Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Blizzard, a game studio and part of the Activision-Blizzard company, has started polling some gamers about the use of NFTs and cryptocurrency elements. The survey, which was only directed to some of its players, raised rumors about the possibility of the company introducing some of these elements into its games. However, Mike Ybarra, head of the studio, denied this possibility. Blizzard Makes Selective Poll, Includes NFTs and Play-to-Earn Subjects Blizzard, the game development studio that created franchises like Starcraft, Warcraft, and Overwatch, is polling some gamers about their opinions when it comes to NFTs and play-to-earn mechanics. According to sources on social media, the poll consulted players about issues that included other, more common topics for a gaming company, like augmented reality and cloud gaming. However, there was a section that asked directly about the opinion and the feelings of these users on the inclusion of NFTs and cryptocurrency elements in some of th

PRESS RELEASE. Mohali, India, April 21, 2022: Amidst the rapidly growing popularity of metaverse, and global giants like Facebook, Microsoft, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and more tapping into the metaverse world, Antier Solutions is helping businesses to ride the wave with its diligently-crafted metaverse development services . The metaverse gained exposure and momentum in October when Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook to Meta and shared his vision to create an immersive virtual world where people can interact as avatars. According to Nishant, CTO of Antier, “Web 3.0 and metaverse are poised to redefine the internet. They will pave the path for a persistent 3D environment where the movement across places and interaction with people will be as easy as in the real world.” Antier Solutions provides a host of offerings – including consulting and development services – to help businesses harness the potential of Web 3.0 and launch their metaverse. Antier’s team of skilled metaverse develo

While the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) hovers just above the $214 billion mark, a defi protocol called Lido has been moving closer toward taking Curve’s top spot in terms of TVL in a defi protocol. Currently, the liquid staking solution Lido has $19.2 billion in staking assets derived from five different blockchain networks including Ethereum, Solana, Terra, Polygon, and Kusama. Lido’s Staked Assets Represent Close to 9% of the $214 Billion Locked in Defi According to defillama.com, there’s $214 billion total value locked in decentralized finance at the time of writing. Presently, the largest defi protocol in terms of TVL size is Curve Finance , the decentralized exchange (dex) platform. Today, Curve dominates the pack with $20.71 billion and a dominance rating of around 9.67%, according to defillama.com statistics on April 20, 2022. As far as TVL in defi protocols is concerned, Curve has led the pack for weeks on end, but the liquid staking solution Lid

Square Enix, the Japanese gaming company, is pressing on with its vision of integrating blockchain elements into its games. In a recent interview, president Yosuke Matsuda talked about the importance of user-generated content and the advantages that allowing this kind of development, as well as introducing blockchain-based self-sustained economies, might bring to the future of the gaming industry. Square Enix to Double Down on Blockchain and Autonomous Content Square Enix is doubling down on its business plan of including blockchain elements in its games in the not-so-distant future. The company, which had already made plans to make a robust entry into the blockchain gaming world, seems to now be interested in using these tools to create self-sustaining economies in gaming worlds. Yosuke Matsuda, president of Square Enix, reiterated the compromise that he and the company have to deliver some of these experiences in the future in a recent interview given to Yahoo News. To Matsuda,

According to a recent study published by the online investing news and education platform Invezz, Switzerland currently has the most profitable bitcoin traders worldwide. That’s according to data stemming from Chainalysis, Worldometers, and Triple A, which helped Invezz assign each country a score in terms of the most profitable bitcoin trading by country. Researchers Rank the Best Bitcoin Trading Nations and the Most Profitable Bitcoin Traders by Country This week, invezz.com researchers published a study that looks at the most profitable bitcoin traders by country by leveraging statistics from multiple datasets. The study’s author Dan Ashmore explained one dataset stemmed from Chainalysis, which shows the top 25 countries in the world by realized bitcoin (BTC) gains in 2020. This served as the study’s backdrop, as the invezz.com research team also utilized statistics from Worldometers and Triple A. While the data shows Switzerland currently has the most profitable bitcoin trade

The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) has partnered with the Court of Accounts of the Union (TCU), a constitutional institution of the Brazilian government, to complete the development of the Brazilian Blockchain Network. The partnership, established through a memorandum of understanding, establishes a deadline for the completion of the project, which should be finished in five years. Brazilian Blockchain Network Development Powered by a New Partnership New details are available on the development of the Brazilian Blockchain Network, a common rail that will be used as a base for the development of apps by public institutions in the country. The details were revealed in Official Gazette of the country. The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), the institution responsible for the creation of this platform, has partnered with the Court of Accounts of the Union (TCU), a comptroller institution of the Brazilian state, to advance the development of the aforementioned blockchain. The coop

