Tunisia Will be the First Country to Migrate its National Currency to the Blockchain

Andres Chavez
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Tunisia Will be the First Country to Migrate its National Currency to the Blockchain

Central banks and government authorities have been eager to join the blockchain revolution for years, as they want to take advantage of the innovative technology to create national currencies in the digital platform that are easier to track, issue, and use. The latest country to embrace the idea comes from Africa, an emerging region when it comes to these matters.

In fact, Tunisia is becoming the first nation to begin the migration of its national currency to the blockchain ecosystem. With the help of a Russian company named Universa, the African country will start moving its primary payment mean to the digital platform.

Meet the E-dinar

Universa will be the main driver in helping Tunisia to manage the nation’s Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC, according to a report coming from a Russian news outlet, Tass, in recent hours. The asset will be named E-dinar and the expectation is that it will be significantly easier to use, more transparent, and cheaper to issue.

The Central Bank of Tunisia was the entity behind the announcement of the digitalization of the country’s national currency, the Tunisian dinar. For some people, understanding how it works may take a while, but the fact that authorities decided to make the leap speaks volumes about the nation’s futuristic and modern approach. The asset will be issued on the Universa Blockchain.

For its contributions as the platform hosting the e-dinar, Universa will receive, according to the report, an unspecified percentage of the transactions performed in the ecosystem. It is said that the ledger will remain visible to Tunisia’s central bank.

Whilst it is clear that the platform is indeed blockchain-based, there has been some confusion in some circles about the nature of the currency. Regarding that, the CEO and Founder of the Universa firm, Alexander Borodich, clarified that the electronic money should not be considered a cryptocurrency.

This particular CBDC is going to be backed by paper money and will be managed by the state. Among the advantages of using the blockchain technology will be counterfeiting protection, cheaper issuance, and added transparency, the latter element being always welcome at all levels.

Borodich stated that “digital banknotes cannot be counterfeited — each banknote is protected by cryptography like its paper counterpart has its own digital watermarks. Furthermore, the production of such a banknote is 100 times cheaper than wasting ink, paper and electricity in the printing process.”

It Is Not a New Currency

According to the explanation, it becomes clear that Tunisia will not be issuing a new currency. Instead, the state will move a sizable portion of its reserves to the blockchain platform managed by Universa. People in the nation will be able to exchange physical currency for e-dinars at any moment they desire.

Borodich thinks that once the system is up and running, it will change the way private banks operate, and that is true for future cases, as well. The physical assets will remain at the central banks, and private agencies will compete for quality and services only.

By Andres Chavez

Five People are Arrested in Malaysia for Drilling through Wall to Steal 85 Bitcoin Machines

Andres Chavez
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Five People are Arrested in Malaysia for Drilling through Wall to Steal 85 Bitcoin Machines

Bitcoin is not only the most prominent and valuable digital asset, but also, it represents an attractive investment for nearly everybody from entrepreneurs to regular people with some funds they want to preserve. However, when the ambition crosses the line and evolves into criminal activity, innocent people are always at risk of losing their prized belongings.

In this case, more than a few BTC were initially lost. It happened a few days ago in Malaysia: law enforcement agencies and the local police worked to arrest five individuals accused of stealing a total of 85 Bitcoin machines that were worth approximately RM 42,500 from a warehouse.

There were four men and one woman involved in the crime, according to reports coming from the Asian country. Seremban police Supt Mohd Said Ibrahim stated that every person with direct involvement in the robbery is now arrested; he informed that they were taken into custody in separate raids in Seremban and Nilai. Two of the people now waiting for justice to be done are Indonesian.

They Rented the Building Next to the Warehouse

The Sun Daily, a Malaysian publication, reported that the group of thieves rented a building located next to the one guarding the bitcoin machines and proceeded to drill through the concrete wall that connected the two establishments. It has been speculated that the machines, which were worth $10,300 each when converted to dollars, were bitcoin mining rigs, but that version is still unofficial.

The police corps took a vehicle as evidence, as well as the heavy-duty equipment to drill through concrete. The thieves used them to gain access to the warehouse where the Bitcoin machines were stored.

“On Oct 29, a shopkeeper lodged a police report following the missing of 85 Bitcoin machines. Subsequently, police conducted raids and arrested suspects, aged between 25 and 46 years,” the superintendent said in a press conference to explain what happened that night. The events are now a hot discussion topic in the nation and in neighbor countries. Bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general, are growing in popularity in Asia.

