Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Blockchain analytics company Elliptic said it’s going to use Openai’s Chatgpt to support its intelligence gathering and research. The AI-based language model will allow its experts to speed up and expand the analysis of new risks related to crypto assets. Blockchain Forensics Firm Elliptic to Employ Chatgpt London-headquartered Elliptic, a leader in blockchain analysis and crypto-asset risk management, announced the integration of the Chatgpt chatbot into its team’s off-chain intelligence and research gathering efforts. The company pointed out in a press release that the solutions it has developed leverage a proprietary dataset consisting of more than a decade’s worth of data, “encompassing over 97% of crypto transactions by trading volume, and the largest collection of crypto exchange risk profiles.” Adding the technology based on artificial intelligence (AI) to Elliptic’s tool set will allow its specialists to concentrate on accuracy and scalability while the large language model

During the past week, while bitcoin has been less volatile, the BRC20 token economy has been coasting along just below the $500 million range, and today it stands at $475.05 million. Statistics show that BRC20s have increased in value significantly over the past 39 days, rising 1,511% from a total value of $29.48 million to today’s market capitalization of $475 million. Value of BRC20 Token Economy Holds Above $400 Million Since First Week of May Bitcoin’s BRC20 token economy remains just below the half-billion-dollar mark in value, with 24,677 listed BRC20 tokens, according to the BRC20 market aggregation website brc-20.io. Similar to bitcoin’s (BTC) price during the past week, the market capitalization of the BRC20 economy has experienced limited movement and has been lackluster in terms of activity. However, the BRC20 token economy has consistently maintained a value above the $400 million range since the first week of May 2023. Approximately 39 days ago, statistics from the

  Iran and Russia have increased cooperation and settled more than 60% of their bilateral trade in the Russian ruble and the Iranian rial, according to the chairman of Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce. The two countries have ramped up their de-dollarization efforts with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi calling for the Central Bank of Iran to lay the necessary groundwork to ditch the U.S. dollar in bilateral trade settlements. Iran and Russia Increase Cooperation Amid Heavy Sanctions The head of the Tehran-based Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce, Hadi Tizhoush Taban, discussed de-dollarization efforts by the two countries Friday in an interview with Iran’s news agency IRNA. He stated that the use of the Russian ruble and the Iranian rial in bilateral trade settlements between Russia and Iran has exceeded 60%. The Joint Chamber chief explained that following the onset of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Russia was heavily sanctioned by Western countries, just like Ira

On June 3, 2023, numerous sources revealed details about an attack on Atomic Wallet that resulted in significant financial losses for many victims. The Atomic Wallet team announced they are looking into the issue, while onchain investigators like Zachxbt have also been digging deeper, searching for explanations. Decentralized Finance Nightmare: Atomic Wallet Compromised, Millions in Crypto Stolen Based on several reports, the decentralized finance (defi) wallet platform Atomic Wallet appears to have been breached. On Saturday, the Atomic Wallet team acknowledged the event on their Twitter account after hearing from affected users. “We have received reports of wallets being compromised. We are doing all we can to investigate and analyse the situation. As we have more information, we will share it accordingly,” stated the Twitter account for Atomic Wallet. Boasting an estimated user base of five million, Atomic Wallet saw several of its users voicing their frustrations after the up

Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, doesn’t think buying a bank would solve the crypto industry’s troubles with traditional financial institutions, amid issues his own exchange currently faces in regions like Australia and Europe. In other news, the chairman of Russia’s second-largest bank has said that the Chinese yuan is likely to replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. All this and more, just below, in the latest Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. Binance Buying Bank Not Solution for Banking Problems, Says CEO Changpeng Zhao Acquiring a bank wouldn’t solve the issues with banking for or others, the CEO of the largest crypto exchange is convinced. Speaking in the aftermath of the collapse of crypto-friendly banks in the U.S. and amid Binance’s issues with payment providers in Australia, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said investments in several banks might be a better option although not a guarantee that crypto won’t be cut off. Read More Crypto Exchange Binance to Remove

The regulatory environment in the U.S. doesn’t look good for crypto but the United States has the potential to lead again, according to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ). The founder of the world’s largest digital asset exchange is convinced stablecoins can increase use cases for the U.S. dollar and praises the pro-crypto stance of Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis. CZ: Lack of Clarity and Regulation by Enforcement Mark Current Regulatory Landscape in U.S. founder and chief executive, Changpeng Zhao, gave his thoughts on the crypto regulatory situation in the United States in an Ask Me Anything session on Twitter this past Wednesday. He was asked to comment in light of the 2024 U.S. presidential election and the statements of some of the candidates on cryptocurrency and regulations. CZ said that his outlook on the current regulatory environment in the U.S. is not positive from crypto’s perspective. “I think there’s a lack of clarity and there are clear cases of regulation

