Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io was established back in 2013 and is now celebrating its eighth anniversary. This is an impressive milestone in the ever changing crypto landscape, but the company isn’t resting on its laurels. Gate.io keeps taking the initiative to innovate and offer many new services for traders of digital assets and DeFi startups. A Veteran Crypto Exchange You Can Trust In a world where so many new services pop-up every day, Gate.io marking 8 years of operation is a major sign of durability and commitment. While other platforms collapsed or just disappeared overnight, Gate.io endured for so long and always focused on offering a safe, secure and reliable service to its users. This has brought it a loyal fan base that stuck with it over the years, and the respect of being able to call themselves veterans in the field. Gate.io, as one of the world’s long-lasting trading platforms with the largest transaction volume, deeply understands the importance of blockc...

Although recent studies have been showing a slowdown in cryptojacking activities, especially the ones related to mining privacy coins, Intel remains on the hunt to crackdown on such activities. The tech giant has partnered with Microsoft to deploy a campaign that strengthens cryptojacking detection with new technologies. Tool Could Trigger Multiple Detectors to Halt Any Cryptojacking Threat According to the announcement , Microsoft Defender for Endpoint integrated a threat detection tool – known as Intel Threat Detection Technology (Intel TDT) – designed by Intel to launch an endpoint detection of cryptojacking threats before it hits a system. The technology can activate central processing unit (CPU) based cryptomining machine learning detection without compromising users’ computers whatsoever, said the companies in a joint announcement. Frank Dickson, program vice president of Security and Trust at International Data Corporation (IDC), gave his thoughts on the detection tool: T...

The Turkish government is reportedly creating a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies after two crypto exchanges in the country abruptly halted trading and are now being investigated for fraud. The government is reportedly planning to establish a central custodian bank among other initiatives. The Turkish government is working on cryptocurrency regulation. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that “The government is planning to establish a central custodian bank to eliminate counterparty risk,” citing a senior official familiar with the plans. The Treasury & Finance Ministry, Capital Markets Board and financial crimes watchdog Masak are involved in establishing the crypto framework, the publication conveyed, adding that its preparations are expected to be completed within a few weeks. Other than creating a central custodian bank, the Turkish authorities are also considering imposing a capital threshold for crypto exchanges and education requirements for executives at those co...

Popular talk show host Ellen Degeneres asked Shark Tank star Mark Cuban about cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens during the Ellen Degeneres Show which aired on Tuesday. Besides explaining cryptocurrency to Degeneres, Cuban tried to convince her to accept dogecoin in her shop. Ellen Degeneres Tries to Understand Dogecoin Shark Tank star Mark Cuban appeared on the Ellen Degeneres Show on Tuesday. Degeneres is a popular comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. Cuban is the owner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) team Dallas Mavericks. “Today, Mark Cuban taught me about dogecoin. I’m still not sure I understand it, or know how to pronounce it, but it sure is fun to say,” Degeneres tweeted. Degeneres asked Cuban about cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). “Is that something that we should all be looking at?” she said. “The thing about NFTs is they’re just digital collectibles,” Cuban described. “Don’t think about the technology at all. It’s ...

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs is questioning whether bitcoin can be a long-term store of value and digital gold. The firm’s analysts cited various issues with the cryptocurrency, such as environmental problems, “lack of real use,” and competition from other cryptocurrencies. Goldman Sachs Sees Problems With Bitcoin as Long-Term Store of Value Goldman Sachs published a note outlining some problems with bitcoin as digital gold on Wednesday. The firm’s analysts, led by its top commodities strategist Jeffrey Currie, have voiced concerns about whether the cryptocurrency could become a long-term store of value. The analysts explained: “While bitcoin benefits from greater liquidity, it suffers from lack of real use and weak environmental, social, governance ESG scoring, due to its high energy consumption.” They also cited competition from other cryptocurrencies as a factor stopping bitcoin from becoming digital gold, elaborating: Traditional long-term stores of value such as gold...

PRESS RELEASE. AscendEX, formerly BitMax, an industry-leading digital asset trading platform built by Wall Street quant trading veterans, has announced the listing of the Smoothy Token (SMTY) under the pair USDT/SMTY on Mar 29 at 1:00 p.m. UTC. Smoothy is a novel single pool liquidity protocol specializing in same-backed assets with low-cost zero-slippage swapping and maximum interest earning capabilities. Smoothy’s unique design allows the swap ratio of the same backed asset to be fixed at 1:1. Smoothie is designed to make the gas fee 80% lower than existing projects, and brings maximum interest to the liquidity providers. Smoothy has been developed from scratch to address the issues of existing protocols. Smoothy’s goal is to offer one pool to swap all tokens with, smooth and straightforward swaps, low gas fees, flexibility to add or remove any stablecoins, better liquidity, lower slippage, and better LP token incentives. The Smoothy token is used for the governance of the...

U.S. law enforcement arrested the alleged operator of Bitcoin Fog, Roman Sterlingov in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Documents show Sterlingov is accused of laundering over 1.2 million bitcoin via the Bitcoin Fog mixer, a tool that allows users to mix transactions together. According to federal investigators, Sterlingov ran the operation for ten years and processed $336 million in BTC transactions. US Government Charges Alleged Bitcoin Fog Kingpin With Money Laundering The U.S. government has charged and arrested a Russian and Swedish citizen Roman Sterlingov with money laundering using a bitcoin mixer. Ostensibly, Sterlingov was the lead administrator in the Bitcoin Fog operation which used a Coinjoin-based mixing tool to blend BTC UTXOs. Bitcoin Fog could be found on Tor via an onion address, it required mandatory registration, and a minimum deposit of 0.01 BTC to use the platform. However, the registration process was not tied to an email and simply required a username and passwor...

