Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Ghanaian central bank said it will be hosting a 12-week hackathon where participants are expected to explore the e-cedi’s nine different use cases. At the end of the hackathon, the central bank will hold a conference where individuals with outstanding solutions are recognized. Addressing Ghana’s Financial Inclusion Challenges The Ghanaian central bank, also known as Bank of Ghana (BOG), recently announced the launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) hackathon. According to the bank, this event seeks to avail opportunities to fintech startups, developers and innovators to develop innovative solutions that explore various use cases of CBDC. https://t.co/bvOB6EsBoW #eCedi #hackathon #bankofghana pic.twitter.com/KOGqPwBrGT — Bank of Ghana (@thebankofghana) October 6, 2023 In a press release jointly issued with technology partner Emtech, the Ghanaian central bank said the hackathon will run for a period of 12 weeks. During this time, innovators are expected to come...

Veteran investor Jim Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund with billionaire investor George Soros, has reiterated his warning of the end of U.S. dollar dominance. “I know that the era of the U.S. dollar is coming to an end. No currency stayed on top forever,” he stressed, adding that the only currency with the potential to displace the USD as the world’s reserve currency is the Chinese yuan. Jim Rogers on End of U.S. Dollar Hegemony Veteran investor Jim Rogers discussed a variety of topics, including the end of the U.S. dollar dominance and alternative currencies, in an interview with Nomad Capitalist, published on Oct. 1. Rogers is George Soros’ former business partner who co-founded the Quantum Fund and Soros Fund Management. While admitting that he owns a lot of U.S. dollars, Rogers stressed: I know that the era of the U.S. dollar is coming to an end. No currency stayed on top forever — no more than 100-150 years, none in history. While reiterating that he “can see the era...

Economist Peter Schiff compared the attack on Israel to 9/11, calling it “the beginning of a bad situation.” He highlighted several factors that will weaken the U.S. economy, which he described as “already structurally weak.” The economist stressed: “The U.S. can’t even afford peace. It certainly can’t afford war.” Warning that Fed policies could “unleash run-a-way inflation, an implosion in the dollar, bonds, and the economy,” he cautioned: “Crisis is assured!” Peter Schiff Says ‘Crisis Is Assured’ Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff discussed a number of topics affecting the U.S. economy on social media platform X and in his podcast, live-streamed on Monday, including the potential economic ramifications of the war in the Middle East. Commenting on the attack on Israel, the economist described: “This is like September 11th for Israel.” He added: “What did America do as a result of 9/11? We didn’t just shrug it off, no. We had the ‘war on terror,’ we had all sorts of stuff that ha...

A new computing model, BitVM, aims to enhance Bitcoin’s smart contract capabilities without requiring changes to the blockchain’s consensus rules. The white paper, published on October 9, 2023, has drawn significant attention and its fair share of criticism. Can BitVM Set a New Precedent for Bitcoin’s Smart Contracts? BitVM was proposed in a recent white paper by blockchain programmer Robin Linus . It allows for the expression of Turing-complete Bitcoin contracts through fraud proofs and a challenge-response protocol between two parties. While some believe the model has limitations, others say it paves the way for more intricate Bitcoin transactions. BitVM operates with a prover making a claim that a program runs correctly for specific inputs and outputs. The verifier can challenge that assertion with a series of succinct fraud proofs, penalizing the prover if their claim is untrue. By encoding the program into a binary circuit and committing to it bit by bit in a Taproot addre...

In a riveting development, Caroline Ellison’s recent testimony revealed that Alameda Research is believed to have shelled out a whopping $150 million to Chinese officials to unlock accounts valued over $1 billion. The narrative thickens as the former co-CEO, Sam Trabucco, has seemingly vanished from public view after FTX’s downfall. FTX’s Downfall, Alameda’s Bribery Allegations, and the Big Question: Where’s Sam Trabucco? Although Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) isn’t facing charges of bribery, given the Bahamas’ intervention, federal prosecutors ensured the topic was front and center during Caroline Ellison ‘s Wednesday testimony. She recounted that in 2020, Chinese officials put a freeze on accounts totaling $1 billion. By November 2021, the team allegedly turned to David Ma, a colleague with purported “connections” in China, for guidance. Remarkably, Ma managed to thaw the funds. Court coverage was broadcast by Inner City Press reporter Matthew Russell Lee. But it wasn’t smooth sai...

The Nigerian central bank has disputed media reports suggesting its Sept. 11, 2023 document implies that its e-naira currency poses a threat to financial stability. The central bank said it felt compelled “to clarify the reports to ensure that misunderstandings are not fostered.” Book Gives an ‘In-Depth Understanding of CBDCs’ The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has refuted media reports that its central bank digital currency (CBDC) known as e-naira, poses a threat to financial stability. In a statement issued on Oct. 9, the bank suggested that the authors of the reports lacked an understanding of portions of the foreword in its recently published document. PRESS RELEASE: eNaira No Threat To Financial Stability pic.twitter.com/MYwxUoHvWe — Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank) October 9, 2023 The document — or “book” as the CBN calls it — is titled Economics of Digital Currencies: Book of Readings. In the foreword, the central bank characterizes the book as an attempt “to provide ...