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Bill Gates: Crypto Has No Valuable Output — It’s Not Adding to Society Like Other Investments

22/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

Bill Gates: Crypto Is 'Not Adding to Society Like Other Investments'

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has explained why he does not own any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. “I like investing in things that have valuable output,” Gates said, adding that crypto is “not adding to society like other investments.”

Bill Gates on Crypto, and Why He Isn’t Investing

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates shared his opinion about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) session Thursday.

One of the questions he was asked was “What do you think about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies?” Gates replied:

I don’t own any. I like investing in things that have valuable output.

He added: “The value of companies is based on how they make great products. The value of crypto is just what some other person decides someone else will pay for it so not adding to society like other investments.”

Gates’ stance on cryptocurrency echoes that of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett. The Oracle of Omaha explained in detail why he would not invest in bitcoin or cryptocurrency earlier this month.

“It doesn’t produce anything,” Buffett described BTC, noting that he wouldn’t pay $25 for all of the bitcoin in the world. “What would I do with it? I’d have to sell it back to you one way or another. It isn’t going to do anything,” he opined.

The Microsoft co-founder and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has long been a critic of bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

In February last year, he said he didn’t own bitcoin, adding that he has taken “a neutral view.” However, he also said crypto was one tech innovation the world would be better off without. Gates noted: “The way cryptocurrency works today allows for certain criminal activities. It’d be good to get rid of that.”

Gates also commented on Tesla CEO Elon Musk owning bitcoin in February last year. “Elon has tons of money, and he’s very sophisticated, so I don’t worry that his bitcoin will randomly go up or down,” Microsoft co-founder said. “If you have less money than Elon, you should probably watch out,” he warned.

What do you think about Bill Gates’ comments about bitcoin and cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below.

Facebook Owner Meta Files Trademark Applications for ‘Meta Pay’ Covering Crypto Services

21/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook, has filed five trademark applications for “Meta Pay.” The filings cover a wide range of cryptocurrency services. The company is renaming Facebook Pay to Meta Pay.

Trademark Applications for Meta Pay

Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook, filed five trademark applications for “Meta Pay” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last week.

Trademark attorney Josh Gerben tweeted explaining Wednesday that, in his opinion, Meta’s applications indicate the company is planning to launch a payment platform called Meta Pay for users to exchange regular fiat money for cryptocurrencies.

Meta’s head of fintech, Stephane Kasriel, explained last week that the company is “investing more” in its existing payments experiences, noting that it has been in payments since 2009.

“Today, people and businesses use our platforms to make payments in 160 countries and 55 currencies,” Kasriel wrote, elaborating:

The experience that people see today is Facebook Pay, but we’ll be bringing that closer to the Meta brand soon by renaming it Meta Pay.

In March, Meta filed eight trademark applications for its logo covering the metaverse as well as a wide range of cryptocurrency services.

What do you think about Meta filing trademark applications for Meta Pay? Let us know in the comments section below.

Do Kwon Dissolved Terraform Labs Korea Days Before Collapse of Terra LUNA, UST

20/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

Do Kwon Dissolved Terraform Labs Korea Days Before Collapse of Terra LUNA and UST

Official records show Do Kwon dissolved Terraform Labs Korea, closing down its headquarters and sole branch just days before the collapse of terra crypto (LUNA) and stablecoin terrausd (UST).

Do Kwon Shut Down Terraform Labs Korea Before UST and LUNA Fallout

Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon reportedly closed down his company in Korea days before the collapse of cryptocurrency terra (LUNA) and stablecoin terrausd (UST).

According to South Korea’s supreme court registry office, Terraform Labs Korea decided to dissolve its Busan headquarters and Seoul branch at the general shareholders meeting on April 30, Digital Today reported. The company named CEO Kwon Do-hyeong, the full name of Do Kwon, as the liquidator.

The publication detailed:

On May 4, Terraform Labs Korea’s headquarters was dissolved and on May 6, the Seoul branch was dissolved.

On May 9, UST lost its peg to the U.S. dollar and its price kept falling. At the time of writing, it is trading at about $0.08. LUNA also sharply fell from above $80 on April 30 to $0.00013351 at the time of writing.

