Venezuelan Government Launches Crypto Remittance Service

The government of Venezuela has begun offering a cryptocurrency remittance service. Remittances can be sent using two types of cryptocurrency. The service was launched by the Superintendency of Cryptoassets and Related Activities, the country’s main crypto regulator, which has also set a monthly limit and a commission per transaction.

Also read: SEC Chair Explains Key Upgrades Needed for Bitcoin ETF Approval

Government’s Remittance Service

The government of Nicolas Maduro has started offering a cryptocurrency remittance service. The Superintendency of Cryptoassets and Related Activities (Sunacrip), the main regulator of all crypto activities in Venezuela, announced the launch of the service on its Patria platform last week. According to its website:

The cryptocurrencies that can be used to send [remittances] are bitcoin and litecoin.

Once the cryptocurrency transaction is confirmed, the funds will be available on the platform in sovereign bolivars, Venezuela TV reported, noting that “The system will allow the user to receive a maximum of cryptocurrency equivalent to 10 petros per month [in bolivars].” However, with specific approval by Sunacrip, the recipient can receive up to “the equivalent in euros of fifty (50) petros.”

The petro is Venezuela’s national digital currency which the Maduro government claims to be a cryptocurrency backed by oil, gold, diamond, and other natural resources. Each coin was previously worth 3,600 sovereign bolivars (Bs.s). However, President Maduro raised its rate to 9,000 Bs.s in December and againin January to 36,000 Bs.s.

Photo credit: @Joselitramirez

Using the Patria Portal

The terms and conditions page of the Venezuelan government’s remittance website states that “To be a recipient of crypto remittances, the natural person must be registered with the Patria platform, be of legal age and reside in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.” Senders, however, can be outside of Venezuela.

To use the platform, the sender must enter an email address to which a code will be sent in order to log in. “The code sent is a one-time password … a new one will be sent each time that it is required to access the remittance system,” the Patria website details. Upon entering the system, the sender will be prompted to enter their first and last name, date of birth and country of residence. The sender will then be asked to enter the national identification number and date of birth of the recipient.

The next step is to select the cryptocurrency and the amount of remittance to send. At this point, the sender “will see the reference exchange rates at the time of the transaction and the type of cryptocurrencies: bitcoin and litecoin,” Agencia Venezolana de Noticias (AVN) elaborated.

Exchange Rates

The exchange rate of the cryptocurrency sent “will depend on the date and time of the transfer” which will be determined based on its value in euros shown on the Patria website, Venezuela TV described. Its value in bolivars will be determined based on the official rate published by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV).

Emphasizing that the recipient will receive the amount of the cryptocurrency sent based on its rate “in euros and the official exchange rate of the euro in bolivars,” the publication added:

The value of the remittance will be deducted by a commission, calculated and shown on the platform, up to a maximum of 15%.

“The minimum commission amount will be the equivalent of 0.25 euros [~$0.28] in bolivars for each transaction,” Patria’s website states, adding that the exchange rate of the cryptocurrencies “will be adjusted every ten (10) minutes or when required and will be published on the website of the platform.”

What do you think of the Venezuelan government starting its own crypto remittance service? Let us know in the comments section below.

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America's Signature Bank to Offer Services to Bermuda Crypto Companies

U.S. commercial bank Signature will start to offer a full range of banking services to licensed fintech companies in Bermuda, including those in the digital asset industry. The bank has reached an agreement with the government to provide the service, moving in to fill the gap left by local banks, which have been reluctant to deal with the island nation’s growing fintech community.

Also read: Auction of Seized Bitcoin Draws Interest From 110 Countries

‘Signature Vote of Confidence for Bermuda’

“Signature Bank’s willingness to consider Bermuda-licensed businesses for banking services is a significant vote of confidence in and endorsement of Bermuda’s efforts to create a leading high standard regulatory regime for fintech business,” Bermudian premier David Burt said in statement on Feb. 28.

Premier David Burt

The island’s legal clarity on cryptocurrency and other disruptive financial technologies has made it a choice destination for tech businesses. Signature Bank’s entrance introduces banking services customized for these companies with government blessing.

Prime Minister Burt lauded the partnership as an incentive for companies looking to operate physically in his country. “As a result of our business development and promotional efforts, 66 fintech companies have been incorporated in Bermuda,” the premier said.

