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Motherboard and Mijente Present SURVEILLANCE PANDEMIC with Edward Snowden and Naomi Klein – VICE

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Spy planes, helicopters, and drones surveilled hundreds of thousands of Americans around the country as they took to the streets to protest the police killing of George Floyd and racist police. Meanwhile, a series of surveillance startups are using the coronavirus pandemic to track people, analyze outbreaks, and otherwise attempt to legitimize their technology.

Tomorrow join Motherboard and Mijente at SURVEILLANCE PANDEMIC, a discussion between NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, author and Intercept senior correspondent Naomi Klein, Mijente campaign organizer Jacinta Gonzlez, and Motherboard staff writer Edward Ongweso Jr. discuss how technology is used against Black Lives Matters protesters, undocumented immigrants, and Black and brown communities more broadly.

The discussion is being hosted by Mijente, an organizing and action hub hoping to develop and spark social change within the Latinx and Chicanx community.

Mijente also leads the No Tech for ICE campaign, which is working to get tech companies to take a stand against ICE by committing to stop working with the federal agency as it continues deportations and raids during the pandemic.

Surveillance Pandemic: Mijente and Motherboard in Conversation with Naomi Klein and Edward Snowden, will be streaming on the VICE News YouTube and the Motherboard Facebook tomorrow at 6 p.m. EDT.

This article originally appeared on VICE US.

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Motherboard and Mijente Present SURVEILLANCE PANDEMIC with Edward Snowden and Naomi Klein - VICE

Review: Permanent Record Of The Whistleblower Who Freed The Internet – Youth Ki Awaaz

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Snowden. Still from the video NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: I dont want to live in a society that does these sort of things||Credits: The Guardian

Seven years ago in June 2013, the world was introduced to a young NSA Contractor, through a shortvideorunning onthe Guardian, who would go on to unveil the transgressions of the most powerful government and warn the world about the lingering dangers of mass surveillance.

My name is Edward Joseph Snowden. I used to work for the government, but now I work for the public, writes an unperturbedSnowdenin the opening lines of his brazen memoir,Permanent Record, as a laser-focused statement of fact.

The world knows Snowden as the whistleblower whose days in Hong Kong in 2013 and escape to Moscow were as dramatic as a Hollywood thriller. Citizenfour, an Academy Award-winning documentary byLaura Poitras, andSnowden, a feature film by Oliver Stone, have already reconstructed those days on the reel. Luke Hardings book,The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the Worlds Most Wanted Man, is also a good account of the disclosures.

Hence, the challenge before Snowden was to go beyond what had been already said. And Permanent Recorddoes just that. Its a book with a soul, which is Snowdens moral righteousness. For me,Permanent Record is the raw, unfettered tale of the moral dilemma surrounding a man who, in his own words, knew too much. A lot more than he should have known, and perhaps it was the curse of this knowledge that compelled him to do what he eventually did.

A huge proponent of civil liberties, it was Snowdens tryst with the creative web in his early childhood, which led him to discover his passion, technology for social good. Angered by the dismal state of student voice at school, and at times, undermined at home, the web became his free and fair companion of growth, one where his age, or identity didnt matter at all. He vividly describes his early encounters on the internet, and aptly describes how the internet of today is unrecognizable from its former self.

But perhaps the core of all his revelations lied in the unique position of the government and its affairs that he underlines. It is at this juncture that he realized that to defeat this absolute power corrupting the state absolutely, he had to find the ultimate hack, transcending the reach of the law, while relying on the ever-increasing pace of technology.

Permanent Record is this exceptional account of how Snowden finally took that leap of faith, ending up making the choice he made, and finding refuge in the act of serving a cause, far above his own existence. It is a tale of fine decision making, one that relies on years of acquired wisdom and precision that only someone as talented as Snowden could achieve. The 29 chapters demystify, one by one, both the ideologies that guided the then-29-year-old NSA contractor and the lessons he derived from his lived experiences, eventually leading him towards that final act of courage.

But most importantly, it is a book about trust. The trust that Snowden had in the ideals of liberty and freedom that Americas founding fathers had laid in the Constitution, a copy of which he would toss around to tease his co-workers. The trust that he had laid in himself, his capabilities as a planner and decision-maker, and in his belief of doing the right thing. The trust that a range of his supporters showed in both him and his story, one that compelled them to lead a crusade against the state for his existence, albeit in exile! And the trust that his family and the love of his life had put in him, one that comforted him during his most difficult moments, eventually paving way for the ending that his story duly deserved!

It is this power of human connection that I discovered in these lines (from a Kindle notebook full of highlights), that cant even be attributed to the man himself, but to the one whose love makes life out of exile for him.

How could we have known that our own lives were about to erupt? That volcano Ed was going to destroy everything? But I remember the guide at Kilauea saying that volcanoes are only destructive in the short term. In the long term, they move the world. They create islands, cool the planet, and enrich the soil. Their lava flows uncontrolled and then cools and hardens. The ash they shoot into the air sprinkles down as minerals, which fertilize the earth and make new life grow.

