Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Cryptocurrency miners in Kazakhstan will pay more than other consumers for the electricity they use to mint digital coins. The country’s president has signed a law that imposes an additional fee for the power utilized by the energy intensive industry. Coin Miners in Kazakhstan to Pay Extra Fee per Kilowatt-hour of Electricity Crypto mining entities in Kazakhstan are going to pay a surcharge for the electrical energy they burn. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a new law this week amending the Central Asian republic’s legislation “on taxes and other obligatory payments to the budget.” The bill, which was voted by the Senate earlier in June, introduces a new fee of 1 Kazakhstani tenge (approx. $0.0023) per kilowatt-hour used by cryptocurrency miners. The new electricity rate will be imposed starting from Jan. 1, 2022, Forklog reported . Authorities in Nur-Sultan claim the additional charge will “bring out of the shadow” those cryptocurrency miners that currently operate in ...

Vent is excited to announce the launch of their IDO on the Ventup platform, nurtured by Vent Finance. This innovative community-driven platform promises to usher in a new era of decentralized funding for vetted projects and help empower entrepreneurs on their journey to success. Vent – Welcome to the All-in-One Ecosystem Vent has announced it is launching the Ventup IDO Launchpad on Polygon to provide startups that launch on the platform with scalability, modular security solutions and compatibility with Ethereum tools. Vent will also construct the first Polygon-Cardano bridge and plans to migrate Ventup to the Cardano blockchain upon the rollout of the Alonzo smart-contract mainnet. Ventup offers easier access to DeFi investment opportunities for everyone, with powerful features such as a social community, vetted investment opportunities and low transaction fees. The launchpad is also a critical part of the larger Vent ecosystem that provides new projects with an all-in-one solut...

The market capitalization of all 10,722 cryptocurrencies in existence is around $1.42 trillion on Wednesday and during the last 24 hours, all of these crypto-assets combined lost 3.92%. Meanwhile, bitcoin captures 45.73% of the entire $1.42 trillion capitalization and ethereum commands 17.8%. As both of these leading assets have improved this week, seven-day changes against the U.S. dollar show a great number of other crypto-assets have seen much bigger double-digit gains. Steemit Coins, 51% Attacked Tokens, and Forgotten Crypto Assets An interesting assortment of crypto assets have seen double-digit gains as larger competitors like bitcoin ( BTC ) and ethereum ( ETH ) have seen weaker improvements. For instance, BTC has gained 2.74% against the U.S. dollar during the last seven days. ETH has jumped close to 10%, but not quite, with an 8.89% rise over the last week. While they are at the very least weekly improvements against the dollar, a number of unconventional crypto assets h...

The Federal Reserve’s vice chairman of supervision and the chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), Randal K. Quarles, doubts the benefits of the digital dollar but says it “could pose significant and concrete risks” to the U.S. banking system. Fed Vice Chair Speptical About Digital Dollar Federal Reserve Vice Chair of Supervision Randal Quarles talked about bitcoin and the Fed’s work on a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital dollar, in a speech at the Utah Bankers Association Monday. Quarles is also the chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB). He said: The potential benefits of a Federal Reserve CBDC are unclear. Conversely, a Federal Reserve CBDC could pose significant and concrete risks. He then outlined the risks. “First, a Federal Reserve CBDC could create considerable challenges for the structure of our banking system … An arrangement where the Federal Reserve replaces commercial banks as the dominant provider of money to the general public could ...

A U.S. congressman has called for a law that allows the government to identify cryptocurrency users and reverse crypto transactions. “There’s a significant sentiment, increasing sentiment, in Congress that if you’re participating in an anonymous crypto transaction that you’re a de-facto participant in a criminal conspiracy,” he said. Rep. Bill Foster Stresses the Need for Law to Allow the Government to Reverse Crypto Transactions Democratic Rep. Bill Foster of Illinois, who is also co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, talked about cryptocurrency regulation during an Axios virtual event Tuesday. Addressing the problem of ransomware attacks and how criminals are asking for bitcoin and not cash, the congressman stressed that “there is a fundamental difference between crypto assets and real-world assets. That’s an important distinction that we must make ultimately in the law.” Emphasizing that laws must be passed to allow federal courts to identify crypto users and reverse...

