According to Snowden, governments are judging bitcoin from a paternalistic point of view.  The activist considers that the utility of the banks has decayed too much.

Edward Snowden described central bank digital currencies as an evil parallelism of decentralized bitcoin (BTC). According to the activist and former CIA agent, CBDCs are crypto-fascist items.

The computer specialist, who lives in Russia and is a fugitive from US justice for leaking thousands of documents classified as “top secret,” said these words on his blog some days ago.

Snowden strengthens his considerations on CBDCs by saying that they are contrary to the founding principles and protocols that rule cryptocurrencies.

He explained that these currencies got designed to deny their users the essential ownership of their money. Their goal is to install the State in the center as an intermediary for each transaction.

The 37-year-old computer scientist values privacy in all sectors, including financially. The activist also explained that transactions with CBDC get recorded in a vast state ledger that can be continuously scrutinized and eternally reviewed.

Snowden’s words are not mere assumptions. One of the most relevant cases is that of the digital Yuan. With this CBDC, which is in an advanced testing stage, total anonymity can not be possible.

The Government chooses who can have permission to access the centralized database in which transactions get recorded.

Attacks on Bitcoin

The publication of the former CIA agent refers to the decentralizing power of Bitcoin and other crypto-assets that allow the exchange of value without intermediaries. According to him, that is the sole reason why BTC is in the crosshairs of the traditional financial system.

Snowden argues that the market will inevitably turn into gambling shops and premises plagued by tax fraud, drug trade, and arms trafficking.

The individual privacy advocate highlights in his post that he is aware of the crime finance statistics. Although bitcoin is indeed a bridge for illicit transactions, the volume is small once it gets compared to the amount of fiat money used for this purpose, even through the banking system.

Snowden and the Decay of Traditional Banking

Finally, Snowden dedicated some thoughts to commercial banking. He described it as an inefficient and parasitic industry that has preyed on its customers with impunity backed by regular Fed bailouts, thanks to the dubious fiction that it is too great to fail.

The activist added that currently, the utility of banks has withered. According to him, the functions of these entities can get replicated and improved by an algorithm.

After talking about the decadence in banking systems, Snowden returned to the subject of CBDC and explained that a digital dollar would not improve anyone’s life compared to a dollar in cash or the equivalent of dollars in BTC or a stable coin.

The digital dollar is not an invention of Snowden but is a fact under consideration by the US authorities; there are even studies to determine its viability in financial systems worldwide.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Gonzalo Refi was 32 years old, and he was an enthusiast of the computer and electronic equipment trade. The authorities are investigating the evidence to find the identity and whereabouts of the attackers.

Gonzalo Refi, a businessman from the city of La Plata, in Argentina, got shot to death yesterday, October 12, when, according to police sources, he escaped in his car from assailants who wanted to rob him.

He carried racks (support structures) and video cards (GPU) used for mining Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.

According to the version that the investigators handle and the one managed by the local press, Refi, 32, would have received an invitation to the city of Lanús, a few miles at the southern region of the Argentine capital.

The invitation was supposedly for an operation to purchase and sell equipment for mining. It was an ambush, and the real intention was to steal the high-end Audi S3 car he used to travel.

The authorities said that the boy is from La Plata and came to the city to close a deal, and it seems that they handed him over, says Adrián, a neighbor who witnessed the crime. The people who attacked him were on foot.

Three kids, one without a shirt and shorts and two with black jean pants, committed the crime. The reports of other witnesses show that the victim suffered several gunshot wounds and, at least one of them, was in his head. The attackers would have escaped without specifying the robbery.

Although the witness reports that the attackers were on foot, security cameras in the area indicated that they escaped in a white Citroën DS3 car. Experts from the Scientific Police of the Province of Buenos Aires are working to clarify the fact and find the identity and whereabouts of the murderers.

According to the information available on the Internet, Refi had opened a business specialized in security cameras and another in computer equipment. Some forums related to cryptocurrencies and play-to-earn games had him as a participant.

Other Fake Sales that end in Theft

In Argentina, a sale related to cryptocurrencies might hide criminal intentions. In March of this year, a robbery of the same characteristics occurred in the province of Mendoza.

On that occasion, a bitcoin (BTC) merchant arranged a meeting with two strangers to make an exchange between cryptocurrencies and fiat money. At gunpoint, they stole his phone and a sum of money that surpassed USD 3,000.

Similar events occur not only in Argentina. In Spain, days ago, there was a case of a Barcelona councilor who invited two people to sell them cryptocurrencies. The criminal ended up stealing their money with a firearm.

The Spanish councilor got arrested in Barcelona after carrying out a scam related to cryptocurrencies at gunpoint. Although there were no injuries, the police managed to verify that the weapon used had a bullet load. The assault, which is still under investigation, also involves cash, three cell phones, and a car.

By: Jenson Nuñez

A report suggests that Chinese authorities would plan to formulate new laws to sanction those residents who trade cryptocurrencies. But China’s FUD seems to have less and less effect on Bitcoin.

