The Bitcoin, Blockchain, and Cryptocurrency Thread

[pharvey]

Taken From: - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... x-collapse

"The crypto lender BlockFi has become the sector’s latest big operator to declare bankruptcy, as the fallout of the collapse of offshore cryptocurrency exchange FTX continues to spread.

BlockFi, which operates in a similar fashion to a conventional bank, paying interest on savings and using customer deposits to fund lending, says it has $256.9m cash in hand. According to court documents, its creditors include FTX itself, to which it owes $275m, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to which it owes $30m.

In a statement announcing its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, BlockFi said: “This action follows the shocking events surrounding FTX and associated corporate entities and the difficult but necessary decision we made as a result to pause most activities on our platform."

[buksida]

No surprise but Thailand doing what Thailand does best ... a clampdown ...

SEC readies stricter rules for digital assets
The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing to impose more stringent regulations on digital assets to mirror the global market, with the aim of increasing investor protection.

This year the digital asset market has suffered through several events that have dented confidence in the industry, its players and regulations. These included the collapse of the Luna cryptocurrency network, the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin of the Terra blockchain, and Three Arrows Capital, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency hedge fund.

Notably, the bankruptcy of lending platform operator Celsius Network affected Thai investors using Zipmex.

...

In Thailand, the SEC is in the process of improving digital asset governance.

The regulator set up a working committee consisting of relevant government agencies and private sector representatives to study and suggest ways to improve the laws to adapt to the changing environment and growing risks of digital assets. Among the recommendations is the use of DLT in the business sector.

In addition, the SEC is monitoring new potential risks and has vowed to improve regulation to be more effective in supervising the industry and enhancing investor protection in areas such as protecting investors' assets, governing advertisements and product promotions, preventing conflicts of interest, and strengthening cybersecurity.

These changes are in line with the supervision of foreign and international regulators, said the SEC's Fintech Department.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/24 ... tal-assets

[Lost]

They finally arrested Sam Bankman-Fried yesterday (or day before). Took long enough. Wire fraud, money laundering etc.

20221214_184226.jpg (54.14 KiB) Viewed 21596 times

[buksida]

JIB introduces digital coin for loyalty scheme
IT retailer JIB Computer Group has embraced corporate blockchain technology as it pushes its utility token JBC coin to serve as a new marketing tool and draw the interest of younger generations.

The firm also aims to launch an initial public offering (IPO) by the third quarter of this year.

"For this year, JIB will pursue sustainable growth, reach out to more customers, increase online sales and go beyond the IT business," Somyot Chaowalit, chief executive of JIB, told the Bangkok Post.

The company is investing 10 million baht to develop its JBC blockchain network and JBC coin, which can replace JIB reward points as a new loyalty programme, he said.

"We want to replace reward points with JBC coin by the first quarter," said Mr Somyot.

The use of blockchain technology and virtual coins allows users to transfer coins peer-to-peer, which supports usage flexibility while serving as a marketing tool for JIB, he said.

The JBC coin, which is not listed on an exchange, can be used to support JIB's business ecosystem.


https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/24 ... lty-scheme

[buksida]

This will be another "farang mai dai" thing if it ever rolls out to retail because we can't have the digital wallet if it is linked to a digital ID ...

Krungsri upbeat on digital baht
The Bank of Thailand is working with three payment service providers to launch its retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), a novel financial infrastructure it claims will improve the convenience and efficiency of financial transactions with lower costs.

The central bank is collaborating with Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), and 2C2P (Thailand) Co to test the retail CBDC.

Testing in a regulatory sandbox is expected to take place from June to August this year, said Sam Tanskul, managing director of Krungsri Innovate, a corporate venture capital arm under Krungsri.

Krungsri is one of the first financial institutions to start operating a pilot test for retail CBDC.

In the pilot test, dubbed CBDC Krungsri, the bank invited its staff and around 100 merchants located near Krungsri's headquarters to test the digital currency. The bank expects the number of participants to increase and set a target of 2,000 staff joining the pilot project.

Mr Sam said staff members participating in CBDC Krungsri need to install a mobile banking app and add money to it as an e-wallet, then transfer the money into a form of digital money called "digital baht". One CBDC is worth one baht.

