Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Cryptocurrency exchange operator Coinbase has announced that it is establishing a business presence in India. The company has also posted several job openings for its Indian operations despite reports that the government may ban cryptocurrencies. Coinbase Sets up Shop in India Coinbase has officially announced its expansion into India. The company said last week: We’re happy to announce that Coinbase is establishing a business presence in India. By housing some IT services, including engineering, software development and customer support operations in India, we will benefit from its huge pool of world-class engineering talent. “India has long been known as a hub for engineering and technology innovation, and we look forward to finding that world-class talent to help the Coinbase group develop new ways for our customers to interact with the cryptoeconomy,” the announcement continues. Coinbase further stated, “We expect to open a physical office, initially in Hyderabad, for Indi

Payments giant Paypal has launched the “Checkout With Crypto” service to allow consumers to make payments at millions of merchants using cryptocurrencies in their Paypal wallets. “This is the first time you can seamlessly use cryptocurrencies in the same way as a credit card or a debit card inside your Paypal wallet,” said Paypal’s CEO. Crypto Payments Through Paypal Now Enabled at Millions of Merchants Paypal Holdings Inc. announced on Tuesday the launch of a new service called “Checkout with Crypto.” The announcement details: Available at millions of global online businesses and continuing to expand over the coming months, Paypal customers with cryptocurrency holdings in the U.S. will be able to choose to check out with crypto seamlessly within Paypal at checkout. “Checkout with Crypto will automatically appear in the Paypal wallet at checkout for customers with sufficient cryptocurrency balance to cover an eligible purchase,” the announcement adds. “All transactions are sett

Aurus is embracing the concept of DeFi to disrupt the precious metals industry. The firm has built a truly decentralised platform which allows companies like refineries, distributors and vaults to autonomously tokenise precious metals. The ingenious part of the Aurus system is their revenue-sharing token, AurusDeFi (AWX), which enables holders to earn a share of the platform’s revenues. Aurus to Disrupt the Precious Metals Industry Trading app Robinhood positions itself as democratising finance for all. However, the centralised nature of the platform- where one party holds the ultimate decision-making power, is in direct conflict with this mission. Just ask the Redditors of the WallStreetBets community. As they discovered in January, traders have zero control over how the exchange is managed. If they have a problem, their only recourse is to withdraw their funds and switch to another broker (where they’ll probably face similar issues, for the time being anyway). This incident helps

On the heels of the last stimulus package, U.S. President Joe Biden is creating more legislation that may lead to a massive $3 trillion package dedicated to domestic needs and infrastructure. The recent discussions with Biden and Senate Democrats honed in on the political party’s “Build Back Better” campaign. The recent stimulus talks have a few economists feeling optimistic about the future of the American economy, while Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said: “the next stimulus bill will have to be paid for through higher tax rates.” Biden and Senate Democrats Push for Infrastructure Relief Stimulus Estimated to be Around $3 Trillion The U.S. government doesn’t seem to want to stop creating money, as talks of passing more stimulus legislation have increased almost right after the passing of $1.9 trillion just a few weeks ago. Despite the fact that average Americans are concerned about purchasing power and inflation, central bank members and politicians continue to find ways to

Venezuelan customers from the biggest satellite TV provider in the country are now able to pay their monthly bills via cryptocurrencies. Simple TV announced it had enabled the feature to its over four million users, whose company was the replacement of Directv. Company Expects to Cut Dependency on Fiat Dollar According to the announcement, the provider arranged a partnership with Panamanian firm Cryptobuyer, and Simple TV’s landing page is now showing the option to pay via cryptos. Customers could send their payments in bitcoin ( BTC ), dash ( DASH ), litecoin ( LTC ), ethereum ( ETH ), binance coin ( BNB ), and binance dollar (BUSD). Also, users can also pay with Cryptobuyer’s native token, XPT. Simple TV, owned by a Chilean investment fund, offers over 300 TV channels from major networks, including ESPN, HBO, and Disney. With such addition, the satellite TV provider expects to “boost the usage of cryptocurrencies across Venezuela.” Jorge Farías, CEO of Cryptobuyer, told Contra

