Daily Archives: January 29, 2022

According to the chief executive officer (CEO) of the United Arab Emirates-based financial institution, Bank of Sharjah, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are not only difficult to regulate but are also here to stay. Despite this prediction, the CEO admits that many in the banking industry still do not fully understand this technology.

The CEO of Bank of Sharjah, Varouj Nerguizian, has said the blockchain and cryptocurrencies are not going away but are likely to become a significant part of the banking system. Nerguizian, however, said banks can only fully benefit from technology when they deploy non-public or enterprise blockchains.

In comments made during an interview with Emirates News, the CEO also explained how the blockchain can potentially be a double-edged sword to financial institutions that are attempting to adapt to the post-pandemic landscape. He said:

Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that is not yet fully understood by the banking industry at large. While its application is easy to grasp in certain areas like Know Your Customer [KYC] or the real estate title deed verification, blockchain supposedly allows parties to transact with each other without the need for an intermediary. This raises the concerns of the authorities that would like to monitor the activity.

Concerning the future of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, especially in the wake of increased pressure from regulators and governments around the world, Nerguizian is quoted asserting that the technology is not going away.

I personally believe blockchain technology and by extension, cryptocurrency is here to stay and [are] impossible to regulate at large. However, in UAE, jurisdictions like Abu Dhabi Global Market [ADGM] and Dubai International Financial Centre [DIFC] have come up with crypto regulations and might in time be a significant part of the banking landscape as we move forward, Nerguizian is quoted explaining.

Meanwhile, the CEO also is quoted in the report expressing his belief that the banking industry had been headed for a digital transformation even before the pandemic struck. As the pandemic spread globally, more companies including banks shifted to a practice where employees worked remotely.

According to Nerguizian, when banks exploit their employees ability to work remotely they will likely reap future gains and profitability.

Do you agree with Nerguizians view that cryptocurrencies are here to stay? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Terence Zimwara is a Zimbabwe award-winning journalist, author and writer. He has written extensively about the economic troubles of some African countries as well as how digital currencies can provide Africans with an escape route.

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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Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Is 'Here to Stay and Impossible to Regulate at Large' CEO of a United Arab Emirates Based Bank Finance Bitcoin News -...

Qubit Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, has become the latest victim of a high-value theft, with hackers stealing around $80 million in cryptocurrency on Thursday.

The value of cryptocurrency stolen makes this the largest hack of 2022 so far.

Qubit Finance acknowledge the hack in an incident report published through Medium. According to the report, the hack occurred at around 5PM ET on the evening of January 27th.

Qubit provides a service known as a bridge between different blockchains, effectively meaning that deposits made in one cryptocurrency can be withdrawn in another. Qubit Finance operates a bridge between Ethereum and the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network.

Analysis produced by CertiK, a blockchain auditing and security company, suggests the hacker was able to exploit a security flaw in Qubits smart contract code that let them send in a deposit of 0 ETH and withdraw almost $80 million in Binance Coin in return.

As we move from an Ethereum-dominant world to a truly multi-chain world, bridges will only become more important, CertiK analysts wrote. People need to move funds from one blockchain to another, but they need to do so in ways that are not susceptible to hackers who can steal more than [$80 million].

A statement posted by the Qubit Finance team on Twitter directly appealed to the hacker, asking them to negotiate with the team in order to minimize losses for the Qubit community.

Qubits incident report also stated that the team was attempting to offer the hacker the maximum reward possible under their bug bounty program. A listing for Qubit on the Immunefi bug bounty platform suggests that this is $250,00.

Since the launch of Binance Smart Chain in 2020, several DeFi projects have suffered exploits. The most severe include a $31 million hack on Meerkat Finance in March 2021, a hack on Uranium Finance for $50 million in April, and an $88 million hack against Venus Finance in May, according to Crypto Briefing.

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Hackers have stolen $80 million in cryptocurrency from the Qubit DeFi platform - The Verge

What happened this week in the crypto world.

Welcome to the first edition of Nonfungible Tidbits, where we highlight some of the most interesting things that happened this week in cryptocurrency, NFTs and related realms.

