At the end of last year, Wordline announced that it would work with the financial services provider Bitcoin Trader to increase the acceptance of cryptocurrencies in retail and e-commerce. The pilot project has been running successfully so far; the final rollout is now set to follow in the next six months.

Exactly a year ago, the French payment service provider Worldlineand the Swiss crypto broker Bitcoin Suisse signed a letter of intent to jointly bring cryptocurrencies to the till

Both companies are initially pursuing the goal of offering Swiss retailers and consumers services for paying with cryptocurrencies in shops and online shops. Wordline is the largest payment service provider in Europe and the fourth largest provider worldwide.

The French company launched a pilot with selected dealers in Switzerland this July. These include mostly hotels and restaurants, but also jewelry dealers and electronics shops in different parts of Switzerland. Since then, they have been accepting Bitcoin and Ether via the company’s solution, but they are still paid out in Swiss francs. According to Dr. Andreas Rehrauer , responsible for the payment product portfolio and innovations at Worldline, should not bear any currency risk for merchants. In addition, there is no additional complexity in billing, as the transactions are integrated into the merchant billing like other card payments.

Dr. Rehrauer towards BTC-ECHO as follows:

Since the start of the crypto initiative about a year ago, we have come a big step further and now have a successful pilot in the market. Since the end of July, three-digit transactions have been settled using crypto currencies – the trend is increasing despite Corona. About three quarters of that was in Bitcoin and a quarter in Ether. However, the solution is designed in such a way that cryptocurrencies can be flexibly expanded or removed, depending on the payment preferences of consumers.

Dr. According to Rehrauer, the feedback from dealers is positive. So they „even partially actively advertised it themselves on their channels“.

How the crypto payment works

From the customer’s point of view, the transaction works in a similar way to the online payment app TWINT, in which Worldline is involved: A QR code is displayed at the point of sale that is scanned with a crypto wallet app. Then it is shown how much the purchased goods cost in the desired cryptocurrency. As soon as the user has approved the payment in the app, it is triggered, processed and confirmed. According to Dr. Rehrauer, the crypto alliance benefits from the fact that more and more people are paying with their mobile phones:

More and more people are used to paying based on QR codes. The best example is TWINT in Switzerland, but also, for example, in an international context, Alipay or WeChat Pay. And buyers who are already used to paying with their mobile phone and with a QR code, the step to Bitcoin is no longer so big for them.

US Justice Department belyser en enorm Bitcoin (BTC) -transaktion som flyttade nästan 1 miljard dollar i BTC från en plånbok kopplad till den kriminella marknadsplatsen Silk Road, som stängdes 2013.

En dag efter det att BTC flyttades tillkännagav US Justice Department (DOJ) att de beslagte BTC: s värde av 1 miljard dollar i dess största kryptovalutabeslag hittills

DOJ hävdar nu att den stora summan av BTC stal från Silk Road 2013 och påstår sig ha identifierat individen som är inblandad i stölden som byrån kallar ‚Individual X‘ i sin information.

”Enligt en undersökning utförd av Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service och US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California var Individual X den person som flyttade kryptovalutan från Silk Road.

Enligt utredningen kunde Individual X hacka sig in på Silk Road och få obehörig och olaglig tillgång till Silk Road och därigenom stjäla den olagliga kryptovalutan från Silk Road och flytta den till plånböcker som Individual X kontrollerade. ”

Enligt DOJ blev Silk Road-skaparen och den dömda brottslingen Ross Ulbricht medveten om stölden 2013 och hotade Individual X för återlämnande av den stulna BTC

Individual X returnerade inte pengarna till Ulbricht, men tappade på tisdagen innehållet i plånboken till DOJ.

IRS säger att det har kunnat spåra enheten i fråga genom att använda ett tredjepartsanalysföretag för att tolka transaktioner med Silk Road.

While crypto companies try to create the decentralized equivalent of PayPal, the company itself will soon enter the industry

For some time now the crypto sector has been in turmoil, and for good reason. Currently, Bitcoin (BTC) is around the $14,000 level, while Ether (ETH) has almost exceeded the $400 threshold despite the KuCoin exchange hack and the unfortunate legal events that have recently affected BitMEX. That said, this latest rise can largely be attributed to the decision taken by online payment company PayPal to finally enter the crypto arena.

