Author: Reuters ID: Fri, 2019-10-11 23:41 Facebook’s ambitious efforts to establish a global digital currency called Libra suffered severe setbacks on Friday, as major payment companies including Mastercard and Visa Inc. quit the group behind the project. The two companies announced they would leave the association Friday afternoon, as did eBay, Stripe and Latin American
2019-10-12 07:10 | News | ArabNews
The hearing comes after Chair Maxine Waters and committee Democrats sent a letter to Facebook calling on the company to suspend plans to launch the cryptocurrency, Libra. The post Mark Zuckerberg Buckles and Will Testify to Congress on Facebook’s Cryptocurrency appeared first on The Intercept .
2019-10-09 15:10 | Technology | TheIntercept
Trump Touts "Great and Unmatched Wisdom" as U.S. Abandons Kurdish Allies, State Dept. Orders Ambassador Gordon Sondland Not to Testify to Impeachment Inquiry, Federal Judge Rejects Trump's "Repugnant" Argument Against Turning Over Tax Records, Ecuador's President Moves Government From Capital as Anti-Austerity Protests Grow, Bolivia Rains Quell Fires After 10 Million Amazon Acres Burn, 700+ Arrested as Extinction Rebellion Protests Demand Climate Action, Swedish Climate Activist Greta Thunberg to Visit Standing Rock Reservation, Supreme Court Opens New Term with Justice
2019-10-08 12:10 | News | DemocracyNow
Author: Reuters ID: Sat, 2019-10-05 03:22 WASHINGTON: US payments processor PayPal Holdings Inc. said on Friday it was leaving Libra Association, the entity managing the Facebook-led effort to build global digital currency Libra, making it the first member to exit the group. PayPal said it would forgo any further participation in the group and would
2019-10-05 05:10 | News | ArabNews
House lawmakers are ratcheting up pressure on Facebook in an attempt to force chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to testify in the coming months about his company's plans to launch the Libra cryptocurrency.
2019-10-04 15:10 | News | WashingtonPost
Author: Tue, 2019-10-01 23:03 RUBAYA: In a small shack overlooking muddy pits hewn out of eastern Congo’s rolling green hills, a government official puts a barcoded tag on a sack of ore rich in tantalum, a rare metal widely used in smartphones.
With a handheld device linked to a server, the agent scans the barcode, uploading data including the sealed bag’s weight,
2019-10-01 20:10 | News | ArabNews
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg pledged in a private meeting with lawmakers that the company would not launch its controversial digital currency, called Libra, anywhere in the world until it receives approval from regulators in the United States.
2019-09-20 00:09 | News | WashingtonPost
Leading smartphone manufacturer, HTC and one of the world’s oldest and most established cryptocurrency, Bitcoin have announced the beginning of a long-term, mutually beneficial partnership to drive innovation and adoption of crypto technologies. HTC is known for pushing the boundaries of technology with cutting edge, futuristic smartphones, and they have done it again. HTC’s flagship EXODUS 1 smartphone is now the first phone that provides Bitcoin Cash (BCH) support without having to download a BCH wallet from an app store.
2019-09-17 06:09 | Cryptocurrency, News, Smartphones | ReviewCentralMe
The IMF, has been instrumental in helping destroying the economy of a myriad of countries, notably, and to start with, the new Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union, Greece, Ukraine and lately Argentina, to mention just a few. Madame Christine Lagarde, as chief of the IMF had a heavy hand in the annihilation […]
2019-09-16 02:09 | Banks/Banking, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency | DissidentVoice
Author: AFP ID: Thu, 2019-09-12 08:41 PARIS: France warned Thursday it will block development of Facebook’s planned Libra cryptocurrency in Europe because it threatens the “monetary sovereignty” of governments. “I want to be absolutely clear: in these conditions, we cannot authorize the development of Libra on European soil,” Le Maire said at the opening of
2019-09-12 08:09 | News | ArabNews
On my desk sit four containers of brain pills. Though they are made by four separate companies, they are similar enough in appearance and content to be almost interchangeable. The ingredients mention green tea extract and bacopa, B vitamins and black pepper extract. The names of the formulae— Alpha Brain , Gorilla Mind Smooth , Brain Force Plus , Dawn to Dusk —are displayed in clean, futuristic fonts. Three
2019-09-03 10:09 | Magazine, September 2019, Culture | NewRepublic
On my desk sit four containers of brain pills. Though they are made by four separate companies, they are similar enough in appearance and content to be almost interchangeable. The ingredients mention green tea extract and bacopa, B vitamins and black pepper extract. The names of the formulae— Alpha Brain , Gorilla Mind Smooth , Brain Force Plus , Dawn to Dusk —are displayed in clean, futuristic fonts. Three
2019-09-03 10:09 | Magazine, September 2019, Culture | NewRepublic
Author: Sun, 2019-09-01 22:03 LONDON: Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney has suggested that a virtual currency, modeled on Facebook’s Libra, could one day replace the dollar as king of the foreign exchange market.
