Crypto Crew

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has granted an exemption from holding a license to a number of cryptocurrency companies operating in the country under the new Payment Services Act. Among the companies benefiting from this six-month grace period are Binance, Coinbase, Gemini, Bitstamp, Luno, Upbit, and Wirex. Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), published this week a list of companies that have been granted an exemption from holding a license under the Payment Services Act (PS Act) 2019 for a specified period of time. The Act went into effect on Jan. 28; it regulates crypto service providers in Singapore. Crypto companies that were already in business prior to the commencement of the Payment Services Act were required to notify the MAS of their businesses and have been granted a license exemption. The authority emphasized: "These entities are not licensed under the PS Act to provide the specific payment services,...

A common claim among bitcoin enthusiasts is that it's a “decentralized” method of creating payments. Here are some notable outlets making this claim: Investopedia: “Bitcoin offers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional online payment mechanisms and is operated by a decentralized authority, unlike government-issued currencies.” Business Insider: “Because bitcoin is decentralized, it’s indirectly subject to plug forces like interest rates or currency debasement.” St. Louis Federal Reserve: “Bitcoin may be a decentralized recordkeeping system, with updating of the record of transactions within the blockchain.” This is additionally to the many other websites, both professional and amateur, that assert that bitcoin may be a decentralized system. But a replacement working paper from economists William J. Luther and Sean Stein Smith is casting doubt on this characterization of bitcoin. Luther and Smith offer a replacement taxonomy of the various methods of pro...

Philip Salter, head of operations at Genesis Mining, believes that economic meltdown may cause a growing value for Bitcoin as a hedge against the banks. In the last few weeks, there has been tons of turmoil within the Bitcoin world. There was a rapid decline in hashrate, followed by a good more precipitous price drop. This was particularly troublesome in sight of the approaching halving. Cointelegraph has had an in-depth conversation on these topics with one among the foremost prominent figures within the Bitcoin mining space, Phil Salter. Bitcoin miners have margin calls too Speaking on whether miners played a serious role within the recent market decline, Salter observed: "It’s no different from traditional markets, you have to sell everything to keep the operations going, to pay off your debts. As a miner you have bills to pay, you have to pay for electricity, for operations; and your expenses are in dollars, so as the price of bitcoin is dropping, it means you have...

As fears of disinformation and election tampering take hold of citizens across the world , many are left to wonder if there’s an answer which will quell voter concerns. A recent study by global communications firm Ketchum found growing distrust among individuals around voting machines (59%), issues with voter databases (60%), interference through technology (63%) and therefore the influence of social media (61%). In the us , this year’s Iowa Democratic Party caucuses left voters frustrated when a voting app resulted in incorrect and wholly unreliable results. Delays ensued, and a candidate prematurely proclaimed himself the winner, which led to questions as to whether foul play was involved. Other states like Oregon took measures to prevent voter fraud with aid from the Federal Government, while Georgia acknowledged that its servers were hacked after being left exposed on the open internet for around six months.  That’s just one country, but this is a global issue. In Israe...

Perception of Bitcoin Changing in  China :  Bitkan CEO Shares Insights After 7 Years in Crypto Industry Since the arrival of bitcoin in 2009, cryptocurrencies have gone from being a distinct segment topic for tech nerds to ubiquitously recognized — if not always understood — staples of recent finance. Bitkan CEO Liu Yang recently took a while bent give news.Bitcoin.com a peek into the Chinese bitcoin community and its changing ideas and perceptions of crypto, throughout Bitkan’s seven years in the business. Though general narratives have changed and evolved, and the recent covid-19 crisis impacted markets, the CEO says that overall China is still bullish on bitcoin.  Following Bitcoin, Forming Bitkan An integrated platform for multiple crypto services, Bitkan was launched in March 2013 by former members of China tech giant Huawei‘s R&D department. CEO and co-founder Liu Yang was head of the Huawei Wireless Technology R&D department at the time, leaving to...

A filing submitted within the lower house of India’s parliament — the Lok Sabha — has revealed an investigation into fraudulent practices by so-called “bit coin companies” operating within the country. An official question was submitted by center-left parliamentarian Mohammed Faizal and was answered by Minister of State for Finance and company Affairs Anurag Thakur on March 16. Indian politician requests investigation into regulatory status of crypto companies Faizal asked the Minister of Corporate Affairs three questions concerning cryptocurrency companies in India. Firstly, he asked if the govt is conscious of an increasing number of reports alleging “cheating and fraudulent practices by bit coin companies.” He also asked if said crypto firms “are repeatedly violating rules laid out by the company Affairs Ministry by not filing annual balance sheets,” lastly requesting details concerning any action taken against the offending companies. Only two crypto companies are app...