Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Microsoft, the software conglomerate, has introduced an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency wallet in the testing version of its Edge web browser. The new feature, which software sleuth Albacore discovered, is named “Crypto Wallet” and would allow users to store and transact Ethereum and Ethereum-based tokens in a non-custodial way, acting like a Metamask clone. Microsoft Introduces Ethereum Wallet in Its Edge Browser Cryptocurrency and Web3 projects are making inroads into mainstream software products. According to reports coming from Albacore, a software researcher, Microsoft is currently developing a native wallet that would as part of its own web browser, Edge. The new feature, called “crypto wallet,” would allow the users to transact and store Ethereum and Ethereum-based tokens in a non-custodial way. In the screenshots available, Microsoft confirms the status of the project, warning the testers about the dangers of using their funds in this wallet. It stated: As a tester, you wi...

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has called for a “thorough, independent investigation of the causes” that led to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank. She alleges that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell “bears direct responsibility” for regulatory and supervisory issues involving the two banks. Senator Elizabeth Warren Calls for Independent Investigation Into Bank Failures U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called for an investigation into the recent collapse of major banks in a March 18 letter to the Treasury Department’s deputy inspector general, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)’s acting inspector general, and the Federal Reserve Board’s inspector general. “I am writing to ask that you immediately open a thorough, independent investigation of the causes of the bank management and regulatory and supervisory problems that resulted in this month’s failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank and deliver preliminary results within...

Speculation and debate continue to rage surrounding the current global banking debacle. Hedge fund manager Michael Burry — known for predicting 2008’s economic crisis — is drawing comparisons to the Panic of 1907, while Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki warned this week of more ‘fake money’ being injected into the U.S. economy. In related news, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Signature Bank board member, Barney Frank, said he suspects regulators meant to send an “anti-crypto message” in regards to the bank’s recent failure. All this and more just below, in the latest Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. Michael Burry Compares Current Banking Turmoil to Panic of 1907 — Highlights Markets Bottoming Michael Burry, a hedge fund manager renowned for predicting the 2008 financial crisis, has drawn parallels between the current banking turmoil and the Panic of 1907. He noted that three weeks after J.P. Morgan made a stand, the panic was resolved and the markets b...

The financial regulatory body of the Netherlands intends to maintain tough attitude towards the Dutch digital assets sector despite looser European rules. The head of the agency overseeing the industry doesn’t think crypto is good news and highlights its flaws in an article. Head of Dutch Financial Authority Says Cryptos Are Difficult to Fathom, Vulnerable to Fraud Most countries in the West are “tightening the reins” on crypto but a total ban is “difficult to imagine”, the Chair of the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets ( AFM ), Laura van Geest, noted in a column devoted to cryptocurrencies in the business daily Het Financieele Dagblad. However, despite the tightening in the final phase of the negotiations over EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation, the upcoming regulations remain less strict for cryptocurrencies than those for existing financial products, the executive remarked and stated: We do not think cryptos are good news. They are difficult to fathom, vu...

Authorities and power utilities in various Russian regions have shut down illegal crypto mining farms, seizing hardware and taking operators to court. The action against the coin minting facilities comes amid discussions on a proposal to introduce criminal liability for miners breaking the upcoming legislation for the industry. ‘Underground’ Crypto Mining Farms Shut Down Across Russia Police and power suppliers have uncovered and dismantled illegal crypto mining installations in Siberia and Southern Russia, local crypto news outlets reported this week, quoting authorities. In one of the cases, the organizers of a mining enterprise have been charged with stealing large amounts of electricity. Employees of Rosseti North Caucasus found a fairly large improvised mining farm in Shpakovsky district of the Stavropol Krai. Together with law enforcement, they confiscated 66 ASIC miners, the region’s power electric company announced on Friday. A resident of the village of Nadezhda, who pl...

A European lawmaker has urged authorities to impose a ban on cryptocurrencies citing the current crisis in the banking sector as a reason. Johan Van Overtveldt, former finance minister of Belgium, believes these assets bring no economic or social value. Belgium’s Ex-Finance Minister Suggests Ban on Decentralized Digital Currencies Member of the European Parliament, Johan Van Overtveldt, has insisted that governments should prohibit cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. His call comes amid a crisis sparked by the failure of several banking institutions, including two crypto-friendly banks in the U.S. “Another lesson to be learned from the current banking commotion. Enforce a strict ban on cryptocurrencies,” the lawmaker, who has previously praised blockchain technology, tweeted on Friday. “Speculative poison and no economic or social added value. If a government bans drugs, it should also ban cryptos,” he argued. Nog een les te trekken uit de huidige bankcommotie. Leg een strikt verbod o...