Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

     On May 2, 2023, Europol announced a collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies from the U.S., Europe, the U.K., and Brazil culminated in 288 arrests, along with the confiscation of 850 kg of illegal drugs, 117 firearms, and $53.4 million in cash and cryptocurrencies. This joint venture, named “Operation Spector,” successfully dismantled the darknet marketplace (DNM) Monopoly Market and confiscated its infrastructure back in December 2021. Monopoly Market Taken Down via a Consortium of Global Law Enforcement Officials The U.S. Justice Department and Europol reveal that officials from around the globe collaborated to bring down the DNM Monopoly Market, resulting in the arrest of 288 individuals throughout the investigation. The statement discloses that Monopoly was captured in December 2021 and led to over 100 federal investigations and prosecutions within the United States. In January 2022, an anonymous DNM and Tor researcher known as “Dark.fail” noted that Monopoly’

   Geoff Kendrick, the head of forex research at the banking institution Standard Chartered, recently said that the price of bitcoin is likely to jump by $20,000 in the event of the United States defaulting on its obligations. According to Kendrick, while bitcoin is likely to surge when the U.S. defaults, other cryptocurrencies like ethereum are likely to go down. U.S. Debt Default a ‘Low-Probability’ and ‘High-Impact Event’ As fears mount that the United States government may default on its debt obligations, Geoff Kendrick, a forex research head at Standard Chartered, said such an event would cause the price of bitcoin ( BTC ) to surge by more than $20,000. While Kendrick characterizes the default as a “low-probability, high-impact event,” he nonetheless suggested that the top cryptocurrency’s reputation for performing well when markets are down as well as its safe haven status means the nearly 70% surge in its price is possible. However, the Forex analyst said he believes the surg

2023 has been a rollercoaster ride for the U.S. banking industry. The collapse of three major banks has sent shockwaves through the financial world, with their combined assets surpassing the top 25 banks that crumbled in 2008. The following is a closer look at what has triggered a ‘great consolidation’ in the banking sector, a recurring theme in the industry’s history over the past century. A Listicle of Bank Consolidation, Failures, and Issues Facing the U.S. Banking Sector The U.S. banking industry has taken a beating in 2023, with the market capitalizations of dozens of banks across the country dropping considerably in recent months. The reasons for this struggle are varied, with some blaming poor choices by financial institutions and others pointing fingers at the U.S. central bank. While it’s important to consider different opinions, a comprehensive listicle of information can shed light on the country’s ‘great consolidation’ in the banking sector and the largest bank failures

Russia will start to purchase Chinese yuan for its international reserves as soon as this month, according to reports from Russian economists. While analysts state that the purchases will be small and symbolic in the beginning, these will supposedly demonstrate a turnaround in the economy of the country. Russia to Purchase Chinese Yuan for Reserves Russia will start purchasing Chinese yuan for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, according to reports from local economists. The move marks a departure from the sell-off that the Russian Federation began executing at the start of 2023, cutting its numbers since February. The purchase of these funds in Chinese yuan will help the country to keep piling up on its reserves, which had been cut by the seizures of more than $300 billion in assets due to Western sanctions enacted as a consequence of the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. About these purchases, Bloomberg economist Alexander Isakov stated : The volumes of FX purcha

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva expects “more vulnerabilities” in the U.S. banking sector amid a growing de-dollarization trend worldwide. “There has been a gradual shift away from the dollar,” the IMF chief acknowledged. U.S. Banking Crisis Continues The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, talked about the U.S. banking crisis and a growing de-dollarization trend Monday at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California. The IMF chief warned of more vulnerabilities in the U.S. banking sector, noting that the Federal Reserve’s rapid interest rate hikes have exposed weaknesses at some banks and that the pain may not be over. She said: It doesn’t mean that we have a free pass. It doesn’t mean that there wouldn’t be more vulnerabilities to come. Several major banks in the U.S. have failed in recent months, with the latest being First Republic Bank. On Monday, regulators sei

