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China Issues Digital Currency Guide for Party Cadres

14/01/2020 by Idelto Editor

Understanding a complex subject should be easier with access to educational materials. With blockchain and CBDC now part of Beijing’s political vocabulary, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has issued a guide to digital currencies meant to prepare party officials for upcoming changes in the country’s financial system.

Also read: China Saw $11.4 Billion in Crypto-Based Capital Flight Last Year

Handbook Educates Party Functionaries About the Impact of Digital Currencies

“Digital Currency: A Reader for Cadres” is part of a series of guides on various current topics, from artificial intelligence to blockchain technology, Bloomberg reported. The handbook has been released by the publishing house of the largest newspaper group in China, People’s Daily, and is now in printing for its second edition.

In 200 pages, the guide acquaints readers with important aspects of digital currencies. Its 23 articles cover not only the basics but also more sophisticated matters such as the impact these currencies could have on monetary systems and global finance, the publication details. Noting their goal is to assist CPC cadres in expanding their understanding of the underlying technology, the authors have stated on the cover:

Digital currency is inevitable in the course of history.

The guide comes out as China prepares to complete the development of its central bank issued digital currency (CBDC). The research into the matter started about five years ago but the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) stepped up its efforts after the announcement of Facebook’s Libra project last summer. Also, a Politburo meeting in October revealed that the Chinese leadership wants the country to gain an edge in the blockchain field.

No timetable has been released for the issuance of the sovereign coin yet but according to recent reports by Chinese media, the central bank has completed “top-level design, standard formulation, functional research and development” as well as “joint testing” of the digital yuan. PBOC is now focusing on establishing “stability, security, and control,” the bank’s Digital Currency Research Institute announced.

Launch Date of Digital Yuan Still Unknown

Despite the stated progress, a launch date was not announced. According to previously available information, the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) system, as the project is also known, will be introduced with a two-tier approach. PBOC will first issue the currency to commercial banks, which will then distribute it to the public. In December, the 8btc crypto outlet reported that the digital currency will be piloted in Shenzhen, China’s tech hub, and the city of Suzhou.

The trials will be led by the People’s Bank of China and will be conducted with the help of four state-owned commercial banks: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), Bank of China (BOC), and China Construction Bank (CCB). Three leading telecom operators, China Mobile, China Telecommunication and China Unicom, will also take part, the website detailed.

Parallel to the development of the digital yuan, Chinese authorities have been cracking down on platforms working with decentralized cryptocurrencies, with particular focus on exchanges and companies related to ICO projects. The government has also been busy dealing with serious issues in the traditional financial system, where a liquidity crisis is brewing on the interbank lending market with Beijing intervening to bail out several small banks. The debt-to-GDP ratio of China has reached 255% in the past decade. And the latest symptom of the hurting Chinese economy manifested itself in figures showing a 7.5% drop in passenger car sales last year, the second annual decline in a row.

What do you think about the digital currency guide issued by the Communist Party of China? Tell us in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Judge Rules Snowden Must Give Book Proceeds to US Government

21/12/2019 by Idelto Editor

Judge Rules Edward Snowden Must Give Book Proceeds to US Government

A U.S. district judge has ruled that former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden must turn over the proceeds of his new book to the U.S. government. According to the ruling, Snowden failed to obtain clearance for the materials and information used in his book. The same judge previously ruled against Kim Dotcom and Megaupload.

Also read: Regulatory Roundup: Crypto ‘Inevitable’ in India, China Rankings, NY Streamlines Policy

Judge Rules US Government Entitled to Snowden’s Book Proceeds

A judge in the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has ruled that the U.S. government is entitled to the proceeds Edward Snowden receives from his book because he failed to get approval to publish its contents as required by his employment contracts.

In his ruling, District Judge Liam O’Grady explained that Snowden signed agreements with the U.S. government requiring him to protect information and material of which he had knowledge from unauthorized disclosure. He is also required to submit for review any writings or other presentations he prepared related to intelligence data or protected information.

Snowden tweeted on Thursday in response to the ruling:

The government may steal a dollar, but it cannot erase the idea that earned it. I wrote this book, Permanent Record, for you, and I hope the government’s ruthless desperation to prevent its publication only inspires you read it — and then gift it to another.

The former U.S. intelligence contractor is now living in Russia to avoid arrest by U.S. authorities. He remains a fugitive from prosecution on federal criminal charges for alleged violations of the Espionage Act relating to his 2013 exposure of the NSA’s massive collection of phone and internet data. While the Justice Department is seeking to recover all proceeds Snowden has earned, CNBC reported on Thursday that the actual amount owed is likely to be decided later by Judge O’Grady.

