Your Crypto News on Steemit December 14, 2017

• Bitcoin God: New Fork for Charity!
• Confusion about IOTA: That's behind it!
• German Stock Exchange Eurex is considering Bitcoin Futures!
• Australia's Central Bank is considering a State Coin (eAUD)!
• Mt. Gox: Three Years after Bankruptcy suddenly worth Billions!
• "It would not be smart not to take Digital Currencies seriously"
• Bitcoin Course Challenge Week 10

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As a symbolic gesture, on the first day of Christmas a new fork is to see the light of day. The launch of Bitcoin God is being propagated by Chinese investor Chandler Guo, who wants to make our world a little better. But can the project really succeed?

In the near future several forks of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will come towards us again. As blockchain expert Mirco Recksiek (KI Group) said in his previous Crypto Monday, it is in the nature of things that an open-source project is constantly adding new agents. The blockchain is just as open source as some Linux distributions or programs. A central institution that controls everything or prohibits new forks does not exist there. That is not planned. Which of the new spin-offs will play an important role in the future, alone will show the time, so Recksiek. Nobody can control this and so far it has had no negative impact on the course of Bitcoin. But let's face it: do we really need the Bitcoin Hot, the Super Bitcoin or a Lightning Bitcoin? Hard to say. They all have their raison d'être, some observers are already quite annoyed because of the constant forking but already.

After all, it seems at Christmas with the Bitcoin God to give a fork, which includes at least one new idea. The GOD comes from the pen of the Chinese mining pope and investor Chandler Guo, who wants to establish a completely decentralized and self-regulating, non-profit community based on the Blockchain. In majority voting, the community should decide on the allocation of tokens to charitable projects. So it's not just about speculation or about making money. God is also not someone abstract up there, but a bit far each individual partner. The self-declared goal is to fill the world with love and to make our earth a better place by modern means.

Until Christmas, there are only a few days left. Nevertheless, there is a lack of details on the website. Not as regards the technical specifications but, for example, how or where the votes should be taken from autumn 2018. It also has to be clarified: What can be considered charitable in order to receive donations? Are they also referring to non-governmental organizations such as Reporters Without Borders or Amnesty International, which advocate more freedom of expression, assembly and human rights abuses? If the community would donate money to one of these NGOs, the flagship of Bitcoin God, Chandler Guo Hongcai, would have a first problem. Surely the government in Beijing would be anything but pleased.

Besides expenses, a little attention and an announcements nothing has been? We'll see. I will continue to watch the project, the idea behind it sounds interesting in any case.

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IOTA was one of the cryptocurrencies that made the most talk in recent days. Thanks to an unprecedented price increase, the cryptocurrency has even managed to increase to fourth place of all crypto currencies. All the more serious is Microsoft's clarification that it does not want to work more closely with IOTA.

As recently as last week, we reported on the rapid rise in the price of IOTA. One of the reasons for the sudden success of the cryptocurrency was the alleged announcement of cooperation with the US software giant Microsoft. As it turned out, however, such intense cooperation had never been intended.

As Microsoft announced now, there has been no formal agreement between the company and the operators of IOTA, which would justify the onslaught on the cryptocurrency MIOTA. Instead, IOTA is merely a customer who will use Microsoft's Azure platform. The platform will be used by IOTA for test runs and the further development of the data marketplace.

IOTA itself is rowing back yesterday. Regarding the cooperation with Microsoft it was said that a cooperation with the software company was officially never announced. IOTA rather wanted Microsoft to participate in the expansion of its platform. A firm partnership between the two companies would not have been part of the agreement.

The denial of Microsoft poses a setback for the IOTA project, despite all the evidence to the contrary. As the cryptocurrency skyrocketed last week, leaving many other established cryptocurrencies behind, Iota's sudden appeal has been widely attributed to promising cooperation with Microsoft. Accordingly, the crypto market responded to the news that the two companies were not cooperating at all. For example, the price of IOTA slipped slightly and fell phasedly below $ 4. The market capitalization IOTA was again between 10 and 12 billion US dollars.

How important the announcement of the cooperation with Microsoft has been for the rise of IOTA and how the cryptocurrency will position itself in the face of the revelation will be seen in the coming days and weeks.

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Following successful futures trading with Bitcoin on the Chicago Board Options Exchange last Sunday, it appears that Germany is now also considering offering financial products that simplify trading in cryptocurrency. As DPA reports, Eurex, a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse, is already thinking about it.

The Bitcoin boom seems slowly but surely to reach the German mainstream. As the magazine WirtschaftsWoche will report on Thursday, Deutsche Börse is thinking intensively about offering its own derivative, which should have a price link to the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. These are to be offered via the Eurex derivatives exchange, a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse. In the run-up to the introduction, however, the planned financial products are to be examined in more detail. It should be clarified above all how to respond to the sometimes extreme price fluctuations in the crypto market. Accordingly, the final release of Bitcoin futures or other crypto financial products could be delayed well into 2018.

