According to Anthony Scaramucci, Elon Musk Owns More than $ 5 Billion in Bitcoin

According to Anthony Scaramucci, Elon Musk has already invested a considerable part of his capital.

According to the American businessman Anthony Scaramucci, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk has in its power a bitcoin sum more significant than what he has already revealed. Scaramucci posted in a tweet that Musk possessed “more than $ 5 billion in Bitcoin,” although the businessman did not specify sources confirming such a piece of information.

Elon Musk seems to keep going beyond projects Tesla. And the businessman shows in his tweet that he understands that SpaceX holds Bitcoin on its balance sheet. Elon Musk owns over $ 5 billion in Bitcoin through Tesla, SpaceX, and personally.

Scaramucci, who previously worked at the giant Goldman Sachs, was the White House communications director and a Bitcoin enthusiast. The businessman shared a theory about Musk’s investments in cryptocurrency.

For the financier, Musk, who has expressed his concern about climate change on different occasions, has a whole vision about the potential of cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology in the future. Referring to the recent Bank of America report, Scaramucci wrote that the idea of ​​Musk investing in a “dirty asset” was kind of absurd.

“The Future of Bitcoin Mining is Renewable Energy,” Scaramucci tweeted

After an extensive report with various criticisms of Bitcoin, one of the US banking giant’s arguments is that, in contrast to what other reports have already indicated, cryptocurrency mining is, in fact, under non-renewable energy sources’ leadership.

However, in Scaramucci’s opinion, the millionaire CEO of Tesla would be top ahead of his investment in crypto to the future’s environmental and financial trends.

Scaramucci referenced Elon Musk’s recent interest in the NFTs (non-fungible tokens) or digital collectibles industry in his tweet thread. Musk released his first NFT – a video clip with a song about NFT – on his Twitter. However, after the millionaire’s digital art reached offers of more than $ 1 million, he decided he would not sell it. “It doesn’t feel right,” the CEO stated.

Part of the ‘thesis’ of the former White House communications director is that Musk anticipates that digital collectibles will become the preferred store of value assets.

Billionaire Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, appeared to agree with Scaramucci’s comments regarding Elon Musk’s investment and his respective companies. Novogratz tweeted back to the financier and invited the CEO of Tesla to join the discussion:

“I Don’t Always Agree with Scaramucci, But Here he Hits the Spot.” The CEO of Galaxy Digital Stated

There is no information on a cryptocurrency purchase by space rocket manufacturer SpaceX. To date, Elon Musk has not disclosed such investments in cryptocurrency. There is also no information on a cryptocurrency purchase by space rocket manufacturer SpaceX.

The information that has appeared to the public so far is the Tesla company’s investment for a total of USD 1.5 billion in Bitcoin. In February, the electric car manufacturer announced bitcoins’ purchase and said that it would start to adopt cryptocurrency as a proper payment method.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Criminal Activities Regarding Bitcoin in Latin America Appear to Happen in Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina on a Major Scale

There are several extortion cases, scams, and ransomware among the criminal activities in Latin America. These numbers have already multiplied in the last year. The company is moving forward to try to decipher transactions on the Monero network.

Latin America is one of the areas on which bitcoin (BTC) has found an excellent place to set an expansion through exchanges, startups, and developer training. Despite that push and adoption for good, crime related to the first cryptocurrency use has also increased.

During the last year, and due to the quarantines because of the COVID-19, cybercrime has made a big bang worldwide. Latin American countries are also facing this dreadful reality.

Most of the crimes happen in three countries: Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina. The most prominent cases include extortion, sextortion, scams, and ransomware.

In Colombia and Argentina, there is an alarming increase in cases of scams and extortion. In Mexico, the cartels use cryptocurrencies to set money laundering. Mexican authorities managed to know which cartel it was. They even managed to understand how much money was laundering due to high efforts and Mexico’s regulation.

Venezuela is Always in the Eye of the Storm

Regarding Venezuela, another of the countries in the region where bitcoin has received its adoption. On the border between Colombia and Venezuela, crimes increased, which has helped Venezuelans in their operations and then return to their country.

