Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Analysts from Venezuela have expressed their worries about the expulsion of a number of Russian banks from SWIFT, an international messaging system that allows the interconnection of banks. These measures could affect the finances not only of Venezuela, but also of other countries in the region, damaging their capability to move funds, which is highly dependent on services provided by Russian banks. Russian Banks’ SWIFT Expulsion Could Affect Venezuela The recent announcement of the expulsion of some Russian banks from the SWIFT payments system has raised concern about the effects it could have in countries like Venezuela, which is linked to the Russian banking system. Jose Guerra, a Venezuelan economist, was one of the first to speculate about this possible problem on social media. Guerra stated : What does it mean for Venezuela? If the government money is in Russian banks, it will not be possible to transfer it to make payments. everything gets complicated. Guerra further exp...

One of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s leading real estate property developers, DAMAC Properties, is planning to launch a project in the metaverse soon, the company’s managing director (MD) has said. DAMAC Looking Into NFTs and Metaverse According to Ali Sajwani, the managing director of the real estate property developer DAMAC Properties, his company is planning to start a project in the metaverse sometime in March. The project, if launched, will be a first for the London Stock Exchange-listed property developer. Sajwani’s confirmation of the company’s planned foray into the metaverse came a few weeks after an online poll he conducted suggested real estate is likely to be the first sector to adopt non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In addition, the revelation came shortly after Sajwani himself was said to have purchased a plot in The Sandbox metaverse. In remarks following an announcement made during NFT collection Crypto Bear Watch Club (CBWC)’s ask me anything (AMA) session, Sajwani ...

Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has criticized the Biden administration and European governments for not pressuring cryptocurrency exchanges to end transactions with Russian users. She believes regulators “should look hard at how they can prevent the crypto markets from giving an escape hatch to Russia, both governmental and private transactions in and out of Russia.” Hillary Clinton ‘Disappointed’ Crypto Exchanges Are Not Blocking All Russian Users Hillary Clinton, a former first lady, U.S. senator, secretary of state, and the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, heavily criticized the Biden administration, the Treasury Department, and European governments on MSNBC Monday night for allowing Russians to use cryptocurrency as an escape route. Commenting on some major cryptocurrency exchanges refusing to block accounts of all Russian users, Clinton said: I was disappointed to see that some of the so-called crypto exchanges, not all of them but some of them, are re...

Airbnb confirms that it is looking to support cryptocurrency. The company has also offered to provide housing for up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. According to the European Union, about four million people may try to leave Ukraine because of the Russian invasion. Airbnb’s CEO Discusses Cryptocurrency and the Refugee Crisis in Ukraine The CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, talked about cryptocurrency and his company’s efforts to help Ukrainian refugees in an interview with CNBC Tuesday. According to its website, Airbnb has about 6 million active listings worldwide, with more than 4 million hosts. There are 100,000 cities and towns with active Airbnb listings. Chesky was asked if Airbnb supports crypto since some people in Ukraine are trying to take payments in cryptocurrency following Russia’s invasion. He replied: Airbnb is. I mean, I am personally supportive of the idea of crypto, of course. I think it’s a really interesting technology. He continued: “I went on Twitter in the begin...

According to reports and data stemming from ruble-denominated crypto trading pairs, Russian citizens are flocking toward cryptocurrencies amid the conflict in Ukraine. Analytical data indicates that the ruble is the sixth most traded pair with tether and tether’s fourth most traded fiat-denominated pair globally excluding two crypto assets. Report Highlights Russian Rubles Pouring Into Tether, Data Shows Binance RUB-Denominated Crypto Trading Pairs Spike 24 hours ago, Bitcoin.com News reported on ruble (RUB)-denominated crypto volumes increasing and further investigation shows the trend has continued. According to a report published by vice.com author Ekin Genç, metrics sent to Motherboard from Arcane Research indicate that USDT /RUB trading volume has been surging. A number of other data points show similar findings as ruble trade volume has been rising across the crypto ecosystem. A report published by the Wall Street Journal reporter, Paul Vigna, shows that between February ...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed that there are benefits for cryptocurrency companies to self-report their violations of securities laws to the regulator. While noting that there will be no amnesty, the SEC enforcement director said, “We’ll view their conduct more favorably if they come in — such as what the remedies will look like.” No Amnesty for Crypto Firms Cryptocurrency companies that self-report violations of security laws to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cannot expect amnesty but there are some benefits, Gurbir Grewal, the agency’s enforcement director, told Reuters Monday. The director elaborated: Our message to them is not, ‘Register your product and we’ll just ignore the billions you have under management in this crypto lending product and your violations of the securities laws.’ SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has repeatedly urged companies in the crypto space to come in and discuss their products with the SEC to bring the...

Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has announced a series of humanitarian aid actions it will take to support Ukrainians. The exchange stated it will donate a minimum of $10 million to help the Ukrainian people through the Binance Charity Foundation. Binance also announced it was kickstarting a crypto-first crowdfunding site to coordinate donations to the Ukrainian cause. Binance to Offer Humanitarian Donation to Ukrainians Binance, one of the leading exchanges in the cryptocurrency sphere, has announced its intentions to help the people of Ukraine in light of the current conflict. The exchange announced it will donate at least $10 million to support humanitarian efforts to improve the situation of Ukrainian citizens in the midst of the conflict. The donation, which will be made by the Binance Charity Foundation, will be divided between nonprofit and governmental organizations present in the country. Among these organizations is UNICEF, which has a lon...