Daily Archives: October 8, 2022

This is an opinion editorial by Holly Young, Ph.D., an active builder in the Portuguese Bitcoin community.

Like many women in Bitcoin, I was first introduced to it by my partner. He had been a banker, and spoke eloquently and knowledgeably about money. When he first told me about it in 2016 the thing that shocked me the most was how ignorant about money I was back then. He asked me if I knew what the gold standard was to my embarrassment, I had only the vaguest of ideas.

We both went on quite the learning journey together, he leading the way. We both did an online course, the first of its kind, about digital currencies and he went on to do a Masters from the same university, Nicosia in Cyprus.

My first Bitcoin conference was an experience. Of the hundred and fifty odd participants, I was one of only three women and I joked with the other two about how this was the only event we had ever attended where there was no queue at the womens bathroom. But there was no denying it the atmosphere at that conference was electric. We were fizzing with an irrepressible excitement. We were onto something big and we knew it.

My learning when it comes to Bitcoin has never stopped and I look back at those early days with a fond nostalgia. The more I learned, the further reaching the changes I made. Soon enough I had changed my diet, my lifestyle, my approach to religion, family, life.

I guess once you have seen how important a discovery Bitcoin is, it could be argued that there is something of a moral imperative to tell the people who you care about. Ive been doing my best to make Bitcoin the subject of conversation amongst my family and my friends. Of course (and sadly) the success of this attempt is highly correlated to the price of Bitcoin at the time. But even taking the highs and the low in dollars into account it still surprises me how slow Bitcoin is, how hesitant most people are.

The series of stories which I have written as the Orange Pill Diaries are all true, and theyre about my varied attempts to introduce people I know and care about to Bitcoin. Im hoping that in the telling of my successes and failures there might be some common themes that Bitcoiners might be able to recognise, build upon or use.

These stories are all about people I know, friends or family. This first installment is about my friend Isobel, who owns a small trail riding business on the west coast of Portugal.

Ive got something Id like to show you, is what she said. I hesitated. I was sweat streaked and dusty. There was mud in my hair and blood under my nails from where I had clung on coming down a steep bank. I smelled strongly of horse. What I wanted was a long, cool shower with plenty of soap and shampoo in the heat of the Portuguese evening.

But when Isobel tells me she has something to show me, its pretty much always something special. Once it was a German cavalry saddle from the second World War which someone had unearthed from someones grandfathers attic and given to her as a gift. She had restored it with oil and the love true horsemen and women bestow on good equipment. Another time it was a pair of three year old Lusitano colts standing in the dusk, down through a wood and across a little stream. They were trusting, curious, blinking in the light from my phone. They rifled gently through our pockets for treats, explored our hair and boots with their muzzles and submitted to being petted like puppies.

So I followed her into the cool of her hallway, expecting her to lead me further into her house. Instead she fumbled under a pile of horse blankets and pulled out a cracked Ikea picture frame. Inside it, a five euro note. I found this, she said. I was out on a ride through the dunes and I saw it in the heather! So I jumped off and grabbed it. I looked at her in some confusion. Well, its not mine, I replied.

No well, I mean, I know. To my great surprise I saw that she had tears in her eyes. I know Isobel as a cheerful, sensible businesswomen, one of the best horsewomen I know (and I know very many, on this continent and beyond). Nothing phases her.

Seeing her on the verge of tears was unthinkable and I was momentarily lost for words. I just wanted to thank you again for coming. she says.

With COVID-19, times have been hard. Its not like horses stop eating, or dont need vets, or dont need the blacksmith once in a while, just because travel restrictions are in place and no tourists are here. Feed has gone up in price, shoeing too and no clients have been coming. When I found this five euro note I kept it for if I really get to a time again when I have nothing on my bank balance. At least Ill be able to buy bread for my kids for the next day. So thank you for coming. Im so glad youve never stopped traveling, even in all the restrictions and that you have come to ride with me again.

