Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Reddit’s non-fungible token (NFT) avatars have produced significant market action in the NFT industry, as the collectible’s secondary market sales reached more than $5 million on October 24 across more than 20,000 sales. The demand for Reddit’s collectible NFT avatars minted on Polygon has also spurred over three million Redditors to leverage Reddit’s Vault blockchain wallet. Demand for Reddit’s Collectible NFT Avatars Skyrockets — $5 Million in Secondary Sales Sold Across 20,000 Sales During the first week of July, Reddit revealed the company had plans to release blockchain-backed avatars that leverage the proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain Polygon (MATIC). At the time, Reddit said that Polygon was chosen for its “low-cost transactions and sustainability commitments.” On October 18, 2022, Reddit’s chief product officer Pali Bhat explained, while speaking on a Techcrunch Disrupt panel, that three million Vault blockchain wallets crafted by Reddit were created to date. Bhat further ...

JPMorgan Chase’s president that crypto “is kind of irrelevant in the scheme of things.” Commenting on the U.S. economy, he defended the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance, emphasizing that if the Fed’s action “causes a slightly deeper recession for a period of time” then “that is the price we have to pay.” JPMorgan Chase President on U.S. Economy and Recession JPMorgan Chase President Daniel Pinto commented on the U.S. economy and cryptocurrency in an interview with CNBC, published Monday. Pinto is also the global investment bank’s chief operating officer and CEO of its Corporate & Investment Bank. The 59-year-old executive grew up in Argentina as a child where inflation was often very high, he shared, noting that living with pervasive inflation was “very, very stressful.” Price increases in Argentina averaged more than 300% a year from 1975 to 1991. Pinto opined: That’s why when people say, ‘the Fed is too hawkish,’ I disagree. I think putting inflation back in a box is very ...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has updated the crypto section in the 2022 draft instructions for tax form 1040. “For example, digital assets include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and virtual currencies, such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins,” the tax agency detailed. New IRS Instructions for Tax Form 1040 The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released its 2022 draft instructions for tax form 1040 last week. Form 1040 is the tax form used for filing individual income tax returns in the U.S. The new instructions contain several changes relating to cryptocurrency. The section titled “Virtual Currency” has been replaced with one titled “Digital Assets.” The IRS detailed: Digital assets are any digital representations of value that are recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger or any similar technology. For example, digital assets include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and virtual currencies, such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. In contrast, NFTs and stablecoins ...

Nokia, one of the first companies to manufacture a consumer-grade mobile phone system, now believes the metaverse will cause phones to become deprecated. These metaverse experiences will be powered by the use of virtual reality (VR) headsets and augmented reality glasses, and will allow users to interact in several activities. Industrial usage will also be significant. Nokia Predicts the Fall of the Mobile Phone in Favor of the Metaverse Nokia, one of the first manufacturers to create a mobile phone system, is predicting the fall of the mobile phone trend known today at the hands of the metaverse. While phones will still be around, metaverse experiences will be the primary form of communication in the second half of the decade. While augmented reality devices have still ways to go, Nokia believes that there will be a rise in the interest of the audience in such devices, that will power this metaverse push. Nokia’s chief strategy and technology officer Nishant Batra is confident ab...

The lower house of Russian parliament, the State Duma, has voted against a piece of legislation designed to regulate cryptocurrency mining. While lawmakers turned down that proposal, which also aimed to legalize crypto payments in the country, another draft law on mining, which permits cross-border transactions with digital assets, is expected in the legislature in the near future. Alternative Proposals to Regulate Crypto Mining Clash in Russian Parliament This week, the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly voted to reject a draft law on cryptocurrency mining. The bill “On Mining in the Russian Federation,” was submitted earlier by members of the liberal New People faction. Lawmakers criticized the sponsors for failing to properly formulate regulatory principles for the activity as well as requirements for data centers and mining operators and suggest a procedure for the taxation of mining companies. Representatives of the parliamentary committees that reviewed the legislati...

As Ghana waits for a financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country’s currency continued its slide versus the dollar after the respective currencies’ exchange rate slipped to just under C15:$1. Following this latest plunge, the cedi has now depreciated by more than 55% in 2022 and this makes it the world’s worst-performing currency. World’s Worst Performing Currency The depreciating Ghanaian currency — the cedi — recently touched a new low versus the U.S. dollar on the forex parallel market after it reportedly slipped by 12% in just four days. Reports of the Ghanaian currency slumping to a new low versus the greenback came shortly after the cedi’s 3.3% slip on October 17 confirmed its new status as the world’s worst-performing currency. According to the Myjoyonline report , the acute shortage of U.S. dollars among banks and bureaux de change is the primary reason why the cedi has now fallen by more than 50% since the start of 2022. To support this asser...