Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

In 2021, the subreddit forum r/wallstreetbets, also known as Wallstreetbets (WSB) became an extremely popular forum after the members played a major role in the Gamestop short squeeze escapade. In recent times, the founder of WSB, Jaime Rogozinski has been behind a new decentralized finance project called the Wallstreetbets Dapp (wsbdapp.com). Rogozinski spoke with Bitcoin.com News this past week and he discussed the Wallstreetbets Dapp and how traditional and crypto finance are spilling over into each other. Wallstreetbets Collides With Decentralized Finance Just recently, Bitcoin.com News chatted with Jaime Rogozinski, the founder of the infamous Wallstreetbets forum. These days, Rogozinski is very focused on defi and the WSB founder is now behind a new defi project called the Wallstreetbets Dapp ( wsbdapp.com ). Rogozinski discussed the project with Bitcoin.com News in great detail, in order to give our readers some perspective of the decentralized app , exchange-traded portfoli

The government of Kyrgyzstan has recently revised its electricity tariffs for various groups of consumers. Authorities in Bishkek have raised the rates at which crypto mining businesses buy power citing the energy-intensive nature of the coin minting process. Crypto Miners in Kyrgyzstan to Pay More for Electricity Companies operating crypto mining facilities in Kyrgyzstan will have to pay a higher price for the electrical energy they need to mint digital currencies. The increase follows a government decision to update electricity rates across the board in order to “ensure the stable and reliable functioning of the energy sector.” According to an official announcement , the changes are part of the country’s Medium-Term Tariff Policy for Electricity (2021–2025), approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. “Mining entities (cryptocurrency)” is one of the 14 groups of end users affected by the revision. The base tariff for consumers in that category is calculated with a multiplying factor o

Sky Mavis, the team that created the Ethereum-powered non-fungible token (NFT) game Axie Infinity, revealed the project plans to launch a decentralized exchange (dex), according to the company’s co-founder Jeff Zirlin during a podcast with Frank Chaparro. Moreover, Axie Infinity recently captured over $2 billion in NFT sales, making it the second-largest project in terms of NFT sales, just below the marketplace Opensea. Axie Infinity Plans to Launch a Dex Platform The Axie Infinity economy has swelled exponentially during the last few months, as the Ethereum-powered game has seen $2.27 billion in all-time sales among 687,495 traders. While the project offers an in-game experience with NFTs, Axie Infinity also has two native token assets. The token asset axie infinity (AXS) has increased 55.4% in value during the last month. Meanwhile, year-to-date, Axie Infinity’s other native token smooth love potion (SLP) is up 98.7% against the U.S. dollar. Jeff Zirlin appeared on the podcast T

Kazakhstan is facing electricity shortages and cryptocurrency mining has been singled out as the main culprit. Amid an ongoing crackdown in China, the Central Asian nation has become a magnet for crypto miners who are taking advantage of its low electricity rates. Republic of Kazakhstan Sees 7% Increase in Electricity Demand Due to Crypto Miners Kazakhstan plans to boost its power generating capacities in the coming years but right now the country is experiencing electricity shortages. In 2021, consumption has surged by 7% in comparison with last year, a government official revealed at a press conference. The spike in demand is largely due to a growing number of data centers devoted to cryptocurrency mining, Energy Minister Magzum Mirzagaliev told local media this week, referring to numbers released by the grid operator, KEGOC. Stressing that “this is a very big increase,” he stated: We need to make a number of decisions. First, we must be able to ensure that system operators ha

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies poses new challenges to financial stability. “Cryptoization can reduce the ability of central banks to effectively implement monetary policy. It could also create financial stability risks.” IMF Sees New Challenges to Financial Stability From Crypto The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned about the risks posed by the cryptocurrency boom in a blog post published Friday. The post, titled “Crypto boom poses new challenges to financial stability,” is authored by three financial experts from the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department: Dimitris Drakopoulos, Fabio Natalucci, and Evan Papageorgiou. Noting that “The total market value of all the crypto assets surpassed $2 trillion as of September 2021 — a 10-fold increase since early 2020,” they said that many entities in the ecosystem “lack strong operational, governance, and risk practices.” These include exchanges, wallets, miners, and

One of the largest darknet markets (DNM), White House, announced the market is retiring as the DNM’s administrators say the team has reached its goal. After revealing the retirement plan, White House admins explained that user registration and orders have been disabled. Darknet Market White House Plans to Close Its Doors Soon, User Registration and Orders Have Been Disabled When the DNM Dark Market was seized by global law enforcement, White House marketplace became the second-largest DNM just below the Russian darknet behemoth Hydra. White House also was a monero ( XMR ) only DNM, which means XMR was the only digital currency accepted by White House vendors. White House and the DNM Archetyp Market were the only two DNMs that had a strict XMR only rule. However, the administrators of White House market announced the DNM is closing down voluntarily as the team has reached its goal. White House (WH) admins further emphasized that users should not expect the DNM to return so if a WH

