Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Mike Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Digital, wants exchanges to start listing in the smallest unit of bitcoin otherwise known as “satoshis”. On May 8, Novogratz tweeted out to a number of crypto exchange executives and asked “which exchange will be first to quote in SATS?” Novogratz Asks Top Exchange Execs to List Satoshis Bitcoin bull and investor Mike Novogratz is interested in seeing crypto trading platforms list the smallest unit of bitcoin ( BTC ) called “satoshis” or “SATS.” One can think of satoshis as the “cents” from dollars; they represent the fractional term of a portion of bitcoin. A satoshi is approximately 0.00000001 BTC . With BTC above the $57k handle at the time of writing, a single satoshi is worth $0.0005711 USD. On Saturday, Novogratz tweeted : It is time to switch to Satoshis. Too many people telling me at $58,000 BTC too expensive. Which exchange will be first to quote in SATS? His tweet further tagged the crypto exchange CEOs from Binance, Coinbase

The “ultrasound money” meme has been running in Ethereum based circles for some time, gaining momentum as the asset rises and rises in value during this bull market. While it is considered a joke by many, like a myriad of memes, it hides a very complex array of factors that contribute to Ethereum’s newfound status. However, it is not without its critics from the Bitcoin side. The ‘Ultrasound Money’ Meme Explained If you have mingled in inner Ethereum cryptocurrency circles, you probably have heard the words “ultrasound money,” used as a meme to explain what the Ethereum network is going to become when it turns to proof-of-stake (PoS). But memes, being as they are, are a complete simplification of the subject, and fail to describe the whole mechanism behind it. Roughly, the ultrasound money meme serves to mock bitcoiners who describe bitcoin ( BTC ) as a “sound” money asset, meaning this that is not liable to sudden depreciation in its value. Built by Justin Drake, a researcher from

A newly published regional report shows that China’s hashrate has likely dropped to 55% while the U.S. has climbed to 11%. Another study predicts that it’s possible North America could overtake China in terms of hashrate by the end of 2021. Bitcoin Mining Farm Operator Says Mining Industry in North America Is Booming For years now China has been the most dominant region in terms of bitcoin miners worldwide and at one point 65% to 70% of the network hashrate stemmed from the country. In May 2021, the Bitcoin hashrate is significantly higher nearing 200 exahash per second (EH/s) as a great number of participants are mining the crypto asset. At the time of writing, the global hashrate is around 181 EH/s following the massive drop in hashpower two weeks ago. Now a few reports are showing that China’s SHA256 hashrate dominance is steadily dropping and the U.S. and North America, in general, have become greater competitors. 8btc’s regional columnist, Iyke Aru explains that one reason

Investors can now stake STC, the utility token powering the Student Coin ecosystem, and earn up to 13% APY. Showing the amazing potential of the community backing the project, over 1,000,000,000 tokens were staked in less than 12 hours after STC staking was launched. STC Now Offers Staking, Much More to Come Student Coin , a platform that allows users to easily design, create, and manage personal, corporate, NFT, and DeFi tokens, launched staking on May 6th and was immediately welcomed with great demand. In fact, over 1,000,000,000 tokens were staked in less than 12 hours after STC staking went live. Staking can be done directly via the STC Wallet , where holders can now choose between a 30 days, 90 days, and 180 days staking pools with additional STC-based token mining program. When you stake your STC tokens, you can earn up to 13% APY, and mine 10 additional STC-based tokens. The first two tokens to be airdropped for the mining stakers are Smart Marketing Token ($SMT), and Smart

One of Africa’s biggest wildlife conservancies, the Virunga National Park, which is situated in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), says it now accepts donations via cryptocurrency. It says such donations will be used in helping to protect DRC’s famed “mountain gorillas and the ecosystems they inhabit.” Tax Efficient Way to Support Virunga In a statement recently published on its website, Virunga, which is home to one of Africa’s “oldest national park and most biologically diverse protected area,” says it will initially accept donations in the form of 12 cryptos. Some of the accepted cryptos include BTC , BCH and ETH . The statement also explains why well-wishers should consider donating via crypto. It reads: In many countries, donating cryptocurrency is classed as a non-taxable event, meaning you do not owe capital gains tax on the appreciated amount and can deduct it on your taxes. This can make bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrency donations one of the most tax-effic

