Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

On Friday, the public interest law firm New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) filed an opening brief in the cryptocurrency case of James Harper v. Charles P. Rettig. The NCLA argues that Harper’s Fourth and Fifth Amendment constitutional rights were violated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The U.S. tax agency is accused of obtaining Harper’s information from crypto asset exchanges without valid subpoenas or statutory limitations. IRS Accused of Accessing American Citizens’ Private Information Without Following Statutory Limitations on Power to Issue Subpoenas The NCLA has revealed it filed an opening brief in the case James Harper v. Charles P. Rettig in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The NCLA is a nonpartisan nonprofit civil rights entity and public interest law firm that aims to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the government. The case involves a man named James Harper who has brought litigation against the IRS, the 49th commissioner of t

Crypto startup Bullish has announced its plan to go public on the NYSE as it gets ready to launch a cryptocurrency exchange. The Bullish exchange aims to be a “revolutionary, regulated cryptocurrency exchange that offers deep, predictable liquidity for investors to generate yield from their digital assets.” Bullish to List on NYSE Bullish announced its plan to go public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Friday through a merger with Far Peak Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: FPAC). Far Peak is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Bullish, which debuted in May, detailed: Bullish plans to launch a revolutionary, regulated cryptocurrency exchange that offers deep, predictable liquidity for investors to generate yield from their digital assets. Bullish exchange is operated by Bullish (GI) Ltd. and Jefferies LLC is acting as its exclusive financial advisor and capital markets advisor. Far Peak CEO Thomas W. Farley, a former NYSE president, will become the CEO of Bullish and

The British man who accidentally threw away a computer with 7,500 bitcoins on its hard drive has come up with a new plan to retrieve his lost coins from the city landfill. “We estimate there are between 300,000 – 400,000 tons of waste to look through,” he said. Man on Mission to Retrieve 7,500 Lost Bitcoins James Howells, an IT engineer who accidentally threw away the hard drive of an old computer containing 7,500 bitcoins back in 2013, has not given up his quest to retrieve his coins. The 35-year-old from the city of Newport in the U.K. has shared with The Sun publication his 12-month plan to search the city landfill using x-ray scanning devices and AI technology. Noting that “This would be a proper search – not just somebody going in with a bucket and spade,” the British man affirmed: We have a system with multiple conveyor-belts, x-ray scanning devices and an AI scanning device that would be trained to recognise items that are a similar size and density to the hard drive. “T

Tiktok has banned its users from promoting all financial products and services including those related to cryptocurrency. The company also prohibits ads relating to cryptocurrency. Tiktok Prohibits Users From Posting Content Promoting Cryptocurrencies Social media platform Tiktok has banned content promoting cryptocurrencies and related products and services. The company’s “Branded Content Policy” states: All financial services and products are prohibited, including but not limited to … cryptocurrency. Among the list of other prohibited products and services listed as examples are lending and management of money assets, loans and credit cards, trading platforms, cryptocurrency, foreign exchange, pyramid schemes, and investment services. Under Tiktok’s advertising policies, the company also prohibits ads relating to cryptocurrency. In most countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., Tiktok bans “Ads promoting virtual currencies/cryptocurrencies (e.g. bitcoin and ethereum), as we

Riot Blockchain, a Nasdaq-listed mining company, reported Thursday on its Bitcoin production last month. The company’s numbers jumped a little more than 400% year-on-year, as a result of the increase in mining power. The recent mining crackdown in China is also helping companies like Riot to keep growing. The company plans to continue increasing its mining resources after acquiring 43,500 miners from Bitmain. Riot Blockchain Ramps Up Production Riot Blockchain, an American Bitcoin mining company, delivered its Production and Operations updates for June on Thursday. The company reported growth on the bitcoin mined of more than 400% year-on-year. It produced 243 bitcoin this June, a big increase from the 48 bitcoin mined in the same month last year. The company has produced 1,167 bitcoin this year. These numbers represent an increase of 130% compared to last year. There is a key fact that allows Riot Blockchain to achieve these results: The Chinese mining exodus . Caused by the regu

Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz has ordered the seizure of cryptocurrency funds raised by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. His department has reportedly started taking control over digital wallets used by the terrorist group to collect crypto donations from abroad. Defense Ministry of Israel Targets Crypto Addresses Used by Hamas Minister Gantz approved the seizure of the wallets on June 30, the Times of Israel reported on Friday. The National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) published a list of targeted addresses and wallet details used by Hamas to raise funds in bitcoin ( BTC ) and other cryptocurrencies. They were identified during a joint operation with the Ministry of Defense. Ministry of Defense, Israel. The publication adds that the stockpiles of cryptocurrency were being managed from the Gaza Strip, which is under the control of Hamas. The wallets were employed by the Palestinian organization in its efforts to collect money from foreign sources

The Chinese government is taking its digital yuan test one step further. Now, 10 million users will be able to test and use the currency after applying to join a whitelist in selected state banks. This new phase of the test aims to detect possible problems in a more broad testing environment. China is preparing its user base and its digital yuan technology to be used in the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics. Digital Yuan Whitelist Open The government of China is expanding the testing of its CDBC. According to reports from an officer of the People’s Bank of China, it opened a whitelist to further experiment with the digital yuan. Citizens interested in being part of this initiative can request their inclusion in this new trial phase at selected state banks. More than ten million citizens are already on this whitelist, said Fan Yifei, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China. However, the extent of this test and how the digital yuan will be distributed have not been clarified. Whil

Presenting at the Talent Land Jalisco 2021, Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak called bitcoin an “amazing mathematical miracle.” Wozniak said he’s not a bitcoin investor per se, but “believes in it for the future.” Steve Wozniak Is Not Necessarily Invested but Still Believes Bitcoin Is an ‘Amazing Mathematical’ Creation Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak is a fan of bitcoin and he’s mentioned the subject on numerous occasions over the years. Back in August 2018, Wozniak revealed he was participating with a crypto startup and spoke highly about bitcoin. “It’s so independent,” Wozniak said at the time. “It’s kind of like the internet when it was brand new… I was amazed at the technology behind it,” Wozniak added. Still months before the internet comparison, Wozniak told an audience at the Nordic Business Forum in Sweden that he wasn’t obsessed with bitcoin either. “I had bitcoin to experiment with and when it shot up high, I said, ‘I don’t want to become one of those people that watches it,

The publicly listed and iconic lifestyle company Playboy has announced the entertainment firm has collaborated with the non-fungible token (NFT) digital art marketplace Superrare. The Playboy NFTs expand upon an exhibit showcased to thousands of visitors at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami. Playboy’s New Collection of NFTs Includes Heritage Photograph Print Playboy (Nasdaq: PLBY) has announced the company is collaborating with the NFT digital art marketplace Superrare in order to showcase and sell a collection of NFTs. The collection Playboy published on Friday, includes works by Jon Noorlander and MBSJQ, Ayla El-Moussa, and REK0DE. Furthermore, the works include the original heritage photograph that stems directly from the Playboy Archives. The Miami Beach NFT Collection produced by Playboy and various artists. The original heritage photograph features a water-skiing Playboy Bunny Kathy at the Miami Playboy Club in 1970. Moreover, the Playboy heritage NFT buyer will also

According to the findings of the latest study by Disrupt Africa, the number of fintech start-ups based on the African continent grew to 576 in 2021. This figure represents a 17.3% jump from the 491 start-ups that were operating on the continent in 2019. Overall, the number of fintech start-ups in Africa has increased around 90% from the 2017 figure of 301. Nigerian Dominance Leading the charge in this continuing African fintech growth is the West Africa region where “Nigerian figures were up 42.6 percent on 2019.” In Ghana, fintech companies grew by 25% over the same period while Ivory Coast’s count was up 100%. However, as the study’s findings show, three countries — Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya — totally dominate the continent’s fintech start-up space. For instance, the findings show that out of all the fintech start-ups that were tracked during the period between 2019 and 2021, 391 were located in these three countries. Of these 391 start-ups, 154 are based in South Africa,

President Nayib Bukele’s adoption of cryptocurrency as legal tender in his country is not being met with deep understanding by most of his fellow Salvadorans, a new survey suggests. Almost half of the respondents admitted they knew nothing about Bitcoin, while two-thirds aren’t ready to be paid in crypto. Bitcoin Adoption ‘Not at All Correct,’ Half of Salvadorans Say In a blow to President Bukele’s crypto-friendly policy, poll results released Thursday showed that around 54% of people in El Salvador viewed the adoption of bitcoin ( BTC ) as “not at all correct.” Another 24% said it’s “only a little correct.” Less than 20% fully approved of the government’s crypto move. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, Twitter. The survey has been conducted by Disruptiva , which is affiliated with Francisco Gavidia University, Reuters reported. The pollster reached out to 1,233 people across the Central American nation between July 1 and 4, and the study has a margin of error of 2.8%. El Salva

