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New Zealand Watchdog Issues Warning on Crypto Investments Following Bitcoin’s Latest Price Drop

13/01/2021 by Idelto Editor

New Zealand Watchdog Issues Warning on Crypto Investments Following Bitcoin's Latest Price Drop

New Zealand’s financial regulator issued a warning alert to local cryptocurrency investors and traders amid the recent bitcoin’s price action. The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) asks people to remain cautious because cryptos are “high risk and highly volatile assets.”

FMA Warns About Unregulated Overseas Crypto Exchanges

According to an official statement published in the NZ Herald, New Zealand’s financial watchdog is concerned about the latest “rollercoaster move” seen in the bitcoin (BTC) price. “Cryptocurrencies are not regulated in New Zealand and are often exploited by scammers and hackers,” said an FMA spokesman.

But the regulator’s warning is not the only one seen over the last few days. In fact, the FMA quoted its U.K. counterpart, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as saying:

The FMA shares the FCA’s concerns that some crypto exchanges are promising high returns and customers should be prepared to lose all of their money.

The advisory includes a warning on unregulated overseas crypto exchanges. Per the FMA spokesman, exchanges with no connection to New Zealand make it “hard to find out who is offering, exchanging, buying or selling” cryptos.

The Cryptopia’s Saga

The watchdog issued a reminder when dealing with a crypto exchange, stating:

You should also check if the exchange holds your New Zealand dollars in a trust account.

The FMA said that locals need to make sure if the exchange is registered in the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR). That’s a requirement to access a “dispute resolution scheme,” it added.

NZ Herald’s article also references Cryptopia’s heist — a Christchurch-based crypto exchange that suffered a major hack in January 2019. That year, the Cryptopia team estimated they lost almost 9.5% of their total holdings, and the article noted that “crypto deposits are not guaranteed.”

What do you think about the FMA’s crypto warning? Let us know in the comments section below.

Filed Under: cryptocurrency, English, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), financial markets authority, New Zealand, News Bitcoin, Oceania, Regulation, volatile asset, volatility, Warning

New Zealand’s Past, Pūtea and Future: CBDC Vs. Bitcoin

18/11/2020 by Idelto Editor

Source

Currently, there is global attention focused around the evolution of money. The trend of exponentially evolving technology is disrupting finance and governance, it is impacting all corners of the world. 

In my home country of Aotearoa, aka New Zealand, the movement toward future money is palpable, from statements by the central bank (RBNZ) about re-evaluating money itself, to a movement toward Māori (indigenous) economic self-governance (tino rangatiratanga).

This article is about the future of money from a sovereign perspective. My aim is to show that New Zealand is not built on free market principles and in order for us to live up to the partnership envisaged from our founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, Māori must be allowed to decide for themselves what currency and governance best satisfies their needs.

The Past

“Denial of Sovereign Rights”: The second Māori King, pictured with his wife, Hera. Source

Independent authority (mana motuhake) and irredentism has always been at the forefront of Māori grassroots activism. For example, the infamous Hone Heke chopping down the British Flag staff, or King Tawhiao, the second Māori King (pictured above), leading a party to England to petition Queen Victoria in 1884 to create a Māori parliament and an independent commission of inquiry into land confiscations.

In 2014, the Crown acknowledged in court that Māori never ceded sovereignty, therefore, in order to be sovereign, we need a decentralized economic system and currency where no one can dominate it, otherwise we are subject to the Crown’s political and economic whims and short-sightedness.

The Māori relationship to NZ’s banking system has likewise been historically contentious and the following historical timeline exemplifies that. It is mainly compiled from the RBNZ.

Between 1830 and the 1840s: There was no “legal” currency in NZ, it was a free market for money where citizens had the optionality for storing, exchanging and measuring value. Different forms of money during this time derived their value based on their gold and silver content.

1840: The Treaty of Waitangi (Te tiriti o Waitangi) is signed by multiple tribes to set up a partnership with the colonial government where Māori retain their right to self governance (tino ranga tiratanga).

First bank established in NZ, the Union Bank of Australia, which began issuing notes from a shed in Petone, Wellington in March 1840. Notes were redeemable in specie (gold/silver).

1844 to 1845: First NZ paper currency in circulation that was not backed by specie but by legal authority. These “promissory notes” were removed from circulation in 1845 after being deemed illegal by British authorities.

