Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

On Tuesday, the Atlanta-based cryptocurrency payments company Bitpay announced the Israeli software company Wix has enabled its Software as a service (SaaS) e-commerce product to accept crypto-asset payments. The integration will allow Wix merchants to accept 12 different cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, dogecoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, litecoin, and stablecoins as well. SaaS Platform Wix Implements Bitpay Infrastructure So Merchants Can Accept Crypto Founded in 2006, by the Israeli software engineers Nadav Abrahami, Avishai Abrahami, and Giora Kaplan, the global SaaS platform Wix provides users with the ability to develop both mobile and HTML5 websites without coding experience. On October 12, Wix announced that it would be implementing Bitpay’s cryptocurrency payment processing infrastructure so users can choose it as an option for the Wix e-commerce platform. Alongside five different stablecoins such as BUSD, DAI, GUSD, USDP, and USDC, Wix Merchant users can also accept bitcoi

Cleanspark, a Nevada-based energy technology and clean bitcoin mining firm, has announced the purchase of 4,500 Bitmain-brand Antminer S19 bitcoin mining rigs. The company says the mining devices were purchased by leveraging a portion of the company’s bitcoin holdings. Cleanspark Purchases 4,500 ASIC Mining Rigs From Chinese Manufacturer Bitmain The publicly-listed bitcoin mining firm Cleanspark (Nasdaq: CLSK ) announced on Tuesday that the company has purchased 4,500 S19 bitcoin mining rigs from Bitmain. The rigs are expected to start the delivery process by next month and the units were “partially funded through a portion of the company’s BTC holdings.” The company estimates that the machines will increase hashrate by 450 PH/s or 0.45 exahash (EH/s), which is equivalent to Cleanspark’s current capacity. Cleanspark’s acquisition of 4,500 bitcoin miners follows other major purchases of bitcoin mining machines by large-scale operations this year. For instance, at the end of August

Decentralized finance (defi) has swelled quite a bit this year and on October 5, the total value locked (TVL) in defi protocols crossed the $200 billion mark. Since January 1, the defi TVL across various blockchains has risen almost 855% from $21.4 billion to today’s $204 billion . Total Value Locked in Defi Jumps Over the $200 Billion Handle, Ethereum TVL Commands 69% Dominance The total value locked (TVL) in defi today has jumped nearly ten times higher than the value at the beginning of 2021. On October 5, 2021, the TVL in defi surpassed the $200 billion handle for the first time and the value has remained above $200 billion during the last seven days. Statistics from defillama.com indicate that the defi protocol Curve has the largest dominance with $15.94 billion, up more than 7% over the last week. Curve’s dominance is 7.80% on Tuesday and it interacts with six different crypto networks including Avalanche, Ethereum, and Polygon. Metrics show that Aave, Makerdao, and Wrapped

Coinzo, one of Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is terminating its digital asset trading services. The platform said its website will remain online in the next six months to allow users to withdraw their holdings in cryptocurrency and Turkish fiat money. Another of Turkey’s Crypto Exchanges Closes Amid Ankara’s ‘War’ on Cryptocurrency Leading Turkish crypto exchange Coinzo announced on Monday it’s ending trading operations. The platform called on customers to withdraw their assets in Turkish lira and cryptocurrency without providing any particular reason for its decision to exit the market. In a notice published on its website, the company stated: 　We have decided to terminate our digital asset service provider (cryptocurrency platform) service. The exchange emphasized that its website, Coinzo.com, will continue to be accessible for another six months, during which traders will be able to log in to their accounts and withdraw Turkish lira and cryptocurrencies. All f

PRESS RELEASE. Using the iExec Oracle Factory, developers are able to create their own decentralized oracles with just the API’s URL and key. October 12 th , Lyon, France, 2021 – iExec , a decentralized marketplace for computing assets, has announced the launch of the iExec Oracle Factory , a developer interface allowing anyone to create their own oracles, from scratch, in minutes, without any blockchain knowledge and directly from their browser. In order for decentralized applications to solve real world problems, they need to make use of real word data. Decentralized oracles play a major role in blockchain-based architectures, acting as bridges between blockchains and the real world. However, developers who want to create their own oracles need existing blockchain knowledge, and coding them from scratch can take hours. iExec is releasing the iExec Oracle Factory, making oracles accessible to everyone. The iExec Oracle Factory is an interface allowing anyone to create their

