Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

On Thursday, Uniswap Labs, the company behind the popular decentralized finance (defi) protocol, Uniswap, launched a tool called the Swap Widget. Essentially, the widget allows developers and decentralized app (dapp) operators to embed the Uniswap decentralized exchange (dex) app with “one line of code.” Software Engineers Can Now Embed Uniswap Swapping Functionality Into Web3 Dapps One of the largest dex applications in terms of trade volume, Uniswap, announced the launch of a new widget tool that gives dapp operators the ability to integrate Uniswap into their third-party applications. The Uniswap blog post that announces the new Swap Widget explains that integration is easy as it only requires a single React component and one line of code. “We envision a world in which everyone is able to access fair, open, and transparent markets,” the company said on Thursday. “The Swap Widget brings this vision closer to reality by allowing developers to easily embed Uniswap swapping function

PRESS RELEASE. Eugene, Oregon April 15th, 2022: If there was ever a universal truth to which we could all agree, it would be change. An unequivocal reality of the cosmos, change is constant. Despite emotions, thoughts, or actions, change is an unstoppable force for which there is no immovable object. As creatures of comfort and habit, we often go out of our way to avoid or ignore changes, negative and beneficial. The world’s financial systems are no exception to this universal law. Technological improvements have progressed the digitization of currency, moving us closer to cashless societies and away from physically held currency. Many people fear this technological shift with our monetary system will be government controlled, leading to the loss of financial freedom. Therefore private and/or decentralized organizations are essential moving forward. These improvements in technology also make innovative tools possible, which can provide people more control and power over their financ

The government of Kazakhstan is preparing to increase the tax burden for cryptocurrency miners and intends to tie the new rate to the value of the minted cryptocurrency. The authorities in Nur-Sultan believe that such an approach would have a positive effect on the state budget. Miners in Kazakhstan to Pay Tax on the Value of Extracted Crypto Kazakhstan is taking steps to raise the tax for entities mining cryptocurrency in the country. According to a statement by Minister of National Economy Alibek Kuantyrov, the plan is to calculate the tax based on the market value of the mined cryptocurrency. The government official noted that the implementation of such a scheme would increase budget receipts, Tengrinews.kz reported. Miners operating in Kazakhstan are currently paying a surcharge on the consumed electricity. Mining enterprises were obliged to pay more than other consumers last summer. Tariffs were increased with a fee of 1 Kazakhstani tenge (approx. $0.0022) per kilowatt-hour

A recent study by major market research firm Roy Morgan shows that more than 1 million Australians now own cryptocurrency. “The value of all cryptocurrency holdings for people aged 50+ is around $7.6 billion,” the study shows. Study: Over 1 Million Australians Own Cryptocurrency Australian research firm Roy Morgan has conducted a study into cryptocurrency investments. The study took place between December 2021 and February this year; the results were published Tuesday. Founded in 1941, Roy Morgan described itself as Australia’s largest independent research company with “an unparalleled reputation for reliable, accurate, meaningful, revealing market research.” It has offices across Australia, as well as in Indonesia, the U.K., and the U.S. The firm detailed: The latest Roy Morgan research into Australians’ investments shows 5%, or over 1 million Australians aged 18+, now own at least one cryptocurrency. The firm found that 69% of Australian cryptocurrency investors are men, an

Four years ago, a mobile game application called “Bitcoin Miner” came out that simulates bitcoin mining but at the time, the game’s development team Fumb Games could not integrate bitcoin rewards. On Thursday, Fumb Games revealed it has partnered with the fintech firm Zebedee and the Bitcoin Miner game now allows players to earn real bitcoin. Crypto Mining Simulation Game Adds Real Bitcoin Rewards The bitcoin mining game for Android and iOS called Bitcoin Miner has recently added real bitcoin ( BTC ) rewards into the game experience. Essentially, Bitcoin Miner is an idle mobile game that reproduces a mock bitcoin mining business. Fumb Games has inked a deal with Zebedee in order to add the real bitcoin rewards into the Bitcoin Miner game. Zebedee is a Hoboken, New Jersey-based company that specializes in integrating bitcoin into games and the firm raised $11.5 million in September 2021 in a funding round led by Lakestar. If a user is playing the game, Zebedee’s blog post publishe

