Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Fintech firm Centbee recently announced it has successfully completed the testing of its cross-border remittance application, Minit Money. The testing of the application was carried out within the framework of the South African Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG)’s regulatory sandbox. Using Crypto to Enable Faster and Cheaper Remittances In a statement , the fintech firm claims its Minit Money application has demonstrated an ability to “enable foreigners living in South Africa to send money home across Africa to bank accounts or mobile money wallets at a competitively low cost.” Meanwhile, in his remarks following Centbee’s formal graduation from the regulatory sandbox, the firm’s co-founder, Angus Brown, spoke of “incredible” future growth in the remittance app market. Brown explained: We’re proud to have graduated from the IFWG’s inaugural regulatory sandbox and are aggressively scaling up our winning remittance solution. We expect to see incredible growth in the rem

The Central Bank of Russia has recently expanded its database of financial market players suspected of illicit activities. Several crypto companies have been added to the list along with entities bearing signs of Ponzi schemes, as well as illegal credit organizations and forex dealers. Central Bank of Russia Blacklists Crypto Platforms As part of its monitoring of the financial sector, the Central of Russia (CBR) regularly identifies illegal financial services providers and warns Russian investors about fraudulent platforms. This week, the regulator added another 105 companies to its growing list of businesses showing “signs of illegal activities in the financial market.” Among the new entries, the monetary authority has blacklisted a number of crypto companies. Most of them have been classified as resembling financial pyramid schemes. Bitflows, Bitkoresh, Bittrex-global, Crypto Invest Club, Idleminer, Miners Capital, and Money Miner fall under this category. Another entity, Bitfo

According to the findings of one study, nearly 91% of deaths from natural disasters recorded between 1970 and 2019 occurred in developing countries. This study adds that such a high number of deaths is largely due to a lack of early warning systems and disaster management protocols. Using Blockchain to Store Climate Data It has been shown that improvements in technology can help to lower the number of lives lost as a result of flooding or cyclones. Unfortunately for third world countries, their poor access to centralized data which is used to predict weather patterns means the number of lives lost due to natural disasters remains unacceptably high. It is this sad state of affairs that prompted individuals behind the Kanda Weather Ballon project and creators of the Telos protocol to seek an unusual solution to the problem — the use of the blockchain. Already, this project is reportedly empowering African university students to utilize the Telos blockchain to offer a viable solution

Nexi, a leading European payments company, is reportedly giving advice to the European Central Bank (ECB) related to the digital euro project. The announcement was made by Nexi’s CEO Paolo Bertoluzzo, who also gave his opinion about the future of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and cryptocurrencies during the Money 20/20 fintech conference in Amsterdam. Nexi Advising ECB on Digital Euro Issues Nexi, one of the biggest payments companies in Europe, is working in tandem with the European Central Bank toward the creation of a digital euro, according to statements made by Paolo Bertoluzzo, Nexi’s CEO. During an interview at the Money 20/20 conference, Bertoluzzo declared : We are engaging with the European Central Bank and contributing to the design of the future digital euro because we believe that can be a positive force in the evolution of digital payments. Nexi offers payments services for other banks, managing 41.3 million payment cards and 2.7 billion transactions each

PRESS RELEASE. AscendEX is eager to announce the listing of the BTC Proxy token (PRXY) under the trading pair USDT/PRXY on Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. UTC. To celebrate the listing, AscendEX and the PRXY team will launch a number of limited-time promotional events, taking place between 1:00 a.m. UTC, on Sept. 24, and 12:00 a.m. UTC, on Oct. 1, 2021, offering users a chance to share pooled rewards up to 60,000 USDT ! BTC Proxy is a multi-institutional protocol for the decentralized tokenization of Bitcoin on ERC20, utilizing a Proxy Protocol called the “Proxy Relay”. The protocol gives Bitcoin holders a decentralized bridge to stake their Bitcoins into custody and transfer that value into an ERC20 token without the need for centralized exchanges and systems that exponentially increase the counterparty risk of theft or loss. Independent of liquidity conditions, BTC Proxy allows for the transfer of value without price slippage, directly affecting prices on exchanges. Improving on the desi

