Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The world is still focused on the financial downfall of China’s real estate giant Evergrande and according to Chinese authorities have told the private sector to get “ready for the possible storm.” Reports show that even though the People’s Bank of China already provided $18.6 billion in liquidity to ease the brunt, Beijing may not be so willing to bail the company out. Chinese Authorities Warn of a ‘Possible Storm,’ PBOC Injects $18.6 Billion Into China’s Markets Financial markets could still be in for an unruly storm if Evergrande defaults and it causes a credit contagion . According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Thursday, senior officials from China have told local authorities to prepare for the property developer Evergrande’s demise. Evergrande amassed a mountain of debt and since the fallout on September 20, the giant corporation has been shaking right down to its foundations. Evergrande was able to clear Wednesday’s debts that were due, however, it’s unknown whether or

Last Friday, blockchain project the Wormhole Network launched the protocol’s ethereum solana bridge which enables users to exchange assets from both networks in a cross-chain fashion. Five days later, the Wormhole Network team announced the launch of a non-fungible token (NFT) bridge for transferring NFTs between both blockchains. Wormhole Launches Ethereum Solana NFT Bridge The cryptocurrency network Solana (SOL) has been making waves during the last few months and recently made it into the top ten crypto assets ranked by market valuation. SOL has gained more than 12% today and 30-day stats show the crypto asset is up 92.3%. Five days ago, Bitcoin.com News reported on the ethereum solana bridge launched by the project the Wormhole Network. The launch of the new service allows Solana protocol participants and Ethereum blockchain users to move assets back and forth between the chains. Wormhole is following up with a new service for non-fungible token (NFT) assets held on both cha

Cryptocurrency addresses allegedly used by Russian exchange Suex, recently placed under U.S. sanctions, have received more than $934 million in crypto assets, blockchain analysis suggests. According to the Treasury Department, over 40% of the platform’s transactions involved criminal actors. A Suex co-founder has denied any illegal activity. Sanctioned Crypto Broker Suex Processed $370 Million of Illicit Crypto Funds, Report Taking steps to counter ransomware attacks, the U.S. Department of the Treasury set its sights on digital asset exchanges this week. As part of the measures, the Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Suex, a Russia-based over-the-counter crypto broker, which has been accused of facilitating ransomware payments and money laundering. On Tuesday, OFAC issued an updated advisory on the risks associated with ransomware and added Suex OTC s.r.o. to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List. The office al

Former Monero developer Riccardo Spagni has been released from a U.S. prison where he reportedly spent “sixty-one days in solitary confinement.” The developer’s release was prompted by the failure of South African authorities “to make a timely submission in support of an extradition request.” South African Government Fails to Submit Extradition Documents As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Spagni was arrested in the U.S. while en route to Mexico. His arrest by U.S. law enforcement had been made courtesy of a request by the South African government, which wants to extradite Spagni. However, after South African authorities failed to submit the necessary documents for the extradition hearing, the U.S. court subsequently ordered Spagni’s release. With Spagni now out of prison, his legal representatives, according to a report , are now seeking to access the documents that were used to make the arrest. “Spagni now seeks information already in the possession of the [US] Governme

On Thursday, the pseudonymous operator of Bitcoin.org told the public on Twitter that the web portal has been “compromised.” The operator, Cobra, explained that the hackers were able to implement a bitcoin doubler scam model and stressed that the site would be down for a “few days.” Website Operator Cobra Warns Bitcoin.org Has Been Compromised The mysterious operator of the web portal Bitcoin.org, Cobra, is once again surrounded by controversy. According to the pseudonymous operator of the website, Bitcoin.org has been attacked. “Bitcoin.org has been compromised,” Cobra tweeted early Thursday morning (EST). “[I am] currently looking into how the hackers put up the scam model on the site. May be down for a few days.” The scam model Cobra speaks of is a doubler scam that attempts to entice people to deposit a fraction of bitcoin with the promise of doubling the deposit. Of course, victims who deposit funds into the doubler scam never get the double reward, as the hackers simply tak

