Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a law that will allow the National Bank of Ukraine to issue its own digital currency. The new legislation, which aligns Ukrainian regulations with EU rules, will also stiffen authentication requirements for clients of payment service providers. New Legislation Allows Ukrainian Central Bank to Issue Digital Currency The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has signed the law “On Payment Services” which was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament on June 30, the president’s administration announced this week. The legislation aims to “modernize and further develop” the payment services market and promote the introduction of innovations in the financial sector, a press release explains. One of the provisions in the bill grants the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) powers to issue its own central bank digital currency ( CBDC ). Authorities in Kyiv have been mulling over a project to create a digital hryvnia for quite a while. A recently conducted su...

PRESS RELEASE. Antier Solutions, a blockchain development company recognized for its end-to-end solutions, is offering crypto exchange script to expedite the development and deployment of crypto exchange platforms by 50%. Given the cut-throat competition to tap into the billion-dollar crypto market, Antier’s cryptocurrency exchange script solutions help start-ups and enterprises to quickly launch their exchange platforms and take the lead. “The crypto market is highly volatile; businesses need solutions that can help them quickly enter the market, especially when the market is favorable. This has catapulted the demand for cryptocurrency exchange clone or script solutions.”, said Parvinder Singh, Chief Technical Officer at Antier Solutions . The company receives several requests from start-ups and established organizations to create a clone of popular exchange platforms. “Out of all the queries we get, the majority ask for a Binance clone script . This is because they strive t...

Indian authorities are reportedly investigating cryptocurrency exchange Binance in connection with an ongoing Chinese money laundering case that raked in more than 10 billion rupees ($134 million). Binance’s Regulatory Troubles Continue India is reportedly investigating whether the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance had any role in a Chinese money laundering scheme involving betting apps, local media reported Friday, citing people with knowledge on the matter. The country’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), a law enforcement agency under the Ministry of Finance, has summoned Binance’s executives for questioning, according to the people who asked not to be identified as the matter is still under investigation. The case centers around betting apps run by Chinese operators. They allegedly raked in more than 10 billion rupees over the past 10 months. They were suspected of laundering part of the money through local Indian crypto exchange Wazirx , which was acquired by Binance in 2019....

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, says he does not consider dogecoin an investment. “I don’t participate in that kind of thing. I don’t understand why anybody would,” he said. Kevin O’Leary Won’t Invest in Dogecoin Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary talked about the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin in an interview with CNBC last week. The chairman of O’Shares ETFs said: I don’t participate in that kind of thing. I don’t understand why anybody would, but that’s their own choice. He explained that investing in dogecoin is like gambling in Las Vegas, noting that he might not even call it “investing” at all. The Shark Tank star explained that when someone invests in a stock, they are betting on the company’s ability to execute its business plan and achieve its goals. In contrast, he said that there is no informed decision making with dogecoin as buyers are simply hoping that the price of the cryptocurrency will increase. In addition, dogecoin has an unlimited supply, unlike ...

Venture capital firms and large investors are driving up the prices of crypto startups. Boutique investment firms and family offices are being elbowed out by big venture capital firms, private equity funds, and even some pension funds. VC Firms Driving Up Prices of Crypto Startups Cryptocurrency firms are seeing high valuations due to large investors entering the space, according to Henri Arslanian, Crypto Leader at professional accounting and financial services firm PWC, also known as Pricewaterhousecooper. In an interview with Bloomberg Thursday, the executive explained that boutique investment firms and family offices are being elbowed out by big venture capitalists, private equity funds, and even some pension funds. He noted that smaller venture capital firms are unhappy about this trend. Arslanian described: Let’s say they’re looking at a deal and they believe it’s worth $10 million, and you’re seeing large VCs come in and put a bid in for a higher valuation. This is happeni...

The day before the fourth Bitcoin Cash anniversary, the Smart Bitcoin Cash team (Smartbch), announced the project has launched three nodes as genesis validators. Smartbch disclosed that Btc.com, Viabtc, and Matrixport are participating and the project has officially started its voting period. Smartbch Fires up Smart Chain’s Genesis Validators For quite some time now, the Bitcoin Cash ( BCH ) community has been patiently waiting on the development of the Smartbch project . The reason for this is because Smartbch could unlock massive potential between Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin Cash. The protocol could bolster decentralized finance (defi) on Bitcoin Cash and be compatible with the second largest crypto asset in terms of market capitalization. Bitcoin.com News first reported on Smartbch during the first week of April and interviewed the project’s lead developer 15 days later. By the end of the month, Smartbch launched the testnet publicly and which gives developers and decentral...