Certainly the biggest story this week was the price of bitcoin, which isn't, um, doing well. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is reportedly ending its stablecoin project. And last Friday, Twitter debuted a feature that allows subscribers to its paid Twitter Blue service to use an NFT as a profile picture. Here are a few other stories that caught our eyes this week.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission said no to a proposal on Thursday that would've allowed shares of Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust to be listed and traded. The SEC cited concerns over investor protections and public interest for the decision. Investors have been able to buy shares of an ETF that tracks bitcoin futures contracts since last year. But a spot bitcoin ETF would track the actual price of bitcoin, rather than the price of bitcoin futures, and the SEC isn't ready for that quite yet.

Crypto mining rigs.

The main thing bitcoin mining operations require is electricity --lots and lots of electricity. This is what drives the ongoing concern about Bitcoin's impact on the environment. But there's a growing presence of bitcoin miners in Texas, and Gov. Abbot wants to use them to help reinforce the state's power grid? The idea here is that mining operations use so much energy they will entice new investment in power plants in Texas. Then, when demand for electricity is high, like it was during the winter storms last year, the bitcoin miners can turn off their operations to free up electricity. We should note that there is currently no law in Texas that would require miners to do this. Maybe if the governor asks nicely?

Bud Light is the big game's official beer, so no Miller ads are allowed on America's most valued advertising slots of the year. What's the next best thing? Apparently it's a "metaverse bar." Miller Lite is partnering with Decentraland, a platform that allows people to buy and sell virtual plots of land. What's a metaverse bar? After reading this Marketing Dive story, the concept sounds like it's essentially a video game where you log in, and your avatar sits at a bar and buys NFTs. Very 2022.

The Ethereum Foundation oversees the Ethereum blockchain, which is the blockchain of ether, the No. 2 cryptocurrency after bitcoin (by market cap). The blockchain, currently in its "Eth1" phase, is scheduled for an upgrade later this year, which is supposed to make it more efficient, environmentally friendly and less expensive to conduct transactions with. Previously, the new version was to be known as Eth2, but not anymore. Why? According to an Ethereum Foundation blog post, Eth1 will be known as the "execution layer" and Eth2 will be known as the "consensus layer." This is a change in semantics, and the change reflects that the execution and consensus layers are, rather than two separate versions of Ethereum, both aspects of the same system. And that's good, right?

That's all the tidbits we have for now. Thanks for reading. We'll be back next week with plenty more to talk about. In the meantime, check out the So Money podcast featuring CNET's Farnoosh Torabi.

A direct deposit of news and advice to help you make the smartest decisions with your money.

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Nonfungible Tidbits: This week in bitcoin, cryptocurrency and NFTs - CNET

What happened

The cryptocurrency market is getting hit with another week of big sell-offs, and Cardano's (CRYPTO:ADA) ADA token has been caught up in the negative market momentum. The cryptocurrency was down 11.2% over the last week of trading as of 4 p.m. ET on Friday, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Only a handful of the top-50 largest cryptocurrencies managed to end the last week of trading in the green, and most were down double digits across the stretch. In addition to the specter of rising regulatory risks, the crypto market is also facing bearish catalysts related to potential conflict between Ukraine and Russia, shifting macroeconomic conditions, and disappointing guidance from some prominent, growth-dependent companies.

Image source: Getty Images.

The Biden administration is reportedly readying an executive order that would introduce new regulations on cryptocurrencies, and investors appear to be sweating the potential impact. The crypto market has also been impacted by a pronounced investor shift away from high-risk cryptocurrencies and stocks. Weak guidance from companies including Peloton, Netflix, and Tesla, and the threat of rising interest rates have also added to the bearish momentum, and Cardano's ADA token has been feeling the squeeze.

In addition to the long list of factors prompting sell-offs for the broader cryptocurrency space, it also looks like some network-specific factors could be pushing Cardano's token price lower. The recent launch of the SundaeSwap decentralized trading exchange on Cardano has led to record utilization on the network, but this has also led to some concerns about its blockchain network's scalability.

Cardano's ADA now has a market capitalization of roughly $35 billion, and it ranks as the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by valuation. Even after big sell-offs in recent months, the token is still up more than 200% over the last year of trading.

With Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana's respective cryptocurrency tokens also down 1%, 8.1%, and 22.5%, respectively, over the last week of trading, it's likely that market momentum is the primary driver of ADA's recent valuation slide. Cardano's unique blockchain network and features give it individual pricing catalysts, but investors should move forward with the understanding that the token will likely continue to trade in line with trends for the broader crypto market -- at least in the near term.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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Why Cardano's Cryptocurrency Is Plummeting This Week - The Motley Fool

The special agent in charge of the FBI's Portland Division said anyone asking for crypto-only payments should immediately raise a red flag.

