The ability to offer daily settlements removes a major pain point for enterprises using cryptocurrency by speeding up the payment process

Technology Inc () (OTCQB:NTTCF) announced Wednesday that it is now providing daily settlements for US-based merchants.

The ability to offer daily settlements removes a major pain point for enterprises using cryptocurrency as a form of payment by speeding up the payment process and paving the way for mainstream adoption, the Vancouver-based company told shareholders.

NetCents said it is laser focused on streamlining and enhancing the merchant experience to keep driving mass adoption of cryptocurrency as a payment method in a bid to overcome the perception that the digital payment system is less trustworthy, according to CEO Clayton Moore.

"The ability to offer daily settlements to merchants is another feather in our cap in the eyes of our merchants, as they can get their money faster, which really increases the confidence level in our products, Moore said in a statement.

Earlier this year NetCents debuted daily settlements for enterprise merchants that process more than $100,000 per month in crypto transactions. After a successful trial period, and integration into the banking Automated Clearing House (ACH)that lets approved parties transfer money with no added costs, the firm launched the capability to all US-based merchants.

Recent moves to improve the merchant experience include adding Lightning Network as a payment method, additional enterprise invoicing services for SaaS and B2B merchants, enhancing business intelligence reporting and expanding onboarding support.

The company also expanded its refund functionality for merchants and enhanced the merchant gateway and terminal APIs for custom integrations.

"(The) interest in using crypto as a payment mechanism, as well as touchless, and cashless payments has really put a spotlight on our platform both in the eyes of the end consumer, merchants, and financial intermediaries," Moore added.

NetCents technology is deployable across millions of terminals worldwide.

Contact Angela at [emailprotected]

Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas

Continued here:
NetCents Technology paves the way for mainstream cryptocurrency adoption by offering daily settlements to merchants - Proactive Investors USA &...

A worker checks the fans at the cryptocurrency farming operation Bitfarms, in Farnham, Quebec, Canada, February 2, 2018. (Christinne Muschi/Reuters)Exchange-rate instability is a curse. A private currency board would prevent it.

With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, currencies around the world took a deep dive. To name but a few casualties: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Iran, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Syria, Turkey, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. Not only have the currencies in these countries plunged, but the burden of their foreign debts has soared. Exchange-rate instability is a curse.

Indeed, currency instability, banking crises, soaring inflation, sovereign-debt defaults, and economic booms and busts all have a common source: exchange-rate instability. The ills induced by exchange-rate instability bring with them calls for policy changes. Karl Schiller, the German Finance Minister from 1966 until 1972, understood this simple fact. Schillers mantra was clear and uncompromising: Stability is not everything, but without stability, everything is nothing. Well, Schillers mantra is my mantra.

I offer a regime change that would enhance stability in the international monetary sphere: private currency boards. Just what is a currency board?

A currency board issues notes and coins convertible on demand into a foreign anchor currency at a fixed rate of exchange. As reserves, it holds low-risk, interest-bearing bonds denominated in the anchor currency and typically some gold. The reserve levels (both floors and ceilings) are set by law and are equal to 100 percent, or slightly more, of its monetary liabilities (notes, coins, and, if permitted, deposits). A currency board generates profits (seigniorage) from the difference between the interest it earns on its reserve assets and the expense of maintaining its liabilities. By design, a currency board has no discretionary monetary powers and cannot engage in the fiduciary issue of money. It has an exchange-rate policy (the exchange rate is fixed) but no monetary policy. A currency boards operations are passive and automatic: Its sole function is to exchange the domestic currency it issues for an anchor currency at a fixed rate. Consequently, the quantity of domestic currency in circulation is determined by market forces; namely, the demand for domestic currency.

A currency board cannot issue credit. It cannot act as a lender of last resort or extend credit to the banking system. Nor can it make loans to the fiscal authorities and state-owned enterprises. Consequently, such a regime imposes discipline on the economy through a hard budget constraint. As a result, when compared to countries that employ central banking, currency-board countries have lower fiscal deficits, lower debt-to-GDP ratios, lower inflation rates, and more rapid growth.

Historically, currency boards have existed in about 70 countries, and none have failed including the North Russian currency board installed on November 11, 1918, during the civil war that followed the Bolshevik revolution. Its architect was none other than John Maynard Keynes, who was a British Treasury official at the time. Today, the most notable currency board is Hong Kongs. What all currency boards past and present have in common is that they are public institutions. But, there is no requirement that currency boards be publicly owned.

For many years, my long-time collaborator Kurt Schuler and I have advocated private currency boards. In our draft law for such a regime, we proposed that its home offices and reserves be located in Switzerland and that it be governed under Swiss law. With the advent of cryptocurrencies, the prospect of our idea, or something similar to it, is close to becoming a reality. Indeed, the white paper issued by the Libra Association in 2019 explicitly states that the Libra cryptocurrency would resemble a currency board. While that is correct in broad terms, Libra stumbled out of the gate and is not yet a reality.