Following the American rapper Snoop Dogg doxing himself as a crypto whale with millions of dollars worth of non-fungible token (NFT) assets, Snoop has revealed he has partnered with the virtual gaming world Sandbox. According to the announcement, Snoop is recreating his mansion in Sandbox and will be launching his new NFT collection. Virtual ‘Trees’: Snoop Plans to Recreate His Mansion in the Ethereum-Based Metaverse Sandbox The rapper, media personality, actor, songwriter, and businessman Snoop Dogg has announced he has partnered with the non-fungible token (NFT) metaverse project called The Sandbox . Essentially, Sandbox is a gaming ecosystem where people can create, share and monetize NFTs and gaming experiences on Ethereum ( ETH ). On September 22, Bitcoin.com News reported on how Snoop revealed his secret online personality called Cozomo de’ Medici, a character who owns millions of dollars worth of NFTs. Snoop is now taking the NFT game further and the partnership with Sandb

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has shared the progress of the Fed’s work on a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital dollar. “We are working proactively to evaluate whether to issue a CBDC and, if so, in what form,” he said, adding that he does not believe the U.S. has fallen behind other countries in this area. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Progress of the US CBDC The U.S. Federal Reserve has not made a decision whether to launch a digital dollar, Fed Chair Jerome Powell revealed on CNBC Wednesday. He was asked for an update of the Fed’s work on central bank digital currency (CBDC). “We think it’s really important that the central bank maintains a stable currency and payments system for the public’s benefit. That’s one of our jobs,” Powell began. “We also live in a time of transformational innovation around digital payments and we need to make sure that the Fed is able to continue to deliver to the public a stable and trustworthy currency and payment system.” H

Twitter has begun rolling out “Tips,” a feature that allows users t o send bitcoin or cash tips. The rollout begins with iOS users with Android coming soon. The company is also planning support for non-fungible token (NFT) authentication. Twitter Rolls Out ‘Tips’ With Bitcoin Twitter Inc. announced Thursday that it is rolling out the bitcoin tipping feature starting with iOS users. The company tweeted: “Tested the Tips feature, turns out people love money. Rolling out on iOS with Android coming soon.” Twitter described: Tips allows you to send bitcoin or cash tips depending on how you configure your Tips settings and the regional availability of third-party payment providers. Twitter Support tweeted explaining how to use the new tipping feature. “Looking to get a little support with Tips? Tips is now rolling out to everyone (18+) on iOS. Add the Tips icon to your profile from the ‘Edit profile’ button,” the support account wrote. Looking to get a little support with tips? Tip

Following a number of partnerships this year, FTX Trading Limited announced on Thursday that the company has partnered with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. According to FTX, the relationship will “span multiple race seasons” and the FTX logo will be “featured prominently” by both cars and drivers. FTX Teams up With Mercedes F1 in Long Term Partnership for Several Race Seasons Well known car brands and world-famous race teams have been entering the blockchain and cryptocurrency space in great numbers this year. Whether it be through advertising crypto platforms or NFTs, popular brands and racing teams want to get in on the blockchain industry. At the end of August, Ferruccio Lamborghini Museum launched NFTs, Porsche jumped into the non-fungible token industry, and Motor Team McLaren stepped into the NFT fray. NASCAR drivers have been sporting crypto advertising and have been asked to be paid in digital currencies as well. On Thursday, FTX revealed it is collaborati

Polker is proud to announce the upcoming integration of Chainlink Price Feeds . By integrating Chainlink-powered decentralized oracles, the Polker platform will be able to offer an even more decentralized and trusted service to players. The initial Chainlink Price Feed implementation will replace the current price feed API within Polker’s patented Multi Crypto Marketplace protocol. Although migrating the previous API to Chainlink Price Feeds is impressive, Polker has a lot more planned with Chainlink in the future. Polker.Game & Chainlink Polker’s patented Multi Crypto Marketplace solution requires that all cryptocurrency prices are updated correctly in real-time. The protocol currently uses an API that pulls live price data from multiple sources, checks for anomalies, and updates the prices in real-time. Although the system works fine, Polker doesn’t just want things to just ‘work fine’ – we want excellence. For this reason, Polker has been in communication with Chainlink and

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