Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

On July 19, the CEO of the crypto financial services firm Blockfi, Zac Prince, told the public that the New Jersey Bureau of Securities has told the company to “stop accepting new BIA clients residing in New Jersey beginning July 22, 2021.” New Jersey’s acting attorney general Andrew Bruck also tweeted about the issue and said “we’ve been closely monitoring activity involving cryptocurrencies for compliance.” New Jersey’s Bureau of Securities Cracks Down on Crypto On Monday, an unpublished draft of a cease and desist order was discovered by the Forbes staff writer Michael del Castillo. The order was sent to the crypto-financial services firm Blockfi , a company that provides users with interest-bearing crypto accounts and crypto debit cards. The same day, Blockfi’s CEO Zac Prince confirmed the cease and desist order from the New Jersey Bureau of Securities (NJBoS) was real. “Late Monday evening Blockfi received an order from the New Jersey Bureau of Securities regarding Blockfi I

Most institutional investors look forward to adding digital assets to their portfolios, in spite of concerns over crypto market volatility. More than half of the respondents in a new survey conducted by Fidelity’s crypto subsidiary have revealed they already have digital asset investments. Poll Confirms Strong Institutional Interest in Digital Assets Despite the uncertain regulatory environment in the crypto space, 70% of institutional investors are likely to acquire digital assets in the near future, a study carried out for Fidelity Digital Assets has indicated. Price volatility remains a major obstacle to capital inflow, yet 90% of these respondents expect their firms and clients to buy cryptocurrency or make other crypto-related investments within the next five years. The survey has been conducted by Coalition Greenwich among 1,100 institutional investors between December last year and April 2021. High net worth investors, family offices, digital and traditional hedge funds, fin

The price of bitcoin has slid under the $30K zone on Tuesday, dipping to $29,300 per unit during the early morning trading sessions (EDT). The global cryptocurrency market capitalization of all the crypto coins in existence is $1.19 trillion as it decreased by more than 6% in the last day. Bitcoin’s Market Cap Sees $19 Billion Shaved in 24 Hours Digital currency markets have lost considerable value during the last week and seven-day stats show a number of coins have shed double-digit percentages. Bitcoin ( BTC ) is currently trading for $29,656 per unit at the time of writing, down 5% during the last 24 hours. Weekly statistics show BTC is down more than 10% and holds a $556 billion market valuation. BTC ’s market cap has shaved off $19 billion since yesterday. BTC /USD on Bitstamp on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. Today, BTC commands 46.7% of the $1.19 trillion, while ethereum ( ETH ) captures 17.1%. Ethereum is swapping for $1,757 per unit, down 5.7% on Tuesday and seven-day statis

PRESS RELEASE. Bitcoin.com Exchange is thrilled to announce the listing of ETL, being available to trade on the 19th July 2021 at 16:00 UTC. ETL was created by the EtherLite team, as the utility token for their borderless, decentralized network with validators and community members from all around the world. ETL will start trading with USDT and ETH pairs. What is EtherLite? EtherLite uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus model as it seeks to pick off where its much larger peer, Ethereum, leaves off. In fact, EtherLite is a hard fork of Ethereum, representing a major change in the code of the larger blockchain that took place in May. EtherLite has been moving through its roadmap, which in addition to the hard fork has included an air drop and an initial exchange offering. Now it’s time for the token to hit exchanges. The EtherLite team says that ETL has been audited by “top core experts” and is poised to begin trading on exchanges in July. They are quite ambitious and are callin

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood will be featured speakers at the Bitcoin event “The B Word,” which will feature a live discussion between the three focused on how Bitcoin is perceived by the mainstream. The ₿ Word event organizer announced Monday that Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk will be a featured speaker, along with Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Ark Investment Management (Ark Invest) CEO Cathie Wood. The event is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 21. It will feature a live discussion with Musk, Dorsey, and Wood. Musk and Dorsey initially agreed to have a discussion about Bitcoin at The ₿ Word event in June. Dorsey tweeted to Musk at the time: “Let’s you and I have a conversation at the event. You can share all your curiosities.” According to the event website, “The ₿ Word is a Bitcoin-focused initiative that aims to demystify and destigmatize mainstream narratives about Bitcoin, explain how institution

