Author: Cristian Lipciuc

Cristian Lipciuc is a blockchain journalist working with startup companies across multiple domains such as freelancing, app development & cryptocurrency. Cristian specializes in applied blockchain technologies, cryptocurrency integration, the adoption of new technologies by governments, and cybersecurity.

Categories
Australia Bitcoin Mining Blockchain

Bitcoin May Consume More Power Than Australia in 2021

The amount of electricity needed to power Bitcoin increases every year. And a recent study has shown that Bitcoin network may soon consume up over 200 Terrawat hours (TWh) every year. To put that into perspective, The entirety of Australia consumed around 192 TWh worth of power in 2020.

Currently the Bitcoin network consumes 83 TWh of electrical energy, with this number suggested to continue increasing as calculated by the University of Cambridge’s model, setting the average electricity cost to 7 cents per kWh, would put the upper bound of Bitcoins annualised consumption up to 272 TWh.

Bitcoin electricity consumption (TWh annualised) – University of Cambridge

Environmental Impact

Most cryptocurrencies are now mined on huge “mining farms”, where racks and racks of specialized mining devices, high-end GPUs and the like run all day solving the complex equations that allow Bitcoins to be mined.

Concerns regarding the environmental impact of using this much power are not new. Neither are concerns regarding the amount of energy siphoned off of the power grid, to the point where some regions in China, for instance, have stopped providing power to crypto farmers.

According to a study carried out at Cambridge University, around 61% of Bitcoins are mined using petrol and other non-replenishable sources of fuel. The remaining 39%, however, are mined using renewable energy.

It seems this segment is even being advertised by certain companies. Daniel Roberts – the co-founder of an Australian firm involved with crypto mining named Iris Energy – stated that investors may be creating a market for “renewably-mined Bitcoins.”

“Our unique energy strategy and ESG (environmental, social and governance) overlay mean that we also satisfy investors with green and climate-related commitments. All of our operations today are powered by excess renewable energy.”

The power consumption rate of Bitcoin mining will only become thornier as the difficulty of mining increases – so a push for the use of green energy now may save the industry more trouble than if it were to be implemented later.

Bitcoin Cryptojacking

One unintended positive affect that has arisen due to the increase in power, it the decrease in the unauthorised Bitcoin mining on peoples computers – known as cryptojacking.

Although the number of complaints regarding cryptojacking software running in the background on your PC has gone down, that’s mostly due to the fact that the ever-increasing complexity of mining Bitcoins requires more and more power, making methods not worth the effort.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies Ethereum Scams

Roll Wallet Hacked, Social Tokens Plummet

On Sunday, Roll Wallet was hacked which sent the value of social tokens plummeting all the way down to the bottom.

Down By More Than 50%

Social tokens are a type of cryptocurrency designed specifically to support online communities. A number of these are in a race to the bottom following a hack on Roll Wallet. Most notable among them – due to the current NFT frenzy – is WHALE. WHALE is a social coin whose value is maintained by a basket of Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Other coins that have plummeted are PICA and RARE.

The hack was confirmed on Twitter by the founder of WHALE, who confirmed that 2.17% of all tokens were compromised in an attack on the platform’s hot wallet. However, the remaining assets are secure, having been stored in cold wallets.

The founder went on to say that he is confident that this attack will not have far-reaching effects on the cryptocurrency and its future.

“We were fortunate that this hack was minimally detrimental to the project despite the large price volatility (due to the level of liquidity on Uniswap) and will find a way to absorb this so it has zero impact on our short, mid and long term growth of $WHALE.”

However, as the following chart shows, recovery – if there is one – may take a while.

On the other hand, competitor token RLY – a token launched by the Rally platform – has reached its highest value in history.

Meanwhile, MyCrypto reports that the attacker who pulled off this digital heist is already cashing out to Tornado Cash – with the total amount of ETH reaching nearly 2600. It also looks like social tokens were minted by malicious parties before the attack, hinting at a possibly high-level manipulation of the network.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies Dogecoin Industries

Kessler Collection Hotels To Accept Crypto Payments

A luxury hotel chain based in the USA, Kessler Collection has announced that they will be accepting payments in cryptocurrencies going forward.

The Doges Have Been Let Out Again

 For starters, four stablecoins, Bitcoin and Ethereum will be available as payment methods, as well as, somewhat surprisingly, Dogecoin.