If youre a 22-year-old (or above) like me, you would perhaps be very different from the one we find at the end of Chapter 10, and would be well versed with all the technical transgressions of our respective governments on our digital lives. For us, Snowdens legacy is indeed like that of this volcano that erupted with his disclosures. Thanks to him, and the other crusaders of a free and fair internet, we now live in a world where a lot of our communication is encrypted, and most of us are acutely aware of the dangers surrounding the ownership of our data.

Yet, every time we tick those boxes carelessly while granting permissions to a myriad of applications, we become complicit. Our systems are still not adept at providing a safety net to those who would go on to blow the whistle, and we definitely have a long way to go when it comes to strengthening the dialogue that Snowden and his peers generated.

The developments post the memoirs publication are also worth noting and offer a quick glance at the bleak picture!

Shortly after its publication in September 2019, the U.S. Government filed a civil lawsuit contending that publication was in violation of the non-disclosure agreements he signed with both the CIA and the National Security Agency (NSA). They claimed that the release of the book without pre-publication review by the agencies was in violation of his express obligations.Snowdens lawyers had argued that if the author had believed that the government would review his book in good faith, he would have submitted it for review.

Soon after in December, Snowden was told that he is not entitled to the profits from his book and any money made must go to the U.S. Government, a judge had ruled. If this wasnt enough, the Chinese government too resorted to censuring the publication!An undeterred Snowden responded to these challenges by claiming, The government may steal a dollar, but it cannot erase the idea that earned it I wrote this book for you, and I hope the governments ruthless desperation to prevent its publication only inspires you to read it and then gift it to another.

Thus for me, Snowden remains the Villain we desperately needed and the Hero we perhaps did not deserve!

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Review: Permanent Record Of The Whistleblower Who Freed The Internet - Youth Ki Awaaz

Privacy-Focused OS Wants to Know How Facebook and the FBI Hacked it – VICE

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The developers of a privacy-focused operating system championed by Edward Snowden are scrambling to find out the details of a hack that the FBI usedand Facebook paid forto unmask a child predator.

Last week, Motherboard revealed that Facebook had paid six figures to a cybersecurity firm to develop a hacking tool that the company then handed to the FBI in 2017. At the time, Facebook and law enforcement had spent years tracking a California man, who went by the name of Brian Kil online. The man, whose real name was Buster Hernandez, was using Facebook to harass and extort teenage girls, forcing them to send nude pictures of themselves, threatening to kill them and murder their friends.

The hacking tool relied on an unknown flawalso called a zero-day in hacker lingoin the default video player included in Tails, a well-known Linux-based operating system thats used by journalists, dissidents, human rights activists, and security-focused users all over the world. For example, Tails is part of the anonymous tip submission system SecureDrop, which is used by dozens of newsrooms all over the world, including VICE.

Tails key feature is that all internet traffic gets routed through Tor, a network that encrypts and anonymizes connections, masking the users real IP address.

They should have been notified.

The exploit funded by Facebook allowed FBI agents to identify the user's real IP address, which then allowed them to identify Brian Kil as Hernandez. Technically speaking, this hack could have been used against activists and other sensitive people by law enforcement or authoritarian governments. Motherboard reported that Facebook did not inform Tails of the exploit, and decided it was OK to use it because Tails was incidentally patching out the exploit as part of an unrelated update.

But Tails developers, as well as privacy and security experts, agree that, update or not, Facebook should have alerted Tails once the FBI operation was over. Three years later, that has not happened yet, and the Tails developers, as well as the makers of the popular media player, called GNOME Videos, said they found out about all this through Motherboards article.

The only way for Tails to be sure that every single aspect of the zero-day is indeed fixed already is to learn about the full details of the zero-day, a Tails spokesperson said in an email, arguing that its possible that the flaw relied on a chain of other flaws that may still be partially unpatched. Without these full details, we cannot have a strong guarantee that our current users are 100 percent safe from this zero-day as of today.

Tails said that neither Facebook, the FBI, nor the cybersecurity firm hired by Facebook, has reached out to the developerseven after they reached out asking for an explanation.

Do you work or did you use to work at Facebook? Do you work for the FBI or develop hacking tools for law enforcement? Wed love to hear from you. You can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, OTR chat at lorenzofb@jabber.ccc.de, or email lorenzofb@vice.com

The developers of the targeted video player said they havent heard from anybody either.

GNOME was not previously aware of this story, and is not able to guess which vulnerability might have been exploited, a spokesperson for the GNOME Project, the developers of a free and open source desktop environment and the GNOME Videos player, which are both included in several Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, told Motherboard in an email.

The GNOME spokesperson said that they appreciated Facebook planning to report the vulnerability before discovering it was apparently already fixed, but many people who use their software may still be running an unpatched version. Thats why they expect the FBI or Facebook to contact them to make sure they can alert all users.