Starting in 2021, PayPal will allow its customers to use a range of popular digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC) to shop through its giant network of affiliated merchants. Although transactions can be initiated in crypto, payments will be settled in fiat, so merchants will only receive funds in their local currency.

To make this possible, PayPal has entered into a partnership with Paxos for its custody and liquidity needs. In addition, PayPal has managed to obtain a conditional license from the NYDFS through the Paxos Trust charter. Charles Cascarilla, CEO of Paxos, explained to Cointelegraph that working with PayPal to provide customers around the world with simplified access to cryptocurrency will undoubtedly have huge implications for the crypto industry in general. He also said in a post that based solely on PayPal’s reputation in the marketplace, the crypto industry is likely to see unprecedented growth in terms of mainstream awareness.

Along the same lines, Luke Stokes, CEO of the Foundation for Interwallet Operability and Interim Executive Director for the EOS Foundation, told Cointelegraph that PayPal not only legitimized the cryptocurrency industry for retail user adoption, but also highlighted the importance of its timing:

„The time has come and PayPal is trying to come before everyone else with its personalised approach to digital finance. Other financial products and services have the opportunity to cross the boundaries of the walled garden in which PayPal will be imprisoned through integration with open finance’s decentralised usability solutions“.

The arrival of PayPal could be a turning point

Only one day after PayPal announced its decision to enter the crypto world, news spread that the payments giant was exploring various ways to potentially acquire BitGo, a company offering custody services for Crypto Revolt and its future rival. BitGo was the first crypto service provider in the United States to gain broker-dealer approval, register as a transfer agent and be recognized as a trust company.

The move may be relevant to PayPal, as its new crypto trading platform will effectively turn the company into a digital asset custodian, explaining its interest in BitGo. Not only that, the agreement could potentially mark the beginning of a new era for the mainstream legitimacy of cryptos, as both PayPal and BitGo have made compliance a priority from the outset and have managed to obtain all the necessary licenses to facilitate the various crypto-related activities in the United States.

Over the past two years, some critics have pointed out that companies like Square and Revolut are already doing more in terms of providing crypto functionality to their users than PayPal plans to implement. However, the fact remains that there is currently no other digital financial platform with the same kind of influence on the mainstream market as PayPal.

In this regard, Douglas Borthwick, chief marketing officer at the INX Limited crypto currency exchange, explained to Cointelegraph that although PayPal’s initial limitations may be perceived as overly restrictive for many purists in the industry, the platform will allow users to discover and interact with crypto currencies, as well as being involved in crypto outside PayPal:

„We can imagine PayPal’s environment as a protected space with wheels for those who want to learn about cryptos, before escaping to the real world, where they can discover cryptos without limitations“.

Centralisation still remains a key issue

In recent months, several major banking institutions have begun to dabble in crypto technology, while several countries are experimenting with CBDC. This suggests that it was only a matter of time before a financial giant like PayPal entered the crypto world. João Gomes, head of growth and marketing at Utrust, a crypto payments company, explained to Cointelegraph:

„Adoption is gaining momentum around the world. We have always believed it was a question of ‚when,‘ not ‚if,‘ and the arrival of PayPal is just another domino card. This is the money of the future.“

Moving on, Gomes expressed some scepticism about the centralised structure of PayPal’s upcoming digital currency system, as it would completely deprive users of features such as private keys and the ability to withdraw their digital assets. Furthermore, the fact that PayPal’s system is not on-chain makes it extremely limited in terms of its overall scope, especially for crypto veterans.

Another relevant criticism is that when they use the PayPal system, users will not actually be buying digital currencies, but derivatives, a process very similar to Revolut, since they will not have real ownership of the assets.

In addition, for each transaction the relevant crypto currency will be converted into fiat paying a heavy commission of 2.3% (on transactions below $100), since merchants can only receive payments in crypto. This begs the question, why choose to pay with cryptos and incur all these additional costs?

