Blockchain Bites: Coinbase’s Loans, Ethereum’s Fees, YAM’s Bug

Ethereum fees and miners' profits are at all-time highs.

Count your Bitcoin profits - If you're a big miner, that is

At the moment, Bitcoin [BTC] might be struggling to shrug off its resistance at $12,000.

Trump’s Proposed Capital Gains Tax Cut Could Boost Crypto Profits

A proposed capital gains tax cut could be good news for crypto traders in the US A proposed tax cut by US President Donald Trump could be a big win — or a relatively insignificant win — for the crypto industry if it is passed. In a news conference at the White House earlier this week, President Trump said that his administration was “very seriously” considering a capital gains tax cut. “We’re looking at also considering a capital gains tax cut, which would create a lot more jobs.” There is a debate over the extent of President Trump’s ability to deliver tax cuts.

Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stumbles to $11,300; USDC Lending Rates Skyrocket

Bitcoin experienced heavy selling Tuesday, while traders are finding profits in stablecoin borrowing strategies.

DeFi Traders Are Gaming Ethereum for Higher Profits, Researchers Say

DeFi trading bots create "walls of executions," resulting in higher rewards for Ethereum miners, higher profits for traders and higher fees for everyone.

Germany: Alleged Darknet Druglords on Trial for Bitcoin Narcotics Trade

The alleged dealers involved in Germany’s largest Bitcoin-enabled darknet narcotics marketplace will stand trial today. The alleged dealers involved in “Chemical Revolution” — Germany’s largest darknet narcotics marketplace — will stand trial today. The high number of initial defendants in the case has meant the trial is being held in a congress hall in Giessen, central Germany, large enough to accommodate the proceedings. While seven defendants are standing trial today, a total of 11 persons were arrested back in June 2019 in connection with the case.  They were charged with selling vast quantities of drugs — including MDMA, amphetamine, heroin, cocaine and cannabis — to consumers in exchange for Bitcoin (BTC).  State prosecutors in Frankfurt allege that the 11 defendants trafficked over 130 kilos of amphetamines, 42 kilos of cannabis, 17 kilos of crystalline ecstasy, 6 kilos of cocaine, and kilos of heroin via “Chemical Revolution” between September 2017 and February 2019. Their profits are alleged to have exceeded 1 million euro ($1.2 million), in what is thought to have been the country’s largest online narcotics trade. A complex, illicit web of operations The months-long investigation — which culminated in the site closure, drugs seizures and arrests of last June — began in early 2018.  German police infiltrated the complex web of supply chain and administrative structures behind the site by means of undercover investigators and fake drug purchases, as well as insider informers.  The alleged principal offender in the “Chemical Revolution” case is reported to be a 26-year-old German citizen, resident in Mallorca.   Defendants were involved in the site’s operations across “different points within the supply chain," prosecutors say — from platform administrators to couriers to sales staff. A German federal police study of online drug trafficking, published in September 2019, indicated a 27.5% increase

Ethereum holders register profits unseen since 2018

Being the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum has been witnessing a boost in interest from traders.

McAfee Says NetWalker Ransomware Generated $25M Over 4 Months

The millionaire profits put NetWalker as one of the most profitable pieces of ransomware during 2020. Cybersecurity firm McAfee released a study showing the activities of NetWalker, a ransomware first known as Mailto that was initially discovered in August 2019. According to the report, the operators of NetWalker have collected over $25 million from ransom payments since March 2020. From March 1 to July 27, the group collected around 2,795 Bitcoin (BTC), purportedly making it one of the most profitable types of ransomware for cybercriminals. According to the report, the Bitcoin transactions received by the gang — where the amount is split among several different addresses — reflects that NetWalker is a "ransomware-as-a-service" malware. Such a maneuver implies that it has generated such a huge amount of money thanks to the affiliate revenue sharing it offers to other operators, McAfee states. Strengthening its capabilities McAfee notes that NetWalker operators have moved away from using legacy Bitcoin addresses to SegWit addresses, due to its faster transaction times and lower costs, suggesting a sophistication in their modus operandi after becoming a ransomware-as-a-service model. On March 20, at least two darknet forums saw posts related to the NetWalker actors offering the ransomware with a revenue-sharing scheme to help spread the malware and make it much as profitable as possible.  Speaking to Cointelegraph, Brett Callow, threat analyst at malware lab Emsisoft, said: "NetWalker is a big game hunter and responsible for numerous attacks on larger public sector organizations as well as private sector companies.

Industry Calls on US Regulator to Open Floodgates on Banks’ Crypto Capabilities

A number of crypto businesses and non-profits have written to the main banking regulator in the US asking for banks to have more authorization to deal with crypto. In response to a request for comment on potential rules from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), many major players in crypto have written in, asking the regulator to expand the authorizations it gives banks to handle cryptocurrencies and use blockchain technology.  Blockchain-backed transfers and new stablecoins as dollar competitors One of the leaders in blockchain-backed financial services, Silvergate Bank wrote to the OCC to promote blockchain as a more efficient way for banks to send money to each other and between client accounts.

Publicly Traded Firms Launch New Mining Rigs, Less Hashrate Than Competitors

Two of the top mining manufacturers from China that recently had initial public offerings (IPO) released two new mining rigs.

5th Birthday: Ethereum Miners Rejoice Over High Network Fees

The recent strengthening of on-chain metrics such as hash rates, combined with high transaction fees, have resulted in Ethereum mining profits return to a two year high, and to it, on its 5th birthday. The post 5th Birthday: Ethereum Miners Rejoice Over High Network Fees appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Crypto Traders Send $368,000,000 in Ethereum to Exchanges As Bitcoin Meets New Level of Resistance

After an impressive bull rally that saw Bitcoin (BTC) hit a new yearly high of $11,488, market participants appear to have taken profits.

