Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Crypto mining hardware manufacturer Bitmain has partnered with Enegix to host Antminer S19 Pro devices in one of the world’s largest data centers. The facility located in Kazakhstan is designed to accommodate more than 50,000 mining rigs. Bitmain to Work With Mining Facility Operator Enegix Leading mining equipment producer Bitmain has announced a partnership with Enegix. As part of the agreement, the ASIC giant will host Antminer S19 Pro miners in a 180MW facility operated by Enegix in Kazakhstan, which is one of the largest in the world. Enegix focuses its business efforts on designing, building, and operating data centers since 2017, a press release published by Bitmain details. The one in question was commissioned in late 2020 and is the company’s third such facility. Its total capacity exceeds 50,000 current-generation mining rigs. Commenting on the new project, Bitmain Mining Division Vice President Du Shisheng noted that his company is pleased to have a solid strategic par

A leading convenience and fuel retailer, Circle K, is deploying bitcoin ATMs in its stores across the U.S. and Canada. More than 700 machines operated by Bitcoin Depot have already been installed. “As one of the world’s leading convenience and fuel retailers, Circle K is the first major retail chain to deploy bitcoin ATMs within its stores.” Circle K Stores Install Bitcoin ATMs The world’s largest bitcoin ATM operator, Bitcoin Depot, announced Thursday “an exclusive international partnership with Circle K that spans across both the U.S. and Canada with over 700 bitcoin ATMs in 30 states already installed.” The company wrote: As one of the world’s leading convenience and fuel retailers, Circle K is the first major retail chain to deploy bitcoin ATMs within its stores. Circle K is a global brand of Alimentation Couche-Tard, a leader in convenience and fuel retail, with more than 14,200 stores operating in 26 countries and territories. According to the company, it is the largest in

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has modified the crypto question asked on the main U.S. tax form. Reducing the scope of the question, the IRS now focuses on taxable cryptocurrency transactions. New Crypto Question on Tax Form 1040 The IRS published a draft Form 1040 for the tax year 2021 Thursday. Form 1040 is the main tax form used for filing individual income tax returns in the U.S. The draft form shows that the tax agency has modified the crypto question slightly. The crypto question now reads: “At any time during 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any financial interest in any virtual currency?” Previously, the question read: “At any time during 2020, did you receive, sell, send, exchange, or otherwise acquire any financial interest in any virtual currency?” Draft IRS Form 1040 for the year 2021. For the year 2021, the IRS has removed the word “send” and replaced “acquire” with “disposed of.” IRS Form 1040 for the year 2020. S

Amazon’s Payments Acceptance & Experience team is hiring a digital currency and blockchain expert to develop the company’s digital currency and blockchain strategy and product roadmap, including a launch strategy. “We’re inspired by the innovation happening in the cryptocurrency space and are exploring what this could look like on Amazon,” the company’s spokesperson said. Amazon Developing Crypto Strategy Amazon has posted a job opening for a “Digital Currency and Blockchain Product Lead.” The job posting explains that “The Amazon Payment Acceptance & Experience Team is responsible for how Amazon’s customers pay on Amazon’s sites and through Amazon’s services around the globe,” elaborating: The Payments Acceptance & Experience team is seeking an experienced product leader to develop Amazon’s digital currency and blockchain strategy and product roadmap. The company further described: “You will leverage your domain expertise in blockchain, distributed ledger, central b

A major high street bank in the U.K., Natwest, has blocked payments to crypto exchange Binance. Natwest’s decision came after two other major British banks — Barclays and Santander — made a similar move to block fund transfers to Binance. The banks acted in response to a warning on the cryptocurrency exchange by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Natwest Blocking Fund Transfers to Binance British bank Natwest (NWG.L) has reportedly become the latest financial institution in the U.K. to block payments to cryptocurrency exchange Binance. According to its 2020 annual report, Natwest Group is the largest business and commercial bank in the U.K., with 19 million customers across the U.K. and Ireland. A Natwest spokesperson explained that the bank has seen a high level of cryptocurrency investment scams targeting customers across retail and business banking, particularly through social media websites. “To protect our customers from the criminals exploiting these platforms, w

A St. Lawrence county town located in New York near the Canadian border, Massena, is another region in the state that is having issues with bitcoin miners. According to recent reports from the local WWNY-TV news desk and Reuters, the Massena town supervisor is drafting new regulations for bitcoin mining operations. Officials From Town of Massena Don’t Like the Look of Bitcoin Miners Operating Alongside Route 42 The town of Massena, with a population of around 13K, has attracted bitcoin miners according to a report from Reuters. The New York town’s officials have taken issue with bitcoin miners and the authorities plan to impose a 90-day moratorium on any new bitcoin miners looking to tap into the town’s energy sources. According to Massena Town Supervisor Steve O’Shaughnessy, the town doesn’t want Massena’s roadsides to be filled with shipping containers that house mining rigs. “We don’t want it littered with these trailers that are pumping out bitcoin,” O’Shaughnessy told WWNY-