PORTLAND, Ore. Cryptocurrency is new and exciting, but it's also complicated to understand which means it can be easy to get duped. On Wednesday, experts at the FBIs Portland Division gave some pointers on how not to get conned.

Its especially timely with so many videos and posts about cryptocurrency on social media. The videos and posts often tout the money people can make or information that could help people break into it.

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that you use to invest or buy goods and in order to buy or get into cryptocurrency, you have to use your traditional fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar, said Brandon, who is an FBI forensic accountant who only went by his first name.

He said there are thousands of different types of cryptocurrencies available that are not fully regulated yet, but are generally legal to buy and use in the United States.

In fact, many companies are now accepting cryptocurrency for payments of traditional [...] retail sales or goods and services, Brandon said.

Cryptocurrency is growing fast in popularity, and as with anything involving money, there are a lot of people who want to steal it.

We are seeing a commensurate rise in fraud schemes, basically providing the fraudsters or criminals more ways to steal your money, said Kieran Ramsey, special agent in charge at the FBI Portland Field Office.

He said scammers have reinvented traditional fraud schemes. Here are the types of scams Ramsey listed:

If a seemingly credible person or retail establishment or government agency, for that matter, claims that they cannot accept any form of payment other than cryptocurrency, it's likely a scam, Ramsey said.

He said credible entities will accept payments in the form of traditional bank transfers, credit and debit card payments or cash, not just cryptocurrency.

Consumers need to do their research and not fall prey to somebody looking to exploit your eagerness to get in on the next big thing, said Ramsey.

He said anytime someone sees a demand for a crypto-only payments, that should immediately cause a red flag to go up.

It can be easy for people to get ripped off, especially because there are many opportunities for people to transfer money to scammers. Brandon said there are more than 100 cryptocurrency ATMs in the Portland metro area where people can go and transfer their physical cash electronically to someone halfway around the world. People can also acquire cash from the ATMs if they already have a cryptocurrency account. Supervisory special agent, Gabe Gundersen with Oregon's Cyber Task Force said its not the ATMs themselves that are the issue, though they can be a tool to help scammers swindle people out of their money. That leads to a huge range of losses.

It's a few hundred bucks or a few thousand. Some of the larger ones [are] well over seven figures, well over a million dollars, said Gundersen.

He estimated the FBIs Portland Division receives about a thousand reports a year from Oregonians who think they've been scammed into giving their money to a thief by way of cryptocurrency.

The FBI experts said people should look out for are unsolicited emails, texts, QR codes or other messages. They said there are plenty of legitimate cryptocurrency websites, forums, and transactions but before you take the dive, do the research.

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FBI warns of cryptocurrency scams - KGW.com

JACKSON, Tenn. In May, Jackson Mayor Scott Conger announced that the City of Jackson will possibly pay employees or contractors in cryptocurrency.

However, there are a few concerns over the legality of this potential move.

The Comptroller, Jason Mumpower, sent a letter to Mayor Conger basically advising him that this needs to be carefully reviewed. Its possible that this might actually violate certain laws, including the Fair Labor Standard Act, said John Dunn, Director of Communications at Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.

The Fair Labor Standards Act says wages must be paid in cash or a negotiable instrument payable at par. However, Conger says he doesnt plan on paying employees directly, but will give them the option to invest.

We pay employees in U.S. dollars through a third party platform or company, then they can payroll deduct their money into an investment account, Conger said.

Conger says this is possibly the best way of a deferred compensation option for Jackson employees, if they choose to participate in it.

We wouldnt be holding. We wouldnt be paying. The RFP is pretty extensive on the education piece, of how to invest, what to offer, and letting the employees know what their options are if they choose to invest in any cryptocurrency or Bitcoin, Conger said.

Conger says cryptocurrency in Jackson can attract and open doors for new residents, businesses, people in tech, and more.

Those tech companies, those tech workers, those entrepreneurs, small business owners, we dont want to put all of our eggs in one basket. Say, Hey we want to land in Georgia Pacific. We want to diversify. Just like when you invest, you want to diversify. We want to diversify how we attract people to Jackson, Conger said.

You can find more local news through the WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News app.