1852 to 1856: A Government institution, Colonial Bank of Issue (CBI), was established and given a monopoly to issue notes backed by specie. The CBI was wound up in 1856 due to lack of confidence in the colonial government.

1856 to 1933: The free market for money returns and currency is issued by private banks, including: Bank of New Zealand, Bank of New South Wales, National Bank of New Zealand, Colonial Bank of New Zealand, Commercial Bank of Australia, Bank of Aotearoa, Bank of Otago, Commercial Bank of New Zealand and Bank of Auckland.

1861: The Bank of New Zealand is established by Royal Charter and Colonial Government legislation. Snoopman News noted: “The ambitious new bank cashed in on colonial parochialism by calling itself the Bank of New Zealand. It brokered finance of £3 million from the London and Sydney money markets to escalate the New Zealand Wars, after the Imperial Government’s terms were deemed too onerous and were declined.

“With a chronic case of ‘terrible twos,’ the Bank of New Zealand also bankrolled the Colonial Government’s overdraft while war was waged on Māori in the Waikato, and then the Bay of Plenty and the Taranaki and Whanganui regions.”

1914: Due to World War I, the requirement to convert notes to gold was suspended and never reinstated. All privately issued bank notes in circulation declared legal tender.

1933: Government instructs banks to depreciate NZ pound by 25 percent against sterling to “relieve pressure on exporters.”

1934: A New Zealand government official currency began life with the establishment of The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), it formed with sole right to issue notes and coins. NZ currency maintained legal convertibility to sterling.

1935: The first centrally-issued notes were authorized by the Reserve Bank Act 1934. The Reserve Bank was initially a private venture but was nationalized in 1936.

1933: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act established the RBNZ with monopoly powers of note and coin issue, with notes and coins to be legal tender, redeemable (in legal tender coin) and convertible (into sterling).

1938: The Sterling Exchange Suspension Notice was a regulation issued under the RBNZ Amendment Act of 1936. The convertibility requirement was dropped.

1964: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act declared that “legal” tender notes were to be issued solely by the Reserve Bank

Initially, according to the central bank, “the New Zealand currency had legal convertibility to sterling, but a growing sense of nationhood and economic independence led to the distinctive New Zealand currency of today.” 

There were multiple attempts at national monopolism of the monetary system and the Bank Of New Zealand funded land dispossession from Māori to the Crown. Was the sense of nationhood growing for Māori? 

Pūtea

Pūtea is the Māori word for gift. I’m using it here as a play on words to represent “the present.”

In the articles “Guardianship: The Māori World View of the Reserve Bank” and “The Journey of Te Pūtea Matua: our Tāne Mahuta”, the desire for Māori consultation in the economy finally becomes important. In “Guardianship,” Christian Hawkesby, RBNZ’s assistant governor, shared that “strong awareness of this [Māori inclusion] at the Reserve Bank is a basic part of our social licence to operate.”

The joint articles used Māori analogies and language (te reo) to explain its existence, such as:

  • God of the forest (Tāne Mahuta). “The Journey” states that the RBNZ “became the Tāne Mahuta of New Zealand’s financial system, allowing the sun to shine on the economy.”
  • Guardian (Kaitiaki). “Guardianship” states that the RBNZ is the guardian of finance. But what exactly is it guarding? A throne fit for the Crown where its “legislated monopoly issuance of a local currency,” as described in “The Journey,” is now institutionally appropriated by benevolent naming. 
  • The prime source of finance (Te Pūtea Matua), translated in 1988 by the Māori language commission and not put to use until June 13, 2012 when it was used as the official Māori name for the Bank.

Te = The 

Pūtea = Gift (money / finance) 

Matua = Respected male elder (parent), senior, main or primary.

With the Māori terminology having multiple meanings depending on the context, the RBNZ translates “The name of the Reserve Bank in Māori is Te Pūtea Matua. This literally means the parent or guardian of all the money.” 

This is different to how it was translated earlier, which was as the “prime source of finance” as it uses the parent or guardian translation instead of the main or prime.

While I do agree that the partnership has not been upheld and that we should incorporate more consultation into the partnership’s decision making and Māori language to explain it, I don’t believe central banking, a colonial and Marxist tool that increases inequality, is worthy of being referred to god-like deities within the Māori lexicon. 

Would you call the NZD, as shown below, a gift?

Source

I would argue that Pūtea has to be founded by the people operating in a free market. It is contradicting to say that the NZD is a gift when it continually loses purchasing power and has to be enforced from legal tender laws so that the Crown can retain a monetary monopoly. 

