A proposed South Korean taxation bill could mean cryptocurrencies become subject to capital gains tax in the country. 

According to local media outlet Newsway.co.kr, lawmakers are discussing plans to classify cryptocurrencies as “goods” rather than currencies, and charge capital gains tax of up to 20%.

Though there has been talk of imposing a 20% income tax on cryptocurrency transactions for some time now, until recently South Korea considered virtual assets merely as a function of currency, so they were not subject to tax. 

However, courts in the country have now determined that virtual assets like cryptocurrencies can be classed as electronic certificates of economic value that can be traded, and when they are sold they can be considered assets, and hence subject to capital gains tax. 

With South Korea being one of the world’s cryptocurrency hubs, there are fears that a move to apply such a high tax rate to cryptocurrency sales will hinder the development of the sector. 

AYO.NEWS says:

When it comes to tax and cryptocurrencies, various countries are taking very different approaches. Notably, the United States imposes capital gains tax on crypto transactions, which makes using cryptos for small everyday transactions quite problematic due to the accounting requirements. On the flip side, Portugal has said it has no intention to charge tax on cryptocurrency trading, payments or earnings. 

‘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

Reality Gaming Group has secured an exclusive global licence from JoyPixels to develop and publish a blockchain-based tradable emoji icons and a companion game.

Ahead of 17 July’s World Emoji Day, Reality Gaming Group has revealed it will be launching Emojibles, allowing emoji fans to collect their favourite icons for the very first time, and enjoy real-time action in the Emoji Clash game. 

Some Emojibles will be rarer than others, with exclusive Emojibles created just for the game itself and featuring their own unique powers and gameplay. 

Each emoji icon will be tokenised into a non-fungible token (NFT), and secured and protected on the blockchain, enabling total transparency and security. This means collectors will be able to own truly unique digital Emojibles, which can be used in the Emoji Clash game or traded with other players. 

Emojibile packs go on pre-sale from September 2020. After the pre-sale the drop rates of Epic, Legendary, and Godlike emojis will reduce drastically, but will still be earnable within the Emoji Clash game. 

Cosmetic Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Translucent skins will also be available for a large number of emojis, and once sold out they will never be available to purchase again unless traded in the Emojible dedicated online marketplace.

Finally, the companion Emojibles game, Emoji Clash, will be released for PC and mobile in 2021, allowing players to go head-to-head with their Emojibles.

Commenting on the news Operations Manager of Reality Gaming Group,Terri Leary, said:

“We are tremendously excited to be working with JoyPixels to bring to the huge global emoji fan community an exciting new digital experience. Emojibles are both functional and collectible, so fans can actually own a piece of the Emoji Clash game while they play.”

While CEO of JoyPixels, Rick Moby, added:

“JoyPixels is mighty privileged to be partnering with Reality Gaming Group to bring an official emoji NFT featuring our exclusive artwork. 

“Blockchain collectibles are just scratching the surface and we’ve been itching for the right opportunity to enter the space. The creative vision and highly regarded team behind RGG gives us the confidence that Emojibles will be a true winner that stands out from the crowd!”

According to Reality Gaming Group, the blockchain will unlock a $100 billion collectibles market for game creators and brands, with the volume of digital collectibles traded on the blockchain predicted to increase by some 1,000% in 2020.

UK-based publisher Reality Gaming Group’s Digital Asset Trading (DAT) Platform uses innovative blockchain technology to turn any IP into a rare and collectible digital asset that can be traded between fans using dedicated marketplaces.

Its debut title, mobile AR combat game Reality Clash, was released in 2019 and pushed the boundaries of what’s possible when AR, VR, geo-location and blockchain technology are combined.

AYO.NEWS says:

As we’ve said before, the marrying of collectibles, video games, and blockchain technology is giving rise to a truly digital parallel economy. In decades to come, it may well be common for a significant percentage of an individual’s wealth to comprise of digital assets beyond just digital currencies. 

Staying with blockchain gaming, last week Animoca Brands reported record revenue during the COVID-19 lockdown. The company’s line-up, which includes titles like The Sandbox, F1 Delta Time, and Crazy Defence Heroes generating $7.34 million USD during the first four months of 2020. 

