Ex-Softbank executive Zurab Ashvil has launched L3COS, a three-layer blockchain for individual national governments. The top layer will be for governments, the second for business, and third for individuals. The governments will control the other two layers, including the issuance of digital assets. Each layer will have a separate consensus mechanism.

L3COS mirrors the country code top-level DNS system, which provides nations with digital domains. L3COS wants to offer countries such as domains on a blockchain.

For this purpose, its Proof-of-Government (PoGvt) algorithm will assign 195 super-nodes one super-node per country in the world. Individual governments will function independently and control their blockchain domains. Nations can use the blockchain to interact with their businesses and citizens. Governments having different blockchain domains can interact with each other on the blockchain.

Each blockchain domain will have the government layer, the business layer, and the individual layer.

The business layer of each blockchain domain will run on the Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism where businesses can carry out their transactions.

The individual layer of each blockchain domain will run on the Proof of Storage (PoST) consensus mechanism, where individuals will be able to rent their storage space to the rest of the system but still retain control over data usage.

Blockchain technology is a decentralized distributed ledger system. Records on the blockchain cannot be erased or changed. Governments and financial institutions have not yet responded enthusiastically to blockchain technology owing to fears of lack of control and monitoring of blockchains. L3COS aims to address these concerns to encourage different national governments to shift all their systems to its blockchain to take advantage of greater transparency and faster speed of transactions that the technology offers.

The cannabis industry has gone through a lot of troubles over the years and that is natural, considering the fact that it is a relatively new industry. In a new development, it has emerged that California based cannabis firm Harborside has announced that it has reached a breakthrough with the US Tax Court with regards to its tax bill. The company, which is listed in Canada, announced that its current total tax shortfall stands at $11 million. That is a significantly important development for the company since the tax bill had earlier been pegged at $25 million by the court.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had earlier revealed that the parent company of Harborside Oakland, Patients Mutual Assistance Corporation, was in the arrears for the period between 2007 and 2012. The tax code had been under Section 280E but last year, the company had argued that legal cannabis companies in a state should be exempt from the provisions in that section. At the time, the argument fell flat, but it seems that a year on from that embarrassment, the company has managed to make some progress in that front.

Andrew Berman, the Chief Executive Officer of the company spoke about the outcome. He said that it is the good news for all shareholders in the company that the tax liability is now far lower than it was in the past. He went on to add,

“By challenging the IRS’s overly aggressive interpretation of the tax law as it applies to cannabis businesses operating legally under state law, we have succeeded in reducing Harborside’s liability from the $36 million originally sought by the IRS to approximately $11 million.”

China is impulsively following the footsteps of the United Nations and trying to prop up a flagging central financial system. It has started manipulating its cash into the market with an aim to prevent the fall in the interest rates.

Following this strategy, the People’s Bank of China has already injected around 200 billion Yuan into the monetary gadget. China took this sudden impulsive decision of flowing cash (which is basically bank loans) amidst some industry disputes with America, which ultimately was slowing down China’s home financial system. As a result of the dispute, China’s manufacturing units began facing huge deflation, which even affected the monthly imports and exports of China. To prevent the situation from getting worse, China decided to inject billions in the hope of returning the investors’ interests towards Bitcoin again. By injecting liquidity into the monetary devices, China intends to make the financial coverage of the nation smooth and easy. The billions of medium-term lending facilities will hopefully open up the opportunities for the central financial institution of China to decrease the interest rates.

Talking about this US-China Dispute, Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, the economic commentator of Forbes Asia, commented,

“The USA-China industry struggle, for me, is solely a manifestation of a far deeper transition within the international economic system, and I consider China is getting ready its economic system to in the end decouple from the United States through the years.”

With this industry spat between the two nations, the worldwide economy is slowing down that can bring in economic disaster worldwide. The approach of the central banking institutions in flooding the market with billions, to some extent, will prevent the falling rates of interest, but at the same time, will devalue their own home currencies. In such a case, the use of Bitcoin can smake the situations stronger.

