Binance Futures has launched daily ROI and overall USDT team profit trading tournaments starting from 2020/04/10 0:00:00 AM (UTC) until 2020/04/25 0:00:00(UTC). Binance will be giving away a total prize pool of up to 1,080,000 USD in BNB tokens across all competitions.
Now you can sign up for a team leader or joining a team to participate in this activity from 2020/03/25 0:00:00 AM (UTC) - 2020/04/10 0:00:00 (UTC). Learn more: https://www.binance.com/en/futures/activity/tournament



Risk Warning: Futures trading is a highly risky endeavor, with the potential for both great profits and significant losses. Please be aware that in the event of extreme price movement, there is a chance that all margin balance in your futures wallet may be liquidated.

Note: Please be aware of phishing sites and always make sure you are visiting our official website when entering sensitive data: https://www.binance.com.

Written by Robert Kiyosaki, on of my favorites writers and entrepreneurs.

Great read: https://www.richdad.com/trust-and-cryptocurrency

Creating the world's best ecosystem for cryptographic and distributed ledger-based businesses in Switzerland and beyond

Save the date on June 11-12 for the Crypto Valley Conference 2020, its in-depth crypto and blockchain talks with leading speakers and its legendary networking party!

Get your ticket now on: https://lnkd.in/dcbTSDa

Partnership opportunities: https://lnkd.in/dHGa4nd

Call for papers: https://lnkd.in/dTGwVzJ

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Crypto Valley Association President Daniel Haudenschild said that central bank digital currencies are “the next logical stage.”

Haudenschild explained to Cointelegraph that he believes CBDCs are the next stage “in evolution for decentralized finance.” He also claimed that there are currently 34 CBDC projects. According to him, such digital currencies represent a new era of governments and traditional finance that recognize the potential of digital assets.

Full Story: https://cointelegraph.com/news/switzerlands-crypto-valley-association-head-says-cbdc-is-a-good-idea

Global economy has been shaken by what seems to be a pandemic of Coronavirus.
Is Coronavirus really the cause of this? It's hard to know, but at this moment we know for sure, people are in panic.

As of today, March 9th, 2020:
Stocks Index Dow Jones is down by $2000 (-8%)
Cryptocurrency Market cap is down by $18B (-7,8%)

The percentages are pretty similar which indicates that there might be a correlation between the two.

It's obvious there is panic, not just on streets but on the market as well.

Is this a sign to be worried or a sign to buy?

There is a famous quote from Baron Rothschild
"Buy when there's blood in the streets, even if the blood is yours"

The Attorney General’s office has received a criminal complaint from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) against Crypto AG, the firm at the centre of a spying scandal that broke last month, the SonntagsZeitung newspaper reports.

SECO, the authority responsible among other things for the licensing of war materiel exports, believes it was misled by the Zug-based company when it filed export applications for its manipulated encryption devices.

For decades Crypto allegedly sold these secretly manipulated devices to more than 100 countries for spying purposes. Until 2018 the company was owned by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Germany Federal Intelligence Service (BND), both of whom had the ability to decrypt the devices.

SECO says it would not have approved the exports if it had been aware of the large-scale fraud. The department filed the complaint against unknown persons on Tuesday, since it is as yet unclear who at Crypto AG knew about the manipulations, the SonntagsZeitung reveals. At its peak the company had around 400 employees, only a few of whom would have been aware of the covert spying.

The newspaper says it is likely the complaint was filed under Article 14 of the Goods Control Act, which states that anyone who provides incorrect or incomplete information in a license application is liable to up to ten years in prison and a maximum fine of CHF5 million ($5.18 million), depending on the severity of the crime.

The Swiss Attorney General’s Office will now decide whether the alleged offences are subject to federal jurisdiction and there are sufficient grounds to pursue criminal charges.

The Federal Council, the executive body, launched an investigation into the Crypto affair on February 11, appointing former federal judge Niklaus Oberholzer to lead the probe. This investigation is now being overseen by the parliamentary control delegation, which is pursuing its own inquiry.

Source: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/crypto-leaks_swiss-authorities-file-criminal-complaint-against-encryption-firm/45588760

COVID-19 - more commonly known as the coronavirus - has unleashed massive shock waves among the worldwide health, science, government and business communities as societies are trying to contain the virus. At the moment, the scale and velocity at which the coronavirus is spreading are proving difficult to manage because the regional clustering of the outbreak has moved beyond the initial Hubei province of China to South Korea, Iran, Europe and parts of North America.


