Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

On Friday, the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) launched on Nasdaq under the ticker BTF and dropped in value not too long after the ETF first came out of the gate. The second bitcoin ETF to launch in the United States followed bitcoin’s spot price movements on Friday, as BTF started the day above $25 and dropped to just over the $24 mark. Initial Market Performance of Valkyrie’s Bitcoin ETF Lackluster Compared to the First Bitcoin ETF Debut Valkyrie’s bitcoin futures ETF officially launched on Friday and reached a high of $25.60 per unit at around 9:00 a.m. (EDT). The senior ETF analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, Eric Balchunas , tweeted about Valkyrie’s ETF after the first few minutes of trading. “BTF up and running with a healthy $10m traded in [the] first [five minutes], BITO is at $30m. You have to be happy with that spread if you are BTF, [it] will be tough to keep up [though],” Balchunas said . The stock subsequently fell in value as it followed the s

Traders who have yet to join cryptocurrency exchange, Bybit can now enjoy 3% bonuses on their first time deposits, capped at $3,000 per user. In addition, traders with combined trading volumes in both Spot and Derivatives of at least $100,000 will be automatically included in an exclusive lucky draw featuring a grand prize of 0.1 BTC . To be eligible to receive the bonuses, traders must first register for Bybit’s Deposit Blast-Off event here before Nov. 18, 2021, 10AM UTC. Once registered, traders must make a minimum deposit of $500 worth of eligible assets within seven (7) days for their deposits to be considered in the calculation of their rewards. Any deposits made after this timeframe will not be considered in the calculation of their reward. Among the eligible assets include BTC , ETH , BIT, USDT , XRP , DOGE, DOT, EOS , LTC , XLM , AAVE, AXS, CHZ, COMP, DYDX, LINK, MANA, MKR , SUSHI, UNI and YFI. To qualify for the lucky draw, traders will need to hit the minimum trading v

The crypto asset solana has managed to capture more than 12% in gains during the last 24 hours and has recently positioned itself as the sixth-largest cryptocurrency market capitalization. The crypto asset’s overall market cap is around $62.2 billion, only 11% away from surpassing cardano’s market valuation at $69 million. Solana Takes the 6th Spot, Market Valuation Nears Cardano’s Market Cap On Friday, the crypto asset solana (SOL) has managed to take the sixth position in terms of the world’s largest crypto market valuations. At the time of writing SOL is swapping for over $203 per unit and is up 12.4% over the last day. Seven-day statistics indicate that solana has gained 37.5% this past week and during the last 30 days, SOL is up 68.2%. After the digital currency captured the sixth largest crypto position, a great number of people discussed the crypto asset on social media. At 1:30 p.m. (EDT), the hashtag #solana had around 97,900 tweets with the hashtag present in the tweet.

On Thursday, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev spoke at a conference called the Disruptor 50 Summit and the executive explained that the waitlist for the company’s recently announced crypto wallet has 1 million sign-ups so far. “We’re very proud of our cryptocurrency platform and giving people more utility with the coins they have,” Tenev said during the event. Robinhood Crypto Wallet Waitlist Hits a Million Sign-ups Vlad Tenev, the founder of Robinhood Markets, told the public on Thursday that the waitlist for Robinhood’s crypto wallet has reached 1 million customers. Speaking at CNBC’s Disruptor 50 Summit Tenev explained how popular cryptocurrencies are on the financial services application. “We’re very proud of our cryptocurrency platform and giving people more utility with the coins they have,” Tenev said at the event. The CEO added: “We rolled out our wallet’s waitlist. A lot of people have been asking for the ability to send and receive cryptocurrencies, transfer them to hardware wall

Retail giant Walmart says that bitcoin can now be purchased at 200 of its stores in the U.S. The cryptocurrency is offered through Coinstar kiosks located inside Walmart stores. Coinstar is currently offering bitcoin at more than 8,000 kiosks. Buying Bitcoin at Walmart Bitcoin can now be purchased at 200 Walmart stores in the U.S., the company reportedly said Thursday. This is part of a pilot program with Coinstar, which operates machines that allow customers to exchange U.S. coins for paper bills or gift cards. The pilot began earlier this month, according to Walmart spokesperson Molly Blakeman. To buy bitcoin at participating Walmart stores, customers need to visit a Coinstar kiosk located within Walmart. They must have an account with cryptocurrency exchange Coinme and each purchase carries a transaction fee of 4% and a cash exchange fee of 7%. Purchasers will receive a voucher that can be redeemed for BTC instantly at Coinme. Coinstar noted, “You can only use paper money to bu

