What are HTML5 and CSS3?

What are HTML5 and CSS3?

by Gary Stevens, contributor, Namecheap Blog

What are HTML5 and CSS3?

 

Cascading Style Sheets — or CSS —

This is the language web developers and designers use to stylize and format documents that are created in HTML. CSS is what you’d use if you wanted to organize the layout and improve the look and feel of a web page. 

This article will help you learn what HTML5 and CSS3 are and learn about CSS3’s most essential modules and features. We’ll also cover the use and need of CSS3, who is best suited to learning and using CSS3, and how it can accelerate your career growth.

Hedgehog lifting up a website to show CSS code underneath

 

What Exactly are CSS3 and HTML5?

HTML and CSS are the core language components that are used for the construction of web pages. HTML describes the structure of the pages, primarily in regards to tables, text, headings, and images or graphics. It’s the standard programming language for the overall appearance of web pages. 

CSS, on the other hand, is the language used for describing the presentation of each page, and primarily in regards to the layout, fonts, and colors.   

 

HTML5

HTML5 is a revision of the HTML standard. It’s a massive improvement over HTML4 because HTML4 did not allow web developers to add features to their sites that were not HTML-supported. To do so required the use of proprietary technologies and the installation of browser plugins. 

Subsequently, if web users did not have a device that supported the use of those proprietary technologies or plugins either, then they could not access the content. An example is how Safari on mobile Apple devices does not support the use of Adobe Flash.

The main purpose behind HTML5 was to remove the need for proprietary technologies and plugins. You can create offline applications, and include multimedia animations, audio, and video into your web pages without needing to download extra plugins to include said applications or multimedia. 

 

CSS3

Web designers and developers use CSS3 and HTML to build and modify content on a web page. CSS lets you choose from different typographies, images, colors, tables, and much more to stylize a web page in a way that’s intuitive for users and aesthetically pleasing. 

Without CSS, we wouldn’t have any way to position different elements on a web page — CSS lets you use values like ‘fixed’ and ‘absolute’ to position a web page’s visual components.

CSS3 is simply the updated version of an earlier version of CSS (CSS2). It has many important improvements and features that help improve your web presence and are now being utilized in modern browsers, including:

  • Allowing third-party videos to be viewed without the installation of third-party plugins
  • Making it easier to install graphics on a web page 
  • Allowing the presentation of content in multiple columns 
  • Enabling a precise positioning of all navigable elements in a web page 
  • Adjusting the white space of a document 

Hedgehog displaying mobile-friendly website

 

Why is CSS Important for Web Design and Development?

CSS3 makes it viable to create web pages that are interactive and highly responsive. CSS3 is often lauded for the many options it provides web designers who need to make their online pages enjoyable to use. After all, if a customer is checking out products and services that a web page is advertising, the presentation of those products and services should be visually appealing — that’s where CSS comes in.

Another advantage to using CSS3 on top of HTML is that it lets web designers create web content without a lot of code. A great example of CSS’s low-code benefits comes from the important modules that CSS3 delivers, like box models, backgrounds and borders, and different layouts for columns. 

CSS3 allows designers to add text effects, modify a web page’s layout, or stylize numbers, headers, and footers. Things such as drop shadows, gradients, and rounded corners are practically essential to making any web page appear halfway decent.  Once upon a time, these things would have required a web developer to code them from scratch. These days, designers and developers can use CSS3 to consistently create elements for web pages that are precisely positioned while saving time in the process.

You can’t afford to pass on the enhancements in design that CSS3 provides, especially considering that most of your website’s visitors have short attention spans subject to unending cycles of dopamine.

Designers and developers can use CSS3 to consistently create elements for web pages that are precisely positioned while saving time in the process. It’s also a great time to adopt CSS3 into your web development process if you’re getting ready to launch and host a website. Imagine, for example, that you’re setting up a secure cloud hosting solution for your site — you need a way to expedite the rate at which you bring your web pages to life rather than get bogged down by web design. CSS3 is perfect for new websites that need text effects, ways to modify web page layout, and methods that can add numbers, headers, and footers.

It used to be the case that web developers and designers had to turn to complex methods that involved plenty of HTML coding just to create things like drop shadows or rounded corners — no longer is this the case! CSS3 affords us a nearly endless number of ways to include these designs directly and ultimately make your web pages look cleaner and, well, simply better.

 

Who Should Be Learning CSS3?

Before you consider learning CSS3, it’s a good idea first to have a solid grasp of HTML5. That’s because HTML is the underlying code that creates a web page’s structure and content, whereas CSS is essential to organizing and stylizing that structure. 

So, if you learn HTML fundamentals, you’ll be able to understand how websites are created. Once you understand how HTML works, CSS lets you add many layers of dynamic functionality to the pages you create. Plus, once you learn CSS3 and understand how it interacts with HTML, you’ll then be able to use JavaScript to add even more dynamic functionality to your website. 

If you’re interested in learning CSS3, take comfort in the fact that it’s not difficult to master. Anyone craving a greater level of control over how their web pages look should take the time to learn CSS3 and HTML. If you master these two languages, there won’t be anything stopping you from building modern and classy websites.

Hedgehog working on CSS on computer

 

How CSS3 Can Accelerate Your Career

No matter how far along you are in your web development career, it’s a good idea to learn CSS3 to accelerate your growth. Web development is a field that’s hotter than ever and is a profession that’s slated to keep growing well after 2025. 

A little-known fact about web development is that CSS, HTML, and JavaScript have been part of the profession for several decades. These three languages form the foundation of web development, and to this day, they form the basis on which new technologies emerge and prosper. If you’ve mastered CSS, you can leverage your skills to pursue web development in other areas, such as mobile app development. 

If you love creating web pages that are responsive and exciting to use, you can apply your knowledge of CSS to learn the Bootstrap CSS framework. You can take many paths once you become proficient in CSS3 to keep accelerating your web development career and earn more than you ever thought possible.

Good places to learn about HTML and CSS online include the following resources:

 

Become Proficient With CSS3

If you’re a web designer or developer, you must become as proficient with CSS3 as possible. CSS3 is one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal when creating web pages, and since its introduction, CSS3 has granted greater control over how you can present web page content. It doesn’t matter which path you take next to keep advancing your web developer capabilities — you’ll always need mastery over technologies like CSS that form the foundation for web development.

 


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BITCOIN MARKET SHOCK INCOMING

BITCOIN MARKET SHOCK INCOMING!!!!! ðŸ’¥ðŸ’¥

August 16, 2022 CryptoExpert Bitcoin

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BITCOIN MARKET Boom shakalaka, as consumer confidence, falls to all time lows. It appears, like things, are getting better for the global markets, particularly for risk on assets like bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Today'S video we're gonna be taking a look at bitcoin.

bitcoin

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Finding a support on the pi cycle. Bottom support and some very interesting charts saying that there could be a huge shift to the upside. You definitely wan na stay tuned, [, Music, ]. What'S up everyone randall here from crypto love, today's video we're taking a look at bitcoin, finding support on the pi cycle.

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Bottom support band and what could be in the future for bitcoin all coins crypto currencies, particularly with the shifting global narrative. Maybe the whole recession, was a little bit overblown before we get into it guys make sure to like subscribe click.

The notification bell push the like button: let's get to a thousand likes now, it seems like we have firmly found footing in just regular fear, no longer an extreme fear that we are in for the last few months overall today, the market down about three percent bitcoin At 24, 000 ethereum at 1877, bnb at 317, cardano, 55 cents, xrp, 37 cents, solana, 43 dollars and dogecoin 8 cents.

