Autor Cointelegraph By Brayden Lindrea

Ripple partners with Travelex to launch enterprise crypto payment service in Brazil

Ripple partners with Travelex to launch enterprise crypto payment service in Brazil

Uverejnil používateľ | aug 19, 2022 |

Ripple’s XRP token is set to be used to facilitate fast and cost-effective cross-border transactions in Brazil, after the launch of RippleNet’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) with forex company Travelex.Digital payment network Ripple announced on Aug. 18 that foreign exchange company Travelex will utilize RippleNet’s ODL to facilitate cross-border payments between enterprises by utilizing Ripple’s XRP token. It also noted that Travelex Bank is the first bank approved by Brazil’s central bank to operate exclusively in foreign exchange. Bom dia! Brazil is open for Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity with Travelex—our first LATAM bank partner—and the first bank approved by the Central Bank of Brazil to operate exclusively in FX. We’re excited to bring crypto-native solutions to https://t.co/G6U8nh9jIY— Ripple (@Ripple) August 18, 2022While other Latin American companies such as Banco Rendimento, Remessa Online, Frente Corretora, and Banco Topazio have already used RippleNet services, the Central Bank of Brazil’s approval makes this the first time a Latin American bank has utilized ODL, said Ripple. Travelex will firstly enable these cross-border payments between Brazil and Mexico, with plans to open up more payment avenues in the region and with more use cases suited to enterprise needs. The news comes as the Brazilian government approved their first “Bitcoin law” in Apr. 2022, which set out to create a regulatory framework as to how cryptocurrencies would be regulated. Brazil is also in the process of rolling out a central bank digital currency (CBDC). However, the decision has been a controversial one, with Economist Fabio Araujo of the opinion that the CBDC “will be able to halt bank runs and impose other restrictions on citizens’ access to money.”Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said Brazil’s adoption of a crypto-friendly regulatory framework and surging institutional interest in digital asset solutions made the country a great fit for the ODL:“Brazil is a key market for Ripple given its importance as an anchor to business in Latin America, its openness to crypto and country-wide initiatives that promote fintech innovation. As a result, the market is experiencing an explosion of activity as institutions look to adopt crypto and blockchain technology to solve customer pain points.” Related: Latin America’s largest digital bank will allocate 1% to BTC, offer crypto investment servicesGarlinghouse added that with over $780 billion in payments flowing into Brazil annually, Travelex’s use of the ODL service will make cross-border payments much more efficient:“From day one, we’ve focused on building solutions that deliver real utility and we are excited to collaborate with an innovative partner like Travelex Bank to help move money more efficiently for the benefit of its customers across Brazil.”

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'Programmable money should terrify you' — Layah Heilpern

'Programmable money should terrify you' — Layah Heilpern

Uverejnil používateľ | aug 19, 2022 |

Government controlled “programmable money should terrify you”, says social media influencer and TV Host Layah Heilpern, who sees central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as a way for banks and governments to reign control over their people.In an interview on Aug. 19 with British news outlet GB News, Heilpern, who also released Undressing Bitcoin: A Revealing Guide To The World’s Most Revolutionary Asset in September 2021, said the widespread rollout of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) from nation states is on its way, and that it could lead to the financial censorship of citizens in the future. Heilpern stated that as CBDCs are essentially programmable cryptocurrencies that run on blockchains, they could potentially be “programmed against you” at the whims of the centralized authority behind them. “If for whatever reason you say the wrong thing, because you know we’re seeing censorship increasing, then that money can essentially be programmed to be used against you.”Heilpern added that while a lot of people might find this concept to be “quite bizarre,” it’s very realistic given the restrictions that were enforced on unvaccinated people by governments:“With a CBDC, all [the government] have to do really is program that money so you can’t spend it on certain things.”Heilpern also said that while CBDCs will be marketed as “better for the environment,” and serve as a “solution to rising inflation rates,” that’s simply “a lie.” Following up on the interview via a Twitter post,  Heilpern didn’t mince her words as she stated that the “Central Bank Digital Currencies will be marketed as better for the environment and the solution to inflation. It’s a lie. Money is the energy that fuels your life; so programmable money should terrify you.” Central Bank Digital Currencies will be marketed as better for the environment and the solution to inflation.It’s a lie. Money is the energy that fuels your life; so programmable money should terrify you. @GBNEWS is the only UK platform talking about this. pic.twitter.com/AHulCEshNt— Layah Heilpern (@LayahHeilpern) August 18, 2022Notably however, such concerns around financial censorship have been especially prevalent with crypto in general of late, with the recent Tornado Cash debacle, which saw the U.S. Treasury sanction ETH and USDC addresses associated with the Ethereum-based privacy tool.According to an Oct. 2021 report, 110 countries are “at some stage” of CBDC development, with the Bahamas’ Sand Dollar CBDC being the first of its kind to be rolled out in Oct. 2020.But perhaps the most controversial CBDC is China’s “Yuan” (e-CNY), issued by the People’s Bank of China, which had its pilot version launched in Apr. 2020, with some suggesting the ban on crypto was conducted to make way for the digital Yuan. The Bank of Russia has also begun CBDC testing and is aiming to have one launched before their presidential election in 2024.But despite much criticism, CBDCs may offer developing nations more macroeconomic stability in comparison to decentralized currencies, according to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, as CBDC’s would have the “backing of the state” and would of course be regulatory compliant.