PRESS RELEASE. P2E projects have reached a dead-end due to the inherent issues of the model. Token Prices and user bases are plummeting and revenue streams of such projects are no longer functioning. So, is this it for the P2E, and is there a way out? May 4, 2023, MAHÉ, SEYCHELLES – After a tumultuous two years, the market cap for GameFi tokens stood at a staggering $27 Billion USD at the start of 2022. Fast forward to 2023, and that amount stands at a much cooler figure of just over $3 Billion USD. Experienced game developers like Red Pill Company put this down to one simple fact – that these games did not focus on creating sustainable project revenue streams and engaging mechanics for the players. As a result, a project’s revenue streams become non-existent, and the project dies. When there is a significant decline in the crypto space, the benefits become much less attractive for players – and that is what has been seen in the industry this past year. Simply put, not enough foc

Former Chief Technology Officer at Coinbase, Balaji Srinivasan, closed out early a bet that the price of bitcoin would hit $1 million by mid-June amid hyperinflation of the U.S. dollar. Srinivasan paid a total of $1.5 million, more than the initially committed $1 million, with two-thirds of the money donated to two organizations. Former Coinbase CTO Settles $1 Million Bet on Bitcoin Ahead of Time Balaji Srinivasan, the ex-chief tech officer of U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase, has closed his million-dollar Bitcoin bet with the pseudonymous Twitter pundit James Medlock. On Tuesday, Srinivasan announced on his website and social media that he has settled the apparently losing bet ahead of time. Medlock made the bet on March 16 when he tweeted: “I’ll bet anyone $1 million dollars that the U.S. does not enter hyperinflation.” Srinivasan took it on the following day, asking Medlock to buy 1 BTC and promising to send him $1 million if the leading crypto’s price doesn’t reach $1 million wi

Supported by U.S. law enforcement, police in Ukraine have disrupted a network of crypto exchange services suspected of laundering criminal proceeds. The platforms were allegedly processing dirty money obtained from ransomware attacks and various fraud schemes. Cyberpolice, US Investigators Bust Crypto Exchanges in Ukraine Officers from Ukraine’s Cyberpolice unit and Main Investigative Department, working with the Prosecutor General’s Office, have seized nine cryptocurrency exchanges, the National Police of Ukraine announced. Representatives of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also took part in what Ukrainian authorities described as a “multi-level international operation.” The web platforms offered anonymous exchange of cryptocurrencies. They were employed to facilitate the legalization of illicit funds, a press release explained. Through these exchanges, criminals channeled digital assets obtained as a result of malware attacks and online fraud. Their services were

The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has been accused of “wrongfully” profiting from its users’ facial and fingerprint scans. “Coinbase collects, stores, possesses, otherwise obtains, uses, and disseminates its users’ biometric data to, amongst other things, further enhance Coinbase and its online ‘app-based’ Platform,” a proposed class action lawsuit details. Coinbase ‘Wrongfully Profits’ From Users’ Facial and Fingerprint Scans A proposed class action lawsuit, filed Monday in the Northern District of California, alleges that the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) illegally collects face templates and fingerprints of its customers in violation of Illinois’ biometric privacy law. Plaintiff Michael Massel, a Coinbase customer, explained that the crypto exchange requires users to upload a government ID and selfie for verification and set up biometric authentication (fingerprint scan) for mobile app login. “Coinbase collects, stores, possesses

U.S. Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has warned that “the banking collapse is the tip of an economic mega-crisis,” emphasizing that “It’s not just the banks.” He also slammed President Joe Biden’s crypto mining tax proposal. “It is a mistake for the U.S. government to hobble the industry and drive innovation elsewhere,” Kennedy stressed. Looming Economic ‘Mega-Crisis’ Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who launched his presidential campaign last month, issued several warnings this week about the state of the U.S. economy, the banking crisis, and President Joe Biden’s cryptocurrency mining tax proposal. He is a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and a son of U.S. attorney general Robert F. Kennedy. Firstly, Kennedy warned about an incoming economic “mega-crisis.” He tweeted Tuesday: The banking collapse is the tip of an economic mega-crisis. It’s not just the banks. “Job openings plummeted for the third month in a row. Core factory orders dropped for the second consecutive

