Crypto Pirates

Ukraine is on the verge of legalising Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies following the passage of a new digital asset law by Parliament.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has yet to sign the Draft Law on Virtual Assets.

The measure, which was originally drafted in September 2020, strengthens protections against fraud for investors and enterprises alike. Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation, told the Kyiv Post that more people would invest in Bitcoin if it became legal and hence safer. Ukraine is the next in a long line of countries to embrace Bitcoin into their economies.

On Sept. 8, Ukraine's Bitcoin law got approval from 276 members of Parliament, achieving near to 100 percent support. The law should come as no surprise in light of President Zelenskyy's recent visit to Silicon Valley, where he met with investors and venture capitalists to promote Ukraine's digital economy in the hope of securing cooperation.

Bitcoin Legislation

Prior to this bill, Ukrainians received a mixed message about cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Investors have been allowed to trade on bitcoin exchanges without restriction. Simultaneously, authorities regarded enterprises, particularly trading platforms, as suspicious. If anything, cryptocurrency businesses have been the focus of "unjustified searches" in which equipment has been taken by Ukraine's law enforcement agency, which has previously expressed reservations about the legitimacy of digital assets, according to the Kyiv Post.

While the new law provides better regulatory clarity, Ukraine is navigating its own route and conducting business in a manner distinct from El Salvador. Ukraine's citizens will be unable to use Bitcoin as legal money. This position is reserved for the hryvnia, the local fiat currency.

Ukraine is opening the road for businesses and investors to use cryptocurrencies in a more secure manner by 2022, with the draught law serving as the first step. Cryptocurrency enterprises will be required to seek a permit and will also be responsible for taxes in Ukraine. Legislators must now approve further supporting legislation and make necessary changes to the Tax Code and Civil Code.

The bitcoin community is growing in confidence as the globe becomes more cryptocurrency-friendly. However, Ukraine's law had no effect on the Bitcoin price, which has been declining for the past week and has fallen below the psychologically significant $50,000 mark.

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MasterCard Inc. (MA) shares increased modestly on Thursday following the company's announcement of plans to acquire a crypto intelligence firm. CipherTrace, a cryptocurrency intelligence firm that monitors over 900 coins, is being acquired by the company.

It intends to leverage the platform to expedite the implementation of its crypto strategy in light of the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies. MasterCard anticipates concluding the transaction by year's end.

The provider of payment services stated in a statement following the announcement:

The integrated offering will leverage CipherTrace's digital asset management suite and MasterCard's cyber security solutions to provide businesses with increased transparency, assisting them in identifying and understanding their risks, as well as in managing their digital asset regulatory and compliance obligations.

MasterCard will be able to distinguish its card and real-time payments infrastructure by merging CypherTrace's technology with both firms' artificial intelligence and cybersecurity capabilities. As a result, it will help customers improve their cyber security and compliance when launching digital assets.

Is September 2021 a good time to buy MA shares?

MasterCard shares trade at a modest forwards P/E ratio of 32.96, which appeals to value investors. Additionally, experts anticipate that the company's profits per share will expand at an average annual rate of approximately 27.30 percent over the next five years.

As a result, growth investors may find the stock attractive as the year winds down. As a result, considering that MA shares are up slightly more than 3% year to date, the company might rally dramatically to catch up with the rest of the market.

As a point of comparison, the S&P 500 index is up 33% in the same time frame.

MasterCard appears to be on the verge of continuing its comeback.

Technically, MasterCard's shares appear to have recovered recently following a retest of the intraday trend-line resistance. The stock, however, has not yet reached the 14-day RSI's overbought level and continues to trade many levels below the 100-day moving average.

Thus, following Thursday's statement, the present bull market appears ready to continue. As a result, investors can aim for extended gains above $373.06 or even higher at $393.47. If the stock price does reverse course, it may find support at $333.64 and $314.48.

Why should you purchase a MasterCard rebound?

In summary, while MasterCard shares have gained 3.71 percent this week, the stock has not yet reached the 14-day RSI's overbought level. Additionally, the MA stock trades at a reasonable price-to-earnings multiple and provides tremendous growth potential.

As such, it may not be too late to buy in MasterCard stock as the company accelerates its crypto strategy through the acquisition of CypherTrace.