Free market definition: Any market in which trade is unregulated; an economic system free from government intervention.

According to the NZ treasury: “New Zealand has an open economy that works on free market principles.” But this is an outright lie. 

The terminology is toxic to an understanding of economics, as wealth is not a gift bestowed upon the population by the monetary printing press, but rather by the creation of value from individuals interacting in an infinitely complex network. The idea of wealth as a gift from above is a slave mindset — being fed crumbs from the master’s table.

Are the actions of the central bank befitting of the title of respected elder?

Source

By design, central banking establishes the Crown’s dominance through “legally” enforcing the monopoly on money and enabling the Crown to fund its deficit spending beyond the revenue they accumulate in taxes. Should we really, as Māori, be glorifying or normalizing this centralized colonial power structure?

As highlighted earlier in the historical timeline, the Colonial Bank of Issue (CBI) established a monetary monopoly which wound up in 1856 due to lack of confidence in the colonial government. After that, there were the land wars. This begs the question: What happened between then and 1934 to restore trust and allow the Crown to once again establish a monetary monopoly?

Funding the Crown’s deficit spending is at our expense, as perpetually increasing the total supply of the currency dilutes our stored wealth, which is known as “currency debasement.” It enables the crown to use the new base money with a higher initial purchasing power, this purchasing power decreases with every transaction as the market accounts for monetary inflation, known as the Cantillon Effect.

Source

This increases future taxes for our future generations because money is brought into existence through a debt-based system.

Additionally, annually compounding interest historically negated the loss of purchasing power from the inflating monetary base but interest rates have been continually dropping, which were the incentive to save in dollars to earn annual compounding interest.

Source

New Zealand’s central bank was the “first central bank in the world to adopt inflation targeting in 1989,” according to “Guardianship.” “By creating an environment of low and stable inflation, we aim to give New Zealanders the confidence to make long-term plans for their lives.” 
The issue with the inflation mandate for price stability — which, again, contradicts free market ideology — is that it’s only focused on a changing basket of goods selected by the Crown.

Does long-term planning include owning your own house? Why is that not part of the basket?

The Real Estate Institute’s (REINZ) chief executive Bindi Norwell noted that November 2020 would be remembered “As being the point in time when Auckland region’s median house price hit the million-dollar mark… something no one anticipated or expected.”

Source

When the “gift” is no longer a good medium — a long-term store of value — of course people are going to seek yield in other markets, housing being one of the more simple markets for the average consumer in contrast to stocks or bonds. As Alan Greenspan put it “In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value.” 

So where does this leave us moving forward?

The Future

King Tawhio’s petition to establish independent Māori governance systems was referred back to the New Zealand government by the Queen, and the government dismissed Māori needs back then. Now, thanks to defensive technology such as cryptography, Bitcoin gives optionality for a decentralized governance and monetary system moving forward, one that can’t be dismissed because it is permissionless and resistant to censorship.

The trend toward future money is shown clearly in recent articles from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) and by central banks worldwide exploring Central Bank Digital Coins (CBDCs).

In “Banking the economy in post-COVID Aotearoa” and “Reserve Bank seeks to preserve benefits of cash,” the RBNZ highlighted certain key observations about the effects that financial technologies, led by Bitcoin, are having on legacy systems. 

Statements from these articles include: 

  • “FinTech presents both risks and opportunities for banks, and broader monetary and financial stability, and cuts across a number of Reserve Bank functions. This is not academic, it is happening now.”
  • “Banks’ business models and products must become more customer centric or FinTechs will expand at the banking system’s expense.”
  • “In the years ahead, some of the biggest questions facing central banks could well be around the future of money itself”

It is clear that the traditional financial system is being disrupted and must adapt with the fintech revolution or face being out-competed and phased out.

The RBNZ is not necessarily opposed to this fintech revolution, but it has signalled that the commercial banks have a current advantage and will not be bailed out.

“The Reserve Bank is not guardian of the status quo,” per “Banking the economy in post-COVID Aotearoa.” “Whilst FinTech disruptors could weaken bank profitability and create transitional risks, ultimately the Reserve Bank supports a dynamic financial system focused on improving outcomes for customers and financial system participants. Commercial banks start with the advantage of established customer relationships and a prevalence of accumulated data. Whether banks embrace the opportunity of open data, or resist innovation and are competed away by emerging FinTechs is up to them.”

