Bank of America: Bitcoin Is the Best Investment of the Decade

Maria Rodríguez
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Bank of America: Bitcoin Is the Best Investment of the Decade

Cryptocurrency has been the best performing asset in the last ten years, according to the financial entity.

In a recent publication issued in December by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), the Bitcoin cryptocurrency (BTC) is considered the best investment of the last ten years. So the digital currency managed to overcome the performance of other assets such as bonds, stocks and even fiat currencies around the world.

In an analysis conducted by the BAML, where it puts this cryptocurrency as the first one in the list of assets of the decade and published by the news website 1BUV, it set an example of an investment action to help understand the magnitude of the value of the cryptocurrency.

The text details that for every dollar that a person has invested at the beginning of the decade, he would currently be able to have around $ 90,000. Therefore, the amount of BTC could be about 13.8 BTC. This far exceeds what any other investment would have offered in the same number of years. Even the same investment using dollars in the US stock market is compared, which in the same number of years would only have received $ 3.46 from the investment for each dollar.

The United States stock market is one of the strongest stock markets in the world, but it would not achieve the same amount of return for investment. This also represents a big difference to what could have been an investment in the purchase of shares of any other company, instead of how stable and important it has been in the last ten years.

Although the cryptocurrency itself has lost approximately two- thirds of its value in 2 years when in 2017 it managed to reach a price of up to $ 20,000. Even apart from the fact that Bank of America itself considers cryptocurrency as “highly speculative”, and unstable, it recognizes that its value has grown almost unstoppably since 2011.

Not only it has managed to create an entire crypto market that emulates its qualities to perform the same or other functions with a specific interest, but it has also become the mandatory reference of cryptocurrencies and the most popular digital currency of all. It has even become sufficiently accepted that businesses that begin to bet on the adoption of crypto technology begin by accepting Bitcoin as the main cryptocurrency.

Because of this, a review published by CNN, related to the report published by the BAML, explains that currently, a large number of retailers in retail markets accept the BTC as another way of acquiring their products or services. It also details that more and more companies are investing in future Bitcoin contracts, thus helping to establish and legitimize the digital asset, positioning it as another method to invest and use.

The Worst Investing of the Last Ten Years

On the other hand, the report also points out the worst investments in the last ten years, putting Burma’s national currency, the Kyat, as the first one in the list. They specified that for every dollar that has been invested in the asset, today it would have an approximate USD 0.004.

Similarly, it happens the same with the official asset of Greece, which due to a crisis resulting from external debt, for every 100 cents invested in the Greek stock market ten years ago, today would only be worth 7 cents.

This puts the Bitcoin cryptocurrency (BTC) as a valuable asset that has surpassed economies of entire countries, as far as investment benefits are concerned.

This study conducted by one of the most important banks in the world, Bank of America, has put a particular interest in bitcoin for some years. As published in 2017, when this institution published a report where it recognizes cryptocurrencies as the most quoted investment in that year, even the digital currency managed to displace the US dollar as the best long-term investment.

For this reason, the bank considers that it is possible to use the cryptocurrency market in its favor, as well as the blockchain technology itself. It is for this reason that the bank analyzed cryptoasset futures.

It also might be experimenting with the development of solutions using blockchain technology, this includes the acquisition of patents related to these technologies.

By María Rodríguez

Know What Gifts to Buy for Holidays and Where Using Bitcoin

Maria Rodríguez
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Know What Gifts to Buy for Holidays and Where Using Bitcoin

Find which stores and how to buy your perfect gifts for this Christmas season using BTC

In this Christmas season, it is important to take advantage of the offers that may arise when buying the ideal gifts. But, with the idea to know in which stores or what gift it would be perfect to buy using bitcoins as a payment method, this article will help you know which website you could use to buy the gift of your choice this Christmas.

1. Overstock, The Virtual Store of Toys for Children

Among one of the main chains specialized in the sale of toys for children, as well as other services for the little ones, is Overstock. In this store, you can discover a wide variety of toys aimed at children of all ages.

