Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

European institutions are closing crypto loopholes for Russia with the latest package of penalties imposed by the EU over Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine. The new sanctions prohibit the provision of “high-value” crypto-asset services to Russian entities and residents. EU Limits Russian Crypto Wallet Deposits to €10,000 Expanding its sanctions in response to the Russian military assault on Ukraine, the European Union has again targeted cryptocurrencies. On Friday, the European Commission, the executive body in Brussels, welcomed the fifth round of restrictions agreed upon by the Council of the EU. They have been tailored to “further contribute to ramping up economic pressure on the Kremlin and cripple its ability to finance its invasion of Ukraine.” The new Council regulation, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, bans the provision of “high-value” crypto-asset services to the Russian Federation. It applies to crypto wallet, account, or custody services fo...

Billionaire Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel has compiled a list of bitcoin’s enemies, the “finance gerontocracy” he said is stopping the price of the cryptocurrency from soaring a hundred times. Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett tops the list. Thiel called him “the sociopathic grandpa of Omaha.” Peter Thiel Unveils List of Bitcoin’s Enemies Billionaire Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel shared his list of enemies stopping bitcoin from rising 100x Thursday while speaking at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, Florida. The “enemies list [is] a list of people who I think are stopping bitcoin,” he said. “There’s a lot of them, they tend to have nameless faceless bureaucrat perspectives, which is of course one of the ways they hide.” Thiel continued: We are going to try to expose them and realize that this is sort of what we have to fight for bitcoin to go up 10x, 100x from here. “The central banks are going bankrupt. We are at the end of the fiat money regime,” he said. The first p...

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has predicted that trillions of dollars will flow into cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin. In addition, he said bitcoin mining will “save the world.” O’Leary Says ‘Spigots of Capital’ Will Flood Into Crypto Like You’ve Never Seen Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary gave a keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2022 conference Thursday. He said that based on his experience in the indexing business, “massive pools of capital, these trillion-dollar pools” are waiting for policy. They currently own zero or very little crypto. “It’s the purvey of high net worth individuals, hedge funds, and retail investors,” he clarified. Mr. Wonderful detailed: What we’re missing is policy. When we get policy and the regulator regulates, that’s not a negative thing. The spigots of capital are going to flood into this sector like you’ve never seen. “So for those of us that can invest in it now, you are going to get ahead of what’s going to be a huge wave of i...

The mayor of the U.S. city of Miami, Florida, has unveiled his “Vision for Bitcoin America 2024.” Stressing that the U.S. needs to elect a pro-bitcoin president, he said “we need to integrate bitcoin into every aspect of our society” this year and “unleash the macro power of bitcoin.” Miami’s Mayor’s Vision of Bitcoin America Miami Mayor Francis Suarez talked about bitcoin at the Bitcoin 2022 conference that’s taking place in his city this week. The pro-bitcoin mayor has led several bitcoin initiatives in his city and state. His salary is already paid in bitcoin and his city employees can choose to be paid in bitcoin. “I need to articulate a vision for this country,” he said. “The vision is simple. I call it: Vision for Bitcoin America 2024.” Suarez explained that it has three points, stating: The first is we need to elect pro-bitcoin candidates, and yes the next president of the United States has to be a pro-bitcoin candidate. “Because what’s at stake is federal legislation th...

Global markets company and Chicago-based derivatives exchange CME Group plans to launch 11 new reference rates tied to specific crypto assets. The reference rates and real-time indices bolstered by CF Benchmarks are typically leveraged by exchange-traded products and other investment vehicles. 11 Crypto Assets Get Reference Rate Treatment From CME Group and CF Benchmarks CME Group is adding 11 more cryptocurrencies to the firm’s existing bitcoin and ethereum reference rates. Crypto reference rates like the CME CF Reference Rates are often used as a benchmark for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other financial products. The new rates cover polygon, solana, stellar, algorand, bitcoin cash, cardano, chainlink, uniswap, cosmos, litecoin, and polkadot values. Pricing data for the benchmarks will be provided by Bitstamp, Coinbase, Gemini, Itbit, Kraken, and LMAX. Each coin will leverage two exchanges, CME Group’s announcement discloses. “As the digital asset market continues to expand...

The head of the South African central bank has insisted that regulators and policymakers should be involved in directing any potential move to markets that are based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). Pondering the Implications of Innovation The governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Lesetja Kganyago, has argued that central banks, regulators, and policymakers should and must play a role in “shaping a potential move to DLT-based markets.” According to Kganyago, these stakeholders can achieve this objective by “pondering the implications of innovation, promoting responsible innovation for the public good.” In addition, they can also do this by “informing an appropriate policy and regulatory response.” In his virtual address following the launch of the Project Khokha 2 (PK 2) report, Kganyago shared his views concerning the future of central banks in a world that is based on the principles of decentralization. He said: From a regulatory perspective, I think it is...

Sky Mavis, the company behind the play-to-earn (P2E) game Axie Infinity, announced it has raised $150 million in a funding round to replenish the funds the company lost in the Ronin Network exploit. The funding round — which was led by Binance and had the participation of companies like Animoca Brands, a16z, Dialectic, Paradigm, and Accel — constitutes part of the actions the company is taking to recover its ecosystem and reimburse users. Sky Mavis Raises Funds to Replenish Its Ronin Bridge Sky Mavis, the operator of Axie Infinity, a recognized play-to-earn (P2E) video game in the Web3 ecosystem, has finally announced the actions it will take to recover the funds lost and restore trust in its Ronin Network. The company revealed a funding round where it raised $150 million, led by Binance with the participation of companies in the play-to-earn field like Animoca Brands, and other firms like a16z, Dialectic, Paradigm, and Accel. On the participation of Binance in this round, Changpe...