According to reports, tech billionaire Peter Thiel — the co-founder of Paypal and Palantir — spoke about bitcoin at an event hosted in Miami. At the time, bitcoin had just surpassed its all-time price high and Thiel said “you’re supposed to just buy bitcoin” and added, “I feel like I’ve been underinvested in it.” Peter Thiel Postulates Meeting Satoshi Nakamoto on a Beach in Anguilla The tech investor Peter Thiel is a fan of bitcoin ( BTC ) and has explained this on a few occasions in the past. In mid-May, Palantir Technologies, the American big data software firm, revealed that the company would accept bitcoin for services and was also considering keeping the crypto asset on its balance sheet. Bloomberg reported that the billionaire venture capitalist said bitcoin is an “already known” secret, speaking at a conference in Miami. In addition to this statement, Thiel reportedly said that he felt “underinvested” in bitcoin. Furthermore, Thiel also discussed an early encounter with

PRESS RELEASE. Night Life Crypto (NLIFE), the first platform to bring AAA style titles to blockchain games, is proud to announce an integration with the largest protocol connecting Ethereum-compatible blockchain networks, Polygon. Night Life Crypto will utilize Polygon’s chain to launch it’s very first series of integration NFTs, as well as use their chain for all in-game NFT rewards for their upcoming flagship game Night Life Drifting, on October 22nd, 2021. Night Life Drifting is an action/arcade game where users race other players through a neo-Tokyo city, drifting through the streets to win performance NFTs, $NLIFE tokens and visual modification NFTs to upgrade their in-game vehicles. Further details about Night Life Drifting can be found on both the NLIFE Website and the Night Life Drifting Website . For this integration, Night Life Crypto is unveiling a never-before-seen Polygon branded car, the Matic GT. This car is purchasable as an NFT, which players will be able to driv

While cheered emphatically by the crypto community, the bitcoin ETF’s simplicity hides many drawbacks, especially for long-term investors unfamiliar with the inner workings of the futures market and the rocky results of historical ETF launches. The First Crypto’s Saga Continues as Accessibility Broadens With the first Proshares bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with ticker BITO opening for trading on October 19th, investors with brokerage accounts can finally access the cryptocurrency just like they can any other stock or ETF available. For bitcoin aficionados, the SEC’s announcement catalyzed a positive change in the market, as the price of BTC hit an all-time high above $66,000 amid heightened CME futures and options activity. Likewise, crypto experts believe that with the launch of the bitcoin ETF, bitcoin as an investment option will be more widely accessible and that bitcoin’s recognition will grow. According to Ben Caselin, AAX’s head of research and strategy: Over the

Cryptoeats, a company that reportedly raised 8 million in a Series A funding round to build a crypto-based Ubereats alternative, disappeared after launching its token. According to estimations, the startup might have taken more than £500K from investors after the launch of its official token dubbed “eats.” The alleged scam was promoted by UK influencers and manufactured related apparel, and even hosting a launching party in London. Cryptoeats Initiative Vanishes After Token Launch Cryptoeats, a company that proposed to build a crypto-based Ubereats alternative, vanished from the internet just minutes after launching its official token. The company, which had an official website and claimed to have raised funds to build their proposal, stated it had run a public beta of the service, partnering with food chains like Nando’s and McDonald’s. Furthermore, the startup claimed it had already onboarded more than 100,000 customers, who have signed up to download the app and use it on launch