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Now, if we take a look here recently, consumer confidence index just fell below the 2020 crash, even below the 2008 crisis and even below the high inflation periods of these 70s and 80s. Pretty much people don't have confidence in stocks, but here's the great thing as with most contrary indicators when sentiment, gets extremely pessimistic.

We become open to a possible reversal as expectations improve from very low levels. As a matter of fact, if we take a look everybody's like ah, the recession is going to be two years uh the recession.

But if we actually take a look at facts, we can see it keeps getting better for the markets this month. The global supply chain pressures are starting to alleviate with a sharp drop in the index. We can see this drop right off the cliff right here.

Guess what, as things come back to normal, it doesn't appear like we are headed towards recession territory. As a matter of fact, we can see right here. Initial signs of risk taking are seen with money flowing into risk on assets.

You can see this giant pump right here coming above the line right here. The last time this happened was in april 2020 before a 70 bull run on the spx, and you remember how big the bull run was for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

At that point, it went up a lot now bitcoin at this point today, dropping down a little bit from the past few days. Finding support on this blue line, the pi cycle bottom support band within this larger bullish trend in these white lines.

Right here, if we were to break through this band, first support we would find was right around 22 800 dollars, which is a 200 weekly moving average. The lower end of the po of the bullish trend is roughly around 22 000.

However, on the upside, we could go all the way up to around 27 000 before we see the top side of that bullish trend. Now, if we take a look at bitcoin on a monthly time scale, it's making a huge shift to the upside.

We can see bitcoin here kind of having this sine wave or cosine wave depending upon where you started. But if we take a look right now, we have bottom formation in line now. If we take a look at the indicators here, we have the fib mas closed.

The arun oscillator, which generally has picked out the bottoms, with very good clarity right now, picking out a bottom with a very good clarity. A lot of people are wondering, is bitcoin ever going to come up yeah, it just needs to get through the bottom.

That'S all also with this vi indicator. We have bottom formations when it crosses right here and we're just about closing across which generally signals the end of the bottom, the beginning of the uptrend.

Now, if we take a look at the capitulation confluence model from the real plan c, this is three models: combined, realized losses, network, cost basis, change and sopr. We can see that every time we had it down in this negative area, that was the bottom down in the negative area, the bottom down the negative area, the bottom down the negative area, the bottom.

So guess what you know what happens after the bottom? We start going back upwards and if we take a look here, this hasn't occurred yet, but very very close. The bitcoin three-day rsi breakout when we take a look at the rsi on three-day time scale.

Rsi is a very, very good predictor. Once we break out of an rsi downtrend, huge bull runs ensued. It happened previously down here and look at that plus 280 percent happen down here. Guess what 570 percent it's about to happen once again, if we break out there particularly find a support above there, we could have a huge massive bull run ensuing because as of right now, bitcoin is sitting above the rainbow trend for the fourth time, the trend line Is above the price that was the starting point of the bull market as we see right here, we have broken above this rainbow trend.

Now, if we take a look back in 2018, look at this once we broke above the trend, look at what happened at bitcoin price, but that's not the only time that it happened because, as we broke above that trend, look at this in 2015, massive bull run In 2012, once we broke above massive bull run, so this is very, very good news that the markets are turning for bitcoin and for cryptocurrencies.

If we also take a look at this one right here with the blog macd support, we can see we have another giant bull cycle coming with a crossing of the macd on this support line down here each time indicating a massive bottom before the price went up Significantly to what levels you might ask well how about these levels? If we take a look here at bitcoin and tricks? Well, the tricks to the bottom indicated a bottom, and then the bull run came afterwards.

So this is another great bottom indicator. We'Ll take a look. We'Re down at the bottom right now potentially could be headed to 200 000 plus per bitcoin. So that's all for today's episode. Things are looking good.

Despite not having confidence, we could have things bounce back faster than anyone is expecting, especially since we're headed towards more people. Investing in risk on assets all that money is going to flow back into bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, sending the prices up a lot higher than anyone expects.

Thank you for watching i'll catch. You guys later have a good one love you

Where to Buy Avalanche AVAX Crypto Token (& How To): Guide 2022

Source Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTh2Aa_9x6Q

Tim Moseley

A Beginners Quick Start Guide To The Customer Journey

If you are new to business and online marketing, welcome! I know from experience that it can feel both exciting, yet overwhelming to know where to start. This article shows you how to get off the mark with the customer journey to your first few clients. It will address three core reasons why businesses fail as it relates to the customer journey. The three areas are, no product to market match, no compelling offer, and lack of funding. It will also cover some free and low cost assistive tools for online deployment.

Business Failure: No Market to Product Match

Before looking at all the bells and whistles that might comprise your marketing resources and essential toolkit, it's important to take inventory of what you are looking to bring to the table through your gifts and talents by way of a product or service. Having determined that, who is your target avatar and how does your product or service fit with the market? 

Research

Since a no product to market match is one of the cited reasons a business fails in the first few years, it is important to avoid the temptation to second guess the market. Let the market give you the feedback.

Step 1 – Collate

Compile research on your topic area from both a market data and educational perspective. Look at opposing viewpoints too. A simple free tool to start is to use your google browser to type in a buyer keyword to see what people are predisposed to buying in your category. Artificial Intelligence has also developed free tools such as SIRI and Google Voice. Google Keep and Evernote are valuable tools for capturing information.

You could also use social media sites such as facebook, linked in and google ads, or you could use special interest forums. Alternatively you can use sites like Fiverr or Upwork as a low cost way to get your research off the mark.

Step 2 – Engage

It's important to speak to your target market, in order to further test how your product or service will meet their needs. This will help you develop and refine your offer as you customize for an optimal fit. You can use typeform or google forms as a free tool to compile a brief survey. You could also print your form off and do this informally in your community or at your local business event. If you want to gather survey data on a more global basis, you might want to consider survey monkey as a more specific alternative to social media ads. This is a paid service.

Bear in mind that any data and research will form part of your marketing collateral later. Here is a free guide on how to create a lean canvas, which is a streamlined one page diagrammatic layout for your business model with research tips, by Ash Maurya. Keep it simple.

The Customer Journey

The whole process of sales and profits is not simply about how good your product is but also about the prospect you foresee becoming your customer. So it pays to understand the journey of sales from their perspective, not just yours.

Source Image: Customer Journey

For example there are various models which give out a structural formula from your perspective, and the most common one I see is the AIDA formula, which stands for Awareness or Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. That is client acquisition from your perspective, so you may wish to consider a more expansive process that covers the relationship from initial awareness to what it would be like to have a long term customer who is happy to espouse your services to others.

It is worth taking the time to profile your client as that will give you a depth of understanding which will enable effective communication as you create touch points. Psychographics is the term often used to describe this activity, where you examine attitudes, buying behaviours, desires etc.

Touchpoints

Touch points are the various ways in which you will communicate and educate your prospect throughout the customer journey. This may include email, direct messaging, business events and phone conversations. They will take on board the demographic profile of your prospective customer too. Demographics are to do with location, job, income for example.

If your solution is solving a problem a potential client does not even know they have, education is going to be a key part of your communication process. Bear this in mind as you move forward. Touchpoints should be a secondary consideration to building on the foundation of understanding your customer, as Mckinsey & Company conclude.

“We found that a company’s performance on journeys is 35 percent more predictive of customer satisfaction and 32 percent more predictive of customer churn than performance on individual touchpoints. Since a customer journey often touches different parts of the organization, companies need to rewire themselves to create teams that are responsible for the end-to-end customer journey across functions.” 
McKinsey & Company

You can create a visual template that maps out the customer journey using free tools such as mural. Or you could use microsoft dynamics. Here is an example of a simple design overview.