The government of Abkhazia is negotiating with Russia to solve a problem that led to a ban on cryptocurrency mining. The partially recognized republic in the South Caucasus is now planning to legalize the industry and source sufficient power supplies from its energy-rich northern neighbor. Abkhazia Wants to Create Conditions for Cryptocurrency Mining The autonomous Republic of Abkhazia in northwestern Georgia is holding talks with the Russian Federation on the supply of electricity to satisfy its needs. Those of the energy-hungry crypto mining sector are also covered by the negotiations, Forklog reported. Despite a temporary mining ban introduced in 2018, the activity allegedly took the country to the brink of an energy crisis last year, forcing regulators to extend the restrictions to March 2022. Fines and criminal liability were introduced for illegal use of electrical power to mint digital currencies and a number of mining operations were shut down . Officials in Sokhumi are

The Central Bank of Colombia has announced its involvement in the first blockchain bond pilot program in the country, with the participation of the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) and Davivienda, a private commercial bank. The proof of concept will use the Lacchain blockchain platform developed by the IDB, which will handle the operative part of the issuance. Central Bank of Colombia Joins Blockchain Bond Pilot Program The Central Bank of Colombia has announced its participation in the first blockchain bond program in the country. Issued by Davivienda, one of the most important commercial banks in Colombia, and with counseling from the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), this pilot program seeks to explore the benefits of the new technology and study its application for the next bond issuances. According to the official announcement from the Central Bank of Colombia, these benefits would include the potential reduction of operational costs, the optimization of process times

As central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) advance in testing, a number of countries have taken the lead in an effort to create a CBDC. The enterprise blockchain firm Guardtime recently conducted a survey that shows adults from ten different countries would likely use a CBDC. Nearly two out of three respondents said they would likely use a CBDC after launch and most of the study’s participants believe a major CBDC will be launched within three years. 63% of Survey Respondents Would Leverage a CBDC if Launched, 33% Would Be ‘Very Likely’ to Use a CBDC The enterprise blockchain firm founded by Christopher Leiter and Mike Gault, Guardtime has recently conducted a survey throughout ten major economic regions throughout Europe, United Arab Emirates, Asia, and North America. The study has found that out of all the surveyed participants, 64% said they would “likely” leverage a CBDC if their country happened to launch one. 33% of respondents said they were “very likely” to utilize a CBDC if

The Chinese mining crackdown forced many miners to stop their operations and relocate. But another group of miners is planning to pivot to new, more efficient mining schemes to keep operating in the country. Lesser-known tokens and proof-of-stake-based systems are now in the sights of these miners as ways to continue their work away from government oversight. Chinese Miners Pivoting to Other Crypto Activities The recent mining and trading crackdown in China affected the lives of thousands of miners that had to stop their operations due to new policies established by the government. While a lot of them are seeking to relocate to other countries, there is also a group seeking to pivot to new alternatives to keep operating in the country. The new wave of storage-based tokens is one of the biggest focuses of this group. Bloomberg confirmed this, present at the Web 3.0 Blockchain Application Cum Computing Power Overseas and Distributed Storage Conference in Chengdu — one of the first

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reportedly set October 1 as the commencement date for the trial phase of its digital currency project. Dubbed project Giant, this digital currency project, or the “e-naira,” is expected to use the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain. CBDC Comes to Life The revelation of the launch date for Nigeria’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) comes just a few months after central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the digital currency will soon “come to life.” It also comes after the CBN suggested in June that Nigeria would have its own CBDC by the end of the year. With this revelation — when confirmed officially — Nigeria will become the second West African nation to announce the pilot phase of its own digital currency in 2021. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the Bank of Ghana is the other country from the region to announce a start date for its digital currency project. Culmination of a Long-Running Study As the Nairametrics report quo

The French central bank, Banque de France (BOF), recently carried out its fifth experiment on the Central Bank of Tunisia (CBT)’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to a statement from BOF, the latest experiment is part of the banks’ joint effort to create conditions that are “conducive to a better inclusion of the Tunisian diaspora in Europe.” Platform Targets Tunisian Diaspora In his comments following the experiment, Mohamed Sadraoui, a director-general at CBT, suggested that the CBDC platform’s success will likely “reinforce transparency, speed and cost savings” for users. He went on: The success of this experiment is an opportunity to start thinking about the deployment of alternative channels for cross-border transfers initiated by the Tunisian community in Europe to Tunisia. As a press statement explained, this experiment involved the simulation on a private blockchain of the issuance and settlement of unlisted securities and of the settlement of listed secu

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has explained in a recent interview that the company is looking to launch a U.S.-based initial public offering (IPO) in the future. The crypto exchange has been stuck in regulatory crosshairs during the last few weeks and has had issues with payment providers. CZ also noted during his interview that the firm was looking for a new chief executive officer with a “very strong regulatory background.” Binance Cheif Executive Says Company Is Looking for a New CEO At the blockchain virtual summit Redefine 2021, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao discussed some of the company’s regulatory problems and the possibility of a future U.S.-based IPO. Binance has had issues with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) when the regulator issued a consumer warning against the crypto trading platform. Besides the UK, Binance has received warnings from Italy , Lithuania , Thailand , Japan , Ontario , and South Africa . Payment providers like Visa and Mastercard are m

On July 22, developers working on the platform Reddit, the social news discussion aggregation forum, revealed that the team was scaling Reddit’s community points program with the Ethereum Layer-2 solution Arbitrum. Currently, Reddit developers are testing the community point tokens on top of the Rinkeby testnet and will migrate to the Ethereum mainnet after testing is complete. Reddit Leverages Ethereum-Compatible Layer-2 Scaling Solution Arbitrum Reddit developers detailed on Thursday that the programmers are planning to leverage the Layer-2 scaling solution Arbitrum , a cryptocurrency platform that claims to make smart contracts scalable, fast, and private. Last year, Reddit launched the company’s community points on Ethereum in order to make the point system “decentralized.” Then Reddit hosted a Scaling Bake-Off in order to best scale the project on Ethereum’s mainnet. Following the scaling event, Reddit developers said they were impressed by Arbitrum’s rollup technology. The

In line with its hardline stance on cryptocurrencies, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has issued a recommendation against the listing of securities tied to crypto assets on the country’s stock exchanges. The “preventive measure” will not affect state-issued digital currencies. Bank of Russia Worried About Common Investors’ Exposure to Crypto Derivatives Russia’s central banking institution, known as Bank of Russia, has again expressed its misgivings regarding decentralized money. Cryptocurrencies and digital assets are characterized by high volatility, lack of pricing transparency, low liquidity, technological, regulatory and other specific risks, the financial authority said this week, emphasizing: The purchase of financial instruments linked to them entails increased risks of losses for people who do not have sufficient experience and knowledge. The new warning came as part of a recently issued recommendation for Russian exchanges not to allow the trading of domestic or for

On Friday, the game token utilized within the Axie Infinity gaming realm has once again captured another all-time price high at $32.17 per unit. The game token has outperformed a great majority of crypto assets by commanding more than 844% in gains during the last month. Axie Infinity Outperforms Crypto Competitors The cryptocurrency community is chatting about the token axie infinity (AXS) again this week as the crypto asset has captured new price highs. On July 23, 2021, during the early morning trading sessions (EDT), AXS tapped an all-time high (ATH) at $32.17 per unit. The price of AXS has slid more than 3% from the ATH since, and is currently trading for $31.55 per unit at the time of writing. Over the last 24 hours, AXS has jumped a whopping 28.6% and 150.0% in two weeks. AXS/USD on July 23, 2021, at 9:30 am EDT. Out of the more than 10,000 crypto assets in existence, the AXS market valuation is currently ranked in the 53rd position. The AXS market cap is around $1.9 bil

The deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revealed that the central bank is planning to launch a state-backed digital currency in phases so that it would have “little or no disruption to India’s banking or monetary systems.” RBI Plans ‘Phased Implementation’ for Digital Rupee RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar talked about India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy on Thursday, local media reported. He explained that the “RBI has been exploring the pros and cons of introduction of CBDCs since quite some time,” elaborating: RBI is currently working towards a phased implementation strategy and examining use cases which could be implemented with little or no disruption to India’s banking or monetary systems. According to the central bank, a CBDC “is the same as a fiat currency and is exchangeable one-to-one with the fiat currency,” Sankar described, adding that “Only its form is different.” He noted that “Generally, count

Government and business representatives have produced a roadmap to transform Ukraine into a leader in cryptocurrency integration. The authors of the new strategy want to see half of Ukrainians using digital currencies by 2024. The East European nation is expected to regulate its crypto space by the end of this year. Strategy for Crypto Market Development Adopted in Ukraine As a country where cryptocurrencies have enjoyed a growing popularity, Ukraine now also has a strategy to develop its virtual asset market within the next three years. The plan has been presented by officials from the Ministry of Digital Transformation, other government institutions and representatives of the private sector, Forklog reported . The roadmap envisages various regulatory, educational and infrastructural activities. Participants in the initiative have already established almost a dozen working groups to achieve a set of goals. One of the key areas they intend to focus efforts on is the introduction o