Monitoring the Movement of the Machines

Mohd Said Ibrahim talked at length about the origins and backgrounds of the alleged criminals. He said that “some of the suspects were working as traders and construction workers while others were unemployed.”

Said Ibrahim observed that “the purpose of the rent was to monitor the movement of the machines, and their motive for stealing was believed to handle the machines themselves.” It sure sounds like the thieves had everything figured out, but the police and the authorities in general stopped their plans.

The piece of news came as a shock to many; since any member of the group had a criminal record prior to what happened with the Bitcoin machines. Mohd Said also informed that the suspects were all friends, and that they are now being investigated under Section 457 of the Penal Code.

By Andres Chavez

Complaints against Bitinka Filed with the SEC and the FBI

Willmen Blanco
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Complaints against Bitinka Filed with the SEC and the FBI

A US user claims that his attempts to withdraw funds have been ignored. This is a new case against the exchange house after the lawsuit filed in Argentina.

Two complaints against the cryptocurrency exchange Bitinka and its CEO Roger Benites were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Internet Crimes Complaint Center (attached to the FBI) ​​in the United States.

A user from that country claims that his attempts to withdraw the funds that he keeps on this platform have been ignored, according to a request made on October 30th.

In both documents, software developer Anthony Lewandowski explains that, since last February, he has had difficulties to get access to his cryptocurrencies and has not obtained a favorable response from the company.

Lewandowski explained that on February 21st, he deposited 31,011 DAI, equivalent to about USD 31,011. The transfer method was the DAI blockchain using the Bitinka website deposit mechanism. Then he used Bitinka services to withdraw USD 11,371; however, the rest of the cryptocurrencies that he kept on the platform, consisting of 3.97278026 BTC and 5.79089118 MKR, remain in the exchange.

The user estimates that the total losses generated by the retention of his funds is around USD 40 thousand and set a precedent with the lawsuit against Bitinka, filed last February in Argentina, in which two local users demand that USD 417 thousand be returned.

Bitinka’s Response

Once it was known that the complaints had been filed, the company responded that it had not received any notification and was unaware of these cases.

The startup stated through an e-mail that they need more information about the complaint. They said that they have not accepted more American users for a very long time. They added that it may be a complaint but not a denunciation, as this should consist of notifications to both parties.

In a second message, Bitinka assured that one of its departments was already managing actions to discover which user had the problem and requested more details about these causes.

The e-mail stated that the compliance department has already been informed so they can locate the aforementioned user. They consider that their cooperation would help users provide them with information, thus helping solve their problems.

Administrative Procedure

Attorney Camilo Jorajuría de León, who filed the complaints with both organizations, indicated that the SEC files between 400 and 500 civil cases against people and companies that break the law every year, which translates into potential fines and the closure of operations of the aforementioned companies.

The lawyer explained that the complaints are part of the strategy to advance on multiple fronts and try to recover users’ assets and mentioned the lawsuit that is in progress in Argentina. Another aspect highlighted by Jorajuría is that these types of actions are conducted to cleanse the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

The Bitinka payment processor was already closed in Argentina and, now in the United States, progress is being made from an administrative and criminal law point of view. Jorajuría promised that he will continue promoting claims in all jurisdictions that are necessary until the person responsible is judged, the company is liquidated and the funds owed to users are reimbursed.

The accusations against Bitinka began in October 2018 when a group of users requested clarification about the status of their funds as they could not operate with them.

At that time, Bitinka indicated that users could not claim assets that did not belong to them, since the platform had some technical problems and the operators’ balance sheets were restored to their “real state”. Consequently, any recorded profit was eliminated unilaterally and the accounts returned to their original balance. According to several users other accounts were blocked.

The relationship between the company and its users has involved the courts, the seizure of bank accounts, and now the filing of complaints in the United States, which further worsens the tone of the conflict and its international implications.

By Willmen Blanco

Crypto Exchanges Must Provide Customer Data to the Ministry of Treasury of Argentina

Maria Rodríguez
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Crypto Exchanges Must Provide Customer Data to the Ministry of Treasury of Argentina

The measure seeks to have more control over crypto-transactions. It entered into force since November 1st.