In short, it seems that PayPal is trying its hand at digital currencies superficially, without offering users the independence they should ideally be equipped with, according to Gomes:

„They actually own the currencies, they broker everything and even charge fees based on their payment structure which is far from clear. They have all the cards in their hands.“

PayPal will have to evolve

It’s reasonable to think that when much of the hype around PayPal runs out, people might start looking more closely at some of the company’s rivals in search of possible alternatives. For example, PayPal will charge a processing fee of 2% on crypto-fiat transactions (and vice versa) between $200 and $1,000. In comparison, Coinbase applies only 1.49% on transactions over $200. Square’s Cash App, on the other hand, offers users dynamic conversion fees.

Lior Lamesh, co-founder and CEO of GK8, an Israeli IT security company, explained to Cointelegraph that PayPal must avoid the „not your keys, not your Bitcoins“ trap that has already inflicted serious damage on many crypto exchanges in recent years:

„By relying on third-party providers for custody services, PayPal is exposing its customers‘ digital assets to a serious IT security risk. Therefore, I believe that when this initiative takes off and takes hold, PayPal will eventually move to a model of self-managed services, particularly self-service custody: when it comes to a network with over 340 million users, the stakes are simply too high“.

Finally, PayPal has always been considered a real centralised financial platform. Many hardcore crypto enthusiasts who pay close attention to transparency and financial freedom could therefore stay completely off the platform. However, it seems appropriate to say that even the reach of PayPal in the marketplace will do more good than harm for the mainstream reputation of the crypto industry in the long run.

Larry Dean Harmon ist ein gemieteter Bitcoin-Mischer, der jetzt Probleme mit dem Mischen von Bitcoins hat. Mit anderen Worten, ihm droht eine Strafe in Höhe von mehreren Millionen Dollar, weil er seinen Job gemacht hat, obwohl die Frage, ob dieser Job legal ist, noch weitgehend offen ist. Als Besitzer der Bitcoin-Mischer Helix und Coin Ninja wurde Harmon vom Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) mit einer Strafe von 60 Millionen Dollar belegt.

Harmon wurde eine hohe Strafe auferlegt

In einer Erklärung behauptet FinCEN:

[Harmon] hat vorsätzlich die Registrierungs-, Programm- und Meldevorschriften der BSA verletzt, indem er sich nicht als MSB registrieren ließ, kein wirksames Anti-Geldwäsche-Programm einführte und aufrechterhielt und verdächtige Aktivitäten nicht meldete… [Harmon] warb in den dunkelsten Räumen des Internets für seine Dienste als eine Möglichkeit für Kunden, anonym für Dinge wie Drogen und Waffen zu bezahlen.

Das Mischen von Bitmünzen war in den letzten Jahren so etwas wie ein kontroverses Thema, besonders in den Vereinigten Staaten, die Bitmünzen und Kryptogeld immer noch weitgehend als Magneten für kriminelle Aktivitäten betrachten. Beim Mischen von Bitcoin oder Kryptowährungen werden digitale Vermögenswerte, die auf getrennten Wegen erhalten wurden, in Transaktionen „zusammengemischt“, um Dritte abzuschütteln und es schwieriger zu machen, festzustellen, woher das Geld stammt oder für wen es bestimmt ist.

Es handelt sich um ein Verfahren, das den Benutzern wohl mehr Privatsphäre gibt, das aber auch eine Kehrseite hat, da es von schlechten Akteuren dazu benutzt werden kann, Geld zu waschen und möglicherweise schmutzige oder illegal erworbene Gelder zu verstecken. Er kann auch genutzt werden, um sicherzustellen, dass Gelder an kriminelle oder seltsame Quellen wie terroristische Organisationen gehen. Trotz allem, was Bitcoin in der Vergangenheit getan hat, sind es Fragen wie diese, die letztlich verhindern werden, dass es den Status eines Mainstreams erreicht.

Über einen Zeitraum von drei Jahren (von 2014 bis 2017) haben die oben genannten Unternehmen – Helix and Coin Ninja – durch mehr als eine Million separater Transaktionen angeblich mehr als 300 Millionen Dollar gewaschen.

