Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Recognizing existing demand for non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, one of the largest banks in Russia, Sberbank, now intends to allow users to issue them on its blockchain platform. The financial institution also plans to cooperate with art sites and galleries across the country. Sberbank to Give Clients Opportunity to Mint NFTs An option providing users with the chance to issue their own non-fungible tokens should appear on Sberbank’s blockchain platform in the fourth quarter of the year, the bank’s Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov unveiled during the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. The high-ranking executive added that the Russian banking giant plans to start cooperating on projects with art sites, galleries, and potentially sports organizations for NFT releases related to games and tournaments. Quoted by the crypto page of the leading Russian business news portal RBC, Popov remarked this is something new for the bank which will first make some tests. At the initial stage, the se

India’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to take “a lead role” in regulating crypto assets. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva says the global organization stands ready to work with India on climate change, crypto regulation, and other global challenges of our times. India Wants IMF to Lead in Crypto Regulation Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director and chairman of the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in New Delhi on Wednesday. The two discussed a wide range of topics, including India’s upcoming G20 presidency and crypto regulation. According to India’s Ministry of Finance, Sitharaman and Georgieva discussed the significance of regulating crypto assets and the need to have a “globally coordinated, synchronized approach to the issue.” In addition, the Indian finance minister urged the IMF to “play a lead role in this regard.” Sitharaman’s s

Canadian crypto exchange Coinberry, part of Kevin O’Leary’s Wonderfi, has sued 50 customers for the return of the bitcoin they obtained without paying during a software glitch. “Coinberry contacted all of the said 546 affected registered users by email and demanded the return of the misappropriated bitcoins,” the lawsuit details. Coinberry Sues Users to Get Bitcoin Back Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Coinberry has reportedly sued its customers who took advantage of its software glitch and obtained bitcoin without paying. Coinberry, a regulated crypto trading platform, is owned by Vancouver-based Wonderfi Technologies Inc., a company backed by Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary. The lawsuit, filed in Ontario in June, explains that during a software upgrade in 2020, Coinberry accidentally let users buy BTC with Canadian dollars that had not properly transferred to their accounts. The exchange detailed that during the software glitch, customers could initiate an Interac e-transfer, g

Mysten Labs, developer of a new blockchain project called Sui, raised $300 million in its latest funding round. The round, which was led by FTX ventures, also had the support of A16z crypto, Jump Crypto, Apollo, Binance Labs, Franklin Templeton, and Coinbase Ventures, among others. The funds will be directed to continue growing Sui’s infrastructure and core, hiring in the Asia Pacific area for this task. Mysten Labs Reaches $2 Billion Valuation in Series B Funding Round Mysten Labs, a company founded by Meta’s former employees that worked on the Novi project, has achieved a significant milestone for its future. The company reported having raised $300 million in its Series B funding round. The round was led by FTX Ventures and had the participation of many venture capital firms, including A16z crypto, Jump Crypto, Apollo, Binance Labs, Franklin Templeton, Coinbase Ventures, Circle Ventures, and Lightspeed Venture Partners, among others. This funding round allowed the company to rea

Days after the two institutions agreed on the need for cross-border crypto payments, the finance ministry and the central bank of Russia are once again highlighting their different priorities. While the treasury department aims for legalizing cryptocurrency payments in the coming months, the monetary authority says it will “actively promote” its digital currency for international settlements. Bank of Russia Seeks to Impose Digital Ruble for International Settlements The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) will “actively promote” the employment of the digital ruble in cross-border payments, its Governor Elvira Nabiullina stated in a documentary aired by the Russia-24 TV channel. The film was devoted to the 220th anniversary of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The department recently announced it had reached an agreement with the monetary authority on the need to legalize international crypto payments in the face of Western sanctions. In the current conditions, “it is imp

According to reports, the Japanese government is one of the first countries to use non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as a supplementary award to local authorities that excelled in a digitization competition. The awards were given to local authorities as recognition for their efforts in using digital technology to solve local challenges. Issuing and Distributing NFTs via a Low-Cost Blockchain In what has been described as a first for the Japanese government, the country’s cabinet secretariat recently used non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as a supplementary prize during a ceremony to recognize local governments that excelled in a digitization competition. According to a Coinpost report , this year’s award ceremony was supported by four technology companies: Indiesquare, Bitflyer Holdings, Tree Digital Studio, and Tomonari Kogei. As noted in the report, Indiesquare’s low-cost blockchain platform, the Hazama Base, was used to issue and distribute the NFTs. Before this, the platform was similarly us

