Danish government wants to allow petrol stations, stores to refuse cash

The Local27 February 2019

The government is considering giving stores and gas stations the option of becoming cash-free as a measure against crime.

Lawmakers are to consider easing current rules which make it compulsory for the vast majority of stores to accept cash payments, DR reports.

Suggested changes to the rules would allow businesses such as petrol stations, convenience stores and clothing shops to choose to only accept card and online forms of payment.

Such a measure would provide additional security for stores, Business Minister Rasmus Jarlov said.

“Fewer people use cash today, so we think there should be a balance between the difficulty and security risks placed on business owners and the benefits of accepting cash,” Jarlov told DR.

A 2017 law enabled certain types of store to apply for dispensation to be cash-free between 10pm and 6am.

Goldman Sachs considers trading bitcoin & other cryptocurrencies

RT, 3 Oct, 2017
A new trading operation dedicated to digital currencies is being explored by Goldman Sachs, sources told the Wall Street Journal. It could be the first blue-chip Wall Street firm to deal directly in the growing yet controversial cryptocurrency market. 
“In response to client interest in digital currencies, we are exploring how best to serve them in this space,” said an unnamed Goldman spokeswoman.
According to people familiar with the matter, Goldman’s effort involves both its currency trading division and the bank’s strategic investment group. The firm sees bitcoin’s future more as a payment method rather than a store of value.

Sources also said Goldman’s effort is in its early stages and may not proceed. The firm’s interest, however, could strengthen bitcoin’s position as digital currencies were initially viewed as havens for illicit activity.
Big banks such as UBS, Barclays, ING, Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon have recently announced ventures into the blockchain technology that allows digital currencies to function and be transferred safely.
BNP Paribas has said it is looking to add bitcoin to one of its currency funds and has been doing "beta testing" involving the cryptocurrency.
Societe Generale and JPMorgan even published job offers for an IT developer and technician on bitcoin, blockchains, and cryptocurrencies.

Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman said bitcoin is “obviously highly speculative, but it’s not inherently bad.”
According to research firm Autonomous NEXT, around 70 hedge funds are currently investing in cryptocurrencies.
Control over virtual currencies’ trading platforms has been tightened recently to prevent them from becoming money laundering sites.
Last month, Chinese authorities cracked down on cryptocurrencies, ordering the country’s exchanges to suspend operations. Beijing banned initial coin offerings (ICOs), referring to them as an unauthorized fundraising tool that may involve financial scams.
The move was followed by South Korea, with the country’s financial regulator saying it will ban money raising through all forms of virtual currencies.
In July, the US Securities and Exchange Commission warned that some ICOs should be regulated like other securities. Authorities in Singapore and Canada have issued similar warnings.        RT

Cashless society, universal income and total control.

By Greg Hunter On August 16, 2017

Market analyst Lynette Zang says get ready for a “money standard shift.” A reset in how we buy and sell things is being put into place. Zang contends, “Look at the crypto currency area because they know that’s where they want to go. They have to take us there so they can get rid of cash, and they can control everything directly. . . . Generally speaking, all these new crypto coins that are coming out and are making lots of money and people marry that money because of nominal confusion, what is really happening is they are preparing us . . . for a money standard shift.”

Zang explains that the U.S. dollar has lost about 96% of its value since inception of the Federal Reserve, and its value is “nearing the bottom. . . . So, there is no place else to go but to digital currency,” says Zang.

On interest rates, Zang says with all the massive debt out there globally, rates cannot be allowed to rise, and central bankers “need interest rates to be negative.” Zang says, “Interest rates will not go up too much further because that will trigger the derivative market unless they are ready for the shift . . . because all that debt keeps coming due. It’s not like they are paying that debt off, they are just rolling it into additional debt. Rising interest rates will cost everybody more money.”

If rates go up to around 4%, Zang contends, “That would be a trigger and cause a derivative event that will implode all the markets.”

Zang says we are headed towards an undemocratic technocratic financial system. Zang explains, “Technocrats don’t care about people, they care about systems. That’s what the most important thing is. The formulas that guide all of those systems is not how a democracy works. . . . Essentially, what they are trying to do is get all wealth held in cyberspace and the title to all wealth held in cyberspace. Then the “Smart Contract” can immediately transfer that title. You can go to the mall and spend the equity in your house.”

Zang warns that central banks could make a big mistake and lose control quickly. Zang says, “They could lose control because it’s all about confidence. Why do they keep testing all of this confidence? People have been losing a lot of confidence in the governments and central banks. Why do they need a trustless system? They could lose control.”