Economic impact
-----------------------
The coronavirus is not the first serious epidemic that has claimed hundreds of lives and caused enormous economic losses to the global economy. In 2002, when the SARS epidemic began in China, officials and the general population did not immediately sound the alarm and were reluctant to share information with the international health community. Consequently, there were around 8,000 cases of the virus reported worldwide, and more than 750 people died as a result.

The Chinese government claimed that it had taken all the necessary measures to neutralize and contain the virus but did not immediately announce official statistics on those infected and deceased. The impact was widespread as the country's economy lost 2–3% of its annual real GDP growth, total sales of goods and services fell by 5%, and industrial production fell by 6% - these are just some of the negative effects of the epidemic.

This new coronavirus is no different - only its scale and economic consequences are more severe than the 2002 SARS outbreak. Cases of infections have been detected in more than 20 countries, and many of them, such as the United States, Singapore, Japan, and Thailand have cut off air travel with China in an attempt to contain the spread.

The economic consequences are still difficult to calculate, but some facts can already be noted: Air France–KLM has disclosed that it had already suffered $200 million in losses due to the virus and that the airline industry had lost about $1 billion in total. Kia Motors has closed all its manufacturing plants in South Korea, Apple has also joined in by suspending stores and factories in China, and New York has announced that it's spending about $1 million a day fighting the disease. Global commodity markets also shuddered, with the price of oil falling to a record low of $54 per barrel over fears of declining resource consumption in Asian markets.

...

https://bit.ly/2TFFbMg

Setting up Crypto-Potential's Infrastructure to scale.

Over the last few months, our dev. team has been building something to better the way people can connect and network in the blockchain world.

Below you can find the complete list of changes, upgrades, and features made for greater scalability and improved user experience.

- "Stick it !" feature added. Stick a post that you like to your profile
- redesigned profile page, now more user-friendly
- create post page has been redesigned
- picture upload for projects and providers
- keywords removed from user profile and registration (predefined keywords can now be selected)
- avatars removed, added default images for new users and users without a profile image
- added country flags on profile pictures
- profile description characters increased to 1000
- followers on follower list page now show flag, description, and keywords
- rewards for following a user remains 1 QCP, the provider remains 2 QCP and project changed to 2 QCP (down from 3)
- added "relevant 3 posts" to the "latest updates panel" to every page besides home and login page
- show "recent 3 posts" only on the wall page
- "become provider" and "become miner" removed. "Create a new company" introduced
- users can add which year they joined the blockchain space, the profile now shows "in blockchain since..."
- "miners" changed to "projects"


Want to find connections and networks in the Blockchain? Build your blockchain identity: https://crypto-potential.com/registration

Proud of a recent accomplishment? Make a post and share: https://crypto-potential.com/

The Swiss parliament has insisted that it will take control of and merge the ongoing investigations into the Crypto spying affair that has rocked the Alpine nation.

On Wednesday, members of the parliamentary control delegation decided to immediately take over the direction of investigation launched by the Federal Council (executive branch) on February 11.

The government had commissioned former federal judge Niklaus Oberholzer to lead the federal probe, which is expected to deliver a comprehensive report on the spying affair by June.

On February 13, the parliamentary control delegation also launched its own parallel investigation into the matter to try to find out how much the authorities knew. This investigation has already carried out four sessions with interviews; others are planned.

“In order to establish the facts quickly and efficiently, the commission has therefore decided to take over the investigation entrusted to former Federal Judge Niklaus Oberholzer,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.

When the affair came to light there were also calls for a parliamentary commission of inquiry – which has only ever taken place four times in Swiss history, most recently in 1996.

The Swiss authorities opened investigations into the decades-old spying affair involving Swiss firm Crypto following reports by Swiss public broadcaster SRF, German broadcaster ZDF and The Washington Post.

Their reports were based on a 280-page secret service dossier by the CIA and the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) that showed that for decades, there had been espionage via manipulated encryption devices from the Swiss company Crypto AG. More than 100 countries bought the encryption devices from the Zug-based company, which did business under the guise of Swiss neutrality, but in reality, belonged to the CIA and the BND.

The spying allegedly continued until at least 2018, and over 100 countries worldwide were targeted.

