Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Former acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks has resigned as the CEO of Binance U.S. after just over three months. He cited “differences over strategic direction.” Meanwhile, Binance is facing regulatory scrutiny worldwide, including in the U.K., Malaysia, Japan, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Thailand, Germany, and Lithuania. CEO of Binance US Resigns The CEO of Binance U.S., Brian Brooks, announced Friday on Twitter that he has resigned from Binance. The former acting Comptroller of the Currency and former chief legal officer at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase tweeted: Greetings crypto community. Letting you all know that I have resigned as CEO of ⁦⁦⁦Binance US. Despite differences over strategic direction, I wish my former colleagues much success. Brooks joined Binance at the beginning of May following his resignation as acting Comptroller of the Currency on Jan. 14, before President Joe Biden took office. Responding to Brooks’s announcement, Binance U.S. posted a me

Fresh off the heels of Binance’s last announcement to discontinue crypto derivatives offerings in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, the company revealed on Friday crypto derivatives products in Hong Kong will cease as well. Effective immediately, users won’t be able to open new derivatives positions and customers with existing derivatives positions have 90 days to close them. Binance Ends Crypto Derivatives Offerings in Hong Kong Binance revealed on August 6 that the exchange will no longer offer crypto derivatives products to customers. The news follows the company’s current issues with global regulators and large financial institutions ceasing to service Binance. On August 3, Bitcoin.com News reported how HSBC became the latest financial institution to suspend operations with the company. Three days later, Binance revealed it is “restricting derivatives products offerings in Hong Kong.” According to the announcement, the change is aligned with the exchange’s compliance init

The Ethereum blockchain has completed the highly anticipated London upgrade on Thursday and ether fans have been discussing the protocol’s burn rate with great fervor following the fork. 5.9 Ether Is Burned Every Minute, Vitalik Buterin ‘Confident’ About the future after London At press time, Ethereum is burning 5.9 ether per minute or $16.8K using today’s exchange rates against the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, in a recent interview from Singapore, Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin said the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) “1559 is definitely the most important part of London.” On Thursday morning around 8:30 a.m. (EDT) on August 5, the long-awaited Ethereum London hard fork took place and the blockchain was successfully upgraded. The community was ecstatic, to say the least, and on Twitter, terms like “ethereum” and “EIP1559” started trending. Of course, the most topical conversation about the London upgrade was EIP-1559: The fee market change for ETH 1.0 chain . The EIP essen

After a great number of well known product brands like Burger King, Axe, Snickers, Milky Way, and Slim Jim have been riding the dogecoin hype, the American meat and cold cut manufacturer ​​Oscar Mayer has also jumped on the dogecoin bandwagon. Similar to Axe, Oscar Mayer has also created a dogecoin-centric product and is auctioning a “10-pack of weenies” that features the famous Shiba Inu. A 10-Pack of Doge-Themed Weenies Oscar Mayer is a well known hot dog and cold cuts as the Kraft Heinz-owned firm has been around for years. In fact, the Mayer brothers started crafting bratwurst, liverwurst, and weisswurst products back in 1883. In recent times the Chicago-based company’s official Twitter account has been tweeting about the notorious crypto-asset dogecoin (DOGE) . The company has joined a number of well known brands getting in on the dogecoin hype. Just recently Axe released a limited edition Dogecan “crypto scented” body spray and a few Burger King locations in Brazil came out

The U.S. central bank’s vice chairman Richard Clarida explained on Wednesday that the Federal Reserve could begin tapering large asset purchases this year. Also, that the first interest rate hike since the onset of Covid-19 could happen in 2023. Meanwhile, despite members of the Fed saying inflation will be transitory, corporate bosses from some of the largest institutions are complaining about rising inflation. Looming Jobs Report, Richard Clarida Say Taper Could Happen This Year At the end of 2019, the Federal Reserve and numerous central banks all around the world started initiating monetary easing practices. Since then, the Fed’s monetary supply has ballooned after the onset of Covid-19, eclipsing decades’ worth of money creation in less than a year. The U.S. central bank kept the monetary spigot on and has yet to shut it off, while the cost of goods and services in America has risen dramatically. Furthermore, while the real economic situation is felt by renters, landlords, and

