by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Ideas, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Startup Basics
“India can be the next Bitcoin/Crypto currency mining hub of the world”
By Maeeshat.in,
Mumbai: Pune based Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) and Chicago based Indian American Dr. Tausif Malik promoted MAHAbfic.com (Maharashtra – Blockchain, Fintech, ICO, Crypto currency) join hands to provide self employment opportunities through Bitcoin Mining Training Program (BMTP). This is an idea program to empower the rural population especially the youth from the farming community to earn income from their hometown or villages, this would create new economic development in these areas.
Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) was established in 2005 by Shri Milind Kamble to bring together all Dalit entrepreneurs under one umbrella, to offer a one-stop Resource Center for existing and aspiring Dalit entrepreneurs & promote entrepreneurship among Dalits as a solution to their socio-economic problems.
MAHAbfic.com (Maharashtra – Blockchain, Fintech, ICO, Crypto currency) 3 day Conference, Networking & Hackathon to be held from August 3rd, 4th and 5th August to promote the State of Maharashtra as an Ideal destination due to the following 1.) Great international connectivity, 2.) Proximity of airport from the main city, 3.) Real estate opportunities, 4.) Availability of human resources & talent standard of living, 5.) Quality of life, 6.) Mumbai financial capital & entertainment capital, 7.) Pune – Oxford of the eEast & Detroit of the East 8.) Pune – India 1st tech capital of India ”.
Shri Milind Kamble, Founder & Chairman, DICCI said that “The new Blockchain technology is the future of technology development and taking world by storm and Bitcoin/Crypto currency mining is a must for Blockchain platform to operate. Hence, we felt the need to offer Bitcoin/Crypto currency mining training program (BMTP) to our youth on a nationwide scale for self employment.”
Kamble, further said that “ Partnering with Dr Tausif Malik and his new initiative MAHAbfic.com as it offers an opportunity for DICCI members to benefit from the new emerging Blockchain, Fintech, ICO, Crypto currency industry.”
Dr Tausif Malik said that “ Its an honor to partner with DICCI to jointly offer Bitcoin/Crypto currency mining training program to our youth on a nationwide scale for self employment.”
According to recent research reports by leading media such as Quartz and Bloomberg – Bitcoin mining is dominated by China but India offers great opportunity due the demographic makeup.
The Bitcoin Mining business can be established from your comfort of your home and this uniqueness can help the youth to establish their business in the villages & cities they don’t need to migrate to metropolitan cities. The income generated can create sustainable economic development in their villages & cities, it’s social impact would be that it will keep families together.
A random research was conducted amongst the youth regarding the program, many from the rural area said that it would increase their incomes, supplement their their farming families incomes and reduce loan burdens. They said reducing loan burden would reduce suicides amongst farmers.
The nationwide Bitcoin/Crypto currency mining training program (BMTP) will span over 30 cities (Pune, Mumbai, Junnar, Aurangabad, Latur, Nasik, Nagpur, Osmanabad, Hyderabad, Vijaywada, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pondicherry, Cochin, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Jamshedpur, Bodh Gaya, Patna, Lucknow, Delhi, Jaipur, Varanasi, Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, Ranchi, Guwahati, Jammu & Chandigarh) and empower the youth for self employment. The program contents will educate the students about Blockchain technology, Bitcoin/Crypto currency mining, entrepreneurship, startups and business establishment. The first training program will be held in the month of May in Pune.
“India can be the next Bitcoin/Crypto currency mining hub of the world” concludes Dr Tausif Malik.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate finance, Corporate Governance, Economy, Finance, Markets, News
By Aparajita Gupta,
New Delhi : They went through a shocking decline recently. Bitcoin, the leader in cryptocurrencies, fell from its high of under $20,000 in mid-December to around $6,000 in value in less than two months.
It has recovered somewhat since then, but the world of cryptocurrencies has been shaken like never before. Yet its major stakeholders are still convinced that the virtual currencies, which are not linked to any authority or central bank, are here to stay.
The price graph of Bitcoins last year went up considerably, leading people to believe that it would be a one-sided market phenomenon, says Ajeet Khurana, Head of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Committee of the Internet and Mobile Association of India. “Now that there has been a price correction, it definitely shows maturing of the ecosystem,” he told IANS in an interview.
Maturing or shaken for good? Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his 2018 Budget speech earlier this month had said that cryptocurrencies were no legal tender and the government discouraged its use. He also said it would not allow its use for illegal activities.
“The government has said it is not a legal tender and it cannot be used for any digital payment. We will always agree with government directives. We are hopeful that with increase in awareness, misunderstanding among people will fade,” Khurana said.
Cryptocurrencies are “mined” through blockchain technology and massive computing power, which keeps a record of all transactions within its structure, available publicly. It is neither controlled, nor endorsed, by central bankers — except for Japan, where it has seen some legal acceptance.
