Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, has formally approved two companies to provide crypto services. One is the brokerage arm of DBS, the largest bank in Singapore and Southeast Asia. The other is Independent Reserve, a crypto exchange and OTC trading desk. Singapore’s Central Bank Formally Approves DBS and Independent Reserve DBS Bank announced Friday that its brokerage arm, DBS Vickers (DBSV), “has received formal approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act 2019 to provide digital payment token services as a Major Payment Institution.” The bank explained: “This will enable DBSV, as a member of DBS Digital Exchange (Ddex), to directly support asset managers and companies to trade in digital payment tokens through Ddex.” Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, head of Capital Markets at DBS and chair of the DBS Digital Exchange, commented: Having received formal regulatory approval from MAS, DBSV is now in a better positio

PRESS RELEASE. Bitcoin of America (BOA) is a popular virtual currency exchange, headquartered in Chicago, IL. They are known for their extensive number of Bitcoin ATM locations across the United States. Bitcoin of America’s CEO, Sonny Meraban, and Director of Marketing, Jenna Polinsky, have been featured on air at WGN Radio over the past couple of months. BOA is hoping to provide more free opportunities for the public to learn the basics of cryptocurrency. In BOA’s first WGN radio segment, Meraban and Polinsky discuss the basics of how to use a Bitcoin ATM. They also talk about an additional option, which they are hoping to promote to their beginner audience. Bitcoin of America recognized a major learning gap and created their own face to face purchasing experience, this is known as a Bitcoin Teller location. This means that customers can go in and ask questions regarding their purchase. According to Bitcoin of America, all merchants are trained and ready to assist all users. BOA’s

Egyptian banks are reportedly on course to launch a $69.6 million fund which is earmarked to support the country’s fintech companies. According to a report, this fund is expected primarily to target the digital banking and financial services sector. Fintech Apps Targeted Fintech apps that can extend banking and financial services to all segments of society in a cost-effective way will also be targeted. So far, only the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and Banque du Caire have been identified as the financial institutions that are participating in this initiative. Fintechnews Africa reveals in a report that “investments from the fund will be made in both local and international emerging fintech companies.” The report adds that part of the funds will be used to nurture “young talent in this space.” Aside from helping fintech companies grow, having this fund is expected to help the country narrow its financial exclusion gap. With 67% of its adult population currently financially

The central bank of New Zealand has lined up among monetary authorities exploring the question of issuing their own digital currencies. The financial regulator is now seeking feedback from the public about the need for a digital form of the national fiat while also promising to preserve cash. New Zealand Central Bank Considers Risks and Benefits of CBDC Reserve Bank of New Zealand ( RBNZ ) is now gathering input from the public on the potential use of a central bank digital currency ( CBDC ), Reuters reported following an announcement released by the bank on Thursday. Assuring that financial authorities are still working “to preserve cash and the cash system for those that need it,” RBNZ Assistant Governor Christian Hawkesby stated: A Central Bank Digital Currency would see the features and benefits of cash enjoyed in the digital world, working alongside cash and private money held in commercial bank accounts. The high-ranking official elaborated that a CBDC could benefit both

Bitbay has become a fully licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Estonia which introduced stricter rules for the industry last year. The European trading platform has recently passed an independent audit that confirmed its “solvency, security and fiscal responsibility.” Audit Examines AML and KYC Procedures at Bitbay Bitbay, a leading crypto trading platform in Europe, is now a fully licensed and regulated exchange under Estonia’s stringent regulations imposed last fall. The company has been audited by an independent third party which thoroughly examined its accounting practices, including anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) procedures. The inspection also verified the platform’s financial assets, including crypto and fiat funds, as well as the current state of user accounts. Income, revenue, and profit were analyzed too, and according to an announcement published on the exchange’s website on Wednesday, the audit has confirmed Bitbay is solvent, secure, and fisca