“However, the absence of banking services for fintech companies has been an impediment to those companies who are looking to establish a physical presence in Bermuda,” he added.

Improved Regulatory Landscape

In October last year, U.S.-based technology firm Uulala became the first company to gain ICO approval from the Bermuda government, following the introduction of the country’s regulatory framework on cryptocurrency earlier in 2018.

Along with Malta, Gibraltar and Liechtenstein, Bermuda has been working around the clock to attract cryptocurrency companies. Malta passed three laws in July last year to ease the requirements for companies involved in minting new cryptocurrencies and trading existing ones.

The influx of these companies has been helped by the fact that the regulatory efforts many larger economies has been meek, comprising little more than domiciling new technologies to the traditional financial sector and applying illiberal state oversight.

“Bermuda is setting itself apart by providing regulatory certainty combined with a world-renowned reputation for transparency and the highest standards of global compliance,” stated premier Burt.

While Bermuda has been proactively regulating the digital assets space to be at the cutting edge of business developments, its new American banking partner has also been targeting financially progressive jurisdictions. The bank has recently launched a regulator-approved blockchain-based platform for managing money transfers in New York.

As of February 28, Signature Bank has been accepting banking applications from Bermuda-licensed companies. Its president and CEO Joseph Depaolo said Signature’s blockchain-based Signet system is facilitating the transfer of millions of dollars daily since its launch at the beginning of the year.

“Currently, we are seeing trades in the millions some days and tens of millions other days … Signature Bank is one of the few banks in the U.S. that will provide deposit accounts and corporate debit cards to cryptocurrency startups but we are seeing non-crypto businesses signing up as well,” he said.

What do you think about Bermuda’s efforts at building its fintech industry? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Honest Cash Publishing App Sees Organic Growth and New Features

Last November, a new Bitcoin Cash-powered publishing platform was launched called Honest Cash after the blogging site Yours.org opted to follow the BSV chain following the blockchain split. Since then, the Honest Cash application has seen significant growth, new features, and a custom SLP-created coin called the Honest Cash Token (HCT).

Also read: Crypto Exchange Circle Partners With Financial Surveillance Provider Nice Actimize

Bitcoin Cash Social Media App Honest Cash Grows Bigger Every Month

The BCH-centric publishing platform for content creators Honest Cash has seen a lot of changes in the last four months. In November, the project was initially launched by Adrian Barwicki, a programmer and the creator of the Panda Suite software development kit (SDK). Since the launch, the publishing application Honest Cash has seen a bunch of growth and Barwicki is still keeping signups at bay by utilizing an invite-only mechanism for registration. News.Bitcoin.com tested the platform when it first launched by being one of the first 100 activated accounts but since then the platform has gained a total of 1,184 users. According to the team, Honest Cash is getting around 5,000 visitors per month and traction is growing.

“In the first 2 weeks of February, Honest Cash has got more new users than in November, December and January, respectively,” explained Honest Cash’s Adrian Barwicki.

Soon Honest Cash users will be able to sign up with their Twitter handle or by using the Badger Wallet.

When Honest Cash first launched, the application was very simple with a tool that allowed for various formatting techniques. Since then the application has added the ability to upload photos, add tags and share using buttons tied to Reddit and Twitter. Moreover, posts have a payment button tied to them as well so visitors can tip in a matter of seconds. Honest Cash recently added a native wallet to the system and when a user signs up they are given a 12-word mnemonic seed phrase. There’s also a traditional QR code below the post so people can tip the author with other wallets. Upvoted transactions are also stored onchain so users can verify the traction of the post.

There are numerous Honest Cash posts about various subjects including art, hacking, cryptocurrencies, politics, traveling, and food. This was a popular post about an analysis of Twitter subjects being discussed between proponents of the three dominant Bitcoin implementations.

The Honest Cash Token and Badger Signups Soon

On Feb. 6, the Honest Cash founders revealed they were partnering with the Patreon alternative Bitbacker.io. The two teams hope the relationship will bolster a larger audience by providing users with the ability to “earn pledges and secure backing within both platforms.” During the second week of February, the Honest Cash team announced the distribution of a fraction of its Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) coins called Honest Cash Tokens.

