Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani discussed cryptocurrencies at the most recent meeting of the government’s Economic Coordination Board and told participants that regulatory policy is needed to protect consumers. Rouhani believes the Iranian government should “communicate the necessary laws and instructions” as soon as possible so dishonorable crypto businesses are avoided. Regulation Necessary to Keep ‘Unprofessional’ Entries Out of Crypto Sector, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Says On Tuesday, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani made comments toward the cryptocurrency industry gaining ground in Iran and also warned retail investors about the possibility of “unprofessional” entries into this space. Overall, Iran has been friendlier toward crypto-assets and businesses like bitcoin mining than most countries. There have been some issues with electrical consumption, but one study indicates that Iran is leveraging bitcoin mining to lessen the effect of economic sanctions against the oi

PRESS RELEASE. Torum prepares to launch an NFT launchpad from its unique DeFi & NFT-infused social media platform, following successive fundraising achievements. 9th June, 2021, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Torum , the first DeFi, and NFT-infused crypto social media platform is now going to launch an NFT launchpad that is designed with cross-chain interoperability. The integration of the NFT feature will enable projects to raise funds from a community of over 56,000 cryptocurrency users and investors . Introducing Torum NFT Launchpad Torum NFT Launchpad is developed on Torum’s DeFi staking platform, Torum Finance that offers any issuing projects to launch NFTs with different rarity and total supply and also the burning period of the NFTs. There are two types of public launches with different criteria and gamification options available to choose from on the launchpad. The first option is a dual token launch which gives NFT holders the vested right to burn the NFTs and receive

Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone believes bitcoin is “more likely” headed for $40K instead of $20K after discussing the possibility of capitulation in a recent tweet. McGlone’s opinion follows a number of predictions that say bitcoin could drop to the $20K zone if there’s more pullback in the cards. Bloomberg Commodity Strategist Suggests Bitcoin ‘More Likely’ to Hit $40K Than $20K Bitcoin markets have improved on Wednesday, after the announcement stemming from El Salvador which recognized bitcoin ( BTC ) as legal tender in the country. Even though the news has been positive, some people are still not sure if the “bottom is in.” There have been predictions of BTC dropping below the $30K region and even down to the $20K zone. Stephen Kelso, head of markets at ITI Capital explained in a note to Bitcoin.com News that there have been reports that suggest BTC could drop to this low point. “Speculative reports suggest that bitcoin could soon drop to $20,

Interactive Brokers will add cryptocurrency trading to its platform by the end of the summer, CEO Thomas Peterffy has revealed. The platform has about 1.33 million customer accounts and $330.6 billion in customer equity as of the first quarter. Interactive Brokers to Offer Cryptocurrency Trading The chairman and CEO of Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR), Thomas Peterffy, said at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange & Fintech Conference Wednesday that his company will start offering direct cryptocurrency trading. Peterffy was quoted by the media as saying: Customers certainly are asking for [crypto trading] and we expect to be ready to offer it to them by the end of the summer. The platform has about 1.33 million customer accounts and $330.6 billion in customer equity as of the first quarter. Clients from over 200 countries and territories invest globally in stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds and funds from a single integrated Interactive Brokers account. The CEO furth

An official notice stemming from the Changji prefecture government in Xinjiang details that officials from the Zhundong Economic-Technological Development Park must instruct bitcoin miners to shut down. China’s province of Xinjiang is a highly concentrated region of bitcoin miners and bitcoin activities at the park must cease by June 9, according to the document. Nevertheless, the Bitcoin network’s hashrate has been considerably higher today than last week’s average rate. Development Park Bitcoin Miners in Xinjiang Told to Cease Operations Following Sichuan Energy Official’s Meeting There’s been a number of reports from China that indicate Chinese government officials haven’t been too keen on the crypto mining sector in recent times. Bitcoin.com News has covered a number of reports tied to the country showing a possible crackdown on bitcoin mining taking place in mainland China. For instance, Huobi and Okex revealed the companies would restrict certain services to Chinese residen

