The Lunafi Daily — Monday 03-12-2018
Ever feel like there is too much going on in the cryptocurrency space and it is impossible to keep up? Us too. So here is a summary of the daily news (and a little bit of commentary)! Hope you enjoy. P.S. This is not another investment post.
Regulations
Joining a mining pool may become more regulated in the U.S.
South Carolina Securities Division believes that the joining a mining pool (paying money for hash-power and in most cases the company manages) passes the “Howey” test and considers it to be an investment contract. For those that don’t know, this means one expects a profit from purchasing hash-power.
“The Securities Division of N̶o̶r̶t̶h̶ ̶C̶a̶r̶o̶l̶i̶n̶a̶. South Carolina has ordered Genesis Mining to Cease and Desist from offering mining contracts. The Securities Division says such mining contracts are investment contracts and therefore securities. Genesis Mining needs to register with the SEC, they say.”
Source: Mining Contracts Are Securities Says State Securities Division Article Source: Security Commissioner of South Carolina
Coincheck (an exchange that was hacked a while ago) started paying back people and began limited operations.
This is a very good news for the believers in “self-regulating” exchanges. The Coincheck had no obligation to pay back the customers, but this could turn into a great PR story (unlike the “community hated” Mt. Gox hack).
“Japanese exchange Coincheck is today starting to reimburse victims who lost funds in a hack that saw around $530 million stolen from the platform in January.”
Source: Coincheck Starts Crypto Hack Refunds, Allows Limited Trading
Source: Coincheck Blog (Scroll to the bottom for the English version)
Thailand is looking into regulating cryptocurrency, but not using archaic laws to do so.
You hear it in the news, at family dinners, etc. People are against “regulation”. I think regulation gets a bad rap. The intention is to help protect consumers, but most times it is poorly enforced and riddled with loopholes. Thailand seems to agree that digital assets are part of the future and they want to be ahead of other countries.
“Bank of Thailand governor Veerathai Santiprabhob has revealed details of a meeting between the country’s deputy prime minister, finance minister and other related agencies last week wherein the regulators reportedly agreed to ‘enact a new law to comprehensively regulate’ cryptocurrencies.”
Source: Thai Law to Regulate [Legalize] Cryptocurrency, ICO Markets Coming in April
Original Source (from March 9th): Experts throw weight behind sec to handle digital assets
EU won’t ban mining due to energy concerns
As long as cryptocurrency mining companies follow electricity rules, the EU won’t have any issue with it. Although it isn’t banned, the Commission will continue to keep tabs on it. This is a good example of government not intervening with new technologies. Granted, the amount of electricity should be utilized effectively or at least have excess heat be used for other ventures (see Crypotomatoes below).
“In a statement released last week, Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, addressed concerns about the power-intensive nature of cryptocurrency mining, while clarifying the regulatory status of the industry.”
Source: EU Can’t Ban Bitcoin Mining Over Energy Concerns, Official Says — CoinDesk
Education
John Oliver, talk show host, explains some of the basics of Bitcoin, blockchain, and investor terminology.
This video does a pretty good job of educating, while being humorous. John Oliver’s team did a great job to avoiding any drama and stuck to the facts and terminology. It’s okay if you still don’t understand it all. No one understands how TCP/IP, UDP, BGP protocols work yet they run the internet.
“In the latest episode of the US-based host’s Last Week Tonight television show, Bitcoin, Blockchain and investing in cryptocurrency all came under the spotlight.”
Source: John Oliver Compares Bitcoin With Bitconnect, Ridicule… | News | Cointelegraph
Source: Youtube Video
Mainstream
Restaurants and stores continue to roll-out/use software that accepts cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Cash.
Overall, this is great for the cryptocurrency community. Providers like Bitpay (although going through some hot water with high fees) enable store owners to accept cryptocurrencies. The more stores that begin to accept cryptocurrencies, the more mainstream the technology becomes.
“Germany’s biggest meal delivery provider, Liferando, which allows you to order food from 11,000 restaurants, has begun accepting Bitcoin Cash. Overall, some 31,000 restaurants in Europe and Vietnam have now begun accepting Bitcoin Cash through online orders from Takeaway.com.”
Source: Over 31,000 Restaurants Start Accepting Bitcoin Cash
Source: Video of experience
Startups
Big names from companies such as Docker (former CEO), jump into the cryptocurrency space.
It is exciting to see big names jump into the cryptocurrency space because it helps legitimize the need and business opportunity. In this specific case, decentralized data storage is a pretty lofty goal and one that we should keep an eye on. Remember that time you lost a photo of Pepe the Frog because a server was taken down?
“Decentralized data storage startup Storj is hoping to boost its growth with the hire of a new executive chairman and interim chief executive.”
Source: Former Docker CEO to Lead Crypto-Powered Distributed Storage Startup — CoinDesk
Use the extra heat of a mining rig in conjunction with agriculture.
Diversity in innovative thinking can lead to cool discoveries/inventions even in the cryptocurrency space. Whether its growing tomatoes or heating homes, there is always room to innovate in a up and coming space.
“On March 10 the co-founder of the exchange Nakamoto X, Kamil Brejcha, revealed a photo of large bunches of tomatoes that were grown using excess heat from cryptocurrency miners.”
Source: ‘Cryptomatoes’ Using Excess Mining Heat to Produce Fruits.
