Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

South Africa’s Inter-governmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG) recently accepted Mercury FX, a UK-based e-money firm, into the first cohort of its regulatory sandbox. The firm, which harnesses the Ripplenet blockchain, says it wants to demonstrate its technology’s ability “to shorten the money transfer window to only minutes.” Fast and Low Remittances Further, Mercury FX, which claims to have piloted the use of this technology in the Philippines and Mexico, says its solution, aided by the XRP token, will enable low-cost cross-border remittances. In addition to Ripple, the firm also reveals it will be partnering with Valr (a local crypto exchange) towards this objective. However, according to a statement issued by IFWG, Mercury FX’s acceptance into “sandbox does not indicate a change in a firm’s licensing status or signal tacit or implicit approval of the product or service under consideration.” This, therefore, means Mercury’s test run of its service will still be “subject to ce

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 Xend Token (XEND) under the pair USDT/XEND on Apr 2 at 1:00 p.m. UTC. Xend Finance is a DeFi platform for cooperatives and credit unions that offers multiple levels of interest by optimizing and aggregating different DeFi lending protocols to provide high, stable currency yields and token rewards to the financially underserved. The Xend Finance protocol is designed to decentralize the savings, lending, borrowing and investment operations of credit unions and collectives while providing multi-level interest returns to members of these unions. Xend Finance is a unique project targeting non-crypto savvy and financially underserved users in different regions of the world. Xend Finance is part of the Xend ecosystem, which has over 55,000 users currently. The ecosystem consists of the Xend application for sending an

In December 2020, the mining rig manufacturer Innosilicon released a new ethereum miner called the Innosilicon A10 Pro+, which processes Ethereum-based hashrate at around 750 megahash per second (MH/s). Regional reports have noted Innosilicon is dropping a new ether mining rig this summer that processes speeds of up to 2,000 MH/s. Additionally, during the course of the last few months, the Ethereum network hashrate has continued to climb relentlessly. Ethereum Hashrate Ramps Up While ethereum (ETH) prices have touched new all-time highs (ATH) in 2021, miners on the network are pulling in hefty profits. Moreover, miners have limited time on their hands as ETH will eventually transition to a proof-of-stake (PoS) structured system. Despite the time running out, miners are pointing a lot of hashrate at the ETH blockchain as 0.490883 petahash per second (PH/s) is directed at the network. The mining rig manufacturer Innosilicon makes the two most profitable ETH mining rigs accordin

Non-fungible token (NFT) assets and collectibles are starting to see sales decline and interest in NFTs is dropping as well. Additionally, it’s being said that an “oversupply of NFTs” may hurt the market, according to James Surowiecki the author of “The Wisdom of Crowds.” In 2021, non-fungible tokens have been all the rage and the industry has grown very popular during the last few months. Throughout March 7 through the 13th, 2021, the term “NFT” searched on Google in the U.S. touched an all-time high reaching 100 on Google Trends (GT). Since then, queries for NFTs have slid in the United States to 92 the week after and 95 during the last week, according to today’s GT data . Worldwide queries for the term “NFT” on Google went from a score of 100 to 95 . The biggest subregion in the world searching for “NFT” on Google stems from China. Uganda, Canada, Singapore, and the U.S. follow respectively. Nonfungible.com data for 30-day stats on April 3, 2021. The entire term “non-fungi

The leading digital asset bitcoin was mentioned on the action drama television show “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” The reference to bitcoin was caught by a Redditor while he was watching the most recent episode. It’s not the first time bitcoin has been mentioned on television and surely won’t be the last. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the 1K Bitcoin Bounty On Friday, a member of the Reddit forum r/bitcoin posted a screenshot of a message inside the TV show “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” The show stems from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is streamed on the Disney+ platform. The picture the Redditor shared was for a BTC bounty and it said: “Selby dead. ₿1K BOUNTY for her killers.” Screenshot taken by Reddit user u/Okitraz1986 and the bitcoin reference was mentioned on “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” episode three called the “Power Broker.” Bitcoin.com readers can check out the reference in episode three dubbed the “Power Broker.” At the time of publica