 Argentina’s Ministry of Treasury, through the Argentine Federal Administration of Public Revenues, recently published a statement where it details that now all the exchange houses dedicated to the crypto market in that country must provide the State with detailed information of their users. This is something that crypto-exchanges will have to do periodically.

Therefore, these companies must provide to the State some data of their customer. Exchanges must do it monthly. Part of the information they must provide is the number of operations performed by the user; among other things done on their platform.

According to data provided by the resolution, the measure seeks to have greater control; thus, it is expected that this decision will have a strong impact on the crypto-exchange market of Argentina.

“For effective control of the correct fulfillment of tax obligations of the taxpayers”, the statement says. Hence, following this rule, according to the Government, there will be a greater power of control over these exchange houses and, as a result, an increase in the collection of taxes.

The resolution dictates that Argentine exchange houses must share with the State the information of their users. For instance, it is detailed that the account number of the users will be requested with special interest, as well as their type, the character of the members to whom the account is directed, the number of members, and the type of user identification that supports the platform policy.

It is also known that these institution has been asked for a list of more private data of their clients, stating that the State will need, for example, the types of operations such as the date of account opening, as well as their closures (if it is the case), and also information about any type of modification.

In addition, crypto-exchanges are asked for a detailed record of the operations conducted, highlighting the user’s income and expenses. In this way, the exchange house must also grant the data of exchange operations of each account, exposing the number of Argentine pesos that is handled, as well as the amount of any other fiat currency in relation to cryptocurrencies and other assets.

The resolution also applies to companies dedicated to these technologies, which must now specify to the regulatory entity, the cost of their services duly reflected in Argentine pesos. Informing about their commissions will be a fundamental task for operational control in the South American country.

During an interview for a news website, the Argentine lawyer and crypto-market specialist, Camilo Jorajuría, said he did not agree with the strong control that the State seeks to have over this market. Nevertheless, he clarified that it was expected that government entities will take a role in the flow of exchange operations related to cryptocurrencies.

Jorajuría explained that, generally, exchange houses seek to collaborate with the State to avoid sanctions and are always willing to provide any type of information required.

However, the relationship between Argentine exchange houses and the Government is sometimes difficult when regulations are stronger since the Government seeks to have greater control over the exchange rate policy in order to prevent the increase of illegal acts or tax payment evasion. Whilst, on the other hand, foreign exchange companies try to circumvent strong measures to protect the privacy of their users.

The debate continues because crypto-users prefer the decentralization of their means of payment but states want more control and participation in these operations.

By María Rodríguez

Samsung Blockchain Wallet Will Have more Support for New Cryptocurrencies

Maria Rodríguez
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Samsung Blockchain Wallet Will Have more Support for New Cryptocurrencies

Samsung wallet will include Tron (TRX). In addition, it has integrated Elrond (ERD) token and Ethereum-based games like Axie Infinity.

During the last weeks, it has been known that the telecom giant Samsung will incorporate more cryptocurrencies on its crypto wallet. Justin Sun, the Founder of Tron (TRX), revealed on Twitter that TRX has been integrated on the Samsung blockchain Keystore.

In the beginning, the Samsung wallet was considered only to store Ethereum and Bitcoin, but now the company is opening its doors to more digital assets. In this way, the Galaxy S10 will offer TRX tokens and Tron decentralized apps (DApps).

The objective of Samsung will be to store assets, but also applications that are available in the market for the first time, all of this on potentially millions of mobile devices.

Tron will be integrated into the software development kit (SDK) of the Samsung Blockchain Keystore. Samsung’s project would bring its users the possibility to have a wallet in their smartphones.

Huawei, Apple, and Samsung are the main sellers of smartphones. According to the Pew Research Center, 5 billion people currently have access to mobile devices, almost half of them are smartphones; thus, one billion users would have access to the Samsung Blockchain Keystore. Many people could test the device soon.

More Benefits

People who buy Galaxy S10 will access to its crypto wallet. This is something positive for those users that do not rely on third-party wallets. Now they will have another option.

In addition, developers can build applications using Samsung devices. The SDK allows coders to build through the Tron network by giving them direct access to the blockchain. This will allow DApp developers to continue making products for Samsung users.

Samsung devices should have the same direct access to Tron blockchain data. This would make it easier for DApp developers to make products for Samsung users that do not rely on other providers.

