Category Archives: Bitcoin

While bitcoin has been hovering above the $60K handle for a great majority of the last 28 days, the networks hashrate has jumped considerably during that time as well. Since August 13, Bitcoins hashrate has climbed 42% from 110 exahash per second (EH/s) to todays 157 EH/s. Moreover, after nine consecutive difficulty changes, going forward, it will be 50% more difficult to mine bitcoin than it was three months ago for the next two weeks.

At the time of writing, Bitcoins hashrate is coasting along at 157 EH/s and approximately 14 known mining pools are dedicating hashpower to the network. 16.39 exahash or 10.24% of the network is being mined by stealth miners and the hashrate is classified as unknown.

The unknown hashrate represents the fifth-largest mining pool dedicating hash toward the network. Meanwhile, during the last three months, Bitcoins hashrate has followed the price moving northbound. The overall hashrate is 42% higher than it was three months ago and that was roughly a month after Chinas crackdown on bitcoin miners.

In the last three months, hashrate averages show that at some points during the last three months, Bitcoins hashrate ran as high as 180 EH/s. Bitcoins hashrate has climbed above the 180 EH/s region three times since October 25.

Bitcoins price has hovered above the $60K price range since October 15 and dipped under $60K on one occasion during that time. Because the hashrate has been gradually rising, Bitcoins network difficulty as of this weekend, will have adjusted upward nine times in a row. The nine adjustments equates to being over 50% more difficult to mine bitcoin (BTC) since July 17, 2021.

Today, the top four mining pools command 58.6% of the networks hashrate during the last three days. F2pool is the largest mining pool with 28.51% EH/s and Antpool commands 26%. Foundry USA captures 12.69% of the global hashrate as the third-largest mining pool today. Foundrys pool commands roughly 20.32 EH/s at the time of writing.

Viabtc is the fifth largest mining pool with 11.8% of the global hashrate translating to 18.89 EH/s. The fifth-largest hashrate today belongs to stealth miners known as unknown with 16.39 EH/s. Below this portion of the hashrate pie is another ten mining pools dedicating hashrate to the BTC chain.

The most profitable miners on the market are making decent profits between $34 to close to $45 per day with todays exchange rates, the current mining difficulty, and $0.07 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in electricity costs. The Microbt Whatsminer M30S++ (112 TH/s) will bring in 44.77 per day at current BTC exchange rates and the Bitmain Antminer S19 Pro (110 TH/s) pulls in $44.24 per day.

Canaans top model, the Avalonminer 1246 (90 TH/s) can get around $34.92 every 24 hours using current exchange rates. If the new Bitmain Antminer S19 XP was in the wild today, it could pull in around $58.20 a day with its 140 TH/s hashpower. However, the unit is not expected to be sold until July 2022.

What do you think about the recent mining action and Bitcoins hashrate climbing 42% higher in three months? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Btc.com, Coinwarz.com,

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.

See the original post:
Bitcoin's Hashrate Soars 42% Higher Over the Last 3 Months Following Crypto Asset's 36% Price Increase Mining Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

A representation of the virtual cryptocurrency bitcoin is seen in this picture illustration taken October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Bitcoin and ether, the world's two largest cryptocurrencies, stayed weak on Wednesday and near critical levels that analysts believe could spell further weakness if breached.

Bitcoin last traded around $60,665, up 0.9% on the day. It was off the day's low of $58,400 but is down about 12% from the record high of $69,000 set on Nov. 10, while ether was at $4,244, more than 14% lower than its peak $4,868.

While profit-taking after the massive run-up in prices was emerging as the biggest factor, analysts pointed to other reasons behind the more cautious sentiment, such as bitcoin's blockchain upgrade last weekend, higher U.S. inflation and China's latest directive to its state-owned firms not to engage in cryptocurrency mining.

Bitcoin has doubled in value since January. Its correction could get severe if it fell through $58,000, Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at online broker Oanda, said in a note.

"This is roughly where it found strong support at the end of October and given how much it's struggled to make major strides higher since, it could be the catalyst for a deeper correction," Erlam wrote.

News that Twitter would not be investing in cryptocurrencies and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) rejection of what would have been the first U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund by VanEck were also dampeners.

"This has the feel that we could see some messy two-way action, and it wouldnt surprise to see 68,000 capping the upside, 57,000 the downside." Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne, wrote in a client note.

