Divided Opinions Appeared on Twitter after Acknowledging Elon Musk’s Purchase

Some defend that Elon Musk will boost freedom of expression and users will continue on Twitter even though Elon Musk is the company’s new owner.

Billionaire Elon Musk just acquired Twitter. By paying USD 44 billion, he got rid of the old management and, siding with the banner for freedom of expression, purchased the company that manages the social media network.

After the purchase, which went quickly viral, the users’ opinions of this social network did not fail to get noticed. stances pro and against the purchase of the tycoon invaded the whole internet. For some users, it is about returning freedom of expression to the network. According to other users, this acquisition is nothing more than an insult against that human right.

Basic Human Rights Recovered

Various users of this network even highlighted that Musk’s purchase of Twitter is a “historic” event and assume that fundamental human rights are back in a single transaction. These users also expressed that censorship is over.

Another user defends Musk and argues that those against his purchase are pro-censorship and vehemently opposed to free speech. Some users opined that Musk’s decision is a consequence of Twitter’s hatred of free speech and its socialist strategies.

A tweet expressed that there would have been no reason for Elon Musk to domain this network if they were completely impartial. This old board screwed every single thing, and now the shareholders are wealthy, but that only represents their greed.

Other people point to a potential return of former President Donald Trump to Twitter due to the Elon Musk purchase. The example was a tweet that reflected a massive response from tweeters regarding the subject. It said that Elon Musk should return Donald Trump’s Twitter account and consolidate his freedom of speech.

Another user said that after acquiring Twitter, Musk must give the profile back to Donald Trump and to so many millions of users silenced for simply not kneeling.

Controlled Freedom of Expression

The opposite face of the purchase of Twitter criticizes that, excusing freedom of expression, Musk has achieved to accomplish his mission.

Other accounts strongly stood against the fact that freedom of expression gets managed by a man and that although there are things not permitted to get spread on Twitter, now all moves will be made and supervised by one man.

Other users expressed that the use of freedom of expression to purchase the virtual social network ensures that the US government or any other cannot pursue people for the things they express on that network.

Many tweeters coincided with the idea that Elon Musk has the perverse impulse of purchasing someone’s scientific-technological patent and then coming to the media saying that he was the one who discovered it.

By: Jenson Nuñez

US Department of Justice Accused Two Europeans of Providing Enriched Information to North Korea on Blockchain and Digital Assets

According to the US Justice, the accused European citizens took Virgil Griffith to play a vital role in the event in the North Korean capital in 2019, which is why he faces a sentence of five years in jail after charges linked to conspiracy.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) issued charges against two European citizens, accused of getting linked with the North Korean administration and backing them up by giving information to avoid international punishments through the implementation of digital assets.

DoJ Punished two European Citizens for Conspiring with North Korea

According to the DoJ, the accused would be the Spanish Alejandro Cao de Benos and Christopher Emms from the United Kingdom. They were members of the Conference on Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies team in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith received an invitation to this event back in 2019 to share his expertise regarding the crescent technology that involves digital assets and Blockchain. The DoJ accused him of representing a conspiracy threat to the US because he would be training the North Korean administration regarding the use of Blockchain and digital currencies as alternative methods to finance themselves.

The report filed by the US entity aimed at Cao and Emms for hiring Griffith and instigating him to take part in the conference; Griffith received a sentence of five years in jail for similar accusations.

North Korea and Digital Assets

There has been concern about the connections of the North Korean administration with digital currencies, which is why they get linked to specific high-profile attacks on the international scale, primarily aimed against crypto entities and prominent companies.

Various reports highlight that different malicious teams are working with the backup of the North Korean government.

Recent cases have flourished regarding attacks on blockchain networks and exchanges, and the attack over the Ronin network is perhaps the most curious one. This attack got related to the famous game Axie Infinity, from which attackers stole USD 600 million in tokens and which reports adhered to the Lazarus group, precisely because many addresses housing the funds served to move digital assets.

It is unclear if the citizens take part in a criminal team. Still, the prosecutor Williams explained that Alejandro Cao de Benos and Christopher Emms set up a conspiracy with Virgil Griffith, a crypto specialist convicted of conspiring to adulterate economic punishments applied to the Asian Nation.

 The specialist got convicted because he taught and advised members of the North Korean government about reducing cutting-edge digital currencies and Blockchain technology, all to avoid US punishments created to stop North Korea’s hostile nuclear desires.

Emms might have warned North Korean officials that this technology achieved the possibility to migrate funds to any region worldwide, regardless of any financial punishment imposed on any country around the world.

According to the report, Cao and Emms are fugitives from justice, so they have active search warrants to get captured and jailed.

