Tax agencies around the globe continue to crack down on cryptocurrency users. A new joint report by the IRS and other agencies confirm there are new tools being deployed to identify tax evaders, cybercriminals, and other culprits.

For some time now, the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement have been working together.

This unit consists of the IRS, as well as officials from the UK, Canada, Australia, and The Netherlands.

All of these tax agencies share one common goal tracking down tax evaders and cybercriminals.

In the past two years, part of the focus of these investigations has shifted to the cryptocurrency industry. Particularly for the IRS, Bitcoin and altcoins have given the agency quite a few headaches.

For the IRSs cybercrime unit, the goal is to find out who is moving money at any given time. With cryptocurrencies and their pseudonymity, that is much easier said than done.

New tools have been put in place which were not around in the past year.

Through these new methods, the IRS has identified a lot of cybercriminals and cryptocurrency users trying to evade taxes.

Additionally, the IRS has confirmed it will conduct additional cryptocurrency audits fairly soon.

That move doesnt come as a surprise, as the agency sent out thousands of letters to cryptocurrency holders in the first half of 2019.

Those letters served as a final warning of sorts to ensure traders file their taxes properly.

What kind of repercussions wrongdoers can expect, remains up in the air. The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement appear adamant about making a statement regarding this matter.

Image(s): Shutterstock.com

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The IRS Confirms a new Wave of Cryptocurrency Audits is Coming - The Merkle Hash

The cryptocurrency gold rush has produced a lot of jobs, with the share of cryptocurrency jobs per million rising 1,457% over the past four years, according a study by job site Indeed.com.

Despite drastic price fluctuations (Bitcoins volatile value shot up more than 230% in the first six months of 2019 to above $12,000 per Bitcoin) and nearly half of companies citing regulatory uncertainty as a major barrier to blockchain adoption, employers continue to ride the wave and invest in blockchain tech and talent.

Mark Zuckerberg, for instance, wants to launch Facebooks Libra, a new global cryptocurrency, in 2020. And digital payment giant Square recently assembled a crypto-focused team, Square Crypto, with the goal of strengthening the Bitcoin ecosystem. You will also soon even be able to spend Bitcoins at Starbucks through a new exchange app that converts digital assets into dollars.

Indeed analyzed millions of job postings on Indeed.com to unpack how Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain trends have affected the job market.

Above: Cryptocurrency job trends.

Image Credit: Indeed

Searches for Bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrency roles are going down yet employer demand has skyrocketed. According to Indeed, in the four-year period between September 2015 and September 2019, the share of these jobs per million grew by 1,457%. In that same time period, the share of searches per million increased by 469%.

In the past year, the share of cryptocurrency job postings per million on Indeed.com has increased by 26%, while the share of searches per million for jobs has decreased by 53%. Bitcoins volatility seems to correlate with job seeker interest, and the change in Bitcoin price this year might be why job searches have declined.

Employers, however, are doubling down on the technology, which uses decentralized ledgers to produce secure and transparent transactions.

So employer demand for tech roles related to Bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrency is high but what are those jobs?

From coding smart contracts to designing user interfaces for cryptocurrency apps to building decentralized applications (dApps) that communicate with the blockchain, theres no shortage of work to be done in the cryptocurrency field.

For a better chance at landing one of these roles, you should be a programmer. And you should familiarize yourself with basic cryptography, P2P networks, and a language like C++, Java, Python, or JavaScript (along with certain soft crypto skills).

To stand out, you should learn new blockchain development languages, like Hyperledger, Bitcoin Script, Ethereums Solidity, the Ripple protocol, or even languages currently in development like Rholang.

The top hirers are as follows: Deloitte, IBM, Accenture, Cisco, Collins Aerospace, Ernst & Young, Coinbase, Overstock, Ripple, Verizon, Circle, Kraken, ConsenSys, JP Morgan Chase, and Signature Bank.

Software roles make up the highest percentage of cryptocurrency jobs. Since blockchain technology has expanded well beyond the financial sector, youll see a sprinkling of crypto startups, but also bigger, more established firms not directly related to cryptocurrencies (or even the financial industry at all).

