bitcoin, the world’s flagship blockchain-based digital money have come under constant criticisms by many in the corporate world, with some calling it a ‘fraud’ invested in by ‘stupid’ people. However, the king of cryptocurrencies has stood its grounds over the years and now, large banks like JPMorgan whose CEO is bitcoin’s number one critic, has acknowledged the revolutionary power of virtual currencies.
A Threat to Our Survival
JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon has never liked bitcoin or the altcoins and has always seized every opportunity to badmouth cryptocurrencies. But all that is changing now as one of the largest banks in the world have started recognizing the potentials of blockchain monies, acknowledging they are a massive threat to the future survival of banks.
In the bank’s annual report released on February 27, the highly reputable financial institution listed digital currencies like and as part of its “risk factors.”
An excerpt from the report reads:
“Both financial institutions and their non-banking competitors face the risk that payment processing and other services could be disrupted by technologies, such as cryptocurrencies, that require no intermediation.”
FOMO?
It might interest you to know that JP Morgan’s Securities Ltd has been trading bitcoin through custodian accounts in Sweden since September 2017.
Not wanting to lose its customer base and market share to competitors like MAN Group and other institutional investors, the bank in December that it was considering trading bitcoin via CME’s gateway.
“Ongoing or increased competition may put downward pressure on prices and fees for JPMorgan Chase’s products and services or may cause JPMorgan Chase to lose market share,” the report stated.
JPMorgan Chase is not the only bank feeling threatened by the crypto revolution. On February 27, BTCManager informed you that the second-largest bank in the U.S, Bank of America (BOA) has also declared digital currencies as threats to their business. In its 10-K annual report submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, BOA said that:
“Emerging technologies, such as cryptocurrencies, could limit our ability to track the movement of funds,” the report stated, adding that “substantial expenditures” are required to help the bank align its products and services to fit into the new market construct.
Blockchain Adoption
While both heavyweights in the banking sector are yet to integrate cryptocurrency into their operations, they have however embraced blockchain technology which is the fuel of bitcoin and other virtual currencies. According to , the Bank of America has at least 70 Blockchain patents and other blockchain-based wallet and transaction authentication services.
JPMorgan Chase has also created its the bank’s head of Blockchain initiatives, Umar Farook, who was present at the Yahoo Finance All Market Summit held on February 7 stated that:
“It’s more than thriving. People have been surprised how quickly it basically spread as a way to address and think about customers differently. It’s quite insane.”
It’s worth noting that on February 11, 2018, JPMorgan Chase analysts published a detailed on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which is now nicknamed “bitcoin bible” due to its lengthy and insightful nature.
Even with the recent bearish trend, cryptocurrency investors appear unshaken and quite optimistic that the bad times will not last. Currently, financial institutions for the first time are beginning to acknowledge the fact that digital currencies could take over the world soon.
The battle line is drawn, will these banks and finance big whales finally give in to the crypto revolution or will the blockchain currency market entirely collapse in future? Only time will tell.
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The crypto craze has proved yet again it’s a respecter of no man, as a Christian cleric has faked his kidnap, demanding a three ransom from his family. Unfortunately for the greedy pastor, his family couldn’t just end their HODL to fund his release.
Spiritual bitcoin
As per Gospel Geral, Alexandre Geraldo dos Anjos, a 34-year old Evangelist at Assembleia de Deus Missao (Assembly of God Mission) in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, has bitten by the ‘crypto-bug.’ The holy one decided to yield to the temptation of Satan by orchestrating his kidnap for some worldly bitcoin on Monday, February 26, 2018.
Dos Anjos disappeared last Monday after hanging out with a fellow pastor in the Vista Verde area, in eastern Brazil. One of his friends contacted his family and informed them that the Evangelist had been kidnapped and that his abductors were asking for a whopping three bitcoin (over at press time) for his safe release.
The family of the cleric refused to lose such massive amount of precious bitcoin, at a time when the price of bitcoin is set to hit the moon again. They decided to call the police instead.
Lost but Found
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity for his family to send the blockchain money without any success, Dos Anjos had no choice but to reappear.
According to reports, the man of God came out of hiding after four days and went straight to the Igarata police station to tell the story of his kidnap, not knowing that God was already waiting for him there to cast out the demon in him.
While at the police station, Dos Anjos lied about escaping from the kidnappers’ den. However, the intelligent investigators were unconvinced by his report, so they turned him over to the Sao Jose General Investigations Office for further question and answer series.
Just then, the pastor yielded to the pressure from investigators, and he confessed to organizing his abduction. Commenting on the matter, General Investigations Office deputy, Neimar
Camargo noted that:
“We received a complaint yesterday stating that the pastor had had lunch at a restaurant in Jacarei. We went there to investigate, we took the video surveillance footage and saw that he appeared calm. When he began to tell the story of the kidnapping, it became obvious he was lying.”
The pastor told investigators he committed the crime because he had a large debt to pay. Shortly after his disappearance, Dos Anjos bought a new sim card and sent an SMS to his friend, notifying him of the kidnap and ransom amount.
The Cleric’s friend, thinking it was a real abduction, promptly informed Dos Anjos’s family of the incident. Investigators have said the friend was unaware of the plot.
Dos Anjos has been released and is under judicial control for now, but will face criminal charges and might be jailed if found guilty.
While it’s no that crypto-kidnappers have infiltrated the virtual currency industry, Dos Anjos case might have succeeded in getting into the history books as the first cleric to have ever faked his kidnap for the sake of bitcoin.
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