Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

A Serbian national has been extradited to the United States to face charges of defrauding investors out of more than $70 million through a cryptocurrency mining and binary options scam. Antonije Stojilkovic, 32, and six accomplices, who were all arrested between July and October 2020, faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted. Bogus Profiles According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Stojilkovic was nabbed in his home country after the country submitted a “provisional arrest request on July 24, 2020. The statement adds that his removal “from Serbia to the Northern District of Texas” was completed on On Feb. 4, 2021. Alongside his six coconspirators, Stojilkovic is accused of targeting “investors around the globe – including several in north Texas – soliciting ‘investments’ in binary options and cryptocurrency mining.” The DOJ says the defendants, who used their home bases in China and Serbia, orchestrated the scam through “more than 20 fraudulent...

An incentive of 100G$ will be given to registered users for new referrals, and 50G$ to new users as a ‘welcome bonus.’ Etoro, one of the world’s leading social trading platforms, has announced that it’s funding rewards for the next one million users of its Gooddollar project, following the launch of a brand new referral program. Stablecoin G$ Aims to Become Digital Universal Basic Income Gooddollar is a digital coin and wallet founded in September 2020 by Yoni Assia, the cofounder, and CEO of Etoro. It provides a digital form of universal basic income (UBI) to citizens worldwide by issuing a stablecoin named G$. To date, Gooddollar has supported over 50,000 users with its digital UBI, with this new referral program set to grow that further. Under the terms of the referral program, Gooddollar users will receive a bonus of 100 G$ for each new invitee that signs up. New users are set to benefit too and receive a welcome bonus of 50 G$ once registration is completed. Etoro has yet to ...

The new administration in Estonia is still planning to pursue an agenda to tighten rules for companies dealing with cryptocurrencies. The Ministry of Finance is looking to strengthen anti-laundering measures within the context of a major money-laundering scandal that involved Danske Bank. Estonia Revoked Over 1,000 Crypto Firms’ Licenses in 2020 Per a report by ERR News , the Ministry of Finance is not aiming to ride-off from the past administration’s agenda regarding the regulation of crypto assets, such as bitcoin ( BTC ). The current draft legislation is inherited from Jüri Ratas, the former country’s prime minister and head of the Centre Party. Although Estonia was considered several years ago as a crypto-friendly hotspot in the region, especially during Taavi Rõivas’ mandate, the situation has changed recently. Before the ministry drafted legislation to make regulations stricter, Estonia issued over 1,300 licenses. With the Ratas’ legislation, over 1,000 licenses of crypto fi...

In Argentina, a provincial legislature has voted in favor of a bill to impose new taxes on gross incomes from crypto transactions. Cordoba’s central province is now the first one to impose crypto taxes in the country, which involves crypto exchange platforms and retail traders. Approved Tax Bill Grants a Definition of Cryptocurrencies According to CBA4N , the “Tax Law 2021” approved by the legislature seeks to tax people 4% to 6.5% on gross incomes from crypto-related transactions. Also, individuals or businesses who receive payments in cryptocurrencies “in exchange for goods or services” will be subject to a rate of 0.25%. Citing Cordoba Bitcoin, a local crypto community, the local media outlet believes other provinces and even the national government could replicate the measure. Cordoba Bitcoin also clarified CBA4N that previously, there was only a 15% tax corresponding to earnings, and that covered cryptos as a result of the difference in price in the year. The Central Bank of ...

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF)’s Alex Gladstein has heaped praise on bitcoin saying it’s an escape hatch from tyranny and that there is more to it than its price. In comments made via a short video, Gladstein, who is the chief strategy officer (CSO) at HRF, asserts that “people who buy bitcoin are strengthening a tool for protecting human rights.” Bitcoin Preserves Freedom Meanwhile, Gladstein uses the video to push back again bitcoin critics like Paul Krugman whom he describes as living in a “sheltered environment in a liberal democracy with constitutional protections.” The CSO adds that since Krugman’s “native currency (USD) is globally dominant and relatively stable,” it is easy for him to open a bank account. Similarly, the HRF executive says it easy for Krugman to use a mobile app to “pay bills or to grow his wealth by investing in real estate or stocks.” In contrast, these privileges are not extended to 4.2 billion people that are living under “authoritarian regimes that ...