Reports from South Africa say the country’s police have now issued a warrant for the arrest of Sandile Shezi, a 29-year-old cryptocurrency trader. The warrant was issued after one Allan Ledwaba, an investor with Shezi’s Global Forex Institute, accused the cryptocurrency trader of swindling him out of more than $33,000 (R500,000). Using Supercars to Woo Victims According to a report by City Press, Ledwaba’s interactions with Shezi began soon after he attended one of the latter’s seminars where attendees were taught forex trading. Ledwaba alleges that he was shown a “trading account” belonging to Shezi which had over $5.9 million. The report adds that Shezi’s Ferraris and Lamborghinis were also used to entice Ledwaba. Having been convinced by Shezi’s pitch, Ledwaba went on to procure a $33,000 loan from his father, which he invested in the crypto trader’s company. However, soon after investing, Ledwaba says he became suspicious. The report quotes Ledwaba explaining: The agreement

Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo recently warned that the country’s official naira exchange rate of N411 for every dollar is artificially low. This exchange rate, according to Osinbajo, discourages foreign exchange entrance into the country. Naira Exchange Rate Must Reflect Realities of Market Consequently, Vice President Osinbajo says he wants the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to allow the naira to “reflect the realities of the market.” As a report by The Cable details, Osinbajo also wants the CBN to rethink its foreign exchange management strategy. He explained: We can’t get new dollars into the system, where the exchange rate is artificially low. And everyone knows by how much our reserves can grow. I’m convinced that the demand management strategy currently being adopted by the CBN needs a rethink, and that is just my view. Still, Osinbajo suggested that any such reassessment should only be done when the CBN governor has time to address this issue. Naira Depreciation

Bitfarms, a bitcoin mining company, announced last week that construction is underway for a mega bitcoin mining farm in Argentina. The facility, which is designed to accommodate 55,000 miners, will be finished by next year. This is yet another signal that mining companies are looking for new areas with favorable conditions and cheap energy to migrate to, including places like Texas and El Salvador. Bitfarms Expands to Argentina Bitfarms, a Nasdaq -listed bitcoin mining company, announced it started building what will be a mega bitcoin mining farm in Argentina last week. The company says this facility will be able to power thousands of miners with power secured through a contract with a private power company. The farm will provide more than 210 megawatts of infrastructure capacity for the company, which reported having a mining power of 1.4 exahash per second in September. About the construction, Emiliano Grodzki, CEO of Bitfarms, stated: Our new high-production facility in Argen

On Monday, the blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic announced the company has raised $60 million in a Series C financing round. Elliptic plans to leverage the capital to expand the team and “accelerate” blockchain research and development (R&D). Elliptic Raises $60 Million to Bolster Expansion There’s been a number of capital investments and finance injections directed at companies within the crypto ecosystem. On October 11, the blockchain surveillance company Elliptic revealed the firm has raised $60 million from strategic investors. Elliptic highlights that Evolution Equity Partners, led the funding alongside a “new investment from Softbank Vision Fund 2.” Softbank Vision Fund 2 is basically owned by Softbank Group Corp., the Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Elliptic also notes that Albion VC, Digital Currency Group, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, SBI Group, Octopus Ventures, Signalfire, and Paladin Capital Group added to th

During the first week of September, the Wormhole Network’s ethereum solana bridge was introduced to the Solana community and the following week, developers released a bi-directional connection for blockchain non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles. On Monday, the Wormhole dev team revealed it has added Binance Smart Chain support to the token and NFT bridge platform. Wormhole Now Connects Solana to Binance Smart Chain The crypto asset solana (SOL) has propelled its way to the top seventh position, in terms of market valuation, among 10,000+ digital assets in existence. Now, year-to-date, SOL has gained 5,987% but during the last 30 days, SOL is down close to 18% on October 11. Much like Ethereum, Solana’s protocol is used for decentralized finance (defi) and there’s a myriad of defi platforms built specifically for the Solana network. 1/ We're excited to announce support for @BinanceChain on the Wormhole network! Starting today, users will be able to seamlessly bridge both to

The CEO of global investment bank JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon, says bitcoin is “worthless,” questioning whether the supply of bitcoin is actually limited. He also noted that blockchain and stablecoins can be real, emphasizing that governments are going to regulate the industry. Bitcoin Is Worthless and Supply May Not Be Capped, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Suggested JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon reiterated his anti-bitcoin stance Monday at the 2021 Institute of International Finance (IIF) Annual Membership Meeting, which was held virtually. “Blockchain can be real, stablecoins can be real,” Dimon said . “No matter what anyone in the room thinks, nor what any libertarian thinks, nor what anyone thinks about it, government’s going to regulate it.” He opined: I personally think that bitcoin is worthless. But, “I don’t want to be a spokesperson. I don’t care. It makes no difference to me,” he added. Nonetheless, the JPMorgan boss emphasized: “Our clients are adults. They disagree. That’s what ma

