Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

About 53% of South Africans have little to no knowledge about cryptocurrency, while only 14% thought or felt they had a better understanding of the subject, a report has said. Nearly half of the respondents said they would only invest in cryptocurrency if or when their respective banks are involved. South Africans Weigh In on Crypto Knowledge According to the findings of Merchant’s consumer survey study, just over half of South Africans (53%) have little to zero knowledge about cryptocurrency. The study also found that out of the surveyed South Africans, only 14% believed they had a strong hold on the subject of cryptocurrencies. Some 23% of the respondents said they were “neutral.” As per a report by IOL, young people aged between 18 and 24 were likely to be more knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies than those aged 25 and above. The results of this study appear to back the findings of an earlier research study which said only 11.3% of South Africans are cryptocurrency owners or ...

The Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), the second largest of the three biggest banks in Japan, has announced it is planning to expand into digital asset businesses, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and Web3 platforms. The company will partner with Hashport, a group that offers tokenization and listing services in Japan, to launch a token business lab to experiment with these new technologies. Second Biggest Japanese Bank to Introduce Token and NFT Services Many traditional banking companies around the world are now considering entering the crypto and digital assets business. SMBC, the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, an institution with more than 463 branches and a presence all over the world, has announced it is going to enter the cryptocurrency asset business, taking NFT services and Web3 as its main priority in the field. To achieve this goal, SMBC has partnered with Hashport, a company that specializes in offering tokenization solutions and listing services. T...

Shark Tank star and the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, has warned that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will come up with rules for token registration that will be “the nightmare that’s waiting for the crypto industry.” Mark Cuban Foresees SEC Coming Up With ‘Nightmare’ Crypto Regulation Billionaire Mark Cuban, the Shark Tank star who owns the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, warned in a tweet Saturday about how the SEC will regulate crypto tokens. His warning was in response to a tweet by U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) who slammed the securities watchdog over its enforcement action against a former Coinbase employee where nine crypto tokens were identified as securities. Coinbase quickly disputed the allegation that it listed crypto securities. Toomey noted that the enforcement action “is the perfect example of the SEC having a clear opinion on how and why certain tokens classify as securities. Yet, the SEC failed to disclose their view before la...

A new bipartisan bill has been introduced in the Senate that would simplify the use of cryptocurrency for everyday purchases by creating tax exemption for personal crypto transactions under $50 as well as when the capital gains are less than $50. New ‘Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act’ A new bipartisan bill , known as the “Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act,” was introduced in Congress Tuesday by Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). According to the announcement by the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the bill aims to “simplify the use of digital assets for everyday purchases” by creating “tax exemption for small personal transactions.” Senator Toomey commented, “While digital currencies have the potential to become an ordinary part of Americans’ everyday lives, our current tax code stands in the way.” He added: The Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act will allow Americans to use cryptocurrencies more easily as an everyday method of paym...

On Tuesday, a newly published report details that the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is under federal investigation for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions, according to five people familiar with the matter. The unknown sources explained that the inquiry into Kraken started in 2019, and it’s accused of allowing users from sanctioned countries like Iran access to the digital currency trading platform. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Is Allegedly Investigating Kraken The San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken is allegedly under investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), according to a report published by the New York Times (NYT) on July 26, 2022. Kraken founded in July 2011 by Jesse Powell is one of the oldest digital currency exchanges in the world. The NYT report cites “five people affiliated with the company or with knowledge of the inquiry.” Furthermore, the report also says the anonymous sources did not want to be n...

Quik.com is offering NFT domains as a gateway pass for users to establish their very existence on the web of tomorrow and the metaverse. A wide range of top-level domains, including .metaverse, .web3, .vr, and many others, are available on this NFT domain marketplace , Quik.com, enabling users to unleash their creative side on the web of the future. Mint your first Metaverse NFT Domain . Mint your first Web3 Domain . As the industry is rapidly expanding and also expanding ways of obtaining the most traditional aspects of the web and operationalizing the way the internet of today is working, which will also create a virtual expansion of the material world. These domains are primarily the gateway for users to access the technological advancements along with the evolving Quik ecosystem, which is sure to introduce many future uses and perks for the owners of Quik.com. Quik.com also provides a P2P NFT domains marketplace where users may communicate, exchange, trade, and purchase dom...

A new report is predicting that the total value of the NFT market will reach $200 billion in 2030. The report, issued by Grand View Research, a multinational market insights company, found that the rising demand for this kind of instrument — due to its growing number of applications — will fuel growth of the market. NFT Market to Reach $200 Billion, Fueled by Growing Demand Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are becoming more popular due to their wide array of applications in different industries. A recent report issued by Grand View Research, a market insights company, predicts that the NFT market will reach a value of $200 billion in 2030, fueled in part by the growing demand behind them due to their applications. The report, which calculates today’s NFT market value at a little more than $15 billion, examined the movement and the evolution of the NFT market between 2018 and 2020. The document predicts the market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 33.9% from 2022 to 2030, wit...

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, believes that the future of crypto is bright in Latam. In a recent interview, Bankman-Fried recognized the rising adoption and demand that cryptocurrencies are experiencing in Latam, stating that use is expected to grow for remittances and payments in the future. Sam Bankman-Fried Talks Crypto in Latam Latam is one of the areas globally that has become a cryptocurrency adoption hotbed due to its particular traits and circumstances, and the crypto industry is starting to notice. Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX and one of the richest men in crypto, has recognized the influence crypto has in the region, and he believes this will keep growing in the future. In an interview with Bloomberglinea, Bankman-Fried declared the region will experience a rise in crypto adoption rates for different purposes. Bankman-Fried stated : I think that the volume is going to increase over time and that we are going to see more and more adoption for remittances in Latam and t...