Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The director of licensing and head of the fintech unit of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has confirmed that the regulator is considering allowing retail investors to invest directly in crypto assets. “We’ve had four years of experience in regulating this industry … We think that this may be actually a good time to really think carefully about whether we will continue with this professional investor-only requirement.” SFC Director on Crypto Regulation in Hong Kong Elizabeth Wong, director of licensing and head of the fintech unit of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), talked about cryptocurrency regulation during a panel discussion held by Invest HK on Monday, South China Morning Post reported. She explained that the regulatory environment for crypto in Hong Kong is different from in mainland China. Emphasizing that Hong Kong can introduce its own bill to regulate cryptocurrencies, she stressed that it “shows just how separate Hong Kong is from ...

Three people are facing trial in Germany for their roles in one of the crypto world’s most infamous scams, Onecoin. The defendants are accused of fraud, among other crimes, allegedly committed as they assisted the pyramid scheme’s mastermind, ‘Cryptoqueen’ Ruja Ignatova, who is still on the run. Lawyer and Couple Face Criminal Allegations in Germany Over Roles in Onecoin Scam A husband and wife as well as an attorney from Munich are now among the first people in Europe to face criminal charges over their participation in the Onecoin crypto scam. On Tuesday, they appeared in a German court, Bloomberg reported. The three have been accused of money laundering, fraud, and banking crimes linked to the multibillion-dollar fraud scheme. The pyramid was founded and managed by Bulgarian-born German national Ruja Ignatova, dubbed the ‘Cryptoqueen.’ The lawyer allegedly transferred €20 million ($19.7 million) to the Cayman Islands on behalf of Ignatova for the purchase of two London apartmen...

Tesla’s third-quarter balance sheet shows that the electric car company is still holding $218 million in bitcoin. CEO Elon Musk claims that Tesla could be worth more than Apple and Saudi Aramco combined. The executive is also “excited” about acquiring Twitter. Tesla Still Holds $218 Million in Bitcoin Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) released its third-quarter earnings results Wednesday. The company’s Q3 financial statements show that Tesla did not sell any bitcoin during the quarter. Its balance sheet still shows $218 million in digital assets, unchanged from the second quarter. At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is $19,188 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency in early 2021 and has not purchased any more since. The company sold about 75% of its BTC holdings in the second quarter of this year. In the third quarter, Tesla’s revenue rose to $21.5 billion, compared with analysts’ projections of $22.1 billion. Profit exclu...

Bitcoin snapped a two-day losing streak on Thursday, as prices of the cryptocurrency rebounded at a key point of support. The current price uncertainty in markets comes as global inflation continues to hover close to historical highs. Ethereum was also back in the green in today’s session. Bitcoin Following two days of consecutive declines, bitcoin ( BTC ) rose higher in today’s session, moving away from its recent floor below $19,000. On Wednesday, the world’s largest cryptocurrency fell to an intraday low of $18,971.46, however the token rebounded earlier today. So far in Thursday’s session, BTC /USD has hit a peak of $19,280.68 as the bulls rejected a breakout below a key floor of $18,900. Looking at the chart, the relative strength index (RSI) of 14-days also moved closer to its own floor of 43.70, however the index has since moved away from this point. As of writing, the index is tracking at 45.68, with the next visible point of support being the 48.00 mark. Should this le...

Digital asset platform Nuri has told customers to withdraw their funds in the next two months, after taking a hit from the crypto winter. Formerly known as Bitwala, the Berlin-headquartered cryptocurrency bank filed for insolvency earlier this year and failed to find a buyer. Nuri to Maintain Trading Until Last Day of November, Prepares to Close Down Crypto bank and exchange Nuri has instructed users to withdraw their funds by Dec. 18, 2022 at the latest. The Germany-based company will then terminate and liquidate its digital asset business, according to a letter from its CEO Kristina Walcker-Mayer, who assured: Customers have access and will be able to withdraw all funds until the aforementioned date. All assets in your Nuri account are safe and unaffected by Nuri’s insolvency. The chief executive pointed out that the platform will continue to support trading until Nov. 30, 2022. The announcement comes after Nuri filed for temporary insolvency in August. Reports at the time no...

According to a general notice published in a government gazette, crypto assets are now treated as financial products under South Africa’s Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act. Declaration of the crypto assets as financial products means crypto asset service providers (CASP), such as exchanges, must apply for a license. Declaration Applicable to Any Digital Representation of Value Not Issued by Central Bank According to a recently published South African government gazette, crypto assets have been declared as financial products under the country’s Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act. Signed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) commissioner, Unathi Kamlana, the declaration became effective on October 19. This is an historic moment for South Africa: Today the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) declared a crypto asset as a financial product under the FAIS Act. This Declaration was published in the Government Gazette as well a...