Although the U.S. has averted defaulting on its debt obligations, Fitch Ratings still has concerns about the country’s ability to repay its debt. As a result, the credit rating agency has placed the U.S. “AAA” rating on negative watch, emphasizing that recent events have lowered “confidence in governance on fiscal and debt matters.” Fitch Ratings Still Has Concerns About the US Fitch Ratings, one of the three largest credit rating agencies in the U.S., announced on Friday that the United States’ “AAA” credit rating remains on “negative watch” despite the recent debt limit agreement reached in Congress. The other two major rating agencies in the U.S. are Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s. The U.S. avoided having to default on its debt obligations after Congress passed a bill Friday to suspend the debt limit until Jan. 1, 2025. Without the agreement reached in this bill, the country could default on its debt obligations on June 5 , according to Treasury Secretary Jan

On June 1, Coinbase revealed its plans to extend bitcoin and ether futures contracts to institutional investors through its derivatives exchange. The firm mentioned that the Coinbase Bitcoin (BTI) and Ether (ETI) futures contracts would be accessible via third-party institutional futures commission merchants (FCMs) and brokerage firms. Coinbase to Launch New Bitcoin and Ether Futures Products Following the launch of the company’s nano-sized bitcoin and ether contracts, Coinbase announced this week that it has witnessed substantial “institutional interest and demand for advanced derivatives products.” As a result, the San Francisco-based exchange has opted to introduce “institutional-sized” bitcoin and ether futures contracts through its regulated Coinbase Derivatives Exchange. These new futures products will become available on June 5, with the Coinbase Bitcoin (BTI) futures contract specified at 1 BTC and the Coinbase Ether (ETI) futures contract at 10 ether per contract. Coinba

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians  Four days ago, on May 31, 2023, the cross-chain protocol Multichain announced on Twitter that the team has been unable to locate the firm’s CEO. As a result, controls to several blockchain network routers have been impaired. The project’s native token, MULTI, has experienced a 1% decline in the last 24 hours and a decrease of over 50% in the past two weeks. Multichain Protocol Struggles as CEO Disappears This week, the cryptocurrency community has been discussing the Multichain Cross-Chain Router Protocol after the team revealed its founder has gone missing. Multichain’s bridge technology allows users to transfer assets between different blockchain networks. As of the time of writing, the decentralized finance (defi) platform holds $1.45 billion in value. “In the past two days, the Multichain protocol has experienced multiple issues due to unforeseeable circumstances,” the team

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians  While non-fungible token (NFT) sales witnessed a substantial increase in May, demonstrating significant progress, recent data indicates that NFT sales have soared by 39.35% within just the last week alone. Furthermore, sales figures for the trailing week demonstrate that the Bitcoin blockchain maintains its rank as second in weekly sales volume. Ethereum Dominates NFT Market with 60% Share, Bitcoin NFT Sales Capture 17% of Weekly Sales Volume The NFT sales for this week saw a 39.35% growth from last week, amounting to $202.22 million in global sales. The quantity of NFT buyers also expanded by 37.45%, reaching the current week’s total of 724,193 buyers. Besides those two data points, NFT transactions have ascended to 2,350,977 transactions, marking a 6.94% increase compared to the preceding week. In the meantime, sales originating from the Ethereum blockchain led the $202 million i

The Twitter account of Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff was found advertising a gold-branded token as a result of an apparent hacking. His son, crypto enthusiast Spencer Schiff, warned users in a tweet not to follow the link posted by the unknown attackers trying to lure victims using his father’s name. ‘Dad Almost Certainly Hacked,’ Son Tweets After Peter Schiff Launches $GOLD Token on Twitter Hackers obviously took control of economist Peter Schiff’s Twitter account to promote the supposed launch of a “groundbreaking cryptocurrency token” called $GOLD. A series of tweets posted in the space of a few hours suggested that the digital asset represents tokenized gold and is “a complete and utter gamechanger for gold-backed DeFi” that will “empower the #Web3 community.” “Claim your $GOLD,” as it is “extremely close to selling out,” the perpetrators of the apparent scam urged followers of Schiff, who is a well-known gold proponent but also a vocal critic of cryptocurrencies like bitcoi