While Terraform Labs is a Singapore-incorporated company, it was registered to conduct business in South Korea as Terraform Labs Korea, with headquarters in Busan and a branch in Seongdong District in eastern Seoul.

Kwon founded Terraform Labs Korea on June 21, 2019. On Sept. 26, 2019, Ticket Monster (Tmon) founder Shin Hyun-sung joined the company as the second co-founder. However, he resigned on March 2, 2020, leaving Kwon to serve as the CEO of Terraform Labs.

An on-chain analysis by blockchain data analytics firm Elliptic found that amid the UST and LUNA fallout, the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) sent its bitcoin reserves to cryptocurrency exchanges Gemini and Binance.

What do you think about Kwon shutting down his company in South Korea a week before the collapse of UST and LUNA? Let us know in the comments section below.

DOJ Files First Criminal Complaint Against US Citizen Allegedly Using Cryptocurrency to Evade Sanctions

18/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed its first criminal complaint against an American who allegedly used cryptocurrency to circumvent U.S. sanctions. “The payments platform advertised its services as designed to evade U.S. sanctions, including through purportedly untraceable virtual currency transactions.”

DOJ Charges US Citizen in Crypto Sanctions Evasion Case

The U.S. Justice Department has filed its first criminal complaint against a U.S. citizen who allegedly tried to evade American sanctions using cryptocurrency, according to a judicial opinion document filed on Friday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui. The case is still sealed.

Judge Faruqui explained why he approved the DOJ’s criminal complaint against the American citizen accused of transmitting more than $10 million worth of bitcoin to a crypto exchange in a comprehensively sanctioned country. Comprehensive sanctions are currently placed on Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the regions of Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed fines against crypto exchange platforms for violating sanctions laws. However, the judge explained:

The Department of Justice can and will criminally prosecute individuals and entities for failure to comply with the OFAC’s regulations, including as to virtual currency.

The DOJ alleged that the defendant, a U.S. citizen, used an IP address in the U.S. “to conspire to operate an online payments and remittances platform” based in a comprehensively sanctioned country. The Justice Department noted:

The payments platform advertised its services as designed to evade U.S. sanctions, including through purportedly untraceable virtual currency transactions.

The defendant also opened an account with a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange to buy and sell bitcoin. The defendant then used this crypto exchange account to transmit over 10 million dollars worth of BTC between the U.S. and sanctioned countries for the platform’s customers. In doing so, the defendant conspired to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and defraud the United States, the DOJ detailed.

The judge further noted: “The question is no longer whether virtual currency is here to stay … but instead whether fiat currency regulations will keep pace with frictionless and transparent payments on the blockchain.”

What do you think about this case? Let us know in the comments section below.

Former Fed Chair Bernanke: Bitcoin Is Mainly Used in Underground Economy for Illicit Activities

17/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

Former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke says the main use of bitcoin is “mostly for underground economy activities and often things that are illegal or illicit.” He added, “I don’t think bitcoin is going to take over as an alternative form of money.”

Ben Bernanke on Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency

Former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke shared his view on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in an interview with CBNC Monday.

Bernanke is an economist who served two terms as the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, from 2006 to 2014. He oversaw the Fed’s response to the late 2000s financial crisis during his tenure as chairman.

Noting that the values of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies change minute-to-minute, he said Monday:

They’ve been successful as a speculative asset.

However, he pointed out that “They were intended to be a substitute for fiat money,” adding that “in that respect, they have not succeeded.”

He continued: “If bitcoin were a substitute for fiat money, you could use your bitcoin to go buy your groceries. Nobody buys groceries with bitcoin because it’s too expensive and too inconvenient to do that. Moreover, the price of groceries … varies radically day-to-day in terms of bitcoin so there is no stability either.”

He opined:

The main use of bitcoin is mostly for underground economy activities and often things that are illegal or illicit.

Bernanke further said:

I don’t think bitcoin is going to take over as an alternative form of money.

Nonetheless, he expects that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies “will be around as long as people are believers and they want to speculate.”

When asked if BTC is a store of value or digital gold in his opinion, Bernanke insisted that “it is a speculative asset.”

What do you think about the comments by Ben Bernanke? Let us know in the comments section below.