Zang says every fiat currency will reset against gold and silver, and if it happened today, she estimates “gold would be more than $9,300 per ounce” and “silver would be more than $625 per ounce.”  Zang says, given all the unpayable debt in the world, those are conservative estimates.     USA watchdog

A global first Swiss town will accept bitcoin for some payments starting this summer

By jamey keaten, associated press GENEVA — May 11, 2016, 12:29 PM ET

A Swiss town that is billing itself as a hub for the digital currency industry will accept bitcoin for some payments starting this summer, in what proponents call a worldwide first by a government body and a sign that "crypto finance" is growing in legitimacy.

The town council in northern Zug last week approved plans to accept payments of up to 200 Swiss francs (about $200) for municipal registration fees starting July 1, in what Mayor Dolfi Mueller called Wednesday an "experiment" aimed at making the digitally-minded town a pioneer in finance.

Many in Zug tout the town's reputation as part of "Crypto Valley," with some 15 companies linked to the digital currency business. The council's move is designed in part to help those firms, while providing a coming-of-age push to bitcoin, which has been used widely already in private-sector transactions.

Niklas Nikolajsen, CEO of financial services company Bitcoin Suisse AG in Zug, said the city's decision is "the first example of a state entity that accepts bitcoin."

Officials in the city of 30,000 people note that the scale so far is small, and only a few thousand francs' worth of fees are expected to be paid with bitcoin this year. Tax payments, for example, are exempt — for now.

Dolfi acknowledged some hesitancy about what the town's experiment and "small pioneer act," which is due to last initially through year-end, in a generally conservative town. "It's something new. People don't know what it is. People are afraid it's for killers or criminals. It's not that — it's very simple," he said in a phone interview.

Bitcoin is a type of digital currency that allows people to buy goods and services and exchange money without involving banks, credit card issuers or other third parties. The coins are created by users who "mine" them by lending computing power to verifying other users' transactions, and receive bitcoins in exchange.

The coins also can be bought and sold on exchanges with U.S. dollars and other currencies. Their value has fluctuated over time. At its height in late 2013, a single bitcoin was valued above $1,100. Currently, a bitcoin fetches about $450.

Don't expect everyone to start abandoning their Swiss francs just yet, though.

Dolfi and Nikolajsen both pointed to "a dentist" in Zug who is already accepting payment through bitcoin, and it's unclear whether merchants and other service providers in town will jump on the bitcoin train.

"I would be very surprised if you can't buy everything from your Ferrari on down within the next twelve months or so" in Zug, said Nikolajsen. "Acceptance is not far away. It won't be a hard-hitter among people in the second half of their lives, but for younger people it will be common.      ABC News

A Swiss town that is billing itself as a hub for the digital currency industry will accept bitcoin for some payments starting this summer, in what proponents call a worldwide first by a government body and a sign that "crypto finance" is growing in legitimacy.

The town council in northern Zug last week approved plans to accept payments of up to 200 Swiss francs (about $200) for municipal registration fees starting July 1, in what Mayor Dolfi Mueller called Wednesday an "experiment" aimed at making the digitally-minded town a pioneer in finance.
Many in Zug tout the town's reputation as part of "Crypto Valley," with some 15 companies linked to the digital currency business. The council's move is designed in part to help those firms, while providing a coming-of-age push to bitcoin, which has been used widely already in private-sector transactions.
Niklas Nikolajsen, CEO of financial services company Bitcoin Suisse AG in Zug, said the city's decision is "the first example of a state entity that accepts bitcoin."
Officials in the city of 30,000 people note that the scale so far is small, and only a few thousand francs' worth of fees are expected to be paid with bitcoin this year. Tax payments, for example, are exempt—for now.
Dolfi acknowledged some hesitancy about what the town's experiment and "small pioneer act," which is due to last initially through year-end, in a generally conservative town. "It's something new. People don't know what it is. People are afraid it's for killers or criminals. It's not that—it's very simple," he said in a phone interview.
Bitcoin is a type of digital currency that allows people to buy goods and services and exchange money without involving banks, credit card issuers or other third parties. The coins are created by users who "mine" them by lending computing power to verifying other users' transactions, and receive bitcoins in exchange.
The coins also can be bought and sold on exchanges with U.S. dollars and other currencies. Their value has fluctuated over time. At its height in late 2013, a single bitcoin was valued above $1,100. Currently, a bitcoin fetches about $450.
Don't expect everyone to start abandoning their Swiss francs just yet, though.
Dolfi and Nikolajsen both pointed to "a dentist" in Zug who is already accepting payment through bitcoin, and it's unclear whether merchants and other service providers in town will jump on the bitcoin train.
"I would be very surprised if you can't buy everything from your Ferrari on down within the next twelve months or so" in Zug, said Nikolajsen. "Acceptance is not far away. It won't be a hard-hitter among people in the second half of their lives, but for younger people it will be common."


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-05-global-swiss-town-bitcoin-payments.html#jCp