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Here are a few obvious ideas that can help retail traders get a significant advantage in the cryptocurrency market.

For centuries, large banks have housed banknotes, stock certificates, and valuable goods such as gold and jewels on behalf of their customers. They will now be permitted to keep Bitcoin (BTC) and other alternative cryptocurrencies as well, owing to a recent policy change by a federal banking regulator. Indeed, banks have already begun accumulating cryptocurrencies and trading them on cryptocurrency exchanges, utilising three critical components of effective trading.

The first crypto trading trick is based on crowd psychology

We are everyone aware that when Elon Musk says "jump," Dogecoin (DOGE) responds with "How high?" There are important occasions when the crowd consistently reacts in a similar fashion. History tends to repeat itself. That is why experienced traders are continuously poring through the internet, the news, and as many other sources as possible, looking for tell-tale indicators of a growing flood of market activity in order to profitably ride the wave.

#2 Cryptocurrency trading ploy: Breaking news

Significant statements from prominent participants in the cryptocurrency field have the potential to affect markets. New asset listings on cryptocurrency exchanges, collaboration deals between huge corporations, and even established companies such as PayPal expressing their embrace of the crypto revolution all have the potential to drive prices high. That is why professional traders employ high-powered systems to monitor the web in search of market-moving information.

Investor sentiment is the third crypto trading trick.

Big institutions are eavesdropping on publicly available social media conversations on platforms like Twitter and employing sophisticated sentiment analysis to determine which cryptocurrencies are being enthusiastically discussed online.

Combining these three investing strategies puts crypto traders like you one step ahead of the competition.

Creating an equal playing field

To compete with the major banks, startups are entering the fray, utilising the same deep analysis and algorithms as the banks, and making that data available to individual traders at a fraction of the cost the banks pay. Why are they behaving in this manner? Simply, there are far more independent traders than banks. Indeed, according to the public ledgers that these cryptocurrencies make available, the vast majority of crypto trading occurs between individual dealers.

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Receive market-moving news as soon as it is available

Markets Pro's algorithm is powered by the same system that banks use. Markets Pro users receive an alert seconds after the system identifies an announcement, frequently faster than most other social and media outlets where traders often discover actionable news. It enables Markets Pro subscribers to react more quickly than the rest of the market to breaking news.

The VORTECSTM Score is your secret weapon

The VORTECSTM Score is an algorithmic evaluation of many critical market variables associated with each currency, using years of historical data. It determines if an asset's prognosis is healthy at any particular point in time based on its price history. Consider the equivalent of a hedge fund's whole crypto trading desk reducing all of its research into a simple score ranging from 1 to 100.

The acronym VORTECSTM refers for volume, outlook, RealPrice, tweet volume, elevation, confidence, and sentiment — all of which are used to calculate the score. The programme searches for recurring patterns in various configurations of these parameters and compares them to subsequent price action to see whether certain patterns have historically foreshadowed price rallies or decreases.

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SolRazr is the latest project headquartered in Solana to announce a seven-figure funding round.

SolRazr, a venture platform based in Solana, has announced the launch of the first decentralised developer ecosystem for the Solana blockchain, which includes a Launchpad, Accelerator, and Developer Tools.

SolRazr's mission is to facilitate the evolution of decentralised finance (DeFi) on the high-performance network by acting as the de facto fundraising and developer platform for projects built on Solana. SolRazr co-founder Sreekanth Kalapur commented on the development, saying:

“Solana will fuel SolRazr, enabling ventures to raise financing quickly and at a low cost to investors. Not only is the technology quick and affordable, but it is also safe and bot-proof, ensuring that the SolRazr community receives fair and truly decentralised allocations. SolRazr is more than a launchpad; we're constructing a platform with a slew of developer tools to assist anyone in rapidly developing on Solana.”

SolRazr's allocation strategy will be unique for retail investors, utilising Solana's NFTs.

Solana is a Proof-of-Stake blockchain with a consensus process built from pBFT and 200 global nodes. Due to its coordinated optimisations, Solana is capable of 50,000 transactions per second. Parallel processing of transactions is also supported natively by GPU hardware, making Solana the industry's only multi-threaded blockchain.