The Zimbabwean government recently revealed its intention to widen the definition of securities to include virtual asset service providers (VASPs). According to a document released by the cabinet, the proposed inclusion of VASPs into the category of defined securities will be made possible via the amendment of the Securities and Exchange Act. The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Factor According to one local report , it is this amended law that will “enable Zimbabwe’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SECZ) to come up with regulations to supervise the VASPs on a risk-based approach.” Similarly, the document states that Zimbabwe’s anti-money laundering law will be amended to enable authorities to deal with the possible abuse of crypto assets by bad actors. The cabinet document explains: The Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act will be amended to in order to provide for identification and assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risks that may arise in

A week after more than 1,400 ATMs in South Africa were attacked during a looting spree, the country’s central bank is now asking citizens to reject banknotes that are stained with traces of blue and green ink. Increasing Circulation of Stained Banknotes According to an EWN report , the South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB) has also warned South Africans caught in possession of such banknotes that they risk becoming targets of a criminal investigation. The warning follows what the SARB termed an “increase in the circulation of dye-stained notes in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.” Immediately following the jailing of former President, Jacob Zuma, South Africa plunged into chaos after supporters of the jailed leader violently protested the incarceration. The chaos enabled criminal elements to embark on a looting spree whose cost is now estimated to run into the billions of dollars. Looting of ATMs As the EWN report suggests, the chaos that followed the initial looting and torching of r

A new museum dedicated to the history of bitcoin mining opened its doors in Venezuela last weekend. The institution will allow visitors to learn about the history of cryptocurrency mining, going from its roots to the current state of the mining industry. The museum is part of a private initiative started by Criptoavila, a mining-dedicated company. Museum of Bitcoin Mining History Debuts in Venezuela A newly created Museum of Bitcoin Mining History opened its doors to the public in Venezuela last weekend. The new initiative pushed by Criptoavila, a private company whose members have nine years of experience in the mining business, aims to introduce people to the world of bitcoin mining. The museum, which is located in Caracas, will be open to all audiences and will be free to enter. According to Criptonoticias , the exhibition will show the evolution of Bitcoin mining since its central processing unit (CPU) origins, passing through the graphics processing unit (GPU) mining stage. Th

On photo left to right: Saif Al Mansouri – CEO TRES OTC DMCC; Ahmed Bin Sulayem – Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC; Dmitry Krasnogor – Managing Director TRES OTC DMCC; Antony Katin – CEO SIMBA Storage; Alexey Liakhovnenko – CEO TRES Group GmbH. Back in 2020 , at the Davos Summit, the DMCC (UAE Free Economic Zone) announced a strategic partnership with CV VC and CV Labs to launch Crypto Valley, the world’s largest ecosystem of cryptography, blockchain and distributed ledger in Dubai. More and more countries are adopting cryptocurrencies after a long resistance. The UAE is rightfully one of the most progressive countries in recent decades, which does not stand still and sees a prospect in the development of the cryptocurrency industry within the country, after a long denial and misunderstanding. The cryptocurrency industry has already shown its strength and serious intentions to conquer the whole world and make it better. The capitalization of cryptocurr

Binance, the leading P2P exchange in Venezuela, is now present in several popular dollar indexes in the country. The price of USDT on Binance’s P2P platform is now used to calculate the average price of the dollar with other P2P and electronic markets. The Venezuelan currency, the Bolivar, took a plunge last week losing 10% against the dollar as the government considers a currency redenomination. Binance Makes Its Way Into Dollar Indexes Binance has made its way into popular dollar indexes in Venezuela, after becoming one of the most well-known crypto markets in the country. Now, the average USDT price of its P2P exchange is being used to get a grip on the real price of the dollar in the country by two known indexes: enParaleloVzla and MonitorDolar . Binance P2P is the second cryptocurrency-related platform that is being taken as representative of how the dollar price moves in the market, with the first one being Localbitcoins, another P2P market. Now, Binance P2P has become a

