Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Robinhood Markets Inc., the American financial services company headquartered in Menlo Park, California, has seen its initial public offering (IPO) delayed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to a report citing “people familiar with the matter” the SEC is questioning Robinhood’s cryptocurrency business. SEC Questions Robinhood’s Crypto Dealings, IPO Delayed Robinhood was supposed to be having an initial public offering this month but according to a report from Bloomberg, the listing has been slowed by the SEC. The report cites a few people familiar with the matter and they asked: “not to be identified because the matter is private.” However, they say that the U.S. regulator has questions concerning the cryptocurrency side of the business, as Robinhood also allows customers to purchase popular stocks. Since 2018, Robinhood has allowed customers to purchase and trade crypto assets like bitcoin ( BTC ), dogecoin (DOGE), and ethereum ( ETH ). The company c

The first Bitcoin ETF in Latin America made its debut yesterday on the Brazil Stock Exchange. Presented by QR Capital, a Brazilian blockchain investment firm, the ETF seeks to simplify Bitcoin exposure for institutions and companies. The ETF was approved by Brazilian regulators and is currently trading with the QBTC11 ticker. Bitcoin ETF Makes It in Brazil The first Bitcoin ETF initiative in Latam is already listed on the Brazilian stock exchange. Conceived by QR Capital, a blockchain investment firm and asset manager, its objective is to simplify Bitcoin access for institutions. This Bitcoin ETF product got its approval last March from the Brazil Securities and Exchange Commission. According to QR Capital CEO Fernando Carvalho, their product is pioneering how companies approach cryptocurrency investments in Brazil. Carvalho stated: We can see the market maturing in its search for safer and simpler bitcoin exposure options. Our bitcoin ETF is a landmark for both financial and cr

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published the organization’s 12-month review and the research highlights that only 45% of the 128 reporting jurisdictions have complied with AML/CFT policy and FATF recommendations. The annual review stresses that the “lack [of] effective” regulation makes it “challenging for competent authorities to follow the transaction trail, buying more time for criminals to move criminal proceeds.” Less Than Half of the Reporting Jurisdictions Have Met FATF’s Crypto Compliance Standards Over the last few years, the FATF intergovernmental organization has been focused on virtual assets (VA) and virtual asset service providers (VASPs). FATF is a group dedicated to combating money laundering (ML) and terrorism financing (TF) on a global scale. Bitcoin.com News recently reported on how the FATF applied the Travel Rule to stablecoins, decentralized finance (defi), and non-fungible token (NFT) assets. Further, the intergovernmental organization has been in

The notorious meme crypto asset dogecoin has seen better days, as the digital currency tapped an all-time high (ATH) two months ago at $0.737 per unit. Today, dogecoin is down 67% since the ATH and over 30% during the last three months as interest in the dog meme coin is waning. Dogecoin Interest Dives, Meme-Token’s Value Down 67% Since ATH Worldwide interest in DOGE is slipping, as the search query “dogecoin” on Google Trends (GT) has slid from an ATH in interest. Dogecoin lost 79% by scoring a 100 in the second week of May to this week’s score of 21. Google Trends (GT) data for the search query “dogecoin” on June 25, 2021. The search query for the term “DOGE” globally shows similar findings, as interest seems to be dropping across the board. Today, the most interested countries searching the term “dogecoin” on Google, according to GT data includes the U.S., Turkey, Canada, Singapore, and the Netherlands. Dogecoin’s price has dropped significantly during the last month and

Banks and credit unions of all sizes can now facilitate the buying, selling, and holding of bitcoin within their banking platforms thanks to a collaboration between Finserv and New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG). Finserv currently has about 10,000 financial institution clients. All Banks Can Now Let Customers Buy, Sell, Hold Bitcoin via Bank Accounts Finserv Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a global leader in payments and financial technology, announced Wednesday that “Banks and credit unions of all sizes can facilitate buying, selling, and holding bitcoin within their digital banking platforms.” To enable the bitcoin option, Finserv has integrated with New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), a bitcoin technology and financial services subsidiary of Stone Ridge, a $10 billion alternative asset manager. Finserv has nearly 10,000 financial institution clients, almost 6 million merchant locations globally, and 100 million digital banking users, its website details. A member of the S&am