Nigerian public and law enforcement agencies have been urged to “ stop the demonization” of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. According to an association that advocates for the risk-based regulation of the crypto industry, financial institutions should not use a Nigerian central bank directive as basis for denying service to industry players. Risk-Based Regulation of Crypto Activities A blockchain and crypto industry association has told Nigerian public and law enforcement agencies to stop demonizing and discriminating against blockchain and crypto entities. In its latest press release, the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN) argues that Nigeria urgently needs risk-based regulation for cryptocurrency activities as well as capacity building. In a press release , SIBAN reiterates its strong belief that a February 5, 2021 directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) did not ban cryptocurrencies in Nigeria. Yet, despite there being no la

The government of Ireland is preparing to ban political parties from accepting campaign donations in cryptocurrency. The move aims to block the perceived threat of Russian interference in the European nation’s elections against the backdrop of a clash between the West and Moscow over the war in Ukraine. Ireland to Limit Foreign Political Support for Its Parties, Including Crypto Donations The executive power in Dublin is drafting new political integrity rules to limit foreign political donations amid fears that Russia might try to influence Ireland’s electoral process. The stricter regulations are meant to prevent Irish parties from accepting donations through cryptocurrencies and oblige them to fully reveal their properties. A report by the Irish daily Independent describes the changes as a significant shake-up of the country’s electoral legislation, which will grant the Electoral Commission powers to issue take-down notices to social media platforms and alerts of online misinform

The U.S. Secret Service has seized cryptocurrency worth more than $102 million in 254 fraud-related investigations. “What criminals want to do is sort of muddy the waters and make efforts to obfuscate their activities,” said the assistant director of the Secret Service’s Office of Investigations. “What we want to do is to track that as quickly as we can, aggressively as we can, in a linear fashion.” US Secret Service Seizes Cryptocurrency Worth $102 Million A senior executive with the U.S. Secret Service, David M. Smith, talked about cryptocurrency in an interview with CNBC, published Tuesday. Smith is a senior executive and special agent currently serving as the 28th Assistant Director of the U.S. Secret Service Office of Investigations, where he leads the agency’s global investigative mission, comprising 161 offices and over 3,000 employees. The Secret Service is responsible for detecting, investigating, and arresting any person who violates certain laws related to financial sys

A U.S. lawmaker has urged the Biden administration to develop a “robust strategy” to prevent cryptocurrency from being used to evade sanctions. “Emerging technologies like cryptocurrency offer many positive applications like humanitarian relief, but the administration has not kept pace in ensuring this novel form of currency is not used to the detriment of U.S. national security,” he said. Congressman McCaul Wants a ‘Robust Strategy’ to Prevent Crypto Use to Evade Sanctions A senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX), has made a number of efforts to prevent cryptocurrency’s use to evade U.S. sanctions. He issued a statement Thursday urging the Biden Administration to create a “robust strategy” to stop crypto from being used to circumvent sanctions. “Emerging technologies like cryptocurrency offer many positive applications like humanitarian relief, but the administration has not kept pace in ensuring this novel form of currency

Nasdaq-listed trading platform Robinhood is acquiring Ziglu, a London-based electronic money institution and crypto asset firm. The acquisition is part of Robinhood’s international expansion plan. Robinhood “sees a big opportunity in serving customers across the globe.” Robinhood Acquiring Regulated Crypto Firm Ziglu Popular U.S.-based trading platform Robinhood announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to acquire a regulated cryptocurrency firm Ziglu. Citing its mission to “democratize finance for all,” Robinhood emphasized, “That’s why earlier this year, we announced that we’ve set aggressive goals to start opening our crypto platform up to customers internationally.” The Nasdaq-listed trading platform added: As we look to expand internationally, we’re excited to announce that we’ve signed a deal to acquire Ziglu Limited, a UK-based electronic money institution and cryptoasset firm. The deal is “subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions,”