Bitcoin started the weekend in the red, as markets continued to digest the latest nonfarm payrolls in the United States. Despite payrolls coming in better than expected, the unemployment rate also rose, hitting 3.7%, which is its highest point since last October. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) was mostly consolidating to start the weekend, as traders continued to digest the latest U.S. nonfarm payrolls data. Payrolls rose to 339,000 last month, which was higher than the 190,000 markets were expecting. Following a low of $26,898.00 on Friday, BTC /USD is trading at $27,149.78 at the time of writing. For many, a recent upward crossover of the 10-day (red) and 25-day (blue) moving averages was a signal that bullish momentum was set to return. However, yesterday’s economic data has added more questions than provided answers, as to what the Federal Reserve could do in its upcoming meeting. A ceiling at $27,300 remains a key hurdle for bulls to overcome, and should this occur, the chances o

On Friday, Cathedra Bitcoin Inc. announced a partnership with 360 Mining, revealing plans to deploy mobile data centers and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin miners at 360 Mining’s off-grid location in Texas. 360 Mining and Cathedra Bitcoin Announce Texas Bitcoin Mining Venture According to Cathedra Bitcoin (CBIT), the firm will be deploying bitcoin miners at 360 Mining’s off-grid Texas campus. CBIT will pay $55.00 per megawatt hour for power consumed, plus 10% of gross bitcoin mined at the site, the announcement details. The deal gives CBIT the rights to two megawatts of mining capacity which could produce an estimated 0.054 exahash per second (EH/s) or 54 petahash per second (PH/s) of capacity. If necessary and its “economically advantageous to do so,” the company can abstain from bitcoin mining and sell the natural gas on the open market. “We are excited to begin working with 360 Mining, a company run by bitcoiners who have put in the proof-of-work to dev

Lord Jim O’Neill, the British economist credited with coining the acronym BRIC, has explained that the U.S. dollar will lose its dominant status. He expects the Chinese yuan and possibly the Indian rupee to become “much more important currencies for the world.” Lord Jim O’Neill on USD Losing Its Dominant Status British economist Lord Jim O’Neill discussed de-dollarization and the potential for a proposed common BRICS currency or the Chinese yuan to replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency in a couple of interviews this week. O’Neill, a former Goldman Sachs economist, coined the acronym BRIC over 20 years ago to describe the economic potential of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa joined the group a few years later, and the acronym was changed to BRICS. O’Neill is now the chair of venture capital firm Northern Gritstone. He believes that the U.S. dollar will lose its world’s reserve currency status at some point, stating in an interview with Going Undergro

Countries in the BRICS bloc intend to encourage the use of local currencies in cross-border trade, their foreign ministers revealed. The top diplomats, who met in South Africa, also emphasized the importance of financial inclusion, welcoming new technologies that support it. BRICS to Stimulate Trade Transactions in Local Currencies The BRICS group of the largest emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), will encourage the use of local currencies in international trade. The plan was announced during the meeting of their foreign ministers in Cape Town, Russian news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti reported. The first diplomats of the nations in the union met in South Africa’s oldest city on June 1 – 2. The hosting country took over the BRICS chairmanship from China earlier this year. In a joint statement published by its foreign ministry, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, they stated: Ministers underscored the importance of encourag

The Tanzanian central bank said on May 31 that foreign currency dealers are required to trade all transactions that exceed $1,000,000 within “interbank foreign exchange market prevailing quoted prices.” According to the Bank of Tanzania, the latest directives are intended to “foster macroeconomic stability and safeguard the stability of the financial system.” Forex Dealers Must Only Trade With Authorized International Brokers The Tanzanian central bank has reminded forex dealers that all transactions exceeding USD 1,000,000.00 per transaction must be “traded within the interbank foreign exchange market prevailing quoted prices.” The central bank also reminded foreign currency dealers that they should only trade with licensed international foreign currency brokers. In a statement signed by the institution’s governor, Emmanuel M. Tutuba, the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) said it made the decision to issue the reminder after reviewing the operations of the foreign exchange market. “As part

According to Rocket Pool, a liquid staking derivatives provider, users will have the ability to liquid stake their ETH using the Layer 2 (L2) Zksync Era network. The company clarified that Rocket Pool liquid stakers utilizing Zksync Era will enjoy faster speeds and lower transaction costs. Liquid Staking Protocol Rocket Pool Joins Forces With Zksync Era The liquid staking protocol Rocket Pool, ranked third in size, is set to integrate with Zksync, as announced on Twitter. Statistics reveal that Rocket Pool currently holds 733,575 ether, equivalent to $1.3 billion, within its liquid staking protocol. On Thursday, the team tweeted, “Rocket Pool is coming to Zksync Era. You’ll soon be able to liquid stake your ETH on Zksync Era by simply holding rETH in your wallet. Just like on mainnet and other L2’s, rETH will continue to accrue staking rewards automatically.” Liquid staking has gained popularity in recent years, and this year has witnessed a significant surge in the number of

