Future Timeline

Tech-savvy workers opt for bitcoin in their pay packets

May 18, 2021 — 8.00pm

More employers are climbing on the bitcoin bandwagon as it goes mainstream, offering their workers an option to take home some of their pay in the cryptocurrency.

Although their numbers remain relatively small, more are expected to quickly follow, particularly fintech companies who often have many young, tech-savvy employees that are eager to take part in the crypto gold rush.

Comparison website Finder plans to start offering its 350 employees an opportunity to take up to 25 per cent of their pay in bitcoin.

Bitcoin bill payments company Living Room of Satoshi is going one better, offering its half-a-dozen employees an option to take home all of their salary in the cryptocurrency. Most employees are taking between 5 per cent and 20 per cent of their salary as bitcoin.

The company’s payslips and accounting is done in Australian dollars, with the employer converting it to bitcoin for employees who choose the option.

Read more: https://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/ ... 57si5.html

I'm not even sure that's a good idea given how volatile Bitcoin is right now. It wouldn't make any sense to pay employees something that is dropping in value fast, like it's doing right now UNLESS the employer increases the amount to compensate.

tesla made an announcement recently they are planning to not use bitcoin for now citing the environmental impact crypto is having.

Cryptocurrency prices continue to tumble as bitcoin falls below $40,000

Wed, 19 May 2021

A cryptocurrency sell-off that began last week when Elon Musk turned against bitcoin continued on Wednesday, with the world's biggest crypto dropping below $40,000 (£28,203).

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was down 10.4% to $40,330.92 on Wednesday morning. Earlier in the session, it had fallen below the symbolically significant level of $40,000, dropping as low as $38,787.

The latest price decline coincided with a renewed crackdown on cryptocurrencies from the People’s Bank of China. The central bank issued a statement on its WeChat account reiterating that financial institutions should not accept or deal with cryptocurrencies, the Financial Times reported.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/bitcoin-price ... 43749.html

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My mom's cousin invested his life savings in Bitcoin or Etherium or something. He saw three youtube videos about mining and day trading and went nuts. His poor kids are watching their money go down the drain. Yikes.
While he is getting ruined by his terrible investing skills and the dramatic shifting prices of Bitcoin (thanks, Tesla) I'm more nervous about the environmental impact from all that mining. I hope it falls out of favor, if ever. It's too hectic to tell right now though

New cryptocurrency Chia blamed for hard drive shortages

Wed 26 May 2021 15.01 BST

A new cryptocurrency is being blamed for shortages of hard drives and other storage systems, as speculators buy up critical components in anticipation of a price rise.

Chia is the creation of Bram Cohen, the entrepreneur behind the BitTorrent file-sharing system. It aims to improve on more popular cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum by removing the incentives to burn massive amounts of electricity.

But Chia’s replacement for bitcoin’s energy-intensive “proof of work” system, called “proof of space and time”, instead requires users to devote massive amounts of hard drive space to generating and storing random numbers, with rewards doled out to those with the most space used up. That, plus the skyrocketing value of the cryptocurrency, has led to huge demand for the specific types of hard drive that work best with the system.

Most affected have been large hard drives, which are used to store the random numbers, and a specific type of solid-state drive (SSD) called an NVMe drive, which is used to generate the random numbers. Prices for both types of drive have noticeably gone up in the past week, according to David Gerard, a cryptocurrency expert and author of Libra Shrugged. The problem is particularly acute for SSDs, which have a limited number of uses before they break.

“Chia claims to do decentralisation just like bitcoin: waste some resource as unfakeable proof that you are claiming a share of the winnings,” Gerard says. “Instead of just wasting electricity, Chia chews through SSDs at a fantastic rate, and also has thoroughly wrecked the market for big HDs.”

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... -shortages

El Salvador president wants Bitcoin as legal tender
Source: AP

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced in a recorded message played at a Bitcoin conference in Miami Saturday that next week he will send proposed legislation to the country’s congress that would make the cryptocurrency legal tender in the Central American nation.

The 39-year-old president, who has maintained approval ratings above 90% and made Twitter his preferred way of communicating, characterized it as an idea that could help El Salvador move forward.