The market cap of all such currencies has fallen from more than $800 billion at its height to less than half at present. In India, an estimated five million people have invested in such currencies which are stored digitally.
Industry stakeholders are now keeping their fingers crossed as they are hopeful that the Indian government would chalk out some sort of a framework for the cryptocurrency market by March this year. A committee set up by the government to look into issues relating to cryptocurrencies is expected to submit its report next month.
According to Khurana, many investors do not know enough about the currencies and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) panel is making efforts to increase awareness. “A significant number of participants do not have enough knowledge about cryptocurrencies. We keep sending cautionary notes in articles and video format in the public domain on a regular basis,” he added.
On December 29 last year, the Indian government had sounded an alarm cautioning investors in cryptocurrencies, comparing them to “Ponzi schemes”. The Finance Ministry statement had said that as virtual currencies were not backed by assets, their prices were entirely a matter of speculation.
“Consumers need to be alert and extremely cautious as to avoid getting trapped in such Ponzi schemes… The price of Bitcoin and other VCs (virtual curencies), therefore, is entirely a matter of mere speculation resulting in spurt and volatility in their prices. There is a real and heightened risk of investment bubble of the type seen in Ponzi schemes,” the statement had said.
Cryptocurrency stakeholders are hopeful, though, that the government’s guidelines by March could infuse a new lease of life. “It has survived several jolts along its way. Despite the jolts, it continued to exist. Around 2014-15, the non-tech participants with significant risk appetite started showing interest in it,” Khurana said.
For now, it’s Caveat Emptor — buyer beware. But as in many get-rich-quick schemes, the early entrants have made huge gains, luring several others to put in their money into this new virtual world of overwhelming promise.
(Aparajita Gupta can be contacted at aparajita.g@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Economy, Markets, News, World
Tokyo : The price of bitcoin dropped 20 per cent in the Japanese markets after authorities on Friday inspected the headquarters of the cryptocurrency exchange operator Coincheck.
They were probing the financial situation in the wake of cyber attacks that took place a week ago, Efe news reported.
The bitcoin traded on Friday below $8,011 after 10.30 a.m. at Coincheck and BitFlyer, two of Japan’s main markets, its lowest price since November 2017.
This represents a drop of more than 10 per cent during the hour after inspection news of Coincheck surfaced, and an accumulated intra-day drop of 20 per cent.
Officials from the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) entered the headquarters of Coincheck in Shibuya to verify whether the company holds sufficient funds to compensate its clients, public broadcaster NHK said.
The authorities wanted to clarify whether Coincheck had the assets of the clients and its own separated; whether it has the necessary liquidity to reimburse its users after more than 58 billion yen disappeared in the hacking last week.
The FSA officials would also inspect whether the company was correcting the security holes that opened the way for the cyber attack; whether it has provided enough information to the 260,000 customers affected.
The Japanese operator has promised that it will reimburse the losses to those affected by what is considered the biggest hack of a digital currency to date. However, it has not specified when it would do so.
The customers affected have begun to putting pressure on the company and were preparing legal actions, they announced on Twitter.
The January 26 cyber attack on Coincheck is reminiscent of the Mt. Gox scandal in 2014.
Mt. Gox was once the largest bitcoin exchange globally but went bankrupt following the disappearance of 850,000 bitcoin units, whose estimated value at that time was about 48 billion yen.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Economy, Emerging Businesses, Finance, Investing, Marketing Basics, Markets, Medium Enterprise, Networking, News, Online Marketing, SMEs, Social Media, Technology
New Delhi : At a time when bitcoins are in focus for all the wrong reasons, cryptocurrency dealer Pluto Exchange on Thursday announced the launch of India’s first mobile application for transacting in the virtual currency.
At a press conference here, Pluto Exchange Founder and Chief Executive Bharat Verma said that his company is all set to launch the country’s first app-based wallet that enables bitcoin transactions using a mobile number.
“The Pluto Exchange mobile app offers a solution to the coordination problem between payment processors, financial gateways and banks,” Verma said.
“All other apps already in the market do transactions using bitcoin addresses, which are long and prone to error while copying. Pluto Exchange will change this scenario by enabling transactions using mobile numbers only, which are just 10 digits,” he said.
Until now using a four-digit personal identification number (PIN), users could buy, sell, store and spend bitcoins via a mobile number, Verma added.
Elaborating, he said the app would permit a range of transactions, including payments, remittances, business-to-business commerce, supply chain finance, asset management and trading.
He also said that the Reserve Bank of India was concerned about the use of cash for dealing in virtual currencies, whose values have turned volatile of late.
“The RBI considers bitcoins as decentralised trading that is completely unregulated..so their status is not clear,” he said.
In India, there are at least 15 bitcoin exchange forums, with the majority being set up over the past two years.
