After merchants determine the amount of a purchase, they enter the total amount, including tax, into the company’s app. The app then converts the total cash due into the appropriate amount of cryptocurrency. When it comes time for consumers to pay, they simply scan a QR code to complete the payment process.
In other news, state securities regulators in the U.S. and Canada have announced that they’re cracking down on crypto scams, Reuters reported. Regulators are looking into initial coin offerings (ICOs) and unregistered securities offerings in an operation dubbed “Operation Crypto-Sweep.”
Through a task force, regulators have opened 70 investigations in the operation, as 35 investigations enforcement actions are pending or have already occurred. In some cases, regulators have issued cease and desist letters to alleged scams.
“The actions we’ve taken to date are just the tip of the iceberg,” North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) President Joseph Borg told Reuters. “You’re going to see in this space a lot more collaboration and cooperation going forward.”
And the chief economist at Vanguard thinks a “decent probability” exists that bitcoin will be worth zero in the future, CCN reported. But Joe Davis believes the technology that underpins the cryptocurrency has potential.
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“I’m enthusiastic about the blockchain technology that makes bitcoin possible,” Davis said. “In fact, Vanguard is using such technology. As for bitcoin the currency? I see a decent probability that its price goes to zero.”
Furthermore, Davis believes that bitcoin isn’t really money, as it doesn’t serve as an effective store of value. In addition, he said the cryptocurrency’s valuation is based on speculation, and not a country’s economy.
“National currencies derive their prices from the underlying economic activity of the countries that issue them,” Davis said. “Cryptocurrency prices, on the other hand, are generally not based on economic fundamentals. To date, their prices have depended more on speculation about their eventual adoption and use.”