Controversially, the RBNZ is simultaneously exploring a Central Bank Digital Coin (CBDC), which would compete directly with the entire private banking ecosystem. 

“Looking forward, we remain open minded about how the technology of money and payments will continue to evolve,” RBNZ Assistant Governor Christian Hawkesby said. He added that “central banks around the world, including the Reserve Bank, are researching retail CBDCs. Although we have no imminent plans to issue a CBDC, we are well-connected and considering these developments very closely.”

An important question is: Can the private banks compete with a CBDC? And how?

The trend emerging is that the centralized legacy system is outdated regarding technology, and fiat is outdated as money, given that it is a poor store of value which is a critical monetary function. Here are the signals backing my view:

  1. RBNZ Chief Economist Yong Ha, talking about negative interest rates, has been quoted as saying: “We acknowledge asset prices will rise and house prices are the key one.”
  1. The International Monetary Fund recently suggested that it’s time for a new Bretton Woods Movement.
  1. RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr and Chief Executive of Power Finance Dave Corbett have said:  “We’re talking about a sovereign-backed digital currency that we built for New Zealand.” And “The Power Dollar is both a store of value and an enabler of payments. It is essentially a sovereign-backed smart money, one-to-one backed to the New Zealand dollar and will be held by the Government which has credit ratings of AAA and AA+.”

Apparently there is a currency battle taking place for the future of money and who gets to be the usurer. 

CBDCs, such as the asset created by Power Finance, are not reinventing the wheel in regards to the store of value functionality, the Crown will still be able to “print.” Central banks, like many other fintech applications, are trying to extract and utilize blockchain technology in an attempt to replicate the success that bitcoin has had as the best performing monetary asset over the last decade.

What most central banks and governments have not figured out though, is that the value is not derived from “blockchain technology” alone, which Bitcoin birthed. 

“The reality is, that a ‘blockchain’ is just a kind of slow, inefficient, distributed database,” as Ben de Wall wrote. “Everything that makes Bitcoin’s blockchain interesting is the technology around it: Decentralisation, proof of work, economic game theory, and the absolutely brilliant concept of the mining difficult adjustment to set a kind of clock that adds a new kind of ‘fairness’ to the system that has never been seen before. With these, a blockchain is an important part of a technological marvel; without them, it’s just a slow, inefficient database.” 

The entire purpose of a blockchain data structure is to enable decentralized control, and so is nonsensical when deployed by a central authority.

Fidelity, a multi-trillion dollar asset management firm in the U.S, understands the bitcoin (not blockchain technology) value proposition from an institutional perspective and recently released its second investment thesis on bitcoin:

  1. Bitcoin as an aspirational store of value system
  2. Bitcoin’s role as an alternative investment

As it highlighted: “In the current economic environment where investors are worried about the lasting impact of the pandemic, unprecedented quantitative easing and other central bank intervention, and historically low interest rates on public equity and fixed income markets, identifying alternative sources of return has become paramount.”

Showing that regardless of volatility within the emerging asset class, a non-zero allocation is beneficial to each and every portfolio.

“Investors may use alternatives to fulfill one or more roles in a portfolio,” Fidelity explained. “Broadly, these roles include diversification, risk reduction, return enhancement, and yield or income generation.”

There has been talk about creating a Māori cryptocurrency for economic tino rangatiratanga (self governance). While I am open to being wrong, the game theory suggests that Bitcoin is our best chance to facilitate that.

Why?

Nick Szabo’s piece “Shelling Out’’ highlights the monetization process for an asset; starting as a collectible and growing into a widely known store of value which then becomes a medium of exchange as the assets liquidity increases. Once widely used for both of these functions, it finally becomes the measuring stick, a unit of account. Throughout this process the asset is competing with other monies and people inadvertently converge to the best money to store their value.

Source

Given that the first step is becoming a widely-known store of value, any competition has to provide more of an incentive than bitcoin to warrant storing value, if it can’t provide a better incentive then people will converge to the better medium: bitcoin.

Just like the failed e-currencies before bitcoin, fiat suffers from the same issue, as pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto simply put it: “A lot of people automatically dismiss e-currency as a lost cause because of all the companies that failed since the 1990’s. I hope it’s obvious it was only the centrally controlled nature of those systems that doomed them. I think this is the first time we’re trying a decentralized, non-trust-based system.”

 
Or, to delve a bit further, Unchained Capital’s Parker Lewis wrote:

“If any individual comes to three principal conclusions: i) money is a basic necessity, ii) money is not a collective hallucination and iii) economic systems converge on a single medium, that individual is going to more consciously seek out the best form of money. 

