Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Russia is preparing to authorize international crypto payments but people involved in the industry doubt this would allow the country to circumvent sanctions. At the same time, the United States has been tightening the noose, recently targeting the use of cryptocurrencies to dodge the financial restrictions imposed by the West with new legislation in Congress. Russian Crypto Experts Claim Circumventing Sanctions With Cryptocurrency Is a ‘Great Illusion’ This week, Russian authorities announced they had started developing a mechanism for cross-border settlements with crypto assets, with the goal to reduce the sanctions pressure on the Russian economy and trade. The Ministry of Finance said that a bill legalizing such transactions has been agreed upon with the Central Bank of Russia. Moscow is now in a rush to adopt regulations for the issuance, circulation, and various operations with digital currencies, particularly payments for imports and exports restricted by Western sanctions ...

California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill to regulate crypto in his state. He stressed that “a more flexible approach is needed” to “keep up with rapidly evolving technology and use cases” in the crypto sector. Bill to Regulate Crypto in California Vetoed by Governor Newsom The governor of the U.S. state of California, Gavin Newsom, vetoed a number of bills Friday, including Assembly Bill 2269 (AB 2269) which will establish a licensing and regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. Assembly Bill 2269, titled “Digital financial asset businesses: regulation,” was introduced earlier this year by California Assembly Member Timothy Grayson. It passed the California State Senate on Aug. 29 and the California State Assembly the next day. “AB 2269 would establish a licensing and regulatory framework, administered by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, for digital financial asset activity,” the governor detailed, adding: Digital assets are becoming increasingl...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has obtained a “court order authorizing summons for records relating to U.S. taxpayers who failed to report and pay taxes on cryptocurrency transactions.” The IRS commissioner commented: “The government’s ability to obtain third-party information on those failing to report their gains from digital assets remains a critical tool in catching tax cheats.” IRS Seeks Crypto Investors’ Records From Bank The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has obtained a “court order authorizing summons for records relating to U.S. taxpayers who failed to report and pay taxes on cryptocurrency transactions.” U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe entered an order on Sept. 22 “authorizing the IRS to issue a so-called John Doe summons requiring M.Y. Safra Bank to produce information about U.S. taxpayers who may have failed to report to the IRS, and pay taxes on, cryptocurrency transactions,” the DOJ detailed, noting...

Sources have disclosed that the digital currency mining operation, Bitdeer Technologies, has purchased a high-security storage and display facility in Singapore called Le Freeport for $28.4 million. Bitdeer’s chairman, Jihan Wu, confirmed the vault acquisition via a text message following the reports that revealed the mining firm purchased Le Freeport. Bitdeer Purchases Maximum Security Vault Le Freeport From Yves Bouvier, DBS After the co-founder of Bitmain Technologies Jihan Wu left the company, he co-founded a firm called Matrixport and he’s also the chairman of Bitdeer Technologies . According to a report published by Bloomberg, that cites sources familiar with the matter, Bitdeer paid S$40 million ($28.4 million) for the maximum security vault known as Le Freeport. The vault was originally constructed to be similar to the high-security storage vaults located in Luxembourg and Geneva. Freeport has also been dubbed “Singapore’s Fort Knox for fine art and collectibles.” Freepo...

With the Ethereum Merge event now successfully completed, new proof-of-work (PoW) forks have emerged to vie for miner acceptance. This, as the United States government, has warned that the post-quantum world is getting closer, and vulnerable cryptography will need to be protected. Amidst red hot inflation in the U.S., President Joe Biden notes that gas prices have fallen, but doesn’t mention the 190 million barrels that have been tapped from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to address the issue. Though U.S. inflation is high, the greenback is gaining great power against other world currencies, and Chinese state-backed media says this “might be the beginning of another nightmare” for “many countries in the world.” All this and more in this week’s Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. Ethereum’s Merge Gave Birth to 2 Forks — Newly Launched Ethereumfair Gathers USD Value and Hashpower Following Ethereum’s Merge, a number of cryptocurrency community members have been discussing the proo...

The Ethiopian birr currency’s parallel exchange rate against the U.S. dollar recently dropped to a low of 92 birrs per dollar, a report has said. The report added that following this latest plunge, the gap between the birr’s official and parallel market exchange rates has widened to a record high. Resumption of Fighting Between Ethiopian Government Forces and Tigray Rebels Identified as the Cause The gap between the Ethiopian currency’s official and parallel market exchange rate against the greenback widened to a new record higher after the latter rate plunged 92 birrs for every dollar. Officially, one dollar buys 52.5 units of the local currency. According to a Bloomberg report that quotes Fikadu Digafe, the vice governor and chief economist at the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), the resumption of hostilities in the Tigray region is one of the key factors that caused the Ethiopian currency’s latest plunge. As many media reports have suggested, the fighting between the Ethiopian ...

Financial authorities in Russia have begun work on a mechanism to facilitate the employment of cryptocurrencies for settlements with other nations amid sanctions. The country’s central bank and finance ministry have already agreed on a draft law regulating cross-border crypto payments. Regulators in Russia Move Toward Legalizing Use of Cryptocurrency in Foreign Trade Russian authorities intend to regulate the issuance, circulation, and various operations with digital assets, including international crypto payments, by the end of 2022. The Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Russia, and the Rosfinmonitoring agency, have taken on the task, the financial watchdog told the daily Izvestia. “The activities of organizations that will carry out exchange operations with digital currency, its transfer and storage, and providers of virtual asset services should be subject to regulation, including registration or licensing of such persons and their supervision,” Rosfinmonitoring explained...