Two months after the mystery mining whale from 2010 transferred a string of 20 block rewards with 1,000 bitcoin on March 23, it seemed as though the entity was finished, after spending 10,000 bitcoin total. However, it took 78 days for the whale’s next move, as another 20 blocks from 2010 were transferred on Wednesday after the bitcoin sat idle for more than a decade. Despite the fact that bitcoin’s value is much lower today than a month ago, the mystery whale spent 1,000 bitcoin worth $35 million on Wednesday morning (EST) from 2010 at block height 686,865. The 2010 Mystery Whale Is Back, 1,000 Ten-Year-Old Bitcoins Move Last year and into 2021, Bitcoin.com News has been investigating a mystery whale that spends strings of 2010 block rewards in the same pattern every time the entity transfers coins. The strings are precisely 20 decade-old block rewards that contain 50 bitcoin ( BTC ) each and are also spent in one block. The last time the old-school whale from Satoshi’s era moved

Financial authorities in Hong Kong have announced a second phase of trials for mainland China’s digital currency. As part of the upcoming tests, the city will link the Chinese digital yuan to its domestic payments system to evaluate the CBDC’s usability in cross-border scenarios. Hong Kong Residents to Load E-CNY Wallets via Mobile Phones China has gained a lot of ground in its push to develop and implement a central bank digital currency ( CBDC ). And while officials in Beijing have indicated that the e-CNY is a domestic project at this stage, cross-border trials have been launched in the special administrative region of Hong Kong. After initial small-scale experiments with digital yuan wallets, the latest testing round will check how Hong Kong residents can load the e-CNY wallets using the city’s faster payment network, Reuters reported. The system is currently processing domestic payments ordered through mobile devices. The new trials were announced during a press conference o

One of Africa’s oldest museums, the Uganda National Museum (UNM), is set to create digital representations of the unique artifacts that are on display at this facility. Working in concert with software development firm Murcom, Uganda’s biggest museum is expected to display and auction the digitally represented items on Binance’s non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. Uganda National Museum Artifacts to Be Made NFTs According to Murcom’s post on Medium, the “blockchain-based digital representations of the various items under the Museum’s custody” will be created using the software firm’s MUDA NFT platform. On June 24, Binance NFT will launch and both UNM and MUDA will be participants in the crypto exchange’s “100 Creators’ Campaign.” In the meantime, discussing the reasons prompting the Ugandan museum to join the NFT movement, Murcom Director Suleiman Murunga starts by explaining the token creation and authentication process. Next, he summarizes Murcom’s working relationship with th

U.K.-based crypto payments provider Bottlepay has started offering services in other European countries. Users on the Old Continent will be able to send and receive even small amounts of euro and also buy, store and spend bitcoin with merchants accepting cryptocurrency. Bottlepay Promises Low-Cost Transactions in Euro and Bitcoin The Bottlepay app will allow Europeans to make instant cross-border payments using the Eurozone’s common fiat currency, the euro, as well as bitcoin ( BTC ). The startup, which launched its service in the U.K. earlier this year, promises to process these transactions at a low cost. It announced its upcoming European expansion on social media before the weekend. Europe, see you next week✌️ #europelaunch #euro #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/r4zjafonJn — Bottlepay ⚡ (@bottlepay) June 4, 2021 The app can be downloaded via a link sent to mobile devices. Starting Tuesday, European residents will be able to top it up with euros to buy bitcoin or make payments

The crypto trading platform Coinseed is shutting down operations according to a written statement from the company’s CEO Delgerdalai Davaasambuu. A court order secured by New York Attorney General Letitia James told Coinseed to halt all of its operations. Following the announcement of the shutdown, Coinseed’s CEO said he created an ERC20 token called “FLJ” that’s dedicated to Attorney James “and her cronies.” New York Attorney General Letitia James Obtains Court Order, Agency Claims 170 Complaints Filed Coinseed is calling it quits after the firm was served with a court order to continue “a mandated pause” on operations. Bitcoin.com News reported during the first week of May when James announced that the attorney general took “legal action” against Coinseed. The platform was also instructed by the U.S. government to “immediately halt” all operations. The court order obtained by the New York Attorney General (NYAG) and the press release that followed, said that the shutdown is mea

The bill to make bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador has been approved by a supermajority in the Salvadoran Congress. “The purpose of this law is to regulate bitcoin as unrestricted legal tender with liberating power, unlimited in any transaction, and to any title that public or private natural or legal persons require carrying out,” the bill describes. Bill to Make Bitcoin Legal Tender Approved by Congress in El Salvador The bill to make bitcoin legal tender has passed Congress in El Salvador. President Nayib Bukele announced via Twitter early Wednesday morning: “The Bitcoin Law has been approved by a supermajority in the Salvadoran Congress. 62 out of 84 votes. History.” The bill was sent to Congress late Tuesday night; it contains 16 articles. Article 1 states: The purpose of this law is to regulate bitcoin as unrestricted legal tender with liberating power, unlimited in any transaction, and to any title that public or private natural or legal persons require carrying out.

