Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

An official with the Zimbabwean government recently confirmed the country’s administration is currently gathering views about cryptocurrencies from knowledgeable persons. Government’s Lingering Concerns Charles Wekwete, who is the head of the e-government unit, suggested that the country will only adopt a formal position on cryptocurrencies once the consultation process is complete. According to a Sunday News report , Wekwete — who addressed delegates that attended an IT summit that was held in Victoria Falls — made the comments while responding to an inquiry from the attendees. The attendees had asked Wekwete if the Zimbabwean government’s position on cryptocurrencies had shifted. In his response, Wekwete starts by reiterating his government’s lingering concerns about cryptocurrencies and its fears these could be used to facilitate nefarious activities. However, Wekwete still went on to reveal that the Zimbabwean government is already working towards finding the appropriate regu

The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned a second cryptocurrency exchange “for facilitating financial transactions for ransomware actors.” Two ransomware operators have also been sanctioned and $6.1 million in funds were seized. US Treasury Sanctions Another Cryptocurrency Exchange The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Monday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned ransomware operators and a cryptocurrency exchange. Crypto exchange Chatex and its associated support network have been sanctioned “for facilitating financial transactions for ransomware actors,” the Treasury states. “Analysis of Chatex’s known transactions indicate that over half are directly traced to illicit or high-risk activities such as darknet markets, high-risk exchanges, and ransomware.” Chatex has direct ties with Suex OTC , the first crypto exchange sanctioned by the OFAC on Sept. 21, the Treasury noted. The OFAC also sanctioned Ukrainian Yaroslav Vasinskyi and Russian Yevg

The Indian government is reportedly trying to “fast track” a modified cryptocurrency bill to be introduced in the winter session of parliament. India’s crypto legislation is expected to take a “middle path” approach to balance all stakeholders’ concerns. India Reportedly Modifying Crypto Bill to Introduce at the Start of Winter Session of Parliament India is currently working on cryptocurrency regulation. The government is now considering taking a “middle path” that balances all stakeholders’ concerns to regulate cryptocurrencies, the Economic Times reported Monday, citing an unnamed government source. An outright ban on cryptocurrencies is not seen as feasible given a large number of Indians are investing in crypto assets, the person explained, adding that making cryptocurrencies legal tender, as El Salvador did, is not an option either. The source said: A balance has to be found … A middle path that balances the concerns of all stakeholders is more likely. Policymakers were r

The world is fast moving towards a crypto-first future. One in which every company will have a strategy for how to leverage crypto, tokenized assets, smart contracts and more to transfer value and fuel a rising tide of global digital transactions and commerce. Liquidity – the ability to instantly, seamlessly and affordably exchange assets – … Continued The post Ripple Liquidity Hub for the Enterprise appeared first on Ripple. http://dlvr.it/SCB9Sk

FIDE , the International Chess Federation, has become the first global sports federation to launch its own NFT marketplace. It announced a partnership with core developers of the Everscale Network (ex-FreeTON) , TON Labs , to launch ChessNFT.com – a new chess non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystem. Full marketplace functionality is scheduled for later this month, to coincide with the upcoming World Championship in Dubai. ChessNFT hopes to welcome a new demographic to the world of blockchain, attracting both players and fans of chess alike. Users will be able to bid on and purchase chess-related NFTs featuring iconic match moments, unique collectibles, chess related art, and much more. The platform’s interface will accommodate the use of both fiat and cryptocurrencies. Most interestingly, these NFTs will be in the new TrueNFT format on the Everscale Network. Everscale is the new name for the recently rebranded FreeTON network. TrueNFTs bring a number of benefits over existing forma

On November 8, 2021, the price of bitcoin reached an all-time high of $68,564 per unit at 10:57 p.m. (ET) on Monday evening. Meanwhile, Plan B, the creator of the bitcoin price model called stock-to-flow (S2F), has correctly predicted the last three months of bitcoin prices and recently said that based on the floor model the price will reach $100K this year. ‘Bitcoin Looking Strong’ — Plan B’s Poll Results Show 40% of Voters Believe $100K Will Happen This Year Four months ago in June, Plan B tweeted that his “worst-case scenario for 2021” bitcoin (BTC) prices “on-chain based” would be “Aug>47K, Sep>43K, Oct>63K, Nov>98K, Dec>135K.” During the first week of August, Plan B reconfirmed his confidence in the price forecast and said “$64K was not the top.” After correctly predicting the bitcoin prices for the months of August, September, and October, Plan B has been discussing BTC ’s current price run-up during the first week of November. On November 3, Plan B tweeted

