As 2020 kicks off it seems likely that government owned crypto will become a mainstay of the sector. Both China and Russia have begun tests for integrating state controlled cryptocurrency into their respective markets. Other major legislative and technological shifts are also underway.

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China is ready to start testing the digital yuan, said Mu Changchun, Head of Payment and Settlement Solutions Division of the Peoples Bank of China. He noted that the payment system has already passed the functional research and debugging stage, and now there will be the launch of pilot programs.

On around January 1, 2020, the Ethereum network will host Muir Glacier hard fork. It will take place on block 9 200 000 with the goal of delaying the activation of the complexity bomb.

Digital rights (tokens) can be assessed as the subject of a bribe, explained the Supreme Court of Russia in addition to the resolution of the Supreme Court Plenum of July 9, 2013 on judicial practice in cases of bribery and other corruption-related crimes. At the same time, tokens should receive a monetary value on the evidence provided by the parties, and if necessary, a specialist or expert opinion will be required.

The number of open long positions on the Bitfinex exchange has set a new historic high, exceeding 47.5 thousand BTC. This may indicate that the cryptocurrency community is expecting Bitcoin value to rise over the coming weeks after recent troubles.

The Bank of Russia has started to test the stablecoins in the regulatory sandbox. The agency is studying the possibility of issuing a digital ruble and determining its advantages over a more traditional fast payment system.

Craig Wright, who calls himself the creator of Bitcoin, said that on January 1, 2020, he will have access to 1.1 million BTC. As evidence, he presented the court with an email allegedly signed in 2011 by Dave Kleiman, who is considered one of the early developers of the first cryptocurrency.

More than 204 thousand Ethereum came to the hot wallets of the leading trading platforms. 25 thousand ETH was transferred to Binance and about 100 thousand to Huobi. Another 89 thousand ETH was sent to Kraken, while all coins came from one purse. Its owner could be a member of the Ethereum development team or Vitalik Buterin himself.

Senegal, Venezuela, Uruguay, and Tunisia have already presented digital payment systems, and, at the end of December, the Bank of Russia, which is skeptical about the new type of assets, reported on the beginning of testing the stable coins.

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China and Russia begin testing cryptocurrency - Born2Invest

The next wave of cryptocurrency adopters wont care about the asset class, argues Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Theyll arrive because of new innovations from startup companies creating interesting applications. When developers design these platforms and services for crypto only, people will opt in.

Armstrong writes,

The next 100M people who get exposure to cryptocurrency will not come from them caring about cryptocurrency, but because they are trying to play some game, use a decentralized social network, or earn a living, and using cryptocurrency is the only way to use that particular application.

As a key driver of adoption, new crypto startups are poised to set off a decade where entrepreneurs use crypto to raise money on a global scale while issuing tokens to early adopters of new products, ramping to build global marketplaces that outperform the pace of traditional startups.

I believe that by the end of the 2020s almost every tech startup will have some sort of cryptocurrency component.

Rapid growth will create a snowball effect, enticing bigger and bigger players.

Eventually just about every financial institution will have some sort of cryptocurrency operation, and most funds will keep a portion of their assets in cryptocurrencies, partially due to its uncorrelated returns. Something like 90% of the money in the world is locked up in institutions, so this will likely drive a lot of demand for crypto assets.

The next decade will also be characterized by major strides in maturing market structure, central bank digital currencies such as the digital yuan, basket digital currencies backed by consortiums like Libra, Centre and possibly the International Monetary Fund, and scalability a critical catalyst.

Says Armstrong,

Once we see blockchains with several orders of magnitude scalability improvements, we will new applications start to develop more rapidly.

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Coinbase CEO Says 100 Million Newbies Will Interact With Cryptocurrency in Wave of Adoption - The Daily Hodl

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Five Tips for Dealing with Cryptocurrency in Your Divorce - JD Supra

XRP was once the best-performing crypto assets of all-time, peaking near the $3 price point at the top of the previous bull market on the back of retail FOMO, perpetuated by those saying that the cryptocurrency was on the verge of being adopted by the worlds largest banks and financial institutions.

But since then, the price of the third-largest cryptocurrency has absolutely fallen off a cliff, collapsing from the heights above $3 to $0.192, where XRP sits as of the time of writing this.

Some say it is only a matter of time before the cryptocurrency rips higher to revisit its all-time highs.