It is known that the chain has been one of the first ones to implement the payment method with cryptocurrencies and that it also has a shipping service for its products which covers almost any country in the world. Although toys are its specialty, this product catalog also includes household items such as furniture, even male and female clothes, among some other things.

 2. Crypto-Gifts Purchased with Cryptocurrencies

Another good option could be to buy items that can help the cryptocurrency enthusiast improve their finances or their activities with blockchain technology.

The Cryptofits website offers a wide variety of products that are related to the world of cryptocurrencies and its ecosystem. Among them, the most popular articles are flannels with logos alluding to cryptocurrencies, as well as caps, socks, and even bath towels. Another great advantage of this website is that they have an extensive shipping service to anywhere in the world without having an additional charge.

In another sense, if the buyer wants to acquire some hardware or everything necessary in technological accessories for the crypts, he can access specialized pages on these devices such as Trezor and Ledger.

3. The Gift Card, The Most Popular Option

The so-called Gift Cards have become one of the most popular gifts anywhere in the world. Even for those interested in the crypto world who are looking for alternatives to spend their bitcoins. There are currently many options where they can use Gift Cards to purchase products and services, such as Starbucks or the iTunes store.

Some of the websites that accept cryptocurrencies for the purchase of these Gift Cards are Bitrefill, Bidali, Gyft.com, CoinCola, Bitcoin.com store and eGifter. Gift cards purchased in these virtual stores are allowed on platforms such as Ebay or Amazon.

4. Technology for Crypto-enthusiasts

If you are looking for a laptop, digital camera or smartphone, Newegg could be the perfect page. This platform is one of the pioneers when accepting cryptocurrencies, it also has a wallet that allows the direct purchase of these items.

As another alternative to make purchases within the Amazon catalog is the Purse solution platform. Through this service, you can import some digital catalogs from Amazon. It offers you the option to pay some cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash.

Whatever option you are looking for the ideal gift this Christmas, it can be purchased from the cryptocurrency technology market since, although not all stores have the option to pay with this technology, there is a large number of platforms willing to offer the best shopping experience using cryptocurrencies.

By María Rodríguez

France Approves the First ICO as A Form of A “Visa”

Maria Rodríguez
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The European country approved the use of the first ICO that will be similar to a Visa.

Web news related to the crypto market in France informed that the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) would have authorized for the first time a so-called Initial Coin Offering (ICO), but this time, using a Visa figure to conduct the event.

According to information collected at the time of its approval, it was announced that French-ICO was the crypto collection platform that received the so-called “ICO Visa”. For the data collected, the company managed to collect all the requirements demanded by the French authorities and all those required by law. It even collected a technical document with understandable specifications for investors who are interested in the services they would offer.

Since some opinions are focused on the world of cryptocurrencies, companies must develop a document, which can explain, in detail, the movements of the company. This is usually essential to attract investors since this technology usually turns out to be unknown for many people, so without the right information, it could ruin the investment decisions of many entrepreneurs. This creates a bad reputation for cryptocurrencies for making a bad investment in a technology that was unknown for the investor.

In this way, ICO Visas are a feasible method so that all sales do not involve unnecessary risks for the investor. It is for this reason that for each investor who applies for the Visa, he must demonstrate to the authority that he knows the investment risks and that he has understood all related information about the use of his money in the company.

Although this helps investors to know all the risks and help them make a correct decision, complying with all the requirements demanded by the regulator, it is not an easy task. The authority will only approve public offers of tokens that are considered useful. The applicant must also be registered in the country.

Besides, the company must comply with a fund which assures investors of their money in the event of default by the company. Especially, it ensures the compliance of all the requirements that are demanded by the entities responsible for fighting money laundering.

Another determining factor in the complexity of granting the Visa is that once it has been approved, an approximate time of six months must be expected for the Initial Offering to be made.

France at The Vanguard of Cryptographic Regulations

It is a great advance that France approves the completion of the ICO Visa, since, at the beginning of the current year, one of the most complete legal frameworks in the world of cryptocurrencies has been established. This demonstrates a significant advance in everything related to the regulatory environment of the crypts.