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Wife of arrested Tornado Cash dev forbidden to speak with him — Rally organized

Wife of arrested Tornado Cash dev forbidden to speak with him — Rally organized

Uverejnil používateľ | aug 19, 2022 |

Ksenia Malik, the wife of Tornado Cash creator Alexey Pertsev Wife has lashed out at Dutch authorities for treating her husband like a “dangerous criminal” following his arrest last week. The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD)  arrested Pertsev on Aug. 12 over an alleged use of the Ethereum-based privacy tool to launder money and conceal criminal financial flows.Speaking to Cointelegraph, Malik confirmed that Pertsev remains in the hands of Dutch authorities and has not had the chance to contact him since he was put behind bars. “He’s kept in prison as if he were a dangerous criminal,” Malik said, as she expressed her concern that Pertsev was arrested without warning over what she sees as a harmless activity:“It is very unexpected for me that a person can be arrested for writing open source code.”Malik said that she can “only guess how he is doing and how difficult it is for him right now,” as the Dutch authorities have completely barred her [or anyone] from any contact with him, not even “one short call.”Despite Malik feeling helpless in this regard, she isn’t without support. Decentralized finance (DeFi) aggregator 1inch has organized a rally in Amsterdam Aug. 20, to show support for Pertsev and to stand for developers’ rights to create open-source software.1inch has been particularly vocal about the matter, having said that the arrest of Pertsev threatens to “create a dangerous precedent,” as it could “kill the entire open-source software segment” if developers are held responsible for any software they create that is misused by others.1/ Is it really a crime to be an open-source #blockchain developer nowadays ⁉️Stand up for the right to build open-source software!Help Alex Pertsev get out of jail!Sign the petition: https://t.co/r5sdHaYKCN#FreeAlex #OpenSourceNotACrime #DeFiWhy is it important⤵️ pic.twitter.com/CqqD4Ds8AQ— 1inch Network (@1inch) August 18, 2022In light of 1inch’s efforts and the broader crypto community, Malik said that she’s “very grateful to everyone who helps and supports my husband,” as it proves that “people really care.”Malik also hopes that the rally not only draws attention to Pertsev’s injustice but also positively influences public opinion on the nature of open-source code:“We want to achieve publicity so that as many people as possible know about the arrest and the reasons for its wrongness. This is a serious issue, as every open source developer and many other people can be affected by this accusation.”However, Pertsev’s arrest isn’t entirely disapproved of. Venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary stated in a recent interview that crypto privacy tools like Tornado Cash are a part of a “crypto cowboy” culture that “mess with the primal forces of regulation”. While going on to describe Pertsev’s arrest as a necessary one. “If we have to sacrifice him, that’s okay, because we want to have some stability in that institutional capital,” he said. Related: Tornado Cash sanctions will undermine the US and strengthen cryptoPrior to the arrest, the U.S.Office of Foreign Asset Control barred U.S. residents from interacting with Tornado Cash on Aug. 8 amid increasing concerns that it was being used to launder money. The U.S. Treasury believes Tornado Cash has facilitated more than $7 billion worth of money laundering activity since Pertsev created Tornado Cash in 2019.

