IMF Says Only 23% of Central Banks Can Legally Issue Digital Currencies
Jan17

IMF Says Only 23% of Central Banks Can Legally Issue Digital Currencies

Researchers at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have examined the central bank laws of 174 IMF members to answer the question of whether a digital currency is really money. They found that of all the central banks studied, only about 23%, or 40 central banks, “are legally allowed to issue digital currencies.” IMF Explores if Digital Currency Is Money The IMF published a blog post on Thursday exploring whether digital money is...

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A Russian Operation Is Mining Bitcoin in the Arctic Circle for Cheap Electricity
Jan17

A Russian Operation Is Mining Bitcoin in the Arctic Circle for Cheap Electricity

A Russian company is leveraging the Siberian city of Norilsk located above the Arctic Circle in order to mine bitcoins. Bitcluster, the owner of the crypto mining operation, plans to expand the firm’s activities after launching the facility in late 2020. According to the company’s website, the datacenter is getting electricity rates as low as $0.03 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Mining Precious Crypto Assets in the Arctic Circle This week...

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Mt Gox Creditors Asked to Approve a Settlement Proposal Drafted by Coinlab
Jan17

Mt Gox Creditors Asked to Approve a Settlement Proposal Drafted by Coinlab

On January 15, the public was made aware of a deal between the firm Coinlab Inc., the Mt Gox bankruptcy trustee, Nobuaki Kobayashi, alongside MGIFLP, a subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group. According to the proposal, Mt Gox creditors will be able to claim as much as 90% of the bitcoin held by Kobayashi and the Tokyo court. Despite the recent reports, creditors still have to approve the proposal made by the company. Coinlab Offers...

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Supreme Court Denies Petition from YouTube Rippers ‘FLVTO’ and ‘2Conv’
Jan17

Supreme Court Denies Petition from YouTube Rippers ‘FLVTO’ and ‘2Conv’

In 2018, a group of prominent record labels sued two very popular YouTube rippers, FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com. The labels, including Universal, Warner Bros, and Sony, accused the sites of copyright infringement and hoped to quickly shut them down. That didn’t go as expected. The owner of the sites, a Russian man named Tofig Kurbanov, lawyered up and fought back. Before the copyright issues were even discussed in court, the complaint was...

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Yandex & Mail.ru Reported For Abusing Dominant Positions To Facilitate Piracy
Jan17

Yandex & Mail.ru Reported For Abusing Dominant Positions To Facilitate Piracy

The appearance of pirate sites and content in search results and similar online services is an ongoing issue for copyright holders. In an ideal world, all allegedly-infringing content would be removed, they argue. However, given the nature of copyright infringement and licensing of official material, it is not always a straightforward matter to determine who has the necessary rights to display or distribute content. As a result, many...

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