The regulation targets large mining centers, but also internet cafes. The regulation is about to face an expansion into other regions of the country.

Inner Mongolia has released eight measures to combat and punish Bitcoin’s mining activities. The North China Autonomous Region Reform and Development Commission will wait until June 1 for citizen feedback on the proposal banning cryptocurrency mining.

The measures stated that every single data center and power plant that supports cryptocurrency mining without previous advice and information will have to face a series of penalties imposed by the authorities.

The document adds that the licenses of telecommunications and information technology companies that currently mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will face a revocation. In addition, some penalties might include closure for businesses such as cybercafes that support digital mining.

Entities, mining projects, and other actors that attempt to gain unauthorized access to electric power distribution centers will face criminal charges, as specified in the draft resolution.

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission stated that if entities such as companies, individuals, etc. carry out money laundering through virtual currency and other illicit activities, these currencies will go directly to the judicial authorities for handling following the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China and other important rules regarding regulations.

The document also claims that all companies and individuals in cryptocurrency mining will appear on a blacklist as untrusted entities; this resolution applies following the country’s main regulations.

The Implementation Plan is ready to Go

Public officials that use their positions to take part in the extraction of bitcoin will be transferred to inspection, and supervision entities of the State.

This implementation plan seems to be very complete. There is nothing particularly new. However, different government departments may develop different plans in the future. Columnist Wu Blockchain noted on Twitter the statement. He reflects on the fact that Bitcoin mining has already been warned as a big threat to China’s green strategies.

 New Measures and Bibyt’s Farewell from China

All the interest now targets the cities of Xinjiang and Sichuan, northeast and southwest China where large Bitcoin mining farms set their operations. These regions might soon announce measures related to those published by Inner Mongolia.

While this entire situation is happening, the accumulated processing power of Bitcoin miners (the hash rate) has been declining. Although the loss of processing power can be happening due to various causes, the common factor seems to be China if the interested parties consider that a huge piece of the main Bitcoin mining pools come from the Asian nation.

On May 21, at a very polarized moment for the price of bitcoin, China stated that it would crackdown on bitcoin mining and trading activities. During the following hours, the price of the asset crumbled down. Now, it appears that the industry will begin to strike back and defend itself from government action.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Over a week ago, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would stop accepting payments in Bitcoin for its electric cars, which led the price to collapse. In recent days, the entrepreneur tweeted that he talked to some miners who promised to use renewable energy, driving the price higher again.

Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk seems to have consolidated his role within the world of cryptocurrencies.  His comments can cause dramatic drops and rises in the price of the pioneering cryptocurrency. After having caused the recent collapse in Bitcoin’s price, he wrote a tweet that drove it higher again.

The largest bullish rally in Bitcoin’s price since its birth in 2008 started at the end of 2020.  In that period, the price of the main cryptocurrency on the market reached several new all-time highs until exceeding USD 60,000. The main altcoins on the market, which include Ethereum, Binance Coin and Cardano, also followed it to reach record figures.

These Two Factors Contributed to the Recent Crash in Bitcoin’s Price

A series of bad news ended this virtually uninterrupted boom period a few days ago. That situation led investors to lose faith in the future of Bitcoin, making its price collapse along with that of other cryptocurrencies.

This market crash started when billionaire Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla would stop accepting Bitcoin as payment for its electric cars. They had been accepting the cryptocurrency as a payment means for just a few weeks. Almost immediately, the Chinese government announced that it would maintain and tighten legal restrictions against transactions with cryptocurrencies within the country. Those two factors contributed to making Bitcoin lose half of its value in a matter of a few days.

A New Tweet from Elon Musk Made Bitcoin’s Price Increase Again

China still maintains the restrictions against Bitcoin and Tesla still does not accept Bitcoin as payment for its electric cars. However, the trend seems to be changing again thanks to a new tweet from Elon Musk.

There have been new hopes in the market after the billionaire entrepreneur wrote about a group of American Bitcoin miners. He said that they promised to use renewable energy in their activities to avoid harming the environment. The negative environmental effects of Bitcoin mining were Tesla’s alleged arguments not to accept payments in Bitcoin.

“We spoke to the North American Bitcoin miners. They committed to publishing the current planned usage of renewable energy. [They also promised] to ask [other] miners around the world to do so. [This is] potentially promising,” Elon Musk wrote in his tweet.

The cryptocurrency markets worldwide reacted immediately after Elon Musk posted his tweet. Cryptocurrencies changed the negative trend that they had shown during the last days to begin to gradually recover their price. Bitcoin is currently trading at around USD 38,978, above the price of USD 31,248 that it recently reached. The community hopes that the price of the pioneering cryptocurrency can climb even higher.

By Alexander Salazar

The executive criticized the fact that it is possibility to issue private currencies in the ecosystem. He added that the cryptocurrency does not represent any competition for the US dollar but rather for gold.