The National Bank of Ukraine recognizes the benefits of endorsing crypto innovations but also fears cryptocurrencies could gain ground on the national fiat. Announcing its monetary policy guidelines for the near future, the regulator noted it’s going to defend the status of the hryvnia as the only legal tender in the country. Bank of Ukraine Won’t Let Crypto Replace Fiat Money Under the current administration in Kyiv, Ukraine has taken steps to regulate its expanding crypto space. Earlier this month, the Ukrainian parliament adopted a law “On Virtual Assets” legalizing crypto-related activities and is now working on tax amendments pertaining to cryptocurrency transactions. President Volodymyr Zelensky designated the crypto market as a “development vector” of the nation’s digital economy. Against this backdrop, the National Bank of Ukraine ( NBU ) has acknowledged that innovations associated with virtual assets, or cryptocurrencies, can improve access to financial services for Ukr

Blockdaemon, a blockchain infrastructure provider, has raised $155 million in its Series B funding round, which will aid its expansion plans to make acquisitions in the crypto infrastructure market. The funding round had the participation of Goldman Sachs, Softbank Vision Fund 2, Matrix Capital Management, Sapphire Ventures, and Morgan Creek Digital, among others. Blockdaemon Raises $155 Million in Series B Funding Round Blockdaemon, one of the leading node infrastructure providers, has raised $155 million in its latest Series B funding round. The company, which specializes in providing node support for other companies to simplify access to blockchains, will use these funds to cement its position as the leading infrastructure provider for businesses and institutions. Matrix Capital Management, Sapphire Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Kraken Ventures, Morgan Creek Digital, and Coinfund participated in the funding round. This funding round puts Blockdaemon at a valuation of $1.255 billion,

The decentralized exchange (dex) platform Orca has announced the platform has raised $18 million in a Series A financing round with Polychain, Placeholder, and Three Arrows co-leading the funding. The dex platform is a Solana-based project that aims to be the “go-to swap” platform for Solana. Solana’s Orca Gets an $18 Million Capital Raise On Wednesday, the Solana-based decentralized finance (defi) service Orca revealed the team has raised $18 million in a Series A funding round. The investment, Orca says, will “jumpstart our path toward making Orca the go-to swap for the Solana ecosystem.” Solana (SOL) has seen a massive increase in value gaining roughly 5,184% in 12 months. The Solana protocol has attracted the development of all kinds of defi projects. Defi projects like Serum, Solaris, Parrot, Solrise, Dexlab, Senswap, Spiderswap, Solend, Port, Sypool, Solanax, Hydraswap, and more. At the time of writing, the Orca defi protocol has $300 million total-value locked (TVL) into

On Tuesday, the bitcoin mining firm Genesis Digital Assets announced the firm raised $431 million from strategic investors. The mining company Genesis detailed that Paradigm led the multi-million-dollar funding round and one of the firm’s co-founders has joined Genesis’s board of directors. Genesis Digital Assets to Bolster Bitcoin Mining Operations in the US and Nordics The industrial-scale bitcoin mining company, Genesis Digital Assets, revealed the firm has raised $431 million in a recent financing round. The funding was led by the company Paradigm but also included participation from firms like NYDIG, Stoneridge, FTX, Ribbit, Electric Capital, Skybridge, and Kingsway Capital. Matt Huang, the Paradigm co-founder and managing partner of Paradigm explained during the announcement that he will join the Genesis Digital Assets (GDA) board. “Over nearly a decade, GDA’s team have built what we regard as the most impressive bitcoin mining operation in the world,” Huang said in a statem

The host of Mad Money, Jim Cramer, is begging crypto investors to take profits on any crypto gains in their portfolios. “I’m begging you to. Don’t let it become a loss,” he said, emphasizing, “I don’t want you to lose money.” Mad Money’s Jim Cramer Advises Investors to Take Profits on Crypto Gains The host of CNBC’s Mad Money show, Jim Cramer, said Monday that cryptocurrency investors should take profits on their crypto holdings if they have any gains in their portfolios. A former hedge fund manager, Cramer co-founded Thestreet.com, a financial news and literacy website. He said: I know the crypto-lovers never want to hear me say sell, but if you’ve got a big gain as I did, well, I’m begging you to. Don’t let it become a loss. Sell some, stay long the rest, then let’s wait and see if China changes its attitude toward an Evergrande bailout. Cramer warned that the struggles of Evergrande, a major property developer in China, are likely to keep weighing on crypto markets. Evergra