Nicht genug tun, um Kriminalität zu verhindern

FinCEN setzte seine Erklärung fort:

Konkret zeigte die Untersuchung, dass Mr. Harmon absichtlich seine Verpflichtungen gemäß der BSA missachtet und Praktiken eingeführt hat, die es Helix ermöglichten, die Anforderungen der BSA zu umgehen. Dazu gehörte das Versäumnis, Kundennamen, Adressen und andere Identifikatoren bei über 1,2 Millionen Transaktionen zu erfassen und zu überprüfen. Harmon, das über Helix arbeitete, löschte aktiv selbst die minimalen Kundendaten, die er erfasst hatte. Die Untersuchung ergab, dass Mr. Harmon Transaktionen mit Drogenhändlern, Fälschern und Betrügern sowie mit anderen Kriminellen durchführte.

Zusätzlich zu der festgesetzten Strafe wird Harmon auch beschuldigt, er habe geholfen, Gelder für ein Unternehmen namens Alpha Bay zu mischen, das seit 2017 geschlossen ist. Bei dem Unternehmen handelte es sich um einen dunklen Marktplatz, der Gegenstand einer breit angelegten und laufenden internationalen Untersuchung war. Der ehemalige Generalstaatsanwalt Jeff Sessions leitete die Schließung des Unternehmens im Juli vor drei Jahren.

Peter Schiff potrebbe voler comprare un po‘ di Bitcoin solo per sicurezza, dato che la sua banca è sotto il microscopio della più grande indagine sull’evasione fiscale del mondo.

Peter Schiff potrebbe odiare il Crypto Cash perché non ha alcun valore ed è il denaro dei criminali. Tuttavia, anche la sua banca Euro Pacific Capital non è priva di peccati.

Un’indagine congiunta delle autorità fiscali di Australia, Paesi Bassi, Canada, Regno Unito e Stati Uniti ha preso di mira la banca di Peter Schiff per aver presumibilmente facilitato l’evasione fiscale e per aver offerto i suoi servizi a noti criminali multinazionali di alto livello.

La banca di Peter Schiff è sotto il controllo delle agenzie delle imposte

L’operazione congiunta ha il nome in codice „Atlantis“ ed è iniziata qualche tempo dopo lo scandalo dei Panama Papers, esponendo come criminali ed evasori fiscali utilizzino scappatoie legali per evadere le tasse, generando danni dell’ordine di diversi miliardi di dollari.

L’indagine nella banca è iniziata a seguito della fuga di dati riservati. Queste informazioni hanno permesso ai Joint Five – la task force antifrode creata dai cinque governi – di effettuare controlli incrociati su diversi database e di concludere che alla banca di Peter Schiff non importava molto delle politiche antifrode.

Tra i clienti che Peter Schiff aveva sulla sua banca le autorità hanno identificato:

• Il più pericoloso sindacato di criminalità informatica del mondo
• Simon Anqueti, la mente dietro la frode multimilionaria al libro paga Plutus – la più significativa frode fiscale nella storia dell’Australia con oltre 100 milioni di dollari di danni
• L’imprenditore australiano Darby Angel, condannato nel 1995 per traffico di droga
• Gunnar Helgason, un cittadino canadese arrestato in Tailandia per essere stato la mente di „una truffa internazionale alla sala caldaie“.

Parlando a The Age, Hegalson ha parlato delle povere politiche KYC/AML di Euro Pacific Capital, dicendo che la banca non si preoccupava del suo passato e compilava solo „domande standard da spuntare“.

„Nessuno alla Euro Pacific Bank ha detto: ‚Possiamo avere una copia del suo curriculum più aggiornato? E, a proposito, non tralasciare nulla“.

(Non) Pagare le tasse

L’indagine mostra inoltre che uno dei punti chiave utilizzati dai referenti per attirare potenziali clienti è stato proprio quello di evidenziare quanto fosse facile stare lontano dalle autorità fiscali.