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Concerns raised about paying city employees in cryptocurrency - WBBJ TV - WBBJ-TV

Coinbase, one of the largest and most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, is adding a new tax center to its app and website to help US customers work out how much they might owe to the IRS as a result of their crypto transactions, the company has announced. The section is designed to gather every taxable transaction into one place to simplify matters come tax day.

Although cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin often appear similar to the fiat money were accustomed to, in the eyes of the IRS, the digital assets are actually property, according to this FAQ from the federal agency. That means cryptocurrency transactions may need to be reported as capital gains or losses, and that means keeping track of a cryptocurrencys value as its bought and sold over time. Documenting these transactions can get complicated quickly if youre regularly buying and selling.

According to Coinbase, its new section will show a personalized summary of [a customers] taxable activity on Coinbase, broken out over time by realized gains/losses and miscellaneous income. This information can then be taken to an accountant or used with tax software like TurboTax. If youre someone whos transferred crypto to external exchanges, wallets, or other DeFi (decentralized finance) services, then Coinbase says its customers can also get tax reports for up to 3,000 of these transactions free with CoinTracker.

CNBC reported last year on suspicions that a lot of the taxes due on cryptocurrency transactions are going unpaid. Although confusion about the evolving tax rules about cryptocurrencies is one reason for this, another is that exchanges like Coinbase have historically not given as much help as traditional brokerage houses to customers when it comes to reporting their gains and losses for tax purposes.

The new Coinbase tax section is accessible from the profile icon in the top right-hand corner of the interface, where Taxes will appear as a menu item. In its app, the Taxes section is accessible from the Profile & Settings menu, accessible from the top left of the apps interface. In addition to the new tools, Coinbase is also planning to offer written guides and help videos in the coming weeks to explain cryptocurrency and digital asset taxes, but for now, this overview from CNET is a helpful place to start.

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Coinbase makes it easier to report cryptocurrency taxes - The Verge

Cryptocurrency miners in Russia may have a new ally: President Vladimir Putin.

Bloomberg today reported that Putin wants to "tax and regulate" cryptocurrency mining rather than banning the practice. "We also have certain competitive advantages here, especially in the so-called mining," Putin reportedly said. "I mean the surplus of electricity and well-trained personnel available in the country."

Putin's stance appears to be more nuanced than that assumed by Russia's central bank, which called for all cryptocurrencies to be outlawed, even as the Ministry of Finance argued in favor of regulating this digital money instead. Bloomberg said Putin has ordered the central bank and the ministry to reach an agreement.

Regulating the crypto market and cryptocurrency mining has been a hot button issue around the world for the last year. China banned mining from most of its provinces in early 2021, which prompted many of the country's mining operations to move to other countries (or try to evade detection while they continue to mine).

China's displaced mining operations mostly sent their rigs to the U.S., Canada, Kazakhstan and Russia. This migration pushed Russia's share of the Bitcoin mining industry from 7% in November 2020 to 11% in October 2021, according to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, which puts the country in third place.

Swedish regulators have called for cryptocurrency mining to be banned from their country, too, and India has considered similar restrictions. But it hasn't all been doom and gloom: El Salvador has devoted itself to Bitcoin by using volcanic energy to mine the cryptocurrency, making it legal tender, and planning a full Bitcoin City.

Putin seems to be somewhere between China and El Salvador. Bloomberg reported that he wants to confine mining to regions with a surplus of electricity, so the rules wouldn't beas permissive as they are now, but he also doesn't back a ban on the practice. Now it's up to the central bank and the Ministry of Finance to walk that line.

BitCluster co-founder Vitaliy Borschenko reportedly told Bloomberg that Russia's government invited cryptocurrency miners to join a working group after the central bank published its report and that "most ministries and agencies are against radical measures."

This is largely similar to the U.S. government's approach to cryptocurrency regulation. The country doesn't seem poised to limit mining, despite concerns about its environmental impact, but it has been more strict about taxing the crypto industry. (And has considered even more stringent regulations in the past.)

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Report: Putin Wants to Tax Cryptocurrency Mining, Not Ban It - Tom's Hardware

While the cryptocurrency buzz is still unsettling, NFTs are acquiring a fast pace in the virtual ecosystem

Since Bitcoins inception in 2009, blockchain technology has evolved above and beyond. In 2022, it has reached far more than what people originally expected. Blockchain technology houses any form of digital assets and keeps them safe in an encrypted key. It has the potential to give value to everything like fiat currencies and artworks in the digital world. For example, fiat currencies are converted to stablecoins like Tether and USD Coin while artworks are called NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). While the cryptocurrency buzz is still unsettling, NFTs are acquiring a fast pace in the virtual ecosystem.