“With the Tron / Samsung integration, users won’t need any third-party wallet anymore. Develops can just focus on the content they are building and provide a seamless experience to end-users”, Justin Sun said to local media.

According to Tron’s latest report, there are 3.9 million Tron wallet accounts and 611 DApps. Tron’s DApps are experiencing 276,000 daily average users (DAU) with an average growth rate of 1.2 % per week.

These quantities would increase drastically once Samsung and other companies offer wallets available to those users who have not yet decided to access traditional wallets or do not know how to do it.

There are only 3,127 decentralized apps in use, according to research by the State of the DApps. Those apps have approximately 100,000 daily active users. Phil Chen, Head of HTC, says, “for the smartphone category to grow again, we need more adoption of crypto phones”.

Recently, Samsung has added support for Elrond (ERD) token and Axie Infinity (an Ethereum-based collectible game) on its blockchain wallet.

Similarly, Google is interested in the blockchain market by making its public blockchain data freely available in BigQuery through the Google Cloud Public Datasets Program”.

Nevertheless, there is another question. Samsung is based in South Korea and that country does not have a clear position about cryptocurrencies, highlighting the instability of crypto legality in that country, where these assets were banned in 2017.

In 2018, South Korea recognized digital currencies like Bitcoin, but in 2019, the Government decided to set up a blockchain-enabled virtual power plant in Busan. However, it has not issued many opinions regarding this topic and Samsung’s plans could continue being accepted or not.

By María Rodríguez

Angel Investor Filed Lawsuit against Bittrex for Failing to Protect His Funds in Massive Hack

Andres Chavez
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Angel Investor Filed Lawsuit against Bittrex for Failing to Protect His Funds in Massive Hack

Gregg Bennett, known for his continuous contributions to startups as an angel investor, issuing the Washington-based crypto exchange Bittrex for presumably playing a role in a million-dollar hacking attack in which he lost valuable assets in the form of Bitcoin (BTC.)

Bennett is currently involved with over 30 new projects. In recent days, he decided to file a lawsuit against Bittrex, in which he claims that the platform incurred in a violation when it ignored its own security standards and practices that have become “standard” in the field. Those events, according to the investor, led to cybercriminals being able to take roughly $1 million dollars worth of BTC from his account back in April.

Bennett claims that he wants his money back. “I am asking for Bittrex to do the right thing by plugging what I see as gaping holes in their approach to security, and to return my coin to me,” he said.

Holding Bittrex Liable

The legal document was filed in King County Superior Court, and through it, the investor and entrepreneur want to hold Bittrex liable for the loss of his assets, based on what is described as “unfair and deceptive acts that misrepresented its level of security.”

The suit was officially filed near the end of October. It explains that Bennett originally suffered a SIM card hack, which is an increasingly common type of attack in which the cybercriminals in question take over the victim’s mobile SIM card and take advantage of it by gaining access to sensible information that may be valuable, such as passwords and other account data.

The hackers, basically, impersonate the victim. In this particular case, they took his identity and took over several personal accounts. Among those were the Bittrex one, which is the crypto exchange in which he stores his Bitcoin and other digital assets.

The legal document also details that in mid-April, the hackers entered his Bittrex account and converted the BTC to other currencies, and later transferred the resulting funds to another account managed by the cybercriminal to complete the attack.

A Two-Hour Wait

That night, when the investor noticed the attack, he tried to let Bittrex know, but the exchange did not act on his warning for a period of two hours, letting the hackers successfully drain his account.

“As alleged in our complaint, Bittrex ignored a number of red flags warning Bittrex that the person initiating the withdrawal was not Gregg Bennett,” according to Dan Kittle of Lane Powell, the law firm that represents Bennett. “We plan to show in court that Bittrex either ignored or was unaware of standard industry safeguards to prevent hacks just like this.”

The lawsuit also observes that the exchange did not notice incriminating behavior, such as the use of a suspicious IP address and access to his account by a completely different operating system, for example.

The Washington Department of Financial Institutions already investigated into the matter in August, and came to the conclusion that Bittrex failed to act in a proper fashion when it comes to stopping the funds from being taken off Bennett’s account.

“Bittrex was bamboozled by hackers who should have been as visible as thieves wearing masks and carrying guns,” Bennett observed.

By Andres Chavez

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