Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

A specialty tea products retailer based in China’s Hunan province, Urban Tea, has introduced crypto payments in its stores and restaurants on two continents. Starting from this week, customers will be able to buy its beverages and meals using various cryptocurrencies. Chinese Tea Stores and Restaurants to Accept Crypto The publicly traded tea company runs a number of tea stores in China through its subsidiary, 39 Pu Tea Co Ltd. It also operates a chain of restaurants in the U.S. under another entity, Guokui Management Inc. A press release details that both of them will accept cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin ( BTC ), ethereum ( ETH ) and dogecoin (DOGE). Commenting on the announcement, CEO Xianlong Wu stated: Through the deployment of cryptocurrency payment, Urban Tea plans to bring cryptocurrency application scenarios into the customers’ daily life. Incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, Urban Tea’s main business is centered on the distribution and retail of specialty t...

PRESS RELEASE. 12th May, 2021, San Francisco, California — Spring (formerly Teespring) and Bondly , premiere NFT solutions provider that empowers the next generation of NFT creators, announced today their new partnership to enable Spring’s platform for creators to sell both digital and physical product creation, unlocking a new wave of digital potential for the creator economy. Content creators will use Bondly technology on the Spring platform to create, mint and market NFTs. In addition, Bondly will provide expertise to develop new digital experiences between creators and fans. More than $2 billion was spent on NFTs during the first quarter of 2021 — representing an increase of about 2,100% from Q4 2020*, so there is a lot of revenue that can be generated for individual creators. These new NFT capabilities will empower the creator to be the authentic creator of the initial digital product as well as rewarded for its creation. Creators will now be able to simultaneously leverage...

According to a recent Mastercard payment index report, the Covid-19 related lockdowns helped spread the use of cryptocurrency in three African countries, namely Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. The report also reveals that a greater number of consumers from these countries are “likely to use one emerging payment method in the coming year.” More Respondents Planning to Pay With Cryptos in the Upcoming Year In fact, according to findings of a survey conducted between February 26 and March 10, 2021, a significant number of the respondents from these countries plan to use cryptocurrencies in the coming year. For instance, in Nigeria, which recently barred banks from servicing the crypto industry, 65% of the respondents are planning to pay using crypto. In contrast, about 43% of respondents from Kenya signaled their intention to use cryptocurrencies when making payments. South Africa (41%) has the lowest number of consumers that plan to make use of cryptos in the coming year. Comment...

Thirty-five experts have come together to predict the price of ethereum. On average, they expect the price of ether to hit $19,842 by 2025. The majority of panelists say now is the time to buy ethereum while 28% say to hodl. Experts See Price of Ether Reaching Almost $20K by 2025 The “Finder Cryptocurrency Predictions 2021” which was updated Monday predicts that the price of ether will be nearly $20K by 2025 according to 35 experts on Finder’s cryptocurrency panel. The report says: By 2025, the panel expects Ethereum to hit $19,842 on average. The highest forecast came from Bitbull Capital COO Sarah Bergstrand who believes that the price of ether would be $100,000 by 2025. “We are likely to see major upgrades to the Ethereum network this year, and those can be expected to push the price higher,” she explained. One of the most bearish forecasts came from UNSW associate professor Elvira Sojli who predicted that ETH will end 2025 at just $1,850. The report continues: The majo...

A Goldman Sachs executive has reportedly resigned from the investment bank after he made a fortune investing in dogecoin. The meme cryptocurrency is touted by a growing number of celebrities, including the Dogefather Elon Musk and Mark Cuban. Goldman Sachs Executive Quits After Making Millions in Cryptocurrency Aziz McMahon, a managing director at Goldman Sachs in the U.K., has resigned from the investment bank. Goldman confirmed McMahon’s departure to Business Insider but did not provide a reason. However, Efinancialcareers reported that the executive’s departure followed him making millions of dollars investing in dogecoin, noting that he may be starting a hedge fund. Citing unnamed sources, the publication detailed: Aziz McMahon, a managing director and head of emerging market sales at Goldman Sachs in London, has resigned, allegedly after making money on dogecoin, the cryptocurrency championed by Elon Musk, whose value rose 72 times between the start of January and late last ...

More than 100,000 micro bitcoin futures traded on CME in the first six days since launch, the exchange has revealed. CME’s global head of equity index says that this new smaller contract, along with the full-size bitcoin futures, strengthens the exchange’s ability to help a broad array of clients. CME Group, the world’s largest financial derivatives exchange, said Tuesday that more than 100,000 micro bitcoin futures traded on its platform in the first six days of launch. CME is a U.S.-registered designated contract market (DCM) and derivatives clearing organization (DCO), regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The exchange launched Micro Bitcoin futures (MBT) on May 2, which it described as “1/50 the size of the bitcoin futures contract (i.e. 1/10 of one bitcoin versus five bitcoin for bitcoin futures ( BTC ).” The launch of the Micro Bitcoin futures contract aims “To make our market more accessible to risk managers and other traders,” CME explained. ...

Ebay, which has 187 million buyers on its platform, is now allowing the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the company has announced. Ebay says: “This is only the beginning. This initial rollout will help us learn more about what’s important to our community.” Ebay Updates Policies to Allow Sale of NFTs Ebay Inc. announced Tuesday that sellers can now sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its platform, which currently has about 187 million buyers. “Recently, we’ve seen a massive wave of attention, media coverage, and online conversation around high-end collectibles – or what many are calling alternate assets. Interest and investments have spanned everything from trading cards and comics to collectible sneakers and art,” the company wrote, adding: Today we are updating Ebay’s policy to include the sale of NFTs. In the short term, NFT inventory will be provided by trusted sellers who meet our high standards, across categories like trading cards, music, entertainment and art. ...