I didnt know what to say. Riding with her is a real highlight of every visit to the area but it had stupidly never occurred to me just how tight for money she must have been with so few clients, or how valuable my custom was.

Brightening, she told me how, to save on blacksmiths bills, she has taught herself how to trim her horses feet and is changing her routes so they only need to take the soft sand paths through the dunes. Its sixty five euros per horse per eight weeks now, she added. I have seven horses. That adds up very fast. This way, I keep their feet trimmed myself and none of them need shoes. She was cheerful again. I reached out to stroke the pretty white mare who had just taken me through the sand dunes, a light hearted adventure of walking and chatting combined with wild gallops down the narrow, twisting paths, emerging suddenly at breakneck speed onto cliff tops, with the turquoise Atlantic below. Wed talked about horses and our respective children and wed come back a little giddy from the galloping and the ozone rich air.

Id visited some months before, and I remembered when this horse was new. Almost all of Isobels horses are rescue horses. When she came this mare was afraid of her own shadow. If you raised a hand in her direction she flinched fearfully away, expecting a blow. Now, munching calmly on her feed, she turned contentedly towards me and rested her head briefly against my shoulder. I reached in my pocket for the cash I had put there, to pay for the ride I had just taken. Id slipped in a little extra but still, it didnt feel quite right, paying Isobel in euros. Someone whose work and skill I respected so much should be paid in well, better money. I gave it to her and she took it with a smile and more thanks.

I weighed my options carefully, trying to gauge her reaction. I knew if I offered her any financial help she wouldnt accept it, would be offended, even, and that it may sour a friendship which even in its very early days I recognized as a valuable one. I thought quickly through the pros and cons and then took the plunge. Do you remember how I told you about Bitcoin, Isobel? I asked her. She nodded. Well, would you maybe have time later in the week so I can explain it more? I think it might be a good way for you to be able to plan for the future.

My kids love a good swimming pool. I had made sure that the villa I had rented for our trip had one and a couple of days later I was lying beside it watching them plunge in, get out and plunge in again. Half my attention was on my book, which I wish I could tell you was something weighty on Bitcoin but was in fact an engaging novel about a penguin and mafia intrigues. I heard a bicycle on the gravel of the driveway and looked up to see Isobel peeking inquiringly around the hedge. Have you got time now? she asked. I brought my laptop.

We had spoken a bit about Bitcoin before. She knew I had an interest in it and was happy to talk about it. She also knew that I didnt want to give her financial advice on her personal situation but that I had made it very clear that if she had questions Id be more than happy to help. The real key to a successful orange pill, a good friend once told me, is awakening curiosity. And lets face it, most people come for the financial gains. Some people even stay for the gains, even when they have seen the revolution. Knowing Isobels financial situation, I started with the gains. I showed her a chart of Bitcoins price development over the years and I explained how, even though there are often dips, the dips have never gone to zero. I repeated the well known mantra: No one who has invested in Bitcoin for four years and not sold has ever lost money. Sketching it out roughly, I showed her why not.

But what is Bitcoin? was her eminently sensible question. I explained, as concisely as I could, how Bitcoin is a digital currency, whose ledger is maintained on the blockchain. I watched as the penny dropped when she started to realize the implications of property which is absolute. I compared it to the field where her two beautiful Lusitano stallions were no doubt at that moment happily chewing through the dry summer grass, a field whose deed had at some point in the mists of time been registered by an inhabitant of the village, now long dead. Ownership of the field and grazing rights was the cause of some strife for her and some government intervention from the council. We discussed inflation, which she was seeing in her life in the rising costs of the blacksmith and the feed she supplemented the dry grass with. I explained, as briefly as I could, how Bitcoin is decentralized and how crucial that is in determining its value. She had never heard of any altcoins (I think I once heard Elon talk about some kind of currency which I dont think was Bitcoin, but the mans a nut job anyway, she said) I repeated that Bitcoin is the only truly decentralized currency as a precautionary measure.

