Will the Samsung Galaxy S10 come cryptocurrency-ready?
If you need a smartphone that will also work as a mobile cryptocurrency wallet, Samsung may have a handset for you. Photos tweeted by leaker Ice universe on Wednesday purport to show the Samsung Galaxy S10 with support for cryptocurrencies and sporting a Blockchain KeyStore. Text on the handset’s screen calls the KeyStore a “secure and convenient place for your cryptocurrency.” Blockchain is an encryption technology best known for underpinning bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But investor ardor over bitcoin has waned in the past year, with the cryptocurrency trading for about $3,555 on Wednesday after being worth more than $17,000 in December 2017. Samsung is widely expected to unveil the Galaxy S10 at an […]
Cryptocurrency is radical but who does the radicalism benefit?
“Free speech” is one of the battle cries of far-right activists who target democratic consensus and seek to divide the public. Alt-right agitators and trolls embrace the cry of “freedom” even as they take actions that fundamentally corrode Western unity, credibility and morale. Claiming “freedom” in fact makes it hard for defenders of the rules-based nations to identify the threat to public order posed by partisans on private-sector digital platforms. So it is somewhat alarming to see a similar dynamic – the cry of “freedom” – play out in another sphere, that of currency and payments. Right now, terminology being embraced in the world of cryptocurrency places the technology in […]
Fintech trends and predictions for 2019
Fintechs are big, growing and are disruptive. Why wouldn’t they be when they are using innovative technologies making banking and financial services more efficient. So what are the predictors and futurists saying the landscape will look like in 2019 and beyond? Here’s a collection of some of the sources we think are on point! Bitcoin is Just the Beginning The Australian predicts that Bitcoin is Just the Beginning and that the “fintech” revolution is upon us – but we may only be at the start of it. Highlights include: “Financial technology is not only changing the way people purchase and invest, it’s changing the very definition of money as well.” […]
HSBC used blockchain to settle $250B worth of trades
HSBC has settled $250 billion worth of forex trades using blockchain in the last year, it said on Monday, suggesting the heavily hyped technology is gaining traction in a sector until now hesitant to embrace it. The bank has settled over three million forex trades and made over 150,000 payments since February using blockchain, it said in a statement. HSBC would not give data on forex trades settled by traditional processes, saying only that those settled by blockchain represented a “small” proportion. Still, the data marks a significant milestone in the use of blockchain by mainstream finance, which has until now been reluctant to start using the technology at any […]
Long-dormant Bitcoin whales resuming activity could rock price action, analysts say
The number of active Bitcoin (BTC) wallets, many of which have long been dormant, has seen an uptick that could herald some major market movements, Bloomberg reports Jan. 11. Bloomberg bases its report on data and analysis from crypto analytics startup Flipside Crypto, which sealed the backing of major crypto exchange Coinbase and veteran crypto venture capital firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) back in November. According to Flipside, as of Oct. 2018, a high number of long-inactive Bitcoin holders — defined as those that haven’t transferred their Bitcoin for between six and thirty months — have begun to transfer their coins, resulting in wallets active over the past month now […]
Ten years of bitcoin is about more than boom, bubble and bust
This weekend will mark the 10th anniversary of the very first transaction involving bitcoin. A decade later the future of bitcoins and the host of the so-called cryptocurrencies that it spawned is still uncertain. On 12 January 2009, someone who called themselves Satoshi Nakamoto sent 10 bitcoins to a US software engineer, Hal Finney (they may, some believe, have been one and the same). The coins were virtually worthless and it took more than two years before the first exchange of bitcoins for goods – 10,000 bitcoin for two pizzas worth about $US30 ($42) – occurred. For most of their history cryptocurrencies have been a curiosity, a peer-to-peer anti-establishment version […]
Where is the cryptocurrency industry headed in 2019?
To get a sense of just how troubling 2018 has been for the cryptocurrency industry, one need look no further than bitcoin (BTC). Heading into 2018, bitcoin traded for close to $13,500 after reaching an all-time high of $19,783.06 in December of 2017. At the time of writing, bitcoin is selling at $3,400, a loss of about three-quarters of its value — and other digital currencies aren’t faring much better. Ethereum, for example, fell from an early-year high of $1,300 to $91 as of Dec. 17, 2018. But cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum are hurting on more fronts than value alone. Investor interest in digital currencies has waned dramatically in […]
ATO eyes cryptocurrency activity in annual tax returns
The Tax Office has restated warnings to Australians trading cryptocurrency to declare profits in their annual returns, amid an increase in questions about reporting requirements. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are considered property, not currency, for tax purposes in Australia, making them liable for capital gains tax when sold for a profit after July 2017. If the cryptocurrency is held by an Australian resident taxpayer for more than 12 months before being sold or used, the taxpayer may be eligible for the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount, making them a cryptocurrency “investor”. Exemptions for personal use apply, including to assets worth less than $10,000, which are maintained for personal […]