The security of law-abiding users is jeopardized when such vulnerabilities are not disclosed to us in a timely manner, the spokesperson wrote.

Facebook said they made an effort to reach out to Tails in the last week, and had confirmation from the FBI that this technique would be used for this case only. (The Tails spokesperson said that, as of Thursday, they had not heard from Facebook.)

I asked an FBI spokesperson whether the FBI used the hacking tool funded by Facebook in other cases, whether it still is in possession of it, and whether it submitted it to a government process that determines whether agencies should keep the flaw secret or notify the software makers, technically known as the Vulnerabilities Equities Process or VEP.

Appreciate you following up, but we still don't have a comment for you, the FBI spokesperson said.

Its unclear whether the zero-day flaw that the exploit relied on has been fixed. When they helped develop and paid for it, Facebook realized it was going to be fixed in an upcoming release, so they decided not to alert Tails developers, according to a former Facebook employee who worked on the project.

Thats perhaps beside the point. Should Facebook, the FBI, of the cybersecurity firm, have alerted Tails or GNOME after Buster Hernandez was safely behind bars?

They should have been notified, a current Facebook employee, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not allowed to speak to the press, told Motherboard.

According to several privacy and security experts, the answer is a resounding yes as well. In fact, many think Facebook should not have gotten involved in making and paying for the hacking tool in the first place.

Facebook is out of control at best and is making the world less safe for people who need anonymity to survive.

The fact that Facebook or any private company would think they had the right to commission the creation of malware against another software entity is so incredibly arrogant, said Katie Mossouris, who used to lead the vulnerability research teams at Microsoft and Symantec and is one of the worlds most well-known experts on coordinated disclosure. Security professionals worth their salt are worried about governments not making the right call when it comes to making decisions in the Vulnerability Equities Process, and were all supposed to be fine with that kind of decision resting in Facebooks hands?

According to Moussouris, what Facebook did in this case is more evidence that Facebook is out of control at best and is making the world less safe for people who need anonymity to survive.

Moussouris used the facepalm emoji when describing how she felt when she read the Motherboard story that revealed Facebooks role in the hacking of Hernandez.

I didnt think a vulnerability disclosure story could possibly horrify me after all these years, but here we are, she said in an online chat.

Harlo Holmes has been developing tools for journalists and activists for years, and now helps media organizations set up SecureDrop and trains their journalists to use tools such as Tails. Holmes said that Facebook needs to be more transparent as to what the vulnerability was exactly, and what the agreement with the FBI was.

"What was in that contract? Was it a one time use license against this one actor? Or did they just hand it over to the FBI and be like 'now this is in your arsenal now'?" Holmes said in a phone call. Those are very, very key questions.

Moreover, she said that its hard to understand how Facebook thought it would be OK to help the FBI hack a child molester, while the company is also suing the spyware maker NSO Group for using WhatsApp to help their customers hack targets.

"The hypocrisy is absolutely wild," she said. More hackers should learn about the ethics of what we do, and this is a textbook example.

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Privacy-Focused OS Wants to Know How Facebook and the FBI Hacked it - VICE

Android Must Copy iPhones New Security Feature That Is Turning Heads – Dazeinfo

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Apple has introduced something that Android smartphone manufacturers must take a note of it, immediately!

The value of the personal data which a smartphone gets access to is very easily worth way more than the smartphone itself. People are basically carrying around potential security threats right in their hands. While there is no doubt that the functionalities of smartphones are endless, the risks to our personal privacy are very real. Today, there exist numerous ways in which malicious attackers can exploit or steal personal data from your smartphone without you ever getting to know about it. This is why, keeping all these concerns in mind, Apple Inc. has recently unveiled a powerful new security feature that should be present in every single smartphone moving forward into the future. What is it? Lets find out.

Yesterday, at the 2020 edition of the WWDC aka Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced some of the most much-needed privacy and security features for the iOS and macOS users.

Among them, the one feature which stood out from the rest is something the company seems to have come up with after being inspired by a well-known feature that has existed on most laptops for quite some time. Apple will now be displaying a small orange indicator near the network signal every time the camera or microphone of iPhone is in use.

This particular feature happens to come at a perfect time because users have slowly been becoming wary of all the ways in which apps try to exploit their privacy. Not too long ago, in the month of November in 2019, Facebooks iOS app was reported to automatically activating the camera in the background whilst being in use without any notification whatsoever. Though it was later revealed that a bug caused this problem, the prospect of an app having the ability to do so is beyond scary.

A malicious app that is specifically designed to slip past the usual security measures and then record the video and audio of its users without letting them know can wreak a catastrophic amount of havoc. It could lead to the leakage of confidential secrets, harassment, blackmail, and so much more.

