Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Over $3 billion worth in bitcoin seized by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), belonging to Silk Road, are likely linked to a former U.S. Secret Service agent. The latest findings suggest that “Individual X” is, in fact, Shaun Bridges. Bridges Is Set to Be Freed in November Per recent court filings, cited by Fortune , the 69,370 bitcoins taken by the law enforcement also have possible ties with Carl Mark Force IV, a former official from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Both agents were part of the investigations related to the now-defunct darknet marketplace. Although the report cannot be taken as a legal confirmation of Bridges’ relation with the BTC seized, Fortune pointed out that some clues in a DOJ statement shed some light about it: Individual X was able to hack into Silk Road and gain unauthorized and illegal access to Silk Road and thereby steal the illicit cryptocurrency. It’s worth noting that the disgraced U.S. Secret Service agent was convicted for usin...

The cryptocurrency financial services firm Blockfi has launched a bitcoin-based trust that offers custody from Fidelity Digital Asset Services. Blockfi’s investment vehicle aims to give investors exposure to the leading crypto asset as bitcoin assets under management (AUM) was over $29 million on February 8, 2021. Blockfi Launches a Competitive Bitcoin Trust With a Sponsor Fee of 1.75% On Tuesday, the lender and financial services company Blockfi launched its bitcoin trust as it is managed by Blockfi Management LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blockfi. The trust will charge a sponsor fee of 1.75% and the company leverages custodial services from Fidelity’s crypto arm. According to the announcement, the company will use Coin Metrics’ index services and pricing data. The company Grant Thornton LLP will be the Blockfi Bitcoin Trust’s financial auditor. Blockfi’s trust will compete with Grayscale ’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and it offers an annual fee that is .25% lower than GBTC’s fe...

A South Korean cryptocurrency exchange announced it established its first legally recognized branch in China. Although the nation banned all local crypto trading services, DBX said the firm already obtained a license to go ahead with the operations. Final Certificate of Incorporation Granted on February 5 According to Money Today , DBX received the operating license to establish the subsidiary in China as part of its overseas expansion plans. The crypto exchange is affiliated with the Korea Blockchain Coordination Association. Per the details given by the exchange, the Chinese government first green-lighted the opening of the branch on December 28, 2020, by issuing a temporary permission. However, the officials granted the final incorporation’s certification on February 5, 2021. A DBX official commented on the matter: The license to establish a corporation this time received from the Chinese government is a license that was obtained from the opposition to the establishment of fo...

Following the revelation that Tesla now owns $1.5 billion in bitcoin, crypto spot markets across the board skyrocketed. Data shows that crypto derivatives markets also saw significant demand as bitcoin futures open interest tapped $15 billion on Monday. Moreover, this week was the start of ethereum futures on CME Group’s exchange, and ether-based futures registered $33 million worth on the first day of launch. Bitcoin Futures Open Interest Jumps to $15 Billion Bitcoin (BTC) derivatives markets are in high demand these days and other cryptocurrencies like ethereum (ETH) and bitcoin cash (BCH) derivative products are as well. Just recently, news.Bitcoin.com reported on Bit.com’s introduction of BCH options which saw volumes double every day since the launch. Then on February 8, 2021, it was discovered that Tesla had purchased $1.5 billion worth of BTC , and the crypto asset saw its largest daily candle to date. Moreover, the action also caused massive demand for BTC futures a...

A state-affiliate cybersecurity expert warned about hackers exploiting the Russian government’s IT facilities to mine cryptocurrencies. The deputy director of the National Coordination Center for Computer Incidents believes such threat actors have been very active in recent times. Global Cybersecurity Landscape Remains ‘Tense’ According to TASS , Nikolai Murashov pointed out that hackers managed to inject unknown malware into the infrastructure of Russian government entities, medical institutions, defense contractors, and even research institutes. The cybercriminals then look for IT resources to use to illicitly mine cryptos. He added: For the first time, there have been cases of the introduction of malicious software that encrypts user data into the information infrastructure of medical institutions. However, the expert didn’t provide more details about the attacks during his speech at the XXIII National Information Security Forum “Infoforum-2021” in Moscow. Also, he didn’t cl...

Mad Money host Jim Cramer has applauded Elon Musk and Tesla for their bitcoin investment. He said that Tesla, Paypal, and Mastercard are pushing bitcoin more into the mainstream. He believes that more companies should do more with their cash as Tesla did. Jim Cramer on Tesla, Paypal, and Bitcoin Jim Cramer shared his views Monday on bitcoin and Elon Musk’s Tesla investing $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency on The Street. Cramer is the host of Mad Money on CNBC and a former hedge fund manager who co-founded the financial website Thestreet.com. He discussed Tesla stock which has been steadily climbing over recent months and news that the company has invested in bitcoin. According to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), published Monday, Tesla invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin in January. In addition, the company plans to accept BTC as a form of payment for its products. Cramer was asked if Tesla’s announcement pushes bitcoin more into the mainstream. “I...