The number of unbanked and underbanked United States consumers is staggeringly high and will continue to rise as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without full and fair access to basic financial services many of us take for granted, as much as 25% of the adult, bankable population in the United States spends a disproportionate … Continued The post Fostering Financial Inclusion via Real-Time Digital Payments appeared first on Ripple. http://dlvr.it/RsHhtM

Musician Mike Shinoda, guitarist and founding member of the American rock band Linkin Park, has auctioned his first non-fungible token (NFT) for a charitable cause. The NFT, a piece of digital media titled ‘One Hundredth Stream,’’ raised over $30,000 Musician Mike Shinoda, guitarist and founding member of the American rock band Linkin Park, has auctioned his first non-fungible token (NFT). I made a thing: https://t.co/nxirMUsCvb #NFTs #Cryptoart @ourZORA — Mike Shinoda (@mikeshinoda) February 6, 2021 According to a tweet from Shinoda’s Twitter profile , $30,000 of the money raised will go to the Michael K Shinoda Endowed Scholarship at the Arts Center College of Design to ‘benefit students based on artistic merit and financial need.’ $30k US will be going to the “Michael K Shinoda Endowed Scholarship” at @artcenteredu to benefit students based on artistic merit and financial need. https://t.co/sMy9tPrWV1 — Mike Shinoda (@mikeshinoda) February 8, 2021 The NFT was a...

The price of bitcoin touched a new all-time high on Monday after the community discovered that Elon Musk’s firm Tesla added $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin to the company’s balance sheet. At press time, bitcoin is meandering over the $43k handle and has an overall market capitalization of around $814 billion today. Crypto Markets Rise in Value Bitcoin (BTC) shot up by thousands of dollars on Monday after the news about Tesla’s bitcoin made headlines and went viral on social media. The price per BTC hit a whopping $44,899 per unit and the price has retreated some since the top. Currently, bitcoin (BTC) is exchanging hands for $43,107 per unit with $27.9 billion in global trade volume. During the last seven days, BTC has risen over 30% and over 9% during the last month. 90-day stats show bitcoin is up 186% and 332% against the U.S. dollar for the last 12 months. Ethereum (ETH) is up 13% today and trading for $1,713 per unit on Monday. In the fourth position stands cardano (ADA)...

The Cardano network token has toppled Dot to become the crypto-asset with the fourth-highest market capitalization. This new Cardano position comes after its price surged by more than 85% from $0.35 on February 1 to $0.68 on February 7. With the new price, the token’s market capitalization has now moved from $11 billion to the $21.8 billion mark. Four Ranked Tokens As a result, the open-source blockchain’s ADA token has now become the third crypto to be ranked at number four within the first few weeks of 2021. Before ADA , it had been the XRP and Dot tokens that have been swapping this position. As markets.Bitcoin.com charts show, the ADA token also briefly peaked at $0.69 for the first time since January 2018. However, the new 52 week high is still half of the all-time high of $1.30. Dogecoin’s Continuing Rise In the meantime, Elon Musk’s favored crypto, dogecoin has surged to a new all-time high (ATH) of $0.0814. The new ATH follows continuing celebrity endorsement of ...

The publicly listed firm Tesla has announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form 10-k filing that the company has purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. When the news broke, the price of the leading crypto asset jumped well over 15%, touching a new all-time price high at $44,899 per coin. Tesla, the American electric vehicle and clean energy company based in Palo Alto, California has revealed the company has invested in bitcoin (BTC) . This is following the great number of dogecoin (DOGE) tweets stemming from the Tesla founder Elon Musk during the last two weeks. The 10-k SEC filing submitted by Tesla for the fiscal year 2020 shows the company owns $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. The announcement was found in a SEC Form 10-k filing which says the firm may “hold and may acquire digital assets that may be subject to volatile market prices, impairment and unique risks of loss.” “In January 2021, we updated our investment policy to provide us with more flexibility ...