Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s chief adviser on foreign policy, Celso Amorim, says China and Brazil “are coming closer together” and they could play important roles in building a less centralized world with no hegemony. Commenting on de-dollarization, he stressed: “I think it’s very important that we are free from the dominance of one single currency because sometimes it is used politically.” Brazil, China ‘Coming Closer Together’ Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s senior foreign policy adviser, Celso Amorim, discussed de-dollarization on Friday in an interview with the Chinese government-owned Global Times. Amorim previously served as Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defence, and ambassador to the United Kingdom. He was appointed as Chief Advisor to the president of Brazil by Lula in January. Amorim explained the importance of Lula’s visit to China where the Brazilian president met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was the first vi...

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has expressed concerns that a rising number of countries, including China, Russia, and the Middle East, are aligning themselves and gaining global influence. “I think [it] is a huge challenge for the United States,” he cautioned. Larry Summers on Countries Banding Together Against the US Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers expressed concern on Bloomberg TV Friday about an increasing number of nations coming together and gaining global influence against the U.S. He made these remarks on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, D.C. Summers is currently the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University. He previously served as Director of the National Economic Council and the Treasury Secretary of the United States, as well as chief economist at the World Bank. He explained that a growing number of countries are aligning themselves on the opposite si...

Kosovo police have seized dozens of crypto mining devices from residents of a majority Serb region in the north of the country. Authorities in Pristina and Belgrade exchanged accusations over the move, which has the potential to raise tensions in the ethnically divided, partially recognized Balkan state. Kosovo Government Cracks Down on Crypto Mining in Mainly Serb North Law enforcement in Kosovo has carried out raids against cryptocurrency mining in a northern municipality where Serbs form the majority of the population, the Turkish Anadolu Agency reported, quoting a member of the Albanian-led government in Pristina. According to Economy Minister Artane Rizvanolli, police have seized 174 devices designed to mint digital currencies. Announcing the operation in Zubin Potok on social media, she insisted that the failure to pay electricity bills encourages such illegal activities. Consumers in the predominantly Serb northern part of Kosovo have not paid for electric power in over tw...

In crypto news this week, the Ethereum network’s long awaited Shapella upgrade took effect, unlocking staked ether. In the broader financial world, economist Harry Dent has predicted a massive crash to hit by mid-June, bank lending plummeted by a record $105 billion in two weeks, and the USD’s ability to maintain its value even in the short-term has once again been called into question. All this and more just below, in the Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. Ethereum’s Shapella Upgrade Unlocks Staked Ether, Over 860K ETH Poised for Withdrawal, Price Surges 6% On Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Ethereum’s Shapella upgrade was successfully implemented, enabling validators to withdraw staked ether. Data reveals that more than 860,000 ether is poised for unlocking, and 77,000 ether is expected to be withdrawn on Thursday. Ether’s price has experienced a surge, rising 6% against the U.S. dollar within the past 24 hours. Read More Economist Harry Dent Expects Bigge...

Prosecutors investigating failed blockchain firm Terraform Labs have found out that its Singapore office sent millions of U.S. dollars to lawyers just before the crash of its cryptocurrencies. According to Korean media, the transfers suggest that co-founder Do Kwon was aware of the imminent collapse. Terraform Labs Transferred Large Amounts of Money to South Korean Law Firm Prior to Crash South Korean prosecutors working on the fraud case against Terraform Labs co-founder and CEO Do Kwon have revealed that the company has paid a total of 9 billion won (nearly $7 million) to Kim & Chang, the country’s leading law firm, national broadcaster KBS reported . Tracking financial flows from its Singapore headquarters, they were able to establish that the funds were sent in several transactions which started right before the collapse of Terraform’s digital currencies, stablecoin terrausd and cryptocurrency luna, in May of last year. Investigators from Seoul are cooperating with law enf...

Nigerian economic experts have said the country’s five-year-old currency swap agreement with China has not eased the pressure against the Nigerian currency. According to one expert, implementation of the swap arrangement is being held back by the size of the trade imbalance between Nigeria and China Easing Pressure on the Naira According to experts on the Nigerian economy, the country’s five-year-old currency swap agreement with China has failed to ease the pressure on the naira. Signed between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the agreement was also intended to reduce pressure on Nigeria’s external reserves and to ensure foreign exchange stability. However, since the signing of the swap arrangement in 2018, the Nigerian currency has depreciated versus the dollar from N305:$1 in 2018 to over N460:$1 in the first week of April 2023. Against the yuan, the Nigerian currency slid from the 2018 exchange rate of N48:CNY1 to N66.70:CNY1 on April 6, 2...