Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Swedish central bank’s governor says bitcoin will face tougher regulation given its sheer popularity that continues to grow. “When something gets big enough, things like consumer interests and money laundering come into play,” said Stefan Ingves, Governor of the Riksbank. Tougher Regulation Expected for Bitcoin Stefan Ingves, the governor of Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, said Monday that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are unlikely to escape regulatory oversight due to their sheer popularity, Bloomberg reported. Even though regulators have voiced their concerns about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, they continue to gain popularity. They have attracted the biggest financial institutions to enter the space, including major investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley , which now offer crypto investments to their clients. A growing number of companies now accept bitcoin for payments, offer crypto-related services, and put BTC on their balance sheets. Goldman S

The notorious dogecoin will be open for trading on Thursday, June 3, on the popular trading platform Coinbase Pro. In mid-May, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed the meme-inspired crypto asset would be listed in six to eight weeks. It only took 18 days to get dogecoin added to Coinbase Pro but the coin is not yet added to the consumer application Coinbase.com. Coinbase Pro Opens the Dogecoin Gates Crypto traders can start depositing dogecoin (DOGE) to their Coinbase Pro accounts today, according to a blog post published on Tuesday. If liquidity conditions are met, trading will begin on June 3 at 9 a.m. (PT). Coinbase notes during the announcement that it takes great care toward looking at crypto assets that meet its standards. The exchange recently added support for tokens like 1inch (1INCH), enjin coin (ENJ), internet computer (ICP), cartesi (CTSI), and iexec (RLC). Coinbase Pro will tweet about the dogecoin order book moves in phases. “Once sufficient supply of DOGE is es

New York, New York – June 1, 2021 – Sweet , the first NFT solutions provider to develop a platform that can mint and distribute NFTs at scale while maintaining a strong eco-friendly and consumer first approach, has just announced it has completed integration of the Polygon blockchain (previously- the Matic Network) into its NFT solution. Sweet is pioneering a new way for brands to distribute NFTs through engaging consumer experiences via a multi chain, or chain agnostic, approach. With the addition of Polygon, Sweet is now leveraging the Polygon / Matic Ethereum sidechain, avoiding the high gas fees and slow transaction processing that would otherwise prevent brands from creating and distributing NFTs at scale. Tom Mizzone, CEO and founder of Sweet shared his thoughts on the addition of Polygon, “Sweet’s blockchain agnostic approach provides optionality to our brand partners and gives us the ability to match the right blockchain NFT solution to a brand’s specific consumer applicati

The creator of the popular bitcoin price model called stock-to-flow (S2F or S2FX) has added a new dot to his notorious chart. Plan B said on Tuesday that “we knew bitcoin would not go up in a straight line” and added that the market action is “starting to look like 2013.” S2FX ‘Intact’ Says Plan B “Plan B,” is a pseudonym leveraged by the Twitter account @100trillionusd and since March 22, 2019, he’s been documenting his popular stock-to-flow (S2F) price model . Similar to the tools and technical analysis models Bitcoin.com News has written about in recent days like the Golden Ratio Multiplier and Logarithmic Growth Curves , Plan B’s model is extremely popular and he recently updated it to the stock-to-flow cross-asset (S2FX) model. Basically, the model quantifies BTC ’s scarcity in a similar fashion to scarce assets like gold. It then leverages the bitcoin in circulation and quantifies it by yearly issuance with reward halvings as well. At the time of publication, the Bitcoin

Coinbase Card can now be used with Apple Pay and Google Pay, allowing cardholders to pay for goods and services using cryptocurrencies. Customers can also earn up to 4% in crypto rewards back when using their Coinbase Card with Apple Pay or Google Pay. Coinbase Enables Debit Card Use With Google Pay and Apple Pay Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced Tuesday that Coinbase Card users “can now use your Coinbase Card with Apple Pay and Google Pay to make it even easier to spend crypto.” Coinbase further said that “Starting this week, we’ll invite select customers off the waitlist to begin earning up to 4% back in crypto rewards,” elaborating: Millions of people around the world use Apple Pay or Google Pay for everyday purchases, from grocery deliveries to pet supplies to home office goods. Now, you can earn up to 4% back in crypto rewards on this shopping when you use your Coinbase Card with Apple Pay or Google Pay. Coinbase explained that it “will automatically convert

Nobuaki Kobayashi, the trustee that’s overseeing the Mt Gox civil rehabilitation proceedings, has published a proposal so Mt Gox claimants can vote in order to get reimbursed. The voting process will end on October 8 and more than 50% of the votes will be needed to solidify the settlement plan. Mt Gox Civil Rehabilitation Voting Process Begins Victims of the infamous Mt Gox breach may get a chance to get some funds after all of these years. That’s if the Tokyo-based bankruptcy official Nobuaki Kobayashi’s proposal passes by majority vote . Those who don’t vote will be submitted as a “nay” vote. “If you do not vote, you will be deemed to have voted against the Draft Rehabilitation Plan for the requirement of the amount of the voting rights,” the letter published on May 31 notes. Kobayashi’s letter further notes: We are pleased to inform you that the online voting function has been released on the online rehabilitation claim filing system— In addition to voting online for or again

