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US SEC Chairman Says He Is Neutral About Crypto But Not About Investor Protection

Mark Brennan
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US SEC Chairman Says He Is Neutral About Crypto But Not About Investor Protection

 

SEC Chair Gary Gensler talks about his position in regard to crypto technology and the risks involved in their investments.



For years, cryptocurrencies have amassed a massive following by investors and traders across the world. As years passed, more crypto projects popped up in the space. There are now thousands of cryptos in the market.

With this popularity, acceptance and adoption have increased, and even mainstream financial institutions and investment firms are now venturing into the crypto space. However, the issue of regulation has remained a hard nut to crack for many governments, with some opting to ban cryptos altogether.

What The SEC Chairman Thinks About Cryptos And Regulation

In the case of the US, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) is tasked with handling such matters. During a recent interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said,

“I’m neutral about the technology, but I’m not neutral about the investor protection. These are highly speculative assets where there are thousands of tokens, most of which have attributes of securities, meaning there’s a group of sponsors and entrepreneurs raising money from the public.”

He went on,

“Just like any field of venture capital in new projects, many projects fail.”

About investor security, Gary said,

“It’s important that the public get the disclosure and understand the risk. There’s very significant risk in this field.”

 

It’s worth noting that way before clinching the position as the SEC Chairman, Gary Gensler once lectured at MIT about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, so it’s safe to say that he knows his stuff when it comes to these new technologies.

SEC To Formulate Regulatory Policies For Crypto Investment Firms

In another clip, Gary talked about the challenges facing investors in regard to the new breed of investment firms that take their money, promise huge returns, and use the money to re-lend to other entities. Just a few weeks ago, a number of such firms/platforms collapsed and even filed for bankruptcy, leaving investors with massive losses. Some of them include Voyager, 3AC, and Celsius.

According to Gary Gensler, while they operate in the largely unregulated crypto market, many of these firms can be considered investment firms. It, therefore, goes without saying that the US SEC would want to come up with a framework to ensure investors are protected.

He said,

“We’re going to continue to try to work with the industries and get these firms properly registered under the securities laws and protect the public.”

 

Peter Brandt Slams Michael Saylor for Saying Bitcoin (BTC) Is “Secured By Energy”

Albert Brown
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Peter Brandt Slams Michael Saylor for Saying Bitcoin (BTC) Is “Secured By Energy”

The veteran futures trader did not consider Saylor’s comment about Bitcoin to be true.



Peter Brandt has slammed MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor for saying the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Bitcoin (BTC), is secured by energy. 

Brandt noted that Saylor’s comment is valid only in the sense that the top cryptocurrency asset is useless without an exorbitant use of energy. 

According to Brandt, Bitcoin does not even provide economic function, adding that: 

“It is a huge myth that somehow BTC is anything but energy consumption.” 

Recall that the CEO of the leading business intelligence firm, Saylor, had gone about with his usual Bitcoin praise.  

“Bitcoin is a digital commodity because it has no issuer and is secured by energy,” Saylor tweeted on Tuesday. 

 

Traditional Financial Experts Criticize Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption

Bitcoin’s energy consumption has been a major topic of discussion for years. Traditional financial experts have slammed the cryptocurrency for the enormous energy it requires to complete transactions.

It is not surprising that Brandt is slamming Bitcoin’s energy consumption, given that he is also regarded as a traditional financial expert. Brandt is a veteran futures trader who has been in the sector since 1975. 

Brandt Providing Bitcoin’s Market Insight

Meanwhile, Brandt has been outspoken about Bitcoin in recent times. The veteran futures trader recently predicted that Bitcoin would dip to the price levels of $12,700 during the period the asset class embarked on a free fall. 

Interestingly, BTC has shown strength in the past week after rallying above $20,000 again. At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $22,639 across major exchanges. 

