Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

A new report commissioned by the U.S. secret services unveiled what happened behind the attack launched by North Korean hackers against a South Korean crypto exchange. The case is about a breach on June 29, 2017, which exposed data tied to over 30,000 customers stemming from Bithumb. Hackers Threatened to ‘Destroy’ Data and Cryptos Stolen According to Maeil Kyungjae , the U.S. authorities found that North Korean hackers got access to personal data and funds from customers then demanded a ransom payment afterward. The blackmailers targeted the crypto exchange Bithumb by asking them for 20 billion won ($16 million). Moreover, threat actors are also accused of sending malicious code through fake job applications to Bithumb employees. It was done reportedly during a hiring season that the company had over that year. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) collaborated with the South Korean authorities in making the correspondent inquiries on the case. On the ransom note, hackers thr

Over the last twelve months wrapped or synthetic bitcoin projects have swelled a great deal. The digital token called wrapped bitcoin, for example, has 141,503 WBTC in circulation today, but the token called the Bitcoin BEP 2 (BTCB) has gathered some steam. Currently, there are 39,719 BTCB out in the wild today as the bitcoin-pegged token now has a larger market valuation than HBTC (27,906). Binance-Backed BTCB Token Jumps to 39.7K in Circulation On April 6, Ki Young Ju the CEO of the onchain data web portal Cryptoquant tweeted about an interesting transaction he had caught onchain. “Binance just sent 26k BTC to [the] BTCB reserve address. BTCB is a Bitcoin-pegged token on the Binance chain. The current circulating supply of BTCB is 39,719 BTC , and it seems this [will] increase soon. It might be a bullish signal for BNB ,” the Cryptoquant executive said. The token Bitcoin BEP 2 otherwise known as BTCB is a bitcoin-pegged token that is similar to competitors like WBTC, HBTC, REN

The Sacramento Kings, an American professional basketball team, will offer everyone in its organization the option of getting their salary paid in bitcoin. This includes all players, according to the NBA team’s chairman, Vivek Ranadivé. The Sacramento Kings to Offer Salaries in Bitcoin The Sacramento Kings team chairman Vivek Ranadivé reportedly said on Clubhouse on Monday that everyone in his organization could receive their salary in as much bitcoin as they want. A bitcoin enthusiast, Neil Jacobs, who was present at the Clubhouse meeting quoted Ranadivé as saying: I’m going to announce in the next few days that I’m going to offer everyone in the Kings organization, they can get paid as much of their salary in bitcoin as they want, including the players. The Sacramento Kings became the first NBA team to accept bitcoin as a payment option in the arena in January 2014 through Bitpay. In 2018, the team announced that it became the first professional sports team in the world to mi

Crypto lending firm Nexo is facing a class-action lawsuit filed by an XRP investor for “unlawfully” suspending the use of the cryptocurrency as collateral without giving notice to clients and subsequently liquidating the tokens. This happened following the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ripple and its executives. Nexo Sued for Suspension and Liquidation of XRP An XRP investor, Junhan Jeong, has filed a class-action lawsuit against Nexo Financial LLC, Nexo Financial Services Ltd., Nexo Services Ou, Nexo AG, and Nexo Capital Inc. (collectively referred to as Nexo). In the lawsuit filed on April 1, he alleges that Nexo unlawfully suspended the use of XRP as collateral without giving notice to clients and liquidating the tokens. Nexo lets customers use their cryptocurrencies as collateral to borrow cash. XRP was among the accepted cryptocurrencies until the U.S. SEC sued Ripple Labs and its two executives alleging that they raised over $1

Student Coin is a platform that allows users to easily design, create, and manage personal, corporate, NFT, and DeFi tokens. The launchpad for the project already raised over $28 million and the sale is going to end on 30th of April, 2021. What Is Student Coin The Student Coin project is an example of how blockchain technology, non-fungible tokens and decentralized finance could revolutionize the world in so many ways. It offers a crypto platform that allows users to easily design, create, and manage personal, start-up, NFT, and DeFi tokens. In addition to the token creation terminal the developers also created a supporting wallet and are working on an exchange where users can swap coins and tokens. The most groundbreaking idea behind Student Coin is to empower students to issue their own individual tokens that people can buy to invest in their education and thus finance the rising cost of tuition. In this case the investors will, in turn, gain a percentage of the future earnings