Although Dogecoin was regarded as a joke for most of its existence, Elon Musk has taken the altcoin whose most memorable appearance prior to this was appearing on a Ford car at a rally.

The announcement comes in the wake of the partnership formed with BitPay, which will take care of the payment processing part of the transaction.

Sonny Singh – the Chief Commercial Officer of BitPay – praised the initiative, commending Kessler Collection for their acceptance of innovative technologies and payment methods.

“The Kessler Collection is one of the premier luxury hotel groups and is being very innovative and catering to their customers by allowing them to pay in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Bitcoin payments are cheaper than credit cards and help international travellers make payments easier.”

In turn, Richard Kessler – the chairman and CEO of the luxury hotel chain – motivated his company’s decision to accept cryptocurrency, stating that he believes the acceptance of crypto will only go up from now on – and that his business intends to get in on the action early.

“This as one of the most innovative concepts in the hospitality industry right now. I believe cryptocurrency is only going to gain acceptance and partnering with BitPay allows us to offer more choices in the payment process.”

Cryptocurrencies in tourism aren’t necessarily something new – in fact, certain airlines and travel agencies have been in the business of Bitcoin since as far back as 2013 – however, a luxury hotel allowing payments in cryptocurrency is somewhat of a novelty.

So if you didn’t spend your fortune on 2 pizzas back in the day, you may be interested in putting that money towards a vacation – with room service pizza, naturally.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Industries

DISER To Receive AUD 6.9 Million In Blockchain Funding

Aside from reportedly forming a working group that will be comprised of more than 70 people actively involved in the blockchain sphere – whose identities have not been revealed – DISER will be receiving $6.9 Million in funding from the Australian Government to fuel 2 blockchain pilot projects focusing on regulatory compliance.

Focusing On Food And Rare Minerals

The  Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources stated that for now, the 2 blockchain pilot projects that are being bankrolled by the state will be focusing on the mining and agricultural sectors.

According to Tim Bradley – the general manager of DISER’s Emerging Technologies and Adoption branch – the move will hopefully show the public sector how much blockchain can help. This is not the first time the government has funded research in this sector – but generally the funding wasn’t as extensive.

We’re developing the guidelines for those now, but, of the two pilots, one will be around the issue of critical minerals and the other will be designed around food and beverage provenance. This is very much an initiative to advance technology to demonstrate the use of the technology across the [Australian Public Service] and with regulators. It is designed to demonstrate the benefits that technology can bring and help bring along changes amongst regulatory culture.”

Tim Bradley went on to say that the advances in other sectors made using blockchain technology have already showed the greater public – as well as government representatives from all echelons – that the implementation of blockchain technology has garnered positive feedback nearly everywhere it was implemented.

Although the exact details of the two blockchain pilot projects have not been laid out yet, they should follow soon – hopefully with a widespread implementation across all sectors.

Categories
Australia Cryptocurrencies Scams

More Arrests In Crypto Laundering Case

Following the arrest about 2 weeks ago of a 30 year old man in Sydney for allegedly laundering money through cryptocurrency, a series of arrests have been carried out by the New South Wales Police force. The man in question has since been charged with a total of 24 offences, pending a court date on the 19th of April.

Out of these 24 charges, 19 of them are for “knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime, knowingly directing activities of a criminal group and drug-related offences.”

Police will allege in court that the suspect arrested last month directed a criminal syndicate to launder money by converting cash into bitcoin on his behalf, totalling $5,479,300.”

6 More Suspects Charged

Following new developments in the investigation that’s been going on since October – when the police first started looking into the alleged money laundering syndicate – 6 more arrests were carried out in rapid succession.

The raids were carried out by the Cybercrime squad  in the greater Sydney area. The raids resulted in the seizure of electronic devices, high-end jewelry , and cash.

Three of the suspects – women from the Homebush West, Newington, and Denham Court areas are facing less serious charges, namely “recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime”.

However, the other 3 are facing far more serious charges. Among them, a 48-year-old man was charged with “participating in a criminal group contributing to criminal activity, as well as seven counts of knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime with intent to conceal.”

Another suspect – a 24-year old woman – was charged with 4 counts of “knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime”, as well as contributing to criminal group activity.

