Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

El Salvador has rejected the recommendation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to drop bitcoin as legal tender. The country’s finance minister reportedly “angrily” said, “No international organization is going to make us do anything, anything at all.” El Salvador Says No to IMF on Bitcoin The government of El Salvador has rejected a recommendation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to drop bitcoin as legal tender in the country. The IMF urged El Salvador last week to drop bitcoin’s use as legal tender and dissolve Fidebitcoin, the $150 million trust fund created for the Bitcoin law. El Salvador’s Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya told a local television station that bitcoin is an issue of “sovereignty.” According to the media, he “angrily” said: No international organization is going to make us do anything, anything at all. “Countries are sovereign nations and they take sovereign decisions about public policy,” the finance minister added. According to its analys

Nasdaq-listed Microstrategy has bought 660 more bitcoins at an average price of $37,865 per coin, bringing the total crypto holdings of the company to 125,051 bitcoins. “Our strategy with bitcoin has been to buy and hold, so to the extent we have excess cash flows or we find other ways to raise money, we continue to put it into bitcoin.” Microstrategy Adds 660 Bitcoins to Its Treasury The Nasdaq-listed software company Microstrategy has bought the dip again. CEO Michael Saylor tweeted Tuesday: Microstrategy has purchased an additional 660 bitcoins for ~$25.0 million in cash at an average price of ~$37,865 per bitcoin. As of 1/31/22 we hodl ~125,051 bitcoins acquired for ~$3.78 billion at an average price of ~$30,200 per bitcoin. According to the company’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the purchase was made during the period between Dec. 30, 2021, and Jan. 31, 2022. At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is $39,121.89 based on data from Bit

Circle, the operator of USDC, one of the biggest stablecoins by market cap, has launched USDC as a native asset on top of the Flow blockchain. Flow is a blockchain project made to host NFT and game-based initiatives, aiming for low fees and a high volume of transactions. With this launch, USDC aims to keep expanding its reach to more blockchains, with Flow being the eighth native blockchain where USDC resides. USDC on Flow Circle, one of the biggest payments companies in the U.S., has launched one of its prime products — USDC — on Flow, an NFT and Web3 oriented blockchain. Users of the Flow chain will now be able to mint and redeem USDC natively on the platform. This movement aims to make it easier for users of projects in Flow to transfer and leverage value across the decentralized apps (dapps) of the ecosystem. Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, opined on the importance of Flow and its design, which is thought to be suitable for some new use cases looking for this kind of decentrali

Binance has announced one of its trademark features, the SAFU fund, has reached a milestone in its development. The SAFU fund, an acronym that stands for “Secure Asset Fund for Users,” has reached the amount of one billion dollars, securing the funds of users in case of a hacking emergency. The exchange, which is one of the pioneers in the establishment of such structures, invited other exchanges to also take similar measures. SAFU Reaches $1B, Transparency Highlighted Binance, the leading exchange in volume traded, has announced a milestone regarding its SAFU fund. The fund, whose name stands for “Secure Asset Fund for Users,” has reached the amount of one billion dollars to reimburse its users in case of a hack or event affecting users’ funds. The exchange also disclosed two wallet addresses where users of the exchange and the public can trace the movements of these funds. As per the press release announcing this information, this disclosure seems to be directed to increase the

PRESS RELEASE. GensoKishi is pleased to announce that the MV (Metaverse) token has been listed on QuickSwap (a decentralized exchange) at 10:00 UTC on January 29, 2022. GENSOKISHI Online , is a GameFi project that evolves from an award winning Nintendo Switch/PS4 game called “Elemental Knights”, that has been vigorously played for 13 years and has accumulated a total of 8 million downloads worldwide. GensoKishi already has a 3DMMORPG game with active users, with a fully-functioning 3D metaverse, that simultaneously connects users from around the world, be it smartphones, PCs, or video game consoles. What is QuickSwap (Decentralized Exchange/DEX)? QuickSwap is a decentralized exchange based on the Polygon Network. Unlike centralized exchanges, decentralized exchanges are characterized by the absence of an intermediary or administrator, have lower fees, and no need for identity verification. In addition, instead of traders exchanging currencies with each other, they let smart cont

