Under a new proposal released by Russia’s Ministry of Finance, the use of cryptocurrencies in the already bitcoin-hostile country could become a criminal offense. The ministry released the proposal on its website last week. Bitcoin and other digital currencies are already “forbidden” in Russia, although the country has provided little clarity on what this means […]
Earlier this week, the National Assembly of Ecuador began debate over a bill that would create a state-controlled digital currency. One extremely controversial element of the bill was an amendment that would make the use of other digital money in the state illegal. In effect, the law would ban the use of bitcoin and other […]
Earlier this year, the People’s Bank of China did almost everything within its power to discourage large-scale trading in bitcoin. When threats and warnings didn’t work, it forbade bitcoin companies from using the country’s payment system. Exchanges soon found ways around this, working with third-party processors to obscure payments. When bitcoin prices and trading again […]
In terms of total assets and market capitalization, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is the largest bank in the world. The ICBC controls nearly $15.5 trillion in assets, and had a net income of more than $200 billion dollars in 2011. As powerful as the ICBC is, however, it still answers to […]