‘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

Facebook’s much vaunted Libra stablecoin project seems to have gone quiet lately, and according to one economic historian, will “never see the light of day.”

Blockchain developers ignorant of economics and history?

UC Berkeley professor, economic historian, and former IMF policy adviser, Barry Eichengreen, has said that Libra will likely encounter too many “insoluble” problems and roadblocks from national governments to ever properly launch. 

Speaking at the Unitize conference on 10 July, Eichengreen argued that, despite those behind stablecoin projects being experts in blockchain technology, they were mostly ignorant of monetary economics and history. 

Summing up the situation, he said:

“Stablecoins are either fragile — they are prone to attack and collapse if they are only partially backed or collateralized with actual dollars or dollar bank balances, or they are prohibitively expensive to scale-up if they are, in fact, fully or over-collateralized.”

Additionally, he pointed to the problem of a stablecoin like Libra undermining national monetary policies – something especially problematic in countries with unstable fiat currencies, where citizens may switch to the stablecoin en mass. 

Libra’s capital buffer was also called into question, with Eichengreen pointing out that, in order to encourage adoption, Libra would need to keep transaction fees low – resulting in a possible shortfall in terms of backing. 

Libra would need central bank backing to succeed 

Furthermore, he also warned that the potential proliferation of derivatives relating to Libra would result in it essentially needing a central bank. This, he argued, would be an issue because “national governments are going to be queasy about the creation of a private, Facebook-owned and operated central bank.” 

So, unless Libra could come to some arrangement with existing central banks, like the Federal Reserve, which is highly unlikely given the currency political hostility to Libra, the stablecoin could be very vulnerable. 

Indeed, as Eichengreen has previously warned, the emergency protections included in Libra’s revised white paper are very similar to the clearinghouse certificates intended to prevent bank runs in the years before the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913. 

These clearinghouse certificates were loan certificates, issued by a network of private clearinghouses, intended to provide an alternative means of payment if confidence in notes issued by a single bank collapsed. But, unfortunately, this led to some dollars being perceived as inferior to others. 

All of these issues, he concluded, would be “insoluble” and mean Libra will never get anywhere. 

AYO.NEWS says:

While we totally agree with Eichengreen that there are numerous issues surrounding Libra, there are also a few points to note.

Firstly, whether or not you see a stablecoin undermining national monetary policy as a bad thing very much depends on your views of national governments and their monetary policies. Would it be a bad thing to undermine the monetary policies of, say, Venezuela or Zimbabwe? And, are the current monetary policies of even the most “stable” developed nations, especially the United States, really sustainable anyway?

Secondly, is a Facebook/Libra Consortium-owned “national bank” really any different to what we have now? After all, The United States Federal Reserve System is privately owned, despite its name, as was the Bank of England until 1946. Do people really trust Facebook or the members of the Libra Association any less than they trust the government and banks?

Basically, Eichengreen is entirely correct, if you view the protection of the current system as paramount. However, as we can see very clearly in the world today, increasing numbers of people think the current system needs to be ripped apart and replaced.

‘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

Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, and Vodafone, have successfully finalised a trial automated settlement of roaming discount agreements, using a blockchain solution developed by Clear. 

According to Clear, its new settlement system promises faster revenue recognition, lower capital costs, and higher speed and efficiency.

The first trial took place with the three major telecommunications companies in 2019, with the solution providing benefits including yearly settlement results in minutes instead of hours, uncovering data discrepancies visible to both sides in real-time, and the ability to update or correct data instantaneously. 

Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Clear, Eran Haggiag, explained:

“To eliminate the complexity and streamline the process of B2B settlements, Clear developed a blockchain-based solution designed to automate contract settlement for enterprises, while guaranteeing control, security, and privacy. This trial is a huge step forward to a world of improved partnerships, minimum disputes, and accelerated innovation.”

Discussing the solution Vice President Commercial Roaming Services at Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier, Johannes Optiz, said:

“Roaming discount agreement reconciliation is a complex, costly process prone to errors. Having an automated system that can not only solve this problem, but avoid it altogether, opens up a world of possibilities for telecom companies, as we move from isolation to collaboration. 

“Using Clear’s solution, operators will now have the ability to transact seamlessly with an ecosystem of partners — a crucial ability in the 5G and Edge ecosystem, in which we foresee significant growth of operators’ business relationships and business models.” 