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has taken actions targeting cryptocurrency exchanges “responsible for laundering ransoms” as part of the whole-of-government effort to counter ransomware. One cryptocurrency exchange has already been sanctioned along with related crypto addresses. “We will continue to crack down on malicious actors,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. US Government Targets Crypto Exchanges in Ransomware Fight The U.S. Treasury Department announced a set of actions to counter ransomware Tuesday, which include the publication of an updated advisory on ransomware and the addition of entities to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)’s list of Specially Designated Nationals. The Department of the Treasury declared: As part of the whole-of-government effort to counter ransomware, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced a set of actions focused on disrupting criminal networks and virtual currency exchanges responsible for laundering ransoms. T

AMC Theatres chain is exploring how to accept dogecoin alongside four other cryptocurrencies. AMC’s CEO conducted a poll on Twitter and was overwhelmed by the results and enthusiasm of the dogecoin community. “It’s clear that you think AMC should accept dogecoin. Now we need to figure out how to do that,” he said. AMC Considers Adding Dogecoin to List of Accepted Cryptocurrencies Following the announcement that AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. will accept bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, and ether for payments, CEO Adam Aron set up a poll on Twitter to ask the crypto community if his company should also accept the popular meme cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE). AMC Entertainment Holdings is the largest movie exhibition company in the U.S., Europe, and the world. As of March 31, AMC owned or operated approximately 950 theaters and 10,500 screens globally. Aron tweeted Tuesday: I sincerely want to hear your opinion, via this Twitter Poll. By year-end 2021, AMC will take bitcoin, ethe

PRESS RELEASE. Singapore, September 22 , 2021 – Alchemy Pay is now using Chainlink Price Feeds to enable users to buy crypto on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and obtain loans in leading DeFi lending platforms directly from wallets using Alchemy Pay’s ERC-20 utility token, ACH. Chainlink Price Feeds help assure users that they are receiving fair market exchange rates when purchasing assets directly via their wallets on DEXs like Uniswap, Sushiswap, and ForTube using their ACH, as well as when collateralizing DeFi loans with ACH. “It is crucial to the success of our payment gateway solution that the value of ACH is accurately shared throughout the ecosystem,” said Alchemy Pay CEO, John Tan. “The accuracy of Chainlink Price Feeds is underpinned by the robust technology Chainlink has deployed to protect against downtime and manipulation.” Since the price of assets is not a data feed inherently available on the blockchain, a solution is needed to fetch it off the blockchain (off-cha

On September 22, the team behind the Wallstreetbets defi application called Wsbdapp announced the launch of a non-fungible token (NFT) collection featuring 15,000 generative NFTs. According to the team, the NFTs provide utility like VIP access to special metaverse events and yield farming boosts. Wsbdapp Project Launches NFT Collection During the first week of September, Bitcoin.com News reported on the Wallstreetbets’ ( wsbdapp ) platform, which allows users to transact with decentralized finance (defi) protocols like a decentralized exchange (dex). The project partnered with the defi project Balancer a few days later and this week, the Wallstreetbets (WSB) defi project has launched a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Jaime Rogozinski, the founder of WSB and strategic partner of the Wsbdapp project details for quite some time WSB memes were given out to the public free of charge. “The Wallstreetbets community has been giving out memes for free for too long; Apple shoul

Today, we are proud to announce our partnership with Bhutan’s central bank, the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA), who will use Ripple’s CBDC solution to pilot a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in phases. This move is driven by the nation’s desire to enhance digital and cross-border payments, expand financial inclusion efforts and extend its commitment … Continued The post Bhutan Advances Financial Inclusion and Sustainability with Ripple’s CBDC Solution appeared first on Ripple. http://dlvr.it/S851zx