Two of the Big Four accounting firms make the top 10, along with tech giant IBM. Why? Earlier this year, EY launched a new cryptocurrency tax accounting tool for investors, and consulting firms are hiring blockchain talent to advise clients on how to apply these new technologies. IBM is also making waves with IBM Blockchain World Wire, a blockchain network that clears and settles international payments in near real time.

Not surprisingly, five companies related to cryptocurrency Coinbase, Ripple, Circle, Kraken, and ConsenSys made the list. Only ConsenSys made the top 10 in the previous list of Bitcoin hirers from May 2019.

Financial companies are hiring a lot of blockchain and cryptocurrency talent and are designing their own dollar-backed digital coins. Signature Bank (No. 15), for example, built its own blockchain platform, Signet, to allow its clients to move money around in 30 seconds, 24/7 by converting dollars to Ethereum-based tokens known as Signets.

Given blockchains potential, companies outside the traditional finance ecosystem are starting to adopt it for use in supply chain management, ecommerce, telecommunications, and beyond.

Collins Aerospace (No. 5), for example, is an Iowa-headquartered company that provides solutions for the aerospace and defense industries. Its using blockchain technology to make complex global supply chains more efficient and to protect defense and space-related data from cyber attacks.

Another company you might not expect to be hiring a lot of cryptocurrency talent is online home goods retailer Overstock.com (No. 8). However, this makes sense because it was the first major retailer to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment, starting back in early 2014. The company now accepts all major cryptocurrencies and has since founded a venture capital arm, Medici Ventures, to accelerate blockchain innovation.

As Bitcoin, blockchain, and the cryptocurrency industry continue to enjoy rapid growth and widespread adoption, companies of all sizes and from all industries have been ramping up hiring over the last year.

That trend is likely to continue through 2020, even in the face of extreme price volatility and regulatory uncertainty around cryptocurrency.

And while Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies might currently function more like assets than true currencies (theres not much you can actually buy with them), thats changing as major retailers begin accepting digital tokens and more unique use cases for these technologies pop up.

With employers investing heavily in Bitcoin jobs and cryptocurrencies becoming more accepted and accessible, blockchain tech appears to be here to stay, Indeed found.

Indeed.com analyzed the percentage change in the share of job postings and share of job searches per million for roles related to Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain during the time period specified.

The most in-demand roles related to cryptocurrency were identified by calculating the percentage of job postings related to Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain during the specified time and ranking them in order based on the percentage of job postings for those roles from October 2018 to September 2019.

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Indeed: Share of cryptocurrency jobs grew 1,457% in 4 years - VentureBeat

Einstein Exchange, in the building at 736 Granville St. in downtown Vancouver, has been taken over by a receiver.Francis Georgian / PNG

When clients of Einstein Exchange discovered last weekend that the website of the Vancouver-based cryptocurrency trading platform had gone dark, many feared they had fallen victim to the latest QuadrigaCX.

The distressed customers were referring to the case of another B.C.-based exchange that earlier this year left some 115,000 clients out of pocket for $260 million in cryptocurrencies and cash in what some termed an exit scam by its late founder and CEO.

This latest case of a crypto exchange leaving millions of its clients dollars in question has investors, regulators and experts warning people to be careful when using exchanges, and calling for clearer oversight of the industry.

This week Einstein clients learned interim receiver Grant Thornton Ltd. had entered and secured the companys premises on Friday to preserve and protect the assets of the company, which owes customers more than $16 million, according to the B.C. Securities Commission.

Kyle Dulay counts himself as lucky among Einsteins customers. The Vancouver man only had a couple hundred dollars in bitcoin on the exchange at the time its site went down. Dulay told Postmedia he had the bulk of his cryptocurrencies in cold storage safely held offline on a piece of hardware rather than held at the exchange.

Lisa Lan, a Burnaby resident, said she had intended to transfer about $3,250 in cryptocurrencies from Einstein to cold storage on the very day the companys website went down. I just missed it by hours, she said.

Lan recommended people do their research and due diligence and remove their cryptocurrencies from live exchanges. Dulay said there should be regulations that govern how exchanges store and use their customers digital assets.

The Securities Commission opened an investigation into Einstein in May after it received complaints that people were unable to access their funds, according to court documents filed by the commission on Nov. 1.