By: Jenson Nuñez

According to Forbes, the central African administration accepted Bitcoin as a Payment Method, but Other Media Reports It Only Regulated the Market

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The Central African nation created a policy that regulates the use of digital assets. According to Forbes, it would make Bitcoin legal tender, but other reports have a different version.

Forbes highlighted over the weekend that the Central African Republic, a country of 4.8 million people located in Central Africa, has become the first country in Africa to accept Bitcoin as a payment method. The text says that the National Assembly unanimously took the policy to boost the country’s strategies for economic recovery and peacebuilding.

However, although it has confirmed the legislation that establishes regulations in the market, the country has not yet given credibility to the news spread by this and other media that Bitcoin became legal tender in the Central African region.

The Forbes Version of the News

The media expressed that the Minister of Digital Economy, Post Office and Telecommunications, Gourna Zacko, and Calixte Nganongo, started and presented the policy that sets up the legal framework for the regulation of digital assets and Bitcoin as legal currency in the Central African Republic.

The application of legal tender relies on accepting digital assets as a legal method of payment applied through specific legislation. With digital assets, the Central African Republic would give new steps toward a new path of development and economic development, a dynamic field famous among investors worldwide and always presents as total assets in the portfolios of the most prominent financial players.

The outlet also highlighted that the initiative would improve the country’s digital infrastructure by applying the Blockchain technological improvements required to carry out the project.

Even the opposition understood that investing in digital assets benefits millions of users. The Mouvement Cœurs Unis (MCU) and Mouvement National des Indépendants (MOUNI) parliamentary groups voted to back up the nation’s best interest and enjoy the prosperity and stability brought to the region.

Many global industry figures shared the Forbes scoop, such as Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.

Other Versions of the News

After the Forbes publication, other media researched more about the policy. They highlighted that it is not the same as the case of El Salvador, a nation that explicitly accepted Bitcoin as legal tender.

According to Cointelegraph research, the African country has not accepted BTC as legal tender, instead reportedly legalizing the use of digital currencies in economic environments, including its market.

The report highlights that the digital assets law intends to set up a favorable environment for the inclusive growth of the crypto sector in the area and would assist in solving the problem of the increasing struggles in sending funds from the African nation.

The new law would reportedly allow businesses to carry out crypto payments and enable the payment of crypto taxes through authorized entities.

The new crypto law has also made provisions for violators who break the rules imposed by the state. According to one report, offenders could face jail for up to 20 years and a fine of 100 million and 1 billion Financial Community of Africa (FCFA) francs.

By: Jenson Nuñez

ECB Member Calls for Stronger and Coordinated Global Regulation for Digital Assets

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Fabio Panetta of the European Central Bank described cryptocurrencies as a “Ponzi scheme” and explained that they are harmful to society. It proposes stricter regulatory and fiscal standards at a global level.

The executive of the European Central Bank, Fabio Panetta, called this Monday for a robust global regulation standard to apply to digital currencies to avoid these assets’ potential risks.

In a speech made at Columbia University, Panetta discussed that digital assets are creating a new Wild West that might result in harm to society. He also called them a greed-driven Ponzi strategy. The ECB website released the statements, which got picked up by many media outlets, including CoinDesk and The Block.

The official said that cryptocurrencies are speculative items that can significantly damage society. They derive their value primarily from greed, relying on the desire of others and expecting that the scheme will continue unrestrained.

Cryptocurrencies Need More Supervision

The member expressed concerns about the sudden growth of the sector to justify stronger regulations later. This strong appeal of crypto assets, especially those without support, is a cause for concern given the lack of fundamentals, the increasing rate of scandals, their use in illegal operations, and the high volatility.

Panetta also compared digital assets, whose capitalization currently surpasses $1 trillion, to the subprime mortgages that generated the 2008 financial crisis. He said that both work with almost the same dynamics.

Panetta said in his speech that they must not repeat the same mistakes, which quoted Littlefinger, a character from the famous tv show Game of Thrones, who sustained that chaos is a ladder.

The representative also stated that now is the moment to ensure that cryptocurrencies are only a valuable tool within transparent and regulated limits and for purposes that enrich every sector in society, to prevent chaos through illegal activities.

According to Panetta, regulation grants enough compliance with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations within the digital industry. He also urged that solid and transparent requirements and proper norms of conduct should strengthen the sector.

Higher Taxes for PoW

The energy consumption of Bitcoin and proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrencies, a topic that has been at the center of discussions from regulators around the world, did not go unnoticed in Panetta’s speech. The official cited energy and environmental concerns about PoW crypto mining.

Panetta also proposed that digital assets focused on PoW should get taxed at a higher global rate than other financial tools focused on negative behavior that lead to compromise costs such as increased pollution.