Then I asked her why she had her laptop with her. She told me she was curious. She had very little spare cash, she said, but she had seen how convinced I was in our first conversation. What she had heard during our conversation that day had helped her make up her mind. She wanted to buy a few euros worth.

I set her up with an encrypted email, a password manager and a wallet. Then we made our agreement. I told her I would pay for my daughter and I to go for a beach ride together with her. I would send her the euro amount in Bitcoin. We would wait to take that ride for bitcoin to double in value. Its an agreement which still stands between us. That was in May 2021, when one Bitcoin was $44,000. We still ride often together but were still waiting for Bitcoin to reach $88,000. That will be an all-time high to remember.

After I got her set up and explained what an orange pill was, I thought she would be well and truly done with talking about Bitcoin. Instead, she settled back in her chair. Where did Bitcoin come from? she asked. I put on a fresh pot of coffee.

This is a guest post by Holly Young. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

Continued here:
Creating Hope In A Business Owners Life With Bitcoin Adoption - Bitcoin Magazine

O'Shares ETFs chairman and renownedShark TankinvestorKevin O'Learyhas once again spokenoutabout Bitcoin BTC/USD. He believes one factor is holding BTC back from moving out of the current trading range.

In aninterview, O'Leary, who will be speaking at the2022 Benzinga Crypto Conferenceon Dec. 7, said that support of U.S. policymakers could trigger an influx of institutional capital into the crypto markets, sparking aBitcoin rally.

"I think, and this is speculation, that if you got this thing done with just stablecoins, and you got it regulated, it would increase the value of a lot of different positions that I have, including Bitcoin," he said.

Earlier in August, he suggested that thecryptocurrency market should have strong policiesand regulations.

"I predict crypto, particularly Bitcoin, will be locked between $20,000 and $25,000 until we get a policy. After that, it's not going to go anywhere because there are not enough buyers," O'Leary said.

Also Read:Why Kevin O'Leary Says A New Digital Economy Is Emerging

He had said there is an ongoing battle between the SEC and other regulators regarding crypto, NFTs, and different crypto market-related products.

O'Leary said that Bitcoin is losing its momentum in terms of adoption, "There's a fatigue in this market now. And there's a lack of adoption, and there's a lack of wallets. There's a lack of a lot of stuff, and it's coming to the front now. People [are] saying, 'We've got to break through this.' It's like a giant log jam."

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $19,508, up about 1% in the last seven days.

Photo: Courtesy ofOntario Chamber of Common flickr

Continued here:
Kevin O'Leary Says There's One Primary Catalyst That Can Push Bitcoin Higher - Bitcoin (BTC/USD) - Benzinga

Fed Watch is a macro podcast, true to bitcoins rebel nature. In each episode, we question mainstream and Bitcoin narratives by examining current events in macro from across the globe, with an emphasis on central banks and currencies.

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In this episode, CK and I cover a large chunk of the ongoing macro news. First, we covered New York Federal Reserve President John Williams speech on inflation, then the U.N. report demanding central banks change course and finally the OPEC decision to cut quotas by 2 million barrels per day (mbd).

Each week, CK and I lead off with a bitcoin chart to center our macro conversation from this perspective.

The daily chart from this week shows a slight bullish curl as it approaches the diagonal trend line. Several indicators are bullish, including more significant weekly and monthly signals.

The bitcoin daily chart showing bullish indicators

On the weekly chart, the first ever weekly bullish divergence has locked in. This does not mean we cant have further downside. If you look at the red columns on the chart below that signify weekly bearish divergences, you can see they often come in multiples. However, at the first sign of a weekly divergence, it does signal that we are very close to the ultimate reversal.

The sentiment in the Bitcoin ecosystem has started to shift from fear to being slightly more positive. If the price can capitalize here and break out, we could experience a sizable shift into bullish momentum.