The team has been distributing HCT tokens to some of its Twitter followers and content creators on the platform. For instance, on Feb. 13, Honest Cash administrators announced a 1,000 HCT giveaway to users who write about advocating for an underdog. “Write a post on Honest.cash on any topic surrounding; honesty, censorship or discrimination,” explained the team.

Posts offer a payment button, Twitter and Reddit share feature, upvoting onchain, and a traditional QR code.

Bitcoin cash users have been publishing material on the platform regularly and Honest Cash posts can be seen on the popular Reddit forum r/btc on a daily basis. The developers of Honest Cash seem to be integrating a system that lets users sign up with Badger Wallet or with a Twitter handle in the near future. Currently, signups are still by email only and registrants are allowed to create a password and write down their mnemonic phrase. From there, registrants are put on the Honest Cash waiting list until the next batch of users is approved.

What do you think about the Honest Cash blogging and publishing platform? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

U.S. Treasury Plans to Add Cryptocurrency Addresses to the SDN List

This week the U.S. Treasury Department issued guidelines on how the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) could add cryptocurrency addresses to the country’s sanction list.

Also read: New Tools Help Crypto Traders Make Smarter Decisions

Cryptocurrency Addresses to be Added to the U.S. Sanctions List

The U.S. government may soon have the ability to add cryptocurrency addresses to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. Coincidently the oversight advice happened on the same day President Trump signed an executive order banning the Venezuelan petro (PTR). The petro is mentioned among a variety of digital assets including BTC, ETH, LTC, NEO, XMR, and XRP.

The Treasury calls a cryptocurrency wallet “a software application (or other mechanisms) that provides a means for holding, storing, and transferring digital currency.” The report also describes a virtual currency and an address:    

A [Digital Currency Address] is an alphanumeric identifier that represents a potential destination for a digital currency transfer.

OFAC May “Alert the Public” About Suspect Digital Currency Identifiers

Additionally, the agency issued guidance to those who have identified SDN owned wallets and addresses and ask them to report the news to OFAC immediately. Further, the Treasury says that the market itself, businesses, and cryptocurrency exchanges should work together to keep an eye on suspect addresses that might be on the SDN list.

“The digital currency address field on the SDN List provides the unique alphanumeric identifiers (up to 256 characters) for digital currency addresses and identifies the digital currency to which the address corresponds,” explains the OFAC report.

OFAC will use sanctions in the fight against criminal and other malicious actors abusing digital currencies and emerging payment systems as a complement to existing tools, including diplomatic outreach and law enforcement authorities — To strengthen our efforts to combat the illicit use of digital currency transactions under our existing authorities, OFAC may include as identifiers on the SDN List specific digital currency addresses associated with blocked persons.

The Treasury’s OFAC guidance does not go into great detail on how they will block these wallets and addresses or enforce the sanctions. According to the report, OFAC may “alert the public” about suspect digital currency identifiers.

What do you think about the Treasury adding cryptocurrency wallets to the SDN list? Let us know in the comments below.

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Images via Shutterstock, OFAC, Pixabay

Source : bitcoin.com

Survey Says 8% of the American Population Now Own Cryptocurrency

A new survey of Americans has discovered that the cryptocurrency community still has a long way to go to in order to simplify the technology or to reach out and educate more people in the United States, especially among women and older folks.

Also Read: Mainstream Media Reports of “Blockchain Elections” in Sierra Leone Are All Fake News

Today’s Bitcoin Buyers Are Still Early Adopters

Personal finance comparisons portal Finder recently commissioned a survey of 2,001 American adults to help map out the cryptocurrency landscape in the US. It found that 7.95% of the population has invested in a cryptocurrency, leaving much room for adoption to grow among the vast majority of Americans. And among the 92.05% of didn’t buy any cryptocurrency, 7.76% do plan to purchase some in the future.

As for the reasons people didn’t invest in cryptocurrency, 35.02% fear that the risk is too high, 27.04% find it too difficult to understand, 17.97% say it’s a scam, 16.12% are waiting for the “bubble” to burst, 11.40% find it too difficult to use, and lastly 5.75% think that there are too many fees. Just 40.01% say they are not interested or they think there’s no need for them.