Users can then pay for goods and services at participating stores by scanning a QR code.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/25 ... gital-baht

[Lost]

They finally arrested Sam Bankman-Fried yesterday (or day before). Took long enough. Wire fraud, money laundering etc.

Found guilty on all seven counts. Faces up to 110 years in prison. From 30 year old crypto-billionaire... to Jerome's plaything behind bars.

[2/cb]

They finally arrested Sam Bankman-Fried yesterday (or day before). Took long enough. Wire fraud, money laundering etc.

Found guilty on all seven counts. Faces up to 110 years in prison. From 30 year old crypto-billionaire... to Jerome's plaything behind bars.

Pleased he’s been convicted. I don’t understand crypto at all, and it seemed to me that it’s just a giant scam. Can someone more informed than me enlighten us?

[STEVE G]

They finally arrested Sam Bankman-Fried yesterday (or day before). Took long enough. Wire fraud, money laundering etc.

Found guilty on all seven counts. Faces up to 110 years in prison. From 30 year old crypto-billionaire... to Jerome's plaything behind bars.

Pleased he’s been convicted. I don’t understand crypto at all, and it seemed to me that it’s just a giant scam. Can someone more informed than me enlighten us?

Yesterday I was reading an article by a journalist who interviewed Bankman-Fried at the time when he was supposed to be a genius crypto billionaire and he said he started to get warning signs when he couldn't get a straight answer to the question, "What is crypto-currency for?".

[buksida]

In a nutshell, 'crypto' can be loosely defined as decentralized digital assets with programmability and software layers (smart contracts) enabling more functionality than simple cash. Labeling it a scam is a common misconception arising from ignorance on the subject - people are scammers, not technology.

Edit: the attraction for younger generations is that banks and governments can't control it which drives demand and prices for those seeking investments beyond traditional assets that banks and governments do control.

[Lost]

Plenty of profit to be made it you know what you're doing (I don't) and get a bit of luck along the way.

If you bought into bitcoin beginning of the year, you've doubled your money. If you bought into it April 2021, you've halved your money. Imo there's not much rhyme or reason to it. Crypto hit previous highs during covid (folk in front of screens all day).

It spikes a little sometimes when a government passes some law beneficial to crypto, then dumps some when it gets reversed.

For me, crypto is unpredictable.

[Lost]

Labeling it a scam is a common misconception arising from ignorance on the subject - people are scammers, not technology.

I agree with this.

[buksida]

Indeed, calling crypto a scam is like calling the internet a scam (which people and the media did in its infancy). There are scammers on it and you need to be aware of them.

[Lost]

Indeed, calling crypto a scam is like calling the internet a scam (which people and the media did in its infancy).

Got this image of a forum member now sinking some dough on shitcoins ('trendy bitcoins') and the subsequent private message to Buksi a week later, "Hey mate, what the hell!"

[buksida]

Got this image of a forum member now sinking some dough on shitcoins ('trendy bitcoins') and the subsequent private message to Buksi a week later, "Hey mate, what the hell!"

Shitcoins are a gamble but they generally follow big brother Bitcoin, with markets lagging by a few months. Dogecoin is up 13% over the past fortnight and Solana is up 33% in a week (since SBF was convicted), they all seem to be moving at the moment.

[buksida]

SEC approves spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

This is a big deal because it allows major financial institutions to get exposure to BTC (and they don't get much bigger than BlackRock and Fidelity). The big boys are coming for crypto, the bull market is finally here again!

Why a US bitcoin ETF is a game-changer for crypto
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday approved exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the price of bitcoin in a game-changer for the cryptocurrency industry which has been trying for more than a decade to launch such a product.

Multiple asset managers have applied for bitcoin ETFs since 2013, but the SEC rejected them on the grounds they would be vulnerable to market manipulation. In August, however, a court found the SEC was wrong to reject Grayscale Investments' bitcoin ETF application, forcing the agency to rethink its stance.

On Wednesday, SEC approved applications from ARK Investments, BlackRock (BLK.N) and Fidelity, among others. Here is how the products work and why the approval is seen as a big deal:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/why- ... 024-01-10/