Investment advisor and former Prudent Bear Fund manager David Tice has warned about investing in bitcoin. Citing “negative statements” by central bankers and regulators, such as the Bank of England, he said that it is “very dangerous to hold” bitcoin today. Investment Advisor David Tice Warns It’s Dangerous to Invest in Bitcoin David Tice, who sold his bear fund as the 2008 financial crisis was unfolding, talked about the stock market and bitcoin in an interview with CNBC Friday. A former Prudent Bear Fund manager, Tice is known for making bearish bets during bull markets. He now advises the Advisorshares Ranger Equity Bear exchange-traded fund (ETF), which has $70 million in assets under management. Tice was a bitcoin bull early this year but he became bearish when the price of the cryptocurrency hit all-time highs in March. He now cautioned investors in the crypto space that BTC is very dangerous to hold right now. “We had a bitcoin position when bitcoin was at $10,000. However

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has continued to tweet about the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin. He has changed his profile image on Twitter to include an image of the Shiba Inu dog that represents dogecoin. He also tweeted that his son is “hodling his Doge like a champ.” Meanwhile, dogecoin’s trading volumes soared 1,250% in the second quarter on the world’s major cryptocurrency exchanges, according to data by Coinbase. Elon Musk’s Continued Support for Dogecoin The Doge community was thrilled over the weekend when many people noticed that Elon Musk, whom they call the Dogefather, had changed his profile image on Twitter to one of him wearing sunglasses that have a Shiba Inu dog in the reflection. Following his profile picture change, the price of dogecoin got a slight boost but has since fallen down, shedding all of its weekend gains. The DOGE price at the time of writing is $0.174 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets . Elon Musk’s Twitter profile page. Source: Twitter Prior t

Grayscale Investments has launched a decentralized finance (defi) fund. The new defi fund is the crypto asset manager’s 15th investment product and its second diversified product. “The emergence of decentralized finance protocols provide clear examples of technologies that can redefine the future of the financial services industry,” said the Grayscale CEO. Grayscale Debuts Decentralized Finance Fund Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital currency asset manager, announced Monday the launch of its newest diversified investment product, the Grayscale Decentralized Finance Fund. The announcement explains that the Grayscale Defi Fund “provides investors with exposure to a selection of industry-leading defi protocols,” adding: The Grayscale Defi Fund is Grayscale’s fifteenth investment product, and its second diversified fund offering. Its other diversified fund, the Grayscale Large Cap Fund, recently became a reporting company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commi

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju

While inflation has kicked up in the U.S., following the massive stimulus issued by the Federal Reserve, investor and financial writer Lyn Alden Schwartzer published a report that shows “U.S. households now have record high exposure to stocks.” The news comes at a time when many analysts and economists believe equities markets are in a colossal bubble. Dow Sheds 900 Points, Financial Expert Lyn Alden Schwartzer Publishes Report on US Household exposure to Stocks Stock markets saw some significant carnage on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 900 points in the morning (EDT) or 2.3% as it was the largest decline in value this year. Similarly, the Nasdaq Composite came awfully close to losing 1% and the S&P 500 index shed 1.5% on July 19. Mainstream media reports are blaming the market downturn on the recent surge of Covid cases worldwide and the delta variant. Meanwhile, Travis Kling, the crypto proponent and executive at Ikigai Asset Management shared a tweet from

While Binance has had a few issues with payment service providers and regulators from a few countries, the centralized cryptocurrency exchange is still the largest trading platform in terms of trade volume. During the last 24 hours, Binance has recorded roughly $8.6 billion in swaps and the trading platform commands the highest trade volume out of all the derivatives exchanges worldwide. Binance’s Trading Platform Towers Over Competitors The cryptocurrency exchange Binance is the largest crypto trading platform in the world, in terms of trade volume on both spot and derivatives markets. Binance has been in numerous headlines in recent times as it has been dealing with regulatory complaints from government entities and financial institutions like Barclays and Santander . Despite all the negativity, the crypto asset exchange still dominates the pack in regard to the myriad crypto trading platforms worldwide. Binance holds the highest 24-hour crypto trade volume and at the time of