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has unveiled its plan to build “the crypto app store,” inspired by how Apple Inc. built its app store. CEO Brian Armstrong said: “Apple didn’t attempt to build every app for the iPhone, it empowered developers and gave mobile users an easy way to access new innovative apps.” In a blog post published on Tuesday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong detailed several opportunities in the crypto space the Nasdaq-listed company is pursuing. One of them was to “Build the crypto app store.” The CEO detailed, “Like the internet, or the mobile app stores, we’re seeing developers rush into the space to use these new tools to develop innovative use cases that we couldn’t have imagined before,” adding: Apple didn’t attempt to build every app for the iPhone, it empowered developers and gave mobile users an easy way to access new innovative apps … We’ll work to give our users easy access to all of this from the main Coinbase product. Armstrong stressed: “We ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the global economy, leaving many industries re-evaluating the robustness of legacy models in times of crisis. Unsurprisingly, one of the most impacted industries has been the global healthcare industry, as governments raced to test for, treat and develop a vaccine for the fast-spreading virus. Whilst, on the whole, the testing regimes, treatments and vaccination programs have been somewhat successful in developed countries (especially the United Kingdom and Israel), existing pain points in pharmaceutical research and development have exacerbated delays according to a number of experts. Namely, the clinical trial industry, a sector responsible for testing the safety and efficacy of new vaccines and therapeutics before these enter the market, is currently hampered by various inefficiencies . The pandemic has exemplified the need for solutions to tackle these inefficiencies and thereby help ensure an efficient influx of new medicines. This is where Tr...

Jim Chauncey-Kelly has long been a champion for marginalized and underrepresented employees at tech companies. As the Senior Director of Global Talent Acquisition for Ripple and a co-leader of the Pride at Ripple Employee Resource Group (ERG), he is helping to build a more inclusive and diverse workplace culture within the blockchain industry. Being a … Continued The post Empowering Team Members to Be Their Authentic Selves Through Pride at Ripple appeared first on Ripple. http://dlvr.it/S2p7j3

Formula 1, the international auto racing organization, has found a new sponsor from the crypto industry. The long-term deal will provide a digital asset trading platform with brand presence at F1 events while the car championship hopes that the partnership will allow it to “explore the world of cryptocurrency.” Crypto.com to Support Formula 1 as Part of Reported $100 Million Sponsorship Agreement The deal between Formula 1 and Crypto.com, which was announced on Tuesday, has been negotiated with the help of sports firm Creative Artists Agency. The terms were not immediately disclosed but according to CNBC, quoting sources familiar with the details, the five-year agreement has a price tag of over $100 million. Crypto.com, a platform with a claimed 10 million users, will become a global partner for Formula 1 races, including the new Sprint series. The qualifying format will be employed to determine the starting positions in some races, with the first such event to be held at Silversto...

On Wednesday, the North American bitcoin mining operation Blockware Mining announced the firm closed a $25 million investment round. According to the company, Blockware Mining aims to leverage the financing to expand operations “beyond its currently installed North American footprint.” Blockware Raises $25 Million, Purchases 14,000 ASIC Miners Blockware Mining , a bitcoin mining infrastructure and colocation service operation revealed the company has raised $25 million on June 30. The U.S.-based firm claims to “generate bitcoin below market prices” by utilizing three different revenue streams. Blockware specializes in mining bitcoin, the resale of mining rigs, and hosting services. The company says the latest financing will help the business expand and after the $25 million capital raise, Blockware has obtained more than $32 million from investors total. The company’s announcement notes that since 2019 it has been focused on acquiring mining rigs and constructing Blockware’s Paduc...

Bitcoin is down in value 45% since the crypto asset’s all-time high (ATH) three months ago and the downward movement has ignited significant speculation about another bear market. Other skeptics believe that bitcoin has died, as the web page that hosts bitcoin obituaries indicates 2021 bitcoin deaths have doubled in comparison to all the bitcoin obituaries in 2020. According to Skeptics Bitcoin Has Died 29 Times This Year The price of bitcoin ( BTC ) is lower than it was three months ago when the crypto asset touched an ATH of $64,895 per unit roughly 90 days ago. Since then, BTC has been consolidating above the $30K region and many are uncertain of what prices will come next. Then there are those who are certain that bitcoin is dead or at the very least prepping for its own funeral as they believe the value is surely headed to zero. The infamous bitcoin obituaries web page, hosted on 99bitcoins.com, showcases these types of “bitcoin is dead” skeptics who have written long bitcoi...