James Bullard, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, does not agree with the existence of many cryptocurrencies. He is concerned about the fact that most of them are worthless and therefore useless. However, he highlighted that crypto assets like Bitcoin facilitate transactions that are difficult with fiat money. In this sense, he said that they have a purpose and could circulate alongside the US dollar.

Regarding blockchains, Bullard criticized the fact that it is possible to issue private money. “If you allow issuing private currencies, you will have all kinds of them. That is exactly what has happened. There are currently a couple thousand of these [cryptocurrencies], most of which are worthless,” he said.

The official expects users to invest regardless of the risks that the volatility of the Bitcoin market pose. He classified the cryptocurrency world as an interesting space and said that the Fed is also considering issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

James Bullard has shared his ideas on the pioneering cryptocurrency on other occasions in the past. In February, he stated that Bitcoin is a rival to gold rather than to the US dollar. Besides, he said that the interest in Bitcoin does not pose a threat to the US fiat currency as a world reserve.

He also argued that the interest in Bitcoin is growing because people use it to hedge against inflation or the global economic downturn. He believes that the US dollar will continue to rule the global economy “as far as the eye can see.” He argued that the rise or fall in the price of either gold or Bitcoin will not affect that.

Fed Officials Have Often Used the Term Bitcoin

Officials of the US central bank and other government agencies have frequently used the word Bitcoin. All of them agree that the cryptocurrency does not represent any competition for the US dollar but rather for gold.

In April, Anders Brownworth, a payment systems architect at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, talked about their CBDC prototype. He said that it will show both similarities and differences with Bitcoin.

The Fed has stated that stablecoins are an “improvement” as national currencies such as the US dollar support them. In theory, this characteristic gives them greater “credibility” than other cryptocurrencies.

Lael Brainard, governor of the US Federal Reserve, recently gave her opinion about the CBCD that the nation plans  to issue. She said that it will allow reducing risks to users and stabilizing the financial system.

However, the president of the agency Jerome Powell acknowledged the possible influence of the money-printing policies on the markets. He referred to the economic aid campaigns (bonuses) resulting from a larger fiat money printing by the Federal Reserve.

US Federal Reserve officials would like to see higher inflation before deciding to tighten monetary policy. At the same time, many believe that Bitcoin will continue to gain prominence against the US dollar as a store of value.

By Alexander Salazar

The former Colombian beauty queen explained that she is not related to the world of cryptocurrencies. A fake article claims that the model is related to a “program” to attract new investments.

In recent days, Colombian model and television host Melina Ramírez warned about scammers who are using her image. The criminals are deceiving the followers of the former beauty queen with fake investments in Bitcoin (BTC). She explained that she is not promoting any type of Ponzi scheme promising returns with cryptocurrencies.

Ramírez said in a video that she constantly receives messages from people asking her about her alleged investments in Bitcoin. The actress explained that the scammers are spreading a fake article claiming that she is related to millionaire offers.

“I take the opportunity to deny something so serious. I constantly receive messages from people asking me if I invest in Bitcoin and if I have become a millionaire. That is not true at all, so do not believe it and do not allow them to fool you. Be careful because I do not know who they might be,” said Ramírez.

The Scammers Deceive Users in the Name of Bitcoin

The model refers to a fraudulent article in which scammers pose as famous personalities. Among these figures, there are members of Latin American show business, businesspeople, and even athletes. The message that they posted promises to turn anyone into a millionaire in a period of 3 or 4 months.

The criminals share the same note on the Internet but use different names of famous people, such as Melina Ramírez. In other words, every time they broadcast the article, they use the image of a different character.

Scammers sometimes promote a so-called Bitcoin “Champion” program, which promises people to “make fortunes overnight.” They not only mention transactions with BTC but also with XRP (ripple), the cryptocurrency of Ethereum (Ether), Monero, and Zcash.

As a consequence of the boom in the markets in recent months, cryptocurrency scams have multiplied. According to the Bolster Research agency, fraud with crypto assets grew by 40% during 2020, compared to the previous year.

Scammers Pose as Other Famous Figures to Steal Bitcoin

In 2020, cybercriminals hacked the official Twitter account of cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao. They also attacked those of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and former US President Barack Obama, promising a profit of 5,000 BTC.

Tycoons like Elon Musk and Bill Gates would hardly give away Bitcoin or fiat money through social media. For that reason, users should be aware that “gifts” are often a scam. Scammers use the identity of an authority, company or person to get the victim to reveal their confidential information.

The world is interested in cryptocurrencies, so scammers have found new ways to deceive their victims. A group of them even launched the pre-sale of the WSB token before the WallStreetBets community listed it on the stock exchange. Unsuspecting users deposited around USD 2 million and, of course, received nothing in return.

Scammers usually use the Bitcoin ecosystem to deceive users and steal their crypto or fiat currencies. In these cases, users should do some research and doubt offers that promise unimaginable profits without any effort.

By Alexander Salazar