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Pakistan Takes A Leap Into Digitalization; Country Steers Towards Legalizing Crypto

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The value and popularity of the crypto industry have got several mainstream companies entering the market. Pakistan’s latest news reveals that even governments have been taking an interest in digital assets. Turns out, big tech companies aren’t the only ones trying to make an entry into the crypto market. Governments seem to have become immensely accepting of these assets. Pakistan’s latest news is substantial proof of the same.

Pakistan Province Passes A Bill Regarding Crypto

An advisor to the government of Pakistan, Zia Ullah Bangash recently shared a tweet revealing that a bill was unanimously passed in the country. He further pointed out that this bill demanded laws for crypto ownership as well as the mining of Bitcoin. Several ministers along with a few advisors were on board with this decision as they had signed the bill that was addressed to the Chief Minister of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Zia Ullah Bangash’s tweet read,

“KP Assembly passes resolution regarding Cryptocurrency and Cryptomining demanding federal govt to take steps to legalise #cryptocurrency and #cryptomining in Pakistan. #DigitalPakistan”

Pakistan

While this bill did not face any hurdles as no resentment was garnered by the opposition, several poured in their thoughts on the advisor’s tweets. Even though it was a thumbs up by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of the Northern Pakistan region, several in Zia Ullah Bangash’s tweet suggested that this was a grave mistake.

The pandemic curated by COVID-19 had several economies go down the drain and Pakistan was one of the worst-hit. The country took a step towards digitalization during these times would be highly beneficial for the country.

Waqar Zaka has been spearheading the Technology Movement in Pakistan. The crypto influencer seemed to be happy with the country’s latest move. Zaka took to Twitter and suggested that he would go on to urge other provinces to pass a bill to legalize crypto. His tweet read,

“One province done , three more to go , KPK visit brought fruitful results. Now I will be going to Punjab , Baluchistan to get these bills passed for crypto , Technology Movement Pakistan producing results even before getting into elections”

Despite being drowned in court cases for carrying out crypto activities while it is illegal in the country, Zaka revealed that he had installed “Pakistan’s first and biggest crypto mining farm in KPK.”

Trading For Crypto Newbies Made Easier With Singapore-Based Trading Bot

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The crypto industry is quite difficult to understand until one gets a hang of it. Buying and selling of crypto assets is a task for beginners. Paying heed to these problems, a Singapore-based crypto investment, and blockchain advisory firm, Novum Group rolled out a solution to address the same.

Trading Bot To Help Beginners Understand Crypto

A person unaware of trading or the operations of the crypto-verse can sometimes end up doing the unintended. Therefore, acting as a savior to every newbie of the crypto industry, the Novum Group released the trading bot, CryptoHero. The latest venture of the Novum Group would be free and readily available to those who intend to enter the crypto universe.

The Co-founder of CryptoHero, Irwin Chee elaborated on the functions of the trading bot in a recent blog post. Chee said,

“The 24/7 opening hours of the crypto market has necessitated the use of trading automation for investors that are involved in trading cryptocurrencies. Understanding this, we created CryptoHero to help investors automate trades right from their phone. Run it, manage it, anytime, anywhere.”

Knowing when to buy or sell assets profitably is definitely a hard nut to crack. While the experienced or intermediate level members of the industry are familiar with indicators, the newbies would take a while to understand the operations of these indicators. CrytpoHero would aid the latter as it would incorporate indicators like Relative Strength Index or Bollinger Band while trading.

The trading bot would allow users to access all the indicators along with three bots through its free account option. However, the premium plan would start from $9.99 every month. While the Andriod version of the trading bot will enter the market in 2021, CryptoHero is readily available on the web as well as iOS.

The Chairman of Novum Group, Christopher Low also commented on the latest venture and said,

“We are excited with the launch of CryptoHero. CryptoHero will give many of us who are time-starved to trade the cryptomarkets via automated trading bots.”

The trading bot will reportedly allow users to select from trading pairs, different technical indicators, risk management as well as direction. The bot would permit users to do to the aforementioned on exchanges like Binance, OKEx, or Huobi. Users will be able to learn from their previous performance to better themselves in future trading activities.

Crypto Once Again Caught Up With The Darknet Following DOJ’s Latest Drug Bust

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The crypto industry has been striving to steer clear of its association with the darknet. However, this connection between the two has once again resurfaced, following a recent bust by the United States’ Department of Justice [DOJ].

The Big Drug Bust

Opioid has been a pressing problem for the United States of America. With many dying of an opioid overdose, studies show that more than a million people are addicted to it. Desperate times call for desperate measures. The dark side of the web is often visited by many of those who intend to procure a wide range of drugs. Law enforcement wasn’t far behind as the DOJ nabbed over 179 individuals over the sale of drugs through the darknet.