Two Chinese online brokerages have set out to enter the global crypto trading market. The platforms, Tiger Brokers and Futu, are planning to offer their services only outside the People’s Republic as Beijing is once again cracking down on bitcoin trading in the country. Major Chinese Online Brokers Dive Into Crypto Trading Beijing-based Tiger Brokers and Shenzhen-headquartered Futu, China’s leading online brokerages, have unveiled plans to start offering crypto trading services, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday. The Nasdaq-listed companies want to compete with established platforms such as Robinhood and Etoro for a share of the expanding global market. The two companies will not accept clients from mainland China, however, as authorities in their home country have recently reiterated a ban on cryptocurrency trading. The Chinese government has been going after crypto exchanges and payment service providers while vowing to continue closely monitoring China’s huge cr

Rumors of a fourth and possible fifth round of direct stimulus checks have become a hot conversation topic this week, as lawmakers are urging the President to act. Over 80 U.S. legislators have sent letters to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris asking the administration to push forward direct economic stimulus payments and extend unemployment benefits. 80 Legislators Urge Biden Administration to Push for More Stimulus Discussions concerning more Covid-19 relief stimulus have been increasing in recent days after the Biden administration proposed a $6 trillion budget last week. Following the “Build Back Better” proposal, a number of reports have been discussing rumors of a fourth and even fifth round of stimulus checks for American citizens. Of course, despite the headlines implying more direct payments are on the way and a large group of Democrats relentlessly asking the executive office to act, nothing has been approved yet. What the reports do say is that a fou

One of India’s leading private banks with 5,608 branches and 16,087 ATMs, HDFC Bank, has published a report stating that “it is just a matter of time before Indian investors have legal access to crypto plays.” This statement came as the bank scrutinizes crypto transactions in customer accounts. HDFC Bank Predicts Legal Acess to Crypto in India HDFC Bank, a leading private bank in India, published a Treasury Research report last week detailing its view on cryptocurrency. HDFC Bank currently has 5,608 branches and 16,087 ATMs across India. The bank was among the first to receive approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a private sector bank in 1994. “Like most conventional investors, we are yet to reconcile the often-conflicting properties of cryptocurrencies,” reads the bank’s report, entitled “Cryptocurrencies: Fad or Forever?” While acknowledging that cryptocurrency “helped to hedge against sharp movements in other asset classes,” the bank’s economists argued that “

DBS, Southeast Asia’s largest bank, has launched its first security token offering (STO) on its cryptocurrency exchange. The DBS Digital Bond is priced at 15 million Singapore dollars. “We expect asset tokenization to increasingly become more mainstream,” said a DBS executive. DBS’ First Security Token Offering DBS announced Monday its first security token offering (STO) on the DBS Digital Exchange (Ddex). The DBS Digital Bond, priced at 15 million Singapore dollars (US$11.37 million), comes with a six-month tenor and coupon rate of 0.60% per annum. It is offered as a private placement and DBS is the sole bookrunner for the transaction. The bank detailed: This paves the way for other issuers and clients to tap on Ddex’s capabilities to efficiently access capital markets for their funding needs and sets the stage for more STO issuances and listings on Ddex as asset tokenisation turns mainstream. Clifford Lee, Global Head of Fixed Income at DBS, said that “this marks the first of

Spain has not been a stranger to the popularity of cryptocurrencies, and with this popularity, also comes the attention of people and organizations wanting to capitalize on the subject. Spanish tribunals have been flooded lately with lawsuits involving cryptocurrency scams related to bitcoin and ethereum based platforms, and the people using these to scam other users for millions of euros. Cryptocurrency-Related Scams Flood Tribunals in Spain Tribunals from Spain are now being flooded with cryptocurrency scam-related cases, that are affecting thousands of citizens, according to local reports . With the recent price increase of cryptocurrencies, scammers are always looking to do a quick buck, and they have been successful in Spain. One of the biggest scams reported is the one associated with a company named Algorithms Group, which scammed more than 280 million euros from 300+ investors. The brain behind this scam is a man called Javier Biosca, who acted as a broker buying and sellin

