Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Bank of England says “extreme volatility” in the crypto market “underscores the need for enhanced regulatory and law enforcement frameworks.” The British central bank has warned that crypto prices could fall further. Bank of England Calls for Enhanced Crypto Regulation The Financial Policy Committee of the British central bank, the Bank of England (BOE), said Tuesday that the “extreme volatility” in crypto prices in recent months underscores vulnerabilities in the crypto market, Bloomberg reported. Citing a $2 trillion reduction in the total market capitalization of crypto assets, the Bank of England stressed the need for tougher law enforcement and regulation for the crypto sector, the publication conveyed. The market cap of all cryptocurrencies currently stands at about $1 trillion. It was nearly $3 trillion at its peak in November last year. Last month, Agustin Carstens, the general manager of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), said all the weaknesses in the cryp...

Bank of America has revealed that the number of its customers who are active crypto users has declined more than 50% from its peak in November last year. In addition, the bank said its data “shows that outflows to crypto platforms have fallen sharply,” indicating that “consumers are pulling back on their net investment into crypto platforms.” Bank of America’s Active Crypto Users Bank of America published a report last week showing a steep decline in the number of active cryptocurrency users from its peak in November last year. The bank explained: Anonymized Bank of America internal customer data shows a sharp, greater than 50%, decline in the number of active crypto users from the peak of over 1 million users in November 2021 to below 500,000 in May. “We also found that ‘first time’ users, customers who made a transaction with a crypto platform having not made one previously, have also fallen very sharply,” the report adds. Bank of America further noted that there were only ar...

Elon Musk’s Boring Company will accept the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin as payment for rides on its Las Vegas transit system Loop. Musk confirmed that he is “supporting Doge whenever possible.” Tesla already accepts the meme crypto for some merchandise and Spacex will soon follow suit. Elon Musk’s Boring Company to Accept Dogecoin Payments The Boring Company, founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, will accept the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin for rides on Loop, its Las Vegas transit system, CNN reported Wednesday. Musk previously said that The Boring Company’s goal “is to solve traffic, which plagues every major city on Earth.” One of the company’s projects is Loop, also known as “Teslas in Tunnels.” Loop is “an express public transportation system that resembles an underground highway more than a subway system,” its website details, adding that the system is all-electric with zero-emissions. The Tesla CEO indicated that the news of The Boring Company’s plan to accept dogecoin payments fo...

Hardware wallets designed to securely store cryptocurrency have seen a several-fold increase this spring in Russia, on the backdrop of currency restrictions introduced amid foreign sanctions. Ledger and Tangem have been the most popular products on the market, a media report revealed. Russians Buy More Hardware Crypto Wallets, Market Players Say Russian crypto users have sought to purchase up to eight times more hardware wallets in March – April 2022 over previous periods, the daily Vedomosti reported, quoting representatives of the Tangem wallet developer, the retail chain M.video-Eldorado, and the Ozon marketplace. Ledger, which sells wallets resembling a USB stick, and Tangem, whose products are designed to take the space of a bank card, have been the most popular brands among Russian customers, the article details. M.video-Eldorado started selling crypto wallets in the fall of 2021. It currently offers a single-currency and a multi-currency Tangem and a Ledger. In 2022, the re...

In its attempt to relieve the pressure against the rupee, the Indian government announced on July 1 that it had hiked the duty on imported gold by five percentage points to 12.5%. However, there are fears the import duty hike will spur a resurgence in the smuggling of the commodity. India’s Worsening Trade Deficit Faced with a rising trade deficit and weakening local currency, the Indian government announced on July 1 that it was hiking the duty on imported gold from 7.5% to 12.5%. Immediately after the announcement, the precious metal’s price in India went up by 3%. According to a report, the latest data from the country shows that imports of the precious metal into India — the world’s second largest consumer of gold — grew by almost ten times in twelve months to $6 billion. During the same period (May 2021 to May 2022), India’s negative trade balance grew to $24.29 billion, up from the $6.53 billion that was recorded a year ago. Following the announcement, some Indian experts l...

Leading cryptocurrency lender Nexo has offered to buy distressed competitor Vauld, which halted operations in the face of financial difficulties. The proposal comes after the Singapore-based company said it was exploring restructuring options. Nexo Secures Exclusive Agreement to Explore Vauld’s Acquisition Singapore-based crypto lending and trading platform Vauld, which announced suspension of withdrawals and other transactions for customers, has been offered a way out of its troubles. On Tuesday, major crypto lender Nexo unveiled it had signed an indicative term sheet with Vauld that grants it a 60-day exploratory period for exclusive talks over the intended acquisition of the rival company. On Monday, Vauld’s management said it’s halting operations because of “financial challenges” due to “the volatile market conditions.” It also cited financial difficulties at its partners and blamed the current market climate for the withdrawal of almost $198 million by its customers in about...