Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Two Chinese banks are expanding their pilot programs for the digital national fiat. The state-owned financial institutions have revealed they are aiming to allow digital yuan holders to acquire investment funds and insurance products using the new currency. Chinese Banks Partner With Fund Managers and Insurers in Search of Digital Yuan Use Cases China Construction Bank (CCB) and Bank of Communications (Bocom), two leading state-run banks, are increasing efforts to find new applications for the central bank digital currency ( CBDC ) issued by the People’s Bank of China. The lenders are now working with investment fund managers and insurance companies as part of their digital yuan (e-CNY) pilot projects. The cooperation aims to facilitate the use of the digitalized fiat currency for the purchase of investment funds and insurance products, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. The participants hope this could become another use case for the e-CNY “beyond the low value, daily

The Seychelles Police Financial Crime Investigation Unit (FCIU) recently confirmed receiving a request for an investigation into several transactions linked to the transfer of 230,000 bitcoins. The cryptocurrency is said to be associated with pyramid scam Onecoin. Onecoin Loot in Dubai Besides investigating the transfer of the crypto assets, the probe is expected to examine transactions involving cash and property worth $10 billion. According to the Seychelles News Agency , the FCIU’s receipt of the request for an investigation follows the recent discovery of “up to $500 million of Onecoin loot in Dubai bank accounts.” This discovery prompted victims of the pyramid scheme to file claims against Onecoin in London, Dublin, and Brussels. Meanwhile, the same Seychelles News Agency report quotes Tania Potter, the FCIU’s head of legal affairs, explaining the steps the agency plans to take before making a decision. Potter explained: The unit has received quite a number of documents, as

Centre, the consortium created by Circle and Coinbase around USD coin (USDC), has assembled a team of new executives to power its expansion overseas. The new team, comprising six new executives assembled by David Puth, CEO of Centre, will look to support new partners and add new alliances to keep the company growing in the future. One of the objectives of the new ensemble will be to create an interoperable global network of stablecoins. Centre Consortium Expands Team to Create Stablecoin Network Centre, the consortium behind the issuance of USD coin (USDC), reported it successfully hired six new members to expand its reach and create partnerships overseas to create a global, interoperable stablecoin network. David Puth, CEO of Centre, assembled this team in just nine months and expects to achieve connection with new partners and organize a new level of standards. Puth stated: We assembled this team to ensure we have the right balance of talent to allow us to drive significant gro

On Tuesday, West Realm Shire Services Inc., the parent company of the crypto exchange FTX, announced that the firm has acquired the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulated digital currency futures and options exchange and clearinghouse Ledgerx. FTX Acquires Virtual Currency Futures and Options Exchange Ledgerx Ledgerx has been acquired by the cryptocurrency giant FTX, according to an announcement published on August 31. Ledgerx is a popular crypto derivatives platform that has seen “over 10 million crypto options and swap contracts” since 2017. Furthermore, Ledgerx claims the derivatives platform “pioneered the bitcoin mini contracts that enable granular trading.” The announcement from FTX on Tuesday details that the “financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.” The acquisition is pending at the moment and is expected to settle after customary closing conditions are satisfied. “This acquisition marks a significant milestone for our rapidly growing U.S. bus

On August 31, the Atlanta-based cryptocurrency payments services provider Bitpay announced that the Bitpay wallet has integrated the decentralized exchange (dex) aggregator 1inch Network. Bitpay wallet users can utilize 1inch protocol to swap ether or the myriad of ERC20 tokens. The Bitpay Wallet Supports 1inch Decentralized finance (defi) has grown exponentially according to statistics as defillama.com data shows there’s $157 billion total value locked (TVL) across all defi supporting blockchains. Metrics from Dune Analytics indicate that, as far as Ethereum network defi user growth is concerned, there are 3.2 million unique addresses. Bitpay is now allowing Bitpay wallet users to take part in some of the defi market action by supporting the dex aggregation protocol 1inch . The 1inch dex aggregator basically scans the myriad of dex platforms like Uniswap, Sushiswap, and others in order to find the lowest prices for crypto traders. The 1inch defi protocol has its own native gov

PRESS RELEASE. The Dvision Network team is hosting an augmented reality metaverse conference to commemorate the first anniversary of the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem next month. The celebration will start on the 2nd and end on the 7th of September, lasting six days with an action-packed agenda that should last around 4-5 hours per day. Dubbed the “Binance Smart Chain 1st Anniversary in Dvision Metaversarve”, the event will count with 30 notable projects in the GameFi and NFT space built on the BSC ecosystem, including StepHero, Alpaca Finance, MyDefiPet, Cryptoblades, Bunny Park and and many others, that are disclosed in their event page. The metaverse event will be conducted in the special Binance Hall built inside of the Dvision World. The BSC anniversary is expected to offer various activities, in-game events and airdrops sponsored by participating projects. Attendees will be able to participate in-game quizzes, get their groove on during the dancing event at the confere