PRESS RELEASE. The State Grid Corporation of China will be adopting blockchain interoperability platform Wanchain’s technology for their national data management system. 30th March, 2021, Beijing, China – Wanglu Tech Ltd. (“Wanchain”) is pleased to announce that the State Grid Corporation of China (“State Grid”) has approved the results of its contracted feasibility study. The study systematically analyzed the impact of integrating blockchain technology into State Grid’s national data management system and concluded that Wanchain’s blockchain technology is ideal to upgrade the world’s largest utility company’s national data management system. Study Highlights The feasibility study results highlight the unique requirements of State Grid’s national data management system and outlines the specific consensus mechanisms and encryption algorithms best suited to integrate with existing systems. On the basis of these results, State Grid selected Wanchain’s interoperable blockchain

Bitcoin is not liked by everyone from the Island Council of Tenerife, Spain. At least that’s what was suggested by its president, Pedro Martín, who ordered the sale of the local government’s investment in cryptocurrency. Bitcoin Is an ‘Opaque’ Currency, Martín Says Martín, from the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party (PSOE), issued the order of dismantling the investment made through the Technological Institute of Renewable Energies (ITER) in a previous administration, citing “ethical” reasons. In detail, according to El Economista , the Island Council of Tenerife’s president considers it an “opaque” currency that cannot be declared in the tax filings. Although the president did not disclose the exact number of bitcoins ( BTC ) acquired by the council, it was reported that the liquidation could yield almost one million euros ($1.17 million), which could be around 20 BTC . During an interview with a local radio of the Canarias Islands, Martin said the council realized an audit of t

Ripple has agreed to acquire 40% of Asia’s leading cross-border payments specialist Tranglo. This partnership enables Ripple to meet growing customer demand in the region and expand the reach of RippleNet’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service — which uses the digital asset XRP to instantly send money and reduce working capital needs.  As a pioneer for … Continued The post Ripple Acquires 40% Stake in Asia’s Leading Cross-Border Payments Specialist, Tranglo appeared first on Ripple. http://dlvr.it/Rwdfjh

Hot on the heels of a recent winning auction bid for Beeple’s “Ocean Front” NFT, Justin Sun is making another splash in the NFT market following his decision to seed an investment fund that collects high-profile works of art. Fund Just One Leg of Sun’s Ambitions in The NFT Ecosystem Ongoing efforts to digitize art and collectibles have put the spotlight on the blockchain industry once more as dizzying NFT auction results draw high-profile artists and entertainers along with industry insiders competing for market share in the ever-expanding space. In keeping with his boisterous style and ambition to reach every corner of the crypto sphere, Tron’s Justin Sun has revealed his intensified focus on the NFT space following recent auction participation and listing Lindsay Lohan’s digital collectibles on Tron’s blockchain. Sun’s newly launched JUST NFT Fund vies to be the leading fund investing in the NFT space, with a mandate to strictly acquire works from high-profile names with a min

New reports emerging from South Africa suggest privately held firms are converting a portion of their cash holdings into bitcoin as they seek to hedge against currency devaluation. According to one report, an open-source software specialist firm, LSD Open, could well be the first South African company to make the bold step after it reportedly acquired $134,000 worth of bitcoin. Bitcoin Philosophy As a local report explains, LSD Open completed the purchase in two separate transactions and an average price of just over $34,200 per BTC was paid. At the time of writing, the value of LSD Open’s BTC holdings had grown by almost 70% in just “a matter of weeks.” Meanwhile, the report also discloses that LSD Open’s BTC acquisition had been facilitated by Bitfund, a local cryptocurrency exchange. LSD Open CEO Stefan Lesicnik is quoted explaining how bitcoin’s attributes are aligned with the philosophy of his company. Lesicnik said: Our vision is to make the world more open, and bitcoin

Bitcoin Cash proponents have recently been introduced to a new noncustodial payment processor called Prompt.cash. The platform provides merchants with a simple way to accept peer-to-peer electronic cash payments and can also generate a new address per invoice. Prompt.cash: A Hosted Noncustodial Payment Processor for Accepting P2P Electronic Cash A number of innovative applications that leverage the crypto asset bitcoin cash (BCH) are on the horizon. In recent times, BCH fans have been introduced to a newly created payment processor called prompt.cash , a platform that allows people to accept BCH in a noncustodial fashion. The main developer behind the project is a well known programmer who goes by the name Ekliptor . The dev has 16+ years coding experience and has been working with bitcoin cash payment systems for years now. The engineer also developed cashtippr.com , a WordPress plugin that allows website owners to receive instant tips. Speaking with Bitcoin.com’s newsdesk