In a recent release, the DOJ pointed out that the agency joined hands with Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team along with Europol to execute Operation DisrupTor. This operation mainly focused on shutting down opioid trafficking on the Darknet that lured over tens of thousands of U.S residents. DisrupTor led to the capture of over $6.5 million in cash and cryptocurrencies. The list continues as 500 kilograms of drugs were obtained worldwide, about 274 kilograms of drugs including fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, MDMA was procured from the bust.

The Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), Edvardas Šileris, took a dig at the “anonymity” of the darknet and said,

“Law enforcement is most effective when working together, and today’s announcement sends a strong message to criminals selling or buying illicit goods on the dark web: the hidden internet is no longer hidden, and your anonymous activity is not anonymous,”

Drugs weren’t the only element these fraudsters were selling, about 63 firearms were and also other illicit goods were discovered by law enforcement. These traffickers reportedly resorted to sites like AlphaBay, Dream, WallStreet, Nightmare, Empire, White House, DeepSea, Dark Market for the sale of their goods.

While the United States sheltered about 121 of these criminals, two were arrested in Canada, four in the United Kingdom, three in Austria, one in Sweden, eight in the Netherlands, and a whopping 42 individuals in Germany.

The Deputy Attorney General, Jeffrey Rosen called out criminals selling fentanyl on the Darknet and said,

“The arrest of 179 of them in seven countries—with the seizure of their drug supplies and their money as well—shows that there will be no safe haven for drug dealing in cyberspace.”

Payments Giant PayPal Probes Incorporation Of Crypto Into The Fold

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Several mainstream companies have been looking at the prospects of cryptocurrencies and have been venturing into the industry. While the social media giant, Facebook’s Libra project has been a great example of the same, several other platforms have been making use of the existing currencies. PayPal is reportedly the latest company to delve into the acceptance of crypto.

PayPal Steers Towards Crypto

Appearing on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Sandi Bragar, the Managing Director at Aspiriant hinted that online payments company, PayPal was working on incorporating crypto into their platform. The COVID-19 pandemic has put the entire globe in shackles, however, the virus hasn’t restrained individuals from engaging in activities pertaining to e-commerce. Bragar pointed out that this cycle would prolong even after the pandemic and PayPal has been evidently been at the forefront of e-commerce and digital payments.

Revealing details regarding PayPal and its interest in crypto, Bragar further added,

“We also like that PayPal is working with merchants to bring crypto into the fold, and we think that’s gonna be really important as cryptocurrencies become more mainstream in the years ahead.”

While Bragar did not provide any further details about PayPal working with its merchants to incorporate crypto, the payments platform isn’t a new name to the crypto-verse. PayPal made news back in June, as rumors pertaining to the platform launching a crypto-centric trading service surfaced the internet. However, a recent letter that the company presented before the European Commission highlighted that PayPal intends to carry forward its presence in the crypto-verse by aiding regulations. The letter further read,

“Of particular interest for us is how these technologies and crypto-assets can be utilized to
achieve greater financial inclusion and help reduce/eliminate some of the pain points that exist today in financial services.”

PayPal has already established its support for the crypto-verse as it provides payment services to cryptocurrency exchanges like Local Bitcoins, Coinbase as well as Paxful.

Additionally, PayPal’s latest move could prove beneficial to the crypto industry as the company hoards a user base of 325 million.

Indian Cryptocurrency Sees Resurgence as August Marks 6 Months Since Crypto Ban Was Lifted

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The world of cryptocurrencies took a massive upswing in March when India’s Supreme Court reversed a ban imposed by Indian’s Reserve Bank back in 2018. Ever since the ban was lifted, several popular institutions who had lost interest in the subcontinent came flocking back to set up shop.

This increase has not gone without notice as many analyst companies outrightly claimed India’s importance in today’s burgeoning economy. The rebound in exchange trading has been accompanied by a rapid thaw in mainstream responses to cryptocurrency.

India’s population has always created a large user base that companies look at with massive interest. With over 600 million banked individuals, it only takes a momentary push to bring in a mainstream sentiment for the cryptocurrency world. Even former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan had said that the world of virtual assets would play a pivotal role in taking the fintech world to the next level. The acceptance level for crypto has reached such a level that even the International Monetary Fund recently released a video talking about the benefits of decentralized assets.

This marked improvement in the affairs comes a few years after a complete crypto shutdown in the country. When the RBI first instituted the ban, several high profile companies from India left the country and decided to explore options in other regions. Zebpay, a popular cryptocurrency exchange was one of the major examples in this crossfire with founder Ajeet Khurana once claiming that a return to India would be profitable.

His words seem to have come true as the crypto industry has grown by double digits in the country. Bitcoin and Ethereum trades are at an all-time high in the country and it does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Even Arjun Vijay, the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Giottus Cryptocurrency exchange stated:

“It takes time to add beneficiaries and transfer money to peoples’ bank accounts. This can be anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours. Most people don’t have the patience to trade like this. Volumes fell 90% when the RBI payments ban came into effect in August 2018.”

