Sweden Poised to Become Leading Scandinavian Cashless Society through Bitcoin
Sweden is fast-moving to follow through on its plans to become the world's first cashless society.
While this is seen as a good sign for digital currencies on a new progressive frontier, it brings issues, such as privacy concerns, when every transaction is surveyed. Nevertheless, the country is still rooting for Bitcoin as the answer to provide anonymity similar to the traditional cash system.
As seen by many of Sweden's financial institutions, companies make no profit from the use of cash, as it lacks harvestable personal data and it has to be physically managed. Due to this problem, finance is potentially changing to cashless transactions, with Sweden leading the way.
Reports show that 900 of Sweden’s 1,600 bank branches no longer store cash, and they will no longer accept cash deposits. There is a gradual decrease in numbers of ATMs, and the circulation of the Swedish krona fell from 106 bln in 2009 to 60 bln in 2016.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2xQgqBz
Source: CoinTelegraph
What The Success Of Bitcoin Tells Us About The Power Of Storytelling
Imagine you could own one of two currencies. One currency is easy to obtain. In fact, you won’t have to do any more than live your life in the usual way — paying by credit card and eating occasional meals at restaurants — in order to fill up your account. You can exchange that currency at any time you want for a free flight or a free upgrade to a first class seat or a free stay in a hotel. Play it smart and you can travel anywhere you want in the world at any time for next to nothing.
The other currency requires a bit of knowledge. You need to buy it with regular currency on special exchanges and store it in special wallets. You can exchange it for lots of different things but it’s not easy, and you probably won’t want to. That’s because this currency is so popular its value is going through the roof. The currency you spend today could have doubled in value by the end of the month. (It can also fall sharply too.)
The first of these currencies is airline loyalty points. They’ve been around for a while. Everyone knows about them but no one ever talks about them. A few people have dedicated their lives to collecting and using them but for most people, they’re just what you get if you fly with one airline for long enough.
The other currency is bitcoin. It’s the flavor of the day. Even though little has changed in the world of bitcoin since the whitepaper that launched it (give or take the occasional fork, and when news does break, it’s often bad), the value of the coin has continued to climb. People could get all the airline points they want — and they could actually use them in a way that enriches their lives — but some people don’t want to. They’d rather pay several thousand bucks to own a bitcoin.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2xQ95C6
Source: Forbes
Senate 2018 Budget Adds $1.5 tln to National Debt: Bitcoin Bubble?
The US Senate Budget Committee has released its 2018 proposed budget for approval in the larger congressional body. The proposal will then be matched with the House proposed budget and worked out for final approval, before being sent to the White House.
The Senate proposal contains provisions that will increase federal spending for this year, adding a jaw-dropping $1.5 tln to the national debt over the next year. Committee members have suggested that the tax cuts would produce economic gains, which would offset the total debt spending.
After 2019, the proposed budget would begin to cut non-defense spending, resulting in substantial budget savings over the next decade. The goal of both the Senate and House proposals is to balance the budget in that time.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2xQ8d0h
Source: CoinTelegraph
IMF Head Foresees the End of Banking and the Triumph of Cryptocurrency
In a remarkably frank talk at a Bank of England conference, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund has speculated that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency have as much of a future as the Internet itself. It could displace central banks, conventional banking, and challenge the monopoly of national monies.
Christine Lagarde–a Paris native who has held her position at the IMF since 2011–says the only substantial problems with existing cryptocurrency are fixable over time.
In the long run, the technology itself can replace national monies, conventional financial intermediation, and even "puts a question mark on the fractional banking model we know today."
In a lecture that chastised her colleagues for failing to embrace the future, she warned that "Not so long ago, some experts argued that personal computers would never be adopted, and that tablets would only be used as expensive coffee trays. So I think it may not be wise to dismiss virtual currencies."
Full story at http://bit.ly/2g2WDXV
Source: https://fee.org
Bitcoin ‘Will Not Become Legal’ In India Without ‘Monitoring,’ Says Chief Economist
Bitcoin “will not become legal” in India unless a suitable organization “monitors” it, a high-profile economist has forecast.
Speaking to local news outlet Economic Times, SP Sharma chief economist at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Delhi, said that Bitcoin’s gray area status in the eyes of regulators was unlikely to change without a shift in practices.
"It’s fair to say that currently, the cryptocurrency is neither illegal nor legal in India," he told the publication.
"Unless the cryptocurrency is properly and comprehensively regulated and monitored by a robust institution, I don’t see Bitcoin becoming a legal currency in India."
Full story at http://bit.ly/2xQzShq
Source: CoinTelegraph
Bitcoin Bug Bites Japan and South Korea as China Clamps Down
SAN FRANCISCO — Until recently, China was a center of Bitcoin activity while the rest of Asia looked on with little interest.
Now, the tables have turned.
The Chinese government has been clamping down on virtual currency activity at the same time that hundreds of thousands of Japanese have thrown themselves into Bitcoin trading, making Japan’s main Bitcoin exchange, bitFlyer, the largest in the world in recent weeks by some methods of counting.
South Koreans have also shown a sudden interest in virtual currencies, though they have generally opted for Bitcoin competitors like Ethereum and Ripple. Trading has been so popular that two South Korean exchanges, Bithumb and Coinone, have set up storefronts in Seoul that people can visit to buy and sell in person.
Full story at http://nyti.ms/2g2WzaD
Source: https://www.nytimes.com
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