“Next week I will send to Congress a bill that will make Bitcoin a legal tender in El Salvador,” Bukele said. “In the short term this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy and in the medium and long term we hope that this small decision can help us push humanity at least a tiny bit into the right direction.”

The U.S. dollar is El Salvador’s official currency. About one quarter of El Salvador’s citizens live in the United States and last year, despite the pandemic, they sent home more than $6 billion in remittances.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump ... 41d97048cd

El Salvador could become first country to use Bitcoin as legal tender under president's plans

Sunday 6 June 2021

El Salvador could become the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender under proposals by its president.

The move will "generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy", President Nayib Bukele said in a recorded message to the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, Florida.

The cryptocurrency could also be "the fastest growing way" to transfer remittances - or money sent home from abroad - if El Salvador's congress approves legislation he plans to send its way next week, the 39-year-old leader added on Twitter.



https://news.sky.com/story/el-salvador- ... s-12326373

El Salvador becomes first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender after passing law
Published Tue, Jun 8 202111:45 PM EDTUpdated 12 Min Ago
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/09/el-salv ... ender.html

El Salvador’s has become the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.
Lawmakers in the Central American country’s Congress voted by a “supermajority” in favor of the Bitcoin Law.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

El Salvador has become the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.

Lawmakers in the Central American country’s Congress voted by a “supermajority” in favor of the Bitcoin Law, receiving 62 out of 84 of the legislature’s vote.

The price of bitcoin was up 5% to $34,239.17 shortly after the vote.

Bitcoin crackdown sends graphics cards prices plummeting in China after Sichuan terminated mining operations

21 Jun, 2021

China’s ongoing bitcoin mining crackdown has sent the price of graphics cards plummeting, making the critical component in mining operations much more affordable in the country but leaving miners with fewer places to set up shop.

The Nvidia Quadro P1000 model, an entry-level graphics card, was going for 2,429 yuan (US$376) on a JD.com franchise store on Monday morning, down from a peak of nearly 3,000 yuan in early May, before the State Council’s financial watchdog vowed to crack down on bitcoin mining.

The Asus RTX3060, a more advanced card, was down to 4,699 yuan on Monday from its peak of 13,499 yuan in May on Tmall.

https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/articl ... hina-after

The US may get a central bank Crypto currency soon.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/20/the-fed ... rency.html

Ken_J wrote: ↑Sat Jun 26, 2021 3:05 am The US may get a central bank Crypto currency soon.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/20/the-fed ... rency.html

One of the steps towards a completely cashless society. There is a possibility that fiat currency will be replaced with something like a stable cryptocurrency backed by central banks.

Washington Wakes up to Crypto Influence Amid Infrastructure Fight
by Victoria Guida
August 9, 2021

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/0 ... ght-502792

Introduction:

(Politico) An intense infrastructure bill brawl between Bitcoin advocates, Congress and the White House has revealed a new power player in Washington that’s starting to find its footing: the cryptocurrency lobby.

The industry was first caught off guard when lawmakers and the Biden administration targeted it with new tax rules tucked into the bipartisan Senate infrastructure bill announced last month. But it fought back with a vengeance, showing that startup digital trading platforms and other firms could rally a small army of recently requisitioned trade associations, lobbyists and public relations experts to put up a real defense. Still, they failed to secure changes as of Sunday night.

The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden of Oregon, took on the White House to shield virtual currency players, as did the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

Unlike Wall Street banks, the industry was able to direct thousands of crypto enthusiasts on social media to join the battle by providing a real-time play-by-play of Senate negotiations. Jack Dorsey, the top executive of financial payments company Square, called on his 5.6 million Twitter followers to fight bill language that he called “unworkable.” Even Kiss bassist Gene Simmons was involved, announcing in a tweet that he supported an amendment to protect the industry.

“This has definitely been a wake-up call to crypto,” said Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association, an industry lobbying group. “But on the flip side, I think Washington is starting to see that crypto is more of a force than anybody ever anticipated.”