Source Image: Customer Journey Template

Education

This is an important factor and needs to be done in a way that rather than simply persuade, will help your prospect make an informed decision. This means including the benefits but also the downsides, or who this is not for. This approach helps to build trust, which is at an all time low in general. So be willing to take the time to build trust. An automated way to educate your prospects in a drip feed manner is by the use of an autoresponder. This way you can pre-sequence and deliver content at a reasonable pace.

Autoresponders do not come cheap and increase as your audience grows. The only exception to that which I found is trafficwave.net which keeps a consistent low price regardless of audience size. Better still is Markethive’s free autoresponder which has a one click sign up facility and great deliverability. For a walk through on the setup of this autoresponder watch this video tutorial.

You can combine that with a medium to educate your prospects such as live events or video. You can use audio too if you are camera shy but video is best in a world where trust is at an all time low. Education is where you get to showcase your expertise as to how your offer will significantly benefit your prospect. This may happen in an experiential online or offline event. 

The more you can show rather than just tell, the better.  You want your prospect to be able to experience a different future as a result of purchasing from you. Assistive free tools you can use are zoom’s video conferencing tool to interact, which is free to use for 40 minutes for a maximum of 100. You can also record videos too. OBS is a free video and live broadcasting tool which you can download to your computer and create educational content too. Markethive will shortly be coming out with its own inbuilt video conferencing in due course as it comes out of beta. So watch this space.

Business Failure: No Compelling Offer

When you offer your product it is important that it is a compelling offer, otherwise you will fail on execution. This is where proof of concept comes in.

Proof of Concept

Proof of concept is where you get to test the viability of your product or service through confirmed sales, prior to a full launch. This may come in a break even or beta form, where you give a discount in return for your prospects trial of your offer, and their video feedback for example.

The results can become part of your marketing on a bigger scale later. In the meantime, it is important to bring clarity and confidence to the prospect if they are to buy from you. While it is possible to conduct sales manually, you will also need to consider an online website and payment structure. 

When it comes to websites, your choice will depend on your business model. You could use a simple lead capture page to start with, which will allow you to integrate your chosen autoresponder. Markethive also offers free capture pages. WordPress is a popular free drag and drop website platform with free themes which shape the look and feel of your site. 

You will need a domain name and hosting for your website if you choose this route. You also may need to acquire a bit of technical knowledge to put it together. Here’s a tutorialA less usual but cheaper and faster alternative is amazon S3 web buckets. Canva is also a great free resource where you can use templates to build websites and create graphics to get started.

For a cottage industry, you might prefer to start with a low key way to test the water and build community so one option might be Buy Me A Coffee, which has less of a corporate feel, and where you can connect to a payment provider called Stripe. For payments in general, you can always use paypal, stripe or wise, both of which have an invoice feature, and are global providers.

Business Failure: Insufficient Funding or Lack of Capital

This is a common reason for business failure and many funding attempts fail and are unable to compete with global corporations. However, If you construct your business plan in the manner described in this article, you will stand a better chance because you will have demonstrated a compelling offer to market match.

New funding sources are emerging all the time yet many of the conventional ways still are not working for entrepreneurs. Creativity is needed and it may be that you start simple with a self-liquidating approach where you use a skill as a side hustle to acquire cashflow for your business.

Another consideration that has serious merit is Markethive. Markethive is an example of an innovative ecosystem which has overcome the product to market match, has a compelling offer and a funding solution for the new and existing entrepreneur, in action.

Firstly, Markethive is meeting a demand in the markethive place with a compelling suite of offers in both free and paid membership. Built from the ground up, it is now powered by the blockchain as a social network and inbound marketing ecosystem combined, with free and cost-effective tools to help level the playing field for the entrepreneur just starting out. 

If you need to acquire marketing tools to reduce costs, you get at least $2000 worth of that in the free membership alone, including an autoresponder and lead capture pages to name a couple. You also get rewarded for contribution to the platform. When it comes to cash flow its unique ILP offer [initial loan procurement] provides a paid subscription which gives you even more tools while sharing in the profits of the company as the company grows. 

This unique offer is shortly to expire, so check out all this ecosystem has to offer and see where it might fit your needs. It was built for you. Consider how it will help you future proof your business.

Launch Party

When you finally launch your offer, celebrate! Consider having a launch party where you create a special offer for first time customers.  It is no mean feat to have created an offer to market match and one that is compelling. You have set your business up for success! Although this article has addressed how to get off the mark, the sale is just the start, and it will bode well to remember that. 

How you nurture your client, so that they become a returning customer, where appropriate, is going to be down to how you nurture and support that relationship, as well as the value-added improvements you make to your offer. You will also need to consider how to scale and automate key parts of your business, such as social media content sharing so you can focus on your expertise.  

Also remember to continue to communicate with those who did not purchase. Many buy later in time. Lack of follow through is also responsible for lost sales. According to one report 60% of customers reject offers four times prior to an eventual purchase.

On a final note, the beauty of surveying prospects is that they too can become a part of the journey of your compelling offer, helping you to craft the perfect offer through their feedback. This makes them more than a purchaser, someone who has become part of the creative journey and solution. They are your community, the ones that are likely to act like your marketing arm or ambassador in the future. Look after them and your business success will increase.

 

 

About: Anita Narayan. (United Kingdom) My life's work is about helping individuals to greater freedom through joy and purpose without self-sabotage, so that inspirational legacy can serve generations to come. Find me at my Markethive Profile Page | My Twitter Account | and my LinkedIn Profile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tim Moseley

Five Institutions Trying To Wipe Out The Crypto Industry

Five Institutions Trying To Wipe Out The Crypto Industry 

As cryptocurrency adoption continues, the opposition from institutions that control and benefit from the corrupt financial system that cryptocurrency is in the process of replacing also continues. These powerful institutions have significantly increased their efforts to bring down the crypto sector specifically. 

Below are five organizations that have been working hard to regulate, restrict, subvert, and tear down the crypto industry for the last few years, and it's time to call them out by name. So, how are they trying to do it? Will they succeed? And what will it mean for cryptocurrency?

1: The Bank for International Settlements

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is the first institution trying to destroy crypto. This is the self-described bank for central banks. The BIS is based in Basel, Switzerland, and is owned by the 63 central banks that make up its membership. The BIS was founded way back in 1930 and is technically the oldest International financial institution in existence. 

Interestingly, the BIS was supposed to be disbanded in 1944 as part of the Bretton Woods Conference, but it hasn’t happened yet. On its **website, the BIS says this is because the financial elite at Bretton Woods didn't believe the BIS would play a useful role once the IMF and the World Bank had been established. 


**Image source: BIS website

Curiously, however, a memoir by one of the economists present at the Bretton Woods Conference revealed that the institution's intended dissolution was because the BIS had allegedly assisted the Nazis in taking gold and other assets from occupied countries. This was proven true in 2013 when the Bank of England declassified documents about how it helped the BIS and the Nazis take gold from Czechoslovakia. 

Despite this history, the BIS was never disbanded, partly due to influential economists like John Maynard Keynes. Keynes is famous for pioneering so-called demand-side economics; it’s the theory that the demand for goods and services is what causes economic growth and inflation, fundamentally; a view popular with many Central Bankers.