Additionally, Vijay Kalangi, a SolRazr co-founder, stated:

“Blockchains and cryptocurrencies are gaining widespread use, owing to institutional investors' increasing interest. However, we are still in the early stages of digital asset and project acceptance and have not even reached 1% of global technology usage. It's been genuinely great to watch SolRazr grow into the platform it is today. We're only scratching the surface of what the full-service SolRazr ecosystem is capable of, and we're excited to reveal it soon.”

SolRazr has announced the completion of a $1.5 million fundraising round led by Moonrock Capital, Ascensive Assets, and Morningstar Ventures. Several prominent firms invested in the round, including Genesis Block Ventures, Divergence, Genblock Capital, CMS Holdings, PANONY, and Skynet Trading, as well as angel investors Sam Kazemian of Frax Finance, Leo Cheng of CREAM, Santiago R Santos, and Chris McCann.

Jonathan Habicht, Managing Partner of Moonrock Capital, commented on the financing:

“Moonrock Capital is ecstatic to be a member of the SolRazr team. SolRazr and its basic components were built to answer several of the Solana blockchain ecosystem's most pressing adoption needs. It is a platform that has been established and developed by a world-class team of blockchain professionals and veterans.”

Added Oliver Blakey, Managing Partner of Ascensive Assets:

“SolRazr provides a great venue for serious builders to generate funding to innovate on Solana, as well as for investors to invest in the ecosystem.”

SolRazr is Solana's first decentralised development ecosystem, with a Launchpad, Accelerator, and Developer Tools. The team is enthusiastic about sharing SolRazr with the cryptocurrency community and with anyone wanting to create and participate. The team believes that DeFi should imply the possibility for everyone to invest in a project that has the potential to influence their lives. The team selected to construct and host its platform on Solana, the DeFi and Web3 futures.

Solana is a high-performance Proof-of-Stake blockchain that prioritises scalability at the expense of decentralisation and security. Until today, blockchains were single-threaded machines, ensuring that no two transactions completed in parallel would clash. Solana enables concurrent GPU parallelisation for the first time, utilising Proof-of-History, a clock prior to consensus, to give high speed, low latency, and affordable transactions at the layer 1 level without requiring sharding.

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There has recently been significant discussion regarding the rising popularity, scepticism, excitement, and long-term prospects of cryptocurrency or crypto, a digital currency that can be used to purchase products and services. Here are some frequently asked questions concerning cryptocurrency.

What exactly is cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is a sort of digital currency that exists solely on the internet. Unless you utilise a service that allows you to exchange cryptocurrencies for a physical token, there is no actual coin or bill. You often exchange cryptocurrencies with someone online, using your phone or computer, rather than through an intermediary such as a bank. There are numerous cryptocurrencies, and new ones are constantly being developed.

Where do you keep your cryptocurrency?

Unlike traditional currency, which is kept in a bank, cryptocurrency is kept in a digital wallet, which can be found online, on your computer, or on an external hard drive (cold storage).

What distinguishes cryptocurrency from traditional currencies such as US dollars?

There are significant differences between cryptocurrencies and regular currency, according to the FTC. Cryptocurrency accounts, unlike bank accounts in the United States, are not backed or insured by the government. The Federal Reserve controls the US dollar money supply, which it digitally debits and credits to large banks. Then, as banks lend out additional balances to the larger economy, more dollars circulate. Cryptocurrencies have their own procedures for creating money supply programmed into them, such as "mine" and "minting." Furthermore, cryptocurrency values fluctuate often, even by the hour, and are determined by a variety of factors such as supply and demand.

How many cryptocurrencies exist?

According to CoinMarketCap.com, a market research website, there are over 10,000 publicly traded cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether are three of the most popular cryptos.

What is the history of cryptocurrency?

While there are numerous answers to this question, some in the technology industry would point to a few significant breakthroughs, such as the creation of public key cryptography in the 1970s, decentralised services in the 1980s, and innovations spawned by the cypherpunk movement in the 1990s and 2000s.

We do know, though, that the technology appears to be here to stay.

What exactly is a blockchain?

A blockchain is a database in the form of a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across an entire network of computer systems. Blockchains, unlike traditional databases, store data in connected chunks. When new data is input, it forms a block, and when that block is filled with data, it is "chained" to the previous block. Blocks are linked in chronological sequence. Some blockchains, such as Bitcoin's, are decentralised, which means that no single individual has control, that data submitted is irreversible, and that transactions are forever recorded and viewed by anyone. This allows people to rely on the blockchain system to resolve transactions rather than a centralised authority. One of the things that many people like about the system is that it is not controlled or administered by a single institution.

