Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

On August 4, the precious metals firm Kitco Gold announced the launch of a gold-backed stablecoin which will leverage an audit process via Cohen & Company with monthly attestation reports. Kitco has partnered with Tradewind Markets, First Digital Trust, and Stably, an asset tokenization provider. The gold-backed ERC20 tokens called “kitco gold (KGLD)” “represent one true, troy ounce of fine gold,” according to Kitco. Kitco Launches KGLD Token Backed by a Troy Ounce of .999 Gold In the seventies, Bart Kitner started trading gold with funds he got from a loan and managed to expand his business into a massive precious metals company from a mere $700 investment. The global precious metals (PMs) market, Kitco, is considered an authority when it comes to PMs like gold, platinum, palladium, and silver. The Montreal-based PM company also runs a popular PM-focused website that offers financial news and PM market data. Now the company is getting into cryptocurrency solutions as Kitco rev

The Federal Financial Monitoring Service of Russia is going to start tracking cryptocurrency transactions. The agency has already selected a contractor to develop the platform. The entity is affiliated with one of Russia’s largest financial institutions, Sberbank. Rosfinmonitoring to Keep Record of Cryptocurrency Wallets Used for Illicit Purposes Russia’s financial watchdog, Rosfinmonitoring , has selected a contractor for the building of a platform that will be used to track cryptocurrency transactions in the country. The company that won the tender, RCO, is managed by Rambler Internet Holding which is affiliated with the banking giant Sberbank , Russian crypto media reported. The Unified Information System in the Field of Procurement portal shows that the project has a price tag of an estimated 14.7 million rubles (over $200,000). The money will be spent to enable the regulator to closely monitor illegal transactions involving cryptocurrencies. According to Rosfinmonitoring, th

Book of Aztec dishes out a massive round win worth a little under 2 BTC , leaving the player ecstatic! A small bet results in one of the biggest wins for the player One lucky player has just bagged a massive win worth $75,000 in a popular slot game from Amatic called ‘Book of Aztec’ at Bitcoin.com Games . The big win comes promptly after the player decided to deposit some bitcoin in his casino wallet and started playing his favorite slot. What’s more interesting to note is that the player had only made a small bet of $31 or 0.008 BTC that throttled his luck into a massive victory. Math wizards would quickly point out that a 2,418x multiplier was applied to the player’s bet, sending his fortunes into an enormous spiral, resulting in a win of 1.93 BTC . At Bitcoin.com Games, you can choose from numerous exciting slot games that are designed to reward each bet placed with insane multipliers, some even going up to x100,000 – based on a random chance of winning. Many slots also carr

Marathon Digital Holdings has published the company’s bitcoin production and mining operation updates for the month of July and bitcoin production increased 66% month-over-month. Furthermore, the financial services giant Fidelity Investments purchased a 7.4% stake in Marathon in July, spending around $20 million for the shares. Fidelity Investments Scoops Up Shares of Marathon for $20 Million Boston-based Fidelity Investments is one of the largest asset managers in the world, handling $4.9 trillion in assets under management (AUM). Fidelity has been involved with cryptocurrencies and blockchain for years now and on July 22, Fidelity invested $20 million to purchase a 7.4% stake in Marathon Digital Holdings (Nasdaq:MARA). Fidelity added the shares to four index-based funds including the Fidelity Series Total Market Index Fund (FCFMX), Fidelity Extended Market Index Fund (FSMAX), Fidelity Total Market Index Fund (FSKAX), and the Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index Fund (FNCFX). Fidelity’

The U.S. government has seized cryptocurrencies worth $1.2 billion so far this year, according to an Internal Revenue Service director. This is a significant increase from $137 million in crypto seized the previous year. $1.2 Billion in Cryptocurrencies Seized Jarod Koopman, director of cybercrime at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), shared some information on cryptocurrencies seized by the government with CNBC Wednesday. His division typically handles crypto tracing and open source intelligence, which includes investigating tax evasion, filing false returns, and money laundering. He noted that the seizure of cryptocurrencies is usually a group effort involving agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Securities Investigations, the Secret Service, and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). “We all come together when it’s time to execute any type of enforcement action, whether that’s an arrest, a seizure, or a search warrant. And that could be nationally o

