Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

This week the number of cryptocurrency automated teller machines (ATMs) operating worldwide has surpassed the 39,000 mark. Since January 2017 when the count was approaching 1K machines, the number of crypto ATMs has grown by 3,925% since then. Crypto ATM numbers saw exponential growth during the last 23 months since September 1, 2020, when there were less than 10K machines worldwide. There’s Now 39,011 Crypto ATMs Installed Across 77 Countries During the first week of August 2022, the number of digital currency dispersing automated teller machines (ATMs) operating globally crossed the 39K mark. In fact, across 77 countries, 614 crypto ATM operators have installed 39,011 cryptocurrency ATMs, according to metrics recorded by coinatmradar.com . On January 1, 2017, there were approximately 969 crypto ATMs across the globe and since that point, installations have grown by 3,925% . Geographical distribution statistics show that North America dominates with 95.1% of all the crypto ATMs w...

Three different bills have been introduced in the U.S. this year to empower the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to be the primary regulator of the crypto spot markets. Lawmakers Want CFTC to Be Primary Regulator of Crypto Spot Markets Three bills have been introduced in Congress so far this year to make the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) the primary regulator for crypto spot markets. Noting that there has been a longtime debate as to whether the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the CFTC should be the primary regulator of the crypto spot markets, Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association, told CNBC Thursday: We now have three different bills — the one this week, the Lummis Gillibrand bill, and also the House bill, the Digital Commodity Exchange Act — that all say the CFTC is the place to go. The “ Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022 ” was introduced by U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John Boozman (R-...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes inflation has peaked and the U.S. economy will be in a recession for about 18 months. “We do get a fair bit of insight into where prices of things are going over time,” the billionaire explained, noting that “inflation is going to drop rapidly.” Elon Musk Explains Why He Thinks Inflation Has Peaked and Recession Will Last 18 Months Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk shared his view on the U.S. economy, inflation, and recession during Tesla’s 2022 annual meeting of stockholders Thursday. Replying to a question about inflation, he explained: “We do get a fair bit of insight into where prices of things are going over time because when you’re making millions of cars, you have to purchase commodities many months in advance of when they’re needed … Because it’s a long supply chain with a tremendous amount of inertia, so we sort of have some insight into where prices are headed over time.” Musk detailed: “The interesting thing that we’re seeing now is that most o...

Veteran investor Jim Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund with billionaire investor George Soros, has warned about cryptocurrency, stating that “if and when all our money is on our computer, it’s going to be government money.” Nonetheless, he noted that his wife invests in crypto. Jim Rogers’ Crypto Warning Famed investor Jim Rogers shared his view about cryptocurrency in an interview with Bloomberg, published last week. Rogers is George Soros’ former business partner who co-founded the Quantum Fund and Soros Fund Management. “A lot of people I know are investing in crypto and having fun and making money. Many have already disappeared and have gone to zero,” he began, elaborating: My wife invests in crypto of all things, but I don’t invest in them because the bulls say they’re going to be money, and my answer to that is, if and when all our money is on our computer, it’s going to be government money. Rogers proceeded to explain that governments will not allow other currencie...

Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, declared that the speedy recovery of tourism in the country had to do with three elements, including surfing, bitcoin, and overall crime reduction. El Salvador was one of the 15 countries that managed to take their tourism incomes to pre-pandemic numbers according to data from the World Tourism Organization. Nayib Bukele States International Tourism Growth Is Powered by Bitcoin in El Salvador Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador and promoter of the adoption of bitcoin ( BTC ) as legal tender in the country, shared his thoughts about the growth of the tourism income in the Salvadoran country. Bukele stated that this growth was the consequence of three key factors: bitcoin, the promotion of surf, and the reduction of crime. In a tweet, the president stated : Only a handful of countries have been able to recover its tourism to pre-pandemic levels. And that’s international tourism, so the reasons behind it are mostly bitcoin and surf...

Law enforcement in Kazakhstan detained members of a crime group suspected of forcing IT experts into operating underground facilities for cryptocurrency mining with threats and blackmail. The racketeers allegedly made up to half a million U.S. dollars a month from their business. Kazakhstan Busts Illegal Crypto Mining Organization, Detains Dozens Authorities in Kazakhstan have arrested a group of “criminally oriented individuals” and former convicts who pressured people savvy in information and crypto technology to run illegal installations for cryptocurrency production. Many of the apprehended 23 people had a background in debt-collecting and extortion, the country’s Interior Ministry said in a statement this week. The gang was making estimated profits in the range of $300,000 to 500,000 each month as a result of their unauthorized crypto mining activities, the department further revealed. During searches, police found a number of weapons, including pistols, ammunition and a Kala...

On August 4, Arbitrum One, the layer two (L2) Ethereum scaling solution, announced the protocol will implement a significant upgrade called Nitro in 25 days. The highly anticipated Nitro migration will take place on August 31, exactly one year after Offchain Labs, the Arbitrum project maintainers, launched the Arbitrum One mainnet. The Arbitrum team says that developers need to prepare contracts and users should get prepared for faster transactions and lower fees. Offchain Labs Reveals Migration Date for Arbitrum One’s Nitro Upgrade Two days ago, the official Arbitrum One Twitter page told its 275,200 social media followers that Arbitrum will be “migrating to Nitro on August 31st.” Arbitrum launched last year on August 31, as the L2 Ethereum scaling solution leverages optimistic transaction rollups that are transmitted via the Arbitrum One sidechain and Ethereum mainnet. The scaling makes ethereum ( ETH ) transactions faster and cheaper than transacting onchain via ETH ’s layer on...