Investment management firm Ark Invest has highlighted three reasons why the price of ethereum has been hitting record highs. The firm cited increased institutional interest, strong on-chain signals, and imminent protocol upgrades as the key reasons. Why Ethereum Has Been Going Up ARK Investment Management, also known as Ark Invest , published a research note last week explaining three key reasons why ethereum is breaking out to new all-time highs. The first reason the firm’s analyst mentioned was “Increased institutional interest.” Ark Invest pointed out that a number of ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have launched in Canada, making it easier for institutional investors to gain exposure to the price of ETH . The note adds: Institutions and companies like European Investment Bank and Visa have validated the Ethereum blockchain by announcing issuance and settlement use cases, respectively. At the end of April, the European Investment Bank (EIB), a nonprofit organization and l

Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, who headed the committee that drafted India’s cryptocurrency bill, says that the government should not ban cryptocurrencies but regulate them instead. He further urges the government to encourage crypto services. Indian Government Should Regulate Cryptocurrencies and Encourage Crypto Asset Services Subhash Chandra Garg said Thursday at a virtual event organized by industry body Assocham that the Indian government should regulate cryptocurrencies instead of prohibiting them, PTI reported. He elaborated: I don’t think we still have full clarity and understanding about how to regulate cryptocurrencies … Regulate, control cryptocurrencies but allow the crypto assets, encourage the crypto services. Garg, who resigned from his government position in July 2019, headed the interministerial committee (IMC) that drafted the cryptocurrency bill entitled “Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019.”

Latest reports from South Africa suggest that the country’s tax agency will now be targeting cryptocurrency investors as it attempts to increase the total value of revenues collected. Alongside high net worth individuals and offshore investors, digital currency holders now constitute an area that is “likely to yield much of the extra tax” for the revenue collector. Crypto Investors Unaware of Tax Liabilities However, according to a report , many South African cryptocurrency holders are “oblivious of the fact that trading in cryptocurrency renders them liable for tax.” The report, which relies on the expert opinion of Thomas Lobban, says the “South African Revenue Service (SARS) (currently) has cryptocurrency trading very much in its sights.” Further, Lobban who is the legal manager at Tax Consulting South Africa said: As with any other asset class, investors must understand their tax obligations in relation to their crypto investments, and plan accordingly. If they do not, then c

While some crypto users have been leveraging privacy-centric digital assets like monero, others still use mixing protocols that shuffle unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) from coins like bitcoin, ethereum, and bitcoin cash. Participants using the Bitcoin Cash network utilize applications like Cashshuffle and Cashfusion. Since Cashfusion was introduced in November 2019, there’s been 67,845 fusions or $5.9 billion worth of bitcoin cash that’s been fused. Cashshuffle Still Gets Use With 65K Shuffles Since 2019 During the bull run of 2021, Bitcoin Cash network users are using Cashfusion and Cashshuffle a great deal these days. The elder and sister protocol of Cashfusion, Cashshuffle still gets used today and at the time of writing, there’s been 65,682 shuffles with 283,217 BCH shuffled in total since the protocol’s inception. Now, of course, the UTXOs were not shuffled at the current exchange rate, but that’s around $377 million in shuffled BCH using today’s exchange rates. People

PRESS RELEASE. Cryptocurrency exchange, Quidax on Monday, 10th May officially shared plans to expand beyond Africa to the global market. They also announced the launch of their native token, QDX and revealed plans to reposition as the global home of BEP20 tokens. Quidax is a cryptocurrency exchange that launched in August 2018. It had initially positioned itself as an African focused cryptocurrency exchange but has stated a change in strategy following some events in February. Quidax CEO, Buchi Okoro for the first time revealed that they have processed over 3.2 billion dollars worth of transactions since their launch and have grown their customer base from 50 customers in 2018 to over 400,000 customers across 72 countries today. Quidax to launch its Token on JulPad Launchpad in May Quidax is going to launch QDX, its native token. QDX will be a BEP20 token that will power all the functions within the Quidax ecosystem from trading fees on the exchange, to staking, governance, and

South Korean authorities are intensifying their monitoring of phishing activity related to cryptocurrencies. The government has identified a record number of websites trying to obtain login details from crypto exchange users. Over 30 sites have been taken down in just three months this year. Seoul Strengthens Monitoring of Crypto Phishing Scams Rising market prices have led to an increased number of phishing attempts targeting investors and users of cryptocurrency in South Korea. The government in Seoul announced it’s strengthening its monitoring system to quickly detect such threats. It will also work closely with the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) to prevent fraud. The Korean Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology said it’s receiving an increasing number of reports of phishing attempts. Attacks are often conducted via text messages convincing crypto traders to enter their exchange usernames and passwords on fake websites. The perpetrators can the

