Blockchain News

The founder of the People's Party of Canada, Maxime Bernier, said that he supports Bitcoin and does not object to the introduction of cryptocurrencies into the country's economy. Bernier tweeted this week that cryptocurrencies are a new way to counter the actions of central banks that are destroying money and the economy. 

Founder of Gold Bullion International Dan Tapiero believes that the negative rates on US bonds could be a "Mega bullish" signal for Bitcoin.

"Negative interest rates have arrived in the US! 6mo t-bill at -2bps. Means you need to PAY US govt for 6mo cash deposit. Rates to go much more negative to weaken dollar. This is confiscation and it is bad but it needed for now to stabilize system. Mega bullish for #Bitcoin," Tapiero wrote on Twitter.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed increasing the limits on attracting investments without registration, including those related to token-share placements (STOs).

SEC proposes to increase the limit on the amount attracted from investors as part of the offer of tokens under Rule A + from $ 50 million to $ 75 million, and crowdfunding income - $ 1 million to $ 5 million in 12 months. These rules, based on the 2012 Act called the Jumpstart Our Business Startup (or JOBS) Act, will allow young companies to raise funds without having to register as an open joint stock company.

US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, speaking to Congress, said that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is preparing to introduce new cryptocurrency regulations.

Mnuchin did not announce any details, he limited himself to the phrase: "We're about to roll out some significant new requirements at FinCEN". He added that the US authorities intend to seek a balanced approach in this area.

Former Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Christopher Giancarlo announced the creation of the Digital Dollar Foundation.

Giancarlo said that a non-profit organization will study the possibilities and prospects of "converting" the US dollar into electronic currency on the blockchain, as well as explore the potential benefits of a "digitized" dollar.

For the first time since 2013, the United States has lost leadership in the volume of transactions in Bitcoins. In 2019, transactions with the first cryptocurrency in the amount of $ 8.58 billion were made in Singapore, and only $ 7.46 billion in the United States.

At the same time, according to Crystal Blockchain, an analytical website, Singapore became the leader in accepting transfers in the first cryptocurrency, and in the withdrawal of Bitcoins, the island state of Seychelles, where the BitMEX cryptocurrency derivatives exchange is registered, took first place. Bitcoin worth $ 10.07 billion was sent from there.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani proposed creating a cryptocurrency that would be used in Islamic countries as an alternative to the US dollar.

At a conference in Malaysia, Rouhani stated that Islamic countries need to strengthen financial cooperation to counter the "financial hegemony of the United States." He called the US economic sanctions "the main tool for establishing its hegemony and mockery of other nations."

The famous American economist and trader Nassim Taleb remains optimistic about cryptocurrencies and believes that Bitcoin "wins" in comparison with state currencies.

Taleb said that citizens of some countries, such as Lebanon, "lost faith" in state banking systems, so no one should ignore cryptocurrencies, as well as the history of Bitcoin and blockchain.

According to CoinATMRadar, the number of active crypto ATMs worldwide has exceeded 6,000 for the first time. Of these, three quarters of the devices are located in the United States and Canada.

According to recent data, there are currently 6,004 crypto ATMs installed in the world, more than 65% of which are located in the United States. In addition, 108 devices were installed this month, and data also shows that on average around 11 new crypto ATMs are installed daily in the world.

Heath Tarbert, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), believes that Ethereum futures will be launched as early as next year.

During his speech at Georgetown University, Tarbert expressed the view that air futures will appear within 6-12 months, however, the launch of such products does not mean an immediate growth in the cryptocurrency industry.

Speaking at a cryptocurrency summit hosted by Solidus Labs in New York, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce expressed confidence that digital assets will continue to grow.

Peirce said that she looks at cryptocurrencies and other digital assets as "transactional mechanisms." At the same time, she believes that the function of preserving wealth is one of the most important for this kind of asset.

"Store of value, I think, is a really important function. I do think that we'll see as technology changes, that they become much more the money of the internet," said a member of the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined Russian analytical firm ICORating for not reporting payments for positive feedback on various ICO projects.

The analytical company ICORating is engaged in evaluating investments in ICO projects. It includes team members of well-known cryptocurrency projects, for example, NEO.

According to US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin, there is every reason to develop new regulations for cryptocurrency by US regulators.

Over the past few years, the presidential administration has almost completely ignored cryptocurrencies. However, Donald Trump's recent statements about Bitcoin, as well as Facebook's announcement of Libra cryptocurrency project, give a reason to assume that the regulator intends to tackle digital money in order to limit its negative impact on the financial system.

The CEO of the American brokerage company TD Ameritrade Tim Hockey said that Bitcoin has become much more interesting for traders.

"Customers often ask about Bitcoin, but in the US there are significant regulatory obstacles in order to provide the customer with the opportunity to trade cryptocurrencies. We would be glad to participate in this, but we need to make sure that risks for our clients and ourselves are insignificant," said Hockey in an interview.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued a startup that promised crowdfunding participants a smart backpack, but instead spent money to buy BTC and pay for credit cards.

The lawsuit states that Douglas Monahan and his company iBackPack of Texas raised $ 800,000 to "develop several products," including a smart backpack with batteries for charging phones and laptops. However, instead of releasing the iBackpack, as the FTC claims, Monahan was spending money "on personal goals." The commission also claims that Monahan threatened displeased customers on the Internet.

The head of Bakkt, the platform for institutional clients, Kelly Loeffler: "race day" is nearing, the platform is waiting only for approval of an application from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Initially, it was expected that the Bakkt platform would be launched at the beginning of this year, but the start was postponed due to the lack of approval by the company from US regulators. However, the company's management still believes in the launch of the platform already this year.