Myanmar’s shadow government said it would allow the use of the world’s largest stablecoin, Tether, as an official currency, potentially making it easier for it to raise funds and make payments. The National Unity Government (NUG), which comprises pro-democracy groups and remnants of Myanmar’s civilian administration that was overthrown in a military coup earlier this year, has been seeking to raise funds for its “revolution” to topple the ruling military government. The military government has outlawed the NUG and designated it a “terrorist” movement. Tin Tun Naing, NUG’s minister in charge of planning, finance and investment, said in a December 11 Facebook post that the NUG would officially recognise USD Tether, which he said would enable better and faster transactions. Tether can be transferred in a similar way to other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, making it hard for governments and other authorities to track or prevent payments. However, its value is officially pegged to the US dollar and so remains stable, unlike most other cryptocurrencies. Financial stability Tether has a market value of $76bn, and following criticism and suspicion about the value of the assets underpinning the stablecoin, the company, also called Tether, publishes regular reports by auditors of its reserves. Since the coup, Myanmar’s banking and financial system has been in turmoil as opposition groups try to stifle the military’s efforts to consolidate power by encouraging people not to pay taxes, as well as join protests, a civil disobedience campaign, and boycotts of army-linked businesses and a national lottery. Meanwhile, […]

Tesla chief Elon Musk  is throwing his Twitter heft behind Dogecoin again, Tweeting on Tuesday that the electric vehicle maker will accept the cryptocurrency as payment for merchandise on a trial basis. “Tesla will make some merch buyable with Doge & see how it goes,”  Musk tweeted to his 66.3 million followers. Tesla will make some merch buyable with Doge & see how it goes — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2021 Dogecoin hit a high of more than $0.21 on the news, before giving back some of those gains, according to Coinmarketcap.com. Musk’s boosterism has helped vault Dogecoin – a meme-inspired cryptocurrency that features a Shibu Inu dog – into the stratosphere this year. It is up more than 4,000 percent since January 1. Though Musk did not specify exactly which Tesla merchandise could be bought with Dogecoin, its lifestyle product line ranges from mugs and water bottles selling for $30, to a Cyberquad for Kids retailing for $1,900. Musk, who was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year on Monday, told the publication that even though Dogecoin started out as a joke, it is better suited than Bitcoin for transactions because it encourages people to spend rather than hoard it as a store of value. Earlier this year, Musk announced that Tesla would accept Bitcoin for payment, but then suspended the practice citing Bitcoin’s carbon footprint.

Time magazine has named Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as its Person of the Year, for an incredible 12 months of achievements in which he jockeyed for the crown of world’s richest person and made his Twitter account a must-read while moving the needle on climate change, cryptocurrencies, space exploration, and universal broadband. In April, NASA granted Musk’s rocket company SpaceX an exclusive contract to put United States astronauts on the moon for the first time since 1972 – moving Musk one step ahead of rival old-guard rocket firm Boeing and one step closer to his stated goal of helping to make humans a multi-planetary species. In May, Musk hosted Saturday Night Live, using the television show as a platform to poke fun at himself and to raise awareness of Asperger syndrome, a mild form of autism, by announcing that he has it. In October, Musk’s growing wealth received yet another turbo-charge after car-rental company Hertz said it planned to buy 100,000 Teslas for its customers. The news sent Tesla stock soaring and the electric vehicle company’s valuation past $1 trillion. Though electric vehicles comprised just 0.43 percent of all vehicles in operation in the US in the first half of this year, Tesla commanded roughly two-thirds of that market, according to Experian Automotive. Elon Musk, founder and CEO of rocket company SpaceX and Tesla’s chief executive officer, poses in the cover image of Time magazine’s 2021 ‘Person of the Year’ edition [Mark Mahaney/Time via Reuters] All those milestones […]

Bitcoin extended gains after a report showed U.S. consumer prices increased at the fastest pace in nearly four decades. The largest cryptocurrency by market value has long been touted as an inflation hedge, in part because of its fixed supply. Bitcoin rose as much as 4.4% to $50,101 in New York trading on Friday. The coin has been bouncing around the $50,000 level since a weekend flash crash that saw it tumble as much as 21% on Saturday. “Bitcoin is still seen as an inflation hedge, especially for younger investors,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist for Miller Tabak + Co. “Since it has few restrictions right now, it is seen as a flight to safety asset for some investors.” Crypto proponents have long argued that Bitcoin and other digital assets, on account of their being an idiosyncratic asset class, could act as hedges against swings in other areas of the financial market. Only 21 million Bitcoin will be put into circulation under the computer protocol that governs issuance, though that figure isn’t expected to be reached for several decades. Many notable Wall Street investors and analysts have bought into the idea of using cryptocurrencies as a hedge against rising prices. Veteran hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones has said in the past that he likes it as a store of wealth. Meanwhile, MicroStrategy Inc.’s Michael Saylor said the Federal Reserve’s relaxing of its inflation policy helped convince him to invest the enterprise-software maker’s cash into Bitcoin. #Inflation impairs our […]

Top executives from six major cryptocurrency companies including Coinbase and Circle on Wednesday urged the United States Congress to provide clearer rules for the booming $3 trillion industry, but warned that overly tough restrictions would push it overseas. The House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services hearing marked the first time the industry’s senior leaders have explained their businesses to US lawmakers amid growing concerns that cryptocurrencies may pose systemic risks and hurt investors. Crypto executives repeated calls for careful, bespoke rules rather than forcing the industry to comply with existing regulations. “Without tailored legislative solutions that are openly debated with public participation, the United States risks unnecessarily onerous and chilling laws and regulations,” warned Alesia Haas, chief executive of Coinbase Inc. Congress is unlikely to make new crypto rules anytime soon, according to analysts, and lawmakers treated the hearing primarily as a fact-finding exercise. Democratic Representative Maxine Waters, who chairs the committee, said there are questions about proper oversight and singled out Facebook Inc’s stablecoin plans as a major concern given the company’s huge global reach. Some lawmakers, in particular Republicans, praised the executives for leading the way on what could be a pivotal technology. “I am tremendously impressed. I see a lot of ingenuity, a lot of entrepreneurial spirit,” said Representative Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican. “We need to be supportive of you.” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, FTX Trading CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Paxos CEO Chad Cascarilla, Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon and Bitfury head Brian Brooks also […]

Australia will create a licensing framework for cryptocurrency exchanges and consider launching a retail central bank digital currency as part of the biggest overhaul of its payments industry in a quarter of a century. The country will also broaden its payment laws to cover online transaction providers like Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google as well as buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) providers like Afterpay Ltd, ending their run of operating without direct supervision. “If we do not reform the current framework, it will be Silicon Valley that determines the future of our payment system,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in prepared speech notes supplied to Reuters. “Australia must retain its sovereignty over our payment system.” Australia’s conservative coalition government has been at the forefront of global efforts to rein in large technology companies as it prepares for a federal election by next May. The Liberal-National government, which is behind the left-leaning Labor Party in most polls, has already this year made Big Tech pay media companies for content and take legal liability for defamation on their platforms. (Do you mean The Liberal national government?) The government will begin consultation early next year on establishing a licensing framework for digital exchanges, which would allow the purchase and sale of crypto assets by consumers within a regulated environment, Frydenberg said in the prepared remarks. There would also be consultation on a regulatory regime for businesses that hold crypto assets on behalf of consumers, and on the feasibility of a central bank digital currency, he added, […]