Bitcoin values in New York, for instance, have soared nearly 1,600 per cent in 2016 and currently range upwards of $15,000.
In India, bitcoins have been trading at more than Rs 10 lakh each, while people are investing amounts ranging from Rs 3,000 to several lakhs to buy these.
According to investigation agencies here, with the demand and prices of cryptocurrencies on the rise, cyber criminals have found innovative ways to dupe investors.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Zaid Khan
Bitcoin is a virtual currency, or cryptocurrency, that’s controlled by a decentralized network of users and isn’t directly subject to the whims of central banking authorities or national governments. Although there are hundreds of cryptocurrencies in active use today, Bitcoin is by far the most popular and widely used for speculation. But here is an enormous dark side of cryptocurrency.
An interesting question that arises here for Muslims is: Whether Bitcoin is money as per Islam. Let’s examine it from the Islamic prospect.
Bitcoin and Islam
Islam supports intrinsic commodities that can be used as currency or medium of exchange. Paper or electronic money can also be used but they should be backed by an intrinsic commodity or least a legitimate promise. So should Bitcoin be counted as money then? The answer is obviously No, because Bitcoin is free-floating currency as its value is totally determined by market. In other words, only people who use bitcoin think it is money and use it as money but actually it’s nothing but a virtual software.
“Historically, Islam has only recognized commodities of intrinsic value as money including things like gold (Dinar), silver (Dirham), rice, dates, wheat, barley and salt. In a strict interpretation of what qualifies as money, Bitcoin absolutely misses the parameter.”
Bitcoin can be used to facilitate illicit activity, such as the purchase of illegal drugs on “dark web” marketplaces and it encourages unlawful activities.
For all its promise, Bitcoin remains a niche currency that’s subject to wild value fluctuations. Despite the wild-eyed pronouncements of hardcore proponents, it’s certainly not a legitimate investment or trading vehicle, as is the case with stable national currencies, such as the U.S. dollar and Indian rupee.
How Does Bitcoin Work?
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, meaning it’s supported by a source code that uses highly complex algorithms to prevent unauthorized duplication or creation of Bitcoin units. The code’s underlying principles, known as cryptography, are based on advanced mathematical and computer engineering principles. It’s virtually impossible to break Bitcoin’s source code and manipulate the currency’s supply.
Although it was preceded by other virtual currencies, Bitcoin is known as the first modern cryptocurrency. That’s because Bitcoin is the first to blend certain key features shared by most subsequently created cryptocurrencies.
User Anonymity
Intense privacy protections are baked into Bitcoin’s source code. The system is designed to publicly record Bitcoin transactions and other relevant data without revealing the identity of the individuals or groups involved. Instead, Bitcoin users are identified by public keys, or numerical codes that identify them to other users, and sometimes pseudonymous handles or usernames.
Every Bitcoin user has at least one private key (basically, a password), which is a whole number between 1 and 78 digits in length. Individual users can have multiple anonymous handles, each with its own private key. Private keys confirm their owners’ identities and allow them to spend or receive Bitcoin. Without them, users can’t complete transactions – meaning they can’t access their holdings until they recover the corresponding key. When a key is lost for good, the corresponding holdings move into a sort of permanent limbo and can’t be recovered.
Bitcoin Exchanges
Bitcoin exchanges allow users to exchange Bitcoin units for fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar and euro, at variable exchange rates.
Bitcoin exchanges ensure that the Bitcoin market remains liquid, setting their value relative to traditional currencies – and allowing holders to profit from speculation on fluctuations in that value. That said, Bitcoin users must understand that Bitcoin’s value is subject to wild swings – weekly moves of 50% in either direction have occurred before. Such swings are unheard of among stable fiat currencies because the encrypted currency has no value; it’s completely determined by market sentiment and anyone owns it on their own risk unlike other currency like US dollar and Indian rupee which are backed by central bank like RBI.
RBI had cautioned on its website in February 2017.
“Any user, holder, investor or trader dealing with virtual currencies like bitcoin is doing it at their own risk.”
The RBI has been repeatedly flagging concerns about Bitcoins, stating that they pose potential financial, legal, customer protection and security-related risks. And according to Harvard economics professor Kenneth Rogoff, “Collapse of Bitcoin Inevitable”
Therefore, before you rush out and cash in your fiat money for Bitcoin, remember that Bitcoin has a long way to go before it’s a legitimate currency on par with the U.S. dollar, euro, rupee or pound. And despite the seductiveness of cryptocurrency as a means of exchange, there’s no guarantee that Bitcoin – or any other decentralized, virtual currency not controlled by a national bank – will ever be a viable alternative to fiat currencies.
For the time being, treat Bitcoin as you would any speculative asset: Move cautiously, or not at all, and never invest money that you can’t afford to lose.
