Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Investors will be focused on the U.S. central bank this Wednesday as Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to raise the benchmark interest rate aggressively. The top U.S. stock indexes saw significant losses at the end of the week, and the Nasdaq composite saw its worst four-month starting performance since 1971. Crypto markets have had a rough week as well, as the crypto economy has shed 8.99% against the U.S. dollar since April 25, dropping from $1.967 trillion to $1.79 trillion. Fed Expected to Raise Benchmark Interest Rate Aggressively, Dutch Bank ING Predicts a 50bp Hike and a QE Tightening Announcement A number of financial institutions, analysts, and economists expect the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will raise interest rates next week in an aggressive manner. Reuters’ authors Lindsay Dunsmuir and Ann Saphir reported on Friday that there may be “big Fed rate hikes ahead” and the authors also cite two reports that claim “hot inflation is peaking.” “U.S. Federal R...

Switzerland’s central bank, the Swiss National Bank, says buying and holding bitcoin as a reserve currency is not a problem for the bank. “We can arrange the technical and operative conditions relatively quickly, when we are convinced we must have bitcoin in our balance sheet,” the chairman of the Swiss central bank reportedly explained. Switzerland’s Central Bank on Buying and Holding Bitcoin as a Reserve Currency The Swiss National Bank could buy and hold bitcoin as a reserve currency if the cryptocurrency meets the bank’s currency reserves requirements, Chairman Thomas Jordan reportedly said at the central bank’s annual general meeting Friday. The Swiss central bank chief was quoted by Reuters as saying: Buying bitcoin is not a problem for us. We can do that either directly or can buy investment products which are based on bitcoin. However, he noted: “But from the current perspective we do not believe bitcoin meets the requirements of currency reserves. That’s why we have un...

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, says that he does not particularly like crypto but will defend your right to invest in it. However, he sees benefits in some aspects of digital currency. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon on Crypto, Digital Currency JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon talked about cryptocurrency in an interview with KMTV 3 News Now in Omaha Friday ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting this weekend. Commenting on cryptocurrency, including bitcoin, the JPMorgan boss said: I always say I don’t particularly like it. I defend your right to do it. I’d say be very, very careful how much money you put into it. However, Dimon sees benefits in some aspects of crypto, such as its technology, admitting that the banking industry has its inefficiencies. The executive opined: Not all of it is bad. If you said to me ‘I want to send $200 to a friend in a foreign country,’ that could take you two weeks and cost you $40. You could do it through a digital currency an...

The finance department of the U.S. state of Idaho has warned investors of a series of cryptocurrency scams promising returns as high as 80% every 24 hours with no risks to investors. Crypto Scams Promising High Returns The Idaho Department of Finance announced Wednesday “a series of fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes seen recently targeting Idaho investors.” The regulator detailed: The companies purport to provide high returns with no risks to the investor. These fraudulent schemes are operating under the names and websites of Crypto FX Direct, Shield Investors Ltd., Quartz FX Trade, and Finvest Trading. At the time of writing, some of the schemes’ websites are already offline. The regulator added: These websites make outrageous, demonstrably false statements and claims such as guaranteed returns on investment as high as 65% – 80% every 24 hours. To begin investing with these companies, investors have to purchase an investment plan using cryptocurrency, the finance departme...

The World Bank has said it expects the price of gold to rise by 3% in 2022 but warned the price might fall sharply if the Russian central bank decides to offload large quantities of the commodity. The Russian Factor After the price of gold surged past the $2,000 mark in early March, a new World Bank report now predicts the commodity’s value will only grow by just 3% in 2022. The bank, however, said it expects prices of commodities like food — which have risen by 84% — and crude oil to stay elevated for much of 2022. While some gold supporters have predicted the price of the metal will likely hit a new all-time high, in its report, the World Bank is instead expecting a possible sharp price fall in 2023. The bank points to the possible offloading of large quantities of gold by Russia as one possible factor that will weigh down the price. “In the longer term, gold prices could be affected by the Bank of Russia’s policies, and should it engage in large gold sales, prices could drop ma...