Today, the BIS has undertaken a similarly disturbing role, and that's to assist central banks in developing their respective Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDCs. This financial system will give the central banks the power to decide what you can buy, when you can buy it, where you can buy it, how much money you can spend, and even how much you can save. In the words of BIS manager Agustin Carstens, “The central bank will have absolute control…” and “…will have the technology to enforce that control.” 


Image source: Twitter 

Not surprisingly, the BIS is opposed to cryptocurrencies of all kinds, especially stablecoins. This is because cryptocurrency undermines the total control of the currency that its associated central banks are explicitly trying to achieve with their CBDCs, which are essentially direct competitors to stablecoins.

The BIS’s anti-crypto activities have been limited to reports about why cryptocurrencies are bad and why CBDCs are better, as detailed in this article and clearly shows that nobody is buying what they’re selling. Many are skeptical and can see through their agenda; still, the BIS has undoubtedly an incredible amount of influence given its history and the advocacy of central bankers worldwide. 

2: The Financial Action Task Force

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international organization based in Paris, France, is the second institution trying to stymie crypto. It consists of 40 countries and dozens of other international organizations, including the IMF and World Bank. The FATF was founded in 1989 and was initially established to combat money laundering worldwide. 

Its mandate has since expanded to include anything threatening the system's integrity. It achieves this by issuing so-called recommendations about the kinds of financial regulations that countries should implement. The FATF drafted its first set of 40 recommendations one year after it was founded. 

The most infamous of these recommendations is the so-called travel rule, which requires financial institutions to collect detailed information about anyone sending or receiving more than a certain amount of money, usually around $1000. Although the FATF doesn't have the power to write national laws, any countries that fail to comply with its recommendations often find themselves on its grey list or, worse, its black list. 

Being on the former makes it difficult to interact with the Global Financial System, and being on the latter makes it impossible. That's why more than 200 countries have chosen to comply with the FATF's recommendations. 

Now, if you're wondering who writes the FATF’s recommendations, the answer is nobody really knows. That's because the FATF consists of unelected officials who hold meetings behind closed doors, where they decide what recommendations to pass and which countries land on which list. 


Image source: Islamabad Post

The FATF officials are also effectively “above the law,” thanks to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Intercourse and Immunities passed in 1961. Under the Vienna Convention, folks like FATF officials cannot be arrested or detained, they cannot be charged with a criminal or civil crime, and they do not have to pay taxes. FATF officials are also not subject to pandemic travel restrictions. 

While it's not precisely clear who decides what the FATF does, it's clear that it has strong connections to the United States, specifically, the United States Treasury Department. As recently as 2018-2019, Treasury served as President of the FATF, and two of the three lead authors of the finalized recommendations for cryptocurrency were from the Treasury Department. The document notes that the United States is the primary driver behind compliance with the FATF's recommendations. 
 
This may explain why the United States isn't on the FATF’s grey list or black list even though up to 40% of all money laundering happens in the USA and why the countries that do end up on the FATF's gray and black lists tend to be at odds with the interests of the United States. 

Given these facts, it looks like the FATF is another financial weapon the United States occasionally uses against its enemies, and it's a weapon that's being used against cryptocurrency as well.  

Having said that, the FATF doesn't actually want to ban cryptocurrency; it just wants no more peer-to-peer transactions and no more privacy and hopes to achieve this by labeling any technology or activity related to these two as high risk. In other words, the FATF wants to turn crypto into another arm of the existing financial system, which the United States, of course, controls. 

However, countries and indeed crypto firms are reticent and slow on the uptake of its crypto recommendations, and it looks like there are a few which might not implement the crypto regulations the FATF wants to impose. This might have to do with the fact that its recommendations don't work in combating illicit Finance. 

The FATF's own statistics suggest it hasn't made a dent in dark money in over 30 years. If this non-compliance by countries continues, it will be difficult for the fat F to achieve its goal in time. After all, if crypto adoption reaches a Tipping Point, it will be impossible for politicians to pass the crypto regulations the FATF wants to see because the people will vote against such politicians. 

It's also possible that by the time compliance starts, the financial system will have fragmented to such an extent that the FATF no longer has any influence. The unprecedented sanctions against Russia have accelerated this fragmentation. 

3: The International Monetary Fund – The World Bank

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are the third institutions trying to cancel out crypto. The IMF was created as part of the Bretton Woods agreement mentioned above in 1944. The Bretton Woods agreement is where the world decided to make the US dollar the world's reserve currency. More accurately, it's where the world decided that the other currencies would be pegged to the US dollar at a fixed exchange rate, and the US dollar would, in turn, be backed by physical gold. 

The IMF's initial job was to ensure the exchange rates between other currencies and the US dollar remained stable. But after the US dollar officially stopped being backed by gold in 1971, the IMF turned its focus to financial stability worldwide. The IMF achieves this financial stability by issuing loans to countries in crisis to ensure that the situation the country is facing doesn't become an international crisis. 

These loans are known for including all sorts of terms and conditions that benefit certain institutions. Whereas the IMF issues loans, the World Bank provides longer-term financial and technical support to developing countries. You can think of the World Bank as the “unofficial” other half of the IMF, as it was also created as part of the Bretton Woods conference. 

It’s clear that the IMF is firmly aligned with the interests of the United States, simply because the USA has the most voting power of the IMF's 190 member countries. Arguably, the IMF's hatred of cryptocurrency has mostly to do with BTC. That's because Bitcoin is starting to be adopted as legal tender by the kinds of developing countries the IMF is trying to control, notably El Salvador and the Central African Republic. 


Image source: Cointelegraph

This is why the IMF included a clause in its debt deal with Argentina to discourage cryptocurrency adoption. Something that I'm sure is going to become more common as more countries start adopting crypto and BTC in particular. By the way, the clause didn't work, as Argentinians are still adopting BTC and stablecoins to protect themselves from inflation. 

The IMF's report about the decline of the US dollar stated that the IMF knows that central banks around the world are slowly ditching the greenback in favor of alternative currencies and why it's possible other countries could adopt BTC. 

Case in point, the chairman of the Central Bank of Switzerland recently noted that it could hold BTC on its balance sheet once it becomes big enough. At that point, it's only a small step to legal tender status. It's safe to say this is something the IMF doesn't want to see in any developed countries, which is why the institution has seemingly focused its attacks on BTC.

Lately, these attacks have centered around Bitcoin’s energy use, with the IMF claiming CBDCs are superior because they use less energy. What the IMF won't tell you is that Bitcoin’s energy use is negligible in the grand scheme of things. 

4: Wall Street

The fourth institution trying to invalidate crypto is Wall Street, which is more of a collection of established financial institutions rather than a single entity. As almost everyone around the world knows, Wall Street’s power is truly unprecedented, and most of this power resides in a handful of asset managers like BlackRock and Vanguard and mega banks like JPMorgan and Bank of America. 

Notably, the only reason why these asset managers and banks were able to become so prominent is that they're pretty much first in line at the Federal Reserve money printer. They also have unbelievable influence over politics and regulations in the United States and elsewhere.

You may recall that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegedly destroyed documents about the 2008 financial crisis when it was supposed to investigate the asset managers and big banks that caused it. 

A 2012 article from The Huffington Post also notes that Wall Street spent more money on lobbying than any other industry between 1998 and 2011. A spending streak that has now been overshadowed by big tech giants like Meta and mega-corporations like Amazon, which are now the biggest lobbyists. 

The IMF even published a paper in 2019 about the regulatory capture of bank lobbying and how it led to the global financial crisis. While the authors argued that regulations resolved these issues, I think it's apparent to the average person that Wall Street has only become more powerful. 