Regarding the Petro, the suspicious cryptocurrency that the Venezuelan government is currently endorsing might serve as a tool to “avoid sanctions” from the United States.

Advances in Monero’s Road to Decryption

The issue of Monero and its privacy is always an important matter. In September of last year, Monero managed to create a method to track transactions in Monero, something that generated skepticism in the cryptocurrency community.

There are needs and beliefs that cryptocurrencies’ original concept should be playing a significant role instead of being disconnected from the system in the field of regulations.

The people who say they do not want regulation are the same people who end up wondering why the exchange does not know whose account is the one that received the stolen bitcoins. There is a lack of education regarding cryptocurrencies in Venezuela, making those users easy prey for criminals.

The guidelines to consider controlling cryptocurrencies should include foresight and regulation. The regulators themselves are calling the exchanges. The companies that offer services only play a secondary part in the solution.

Some Venezuelan Laws Regarding Technology

Any person who, without the due authorization or exceeding any he (she) may have obtained, accesses, intercepts, or uses a system using information technologies, shall be punished with prison from one to five years and fine from ten to fifty tax units.

Unlawful access or sabotage to protected systems is a law on which the former articles’ penalties shall see an increase from a third to half when the provided actions or their effects occur in any system components.

This law also applies when using information technologies under the protection of security measures, and it goes for public functions or personal or property information of individuals or corporate bodies.

By: Jenson Nuñez

SBI Holdings and its Bitcoin Mining Pool Will now Be Open to Public

Until May 15, commissions will be 0% for those who register. Bitcoin miners made record profits in February 2021.

SBI Crypto, owned by Japan’s financial giant SBI Holdings, will allow individuals and institutions to mine bitcoin (BTC) and join its mining pool. The particularity of this news, which appears published on the official SBI Crypto Twitter account, is that there are no charges in commissions for all those users who sign up before May 15, 2021. Applications are already open on the company’s website.

On the other hand, the available languages ​​will be English, Japanese, and Mandarin, according to an official statement that the company posted on March 19, 2021.

It will be Mandatory to Have an Account for those who Dare to Register in March

This same document explains that having an account will be mandatory for those who register in March, but this requirement will not apply from April.

Continuing with the same cited source, the bitcoin mining service of this Asian firm currently holds the 14th position among the most used bitcoin services in the world, with 1.16% of the bitcoin hash rate.

SBI Crypto started mining bitcoin on its own in 2017, but since July 2020, it started working with its partner Northern Data AG. This company also served as a collaborator in developing this service, allowing mining bitcoin cash (BCH) and Bitcoin SV (BSV).

SBI Group is perhaps one of the largest financial companies in Japan. SBI Group is a financial company with more than 20 years of history, 15 years as an independent firm from Scotbank, and more than 8,000 employees. In 2019 it opened a megabank that brings together more than 10 Japanese regional banks.

Recently, other mining pools have also started serving the public. As an example, Digital Currency Group’s Foundry followed suit in mid-March, after its mining pool exited the private beta mode in which it operated.

Bitcoin Mining Shows Effectiveness when Generating More and More Profits

Bitcoin mining is increasingly attracting public attention and is also receiving a large group of private investors. One of the main reasons is that profits in this activity have recently reached their all-time high. One such example is the never-before-seen ETH commission figures reported by CriptoNoticias in September 2020.

For its part, statistics indicate that on March 17, 2021, the profits of bitcoin miners in the last 30 days averaged no less than $ 64.3 million per day. It is essential to consider a rise in cryptocurrencies’ market value; everything indicates that this rise might break a new record in the months to come, Maybe March.

SBI Holdings, Inc. manages the SBI group, which engages in the provision of comprehensive financial services. It operates through these features: Financial Services, Asset Management, biotechnology-related, and Many Others.

