Then, somewhat lost in the noise, news came out of the EU that lawmakers there had decided it would be a great idea to outlaw all private crypto transactions, not only through exchanges, but through privately hosted (custodial) wallets as well. On paper, this is extremely damaging for innovation and development for the sector in general and could even lead to security issues.
Some of you may have noticed that my usual weekly summary was missing last week as, after two years of avoiding it, I finally had the personal experience of seeing two little lines come up on my Covid test meaning I was positive for the dreaded lurgi.
Not that I needed this little piece of plastic to tell me that, since I already felt rotten and could barely get out of bed. I lost a couple of days of productive output as a result.
As quickly as it came, it went away again and, although I’m still testing positive as of this morning, it is no longer preventing me from completing my writing duties. However, since I am supposed to be flying to Miami for Bitcoin 2022 on Monday and need a negative test to do so, things are getting a little, well, close to the mark. It’s going to be touch and go.
Also Read: $68,000 Bitcoin and other Firsts: Cryptocurrency in 2021
While I was feeling sorry for myself, Greenpeace, with the “help” of Chris Larsen (yes, he of Ripple fame) used the basis of a long-debunked piece of research to launch a thoroughly misguided attempt to “change Bitcoin’s code”. Of course, it will never succeed for myriad reasons, but it did manage to muddy the waters for people who are still trying to understand the relationship between Bitcoin and energy consumption.
Happily – and by complete coincidence – I had published that very same morning a piece of work I had been researching for some time extolling the positives of Bitcoin mining and how it will ultimately help us deliver a carbon negative position while still bringing all the benefits to humankind that it does. This, of course, has led to some interesting press coverage as the two mutually exclusive positions went head to head.
Then, somewhat lost in the noise, news came out of the EU that lawmakers there had decided it would be a great idea to outlaw all private crypto transactions, not only through exchanges, but through privately hosted (custodial) wallets as well. On paper, this is extremely damaging for innovation and development for the sector in general and could even lead to security issues.
Some have taken the headlines at face value and consider this a hammer blow to crypto within EU borders, but the reality is that this is far from being law and, even if it did ultimately happen, it would be so utterly cumbersome to try and manage that it would be rendered ineffective in practice. In my view, this will ultimately end up being a non-starter and non-story, but even so, like the Greenpeace “story” we could do without the hassle.
This article was culled from cityam.com