What is the current craze for cryptocurrencies?

There has been a lot of discussion and argument regarding why cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are so popular right now. Some investors believe that crypto – and its blockchain infrastructure – are the way of the future, and they are attempting to purchase them now with the expectation that they will become more valuable in the future. Many people feel that the internet should have its own native currency that can be used to buy and sell commodities like art and games in a digital economy.

Others argue that having an alternative decentralised global rules-based cryptocurrency to the fiat monetary systems employed by governments may serve as a long-term store of value, aiding with inflation protection. Some investors are unconcerned about the currency's long-term prospects and simply want to "cash in" on its current popularity.

Is it legal to use cryptocurrency?

Yes, cryptocurrency is legal in the United States and is governed by the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), however its usage is effectively prohibited in some nations, such as China. There are numerous scams in the crypto world, and controlling custody of crypto funds can be difficult, so be cautious and do your research before making an investment.

Is cryptocurrency governed?

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain-related financial services firms are regulated by a variety of federal and state bodies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the United States Treasury Department, and the Federal Reserve. Investors have been vocal about the difficulty in comprehending the regulations.

Regulation may become more stringent in the near future. While testifying before the United States House Committee on Financial Services in July 2021, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell discussed the Fed's interest in regulating stablecoins and the possibility of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). This would effectively create the framework for the Fed's future centralised regulation.

In addition, the recently enacted Senate Infrastructure Bill includes a section that would establish laws defining a "broker" as someone who is "responsible for and routinely provides any service effectuating transfers of digital assets on behalf of another person." Anyone labelled as a broker, if signed into law, would be subject to the same tax reporting obligations as traditional financial brokers.

Are they thought to be a smart investment in 2021?

Cryptocurrency is primarily based on speculation and is considered a risky investment. Before making an investment, we recommend conducting extensive research and talking with your financial advisor.

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Following Bitcoin's catastrophic sell-off yesterday, bulls are now licking their wounds following a further 7 percent drop. The world's flagship cryptocurrency is currently testing a fundamental level to the downside, which might pave the ground for further losses.

But what exactly went wrong?

Needless to say, no one had witnessed the flash crash. It was a tremendous day for Bitcoin. El Salvador was the first country to acknowledge Satoshi's invention as legal money. While the United States, the European Union, and China are unlikely to follow suit anytime soon, it is reasonable to predict that the decision will have a significant impact on global banking.

What caused the flash crash?

Here are a few things that could have influenced the decision:

* Buy the rumour, sell the news: This is a common storyline in the bitcoin world that is fuelled by FOMO and FUD. It wouldn't be unreasonable to believe that some market participants were involved in "buying the rumour and selling the news," and cashed out in the midst of the predicted media attention.

* A series of leveraged futures liquidations: The derivatives market had a significant part in Bitcoin's downturn, which had a ripple effect on the altcoin market. In reality, there were more than $2.3 billion in liquidations on Tuesday, the highest since the mid-May crisis.

Levers, as explained by Coin Metrics, can be used to scale the possible returns of a futures contract. It effectively allows market players to bet higher amounts of capital than they currently have in their accounts. Leverage, on the other hand, has some drawbacks because it magnifies risk.

Is it something that Bitcoin investors should be concerned about?

Bitcoin experienced a significant drop yesterday, plunging from a local high above $52k to as low as $42.8k on several crypto exchanges. The magnitude of these corrections, as well as the volume of leveraged trading taking place in the futures market, is unsurprising. In retrospect, a minor adjustment resulted in a major crash. What happens next?

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has dropped below the 50-median line after producing a bearish divergence, indicating that sellers are in charge of the Bitcoin market. The market's volume is minimal, which may stymie its growth trajectory. On top of that, September has historically been a gloomy month for the BTC.

Here's the catch. Traders can predict a rebound as long as Bitcoin is above $43,000, which is a demand zone. At the time of press, the crypto-asset was worth $46,500. If buy-side volumes get the requisite momentum over the next several trading sessions, yesterday's long wick could actually aid BTC in nurturing bullish pressure.