In another sign of the world's growing fascination with blockchain and cryptocurrencies, the Staples Center sports and entertainment arena in downtown Los Angeles said it will berenamed the Crypto.com Arena under a naming rights agreement with Singapore-based Crypto.com platform. read more

In the past week, traders have become less willing to pay to hold long positions in bitcoin futures. Average funding rates fell to 0.00354% on Tuesday, according to cryptocurrency analytics platform CryptoQuant, their lowest since late September and down from 0.04122% on Nov. 10.

Funding rates represent sentiment in the perpetual swaps market, a major part of the bitcoin derivatives world. Positive funding rates imply that traders are bullish, as they must pay to hold a long position, while negative rates mean traders must pay to hold a short position, and hence are bearish.

"With the funding rates now declining to neutral levels, it seems to be a healthy balance between long and short demand in the market," crypto analysts at Arcane research said in a research note.

Money pouring into bitcoin products and funds has hit a record $9 billion this year, and totalled $151 million last week in the 13th consecutive week of inflows, data from digital asset manager CoinShares showed on Monday.

Although flows have been positive recently, volumes have been subdued in the second half, averaging $750 million daily versus $960 million in the first, CoinShares said.

Singapore-based digital economy trading firm QCP Capital pointed to the relatively heavier selloff in ether (ETH) and said that might continue, alongside a pick-up in options activity on that token.

"Weve turned quite neutral after this awaited leverage wash-out. We expect BTC (bitcoin) to be stuck around 60,000 given the strike gravity. And perhaps more volatility in ETH and altcoins," they wrote in a post on social media platform Telegram.

Editing by Robert Birsel and Chizu Nomiyama

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

See original here:
Bitcoin, ether nurse losses, lurk near critical levels - Reuters

Nearly $1 billion worth of Bitcoins, the worlds largest and most valuable cryptocurrency, has been transferred from a mysterious crypto wallet to an anonymous wallet. At least 15 Bitcoins were transferred between two anonymous wallets. Accounts holding such large crypto coins are potentially capable to influence or even manipulate the value of the cryptocurrency and are called crypto whales, in the crypto slang.

According to Blokchain.com, the amount of Bitcoin transferred into another is a whopping $993,191,088 (roughly Rs. 7,395 crore). Currently, 1 Bitcoin is trading at a price of $59,953.290, compared to the all-time high of $67,582.60, just over a week ago.

It is worth noting that since Bitcoin, is based on a Blockchain ledger, every transaction is publicly recorded, and the hefty shift of funds was quickly noted by cryptocurrency enthusiasts, platforms, and websites.

This transaction was first broadcast to the Bitcoin network on November 15, 2021. At the time of this transaction, 15,078.20768150 BTC was sent with a value of $991,820,563.67 (roughly Rs. 7,385 crore). The current value of this transaction is now $912,564,189.99 (roughly Rs. 6,794 crore), Blockchain.com had said.

But, this is not the first time such transactions have been recorded. Earlier in 2020 too, nearly $1 Billion in Bitcoin has been transferred out of a mysterious wallet.

The exact purpose of the transfer is currently unknown, however, if such a sum was to be sold all at once, it could tumble the Bitcoin prices, at least for the short term. It only takes about $15 million (roughly Rs 111 crores) to $30 million (roughly Rs 223 crores) of sell pressure to move the price of Bitcoin down two percent on any cryptocurrency exchange, according to a report by Benzinga.

At the time of writing this article, details about the owners of these wallets remain unknown. Interestingly, there are 522,952 Bitcoin wallets that hold worth over $100,000 (roughly Rs. 75 lakh) and are fully capable of manipulating the market movement, as per a report by Glassnode.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies fell on Tuesday, with Bitcoin sliding toward the $60,000 level and Ether touching one of its lowest levels this month. Bitcoin, the largest digital token, was down 4 percent at about $61,400. Global crypto market cap has dropped some 7 percent in the past 24 hours to $2.8 trillion, according to cryptocurrency tracker CoinGecko.

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency is an unregulated space and digital currencies are not backed by any sovereign authority. Investing in cryptocurrency comes with market risks. This article does not claim to provide any kind of financial advice for trading or buying cryptocurrency.

Here is the original post:
Someone just transferred $1 billion worth of Bitcoins, to another mysterious wallet - The Indian Express

When you look at cryptocurrencies trading at only a few dollars -- or even a few cents -- a token, it's hard to imagine them becoming the next Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC). After all, that cryptocurrency star recently surpassed $60,000 a coin. But it's important to remember where Bitcoin started. The world's first cryptocurrency was only worth only about eight cents when it debuted in 2010.

