Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

According to a recent report, Beijing is pressing the fast-food retail chain McDonald’s to support the digital yuan before the Winter Olympics in China scheduled for February 2022. The report notes that China is also pushing companies like Visa and Nike to join in on the central bank digital currency (CBDC) rollout. Chinese Government Pushes McDonald’s, Visa, Nike to Accept CBDC The People’s Republic of China is preparing for its full roll-out of the CBDC in February 2022, during the introduction of the Beijing Winter Olympics. According to the Financial Times ’ (FT) unnamed sources, the Chinese government wants McDonald’s to get on board with the digital yuan. FT notes that a large quantity of McDonald’s restaurants in Shanghai are currently testing China’s CBDC. Now Beijing is pressing the company itself to get more McDonald’s restaurants to follow Shanghai’s lead. A source stemming from McDonald’s told FT: “Shanghai is our pilot city and we will learn from customers’ response.”

During the last month, four out of five of the top stablecoins by market capitalization saw their valuations swell in size. At the time of writing, there’s $135.4 billion in stablecoins but the top five collectively represent 94.40% of that total. While the largest stablecoin in terms of market cap increased by 2% over the last 30 days, the stablecoin DAI issued by the Makerdao protocol expanded by 22%. Tether and Circle’s USD Coin Rule the Roost Stablecoins are very popular these days and it’s safe to say that these dollar-pegged tokens are not going anywhere any time soon. For instance, at the time of writing, there’s around $29.2 billion in global trade volume dedicated to bitcoin ( BTC ) trades only. Currently, the stablecoin tether ( USDT ) commands 61.46% of all the BTC trades according to cryptocompare.com data . Below the U.S. dollar is the stablecoin BUSD, a stablecoin curated on the Binance Smart Chain as BUSD commands 5.29% of all BTC trades today. BUSD is, in fact, t

On October 22 at 4:52 p.m. (EDT), a miner that acquired 50 bitcoin on May 17, 2010, spent the funds that sat idle for 11 years and five months. There hasn’t been a 2010 block reward spent in three months and the last time a 2010 miner spent their ‘sleeping bitcoin’ was on July 4, 2021. After waiting patiently for more than a decade, the miner who spent the ‘sleeping bitcoin’ on Friday saw a percentage gain of 76,249,900% if the individual cashed out into U.S. dollars today. Old School Miner Spends 2010 Block Reward After Bitcoins Sat for More Than a Decade It’s been a while since a block reward of 2010 ‘sleeping bitcoins’ have been spent and on Friday, a block reward from that era was transferred after sitting for 11 years and five months. Prior to Friday’s 2010, block reward spend, the last 2010 block transferred was on July 4, 2021. Bitcoin.com News, alongside help from the creator of the blockchain parser btcparser.com , and members of the Telegram channel “Gold Found In Sand,”

PRESS RELEASE. NFTs are all the rage right now – they are essentially unique units of data that generally represent a piece of art, media, or other forms of digital files. There are many interesting projects in youthful stages right now, but one of the most prominent NFT projects to arise recently is CryptoDragons . The project is currently offering a limited collection of 10,000 NFT dragon Eggs for minting. The uniqueness of each individual Egg illustration has been generated through Artificial Intelligence, facilitating a process where the technology creates art. Once the Eggs hatch a unique firstborn Dragon will be minted. It can earn, battle on blockchain Arena, give offspring to the CryptoDragons Metaverse. This means that the initial 10,000 Eggs can be an investment, providing Egg owners an opportunity to generate an offspring of unique NFT dragons. The DNA of a dragon can consist of a genome package of 12,000 possible attributes. The project uses the term “Egg Today, Dra