The regulatory arm of UAE’s financial centre, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), has released a discussion paper that is seeking stakeholders’ comments regarding the regulation of decentralized finance (defi). The paper also makes clear the regulator’s stance regarding the anonymity of defi transactions. Paper Not Guidance for Financial Institutions The FSRA, a regulatory arm of the UAE financial centre ADGM, has issued a discussion paper that seeks the public’s comments on policy considerations for decentralized finance (defi). The release of the document comes as the defi space has seen strong growth both in terms of the number of users as well as the value of such transactions, the FSRA acknowledges in the paper. According to the regulatory arm, the discussion paper will serve “as a starting point for a dialogue on how Defi may be eventually regulated.” The FSRA nevertheless clarified that the paper is not a “guidance” for financial institutions. Instead, the paper contains the r

The CEO of e-commerce giant Amazon is optimistic about crypto and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). He says that over time crypto will “become bigger” and NFTs will continue to “grow very significantly.” CEO on Amazon Accepting Crypto Payments and Selling NFTs Amazon CEO Andy Jassy talked about cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in an interview with CNBC Thursday. Jassy replaced Jeff Bezos as president and CEO of Amazon in July last year. He previously led Amazon Web Services (AWS) since its inception in 2003. Regarding whether Amazon will accept cryptocurrency for payments of products on its platform, the CEO affirmed, “We’re not probably close to adding crypto as a payment mechanism in our retail business.” However, he noted: I do believe over time that you’ll see crypto become bigger. Commenting on whether he owns any cryptocurrency, the Amazon executive disclosed, “I don’t have bitcoin myself.” When asked whether Amazon could one day sell NFTs, Jassy replied, “I think

Hedge fund manager Michael Burry, famed for forecasting the 2008 financial crisis, says that the Federal Reserve “has no intention of fighting inflation.” He added that the Fed’s “Serial half-point hikes are for getting elevation before stocks and the consumer tap out.” Michael Burry on Inflation and Fed’s Rate Hikes Famous investor and founder of investment firm Scion Asset Management, Michael Burry, shared his thoughts Thursday on the U.S. economy, inflation, and interest rate hikes. He is best known for being the first investor to foresee and profit from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010. He is profiled in “The Big Short,” a book by Michael Lewis about the mortgage crisis, which was made into a movie starring Christian Bale. Burry tweeted Thursday: The Fed has no intention of fighting inflation. Serial half-point hikes are for getting elevation before stocks and the consumer tap out. “Same with rapid-fire QT [quantitative tightening]. The

PRESS RELEASE. As the complexity of current dApps (decentralized applications) on Algorand grows, so must the infrastructure, notably oracles, to enable significantly higher and better feature sets. In the Algorand ecosystem, Algoracle’s opinions on off-chain computing are therefore worth discussing in key detail. What is it exactly? Since smart contracts are unable to access external data on their own , all Web 3.0 technology is built on the foundation of the most crucial of blockchain middleware, oracles. The current generation of decentralized oracle networks therefore seeks to connect real-world, off-chain data to blockchains. As the complexity of contemporary dApps grows however, oracles must also mature and expand to accommodate significantly higher and deeper feature sets as aforementioned. The next major frontier in oracle development is indeed off-chain computing, which essentially allows oracles to handle significantly more advanced programming logic as well as data a

An announcement by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism appeared to fulfill incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol’s pledge to bolster the metaverse ecosystem after saying it will adopt a non-fungible token (NFT) copyright policy. Supporting the Metaverse Ecosystem The South Korean government appeared to fulfill president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s campaign pledge after the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on April 12 that it will adopt an NFT copyright policy. This copyright policy is expected to help South Korea deal with the scourge of fake NFTs as well as to support the metaverse ecosystem. According to a report by Ajunews, Yoon Suk-yeol had during his election campaign promised to “nurture a new concept digital asset market through NFT activation.” In addition, the incoming president had said he would revitalize the token economy once he was elected. Indeed, following the April 12 announcement, South Korea’s government — via the Ministry of Culture, Sp

