Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

A decision by a prominent religious body in Ingushetia to prohibit dealings with cryptocurrency has sparked controversy in the predominantly Muslim Russian republic. Critics have taken to social media to express their disagreements with the ban, pointing out that the treatment of bitcoin in Islamic jurisdictions is not one-sided. Islamic Cleric Explains Reasoning Behind Crypto Prohibition At a meeting in mid-April, the Ingush Council of Alims adopted a ban on the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies by Muslims in the country. The Islamic clergymen said at the time that they took the decision after studying Islamic sources and reaching a conclusion that the religion prohibits the trading of electronic money. Deputy Chief Mufti Magomed Hashtyrov has since been compelled to explain the council’s position. This week, he told the local newspaper Ingushetia that cryptocurrencies, as a means of payment, have no physical representation and their exchange differs from the trading of goods ...

Globant, one of the big four tech firms in Argentina, has quietly made its first foray into the world of cryptocurrency investing, according to its latest filing to the SEC. The firm bought bitcoin during the first three months of this year, and is now part of a select number of LATAM unicorns that have taken the approach of putting some of its value in crypto assets. Globant Invests in Cryptocurrency Globant, a software tech giant unicorn based in Argentina, has joined a select group of companies that are currently invested in cryptocurrencies, according to its latest filing to the SEC. The company, founded in 2003, reported the purchase of $500,000 in bitcoin ( BTC ) during the first quarter of 2021 (Q1). A small sum for a company with a valuation of more than $6.5 billion and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Globant listed the bitcoin company as part of its intangible assets, saying bitcoin is: A cryptocurrency that is considered to be an indefinite-lived intangi...

Ripple could go public after the SEC lawsuit is resolved, according to CEO Brad Garlinghouse. He reportedly explained that the likelihood of this happening is “very high at some point.” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse was asked at the Consensus 2021 conference on Wednesday whether Ripple will become a public company. He replied that the likelihood is “very high at some point.” Garlinghouse stressed that any initial public offering (IPO) plans would have to wait until Ripple resolves its lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He further pointed out that the securities regulator will be the one approving Ripple’s public offering after all. This was not the first time the media has reported about Ripple potentially going public. On an earnings call last month, the CEO of one of Ripple’s largest outside shareholders, SBI Holdings, said that Ripple planned to go public after the lawsuit was resolved. SBI’s CEO, Yoshitaka Kitao, reportedly said : “After the cur...

The CEO of Ark Investment Management (Ark Invest), Cathie Wood, says regulators cannot shut down bitcoin. She added that they will become more friendly towards cryptocurrencies over time. Wood is not the only one who thinks that governments cannot shut down bitcoin. Regulators Cannot Shut Down Bitcoin, Says Ark’s CEO Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood shared her view on bitcoin, its regulation, and environmental impact at the Consensus 2021 conference Thursday. The CEO said that bitcoin is “already on its way and it’ll be impossible to shut it down.” She added that regulators “will be a little more friendly over time” towards cryptocurrencies due to a fear of missing out (FOMO) on the innovation coming from the crypto sector. Wood also commented on bitcoin’s environmental impact, stating that “Half of the solution is understanding the problem.” She described: “This auditing of what miners, certainly in North America, are willing to do around how much of their electricity usage is generate...

Another Binance Smart Chain project has been hit with a flash loan attack according to a post mortem written by the Burgerswap team. The project’s official Twitter account said at around 3 a.m. on Friday, Burgerswap suffered from a flash loan attack with the hackers stealing $7.2 million in funds. Binance Smart Chain Defi Protocol Burgerswap Drained for $7.2M The Burgerswap project explained on Friday that the project saw $7.2 million in funds drained after a malicious flash loan attack. “At around 3 am on May 28th (UTC+8) Burgerswap on the BSC chain encountered a flash loan attack; $7.2M was stolen from Burgerswap in 14 transactions,” the official Twitter account noted . All we asking for is some time. — BurgerSwap (@burger_swap) May 28, 2021 Burgerswap is a decentralized finance (defi) project that leverages the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Similar to Sushiswap or Uniswap, the Burgerswap protocol allows users to swap between tokens issued on BSC. Users can also add liquid...

