Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

On March 30, Gumi Cryptos Capital (GCC), announced the blockchain-focused venture capital firm’s second fund that will invest $110 million in early-stage blockchain startups. The second fund follows GCC’s initial $21 million fund that backed seed stage founders. Gumi Cryptos Capital Reveals Fund II — Firm Will Invest $110 Million Into early-Stage Blockchain Startups The blockchain-focused venture capital firm Gumi Cryptos Capital (GCC) has announced the launch of a $100 million fund that will be focused on blockchain concepts like decentralized finance (defi), game finance (gamefi), Web3, and other types of ideas being created by early-stage blockchain startups. In a statement sent to Bitcoin.com News, GCC’s managing partner Rui Zhang said: “Think of us as blockchain’s experienced, high-conviction, high trust, hands-on value adding, long time preference, unicorn to megacorn, builder-focused all-in venture society.” GCC’s announcement further details that Fund II will target soft...

PRESS RELEASE. Yield App, one of the rising and most trusted digital wealth platforms, recently underwent a thorough ‘proof of reserves’ audit. The inspection was conducted by Armanino LLC, the firm responsible for auditing Kraken – one of the largest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Yield App passed the audit with flying colors, bolstering its stance on safety and accountability of the assets deployed by customers into portfolios available on its platform. What is ‘proof of reserves’ ? A proof of reserves is an independent audit of a company’s balance sheet conducted by a third party, such as Armanino LLP. These cryptographically reconciled public reports empower customers to verify that the digital asset service providers they use do indeed hold enough assets on their balance sheets to offset their customers’ liabilities. The first report was completed on 24 January 2022, using a ‘point in time’ methodology to determine the results, and can be read here ...

CME Group, one of the world’s largest derivatives marketplaces, has launched micro-sized bitcoin and ether options. “The launch of these micro-sized options builds on the significant growth and liquidity we have seen in our micro bitcoin and micro ether futures,” said a CME executive. CME Now Offers Micro Bitcoin, Ether Options CME Group announced Monday that it is now offering options on micro bitcoin and micro ether futures. CME’s Micro Bitcoin futures (MBT) is 1/10 the size of one bitcoin ( BTC ) and Micro Ether futures (MET) is similarly sized at 1/10 of one ether ( ETH ). Tim McCourt, CME Group’s global head of equity and FX products, commented: The launch of these micro-sized options builds on the significant growth and liquidity we have seen in our micro bitcoin and micro ether futures. “Sized at one-tenth of their respective underlying tokens in size, these contracts will offer a wide range of market participants — from institutions to sophisticated, active, individual ...

Billionaire Mike Novogratz says he is much more optimistic about the crypto market now than he was a month ago. He explained that bond sell-offs and increased crypto adoption have boosted the prices of cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin. “I think you are going to see the Democrats taking a softer stance,” he added. Mike Novogratz Expects Lawmakers to Take a Softer Stance on Crypto Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz talked about why he is more optimistic about the crypto market now than he was six or seven weeks ago in an interview with CNBC Tuesday. The executive explained: Maybe what I got wrong was with all this selling in fixed income that money has got to go somewhere. The billionaire predicted earlier this month when BTC was struggling to break the $40,000 level that bitcoin’s price would range between $30,000 and $50,000 throughout the year. At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading at $47,327 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. Novogratz continued, “We certainly...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says a lot more work needs to be done on crypto regulation. “We’ve certainly seen an increase in the use of cryptocurrencies before this war, and we’ve seen it happen more in emerging markets than in others,” said the deputy managing director of the IMF. IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva Pushes for Harmonized Crypto Framework The top two leaders at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) discussed crypto regulation on the Foreign Policy Live podcast, published last week. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath were asked how governments should respond to the growing number of challenges facing the global economy, including cryptocurrency. Georgieva explained that the IMF separates digital assets into three types: “crypto assets like bitcoin,” stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Regarding crypto assets, she said: Time has passed to have regulatory frameworks that are as much as pos...

The largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Opensea has plans to add Solana support in April. The news follows an abundance of rumors that said the company would be adding Solana in the near future. Opensea Confirms Solana Support After a Myriad of Rumors and Speculation Opensea has confirmed it will be adding Solana (SOL) support in April, according to a teaser video the company tweeted out on March 29. Opensea is the largest NFT marketplace in terms of all-time sales with $23.5 billion sold to date. The $23.5 billion was between 1,417,562 traders and the average NFT sale on Opensea this week is around $930.59 per NFT. The best kept secret in web3🤣 pic.twitter.com/xuZn64cZ4U — OpenSea (@opensea) March 29, 2022 Opensea already supports three blockchain networks which include Ethereum, Klaytn, and Polygon. Solana (SOL) will be the fourth blockchain addition to the NFT marketplace’s current protocol lineup. Solana (SOL) is the seventh-largest cryptocurrency (at the ...

Nequi, a fintech neobank which allowed Colombian citizens to test all-digital financial services, has announced its plans for expansion after having parted ways with Bancolombia, the bank that gave it its origin. These plans include an entry into the cryptocurrency world while complying with the limits set by current regulators. Colombian Nequi to Enter Crypto Market More and more neobanks are considering including cryptocurrencies in their service offerings. This is the case with Nequi, a fintech platform that is reportedly considering making an entrance into the crypto sector in Colombia. The platform, which has more than ten million customers, is now in talks to become an independent company and platform, separating itself from Bancolombia. The announcement was made by Nequi’s CEO, Cipriano Lopez, in a webinar with Credicorp Capital, a holding company that also lends financial services to its customers. Lopez explained that Nequi wants to make a direct entry into the market, wi...

The Argentinian Tax Agency (AFIP) is watching the movements of cryptocurrency traders and holders, to tighten its control over their transactions. The institution is now sending emails to Argentinian citizens asking for a series of data regarding supposed cryptocurrency operations made in their names. The agency requires the public keys of the citizen and a list of transactions made during a certain time period. Argentinian Tax Agency to Scrutinize Crypto Users The AFIP, the Argentinian tax watchdog, has decided to take the battle against cryptocurrency tax evasion directly to users of these currencies. While the agency had required information from exchanges before, the responsibility is now directed to certain users that have received a requirement to answer a series of questions regarding their history with digital assets. The requirement compels users to deliver data like the public keys of the wallets they are currently managing, and a list of digital asset movements that mus...

Activists and lawmakers in Kyiv are urging the EU to accept Ukraine as a member of the European Blockchain Partnership. They believe the recently adopted law “On Virtual Assets” opens the way for the country to become a blockchain leader on the Old Continent. Kyiv Officials Hope Blockchain Technology Can Help Post-War Reconstruction of Ukraine Members of the “Virtual Assets of Ukraine” public union and Blockchain4Ukraine, an inter-factional association of Ukrainian lawmakers, are lobbying for Ukraine’s full membership in the European Blockchain Partnership ( EBP ). Representatives of the two organizations have urged EU institutions to allow their country to participate in the initiative. Letters with the appeal have been sent to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the head of her cabinet, Bjoern Seibert, and Anthony Whelan, who works as a digital policy adviser to the executive body in Brussels, the crypto news outlet Forklog reported. The authors of the cor...

The central bank in crisis-stricken Sudan has warned residents dealing with cryptocurrencies that they face numerous risks including loss of value. The warning comes as Sudan is grappling with an economic crisis that worsened after the civilian government was deposed by the military. Sudan’s Worsening Economic Crisis As Sudan’s currency continues to plummet, the country’s central bank has warned citizens against using or trading cryptocurrencies, a report has said. It warned those dealing with crypto assets that they face risks such as loss of value, financial crimes, and electronic piracy. The warning by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) comes amidst a worsening economic crisis that has seen Sudan’s exports plummet by 85% in January. The warning also comes as reports suggest the country’s currency, the pound, is losing further ground against the U.S. dollar on the black market. The deteriorating economic conditions are believed to be key factors behind the increased interest in cr...