China’s Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) will promote a national alliance chain to introduce smart contracts and blockchain-based services to digitize the securities and futures market. The announcement was made at the China Securities Industry Alliance Chain and OTC Alliance Chain Special Work Symposium in Beijing. Jiang Dongxing, deputy director of the Science and Technology Regulatory Bureau of the CSRC, stated this digitization is key for the future of the industry. China Aims to Digitize Financial Markets Using Blockchain The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is interested in digitizing much of the securities and futures markets using alternatives such as blockchain and smart contracts, according to discussions that happened during the China Securities Industry Alliance Chain and OTC Alliance Chain Special Work Symposium recently held in Beijing. Jiang Dongxing, deputy director of the Science and Technology Regulatory Bureau of the CSRC, made some important

Justin Sun, founder of Tron, a smart contract-enabled cryptocurrency, announced he purchased an NFT avatar for $10.5 million. The NFT, dubbed ‘Joker’ due to its appearance, is part of a Tron-native NFT series called Tpunks, that seeks to emulate the style and success of the known Cryptopunks series, but on the Tron blockchain. Justin Sun Purchases NFT for $10.5 Million Justin Sun, the founder of the smart contracts-enabled Tron blockchain, announced today the purchase of an NFT avatar for $10.5 million dollars worth of tron. The NFT purchased, identified as #3442 but called “Joker,” ostensibly due to its resemblance to the popular Batman villain, is part of the Tpunks series. Tpunks is a collection of NFTs that seeks to recreate the art style of another very successful line of NFTs, on Ethereum, the Cryptopunks. The series features 10,000 avatars, of which there are some with rare traits, which make them especially desired by collectors. The project is picking up steam and has cl

The Biden administration is reportedly pushing to include global crypto data sharing rules in the $3.5 trillion budget package. The Treasury wants crypto businesses to report information on foreign account holders “so that the U.S. can share information with global trading partners.” Treasury Wants to Impose More Crypto Rules The U.S. Treasury is reportedly pushing to include more rules for tax compliance on cryptocurrency transactions in the upcoming $3.5 trillion budget plan. The Biden administration is hoping to add the requirements for crypto businesses to report information on foreign account holders “so that the U.S. can share information with global trading partners,” Roll Call reported Monday, citing an administration official who wasn’t authorized to speak for the record. According to the Treasury’s Greenbook, “The global nature of the crypto market offers opportunities for U.S. taxpayers to conceal assets and taxable income by using offshore crypto exchanges and wallet

Former U.S. President Donald Trump says cryptocurrencies are “potentially a disaster waiting to happen.” In addition, he said that they “may be fake.” His comments followed another when he said bitcoin “seemed like a scam.” Trump Is Still No Fan of Bitcoin or Crypto Donald Trump talked about cryptocurrency in an interview with Fox Business Tuesday. Responding to a question about whether he has dabbled in bitcoin or cryptos, Trump promptly said: “I don’t. I like the currency of the United States.” He elaborated: I think the others are potentially a disaster waiting to happen. “I feel that it [cryptocurrency] hurts the United States currency,” he continued. “I think we should strengthen, we should be invested in our currency, not in [cryptocurrencies].” He further exclaimed, “They [cryptocurrencies] may be fake, who knows what they are.” Referring to crypto, the former president admitted, “They are certainly something that people don’t know much about.” He reiterated: No. I hav

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has named the fintech firm Bitt Inc. as a technical partner for its digital currency project, the e-naira. As a technical partner, Bitt is expected to use its “technological competence and implementation experience” to help the CBN successfully launch the central bank digital currency (CBDC). E-Naira Draft Guidelines The CBN’s unveiling of the Barbados-based firm as its partner comes shortly after reports suggested that the central bank had released draft guidelines for the e-naira. In justifying the selection of Bitt, Osita Nwanisobi, the CBN’s director of communications, touted the fintech’s “tested and proven digital currency experience.” These claims by Nwanisobi appear to be supported by a statement on Bitt’s website that suggests the fintech firm had signed a contract to conduct a CBDC pilot for the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB). The contract was signed in 2019 and in April of 2021, ECCB finally launched its digital currency. E-Nai

