Weekly Cryptocurrency Roundup: Big Week for Bitcoin

SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS – It has been a big week for Bitcoin as it celebrated the first Bitcoin Independence Day. The past few days also emphasized the progress made in the cryptocurrency space, with China considering having its own digital currency.

November 15 is considered as the official Bitcoin Independence Day. It’s also the first-year anniversary of the BSV ticker, the sole cryptocurrency that follows the original protocols from the Satoshi whitepaper.

The Bitcoin currency and ecosystem has undergone a lot of changes and helped develop a robust ecosystem. China is one of numerous countries that are considering building their own cryptocurrency. But the Asian superpower reminded the world this week that while it wants a digital yuan, it hasn’t released anything yet.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) also put out a warning that China and its central bank is not connected to any company peddling digital yuan. The PBoC says these sales are fraudulent, and the bank will release an official announcement once its cryptocurrency is ready. They also added that it is still years away from happening.

It’s a different case with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). One of the country’s largest bank is reportedly designing a product that would provide its clients with the opportunity to trade in cryptocurrencies directly. The news appears to have been triggered by a patent filed recently that supports what the RBC planned to do.

Jean Fancois Thibault, a spokesperson for the RBC, tried to downplay the news. He did acknowledge that the bank filed several patent applications. But he said these were done to safeguard “proprietary ideas and concepts.”

Meanwhile, the darker side of Bitcoin also came to light with the news of a trader using the Silk Road platform to launder money. Cryptocurrency was not designed to be used for illegal purposes. Still, Hugh Brian Haney used it to launder more than $19 million that he accumulated from selling drugs on the Dark Web.

Haney was found guilty by the US Attorney of the Southern District of New York. He is now facing thirty years of jail time. District Attorney Geoffrey Berman also warned those using the Dark Web and cryptocurrency that they won’t be anonymous forever.

For those following Facebook’s campaign to launch the Libra stablecoin, the week shed light on why one earlier supporter backed out of the project. According to Mastercard Asia Pacific co-president Ari Sarker, the decision to step back was due to Libra not being prepared to be “a part of a global financial network.”