Global investment bank JPMorgan is now offering six cryptocurrency investment funds to clients despite its CEO, Jamie Dimon, continually advising against investing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. JPMorgan Chase has quietly begun giving its wealth management clients access to six cryptocurrency investment funds, CNBC reported Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the move. On Thursday, the bank’s financial advisors were allowed to begin placing private bank clients into a new bitcoin fund created by crypto firm New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), a subsidiary of Stone Ridge, a $10 billion alternative asset manager. This fund is nearly identical to the one NYDIG offers Morgan Stanley’s clients, the people said. Morgan Stanley began offering three crypto investment funds to clients early this year. They are Galaxy Bitcoin Fund LP, the Galaxy Institutional Bitcoin Fund LP, and FS NYDIG Select Fund. Last month, JPMorgan began offering five cryptocurrency funds to a

PRESS RELEASE. British Virgin Islands — 6th August, 2021 — EQIFI , a decentralized protocol for pooled lending, borrowing and investing Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and select fiat currencies, has today launched its DeFi platform, including newly introduced fixed- and variable-rate ledning products, as well as the advanced yield aggregator and interest rate swaps. Brad Yasar, CEO of EQIFI, said: “We are incredibly excited to bring our new range of DeFi products to our community and clients. By harnessing the power of DeFi technology, EQIFI is positioned to become an industry world leader. Through blockchain technology, EQIFI democratizes financial products previously only available to a select few, and we are confident that EQIFI is best positioned to bring these products to clients who want to embrace the evolution of digital banking, in an accessible and regulated manner.” Outlined in full below, EQIFI’s new products simplify DeFi by consolidating a range of so

The White House has endorsed an amendment to the $1 trillion Infrastructure bill that supports proof-of-work over all other consensus mechanisms. However, the crypto community is supporting a different amendment. White House Takes Stance on Infrastructure Bill’s Crypto Tax Amendment The White House has endorsed an amendment to the Infrastructure bill sponsored by Senators Mark Warner, Rob Portman, and Kyrsten Sinema who drafted the original tax provision. This amendment competes with another introduced a day prior that has gained much support from the crypto community. It was sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden, Cynthia Lummis, and Pat Toomey. White House economics reporter for The Washington Post Jeff Stein tweeted late Thursday night: White House is coming out formally in support of Warner-Portman-Sinema crypto amendment, implicitly against the Toomey-Wyden-Lummis plan. Andrew Bates, the White House’s deputy press secretary, also issued a statement Thursday night: “The Administ

Authorities in Abkhazia have closed down two crypto mining farms that have been illegally connected to the power grid. The facilities were minting digital coins in violation of a mining ban imposed by the government to mitigate electricity shortages. Over 80 Mining Rigs Confiscated From Crypto Farms in Abkhazia Dozens of mining rigs have been running on stolen electricity in two cryptocurrency farms located in the rural areas of Ochamchira District, Abkhazia. Officials from the local power utility, Chernomorenergo, have confiscated 82 mining units, the distribution company announced on its Facebook page . Over the past few years, crypto mining has become a popular income source in the partially recognized, breakaway republic in northwestern Georgia. However, the government in Sokhumi has blamed the growing electricity deficit in the territory on the energy-intensive activity of crypto mining. In 2018, Abkhazia introduced a “temporary” ban on mining and hardware imports, but despi

The crypto financial services company Huobi and the firm’s stablecoin issuer Stable Universal have published monthly HUSD attestation reports. The audits indicate the funds that back Huobi’s stablecoin are kept in cash in U.S. money market accounts in order to ensure the 1:1 ratio with USD. HUSD Monthly Attestations On Thursday, more than $117 billion is held in stablecoin protocols and the ninth-largest stablecoin in terms of market valuation, Huobi’s HUSD, represents over $498 million. Out of today’s $68 billion in global stablecoin trade volume, Coingecko’s stablecoin by market cap stats show HUSD has seen around $61 million in 24-hour trades. Following the trend of stablecoin producers publishing their latest stablecoin attestation reports, Huobi and the token issuer Stable Universal have also provided monthly audits . HUSD attestation reports stem from the months of January 2021 to May 2021, and the latest report discloses that reserves for HUSD are secured in money market a

