The press release writers at the U.S. governments General Service Administration (GSA) are gushing about cryptocurrency spring fever. It might not be a coincidence that the agency plans to sell more than $300,000 worth of bitcoin at an auction next week.

According to an announcement posted Wednesday on the agencys website, the GSA is offering commission-free bidding on 6.79 BTC, divided into 10 lots. On Thursday, bitcoin was changing hands around $50,800, so the total amount set for auction works out to roughly $345,000. The auction will take place on the GSA Auctions website, starting on March 29 at 5 p.m. ET.

Get ready for cryptocurrency spring fever on GSA Auctions, according to the press release. Its time to let your bitcoin portfolio bloom by placing a winning bid during GSA Auctions upcoming cryptocurrency sale.

Related: Chinas Digital Yuan Will Be a Backup to Alipay, WeChat, Says PBOC

The auction comes just weeks after the GSA conducted its first auction of bitcoin a chunk of 0.7501 BTC that went for $53,104.

While the federal government has been auctioning bitcoin since 2014, this will be the second time cryptocurrency is being sold using GSA Auctions.

The previous auction took place on March 17 with 31 bidders. The winning bid was at $53,104 at 0.7501 BTC. That works out to $70,796 for a full bitcoin more than 20% over themarket price of about $59,000on March 17. So it wasnt exactly a bargain. But the government apparently got a good price.

Our first steps wading into the cryptocurrency market quickly became one of our hottest auctions of 2021, but it was really just a test run for our latest bitcoin auction, Thomas Meiron, regional commissioner for GSAs Federal Acquisition Service, said in the press release.

We expect this auction will generate even more excitement among cryptocurrency investors, Meiron said.

According to the press release, GSA Auctions is a service of the U.S. General Service Administration that serves as the governments online clearinghouse for federally owned assets and equipment such as office furniture, vehicles, scientific equipment and collectibles.

Read this article:
US Government Sees Cryptocurrency Spring Fever as Great Time to Auction Bitcoin - Yahoo Finance

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das says that there is no difference of opinion between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the finance ministry on cryptocurrencies. While the finance minister said that the government will not shut off all options and will take a calibrated position regarding crypto legislation, the central bank has voiced some major concerns.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das answered some questions regarding cryptocurrency, the digital rupee, and upcoming digital currency legislation Thursday at the India Economic Conclave organized by The Times Network.

There have been questions about whether the finance ministry and the central bank share the same view on cryptocurrency in India. While Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government will not shut off all options regarding cryptocurrencies and will take a calibrated approach, the central bank has voiced major concerns about cryptocurrencies.

When asked during the Economic Conclave event on Thursday if there is a difference of opinion coming from the central bank and the finance ministry on cryptocurrency, the RBI governor affirmed:

I do not think the finance ministry or the Reserve Bank has given any different points of view I have reasons to believe that the government is in agreement.

I dont think that is any difference of opinion, Das reiterated, adding that The central bank digital currency is one thing, while the cryptocurrencies which are being traded in the market are something else.

The governor of Indias central bank emphasized that both the RBI and the government are committed to financial stability, elaborating:

We have flagged certain concerns around these cryptocurrencies which are being traded in the market. We have flagged certain major concerns to the government.

It is still under examination and the government will come out with a decision sooner than later, Das concluded.

What do you think about the RBI governors words about cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Read the original here:
RBI Governor Says Government and Central Bank Agree on Cryptocurrency Approach Regulation Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Fidelity Investments applied to list a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund that would track the cryptocurrency using pricing from U.S.-based exchanges.

The firms Wise Orgin Bitcoin Trust would use underlying prices from exchanges that include Bitstamp, Coinbase, Gemini, itBit and Kraken, Fidelity said in a filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The application comes a month after North Americas first Bitcoin ETFs, including the Purpose Bitcoin ETF and another from Evolve Funds Group, began trading in Canada.

Several other Bitcoin ETF proposals in the U.S., including those put forth by Gemini crypto-exchange founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, have failed to pass SEC muster.

The digital assets ecosystem has grown significantly in recent years, creating an even more robust marketplace for investors and accelerating demand among institutions, Fidelity said in an e-mailed statement. An increasingly wide range of investors seeking access to Bitcoin has underscored the need for a more diversified set of products offering exposure to digital assets.

With assistance by Claire Ballentine

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

See original here:
Bitcoin (BTC) ETF: Fidelity Applies for Fund That Tracks the Cryptocurrency - Bloomberg

*Sigh*

I thought wed moved on from stuff like this. Its not 2017 anymore, but obscure and useless cryptocurrencies are still trying as they might to be A Thing. In recent weeks, you might have seen headlines touting Fiats new partnership with cryptocurrency KiriCoin but please, dont get swept up by its novelty.

According to a press release by Fiats owner Stellantis, KiriCoin is embedded in the ever lovable Fiat 500s accompanying app. Careful and economical drivers will, in theory, be rewarded with KiriCoin which can then be spent in KiriMarket, the cryptocurrencys own marketplace. (FYI: I was going to link to the digital storefront, but the URL is flagged by my browser as a security risk, take that for what you will).

