Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Authorities in the energy-rich Russian region of Irkutsk have imposed hefty fines on crypto miners this year for illegal use of electricity to produce digital currencies. Power utilities have also filed hundreds of lawsuits, a report reveals, quoting prosecutors. Irkutsk Crypto Miners Pay 100 Million Rubles in Fines in 2022 Cryptocurrency mining has become a profitable business for many companies in Russia’s energy-rich regions, and an alternative income source for ordinary Russians. Despite the generally low rates of electricity for commercial purposes, many have been tempted to mint digital coins on cheaper household power or even stolen energy. Authorities in Irkutsk, a Siberian oblast with abundant energy resources where rates start as low as $0.01 per kWh in rural districts, have been going after illegal mining operations. The latter have caused a spike in consumption in both residential and industrial areas, allegedly leading to frequent breakdowns and outages across the re...

Iranian authorities have seized nearly 10,000 illegal cryptocurrency mining devices since March. According to reports, many of the seized crypto mining rigs were operating in public locations that receive free or heavily-subsidized electricity, such as schools and mosques. Iran Confiscates Nearly 10K Crypto Mining Devices Kambiz Nazerian, head of Tehran Electricity Distribution Company, said Monday that Iranian authorities have discovered and seized 9,404 illegal cryptocurrency mining devices in Tehran since the beginning of the Persian calendar year which started on March 21, local media reported. He explained that the mining equipment was discovered by inspectors in different districts of the Iranian capital. Iranian authorities have regularly announced the discovery of illegal cryptocurrency mining machines in different parts of the country over recent years. Many of these unauthorized cryptocurrency mining operations were based in public locations, such as schools and mosques,...

DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, says that it has benefited from the recent crypto market sell-off. The trading volume of its crypto exchange nearly doubled in July, compared to April. The quantity of bitcoin bought on its exchange grew nearly four times during that time period. DBS Crypto Customers Bought the Dip DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia by assets, announced Monday that DBS Digital Exchange (Ddex) has benefited as crypto investors sought safety amid market volatility. DBS, headquartered and listed in Singapore, has a presence in 18 markets. “With the digital asset industry experiencing unprecedented volatility … DBS’ digital asset ecosystem has been a beneficiary of this flight to safety,” the bank detailed, elaborating: Investors who believe in the long-term prospects of digital assets are gravitating towards trusted and regulated platforms to access the digital asset market. As investors bought the dip, the total number of trades executed on Ddex in Ju...

Following the federal judge’s decision to give the accused Bitfinex money launderer Heather Morgan permission to “engage in legitimate employment,” Morgan has broken her silence on social media. Morgan’s Twitter account dubbed “Heather ‘Razzlekhan’ Morgan” is verified on Twitter and her latest tweet insists that she does not endorse any crypto or NFT project bearing her name. Heather Morgan Insists: ‘I Am Not Involved in Any Crypto Project’ On Tuesday, one of the accused Bitfinex bitcoin launderers, Heather Morgan, the wife of Ilya Lichtenstein, tweeted a message to her 24,900 Twitter followers on social media. Morgan and Lichtenstein were arrested last February after U.S. law enforcement announced that it had confiscated 94,636 bitcoin from the duo. At the time of Morgan’s and her husband’s arrest, the bitcoin was worth roughly $4.5 billion and today, the cache of 94,636 BTC is worth $2.03 billion. Using her Twitter account, Morgan’s tweet is short and sweet and aims to give the...

PRESS RELEASE. Today, Web3 development studio Emergent Games has launched a range of 1,000 limited edition Genesis 0 Cryotag NFTs for massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Resurgence . The NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are offered exclusively via invite-only free mint and confer access to a private portion of the game’s Discord server, airdrops for future tokens and NFTs, whitelisting for future sales, real-life perks on merchandise, and other benefits that have yet to be revealed. Resurgence ’s first NFT drop offers players a chance to contribute to the central framework of the game. As a core part of the community, members will be able to influence every aspect of the project moving forward, from lore to smart contracts. Cryotags’ utility and purpose will evolve alongside Resurgence ’s narrative and are designed to continuously reward early supporters as they embark on their journeys through a post-apocalyptic world. The Cryotags’ design reflects its practical,...

Bradesco, one of the biggest banks in Brazil, has stated it does not have plans to enter the cryptocurrency market in the near future. In an interview, Bradesco CEO Octavio de Lazari Junior stated that the company was currently not interested in launching crypto services to its customers, considering the cryptocurrency market will be “very small.” Bradesco Won’t Offer Cryptocurrency Services In Near Future While many neobanks and traditional private banks are launching crypto investment services as part of their portfolio to keep customers using their services, others are still on the sidelines. Bradesco, the second biggest bank in Brazil and Latam in terms of assets, with more than 70 million customers, is still not interested in the cryptocurrency market. Bradesco CEO Octavio de Lazari Junior issued his take on cryptocurrency and how he believes these investments will evolve in the country. For de Lazari Junior, The cryptocurrency market is still too small, with dangerous charact...

The law enforcement and counter-intelligence agency of Ukraine has managed to seize the funds in a cryptocurrency wallet used to finance the Russian military campaign in the country. Officials in Kyiv claim that money collected through the wallet has been spent on military equipment for the pro-Russian separatist forces in the east. Ukraine Seizes Crypto Donations Funding Russia’s Invasion The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has for the first time implemented a mechanism to curb fundraising through cryptocurrency for the troops fighting on the Russian side in the ongoing hostilities in the country. The conflict escalated into a full-scale war when the Russian army crossed the Ukrainian border in late February in what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in support of the pro-Russian breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. In a press release on Tuesday, the SBU announced that a crypto wallet operated by a citizen of the Russian Federation and used to sponsor Russia’s mili...