Like the central banks at the BIS, the asset managers and banks on Wall Street do not want to be replaced by cryptocurrency, which is why most of them have historically been anti-crypto. The thing is that the asset managers and banks on Wall Street also don't want to be replaced by Central Bank Digital Currencies either, and these are quickly becoming a more significant threat than crypto. 


Image source: Markets Insider

It’s already been determined that they would effectively cut commercial banks out of the equation. Even though the CBDC Systems proposed by central banks often include commercial banks at the front end, the BIS and its central banks have admitted in multiple reports that it would be next to impossible for commercial banks to remain profitable under such a system. 

Furthermore, the roles asset managers and banks play could easily be filled by companies in the financial technology sector, such as Revolut and PayPal. It's even possible that crypto companies like ConsenSys could play this role. 

Now this leaves only one option for the asset managers and banks: to take control of the crypto industry and leverage its technology to ensure they remain profitable and ideally leverage it to the point that they can continue to compete with fintech companies. So, how can asset managers and banks take control of the crypto industry?

Well, besides investing heavily in centralized projects with close ties to their constituents, asset managers and banks are also trying to control crypto by forcing it to comply with their ESG agenda, which stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance; in other words, total control. 

The inability to control Bitcoin under this framework is ultimately why Wall Street dislikes Proof-of-work. On the other hand, the Proof-of-stake protocol allows them to procure a controlling stake in any crypto project since they have the capital. 

A scary scenario is that they will be able to implement whatever rules they see fit. If everyone ends up using Proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies, the asset managers and mega banks would finally have total control of the financial system, eliminating governance, politicians, and their accountability. 

I think it’s fair to say many crypto companies would oppose such a takeover from the privileged few, but it's essential to be aware of the game being played and the influential people sitting at the table.

5: The World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is the fifth institution trying to eradicate crypto. A non-governmental organization or NGO based in Geneva, Switzerland. Klaus Schwab founded the WEF in 1971, and he has served as its executive chairman ever since. 

 As its website states, the WEF’s purpose is to “ shape global, regional and industry agendas. The WEF has the power to do this because it consists of over 4,000 of the world's most influential individuals and institutions, including all the ones mentioned in this article. 

In a previous article, I explain its plans for the world, and they are intensely at odds with the average person. It has astonishing ideas such as “you’ll own nothing and be happy,” which comes directly from the technocratic brain of Klaus Schwab himself. 

The WEF is where ESG standards were established. The recent annual meeting in Davos included a few crypto companies and personnel and a series of panel discussions about crypto-related topics. Seemingly, the WEF had cryptocurrency on its radar since 2013, when crypto bull runs started to occur. However, the WEF isn't all that interested in cryptocurrency per se. Its interest is in the powerful technology that cryptocurrencies use. 

A historical example is the WEF’s Tipping Points Report from 2015, highlighting Smart contracts as a point of interest. Note that this report was published not long after Ethereum was created. A more recent example is this year's Davos meeting, where the Metaverse was almost as big a topic as ESG, with multiple discussions and articles produced by the WEF. 

What the WEF wants is to use technology, like Blockchain, Smart contracts, and the Metaverse, to create the dystopia its constituents want. Regarding the Blockchain, the WEF wants to use it for digital ID, social credit scores, and tracking everything and everyone. Also, tokenizing real-world assets so that their ownership can be controlled and engaging in “stakeholder capitalism via proof of stake consensus mechanisms.” 

If you're wondering who the stakeholders will be, Klaus has stated in many interviews and speeches that he created the WEF so that stakeholders could gather. Let that sink in. 


Image Source: World Economic Forum

Now, when it comes to Smart contracts, the WEF wants to use them for things like automated censorship to prevent the purchase of specific goods and services and to create the kinds of incentive structures the WEF wants to see—for example, artificially increasing meat prices to decrease meat consumption.  

When it comes to the Metaverse, the WEF wants to use it to limit population growth, pacify people in developing countries, and in the words of Schwab's closest advisor, Yuval Noah Harari, “…to give all the useless people something to do.” 


Image source: Mind Matters

The 99% Wake Up And Withstand

Fortunately, the world is starting to wake up to what the WEF is trying to do with cryptocurrency and other technologies intended to free rather than enslave the average person. There's no shortage of individuals and institutions starting to push back, including from the world of crypto and the next giants in social and market media, where freedom, liberty, financial sovereignty, and the entrepreneurial spirit are paramount. 

The few that think they have the right to control every living soul are trying their best to extinguish the entrepreneur and oppress their spirit.  A path to self-sovereignty is here with Markethive and brings a whole new level to empower people. Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of liberty and freedom; liberty and freedom are a gift from God. In today’s world, Markethive is a blessing and unrivaled by any other platform out there today.

 

Reference: Coinbureau.com

 

 

Editor and Chief Markethive: Deb Williams. (Australia) I thrive on progress and champion freedom of speech. I embrace "Change" with a passion, and my purpose in life is to enlighten people to accept and move forward with enthusiasm. Find me at my Markethive Profile Page | My Twitter Account | and my LinkedIn Profile.

 

 

 

 

 

Tim Moseley

Is the Food Crisis Over or Just Getting Started?

Is the Food Crisis Over or Just Getting Started?

by Chris MacIntosh, contributor, International Man Communique

Is the Food Crisis Over or Just Getting Started?

 

Are You Hungry?

Good, according to the central planners. The folks over at the UN stopped destroying the world for a brief few minutes to publish a piece (snapshot below) justifying their behavior and explaining the "benefits" of the famine they’ve engineered.

Not making this up.

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The article remained on the UN website for a day or so before being deleted after it went viral on social media, with people horrified at the truly unbelievable evil. The good thing about this is that as they continue with their predictive programming and NLP (seriously, look into both and it promises to blow your mind), more and more people wake from their trance. Once woken, they realize the incredible danger they are all in. And that is a good thing because you can’t fight an enemy until you understand one exists.

The "great reset" requires a populace beholden to the government and nobody else. As the central planners pursue their agenda of getting there, this is bound to be fraught with an awakening and a lot of angst.

 

The Great Awakening of the Average Joe

While Joe Sixpack doesn’t understand most of these, he doesn’t actually need to.

What Joe does care about is when he can’t afford groceries and when his electricity bill now suddenly wipes out his entire annual disposable income.

And that is enough to provide both pushback and an increasing ability to awaken to the horrors of what comes for him if this communist agenda masquerading as a plan to "save us from climate change" is NOT stopped in its tracks.

And with this realization will come politicians — many who themselves are parasites but doing what comes naturally to them: sensing a shift in the winds and rushing to get in front of it, champion it, and gain support.

Here, take a look. According to France24, Giuseppe Conte, the head of Five Star, said:

I have a strong fear that September will be a time when many families will face the terrible choice of paying their electricity bills or buying food. We are absolutely willing to dialogue, to make our constructive contribution to the government, to Draghi, (but) we are not willing to write a blank cheque.

He’s not wrong, of course, but this is a thug who was a massive contributor to the problems our proverbial "Joe" now faces.

Take a look at this.

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And as we’ve been continuously saying: energy underpins EVERYTHING, which is why Eurozone CPI looks like it just mainlined viagra.

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And this is saying something because as you know the way they measure CPI is, of course, complete hogwash and roughly half the real rate. Check out John Williams’ Shadowstats, where inflation in the US is calculated based on the methodology used back in the ’80s (pre-fraud). It just hit 17.3%. That’s a tad more than the 9.1% print they just tried to trick you with.

4.jpg

The other thing "Joe" cares about is when the government — under the guise of "saving the planet" — begins the process of stealing up to 50% of the farms in the Netherlands.