Bitcoin ATM operator Athena Bitcoin has unveiled its plan to install 1,500 bitcoin ATMs in El Salvador. Initially, the company will install dozens of machines as a test. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele wants 1,500 bitcoin ATMs installed and Athena Bitcoin said, “we will go for that, but in phases.” Athena Bitcoin said Thursday that it plans to invest over $1 million to install cryptocurrency ATMs in El Salvador, particularly where residents receive remittances from abroad, Reuters reported, citing a company representative. The firm expects to gradually install about 1,500 ATMs, hire staff and open an office to carry out operations in El Salvador. Matias Goldenhörn, Athena Bitcoin’s director for Latin America, was quoted by the publication as saying that El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele “presented us with a tough challenge of 1,500 ATMs, we will go for that, but in phases.” “We are a private company and we want to ensure that our development in the country is sustainable,”

British police have carried out U.K.’s largest crypto seizure to date. Detectives working on a money laundering case found a staggering £114 million worth of cryptocurrency in a suspect’s account. Scotland Yard vowed to continue the investigation. UK Makes One of World’s Largest Crypto Seizures Acting on intelligence about the transfer of criminal funds, specialist detectives confiscated £114 million (over $158 million) in crypto, Britain’s Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) announced Thursday. The agency responsible for law enforcement in the Greater London area described the operation as the biggest cryptocurrency seizure in the U.K. and one of the largest globally. The digital assets have been captured as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation conducted by the Met’s Economic Crime Command. Police officials refrained from disclosing further details, including the type of cryptocurrency seized. “Criminals need to legitimise their money otherwise it risks being seized

Citigroup has reportedly set up a “digital assets group” to offer clients access to cryptocurrencies, which will operate within the bank’s wealth management division. Citigroup has established a “digital assets group” within its wealth management unit, according to a memo to staff seen by Bloomberg. Iain Armitage, global head of capital markets for Citi Private Bank, and Rob Jasminski, who oversees the bank’s investment management arm globally, said in the memo that the new digital assets group will be led by Alex Kriete and Greg Girasole, the publication conveyed. They will serve as liaisons to “all other business groups at Citi who are expanding into this rapidly emerging space also,” the memo says. In addition: They will be responsible for developing our future product capabilities, client delivery mechanisms and thought leadership around all digital assets. The memo further explains that Citigroup plans to help clients invest in cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, non-fungible

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has announced a bitcoin giveaway to promote the cryptocurrency’s use as legal tender in the economy and to give people an incentive to use the government’s official wallet application. $30 in Free Bitcoin The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, addressed many topics regarding his country’s new bitcoin law Thursday night. During his speech, he unveiled the Salvadoran government’s wallet app and a signup bonus of $30 in bitcoin. “The wallet of the government of El Salvador is called Chivo,” Bukele explained, adding that users must register with their phone number and national ID known as the DUI. Accounts are then verified by either facial recognition or through the call center. “Facial recognition or verification by call center will only be done when creating the account. We do it this way to give security to the population,” the president explained. Bukele further revealed: It will be within the Chivo app where we will deposit the equivale

PRESS RELEASE. SafeEarth creates access to DeFi and at the same time, helps restore the world’s ecosystem and help humanity through collaborating with the most impactful projects. 25th June 2021, London, England Users of SafeEarth can enjoy the benefits offered by DeFi whilst preserving the delicate balance of the world. Today, the project announces it has successfully issued donations in excess of $200,000 to various user-selected charities and projects that range from cleaning the ocean to enabling access to healthcare and education for children. A staggering amount of positive feedback and goodwill has allowed this company to thrive at what it does best. Helping those who need an extra boost. Without the donations made by SafeEarth, these organizations might not have been able to continue carrying out the good work that they do. Within weeks of launch, SafeEarth has done more on this planet than most. And this is just the start. With the ways things are going, the next year is g

Following Africrypt’s collapse, South African regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), released a statement asserting its lack of jurisdiction over cryptocurrencies. Although the regulator says it is “continuing to investigate complaints” against the crypto investment company, it concedes it has only “found evidence of crypto-asset transactions.” A Large Number of Scams While the FSCA says it’s not in a position to take any regulatory action, in a statement released June 24, 2021, the regulator uses the Ponzi scheme’s global notoriety to warn the public about the “high-risk nature of investing in crypto assets.” Meanwhile, in addition to the FSCA’s concerns surrounding the “suitability of crypto assets as an asset class” as well as their volatility, the regulator expressed concern over “the large number of scams being perpetrated by persons purporting to provide the crypto asset to the public.” According to the FSCA, many of the crypto investment companies are in