Dydx, a decentralized exchange, has seen its trading volumes explode in the last few days, surpassing other recognized decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and Pancakeswap. Some analysts have suggested this might be the result of the latest Chinese cryptocurrency ban causing China-based users to move their trading activities to these platforms. Dydx Bursts With Activity Dydx, a decentralized exchange that, unlike other similar platforms, offers an order book, has been bustling with activity during the last few days. The activity in the decentralized exchange has grown enormously, with volumes surpassing those of its decentralized rivals such as Uniswap and Pancakeswap. In fact, On September 26, dydx trading volumes surpassed those of Coinbase, achieving a big milestone for the platform. According to Antonio Juliano, Dydx’s founder, the exchange managed to move $3.68 billion on September 26, while Coinbase moved $3.61 billion on the same day. Dydx was originally based on Ethereum,

Following the announcement of a few days ago, the decentralized multiverse platform OVR , which unites the physical and virtual worlds through Augmented Reality, has launched “ The ARwards ” contest open to all creators who are looking for an opportunity to gain wide visibility and possibly win interesting prizes. First of all, The ARwards is completely free for any participant who will simply be asked to register. Creators will be required to provide: username, password, email and nationality, thus completing the registration in less than five minutes. The platform offers content creators the opportunity not only to project their 3D experiences to the world, but also to encourage competition among creators to make augmented reality experiences even better. In concrete terms, through an OVRLand NFT, the famous virtual hexagon developed by OVR to create three-dimensional objects on top of it, participants can upload a 3D model to the dedicated workspace, edit it, refine it and final

Billy Markus, the co-founder of Dogecoin, explained on Wednesday that an Ethereum bridge to the Doge network would bolster the dogecoin ecosystem. Markus also said that non-fungible token (NFT) markets “would help Dogecoin” as well. Dogecoin Co-Creator Thinks 2 Ideas Could Help the Doge Network The popular crypto asset dogecoin (DOGE) has gained a whopping 7,500% during the last 12 months and reached a high of $0.731 per unit on May 8, 2021. However, DOGE is down 72% since that all-time high and 25.4% during the last month. While the Dogecoin co-founder Jackson Palmer criticized the crypto world and said it was managed by powerful cartels, Billy Markus speaks about crypto in a positive manner. On Wednesday, Markus tweeted about the meme-based crypto network he helped create and discussed how the project could be helped by adding two things. “Two things I believe would help Dogecoin: [The] completion of DOGE ETH bridge, [and] NFT platforms (e.g. Opensea) allowing for the DOGE-

Former federal prosecutor Katie Haun says that regulators really need to take stock of the fact that we’re beyond just financial use cases of cryptocurrency. “There’s much more to crypto than that,” she said, adding that “Regulation cannot be one size fits all.” Haun further said that crypto is not the Wild West and the industry wants clarity, not lack of regulation. Former Federal Prosecutor Discusses Crypto Regulation and SEC’s Role Katie Haun talked about cryptocurrency and its regulation at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha Conference Wednesday. Haun is a general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. She previously spent a decade as a federal prosecutor focusing on fraud, cyber, and corporate crime alongside agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Treasury. She created the government’s first cryptocurrency task force and led investigations into the Mt. Gox hack and the corrupt agents on the Silk Road task

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, explains that some laws provide “significant investor protections” for exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including those seeking to invest in bitcoin futures. He looks forward to seeing the SEC’s review of such filings. SEC Chairman Looks Forward to Staff’s Review of Bitcoin Futures ETF Filings SEC Chairman Gary Gensler talked about crypto regulation and bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at the Financial Times’ Future of Asset Management North America conference Wednesday. In prepared remarks, he discussed “investment vehicles providing exposure to crypto assets,” noting that “Earlier this year, a number of open-end mutual funds launched that invested in Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)-traded bitcoin futures.” Gensler added, “Subsequently, we’ve started to see filings under the Investment Company Act [’40 Act] with regard to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) seeking to invest in CME-traded bitcoin futures

