QuadrigaCX fails, the troubled Canadian cryptocurrency exchange, has failed to locate millions in customers’ missing cryptocurrency assets since the company’s owner died suddenly in December of 2018. On Monday, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Judge Michael Wood ruled that Quadriga Fintech Solutions Corp, the holding company, can begin bankruptcy proceedings.
Approximately 115,000 customers are owed $195 million USD in cash and cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, following the death of Quadriga’s founder Gerald Cotten. The exchange says Cotton did not reveal to anyone in his organization the private keys that access the cryptocurrencies on his private wallet. To those who did not know the details of the founders death, he died in India following complications from Crohn’s disease.
Quadriga’s court-appointed auditor Ernst & Young issued an April 1 report, asserting that creditors may benefit from the bankruptcy proceedings with the potential sale of the company’s assets, including but not limited to Quadriga’s operating platform.
In March, Michael Wood granted the Canadian crypto exchange a 45-day extension to find more than $100 million in lost Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV and Bitcoin Gold.
The court also approved a freeze on accounts held by Cotten’s widow, Jennifer Robertson, and the Cotten estate, including Robertson’s trusts and businesses.
Robertson says that her husband’s death was “sudden and unexpected”, refuting conspiracy theories that Cotten is still alive and that his death was a ruse to escape financial troubles.
QuadrigaCX was believed to be Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, but following the death of Cotten, Ernst & Young says the company’s cold storage wallets are empty.
The next hearing is scheduled for April 18 to address issues involving credit protection and third-party payments processors.
This just goes to show that leaving your private keys on an exchange is very risky business. Do yourself a favor and store them on a trusted hardware wallet that is under YOUR control. Click here to see the latest offers directly from Ledger for an entry level hardware wallet.
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How Do We Gain Mass Adoption For Cryptocurrency? Let’s Start With Merchants, First.
How Do We Gain Mass Adoption For Cryptocurrency? Let’s Start With Merchants, First.
Cryptocurrencies have a high barrier to entry.
The underlying technology is complicated, and some claim Bitcoin was initially designed to be inefficient for the sake of providing a trust anchor – creating challenges for smart contracts platforms looking to expand the capacity of blockchains to the world of applications.
As a result, Dapp user numbers continue to remain endemically low. Despite trending narratives like decentralized finance garnering more attention than blockchain-based games and other apps, the road to mainstream adoption remains an arduous task.
Cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin, remain an invention of money more than anything else.
Mainstream app users are not familiar with the advantages that ‘unstoppable applications’ that run on Ethereum offer, nor do they care.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not explicitly payment technologies, but fostering more widespread adoption of them by merchants and e-commerce stores might serve to supplement their growth well.
E-commerce is enormous and only snowballing. Retail e-commerce sales are projected to reach nearly $5 trillion globally by 2021, and the advent of better technology, more mobile phone commerce, and dominance of international providers like Amazon will only accelerate that trend.
Fiat payment rails are more than sufficient for the current iteration of e-commerce as payment processors like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal are integrated with virtually every major e-commerce platform.
If the opportunity for a turning point in the adoption of cryptocurrencies presents itself, it will be because of some monetary advantages they have over conventional payment methods.
For example, according to Shopify, PayPal-enabled merchants accept 79.1 percent of their payments via PayPal.
For domestic payments, PayPal charges a 2.9 percent fee based on the transaction amount plus a fixed fee based on the currency used. For international business, the fee raises to 4.4 percent of the transaction. Fees are not surprising, and consumers and merchants have become accustomed to them with nearly every purchase.
Kroger – the popular supermarket chain – recently announced that they would no longer be using Visa in select stores due to transaction fees. Moreover, Bloomberg reported that retailers pay approximately $90 billion in payment processing fees per year.
Some crypto fans say that cryptocurrencies can provide potential advantages in both fees and censorship, even though they also come with limitations.
First, they have minimal fees as no third-party payment processor is taking a percentage – fees only consist of on-chain transaction fees which are usually a few cents.