The law that was passed earlier this year in France, saves companies linked to the crypto industry by suggesting to be registered and subject to the regulations dictated by the AMF. However, it is not illegal for an unregistered company to have an ICO. What the company could not do in that case, in France, is make sales to future investors.

By María Rodríguez

Chinee Authorities Seize Crypto Mining Equipment in Latest Inspection

Andres Chavez
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Chinee Authorities Seize Crypto Mining Equipment in Latest Inspection

Cryptocurrency mining and local power consumption have always been a controversial subject. The activity usually consumes a lot of electricity, and it may affect the correct distribution of power if the generation levels aren’t optimal in specific locations.

This week, authorities in China have decided to seize about 7,000 crypto mining machines that are incurring in illegal energy consumption; this is according to a recent report by Chinese news channel CCTV. The announcement came on December 22nd.

The confiscation of the mining equipment was an integral part of a global inspection, in which over 70,000 households, 3,061 vendors, 1,470 communities, and lots of mines, courtyards, and factories were checked in the Kaiping District of Tangshan city.

Alliance between Local Police and Electricity Authorities

The local police organized and carried out the mentioned inspection, but it also received a helping hand from the State Electric Power Department and other authorities in the electricity use field. The objective was to spot people or entities incurring in suspicious use of electricity resources.

The investigation was a fruitful one. It began in April of 2018. The police and the other authorities seized almost 6,890 ASIC miners and 52 high-power transformers. The police stated that crypto miners stole electricity from a village nearby and were still doing it.

The law enforcement authorities also observed that the seized Bitcoin (BTC) mining machines were up and running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with an elevated power consumption rate: these machines used to “eat” a maximum of 40 times more than what a regular family would normally consume.

Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin mining is a very widespread activity in the Chinese territory. The country’s BTC miners account for nearly two-thirds of the global hash rate. However, the nation is notoriously famous for the proliferation of the illicit use of energy by cryptocurrency miners.

In the middle of last month, lawmakers in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region started to exercise more pressure on crypto mining firms, sending units to inspect and reassure the “clean-up and rectification of crypto token mining companies” in the mentioned location.

Spotting Illegal Crypto Mining Farms

Other regions, such as Abkhazia, have also worked to broaden their reach and spot crypto mining farms, which clearly are easier, said than done. Earlier this month, the Chinese authorities brought to people’s attention that the increased loads on electric networks were, mostly, the responsibility of the proliferation of illegal Bitcoin mining farms that used local power to supply the needed electricity for the machines to work properly.

Last month, the Iranian government offered a bounty to those who were capable of exposing a mining farm or any unauthorized crypto activity in the nation. The bounty was an attractive one: the people who discovered the thieves that used subsidized electricity for their mining operations would receive roughly 20 percent of the recovered funds.

Using subsidized electricity to power a crypto mining farm can have substantial consequences in the energy supply of a whole village or jurisdiction.

By Andres Chavez

Iran Proposes to Create a Cryptocurrency to Improve Trade Between Muslim Countries

Maria Rodríguez
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Iran Proposes to Create a Cryptocurrency to Improve Trade Between Muslim Countries

The Prime Minister of Malaysia supports the idea of ​​creating a digital currency to help them in their shops.

During an Islamic conference recently held in Malaysia, the President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, presented a proposal that would support the idea of ​​creating a cryptocurrency. This digital asset would serve as a method to improve trade between Muslim countries so that they can avoid using the US dollar for all the transactions.

The news of this initiative presented by the President of Iran was published by the Associated Press (AP) news agency, which was also responsible for taking the statements of Rouhani, who said it is imperative to design ways in which they can “save themselves from the domination of the United States dollar and the financial regime of America”.

Rouhani also raised his voice to say that it is necessary for Muslim countries to take unification initiatives in order to achieve not only financial and commercial, but also social emancipation from the United States.

As it is well known, since 1979 the United States would have imposed a set of economic sanctions directed specifically at commercial, military and scientific sectors of Muslim countries such as Iran.

Thus, Rouhani replied that his country has taken these measures of economic asphyxiation as the “main tool for the dominance of hegemony and as bullying” aimed at other countries that are not consistent with US policies.