Playboy the American men’s lifestyle and entertainment magazine created by Hugh Hefner is joining the non-fungible token (NFT) craze. While the company used to mint Playboy collectible keys for fans to gain access to the mansion, Playboy now plans to offer collectibles in the cryptographic form. Playboy’s Chief Brand Officer: NFTs Present ‘an Enormous Business Opportunity’ Around 66 years ago Hugh Hefner’s magazine Playboy set the world ablaze with a new kind of entertainment that catered to men and open sexuality. The magazine was in print for decades, but these days most of Playboy’s content is produced online or for film. The magazine Playboy has a long history of publishing men’s lifestyle and entertainment. It seems that Playboy has noticed the hype associated with non-fungible token (NFT) assets and wants to join in on the fun. According to sources, the company is partnering with the NFT auction house Nifty Gateway, and plans to showcase new NFTs alongside original works p

The digital currency manager Grayscale Investments announced that the firm has updated its Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) in order to add the crypto asset chainlink to the fund. Chainlink is the popular blockchain oracle network and the token will replace XRP after Grayscale removed the digital currency from the GDLC. Chainlink Added to Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap Fund Following Grayscale’s recent announcement telling the public that it intends to transform the GBTC bitcoin trust into an exchange-traded fund (ETF), the organization revealed that chainlink (LINK) will be joining the Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) (OTCQX: GDLC). Last year, the GDLC contained the digital currency XRP , but Grayscale dropped the token off the roster after the recent Securities and Exchange Commission’s issues with Ripple Labs. In addition to chainlink (LINK), the GDLC fund contains bitcoin ( BTC ), ethereum ( ETH ), bitcoin cash ( BCH ), and litecoin ( LTC ). Each crypto asset has a different amount

The largest stablecoin by market capitalization will be the first to enter the ecosystem as the Kusama canary network adds support for tether before the eventual deployments to parachains. Tether Inclusion Complements Polkadot’s Efforts to Attract More Defi Applications With cryptocurrency once again on the ascent and the aggregated market capitalization nearing $2 trillion , tether ( USDT ) is increasingly playing an outsized role in many of the ecosystem’s activities. Since emerging as the stablecoin of choice for many participants and applications alike, Tether’s market capitalization has eclipsed $40 billion , underscoring its large footprint, which outstrips any competing stablecoins by a large margin. Now, as decentralized finance (defi) applications expand new horizons while hunting for more cost-effective and scalable platforms, support for USDT in the Polkadot ecosystem will grant the stablecoin new avenues for growth. A Partnership to Catalyze Adoption Polkad

While a great number of spot exchanges have seen consistent prices in a few select areas in the world, bitcoin is selling for a premium. That’s the case in South Korea right now as there’s a price gap, otherwise known as the ‘kimchi premium’ on domestic South Korean exchanges in comparison to foreign exchanges. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash See Premiums in South Korea Bitcoin prices on domestic South Korean crypto trading platforms are much higher than they are across a majority of exchanges worldwide. For instance, on Tuesday morning (EST) the price per bitcoin ( BTC ) has been coasting along at $58,500 per unit. However, in South Korea, BTC prices have a much larger premium than the rest of the world. At the time of publication, the price of BTC on Bithumb is 77,804,000 KRW or $69,423 per unit. That’s a premium of more than 18% higher than the global average. Exchange rates via the South Korean exchange Bithumb on April 6, 2021. Similarly, the South Korean exchange Kor

PRESS RELEASE. Leading Crypto comparison site, Cryptowisser have just announced their NFT marketplace list . The list details the current marketplaces that NFT Artists, collectors and traders can list, sell and buy non-fungible tokens on. With the recent hype and surge in the NFT space, different NFT niches are emerging and with those niches comes the need for somewhere to sell and buy them, enter NFT marketplaces. Market leaders emerge According to the report, there are currently thirty active NFT marketplaces selling digital art and collectibles, from CyrptoPunks to NBA highlight reels. Current industry leaders and first off the start line OpenSea , reported over $80 million in transactions in March 2021 alone. Their strongest competitors – Rarible were neck and neck till the new year with over $25 million in transactions in March 2021. The NBA have taken an active interest in the NFT space and partnered with Dapper labs ( responsible for Cryptokitties ) to capitalize on th

According to data analysis firm, CB Insights, about $2.6 billion was raised by some 129 blockchain-focused start-ups during the first quarter of 2021. This figure easily surpasses the $2.3 billion raised from a total of 341 deals that were seen in the whole of 2020. Large Capital Raising Rounds Dominate As noted by one report , the capital raised in this period provides further evidence that “venture capitalists are pouring money into cryptocurrency-related companies at the fastest clip in years.” However, the data also shows that this increase has largely been “fueled by several large rounds for startups including crypto lender Blockfi Inc, Dapper Labs and Blockchain.com.” In March, Blockfi revealed it has closed on a massive $350 million Series D funding which valued the company at $3 billion. Before that, Blockfi raised $50 million in August of 2020. Meanwhile, following this latest financing round, Blockfi has now raised about $450 million since its inception. Similarly, gam

