Despite the widespread belief that only a niche group of people are attracted to bitcoin, a new survey released by Grayscale found data pointing to the contrary. Grayscale’s “Bitcoin 2019 Investor Survey” revealed that, in a pool of 1,100 U.S. investors, more than a third (36 percent) of U.S. investors would consider an investment in…
In a bid to circumvent U.S. sanctions, the government of Venezuela has begun its first experiments with a program to convert tax revenue into bitcoin and trade it for fiat currency at foreign exchanges. The details of this plan were revealed in a report from the Spanish-language ABC International, which claimed that the Venezuelan government…
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is sending taxpayers who have conducted cryptocurrency transactions friendly reminders to pay their cryptocurrency taxes. These so-called “soft notices,” according to tax information website IRSMind, have been circulating since June 2019 to individuals who may have neglected to report (or underreported) their cryptocurrency gains on their recent taxes. The…
Steven Mnuchin, the United States Secretary of the Treasury, has stated that regulators are likely to impose new restrictions on cryptocurrency in the near future. This stance was likely a follow-up to President Trump’s comments blasting Facebook’s libra coin, as well as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. “We’re looking at all of the crypto assets,” Mnuchin…
A grand jury has charged 46-year-old William Green of Wall Township, New Jersey, for operating an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. The New Jersey Attorney’s Office indicted Green on July 24, 2019, for running an illegal money-transmitting business called Destination Bitcoin. Green allegedly converted over $2 million in cash to bitcoin, charging his clients a commission for…
Huobi Thailand, a subsidiary of the Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Group, has obtained an official license to operate a digital asset exchange in Thailand, the fifth license of its nature ever issued in the country. Powered by Huobi Cloud, Huobi Thailand will launch in Q3 of 2019 and will provide both coin-to-coin trading and an…
Lightning has struck the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign. A new super PAC, Humanity Forward Fund (Humanity FWD), launched this week in support of Andrew Yang’s bid for the 2020 presidential seat. Spearheaded by a handful of bitcoin faithfuls, the super PAC will accept bitcoin donations through the Lightning Network in partnership with OpenNode, marking both…
Online poker site Americas Cardroom (ACR) now holds the Guinness World Record for largest cryptocurrency jackpot in an online poker tournament. The site made a $1,050,560 payout in bitcoin to the winner of its online competition. ACR first published the news on its Twitter page on Wednesday, July 25, 2019. The winner, Brazilian online poker…
Popular tech retailer Newegg announced a significant step toward crypto adoption, confirming that it will be providing bitcoin payment options to consumers in 73 countries. Anthony Chow, Newegg’s president of global sales, said that the move is in line with its objective to drive innovation within the e-commerce industry. “Broadening the ability to pay with…
The New York State Legislature and the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) have both introduced new teams to help with the regulation and licensing of cryptocurrencies and crypto businesses in the state. The New York Digital Currency Task Force Six blockchain industry and cryptocurrency experts will join the New York State Digital Currency…