Per previous reports from Ethereum World News, popular trader and long-termXRP bull Credible Crypto remarked in November that those getting impatient about the XRP price are missing the big picture, and will miss out on the gains that are sure to come. Elaborating on why this is, he noted that XRP only started running nearly 2 years after the BTC bear market low was put in in 14-15 and that too, only afterBTCbroke prior ATH.

The implication in this Twitter message, of course, being that theres a rather high likelihood the cryptocurrency will surge higher in a move that will bring it to orders of magnitudes above where it started.

Though a prominent and respected cryptocurrency analyst has branded XRP but a moonshot investment, meaning that it has dramatic upside potential, but a low likelihood of that potential being fulfilled.

Mati Greenspan, a former senior analyst at eToro and the founder of Quantum Economics, released his startups latest newsletter on Friday morning. In it, the prominent cryptocurrency analyst took a moment to touch on XRP, specifically in regards to the narrative spreading on Crypto Twitter that the cryptocurrency will be used as a bridge currency for the world.

Should XRP become the worlds bridge currency, meaning that it will effectively be used as a form of liquidity by all banking institutions, the price would likely go sky-high, surging past the previous all-time high in a short period of time.

While possible, Greenspan noticed that it does seem more likely that a coin created by banks, for banks, would be favorable to most large financial institutions, before adding that some competitor or central bank digital currencies may become widespread and efficient. This risk factor led him to the conclusion that XRP is just a moonshot investment in his eyes.

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Top Analyst Brands XRP a Moonshot Investment; Heres Why - Ethereum World News

The logo of the "Petro" is displayed next to images of Venezuelan late President Hugo Chavez (L) and ... [+] Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a building in downtown Caracas, on September 21, 2018. - Six months after Venezuelan cryptocurrency petro, with which the government of Maduro seeks to evade financial sanctions from the US, started selling to the public, it still can not be exchangeable for money, goods or other cryptocurrencies as the bitcoin. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP) (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images)

In spite of the original philosophy behind bitcoin, a tool to protect and empower sovereign citizens worldwide against oppressive regimes and predatory financial institutions, more and more nations are finding legitimate value in endorsing cryptocurrency.

Established nations like the United States and China are taking a nuanced approach in applying the tech to various departments, and smaller alternatives like Malta and the Virgin Islands have looked to crypto as a means to bolster and expand their local economies. Heres whats happening in the world right now.

The United States

With a regulatory stance on crypto typically seen as archaic and lethargic, the USA doesnt typically come to mind as a champion of blockchain. However, there are many government departments actively exploring and deploying applications that leverage the blockchain for various uses.

For example, the United States now employs a private blockchain through which yearly grants are awarded to different departments, through a project called GrantSolutions. This initiative creates a centralized record of grants, whilst also improves the ease with which recurring grants can be renewed and distributed each year.

Per the previous report, the US Government is additionally building out an encrypted healthcare data exchange through the INFORMED incubator program, allowing citizens to leverage their personal healthcare data and sell their data to researchers.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff has also embarked on a pilot that utilizes the blockchain to communicate 3D printing files to military bases. As it can be quite difficult to replace older equipment, the military is increasingly relying on 3D printed parts to repair weapons and vehicles. The blockchain enables the communication of these files in an encrypted manner that cannot be intercepted by unwanted eyes.

China

Global headlines have emphasized a recent shift in Chinas stance towards blockchain technology. Recently, a series of statements by Chinese President Xi Jinping has indicated that the Peoples Republic of China plans to dive head-first into blockchain integration in a number of areas.

Chinas aggressive use of surveillance on its population and controversial developments such as the social credit system, which assigns a reputation to each citizen for their behavior, suggests that their blockchain endorsement may be a means to further surveil and restrict their almost 1.4 billion citizens.

Integral properties of cryptocurrency include transparency and immutability. A state-backed cryptocurrency means that government officials could have complete and unrestricted access to the entirety of every citizens financial history and dealings. This could potentially be further expanded to blacklist and reverse unwanted activity in the eyes of the government.

Of course, future adoption by China is largely regarded as speculation, until more comprehensive developments have come to light. However, this would not be the first time a regime looked to blockchain to improve monetary control: North Korea and Russia have both been involved in similar projects.

Venezuela

In 2018, Venezuela launched its oil-backed petro cryptocurrency as a token on the NEM blockchain. The purpose of the central currency is to improve liquidity to the countrys oil reserves and implement a more stable alternative to a national VEF crippled by hyperinflation.

Additionally, the petro was seen as a mechanism for Venezuela to circumvent sanctions and alleviate difficulty to conduct foreign trade. However, it is unclear whether its oil-backed coin has seen significant acceptance by international business partners.

