I went to North Korea; now Virgil Griffith arrested for ‘evade sanctions’
I was in Pyongyang and directly witnessed the events described; the charges are entirely without merit.
If you were a subscriber to this newsletter in April, you’ll remember the issue in which I talk about my trip to North Korea for its blockchain and cryptocurrency conference.
Now, according to U.S. authorities, the Ethereum research scientist Virgil Griffith has been arrested for allegedly teaching North Koreans at that conference how to use cryptocurrency to evade sanctions.
I will speak more about the matter in the coming days. For now, I will say that, in my view, the charges are entirely without merit.
According to official files, the charges are based solely on Griffith's comments made after the trip; U.S. authorities did not have any other source of information.
But I was in Pyongyang for a whole week and directly witnessed the events described. There was no transfer of any technically specialized or proprietary knowledge. There was no discussion on anything that was not already publicly available.
Canada: I write in the Globe and Mail on cryptocurrency snake oil
In the wake of the latest Bitcoin scandals in British Columbia, I write in the Globe and Mail about how the Wild West of cryptocurrency needs to be tamed. This temple, to many outside, has been flushed thick with the scent of thieves.
Speaking of the Globe, it gives tax advice on cryptocurrency, though nothing new.
Toronto’s 3iQ says it will launch its Bitcoin fund — a mainstream investment instrument that gained regulatory approval in October — in late December or early January on the city’s stock exchange.
Financial Post’s opinion editor says Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency is better than Bitcoin.
Price: minor bump, but possible calamity to come
Bitcoin could be in for a minor bump to $8,000 levels, but continued gains or even stability cannot be guaranteed beyond that, technical analysis suggests. Bitcoin is at $7,336 (C$9,741) as of noon Sunday, Eastern Time, up 5 per cent for the week, but on track for the worst month-to-month performance of the year. It’s not surprising for a November, when things tend to go a little crazy.
News: U.S. weighs its own official cryptocurrency
The U.S. Federal Reserve is now taking the concept of an official dollar stablecoin cryptocurrency seriously, as China pursues that path, threatening to dominate the sector with a potential first-mover advantage.
But again, China only wants its own, official cryptocurrency, not Bitcoin. At least five Chinese exchanges have halted operations or barred domestic users, after regulators issued a series of warnings.
Germany has passed a law that would allow banks to handle Bitcoin for clients, potentially paving the way for mass adoption.