Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

A bitcoin ATM operator has been indicted in New York for running an illegal business “marketed towards individuals engaged in criminal activity.” The district attorney in charge described: “Robert Taylor allegedly went to great lengths to keep his bitcoin kiosk business as secret as possible to attract a clientele that would pay top dollar for anonymity.” Operator of 46 Bitcoin ATMs Charged Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. announced Wednesday that Robert Taylor has been indicted “for operating an illegal bitcoin ATM business that he marketed towards individuals engaged in criminal activity.” The announcement states: Taylor operated bitcoin kiosks in at least 46 locations in New York City, mostly in laundromats, as well as locations in New Jersey and Miami. Between 2017 and 2018, the 35-year-old “converted more than $5.6 million of his customers’ cash into bitcoin while charging a fee of between 10% and 20%,” the district attorney detailed. Taylor is charged “with mu...

Grayscale Investments’ CEO explains that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could potentially violate the Administrative Procedure Act by not approving a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). SEC Approving Spot Bitcoin ETF Is ‘a Matter of When and Not If’ The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has now approved not one but two different structures of bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This has led to the optimism in the crypto industry that the securities watchdog is closer to approving a spot bitcoin ETF. The first structure utilizes the Investment Company Act of 1940 (40 Act). Most proposed bitcoin futures ETF to date are filed under this Act. The second uses the Securities Act of 1933 (33 Act). The Teucrium Bitcoin Futures ETF was approved earlier this month using the latter structure. Grayscale Investments CEO Michael Sonnenshein explained to CNBC last week: “From the SEC standpoint, there were several protections that 40 Act products hav...

Non-fungible token (NFT) sales saw a small uptick over the last week as $658.4 million in NFT sales were recorded, up 3.35% in seven days. Out of 15 blockchains, Polygon-based NFT sales saw the largest increase in volume, jumping 106.68% this week. Moreover, over the last seven days, an NFT collection called Moonbirds saw the largest sales volume gathering $231.9 million. Weekly NFT Sales Record a Slight Increase NFT sales volume managed to increase slightly this week, as sales jumped 3.35% higher than last week’s sales. The sales volume stemming from 15 different blockchain networks saw $658.4 million in sales this past week. Seven days ago, on April 10, sales volume the week prior had dropped by 13%. This week, Ethereum recorded $562.9 million in sales, up 3.74% higher than last week. The largest sales volume percentage increase out of all 15 blockchains, compared to last week was Polygon, jumping 106.68% with $7.3 million in sales. BSC-based NFT sales jumped 58.89% higher this w...

Transaction fees on the Ethereum network are dropping again after average fees saw a brief spike on April 5 jumping to $43 per transfer. 12 days later, average ether fees are close to dropping below $10 per transaction and median-sized fees have slid below $4 per transaction. Moreover, layer two (L2) transaction fees have also dropped in recent times as the lowest L2 rate today is $0.03 per transfer. Average and Median Ethereum Fees Drop From mid-March up until the first week of April, Ethereum’s average network fees rose from a low of $5.98 per transfer to $43.41 on April 5, 2022. That’s an increase of 625% but after April 5, the average ether gas fee started to drop once again to much lower levels. Today, April 17, 2022, Ethereum’s average network fee to simply send ETH onchain via layer one (L2), is 0.0034 ETH or $10.32 per transfer. The average network fee is dynamic, not an exact science, and it always changes. It’s also not a hard mandate as the average fee simply represen...

Another spicy week of crypto news heads into the weekend, with Mexico’s third-richest billionaire advising “save your skin” from hyperinflation by buying bitcoin, Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary predicting that bitcoin mining will “save the world,” Bitcoin.com News noting eerie similarities between the current great monetary shift and the creation of the U.S. Federal Reserve, and SHIB achieving some notable burn statistics. Without further ado, this is your bite-sized digest of the week’s hottest crypto news, the Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. Buy Bitcoin, ‘Save Your Skin’ — Mexico’s Third Richest Billionaire The third-richest billionaire in Mexico, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, has shared his experience of living through hyperinflation. He warned that the U.S. and several other civilized countries are “going exactly the same route” his country went through in the 1980s. He warned: “The bad news is that the U.S., and Japan, and the U.K., and the euroblock — they are going exactly the sam...

Last December, the renowned professional skateboarder Tony Hawk released his “Last Trick” non-fungible token (NFT) collection via the NFT marketplace Autograph. Next week, Hawk will be auctioning the skateboards he used during his last tricks, and each of the NFTs will come with the physical skateboards signed by Hawk. Tony Hawk to Drop Another NFT Collection via Autograph Tony Hawk has plans to launch another NFT collection tied to the skateboards he used in his “Last Trick” NFT collection launched in December. The “Last Trick” digital collectibles compilation was sold on the Autograph NFT marketplace, a platform launched by the seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. Hawk announced the latest NFT sale of the last trick skateboards on Saturday, and explained that an individual named Garry DeBoer was randomly chosen to win his Frontside Cab board. Autograph tweeted about the event as well on Saturday and said: “Congrats to Autograph collector Garry DeBoer. A piece of Tony Haw...

Real estate tokenization is set to be incorporated into Oman Capital Markets Authority (OCMA)’s virtual asset regulatory framework. According to an advisor with the authority, the tokenizing of real estate will open investment opportunities for local and foreign investors. Real Estate Tokenization Creates Investment Opportunities Oman Capital Market Authority (OCMA) is set to include real estate tokenization in its virtual asset regulatory framework, a report quoting an advisor of the authority has said. According to the report, Oman expects to complete drafting the virtual assets regulatory framework by Q3 of 2022. The advisor, Kemal Rizadi is reported to have made the remarks about tokenizing real estate property while attending the Real Estate Exhibition and Conference that was held in Muscat, Oman. “The Regulatory Framework for Virtual Assets and Virtual asset service providers currently being established will allow the issuance of virtual assets such as real estate tokens for...