Dogecoin has a wild ride this weekend starting with Elon Musk’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) and ending with Spacex saying it will launch DOGE-1 mission to the moon. Musk called dogecoin “a hustle” on the show but also said that it is “the future of currency” that’s “going to take over the world.” Dogecoin Is ‘Unstoppable Financial Vehicle That’s Going to Take Over the World, Musk Said on SNL The much-anticipated SNL with Elon Musk and musical guest Miley Cyrus was aired last night. During the show, Musk mentioned cryptocurrency and dogecoin several times. The first mention was during his monologue when his mother, Maye, joined him. “I’m excited for my Mother’s Day gift. I just hope it’s not dogecoin,” she told her son. The Spacex CEO replied: “It is. It sure is.” Then, during SNL’s satirical Weekend Update segment, Musk returned in the role of a financial expert called “Lloyd Ostertag.” As soon as he sat down with anchor Michael Che, he said, “Call me the Dogefather,” a term he prev

Former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger has confirmed that he does not invest in bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies. He says that he is “like Warren Buffett” in that he does not invest in things he does not understand. The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway thinks bitcoin is “rat poison squared.” Arnold Schwarzenegger Not Investing in Bitcoin or any Other Cryptocurrencies “Terminator” star Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about bitcoin during an interview with the New York Times published Thursday. Regarding bitcoin, the former California governor said: No, I don’t invest in them. I am like Warren Buffett. I don’t invest in things I don’t understand. The Berkshire Hathaway CEO has long been a bitcoin critic. He called it “rat poison squared” back in 2018 after his business partner Charlie Munger compared the cryptocurrency to “rat poison” and “turds.” Buffett is well known for operating within his “circle of competence,” meaning he does not invest in anything he does not unde

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has revealed that he bought bitcoin and ether right after the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill passed the Senate, heading to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed. He said bitcoin “is definitely going to go up … because I don’t think people are going to want to stay in dollar-denominated currencies.” Mayor Suarez is also working to make Miami a “crypto city.” Miami’s Mayor Personally Bought Bitcoin Miami Mayor Francis Suarez revealed at the 2021 Ethereal Summit last week that he purchased bitcoin right after the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief stimulus package passed the Senate in March. In an interview with Decrypt Editor-in-Chief Dan Roberts and FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Mayor Suarez was asked whether he had already purchased bitcoin since he indicated in February that he would soon be ready to buy some cryptocurrencies. The mayor confirmed: I did buy, thankfully. I bought bitcoin and ethereum. I didn’t buy DOGE, but I did buy bitcoin and ethereum, a

Spacex, the pioneer private space agency founded by Elon Musk, announced it will launch the DOGE-1 mission to the moon in coordination with Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC). The mission, whose objective will be to deliver a commercial payload to the moon, was paid in full using Dogecoin, the meme coin that has been made popular by Musk himself. DOGE-1 to The Moon Spacex, the innovative space exploration company that has been a pioneer in commercial spaceflight and in its plans for a planned trip to Mars, has announced today a new mission called DOGE-1 in partnership with Geometric Energy Corporation, a renewable energy-based firm. According to a PR statement , the first objective of the mission will be to put a commercial payload on the moon. But what’s particular about this mission is that it was paid entirely on Dogecoin , the memecoin that has been adopted by several influencers after being popularized by Spacex CEO himself, Elon Musk . Being the first commercial mission of t

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 CasperLabs Token (CSPR) under the pair USDT/CSPR on May 6 at 3:00 p.m. UTC. Casper is a decentralized proof-of-stake blockchain network optimized for enterprise and developer adoption. The Casper Network is the first live blockchain built off the Correct-by-Construction (CBC) Casper specification, allowing the network to create sustainable new markets and unlock value by tokenizing nearly any asset without compromising performance or security. With the CBC specification integrated, finality increases security and guarantees past decisions are irreversible, making decisions deterministic rather than probabilistic. Casper is flexible and block times can adjust based on network conditions. These benefits make transaction settlement faster and improves users’ confidence in the protocol’s data output. The protoc