Among the conditions submitted for approval to District Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York, Bankman-Fried will be given a new phone that won’t have internet access and will be limited to text messages and voice calls. He will also be provided a new laptop with limited functionality that will be allowed access only to approved websites.
As part of the ceremony of the announcement, according to the Polygon team, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain, was granted the privilege of initiating the first transaction on the new zkEVM, livestreamed at ETHGlobal at 4:30 p.m. Central European Time (10:30 a.m. ET).
The decision, which is subject to a bankruptcy court’s approval, comes after a DFPI investigation found the now-bankrupt crypto lender “failed to provide timely notification” to borrowers that they could stop repaying their loans after the company had paused withdrawals on its platform. As a result, BlockFi’s California borrowers remitted at least $103,471 worth of loan repayments to the lender’s servicer.
President Nayib Bukele is promoting El Salvador as the “new land of the free,” as part of an invitation for foreigners to move to the Latam country. Bukele tweeted a poster in vintage American style that included several advantages that the country brings its citizen, including the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender.
President Nayib Bukele is inviting people to move to El Salvador. Bukele posted a poster in vintage American style where he depicts a classic American family in a living room, calling his country “the new land of the free,” a motto usually applicable to the U.S.
The poster serves to exhibit the achievements that, according to him, his government has reached, principally in the security and monetary policy areas. The poster calls for people to move to El Salvador, explaining that there are “no fentanyl crisis,” “no shootings” and “no lootings,” as a product of the tight security measures that the government has taken during 2022 and 2023.
Also, the poster features the adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender, with El Salvador being the first country in the world that presents this option to tourists and residents. Also, president Bukele has made statements about easing the way of migrants by proposing to give Salvadoran citizenship via bitcoin investments.
To some, the poster appears to celebrate the new face that Bukele has brought to El Salvador, making a clear comparison to what the U.S. represented back in the sixties. While heavily criticized for possible violations of human rights in its battle against gangs, Bukele has made security a priority in the country. According to reports, El Salvador finished 2022 with its homicide rate plummeting by 56.8%. Also, Bukele celebrated a milestone of 300 days without homicides on February 14.
However, to get to this point, Bukele had to establish an exception state, with curfews for the population while waging an all-out war with the Maras Salvatruchas, the biggest national gang, since March 2022.
In the poster, great weather and beaches are also promoted. Bukele had stated before that the recovery of tourism in the country, one of the fastest in the world after the Covid-19 pandemic, was in part thanks to the inclusion of bitcoin in the economy of the country and also because of surf.
Bukele has also announced significant investments in landmark beaches like El Zonte, known as Bitcoin Beach due to its adoption. In August, the Salvadoran government destined an investment of $203 million to build support infrastructure for the region including a new drainage system, bridges, and bicycle roads.
What do you think about Bukele’s ‘new land of the free’ poster? Tell us in the comments section below.
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National cryptocurrency exchanges have paused their activities in Venezuela according to reports, as the anti-corruption probe on national crypto watchdog Sunacrip and unlawful oil sales continues in the country. Tarek William Saab, attorney general, confirmed the involvement of the institution in a parallel scheme that involved the sale of Venezuelan oil to third parties, mentioning Sunacrip as part of the criminal structure.
The “Crypto-PDVSA” anti-corruption probe, named after the state-owned oil company, is still investigating the involvement of Sunacrip, the Venezuelan crypto watchdog, in the illegal sale of oil to third parties.
According to recent reports, the probe has resulted in the pause of all trading activity of national cryptocurrency exchanges, with no date for resuming operations announced.
Ana Ojeda, a Venezuelan cryptocurrency lawyer, also known as “Criptolawyer” on Twitter, stated:
Venezuelan exchanges close operations by orders of Sunacrip. Supposedly temporary measures while the institution is restructured.
Ojeda also confirmed that registered miners from all over the country were forced to pause their operations while the probe continues, stating that “digital miners from all over the country, registered with the agency, have also been turned off.”