This particular vulnerability which Apple wants to put an end to with its new feature dates back several years and is nothing new. In September 2016, when the former FBI Director James Comey was asked if he puts a tape on his webcam, he replied saying yes. Even though many of his colleagues often mocks him for this, he said he always makes sure nobody could infringe his privacy without him knowing.

Also, in the same year itself, a filmmaker named Anthony Van Der Meer released a documentary named Find my Phone on Youtube wherein he installed a phone tracking app on his phone and then let someone steal it. After the thief stole it, Anthony went on to document how he could spy on every moment of the thiefs life through the hacked phones camera and microphone.

The short film tracked every move of this person, from him brushing his teeth to going to work. It recorded the person grabbing lunch with his co-worker to intimate moments with a loved one as well. This is the ungodly amount of power apps that have access to your camera and microphone wield.

Even further back in 2014, Edward Snowden, the infamous and controversial US Government whistleblower revealed how an NSA program called Optic Nerves back in 2008 was capturing webcam images every five minutes from the video chats of Yahoo users. Thus, after all these years, this particular security feature that has been launched by Apple is a significant step forward when it comes to increasing the security around a users privacy in a world wherein almost every gadget can be exploited with ease.

And, if all the above doesnt convince you about the potential threat your smartphone camera or microphone pose to your personal life, you must remember the incident when Mark Zuckerberg was found using his laptop having its camera and microphone covered.

Trust me, the list is really long!

Its quite evident that the new security feature introduced by Apple that prominently indicates iPhone user the moment any app starts accessing a camera or microphone is the need of the hour. Unfortunately, despite offering a great degree of security measure, anything similar has never been introduced by any Android smartphone device manufacturer. As Android devices and apps are more vulnerable, such security feature is a selling point for many users. Besides, it would also get Android smartphones a step closer to Apple iPhone in terms of offering users data security.

Beyond any doubt, the feature should be made into a standard and be also included in all Android smartphones as soon as possible. Now, it remains to be seen how soon will Android smartphone manufacturers pay heed to this and how soon offer something similar to their customers.

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Android Must Copy iPhones New Security Feature That Is Turning Heads - Dazeinfo

Bitcoin Is Braced For A $1 Billion Earthquake This Week – Forbes

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Bitcoin's early 2020 rally has come to an abrupt halt, with the price failing to hold above $10,000 per bitcoin.

The bitcoin price, up around 30% so far this year, has been treading water at around $9,400 since it briefly moved above $10,000 earlier this month.

Now, bitcoin traders and investors are braced for more than 100,000 bitcoin options totaling $930 million to expire on June 26nearly 70% of bitcoins entire open interest.

Bitcoin traders and investors are braced for major moves in the bitcoin price this week after a ... [+] brief period of low volatility.

Bitcoin's looming options expiry could spark a bout of price volatility, with previous large expiries causing the market to "bounce quite aggressively" and the size of the bitcoin open interest market recently soaring.

Bitcoin open interest has climbed to $1.3 billion, double what it was just a couple of months ago, according to data from bitcoin and crypto analytics provider Skew.

Deribit, a Panama-based derivatives exchange, accounts for 77% of the bitcoin options market, although regulated venues CME and LedgerX have gained ground recently.

The split between bullish and bearish options is currently fairly neutral, although most of the CME contracts are for bitcoin at above its current pricewith 75% of CME contracts calling bitcoin at $11,000 and higher.

On top of Friday's coming bitcoin options expiry, global stocks have slipped due to a resurgence in coronavirus infections across Europe, the U.S. and China weighing on investor confidence.

"The key thing to watch over the next few weeks is the Covid-19 related equities sell off," Chris Thomas, head of digital assets at Swissquote Bank, told Coindesk.

"If markets react very negatively towards the increased Covid-19 cases, we may see more panic which could also pull bitcoin lower."

There are far more bitcoin options set to expire this week than usual--something that could trigger ... [+] a fresh wave of market volatility.

Meanwhile, despite a surge in bitcoin options interest, most bitcoin buyers are treating it as digital gold, preferring to hold bitcoin for the long term term.

"The data shows that the majority of bitcoin is held by those who treat it as digital gold: an asset to be held for the long term," Chainalysis researchers wrote last week.

"With more people looking to trade bitcoin, which is only becoming more scarce following the recent halving, bitcoin moving from the investment bucket into the trading bucket could become a crucial source of liquidity. However, one would expect this will only happen if bitcoins price rises to a level at which long-term investors are willing to sell."

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Bitcoin Is Braced For A $1 Billion Earthquake This Week - Forbes

What Changed My Mind About Bitcoin Narratives – CoinDesk – CoinDesk

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One of the things I most enjoy about working in the crypto sector (apart from my awesome colleagues and the constant flow of fascinating change) is the level of debate.

Im not being sarcastic. There are many takes I strongly disagree with, but when they are put forward by people with rational and inquisitive minds (which can be most of the time, depending on your Twitter filters), the engagement invariably ends up enriching my own opinion. And, sometimes, bouncing someone elses conviction off yours opens your eyes to nuances you hadnt seen. Who knows? Entertaining conflicting points might actually change minds.