Thailand’s securities regulator recently said it had referred digital asset service provider Zipmex and its Thai unit chief executive officer, Akalarp Yimwilai, to a technology crime division of the Royal Thai Police. The regulator said it made decision after Yimwilai and his company failed to comply with the request to furnish an official with information relating to customers’ digital wallets. Zipmex Fails to Share Details on Transfers and Withdrawals on Its Platform Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (TSEC) said it has referred Zipmex and the digital asset service provider’s Thai unit chief executive officer (CEO) Akalarp Yimwilai to local law enforcement for non-compliance “with the order of the competent official.” In a statement, the regulator said it took action after Yimwilai and his company failed to submit information relating to customers’ digital wallets. Zipmex is also accused of failing to furnish the TSEC official with details on the transfer and withdrawa

A high-ranking member of the Russian parliament has urged for the adoption of a relevant legal framework to properly regulate cross-border crypto payments. His proposal comes after key regulators in Moscow said that Russia needs to allow the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade, now that it’s having to deal with serious financial restrictions. Financial Market Committee Chair Suggests Adopting Legislation for Russia’s Crypto Payments Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Financial Market Committee at the State Duma, considers it necessary to provide cross-border settlements in cryptocurrency with a regulatory framework. The lower house of Russian parliament is expected to review crypto-related draft legislation this fall, including a new bill “On Digital Currency,” and Aksakov has been an active participant in these efforts. The influential member of the lower house of Russian parliament issued the call after earlier this week the Russian finance ministry and central bank agreed that f

The European Union (EU) is working on a project that involves blockchain architecture and the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to fight counterfeiting and forgery. The project is the product of several meetings and blockchain hackathons organized by the European Union Intellectual Property Office and proposes to create digital twins of products to trace their path across supply lines. European Union to Use NFTs to Protect Intellectual Property The European Union has recently announced that is working on a system that will use blockchain and NFTs as part of its fight against the counterfeiting of physical goods. The system proposed will be designed by the European Union Intellectual Property Office, and is the product of more than five years of work. A document issued this month explains that the organization has already selected a high-level architecture for this task, and details generalities about how the system will work. Intellectual property (IP) holders will create digital

While decentralized finance (defi) has created a plethora of protocols that make it so crypto assets can gather a yield, ten and a half years ago a bitcoin exchange called Bitcoinica introduced the first interest accruing system for bitcoin deposits. Despite being the first to test the waters, Bitcoinica eventually went bust after a series of hacks that saw roughly 62,101 bitcoin stolen from the exchange, and interest-bearing crypto accounts did not return until eight years later. Bitcoin Interest-Bearing Accounts Were Introduced by Bitcoinica in 2012 These days, interest-bearing accounts and yield-gathering defi protocols are all the rage in the world of cryptocurrency, but most people don’t know that the idea was introduced more than a decade ago. In mid-February 2012, the now-defunct bitcoin exchange, Bitcoinica, developed an idea that allowed bitcoin deposits on the exchange to gather interest. The idea was announced by the 18-year-old Zhou Tong, a bitcoin enthusiast who found

Sorare, a French fantasy game startup, reached an agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to build a non-fungible token (NFT) game under its license, allowing the company to use team names and player likenesses from the league. The company, which had already signed similar agreements with North America’s Major League Baseball (MLB) and some European soccer leagues, including the Spanish Laliga, is now the official NFT partner of the NBA. Sorare to Launch NFT-Based, NBA-Licensed Game Sorare, a French fantasy NFT game company, has announced a new partnership with North America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) to build a new NFT-based game. The company announced it signed a multi-year agreement to be the official NFT partner of the league, meaning that it can make use of the likenesses of players, teams, and the league in its upcoming products. Similar to other games already presented by the organization, the upcoming game will allow users to build a team of N