On Monday, the team behind the Solana Web3 wallet platform Phantom announced it had raised $109 million in a Series B fundraise. The crypto company is now a Unicorn with a post valuation of $1.2 billion in value. Solana Web3 Wallet Phantom Raises $109 Million The Phantom wallet team has raised $109 million in a Series B financing round according to the firm’s recent blog post. Furthermore, Phantom also launched the Solana wallet’s iOS version for Apple smartphone users. According to the announcement, the $109 Series B was led by Paradigm. Additionally, Jump Capital, Solana Ventures, Variant, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) participated in Phantom’s latest fundraise. The funds will be dedicated to onboarding more users and developers on to Web3 and also “innovating on the multi-chain wallet user experience.” Moreover, the company said it plans to scale the team and specifically hire specialists in community support and product development. The Series B fundraise follows the Series A

A recent survey by Deloitte shows that 82% of Indians plan to invest in cryptocurrency when the government provides more clarity surrounding the regulation of crypto assets. Moreover, 77.4% of respondents want cryptocurrency to be treated as securities. Indian Crypto Survey: 82% Plan to Invest in Crypto Once It Is Regulated Professional services firm Deloitte and the Times of India recently conducted a survey on cryptocurrency investing. The results were published Sunday. Out of 1,800 respondents, 55.2% said they have invested in cryptocurrencies and will continue to do so. A further 26.8% said they have not invested in crypto but are willing to invest once the government provides more clarity regarding cryptocurrency regulation in India. Meanwhile, 10.3% said they have invested in crypto but will avoid investing in this asset class in the future. The remaining 7.8% said that they are against investing in crypto. The report also notes that about 20 million people in India have inve

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned about social media being used in cryptocurrency investment scams. “Social media is a tool for scammers in investment scams, particularly those involving bogus cryptocurrency investments — an area that has seen a massive surge in reports,” said the FTC. Federal Trade Commission Warns of Crypto Scams Utilizing Social Media The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a “Consumer Protection Data Spotlight” last week, warning the public about scams, including crypto investment scams, utilizing social media. The FTC is an independent agency of the U.S. government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil U.S. antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. “More than 95,000 people reported about $770 million in losses to fraud initiated on social media platforms in 2021,” FTC’s program analyst Emma Fletcher wrote. “Those losses account for about 25% of all reported losses to fraud in 2021 and represent a stunning

Eight U.S. lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have sent letters to top U.S.-based bitcoin mining firms questioning them about their crypto mining operations. “The extraordinarily high energy usage and carbon emissions associated with bitcoin mining could undermine our hard work to tackle the climate crisis — not to mention the harmful impacts cryptomining has on local environments and electricity prices,” Senator Warren wrote. US Senators Want Answers From Top Bitcoin Mining Firms U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, announced Thursday that she and seven other senators have sent letters to six crypto mining companies “raising concerns over their extraordinarily high energy usage.” The announcement details: “Senator Warren and her colleagues asked each company to detail their electricity consumption, scaling plans, agreements with electricity companies, and impact on energy costs for consumers and

Apple CEO Tim Cook says the metaverse has a lot of potential and his company is investing accordingly. “It’s very interesting to us,” he noted. Global investments banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have predicted that the metaverse could be an $8 trillion opportunity. Apple Sees a Lot of Potential in the Metaverse, Says CEO Tim Cook Apple Inc. answered a question about the metaverse during its Q1 2022 earnings call last week. CEO Tim Cook was asked, “How are you thinking about the metaverse opportunity and Apple’s role in that market?” “We’re a company in the business of innovation,” the Apple CEO replied. “So we’re always exploring new and emerging technologies. And I’ve spoken at length about how this area is very interesting to us.” Cook elaborated, “Right now, we have over 14,000 ARKit apps in the App Store, which provide incredible AR [augmented reality] experiences for millions of people today,” emphasizing: We see a lot of potential in this space and are investing acc