The main organization representing participants in the Russian crypto space has lambasted authorities in Moscow for not doing enough to regulate the industry. The criticism comes four years after President Putin directed institutions to legally define the status of digital financial technologies. Regulators Accused of Failure to Take Russian Crypto Market Out of Shadow Russian regulatory bodies have been criticized for their actions regarding the cryptocurrency industry in the country. According to Yuri Pripachkin, head of the Russian Association of Cryptoeconomics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain ( Racib ), their actions are still “half-hearted” and are not aimed at finding a systematic solution for Russia’s state policy in the field of digital assets. Speaking to the business news portal RBC, Pripachkin reminded about President Vladimir Putin’s order from Oct. 21, 2017, in which the Russian leader mandated the adoption of legislation tailored to define the legal status of

While Colombia is not a country that has embraced cryptocurrencies compared to Venezuela or some African countries, it is the country with the second most cryptocurrency ATMs in the Latam region. The reason behind this could be that Colombia has a high percentage of cash usage. This makes cryptocurrency ATMs a very important tool for adoption in the country. Colombia, Crypto ATM Haven There is a cryptocurrency ATM boom going on in Colombia right now, being this is the country that hosts the second-highest number of these ATMs in the region. Columbia was in first place until not so long ago, before El Salvador made its bitcoin bet and declared the leading cryptocurrency legal tender. Currently, there are 50 cryptocurrency ATMs in Colombia, but the reasons for this boom are still not clear to some. Colombia has not been especially known for its cryptocurrency adoption, and its involvement with cryptocurrencies at a government level was limited to a regulatory sandbox that exchanges

Central Bank of Russia isn’t prepared to admit a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to the market, the head of the regulator, Elvira Nabiullina, told Russian media. Her statement, reaffirming the bank’s hardline stance on cryptocurrencies that has been recently criticized again, came after the debut of bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. Central Bank of Russia Not Open to Bitcoin ETFs Yet The Central Bank of Russia ( CBR ) is not ready to permit the trading of ETFs based on bitcoin futures, its chair Elvira Nabiullina said at a press conference this week, quoted by the business news portal RBC. Nabiullina made the comment in response to a question whether the Russian monetary policy regulator is going to follow the example set by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and authorize the listing of bitcoin ETFs in the country. The first such investment fund, the Proshares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, launched on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Tuesday, Oct. 19, reaching almost $1 bi

Last week the leading luxury auction house Sotheby’s introduced its non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace called “Metaverse.” The Sotheby’s NFT marketplace has featured a number of collectible artworks including cards from the Rare Pepe card collection. Now the socialite Paris Hilton has introduced a few of her NFTs on Sotheby’s native NFT market featuring works from popular NFT artists such as Chelsea Evenstar and Maalavidaa. Leading Auction House Sotheby’s Introduces Metaverse NFT Market The British-founded American multinational luxury auction headquartered in New York City, Sotheby’s has been going big on non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles in recent times. Last week the company introduced the “ Sotheby’s Metaverse ” in order to host and auction the hottest NFTs in the space. The original Sotheby’s website could not offer the same experiences Metaverse offers and people can host their NFT collections by connecting with Sotheby’s. Just recently a collection of some of the rare

PRESS RELEASE. Silta Finance, a new DeFi lending solution, challenges traditional banking sector’s predominance in project finance by announcing a partnership with the Singapore headquartered development company WEnergy Global. WEnergy Global has agreed to explore cryptocurrency lending solutions to access project finance. The company is partnering with Silta, a new startup connecting DeFi with infrastructure funding. Silta gives DeFi lenders access to a new real asset class, diversifying the investment universe and offering competitive interest rates. With this deal, WEnergy Global will be one of the first borrowers to receive early access to Silta’s new DeFi solution. Silta facilitates lending for building various kinds of infrastructure assets in a project finance framework. Borrowers can submit loan applications, and Silta conducts a risk analysis and carries out a credit assessment. Based on this information, the Silta community votes on which projects should be financed. A

