Genso’s ROND Token to Be Listed on Bybit

September 29, 2022 Bitcoin.com

The ‘launch of a rocket’ — Observers on the future of Ethereum post-Merge

September 15, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bloomberg

With the Ethereum Merge only hours away, Cointelegraph spoke to industry experts about the transition to proof-of-stake today and what to look out for.

The Ethereum Merge is set to occur later today with the energy-efficiency focused transition expected to have a major impact on crypto investment and adoption, experts say.

Speaking to Cointelegraph in the lead up to the Merge, StarkWare president and co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson noted that the Ethereum Merge will be the “first step in a process that will lead to exceedingly widespread adoption of Ethereum.”

The immediate importance of the Merge is the dramatic effect on energy consumption.

The Merge is expected to see Ethereum’s energy cut by 99.95% compared to its current Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which requires large amounts of energy to be used in a competition to solve arbitrary mathematical puzzles.

“I think of the Merge like the development of the first solar fields,'' added Ben-Sasson.

“We saw that we can slash the environmental impact of electricity production. We didn’t say ‘problem solved,’ but rather that if we’re generating electricity with less pollution, it’s time to double down on efforts to use the power more sparingly.”

Excited to never have to hear about "ommer blocks" again.

(ok fine I know "ommer" was meant to be a gender-neutral replacement for "uncle", but come on, it just *sounds* like an insult for people who meditate)

Oh, and saving electricity. That's cool too.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 14, 2022

Ben-Sasson believes the end result where the general population uses blockchain-based apps in many different areas of life, “and as naturally as people use smartphone apps today.”

CEO of crypto exchange Coinjar, Asher Tan says the Merge is set to change the narrative around crypto more broadly, pointing out that it’s incredibly rare for a tech sector to “execute such a drastic reduction in their energy intensity.”

"We believe that people are underselling the significance of the post-Merge 99.95% drop in energy usage,” noted Tan.

It makes the Ethereum network far more publicly palatable and opens the door for investors and companies that had remained crypto-agnostic due to its carbon footprint.

Despite optimism about Ethereum’s transition, there is still debate on whether the Merge has already been factored into Ether (ETH) price or not.

Charmyn Ho, head of crypto insights at crypto exchange Bybit, says their analysts have concluded there is “no consensus” amongst institutional investors or market makers regarding short-term trading around The Merge, but will instead be more likely to accumulate ETH and become hodlers.

Meanwhile, most within the Ethereum “bubble” don’t appear to be concerned over whether the Merge will be a success or not.

Ethereum Co-Founder Joseph Lubin told Bloomberg yesterday he believes the transition will result in very little disruption to developers and users, and will be “as smooth as if your iPhone or laptop has upgraded its operating system overnight.”

StarkWare’s Ben-Sasson also sees the transition being a smooth one, suggesting the “Ethereum Foundation has prepared so meticulously for this moment, and inspires lots of confidence," noting:

"It will be a significant mark of success when the first block is produced by proof of stake. But this is like completing the launch of a rocket — we still have the rest of the journey ahead of us, which will pose its challenges."

Lubin suggests that in his opinion, this is the third most important event in the crypto space, behind only the development of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Ethereum Merge and the hefty tax bill you could be in for

September 1, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bybit

The Ethereum Merge may constitute a taxable event if it results in a chain-splitting hard fork, tax experts warn.

Ether (ETH) hodlers that don’t play their cards right following the Ethereum Merge may be in for a hefty bill come tax time, according to tax experts.

Around Sept. 15, the Ethereum blockchain is set to transition from its current proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS), aimed at improving the network’s impact on the environment.

There is a chance that The Merge will result in a contentious hard fork, which will cause ETH holders to receive duplicate units of hard-forked Ethereum tokens, similar to what happened when the Ethereum and Ethereum Classic hard fork occurred in 2016.

Tax compliance firm TaxBit head of government solutions, Miles Fuller, told Cointelegraph that the Merge raises some interesting tax implications in the case that a hard fork occurs, stating:

“The biggest question for tax purposes is whether the Merge will result in a chain-splitting hard fork.”

“If it doesn’t, then there are really no tax implications,” explained Fuller, noting that the current PoW ETH will just become the new PoS ETH “and everyone goes on their merry way.”

However, should a hard fork occur, meaning ETH holders are sent duplicate PoW tokens, then a variety of tax impacts may fall out “depending on how well supported the PoW ETH chain is” and where the ETH is held when the fork occurs.

