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Morpheus.Network Integrates with Polygon to Simplify Supply Chain Activities

by Blockchain NewsMay 9, 2022

Supply chain SaaS platform Morpheus.Network has announced its integration with Polygon, a decentralized Ethereum scaling network to simplify supply chain operations.

The partnership aims to use Polygon’s blockchain technology to integrate global supply chain companies in a bid to digitize, optimize and automate operations, bridging the gap between different operating systems, networks, and entities.

Polygon occupies a very pivotal position in the Ethereum and Web3.0 ecosystems. With the development of globalization, the global supply chain can be seen from the aspects of global trade, foreign outsourcing, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and so on.

Dan Weinberg, CEO of Morpheus.Network said;

“Our integration between Morpheus.Network and Polygon is an exciting one, and we are excited to see what the future holds as the adoption of blockchain technologies rises. The flexibility and efficiency of our blockchain technology’s middleware platform make it a standout in its industry, and it is clear that Morpheus. Network is here to stay for many years to come.”

Morpheus.Network leverages technologies such as IoT and blockchain to help clients maximize revenue through digitization and process automation, protect sensitive data, and solve complex problems with legacy supply chain systems while providing effective, fair, and efficient global trade solutions.

Polygon provides scalable, secure, and instant Ethereum transactions designed to use Plasma side chains and a Proof-of-Stake network to solve the pain points of slow block confirmation and high gas fees. In the past years, the supply chain industry has benefitted from the transparency blockchain offers and with the Morpheus.Network and Polygon integration, it shows the adoption is becoming more mainstream than ever.

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Portugal Successfully Sells Real Estate With Bitcoin Payments for the First Time

by Blockchain NewsMay 9, 2022

A three-bedroom (two-bedroom) house in the Portuguese metropolis of Braga has been successfully sold with payment received in Bitcoin (BTC) for the first time.

This is the first time that an apartment has been sold in the country after it was enacted to allow real estate transactions in cryptocurrencies. The purchase price of this house is about 110,000 euros. The buyer paid with 3 bitcoins.

The title deeds were transferred in Porto’s Póvoa de Varzim district on Thursday 5 May. The acquisition was completed with the assistance of real estate firm Zome, regulator Antas da Cunha Ecija and three parties from Switzerland’s Crypto Valley.

Portugal’s local media said it marked the deal as a major deal in the history of the country’s actual real estate market.

Portugal is crafting a name for itself in the crypto space based on its zero-taxation policy, having set up various free zones to spur growth and research for cryptocurrency and blockchain organizations.

Damac Properties, a major real estate development company, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced Wednesday that it would sell properties using Bitcoin and Ethereum as payment methods.

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Tagged : #BTC / Bitcoin / Blockchain / News / Portugal / Real Estate

Indonesia Officially Imposes 0.1% Tax and VAT on Crypto Income and Purchases

by Blockchain NewsMay 9, 2022

According to the Times of India, Hestu Yoga Saksama, director of tax regulations at the Ministry of Finance, has confirmed that the government has decided to impose a 0.1% tax charge on incomes emanating from the trade of digital currencies.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, announced plans to tax capital gains from crypto investments by 0.1 percent from May 1. Value Added Tax (VAT) on cryptocurrency purchases will be levied at the same rate.

Hestu Yoga Saksama stated that the central bank of Bank Indonesia and the Ministry of Commerce see cryptocurrencies as a commodity, not payment method. Therefore, has decided to charge income tax and value-added tax.

The VAT rate for cryptocurrencies is well below the 11% Indonesia levies on most goods and services, while the capital gains tax rate is 0.1% of the total transaction value, matching stocks. Currently, the Indonesian government allows crypto-assets to be traded as commodities but prohibits their use as a means of payment.

Indonesia allows the sale of cryptocurrencies on commodity exchanges, which are regulated by the Commodities and Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (CoFTRA) under the Ministry of Trade.

Interest in digital assets has surged in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of cryptocurrency holders rising to 11 million by the end of last year.

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Tagged : Bitcoin / Blockchain / Indonesia / News / Tax

Mining Capital Coin CEO Indicted for Masterminding $62M Crypto Ponzi Scheme

by Blockchain NewsMay 9, 2022

Mining Capital Coin CEO Luiz Capuci Jr has been indicted on Friday for orchestrating a scam that defrauded investors around the world of about $62 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Luiz Capuci Jr used cryptocurrency mining and investment platform Mining Capital Coin, or MCC for short, to defraud investors of their money by selling “mining packs” for a handsome profit.

