Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, has added more cities to test its digital currency. According to the latest official data, the digital yuan has more than 261 million users. PBOC Adds More Cities to Test Its CBDC The Chinese central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), said Saturday that it is adding more pilot cities to test its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan (e-CNY). The new pilot cities are Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, and six cities in the Zhejiang province that will host the 2022 Asian Games in September. The six cities are Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Shaoxing, Jinhua, and Huzhou. The digital yuan is already being tested in 10 major cities: Shenzhen, Shanghai, Suzhou, Xiong’an, Chengdu, Hainan, Changsha, Xi’an, Qingdao, and Dalian. It was also tested at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Commenting on its digital currency, the Chinese central bank stated: Policies must be designed to stimulate creativity and enthus...

PRESS RELEASE. The leading virtual currency exchange, Bitcoin of America, is announcing its return to BTC 2022 in Miami. Bitcoin of America made headlines last year at Bitcoin 2021 for promoting females in the cryptocurrency space. This year the company is back and bringing even more of its female team, including its top women executives. The company has been vocal about making cryptocurrency inclusive to women and getting more females into the industry. Mayor Francis Suarez has become a staple in the cryptocurrency space with his immense support of Bitcoin and its importance in the emerging tech hub, Miami. Suarez spoke last year at the Bitcoin 2021 conference. This year, he is welcoming the all-women team from Bitcoin of America. “I am excited that Miami is hosting the largest Bitcoin conference for the second year. We don’t see very often promoting women in the cryptocurrency industry, and it’s refreshing to see a top operator like Bitcoin of America sending its all-female exec...

Coinbase is focusing on growing the crypto and Web3 ecosystem in India. “Combined with India’s world-class software talent, we believe that crypto and web3 technology can help accelerate India’s economic and financial inclusion goals,” said CEO Brian Armstrong. Coinbase Expanding in India With Web3 and Crypto Push The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase revealed its plan for India Monday. “India has built a robust identity and digital payments infrastructure and implemented it at rapid scale and speed,” CEO Brian Armstrong described, adding: Combined with India’s world-class software talent, we believe that crypto and web3 technology can help accelerate India’s economic and financial inclusion goals. The CEO continued: “Coinbase Ventures has already invested $150 million in home-grown Indian technology companies in the crypto and web3 space, and is constantly identifying new opportunities to help Indian founders scale.” He added that Coinbase’s Indian tech hub, launc...

The U.K. government has unveiled a detailed plan to make the country a global crypto hub and “a hospitable place for crypto.” The plan includes establishing a dynamic regulatory framework for crypto, regulating stablecoins, and working with the Royal Mint to create a non-fungible token (NFT) to be issued by the Summer. U.K. Wants to Be ‘the Very Best Place’ to Start and Scale Crypto Companies The British government unveiled several initiatives Monday as part of its plan to make the U.K. “a global cryptoasset technology hub.” They include regulating stablecoins, legislating for a “financial market infrastructure sandbox” to help firms innovate, holding a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-led Cryptosprint, working with the Royal Mint on a non-fungible token (NFT), and establishing an engagement group to work more closely with the crypto industry. The British chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak, commented: It’s my ambition to make the U.K. a global hub for cryptoasset technol...

Since September 18, 2021, close to 250 Casascius physical bitcoins were redeemed over the last 198 days. On that day six months ago, there were 19,920 Casascius physical bitcoins left active and today, there are approximately 19,676 left to peel. 19,676 Casascius Physical Bitcoins Left to Peel During the last six months, approximately 244 Casascius physical bitcoins were redeemed for their digital value. The Casascius physical bitcoin collection created by Mike Caldwell is one of the most popular physical BTC collections. The rare coins are often sold for more than the digital face value and today, there are 19,676 physical coins left unredeemed or active, according to casasciustracker.com stats. Each physical bitcoin has a different fraction of digital BTC , as some coins carry .5 in BTC value while some hold a single BTC . Caldwell also made gold bars with bitcoins loaded onto them like the popular 100 BTC gold bar . There are Casascius physical bitcoins that hold 25 BTC and...

Wechat, the Chinese messaging app, has reportedly suspended accounts that are linked to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The objective of the crackdown is to stop the use of the affected accounts in promoting NFTs. The Widening Crackdown on Digital Assets The Chinese messaging app Wechat recently acknowledged it had suspended some accounts which are said to be linked to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The suspension of the accounts, according to a BBC report, is aimed at stopping such blacklisted accounts from engaging in NFT market promotional activities that help to drive up prices. The targeting of NFT-promoting accounts by Wechat appears to suggest that China, which currently does not have specific regulations against NFTs, is widening its crackdown on digital assets that began in 2021. As explained by multiple reports published by Bitcoin.com News, Chinese authorities have been clamping down on bitcoin miners and cryptocurrency exchange platforms since mid-2021. The crackdown is beli...