The Indian market will again see a resurgence when the price of Bitcoin goes up, a situation that has been on the rollercoaster for the past two months. Experts assume that the current support will maintain for some more time, which can provide sustenance for a continued bull run.

U.S Crypto: 72% of North America Favors Bitcoin; Only 11% Activity in Altcoin

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The United States of America is undoubtedly one of the most active regions in the world in terms of cryptocurrency traffic. Although regulatory wise, the U.S government‘s stance is still not clear on crypto assets, volume-wise, U.S is one of the largest active nations.

Now, according to Chainalysis’s recent report, the North American region is only 3rd in the world in terms of crypto trading volume, behind the markets facilitated in East-Asia and Western Europe. U.S based addresses accounted for 14.8% of all crypto activity in the past 12 months and the report indicated that its market had an “extremely active” professional market. What it meant was that the transactions taking place in and out of the U.S were not for small amounts of capital.

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As suggested in the above illustration, 90% of U.S digital assets transfer came from professional traders, which chainalysis categorizes as transactions worth over $10,000. The report added,

“Starting around December 2019, the share of North America’s total value transferred made up of transfers above $1 million rises from 46% to a high of 57% in May 2020. That corresponds with the jump in the overall professional market share of North America activity rising from 87% in December 2019 to a high of 92% in May 2020.”

Institutional Investors interest growth in the U.S

Aside from an active professional market, the growth of Institutional investors has also been gaining traction in the market. Fidelity Investments June 2020 survey listed that out of 800 accredited investors across the United States and Western Europe, around 36% were involved in digital currencies. The rest of the investors indicated their intrigue as well, with many suggestive that they could potentially add cryptocurrencies to their portfolios.

Fidelity’s very own Digital Assets Platform is also currently active in assisting institutional investors with their demand and crypto custody.

Bitcoin remains the most popular, followed by Stablecoins

Without a surprise, Bitcoin remains the poster boy of digital assets, as every major region involved with digital assets, were dominated with Bitcoin activity over other assets.

Surprisingly, Stablecoins took the 2nd place in the charts outperforming the huge collective of altcoins in the U.S market. The report added,

“Bitcoin makes up the biggest overall share of North American cryptocurrency activity, accounting for 72% of all transaction volume. Altcoins (not including stablecoins) make up just 17% of activity in North America, compared to 33% in East Asia.”

Greek Ex Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis: “Bitcoin will Make Capitalism Uglier, Nastier and More Dangerous for Humanity.”

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In Greece, the former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, came forward and voiced his sentiments about the world’s leading cryptocurrency. By an open letter published on July 27, Yanis Varoufakis stated that Bitcoin’s substitution as fiat currency would not be a good idea, since the crypt would only make “capitalism uglier, nastier and more dangerous for humanity.”

Yanis Varoufakis served as Minister of Finance in the Greek Government for a period of five months from January to August 2015. Greece was in charge of the finance ministry and faced a massive financial crisis to the extent that it was unable to provide a €1.6 billion loan from the International Monetary Authority. Nevertheless, the ex-finance minister is now using his experience and knowledge to deliberate on whether bitcoin can replace cash.

Greek Ex-Finance Minister unconvinced by Bitcoin

Through the letter, Varoufakis argues that Bitcoin cannot adapt and react to the many economic problems, citing the novel coronavirus pandemic. He stated that Bitcoin’s monetary policy is programmed; hence it is difficult to alter.

Furthermore, Bitcoin’s scarce supply, which stands at 21 million, is unlikely to change soon anytime. The supply cap coded into BTC ensures that its supply is developed at a steady speed that is automatically slashed every four years by 50 percent. BTC is incapable of adding to its supply; however, experts claim it is an excellent mechanism to curb its supply and maintain value. 

Additionally, Yanis Varoufakis pointed out the uneven distribution of BTC as one of the reasons it should not substitute fiat. According to him, the majority who holds a lot of BTC is not impressed by the idea of adding to their holdings, since this will depreciate the value of their crypto asset. This proves to be a problem since the rich naturally tend to hold onto Bitcoin at the expense of public interest, creating an inadequate wealth distribution and more so during crises such as the COVID-19.

 Varoufakis backs blockchain technology

Although the ex-Greece finance minister believes that the adoption of Bitcoin will make the world worse, he believes that blockchain is an exceptional technology. The former finance minister highlighted while Bitcoin might not be the solution to capitalists, blockchain technology might play a very vital role in developing a new form of the financial system.