As of today, no preliminary court dates for the alleged suspects have been set.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Cryptocurrencies New Zealand Scams

Qoin Going For New Zealand Market Following Controversy With Blockchain Australia

Qoin is reportedly making a marketing push in New Zealand, following it’s rather sudden removal from Blockchain Australia.

Apparently, the reason for the removal from Blockchain Australia is the lack of transparency regarding the companies dealings, and the very limited ways you can cash out. This is due to the fact that the BPS Financial Limited company in is control of QOIN, and also owns the only crypto exchange where it can be traded, namely Block Chain Trade Exchange.

Discussions Over Legitimacy Ongoing

BlockchainNZ has stated they are looking into Qoin and the accuracy of complaints levelled against it – as well as the reasons why it may or may not be a scam.

Stephen Macaskill – an executive member of BlockchainNZ – stated that although they are not endorsing Qoin, they will be looking into the matter before giving their verdict. He also added that in his opinion, Qoin was not necessarily illegitimate, and that the view that it is may stem from the fact that unlike most cryptocurrencies it is not open source or decentralized. However, they are by no means the first nor the last crypto-related firm to stray from the transparent model.

“We’re not endorsing this business by any means, but there’s an international exchange that has their own digital asset and initially when they launched you could only buy their own digital asset on their own exchange, and there are a few of them out there like that. Over time those assets were listed on other trading platforms.”

Stephen Macaskill – an executive member of BlockchainNZ 

Macaskill also added that building a new cryptocurrency from scratch took a lot of work, and it takes a while for any new token to be listed on other trading platforms – a potential reason for the seemingly closed-circuit model adopted by Qoin.

Whether Qoin takes root in New Zealand or is eyed suspiciously there as well will be something to watch for, as this could set a precedent for other companies who take a rather unorthodox approach to cryptocurrencies.

Categories
Australia Bitcoin Ripple

Report By CPA Australia Singles Out XRP For CBDC Potential

A recent report commissioned by CPA Australia has singled out Ripple’s XRP as a good token on which to possibly build a CBDC.

The report takes a look at Bitcoin and Ethereum as well, and outlines why they are not as attractive a choice for a potential CBDC.

Volatility Not Welcome

The RBA has been see-sawing for a while on the issue of CBDCs – first researching them, then deciding that there is no reason to work on one before stating that they’re continuing their research anyway. In the meantime, other countries have also been carrying out CBDC-related research independently.

In the new report, CPA states that in their opinion, Bitcoin is far too volatile to ever host a CBDC – which should match the value of current legal tender.

“Despite it not being legal tender, Bitcoin is popular, and it is accepted as a medium of exchange in many places. Bitcoin’s price has been subject to spectacular volatility in recent years and this volatility has resulted in a lack of confidence in Bitcoin as a medium of exchange or as a store of value and raised concerns among central banks as to the viability of cryptocurrencies as CBDCs.”

The report goes on to state that although Ethereum is in a better spot due to its’ capability of hosting smart contracts and the like on its network, Ethereum is too decentralized to be able to be used safely by banks – however, it’s worth nothing that during the RBA’s CBDC experiments, tokens minted on the Ethereum blockchain were used.

CPA’s report appears to take a stance that greatly differs from that of the American SEC regarding Ripple. While the SEC claims that XRP’s more centralized nature could lead to it being more of a security than Ethereum, CPA states that this very centralization makes it a much more viable too for the creation of a CBDC.

CPA are not the only ones to claim that the nature of Ripple could spur on the creation of CBDCs – Banque de France reportedly believes the same thing, as pointed out in the report.

Categories
Bitcoin Cryptocurrencies Payments

PayPal Seals The Deal With Curv

Sources have previously reported that PayPal was in talks with crypto firm Curv – but the deal had not been confirmed at the time. The previous deal bandied about with BitGo also ultimately fell through.

Now, however, TechCrunch and others have reported that an agreement has been reached.

Great Technical Expertise

According to Jose Fernandez da Ponte – the VP and general manager, of blockchain, crypto and digital currencies at PayPal,  a huge factor that contributed towards the decision to buy the firm was the great level of technical expertise shown by its representatives.

“During our conversations with Curv’s team, we’ve been impressed by their technical talent, entrepreneurial spirit, and the thinking behind the technology they’ve built in the last few years. We’re excited to welcome the Curv team to PayPal.”