While CEO of Vodafone Roaming Services, Sherif Bakir, added:

“Inter-carrier roaming processes have evolved enormously throughout the history of mobile communications. With new, more complex technologies like 5G and IoT being introduced, even more radical innovation in roaming will take digitalization to the next level. 

“Vodafone believes blockchain is the solution, and its use will lay the foundation for further sustained innovation. Clear’s solution is a solid demonstration of blockchain’s benefits, and we’re delighted to be working with Clear and all our industry partners to grow this ecosystem and build a global network at scale.”

The network of operators utilising Clear’s solution is now onboarding new operators, with Clear offering free installation and an extended trial to new operators until the end of 2020. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Though we increasingly rely on cross-network data flows and partnerships, few of us outside of the industry ever give it a second thought. But, as the proliferation of new services creates ever-more complex partnerships and relationships between networks and businesses, the need for an efficient, transparent, and automated system of settlement is clearly pressing – and yet again, we see a perfect use case for blockchain technology emerge. 

‘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

UK-based cryptocurrency exchange Cashaa has lost 366 Bitcoin (BTC) in a hack on Friday afternoon, and temporarily halted all crypto transactions.

According to the exchange, one of its wallets was compromised and more than 366 BTC, worth just under €3 million at today’s prices, was transferred to a hacker.

The company says it suspects malware was installed onto a computer and notified the hacker when an employee logged into the account at 1:23pm on 10 July, subsequently making two transfers from the Blockchain.com wallet that was used to store and send BTC.

The funds were transferred to the following BTC address (14RYUUaMW1shoxCav4znEh64xnTtL3a2Ek). The culprit is suspected of being in east Delhi, India, and the company says it has filled a cybercrime incident report to the Delhi crime bureau.

Other major crypto exchanges and partners are now working with Cashaa to try to track the stolen funds and prevent them from being cashed out, however, it has been noted that the crooks may be using coin mixture software to move the funds and make them harder to trace. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Though Cashaa should be commended for the quick action it took to limit the fallout from the hack, and it’s great to see so many other exchanges and partners working to track the funds, this latest incident must surely strengthen the calls for improved common industry security standards. 

Staying with Bitcoin crime, last week a 35-year old Romanian programmer pleaded guilty in New York to his part in a massive alleged $722 million BTC Ponzi scheme. 

‘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

A 35-year old Romanian programmer has pleaded guilty to his part in a massive Bitcoin ponzi scheme.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, Silviu Catalin Bacali, a 35-year old Romanian programmer, has pleaded guilty to his part in an alleged $722M USD Bitcoin (BTC) Ponzi scheme. 

Bacali was arrested by German police in December 2019, and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to offer and sell unregistered securities. He is now facing up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 USD. 

His alleged accomplices, Matthew Brent Goettsche, Russ Albert Medlin, Jobadiah Sinclair Weeks, and Joseph Frank Able, have also been charged for their parts in the fraud in the United States. 

“On the backs of idiots”

According to prosecutors, the scheme ran from April 2014 to December 2019, with investors handing over money for shares in purported cryptocurrency mining pools. In true Ponzi-style, the scheme also rewarded members for recruiting more investors. 

Despite offering investors the choice of investing in three mining pools, Bacali has admitted that he was only aware of one mining pool in operation with the BitClub Network, and prosecutors have presented communications, between Goettsche and Balaci, in which they refer to fake mining earnings and call the target audience of the BitClub Network “dumb”, refer to investors as “sheep”, and said they would be “building this whole model on the backs of idiots.”

Apparently, there is evidence that Bacali had initially objected when he received orders to artificially inflate daily mining earnings by 60%, but he nonetheless went ahead with it and is now being charged as part of a scheme that is thought to have defrauded at least $722 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from investors. 

AYO.NEWS says:

On the one hand it’s good to see the crooks from the ‘Wild West’ days of crypto being brought to book, but on the other it’s quite unsettling to learn just how vast the scale of fraud being committed was. 

Staying with crypto crime, earlier this week we reported that Willie Breedt, the alleged mastermind of a $16.3 million crypto fraud, had been tracked down in South Africa and declared bankrupt.

‘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