The BoE chief aired vague proposals for a so-called “Synthetic Hegemonic Currency” at the recent Jackson Hole Symposium of central bankers.
Here is a brief assessment
2019-09-01 19:09 | News | ArabNews
Wed, 2019-08-21 01:00 JEDDAH: Fraudsters are trying to lure victims into investing in a “virtual currency” with false claims that it is linked to the Saudi riyal and will be used to finance key projects, the Saudi Ministry of Finance warned on Tuesday.
The website of a cryptocurrency company in Singapore is promoting what it calls the CryptoRiyal and SmartRiyal, using the Saudi emblem of two crossed swords and a
2019-08-20 22:08 | News | ArabNews
Terrorists have been tinkering with bitcoin as early as 2012 — but today, jihadi crowdfunding campaigns have been on the rise. Some think that since most of these campaigns haven’t raised significant funds, there isn’t much to worry about. I will explain why this is wrong. Terrorists’ early attempts at using cryptocurrencies were filled with... The post The Evolution Of Bitcoin In Terrorist Financing appeared first on bellingcat .
2019-08-09 16:08 | MENA, News, bitcoin | BellingCat
Denise Giusto Bilić, Security Researcher at ESET explains how internet-enabled Smart TVs have become a attractive target for cyberattacks and how cybercriminals can ruin more than your TV viewing experience by spying on users with the cameras and microphone or act as jumping-off points for attacks at other devices in home and corporate networks. With their high-resolution screens, cameras, microphones and innovative interfaces geared towards a better user experience, smart TVs have found their way into many homes. They have
2019-08-08 13:08 | Expert Speak, Televisions, cyberattacks | ReviewCentralMe
The Brexit Party wants us to believe that it’s a popular uprising against a closed establishment. These candidates are anything but.
“Yesterday”, the Brexit Party tweeted proudly this morning, “we announced 50 more high-calibre Prospective Parliamentary Candidates.
“These candidates will not stand for Mrs May’s treaty being repackaged,” it went on – although what a PPC not
2019-08-06 13:08 | News | NewStatesman
Android ransomware may be on the decline since 2017 – but recently, ESET researchers discovered a new ransomware family, Android/Filecoder.C. Using victims’ contact lists, it attempts to spread further via SMSes with malicious links. The new ransomware was seen distributed via porn-related topics on Reddit. The malicious profile used in the ransomware-distributing campaign was reported by ESET but is still active. For a short period of time, the campaign had also run on the “XDA developers” forum, a forum for
2019-07-31 12:07 | News, Security, Android/Filecoder.C. | ReviewCentralMe
Rain, a Bahrain-based cryptocurrency exchange has closed its $2.5 million seed round, it announced in a statement to MENAbytes. The round was co-led by BitMEX Ventures, the investment arm of the BitMEX, which is a cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform and Kuwait-based cryptocurrency fund, Blockwater. Some other regional investors including Vision Ventures, 500 Startups (MENA), and Taibah Valley also […] The post Bahrain’s Rain closes $2.5 million seed round, becomes first licensed cryptocurrency exchange in the Middle East appeared first on
2019-07-31 07:07 | Investments, News, Startups | menabytes
Author: AFP ID: Tue, 2019-07-23 05:05 SAN FRANCISCO: Fraudsters are out to cash in on interest in Facebook-backed digital currency Libra, hawking bogus buying opportunities at online venues including the social network itself. Libra is to launch next year, overseen by an association based in Europe, but as with other hot topics it has been
2019-07-23 02:07 | News | ArabNews
Typically for
Silicon Valley, Facebook’s June announcement
of plans to launch a global, digital currency—Libra—spoke of empowering
billions of people, especially those without access to banking. Also typically,
skeptics were quick
to ask
whether anyone should actually trust the behemoth with such a tool. France’s
finance minister raised concerns
about privacy, money-laundering and terrorist use, and U.S. lawmakers
called on Facebook to cease all development of Libra. At hearings last week,
Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy criticized
the centralized nature of
2019-07-22 10:07 | Facebook, Currency, Politics | NewRepublic
What if tomorrow nobody but the United States would use the US-dollar? Every country, or society would use their own currency for internal and international trade, their own economy-based, non-fiat currency. It could be traditional currencies or new government controlled crypto-currencies, but a country’s own sovereign money. No longer the US-dollar. No longer the dollar’s […]
2019-07-19 06:07 | Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China, Cryptocurrency | DissidentVoice
Author: Fri, 2019-07-19 00:45 CHANTILLY: Top finance officials from the Group of Seven rich democracies are warning that cryptocurrencies such as Facebook’s Libra should not come into use before “serious regulatory and systemic concerns” are addressed.