Orlando Bravo, the billionaire who co-founded private equity firm Thoma Bravo, says he is very bullish on bitcoin, expecting the cryptocurrency to “increase significantly.” He described: “Crypto is just a great system. It’s frictionless. It’s decentralized. And young people want their own financial system. So it is here to stay.” Billionaire Investor ‘Very Bullish’ on Bitcoin Orlando Bravo, co-founder and managing partner of private equity firm Thoma Bravo, talked about bitcoin Wednesday at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha conference. His net worth as of Sept. 29 is $6.3 billion, according to Forbes. Bravo is reportedly the first Puerto Rican-born billionaire. “How could you not love crypto?” he said at the conference, elaborating: Crypto is just a great system. It’s frictionless. It’s decentralized. And young people want their own financial system. So it is here to stay. “The underlying technology of blockchain, regardless of what protocol or what system you are building upon, can be v

One of the backbones of crypto market in today’s world are decentralized exchanges that took the world by the storm in recent years. And as the crypto exchange market is moving and developing rapidly, it is absolutely no surprise that the exchanges have to evolve in accordance. Therefore, today, The CEO of Soldex.ai , John Robertson will present you with the next step in crypto exchanges, which is the AI powered trading that may be the future of the token trading. The impact of Soldex.ai and what makes it to stand out from the other projects One of the most salient blockchain in the recent times is Solana. It took the world by storm while offering many benefits, hence it has been chosen for the Soldex.ai. Soldex.ai was created to solve certain issues caused by order-matching centralized exchanges and the trust-less custody found in the exchanges of the today. Soldex.ai will power the new avalanche of flexible financial markets. The protocols will serve as a foundational layer for s

On September 27, the digital currency firm Coinbase announced that U.S. customers will soon be able to directly deposit their paycheck into their Coinbase accounts. With the new direct deposit feature, Coinbase customers can leverage their funds to make investments, generate yield, or add value to their Coinbase prepaid debit card. US Coinbase Customers Will Soon Be Able to Use Direct Deposit Feature Coinbase has come a long way since the firm was created in 2012, and now as a publicly-listed company, the crypto firm offers a myriad of services and is still one of the top gateways to the crypto world. On Monday, the company’s senior director of product, Prakash Hariramani, published a blog post explaining how U.S. Coinbase customers will soon be able to directly deposit their paycheck into their Coinbase accounts. “Over the next few weeks,” Hariramani announced, “we’re rolling out the ability for customers in the U.S. to deposit their paycheck into Coinbase to more easily make reg

One of the largest and oldest American comic book publishers DC Comics, Inc., has announced the firm has partnered with Palm NFT Studio in order to unleash a large swathe of non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles. The NFT drop will take place during the DC Fandome on October 16 and the NFT art will feature superheroes like Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Harley Quinn. American Comic Book Publisher DC Comics to Drop a Large Collection of NFTs Two weeks from now on October 16, the American comic book publisher DC Comics aims to drop a large quantity of non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles featuring the firm’s most beloved characters at the DC Fandome event. The NFT drop from DC Comics is in partnership with Palm NFT Studio and the comic book publisher plans to release a number of NFTs featuring Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern. The announcement that was revealed to Bitcoin.com News explains that the NFTs were hand-selected by DC’s p

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has charged 14 trading platforms that claim to offer crypto-related investments but have either failed to register with the CFTC or falsely claimed to be registered. These websites also exhibit other signs of being scams. 14 Entities Charged by CFTC After charging major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken , the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has now gone after trading platforms claiming to offer crypto-related investments. The CFTC announced Wednesday that it has “filed charges against 14 entities for either failing to register as futures commission merchants (FCMs) or else making false and misleading claims of having CFTC registration and National Futures Association (NFA) membership.” Most of the 14 trading platforms exhibit signs of scams, such as using identical websites, asking users to pay to join the platforms before they can start trading, claiming to be regulated, and guaranteeing huge returns. For example, some of t

While there’s a lot of hype surrounding digital currencies like bitcoin, a great number of people are still confused by the crypto economy and the myriad crypto assets that exist. One study shows that some people think Ethereum is a drug, while others think Cardano is a cheese. Traders of Crypto Surveys Hundreds of Britons, Researchers Parse 12 Months of Crypto Query Data A recent study published by the researchers at tradersofcrypto.com combed through the most-searched questions that could be entered into Google Keyword Planner in order “to discover how many searches each question received.” The researchers scanned data over the last 12 months using results from the U.S. and U.K. to rank the most-asked questions to the least. The results produced a data set which attempts to explain “the most common cryptocurrency questions.” Tradersofcrypto.com’s researchers also surveyed “hundreds of members of the British public” to get the answers to the crypto questions. The statistics sho