Spanish banks are preparing for the possibility of offering crypto assets directly to their customers. According to new regulations, the Bank of Spain must formulate a list of virtual asset service providers and custody companies. However, these institutions are still not sure if they must apply, because banks already comply with anti-money laundering directives derived from other laws. Spanish Banks Jump to Comply With Crypto Laws Spanish banks are interested in offering cryptocurrency services to their customers and will be making arrangements to comply with upcoming regulations. Spanish banks are already on track to register for the list of virtual asset service providers and custody organizations that must be compiled by the Bank of Spain before October 29. The Bank of Spain announced it would release the paperwork and instructions for interested parties in the upcoming registry , but failed to do so. This has made banks uncertain whether they need to register again under appl

Companies involved in oil production in Russia have come up with a project to organize the mining of cryptocurrencies right next to the oil fields they are exploiting. Data centers devoted to coin minting can be powered by the excess gas released during oil extraction which would otherwise be wasted. Ministries and Central Bank Review Crypto Mining Project by Russian Oil Industry Government institutions in Moscow are now discussing an initiative launched by Russia’s oil companies to start mining cryptocurrency at their extraction sites. The industry is proposing to utilize associated petroleum gas ( APG ) to generate electricity that can be used in the energy-intensive process of digital coin minting. Experts say the project can potentially attract foreign investors, primarily from China where authorities have been cracking down on bitcoin mining this year. The industrial activity is effectively banned in the People’s Republic while in the Russian Federation mining isn’t prohibite

PRESS RELEASE. Palo Alto, October 18, 2021 – LTNM, the next generation insured asset-backed cryptocurrency, continues to gain momentum and expand its global acceptance as it announced today it will be listed on FMFW.io Exchange (formerly known as Bitcoin.com Exchange), a top-tier cryptocurrency exchange. This represents a milestone for both parties – one where LTNM will list on one of the world’s leading exchanges, while FWFW.io will be the second crypto exchange to list it. LTNM will be available for trading with BTC and USDT pairs, and the official trading is expected to start at the end of November 2021. LTNM is an insured asset-backed cryptocurrency developed by Monsoon Blockchain Corporation on behalf of a foundation. LTNM is a greener, faster, and more secure version of Bitcoin, capable of managing massive crypto transactions while being highly efficient in terms of cost and scalability. As a revolutionary new Bitcoin blockchain-based token, LTNM focuses on efficiently servin

The digital currency exchange FTX Trading Limited announced the firm has raised more than $420 million in a Series B-1 fundraise. The capital raise follows the crypto exchange’s financing round at the end of July when FTX raised $900 million. After the raise was announced on October 21, FTX said the firm’s estimated valuation is around $25 billion today. Crypto Exchange Giant FTX Raises $420 Million in Series B-1 On Thursday, the crypto asset exchange FTX revealed it raised more funds in a Series B-1 financing round. The company raised $420 million from 69 different investors. According to the announcement, FTX said Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, via its Teachers’ Innovation Platform, Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sea Capital, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners participated in the latest financing. Moreover, in addition to the $900 capital raise in July , FTX said Temasek participated in the original Series B round and pushed the

Pimco, an asset manager with $2.2 trillion under management, is looking to start trading cryptocurrencies. “We’re trading from a relative value perspective,” the firm’s chief investment officer said. Pimco’s clients include central banks, sovereign wealth funds, public and private pension funds, financial and non-financial corporations, foundations, and endowments. Pimco Getting Into Crypto Pimco’s chief investment officer, Daniel Ivascyn, told CNBC in an interview Wednesday that his company is looking to trade digital assets, noting that some of its hedge fund portfolios are already investing in crypto-linked securities. Pimco, an asset management subsidiary of Allianz Group, is a global leader in fixed income, its website details. Pimco manages $2.2 trillion in assets as of June 30. Its clients include central banks, sovereign wealth funds, public and private pension funds, financial and non-financial corporations, foundations and endowments, financial advisors, family offices, a

Tesla is currently holding bitcoin worth $1.26 billion on its balance sheet, the company’s third-quarter earnings report shows. The electric car company reported a bitcoin-related impairment of $51 million in the quarter. Meanwhile, CEO Elon Musk tweeted a meme showing the price of bitcoin at $69K and ether at $4.2K. Tesla Continues to Hold Bitcoin on Balance Sheet Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA), released its third-quarter earnings report Wednesday. The company posted $13.757 billion in revenue, a 57% increase from the same period last year. It wrote: “The third quarter of 2021 was a record quarter in many respects. We achieved our best-ever net income, operating profit and gross profit.” Tesla’s balance sheet shows net digital assets of $1.26 billion as of Sept. 30, down from $1.311 billion at the end of the second quarter. Tesla reported a bitcoin-related impairment of $51 million in Q3. Tesla’s cash flow statement still shows that the only BTC purchase