“It is money that preserves value into the future, and ultimately, allows individuals to convert their own time and their own skills into a range of choice so great that prior generations would find it difficult to imagine. Freedom is ultimately what a reliable form of money provides: the freedom to pursue individual interests (specialization) and the ability to convert the output of that value into the value created by others (trade). Whether individuals consciously ask themselves these questions or not, they will naturally be forced to answer them through their actions. They will also arrive at the same answer as those that do.”

Source

Some tend to focus on medium-of-exchange attributes and functionality (payment speeds or costs) as if they are mutually exclusive from the store-of-value function. As we now know, the store-of-value attributes and functionality are the first hurdle. The latter can be altered and experimented on in various secondary layers, but if there is no scarcity and demand to warrant storing value, then there is no need to exchange worthless tokens. This is simply payment processor narratives, not currency competition because no one will store alpha within. It’s monetary Darwinism.

If we were to try to create our own currency we would need to consider demand and the network security. Who will build it and be early entrants? Different tribes (Iwi) didn’t agree to unite under King Tawhiao’s authority back then, I’d imagine it would be similar today.

Could it incentivize distribution enough to be decentralized, or will some central figure have admin keys? Will it be scarcer than bitcoin and therefore a better store of value?

For now, bitcoin is the only serious option.

I hope this further opens the dialogue for different monetary options in the future. More competition makes the market freer, which provides better solutions and allocation of capital, bringing more freedom and prosperity as a result. Stop swapping your time, energy and hard work for something you don’t understand.

Kā tapu waewae o mātou tīpuna — The sacred footsteps of our ancestors. Free, sovereign.

This is a guest post by Ben Jarvie. Opinions expressed are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

The post New Zealand’s Past, Pūtea and Future: CBDC Vs. Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Filed Under: Bitcoin Magazine, English, hyperbitcoinization, indigenous people, maori, New Zealand, Sovereignty

Privacy-Focused Brave Users Can Now Purchase Bitcoin Cash Through Bitcoin.com

25/10/2020 by Idelto Editor

Privacy-Focused Brave Users Can Now Purchase Bitcoin Cash Through Bitcoin.com

The privacy-centric web browser Brave has partnered with Bitcoin.com in order to give users access to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash from directly inside their browser. The newly added Bitcoin.com widget has been added to the latest Brave software and is now available to users in various countries.

  • The latest version of the privacy-oriented Brave browser now has a Bitcoin.com widget that allows people to purchase cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash (BCH). The widget is available to users in select regions such as the EU, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Russia.
  • Bitcoin.com’s founder Roger Ver tweeted about the recent partnership on October 21. “Bitcoin.com has partnered with Brave to allow users to buy Bitcoin Cash directly inside their privacy-centric browser,” Ver stated.
  • According to recent statistics, the privacy-centric Browser has roughly 19.6 million monthly users and around 6.6 million active on a daily basis. Brave’s Bitcoin.com widget follows a number of other popular exchange widgets hosted on the browser.
  • The new widget announcement was extremely popular on the Reddit forum r/btc, as a great number of BCH fans were pleased with the added accessibility. “This is great news,” explained one BCH proponent. “Been using Brave for almost a year now. I think I’ve made about $50 and have tipped a lot of journalists with it.”
  • “A lot of people love BCH, and the Bitcoin.com service,” Jonathan Sampson, Senior Developer Relations at Brave said on Twitter. “We want these people to be safe, and secure when they’re using Brave. For this reason, a widget helps to protect their transactions,” he added.
  • Bitcoin cash (BCH) transactions are lightning-fast and fees are always negligible. According to data on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, the next block fee for BCH is $0.0014 and the current median fee is $0.0012. In comparison, bitcoin’s (BTC) next block fee is $4.64 and the current median fee is $2.35.