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 PolkaLokr Token (LOKR) under the pair USDT/LOKR on May 10 at 1:00 p.m. UTC. Polkalokr is the first all-in-one, multi-chain token locking and escrow platform with built-in privacy functionality. Their products, LOKR and SWAPR, help build trust within the Defi space by removing the human element and focusing on governance through code with a seamless, omnichannel digital experience platform. Polkalokr will introduce the ability to swap locked tokens, which is not yet available in the space. They have taken tokenomics to a new level. The oracle integration allows projects to start vesting tokens based on events, for example, when the token price or product milestones are reached, instead of a time-based cliff. They will also provide projects with revenue streams through their locked tokens. Polkalokr is multi-cha...

With digital yuan pilots underway in China, it seems the currency is not meeting government expectations. A recent report highlighted a series of interviews from people in the hotspot, reflecting a lackluster reception among the participants. Privacy Concerns Reported According to Bloomberg , residents in Shenzhen, the Chinese analog to Silicon Valley, have shown little interest in the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC), primarily citing privacy and surveillance concerns. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the country’s central bank, has been accelerating the pilots to prepare the digital yuan for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. People have been hesitant to switch from existing mobile payment solutions, showing an attachment to WeChat and Alipay. One participant in the 500,000 person pilot sample told Bloomberg she was “not at all excited” to be included. Another worried the pilot would allow authorities to “trace every payment”, and called the currency “a little scary”. ...

Palantir Technologies, the Peter Thiel-backed, American software company specializing in big data analytics, announced Tuesday that company plans to accept bitcoin for services. Further, like a variety of corporate entities that are accepting and holding bitcoin, Palantir is considering keeping the asset on its balance sheet. Palantir Enters the Crypto Economy On Tuesday, Palantir Technologies announced the firm would accept bitcoin as payment from customers, according to a report published by Reuters. The report followed Palantir’s earnings statements from Q1, and claims Palantir is considering holding the bitcoin it earns. Palantir confirmed they accept bitcoin as payment in their earnings call this morning. They also said they are considering adding bitcoin to their balance sheet. Bitcoin is inevitable. — Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) May 11, 2021 The business is backed by the investor Peter Thiel, who cofounded the company in 2003 and was the largest shareholder until 2014. T...

Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, revealed he’d named one of his goats “Bitcoin”. This was seemingly an innocent announcement that, nonetheless, got the crypto sphere talking on what deeper meaning this might indicate. While some have rationalized this as being an endorsement of Bitcoin by Facebook, others have suggested weirder theories. Bitcoin: Mark Zuckerberg’s Goat Zuckerberg revealed yesterday on Facebook that one of his goats is named “Bitcoin”. This post, which would usually read as humorous, got the cryptocurrency sphere to formulate strange theories. While some users laughed and spread their memes accordingly, some thought there could be greater intention behind the post. Some users took this as a hint that Facebook had or will follow the footsteps of companies like Tesla and Microstrategy, by buying Bitcoin as a hedge and adding it to its cash reserves. There were rumors about this last month, but Facebook squashed them during their last earning...

Recent headlines in numerous publications claim the U.S. economy is set for rapid expansion and a “post Covid boom” thanks to Joe Biden’s economic plans. However, contradicting reports identify certain struggling elements, such as the supply chain, which have been ravaged by bureaucratic mandates, and suggest a bleaker circumstance entirely. Biden Administration Scrambles After a Gloomy Jobs Report According to George Pearkes, Business Insider’s financial columnist, the American economy is set to see a “post-Covid boom”, because the U.S. “learned from 2008’s mistakes.” Despite his optimism, and that of several mainstream news journalists, hard data shows the U.S. economy is in a struggling position. The most recently published Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report showed a lackluster 266,000 jobs, a quarter of that expected, added in April. These figures are not in line with the expectations of the Biden administration, and indicate scrambling to come from the White House in wake...

As bitcoin prices hover above the $55k zone, a number of participants wonder when the bull run will end. Bitcoin proponents are convinced bull markets have three waves and another wave may start soon. However, despite a variety of tools being used like tarot cards, no one is truly sure what will happen with bitcoin and crypto markets next. Counting Down the Days- Guesstimating Bitcoin Bull Runs Bitcoin enthusiasts are still very optimistic about the price of the leading crypto asset and many believe the bull run is not over. Traders and those who are extremely curious about short-term price swings have been leveraging a number of tools in order to predict the future price of BTC . Tools and charts utilized include the stock-to-flow (S2F) model, logarithmic growth curves , golden ratio multiplier , HODL waves , profitable days and so much more. The picture above is a HODL waves chart via Unchained Capital and Glassnode on May 10, 2021. “The colored bands show the relative fractio...

PRESS RELEASE. London, UK — Centric announced an upcoming fork to the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), after almost 2.5 years on the TRON blockchain. Centric’s tokens, Centric Cash (CNS) and Centric Rise (CNR), will move to the BEP-20 token standard native to the Binance Smart Chain. Binance Smart Chain (BSC) touts “the advantages of the Binance Chain, optimized for ultra-fast trading.” It launched in September of last year, and has become a popular choice for decentralized app (DApp) deployment. “The move to Binance Smart Chain represents the most exciting development since CNS launched on exchanges last July,” said Joel Clelland, Centric’s CEO. “We’ve been watching the BSC community develop, and we are impressed. BSC’s reputation aligns well with how we see Centric and will allow us to scale.” Centric’s Chief Operating Officer, Thomas Butcher, pointed out that BSC offers integration with the popular MetaMask wallet, “with just a quick user customization requiring no special skills.” ...