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Bitcoin [BTC] mining could go nuclear; Belarus emerges as China successor

Bitcoin [BTC] mining could go nuclear; Belarus emerges as China successor

Belarus has emerged as a contender to take the cryptocurrency mining mantle for China, following the latter’s proposed ban that looks to outlaw the domestic mining industry. Aleksandr Lukashenko, the President of the eastern European country, voiced his support for the decentralized currency industry in what will be a new chapter for the country.

Following a recent meeting at Belarus’ national Hi-Tech Park in the capital Minsk, the President spoke to members of the country’s IT sector regarding a move towards a digital economy, reported the local Belarusian news agency BeITA earlier this week.

Lukashenko is a fervent advocate of the FinTech revolution and has ushered policies that would push his country towards the same. With reference to this collective objective, the members of the IT community will also voice their opinion to bring in better regulation in the industry.

Responding to the requests for a positive stance towards the decentralized currency industry, Lukashenko stated that Belarus would permit cryptocurrency mining farms to setup shop in the country. Furthermore, their development and growth would not be impeded on.

He enthusiastically stated:

“You are my children. I’ve created you with my own hands as well as I could. You wanted cryptocurrency, crypto exchanges, crypto mining, and the rest. You wanted to set up the farms… Now you are grown up and can suggest where we move on from here.”

The President added that “this direction” was where the country was headed. Lukashenko stressed on the importance of the internal infrastructure that would allow the cryptocurrency industry to develop and that he would support the same, adding:

“I will only support and help as much as possible.”

Miner Update reported that, according to Lukashenko’s plans, the up and coming mining farm will be set up in close proximity to the country’s nuclear power plant. However, this plant will be fully operational only by the close of 2019.

According to the aforementioned report, the President had affirmed that a section within the nuclear facility will allow for the mining of cryptocurrencies, which could indicate that nuclear energy will be harnessed for the production of bitcoin.

Furthermore, the requirement of a digital economy objective to support Belarus’ FinTech industry will be reviewed, and a final decision on the same is likely to be announced in the second quarter of 2019.

Eastern European countries are looking favorably towards cryptocurrency mining, with Belarus being the latest in this list. Earlier this year, Georgia sold 45 acres of land to Bifury and created tax-free zones to allow crypto-centric entrepreneurs to commence operations. The San Francisco company has, since entering Georgia, assisted the government to use blockchain for their land registry system.

The post Bitcoin [BTC] mining could go nuclear; Belarus emerges as China successor appeared first on AMBCrypto.

Published at Sat, 20 Apr 2019 20:17:23 +0000

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Adam Back: Blockstream ‘Has No Patents Related To SegWit’

Blockstream CEO Adam Back has refuted claims by Swedish Pirate Party founder Rick Falkvinge that the company “has patents in SegWit.”


 Pirate Party’s Falkvinge: Blockstream SegWit Support Driven By Patents

In a Twitter response Monday, Back stated Blockstream “does not have any patents, patent applications, provisional patent applications, or anything similar, related to segwit.”

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Falkvinge, who is a staunch supporter of bigger blocks proposed by rival scaling solution campaigners bitcoin Unlimited, had earlier Monday released a dedicated post on his website arguing Blockstream’s SegWit support was for its own interests.

“Based on Blockstream’s behavior in the bitcoin community, I have become absolutely certain that Segwit contains patents that Blockstream and/or their owners have planned to use offensively,” he wrote.

Falkvinge Accuses Blockstream Of ‘Goalpost Moving’

The post accuses Blockstream of “classic goalpost moving” and employing behavior that “only makes sense” under a patent battle.

Falkvinge continues:

…Based on Blockstream’s behavior, I can say with dead certainty that I’ve seen this exact behavior many times in the past, and it’s always when somebody has a dual set of reasons – one for presentation and palate and another that drives the actual course of action.

Back’s Twitter retort appears to be lifted from previous comments on Reddit left by core developer Greg Maxwell.Maxwell

“As is the case for other major protocol features, the bitcoin developers worked carefully to not create patent complications. Segwit was a large-scale collaboration across the community, which included people who work for Blockstream among its many contributors,” he continued.

Moreover, because the public disclosure of segwit was more than a year ago, we could not apply for patents now.

Maxwell reiterated that Falkvinge had previously made similar allegations, which he had addressed separately.

“In short, Rick Falkvinge’s allegations are entirely without merit and are supported by nothing more than pure speculation which had already been debunked,” he concluded.

A Clash Of Ideals?

Falkvinge meanwhile has remained bullish on bitcoin publicly, telling RT in February he expected bitcoin could take over up to 10% of the foreign exchange market.

In his post, however, a clear distinction is drawn between the classic bitcoin ethos and that of Blockstream.

The owners of Blockstream are the classic financial institutions […] that have everything to lose from cryptocurrency gaining ground,” he wrote.

The conclusion is unescapable (sic) here: Blockstream’s constant goalpost shifting has had the underlying goal to have Blockstream’s owners effectively own bitcoin through patent encumbrance.

What do you think about Rick Falkvinge’s claims about Blockstream? Let us know in the comments below!


Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter

The post Adam Back: Blockstream ‘Has No Patents Related To SegWit’ appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.