What do you think about Bitcoin.com’s integration with the privacy-centric Brave browser? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

The post Privacy-Focused Brave Users Can Now Purchase Bitcoin Cash Through Bitcoin.com appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Filed Under: /r/btc, Australia, BCH, BCH Fans, BCH Fees, BCH Supporters, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin.com, Bitcoin.com Founder, Brave, Brave Browser, BTC fees, Buy Bitcoin Cash, Canada, English, EU, Exchanges, Jonathan Sampson, New Zealand, News Bitcoin, Privacy Centric, Promo, Promoted, Roger Ver, Russia, uk, widget

Nature Abhors a Vacuum: Why Trump’s Proposed Negative Rates Bode Well for Bitcoin

14/09/2019 by Idelto Editor

Nature Abhors a Vacuum - Why Trump's Proposed Negative Rates Bode Well for Bitcoin

In a recent tweet, U.S. president Donald Trump delved into an explosive, all-caps-loaded mini-rant about the necessity of getting “interest rates down to ZERO, or less.” The bombastic politician stressed the need for America to refinance its debt, trailing off with some superficially conservative speak about the U.S. and its “great currency, power, and balance sheet,” and calling the Fed “boneheads” for refusing to inflate credit bubbles further. Sycophantic support of the leader aside, negative interest rate policies (NIRP) are slowly but surely gaining prominence worldwide, setting everyone up for a fall that can only be solved by sound money and sound economic principle.

Also Read: Market Outlook: Uncertainty Builds With Thin Trade Volumes and Bitcoin Futures Launch

Pretty Vacant

As the popular idiom goes, talk is cheap and lies are expensive. When it comes to national interest rate policies worldwide, the story is the same. While slashing rates may create short-term growth in a given economy, the long-term effect is to inflate credit bubbles which ultimately have to burst if not paid for. With the U.S. national debt currently sitting at over $22.5 trillion, it’s hard to imagine anything being paid up on. Ever.

While Trump’s tweet is worded to please the ears of an openly conservative-identifying support base, the underlying implications of what is being suggested are about as “conservative” as deciding to spend one’s entire paycheck at the strip club, and then selling plasma to fund a Maoist commune of unemployed California college hippie kids, all in order to receive their moral support later for help paying one’s bills.

Nature Abhors a Vacuum: Why Trump's Proposed Negative Rates Bode Well for Bitcoin
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso grin happily at a meeting of the IMF and World Bank in Washington D.C., in April.

NIRP policies are racking the world with more debt than ever recently, and while the flowery talk may sound pretty, it’s the common individual who always eats the dirt. Take Japan, for example. The current consumption tax was set to 8% in April, 2014. Next month, on October 1, it will jump to 10%. This is spite of the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) current quantitative easing-friendly (QE) national interest rate of -0.1%. As Investopedia’s Sean Ross accurately surmises:

Wherever they have been tried, chronically low-interest rates and huge monetary expansions have failed to promote real economic growth. Quantitative easing (QE) did not achieve its stated objectives in the United States or the European Union (EU), and chronic low-interest rates have been unable to revive Japan’s once-thriving economy.

To deal with the hike and mask the downward spiral into recession, some Japanese businesses are simply changing price displays to not include tax, in a desperate bid to soften the perceived impact of the gutting.

Nature Abhors a Vacuum: Why Trump's Proposed Negative Rates Bode Well for Bitcoin

Denmark and the 2008 U.S. Housing Crisis

As news.Bitcoin.com has reported previously, negative interest rates in Europe are “saving” local economies and value holders to the tune of more debt, illiquidity, and negative yielding bonds. Taking out loans for housing is now very cheap in Denmark, with some mortgage financing even dipping into the negative territory. Thanks to the fact that borrowing has never been cheaper, Danes are expected to take out more and more loans. For Americans and others familiar with the housing crisis and collapse of 2007-08, all of this sounds eerily familiar.

Prior to the U.S. housing crisis and ensuing global recession, the American government was — as per Trump’s current prescription — slashing interest rates. The federal funds rate was lowered from 6.5% to 1.75% in December 2001, and the liquidity that followed attracted borrowers without adequate income or assets to seek out low-quality loans. Lenders and banks were happy to oblige.

Nature Abhors a Vacuum: Why Trump's Proposed Negative Rates Bode Well for Bitcoin
Interest rates in the U.S. are experiencing a continuing downward trend.

House prices shot up thanks to the new money on the market, and by June 2003 the interest rate was cut further to 1%, which was the lowest in 45 years. Sub-prime loans were then being repackaged and sold to investors as collateralized debt, and when people began to default, the whole house of cards imploded. The government’s solution? Just print hundreds of billions of dollars to buy the bad loans, further devaluing the U.S. dollar and increasing the national debt. For those with eyes to see, this is all a game being played with Monopoly money, where the banker can simply create more cash willy-nilly at any time. Trump may call bitcoin a “thin air” currency, but the truth is that his beloved USD is the real vapid scam being pushed here.

