Bitcoin reached a new milestone with the confirmation of its 500 millionth transaction. It took Bitcoin 8 years to reach the 250 million transaction milestone in late 2017 and a little over 2 years for it to double since then. We could see a billion completed transactions before the end of 2020.
Square, run by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey; Pantera Capital, and other companies with strong existing crypto exposure have invested a combined $14 million into Transparent Financial Systems. The Seattle-based startup is aimed at creating a crypto-based monetary settlement service, with early indications being that it will work alongside existing US Dollar-based networks.
Crypto derivatives exchange FTX announced a new instrument called TRUMP-2020 which will allow traders to bet on whether President Trump will be reelected. The contract expires in November when the election is held. Its price will be $0 if Trump loses and $1 if he wins. It’s currently priced around 62 cents, suggesting the market gives him a 62% chance of success.
The TOKEN2049 crypto conference, scheduled to be held in Hong Kong in mid-March, has been postponed until October of this year due to concerns over the Coronavirus. Binance has also postponed its scheduled conference in Vietnam for the same reason.
Switzerland’s financial overseer passed a new anti-money laundering law which requires exchanges to ID clients trading crypto above 1,000 Swiss Francs. It’s clear that governments are seeking more complete information on those transferring significant value using cryptocurrencies.
Before we conclude, this week’s “Bitcoin quick question” is is Bitcoin legal?
The legal status of bitcoin varies substantially from country to country. Whereas the majority of countries do not make the usage of bitcoin itself illegal, its status as money varies.
For example, some states have explicitly allowed its use and trade, while others have banned or restricted it. Likewise, various government agencies, departments, and courts have classified bitcoin differently.
Only a handful of countries have placed an active ban on Bitcoin completely. The majority of developed countries have established clear rules about taxation and regulation regarding Bitcoin.
To learn more about Bitcoin’s legal status around the world take a look at the link in the description.
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That’s what’s happened this week in Bitcoin. See you next week.