The Venezuelan National Guard has seized 315 Bitcoin (BTC) mining machines, while the government has been denied access to its gold reserves stored in England.

Venezuelan National Guard seizes Bitcoin mining rigs

The Venezuelan National Guard has seized 315 Bitcoin (BTC) mining machines as they were being transported in Puerto Ordaz.

Apparently the owners of the Bitmain miners didn’t “have the required permits to own and operate the machines.” Authorities in Puerto Ordaz also said the owners were not authorised to transport them during the COVID-19 quarantine. 

Under Venezuelan law anyone wanting to own or operate cryptocurrency mining machines must first secure permits from the “National Superintendence of Cryptoactivities.” 

UK Court prevents Venezuela from accessing its own gold reserves

Just last week, the UK High Court blocked Venezuela’s ‘president’ Nicolas Maduro from accessing  gold stored at the Bank of England – which amounts to some $1 billion USD worth. 

Venezuela’s central bank, Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV), had sued the Bank of England for access to the gold, but Maduro’s rival, Juan Guaidó, who declared himself acting president in 2019, argued that Maduro would use the gold for corrupt purposes, not to fight the COVID-19 outbreak as claimed.

The Bank of England asked the High Court to rule on who the UK government should recognise as legitimate president of Venezuela, and it concluded that the UK had “unequivocally recognised opposition leader Juan Guaidó as president.”

This will put further pressure on the Venezuelan government’s finances, which were already reeling from a collapsing economy and hyperinflation before the COVID-19 crisis hit, and the international demand for oil collapsed.

As we’ve previously reported, the Venezuelan government had pinned its economic hopes on its national oil-backed Petro cryptocurrency. However, even prior to the current global crisis, the digital currency system had been lambasted as a joke, and seemed to be falling apart, with only the government itself taking it seriously, and the Venezuelan people opting to stick with cryptos like Bitcoin.

AYO.NEWS says:

This is interesting, as only last week Max Keiser predicted that a Bitcoin hash rate war will soon break out between the United States on one side, and Iran and Venezuela on the other. 

We wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the 315 Bitmain machines make their way to some secret government run mining farm, along with all the other rigs that have been confiscated over the last few years. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

In another sign that China is nearing the launch of its much anticipated digital yuan, the country’s central bank has partnered with ride-hailing behemoth DiDi. 

China’s answer to Uber, DiDi is currently the world’s second highest valued unicorn startup, worth some $56 billion USD, and backed by international tech giants including Apple, Alibaba, and Tencent. 

The company says it now has 550 million users across Asia, Latin America, and Australia, and also plans to launch an autonomous vehicles division and get over a million self-driving cars onto the road by 2030. In fact, in June, the company launched its on-demand robotaxi service in Shanghai. 

By entering a strategic partnership with DiDi, with a view to designing and implementing pilot projects, the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is signalling it is transitioning into what could be the final phases of testing before a general rollout. 

Although, despite the partnership with DiDi, and pilot projects in the cities of Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiongan, and Chengdu, the PBoC still hasn’t revealed a release date for the digital yuan.

AYO.NEWS says:

Given the scale of DiDi’s operations, covering essential daily services like transport, the PBoC’s partnership with the company seems to suggest the digital yuan project is pretty much set from a technical point of view, and is ready for mass real-world testing. 

And, with the rest of the world, and especially arch-rival the United States, still distracted by the COVID-19 crisis, China seems to be building a lead when it comes to the Central Bank Digital Currency field, and public blockchain infrastructure in general. 

Only last week authorities in Beijing published the Beijing Blockchain Innovation Development Action Plan 2020-2022 – a 20-point plan to encourage the development and deployment of distributed ledger technologies. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Binance has added fiat gateway support for 15 national currencies through a partnership with Etana Custody. 