Cryptobuyer, one of the main exchanges in the country, issued a press release in which it stated that it would be pausing its activities according to orders issued by Sunacrip, but hours later, it issued yet another release that denied this, stating that it was reporting about a temporal stop in its own operations.
Tarek William Saab, attorney general of Venezuela, officially confirmed the involvement of Sunacrip in parallel operations that successfully allowed the sale of oil to third parties. In a press conference offered on March 25, Saab explained, in part, how this corruption scheme operated. He declared that PDVSA officials used their influence to execute oil sales that were parallel to the ones executed by the state-owned oil company.
After these operations, Sunacrip did not deliver the proceeds of the sale of this oil to PDVSA. Saab said the money was used to buy cryptocurrency assets and injected into other activities in order to launder it. However, Saab did not say whether cryptocurrencies were used as a payment method for the illegally sold crude.
There are currently 11 people apprehended in relation to these crimes, including former Sunacrip head Joselit Ramirez.
What do you think about the pause of trading activities of cryptocurrency exchanges in Venezuela and the Crypto-PDVSA probe? Tell us in the comment section below.
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The luxury fashion brand said on Twitter Monday that it’s teaming up with Yuga Labs, “blurring the boundaries between the physical and digital.”
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Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, has criticized bitcoin, stating it is not a currency. The economist, known for his vocal opinions about crypto and for the promotion of dollarization initiatives in Latam, blasted bitcoin, saying it has a “fundamental value of zero,” and that it is a “highly speculative asset.”
Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins, has criticized bitcoin and its value in one of his latest tweets. The economist, known to be very vocal about the negative effect that crypto can have on world economies, contested bitcoin’s utility, stating:
Bitcoin is not a currency. It’s just a highly speculative asset with a fundamental value of zero.
Hanke illustrated his opinion with a cartoon drawn by Robert Rich, as part of his work for Hedgeye Risk Management, where he compares other main fiat currencies including the dollar, the yen, and the euro, with bitcoin.
Responses from the bitcoin community to Hanke’s opinions came quickly. Digital artist Lucho Poletti, known for his bitcoin-focused work, tweeted a similar cartoon that depicted bitcoin as a better form of money than the fiat currencies that appeared in Robert Rich’s cartoon.
Others criticized Hanke’s opinion in writing, like Dr. Julian Hosp, CEO of decentralized finance app Cake Defi, who countered Hanke’s view, declaring:
Bitcoin has utility. We can argue how much, but it is definitely >0. There are undoubtedly some people who want its utility. Lastly, it is provably rare. Hence, your statement that bitcoin has zero value is 100% incorrect.
Hanke, as a promoter of currency boards and dollarization as a solution for inflation and devaluation problems in countries like Argentina, has criticized the adoption and function of bitcoin several times.
In June 2021, Hanke blasted the adoption of bitcoin in El Salvador as legal tender, saying it could cause the collapse of the country’s economy. At the time, he stated that all the dollars in El Salvador could be “vacuumed out” of the country, leaving citizens with only bitcoin.
This criticism intensified in October 2021, when he stated that Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, was “playing fast and [loose] with El Salvador’s tax dollars again,” when he announced buying the bitcoin dip while purchasing 150 bitcoin.
What do you think about Steve Hanke and his criticism of bitcoin adoption and its fundamental value? Tell us in the comments section below.
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Tim Draper, a venture capitalist and bitcoin millionaire, has included bitcoin as part of a series of cash management recommendations offered to startup founders. Draper recommended having at least two payrolls worth of cash in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to avoid being affected by bank failures like the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
Tim Draper, a well-known venture capitalist and crypto enthusiast, has recommended bitcoin as part of his cash diversification advice for business founders. Draper, known for winning an auction of 30,000 bitcoins from the U.S. Marshals back in 2014, and for his bitcoin price predictions, posted a document on Twitter that comments on several considerations businesses should make in the face of bank failures.