The first ever weekly bullish divergence has locked in

In this section, CK and I also discuss a possible bitcoin decoupling from stocks. The correlation has been quite high recently, but bitcoin does offer some fundamentally different properties. As CK points out, bitcoin is not weakened by being exposed to a specific companys revenues in a credit crisis. Where companies might face harsh credit conditions, bitcoin doesnt. Bitcoin actually benefits from a flight away from credit risk.

In this segment, I read several quotes from a recent speech by John Williams, president of the New York Federal Reserve. Most of it revolved around a funny definition of inflation, which Williams calls the Inflation Onion.

The first layer of this onion is commodity prices, the second layer is prices of products like appliances and vehicles. The innermost layer of the inflation onion is wait for it underlying inflation.

There we have it: Inflation is an onion of different layers of prices. At the root is supply and demand and underlying inflation. No mention at all of money printing or debasement. I think what he intends to portray is that inflation works its way through the economy. Prices of commodities trickle inward to products, in this case, which in turn trickle inward to things like rents and labor.

This week saw the release of the United Nations annual Trade and Development Report, in which they described the current status of the global economy and provided policy recommendations. Overall, I was surprised by the cogent nature of the report, getting many things right. They even used terms like super-hysteresis and shadow banking, ideas weve been talking about on Fed Watch for years.

We go through several quotes right out of the report and find ourselves agreeing with them multiple times. It is only when the U.N. comes to make recommendations that they lose us.

The policy choices are straight out of the World Economic Forum or communist playbook. They are full of phrases like equitable distribution of income and redistributive policies. What they want the Fed to do is to stop rate hikes that are disproportionately hurting emerging markets and instead use price controls and regressive taxation.

A lot of this story doesnt make sense to me. OPEC+ had an in-person meeting on October 5, 2022 and decided to reduce their oil production quota by 2 mbd. However, this comes as they are currently producing 3.6 mbd below their current quota.

Under the voluntary production quota cut, OPECs total voluntary quota in November is 42.1 mbd, but their August production was 40.45 mbd. As it stands now, the reduction in the quota of 2 mbd, with current production levels, only shrinks OPEC's shortfall. They will still have 1.6 mbd of room to increase production!

Some people are figuring the new voluntary quotas by country, which results in a 0.86 mbd reduction, mostly from Saudi Arabia, but the total is as stated above. Ive been calling it voluntary because OPEC officials stressed that these quotas were voluntary.

Wait, what? How is this some sort of emergency? Its not. CK and I speculate on exactly why we see all the fear-mongering headlines we do from this story and it boils down to election season timing and narratives.

This is a guest post by Ansel Lindner. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.

See original here:
The Federal Reserve Versus The UN And OPEC - Bitcoin Magazine

The European Union (EU) doubled down on previous sanctions against Russia which limited bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions resulting in an outright ban against all transactions, per a statement from the European Commission.

The Commission welcomes the Council's adoption of an eighth package of hard-hitting sanctions against Russia for its aggression against Ukraine, reads the statement.

All bitcoin and cryptocurrency wallets, accounts and custody services in Russia are hereby banned. Previously, transactions were limited to 10,000 ($9,900).

The ban comes on the heels of recent news from Russia, where its Ministry of Finance announced the countrys intentions to allow any industry to accept bitcoin and cryptocurrency for international trade. Last month, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev stated that "there is no way to do without cross-border settlements in cryptocurrency."

Russias need to transact in bitcoin and cryptocurrency has stemmed from a continuing dialogue between the Russian central bank and its Ministry of Finance as the two regulators determine how best to introduce this ability to the economy.

But while the two regulators debate on how to accomplish the task, the EU has stepped in prohibiting any and all cryptocurrency transactions and services with its most recent ban.

The new sanctions extend beyond cryptocurrency to also include restrictions on individuals and entities in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Each sanctioned individual is believed to be involved in the Russian occupation, illegal annexation and sham referenda in the previously mentioned territories.

