Facebook: enemy of my enemy of my enemy
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Facebook: enemy of my enemy of my enemy
Mr. Facebook went to Washington in the past week, the head of its proposed Libra coin appearing before Congress.
Democrat and Republican U.S. lawmakers were united in bashing Facebook, saying the company had not shown it could be trusted to safeguard the world financial system and consumers’ data.
Strange bedfellows Facebook has made — and it gets stranger.
Lawmakers talked about the potential centralization and concentration of power in Facebook if it launches its own currency.
It’s almost as if they see the merit of another digital currency whose sole purpose and nature is the opposite. (Hint: it starts with a B.)
Oh wait, they did. The Republican congressional leader said, “I like Bitcoin,” as he bashed Libra.
And then, there is another Republican lawmaker who said, “There's Bitcoin, and then there's shitcoin,” implying Libra is the latter.
Ironically, it’s taken a major technology company to make all lawmakers and even digital currency enthusiasts stand on the same side.
Bitcoin price: BitMEX U.S. probe bears down
Bitcoin may fall further, as the major exchange platform BitMEX faces a regulatory probe amid talks of harsher cryptocurrency rules, analysis shows. Hong-Kong-based BitMEX — the second-largest exchange and the preferred platform for complicated trades — officially bans territories including the United States and Quebec for regulatory reasons. But American authorities say their residents may have been able to use the exchange anyway.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency is at $10,376 (C$13,564) as of noon Sunday, Eastern Time, down about 2 per cent for the last seven days. Bitcoin fell briefly below $10,000 in the middle of the week, breaching that psychological barrier for the second time this month.
Canada: Coinberry targets municipalities
Toronto’s cryptocurrency brokerage Coinberry has been targeting Canadian municipalities. It has roped in a second lower-level government — Richmond Hill, Ont., just north of Toronto — to use its platform to allow cryptocurrency payment options for local taxes.
A Toronto law professor writes in the Globe and Mail that cryptocurrency can survive only if its users compromise in the face of the regulatory spotlight. Sounds familiar? I said the same thing a month ago in a book review, and even our headlines are similar.
World: Iran turn to Bitcoin amid sanctions
Iranians feeling the squeeze from U.S. sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy are increasingly turning to such digital currencies as Bitcoin to make money, prompting alarm in and out of the country.
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