Curv’s big selling point is that it is addressed more towards enterprises than to crypto end users – their software is offered mostly to exchanges and financial institutions and focuses on running cryptography server-side.

In turn, Itay Malinger – the CEO of Curv since its’ foundation in 2018 – stated that they see no better place to continue their research and development than with PayPal.

“As a pioneer in security infrastructure for digital assets, Curv is proud to be recognized as an innovator and trusted partner to leading financial institutions around the world. Now, as the adoption of digital assets accelerates, we feel there’s no better home than PayPal to continue our journey of innovation. We’re excited to join PayPal in expanding the role these assets play in the global economy.

The acquisition is due to take place somewhere in the first half of 2021, once all administrative details have been worked out.

In addition, despite anonymous sources giving out figures on the price of the transaction between just under $200 million and $500 million, neither firm has let any details regarding the exact transaction price slip.

Categories
Bitcoin Cryptocurrencies Investing

JPMorgan Discusses Crypto With Private Clients, Breaks Down Possible Values

JPMorgan’s relationship with crypto has been a long and turbulent one. Back in 2017, Matt Dimon — the chief executive of JPMorgan — called it a fraud and said he would fire any of his employees investing in it.

“The currency isn’t going to work. You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart. I would fire them in a second, for two reasons: It is against our rules and they are stupid, and both are dangerous.”

 However, they’ve since softened their stance, allegedly going so far as to have meetings with high-level Coinbase management. 

Memo On Crypto Risks and Benefits Sent Out

This February, a memo explaining crypto to clients was sent out by the JPMorgan Private Bank. The prestigious bank requires clients to have at least $10 million to deposit when opening an account, and it is the chosen business of many high-rollers worldwide. 

Daniel Pinto — the co-president of JPMorgan — stated last month that although clients are not clamouring for crypto facilities just yet, they almost certainly will in the future. He reportedly added that he himself is personally open to more expansion into the crypto space. 

The memo sent out to clients provides 3 ways that the real value of Bitcoin should be measured. 

Primo — by applying Metcalfe’s law which gives the value of an asset as equal to the square of its users, Bitcoin should be valued at $21,667.

Secundo — If the going rate on gold would be transposed into the crypto space, Bitcoin should be worth $540,814. 

But the highest value possibly assigned to Bitcoin comes from the third way of evaluating it. 

Tertio — If the total amount of money is compared to the total supply of Bitcoin available, Bitcoin should be worth $1.9 million.

The takeaway seems to be that although cryptocurrencies are as volatile as always, big banks seem to agree that their future could be much brighter than it may seem even after a year where cryptocurrencies skyrocketed. However, caution is still advised — just in case Metcalfe is right.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrency Law Scams

John McAfee Charged With Crypto Fraud

John McAfee has been charged for cryptocurrency fraud by the Manhattan federal court, along with a business associate who goes by the name of Jimmy Gale Watson Jr. 

Failure To Report Earnings For 4 Years

Mr Watson reportedly served as a top level advisor on what courts are calling a “cryptocurrency team”.

Mr Watson — aged 40 — was arrested in Texas and will face a federal judge in a preliminary hearing on Friday, in Dallas. According to an initial statement from the prosecutors, antivirus mogul John McAfee and his crew allegedly made over AUD 16.9 million (USD 13 million) by convincing various investors to buy into a myriad of cryptocurrency-related projects. 

According to US Attorney Audrey Strauss, Mr McAfee used his status to spread false information in 2017 and 2018 that allowed him to make considerable earnings — which he never reported.

“McAfee and Watson exploited a widely used social media platform and enthusiasm among investors in the emerging cryptocurrency market to make millions through lies and deception.”

Although Jimmy Gale Watson Jr. was recently taken into custody,  M. McAfee has been waiting to appear in front of a US Federal Court, even longer, seeing as he is currently being detained in Spain on a separate set of charges on behalf of the US Justice Department.

John McAfee is no stranger to troubles with Law Enforcement, as he’s been in hot water with authorities in the USA and Belize before — and in July 2019, he was released from detention in the Dominican Republic following an arrest on suspicion of going on a yachting trip with high-calibre weapons and other unspecified military-grade gear.