Tag: cryptocurrency

Tesla names Musk ‘Technoking’ in cryptic regulatory filing

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Last month, Tesla revealed it had purchased $1.5 billion of bitcoin and would soon accept it as a form of payment for cars, sending the price of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency soaring

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Tesla Inc added “Technoking of Tesla” to billionaire Chief Executive Elon Musk’s list of official titles on Monday in a formal regulatory filing that also named finance chief Zachary Kirkhorn “Master of Coin”.

The electric-car maker did not elaborate on the reasons for the cryptic new titles in a pair of statements that also said President of Automotive Jerome Guillen had moved to the role of President for Tesla Heavy Trucking, effective March 11.

Also Read | Elon Musk wants clean power, but Tesla’s carrying bitcoin’s dirty baggage

Last month, Tesla revealed it had purchased $1.5 billion of bitcoin and would soon accept it as a form of payment for cars, sending the price of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency soaring.

Musk’s recent promotion of dogecoin on Twitter has also lifted the price of that cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin hit new highs of near $62,000 over the weekend but retreated around 5% early in the European day on Monday.

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Bitcoin Hits Record High, Passes $60,000 for First Time

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Bitcoin briefly rose above $60,000 for the first time on Saturday, as increasing backing from corporate heavyweights helps the world’s most popular virtual currency continue its record-breaking run.

The cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of $60,012 at 1149 GMT, according to the website CoinMarketCap.

Bitcoin has been on a meteoric rise since March last year, when it stood at $5,000, spurred by online payments giant PayPal saying it would allow account holders to use cryptocurrency.

Last month Elon Musk’s electric carmaker Tesla invested $1.5 billion in the virtual unit, while Twitter chief Jack Dorsey and rap mogul Jay-Z said they are creating a fund aimed at making Bitcoin “the internet’s currency”.

Others jumping on the bandwagon include Wall Street player BNY Mellon, investment fund giant BlackRock and credit card titan Mastercard.

Bitcoin, which was launched back in 2009, hit the headlines in 2017 after soaring from less than $1,000 in January to almost $20,000 in December of the same year.

The virtual bubble then burst in subsequent days, with bitcoin’s value then fluctuating wildly before sinking below $5,000 by October 2018.

However the last year’s rise has been more steady, with investors and Wall Street finance giants wooed by dizzying growth, the opportunity for profit and asset diversification, and a safe store of value to guard against inflation.

Bitcoins are traded via a decentralised registry system known as a blockchain.

The system requires massive computer processing power in order to manage and implement transactions.

That power is provided by “miners”, who do so in the hope they will receive new bitcoins for validating transaction data.

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Bitcoin price: Bitcoin hits record high; passes $60,000 for first time | International Business News – Times of India

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PARIS: Bitcoin briefly rose above $60,000 for the first time on Saturday, as increasing backing from corporate heavyweights helps the world’s most popular virtual currency continue its record-breaking run.
The cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of $60,012 at 1149 GMT, according to the website CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin has been on a meteoric rise since March last year, when it stood at $5,000, spurred by online payments giant PayPal saying it would allow account holders to use cryptocurrency.
Last month Elon Musk’s electric carmaker Tesla invested $1.5 billion in the virtual unit, while Twitter chief Jack Dorsey and rap mogul Jay-Z said they are creating a fund aimed at making Bitcoin “the internet’s currency”.
Others jumping on the bandwagon include Wall Street player BNY Mellon, investment fund giant BlackRock and credit card titan Mastercard.
Bitcoin, which was launched back in 2009, hit the headlines in 2017 after soaring from less than $1,000 in January to almost $20,000 in December of the same year.
The virtual bubble then burst in subsequent days, with bitcoin’s value then fluctuating wildly before sinking below $5,000 by October 2018.
However the last year’s rise has been more steady, with investors and Wall Street finance giants wooed by dizzying growth, the opportunity for profit and asset diversification, and a safe store of value to guard against inflation.
Bitcoins are traded via a decentralised registry system known as a blockchain.
The system requires massive computer processing power in order to manage and implement transactions.
That power is provided by “miners”, who do so in the hope they will receive new bitcoins for validating transaction data.

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Secrecy shrouds proposed cryptocurrency Bill: IAMAI

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There is some amount of ‘secrecy’ around the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, a new regulation expected to be cleared by the Centre soon, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) said.

“We don’t understand what is so secretive about this bill that is in the making,” the industry body said. “What makes it more strange is, not a single ecosystem player, industry representative or members of the public were consulted before its draft was prepared,” IAMAI added.