China’s crackdown on digital currencies seems to have no end. After China’s central bank declared all cryptocurrency transactions illegal, a report on Monday suggests that local authorities are now looking for legal ways to sentence activities regarding such assets.

According to Chinese journalist Colin Wu, the Asian powerhouse’s judiciary is looking for new ways about “how to sentence cryptocurrency-related activity.”

Legislators could revise new laws to reprimand active users of this market. The journalist quoted a report from the local magazine Caijing, which subsequently alluded to the exclusive statements of a person close to the Chinese government.

Current laws in China that make commercial activities linked to cryptocurrencies illegal cannot get enforced, so the government needs the judiciary to give those laws a proper interpretation. According to the report, relevant judicial interpretations should get issued soon.

China’s Crackdown seems to Have no End

Last month, the Chinese government declared virtually all activities related to digital currencies illegal. The move highlighted the ban that the Chinese authorities have maintained on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies since 2017.

However, this move represents the most severe offensive the government has applied against the crypto space.

China had already strengthened its crypto ban policies this year by issuing several warnings about trade prohibition. China is currently pushing for new measures to shut down crypto mining operations.

However, the latest report suggests that the Chinese government keeps seeking new methods to curb digital currency activities in that country once and for all.

In this regard, Caijing magazine has suggested that the withdrawal of cryptocurrency exchanges could make the criminal activities involved more hidden. The latest ban lifted by the People’s Bank of China restricted even foreign crypto exchanges from offering services to Chinese citizens.

Although China’s announcements against cryptocurrencies have harmed the Bitcoin network and market, experts highlight that these bans would affect the sector less and less. A new report from Luxor Technologies clarified that the FUD sentiment generated by China is now a subject of discussion.

Luxor Technologies, a computer energy company that creates Blockchain infrastructure, anticipated in its report that the hash rate or hash rate of Bitcoin, an indicator of the mining power of the network, will reach new highs as more miners outside of China connect to the network.

Companies are Leaving China

The latest reports on China do not seem to interfere with the bullish movement recorded in the digital currency market. This Monday, Bitcoin has surpassed the top of USD 57,000, reaching its best price since May. The rally extends among the first cryptocurrencies that this day remains on the rise.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Although Dell took a neutral stance towards Bitcoin, he was among the first who adopted it. The billionaire declined to give opinions on Bitcoin but expressed that blockchain technology could be underrated.

Michael Saul Dell considers that blockchain technology is underrated, which implies the little utilization of its potential. However, he did not comment on Bitcoin even though his company was committed to it in the past.

The billionaire businessman and CEO of Dell Technologies recently spoke about it with The New York Times. Despite taking a seemingly calm and neutral stance towards Bitcoin, he was among the first who adopted it.

Dell began accepting Bitcoin as a payment method in 2014, which he expanded internationally in 2015. However, he stopped doing so due to its low demand in 2017. The executive then apologized to his customers for the inconvenience that it caused them.

Who is Billionaire Businessman Michael Saul Dell?

The successful businessman and billionaire philanthropist Michael Saul Dell was born in Houston, Texas, the United States, in 1965. While his father was an orthodontist, his mother was a stockbroker.

He is the founder, president, and CEO of the technology infrastructure company Dell Technologies. Additionally, he wrote Play Nice but Win: a CEO’s Journey from Founder to Leader. The author analyzes in it the purchase, sale, listing, and exclusion of companies throughout his career.

The billionaire explained that the title of his book came from a family anecdote during his childhood. His parents said those words to his brothers and him before they went out to play baseball in the street. He believes those memories marked him as a general philosophy of life as he watched them navigate their lives.

Michael Saul Dell Expresses His Rejection of Bitcoin

Andy Serwer told The New York Times people usually do not mention Dell when they talk about the great technology. However, he believes they should, since the PC firm has adapted and thrived amid massive change.

As Michael Dell is a fan of blockchain technology, he could help boost the infrastructure business of his company.

The CEO of Dell Technologies also listed blockchain technology alongside autonomous vehicles. Additionally, he sees biotechnology enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) as a great driver of revenues for the company.

Dell said that the intelligent world is increasingly connecting to a considerable amount of data. He explained that such data requires infrastructure and technology to manage it.

Curiously, Dell declined to comment on whether people underestimated or overvalued Bitcoin. However, the billionaire did express that blockchain technology could be underrated.

The pioneering cryptocurrency is trading at around USD 57,420 and has accumulated an 11.3% profit in the past week. While its daily trading volume is above USD 41.2 billion, its market capitalization is approximately USD 1.082 billion, according to CoinGecko.

A growing number of entrepreneurs are aware of the importance of Bitcoin in the economy of the world. Elon Musk and Michael Saylor are institutional investors who have put large amounts of money into the cryptocurrency.

By Alexander Salazar

An unidentified investor bought USD 1.6 billion worth of Bitcoin, driving the price to rise in a matter of minutes. As the attention of the market is on the upward trend of Bitcoin, institutional interest increases significantly.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki-Young Ju believes that an anonymous buyer was the one who sparked the bullish rally of Bitcoin. He acquired an enormous amount of the pioneering cryptocurrency through market orders in just 5 minutes.

