Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the investment bank owned by the EU Member States, has announced the issuance of the organization’s first-ever digital bond built on a public blockchain. The bond was issued using Ethereum and the issuance invoked $121 million two-year bonds placed with key market investors. EIB Issues Digital Bonds Built With Ethereum Technology The EIB, a not-for-profit organization and lending arm of the European Union announced on Wednesday that the bank has issued a new type of digital bond built using blockchain technology. On April 28, 2021, the EIB explained that the bank had also worked on the digital bond project with the financial institutions Goldman Sachs, Santander, and Societe Generale. The EIB also disclosed that the Banque de France participated and said “the payment of the issue monies from the underwriters to the EIB has been represented on the blockchain in the form of CBDC.” “Innovation at the EIB goes beyond the projects we are supporting.

PRESS RELEASE. UnoRe , the first decentralized reinsurance platform, is now allowing retail users to invest in risk. This opportunity is a part of the project’s vision to revolutionize the reinsurance industry, one that has been traditionally gatekept, preventing any significant innovation in hundreds of years. UnoRe aims to take steps towards alleviating the extreme global wealth gap – a typical millennial now holds 41% less wealth than a similarly aged adult in 1989. In contrast, the world’s richest 1% currently have more than twice as much wealth as 6.9 billion people combined. That’s over 90% of everyone else! The inaccessibility to wealth-generating tools such as reinsurance is a contributing factor to this enormous inequality – reinsurance as an industry has always been one exclusive to the wealthiest factions of society and out of reach for regular investors. Those with significant capital have leveraged this reliable asset class in order to balloon their already-inflated ne

In a policy meeting on Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve told the public that monetary easing will continue and the benchmark interest rate will be kept near zero. Just like previous statements from Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members, the committee within the central bank is not concerned about inflation and says that it should only have “transitory effects” on the American economy. Inflation to Have ‘Transitory Effects,’ While ‘Recovery Is Uneven and Far From Complete’ The most recent FOMC meeting held on Wednesday was no different than the past number of committee gatherings which explained that the central bank is still dealing with pressure from the pandemic. A press release that followed the meeting highlighted that the “pandemic is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world.” The Federal Reserve, however, has seen indicators that “economic activity and employment have strengthened,” but Fed Chairman Jerome Powell

Venezuela’s government-backed cryptocurrency is not having the acceptance its cabinet expected, as the latest reports suggest. The petro’s creator, who now lives in exile, wants to build another crypto that gets the adoption its original creation did not in the nation. Jiménez Believed the Petro Could Have Given Venezuelans a ‘Measure of Freedom’ Per a report published by Deutsche Welle, Gabriel Jimenez, a 31-year-old-programmer, is looking to pursue a “cryptocurrency revolution” in Venezuela with Reserve, a brand-new token he created. Jimenez – now residing in the United States – is not a stranger to the crypto community, nor Nicolás Maduro’s government, as he was once commissioned to create the state-backed petro (PTR). Interestingly, he wasn’t a fan of the government, as he actively participated in the street protests against Maduro. However, Jiménez thought that creating the petro token was an excellent idea to give Venezuelans “a measure of freedom” by bypassing U.S. financi

As part of its ongoing efforts to make the decentralized finance ecosystem more accessible through infrastructure development, this layer2 scaling solution has introduced a $100 million fund designed to lower the barriers to entry for yield farming and lending. #Defiforall to Support Development Over Next 2-3 Years Decentralized finance (defi) has emerged as one of the most explosive blockchain developments over the past year as new products and services offer a new means for token holders to monetize their crypto holdings. The push has been so extreme that the total value locked (TVL) in defi protocols has crossed back above $60 billion , trending just shy of the record amount reached mere weeks ago. Yet, defi remains one of the most complex areas of the blockchain universe for newcomers as the steep learning curve and high capital requirements push more minor participants to the fringes. Enter Polygon, an Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development solution. Formerly known a

South African property developer, New Age Properties, says it has partnered with Sun Exchange, an online leasing platform, as part of an effort to bring cheap and clean energy to low-income earners. Bitcoin for Solar Cells According to the two companies’ working arrangement, Sun Exchange, which also accepts payment in BTC form, will enable buyers of solar cells to lease electricity to Watergate Estate, one of South Africa’s first low-cost gated community housing project. Meanwhile, a local news report explains how the consummation of this partnership will represent a key milestone for the South African property developer, Anver Essop. In addition to fulfilling his desire to bring to “green, safe and cheap homes across South Africa”, the arrangement with Sun Exchange also helps Essop realize his objective of bringing the perks or benefits associated with South Africa’s affluent gated communities to low-income earners. “We thought, why don’t we give people the same product we buil