Second, since Bitcoin is decentralized and there is no third-party controlling the legacy cryptocurrency, there is no censorship. As the saying goes ‘not your keys, not your Bitcoin.’ If you own your private keys, you don’t have to worry about your transaction not going through, being delayed, or reversed.
So, what’s holding back Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from being widely accepted among merchants?
Well, we can basically break that down into three primary categories: not enough awareness/users, high barrier to entry, and inconvenience in converting between fiat and crypto.
Reducing the barrier to entry by building better payment solutions with crypto will eventually lead to more awareness and users. Web extensions for using Bitcoin’s LN like Lightning Joule and Casa are already available for easy and instant payments over the web, and BTCPay Server is compatible with leading e-commerce platforms as a plugin – such as WooCommerce, Magneto, and Drupal.
“Accepting cryptocurrency payments leaves more money in the pockets of artists and fans, who’ve been unjustly extorted for too long”, says EventChain CEO, Ashton Addison. “When other retailers realize they don’t need to pay outrageous processing fees. by tapping into a global decentralized payment network, they will adopt crypto payments as well.”
That leaves the biggest problem: the inconvenience of converting between fiat and crypto.
Most merchants do not wish to ‘hodl’ long-term digital assets, and would instead prefer quickly turning received crypto payments back to fiat. Merchants typically have to go through cryptocurrency exchanges, which charge fees themselves, do not have good security track records, and are another third-party in an ecosystem predicated on reducing the roles of third-parties.
Self-hosted payment processor BTCPay Server has a fiat-conversion functionality on their roadmap, but for now, the problem is a marked impediment to further merchant adoption of cryptocurrencies. However, Bitpay has been pioneering an easy way for merchants to easily gain access to accept cryptocurrency payments and instantly convert to fiat for only a 1% fee.
Cryptocurrencies cover a lucrative opportunity of potential technical solutions in everything from advanced privacy to decentralized finance. However, at the industry’s core, Bitcoin remains the flagship cryptocurrency that is empirically an invention of money.
Payments may not be its most attractive property, but more merchant adoption in an increasingly connected globe of e-commerce is sure to be a critical gauge of furthering its mainstream adoption.
One of the most notable realities is that regulation is needed before any sides of the marketplace can switch their payment system completely.
Please sound off below! What do you think the best way to gain merchant adoption’? Do you think we need to focus on something else first? Let me know in the comments.
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Crypto VPN | 2 Best VPN’s To Use When Sending, Receiving, Or Exchanging Bitcoin
In this article, I am going to share with you why it’s best to use a VPN with all of your bitcoin related dealings with a crypto vpn. I recently had an experience where I was sending and receiving some bitcoin with a friend of mine and I was in a rush and I forgot to enable my VPN to process the transaction.
At first, I didn’t think too much of it, but then I received an email indicating that it detected me sending it from a different IP address. This was a blunt reminder that even when you aren’t conscious of it, all of your dealings on the internet are being watched and recorded by your ISP, and in some cases, even the wallet or exchange you are sending or withdrawing your coins from.
This is why using a VPN is not only important for your everyday internet browsing, but particularly when you are dealing with sending, receiving, or exchanging bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Before I get into the meat of the article, I just wanted to remind my readers that I recently wrote an e-book that details the 5 best ways to secure your cryptocurrency. This is an in-depth guide that goes into the best tips and tricks for managing your cryptocurrency and specifically the best practices on how to store and diversify your holdings. Click HERE to check it out, it’s free!
So let’s get right into what a VPN is, and why you need one! Let’s go!
What Is A VPN?
A VPN (or Virtual Private Network) is designed to obfuscate or block your current IP address, which includes your ISP and your current location from being tracked online. Why would I need this? Well, as you probably already know, the internet is an amazing place, but it surely isn’t private. Your ISP is watching your web pages, knows your location, and can even report what you are watching and doing to the authorities, if they so choose.