The executive explained that the short sales looked relatively lower, for which they were like a purchase by whales. However, he clarified that the investor that made that acquisition was not from the United States.

Curiously, the last time such a large purchase occurred was when Elon Musk announced that Tesla had acquired USD 1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin. That caused the price of the pioneering cryptocurrency to skyrocket immediately.

The Vice President of Market Intelligence at Messari, Eric Turner, believes that more companies will be investing in Bitcoin. He stressed that this would occur as a consequence of the step that Tesla took.

A Huge Purchase of BTC Leads to a Price Rally

A person or group of people recently bought a large amount of Bitcoin on centralized exchanges. South Korea-based blockchain data firm CryptoQuant reported that that transaction occurred in around 5 minutes.

As the price of Bitcoin rose sharply on American exchange Coinbase, some people speculated that the operation may have started there. Ki-Young Ju pointed out that the Coinbase Premium indicator rose sharply at the same time before falling again.

That indicator shows the gap between Coinbase’s BTC / USD pair and Binance’s BTC / USDT pair involving stablecoin Tether. When the number rises, that usually reflects that there is higher purchasing power on the exchange.

Other People Give their Opinion about that Purchase

Renowned analyst Willy Woo believes that this big Bitcoin purchase happened on Binance rather than Coinbase. In that regard, he primarily cited blockchain data firm Glassnode.

The expert said that no net flow left Coinbase and commented that the purchase is not out of the ordinary compared to other exchanges. He pointed out that buying seemed stronger on Binance while Coinbase was selling rather than buying.

The head of research at IntoTheBlock, Lucas Outumuro, agreed that the purchase occurred primarily on Binance.

CoinMarketCap said that people should prepare for the crazy crypto week that is approaching. While some users have been waiting for it, others wonder whether it would be the potential approval of Bitcoin ETF futures.

The pioneering cryptocurrency is trading at around USD 56,400 and has accumulated a 9.1% profit in the past week. While its trading volume is above USD 34.4 billion, its market capitalization is approximately USD 1.062 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Bitcoin has always proved to be able to recover from its worst lows, resuming its all-time highs. Comments from well-known personalities like Elon Musk and Michael Saylor and institutional investments have boosted its price.

By Alexander Salazar

The Twitter account belonging to Van der Velde, the CEO of Tether, was disconnected after a report questioning the USDT reserves.

The CEO of Tether and Bitfinex, Jan Ludovicus van der Velde, suddenly vanished from Twitter after a Bloomberg investigation that focused on the reserves that backed the stablecoin USDT, issued by the company, came to light.

The report revealed by Bloomberg questions the support and transparency of the company. The company maintains that USDT receives backup from questionable assets, including billions of dollars in short-term loans from large Chinese companies.

The company has been under scrutiny for several years due to its reserves and other questionable items.

Now, shortly after the latest report that casts doubt on Tether’s multi-million dollar reserves, another news agency reports that the Twitter account belonging to the company’s supposed CEO has disappeared.

Van der Velde’s account, under the username @urwhatuknow, got deleted after the news arrived.

Who is the CEO of Tether?

There is a possibility that van der Velde anticipated events by deleting his Twitter account after learning about the Bloomberg investigation. For the story, journalist Zeke Faux and a team from Bloomberg contacted Tether’s top executives, although the CEO did not comment.

Stuart Hoegner is Tether’s current attorney. He said that Van der Velde and Devasini prefer to avoid the limelight, According to Faux. He also described Van der Velde as a Dutchman living in Hong Kong, and it seems he never gave an interview or spoke at a conference.

Despite his role as CEO behind the issuing company of the world’s largest stable coin, there are very few public statements from van der Velde. He has barely spoken to a couple of outlets regarding investigations into the company and has remained relatively under a mysterious veil.

 CTO Paolo Ardoino has been the company’s representative (who is also the CTO of Bitfinex). Ardoino has made an appearance in various interviews and has repeatedly denied the allegations surrounding Tether. He has also excused the CEO for his absence.

Other Interesting Elements in the Tether case

The last comments of the executive come from 2018. That year, van der Velde reportedly communicated by email with the medium Business Insider to deny the allegations that Tether had played a role in the growth of the Bitcoin market.

A Bitfinex blog post from 2017 highlighted that van der Velde joined the company as a co-founder and CEO in 2013.

That post also describes Vander Velde as a serial technologist and entrepreneur who had gathered 30 years of experience in the international high-tech industry.  A file on the company’s website shows an image of an executive.

Van der Velde’s user profile on Twitter did not reflect any information about his current position at Tether or Bitfinex. In its history on the platform, the account had only revealed 135 tweets and registered just over 500 followers, both figures not very unusual for executive leaders of one of the largest firms in the crypto world.

This lack of presence of the CEO has generated some speculation about the identity of van der Velde, some questioning his existence. Others suggest that it is a pseudonym, as indicated by CryptoBriefing.

By: Jenson Nuñez