A spokeswoman for the German Stock Exchange ( Deutsche Börse) is quoted:

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) completed the opening of crypto-trading for mainstream investors last Sunday by trading the first Bitcoin futures in the US. Despite technical issues, the impact on prices in the crypto market has been consistently positive. Next Sunday, the 17th of December, the CME futures exchange will move on and launch its own futures.

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The Australian Central Bank is considering the introduction of a digital dollar. More and more currency watchers are now playing with such thoughts - but the hurdles are high. Pilot projects are already running.

The hype about the cryptocurrency Bitcoin and the blockchain technology behind it also occupy central bankers. On Wednesday, Australian Federal Reserve Governor Philip Lowe spoke with mind games about its own digital currency. Although no electronic form of the Australian dollar (AUD) should be introduced in the short term. Lowe already has a possible name ready: "eAUD".

He points out in his reflections on the sharp decline in cash use and new technologies: "There is no doubt that development will continue."

The Australians think about three scenarios. First, the central bank could issue printed banknotes as well as electronic banknotes. However, there is no need for this in light of new, faster payment systems from banks, says Lowe. Secondly, all Australians could be offered a direct account with the central bank - but that would be an attack on private banks and "not in the public interest".

The governor is open to the idea that the central bank will issue "tokens", digital vouchers for the Australian dollar. These could fulfill additional functions in a payment system based on blockchain, for example, when paying in the online trade, the dispatch of goods. It is "in close talks with start-ups, financial institutions and other central banks," said Lowe. However, useful concepts are still pending.

There are currently numerous central banks that discuss the advantages and disadvantages of electronic money and the counterfeit-proof blockchain database at conferences or in working groups. With its "Project Ubin" the central bank of Singapore is trying to establish a blockchain system for interbank payments. Eight institutions are involved, including Bank of America, Citi, Credit Suisse and HSBC. Further projects are to follow, for example with the Canadian central bank. The end could be the introduction of a digital central bank money for cross-border payments.

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In 2014, the Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy. Because of the recent price explosion, the remaining Bitcoins are now worth billions. What happens to it?

Bitcoin: Price explosion makes Mt. Gox liquid again

Do you still remember Mt. Gox? Led by the Frenchman Mark Karpeles the Bitcoin marketplace slid in 2014 after an alleged hacker attack in the bankruptcy. Whether it really took place or Karpeles could have something to do with the disappeared Bitcoins, clarifies currently a court in Japan.

The rocket-rising Bitcoin courses are now bringing movement into the process. Because the remaining Bitcoins would make Karpeles a billionaire.

On the other hand, the creditors, primarily former Mt. Gox customers, now want to proceed. They have called on the Japanese judges to dismiss the former trading center from bankruptcy proceedings. According to Japanese law, in the course of bankruptcy proceedings, they would only be entitled to the value of their digital currencies at the time. If, however, Mt. Gox were again declared a liquid stock market, they could hope for the present value of their then Bitcoin ownership.

Altogether should according to Handelsblatt with the registration of the bankruptcy 2014 around 850,000 Bitcoins in the balance sheet of Mt. Gox missing. Karpeles insisted that they were stolen - the contrary assumed by critics could not be proven yet. Because later 202,000 bitcoins appeared, it is now worth around 3.4 billion US dollars.

Only about 15 percent of this sum would have to pay out to Gox and Karpeles to the creditors as it stands. Much of the rest would then fall to Karpeles, who holds over his company 88 percent stake in the stock market. Both the creditors and Karpeles may wish the judges decide quickly - at least if they are among those who see a bubble in the current rally that could soon burst.

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Now, with Bitcoin reaching prices well in excess of $ 15,000, cryptocurrencies are more likely to have an impact on global finance. Institutions, banks and economists are only partially aware of this.

Perhaps, to paraphrase Marx, a ghost is actually going on in the financial world, and perhaps this specter of Bitcoin and the fear that accompanies it is that the cryptocurrency is destabilizing the global financial system.

The fact that Bitcoin, a state-free and bank-free and inflation-free money, can have an effect on the world financial system has been maintained since 2009. Such an influence would not be a coincidence, but intentional. Because Bitcoin was not created to peacefully coexist alongside traditional finance - but to challenge it, fight it and replace it. Bitcoin eliminates the influence of middlemen and central banks on the financial system. It goes without saying that this is revolutionary.

However, the likelihood of this happening has been considered extremely low for a long time. As a rule, the idea that Bitcoin is revolutionizing finance has long been a mocking smile among bankers and economists. The regulators around the world have turned to the cryptocurrency, but only to curb the criminal use of Bitcoin, so to intervene on the micro-level of the individual acts. The fact that Bitcoin can also have an effect on the macro level, that is, on the level of global finance, has long been ignored.