This is NOT ok, as your privacy is an unalienable right. There is no reason they need to know this information and should not be strong-armed into handing it over to the authorities for any reason. This is where a VPN comes in. VPN’s are not only used for every day internet browsing, but can also used for torrenting, streaming services (like Netflix and Hulu) and also when making any financial transactions, namely crypto transactions.
With a VPN, you can cloak your location, the website’s you access, any downloads or uploads you have engaged in, and much much more. This is ideal if you want privacy for whatever you decide to do online, and the best part is, most VPN providers don’t even log what you do, so if they are contacted by authorities, they can’t even hand over anything anyways.
Why Do I Need A VPN For Bitcoin Transactions?
As mentioned above, without a VPN, all of your interactions or actions you take online are recorded with your ISP and they log all your websites, and what you do on those websites. This means, that if they wanted to, they can see your passwords, watch your private information, and use it against you. This doesn’t mean they will, but take into consideration if they get hacked. There is nothing blocking a nefarious character from taking your personal information and using it against you.
When it comes to bitcoin and crypto transactions, privacy is the MOST important thing. Period.
Do I Need A VPN For Trading On Bitcoin Exchanges?
Yes. Most exchanges (especially U.S. exchanges like Coinbase, and Bittrex) are in bed with the government and the IRS, so they are tracking what you do, where you are, and can provide a lot of identifying information. If you consent to this when using an exchange, that’s on you, however, when you use a VPN, you can take your physical location layer out of the equation. Additionally, you may want to use services like Bitmex for leverage trading or an exchange like Bitfinex that does not allow U.S. IP addresses. This would be a work around for you to gain access to products and services that are not available in your jurisdiction.
Can I Pay For A VPN With Bitcoin Or Other Cryptocurrencies?
Yes. I recommend using either NordVPN or ExpressVPN, as I use both personally. They are not based in the U.S., so they are not subject to any of the regulations or over-reaching by our government, so that is a huge relief and provides peace of mind. You can click the link below to get 75% off Nord VPN and ExpressVPN below, and I believe they offer a free-trial as well and a 30-day money back guarantee!
**CLICK HERE TO BUY NORDVPN AT 75% OFF**
**CLICK HERE TO BUY EXPRESSVPN AT 75% OFF**
Additionally, you can pay in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies when you sign up for either of these. To me, that’s a HUGE plus because it demonstrates the companies’ values and I always like to support organizations that promote using bitcoin and other crypto in every day commerce. I have a review video I did below that goes over these in a little more detail, but both are top-notch and trusted and used my millions of people for various uses. This is designed for people that value their privacy and anonymity. (Satoshi would be proud!)
Is There A Free VPN?
There is ONE that I have used in the past called Tunnel Bear, but it only allows up to 500MB per month for free. If you exceed that amount (which isn’t a lot), you will be required to upgrade and pay either a monthly or yearly fee. I used this as a starter VPN, and is the best free VPN I’ve personally used. You can use the link below to get signed up for free, and if you decide to upgrade, it will provide you 58% discount on your service.
**CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD TUNNELBEAR FOR FREE**
Crypto VPN: Conclusion
Overall, you absolutely need a VPN for all of your crypto-related dealings and the options for NordVPN and ExpressVPN also have free mobile apps, so you can make sure it’s enabled on your phone if you prefer to send/receive on a mobile bitcoin wallet as well, so there is no excuse to not use one.
Trust me when I say, no matter how much of a hurry I am in, I will never forget to enable it again, and it’s just as simple as a click away, so it’s very easy to use. On a side note and on the topic of mobile apps, If you are looking for new an interesting ways to earn free bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies), you can download the LIFE INFO APP.
This app pays you in bitcoin rewards on purchases you are making anyways, and also gives you an instant discount on everything you buy. There is no reason NOT to do this, as there is no catch, and you save money. If you’re buying these items anyway, you may as well save money and earn bitcoin for free. I will leave an in-depth review of this HERE for you to check it out and will answer more of your questions, but I strongly recommend you check it out.
What do you think? Do you use a VPN for sending and receiving bitcoin? Let me know in the comments below!