India has more than 10 million buyers and sellers of cryptocurrency (mostly in bitcoins) constituting 10-15% of the global user base.

Many entrepreneurs have already built their businesses around cryptocurrency and also hundreds of techies are deployed in building the required software platforms and trading infrastructure for crypto exchanges.

“As of now the ecosystem players have only hearsay information and there is no clarity whatsoever about what the government is planning,” IAMAI said.

“If the government has plans to ban crypto, why does it require a bill when it can be done through an executive order,” it asked. “There are hundreds of software developers working on blockchain projects in India using crypto,” Nishith Desai, founder, Nishith Desai Associates, said. “Besides, there are skilled graduates from technology institutes supported by well-known venture capital funds who are in the space,” he said.

“Also, lakhs of people have made legitimate investments in crypto. To deprive them of opportunities may have constitutional issues,” Mr. Desai added.

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New-age desi tech companies use crypto for pay, perks – Times of India

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CHENNAI: New-age tech companies are satiating their young workforce’s growing desire for digital money by using a workaround to pay either part of their salary, bonus or other incentives in cryptocurrency. For employers, this is a quick and easy transaction, while for employees the lure is the possibility of the crypto appreciating in value.
There are two approaches taken by employers. One is to register their entities in crypto-friendly nations and pay their employees in cryptocurrency to avoid any legal or tax hurdles.
The second is to record the payment as a rupee transaction in their books, but to facilitate the conversion of the rupee into cryptocurrency.

An executive from a gateway company, which facilitates payments for cryptocurrency through banking channels, said, “Generally, we use a stable coin/cryptocurrency like Tether (USDt) to pay salaries. Employees can cash them out immediately or hold on to them.” Since Tether is pegged to the dollar, a systems engineer with a pay package of $60,000 per annum will get 60,000 USDt.
In India, cryptocurrency continues to be a grey area and both employees and employers are worried about the tax implications. “After encashment of altcoins via cryptocurrency exchanges, I file that amount as income from consultant fee for tax returns,” said Sujeet Kumar, a Patna-based consultant for use cases of blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Kumar gets paid in altcoin like Ethereum, Plaas Token and Audio Coin, which he encashes through Indian cryptocurrency exchanges. “I usually convert the coins according to my need. Most of my clients are in the cryptocurrency market, thus making the transactions easier and faster. I have taken my last year’s bonus via cryptocurrency too.”
The CEO of a cryptocurrency news website said, “We follow a method where we pay salaries in cryptocurrency and draw a salary slip in rupee. This spares employees from any concerns if their salary slips are in crypto.”
Opinder Preet Singh, who heads a crypto hedge fund called Chain Assets Capital, said, “With too many legal regulations and lack of clarification on recognising cryptocurrency in India, we have registered our company in a crypto-friendly jurisdiction abroad. This allows us to pay salary, bonuses and incentives or spend money in India and also around the globe, especially for freelancers hired overseas.”

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Blockchain Good, But ‘Major Concerns’ About Cryptocurrency: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

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Shaktikanta Das, governor of the Reserve Bank of India, said earlier today that the central bank has voiced concerns around the viability of cryptocurrencies with the Indian government. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Das said, “We have certain major concerns about cryptocurrency. We have communicated them to the government. It is under consideration in the government and I do expect and I think sooner or later the government will take a call and if required the Parliament also will consider and decide.”

The concerns raised by Das comes at a time when reports have widely claimed that the Indian government is mulling a ban on all trading and holding of private cryptocurrencies, but remains open to the possibility of a centre-backed digital currency that will make use of blockchain technology but avoid the frailties of private crypto-coins. The main issue for RBI with these cryptocurrencies is linked to the financial stability of the non-fiat currencies, Das said.

However, Das underlined that while he has raised concerns about cryptocurrencies, the RBI remains open about using blockchain as the central, underlying technology. “I also want to make it very clear that blockchain technology is different. The benefits of it have to be exploited, that is another thing, but on crypto, we have major concerns from the financial stability angle,” he said to CNBC-TV18.

Alongside India, governments of other nations have also raised concerns around the volatility of cryptocurrencies due to them being held by private entities, leading to mass fluctuation of prices and minimal stability. The Indian government, on this note, is expected to set up a high-level inter-ministerial committee that will take a call on the future of cryptocurrencies in India. Inputs relayed to the government by RBI governor Das is also expected to play its role in the overall decision.



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