Free Republic

President Trump on Tuesday granted a pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road drug marketplace and a cult hero in the cryptocurrency and libertarian worlds. In doing so, Mr. Trump fulfilled a promise that he made repeatedly on the campaign trail as he courted political contributions from the crypto industry, which spent more than $100 million to influence the outcome of the election. A Bitcoin pioneer, Mr. Ulbricht, 40, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2015, after he was convicted on charges that included distributing narcotics on the internet. “I just...

Google says it is still 10 years away from quantum that can decode crypto, and new quantum-safe cryptocurrencies may emerge...Tim Hollebeek, has a simplified way of thinking about the breakthrough...He says imagine a maze...A classical computer...would try one potential path at a time..."A quantum computer would be able to try each path at the same time..."

It could be a hoax. It could be a bunch of kids having fun. It could be a lot of things; this is the internet, after all. Or it could be deadly serious. A startling and unsettling story appeared today — a story that was immediately amplified when the Drudge Report posted it: “A dark web ‘hitman’ is promising to kill Trump — if he raises $30,000 in crypto.” The message appeared on the so-called dark web — part of the internet with hidden websites and secret messages that are only accessible with specialized software, such as the Tor browser....

The European Parliament’s Sarah Knafo said it’s time to stop “totalitarian temptations” by the European Central Bank and adopt Bitcoin. European lawmaker Sarah Knafo called on the European Union to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve while rejecting the proposed adoption of the “digital euro,” a central bank digital currency (CBDC) under development by the European Central Bank (ECB). Knafo, a French magistrate and a member of the European Parliament since June, delivered a pro-Bitcoin speech calling on European lawmakers to launch a strategic BTC reserve. “No to the digital euro, yes to a strategic Bitcoin reserve,” Knafo said in an...

BITCOIN IS BACK. Since Donald Trump’s election victory on November 5th, the world’s dominant cryptocurrency has surged to new heights above $100,000 a unit, enjoying a rise of 138% since the start of the year. Altogether, the world’s cryptocurrencies now have a market capitalisation of almost $4trn—making them more valuable than the entirety of Britain’s stockmarket. Holders of digital assets certainly have reason to be excited. Mr Trump has nominated Paul Atkins, a lawyer and head of a crypto-advocacy group, to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, America’s main financial regulator. The incoming administration is surrounded by Silicon Valley moguls...

Donald Trump has firmly embraced bitcoin and crypto this year as a leak reveals Russia could be about to start a bitcoin cold war. The bitcoin price has rocketed past $100,000 per bitcoin on the back of Trump's November election, with the chief executive of a major Wall Street giant admitting bitcoin "FOMO." Now, as an influential billionaire warns of a looming "debt crisis" that could collapse the U.S. dollar, Trump has confirmed he plans to establish a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve. "We're gonna do something great with crypto because we don’t want China, or anybody else … but others...

The cryptocurrency world is often marred by volatility and the collapse of unsustainable projects.However, Quintes Protocol, founded by Saudi entrepreneur Rand al-Kharashi, is poised to break the boom-bust cycle and rewrite the rules of decentralized finance (DeFi) – a blockchain-based system that eliminates the need for traditional intermediaries like banks, enabling users to trade, borrow, and lend directly on secure, transparent platforms. For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Quintes Protocol aims to ensure continuous asset growth and long-term value stability, backed by innovative engineering and now, a newly secured patent from...

What does the uber-powerful Quantum supercomputer Willow mean for bitcoin and crypto security.-Quantum computing does indeed pose significant threats to current security systems. -Bitcoin uses algorithms like SHA-256 for mining and ECDSA for signatures, which might be vulnerable to quantum decryption. -But don't sell your coins just yet. Google’s new quantum computing chip could mean bitcoin (BTC) is finished. That was the sentiment for some on Monday as the internet giant unveiled Willow, a quantum supercomputer that can perform certain computational tasks in just five minutes that would take classical supercomputers an astronomical amount of time—specifically, 10 septillion years...

Many of you may remember my reporting around "Operation Choke Point 2.0" from the spring of 2023; TLDR, Biden's financial regulators, namely the Fed, FDIC, and OCC, launched a crackdown on banks covering the crypto space. The first casualty was Silvergate Bank, which voluntarily liquidated. The standard reporting around Silvergate was that the bank lent to crypto depositors and those depositors were flighty; when rates rose, Silvergate suffered M2M losses on bond portfolios and ended up insolvent. Except that's not true. Silvergate weathered the storm, even though short sellers and members of Congress like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) encouraged a...