The Financial Services segment covers finance-related businesses and provides information regarding financial products. This provider brings information including securities brokerage, banking services, and life, and property among others.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Characters from Star Wars, Marvel, and The Wolf of Wall Street Will Also Launch their NFTs in the Market

Rob Prior, an experienced comic book artist, will lead the project. The works will be part of an auction in the coming weeks through the Mogul Productions platform.

The non-fungible token (NFT) fever keeps attracting personalities and businesses of all natures and kinds. This time, comic book artist Rob Prior (Marvel, DC Comics, or Todd McFarlane) is leading the way and releasing many NFTs, starting with artwork inspired by Marvel, Star Wars, and the movie The Wolf of Wall Street.

Through a press release, Mogul announced the alliance “to create movie-inspired NFTs to be on sale through the decentralized film funding platform (DeFiFi).”

Regarding the first pieces on sale, the production company spoke about the relevance of a movie like The Wolf of Wall Street, which they described as significant today due to the recent GameStop / Robinhood controversial situation.

Mogul Productions Seeks to Bring Together film Enthusiasts, Creators, Artists, and Investors in the same Community Around its STARS Token, Which will enter the Market Next Week

The first work under development by Prior will be available for auction on the Mogul platform in the coming weeks, although the press release does not clarify the exact date.

Those who purchase Prior’s work will be able to choose to witness the burning of the physical version to ensure that there will be no more copies, as was done with a Banksy work tokenized in Ethereum.

For Gagan Grewal, CEO of Mogul Productions, auctioning film-based NFTs is “the perfect way to commemorate the merger of the blockchain and entertainment worlds.” Precisely, the objective of this platform is the financing of films through a decentralized ecosystem.

NFT, the Fashion Industry among Cryptocurrencies

In just a few months, the world of cryptocurrencies suffered a plague with collectible token offerings of all kinds. This ecosystem’s buzzword is displacing the decentralized finance (DeFi) fever, which peaked in 2020.

The fever has even touched artists like Lindsay Lohan. The actress allocates the proceeds of her NFTs to promote the use of bitcoin among young people. Musical groups such as Kings of Leon have also sold NFT related to their most recent album.

For enthusiasts of this type of tokenized digital content in various blockchains, it is a new way to value art and other types of pieces in the digital environment. And users seem to share that vision, as the NFT market has reached record figures of up to 500 million dollars in just one month.

Some critics believe that the fever will pass, and most of the tokens that are continuously issued today will end up without any value. Another controversy surrounds the issue of copyright.

The sale of an NFT already sparked controversy when the graphic novel publisher DC Comics spoke out on this issue, following the sale of a series of collectibles based on its character, the popular Wonder Woman.

By: Jenson Nuñez

European Union Keeps Seeing Bitcoin as a Risky Asset

There are no guarantees for people who invest in bitcoin. The ECB considers the creation of the digital euro a “positive” alternative.

The European Commission and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) presented a report showing bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as risk assets.

In the document called the 2021 Trends, Threats and Vulnerabilities Report, published on March 17, the European authorities indicate that “some crypto assets are hazardous and speculative.”

The new warning from the European Union (EU) comes when cryptocurrencies gain more and more space in the market, significantly increasing institutional investment.

In this sense, the European Supervisory Authorities (AES) call on people to be attentive “to the high risks of buying and holding these financial instruments, since there is the possibility that they will lose all their money.”

According to the publication, most cryptocurrencies are not under any EU regulation, which prevents consumers of crypto assets from having an endorsement or guarantee that regulated financial services do.

It is important to remember that, in 2020, the European Commission presented a proposal for the regulation of the crypto-asset market, known as MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets), to create a safe environment that benefits consumers and investors.

In this sense, this year’s Report assures that the MiCA proposal “remains subject to the result of the process. Therefore, consumers do not currently benefit from any of the guarantees provided in that proposal because it is not yet legislation of the EU”.

Recently, the European Central Bank (ECB) intends to veto power over cryptocurrency launches in the eurozone and wants a greater supervision spectrum.

A Positive point of view on Central Bank Digital Currencies

The document presented by the European Commission also exposes the growth in the acceptance of a digital currency issued by the ECB. “Central bank sentiment towards digital currencies is changing positively,” they note.