According to the latest UN statistics, global money laundering transactions reach up to $2 trillion a year. A small fraction of that huge amount passes through the digital assets ecosystem, and responsible actors in it are working to bring that down even more. As the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance has especially taken it upon itself to protect the safety and security of the virtual finance world. Here is how it helps legal authorities to take down cybercriminals laundering money. Busting the $500 Million FANCYCAT Ring In June 2021, Binance announced to the public that its security team has taken part in an international investigation that resulted in busting a prolific cybercriminal ring. The company cooperated in the operation with authorities from around the world including Ukraine Cyber Police, Cyber Bureau of Korean National Police Agency, US Law Enforcement, Spanish Civil Guard, Swiss Federal Office of Police, and more. The cybergang, known as FANCYCAT, has b

Terra, a top 15-ranked cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is planning to apply the Columbus 5 upgrade to its mainnet today. If everything goes according to plan, this new update will bring improvements to allow the Terra network to keep expanding. Columbus 5 will change how the network mints UST (terrausd), the main stablecoin of the blockchain, and will also bring integration with other chains, and faster transactions. Columbus 5 to Go Live Today Terra, a smart contract-enabled cryptocurrency chain, is prepared to apply the new Columbus 5 mainnet upgrade today. This will bring important updates to the network that could pave the way for future growth. However, the upgrade procedure is anything but simple: the old mainnet, Columbus 4, needs to be stopped completely to be replaced by the new one. The Terra team estimates this upgrade will take two hours. The network upgrade will make fundamental changes in how UST is minted. Before, to mint the UST stablecoin, users had to pa

Nigerian lawmaker Ibrahim Obanikoro has called on Nigerian authorities to “close all domiciliary accounts for the next 12 months.” Such a move, he argues, will help to ease pressure on the naira, which has depreciated by more than 10% in the past two months. The Naira’s Continuing Depreciation The call by Obanikoro comes nearly two weeks after threats from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor forced Abokifx to stop publishing the naira’s black market exchange rates. Yet even after the suspension of the service, the naira continues to slide in value. This continuing depreciation, in turn, is forcing panicking stakeholders including Obanikoro to propose even more unconventional and controversial solutions. However, in his September 28 tweet , Obanikoro also justified his call by suggesting that other countries would never allow Nigerians to open a naira account. The lawmaker explained: I am not the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] Governor but at this moment, I’m of the opinio

The national postal operator of Russia plans to implement a parcel tracking system that will rely on blockchain technology. The introduction of the new service is part of Russian Post’s digital transformation strategy and is expected to reduce the number of lost shipments. Blockchain-Based Tracking System to Help Russian Post Save Time and Resources In the context of efforts to develop its services and improve the efficiency of its logistics, Pochta Rossii , or Russian Post, is considering various options, including the implementation of blockchain technology, a representative of the company told Vedomosti. Quoting the postal operator’s Strategy for Digital Transformation, the business daily reported that the first pilots are expected in the coming years. Russian Post intends to introduce its blockchain-based tracking system as early as 2023. The new service will be market-oriented, Director of Digital Products Vladimir Urbansky noted. He further explained that Russian Post is pa

PRESS RELEASE. Singapore, September 30, 2021. Less than three weeks after releasing its first dApp EverOwn for Binance Smart Chain, EverRise is proud to announce they will launch EverBridge to both the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains on October 5th. With EverBridge, EverRise will make its revolutionary suite of dApps available to projects on both networks starting with EverOwn for Ethereum on October 5th, followed by EverOwn for Polygon on October 8th. This will expand the reach of EverRise’s security solutions and enable the $RISE token to be traded and utilized across all three networks. “This is an exciting time for us to expand the EverRise Ecosystem and also introduce improvements to our project. This bridge allows us to take the dApps and blockchain solutions we have been building and make them more accessible to all developers on the Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum networks,” said Suresh Maddineni, EverRise CEO and Founder. Keeping with the standard of being