Cryptocurrencies have been stealing the stage for three straight years now. Since the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed and people started trying their hands on virtual tokens, cryptocurrencies became extremely popular. More than the popularity, they gained prominence and made many people rich over the years. However, 2022 doesnt seem to be the year for cryptocurrency. Since the beginning, even major digital assets like Bitcoin and Etheruem are experiencing a bullish trend. On the other hand, NFTs are taking the center stage. According to a report by DappRadar, consumers spend about US$100 million on NFTs in 2020. But it has drastically risen to US$22 billion, which is a 21,9100% growth in just a year. Today, interested people are buying Non-Fungible Tokens on digital platforms like OpenSea, Rarible, etc.

Both Cryptocurrency and NFTs are lucrative investments. If you think digital tokens are extremely volatile, then Non-Fungible Tokens is not your thing. Although NFTs and cryptocurrencies share the same baseline called blockchain technology, they are different in nature and carry diverse features and values. But the recent trending topic is NFTs. Big Non-Fungible Token sales like Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitters Tweet, for US$2.9 million and Beeples artwork for US$69 million is making headlines everywhere. When NFTs are gaining prominence like never before, lets explore the possibilities of these digital artworks during the cryptocurrency market upside down.

Non-Fungible Tokens represent anything that is unique like furniture, artwork, jewelry, etc. NFTs basically represents a unique object or an artwork that can be sold online. They are different from cryptocurrencies because they are not interchangeable, but fungible. However, similar to virtual tokens, they can be traded via a blockchain network and all the transactions and movement of NFTs are closely kept in context.

When a product is brought into the NFT world, it gets private ownership and tradeability. When somebody buys the Non-Fungible Token, the ownership of the product moves, which is the private key, is given to the other person. One thing that makes NFTs unique is their ability to promote the originality of the product. You can sell the same artwork on social media or any physical medium, but there are chances it might get copied by others. However, on NFTs, the owner of the artwork remains at the help and the works cant be copied. It gives owners an option to brag about the uniqueness they possess. Since there is only one original work on NFTs, its value also increases based on the demand and interest.

Recently, people are using a new method called scholarships to rent the Non-Fungible Tokens to make money. These are basically virtual tools, creatures, or skins for games that are much required to participate. They lend them to players and collect rent.

Cryptocurrencies are increasingly used in everyday life. Over the past couple of years, people are using digital tokens as money that can help them make transactions on a daily basis. On the other hand, even well-known brands are coming forward to accept cryptocurrency payments. However, NFTs are not this lucrative. They are unique so they cant be traded very often. Most importantly, NFTs cant be traded for each other like cryptocurrencies. Both cryptocurrency and NFTs are accessible through a digital ledger that makes transactions and ownership shifts transparent.

As mentioned earlier, an NFT cant be traded for another while we can do the same with a cryptocurrency. Yes, we can trade a Bitcoin to buy Bitcoin as they carry the same value. But we cant do the same with NFTs as the value differs.

Bitcoin marks the most remarkable success of blockchain technology implementation. Yes, BTC has emerged as the first cryptocurrency in 2009, paving the way for more digital assets to come. Today, nearly 80 million people are investing in Bitcoin and most of them are using it as a store of value or an option to trade. BTC is the best option for people who wants to avoid government regulations and tax issues. NFT is a branch of blockchain technology that puts collectibles on the network so they can be easily traded.

In 2022, Bitcoin still seems to be the winner even after losing value for three consecutive months. Although NFTs have some solid features and advancements, they are similar to altcoins. More than being a store of value, NFTs are emerging to be speculative. On the other hand, Bitcoin has actually helped many people become millionaires over the years.

According to the New York Times, Non-Fungible Tokens have been around since the mid-2010s. It is just that they gained popularity recently. The recent buzz around NFTs is solely created because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the digital evolution. Just like how we cant predict what will happen in the cryptocurrency sphere, the NFT world also remains behind the shadow. But one thing for sure is that it wont go away any time soon.

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Will NFTs Step Over the Cryptocurrency Buzz in 2022 and Beyond? - Analytics Insight