The Bank of England says that crypto assets pose “limited” direct risks to the stability of the country’s financial system. “Cryptoasset and associated markets and services continue to grow and to develop rapidly. Such assets are becoming increasingly integrated into the financial system,” the U.K.’s central bank described. Crypto Poses Limited Risks to UK’s Financial Stability The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) published the October edition of the “Financial Stability in Focus” report Friday. The Financial Policy Committee has 13 members, six of whom are Bank of England staff, including the governor and four deputy governors. The FPC “identifies, monitors and takes action to remove or reduce systemic risks with a view to protecting and enhancing the resilience of the U.K. financial system,” the central bank described. The committee wrote: Cryptoasset and associated markets and services continue to grow and to develop rapidly. Such assets are becoming increas

On Monday, FTX US announced the launch of its marketplace for non-fungible token (NFT) assets. FTX explained that the marketplace will feature Solana-based NFTs but support for Ethereum-based NFTs is coming in the near future. FTX US Reveals New Solana NFT Market, Plans to Support Ethereum in the Near Future West Realm Shires Services Inc., the parent company of FTX US , revealed on Monday that the U.S.-based regulated cryptocurrency exchange has launched the FTX NFTs Marketplace . The market will give FTX US users the ability to mint NFTs, as well as transfer the digital collectibles. The announcement published on October 11, indicates that the market will initially host Solana (SOL) minted non-fungible token (NFT) assets. “In the near future,” FTX NFTs plans to implement Ethereum support as well. Brett Harrison, the president of FTX US explained during the announcement that the company has already become “immersed in the NFT ecosystem.” “In learning about so many of these project

Flurry Finance is announcing an exciting development in the world of DeFi, as the successful launch of the rhoToken marks a next level evolution in yield aggregation! Users are now able to freely earn, trade, and spend deposit tokens while farming without restrictions or lockup periods. The future of yield farming has arrived! The Debut of the rhoToken rhoTokens are pegged to stablecoins on a 1:1 basis and support 3 kinds of stablecoin deposits. Users can now use the Flurry Finance DApp to convert USDT , USDC , and BUSD stablecoins into the corresponding rhoTokens of rhoUSDT , rhoUSDC , and rhoBUSD in order to earn passive income through the Flurry Protocol’s yield aggregator without the usual hassle, complications, and high gas fees associated with lending tokens to different DeFi lending protocols and exchanges directly. To fully explain this momentous occasion, it’s important to know how the rhoToken differs from other yield farming deposit tokens. At its most basic for

Bitfury, the leading non-Chinese bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer, is reportedly planning to go public in the next 12 months. This would constitute one of the largest listings of a European-based cryptocurrency mining hardware company to date. The company had a valuation of $1 billion dollars after its latest funding round, and is backed by companies like Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital. Bitfury Going Public in European Markets Bitfury, one of the most important cryptocurrency mining hardware manufacturers in Europe, is reportedly planning to go public in European markets. The company, which specializes in providing hardware for mining bitcoin and services associated with this hardware, supposedly contacted Deloitte, one of the big four accounting firms, to assess its readiness for the process of issuing stock in a regulated market, according to an article published by the Telegraph. The company wants to capitalize on the cryptocurrency bull market to see better performance wi

A U.S. government employee has been arrested on espionage-related charges after he attempted to sell restricted data on the design of nuclear-powered warships to a foreign government. The federal employee asked to be paid in monero cryptocurrency. “I am very aware of the risks of blockchain analysis of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and believe monero gives both of us excellent deniability,” he told an undercover FBI agent. Nuclear Engineer Sells Restricted Data for Monero The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Sunday that an employee of the Department of the Navy, who sold restrictive data for cryptocurrency, has been arrested on espionage-related charges. Jonathan Toebbe, who served as a nuclear engineer, was assigned to the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, also known as Naval Reactors. He held an active national security clearance through the U.S. Department of Defense, giving him access to restricted information. He and his spouse, Diana Toebbe, “sold information

The price of bitcoin continues to climb higher as the crypto asset has captured over 19% in gains during the last seven days. Bitcoin tapped a daily high on Monday reaching $57,678 per unit, jumping 4.4% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin Outperforms the Pack as Speculators Assume ETF Approval Is Coming It seems crypto investors are more attracted to bitcoin ( BTC ) in recent times as the crypto asset has been outperforming most of the top digital currencies in the last few days. On Monday, BTC has jumped 4.4% in value and BTC is the 14th-biggest seven-day gainer out of 10,000+ crypto-assets in existence. Much of the price increase has been attributed to the possibility that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve a bitcoin exchange-traded fund by the month’s end. While many investors see a bitcoin ETF approval as being positive, others have shared contrasting opinions about the subject in recent times. Bitcoin ( BTC ) has gained 19.3% during the last week an

