Welcome to the PMBug forums - a watering hole for folks interested in gold, silver, precious metals, sound money, investing, market and economic news, central bank monetary policies, politics and more. You can visit the forum page to see the list of forum nodes (categories/rooms) for topics.
Why not register an account and join the discussions? When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no Google ads, market data/charts, access to trade/barter with the community and much more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!
(Kitco News) - Google and Coinbase have announced a new Web3 strategic partnership that includes the ability for certain customers to pay for cloud services using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum beginning in 2023.
...
Google has slowly been showing more interest in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies as of late. Leading into the Ethereum Merge – which transitioned the smart contract platform to proof of stake – Google provided a countdown to the event. More recently, researchers have noticed that if you enter an Ethereum address in a Google Search, the search engine now shows the wallet’s ETH balance using data pulled from Etherscan.
Isn't Google just another name for CIA?Google and Coinbase partnership will enable crypto payments for cloud services
Google and Conibase sign a strategic Web3 innovation partnership that includes the ability to pay for cloud services using cryptocurrencies.www.kitco.com
The web3 strategic partnership may or may not lead to new innovations. Certainly, Google will be happy to have first level access to crypto market data. Also, lulz on the Etherscan snooping.
Might be getting to we crush you stage. Thing is until this is accepted everywhere I shop and pay bills I have a hard time believing it will be accepted by the masses. Not ESG friendly either.More proof we are in the "then they fight you" stage.
I'm not too worried about mass adoption, it will come. World governments and central banks are ensuring this. Bitcoin was made for times such as these, it was released shortly after and because of the "great recession". When the smoke finally clears, people will wish they had some, or it'll all be over and it won't matter.Might be getting to we crush you stage. Thing is until this is accepted everywhere I shop and pay bills I have a hard time believing it will be accepted by the masses. Not ESG friendly either.
Sounds like Winston Smith's venue, donnit?I'm not too worried about mass adoption, it will come. World governments and central banks are ensuring this. Bitcoin was made for times such as these, it was released shortly after and because of the "great recession". When the smoke finally clears, people will wish they had some, or it'll all be over and it won't matter.
South Africa’s financial regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), has posted a brief notice indicating that cryptocurrency assets will now be classified as financial products, enabling them to be regulated.
...
The FAIS defines a financial product as a security, debenture, “any money-making instrument” or an instrument conferring rights to securities and instruments. Financial service providers that are licensed in South Africa can legally offer access to financial products.
...
There was a moment not so long ago when I thought, “What if I’ve had this crypto thing all wrong?” I’m a doubting normie who, if I’m being honest, hasn’t always understood this alternate universe that’s been percolating and expanding for more than a decade now. If you’re a disciple, this new dimension is the future. If you’re a skeptic, this upside-down world is just a modern Ponzi scheme that’s going to end badly—and the recent “crypto winter” is evidence of its long-overdue ending. But crypto has dug itself into finance, into technology, and into our heads. And if crypto isn’t going away, we’d better attempt to understand it. Which is why we asked the finest finance writer around, Matt Levine of Bloomberg Opinion, to write a cover-to-cover issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, something a single author has done only one other time in the magazine’s 93-year history (“What Is Code?,” by Paul Ford). What follows is his brilliant explanation of what this maddening, often absurd, and always fascinating technology means, and where it might go. —Joel Weber, Editor, Bloomberg Businessweek
...
...
BlackRock has today launched an exchange traded fund (ETF) that enables European customers to gain exposure to a variety of companies involved in the development, innovation, and utilisation of blockchain and crypto technologies.
The iShares Blockchain Technology UCITS ETF [BLKC] will track the NYSE® FactSet® Global Blockchain Technologies Capped Index. BLKC comprises 35 global companies from developed and emerging markets with 75% exposure to companies whose primary business is related to blockchain, such as crypto miners and exchanges, and 25% exposure to companies who support the blockchain ecosystem, such as payments and semiconductor companies. The exposure is at the forefront of innovation, paving the future of blockchain. BLKC does not directly invest in cryptocurrencies.
...
November 3, 2022 – Today, Goldman Sachs, MSCI, and Coin Metrics announced the launch of datonomy, a new classification system for the digital assets market. Delivered as a new data service, datonomy classifies coins and tokens based on how they are used. Designed to provide a consistent, standardized way to help market participants view and analyze the digital assets ecosystem, datonomy will help create an increased level of transparency into how the market is moving and can be licensed for a variety of use cases, such as the review and assessment of portfolio performance and reporting.
...
This new classification system for digital assets aims to provide market participants with a consistent view of the market, allowing them to track trends across different industries, such as Smart Contract Platforms and Decentralized Finance, screen assets by a range of different filters based on their objectives, and understand aggregated properties of these assets at the portfolio level.