The infamous whistleblower and privacy activist Edward Snowden commented on bitcoin on Friday, after the Biden administration said this week it was shooting for 6 trillion dollars in stimulus proposals. Following the $6 trillion in stimulus headlines, Snowden commented on the situation and said it was “good for bitcoin.” Edward Snowden Jabs Biden’s 6 Trillion-Dollar Covid Relief Proposal, Says It’s ‘Good for Bitcoin’ The 37-year old former computer intelligence consultant for the National Security Agency (NSA) and contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Edward Snowden, has once again commented on the leading digital asset bitcoin. Snowden’s statement on Twitter follows the last few days of reports discussing the Biden administration’s $6 trillion stimulus proposals to “build back a better” America. “Six trillion dollars? This is good for Bitcoin,” the whistleblower Edward Snowden said on Friday. The tweet already has 36,000 likes and has been retweeted more than 6...

The financial asset manager, Wisdomtree, is now the second institution to file for an ethereum-based exchange-traded fund (ETF), following Vaneck’s recent filing on May 7. The recently filed S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says the fund’s “investment objective is to gain exposure to the price of ether.” Wisdomtree Follows Vaneck’s Lead and Files for an Ethereum-Based ETF On Thursday, Wisdomtree revealed it wants to list an ether-based ETF on Cboe BZX Exchange, according to the firm’s latest S-1 filing . The SEC must approve the ETF and if the regulator does, investors can purchase Wisdomtree’s ether trust shares via regulated brokerage services. The prospectus describes ether as “a digital asset that is not issued by any government, bank or central organization, and is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization behind bitcoin.” The WisdomTree Ethereum Trust is a Delaware statutory trust, invoked on March 8, 2021. The Wisdomtree ETH-based E...

The American chain of convenience stores and coffee shops, Sheetz, announced on Thursday that the firm would be accepting digital currencies like bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin for payments. The major Mid-Atlantic chain’s executive payments manager says accepting crypto-asset acceptance bolsters Sheetz’s mission to provide customers with the “ultimate one-stop-shop.” Convenience Store Chain Sheetz Adds Digital Currency Payments, Fuel Pump Crypto Payments to Roll out This Summer On May 27, Sheetz revealed the company will be accepting crypto payments via the digital payments network Flexa. The company, headquartered in Altoona, Pennsylvania, operates 622 convenience stores and coffee shops in Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland. Sheetz has locations in a number of states in the U.S. and was founded by G. Robert “Bob” Sheetz in 1952. Bob and and his brother Steve Sheetz had opened 100 stores by 1983 and today the chain has 622 stores. Sheetz n...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has urged Congress to pass cryptocurrency legislation to protect investors, the new SEC chairman has revealed. The securities regulator is also working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Treasury Department to combat criminal activity facilitated by cryptocurrencies, the chairman noted. SEC Working With CFTC, Treasury on Crypto Regulation, Urges Congress to Pass Legislation The new chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has asked Congress to take action regarding cryptocurrency legislation, he told the House Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday. Gensler explained to the subcommittee that there were “gaps” in the regulation of cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin and ether. Noting that there are “thousands” of cryptocurrencies in existence right now and many of them are operating as unregistered securities, he emphasized : We’ve only been able to bring 75 actions an...

Apple Inc. has posted a job notice for a business development manager with cryptocurrency experience. “This position will be responsible for the end-to-end business development, including screening partners, negotiating and closing commercial agreements, and launching new programs,” the job posting describes. Apple to Hire Manager With Crypto Experience to Lead Its Alternative Payments Efforts Apple Inc. posted a job notice on Tuesday for a “business development manager – alternative payments.” The job posting states that “The Apple Wallets, Payments, and Commerce (WPC) team is seeking an experienced Business Development Manager to lead Alternative Payments Partnerships. We are looking for a proven professional in global alternative and emerging payment solutions.” It further details: This position will be responsible for the end to end business development, including screening partners, negotiating and closing commercial agreements and launching new programs. Among the key qua...

