The Guardian - Cryptocurrency News Sites

Demand for the cryptocurrency surges during NovemberThe price of bitcoin has hit an all-time-high of almost $20,000 three years after the cryptocurrency last spiked to that level.One bitcoin was worth $19,850.11 (£14,880) on Monday afternoon, according to CoinDesk, a bitcoin price index. By Monday evening its value fell back to about $19,223. Continue reading... […]

Premier League footballer is latest celebrity to have name used without their knowledgeMarcus Rashford is the latest celebrity to be exploited by companies selling unregulated investments to consumers.In a report circulated online, the England and Manchester United footballer is said to have found a “wealth loophole” that he wants to share.A UK-based firm sent out emails suggesting Rashford and other famous names endorsed bitcoin investments.The sale of search terms including celebrity names alongside the word bitcoin is lucrative to Google, with the firm sometimes charging advertisers in excess of $5 (£3.75) a click.Investors who responded to bitcoin trading scheme adverts were contacted by a forex trading scheme in Cyprus, or found themselves registering with unauthorised schemes subject to FCA warnings. Continue reading... […]

World’s biggest cryptocurrency has become more attractive to investors in Covid crisisThe price of bitcoin has broken through $19,000 for the first time in almost three years, taking the world’s biggest cryptocurrency close to its all-time high of just under $20,000.Bitcoin has surged by almost 40% in November and is up about 160% this year. It reached a peak of just under $20,000 in December 2017, before crashing spectacularly, losing a quarter of its value in a single day. Continue reading... […]

Four-fold rise since March edges towards all-time record as cryptocurrency gains greater acceptanceBitcoin, the world’s best known cryptocurrency, jumped above $17,000 to a three-year high on Tuesday as a growing number of investors backed it as an alternative to other assets.The currency climbed more than 4% to $17,492, its highest level since December 2017 and more than four times higher than the price in March when heavy selling sent its value below $4,000.Bitcoin is the first, and the biggest, 'cryptocurrency' – a decentralised tradeable digital asset. The lack of any central authority oversight is one of the attractions.  Continue reading... […]

DoJ is suing for formal forfeiture of funds after tracking down the person holding themThe US government has seized more than $1bn worth of bitcoins connected to the shuttered darknet marketplace Silk Road and is suing for formal forfeiture of the funds.The case is the biggest cryptocurrency seizure in history, and explains why the bitcoins changed hands this week. Analysts had noticed the transfer on the public blockchain and speculated that it was either due to an unknown Silk Road co-conspirator attempting to cash out, or because the funds had been stolen by hackers. Continue reading... […]

Funds have lain dormant since darknet site founder Ross Ulbricht was jailed in 2013A billion dollars worth of bitcoins linked to the shuttered darknet market Silk Road has changed hands for the first time in seven years, prompting renewed speculation about the fate of the illicit fortune.Almost 70,000 bitcoins stored in the account which, like all bitcoin wallets, is visible to the public, had lain untouched since April 2013. The website was shut down by an FBI raid six months after they were deposited, and they have not moved since. Continue reading... […]

Affiliates of Institute of Public Affairs are working at university’s blockchain hub, which has received $6m in RMIT funding despite university’s job cuts Staff at RMIT University have expressed concern about the level of funding flowing to its blockchain research body and the links it shares with the Institute of Public Affairs.The Blockchain Innovation Hub has received about $6m from RMIT and benefitted from hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding from the federal government since it was launched in September 2017. Related: Tim Wilson helped IPA and solicited Liberal party endorsement while in human rights position Join our team on the Australian Research Council Discovery Project 'Public Finance and Cryptocurrencies'https://t.co/sH4TgXdboD@RMITBusRes @ResearchRMIT @cryptoeconomico @profjasonpotts @Chrisberg @SincDavidson @AMLane_au Related: Coalition government's grants for renovations and building criticised by economists and backbench MPs Continue reading... […]

Coronavirus has accelerated the shift away from banknotes – central banks must act fast to catch upAs the Covid-19 crisis accelerates the long-term shift away from cash (at least in tax-compliant, legal transactions), official discussions about digital currencies are heating up. Between the impending launch of Facebook’s Libra and China’s proposed central-bank digital currency, events now could reshape global finance for a generation. A recent report from the G30 argues that if central banks want to shape the outcome, they need to start moving fast.Much is at stake, including global financial stability and control of information. Financial innovation, if not carefully managed, is often at the root of a crisis, and the dollar gives the US significant monitoring and sanctions capabilities. Dollar dominance is not just about what currency is used, but also about the systems that clear transactions and, from China to Europe, there is a growing desire to challenge this. This is where a lot of the innovation is taking place. Related: Will coronavirus mean the demise of banknotes? | Howard Davies Continue reading... […]

Beloved by Silicon Valley tycoons and tyranny-fearing libertarians, are cities atop the waves Earth’s next frontier?A white steel pole rises out of the sea off the Caribbean coast of Panama, poking above the waves like the funnel of a sunken steamship. Launched into the water last month, this is no shipwreck, but the base of what will soon become a floating home and, in the eyes of its makers, the first step towards building a brave new post-Covid-19 society, out on the open ocean.“Coronavirus is an opportunity to show the world that what we’re building is actually going to be very useful in the future,” says Chad Elwartowski, in a recent video post from his beachside base in Panama. The Michigan-born software engineer turned bitcoin trader is a leading figure in the seasteading movement, a libertarian group dedicated to building independent floating cities on the high seas. Along with the bunker builders and survivalist preppers, their long-held ambitions have been bolstered by the current global pandemic. “No matter if you’re scared of the virus or the reaction to the virus,” he adds, “living out on the ocean will be helpful for these situations.”It is not the first time Elwartowski has attempted to realise his dream of a floating future. In April last year, he and his Thai partner Supranee Thepdet (aka Nadia Summergirl), were forced to flee their first floating home off the coast of Thailand, just moments before it was raided by the Thai navy. They had constructed what they declared to be “the first seastead” 12 nautical miles from Phuket, but the authorities decided that the six metre-wide fibreglass cabin, perched on top of a floating pole, posed a threat to Thailand’s sovereignty. It was an offence punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty. “The couple announced on social media declaring their autonomy beyond the jurisdiction of any courts or law of any countries, including Thailand,” said Rear Admiral Vithanarat Kochaseni, adding that they had invited others to join them. “We see such action as deteriorating Thailand’s independence.”A new kind of government arises, born in Earth’s last free places, fated to advance the human frontier Related: What lies beneath: our love affair with living underwater Over the next 40 years, the world is expected to build 230bn square metres in new construction. This could be a way to accommodate that growth Continue reading... […]