Tag: Bitcoin

  • Bitcoin falls to lowest since January after stock market

    Bitcoin falls to lowest since January after stock market

    Bitcoin on Monday, May 9 fell to its lowest level since January 2022, as falling equity markets weighed on cryptocurrencies, which are now trading in line with riskier assets like tech stocks.

    In early trade, bitcoin fell as low as $33,266 to test the January low of $32,951. If it drops below that level, it will be at its lowest since July of 2021. The price then settled at roughly $33,500, down 1.4 per cent.

    A Singapore-based crypto platform, Stack Funds said that everything in crypto is still classified as a risk asset, and most cryptocurrencies are pummelling in the same way that the Nasdaq has been.

    The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted in technology, plummeted 1.5 per cent last week and is down 22 per cent year to date, as persistent inflation forces the US Federal Reserve to raise rates despite slowing GDP.

    On Monday morning Nasdaq futures were down another 0.8 per cent.

    Other factors in bitcoin’s weekend slide were the crypto market’s notoriously low liquidity on weekends, as well as short-lived fears that an algorithmic stablecoin dubbed Terra (UST) could lose its stability against the US dollar.

    Read more: Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves down by $328 million

    The crypto world is keeping a close eye on UST because of its unique method of maintaining a 1:1 dollar peg, as well as its founders’ aspirations to construct a $10 billion bitcoin reserve to support the stablecoin, implying that UST volatility might potentially leak over into the bitcoin markets.

    On Monday, Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, plummeted to $2,421, its lowest level since late February.

  • Zulfi Bukhari mocks Miftah Ismail for not knowing about Web 3.0

    Zulfi Bukhari mocks Miftah Ismail for not knowing about Web 3.0

    Following Finance Minister Miftah Ismail’s admittance of being unaware of the third generation internet, or Web 3.0, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) leader Zulfikar Bukhari offered him “free consultation and training” on Web 3.0.

    “We’ll give you free consultancy services & coaching on Web 3.0 Miftah, but please don’t embarrass Pakistan like that next time,” Zulfi Bukhari said in a tweet quoting a video of the Atlantic Council.

    In the viral video, Miftah is asked about the rise of Web 3.0, which the questioner believes will be a $100 billion dollar export opportunity for Pakistani talent in the next 20 years.

    He also inquired what he felt about providing new economic prospects for Pakistanis, citing the potential of digital currency.

    “Let me simply declare that I genuinely don’t know what Web 3.0 is,” Miftah said bluntly and “shamelessly..I don’t know much about this, but I do know that Pakistani fintech and new technology businesses garnered a lot of money last year and from a very low starting point”.

    He added that we want them to thrive as much as possible, I’m not sure how much we can do to assist them.

    What is Web 3.0?

    Web 3.0 is a new kind of internet that not only accurately translates what you type, but also understands what you say, whether through text, voice, or other media, and where all of the content you consume is more personalised than ever before.

    There are a few early-stage Web 3.0 applications that exist today, but their true potential cannot be seen until the new internet is fully integrated into the web infrastructure.

    Web 3.0 refers to the next generation of the internet, in which websites and apps will be able to handle data in a clever human-like manner using technologies such as machine learning (ML), Big Data, and decentralised ledger technology (DLT), among others.

    Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, dubbed Web 3.0 the Semantic Web, with the goal of creating a more autonomous, intelligent, and open internet.

    Read more: ‘Sasta Ramzan Bazaar’ fails to provide relief in third Ashra

    Data will be interconnected in a decentralised form, which would be a big leap ahead from our present generation of the internet (Web 2.0), where data is largely housed in centralised repositories.

    Users and machines will be able to engage with data as well. However, programmes must be able to comprehend information both conceptually and culturally in order for this to happen. With this in mind, the semantic web and artificial intelligence are the two cornerstones of Web 3.0. (AI).

  • Amitabh pays 2.61 crore PKR as GST after selling his NFT collection for 17 crore PKR

    Amitabh pays 2.61 crore PKR as GST after selling his NFT collection for 17 crore PKR

    The Bollywood superstar, Amitabh Bachchan has finally paid 2.61 crore PKR in GST for the sale of his non-fungible token (NFT) collection, which was auctioned for 17.16 crore PKR in the first week of November 2021.

    Some of the netizens may remember that Bachchan had received a warning from the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) to pay the imposed GST.

