Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The growth of illegal bitcoin mining operations could affect the stability of the power system in Paraguay, according to statements from the National Power Administration. The boom the country is experiencing is taking its toll on the power system, with many miners plugging in illegally and consuming high amounts of power without making payments. Paraguay Underground Mining Operations Grow Paraguay’s popularity as a country with cheap power tariffs for bitcoin mining is hurting the electric grid and might work against the stability of the power system in the country. ANDE, the National Power Administration, declared on Oct. 28 that the recent boom in bitcoin mining has caused power consumption for the department of Alto Parana to grow immensely, with many operations connecting illegally to the grid. According to Miguel Angel Baez, technical director of the ANDE organization, this has prompted the group to step up vigilance in the zone, ramping up supervision operations to detect

Ethereum was trading above $1,600 on Monday, as markets prepared for the latest U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting. The Fed is expected to hike rates by 75 basis points this week, as inflation remains at historical highs. Bitcoin also rebounded, hovering marginally below $21,000 in today’s session. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) remained closer to $21,000 on Monday, as markets rebounded from yesterday’s sell-off. Following Sunday’s low of $20,461.72, BTC /USD surged to an intraday peak of $20,791.67 earlier today. The move sees the token edge closer to Saturday’s high of $21,080, which was the strongest point the token had hit since September 13. Looking at the chart, Monday’s surge sent BTC close to its long-term price resistance of $20,800, which hasn’t truly been broken since early September. Price strength has also rebounded, with the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) now tracking at 61.47, which is close to its own ceiling of 63.00. In order for BTC to move past $21,000, bu

Mercado Pago, the financial wallet division of Mercado Libre, the Latam e-tail giant, has announced the launch of cryptocurrency trading services in Mexico. The company has already launched this kind of service in Brazil, serving one million customers in the country, allowing them to purchase, store, and sell bitcoin and ethereum, and also to receive Mercado Libre’s own token, mercadocoin. Mercado Pago Debuts Crypto Purchases in Mexico Mercado Pago is aiming to grow in Mexico with the introduction of cryptocurrency services. The company, which serves as a wallet arm of Mercado Libre, announced on Sep. 27 that it has activated the possibility for customers to purchase crypto with national fiat currency in Mexico. In this way, every customer in Mexico is now able to purchase bitcoin and ether using funds available in Mercado Pago’s native wallet. In bringing this product to Mexico, the company seeks to provide more options to Mexicans that are already customers of the company. On th

The central bank of Thailand is not going to rush with the launch of its digital currency as it’s not yet sure about the benefits it would bring. According to the head of the monetary authority, the development of the state-issued coin may take several years. Thailand’s Central Bank Wants to Better Understand Risks of Central Bank Digital Currency The Bank of Thailand ( BOT ) intends to take more time to complete the development of its retail central bank digital currency ( CBDC ). The monetary policy regulator aims to ensure that this version of the national fiat will offer additional benefits to the country’s financial system under sufficient risk management. A number of central banks, including that of Thailand, have been developing retail CBDCs but they are yet to fully implement them, the Bangkok Post noted in a report. Retail CBDC development is expected to take more than five years before market launch, according to the BOT Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, quoted by the

The Argentine Tax Authority (AFIP) is ramping up its fight against cryptocurrency-related tax evasion. On Oct. 28, the organization informed it had sent notifications to 3,997 taxpayers about incongruencies between their tax statements and reports on their cryptocurrency holdings. These statements being reviewed correspond to reports of operations happening in 2020. Argentine Tax Authority AFIP Ramps up Crypto Vigilance The Argentine Tax Authority (AFIP) is using the reports coming from local exchanges to cross the data in the tax statements and the crypto holdings of several taxpayers and has already found incongruencies. According to reports, the organization has already sent notifications of these problems to 3,997 Argentine citizens, that will have the opportunity to correct their statements to include their cryptocurrency holdings and pay additional taxes. These notifications would be linked to statements that were filed during 2020 and would be sent to taxpayers that have ope