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Cryptocurrency, and Bitcoin in particular, is always in the news nowadays and is becoming a significant factor in modern financial markets. Unsurprisingly, the subject of regulating cryptocurrency in one form or another has become an important concern. China is alreadyrestrictingits use. Central banks around the world are looking at decentralized cryptocurrencies to assess their potential impact on financial stability, or to even issue their own digital currencies. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary GenslerGary GenslerSEC ups disclosure requirements for Chinese companies seeking US IPOs: report Crypto industry seeks to build momentum after losing Senate fight Equilibrium/ Sustainability Tree alive 'when Jesus was on Earth' threatened by rising seas MORE described crypto trading as theWild Westrecently calling for Congress to create a protection regime for crypto investors. A major impasse for the critical infrastructure bill was the issue of taxing crypto transactions. Others have proposed that stablecoins beregulated like banks.

Unsurprisingly, the crypto industry has developed a formidable lobbying force to ward off further regulation. Regulation is totally antithetical to the very idea of decentralized cryptocurrency.

Yet, little focus has gone to the environmental dangers of cryptocurrency. Yes, Elon MuskElon Reeve MuskThe Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Biden continues to grapple with Afghanistan chaos Can SpaceX's Elon Musk help NASA get back to the moon by 2024 after all? Hillicon Valley: Key QAnon influencer 'GhostEzra' identified MORE attracted the usual hype when he first announced that Tesla would accept Bitcoin and then stated (rather belatedly given thescience) that since he learned of the environmental damage inflicted by cryptocurrencies he would reverse that decision.

Cryptocurrencys impact on the environment is indeed very serious possibly the single most important policy factor against its growth.

Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum in particular, are so damaging to the environment that they threaten to reverse any gains achieved through the transition to electric vehicles and the reduction in fossil fuels use. Much of this consumption and output derives from the energy and processing intensive mining of Bitcoin and proofs of work. Even now the total Bitcoin carbon footprint exceeds the total emission reductions of electric vehicles. According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity ConsumptionIndex, Bitcoin already consumesmore energythan the whole of Argentina (pop. 45 million).

Digiconomists Bitcoin Energy Consumption Indexestimates that Bitcoin and Ethereum together consume the same amount of power as Ukraine and Israel, totaling 52 million people. The carbon footprint of asingleBitcoin transactions equates to nearly 2millionVisa transactions, or 135,229 hours of watching YouTube! A single Ethereum transaction consumes the equivalent power used by an average U.S. household over 4.55 days. Furthermore, the energy and carbon footprints of both these and other cryptocurrencies are projected to grow exponentially in volume as speculation, hype and criminality continue to drive volume. Already, total crypto energy consumption is roughly comparable to the carbon emissions produced by the metropolitan area ofLondon, according to The Gaurdian.

Apart from these staggering energy consumption statistics, crypto is alsointensifying competition for chips, for which there is already a global shortage impeding the manufacture of alternative energy devices, including EVs. Crypto has already grown exponentially. Further growth will only broaden its carbon footprint.

Given thedaunting targetsfor carbon reduction that we face in the U.S. and globally, this development should concern everyone. If there were offsetting gains with crypto, one might justify it on a cost-benefit basis, as we do with EVs (which inflict some damage but less overall than combustion engines). Yet, there are no real gains.

There are many classes of crypto adventurers: libertarian idealists who dream of freedom from sovereign monetary control; hardware and software players mining the stuff for reward; traders who derive revenue from crypto transactions; speculators who ride the wild volatility of crypto; crypto wallet raiders; and criminals who exploit the relative degree of anonymity crypto offers as ransomware. Despite grand statements about reducing transaction costs and liberation from fiat money, none of the legitimate players have made a case for crypto contributions to general welfare. Beyond rhetoric they have not even seriously attempted to. Instead, they have relied on the naivete of lawmakers, regulators and journalists.

Well-informed commentators have described crypto as agiant bubble. Yet, regulators continue to display timidity in addressing the subject. While the Biden administration urges the auto industry to transition to 50 percent EVs by 2030, we recklessly allow crypto to escalate at huge current and potential cost to our carbon footprint.

China has at least taken one step in the direction of connecting crypto to climate change concerns: It hasbannedcrypto mining. This activity will only move elsewhere. Legislators and policymakers should inform themselves now and act soon to stop the counterproductive growth of this industry, no matter how potent their lobbying forces have become. If they do not, even as the threat posed by global warming enters code red according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change we will find ourselves in yet another situation where an entrenched industry prevents us from advancing the common good and tackling climate change.

LawrenceG.Baxteris the David T. Zhang professor of the practice of law at Duke University where he also directs the Global Financial Markets Center.

See more here:
Cryptocurrency makes the climate crisis worse | TheHill - The Hill

An illustration showing physical bitcoins alongside binary code displayed on a laptop.

Jakub Porzycki | NurPhoto via Getty Images

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid said Thursday it has been hit by a cyberattack that saw hackers make offwith a reported $97 millionworth of digital coins.

Liquid said some of its digital currency wallets had been "compromised," and that hackers were transferring the assets to four different wallets.

"We are currently investigating and will provide regular updates," Liquid tweeted. "In the meantime deposits and withdrawals will be suspended."

Liquid did not provide an estimate for the loss. It says it is regulated by Japan's Financial Services Agency. The watchdog was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

Elliptic, a blockchain analytics company, said its analysis showed that about $97 million in cryptocurrencies have been obtained by the hackers.