In the press release, Stellantis said drivers would be rewarded with Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Zalando gift cards, however, none of these appear yet on the Kiri marketplace.

However, as Road Show by CNET points out, theres virtually nothing of any value in the store right now. While that could change in future, dont expect it to.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain startups have a habit of wooing bigger, well-known companies into getting onboard with their revolutionary technology. They make big promises, use a lot of buzzwords, and ultimately offer the bigger companies terms that dont really come with any inherent risk.

But they also dont come with any inherent value.

At worst, the well-known firms stand to look a bit silly, at the worst, if things dont pan out. In this case, if KiriCoin turns out to be bunk, which it probably will do, Fiat can just remove the functionality from the app or find another way of rewarding its drivers.

In reality, if Fiat realllllly wanted to, it could develop its own database of drivers, and arbitrarily reward them with points that get them discounts on useful stuff like tires, servicing, fuel, and so on.

Instead, partnering with KiriCoin gives Stellantis a fast route to being able to say that its the first automotive manufacturer to reward its customers for sustainable driving behavior. On the surface, that sounds like quite an honorable pursuit.

Theres not really any reason for Fiat to partner with a company like Kiri Technologies, other than to get the platform up and running quickly, and make brash, semi-substantiated claims on a press release.

Whats more, youre also going to have to drive a lot to earn anything worth spending.

The announcement says that one kilometer of city driving is equal to about one KiriCoin, which itself is worth around two euro cents. So, to earn 150 you will have to complete 10,000 km of city driving in a year.

In a weird round about sort of way, this is actually incentivizing people to drive in cities, which is hardly the most sustainable choice in the first place. By driving less each year, you could quite easily save 150 in fuel. So Im not sure the logic here entirely checks out.

Other similar schemes, run in the West Midlands of England are instead rewarding drivers for not using their cars, which sounds like a far more sustainable option.

Whilst it appears to be the first to get it off the ground, Stellantis isnt the first carmaker to entertain a cryptocurrency rewards program.

Jaguar Land Rover has supposedly been in talks with IOTA to use the blockchain startups tech to reward drivers for sharing data about their journeys. That was a couple of years ago, and yet we still have nothing, and its not clear where those conversations lead.

Back in 2019, a new app launched to Product Hunt, called Lympo Squat. It used your phone camera to track your movement as you do squats, it would then reward you in Lym tokens for every successful squat.

I did the math, and youd have to do 5,000 squats to earn $8. As with Fiat and KiriCoin, you have to do a lot for it to be worthwhile at all. And if you really care about sustainability and the environment, you shouldnt need some poxy cryptocurrency to get you driving sensibly. If you do, you deserve to get nothing for your efforts.

At the moment, Fiats KiriCoin partnership is only available in 13 European countries, but I wouldnt worry if you feel like youre missing out youre really not.

Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up?

Then you need the weekly SHIFT newsletter in your life. Click here to sign up.

Published March 23, 2021 09:47 UTC

Go here to read the rest:
Fiats sustainable driving cryptocurrency is utter bollocks - The Next Web

Cryptocurrency trading platform Xcoins has used audience data from Global Web Index of more than 60,000 investors to illustrate the vast behavioural and demographic differences between gold and cryptocurrency investors.

Most notably, Crypto investors are 10 per cent more likely to value being successful, and 7 per cent more likely to value learning new skills than gold owners, of whom 73 per cent place spending time with their family as the second-most important value in life.

The data shows that while the majority of both gold and cryptocurrency holders fall into the 16-34 year old bracket, many more young people hold cryptocurrency than gold.

Nearly half (46 per cent) of gold investors are older than 34, compared to just over a third (36 per cent) of those who have invested in cryptocurrency.

Unsurprisingly, the research found that both groups valued being financially secure as the most important thing in life (78 per cent).

This is where the similarities end, though. The research showed that just 28 per cent of cryptocurrency holders are women, compared to 47 per cent of gold holders. Gold investors are more likely to own a cat than cryptocurrency holders (45 per cent to 38 per cent), while conversely cryptocurrency holders tend to be dog people (43 per cent to 38 per cent).

More gold investors are married with children compared to crypto investors who, on average, tend to be single with no children.

More cryptocurrency investors are renters (21 per cent), than gold holders (15 per cent), who in turn are more likely to own their property outright.

If bitcoin is to succeed in the mainstream then it needs support from all demographics. No-one is stopping women from entering or investing the crypto space, but little is being done to encourage them either.

With data suggesting that female investors view cryptocurrency as a riskier investment, its clear that more needs to be done in this area to educate and inform people of what risks cryptocurrency actually carries instead of letting assumptions hinder the growth of the asset.

Bitcoin recently fell 20 per cent from its latest all-time high of USD58,000 but has since bounced back above USD59,000.

Frye adds: Bitcoin still remains up over seven-fold compared to a year ago. Seeing a dip like this after its record growth is completely normal and healthy. Interest in the currency is still strong so while we expect Bitcoin to remain volatile, we continue to expect a long-term upwards trend.

Go here to see the original:
New research reveals the differences between cryptocurrency and gold investors - Wealth Adviser