Among those documents was an affidavit that alleged Einstein had improperly used its customers assets. That affidavit, sworn by Sammy Wu, a lead investigator for the Commissions enforcement division, also stated the commission had received complaints that raised concerns about potential money laundering.

The claims have not been tested in court.

Chris Rowell, a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of B.C.s Sauder School of Business, said that crypto assets were initially intended to exist and be used outside of the traditional economy. But they eventually came to be viewed as investments that people buy and sell. It is at the intersection of these two worlds, where there is a regulatory grey area, that problems are being seen, he said.

When asked about the regulatory picture in this province, Peter Brady, the executive director of the Securities Commission, said the lack of clarity around cryptocurrencies is a fundamental issue and said more needs to be done.

B.C. residents need to be really, really careful in this space. It is high risk. Not one of these exchanges has yet been recognized by BCSC or any other securities regulator. Their assets may not be protected. They cannot be assured that their transactions are going to happen, he said.

On Oct. 31, counsel for Einstein told the commission that the company planned to shut down due to lack of profit, but that it had sufficient crypto assets to fill withdrawal requests from its customers, according to Wus affidavit. That same day Wu demanded Einstein, through its lawyer, provide information on the location of its cryptocurrencies.

Two hours later, Einstein counsel notified me that they no longer represent Einstein, read the affidavit.

Einstein Exchange did not respond to a request for comment and Michael Gokturk, the companys director, could not be reached. Christine Duhaime, a Vancouver-based financial crime lawyer who has served as the exchanges lawyer, said she could not discuss the file without the companys consent. Duhaime said she was not the lawyer referenced in the affidavit.

In the QuadrigaCX case, company founder and CEO Gerald Cotten had died, taking with him the passwords to the companys cold wallets.

Cottens widow, Jennifer Robertson, recently entered into a voluntary settlement agreement that includes the transfer of about $12 million in assets from Cottens estate to the company.

With files from Bloomberg.

mrobinson@postmedia.com

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Vancouver-based cryptocurrency exchange latest to shutter with millions owing to clients - Vancouver Sun

China has started with a friendly warm-up towards cryptocurrency, and therefore NEO (NEO), VeChain (VET), and Ontology (ONT) continue to surge. Several Made in China cryptocurrencies are rallying now.

Jeremy Allaire talked about how economic transactions can take place without Gatekeepers to be a promise of cryptocurrency.

VeChain is experiencing meteoric growth with a 10% to 13% increase over the past 24 hours. President Xi Jinpings phenomenon continues to do its magic irrespective of whether he spoke about blockchain technology or cryptocurrency. The then triggered bullish rally continues to date.

VeChain Thor Public blockchain provides the best resource to anybody willing to sort real-world economic problems.

The VeChain application hub provides an application built on the VeChain Thor Blockchain. The ecosystem benefits by collective value creation.

The advisory board members power the immense wisdom backing the design, implementation, and vision of VeChain. Third-party wallet support is provided by Comet, Trust Wallet, Cobo Wallet, Atomic Wallet, ArKane Network, MySafeWallet, and Guarda Wallet.

Developers have the freedom to provide for a full play to creativity.

The Capital Event, which was organized in Singapore on November 11, 2019, provided for improved networking. There is a formation of a rising wedge pattern. The price went up to $0.0065, and this was after stepping above the 100-day SMA. The crypto adjusted to $0.006050, and the bulls continue to hold on to the 14% growth in value.

The formation of a rising wedge pattern is a sign of danger. The gains accrued so far might be erased off if the buyer momentum is not sustained. Support areas might be at 100 SMA, 50 SMA, and significant support might be seen at $0.0020.

A week ago, VeChain unveiled Floodgates at the Import Expo in China, providing for a Food Trading Solution.

Kevin Feng, VeChain COO, stated, The immutability of public blockchain coupled with verifiable information makes this solution unique.

Floodgates have already been put to work in the process of importing French Beef to China for an event, which was attended by Emmanuel Macron, French President, and Chinas Xi Jinping.

The technology has expanded to several industries in the food industry, and businesses provide for tracking everything from Coffee to Lettuce.

Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, attended this event when he arrived in China to discuss diplomatic relations between the countries.

