Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Social media users have slammed China’s reported use of military tanks to intimidate bank customers protesting against the freezing of their savings. Some users claimed the deployment of military tanks exposes the country’s underlying economic problems. Crypto proponents see the issue as a vindication of their long-standing argument. Savings Now Investment Products Some social media users have derided Chinese authorities’ reported decision to deploy tanks around the central bank’s offices in Henan where bank customers have been protesting against the freezing of their savings. The deployment of tanks follows reports the central bank in Henan Province told the protesting clients that their savings were now investment products. This meant affected bank clients could not withdraw their savings. In some of the videos , which have since gone viral on Twitter, military tanks are seen rolling in and around the area said to be the Bank of China’s offices. The deployment of the tanks comes

Xiaomi, one of the biggest mobile phone and tech companies in the world, has introduced a patent that implements blockchain technology for the creation of its own virtual characters. The patent, introduced in China, mentions that the creation of these characters will be randomized thanks to the introduction of a gene sequence, responsible for determining the looks of the character. Xiaomi Introduces Blockchain in Character Generation Patent More and more industries are including blockchain as part of their new products due to its decentralized and immutable traits. Xiaomi, a Chinese company known for its mobile phones and gadgets, has revealed a patent filing that includes blockchain in the process of the generation of its virtual characters. The patent, titled “Virtual Character Processing Method, Device and Storage Medium,” which was introduced in January 2022, was just recently disclosed by the company. In the patent, the company established that their own virtual characters wi

On July 21, 2022, at 2:14 p.m. (ET) at block height 745,920, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty dropped by 5.01% outpacing the last two epoch changes. The latest downward shift makes it 5% easier to find blocks than it was during the past two weeks, and roughly 8.77% easier since June 22. It’s Now 11.39% Easier to Find a Bitcoin Block Since the Difficulty’s All-Time High on May 10 Bitcoin miners caught a break this week as the difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA) adjusted downward for the third week in a row. The network’s difficulty is essentially measured by how difficult it is to find the correct hash for every minted block subsidy. The difficulty epoch is assessed every 2,016 blocks, and if the time it takes to mine those blocks is too fast, difficulty increases, and if it’s too slow, the difficulty decreases. The last difficulty increase took place on June 8, 2022, at block height 739,872, as it rose 1.29% higher than the two weeks prior. During the four weeks before the most recen

A Saudi Arabia-based chemical manufacturer has said its recently launched blockchain pilot is expected to uncover the possibilities of the technology “in supporting end-to-end digital traceability of circular feedstock in customer products.” The benefits expected to accrue from using blockchain include reduced costs and time as well as improved data integration. End-to-End Digital Traceability A Saudi Arabian chemicals manufacturer, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), recently said it had launched a blockchain pilot project in conjunction with the technology firm Finboot. According to the chemicals producer, the objective of the pilot is to “investigate the possibilities of blockchain technology in supporting end-to-end digital traceability of circular feedstock [raw materials] in customer products.” In a press statement, SABIC said the current process of tracing the journey of feedstock is made difficult by the complex petrochemical value chain. Therefore, through the pilo

The company that owns Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank has postponed a deal to acquire a majority stake in Bitkub, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The decision comes amid tightening crypto regulations that limit growth in domestic crypto trading. SCB Postpones Acquisition of Thai Crypto Exchange Bitkub The parent company of Siam Commercial Bank, SCB X, has delayed a 17.85-billion-baht ($487 million) bid to acquire 51% of the largest crypto exchange in Thailand, Bitkub. The bank, which is the kingdom’s oldest lender, postponed the deal indefinitely as Thai regulations continue to inhibit growth of crypto trading, Nikkei Asia reported, quoting the financial group. “We have made it clear in our statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) that the deal is still undergoing due diligence,” an unnamed senior official at the SCB X has been quoted as stating. “We don’t know when the deal will be sealed,” he added. Earlier in July, the company notified the SET that the ma

Crypto exchange Coinbase has confirmed that the company “had no financing exposure” to bankrupt firms, including Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, and Three Arrows Capital (3AC). “The issues here were foreseeable and actually credit-specific, not crypto-specific in nature,” Coinbase stressed. Coinbase: ‘We Have Not Engaged in These Types of Risky Lending Practices’ The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase clarified its approach to cryptocurrency financing in a blog post on Wednesday. The post is authored by Brett Tejpaul, head of Coinbase Institutional, Matt Boyd, head of Prime Finance, and Caroline Tarnok, head of Credit and Market Risk. “Solvency concerns surrounding entities like Celsius, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), Voyager, and other similar counterparties were a reflection of insufficient risk controls, and reports of additional struggling firms are fast becoming stories of bankruptcy, restructuring, and failure,” the Coinbase executives detailed, adding: Notably,

