Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

National Australia Bank (NAB) has joined other major lenders in the country in blocking payments to some cryptocurrency exchanges. The banking institution said it’s introducing new customer protections regarding financial transactions with certain scam-related crypto platforms. Australia’s NAB Bank Intervenes in $184 Million Worth of Payments That Raised Scam Concerns National Australia Bank, one of the four largest Australian banks, is restricting transfers to certain high-risk crypto exchanges. On Monday, the lender announced it’s introducing new blocks on digital asset platforms where scams are more prevalent. Between March and July of this year, NAB customers abandoned payments for more than $270 million Australian dollars (almost $184 million) after receiving scam alerts from the bank. Nearly half of scam funds reported to the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange in a recent 30-day period were linked to cryptocurrencies, the bank noted. Chris Sheehan, NAB executive for group

An economist with the Heritage Foundation has warned about the potential calamity of the U.S. dollar losing its reserve currency status. He stressed that “The Biden administration has taken so many actions to dethrone King Dollar that it would be difficult to rank them all by their destructiveness.” Economist Warns Biden Administration’s Actions Threaten U.S. Dollar’s Reserve Currency Status Heritage Foundation economist and research fellow E. J. Antoni sounded the alarm on the potential calamity of the U.S. dollar losing its reserve currency status in an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation, published Sunday. “The Biden administration has taken so many actions to dethrone King Dollar that it would be difficult to rank them all by their destructiveness,” the economist stated, warning: Losing reserve currency status … would mean 70 years of deficits flooding back to the U.S., all competing with existing dollars held domestically to buy goods and services. That’s a hyper

U.S. lawmakers have called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to drop its regulatory assault on the crypto industry following the landmark ruling on the SEC v. Ripple case regarding XRP . “The SEC has chosen to communicate and regulate not by clear rule or guidance but by enforcement actions, often politically timed,” one congressman described. Congressmen Urge SEC to Stop Regulating Crypto by Enforcement U.S. Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY) wrote a letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler on Tuesday regarding how the SEC should regulate crypto following the landmark ruling on the SEC v. Ripple case regarding XRP . “I’m writing to inquire if the SEC intends to come to terms with the folly of the Commission’s crusade against crypto assets in light of the latest decision by Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York,” he began. “Needless to say, regulation by enforcement had a dreadful day in court.” The lawmaker c

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler says the SEC could benefit from making greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) in several areas, including enforcement and market surveillance. However, he also raised a number of concerns associated with AI, emphasizing that the regulator is currently developing rules to address AI-related challenges. Gary Gensler on AI Benefits and Challenges U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler discussed AI and the challenges surrounding it, including the impact on financial stability, in his remarks before the National Press Club on Monday. “Today’s AI-based models provide an increasing ability to make predictions about each of us as individuals,” he described. “Models have been developed to assist in making decisions about who gets jobs, loans, credit, entry to schools, and healthcare, to name a few. This raises a host of issues that are not necessarily new to AI but are accentuated by it.” Noting

Fintech company Wallex.US has launched a new non-custodial crypto and defi wallet app. The app offers a secure and encrypted way to store, send, and receive more than 150 cryptocurrencies. It also provides real-time chart monitoring and analysis capabilities, as well as easy Pay & Get Paid function. The app is designed to be safe, free, and give users full control over their crypto assets. Wallex Opens New Gateway for Web3 Users Wallex.US , a global fintech company, has recently launched a new non-custodial crypto and defi wallet app that is set to revolutionize the way users store, send, and receive cryptocurrencies. The app offers a user-friendly, innovative, and secure solution for managing digital assets, giving users the freedom to control their own money. The wallet is already available for iOS on Apple’s App Store and for Android devices on Google Play . One of the key features of the Wallex.US app is its non-custodial nature. This means that users hold their own keys a

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume traded, has announced it has completed the integration of the Lightning Network, a BTC scaling layer, on its platform. Now users can execute bitcoin deposits and withdrawals using the network, taking advantage of lower fees. Binance Completes Integration of Lightning Network Binance recently announced the completion of its integration of Lightning Network, a scaling layer for the Bitcoin blockchain. The exchange informed about these new capabilities on July 17, explaining that users can now deposit and withdraw bitcoin from Binance using this new option. The Lightning Network allows users to accelerate the speed of their transactions to and from the exchange, given that there is no need for waiting for transactions as when using Bitcoin in its base layer. Also, the fees for Lightning Network transactions are cheaper than Layer 1-based transactions. This difference is especially notable in times of high congestion on the BTC

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue, the Argentine central bank sheds yuan for dollars as its reserves bleed, the Central Bank of Brazil would be able to manipulate balances and block digital real accounts, and the first bitcoin futures contract goes live in Argentina. Argentine Central Bank Sheds Chinese Yuan as Its Reserves Bleed The Central Bank of Argentina is leveraging its Chinese yuan stash to purchase dollars and manage its internal operations as its reserve level dwindles. The bank is making payments to importers using part of the Chinese swap line that government officials extended to $10 billion in June. Local newspaper La Nacion reported that the bank lost $170 million on July 10 and July 11 due to the payments the republic had to disburse to importers and the purchase of dollars. The gross reserves of the central bank bled out $580 million last week, reaching $26 billion