Central banks are clearly feeling the competitive threat posed by the prospect of private currency boards, like Libra. Indeed, a 2019 report on digital currencies by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum in London and IBM presents results from a survey of 23 central banks. Half of the respondents indicated that they perceived the widespread use of decentralized, private, digital currencies as a real threat. As the central bankers put it, private currencies would potentially disturb the global financial system and undermine the sovereignty of monetary authorities. This is nonsense. What central banking authorities are actually worried about is competition from private, stable currencies.

The prospect of private currency boards which are either backed by stable fiat currencies or gold is a promising one. The competitive forces unleashed by private currencies would be a great stabilizer.

See original here:
Its Time for Private Cryptocurrency Boards - National Review

Cryptocurrency advocates in India were buoyed by the Supreme Court decision back on March 4, when the apex court overturned a ban on Cryptocurrencies that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) put in place in 2018. The decision generated much enthusiasm among Indian and foreign investors. However, the hope must be short-lived for India as the Central government is now planning to bring a law to ban Cryptocurrencies.

Crypto exchanges The rise and fall

According to a recent report in The Economic Times, IndiasMinistry of Financeis now inviting other ministries to discuss its earlier draft on banning crypto-assets, introduced a year ago. In July 2019, former finance secretary Subhash Garg proposed a complete ban on virtual currencies along with a $3.3 million fine and up to 10 years imprisonment on anyone involving in the dealing of digital currencies.

Currently in draft form, this law will ban and punish any direct or indirect use of cryptocurrency. After the consultations, the draft should be sent to the Parliament for final review.

After the RBIs decision in April 2018, the virtual currency ecosystem in the country nearly choked, leading to several exchanges, including prominent ones likeKoinex and Zebpay, shutting shop or shifting base.

However, there has been a sharp increase in trading volumes on cryptocurrency exchanges in India since March after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of crypto-related businesses.

Trading volume on Mumbai-based WazirX, one of Indias leading crypto exchanges, which wasacquired by global exchange Binancein November last year,rose 400% and 270% month-on-month in March and April, respectively. WazirX founder and CEO Nischal Shetty, said the company is also seeing an uptick in new sign-ups and active users.

Bengaluru-based crypto exchange startup Tradehorn just announced that it will launch a new cryptocurrency exchange platform called Tradehorn for Indian users in June 2020. The users were permitted to trade, deposit and withdraw in Indian rupees

Another major exchange,CoinDCX, recently raised funding from Polychain Capital and Cinbase for the expansion of its offerings. Sumit Gupta, CEO & Co-founder of CoinDCX said in a recent statement, At a time when we are witnessing unprecedented growth in the use of Cryptocurrencies in India, there is a need to provide users with an extensive range of crypto-based financial services that can ensure the faster, simpler, and uninterrupted flow of capital.

However,the news of banning Cryptocurrencies sparked concerns among crypto companies, raising questions, such as: why cant cryptocurrency be regulated instead of banned in the country and secondly, why India could not do what other countries, like the U.S, do in regulating Cryptocurrencies.

Why India needs a crypto revival, not ban

As such, there are reasons for India to head for a crypto boom. Firstly, the rupee has been subject to persistent erosion in its dollar-denominated buying power. Declining confidence in the rupee and the governments ability to manage it will be a major driver of interest in cryptocurrency in India, factors such as demonetization and now the COVID-19 pandemic situations are only factors putting further downward pressure on the currency, experts believe.

According to the EY Global Fintech Adoption Index 2019, India is one of the emerging markets that is leading the way with 87% of its population adopting fintech in some form.

With a significant number of unbanked population in the country, Blockchain has the potential to increase financial inclusion in the country by providing access to digital assets. Finally, from Indias booming Diaspora to internal migrant labor population everyone can benefit in a crypto-based system.

Navin Gupta, Managing Director, South Asia & MENA at Ripple, a technology company that helps send money globally using blockchain, said, We are confident that after careful deliberation and consultation with industry participants, Indian policymakers will consider the regulatory path and not a ban.

With thoughtful inputs from both the private and public sectors, Indian policymakers can lead the way to provide clear regulatory guidance that can manage and mitigate these risks ultimately helping Indian businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators, and consumers to benefit from blockchain technologies and digital assets in safe and meaningful ways.

As Gupta mentioned, A thoughtful regulatory approach will also ensure Indias competitive edge is maintained in a similar fashion to other countries in Asia such as Singapore and Japan, who have taken forward-looking approaches to regulating digital assets, which in turn has triggered innovation and encouraged more enterprise use cases of digital assets.

Read more:
Does Cryptocurrency Have a Short-lived hope in India - CXOToday.com

Lets look at how traders with clean capital pick the right cryptocurrency exchange. Read on and youll be a pro at finding places that fit safety demands.

Losing honest capital is more painful than losing grey money.Picking the right cryptocurrency exchange is essential in terms of self-protection against dirty capital. The less you mix your funds with unknown money, the fewer troubles you get.

Never submit fake documents or the IDs of your relatives to the exchange. Because the exchanges will notice and fight such tricks. You can use both local and international passports to pass the KYC check, as well as a drivers license.