The famous author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has warned that the current inflation may lead to a “Greater Depression.” He added that real estate is crashing and foreclosures are up 700% from last year. Robert Kiyosaki’s Depression Warnings The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, voiced fresh concerns about the U.S. economy Wednesday. Rich Dad Poor Dad is a 1997 book co-authored by Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over six years. More than 32 million copies of the book have been sold in over 51 languages across more than 109 countries. He tweeted: “Warning: Inflation may lead to Greater Depression.” The famous author added that real estate is crashing, foreclosures are up 700% from last year, and layoffs are starting. This was not the first time Kiyosaki has warned about an upcoming Great Depression. “Every 90 years, there is a giant stock market crash followed by depression. 90 years a

A lucky player wins a 3 bitcoin jackpot on a newly released live casino game at Bitcoin.com’s crypto casino. Over 15 Players Make More on Casino Games Than They Would on The Market A Rewarding Month for Casino Players The month of July has turned out to be extremely lucky for those 15 players who decided to play at Bitcoin.com Games instead of holding or making leverage trades on BTC or BCH pairs. Even if we don’t include those who were only barely net positive on their gaming sessions, more than 50 players managed to at least 2x their deposits this month so far. With 10 more days remaining, who knows, many more players could be set for big fortunes landing in their laps. And that’s what an average month looks like for our crypto casino. Players cashing out big winnings that would arguably be beyond what an average trader could make in a whole year. There are many games that have shared jackpots across many casino endpoints, so it’s entirely possible that these pots get bigger

According to Visual Capitalist, Ghana is now placed second on its list of countries with the highest default risk in 2022. Only four countries, namely, Ukraine 10,856 basis points (bps), Argentina (4,470), El Salvador (3,376), and Ethiopia (3,035) have a credit default swap spread that is higher than Ghana’s at 2,071 bps. El Salvador Has Highest Default Risk After seeing inflation surge to over 29% in June, Ghana, West Africa’s second-largest economy, is now ranked as one of the countries most likely to default this year, Visual Capitalist’s latest sovereign debt vulnerability rankings have shown. According to the data, Ghana is now placed second, just behind the Central American state and the first country to make bitcoin legal tender, El Salvador. As shown by data from Visual Capitalist — an online publisher focused on technology and the global economy, among others — Ghana’s five-year credit default swap spread (CDSS) of 2,071 basis points (bps) is one of the highest globally.

German investment platform Trade Republic and digital asset exchange Crypto.com have registered as crypto service providers in Italy. Since February, the financial authorities in Rome maintain a registry for all cryptocurrency platforms permanently operating in the country. More Companies Register as Providers of Crypto Services in Italy Germany-based investment platform Trade Republic and Singapore-headquartered digital currency exchange Crypto.com announced their registrations as crypto operators in Italy on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The news comes after other major crypto platforms like Binance, the world’s largest exchange by trading volume, and leading U.S. trading platform Coinbase did the same, earlier. The special registry for crypto service providers working in the Italian market was established by the Ministry of Economy and the brokerage regulator Organismo degli Agenti e dei Mediatori (OAM) in February of this year. It lists all cryptocurrency operators with a presence

The African continent may not be the biggest crypto/blockchain market yet but the growing adoption of the technology illustrates that this will likely be a key market in the future. For instance, instead of being seen or used as a tool for speculative trading, crypto is proving to be a more convenient and cheaper way of sending remittances. In countries whose economies have been devastated by inflation, cryptocurrencies are an alternative way of storing value. As more people on the continent understand these attributes of cryptocurrencies and the underlying technology, their demand for digital assets also increases. As policymakers from other jurisdictions work on finding ways to stop or slow the adoption of this fintech, it becomes imperative that the African crypto story gets told more frequently. Bitcoin.com News has been one of the media platforms to regularly cover stories, events and individuals making a difference in Africa crypto’s space. Now, in addition to regular Africa

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized $500K in ransom payments and cryptocurrency from a state-sponsored North Korean group. “We are returning the stolen funds to the victims,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said, adding that the seized funds include ransoms paid by health care providers in Kansas and Colorado. DOJ Seizes Crypto From North Korean State-Backed Group The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday that it has seized and forfeited approximately $500K from North Korean ransomware actors and their conspirators. The department added that it has filed a complaint “in the District of Kansas to forfeit cryptocurrency paid as ransom to North Korean hackers or otherwise used to launder such ransom payments.” The DOJ stated: In May 2022, the FBI filed a sealed seizure warrant for the funds worth approximately half a million dollars. The seized funds include ransoms paid by health care providers in Kansas and Colorado. Deputy Attorney General Lisa O