That means it's entirely possible newer players with low valuations today may follow a similar path. Of course, not all of them will. So, it's important to carefully consider the features of each before making this sort of bet. Right now, I think one cryptocurrency has a particularly good chance of becoming the next Bitcoin. Let's find out which one -- and why.

Image source: Getty Images.

I'm talking about Cardano (CRYPTO:ADA), the cryptocurrency created by Charles Hoskinson. He's also a co-founder of bigger player Ethereum. This is definitely a good sign. That's because it equals credibility and experience in the field. We could imagine Hoskinson taking what he learned in the Ethereum project and bringing those valuable lessons to the table when working on Cardano.

So, what is Cardano? It's a blockchain network featuring its own coin called "ADA." Cardano can handle smart contracts, or contracts that self-execute when certain conditions are met.

And, importantly, Cardano can securely store information for many uses. For instance, in healthcare, it can track the origins of pharmaceutical products -- making it harder for counterfeit medication to make it into your medicine cabinet. Or it can be used in agriculture to trace the origin and quality of products. In finance, Cardano aims to be a decentralized system that could bring banking to people everywhere in the world. This variety of uses could make Cardano a go-to platform for many industries years down the road.

There are a few more points that make Cardano particularly interesting -- and that may lead to a significant increase in its value down the road. First is transaction speed. Cardano really can win here. One of the disadvantages of Bitcoin is the number of transactions per second -- only about 30. By comparison, Cardano can process 250 transactions per second. And it's working on increasing that even further.

Another plus is Cardano's eco-friendly profile. This crypto player uses the equivalent of two power plants in energy per year. That may seem like a lot, but it's actually very little compared to crypto leader Bitcoin. During the same period of time, Bitcoin uses more energy than the Netherlands to power its operations.

Finally, two other elements may drive Cardano's success. And that has to do with the research and quality behind the platform. Cardano uses peer review throughout its development process. This means academic peers must review any changes to the Cardano platform -- and give the OK -- before these changes are applied.

And speaking of the development process, it's ongoing. The platform's developers have launched a five-phase program to take Cardano to the highest level. The ultimate goal? For Cardano to become 100% self-sustaining.

So, Cardano may be on its way to becoming all that Bitcoin is -- but better. Today, Cardano trades for about $1.80. The idea of a $60,000 price may seem far off from such a starting point. But Bitcoin proved such a path is possible. And considering all of the advantages Cardano offers, this young cryptocurrency may have a good shot at becoming the next to follow it.

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.

Read more from the original source:
Here's Why Cardano Is the Next Bitcoin - Motley Fool

Bitcoin, ether and solana hold steady on Wednesday following Tuesdays steep decline.

On Tuesday, bitcoin briefly fell below $60,000, less than a week after hitting an all-time high over $68,000.

The reason behind the price slump is not clear, however, some critics blame China.On Tuesday, Meng Wei, spokesperson for Chinas top economic planner, said that China is launching a full-scale clampdown on crypto mining.

Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles will be renamed the Crypto.com Arena on December 25. The deal, which was announced Tuesday night, is reportedly worth $700 million.

Related: Staples Center in LA to Become Crypto.com Arena

Known as the Creative Capital of the World, the city of Los Angeles and the people who call it home have always been pioneers, pushing the boundaries and innovating as the undeniable global leaders of culture and entertainment, said Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek. Were very excited about partnering with AEG and investing long term in this city, starting with Crypto.com Arena in the heart of downtown, and using our platform in new and creative ways so that cryptocurrency can power the future of world class sports, entertainment and technology for fans in LA and around the world.

Staples reportedly paid $116 million to get its name on the arena in 1999.

The U.S. Justice Department is selling $56 million worth of seized cryptocurrency to compensate victims of the BitConnect Fraud scheme.

The DOJ says that the liquidation is the largest single recovery of a cryptocurrency fraud by the United States to date.

On September 1, Glenn Arcaro of Los Angeles pleaded guilty to charges on in involvement in the fraud.Arcaro is scheduled to be sentenced in January and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Read the original here:
Bitcoin, BitConnect Fraud, Staples Center: 3 Things to Watch in Crypto Wednesday - TheStreet

A representation of the virtual cryptocurrency Bitcoin is seen in this picture illustration taken October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Edgar Su

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Perth Heat, one of the most successful Australian Baseball League sides, entered the cryptocurrency market by saying on Wednesday that they would pay players and staff in bitcoin, adding they were the first team to do so in the world.

