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Indian crypto investors may not be charged this tax

India may not be charging a 2% equalization levy on crypto investors. Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman was responding to a query by the deputy chief minister of the eastern state of Bihar about data concerning crypto exchanges and their investors in the country. Sitharaman noted that the current administration did not collect any such information. Earlier reports stated that the tax department was analyzing whether the equalization tax will be applicable on the purchase of digital assets from overseas exchanges. This was because the country has expanded the

How to Restore Your Faith in Government

Images courtesy of MIT Video Productions Here’s the announcement of the new blockchain education program with the Massachusetts state government. It’s a big deal. We have a vision for where this kind of partnership can go, when governments begin educating themselves on the power of bitcoin and blockchain. That vision can be summed up in two words: Kendall Square. Kendall Square, then. The Kendall Square neighborhood lies next to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, stretching along the Charles River that separates Cambridge from Boston. (Here’s a map.) Although you’d think

Token Launches From Ethereum to Telegram: Where Do We Go From Here?

In February, United States Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce was asked to give her opinion on the SEC’s case against Telegram. She declined to comment at the time, as SEC officials do not speak publicly about ongoing enforcement actions. In late July, however, with the Telegram case settled, Commissioner Peirce gave a speech titled “Not Braking and Breaking” that pointedly questioned the approach taken by the SEC in the Telegram case. Concluding her remarks, Commissioner Peirce asked:“Who did we protect by bringing this action? The initial purchasers, who

Silk Road Founder Shares Health Update from Jail 

Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the once-popular Dark Web marketplace Silk Road, has shared his health update with members of the tech and crypto communities in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.Ulbricht was identified as the marketplace’s creator in 2013, and he’s been in jail for about seven years. However, with the coronavirus pandemic causing special attention to prisons, he’s come out to put everyone at ease on his health. Prisons: Petri Dishes for VirusesIn a tweet posted earlier this week, he explained that he’s completely fine and doesn’t know anyone in

Notable Dark Web Marketplace Bans All COVID-19 Vaccine Sale 

In a rare move that has perhaps never been seen before, a marketplace on the dark web has banned the sale of a self-proclaimed vaccine for the coronavirus pandemic. According to a tweet from noted tech author Eileen Ormsby, Monopoly Market, a popular platform on the dark web, has banned the sale of purported vaccines for the coronavirus for Bitcoin.Darknet market Monopoly has taken a more responsible approach to touting #COVID19 "cures" on their #darkweb site pic.twitter.com/uWFLx75deQ— Eileen Ormsby (@EileenOrmsby) April 1, 2020Honor Among Criminals As the tweet showed, the market’s administrator pointed

Pandemic Is Changing Bitcoin Usage in ‘Unexpected Ways,’ Says Chainalysis

Leading blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis has found that the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic contraction is affecting Bitcoin (BTC) consumer habits in surprising ways.In a new report published on March 30, Chainalysis details how Bitcoin spending trends in three areas — merchant services, gambling and darknet marketplaces — have changed, or even reversed. Weakening correlation could be a boon for Bitcoin merchant services, says reportChainalysis reported that one such change in trend shows resilience among Bitcoin merchant services in the current economic crisis. For example, the firm’s data for Bitcoin spending using