Zimbabwe should pay attention to the value of the cryptocurrency and the benefits it could bring to the population. The diaspora in Zimbabwe could pay lower fees to send money to their relatives in the country.

Professor Mthuli Ncube, Minister of Finance of Zimbabwe, recently spoke about investing in Bitcoin. He believes that the citizens of that southeastern African country should buy the cryptocurrency.

That is not the first time that the government official has given his support to cryptocurrencies. In 2019, he urged Zimbabwean citizens to invest in understanding emerging innovations like Bitcoin, as did Switzerland.

Ncube believes that Zimbabwe should invest in understanding these technologies, and central banks often take too long to do so. However, he said that other countries are moving faster in this regard. He mentioned as an example that the Swiss Central Bank is investing and understanding Bitcoin.

In addition, he stressed that Zimbabwe should pay attention to the value of the cryptocurrency and where it is going, just like those countries do. The Minister of Finance of that country is aware of the advantages Bitcoin could bring to the population.

The Minister Reiterates the Possible Advantages of Bitcoin in Zimbabwe

Mthuli Ncube stated that it is beneficial for the citizens of Zimbabwe to use cryptocurrency-based solutions. He argued that these assets contribute to reducing the costs of cross-border remittances.

He was recently in Dubai, where he discussed some solutions to reduce the cost of remittances. He said that he found solutions that could facilitate the sending of remittances by the diaspora.

Ncube explained that the Zimbabwean diaspora includes different ethnic and religious groups that have migrated to other latitudes. They have left their place of origin and have spread all over the world.

According to the World Bank, the diaspora from Zimbabwe spends up to USD 90 million on remittance fees. By using Bitcoin, they could reduce the costs of sending money to their relatives in the country.

Ncube Gets Congratulations on His Comments on Bitcoin

Some have congratulated Mthuli Ncube for making such comments, while others wonder why he went to Dubai. In the latter case, they seek to pressure the Minister of Finance to address the remittance issue.

Flexfintx CEO Victor Mapunga reminded Ncube that Zimbabwe already had Blockchain and crypto companies. For that reason, he recommended that he work with local players instead of foreign ones.

Senator Jopa Sayeyo said that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe could consider the cryptocurrency. However, he explained that banks must first stop manipulating the currency exchange rate. He warned that failure to do so would lead to a massive fall in the price of the Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL).

Twitter user Bra Mox responded to Ncube that they need a legal framework to incorporate cryptocurrencies. The banker stressed that he should start with the regulation of Bitcoin.

The increasing relevance of Bitcoin in the world economy has led many governments to think about adopting it. The Finance Minister of Zimbabwe sees it as a solution to reduce the costs of remittances. Zimbabweans living abroad would pay lower fees if they used the cryptocurrency.

By Alexander Salazar

A decree on the crypto asset system in force since 2019 serves as the basis for the recent indication. Public officials who impede or stop operations with Bitcoin will stay in prison for 3 to 5 years.

Venezuelan police officers must receive instructions from the regulatory authorities before conducting any procedure or inspection of Bitcoin miners. According to the National Crypto Asset Superintendency (Sunacrip) of Venezuela, if they do not comply with the respective regulations, they could face jail sentences.

A circular from the Strategic Operational Command of the National Armed Forces explains the procedure to follow in that situation. The provisions of the Constituent Decree on the Comprehensive Crypto Asset System of 2019 serve as the basis for the document.

That law indicates that public officials who obstruct or stop operations with Bitcoin will go to prison for three to five years. That will happen that way unless Sunacrip finds there is a good cause.

The fact is evident in an official announcement that Sunacrip made in early July. The government agency said police would not be able to visit cryptocurrency miners without the presence of regulatory officials.

The National Cryptocurrency Association (Asonacrip) favorably received the recent circular from the Strategic Operational Command of the National Armed Forces. The former is a private entity that brings together Bitcoin miners and other players in the crypto assets industry in Venezuela.

The representatives of Asonacrip stated that Venezuela continues to make progress in the consolidation of the cryptocurrency industry. They recognize Sunacrip as the entity in charge of all the policies of the National Crypto Asset System.

The Circular Seeks to Give Legal Security to Miners

Venezuelan attorney Ana Ojeda, a specialist in activities with cryptocurrencies, gives her opinion on the previously mentioned measure. She believes that it will prevent extortion, unjustified arrests, and theft of equipment, among others. She deduces that the circular seeks to give legal security to the miners that operate in the country.

