Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Cryptoys, an NFT-based startup, announced it has raised $23 million in a Series A funding round led by a16z. The company, which seeks to mix NFTs with the world of gaming and virtual toys, will create what it calls a “cryptoyverse,” in which it will also implement play-to-earn features and issue its own tokens. Cryptoys Raises $23 Million in Series A Round The NFT market is facing a slump phase that is affecting prices and the popularity of NFT projects recently. However, there are projects that have managed to stay afloat and even thrive. One of them is Cryptoys, an NFT startup that has announced the completion of a successful funding round. The Series A funding round, which raised $23 million, was led by a16z crypto , with the participation of other companies and firms including Mattel, Dapper Labs, Draper & Associates, Acrew Capital, Coinfund, Animoca Brands, and Sound Ventures. The company will use these funds to further develop its own platform, dubbed “cryptoyverse,” whi...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested two men who participated “in a violent plan to break into a family’s home in the middle of the night” to steal bitcoin worth tens of millions of dollars,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice. They could go to prison for 20 years. 2 Men Charged for Planning to Steal Bitcoin The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday the unsealing of an indictment charging Dominic Pineda and Shon Morgan with a “plan to commit home invasion robbery for tens of millions of dollars in bitcoin.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested the two on Thursday in Virginia. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams detailed: The defendants participated in a violent plan to break into a family’s home in the middle of the night and force its residents to provide the code to what the defendants believed was tens of millions of dollars in bitcoin currency. According to the court document, the defendants participated in the plan from May 1...

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, says bitcoin is a commodity. He emphasized that the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and banking regulators will collaborate to oversee the crypto sector. Gary Gensler: Bitcoin Is a Commodity SEC Chairman Gary Gensler clarified his position on cryptocurrency, particularly bitcoin, in an interview with Mad Money host Jim Cramer on CNBC Monday. “This is a highly speculative asset class. We’ve known this for a long time,” Gensler said when asked about cryptocurrency. Citing the “ups and downs of this speculative asset class,” he explained that when people invest in “bitcoin and hundreds of other crypto tokens,” they hope for a return, “just like when they invest in other financial assets” that are securities. Chair Gensler stressed that many of these “crypto financial assets” have “the key attributes of a security.” He added: “Some of them … are under the Securities and Exchange Comm...

The Moroccan central bank is presently working on a cryptocurrency regulation framework bill and according to the bank’s governor, Abdellatif Jouahri, this is set to be introduced soon. The regulatory framework being worked on will result in Morocco’s money laundering and anti-terrorism financing regulations being upgraded. Crypto Regulation Best Practices A Moroccan central bank committee is working to put in place an appropriate regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) governor Abdellatif Jouahri has reportedly said. The governor also revealed his institution has engaged both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank over the benchmarks that will be used. Before Jouhari’s latest remarks, Bitcoin.com News reported in March 2022 that the Moroccan central bank was in talks with two global financial institutions as well as with the central banks of France, Sweden, and Switzerland. At the time, The talks, according to the central bank, were focu...

Binance has chosen a new payments partner amid the suspension of direct fiat deposits and withdrawals in Brazil. The company stated it will now work with Latam Gateway, a payments processing company that has been in the payments intermediation business since 2019. Binance reported it would be working to normalize the fiat deposit and withdrawal situation shortly. Binance Partners With Latam Gateway for Payments Processing Binance, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges by volumes traded, has announced a new partnership to solve the problems it had been facing with fiat movements on its platform in Brazil. The exchange stated that it has enrolled the services of Latam Gateway, a payments processing company that will substitute its earlier partner, Banco Capitual. In a blog post, the exchange told that Latam Gateway has been a payments processing company in Brazil since 2019, being founded by executives with experience in the field since 2014, when they also founded Boa Compra...

Tencent, the Chinese technology and entertainment giant, announced the creation of its own metaverse-driven division. The division, named the extended reality unit, will be the one tasked with encompassing all metaverse-driven efforts, including hardware and software developments. According to reports, the company aims to employ over 300 in this unit, with Tencent giving it big importance even among executing cost-cutting measures. Tencent Officially Announces Metaverse Division Tencent, one of the biggest Chinese software companies, has taken another step toward getting into the metaverse. According to Reuters , the Chinese tech and entertainment giant announced the creation of its extended reality unit, which will encompass all of the initiatives that the company will run with the goal of entering the metaverse-driven market. The division will be led by the current Global’s Chief Technology Officer Li Shen, and will be part of the entertainment division of the company. While ther...