    Despite Bachchan’s deposit, the DGGI is expected to continue its probe into tax avoidance.

    An NFT venture stated in August 2021 that Bachchan’s NFT collection would be available on its platform. Bachchan had signed an agreement with ‘Rhiti Entertainment’ to convert some of his pictures or illustrations into digital assets.

    Interestingly, this also made Bachchan one of the first Indian actors to support digital art and NFTs.

    Apart from the photos and posters, a famous collection of poems written by Bachchan’s father and recorded in his own voice, ‘Madhushala’ was the most successful auction.

    The NFT auction had garnered 17.16 crore PKR and attracted 18 percent GST. Big B was bound to pay taxes worth 12.61 crore PKR from the sale, which has been now deposited by the actor.

    Read More: Crypto companies at risk of closure in the United Kingdom

    For those who do not know much about NFTs, it is a type of digital asset that represents real-world or sometimes abstract elements. This can be art, photography, meme, music, game characters or any graphic one can think of. This data unit is kept on a blockchain, a digital ledger that makes it non-transferable and unique.

  • Crypto companies at risk of closure in the United Kingdom

    A number of cryptocurrency businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) may be forced to shut down if they fail to register with the financial watchdog before a major deadline next week.

    Firms providing crypto services in the UK must register with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) by 31 March, 2022. The FCA is in charge of supervising how digital asset firms tackle money laundering.

    In 2021, the authority stretched the deadline for businesses on a temporary register to continue trading while seeking full license. Once the deadline passes, the temporary register will be closed.

    Many crypto businesses have withdrew their applications, according to the FCA, since they did not match the required anti-money laundering criteria.

    With only days until the deadline, the status of companies on the temporary register including Revolut, a $33 billion fintech business, and Copper, a crypto start-up is in trouble which counts on UK Finance Minister, Philip Hammond as its advisor.  

    Read More: Pakistan decides to make cryptocurrency illegal

    Some businesses are now withdrawing their applications, including B2C2, a London-based crypto trading firm, just removed itself from the FCA’s provisional registry.

    B2C2’s spot trading activity has been relocated to the company’s U.S. Entity from this week. The firm’s business is now unaffected as it is handled by an FCA-authorized subsidiary.

  • Twitter reacts to PM Modi’s hacked account news

    Twitter reacts to PM Modi’s hacked account news

    Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s Twitter account was hacked late Saturday.

    A deleted tweet from Modi’s official handle declared India had adopted Bitcoin as legal tender and was distributing the cryptocurrency to citizens.

    Later, the Indian Prime Minister Office clarified that “The Twitter handle of PM was very briefly compromised. The matter was escalated to Twitter and the account has been immediately secured. In the brief period that the account was compromised, any Tweet shared must be ignored.”

    Soon the hashtag #ModiAccountHacked started making rounds on Twitter.

  • Waqar Zaka appointed crypto expert by KP Govt, says will work for free

    The Government of Kyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on February 4, 2021, appointed Waqar Zaka as an expert on digital assets (Cryptocurrency & Cryptomining). Zaka was the host of the wildly popular reality show Living on the Edge and is now a YouTuber.

    The Directorate of Science and Technology of KP formed an advisory committee on the “resolutions and recommendation” of KP’s assembly.

    Advisor to Chief Minister (CM) KP on Science and Technology Ziaullah Khan Bangash has been appointed the chairperson for the advisory committee while KP Minister for Finance Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra has been appointed Senior Vice Chairman.

    Sharing the news on social media, Zaka said: “I’m hired as a crypto expert by the government of Pakistan, and I have decided not to charge a single penny and I will provide all my services for free.”

    Along with the official notification, Zaka also shared a video expressing disappointment with the Sindh government for not taking the necessary steps on digital assets.

    “I have contacted the concerned IT person who is working for the Sindh government, and I can show all WhatsApp messages that I have sent to him,” said Zaka. “I have also talked to many people from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) but no one has taken it seriously.”

    “I will work for free. All province should launch their coin, and Pakistan can generate lots of revenue through digital assets. It will also bring innovation in the processes of tax collection. People should ask Bilawal Bhutto, chairman of PPP, that why these facilities aren’t provided to the common people,” added the host.

    It is noteworthy to mention that KP is the first province in Pakistan to legalise crypto trading, and the administration is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency.

