Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Bitcoin miners saw a slight increase in mining difficulty on August 9, 2023, at block height 802,368, as the difficulty rose 0.12% from 52.32 trillion to 52.39 trillion. Over the last 2,016 blocks, miners recorded an average hashrate of about 376.5 exahash per second (EH/s). Miners Experience a Slight Increase in Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Bitcoin’s mining difficulty became a bit more challenging on August 9, at block height 802,368. At that time, the network’s mining difficulty rose 0.12% after a 2.94% decrease two weeks earlier at block height 800,352 . The network’s difficulty is now 52.39 trillion , requiring miners to perform a great amount of computational work to find a valid hash. The higher the difficulty, the more computational power and energy is needed to mine new blocks successfully. Since the first change at block height 2,016, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty has changed 397 times. Currently, on Aug. 9, 2023, the network’s hashrate is at 380.33 EH/s. The leading mining p...

Binance has become a fully licensed cryptocurrency exchange in El Salvador, having obtained two licenses: a Bitcoin Services Provider license (BSP) and a Digital Assets Services Provider license (DASP). According to the company, Binance now has approvals and registrations in 18 markets worldwide. Binance Now Fully Licensed in El Salvador Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced Tuesday that it has obtained two crypto licenses in El Salvador. Binance stated: It has become the first fully licensed crypto exchange in El Salvador after being granted both Bitcoin Services Provider license (BSP) … and the first non-provisional Digital Assets Services Provider license (DASP). The BSP license was granted by the Salvadoran Central Reserve Bank (Banco Central de Reserva), and the DASP license was granted by the National Commission of Digital Assets (Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales), Binance detailed. With the latest licenses in El Salvador, Binance claimed that it “has approvals ...

Swiss investment banking giant UBS expects the U.S. dollar’s reign to live on. “We firmly believe we will be living in a U.S. dollar-centric world for years to come,” the bank’s executive said, adding that there will be some room for competitors. UBS on US Dollar’s Dominance Switzerland-headquartered investment bank UBS has argued that the U.S. dollar will retain its dominance for years to come. Alejo Czerwonko, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Emerging Markets Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, said on Monday that despite the recent Fitch Ratings’ downgrade : We firmly believe we will be living in a U.S. dollar-centric world for years to come. He provided three reasons to support his argument. Firstly, “global currency regimes are sticky,” the UBS chief investment officer stated. Noting that the U.S. dollar dominates financial markets and international trade, he explained: “Changes in the world’s dominant currency have historically taken a long time to mate...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sent a letter to District Judge Analisa Torres seeking permission to file an interlocutory appeal in the SEC v. Ripple case over XRP . In addition, the securities regulator’s motion will “seek to stay the district court proceedings.” SEC Seeks to Appeal Ruling in Ripple- XRP Case The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a letter to District Judge Analisa Torres on Wednesday seeking permission to file an interlocutory appeal to her judgment in the SEC v. Ripple case over XRP . An appeal is described as interlocutory when it is made before all claims are resolved to all parties. The letter states: Specifically, the SEC seeks to certify the court’s holding that Defendants’ ‘Programmatic’ offers and sales to XRP buyers over crypto asset trading platforms and Ripple’s ‘Other Distributions’ in exchange for labor and services did not involve the offer or sale of securities under SEC v. W.J. Howey Co., 328 U.S. 293 (...

The Federal Reserve has established a new supervisory program to increase oversight of crypto activities by the banks it regulates. The U.S. central bank also released additional guidelines for banks to follow before engaging in the issuance, possession, or transactions involving U.S. dollar stablecoins. Fed Steps up Crypto Oversight The Federal Reserve announced the establishment of the Novel Activities Supervision Program on Tuesday to increase oversight of novel activities by the financial institutions under its supervision. The Fed explained: The program will focus on novel activities related to crypto-assets, distributed ledger technology (DLT), and complex, technology-driven partnerships with nonbanks to deliver financial services to customers. Moreover, the central bank stressed that the program “will be risk-focused and complement existing supervisory processes.” On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve Board also released guidelines mandating banks to adhere to certain requir...

Officials in law enforcement from Lethbridge, situated in the province of Alberta, Canada, have unveiled that the Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) is now utilizing Chainalysis blockchain forensics software. According to local reports, LPS has acquired the capacity to trace cryptocurrency transactions, enabling them to ascertain the locations where the funds have been deposited. Lethbridge Police Service Embraces Blockchain Surveillance Technology Police in Lethbridge, Canada have told the press that investigators at the station utilize Chainalysis’ Reactor blockchain surveillance software. The Lethbridge Herald discussed the situation with sergeant Kevin Talbot of the Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) Economic Crimes Unit. Talbot has been trained in blockchain analysis, which is considered a significant advancement for a smaller force like the LPS, the report said. The report notes that technology allows the LPS to trace transactions, identify suspects, and determine where funds have...