PRESIDENT Biden may crackdown on cryptocurrency after the White House issued a statement drawing attention to potential pitfalls of the currency such as ransomware and other cyber threats.
It read: “Cyber threats can affect every American, every business regardless of size, and every community.
“That’s why my administration is marshalling a whole-of-nation effort to confront cyber threats.”
The statement also signaled that the US will gather 30 other countries, including NATO and G7 allies, to discuss responses to cybercrime.
“This month, the United States will bring together 30 countries to accelerate our cooperation in combatting cybercrime, improving law enforcement collaboration, stemming the illicit use of cryptocurrency, and engaging on these issues diplomatically,” it read.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell also announced Thursday that there are no plans to ban cryptocurrency in the US, and prices soared 10 percent.
Read our cryptocurrency live blog for the latest news and updates…
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DYDX CONTINUED
The early success in dYdX lead to Mr Juliano taking a victory lap on Sunday, which outperformed Coinbase in trading volume by 15%.
The surge in trading comes as Chinese users have started to flock to decentralized exchanges and DeFi products, following Beijing’s ban on all cryptocurrency transactions on Friday.
However, Chinese crypto reporter Colin Wu tweeted: “A large number of Chinese users will flood into the DeFi world, and the number of users of MetaMask and dYdX will greatly increase.”
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WHAT IS DYDX?
Originally, dYdX was founded in 2017 by former Coinbase software engineer Antonio Juliano.
The cryptocurrency, which operates as decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, supports the following types of trading: perpetual, margin, and spot.
It also supports lending, borrowing, and uses smart contracts on the blockchain of the major cryptocurrency, Ethereum.
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NO ‘GUARANTEED RETURNS’
There are no guarantees when it comes to cryptocurrencies, so when someone mentions “guaranteed returns,” they are often scammers.
There is no way to eliminate the element of risk from cryptocurrencies, although scammers may try to convince you otherwise.
Check out these other ways to spot scammers in the crypto space.
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HOT TIPS FROM ‘FRIENDS’
Multi-level marketing scammers will often use the language of cryptocurrencies to entice people to join as “members.”
Cryptocurrencies do not have members, they have investors.
Avoid taking investing tips from friends and family; instead turn to price-tracking websites like CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko, or CoinPaprika, and always do your research before investing.
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BLOCKCHAIN SCAMS
Cryptocurrencies operate on blockchain networks.
Scammers often claim their blockchain is “in development” or “about to be released,” but all legitimate cryptos will have an accompanying website to verify the currency.
Users can type the name of the crypto into any search engine with the phrase “blockchain explorer” or “blockchain scan” to find the connected blockchain, if it exists.
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FAKE WEBSITES
Another widespread scamming technique is websites that appear to be a new cryptocurrency mining operation or investment opportunity.
These sites encourage investors to wire in money, sometimes offering investment “tiers” and promising greater returns.
But when users attempt to withdraw their cash, they are unable to and told to input even more cryptocurrency.
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DATING APP SCAMS
Some scam operations have even started using dating apps to reel in potential targets.
In some reports, scammers would pose as a long-distance love interest sharing a hot new crypto opportunity.
About 20 percent of the money reportedly lost through dating scams in around the last year involved cryptocurrency.
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GIVEAWAY SCAMS
Giveaway scams often pose as celebrities or well-known figures and ask victims to send Bitcoin, promising to send back a much larger amount.
Many giveaway scams are marketed over social media, attempting to connect through Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
For instance, victims reported sending more than $2million to scammers impersonating Elon Musk.
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POSING AS AN AGENCY OR BUSINESS
As noted by Inverse, Many phishing scams will attempt to impersonate a government agency or business to get your attention.
Some reports to the FTC said victims were contacted by scammers pretending to be the Social Security Administration and asked to deposit money into Bitcoin ATMs.
Other victims lost money to scammers posing as the cryptocurrency company Coinbase.
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SCAM WARNING
While the growth of Bitcoin has skyrocketed in some bank accounts, it’s also fueled the growth of crypto-related fraud operations.
The FTC reported that since October of 2020, nearly 7,000 people have reported losses of more than $80million in the US due to cryptocurrency scams.
That number is around 12 times, or 1,000 percent more than reported losses from the period a year earlier.
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HELIUM ON THE RISE
Helium crypto price predictions have soared and may be the next cryptocurrency to explode in 2022.
Experts have predicted it will be a lucrative investment in the crypto space. as price predictions heated up before the big launch this week because the network connects people through shared hot spots.
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CHINA PREVIOUSLY SHUT DOWN CRYPTO EXCHANGES, PART TWO
While crypto creation and trading have been illegal in China since 2019, further crackdowns this year by Beijing warned banks to halt related transactions and closed much of the country’s vast network of bitcoin miners.
Thursday’s statement by the central bank sent the strongest yet signal that China is closed to crypto.
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CHINA PREVIOUSLY SHUT DOWN CRYPTO EXCHANGES
It’s not Beijing’s first move against digital currency – in 2017, China shut down its local cryptocurrency exchanges.
Despite the war on crypto, Chinese mines power nearly 80 percent of the global trade in cryptocurrencies.
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CHINA’S CRACKDOWN ON CRYPTO IS ‘BIG OPPORTUNITY’ FOR US
China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency transactions “is a big opportunity for the U.S.”, according to Pat Toomey, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee.
This comes as the US Securities and Exchange Commission lobbied for more regulations when it comes to cryptocurrency.
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SHARES IN CRYPTO FIRMS ALSO FALL
Shares of cryptocurrency-related firms Coinbase Global, MicroStrategy Inc, Riot Blockchain, and Marathon Patent Group fell after China’s central bank put a ban on crypto trading and mining.
“It’s been a very volatile week to say the least, so I think going into the last week of September the volatility is likely to continue especially with the end-of-the-quarter window dressing,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
Investors are also looking for signs of progress on President Joe Biden’s spending and budget bills.
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WHAT IS SHIBA INU?
Shibu Inu are cryptocurrency tokens and allow users to hold trillions of them, according to its website.
Shiba tokens are listed and incentivized on ShibaSwap, its own decentralized exchange.
The tokens feature the same Shiba Inu dog as Dogecoin, which has rocketed in popularity recently.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, told The Sun previously: “The Shiba Inu coin appears to have been created just to give Dogecoin a run for its money.
“It features the same dog which became a meme, and aims to replicate Dogecoin’s success of turning a joke into a money making machine.”
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CHINA’S STATEMENT, CONTINUED
Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital currency, and other cryptos cannot be traced by a country’s central bank, making them difficult to regulate.
The crypto crackdown opens the gates for China to introduce its own digital currency, which it is already working on and will allow the central government to monitor transactions.
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WHAT IS LANDSHARE?
Landshare coin premiered on August 2, 2021.
It was initially priced just over £2.60, rising to £4.10 on August 14.
The market cap is now more than £1million.
Landshare is a DeFi platform on the Binance Smart Chain.
It offers a hassle-free alternative to traditional real estate investments.
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CHINA’S STATEMENT
The PBOC said it will “resolutely clamp down on virtual currency speculation, and related financial activities and misbehaviour in order to safeguard people’s properties and maintain economic, financial and social order”.
It said that trading of virtual currencies had become “widespread, disrupting economic and financial order, giving rise to money laundering, illegal fund-raising, fraud, pyramid schemes and other illegal and criminal activities.”
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PYTH CAUSES HUGE BITCOIN DROP
According to Bloomberg, an error on Monday caused the platform Pyth to incorrectly show that the price for Bitcoin was down to about $5,400.
That would have represented a catastrophic drop from around $50,000 earlier this month.
A number of Bitcoin fanatics sounded the alarm online, but it turned out they had nothing to worry about.
Pyth, which provides financial data to a number of major investment firms, confirmed in a tweet on Monday that a glitch was behind the issue.
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CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGE HUOBI STOPS TAKING NEW MAINLAND CUSTOMERS
Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global said on Sunday it had stopped taking new mainland customers from Friday and would end contracts with mainland clients by the end of the year to comply with local regulations.
China’s regulators intensified a crackdown on Friday, banning cryptocurrency transactions and mining, clarifying that overseas exchanges are barred from providing services to mainland investors via the internet.
Huobi Global said in a statement it will conduct an orderly exit of its existing mainland clients on the premise that safety of their assets is guaranteed.
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MORE POSITIVES
“El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin has brought concern from officials in developed nations as well as from international NGOs who often describe Bitcoin as having few redeeming public interest attributes.”
Despite the risks, a number of nations have already hinted that they too may soon open doors to crypto and deviate from the cautious approach to the e-currency taken by many of the world’s central banks.
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POSITIVES OF ADOPTING BITCOIN
Maggie Wu, the CEO of blockchain venture capital firm Krypital Group, says challenges in Bitcoin adoption do exist, however told Forbes she’s optimistic about its future.
“I believe that Bitcoin adoption is conceivable, especially in the relatively small developing countries with inadequate monetary systems where the recognition of digital currencies there is relatively high,” she said.
“The blockchain-related infrastructure that can carry digital currencies in most Central and South American countries and regions is not complete, including wallets, exchanges, etc. This is also the direction of our investment focus. We think there is huge potential and value here for fostering crypto adoption throughout the region.
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FINANCIAL RISKS PART 3
El Salvador’s economy relies heavily on the remittance market, representing around 20 percent of the nation’s GBP, or around $6 billion annually, according to Forbes.
Around 95 percent of remittances are sent from Salvadorans working in the US to their families back in their native country.
But service charge fees for such transfers can make up a significant chunk of the portion sent, particularly with smaller transfer amounts.
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FINANCIAL RISKS PART 2
But Bukele has argued that adopting Bitcoin will allow more Salvadorians, about 70 percent of whom don’t have bank accounts, into the formal economy.
“Who’d be against something that helps the people and doesn’t do any harm?” he said of his critics.
“They’re probably politically motivated.”He also argued that it would make it faster and cheaper to receive money from family living abroad.