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee that he has no intention to ban or limit the use of cryptocurrencies. He also commented on the regulation of stablecoins. Powell Says ‘No Intention to Ban’ Crypto The chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Jerome Powell, talked about cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies (CBDC) during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee Thursday. The main focus of the meeting, however, was the Federal Reserve’s and Treasury’s responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke for the Treasury Department. U.S. Congressman Ted Budd from North Carolina said to Powell: “In a July hearing before this committee, you were asked about CBDCs or the central bank digital currencies and their impact on stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies, and you stated , ‘You wouldn’t need stablecoins, you wouldn’t ne

The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has disclosed that at least 6,000 users were victims of a hacking campaign to gain unauthorized access to the accounts of Coinbase customers. The hackers also took advantage of a flaw in Coinbase’s SMS Account Recovery process to gain access to user accounts. Cryptocurrencies of at Least 6,000 Coinbase Customers Stolen by Hackers Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase reportedly informed over 6,000 customers this week that their accounts had been compromised and funds were removed. A copy of the letter is posted on the website of California’s Attorney General. In the letter, the exchange explained: Unfortunately, between March and May 20, 2021, you were a victim of a third-party campaign to gain unauthorized access to the accounts of Coinbase customers and move customer funds off the Coinbase platform. At least 6,000 Coinbase customers had funds removed from their accounts, including you. In order to access a user account at Coinbas

Bitcoin logged price losses once again for the crypto asset’s fifth consecutive September in its lifetime, but as soon as the month ended, billions of dollars came back into the crypto economy. Metrics show that while September has consistently been a bad month for bitcoin, October, on the other hand, has traditionally been a good month for bitcoin since 2013. Bitcoin Has Been Profitable in October 77% of the Time In 2020, the price of bitcoin ( BTC ) closed the month of September at around $10,750 per unit but the following month, BTC spiked 25% to roughly $13,450 per unit. This year, September has been dreary price-wise, and many crypto proponents have asked to be woken up when “ September ends .” On September 26, Civic co-founder Vinny Lingham wrote : “This feels like September 2017 again… Who remembers what happened next?” On October 1, 2021, BTC surged from $43,500 per unit to Friday’s high of $48,500 per BTC . That’s an increase of around 11.49% and the spike happened very

About 83.7% of those surveyed by Luno in a recent study believe the price of bitcoin will rise significantly in the next few months. In fact, 59.4% of the more bullish respondents are expecting the leading crypto to rise to as much as $100,000. Bullish Beyond Bitcoin These are the findings of Luno’s Q3 Customer Sentiment Survey that was conducted between August 20 and September 20. A total of 1,870 customers of Luno cryptocurrency exchange from South Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the U.K. participated in the study. Aside from bitcoin, study participants were also asked to share their thoughts about the prospects of altcoins like ETH , XRP and BCH . As the study findings suggest, many of the respondents across the four countries are similarly bullish on altcoins as well. South Africans Less Bullish on ETH However, it would appear that Luno customers in the U.K. and Malaysia are more bullish on such cryptos as ETH than their counterparts in South Africa. The exchange’s blog e

A spokesperson for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Osita Nwanisobi, has said the launch of the much-hyped e-naira central bank digital currency (CBDC) has now been postponed to a later date. Nwanisobi’s announcement came less than 24 hours before the CBN was scheduled to launch the digital currency. Launch Date Clashes With Nigeria’s Day of Independence In a Facebook post that reveals the reasons behind the deference, Nwanisobi points to the clash of the CBDC’s launch date with Nigeria’s day of independence. According to the post, the spokesman explained that: The planned unveiling on October 1, 2021, has now been deferred due to other key activities lined up to commemorate the country’s 61st Independence anniversary. However, despite this postponement, Nwanisobi reassures Nigerians that the CBN and its partners are “working round the clock to ensure a seamless process.” According to the CBN post and Nwanisobi, this is being done “for the overall benefit of the customer, par

Argo Blockchain, a London-based cryptocurrency mining company, has announced an expansion of its mining capacity that will more than double its current hashrate. The expansion will be done through the acquisition of 20,000 S19J Pro bitcoin miners from Bitmain, which will be delivered in several installments. These miners will populate the facility the company plans to build in Texas next year. Argo Blockchain Expands Hashrate Argo Blockchain, a London-based crypto mining company, has announced the purchase of 20,000 mining machines to expand its capacity. This is part of the planned company expansion to West Texas, where it will build a mega-mining facility. The mining machines will be provided by Chinese manufacturer Bitmain in consecutive installments. This purchase agreement will allow Argo to more than double its current mining capacity, taking it to 3.7 exahash for Q3 2022, betting big on the future of Bitcoin as a network and a profitable asset. While the amount of the initi