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The globe is currently in the grip of a climate crisis

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States saw a record-breaking 22 different billion-dollar natural catastrophes in 2020, costing a total of $96.4 billion. There were three in 1980, only 40 years before.

Cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens are the latest offenders of these rapidly rising temperatures (NFT).

The amount of energy required to mine cryptocurrency alone is massive. According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, if Bitcoin were a country, it would rank 33rd in the world in terms of energy consumption, trailing only the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates. Not to mention Ethereum, a cryptocurrency used in NFT transactions.

And this isn't the kind of mining you'd see on the side of a mountain. It employs thousands of high-performance computers to solve extremely tough and complex mathematical problems. These aren't your average laptops or PCs mining for cryptocurrency. Top-of-the-line graphics processing units (GPU) that cost thousands of dollars apiece are used by computers mining cryptocurrency. This has resulted in a worldwide GPU shortage, with the average buyer unable to obtain an essential component for a new computer. Prices have risen as a result, and manufacturers are scrambling to find a solution.

All of this mining produces vast amounts of carbon dioxide, which pollutes our air, depletes our ozone layer, and warms our environment. Because cryptocurrency consumes so much energy, Elon Musk, a long-time admirer of the technology, said that Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin as payment, citing the “rapidly expanding use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions.” Following that, the price of Bitcoin fell by 10%.

The same is true for NFTs

NFTs are intended to demonstrate the originality of a one-of-a-kind item. An image, for example, can be copied hundreds of times by random people online, but an NFT represents the original file or image. It's like the difference between seeing the genuine Mona Lisa and buying a poster of it at a gift shop. In practise, however, this is not the case.

If you purchase an NFT, you will still receive the same JPEG that everyone else may download, but you will also receive a line of blockchain stating that you are the sole owner of the original. That's all there is to it: some random characters and numbers in a long line of code.

NFTs have been lauded as a fantastic way for digital artists to monetise their work, and this is partially correct. Tens of millions of dollars have been paid for digital photos, all for a digital evidence of ownership. If the deal is worth millions of dollars and tonnes of carbon dioxide, the world is doomed.

Because that is the crux of the issue. NFTs and cryptocurrencies were lauded as a fantastic opportunity to break free from the constraints of our physical reality. The idea was that as we move into a more digital future, our art and money should follow suit.

Instead, they have devolved into a get-rich-quick scheme that is harming the globe.

NFTs are sold at exorbitant rates in auctions, much like classical artworks. Companies and influencers may slap a few pixel images together, call it great art, build a reputation through their fans or investors, and then sell it for millions to some rich person with money burning a hole in their pocket.

As an example, consider the infamous CryptoPunk NFTs. CryptoPunks are a collection of 10,000 randomly produced pixel images of various cyberpunk faces. According to Larva Labs, the lowest price for one is now $378,725.30. Over 13,000 sales are worth around $1.24 billion in total.

That money might be used for so many things. That amount of money might provide housing for nearly 23,000 homeless persons in Los Angeles. Instead, it's used for practically worthless blockchain lines.

Cryptocurrencies are similarly ineffective, as they are considered more like a stock on the New York Stock Exchange than as a revolutionary means to trade money.

Take for example, the infamous DogeCoin. Do you suppose people chanted "To the moon" in the hopes of DogeCoin reaching one dollar in value with the expectation that it would lead to the decentralisation of banks? No. The vast majority of investors just wanted their stock to rise in value and, as a result, make more money.

Recently, the well-known esports organisation FaZe Clan was embroiled in a major scandal after several of its members were caught pushing a fraudulent cryptocurrency touted as a way to "rescue the kids."

When the price and popularity of the product increased, they swiftly sold their shares, making hundreds of thousands of dollars, while their followers who invested in it received nothing.

The fact about cryptocurrencies is that the people benefiting from Bitcoin's stock surging are not ordinary folks with a few dollars in the currency, but millionaires who can afford to pay exorbitant prices in a volatile market.

In classic rich-person fashion, short-term monetary gains outweigh long-term environmental losses. And who will bear the consequences of their actions? Of course, there are poor folks.

When Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on New Orleans in 2005, thousands of lives were lost, with poor Black residents bearing the brunt of the damage, with years of their lives wiped away. This was thought to be a once-in-a-generation storm — until Hurricane Harvey made landfall in the same area again in 2017, and then Hurricane Ida arrived a little more than a week ago.