Malta

Despite interest from bad actors, the overwhelming use of blockchain by national governments has been to stimulate their economies and improve their infrastructure. A majority of the first national cryptocurrency adopters were small nations looking to gain an edge and accelerate national growth.

Malta, in particular, has seen huge growth through its blockchain-friendly legislation. With the explosion of the space in 2017, a number of recently formed and massively growing cryptocurrency startups moved operations to Malta.

The most notable of these is seen through the relocation of Binance HQ, a leading exchange valued at over US$2 billion. With a national GDP of less than US$13 billion in 2017, this single instance represents a significant boost to the islands economy and a major proponent for further prosperity.

The British Virgin Islands

A recent adopter of cryptocurrency as a cash-alternative is found in the British Virgin Islands. BVI has recently emphasized an intention to focus its efforts on the emerging Financial Technology sector, and as an aspiring FinTech leader, the archipelago is looking to digitize its economy with the help of a central digital currency.

On December 3, BVI hosted its Digital Economy symposium to educate and strategize with 100 stakeholders across the islands private and public sectors alike. The symposium included a presentation by Lifelabs on the ongoing BVI life project. The project is developing a central cryptocurrency that is backed 1:1 by USD to address hurdles between cross-island business and consumption.

The initiative also encompasses a Rapid Cash Response (RCR) system that will quickly provide ample funds in response to any potential future disasters. 2017s Hurricane Irma spawned over US$3 billion in damages and untold trauma for citizens, and the lack of liquid funds inhibited sufficient clean-up for months afterward.

What does this really mean?

Well, as modern society transitions to a global, digital economy, blockchain represents a key tool for third-world and developing economies to transition to digital in pace with established and first-world counterparts. This benefit is particularly impactful to areas currently dominated by fiat that are hindered by an inadequate or nonexistent banking infrastructure.

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National Governments Around The Globe Look To Embrace Blockchain - Forbes

Money is a funny asset. As much as people yearn it throughout their lives, it is of a little use in the afterlife. Accordingly, passing it to an heir is a much more solid option. To do it, people usually write wills. Alternatively, it is the court that helps heirs get access to the inheritance.

Unfortunately, with cryptocurrency, its not the same. And it might actually end up in its owners grave, albeit in a metaphorical way.

After all, the transfer of cryptocurrency is highly complex and private in nature. If the heirs dont have the private keys to the wallets, no one can access the assets. Sometimes they might not even know that there is money awaiting them in the first place. Consider this: according to the Financial Times, almost 2.3 million to 3.7 million Bitcoins have gone missing in the past. In a great many cases the death of the asset holders is to blame.

This story shook the crypto space. In December 2018, the exchanges young founder Gerald W. Cotten unexpectedly passed away while on a trip to India.

Regrettably,Cottons death locked crypto assets worth $250 million somewhere in a cold storage. His widow, Jesse Powell, continues to claim that no one but him had access to the exchanges cold wallet.

Some are still refusing to believe this fact. Recently, 115,000 investors have demanded to exhume his body to prove that he is actually dead.

Such incidents put enough emphasis on planning crypto inheritance.

Before you plan the inheritance of your crypto assets, it is important that your legal heirs know about the existence of such asset class. Educating them about the basics will prove to be helpful in case of an unfortunate event.

That said, there are multiple ways of ensuring that your assets will be dispersed in the manner you choose.

To make sure your crypto assets are passed on to your loved ones, they must be mentioned in your will. It is obvious that you may not wish to disclose the PIN, passwords and private keys in your will. Thus, for the sake of security, digital asset legal experts advise the creation of a memorandum to a will. In it, one can mention all the critical information.

A prosecutor may hold the memorandum of your will. Additionally, you will have to elect its executor. S/he will hand over the memorandum with details of accessing your crypto assets.

Yet, there is a catch. For instance, in the USA digital account ownership is governed by the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Asset Act (RUFADAA). According to it, mentioning cryptocurrency in your will and appointing an executor is insufficient. Instead, the asset owner must sign the Terms of Service Agreement with an exchange. These contain the rules for account access in case of the owners death.

All in all, it is a tedious process.

Multiple projects are now offering better-tailored solutions to cryptocurrency asset owners.

For example,Safe Haven is a project that is dedicatedly building solutions for digital inheritance. Earlier this year it announced the testing phase of SHIP (Safe Haven Inheritance Platform) V1.0. It works in a unique fashion. The owner is required to encrypt his/her private keys, seeds, and passphrases using SHIP in different shares. These shares are distributed to the stakeholders and one Validation Share is stored on the VeChainThor blockchain.

