Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Biden-Harris administration has unveiled its strategy on “countering corruption.” It includes utilizing the government’s newly established task force, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, to focus on “complex investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of cryptocurrency.” US Crypto Enforcement Strategy for ‘Countering Corruption’ The White House announced Monday, “In line with the president’s direction, the Biden-Harris administration is releasing the first-ever ‘United States Strategy on Countering Corruption.'” The 38-page report outlines the U.S. government’s strategy to fight corruption globally. One of the key strategies is to “enhance enforcement efforts,” which includes a section on “cryptocurrency and corruption.” The report states: DOJ will utilize a newly established task force, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, to focus specifically on complex investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of cryptocurrency. The report adds t...

The Indian government has reportedly proposed banning the use of cryptocurrency for payments and setting a deadline for investors to declare their crypto holdings. Violators may be arrested without a warrant and held without bail. In addition, the crypto bill may call for a uniform know-your-customer (KYC) process for all crypto exchanges. Proposed Rules in Indian Crypto Bill As a cryptocurrency bill awaits to be taken up in parliament in India, several reports have emerged about what’s in the bill, which the government has not made public. While crypto assets will reportedly be regulated, the Indian government is planning to ban the use of cryptocurrency for payments, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed source and a summary of the bill it has seen. The proposed legislation also states that the rules will be “cognizable.” Violators may be arrested without a warrant and held without bail, the news outlet detailed, quoting the summary of the bill: The Indian government i...

During the last week of November, the stablecoin economy had crossed the $150 billion mark for the first time with tether and usd coin dominating the pack. In a mere ten days, the stablecoin economy gathered another $11 billion in value with origin dollar and terra usd swelling significantly during the last 30 days. $11 Billion Added to the Fiat-Pegged Token Economy Stablecoins are definitely a prominent part of the crypto industry whether people like them or not. In ten days’ time, the entire stablecoin economy has grown 7.33% larger from $150 billion to today’s $161.2 billion. Month after month, stablecoin markets have swelled, and the token tether ( USDT ) is the largest stablecoin in terms of market valuation. Statistics indicate that USDT has a market valuation of around $77.3 billion and its market cap grew 6.1% during the last month. Usd coin (USDC) is the second-largest stablecoin today with a market valuation of around $41 billion. USDC’s market cap grew by a sizable 19....

A new unnamed investor has offered to bail out Africrypt, the collapsed South Africa-based crypto investment company, with $5 million. The offer, which does not require criminal charges against Africrypt directors to be dropped, must be accepted within seven days. A Better Offer A new mystery investor has offered to bail out the collapsed crypto investment outfit, Africrypt, with $5 million, a report has said. However, investors have been given seven days to accept an offer that was made on December 3, 2021. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, another unknown investor had initially offered $5 million in exchange for 51% of Africrypt’s shares. As part of the conditions for this offer, the investor wanted all criminal proceedings against the missing directors of Africrypt, Raees and Amir Cajee, to be dropped. Unlike the first bailout offer, the latest one — according to a report by Moneyweb — does not compel creditors to agree to the condition that was proposed by the firs...

Digital asset exchange Huobi Global has revealed its intention to exit the Chinese Market. The crypto trading platform with Chinese roots said it will stop processing transactions for existing users on the mainland by the end of the year. Huobi Global Halts Services in the People’s Republic Crypto exchange Huobi Global is going to discontinue services for users based in mainland China this month. In a statement quoted by the English-language Chinese TV channel CGTN, the company announced on Sunday that starting from 11:00 a.m. Beijing time on Dec. 14, users in the People’s Republic will not be allowed to purchase cryptocurrencies. Huobi Global further detailed it will cease crypto exchange operations on the following day, Dec. 15, and terminate all crypto asset trading by 12:00 p.m. on Dec. 31. However, traders will still be able to log into their accounts and apply for the withdrawal of remaining assets within the next one to two years, emphasized the platform, which has not acce...

David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, one of the leading banking institutions in the world, has stated his opinion on the bitcoin vs blockchain dilemma. To Solomon, bitcoin is not as important as the advancements in technology that implementing blockchain and other new ledger-based tools can bring to the traditional finance world. The executive further stated he doesn’t own bitcoin or ethereum personally. Goldman Sachs CEO on Bitcoin David Solomon, CEO of one of the biggest banks in the world, Goldman Sachs, has explained that for him, bitcoin is less important than the technology behind it. The executive issued these statements in an interview on CNBC’s Squawkbox on Tuesday. When asked about his views on crypto, Solomon answered: My view on, on bitcoin for example is I really don’t know but it’s really not something, you know, individually that’s important to me. Furthermore, he argued that the true value of bitcoin lies in the technology that powers it, blockchain, and how it ...

Coinsbee is a platform for buying gift cards with more than 100 cryptos, from all your favourite brands and shops, as well as get payment cards and top-ups. This holiday season, use Coinsbee to purchase vouchers for online video game stores such as Steam and PlayStation, gift subscriptions of the video streaming giant Netflix, top up your mobile phone account, and buy almost any goods with Coinsbee . Treat Yourself or Your Loved Ones Using Crypto Launched in 2019, Coinsbee is a rapidly growing solution for buying gift cards, payment cards, and mobile phone credit using more than 100 different kinds of crypto. Its bullish growth has seen it surpass 100,000 customers recently and the Germany-based company now offers a vast network of brands to consumers – last month adding a lot of new gift card brands, taking the tally over 3000, and 600 mobile top-up providers. It provides service in over 165 countries, and you can pay for your purchases on Coinsbee using all the popular cryptoc...

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a finance organization comprised of several central banks, has stated that while the objective of decentralized finance is to move control of financial tools away from current financial institutions, it just provides an ‘illusion’ of doing so. The organization argues that there is some kind of centralization around governance tokens and that this extends to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus chains. Bank for International Settlements Criticizes Decentralized Finance’s Raison D’etre The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a group of central banks, has addressed the rise of decentralized finance applications and their current impact on capital markets. The bank has criticized cryptocurrencies before, and now, in its latest quarterly review , the organization issued a report called “Defi risks and the decentralization illusion,” where it questions the ethos of the sector, and declares there is no real decentralization in it. The report ...