The Heat, who have won four ABL championships in the modern era, said that they had partnered with Bitcoin company OpenNode to accept and send Bitcoin payments powered by the Lightning Network.

Cryptocurrency has gradually been making appearances in the world of sport with Italian soccer teams striking up sponsorship deals with crypto exchange firms, for example.

However, the Heat said this is the first time a team has wholly embraced cryptocurrency, envisaging a future where fans can also pay for merchandise and food at a game with Bitcoin.

"We know the community looks to the Heat as a model of success and hope our adoption of a Bitcoin Standard will inspire others to embrace a monetary system that demands value creation to thrive," Heat CEO Steven Nelkovski said in a statement.

"The players and organisational staff have fully embraced the opportunities that being paid in Bitcoin can provide."

The payments in Bitcoin are not believed to be mandatory - which may come as a relief given the cryptocurrencies market volatility.

Bitcoin and ether, the world's two largest cryptocurrencies, stayed weak on Wednesday and near critical levels that analysts believe could spell further weakness if breached. read more

The new ABL season was due to begin this week. However, it was announced last month that it would be cancelled for a second successive year due to COVID-19 restrictions in Australia.

Reporting by Christian Radnedge; Editing by Shrivathsa Sridhar

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

See the original post:
Perth Heat to pay players and staff in Bitcoin - Reuters

Holding a glass, center right, Nym CEO Harry Halpin with Chelsea Manning, now security auditor for Nym, and supporters from Matter.VC and the LEAP Encryption Access Project at an afterparty for a pitch at Google NYC, 2017.

Working to make the internet more private, Nym Technologies recruited former U.S. Army intelligence analyst and whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who used privacy software Tor to leak thousands of classified documents in 2011. Now, with a fresh $13 million capital injection, valuing the three-year old Neuchtel, Switzerland-based company at around $270 million, Nym is gearing up to accelerate the advent of the private web powered by blockchain.

Revealed exclusively to Forbes, the Series A financing round was led by Silicon Valley monolith Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Crypto). Other investors include Barry Silberts Digital Currency Group, Tayssir Capital, Huobi Ventures, HashKey, Fenbushi Capital, and more than two dozen operators of validator nodes, or servers responsible for verifying transactions on the startups network.

Following a $2.5 million seed investment led by Binances VC arm and incubator, in 2019, and a Polychain Capital-led $6.5 million raise, which closed this July, Nyms latest round signals the growing interest in privacy preserving technologies, no longer a niche avail of the paranoid and the criminal. And the world at large is paying attention.

Encryption is becoming an incredibly important component of the internet today, says Ali Yahya, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and Nym provides privacy at the very bottom layer as a foundation for other private solutions to be built on top.

The Nym blockchain uses a mix network, or mixnet, where nodes are rewarded with tokens to shuffle internet traffic. If needed the nodes can inject dummy packets of data to make it harder for adversaries to decode information even at the highest level. Nym CEO Harry Halpin, who had worked at the World Wide Web Consortium with Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee prior to founding the firm in 2018, says this approach, offering what he calls network level privacy, can defeat even nation-state level mass surveillance, unlike VPNs or the Tor network.

That said, Nym is not trying to directly compete with Tor. We do recommend people use the Tor Browser, Halpin notes, but for bitcoin and Layer 2 solutions I think, we would be a better fit. In fact, Nym has been rewarding its network node operators with bitcoin. In the long run, he hopes Nyms technology could be integrated with protocols like Lightning, an additional layer built on top of the bitcoin network for instant, high-volume micropayments.

Prior to founding Nym in 2018, Harry Halpin had worked with World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners Lee.

Chelsea Manning, who is now working closely with Halpin on client side security, told Forbes Nym has demonstrated it has secured its mixnode process to a degree worthy of investment."

While not every privacy startup uses crypto, those that do have found renewed success raising capital, says Halpin, who in 2017 managed to raise only a few thousand dollars for a similar idea that didnt use blockchain. By contrast, Nyms network, which is now operating in test mode with approximately 5,000 nodes and 30 validators, is expected to go live at full capacity by the end of this year.