For ETH held in user-owned on-chain wallets, Fuller points to IRS guidance stating that any new PoW ETH tokens would be regarded as income and will be valued at the time the user came in possession of the tokens.

Fuller explained the situation may be different for ETH held in custodial wallets, such as exchanges, depending on whether the platform decides to support the forked PoW ETH chain, noting:

“How custodians and exchanges handle forks is generally covered in your account agreement, so if you are not sure, you should read up.”

“If the custodian or exchange does not support the forked chain, then you likely don’t have any income (and may have missed out on a freebie). You can avoid this by moving your holdings to an unhosted wallet pre-Merge to ensure you get any coins (or tokens) resulting from a possible chain-splitting fork,” he explained.

The performance of the PoW token can also impact the potential tax bill, according to a Wednesday Twitter post from CoinLedger director of strategy Miles Brooks:

“If the value of the tokens goes down severely subsequent to the PoW fork (and after you have control over them) — which could be likely — you may have a tax bill to pay but potentially not enough assets to pay it.”

Brooks suggested it may be in an investor’s best interests to sell some of the tokens upon receiving the forked coin, which can ensure that at least the tax bill is covered.

7/ What can you do to prepare? If a ETH PoW fork does happen, you’re going to want to know if you’re eligible for the fork, because it may be in your best interest to sell some of these tokens when received to make sure you have enough for the associated tax bill!
— CoinLedger (@CoinLedger) August 30, 2022

There has been a growing push by Ethereum miners and some exchanges for a PoW hard fork to occur, as without a hard fork these miners will be forced to move to another PoW cryptocurrency.

Vitalik Buterin suggested at the 5th Ethereum Community Conference held in July that these miners could instead go back to Ethereum Classic.

Contrary to what is suggested in the associated CoinLedger article, the post-merge Ethereum will not be called ETH 2.0 but simply ETH or ETHS, with any potential forked token referred to as ETHW.

Crypto investors should be wary of any tokens that claim to be ETH 2.0 post-Merge.

The cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex, which claims it was the first exchange to support both Ethereum and Ethereum Classic, has given its support to a hard fork and has already added trading for ETHW.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit told Cointelegraph that in the event of forked tokens, Bybit’s risk management and security teams have criteria in place to determine whether a PoW token would be listed on their exchange.

Bybit claims that exchanges already listing ETHW tokens are putting profits over user safety, and caution traders against moving their ETH to exchanges that are supporting the PoW tokens due to volatility and security risks:

“We caution traders that the potential Ethereum PoW forks may be extremely volatile and entail increased security risks. Exchanges that are already listing tokens for potential PoW forks are putting profits over user safety.”

Singapore Based Crypto Exchange Bybit Expands to Argentina

June 24, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Canadian Regulator OSC Takes Action Against Crypto Trading Platforms Kucoin and Bybit

June 23, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Canadian regulator takes enforcement actions against Bybit and Kucoin

June 22, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bybit

"Bybit responded to the OSC’s enforcement action, maintained an open dialogue, provided requested information, and committed to engaging in registration discussions," said the OSC.

The Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, issued financial penalties against Bybit and Kucoin, claiming violations of securities laws and operating unregistered crypto asset trading platforms.

In a Wednesday announcement, the Ontario regulator said it had obtained orders fining Kucoin more than $1.6 million and banning the exchange from participating in the province’s capital markets. In a separate decision, the OSC announced that Bybit had disgorged roughly $2.4 million and paid the regulator $7,724 as part of the costs of its investigation. Both firms allegedly failed to comply with Ontario securities laws, but only Bybit “responded to the OSC’s enforcement action, maintained an open dialogue, provided requested information, and committed to engaging in registration discussions.”

“Foreign crypto asset trading platforms that want to operate in Ontario must play by the rules or face enforcement action,” said OSC enforcement director Jeff Kehoe.

OSC holds global crypto asset trading platforms accountable: https://t.co/TPC9mtvTRE pic.twitter.com/Nl9pGP0U3j
— OSC News (@OSC_News) June 22, 2022

The move by the regulatory body was the latest in a series of warnings and legal actions taken against crypto exchanges offering services to Ontario residents. In March 2021, the OSC issued a deadline for crypto firms operating in the province to register by April. According to the regulator, Bybit will “wind up its Ontario operations” if the firm is unable to register.

