Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Reports from the decentralized finance project Rari Capital detail that the protocol’s ethereum pool has experienced a recent exploit. Rari Capital says they are assessing the situation and the team removed funds from the recent Alpha Finance Lab integration. At first, the project’s team revealed they were assessing the hack, but later estimates assume the project lost $10 million to the hacker. Rari Capital Drained for 2,600 Ether, Hacker Taunts Project There has been no shortage of defi hacks at the end of 2020 and into 2021, as a myriad of projects has seen funds drained from a wide range of vulnerabilities. Now it seems the Rari Capital project lost $10 million from a malicious hacker who gained access to an exploit in the ethereum ( ETH ) pool. Essentially, Rari Capital is a Web3 defi tool that allows people to deposit crypto assets and rebalance them into the “highest-yielding stable opportunities.” The protocol builds a “lego effect” of defi apps and claims the platform pro

The president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, warned that cryptocurrencies are prone to money laundering. She agrees with the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, who recently said that cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value and investors should be prepared to lose all their money if investing in them. ECB Chief Lagarde Sees Crypto as a ‘Real Risk’ for Investors European Central Bank (ECB) chief Christine Lagarde talked about cryptocurrency Friday during a webinar hosted by the European University Institute. She said: Crypto-currencies — these two things don’t go well together and I totally agree with Dr. Bailey’s conclusion in that respect. Lagarde further noted that “There are crypto assets … which people are free to invest in and take total risk into, and there are particular cryptos that are, in my view, so prone to money laundering activities.” She did not mention any cryptocurrencies by name. When asked whether the ECB is competing with

The People’s Bank of China’s upcoming digital yuan card will feature IDEX Biometrics and fingerprint scanning, according to regional reports. China’s “Digital Currency Electronic Payment” or DCEP is getting closer toward launch by the day. Last week, smart card manufacturer Chutian Dragon and IDEX Biometrics announced the companies are working on a digital yuan payments card. China’s DCEP Will Boast Advanced Fingerprint Identification and Authentication Solutions China’s DCEP continues to make headlines as the crypto asset and central bank-crafted network inches closer toward reality. As the digital yuan draws near, Bitcoin.com News reported on JD.com’s employee participation, Tencent and Ant Group’s help, and Mastercard looking to engage with DCEP transactions. Additionally, reports had shown that the People’s Bank of China-run Digital Currency Research Institute’s, Ma Changchun, stressed that the DCEP would not be fully anonymous. Now regional reports from China reveal that a

On Saturday evening, the privacy advocate and well known whistleblower, Edward Snowden, spoke out against some criticism stemming from the Human Rights Foundation’s Alex Gladstein. Snowden attacked the tribalism taking place in the crypto space and said that some people “lose sight of the world beyond their cave.” Alex Gladstein Calls Snowden’s Interview Clip a ‘Disaster’ Just recently, the Human Rights Foundation’s (HRF) Alex Gladstein had some words to say to the former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden . Gladstein didn’t like the statements Snowden made in a recently published video, when the privacy advocate criticized bitcoin ( BTC ). It’s not the first time Snowden has given BTC a scathing review that knocked BTC ’s ability to scale and privacy. For instance, on December 25, 2020, Snowden explained that BTC developers have had years to address scaling and privacy in a video with the popular Youtuber, Naomi Brockwell. The famed whistleblower said he was “puzz

Russia’s central bank has examined three platforms offering crypto-related services. The projects have been tested in its regulatory sandbox in the course of 2020. Bank of Russia has received dozens of requests to pilot various financial services since it created the closed regulatory environment around three years ago. CBR Pilots 3 Crypto Projects in 2020 The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR), also known as Bank of Russia, launched the sandbox back in 2018, when developments in financial technology and decentralized digital assets presented regulators with a new set of challenges. Since the start of the initiative, over 70 entities, including financial institutions and fintech companies, have asked the regulator to test their new products, services, technologies, and business models. CBR’s 2020 annual report published recently reveals that the bank admitted three crypto platforms to the sandbox last year. Centrobank reviewed the operation of a cryptocurrency mining p