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong, I just had to write in to say thank you for explaining that Bitcoin was just a trading asset, not some new currency that would replace the dollar. I understand that money must be elastic to grow with society in economic booms and population. I just read a quote reported by Bloomberg: “After four years of political purgatory, Bitcoin and the entire digital-asset ecosystem are on the brink of entering the financial mainstream.” I know a programmer who said you were correct that the Deep State created blockchain. Has this recent rise been orchestrated to get us...

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that new technologies like Bitcoin and digital currencies cannot be effectively banned and will continue to evolve and grow in popularity. “We see processes with the use of other instruments. For instance, Bitcoin. Who can prohibit the use of it? No one,” said Putin, speaking during a keynote speech at the 15th VTB ‘Russia Calling’ Investment Forum in Moscow on Wednesday. “Or the use of other electronic ways of settlement. No one can ban the use of them,” Putin stressed. “These instruments will continue to develop because everyone will try to reduce costs and make...

Since my wife is out of town and I am alone, I wanted to share this with someone. Opened a bottle of 18 year old. Just a sip in celebration.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was one of several senior executives at the company under investigation by the Department of Justice when he was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel on Wednesday. Thompson — who was killed in what police called a targeted shooting outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown — exercised stock options and sold shares worth $15.1 million on Feb. 16, less than two weeks before news of the federal antitrust probe went public, according to a Crain’s New York Business report from April. ... Earlier this year, UnitedHealth was hit by one of the largest healthcare data breaches...

Hafina Eddy-Evans says she took a hard drive to the tip having no idea it contained 8,000 bitcoins, mined by former partner James Howells back in 2009Hafina Eddy-Evans has recounted the unfortunate moment she realised she had mistakenly thrown away a fortune, and how she broke the news to her former boyfriend that his wealth was lost. She admitted to disposing of an old hard drive at a Welsh dump, unaware it contained a trove of 8,000 Bitcoins, mined by James Howells in 2009, and now valued at a jaw-dropping £569million. Howell is currently embroiled in a legal battle for...

$98,530 at this writing.

Key Points AMD said on Wednesday that it will lay off 4% of its global staff. AMD had 26,000 employees at the end of last year, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. AMD is the second-biggest producer of graphics processing units, or GPUs, behind Nvidia. ============================================================= AMD said on Wednesday that it will lay off 4% of its global staff as the longtime computer chipmaker seeks to gain a stronger foothold in the growing artificial intelligence chip space dominated by Nvidia. ″As a part of aligning our resources with our largest growth opportunities, we are taking a...

At 17:01 in the video, a historic moment is approaching on this late afternoon Veteran's Day in the world of finance. Bitcoin (BTC) has a sort of trading desk or OVER THE COUNTER desk (OTC) where it bought and sold. There is approximatley 70,000 BTC left on the exchanges. In the next few weeks the SUCKING SOUND YOU'VE BEEN HEARING was not the collective cry of the DNC but rather it is acquisition scramble by the ETFs and Banks. Once the OTC desk BTC is gone these companies will need to find it buy it. They will be scouring the...

The stock market has surged to record highs since Kamala Harris entered the presidential race in July. Will the good vibes continue if she wins the White House? Fortune surveyed analysts and academics about what stocks could rally on a Harris victory, as well as what companies might see their shares drop. Here are some companies to keep in mind: Harris and former President Donald Trump differ starkly when it comes to climate and energy policy. As vice president, Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. Joe Biden’s signature climate law passed without any Republican support,...

Bitcoin - High for the day $68,983 - Trump Media (DJT) - High for the day $30.94

Donald Trump’s views of the cryptocurrency industry have shifted markedly in recognition of the emergence of that sector as a major player in the world of campaign finance.In 2021, Trump was an outspoken critic of digital currencies, telling Newsmax, “I’m not a fan of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air.”That same year, Trump told Fox Business that crypto was a “disaster waiting to happen” and that the United States should “regulate very, very high.”This year, he has done an about-face. At a June 27 Bitcoin conference in...