The chairman’s concluding summary from the G7 meeting in Chantilly, France, says the officials agreed that so-called stablecoins — cryptocurrencies pegged to real currencies — will
2019-07-18 21:07 | News | ArabNews
Author: AP ID: Thu, 2019-07-18 06:05 TEHRAN: Iranians feeling the squeeze from US sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy are increasingly turning to such digital currencies as Bitcoin to make money, prompting alarm in and out of the country. In Iran, some government officials worry that the energy-hungry process of “mining” Bitcoin is abusing
2019-07-18 07:07 | News | ArabNews
Author: Wed, 2019-07-17 23:01 LONDON: After months of relative calm in cryptocurrency markets, bitcoin exploded back into life in April with its sharpest price jump in over a year — but few people could convincingly explain why.
The 20 percent leap focused investors’ attention on one of the enduring mysteries of cryptocurrencies: What moves the price of an emerging asset in an
2019-07-17 20:07 | News | ArabNews
A selection of the best letters received from our readers this week. Email letters@newstatesman.co.uk to have your thoughts voiced in the New Statesman magazine.
Regarding plain speaking by ambassadors to Washington: when John Freeman was editor of the New Statesman in 1962 he described Richard Nixon, then bidding to become governor of California, as “a man of
2019-07-17 15:07 | News | NewStatesman
Author: Reuters ID: Wed, 2019-07-17 06:07 CHANTILLY, France: G7 finance ministers will have the growing powers of big digital firms in their sights when they meet on Wednesday outside Paris despite divisions about how best to tax them. France wants to use its presidency of the two-day meeting in the picturesque chateau town of Chantilly
2019-07-17 06:07 | News | ArabNews
Author: Kevin TRUBLET | AFP ID: Sun, 2019-07-14 02:08 LONDON: Facebook’s planned virtual unit Libra, already under heavy attack from US President Donald Trump and global regulators, faces skepticism among the wider cryptocurrency community as well. One theme — besides Brexit — dominated discussion among the movers and shakers from London’s financial technology or FinTech
2019-07-14 04:07 | News | ArabNews
Author: Reuters ID: Fri, 2019-07-12 05:52 WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday criticized Bitcoin, Facebook’s proposed Libra digital coin and other cryptocurrencies and demanded that companies seek a banking charter and make themselves subject to US and global regulations if they wanted to “become a bank.” “I am not a fan of Bitcoin and
2019-07-12 02:07 | News | ArabNews
In recent weeks, Facebook has created a new digital currency and the price of Bitcoin has fluctuated wildly. Has money itself always been an illusion?
It is difficult to know when humans first started securing or “encrypting” messages to hide them from unwanted readers; the practice must be almost as old as written language, although examples are sparse. We know, for
2019-07-10 14:07 | News | NewStatesman
Jessica Corbett, staff writer In a letter Tuesday, a coalition of 33 consumer, privacy, economic policy, and other groups called on congressional leaders and top federal regulators to impose a moratorium on Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency called Libra "until the profound questions raised by the proposal are addressed."
2019-07-02 15:07 | News | CommonDreams
After months of speculation, Facebook has finally lifted the lid on its plans for a global cryptocurrency. Facebook hopes Libra will be available to selected users as early as next year for use in transactions across the platform. As with conventional currencies, the company hopes you’ll want to use Libra to pay for online transactions, […]
2019-06-29 00:06 | Articles, bank of england, bitcoin | NovaraMedia
Payments can happen cheaply and easily without banks or credit card companies. This has now been demonstrated – not in the United States but in China. Unlike in the US, where numerous firms feast on fees from handling and processing payments, in China most money flows through mobile phones nearly for free. In 2018 these […]
2019-06-27 20:06 | Banks/Banking, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency | DissidentVoice
Author: Reuters ID: Tue, 2019-06-25 10:15 PARIS: Facebook’s planned global ‘Libra’ cryptocurrency must respect anti-money laundering regulations and it must seek banking licenses if it offers banking services, France’s central bank chief said in a magazine interview. Facebook announced plans last week to introduce a new global cryptocurrency called Libra as part of an effort
2019-06-25 10:06 | News | ArabNews
Mon, 2019-06-24 22:38 LONDON: Governments, not companies, must regulate social networks, Facebook’s head of global affairs and former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, said Monday. “It’s not for private companies, however big or small, to come up with those rules. It is for democratic politicians in the democratic world to do so,” Clegg told the BBC in an interview. Clegg, the former leader of British Liberal Democrats party, said
2019-06-24 19:06 | News | ArabNews
With wary regulators and a public reputation in tatters after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook’s crypto journey will be far from smooth.
