Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

After months of hype around the launch, the first Kusama parachain auction went off without a hitch. The now active parachain has already begun successfully processing transactions, paving the way for future slot auctions. Kusama’s First Functional Parachain Goes Live The anticipation surrounding Polkadot parachains over the last few months has at last been realized following the first successful parachain auction on the Kusama canary network. This development marks the first time that a 100% decentralized, heterogeneously-sharded blockchain has been launched. The parachain, awarded to “Shell,” has since been upgraded to “ Statemine ,” a common-good parachain with several different utilities and functionalities. Other parachains will leverage Statemine’s utility thanks to the XCM protocol, which also allows KSM tokens to move between Kusama and the parachain seamlessly. With this proof of concept in place and operational, “Parachain Slot Auctions” can commence, but they will req

A few Kenyan banks have started sending out warning alerts to clients engaged in cryptocurrency trading to be wary of the associated risks. These warnings have reportedly been sent to clients who have “used their credit and debit cards to buy cryptocurrencies on crypto exchanges.” Crypto Trading Risks According to a local report , one of the banks, NCBA Bank Kenya is now advising clients “not to buy, hold, or trade in virtual currencies.” In a warning sent to clients who have previously transacted on crypto exchanges, NCBA Bank said: In accordance with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK)’s circular No. 14 of 2015, virtual currencies such as Bitcoin are not legal tender in Kenya. No protection, therefore, exists for you as our customer in the event that the platform holding or trading in cryptocurrency fails or goes out of business. Throughout the emailed alert, the NCBA Bank repeats the common lines that are used by central banks when attempting to discredit digital currencies. For

On Monday, the San Francisco-based retirement plan provider for small to medium-sized businesses, Forusall, announced the launch of an alternative 401(k) plan that offers in-plan cryptocurrency access. According to the alt 401(k) investment option, Forusall is working with Coinbase Institutional as its retirement plan partner. Forusall and Coinbase’s Institutional Arm Offer Crypto-Infused Alt 401(k) Plan Forusall, the “one-click” retirement provider founded in 2012, has revealed that digital currency investors can now leverage the company’s alt 401(k) investment option in order to obtain tax-advantages from crypto asset investments. The company Forusall claims to manage plans for over 600,000 employees from companies like Target, Coca Cola and Citigroup. By November 2019, Forusall was advising employees with over $1 billion in assets. The company’s focus on crypto assets applies to the alt 401(k) product, which can also leverage environmentally focused funds, mutual funds, and re

Investment scams have been by far the most common type in Australia recently, a new report by the country’s consumer watchdog has revealed. And while a growing number of Australians fall victim to fraudulent schemes involving cryptocurrency, bank transfers remain the scammers’ favorite way to extract money. Australians Lose $670 Million to Scammers in a Year, Including $75 Million Through Bank Transfers Residents of Australia have lost $851 million Australian dollars (almost $670 million) in over 444,000 reported scam cases in 2020, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced in its latest Targeting Scams report published Monday. The review compiles data from the commission’s own Scamwatch website, Australia’s cybersecurity center Reportcyber, other government agencies, and about a dozen banks and financial intermediaries. ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard commented: Last year, scam victims reported the biggest losses we have seen, but worse, we expect the

The Internet was once a bastion of freedom and was hoped to bring economic power to everyday people. These days a few centralized platforms such as Google, Facebook and Amazon dominate the online world, deciding what we can and cannot say, while keeping all the value for themselves. In an upcoming 4-session live event you can find out how Pocketnet, a decentralized social media platform, changes this forever. Join an Exclusive Live Crypto Challenge Pocketnet is a decentralized, open-sourced, and censorship-resistant platform that offers an alternative to centralized social network such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It is powered by the cryptocurrency Pocketcoin (PKOIN), a Proof-of-Stake token that allows authors to earn crypto for their content and protects them from arbitrary censorship through community moderation. Blockchain tracks reputation and high reputation users moderate the platform. The token is for decentralized advertising, boosting posts, buying unique fonts and t

Switzerland-based 21shares announced it’s going to offer its crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) to institutional investors in Britain. The platform said the aim is to provide U.K. investors with exposure to bitcoin without the need to deal with crypto custody and security. New Bitcoin ETP to Be Offered on London-Based Aquis Exchange The 21shares bitcoin ETP (ABTC) will be made available through a partnership with GHCO, a leading market maker and liquidity provider that specializes in exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It will be listed on Aquis Exchange, a multilateral trading platform based in London and Paris. The exchange facilitates stock trading across 15 European markets. The ETP is engineered like an ETF and will be centrally cleared, 21shares detailed in a press release on Monday. As ETPs trade on exchanges similarly to stocks, institutional investors in the U.K. will be facing a regulated framework and structure to which they are already accustomed to. The Swiss company furt