The three most popular cryptocurrencies are bitcoin, with an estimated 5.15% of Americans surveyed owning an average of $3,453.89 in BTC; ethereum, with an estimated 1.80% of people owning an average of $1,243.42 in ETH; and bitcoin core with an estimated 0.90% of people owning an average of $636.22 in BCH.

Source: finder.com

Cryptocurrency Demographics

The survey also found a major gender gap in cryptocurrency holding, with just 4.27% of women saying they own cryptocurrency compared with 11.86% of men. And the average amount of bitcoin purchased by women is just $1,821.65, compared with $3,923.16 for men. This gap appears likely to continue in the future as of those who don’t own cryptocurrency, 6.28% of women and 9.47% of men plan to purchase.

The results also show a distinct generational gap in cryptocurrency ownership, with 17.21% of millennials having skin in the game compared with only 8.75% of Gen X and 2.24% of baby boomers. And millennials who haven’t purchased cryptocurrency are much likelier to just be those who find it too complicated to understand or too difficult to use.

How should bitcoin advocates make the cryptocurrency more easily accessible to a wider segment of the American population? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Source : bitcoin.com

Ex-Trump Chief Strategist Bannon: Cryptocurrencies Make Central Banks Redundant

Bitcoin has always been considered by its staunch supporters a tool to bring about personal financial freedom from government control and censorship as well as taxation via inflation. As such, most political players shun the cryptocurrency when they are in power as it threatens their position. Once out of power they are freer to appreciate the freedom a decentralized economy may bring, as exemplified by someone who was once one of the most powerful men in Washington, Steve Bannon, now hailing cryptocurrencies as the key to national liberation.   

Also Read: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies Are Commodities, Federal Court Rules

Bitcoin Will End the Fed?

U.S. President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, has said in a speech on Tuesday that blockchain-based cryptocurrencies can help bring about liberation for Western nations from under the control of all powerful central banks such as the Federal Reserve and the ECB and the ruling “permanent political class.”

“Central banks are in the business of debasing your currency,” he proclaimed. “Central governments are in the business of debasing your citizenship.” However, Bannon reassured that audience that with the use of cryptocurrencies “We take control of the central banks away. That will give us the power again.”

International Economic Nationalism

The former executive chairman of the alt right platform Breitbart News, which served a pivotal role in the election of President Trump according to many American political observers, was speaking to a crowd of 1,500 right wing Europeans in Zurich, Switzerland on Tuesday. He has been touring Europe with his message of economic nationalism, seeking to empower new local populist parties in the region to achieve victory over the establishment as he has done in the latest US elections.

According to Bannon, it isn’t only central banks that cryptocurrencies can help defeat but also powerful Silicon Valley corporations like Google and Facebook. By letting them control all our personal data and mine it for their profit we have given over our identities to these tech giants, making the average man into nothing more but a “serf”, he asserts.

However, he assured that with the help of cryptocurrencies victory is possible. “Control of data, citizenship and currency will be true freedom,” Bannon told the Swiss crowd.

Do you think cryptocurrencies like bitcoin can empower individuals and local governments? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Source : news.bitcoin.com

Scammers Are Ruining Crypto Twitter and Twitter Is to Blame

You’ve heard of the scheme, seen the tweets, and been smart enough not to send cryptocurrency in the promise of receiving more back. The Twitter crypto scam, in which fraudsters impersonate the accounts of exchanges and influencers, is as simple as it is pernicious. While the odds of anyone falling for these scams is remote, they’re spoiling crypto Twitter for everyone – and Twitter is to blame.

Also read: If You’ve Been Scammed Out of Cryptocurrency It’s Probably Your Fault

Did You Hear the One About the Special Giveaway?

“Big news from the Poloniex team today!” tweeted the U.S. exchange on Monday, announcing its acquisition by Circle. The first response to the tweet was as predictable as it was pitiful: “We аre joining Circle! To commemorаte, we’re giving аwаy 2000 ЕТΗ,” wrote “Palooniex”. “To pаrticipаte, senԁ 0.3-3 ЕТΗ to our аԁԁress below аnԁ get 3-30 ЕТΗ bаck. Hurry!”

