Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The crypto financial services provider Blockchain.com revealed on Wednesday that the company has raised $300 million in a financing round. Blockchain.com’s latest funding round follows the $120 million raise the company obtained last month. Blockchain.com Is Now Valued at $5.2 Billion On March 24, Blockchain.com CEO Peter Smith announced that the company was pleased to announce a new Series C financing round. The company has raised $300 million from investors and Blockchain.com’s post-money valuation has increased to $5.2 billion. Smith detailed on Wednesday that the funding stemmed from partners such as VY Capital, Yuri Milner’s DST Global, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Smith said during the last year, the firm has seen colossal growth and now has 31 million verified users in 200 countries leveraging Blockchain.com services. “We’ve seen a 3x increase in active users over the past 12 months alone,” Smith detailed during the announcement. Smith said that the new financing round

On March 19, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published draft guidance on the risk-based approach to virtual assets. The newly updated guidance now applies anti-money laundering and know-your-customer rules to stablecoins, decentralized finance (defi), and non-fungible token (NFT) assets. FATF Defines Decentralized Exchanges and Defi as a Virtual Asset Service Providers For a while now, cryptocurrency proponents have said that one day, global regulators would likely target decentralized finance (defi) and the latest non-fungible token (NFT) hype. For a while now, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has been trying to come up with a regulatory standard for cryptocurrencies businesses called a “virtual asset service provider” (VASP). Things like the FATF’s Travel Rule have always been controversial, but regulators from a number of countries have been adopting the organization’s guidance. Recently Gibraltar updated its guidance notes to align with the FATF rules and South Afri

PRESS RELEASE. Unmarshal is proud to announce that the seed and private sale funding rounds have been successfully closed with strong investment support from Industry bigwigs. A total of $2.6m was raised in the seed and private rounds. With the fresh capital introduced, Unmarshal will focus on building an advanced network of Data Indexers that can cater to the entire DeFi Ecosystem. Unmarshal is a Multi-chain DeFi Data Network that facilitates seamless access to data on blockchains for any kind of decentralized applications. So far, they have added support for Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Elrond, PolkaDot, and Substrate-based projects such as StaFi and with Polygon, they are diving into the Layer-2 networks and empowering dApp developers to have easy access to on-chain data. The investors have a strong trust in the team and they believe that Unmarshal will be a game changer in the space that can build a strong and vibrant Web3 . Some of the well known top investors and like minds

After setting a new all-time high (ATH) of $61,699 on March 13, bitcoin dropped to $53,300 on March 23, a decline of more than 14% in just ten days. However, following this latest drop, onchain analyst Willy Woo speculates that another institutional investor could be buying the dip. Strong Hands Accumulating In his tweet on March 23, Woo uses two charts to support his assertion, that the large volumes of coins that are being removed from exchanges, are in fact flowing to ” strong hands with minimal history of selling.” However, it is the involvement of Coinbase, which has facilitated large BTC acquisitions by U.S. entities in past, that has convinced Woo that a yet-to-be-announced institution is currently buying. Consequently, in his warning to holders currently selling, Woo tweeted: Anyone selling right now is cray-cray. Seriously strong long term holders are buying this dip. However, some Twitter users reacting to Woo’s post like Twitter user “Phive26,” are unconvinced wit

Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, has started accepting bitcoin payments. Musk, whose title is now Technoking of Tesla, also confirmed that all “Bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency.” Tesla Now Accepts Bitcoin Tesla has begun accepting bitcoin payments. Elon Musk, who recently changed his title from the CEO of Tesla to the Technoking of Tesla , announced via Twitter Wednesday morning, “You can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin.” The bitcoin payment option has also been added to the Tesla website along with a page explaining how to pay with the cryptocurrency. Musk further tweeted that the “pay by bitcoin capability” will be available outside the U.S. “later this year.” In addition, the Tesla technoking confirmed, “Bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency,” noting that his company “is using only internal & open source software & operates bitcoin notes directly.” A page about paying with

In-person crypto robberies are becoming a global issue lately for the authorities, and this time, Argentina is the place of the latest case reported. In Mendoza, an unnamed man was assaulted by two criminals who posed as bitcoin buyers. Identities of the Robbers Are Still Unknown According to Mendo Voz , the 26-years-old man, identified by his initials as F.T., agreed to meet with the two robbers at 7:30 pm local time via telephone in a street corner of the Guaymallén neighborhood. In a first instance, F.T. believed the two criminals were legit bitcoin (BTC) buyers who wished to buy his cryptos in exchange for Argentinean pesos. There are no reports on how many exact bitcoins the men agreed to acquire. However, the situation became suspicious, as the alleged BTC buyers never arrived. Afterward, two robbers appeared on the scene by threatening him with a firearm. Per the local newspaper Los Andes , the individuals are suspected to be the same people who posed as crypto buyers.

