Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Companies extracting cryptocurrencies in Kazakhstan will be allowed to purchase only excess electricity on a government-controlled market. The decision comes with new legislation approved by lawmakers which regulates the activities of the industry and the taxation of its profits. Law to Regulate Crypto Mining in Kazakhstan, Change Licensing Rules The lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament, the Mazhilis, has adopted the bill “On Digital Assets of the Republic of Kazakhstan” and four related draft laws which aim to regulate mining, among other crypto activities, local media reported. In accordance with the legislation, miners operating in the country will be able to buy power from the national energy system only if it has a surplus to offer, and exclusively through the KOREM exchange, the country’s centralized electricity market. Commenting on the new regime, Mazhilis member Ekaterina Smyshlyaeva pointed out that price restrictions have been lifted for that excess amount of electric...

The crypto mining industry may see a two-fold increase in its share of Russia’s power consumption in 2022, according to a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Energy. The department supports a bill designed to regulate the sector which is likely to be adopted this year. Russian Energy Ministry Forecasts Rise in Crypto Mining’s Electricity Consumption The share of cryptocurrency miners may reach 1.5 – 2% of Russia’s total consumption of electrical power by the end of 2022, according to the Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Snikkars. During a crypto conference organized by the business news portal RBC, the government official recalled that last year’s figure was around 1%. The availability of electricity for mining across the vast country would depend on the number of users that want to connect to the grid in a particular location, Snikkars added. In certain Russian regions — the deputy minister mentioned Murmansk as an example — unused power generating capacities are curren...

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says crypto tokens are like pet rocks. The executive also believes crypto regulation should be strengthened, stating: “The regulators who beat up on banks should maybe focus a little more on crypto.” JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon Compares Crypto to Pet Rocks The chairman and CEO of global investment bank JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, talked about crypto and its regulation following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in an interview with CNBC Tuesday. He was asked whether the FTX meltdown is contained and does not matter or whether he believes it is a symbol of something larger that is happening in the economy. The JPMorgan boss said: Crypto is a complete sideshow, okay, and you guys spend too much time on it. I’ve made my views perfectly clear about crypto tokens are like pet rocks, and people are hyping this stuff up. Pet rocks are just rocks in custom cardboard boxes, marketed as live rocks in 1975. Over 1 million pet rocks were sold for $4 each ...

Bitcoin.com , a digital ecosystem and secure self-custody platform where users can safely and easily interact with cryptocurrencies and digital assets, announced completion of the pre-sale of its rewards and utility token VERSE, where 16% of the total supply was purchased for $50 million. Bitcoin.com also announced the launch of VERSE trading on its decentralized exchange, the Verse DEX , starting at 00:30 UTC on Dec 8. The initial listing price will be $0.0015 per VERSE. “The success of the Verse token sale despite severe bear market conditions is a testament to the quality of Bitcoin.com ’s ecosystem token,” said Bitcoin.com CEO Dennis Jarvis. “I have no doubt that Verse will supercharge Bitcoin.com ’s mission to create economic freedom by helping to onboard millions more people to Bitcoin and decentralized finance where they can take advantage of the benefits enabled by self-custody, transparency, and censorship resistance.” The VERSE token will provide utility in Bitcoin....

The host of Mad Money, Jim Cramer, has advised investors to sell their crypto, emphasizing that “it’s never too late to sell an awful position.” Regarding FTX, Cramer predicted that the collapsed trading platform “won’t be the last of these crypto exchanges to go down.” Jim Cramer’s Latest Crypto Advice The host of CNBC’s Mad Money show, Jim Cramer, has advised investors to sell their cryptocurrencies following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Cramer is a former hedge fund manager who co-founded Thestreet.com, a financial news and literacy website. He said Monday: You can’t just beat yourself up and say, ‘hey, it’s too late to sell.’ The truth is, it’s never too late to sell an awful position, and that’s what you have if you own these so-called digital assets. The Mad Money host used to invest in bitcoin, ether, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) but sold all his crypto holdings last year. “I told you I sold my bitcoin and ethereum a long time ago … and used the proceeds to bu...

Bitcoin was consolidating on Wednesday, as the U.S. dollar continued to strengthen versus several G7 currencies. A strong dollar means demand for cryptocurrencies typically plummets, with the global market cap trading in the red as of writing. Ethereum was also lower today, falling as it remained below $1,300. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) continued to consolidate in today’s session, as prices hovered around the $17,000 mark on hump-day. Following a low of $16,939.92 on Tuesday, BTC /USD raced to an intraday peak of $17,109.38 earlier in today’s session. The move saw bitcoin continue to trade under its recent resistance level of $17,180, which has mostly been in place for the last month. Looking at the chart, the consolidation comes as the relative strength index (RSI) also remained below its own ceiling of 50.00. As of writing, the index is currently tracking at the 47.80 level, and seems to be heading to a floor at the 45.80 mark. Should we see this decline occur, BTC will likely ...

On Tuesday, the hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger announced the launch of a new device called Ledger Stax. The machine was designed by iPod creator, Tony Fadell, and the France-based firm Ledger says the new device was built with “uncompromisingly secure architecture.” iPod Creator Tony Fadell Partners With Ledger to Launch a New Crypto Hardware Wallet Called Stax Ledger has revealed a new hardware wallet that’s roughly the same size as a credit card. Ledger Stax also features an e-ink touch screen that’s customizable and offers capacitive touch. The France-based crypto hardware wallet manufacturer is well known for creating hardware wallets such as the Nano. Similarly, Stax allows users to secure their cryptocurrency assets and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a EAL 5+ certified secure element-equipped setting. The new machine was designed by Tony Fadell, an American engineer and former senior vice president of the iPod division at Apple. Reports explain that in 2001, Apple sup...