The crypto analytics and market intelligence company Messari revealed on Thursday the firm has raised $21 million in a Series A financing round. The funds will be used to expand Messari’s product suites and it aims to “triple the size of its engineering and research teams.” Crypto Market Intelligence Firm Messari Secures $21 Million Digital currency analytics and intelligence data have seen massive demand this year. A number of crypto analytics providers have been able to raise millions from investors as institutions and the general public has been hungry for crypto coin statistics. On Thursday, the firm Messari announced the company has raised $21 million from strategic investors. The Series A financing saw participation from Point72 Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Uncork Capital, and Underscore VC. Alongside these investors, Messari disclosed that former Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer, Kraken Ventures, Alameda Capital, Blockchain Ventures, and CMS Holdings joined the funding round.

A new draft law introduced to the Senate in Uruguay could regulate cryptocurrency transactions, and also legalize cryptocurrency as an accepted payment method in the country. If approved, the draft proposed by Senator Juan Sartori would also introduce licenses for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) that would be issued by the government, classifying them into three different groups. Draft Law in Uruguay Seeks to Legalize Crypto Payments A new draft law introduced to the senate of Uruguay on August 3 proposes the legalization of cryptocurrencies as a valid means of payment for goods and services in the country. Proposed by Uruguayan senator Juan Sartori, the draft law establishes permits and licenses for institutions and Virtual Asset Service Providers, and puts cryptocurrency business under the oversight of Senaclaft, the national money-laundering watchdog. In its fifth article, the “Cryptoasset Law” (as it has been called) announces the legality of cryptocurrency for paymen

PRESS RELEASE. The fast-paced nature of the blockchain industry means that new crypto projects face the problems of a highly competitive market. This makes marketing a major aspect for projects to have a chance to gain traction within the crypto community. However, existing marketing services are highly centralized, expensive, and skewed towards large projects with substantial marketing budgets. Smart Marketing Token is seeking to resolve these problems with its innovative platform. What is Smart Marketing Token Smart Marketing Token (SMT) is the first tokenized marketing agency that wants to decentralize the entire blockchain marketing process. Furthermore, it intends to support new projects that enter the cryptocurrency world with a professional and flexible marketing approach. Smart Marketing Token achieves this with its utility token SMT that decentralized marketing and advertising services. SMT serves as a bridge between the agency’s services and clients, leading to an effec

Crypto compliance firm Ciphertrace has announced enhanced tools for tracing Monero transactions. “Ciphertrace takes Monero tracing capabilities to the next level with the ability to follow the flow of funds backwards from the transaction of interest to its source,” the company claims. Ciphertrace Claims to Have ‘Enhanced’ Tools to Trace Monero Transactions Blockchain analytics and crypto compliance firm Ciphertrace announced Thursday “enhanced Monero tracing capabilities for government agencies and financial institutions.” The announcement details: Based on research funded partially by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Ciphertrace offers next-generation visualization tools for Monero tracing. “Ciphertrace takes Monero tracing capabilities to the next level with the ability to follow the flow of funds backwards from the transaction of interest to its source,” it adds. “The new enhancements offer customers the ability to prepare detailed visual reports to better trace susp

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mike McGlone sees “a refreshed bull market” for bitcoin. Comparing the performance of the cryptocurrency to the start of 2019, he explained, “we see performance parallels that could get the benchmark crypto back on track toward $100,000.” Bitcoin Back on Track Toward $100,000 Bloomberg Intelligence published analyst Mike McGlone’s August cryptocurrency outlook with a price prediction for bitcoin Wednesday. McGlone described that bitcoin is set to turn $40,000 into support, stating that “This year is prime for bitcoin to take the next step in its price-discovery stage and we see a refreshed bull market.” He further explained: Bitcoin appears to have built a base around $30,000 that’s akin to $4,000 at the start of 2019, and we see performance parallels that could get the benchmark crypto back on track toward $100,000. “The longest period below its 20-week moving average since 2018-19 indicates weak longs have been cleansed within an enduring bull m