Nigerian artists are now increasing their net worth by leveraging the art world’s lucrative pivot to non-fungible tokens (NFT). According to reports, this move to NFTs is happening despite the Nigerian central bank’s renewed anti-crypto stance. NFT Bubble Concerns As a recent CNN report explains, growing interest in NFTs from Nigerian artists comes alongside warnings of a potential downturn in sales. For instance, Bitcoin.com News has already reported that NFTs sales plummeted by 90% since the market’s record sales on May 3. The same report also revealed that the number of active NFT wallets dropped from 12,000 per day to 3,900, which is a loss of close to 70%. Similarly, Bitcoin.com News has reported extensively on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s renewed drive against cryptocurrencies that started after it issued an order directing financial institutions to end business relationships with crypto entities. Still, in spite of these concerns, some Nigerian artists insist that

The latest Mica (Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) revision designates the CNMV and the Bank of Spain as the main cryptocurrency watchdogs in the country. The draft also stipulates that companies offering services in the EU will need to be based in a European country. The norm excludes NFTs, for now. Experts state the law might be in advanced stages by the end of this year. Bank of Spain and CNMV Designated as Default Crypto Watchdogs. Mica (Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation)’s latest draft had an update recently, bringing about many changes. For one, the law designates the Bank of Spain and the CNMV (National Stock Market Commission) as the default cryptocurrency watchdogs in the country. However, the ECB will be the institution designated to rule over crypto assets in the EU. Other interesting changes have to do with the regulation of NFT’s. As it stands now, these tokens would be outside the scope of the regulation. This is because exchange value seems to

The city of Bogota in Colombia just announced it will finance blockchain companies through a blockchain investment program. The program, called “Hub Blockchain Bogota,” will deliver financing to 100 companies developing blockchain-based solutions. This is part of a series of initiatives destined to modernize Bogota and turn the region into a smart city. Bogota Programs Will Finance Blockchain Startups The city of Bogota will support blockchain companies with direct financing through a series of funding programs. The program, called Hub Blockchain Bogota will deliver $2.8 billion to blockchain-based companies with useful initiatives. The Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, Innpulsa, and Biointropic y Tribe Accelerator Singapur are also supporting this initiative. The companies interested will have to present their proposals to Fitic, the Bogotá Innovation, Technology, and Creative Industries Fund (FITIC). This institution will decide what ideas will be eligible for getting financed. The

Customers using the Bakkt app can now apply for a debit card which will enable them to pay with bitcoin at merchants that don’t currently take crypto. The virtual Visa card can be added to Apple Pay or Google Pay to purchase items at thousands of retailers supporting the mobile payment systems. Bakkt Card Can Be Linked to Apple Pay and Google Pay This year’s all-time highs convinced many to invest in cryptocurrencies but digital assets still have a lot of ground to cover to achieve wide adoption in everyday payments. Debit cards issued by crypto companies bridge the gap between bitcoin and merchants that are yet to start accepting digital coins. Now there is a new offering in the market. Crypto marketplace Bakkt has launched a debit Visa card that “will maximize users’ ability to spend digital assets.” The card allows Bakkt customers to use their bitcoin ( BTC ) and fiat cash (USD) balances to buy goods and services, both online and in-store. Bakkt Card allows users to use bitco

PRESS RELEASE. Bitcoin of America , a popular virtual currency exchange, is known for their 1200+ ATMs across 31 US states. Bitcoin of America is looking to bring attention to the success their team, working behind the scenes, has had on the company’s growth. Some of their top executives were interviewed on the future of the company and their experiences working there. Registered as a money services business with the United States Department of Treasury, (FinCEN) Bitcoin of America offers several different services including Bitcoin ATMs , Bitcoin Tablets, and an online exchange. Bitcoin of America has been known to provide fast and hassle-free transactions to their customers while offering top of the line customer support, which makes them one of the best in the industry. William P. Suriano, General Counsel for Bitcoin of America, has played a major role in the company’s success. When asked about the future of Bitcoin of America Suriano responded, “In the next couple years, I expec