Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Crypto exchange Binance considers exiting Russia amid increased scrutiny over its services for users in the sanctioned nation. The news of the potential move comes after the exchange delisted several sanctioned Russian banks from its peer-to-peer (P2P) platform and restricted fiat payment options for Russian traders. Full Russia Exit Is on the Table, Binance Representative Says The world’s leading exchange for digital assets, , is currently reevaluating its Russian business, the Wall Street Journal reported . The process includes the possibility of a full withdrawal from what was an important market for the crypto giant. A spokesperson for the company told the publication: All options are on the table, including a full exit. The statement comes after a WSJ article suggested last week that Binance is facing legal risks over allegedly helping Russians move money abroad despite the platform claiming it has been abiding by Westerns sanctions rules since last year. Following the pu...

The Shiba Inu development team has announced that Shibarium is now fully functional after recent challenges where funds became inaccessible in the bridge. Shiba Inu’s Shytoshi Kusama thanked Sandeep Nailwal, the co-founder of Polygon Labs, who stepped in with crucial resources to address the issue. Shibarium Back Online After Resolving Bridge Glitch, Team Thanks Polygon Co-Founder Two weeks prior, Shibarium had faced difficulties with over $2 million in cryptocurrency deposits trapped in its bridge. However, on August 28, an update was shared via a blog post confirming that Shibarium’s layer two (L2) was back in action. It highlighted that Sandeep Nailwal and the Polygon team were instrumental in resolving the situation. “Quickly after the incident began, I called Sandeep from Polygon directly and without a second thought, he helped provide additional resources to ensure a perfect outcome to the situation,” remarked Shiba Inu’s Shytoshi Kusama. The blog further specified that tr...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s former head of Internet enforcement suspects that the SEC’s “secret” filing in the Binance case is a “rare” tactic that could relate to the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation against the crypto exchange. He stressed that the securities regulator’s “seal-seeking filing is unusual, odd, and uncommon,” emphasizing that the move “cannot be overstated.” SEC Takes ‘Rare’ Move in Binance Case Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official John Reed Stark shared his perspective Tuesday regarding what he called a “secret” SEC filing in its litigation against cryptocurrency exchange Binance in a lengthy post on social media platform X. 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. The former SEC official explained that the securities watchdog filed ...

Members of the U.S. Congress have expressed concerns about the possible problems that implementing the newly proposed crypto tax reporting requirements could create in the entire industry. Patrick McHenry, Cynthia Lummis, and others reacted differently to the potential effects of these proposals on decentralized finance platforms and stablecoins. U.S. Congress Members Concerned Over New Tax Obligations for Defi Exchanges and Stablecoins Several U.S. Congress members have expressed concerns over the newly proposed crypto-related tax reporting rule revealed recently by the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and its possible effect on several elements of the cryptocurrency industry. In a recent post on social media, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that while she was encouraged by the exclusion of significant parts of the crypto machinery, including miners, stakers, validators, and wallet providers, others were still included in the proposal. Lummis,...

Amid swirling speculations about the third biggest bitcoin wallet, chatter has now emerged linking the fifth largest BTC wallet to the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, former owner of the Wagner private military company (PMC). However, a straightforward blockchain explorer search clearly indicates the wallet bears a label identifying it as property of the U.S. government. Nevertheless, this hasn’t deterred the media and netizens from propagating unfounded theories. Misguided Claims Connect FBI-Owned Bitcoin Wallet to Russian Magnate Prigozhin Recently, there was buzz about the third biggest bitcoin ( BTC ) wallet. Now, attention has shifted to the fifth-largest BTC wallet, with many making audacious claims regarding its ownership. Cryptocurrency news outlets , along with a flurry of social media posts on platforms like X and Facebook, are asserting that this wallet was owned by the late Yevgeny Prigozhin. Rumors swirled about Prigozhin, the former PMC head, and his links to crypto, espec...

Bitcoin returned to the red on Tuesday, as markets began to anticipate the upcoming consumer confidence report in the United States. The Conference Board index is expected to fall to a reading of 116 in August, from 117 the month prior. Ethereum was also marginally lower. Bitcoin Bitcoin slipped slightly during Tuesday’s session, as markets began to anticipate the upcoming consumer confidence report from the United States. BTC /USD dropped to an intraday low of $25,914.93 earlier in today’s session, following a peak of $26,406.15 on Monday. The decline sees bitcoin remain in consolidation, however some traders are optimistic about this ending as the week progresses. Looking at the chart, one of the reasons for this long stretch of price uncertainty is the relative strength index (RSI) failing to surge past resistance. In this case, the aforementioned ceiling is at the 33.00 mark, which has remained intact for nearly two weeks. As of writing, the index is tracking at 30.72. Eth...

According to Louis Tsu, the CEO of Venom Foundation, governments that are seeking to introduce central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are not being driven by the fear that privately issued digital currencies may soon become the preferred method for cross-border and micropayments. Instead, some countries view CBDCs as a technology that could make their countries “more economically and financially efficient” and this ultimately improves their competitiveness. Regulated Digital Assets ‘a Requirement for Mass Adoption’ While stablecoins issued by private entities such as Tether are increasingly seen as the go-to digital currencies when moving funds across borders, Tsu told Bitcoin.com News that CBDCs may turn out to be a better option because they are underpinned by regulation. According to the CEO of Venom Foundation — a platform that aims to create a bridge between traditional finance and the Web3 world — such an attribute can be a key “requirement for mass adoption and harmonizatio...

Vietnam, the Philippines, and Brunei will join a QR payment system to settle cross-border payments using local currencies within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc. The network, already being used between Indonesia and Malaysia, aims to interconnect all ASEAN nations to reduce their dependence on the U.S. dollar. Vietnam, the Philippines, and Brunei to Join ASEAN Payments System Vietnam, the Philippines, and Brunei will join a payments initiative that aims to connect all countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, according to Perry Warjiyo, governor of the Central Bank of Indonesia. The payment system, which uses QR codes to simplify the settlement of cross-border payments, uses national currencies to reduce the bloc’s dependence on the U.S. dollar. Warjiyo detailed that Vietnam is currently in talks with the local industry to agree on a national QR system and is expected to join the system later this year, while the Philippines is or...