Shiba Inu, Bone, Leash Can Now Be Accepted As Payment on More Than 8,000 Jeripay Acceptance Points Across Singapore

Zabi
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Shiba Inu, Bone, Leash Can Now Be Accepted As Payment on More Than 8,000 Jeripay Acceptance Points Across Singapore

Shiba Inu (SHIB), Bone ShibaSwap (BONE), and the Dogecoin Killer (LEASH) Can Now Be Accepted As Payment on More Than 8,000 Jeripay Acceptance Points across Singapore.



Shiba Inu’s ecosystem reaches Singapore as Jeripay, a Singapore-based fintech company, announced that they have entered into a non-exclusive partnership with FCF Pay, a Canadian-based payment gateway, to enable cryptocurrency acceptance for business in Singapore.

Founded in 2017, Jeripay application and solution provides a wide range of value-added services to tech-savvy Asian consumers. Jeripay enables its customers to get a detailed real-time overview of their loyalty points, balance, and purchases, allowing them better control and convenience over their own rewarding experience. In addition, users can manage their omnichannel experience through JeriLoyalty, JeriFood, JeriPay, JeriCard, and JeriStore in a single device.

This Jeripay ecosystem concentrates on the area’s payment & risk, retail & transaction banking, loyalty & couponing, data analytics & conversion rate enhancement in all sales channels (online, mobile, ePOS).

As FCFpay supports all three tokens of the Shib ecosystem, this means all the retailers using Jeripay would also be able to accept Shiba Inu (SHIB), Bone ShibaSwap (BONE), and the Dogecoin Killer (LEASH) as a form of payment. Recall On July 7, FCF Pay became the first-ever payment gateway in the world to add support for the entire “SHIB Trifecta,” enabling over 5 million online stores in 195 countries to accept all three tokens of the Shiba Inu ecosystem as payment.

John Nasr, CEO of FCF Pay, said: “Jeripay seamless solutions on an all-in-one device with a scalable platform on Android make a great partner for our expansion plans into the Asia Pacific. In addition, Jeripay has a wealth of experience in providing loyalty integration platforms for malls, loyalty operators, e-wallets providers, and top-up kiosks and has enabled more than 8,000 acceptance points across Singapore to make a perfect fit for us to start from Singapore. We believe this collaboration will bring crypto payments to diverse merchants where they are most needed.”

Bitcoin Now Accepted In Croatian National Kiosk, iNovine

Mark Brennan
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Bitcoin Now Accepted In Croatian National Kiosk, iNovine

One of Croatia’s National Kiosks, iNovine, Now Accepts Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies.



iNovine, a large national kiosk in Croatia, has announced that they will be launching a new cryptocurrency payment service. This will make them the first chain of kiosks in Croatia to offer the option of paying in cryptocurrencies at physical retail locations, according to a report published by the company on Wednesday.

The project was completed in collaboration with the business Electrocoin. As a result, it is now able to make payments with cryptocurrencies swiftly and securely through the PayCek platform at all points of sale, which number more than 250 across Croatia.

The iNovine team has said that they are always listening to the market’s needs, and the adoption of the network for accepting crypto payments helps them adapt their company to new waves of clients that use cash for payments for items less and less regularly.

As the director of iNovine, Jurica Juric, underlined, this movement was largely sparked by the worldwide coronavirus epidemic when individuals were given the recommendation to buy using contactless payment methods.

Electrocoin is a fintech firm based in Croatia that offers cryptocurrency exchange services as well as the ability to accept cryptocurrencies as a payment option via the use of the company’s own PayCek platform.

Electrocoin’s PayCek platform is used to process payments made with cryptocurrencies, and customers have the option of using any one of 14 different virtual currencies to do so. These cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, USDT, USDC, XRP, Solana, Litecoin, Dai, Stellar, Dogecoin, EOS, BUSD, and NEAR.

Electrocoin has been working on significant initiatives in Croatia for many years that allow people to use cryptocurrencies for daily purchases, despite being frequently seen as an investment. As a result, businesses are able to draw in new customer segments and enhance their operations at the same time.

