Author: Staff Writer
The Ghanaian government’s proposal to introduce a 1.75% levy on digital transactions was recently rejected by a minority of lawmakers who insist the new tax derails efforts to help increase the number of adults that are financially included. The Digital Transactions Tax A minority of lawmakers in the Ghana legislature recently rejected a government proposal to introduce a 1.75% levy on digital transactions including mobile-money payments. The lawmakers argued such a levy would slow down the country’s plan to increase the proportion of financially included adults from 58% to 75% by 2023. According to a report, the proposed levy, which was…
Unexpectedly high demand for Switzerland’s first crypto stamp has created headaches for the national postal service. Swiss Post announced it had to deal with technical issues when numerous orders hit its online shop all at once on the day the innovative offering was made available. Demand for First Crypto Stamp Overwhelms Swiss Post’s Online Store Swiss Post announced the “crypto stamp” initiative in September when it was presented as an attempt to “bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds in philately.” The state-owned company joined forces with blockchain services provider Inacta to produce the stamp, a first of…
Fractionalized NFT trading platform Unicly has raised $10 million in preparation for the launch of Unicly v2, as it continues to establish itself as a key player in the burgeoning NFT space. The community-governed protocol, which launched its mainnet in April, has welcomed fresh investment from multiple high-profile VCs including Blockchain Capital, Animoca Brands, Ascensive Assets, 3Commas Capital and Morningstar Ventures. Yat Siu, the executive chairman and co-founder of Animoca Brands, commented: “NFTs will become a multi-trillion dollar asset class and we need to build the infrastructure to support that. Unicly provides an added framework to deepen liquidity and involvement, and is…
Cryptocurrency has been a constant in the news in 2021, and a Thursday report from Pew Research Center shows that Americans are now more familiar than ever with the concept. The research, conducted in September revealed that nearly nine-in-ten Americans say they have heard at least something about cryptocurrency. In 2015, when Pew Research Center asked people if they had heard of Bitcoin, less than 50% said they had heard of the cryptocurrency to any degree. Only 1% said they had ever collected, traded, or used Bitcoin in 2015. In Pew’s latest survey, six years later, 16% of participants said…
Cryptocurrency adoption has grown increased six-fold in the past couple of years since its inception. Crypto has become a lucrative option for investment, and several companies across the world are distributing pay checks in digital currencies. But digital currencies are not equally welcomed everywhere. Over the years, some cities in the world have turned out to be cryptocurrency hotspots. Governments of different countries react to digital currencies differently as they cannot surely be regulated and controlled. Several countries are banning bitcoin and crypto transactions altogether. But some countries have gone beyond these restrictions only to have some of the most crypto-friendly…
Much is made about how cryptocurrencies are changing the very nature of commerce and investing. But while the headlines trumpet bitcoin et al. as (possibly, maybe) becoming an alternative to cash and El Salvador taking giant leaps by accepting bitcoin as legal tender, cryptos have been changing commercial payments too. In the report, “Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and Cross Border Payments,” done in collaboration between Circle and PYMNTS, surveys of 250 executives revealed that cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies are proving increasingly useful for cross-border businesses. The firms surveyed have at least $10 million in annual sales. At a high level, cryptos can make…
Seth, a 22-year-old investment-banking analyst in Chicago making $100,000 in base pay a year, pumps $4,000 per month into new investments. Right now, that’s all going to crypto. Seth took the plunge into three digital tokens — bitcoin, ether, and solana — last October. He says he and about 15 friends who also work in finance have liquidated all of their investments in stocks and put that cash into crypto. The young banker said he sold off about $25,000 worth of stocks. Between gains and new money he’s put in since, his crypto portfolio has climbed to $177,000 as of…
If it hadn’t already, crypto reached the mainstream in 2021. Total cryptocurrency market capitalization eclipsed $3 trillion, financial regulators from D.C. to Beijing started taking the asset class very seriously, and Elon Musk tanked Dogecoin on Saturday Night Live. As we enter 2022, all eyes are looking to see what’s next in crypto. By now, blue-chip tokens like Bitcoin and Ether are familiar to anyone who’s had even a passing interest in “hodling.” And with Bitcoin now regularly trading around $60,000 and Ether at north of $4,000, some investors may be scouting for less established cryptocurrencies that may offer bigger returns. Luckily…
Human knowledge proceeds in fits and starts. Although the velocity of change has accelerated over the years, certain intractable problems stand out for their resistance to thought and deed. Of this group, there are problems that are hard, which are not purely engineering problems, such as quantum computing or deriving usable energy from small-scale fusion reactors. There is another group, which through its scale, in space and time also involves another sort of complexity, human behavior mediated through politics and social phenomenon; the climate challenge facing humanity can be said to be in this category. Luckily, CBDCs (Central Bank Digital…
The C.D. Howe Institute thinks the Bank of Canada should issue a digital currency that can be converted into cash. In a new report, the think tank says Canadian-dollar-linked stablecoins could become attractive if they are convertible into cash issued by the Bank of Canada and are well designed and well regulated. A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency that is linked to an underlying asset such as a fiat currency. It believes a Bank of Canada digital currency should be issued in token form, with decentralized technology for settling transactions. It says bank-issued digital Canadian dollars could also encourage the private sector to…