Canada
Crypto Biz: Proof of integrity? Gold industry wants blockchain to solve its biggest problems, March 25–31, 2022
As Bitcoin (BTC) continues to eat away at gold’s market share, the bullion industry is looking to blockchain — the technology first made famous by BTC — to solve its most enduring challenges. How’s that for irony? Someone should really check on Peter Schiff. Speaking of Bitcoin, a MicroStrategy subsidiary confirmed this week that it plans to buy more “digital gold” through a crypto-collateralized loan. Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon also ramped up his Bitcoin purchases to provide solid backing for Terra’s UST stablecoin. This week’s Crypto Biz takes a deep dive into the gold industry and the latest business developments surrounding Bitcoin. Gold industry taps blockchain for supply chain management and fraud prevention Blockchain has been identified as a potential game-changer for the gol...
ÎLESONIQ Announces Full Lineup, Run of Show Ahead of 2022 Festival
îLESONIQ has been one of Canada’s premier electronic music festivals since 2014, hosting an impressive array of DJs and even extending beyond EDM to include hip-hop heavyweights. Presented by Bell, îLESONIQ returns to Montreal’s stunning Parc Jean-Drapeau from August 5-7. The fest’s organizers pulled out all the stops for the 2022 edition when they announced the first phase of the lineup last month, revealing one of its biggest lineups to date with headlining performances from Eric Prydz, Swedish House Mafia, and a massive B2B set by ILLENIUM and Excision. But they didn’t stop there. Phase two has now been revealed, adding Montreal’s own Black Tiger Sex Machine, German techno stalwart Dixon, and future house pioneer Don Diablo. Other major artis...
Love it or hate it, crypto’s vibe shift is now imminent
Last month, cultural critic Alison P. Davis published an article in The Cut titled “A Vibe Shift is Coming. Will Any of Us Survive It?” The “vibe shift” Davis was referring to had nothing to do with crypto. She was referring to a sea change in pop culture and social trends, particularly in view of GenZ’s ongoing ascendance into trendsetting and cultural relevance. Nevertheless, her positioning caught my eye because she aptly put her finger on something crucial that I’ve also been feeling, particularly as it relates to crypto. The paradigm shift toward the next cultural moment — whatever it is — is perceptible, even if it’s not palpable. We can’t quite make it out, but we know it’s in the room. The concrete conditions haven’t shifted yet, but the vibe most certainly has. In the days followi...
Coinbase to track off-platform crypto transfers in Canada, Singapore, Japan
Citing compliance with local jurisdictions, crypto exchange Coinbase announced to soon collect additional information from users based in Canada, Singapore and Japan. Effective from April 1, Coinbase users from Canada, Singapore and Japan will be required to provide additional information while sending cryptocurrencies to a different (non-Coinbase) platform. However, while Singaporean and Japanese investors will be required to share additional information about the recipient for every single off-platform transaction, Canadians sending less than $801 (1,000 CAD) will be exempted from this requirement. Screenshot of Coinbase requesting recipient information from Canadian users. Source: Coinbase As shown in the above screenshot, Canadian users will need to share the full name and ...
Binance tells regulators it will cease operations in Ontario… for real this time
Binance confirmed in an undertaking to the Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, in Canada dated Wednesday that the crypto exchange will cease activities involving Ontario residents. Binance will also stop opening new Ontario accounts, and provide fee waivers and reimbursements to certain Ontario users under the administration of a third party, the company said. The undertaking appears to mark the end of a disagreement that started in June when Binance announced that it would no longer service Ontario accounts and customers were advised to close out active positions by the end of the year. The month prior to Binance’s announcement, the OSC introduced a new prospectus and registration requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges. In December, Binance told investors that it was allowed t...
Crypto miner Hut 8 posts record revenue as BTC holdings surge 100%
Canadian cryptocurrency miner Hut 8 posted mixed financial results on Thursday, as revenue and mining profitability soared while overall net income declined — underscoring a volatile end to the year for Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader digital asset market. The Toronto-based company, which trades publicly on the Nasdaq and TSX, saw its revenues surge to $45.69 million ($57.901 million CAD) in the fourth quarter of 2021, up from $10.25 million ($12.986 million CAD) the year before. Full-year revenues were $137.1 million, up 326% compared with 2020. Despite generating a large profit from mining activities, the company posted an overall loss of $0.53 ($0.67 CAD) per share in the fourth quarter. Losses amounted to $0.43 ($0.54 CAD) per share in all of 2021. Shares of Hut 8, which trade unde...