Of the total haul, $45 million in tokens were being converted to ethereum through decentralized exchanges blockchain-based platforms that require no intermediaries like Uniswap and SushiSwap, Elliptic said.

"This enables the hacker to avoid having these assets frozen as is possible with many Ethereum tokens," Elliptic said in a blog post.

Liquid ranks among the top 20 crypto exchanges globally by daily trading volumes, processing more than $133 million of transactions in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data.

It's the second major crypto heist to take place in little over a week. On Aug. 10, hackers stole more than $600 million of digital tokens from Poly Network, a so-called decentralized finance firm.

In an unusual turn of events, the hackers opened a dialogue with the organization they attacked and gave back nearly all of the funds. However, more than $200 million remains locked in an account that requires a password from the hacker.

Link:
More than $90 million in cryptocurrency stolen after a top Japanese exchange is hacked - CNBC

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) The IRS has a warning for people dealing in cryptocurrency pay your taxes!

CPA Dave Young discussed the emerging currency and what the IRS is doing to make sure people who deal in crypto pay their fair share Monday during News 8 at Sunrise.

The IRS is taking a keen eye on it, Young said of cryptocurrency. They have a very big interest if you have cryptocurrency. As a matter of fact, on the front page of your Form 1040 in 2020 the IRS is specifically asking at any time in 2020 did you receive, sell, send, exchange or otherwise acquire any financial interest in any virtual currency. The fact of the matter is if you have the virtual currency youll likely need to report it. Some exchanges are actually going to be sending the IRS a form and sending you a Form 1099-K saying hey, these are the transactions that you had.

Young explained what you need to know about reporting cryptocurrency transactions and profits or losses. Its going to come in a couple of different buckets. The IRS is going to treat it just as if youre basically selling a capital asset like a stock. So if you bought a cryptocurrency and held it for more than a year youre going to report it as a long-term capital gain. So your tax rate could be as low as zero percent or up to 20 percent depending upon your tax bracket. If its held less than a year its going to be a short-term capital gain. So its really important for people to realize you can trigger this by selling your crypto for cash. So you had crypto and you converted it to fiat currency cash thats going to be a taxable event. If you exchanged it from one cryptocurrency to another thats another taxable event. What we see a lot is people will take their cryptocurrency and buy something. If you took your crypto and you bought a good or service, youve just triggered a taxable event. So those three things could trigger you having to file short or long-term capital gains. Be very, very careful because in the background the IRS is getting this report and theyre not going to look too kindly on you if you did not report this transaction on your taxes.

Young noted that many people are getting into mining and there are considerations there too. So mining is going to have possibly two transactions A, the income you receive from mining the cryptocurrency. Thats going to be income. As a sidebar note, the expenses that you have related to mining will be deductible but when you sell that cryptocurrency after you mine it were back to triggering a capital gain, short-term or long-term. Also, what you see often is businesses are accepting crypto as a form of payment. So its no different than if someone pays you on a credit card or cash. Its income so you need to report that. Sometimes your currency will hit a hard fork. If youre into crypto youre going to know what a hard fork is. And airdrop is kind of like a free giveaway or winning the lottery, so you might get that or even getting crypto rewards. Those are just some examples of other transactions where you need to report that. The bottom line is the IRS is taking a very hard look. So if you have crypto you want to make sure youre reporting it and look at your 1040, page one, there should be no excuse for missing this. The IRS put it right there in plain sight. Youve got to make sure youre recording your cryptocurrency transactions or you will have a significant problem with the IRS.

See the rest here:
What you need to know about cryptocurrency and taxes - RochesterFirst

A cryptocurrency exchange is a platform that helps a user to buy and sell tokens

If the discourse around and about cryptocurrency has encouraged you to venture into the market of digital tokens, it's important that you understand the various components of it. And before you take a deep dive into this ecosystem, make sure you know enough about what makes the world of digital tokens function, where they are stored, and how safe they are. And when we speak of storing cryptocurrency, two significant but different components come to mind. Cryptocurrency wallets and cryptocurrency exchange.

Just as you don't always carry your cash in hand and instead store it in your wallet, a cryptocurrency wallet is similar in many ways. It stores your digital tokens and keeps them safe just as your bank keeps your savings safe. Besides, a crypto wallet also facilitates sending and receiving digital currencies. Since cryptocurrencies are not tangible or in a physical form, these wallets store them and a user or owner of the wallet can make use of them as per his need.

There is another significant aspect of your crypto wallet and they are the keys. Your wallet has private and public keys that help you control as well as make your wallet function. The private keys help you sign a transaction, meaning they are similar to passwords when it comes to spending your digital tokens. And that's why you have to ensure they remain safe. If anyone gets access to your private keys, you might lose all your balance.

The public keys, on the other hand, act similar to your username on a payment app and help you receive crypto tokens from other users.

As the name itself suggests, a cryptocurrency exchange is a platform that helpsa user to buy and sell tokens. The exchange can be accessed on the internet as well as through an app. Not only does it facilitate buying and selling crypto tokens but also allows you to convert your money in fiat currency into digital tokens of your liking. The major difference between a wallet and an exchange is that the purpose of the former is primarily storage while the latter facilitates transactions as well as the conversion of currency into cash and vice-versa.

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The World Of Cryptocurrency Wallets And Exchanges: A Deep Dive - NDTV Profit