In September 2020, the government legalized the Bitcoin mining activity in Venezuela. Of course, that implies that miners must register with Sunacrip and receive constant inspections.

Despite the legalization of the mining industry in Venezuela, it has not been free of obstacles to its exercise. For example, in November 2020 and August 2021, all miners in Carabobo State temporarily went offline due to electrical failures.

There have also been seizures of mining equipment from individuals who operated without having the corresponding license. Those are the kinds of situations in which Sunacrip justifies the police conducting operations and arresting miners.

Bitcoin mining is a growing activity in Venezuela, which even has a local private pool. However, national authorities still have to improve the electrical system and the safety of those who work in this field legally.

Governments are increasingly aware of the relevance of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the current world economy. In the case of Venezuela, miners can take advantage of the low cost of the electric energy service in the country.

By Alexander Salazar

So far this year, the authorities of the Asian country have seized 216,758 pieces of hardware. Iran’s electric power company could lift the ban on Bitcoin mining activity on September 22^nd.

Local sources in Iran reported that Tavanir, the national electric power company, continues to shut down unauthorized Bitcoin mining farms. So far this year, the authorities have closed more than 5,300 of them, besides seizing 216,758 pieces of hardware. That happened even though Tavanir had announced that it would lift its restrictions on mining on September 22^nd.

The Iranian authorities have not only confiscated mining equipment such as ASICs and GPU cards. They also seized hard drives, servers, and other hardware units used in that activity.

Although no one knows the official report by Tavanir yet, those actions suggest that Iran continues to apply restrictive policies against illegal Bitcoin mining. Iranian miners must register with the competent authorities to operate without worrying about receiving any penalties.

Authorities Suspend Mining Activities to Avoid Power Outages

The authorities explain that the main objective of the closure of those mining farms is to avoid electricity blackouts for operating illegally. Tavanir representatives said that the electricity consumption of those farms is equivalent to that of 800,000 Iranian households, about 2 million people. However, Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade said that it considered that figure an exaggeration.

The Ministry of Industries, Mining, and Commerce banned cryptocurrency mining in Iran in May. That situation led to some raids during June. At the end of June, the government authorized 30 mining farms to resume their operations but again prohibited the activity.

Each Suspension of the Mining Activity Generates Millions in Losses to Farms

Since 2018, miners of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, especially the Chinese, have seen Iran as a destination of interest. That placed the country in fourth place in the geographical concentration of the hash rate in April 2021, before the bans in China. However, no one yet knows how the seizures of mining devices affected the country’s computing power.

Mining restrictions in Iran preceded the bans on the activity in China. For that reason, the largest migration of miners from that country occurred in other regions of Asia, such as Kazakhstan. After years of hostility towards Bitcoin mining, the latter’s government wants to promote it in its territory.

Iranian variable policies make it difficult for Bitcoin miners to consider that country suitable to operate their farms. Each unexpected suspension of the mining activity represents a considerable cost for the companies dedicated to it. If Iran shows more continuity in its policies, alongside low electricity costs, it will become an attractive territory for Bitcoin mining.

The ban on Bitcoin mining in China made many miners migrate to countries in Asia or other continents. They were looking for low costs of electric power, the support of the government, and a favorable climate. Iran had all that, but the suspension of the activity due to massive electric power failures discouraged them.

By Alexander Salazar

Peterson believes the implementation of Bitcoin will be complicated for El Salvador at first, as has happened with large governments. The Salvadoran government will track transactions in the Chivo wallet to combat the illegal use of the pioneering cryptocurrency.

The CEO of Bitcoin whale firm MicroStrategy recently announced that they purchased an additional 5,050 bitcoins for USD 242.9 million. In that way, the business intelligence firm increases its total holdings to more than 114,000 BTC, Michael Saylor said.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), MicroStrategy has added nearly 9,000 BTC to its treasury in the third quarter of 2021. Between July 1^st and September 12^th, the company invested around USD 419.9 million in Bitcoin.

They bought the coins at around USD 46,875 per unit, including all taxes and fees. The government agency stated that the company had acquired approximately 114,042 bitcoins at around USD 3.16 billion in that period. The average purchase price was about USD 27,713 for Bitcoin, including fees and expenses.

MicroStrategy’s momentum is essential to the performance of the public Bitcoin companies index. However, publicly traded mining companies performed the best. Marathon’s return was ten times that of Bitcoin, while Hut 8 doubled the appreciation of BTC in the last 14 months.