Japanese gaming firm Nexon has purchased 1,717 bitcoins for approximately $100 million. The company believes “bitcoin offers long-term stability and liquidity while maintaining the value of our cash for future investments.” Japan’s Nexon Buys Bitcoin Major gaming company Nexon Co. Ltd. announced Wednesday that it has purchased 1,717 bitcoins for approximately $100 million (¥11.1 billion) at an average price of approximately $58,226 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses. The Tokyo stock exchange-listed company noted: This purchase represents less than 2% of Nexon’s total cash and cash equivalents on hand. Founded in 1994, Nexon describes itself as “a global leader in multiplayer online games.” With more than 10 franchises, the Tokyo-headquartered company currently has more than 60 live games, operated in more than 190 countries. Nexon’s iconic games include Maplestory and Dungeon Fighter. Nexon CEO Owen Mahoney explained, “Our purchase of bitcoin reflects a discipli...

The second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market valuation, ethereum, has seen significant gains this week in comparison to the rest of the crypto economy. On Wednesday, ethereum tapped an all-time high at $2,736 per unit as the crypto asset has gained 11.48% during the last seven days. Ethereum Cracks a New ATH While a great number of digital assets dropped in value last week, ethereum (ETH) prices rebounded much quicker than most. On April 27, after climbing more than 11% during the course of the week, ETH tapped an all-time high (ATH) at $2,706 per ether on Tuesday. Then again, on Wednesday, ether prices touched an ATH of around $2,736 per coin. During the last seven days, ether prices have jumped 10% higher against bitcoin (BTC) as well. Bitcoin’s current dominance index is being drained too as it’s dropped to 49.2% while ethereum now captures 14.9%. The ETH /USD chart on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. 1-Hour, Bitstamp. Against the U.S. dollar during the last month, ethe...

Tesla’s quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that the company’s bitcoins are now worth $2.48 billion, a substantial increase from the initial investment of $1.5 billion. This is also after the electric car company sold some bitcoins to “prove liquidity.” SEC Filing Shows Tesla Sitting on Bitcoins Worth $2.48 Billion Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla Inc. (TSLA.O), revealed the value of its bitcoin holdings in its quarterly report filed with SEC on Tuesday. Tesla explained in the filing that it purchased “an aggregate of $1.5 billion in digital assets, comprised solely of bitcoin” during the three months ended March 31. The company also began “accepting bitcoin as a payment for sales of certain of our products in specified regions, subject to applicable laws.” The company then sold some of its bitcoins in March. After accounting for the sale of some bitcoins which netted $272 million, Tesla wrote: As of March 31, 2021, the carrying ...

pNetwork , a cross-chain composability system that allows assets and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to move freely between blockchains, has officially partnered up with Algorand, the pure proof-of-stake blockchain focused on the convergence between decentralized and traditional finance, to launch cross-chain bridges for the Algorand ecosystem. pNetwork has received a grant from the Algorand Foundation for creating a pNetwork-powered bridge for Algorand to be connected with external assets and ecosystems. As the cryptocurrencies industry continues to evolve, the development of alternative financial platforms is on the rise. A critical component for these to succeed is assets’ liquidity, which in the decentralized scene is currently spread across multiple independent blockchain protocols. Similar to all blockchain-based networks, Algorand sits within its own ecosystem, natively difficult to interoperate with other protocols and assets such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. pNetwork’s PNT-powered p...

On April 27, the American bank holding company U.S. Bank revealed in a blog post that the financial institution plans to offer cryptocurrency custody services. The bank’s chief strategy officer for U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, Christine Waldron, says she is proud of her company’s steps toward blockchain and cryptocurrency practices. US Bank to Offer Cryptocurrency Services Pending Compliance Approval During the first week of January 2021, The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) revealed that national banks and savings associations in the U.S. could deal with stablecoins and public blockchains. Following that announcement, The oldest bank in America, Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) disclosed in mid-February that it created a digital currency unit. On Tuesday, the fifth-largest banking institution in the country, U.S. Bank published a blog post that details new cryptocurrency offerings. Although, the blog post does not reveal when the bank will deploy these pro...

As the South Korean government keeps strengthening the harsh rhetoric against cryptocurrencies, citizens have become increasingly angry due to the recent words from regulatory authorities. Over the weekend, petitions started to appear on the web, seeking the removal of the head of the country’s Financial Services Commission (FSC). Over 141,000 Signatures Collected in One Petition The presidential website is now being filed with thousands of petitions from furious people aged 20-39, seeking that Eun Sun-soo, the FSC’s chief, resign. The drop that broke the glass were the statements from Eun over the weekend, who stated that crypto has no “intrinsic” value whatsoever. But that’s not something new within the South Korean government’s bodies nor banking institutions. In fact, that’s the same rhetoric replicated by Seoul’s government and the Bank of Korea regarding cryptos. However, Eun has been quite active in his warnings on the new regulations that came into force. If domestic cry...

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has become the latest body to warn of risks associated with cryptocurrency investments. In a public warning, the law enforcement agency argues that investing in cryptos “is a high-risk activity as the terrain is largely unregulated and prone to fraud.” Proliferation of Scams According to a report that quotes Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC spokesperson, the law enforcement agency is alarmed by “the rate at which Nigerians sent them petitions on fraudulent investments.” Meanwhile, the spokesperson also bemoans the fact crypto scams continue to proliferate “despite enforcement and public enlightenment interventions by the commission and other stakeholders.” However, Uwujaren still urges the Nigerian investing public to be more careful when making investment decisions. He said: While EFCC will continue to investigate and prosecute persons complicit in fraudulent investment schemes, it is incumbent on the investing public to be cir...