ADALend’s mission is to democratize the lending industry by using the Cardano blockchain to eliminate the traditional banking middlemen. This will be accomplished through the development of a platform that connects borrowers, and lenders in a decentralized manner. With the help of blockchain technology and IOHK’s research and development, the platform will provide a simple, secure, and more transparent way of exchanging value. The decentralized lending platform will allow creditors to perform lending activities and create a safer and more efficient lending environment for all users. Ensuring the Security and Safety of Lending in a Decentralized Environment While traditional banks continue to disregard the needs and concerns of the people, ADALend has come to provide access to loans for those in need who have been ignored. The inability to gain access to funds has long-term consequences. ADALend provides a platform to change the current state of financial affairs. While the cryptocur

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has restricted 281 Nigerian user accounts. Citing user security and fraud prevention, CEO Changpeng Zhao explained that “approximately 38% of these cases [are] restricted at the request of international law enforcement.” 281 Nigerian Accounts Restricted by Binance, CEO Says 79 Cases Have Been Resolved Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has sent a letter to its Nigerian users. In the letter, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) apologized for the inconvenience caused by delays in resolving customer support requests. Noting that “User security” remains his exchange’s top priority, Zhao detailed: “Protection mechanisms such as KYC, anti-money laundering measures, collaboration with law enforcement, and account restrictions are in place to ensure our community remains protected and that fraudulent activity is prevented. This is a global approach applied in every country.” The CEO added: Some 281 Nigerian accounts have been affected by these personal account re

Ark Investment Management (Ark Invest) has predicted that the price of bitcoin could surpass $1 million per coin by 2030. “Our research suggests that bitcoin has the potential to transform monetary history by providing financial freedom and empowerment in a fair, global, and distributed way,” Ark’s analyst added. Bitcoin’s $1 Million Prediction by Ark Invest In Ark Invest’s “Big Ideas 2022” report published last week, the firm’s analyst Yassine Elmandjra explained that “As bitcoin’s market capitalization hit an all-time high in 2021, Ark’s research indicated that its network fundamentals remained healthy.” Noting that “Bitcoin’s market capitalization still represents a fraction of global assets and is likely to scale as nation-states adopt [it] as legal tender,” the analyst detailed: According to our estimates, the price of one bitcoin could exceed $1 million by 2030. El Salvador adopted BTC as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar in September last year. The Salvadoran presi

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has warned that bitcoin is increasingly vulnerable to the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes as the cryptocurrency grows more widely adopted. “Over the last two years, as bitcoin has seen wider mainstream adoption, its correlation with macro assets has picked up,” the Goldman analysts explained. Goldman Sachs Warns Bitcoin Increasingly Vulnerable to Fed Rate Hikes Global investment bank Goldman Sachs published a research note Thursday detailing bitcoin’s increased vulnerability to the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates. Zach Pandl, bank’s co-head of foreign exchange strategy, and FX analyst Isabella Rosenberg explained that as mainstream adoption of bitcoin increases, so does the cryptocurrency’s vulnerability to Fed policy. They described: Over the last two years, as bitcoin has seen wider mainstream adoption, its correlation with macro assets has picked up. Noting that higher bond yields have affected technology stocks in recent weeks, with

Ethereum’s average network fees have dropped to the lowest value in 30 days at 0.0096 ether or $24.64 per transaction. Median-sized ethereum fees are lower today as well, as fees are between $8.37 to $10.82 per transaction as ether fees haven’t been this low since January 1. Onchain Ethereum Fees Drop, Current Bitcoin Fees 91% Cheaper Than Ethereum Fees It’s cheaper today to send ethereum ( ETH ), as network fees are 0.0096 ETH or $24.64 on average to send the second leading crypto asset. On January 30, 2022, ethereum has a 24-hour price range of around $2,575 to $2,647 per unit. Average-sized ETH fees haven’t been this low since January 1, 2022, when the average-sized fee (ASF) was $25.75 per transfer. Ethereum fees reached a high on January 10, at $52.46 per transaction and the current ASF today is 53.03% lower than the high. Median-sized fees (MSF) on Ethereum are also lower today, as the MSF on ETH on January 10, is $29.92 per transfer. Statistics show MSF on Ethereum t

