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It’s Blockchain Daily News (BDN), Edition 114!
I am Florin Adrian Oprea and my comments are marked FAO.
Fans’ Section
Do Not Go into Debt to Buy Bitcoin, You I****s
Allie Conti - Vice
As CNBC reported Monday, citing an Alabama securities regulator, people are actually taking out mortgages to invest in Bitcoin, perhaps hoping to turn $20,000 into their entire retirement fund. Meanwhile, the phrase "buy Bitcoin with credit card" was at least recently trending on Google. These are tempting gambles given that pensionless people (a.k.a. millennials) run the risk of spending all their savings before they die. But are they ones you should take?
FAO: Yeah, DON’T! We also addressed this topic yesterday.
Fed Chair Calls Bitcoin 'Highly Speculative Asset'
Jill Disis - CNN Money
Janet Yellen on Wednesday called the cryptocurrency a "highly speculative asset."
"It is not a stable source of value, and it doesn't constitute legal tender," she told reporters at her last press conference as leader of the central bank.
FAO: Said what? Called bitcoin an asset? I recall the Bank of France Governor, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, also declaring earlier this month: ‘It is a speculative asset. Its value and extreme volatility have no economic basis, and they are nobody’s responsibility,’
Oh, and Leo Melamed, Chairman Emeritus of CME, which are currently preparing to launch bitcoin futures on Monday, said last month that bitcoin is likely to become a new asset class in its own right.
So, then, it’s all clear now, bitcoin is an asset.
Deals, Investments & M&As
Overstock Chief Explores Sale To Fund Blockchain Venture
Chloe Cornish - Financial Times (subscription)
Overstock’s CEO Is Thinking About Quitting Retail And Going Full Crypto
John Detrixhe - Quartz
Overstock.com’s share price has surged more than 200% this year, propelled by a heady mix of online retailing, cryptocurrency mania, and a CEO who is openly considering offers for the business. CEO Patrick Byrne told the Financial Times (see above) that selling Overstock would provide enough capital to fund a non-profit enterprise, called De Soto Inc., that would use blockchain technology to protect informal ownership records.
FAO: What’s that famous phrase: “buy low sell high”? Oh, I’m just saying...
Indiegogo Goes Where Few Companies Dare: Into ICOs
Nathaniel Popper - NY Times
Indiegogo Now Lets You Fund Via Token Sale
John Biggs - TechCrunch
Indiegogo is now offering an ICO service alongside its partner, MicroVentures. The company will allow users to participate in SEC-complaint ICOs and will pick and choose startups that match certain exacting criteria.
FAO: You don’t say.
Colu Mixes VC & ICO for $14.5 Million Fundraise
Stan Higgins - CoinDesk
Blockchain startup Colu has secured $14.5 million in new funding from Israel’s IDB Group.
The investor contributed the funds both toward the company itself as well as the token presale for its Colu Local Network (CLN), which it unveiled last month.
*More content in this section on our Blockchain Daily News website.
Exchanges & Trading Venues
Coinbase Halts Ether & Litecoin Trading As Cryptocurrency Market Approaches $500 billion
Frank Chaparro - Business Insider
Bitfinex Says Platform Restored After Hack Attempt
Nour Al Ali - Livemint
Bitcoin Fever Exposes Crypto-Market Frailties
Jemima Kelly, Anna Irrera - Reuters
The latest outages show how the market infrastructure for an immature and volatile instrument that millions of investors have piled into may be ill-equipped to cope with sudden shifts in demand, which is worrying some investors.
FAO: The topic was previously touched by other media outlets and commented by us (use our FREE ARCHIVE). This issues were highly anticipated. Right? So then, what’s the solution?
BitPeople
Hedge Funds: Rise of the Machines
Stephen Gandel - Bloomberg Gadfly
The future of hedge funds is starting to look like there will be fewer managers. That doesn't mean there will be fewer funds.
*More content in this section on our Blockchain Daily News website.
Latest Developments & Agreements
Trial of Japan-Korea Blockchain Payment System Set to Start on Friday
Arnab Shome - Finance Magnates
Japanese and South Korean banks have announced that they will begin the anticipated testing the blockchain technology with US blockchain development firm Ripplenet this Friday.
FAO: In case you were wondering why XRP jumped so HIGH yesterday...here’s why.
Regulation
Who’s Looking to Cash In on the Bitcoin Boom Now? The Taxman
Eun-Young Jeong & Steven Russolillo - Wall Street Journal (subscription)
S.Korea To Consider Capital Gains Tax On Cryptocurrency Trading
Reuters
South Korea on Wednesday said it will consider taxing capital gains from trading of virtual coins, a government statement obtained by Reuters ahead of an official release showed.
The government will also ban minors from opening accounts on virtual coin exchanges, and propose a bill to allow only eligible exchanges to operate.
FAO: M’yeaaah. As Ben Franklin used to say - there were only two things certain in life: death and taxes. Seems he was so right...
India's Tax Department Considers Tax On Virtual Currencies
Reuters
Tax Authorities Have Gatecrashed India’s Bitcoin Party
Nupur Anand - Quartz
Officials are investigating several bitcoin exchanges across the country, including in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, and New Delhi, Surabhi Ahluwalia, spokesperson for the tax department, told Reuters on Dec. 13. “We are looking at collecting information about (the) modus operandi of bitcoin exchanges, investors, their source of investment and possibility of collecting tax,” Ahluwalia said.
FAO: If you can’t stop them, tax them.
FAO: Florin Adrian Oprea, Editor-in-chief Blockchain Daily News
DNT: Decebal Nicolaie Todarita, Editor Blockchain Daily News
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