People’s Remedy, a growing chain of cannabis stores, has started accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment method, allowing their customers to use them as a fast, easy way of getting their products while taking advantage of the traits cryptocurrencies bring to the table. Unlike other stores, People’s Remedy assumes this symbiotic relationship between cannabis and crypto as a commitment, wanting to build a circular economy by paying its employees with crypto assets. People’s Remedy Starts Accepting Cryptocurrencies as Payment People’s Remedy, a California-based cannabis chain of dispensaries, has started taking cryptocurrencies as payment methods, allowing their customers to leverage the power of crypto to acquire their products with the benefits of privacy and anonymity coming with it. With four stores in California, and still growing, People’s Remedy products are designed specially to help those with medical ailments that can be treated with cannabis, offering the bests strains and

The incredible momentum of the nascent non-fungible token (NFT) market has attracted significant attention from collectors and investors alike. Still, one group that is notably benefiting from this paradigm shift is the artists behind these creative works. New Era for Art Emerges as a Net Positive for Creators Over the last few months, much of the attention drawn to NFTs have been a function of soaring valuations for digital art and collectibles that seemingly set new records every week. Enthusiasts needn’t look any further than the appearance of multiple exchange platforms, niches, and new mediums that NFTs are pioneering to recognize the inherent value proposition of this fresh standard. While auction results are certainly a fascinating interest story, the advantage for artists who are largely overlooked is even more compelling. Yet, the artist’s point of view has largely been absent from the NFT discussion and debate, despite playing a central role in this budding movement. Ins

In an attempt to expand and diversify its audience, the public radio of Ukraine has recently entered the world of podcasts. Listeners have been invited to choose among a variety of topics and genres. A podcast devoted to personal finance management and financial literacy kicks off with an episode about Bitcoin. New Radio Programs to Attract Listeners by Discussing Anything, From Crimea to Crypto The National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (NSTU) has launched several podcasts to better promote the programs of its radio stations, Ukrainian Radio, Radio Kultura, and Radio Promin. It also hopes to offer its audience exclusive content in a convenient format, including new projects such as documentaries and conversations with interesting guests. Dmytro Khorkin, Board Member at the NSTU responsible for radio programs, elaborated: For NSTU radio stations, podcasts are an additional opportunity to reach out to an audience that consumes audio content through digital platforms. They

On May 7, the privacy-centric crypto asset monero captured an all-time high at $515 per unit, as demand for confidential transactions has increased in recent times. Monero has gained more than 190% during the last three months, while a number of other privacy coins like zcash, verge, horizen, and grin have seen significant gains as well. Monero XMR Taps a New ATH Before Most Privacy Coins While cryptocurrencies have been growing wildly in value, the climate of regulation has stepped up a great deal. Governments and blockchain surveillance firms worldwide have been making themselves right at home in this industry. Interestingly, as the regulatory crackdowns increase and exchanges delist privacy coins, it has pushed demand even higher. In 2021, privacy coins have been moving northbound and on Friday, monero (XMR) touched an all-time high (ATH). Monero was conceived in 2014 and the open-source code is not a fork of bitcoin (BTC) , but a proof-of-work (PoW) digital asset based on th

The Toronto-based Bitcoin mining operation Bitfarms announced the company has been approved for a common stock listing on Nasdaq Global Market tier. The company is already listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the firm’s Nasdaq listing will be listed under the ticker symbol “BITF.” Bitcoin Mining Operation Bitfarms to be Listed on Nasdaq Global Market Tier Bitfarms has announced that it will be a publicly-traded Bitcoin miner listed on Nasdaq Global Market tier. The tier platform by Nasdaq is reserved for companies who have sustainable finances and pass requirements that go above and beyond Nasdaq’s lower tiers. The company Bitfarms, which was invoked in 2017, says the Nasdaq Global Market tier acceptance “represents a powerful validation.” “The approval for listing on The Nasdaq Global Market is an incredible achievement for Bitfarms and is the fruition of multiple years of work and dedication,” Emiliano Grodzki, Bitfarms’ chief executive officer said. “Over the last fo