Currency.com, a crypto exchange founded and initially licensed in Belarus, has suspended operations for Russian clients. The restrictive measure comes in response to Russia’s assault on Ukraine, the platform said, noting that customers in other jurisdictions will not be affected. Currency.com Exchange Denounces ‘Terrible War’ in Ukraine, Denies Services to Russian Traders Crypto trading platform Currency.com has announced its decision to halt operations for residents of the Russian Federation over Moscow’s military aggression against neighboring Ukraine. The move comes after, earlier, the Belarus-born exchange stopped opening new accounts for Russian users. 📢 https://t.co/utaDc9wnIa halts operations for residents of the Russian Federation (Russia). Clients from other countries and regions will not be impacted by this decision. Learn more: https://t.co/PxQRpgjsGa pic.twitter.com/uhsQJvgp6O — Currency.com (@CurrencyCom) April 12, 2022 In a statement released by the platform

Ripio, an Argentinian cryptocurrency exchange, has announced concrete actions regarding its expansion to Colombia. The company will offer a new option for cryptocurrency users and traders in Colombia, and will also offer a financial education proposal that is yet to be revealed. This launch will crystallize in the following two months with the opening of an office in the country. Ripio to Officially Launch in Colombia The Argentinian exchange Ripio has offered more details when it comes to its expansion in Colombia. The company has declared it will offer a new proposal for Colombian traders and cryptocurrency users focused on other services like its digital wallet. The exchange, which raised $50 million last year in its Series B funding round led by DCG, told Criptonoticias it is planning to open an office in Bogota in less than two months, with the objective of offering a yet unannounced financial education proposal. On this new expansion plan, and what they offer Colombians, Ri

A number of cryptocurrency exchanges in India are disabling rupee deposits, particularly payments using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system. This followed a statement issued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) regarding the usage of the UPI system by crypto exchanges. Indian Exchanges Stop Offering Major Payment Options Options to deposit Indian rupees at cryptocurrency exchanges are dwindling. A growing number of cryptocurrency exchanges have disabled INR deposits using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system, which is the most widely used retail payment method. Crypto exchange Wazirx is not offering UPI support. The exchange tweeted Wednesday, “Currently, UPI is not available.” Coindcx is also not supporting payments by UPI, saying on Twitter Monday, “UPI is temporarily unavailable.” Coinswitch Kuber went even further and reportedly suspended all INR deposit services Wednesday, including UPI and bank transfers via NEFT, RTGS, and IMPS. Coinswitch is

Mastercard has filed 15 trademark applications covering a wide range of services relating to the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). “We are continually looking for opportunities to deliver new and unique experiences to our customers and cardholders,” Mastercard said. Mastercard’s NFT, Metaverse Trademark Applications Payments giant Mastercard filed 15 trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last week covering a wide range of products and services relating to non-fungible tokens and the metaverse. A USPTO-licensed trademark attorney, Mike Kondoudis, noted that the trademark applications are for Mastercard, Priceless, and Mastercard’s circles logo. Priceless is a Mastercard campaign that provides cardholders with everyday discounts. The trademark applications indicate Mastercard’s plans for a wide range of NFT projects, such as NFT-authenticated downloadable music files and marketplaces for digital goods and NFT-backed media. They a

On Wednesday, the firm Blockchain.com announced it inked a deal with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys as the team’s “exclusive digital asset partner.” The deal will bring Blockchain.com a great deal of exposure in terms of television, signage, and radio and the digital currency company will also have its own club space inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Blockchain.com Becomes the ‘Exclusive Digital Asset Partner’ for the Dallas Cowboys Blockchain.com is joining a large swathe of digital asset companies targeting sports as the firm that was founded in 2011 is now partnering with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. According to reports from Dallas, Blockchain.com will become the team’s “exclusive digital asset partner.” Blockchain.com follows a number of crypto companies entering the sports industry like FTX and Crypto.com. The company founded by Peter Smith, Nicolas Cary, Antony Jenkins, and Jim Messina will enjoy a number of sponsorship opportunities like advertising and branding. Blockc