Notably, this is at least the fifth blockchain-related privacy investment for the rounds lead investor Andreessen Horowitz. Others include cloud computing firm Oasis Labs, zero-knowledge private applications platform Aleo, blockchain and software development company Orchid Labs, and infrastructure builder for private data on Ethereum, Keep. Since 2018, when Nym was established, funding for privacy startups has picked up: more than two thirds of the total $3.1 billion raised by companies in the field has come in the past four years, according to Crunchbase.Not to mention, many privacy-focused cryptocurrencies have proven to be sound investments this year, with several quietly outperforming bitcoin during the current bull market.

Ahead of its mainnet launch, Nym has already begun deploying fresh capital for new hires, expanding the original eight-member team to 30. Among them is Nyms cofounder George Danezis, who briefly left the project to help design Facebooks controversial digital currency Libra when another company he cofounded, Chainspace, was acquired by the social media giant. Danezis rejoined Nym in October. Additionally, Halpin says Nym will be giving out grants to independent third party developers starting next year.

Nym team at their first in-person meeting during the Covid-19 pandemic in Crete, Greece, Oct. 2021.

Last week, the team rolled out a wallet for node miners, through which they can pledge tokens to join the Nym network, earn reputation and, consequently, more tokens, based on the amount and quality of mixing the internet traffic. This helps ensure that the quality of service is sufficient for the network to remain usable and incentivizes miners to do the work correctly, Halpin explains. Though much of Nyms tokenomics is still in the works, he believes these economic incentives combined with mixnets potential will help Nym to make privacy real on the scale of the entire internet.

Continued here:
Andreessen Horowitz Leads Investment In Privacy Startup Integrating With Bitcoin - Forbes

Synonym Software Ltd., a company founded by stablecoin issuer Tether Holdings Limited, officially launched on Tuesday, setting in motion a highly ambitious project to bring Bitcoin (BTC) transactions mainstream through an independent financial platform that utilizes the Lightning Network.

Synonyms stated goal is to enable self-ownership and control of crypto assets by creating an open financial ecosystem that utilizes Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, the company announced Tuesday. CEO John Carvalho said Hyperbitcoinization wont magically happen on its own. In order to live in a world without big banks, oppressive regulations, or Big Tech presiding over our lives, we need a strategy and ecosystem to replace the legacy economy. That is where Synonym comes in.

The first protocol to be launched by Synonym is called Slashtags, an interoperability framework for private networks that doesnt rely on blockchain technology and can be used by any platform for coordination, privacy and consensus.

The Bitcoin network recently completed its highly anticipated Taproot upgrade, which targets improved transaction efficiency, privacy and smart-contract functionality. Taproot marks the first major upgrade to the Bitcoin network since Segregated Witness, also known as SegWit, all the way back in 2018. SegWit eventually culminated in the launch of the Lightning Network, Bitcoins second-layer scaling solution.

Related: Bitcoin Suisse to enable Lightning Network payments

Scalability has been cited as one of the biggest barriers preventing the mass adoption of Bitcoin as a transactional currency. The Lightning Network aims to solve the scalability issue by enabling off-chain transactions. The number of Lightning Network nodes, which open payment channels with each other, has increased by 128% over the past 12 months, according to industry sources.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin commands over 43% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. The premier digital currency recently topped new all-time highs north of $69,000 amid growing mainstream adoption and recognition from financial elites that crypto is a new asset class.

See the original post here:
Tether launches Synonym to boost Bitcoin adoption through Lightning Network - Cointelegraph

Are you addicted to following the crypto markets? Are you new to the game and just want to know whats going on? In just 59 seconds each day, this shot of crypto espresso gives you everything you need to know!

Bitcoin.com News has launched a brand new TikTok channel just for you, bringing information related to the crypto world to the much-loved social media platforms of today. The new channel features an informational show dedicated to pushing out news and price updates to viewers from around the world.

Called Daily Price Update, the one-minute or less per episode show gives a price update, plus a bit of price-related news to followers.

The show runs Monday to Friday, with Japanese holidays off. Episodes go live around 6:45 am EST, giving people waking up in different parts of the world a chance to listen in for their morning dose of crypto price espresso.

The episodes are subtitled and auto-captioned, giving viewers the chance to catch up anywhere, anytime, even with their mobiles on silent!

Prices Still Shuddering, Speculation Abounds, but Analysts Say #Bullish #Crypto #Market Structure Intact Bitcoin.com News DPU 11.17.21

Chillout Lofi Hip Hop K(886124) musicabeats

The show is also available on Facebook and YouTube. Click on any of the links below to get a peek at the latest episode.