Pioneering hip-hop artist and businessman, Snoop Dogg has said he believes in bitcoin, the (blockchain) technology behind the crypto asset and the global connection it creates. The celebrity adds that while he’s not “too caught up in the value of the coin,” he has been around long enough to “know it’s here to stay.” Not a Pandemic Fad Speaking in an interview with Vanity Fair, Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr, also talks up the potential of the technology and why the popularity of BTC should not be seen as a passing fad. He said: The future is unfolding right before us. I don’t see it as a pandemic fad, the pandemic just put gas on the fire. Meanwhile, when asked if there is going to be a “Snoopcoin” at some point, the hip-hop artist told the interviewer “you’re damn right.” Making the Case for NFTs In the meantime, Snoop Dogg also discussed non-fungible token (NFT) assets and how this is set to be “the next big thing.” According to Snoop Dogg

As the crypto economy has swelled to close to $2 trillion in value globally, the businesses and operations behind it continue to expand. This means that a great number of companies are hiring and a quick look at popular online directories shows there’s a slew of jobs available. Bitcoin and Blockchain Employment Opportunities The aftermath of the coronavirus and the lockdowns caused a number of individuals to lose their employment. However, many of these people might not know that the crypto industry is bustling with jobs and the number of companies hiring can be staggering. For instance, a monster.com query shows there are 1,970 jobs available under the search term “bitcoin.” The number of employment opportunities increases to 2,989 jobs if the individual uses the term “blockchain.” You might not know about it, but the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry is hiring thousands of people to fill certain roles. The jobs posted to Monster.com’s indicate that employers are looking

After signaling its intention to get exposed to bitcoin, Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, has now revealed its initial investments toward the crypto asset. According to the asset manager’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 31, Blackrock, through its Global Allocation Fund, held 37 bitcoin futures contracts worth $6.15 million. According to one report , the contracts, which expired on March 26, had already appreciated in value by some $360,458. Meanwhile, with this modest investment into bitcoin futures, Blackrock’s SEC filing proves the leading asset manager has acted on its promise to invest in the crypto asset. The holdings, 37 contracts in total, were about 0.03% of the firm’s Global Allocation Fund. Earlier in the year, a Bitcoin.com News report quoted Blackrock CIO Rick Rieder suggesting that his organization had “started to dabble” in bitcoin. With this SEC filing, Blackrock has now officially confirmed its pivot towards the crypt

PRESS RELEASE. DSLA Protocol has released the first version of its Decentralized Service Level Agreements (SLA) protocol on the Ethereum L1 blockchain. Layer 2 deployments on Harmony and Avalanche are also coming in the near future, following the results of ongoing audits. Created by Stacktical , the DSLA Protocol is a decentralized risk management framework. It enables different stakeholders of a given service to offset third-party risk in a peer-to-peer manner. This allows developers and infrastructure operators to create blockchain-based outsourcing contracts. The aforementioned outsourcing contracts store and release cryptocurrency based on the performance of the aforementioned third-parties. Put simply, the DSLA Protocol allows its users to delegate third-party risk by “exchanging” it with other users in the system, who have the required resources to “take-on” this risk and be rewarded for doing so. Put simply, these contracts provide an additional security layer to the common

Public blockchain infrastructure provider Orbs is delivering a next-generation liquidity solution designed to encourage greater defi participation by separating stablecoin pooling from cryptocurrency pooling. Liquidity Nexus Protocol Aims to Forge Better Connections Between Defi and Cefi As decentralized finance (defi) aggressively expands its footprint in the cryptocurrency arena, one of the most significant pain points that have arisen involves liquidity pooling. Liquidity pools , which effectively lock coins and tokens in smart contracts, provide the basis for dex (decentralized exchange) and defi operation. Most liquidity pools require users to lock an equal amount of two tokens in a pool. Rewards earned from the pool’s activities are distributed proportionally to an individual’s stake. However, this model produces numerous inefficiencies. To maintain equivalent amounts of two tokens (cryptos and stablecoins), pools must constantly readjust holdings, exposing users who lock th

