Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

A covert cryptocurrency mining operation, suspected of electricity theft, was uncovered in a Marina Square shophouse in Miri, Malaysia. Representatives from the Sarawak police and Sarawak Energy plant revealed that the successful operation was made possible by a tip-off from the public. Malaysia’s Sarawak Energy and Police Uncover Illegal Crypto Mining Camp in Miri The state utility company, Sarawak Energy, and the local police department announced the dismantling of an alleged unauthorized crypto mining camp set up in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia. Authorities captured roughly 34 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miners and their associated connections. “All the equipment used for the mining operation, including the direct tapping cables and servers, were seized. A police report has been lodged and an investigation is currently underway,” Sarawak Energy stated. Compared to other global regions, electricity rates in Malaysia are relatively low. As such, Sarawak Energy repo...

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue, Argentina is likely to settle part of a payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) using the Chinese yuan, Bolivia is already making payments using the Chinese yuan, and Sazmining announced the launch of mining operations in Paraguay. Argentina to Complete IMF Payments With Chinese Yuan The government of Argentina will complete part of a disbursement to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) using the Chinese yuan. According to sources linked to Economy Minister Sergio Massa, the $3.4 billion that must be settled this July will be made using “CAF funds, with yuan, and other sources of financing.” The Argentine government recently obtained a “bridge loan” from the CAF (the Latam Development Bank) of $1 billion, effectively getting indebted to pay for its outstanding debt with the IMF. If completed, this would not be the first time that Argenti...

Two masterminds of the Telecoin cryptocurrency scam will each serve more than six years in jail after a court in the United Kingdom found them guilty of fraud. According to Lee Parish, the detective chief inspector, the duo used the allure of crypto investment to dupe prospective investors. Fraudulent Sale of Shares A court in the United Kingdom has convicted and jailed masterminds of the Telecoin cryptocurrency scam Ross Jay and Michael Freckleton to more than six years in prison each. In sentencing the duo, the Southwark Crown Court said Jay and Freckleton had orchestrated a fraudulent sale of shares and used the proceeds for personal gain. According to a statement on the City of London Police website, the duo perpetrated the scam between 2015 and 2017. During this period, the two scammers successfully convinced their victims to deposit a little over $650,000 into a bank account which they controlled via their company Digi Ex. Commenting on how Jay and Freckleton were able to d...

Kyrgyzstan intends to build a new facility for cryptocurrency mining at one of the country’s hydroelectric stations. The project aims to minimize the power plant’s electricity losses by utilizing its full generating capacity that currently exceeds that of the transmission network. Kyrgyzstan to Power Crypto Mining Hardware With Surplus Green Energy President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, told local media this week he had approved the construction of a mining farm digital assets with a planned capacity of up to 30 MW at the site of the country’s Kambar-Ata hydroelectric power plant (HPP). The building of the coin mining facility will require $20 million and the funds will be provided by an investor, Kyrgyzstan’s head of state added, speaking to the Kabar news agency. All processes will be automated and controlled by power engineers, Japarov noted. The president also stated that the Kambar-Ata HPP has been in operation since 2010. It’s capable of producing 120 MW of electricity but...

Representatives Gus Bilirakis and Jan Schakowsky, part of the House Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee, have sent a letter to Apple requiring information and documents regarding Apple’s iOS Appstore policies on blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and distributed ledger technologies. The representatives believe Apple’s policies might “limit innovation and American technology leadership” in these areas. Bilirakis and Schakowsky Inquire About Apple’s Blockchain Policies Representatives Gus Bilirakis and Jan Schakowsky have sent a letter to Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, requiring information about the rules on the iOS App Store regarding emergent technologies such as blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other distributed ledger technologies. In the letter , they express their concern about Apple’s walled garden policies’ effect on the development of apps using these tools, which might hurt innovation from American companies in this area. Furthermore, they also state Apple...