Riot Blockchain and other Bitcoin miners are taking action to help the state of Texas reduce the energy load on its electrical system amid Storm Landon. This and more news is in this handy daily digest so you're always up to date with the latest developments in the crypto world.
Miners
📍Riot Blockchain and other Bitcoin miners have voluntarily taken their mining rigs offline amid Storm Landon. Winter storm Landon is hitting Texas, one of the states with the highest concentration of hash rate Bitcoin mining companies in the United States are therefore disconnecting their equipment from the BTC network, in order to reduce energy consumption while the weather phenomenon passes. Riot Blockchain, one of the largest Bitcoin miners in the country, has already disconnected 99% of its equipment, revealed Trystine Payfer, director of communications at Riot Blockchain, told CNBC recently.
The mining company said it began voluntarily reducing power consumption at its crypto mining facilities to help the Texas power grid withstand the impact of Storm Landon. Other Bitcoin miners, such as MiningStore, are already taking similar measures. The crypto community is proud of the actions of crypto miners to help reduce stress on the Texas power system and ensure power for citizens.
Bitcoin and Blockchain Adoption
📍Crypto investment fund Belobaba targets NFTs and the Metaverse. Belobaba has joined the Blockchain Game Alliance as an official partner to improve and strengthen its position in the gaming world. The Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA) is an organization created to promote blockchain technology within the video game industry.
📍Republican Senator Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz recently invested in Bitcoin. In his latest financial disclosure, Texas Senator Ted Cruz revealed that he had invested between $15.000 and $50.000 in Bitcoin, taking advantage of the cryptocurrency's falling value. Over the past year, Ted Cruz has become a strong advocate of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, aligning himself with several pro-crypto American politicians such as Cynthia Lummis, Francis Suarez, Eric Adams, Jared Polis, among others.
NFT and DeFi Markets
📍The International Olympic Committee launches a Play to Earn video game to reward players with Bitcoin. Players of the new digital skiing and snowboarding mobile game, called “Olympic Games Jam: Beijing 2022”, can compete with dozens of players from different countries around the world to win rewards in Bitcoin y NFT.
“Olympic Games Jam: Beijing 2022” allows players to create their own avatar. This digital game was launched by the International Olympic Committee last Friday, the same day as the opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. It currently has more than 1.000 downloads.
Development and Technology
📍Trezor launches new version of its web wallet. Satoshi Labs, developers of the Trezor wallet, announced that Trezor Suite, which includes a new version of the desktop and browser wallet, will replace the Trezor Wallet app. Trezor Suite will go live next month, its developers said.
Rules and Regulations
📍Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is bringing DeFi into UK taxation. The UK tax authority, HMRC, has published a modification of the Internal Cryptoasset Manual to include decentralized finance (DeFi). The new document notes that decentralized lending and staking earnings could be subject to income tax, although it recognizes the complexity of the decentralized ecosystem in determining under what circumstances returns will be considered income or returns and what the nature would be in both cases.
“…(DeFi) is a constantly evolving area, so it is not possible to establish all the circumstances in which a lender/liquidity provider obtains a return from its activities and the nature of that return”, the document noted. However, the authority specified that it has established some guiding principles to determine the nature of the return within existing financial products and tools in DeFi.
📍Venezuela's National Assembly approves tax of up to 20% on cryptocurrency transactions. In Venezuela, one of the countries where the severe economic and financial crisis has driven the use of cryptocurrencies among its citizens, it has decided to levy a tax on commercial operations with crypto assets, which will vary between 2% and 20%. The government has introduced a reform to the Law on Tax on Large Financial Transactions (IGTF), to include operations with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The law reform was approved by the country's assembly last Thursday.
Transactions made in bolivars will be taxed up to 2%, while those made in its digital currency Petro will be taxed up to 8%. The 2% to 20% tax will also apply to transactions made in dollars.
Continue reading: Cardano seeks greater scalability by increasing the block size on the network