The $5.5 billion pension fund for the U.S. city of Houston’s firefighters has announced an investment in bitcoin and ether. “This investment marks the first announced investment in digital assets by a public pension plan in the U.S.” ‘A Watershed Moment for Bitcoin and Its Place in Public Pensions’ The Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund (HFRRF), the pension fund for the city of Houston’s firefighters, announced Thursday that it had purchased bitcoin and ether for the defined benefit plan’s portfolio. The announcement describes: This investment marks the first announced investment in digital assets by a public pension plan in the U.S. According to Bloomberg, the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund has $5.5 billion in assets and it invested $25 million in bitcoin and ether. The investment was facilitated by the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), a bitcoin investment arm of Stone Ridge Asset Management. The HFRRF pension fund handles retirement b

MCO2 is a carbon credit token traded by Moss.Earth. One MCO2 token is equivalent to one carbon credit. It is now possible to find this asset available on the largest exchanges on the planet, such as Gemini . The token goes through several processes to guarantee the security and reliability of the product. MCO2 Is the First Carbon Credit Based Token on Gemini The MCO2 token is an asset that makes the carbon credit market more democratic, secure, dynamic, and liquid. Carbon credits are no longer just an extra expense for companies that pollute, they are an asset that can be sold globally on international exchanges. By using blockchain and digital wallets, Moss.Earth have increased transparency in transactions and enhanced security in trading these assets. There are clear trends that strongly support market growth coupled with the entry of individuals and civil society organizations into the financial market. You can now buy and trade MCO2 on Gemini here . How Can I Contribute to th

On October 20, the iconic rap star Snoop Dogg announced he’s participating in a non-fungible token (NFT) sitcom with the popular basketball team the Harlem Globetrotters. According to the announcement, the NFT drop is part of a campaign featuring a limited edition Snoop Dogg and Globetrotters NFT collection. NFT Whale Snoop Dogg Partners With the Harlem Globetrotters It’s well known that the musician and American rapper Snoop Dogg is a fan of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible token (NFT) assets. In recent times, the crypto community discovered that Snoop was a crypto whale with a large collection of NFTs in his portfolio. This was after the hip-hop star said bitcoin was “here to stay” and lauded the innovations behind non-fungible token technology. Snoop also partnered with Crypto.com when it launched its NFT marketplace and recently the rapper partnered with the NFT blockchain virtual world The Sandbox. On Wednesday evening (EDT), the rapper revealed that he partnered with the

A Senate committee in Australia has made a number of proposals to address the lack of proper regulations for the cryptocurrency space. The lawmakers believe the country needs new rules for its fintech and digital asset industries to be able to compete with jurisdictions that are already attracting some of its own crypto firms. Senate Committee Calls for Accommodating Crypto Rules in Australia The rapid expansion of the crypto space has caught many governments by surprise, but while other nations are already providing market participants with some regulatory clarity, Australia is yet to introduce more specific rules for related industries. According to the Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre, which has published a new report on the matter, updated regulations should allow the country to drive innovation. The committee has put forward a set of recommendations for dealing with issues in key areas affecting the competitiveness of Australia’s tech, financ

Today, we’re excited to share new milestones in our partnership with Tranglo — following our intent to acquire a 40% stake in Asia’s leading cross-border payments specialist in March 2021 to scale the footprint of RippleNet, Ripple’s global financial network, in the region and beyond. The partnership has demonstrated significant momentum within six months, with Tranglo launching its first live … Continued The post Ripple and Tranglo Singapore’s Partnership Scales to New Heights in Asia-Pacific appeared first on Ripple. http://dlvr.it/SB2rR9