Crypto reportedly had two types of encryption products: one fully secured, the other non-secured, that is, modified to allow the CIA and BND to break codes. The operation was codenamed Thesaurus and then renamed Rubicon in 1980s.

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/ongoing-investigation_swiss-parliament-assumes-control-of-crypto-probe/45583458

Sacramento Kings launched a blockchain-based app that allows fans to bid on game-worn gear. The NBA is at the forefront of crypto adoption.

The Sacramento Kings launched a blockchain-powered app that allows fans to bid on game-worn gear.
NBA is at the forefront of crypto adoption in professional sports.
The Kings must start winning big games to help raise awareness of the potential of blockchain technology.
Many people think that cryptocurrencies only serve as an alternative payment option. While there are coins that fit this bill, there are other cryptocurrencies that can perform a host of other functions.

I laud the efforts of one NBA team to help raise awareness on the potential of blockchain technology. The Sacramento Kings, in partnership with Consensys and Treum, launched a blockchain-powered platform that enables fans to purchase authentic in-game gear.

Kings Fans Can Now Bid On Game-Worn Sports Gear
During home games, Kings fans can participate in a live auction of game-worn gear through the award-winning + Golden 1 Center app. On Tuesday, the game-worn jersey of Kings guard Buddy Hield was auctioned off.
By using the blockchain-powered platform, all auctioned items will be authenticated. According to a Reddit user, a digital token will be minted once an item is sold. The buyer will receive the token in an Ethereum wallet. The token will serve as proof of the item’s authenticity.

Another advantage of using blockchain technology is that buyers can establish a trail of the item’s purchase history. Should the auction winner decide to sell the game-worn gear, the person can show the token to prove ownership and transfer it to the buyer. The process is designed to protect fans from counterfeit memorabilia.

NBA Is Spearheading Crypto Adoption In Professional Sports
The NBA can be considered an early adopter of crypto. In 2014, the Sacramento Kings became the first NBA franchise to accept bitcoin as payment for store products and season tickets. Four years later, the same team began mining Ethereum.

Recently, Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie tokenized his contract to get a lump sum payment and reward token holders. Now, the Kings are once again ahead of the curve in combating fake NBA merchandise.

I think I have called the end of the Crypto Winter pretty well in previous articles and you would have to be a firm crypto cynic to think the current rally is just a blip before inevitable extinction.

It was interesting to hear Warren Buffett claim that if bitcoin has value so does his jacket button and that he might as well sell it for $1,000 or, after a bit of market promotion, $2,000. Warren hit the whole idea bullseye. His button is worth $1,000 and what is more I will buy it from him for the upper ask of $2,000.

So here is an open letter to the greatest investor of modern times:

Dear Warren,

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Please consider my offer of $1,000 for one of your jacket buttons and if you feel you want $2,000 as per your statement I am happy to pay that also.

I can pay by cash, check, bank transfer, PayPal or Apple pay or if you should like, a crypto coin of your choice.

Clem Chambers

I have to say, Warren Buffett has indirectly made me a lot of money over the years because at heart I am a value investor and my stock portfolio would poleax a herd of stampeding wildebeest into coma, it’s so old school dull. I have for the most part wobbled along in his and Benjamin Graham’s investment footsteps.

Yet there does come a time when extraordinary returns can be made, not because a stock is cheap but because it will grow outstandingly because the company is catching a huge new wave, like historically electronics, computing, the internet, etc. Sadly this investment tack is the song of every stock promoter ever because it appeals to novice investors’ greed. It’s a pitch that has driven the stock market since its beginnings in the 1600s and it most often leads speculators to the poor house. Such an investment is very rare, hard to find and extremely tricky to hold on to.

...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/investor/2019/05/07/warren-buffetts-button/#3bf465c35e08

The man tasked with investigating the Crypto spying affair for the Swiss government doesn’t have direct access to all the relevant documents.

Niklaus Oberholzer, formerly a federal judge, must ask the federal authorities whenever he wants to access sensitive files.

The Federal Council (executive branch), which appointed Oberholzer, wants the facts to be investigated with the “greatest possible transparency”. But as newspaper NZZ am Sonntag reported on Sunday, there are still legal restrictions.