Facebook announced the launch of its new Libra “cryptocurrency” last week to much fanfare. Since then, bitcoin, the world’s most famous digital currency, has been buoyed by the first entrance of a major tech giant into the crypto market, has
2019-06-23 23:06 | News | NewStatesman
Author: Reuters ID: Fri, 2019-06-21 07:40 LONDON: Major central banks and regulators will want oversight of Facebook’s proposed new currency and payment system, Libra, to ensure it is safe and does not allow money laundering or finance terrorism, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said. “It has to be safe, or it’s not going to
2019-06-21 07:06 | News | ArabNews
Author: Fri, 2019-06-21 05:21 LONDON: If Facebook’s new cryptocurrency should resonate anywhere it should be India, where the social media giant has more than 300 million followers. Many Indians are shut out of banking and face punitive fees for simple transactions, like transferring money to their loved ones. But in India as elsewhere, the US company’s ambitions to remake global finance
2019-06-21 02:06 | News | ArabNews
Author: AFP ID: Thu, 2019-06-20 10:19 GENEVA: Switzerland’s market watchdog confirmed Thursday that it is contact with the “initiators” of Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, as questions mount over how the money will be regulated. Switzerland has tried to establish itself as a global cryptocurrencies hub, but the entry into the market of a behemoth like Facebook
2019-06-20 10:06 | News | ArabNews
How the Winklevi made the difficult leap from being very wealthy to being obscenely wealthy.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are “mirror” twins, which means that they came not only from a single fertilised egg, but that their embryo divided unusually late; they spent well over a week as the same body. When they face each other, they see a reflection. A
2019-06-19 16:06 | News | NewStatesman
In a move that could reshape the world's financial system, Facebook has unveiled plans to launch a new global digital currency called Libra. Facebook announced its plans on Tuesday after secretly working on the cryptocurrency for more than a year. It will launch Libra next year in partnership with other large companies including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Uber. Facebook said it wants to create "a simple global currency and infrastructure that empowers billions of people." The plan has already come
2019-06-19 12:06 | News | DemocracyNow
FACEBOOK unveiled plans Tuesday for a new global cryptocurrency called Libra, pledging to deliver a stable virtual money that lives on smartphones and could bring over a billion "unbanked" people into the financial system. The post Facebook takes on the world of cryptocurrency with ‘Libra’ coin appeared first on Asian Correspondent .
2019-06-19 00:06 | Business, Insights, News | AsianCorrespondent
Facebook has finally confirmed its plans to launch a cryptocurrency called Libra. As the previous reports suggested, Libra won’t be controlled by Facebook alone. The cyptocurrency is being launched by Libra Association, a governing body (being established not-for-profit organization) that has 27 founding members to oversee Libra and its development. Facebook will be having one […] The post Facebook announces its cryptocurrency ‘Libra’, to launch next year appeared first on MENAbytes .
2019-06-18 10:06 | News, Global | menabytes
Author: AFP ID: Mon, 2019-06-17 09:46 LONDON: Facebook is set Tuesday to unveil a bid to bring cryptocurrency payments into the mainstream, reportedly with the endorsement of governments and financial giants. The world’s biggest social network is expected to outline details of a virtual currency launching next year that it hopes will avoid the rollercoaster
2019-06-17 10:06 | News | ArabNews
Sat, 2019-06-15 21:34 DUBAI: In the great debate over crypto finance, there is little middle ground. Either you are deeply suspicious of the brave new world of bitcoin and blockchain — like the eminent economist Nouriel Roubini, whose attacks on the fintech phenomena have sparked a Twitter storm of argument — or, like a growing number of crypto believers in the Middle East, you believe that the new wave is unstoppable.
2019-06-15 19:06 | News | ArabNews
Far-right European parties are embracing climate crisis denial – a move borrowed from the libertarian playbook.
Last week, Barbara Kolm, one of Europe’s most high-profile libertarians, was formally accused of illegally funneling money to some of Europe’s most high-profile right-wing populist parties. If true, the alliance is the latest episode in a history of collaboration between champions of free markets and opponents
2019-05-17 11:05 | News | NewStatesman
Author: Associated Press ID: Fri, 2019-05-03 12:14 SAN FRANCISCO: The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook plans a cryptocurrency-based payment system that it could launch for billions of users worldwide. The system would use a digital coin similar to bitcoin, but different in that Facebook would aim to keep the coin’s value stable. Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies
2019-05-03 12:05 | News | ArabNews
Author: Associated Press ID: Fri, 2019-05-03 03:28 SAN FRANCISCO: The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook plans a cryptocurrency-based payment system that it could launch for billions of users worldwide. The system would use a digital coin similar to bitcoin, but different in that Facebook would aim to keep the coin’s value stable. Bitcoin and
2019-05-03 00:05 | News | ArabNews