The exchanges have substantial resources to cover their main capital from dirty coins and illicit fiat money. This includes a team of people who will perform checks of new traders to identify that they are not laundering money for criminals.

For those who want to prove that they wont do bad things, a couple of simple methods are in use by the cryptocurrency exchanges. For example, the staff may ask you to join a short video interview via Skype or Zoom with the representative asking questions about you. Not every cryptocurrency exchange has the legal right to perform such a check as it depends on the jurisdiction.

However, in most cases, you will have a brief chat with the exchange KYC department in English. If your language is bad, prepare some answers beforehand. Please, be polite: they first look at how you behave, and only then at your answers.

Sometimes an exchange is temporarily seizing the funds because they suspect a user in illegal activity. If your deposit got banned, immediately write to the support. They will respond with clarifications about what is the cause. The possible reason behind the ban is that they may want to doublecheck the results of the AML software analysis.

Companies like Chainalysis, Crystal Blockchain, QLUE, CipherTrace, and others help exchanges identify the connections between addresses and coins. You may not be involved in some scam operations, but your donators or employers could have received coins from anywhere. When withdrawing cryptocurrency, be sure that your coins are from known sources. In case the exchange asks where did you get the money from, send them a proof that you received payment for legal work, trading (or whatever reason) and that should be enough.

To avoid the headache, check the funds that you receive on a personal wallet. Do it before sending coins on the exchanges by yourself. Use the checking tools available for free. For instance, Ethereum block explorer Etherscan.io allows checking the address reputations using a built-in scanner.

More than that, Huobi exchange has recently launched Star Atlas, a tool that checks crypto addresses regarding illegal funds origin. You can also search for bitcoin addresses via oxt.me, which is a free tool with the extensive data feed.

Many of the exchanges dont perform an external audit. The external audit helps traders understand that the exchange indeed stores the funds it claims to have.

In case they lose your money after a hack, or because of the inside job, you wont be able to return the funds. Mt.Gox, QuadrigaCX, and BTC-e investors didnt receive any compensation despite time-costly legal proceedings. Years are passing, and people spending more and more money on judicial matters without a fair result. This is what you may accept via license agreement when signing up.

On January 30, 2019, American crypto exchange Gemini declared a full check by Deloitte auditors. They checked the integrity and privacy of the mechanisms according to System and Organization Controls (SOC) Type 2:

SOC 2 examinations are specifically designed to address controls at a service organization relevant to the systems at the service organization used to process users data. This included a review of Geminis exchange application, infrastructure, and underlying customer database, as well as its institutional-grade cryptocurrency storage system that custodies the private keys of Geminis online and offline wallets.

Before the mentioned audit, Gemini asked the auditing firm BPM to check the backing of Gemini Dollar (GUSD), which is a stablecoin issued by the exchange.

As of December 31, 2018, the exchange did hold the promise. The Gemini dollar bank accounts hold sufficient funds to back GUSD. It makes the stablecoin safe to use instead of the usual U.S. dollar and some other stablecoins.

Heres another case. The Kraken exchange allowed European Fidor Bank executive Edward Stadum to look under the hood of the exchanges inner workings. He was so impressed with the crypto accounting that he left Fidor to join Kraken as General Counsel. Kraken offered the users to independently verify that their holdings are safe. Heres some information on how they did an audit called Proof of Reserves with the help of cryptography. Worth noting that no official reports are released after the audit.

Before doing business with an exchange, please take some time to verify that the creators are known persons. They must have a long history of doing business in the banking or crypto industry. Legitimate exchanges will only onboard people with great roots in finance or IT. Surprisingly, many of the exchanges are still run by anonymous people or someone who has connections with fraud.

Type the names of the founders in the Google search field and add scam, financial fraud or investigation. Also, check some of the Telegram crypto channels specializing in crypto industry scam busting. Many of those channels keep unofficial information about the exchanges and their founders. Mainstream media will not publish that information until the emergence of official documents and major press pieces that confirm the allegations. Unofficial sources are useful in due diligence and OSINT efforts, yet must be taken with caution.

Please, look for the domain name information for the exchange too. Is the domain registered in 2018-2020? Maybe the exchange has low traffic per Similarweb, Alexa, Google? Its better to avoid using it. Established exchanges are much better in terms of novice trading. After you gain more experience, proceed to less known exchanges (if needed).

Take note that registration in Estonia may be a red flag. Any crypto company that is registered in Estonia may have shady operations behind. Estonian government canceled more than 500 crypto licenses in June 2020. Too many fraudsters were using the official registration in the EU to fool investors (and to launder money). Per Andre Nomm from the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA):

[Estonia was] probably giving out those permits too easily to God knows what companies.

They are reconsidering their licenses to make the registration harder. It is a measure advised by the big EU regulators a long time ago.

Analytics by The Tie found that some exchanges may fake up to 90% of their trading volume. The data was gathered via a calculation of expected volume per trader in regards to the total trade volume reported by the exchanges:

If each exchange averaged the volume per visit of CoinbasePro, Gemini, Poloniex, Binance, and Kraken, we would expect the real trading volume among the largest 100 exchanges to equal $2.1B per day. Currently, that number is being reported as $15.9B.