Sologenic (SOLO) Now First XRPL Token To Be Listed On A Top Exchange

Mark Brennan
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Sologenic (SOLO) Now First XRPL Token To Be Listed On A Top Exchange

Sologenic (SOLO) is the first XRPL token to be listed on a top exchange, Huobi Global.


 

Huobi Global is the first major cryptocurrency exchange to list an XRPL token, and that token is Sologenic (SOLO). The XRP Ledger serves as the foundation for the complex ecosystem that is known as Sologenic.

It makes it easier to invest in and trade cryptocurrencies alongside non-blockchain assets like stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and commodities from the top 30 or more global stock exchanges.

Recently, the team at Sologenic has formed a relationship with Multichain, the most advanced router now available for Web 3.0, in an attempt to achieve interoperability with all blockchains.

Transactions may be facilitated from practically any blockchain thanks to its architecture, which was created for random cross-chain interactions. This eliminates the requirement to route or issue transactions from the native chain of each token.

According to statements made by Sologenic, the company’s cross-chain cooperation will continue to shape the route toward interoperability with other major networks that are currently in development, such as ETH, AVAX, NEAR, ATOM, and MATIC.

Sologenic is a cryptocurrency project with the goal of building a bridge between traditional financial assets and cryptocurrencies. However, this bridge will not be created by bringing cryptocurrencies to traditional exchanges; rather, it will be created by putting traditional assets on the blockchain.

The initiative aims to increase the use of cryptocurrencies across the board, and it plans to accomplish this goal by demonstrating the potential advantages of the cryptocurrency business to conventional asset traders and investors.

Projects like Sologenic are hastening the process of integrating cryptocurrency into the conventional realm of banking, assuring the steady integration of digital currencies into daily life as well as the global financial landscape.

Sologenic (SOLO) was previously exclusively accessible for buying on the crypto exchanges Uphold and Gate.io. It is now available on one of the leading exchanges, Houbi Global.

Dogecoin Founder Billy Markus Thinks It’s Dumb To Freak Out When People Are Selling Off Bitcoin

Mark Brennan
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Dogecoin Founder Billy Markus Thinks It’s Dumb To Freak Out When People Are Selling Off Bitcoin

 

Dogecoin co-founder, Billy Markus, says there is no use freaking out when people are selling off BTC.



Billy Markus, the co-founder of Dogecoin, went to his Twitter account to express his confusion about the panic that some individuals seem to be experiencing around the sale of Bitcoin (BTC). He continued by saying that the daily sale of bitcoins totals actually millions. If no one is willing to sell bitcoin, then no one will purchase it.

He believes that the folks who are becoming panicked are those who do not believe in the value of BTC. “Anyway if you believe in your magic internet money, no one selling it would make you freak you, because who cares.”

It is reasonable to assume that Billy Markus intended his words to be addressed at those individuals who are going crazy as a result of Elon Musk’s Tesla announcing that it had liquidated nearly a billion dollars worth of bitcoin. 

The electric vehicle manufacturer said in its financial report for the second quarter of 2022 that it had liquidated 75% of its Bitcoin assets during the period. The total amount the business received for the coins’ sale was $963 million. 

Despite this, none of Tesla’s Dogecoin assets were sold, and the company continues to acknowledge and accept the memecoin as a valid form of payment for merchandise.

Earlier this year, the corporation revealed it had acquired $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency using its balance sheet cash. It would eventually start accepting payments in BTC for its automobiles. 

That statement drove the crypto markets into a frenzy, pushing up the values of many cryptocurrencies and establishing Musk as the unofficial leader in the industry. As it turned out, this goodwill was reversed when he abruptly stated that they were canceling plans to accept cryptocurrency payments.

Even if he recently said that crypto is not contributing to an ecologically sustainable future, Musk is still a major influence in the crypto business and one of its most vocal proponents.

Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson Says Terra Investigation In South Korea Heating up Quickly

Mark Brennan
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Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson Says Terra Investigation In South Korea Heating up Quickly

Cardano Founder Says South Korea Escalating Terra Investigation Quickly.



A day ago, As Reported By The Crypto Basic, a number of South Korean exchanges were raided by government prosecutors. The raid was meant to gather evidence for the ongoing investigations on the collapse of Terra Luna and TerraUSD that led to thousands of people losing their funds. UpBit and Bithumb were among the targeted exchanges. The raid culminated in seizing transaction records pertaining to Terra and its collapsed coins.

The raid prompted Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson to dish out his opinion in a Twitter post. According to him, the investigations into Terra were taking a rather fast pace in South Korea.

Investors Sued TFL And Do Kwon

The raid comes after a group of investors affected by the collapse of Luna and UST took their claims to court to file a case against Do Kwon and co-founder Daniel Shin. The investors claim that the two conspired to defraud the investors of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, Do Kwon is held up in Singapore, a country that has no extradition treaty with South Korea.

Besides Upbit and Bithumb, prosecutors also raided Dunamu & Partners, which is the company arm that handles investments for the parent company named Dunamu. Donamu controls Upbit crypto exchange based in South Korea.

Evidence Building Up

By saying that the investigations are fastening up, Charles Hoskinson seems to be onto something. First off, there have been lots of allegations and charges added to the sheet against Do Kwon and Terraform Labs (TFL) since the collapse of Terra. More evidence seems to be unearthed every other day. Just recently, it was discovered that Do Kwon used a shell company to launder funds from Terra.

However, even before this happened, Do Kwon and TFL were already under investigation in South Korea for tax evasion and in the US for selling UST illegally. The investigations launched after the collapse of Luna and UST seem to have helped speed things up.

Ripple Refutes Rumors Alleging XRPL Labs Working On A Card Payment System For Xumm Wallet

Mark Brennan
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Ripple Refutes Rumors Alleging XRPL Labs Working On A Card Payment System For Xumm Wallet

 

Wietse Wind refutes rumors that XRPL Labs plans to develop a card payment system for Xumm Wallet.



The crypto world is never without a few rumors making rounds. Sometimes, the rumors amount to something. Other times they’re just distractions meant to keep the community busy. The latest gossip involves XRPL Labs, a firm dedicated to developing supporting systems or applications for XRP use cases.

According to a tweet sent out by the Wietse Wind, BDFL at XRPLLabs, these rumors are false, and the firm is not planning anything of the sort. Wietse Wind gave a few reasons why it won’t be creating such a card system for XRP/ fiat payments.

 

No Need To Bring Back Old Systems

According to Wietse Wind, credit card systems are old technologies often associated with inefficiencies, including high transaction fees and other downsides. There’s no point in re-introducing such issues when new and more effective technological solutions are already available.

Also, introducing cred/debit cards would spoil the plan for a complete shift to XRPL payments. This would roll back the gains already made over the years.

No Need To Re-introduce “Crazy” Fees Via Cards

Credit/ Debit cards are more expensive to work with as opposed to new blockchain-based solutions. While there’s a need for a bridge to link the two sides, re-introducing cards as they’re traditionally isn’t a smart solution. Instead, the best solution would be to develop an offramp/onramp system to facilitate instant swaps between fiat and XRP. This would allow users to send funds between their bank accounts and XRPL accounts without incurring heavy fees.

Going on, the firm intimated that it was working on introducing such functionality for Xumm Pro Beta users before the year’s end, with a later rollout planned to cover the rest of the EU countries.

Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Highlights the Benefits of Zk-Rollups After Polygon Launches zkEVM

Albert Brown
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Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Highlights the Benefits of Zk-Rollups After Polygon Launches zkEVM

Following the launch of Polygon’s zkEVM, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has highlighted the benefits of the zk-rollups over Optimistic-rollups. 