Grayscale Investments has explained that there may be another 250 days of the current bearish crypto market, citing patterns in previous cycles. In addition, “Bitcoin is 222 days off the all-time high, which means we may see another 5-6 months of downward or sideways price movement,” the world’s largest digital asset manager detailed. Grayscale’s Crypto Market Outlook Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital asset manager, published a report titled “Bear Markets in Perspective” this week. The firm explained: “The length, time to peak and trough, and recovery time to previous all-time highs in each market cycle may suggest that the current market may resemble previous cycles, which have resulted in the crypto industry continuing to innovate and push new highs.” The report details: Crypto market cycles, on average, last ~4 years or approximately 1,275 days. While most bitcoiners are familiar with market cycles based on bitcoin’s halving cycle, Grayscale has defined an

Tesla has converted approximately 75% of its bitcoin into fiat currency. The cryptocurrency sales left the electric car company holding digital assets worth $218 million. “We are certainly open to increasing our bitcoin holdings in the future,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said, adding: “W e have not sold any of our dogecoin.” Tesla Sold About 75% of Its Bitcoin Holdings Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, released its Q2 earnings report Wednesday. The company wrote: As of the end of Q2, we have converted approximately 75% of our bitcoin purchases into fiat currency. Conversions in Q2 added $936M of cash to our balance sheet. Tesla’s Q2 balance sheet shows net digital assets of $218 million, down from $1.26 billion in the previous quarter. The company also said its Q2 year-on-year operating income was impacted by bitcoin impairment. The electric car company’s statement of cash flows shows proceeds from digital asset sales of $936 million. The only other time Tesla’s cash flow state

Simone Mazzuca is the creator of EURST – the first representative euro stablecoin, 100% asset backed with US Dollars and live audited. EURST is providing one of the most secure and reliable stablecoin structures on the euro market to serve as a bridge to the digital economy. Mr. Simone Mazzuca is the Director and Founder of the Wallex group and the creator of EURST . He recently joined the Bitcoin.com News Podcast to talk about the current state of stablecoins including such topics as regulations, integration with the banking systems, CBDCs and institutional use cases: Wallex is a group of financial institutions founded in 2020 working on bridging the gap between traditional finance and the crypto spaces. Wallex is the full ecosystem of assets and digital assets, including AML, Compliance, neobanking, custody, trustee, payments, trading, alternative and decentralized investment, tokenization, wealth management, White label solutions and customer experience support services. Simo

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning about fake cryptocurrency apps defrauding investors. “The FBI has identified 244 victims and estimates the approximate loss associated with this activity to be $42.7 million,” said the U.S. law enforcement agency. FBI’s Crypto App Warning The cyber division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a notice Monday warning investors and financial institutions about fraudulent cryptocurrency applications. The notice states: The FBI is warning financial institutions and investors about cyber criminals creating fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications (apps) to defraud cryptocurrency investors. The FBI explained that it has observed cybercriminals contacting U.S. investors, claiming to offer legitimate crypto investment services. The criminals then convinced investors to download fraudulent mobile apps. The notice continues: The FBI has identified 244 victims and estimates the approximate loss assoc

On July 19, the digital asset company Bitgo announced it has partnered with the Near Foundation and will be “the first qualified custodian to support the protocol and its assets, including its native token.” The collaboration will give institutions holding near protocol (NEAR) tokens the ability to store and stake the coins via Bitgo’s platform. Bitgo Partners With the Near Foundation The digital asset financial services firm Bitgo has inked a partnership deal with the Near Foundation , the non-profit foundation headquartered in Switzerland that’s responsible for the development and core governance for the Near protocol. The Near protocol is an open-source, carbon neutral, public proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain that uses the Nightshade consensus mechanism. The Palo Alto, California-based company Bitgo says that through the new partnership, “institutions holding [near protocol] tokens will now be able to custody and stake these tokens via hot wallets and qualified custody wallets

Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange owned by the Winklevoss twins, is laying off more staff. According to reports, the company is axing 7% of its current workforce, as it engages in significant cost-cutting policies. This is the second wave of layoffs at Gemini, after the company laid off 10% of its staff less than two months ago. Gemini Lays Off More Staff Gemini, a regulated, U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins , is reducing the size of its workforce, according to sources. While the exchange did not make an internal announcement for this round of layoffs, it is estimated that it laid off 7% of its current workforce, with 68 employees leaving the company. However, the extent of the layoff plan could be even bigger, with leaked documents pointing out that the company might fire more of its staff to reach a workforce number of 800 employees, implying that 150 more employees could be laid off to reach this goal. The company had 950 employees at the mome