The company claims to be able to quickly mine sizable cryptocurrencies through its platform’s network of crypto miners. More than 65,000 investors have been victimized since January 2018.

Capuci convinces investors that MCC’s own cryptocurrency, “Capital Coin,” is run at “very high frequency, capable of thousands of transactions per second,” by a “BitConnect trading bot” and provides daily returns

In fact, according to the indictment statement, it was an elaborate textbook Ponzi scheme that also allegedly ran a pyramid scheme, recruiting promoters to sell mining packages and promising gifts of great value, from Apple Watches to Ferrari sports cars and more.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr of the Department of Justice Criminal Division said;

“Cryptocurrency-based fraud undermines financial markets worldwide as bad actors defraud investors and limits the ability of legitimate entrepreneurs to innovate within this emerging space,”

If convicted, he could face up to 45 years in prison. Crypto Ponzi schemes have been on the rise, even entering the market through traditional financial banking institutions.

A U.S. grand jury also indicted Satish Kumbhani, the founder of BitConnect, for orchestrating a fraud scheme that siphoned approximately $2.4 billion from investors, according to the Department of Justice.

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Tagged : Bitcoin / Blockchain / Cybercrime / MINING CAPITAL COIN / Ponzi Scheme

Despite Crypto Market Onslaught, These Altcoins Stayed Bullish

by Blockchain NewsMay 9, 2022

The past week saw a comprehensive and encompassing onslaught in the crypto market ecosystem as the combined market capitalization plunged to $1.56 trillion, the lowest level that has been recorded since February 24.

Investors are no longer oblivion of the fact that the continuous increase in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve is poised to channel funds out of the crypto ecosystem into the traditional market, and they are pricing in the cryptocurrencies based on this reality.

However, not all of the top altcoins saw a plunge in their value in the Week-to-Date (WTD) period. Here are three of the most resilient coins which printed good growth amid a sweeping bearish slump.

Tron (TRX)

Tron is the native cryptocurrency of the Tron blockchain protocol, and it is one of the most digital currencies being shilled by the popular investor, Justin Sun. The coin is changing hands at $0.08735, up 4.10% in the past 24 hours and by 28.98% in the trailing 7-day period. A new utility was added to the coin with the introduction of USDD, an algorithmic stablecoin that was floated by the Tron DAO Reserve.

Algorand (ALGO)

Algorand is one of the most versatile and scalable blockchain protocols around today. With a growth of 22.04% at the time of writing to $0.7334, it was obvious that investors saw the upside potential in the new role of the protocol as it was named the official blockchain partner of the FIFA world football governing body for the coming world cup competition. With its cheap price, investors are optimistic about a good uptrend in the near term.

Curve DAO Token (CRV)

The Curve DAO Token is the native token of the Curve platform for stablecoins that uses an automated market maker (AMM) to manage liquidity. The CRV is arguably one of the most resilient tokens to survive the past week’s onslaught as it is up 17.43% to $2.41 per token according to data from CoinMarketCap. The platform and the token are now considered one of the banner protocols in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) world.

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Tagged : Algorand / Altcoin / Altcoins / Cryptocurrency / Curve / Tron

IMF Warns Countries against Adopting Cryptocurrency as Money

by Blockchain NewsMay 9, 2022

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned nations to desist from adopting Bitcoin as their legal tender against central bank-issued money.

While speaking at IMF Spring Meetings on Friday, Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF Managing Director, said that it is not advisable for countries to embrace cryptocurrency as money in the economy.

Georgieva’s statement comes from a number of emerging markets including the Central Africa Republic and El Salvador both of whom have officially declared Bitcoin as a legal tender alongside their country’s fiat.

Both Central Africa Republic and El Salvador adopted the cryptocurrency to support their domestic currency and sustain their economy by attracting Bitcoin users to their countries for business transactions and tourism.

IMF stated that crypto assets are an anti-establishment movement that threatens the power of central banks and their monopoly control of the money supply. The global financial body warned of large risks associated with Bitcoin use on consumer protection, financial stability, and financial integrity.