Judge Says Snowden Needed Permission From NSA and CIA

Snowden’s book called “Permanent Record” was published in the U.S. in September by Macmillan Publishing Group. Snowden, however, did not get clearance from any government agencies prior to the publication which is allegedly in violation of the agreements he signed with both the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). His book details the intelligence-gathering activities of the two agencies, including classified programs. It also describes how Snowden viewed himself as a whistleblower by revealing details about the government’s mass collection of emails, phone calls and internet activity in the name of national security.

In his ruling, Judge O’Grady affirmed that under the agreements, Snowden was required to allow the government to review anything he planned to publish containing any information or material known to be classified. He elaborated:

The terms of the CIA secrecy agreements further provide that Snowden forfeits any proceeds from disclosures that breach the agreements. These terms continue to apply to Snowden.

Snowden’s Defense and Kim Dotcom’s Response

The lawyers representing Snowden argued that the government had already broken the secrecy agreements by indicating that it would not give his book a fair prepublication review. They additionally claim that the book contains no material that had not previously been made public. However, Judge O’Grady ruled that the secrecy agreements “are unambiguous and clear,” with “no genuine dispute” that Snowden breached the agreements.

The judge also noted Snowden’s argument that the suit “is based on animus toward his viewpoint,” with the government selectively enforcing secrecy agreements. Lastly, Snowden maintained that the agreements did not support the U.S. government’s claim against him.

O’Grady is also the judge in the extradition proceeding against Kim Dotcom relating to his now-defunct file storage service, Megaupload. Commenting on the ruling against Snowden, Dotcom tweeted:

Corrupt U.S. Judge Liam O’Grady, the former Disney lawyer who destroyed Megaupload without due process and declared me a fugitive and forfeited all my assets to the U.S. govt without trial, has just ruled that Snowden’s book proceeds belong to the U.S. govt.

What do you think of the ruling that the U.S. government is entitled to proceeds from Snowden’s book? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Hollywood Reporter, and the New York Times.

Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here.

The post Judge Rules Snowden Must Give Book Proceeds to US Government appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Federal Agents Told This Silk Road Moderator to Fake His Own Death

09/12/2018 by Idelto Editor

A former administrator from the now-defunct Silk Road marketplace is recounting his story in a tell-all book and movie deal. After being arrested in 2013, darknet moderator Curtis Green was involved in a bizarre conspiracy with corrupt Silk Road investigators and was later told to fake his own death.

Also read: Tales From A Dead Man: Curtis Green on Silk Road, Ulbricht

A Kilo of Cocaine and Half a Million Dollars of BTC

The Silk Road marketplace, launched in Feb. 2011, was the first darknet market (DNM) that allowed the buying and selling of illicit narcotics. On Friday, a Salt Lake City media publication interviewed former Silk Road administrator Curtis Green about his involvement with the first DNM. Green says he can publicly discuss the subject now after selling his movie rights and publishing his book called The Silk Road Takedown. According to reports, Green’s memories and the Silk Road backstory has been turned into a Coen Brothers screenplay.

Green was involved in a shady conspiracy that complicated the Silk Road (SR) investigation because law enforcement faked his torture and had Green pretend he was dead for a year. Before his arrest, Green worked as a salaried administrator making thousands of bitcoins in revenue by issuing accounts and passwords to SR users. When U.S. bureaucrats started talking about the darknet in Congress, several three-letter agencies began to search for the creator of the Silk Road, an anonymous figure called the Dread Pirate Roberts (DPR). According to Green, when law enforcement officials acquired his Utah address, someone sent a kilogram of cocaine to his house.

The former SR moderator said he didn’t know the cocaine was being delivered and unknowingly took the narcotics into his home. Not long after opening the package of powder, Green was arrested and told the police everything he knew about the darknet marketplace. Moreover, Green gave the investigators vendor passwords and credentials to major dealers selling wares on the market. A couple of days later, about $500,000 worth of BTC was stolen from SR vendors and staff due to Green’s leaked information handed to police.

“I feel terrible,” Green told KSL Broadcasting during his interview in Salt Lake City. “There’s terrible guilt — I really wish I hadn’t gone to the Silk Road.”

Fake Torture and a Phony Death Plot

Following the cocaine bust and stolen bitcoins, Green explained that U.S. law enforcement officials told him that DPR wanted the administrator “beat up.” So they decided to fake-torture Green and used a phony waterboarding technique to make it look like he was bruised and beaten. Green then claims the agents told him DPR wanted him dead and asked him and his wife to perform a fake death. Under instructions from federal agents, the former SR administrator and his wife created a bogus death photo using a can of red soup. Green says he pretended he was dead for close to a year and never left his house in Utah.