Nature Abhors a Vacuum: Why Trump's Proposed Negative Rates Bode Well for Bitcoin

Nature Abhors a Vacuum – Sound Money As a Hedge

These days, more and more investors are talking about hedging against a global liquidity crisis with crypto and gold. The foundational reasons are fairly simple: both assets are limited (supply and demand dynamics thus protect against inflation), and both assets can be controlled privately, without the approval of third parties like governments or major banks. This is in stark contrast to the fiat model, where money is created arbitrarily, and the supply adjusted by self-interested third parties with little to no incentive to serve the currency’s larger userbase.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) recently released a letter to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on September 12, announcing they are “self-certifying an increase of the spot month position limits for the Bitcoin Futures contract (the “Contract”), commencing with the October 2019 contract month and beyond.”

Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) Bakkt has announced they will launch daily and monthly bitcoin futures on September 23.

Bakkt Warehouse custody is live.

Now accepting customer bitcoin deposits and withdrawals. Only 17 days until the Bakkt Daily and Monthly Futures contracts launch on Sep 23.

— Bakkt (@Bakkt) September 6, 2019

For the everyday investor not interested in high-falutin, leveraged futures as a hedge, simply holding and investing in gold and bitcoin serves the same basic purpose, and often with less risk. In today’s volatile economic climate where major governments — even in traditionally anti-negative interest, Five Eyes Alliance (FVEY) countries — are chopping rates like there’s no tomorrow, an action as simple as holding sound money quietly is a move that could potentially save much financial heartache down the road.

Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and major banks like the European Central Bank and UBS are already employing negative rates. Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. are experimenting with slashing rates consistently. President Trump’s wild proclamation that this is just what the doctor ordered comes at a time of worldwide skepticism, when more and more individuals are waking up to the fact that no matter how much money is printed, resources are limited, and supply and demand is a reality that must be faced.

Should the vacuum seal of negative rates and Keynesian QE crack, rest assured that the oxygen of free market principles and sound money will rush in to fill the gaps immediately, but there may not be enough to go around. In this light, Trump’s call for more credit can be seen as a call to individuals worldwide to invest in sound money as soon as possible, and with importunity.

What are your thoughts on Trump’s tweet? Let us know in the comments section below.

Op-ed disclaimer: This is an Op-ed article. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the Op-ed article. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the content. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any information in this Op-ed article.


Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Fair Use.


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Crypto Salaries Gain Regulatory Recognition Around the World

29/08/2019 by Idelto Editor

Crypto Salaries Gain Regulatory Recognition Around the World

Salaries paid in decentralized digital coins have become a norm across the crypto industry, but there’s really no reason why cryptocurrencies can’t be used for remuneration by businesses in other sectors as well. In many jurisdictions that should be legal even in the absence of dedicated legislation. Switzerland, New Zealand, Japan and Estonia are a few examples. Companies and employees in these countries take advantage of the benefits that come with crypto payments.

Also read: Initiative to Curtail Negative Interest Rates Gains Traction in Germany

Temptation to Tax Crypto Income Works in Favor of Bitcoin Wages

Switzerland has already established itself as a crypto-friendly nation and it is a role model in many respects, including the way it treats cryptocurrency remuneration. Many leading companies and projects in the crypto space have already set up offices or are headquartered in the Swiss Crypto Valley, centered in the Canton of Zug. The long list includes names such as Shapeshift, Xapo, Bitmain, the Ethereum Foundation and most recently the Libra Association.

For many decades, the Alpine federation was a good example of geopolitical neutrality and financial privacy. The latter has been somewhat degraded in the past few years under pressure from powerful players such as the U.S. and the EU. However, decentralized digital currencies are offering Switzerland a chance to redeem itself in the eyes of account holders, and the country has embraced the opportunity.

Crypto Salaries Gain Regulatory Recognition Around the World

Many aspects of dealing with crypto assets have been regulated already by the Swiss authorities and that includes taxation. People who receive cryptocurrency as wage income need to declare it and pay tax, just like with fiat salaries. Crypto gains of investors and traders are treated as tax-exempt capital gains but depending on the canton, you may have to pay wealth tax which is levied on the total amount of digital coins you hold, similar to cash or precious metals.

In a confederation like Switzerland, there are multiple levels of income taxation – federal, cantonal, and municipal. Regulations vary from one administrative unit to another and income tax can be progressive or proportional. Amounts owed also depend on the marital status of the taxpayer. The scope of taxable income covers all funds accruing to a natural person from all sources. That includes remuneration received in various forms, including digital.