Bitcoin mainstream adoption is not limited to celebrities endorsing the cryptocurrency via social media or interviews on TV. The music industry is also interested in joining the bandwagon, with an independent publishing company recently enabling bitcoin payments. Bitcoin Adoption Comes in Response to the Requests of Prescription Songs Creators According to Variety , Prescription Songs, founded by Dr. Luke (Lukasz Sebastián Gottwald), is now offering its roster of producers and songwriters the option to send payments in bitcoin ( BTC ). The feature is possible thanks to a partnership signed with crypto payments provider Bitpay. Dr. Luke is a well-known hitmaker in the industry, whose publishing company’s catalog includes hits such as “Say So” by Doja Cat, “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa, Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” Miley Cyrus’ “Party In The U.S.A.,” “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5, “Starboy” by The Weeknd and “Juice” by Lizzo. In the words of

Crypto mining in Abkhazia is still a hot potato for the de facto state government, which is now determined to criminalize such activities. Continuous massive power disruptions, in parallel, are fueling the anger of the people towards crypto miners. Public Officials to Face Bigger Penalties According to a report published by E Daily, the Abkhazian government revealed that it’s due to present a proposal to fine miners and also file criminal charges against them. The plan is to set fines up to $8,000, which is a considerable amount of money, as it is the same yearly average income per individual in the de facto South Caucasus state, equal to 20 minimum national wages. But such punishments are the lowest ones considered in the proposal. In fact, the government seeks to hit back with even more significant penalties against public servants who are caught in crypto mining activities, as well as companies running rigs, with up to 5,000 minimum national wages. However, the report detail

On Friday, April 2, 2021, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty is the highest it has even been in its lifetime but bitcoin miners still captured record revenues last month raking in $1.5 billion in coinbase rewards and transaction fees. Today, the blockchain’s hashrate is around 160 exahash per second (EH/s) with 17 pools dedicating hashpower to the network. $1.5 Billion in Bitcoin Rewards and Fees, Difficulty Ramps Up to 23 Trillion With a 5% Increase on the Way The price of bitcoin has been consolidated just under the $60k region and at 10:30 (EST) on April 1st, BTC jumped over the $60k handle to $60,103 per unit. The price has been driving the hashrate higher as miners are dedicating a lot of resources toward finding bitcoin blocks. On March 27, 2021, the Bitcoin hashrate spiked to 195 EH/s coming awfully close to the 200 EH/s zone for the first time ever. The continuous rise in hashrate has also pushed up the crypto network’s mining difficulty which is currently at 23.14 trillion. Mi

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has revealed that the regulating body will adopt the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “travel rule” and standards toward the cryptocurrency industry throughout the nation. Meanwhile, FATF’s rule has been considered far-reaching and the organization Global Digital Finance and the company’s advisory member, Malcolm Wright, hopes industry innovators will help shape the regulatory conversations. Japan’s Financial Services Agency Is Ready to Follow FATF’s Lead Japan, the island country in East Asia with its 125 million people has seen cryptocurrency spread throughout the country since the early days, with a myriad of exchanges residing in the nation-state like the now-defunct Mt Gox. On Wednesday, the Japanese regulator the Financial Services Agency (FSA) announced that the country plans to adopt the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines toward virtual assets (VAs) and virtual asset service providers, otherwise known as VASPs. On March 2

The price of ethereum tapped a new all-time high (ATH) on Friday afternoon reaching an ATH of around $2,072 around 12 p.m. (EST). Today, ethereum’s market capitalization captures 12.3% of the crypto economy’s overall $1.9 trillion market valuation. Meanwhile, as ether prices jumped over 6%, the crypto asset bitcoin cash has spiked over 8% nearing $600 per unit during the afternoon trading sessions. Ethereum Markets Shine While bitcoin ( BTC ) prices have been sitting just under the $60k per unit zone, a number of crypto assets are seeing strong gains. Yesterday it was dogecoin (DOGE) and filecoin (FIL) ramping up the action, but today all eyes are on ethereum ( ETH ) and bitcoin cash ( BCH ). Ethereum prices touched an ATH on Friday reaching $2,072 per ether and the crypto asset has managed to stay above the $2k handle. During the last seven days, ETH is up over 20% and a whopping +165.03% during the last three months. Just recently the billionaire investor Mark Cuban touted e