The organizers of Art X Lagos, a West Africa art exhibition, recently kickstarted a non-fungible token (NFT) art fair that features the works of African artists drawn from more than six countries. Blockchain Provides Important Opportunity for Artists In a statement made on Art X Lagos’ website, the organizers argue that blockchain is now providing digital artists with an opportunity to sell their work. They added that such a paradigm shift opens up the possibility of a more decentralized and more collaborative economy, where creators can lead the way towards a more inclusive, and more diverse society. To demonstrate the extent of Art X Lagos’ determination, the organizers, alongside Superrare — a digital art market on the Ethereum blockchain — recently kickstarted the art fair. According to a report , the physical version of this fair began on November 4 and was expected to end on November 7. The online fair, on the other hand, is expected to end on November 21. NFTs Getting Mor

PRESS RELEASE. Hollywood, CA – Riskie Forever, renowned creator of the iconic album cover art of “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory”, steps onto the digital collectibles stage in partnership with Zelus for a truly unique NFT collection. Beginning on November 5th, the 25th anniversary of the acclaimed album’s release, Zelus will release a series of twenty-five NFTs every day for seven days, each one inspired by the cover art of the Death Row Records classic. The collection will features all new digital artwork inspired by Riskie Forever’s original album artwork. Each day, Zelus will release different limited editions of video artwork paired with physical items created by Riskie. The campaign will culminate on the seventh day with the release of a 3D NFT of the album cover. “Our studio was founded on the idea of creating NFTs that are not only potentially valuable, but also hold unique meaning for collectors and fans,” noted Dale Alexander, Chief of Creative for Zelus. “It doesn

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS), the entity that controls the decentralized domains built on top of Ethereum, announced it would pivot to a decentralized governance model, opening the door to the formation of a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization). The ENS is now calling for delegates to propose their views to the community in order to be elected. The airdrop of the DAO tokens will open on November 8. ENS Pivots to Decentralized Governance The Ethereum Name Service, the organization behind the decentralized domain service on Ethereum, announced recently its intention of pivoting its governance model to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The organization is adopting a delegate model that will allow individuals to present their proposals and other users to delegate their tokens to support them. The ENS explained that while most of the core functions of the organization operate without supervision, there are some issues that still require dedicated human interactio

Bitfarms, the Canada-based Bitcoin mining unicorn, has at last revealed details about its activities in Argentina. The company says that the Bitcoin mega mining farm, whose construction started last month, will be built in the province of Cordoba, in association with a private power plant. Bitfarms will purchase the energy directly from this private power company, reportedly without causing stress to the power grid of the country. Bitfarms Opens Up About Plans in Argentina Bitfarms has revealed details about the construction of its bitcoin mega-mining farm in Argentina, which, when finished, will be the largest mining complex in the country. The location of the farm had not been announced by the company until now. According to local media, it was revealed that it will be located in the province of Cordoba, in the city of Rio Cuarto. The facility will house more than 210 megawatts of power capacity for installing miners at a very low price for the company. The facility will be con

PRESS RELEASE. Prague, Czech Republic, 5 Nov 2021, StackSwap, the first complete DEX and Launchpad on the Bitcoin Network has announced the completion of its private round. According to the official press release, the blockchain platform was able to raise $1.3 million during the funding round. The investment round was led by the Stacks Foundation along with key blockchain venture capitalists including HashKey, Genesis Block Ventures (GBV) and SOSV. The early investors share the long-term vision of StackSwap to eventually become the biggest DEX on the Bitcoin Network. Stacks protocol on which Stackswap is built has attracted over $93 million in investments from renowned institutional investors like Coinbase Ventures and Winklevoss Capital. It is built on a Bitcoin-based layer-1 project that implements a smart contract function on Bitcoin and was the first token sale to be approved by the United States SEC. StackSwap released a statement following the successful private funding round

