Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

In Spain, an investment company has begun to promote what they called the “first crypto hedge fund.” The product has been registered in Malta by Avenue Investment Crypto, headed by a crypto advocate, Martin Huete. Investments Allocated Mainly in Bitcoin and Ethereum According to Infobae , the hedge fund “exclusively” targets qualified investors whose minimum investment starts at 100,000 euros ($120,600). However, anyone who would like to join the crypto hedge fund should prove to the firm that they hold assets for 750,000 euros ($904,900). Although Avenue Investment Crypto just launched the product, it was created by the firm in 2019. Huete was appointed as the institutional relations manager amid the commercialization phase of the crypto hedge fund. Within the portfolio offered by the firm, the total exposure of the crypto hedge fund ranges between 40% and 100% of the fund with investments in ethereum (ETH) , bitcoin (BTC) , and other undisclosed cryptos. Still, the fiat serving...

In an apparent rebuke of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Vice President of Nigeria Yemi Osinbajo says the country’s monetary authorities must consider regulating crypto assets. He adds that instead of “killing the goose that might lay the golden egg”, Nigerian monetary authorities must consider providing a “robust regulatory regime” that addresses their concerns. The Importance of Disruptive Technologies Still, in his address at a Bankers Committee meeting, Osinbajo says “he fully appreciates the position” that has been articulated by the CBN. Since the CBN prohibition went into effect, leaders at both the CBN and the Nigeria Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have defended this decision. However, in his speech, the Nigerian Vice President suggests that the country’s regulators must consider embracing emerging and disruptive technologies. Pointing to the past impact of some disruptive innovations, the Vice President said: “As seen in many other sectors, disruption m...

As China keeps paving the way to adopt its central bank digital currency (CBDC), scammers are also actively emerging on the scene. The police in a Chinese province are now warning about a “sophisticated” CBDC-themed scam. Bogus Platform Is Set to Be Launched in March, Say Scammers According to a post from the cybercrime unit of the Weifang police force in Shandong Province, a scam named “Central Bank’s International Wallet” is claiming to be a digital yuan wallet platform. The bogus platform seems to have caught almost 500 users as of press time. The scam operators are advertising that the platform will give members the possibility to access a “secret CBDC promotion fund” worth $186 million. It should be noted that the Weifang police is quoting a previous report first published by local media outlet Sina on the matter. Scammers claim that the platform’s users could get profits of around $24,800. Although the wallet is not “live,” scam operators say the platform will be launched...

A regional report from China indicates that bitcoin mining rig manufacturers have seen a massive surge in demand since the price of the leading crypto asset skyrocketed. Companies such as Canaan Creative have placed significantly sized mining rig orders while other companies like Bitmain are completely sold out. Bitcoin Mining Rig Manufacturers Experience a Device Demand Boom Bitcoin ( BTC ) prices in February have spiked considerably in value and this has fueled the BTC mining sector a great deal. On Friday, the Bitcoin network hashrate is hovering above the 150 exahash (EH/s) range and there are 21 pools directing hashrate at the blockchain. On Sunday, February 21, 2021, BTC prices touched an all-time high (ATH) at $58,354 per unit but the price has since dropped in value since then. The price per BTC has been hovering around the $47k handle at the time of publication on Friday afternoon (EST). On Thursday, a regional report from China details that Chinese mining device manu...

A 177-year-old bank in Switzerland has enabled cryptocurrency trading within its services, with expectations to expand. Bordier & Cie SCmA added bitcoin and other cryptos to its list of services by partnering with a well-known domestic crypto player. Bordier Customers Can Also Buy and Hold Other Cryptos According to the announcement , the Swiss bank, founded in 1844, argued that a surge in demand from their clients encouraged them to include cryptocurrencies. Bordier & Cie SCmA management believes that they needed to diversify into “alternative asset classes such as digital assets.” Bordier partnered with Sygnum Bank, one of the first Swiss crypto banks, to support the infrastructure management behind the crypto’s offering. It includes the custody of the private keys to control access to the cryptocurrencies and connect with liquidity providers. With the new service, Bordier’s clients will have the possibility to buy, trade, and hold digital assets such as bitcoin ( BTC ),...

228 years ago the U.S. dollar was created and ever since then, the national currency has been both powerful and controversial at the same time. Moreover since 1971, after being backed by precious metals for decades, American dollars have been backed by nothing and estimates say a quarter of the U.S. monetary supply was created in 2020 alone. The U.S. dollar conflict has led a number of analysts and economists to believe the U.S. monetary hegemony is on its last leg. The Story of the US Dollar’s Devaluation When you talk to someone about bitcoin , they often grow confused and say that it is too complicated for them to understand. However, when you ask them if they understand the meaning of fiat currency and how the U.S. dollar operates, they will likely be clueless about that matter as well. It’s likely the reason the very structure of how it operates continues to this day, without question from the citizenry, but has fallen victim to the mistakes of the past. People should underst...