PRESS RELEASE. The Special Token Sale of TimeCoin (TMCN) was launched on February 15th, 2021, with a 93% discount on the token’s current market value. The token was launched on November 11th, 2020 on BitForex as an IEO, at an initial price of $0.7. After the launch, the price rose to $11, and it has continued to rise. TMCN’s price hit a record high of $8,500 on February 18th, 2021 and that price was more than 12,142 times the initial price. Also, TimeCoin is listed on BitMart on March 24th, 2021 and will be listed on other exchanges near the future. The project, the TimeCoinProtocol , was initially financed by a few investors who invested around $4 million, and only a very limited number of tokens were placed on the market. Now with the Special Token Sale, the tokens will be sold on the OTC market. The project bought back most of the tokens available on the market so as not to increase the selling pressure. The tokens will also be made available for trading on other crypto

On March 23, the creator of the blog platform read.cash and the social media application noise.cash revealed a new project called tipb.ch. The application allows anyone to create a customizable short address that can be used for tips rather than having to share a long BCH address on social media platforms. Platform Tipb.ch Allows You to Share a Short URL Rather Than a Long Bitcoin Cash Address The founder of the blogging platform read.cash announced a new project on Reddit this Tuesday revealing a service called tipb.ch ( https://tipb.ch ). The Reddit post led to another post on the social media application noise.cash which described what tipb.ch does. Essentially, the program allows anyone to create a short URL and tether it to a public bitcoin cash ( BCH ) address. This way, instead of having to share a long BCH to others on social media, the person can create a short address to post on Instagram, Twitter, Noise.cash, Facebook, or Read.cash. Rather than leveraging a long BC

Privacy has been a discussion that has not gone unnoticed when it comes to the forthcoming launch of the digital yuan. The head of the People’s Bank of China-run Digital Currency Research Institute had firmly pointed out that anonymity cannot be guaranteed at all. Feature Seeks to Avoid Tax Evasion and Finance Terrorism During an interview with the Securities Times , Ma Changchun told the 2021 China Development Forum that a fully anonymous central bank digital currency (CBDC) is impossible. The reason, said the official, is that the government needs to make it compliant with the anti-money laundering (AML), know-your-customer (KYC), and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) measures. Per the official, such transactions should also be scrutinized to avoid tax evasion schemes through the upcoming Chinese CBDC, developed by the PBoC. However, Ma clarified that there would be a “controllable anonymization” technology implemented in the digital yuan. Although he didn’t explain in-depth t

Samuel Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange is reportedly one vote away from winning a naming-rights deal for the arena of the NBA’s Miami Heat. The deal, which is believed to be worth $135 million, is set to be approved on March 26 by the Miami-Dade County Commission. Miami-Dade to Get $5 Million a Year According to a report , as part of this agreement, the venue, which has been known as the “American Airlines Arena” for two decades, will be renamed the “FTX Arena.” In return, Miami-Dade, which controls the naming rights for the building, will receive “an undisclosed amount of yearly payments from FTX.” However, as part of the deal, Miami-Dade is expected to “pay the (Miami) Heat $2 million a year under an option the county exercised in 2018 to find the arena’s next sponsor.” While officials have not yet disclosed the net revenue to accrue to Miami-Dade, journalist Joe Pompliano tweeted the city will realize a net gain of $5 million from the deal. FTX Going Mainstream Mea

On Tuesday, the firm Hut 8 Mining Corp., announced that it is joining the Foundry U.S.-based bitcoin mining pool. The publicly-listed mining company said that it added 14,400 machines to Foundry’s mining operation and it also plans to deploy another 5,000 miners by August. Hut 8 Joins Foundry’s US Pool and Adds 14,400 Bitcoin Mining Rigs With Close to an Exahash of Hashpower The Toronto-based company Hut 8 (TSX: HUT) has revealed the firm is joining the U.S. mining pool invoked by the firm Foundry Digital LLC. Foundry is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG) and the firm is dedicated to cryptocurrency mining and staking services. The announcement explains that Hut 8 is now mining on the Foundry USA Pool and a fraction of the Hut 8 fleet of miners are being deployed to Foundry’s pool. Around 0.81 exahashes of hashpower or 14,400 bitcoin mining rigs will be added. “We are focused on growing shareholder value, in every decision we make,” said Jaime Leverton, CEO