Analysts from the Blockchain Transparency Institute (BTI) and Bitwise came to similar conclusions. However, CoinMarketCap CTO Mauris Ledford did not agree with Bitwise regarding their findings. During an exclusive interview for Coinspeaker, he calls the wash trading study incredibly slippery slope.

Whether the researchers provide accurate data or not, try using the exchanges that represent less of a risk.

There are many websites where you can look up feedback from traders and even exchange workers. Those include Reddit, Bitcointalk, Twitter, Glassdoor, TrustPilot, and more. Please take into consideration that some of those websites allow any person to leave a comment under any companys profile. So the competing exchanges can simply emulate negative sentiment to gain market share.

However, in the case of Reddit and Bitcointalk threads, there is a clear need to respond to allegations. People usually post under nicknames with rich posting history. Its hard to maintain an army of bots without anyone noticing.

So the exchange representatives and even CEOs are posting replies to negative comments on Reddit, Twitter, and Bitcointalk. Usually, traders are angry because the exchange froze their withdrawal request for compliance reasons. For instance, heres the comment with a claim that Kraken is forcing the user to buy crypto and to withdraw his $312,000 balance in 24 hours.

CEO Kraken Jesse Powell responded in the thread, and if you look at the details, the exchange did help the user to save his money. Because it was not the exchanges problem, simply the bank refused to process transactions for this person.

But sometimes exchanges ignore such threads, which may indicate that they wont listen to you in case of trouble. Look close at any responses from the exchange staff. Was it helpful? Did the user get his funds back? Exchanges are not government agencies, they dont have the right to freeze the accounts of the users for months. Even if the user sent so-called tainted coins to the exchange, they should return the money within a few days.

Unfortunately, some of the exchanges and coin swap services confiscate cryptocurrencies and not give them back even after the trader submits proof of legitimacy. Only after he creates a ton of complaints across crypto forums, the staff may show up to answer and return the money. Please note that legitimate critics tend to post the ticket number or transaction IDs in the claim.

Many of the exchanges are creating the stablecoins to compete with Tether (USDT). Tether is the first stablecoin in the history of cryptocurrency. It enjoys wide usage by the exchanges and other companies but has certain problems with backing. Tether is supported by Bifinex exchange, and there are more than 9.2 billion tethers now in circulation.

Stablecoins are a convenient way of storing wealth at the times of Bitcoins extreme volatility. Pegged to fiat money, they help reduce the volatility of a portfolio. Exchanges are using Tether to transmit money without losing in price and speed. When it comes to stablecoin security, the cryptocurrency exchange must confirm that the coin has full backing. However, not every exchange do so.

You must check whether the Web has any reports regarding the stablecoin backing. In general, try to avoid mainstream stablecoins such as Tether. Because there are certain concerns about the backing and minting mechanisms.

Always check that the cryptocurrency exchange is not participating in stealing the forked coins. The most famous examples are Ethereum Classic (ETC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Bitcoin SV (BSV). Since those projects appear as a result of a chain split, the only way to claim your new coins is to possess the original private keys. Exchanges, OTC desks, other custodians who control the keys on your behalf may refuse to distribute forked coins citing maximalist ideology or some other reason.

Even despite some people may hate new coins, those are still money. It is highly recommended to withdraw the coins from a cryptocurrency exchange in case you have read the news about the upcoming chain split. After the split happens, you can send the original coins back to the exchange, while leaving the forked coins for yourself.

See more here:
Tips and Tricks for Picking the Right Cryptocurrency... - Coinspeaker

New Jersey, United States,- The report is a must-have for business strategists, participants, consultants, researchers, investors, entrepreneurs, and other interested parties associated with the Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Market. It is also a highly useful resource for those looking to foray into the Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware market. Besides Porters Five Forces and SWOT analysis, it offers detailed value chain assessment, comprehensive study on market dynamics including drivers, restraints, and opportunities, recent trends, and industry performance analysis. Furthermore, it digs deep into critical aspects of key subjects such as market competition, regional growth, and market segmentation so that readers could gain sound understanding of the Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware market.

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Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Market by Type:

YYYY

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North America (The USA, Canada, and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, the UK, and Rest of Europe)Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, and Rest of Asia Pacific)Latin America (Brazil and Rest of Latin America.)Middle East &Africa (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, South Africa, and Rest of Middle East & Africa)

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Market Share by Region: It provides regional market shares by production and revenue besides giving details about gross margin, price, and other factors related to the growth of regional markets studied in the report. The review period considered here is 2015-2019.

Company Profiles: Each player is assessed for its market growth in terms of different factors such as markets served, gross margin, price, revenue, production, product specification, and areas served.

Manufacturing Cost Analysis: It is sub-divided into four chapters, viz. industrial chain analysis, manufacturing process analysis, manufacturing cost structure, and key raw materials analysis.

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Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Market 2020 Key Players, Share, Trend, Segmentation and Forecast to 2026 - Cole of Duty

Rumours of a second wave of efforts to ban cryptocurrency in India emerged late last week in an article that appeared in The Economic Times.