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Regulating Crypto is Essential to Ensuring its Global Legitimacy
by Henrik and William Noffke
August 16, 2021

https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/16/regul ... egitimacy/

Extract:

(TechCrunch) The past decade has seen several structural changes in know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations in Europe and globally. High-profile money laundering cases and the penetration of illicit funds into global markets have caught the attention of regulators and the public, and rightfully so.

To address the challenges of the fast-evolving blockchain ecosystem, the European Union has begun to introduce more stringent financial regulations that further bolster the regulatory system in order to improve licensing models. Many member states now regulate crypto assets individually, and Germany is leading the way in being the first to regulate cryptocurrencies.

…At the heart of the issue is the fundamental misunderstanding that blockchain transactions are anonymous or untraceable. Blockchain transactions are pseudo-anonymous and, in most circumstances, can offer more traceability and transparency than traditional banking. Illegal activity conducted on the blockchain will always be far more traceable than cash transactions, for example.

….Activity can already be monitored through a collective database of users known to abide by international standards. This knowledge of approved users and vendors allows the industry to spot misconduct or malfeasance far sooner than usual, singling out and restricting illegitimate users.

By means of a well-thought-through tweaking of the suggested regulations, a verified network can collectively be built to ensure trust and properly leverage blockchain’s potential, while barring those bad actors intent on corrupting or manipulating the system. That would be a huge step forward in prosecuting international financial crimes and ensuring crypto’s legitimacy globally.

El Salvador becomes first country to adopt Bitcoin as an official currency

Sep 7, 2021, 4:58am EDT

As of today, Bitcoin is an official currency of El Salvador alongside the US dollar, after the Central American country became the first to adopt the cryptocurrency as legal tender. At three minutes to midnight local time, the country’s populist president Nayid Bukele tweeted that the country was about to “make history” with the move, after previously confirming that it had purchased 400 Bitcoins, the equivalent of around $20.9 million at today’s prices.

Supporters argue the move will make it cheaper and easier for migrants to send money home to El Salvador, which is important given such remittances account for over 24 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to figures from the World Bank reported by CNBC. There are also hopes the move could improve citizens’ access to financial services. The CEO of Strike, a digital finance company that helped with the logistics of the new law, told CNN that over 70 percent of the country’s “active population” do not currently have a bank account.

But there are fears that the adoption of such a historically volatile currency could harm Salvadorans, and risk economic stability. Bitcoin hit a historic high of over $60,000 in April, before losing nearly half its value in a crash later in the summer. The law has contributed to rating agency Moody’s decision to downgrade El Salvador’s debt rating, according to The Financial Times, and the IMF has also warned about its potentially destabilizing effects.

The law means citizens will be able to pay taxes in Bitcoin, and shops will be able to display prices in the digital currency. Money exchanged into the currency will also not be subject to capital gains tax. CNBC notes that the move makes El Salvador the first country to officially have Bitcoin on its balance sheet and to hold it as part of its reserves.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/7/22660 ... ivo-wallet

Treasury Sanctions Cryptocurrency Exchange to Fight Ransomware Attacks
by Makena Kelly
September 21, 2021

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/21/2268 ... l-pipeline

Introduction:

(The Verge) The Treasury Department issued its first sanctions against a cryptocurrency exchange on Tuesday as part of a series of actions targeting the use of digital currencies in ransomware attacks.

Tuesday’s sanctions will block all trades involving the cryptocurrency exchange Suex and US entities. According to the Treasury Department, around 40 percent of all Suex transactions involve illegal activities. The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is also issuing a new advisory warning that it may issue new sanctions against cryptocurrency exchanges, cyber insurance companies, and other financial institutions that facilitate ransomware payments.

“Ransomware and cyber-attacks are victimizing businesses large and small across America and are a direct threat to our economy,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement on Tuesday. “We will continue to crack down on malicious actors.”

I'm not sure if this is the right topic area so my apologies. Is anyone looking into new cryptos for future viability to profit like Bitcoin? I love the fact this forum called Bitcoin way back.

I downloaded Pi and was wondering if anyone on here has Pi too. In my opinion it looks like something that could be useful though it requires an invite code.