AML Rules Must Apply

As CoinDesk and The Block highlight, Panetta was a great defender of the issuance of the digital euro while encouraging the advancement of MiCA, the broad regulatory framework for digital assets of the European Union that intends to unify the standards for companies between the bloc nations.

Although Panetta desires to push these actions further, he has called for anti-money laundering (AML) regulations to extend to the crypto environment, including peer-to-peer payments.

By: Jenson Nuñez

More than 50 NFT Got Extracted after Attacking Bored Ape’s Instagram and Discord Profiles

The hackers launched a harmful link to an unofficial mint that extracted at least $13 million worth of NFT from victims.

Dozen non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from famous collections got extracted on Monday after a malicious actor gained power over the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) Instagram account.

As highlighted by CoinDesk, the official Instagram account and Discord server of the famous ape NFT collection received an attack on Monday. The hackers used the space to encourage a purported procedure to generate virtual “earth” for Bored Ape’s upcoming metaverse plan, OthersideMeta, due to getting revealed this week.

The link guided BAYC supporters to a malicious procedure that exposed wallets to extract at least 54 NFTs registered at more than $12 million, according to CoinDesk research. The official Twitter profile of the Bored Ape warned users about the attack its network suffered.

While Yuga Labs, the creator of BAYC, did not give enough details about the situation, some Twitter users explained that the Discord account also got attacked, and many NFTs got stolen.

According to the CoinDesk report, hackers achieved the extraction of at least 24 Bored Apes and 30 Mutant Apes from victims’ wallets. The medium collected data from recent OpenSea operations to confirm the exact amount. However, some transactions might get caused by the same holders while migrating their items to keep them safe.

A more recent report from CryptoBriefing, pointing to an attacker’s Ethereum address, explained that 91 NFTs got stolen and estimated losses at $2.7 million.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club amasses at least 10,000 profile pictures or more and transforms them into NFTs on the Ethereum network. An NFT works as a proof of ownership for a digital receipt, granting purchasers the possibility to prove that they are the rightful and sole owners of the one-and-only version of that image.

Purchasers take control over an illustration of a disinterested-looking ape with random traits and items that do not have any duplicates.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club is not the only digital object with these particular features. Many NFT collections invaded the market to become an unstoppable trend, including World of Women and Cool Cats. Still, the Bored Apes have created a strong community of collectors and users.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club got labeled as an entire society or unique community and owning one of these particular NFTs grants that membership.

This membership also grants users access to a Discord channel where other owners hang out and start conversations about related topics. Apes community also used to gather together on social media networks, where the increasingly familiar avatars have united as a digital society with solid bonds.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Twitter is Now Elon Musk’s Property; the Sale of the Social Network got Already Confirmed

Musk initially tried a hostile buyout that got obstructed by the Twitter board. According to Musk, his goal is to make Twitter a headquarters for free speech and freedom.

Many media outlets drew the public’s attention by confirming that the Twitter board of directors received the final purchase offer from tycoon Elon Musk, which got finally accepted.

The agreement arrived after weeks of speculation, a moment in which Musk had confirmed the acquisition of more than 9% of Twitter shares, becoming the company’s largest shareholder.

The purchase happened at $54.30 per share, giving USD 44 billion. Overall, since speculation began about Musk’s acquisition of the social network, Twitter shares have reached a peak registered at more than 5% on Monday.

As highlighted by Bloomberg, with the purchase of Twitter, several investors and personalities from the world of finance approached Musk to show their investment interest in the company.

On the other hand, as expressed by Musk, he will now start transforming the social network, which he has promised to turn, into a bastion where freedom of expression and speech will be the primordial ingredient.

Before confirming the purchase this Monday, April 25, Musk revealed a tweet in which he expected that his worst critics would stay on Twitter since that is what freedom of speech is. He made a comment when the board was still evaluating his offer.

This event has even led to speculation that, with Musk at the helm, it could mean the return of Donald Trump, former president of the United States. He got erased for life from posting on Twitter after the events at the capitol in January of 2021.

From now on, with Twitter turned into a company in the hands of the wealthiest person worldwide, Musk’s next task will be to choose his board of directors, of which there is the expectation that those who make up the current board will retain their positions.

Elon Musk Convinces the Board

The sudden sale, along with the flash approval of the offer by the board, arrived after the commission resorted to a financial tool known as a “poison pill” to prevent Musk from taking over the social network. The idea was to prevent Musk from purchasing more than 15% of the total shares through the stock market by issuing new shares at discounted prices, which would mean the dilution of Musk’s stake.

However, Musk’s offer managed to convince the 11 members of the board of directors, according to the New York Times, who agreed to look at the purchase proposal.

In this case, the confirmation appeared three days before the publication of the company’s income statements, scheduled for this Thursday, April 28, whose event could serve as motivation so that, despite its initial refusal, it got finally approved.

By: Jenson Nuñez