OVR is collaborating with BlackPool to add augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to its ERC-721 NFTs at OVRLands. According to reports , the popular digital world of Non-Fungible Token OVRLands, would now have the ability to offer new experiences that give room for every kind of imagination. Thanks to the entry of BlackPool, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) built exclusively for NFT gaming and trading, now augmented and virtual reality will add experiences to the NFT world. OVRLands are ERC-721 NFTs representing one of the 1.6 trillion unique hexagons in this digital world played by OVR. Owners can create their own virtual worlds on these virtual lands, adding content like on web pages, which can be viewed on the OVR app (available on both Android and iOS). With BlackPool entering the OVR metaverse, it is also revealed that the DAO would have also acquired OVRLands’ NFT Eiffel Tower . On May 3, the 60-OVRLands package defined as NFT Eiffel Tower fr

Current regulations do not prohibit the swapping of digital currencies, according to the Iranian Vice Presidency for Legal Affairs. The department has stated its position in correspondence with an ICT industry association which wanted to know what rules apply to cryptocurrency exchange, local media reported. Converting a Cryptocurrency Into Another Is Not Against Iranian Law Regulations approved by the Tehran government in 2019 do not ban the swapping of cryptocurrencies, the Vice Presidency for Legal Affairs said in response to an inquiry by the Iranian Information and Communication Technology Guild. According to a report by the English-language business daily Financial Tribune, the association has asked for clarification on the applicable crypto rules. In a letter to the ICT Guild, the legal department under the office of the Iranian president noted that the law states that cryptocurrency cannot be used for payments inside the country. It pointed out that the current rules are in

In what is seen as a boost for Mirror Trading International (MTI) investors, United States investigators are said to have joined the probe into the collapsed bitcoin scheme. According to a report, the U.S. investigators’ goal for joining this probe is to help “recover the assets of out-of-pocket investors.” FBI Interest Confirmation of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s involvement in the MTI case comes just a few days after reports emerged that the scheme’s masterminds had filed an application seeking to stall the liquidation process. As reported by Bitcoin.com News, the application also opposes attempts to declare MTI — which has been labeled the biggest bitcoin scam — an illegal business. Despite this attempt and other attempts to halt proceedings against MTI, the Bloomberg report suggests the U.S. law enforcement agency is already engaging MTI liquidators. The report explains: [Liquidators] had meetings with international law enforcement agencies like the Federal Bu

While opponents of cryptocurrencies continue to peddle the environmental damage or the terrorism funding narrative, users from countries where the majority is financially excluded see these as a breakthrough innovation. Crypto Utility Inspires Volatility Solutions For instance, to undocumented migrants, cryptocurrencies offer a faster and cheaper way of sending money to their loved ones. For users that reside in countries with unstable currencies, cryptos act as an alternative store of value. Cryptocurrencies also act as a shield in times of hyperinflation. In some places, small businesses are now using cryptocurrencies to make cross-border payments. Despite this growing use of cryptocurrencies, however, many businesses and merchants are still reluctant to accept crypto payments. One of the challenges that merchants in Africa often cite concerns crypto price volatility. This unpredictability can make these alternatives to fiat currencies less alluring from the point of view of a me

Attendees of the upcoming NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center will be able to purchase NBA Top Shot non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles in person. For the first time ever, NBA Top Shot fans will be able to buy an NFT moment from a game they saw in person. NBA Top Shot Kiosk Will Offer NFTs at the Summer League Games A non-fungible token you can buy online is one thing, but an NFT that can be purchased in person is something entirely different. On August 3, the firm behind the NFT collectibles called NBA Top Shot announced that exclusive NFTs will be available for purchase at the Summer League games on August 8, 9, and 10. Fans will be able to buy a “Moment in-arena” NFT, which will feature a single “great play per day from Summer League games.” According to the announcement , NBA Top Shot fans can patronize the Top Shot vendor kiosk situated at the arena in Vegas. After the purchase, the unique NFTs will be sent to the customer and fans can also