One of the biggest franchises in the videogame industry, Grand Theft Auto, will feature in-game payments of “bitcoin” or another fictional cryptocurrency. Contractors will pay the player with this currency when they need to make anonymous, untraceable payments. This would constitute another push for Bitcoin awareness into mainstream media culture. Grand Theft Auto 6 to Feature in-Game Fictional Cryptocurrency Grand Theft Auto 6, one of the biggest gaming franchises, will feature an in-game cryptocurrency for payments according to insiders. The game will allow the player to accept cryptocurrency payments from big shot contractors who want to remain anonymous. Industry insider Tom Henderson leaked the news on Twitter earlier this week. He stated: I heard recently that in GTA 6, some missions will reward you in bitcoin instead of cash for completing some missions. The stock market feature will return, with the addition of a broker for different cryptocurrencies. If GTA 6 incorporate

Mike Novogratz declared institutional investors are waiting for the next narrative shift in a recent interview at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami. The CEO of Galaxy Digital thinks the market is now in a consolidation phase after the price crash last month. Novogratz also commented on what the rise of defi could mean for banking operators in the near future. Mike Novogratz Thinks Bitcoin Investors Are Waiting for a New Narrative Galaxy Digital’s CEO Mike Novogratz thinks Bitcoin is still in a phase of consolidation after the dump in prices experienced last month. According to the entrepreneur, possible investors are waiting for the next shift in the Bitcoin narrative. This new push would entice them to start pumping money into digital assets again. Novogratz explained in an interview with Yahoo Finance that he thinks institutional investors are to blame for the recent tank in prices. Institutional investors were able to accumulate Bitcoin cheap at $9K prices, and with the sudd

Six East African states are reportedly set to explore the possibility of using central bank digital currencies (CBDC) as an alternative to their shared payment system. The six countries, which are all members of the East Africa Community (EAC) trading bloc, are hoping this alternative will create a pathway that leads to the attainment of “a single currency for the region by 2024.” The Moribund EAPS The revelations of the EAC’s digital currency plan follow the bloc secretariat’s “consultancy call for a feasibility study” on the planned upgrade of the East African Payment System (EAPS). Since its launch in 2014, the EAPS has failed to function properly due to member states’ distrust of each other’s currency. Consequently, according to a report , the EAC says the selected “consultant will conduct an exploratory scoping of such developments.” The consultant is similarly expected to conduct an exploratory scoping for “emerging technologies and their adoption, including but not limited t

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he “pretty much” agrees with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin about a collaboration between Dogecoin and Ethereum. Buterin said: “if we can have a secure Doge-to-Ethereum bridge. That would be amazing.” Vitalik Buterin Talks About Dogecoin and Ethereum Bridge, Elon Musk Agrees Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin talked about a potential collaboration between Ethereum and Dogecoin in an interview with AI researcher Lex Fridman last week. Referring to the Tesla and Spacex CEO repeatedly tweeting about dogecoin, Fridman said, “There’s a power behind someone like Elon Musk pushing the development of a cryptocurrency.” He then asked Buterin, “is there a way to leverage that power and momentum to improve Ethereum?” Buterin said: If DOGE wants to somehow bridge to Ethereum, and then people can trade DOGE thousands of times a second inside of loopring, then that would be amazing. “I definitely don’t think Ethereum is opposed to dog coins,” the co-founder em

The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has revealed record growth in its institutional business. “This year, interest from pension funds and hedge funds has skyrocketed, supported by the roll-out of crypto-ETPs as well as an increased understanding of the crypto economy,” said Coinbase. Coinbase Sees Interest From Institutional Investors Skyrocketing Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) reportedly revealed Tuesday that between Dec. 31 last year and the end of the first quarter this year, its institutional holdings grew 170% from $45 billion to $122 billion. The company has over 8,000 institutional clients currently, including hedge funds, asset managers, pension funds, and endowments. Many institutional clients use Coinbase Custody, a crypto custody service with an insurance policy for institutional clients. The service, launched in 2018, supports over 90% of cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Drew Robinson, Head of Hedge Fund Sales at Coinbase, says