When a hurricane threatens, affluent people can flee to a secure location. Everyone else is left in the dust. When the hurricane arrives, the wealthier houses have the infrastructure to resist the high winds. Everyone else needs to hope that their house isn't destroyed. Rich people can pay their way out of economic losses once the hurricane passes. Everyone else has been trapped in generational poverty for decades.

Climate change, and hence these bitcoin and NFT operations, will exacerbate and increase the frequency of these calamities. Wind speeds will increase as our atmosphere and oceans warm, and hurricanes will grow in size.

Cryptocurrencies are currently consuming too much energy to be worth the rewards, and it appears that these issues are an afterthought in the race for technological growth. Cryptocurrency creators are too preoccupied with whether or not they could, but they haven't stopped to consider whether or not they should.

Perhaps the future is in crypto, and this is the beginning of the future. However, in today's world, cryptocurrency is a carbon-emitting behemoth that must be curtailed before we further devastate our already destroyed ecosystem.

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In a recent Twitter thread, "Mr. Whale," the pseudonymous self-described contrarian cryptocurrency analyst and investor, accused MicroStrategy of surreptitiously developing a dubious exit strategy for its Bitcoin investment.

Additionally, the sceptic disparaged Michael Saylor, the CEO of the business software company, by referring to him as a "swindler" with a history of frauds and investigations. For reference, he adds that Saylor hacked accounting data in the 2000's, which resulted in the SEC charging him with fraud; in 2013, he expressed anti-Bitcoin sentiments; and in 2020, he used Bitcoin exclusively for PR purposes while surreptitiously dumping in the market.

Mr. Whale anticipates that Saylor and his company will exit the Bitcoin market this time. According to him, the signs suggest that the company's recently formed subsidiary, MacroStrategy, obtained 92,079 Bitcoins from the parent company's holdings. According to him, MacroStrategy will be able to sell the coins without filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This interpretation has created controversy, with some observers defending it and others attempting to discredit it. To be fair, Mr. Whale's indicators were originally announced in June, when MicroStrategy announced a capital raising to purchase additional Bitcoin.

The company disclosed that it raised approximately $500 million from qualified institutional buyers through the sale of senior secured notes due in 2018. Additionally, the release highlighted that the notes were guaranteed by the company's entire asset base, with the exception of the Bitcoin currently held by a subsidiary.

Notably, the corporation continued to purchase Bitcoin despite the extreme volatility and criticism at the time, paying over $489 million to add 13,005 Bitcoin to its portfolio. Additionally, between July 1 and August 23, the corporation acquired 3,907 Bitcoins for approximately $177 million. The corporation presently has 108,992 bitcoins, which it purchased for an overall purchase price of $2.918 billion and an average price of $26,769 per bitcoin. At current Bitcoin prices, the holdings are worth almost $5 billion.

Saylor, who has yet to reply to the claims, has been a vocal proponent of Bitcoin. Despite risks of incurring nett losses on the investment and continually declaring impairment losses, the Saylor-led company has not sold its shares to yet. During the June quarter of 2021, the company reported an impairment loss of $424.8 million. Saylor, on the other hand, has claimed that he is unconcerned about short-term trends since he is playing the long game and aims for his company to be at the forefront of Bitcoin's future.

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In Australia, a Bitcoin dealer recently stated that she had been denied by 90 institutions throughout the country.

Michaela Juric has been trading virtual currency for seven years, but her business is now at risk due to banking institutions refusing to do business with her. Juric listed Commonwealth Bank, NAB, and Suncorp as banks that have declined to serve her during a parliamentary hearing of the Australian Senate's Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre.

“As of yesterday, I was debanked and barred from 91 banks and financial institutions,” she explained. “There have been cases where de-banking has resulted in me being unable to obtain utilities, phone, or internet services, which I believe is really concerning.”

Debanking in Australia

In Australia, the practise of a bank refusing to continue providing client service has become so prevalent that it is referred to as 'debanking.' Customers of Juric, for example, received warning calls from their banks or were simply debanked. Aus Merchant, a digital currency brokerage, has been debanked four times in the last year.