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Authorities in Nigeria have been told to consider upgrading the country’s cryptocurrency regulatory guidelines because current regulations are not consistent with the realities on the ground. According to legal experts, the growing interest in cryptocurrencies by Nigerians means the country needs to have “clear-cut guidelines” for the industry. Nigerians Continue to Defy Central Bank Legal experts who spoke at a two-day workshop recently held in Nigeria have urged authorities to consider upgrading the country’s cryptocurrency regulatory guidelines. The experts argued that such an upgrade is needed because Nigerians have largely ignored current regulations that seek to stifle trade or investment in crypto. As recently reported by Bitcoin.com News, Nigerians are skirting the central bank’s restrictions on crypto trading or investment by using peer-to-peer trading platforms. For example, in just the first of half 2022, Nigerians using Paxful — a peer-to-peer crypto exchange — are rep

A judge in the collapsed online bitcoin trading platform Mirror Trading International’s liquidation case has issued a provisional liquidation order that outlines the criteria to be used when reimbursing investors. The order also reportedly directs the liquidators to regard bitcoin “as [an] intangible asset that constitute[s] property.” Claims for Reimbursement Must Be Submitted in Local Currency A South African High Court judge recently granted an order outlining the criteria that liquidators of Mirror Trading International (MTI) — the collapsed bitcoin Ponzi scheme — should use when distributing recovered funds to the scheme’s investors. In addition, the judge, Justice MJ Dolamo, said MTI investors should submit claims denominated in the local currency — the rand. According to a Mybroadband report , the judge’s provisional order requires liquidators to designate bitcoin as an “intangible asset” that constitutes property. The report also said the order proffers two scenarios that t

A cryptocurrency investor has reportedly sued South Korean crypto exchange Upbit after the trading platform delayed processing his luna coin transfer prior to its crash. The Korean crypto exchange is investigating the details of the lawsuit. Upbit Sued by Crypto Investor Dunamu Inc., the company that operates the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, has been sued by a crypto investor, a man in his 50s, Korea Joongang Daily reported Monday. The investor alleged that Upbit delayed processing his coin transfer off the exchange prior to the coin crashing, resulting in a monetary loss of 156 million won ($112,477). Upbit is one of the largest crypto exchanges in South Korea. The lawsuit filed with the Seoul Central District Court last week explains that the investor attempted to transfer 1,310 luna coins (LUNA) on March 24 from his Upbit crypto wallet to a wallet he owns at Binance in order to exchange the coins for Vietnamese dong. On that date, the price of LUNA, now called lu

A federal judge in California has ruled that Apple Inc. is shielded from the “Toast Plus” class action lawsuit where a fake crypto wallet app was available in the Apple App Store. A customer sued the tech giant after downloading the fraudulent app and lost some crypto. Apple Not Liable for Loss After Customer Downloaded Fake Crypto App Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has ruled that Apple Inc. is not liable in a class action lawsuit where a fraudulent cryptocurrency wallet app was available for download on the company’s app store, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Plaintiff Hadona Diep, a crypto investor, accused Apple of hosting a fraudulent mobile application that mimics Toast Plus, a legit XRP wallet app. The fake app had a similar name and logo to its legitimate counterpart. She filed a class action lawsuit against the Tech giant in Maryland federal court in September last year; the case was transferred to the Northern Dis

Mizuho Securities’ head of global macro strategies has warned that an IMF bailout may be in the U.K.’s future. Moreover, a former chancellor of the exchequer cautioned that Britain is entering a long and severe recession, emphasizing that it’s “the worst since 1990 and it may be the worst since before that.” Strategist Discusses Possibility of IMF Bailout for the UK Peter Chatwell, head of global macro strategies at Mizuho Securities, shared his outlook for the U.K. economy in an interview on Bloomberg Television Monday. He explained that Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss , has promised fiscal policy that the British government cannot afford. He also does not expect the Bank of England to be able to get inflation anywhere near its 2% mandate anytime soon. “I’m thinking of two potential crises that this reminds me of,” the Mizuho strategist said. Noting that one of them is the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992, he opined: And then I’m thinking about the possibility

