Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

A bitcoin ATM operator has been sent to federal prison for two years for running an illegal cryptocurrency exchange operation. U.S. authorities have seized 17 bitcoin ATMs, along with some cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. Illegal Bitcoin ATM Operator Sent to Prison The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that a California man, Kais Mohammad, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison “for operating illegal ATM network that laundered bitcoin and cash for criminals.” The Justice Department said that the 37-year-old operated an illegal crypto business “that exchanged up to $25 million,” some of which were “on behalf of criminals through in-person transactions and a network of bitcoin ATM-type kiosks.” The Yorba Linda resident pleaded guilty in September last year to “a three-count criminal information charging him with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, money laundering, and failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program,” th

The lynchpin of Inksnation, one of Nigeria’s biggest crypto Ponzi Schemes, Omotade-Sparks Amos Sewanu, has been captured. According to Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Sewanu, who was on the run, was nabbed in Sokoto, a city located in the northwest part of the country. Still, in its May 28 Twitter statement, the EFCC said it would provide details on Sewanu’s capture later. End of the Run The capture of the Inksnation creator comes a few months after the EFCC’s publication of a notice that asked for the Nigerian public’s help in locating him. At the time of the notice’s release, EFCC said it placed Sewanu on its wanted list for various offences which included “name dropping and fraud.” However, in addition to these charges, the anti-graft body also said Sewanu was wanted for his involvement in the creation as well as the distribution of the Pinkcoin, an elaborate Ponzi that is packaged as a cryptocurrency. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Sewa

Australia’s revenue service has reminded a growing number of crypto investors about their tax obligations. Rejecting the common misconception that crypto gains are only taxable when coins are cashed back into dollars, the tax office is going to prompt hundreds of thousands of taxpayers to report profits and losses from their cryptocurrency transactions. Tax Office Targets Australians With Crypto-Related Obligations Concerned about crypto investors evading taxes, the Australian Taxation Office ( ATO ) has set out to debunk the myth that cryptocurrency gains are only taxable when digital assets are converted into fiat money. People often think the digital coins are currencies but in reality, they are classified as assets, and gains from cryptocurrency trades are like gains from other investments, the tax authority explained. ATO has estimated that 600,000 Australians have invested in cryptocurrency recently amid the surging popularity of crypto trading and rising market prices. The a

The biggest Spanish asset managers are still not convinced of cryptocurrencies as an asset class, and therefore have no plans to invest in the space yet. The declarations of several spokespeople linked to these companies state that, while there is a significant opportunity in the nascent cryptocurrency sector, it is still too young and volatile to put significant investments behind it. Spanish Asset Managers Still Skeptical About Crypto Spain’s largest asset managers are still not convinced crypto is a good investment vehicle, at least for now, according to statements from several key finance officials. While it is permitted for asset managers in Spain to invest in cryptocurrencies, their incipient nature, volatility, and the gray areas of regulation are keeping these big funds away from them. Caixabank AM’s investment strategy director, Santiago Rubio, has declared they won’t touch cryptocurrencies. Caixabank AM is one of the largest asset managers in Spain, having more than 70 m

A new survey has established that one in four Australians would like to receive at least part of their salary in cryptocurrency. While the motives vary between the members of this diverse group, the results indicate that the Australian nation’s overall interest in decentralized digital money remains strong. 4.7 Million Australians Would Accept Bitcoin Remuneration The poll has been conducted among 1,000 Australian residents by the comparison website Finder . The company is actually among the first in the country to offer employees the option to take a portion of their remuneration in cryptocurrency. The platform has now found that 24% of Australians, or around 4.7 million, are ready to accept bitcoin ( BTC ) as part of their salaries. Of those who would be willing to be paid in BTC , Finder pointed out, 14% have said so because they are convinced it is going up in value, while another 10% admitted a bitcoin payment would help them to invest in digital currency before tax. Taylor

A decision by a prominent religious body in Ingushetia to prohibit dealings with cryptocurrency has sparked controversy in the predominantly Muslim Russian republic. Critics have taken to social media to express their disagreements with the ban, pointing out that the treatment of bitcoin in Islamic jurisdictions is not one-sided. Islamic Cleric Explains Reasoning Behind Crypto Prohibition At a meeting in mid-April, the Ingush Council of Alims adopted a ban on the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies by Muslims in the country. The Islamic clergymen said at the time that they took the decision after studying Islamic sources and reaching a conclusion that the religion prohibits the trading of electronic money. Deputy Chief Mufti Magomed Hashtyrov has since been compelled to explain the council’s position. This week, he told the local newspaper Ingushetia that cryptocurrencies, as a means of payment, have no physical representation and their exchange differs from the trading of goods