Following a quarter-point increase in the federal funds rate by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, precious metals such as silver and gold experienced a surge in value against the U.S. dollar, with gains ranging from 0.87% to 1.18%. Gold, in particular, has been on an upward trajectory, having risen by 3.4% in the past month and over 25% in the last six months. Fed’s Rate Hike Sparks Surge in Gold and Silver Values As of May 3, 2023, the price of gold per ounce has once again surpassed the $2,000 mark, currently trading at $2,057 per unit, representing a 1.18% increase in the past 24 hours. The Fed’s rate hike has sparked a flurry of activity on Twitter, with precious metals trending and generating numerous discussions and tweets. Meanwhile, global data from Google Trends indicates that the search term “how to buy gold” reached a perfect score of 100 on Wednesday afternoon, according to 24-hour statistics. GOLD chart by TradingView Silver has also been on the rise, with th

  On May 2, 2023, the Biden administration unveiled a blog post outlining the Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME) tax, featured in the president’s comprehensive 182-page budget proposal for the fiscal year 2024. The DAME tax targets “making crypto miners pay for the costs they impose on others” regarding the environmental impact of crypto mining activities. Crypto Miners Could Face Gradually Increasing Tax With Biden’s DAME Proposal With the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors expressing alarm over the so-called climate crisis, Biden’s administration argues that crypto asset mining’s energy consumption brings about “negative spillovers on the environment, quality of life, and electricity grids where these firms locate across the country.” To address these environmental costs, the White House believes that the Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME) tax will encourage companies to “start taking better account of the harms they impose on society.” The DAME tax intends to levy a g

On May 2, 2023, the Biden administration unveiled a blog post outlining the Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME) tax, featured in the president’s comprehensive 182-page budget proposal for the fiscal year 2024. The DAME tax targets “making crypto miners pay for the costs they impose on others” regarding the environmental impact of crypto mining activities. Crypto Miners Could Face Gradually Increasing Tax With Biden’s DAME Proposal With the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors expressing alarm over the so-called climate crisis, Biden’s administration argues that crypto asset mining’s energy consumption brings about “negative spillovers on the environment, quality of life, and electricity grids where these firms locate across the country.” To address these environmental costs, the White House believes that the Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME) tax will encourage companies to “start taking better account of the harms they impose on society.” The DAME tax intends to levy a grad

Polygon climbed higher in today’s session, as cryptocurrency markets marginally rebounded on Wednesday. The global crypto market cap was up by nearly 1% earlier in the day, as Tuesday’s losses eased. Solana, on the other hand, remained lower, as it fell towards a key price floor. Polygon (MATIC) Polygon (MATIC) edged higher on Wednesday, as the token moved away from a recent point of support. Following a low at $0.954 on Tuesday, MATIC/USD jumped to a peak of $0.9925 earlier in today’s session. As a result of the move, polygon bounced from a recent price floor of $0.950, after recently falling to a multi-week low. Looking at the chart, Wednesday’s surge led to the relative strength index (RSI) colliding with a long-term ceiling of 40.00. At the time of writing, the index is tracking at 39.22, with MATIC at a level of $0.9813. Despite earlier gains easing, there is still optimism that polygon could climb back above $1.00 this week. Solana (SOL) On the other hand, solana (SOL) r