“The provisions of the federal law on archiving must be respected and the release of the files must be examined on a case-by-case basis,” states a confidential Federal Council document obtained by the newspaper. The policy applies especially to documents “which are subject to a retention period due to particularly sensitive personal data”.

Like any federal archive user, Oberholzer must submit requests to see files, the Swiss Federal Archives told the newspaper. Permission is granted not by archives staff, but rather by the units where the documents originated. Secret service files, for example, would have to be cleared by the secret service.

‘Disappointed and poorly informed’
In another Crypto-related story in the Sonntagszeitung newspaper, the daughter of a former Crypto employee describes how her father was accused of spying and sent to an Iranian military prison during a business trip in 1992.

Hans Bühler was an engineer and salesman for the encryption device firm. After his arrest, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs was not particularly helpful, as Chris Blumer told the newspaper.

“We were disappointed and felt poorly informed. They kept advising us to get our own lawyer to help set my father free,” Blumer said, adding that her father had not known that the devices were being tampered with to commit espionage. When Iran demanded and received ransom money, her family initially thought that Crypto had paid.

“Today we know that it was the German secret service. Germany didn’t want any fuss,” she said in the interview. Her father finally came home nearly a year later, gaunt and traumatized. Crypto terminated his contract, and he was the first person to publicly suggest that Crypto devices might have been manipulated.

Crypto later paid him CHF250,000 ($207,000 in 1996) in exchange for silence, Blumer told the newspaper.

Source: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/federal-archives_crypto-investigator-still-needs-permission-to-view-files/45575418

Blockhcain space is expanding rapidly and there is an increased need for blockchain related jobs.
If you're in the blockchain space and looking for a job or looking to hire, this is an interesting article on Blockchain jobs.

Here are the top 12 most sought out blockchain job positions:
https://u.today/guides/blockchain/top-12-highest-paying-blockchain-jobs-in-2019

I should be interesting to see how they will try and get their hand on this.

Swiss parliamentarian Georg Stucky (left), who was a board member of Crypto AG, talks to cabinet minister Kaspar Villiger in parliament in Bern in March 1997

Was former Swiss cabinet minister Kaspar Villiger aware that the Swiss firm Crypto AG was controlled by the CIA? Swiss media say newly released CIA documents support this claim, but the ex-defence minister vehemently denies it.

The CIA records are “not correct”, the former defence minister (1989-1995) told Swiss public television, SRF, in a statement published on Wednesday.

SRF external linkand the Tages-Anzeiger newspaperexternal link say CIA documents that they have seen indicate that Villiger was well aware of the US influence over the encryption company Crypto AG.

“Villiger knew who owned the company and felt he might be morally bound to disclose it… Evidently, Villiger had kept his mouth shut,” said the CIA document reportedly seen by both media outlets.

But the former cabinet minister, who was also finance minister (1996-2003), denies this account: "Whoever and whatever may be behind the CIA notes on me, they are not correct in this form, because I would have immediately been alarmed by detailed information about the situation.”

Fallout from the Crypto scandal, which hit the news headlines this week, continues to spread. On Tuesday, the Swiss government confirmed that it had opened an investigation into allegations that the Zug-based communications encryption firm was secretly owned and controlled by the CIA and West German intelligence services for decades.

The services jointly bought into the business in 1971, hiding behind the facade of a Liechtenstein-registered foundation, according to 280 pages of internal documents on the agencies intelligence operation that were reported on by the Washington Post, the German public broadcaster ZDF, and SRF this week.

Over the next decades, the intelligence services listened in on and read hundreds of thousands of messages between governments, embassies and military commands worldwide. The spying allegedly continued until at least 2018, and over 100 countries worldwide were targeted.

Within the Zug-based firm, it is unclear who knew what and when. SRF reported on Wednesday that the CIA documents mention the name of former Zug parliamentarian Georg Stucky, who was a Crypto AG board member from 1992 to 2016. According to the agencys document, Stucky was informed about the espionage operation by the Crypto CEO.

However, Stucky, aged 89, says: “I have no recollection of such a thing."

The Crypto leaks scandal has triggered mixed reactions from Swiss politicians. However, most seem to agree that Switzerland needs to get to the bottom of the matter, and quickly. While politicians uniformly welcomed the commitment to a full investigation by the Swiss government, some are calling for a parliamentary commission of inquiry (PUK) if government involvement were proven.

Source: https://bit.ly/2SPp