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The Cash app is ready to bring the Bitcoin Lightning Network to its 36 million users

The Lightning Network has been integrated into the Cash App, a peer-to-peer payment service operated by Block, formerly Square Inc.

The function allows transactions between parties that are not connected to the blockchain network. It was created to solve scalability issues with the leading cryptocurrency.

With a transfer rate of five transactions per second (TPS) and an average transaction price of $1.79, Bitcoin is well under the mark in terms of payments.

$1.79 is a bargain compared to April 2021 highs, when transactions averaged $62.78. However, any transaction costing more than a few cents is impractical as a widely accepted payment method.

With its Tier 2 solution, the Lightning Network offers massive scalability and low transaction costs.

It operates by diverting transactions from the main chain and placing them in peer-to-peer “payment channels” between two parties, such as a shopper and a coffee shop. Once the channel is created, it can handle infinite transactions in real time.

The payer must first block Bitcoin on the network to open a payment channel. Once the recipient is blocked, you can bill amounts based on the cost of items and services sold.

Fees are a combination of routing fees for sending payment information between Lightning Nodes and Bitcoin transaction fees for opening and closing channels. These, however, are still much smaller than direct main-chain transactions.

In November 2021, the total amount locked in USD (TVL) of the Lightning Network peaked at $216 million. Since then, TVL has been reduced.

TVL blocked on lightning network. Source: DeFiPulse

Block CEO Jack Dorsey, who was previously the CEO of Twitter, has long advocated including the tool. “It’s not an ‘if’, it’s more a ‘when,'” Stephan Livera told the podcaster in 2019 that they would combine the scaling technology with payment provider Block’s mobile app.

“We don’t think it stops buying and selling [bitcoin],” he commented.

Steve Moser, editor-in-chief of TheTapeDrive and contributor to MacRumors, tweeted in November that Cash App “is working on Lightning network integration.” Moser said he found evidence that the Cash App was gearing up to release the additional features in December.

Square’s Cash app is working on Lightning network integration. $ SQ #Bitcoin #cashapp #LightningNetwork pic.twitter.com/AzMIfU2xex

According to the latest data from Business of Apps, Cash App had over 36 million users in the US and UK.

BTC/USD is trading below $%k. Source: TradingView

Related article | Number of Bitcoin Lightning Network Nodes Increases 23% in Three Months

The Cash app isn’t the only one to add the feature

Argentina-based Belo App said on Monday that it has partnered with infrastructure provider OpenNode to enable Lightning Network access to its users.

Julie Landrum, head of growth at OpenNode, stated that the agreement allows millions of people in Latin America to perform fast Bitcoin transactions.

Last month, Ethereum blockchain software startup ConsenSys announced a solution that makes blockchain technology scalable on the Ethereum Mainnet or for private use, along with Mastercard.

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NBA Players Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala Will Be Paid in Bitcoin

Golden State Warriors stars will receive a portion of their salary in bitcoin and will each donate $1 million in BTC.

NBA players Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala will receive a portion of their next salary in bitcoin and will donate $1 million in BTC each to fans, the Golden State Warriors guard and forward announced Monday.

“I’m with bitcoin because I think it’s the future of money,” Thompson said in a Jan. 10 announcement tweet.

Thompson and Iguodala have partnered with Cash App, the bitcoin purchase and money transfer app owned by financial services company Block, run by Bitcoin bull Jack Dorsey and formerly known as Square, to facilitate their salary conversion. The app will also mediate donations, which are already active in ad tweets.

“Bitcoin is the future, Klay Thompson and I believe,” tweeted Iguodala on Jan. 10, sharing his payment plans.

Thompson and Iguodala are the latest to join a cohort of athletes who receive their compensation in cash created 13 years ago by the pseudonymous individual or group Satoshi Nakamoto. Since its inception, Bitcoin has made massive gains against the US Dollar and allowed its holders to dramatically increase their purchasing power, while fiat currencies lose value each year. Athletes have responded to this dynamic and are now demanding to be paid in bitcoin, a programmatically limited-issuance currency that is impossible to change.

The trend started when NFL player Russell Okung tweeted “pay me in bitcoin” in May 2019. In September of that year, the athlete told Bitcoin Magazine that he wouldn’t stop until he got paid in BTC. Although Okung was not the first to ask such a question, he started a movement after reaching his goal a year and a half later, in December 2020. The athlete was able to receive an indirect bitcoin payment through Strike, a Lightning payments app. . . who handled the conversion of his annual salary into BTC. The service is currently available to all Strike users.

In November 2021, NFL legend Aaron Rodgers announced that he would receive a portion of his salary in Bitcoins, while star Odell Beckham Jr said he would receive all of his annual compensation in BTC. In December, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones gifted bitcoins to his entire offensive line.

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PayPal is considering the introduction of its own cryptocurrency, “PayPal Coin”

Coindesk has confirmed that PayPal (PYPL) is ready to launch its stablecoin while trying to flex its muscles in the cryptocurrency market. The PayPal subsidiary Curv has been laying the foundation for the stablecoin launch since September.

Bloomberg initially reported that PayPal is looking into the possibility of launching its own stablecoin. The stablecoin details were accidentally spotted on the company’s iPhone by developer Steve Moser and shared with Bloomberg. The hidden code and pictures revealed details of a “PayPal currency”. In addition, the codes showed that the U.S. dollar would support the stablecoin, Bloomberg noted in its report.