Green: ‘Bad Agents Were My Get-Out-of-Jail Card’

It was only after Ross Ulbricht was arrested in San Francisco that Green and the public found out about the two rogue special agents who stole BTC from the investigation. Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Carl Force and U.S. Secret Service veteran Shaun Bridges were convicted of stealing thousands of bitcoins from the case and are now in prison. According to testimony in court, back in April of 2013, the father of Carl Force passed away and Force decided to create an SR account called “Death from Above.” Following the new profile creation, the agent used the account to attempt to extort DPR. Force’s legal representation, criminal defense lawyer Ivan Bates, explained that during this time Force was drinking a lot and had significant mental health problems. Later Green plead guilty for the cocaine delivery, but was let off the hook by federal prosecutors because he helped law enforcement officials and because of the part he played in the Bridges and Force scandal.

“Two people that are deceitful criminals and here they were part of the government,” Green opined during his interview. The former SR administrator continued:

The bad agents were my get-out-of-jail card, to be honest — They put me through a year’s worth of — ‘hell’ is not even a term befitting what they did.

Meanwhile, Ross Ulbricht is serving a double life sentence for his involvement with the darknet market and his family continues to fight for his freedom. The blatant corruption involved with the Silk Road investigation gives the Ulbricht family reason to believe the whole case was rife with manipulation.

The Ulbrichts have also created a petition to U.S. president Donald Trump asking for Ross to receive clemency. So far the document has garnered over 100,000 signatures. Green says his life will go on and emphasized to the Salt Lake City media publication that he “can’t go back and change it.” The former darknet administrator added: “All I can do is apologize, make sure I don’t make the same mistakes twice and move forward.”

What do you think about Curtis Green’s tale regarding U.S. investigators asking him to fake his own death? Let us know what you think about this story in the comments section below.

Images via Shutterstock, Twitter, and Pixabay.

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Japanese Economist Explains Why Another Bitcoin Price Surge Is Unlikely

29/06/2018 by Idelto Editor

Yukio Noguchi, a famous economist in Japan and an advisor to Waseda University’s Business and Finance Research Center argues we can’t expect Bitcoin’s prices to rapidly surge again. In his books and in recent articles, Noguchi makes his case eloquently. He wrote a recent article in Diamond Weekly clarifying his position but has been making his case since January of this year and published a book last December.

Also read: The Daily: Analysts Predict Bitcoin Will Rebound, Enthusiasm for State Coins Lost

“Because It’s Now Possible to Trade on Bitcoin Futures You’ll Never See a Rapid Surge Again”

Noguchi points out that the price of BTC is now almost a third of what it was in December of last year. He believes that because it’s now possible to trade on Bitcoin futures people will never see a rapid surge again.

On one hand, he says that because the price of bitcoin has gone down, the costs of sending bitcoin are now back to a level that makes it cheaper than doing bank transactions and this is welcome.

Japanese Economist Explains Why Another Bitcoin Price Surge Is Unlikely — **Bitcoin won’t surge, Japanese economist says**

He argues that the introduction of the futures market has driven down the price considerably. This year in January he persuasively argued that the cause of Bitcoin price collapse was the start of the selling of bitcoin futures. “Bitcoin prices were a bubble, to begin with, and now we’re seeing a return to normal values. The San Francisco Federal Bank, in a report, also suggested that the introduction of Bitcoin futures trading caused a price drop.

Additionally, the market is heading towards a situation in which it will be possible to short-sell bitcoin futures and that will also contribute to keeping the prices down.

Noguchi points to a paper published on May 7 by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, “How Futures Trading Changed Bitcoin Prices“, authored by Galina Hale, Arvind Krishnamurthy, Marianna Kudlyak, and Patrick Shultz. Here is the key passage:

“From Bitcoin’s inception in 2009 through mid-2017, its price remained under US$4,000. In the second half of 2017, it climbed dramatically to nearly US $20,000, but descended rapidly starting in mid-December. The peak price coincided with the introduction of bitcoin futures trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The rapid run-up and subsequent fall in the price after the introduction of futures does not appear to be a coincidence. Rather, it is consistent with trading behavior that typically accompanies the introduction of futures markets for an asset.”

Noguchi insists that actually, the majority of investors are predicting that prices of bitcoin will continue to fall, especially when some are able to make money from short-selling the cryptocurrency.

He also feels that allowing cryptocurrency to branch off, it makes people feel like they can get new cryptocurrency for free and that also drives down price.

Does he see that as resulting in a decline in the popularity of Bitcoin?

Surprisingly, Noguchi believes it’s a good thing. As the price of bitcoin drops, it becomes a more attractive means of sending money. He calculated that at current prices, if you had to use Mitsubishi UFJ Bank to send money, it costs you 432 yen for any amount above 30,000 yen. But with the current value of Bitcoin, it’s cheaper to send via a regular bank transfer than BTC, unless the value of BTC falls to 675,000 yen. When BTC returns to that level, it will finally be trading at what should be a normal value.

On December 20th last year, Noguchi’s book, “An Introduction To Bitcoin And Blockchain” was published and received rave reviews.

What do you think of Prof. Noguchi’s analysis on Bitcoin surge? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

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