Following the controversial bank bailouts and Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in 2008, reports show in late 2019 and 2020, the U.S. Federal Reserve participated in providing trillions of dollars in secret repo loans to megabanks. At the end of March, investigative journalists, Pam and Russ Martens from Wall Street on Parade, uncovered $3.84 trillion in stealth repo loans from the Fed to the French financial institution, BNP Paribas in Q1 2020. Additional data indicates that the U.S. central bank leveraged secret repo loans to provide a whopping $48 trillion to megabanks in late 2019 and into 2020. Reports Show the Fed Funneled Tens of Trillions to Megabanks in 2019 and 2020 While Wall Street eagerly awaits the Federal Reserve’s next benchmark rate hike decision, a number of investigative reports show the U.S. central bank participated in massive bank bailouts that are of biblical proportions. The first report stems from Wall Street on Parade’s Pam and Russ Martens, which accus

PRESS RELEASE. The global cryptocurrency market is experiencing an unprecedented boom. The market is at $2 trillion dollars and growing. MappedSwap is launching a promotional campaign from April 13th – May 12th. During that period they plan to give more than 800,000 MST in total as well as provide referral and staking rebates in MST to users. MappedSwap also has plans to lower the barrier to entry for new users and referrers to earn MST during this campaign period while attracting users to leverage 10x margin trading function to boost trading and earning possibilities. Participants will also hope to cast a larger net through referrals, by sharing their very own referral code to their audiences to improve individual earnings. Making an entrance into this market is MappedSwap Protocol, a decentralized, on-chain cross-margin trading swap exchange built on Eurus Blockchain, a layer-one, decentralized and secure inter-transfer network based on Ethereum side-chain. To put this growth in

Terra Bridge, the cross-chain bridge protocol now supports Solana, Fantom, Moonbeam, Osmosis, and Avalanche according to Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon. “Easiest way to move funds in crypto,” the Terraform Labs CEO explained in a tweet. Terra Bridge Adds 5 New Chains On April 12, 2022, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon told his 352,800 Twitter followers that Terra Bridge, otherwise known as bridge.terra.money , now supports five new blockchain networks. Cross-chain bridge technology has come a long way over the last 12 months and in mid-September 2021, there was over $7 billion total value locked (TVL) across several bridges to Ethereum. Today, cross-chain bridges to ethereum hold $19.51 billion in value across over a dozen blockchain networks. “Bridge.terra.money now supports Avalanche, Solana, Osmosis, Fantom, and Moonbeam Network. The easiest way to move funds in crypto,” Do Kwon said on Tuesday. The Terraform Labs co-founder also shared a screenshot of the protocol in actio

Blackrock, Fidelity, Marshall Wace, and Fin Capital are investing in crypto firm Circle. In addition, Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, has entered into a broader strategic partnership with the crypto firm. Blackrock, Fidelity, Marshall Wace, Fin Capital to Invest in Circle Circle Internet Financial announced Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement for a $400 million funding round with investments from Blackrock Inc., Fidelity Management and Research, Marshall Wace LLP, and Fin Capital. Circle is the issuer of USD Coin (USDC). The stablecoin USDC has a market cap of about $51 billion and market dominance of about 2.58% at the time of writing, based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. Expanding on its partnership with Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, Circle detailed: In addition to its corporate strategic investment and role as a primary asset manager of USDC cash reserves, Blackrock has entered into a broader strategic partnership with Circle, which

An Ethereum developer, Virgil Griffith, has been sentenced to five years and three months in U.S. prison after he pleaded guilty to a charge brought on by speaking at a crypto conference in North Korea. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), his presentation provided the Kim Jong Un regime with “technical advice on using cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to evade sanctions.” Ethereum Developer Virgil Griffith Going to Prison for Violating North Korean Sanctions Virgil Griffith, an Ethereum developer, was sentenced to 63 months in prison Tuesday by U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel in Manhattan. Griffith pleaded guilty in September last year to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The charge carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. However, in a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to seek no more than six and a half years. The Ethereum developer was arrested in November 2019 in Los Angeles. He is charged wi