Now, when you take twointelligent opinions that you dont agree with, throw them together with yours and stir them up a bit, magic can do its uncomfortable thing. That happened to me this week.

Youre readingCrypto Long & Short, a newsletter that looks closely at the forces driving cryptocurrency markets. Authored by CoinDesks head of research, Noelle Acheson, it goes out every Sunday and offers a recap of the week with insights and analysis from a professional investors point of view.You can subscribe here.

Many of you will already have seen Bloomberg commentator Joe Weisenthals list of six reasons why bitcoin has not had a great year. To recap, they were a lack of new highs, its new correlation with the S&P 500, disappointingly resilient fiat currencies and inflation levels, and a new competitor for the volatility trade in the form of stocks.

Of course, there were many reactions. One of the best responses Ive seen was from Nathaniel Whittemore, who stressed the progress made in institutional uptake, growth in emerging market demand and bitcoins endurance. Another was from Messaris Ryan Selkis, who objected to Joes interpretation of bitcoin narratives and timeframes. I expand on some of my objections further down.

A different angle

The other analysis I disagreed with this week was from JPMorgan, although their take was almost the opposite of Joes.

A report shared with the investment banks clients and seen by CoinDesk boldly stated bitcoin has had a goodyear so far, highlighting that, even through the market turmoil in March, the cryptocurrency only briefly dipped below its cost of production. It also points out that liquidity in bitcoin markets was more resilient than in other more traditional markets. The analysis concludes that this points to a long and happy life for bitcoin, but more as a vehicle of speculation than as a store of value.

So, here we have Joe hinting bitcoin has had a disappointing first half because it didnt have spectacular price moves relative to other asset groups, and JPMorgan inferring its had an unexpectedly good first half for the same reason.

In my opinion, they are both missing the point. But my disagreement with them changed my mind about something.

Common factors

Both JPMorgan and Joe seem to assume there is a clear narrative around bitcoins value.

JPMorgan equates bitcoins intrinsic value with its mining costs, although this is difficult to reliably calculate and reflects only a small part of the ecosystem. Whats more, mining costs could come down in line with lower energy prices, which does not mean bitcoins intrinsic value will come down if we rely on the what an asset is worth definition of the term. The analysts also infer that bitcoins current correlation with the S&P 500 represents the breakdown of its store of value potential, which overlooks the nature of backward-looking short-term calculations.

Joe understands bitcoins fundamental value is hard to quantify, and focuses on price as the principal metric that both shapes and is shaped by narratives. He assumes we have been waiting for specific triggers to drive up the price, that they have not materialized and therefore our narratives are wrong and bitcoin is not doing well.

Both Joe and JPMorgan seem to believe the overriding narrative for bitcoin today is that of speculative asset. This is a valid viewpoint, but not one that I share for me, bitcoin is a technology play that will change the meaning of markets.

I also dont buy into Joes focus on price, and his assumption the market as a whole expects sharp movements based on certain catalysts.

And Im not convinced by JPMorgans conclusion that recent price action points to bitcoins continued use as a speculative asset this week CoinDesk reported more than 60% of bitcoin held in wallets has not moved in over a year.

Thinking about why I disagreed, however, made me realize something I have been overlooking. I have always regarded bitcoins lack of a clear narrative as a strength. I was wrong it is both a strength and a weakness.

The plus and the minus

Its a strength in that the story is still unfolding. Bitcoins main use case is yet to be determined. Many see it as a store of value, in that it has no explicit economic drivers other than a limited supply. Others see it as a speculative asset that swings on sentiment and whose volatility can be harnessed to produce higher returns. For part of the world, it is a stable currency. For some, a venture investment.

In other words, bitcoin is not a one-trick pony the demand growth from any one of its many narratives could be enough to push up its value.

Having many threads to pull on is also a weakness, however, because investors like clear narratives. Professional managers generally need to justify their allocation decisions, and bitcoins story is confusing. Even Paul Tudor Jones expressed skepticism at the success of his preferred narrative, that of digital gold, but invested anyway based on probabilities and price.Bitcoins lack of a clear value and a diluted understanding of its fundamentals lead many smart people such as Joe to focus on price performance as a barometer for success. Its there, easy to watch, easy to track. And in a markets-centric world, thats good enough for some.

Value, on the other hand, depends partly on fundamentals, which in the case of cryptocurrencies are still poorly understood. It also depends on sentiment, which is the result of stories and expectations, not just of cryptocurrencies but also of environments and influencing factors. You think bitcoin has confusing narratives? Lets talk about tech stocks, oil, the dollar, take your pick.

So while I still believe rapidly evolving narratives around bitcoin are an opportunity, and that the fundamental value drivers of the cryptocurrency will become better understood with time and patience, I also accept now that a lack of clarity around what those are makes the price an understandable value proxy for many.