The crypto economy has come awfully close to nearing the $3 trillion handle as far as the value of all 10,000+ crypto assets is concerned. Today, crypto market aggregation sites show the entire crypto-economy at $2.756 trillion is worth more than the value of Apple’s market cap at $2.467. Furthermore, the top ten crypto-asset exchanges, in terms of cryptocurrencies held in reserves, hold more than $200 billion or 7.47% of the entire crypto economy. 10 Centralized Crypto Exchanges Hold 7.47% of Crypto Economy’s Value in Custody Digital currencies are far more valuable today than they were a month ago and the crypto economy is coming close to topping $3 trillion in value. The whole crypto-economy surpassed Apple’s overall worth this past week as bitcoin ( BTC ) became the sixth-most valuable asset on earth and ethereum ( ETH ) is now the 15th-largest global asset. While BTC has a $1.2 trillion market cap, ETH commands a market valuation of over $500 billion. Meanwhile, the top ten

After bitcoin reached its all-time high (ATH) on Wednesday, the second-largest crypto asset in terms of market capitalization, ethereum, is nearing its own ATH. The last time the crypto asset hit an ATH was five months ago on May 12. Ethereum Climbs 46% in 30 Days, Commands Half Trillion Market Cap The digital currency ethereum ( ETH ) came awfully close to surpassing its all-time high this week, reaching $4,379 per unit on the exchange Deribit. That’s only 0.1141% away from the ATH ethereum tapped five months ago ($4,384) on May 12, 2021. Ethereum’s market movements have been slower over the last week, taking a backseat to bitcoin ( BTC ) after the first U.S.-based bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) was launched. Three days after the listing, ethereum and a slew of other crypto assets started to pick up the pace in terms of market performance. Seven-day statistics show ethereum is up 21.0% this week and during the last month, ether has risen 46.5%. Year-to-date, ether has gained

Nigeria’s company registration agency, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), reportedly rejected an application for registration by a start-up on the basis that blockchain is yet to be recognized by the Nigerian government. Decision Disappoints Blockchain Community According to a report , the unnamed start-up, which is building an API connection for blockchain gaming rewards, was told the agency will only process the application once the reference to blockchain technology is resolved. The CAC reportedly wrote: “Blockchain is yet to be recognised by the Nigerian government, kindly expunge.” As expected, the decision has angered some members of Nigeria’s blockchain community. One of those expressing their disappointment with the CAC is Adedeji Owonibi, the founder and COO at Convexity, a blockchain incubating hub. As the report by Cryptoassetbuyer explains, Owonibi’s displeasure with the agency stems from the fact that CAC is one of the 27 institutions in Nigeria that are supposed

After the Proshares Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund (ETF) listed and smashed records in the first two days of trading, Vaneck’s bitcoin futures ETF was given the green light to start trading next week. Furthermore, sources say that the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF is set to launch this week with a possible listing on Friday. Proshares Bitcoin ETF Smashes Records October is the month of bitcoin exchange-traded funds as the United States approved the first ETF last week. Proshares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSE: BITO ) listed on Tuesday and saw close to $1 billion in volume on its first day of trading. The following day, BITO continued to perform remarkably and bitcoin (BTC) spot markets tapped a new lifetime price high at $67,017 per unit. If $BITO keeps up this pace of inflows it wont have any futures left to buy by the end of the month due to pos limits (via rough back of envelope calc w/ @JSeyff ). https://t.co/KauFuaPzhb — Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 21,

A sizable majority of young investors seeking high-risk opportunities are motivated by competition and hype, a new survey has indicated. They often turn to cryptocurrency and forex products, according to the poll conducted by the U.K.’s financial regulator. FCA Launches ‘Investsmart’ Campaign Targeting Risk Prone Investors The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA ) has carried out new research into the attitudes of young investors towards high-risk products. The watchdog has surveyed 1,000 respondents, aged between 18 and 40, as it launches a 5-year campaign to reach out to inexperienced investors that could cost the British taxpayer £11 million ($15 million). Through the poll, the regulator has been able to establish that many of these investors are driven by competition with friends and family members when investing in cryptocurrency and forex. Three-quarters of the surveyed, 76%, said they felt a sense of competitiveness while two-thirds, or 68%, likened the experience to ga