The bitcoin mining company Cleanspark revealed on Wednesday that the company has signed a purchase agreement for 10,000 new Bitmain Antminer S19j Pro mining rigs for $28 million. Cleanspark expects the machines to be delivered to the company’s facilities by the end of October or early November 2022. Cleanspark Inks Deal with Cryptech Solutions — Purchases 10,000 New Antminers Bitcoin miner Cleanspark (Nasdaq: CLSK ) has announced it has inked a deal with Cryptech Solutions in order to acquire 10,000 Bitmain Antminer S19j Pro bitcoin mining rigs. The news follows Cleanspark exceeding 3 exahash per second (EH/s) and a record daily production high of 13.25 BTC . At the time, Cleanspark’s executive chairman Matt Schultz remarked that the company was prepared for the crypto winter. In the press release sent to Bitcoin.com News, Cleanspark said the 10,000 new Bitmain-brand bitcoin miners should be delivered to the firm’s mining campuses in roughly two months. The publicly-listed bitcoin

Wall Street’s major indexes closed the day in red on Tuesday, alongside cryptocurrencies, and precious metals like gold and silver taking some percentage losses. The leading crypto asset bitcoin dropped 5.87% under the $19K region, while the second largest crypto asset ethereum shed 8.7%. Gold’s nominal U.S. dollar value per troy ounce slipped by 0.50%, while silver dropped by 0.74% on September 6. Meanwhile, a recent rise in U.S. Treasury yields has been concerning and one analyst thinks the anomaly could spark an American debt crisis. Stocks Sink Lower, Crypto Economy Craters, Precious Metals Dip, Traders Await Fed’s Next Move Tuesday was a bloody day of trading for Wall Street traders, gold bugs, and crypto proponents as markets shed significant losses. Investors are starting to weigh in on the upcoming Federal Reserve rate hike, and benchmark U.S. Treasury yields leapt to the highest tier in two months. Nasdaq, NYSE, S&P 500, and the Dow Jones ended Tuesday lower than expect

Bitcoin fell below $19,000 on Wednesday, as the token failed to break out of a key resistance level during yesterday’s session. As a result of today’s sell-off, prices are now at their lowest point since June. Ethereum also declined, as bullish sentiment surrounding The Merge faded. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) fell to its lowest level since June earlier in today’s session, a day after the token failed to break out of a key resistance point. Following a peak of $20,155.27 on Tuesday, BTC /USD dropped to an intraday low of $18,644.47 on hump day. The move saw bitcoin fall to its lowest point since June 18, and came as prices declined as BTC neared its ceiling of $20,230. Looking at the chart, the drop saw BTC move from that ceiling, to eventually break out of a support level of $19,500. As of writing, the token is now trading close to a lower floor at $18,600, which is an area where bulls have so far attempted to uphold support. The relative strength index (RSI) is currently tracki

Russia is cooperating with friendly countries on the potential employment of stablecoins in international payments, a top government official unveiled. The news comes after key institutions in Moscow agreed that the Russian Federation needs to legalize cross-border crypto payments in the face of sanctions. Russia Looking to Build Stablecoin Platforms to Facilitate Trade With Partners The Russian government is now working with several “friendly countries” on the establishment of clearing platforms for international settlements in stablecoins, Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev revealed, quoted by the Tass news agency. “We are currently working with a number of countries to create bilateral platforms in order not to use dollars and euros,” Moiseev said, explaining that Moscow offers to employ “mutually acceptable tokenized instruments” on these platforms. The high-ranking government official further elaborated that the “stablecoins can be pegged to some generally recognized inst

The Ethereum Merge is shaping up to be the biggest event in the crypto space in over five years, and that could mean some significant impacts on your crypto portfolio. We know that sometime between September 10th and 20th, the Merge will take place, resulting in the Proof of Stake “Beacon Chain” merging with the current Proof of Work Ethereum chain. While speculation surrounds whether Ethereum will fork and what may happen to DeFi protocols, stablecoins, NFTs and more, essential questions remain around the potential tax implications that Ethereum holders could incur. So what’s happening, and what do you need to know? Crypto tax calculator Koinly is here to explain. What is the Ethereum Merge? The ultimate result of the Ethereum Merge will be the transition from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) as the consensus mechanism for the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum developers have flagged this move for years, with work initially beginning as far back as 2016. The current es