Cryptocurrency This Week: Supreme Court Sets Crypto Hearing On Sept 25, Libra Under EU Scrutiny And More

Bitcoin — the Dark Knight — has been the lead currency on the dark web for the past couple of years. On the dark web, the cryptocurrency has been extensively used for buying illegal drugs, arms and other stuff.

However, in a recent interesting case, a woman named Yanyan Lesser approached a hitman on the dark web and paid him $7,000 in Bitcoin to teach her ex-lover a lesson. In an exchange of messages, the woman said, “I would like to give this guy a lesson. Give him a good beating and legs broken.”

Lesser has now been handed a sentence of up to 30 months in prison.

Despite being one of the founding members of the non-profit Libra Association that will launch cryptocurrency Libra next year, Mastercard is now reportedly planning to launch its own altcoin.

“Do you have the desire to work at the cutting-edge intersection of payments and cryptocurrencies?,” Mastercard has asked in its fresh recruitment listing, reported the New York Post.

It’s worth noting that Facebook’s Libra project is being backed by notable companies including Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, Stripe, PayU, Booking, eBay, Farfetch, Lyft, Spotify and Uber.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is yet again trading above $10K after a rally this week. So let’s take a look at the crypto news of the week!

Crypto Vs RBI: Supreme Court Sets The Next Hearing On Sept 25

After IAMAI presented its arguments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been asked to respond to the questions raised by cryptocurrency exchanges within two weeks in the Supreme Court of India, about the ban on cryptocurrencies.

At the time, the crypto exchanges made a representation to the central bank explaining why rules, rather than restrictions, can address the regulator’s concerns over cryptocurrency trade. In line with the representations, Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman on Wednesday directed the RBI to respond in the “manner appropriate” and scheduled its next hearing for September 25.

The direction came under the ongoing case in the Supreme Court over RBI’s restrictions, including barring banks from extending any services to the crypto community. In April 2018, the Reserve Bank of India issued a circular instructing all regulated financial services entities to exit relationships with companies and individuals dealing in virtual currencies and block all such crypto-related transactions.

Facebook’s Libra Under Scrutiny

Facebook’s Libra project is constantly under scrutiny across different parts of the world. While David Marcus has already testified before a US Congress Committee, now European Union antitrust regulators are probing the project, reported Bloomberg.

According to the report, the European Commission is currently investigating potential anti-competitive behaviour related to the Libra Association amid concerns the proposed payment system would unfairly shut out rivals.

Meanwhile, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in an interview with CNBC, contradicted US President Donald J Trump’s view on Bitcoin and Facebook’s Libra. Pompeo said that the regulators should use the same framework that they use to regulate all other electronic financial transactions today.

Upcoming US Presidential Election Candidates On Crypto

While John McAfee’s presidential run was short-lived, thanks to the hide-and-seek game between him and US investigative agencies, Democratic presidential candidate and crypto supporter Andrew Yang in a recent interview with Coin Chat stated,

“My vision of the economy is very consistent with the people who are in the cryptocurrency community.”

According to reports, Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, Tesla chairman Elon Musk, Sam Altman of YCombinator, Miles Lasater of F-Prime Capital Partners and Mike Gamson, of LinkedIn have come forward to support Yang’s candidature.

According to reports another Democratic candidate and former US VP Joe Biden is also being backed by many crypto enthusiasts.

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