Arctic or Antarctic: how to pick your polar adventure
Can’t decide between the Arctic or Antarctic for your polar adventure? Our guide will help you choose between 66° north or south The North and South Poles were only “conquered” in relatively recent history. The South Pole was first attained in 1911 by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen after his epic race with the ill-fated Robert Falcon Scott. The conquest of the North Pole is a little murkier thanks to its location in the middle of the Arctic Ocean among waters that are almost always covered with shifting sea ice. It’s possible that Frederick Cook was the first to reach the North Pole in 1908 or perhaps it was Robert Peary in 1911 or maybe Richard E. Byrd who was the first to fly over it in 1926… But it wasn’t until Roald Amundsen’s definitive flight over the Pole...
Canada to host Bitfury’s new 28MW crypto mining facility
Blockchain company Bitfury announced the launch of a new crypto-mining data center in Ontario, Canada. The new crypto mining center adds to the list of existing Canadian sites currently operating in Drumheller, Alberta and Medicine Hat. Bitfury partnered with Hut 8 Mining, a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Bitcoin (BTC) mining company, to set up mining operations across North America. The new crypto mining facility in Ontario is expected to operate at 16 megawatts (MW) by the end of this month. Bitfury mining facility in Medicine Hat. Source: Hut 8 According to the announcement, Bitfury has plans to add 12MW capacity in the coming months, which will bring up the total capacity of the mining facility to 28MW by May end. However, the company highlighted that the facility could be potentia...
Law Decoded: Bitcoin’s censorship resistance capacity enters the spotlight, Feb. 14–21
Amid the barrage of last week’s regulatory news, from rumors of Joe Biden’s upcoming executive order on digital assets to another round of the Russian government’s crypto tug of war, the storyline that was arguably the most consequential for the mainstream narrative on the social effects of crypto has been the one around the Canadian government’s standoff with the Freedom Convoy. The government’s invocation of emergency powers to put down a protest movement — combined with the movement’s financial infrastructure being one of the main attack vectors — has led many observers to appreciate with renewed vigor Bitcoin’s capacity to resist state financial censorship. If a government as “civilized” as Canada’s can arbitrarily cut off a group it doesn’t like from the financial system, then any sta...
RCMP asks crypto exchanges to halt trading for wallets connected to truck convoy protests
As reported by Canadian news outlet The Globe and Mail, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Canada’s federal police force) sent letters to several cryptocurrency exchanges demanding that they “cease facilitating any transactions” with more than 30 specific cryptocurrency wallet addresses linked to the ongoing truck protests in the country. The letter writes: “Any information about a transaction or proposed transaction in respect of these addresses, is to be disclosed immediately to the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.” Just two days prior, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, representing the ruling Liberal Party of Canada, invoked the Emergencies Act in response to a convoy of truckers occupying the nation’s capital (Ottawa) in protest of COV...
Canada enforces restrictions on crowdfunding and crypto payment platforms
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act to stop funding to the ongoing protests against COVID-19 mandates in the country Crowdfunding platforms and crypto payment providers associated with them will be required to register with FITRAC They are also to flag unusual transactions and report them to the regulator. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked the country’s Emergencies Act for the first time. The Act is a set of regulations coined in 1988 that temporarily gives the federal government leeway to exercise additional powers for the good of the public. Assistant Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who also serves as the Minister for Finance, confirmed yesterday that following the invocation of the Act, the government has expanded the scope of anti-terr...
Bitcoin hits $44K after Canada emergency powers accompany 6% BTC price increase
Bitcoin (BTC) opted for fresh upside on Feb. 15 as a trip to near $40,000 saw an abrupt change of direction. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView RSI prints classic bull signal Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD gaining swiftly overnight into Tuesday, going on to pass $44,000. A classic relative strength index (RSI) breakout, this time on the lower four-hour timeframe, preceded the move, which put the pair a full 6% higher versus Monday’s lows. #Bitcoin 4 Hour RSI broke out and MACD just had a Bullish Cross: pic.twitter.com/2bRVFeQsfX — Matthew Hyland (@MatthewHyland_) February 14, 2022 “I do think these are the first signs of a trend break,” popular Twitter account Phoenix commented in a fresh post on the day. It ...