On November 10, 2021, Vogue Singapore, a team dedicated to fashion, beauty, and “stories that matter,” is launching a non-fungible token (NFT) drop on the marketplace Opensea. The drop will be the fashion and lifestyle magazine’s first NFT collection featuring digital-only Vogue covers crafted by NFT artists. Vogue to Drop the Firm’s First NFT Collection The fashion and lifestyle magazine Vogue and its subsidiary from Singapore is entering the world of non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles. The fashion firm is an old company as it was founded in 1892 by Arthur Baldwin Turnure, and the American company has since created a number of international offshoots. Vogue Singapore announced the launch of Vogue’s first NFT collection hosted on Opensea on November 10. The drop will feature “two digital-only cover NFTs created in collaboration with local and international digital designers,” Vogue Singapore’s team details. One of the Vogue Singapore NFT covers was crafted by the metaverse arti

New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams plans to make NYC the center of crypto and innovation. He says we must open our schools to teach cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, noting that bitcoin is “a new way of paying for goods and services throughout the entire globe.” NYC Mayor-Elect Wants Schools to Teach Bitcoin, Crypto, Blockchain New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams talked about making NYC the center for innovation and cryptocurrency in an interview with CNN Business Sunday. He also explained the reasoning behind his tweet saying that he will take his first three paychecks in bitcoin. Adams was asked, “Would you encourage businesses in New York City to accept bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies?” He replied: “We are going to look at it. We are going to tread carefully. We are going to get it right.” He proceeded to explain: “l want to send a signal. This city was the Empire State … This is the center of innovation, self-driving cars, drone development, cybersecurity, life s

Square Inc. has affirmed that its focus is on helping bitcoin become the native currency for the internet. CEO Jack Dorsey explained, “We have a number of initiatives toward that goal” that will help “bitcoin reach a mainstream audience while at the same time strengthening the network and ecosystem.” Square’s Focus Is on Helping Bitcoin Become the Native Currency for the Internet Square Inc. reiterated its commitment to bitcoin during the company’s Q3 earnings call Friday. Square also revealed that its mobile payment platform Cash App generated $1.8 billion in bitcoin revenue . Square’s market cap is currently $110 billion. During the call, Dorsey was asked whether Square is “looking to expand into crypto beyond bitcoin buy and sell,” such as offering other cryptocurrencies and enabling users to “engage in defined NFT ecosystems.” Dorsey simply replied, “We’re not,” emphasizing: Our focus is on helping bitcoin to become the native currency for the Internet … We have a number of

Building great products and teams is something Dushyant Acharya has approached with passion in his eighteen months as a Senior Manager in Engineering at Ripple. The road to creating the Internet of Value isn’t linear, but Dushyant navigates with commitment and enthusiasm. “I absolutely love everyone I work with, especially my team,” says Dushyant. “They … Continued The post Making an Impact with the Asian at Ripple Community appeared first on Ripple. http://dlvr.it/SC84C0

On November 8, 2021, the cryptocurrency economy’s market capitalization reached the $3 trillion mark after gathering significant value over the course of 12 years. The overall value of the 10,464 crypto-assets in existence is now larger than Microsoft’s market valuation at $2.52 trillion and Apple’s $2.47 trillion market cap. Cryptocurrency Economy Is Now More Valuable Than Company’s Like Microsoft, Apple, Google, Saudi Aramco Statistics indicate that on Monday, November 8, the net worth of the entire crypto-economy is valued at over $3 trillion, after jumping roughly 3.7% in value during the last day. The 10,464 coins in existence, worth over $3 trillion, have produced $206 billion in global trade volume during the last 24 hours. Years ago, people laughed and described crypto as merely valueless ‘Beanie Baby’ collectibles. Today, however, most are not laughing and they are either angry or simply taken back by the momentum of value. The crypto economy’s climb to $3 trillion has bee

