Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Florens Luoga, the governor of the Bank of Tanzania, said the apex bank has kickstarted preparations for a central bank digital currency. He said the bank was doing this to ensure Tanzania is not left behind as other countries adopt digital currencies. Keeping Abreast With Developments on the Continent The Bank of Tanzania (BOT) has started preparations for its digital currency to ensure the country is not left behind others in adopting central bank digital currencies (CBDC), a Bloomberg report has said. The announcement follows reports that Zanzibar — an autonomous Tanzanian region off the coast of East Africa — is also keen on adopting digital currencies. The move by the BOT, which was confirmed by governor Florens Luoga, also comes almost a month after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) became the first central bank on the continent to launch a CBDC. Explaining why the BOT is now eager to launch its CBDC, Luoga is quoted highlighting the importance of not being left behind, sa...

The German multinational shoe and sportswear corporation Adidas recently announced the company has partnered with the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. Two days prior, The Sandbox tweeted about the popular shoe company and showed a video clip of Adidas real estate in the Sandbox metaverse. Metaverse Is an ‘Interesting Platform for Adidas’ According to a recent statement from an Adidas spokesperson speaking with City A.M.’s Lily Russell-Jones, the company is very focused on the metaverse. “The Metaverse is currently one of the most exciting developments in digital, making it an interesting platform for Adidas,” the company spokesperson explained to Russell-Jones on Thursday. It all started on Monday, November 22, when The Sandbox tweeted about the multinational shoe and sportswear firm. “Hey @adidasoriginals, impossible is nothing in the Metaverse. What if we invite all of the original thinkers and do-ers to design our future together?” The Sandbox tweeted . The Sandbox is a blo...

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, says he has zero interest in investing in anything with litigation from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). “That is a very bad idea,” he said. Discussing the SEC lawsuit against Ripple over XRP , he emphasized: “I have no interest in being a crypto cowboy … I have to be compliant.” Kevin O’Leary Says He Must Not Upset Regulators Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, the chairman of O’shares ETF, talked about cryptocurrency, bitcoin, XRP , Ripple’s lawsuit, and crypto regulation in an interview with CNBC published Friday. He explained that he prefers to consult with regulators regarding cryptocurrency in order to find out “what’s possible and what isn’t.” Commenting on the lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ripple over the sale of XRP , O’Leary stressed: I have zero interest in investing in litigation against the SEC. That is a very bad idea. The SEC sued Ripple, its CEO Brad Ga...

A major tech-focused e-commerce platform, Newegg, has announced that SHIB is coming soon to its platform. Newegg currently accepts cryptocurrencies via Bitpay. The crypto payment service provider is expected to add SHIB support soon, according to AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron who said his company will start accepting SHIB for payments in the first quarter. SHIB Is Coming Soon to Newegg, the Company Says E-commerce platform Newegg announced on Twitter Friday that SHIB is coming soon to Newegg. Newegg Inc. is one of the leading tech-focused online retailers in North America, with a global reach in Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East. Its platform focuses on computer parts, PC components, laptops, gaming systems, automotive parts, and office supplies. Newegg did not elaborate further on its SHIB announcement. However, the platform currently accepts a number of cryptocurrencies via Bitpay. The crypto payment service provider is expected to add shiba inu to its list ...

As reports of a new Covid-19 strain spread, tanking the price of many cryptocurrencies, El Salvador bought the dip. The country has added 100 more bitcoins to its treasury despite a recent warning by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), bringing the total number of bitcoins purchased to 1,220. El Salvador Buys the Dip: 1,220 Bitcoins Purchased to Date El Salvador has taken advantage of the Friday sell-off and purchased 100 more bitcoins as reports of a new coronavirus variant spread. The Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, tweeted on Black Friday that his country has bought the dip. “100 extra coins acquired with a discount,” he wrote. An advisory panel of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday classified the new Covid-19 variant, first detected in South Africa, as a highly transmissible virus, naming it “Omicron.” The crypto market shed billions of dollars on Friday amid reports of the new coronavirus strain. The price of bitcoin fell from $59,165 Thursday afternoon ...

South Park’s recent episode called the “Post COVID” special mocks a future where the only currency accepted is bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The hour-long animated sitcom picks up years into the future where the main characters are now all grown up, except Kenny McCormick who is dead. Stan Pays for a 1 Night Stay at the ‘Super 12 Motel Plus’ in the Future Using Bitcoin The popular television sitcom South Park featured on Comedy Central is extremely well known in today’s pop culture ever since Trey Parker and Matt Stone created the show in 1997. Over the last 24 years, the animated sitcom has aired more than 300 episodes and in more recent times, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick have been dealing with an interesting world. In the latest episode called “Post COVID,” Stan, who is now an online whiskey consultant, is told by Kyle that Kenny had passed away. When Stan decides to go to Kenny’s funeral services, he spends his stay at the Super 12 Motel ...