Mariah Carey has encouraged her fans to invest in cryptocurrencies. To help them get started, she is offering $20 in free bitcoin via her partnered cryptocurrency exchange. “A portion of your trade will go toward Black Girls Code, a non-profit helping to increase the number of women of color in the digital space,” said Carey. Mariah Carey Offers Free Bitcoin Bonus to Help Fans Get Started Investing in Crypto Award-winning artist Mariah Carey has encouraged her fans to start investing in crypto. Throughout her career, the famous singer, songwriter, and actress has won five Grammy Awards, 19 World Music Awards, and 21 Billboard Music Awards. Carey is also an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Carey has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini to offer a small amount of free bitcoin to anyone signing up for a trading account at the crypto exchange and start investing. She tweeted about the offer to her 21.6 million followers and posted a video of herself explaining the of

Global investment bank JPMorgan says inflation concerns are pushing the price of bitcoin to record highs, rather than interest in recently launched bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Noting that investors are pulling out of gold ETFs into bitcoin funds, the firm noted, “The flow shift remains intact supporting a bullish outlook for bitcoin into year-end.” JPMorgan Sees Inflation Driving up the Price of Bitcoin JPMorgan Chase’s analysts, led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, published a research note last week explaining that inflation has been driving up the price of bitcoin to all-time highs rather than the hype around the first U.S. bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF). Proshares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, ticker BITO, began trading Tuesday and rapidly amassed $1 billion in investments. The second bitcoin futures ETF in the U.S. launched Friday. The JPMorgan analysts believe that “By itself, the launch of BITO is unlikely to trigger a new phase of significantly more fre

The prime minister of Thailand has cautioned investors getting into cryptocurrencies, noting that they are volatile and highly speculative. Recently, interest in cryptocurrencies has soared as young investors in the country discovered that they could make money quickly by investing in cryptocurrencies. Thai Prime Minister Warns About Crypto Investing Ratchada Thanadirek, deputy spokeswoman for the Thai Prime Minister’s Office, said Saturday that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is worried about people investing in cryptocurrencies, particularly young investors. The warning came as the prime minister learned that Thai people entering the workforce have flocked to invest in cryptocurrencies due to their spectacular returns in a short period of time. However, the prime minister urged investors to consider the risks of investing in this asset class. He noted that cryptocurrencies have no supporting fundamentals, and they are highly speculative and very volatile. He also asked parents

On November 2, a non-fungible token (NFT) magazine is coming to the Ethereum blockchain called “The NFT Magazine” — a periodical publication containing articles and illustrations in the form of an NFT. The project, promoted by Advtech IT Solutions, has partnered with members of the Zilliqa, Algorand, and Bitcoin Cash blockchain communities, alongside Art Rights, Artuu, The Cryptonomist, and the Poseidon Group. The NFT Magazine — A Non-Fungible Token Periodical Featuring Blockchain Topics and Crypto Artists Non-fungible token (NFT) assets and collectibles have become a mainstay in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain. During the last 12 months, thousands of artists, celebrities , athletes , designers, DJs , and more have published NFTs that have sold for millions of dollars. There have been all types of NFTs such as artwork, gaming items, music, and even physical items that are tethered to some form of blockchain technology. Now, a team called Advtech IT Solutions plans to dr

On October 21, the bitcoin mining pool operator Titan revealed a new decentralized hashpower routing protocol called Lumerin. The open-source project aims to commodify bitcoin’s hashpower “through smart contracts, making hashpower tradable.” Bloq’s Mining Arm Titan Announces the Lumerin Protocol The bitcoin mining operation Titan , a subsidiary of the company Bloq Inc., has announced its decentralized hashpower routing protocol, “Lumerin.” Titan says that bitcoin mining companies “tend to be concentrated in regions that offer cheap electricity, favorable regulation, and stable infrastructure” and it aims to solve centralization via software. The idea is to commodify bitcoin’s processing power and security by leveraging smart contracts. “The Lumerin Protocol will allow companies and individuals to buy, sell, and deliver hashpower, achieving decentralization through open market dynamics,” Titan’s announcement details. “Furthermore, by making hashpower a transferrable digital commodi

