Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

With the Bitcoin Cash network’s May 15 Cashtokens upgrade now three months behind us, bustling development in non-custodial wallets, marketplaces, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), games, and other applications continues unabated. Paytaca wallet CEO Joemar Taganna notes that “improvements in consensus building” and “new and powerful upgrades to the protocol” showcase several parties “working together to make the peer-to-peer cash revolution happen.” Little Green Monsters, Gurus, Cats, and Prediction Markets After the May 15, 2023 Bitcoin Cash upgrade , which effectively enables smart contracts onchain for BCH by utilizing unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs), much development has been ongoing on the network surrounding Cashtokens, a feature that has inspired the creation of numerous non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and marketplaces like tapswap.cash . NFT sales and trading activity are still modest compared to other networks, with marketplaces in their nascent stages, and decentralized exchan...

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin “will continue to advance the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership,” according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two leaders are set to participate in next week’s BRICS summit. Xi and Putin Advancing China-Russia Cooperation Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are advancing the strategic partnership between China and Russia. Putin is scheduled to visit China in October. “The presidents of China and Russia have maintained strategic communication in various ways,” Wang explained. “Their discussions cover a rich and comprehensive range of topics. High-level exchanges have proceeded in an orderly manner with extensive exchange of views on bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual interest.” The Chinese official emphasized: The two sides will continue to advance the China-Russia compr...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s former head of internet enforcement has outlined potential changes in the U.S. and at the SEC that could have positive impacts on the crypto industry, including the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The changes could include a Republican president being elected, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler resigning, and “crypto mom” Hester Peirce being appointed as the acting SEC Chair. Possible Changes at SEC That Could Benefit Crypto Industry Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official John Reed Stark highlighted potential changes that could benefit the crypto industry, including the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), in a lengthy tweet on Sunday. Stark is currently president of cybersecurity firm John Reed Stark Consulting. He founded and served as chief of the SEC Office of Internet Enforcement for 11 years. He was also an SEC enforcement attorney for 15 years. A number of companies in the U....

Bank of America has provided its analysis of Paypal’s U.S. dollar stablecoin and the Fednow payments system. The bank does not expect the widespread adoption of PYUSD to occur in the near future, noting that the introduction of Paypal’s stablecoin will not lead to “accelerated regulatory clarity.” Nonetheless, Bank of America believes that stablecoins have the potential to provide a more efficient payment solution. Bank of America on Paypal’s US Dollar Stablecoin Bank of America published a Global Digital Asset Strategy report last week covering its view on Paypal’s U.S. dollar stablecoin and the Fednow payments system. The report was written by Alkesh Shah, head of global crypto and digital assets strategy at Bank of America Global Research, and Andrew Moss, the bank’s global digital asset strategist. Paypal (Nasdaq: PYPL) is launching a U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin, called Paypal USD (PYUSD), which will be available to U.S.-based Paypal customers. According to the payment...

U.S. federal prosecutors have unveiled court documents indicating that ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is entangled in a web of allegations, with illegal political campaign financing being a significant charge. In light of these allegations against SBF, Ryan Salame, FTX Digital Markets’ former co-CEO, has expressed his intent to plead the Fifth if summoned, thus becoming “unavailable as a witness.” Former FTX Co-CEO Ryan Salame to Plead the Fifth Merely a week prior, insiders hinted at Ryan Salame , ex-co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, navigating a plea agreement. These sources claimed that part of the deal might involve Salame parting with his private jet. Yet, with the re-arrest of SBF and new campaign financing allegations surfacing, Salame’s potential contribution to the case seems limited. The authorities have pushed for the inclusion of specific evidence during the trial, while sidelining other bits presented by SBF’s defense. The evidence in question encompasses SBF’s supp...

The Mbridge project, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) international payment system, is starting to worry observers. Such a system, when completed, could ostensibly allow the digital yuan to reach more countries in trade settlements, chipping away at the world dominance of the U.S. dollar and bypassing established sanctions systems. Mbridge Project Worries Observers The Mbridge project, a structure that would leverage central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to move value in seconds, has American and European observers worried about the possible implications of its completion and implementation. While Mbridge is still in its construction and prototyping stages, Bloomberg reported it might have a minimum working product ready by year-end, according to four people with knowledge of the subject. The system, which is being built with the participation of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), would allow the digital yuan to further its reach as a trade settlement currency a...

Goldman Sachs has predicted that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in the second quarter of next year. The global investment bank’s economists also expect the Fed officials to forego hiking rates at their upcoming meeting. “We are penciling in 25 basis points of cuts per quarter but are uncertain about the pace,” Goldman said. Goldman Sachs’ Interest Rate Cut Prediction Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has predicted that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in Q2 next year. Goldman economists, including Jan Hatzius and David Mericle, detailed in a note Sunday: The cuts in our forecast are driven by this desire to normalize the funds rate from a restrictive level once inflation is closer to target, not by a recession. “Normalization is not a particularly urgent motivation for cutting, and for that reason, we also see a significant risk that the FOMC will instead hold steady,” the economists described. They noted: We are penciling in 25 b...