PRESS RELEASE. YIELD App, a FinTech company, is thrilled to announce it has become the Official Digital Asset Wealth Management Partner of top Premier League football club, West Ham United. This exciting partnership comes just seven months after the public launch of YIELD App in February 2021, demonstrating the growing attractiveness of digital assets to a mainstream audience across the world. YIELD App enables its users to invest in digital assets and earn as much as 20.5% annual interest at the touch of a button. YIELD App is challenging the status quo of the traditional investment system and has seen significant growth since its public launch, with 60,000 users and an impressive $400 million of managed assets to date. YIELD App users will now benefit from the opportunity to experience hospitality at West Ham United home fixtures, through regular competitions throughout the season. Commenting on the partnership, Justin Wright, Chief Operations Officer of YIELD App, says: “‘We ar

A government agency in Uzbekistan has published a list of unauthorized crypto exchanges that residents of the country have been advised to avoid. The trading platforms collect personal data and bear no responsibility for the cryptocurrency transactions, officials have warned. Authorities in Uzbekistan Blacklist ‘Unofficial’ Crypto Exchanges The National Agency of Project Management under the President of Uzbekistan has identified a number of online platforms offering crypto trading services without authorization. During a monitoring campaign on the internet, the body registered an increase in activities of such “unofficial” digital asset exchanges. The entities behind them offer Uzbekistani citizens the option to buy, sell or trade crypto assets without having an office in the country. They are usually registered in other jurisdictions and their servers are located abroad, but at the same time they collect personal information from residents of the Central Asian republic, the agenc

Compound, one of the trademark defi protocols on the Ethereum blockchain, is experiencing a bug that allows users to reclaim unusually high amounts of its native token. The issue was caused by the implementation of a proposal that modified the contract that awards tokens to users. Compound Labs founder Robert Leshner declared that user funds were safe and that the bug would have to wait seven days to be patched due to platform policies. Compound Hit With Distribution Bug Compound, one of the leading decentralized finance platforms built on top of Ethereum, is experiencing a bug that allows users to claim more comp, the native token of the protocol, than what they normally are able to. The bug was a product of the application of governance proposal 062, which modified the relation in which comp tokens are awarded. According to Robert Leshner, founder of Compound Labs, this was the result of the code for the proposal being written by a community member, aided by other community memb

On September 30, the Italian luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana sold an NFT collection for $5.7 million or 1,885 ether. The designers’ Collezione Genesi collection was sold via the platform UNXD, a Polygon network-powered marketplace. Dolce and Gabbana’s Collezione Genesi Rakes in 1,885 Ether Dolce and Gabbana’s first-ever non-fungible-token (NFT) drop, Collezione Genesi raked in a whopping 1,885 ether or $5.7 million, using ethereum ( ETH ) exchange rates at the time of sale on Thursday. Two notable NFTs brought in the most funds, “ The Doge Crown ” and “ The Glass Suit .” “The Glass Suit” NFT was personally designed by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana and the suit is both an NFT and a physical version tailored specifically for the winner. There were also two versions of an NFT called “Dress from a Dream” in the 9-piece “one-of-a-kind collection.” “In a historic moment for the NFT ecosystem, Collezione Genesi is the first luxury NFT collection that involves both digital

The red planet is a mystery to man and his obsession with it has created many legends and myths over the centuries. As the US’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars and drills its first Martian rock core for NASA, interest in Mars is at an all-time high, and pioneers are dying to stake their claim on the Red Planet’s soils. A meaningful approach for the visionary is to speculate on Mars’s value. You can do this by participating in the Mars4 non-fungible token (NFT) and land plot sale running on Ethereum. What is Mars4? Mars4 is a Metaverse ecosystem where you can explore a geographically exact virtual Mars, own and customize your land with MARS4 dollars and even reap the rewards of the world’s first revenue-generating NFT. The 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 based on the latest data from Mars and other s

French multinational investment bank and financial services company, Societe Generale, has proposed to leverage the decentralized finance (defi) protocol Makerdao. The proposal dubbed “Security Tokens Refinancing” was published on October 1 to Makerdao’s forums and the submission aims to utilize the DAI stablecoin to refinance a covered bond concept. Societe Generale Proposes Leveraging Makerdao and DAI Stablecoins to Refinance Bond Token The international bank Societe Generale’s digital currency division has submitted a proposal on Makerdao’s governance forums (MIP6 application) and the bank wants to refinance a bond token. The “covered bond token,” as it’s called, was issued on the Ethereum blockchain last year. The proposal is on “behalf of European investment firm Societe Generale-Forge (SG-Forge),” the MIP6 application notes. “This refinancing transaction experimentation is in line with the innovative process and solutions developed by SG-Forge,” the bank’s digital currency d