The price of bitcoin in October has shown signs of a double-bubble similar to the bull run in 2013, and speculators have been trying to guess the leading crypto asset’s top. On October 20, cryptocurrency market analyst Justin Bennett discussed bitcoin’s possible price floor after it reaches the top. Bennett suggests the end of this cycle could be between $207,000 and $270,000. Assuming bitcoin crosses $200K per coin, Bennett thinks the digital asset’s bottom after an 80% pullback will be around $50K. ‘2013 Vibes,’ ‘End-of-Cycle Targets,’ and Searching for the Elusive Bottom The price of bitcoin (BTC) reached an all-time high (ATH) at $67,017 on October 20, 2021, and since then the price has shed around 8% in value. On that same day, cryptocurrency market analyst Justin Bennett published some insights about bitcoin’s future in a blog post called “Charting Bitcoin’s Next Five Years.” Cryptocademy’s analyst Bennett discusses BTC ’s market fundamentals and he offers a prediction of t

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a warning that registered investment advisers are not allowed to engage in unregistered activities. This warning includes crypto activities since crypto is currently an unregulated industry in India. SEBI Warns Registered Investment Advisers Cannot Engage in Crypto Activities Indian securities and commodity market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), issued a notice regarding “unregulated products” Thursday. “It has come to the notice of SEBI that some registered investment advisers [RIAs] are engaged in unregulated activity by providing platform for buying/ selling/ dealing in unregulated products including digital gold,” SEBI explained. The regulator warned that “Undertaking such unregulated activity including dealing (i.e. advisory, distribution and execution/ implementation services) in digital gold by investment advisers is not in accordance with the provisions of Section 12(1) of the SEBI A

Just a few days after reports emerged that it had refused to process a company registration application by Flint API limited, the Nigerian agency Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has now registered the blockchain start-up. The agency however blames an unnamed employee for the failure to process the application. The CAC’s About-turn According to a report , the agency’s reversal of its earlier decision followed an intervention by the CAC’s registrar-general Alhaji Garba Abubakar. As reported by Bitcoin.com News, the CAC’s refusal to register the start-up had prompted directors of an incubating hub that is housing Flint API Limited to seek Nigerian vice president Yemi Osinbajo’s intervention. While there is speculation that Osinbajo did intervene, the report by Cryptoassetbuyer, however, suggests it was Muhammad Abdullahi, an assistant to Abubakar, who aided in the registration process. The difficulty in processing the application also is said to have been the result of an unnamed

Input-Output Hong Kong (IOHK) has listed ADALend on their :Essential Cardano List” of projects that are considered part of the ecosystem supporting and providing Cardano users with products and services. “The Essential Cardano List” gives an overview of the Cardano ecosystem with an accompanying map, a central library of materials, Cardano Foundation, and Emurgo resources, as well as community-generated materials and a list of current stake pools. ADALend ’s inclusion in the list marks a milestone for the project and its plans to broadcast consumer awareness for the project and its features. About IOHK Input-Output Hong Kong (IOHK) is a technology firm dedicated to employing peer-to-peer innovations to bring financial services to the world’s three billion unbanked individuals. They are a software development firm that creates cryptocurrencies and blockchains for academic institutions, government agencies, and businesses. IOHK is considered one of the world’s leading blockchain i

One of South Africa’s biggest banks, Standard Bank, has reportedly sent account termination notices to clients that offer automated cryptocurrency arbitrage services. Bank’s Criteria Questioned This move, according to a Mybroadband report, has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency industry. The sending of the notices has also raised questions about the criteria that Standard Bank is using when making a decision on which accounts must be terminated. For example, Carel de Villiers, the co-founder of an arbitrage trading firm Shiftly, is one individual quoted questioning the formula that Standard Bank is using. While acknowledging that Shiftly is not a client of the bank, de Villiers however suggests it is curious that Standard Bank — which once rejected his company’s attempt to open an account — maintains a business relationship with its rivals. The report also quotes an unnamed arbitrage trader who similarly claims their account is being terminated simply because of the compa