According to a report published by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and a group of central banks, digital currencies can lead to faster settlement and cheaper transfers. Moreover, the banking group leveraged a prototype that shows how money transfers can be done in seconds with very little processing fees. Inexpensive Transfers & Speed: Bank of International Settlements Report Says Digital Currencies Can Be More Effective During the second week of September, the head of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, Benoît Cœuré, explained that central banks need to act quickly in order to develop central bank digital currencies. Cœuré stressed that a digital currency economy already exists and “CBDCs will take years to be rolled out.” Following Cœuré’s statements, BIS, alongside four central banks from the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, and Thailand, is embarking on a digital currency experiment. The banking group produced a prototype and publi

Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks governments should not try to regulate cryptocurrency. “I would say, do nothing,” he recommended. Musk believes that it is not possible to destroy crypto, but governments can “slow down its advancement.” Elon Musk Says Governments Should ‘Do Nothing’ and Leave Crypto Alone Tesla CEO Elon Musk discussed cryptocurrency and China on Tuesday at Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California. Responding to a question from New York Times columnist Kara Swisher about whether it is “the right thing” for governments to regulate and take control of cryptocurrency, and whether it is possible for them to do so, he said: It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto but it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement. Musk was specifically asked what the U.S. government should do regarding cryptocurrency. The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, was on stage at the conference earlier and he called cryptocurrency th

The mayor of Miami, Florida, sees China’s cryptocurrency crackdown as “the turning point” that “creates an incredible opportunity for America.” He said: “Their loss is our gain and America can and will lead the future by providing a clean power home for bitcoin miners and all who are building on/with/for bitcoin.” Miami Mayor Sees US Benefiting From China’s Crypto Crackdown Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who has been trying to build his city into a bitcoin hub , sees the crypto crackdown by the Chinese government as an opportunity for his city and the U.S. He told Bloomberg: The turning point is now. It creates an incredible opportunity for America. Suarez commented on China’s crackdown this week: “China banning bitcoin is a massive mistake with impacts that will be felt for generations. Their loss is our gain and America can and will lead the future by providing a clean power home for bitcoin miners and all who are building on/with/for bitcoin.” The mayor of Miami is not the onl

On Tuesday, Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele shared a video of a bitcoin mine operating adjacent to a volcano. Bukele discussed the volcano-powered bitcoin mining on June 9 when he talked about the “95MW of 100% clean, 0 emissions geothermal energy from our volcanos.” El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele Shares a Video of the ‘First Steps’ Behind the Volcano-Powered Bitcoin Mine Construction The president of El Salvador shared a video via the social media platform Twitter that said “First steps,” as the film shows ASIC bitcoin mining rigs being installed at a geothermal energy plant. The video shows containers that are emblazoned with the Salvadoran government logos and a large quantity of ASIC mining devices. The video has been viewed around 2 million times on Twitter, and Bukele’s video tweet has over 50K likes and over 12,000 retweets. First steps… 🌋 #Bitcoin 🇸🇻 pic.twitter.com/duhHvmEnym — Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) September 28, 2021 While many bitcoin proponents said

In search of ways to heal its travel industry, hurt by the pandemic, Thailand is now recognizing an opportunity to tap into a growing market of cryptocurrency holders. Fostering a “cryptourism atmosphere” is what the country’s tourism agency intends to do, including by minting a new token and facilitating bitcoin card payments. Tourism Board of Thailand Plans to Employ New Coin to Spur Demand From Crypto Market Pondering how to capitalize on the expanding global crypto user base, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has pitched the idea of issuing its own utility token dubbed TAT Coin. The Bangkok Post revealed on Wednesday that the body wants to examine relevant regulations and the viability of such a project before embarking on the initiative. The state-run agency is now holding talks with the Stock Exchange of Thailand on the possible introduction of the token, the report details, quoting TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn. TAT Coin would allow the transfer of travel vouchers in