John McAfee doesn’t pay taxes, OK?
Fox News reported that i don't pay taxes. The IRS is angry (and corrupt). They will strike using law, twisted by 'their' facts, as a club. My offense is small and won't do. inferences of conspiracy or foreign collusion, or something, will come. I promise.https://t.co/UeT8yy8dtx
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) January 4, 2019
FCA targets crypto businesses
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is currently investigating 18 companies in connection with cryptocurrency transactions amid escalating concern over the threat posed by Bitcoin et al to the integrity of financial markets.
In figures released to the Telegraph under freedom of information laws, it said that as of 12th November it had opened inquiries into 67 firms involved in cryptocurrency businesses.
We are pleased to confirm that we have completed our first round of funding of $182.5 million https://t.co/Cc2EsoQMcT
— Bakkt (@Bakkt) December 31, 2018
India: no crypto regulations timeline in place
The Indian government is in no hurry to finalise any crypto regulations or to even set a deadline for the task, Quartz reports.
I request the media & look up to them for help in our campaign for crypto in India. India is the only large democracy where blockchain innovation has been stiffled because of bank restriction @timesofindia @qzindia @htTweets @Inc42 @YourStoryCo @mint @the_hindu @ndtv @ZeeBusiness
— Nischal (Shardeum) 🔼 (@NischalShetty) January 4, 2019
Iran: ‘Aiding Gram cryptocurrency constitutes criminal act’
The Secretary of Criminal Content Definition Task Force has said any cooperation with the Telegram messaging app to launch the cryptocurrency Gram in Iran constitutes an action against national security and will be dealt with as a disruption to the country’s economy, Tehran Times reports.
"Bitcoin By the Numbers: 2018 Recap" by @Lopp is a data cornucopia, worth browsing for the Lightning Network charts alone. https://t.co/4fTCu60c7k pic.twitter.com/r7xUED2qTq
— Tuur Demeester (@TuurDemeester) January 1, 2019
Bitcoin separates from the pack
Bitcoin separated itself from other cryptocurrencies in 2018 and will continue to do so going forward, according to Jimmy Song.
Decentralisation is key here. “The advantages of decentralisation are often subtle and easy to dismiss, but they are real benefits,” he says in a blog post.
The official Fortnite Merch Store is now exclusively accepting #Monero as a cryptocurrency payment option! https://t.co/NWmHhzE6Kg
— Monero (XMR) (@monero) January 1, 2019
Republic of Abkhazia announces crypto clampdown
The government of the Republic of Abkhazia has cut power to some cryptocurrency mining farms due to electricity concerns, Chernomorenergo RUE announced on Facebook.
Calvin disses Vitalik on Twitter
Problems with Ethereum are well documented online. Vitalik should spend his time fixing these challenges and stop publicly lying about the abilities of other people and their technology. This is not a good look for him. https://t.co/VeRMPdLVER
— Calvin Ayre (@CalvinAyre) January 2, 2019
In 2018 the blockchain/decentralisation story fell apart (or so this guy says)
In 2018 the blockchain/decentralization story fell apart. For example, a study of 43 use cases found a 0% success rate. https://t.co/FTEKKCPAy8
Let's talk about some mistaken assumptions about decentralization that led to the blockchain hype, and what we can learn from them.— Arvind Narayanan (@random_walker) December 31, 2018
Saudi Customs wraps blockchain pilot programme
Saudi Customs has integrated its cross-border trade platform FASAH with IBM and Maersk’s TradeLens solution.
This week in crypto:
1. Overstock using BTC to pay taxes
2. Consensys & AMD build cloud computing
3. DX Exchange launching tokenized stocks
4. Thai government digitizing voting onchain
5. Bakkt raised $182 million
6. Fortnite store accepts MoneroNo one can stop the progress!
— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) January 5, 2019
DMM.com shutters crypto mining venture
Japanese e-commerce venture DMM.com is closing its crypto mining business, due to deteriorating profitability, Toyo Keizai reports.
https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1080606963438776321
South Africa tackles crypto challenge
The South African government has established a crypto assets regulatory working group, BusinessDay reports.
We're thrilled to announce the launch of our most demanded $XRP-Base Pair: TRX/XRP! $TRX/ $XRP is open for trading now! @Tronfoundation + @BitrueOfficial @justinsuntron & @Curis_Wang 🤗👏💪😍📈💰
@XTRA_HRDCOR_XRP @JesusXRP and more! Happy trading!
👉https://t.co/mNEdCh1dPW pic.twitter.com/VE1KOhSoWa
— Bitrue (@BitrueOfficial) January 4, 2019
New York claims crypto first
New York has become the first state in the US to create a cryptocurrency task force to study how to properly regulate, define and use cryptocurrency.
“Today marks 10 years since the birth of the Bitcoin blockchain . . . The new #BSV logo represents this pivotal moment for #Bitcoin to grow up.” #BitcoinSV https://t.co/jKFaTLnCjm pic.twitter.com/1JPK9yXskq
— Jimmy Nguyen (@iamJimmyWIN) January 3, 2019
Mike Novogratz increases stake in Galaxy Digital
He now owns about 80% of shares in the firm he founded, Bloomberg reports.
In five days you will be able to trade #cryptocurrencies commission free 24/7 – only 10€ per month for members. Sign up to https://t.co/gavrewTi9F today. #exchangeyourway pic.twitter.com/fDpFbJkdRz
— DX.Exchange (@DXdotExchange) January 2, 2019
Overstock notches up another crypto first
Online retailer Overstock is set to become the first major US company to pay a portion of its Ohio state business taxes in Bitcoin, using the new platform, OhioCrypto.com.
Our co-founders reflect on a transformative 2018 that included new products, customer growth, and learning plenty of important lessons about building an open, global financial system.@Poloniex @centre_io @circleinvest @ResearchCircle @jerallaire https://t.co/1sATjRn0xf
— Circle (@circle) January 3, 2019
Exciting stuff happening in Switzerland at every level, Lamassu
Bitcoin ATM venture Lamassu has moved to Switzerland following regulatory issues in other countries, according to a Medium post.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.