Kategorie: Crypto News

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Microsoft Shareholders to Vote on Bitcoin in December

  • Microsoft shareholders will vote on assessing investing in Bitcoin, amongst a number of topics, at the annual shareholders meeting in December.
  • This follows the trend of companies adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets as an inflation hedge.
  • The Microsoft board advises against voting for the motion, citing that the company’s management has carefully considered the topic.

Recent filings by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show that Microsoft intends to put up the topic of investing in Bitcoin to a vote at its shareholder meeting scheduled for December 9th 2024. However, whether the proposal refers to Microsoft adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet or simply seriously considering it as an investment remains unclear.

 Microstrategy and the trend of corporate Bitcoin Treasuries

Corporates adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets is a growing trend that started with MicroStrategy, a provider of business intelligence software, buying Bitcoin en masse in 2020 at a time when cryptocurrency was unpopular among corporations.

Since then, the trend has grown following the success of MicroStrategy’s efforts; its stock price has risen 246% this year, from $68.39 on Jan 2nd to $235.89 as of writing, driven largely by the valuation of its large Bitcoin stash which sits around 252,000BTC worth around $17.1 billion as of writing.

Since Microstrategy, companies like Tesla and Metaplanet Inc, have added significant Bitcoin positions to their balance sheet.

As crypto recognition and adoption grows, more companies are coming around to seeing Bitcoin’s potential as an inflation hedge.

Some resistance remains

While Bitcoin’s historic performance against other asset classes over the last ten years cannot be disproven, some companies remain sceptical about jumping on the bandwagon. Most major tech firms in the US have not invested in Bitcoin as an asset class or added it to their balance sheet.

The Microsoft board advises shareholders against voting for considering Bitcoin as an investment at the scheduled meeting. According to the SEC’s filing, “Microsoft’s management already carefully considers this topic.”

The post Microsoft Shareholders to Vote on Bitcoin in December appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Tether and City of Lugano unveil Satoshi Nakamoto statue

  • Tether in collaboration with the City of Lugano, has unveiled a statue of Satoshi Nakamoto.
  • Bitcoin (BTC) creator Satoshi Nakamoto remains a mystery despite recent HBO documentary.

Tether and the City of Lugano have unveiled a life-sized statue of Bitcoin (BTC) creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

According to an announcement on Oct. 25, the statue presentation happened during the third annual Plan ₿ forum in Lugano.

Plan ₿ is a joint project of USDT issuer Tether and the City of Lugano that aims at promoting Bitcoin and blockchain technology adoption in the city.

Satoshi Nakamoto statue

The Satoshi Nakamoto statue is at the Villa Ciani in Lugano and looks to present the BTC creator’s mystery and innovation, according to Tether’s news release. The statue honours Satoshi’s vision and legacy.

Emphasis on Satoshi’s mystery is built within the statue, with a play on perception allowing it to gradually disappear from view as one’s perspective changes. The design symbolises “Satoshi’s retreat from the public eye.”

“The statue of Satoshi Nakamoto stands as a testament to the revolutionary impact of Bitcoin and the idea of decentralisation. Satoshi’s decision to step away and let the community lead showcases the true essence of decentralisation,” said Paolo Ardoino, chief executive officer of Tether.

According to Michele Foletti, the Mayor of Lugano, the statue does more than honour Satoshi’s legacy.

“Lugano is rapidly becoming a leading hub for digital innovation, and this statue honours Satoshi Nakamoto but also embodies the forward-thinking spirit that drives our city,” Foletti noted.

The disappearing statue’s unveiling comes a few weeks after a HBO Documentary claimed to have unmasked the Bitcoin creator. However, the man HBO Doc looks to have alluded to as the Satoshi Nakamoto that disappeared from public life all these, has come out to deny they are Satoshi.

Peter Todd, a pioneer cryptographer and early developer of Bitcoin, has even noted that the documentary has forced him underground over safety concerns.

The post Tether and City of Lugano unveil Satoshi Nakamoto statue appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Ripple files cross-appeal challenging SEC’s XRP institutional sales ruling

  • Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, said “the SEC can’t submit new evidence or ask us to produce more”
  • Ripple’s Form C requests that each issue is subjected to a de novo standard of review
  • Ripple’s cross-appeal follows a week after the SEC filed its cross-appeal against a previous ruling that partially favored Ripple

Ripple Labs has filed a Form C cross-appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit contesting issues in a ruling in its legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, posted the news on X, adding “the SEC can’t submit new evidence or ask us to produce more.”

Ripple’s Form C lays out the issues in its appeal, requesting that each is subjected to a de novo standard review of the case. A de novo is when a court may look over court documents, as if for the first time, without referring to previous decisions.

Ripple’s appeal focuses on whether it should have labeled its XRP institutional sales as registered securities, which resulted in US District Judge Analisa Torres’s $125 million fine against the company last August.

The appeal also has issues with applying the Howey Test to Ripple’s XRP transfers. This is a legal framework to determine if a transaction is an investment contract.

The SEC’s appeal

Ripple’s move comes after the SEC filed a last-minute appeal last week that questioned an August 2023 ruling handed down by Judge Torres, partially favoring Ripple.