Globant, one of the big four tech firms in Argentina, has quietly made its first foray into the world of cryptocurrency investing, according to its latest filing to the SEC. The firm bought bitcoin during the first three months of this year, and is now part of a select number of LATAM unicorns that have taken the approach of putting some of its value in crypto assets. Globant Invests in Cryptocurrency Globant, a software tech giant unicorn based in Argentina, has joined a select group of companies that are currently invested in cryptocurrencies, according to its latest filing to the SEC. The company, founded in 2003, reported the purchase of $500,000 in bitcoin ( BTC ) during the first quarter of 2021 (Q1). A small sum for a company with a valuation of more than $6.5 billion and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Globant listed the bitcoin company as part of its intangible assets, saying bitcoin is: A cryptocurrency that is considered to be an indefinite-lived intangi

Ripple could go public after the SEC lawsuit is resolved, according to CEO Brad Garlinghouse. He reportedly explained that the likelihood of this happening is “very high at some point.” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse was asked at the Consensus 2021 conference on Wednesday whether Ripple will become a public company. He replied that the likelihood is “very high at some point.” Garlinghouse stressed that any initial public offering (IPO) plans would have to wait until Ripple resolves its lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He further pointed out that the securities regulator will be the one approving Ripple’s public offering after all. This was not the first time the media has reported about Ripple potentially going public. On an earnings call last month, the CEO of one of Ripple’s largest outside shareholders, SBI Holdings, said that Ripple planned to go public after the lawsuit was resolved. SBI’s CEO, Yoshitaka Kitao, reportedly said : “After the cur

The CEO of Ark Investment Management (Ark Invest), Cathie Wood, says regulators cannot shut down bitcoin. She added that they will become more friendly towards cryptocurrencies over time. Wood is not the only one who thinks that governments cannot shut down bitcoin. Regulators Cannot Shut Down Bitcoin, Says Ark’s CEO Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood shared her view on bitcoin, its regulation, and environmental impact at the Consensus 2021 conference Thursday. The CEO said that bitcoin is “already on its way and it’ll be impossible to shut it down.” She added that regulators “will be a little more friendly over time” towards cryptocurrencies due to a fear of missing out (FOMO) on the innovation coming from the crypto sector. Wood also commented on bitcoin’s environmental impact, stating that “Half of the solution is understanding the problem.” She described: “This auditing of what miners, certainly in North America, are willing to do around how much of their electricity usage is generate

Another Binance Smart Chain project has been hit with a flash loan attack according to a post mortem written by the Burgerswap team. The project’s official Twitter account said at around 3 a.m. on Friday, Burgerswap suffered from a flash loan attack with the hackers stealing $7.2 million in funds. Binance Smart Chain Defi Protocol Burgerswap Drained for $7.2M The Burgerswap project explained on Friday that the project saw $7.2 million in funds drained after a malicious flash loan attack. “At around 3 am on May 28th (UTC+8) Burgerswap on the BSC chain encountered a flash loan attack; $7.2M was stolen from Burgerswap in 14 transactions,” the official Twitter account noted . All we asking for is some time. — BurgerSwap (@burger_swap) May 28, 2021 Burgerswap is a decentralized finance (defi) project that leverages the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Similar to Sushiswap or Uniswap, the Burgerswap protocol allows users to swap between tokens issued on BSC. Users can also add liquid

The infamous whistleblower and privacy activist Edward Snowden commented on bitcoin on Friday, after the Biden administration said this week it was shooting for 6 trillion dollars in stimulus proposals. Following the $6 trillion in stimulus headlines, Snowden commented on the situation and said it was “good for bitcoin.” Edward Snowden Jabs Biden’s 6 Trillion-Dollar Covid Relief Proposal, Says It’s ‘Good for Bitcoin’ The 37-year old former computer intelligence consultant for the National Security Agency (NSA) and contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Edward Snowden, has once again commented on the leading digital asset bitcoin. Snowden’s statement on Twitter follows the last few days of reports discussing the Biden administration’s $6 trillion stimulus proposals to “build back a better” America. “Six trillion dollars? This is good for Bitcoin,” the whistleblower Edward Snowden said on Friday. The tweet already has 36,000 likes and has been retweeted more than 6

