HiTechEdge

Tag: cryptocurrency

  • Apple Hiring ‘Business Development Manager’ With Crypto Experience

    Apple Hiring ‘Business Development Manager’ With Crypto Experience

    A new job posting on Apple’s website indicates the company is looking to expand its Apple Pay services to include cryptocurrencies.

    Apple has developed a strong portfolio of payment and finance services, with its Apple Card, Wallet and Apple Pay options. According to a new job posting, for a “Business Development Manager,” Apple may be looking expand those services to include cryptocurrency.

    We are looking for a candidate who is comfortable with ambiguity, enjoys thinking about edge cases and asking “what is an alternative way of doing this”, and is a strong verbal and written communicator with a high level of integrity, energy, and sense of urgency to “make things happen”. 

    Most telling was one of the listed Key Qualifications:

    5+ years experience working in or with alternative payment providers, such as digital wallets, BNPL, Fast Payments, cryptocurrency and etc..

    As companies like PayPal and Visa increasingly support crypto, it’s not surprising Apple would be looking for a way to incorporate it in its financial apps.

  • China May Soon Ban Cryptocurrency Mining

    China May Soon Ban Cryptocurrency Mining

    China may be on the verge of completely banning cryptocurrency mining, a move that would be a serious blow to crypto.

    It’s estimated that China accounts for 70% of the world’s crypto supply, and as much as 75% of Bitcoin mining. In spite of the country’s role in crypto’s rise, the Chinese government is increasingly cracking down on operations.

    Last week, China began signaling it was cracking down on cryptocurrency, saying its volatility “seriously violate people’s asset safety.” The government now appears poised to crack down, not just on trading crypto, but on mining it as well, marking an escalation of Beijing’s anti-crypto rhetoric.

    According to the South China Morning Post, the State Council’s Financial Stability and Development Committee issued a statement saying the government plans to “crack down on bitcoin mining and trading behaviour, and resolutely prevent the transfer of individual risks to the society.”

    The statement is a shot across the bow at the entire Chinese crypto mining industry, and could have profound repercussions.

    “The wording of the statement did not leave much leeway for cryptocurrency mining,” said Li Yi, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences chief research fellow, according to South China Morning Post.

    Needless to say, Bitcoin’s price was down on the news.

    Author holds a very, very (almost infinitesimally) small amount of Bitcoin that in no way influenced this article.

  • Bitcoin Plummets on China and Elon Musk Concerns

    Bitcoin Plummets on China and Elon Musk Concerns

    Bitcoin plummeted to almost $30,000 amid another crackdown by China and Elon Musk saying Tesla would no longer accept it as payment.

    Bitcoin hit its high in April, coming in at more than $63,000. Tesla announced it would allow individuals to use the crypto to purchase cars, and multiple companies started embracing it. Last week, however, Musk announced Tesla would no longer accept the currency for purchase, due in large part to the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining.

    China has now signaled another major crackdown on the cryptocurrency, according to International Business Times. 

    Three state-backed industry associations said “cryptocurrency prices have skyrocketed and plummeted, and cryptocurrency trading speculation activities have rebounded.”

    The crypto’s volatility “seriously violate people’s asset safety and disrupt normal economic and financial order”, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement posted to social media.

    The end result has been been a major drop in Bitcoin’s price, although it appears to be rebounding at the time of writing.

    Author holds a very, very (almost infinitesimally) small amount of Bitcoin that in no way influenced this article.

  • Coinbase Will Support Dogecoin Trading

    Coinbase Will Support Dogecoin Trading

    Coinbase has reversed course, announcing it will finally start supporting Dogecoin trading.

    What started as a meme has taken the crypto world by storm, with Dogecoin catapulting into the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market value. Despite Dogecoin’s growth, one of the leading crypto trading platforms has been noticeably absent from the action.

    Coinbase is changing its tune, with CEO Brian Armstrong telling investors the platform will support Dogecoin within six to eight weeks, according to Gizmodo. Armstrong also highlighted his vision of where he sees things going.

    I think it’s going to be something, kind of, like apps in the App Store or on the iPhone where there’s eventually millions of these assets created over time and so we’re putting a lot of work and thought into how do we accelerate our pace of asset addition, and one of those is Doge, as you mentioned, which has been getting a lot of attention recently.

    Coinbase’s change of plans is likely to boost Dogecoin even more, making it easier than ever for people to trade the crypto.

    *Author holds a very small amount of Dogecoin that in no way influenced this article.

  • Bitcoin’s Tesla Misfortune May Be Dogecoin’s Gain

    Bitcoin’s Tesla Misfortune May Be Dogecoin’s Gain

    On the heels of Tesla no longer accepting Bitcoin as payment, Elon Musk has said he is working with Dogecoin’s developers.

    Elon Musk surprised the crypto market Wednesday when he announced Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin as payment, just weeks after the company had announced it would. Musk cited Bitcoin mining’s carbon footprint as the reason, something the cryptocurrency is increasingly being criticized for.