In a recent interview, the Ethereum co-founder noted that the major advantage of the zero-knowledge rollups (zk-rollups) is the acceleration of the pace at which users can deposit and withdraw assets. 

Unlike Optimistic-rollups, developers using zk-rollups will no longer wait for the usual seven-day period before they can deposit and withdraw assets. 

Buterin said the wait time to deposit and withdraw assets has been eliminated by the zk-rollups protocol because users will now be required to submit blocks with proof. 

Buterin: Zk-Rollups Lower Security Risks While Optimistic Doesn’t

Furthermore, Buterin noted that zk-rollups offer more security than the conventional Optimistic-rollups. 

“[Another advantage is that] zk-rollups lower security risk even if the rollup has a very high capacity,” Buterin was quoted as saying. 

He cited a major flaw in Optimistic rollups, which can see invalid transactions completed, especially during an attack on the protocol. 

However, such issues cannot be recorded on the zk-rollups, as the protocol is highly secure. 

“zkEVMs will make lots of things more amazing at L1 and L2,” Buterin added. 

Polygon Launches zkEVM

The Ethereum’s co-founder’s comment follows Polygon’s launch of zkEVM (zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine). 

“Many believed that a zkEVM was years away or not practical or competitive. No one believed in us, but Polygon did,” the Ethereum Layer-2 scaling platform said. 

ZkEVM is the world’s first Layer-2 zero-knowledge scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain. 

Polygon notes that the protocol will work with existing smart contracts, wallets, and developers’ tools. Polygon stated that the solution is synonymous with EVM, the framework where developers build their Ethereum-based decentralized applications (dApp). 

Developers can also use Ethereum’s dev tools and smart contracts on Polygon zkEVM. 

Polygon’s zkEVM is considered a more appealing choice than other L2 scaling solutions for developers due to its high level of security and censorship. The new solution will achieve full EVM’s scalability and equivalency at a unique pace.  

Tesla Sells 75% Of Its Bitcoin Holdings – Elon Musk Says Will Still Buy BTC In The Future, Adding No Dogecoin Was Sold

Albert Brown
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Tesla Sells 75% Of Its Bitcoin Holdings – Elon Musk Says Will Still Buy BTC In The Future, Adding No Dogecoin Was Sold

Tesla sold $936 million worth of Bitcoin in Q2 2022.



Leading electric motor company Tesla in its latest earnings report, disclosed that it had sold 75% of its Bitcoin holdings to strengthen its liquidity over concerns of persisting covid lockdowns in China.

“As of the end of  Q2,  we have converted approximately  75%  of our Bitcoin purchases into fiat currency. Conversions in Q2 added  $936M  of cash to our balance sheet,” the company writes in its report.

Source: Tesla

“The reason we sold a bunch of our bitcoin holdings was that we were uncertain as to when the covid lockdowns in China would alleviate so it was important for us to maximize our cash position,” CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday, explaining the move according to a CNBC report. “This should be not taken as some verdict on Bitcoin.”

Additionally, Musk reportedly confirms that the firm has not sold any of its Dogecoin holdings.

It is worth noting that the firm purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin early last year while also briefly accepting it for payments before reversing the decision in May over energy concerns. Meanwhile, the firm currently accepts Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency favored by Tesla chief Elon Musk as a means of payment for select Tesla merchandise. Consequently, the company’s statements reveal it has only about $218 million left in digital assets.

Source: Tesla

The report of the Bitcoin sale took most of the crypto community by surprise, as Musk had said last May that the firm would not sell its Bitcoin. However, following the report, the latest crypto rally appears to be losing steam.

At the time of writing, the entire crypto market cap sits at about $1.03 trillion, down 4.25% in the last 24 hours. Additionally, Bitcoin has slipped below the $23k price point and is down 3.29% in the last 24 hours after reaching the $24k price point on Wednesday.

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