...
... in Lebanon – a country whose banking system is fundamentally broken after decades of mismanagement. The local currency has lost more than 95% of its value since Aug. 2019, the minimum wage has effectively plummeted from $450 to $17 a month, pensions are virtually worthless, Lebanon's triple-digit inflation rate is expected to be second only to Sudan this year, and bank account balances are just numbers on paper.
...
"The situation hasn't really changed since 2019. Banks limited withdrawals, and those deposits became IOUs. You could have taken out your money with a 15% haircut, then 35%, and today, we're at 85%," continued Hindi, who was born and raised in Lebanon before leaving at the age of 19.
"Still, people look at their bank statements and believe that they're going to be made whole at some point," he said.
Despite losing nearly all of their savings and pension, Gebrael's parents – both of whom are career government employees – are holding out hope that the existing financial system will rightsize at some point. In the meantime, Gebrael is covering the difference.
Others have lost faith in the monetary system altogether. Enter cryptocurrency.
CNBC spoke with multiple locals, many of whom consider cryptocurrencies a lifeline for survival. Some are mining for digital tokens as their sole source of income while they hunt for a job. Others arrange clandestine meetings via Telegram to swap the stablecoin tether for U.S. dollars in order to buy groceries. Although the form that crypto adoption takes varies depending upon the person and the circumstances, nearly all of these locals craved a connection to money that actually makes sense.
...
The cryptotoken LBRY credits (LBC), issued by LBRY, a blockchain-based content hosting service, is legally a security according to a decision today from the U.S. District Court for New Hampshire.
In a decision for summary judgment in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission in the case SEC v. LBRY, Inc., which began in March 2021, U.S. District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro insisted the company violated Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 by selling its tokens without registering with and obeying SEC requirements for the legal sale of securities.
...
A rub in this decision that seems to be unnerving the crypto token community the most, a strong hint that those other digital assets might not remain "untouched" by the SEC for long, is it implies that any pre-mined token—which the issuers keep quantities of without spending money before releasing it into the marketplace at large—is thus obviously a security under SEC definition.
...
This seems to imply that to pre-mine means to have created an unregistered security. And that means every transaction involving such tokens that were not registered with the SEC is potentially a crime. This would include the second largest market-cap virtual currency, ethereum. (SEC chief Gary Gensler already said last month before this decision that he believes ethereum is a security for different reasons.)
...
Kauffman tweeted this morning that "Under this standard, almost every cryptocurrency, including Ethereum and Doge, are securities. The future of crypto now rests with an org worse than the SEC: the US Congress."
Cryptotoken LBC is legally a security, federal judge declares, and requires regulation by the SEC
This is bad news for any virtual currency that was pre-mined, including ethereum.reason.com
the crypto dealer market has been quite the drama. blowups and buyouts......again and again and again
wtf is happening? controlled demolition by the int'l bankers?
bankers finishing off a 15 year project to bring in total control via the digital ledger money?
Sam Bankman-Fried’s $16 Billion Fortune Is Eviscerated in Days
The FTX co-founder is on the brink of a 94% wealth wipeout at the hands of his billionaire rival, Binance’s Changpeng Zhao.www.bloomberg.com
Sam Bankman-Fried’s $16 Billion Fortune Is Eviscerated in Days
The FTX co-founder is on the brink of a 94% wealth wipeout at the hands of his billionaire rival, Binance’s Changpeng Zhao.
While U.S. investors have been patiently waiting since 2013 for the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF), investors in Brazil can now access a physically backed crypto ETF thanks to Galaxy Digital and Itaú Asset.
Itaú Asset, the largest private asset manager in Latin America, has partnered with Galaxy Digital, the financial services and investment management company founded by billionaire Mike Novogratz, to offer the IT Now Bloomberg Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BITI11) on Brazil's B3 Stock Exchange as part of Itaú Asset's broader ETF suite, the IT Now Series.
The new product launched today and allows investors in the country to gain exposure to Bitcoin in a regulated setting. According to the press release, BITI11 is the first of many crypto-related products to come.
...
Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance who found himself in the eye of the storm last week as FTX imploded, announced on Monday morning that the exchange will create a new fund to support viable crypto projects that face liquidity problems.
...
Later in the morning, Zhao hosted an AMA on Binance’s Twitter space, which was attended by 175,000 people and wrapped up at 9:48 EST.
Among the highlights of the session was his announcement that “four or five” other firms have offered to contribute to the fund, and that he will release the names of the other companies once the nature and scale of their commitment is confirmed.