Last July, Judge Torres ruled that XRP wasn’t a security when it came to sales to the public, its employees, and developers, marking a huge win against the SEC. Yet, with direct sales to institutional investors, Torres found that these sales were securities, hence the $125 million fine.

The SEC isn’t contesting the court’s ruling that XRP isn’t a security to retail investors on digital asset platforms; however, the agency is focusing on whether Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s CEO, and Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple, violated securities laws by offering, what it believes are, unregistered sales.

In 2020, the SEC sued Ripple, Larsen, and Garlinghouse, after alleging that they raised $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP, an unregistered securities offering, according to the regulator.

The post Ripple files cross-appeal challenging SEC’s XRP institutional sales ruling appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Netherlands seeks public feedback on crypto tax reporting rules

  • Netherlands has invited public comments on a new draft bill on crypto tax reporting expected to align local rules with European Union regulations.
  • The public can share opinions and comments up to Nov. 21, 2024.
  • Adoption will see crypto service providers share user details starting January 1, 2026.

The Dutch government has asked for public input on a new draft regulation for crypto tax monitoring and reporting, with a focus on aligning  local tax laws with broader crypto regulation within the European Union.

The Netherlands’ Ministry of Finance announced the public feedback program in a press release published on Oct. 24. The draft bill, if adopted into law, would mandate cryptocurrency exchanges and other digital asset service providers to submit customer data to the Dutch Tax Administration.

Per the announcement, the new law aims to create a more transparent environment in terms of crypto ownership to reign in potential tax avoidance or evasion.

As such, the public have Nov. 21 to submit their opinion, advice and comment. Thereafter, the government will look to bring the bill to the Dutch House of Representatives at the start of Q2, 2025. If adopted, the new law will take effect on January 1, 2026.

Aligning with EU regulations

The Netherlands’ proposed bill is part of the country’s effort to bring local crypto regulation in line with broader laws in the European Union. This effort is being implemented across the EU member states. In October 2023, the EU released the DAC8 directive, which provides that crypto exchanges adopt tax reporting measures in the countries they hold regulatory licenses.

Accordingly, the DAC8 eases the administrative burden on exchanges as reporting is only mandated in that one country and applies across the EU.

The Netherlands’ move sees it join Denmark, which this week outlined crypto tax standards for unrealized gains. The proposal also aligns with the DAC8 and is part of the broader effort to support EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.

MiCA is a comprehensive regulatory framework that the European Parliament passed into law in June last year. The regulation provisions on stablecoins came into effect on June 30, 2024, while the full law takes effect as of December 30, 2024.

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Why experts are backing cryptos like Vantard, MEW, and Popcat

Cryptocurrency prices are doing well this year, with most of them outperforming traditional assets like the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and the Dow Jones. These indices have all jumped by over 15%, while Bitcoin has risen by almost 60%, and is hovering near its all-time high.

MEW and Popcat tokens are soaring

Cat in a dogs world (MEW) and Popcat (POPCAT) have soared by over 1,000% this year, giving them a market cap of over $1 billion. Analysts believe that these tokens have more upside in the coming months because of their deep liquidity, fear of missing out (FOMO), and their substantial volumes in the spot and futures market.

MEW and Popcat also have positive technicals, with the two of them rising above their short-term and medium-term moving averages. On top of this, there are signs that Bitcoin may be about to have a bullish breakout, which could see it jump to a record high. 

It has remained below the key resistance level at $70,000 this week, meaning that it only needs one catalyst to have this breakout. Many experts believe that this rally is possible. For example, analysts at Bernstein have predicted that it will rise above $200,000 in 2025. John Paulson, a billionaire investor, has also expressed optimism in Bitcoin.

A strong Bitcoin breakout would be a positive thing for meme coins like Cat in a dogs world and Popcat. Historically, as we saw earlier this year, meme coins do better than Bitcoin when it makes a bullish breakout.

Vantard may be the next big thing

Crypto analysts and investors are now betting on Vantard, an upcoming meme coin inspired by the success of Vanguard, the second-biggest asset manager in the world with over $7 trillion in assets under management. 

Vantard started its pre-sale event this week and has raised $163,000 from global investors in its first stage. The initial price was $0.00010, and will increase across the ten stages, with the next price being $0.00011, a 10% increase.

According to its white paper, 75% of the dedicated treasury funds will be allocated to fundraising. 5 billion tokens went to the pre-seed round, while the ongoing seed fund will have a limit of 40 billion tokens, equivalent to 55.56% of the total. The other 40 billion tokens will go to series A and series B. 

Vantard’s key to success is what it calls the first-ever Meme Index Fund (MIF), which aims to give investors access to the best-performing meme coins in a single asset. 

The fund will be fully decentralized, with its profits being distributed to holders through the $VTARD token. This fund is inspired by popular Vanguard exchange-traded funds (ETF) like the one tracking the S&P 500 index, which has added over $60 billion in assets this year. 

Vatard’s MIF fund will also have a surge pricing model, where investors will pay a 0% fee during periods of low activity and up to 50% during high-peak demand periods. The goal of this fee is to discourage mass redemptions.

The other top benefit is that it will give investors access to the best meme coins in the industry. As such, instead of buying tens tokens hoping to catch the next big thing, an investor in the fund will have access to the best of them. You can learn more about Vantard here.

 

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