Bitcoin
Golix Shelves ICO and Takes Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to Court Over Cryptocurrency Ban
Following the directive by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to ban cryptocurrency, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Zimbabwe, Golix, has now gone to court challenging the directive by Zimbabwe’s central bank after it was forced to shelve its token sale, which was scheduled to start on May 14. and was asked to cease operations by the central bank.
Golix informed Bitcoin Africa on May 15 that it has decided to suspend its planned ICO due to the RBZ’s new directive, which is effectively forcing them to shut down its operation by preventing banks from dealing with cryptocurrency startups. Moreover, as reported by TechZim, the central bank also reached out to Golix directly, in the week to follow the directive announcement, informing them that they are required to cease operations entirely.
Aside from warning the general public to keep away from decentralised digital currencies, RBZ sent a directive to all banks on May 11, 2018, giving them a maximum of 60 days to end any relationships they may have with cryptocurrency exchanges. Several bank accounts belonging to Golix have already been closed.
The circular, which was issued by the Registrar of Banking Institutions in Zimbabwe, N. Mataruka, lists Golix and Styx24 as the country’s cryptocurrency exchanges. In the circular, one of the reasons RBZ gave regarding the ban was that they wanted to be able to “safeguard the integrity, safety and soundness of the country’s financial system, and to protect the public in general”.
Golix is Fighting Back
Golix will not go out without a fight. Golix has presented the High Court of Zimbabwe with three arguments on why the ban of cryptocurrency in the country is not just. In their first argument, Golix questioned whether the RBZ has any legal authority to ban cryptocurrencies. In their explanation, Golix detailed how they had severally met the RBZ including a day before the circular was released. According to their first argument, RBZ has no authority over Golix and neither have they, in their engagements, ever shown or behaved in a manner that indicated so.
Golix’s second argument terms RBZ’s directive as unfair based on the legal principle of administrative justice as the central bank of Zimbabwe neither gave reasonable notice nor the right of response. This, according to Golix’s argument, means the RBZ breached the right to Administrative Justice considering that by statue, RBZ is an administrative body.
A quote from the second argument by Golix as shared by Techzim states:
“Applicant was never advised prior to the ban that it will be implemented even though Respondents had ample opportunity to advise Applicant of same. As aforesaid, the last meeting between the parties was held on 11 May 2018. Four officials from the Applicant including myself attended the meeting while fifteen officers, including the Registrar of Banking Institutions represented the Respondents. In that meeting, the discussions were more of Respondents wanting to learn and understand the technology behind our business and our business model. The impression we got was that Respondents wanted to understand in order to begin working on regulation. No mention was made of any impending ban on our business”.
Unconstitutional Ban
According to Golix’s third argument, the ban by the RBZ is unconstitutional. Golix sited Section 68 of the constitution by saying: “Section 68 of the Constitution requires that administrative action be lawful, reasonable, proportionate and procedurally fair. I humbly submit that Respondents’ actions fell short of the standard required in the Constitution”.
In their defense, they give reasons as to why the view the directive as unconstitutional as:
“First, the press statement issued by 1st Respondent does not state the purpose for which the ban was imposed. The reason why it was necessary to impose the ban is not stated in the press statement. We can only speculate as to why the ban was imposed. In the absence of a clear reason for the imposition of the ban, it is really difficult to assess the proportionality of 1st Respondent’s decision vis-a –vis the goal it was intended to achieve. Nonetheless, even in the absence of a clear reason for the ban, it is not difficult to see that the decision is disproportionate”.
Following the directive, Golix issued a statement via their blog notifying its customers that unless RBZ changed its position before the 60-day window period given, they “will not be able to send or receive fiat currencies for cryptocurrency trades”.
While the High Court of Zimbabwe will determine the fate of the case between Golix and RBZ, the move by Zimbabwe’s central bank to ban cryptocurrencies is a clear indication of how most African states are yet to embrace digital currencies such as bitcoin. And while we cannot speculate on the ruling that the court will make, this move could slow down the adoption of cryptocurrencies in other African markets.