Even today, with a value of more than $ 16,000 per unit, Bitcoin is still too small to be serious in this regard. But, after all, with a market capitalization of more than $ 270 billion, Bitcoin could already have some serious effects on big markets - such as chip production - and it may even be visible on a global scale. The prediction that Bitcoin will shake up global financial markets is no longer ridiculously fluffed up - it became a no less unlikely option.

Is there evidence that big financial institutions are dealing with it? That they are preparing for Bitcoin to change the world economy? We searched a bit in current news, and not much, but at least some hints found.

Organizations of the US Government

In recent months, several US authorities have made some comments on Bitcoin. The comments show that the times are over when Bitcoin can be wiped off with the remark that it is too small and insignificant. Today, all authorities are seriously concerned with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and have begun to publicly conduct the necessary debate.

The US Federal Reserve Governor, Randal Quarles, recently warned:

Quarles explicitly did not mention Bitcoin at all. His comment was more about digital currencies than a new technical paradigm for representing values. In this regard, his real concerns are less about Bitcoin taking on the world economy than the central banks will adopt Bitcoin technology. "Above all, I have concerns that a central bank-issued digital currency that is widely circulated around the world will be the victim of serious cyber-attacks and will be used to launder money and finance terror."

The warning from Quarles is accompanied by further warnings from US authorities. A group of regulators, including the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance and the Securities and Exchange Commission, has recently expressed concern that the growing popularity of Bitcoin and other digital currencies has the potential to jeopardize financial stability. The authorities therefore demand a tightening of supervision.

Banks

Banks have a tradition of warning against Bitcoin. In most cases, the warnings about the cryptocurrency were less a product of thorough analysis, but rather a reflex against money that, understandably, is unfavorable to banks, as it eliminates the need for financial intermediaries. Most banks have dismissed the phenomenon as irreversible.

Well, in late 2017, the tone of these warnings has changed. An excellent example is Deutsche Bank's list of 30 global finance risks next year. In 13th place the report lists a crash of Bitcoin.

It may be a bit of an exaggeration to attribute global consequences to a Bitcoin crash - but it shows how awake the world has become, and how far Bitcoin has moved away from the tiny niche money it was a few years ago. A threat to the global economy does not come from the niche.

The IMF

If there is such a thing as a world financial government, then it should be the International Monetary Fund, short IMF. Its director Christine Lagarde has recently commented on Bitcoin:

"Currently Bitcoin has little or no challenge to the existing order of Fiat currencies and central banks," said Lagarde, "Why? Because it's too volatile, too risky, too energy-intensive, and because the underlying technology is not yet scaling. Many [of the cryptocurrencies] are too opaque to regulators; and some were hacked. "

In other words, the IMF does not currently see Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as a serious competitor to Fiat money. Therefore, the risks to the IMF are manageable. However, Lagarde is aware that this may change. "Not so long ago, some experts said that PCs are never accepted, and that tablets are only used as expensive coffeemakers. So I think it would not be wise to write off virtual currencies. "

In a press conference, an IMF employee goes a little further on the institution's attitude towards Bitcoin: "So we have raised concerns that cryptocurrencies carry serious risks as potential vehicles for things like money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion, and so on serve. It is therefore necessary to assess cryptocurrencies in a well-balanced manner. "Both cryptocurrencies and ICOs should, according to the spokesman, be adequately regulated and monitored.

Overall, the IMF seems to continue to see Bitcoin as it has done over the years: as a target of regulation and prosecution. Serious effects on the global financial systems, the IMF recognizes, at least not yet.

Economists

Joseph E. Stiglitz is one of the best-known economists of the present day. The former vice-president and chief economist of the World Bank was awarded the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics several years ago.

In an interview, Stiglitz recently called for a ban on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoins, says Stiglitz, "do not do any useful social function. We're just supposed to go back to something we've already had ... When we talk about the means of exchange for transactions, I'd say we're disposing of paper money in the 21st century of a digital economy. "

Above all, Stiglitz thinks Bitcoin does more harm than good. But it shows no evidence that he is aware of systemic risks from the growth of Bitcoin. Sandra Phlippen, a Belgian economist, fears, however, that Bitcoin can destabilize the global economy.

"We know that the price is rising rapidly and that billions of dollars have already been invested," writes Phlippen. "And there's the real danger: A Bitcoin world can destabilize the real economy." For the economist, Bitcoin causes several problems: "First, Bitcoin undermines the government, as a lot of the transactions are done to launder money or avoid taxes , Another problem is that the revenue from new bitcoins does not benefit any government (like the normal money creation), but only seriously impacts the environment with computer performance. "

Most Bitcoin users like the fact that central banks have no influence on the currency. For Phlippen, this is exactly what is dangerous: "In times of crisis, central banks can use their influence on ordinary banks to promote lending and encourage people to spend money. The bank has no power over a Bitcoin economy, so crises can go deeper. "

With these interesting concerns about a future Bitcoin economy, Phlippen is currently largely alone. Presumably, this is because hardly anyone really believes that Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency will ever eat up the financial industry.

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