Coin telegraph
Diana Ngo
15-04-01 10:50 AM
APR 1 DIGEST: BitLicense Scrapped, Kim K and North Korea Squabble over ‘KimCoin’ Naming Rights
Ben Lawsly retracts BitLicense, North Korea launches "KimCoin," ShapeShift Integrates Winklecoin, Bitcoin creator unveils real identity, and more top stories that happened on April 1.
Benjamin Lawsky, New York state superintendent of financial services, has suddenly retracted the BitLicense proposal, arguing that "we can not afford to stifle innovation in the monetary space."
Speaking at a press conference wearing a “Free Ross” T-shirt, Lawsky admitted he had been hasty in adopting his initial views on cryptocurrency, stating:
"Well, at first I wanted to stop Bitcoin, because my Wall Street banker friends were fearing for their jobs. My one banker friend, let's call him Danny, was like, 'Ben, I don't want to have to learn a new trade. Stop the Bitcoin, bro.'"
Lawsky continued:
"I realized that I am actually sick of using these banks myself. For example, HSBC recently closed my hidden Switzerland account. What, now I'm supposed to pay taxes?
So I've decided to retract the BitLicense. We just can't afford to stifle innovation in the monetary space, ya know? We need to get out from under the stagnation of banking cartels."
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In an unexpected move, North Korea has announced its plans to introduce its own digital currency KimCoin named after its supreme leader, Kim Jong-un. While it’s not the first nation to go digital (Ecuador, Philippines), the new digital currency could finally give its downtrodden economy a gateway to the global economy.
“KimCoin will enable the great nation of Korea to grow strong and prosper,” reads the official announcement from the National People’s Party. “The crowdsale will begin on April 2 with the goal of raising 4 Billion USD, half of which will go to cover our gross external debt, with the remaining share to be spent on a PR campaign spearheaded by -Dennis Rodman.”
Predictably, the scheme is already a source of controversy, but perhaps not for the reasons many expected. Kim Kardashian, whose husband Kanye West launched his own ill-fated currency Coinye in January 2014, is said to be suing North Korea over an alleged naming rights dispute.
“[…] And then I was like, ‘Bruce wants to be a girl, so there’s no way I’m gonna stand back and let a GUY named Kim get in there first – where’s the family support in that?’” she told CNN.
Read More:
http://cointelegraph.com/news/113842/bitlicense-scrapped-kim-k-and-north-korea-squabble-over-kimcoin-naming-rights