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
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Why Credit Card Companies Should Allow Customers To Make Payments With Cryptocurrency
In this article, I will dive into why credit card companies should allow customers to make payments with cryptocurrency! As someone who gets paid primarily in cryptocurrency, I have looked around for a solution or a service that allows me to payoff or pay down any debts (mainly credit cards) directly with cryptocurrency. Unfortunately, after months or research, there does not appear to be a way to do this directly in the United States. Interestingly enough in my journey for looking for a solution, I was able to come across an article that an Australian start up company called Living Room Of Satoshi was doing this (successfully, I might add) in providing a way for users to pay for every day bills using bitcoin. This includes: Car Registration, Electricity Bills, Cell Phone Bills, Bank Fees, and even (yes, you guessed it) Credit Cards. It’s been reported that the number one bill paid by consumers is credit card debt, according to CreditCards.com.
THE 3 CREDIT CARD BEHEMOTHS
However, there is no direct solution in today’s world to make payments directly with Visa, Mastercard, or American Express with our crypto assets to help pay down our debt. Any one of these companies would have a MASSIVE edge over any other bank or credit card company that implements this feature first, because there are millions of active cryptocurrency users who would use this feature in a heartbeat. We need to take a page out of Australia’s book and create solutions that will allow us to either have these corporate giants begin accepting this directly, or create a bridge to do so. There are a few work-around options you can use to leverage your crypto holdings and use the collateral to get a crypto-backed loan with very low and reasonable interest rates to help you pay down debt. The beauty in doing this, is you don’t have to spend your crypto to use this option, you just send it to a protected account with them until your loan is paid back. It is also backed by the FDIC (if that gives you any confidence). For some people, that last tidbit gives them peace of mind knowing that this company is not going to disappear and simply lose all your crypto funds if they go under. I have done business with them recently in earning interest for some of my holdings and I can attest to their integrity and have had nothing but a positive experience using Blockfi.
CRYPTO-BACKED LOAN SOLUTION
Let’s get back to the 3 credit giants for a minute. The average interest rate the average U.S. consumer is paying with “good” credit is still over 20%. That is highway robbery, but what other options do consumers have when the inflation and cost of living is outpacing the paying wage in America? It almost seems like a perfectly formulated trap by these big banks to rob the american people of their freedom and to impose financial slavery for the rest of their working lives. It’s madness, however, it’s even harder for people who get paid in cryptocurrency to pay these bills, because we have to use a 3rd party service (like Coinbase) in order to pay a fee to convert our crypto into fiat, and then pay additional fees to pay our credit card on top of our interest rates. This seems like a good plan when looking from the vantage point of these credit card companies, because that means we will be paying interest even longer. Wrong! The default rates on credit cards are on the rise, because it’s becoming too cumbersome and people are drowning in debt. A growing number of folks figure it’s worth it to take a hit to their credit score or even delay paying this by having it go to collections, just so they can keep up on their required living expenses like food and shelter.
There is another option that was found for use in Canada to pay your credit card bills, but still, you have to pay extra fees to do this. For some, it may be worth it and it can help you reduce the amount of interest to pay to the banks. I still think the credit card companies need to accept this directly as there is a need in the marketplace and it will ultimately help them receive more revenue in the long term as bitcoin is a deflationary currency. The banks have never needed to make any innovation into their services or processes because they have a monopoly, and therefore have no need to compete. This is just another reason why bitcoin is going to be the currency of the future and will soon become adopted mainstream as it’s very own existence and foundation was built on innovation and fungibility.
CONCLUSION
The bottomline: It’s in the bank’s best interest and the consumer’s best interest to have this ability in place. People will have more options to pay down any debt, especially if they do not have access to a bank account or have otherwise been cutoff from legacy financial services. Consumers will also be more likely to pay their balances down faster, because bitcoin year over year has only increased in value since it’s inception.
Please sound off below! What do you think? Would you start paying your credit cards with crypto if given the option? Please me know in the comments.
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
