Mike Novogratz says that Bitcoin is changing the paradigm of the world of finance thanks to the advantages that it offers. The businessman considers that the price is not the real code of Bitcoin since the users are the ones who define it.

Mike Novogratz, the founder of Galaxy Digital, recently said that Bitcoin is causing a paradigm shift in the world of finance. He talked to rapper Logic about the advantages that the pioneering cryptocurrency offers for investors. Likewise, he criticized Elon Musk’s “immaturity”, which he considers does not match his intelligence.

The billionaire businessman reiterated his position that Bitcoin is “digital gold”. He stated that, although gold and Bitcoin have the same qualities, the cryptocurrency has better technology. Besides, he stressed that it is in a strong accumulation phase among institutional investors.

The rising inflation in the post-pandemic US economy has caused alarm. The Federal Reserve announced that it will keep interest rates close to zero, which has aroused anxiety among investors. Since a reserve of value for capital is becoming urgent, assets such as gold, and Bitcoin are among the most demanded.

How Is Bitcoin Causing a Paradigm Shift?

The founder of Galaxy Digital considers that the first cryptocurrency is causing a paradigm shift. “That is why Bitcoin is far outperforming gold, although both cover the same,” he said. Investors are not only using the cryptocurrency in the speculative field but various scenarios.

He highlighted that banks have started using it and a growing number of businesses are accepting it as a form of payment. The recent adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador can also serve to complement Novogratz’s words.

The president of the Central American country proclaims himself a follower of Bitcoin and is now promoting important initiatives for mining. He particularly proposed to power the farms installed in El Salvador with energy from volcanoes.

Politicians from other countries, such as Panama, Mexico, and Paraguay, have welcomed El Salvador’s initiative. They have been promoting the use of the cryptocurrency, confirming Novogratz’s statement that Bitcoin is causing a paradigm shift.

Elon Musk’s Immaturity Does Not Match His Intelligence

Regarding the price of the first cryptocurrency, the businessman considers that it not the real code of Bitcoin. He said that Bitcoin has value because users say that it has value. He also stressed that investors who save Bitcoin for the future take into account its potential rather than its intermittent price.

He criticized billionaire businessman Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, describing him as a very intelligent person. However, he said that the executive shows some signs of immaturity, which negatively impacts the volatility of cryptocurrencies. In May, Musk announced that Tesla would stop accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for its cars, causing its price to drop sharply.

He highlighted that the most valuable feature of Bitcoin is its scarcity, which the security of its network reinforces. The most important cryptocurrency by market capitalization has an issuance cap of 21 million units. The process to generate new coins through mining will conclude in 2140.

By Alexander Salazar

The Attorney General’s Office for the Southern District of New York accused McAfee of engaging in cryptocurrency activities. Attorney Javier Villalba said that the authorities are targeting McAfee for his relationship with crypto assets rather than for political reasons.

Businessman John McAfee wrote on Twitter about what has happened to the cryptocurrencies that he received for promoting various projects. However, he said that not everyone will believe that he is telling the truth.

“The United States believes that I have hidden cryptocurrencies. I wish it were true but they have disappeared at the hands of the McAfee team. And the authorities have confiscated all my remaining assets,” he said.

John McAfee added that all his friends disappeared, avoiding being in contact with him. Curiously, 76-year-old John McAfee went to prison for tax evasion in Spain but he has not stopped tweeting almost every day.

John McAfee Lost All His Fortune

In 2020, John McAfee went to prison for evading taxes after the United States placed him on an international wanted list. Specifically, the authorities arrested him in Barcelona while boarding a flight to Istanbul with a British passport.

The Attorney General’s Office for the Southern District of New York accused McAfee of doing activities related to the cryptocurrency sector.

US authorities said that the businessman had made millions of US dollars promoting cryptocurrency projects and consulting, among other sources. The prosecutor’s office also believes that he may be hiding real estate, cars, and yachts registered in the name of third parties.

Is It Really Due to Political Reasons?

Claiming political reasons, John McAfee said at the Spanish National Court that he rejected voluntary extradition. He had attempted to run as a candidate for the Libertarian Party in the US presidential elections on two occasions.

“I also announced that I would attack the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and its corruption. Two months later, the IRS filed charges against me,” the businessman stated.

According to John McAfee’s lawyer, Javier Villalba, the authorities are “persecuting” McAfee for engaging in cryptocurrencies rather than for political reasons.

Contrarily, Spanish prosecutor Carlos Bautista dismissed the politically motivated claim. He said that McAfee “is just a tax rebel, a millionaire who does not want to pay his taxes.”