 

Reducing Nitrogen Emissions

Under a ridiculous narrative of "reducing nitrogen omissions," the Dutch government is proceeding with a blatant land grab of 30% of the Farmland. It is worth pointing out that air is 78% nitrogen. These morons have literally decided that air is dangerous.

Anyway, the farmers are having none of it and have blockaded roads, airports, and distribution centers. The fishermen have joined in and blocked the ports.

Domestically the Dutch farmers have massive support. Gratefully, people seem to intuitively understand that without them there will be no food. The propaganda is no longer having the desired effect on the populace. What a shame!

Every day a few more people wake to reality, and once you wake, you can’t unsee what you’ve seen. The existing political parties’ credibility is severely damaged. I’ve thought for some years now that if there is to be a shift, it will likely come from third parties. This is true across the Western world, and not uniquely a Dutch thing.

The Farmer–Citizen Movement in the Netherlands is now gaining momentum and size faster than any other.

5.png

 

Over in France, the Marxist agenda gathers momentum.

France plans full nationalization of power utility EDF

France will fully nationalize EDF (EDF.PA), Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Wednesday, in a move that would give the government more control over a restructuring of the debt-laden group while contending with a European energy crisis.

 

6.jpg

 

It is at this point that we should review a little history.

The last head of a European government to be killed and eaten by a mob was Dutch Johan de Witt in 1672, who was mutilated, hung, and had his liver roasted and digested by Orangists in the Hague.

7.jpg

Davos man deserves at least as much.

In the meantime, Europeans are going to be cold and hungry. Winter is just a few short months away now which brings us to investment implications. The stampede will begin in earnest for food and all those banned products like fertilizer.

 


New Opportunities Are Emerging For Citizens of The World.

Freedom and democracy may appear to be struggling to stay alive in America, but there may be a knock-out punch ready to be released. The evolution of the blockchain-enabled metaverse is going to enable the 'Citizens of the World' to gain their own Freedom by democratizing power and creating a new world with new rules, new players, and new opportunities. For 99.99% of us, the metaverse will improve our real-world lives by democratizing power and opportunity.

Along with the major long-term trend of society towards decentralization and smaller-scale organizations, there are new opportunities developing to help 'Preparers' in the cryptocurrency sector. Businesses are beginning to issue their own Crypto Coins that can be traded on Cryptocoin Exchanges.

Markethive.com will release its HiveCoin (HIV) in the coming weeks. It has tremendous upside potential that is outlined in a Video by Founder Tom Prendergast, "Entrepreneur Advantage…".

Not only that, if you go to their website and register as a FREE Member, you will be given 500 HiveCoins for "FREE" along with access to several Earning Opportunities and online tools to increase your HiveCoin balance.

Be sure to check it out today – Markethive.com

Markethive

Tim Moseley

Gold silver down amid weak China economic news bearish outside markets

Gold, silver down amid weak China economic news, bearish outside markets

Gold and silver prices are solidly lower in midday U.S. trading Monday, on demand concerns for the metals after a batch of weak economic data from China. Sharply lower crude oil prices and a stronger U.S. dollar index to start the trading week are also bearish daily forces working against the metals. October gold futures were last down $19.60 at $1,785.70. September Comex silver futures were last down $0.443 at $20.26 an ounce.

China's central bank this week unexpectedly announced it is lowering interest rates and adding liquidity to China's financial system after some dour economic data reported for the world's second-largest economy. Chinese data on factory output, investment, consumer spending and real estate all weakened in July. The dour China news added to fears of a global economic recession. Covid restrictions and a troubled property market have helped to hobble China's economy in recent months. Other raw commodity prices on Monday also took a hit on the China news, led by a big drop in crude oil prices. China is a major global consumer of raw commodities, including metals. A weakening Chinese economy suggests less demand for raw commodities.

Global stock markets were mixed overnight. U.S. stock indexes are a bit higher at midday.

Ghana's central bank to buy domestic gold in September to strengthen nation's foreign reserves

The key outside markets today see Nymex crude oil prices sharply lower and trading around $88.50 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index is solidly higher in midday U.S. trading. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is fetching 2.781%.

Technically, October gold futures bears have the overall near-term technical advantage. A fledgling price uptrend is now just barely in place on the daily bar chart. Bulls' next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at the August high of $1,814.40. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,725.00. First resistance is seen at $1,800.00 and then at today's high of 1,808.20. First support is seen at today's low of $1,777.60 and then at $1,760.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 3.5.

September silver futures bears have the overall near-term technical advantage. A fledgling uptrend on the daily bar chart has stalled out. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $22.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $19.00. First resistance is seen at $20.50 and then at today's high of $20.87. Next support is seen at $20.00 and then at $19.47. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 3.5.

September N.Y. copper closed down 525 points at 361.60 cents today. Prices closed near mid-range. The key "outside markets" were bearish for copper today as crude oil prices were sharply down and the U.S. dollar index was higher. The copper bulls and bears are on a level overall near-term technical playing field. Prices are trending up on the daily bar chart. Copper bulls' next upside price objective is pushing and closing prices above solid technical resistance at 385.00 cents. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at 330.00 cents. First resistance is seen at last week's high of 371.30 cents and then at 380.00 cents. First support is seen at today's low of 354.60 cents and then at 350.00 cents. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 5.0.

By Jim Wyckoff

For Kitco News

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

Tim Moseley

Stronger dollar set for weekly loss as traders adjust rate hike bets

Stronger dollar set for weekly loss as traders adjust rate hike bets

The dollar rallied on Friday but was set for a weekly drop as traders weighed improving U.S. inflation data against comments from Federal Reserve officials who cautioned the battle against rising prices is far from over.

U.S. import prices declined for the first time in seven months in July on lower costs for both fuel and non-fuel products, data showed on Friday, in the third report this week to hint inflation may have peaked. read more

Another two key inflation measures, for consumer prices and producer prices, cooled in July, data on Wednesday and Thursday showed, prompting traders to pare back views that the Fed will raise interest rates by 75 basis points for a third consecutive time when it meets in September. read more

The dollar dropped more than 1% after Wednesday's consumer price index data, but has reversed some of those losses and is on track for a 0.8% decline for the week.

"While the improvement in inflation dealt the dollar a setback this week, conviction in a less aggressive Fed remains highly fluid, so conseq

uently, it's been tough to keep the dollar down for meaningful stretches," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Convera.

At 10:35 a.m. Eastern time (1435 GMT), the dollar index was up 0.533% at 105.68 .

The greenback's turnaround followed a steady drumbeat from Fed officials who made clear they would continue to tighten. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly said on Thursday she was open to the possibility of another 75 basis point hike in September. read more

"The Fed is going to be inclined to push back against the notion of a premature policy pivot," said Manimbo. "That would threaten to unravel all of the hard work they've done to bring down inflation."

Traders were pricing in around a 36.5% chance of a 75 bps Fed rate hike in September and a 63.5% chance of 50 bps.

The dollar was up 0.4% against Japan's currency, with the greenback at 133.51 yen .

Kit Juckes, head of FX strategy at Societe Generale, said dollar trading was likely to remain "choppy".

"It's not going to be going significantly weaker in a straight line because there’s still a danger than the market has to reprice terminal Fed funds higher, given there’s still plenty of inflation," Juckes said.

The British pound fell 0.745 to $1.2124 versus the dollar. Data showed UK GDP contracted by less than forecast in June, even though an extra public holiday had been expected to cause a big drag. read more

The euro was down 0.54% at $1.0262 . French inflation was up 6.8% year-on-year in July, while for Spain it was 10.8%, the highest since 1984, data showed.

