Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The founder of the $3.4 billion crypto Ponzi scheme Bitconnect has been charged in the United States. “If convicted of all counts, he faces a maximum total penalty of 70 years in prison,” said the U.S. Department of Justice. Bitconnect’s Founder Could Go to Prison for 70 Years The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that the founder of the global crypto fraud scheme Bitconnect has been charged. “Bitconnect is an alleged fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platform that reached a peak market capitalization of $3.4 billion,” the DOJ described, adding: A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Satishkumar Kurjibhai Kumbhani, a citizen and resident of India, with multiple crimes for his alleged role in a massive criminal conspiracy involving the cryptocurrency company he founded, Bitconnect. The 36-year-old from Hemal, India, misled investors that the scheme’s “Lending Program” was able to “generate substantial profits and guaranteed returns” using “...

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz says one of the reasons he is so bullish on bitcoin is because it is decentralized and not controllable. He added that “China recently banned bitcoin because they can’t control it, which is the exact same reason Elizabeth Warren hates bitcoin.” US Senator Bullish on Bitcoin U.S. Senator Ted Cruz from Texas spoke favorably about bitcoin at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Thursday. Launched in 1974, CPAC “is the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world,” its website describes. During his speech at the event, the senator said: One of the reasons why I’m so bullish on crypto, on bitcoin, is because it is decentralized and not controllable. “Let me give a fantastic example,” he continued. “So Justin Trudeau said I don’t like me some truckers, so we are going to freeze your assets. So the court went to try to freeze the crypto that was being given to the truckers.” Senator Cruz proceeded to read aloud a letter fr...

Russia could turn to cryptocurrency if it is banned from the SWIFT payments system. Analysts have warned that if Russia is able to use crypto to evade sanctions, “political support in the U.S. for crypto will fall and regulatory risk will rise.” Crypto Faces Regulatory Risks if Used by Russia to Evade Sanctions Amid growing talk of banning Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payments system after its invasion of Ukraine, some analysts have warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could turn to cryptocurrency to evade sanctions. “We believe Washington is worried that Russia will use crypto to evade sanctions,” Cowen Washington Research Group analyst Jaret Seiberg reportedly said Friday. He added: If Russia is able to use crypto this way, then we believe political support in the U.S. for crypto will fall and regulatory risk will rise. Seiberg believes that since most global trade is still dollar-denominated, it could be challenging for Russia to use crypto to evade SWIFT....

Bitcoin and ethereum were both higher to start the weekend, as markets seem to have discounted recent volatility. BTC momentarily passed the $40,000 level, with ETH moving towards $2,800. Bitcoin As of writing, cryptocurrency markets are up by over 3% on Saturday, with bitcoin trading close to 1% higher to start the weekend. This comes following a low of $38,416.53 yesterday, with BTC /USD hitting an intraday high of $40,005.35 earlier in today’s session. Saturday’s move sees BTC break beyond the key $40,000 level, however the move did not last, as profit takers likely closed their positions due to the current market risk. Looking at the chart, the 14-day RSI currently hovers above its long-term ceiling of 44, and is approaching the 45 level. BTC now trades below its recent resistance point of $39,500, as the momentum of the 10-day moving average continues to tumble. However, should price strength remain above resistance, bulls may be targeting an exit at $41,500. Ethereum...

The European Parliament will not hold a planned vote on crypto regulations after texts that can be interpreted as an attempt to ban coins with energy-intensive mining sparked negative reactions. The lawmaker leading the legislative effort says the matter needs clarification before MEPs can have a say, but the head of the ECB has insisted that Europe should move quickly to prevent Russia from evading sanctions. European Parliament Postpones Crypto Legislation to Address Concerns Over Possible Proof-of-Work Ban The vote on Europe’s new Markets in Crypto Assets ( MiCA ) proposal will not take place in the European Parliament as scheduled, on Feb. 28. Stefan Berger, the rapporteur for the legislative package, took to social media to announce it will be postponed on his request. The move comes after a draft leaked to the press was found to contain provisions prohibiting the offering of services related to cryptocurrencies relying on “environmentally unsustainable consensus mechanisms.” ...

The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase says the number of monthly transacting users on its platform rose to 11.4 million at the end of 2021, which was more than four times the previous year. In addition, Coinbase’s trading volume grew more than 8.5 times from the previous year, and the number of verified users has risen to 89 million. A Good Year for Coinbase The Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 earnings report Thursday. “2021 was a year of tremendous growth and development in the cryptoeconomy, as well as for Coinbase. We ended 2021 with strong performance across our key metrics that were within our outlook,” the company wrote, adding: We ended the year with 11.4 million Monthly Transacting Users (MTUs). Coinbase noted that the number of MTUs at the end of 2021 was “over 4x compared to 2020.” In addition, the number of verified users on its platform has grown to 89 million. During the year, Coinbase expanded its...