Statistics, examples, and ways to legally use cryptocurrency
October 1, 2013, was a turbulent day for San Francisco Public Library. A dozen FBI agents pretending to be usual visitors surrounded a man sitting at one of the tables, took his laptop and put a pair of handcuffs on his hands. That man was Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road – the largest darknet marketplace for drug dealers, killers, and other criminals. The seizure of Ulbricht was supposed to tackle the illegal online trade, but, as the news site DeepDotWeb wrote, the bust was “the best advertising the darknet markets could have hoped for”. The reputation of cryptocurrency also suffers from associations with terrorists, who sometimes use it for their needs. How big is the real scale of the problem? And how many legal ways to use crypto exist? ChangeNOW has dived into the topic – and suggests you an overview of the current state of the problem.
Highlights:
- The drugs trade volume using cryptocurrency is relatively large
- Crypto was a significant reason why a part of drug sales migrated to the web, though stays yet not viable and anonymous enough for dealers (same as for terrorists)
- As efficient use of blockchain technology requires good infrastructure, crypto remains not suitable enough for many terrorist groups
- However, some terrorists are trying to adjust to anonymity threats and hold fundraising in crypto
- Legal ways to use cryptocurrency include dozens and vary from IT services to car rentals
Crypto & Drugs & Rock’n’Roll
The total volume of the online drug market using cryptocurrency is around $1 billion. It is located in the darknet, which provides an attractive, profitable, and mostly secure environment for drug dealers. Cryptocurrency, in turn, allows making payments that are hard to be tracked by authorities. This is how blockchain technology has helped to bring a big part of drug sales online from the streets. And it’s not only about drugs themselves – many legal opioid drugs are illegally sold here, too.
However, cryptocurrency is not always as secure and anonymous as it is thought to be. The information about any transaction ever made stays forever in the blockchain, which makes the system way more transparent than cash payments. This is a significant limitation for using crypto in illegal purposes.
According to the University of Technology Sydney, about 46% of criminal activity of each year is connected to Bitcoin. As for the drug sale itself, trade volumes in crypto keep rising, but the percent of Bitcoin drug transactions out of all transactions goes down. This means Bitcoin is more frequently used for legitimate purposes.
What cryptocurrency is used for drug sales most often? Surprisingly, privacy coins such as Monero are used only for 4% of transactions. Due to its pioneer position, Bitcoin is used in 76% of all deals despite all its anonymity risks.
The main problem for drug dealers using crypto is to turn their income into cash. This move remains complicated and insecure. Most cryptocurrency exchanges have instruments to define whether a transaction is coming from a suspicious source like the darknet. The rise of Monero use in the online drug market will hinder such tracking. However, for the reasons listed above, crypto is unlikely to completely replace regular cash in drug sales in the foreseeable future.
Cryptoterrorism
The views on how much cryptocurrency is used and will be used by terrorists vary widely. While some claim that terrorists have no infrastructure to use it and the methods are not secure enough, others argue that they are learning fast and adjust to crypto rapidly. Let’s see what both sides say.
Not actively using, unclear future
Lack of appropriate infrastructure, inability to use crypto. Most terrorist groups settle in the Middle East region, especially on its remote and war-torn territories. The vast majority of roads and technological infrastructure have been destroyed. In such circumstances, cash remains the most common and convenient way to pay and fundraise. Imagine a gun seller in a Syrian village – does it look like he has a tool to accept Monero?
Anonymity threats. Given the relative transparency of blockchain mentioned above, crypto might remain too unsafe for terrorists. Miners can see any potential terrorist money exchange while checking transactions, and it’s not too hard to see who sends them money. It can change with the rising use rate of privacy coins, but the ability to spend such money remains questionable.
Increased attention to crypto by the authorities. As the number of transactions keeps rising, more regulatory bodies’ attention gets focused on cryptocurrency, which apparently makes terrorists nervous and cautious.
Problems of specific currencies. While top cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin receive much regulatory attention, others remain marginal and unreliable because of a lack of support. Conflicts and uncertainty lower the trust to such cryptocurrencies – yes, even terrorists’ trust.
