Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Central African Republic (CAR) president, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, recently said his government has established a 15-member committee tasked with creating a comprehensive legal framework that governs the use of cryptocurrencies. According to an official document issued by the CAR cabinet, the committee has already started its work and will regularly update the government. CAR’s Ambitions The Central African Republic (CAR) leader, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, recently revealed that his country has set up a committee that is expected to draft a bill on the use of cryptocurrencies. The committee, which is comprised of 15 experts drawn from various government ministries, is expected to create a legal framework that helps the CAR achieve its goal of becoming a globally recognized blockchain technology-embracing country. 15 experts #centrafricains issus de plusieurs ministères de mon gouvernement composent le comité chargé d'élaborer un nouveau projet de loi plus complet sur l...

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has reportedly processed nearly $346 million in crypto transactions for Bitzlato, the coin trading platform that was shut down in an international law enforcement operation. U.S. authorities say the world’s largest trading platform for digital assets was among Russian-owned Bitzlato’s major counterparties. Blockchain Data Indicates Binance Moved Over 20,000 BTC for Bitzlato Since 2018 The global leader in the crypto trading sector, Binance, has allegedly transferred cryptocurrency worth almost $346 million for the Hong Kong-based Bitzlato, Reuters reported quoting data from Chainalysis. Bitzlato was a little known exchange until it was recently targeted in what U.S. authorities described as a “significant blow to the crypto crime ecosystem.” Last week, the Justice Department announced that Bitzlato’s co-founder and majority shareholder, Russian citizen Anatoly Legkodymov who lives in China, was arrested in Miami and charged with operating an unlice...

While the Ethereum community prepares for the upcoming Shanghai hard fork in March, the development team for the liquid staking project Lido revealed plans to create an in-protocol withdrawal feature. Lido’s team is seeking community feedback on the proposal that would allow withdrawals after the Shanghai upgrade is completed. Lido Dominates Defi Economy With $7.9 Billion in Total Value Locked, Team Prepares for Shanghai Withdrawals As of the time of writing, the decentralized finance (defi) liquid staking protocol Lido is the most dominant defi protocol today, in terms of total value locked (TVL). Statistics from defillama.com show that Lido’s $7.92 billion TVL dominates the $46.56 billion TVL held in defi today by approximately 17.01%. Lido is the largest holder of staked ethereum as the protocol commands around 29% of the staked ether supply . Lido’s ethereum derivative token STETH is the 13th largest market valuation in the cryptocurrency economy with $7.73 billion. Furtherm...

In January 2023, ViaBTC Capital and CoinEx jointly released the 2022 Crypto Annual Report to offer data analysis and insights into nine sectors, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, NFT, public chains, DeFi, SocialFi, GameFi and regulatory policies. This report also predicts the crypto trend in 2023. According to the report, affected by factors such as the macro environment and bull-to-bear transition, the whole cryptocurrency industry became bearish in 2022. In particular, following the Terra meltdown in May, most cryptocurrency sectors were hit by the bearish impact. Below is the overview of each segment. 1. Bitcoin In 2022, the overall performance of Bitcoin remained sluggish, with significant declines in price and trading volume compared to 2021. The price at the end of 2022 even fell below the peak of the last bull market. The price trend of Bitcoin throughout the year is obviously influenced by the pace of US interest rate hikes, but as the US interest rate hike policy c...

Crypto asset service providers in South Africa seeking to attract investors via advertisements must “expressly and clearly state that investing in crypto assets may result in the loss of capital.” Influencers working on behalf of crypto asset service providers must “not offer advice on trading or investing in crypto assets and may not promise benefits or returns.” New Code the Result of Collaborative Effort Between ARB and Crypto Entities According to the latest code of practice released by South Africa’s Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB), crypto-related advertisements must clearly warn the public that investing in digital assets “may result in the loss of capital.” Furthermore, ARB’s latest code states that the overall wording of such adverts should not contradict this warning. The new crypto asset advertising guidelines, which are reportedly the result of the collaborative effort between ARB and South African crypto exchanges, are seemingly intended to preclude scammers from ta...

Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, SpaceX, and Tesla, has given his opinion about the latest reports on the creation of a common currency in Latam, to be initially worked on by Argentina and Brazil. Musk stated that this move would be “probably a good idea,” commenting on the topic on social media. Elon Musk Gives His Take on Latam Common Currency The latest reports that Brazil and Argentina will start to study the issuance of a common currency for Latam have already caused reactions all over the world. Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter and Tesla, has recently given his appreciation when it comes to the issuance of such a currency, that would come to create a common economic area for the countries of Latam. Answering a tweet that stated other nations in Latam would be invited to join the plan to create the second-largest currency union behind the European Union, Musk stated : Probably a good idea. Minister of economy of Argentina, Sergio Massa, warned that this discussion would be just one of...