Payments giant NCR and New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) are collaborating to allow 650 U.S.banks to offer bitcoin trading to their 24 million customers through their mobile applications. 24 Million Customers of 650 Main Street Banks May Soon Have Access to Bitcoin Trading New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) said Wednesday that 650 banks and credit unions in the U.S. will soon be able to offer bitcoin trading to their customers through their mobile applications. The bitcoin option is made possible through a collaboration between NYDIG and enterprise payments giant NCR. NYDIG is a bitcoin technology and financial services subsidiary of Stone Ridge, a $10 billion alternative asset manager. NCR’s president of digital banking, Douglas Brown, was quoted by Forbes as saying: We’re firm believers in the benefits of crypto and the strategic application. And that’s true for our banking relationships, as evidenced by NYDIG, and across retailers as well as restaurants and th...

A Texas man, who calls himself “Doctor Bitcoin,” has pleaded guilty to running an illegal cryptocurrency exchange business, converting cash to bitcoin. He faces five years in federal prison. Crypto Exchange Operator Pleads Guilty The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday that a Texas resident, Mark Alexander Hopkins, has pleaded guilty to “illegally operating a cash-to-cryptocurrency conversion business.” The 42-year-old man, who calls himself “Doctor Bitcoin,” pleaded guilty to one count of operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business. Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah detailed: This defendant ignored federal law and allowed fraudsters to use bitcoin to operate under the radar of law enforcement. We are determined to rid the bitcoin marketplace of anyone who knowingly helps criminal actors stash illegal profits inside crypto wallets. Hopkins admitted to running a cryptocurrency exchange business, converting U.S. dollars to cryptocurrency, primarily bitcoi...

PRESS RELEASE. Beyond Oil™ has officially launched the Solar Oil Project – the blockchain powered decentralized oil production platform that recycles abandoned oil wells to produce oil while eliminating a trillion dollar ecological nightmare. What the Solar Oil Project does differently: Partners with local oil Operators and green equipment manufacturers. Together, they identify old oil wells that typically produce less than 5 barrels of oil per-day. These wells often become serious ecological hazards when abandoned and leak toxins into the soil and water table. Current clean-up costs are estimated to be over $500billion in North America. SOP token sales are used to fund purchase of new, patented technology to rehabilitate these old wells into profitable, productive sites. This new technology drops cost of production by as much as 50% and carbon footprint by over 90%. The oil production achieved is tokenized and distributed to the token holders that purchased the SOP tokens t...

A major British bank, Natwest, has put a limit on fund transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges over concerns of fraud and scams related to cryptocurrencies. The bank is also blocking payments to a number of cryptocurrency asset firms. Natwest says the two moves are necessary to protect customers. Natwest Places Limit on Transfers to Crypto Exchanges National Westminster Bank, commonly known as Natwest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom. A spokesperson for the bank told Reuters Tuesday that the bank has capped the daily amount customers can send to cryptocurrency exchanges due to concerns over investment scams and fraud. “We have seen a high level of cryptocurrency investment scams targeting our customers across retail and business banking, particularly through social media sites,” the spokesperson said, elaborating: To protect our customers from the criminals exploiting these platforms, we’re temporarily reducing the maximum daily amount that a customer ca...

As crypto markets saw some recovery on Tuesday, decentralized finance tokens and applications have once again started swelling in value. Decentralized exchange (dex) trade volumes have increased a great deal, as daily swap volumes stemming from Ethereum-based dex applications have doubled since Monday. Pancakes, Sushi, and Unicorns Decentralized finance continues to astonish, as billions of dollars have entered this new economy during the last two years. Years ago, there were a few decentralized exchange (dex) platforms but none of them compared to the liquidity that’s provided on dex platforms today. 24-hour and seven-day decentralized exchange statistics for Ethereum-based dex platforms, according to Dune Analytics on June 29, 2021. Moreover, the Ethereum blockchain hosts the most popular dex applications in existence today and many of these Ethereum-based dex platforms have outshined even centralized exchange (cex) platforms in terms of trade volume. Furthermore, the Binance...

Compound, one of the leading defi-based protocols, is launching a new service called Treasury. Compound’s Treasury is a new product designed to help institutions enter the defi space. Launched in partnership with Circle and Fireblocks, it skips the uber astounding rates conventional defi protocols offer. However, it seeks to offer stable revenue for companies looking to get passive income from their funds in dollars. Compound to Coax Institutions With Treasury Compound Labs, the company behind the Compound defi protocol , launched Treasury, a new defi service designed for institutions. This new service seeks to offer institutions the chance to garner defi-based gains without having to go the extra mile to do so. Treasury allows third parties to use fiat dollars to enter the space. Compound Labs has partnered with Circle and Fireblocks and allows institutions to register and open a treasury account, where these institutions can wire dollars. Circle offers the conversion services to...