U.S. banking corporation BNY Mellon is gearing up to offer crypto custody services out of Dublin where it has just established a digital hub. The news coincided with a stark warning issued by a top central bank official in Ireland who said people should only buy bitcoin if they’re prepared to lose money. BNY Mellon to Provide Custody for Digital Assets Through Dublin-based Unit Following a decision to enter the cryptocurrency space announced in February, the Bank of New York Mellon has now created a “Digital Innovation Hub” in Dublin. The unit will act as a custodian for crypto assets, the Business Post reported, noting that with the move, “the banking giant, is betting on the future of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.” The hub will allow clients to hold, transfer and issue digital assets, the Irish publication detailed. Custodial services will be provided for a variety of assets including the cryptocurrency with the largest market cap, bitcoin ( BTC ), non-fungible tokens ( NF

Statistics now show the Eth2 deposit contract has more than 5.2 million staked ether worth over $13 billion locked into the smart contract. The contract launched on November 4, 2020, and three weeks later, the contract met the required threshold to initiate the Beacon Chain. It’s not cheap to become a validator these days, as today’s exchange rates show the 32 ether to get started will run a user more than $84k. More Than $13 Billion Worth of Ether Locked Into the Eth2 Deposit Contract Ethereum users have added quite a bit of ether to the “ Eth2 deposit contract,” as it’s called on Etherscan as 5,210,370 ETH has been deposited to-date. That’s $13.6 billion worth of ether locked into the Beacon Chain contract, which was invoked six months and three weeks ago. At the time of writing, there’s more than a dozen 32 ETH-sized transactions waiting to be confirmed. In order for an individual to become a staking validator, 32 ether worth over $84k today is required. Dune Analytics statist

On Monday, the publicly-listed enterprise mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings announced the company has adopted the latest codebase offered by Bitcoin Core developers that features Taproot. Marathon is now signaling for Taproot according to the announcement. The North American bitcoin miner further noted that the firm’s mining operation Marapool will “cease filtering transactions.” Marathon Adopts Bitcoin Core Version 0.21.1 With Taproot Privacy Features The firm Marathon Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: MARA), has been making a number of business moves in the bitcoin mining sector in 2021. In December 2020, the firm announced the purchase of 70,000 Antminer S19 bitcoin miners from Bitmain for $170 million. Last week, Marathon revealed that Compute North’s mining farm in Texas will host 73,000 of Marathon’s mining rigs. Furthermore, in more recent times, Marathon made headlines for censoring specific bitcoin transactions in a mined BTC block. At that time, Marathon revealed to the pu

In May 2020, back when the crypto economy was still tumultuous from the coronavirus outbreak fears and gloomy global financial outlook, in general, the private venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) revealed the 500 million-dollar “Crypto Fund II.” A report published on May 27 by the tech writer Eric Newcomer indicates that Andreessen Horowitz is contemplating $2 billion in financing for the next crypto fund. Former Bloomberg Reporter Says ‘a16z in the Process of Tripling Down on Crypto’ The well known venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz back in 2009 has been a driving force in the crypto industry in regard to financing projects and startups. Marc Andreessen has been a firm believer in bitcoin for quite some time now and a16z has funneled millions of dollars into the industry during the last eight years. In recent times, Andreessen Horowitz launched two funds dedicated to the development of “crypto networks and businesses.”

Belt Finance, a Binance Smart Chain-based decentralized lending protocol, lost $6.3 million in a flash loan attack last week. The attackers took advantage of a series of inefficiencies in the smart contract to manipulate the price of the set and obtain profit from a series of transactions. This is just the last of a series of attacks that seem to be pointing to Binance Chain protocols due to their vulnerabilities. Belt Finance Loses $6.3 Million in Flash Loan Attack Belt Finance, a borrowing and loaning protocol that operates in the Binance Smart Chain suffered a flash attack last week that caused losses of over six million dollars. The attack, that used Pancakeswap as a tool for executing its strategy, used a series of operations to manipulate its belt/BUSD pool, a stable token in the protocol, and profit due to this inefficiency. The Belt Finance team declared in a post mortem report that the attackers managed to exploit this bug eight times before being detected. The team of Be

There’s a number of tools, charts, and models traders use to help them forecast bitcoin price cycles and our last article discussed leveraging the Golden Ratio Multiplier. The following editorial discusses another method of bitcoin price prediction analysis by utilizing Logarithmic Growth Curves. In September 2019, a comprehensive paper published by Harold Christopher Burger describes how crypto proponents can visualize bitcoin price cycles using the Power-Law Corridor model. Bitcoin’s Logarithmic Growth Curve In order to give our readers some deeper perspective, Bitcoin.com News has been covering a few useful price models that technical analysts and crypto traders leverage to forecast bitcoin’s future prices. The previous report discussed the Golden Ratio Multiplier and how bitcoiners can use the well known golden ratio and the Fibonacci sequence to predict future values. The next subject takes a look at how crypto enthusiasts can use Logarithmic Growth Curves to get some perspec