Both Bybit and Kucoin allegedly did not comply with the securities regulator, prompting hearings and other enforcement actions starting in June 2021. The OSC had already initiated regulatory actions against crypto exchanges Poloniex and OKEx for similar violations of securities laws.

As of June 1, eight companies are listed as registered crypto asset trading platforms in Ontario, including Fidelity Digital Assets, Bitvo, and Bitbuy.

A New Terra Network Is Coming With Support From Major Exchanges, LUNA and UST Holders Eligible for Airdropped Tokens

May 26, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Missed Paris Blockchain Week Summit? Here are 5 key takeaways from the event

April 15, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Binance

The event included commentary from CZ, Brad Garlinghouse and Paolo Ardoino on topics of crypto regulation, the SEC lawsuit and European nations adopting digital assets.

The city of Paris — the capital of France, renowned for its affinity for romanticism, historical architecture and acquired palate for culinary delicacies — played host to the two-day Paris Blockchain Week Summit this week. The event saw the participation of the industry’s leading figureheads and over 3,000 crypto enthusiasts.

Held at the Palais Brongniart, the former home of the Paris stock exchange and once synonymous with its exchange of wheat grain, the newly transformed conference center saw keynote speeches and fireside chats from experts such as Binance’s Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, Tether’s Paolo Ardoino and Digital Currency Group’s Rumi Morales, among many others.

If you missed the action, here’s a literary highlight reel of all the most important moments from the summit. And you might see some familiar faces from Cointelegraph along the way!

Binance to invest 100 million euros into the French crypto ecosystem

Delivering the opening keynote speech on stage, Binance CEO CZ spoke about a “great shift of attitude” by policymakers and legislators over the past 12 months before stating that France is “uniquely positioned” in terms of regulations, talent and expertise and has the potential to become a leading crypto hub in Europe.

CZ also announced Binance’s recent decision to invest 100 million euros in French startup firms within the Web3 space in partnership with incubator Station F.

“I think France has one of the most progressive and open-minded governments that could help in developing pro-crypto regulations.”

Following this, CZ sat down with Cointelegraph’s Joseph Hall to share his views on regulation and business operation, in addition to his expectations for the remainder of 2022.

Tether's chief technology officer reveals adoption plans for pro-crypto city of Lugano

Back in March, the southern Swiss city of Lugano announced it would adopt Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) as de facto legal tender in a partnership with Tether. Since then, it has received broad interest from the crypto community as a result of its progressive policies.

Ardoino, Tether’s chief technology officer, shared some statistical insights in an interview with Cointelegraph, stating that “We have been able to start onboarding 25 to 30 different companies and startups, [...] which between the company’s assets and private wealth are valued between 300 to 400 million Swiss francs.”

Alongside this, Ardoino noted Tether’s intention to develop educational programs for university students in the region, as well as fund their tuition fees.

Bybit’s Lawrence Tan analyzes the mechanism of the Ronin bridge hack

Lawrence Tan, Bybit’s spot business development director, shared his assessment of decentralized finance’s security landscape on stage during the “DeFi Security: the Risks Behind the Yield and Mitigation” session. He stated that four major vulnerabilities are responsible for the majority of security breaches in the space: administrator key compromises, coding flaws, rug pulls and flash loan attacks.

Referencing the historic Ronin bridge hack as a prime example, Tan advocated for greater educational security resources within the space following a year of numerous exploits and hacks.

Ripple’s CEO is optimistic on the future of the SEC case

In a fireside chat on cryptocurrency regulations, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse shared his optimism surrounding the ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission case regarding it carried out an unregistered securities sale by selling XRP, stating that “The lawsuit has gone exceedingly well, and much better than I could have hoped when it began about 15 months ago.”

Blockchain.com’s Nicolas Cary reflects on a decade in crypto

Blockchain.com co-founder Nicolas Cary and Cointelegraph editor-in-chief Kristina Cornèr assessed the evolution of the crypto industry following 10 years in business, with Blockchain.com founded in 2011 and Cointelegraph set to reach the landmark figure next year.

During the conversation, the two also spoke on the nature of anonymity in the space and the vision for democratization that blockchain instills, with Cary stating that “We are building fabrics of the internet that would allow anyone regardless of their circumstances to trade, exchange, save, earn rewards of different types of digital wealth.”