The article, which was entitled With a law, India plans lasting ban on crypto, contained information from a senior government official who apparently told the publication that a note [presumably on crypto] has been moved (by the finance ministry) for inter-ministerial consultations.

The Most Diverse Audience to Date at FMLS 2020 Where Finance Meets Innovation

In other words, the Indian Ministry of Finance reportedly passed a draft cabinet note with the intention of setting up a legal framework that would ban cryptocurrencies in India.

The Economic Times article claimed that the mysterious note was written as a reaction to the Supreme Court Ruling earlier this year that overturned a ban that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had placed on banks to prevent them from having working relationships with cryptocurrency exchanges.

While the Economic Times report didnt reveal any specific information about what exactly the note contained, the article also claimed that in order to get a ban on the books, the government could return to a July 2019 draft law that proposed all forms of cryptocurrency would be banned, and that anyone caught holding them would face a fine and up to 10 years imprisonment.

CoinDesk reported that the note did seem analogous to a draft proposal bill published by a government panel chaired by former Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, entitled Banning of Cryptocurrency & Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019.

Although the report recognizes blockchain technology is an important new and innovative technology, the report also expresses serious concern that the use of cryptocurrencies in India seems to be mushroomingwhich is to say, growing at an incredible pace.

However, shortly after the Economic Times report was published, doubts emerged over how serious the threat of a potential ban actually was.

Indeed, the news that came out is based on a note, the contents of which are unclear, said Nischal Shetty, founder and chief executive of Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX. Its not clear whether the finance ministry intends to work upon the old draconian crypto bill or whether they plan to work on bringing a new bill.

Shetty added that even if the note was an indication that a proposal to ban the use of cryptocurrencies was going to begin making its way through Indias legislative system, it could take some time.

I want to add that if at all it becomes a law, it has to go through the following stages first: 1. Form a committee; 2. Create a draft; 3. Industry consultation; [and] 4. Parliamentary approval, he said, adding that therefore, I dont think theres anything to worry about the note as of now.

Still, there is some concern that if the government would return to its July 2019 draft law that initially proposed a ban on cryptocurrencies, the process could go more quickly than usual.

However, at the same time, a spokesperson from Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX told Finance Magnates that even if the bill is up for reconsideration, this could be a part of a normal course of events that takes place around building regulations.

Reconsidering past bills is likely part of the process of forming clearer regulations around cryptocurrencies in India, the spokesperson said. Requiring inter-ministerial consultations, as well as possible consultations with the crypto industry, this may just be the first step in developing more clear and defined rules around crypto regulations in India.

Therefore, CoinDCX also believes that there is no reason to be alarmed, as there are no indicative signs of crypto being banned in India.

Instead, the consensus among crypto industry insiders in India seems to be that the Indian crypto industry is not an asset that the Indian government can afford to loseparticularly after the spread of COVID-19.

The crypto ecosystem and technology evolves quickly, WazirXs Nischal Shetty told Finance Magnates.

Were all well aware of the devastating impact that COVID-19 pandemic has had on our economy. Most industry sectors have laid off lakhs of people, and crypto is one of the very few sectors that is hiring today.

Therefore, its in Indias best interest to encourage such a fast-growing sector. There are more than 5 million crypto users in India, and Im confident that our Prime Minister wont let us down. With the right regulation, governments will be able to ensure AML and other guidelines are effectively followed. A blanket ban is not a solution, and I dont believe India will go for a sub-optimal solution here.

CoinDCX has also observed monumental growth in Indias cryptocurrency industry, particularly after the Supreme Court overturned RBIs ban earlier this year.

The Indian crypto market has flourished since the lifting by the Supreme Court of the initial banking restrictions on crypto earlier this year, CoinDCX told Finance Magnates.

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We have also seen record numbers in trading volumes and user adoption in the months which came after. This unprecedented growth within the Indian cryptocurrency sector was brought about by the new legitimacy that the ruling provided for cryptocurrencies, and is a sign that there is a future for crypto in India.

However, not everyone is so optimistic.

Ethan Taub, founder of Loanry, told Finance Magnates that he believes that a ban is likely to be put in place: not only there are a number of corrupt officials in power but there is an unlikely scenario of cryptocurrencies having a number of conversion rates in order to apply to the norm of Indias prices of goods and services, he said.

However, Meher Apuroop, Administrative Manager at crypto asset management company Two Prime, told Finance Magnates that he believes that some of the key players in Indias governmentin addition to the population at largeare pro-crypto.

Both the public in general and the current ruling political classes are pro-crypto, Apuroop told Finance Magnates, adding a claim that I can confirm this personally as an advisor to one of the senior members of Indias ruling party, [the] Bharatiya Janata Party, HRH Prakash Gurunath, who is also in the inner circle of Prime Minister Modi and Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, that Mr. Modi, personally, is in fact, very much a fan of Bitcoin.

Personal preferences of officials aside, Apuroop also told Finance Magnates that instituting a complete ban is unlikely due to the logistical challenges that it would present.