...
now this would be cool for 2023
Tim Draper predicts bitcoin will reach $250,000 next year despite FTX collapse: 'The dam is about to break'
...
December 12, 2022
TORONTO and CALGARY – Following recent events in the crypto market, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) is strengthening its approach to oversight of crypto trading platforms by expanding existing requirements for platforms operating in Canada.
...
Crypto trading platforms giving these undertakings agree to comply with expanded terms and conditions that will include, among other things, requirements to hold Canadian clients’ assets with an appropriate custodian and segregate these assets from the platform’s proprietary business, as well as a prohibition on offering margin or leverage for any Canadian client.
...
Additionally, as outlined in its business plan, the CSA continues to monitor and assess the presence and role of stablecoins in Canadian capital markets. As a result of this ongoing work, the CSA is of the view that stablecoins, or stablecoin arrangements, may constitute securities and/or derivatives. Crypto trading platforms that are registered or that have entered into a pre-registration undertaking are reminded that they are prohibited from permitting Canadian clients to trade, or obtain exposure to, any crypto asset that is itself a security and/or a derivative. Crypto trading platforms are expected to have established policies and procedures to determine whether each crypto asset they provide exposure to is a security and/or derivative.
...
... Sen. Elizabeth Warren is attempting to push through Congress a bipartisan crackdown on money laundering in the crypto industry.
The Massachusetts Democrat is teaming up with Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas to introduce new legislation on Wednesday that would seek to close loopholes in the financial system that pose national security risks by allowing digital assets to be used for money laundering, Warren’s office told CNN.
Due to time constraints, the Warren-Marshall crypto legislation has little chance of getting through this Congress. The bill would need to be reintroduced when the new Congress is seated.
...
The new bill, called the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, would attack money laundering by attempting to bring the digital asset ecosystem into compliance with the existing system of anti-money laundering in the worldwide financial system.
The legislation would direct the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) within the Treasury Department to designate digital asset wallet providers, miners, validators and others as money service businesses. That in turn would extend responsibilities in the Bank Secrecy Act to the crypto industry, including Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirements.
...
Specifically, it would direct FinCEN to finalize and implement a rule proposed in 2020 that would require banks and money service businesses to verify customer and counterparty identifies, keep records and file reports linked to unhosted wallets or ones in jurisdictions that are not compliant with the Bank Secrecy Act.
Other requirements in the legislation include:
- Banning banks and other financial institutions from using or transacting with anonymity-enhancing technologies such as digital asset mixers and from handling or transacting with digital assets that have used those technologies.
- Extending Bank Secrecy Rules on reporting of foreign bank accounts to include digital assets by requiring Americans engaged in digital asset transaction greater than $10,000 through offshore accounts to file a report with the Internal Revenue Service.
- Directing regulators to strengthen enforcement of Bank Secrecy Act compliance by establishing compliance examination and review process for money service businesses.
- Cracking down on digital asset ATMs by making sure operators and administrators submit and update the physical addresses of their kiosks.
...
You mailing those?^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Din' take long for the Gummint to own crypto, did it. They din' even break a sweat.
Junk dimes. Krugerrands. <-- All you need for small, medium, big trades.
WEF says cryptos will revolutionize the global financial system as U.S. regulators highlight the risks
(Kitco News) - The World Economic Forum (WEF) has become the latest global organization to comment on the struggles of the crypto industry in 2022, likening the steep downturn in the market to an “ice age” rather than the popular “crypto winter” term used by proponents.
This has led to a broad loss of confidence, economic value, and the collapse of numerous firms and projects, the WEF noted, which has possibly brought an end to the era of crypto speculation and will give way to a “Cambrian explosion for responsible, always-on internet finance.”
The international non-governmental and lobbying organization suggested that 2023 could mark a turning point for the nascent asset class and lead to the entrance of larger players who will bring a greater level of stability to the ecosystem.
“Just as it took the dot-com bubble bursting in the early 2000s to hand over the future of the internet to more durable companies, business models and use cases, perhaps 2022 marks a handover of crypto technology and blockchain infrastructure to steadier hands,” the WEF said.
Despite the setbacks of 2022, the exploration of integrating cryptography and blockchain with the financial sector continues unabated while the technology remains generalizable to all industries and coordinating activities.
This is evidenced by the about-face policy decisions by JPMorgan, the largest bank in the U.S., which has gone from forbidding its traders from purchasing Bitcoin to launching its own JPMorgan Coin and providing financial services to some of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
“Arguably, just as boards and executive teams reluctantly owned their cybersecurity and digital transformation mandates, the embrace of crypto technology is equally inevitable, even if the term feels like a bad word,” the WEF said. “For all its faults, this technology remains a protagonist in the global financial world.”
...
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?