VeChain Thor being a Blockchain-as-a-Service company focuses on creating a reliable and distributed business ecosystem.

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Your Economic Transactions without Gatekeepers is the Promise of Cryptocurrency - The Cryptocurrency Analytics

On an otherwise sleepy morning in the cryptocurrency market, most of the major currencies trade within a few percentage points of their value 24 hours ago. Stellar Lumen breaks with this calm trend, trading 18% higher as of 9:20 a.m. EST. There's a fairly simple explanation for why this particular cryptocurrency is surging today, and it's a twist on the familiar theme of share buybacks aimed at controlling dilution.

Stellar Lumen is one of the largest cryptocurrencies on the market today. Sporting a market cap of $1.6 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.com, it's the 10th-largest cryptocoin both by market value and by daily trading volume.

Technically speaking, Stellar is a money transfer protocol designed to simplify transactions across international borders in a variety of local currencies. That core idea is very similar to the larger service known as Ripple. The two crypto networks were both founded by industry bigwig Jed McCaleb, who left the Ripple project amid disagreements with the rest of the company to start Stellar as a fairly direct alternative.

While the Ripple corporation works closely with banks around the world in an attempt to disrupt international payments at the professional level, Stellar is organized as a nonprofit foundation with the goal of achieving similar cross-border transparency for ordinary people.

"For example, using Stellar, a family in Venezuela can keep some of its savings in dollars, or in euros, and protect itself from local economic upheaval -- without having to keep bills 'under the mattress' or operate through a gray market broker," according to an official statement found on Stellar's web site.

Like Ripple's XRP token, Stellar uses the Lumen token to achieve its technology goals. This cryptocoin, traded across the Stellar network, can be translated into different real-world currencies for a near-zero transaction fee.

You can't mine Lumen, creating new tokens on the fly as you do in other popular systems such as Bitcoin. Instead, and again just like Ripple, Stellar created 100 billion tokens at the launch of the new cryptocurrency. The foundation keeps most of these tokens stacked away, allowing a trickle of new supply to reach the open market at a tightly controlled pace.

And that's where we find the reason for today's big jump. Stellar just made a big change to the supply of Lumen tokens.

Image source: Getty Images.

Remember the finite supply of Lumen, set to 100 billion units from the start? Well, that changed last night.

The Stellar foundation destroyed 55 billion Lumen tokens, permanently and irrevocably. Out of the 17 billion Lumens that were allocated to the foundation's operations, 5 billion tokens were destroyed. Reserves for various giveaway programs dropped from 44 billion to 6 billion units. Partnership programs now have access to 12 billion Lumens, down from 25 billion.

It's like an utterly massive share buyback that reduced the total share count by 55% in a regular stock structure, or firing over half of the world's gold into the sun. The underlying ideas are different here but the effects are similar. Lower supply equals higher prices for the units that remain.

The Stellar foundation says that the new supply structure more closely aligns with the foundation's mission.

"We owe it to the ecosystem, to the network, and to ourselves, to be as efficient as possible in our work," the official announcement stated.

We should only keep what we're confident we can actually use. And use relatively soon, at that -- in the next ten years. That's the proper scope for the Foundation. The ecosystem is already moving ahead on its own, alongside [the Foundation] rather than driven by us. We were never meant to be and would never want to be a perpetual custodian for Stellar's programs. Getting to our goal and still having Lumens at the end would serve no purpose.

Spoken like a true nonprofit organization with big dreams and a limited mandate. To be clear, it would be kind of crazy to see a publicly traded company performing a similar move in the form of a supermassive share buyback. But for a nonprofit whose assets are closely tied to a noncash cryptocurrency under its own control, it actually makes sense.

Now, the 55% supply cut did not double the street price of Lumens right away. The market reaction was muted by several factors, including the limited availability of Lumen tokens on the open market and the fundamentally unstable nature of cryptocurrency valuation in this evolving market. The Stellar foundation hopes that this drastic move will move the whole Stellar Lumen project closer to its stated mission of providing global banking tools for the unbanked masses, but only time will tell.

Until then, remember that any cryptocurrency comes with a massive amount of risk to investors. It's a promising market for sure, and the Stellar Lumen currency has increased 25-fold in value since its launch in 2014. But the coin could just as easily drop to zero in the long run, Stellar's good intentions notwithstanding.