The crypto lender Blockfi is now dealing with regulators from five states as Kentucky has joined the fray against the firm’s Blockfi Interest Accounts (BIAs). On July 30, Blockfi shared a statement on Twitter that explained the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) has sent the company an order that aims to ban new BIA accounts. Blockfi Now Has Problems With Regulators From 5 States The New York City-based cryptocurrency finance company Blockfi was founded in 2017 by co-founders Zac Prince and Lori Marquez. The firm is a cryptocurrency lending firm that offers interest-bearing accounts called “BIAs” and also provides customers with a cryptocurrency-denominated credit card. Since January 2018, the company has allowed lending services that leverage crypto collateral. Bitcoin.com News reported on Blockfi’s initial issues with New Jersey regulators which was followed by problems with Texas, Alabama , and Vermont . The regulators from all of the states take issue with th...

South African Reserve Bank (SARB) governor, Lesetja Kganyago, has once again confirmed that the central bank is presently studying the feasibility of issuing a digital currency. In his remarks at the SARB’s annual general meeting, governor Kganyago suggested his organization has embarked on this study to keep abreast with the growing trend of central banks that are studying CBDCs. Retail CBDC In the past few years, several central banks including a few in Africa have similarly announced their CBDC studies. Already, the central banks of Ghana and Nigeria have both revealed they will start piloting their respective digital currencies in the second half of 2021. However, as the recent Mybroadband report quotes Kganyago explaining, the SARB’s e-rand study will also seek to understand the feasibility of issuing the CBDC for retail purposes. Kganyago explained: The objective of the study is to investigate if it would be feasible, appropriate and desirable for the SARB to issue a CBD...

Pointing to a number of reasons why a digital version of the U.S. dollar should be created, Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard insisted that not having one wouldn’t lead to a sustainable future. The central bank official believes a digital dollar will have both international and domestic applications. US Fed’s Lael Brainard Can’t Wrap Head Around Not Issuing CBDC With other nations, most notably China , moving forward with their own digital currency projects, Lael Brainard, member of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board of Governors, has highlighted the urgency around the development of a digital dollar. Speaking to the Aspen Institute Economic Strategy Group on Friday, Brainard stated: The dollar is very dominant in international payments, and if you have the other major jurisdictions in the world with a digital currency, a CBDC offering, and the U.S. doesn’t have one, I just, I can’t wrap my head around that. “That just doesn’t sound like a sustainable future to me,” Lael Braina...

Crypto assets have climbed in value during the last 24 hours as the price of bitcoin tapped a high on Friday, reaching $42,411 per unit at 8:00 p.m. (EDT). The entire market capitalization of all 10,000+ crypto assets is $1.64 trillion on Saturday, up over 6% during the last day. Bitcoin Climbs Over 20% This Week The price of bitcoin (BTC) and a number of other digital assets have climbed higher in value during the last few days. Five days ago, a massive short squeeze propelled the price of bitcoin higher as it jumped just below the $40K handle from a low of $34,500 per unit. Bybit.com’s Liquidation Data. Similarly, there was also a large derivatives expiry on Friday ending the month of July and at around 8:00 p.m. (EDT) a swathe of short positions were liquidated. During the course of the last day, $284.7 million worth of positions were liquidated according to bybt.com’s Liquidation Data . After 8:00 p.m., the price of bitcoin (BTC) quickly spiked to $42,411 per unit and h...

On Tuesday, the New York Knickerbockers, in partnership with Sweet, launched the NBA team’s first-ever non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The NFTs feature limited edition digitally designed 3D game tickets made specifically for the Atlantic Division basketball team. With less than 24 hours left on the auction, the Knicks’ NFT sale has sold out a number of tickets. 3D NFT Tickets from 5 Classic New York Knicks’ Games A number of NBA teams are getting in on blockchain technology and many American professional basketball teams have engaged in all types of crypto concepts like NFTs and partnerships aimed at elevating cryptocurrency adoption. The NBA has its own Blockchain Advisory Committee and teams like the Portland Trail Blazers , Boston Celtics , and Cleveland Cavaliers have recently stepped into the blockchain fray. This week the New York Knicks launched its first-ever NFT collection as the professional team recently partnered with the NFT marketplace Sweet to auction the col...

On Thursday, the Palo Alto-based automated investment service firm, Wealthfront Inc., announced that customers can now get exposure to crypto assets via the company’s platform. The firm revealed that clients can choose from two Grayscale investment trusts, as the company now offers investments in the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Wealthfront Connects Customers to Two Grayscale Trusts This week Wealthfront has added two Grayscale crypto trusts to the firm’s menu of investments. Wealthfront is an automated investment operation sometimes referred to as a robo-advisor that offers wealth management services. The company was co-founded in 2008 by Andy Rachleff and Dan Carroll and as of 2020, Wealthfront had $15.85 billion assets under management (AUM). The announcement on Wednesday notes that Wealthfront customers can now gain exposure to crypto assets via the platform’s Grayscale bitcoin and ethereum trusts. The news follows the firm’s decision...