018 conference in New York City in May.

“We’ve led with that mindset. But there’s still a lot of skepticism and a lot of debate and a lot of fights. But that’s where the magic happens, where creativity happens,” he added.

Meanwhile, payment processor Square, whose CEO is also Dorsey, has exhibited significant interest in the blockchain technology. In 2014, Square Market integrated bitcoin into its merchant point-of-sale systems. Another Square product, Cash mobile app, then started testing bitcoin buying and selling in late 2017, rolling out access to all 50 American states in the previous month.

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