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3 cloud providers accounting for over two-thirds of Ethereum nodes: Data

3 cloud providers accounting for over two-thirds of Ethereum nodes: Data

Uverejnil používateľ | aug 18, 2022 |

The majority of 4,653 active Ethereum nodes are in the hands of centralized web providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), which could “expose Ethereum to central points of failure,” according to crypto analytics platform Messari.A Monday post shows that three major cloud providers account for 69% of hosted nodes on the Ethereum Mainnet, with over 50% of that coming from Amazon Web Services (AWS), over 15% from Hetzner and 4.1% from OVH. Figures from Ethernodes additionally show that Oracle (4.1%), Alibaba (3.9%) and Google (3.5%) also provide web hosting services on Ethereum.Distribution of Ethereum nodes from web service providers. Source: EthernodesWhile the distribution of cloud service providers becomes more decentralized among the bottom third of providers, Messari pressed the concern in a December 2020 report that the high-cost nature of node infrastructure may leave Ethereum vulnerable:“High costs to run infrastructure make it more likely that nodes would run infrastructure with cloud computing providers (i.e AWS) – making Ethereum more exposed to central points of failure.”Node distribution issues experienced by Solana are much the same, with Hetzner taking up 42% of hosted nodes on the Solana network, followed by OVH (26%) and AWS (3%).Related: Decentralized storage providers power the Web3 economy, but adoption still underwayFurthermore, Ethernode data also shows that nodes are most geographically concentrated in the United States (46.4%) and Germany (13.4%), accounting for nearly 60% of distributed Ethereum nodes worldwide. As such, government intervention from one of these two countries could severely impact Ethereum’s decentralization at the node level.

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Aid for Ukraine's $54M crypto fund buys vests, scopes, and UAVs

Aid for Ukraine's $54M crypto fund buys vests, scopes, and UAVs

Uverejnil používateľ | aug 18, 2022 |

The crypto community has poured in an impressive $54 million worth of crypto funds through “Aid For Ukraine,” aimed at supporting the country’s military efforts against Russia, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister has revealed. The $54 million has been funneled in through the Ukrainian government-run initiative ‘Aid For Ukraine’, according to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s Twitter post on Thursday, who thanked the crypto community for their support:“Every helmet, bulletproof vest, and night vision device save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. Thus, we must continue to support our defenders. Thanks so much to everyone from the crypto community for supporting Ukraine!”According to the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Aid For Ukraine’s $54 million has mostly come in the form of 10,190 Ether (ETH), worth $18.7 million, 595 Bitcoin (BTC), worth $13.9 million, Tether (USDT) worth $10.4 million and USD Coin (USDC), worth $2.2 million.The crypto payments have gone towards military equipment, hardware, and munitions, including $11.8 million worth of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are typically used to spot enemy troops and direct attacks. A significant sum of the donations was also spent on armor vests at $6.9 million, along with $3.8 million on field rations, $5.2 million on anti-war media campaigns, and $5.0 million on “weapons of the [Ukraine] Ministry of Defense request”, among other military and medical accessories. With $54 M raised by @_AidForUkraine, we’ve supplied our defenders with military equipment, armor clothes, medicines and even vehicles. Thanks to the crypto community for support since the start of the full-scale invasion! Donation by donation to the big victory. Report below. pic.twitter.com/lifHAP8R4f— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) August 17, 2022“Crypto is playing a significant role in Ukraine’s defense”, said Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Alex Bornyakov on the government-tied donatiowebsite.Founder of Ukrainian-based crypto exchange KUNA Mike Chobanian added that the contributions from the crypto community have shown the impact that blockchain technology can have on nation-states, stating that it can serve as a “backbone of global security” in times of need. Aid For Ukraine works by transferring crypto into the crypto exchange FTX, which converts crypto into fiat, and is then withdrawn and transferred to the National Bank of Ukraine.Related: Ukraine has received $37M in tracked crypto donations so farBut Aid For Ukraine isn’t the only organization taking in funds to assist Ukrainian defense efforts. Reserve Fund of Ukraine, Come Back Alive, UkraineDAO and Unchain Fund have also contributed funds in the seven-figure range, although the amount of crypto-based funds they’ve taken in hasn’t been disclosed since March.

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