If Spain extradites McAfee, he will have to face a court for tax evasion charges between 2014 and 2018. He failed to report the proceeds from multiple revenue streams, such as cryptocurrency earnings, promotions and consulting.

But What Really Happened to His Cryptocurrencies?

According to the crimes presented in the prosecutor’s office, many investors were affected between 2017 to 2018. Technology tycoon John McAfee, together with his executive adviser Jimmy Gale Watson Jr., reportedly raised more than USD 13 million.

The US Attorney for Manhattan, Audrey Strauss stated that McAfee and Watson had “exploited the excitement among investors” in cryptocurrencies. They allegedly used a popular social media platform to earn millions “through lies and tricks.”

According to the attorney, both men bought large amounts of altcoins cheaply, after which McAfee promoted them on Twitter. When the price of those crypto assets went up, he resold them for millions of dollars.

McAfee and Watson Jr. could spend from 5 to 20 years in prison for each proven accusation. The authorities of both Spain and the United States punish tax evaders with prison. Besides, US authorities still do not agree with the decentralization and anonymity of cryptocurrencies.

By Alexander Salazar

The Ropsten, Goerli, and Rinkeby testnets have set the block heights where London will come into effect. This upcoming hard fork includes five Ethereum Enhancement Proposal (EIP) updates, of which EIP-1559 is the star.

The Ethereum Foundation is a non-profit organization focusing on supporting Ethereum and related technologies. Ethereum’s London hard fork will be implemented on three testnets starting on June 24^th, according to its blog.

For a long time, the community has been waiting for this hard fork, which has a set block height for three Ethereum Testnets. This is an important preliminary step towards a full launch of the mainnet.

Ethereum’s London Hard Fork Is Finally Ready

Tim Beiko, the core developer of Ethereum, wrote on the blog about the Ropsten, Goerli and Rinkeby testnets. He noted that they have set the block heights at which London will come into effect.

The developer said that Ethereum’s London hard fork is finally ready. He explained that Ropsten will upgrade first before Goerli, and Rinkeby do in subsequent weeks.

For that reason, they expect Ropsten to be the first in block 10499401 or on June 24^th. Likewise, they expect Goerli to upgrade on June 30^th while Rinkeby does on July 7^th.

Curiously, the Ethereum Foundation is still determining a launch schedule for the major update to the mainnet.

“From now on, only the Ropsten, Goerli and Rinkeby testnets have been scheduled for London. Once the update has successfully occurred on these networks, there will be a lock for the Ethereum mainnet. We will communicate this on our blog and elsewhere,” said Tim Beiko.

What Updates Does Ethereum’s London Hard Fork Include?

The hard fork includes five updates to the Ethereum Enhancement Proposal (EIP), of which EIP-1559 is the star.

Abdelhamid Bakhta, one of the six main authors of EIP-1559, commented on this matter. He stated that there currently seems to be a lot of misinformation. He added that there is half-knowledge floating around the network concerning the upcoming London update.

Therefore, they expect a review of Ethereum’s existing fee structure, EIP-1559, to significantly reduce gas costs for users. However, it could also cut miners’ income by more than 50%, which has led to some protests over a mining revolt.

The overall Ethereum community has welcomed the EIP-1559 update, as it has been expecting it for a long time.

In this sense, the Ethereum Foundation noted that such significant system updates to a decentralized system require a lot of coordination.

“The decentralized nature of blockchain systems makes it more difficult to update the network. Network updates in a blockchain require cooperation and communication with the community, as well as with the developers of different Ethereum clients. In that way, the transition can go smoothly,” said  Bakhta.

On the Ethereum Foundation’s blog, they thanked “everyone involved in the research and planning” of the London hard fork. They also acknowledged those contributing to the implementation, testing, repair, retesting, and implementation of London.

By Alexander Salazar

Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin to sideline banks rather than to include them in its businesses. Financial institutions are recruiting specialized personnel to understand the pioneering cryptocurrency.

The Bitcoin community started criticizing El Salvador when it announced that it will adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender. The Central American country has been the target of questioning after President Nayib Bukele’s surprise announcement.

The nation disclosed that it is looking for technical “advice” on the pioneering cryptocurrency and its implementation. However, it is turning to banks, which goes against Bitcoin’s aim to transform the way of seeing money.

Bitcoin emerged to dispense with financial institutions as intermediaries or trusted third parties. The main cryptocurrency on the market empowers people above any type of government or financial institution. For that reason, it does not need a law to operate or banks to accept it.