Stablecoin provider, Circle Internet Financial, has revealed that its dollar-pegged token, USDC, will be natively introduced on the layer two (L2) blockchain Arbitrum on June 8. The announcement follows Circle’s disclosure of its euro-pegged coin, EUROC, merging with the Avalanche blockchain last week. Circle Plans to Launch USDC on Arbitrum on June 8 On Thursday, Circle revealed that usd coin (USDC) , the second largest stablecoin by market valuation, will make its debut on Ethereum’s L2 scaling network, Arbitrum. With a current market capitalization of roughly $28.8 billion, USDC ranks as the second-largest stablecoin. “USDC issued by Circle will be native to Arbitrum and will be considered the official version of USDC for the Arbitrum ecosystem,” Circle said on Thursday. “Over time, native USDC liquidity will grow and replace the currently circulating ‘bridged USDC’ liquidity that comes from Ethereum.” Arbitrum also released a blog post discussing the impending USDC native sup

Cryptocurrency miners in Russia have extracted digital currencies for around $700 million last year, according to a state-run fintech entity. However, the growing industry remains unregulated with the government having postponed the adoption of the respective legislation once again. Russian Crypto Miners Produce Coins for up to 60 Billion Rubles in 2022 Miners operating in Russia have minted cryptocurrencies for an estimated 50 – 60 billion rubles ($620 million – $740 million) last year, the Director of the Skolkovo Fintech Hub Pavel Novikov announced, quoted by the Prime business news agency. Speaking at the “Finance of the Future: Challenges and Opportunities” conference organized by Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, the executive of the state-owned company pointed out that the figure ranks Russia second in the world by that indicator. Novikov also highlighted that Russian miners have consumed about 1 gigawatt ( GW ) of electric power during the same period. He also noted that th

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk says commercial real estate is “melting down fast,” warning that home values will be next. Some experts disagree with Musk regarding the residential real estate market, including Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran. However, she agrees that the commercial real estate market is “going to be a bit of a bloodbath before it gets better.” Elon Musk’s Real Estate Market Warnings Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk warned about real estate markets in a tweet Monday. The billionaire cautioned that the commercial real estate market is “melting down fast,” predicting that home values will be next. Musk’s tweet was in reply to venture capitalist David Sacks, founder and partner of Craft Ventures, who extensively discussed the challenges faced by the commercial real estate market through a series of tweets over the past few days. Sacks highlighted the effects of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates from near 0% to about 5% in the past year, stating that they cor

Economist Peter Schiff has warned of an impending U.S. dollar crisis. He predicted that with the new debt ceiling deal, “reckless government spending and borrowing will continue until a sovereign debt and U.S. dollar crisis bring it to a catastrophic end.” Peter Schiff’s Latest Economic, Dollar Crisis Warnings Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff has taken to Twitter to voice concerns about the U.S. economy and the impending U.S. dollar crisis. His warnings followed the recent debt ceiling deal reached to prevent the U.S. from potentially defaulting on its debt obligations. “Now that the fake debt ceiling crisis is behind us, we can focus on the real crisis that lies ahead,” Schiff tweeted Wednesday, emphasizing: Suspending the debt ceiling yet again means that reckless government spending and borrowing will continue until a sovereign debt and U.S. dollar crisis brings it to a catastrophic end. “The $1.5 trillion the debt ceiling deal purports to save over 10 years amounts to

Mark your calendars for the 14th and 15th of June, 2023, as the Louvre Palace, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, prepares to host Proof of Talk , the pinnacle of Web3 leadership and networking events. With the rallying cry of ‘Bringing Back Trust into Web3’, this summit is poised to be a hotbed of innovation, collaboration, and transformation. This inaugural edition of Proof of Talk is set to be a star-studded affair, featuring luminaries such as Charles Hoskinson, Co-Founder of Cardano, Pascal Gauthier, CEO of Ledger, Stani Kulechov, Founder & CEO of Aave, Justin Sun, Founder of Tron, Staci Warden, CEO of Algorand Foundation, and Marieke Flament, CEO of NEAR Foundation, and Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder of Polygon Technologies. This is your chance to rub shoulders with the brightest minds shaping the future of Web3. But the guest list doesn’t stop there. High-potential startups, government officials, and regulatory authorities from European powerhouses like the UK, Germany, and