Payment With Cryptocurrencies Arrives to the Biggest Mall in the US

Maria Rodríguez
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Payment With Cryptocurrencies Arrives to the Biggest Mall in the US

Using a system developed by the Flexa startup, instant payments can be made within the Mall of America.

Mall of America, the biggest mall in the United States will now have a store that will accept payments with cryptocurrencies, using an application developed by one startup for instant payments with digital coins, called Flexa.

The shopping center located on the outskirts of Minneapolis – Minn, enabled a store where Flexa can demonstrate its product to visitors. It is known that the system will operate in a place under the name of Modern Retail Collective, which will seek as a central objective to improve sales to retail stores.

The strategic consulting company McKinsey will take control of the problems that may arise during operations, this in order to quickly resolve the conflicts and prevent customer escape. In addition, it will be responsible for organizing the space and the strategies to be used to improve sales with this system.

On the other hand, Tyler Spalding, who is CEO of Flexa, commented that the use of instant payment systems with cryptocurrency represents the latest in immediate payments, adding that it is part of the fastest and safest method to make purchases. “The most important thing for us is to demonstrate that cryptocurrency is an extremely legitimate, if not the best, form of digital payment”.

In this way, the CEO of Flexa argued that the project is a clear example of determination and will demonstrate that the crypto industry has the right potential to be adopted by customers and small and large merchants. “This is going to show the legitimacy of how these things work”.

Last Friday, September 27th, the company started operations inside the store. Added to this, it presented a report that determines that at the beginning of its operations it will seek to achieve objectives, which highlights that it shows to potential clients how this technology works in retail markets.

The Modern Rentail Collective report was accompanied by statements issued by Praveen Adhi, executive member of McKinsey, who added that “through this project, we will produce cutting-edge data and analysis to help retailers define their own vision for their store future”.

Flexa, since its recent creation, has encouraged its programmers to firmly believe that their system can gain the trust of customers and also promote the use of cryptocurrencies as a reliable method of payment and transaction.

For this reason, managers sought a direct alliance with McKinsey, because he could add to this system a strong reason to rely on their services, in addition to the guidance that the consultant can offer them so that their project grows over time.

It is known that the Flexa Company will not only dedicate to the cryptocurrency business, but that it will seek to conduct parallel projects Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality and Digital Signage.

By María Rodríguez

PDVSA Could Pay Suppliers with Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies to Avoid Sanctions

Willmen Blanco
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PDVSA Could Pay Suppliers with Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies to Avoid Sanctions

The Central Bank of Venezuela would be in charge of maintaining and processing the cryptocurrencies. The government of Nicolás Maduro would be seeking alternative ways to honor its commitments.

Venezuela would be seeking to use crypto currencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) in order to honor the debts of the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). This measure would be an instrument to evade international sanctions imposed by the United States, according to a report by the Bloomberg news agency.

The report notes that four sources close to the events disclosed that the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) is conducting “internal tests” to determine the feasibility of handling cryptocurrencies. They would even be studying how to count crypto assets as part of the reserves of the issuing entity, which currently amount to USD 7.9 billion, their lowest level in almost 30 years.

The evidence was requested directly by PDVSA, which would be interested in transferring its assets in cryptocurrencies to BCV and having this financial institution use them to pay its creditors. The sources, which were not identified, told Bloomberg that the oil company trusts that the BCV will be less exposed to blockades.

Even though it is not known how PDVSA received its income in cryptocurrencies, it is public knowledge that some government entities are managing crypto asset mining farms. At the beginning of 2018, the mayor of a municipality in Carabobo, a state in the center of the country, released on his social networks information on an operation with ASIC mining equipment sponsored by his administration. The public official stated that the objective of this Bitcoin mining farm is to fight and defeat the financial war once and for all, as requested by the President.

On the other hand, the Venezuelan state offers on its Petro (PTR) exchange platform the option to acquire PTR with Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dash. However, Bloomberg’s report does not contain data on the total amount of the oil company’s holdings of cryptocurrencies.

It was stressed that PDVSA has been experiencing difficulties in finding banks willing to serve as an intermediary in the payment to its customers and suppliers, for fear of the sanctions applied by the United States against Nicolas Maduro’s government. Likewise, the oil company would not resort to offering its assets in cryptocurrencies in the open market, since it would have to register in an exchange house and then abide by its rules.

The sanctions seem to have forced officials of the Venezuelan regime to use digital methods as an alternative to mobilizing money. However, measures such as the creation of PTR have not achieved that objective. The report assures that this new instrument would be a desperate measure to find a solution to economic isolation.

It should be noted that the profit on the trade of oil accounts for almost all of Venezuela’s foreign exchange income. In addition, the collapse of the productive capacity of the South American country in recent years has forced it to maintain high levels of imports of finished products.