A new Russian law may oblige potential crypto investors to take a test before being allowed to purchase digital assets over a certain limit. The authors are also hoping to regulate cryptocurrency mining and cut access to cheap energy for those who mint coins in their homes. Bill to Bring ‘Tight Regulation’ to Crypto Industry, Strict Requirements for Investors Russian lawmakers are working on a law to fill regulatory gaps in the crypto space. The legislation may introduce special exams for non-qualified investors who want to buy cryptocurrencies with a total annual value exceeding 600,000 rubles ($7,700). One of its sponsors, the Deputy Chair of the parliamentary Security and Anti-Corruption Committee Andrey Lugovoy, told the daily Izvestia that the new law is about “tight regulation” of the sector. The bill is expected to hit the floor of the State Duma during the spring session of the lower house of parliament, the deputy noted. Before that, it will be discussed with relevant min

Kenya’s position on cryptocurrencies is still unchanged the governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Patrick Njoroge has said. Njoroge latest remarks come as Kenya continues to cement its position as one of the countries on the African continent that has the highest adoption of cryptocurrencies. CBK’s New Stance of Cryptocurrencies to Be Unveiled Soon The governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Patrick Njoroge, has said Kenya’s stance on cryptocurrencies remains unchanged. Njoroge, who made the comments soon after the CBK’s monetary policy announcement, revealed however that the central bank will be talking more about cryptocurrencies in the near future. As noted in the Kenyan Wallstreet report, the governor’s reiteration of the CBK’s stance on cryptocurrencies is coming more than six months after reports emerged that Kenyan banks were issuing alerts that urged clients to desist from the practice of trading cryptocurrencies. Njoroge’s reaffirmation of the central bank’s

A new survey has indicated that Russians who have heard about cryptocurrency are deeply divided in their opinions on the recently suggested ban on operations with digital assets. A third of the respondents support the central bank’s proposal while an equal number of participants in the survey oppose it. Bank of Russia’s Call to Prohibit Cryptocurrencies Backed by 32% of Russians Who Know Bitcoin Amid ongoing discussions on the future of digital currencies, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (Vtsiom) has published a new study measuring the attitudes of Russian citizens towards crypto assets and operations with them. It comes as officials are trying to put the country’s crypto space in order, not without disagreements between regulators. According to the poll, the majority of Russians (64%) have heard about bitcoin and 17% have good knowledge of the cryptocurrency, an increase of four percentage points in comparison with the data from a 2017 survey. The share of those who ar

Visa has now partnered with more than 65 crypto platforms and exchanges. In addition, the payments giant revealed that crypto-linked card usage exceeded $2.5 billion in the first fiscal quarter, “which is already 70% of the payments volume for all of fiscal 2021.” Visa Outlines Crypto Strategy and Achievements Visa Inc. discussed its crypto strategy and achievements during the company’s earnings call Thursday. Visa CEO Al Kelly said: “Many current trends in payments, including … crypto, and wallets, are enabling new ways to pay. These represent opportunities for Visa.” Regarding his company’s efforts in the crypto space, the executive highlighted: We’re also providing on-ramps for crypto players creating connectivity with fiat economies. There are over 65 crypto platforms and exchanges that have partnered to issue Visa credentials. Recently, Bitcoin.com News reported that consumers will be able to spend cryptocurrency at 80 million merchants using crypto-linked Visa cards. How