It has been proven to be technically impossible to impose such a complete blanket ban, he said. For example, P2P torrent downloading and porn sites have been officially banned in India for almost a decade, but it hardly put a dent in their usage by way of VPNs and proxies. Similarly, they would never be able to curb crypto.

Indeed, the current legislative class knows that when you put a ban on things deemed useful by the masses, its trade merely moves underground but its usage is never truly stopped, creating an unnecessary burden on law enforcement agencies, Apuroop explained.

Therefore, Apuroop believes that its better to allow it to happen through mainstream channels.

But if a ban is indeed very unlikely to happen, why does the issue of a complete ban on cryptocurrencies in India keep rearing its head in the first place?

WazirXs Nischal Schetty explained to Finance Magnates that it stems due to lack of information or understanding around it.

[] This has happened before with Internet, with taxi cab aggregators like Ola or Uber, or with Fintech apps when they were in early stage, he added. Its upon us to educate our decision-makers and masses.

Additionally, CoinDCX told Finance Magnates that the journey towards a state of well-defined, clear regulations that protects the interests of investors, companies, and the industry at whole is a complex process requiring months, if not years, of carefully considering and deliberating what is best for the nation.

And this process of deliberation involves dealing with fear and resistance from established systems: just as it has come up in many major countries, the old bureaucracy resists things and systems that are new, Two Primes Meher Apuroop explained.The banking system they regularly associated with, sees it as a threat to its existence instead of seeing it as a complementary entity.

However, Apurooplike CoinDCX and Nischal Shettybelieves that it will only be a matter of time before a healthy set of regulations are in place.

Eventually they will end up accepting and adjusting the system to it as they did with the advent of the internet, mobile technology, digital banking and governance, app services like Uber and Amazon, Apuroop told Finance Magnates.

And what could a set of healthy regulations look like for India?

It all begins with the legislative process: we believe that regulators and the government of India will preserve the same open-minded stance that they had in the Supreme Court case, CoinDCX told Finance Magnates.

That is an ideal situation for the industry because the key decision-makers in the government were willing to engage with stakeholders and crypto industry leaders in open dialogue about the future of the industry. We are confident that a similarly communicative approach will be taken in making this decision this time round.

WazirXs Nischal Shetty also told Finance Magnates that there are already efforts to create regulations for the industry underway, albeit from outside the Indian government: the global financial watchdog, FATF has issued guidelines which encourage regulation, and not a crypto ban, he said.

Additionally, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is working on a code of conduct for cryptocurrency companies in India. This will lay out guidelines for KYC/AML and other regulatory-related features.

More generally speaking, however, when it comes to regulating crypto, Im positive that India will follow the footsteps of developed countries like Japan, USA, UK, Australia, and more which have embraced crypto.

In the meantime, however, Indias crypto industry is continuing to grow: our signups and daily volume have been rapidly increasing since the banking ban was removed, Nischal said.

Due to the lockdown in India, people have had more time on hand to read about crypto, and it leads them to WazirX to buy crypto for the first time. India is seeing a lot of new people entering the crypto ecosystem.

Similarly, CoinDCX told Finance Magnates that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, CoinDCX witnessed a 10x increase in user sign-ups and 47% growth in trading volumes in Q1 alone. National interest and curiosity in cryptocurrencies was at a new high, and the nationwide lockdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that Indians spent more time at home.

What are your perceptions on the growth of Indias cryptocurrency industry? Let us know in the comments below.

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Is Indias Crypto Industry on the Brink of a Ban or a Boom? - Finance Magnates

Data obtained fromChainalysis,a leading crypto data analytic firm, thefour biggestcryptoexchanges since 2018Coinbase,Binance,Huobi, andBitfinexreceived about 40% of all BTCs via exchanges this year.

The next ten crypto exchanges collected 36% in a combined volume of BTCs leaving other smaller exchanges to share out the remaining 24% of transfer volume.

Chainalysis, in a detailed report, also analyzed that though about 96% of retail traders made most of the transactions, the professional traders controlled most of the volume;

READ MORE: Difference between an Emerging Market and a Frontier Market

Retail traders, whom we categorize as those who deposit less than $10,000 USD worth of Bitcoin on exchanges at a time, appear to be the large majority, accounting for 96% of all transfers sent to exchanges on an average weekly basis.

Professional traders, however, control the liquidity of the market, accounting for 85% of all the USD value of Bitcoin value sent to exchanges, the report said.

Chainalysis also concluded that Bitcoins supply makes it similar to gold, giving it a safe haven asset status as digital gold.

READ MORE: Bitcoin Cash gains 65% since March, shows more stability

But this digital gold is supported by an active trading market for those who prefer to buy and sell frequently. The 3.5 million Bitcoin used for trading supplies the market, and, in interaction with the level of demand, determine theprice.

The report by Chainalysisalso spoke about where Bitcoin presentlystays. Itsaid;

Roughly 60% of Bitcoin that is not lost is held by a licensed custodial service, or as FATF would refer to it, a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP). Most cryptocurrency exchanges would fall into this category, along with hosted wallets.