However, Georgieva identified the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) as the best innovation for a country’s financial system. “The future of money is a central topic at the IMF’s Spring Meetings,” the executive stated as she warned that the use of volatile crypto coins as money is not advisable.

Late last month, The Central African Republic (CAR) adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender, becoming the second nation in the world to do so after El Salvador. CAR lawmakers unanimously adopted a bill that made Bitcoin a legal tender alongside the official fiat currency – the CFA franc – and legalized the use of cryptocurrencies.

In September last year, El Salvador became the world’s first adopter of the pioneering digital currency. Under it, citizens of the Central American country were allowed to use the virtual currency – along with the US dollar which has been the official currency for more than twenty years – to pay for any goods and services, using a cyber-wallet app called Chivo.

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Tagged : Bitcoin / Countries / Cryptocurrency / IMF / LEGAL TENDER / News

The Unstoppable Growth of Crypto Market

by Blockchain NewsMay 9, 2022

SOFTSWISS, a gambling software development company with one-stop-shop iGaming software solutions and services for online casinos or sportsbooks, on Saturday released a report that compared the state of cryptocurrency in the 1st quarter of 2021 and 2022.

Based on the results of the SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator and the SOFTSWISS Casino Platform, the company’s corporate report indicated that the global trend has witnessed the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies.

The report also showed that crypto gambling has continued to grow. According to the statistics, the sum of bets in cryptocurrencies in Q1 2022 rose by 116.7%, more than doubled compared to the same period last year.

Andrey Starovoitov, the Chief Operating Officer at SOFTSWISS, talked about the development and said: “Crypto gambling has become an independent, full-fledged, and extremely promising line of business. Brands adapted to these conditions have an advantage such as wider opportunities for operation and, accordingly, a wider audience.”

The report showed that while betting using fiat currencies still holds the leading position, with 64% of the total volume, the share of crypto is steadily rising. The share of betting using crypto coins in Q1 2022 increased to 35.9% from 26.3%, the report stated. According to the findings, in the first quarter of 2020, the share of crypto grew by 29%. The report said that if such dynamics continue, then the share of fiat and crypto in betting may become equal over the course of the next year.

However, SOFTSWISS’ report indicated that Bitcoin is decreasing its share. The startup said that although it introduced Bitcoin as its preferable cryptocurrency, the digital coin has decreased its share in Q1 2022 by 10%. This is related to the growing interest in Ethereum and Litecoin, the top altcoins, whose share has increased by 3.45% and 2.95% respectively. According to the report, the precise share of the top 3 cryptocurrencies in Q1 2022:

Bitcoin (BTC) 72.80%

Ethereum (ETC) 13.45%

Litecoin (LTH) 6.45%

“The strong growth of other altcoins demonstrates the interest in more advanced coins in terms of technology such as Ethereum. More players will prefer to diversify their funds with other cryptocurrencies. This is a positive trend related to the development of the market,” Starovoitov

The Contributions to Crypto Growth

While 2021 was a big year for cryptocurrency, 2022 is also showing positive trends. The global crypto market size was valued at $1.49 billion in 2020 and grew by 12.8% in 2021. The market is projected to continue growing in 2022.

This year, institutional and retail interest in crypto has continued to skyrocket. Thanks to long-standing investors like Elon Musk and top regulators like the Biden’s administration, which has increasingly expressed interest in new regulations for crypto.

An increase in the need for operational efficiency in financial payment systems, improved market cap, improved data security, and an increase in demand for remittances in developing countries are the major factors that drive the growth of the global crypto market.

Besides that, an increase in demand for cryptocurrency among financial institutions and banks and untapped potential in emerging economies are expected to create lucrative opportunities for market expansion in the future.

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Tagged : Analysis / Crypto Gaming / CRYPTO MARKET / Research

Nvidia Agrees to Pay $5.5 Million to SEC Fine for Failure to Crypto Mining Disclosures

by Blockchain NewsMay 9, 2022

Nvidia Corporation, a pioneer provider of graphics processors and related software, has agreed to pay a $5.5 million fine to settle the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over allegations that the company failed to adequately disclose revenue from cryptocurrency mining. The Commission made the announcement on Friday.

According to the SEC, during two consecutive quarters in 2018, Nvidia did not make it clear that demand from crypto miners was responsible for a significant part of the rise in sales of its gaming graphics processing units (GPUs).