The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has enabled crypto buys with Apple Pay, and instant cashouts of up to $100,000 per transaction. The company will also soon enable crypto buys with Google Pay. Buy Cryptocurrencies on Coinbase With Apple Pay Crypto exchange Coinbase announced Thursday that users can now buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on its platform with Apple Pay. Prakash Hariramani, senior director of Coinbase’s Payments & Financial Hub, explained: We’re introducing new and seamless ways to enable crypto buys with linked debit cards to Apple Pay and Google Pay, and instant cashouts up to $100,000 per transaction available 24/7. Coinbase detailed: “If you already have a Visa or Mastercard debit card linked in your Apple Wallet, Apple Pay will automatically appear as a payment method when you’re buying crypto with Coinbase on an Apple Pay-supported iOS device or Safari web browser.” The announcement adds that U.S. customers can also buy cryptocurrenc

In this summer 2021 edition of the Ripple Drop, we examine how the XRP Ledger supports NFT innovation, Ripple’s efforts to create a more inclusive work environment and the APAC region as a growth powerhouse.  XRP Ledger Unleashes the Full Potential of NFTs David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO, shares the latest on the white-hot NFT trend … Continued The post The Ripple Drop: NFTs on XRP Ledger, Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives and Growth in APAC appeared first on Ripple. http://dlvr.it/S56tgT

On August 5, Orbis Blockchain Technologies Limited and Marvel Entertainment kicked off the Veve Digital Collectibles’ “Marvel Month” celebration. The two companies plan to issue the first non-fungible token (NFT) assets featuring the Marvel Super Hero, Spider-Man. The Orbis Veve App and Marvel to Launch the First Spider-Man Statue NFTs This week, Spider-Man and non-fungible token (NFT) fans will be able to purchase and interact with a set of five unique digital statues of Marvel’s Spider-Man on August 7 at 8 a.m. (PT). Bitcoin.com News reported on Marvel Entertainment ’s partnership with Orbis at the end of June. “The Spider-Man series drop is the first of many digital statues, digital comic books, and other digital collectibles in Veve’s Marvel Month initiative,” the announcement details. According to the press release Veve’s Marvel Spider-Man statue initiative will include: Common – Spider-Man – The Amazing Spider-Man Price: $40.00 – Quantity: 32,000 Uncommon – Spider-Man –

On Thursday, the non-fungible token (NFT) platform and digital art gallery backed by Mark Cuban announced the project has integrated with Polygon. The platform allows anyone to showcase NFTs by leveraging a unique lazy URL to social media profiles, and the integration announcement highlights the protocol is now live on Polygon mainnet. Lazy.com Joins Polygon The non-fungible token digital art gallery Lazy.com has announced on Thursday that the protocol is now integrated with the Polygon platform , formally called Matic. The Lazy.com web portal says that the gallery is the “lazy way to show off your NFTs.” The Lazy project is also backed by the Shark Tank co-host and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban . The integration with Polygon coincides with the launch of Polygon Studios . The newly crafted Polygon Studios is basically an NFT-focused gaming realm and metaverse designed to be a “hotbed of digital culture.” Mark Cuban who is also a believer in Polygon, explained during the inte

PRESS RELEASE. Torum announces strategic investment by Huobi Ventures, the $100 million venture arm of Huobi Group to foster blockchain adoption and ecosystem expansion. 5th August 2021, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — On the eve of the project’s 1 st year launch anniversary, social media platform Torum has released its H2 strategic ecosystem expansion plan, prioritizing the construction of a one-stop crypto ecosystem. The plan includes core features that aim to solve the industry’s information asymmetry problems and improve the connection between projects and communities through a social-based ecosystem. Torum H2 Strategic Ecosystem Expansion Plan The Torum H2 Strategic Ecosystem Extension plan will include numerous core features, including: Torum NFT Launchpad: The INO platform for projects to issue a set of limited-edition NFTs to the community Torum NFT Marketplace: The first social-infused NFT marketplace with the ability to market NFTs to the users of Torum. Torum Airdrop: