Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk says dogecoin is “fundamentally better than anything else” he has seen while he criticizes bitcoin. He also discussed the identity of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, and the official currency of Mars. Elon Musk Discusses Crypto, Dogecoin, Bitcoin, Mars’ Currency, and Who Satoshi Nakamoto Is Elon Musk shared his thoughts on cryptocurrency, dogecoin, bitcoin, and the identity of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, in an interview with Lex Fridman, published Tuesday. Musk, who has long been a supporter of the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE), revealed: Part of the reason why I think there is some merit to dogecoin, even though it was obviously created as a joke, is that it actually does have a much higher transaction volume capability than bitcoin. “The cost of doing a transaction, the dogecoin fees are very low,” the Tesla executive added. In contrast, he said: “Right now, if you want to do a Bitcoin transaction...

Nasdaq-listed Microstrategy has bought more bitcoin for its corporate treasury. The latest purchase for 1,914 coins has raised the company’s total cryptocurrency holdings to 124,391 bitcoins. CEO Michael Saylor recently said that he expects the price of the cryptocurrency to eventually reach $6 million. Microstrategy Has Purchased More Bitcoin The pro-bitcoin Nasdaq-listed company Microstrategy has purchased 1,914 more BTC . With the latest purchase, the company now holds 124,391 bitcoins. Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor announced Thursday via Twitter: Microstrategy has purchased an additional 1,914 bitcoins for ~$94.2 million in cash at an average price of ~$49,229 per bitcoin. “As of 12/29/21 we hodl ~124,391 bitcoins acquired for ~$3.75 billion at an average price of ~$30,159 per bitcoin,” he detailed. The price of BTC fell slightly Thursday. At the time of writing, it is hovering at about $47,398 after losing 1.4% over the last 24 hours. At the current price, Microstrateg...

This week the stablecoin giant tether reached a market capitalization of roughly $78.2 billion according to data. Over the last 30 days, tether’s market valuation grew by 5.6% and the stablecoin now represents 46% of the $168.3 billion stablecoin economy. Tether Market Cap is Less Than $2 Billion Away From Reaching $80 Billion On December 30, 2021, there’s roughly 78.2 billion tether ( USDT ) in circulation, according to coingecko.com’s top stablecoin by market capitalization statistics . According to Tether Limited’s transparency report published to the tether.to web portal, there’s $78.5 billion assets under management. Metrics indicate that tether represents 3.35% of the $2.33 trillion crypto economy today and 46% of the $168.3 billion stablecoin economy. Tether has seen massive growth during its lifetime. For instance, on September 13, 2015, tether’s market capitalization was $451,600 and the jump to $78.2 billion is a whopping 17,327,227% increase in just over six years. The...

Authorities in Pakistan have reportedly moved to seize hundreds of bank accounts and cards belonging to cryptocurrency traders. According to local media, they have been allegedly used to make transactions worth close to $300,000 through digital asset exchanges, including major platforms. Pakistan Government Blocks Cards Used to Buy Cryptocurrency, Media Reveals Bank accounts in the names of 1,064 individuals have been frozen by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency ( FIA ). The law enforcement authority acted on request from the Cyber Crime Reporting Center (CCRC) in Islamabad, the Pakistan Observer informed readers on Wednesday. Officials claim the accounts have been utilized to process transactions worth a total of 51 million Pakistani rupees (around $288,000) made by persons to and from a number of crypto exchanges, among which are well-known platforms such as Binance, Coinbase, and Coinmama. The agency has also blocked their credit cards used to buy and sell digital coins, t...

2021 has been a bullish year for crypto assets. While prices have risen a great deal, the top ten and top twenty rankings in terms of market capitalization have also changed significantly. A great number of coins have either been pushed down or have entered the crypto economy’s top positions in terms of overall market valuation. 2021’s Top Crypto Asset Positions Change Drastically On December 27, 2020, a historical snapshot of the crypto prices that day shows that bitcoin ( BTC ) and ethereum ( ETH ) both led the pack as far as the top two crypto asset market valuations are concerned. This is still true today as both BTC and ETH are the top two market leaders. However, on December 27, 2020, bitcoin’s value was $26,272 per unit and BTC had a market cap of $488 billion. Additionally, ethereum was changing hands for $682 per unit on that same day, and had a market cap of around $77.8 billion. Fast forward to December 26, 2021 statistics, and BTC was trading for $50,809 per unit an...

On December 29, two addresses from 2011 containing 500 bitcoin each transferred 1,000 coins for the first time in 10.5 years. Furthermore, another wallet from 2011 woke up on Wednesday, moving 40 bitcoin for the first time in over a decade. 1,040 Bitcoin from 2011 Move for the First Time in 10.5 Years On Wednesday, an address created on July 10, 2011, at 11:22 p.m. (UTC) with 500 bitcoin ( BTC ) transferred the BTC for the first time in 10.5 years. Another wallet, created on the same day in 2011, dispersed another 500 BTC worth more than $23 million at the time of transfer. Furthermore, a wallet from August 12, 2011, containing 40 BTC worth $1.8 million transferred coins for the first time in over a decade. At the time of transfer, BTC was trading for $47,500 per unit, and the aggregate 1,040 BTC from 2011 spent on Wednesday was worth over $49 million. One can assume the 1,000 BTC stemmed from the same owner as the bitcoin wallets were both created on July 10, 2011. It’s p...

Authorities in Iran have decided to permit power generation plants using renewable sources to sell electricity to licensed cryptocurrency miners. The move comes after the government asked mining companies to suspend activities in order to avoid winter blackouts. Crypto Miners in Iran to Mint Digital Coins Using Renewable Energy Regulated companies mining cryptocurrency in Iran will gain access to green energy, local media reported. The Ministry of Energy in Tehran has adopted new rules allowing plants generating electricity from renewable sources to supply coin minting enterprises that operate within the law. “Legal miners can enter into agreements with renewable power plants at negotiable terms and rates,” Mohammad Khodadadi, who heads the Tavanir department responsible for the mining industry, told the ISNA news agency. He also emphasized that the energy ministry will play a role in establishing the exact tariffs. Tavanir, the Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmissio...

The number of cryptocurrency ATMs around the world has grown exponentially in 2021, with over 20,000 new installations made since last December. That’s more than the total of all crypto teller machines put into operation in the previous seven years. Close to 34,000 Crypto ATMs Available Globally ATM locations offering users options to buy and exchange cryptocurrencies with fiat money are increasing at an unprecedented pace. Data compiled by Coin ATM Radar shows that their number towards the end of 2021 is nearing 34,000. In a year that saw crypto market all-time highs , over 20,000 new devices have popped up globally. According to the installations growth chart updated by the tracking website, bitcoin ATMs were fewer than 13,000 in December 2020 — that’s all ATM locations registered since October 2013 — while 12 months later they exceed 33,900. Crypto teller machines can be found in almost any corner of the planet but their spread is still quite concentrated. Around 30,000 of all...