According to an official announcement today, the Malta-based global blockchain company and crypto exchange has added support for the United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED), Australian Dollar (AUD), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Swiss Franc (CHF), Czech Koruna (CZK), Euros (EUR), British Pound (GBP), Hong Kong Dollar (HKD), Danish Krone (DKK), Hungarian Forint (HUF), Mexican Peso (MXN), Norwegian Krone (NOK), New Zealand Dollar (NZD), Polish złoty (PLN), and Swedish Krona (SEK).

Support for the currencies has been made possible through a partnership with crypto and fiat institutional custodian Etana Custody.

Commenting on the news Binance Founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), said:

“We are pleased to introduce this new fiat gateway through Etana Custody. The integration helps make access to digital assets more effortless for people across the European, Asian, North American and Oceanian markets.

“At Binance, we are committed to furthering global digital assets adoption by launching multiple fiat-to-digital assets gateways. Binance’s fiat gateways covers over 170 countries and regions in the world and we are continuing to add more to make crypto more available across the globe.”

Users can now link their Binance accounts to Etana Custody accounts, wire funds directly from their bank accounts to Etana, and then get their Etana fiat balance credited to their Binance accounts, instantly and free of charge. 

Etana has full Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) processes in place, and has waived custody and deposit fees for sums of $1,000 USD or higher until 5 August 2020 (a $35 bank wire transfer fee still applies). Maximum deposit and withdrawal limits will depend on the level of the Binance account, and minimum deposit and withdrawal limit is $150. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Yet again we see Binance making an effort to attract the all-important institutional clients – and this easier onboarding for a host of major fiat currencies should do just that. Last month the company also announced it is planning to launch a UK-based platform this summer, to meet rising demand from institutional clients.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Tokenised securities exchange Currency.com has been granted a new distributed ledger technology license from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC). 

The London-headquartered company is already licensed in Belarus, but it hopes being licensed in Gibraltar, whose laws are largely based on those of England and Wales, will make its services more attractive to European clients.

Discussing the news Currency.com CEO, Jonathan Squires, said:

“Our operations in Gibraltar are part of our commitment to expanding across the globe, offering a blockchain-backed, highly regulated and secure service designed to give customers the flexibility they’ve been looking for. 

“The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission is composed of sharp-minded, informed individuals, who are at the forefront of regulating complicated emerging industries. Gibraltar has been working on financial regulation in this area for many years and has a strict application process for crypto companies. 

“Our Gibraltar licence is an important endorsement for the platform and further confirms our adherence to the most stringent standards, providing the highest level of safety and security for our traders.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Gibraltar has been working to expand its DLT and blockchain sector for some time now, seeing it, like fellow Mediterranean jurisdiction Malta, as a logical complement to its already well-developed iGaming and financial sectors.

Of course, with the end of the Brexit transition period fast approaching, and the COVID-19 economic crisis intensifying, the British Overseas Territory will have an added impetus to nurture the nascent sector. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

It looks like justice is finally catching up with another major alleged crypto scammer, this time in South Africa. 

According to News24, Willie Breedt, who is accused of stealing up to $16.3 million USD from approximately 2,000 investors through his VaultAge Solutions scam has been forced to declare bankruptcy by a court in South Africa. 

Promised returns never materialised

Breedt founded VaultAge Solutions (VS) in 2018, and began seeking investors with the promise of weekly returns on their deposits. According to VaultAge, the company would use crypto mining and trading to deliver the returns to investors, and accepted deposits from $50 upwards. 

However, investors claim to have only received around 1% of the promised gains, and one of the company’s biggest investors, Simon Dix, who handed over 7.5 million South African rand (approx. $440,000 USD), initiated legal proceedings against Breedt, applying for a sequestration order against Breedt. The order was subsequently granted by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

On the run from debt collectors, an angry colonel, and the Hawks

Reports suggest that, in the weeks prior to his arrest, Breedt had emptied his bank account of $3.15M and gone into hiding from debt collectors who had been hired by a group of disgruntled investors led by a colonel in the South African National Defence Force. 