Positive Reactions to the Proposal

The conference covered a large part of the Middle Eastern countries and was attended by other state representatives from Muslim countries such as Qatar, Malaysia and Turkey. In this way, Mahathir bin Mohamad, who is the Prime Minister of Malaysia, was right with the approval of his Iranian counterpart sharing his thoughts on the proposal that would help improve his trade agreements using cryptocurrencies.

“It seems that sometimes, when we use the United States dollar, there are sanctions that can delay economic development. We can use our own currencies or have a common currency”, he added.

In the same way, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is the President of Turkey, supported Rouhani’s idea, but he decided to emphasize that Muslim countries should think much more about Islamic financing, thus being a way to boost each other and avoid less the interference of governments of other hemispheres.

In addition, Erdogan added that the birth of a special working group which helps concentrate efforts and polish details that support a correct implementation of the measures would be positive.

On the other hand, and as a similar proposal, last November, a group of emerging countries made up of Brazil, China, South Africa, India and Russia, would have supported the idea of ​​creating a cryptocurrency to help them carry out the payment transactions and fund solvencies among which their economies.

Hence, the CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriec, said that the use of the US dollar between its agreements would have fallen by up to 92% and 50 % between a period of time of about five years.

By María Rodríguez

The United States Could Approve a Draft Bill that Will Separate Cryptocurrencies in Categories

Maria Rodríguez
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0
The United States Could Approve a Draft Bill that Will Separate Cryptocurrencies in Categories

The proposal, which has not yet been approved, will divide cryptocurrencies into three categories.

It was recently known, through press releases, that a bill that would help regulate and register cryptocurrencies, their uses and negotiations in the United States was added to the House of Representatives of that North American country.

The project was presented by the American legislator Paul Gosar, who proposes to divide these digital assets into three different categories. Besides, he indicates that it is necessary to create an entity in charge of regulating, as well as the figure or position of the Federal Regulator of Digital Assets.

According to the information regarding the draft bill that will seek to be discussed next year, it is known that its name is “Cryptocurrency Law of 2020”, and that additionally to discussing its scenario and status of action within the financial market, it will also seek to classify all cryptocurrencies according to their uses and potentials.

In this way, cryptocurrencies would be divided into three different groups. Bitcoin will be classified differently than the other cryptocurrencies in the market. These altcoins would be evaluated according to their properties.

The categories that would handle the bill are Cryptocurrencies, Crypto products, and Crypto values. This means that it could have a broad identification of the entire crypto industry.

Besides, the action group that would serve as authority over this new economy within the North American country would be determined. Until the moment, three agencies will be responsible for monitoring, regulating and managing these assets. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Crimes Execution Network (FinCEN).

According to a copy of the proposed law published by Forbes magazine, it was known that the entire cryptocurrency market will be defined as a representation of the US currency, which will be supported on a blockchain platform or in a decentralized accounting book.

Then, according to the document, it will have two underlying points at this point, which would be divided into two: the first one will deal with stablecoins, and the second one will deal with smart contracts.

The legislator decided to classify in the category of Crypto products all those goods or services that are fully consumable. This is mainly because of the markets that are supported by a blockchain, or that does not take into account who produced and how much good or service.

On the other hand, the Crypto values ​​are all those classified as equity instruments and all their derivatives as well as debts that are in support of a decentralized accounting book.

Once reaching this point in the law, the writer of the article published in Forbes and dealing with this issue, Jason Brett, commented that there is an exclusion of some derivatives that are registered in the Department of the Treasury as business services monetary services.

Therefore, the Bank Secrecy Law will be in force, which goes hand in hand with all those measures against money laundering, and regulations to prevent terrorist financing. All this is determined by the Financial Crimes Execution Network and with the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Among other details contained in the draft bill, it was known that the Secretary of the Treasury will have the power to approve rules and conditions that help define and verify transactions made with cryptocurrencies, as well as certify the identity of the people who perform these transactions. This way, a transaction with crypto could be treated as a traditional bank transfer.

By María Rodríguez

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