Once the owners decease is confirmed, the legal entity unlocks the Validation share. Subsequently, it combines all the remaining shares to unveil the passwords and private keys to the assets. Currently, the platform is in the testing phase.

A couple of other projects like Casa and PassOn are also helping crypto-asset owners to ensure their assets are passed on to the heirs.

This is a computer program that transfers cryptocurrency to the heirs account in case of the owners death. The program emails the owner at regular intervals and waits for a fixed programmed duration. If theres no reply (or a death certificate is found), a smart contract is triggered. And the assets are automatically moved to the account that has been mentioned while setting it up.

Last Will is one such platform for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) inheritance.

The downside, however, is that it is problematic. What if you simply dont have the time to reply?Besides, the heirs must be well acquainted with cryptocurrencies so that they can access the assets from the wallet.

Exchanges like Coinbase have set up standard ownership transfer procedures to make crypto inheritance easy. To make sure the assets are passed on to a legal heir, the Coinbase team asks for numerous documents. For instance, the death certificate of the owner, his/her will, government-issued ID proof of the heir, etc.

Yet, it is not a completely full-proof method of gaining access to the crypto inheritance. Imposters can always find their way.

Although IRS (US) and HMRC (UK) do not treat cryptocurrencies as traditional assets, according to both, it is subject to inheritance tax. The amount of tax the heir has to pay fully depends on how the asset was received and disposed of.

Continued here:
Is Cryptocurrency Inheritable? Yes, Here is How it Works - Bitcoin & Crypto Guide - Altcoin Buzz

In November, Upbit, a popular Korean crypto asset exchange, lost $50 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) from the exchange hot wallet in a seeming hack. Details on the attack remain sparse some think it was an inside job as the word hack was not mentioned and due to the timing of the loss of funds though Upbit promised to reimburse all users affected with corporate funds.

Despite this, the stolen ETH is still out in the wild, so to speak. And according to blockchain analysis, after a few weeks of silence to seemingly fly under the radar, the hackers are starting to move the funds yet again, potentially creating a catalyst for some downward price action in the Ethereum market.

On Saturday, Whale Alert, a Twitter account dedicated to tracking suspicious blockchain transactions, posted the tweet below. In it, the account indicated that 5,000 ETH, valued at around $660,000 as of the time of writing this, was transferred from a wallet operated by those involved in the Upbit hack to an unknown wallet.

This may seem negligible, but NewsBTCs analysis of the transaction and related addresses found that this single transfer is more sinister than it may seem on the surface.

Our analysis using Ethereum blockchain explorer Etherscan found that portions (in smaller batches of 25, 50, 100 coins) of the 5,000 Ethereum are being siphoned into newly-created addresses, which in turn send funds to crypto exchange wallets.

So far, NewsBTC has found that some of Upbits stolen funds are being sent to at least three exchanges: Bibox, Binance, and one we cant identify at the moment.

There remain millions of dollars worth of Ethereum related to the hack in non-exchange wallets, making it likely that the hackers are waiting for the right moment to transfer those funds to exchanges in a bid to cash out their booty.

Hackers sending funds to exchanges can only mean one of two things: theyre attempting to cash out their stolen cryptocurrency, or theyre looking to convert their assets to another cryptocurrency (maybe to Bitcoin or Monero in this case) to make their transactions less traceable.

Whatever the case, this means that Ethereum should see some selling pressure in the coming days as a result of the sale of these hacked funds on Binance, Bibox, or other exchanges that the hackers are trying to send their cryptocurrency to.

Yes, $600,000 isnt a lot of money in the grand scheme of the cryptocurrency market, but might we remind you that there remain thousands of ETH out on the market ready to be liquidated.

Also, Chainalysis, a blockchain analysis company, has found that the PlusToken Wallet scam, which was a China-centric crypto scam that secured billions worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum, has dozens of millions worth of ETH left to liquidate.

With PlusToken purportedly driving the Bitcoin crash over the past six months, their liquidations of the second-largest cryptocurrency could perpetuate troubles for this already-troubled market.

There is a silver lining though: Changpeng CZ Zhao of Binance has pledged to work with Upbit and other industry players to ensure any hacked funds that may make their way to Binance are immediately frozen.

Link:
Upbits Stolen Ethereum Is Moving, and Its Bad News for ETH - newsBTC