Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has reportedly instructed the country’s ruling party to conduct a study on cryptocurrency and the metaverse. “It is a sensitive subject, a good and meticulous study should be done,” said President Erdoğan. Turkish President Wants the Ruling Party to Study Crypto and the Metaverse Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly discussed cryptocurrency and the metaverse at the Justice and Development Party’s central executive board meeting held Tuesday under his chairmanship. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is the largest party in Turkey, and President Erdoğan is its current leader. During the meeting, President Erdoğan directed the AK Party to analyze new developments, including cryptocurrency and the metaverse, local media reported Wednesday. He also instructed the party members to organize a forum to focus on these areas. President Erdoğan reportedly said at the meeting: It is a sensitive subject. A good and meticul...

Lloyd Blankfein, a former Goldman Sachs CEO who is now the firm’s senior chairman, says his view on cryptocurrency is evolving. “I look at the crypto, and it is happening,” he added. Goldman Sachs Executive Lloyd Blankfein Says Crypto ‘Is Happening’ Lloyd Blankfein, a former Goldman Sachs CEO who has voiced skepticism about cryptocurrency in the past, said in an interview with CNBC this week that his view on crypto is “evolving.” Blankfein served as Goldman Sachs’ chairman and chief executive officer from 2006 through September 2018, and remained chairman through December 2018. He is now senior chairman of the Goldman Sachs Group. He was asked whether his view on cryptocurrency has changed given the current market condition and traditional banks, including Goldman Sachs, starting to offer crypto services, such as trading and custody. The Goldman executive replied: Look, my view of it is evolving … I can’t predict the future, but I think it’s a big thing to be able to predict th...

A special agent with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says the tax agency is “seeing mountains and mountains of fraud” in the cryptocurrency space. The IRS criminal investigation unit is trying to train all of its agents on crypto and non-fungible token (NFT) issues because “this space is the future,” he stressed. IRS Special Agent Says Crypto Is Rife With ‘Mountains and Mountains of Fraud’ A special agent in charge of the IRS’ criminal investigation division in Los Angeles, Ryan Korner, talked about cryptocurrency at a virtual event hosted by the USC Gould School of Law Tuesday. He was quoted by Bloomberg as saying: We’re just seeing mountains and mountains of fraud in this area. He explained that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto in general are prone to market manipulation, adding that high-profile individuals could influence crypto prices with just one tweet. Noting that celebrities are not immune to the tax authority’s criminal probes, the special agent clarified: “We...

Equities, crypto markets, and precious metals did well during the early morning trading sessions on Wednesday, just before the U.S. central bank wrapped up its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. While the Fed said in a statement that the benchmark interest rate would rise soon, the central bank’s lead Jerome Powell said the committee “is of a mind to raise the federal funds rate at the March meeting.” Powell’s statements following the meeting, alongside discussions of reducing the balance sheet, were viewed as hawkish among investors and global markets dipped in value. FOMC Says It Plans to Raise the Federal Funds Rate ‘Soon,’ Fed Chair Jerome Powell Insists Rates Will Change in March Following a week of dismal markets, the highly anticipated Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting took place, and members of the committee unanimously approved the decision to keep rates at near-zero levels. “With inflation well above 2 percent and a strong labor market, the Committe...