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has unveiled how he will use $100 million in cryptocurrency from India’s Covid Crypto Relief Fund (Cryptorelief) to accelerate relief efforts and “bring great benefit to Indians and non-Indians.” The crypto is part of the Shiba Inu funds Buterin donated to Cryptorelief last year. Vitalik Buterin to Personally Deploy $100M From Shiba Funds to Help Covid Relief Efforts Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin tweeted Friday that Cryptorelief is sending $100 million in cryptocurrency from the “Shiba funds” back to him. He added that he plans to “personally deploy these funds” in some “higher-risk, higher-reward Covid science and relief projects worldwide.” Buterin’s statement was in response to a tweet by Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon. Nailwal founded the Covid Crypto Relief Fund (Cryptorelief) in April last year. Noting that he and Buterin have been in discussion “on how to accelerate relief efforts in India,” the Cryptorelief founder detailed

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman sees parallels between the crypto market and the subprime mortgage crash. “There’s growing evidence that the risks of crypto are falling disproportionately on people who don’t know what they are getting into and are poorly positioned to handle the downside,” he stressed. Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman Warns About Crypto Crashing Like Subprime Mortgage Nobel laureate Paul Krugman warned about cryptocurrency investing in an opinion piece he authored in the New York Times, published Thursday. Krugman won the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 2008 “for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity,” the Nobel Prize website shows. The Nobel Prize winner began by acknowledging that “crypto has become a pretty big asset class,” noting that the market value of all cryptocurrencies reached almost $3 trillion last fall. He added that the prices of cryptocurrencies have crashed, “wiping out arou

Leading investment bank JPMorgan has changed its view on the estimate of bitcoin’s price on a long-term basis. The institution had estimated a long-term price of $146K back in November when bitcoin was over $60K. One of the most important reasons for this change has to do with the increased volatility the asset has faced in recent times. JPMorgan Changes Long-Term Bitcoin Price Estimate JPMorgan, one of the biggest financial institutions in the world, has drastically changed its opinion on the price that bitcoin will reach long term. While JPMorgan was bullish last year, when it estimated this number at almost $150K, it has lowered its estimations due to the situation the market is experiencing this year. The new $38K price, about one-fourth of the previously calculated number, was estimated in a different context concerning gold and bitcoin and the volatility of the market. On this, JPMorgan stated in a note: Our previous projection that the bitcoin to gold volatility ratio wil

Some disgruntled Nigerian users of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance have launched a campaign to boycott the platform, which they accuse of freezing client accounts without valid reason. Accounts Blocked Cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance recently became the target of a boycott campaign initiated by disgruntled users in Nigeria. Using the hashtag #Binancestopscamming, the campaigners are urging other Binance users around the African continent to join them in registering their displeasure with the exchange. According to a report in the Premium Times newspaper, the users’ anger towards Binance stems from apparent changes made to the platform’s terms of use which have resulted in certain users losing access to their funds. Similarly, on Twitter, frustrated users shared their experiences with the exchange and how efforts to get their issues resolved have proved to be in vain so far. For instance, one user named Brown-Mi alleges that Binance blocked his account and therefore h

A member of the Brussels Parliament, Christophe De Beukelaer, says he will receive his entire salary in bitcoin this year. He believes that the technology will disrupt all industries and crypto adoption is going to be “exponential.” Belgian MP Says He Will Receive Entire Salary in Bitcoin — ‘We Can No Longer Remain Ignorant of This New World’ Christophe De Beukelaer, a member of the Brussels Parliament, said in a blog post on his personal website that he will receive his 2022 salary in bitcoin. The lawmaker explained that “with the blockchain, we are at the dawn of a revolution of the same order as what we experienced with the internet 30 years ago.” He believes that all sectors “will be disrupted,” adding that in other countries, “large institutions are beginning to invest massively in crypto assets in order not to miss this gigantic opportunity.” Noting that “it is the role of politicians to make the population aware of these societal changes that are coming,” he stressed: We