By Willmen Blanco

Cryptocurrency Tax Exemption and other Tax Advantages in Portugal

Willmen Blanco
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Cryptocurrency Tax Exemption and other Tax Advantages in Portugal

The tax authority said that trading with cryptocurrencies is not an investment income. Portugal has a tax regime that is attractive to unusual tax residents.

The Portuguese Tax Authority (ATP) announced last month that trade and payments with cryptocurrencies would not be subject to value-added taxes (VAT), as reported by local media.

According to the announcement, payments with cryptocurrencies that are subject to service provision under the terms of article 9 (27) (d) of the Portuguese tax law are exempt from VAT. This only applies to natural persons, since companies based in Portugal are still subject to various taxes, such as VAT, social security and income tax.

This is just one of the points that show the tax advantages that can be exploited by cryptocurrency users in that European country.

Decision 5717/2015 is another announcement that benefits the use of cryptocurrencies in Portugal. The law states that the proceeds from cryptocurrency sales by natural persons will be exempt from tax. According to the decision published in February 2018, the sale of cryptocurrencies is not classified as capital gains if the cryptocurrencies are derived from the sale of financial products, as defined in Portuguese law, which is normally subject to a 28% tax rate.

In addition, cryptocurrency trading will not be considered an investment income, which is also subject to a 28% tax rate in other circumstances.

Portuguese Tax Regime

Those who know the Portuguese tax regime dot not find these two decisions surprising. Actually, Portugal is considered to be a very favorable country for taxpayers, with regulations especially designed to attract professionals with knowledge in the area of ​​cryptocurrencies.

In addition to the tax exemption on cryptocurrency transactions, Portugal differs from many other European countries in the fact that it does not charge inheritance taxes, gifts or fortunes to its residents. This is one of the important tax benefits reserved for non-regular residents, as a strategy to attract high-value professionals from all over the world.

With these exemptions, Portugal seeks to attract mainly those who adjust to professions in the fields of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and the arts, which are considered to be of high value, in addition to architects and investors, among others.

These non-regular high-value groups pay a 25% income tax rate, against a 48% rate that applies to other resident groups, in addition to a 28% tax rate on dividends, capital gains and investment income. This may explain why the Portuguese government exempts some cryptocurrency operations for other kinds of taxes.

Moving to Portugal

For those wanting to move to Portugal these may seem to be good enough reasons to move there. However, it is advised to check the country’s residence rules.

In Portugal, a person is considered a resident after having spent more than 183 days (consecutively or not) in the country within a period of 12 months. A person that becomes a tax resident and has not been taxed as a resident in the last five years may apply for the special tax regime for non-regular tax residents. However, within five years, there could be more countries treating cryptocurrency trading as a tax-free activity.

By Willmen Blanco

Startup Creates Exchange Network of Cryptocurrencies Linked to Fiat Money

Maria Rodríguez
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Startup Creates Exchange Network of Cryptocurrencies Linked to Fiat Money

The platform allows the user to exchange a cryptoactive into a fiat currency without using an exchange house.

Through a new decentralized and auditable network called PegNet, the startup Factom will seek to allow the exchange of cryptocurrencies that are anchored to some of the most important fiat currencies in the world.

Therefore, it will also allow trade between digital currencies that are linked to US dollars, euros, the Mexican peso, among others.

The central idea is based on a network that allows the exchange of value, reducing the conversion process between one asset and another. In this way, the network user can make payments and operations without the need of mediators or third parties.

The technical and informative team of PegNet to indicates that the platform will allow the user to make transactions in more than 32 different assets. Among these assets stand out stablecoins and local currencies. They also explain that the commission levels are the lowest. This is because the charge would be around one dollar per 100 operations.

The platform is available from anywhere in the world, allowing the client to perform an operation with any of the cryptocurrencies available on PegNet. The advantage of the platform is that the merchant who receives some payment through this network will have the option to choose in which cryptocurrency he wants to receive it. This means that if the user receives a payment in Bitcoin, he can keep the asset in that cryptocurrency or choose and exchange it for another one available, such as Ether, even for a fiat currency like the US dollar.

The network developers affirmed they proposed the creation of a “basket” system where users can store up to five (5) assets, according to the user’s convenience, ensuring that it could be wide or short range.

“A simple example of fiat currency could be a basket of five 5 coins with a similar value, such as USD, EUR, JPY, GBP and CAD rebalanced daily. For example, USD 1,000 becomes USD 200 of each asset with a rebalancing performed daily at midnight. The rebalancing converts the surplus of any asset that is above average. Only the surplus is converted”, ensures the white paper of PegNet.

The Operation of the Pegnet Network

Pegnet is an open source blockchain network, which operates under a decentralized platform, with all data encrypted and deposited in nodes.

In addition, it is created on a Bitcoin network basis, but it is also interoperable with other blockchain networks.

For the conversion within the platform, the user must select the asset or the currency he will use for the payment. Then, he must select which other asset will be converted in the operation. Therefore, the system calculates the value of those assets. When the transaction is completed, the system destroys the original asset and makes the payment in the other currency selected. In this way, the system would avoid the use of exchange houses.

