Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The U.S. deputy secretary of the Treasury has revealed that the Treasury Department has asked Congress for more tools and authorities “to go after illicit actors in the digital asset space.” Moreover, he stressed: “We need to update our illicit finance authorities to match the challenges we face today, including those presented by the evolving digital asset ecosystem.” Treasury Seeks More Powers in Digital Asset Space Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo outlined the Treasury’s key priorities in addressing illicit actors within the cryptocurrency space at this year’s Blockchain Association’s Policy Summit on Wednesday. “We are calling on Congress to create a secondary sanction regime that will not only cut off a firm from the U.S. financial system but will also expose any firm that continues to do business with the sanctioned entity to being cut off from the U.S. financial system,” he revealed. “This is a significant tool we do not request lightly. But we need to do every...

Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, has held another meeting with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) application. The firm has proposed a “revised in-kind” model for its spot bitcoin ETF that it believes will “resolve” the SEC’s concerns. The regulator has reportedly indicated that it prefers spot bitcoin ETFs to use the cash creation method. Revised In-Kind Model for Spot Bitcoin ETF Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, held another meeting with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Division of Trading and Markets this week regarding its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) application. According to a memorandum dated Nov. 28 posted on the SEC’s website, the two parties discussed “Nasdaq Stock Market LLC’s proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust.” The asset management firm explained: “During our 11/20 meeting with Trading & Markets staff...

Microstrategy has expanded its bitcoin holdings with the acquisition of 16,130 more bitcoins. With this latest purchase, the Nasdaq-listed software intelligence firm is now hoding 174,530 bitcoins, acquired for around $5.28 billion. Since adopting its bitcoin strategy, Microstrategy’s stock has outperformed major asset classes and indices. Microstrategy’s Bitcoin Treasury Rises to 174,530 Coins Microstrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) has disclosed its most recent acquisition of bitcoin. The firm’s chairman and former CEO, Michael Saylor, shared on social media platform X Thursday: Microstrategy has acquired an additional 16,130 BTC for ~$593.3 million at an average price of $36,785 per bitcoin. As of 11/29/23, Microstrategy now hodls 174,530 $ BTC acquired for ~$5.28 billion at an average price of $30,252 per bitcoin. According to the company’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the additional coins were acquired in cash during the period between Nov. 1 and N...

The Australia-based and Nasdaq-listed Iris Energy recently announced the acquisition of 1.3 exahash per second (EH/s) capacity in Bitmain’s latest Antminer T21 models. This purchase boosts Iris Energy’s proprietary mining capacity to a notable 8.3 EH/s. Iris Energy Secures 1.3 EH/s in Latest Bitmain Deal Iris Energy (Nasdaq: IREN ) announced on Thursday its procurement of 7,000 next-generation T21 bitcoin ( BTC ) miners from Bitmain Technologies. The deal, amounting to roughly $18.6 million, translates to a cost of $14 per terahash. Bitmain has agreed to postpone 20% of this sum until May 30, 2024, while Iris Energy plans to settle the balance through structured payments. At the end of October, Bitmain introduced the T21 series, an air-cooled unit boasting up to 190 terahash per second (TH/s) capacity and a 19 joules per terahash (J/T) efficiency rating. Iris Energy highlighted that these T21 units’ enhanced efficiency ratio will elevate their entire fleet’s performance from 29.5...