The financial asset manager, Wisdomtree, is now the second institution to file for an ethereum-based exchange-traded fund (ETF), following Vaneck’s recent filing on May 7. The recently filed S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says the fund’s “investment objective is to gain exposure to the price of ether.” Wisdomtree Follows Vaneck’s Lead and Files for an Ethereum-Based ETF On Thursday, Wisdomtree revealed it wants to list an ether-based ETF on Cboe BZX Exchange, according to the firm’s latest S-1 filing . The SEC must approve the ETF and if the regulator does, investors can purchase Wisdomtree’s ether trust shares via regulated brokerage services. The prospectus describes ether as “a digital asset that is not issued by any government, bank or central organization, and is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization behind bitcoin.” The WisdomTree Ethereum Trust is a Delaware statutory trust, invoked on March 8, 2021. The Wisdomtree ETH-based E

The American chain of convenience stores and coffee shops, Sheetz, announced on Thursday that the firm would be accepting digital currencies like bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin for payments. The major Mid-Atlantic chain’s executive payments manager says accepting crypto-asset acceptance bolsters Sheetz’s mission to provide customers with the “ultimate one-stop-shop.” Convenience Store Chain Sheetz Adds Digital Currency Payments, Fuel Pump Crypto Payments to Roll out This Summer On May 27, Sheetz revealed the company will be accepting crypto payments via the digital payments network Flexa. The company, headquartered in Altoona, Pennsylvania, operates 622 convenience stores and coffee shops in Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland. Sheetz has locations in a number of states in the U.S. and was founded by G. Robert “Bob” Sheetz in 1952. Bob and and his brother Steve Sheetz had opened 100 stores by 1983 and today the chain has 622 stores. Sheetz n

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has urged Congress to pass cryptocurrency legislation to protect investors, the new SEC chairman has revealed. The securities regulator is also working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Treasury Department to combat criminal activity facilitated by cryptocurrencies, the chairman noted. SEC Working With CFTC, Treasury on Crypto Regulation, Urges Congress to Pass Legislation The new chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has asked Congress to take action regarding cryptocurrency legislation, he told the House Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday. Gensler explained to the subcommittee that there were “gaps” in the regulation of cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin and ether. Noting that there are “thousands” of cryptocurrencies in existence right now and many of them are operating as unregistered securities, he emphasized : We’ve only been able to bring 75 actions an

Apple Inc. has posted a job notice for a business development manager with cryptocurrency experience. “This position will be responsible for the end-to-end business development, including screening partners, negotiating and closing commercial agreements, and launching new programs,” the job posting describes. Apple to Hire Manager With Crypto Experience to Lead Its Alternative Payments Efforts Apple Inc. posted a job notice on Tuesday for a “business development manager – alternative payments.” The job posting states that “The Apple Wallets, Payments, and Commerce (WPC) team is seeking an experienced Business Development Manager to lead Alternative Payments Partnerships. We are looking for a proven professional in global alternative and emerging payment solutions.” It further details: This position will be responsible for the end to end business development, including screening partners, negotiating and closing commercial agreements and launching new programs. Among the key qua

Following the recent developments in China and the environmental concerns about bitcoin’s energy consumption, the Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda criticized the leading crypto asset bitcoin in an interview on Thursday. BOJ’s Kuroda Says Bitcoin ‘Volatility Is Extraordinarily High’ Bitcoin prices have slumped again on Friday after a tumultuous week. After tapping a daily high on Thursday at $40,125 per unit, bitcoin (BTC) dropped to a low of $35,146 losing more than 12% in value. Since then, however, BTC has managed to regain some losses and climb back above the $36k handle . While addressing inflation and climate change concerns, the Bank of Japan’s Governor Haruhiko Kuroda blasted bitcoin for being speculative and volatile. The BoJ Governor also said that bitcoin was not used for payments. According to Bloomberg, some of the recent sell-off during the early Friday morning hours (ET), may have been due to comments stemming from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko