DeCenter – Blockchain and Bitcoin

2022-02-12 01:24:05 Russian government and central bank agree to treat Bitcoin as currency

The government and central bank in Russia have reached an agreement on how to regulate cryptocurrencies, according to a Tuesday announcement.

Russia’s government and central bank are now working on a draft law that will define crypto as an “analogue of currencies” rather than digital financial assets set to be launched on Feb. 18. Cryptocurrencies would function in the legal industry only if they have complete identification through the banking system or licensed intermediaries.

Kommersant noted that Bitcoin (BTC) transactions and possession of cryptocurrency in the Russian Federation are not prohibited; however, they must be done through a “digital currency exchange organizer” (a bank) or a peer-to-peer exchange licensed in the country.

The report also highlights that cryptocurrency transactions of more than 600,000 rubles (roughly $8,000) would have to be declared; otherwise, it could be considered a criminal act. Those who illegally accept cryptocurrencies as payment will incur fines.

This news comes after months of speculation about how the Russian government will handle digital currencies. While it is still unclear what this decision will mean for businesses and citizens in Russia, it seems that the country is slowly warming up to the idea of cryptocurrencies.

Related: Russian central bank registers nation’s first digital asset manager

In January, the Bank of Russia called for a nationwide crypto ban in a report that warned about the speculative nature of the industry. The bank also stated that financial firms should not facilitate crypto transactions as part of that proposal to ban digital assets.

However, the proposal generated opposition from the Russian Ministry of Finance. A few days after the central bank’s call for a ban, Ivan Chebeskov, a ministry official, said that the government should regulate crypto rather than prohibiting it entirely. He warned that a total ban might result in Russia falling behind in technology.

Reports have also emerged that President Vladimir Putin supports efforts to regulate the country’s crypto mining sector.

@DeCenterOrg Open / Comment

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2022-02-07 20:41:56 North Korean Nuclear Weapons Program Financed in Crypto: Report
A United Nations report has found that nuclear and ballistic missile programs in North Korea rely on financing from crypto.

North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs rely heavily on revenue from cyberattacks and cryptocurrency exchanges.

“According to a member state, DPRK cyber actors stole more than $50 million between 2020 and mid-2021 from at least three cryptocurrency exchanges in North America, Europe and Asia,” the report said.

While the illicit crypto industry is going strong in North Korea, other, more common sources of illegal revenue—like illicit luxury goods moving across the border—have been stymied by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Direct delivery by non-DPRK tankers to DPRK has ceased, probably in response to COVID-19 measures,” the report said.

North Korean crypto lifeline
This is not the first time the isolated and heavily sanctioned North Korean state has pivoted to cryptocurrencies for income.

Last month, Chainalysis data—which was also cited in the UN’s most recent report—found North Korea to have launched at least seven cyber attacks against cryptocurrency exchanges.

This activity generated almost $400 million worth of cryptocurrencies for the Hermit Kingdom.

This represented a significant increase from the previous year’s activity, which saw just four North Korea-affiliated cyber attacks against crypto platforms.

Chainalysis also found that once North Korea gained access to the targeted funds, the regime “began a careful laundering process to cover up and cash out.”

One of North Korea’s chief actors in the hunt for cryptocurrencies is Lazarus Group, a group of cybercriminals backed by the DPRK’s chief intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau.

Lazarus Group propelled itself into mainstream consciousness following North Korea’s infamous WannaCry and Sony Pictures cyberattacks, but since 2018, the group has stolen and laundered “massive sums of virtual currencies every year, typically in excess of $200 million,” according to Chainalysis.

In 2020, a report found that North Korea was also pivoting to Monero, a cryptocurrency designed to be totally anonymous. Open / Comment

2022-01-23 10:30:51 Mineplex.io is the most promising platform of 2022

While the market is full of hype around NFT, there are also projects in the crypto world that continue to work on fundamental things for the blockchain, and their tokens continue to grow steadily. We would like to draw your attention to one of these projects, which deals with the most important integration of blockchain with the world of banking - the Mineplex.io platform.

Mineplex launched their own blockchain with two native tokens, staking with a yield of 20% per month in PLEX tokens, a large marketplace with payment for cryptocurrency and unique financial instrument for commodity staking. Conducted the first transactions on the MinePlex cryptocard in PLEX tokens, bypassing fiat. This will become a trend in the next 5 years and will finally solve the problem with the daily use of cryptocurrency in real life.

