Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Binance announced yesterday it deployed Ciphertrace’s Traveler system as part of its compliance efforts. Traveler is the first system designed for exchanges to comply with the Travel Rule proposed by the Financial Action Task Force. The exchange would be among the first wave of exchanges implementing this automatic Travel Rule compliance system. Binance Implements Ciphertrace’s Traveler Protocol in Its Trading Platform Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the market, announced the implementation of Traveler , a system that will help them comply with the Travel Rule established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Ciphertrace, a blockchain analytics startup, created Traveler as a third-party compliance platform. Ciphertrace claims Traveler automatizes the process of complying with FATFs mandate, automatically making connections and identifying different VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers). Therefore, exchanges simplify their due diligence burden by imp...

Bitcoin, the leading crypto asset in terms of market capitalization, has seen the cryptocurrency’s network hashrate drop considerably during the last two weeks. On Saturday, July 3, the network’s mining difficulty will see the largest epoch drop in history as the difficulty is set to slide by more than 27%. Bitcoin Difficulty Expected to Drop More Than 27% This weekend, Bitcoin (BTC) is set to experience the largest difficulty drop ever recorded during the crypto asset’s lifetime. At the time of writing, BTC ’s mining difficulty is 19.93 trillion and is expected to drop 27.04% by Saturday morning (EDT). In bitcoin mining, the network’s difficulty is the parameter that keeps the average time between BTC blocks consistent. The difficulty parameter is the metric that shows how difficult it is to mine a bitcoin block and the higher the difficulty, the more hashpower is needed to find a block. If the difficulty drops by 27% on Saturday, it is expected to be around 14.54 trillion. ...

The U.S. Department of State’s undersecretary of state for political affairs, Victoria Nuland, has explained during a press conference that the U.S. has urged El Salvador to be responsible with the country’s new bitcoin law. Nuland told the press that the U.S. was taking a “tough look at Bitcoin” and that Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele needs to “ensure that it is well regulated.” State Department Official Says US Is Taking a Tough Look at Bitcoin According to statements from a senior U.S. State Department official, the U.S. hopes El Salvador will be responsible with the country’s new bitcoin tender law enacted on June 9, 2021. The undersecretary of state for political affairs, Victoria Nuland, explained that she had a meeting with the Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele and they discussed the crypto asset bitcoin ( BTC ). The American diplomat stressed to Bukele that after the Colonial Pipeline ransomware case, the U.S. was taking “another tough look at bitcoin.” “I did suggest ...

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has set out to examine the risks associated with cryptocurrency investments. The regulator is going to conduct a dedicated study with the participation of major banks and payment processors operating in the Russian market. CBR Adds Crypto to Its Survey Program for 2021 Russia’s central bank, known as Bank of Russia, is planning to carry out research regarding the risks that accompany crypto investing. The study titled “Assessment of risks of using cryptocurrencies” has been added to the recently published “Bank of Russia survey program for the second half of 2021.” The survey will be conducted in order to “obtain information on trends to assess systemic risks in connection with investments of Russian individuals and legal entities in cryptocurrency,” CBR explained in a note. The regulator will send out questions to a number of financial market participants, including 15 banks such as VTB, Tinkoff, Alfa-Bank, Raiffeisenbank, and the state-owned ban...

The government of Venezuela is considering a new redenomination of its fiat currency. The proposal that is under study would cut six zeroes from the inflation-affected Bolivar. This would aid companies in processing taxes and provider payments that are absurdly complex with today’s numbers. However, the dollar is the predominant coin in retail payments in Venezuela, according to consulting firms. Venezuela to Redenominate Its Currency The government of Venezuela is studying a mathematical redenomination of its currency, the sovereign bolivar, to simplify payments for big companies. This redenomination would slash six zeros, making it easier to calculate payments now reaching high sums. While there has not been an official announcement yet, Bloomberg reported this subject was commented on by three people with knowledge of the matter. The new measure comes to aid companies who had to make big payments in bolivars. This would also aid consumers paying in bolivars using POS terminals,...

Asset management firm Skybridge Capital has launched an ethereum fund, CEO Anthony Scaramucci has confirmed. He added that the asset manager will be filing for an ether exchange-traded fund (ETF). Skybridge Capital CEO Anthony Scaramucci revealed in the latest episode of The Scoop, published Tuesday, that his asset management firm has launched a private ethereum fund. “July 1st, we’re launching a private ethereum fund,” he said prior to the launch of the ether fund, adding: We’ll then file for an ETF for ethereum. Again, it is anybody’s guess when those things will be going. He also revealed, “As we’re speaking, we’re making an announcement on an ETF for a digital innovation fund that has some great publicly traded assets that we think are geared, related to [ethereum], related to bitcoin, but also the other coins.” The company filed a registration statement for a bitcoin ETF with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May. Scaramucci emphasized: ...

An economist with the Bank of International Settlements has found that cryptocurrencies are not sought as an alternative to fiat currencies or regulated finance, therefore a “technology-neutral regulation to this asset class” is recommended. The economist discussed “embedded supervision,” adding that “The main aim is low-cost supervision of decentralized markets.” BIS Economist Suggests Regulatory Approach for Cryptocurrencies The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) published a working paper Thursday on “The socioeconomic drivers of US cryptocurrency investments.” It is authored by Raphael Auer, a principal economist for innovation and the digital economy at the BIS, and David Tercero-Lucas from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). In the 52-page report, the authors state that based on an in-depth analysis of representative data on crypto owners: We disprove the hypothesis that cryptocurrencies are sought as an alternative to fiat currencies or regulated finance … Investo...