However, US Secretariat does not agree to this and the US Secretary of Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, has shown his concern for the illegal use of Bitcoin and also expressed his dislikes on the use of cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin has the potential to change the global economy. Many investors & analysts predict Bitcoin’s booming price and recommend investing in it. If you also want to trade or invest in Bitcoin, please go through the Bitcoin Trader’s Trading Platform Review and invest.

In a recent development, a cannabis farmer Cuong Nguyen grabbed the attention of one and all because of his revelations during an interview. 41-year old Cuong was one of the thousands of Vietnamese migrants who barged into the United Kingdom territory illegally with a motive to earn quick money from a country that is notoriously famous for having the highest prices for cannabis in Europe. He ended up working in the United Kingdom’s multi-billion dollar weed industry.

“All I ever wanted was to make money … whether it was legal or illegal,” said Cuong during the interview. While hiding himself in a suburban British house, he spent months looking after the plants grown by him.  He added that he left his native land in 2008 when he saw great potential in the cannabis trade. Cuong shared that he gave $15,000 to brokers to get a fraudulent passport and a place on a tour group to Europe.

Though, Cuong slipped into the UK territory from the Vietnamese port town of Haiphong at his will, not every migrant has the same story as a majority of them, including children, become victims of human trafficking and pushed into the gloomy reign of Vietnamese drug rulers. These drug bosses work as a foreman for the flourishment of the UK weed trade.

During the interaction, Cuong informed that he was 29 years old when he sneaked into the UK to earn a lavish life for himself. In his native land, he used to work as a small-time crook and was also a drug addict. His story throws light on the pitiful condition in Vietnam, where criminal groups take advantage of the widescale poverty and lack of opportunities for the youth to fulfill their illegal objectives.

Cuong added that he left his native land in 2008 when he saw great potential in the cannabis trade. Cuong shared that he gave $15,000 to brokers to get a fraudulent passport and a place on a tour group to Europe. He further conveyed that he left the tour in France and followed a migrant route to a camp in Calais. At the camp, Vietnamese human traffickers helped him in crossing the channel to Britain while hiding in a lorry.

With no knowledge of English, survival became quite tough for Cuong, and so he resorted to the migrant network for aid. He landed up in Bristol and worked for a person who managed several cannabis farms in the suburban vicinity. As per Cuong, he was restricted to stay in the house and work all alone. He was compelled to rely on the weekly food drops given by the handlers of the farms.

“I got up early, ate rice and prepared feed for my plants… put them under lights for two hours and watered them,” recalled Cuong. He feared the attack of the cops who had earlier destroyed cannabis farms running in disguise in dog kennels, pubs, abandoned hospitals, as well as a former nuclear bunker. He stated that he got panicky when police showed up in his neighborhood. He revealed that he earned nearly $19,000 from his illegal business and blamed his boss for cash embezzlement.

The Daunting Facts And Figures

The migrants coming from the poor central provinces of Vietnam, head to the UK with a hope to earn good cash to satisfy their family needs. Smugglers take advantage of their condition and charge up to $40,000 for arranging the travel documents and plane tickets. Unfortunately, at times, some people fall prey to evil human traffickers who falsely charge them with heavy debts and force them to work in brothels, nail bars, and cannabis farms in lieu of their services.

According to a report published by Anti-Slavery International, ECPAT UK, and Pacific Links Foundation, over 3,100 Vietnamese adults and children were categorized as potential trafficking victims by the UK government between 2009 and 2018.

In 2014, Cuong was arrested by the cops for smoking cannabis. The Crown Court data reveals that he was convicted for growing cannabis and was also sentenced to 10 months in jail. However, later, he was deported to his homeland.

The Home Office data shows that Cuong was amongst the 1,600 migrants who were sent to Vietnam either at will or by force since 2014. This whopping number included a minimum of 22 people under the age of 14 years of age. With the widespread poverty, these returnees often end up getting re-trafficked by the criminals.

Cuong, on the other hand, is slowly and steadily settling himself into his home territory and is planning to open a salon to earn money for the baby he is expecting from his new girlfriend. “In the past, I had to be tough and aggressive. Now I have to be soft and nice,” concluded Cuong.