Be careful out there, and only invest money you could afford to lose in these risky cryptocurrency vehicles.

Continue reading here:
Why Is the Stellar Lumen Cryptocurrency Up 18% Today? - Motley Fool

As Senator Romney has recently been in the news on his criticism of the President as impeachment proceedings, it seems the former Presidential Candidate and Republican Senator from Utah might want to impeach cryptocurrency from the United States based on the threat level it may pose to national security.

During a hearing in the U.S. Senate Committee On Homeland Security And Governmental Affairs, Senators asked leaders from the FBI, Homeland Security, and the National Counterterrorism Center questions on Threats To The Homeland, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) raised the prospect of whether the U.S. needed to take action on cryptocurrencies or not worry about them. The FBI took no time in responding how cryptocurrencies are a significant problem that will get bigger and bigger.

WASHINGTON, DC - September 23: Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) speaks to journalists before votes on the ... [+] Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Monday September 23, 2019. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Im not in the Banking Committee. I dont begin to understand how cryptocurrency works. I would think it is more difficult to carry out your work when we cant follow the money because the money is hidden from us and wonder whether there should not be some kind of effort taken in our nation to deal with cryptocurrency.

While the Senator invited all three of the witnesses to respond to his question, FBI Director Wray jumped in to note how big of a problem cryptocurrency already is. The FBI Director stated, Well certainly for us cryptocurrency is already a significant issue and we can project out pretty easily that its going to become a bigger and bigger one. Whether or not that is the subject of some kind of regulation as the response is harder for me to speak too.

FBI Director Wray, while being careful not to provide any policy or regulatory recommendation, noted the issues of cryptocurrencies and how they are used by terrorists is part of a larger issue involved with our enemies increased capabilities in using tech and the ability to process anonymous transactions.

...it is part of a broader trend...in terms of the terrorist threat in terms of our adversaries of all shapes and sizes becoming more facile with technology, in particular various types of technology that anonymize their efforts...

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES - 2018/06/28: Christopher A. Wray, Director of the Federal Bureau of ... [+] Investigation, at the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn Building at the US Capitol. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The FBI Director did note that Were looking at [cryptocurrencies] from an investigative perspective including tools that we have to try to follow the money. He also noted that it is not just cryptocurrency but various types of technologies that, if the U.S. doesnt get its act together, could result in the FBI being walled off by technology from doing their jobs in the future.

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Senator Romney Considers Action As A Nation On Cryptocurrency Threat To Homeland Security - Forbes

Since November 6, 2019, Litecoin/Binance (LTC/BNB) trading has been available on the Binance DEX, including the freshly issued asset calledLTC-F07. As of now, 18,500 tokens have been released for trading.

New Markets For Blockchain Silver

In the new listing proposal, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao explained the potential of LTC trading on the Binance DEX:

"LTC is decentralized money, free from censorship and open to all. The Litecoin blockchain is the largest global scrypt based network, operating with 100% uptime since 2011 securing billions of dollars of value"

Changpeng Zhao also highlighted LTC's contribution to blockchain progress, specifically the Lightning Network and Atomic Swaps.

As a new asset, LTC-F07 is mintable, and the total supply will increase with market demand. All of the issued LTC-F07 will be backed 1:1 by a native LTC, in which the accuracy of this connection will be monitored by an initial verified LTC address.

The Binance DEX is a side-project of Binance, the world largest cryptocurrency exchange. It operates on the native Binance Chain, and supports non-custodial peer-to-peer trading of 130+ assets. Some of major cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash), as well as numerous stablecoins, have their "mirrors" on the Binance Chain which are actually tokens of the native Binance BEP2 standard.

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Cryptocurrency for Africa: Akon Reveals When He's Going to Launch His Own Coin - U.Today

Let's say you're pretty sure Bitcoin will break $10,000 by the end of November. Or, maybe your gut is telling you the Eagles win the Super Bowl this year -- or that U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is going to become the next president.

These are the types of bets that find a home on Augur, a decentralized predictions marketplace built on top of blockchain platform Ethereum. For a small fee, users of Augur can create markets across an infinite array of topics -- such as Bitcoin's value, political wins or future football champions -- and then buy or sell shares with ETH based on the predicted outcome. The winners then take payouts denominated in ETH.