    Despite Musk’s announcement, he clarified he is still a strong supporter of cryptocurrencies in general.

    In addition, Musk says he is working with Dogecoin’s developers to help it be more efficient, possibly avoiding the environmental impact Bitcoin has become known for.

    Needless to say, Dogecoin rebounded on Musk’s tweet, and continues its transition from meme to legitimate crypto.

    *Author holds a very small amount of Dogecoin that in no way influenced this article.

  • MoneyGram and Coinme Partner to Improve Bitcoin Access

    MoneyGram and Coinme Partner to Improve Bitcoin Access

    MoneyGram, one of the leading money transfer services, is partnering with Coinme to improve people’s access to Bitcoin.

    While cryptocurrencies are rising in popularity, being able to access holdings and make use of them continues to pose a challenge for some. MoneyGram hopes to change that, in partnership with Coinme, making it easier for people to access their Bitcoin.

    “This innovative partnership opens our business to an entirely new customer segment as we are the first to pioneer a crypto-to-cash model by building a bridge with Coinme to connect bitcoin to local fiat currency,” said Alex Holmes, MoneyGram Chairman and CEO. “Our unique, global network is an incredibly valuable asset, and we’re excited to open our platform to Coinme as we increasingly look to capture new growth by monetizing our network to new use-cases.”

    The companies especially see an opportunity to help people who are just dipping their feet in the crypto market, making it easy to buy Bitcoin with cash and get cash for their Bitcoin holdings.

    “MoneyGram has spent more than 80 years building one of the world’s largest P2P payment networks,” said Neil Bergquist, Coinme CEO. “By integrating its global infrastructure with our licensed crypto exchange technology, we can enable the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies across its system using cash. This is a major milestone for the bitcoin and cryptocurrency communities, and for the millions of people who will benefit from a trusted, easy and affordable onramp to digital currency.”

  • Tesla’s Bitcoin Reversal Wiped $365 Billion From Crypto Market

    Tesla’s Bitcoin Reversal Wiped $365 Billion From Crypto Market

    Tesla’s decision to stop accepting Bitcoin for payment led to some $365 billion of value being wiped from the crypto market.

    Tesla made the decision in March to accept Bitcoin as payment for vehicle purchases. The move was not surprising, given CEO Elon Musk’s love of crypto. Yesterday, however, the company reversed its plans, with Musk citing the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining.

    The decision already appears to have had a major impact on the crypto market, according to CNBC, with some $365.85 billion wiped from the market after Tesla’s announcement.

    In particular, Bitcoin, ether and XRP were all significantly lower than their pre-announcement levels.

  • Tesla Suspends Purchases Using Bitcoin

    Tesla Suspends Purchases Using Bitcoin

    Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin as payment for Teslas, reversing a policy only weeks after it went into effect.

    Elon Musk is a big proponent of cryptocurrency, so it’s no surprise that both of his companies, Tesla and SpaceX, have taken an unconventional approach as well. SpaceX recently announced it had accepted Dogecoin as payment for carrying a satellite on its upcoming mission to the Moon and Tesla was accepting Bitcoin as payment for vehicle purchases.

    Unfortunately, an often overlooked byproduct of cryptocurrency mining is the impact it has on the environment. In fact, as far back as 2018, it was estimated that every $1 of Bitcoin that was generated was responsible for $49 of health and climate damage in the US.

    Musk cited the environmental impact as the primary reason for Tesla’s change of direction. He made the statement via Twitter.

    Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin. We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel.

    Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at great cost to the environment.

    Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin and we intend to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy. We are also looking at other cryptocurrencies that use <1% of Bitcoin’s energy/transaction.

    *Author holds a very small amount of Dogecoin that in no way influenced this article.

  • SpaceX Accepts Dogecoin for Upcoming Mission

    SpaceX Accepts Dogecoin for Upcoming Mission

    In its continuing journey from meme to legitimate cryptocurrency, dogecoin will be used to pay for an upcoming SpaceX mission.

    Although it was originally started as a joke, dogecoin is gaining acceptance as a legitimate cryptocurrency. In early May it surged to a $70 billion market cap, making it the fourth most valuable crypto. Meanwhile, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban announced the NBA team would accept it as payment.

    Elon Musk has arguably been the biggest support of dogecoin, and his SpaceX company has now accepted it as payment for an upcoming mission to the Moon, called “DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon.” Canadian company Geometric Energy Corporation has paid SpaceX to transport a 40kg satellite. The transaction was made exclusively with dogecoin.

    “Having officially transacted with DOGE for a deal of this magnitude, Geometric Energy Corporation and SpaceX have solidified DOGE as a unit of account for lunar business in the space sector,” said Geometric Energy’s Chief Executive Officer Samuel Reid.

    “This mission will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and set the foundation for interplanetary commerce,” said SpaceX Vice President of Commercial Sales Tom Ochinero. “We’re excited to launch DOGE-1 to the Moon!”

    *Author holds a very small amount of Dogecoin that in no way influenced this article.