Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The government of Colombia revealed it has plans to launch a digital currency. One of the purposes of this new currency would be to curb tax evasion and enhance the traceability of transactions made by citizens. The proposed measure would also be accompanied by restrictions on cash payments and transactions of over 10 million Colombian pesos ($2,400). Colombia to Launch Its Own Digital Currency Many countries are now looking to digitize part of their economies in order to better understand and control the flow of money in their economies. The government of Colombia is planning to launch its own digital currency in the near future, according to statements offered by Luis Carlos Reyes, head of the DIAN, the Colombian tax authority . Reyes told local news outlet Semana this would be one of the proposals of the newly inaugurated president Gustavo Petro in order to curb tax evasion, estimated to be between 6% and 8% of the GDP of Colombia. On this note, Reyes stated that the purpose of...

Luxury resort chain Soneva has reportedly begun accepting cryptocurrency payments at its resorts in the Maldives and Thailand. “Accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment method is another example of enabling our international guests to easily make payments from anywhere in the world.” Soneva Accepts Cryptocurrency Payments Luxury resort chain Soneva has reportedly begun accepting payments in bitcoin and ethereum at its resorts. Soneva has three resorts in the Maldives (Soneva Fushi, Soneva Jani, and Soneva in Aqua). The company also has a resort in Thailand (Soneva Kiri). Bitcoin and ether can also be used to pay for Soneva Villa Ownership. In order to accept cryptocurrencies, Soneva has partnered with two companies: crypto payment solutions provider Triple A and payment platform provider Pomelo Pay. Triple A is licensed by the Singapore Monetary Authority (MAS). Soneva explained that bitcoin and ether payments are 100% non-refundable but credits can apply per its flexible cancella...

Hedge fund manager Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management dumped all but one of its stock holdings in the second quarter, according to the firm’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Burry, famed for forecasting the 2008 financial crisis, has predicted a stock market crash, warning that winter is coming. Michael Burry Sells All Stocks but One Michael Burry’s investment firm Scion Asset Management dumped all of its stock holdings except one in the second quarter, the company’s disclosure filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday shows. Burry is best known for being the first investor to foresee and profit from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010. He is profiled in “The Big Short,” a book by Michael Lewis about the mortgage crisis, which was made into a movie starring Christian Bale. Scion sold off its long positions on 11 U.S. equities during the second quarter, including Google parent company A...

According to a recent report published on Tuesday, the Israeli-American founder and CEO of Celsius Network, Alex Mashinsky, was in charge of the company’s trading strategy. The report, citing multiple people familiar with the matter, said Mashinsky sold millions of dollars’ worth of bitcoin in anticipation to buy bitcoin cheap. Except after the CEO allegedly placed this bet, bitcoin markets followed the opposite trend, and the leading crypto asset accumulated some gains. People Familiar With the Celsius Situation Say Mashinsky Was Trading on ‘Bad Information’ On Tuesday, the Financial Times (FT) reported on the embattled and bankrupt crypto lender Celsius and the company’s CEO. FT’s report citing people familiar with the situation explained that months before the company filed for bankruptcy protection, Mashinsky “took control of Celsius trading strategy.” Allegedly, the founder and CEO of Celsius made a number of bad bets with large sums of bitcoin ( BTC ) and other assets. “He ...

A United Nations trade body has recommended a set of policy actions to “curb the expansion of cryptocurrencies in developing countries.” The intergovernmental group stressed that if cryptocurrencies become a widespread means of payment, it could jeopardize the monetary sovereignty of countries. UN Trade Body’s Crypto Policy Recommendations The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) urged authorities in developing countries worldwide to take action to prevent the widespread use of cryptocurrencies last week. UNCTAD is a permanent intergovernmental body established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1964. It is part of the U.N. Secretariat. The group reports to the U.N. General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. UNCTAD has 195 member states and 204 projects in 70 countries, its website shows. “Global use of cryptocurrencies has increased exponentially during the Covid-19 pandemic, including in developing countries,” the group noted. “While thes...

Have you lost the passphrase for an hardware wallet and looking how to recover your coins? Here is how the KeychainX recovery experts have done just that for a client. This is a trusted service provider that specializes in recovering lost crypto wallets and they can even recover funds from broken hardware drives, phones or Trezor/Ledger wallets. Recovering a Trezor Wallet Passphrase A TREZOR hardware wallet is a security device that protects the user from key loggers and phishing e-mail, keeping the user’s Bitcoin and crypto safe. Various hacking groups could open the device by mitigating side-channel attacks; however, the method was only possible because ‘a passphrase was not used’. When making a transaction, the user only enters a PIN and therefore protects the private key of the Bitcoin. The only backup is a 12/24-word mnemonic that determines which addresses are stored on the device. Recently, a client asked the KeyChainX team to brute force their TREZOR wallet as the client ...

Ghana’s ongoing economic woes appeared to worsen in July after data from the country’s statistical agency, Ghana Statistical Service, suggested that the inflation rate is now nearly 31.7%. The nearly 2% increase in the country’s inflation rate comes at a time when the local currency is reported to have depreciated by as much as 30% since the start of the year. Economist Recommends Installation of Currency Board According to the latest data from Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the West African nation’s year-on-year inflation rate for July rose to 31.7%. The latest inflation rate is nearly 2% higher than the 29.8% rate which was recorded in June, the data showed. Confirmation of Ghana’s latest official inflation, which is said to be the highest in 19 years, coincided with a report suggesting the country’s currency, the cedi, has now depreciated by more than 30% since the beginning of the year. The currency’s depreciation has since prompted Steve Hanke — the Johns Hopkins economics...

“Durmientes,” a new movie that will be directed by Gibran Bazan, a Mexican filmmaker, aims to be funded fully by the sale of a series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The NFTs, which will be sold on Metaown, a Mexico-based NFT marketplace, and designed by artist Gabriel Colin, will feature 3D models that will be connected to the story of the film and will bring benefits to owners. Durmientes Will Try to Succeed Using an NFT-Based Financing Model Cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are migrating to other industries that can also take advantage of their properties and technology. “Durmientes,” a new Mexican film project which will be directed by filmmaker Gibran Bazan, will produce a set of NFTs that will be sold in order to raise funding for the film. The financing team of the film will issue 1,500 NFTs that will feature some important object present in the film’s script. These will be done in 3D art, and will also bring important benefits for their owners, allowing them t...