Furthermore, export sanctions aiming at Russian military, industrial and technological access, as well as at its defense sector, were introduced. The EU also imposed a 7 billion import restriction and oil price caps.

Read the original:
EU Issues Bitcoin, Crypto Ban On Russia With New Sanctions - Bitcoin Magazine

Mt Gox creditors have been issued new information concerning their claims and it seems they now have until January 10, 2023 (Japan time) to register for a repayment method. The latest notice says that any creditors that wish to receive payment, must finish the selection and registration section on the system platform by the deadline. Furthermore, the crypto exchange Bitstamp has revealed it is one of the selected exchanges chosen by the court trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi.

Roughly 38 days ago, the Mt Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi, from the Tokyo-based bankruptcy court system, told creditors that the rehabilitation custodian is currently preparing to make repayments. Interestingly, the day before the trustees notice, 10,001 bitcoin associated with Mt Gox moved after sitting idle since December 19, 2013.

Furthermore, another 5,000 bitcoin associated with Mt Gox moved five days later, after the bitcoins sat for close to nine years of dormancy. Now Kobayashi has issued a deadline notice that explains creditors must finish the claims.mtgox.com platforms selection and registration section by January 10, 2023.

The latest Mt Gox notice says:

The deadline for selection and registration is January 10, 2023 (Japan time); any creditor who wishes to receive repayment must complete selection and registration on the system by such deadline.

It has been known for quite some time now that creditors will have to register with a selected crypto exchange, and submit basic KYC/AML information. Mt Gox creditors need to register with the selected exchange and at the time of writing, the names of all the exchanges have not been disclosed. However, Bitstamp announced on Friday that the Luxembourg-based trading platform was one of the selected crypto exchanges.

Bitstamp is pleased to announce that we are supporting the rehabilitation process for Mt. Gox creditors, the exchange said in a blog post about the subject. Rehabilitation creditors who choose Bitstamp as their cryptocurrency exchange will receive the rehabilitation assets via their Bitstamp account.

According to a Mt Gox creditor, users need to log into the claims.mtgox.com system and perform the identity verification process, and then fully complete the selection and registration section. Then Mt Gox creditors have a choice to choose either fiat or a crypto and fiat combo.

It seems after the deadline commences next year on January 10, Mt Gox claimants will finally get funds distributed after years of waiting and a turbulent rehabilitation process. Theres no way to verify how many creditors will choose to get a full fiat payment, but its been said by a few creditors that choosing the BTC payment was a better option.

Bitstamps announcement notes that due to regulatory reasons it cannot support Mt Gox creditors who are residents of China, Iran, Macao SAR, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, or three Ukraine regions which include Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk.

What do you think about the latest from the Mt Gox saga? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 6,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

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.

More:
Mt Gox Saga Nears End of the Road Creditors Required to Register With Exchanges, Bitstamp Selected by Trustee Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

Back in 2009, when Bitcoin established a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending system supported by its native Bitcoin (BTC) currency, the world regarded a decentralised financial system with amazement and scepticism.

More than a decade years later, BTC has not only become the most valuable cryptocurrency in the world by market cap but has also accelerated the adoption of blockchain technology across several sectors.

Blockchain technology, which uses cryptographic encryption techniques to provide a trustless and decentralised ledger system for recording transactions immutably, has given rise to a number of applications, including DeFi or decentralised finance, which is revolutionising how people conduct business online.

However, the supremacy of blockchain-based protocols like Bitcoin may soon be challenged by a new generation of quantum computers that employ quantum bits, often known as qubits, to do computations orders of magnitude quicker than even the most powerful supercomputers.

How quantum computing works and how it may lead to dangerous attacks?

While conventional computers utilise bits, which alternate between 0 and 1, quantum computers employ qubits, which may exist in both states simultaneously.

These computers are millions of times quicker than the fastest supercomputers available today because they can calculate and take into account several configurations at once.

With this level of processing power, bad actors might leverage the benefits of quantum computing to target protocols like Bitcoin in an effort to steal money from the millions of cryptocurrency users who already conduct online transactions.