PayPal has been very active in the cryptocurrency space and has also increased the restrictions on cryptocurrencies its customers can buy and invested to educate its users about cryptocurrencies. In addition, it enabled its customer base to securely withdraw their cryptocurrencies in third-party wallets.

The US fintech giant #PayPal has confirmed its intention to launch its own #stablecoin called PayPal Coin.

Developer Steve Moser first discovered the development of an internal stablecoin in the source code of the PayPal iPhone app. @PayPal #cryptocurrency pic.twitter.com/RrLfnKnEui

PayPal trivializes hidden code on the iPhone

However, the PayPal spokesperson tried to trivialize the problem, saying it was constrained by a recent internal hackathon. A hackathon is an event where teams of engineers come together quickly to research and develop new products that may never be released.

PayPal is one of the largest e-commerce payment platforms in the world. It was created in 1998 and was founded by Peter Thiel, Luke Nosek and Max Levchin. Originally known as “Confinity Inc.” It later merged with Dogecoin advocate Elon Musk’s online banking company “X.com” in 2000 and changed its name to “PayPal” a year later.

In 2002, it was acquired by online marketplace giant eBay for $ 1.5 billion and has become the standard payment method for its 185 million users. In 2015, it split from its parent company and became a publicly traded independent company with the same PYPL symbol as it did before the eBay acquisition.

Today PayPal is the 54th largest company in the world and has over 377 million users worldwide. It has a market capitalization of $ 282.58 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the platform processed 3.47 billion transactions for a total of $ 277 billion.

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Cryptocurrency investors in Thailand will pay a 15% capital gains tax

Cryptocurrency-related gains, such as those resulting from trading digital currencies, will be taxed at a rate of 15%, a Finance Ministry official told local media in Thailand. After significant market growth over the past year, the department aims to improve surveillance of cryptocurrency trading in 2022.

Thailand Asks Cryptocurrency Traders To Report Profits On Tax Returns

Thailand’s Ministry of Finance advises investors to indicate their cryptocurrency earnings when filing their tax returns this year, the Bangkok Post reported Thursday. Capital gains from cryptocurrency trading will be subject to a 15% tax, the newspaper added, citing a ministry source.

The obligation concerns all taxpayers who benefit from cryptocurrency transactions, including investors and operators of cryptocurrency mining facilities, the official clarified. However, digital asset exchanges will be exempt from the fee.

The gains from cryptocurrency trading are considered taxable income according to Section 40 of the Royal Decree amending the Revenue Code No. 19, the report explains. In view of the significant expansion of the digital asset market in 2021, financial authorities now plan to improve their supervision of currency trading activities in the country.

Not all aspects of cryptocurrency taxation are clear, as noted by an industry representative. Akalarp Yimwilai, co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex, noted that many questions remain about how to calculate earnings. One is whether the gains from a price increase as the dollar strengthens are considered gains. He further explained:

Tax methods and calculations should be more concise, clear and easy to understand. Many people I know want to pay taxes but don't know how to calculate them.

He added that Zipmex is trying to develop a system that allows its clients to estimate their profits and losses, but the task has proven difficult. “If the Department of Revenue really has such an advanced data analytics system that it can accurately calculate cryptocurrency earnings, it would be of great benefit to share it with the industry,” he noted.

Authorities in Thailand, a major tourist destination, have been trying to demonstrate a friendly attitude towards the growing number of cryptocurrency users, especially among visitors. In September, the country’s tourism authority announced that it wanted to promote what it described as an “atmosphere of crypto tourism,” and in November its governor emphasized that Thailand must become a “crypto-positive society.” Last month, Bank of Thailand officials declared that cryptocurrency payments are not illegal.

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Cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX partners with Tokeny to launch native BMEX token

Major cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX today announced its partnership with Tokeny, a tokenization platform service provider to help launch its native token BMEX. Tokeny contributed its technical expertise and advice during the 2021 token development phase and is working together with the BitMEX team to ensure a smooth launch of the token launch phase, which will take place in early 2022.

BMEX

Designed as an ERC-20 token, BMEX has a maximum supply of 450 million, much of which will be used to reward new and existing BitMEX users.

The token will encourage participation in the growing BitMEX ecosystem, offering trade discounts to token holders, improved performance on EARN products, early access to new products, and much more.

For a limited time, users will have the opportunity to win as many BMEX as possible by entering contests and sweepstakes. Just yesterday, the exchange unlocked its latest welcome offer: the first 10,000 new users who complete KYC and sign up for EARN will receive up to 40 BMEX tokens.

“Our users always come first and we launched BMEX to reward them for their loyalty. We chose to partner with Tokeny, one of the world leaders in the tokenization technology space, to guide us in developing and issuing BMEX in the safest way possible. Tokeny has a strong history of working with major crypto players to streamline the token issuance process, and we are happy to have them on board to support the launch of BMEX. "

- Alexander Höptner, CEO of BitMEX

Since 2017, Tokeny has helped establish more than $ 28 billion in tokenized assets through its solutions. Tokeny is backed by Euronext, a leading market infrastructure in Europe.

"In a short period of time, we have successfully tested and implemented smart contracts thanks to the clear definition of token economy, the efficiency of the BitMEX team, and our in-house expertise."

- Tokeny CEO Luc Falempin

The BMEX token cannot be withdrawn or traded until the BitMEX spot exchange opens in Q2 2022. To receive BMEX tokens, see the airdrop terms and conditions and learn more by visiting the BitMEX token page.