At the moment, El Salvador is asking banks for assistance with the regulation of Bitcoin and its operation. The government recently turned to the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the World Bank. Both entities are strangers to Bitcoin and have no experience with cryptocurrencies.

CABEI’s Executive President Dante Mossi recently explained that they are forming a team of “experts” in Bitcoin. In other words, the bank is unable to guide the country in its adoption of BTC. This is a problem since the Bitcoin Law will come into effect in less than three months.

The bank said that it will request its partners in Spain, South Korea, and Taiwan for information on digital assets. This situation highlights the bank’s lack of experience with Bitcoin’s operation. Therefore, “the country will not be able to receive assistance immediately as there are not many experts in Bitcoin,” said the executive.

The World Bank Cannot Provide Advice on Bitcoin

This situation with CABEI may have led El Salvador to turn to the World Bank. Salvadoran Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya noted that the country asked the multilateral organization for “technical assistance” with Bitcoin.

The bank said that it cannot support them due to environmental, Bitcoin mining, and transparency factors. They may also not be interested in the adoption of assets that they cannot control. Besides, they have not experimented long enough with cryptocurrencies.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) created a type of cryptocurrency to learn how they work. The researchers developed a learning coin, with no market value, to learn about the dynamics of blockchain technology.

The Government Is Planning the Implementation of Bitcoin on the Fly

The way El Salvador is looking for “advice” highlights that it is planning the adoption of Bitcoin on the fly. The presidency has proposed this process directly instead of discussing it with local institutions.

The Bitcoin Law will come into effect shortly, so El Salvador may request help from other organizations. It should have requested assistance from Bitcoin companies, which have more experience.

An “official delegation of Bitcoin ambassadors” has begun to arrive in the country to learn about the adoption. They may be seeking to promote their businesses, under the pretext of educating about BTC. Among them is the controversial Brock Pierce of Block.One and the now-defunct Bitcoin Foundation.

By Alexander Salazar

The banks promised to stop these types of transactions and improve regulations on Bitcoin. The Chinese government considers that cryptocurrencies are a medium that facilitates criminal activities.

The People’s Bank of China asked various banks to stop processing transactions with cryptocurrencies. Likewise, it asked them to identify those customers who make transactions with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

Chinese banks and payment institutions are required to implement the “Notice on Preventing Bitcoin Risk” and the “Notice on Preventing Financing Risk of Token Issuance.” These institutions must also identify their customers and “must not open or register accounts linked to digital assets.

According to the People’s Bank of China, financial institutions should thoroughly investigate and identify cryptocurrency exchanges. In addition to that, they must monitor the capital accounts of over-the-counter (OTC) traders and cut the payment link between transaction funds. These entities must analyze the characteristics of the transactions, improve the monitoring models, and ensure better identification of those who trade them.

Chinese Government Agencies Do Not Trust Cryptocurrencies

Later, the People’s Bank of China spoke about the opinion of China’s government agencies on cryptocurrencies. It stated that activities related to this type of assets “alter the normal economic and financial order” of the country. They argue that cryptocurrencies and other digital assets pose risks of illegal international asset transfers, money laundering, and other illegal and criminal activities.

The People’s Bank of China announced a meeting to “fully implement the relevant decisions and deployments of the Party’s Central Committee and the State Council.” They say that they want to combat Bitcoin speculation and other operations with cryptocurrencies, protect the security of people’s property, and maintain financial security and stability.

Several Chinese financial institutions pledged to stop transactions with cryptocurrencies. They include the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Construction Bank, the Postal Savings Bank, the Industrial Bank, and Alipay Network Technology. All of them agreed to collaborate with what the People’s Bank of China requested of them and said that they will make efforts to combat bad practices in this sector.

The Chinese Government Tightens Regulation on Bitcoin Activities

In recent months, the Chinese government has focused on activities related to cryptocurrencies. The State considers that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies facilitate the proliferation of illegal operations. For example, more than 1,000 people in China recently went to prison for cryptocurrency money laundering.

However, not only fraudulent operations have attracted the attention of the authorities of the Asian country. Other activities that involve the use of crypto assets, such as mining, have also received tight restrictions. In recent days, the number of provinces where the State banned cryptocurrency mining reached five.

Chinese authorities consider that cryptocurrencies are just vehicles for conducting illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorism financing. For that reason, they have decided to restrict Bitcoin mining activity and to ban financial institutions from processing transactions with cryptocurrencies.

By Alexander Salazar