PRESS RELEASE. GensoKishi are excited to announce that $MV ( MV(Polygon)/ USDT trading pair) will list on KuCoin at 2022-04-20 18:00 (UTC), a leading cryptocurrency exchange in the world. GensoKishi are going to have various campaigns to celebrate the trading pair listing. Know more details. Please check the CAMPAIGN page on KuCoin! About KuCoin KuCoin is a cryptocurrency exchange established in 2017 and located in Hong Kong. KuCoin has a large selection of crypto assets that are only listed on KuCoin and are very popular worldwide. Due to 2022-4-14, it ranks 5th trading volume in the world. About GensoKishi Online GensoKishi Online Metaworld is a GameFi and metaverse incarnation of the award-winning Nintendo Switch/PS4 game “Elemental Knights”. The iconic game has a 14 years history and has accumulated a total of 8 million downloads worldwide. It already has a 3DMMORPG game with active users, with a fully-functioning 3D metaverse, that simultaneously connects users from aro

The internet entrepreneur and former CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, claims if developers are building on Ethereum they have “at least one, if not many, single points of failure.” The statement was in response to Vitalik Buterin’s commentary concerning Elon Musk running Twitter. Former Twitter CEO Criticizes Projects Building on Ethereum Jack Dorsey doesn’t seem to be interested in anything to do with the Ethereum network, and last Friday he criticized the project. The Twitter conversation started when Ethereum’s co-creator, Vitalik Buterin , talked about Elon Musk running Twitter . “[I] don’t oppose Elon running Twitter (at least compared to status quo), but I do disagree with the more generalized enthusiasm for wealthy people/orgs hostile-takeovering social media firms,” Buterin tweeted . “That could easily go *very* wrong (eg. imagine an ethically-challenged foreign gov doing it).” Following Buterin’s tweet, Dorsey replied “same,” and further said: “[I] don’t believe any individ

The Central Bank of Russia has emphasized the importance of moving forward with its digital ruble project. According to a statement by a top representative, the monetary authority has no intention to delay the trials despite not all invited banks being ready to participate yet. Bank of Russia to Experiment With Digital Ruble Payments This Year The digital ruble is “very much needed,” First Deputy Chairman of Bank of Russia Olga Skorobogatova has recently remarked in a statement quoted by business news portal RBC’s crypto page. The regulator will not delay upcoming tests of the prototype currency platform, the high-ranking official said and elaborated: If we move quickly with testing and legislative changes, we can implement it in the coming years. The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) started trials with the digital ruble in January and announced the first successful transactions between individual wallets in mid-February. At least a dozen Russian financial institutions are taking

PRESS RELEASE. Spring is coming on strong for our launchpad. GADA , the first permissionless and community-governed launchpad ecosystem on Cardano, will launch a sale on KICK.IO on the 20th of April! With the help of two launchpads – GADA Pro and GADA Light – GADA helps various projects to both raise liquidity and distribute tokens stress-free. While GADA Pro does require KYC measures, its detailed screening and review process gives way to a more trustworthy and stable DeFi ecosystem. This version is perfect for projects that are in a more advanced stage of development. The Light version offers complete freedom for everyone to fundraise projects on the Cardano blockchain with full automation and without KYC verification. And more freedom means that GADA Light users will also be able to help shaping the future of GADA’s platform. GADA also uses a 5 Tier system that aims to create an inclusive environment for any investor – big or small. While the first three GADA Tiers are bett

Iran has drafted new rules to increase penalties for illegal cryptocurrency mining in the country, including additional fines and imprisonment. “Any use of subsidized electricity intended for households, industrial, agricultural, and commercial subscribers for mining cryptocurrency is prohibited.” New Penalties for Illegal Cryptocurrency Mining in Iran An official with Iran’s Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Company (Tavanir) said the country’s administration will approve new rules to increase penalties for unauthorized cryptocurrency mining, IRNA publication reported Sunday. Mohammad Khodadadi Bohlouli explained that under the new law: The increased penalties include raising fines by at least three and at most five times, imprisoning the offender, and revoking the offender’s business license. “Any use of subsidized electricity intended for households, industrial, agricultural, and commercial subscribers for mining cryptocurrency is prohibited,” Khodadadi said.