El Salvador Could Become a Developed Nation Thanks to Bitcoin

Bitcoin expert Anthony Pompliano spoke with Bitcoin Beach director Mike Peterson about the development and future of Bitcoin in El Salvador. That happened after the first cryptocurrency became legal tender in the Central American country.

Peterson said that El Salvador is still in the early stages of that new economy. However, he highlighted that the penetration of Bitcoin in the Salvadoran community is ten times deeper than anywhere else in the world. Still, he acknowledged that many new users are concerned that they misunderstand Bitcoin while others fear its volatility.

Undeterred, Peterson expressed that he believes that implementing that new technology will be disastrous in El Salvador. He mentioned the case of the US government, which cannot implement some things despite the resources available to it. The executive assumes it will be hard for El Salvador at first, as has happened with large governments and large technology companies, among others.

Salvadoran Bitcoin Investors Would Be Tax-Exempt

Investors in Bitcoin will not have to pay an income tax on Bitcoin, the government of El Salvador said. President Nayib Bukele’s legal advisor, Javier Argueta, wants to stimulate foreign investment through tax exemptions in Bitcoin.

Argueta said that a person who has Bitcoin and makes large profits would not have to pay taxes. He argued that this would help incentivize foreign investment in the Central American country.

The legal advisor reportedly noted that the government would actively track Bitcoin transactions in the official Chivo wallet. He stated that would help combat the potentially illegal use of the pioneering cryptocurrency.

The relevance of Bitcoin has led both institutional and individual investors to put their capital in that asset. MicroStrategy, Tesla, Marathon, and Hut 8 are some companies that have ventured to include crypto assets in their treasuries. Likewise, the Salvadoran government is pointing the way towards adopting the pioneering cryptocurrency in other latitudes.

By Alexander Salazar

A Presidency Working Group might issue new recommendations on stable coins. The issuance of stable coins increased considerably in 2021, according to Chainalysis.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the United States Department of the Treasury discuss whether to apply new measures to limit the growth of Tether (USDT) and other stablecoins, or stablecoins.

The reason is that they describe them as a systemic risk to the dollar and the US current economy. The information comes from an investigation made by the information agency Bloomberg, based on consultations with three people who wanted to remain anonymous.

According to Regulators in the United States of America, cryptocurrencies that keep parity with the dollar could represent a threat to the financial stability of that nation.

Bloomberg indicates that the Treasury and other federal agencies are close to deciding whether to launch an examination by the Financial Stability Oversight Board.

This institution can classify companies, as products, as systemic threats to the financial system. Those products or companies who get labeled as threats would face an aggressive set of monitoring by regulators. According to CoinMarketCap, stablecoins have a current market capitalization of more than $ 120 billion.

The stable coin industry belongs to USDT, USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD), DAI, TerraUSD (UST), True USD (TUSD), and Pax Dollar (USDP), among others. All of them get ranked in the top 100, according to their capitalization.

Most of these currencies (among these currencies are USDT, USDC, BUSD, and USDP) run in parallel with dollars and other traditional financial instruments such as treasury bonds.

There are also those currencies backed by other cryptocurrencies (DAI, for example) and others without collateral, called algorithmic.

The stable coin index forged by the analytical firm Chainalysis shows that these financial instruments had been facing a constant growth in their capitalization since 2018.

Stable Cryptocurrencies are a Tool That Goes Beyond Traders

These cryptocurrencies arose from the need for some exchanges due to the impossibility of handling fiat money, which is a current need for traders and is now a tool for different purposes.

In some Latin American nations and other parts of the world facing a high rate of inflation, their inhabitants use stable cryptocurrencies to protect their assets.

 USDT and other cryptocurrencies that keep parity with the dollar become more and more popular to achieve the exchange of goods and services. A clear example was a Venezuelan who recently purchased an apartment for USD 12,000 with Tether to give it to his mother.

Recommendations on Stablecoins Would Arrive from the Presidency in December

The Bloomberg report, referenced at the beginning of this text, indicates that a Presidency Task Force on Financial Markets, made up of members of multiple US agencies, would issue recommendations on the use of stablecoins in December.

 Bloomberg reports the council could now direct federal agencies to intervene in the market. This intervention might reduce the dangers that could represent stablecoin transactions.

By: Jenson Nuñez