In the Report, they quote the ECB president, Christine Lagarde, who indicated that “they should be prepared to issue a digital euro when the need arises.”

They say that, in October last year, the European bank debated creating a digital euro. However, the need to thoroughly examine the associated risks and operational challenges remains very prominent. The legality of Bitcoin usually falls into a gray area due to its novelty and globality. However, there are regulations specific to the network and rules created by the States.

It is Essential that the Authorities of the World Recognize Cryptocurrency in Those Laws in which they are Relevant

In this sense, this medium indicates that a cryptocurrency is “a computer program that, through the use of a certain language, establishes rules for the internal discourse of the program.” It is essential to consider that it is almost “a Magna Carta that prescribes the universe of the application. Hence, among software developers and engineers, there is so much insistence on affirming that ‘the code is law'”.

Besides, there are suggestions about promoting the massive adoption of bitcoin. It is necessary to open spaces for “regulations on electronic transactions, capital raising, and issuance of securities (in the case of ICOs), payment of taxes, anti-fraud and money laundering laws of capitals, among many other areas”.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Demystifying Wrong Conceptions: Myths about Bitcoin Mining

Myths about Bitcoin have constantly arisen that tend to mislead those who are interested in mining it. The consumption of the energy that people spend in this activity is one of the most prominent myths.

The pioneering cryptocurrency is a controversial phenomenon that has led to the creation of myths (and even misinformation) about it. Undoubtedly, many people have heard about them, but a website focused on the myths about Bitcoin seeks to explain them simply.

Its creators plan to share a series on the myths and legendary creatures surrounding the cryptocurrency that Satoshi Nakamoto created. Through several short texts, they contribute to demystifying those arguments that discredit Bitcoin.

One of the factors that cause the most concern among critics of Bitcoin is that of mining. In this regard, the website explains the myth of the ecological impact of mining, arguing that Bitcoin uses forms of green energy.

The creators of the website introduce the myths with the following premise: “Bitcoin is borderless and decentralized. It is also destroying the world by releasing an endless stream of smoking hot CO2 into the atmosphere.”

However, they clarify that this is not true since Bitcoin is not destroying the planet or releasing an endless stream of CO2. They also explain that miners must maximize efficiency, so they must embrace green energy to stay in business.

Mythological Creatures of Bitcoin

Those who worry about the origin of the energy to mine the cryptocurrency are so-called “green giants”. According to the website, Bitcoin miners are looking for plentiful and inexpensive sources of energy. Besides, they highlight that 80% of miners use renewable energy sources.

Probably, alluding to the Greek mythological god Scamander, “scale-a-manders” deal with the issue of Bitcoin’s scalability. There is a myth that it takes a million times more energy to scale transactions a million times. The website says that it is possible to scale the volume of transactions from 10 to 10,000 with the same amount of power.

The myth of “fiat fairies” says that Bitcoin consumes more energy than conventional currencies. However, the website recommends analyzing the cost of energy consumption of the large infrastructure supporting fiat currencies. The latter includes banks, the police, the military and legal systems.

“Werewolves” say that Bitcoin mining hardware must run around the clock to recoup hardware costs. The authors say that it is only necessary for hardware improvements to naturally stabilize over time. They recommend using mining devices when demand is low to reduce electricity costs.

The creators of the website promise that they will also deal with the myths about Bitcoin security. Financial services company Square, Inc. seems to be behind this website. In this regard, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of the firm, posted a tweet mentioning the website. Also, the name of the book on myths is “The ‘Square’ Crypto Book of Bitcoin Mythology.”

Since the beginning of the year, searches for and interest in Bitcoin have been on the rise. New websites related to the topic, as well as humorous webpages, have appeared.

Although these websites do not seem to be very serious, they help demystify the misinformation that circulates on the Net. The pioneering digital asset of the new era of finance has generated many myths that bitcoiners have tried to dispel in various ways.

By Alexander Salazar