With the rapid technological advancements, digitalization has witnessed a golden age in the past few years. Concepts we never even heard of are now becoming mainstream. One such example is NFT domains, rising as new web extensions. Quik.com is launching NFT domain names like .doge, .shib, .metaverse, .blockchain, .bored and .vr that are linked to the blockchain via smart contracts. The main characteristic of NFT domains that differentiates them from traditional domains is their decentralized nature. Traditionally, when we purchase a domain name, we are merely renting it for a certain period controlled by centralized servers. However, decentralized domains allow us to maintain self-custody and completely control our assets. NFT domains, like any other cryptocurrency, are verified on the blockchain and stored in a digital wallet. These domains, in addition, offer advantages like the ability to support decentralized internet portals, offer full ownership control of domain managemen

Hacktivist collective Anonymous claims it has already published millions of leaked Russian emails. The group has been waging a cyberwar on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, carrying out attacks on government institutions, state-run television channels, and the central bank. Russia’s Culture Ministry Becomes Latest Target of Anonymous Anonymous has released well over two million emails obtained in cyberattacks on Russian organizations, the decentralized hacking group announced through social media. “This is just the beginning,” read a message posted on Twitter by the affiliated Anonymous TV account this past Sunday. #OpRussia : Since declaring ‘cyber war’ on Kremlin’s criminal regime, #Anonymous has released over 2 million Russian emails via #DDoSecrets and this is just the beginning. In the coming days #Anonymous collective will release other data related to Russian entities. #FreeUkraine pic.twitter.com/f1povI6uF1 — Anonymous TV 🇺🇦 (@YourAnonTV) April 10, 2022 In th

Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency exchange, and Tether, issuer of USDT , the largest stablecoin by market cap, have partnered to launch a cryptocurrency fund to support Salvadoran families affected by gang violence. The two companies have donated 25 BTC to start the initiative, and expect many more will join. The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, declared a state of emergency two weeks ago. Bitfinex and Tether Bootstrap Charity Campaign for Salvadoran Families Bitfinex and Tether are worried about the destiny of the Salvadoran people. The two companies have recently announced a crypto fund directed to help Salvadoran families affected by the violence happening in the country. This has been caused by the exacerbation of gang violence that started two weeks ago, when on March 26 more than 60 Salvadorans died as a consequence of gang violence. The two companies have already bootstrapped the aforementioned fund with 25 BTC , almost $1 million at the time of the donation, and expect ma

The Bank of Ghana has warned businesses and the public against the practice of demanding or making payments in foreign currency without its authorization. The central bank’s warning comes just over a month after Ghana’s currency was rated the worst performing among Africa’s top currencies. Violators Face Possible Prison Time The Ghanaian central bank has reminded the public that the practice of receiving or making payments for goods and services in foreign currency without its express authorization is still prohibited. The bank also similarly warned businesses against “engaging in foreign exchange business without a license issued by the Bank of Ghana.” In a statement, the Bank of Ghana (BOG) said those caught on the wrong side of regulations face hefty fines. Alternatively, those in violation of the respective regulations face “a term of imprisonment of not more than eighteen (18) months or both.” Citizens Urged to Report Violations According to the BOG, only the local currenc

Epic Games, the game developing studio, and Lego, the famous construction block company, have announced a partnership to develop a metaverse designed for kids. This metaverse world aims to allow kids of all ages to become builders and design their own experiences while protecting their right to play by putting online safety as one of its main objectives. Epic Games and Lego to Launch Joint Metaverse Epic Games, the developer behind Fortnite, and Lego, the famous toy building block company, have inked a partnership to produce a joint metaverse. The metaverse initiative will be designed from the ground up to be suitable for kids of all ages who, according to the press release issued on the Epic Games website, will be able to create their own experiences. The press release detailed: The family-friendly digital experience will give kids access to tools that will empower them to become confident creators and deliver amazing play opportunities in a safe and positive space. Neither o