Though Breedt was initially suspected of having fled to neighbouring Mozambique, he was eventually tracked down to a guest house in the Silver Lake Estates, Pretoria. 

Although the guesthouse was raided by South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as “the Hawks”, and a laptop and a Ledger Nano crypto hardwallet were confiscated, it seems Breedt was not arrested. 

The South African Reserve Bank is also said to have assigned PwC to investigate VaultAge and any agents that may have handled its transactions. 

AYO.NEWS says:

No doubt investors will be hoping their missing funds are still stored on the hardwallet, but we very much doubt it – Breedt was obviously fully aware he was going to be raided at some point. Given the state of corruption in the country and the incredible ineffectiveness of much of the South African police force, perhaps the most surprising thing is that Breedt was even raided… unless, nah, I won’t be that cynical. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

The Crypto Valley Association (CVA) has announced the publication of its Trusted Key Ceremony Guidelines. 

An initiative from the CVA’s Cybersecurity Working Group, it aims to improve awareness of the importance of protecting digital assets in a safe and secure way. 

The guidelines, designed to showcase best practices for safe and secure ‘key ceremonies’, will be officially unveiled during the ‘Demystifying Key Ceremonies’ free online event presented by the CVA’s Cybersecurity Working Group, taking place tomorrow, Tuesday, 7 July at 17:00 CET.

Contributors include security experts from digital asset custody technology providers such as Taurus Group and Ledger Vault, auditing firms such as PwC, and leading blockchain organizations and financial institutions such as SEBA Bank, and the event will provide a venue for the exploration of best practices that have defined the Crypto Valley’s emergence as a leading cryptocurrency and blockchain hub. 

The guidelines have been informed by the extensive experience of Working Group Members pertaining to the design, operation, and reviewing of key ceremonies for regulated institutional firms.

Commenting on the announcement, Chair of Cybersecurity Working Group at CVA and Head of Blockchain Risk Assurance at PwC Switzerland, Markus Perdrizat, said:

“With more and more financial assets locked up in cryptocurrencies, the need for a set of best practice standards regarding key ceremonies for cryptocurrencies has never been more pronounced. 

“Ultimately, the security of financial assets begins with the key ceremony – when the cryptographic secrets are created. From that point forward, the highest standards of security must be upheld. To this end, we are delighted to officially unveil our new guidelines to the world.”

While Board Member at the Crypto Valley Association, Emi Lorincz, said:

“The CVA Cybersecurity Working Group is firmly committed to setting the highest security standards and best practices with regard to product development, security audits, and key management within the blockchain and crypto realm. 

“The publication of the Trusted Key Ceremony Guidelines gives expression to this ongoing effort and captures the far-reaching ambition of the CVA to strengthen security levels in the crypto assets space more broadly, and to extend the accessibility of crypto assets.”

The mission of CVA’s Cybersecurity Working Group is to define and drive the adoption of security standards and best practices for blockchain projects, to provide a forum for Swiss-based blockchain security product and service companies, and to promote their adoption on the global market. 

The CVA key ceremony guidelines were collected and edited by Jean-Philippe Aumasson, Head of Security at Taurus Group and Maria Sommerhalder, Crypto Custody expert at PwC Switzerland, with contributions from the CVA Cybersecurity working group members.

The online event will be moderated by Emi Lorincz with the following panelists: Charles Guillemet, Chief Technology Officer at Ledger; Maria Sommerhalder, Senior Associate of Emerging Technologies Risk Assurance at PwC Switzerland; Jean-Philippe Aumasson, Head of Security at Taurus Group and Co-Chair of Cybersecurity Working Group at CVA; and Vassili Lavrov, Head of Blockchain Program Management at SEBA Bank.

To register for the event, visit: https://members.cryptovalley.swiss/events/37463 

The CVA key ceremony guidelines will be available for download at: https://members.cryptovalley.swiss/news/297452