On Wednesday, the non-fungible token (NFT) market platform Makersplace secured $30 million in a Series A financing round. The team behind the NFT marketplace says it plans to leverage the funds to “acquire additional talent and scale the business.” While the Series A was co-led by Pantera Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners, the world-famous hip hop star Eminem also invested in Makersplace. Makersplace Raises $30 Million to Scale the NFT Business The company that developed the non-fungible token (NFT) market platform Makersplace has revealed the firm has raised $30 million from a number of investors. Bessemer Venture Partners and Pantera Capital co-led the financing round with participation from Sony Music Entertainment, Coinbase Ventures, 9Yards Capital, Uncork Capital, and Draper Dragon Digital Assets. Moreover, Makersplace revealed the investment round saw notable angel investors like Paul Rosenberg and 3LAU in music, Eminem, Acquavella Galleries, Sabrina Hahn and Bill Ruprec

Both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have claimed jurisdiction over the crypto industry. A CFTC commissioner clarified that pure commodities, including crypto assets, or their trading venues are not regulated by the SEC. Regulation of Crypto Assets by SEC and CFTC A commissioner with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Brian Quintenz, clarified Wednesday that pure commodities, including crypto assets, fall under the jurisdiction of his agency. He tweeted: “Just so we’re all clear here, the SEC has no authority over pure commodities or their trading venues, whether those commodities are wheat, gold, oil …. or crypto assets.” Quintenz’s clarification followed the statements by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on Tuesday and Wednesday regarding the regulation of the crypto industry whenever investment products are considered securities. Gensler stressed that there is not enough investor protection when it co

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has outlined how the SEC plans to regulate the crypto industry. Focusing on investor protection, Gensler discussed concerns the SEC has about crypto trading, exchanges, lending, defi platforms, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Gary Gensler Outlines SEC’s Crypto Priorities SEC Chairman Gary Gensler outlined the agency’s plans regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies at the Aspen Security Forum Tuesday. He described: Right now, we just don’t have enough investor protection in crypto. Frankly, at this time, it’s more like the Wild West. This asset class is rife with fraud, scams, and abuse in certain applications … If we don’t address these issues, I worry a lot of people will be hurt. He elaborated: “There’s a great deal of hype and spin about how crypto assets work. In many cases, investors aren’t able to get rigorous, balanced, and complete information.” Regulating Crypto Platforms: Gensler Sa

China’s cryptocurrency transactions related to criminal activities have decreased significantly over the past couple of years, a new report suggests. At the same time, its special administrative region of Hong Kong is seeing a spike in crypto-related crime this year, with authorities attributing the rise to the popularity of crypto investments. Chinese Crime-Related Crypto Transactions Drop, According to Chainalysis China has been a leader in the global crypto space, not only because of its control over a large portion of bitcoin’s hashrate but also in terms of activity of its crypto businesses and users. With the current government offensive on decentralized money, however, including a crackdown on cryptocurrency mining and trading, the role of the People’s Republic is likely to diminish. That has already happened with China’s share in crypto-based crime, according to a report by Chainalysis. Between April 2019 and June 2021, Chinese crypto addresses sent over $2.2 billion worth

PRESS RELEASE. Since May 30, the BTC mining difficulty has lowered for 4 times in a row. The mining rig migration is continuing, leading to a surge of incomes in mining farms outside China. With early layout of mining farms outside China, BitFuFu takes the lead to restart running plan and restock new mining plans. As the first cloud mining platform that restarts running plan in the industry, BitFuFu provides users with a mining feast from a drop of difficulty. Early move makes BitFuFu the industry-first platform to restart running plan Thanks to its forward-looking layout in the mining farms outside China, BitFuFu outpaces other platforms to restart running plan. As early as the beginning of this year, BitFuFu has started its expansion to mining farms outside China. On April 16, affected by outage in some areas, the BTC network hashrate suffered a plummet. With fast response, BitFuFu transferred affected hashrates to other mining farms within 12 hours and its users were barely af