È importante notare che la banca si concentra sulla privacy, si trova a Porto Rico e secondo The Age, i referrer come l’avvocato Patrick Flynn l’hanno usata a loro vantaggio. Anche se ha detto ai media che ha aiutato solo i clienti legittimi senza indagini o intenzioni illecite, The Age ha condiviso una sua presunta citazione per promuovere i suoi servizi in modo molto poco ortodosso:

„Nel caso di un’azione legale o di un’indagine fiscale o di un’inchiesta regolamentare, il vostro cliente può giurare sotto giuramento ‚Non sono il titolare legale o beneficiario di questa società (che potrebbe essere la differenza tra l’essere accusato/detenuto in carcere per evasione fiscale e l’allontanamento di un uomo libero)‘.

Peter Schiff è più entusiasta quando parla dei difetti di Bitcoin che quando parla dei problemi della sua banca. In un’intervista per lo show 60 Minutes, l’uomo d’affari ha semplicemente negato qualsiasi illecito quando gli è stato chiesto di parlare della questione:

„Le persone possono essere indagate per molte o molte ragioni (e) non significa che abbiano fatto qualcosa di sbagliato“, ha detto.

Quando ha chiesto una risposta più dettagliata, ha semplicemente abbandonato l’intervista: „Non ci sono più domande“, ha risposto mentre toglieva il microfono e lasciava la moglie ai giornalisti.

Peter Schiff è irremovibile: le autorità non troveranno nulla che coinvolga la banca. Dopo essersi rifiutato di rispondere ad altre domande del giornalista Nick McKenzie, ha lasciato l’ultima parola a sua moglie. #60Mins pic.twitter.com/Cz2GP8awsc

– 60 Minuti Australia (@60Min) 18 ottobre 2020

Le autorità stanno ancora indagando sul caso Euro Pacific Capital e probabilmente ci vorranno anni per chiudere il caso. La banca di Peter Schiff è ancora in funzione…

Come lo è Bitcoin.

Hardware portemonnee maker Ledger heeft een nieuwe versie van zijn Ledger Live app uitgebracht die de Coin Control functie voor bitcoin (BTC) en zijn derivaten integreert in een poging om de veiligheid van de gebruiker te verbeteren, de betaalde kosten te verminderen, en mogelijkerwijs te voorkomen dat privacy bedreigingen bekend staan als afstoffen aanvallen.

In crypto-taal verwijst stof naar een fractie van een token dat zo klein is dat het niet kan worden verhandeld, dat het in de portemonnee ligt en dat vaak niet voldoet aan de minimum vereisten voor de opnamewaarde. Stofaanvallen richten zich op cryptohouders op een geavanceerde manier. Bij dergelijke aanvallen ontvangen de houders stukjes Bitcoin Code die vervolgens kunnen worden opgespoord, waardoor kwaadwillige actoren hun echte identiteit kunnen vergrendelen en hun crypto-activa op grote schaal kunnen aanvallen.

„Met Coin Control kunt u er eenvoudigweg voor kiezen om deze kleine Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) niet te gebruiken. Als zodanig kunnen ze geen enkele beweging volgen. Kortom: het kan een spelwisselaar zijn als het gaat om je privacy„, aldus het grootboek. „Een andere toevoeging om het bewustzijn en de veiligheid te verbeteren is dat Ledger Live nu onderscheid zal maken tussen onbevestigde inkomende transacties die in behandeling zijn, en transacties die kunnen worden vervangen door vervangen door vergoedingen (RBF). Dit laatste wordt nu een ‚Replaceable‘ transactie genoemd.“

Het grootboek zei dat de functie zijn gebruikers „beter zicht zal geven op de status van inkomende transacties, en … ze minder snel zal laten vallen voor een specifieke vorm van phishing door middel van social engineering“.

Als gevolg van de laatste update, kunnen de klanten van het grootboek ook kiezen voor de munt selectie strategie om de kosten die ze moeten betalen te snijden, volgens het bedrijf.

„Door te kiezen voor UTXO’s met een hogere waarde in plaats van de oudste, is deze strategie in staat om de bytesgrootte van uw transactie te verminderen. Dit zou de te betalen netwerkkosten optimaliseren„, aldus de firma.

In diesem Hup Bitcoin-Podcast diskutieren Robin Heester und Wessel Simons über die neuesten Bitcoin-Nachrichten der vergangenen Woche.