The formula

However, recent market trends have shown us price is increasingly disassociated from value, not just in cryptocurrencies. In todays stock, bond and even currency markets, price is often totally out of whack with the underlying potential. It doesnt mean that price is not important; it just means that its not something that shouldbe taken as a proxy for value or for success as we look forward.

As an industry, we need to work on honing our understanding of the many narratives, and how they can influence value. We all need to learn to ask deeper questions, to entertain conflicting ideas and to accept that we just dont know what the winning story if there is one will be. Were getting better at metrics, a broader range of people are participating and our collective understanding is moving forward every day. But stories evolve, as they must to survive. We need to work on giving the stories scrutiny, as well as a broader vocabulary and set of tools that can enhance their telling.

Anyone know what's going on yet?

Talk about conflicting signals: Stocks seem to be pricing in a booming economy, bonds are forecasting a protracted downturn in spite of heavy government and central bank buying, and currencies are all over the place. Given the momentum, investors seem to be accepting this conflict the worry is that it becomes the new normal.

Signs of a COVID-19 resurgence, though, are causing some jitters but even so, the reality of the economic damage does not seem to have sunk in, in spite of even the Chairman of the Federal Reserve warning of hardship ahead.

Bitcoin has had a lackluster month so far, underperforming most other asset groups while maintaining its newfound correlation with the S&P 500.

Chain links

WisdomTree Trust has filed for an ETF that may invest up to 5% of its net assets in the Chicago Mercantile Exchanges (CME) bitcoin futures contracts. If approved, the rest of the fund would be invested in traditional commodities. TAKEAWAY: Early last year Reality Shares filed an exchange-traded fund proposal that included a partial investment in bitcoin futures, but the application was withdrawn at the SECs request. Its possible the market and regulatory sentiment have evolved over the past 16 months such that this filing will meet a different fate to start, there are differentiating technicalities between this filing and last years, and the bitcoin futures market has grown considerably. But we shouldnt hold our breath. If it doesget approved, it will not have the same market impact as a straightforward bitcoin ETF, given the funds limited exposure and focus on the futures markets.

Asset manager Wilshire Phoenixhas filed to launch a bitcoin investment trust. TAKEAWAY: Like the Grayscale* bitcoin trust, if approved this will list on an OTC market and have fixed redemptions. Grayscales GBTC bitcoin trust is often criticized for the high premium retail investors have to pay to buy shares on the secondary market. If approved, this trust could add competition and reduce the premiums. Or, in the absence of a bitcoin ETF, demand could grow such that well have two sets of high premiums.(*Grayscale is owned by DCG, the parent of CoinDesk.)

Mason Privatbank Liechtenstein AG has become the latest private bank to offer digital asset custody through a partnership with Hong Kong-based Hex Trust. TAKEAWAY: News about European private banks offering crypto services seems to be gracing our headlinesmore frequently these days. These banks tend to be small by U.S. standards, but they focus on institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals, so their potential reach when it comes to crypto services is significant. And the range of services they are offering is similar to full prime brokerage, with trading, custody, lending and banking services rolled into one. We will most likely see more announcements like this in the remainder of the year, each of which provide new onramps to satisfy the growing interest they expect to see.

After two years of development, Komainu a joint venture between Nomura Holdings, CoinShares and Ledger has launched to offer crypto asset custody to institutional investors. TAKEAWAY: The entity is based in the U.K.s Jersey Channel Islands, and will provide custody, compliance and insurance services. The pedigree of the partners is interesting: Nomura is one of Japans largest investment banks (yes, a legacy bank investing in crypto custody!), and Ledger is one of the sectors original custodians. CoinShares is one of the sectors longest-running asset managers (as well as manager of a handful of listed crypto funds), and now also provides trading services, index management and tokenized assets. With the addition of custody, could CoinShares be angling to break into the crypto prime brokerage business?

Codefi, backed by Ethereum development group ConsenSys, is working on an Eth 2.0 staking API, which aims to help large exchanges, wallet providers, custodians and funds earn income from a portion of their crypto asset holdings. TAKEAWAY: As the launch of the transition to Ethereums new blockchain nears*, interest in staking seems to be growing. This could pick up steam as demand is fueled by the record-low yields on other traditional asset groups, and as service providers become more robust and user-friendly. (*TEASER: We will soon be publishing a report on what this transition means for Ethereum and for investors.)

Chinese bitcoin miner manufacturer Ebang estimates it incurred a net loss of $2.5 million on a revenue of $6.4 million for Q1 2020. This disclosure was posted this week in an update to the firms IPO prospectus filed with the SEC. TAKEAWAY: A Chinese loss-making company trying to raise shares in a U.S. listing? In these crazy markets, it could do very well. However, the listing may be denied due to a lack of inspected audits or for a lack of revenue, or a number of other reasons. (For a detailed breakdown of the Ebang filing, see our report Ebang IPO: Dude, wheres my revenue?)

