PBOC Provides Update on Its Crypto Prevention Efforts

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has issued a statement detailing its efforts to stop and prevent crypto and initial coin offering activities in the country. The bank outlines measures against the widespread of overseas exchanges servicing domestic users such as blocking trading platforms and closing down 3,000 trading accounts. Also read: 160 Crypto Exchanges Seek … Read more

Don’t Hate EU Internet Regulation – Defy It

The European Union has come in for criticism over its repeated attempts to regulate the web. Critics assert that waves of EU legislation are suppressing free expression, impairing the user experience and, most heinously, “killing memes”. The solution, for those who take this view, would appear to be simple: don’t hate on the EU – … Read more

How to Use a VPN in the EU to Access the Uncensored Web

If you’re reading these words from within the European Union, you may have had to first check a box confirming your consent. Ever since the EU’s GDPR law came into effect, the internet has become a minefield of opt-in forms. With the passing of the controversial Articles 11 and 13 this week, the web looks … Read more

Decentralizing the Web: Handshake, Akash and the Quest for Censorship-Resistance

Censorship-resistance is a hot topic right now. On an internet where prominent voices are being silenced and deplatformed, and free speech services are being threatened with the same fate, decentralization is more urgent than ever. But for so long as centralized hosting and DNS services retain the power to ban dissenters, full decentralization will be … Read more

The Daily: Bakkt Won’t Offer Leverage, Congresswoman Holds Crypto

In today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief we cover stories about Intercontinental Exchange’s crypto trading platform Bakkt, which won’t be offering leverage or margin trading, and a US politician who has revealed she’s bought a couple of cryptocurrencies. Also Read: Researcher: Stop Worrying About Bitcoin’s Environmental Impact Bakkt Won’t Offer Leverage Bakkt, the recently-announced subsidiary of … Read more

Bitcoiners Flee to Censorship-Resistant Platforms Amidst Social Media Clampdown

There’s been a storm brewing all year on social media and this week it hit with a vengeance. Wave after wave of protest has lashed the ocean liners Twitter, Youtube, Apple, and Facebook after controversial passengers were forcibly ejected for speaking out of turn. As the censorship cyclone has intensified, cryptocurrency users have begun fleeing … Read more

The Anonymous Bitcoin.org Owner Accuses BTC Mining Pools of Centralization

There’s been a lot of controversy over the past few weeks stemming from the anonymous Twitter handle and co-owner of Bitcoin.org, ‘Cobra Bitcoin.’ The well-known BTC community member has been at the forefront of contentious subjects for many years now, and this week Cobra is claiming that one man has control of more than 51 … Read more

Medium Is the Latest Platform to Start Censoring Crypto Companies

Cryptocurrency, a technology based upon principles of transparency, accountability, and censorship-resistance, is facing further censorship. Blogging service Medium joins a long list of platforms to have clamped down on crypto content together with Facebook, Google, and Mailchimp. As a service that’s meant to support free speech, Medium’s crackdown is all the more mystifying. Also read: Freedom … Read more

Censorship, Bans, and ETH Scams: Twitter Suspends Bitmain’s Official Account

This week the Twitter handle @Bitmaintech was locked down because Twitter administrators claimed the account belongs to a 4-year-old. The Twitter handle’s owner and Bitmain’s head of marketing have complained to the social media company’s support team and Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey. The account lockdown marks the second high profile bitcoin-related account that’s been banned … Read more

Censorship of Cryptocurrency Discussions on Reddit Gets Kafkaesque

The continued censorship of cryptocurrency discussions on some of the larger sub-forums of Reddit has gotten to new levels recently. People are not only getting banned for any comment that might challenge the moderators’ enforced opinions in one forum, but complaints are also silenced in competing forums as well. Also Read: Company Asks Israeli Authorities … Read more