Socials

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bitcoin.com_news

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buy.bitcoin.news/videos

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BitcoincomOfficialChannel/videos

This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

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

Here is the original post:
Get Your Daily Price Updates on TikTok With Bitcoin.com News' Brand New Channel Promoted Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

A top House Republican is seeking to regulate cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, by setting clear jurisdictions for how the government oversees the industry a new financial frontier.

We have an opportunity and a responsibility to be leaders in the digital assets space to protect consumers, foster innovation, and reduce regulatory burdens, said House Agriculture Committee ranking member Glenn GT Thompson (R-Pa.), who will release a discussion draft text Tuesday. His panel oversees commodity markets.

The move is an opening bid to come to a bipartisan consensus on how to regulate a new and evolving form of currency. GOP staffers who helped craft the proposal said Thompson hopes it will spark discussions with Democratic colleagues.

Cryptocurrency, digital currency that emerged in the 21st century, functions through investments. Thats somewhat similar to the traditional stock market, as described by the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. Lawmakers, whose views on cryptocurrency range from skepticism to idealism, are trying to bring clarity to a burgeoning marketplace, which currently functions with vague rules.

Senators Seek Crypto Reporting Fix as Biden Signs Infrastructure Bill

More than one out of 10 Americans bought or traded cryptocurrencies from June 2020 to June 2021, a survey by NORC, a research organization at the University of Chicago, found.

Cryptocurrency uses blockchain, a type of technology that acts as a ledger to track transactions, IBM Corp. reports. Blockchain is decentralized, so it doesnt rely on one particular system, but a network. Decentralization makes data recovery easier and doesnt require trust among network members, as each one has access to the exact same record of information, Blockchain Council argues.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

A Bitcoin ATM stands in a 7-Eleven store in Los Angeles as the cryptocurrencys price soared on Nov. 10, 2021.

Bitcoin was the first decentralized cryptocurrency, created following the Great Recession of 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto. The inventors name is thought to be a pseudonym. Other popular cryptocurrencies include Ethereum, Binance Coin, and Solana.

Both the House and Senate agriculture panels oversee the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The independent federal agency regulates commodity futures and markets for swaps, agreements between two parties to exchange cash flows in the future based on an underlying price or instrument.

Thompson said he hopes to involve this group of lawmakers in monitoring cryptocurrency. His draft text is meant to solicit feedback from stakeholders, regulators, and lawmakers to ensure we advance the best possible framework as American innovators build the next generation of digital infrastructure, he said in a statement.

Because the bill has yet to be formally introduced, it lacks cosponsors.

Thompsons measure would plug rifts between the CFTC and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by drawing clear jurisdictions over how the government oversees cryptocurrency. It would extend the CFTCs existing framework to digital commodities, letting the agency register and regulate them as a new type of entity.

Federal requirements would then fall on a registered Digital Commodity Exchange. Conditions would involve monitoring trading activity, barring abusive trading practices, public reporting of trading information, and more.

While registration would be voluntary, the proposal would offer incentives, including working with a single regulator and eligibility to provide leveraged trading.

The SECs role in the process is still to be determined, a Republican policy staffer said. But the commission would continue its responsibility of monitoring entities that raise money in this case to develop a digital commodity project, ensuring that they abide by the relevant securities laws.

The typical cryptocurrency investor is under age 40 and lacks a college degree, the NORC survey reports. Those interested in cryptocurrency come from diverse backgrounds, as 44% of traders dont identify as White and 41% are women.

However, questions remain from the general public about how cryptocurrency works. The top reason that NORC survey respondents didnt put money toward cryptocurrency is because they reported not understanding it enough.

Cryptocurrencies may have staying power as an investment option, but our hunch is that they will continue to lag behind more traditional investment opportunities for the foreseeable future, said Mark Lush, a manager in the Economics, Justice, and Society department at NORC, in a press release for the survey.

Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk is among the public personalities who are outspoken about experimenting in crypto. The billionaire warns to use caution.

Dont bet the farm on crypto! he tweeted on Oct. 24. True value is building products & providing services to your fellow human beings, not money in any form.

To contact the reporter on this story: Megan U. Boyanton in Washington at mboyanton@bgov.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fawn Johnson at fjohnson@bloombergindustry.com; Robin Meszoly at rmeszoly@bgov.com

The rest is here:
Regulations for Bitcoin, Other Cryptocurrency Sought in Congress | Bloomberg Government - Bloomberg Government