It is known that PegNet uses the proof of work protocol to gather information necessary to perform value calculations among assets; hence, it evaluates the global market prices to take it as example.

The PegNet system contains a wallet that allows the user to access all valuable assets so that the user can perform the operations he wants with any asset.

By María Rodríguez

European Space Agency Will Use Blockchain in Space Operations

Josselyn Avila
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European Space Agency Will Use Blockchain in Space Operations

The European Space Agency plans to use blockchain technology to combat piracy and improve processes and data security on its space satellites.

Spacechain, a startup company that is dedicated to the research and application of blockchain technology, has just received official support from the European Space Agency (ESA), in order to investigate and determine possible uses of the blockchain wallet system on satellites.

The idea is to take advantage of the benefits that Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) offers.

In a recent statement published by the Spacechain company, it was announced that ESA approved an investment of 60,000 euros in order to initiate investigations, so it will start a project that will boost the effort to bring distributed network of special satellites designed for the system.

It is expected to have high levels of security and a wide scope and management for the agency. Another important aspect of the new project is that Spacechain has already tested the use of blockchain in the outer space.

According to data related to the operation of the system in space, it is important to highlight that the blockchain network will work with a signature authentication system.

In this way, there will be three signatures that validate a transaction made through this channel. Two of these firms will be on the Earth and one on the satellite. It is necessary that two of the three firms give their approval for any movement to be made.

Regarding the security of the satellite blockchain system, Zee Zheng, CEO and Co-founder of Spacechain, explained that the nodes used in the satellite system are much safer than the terrestrial network system normally used with connection to an open Internet network.

It has certain levels of protocols which as a final means would be connected to the satellite, somehow allowing being violated sometime. This, on the other hand, puts the blockchain system at a higher level of security by making the process directly with the satellite, which also allows faster communication between Earth and orbit.

The company emphasized that the system would not need an Internet connection to operate, which represents a major movement against piracy and cyber-attacks. In addition, it is an operational facility greater than any other system with connection to the global network of free data.

“We are seeing a market that last year saw stealing 1 billion dollars in cryptography. That will be much harder for hackers with our system”, Zheng commented.

Zheng said that the financial support that ESA made to its blockchain research represents an important recognition of cryptographic technology and will help develop new tools and applications that can be used for the future in the area of ​​security and treatment of data systems for probes and space satellites. “We want to take this opportunity to show how the space can benefit blockchain space”.

Spacechain notified that in the next 18 months they will conduct different launches, in order to continue studies in the area.

By María Rodríguez

Iran Would Be Preparing a Law to Regulate Crypto-mining

Maria Rodríguez
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Iran Would Be Preparing a Law to Regulate Crypto-mining

Iran is preparing an amendment process that would seek to regulate this activity in the country.

With the aim to regulate crypto-mining processes in Iran, the government announced it is formulating a new amendment that helps to have greater control over cryptocurrency mining. This, according to a document exposed by CoinDesk since no official details are known from the country’s authorities.

After last June, it was known that Facebook would be preparing to launch its cryptocurrency to the market. In response, many governments have been preparing, some of them with much concern, laws that allow them to have control over this activity.

Preventing others from having a financial flow that skips fiscal controls or is subject to irregular events or dirty money, may be the main interest to pay special attention in the crypto market and its variants.

Another interesting aspect is that since several years ago, cryptocurrencies are having an important advance in the global financial world. Also, assets such as Bitcoin are at their peak since its creation; there is a virtual currency that is decentralized and without control of any government. It can be a security risk that some users might not suspect about.

For this reason, there are many governments that have established strong controls against cryptocurrency mining, as well as their use and commercialization. In countries such as China or India, a direct ban on these assets has also been established. In Iran there is, even today, a similar ban, where it is even illegal to have cryptocurrencies because this “affects”, according to the authorities, the economy of the nation.

This refusal to mine in Iran is so fierce that it is even against the law to import mining equipment. Despite this, the document that came to light by CoinDesk indicates that lawmakers in Iran would be drafting a reform to that law, where many of the things that are heavily controlled are relaxed.

The document is a draft that would seek to be finished and then presented to the government and discussed among those responsible for approval or denial. The proposal is to change the prohibition of mining, allow the use or marketing of crypto assets, among others.

The document suggests that there should be a government-controlled registry where people who want to mine cryptocurrencies must be registered with their personal data, and then be certified, so the government would give licenses for these practices and legalize the status of cryptoactive miners.

It is detailed that among the necessary requirements for the government to grant a license are the personal data requested, the cost of the investment that will be made to carry out the mining, the address where the mining position will be located and a list of business that the applicant would handle.

This would undoubtedly help the cryptocurrency business in the country since although there is a ban, the market remains afloat due to the strong economic sanctions imposed by the United States government, which has forced Iran citizens to employ alternative methods to traditional ones with the aim to maintain their quality of life.

By María Rodríguez

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