PRESS RELEASE. TradeStars has launched “Olympic Torch”, the Mainnet of their Fantasy Sports Stock Trading Game, on 31 st August, 2021. TradeStars’ new Fantasy Sports Game allows users to trade Fantasy Stocks of world-class athletes, whose value is directly influenced by the real life performance statistics of the respective player. The Fantasy Stocks can be purchased using USDT for now; fiat payment gateways (for INR and USD) are on their way. Fantasy Sports Gaming Today Fantasy Sports Gaming has seen a steady rise in both popularity and valuation over the last decade. The global Fantasy Sports market was valued at $20.7 billion in 2020. It is expected to reach $48.1 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 12.8% from 2021 to 2027. Existing Fantasy Sports games all work on a similar model, which involves users creating their own ‘dream teams’ of their favorite players and earning points based on how their selected athletes perform in real life. The top users with the maximum point

On Tuesday, the noncustodial digital currency wallet Metamask announced that the platform has surpassed 10 million monthly active users (MAUs). Year-to-date, Metamask has seen 19x growth since July 2020 as MAUs climbed 1,800% in 12 months. Metamask Hits Over 10 Million Monthly Active Users There’s no doubt that Metamask has been a popular Ethereum blockchain wallet that is also compatible with technologies like Polygon, Optimism , and Arbitrum . The wallet was created by the blockchain software company Consensys in 2016 and a great number of decentralized finance (defi) applications support Metamask. In a Tuesday announcement, Metamask says that in July 2020 the platform saw 545,080 MAUs and by April 2021, Metamask had 3 million MAUs . Today, Metamask has 10,354,279 MAUs and has grown 1,800% since July 2020. In the announcement, Metamask described some of the drivers that pushed the software’s MAU growth exponentially. For one, Metamask is considered the “primary way” global defi

The popular professional tennis player Naomi Osaka has been discussing non-fungible token (NFT) assets and the meme crypto asset dogecoin in recent times. In a recent interview, Osaka said that she’s been talking to her agent about dogecoin and that she sees the crypto ecosystem “is getting bigger.” Naomi Osaka Drops ‘Finding What Was Lost’ NFT Naomi Osaka is a very popular tennis player and was ranked No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). The tennis legend has approximately 1.1 million Twitter followers, 2.8 million Instagram followers, and she’s reported on regularly by the press. On August 30, Osaka crafted a non-fungible token (NFT), according to Cool Media PR and the NFT is called “Finding What Was Lost.” Osaka and her sister, Mari Osaka, also introduced a collection of six NFTs back in April. According to Mari, “Finding What Was Lost” is “Naomi’s favorite of the six” NFTs. Osaka’s NFT collection in April sold for close to $600K. A caption by the NFT artist Mari Osak

Sparklingly hot casino slot game Gem Splitter unlocks a treasure worth 2 BTC for this lucky player! A ludicrously big multiplier was applied to one of the bets that a lucky player placed on the dazzlingly beautiful slot game ‘Gem Splitter’ at Bitcoin.com Games. This big win marks a second for the month of August as another player bagged a jackpot of $75,000 previously on the game ‘Book of Aztec’. The fortunate player had the casino gods on their side as a 1000x multiplier was triggered on a bet of $95, bringing the effective win amount to $95,000 or 2 BTC , as per current evaluation. Slot games are known for churning out huge money multipliers on even the smallest amounts of bets, turning the fortunes in favor of anyone’s life, empowering them towards desirable objects and lavish lifestyles. Gem Splitter is a stylish 5-reel slot with up to 9000x multiplier ! ‘Gem Splitter’ is a relatively new jewel-filled slot game from the gaming provider Wazdan. As a 5-reel slot, the game fe

The China-based bitcoin ASIC mining machine manufacturer Canaan has announced the company has forged a partnership with Genesis Digital Assets, and the two firms have now signed a deal for a large purchase order. Genesis will buy 20,000 bitcoin miners from Canaan and the mining operation also has the option to purchase an additional 180,000 mining rigs from the Chinese ASIC manufacturer. Canaan Sells Genesis 20K Miners, Genesis Can Buy 180K More Bitcoin mining rig manufacturers have made very large sales during the second half of 2020 and into 2021. For instance, in December 2020, Bitcoin.com News reported on Marathon’s record-breaking acquisition of 70,000 high-performance bitcoin miners from Bitmain for $170 million. That same month, Riot Blockchain bought 15,000 Antminers from Bitmain. During the first week of August 2021, Marathon purchased 30,000 miners from Bitmain. Canaan sold 11,760 next-generation A1246 ASIC Avalonminers to a company called Mawson Infrastructure Group i