The euro has been weighed down by Europe's struggles with the war in Ukraine, the hunt for non-Russian energy sources and a hit to the German economy from scant rainfall. read more

Commerzbank said in a note it had revised its euro-dollar forecast lower, as it expects a euro-area recession as a base scenario, having previously been a "risk scenario".

The bank said it expects the euro to fall to $0.98 in December and to not recover until later in 2023.

The New Zealand dollar was lifted by expectations of a Reserve Bank of New Zealand rate rise next week.

Reporting by John McCrank in New York; additional reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft in London; Editing by Mark Potter, David Holmes and Alexander Smith

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

 

Tim Moseley

Tornado Cash Whirlwind: Fed Prohibits US Citizens From Using the Service

Tornado Cash Whirlwind: Fed Prohibits U.S. Citizens From Using the Service.

Cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash has been blacklisted in the U.S. Now, this has created a whirlwind in the crypto community. It is essential to understand exactly what's happening here as it will have important implications for the industry. However, this is not the first time the U.S. government has imposed a ban on crypto-related companies.

Tornado Cash's blacklisting sparks outrage in the crypto community as the U.S. Treasury sanctions the Ethereum hybrid protocol. The developers working on Tornado Cash and the log itself have been removed from the popular code hosting site Github. Vitalik Buterin has publicly admitted that he used the protocol in good faith, and his supporters have condemned censorship as unconstitutional. At the same time, someone started sending illicit Ethereum from Tornado Cash to a range of celebrities, from Jimmy Fallon to Jake Paul.

Tornado Cash is a firm that allows customers to conceal the origin of their cryptocurrency transactions. The U.S. Treasury Department has banned all Americans from using the website because it played a crucial role in laundering billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies. It is one of the main tools hackers use, most notably the $625 million breach of Axie Infinity's Ronin network by North Korea's Lazarus Group in March.

Before I go further, let's dive into the ecosystem of Tornado Cash to understand what the network is about and its functionalities.

Image source: Moralis Academy

What is Tornado Cash?

The blockchain transactions of Ethereum and Bitcoin, the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world today, are fully public and visible. Thanks to this high level of transparency, almost anyone can use their public address to track users' spending behavior. If they wish to disclose their transaction history, they only need user data for a single transaction that occurred.

Of course, the anonymous nature of public addresses doesn't necessarily mean they know users' personal information. Still, this leaves a lot to be desired for more privacy-conscious crypto users. Various privacy-conscious solutions and protocols have been developed to address the "problem" of transparent pseudonyms, but arguably none have been more successful than transaction mixers.

Transaction mixers essentially pool the funds of multiple users with their transactions: before each transaction reaches its intended destination, it is "shuffled." Once this shuffling process happens, it's complicated for anyone to track whose money went where and how much.

In practical use of transaction mixers, the developed protocol increases transaction anonymity by sending numerous random transactions across multiple addresses. However, these transactions can still be tracked in the public ledger, so this is not an entirely successful solution.

Tornado Cash aims to solve the privacy issues of transparent blockchains through private transactions. A fully decentralized, custody-free protocol increases transaction privacy by breaking the chain connection between sender and receiver addresses. To improve privacy, Tornado Cash uses smart contracts to accept ETH and other tokens from one address and allow them to be withdrawn at another.

These smart contracts work as a package, mixing all the deposited funds and generating a private key to prove that you have completed the deposit process. The sender can then use this private key to withdraw the deposited funds to any address at their chosen time. Tornado Cash has grown in popularity due to the rise of cryptocurrency events. It has also become a place to store stolen funds and a haven for many hackers.

Feds Blacklist Tornado Cash

The U.S. Treasury has added Ethereum mixing service to its list of Specially Designated Nationals. In a Press Release published by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the body added the Tornado Cash website and a long list of Ethereum addresses to its list of Specially Designated Nationals and banned U.S. citizens from using the tool or doing business with the firm.

The announcement added that the state-backed North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group used Tornado Cash to launder more than $96 million after it hacked Harmony Bridge in June. It also said criminals used Tornado Cash to launder money, with $7.8 million stolen in the Nomad Bridge hack.

The Treasury Department's announcement lists some Ethereum addresses related to the Tornado Cash community, including addresses where people can donate money. According to Nansen researcher Andrew Thurman, the list of blocked addresses includes addresses that received funds from Gitcoin, an Ethereum-based platform used to fund open-source projects.

The Treasury Department said the measure was taken because criminals used Tornado Cash to launder money. In April, Tornado Cash said it used a tool from blockchain tracking firm Chainalysis to block U.S. government-approved addresses from using privacy apps. This is not good enough for the U.S. authorities. Brian E. Nelson, Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, added:

"Despite public assurances otherwise, Tornado Cash has repeatedly failed to impose effective controls designed to stop it from laundering funds for malicious cyber actors on a regular basis and without basic measures to address its risks."

Ethereum is the network behind the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with thousands of tokens running on its blockchain. The native token ETH is trading at just under $1,897 and has a market cap of over $219 billion at the time of this writing.

As a result of this ban, all U.S. individuals and entities are prohibited from interacting with Tornado Cash or any Ethereum wallet addresses associated with the protocol. Anyone who does so faces criminal penalties.

Tornado Cash announced in July that it had fully open-sourced its user interface code as part of its goal of complete decentralization and transparency. Mixer's website includes a compliance tool that allows users to view the source of each transaction.

Image source: Coindesk

Sanctions may not prevent the operation of Tornado Cash itself. Co-founder Roman Semenov explained that the privacy service is designed to work without central control. When he and his team write and release code, the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) must approve any changes.

He told CoinDesk:

"If the DAO doesn't like what we are doing, then we will be forced to change our approach, and we cannot do it in a way that would satisfy the DAO's demands or expectations… The DAO has no way of forcing us to make those changes because our code base runs on a decentralized network where we don't have to talk to anyone else or ask for permission."

Is the U.S. Government in a Crypto War?

Given the ensuing avalanche of blacklists, does that mean Tornado Cash will only be used by criminals to launder money? Due to the transparency inherent in the blockchain, Tornado Cash offers many other less "illegal" use cases that are common when using traditional fiat currencies.

Recently, defenders of Tornado Cash have launched their offensive against the decision in various ways. First, they drew attention to a glaring logical flaw in the decision: anyone interacting with the Tornado Cash contract was illegal. Individual users cannot reject incoming transactions. Small amounts of cryptocurrency have been sent to well-known public wallet addresses – including those associated with Jimmy Fallon and Shaquille O'Neal – a concern that challenges the Treasury to take action to seize the entire Community.

Congress is deliberating a measure that permits the U.S. Treasury broad authority to prohibit or freeze certain digital assets, particularly if they relate to foreign banking institutions, transactions or if one or more types of accounts are of primary money laundering concern.

But the decision has drawn backlash from many in the crypto community, who see it as a government offense that runs counter to its core values ​​of privacy and autonomy. Crypto attorney Collins Belton tweeted:

"arguably the most significant legal action that has occurred in crypto" and warned that it could produce "absolutely gargantuan ripple effects."

However, this action also suggests that OFAC sanctions, which are intended to more broadly push the introduction of cryptocurrencies into the world's financial system as a way to make payments without going through a trusted third-party financial institution should ultimately bypass it.

A bigger fight may be on the horizon: some prominent crypto lawyers have already begun to float the idea of ​​challenging the decision on constitutional grounds. "Banning software publication is banning speech," said Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, at a cryptocurrency conference in Las Vegas.

He also said:

"Even laws that unreasonably chill speech are constitutionally suspect and can be challenged even before enforcement."

The sanctions were particularly notable because they were placed not on a person or particular digital wallet address but on the use of a smart contract protocol, which in the most basic form is just information. The precedent set by these actions is not favorable for open source software development in the sector.

Bottom Line

The Feds’ actions shocked the crypto community just as it was starting to relax and enjoy a summer rally led by Ethereum and the promise of its coming upgrade, The Merge.

The news that the U.S. Treasury Department has banned all Americans from using Tornado Cash crypto-mixing service or any Ethereum wallet addresses tied to the protocol after North Korean hackers allegedly used it to launder stolen crypto funds has once again heightened doubts on the stability of the whole sector.

This news highlights the cryptocurrency market's fragility and the regulators' ability to crack down on service providers for various reasons, particularly national security. While general market conditions appear to be slightly improving, despite contrasting economic data, this news casts a shadow over the cryptocurrency market. It may discourage further investments from people fearing their coin may be the next one to be targeted.

 

 

 

About: Prince Chinwendu. (Nigeria) Rapid and sustainable human growth is my passion, and getting a life-changing opportunity into the hands of people is my calling. Empowering entrepreneurs provides me with enormous gratification. Find me at my Markethive Profile Page | My Twitter Account | and my LinkedIn Profile.

 

 

 

 

 

Tim Moseley

Gold will play a big role in the coming global ‘monetary reset’ as US dollar loses its dominance – Maxime BernierCornelius Christian Cornelius Christian

Gold will play a big role in the coming global 'monetary reset' as U.S dollar loses its dominance – Maxime BernierCornelius Christian Cornelius Christian

A global monetary reset is inevitable, as fiat currencies are being debased due to excessive money printing.The U.S. dollar will be dethroned as the dominant global reserve currency by currencies backed by a basket of commodities including gold, according to Maxime Bernier, Founder and Leader of The People's Party of Canada.

"A commodity-backed money system will happen," he stated. "I don't know when, but a fiat money system cannot live too long. And after many decades, with all this debt and money printing across America and Canada and Europe, it will have to end."

"We need to tell central bankers to have an inflation target of zero," he said. "After that, I believe we need to have a monetary reset internationally, having money that will be based on gold or other commodities, like we had in the 19th Century," said Bernier.

Bernier, a former minister from 2006 to 2015 under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said that excess money printing and rising federal debt burdens had led to high inflation in Canada. Canada's inflation rate stands at 8.1 percent in June.

"We have inflation because of bad monetary policy," he explained. "We need to balance the budget. We need to stop spending money we don't have."

Bernier served as Minister of State (Small Business, Tourism, and Agriculture), Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Industry under PM Harper. In 2018, after losing the Conservative Party of Canada's leadership race, he left to start the People's Party.

Bernier spoke with Michelle Makori, Editor-in-Chief and Lead Anchor at Kitco News.

Inflation and Monetary Policy

 

Inflation is a tax, said Bernier, which transfers resources from the working population to the government.

"Now we have inflation in Canada at 8.1 percent, and inflation is a tax," he said. "The average income increase in Canada for this year will be around 5 percent. So every Canadian will be poorer by 3 percent. So we have a new 3 percent tax."

He was critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's spending during COVID-19 lockdowns, saying that "The Bank of Canada was the ATM machine for the federal government," and that now Canadians are paying for this through higher prices.

Since 2010, Bernier has argued in favor of commodity-backed currency systems like the classical gold standard, which the U.S. and Canada adopted in the 19th Century.

"You can see a trend toward de-dollarization right now, with Russia and China and India," he said, referring to BRICS countries' plans to launch a new global reserve currency. "They're looking to have a new currency based on commodities, and maybe on gold… I'm more of a traditional guy, believing in a kind of gold standard that we had in the 19th Century."

The U.S. economy could 'collapse' following a debt crisis; Bitcoin and crypto may help rebuild afterwards – Max Borders

CBDCs

In March, Bernier tweeted his opposition to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), fiat digital tokens issued and controlled by central banks, which would serve as a form of money.

"There's no way we can trust central bank digital currencies after the seizure of truckers' accounts and Russia's reserves," Tweeted Maxime, referring to the Canadian government's seizure of bank accounts during the anti-mandate Freedom Convoy protests, and Canada's confiscation of Russian assets due to the Ukraine conflict. "[CBDCs] will be used by governments to crack down on dissidents and implement a social credit system as in China."

Canada is currently developing a CBDC, and the United States is researching the concept.

"A central bank digital currency will be a way for the government to control everything that you're doing," Bernier told Makori. "It would be another way to control all our spending and bank accounts. It's another way to be in a totalitarian country. We don't want that and we don't need it."

Bernier pointed to the fact that debit cards and e-transfers already accomplish many of the purported goals of CBDCs.

He emphasized that a "quiet, peaceful revolution" would be needed to thwart the imposition of CBDCs.

"If they are imposing a central bank digital currency, I believe the people will wake up, and I hope they won't be able to do it," he said. "We must inform the population about that, and as a political party, [The People's Party of Canada] that's what we are doing."

To find out Bernier's thoughts on investing in gold and Bitcoin, watch the above video.

By Cornelius Christian

For Kitco News

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

 

Tim Moseley

Traders buy the dip all week reinforcing support for gold futures at 1800

Traders buy the dip all week reinforcing support for gold futures at $1800

On Monday, August 8 gold futures opened at $1790 and by the close of trading had broken and closed above its 50-day moving average and closed at $1805 per ounce. Throughout the remainder of the week, December gold futures closed above $1800 on a daily chart. That being said, on Tuesday, Thursday and today December gold briefly traded to an intraday low between $1798 and $1799 prompting traders to buy the dip and move gold back

The chart above is a 480-minute candlestick chart of gold futures which shows that in six instances market participants witnessed gold briefly break below $1800 and on each occasion recovered and closed above that key psychological price point. Both the daily and intraday charts demonstrate traders' resolve to buy gold futures on each occasion that they perceived gold had become oversold below $1800.

December gold closed the week near its weekly high of $1824.70 resulting in the fourth consecutive week of gains. Over the last four weeks, gold has traded from a low of $1680 which occurred during the week of July 18, and gained approximately $137 or 7.53% in just four weeks of trading.

As of 5;05 PM, EDT gold futures are fixed at $1818.90 resulting from a net gain of $11.70 or 0.65%. Spot gold also finished solidly higher on the week taking physical gold just above $1800 per ounce for the first time since the beginning of July. Today’s respectable gains occurred despite dollar strength. The dollar gained 0.54% in trading today taking the dollar index to 105.565.

The screen-print above of the KGX (Kitco Gold Index) was taken at 4:29 PM EDT and fixed spot gold at $1801.40 per ounce. This is the first-time spot gold has closed above $1800 per ounce since the week of June 27. Today spot gold closed up by $11.40. However, the real gain minus dollar strength was $21.20 because dollar strength took away $9.80.

There remains genuine concern that the Federal Reserve has interest raised rates over the last four consecutive FOMC meetings. Also, the most recent data revealed a decline in the Consumer Price Index from 9.1% in June to 8.5% in July. In light of a hawkish Fed and a slight decline in inflation the fact that gold futures gained over 7% in four weeks clearly illustrates that market participants continue to be laser-focused on inflation rather than rising rates.

By Gary Wagner

Contributing to kitco.com

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

Tim Moseley

The Artist that came out of the Winter