Explore advanced financial calculators on Nairametrics

As we can see, this share has risen steadily over time, reflecting the growth of custodial cryptocurrency businesses as Bitcoin has gone more mainstream.

The dominance of VASPs becomes even clearer when we consider that, of the remaining 40% of available Bitcoin, which is not currently held by VASPs, 87% has passed through a VASP at some point.

Mostpeople either hold their Bitcoin on VASPs, or acquire their Bitcoin from VASPs.

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Ethereum wallets holding at least 0.1 ETH just crossed the 3 million mark for the first time - Nairametrics

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investors, feeling bullish amid a broad post-coronavirus crash rally, are seeing massive gains from some smaller cryptocurrencies.

The bitcoin price, under pressure since its latest attempt to breach the $10,000 per bitcoin level last week failed, is stuck on a downward trendbut other digital assets are soaring.

Following its launch just this week, decentralized finance protocol Compounds comp token has surged over 200%, giving it a market value of around $2 billion, according to some calculations.

The bitcoin price has added some 30% so far this year but bitcoin's recent rally has stalled-even as ... [+] some smaller cryptocurrencies are making massive gains.

Users of the Compound lending platform began earning comp tokens this week, with the cryptocurrency getting a boost from major U.S. bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announcing it will begin listing the token.

"Once sufficient supply of comp is established on the platform, trading on our comp-USD and comp-BTC order books will start in phases, beginning with post-only mode and proceeding to full trading should our metrics for a healthy market be met," Coinbase said in a blog post.

Comp has this week become the 25th most valuable cryptocurrency, according to CoinMarketCap data, with its price surging to over $200 per token, up from around $60 at the beginning of the week.

Some early calculations, which are inconsistent due to comp's immaturity, have put the total value of comp's combined tokens in circulation at a little over $2 billion.

Others, that count fewer comp tokens in circulating supply, put the cryptocurrency's value at around $500 millionin comparison bitcoin's market capitalization is just over $170 billion.

Comp, a so-called governance token that allows holders to influence the Compound protocol, are awarded every day to users of the decentralized finance platform.

Comp is currently only listed on a handful of smaller cryptocurrency exchanges, prompting some bitcoin and crypto market watchers to warn the sudden price surge could be short-lived.

"Most of comps price fluctuations are a function of the tiny float. I wouldn't read too much into the current price," Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner of Dragonfly Capital, told bitcoin and crypto industry news outlet Coindesk this week.

As the bitcoin price treads water, the comp price has soared almost 250% since it began trading ... [+] earlier this week.

Decentralized finance, often known as DeFi, has emerged as a popular growth area for bitcoin's blockchain technology, sparking a frenzy of speculation that echos the 2017 cryptocurrency and initial coin offering bubble.

DeFi platforms, blockchain-enabled systems that are often based on the ethereum network, allow for the lending and trading of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets without the need for centralized intermediaries like banks and exchanges.

"DeFi is hitting its stride and the space will continue to accelerate," research firm Delphi Digital wrote in a report out this week.

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As Bitcoin Struggles, This New Crypto Has Soared 250% To A Massive $2 Billion Valuation - Forbes

Akon City, a futuristic cryptocurrency themed city founded by famous singer Akon, is ready to begin construction, with a plan to use the akoin cryptocurrency exclusively. Phase one of Akon Citys construction will include roads, a hospital, a mall, hotels, and a school. There will also be parks, universities, a stadium, and an industrial complex.

The $6 billion city in Senegal billed a futuristic cryptocurrency themed city, founded by Senegalese-American star and philanthropist Akon, has awarded its building contract to KE International, a U.S.-based engineering firm. Akon City announced earlier this month:

Akon Citys phase 1 is expected to complete by end of 2023, and will see the construction of roads, a Hamptons Hospital campus, a Hamptons Mall, residences, hotels, a police station, a school, a waste facility and a solar power plant.

Akon, whose full name is Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam, is a famous singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He has sold over 35 million albums worldwide and received 5 Grammy nominations for The Sweet Escape, Bartender, Konvicted, I Wanna Love You, and Smack That.

Akoin is a cryptocurrency powered by a marketplace of tools and services fueling the dreams of entrepreneurs, business owners, and social activists as they connect and engage across the rising economies of Africa and beyond, the projects website details. According to Thursdays announcement:

Akon City phase 2 will run from 2024 to 2029 and will end with a complete cryptocurrency city running exclusively on akoin cryptocurrency.

For Akon Citys first and second phases of building, KE International has secured $4 billion from investors. Dubai based Bakri & Associates Development Consultants will lead the architectural designs of Akon City under KE Internationals guidance.

Akon City will be located near Mbodime, a small coastal village in the west of Senegal, West Africa, less than an hours drive south of the new Blaise Diagne International airport in Dakar. Aimed to be a tourist city with a cryptocurrency-based economy, Akon City plans to have parks, universities, schools, a stadium, hotels, and an industrial complex fully completed by 2030. Akon first announced his plan to build Akon City in 2018, stating at the time that he was working with the Senegalese government on the project.