Cryptocurrency Remuneration Spreads in Friendly Jurisdictions

Switzerland is undoubtedly a leader in creating favorable conditions for crypto businesses, but other nations have been quickly catching up. Among those where crypto salaries are a working option are Japan, Estonia, and the United States. For example, Japanese internet giant GMO announced some time ago that its almost 5,000 employees will be able to receive part of their salaries in cryptocurrency. And this spring, U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken revealed it paid 250 salaries in bitcoin in April.

Crypto companies registered in Estonia, considered to be one of the most advanced digital societies, are often partially compensating or encouraging their employees with cryptocurrencies and tokens. The Baltic nation’s legislation provides for the taxation of such income. But even in jurisdictions where cryptocurrencies are yet to be legalized, crypto salaries are possible. In Russia, for example, half of fintech companies pay their employees with coins.

Crypto Salaries Gain Regulatory Recognition Around the World

The crypto industry is not restricted by national boundaries. Cryptocurrencies significantly improve the speed and reliability of cross-border payments and the growing gig economy is taking advantage of the benefits of frictionless digital money. According to a study from 2017, freelancers will form a majority of the workforce in the United States within a decade. And a survey on payment preferences conducted in 2018 shows that a third of them would like to be paid partially or entirely in cryptocurrency.

Crypto-paid remote jobs are rapidly spreading in the global economy as well, thanks to the services offered by companies like Bitwage. It’s also getting easier to find a job paid in cryptocurrency with the help of platforms such as Workingforbitcoins.

New Zealand Tax Authority Adopts Rules for Crypto Payroll

Generally speaking, crypto salaries don’t really need dedicated legislation or special permissions by authorities to be legal. Many countries allow part of an employee’s compensation to be paid with non-monetary assets like commodities. And in jurisdictions where digital coins are not yet recognized as currencies, they have been granted a commodity status. Thus, cryptocurrencies can still be paid and received as fringe benefits.

Nevertheless, it does look like a step forward when a government agency explicitly mentions crypto wages in its official documents. And that’s what the tax authority in New Zealand recently did, deeming it legal for businesses to pay their employees in bitcoin. Companies will now be able to withhold tax on income payments under the existing pay-as-you-earn schemes like those of regular fiat salaries, as per the country’s current tax legislation.

The clarifications were made in an information bulletin issued earlier this month by New Zealand’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD). The ruling will go into effect on Sept. 1, 2019 and will be valid for the next three years. And while crypto enthusiasts have welcomed the arrangement as one that can encourage crypto adoption, doubters have expressed concerns its only goal is to ensure the collection of more taxes by the government in Wellington.

Crypto Salaries Gain Regulatory Recognition Around the World

As expected from a regulator, the green light comes with multiple conditions. First of all, only employees working under official agreements can be paid with cryptocurrency. Then, the payments must be for a fixed amount, not exceeding half of the full pay, with the value of the crypto asset pegged to one or more fiat currencies. The crypto wages must be a regular part of the employee’s remuneration and be convertible into government-issued fiat money like the New Zealand Dollar.

The IRD also pointed out that salaries must be paid in a coin that can function as a currency, a substitute to fiat. This requirement aims to protect employees from being paid in an illiquid asset or small altcoin.

The tax agency listed several decentralized cryptocurrencies that meet its criteria. These are bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin core (BTC), bitcoin gold (BTG), ethereum (ETH), and litecoin (LTC). The revenue department also thinks stablecoins such as tether (USDT), or any of its alternatives that are easily convertible to fiat, qualify for that role as well.

If you are looking to securely acquire bitcoin cash (BCH) and other leading cryptocurrencies, you can do that at Buy.Bitcoin.com. And if you are earning a salary in bitcoin cash, you can sell or buy BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer trading platform. The Local.Bitcoin.com marketplace already has thousands of users from all around the world.

Do you expect more countries to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies for remuneration? Do you think crypto salaries need specific regulations? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.


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The post Crypto Salaries Gain Regulatory Recognition Around the World appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Filed Under: BCH, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Businesses, companies, crypto, Cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency, Economy & Regulation, Employees, employers, English, Estonia, Freelancers, Japan, New Zealand, News Bitcoin, Regulations, remuneration, rules, Russia, salaries, Switzerland, Taxation, Taxes, U.S., wages

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