Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Zapala Free Zone, an area located in Neuquen, Argentina that has the objective of incentivizing various productive activities, will receive its first bitcoin mining-related investment this year. The company that will create the power infrastructure for the mining farm aims to generate more than 114 MW of power for mining operations in the first year. Zapala Free Zone Gets Into Bitcoin Mining Zapala, a free trade zone in the province of Neuquen in Argentina, will get its first bitcoin mining-related investment. For the year 2023, the zone aims to have an installed capacity of 114 MW that will be used for the transformation of the area into a hub for bitcoin mining. Bitcoin mining in the region is incentivized in that Zapala, being a free zone, doesn’t charge taxes for using public services. The project, according to a business plan that will be presented to authorities of the province, will contemplate an investment of $20 million, and is expected to be complete for Q1 2023. Th...

Canada’s police have seized bitcoin worth more than $28 million from a former government employee who has been extradited to the U.S. to “face charges for dozens of ransomware attacks resulting in the payment of tens of millions of dollars in ransoms.” Canadian Authority Seizes Bitcoin Worth $28 Million The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that a former Canadian government employee was extradited the previous day from Canada to the U.S. to “face charges for dozens of ransomware attacks resulting in the payment of tens of millions of dollars in ransoms.” The DOJ detailed that from April through December 2020, Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins “conspired to and did intentionally damage a protected computer and transmit a ransom demand in connection with doing so.” The Justice Department launched a coordinated international law enforcement action to disrupt ransomware group Netwalker in January last year. The indictment charges the 34-year-old Canadian from Gatineau, Qu...

The world’s largest movie exhibition company, AMC Entertainment, has finally begun accepting payments in dogecoin and shiba inu. Supporters of DOGE and SHIB have been waiting for AMC Theatres to accept the two meme cryptocurrencies since September last year. AMC Customers Can Now Pay With Dogecoin and Shiba Inu AMC Theatres now accepts payments in dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba inu (SHIB) cryptocurrencies. AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC), aka AMC Theatres, is the largest movie exhibition company in the U.S., Europe, and the world. The company owns or operates approximately 950 theaters and 10,500 screens globally. Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Theatres, announced Thursday that amctheatres.com now accepts DOGE and SHIB for online payments. The CEO also gave a special shoutout to Bitpay which processes crypto payments for his company. Bitcoin.com News visited the AMC Theatres website and found that Bitpay is now a payment option. With the integration of Bitpay, AMC Theatres now accepts severa...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury is launching a cryptocurrency awareness program. “We’re just trying to raise awareness without trying to stamp out new technology and new innovation,” said an official of the Treasury. Treasury’s Efforts to Raise Crypto Awareness The U.S. Department of the Treasury is launching an initiative to raise awareness about cryptocurrency investing, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing an interview with Nellie Liang, Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance. “We’re hearing more and more about investors and households who are purchasing crypto assets, and we recognize the complexity of how some of these assets operate,” Liang described, adding: It felt like this is an area also where more education (and) more awareness could be helpful. The Treasury’s Financial Literacy Education Commission will create educational materials and organize outreach on digital assets. The Treasury’s education unit comprises 20 different government agencies, including the ...

Blockchain forensics company Chainalysis is launching two tools that will allow crypto companies to deny sanctioned persons and entities access to their platforms. The move comes amid concerns that Russia may use cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions imposed due to its invasion of Ukraine. Chainalysis Offers Crypto Industry New Sanctions-Screening Tools As the military conflict in Ukraine intensifies, western allies continue to expand sanctions on Russia, including by targeting opportunities to employ crypto assets to circumvent the restrictions. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has joined these efforts, announcing two new sanctions-screening tools that will be free for the industry: These solutions will enable the builders of decentralized web3 protocols like DEXs, defi platforms, DAOs and dapps, as well as practically anyone interacting with cryptocurrency, to easily validate that they aren’t interacting with cryptocurrency addresses associated with sanctioned entities. On...