South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has apologized to a Cape Town-based crypto start, Ovex, less than 24 hours after warning that the firm was operating outside the law. Ovex Does Not Require Licence From FSCA In its May 7 retraction , the financial watchdog said the findings of an investigation into Ovex, which specializes in crypto arbitrage services, suggest that the firm is operating outside the FSCA’s purview. The statement says: Based on the information provided by Ovex we are satisfied that Ovex does not currently require a licence from the FSCA, as its business activities fall outside the current jurisdiction of the FSCA. The previous media release has been retracted. Meanwhile, the FSCA’s about-face comes after its head of enforcement, Brandon Topham, was quoted in the local media defending the regulator’s initial handling of the matter. Responding to a media inquiry, Topham admitted that the issuing of the warning did not mean Ovex was “operating u

  While most exchanges require as much personal information as possible, Swapex.xyz has no interest in any of your personal documents. The focus remains on what they do best: exchanging one cryptocurrency for another. With over 170 currencies available to exchange, swapex.xyz is aiming to provide anyone in the world with their desired currency. The mechanism behind the exchange will then automatically search for the best possible price on either Binance, Bitfinex, Huobi, or OKEx, depending on the chosen currency, and perform the transaction. Easy as it gets. After launching in September 2017, swapex.xyz is now offering a wide variety of services: a payment solution, NOWPayments , blockchain developers’ tool NOWNodes, a fee-free lightning node, a cross-chain token swapping service, and more products are ready to be added to this list. As a core product of this ecosystem, the NOW token will soon be introduced to more use cases to put the token into real use other than the current optio

Citigroup is reportedly seeing a “very rapid” accumulation of interest in bitcoin across a broad spectrum of clients, including large asset managers. The bank is now considering launching its own crypto services as a growing number of banks are offering bitcoin-related services to their clients, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Citigroup is reported considering launching cryptocurrency services after seeing a surge in interest from clients, the Financial Times reported Friday. While no decision has been made regarding its crypto services, the publication reported that “trading, custody, and financing are all under consideration,” citing Itay Tuchman, the bank’s global head of foreign exchange. The Citigroup executive told the publication that Citi has seen a “very rapid” accumulation of interest in bitcoin across a broad spectrum of clients, including large asset managers. The news of Citigroup considering launching crypto services came as a growing number of ma

Investment bank Goldman Sachs has officially formed a cryptocurrency trading team, according to the firm’s internal memo. Goldman Sachs says it is working to broaden its market presence in the crypto space and is currently selectively onboarding new liquidity providers to help expand its crypto service. Goldman Sachs Now Has Dedicated Cryptocurrency Trading Team Goldman Sachs has officially set up a cryptocurrency trading team, according to the bank’s internal memo seen by CNBC Friday. The publication described that this memo was the first time the New York-based investment bank officially acknowledged its involvement in cryptocurrency trading. The memo, entitled “Formation of Cryptocurrency Trading Team,” was written by Goldman partner Rajesh Venkataramani. “I am pleased to announce the formation of the firm’s cryptocurrency trading team, which will be our centralized desk for managing cryptocurrency risk for our clients,” he wrote. “The crypto trading team will be a part of Glob

The Central Bank of Iran has issued a warning against unrestrained crypto trading and reminded investors that only cryptocurrencies minted by licensed miners in the Islamic Republic can be used under limited circumstances. Traders will bear full responsibility for the risks, the bank cautioned, although spending crypto on imports through approved banks and exchanges remains legal. Central Bank of Iran Speaks Against Crypto Investments Despite Plunging Stock Market The popularity of cryptocurrencies among Iranians has grown significantly with the rising prices of the decentralized assets in recent months, Fars News Agency noted in a report. Crypto trading platforms have taken advantage of the volatile state of the Iranian stock market, where deals have seen a remarkable decline since last summer. Quoted by ILNA, a member of the High Council of Securities and Exchange which governs the stock market, Mohsen Alizadeh, noted: The capital outflow is traceable. Liquidity has flown into p