Nvidia’s powerful processors designed for handling video-game graphics are considered well-suitable for handling mining cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Nvidia, the leading chipmaker in the US, agreed to the penalty without admitting or denying the regulator’s findings.

The SEC stated that Nvidia omitted the information about rising demand from crypto miners while making statements about how cryptocurrencies were affecting other business lines.

In a statement, Kristina Littman, head of the SEC’s crypto enforcement team, said: “All issuers, including those that pursue opportunities involving emerging technology, must ensure that their disclosures are timely, complete, and accurate.”

The charges claim that Nvidia misled investors by reporting a boost in revenue associated with gaming activities but hide to reveal how much of such success was contributed by the volatile crypto market.

Based on Nvidia’s financial reports for the 2018 fiscal year, the SEC noted that Nvidia witnessed a massive increase in crypto mining-related sales in 2017, at a time when the rewards for mining Ethereum rose significantly.

Crypto mining was identified as the reason behind the scarcity of gaming GPUs in recent times. As a result, Nvidia launched a separate Cryptocurrency Mining Processor (CMP) line for mining in order to prevent shortages of the gaming GPUs.

However, many of Nvidia’s gaming GPUs were still being sold to miners as there was a significant rise in demand for such products from miners.

The commission stated that Nvidia didn’t mention mining-related sales as a factor in the success of its gaming division. The regulator said that Nvidia mentioned cryptocurrency as an important factor in other markets. This suggested to the SEC that Nvidia was being deceptive deliberately.

Considering crypto’s boom-and-bust nature, this implied that Nvidia’s sales figures didn’t indicate reliable growth for the future, making investing riskier.

“NVIDIA’s analysts and investors were interested in understanding the extent to which the company’s Gaming revenue was impacted by crypto mining and routinely asked senior management about the extent to which increases in gaming revenue during this time frame were driven by crypto mining,” the SEC stated.

Investor anxiety became real as a crypto crash in late 2018 compelled Nvidia to slash its quarterly revenues projections by a whopping $500 million and prompted a shareholder lawsuit.

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Tagged : Crypto Mining / News / Nvidia / SEC LAWSUIT

The Unstoppable Growth of Crypto Market

by Blockchain NewsMay 9, 2022

Bitcoin (BTC) 72.80%

Ethereum (ETC) 13.45%

Litecoin (LTH) 6.45%

The Contributions to Crypto Growth

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Tagged : Analysis / Crypto Gaming / CRYPTO MARKET / Research

Block Q1 BTC Revenue Plunges 51% Amid General Market Turbulence

by Blockchain NewsMay 9, 2022

Block Inc’s Cash App recorded a total Bitcoin (BTC) sale of $1.73 billion in the first quarter of 2022, a figure that plunged by over 51% from the prior quarter.

Cash App comes off as one of the most dominant channels to buy and transact in Bitcoin, cementing its role as one of the pioneers in the fintech space that adopted the premier cryptocurrency.

The growth of the digital currency ecosystem has been very erratic during the quarter and this became visible in Block’s overall performance with respect to the sales and revenue of the digital currency. Atop the declined total sales, the gross profit coming from the sales of the digital currency was pegged at $43 million when compared to this same period last year.

“Cash App generated $1.73 billion of bitcoin revenue and $43 million of bitcoin gross profit during the first quarter of 2022, down 51% and 42% year over year, respectively. On a two-year CAGR basis, bitcoin revenue and gross profit grew 138% and 155%, respectively,” Block said in its shareholder letter. The company was formerly known as Square Inc and at the time, the firm’s performance was known to be boosted by Bitcoin’s growth.

Since the beginning of the year, the volatility in the price of Bitcoin has kept it within the $48,086.84 and $34,378.04 price ranges respectively. The extreme difference in this range is a conservative addition compared to what the premier coin is known to always print.

The general absence of a massive price upsurge, known as a bull run, notably affected the demand for the cryptocurrency as Block said in the shareholder’s letter.

“The year-over-year decrease in bitcoin revenue and gross profit was driven primarily by relative stability in the price of bitcoin during the quarter, which affected consumer demand and trading activity compared to the prior year period. Bitcoin revenue and gross profit were relatively consistent compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.”

Drawing on this reality, the company said future revenue and profit can also be impacted by these trends in relaxed demand.

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Tagged : Bitcoin / Block / Cash App / Industry