The document, which presents seven different ways to avoid a cash crunch, states:
Since boards and management are responsible for making payroll, even in times of crisis, it is important to build out contingency plans for bank failures that could happen more and more often if government continues to print money and whipsaw interest rates to counteract inflation caused by the over-printing of money.
Draper comments that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) showed the importance of having a sound contingency strategy in uncertain times.
Per different reports, many tech startups that were dependent on Silicon Valley Bank faced a period of uncertainty when the bank collapsed, not having the necessary liquidity to complete payroll payments. However, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) averted the situation and made customers’ deposits whole under a systemic risk exception approved by the Federal Reserve.
One of the key points in Draper’s cash management plan, which was designed with the help of Wharton school individuals, is the diversification of banking risk. Draper states that businesses can no longer rely on just one institution to manage their cash, advising to keep at least six months of short-term cash in two banks — one local and one global bank.
Also, Draper advises keeping at least two payrolls worth of cash in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, maintaining excess money in assets saleable for emergencies. He supports taking these measures by stating:
For the first time in many years, governments are taking over banks and governments themselves are at risk of becoming insolvent. Bitcoin is a hedge against a ‘domino’ run on the banks and on poor over-controlling governance.
What do you think about Tim Draper’s advice on keeping bitcoin as a hedge against bank failures? Tell us in the comment section below.
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Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin says the strength of the crypto ecosystem “has never been better or stronger.” He believes “more clarity” from regulators would be helpful for the crypto industry. “I think our industry has suffered from having two major factions lumped into one: the money-crypto faction … and the tech-crypto faction,” he explained.
Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin discussed the state of the crypto ecosystem, regulation, and whether ether (ETH) is a security in an interview with CNBC last Wednesday.
“The strength of our ecosystem has never been better or stronger,” he began. While noting that “There are certainly headwinds — some microeconomic, financial headwinds — out in the world,” as well as “banking issues for a small number of companies” in the crypto space, he emphasized: “The sizes of the conferences that are going on in Paris and Denver and Los Angeles have never been bigger.” The Ethereum co-founder added:
Once the builders come into our ecosystem to build essentially an alternative economy, they don’t leave. The speculators run in and they run out, but the building has never been better.
Commenting on why the prices of bitcoin and ether have been rising, he said: “Because they’re sound. Bitcoin is sound money. Ether is ultrasound money … the development, the use cases, the usability, the scalability in the Ethereum ecosystem — it’s never been better. It’s accelerating.” Lubin also noted that the possibility of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates less aggressively in the future has helped boost the prices of cryptocurrencies. “It’s an inflation hedge,” he stressed.
Regarding cryptocurrency regulation and the aggressive enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Ethereum co-founder opined:
I think more clarity, being more explicit would be helpful to our industry. I think our industry has suffered from having two major factions lumped into one: the money crypto faction … and the tech crypto faction, which is just building decentralized protocols infrastructure.
While noting that “Money crypto absolutely should be regulated” and “Money crypto people issued tokens that are rightly seen as securities,” he argued: “Tech crypto people are just technologists. We are just building infrastructure that the traditional economy can use, and our economy can use, and you don’t want to regulate innovation.”
Lubin also commented on regulators alleging that ether is a security. Responding to the claim made by the New York Attorney General in its lawsuit against crypto exchange Kucoin that ETH is a security, the Ethereum co-founder said: “Anybody can say anything, it doesn’t make it true.”
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has stated several times that all crypto tokens besides bitcoin are securities “because there’s a group in the middle and the public is anticipating profits based on that group.” Lubin argued:
People buy barrels of oil with the expectation of profit.
When asked whether he is confident that ether is not a security, the Ethereum co-founder replied: “I don’t think there’s any point to speculate on something that is extremely unlikely.”
There are differing opinions among U.S. regulators about whether ether should be classified as a security. SEC Chair Gensler believes that ETH is a security, while the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has stated multiple times that it is a commodity. However, both regulators agree that bitcoin is a commodity.
What do you think about the statements by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin? Let us know in the comments section below.
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