According to data from crypto analytics firm Glassnode, over 60% of all bitcoins have not moved in at least a year. TAKEAWAY: Contrary to some analyses (see THE BRIEFING above), this indicates that the buy-and-hold strategy is gaining ground. True, a chunk of these coins may be in wallets with lost keys, but the overall trend indicates that holders are still holding. The number of bitcoin that hasnt moved in 2-3 years grew by over 25%.

Jeff Dorman of Arca Funds compares the crypto asset universe to the bond market, arguing that the two asset groups have much in common in terms of investor specialization and arcane math. TAKEAWAY: Great insight into how valuation models are still evolving, and have a way to go still.

The Financial Services Commission of Mauritiushas created a regulatory regime for a full-fledged security token ecosystem. TAKEAWAY: This is interesting given that the island state was one of the early sovereign nations to embrace the potential of becoming a blockchain hub, and is pretty far along in setting up legal frameworks for a wide range of crypto-related businesses. Combine that with its status as a tax haven that has attracted a growing base of high-net-worth individuals, and the imminent likely blacklisting by Europe as a high-risk third country, and you can start to catch a glimpse of where fully functioning crypto financial system could flex its resilience, even if its at a small scale. Worth watching.

Over a recent 30-day period, the total open interest for CME bitcoin options increased more than tenfold to over $370 million, making it the second largest bitcoin options market in the industry, behind Deribit. TAKEAWAY: Open interest for Deribit has also reached all-time highs, almost double the 2019 high reached almost exactly a year ago. This growth indicates a solid maturation of the crypto markets overall, and could unleash increasingly aggressive trading strategies as risk-takers feel more comfortable with the hedging tools available.

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What Changed My Mind About Bitcoin Narratives - CoinDesk - CoinDesk

New Zealand makes its biggest ever asset seizure over alleged vast bitcoin crime ring – The Guardian

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New Zealand police have seized assets worth NZ$140m ($90.68m) linked to a Russian man suspected of laundering billions of dollars in digital currency.

The police said it seized the assets because they were being held in a New Zealand company owned by Alexander Vinnik, who is accused of masterminding a bitcoin laundering ring and is wanted by both France and the United States.

This is the largest restraint of funds in New Zealand Police history, the department said in a statement late on Monday.

US authorities accuse Vinnik of running BTC-e a digital currency exchange used to trade bitcoin to facilitate crimes ranging from computer hacking to drug trafficking since 2011.

Vinnik has denied the charges, saying he was a technical consultant to BTC-e and not its operator.

He was arrested on money laundering allegations in Greece in 2017 and has since been extradited to France where he remains in custody. He is also wanted in Russia on lesser charges.

New Zealand police commissioner Andrew Coster alleged the funds are likely to reflect profits gained from the victimisation of thousands of people globally.

However, this restraint demonstrates that New Zealand is not, and will not be, a safe haven for the illicit proceeds generated from crime in other parts of the world, he said.

New Zealand Police said it worked closely with the US Internal Revenue Service on the case and has applied to the high court seeking forfeiture of these funds.

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New Zealand makes its biggest ever asset seizure over alleged vast bitcoin crime ring - The Guardian

Bitcoin Name and Logo Registered With Spanish Patent and Trademark Office – Cointelegraph

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The Bitcoin name and logo has been trademarked in Spain with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. This process was completed by Ignacio Rubio Menndez, a compliance expert and lawyer specializing in business law. Cointelegraph en Espaol spoke directly with Menndezs client, who is choosing to remain anonymous for now.

This person explained: "I now have the logo and the word bitcoin registered at the national level in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. Anyone can access the records, as they are published daily and for all audiences."

When asked why he took the initiative to protect this intellectual property for himself, he replied: "I am a bitcoin salesman, I have a buying and selling office, and the idea is to protect bitcoin, at least in Spain. So I stand up for the brand and take responsibility that any new user can feel 100% safe working with me and away from the scams that name and use bitcoin.

It should be noted that the filing addresses the logo containing the white letter "B" within an orange circle, which would be the official logo of Bitcoin. "In the text the uppercase B refers to the code and the lowercase b refers to the crypto," he clarified.

He continued: "I provide protection with my business and now with my brand, so that if any person or company at the national level wants to misuse the logo we all know, and the word Bitcoin, I have a claim for misuse of my brand.

He concluded: "I am not a fake Satoshi, I have just registered the ownership and legitimate use of the logo and the word. If someone uses it incorrectly, I will defend it.

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Bitcoin Name and Logo Registered With Spanish Patent and Trademark Office - Cointelegraph

Investment Guru Jim Rogers: The Value of Bitcoin Will Drop to Zero – Cointelegraph

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The investment guru who said Bitcoin was in a bubble as early as 2017 recently speculated that all cryptocurrencies will be gone eventually.