The Ethereum community has been gearing up for the highly anticipated London Network Upgrade which should take place on August 5 around 2:00 p.m. (EDT). Node operators have been asked to upgrade their nodes as soon as possible, as the upgrade is scheduled to take place at block height 12,965,000. Ethereum Set to Fork on Thursday, Blockchain Will See 5 Improvements According to the countdown clock hosted on etherscan.io, the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain will be upgraded in the near future, on or around Thursday afternoon. Previously, Bitcoin.com News reported on the London upgrade on July 9, 2021, and at the time it was estimated block 12,965,000 would fall on or around August 4. According to Ethernodes data, as of 16:20 Beijing time, 65.6% of the nodes are ready for the Ethereum London hard fork, and the remaining 34.3% will be upgraded within 2-3 days. pic.twitter.com/BXIl67LIeh — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 3, 2021 The “London Mainnet Announcement” was revealed b

Cryptocurrency is gaining mainstream traction among consumers who want to use it for purchases, according to a new report. Out of more than 8,000 U.S. consumers surveyed, 93% of crypto users would make purchases with cryptocurrency in the future. Growing Number of People Want to Pay With Cryptocurrencies A new report titled “The Cryptocurrency Payments Playbook: Cryptocurrencies Gain Momentum As A Payment Option” published by Pymnts and Bitpay shows that consumers are increasingly interested in using cryptocurrencies for payments. “The report analyzes a census-balanced survey of 8,008 U.S. consumers who were current and former cryptocurrency owners and cryptocurrency nonowners between Feb. 8 and Feb. 23, 2021,” it details, adding: Interest in cryptocurrency is gaining mainstream traction among consumers who would like to use it for purchases. The study found that 93% of crypto users would consider making purchases with cryptocurrency in the future while 59% of those who have n

Reports show that the Bitcoinsv blockchain suffered from a 51% attack on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, as the founder of Blockchair, Nikita Zhavoronkov explained the network endured a 100 block reorg “wiping out 570k transactions.” Onchain Observers Witness a Deep Bitcoinsv Reorg The Bitcoinsv ( BSV ) network has been having issues lately following problems the protocol saw in mid-July. At that time, 78% of the network was mined by a single entity called Taal and a number of exchange providers halted services. On August 3, the founder of Blockchair, Nikita Zhavoronkov, and numerous onchain observers discovered the BSV chain suffered from a deep blockchain reorganization, otherwise known as a reorg. Screenshot Blockchair’s Nikita Zhavoronkov shared on August 3, 2021. Zhavoronkov tweeted about the issue on Tuesday and then clarified that the chain lost 100 blocks. “The reorg was 100 (!) blocks deep wiping out 570k transactions,” the Blockchair founder said . The onchain analysts at

Following the hype surrounding dogecoin, shiba inu, and then baby doge, another token called daddy doge (DADDYDOGE) has been gathering steam. The coin saw some interest after Elon Musk said the words “daddy doge” in a video of Tesla’s CEO being escorted to a car. Furthermore, the developers of the Daddy Doge project claim the coin will be the first of the Doge family of cryptocurrencies to be sent to space. During the last seven days of trading, daddy doge has gathered 57.6% in gains. Another Doge-Like Token Claims To Be ‘the Head of the Family,’ Becomes the 30th Shiba Inu Knockoff Coin Just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be another dogecoin -related crypto asset, another token called daddy doge (DADDYDOGE) has entered the pack of competing canine assets. In fact, daddy doge joins the puppy mill of coins or the 30 meme crypto assets that leverage either the name “doge” or the “shiba inu” breed. The Daddy Doge project has become the 30th Doge or Shiba-inu-like token crea