For more convenient work the Mineplex mobile app is available for download on Google Play for Android and in the AppStore for IOS.

Recommend to get acquainted with Mineplex at the following links:

Telegram group: https://t.me/mineplex_en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mineplexio
Website: https://mineplex.io/ Open / Comment

2022-01-23 10:15:11 ‎ The Bitcoin (BTC) network has recorded a new all-time high mining difficulty of 26.643 trillion with an average hash rate of 190.71 exahash per second (EH/s) — signaling strong community support despite an ongoing bear market.

The Bitcoin network difficulty is determined by the overall computational power, which co-relates to the difficulty in confirming transactions and mining BTC. As evidenced by the blockchain.com data, the network difficulty saw a downfall between May and July 2021 due to various reasons including a blanket ban on crypto mining from China.

However, as the displaced miners resumed operations from other countries, the network difficulty saw a drastic recovery since August 2021. As a result, on Jan. 22, the BTC network recorded an ATH of 26.643 trillion.

@DeCenterOrg Open / Comment

2022-01-23 09:45:23 The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, tweeted that his country bought 410 BTC for $15 million. Having paid about $36,585 per coin, Bukele wrote, «Some guys are selling really cheap.»

The Salvadoran government has bought a total of 1 801 Bitcoins since the cryptocurrency was made legal tender in the country.

@DeCenterOrg Open / Comment

2022-01-21 12:10:09 Twitter Launches NFT Profile Pic Verification for Some iPhone Users

Twitter announced on Thursday that certain users will be able to import NFTs from their crypto wallets and post them as their profile pictures on the popular social media service.

For now, the service is only available to those who sign up for the "Labs" feature via the company's Twitter Blue subscription service. Twitter is also limiting the release to iOS users but says Android and web users will be able to see when a user changes their profile pics to an NFT.

An NFT is a type of token that essentially acts like a blockchain-based deed of ownership that can be linked to both physical and digital items, such as the profile picture avatars which have become popular on the social media platform among the tech crowd and even pro athletes and other celebrities.

"Once authenticated, the NFT will be displayed as a soft hexagon across all surfaces where your avatar is visible. When people tap on it, they can learn more about the art, its collection, provenance and more," said Twitter in release describing the new feature, which makes use of leading NFT marketplace OpenSea's API.

According to a Twitter spokesperson, the company is limiting the release to Blue subscribers for now in part to obtain feedback about the NFT feature and add updates as needed.

Another Twitter Blue video shows that users can connect their NFTs via various wallets, including MetaMask, Rainbow, and Coinbase. The company's Blue service, which costs $2.99/month in the U.S., offers a set of other features that Twitter bills as premium.

@DeCenterOrg Open / Comment

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START Open / Comment

2022-01-21 10:50:03 BTC ‘likely’ to repeat Q4 2020 move — 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week facing multiple hurdles but with strong internal support — can old resistance below $50,000 finally fall?

A correction event now almost in its third month is frustrating many, but conditions may soon be right for a fresh charge against opportunistic bears, an increasing number of analysts are saying.

With inflation running hot and United States lawmakers set to make the Bitcoin mining debate public this week, there are plenty of potential pitfalls in store.

Nonetheless, it’s beginning to feel like Bitcoin is at the point where it is capable of producing a classic surprise when the majority of the mainstream economy least expects it.

Cointelegraph takes a look at five factors worth paying attention to when charting BTC price action over the coming week.

Bitcoin retains key weekly close level
Bitcoin looks decidedly uninterested in tackling even local resistance levels as the week begins.

After a rangebound weekend with little unique price action, BTC/USD is putting in lower lows on short timeframes while avoiding key zones around $44,000.

With Wall Street closed for a holiday, Monday could shape up to offer more of the same before markets provide direction.

Bitcoin did, however, manage to close out the week at exactly the crucial point identified by trader and analyst Rekt Capital as useful for aiding bullish momentum.

“A Weekly Close above ~$43100 (black) would be a good sign of confirmation for BTC to continue higher from here,” he wrote Sunday alongside an accompanying price chart.

@DeCenterOrg Open / Comment

2022-01-20 23:37:06 iOS Twitter Blue subscribers can now set NFT as a profile picture.

https://twitter.com/twitterblue/status/1484226540984356864 Open / Comment