In an interview with the Asahi publication AERA dot on Friday, investor Jim Rogers said cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC) will be in decline eventually and everything will go to zero."

"Those who use cryptocurrency think they are smarter than their governments, Rogers said to AERA dot. In fact, I think they are correct. But their governments have something that crypto people don't have. That is guns. The reason why I think cryptocurrency will be gone eventually is that it is not based on the armed force of governments'power."

There has been some unproven correlation between the rising and falling prices of cryptocurrencies and governments acting more authoritarian. When United States President Donald Trump ordered the forced dispersal of peaceful protesters near the White House grounds on June 1, the price of Bitcoin surged more than 8%.

Cointelegraph reported in November 2017 that Rogers said BTC looks and smells like a bubble. This was prior to the cryptocurrency reaching its all-time high price of over $20,000 in December 2017.

Cryptocurrencies didn't even exist a few years ago, but in the blink of an eye they became 100 and 1000 times more valuable. This is a clear bubble and I don't know the right price. Virtual currency is not an investment target. It's just gambling.

Along with billionaires such asWarren Buffett and George Soros, Rogers is considered one of the largest investors in the world. His views in the AERA dot interview echo those of Buffett, who said cryptocurrencies basically have no value in February.

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Investment Guru Jim Rogers: The Value of Bitcoin Will Drop to Zero - Cointelegraph

Crypto Experts Reveal Thoughts: How Will Bitcoin Perform After the COVID-19 Crisis Has Passed? – PRNewswire

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LONDON, June 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --To educate Crypto-enthusiasts and prepare them for upcoming market conditions, a group of well-respected crypto experts brought together by Investoo Group has expressed their thoughts on the recent COVID-19 crisis, and its effect on the global crypto markets.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on our daily lives, our ability to interact and our financial structures and security. Blockchain technology has been around for over a decade, and there are now thousands of projects that seek to utilize its limitless potential to solve some of the world's most pressing issues.

Coin Journal has assembled a veteran team of experts in the field of cryptocurrency and financial technology, to gain some valuable insights into what the world may look like after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed. Globally, we can only hope that containment of this danger is now within our grasp, but we can only speculate to the long-term impact that it will leave in its wake.

Heavyweight Opinion

The panel is headed by Yoni Assia, the CEO of the world's largest social investment network, eToro. Yoni also brought his market analyst and renowned crypto expert, Simon Peters to the table. The next to join the team, Ciara Sun, is currently employed as the Head of Global Markets at Huobi Group, a global blockchain financial asset service provider.The panel also has the founder of virtual currency platform, Coincurve, and CEO of Interlapse, Wayne Chen. Finally, the panel would not be complete without the 15-year veteran of Wall Street technology and CEO of BSV blockchain service provider, TAAL; Mr. Jerry Chan.

They discuss the potential effects of unlimited quantitative easing, the need for a Universal Basic Income (UBI), and how blockchain technology can be a tool for research teams to interact with transparency on a global scale. The team reveals evidence that shows how cryptocurrency stands resilient against the economic downturn caused by social distancing measures and the closure of businesses that have succumbed to the strain.

Article Excerpts

Speaking exclusively to Coin Journalon the idea of Bitcoin as a 'safe haven' asset, eToro CEO Yoni Assia noted that crypto and fiat markets moved in tandem at the start of the COVID-19 panic. Market Analyst Simon Peters then noted a shift, which he describes below:

"Interestingly, this is backed-up by eToro's platform data, which shows a 77% increase in new registrants whose first action was to invest in Bitcoin. As the price of Bitcoin is traveling in the same direction as gold, you could argue investors view it as a safe haven asset."

Other areas of the article speak about the survival of market segments, and the implementation of blockchain technology, especially across supply chains. TAAL CEO Jerry Chan had thoughts relating to limiting the spread of COVID-19 using blockchain technology:

"Pharmaceutical companies have realised the potential application of a scalable version of Bitcoin blockchain, which can be used to track COVID-19 testing and vaccination records, cross-state and cross-borders, in a way which could be used to corroborate or validate statistics submitted to global health organisations."

The full interview is exclusive to Coin Journal, and interested readers can find the full article containing the detailed discussion of the expert panel here:https://coinjournal.net/news/how-will-bitcoin-perform-after-the-covid-19-crisis-has-passed

Media Contact Details

Contact Name: Chris Roper,Contact Role: Senior Cryptocurrency Editor,Investoo Group

Investoo Group is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. Cryptocurrencies and tokens are extremely volatile. There is no guarantee of a stable value, or of any value at all.

About Bitcoin PR Buzz:Bitcoin PR Buzz has been proudly serving the crypto press release distribution needs of blockchain start-ups for over 8 years. Get your Bitcoin Press Release Distributiontoday.

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Crypto Experts Reveal Thoughts: How Will Bitcoin Perform After the COVID-19 Crisis Has Passed? - PRNewswire


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