Spiking Volume of Bitcoin P2P Trading Hit New All Time Highs

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Bitcoin P2P ( Peer to Peer )trading is taking the lead in different countries around the world. This could be the result of strict measures to engage in cryptocurrencies in countries such as China. This week, the volume of P2P bitcoin trading has hit new all-time highs in at least six countries. India took the lead in recording a transaction volume of $3.4 million. Other countries on the trail included Ghana with $1.7 million, Argentina and the Philippines with $1 million each, Mexico with $700,000, and finally Egypt with $150,000.

India lifted the ban on crypto trading back in March of this year. The ban appears to have a reversal effect on the direction of trading, with the country emerging strongly as a global leader in cryptocurrency transactions. Bitcoin optimists believe that India will certainly do well and witness a booming growth in the industry. Dozens of exchanges in India experienced an explosive spike in trade volume between March and June. For example, WazirX reported a 160 percent increase in new registrations from different Indian cities. Blockchain analysts believe that wealthy families in India could invest in crypto as a means of diversifying their wealth portfolios.

Peer to Peer ( P2P) bitcoin trading is people ‘s engagement in buying and selling cryptocurrencies without the involvement of middle parties, such as exchanges. This trading method is popular in countries where strict measures against crypto involvement are in place. While countries like China have stopped people taking part in crypto, P2P trading is becoming a healthy bet for people under such governments. As mentioned above, with respect to the top-performing P2P countries, P2P trading has grown steadily and steadily in countries such as Ghana, the Philippines, India, and Argentina. The rate appears to be rising at a high rate and is unlikely to slow down any time soon.

United States Army Intensifying Battle Against Illegal Crypto Transactions Using Cloud-based Solution

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The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) is looking to step up its efforts to effectively track illegal crypto transactions by using a cloud-based solution. The solution involves a Software-as-as-Service web application that has the capability to detect illicit crypto trades in order to combat money laundering and fraud. According to a recently published statement of work both the Major Cyber Crime Unit and the FBI have also expressed their intention to use the app to curb illegal crypto transactions.

Furthermore, the organization has announced that it is actively taking bids for any tested and already developed app. The application must be ready to be used in the battle against fraud and money laundering. All bids are to be submitted before the deadline set for July 20. 

USACIDC sets conditions for the web application

The USACIDC, an arm of army that is sorely responsible for investigating any criminal involvement in the world, has set the conditions that the app must meet to allow it to track illegal trade effectively. The app must also be capable of analyzing all major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin in real-time; allowing users to investigate the origin of crypto trades.

Plus, the app should be quick to detect any suspicious activity involving illegal crypto transactions while tracking cryptocurrency connections.

The app should also feature capabilities such as pattern analysis and involvement with other entities. In addition, it should provide a link analysis tool that will prove handy in the data analysis process.

Stepping up the efforts to combat illegal crypto transactions

Earlier last year, the United States Army Contracting Command of New Jersey published a notice calling for an app that would help security agencies identify people engaged in illegal crypto trading. Development of a web-based military application; alongside other relevant government agencies, will massively boost their efforts to combat illegal crypto transactions in the sector.

Brazil’s Regulator Orders Binance to Stop Providing Crypto Derivatives

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Brazil ‘s financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is commonly known as CVM, has prohibited Binance ‘s giant trading platform from offering cryptocurrency derivatives in the country. According to the authority, derivatives are cryptos or underlying assets, which are considered to be securities.

As such, Binance is required to register with CVM in order to secure an operating license to offer crypto derivatives. The Binance Exchange Platform does not, however, hold such a license to operate as a securities intermediary in Brazil. Indeed, the regulator’s notice points to the growing interest of the investor in cryptocurrency derivatives.

Growing investor interest in the crypto derivatives market

Crypto derivatives allow investors to bet on the market value of cryptos without the need for an actual token. Caution also follows a period when the majority of vital cryptocurrency spots begin to focus on public crypto derivatives offerings on the market, such as BitMEX. For instance, Binance launched a trading margin functionality.

Crypto derivatives offered by Binance aim to form a market that imitates the traditional markets sub-structure. Binance primarily focuses on integrated investment products to drive cryptocurrency adoption in the form of crypto derivatives. As of now, Binance is yet to respond to the ban. Furthermore, the ban will directly impact traders who deal with crypto derivatives in Brazil. The order by CVM reads: 

“It remains evident that the company Binance Futures, through the webpage ‘www.binance.com,’ captures customers residing in Brazil with a public offering of derivative intermediation services…; the aforementioned company does not hold authorization from this Securities and Exchange Commission to act as a securities intermediary.” 

Brazilians not missing cryptocurrency trend

Brazil has off late been a hive of crypto activities in recent years. Brazilians are yet to miss crypto-related trends in the nation. Indeed, in the LATAM region Brazil was the top country in terms of both policing and innovation. In conclusion, Brazil’s journey towards crypto oversight took an additional step in 2019 after the lawmakers formed a commission to contemplate the subject.