Using actively now, increasingly in the future
Terrorists seem to be rapidly learning to escape from tracking in blockchain. Several years ago it was easy to find any address or transaction made for a terrorists’ fundraiser. Today they use well organized and finely designed websites, where detailed video tutorials show how to donate money anonymously. Unique Bitcoin addresses and other crypto tricks are used to preserve security. Analysts from intelligence services claim there’s only going to be more such cases. And, of course, privacy coins are a “great opportunity” for terrorists too.
Shift to cryptocurrency is a reaction to economic sanctions. ISIS has lost most of its territory and resources, Hamas has been sanctioned by the West. Having been cut off from all main financial institutes, terrorist groups had to find other pathways for their financial activities – and cryptocurrency appeared to be the best substitute.
There might be difficulties and inconveniences, and the number of terrorists using crypto is yet unknown – but as we can see, digital money in terrorism is reality. Same as in drugs. And this is what cryptocurrency is notorious for, lacking trust among millions of people. The reputation of some of the exchange services only adds to this mistrust – ChangeNOW has carried out a special investigation on how such platforms may cheat their clients. But can you buy anything besides heroin and firearms with your crypto? What about pizza or a concert ticket?
Only Antarctica left
Cryptwerk, a platform monitoring actual use cases of different cryptocurrencies, says there are about 3500 ways to spend Bitcoin and more than 800 for Monero today. They range from music services to car rentals, from buying clothes to hotel booking services, and from sports bets to virtual tours.
Organizations accepting cryptocurrency are located on all continents besides Antarctica (what could be a better place for crypto than a continent without governments and countries though?). Mostly, in the USA and Central Europe. Bitcoin as the largest cryptocurrency is relatively widespread in India and Southeast Asia.
As this is a whole another topic, ChangeNOW will issue a post dedicated to use cases of cryptocurrencies. As it will be more detailed, who knows – maybe you’ll find a pizza right by that you could pay for from your crypto wallet!
This article was contributed by Jeremy from ChangeNow.
Buroka is a new breed of cryptocurrency exchange for Africa! Currently operating in Nigeria, Buroka was designed to fulfill the needs of modern Africans. Buroka allows customers to buy and sell Bitcoin with Naira via Local Transfers and cash deposits at the bank. In this Buroka review, you will learn more about the exchange and how you can use it to buy bitcoin in Nigeria.
How to Buy Bitcoin on Buroka
Step 1: Account Creation
To create an account, visit Buroka.com and hit the “Register” button. This will lead you to a page where you will be asked to fill in your personal information, including your name, email address, and password. Like any other serious exchange, Boruka will ask you for your ID, Proof of Address, and to take a selfie with your ID to eliminate fraud.
Step 2: Fund Your Account
Funding your account on the platform is straightforward. You can deposit either via bank transfer or at any bank branch. Make sure to use a unique reference code given to you by Buroka deposit system.
Step 3: Buying and Selling BTC
Once your deposit has been credited to your account you can immediately buy your Bitcoin. The buying and selling tab is located on the top right corner of the dashboard. There you can input the amount of bitcoin you want to buy. Once you do that, you then click on the “BUY BTC” button.
Step 4: Storing Your BTC
After buying BTC, Buroka provides users with the option of either storing bitcoin on the platform in a BitGo wallet or any other wallet of their choice.
Currently, Buroka only supports bitcoin (BTC). However, the exchange plans to include other cryptocurrencies going forward.
Security
Buroka exchange makes use of Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). 2FA provides an extra layer of protection for users. With the 2FA in place, an extra piece of information is needed before login into the platform or making any withdrawals.
In addition, Buroka’s platform is also protected using the latest security technology, including web-socket and API protocols that allow for a fast and secure order processing. Buroka also makes use of a well-updated SSL certificate, which makes it easy to detect a phishing attempt.
To further ensure that clients’ funds are secure, Buroka operates segregated accounts. These accounts are held with trusted banks so that clients can enjoy an extra layer of security provided by the banking system.
Conclusion
Buroka is a relatively new Bitcoin exchange with a well-designed, user-friendly interface. The Bitcoin trading platform provides several deposit options, which is attractive for Nigerian Bitcoin traders, as well as competitive market rates for both buyers and sellers.
If you are looking to buy or sell bitcoin in Nigeria, you can give Buroka a try.
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