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io was established back in 2013 and is now celebrating its eighth anniversary. This is an impressive milestone in the ever changing crypto landscape, but the company isn’t resting on its laurels. Gate.io keeps taking the initiative to innovate and offer many new services for traders of digital assets and DeFi startups. A Veteran Crypto Exchange You Can Trust In a world where so many new services pop-up every day, Gate.io marking 8 years of operation is a major sign of durability and commitment. While other platforms collapsed or just disappeared overnight, Gate.io endured for so long and always focused on offering a safe, secure and reliable service to its users. This has brought it a loyal fan base that stuck with it over the years, and the respect of being able to call themselves veterans in the field. Gate.io, as one of the world’s long-lasting trading platforms with the largest transaction volume, deeply understands the importance of blockc

Although recent studies have been showing a slowdown in cryptojacking activities, especially the ones related to mining privacy coins, Intel remains on the hunt to crackdown on such activities. The tech giant has partnered with Microsoft to deploy a campaign that strengthens cryptojacking detection with new technologies. Tool Could Trigger Multiple Detectors to Halt Any Cryptojacking Threat According to the announcement , Microsoft Defender for Endpoint integrated a threat detection tool – known as Intel Threat Detection Technology (Intel TDT) – designed by Intel to launch an endpoint detection of cryptojacking threats before it hits a system. The technology can activate central processing unit (CPU) based cryptomining machine learning detection without compromising users’ computers whatsoever, said the companies in a joint announcement. Frank Dickson, program vice president of Security and Trust at International Data Corporation (IDC), gave his thoughts on the detection tool: T

The Turkish government is reportedly creating a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies after two crypto exchanges in the country abruptly halted trading and are now being investigated for fraud. The government is reportedly planning to establish a central custodian bank among other initiatives. The Turkish government is working on cryptocurrency regulation. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that “The government is planning to establish a central custodian bank to eliminate counterparty risk,” citing a senior official familiar with the plans. The Treasury & Finance Ministry, Capital Markets Board and financial crimes watchdog Masak are involved in establishing the crypto framework, the publication conveyed, adding that its preparations are expected to be completed within a few weeks. Other than creating a central custodian bank, the Turkish authorities are also considering imposing a capital threshold for crypto exchanges and education requirements for executives at those co

Popular talk show host Ellen Degeneres asked Shark Tank star Mark Cuban about cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens during the Ellen Degeneres Show which aired on Tuesday. Besides explaining cryptocurrency to Degeneres, Cuban tried to convince her to accept dogecoin in her shop. Ellen Degeneres Tries to Understand Dogecoin Shark Tank star Mark Cuban appeared on the Ellen Degeneres Show on Tuesday. Degeneres is a popular comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. Cuban is the owner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) team Dallas Mavericks. “Today, Mark Cuban taught me about dogecoin. I’m still not sure I understand it, or know how to pronounce it, but it sure is fun to say,” Degeneres tweeted. Degeneres asked Cuban about cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). “Is that something that we should all be looking at?” she said. “The thing about NFTs is they’re just digital collectibles,” Cuban described. “Don’t think about the technology at all. It’s

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs is questioning whether bitcoin can be a long-term store of value and digital gold. The firm’s analysts cited various issues with the cryptocurrency, such as environmental problems, “lack of real use,” and competition from other cryptocurrencies. Goldman Sachs Sees Problems With Bitcoin as Long-Term Store of Value Goldman Sachs published a note outlining some problems with bitcoin as digital gold on Wednesday. The firm’s analysts, led by its top commodities strategist Jeffrey Currie, have voiced concerns about whether the cryptocurrency could become a long-term store of value. The analysts explained: “While bitcoin benefits from greater liquidity, it suffers from lack of real use and weak environmental, social, governance ESG scoring, due to its high energy consumption.” They also cited competition from other cryptocurrencies as a factor stopping bitcoin from becoming digital gold, elaborating: Traditional long-term stores of value such as gold

PRESS RELEASE. AscendEX, formerly BitMax, an industry-leading digital asset trading platform built by Wall Street quant trading veterans, has announced the listing of the Smoothy Token (SMTY) under the pair USDT/SMTY on Mar 29 at 1:00 p.m. UTC. Smoothy is a novel single pool liquidity protocol specializing in same-backed assets with low-cost zero-slippage swapping and maximum interest earning capabilities. Smoothy’s unique design allows the swap ratio of the same backed asset to be fixed at 1:1. Smoothie is designed to make the gas fee 80% lower than existing projects, and brings maximum interest to the liquidity providers. Smoothy has been developed from scratch to address the issues of existing protocols. Smoothy’s goal is to offer one pool to swap all tokens with, smooth and straightforward swaps, low gas fees, flexibility to add or remove any stablecoins, better liquidity, lower slippage, and better LP token incentives. The Smoothy token is used for the governance of the