It’s easy to get mad at scammers for perpetrating these sorts of frauds, but the real blame lies with Twitter. Scammers gonna scam after all; it’s up to the platforms to combat their attempts to ruin the service for everyone else. These fraudsters effectively serve as pen testers, seeking weaknesses to exploit for their own personal gain. The frustrating thing is that thwarting them would be a simple fix, but Twitter either doesn’t care or has bigger fish to fry, and thus the scams continue unchecked and unabated.

Scamming Is Social Arbitrage

Some people view these low-level scams as a form of social arbitrage: taking crypto from the stupid and redistributing it to the smart. It’s true that it takes a particular level of stupid to send money to a stranger because they promise to send you more in return. But even for the majority of crypto users who don’t fall for these scams, they’re still ruining crypto twitter. Reading the replies to tweets from verified users is now pointless because they’re filled with begging rather than comments which add to the discussion. It’s also getting tiresome having to read repeated tweets from crypto influencers stressing that they have not and never will be giving away free cryptocurrency.

Spot the true Justin Sun

There is a number of solutions Twitter could implement to combat the practice, none of which would require extensive effort on their part. For one thing, they should make it impossible for an account to post a reply to an account they have already blocked. At present, crypto figures are unable to view the scams being perpetrated in their name because the fraudsters block them in advance. The second thing Twitter could do is prohibit accounts from creating a similar combination of avatar and username. Creating an account with the username “palooniex” should not in its own right be grounds for concern, but doing so in conjunction with the same Twitter avatar as Poloniex should be.

Twitter is so broken right now that someone succeeded, this week, in obtaining a verified account for Justin Sun. The fraudulent account mimicked the Tron founder right down to the blue tick and then proceeded to promise free crypto to all via a TRX airdrop. There was just one catch: participants first had to send him some cryptocurrency. Like most organizations that gravitate from nimble startup to hulking corporation, Twitter is a victim of its own success. Back when it was a nimble speedboat, it could adjust its position on the high seas with ease. But now that it’s an oil tanker, making the same maneuver takes aeons. And all the while, the scammers and fraudsters keep mounting up.

Do you think Twitter is to blame for failing to crack down on scammers? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Images courtesy of Shutterstock, and Twitter.

Source : https://news.bitcoin.com/scammers-are-ruining-crypto-twitter-and-twitter-is-to-blame/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Notifications

Justice Dept Looks to Develop ‘Cryptocurrency Strategy'

Over the past few months, the U.S. government and its special agencies have been ramping up their efforts to try to regulate bitcoin and digital currencies. This week the Justice Department’s Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein spoke about cryptocurrencies at the Financial Services Roundtable this Monday in Washington, DC.

Also read: Sixth Grader Writes a 57-Page Book About Bitcoin

The Justice Department’s Cybercrimes Task Force Will Develop a Cryptocurrency Focused Strategy

According to multiple reports, the Justice Department is planning to launch a comprehensive strategy for cryptocurrencies. In a caucus filled with American bankers, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said cryptocurrencies are a “new challenge” and the agency is planning on tending to the issue soon. At the Financial Services Roundtable Rosenstein discussed the subject of cryptocurrencies with Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-MN).

“A new challenge we face of course is cryptocurrency, because a lot of these schemes involve Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which do not flow through the traditional financial systems,” Rosenstein reveals.

So what we’re working on now with our cybercrimes task force within the department is an effort to develop a comprehensive strategy to deal with that.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein speaks with Governor Tim Pawlenty at the Financial Services Roundtable about a ‘cryptocurrency strategy.’ 

Digital Currencies and Encryption With No Means of Access

The Justice Department has recently dealt with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies late last year during the investigation of the alleged BTC-e exchange operator. Further back in October of 2017 Rosenstein discussed the subject of digital currencies that were used in a fentanyl case that involved Chinese traffickers who used the internet to sell their wares. That month the Deputy Attorney spoke about encryption to a large crowd in Annapolis, Maryland asking for “responsible encryption.”

“When encryption is designed with no means of lawful access, it allows terrorists, drug dealers, child molesters, fraudsters, and other criminals to hide incriminating evidence,” explains Rosenstein.

What do you think about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and the Justice Department’s idea to come up with a cryptocurrency strategy? Let us know what you think in the comments below. 

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Images via: Shutterstock, Associated Press, and Wiki Commons.

Source : https://news.bitcoin.com/justice-dept-looks-to-develop-cryptocurrency-strategy/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Notifications