  • Bitcoin hits all-time high of $62,712 USD

    Bitcoin hits all-time high of $62,712 USD

    Bitcoin (BTC) has hit an all-time high of $62,712, according to analytics from CoinGecko. The price of one BTC is currently comfortable at $62,700.

    The flagship digital currency has been on an impressive journey, with its price increasing at a rate of almost 6 per cent in one week. The new all-time high (ATH) comes only a day after crypto evangelist and investor Coinbase went public yesterday.

    Crypto expert Jason Deanen who works at Quantum Economics, says that “Bitcoin has been testing the resistance levels for some weeks now, bouncing off each time but immediately coming back undeterred. Today’s ATH was inevitable as sheer market momentum, investor sentiment and accelerating rate of development act as primary drivers.”

    Other than BTC, most digital currencies in the crypto top 20 also experienced similar hikes. Ethereum is up 4.91%, Binance 43,65%, and Uniswap is up by 12.04%

    Bitcoin has again boosted investor sentiment amongst the community. Experts and traders are of the view that the BTC will climb even higher, perhaps as high as $400,000, with current trends looking bullish as ever.

    Antoni Trenchev, who is a Crypto investor and preacher, declared: “I do not doubt that this bull run is far from over.”

  • Man about to lose over $300 million after forgetting Bitcoin password

    Man about to lose over $300 million after forgetting Bitcoin password

    A San Francisco computer programmer has just two password attempts left if he is to unlock a Bitcoin wallet worth more than $300 million.

    If Thomas fails and burns through his final two of 10 attempts, he will lose 7002 Bitcoin, currently worth an eye-watering and lifechanging $303 million. The forgotten password which is keeping Thomas awake at night would let him unlock a small hard drive, known as an IronKey.

    The IronKey contains the critical private keys to Thomas’ digital wallet, where the Bitcoin fortune is locked up. If Thomas makes 10 failed IronKey password attempts, the hard drive will seize up and encrypt everything for eternity.

    According to The New York Times, Thomas lost the piece of paper he wrote the IronKey password on. “I would just lay in bed and think about it,” he says.

    “Then I would go to the computer with some new strategy, and it wouldn’t work, and I would be desperate again.”

    His plight has drawn the attention of hard drive and password crackers, offering their services for a slice of the quarter-billion-dollar pie. Alex Stamos, an internet security expert at Stanford Internet Observatory, claimed he can crack the password within six months. His price? Stamos wants a 10 per cent cut (roughly $30 million) of the fortune.

    “Um, for $220m in locked-up bitcoin, you don’t make 10 password guesses but take it to professionals to buy 20 IronKeys and spend six months finding a side-channel or uncapping,” Stomas tweeted, adding that he would make it happen for 10%.

    https://twitter.com/alexstamos/status/1348999178702057476

    Thomas was paid the Bitcoin for making a video about how the cryptocurrency worked, back when it was worth around $5 a coin. Last week, on the back of a record-breaking run, Bitcoin was trading at more than US$40,000.

    Perhaps the best-known case of anyone losing their Bitcoin fortune was James Howells, a Welsh IT worker, who in 2013 unintentionally threw 7500 Bitcoin in a landfill.

    Howells’ Bitcoin would also be worth more than a quarter-billion-dollars on today’s rate.

  • This Pakistani claims to be the founder of Bitcoin

    This Pakistani claims to be the founder of Bitcoin

    A Pakistani named Bilal Khalid, currently living in the United Kingdom (UK) has claimed to be the founder of Bitcoin, originally known as Satoshi Nakamoto.

    The true identity of Bitcoin’s founder is unknown and it is also said that Satoshi had a huge collection of coins worth almost $10 billion.

    According to the details, Bilal in a series of blogposts has provided evidence to support his claim of being Bitcoin’s creator, along with his story on what inspired him to work on digital currency.

    Bilal says that he derived the name Bitcoin from BCCI (the Bank of Credit and Commerce International) and wrote that he graduated from Al-Khair University in Pakistan, and later took online courses from Yale, Duke, and University of California-Irvine.

    He also shared the story of how he lost his coins collection, which as of right now are 10,037,062,000.00 USD, and would have made him the richest Pakistani.

    However, he says the loss was too big for him to take and that is the reason why he gave up on cryptocurrency.