Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The pseudonymous creator of the popular stock-to-flow (S2F) bitcoin price model, Plan B, has published his “worst case scenario for 2021” predictions on social media on Sunday. The analyst says there’s also a “more fundamental reason” to why bitcoin prices have been dropping in June and how the month of July may see “weakness” as well. Best Case Scenario: $450K Worst Case Scenario: $135K Five months ago, bitcoin ( BTC ) prices went parabolic and the value of the leading crypto asset seemingly was following the well known stock-to-flow (S2F) model. At the time, the S2F creator said : “bitcoin stock-to-flow model [is] on track… like clockwork.” The price of bitcoin skyrocketed over $64K per unit but has since lost more than half that value. At the end of April, Plan B remarked that the downturn was a “mid-way dip” and stressed that “nothing goes up in a straight line.” This past Saturday, Plan B further discussed the infamous death cross pattern in the BTC /USD chart and remained o...

Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska wants the Bank of Russia, the country’s central bank, to embrace cryptocurrency, citing El Salvador’s bitcoin law as an example. El Salvador recently passed a bill making bitcoin legal tender in the country. Billionaire Oleg Deripaska is the founder of Basic Element, a Russian industrial group focusing in areas such as aluminum, energy, construction, and agriculture. In 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions against Deripaska and some of his companies. According to Forbes, his net worth is currently $4.7 billion. Deripaska commented about bitcoin and criticized the central bank’s cryptocurrency policy in his Telegram channel last week. He said that even a poor country like El Salvador “realized the need for digital currencies and took a simple path – recognized bitcoin as a means of payment.” According to the World Bank, “El Salvador suffers from persistent low levels of growth and poverty r...

Billionaire investor and CEO of Point 72 Asset Management, Steve Cohen, says he is taking a deep dive into cryptocurrency. Emphasizing that he is “fully converted,” the billionaire said, “I’m not going to miss this. I already feel like I missed the first part of it.” Steve Cohen Gets Into Crypto, Says He Is ‘Fully Converted’ Steve Cohen is the chairman, CEO, and president of Point72, an asset management firm with approximately $22.1 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of April 1. The firm has 12 offices around the globe and more than 1,650 employees. He shared his view on cryptocurrency in an interview last week, emphasizing that he has finally decided that he has got to get into the game. The billionaire CEO said: I’m doing a deep dive into crypto. I’m fully converted. Cohen added: “I have an old saying at the poker table, you got to pay to learn. There’s no way around it. You can talk all you want, but you’ve got to get in the game.” He continued, “I’m hopeful that ...

Hedge fund manager Michael Burry, famed for forecasting the 2008 financial crisis, has warned of “the mother of all crashes.” He further explained that the problem with cryptocurrency is the leverage. Michael Burry Warns of Mother of All Crashes Famous investor and founder of private investment firm Scion Asset Management, Michael Burry, shared his view last week about where he sees the markets heading. Burry is best known for being the first investor to foresee and profit from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010. He is profiled in “The Big Short,” a book by Michael Lewis about the mortgage crisis, which was made into a movie starring Christian Bale. The Scion Asset Management founder tweeted Thursday: All hype/speculation is doing is drawing in retail before the mother of all crashes. #FOMO Parabolas don’t resolve sideways; When crypto falls from trillions, or meme stocks fall from tens of billions, Main Street losses will approach the size of ...

A pro-bitcoin congressman in Paraguay says he will present bitcoin legislation in congress next month with the aim to make Paraguay a hub for cryptocurrency investors worldwide. His efforts follow El Salvador passing a bill making bitcoin legal tender. Paraguay Wants to Be Global Hub for Crypto Investors Following El Salvador passing a bill making bitcoin legal tender, a congressman in Paraguay announced that he is working on bitcoin legislation that will be presented next month. Deputy Carlos Antonio Rejala Helman of the Hagamos Party has called for Paraguay to take similar action to El Salvador regarding bitcoin. The congressman has also changed his Twitter profile picture to include laser eyes, meaning he eyes bitcoin going to $100K. The deputy is preparing a bill that seeks to legalize the use of cryptocurrencies in Paraguay as a means of payment, La Nacion reported Friday. The bill will establish that any transaction within the national territory can be carried out with bit...

The hashrate of the Bitcoin network has been steadily falling since June 14 and after Sichuan miners were told to prepare operation shutdowns. Sichuan is the second-densest province in China where most miners are located, according to data stemming from the University of Cambridge. Bitcoin’s hashrate is now hovering just above 100 exahash per second (EH/s). Bitcoin Hashrate Keeps Falling as Sichuan Farms Shut Down Operations The hashrate of the Bitcoin network has been steadily falling . The cause of this seems to be the shutdown of several cryptocurrency farms in various provinces including Sichuan. According to the regional publication 8btc news, the Sichuan Development and Reform Commission and Energy Bureau announced it would close the operation of 26 suspected cryptocurrency mining and virtual currency projects on Sunday. Sichuan bitcoin miners leaving to mine elsewhere is a historical event during the leading crypto asset’s 12-year lifespan. Bye 👋 pic.twitter.com/3JrM5qw0E...

The professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, Steve Hanke, has recently been criticizing bitcoin adoption taking place in El Salvador. Hanke doesn’t think it’s a good idea for the Latin American country to use bitcoin as legal tender and says it could “completely collapse the economy.” Steve Hanke Wants Countries to Adopt Currency Boards Instead of Gravitating Toward Bitcoin Adoption The American economist Steve Hanke knows a lot about currencies, as he is the Cato Institute’s senior fellow and director of the Troubled Currencies Project. Hanke also was the senior economist during the Reagan administration from 1981 to 1982. The economist is critical of central banking and noted in 2018 that the world could use less of them. At the time, Hanke highlighted ten countries that are suffering from hyperinflation and the economist proposed that the countries either adopt the U.S. dollar or create a currency board. “Countries that employed currency boards have delivered...

On Saturday, cryptocurrency analysts and traders have been discussing bitcoin’s recent chart patterns and the infamous death cross pattern has been a topical conversation. A number of traders believe when bitcoin’s short-term moving average (MA) dips below the long-term MA, the crypto asset could be bracing for a major sell-off. Meanwhile, others are sure the death cross technical pattern means the price is due to rebound and possibly double-top to higher values than the previous all-time high. The Return of the Infamous Death Cross On June 19, a number of Twitter conversations, forum posts, and even headlines discussed the technical pattern called the death cross in regard to bitcoin’s ( BTC ) chart. Bloomberg published an article concerning the death cross on Saturday and the publication featured a few statements from billionaire investor Mark Cuban . The definition of a death cross stemming from Investopedia notes the pattern suggests “the potential for a major sell-off.” The w...

The Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Republic has suspended the Iran Blockchain Association (IBA). The measure comes after the organization allegedly breached government regulations. IBA unites participants in the country’s growing crypto sector who are engaged in blockchain technology development. Iranian Authorities to Review IBA Dealings With Crypto Exchanges The Iranian government has moved this week to block activities of the Iran Blockchain Association, the Financial Tribune business daily reported on Sunday. The Ministry of Interior banned the prominent crypto industry organization following various accusations including that the IBA was operating against its own articles of association. According to a notice published by the Persian-language newspaper Hamshahri Online on Wednesday, IBA was also ordered to submit detailed reports about its financial performance and activities to Iran’s Social Affairs Organization. The government is particularly eager to learn more about ...

The Bank of Uganda (BOU) has announced the launch of a regulatory sandbox that will allow fintech start-ups to test their innovative financial solutions in a controlled environment. Already, one firm, M/S Wave Transfer Limited, has received approval to test its quick response (QR) technology under this sandbox arrangement. BOU Launches Regulatory Sandbox for Fintech In its statement on June 15, the BOU says it is now inviting more firms to develop and similarly test their financial innovations under this framework. Meanwhile, the BOU statement also expands on why the central bank has chosen to launch the sandbox. The statement explains: The Regulatory Sandbox Framework will promote financial services innovation, attract capital and funding for fintech firms, and provide shared learning opportunities for the innovators and regulators. This is expected to promote uptake of electronic payments, digital financial services and financial inclusion in general. Meanwhile, according to ...

The Ukrainian parliament has released an updated version of the draft law “On Virtual Assets.” The revised bill requires exchanges to obtain government authorization, disclose their ownership and implement mandatory KYC procedures. The document has been criticized by regulators in Kyiv but the government wants the legislation passed before the parliament’s summer break. Draft Law Proposes Regulations for Cryptocurrencies in Ukraine Ukrainian lawmakers have revised the draft law designed to regulate the country’s expanding crypto space. The deputies have introduced a number of amendments since December when it was voted on first reading in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament. The latest version of the document was released this week by the parliamentary Digital Transformation Committee which recommended its adoption. The bill recognizes a virtual asset as an “ intangible good ” that has value and is an “object of civil circulation,” Forklog reported . Virtual assets can “certi...

The global nonprofit Operation Smile has announced the organization is now accepting crypto assets like bitcoin and dogecoin. The nonprofit is a surgical volunteer-based outfit that helps people with cleft conditions improve their lifestyles. Surgical Volunteer-Based Nonprofit Operation Smile Accepts Crypto Donations On July 18, one of the largest surgical volunteer-based nonprofit in the world, Operation Smile revealed the group is now accepting digital asset donations. The charitable organization invoked in 1982 leverages donations, volunteers, and public and private partnerships to enhance the lives of people struggling with cleft conditions. The announcement says cryptocurrency donations will help bolster “Operation Smile’s mission to increase the accessibility of surgical care in underserved communities around the world so that patients can live lives of improved health and dignity.” The nonprofit also joins the growing list of well known companies and charitable organizatio...