On October 6, Pantera Capital published an investor’s note written by Dan Morehead, the company’s CEO. Unlike the myriad of crypto investors who believe that a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) will send the crypto asset’s value to the moon, Morehead explains it could be a negative event and when it officially launches he said he “might want to take some chips off the table.” Bitcoin Price Bolstered by ETF Speculation, Dan Morehead Discusses a Bitcoin ETF Approval and Possible Negative Effects The price of bitcoin (BTC) is riding much higher than last month as the crypto asset tapped a high on Monday morning (EST) reaching $57,093 per unit. Four days ago, Bitcoin.com News reported on the possibility of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) getting approved by the end of the month. It has been said that the probability of an ETF being approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be high by the end of October and the beginning of November. Because of this highe

Investing has become mandatory for those who want to secure their financial future. Despite this need, the accessible alternatives for those wanting to put their money to work are few. Akt.io will change this and democratize the world of investing. Why do you need investments? With current accounts offering zero returns and savings accounts offering close to zero returns, investing has become mandatory if you don’t want inflation to chew up your financial future. The problem is that investing is intimidating and associated with a lot of risk for the vast majority of people. Despite the plethora of investment platforms on the market today, investing remains for those who know how to navigate this world with confidence and actually make a profit from the bets they make. And, now you are only speaking about investing in traditional assets, such as stocks. Once you start adding newer asset classes and investments to the mix, such as crypto and crypto staking, the gap between those who

The Polish central bank, the National Bank of Poland (NBP), is reportedly planning to raise its gold reserves by 100 tons in 2022. According to bank governor Adam Glapinski, the objective of this decision is to prepare Poland for “the most unfavourable circumstances.” Gold’s Safe Haven Status In his remarks during an interview with the Gazeta Wroclawska newspaper, Glapinski explained why the NBP has chosen to increase its gold holdings. He said: Why does the central bank own gold? Because gold will retain its value even when someone cuts off the power to the global financial system. Glapinski adds that while the central bank is not assuming this will happen, it is still required to be prepared for such a scenario. The report also quotes the governor explaining why gold’s reputation (as an asset that increases in value during times of increased risk and financial and political crises) is such an important attribute for the NBP. Gold as Hedge Against Dollar Fluctuations Finall

Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, announced yesterday he will start using surplus funds from the country’s bitcoin trust. Part of the $4 million excedent will be invested in a vet hospital that will offer different services for the pets of Salvadoran citizens. Bukele explained this is possible due to the bitcoin price increase in the last few days. Nayib Bukele Proposes Construction of Vet Hospital Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, announced yesterday the construction of a veterinary clinic with funds coming from the country’s recently created bitcoin trust. According to his statements, $4 million can be withdrawn from Fidebitcoin, the national bitcoin trust, due to the latest price increase BTC has experienced. Bukele explained on Twitter: With the same amount of dollars and bitcoin in the trust, the trust is now worth more as the bitcoin went up in value. So now, FIDEBITCOIN has a ‘surplus’ of $4 million. Therefore, the state company Chivo can dispose of 4 million d

Travelers will be able to purchase airline tickets in Venezuela using cryptocurrencies in the near future. According to statements made by Freddy Borges, Director of the Maiquetía International Airport, the institution would be working to include cryptocurrencies such as dash, bitcoin, and the national petro as supported currencies in the airport’s payment system. Airport to Receive Crypto as Payment In Venezuela The adoption of cryptocurrency as a way of paying for airline tickets in Venezuela might be near. According to statements made by Freddy Borges, who is the director of the Maiquetía International Airport, the institution is working to adapt its payment system to receive some cryptocurrencies as payment for airline tickets and other services offered in the airport. In this sense, Borges stated: “We will activate a button for cryptocurrency payments in the airport platforms and commercial activities, in coordination with Sunacrip.” Among the mentioned cryptocurrencies th

Mining hardware manufacturer Bitmain will no longer ship its products to mainland China. The move is in response to local regulations, the company explained. The announcement follows a prolonged crackdown on crypto mining operations in the country and a recently reiterated wide ban on activities related to cryptocurrencies. Bitmain Stops Mining Rig Deliveries to Mainland China Referring to its commitment to abide by law and regulations in the jurisdictions where its entities operate, mining equipment producer Bitmain announced it terminates deliveries to the People’s Republic of China. In a statement published on Sunday, Bitmain said: From October 11, 2021, Antminer will stop shipping to mainland China. The company noted that “for customers in mainland China who have purchased long-term products, our staff will contact them to provide alternative solutions.” It did not share further details about the arrangements. Bitmain emphasized that the decision for the Chinese market does

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