The Financial Superintendence of Colombia presented a project that seeks to bring clarity to how links between banks and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) will be handled in the future. The document defines certain key concepts and determines a set of prerequisites that banks need to verify before accepting virtual asset service providers as customers. Virtual Asset Service Providers to Be Regulated in Colombia Regulation is becoming a key goal for countries in Latam, where cryptocurrency adoption is growing at significant rates. Now, the Financial Superintendence of Colombia has presented a document that seeks to establish norms regarding the requirements cryptocurrency exchanges and custody providers must meet to be serviced as customers by banks. The project defines key concepts such as virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and virtual assets in the scope of the regulation. In the same way, it establishes that virtual asset service providers will have to be connected

Transactions with digital assets backed by precious metals are beginning in Russia with the launch of a token for palladium. The rare metal, which is used in jewelry and has some high-tech applications, is not a publicly available asset in the Russian Federation. Atomyze and Rosbank Issue Digital Token for Palladium The Russian unit of Atomyze, a platform that specializes in the tokenization of commodities, and Rosbank, are starting transactions with digital financial assets (DFAs) based on precious metals. The first one is the issuance of a token for palladium, the holders of which will have the rights to a monetary claim equivalent to the market value of the metal, Atomyze announced in press release. Palladium is not a public asset on the Russian market, the Prime business news agency noted, reporting on the deal. At the same time, it is viewed as a promising investment. Palladium is used as a substitute for platinum in jewelry and the global demand for platinoids is growing. It

Harvard Professor of Economics and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kenneth Rogoff says central banks and governments are “way behind the curve” in regulating cryptocurrencies. He added that officials throw out the idea of having central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) “to distract the conversation.” Harvard’s Professor on Cryptocurrency Regulation American economist Kenneth Rogoff discussed cryptocurrency regulation and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in an interview with Bloomberg Monday. Rogoff is the Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and a professor of economics at Harvard University. He also served as chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2001–2003. The Harvard professor described: I think central banks are way behind the curve, and governments in general, in regulating cryptocurrencies. They throw out the idea of having CBDCs to distract the conversation. Commenting on the U.S. issuing a digital dolla

A panel of “industry experts” has predicted that ethereum will bottom out at $675 before the year-end. They have “considerably lowered” their ether predictions since the start of 2022 and are now expecting the price of the cryptocurrency to end the year at $1,711 before rising to $5,739 by 2025, and $14,412 by 2030. Expert Panel’s Ethereum Price Predictions Price comparison portal Finder updated its ether ( ETH ) price predictions Monday. The company measures expert predictions of the future ethereum price using weekly and quarterly surveys. Its latest quarterly survey, conducted in July, “asks a panel of 54 industry experts for their thoughts on how ethereum will perform over the next decade,” Finder explained. According to the latest predictions by Finder’s panel of experts, ether will be worth $1,711 by the end of this year. It will then rise to $5,739 by 2025, and $14,412 by 2030. However, the panel expects the price of ether to first bottom out at $675. Finder detailed: Whi

In partnership with Unstoppable Domains, Bitcoin.com is making it easier than ever to use cryptocurrency as a payment method. Users of the multichain Bitcoin.com Wallet can now send cryptocurrency to the full range of domains offered by the blockchain-based domain provider. This means, for example, that people can send bitcoin to a human-readable address like ‘elizabeth.crypto’ rather than to the long and complicated wallet addresses that are native to the Bitcoin protocol (eg. bc1qar0srrr7xfkvy5l643lydnw9re59gtzzwf5mdq). “Cryptocurrency is a powerful force for creating economic freedom in the world, but adoption has been stifled by the frankly poor user experience — and the industry-standard usage of complex wallet addresses is a key pain point,” said Bitcoin.com CEO Dennis Jarvis. “Unstoppable Domains’ human-readable addresses are a big step in the right direction, which is why we’re proud to support them in our fully self-custodial wallet.” Unstoppable Domains is one of thr

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The Seychelles-based crypto trading app, OKX, recently became the latest virtual assets service provider to be granted a provisional licence to provide its services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The provisional licence allows OKX to extend certain exchange products and services to pre-qualified investors and financial service providers. OKX Allowed to Extend Certain Exchange Products The Dubai digital asset regulator, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), recently granted the Seychelles-based crypto trading platform OKX a “provisional virtual assets license to provide services to qualified investors in the UAE.” According to a statement released by OKX, this license “allows it to extend certain exchange products and services to pre-qualified investors and financial service providers.” Remarking on the VARA’s decision to grant the provisional license, OKX general manager for Dubai, Lennix Lai said: The MENA region is one of the fastest-growing markets for our indus