Authorities in Kazakhstan have calculated the energy used in the country’s crypto mining industry which competes for electricity with other sectors of the economy and households. The government has also estimated the additional supply necessary to meet the growing demand from mining farms and proposed a cap on the power rating of new facilities. Kazakhstan Measures Power Usage in Crypto Mining Sector, Estimates Deficit In an effort to explain why Kazakhstan is considering imposing restrictions on new cryptocurrency mining operations, the Ministry of Energy told local media that data centers minting digital coins use 5 megawatts (MW) of electricity each hour. Just a single mining facility burns an average of 3.6 million kilowatts (kW) a month, the department stated, noting that the amount equals the consumption of 24,000 homes. As China has been cracking down on cryptocurrency miners this year, the Central Asian nation has become an attractive destination for many businesses fro

Developers of the Binance Smart Chain, the Binance-backed decentralized blockchain platform, have proposed applying a mechanism to burn BNB tokens based on the utilization of the network. According to the proposal, this would benefit both validators and holders due to the increase in value that the token would experience thanks to token burns. The proposal, called Binance Evolution Protocol 95 (or BEP-95), bears a striking resemblance to EIP-1559, an already implemented Ethereum proposal that also burns fees. Binance Smart Chain Could Burn Gas Fees Binance Smart Chain, the decentralized blockchain backed by Binance, could be implementing a gas-burning mechanism in the near future. Developers of the chain unveiled a proposal that points in that direction. The proposal, called BEP-95 , would burn some of the fees that users spend to make transactions or to interact with smart contracts on the network. Normally these fees would go to validators as rewards for securing the network. Bu

After failing to roll out its CBDC on October 1, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released a document in which it reiterates its commitment to launching the e-naira. In fact, in this document titled The Design Paper for the E-naira, the CBN says it is now ready to launch Nigeria’s CBDC. CBN Prioritizes Robust Ecosystems However, in the same document , the central bank appears to downplay the implications of failing to launch as planned. Instead, the CBN attempts to highlight the importance of getting things right the first time and how this guarantees the digital currency’s success in the long term. The document explains the CBN’s position: While the launch of the e-naira is an important event, it is one milestone on a long journey. The e-naira is a process, not a single step. Over time, the CBN believes the robust ecosystems that will be built on the e-naira platform will ensure Nigeria and Nigerians receive all the benefits from the e-naira. E-Naira Roadmap Instead of pu

The executive power will not oppose cryptocurrency investments, a high-ranking government official has told lawmakers in Pakistan. The statement comes as a regional high court has urged the federal government to regulate cryptocurrencies and formed a committee to look into the matter in the coming months. Minister Says Pakistan Government Has No Objection to Investments in Crypto Addressing members of the National Assembly this week, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Muhammad Khan, recognized cryptocurrency as a new concept. He then noted that the government did not have any objection if the Pakistani youth would take the opportunity to invest through this new technology. Khan made the comments on Wednesday in response to a calling attention notice in the lower house of parliament regarding the absence of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the country, the Daily Times reported. The minister explained that the government did not oppose their reg

The American journalist, Youtuber, podcast host, and political commentator, Tim Pool, has talked about bitcoin on numerous occasions and even more so these days as the crypto asset crossed its all-time price high. After the Proshares exchange-traded fund (ETF) launched on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Pool asked his 897,700 Twitter followers if they thought bitcoin would hit $200K. Tim Pool ‘Feels Bad’ for People Dismissing Bitcoin Tim Pool is a well known person on various social media channels due to the work he’s done as a journalist, show host, and commentator. When it comes to living in these modern times, Pool always has something to say in order to spark meaningful debate. Pool is a former member of Vice Media and in 2014 he also participated in Fusion TV. The activist is also well known for his live-streamed recordings of the 2011 Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011. These days, Pool hosts a Youtube show and podcast called “ Timcast IRL ” and he discusses things like