93% of Bitcoin’s Supply Profitable at $11K, ‘Realized Price’ Recovers from Black Thursday

Onchain data shows that bitcoin’s breakout above $11,000 puts 93% of the circulating supply in a state of profit.

AMFEIX Threatens Users Who Share Coverage That Criticizes the Company

The purported investment fund is exhibiting some shady behavior. Last week Cointelegraph published a story about investors having difficulty getting their money back from a crypto fund called AMFEIX, which promised high-yield profits for investors who sent them Bitcoin (BTC).

BTC.top Launches ‘Joint Mining’ Platform, Pitching It as a Cloud Mining Killer

The Chinese mining pool is offering an alternative to cloud mining, charging fees only after their equipment starts to pay for itself. China-based mining pool Btc.top wants to upgrade the concept of cloud mining, which allows users to mine crypto remotely by buying a certain amount of hash power from a third-party, with what it calls “joint mining.” Announced on July 25, the company’s new “joint mining” subsidiary B.top aims to reduce the risks associated with “popular cloud mining products” by offering more flexibility. Specifically, B.top claims to charge service and maintenance fees to its users only after they have reached the break-even point, meaning that its customers start to share profits when their revenue is equal to the cost they initially paid to purchase the equipment.

Bitcoin's stable price does not mean profits are absent

Even with Bitcoin's mid-week push above $9,500, the larger trend of stability has held strong.

South Korea to Charge 20% Tax on Bitcoin Profits Under New Law

South Korea will now tax profits made from buying and selling of cryptocurrency at 20% after the government agreed to the decision on Wednesday.

South Korea’s crypto traders could face a 20% tax on profits

Following months of parliamentary discussions, the country’s digital currency traders could soon be taxed on their crypto profits.

Korean Government Proposes Tough New 22% Tax on Crypto Trading

Crypto trading profits could be liable to a 22% tax should the Korean National Assembly approve the newly tabled proposal.

Vitalik Buterin Warns High Fees Threaten Ethereum’s Security

As Ether transaction fees hit 100 gwei, the project’s co-founder warns that a failure to respond could undermine the security of the network. Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin has called for reform to the cryptocurrency’s fee system, warning that rising transaction fees could undermine the security of the network. The idea is based on a paper that suggests miners’ increasing reliance on transaction fees may incentivize selfish mining practices in a bid to extract greater profits, risking disruptions to how transactions are processed.  Buterin’s comments come as users report Ether transaction fees tagging 100 gwei.

Decentralized fashion brands are turning consumers into creators

DAO-driven decentralized brands are giving the public the power to create everything from fashion houses to record labels—and share in the profits.

Coincidence? Top 5 Swiss Bank’s Profits up 34% After Bitcoin Integration

Julius Baer, a top-five Swiss bank, saw its net profit climb by 34% in the first half of 2020, a period during which it began offering digital assets like Bitcoin to its clients. Top five Swiss bank Julius Baer Group, which manages $427 billion in assets, announced on July 20 that its profit increased by $524 million in the last two quarters.

This DeFi Crypto Has Yielded 600% Profits This Year; Here’s Why

A dollar invested in KNC crypto token at the beginning of 2020 is now worth $6.

South Korean Local Stablecoin Operator Posts Record Profits

Business appears to be booming for a company operating an increasingly large number of South Korean local stablecoins. Per Fn News, the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO) – the company that has printed banknotes and minted coins for the nation’s treasury for the past 70 or so years – has posted record-high sales and profits, coinciding with a slew

South Korea Proposes 20% Capital Gains Tax on Cryptocurrency Commodities

South Korea’s parliament has put forward a bill that could see crypto profits taxed by up to 20% as members argue that cryptocurrencies are commodities.

US Secret Service Creates Finance-Related Cybercrime Task Force

The Cyber Fraud Task Force created by the US Secret Service aims to combat the growing trend of cybercrimes related to financial matters. The US Secret Service announced the creation of the Cyber Fraud Task Force, or CFTF on July 10, after merged its Electronic Crimes Task Forces and Financial Crimes Task Forces into a single network. According to the official announcement, the Secret Service had been planning over two years to create a unified task force to combat cybercrimes related to the financial sector and fight things like ransomware attacks, business email compromise scams, credit card online stealing, among others. The CFTF appears in a context that the illegal market of credit card stolen data through the dark web and banking details from companies keeps rising. Concerns Toward Cryptocurrency Transactions The Secret Service showed concern toward the role of cryptocurrencies behind the online illegal transactions, as these have become “one of the primary means by which criminals launder their illicit profits,” the announcement said. Speaking with Cointelegraph, Ameet Naik, security expert at PerimeterX, commented on the official launch of the CFTF: “Financial crimes and cyber crimes are two sides of the same coin.

Orchid token (OXT) up 11% on VPN app Apple store debut

The perfect trade of OXT this week would have netted an investor 19.67% in profits.

What do Bitcoin and gold's price similarities reveal?

Bitcoin has long been called 'digital gold,' and true to its name, BTC has proven to be a store of value over the past few years, with the asset yielding better profits than gold or equities.

Billionaire Bitcoin (BTC) Bull Peter Thiel and Coinbase Are Backing This Little-Known Cryptocurrency

Crypto investment heavyweights are backing Reserve, a stablecoin project designed to create a new universal store of value while generating potential profits for investors.

Bitcoin’s 5% Drop in Value Puts Pressure on BTC Mining Operations and Older ASIC Rigs

During the last seven days, the price of bitcoin has dropped 4.8% from a high of $9,700 on June 24, to a low of $8,965 on June 27.