30 days ago on October 28, the total value locked (TVL) in cross-chain bridges to Ethereum was around $22.48 billion and in the face of the recent market dump, the TVL still increased by 9.56%. At the time of writing, there are 135,148 unique depositors and Axie Infinity’s Ronin Bridge holds the largest TVL. Cross-Chain Bridge TVL Continues to Climb While the total value locked in decentralized finance (defi) is $258 billion , the TVL is split among a myriad of blockchains. This includes blockchain networks such as Ethereum ( ETH ), Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), terra (LUNA), tron (TRON), Fantom (FTM), and Polygon (MATIC). Today, Ethereum commands $170.48 billion of the $258 TVL in defi or 65.89% of the aggregate. Binance Smart Chain captures $19.11 billion on Saturday, which is only 7.40% of the TVL. Solana commands a $13.86 billion TVL this weekend or 5.37% of all the value locked in defi. Many of these defi networks leverage a connection to the Et...

As the end of the year approaches, digital currency values have risen a great deal in 2021 and crypto asset miners have been profiting as a result. According to statistics, the most profitable coin to mine at the end of November is kadena, as an 18 terahash (TH/s) machine can get up to $326 per day. Scrypt coins are the second most profitable these days with up to $110 per day and Ethash miners can make up to $105 per day. Kadena, Scrypt, Ethash, and Eaglesong Mining Far More Profitable Than SHA256 Mining Close to 13 years ago when Bitcoin first launched, the cryptocurrency could be mined with a central processing unit (CPU). This means that anyone with a decent computer at the time could mine and find bitcoin ( BTC ) block rewards. After that phase, people started to leverage devices with specialized electronic circuits called graphics processing units (GPUs). Today, bitcoin miners utilize application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) devices to mine BTC . Bitcoin mining rigs ded...

Bitcoin’s hashrate has been volatile in recent times following the same patterns as the crypto asset’s price. Three days ago, Bitcoin’s hashrate neared the 180 exahash (EH/s) zone only to plummet to 128 EH/s two days later. The recent shifts have taken place before the upcoming network difficulty adjustment, which is due to change on Sunday. After nine increases in a row and for the first time since mid-July, the difficulty will drop lower instead of increasing. Bitcoin Hashrate Slides Following Price Drop — Mining Difficulty Decrease Expected The fiat value of bitcoin ( BTC ) has caused the network’s processing power to slow down toward the end of November. Seven days ago, Bitcoin.com News reported on how Bitcoin’s hashrate was steadily climbing higher during the last three months. Today, BTC ’s hashrate is coasting along at 168 EH/s after reaching a high of 178 EH/s on November 24. After reaching that high on Wednesday, on Friday the hashrate dropped to a low of 128 EH/s, losing 2...

Nigerian artist Davido has launched a fan token, the Echoke Social Token, that he says gives “power” to his millions of fans. Eliminating the Middlemen A Nigerian pop artist and celebrity, Davido, recently announced the launch of his fan token, the Echoke Social Token, via his Instagram account. According to Davido’s Instagram post , this token not only eliminates unnecessary third parties, but also allows him to directly connect with fans. Davido explained: Happy to finally announce this thing we’ve been working on for a while. It’s the ‘Echoke Social Token’. Everyday, millions of fans create value that is captured by a few execs in a boardroom. Not any more. We’re giving the power back to the fans. He added that holders of the token will get free access to giveaways, NFTs, backstage passes, jobs, festivals, exclusive merchandise, media, and hospitality benefits. Partnership With Crypto Company For the launch of this token, Davido — who previously expressed a desire to star...

The concept of the metaverse is starting to blow up, and many of the early companies that are invested in it are already reaping some of the benefits from this new trend in the market. Digital land plots in virtual worlds are now selling for millions of dollars on different platforms, including Decentraland and Axie Infinity. Some prices are higher than many physical properties, even in expensive cities. Digital Land Picking Up Value in Metaverse Projects The rise of the metaverse concept and all the companies that are taking it seriously is starting to affect the sales and prices of metaverse-related key elements, like tokens and digital land. This week there have been sales of digital land plots for millions of dollars in key metaverse inspired projects. The first sale of this kind was reported in February by Axie Infinity, a virtual world game, where 8 plots of land were sold for 888 ETH , or $1.5 million dollars. At the time of the sale, Axie Infinity’s team reported this to ...

Grayscale, a leading cryptocurrency asset manager, seems to have set its gaze on the metaverse as a business opportunity. Yesterday the company released a report where it examined the feasibility of this interconnected virtual world and how these economies can provide a profitable entry for investors, considering this area could grow to be a $1 trillion business in the near future. Grayscale Metaverse Report Paints a Bullish Picture Grayscale, one of the leading crypto asset managers, stated that the metaverse, a concept of an interconnected alternate virtual world, could be a $1 trillion business opportunity for the future. This conclusion is derived from a report titled “The Metaverse. Web 3.0 Virtual Cloud Economies,” issued by the company yesterday, where it analyzes the potential that this initiative could have for early investors. In this report, Grayscale profiles the metaverse as the start of a new paradigm, that will kickstart much innovation in Web 3.0. About the possibi...