Statistics show that the Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract has exceeded 6 million ether this week as more than $12.4 billion worth of ethereum is held in the contract today. Onchain metrics show that Ethereum has seen some significant drawdowns in recent times and decentralized finance (defi) activity has slowed compared to last summer’s statistics. Despite the onchain dips, this year ethereum markets outperformed bitcoin in Q1 and Q2. Ethereum 2.0 Contract Now Holds 6 Million Ether Worth $12.4 Billion, Onchain Ether Stats Slide There’s been a lot of focus on the Ethereum ( ETH ) network recently as the Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract now commands more than 6 million ether. Meanwhile, Ethereum participants are getting ready for the highly anticipated EIP1559 upgrade and London hard fork. Statistics from Glassnode and researcher Lars Hoffmann show Ethereum network onchain dips and defi activity slowing in recent times. “Despite volumes declining, the year-over-year growth in monthly [de...

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has encouraged “people to buy and hold” bitcoin in their portfolios. “I encourage them to save bitcoin for their retirement, for their future,” she said, adding that with Congress flooding the economy with trillions and trillions of dollars, “there’s no way” the value of the U.S. dollar will not be debased. US Senator Urges People to Invest in Bitcoin for Retirement U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis talked about bitcoin in an interview at the CNBC Financial Advisor Summit Tuesday. Responding to the question of what her ideal crypto future would look like, the pro-bitcoin senator described: I would like to see cryptocurrency, like bitcoin, become part of a diversified asset allocation that are used in retirement funds and other opportunities for people to save for the future. Not only she would like to see retirement funds investing in “bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that are good stores of value,” the senator from Wyoming said that she would “also like ...

Robinhood’s IPO prospectus shows that 9.5 million customers traded $88 billion of cryptocurrency on its platform in Q1 and the company held approximately $12 billion in crypto assets under custody, a 23-fold increase from last year. Meanwhile, 34% of Robinhood’s cryptocurrency revenue was attributable to the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin. Robinhood’s IPO Prospectus Reveals Crypto Business Details Robinhood Markets Inc. (Robinhood) filed a preliminary prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Thursday for its initial public offering (IPO). The company lists “cryptocurrency trading” through its subsidiary, Robinhood Crypto LLC (RHC) as one of the offerings on the Robinhood platform. The company explained that it “offers commission-free buying and selling of cryptocurrency” through the subsidiary. The crypto trading service was launched on Feb. 20, 2018. The platform currently supports seven cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, bitcoin cash, bitcoin sv, dogecoin, ethereu...

PRESS RELEASE. Bitcoin of America (BOA), a popular virtual currency exchange, is reporting record growth. Bitcoin of America is registered as a money services business with the United States Department of Treasury (FinCEN). Their mission is to provide their customers with a fast and easy transaction process, while securing the best rate in the market. The company launched back in 2015 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL. Bitcoin of America is known for their several different services including Bitcoin ATMs (BTMs), Tablets, and online exchange. Bitcoin of America, one of the leading operators in the industry, has seen tremendous growth this year. Their top line revenue is up 220% and their earnings have increase 8 times the amount of last years. Bitcoin of America is known for their BTMS. They are located in 31 states including major cities across the USA. This year so far, the company has seen a 96 percent increase in BTMs. At the end of January 2021, the company had 630 BTM locati...

Dutch professional football club AZ has formed an exclusive partnership with a regulated cryptocurrency exchange platform, Bitcoin Meester. Part of the sponsorship amount is paid in bitcoin and AZ will leave the cryptocurrency on its balance sheet during the collaboration. The club says it is the first Dutch club to do so. Professional football club AZ Alkmaar (also known as just AZ) and Bitcoin Meester independently announced Thursday their official and “exclusive partnership.” The two companies have entered into a three-year agreement and will be linked at least until 2024. Bitcoin Meester explained that “Central to the partnership is the further marketing of crypto in the football world.” Bitcoin Meester is a crypto exchange service provider registered with the Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank. The platform allows users to buy, sell, and store over 200 different cryptocurrencies, its website details. AZ’s Commercial Director, Michael Koster, commented: “The cryptocurr...

Enjin successfully auctioned all tokens available for sale for the new Efinity NFT marketplace it has developed for the Polkadot ecosystem. Latest Sale Brings Total Marketplace Funding to $38.9 Million Given the concerns about Ethereum’s high costs and sluggish transaction throughput, competition amongst NFT marketplaces is heating up fast. More platforms are launching daily to keep up with demand and new use cases for NFTs. As more blockchains compete for the torrent of demand for non-fungible tokens, Enjin has become the latest to launch another marketplace. Enjin, the team behind the ERC-1155 standard, has concluded a $20 million public sale of EFI tokens on CoinList for its next-generation Efinity blockchain. The oversubscribed sale ran for just 2.5 hours, and added to the already garnered $18.9 million from an earlier sale. Efinity aims to tackle Ethereum’s many pain points, namely high gas fees and low throughput by constructing a blockchain marketplace capable of handling...

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) recently opened a consultation for establishing methods and best practices for regulating crypto assets. The consultation paper seeks guidance on which crypto-assets should qualify as underlying assets, and how to make this determination. The proposal could signal the emergence of new crypto-based products in the Australian market. Australian Regulator Seeks Advice The Australian Securities regulator issued a public consultation paper to decide how to regulate cryptocurrency-based products. The paper, titled “ASIC consults on crypto-asset-based ETPs and other investment products,” seeks advice on several key subjects that could affect the issuance of cryptocurrency-based derivatives, such as ETPs. To ASIC, cryptocurrencies are special assets whose impact needs to be regulated with tighter standards. In the paper, ASIC states they are: Aware of interest in, and demand for, domestic cryptoasset ETPs. However, we are also ...