As of May 3, 2023, the Bitcoin blockchain has witnessed a staggering 3.35 million Ordinal inscriptions, and a new experimental token standard known as “Bitcoin Request for Comment,” or BRC20, has garnered substantial attention in the past week. With 10,487 BRC20 tokens built using Ordinals and a swelling market capitalization exceeding $95 million, this new development has the crypto world buzzing. Ordinals Protocol Witnesses 3 Million Inscriptions While BRC20 Tokens Drive Bitcoin’s Mempool into Overdrive The Bitcoin community is abuzz with conversations surrounding the BRC20 token standard after its introduction by a pseudonymous developer named Domo in March. BRC20 tokens leverage the Ordinals protocol, enabling creators to mint fungible crypto assets onchain with ease. To create a BRC20 coin, individuals need to encode a JSON data object containing critical token information. Like an ERC20 token contract on Ethereum, this data would encompass fundamental details such as the

The U.S. Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), announced on Wednesday that the central bank would raise the federal funds rate by 25 basis points (bps), as was widely expected by the market. This marks the tenth consecutive occasion in which the Fed has raised interest rates since the initial 25bps increase in March 2022. FOMC Announcement Says ‘Additional Policy Firming May Be Appropriate’ At 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the central bank raised the benchmark interest rate citing that economic activity expanded “at a modest pace in the first quarter.” The Fed’s announcement noted that unemployment has been low but “inflation remains elevated.” The FOMC announcement further addressed the issues in the U.S. banking industry and the committee emphasized that the “U.S. banking system is sound and resilient.” The Fed’s unbroken chain of rate hikes is a testament to the bank’s unwavering commitment to getting inflation down. The FOMC’s press release n

Authorities in Iran are taking steps to make crypto payments easier for companies importing goods in the sanctioned country. A dedicated platform has been established to allow local businesses to transfer cryptocurrency for the purpose of cross-border settlements. Iran to Use Cryptocurrencies for Imports, Trade Organization Chief Vows Iranian companies will be able pay for imports with cryptocurrencies, the country’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) has assured, according to local media. Alireza Peymanpak, head of the government body, said that the Central Bank of Iran ( CBI ) has issued a permission for using cryptos in settlements for imported goods. “The final decision will be taken by the Economy Ministry,” Peymanpak added, quoted by the official Economy and Bank of Iran News Network ( Ibena ) on Sunday. Peymanpak’s statements come several months after he announced that Iran had placed its first official import order in cryptocurrency. In August 2022, the government offici

Bank of Russia raised its forecast for the profits of Russian banks in 2023, expecting results that may break the 2021 record. This year’s high numbers are coming after 2022 became the worst annual period in seven years for the sanctioned Russian banking sector in terms of financial outcome. Banks in Russian Federation Headed for at Least $23 Billion in Profits in 2023 Data from the first months of 2023 give the Central Bank of Russia ( CBR ) reason to believe that by the end of the year Russian banks can earn 1.9 trillion rubles (almost $24 billion), “or even more, which is comparable to the profit for 2021,” Deputy Governor Olga Polyakova unveiled at a conference held by the National Credit Ratings (NCR) agency. Two years ago, Russian banking institutions made a record-high 2.37 trillion rubles (close to $30 billion at current exchange rates), the business daily Vedomosti noted in a report, quoting the central bank official and the organizers of the forum. When it released its b

Russia is closely monitoring the U.S. economy amid discussions of the U.S. government defaulting on its debt obligations. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Treasury will be unable to pay the government’s bills if Congress does not act by June 1. Russia Monitoring US Economy in Case of Debt Default Russia is closely monitoring the state of the U.S. economy as discussions of possible debt default intensify, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. “We see that the U.S. economy, just as the global economy, is currently experiencing certain problems,” Peskov was quoted by Russian news outlet Tass as saying. “Inflation expectations continue staying at a rather high level,” he stressed, adding: Certainly, we are keeping a close eye on all that. All our fiscal agencies. The United States is currently facing a debt ceiling crisis. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Monday that the Treasury Department will not be able to pay all of the government’s debt o