PRESS RELEASE. PotCoin (Ᵽ) is migrating over from their legacy blockchain to Nexus (NXS). PotCoin has made Nexus their platform of choice, with the confidence that together they will best serve the growing cannabis industry. The recreational and medical cannabis market in North America already accounts for roughly $17.7 billion in 2021 and is forecast to reach 47.3 billion by 2027 [1] , an estimated 44% annual increase. As cannabis continues to be decriminalized and legalized around the world, the potential for economic growth is exponential. After much consideration, PotCoin recognized Nexus as being the best suited platform to support their ambitions in this rapidly growing industry. “With the huge growth predictions for the industry, we required a platform that could handle future transaction volume. A scalable architecture, DApp development through APIs, the replacement of static private keys with One-Time Signatures (OTS), and use of leading post quantum cryptography were all d

The string of dark web gangs being cracked down by law enforcement is still alive across the world. Recently, the British authorities dismantled an unnamed dark web band known for selling ecstasy and gathering millions of dollars worth of crypto. Gang Sold Ecstasy, Amphetamine, and Diazepam in Several Darknet Forums According to The Independent , the National Crime Agency (NCA) deployed an operation that targeted several houses in North East England, specifically in the metropolitan borough of South Tyneside. Authorities were concerned and raised red flags last year after intercepting large shipments of ecstasy. All parcels had as final destinations like the United States, Israel, Norway, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and even the UK, said the NCA. Also, law enforcement traced encrypted messages exchanged between suspects, who allegedly talked about illegal transactions with drugs and money laundering via cryptocurrency trading. The NCA seized 90 kg of ecstasy, 134 kg of ampheta

Bitcoin futures open interest on Monday has crossed $23 billion according to data recorded on April 5. The crypto asset exchange Binance has taken the lead as far as open interest in bitcoin futures is concerned with a massive $10.5 billion in open interest. Binance Captures the Bitcoin Futures Lead Not too long ago, Bitcoin.com’s newsdesk reported on CME Group capturing the lead as far as open interest in bitcoin futures. Today, that’s no longer the case, as Binance has jumped ahead of the pack as far as delivering futures derivatives products for BTC . Skew.com analytics indicates that Binance is ahead of Bybit, Okex, CME, Huobi, FTX, Deribit, Bitmex, Kraken, Bakkt, and Coinflex respectively. Binance, Huobi, Okex, and Bybit are also leaders when it comes to BTC futures daily volumes. Coingecko data is a touch different and shows bitcoin futures 24-hour total volumes at around $22,984,388,835 on Monday. Stats show Binance has $10.5 billion in open interest and $47 billion in 2

Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, says he will only buy “clean” bitcoins that are mined sustainably in countries that use clean energy. He says institutional investors are concerned about where bitcoins are mined and will not buy “blood coins” from China. Clean Bitcoins vs. ‘Blood Coins’ Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary talked about an emerging challenge with bitcoin investing for institutional investors and clean energy in an interview with CNBC on Monday. “What’s really emerging as a bit of an issue” regarding bitcoin investing for institutions concerns where the coins are mined, he began. “We have compliance on large institutions. We have covenants around how assets are made, whether carbon is burned, whether human rights are involved, whether it’s made in China,” he described, elaborating: All these issues … have now come to the fore on bitcoin. Institutions will not buy coin mined in China, coin mined using coal to burn for electricity, coin mined in countries with sanctions on

JP Morgan says that bitcoin’s volatility has decreased in recent weeks, making the cryptocurrency more appealing to institutional investors. The investment bank has also revised its bitcoin price target to $130,000. Increased Institutional Adoption, New Price Prediction for Bitcoin JPMorgan said last week that bitcoin’s price volatility has been declining in recent weeks, noting that this has made the cryptocurrency more appealing to institutional investors seeking low-correlation assets to diversify their investment portfolios. Bitcoin’s high volatility has been one of the biggest barriers to BTC adoption by institutions, JPMorgan explained, adding that it now sees signs that the cryptocurrency’s volatility is normalizing. “The recent change in the correlation structure of bitcoin relative to traditional asset classes” will likely increase the institutional adoption of bitcoin, JPMorgan elaborated. Based on the current gold price of $1,700 per troy ounce, the bank says, “Mechani