The city plans to exclusively use the akoin cryptocurrency, which has been described as a stablecoin built on the Stellar payment network. The akoin cryptocurrency is also to be used in Mwale Medical and Technology City (MMTC), a green city based in Western Kenya, which KE International is also building. Commenced in 2014, the construction project is 85% done and expected to complete in December this year. Recently, it partnered with the Akoin platform for its blockchain-based digital transactions. Akon hopes his akoin crypto will be used all over Africa where a significant portion of the population remains unbanked but smartphones are widely used.

What do you think about Akon City exclusively using the akoin cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Akon City: $6 Billion Cryptocurrency City Set to Begin Construction | News - Bitcoin News

Technically, Bitcoin is to cryptocurrency what US dollar is to fiat money

In Bitcoin Halving, the number of Bitcoins rewarded for processing transactions is cut down to half

Crypto investors have already made millions through bitcoins

The situation was no less than an edge-of-the-seat thriller for crypto investors and enthusiasts on 11 May as they witnessed a remarkable event, perhaps, since the inception of Bitcoin. Though a leap year-like event, the recent Bitcoin Halving has been phenomenal because it took place with the economic backdrop akin to the Great Recession of 2008 which eventually gave birth to the cryptocurrency. It barely came as a surprise that Bitcoins value doubled from mid-Marchs approx. $4,944 to more than $9,900 as the halving date neared.

Technically, Bitcoin is to cryptocurrency what the US dollar is to fiat money. Its prices and trading volumes are used as a benchmark to gauge the performance of other cryptocurrencies. In practice, it functions like gold and is used as an investment instrument to balance the portfolio. But how does halving affect the Bitcoin and, by extension, the cryptocurrency market? Let us try and understand.

In a typical scenario, the demand-supply of fiat currency (such as the US Dollar, Euro, or INR) determines its value. It is further controlled by the regulatory policies and dependent on government reserves. Almost the same phenomenon works in the case of cryptocurrencies in a different format.

Their value is mostly determined by what people are willing to pay. It makes them susceptible to fluctuations and supply-demand dynamics. Since Bitcoin is a digital distributed ledger system, it is neither printed anywhere nor controlled by a particular sovereign body. It is mined using computational powers by miners who are then rewarded for solving complex mathematical problems. The Bitcoins blockchain, however, regulates this reward leveraging the halving method.

For the uninitiated, whenever a set of digital transactions take place forming a block on the blockchain, the individuals successfully verifying these transactions are rewarded by the network. The reward which is the main force behind the operation of the entire system comes in the form of additional Bitcoins. This is much like printing of fiat currency by a central bank. However, by design, Bitcoins blockchain cannot have more than 21 million Bitcoins. This aspect itself makes it a prized commodity.

In Bitcoin Halving, the number of Bitcoins rewarded for processing transactions is cut down to half which helps in maintaining the fixed supply of Bitcoin. Therefore, the process of halving is significant as it underpins the value of cryptocurrency.

The process is a leap year-like event that occurs after approximately 21 Mn blocks, reducing the reward supply by 50 per cent every time in a geometrical progression. Halving has taken place thrice since cryptocurrency came into being, including the recent event. The block reward before the first halving was 50 Bitcoins. The most-recent Bitcoin reward was 12.5. The third and the latest has now decreased the reward further to 6.25 coins.

From an economic perspective, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are the best hedge against fiat currencies which have an unlimited supply. When the supply goes down, scarcity makes the price shoot up. The principle works on similar lines of Gold but is governed completely by coding. Consequently, a parabola in Bitcoins price can be observed every four years.

From a historical perspective, each time the halving took place, it has raised the price of Bitcoin to an all-time high. The first event that occurred in November 2012 saw a surge from $11 to $1,000, while the second incident in July 2016, significantly helped to increase its value from $700 to $20,000. Both of the events indicate that while the supply of Bitcoin decreases during the process, the demand remains the same, which pushes the price up.

Despite a near-two-fold return in two months, this years halving event is expected to have its true impact when the economy recovers, thereby pouring more liquidity and driving the investor sentiments. It must be noted that these appreciating numbers come at a time when, year to date, bitcoin is performing better than the traditional commodities of investment. The assured hike in figures is mainly due to investors continual interest in bitcoin as an asset class. This steady increment could draw new players into the crypto ecosystem.

However, with rewards cut to half, the current value of $9,195 (at press time) may prove insufficient to keep less-efficient miners operating in the long run. This may result due to a shift in market dynamics.

Right now, the world is undergoing a major financial shift. Due to the pandemic-induced black swan event, the cryptocurrency has too witnessed its share of brief volatility. However, if the price of any fiat currency falls, the value of Bitcoin rises for that currency. Hence, at present, people are also leveraging bitcoin as a hedge investment to protect against the devaluation of fiat currency, which includes cash, bank savings, mutual funds, and so on.

Crypto investors have already made millions through bitcoins and the digital currency continues to attract institutional investors who perceive it as a store of value. Given the current market condition, it wont be surprising to see the bitcoin ecosystem grow further and give rise to a new class of millionaires.

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Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin Has Halved: What It Actually Means? - Inc42 Media