Such elements may theoretically deploy potent quantum computers to attack susceptible wallet addresses or even target transactions while they are being processed on the blockchain by using various tactics, such as transit attacks or storage assaults.

While transit attacks are beyond the capabilities of the majority of the quantum computers now in use, storage attacks appear to be more likely since they depend on how securely tokens are maintained by different users.

Is Bitcoin's hegemony currently under threat?

Today's borderless transaction systems, such as Bitcoin and other blockchain protocols, are not especially vulnerable to quantum computing assaults.

This is due to the fact that the processing power of quantum computers has not advanced above 100 qubits, greatly restricting the likelihood of an attack on a protocol as vast and safe as Bitcoin.

Nevertheless, given how quickly technology is developing, it is predicted that over the next 10 years, quantum computers with more than a million qubits will likely become a reality.

With so much computing power, a concerted attack on the Bitcoin network in its current state would be seriously undermined, with even transit attacks being a very real possibility for cybercriminals.

However, given the restricted time, depending on the block processing time of each protocol, and the enormous amount of qubits needed to launch a successful attack, transit assaults would still be a very difficult undertaking.

Quantum computing used by projects that aim to resist any potential attacks

There are several initiatives underway seeking to modify or implement new designs that would make protocols like Bitcoin even more secure, despite the fact that quantum computers have not yet developed the degree of computational power required to pose a danger to them.

Furthermore, blockchain technology itself is constantly developing as developers and business owners compete to be the most innovative.

One of the most pressing jobs for the crypto development community will be to abandon elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), which relies on a set of public and private keys to encrypt data.

Numerous teams are looking at alternative cryptographic techniques to safeguard the future iteration of Bitcoin and other protocols because they see the need for stronger and more attack-proof solutions.

Block lattice technique, used by the QAN Platform, directed acyclic graph (DAG) technology, used in the Iota blockchain, and even quantum key distribution (QKD), which was jointly created by Toshiba and JPMorgan, are some significant instances of quantum-resistant technologies.

See the article here:
Will Bitcoin be threatened by the development of quantum computing? - Moneycontrol

Although cryptocurrencies do not have the status of legal cash in Namibia, the countrys central bank, the Bank of Namibia (BON), has announced that it has now included virtual assets (VA) and virtual assets service providers (VASP) under its Fintech Innovations Regulatory Framework in a phased approach, through its innovation hub.

The BON also highlighted in a statement issues towards the end of September that, although digital currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) are still not legally recognized, retailers and dealers may take money in this form if they are willing to participate in such an exchange or trade.

Notably, the central bank said that it is contemplating making changes to applicable laws and regulations diligently in consultation with other relevant authorities.

The banks new stance on digital currencies seems to indicate that the BON is warming up to cryptocurrencies. The central bank has previously said:

It did not recognise, support and recommend the possession, utilisation and trading of cryptocurrencies by members of the public. The bank also warned Namibians there would be no legal recourse in the event they lost money.

In the announcement, Governor Johannes Gawaxab of the BON, who has been known to be sceptical of cryptocurrencies in the past, is reported as conceding that the future of money has reached a crucial juncture. He went on to explain:

The future of money is at an inflection point. The battle between regulated and unregulated money on the one hand, and sovereign versus non-sovereign money on the other.

Nonetheless, Gawaxab argues that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) provide something that privately issued or developed digital currencies cannot. Nonetheless, the BON governor stressed that his institution, which is likewise examining and analyzing the viability of launching a CBDC, would not hurry into it.

If CBDCs are explored and implemented with due care and caution, they could hold immense potential benefit for a more stable, safer, more widely available, and less expensive means of payment than private forms of digital money, said Gawaxab.

The BON also shared that it will be releasing a CBDC consultation document in the month of October.

Read this article:
Namibia's central bank says Bitcoin can be accepted as payment - Finbold - Finance in Bold