Mitchell Travers, the company's managing director, stated that the issue was driving the company to transition to offshore banking. Travers also informed the committee that the big four banks implemented the strategy as a temporary tool to stave off competition.

“With the banks' anti-competitive attitude, it's a way of buying them time,” Travers explained. “It may be regarded a stopgap measure for them as they educate and discover a more meaningful approach to access the space.”

Other businesses have also been impacted by the practise, which they label "anti-competitive." Senator Andrew Bragg of Australia, who chairs the committee's enquiry, said the committee is putting together a plan to handle debanking.

Debanking in India

While debanking was carried out covertly by Australian banks, it also occurred in India, albeit with a bit more respectability. In May, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) urged informally that lenders discontinue their relationships with cryptocurrency exchanges and traders. The request is being made in view of India's persistent regulatory uncertainties surrounding the country's burgeoning cryptocurrency business.

Numerous cryptocurrency exchanges in India faced difficulties securing payment options as banks began to cut links. As a result of the payment gateways' withdrawal, transaction speeds slowed, overloading India's biggest exchanges with client complaints. However, after a period of time, the RBI clarified its position on the informal statement, essentially revoking the prohibition.

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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has expressed strong feelings about the company's existing relationship with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States. According to him, the SEC has threatened to sue Coinbase for launching its yield-generating product, Coinbase Lend.

Coinbase intends to compete with popular decentralised finance (DeFi) applications such as Compound and Aave with this new offering. The organisation intends to establish a lending pool specialising in USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.

If Coinbase Lend is successful, customers will be able to participate to the loan pool by donating crypto assets to Coinbase Lend. The company intends to eventually lend out such crypto assets. Coinbase members get a high rate of interest for contributing to the lending pool. On its preview page, Coinbase advertises a 4% annual percentage yield.

According to Brian Armstrong, the corporation contacted the SEC prior to disclosing the information. “They reacted by informing us that the lend option is a security measure,” he wrote on Twitter.

“They refuse to explain why they believe it is a security, instead subpoenaing our documents (which we cooperate with), demanding testimony from our employees (which we comply with), and then threatening to sue us if we ahead with the launch, with no explanation,” he added.

Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, also blogged about the incidents. The company appears to have chosen to proceed and pre-announce the new feature despite the SEC's determination that Coinbase's Lend programme is a security.

“The SEC informed us that it considers Lend to be a security, but did not explain why or how it arrived at that judgement. Rather than succumb to discouragement, we resolved to proceed cautiously. We publicly launched our Lend initiative in June and opened a waitlist, but did not specify a timetable for its public launch,” Grewal wrote.

For entrepreneurs who are reading this, here's a pro tip: If the Securities and Exchange Commission advises you that you cannot launch something, do not create a waitlist with the phrase "coming soon."

To no one's surprise, Coinbase reports that the SEC then initiated a formal investigation. Additionally, one employee was required to spend a day answering questions from the SEC.

“They requested documentation and written responses, which we readily delivered. Additionally, they requested that we produce a corporate witness to deliver sworn testimony on the programme. As a result, in August, one of our workers spent an entire day presenting detailed and candid testimony regarding Lend,” Grewal stated.

As a result, Coinbase has gone insane and launched a public relations campaign against the SEC. Brian Armstrong's primary point is that other companies have already offered lending pools, and there is no reason why Coinbase cannot.

“In the meantime, a number of other cryptocurrency companies continue to offer a lend feature, but Coinbase is apparently prohibited from doing so,” he tweeted.

This is a hazardous tactic, since Coinbase risks alienating the whole crypto industry. As Sar Haribhakti noted, there may be more monitoring of DeFi and industry-wide implementation of tougher norms.

“The SEC's stated objective is to safeguard investors and promote fair markets. So who are they defending here, and what is the danger? People appear to be quite content with the yield on these various goods, which span numerous other cryptocurrency companies,” Brian Armstrong said.

If you read the small print, Coinbase's Lend programme does not safeguard investors. At the bottom of the Coinbase Lend page, it states: “Lend is neither a high-yield savings account in US dollars, nor is Coinbase a bank. Your lent crypto is not insured by the FDIC or SIPC.”

That does little to reassure investors. Coinbase and the SEC will eventually have to sit down to discuss crypto loan products, as a tweetstorm will not resolve the matter.

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