Allianz Chief Economic Advisor Mohamed El-Erian says that the Federal Reserve’s response to inflation will cause the prices of cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, to “go higher.” He noted: “That’s what you get when you’ve waited too long to recognize what inflation is and to take action.” Predictions by Allianz’s Chief Economist Economist Mohamed El-Erian discussed the U.S. economy, the markets, and the Federal Reserve’s response to inflation in an interview with CNBC Monday. El-Erian is the president of Queens’ College, Cambridge University. He is also Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz, the corporate parent of PIMCO, one of the largest investment managers, where he was CEO and co-chief investment officer. He explained: I think the markets have understood that we have three issues. One is high, persistent inflation is with us. Two is the Fed is way behind, and three, the pathway for orderly disinflation is pretty narrow. Due to these factors, the economist said that companies are

PRESS RELEASE. INTERNET CITY, DUBAI, Apr. 18, 2022 – LBank Exchange, a global digital asset trading platform, will list CTOMORROW PLATFORM (CTP) on April 20, 2022. For all users of LBank Exchange, the CTP/ USDT trading pair will be officially available for trading at 18:00 (UTC+8) on April 20, 2022. Using cutting-edge technologies to revolutionize current industry standards and practices, CTOMORROW PLATFORM (CTP) is here to foster an ecosystem of personalized, customized health solutions individually tailored to everyone’s unique traits and needs. Its native token CTP will be listed on LBank Exchange at 18:00 (UTC+8) on April 20, 2022, to further expand its global reach and help it achieve its vision. Introducing CTOMORROW PLATFORM CTOMORROW PLATFORM is a personalized technology platform focusing on innovations which revolutionize the way people monitor and manage their health for a healthier, happier world. It sits squarely at the intersection of three important emergent techn

Following Bitmain’s product introduction of two new application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin mining rigs, the mining devices manufacturer Microbt has announced the launch of two new miners as well. Revealed during the Bitcoin 22 conference in Miami, Microbt showcased the company’s new Whatsminer M50 series, which offers hashrate speeds of up to 126 terahash per second (TH/s). Microbt Launches 2 New Next-Generation Bitcoin Mining Rigs Bitcoin miners are getting more advanced as the latest machines revealed by Bitmain and Microbt indicate that next-generation mining rigs pack a whole lot of hashpower. Bitcoin.com News has previously reported on Bitmain’s upcoming mining machines that offer hashrate speeds up to 255 TH/s. The first was the Antminer S19 XP revealed in November 2021, which boasts a hashrate of 140 TH/s, and the second was the Antminer S19 Pro+ Hyd. with up to 198 TH/s of computational power. Additionally, Bitmain revealed another hydro ASIC unit called t

Russia’s recently revised bill “On Digital Currency” limits crypto purchases for non-qualified investors while providing legal ground for some cryptocurrency payments, according to local media. The draft law, proposed by the Russian finance ministry, also introduces strict requirements for platforms operating with digital assets. Russian Citizens Who Don’t Pass Test to Buy Only $600 Worth of Crypto Annually The Ministry of Finance of Russia recently submitted to the government an updated version of its bill “On Digital Currency” designed to comprehensively regulate the country’s crypto market. Details about the law’s provisions have surfaced in Russian media reports this week. According to the draft, qualified investors, or “professional purchasers of digital currency” as they are now described, will have unrestricted access to crypto assets. Ordinary Russians, however, will be able to buy a maximum of 600,000 rubles (approx. $7,000) worth of cryptocurrency each year. And that’s a

The National Securities Commission (CNV), which is the Argentinian securities watchdog, recently launched an innovation hub with the goal of advancing conversations about cryptocurrency and fintech investments. This organization will serve as a link between private entities and the institution, to advance new fintech and crypto-regulated instruments to the market. Argentinian Securities Regulator Assigns Fintech And Crypto Special Importance The National Securities Commission (CNV), the Argentinian Securities regulator, is reportedly taking action to streamline the arrival of new fintech and crypto-based investment instruments to the market. The institution recently launched an innovation hub that will link private investors with regulators, to exchange information about the requirements these products must meet to be released to market. Andres Consentino, president of the CNV, was optimistic about the future of this initiative. He stated : We are being proactive in the context

A bitcoin ATM operator has been indicted in New York for running an illegal business “marketed towards individuals engaged in criminal activity.” The district attorney in charge described: “Robert Taylor allegedly went to great lengths to keep his bitcoin kiosk business as secret as possible to attract a clientele that would pay top dollar for anonymity.” Operator of 46 Bitcoin ATMs Charged Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. announced Wednesday that Robert Taylor has been indicted “for operating an illegal bitcoin ATM business that he marketed towards individuals engaged in criminal activity.” The announcement states: Taylor operated bitcoin kiosks in at least 46 locations in New York City, mostly in laundromats, as well as locations in New Jersey and Miami. Between 2017 and 2018, the 35-year-old “converted more than $5.6 million of his customers’ cash into bitcoin while charging a fee of between 10% and 20%,” the district attorney detailed. Taylor is charged “with mu