Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Colombian soccer superstar James David Rodríguez Rubio has announced his partnership with ZKSpace to launch the James Rodríguez Commemorative Edition NFTs, Zurda (left foot in Spanish), with the presale scheduled for June 15th, 2022 . The 1,500 unique pieces are currently the only digital art collections available featuring key highlights from his illustrious career spanning three continents and celebrating Rodríguez’s outstanding contribution to the game. Rodríguez is amongst the first of many prominent athletes and celebrities to get involved in the digital art space, and his strategic partnership agreement with ZKSpace, the team behind ZKSea , is a testament to the quality of the layer 2 NFT minting platform and marketplace. Instead of merely turning a digital photo into NFTs, Zurda NFTs are based on exquisite artwork digitally hand-painted by professional artists. The NFT collection will be made up of 4 different rarities comprising 1 Platinum, 10 Gold, 400 Silver, and 1,089 Br...

For years, traditional financial institutions in different parts of the world have been attempting to narrow the financial exclusion gap by extending their services to the unbanked population. Yet for many reasons, these institutions still cannot avail their products and services to everyone that needs them. Regulatory Hurdles While there are several reasons cited for why banks are still not able to do this, their failure to serve this unbanked population has, on the other hand, led to the meteoric rise of fintech startups. Instead of relying on metrics often used by traditional banks when making a decision on whether to open a new branch or not, fintech startups such as Eversend are often primed to serve even those without regular incomes. For individuals like Stone Atwine, a veteran banker who has been named in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List for Europe, and Technology, the failures of large financial institutions have created opportunities. In addition to explaining why he thinks tra...

Soros Fund Management’s chief executive and chief investment officer, Dawn Fitzpatrick, says cryptocurrency is here to stay and it’s already gone mainstream. She also believes that a recession is inevitable Soros Fund’s CEO: Crypto Is Here to Stay Dawn Fitzpatrick, chief executive and chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, discussed cryptocurrency and the U.S. economy in an interview with David Rubenstein, aired Tuesday on Bloomberg. Soros Fund Management was founded in 1970 by George Soros and his former business partner Jim Rogers. Fitzpatrick was asked about her view on crypto. Referencing Fidelity’s announcement to allow bitcoin investments in 401(k) retirement accounts, she replied: It’s here to stay. I think it’s gone mainstream. The executive added: “The one caveat I would say is … climate impact is going to become increasingly focused so, in that context, I think ethereum is likely to gain some more traction over bitcoin.” She also noted, “the blockchain te...

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has warned that an economic “hurricane” is coming. “You better brace yourself,” he advised. “We just don’t know if it’s a minor one or Superstorm Sandy.” Jamie Dimon on the U.S. Economy and QT The CEO of JPMorgan & Chase, Jamie Dimon, warned about an incoming economic hurricane Wednesday at a financial conference sponsored by Alliancebernstein Holdings. “It’s a hurricane,” Dimon exclaimed. While noting that “Right now it’s kind of sunny, things are doing fine, everyone thinks the Fed can handle it,” the JPMorgan executive stressed: That hurricane is right out there down the road coming our way. We just don’t know if it’s a minor one or Superstorm Sandy … You better brace yourself. The JPMorgan chief said in May that there were “storm clouds.” However, he has now revised his forecast. “I said there’s storm clouds, they’re big storm clouds, they’re — it’s a hurricane,” he cautioned. “JPMorgan is bracing ourselves and we’re going to be very conservativ...

Fidelity is planning a hiring spree to add ether trading and custody services to its cryptocurrency business. “As the demand for digital assets continues to steadily grow and the marketplace evolves, we will continue to expand our hiring efforts,” a Fidelity executive explained. Fidelity Expanding Crypto Services Fidelity Investments’ digital assets subsidiary, Fidelity Digital Assets, is expanding its services. Founded in 2018, Fidelity Digital Assets currently employs about 200 people. The company is looking to fill 110 new positions to focus on assets beyond bitcoin, a spokesperson for Fidelity told Reuters Tuesday. Tom Jessop, president of Fidelity Digital Assets, commented: As the demand for digital assets continues to steadily grow and the marketplace evolves, we will continue to expand our hiring efforts. According to Fidelity’s product manager, Terrence Dempsey, Fidelity Digital Assets has around 400 clients, including registered investment advisers, hedge funds, and a...

The government of Kazakhstan has collected $1.5 million from crypto miners in the first quarter of this year, official data shows. The money comes from a fee charged on the electricity spent to mint digital currencies, which was introduced in January. Crypto Mining Increases Budget Revenues in Kazakhstan Kazakhstan has received 652 million tenge (almost $1.5 million) from the crypto mining industry in the first three months of the year, the government announced this week. The funds have been collected through a surcharge on the electricity used by mining farms operating legally in the country. The fee, which was imposed on Jan. 1, 2022, is calculated at a rate of 1 tenge per kilowatt-hour of electrical energy burned for the extraction of cryptocurrencies. Entities operating mining facilities are expected to pay it no later than the 20th day of the month following the respective quarter. The surcharge is not yet part of Kazakhstan’s tax code. Authorities now plan to introduce diff...