PRESS RELEASE. Popular Bitcoin ATM operator, Bitcoin of America, has announced their newest location in one of Chicago’s hottest nightclubs. Joy District is known for its nightclub/restaurant hybrid. It is located in the heart of River North and has been awarded as one of Chicago’s best and hottest rooftop bars. You can now socialize at Joy District with friends and even interact with a Bitcoin ATM all at the same time. Bitcoin of America is a popular virtual currency exchange, registered as a money services business with the United States Department of Treasury (FinCEN)(RegNum). Bitcoin of America is known for ensuring a fast and hassle-free transaction, while providing top of the line customer support. They are headquartered in Chicago and have locations in most major cities across 31 US states. To date, Bitcoin of America has 30 plus Bitcoin ATM locations across the city of Chicago. You can find a majority of their locations in convenience stores, liquor stores, and 24-hour gas s

Nike, the American multinational footwear and sports apparel giant, is getting ready to step into the metaverse and the world of non-fungible token (NFT) technology. Reports show Nike has a few employees “thinking about the metaverse” and a 2019 patent for “cryptokicks” indicates Nike has been preparing to use NFTs for quite some time. Nike’s Well-Known Trademarks and ‘Downloadable Virtual Goods’ Several reports indicate that Nike ( NYSE:NKE ) is getting ready to step into the non-fungible technology realm and the footwear corporation may have been preparing to do so for a while now. The senior correspondent at Business Insider’s (BI) retail desk, Matthew Kish, explains in a recent analysis that “Nike is going all in on its metaverse play.” The report discusses Nike’s recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filing published this week. A number of well-known trademarks Nike owns were also included such as the “ Just Do It ” tagline, its SNKRS logo, the Air Jordan “Jumpman,” and

While companies like Microbt, Bitmain, Innosilicon, Strongu, Ebang, and Canaan have ruled the roost in terms of manufacturing application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin miners, a new challenger has entered the competition. A relatively unknown integrated technology firm called AGM Group Holdings has seen a lot of ASIC sales and partnerships in recent times. A Relatively Unknown Semiconductor Firm Has Been Revealing Large Bitcoin Mining Rig Purchase Orders 2021 has seen record sales, in terms of ASIC mining rigs sold by bitcoin mining rig manufacturers like Microbt, Bitmain, and Canaan. Mining operations located all around the world have purchased thousands of bitcoin mining devices from these firms during the last year. The demand for ASICs has been so high, many orders placed this year are due to be shipped at some point in 2022. Now a new challenger has entered the ASIC bitcoin mining rig manufacturing competition and recent press announcements detail AGM Group Holdin

While gold is generally perceived to be the best hedge against inflation, a report written by author Kelsey Williams has now questioned this longstanding assertion. In the report, Williams argues that the current gold price of around $1,810 per ounce is much lower than the commodity’s average price in 1980. Gold Price Rise Lags Behind Inflation Williams’ averments suggest the yellow metal’s rate of increase in value over the past 41 years has lagged behind that of inflation. In a report that was published by FX Empire, the author uses nominal and inflation-adjusted gold prices to illustrate this point. For instance, according to a table shared in the report, the nominal price of gold has been on an upward trajectory from $664 per ounce recorded in February of 1980 to $1,825 by August 2011. However, when adjusted for inflation, it is the February 1980 price that rises the fastest, to $2,309, compared to the August 2011 price which is pegged at $2,220. A similar trend is also obser

The following article was written by CZ, Binance CEO & Co-Founder. DYOR, or do your own research, is a concept I think every investor should know about. It’s as close to a golden rule as anything in the world of crypto, but it applies more even broadly to anything you’re planning to invest in, from Bitcoin and bonds to stablecoins and stocks. Earlier this week, the anonymous developers behind a DeFi project named Squid Game token abruptly performed a “rug pull”, a common scam where the team behind a crypto project takes off with users’ funds. Because these scams are becoming more commonplace as the DeFi space grows, I’d like to take this opportunity to remind users that DeFi is not without its risks, and we hate to see anyone lose their funds due to scams and other cybercrimes. Squid Game Tokens: What Happened and Why? Last week, a cryptocurrency called SQUID began trading on PancakeSwap, a decentralized exchange. It quickly gained traction among users, many of whom thought th