While a gambling/trading hybrid of sorts, Augur's method of crowdsourcing outcomes has the potential to change the way humans can collectively verify truth. Its open source software is licensed under the General Public License (GPL) and partly under Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Augur has benefited greatly from the tumultuous political climate in the United States as election season heats up. Election Betting has been at the top of the project's weekly updates over the past few weeks, as the popularity of these betting markets continues to rise. The close race between Sen. Warren and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has garnered particular attention.

Not to be outdone by their neighbors to the south, Canadian election betting markets have started to pop-up,too, such as "Will Justin Trudeau Be Re-Elected Prime Minister Of Canada In The 2019 Election?" Even Boris Johnson's Brexit odds have garnered bets upwards of $10,000.

The Augur team has gone all-in on political market-making in anticipation of its upcoming release, stating, "Augur will be the no-brainer platform for political betting with no limits, unbeatable odds, the lowest fees, and the tightest spreads."

REP User Activity is up 7.29% over the last 14 days. FCAS (Fundamental Crypto Asset Score) has followed with a 36-point (4.62%) spike.

Prediction markets are a powerful prognostic tool that harnesses the free and open flow of information to reveal truth without borders. The crowdsourcing of information and the accountability incentives created through Augur's REP system is a novel display of market dynamics. It will be exciting to see the impacts of its upcoming release as its integrates both 0x and Dai into the platform.

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Cryptocurrency in Focus: Augur Bets on Politics - TheStreet.com

Facebook's scheme to create its own money in the form of the libra digital coin has set off a globalrace to beat the social media colossus at its own game, and Canada maybe an importantplayer.

Since the initialmild reaction from U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell the day after thelibraproject was announcedin June, the world's governments and central banks have realized what somesuggested at the time, that with its global reach and technological savvy, Facebook was blazing a path to dominate money.

Canada has been one of theleaders in researching how to create and managea digital coin backed by a national central bank. But the arrival of thelibra idea, with its persuasive scheme to launch what was essentially a credible new global currency, kicked off a flurry of fresh activity that could transform the way we think of money.

Not only are the world's governments gathering at bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, theBank for International Settlements and the G7 group of large industrial economies toworkon the idea, but there are signs that individual governments, notably China, are racing to be the first to create a functional, tradable government-backed digital coin.

And while the final results are difficult to predict, it is not clear that ordinary citizens, who have grown used to money in its current form,will be happy with the outcome.

"It's interesting how exciting these developments can be," enthused Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins at last week's monetary policy news conference.

Introduced by her boss, bank governor Stephen Poloz, as "one of the world's foremost experts" on the subject,Wilkins has attended global conferences, armed with several years of groundbreaking Canadian research.

As Wilkins explained, what central banks hope to create is not a digital coin like bitcoin and its many imitators. With thatcurrency rising and falling as inexperienced investors triedto make a killing, critics, including me, pointed out years ago that the volatility of such cryptocurrenciesmade pricing goods in bitcoin impractical.

Far more interesting and functional, according to people like Wilkins, is a kind of digital money called a "stablecoin," which is how the libra is conceived. Rather than shooting up in value and plunging like bitcoins, a stablecoin is managed to maintain a relatively constant value.

"There's a whole class of crypto assets called stablecoins," said Wilkins last week. "What's exciting about it is the fact that these kinds of innovations can address what I think are important issues in global payment systems, particularly the cost of cross-border payments."

Wilkins suggested a stablecoin could be used, for example, for people from the Philippines trying to send money home from elsewhere in the world. And in developing countrieswithout a stable banking system it mightbe used domestically as a reliable unit of exchange.

That innovation is exactly what the libraproject has proposed, offering a service to millions of the world's "unbanked" so that they too can buy and sell and save up the value of their labour in a place they know won't be wiped out by inflation or governmentmismanagement.

But the more the world's central banks and the governments they represent thoughtabout the libra, theless they liked it.

To oversimplify, the two main objections to having a private company with such monetary clout were the wrenchingof monetary power out of the hands of central banksand the worry that eventually, without the backstop of a government, a private sector currency would collapse, creating global chaos.