Finder’s panel of 33 fintech specialists has forecasted that the price of bitcoin will peak at about $94K before ending the year above $76K. In addition, the panel expects the price of the cryptocurrency to reach $192,800 in 2025 and $406,400 in 2030. Finder’s Experts Predict BTC Price for 2022, 2025, and 2030 Finder, a major product comparison website, published an updated bitcoin price prediction Wednesday for 2022 by “Finder’s panel of 33 fintech specialists.” According to the panel’s BTC price forecasts: Bitcoin ( BTC ) is expected to peak at US$93,717 this year before dropping to $76,360 by the end of 2022 … This is roughly 60% higher than the price of bitcoin at the beginning of 2022. The panel of specialists also predicted the price of bitcoin for 2025 and 2030. However, their most recent predictions are lower than their October forecasts. At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is $36,311.13 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. By the end of 2025, the panel

American Express (Amex) sees cryptocurrency as an asset class, according to CEO Steve Squeri. He added that right now, the firm does not see crypto as an immediate or medium-term threat to its business. American Express CEO Discusses Crypto Strategy The chairman and CEO of American Express (Amex), Steve Squeri, answered some questions regarding cryptocurrency during the company’s Q4 earnings call Tuesday. Squeri said: “As far as cryptocurrency goes, we watch cryptocurrencies … We think about the spectrum of digital currencies. We think about crypto. We think about stablecoins. We think about central bank digital currency [CBDC].” The CEO continued: At this particular point in time, we view cryptocurrency more as an asset class. Regarding crypto’s use as currency for payments, he said, “that’s a hard thing to utilize that way.” The American Express executive further noted: “And as far as blockchain, we’ve got investments in blockchain companies … We constantly look at blockchai

The founder of Barstool Sports blog, Dave Portnoy, announced he purchased 29 bitcoin on January 28, spending more than a million dollars. The day trader has had his ups and downs with bitcoin over the last few years, and it seems he’s now jumping back into the market. Day Trader Dave Portnoy Bought 29 Bitcoin on the Fly After His Ups and Downs With the Leading Crypto In August 2020, the stock trader and the founder of Barstool Sports blog, Dave Portnoy, told his Twitter followers that he currently owned “zero bitcoins.” “I will wait and watch,” the day trader wrote at the time. “I lost 25K. Just like with the stock market it took my brain time to figure it out. I know this. The Link Marines are weak and the orchid flowers do die in the crypto world. I may or may not be done,” Portnoy added. Earlier in the day, Portnoy seemed very irritated with cryptocurrency markets and stressed in a video : This Bitcoin — I don’t trust this market at all. I may be out of it by the end of today,

Al Fardan Exchange, a money transfer firm, has joined up with Ripplenet in a deal that will see the company use the Ripplenet blockchain when sending funds across national borders. Al Fardan’s Reasons for Joining Ripple A United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based money transfer platform, Al Fardan Exchange, has partnered with Ripple in a deal in which the remittances firm will use the latter’s blockchain to send funds across borders in real-time. According to a report in The National News, Al Fardan will become part of the Ripplenet Cloud, the blockchain firm’s cloud-based global financial network. In his comments following an announcement of the agreement, the money transfer firm’s chief executive, Hasan Al Fardan, explained why his company went into this partnership. He said: We are well into a digital future and payments powered by technology, which is becoming key in the region. This partnership underscores our commitment to offering new channels and opportunities for people to remit

PRESS RELEASE. LetsExchange.io , an instant cryptocurrency exchange platform, reports the tremendous growth it has achieved since its launch in early 2021. In March 2021, the platform had 6,000 active users from 20 countries. At the time, users could swap 200 digital coins and tokens, accounting for more than 40,000 crypto pairs. The figures in December 2021 speak volumes about the growth of this platform: 120,000 supported crypto pairs (3x increase) 350,000 monthly active users (60x increase) 170 countries served (8.5x increase) With 350 cryptocurrencies available and the massive growth of its community, LetsExchange increased the number of swaps per month by 100 times as of December 2021. This achievement has positioned LetsExchange as one of the leading non-custodial exchanges worldwide. The platform’s rapid development is in great part due to the approach to crypto exchange that LetsExchange has taken. It doesn’t require registration or KYC checks. Users can exchange unli