Cloud Hosting

BIRMINGHAM, Ala (WIAT) Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin youve likely heard of one or more of these cryptocurrencies before. If you havent, you likely will soon as they begin to burgeon around Birmingham.

People in Birmingham theyre no different than other folks around the United States, Author of Thank God for Bitcoin Derek Waltchack said. There are more and more people buying bitcoin, sort of like a digital gold.

According to Waltchack, more people around the world are investing in the decentralized currency, believing it will eventually replace the US dollar.

The breakthrough with bitcoin it allows you transfer value on the internet as easy as sending an email, he said. You can literally send an email with your bitcoin and you have sent value. Before bitcoin you couldnt do that without a central intermediary.

In response, local businesses are adapting. As the Magic City becomes more cryptocurrency friendly, a few area businesses like Crestwood Tavern have crypto ATMs, making it possible to buy that person across the bar from you a drink.

There are better ways to buy bitcoin than an ATM because the fees are going to be really high, Waltchack said. But if you want the simplest thing in the world, go to a bitcoin ATM where you can actually buy bitcoin it gives you a paper receipt which essentially gives you your wallet address, your secret key and the amount of bitcoin you have

And Waltchack said you may want to think twice before blowing your bitcoin on a meal. He urges people to look at paying with crypto coins like paying for an Amazon item with Apple stock.

I personally wouldnt use bitcoin to buy pizza and a beer just because it continues to go up in value, he said. And you dont want to be the guy who bought a pizza and a beer and then four years later, the equivalent amount of bitcoin could buy a car or a house.

As of now, there are a few businesses around town accepting bitcoin payment including Eagles Restaurant on Birminghams north side.

Waltchack said he expects more restaurants to follow suit soon.

Read the original:
Cryptocurrency is making its way into the Magic City - WIAT - CBS42.com

Mastercard and BNY Mellon warmed to bitcoin on Thursday, supporting XRP, ether and other cryptocurrencies

Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images

Bitcoin has been struggling, tumbling below the $47,000-level to a two-month low on April 25 after a sharp sell-off once excitement around Coinbase's public debut tapered.

Ether on the other hand has hit record highs above $2,500, pushing the market capitalization of the second largest cryptocurrency to $300 billion for the first time.

While ether remains far behind bitcoin's $1 trillion market value, some experts predict that it may not be long before the runner-up dethrones bitcoin as the world's biggest cryptocurrency, which currently represents 48% of the total crypto market, according to CoinGecko.

"As bitcoin loses its historic market dominance, the currency of the 'world's computer' is starting to fly, showing hints of the decoupling long predicted by ether bulls," Tim Frost, CEO of Yield App, a decentralized finance wealth management platform, told Insider.

Frost added that now that ether has broken the $2,500 resistance level, it could head to $3,500 "very quickly."

Ether, unlike bitcoin, not only maintains a decentralized payment network but also stores computer codes that power contracts and applications that are, thus far, tamper-proof.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, has been struggling to define its utility from being a potential currency to a store of value, among others.

Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, an oracle network that secures over $15 billion worth of assets on the ethereum blockchain, told Insider that the recent rally in ether, is in fact, spurred by the rise of decentralized finance applications, which are now worth over $63 billion.

Read more: Goldman Sachs names 19 crypto-exposed stocks that have piggybacked on bitcoin's surge to achieve returns that have nearly quadrupled the S&P 500

Insider spoke to three other experts who share their thoughts on why ether has the potential to become the world's leading cryptocurrency.

"We think bitcoin is overrated. We think bitcoin had the first-mover advantage. But in terms of long-term technology, we think ethereum will surpass bitcoin because if you look at developers, all the developers now are pretty much using ethereum. Ethereum has 10 times more monthly active developers than bitcoin. Bitcoin is really now, purely, in my opinion, just a digital store value, digital gold, and I view ethereum as the next internet as Web3." - Ian Balina, founder and CEO of Token Metrics, a data-driven investment research platform for crypto

"The utility will ultimately trump a store of value asset, but I think that's a little bit away. We do have bitcoin to thank for being the first to spark interest. But on etherum there's a lot of development - DeFi and NFT. Ultimately we get past the single functionality store value that is bitcoin and we get into a world where there are greater use cases - and that always trumps a single function which is an asset or a storage value." - John Wu, President of Ava labs, the team behind altcoin Avalanche

"I think most digital assets will continue to be correlated and move in tandem with bitcoin, but some blockchains and their cryptocurrencies such as ether can also be looked at from a stand-alone basis. The usual [fear, uncertainty, and doubt] can come out of nowhere and hammer down the crypto class as a whole, but some assets will be able to de-couple from the downside simply because the market participants don't care or see the current news having a long-term impact, likely due to their faith in the underlying technology. Governments proposing higher cap gains tax doesn't make any of the blockchain tech less desirable." - Justin Chuh, senior trader at Wave Financial, a regulated digital asset investment manager

Excerpt from:
3 analysts explain why ether will surpass bitcoin as the leading cryptocurrency - Markets Insider

Of late, cryptocurrency, a form of digital currency, has grown increasingly attractive to investors. On 16 April 2021, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, bitcoin, soared to a new alltime high above US$63,000 -- almost tenfold of its trading price a year ago. This surge in cryptocurrency investment has naturally led to an increase in cryptocurrency exchange businesses.

Landscape in Malaysia

In Malaysia, cryptocurrency is regulated by the Capital Markets and Services (Prescription of Securities) (Digital Currency and Digital Token) Order 2019 (Order), under the purview of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). The Order provides guidance as to how and when digital currencies are recognised as securities for the purposes of securities laws in Malaysia.

Trading of digital assets such as cryptocurrency takes place via an electronic platform known as a digital asset exchange (DAX). DAX is regulated under the Guidelines on Recognized Markets (DAX Guidelines), similarly under the purview of the SC. The DAX Guidelines require DAX operators to be registered as a Recognized Market Operator (DAX Operator) under s 34 of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA) and the DAX Guidelines.

In assessing the eligibility of an applicant aspiring to qualify as a DAX Operator, SC must be satisfied the applicant has the ability to provide a safe and secure platform for the trading of digital assets, and to fulfil, among others, the following criteria:

(a) Being able to operate an orderly, fair and transparent market;

(b) Having a clear or unique value proposition or will contribute to the overall development of the Malaysian capital market;

(c) Being locally incorporated and have a minimum paid-up capital of RM5 million; and

(d) Utilising appropriate systems, policies and controls to ensure a high degree of security and operation reliability.

At present, there are only three registered DAX Operators in Malaysia.

Strict enforcement

The growth in cryptocurrency investment has also seen a parallel increase in illegal investment scheme often promising high returns to investors over a short period of time. In this regard, there are sanctions in place under securities laws. Companies which provide a trading platform via DAX without being registered as a DAX Operator commit an offence under s 7 of the CMSA. If convicted, the company risks being liable to a fine not exceeding RM10 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both.

In tandem with the regulators' increased efforts to combat illegal investment schemes, a company was recently publicly reprimanded for offering a trading platform for cryptocurrency without being registered as a DAX Operator. The company in question was added into the SC's Investor Alert List, and access to its platform was blocked by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

Conclusion

In light of the above, aspiring DAX operators shall, therefore, ensure they comply with the relevant regulations and go through the rigorous registration exercise.

At the other end of the spectrum, investors are also reminded to exercise caution and to trade only with registered DAX Operators, as engaging in trades with other unregistered entities may risk waiving one's protection and access to legal recourse under the securities laws.

Read this article:
Bitcoin and the Realm of Cryptocurrency - Lexology

Depending on the particular branch of the U.S. government one is talking to, cryptocurrency can be property (IRS), a security (SEC) or a commodity (CFTC). On April 20, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at remedying this situation. The bipartisan Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act will establish a digital asset working group to ensure collaboration between regulators and the private sector to foster innovation.

The new law will require the SEC and CFTC to establish a working group on digital assets, which will consist of appointees from each agency as well as representatives from financial technology companies, financial firms, and small businesses, among others. The working group will produce a report within a year that will include an analysis of the domestic regulatory framework and the developments in other countries relating to digital assets. The report also requests insight into best practices to reduce fraud, protect investors, and assist in compliance with obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act.

Congressman Patrick McHenry, Republican leader of the House Financial Services Committee made clear that the objective was for Washington to keep up with the innovations in the fintech industry and provide more regulatory clarity. Congressman Stephen F. Lynch, Democratic Chair of the Financial Technologies Task Force delivered a similar message, saying: As this technology continues to develop and deploy, it is extremely important that we consider the possible vulnerabilities that the wider adoption of digital assets might present while addressing the lack of clarity in the regulation of these financial instruments to mitigate potential harms that may occur. This bill will create critical collaboration between the S.E.C., the C.F.T.C. and Congress that will ultimately help create fair and transparent markets.

At the same, the Token Taxonomy Act ( H.R. 1628) has been reintroduced and is currently pending before the House. The sponsor of this bill, Warren Davidson, has explained that the purpose of the bill is also to improve regulatory clarity. But it more directly confronts the SEC, which has applied the Howey test to determining if tokens qualify as securities, concluding in almost every case that it does. This bill specifically excludes digital tokens from the definition of a security and directs the SEC to enact certain regulatory changes relate thereto.

