Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Artificial intelligence (AI) research lab Openai announced it’s launching an Android version of its Chatgpt chatbot. The application, which will be available for download next week, comes after recent updates of Google’s Bard and a report revealing that Apple is working on its own chatbot service. Android Users to Have Chatgpt in Their Pockets, Openai Says Microsoft-funded AI developer Openai is releasing an Android app for its chatbot powered by artificial intelligence technology, Chatgpt. It will be rolling out to users next week, the company said, but can be pre-ordered in the Google Play Store since Friday. Announcing ChatGPT for Android! The app will be rolling out to users next week, and you can pre-order in the Google Play Store starting today: https://t.co/NfBDYZR5GI — OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 21, 2023 With the application, people with Android phones will have Chatgpt in their pockets, the company added, promising them its latest advancements. The app will be free and all...

China’s central bank governor has revealed that transactions using the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) reached 1.8 trillion yuan ($250 billion) at the end of June. In addition, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) official stated that digital yuan in circulation amounted to 16.5 billion yuan. Latest Digital Yuan Stats People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Yi Gang disclosed the latest statistics on China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) on Wednesday at a lecture organized by Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The Chinese central banker revealed that transactions utilizing China’s central bank digital currency, also called e-CNY, reached 1.8 trillion yuan ($250 billion) at the end of June. By comparison, approximately 100 billion in digital yuan transactions were recorded in August last year. Yi also revealed that China’s central bank digital currency in circulation amounted to 16.5 billion yuan at the end of June. Moreover, he st...

The heavily anticipated BRICS currency is not on the agenda to be discussed at the economic bloc’s upcoming leaders’ summit, according to South Africa’s diplomat in charge of BRICS relations. He clarified that the BRICS members will focus on de-dollarization and promoting the use of national currencies in international trade instead of the U.S. dollar. BRICS to Focus on Reducing Dollar Reliance The topic of a common BRICS currency is not on the agenda to be discussed at the economic group’s upcoming leaders’ summit, South Africa’s diplomat in charge of BRICS relations, Anil Sooklal, reportedly said Thursday. South Africa, being the current chair of the BRICS group, will be hosting the summit in Johannesburg on Aug. 22-24. Sooklal explained that the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) will discuss using national currencies and reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar. He was quoted by Reuters as saying: There’s never been talk of a BRICS currency, it’s not o...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has told a federal court that some portions of the Ripple ruling regarding XRP “were wrongly decided.” The regulator has asked the court to ignore parts of the ruling, noting that “SEC staff is considering the various available avenues for further review and intends to recommend that the SEC seek such review.” SEC Disagrees With Ripple Ruling on Retail Investors The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated in a new filing for its lawsuit against Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon that some decisions in the court ruling on the SEC v. Ripple case regarding XRP were wrong. While noting that the Ripple ruling regarding institutional investors supports the SEC’s claims, the securities watchdog stated: “However, with respect to the programmatic and other sales, the SEC respectfully avers that Ripple conflicts with and adds baseless requirements to Howey and its progeny.” The regulator added: Respectfully, those por...

The Nigerian social payments platform Bundle said on July 20 it was shutting down its crypto exchange services business and will now focus on its peer-to-peer platform known as Cashlink. Bundle said users must withdraw or convert their digital assets to the stablecoin tether on or before Aug. 30. Bundle Says Transition Period Is to Last 60 Days The Nigerian social payments platform, Bundle, said on July 20 that it was ceasing operations of its crypto exchange services and will now focus on the peer-to-peer platform known as Cashlink. In a statement, Bundle said the decision to shut down exchange services follows “shareholders’ decision to restructure the business to focus on Cashlink.” Founded by Yele Bademosi, Bundle started operations in 2020 and at the time of the announcement the platform had 50,000 monthly active users and a monthly volume of $50 million. Cashlink, on the other hand, is reported to have recorded over 3 million transactions in under two years. According to a ...

According to Enrico Rubboli, the CEO of Mintlayer, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can potentially act as “a gateway to crypto” for users who are likely to eventually show greater interest in the underlying asset. Rubboli argued that while bitcoin maximalists may view Blackrock or any other traditional financial institutions’ ETFs as an affront to the ideals of decentralization, such ETFs could yet prove to be one of the most effective ways of hastening the adoption of cryptocurrencies. The Benefits of Tokenization Rubboli , whose platform Mintlayer enables the building of decentralized finance ecosystems on the Bitcoin blockchain, told Bitcoin.com News that he concurred with Blackrock’s assertion that its bitcoin ETF is likely to have a “monumental” impact on the financial ecosystem. To support this view, the CEO highlighted how the approval of the ETF is likely to encourage traditional financial institutions to invest in “protocols that enable tokenization to happen.” When t...