Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Major Portuguese banks have started closing or refusing to open accounts for cryptocurrency platforms such as exchanges, according to media reports. The move threatens to tarnish the country’s image as one of Europe’s most crypto-friendly destinations, a haven for bitcoin enthusiasts. Portuguese Crypto Firms Hit by Bank Account Closures Portugal, a leading European crypto hub, is risking the loss of its attractiveness for crypto businesses and talent working in the industry as some of its largest banks are now closing accounts of companies operating with digital currencies. Last week, the nation’s biggest listed bank, Banco Comercial Portugues, and another major institution, Banco Santander, shut down all the accounts of Lisbon-based Criptoloja, Bloomberg reported, quoting the exchange’s co-founder and CEO Pedro Borges. The development follows the decision of two smaller banks to close the platform’s accounts. No official explanation was provided in either of these cases, the cryp

Top cryptocurrency exchange , LBank, gave its various communities across the world a July to remember. With a lineup of activities, the trading platform kept it interesting, interactional and most importantly, educational for its users. In addition, the exchange supported several philanthropic projects that helped the less fortunate in different regions. While the month was jam-packed with activities, LBank Labs, LBank’s investment division, was hard at work, identifying new businesses to incubate. It also hosted an end-of-the-month “Fintech Meetup,” bringing all budding experts to discuss crypto regulation and the next-generation innovative financial solutions. Without exception, this month’s globalisation and inclusion campaigns of the top exchange were felt in India, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya, Tunisia, and many other regions. A Four-city India Event Presented by LBank: The LBank Show                 The LBank Show, a critically lauded educational cryp

U.S. senators have introduced the “Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022” to empower the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “with exclusive jurisdiction over the digital commodities spot market.” Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John Boozman (R-AR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and John Thune (R-SD) introduced Wednesday the “Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022.” The bipartisan bill aims to give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “new tools and authorities to regulate digital commodities,” according to the announcement of the bill by the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Senator Stabenow commented: One in five Americans have used or traded digital assets — but these markets lack the transparency and accountability that they expect from our financial system. Too often, this puts Americans’ hard-earned money at risk. “That’s why we are closing regulatory gaps a

Skybridge Capital’s founder says bitcoin’s fair market value is about $40,000 based on adoption, wallet size, use cases, and growth of wallets. The asset management firm also estimated ethereum’s fair market value at around $2,800. Skybridge Capital on the Fair Values of Bitcoin and Ethereum Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner at global asset management firm Skybridge Capital, shared his firm’s predictions on the fair market values of bitcoin ( BTC ) and ether ( ETH ) in an interview with Marketwatch, published Tuesday. He believes that the worst of the crypto bear market has passed and bitcoin has already bottomed. His comments followed bankruptcy filings by a number of crypto firms, including Celsius Network and Voyager Digital . “We believe that the leverage has been blown out of the system,” Scaramucci said. While recognizing that BTC could still slide, he emphasized: “I don’t think it’s going below the low that was reached for this cycle, which would be at arou

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has modified the crypto question asked on Form 1040, the tax form used by all U.S. taxpayers to file an annual income tax return. New Crypto Tax Question The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published a draft of Form 1040 for the 2022 tax year last week. Form 1040 is the tax form used for filing individual income tax returns in the U.S. The crypto question on the front page of Form 1040 now reads: “At any time during 2022, did you: (a) receive (as a reward, award, or compensation); or (b) sell, exchange, gift, or otherwise dispose of a digital asset (or a financial interest in a digital asset)?” The new question expands on its previous version on Form 1040 for the tax year 2021, which states: “At any time during 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any financial interest in any virtual currency?” In March, the IRS published a notice stating: “All taxpayers filing Form 1040, Form 1040-SR, or Form 1040-NR must check one box

Stock and cryptocurrency markets on Thursday saw volatility, after experiencing fluctuations during the tensions between China and Taiwan on Tuesday and Wednesday. Major indexes like the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and NYSE have shed a few percentages today, while the global cryptocurrency market capitalization lost 2.5% in 24 hours, dropping to just above the $1.1 trillion range. Precious metals, on the other hand, traded higher as U.S. president Joe Biden’s administration declared that the Monkeypox virus a public health emergency in the United States. China and Taiwan Tensions and Monkeypox Reports Cause Stock and Crypto Prices to Fluctuate, Precious Metal Markets Rise Catching ‘Safe-Haven Demand’ Stock and crypto traders faced some headwinds on August 4, the day after the American representative from California, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan to discuss democracy with the Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen. Global markets saw some fluctuations before the U.S. diplomat visited Taipei a

The National Power Administration of Paraguay has proposed to set a special mining fee for cryptocurrency mining operations in a decree project directed to the national economic team. Due to the immense losses the organization has faced, it has stopped supplying energy to some mining operations that were evading the payment of power bills, being illegally connected to the grid. National Power Administration to Change Power Billing Structure for Mining Operations in Paraguay The National Power Administration is proposing a new way of charging cryptocurrency companies for the electricity used in mining operations in Paraguay. The company has brought a new decree proposal to the national economic team that would collect the payments for these services in advance in U.S. dollars, and with an annual adjustment. This proposal would also create a new billing group for these activities. The head of the East Regional Management Division, Alfredo Argüello, stated that while inspecting diffe

A new study has ranked Nigeria as the country most curious about cryptocurrency post the April crypto market crash. The same study findings show Kenya as the second-highest ranked African country. According to Bobby Ong, co-founder of Coingecko, the countries topping the list seem more interested in buying the dip and this highlights “their long-term outlook for cryptocurrencies.” Nigerian Solana Searches Third Highest Globally After the cryptocurrency market crashed in April, a new study found Nigeria as the number one ranked country among English-speaking countries that are most interested in cryptocurrency. According to the findings of a study undertaken by Coingecko, Nigeria’s score of 371 surpasses that of second-ranked United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 101, and that of third-placed Singapore by 110. Elaborating on Nigeria — whose central bank directed financial institutions to block crypto entities from the banking ecosystem — a report released by the crypto price tracker Coing

Several solutions can potentially improve cross-border payments significantly and central bank digital currency (CBDC) could be the “holy grail,” according to the European Central Bank (ECB). In a new report, the eurozone’s monetary authority also claims stablecoins, among other options, are “problematic.” ‘Holy Grail’ of Cross-Border Payments in Reach Through CBDC, European Central Bank Insists Cross-border payments should be immediate, cheap, universal, and settled in a secure medium, the European Central Bank remarks in a recently published report . For the first time, the “holy grail” of such transactions is within reach, thanks to declining data transfer costs, the birth of innovative concepts, and global collaboration aiming to enhance these payments, the regulator says in the recently published paper. The review, co-authored by ECB’s Director-General for Market Infrastructure and Payments Ulrich Bindseil and economist George Pantelopoulos, explores various ways to achieve th