Authorities in Russia are gearing up to amend various pieces of legislation to facilitate the issuing and function of the digital ruble. Officials in Moscow believe this version of the national fiat needs to be regulated separately from other digital forms of money such as cryptocurrencies. Russia Prepares to Trial Digital Ruble, Officials Say CBDC Needs Its Own Regulations Russian lawmakers are planning to begin work on legal changes necessary to implement the digital ruble concept in January 2022. These efforts will commence alongside the launch of an experiment for the central bank digital currency ( CBDC ), the chairman of the parliamentary Financial Market Committee, Anatoly Aksakov, told the Russian daily Izvestia. Aksakov pointed out that at least eight federal laws and five codes — the Civil, Tax, Budgetary, Criminal, and Administrative Code — need to be amended for the digital ruble’s implementation. The new provisions will concern a number of areas such as the powers of B

Square Enix, one of the biggest developers and publishers in the gaming world, has acknowledged the importance that NFTs and blockchain gaming could have for the future of the company. In its latest briefing session, Square Enix contemplated a “robust entry” into the blockchain games sector as part of its medium-term strategy process. Square Enix to Enter Blockchain Market Square Enix, developers of popular gaming franchises such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Kingdom Hearts, has revealed intentions of expanding its business model to now tackle the blockchain gaming market. The company made these remarks in its latest results briefing session on November 5, where Square Enix stated it would make a ‘robust entry’ into the blockchain gaming arena as part of its medium-term business strategy process. In the briefing, Square Enix recognized the change in attitude gamers are experiencing, wanting to have more control over the universe with which they interact. Furthermore, the comp

Solana Ventures, the investment arm of the Solana blockchain, FTX, and Lightspeed, a venture capital firm, have announced the launch of a joint web3 gaming initiative. The fund will have $100 million at its disposal to invest in gaming projects using blockchain-based systems in the Solana network. The fund has already made its first investment in Faraway, a Solana-based gaming company. Solana Ventures, FTX, and Lightspeed Put Funds Behind Blockchain Gaming A new blockchain gaming fund has been launched by Solana Ventures, the investment arm of the Solana blockchain , FTX, and Lightspeed, aiming to fund the most innovative blockchain gaming proposals built on the Solana network. The joint effort will invest $100 million in these kinds of initiatives to kickstart development in the Solana ecosystem. Amy Wu, a partner at Lightspeed, expressed excitement about this joint effort and what they are trying to achieve with the investment. She stated: We are looking to back great teams, b

The Senate in Kazakhstan has approved amendments aimed at preventing the legalization of illicit funds which will affect companies dealing with digital assets, among others. The new legislation subjects crypto service providers to the country’s financial monitoring regime. Senators Back Law Concerning Crypto Services in Kazakhstan Members of the upper house in Kazakhstan’s parliament, the Senate, have recently adopted new legislation tailored to improve the prevention of the laundering of proceeds of crime and the financing of terrorism. Key provisions adopted with a new law pertain to the establishment of the legal institute of ‘public officials’ and their financial auditing. The amendments have been designed to improve the nation’s anti-money laundering framework as a whole and some of them concern cryptocurrency platforms. A report by Sputnik Kazakhstan reveals that the authors have proposed “to regulate the operation of virtual asset providers.” During a plenary session, Sena

PRESS RELEASE. Since blockchain technology and crypto have become the power of the next industrial revolution in recent years, Africa has been making concerted efforts to ensure inclusion in the conversation. As a multipurpose African bank with over 200,000 customers around the world, DafriBank brings the Digital Bank of Africa (DBA) project into existence, and aims for making it Africa’s number 1 cryptocurrency. Taking a step forward, DBA is listed on trading platforms like LBank Exchange, to further expand its global influence and reach. Introducing DafriBank DafriBank is a multipurpose African bank that explores an easy and better way to save, make payments, manage customer’s money and business anytime, anywhere. The traditional banks are finding it difficult to cope with the demands of digitally-focused modern businesses, which has limited their growth. DafriBank solves this problem by providing exceptional digital banking services that are fast, secure, and cost-effective. Its