In a previous post, we explained how the U.S. Internal Revenue Service had introduced a question on the 2020 tax form that asked, at any time during 2020 did you receive, sell, send, exchange, or otherwise acquire any financial interest in any virtual currency. Along another path, the IRSs Operation Hidden Treasure is a partnership between the civil office of fraud enforcement and the criminal investigation unit aimed at rooting out tax evasion from cryptocurrency owners. And, the IRS is also pursuing John Doe summonses against cryptocurrency exchanges.

On April 1, 2021, a federal court in the District of Massachusetts entered an order authorizing the IRS to serve a John Doe summons on Circle Internet Financial Inc. seeking information about U.S. taxpayers who conducted at least the equivalent of $20,000 in transactions in cryptocurrency during the years 2016 to 2020. The IRS is requesting that Circle produce records identifying such U.S. taxpayers, along with other documents relating to their cryptocurrency transactions. Circle is a digital currency exchanger headquartered in Boston.

A typical summons is issued when the IRS knows the name of the target and seeks information about that taxpayer. A John Doe summons allows the IRS to get the names of all taxpayers in a certain group. A John Doe Summons must be approved by a federal district court judge.

According to the Justice Department, the governments petition does not allege that Circle has engaged in any wrongdoing in connection with its digital currency exchange business. Rather, according to the courts order, the summons seeks information related to the IRSs investigation of an ascertainable group or class of persons that the IRS has reasonable basis to believe may have failed to comply with any provision of any internal revenue laws[.]

The IRS is simultaneously pursuing authority to issue John Doe summonses against Kraken, a California cryptocurrency exchange. Once again, the government is asking about U.S. taxpayers who conducted at least the equivalent of $20,000 in transactions in cryptocurrency during the years 2016 to 2020. The IRS is not having as much luck there. On March 31, 2021, the federal court in the Northern District of California issued an Order to show Cause in which it said that the IRS had likely made a sufficient showing to satisfy the requirements of the statute for issuing a John Doe summons, but the court had concerns with respect to scope of the request (which the statute requires be narrowly tailored). The IRS does not allege that Kraken engaged in any wrongful conduct.

The proposed summons seeks broad categories of information such as complete user preferences, [a]ny other records of Know-Your-Customer due diligence, and [a]ll correspondence between Kraken and the User or any third party with access to the account pertaining to the account, among other similarly expansive requests. The court therefore required the IRS to show cause why the petition should not be denied for failure to meet the narrowly tailored requirement of the statute. In doing so, the IRS must address specifically why each category of information sought is narrowly tailored to the IRSs investigative needs, including whether requests for more invasive and all-encompassing categories of information could be deferred until after the IRS has reviewed basic account registration information and transaction histories.

IRS guidance regarding the tax treatment of virtual currencies was first introduced in IRS Notice 2014-21. Under U.S tax law, virtual currency is treated as property for Federal income tax purposes. The IRSs position is that receipt of virtual currency as payment for goods or services is treated as income and that a taxpayer can have a gain or loss on the sale or exchange of a virtual currency, including for when it is used to pay for goods.

Read the original:
Bill Aimed at Coordinating the SEC and CFTC Positions on Cryptocurrency Passes the US House - Lexology

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--H. C. Wainwright & Co., LLC (HCW), one of the leading investment banks focused on capital markets and equity research across multiple sectors, is hosting a daylong virtual conference on Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Fintech. The online event is scheduled for Tuesday, April 27, 2021. Of particular relevance to institutional investors, the conference will offer valuable insights to public and private companies, business development executives, venture capitalists, and others.

The online event will run from 9:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. E.D.T., and the full agenda of topics and panelists is available at http://www.hcwevents.com. In addition to over 40 confirmed presenting companies, and the opportunity to have one-on-one meetings both with investors and with H. C. Wainwrights investment banking and research teams, the days lineup of top names includes:

Alexis Glick, former Wall Streeter, financial-news anchor, CNN financial commentator, and currently CEO of GENYOUth, will moderate, along with H.C. Wainwrights Kevin Dede, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst.

Were pleased to have the opportunity to convene this investor forum with the leading names in the Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Fintech arena, said H. C. Wainwright Managing Director Craig Schwabe, who leads cryptocurrency, blockchain, financial technology investment banking. Its crucial to get thought-leaders in this area together now, particularly at a time when we see, a wider adoption of crypto currencies and blockchain technology.

Register for the event by emailing lk@hcwco.com.

About H. C. Wainwright & Co.

About H.C. Wainwright & Co. H.C. Wainwright is a fullservice investment bank dedicated to providing corporate finance, strategic advisory and related services to public and private companies across multiple sectors and regions. H.C. Wainwright & Co. also provides research and sales & trading services to institutional investors.

See original here:
H. C. Wainwright to Host Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Fintech Virtual Conference - Business Wire