U.S. law enforcement arrested the alleged operator of Bitcoin Fog, Roman Sterlingov in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Documents show Sterlingov is accused of laundering over 1.2 million bitcoin via the Bitcoin Fog mixer, a tool that allows users to mix transactions together. According to federal investigators, Sterlingov ran the operation for ten years and processed $336 million in BTC transactions. US Government Charges Alleged Bitcoin Fog Kingpin With Money Laundering The U.S. government has charged and arrested a Russian and Swedish citizen Roman Sterlingov with money laundering using a bitcoin mixer. Ostensibly, Sterlingov was the lead administrator in the Bitcoin Fog operation which used a Coinjoin-based mixing tool to blend BTC UTXOs. Bitcoin Fog could be found on Tor via an onion address, it required mandatory registration, and a minimum deposit of 0.01 BTC to use the platform. However, the registration process was not tied to an email and simply required a username and passwor

Japanese gaming firm Nexon has purchased 1,717 bitcoins for approximately $100 million. The company believes “bitcoin offers long-term stability and liquidity while maintaining the value of our cash for future investments.” Japan’s Nexon Buys Bitcoin Major gaming company Nexon Co. Ltd. announced Wednesday that it has purchased 1,717 bitcoins for approximately $100 million (¥11.1 billion) at an average price of approximately $58,226 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses. The Tokyo stock exchange-listed company noted: This purchase represents less than 2% of Nexon’s total cash and cash equivalents on hand. Founded in 1994, Nexon describes itself as “a global leader in multiplayer online games.” With more than 10 franchises, the Tokyo-headquartered company currently has more than 60 live games, operated in more than 190 countries. Nexon’s iconic games include Maplestory and Dungeon Fighter. Nexon CEO Owen Mahoney explained, “Our purchase of bitcoin reflects a discipli

The second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market valuation, ethereum, has seen significant gains this week in comparison to the rest of the crypto economy. On Wednesday, ethereum tapped an all-time high at $2,736 per unit as the crypto asset has gained 11.48% during the last seven days. Ethereum Cracks a New ATH While a great number of digital assets dropped in value last week, ethereum (ETH) prices rebounded much quicker than most. On April 27, after climbing more than 11% during the course of the week, ETH tapped an all-time high (ATH) at $2,706 per ether on Tuesday. Then again, on Wednesday, ether prices touched an ATH of around $2,736 per coin. During the last seven days, ether prices have jumped 10% higher against bitcoin (BTC) as well. Bitcoin’s current dominance index is being drained too as it’s dropped to 49.2% while ethereum now captures 14.9%. The ETH /USD chart on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. 1-Hour, Bitstamp. Against the U.S. dollar during the last month, ethe

Tesla’s quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that the company’s bitcoins are now worth $2.48 billion, a substantial increase from the initial investment of $1.5 billion. This is also after the electric car company sold some bitcoins to “prove liquidity.” SEC Filing Shows Tesla Sitting on Bitcoins Worth $2.48 Billion Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla Inc. (TSLA.O), revealed the value of its bitcoin holdings in its quarterly report filed with SEC on Tuesday. Tesla explained in the filing that it purchased “an aggregate of $1.5 billion in digital assets, comprised solely of bitcoin” during the three months ended March 31. The company also began “accepting bitcoin as a payment for sales of certain of our products in specified regions, subject to applicable laws.” The company then sold some of its bitcoins in March. After accounting for the sale of some bitcoins which netted $272 million, Tesla wrote: As of March 31, 2021, the carrying

pNetwork , a cross-chain composability system that allows assets and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to move freely between blockchains, has officially partnered up with Algorand, the pure proof-of-stake blockchain focused on the convergence between decentralized and traditional finance, to launch cross-chain bridges for the Algorand ecosystem. pNetwork has received a grant from the Algorand Foundation for creating a pNetwork-powered bridge for Algorand to be connected with external assets and ecosystems. As the cryptocurrencies industry continues to evolve, the development of alternative financial platforms is on the rise. A critical component for these to succeed is assets’ liquidity, which in the decentralized scene is currently spread across multiple independent blockchain protocols. Similar to all blockchain-based networks, Algorand sits within its own ecosystem, natively difficult to interoperate with other protocols and assets such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. pNetwork’s PNT-powered p