"We know that innovations never come without risk," said Wilkins.

There are benefits to such a stablecoin system, but there are dangers: "The costs that we all know that are related to money laundering and terrorist financing, but also, with respect to safeguarding the value of that stablecoin properly, as well as potentially getting in the way of monetary sovereignty of different countries," she said.

By current thinking, that sovereignty is important. With people using something like libra, the currencies ofsmaller countries such as those in the Caribbean, or notoriously unstable currencies such as those of Rwanda or Argentina would be completely upstaged, aspeople use libra as a better alternative.

"I think Facebook hadn't thought through carefully how important control of currencies is for governments and central banks," said longtime U.S. central banker Simon Potterin an online video interviewby the Financial Times.

Globally, digitization of nationalcurrencies is already underway. Sweden is well on the road to phasing out conventional cash. Canadians have been world leaders in paying with alternatives like chip cards.China, with its powerful centrally controlled state, is ideally placed to push through a digital stablecoin that will also help it keep track of themoney flows of everyone who uses it.

Watch the International Institute of Finance discuss the future of money:

As reported by CBC Radio's The Current, access to information requests by the tech news site The Logicshow that the Bank of Canada has looked into the possibility of following Sweden and gradually eliminating those polymer bills, but such a plan would require a decision of the federal government to proceed.

Unlike China, a Canadian government might be unwilling to take such a radical step when such obvious moves asreplacing low-denomination bills by coins and eliminating the penny attracted such popular wrath.

But the difficulty for governments is that commercial stablecoins such as libra arenot the only competition. If one country creates a functioning state-backed digital stablecoin, it may be difficult to stop thecitizens of other countriesfrom using it.

For Wilkins, no doubt, working out a solution is part of what makes it all so exciting.

But whatever the final outcome, it does seem that our concept of money is changing. Just last month, Bank of Canada deputy governor Timothy Lane participated in a discussion at the International Institute of Finance titledThe Future of Money. The fact is, as cash disappears, digital stablecoins may become an essential alternative for certain purposes.

Lane pointed out that as merchants, banks andconsumers increasingly stop using bank notes for transactions, we may reach a tipping pointwhere those notes effectivelydisappear from circulation so that even people who want to use bills don't have the option.

"In the immortal words of Joni Mitchell," quipped Lane, "'You don't know what you've got till it's gone.'"

Follow Don on Twitter @don_pittis

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Governments race to beat Facebook's cryptocurrency, libra, at its own game: Don Pittis - CBC.ca

A US federal court has ordered defendants to pay $4.25 million in penalties as a result of operating a virtual currency scam known as ATM Coin.

Blake Harrison KantorandNathan Mullins, both from New York and corporate entities Blue Bit Banc, (UK); Blue Bit Analytics, (Turks and Caicos); andMercury Cove Inc and G. Thomas Client Services, (New York) are accused of committing fraud and misappropriating customer funds.

According to the court, Kantor, Blue Bit Analytics, and G. Thomas Client Services, took customer funds and illegally actedas Futures Commission Merchants without having registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The case was first submitted in April last year and charged the defendants with fraud in connection with a binary options scam.

The CFTC said defendants asked public customers to invest in binary options,promising the opportunity to earn predetermined amounts based on the price of the commodities at specific points in time.

Although customers could trade for themselves, or have a Blue Bit Ban representative do so for them, Mullins and Kantor failed to tell customers that a computer software program used by Blue Bit Banc fraudulently changed the data associated with their binary options investments.

This meant that the probability of customers earning a profit favored Blue Bit Banc, rather than investors.

Kantor and Mullins told most investors to transfer their funds to a bank account located in the island nation ofSt. Kitts and Nevis, making it harder to trace investor funds.

In addition, the defendants also converted Blue Bit Banc investments into ATM Coin, a worthless cryptocurrency that Kantor had misleadingly told victims was worth a substantial amount.

Even though prosecutors have indeed ruled against the dodgy firm, it might not mean much for victims, with the CFTC warning them that the wrongdoers may not have sufficient funds or assets to reimburse their losses.

Published November 4, 2019 11:39 UTC

Originally posted here:
US fines founders of worthless cryptocurrency over $4.25M binary options scam - The Next Web