PRESS RELEASE. MPH Club announced that they will allow their clients to pay in bitcoin to rent cars. MPH Club is a Miami-based exotic and luxury car rental that allows their customers to vacation in style. Their fleet includes the newest models from Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, Rolls Royce, and others. They offer a few services, which include: Rentals Membership Chauffeurs Corporate events Vehicle delivery Hotel and airport pickup Partnership program Their service is incredibly popular and has been used by the likes of Steve Aoki, Floyd Mayweather, and Shaquille O’Neal. Part of the reason for their popularity is that they are able to offer such a wide selection is due to their partnership program. The MPH Club Partnership Program – This service allows local exotic car owners to “lend” their cars to MPH Club. MPH Club will then add it to their fleet and offer it to their customers to rent out, usually at an average price of $1,000 per day. If the car rents then MPH Clu

Soros Fund Management’s chief investment officer (CIO) says that central bank digital currencies are a potential threat to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies but it will only be temporary. She also says that bitcoin is taking some of gold’s buyer base away. Crypto’s ‘Inflection Point’ Soros Fund Management Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Dawn Fitzpatrick talked about bitcoin and the impact central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could have on the crypto industry in an interview on Bloomberg’s Front Row last week. She said: We think the whole infrastructure around crypto is really interesting … We’ve been making some investments into that infrastructure and we think that is at an inflection point. She named some examples of what her firm has been investing in, including exchanges, asset managers, custodians, and tax reporting companies. Earlier this month, Soros Fund Management invested in the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), a provider of technology and investment solu

The president of the American pro baseball team the Oakland Athletics (A’s) recently discussed the ballclub accepting bitcoin for full season suites on Bloomberg TV. A’s president Dave Kaval explained that the team will be holding the crypto asset it obtains from sales, rather than selling because they are “believers in it.” The Oakland Athletics Plans to Hold Bitcoin Revenue In mid-March, Bitcoin.com reported on the A’s accepting bitcoin payments for the 2021 full season suites that seat up to six people. The team’s administration also decided to accept a single bitcoin for the full season suites no matter how much BTC fluctuated in value. Using Monday’s BTC exchange rate, the cost is still a discount if the person decided to buy a full suite for the season with bitcoin. Following the announcement, the American pro baseball team’s president Dave Kaval explained the A’s will be holding the bitcoin. “We’re going to hold it,” Kaval said during his interview . “We’re believers in i

On Saturday, a popular Youtuber named Stacksmashing published a video that shows him hacking a 1989 Nintendo Game Boy in order to mine bitcoin. Despite the creativity and the fact that the miner only leverages four double-A batteries, Stacksmashing noted that the 8-bit handheld game console was not nearly as powerful as today’s modern mining rig. Mining Bitcoin With a Game Boy Four years ago, a few people created some interesting methods to mine and connect with the Bitcoin network. For instance, the bitcoiner Ken Shirriff who is known for getting the bitcoin symbol added to Unicode had shown the world how he could mine bitcoin with an old Xerox Alto. The computer is a classic and the first machine to add a graphical user interface (GUI) back in 1973. Additionally, in 2015, Shirriff also mined bitcoin with a 55-year-old IBM 1401 . In addition to Shirriff’s retro mining experiments, another person in 2013 developed a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) miner. Stacksmashing’s la

Australia-based superbrand Webjet recognizes the value potential of the blockchain startup LockTrip and joins its mission by securing the rights for up to a 51% stake in what is a unique deal for the blockchain space. Summary of Article Travel Industry Leader Webjet Limited to invest up to $8.3M into LockTrip Managing Director of Webjet group himself, John Guscic and Director of Corporate Development, Lynne Oldfield to join LockTrip’s Board Webjet to Integrate the LockTrip.com Marketplace and the LOC economy into their OTA (Online Travel Agency) Websites in Australia and New Zealand Webjet and LockTrip to Explore the Opportunity to Migrate Booking Verification System “Rezchain” onto Hydra Chain Webjet ( WEB:ASX ), headquartered in Melbourne (Australia), has announced that it will be entering the crypto space through a strategic marriage with the blockchain-based travel marketplace LockTrip.com. In addition to its product offering up to 60% savings compared to traditional bo