PRESS RELEASE. AscendEX , a global cryptocurrency financial platform with a comprehensive product suite, is excited to launch the Hummingbot Rebate Campaign to reward users for trading on AscendEX using the Hummingbot Liquidity Mining Portal. The campaign will begin July 9, 2021 and run for 60 days. During the campaign, new and existing Hummingbot users on AscendEX will be able to take advantage of a favorable VIP fee structure available to traders with any level of trade volume while using Hummingbot. The campaign is set up to offer a 0 bps Maker and 5 bps Taker fee for all Hummingbot users on AscendEX. As part of the campaign, users who maintain high enough trading volumes will continue to retain access to VIP fee levels after the end of the campaign. For new users rebate rates will go into effect 48 hours after users sign up by using Hummingbot’s affiliate link. For existing users rebate rates will go into effect 48 hours after the start of the campaign. AscendEX’s Global Head

On Thursday local reports from Mechanicville, the city located in Saratoga County, New York, say that an old hydroelectric plant constructed back in 1897 was almost dismantled, but today the plant is mining bitcoins. The Mechanicville facility is considered one of the oldest renewable energy plants in the world, and it’s now making “more money with bitcoin than selling the electricity” to the grid. Historical Hydroelectric Machinery From 1897 Mines Bitcoin In the historic district of Mechanicville, New York, there’s an 18.3-acre site that is considered one of the oldest renewable energy facilities in the world. Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant was built in 1897 by the Hudson River Power Transmission Company and years ago the plant was almost shut down. The plant is now owned and operated by Albany Engineering Corp (AEC) and the company signed a deal with National Grid in order to have continued access to cheap renewable energy. Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant is the longest-run

The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, is a fan of base layers when it comes to blockchain technology and on Friday, Musk explained there’s “merit” to the Dogecoin chain “minimizing transaction cost.” Dogecoin developers are in the midst of preparing to update the Dogecoin network by gradually deploying the updates to the network “over multiple software releases.” Tesla’s Elon Musk Wholeheartedly Believes in Dogecoin’s Base Layer On Friday morning (EDT), top dogecoin (DOGE) Youtuber Matt Wallace tweeted about the fact that the Dogecoin upgrade was coming in the near future. “Reminder,” Wallace tweeted . “The Dogecoin update is coming soon. It will position Doge perfectly to become one of the most used currencies in the world.” Following the tweet, Elon Musk decided to respond to Wallace’s statement and said: BTC [and] ETH are pursuing a multilayer transaction system, but base layer transaction rate is slow [and] transaction cost is high. There is merit [IMO] to Doge maximizing base laye

A Swedish man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in the U.S. for an investment fraud scheme involving cryptocurrency, including bitcoin. He defrauded thousands of victims of more than $16 million. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that a “cryptocurrency fraudster” has been sentenced to 15 years in prison “for securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering charges that defrauded thousands of victims of more than $16 million.” Roger Nils-Jonas Karlsson, a 47-year-old Swedish man, was arrested in Thailand in June 2019. He pleaded guilty on March 4. According to court documents, Karlsson ran an investment fraud scheme from 2011 until his arrest. He sold shares in the scheme called “Eastern Metal Securities” using cryptocurrency such as bitcoin and other online payment platforms. He promised victims “astronomical returns” tied to the price of gold. However, Karlsson transferred the victims’ funds to his personal bank accounts and used the money to buy ex

Jack Dorsey’s payments company, Square Inc., has confirmed that it is building a bitcoin hardware wallet and service with the aim to “make bitcoin custody more mainstream.” Square’s Bitcoin Hardware Wallet in the Works Square Inc. is building a hardware wallet, Jesse Dorogusker, the company’s hardware lead, announced Thursday on Twitter. He tweeted: We have decided to build a hardware wallet and service to make bitcoin custody more mainstream. We’ll continue to ask and answer questions in the open. Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey subsequently confirmed, tweeting: “We’re doing it.” Dorogusker explained: “Our next step is to build a small, cross-functional team, which will be led by Max Guise (welcome back). We will incubate this full-stack of tech, design, product, manufacturing, and supply chain with Thomas Templeton & Square’s hardware team to start with a strong foundation.” The hardware lead elaborated: We have a lot of questions and issues to reconcile and we’ll s