On Friday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed four bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) deadlines for another 45 days. The regulator notes that the entity needs more time to decide on the ETF applications. Global X, Kryptoin, Valkyrie, Wisdomtree Bitcoin ETF Deadlines Extended The Kryptoin Bitcoin ETF, Global X Bitcoin Trust, Valkyrie XBTO Bitcoin Futures Fund, and Wisdomtree Bitcoin Trust have all been delayed according to the latest SEC filing . ​​”The 45th day after publication of the notice for this proposed rule change is October 24, 2021,” the U.S. regulator’s filing details. While there’s been a large quantity of bitcoin ETFs filed in the U.S., the SEC has yet to approve any of them. The SEC filing was published by the regulator’s assistant secretary J. Matthew DeLesDernier. “The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the

The director of Tehran’s Stock Exchange has resigned from his post following the discovery of cryptocurrency mining rigs in his organization’s basement. The scandal has erupted as licensed crypto miners in Iran are reportedly resuming operations amid fears of new restrictions in the winter. Iran Stock Exchange CEO Loses Job for Illegal Crypto Mining Under His Watch Ali Sahraei, chief executive of the Tehran Stock Exchange, has submitted his resignation after cryptocurrency mining machines were uncovered in the building occupied by the organization. Media reports of the illegal mining operation at the market’s offices were initially denied by the exchange. It only admitted to having launched an “investigation and research project” related to the liquidity outflow towards crypto assets in 2020. According to another statement, quoted by the state-run Mashreq News, an internal inspection came across several mining devices that were allegedly operated by the stock exchange. “During the

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, has formally approved two companies to provide crypto services. One is the brokerage arm of DBS, the largest bank in Singapore and Southeast Asia. The other is Independent Reserve, a crypto exchange and OTC trading desk. Singapore’s Central Bank Formally Approves DBS and Independent Reserve DBS Bank announced Friday that its brokerage arm, DBS Vickers (DBSV), “has received formal approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act 2019 to provide digital payment token services as a Major Payment Institution.” The bank explained: “This will enable DBSV, as a member of DBS Digital Exchange (Ddex), to directly support asset managers and companies to trade in digital payment tokens through Ddex.” Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, head of Capital Markets at DBS and chair of the DBS Digital Exchange, commented: Having received formal regulatory approval from MAS, DBSV is now in a better positio

PRESS RELEASE. Bitcoin of America (BOA) is a popular virtual currency exchange, headquartered in Chicago, IL. They are known for their extensive number of Bitcoin ATM locations across the United States. Bitcoin of America’s CEO, Sonny Meraban, and Director of Marketing, Jenna Polinsky, have been featured on air at WGN Radio over the past couple of months. BOA is hoping to provide more free opportunities for the public to learn the basics of cryptocurrency. In BOA’s first WGN radio segment, Meraban and Polinsky discuss the basics of how to use a Bitcoin ATM. They also talk about an additional option, which they are hoping to promote to their beginner audience. Bitcoin of America recognized a major learning gap and created their own face to face purchasing experience, this is known as a Bitcoin Teller location. This means that customers can go in and ask questions regarding their purchase. According to Bitcoin of America, all merchants are trained and ready to assist all users. BOA’s

Egyptian banks are reportedly on course to launch a $69.6 million fund which is earmarked to support the country’s fintech companies. According to a report, this fund is expected primarily to target the digital banking and financial services sector. Fintech Apps Targeted Fintech apps that can extend banking and financial services to all segments of society in a cost-effective way will also be targeted. So far, only the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and Banque du Caire have been identified as the financial institutions that are participating in this initiative. Fintechnews Africa reveals in a report that “investments from the fund will be made in both local and international emerging fintech companies.” The report adds that part of the funds will be used to nurture “young talent in this space.” Aside from helping fintech companies grow, having this fund is expected to help the country narrow its financial exclusion gap. With 67% of its adult population currently financially

The central bank of New Zealand has lined up among monetary authorities exploring the question of issuing their own digital currencies. The financial regulator is now seeking feedback from the public about the need for a digital form of the national fiat while also promising to preserve cash. New Zealand Central Bank Considers Risks and Benefits of CBDC Reserve Bank of New Zealand ( RBNZ ) is now gathering input from the public on the potential use of a central bank digital currency ( CBDC ), Reuters reported following an announcement released by the bank on Thursday. Assuring that financial authorities are still working “to preserve cash and the cash system for those that need it,” RBNZ Assistant Governor Christian Hawkesby stated: A Central Bank Digital Currency would see the features and benefits of cash enjoyed in the digital world, working alongside cash and private money held in commercial bank accounts. The high-ranking official elaborated that a CBDC could benefit both