The price of bitcoin soared to new heights after Tesla informed the public that it added $1.5 billion to the company’s balance sheet. Bitcoin touched an all-time high (ATH) reaching $48,216 per unit and has retreated in value a hair since then. While crypto enthusiasts are bullish, a few supporters and analysts believe the crypto asset might be overbought, and bitcoin prices may see a drop as we cross over into the Chinese New Year. The Crypto Economy’s Trillion-Dollar Market Cap Continues to Swell Bitcoin (BTC) has seen significant gains during the last 24 hours as the cryptocurrency touched an ATH at $48,216 per coin. During the last hour, the crypto asset is exchanging hands for prices between $46,500 to $47,100 per unit with $39 billion in global trade volume. Out of the $1.32 trillion market cap amongst all 8,416 cryptocurrencies and 33,534 markets, BTC has a dominance rating of 62.9% today. BTC has gained 27% this week, 18% during the last month, 188% for the 90-day span...

Free TON is a community driven blockchain network with a focus on decentralized governance based on the open-source TON project which was previously developed by Telegram. Dune Network is a platform for distributed applications over a blockchain, focused on safety and security. The two groups will now begin to merge following a successful vote for a decentralized M&A proposal. First Decentralized Merger and Acquisition More than 50% of participating community members have voted in favor of a merger proposal between Free TON and Dune Network. This is important for both groups as the Dune project will effectively be absorbed into Free TON, but it’s also a milestone for the whole blockchain ecosystem as the first truly decentralized M&A. The cost of the operation is estimated at 9 million TON crystals , equivalent to the market cap of Dune Network, and it will be funded through contests on Free Ton. The acquisition further grows the large Free TON community by adding an enth...

Indian crypto exchanges have been experiencing a flood of INR deposits and surging trading volumes since it was revealed that Elon Musk’s Tesla purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. The positive sentiment swept the Indian crypto industry despite the uncertainty of the cryptocurrency bill that may soon be introduced in parliament. INR Deposits and Trading Volumes Spiked After Tesla’s Bitcoin Buy News Indian cryptocurrency exchanges experienced high deposit volumes on Monday after Elon Musk’s Tesla revealed that it bought bitcoin. According to the company’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Tesla put $1.5 billion into bitcoin in January and expects to accept payment in the cryptocurrency for its products and services in the near future. The move caused a massive inflow of orders on cryptocurrency exchanges in India and globally. Sathvik Vishwanath, the CEO of Unocoin, a major Indian crypto exchange, told news.Bitcoin.com Tuesday: We have seen a sudde...

China is giving away 10 million yuan in its central bank digital currency in Beijing. Recipients can spend the digital yuan during the Chinese New Year festival. Beijing has become the third major city in China to test the central bank digital currency. 50,000 People to Receive Free Digital Yuan China is actively testing its central bank digital currency (CBDC). Beijing is the next city to receive a digital yuan airdrop. The Beijing municipal government announced over the weekend that it will hand out a total of 10 million yuan ($1.55 million) to 50,000 people in the city who register for the lottery giveaway using mobile phone apps. The results will be announced on Feb. 10. According to CNBC, recipients will be selected from a pool of applicants, who must have a Chinese ID number or a residence permit from Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan. Each person will receive 200 yuan (about $30) in digital currency in the form of a red packet. The two previous test cities, Shenzhen and Suzhou ,...

The Indian government has spoken about the cryptocurrency bill again. This time, the minister of state for finance has clarified the status of the crypto bill that is expected to be introduced in parliament during the current session. Indian Ministry of Finance Clarifies Crypto Bill Status The subject of bitcoin and the cryptocurrency bill in India was raised on Tuesday in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s parliament. Recently, the crypto bill was listed to be introduced in Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament. The bill seeks to ban cryptocurrencies while creating a regulatory framework for the central bank digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Since its Lok Sabha listing was made public, questions have been raised in Rajya Sabha about the crypto bill. Last week, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur clarified the government’s position on cryptocurrency and the digital rupee. On Tuesday, more questions were raised in Rajya Sabha about ...

PRESS RELEASE. Cryptowisser , who operates the world’s largest crypto exchange list , has published the second installment of its quarterly empirical report on trading fees among cryptocurrency exchanges. The 2020 Q4 report analyzes 350 different exchanges and is the biggest of its kind, giving an insight into trading fees development. According to Cryptowisser’s previous installment from Q3 2020, fees were set to generally decrease on trend with the impressive 17% decrease over the last 3 years. However, with the recent surge in Cryptocurrency, it seems some exchanges have had enough demand to actually increase their trading fees (Albeit marginally). For example, it is reported that the average spot trading taker and maker fees both increased by (0.004%) and the average contracts trading fees also saw a 0.0007% increase. Average BTC Withdrawal Fees Cryptowisser was also able to retrieve fixed BTC- withdrawal fees from 324 of their listed exchanges and reported an average wit...