Wir werden die Anzahl der Millionäre im Bitcoin-Netzwerk, die finanzielle Privatsphäre und den Wunsch der Regierungen, sich am Lightning Network zu beteiligen, sowie Europas Plan zur Schaffung einer eigenen digitalen Währung diskutieren.

Diese Episode wird ermöglicht durch Knaken.nl, Probit und Bitcoin Meester.

1000 Euro Bitcoin ohne Provision kaufen? Erste Schritte bei Bitvavo
Go-Bitmünze #51
Die Themen in einer Reihe:

Die Verteilung von Bitcoin (BTC): 17.154 Millionäre und ein Milliardär
Bei diesem Spiel wurden bereits 120.000 Bitcoin-Transaktionen für durchschnittlich 0,0006 Euro getätigt.
Bitcoin und Zentralbankzensur? Github-CEO äußert Besorgnis
U.S. Revenue will Bitcoin auf Lightning, Prämie von 625.000 $, verfolgen.
Lagarde (EZB): ‚Digitale Währung für die Eurozone im Entstehen‘.
Die EU muss Regeln für Stallmünzen festlegen“, so Hoekstra und Kollegen
Bitcoin Clark Moody Dashboard: Bitcoin-Statistik
Hören Sie sich unten den gesamten Podcast an.

Viel Spaß!

Toma rápida:

• Según Willy Woo y Mati Greenspan, la brecha de CME de Bitcoin de 9.700 dólares puede que nunca se llene
• El valor de Metcalfe de Bitcoin está ahora por encima de 11.300 dólares y podría indicar un aumento de BTC
• Bitcoin tiene el cierre semanal por delante y 10.200 a 10.500 dólares es un área de interés para los toros

La primera semana de septiembre fue tumultuosa para Bitcoin ya que su valor cayó duramente de 12.000 dólares a menos de 10.000 dólares. Durante esa primera semana, el Rey de Crypto casi perdió este nivel de precio psicológico en numerosas ocasiones. Esto llevó a muchos comerciantes de criptográficas a creer que Bitcoin estaba en un camino seguro para llenar el vacío de CME a 9.700 dólares establecido a finales de julio.

Sin embargo, Bitcoin se recuperó con cada caída por debajo de 10.000 dólares, lo que llevó a Tyler Winklevoss a declarar que 10.000 dólares era la nueva línea de base de la BTC.

La brecha de la CME de Bitcoin (BTC) de 9.700 dólares podría no llenarse nunca

La resistencia de Bitcoin para mantener su valor por encima de los 10.000 dólares ha llevado tanto a Willy Woo como a Mati Greenspan a la conclusión de que el hueco de 9.700 dólares puede que nunca se llene. De acuerdo con Willy Woo, si esto ocurre, será el primer hueco de CME de Bitcoin que nunca se llene. Explicó esto más adelante en Twitter de la siguiente manera.

Yo diría que hay una buena posibilidad de que este vacío de CME no se llene, hasta ahora ha sido una apuesta por la liquidez. Cada caída se rompió. Si es así, será el primer hueco de CME en las velas diarias que permanezca sin llenar.

Mati Greenspan añadió al análisis de Willy Woo explicando que los huecos de CME no siempre se llenan. Sin embargo, la volatilidad de los mercados hace muy probable que se llenen. Los comentarios del Sr. Greenspan se pueden encontrar en el siguiente tweet que también cita la declaración del Sr. Woo sobre la brecha de la CME.

El cierre semanal de Bitcoin está a horas de distancia

Como hoy es domingo, el cierre semanal de Bitcoin está a sólo unas horas y un cierre dentro o por encima del área de 10.200 a 10.500 dólares, seguramente será una buena señal para los toros. Más aún debido al hecho de que el valor de Metcalfe de Bitcoin está en 11.362 dólares según el equipo de Cane Island Alternative Advisors.

Esto significa que el precio actual de Bitcoin está muy desviado de su valor según la actividad en su red. Por lo tanto, una vez que se asiente la polvareda en la venta anterior que casi rompió los 10.000 dólares, Bitcoin podría estar en camino de alcanzar precios por encima de los 11.000 dólares.