The American firm that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles, The Topps Company Inc., has announced the launch of the 2021 Topps MLB Inception NFT collection. Furthermore, Topps is now leveraging the Avalanche blockchain for NFTs after the company was using the Wax blockchain for projects like the Garbage Pail Kids and Godzilla series. Topps Launches MLB Inception NFT Series via the Avalanche Network On Tuesday, Topps revealed the firm’s 2021 Topps MLB Inception NFT Collection, a non-fungible token collection of cards released in conjunction with Major League Baseball and MLB Players, Inc. Topps web portal, called Toppsnfts.com , will host the new series of NFT baseball cards this September and the NFTs will be minted on the Avalanche (AVAX) blockchain. The avalanche token has seen massive gains in recent times, capturing 126.6% in two weeks and 223% during the last month. The latest Topps’ MLB Inception NFT series is based on the physical card series the company has r

Bitcoin will become legal tender in El Salvador alongside the U.S. dollar in seven days. The Salvadoran government has released a video explaining what to expect when the Bitcoin Law enters into force. The video features the government’s fee-free crypto wallet, Chivo. Government’s Video Explaining What to Expect When Bitcoin Becomes Legal Tender The Bitcoin Law in El Salvador will come into effect on Sept. 7 when BTC will become legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele tweeted a video explaining what to expect, including the benefits of using the government’s official crypto wallet, Chivo. A partir del 7 de septiembre 🇸🇻 #Bitcoin @chivowallet pic.twitter.com/HNiHWdY3x1 — Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) August 30, 2021 According to a translation of the video content posted on Twitter, “Starting September, bitcoin will be legal tender in our country alongside the U.S. dollar,” the video begins. It further details: Using bitcoin is not m

The tax authority of Slovenia has put forward a proposal to change the crypto taxation rules in the country, local media reported. The amendments aim to introduce a 10% tax rate for transactions involving the spending or converting of cryptocurrencies into fiat money. Tax Office Wants to Simplify Crypto Taxation in Slovenia The Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia ( FURS ) has proposed changes to the taxation regime applicable to cryptocurrencies. The authority wants to impose a 10% tax for the crypto amounts spent on goods and services or converted into cash. Quoted in a report by the STA news agency, FURS clarified: We would like to emphasize that it is not profit which would be taxed but rather the amount a Slovenian tax resident receives on their bank account on turning the virtual currency into cash or when buying a thing. The Slovenian tax office intends to implement the new taxation scheme through the adoption of legislative changes. FURS claims it would s

According to a report, the value of annual dollar remittances by Nigerians working abroad has surged to $34 billion, a figure that easily surpasses the previous record-high of $25 billion. Still, a large portion of the funds doesn’t seem to be entering domestic forex markets. Target Attained Two Years Ahead of Schedule The increase, which has been attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s “naira for dollar” incentive scheme, once again highlights the growing importance of diaspora remittances to Africa’s most populated country. As Biodun Adedipe, an economist with Adedipe Associates Limited is quoted explaining, the CBN’s incentive scheme may well be the reason why the target of $34 billion in annual diaspora remittances was reached two years ahead of schedule. However, despite this surge in remittance inflows, Nigeria continues to grapple with shortages of foreign exchange. Such forex shortages, in turn, contribute to the naira’s continued depreciation as well as the r

Cream finance, a defi borrowing and lending protocol, has been the victim of a hack that erased more than $29 million from its vaults. The attacker took advantage of a loophole in the implementation for adding the amp token to the protocol. This is the second time the platform has been involved in a hack. The first breach happened in February, when Cream lost $37.5 million. Cream Protocol Suffers Hack Cream protocol , a defi lending-borrowing platform present on four different chains (Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, and Fantom), suffered a hack Monday that resulted in the loss of $29 million in several cryptocurrencies. The attacker took advantage of a bug caused by the introduction of the amp token into the protocol. According to Peckshield , a blockchain security and data analytics company, the hack was perpetrated in just one transaction, taking advantage of a reentrancy bug present in the code of the amp currency. This allowed the hacker to re-borrow assets during the transfer before

The British auction house Christie’s has been immersed in the non-fungible token (NFT) art and collectibles industry for quite some time. Christie’s has auctioned blockchain-backed items like Block 21 of “Portraits of a Mind,” Cryptopunks, and Beeple’s NFT that sold for more than $69 million. On October 1, Christie’s plans to sell a set of old 2017-issued Curio Cards and the set will also include a secret rare card. Leading Auction House Christie’s Is Auctioning a Set of NFT Curio Cards The non-fungible token (NFT) space has swelled quite a bit and the auction house Christie’s has been involved for a while now. The popular British auction house first dipped its toes into the NFT world in September 2020 when the firm showcased Block 21 of “Portraits of a Mind.” Ever since then, the company has continued to auction NFTs of all colors, shapes, and sizes. Now the company will auction a unique set of NFT collectibles called Curio Cards , which is one of the oldest Ethereum NFT collectib