This year a great deal of popular hip-hop superstars like Eminem, Jay-Z, Ja Rule, Lil Pump, and many more have been getting into the non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles scene. On Monday, the American rapper Snoop Dogg revealed that he is an avid collector of NFTs. Snoop claims to be a pseudonymous Twitter account dubbed “Cozomo de’ Medici,” an online character known to hold millions of dollars in NFTs. Snoop Reveals His Pseudonymous Twitter Account This past Monday, Snoop Dogg revealed on Twitter that he is “ Cozomo de’ Medici ” an NFT collector that joined Opensea.io in August and also started a Twitter account the same month. The wallet on Opensea owns close to $17 million worth of non-fungible tokens from various NFT collections like Cryptopunks, Cosmoflowers, and Snoop Dogg cash. At the time of writing, Cozomo’s Opensea account has approximately 207 NFTs. Cozomo’s NFT account purchases NFTs regularly and the account has a variety of different kinds of digital collectibles. T

On Tuesday, the fast food restaurant chain Burger King announced the company has launched a non-fungible token (NFT) campaign called the “Keep It Real Meals” initiative. The campaign is in collaboration with the NFT marketplace Sweet and will feature celebrities like Nelly, Anitta, and LILHUDDY. Six Million Meal Boxes With Burger King NFTs The NFT marketplace Sweet has revealed a partnership with fast food giant Burger King on Tuesday. Burger King has entered the NFT fray and the new campaign is quite different from other NFT concepts. The Burger King “Keep It Real Meals” initiative will showcase QR codes tethered to close to six million meal boxes. Scanning the QR codes will unlock a digital collectible and Burger King’s announcement says “collecting them can lead to unlocking bonus NFTs.” The campaign will feature three celebrities including the American social media personality LILHUDDY, the Brazilian singer Anitta, and the American rapper, singer-songwriter, and entrepreneur,

The U.S. Treasury Department has blacklisted Suex, a cryptocurrency broker based in Russia, for its money laundering activities. The platform is suspected of processing hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto transactions related to scams, ransomware attacks, darknet markets, and the infamous BTC-e exchange. OFAC Adds Russian Crypto OTC Exchange Suex to Blacklist The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury has added Suex to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List. The move, announced Tuesday, effectively prohibits U.S. citizens from engaging with the platform. OFAC also published a list of cryptocurrency addresses linked to Suex. The company behind the crypto broker, Suex OTC s.r.o., is an entity registered in the Czech Republic. However, it operates mainly from branches in the Russian Federation, including its offices in the capital Moscow and the country’s second-largest city, Saint Petersburg. It’s believed that

South Africa’s Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJCD) has denied claims that it has received a 50 bitcoin ransom demand from hackers that attacked its systems on September 6, 2021. Reports of Ransom Demand Deemed ‘Completely Untrue’ Instead, the DOJCD insists that its tech experts, “industry partners and selected organs of state have been working hard to contain the problem and to restore systems affected by the ransomware attack.” Consequently, the department stated in a tweet that an article published by Mybroadband on September 20, is, therefore “completely untrue.” A tweet shared by the country’s Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services explained: The DOJCD would like to place it on the record that it has not received any ransom demand following the ransomware attack as suggested by an article on https://ift.tt/3lH8NXy published on 20 Sept 2021. The Mybroadband article to this effect is completely untrue. The South African tech news site Mybroadba

Mars4 – centered ecosystem where you can explore a virtual Mars Metaverse, own and customize your land property with MARS4 dollars and even reap the rewards of the world’s first revenue-generating NFT! Attractive tokenomics of Mars4 leverages NFT Mars Land, Gamification and Token Redistribution. Mars4 is a unique metaverse. The Mars4 project’s development team has modeled their detailed 3D map of Mars’ terrain after NASA’s Mars data. Think of it as Mars’ equivalent of the 2001 Google Earth 3D map. Mars4 NFT owners can take a virtual trip to Mars and leverage gamification features to earn attractive yields while exploring the fourth planet. Mars4 is a project of the Mars4 Foundation , an organization that invests in space exploration, aerospace, and suborbital aerospace companies. How does Mars4 work? Mars4 leverages token yield farming and gamification elements to create an attractive decentralized finance investment option. Additionally, Mars4 helps space exploration enthusias

Ryan Selkis, the founder of Messari, a cryptocurrency research company, has announced he will be running for the U.S. Senate in 2024. The entrepreneur made the announcement on Twitter after finding out one of the speakers at Messari’s Mainnet conference, whose identity could not be confirmed, was served with a subpoena by the SEC. This is one of the first serious political bids that a crypto entrepreneur has made in the U.S. Messari CEO Ryan Selkis Announces Senate Bid for 2024 Ryan Selkis, founder and CEO of Messari , a crypto research firm, has announced he will be running for Senate in 2024. Selkis apparently made the decision after one of the speakers from Mainnet, a conference organized by Messari, was served a subpoena by SEC staff that had attended the conference. Selkis stated: If you’re wondering when I actually decided to run for Senate, it was when these f**kers came to my event, didn’t buy a ticket, and served one of the speakers a subpoena. Enough talk. More war on o

Members of the Iranian parliament, the Majlis, have voiced concerns over Tehran’s restrictive policies towards innovations such as cryptocurrencies. Following the release of a study recommending a new approach towards the crypto industry, the lawmakers have called for the adoption of friendlier regulations. Iranian MPs Urge for Change in Crypto Policies After Research Some parliamentarians in Iran have set out to change the government’s regulatory attitude towards cryptocurrencies, citing opportunities to use them to improve the nation’s sanctioned and troubled economy. “Taking a restrictive approach only pushes innovative solutions underground,” the spokesman of the Majlis Economic Commission, Gholamreza Marhaba, told Iranian media. Commenting on the results of the research on the matter carried out by the commission, he also stated: Our studies show that 50% of crypto activities are in the informal market. This is while supportive regulations can help enhance contribution of the

Ripio, a Latin American (Latam) exchange headquartered in Argentina, raised $50 million in its latest funding round, led by Digital Currency Group (DCG). The exchange, which has a stronghold in countries like Argentina and Brazil, will use these new funds to further expand to new countries in the area and consolidate its spot as one of the pioneering companies in the crypto exchange business. Ripio Gets $50 Million in Series B Funding Round Ripio, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in Latam, has raised $50 million in its series B funding round, aiming to keep growing in the region. The funding round was led by Digital Currency Group (DCG), the famous New York-based cryptocurrency venture capital firm. The round also had the participation of bitcoin investor Tim Draper, Amplo (investors of Robinhood), Marcos Galperin (CEO of Mercado Libre), and Martin Migoya (CEO of Globant). These funds will help Ripio to keep growing its brand in Latam, after having acquired Bitcointrade

Amid regulatory scrutiny worldwide, global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced that it will cease offering futures, options, and leveraged tokens to Australian users in 90 days. Changes Coming to Binance Australia Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced some changes to its offerings in Australia Tuesday. The exchange will cease offering futures, options, and leveraged tokens to existing Australian users. Binance explained: Effective from 2021-09-24 09:00 AM (UTC), existing Australian users will have 90 days to reduce and close their positions for these products. “Users will be able to top-up margin balances to prevent margin calls and liquidations, but they will not be able to increase or open new positions,” Binance added. “Users will no longer be able to manually reduce or close their positions after 2021-12-23 11:59 PM (UTC). Thereafter all remaining open positions will be closed.” Binance Australia has recently gone through some changes. On Aug. 30, the company

On September 19, 2021, the software developer and cofounder of Casa, Jameson Lopp, announced a new project called bitcoinpoliticians.org which sifts through Congressional financial disclosures and records them into a database. Lopp says the aim is to create “more transparency around bitcoin ownership” and so far he’s analyzed about 13% of Congressional financial disclosures. Jameson Lopp Launches Bitcoin Politician Project These days politicians owning bitcoin has become a rising trend during the last few years in contrast to the early days when bureaucrats criticized the concept regularly. There’s definitely a great number of politicians that still hate bitcoin and the crypto economy, but now lawmakers are starting to see the benefits of the technology and there’s a number of bureaucrats in a variety of countries who now own the leading crypto asset. Members of Congress and other U.S. federal leaders are required to disclose their finances to the public, as was the case with the r