With Christmas approaching, the last few headlines before the holidays are quite juicy. Here is what happened in the space during the last week.
Tis the Season to be Crypto
For that special someone, even if that someone is yourself, you’re sure to find a cryptocurrency themed gift. Just searching for Bitcoin or another favorite mainstream cryptocurrency on your online marketplace will provide you with plenty of options. Other ideas include “The Bitcoin Standard”, physical bitcoin, a plethora of crypto online courses, and of course, you can always give the gift of Bitcoin.
A picture of Taylor Swift could infect your computer
MyKingz, first identified in 2017, is the botnet behind the biggest mining malware operation and can now be found in an image of Taylor Swift. The programmers behind the malware are now employing steganography to hide MyKingz inside a .jpeg file. The file infects computers running on Windows to deploy mining apps that exploit the hosts computing power. With all that mining power for free, these guys can make quite a bit of money mining at your expense, while your hardware takes a toll.
Filing Crypto Taxes with the IRS will now be Easier
Starting in 2020 crypto traders will have access to online accounting software that helps them file taxes. Released to align with IRS guidelines on preparing crypto taxes, the software will allow traders to register their transactions from exchanges and it will calculate how much they owe.
Crypto Meets Environmental Activism
Some perceive it as an attention-grabbing move, others a genuine belief in working towards reducing carbon emissions. Either way, Greta Thunberg may be getting 1 million dollars from Justin Sun, Tron founder. Sun announced his support via Tweet, also claiming that crypto will contribute to reducing the carbon footprint through decentralized settlement. As it stands now, PoW mining is quite carbon intensive, but that is due to the way electricity is generated wherever the rates are cheaper. Maybe Greta Thunberg can take that million dollars and put it into R&D instead of useless activism to solve some of the problems around pollution and electricity generation. Maybe Justin Sun can do it himself instead of giving money to activists who are not part of the solution. Cleaner energy generation and carbon sequestration are the way to go and that money will be of better use in the hands of serious engineers. Unless this is just a publicity stunt by Tron.
Is Gaming the Future of Crypto?
Gaming may be opening the gates to mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year a playing card and non-fungible token from Gods Unchained was traded on a secondary market for 62 thousand dollars. Enjin, a cryptocurrency that is interoperable across a range of games, has value integrated into its functions. What is more, it is working with one of the biggest game developers around the world, and it is not alone. Other players like Cocos and Loom are also taking significant steps to integrate crypto and gaming in an experience that may draw in more users to the space.