Onchain data indicates that bitcoin transactions per day have plummeted to lows not seen since October 2018. Further, bitcoin transaction fees have dropped 93% after touching a high of $62 per transaction in April 2021. Bitcoin Daily Transaction Rate Dips by 35%, Google Trends Data Shows Interest Has Dropped Since May While bitcoin ( BTC ) prices have dropped to lower bound ranges, after touching an all-time high over $64K per coin, the number of daily transactions has dive-bombed as well. In fact, daily BTC transactions have been plummeting since the first week of 2021, as statistics show a high of 387K transactions on January 6. Data from bitinfocharts.com indicates that the number of bitcoin transactions confirmed on June 3 was around 249K. Between the first week of January up until now, daily transactions have slipped by more than 35%. Statistics from bitinfocharts.com indicate daily transaction rates are as low as they were in October 2018. Fork.lol stats show on June 7

Former U.S. President Donald Trump says he does not like bitcoin because it is a currency that competes with the dollar, which he wants to be the currency of the world. He calls bitcoin a scam and wants cryptocurrency to be very heavily regulated. Trump Thinks Bitcoin Is a Scam, Wants Heavy Regulation on Crypto Donald Trump talked about bitcoin in an interview with Fox Business Monday. Responding to a comment that he does not like bitcoin and he would not invest in it, Trump said the cryptocurrency “seems like a scam.” He noted that when he was president, the price of bitcoin was only $6,000, much lower than it is now, adding: I don’t like it because it’s another currency competing against the dollar, essentially it’s a currency competing against a dollar. I want the dollar to be the currency of the world. That’s what I have always said. The former U.S. president also talked about bitcoin in response to questions regarding recent cyberattacks on major companies. Emphasizing sev

A professor of finance and business economics at the University of Southern California says that asset managers focusing on growth strategy could violate their fiduciary duty if they do not consider bitcoin in their portfolios. Asset Managers With Growth Focus Need to Consider Bitcoin Financial researcher Nik Bhatia said last week that asset managers seeking growth returns on behalf of their clients need to consider bitcoin, the Insider reported. Bhatia is also an adjunct professor of finance and business economics at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. In addition, he is the author of the book “Layered Money: From Gold and Dollars to Bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies.” He explained: Growth managers that are responsible for securing growth returns for their clients that haven’t done research into bitcoin at this point are bordering on some sort of fiduciary violation. “If you’re ignoring bitcoin now as a growth manager, you are ignoring

U.S. law enforcement officials from the Justice Department on Monday announced the seizure of $2.3 million dollars worth of crypto assets that were paid to the Colonial Pipeline hackers. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco explained during a news conference that federal agents “recaptured the majority of the ransom Colonial paid to the Darkside network.” FBI Recovers Private Key for Over 63 Bitcoin, Investigator Says Real-Time Blockchain Surveillance Used On May 14, Bitcoin.com News reported on the Darkside network of hackers extorting Colonial Pipeline for close to $5 million. Last month, Colonial’s CEO said the firm authorized the payment of around $4.4 million in digital assets. The Department of Justice noted on Monday that the full amount of the seizure was 63.7 bitcoins valued at approximately $2.3 million at the time of capture. An affidavit filed on June 7, 2021, by an agent working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “Earlier today, the Department of Ju

A report published by the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken shows that two-fifths of Australian millennials prefer to invest in cryptocurrency assets over real estate. The survey shows that a number of Australians are losing faith in traditional assets like gold, stocks, and real estate. Kraken’s Australia Managing Director: ‘Young Aussies Look for Other Options to Grow Wealth’ A survey conducted by the San Francisco crypto exchange Kraken indicates that 40% of millennials believe investing in digital assets like bitcoin ( BTC ) will end up turning into long-term gains. In fact, Kraken’s survey shows that nearly 40% of millennial respondents think digital currencies are an alternative investment to real estate. The study also showed that 22% of millennial Australians (born between the early ’80s and mid-’90s) think that investing in digital assets is a better way to save funds than storing wealth with bank accounts. Close to 50% of the baby boomer (born between the mid-’40s and mid-’6

Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, has weighed in the future of his country now that there is a formal proposal for making Bitcoin a legal tender, announcing complementary measures. Bukele mentioned yesterday on Twitter there would be no capital gains on Bitcoin earnings, and also highlighted the possibility of offering permanent residence to crypto entrepreneurs wanting to move to the LATAM country. El Salvador to Collect No Capital Gains on Bitcoin Earnings, Offers Permanent Residence to Crypto Entrepreneurs Nayib Bukele, President of the Republic of El Salvador, made some interesting remarks yesterday on Twitter, where he answered some concerns and questions of people involved in cryptocurrency businesses. The young politician has put the country in the media spotlight after appearing at the 2021 Bitcoin Conference in Miami, announcing he would be introducing legislation to make Bitcoin legal tender in the country. Bukele stated that because Bitcoin will be legal tender, t

On Monday, the application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) manufacturer Canaan Inc. announced the company has established an overseas after-sales center in Kazakhstan. According to Canaan, the service center will provide local customers with after-sales services like machine testing, warranty services, maintenance, and technical consultation. Chinese Miners Are Focused on Relocation, Canaan Opens Mining Rig Service Center in Kazakhstan Ever since China started cracking down on bitcoin miners in the region, Kazakhstan has been a target for relocation. A number of Chinese operations have focused on the Central Asian country and former Soviet republic for relocation after the clampdown. According to a recent report from Wired, quoting an anonymous source “familiar with China’s bitcoin mining industry,” Chinese miners who have “panicked” are moving to Kazakhstan “overnight.” Following a number of firms announcing migration to Kazakhstan after the Chinese government’s statements,

Two U.S. senators have urged lawmakers to increase measures to regulate cryptocurrencies, including how to trace cryptocurrency transactions, in order to combat ransomware attacks. “We haven’t figured out in the country or in the world how to trace cryptocurrency,” one senator said, adding that “We’ve got to do a better job here.” Senators Urge Lawmakers to ‘Do Better’ in Regulating Cryptocurrencies Two senators on the Intelligence Committee talked about the government’s efforts to combat a growing problem of ransomware involving cryptocurrency in an interview with NBC News Sunday. Senator Roy Blunt recalled that he and Senator Tom Carper were leading the effort to try to make reporting of ransomware attacks mandatory. However, he said that “there was a lot of pushback” because “Nobody wanted to report that they had been hacked.” He added: “That was a fight we’ve been having now for almost a decade. And the only way you can begin to get on top of this is to know how pervasive the

Player cashes out approximately $180,000 after winning it on Sun of Fortune: Hold the Jackpot! Multiple Wins Result in a Total Bank of Over 5 BTC The weather was perfect, with just enough sunshine to warm up one lucky player starting a gaming session on the newly released game, Sun of Fortune: Hold the Jackpot . Little did this player know that the day had much more in store for them: the most lavish fortunes they ever imagined. With a range of game choices at Bitcoin.com Games , picking one is a matter of deciding whether you want to play for the biggest jackpots available, choose a game with the highest multiplier, or get busy chasing free spins on a game that offers plenty of bonuses. Sun of Fortune – Hold the Jackpot is the newest release from the top gaming provider Wazdan This lucky player happened to pick the newest release from one of the top gaming providers, Wazdan , and ended up winning a massive prize of approximately $180,000 in BTC over multiple rounds with bets o

Microstrategy will soon hold more than 100,000 bitcoins in its treasury. The company is raising $400 million by selling senior secured notes and will use the proceeds to acquire additional bitcoins. Microstrategy Acquiring More Bitcoin Microstrategy Inc. (Nasdaq: MSTR) announced Monday it intends to offer $400 million of “senior secured notes due 2028” in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers. The company detailed: The notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior secured basis, jointly and severally, by Microstrategy Services Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microstrategy, and certain subsidiaries of Microstrategy that may be formed or acquired after the closing of the offering. The company further explained that “The notes and the related guarantees will be secured, on a senior secured basis with Microstrategy’s existing and future senior indebtedness, by security interests on substantially all of Microstrategy’s and the guarantors’ ass

The chairman of major Indian company Infosys says that crypto should be regulated as an asset, like a commodity. He believes that crypto investors will significantly contribute to India’s economy. Infosys Chairman Wants Crypto Regulated as an Asset Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani says the Indian government should regulate crypto as an asset that can be bought or sold, like a commodity, according to an interview with the Financial Times. He explained: Just like you have some of your assets in gold or real estate, you can have some of your assets in crypto. I think there’s a role for crypto as a stored value but certainly not in a transactional sense. Established in 1981, Infosys is a NYSE-listed Indian multinational information technology and consulting company with about 25,000 employees. The company has a presence in over 50 countries. Nilekani has long worked with Indian authorities to help craft digital policies, including the Aadhaar biometric identity program. He also chai