Following the recent developments in China and the environmental concerns about bitcoin’s energy consumption, the Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda criticized the leading crypto asset bitcoin in an interview on Thursday. BOJ’s Kuroda Says Bitcoin ‘Volatility Is Extraordinarily High’ Bitcoin prices have slumped again on Friday after a tumultuous week. After tapping a daily high on Thursday at $40,125 per unit, bitcoin (BTC) dropped to a low of $35,146 losing more than 12% in value. Since then, however, BTC has managed to regain some losses and climb back above the $36k handle . While addressing inflation and climate change concerns, the Bank of Japan’s Governor Haruhiko Kuroda blasted bitcoin for being speculative and volatile. The BoJ Governor also said that bitcoin was not used for payments. According to Bloomberg, some of the recent sell-off during the early Friday morning hours (ET), may have been due to comments stemming from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko...

PRESS RELEASE. Bitcoin.com Exchange is thrilled to announce the listing of SUPERBID, being available to trade on the 28th May 2021 at 12:00 UTC. The SUPERBID token was created by its respective team to fuel it’s social-auction app enabling its users to connect influencers with their fans in exchange for items, experiences, and NFTs. SUPERBID will start trading with a USDT pair . What is SuperBid? The SuperBid auctioning app gives influencers a network to earn significant revenue for their content. On SuperBid, influencers will be able to auction off physical goods, digital items such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens), while also auctioning unique experiences to fans, allowing them to discover, support, and even chat directly with their favorite influencers while their auctions are running. SuperBid is discovering a new way to connect fans to both their favorite influencers, and the blockchain space, enabling bids via cryptocurrency. Effectively utilizing the technical benefits of b...

While cryptocurrencies experienced their fair share of ups and downs over the week, nothing is holding back the stratospheric rise of NFTs. As another busy week comes to a close, a lot has unfolded in the world of NFTs. Here’s a quick rundown of the top events of this week. Bluzelle Revamps Itself to Overcome NFTs’ Critical Storage Problems Bluzelle , the decentralized data network for dApps, undergoes a massive transformation to bring forth a new and updated version, Bluzelle 2.0. While it started as a decentralized database, the platform has added several new modules alongside a brand redesign. To cater to the rising demand for tamper-proof, secure, and scalable storage for NFTs, Bluzelle 2.0, in collaboration with Mintable, has added file storage to its existing services. The new feature allows you to store NFT files over its decentralized network, replicating the files across several validator nodes, ensuring scalability, security, and availability. Marvel and DC Artist Rob Pr...

Venezuela has been listed as the third country with the most cryptocurrency adoption in the world by Chainalysis in its 2020 report. With its citizens coping with crippling inflation and losing purchasing power, the country has taken a turn for these assets to survive. But what are the real numbers behind this crisis that made Venezuelans change their whole way of living? How Venezuela Adopted Crypto: The Numbers It is a popularly known fact that Venezuela is one of the countries that have adopted cryptocurrency with the most force in LATAM. This was corroborated by Chainalysis in its latest 2020 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report, where it states that Venezuela is in fact the third country with the most cryptocurrency adoption in all the world. There is no doubt in what caused this: the economic disaster that was the result of years of wrong monetary policies, exchange controls, and corruption. But how deep is the hole that Venezuelans are living in today? How Venezuela went fro...

The Nigerian naira currency lost further ground against major currencies after it depreciated to 493 nairas for one dollar on the black market on May 25, 2021. Before the latest depreciation, the currency had stabilized at around 485 nairas to the dollar. This was shortly after the exchange rate dropped to a three and a half year low rate of 500 nairas for one dollar back in November 2020. Renewed Pressure on the Naira As one report explains, the naira’s latest depreciation comes just a week after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) devalued the currency by over 5%. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the CBN recently allowed the naira’s exchange rate to slide from 393 per dollar to around 410 per dollar. However, the same currency devaluation appears to have prompted the latest depreciation of the naira on the parallel market. Meanwhile, a different report is attributing the renewed pressure on Nigeria’s currency to “black market speculators who have taken advantage of th...