PRESS RELEASE. BitMax.io, a leading crypto and digital asset trading platform serving professional and retail traders, has announced that it has relaunched as AscendEx in the English-speaking world, and “Dingfeng” to Chinese speakers. Originally launched in 2018, the trading venue has experienced three years of steady growth and adoption of its native BTMX Token. This new brand identity is meant to evoke the uplifting power of crypto assets, and the overall growth the industry has seen over the past couple years. “This new brand name is inspired by the rapid rise of both our industry, and that of the many people taking part in it,” said AscendEx CEO George Cao. “So many have benefitted from increasing valuation of Bitcoin, DeFi and other tokens through newfound access to financial services where there previously were none, or have even been able to accumulate significant wealth – this transformation is unprecedented in our lifetimes.” The color scheme of the new logo uses a primary

On Tuesday, March 23, the infamous whale that’s been spending numerous strings of 2010 block rewards since last year, has spent another 1,000 bitcoin that sat idle for over a decade. The string of 20 block rewards transferred on Tuesday, follows the exact same patterns our newsdesk has tracked since March 12, 2020, otherwise known as ‘Black Thursday.’ Mystery Whale Spends Another 20 Block Rewards from 2010 On February 28, 2021, the mysterious whale who has been spending a great number of 2010 block rewards for roughly a year, had once again spent another 20 blocks. 23 days later, on March 23, 2021, the pattern repeated, as another 20 block rewards from 2010 were transferred today. Since Bitcoin.com’s newsdesk started investigating this old school whale on March 12, 2020, to-date the entity has spent 10,000 BTC worth over $550 million using today’s BTC exchange rates. Bitcoin.com’s newsdesk caught the mystery whale again on March 23, 2021, with the help from researchers at Btcpar

Mad Money host Jim Cramer, a long-term gold proponent, says that gold has let him down. He has become more bullish on bitcoin, advising investors to put 5% of their portfolios in the cryptocurrency to protect their assets. Jim Cramer Reduces Gold Holdings, Increases Bitcoin Allocation In an interview published Monday with Morgan Creek Digital partner Anthony Pompliano, Jim Cramer talked about his new investment strategy for bitcoin and gold. Cramer is the host of Mad Money on CNBC, a former hedge fund manager, and a co-founder of Thestreet.com, a financial news and literacy website. Emphasizing that bitcoin is what he had been searching for with gold, Cramer opined: I have, for years, said that you should have gold … but gold let me down. Gold is subject to too many vicissitudes. It’s subject to mining issues. It’s frankly subject to failing in many cases. The Mad Money host became interested in bitcoin after Pompliano explained the benefits of the cryptocurrency to him in Sep

The American news magazine Time has revealed it is getting into the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, as a new job listing shows the 98-year-old publication is in search of a chief financial officer (CFO) who understands bitcoin. Additionally, Time will be selling non-fungible token (NFT) assets via Superrare and in 30 days, the news outlet will be accepting crypto assets for digital subscription payments. American News Company Time Is Looking for a CFO That Understands Bitcoin A job listing posted to Linkedin shows that Time magazine, the American publishing company, plans to hire a new CFO who understands bitcoin and blockchain technology. “The media industry is undergoing a rapid evolution,” the job advert notes. “Time is seeking a Chief Financial Officer who can help guide its transformation.” The job offer also states that the interested party must have “comfort with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies” according to the listing’s qualifications section. Additionally, the individ

As the Indian government prepares to introduce the cryptocurrency bill, there are reports that it is considering blocking the IP addresses of cryptocurrency exchanges. Despite ban reports, many people in the Indian crypto community believe that the government will not impose an outright ban on cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. Blocking IP Addresses of Crypto Trading Platforms The Indian government is reportedly “considering the blocking of internet protocol (IP) addresses of companies/exchanges on which trading in cryptocurrencies is happening,” Business Standard publication reported Monday, citing an unnamed “source in the know.” This measure, if implemented, will be part of the government’s efforts to impose a ban on cryptocurrencies. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently said that the cabinet note regarding cryptocurrency legislation is being finalized and will be soon submitted to the cabinet. A bill entitled “The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Dig

The NFT sector continues to grow, and it is no surprise that Dvision Network is looking to release NFTs. The Virtual Reality blockchain platform offers users the opportunity to purchase virtual space within its ecosystem, and NFTs are a significant part of this. Limited-Edition NFT Characters Dvision Network , a virtual reality blockchain ecosystem, has announced that it is set to pre-release the designs of five limited-edition NFTs. This information was revealed on March 15 and signaled the first major foray into the Non-fungible tokens sector by Dvision Network. According to the report, the five designs are from the limited-edition NFT originally scheduled to be available before the end of March. The NFT characters are built based on the avatar of major stakeholders within the cryptocurrency industry and will be auctioned in the coming days on NFT Marketplace OpenSea . The NFTs released by Dvision Network are unique and scarce since they are obtained from the limited edition