A Dubai based crypto-based investment fund, FD7 Ventures says it will offload bitcoins worth $750 million and will use the proceeds to increase positions in Cardano and Polkadot tokens. According to FD7 Ventures, this switch to the two altcoins will help the fund to better serve the interests of investors who are looking to diversify their portfolios. Altcoins Preferred In his remarks following this announcement, Prakash Chand, the managing director at FD7 Ventures, touts the potential of the two altcoins while claiming that BTC “is actually pretty useless.” Chand added: Projects such as Cardano, Polkadot and Ethereum are the foundation of the new internet and Web 3.0. The managing director adds that after spending time with the founders of both projects, he is “willing to bet that each of Ethereum, Cardano and Polkadot will be more valuable than Bitcoin within the next few years.” ADA and DOT Surging Meanwhile, since the start of the new year, both Cardano’s ADA and Polk...

PRESS RELEASE. On January 26, 2021, Fungram LTD, as a comprehensive blockchain enterprise serving the world, has applied for an Exempt Offering of Securities from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Based on the three major ecological sectors, DeFi lending system, encrypted index platform, and decentralized wallet, Fungram will provide a smart and open financial application ecosystem with a low access threshold for everyone and will provide a fast channel for the commercialization of cryptocurrency. In the future, by using Fungram’s mobile applications, users will be able to find 99% of blockchain applications from whole world quickly, or they will be able to invest in other DeFi applications. Fungram focuses on search and navigation, the main channel entrance and the same like Google, will be able to open up the blockchain industry channel while implementing commercial applications to achieve dual harvest in both platform value and user reputation, i.e. bidding, adv...

A new report unveiled a growing trend of efforts from cybercriminals hiding their stolen cryptocurrencies through different transaction flows. Crystal Blockchain pointed out that since 2019, the volume of stolen bitcoin grew significantly. Only 8% of the Funds Were Transferred to Exchanges With Verification Procedures in 2020 Per the findings , in 2020, the firm said that cybercriminals attempted to withdraw stolen and scam-sourced digital assets at a rate of 13x faster than five years ago. Interestingly, in 53% of the cases, exchanges with verification requirements were the major destinations of such funds in 2015. But the figures fell in 2020 to 8% of stolen funds being transferred through crypto exchanges with verification procedures. Still, mixers and exchanges without verification requirements were the main destinations in 2020 of the stolen crypto funds. Moreover, the report highlighted that crypto criminals only hide their stolen funds within 28 days on average. Gr...

Philippin e crypto exchange Pdax recently suffered a costly technical failure – one that led to bitcoin trading at 300,000 Philippine pesos (around $6,000) – a discount of 88% to its current price. In the melee, some users managed to buy at these ridiculously low prices and quickly moved the bitcoin ( BTC ) away from their exchange wallets before the error was detected, local news outlet Bitpinas reported . The actual amount of BTC hoarded at the $6,000 give-away price is not clear. However, the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange, or Pdax, is now demanding that users return the bitcoin or face legal action. The exchange has since locked out several of its clients from their accounts for this reason. But the traders are having none of it. “After almost 24 hours, they sent me a demand letter and SMS, requesting me to transfer back the BTC , or they ‘may’ be compelled to take legal actions against me.” said one trader who bought at the low price and is convinced he did not violate any...

A Spanish real estate platform has listed its first-ever property for sale for cryptocurrency. The offer is entirely online, and whoever wants to buy the apartment in Barcelona must pay in bitcoin. Anyone Interested Can Pay 3.5 BTC for the Property Per an official announcement , Idealista is seeking to sell its first property via BTC in the wake of a “second revolution” seen in the crypto industry. The apartment is located in the center of Barcelona — close to the Rambla Catalonia — and the interested person should make all the arrangements online, said the Madrid-based company. Although the first transaction made in bitcoin in Spain on real estate happened in 2018, the firm clarified it was done at that time “the traditional way.” In fact, they referred to handling all the processes with papers and diligences offered by a standard real state agency. Anyone interested in the apartment can pay approximately 3.5 BTC ($181,000 using today’s exchange rate) as of press time. Howe...

PRESS RELEASE. Established in 2016, Hashbon aims to provide payment services for both business and individual clients. One of the key differences between Hashbon and other crypto payment providers is that Hashbon charges 0% commission for crypto payments processing. Buyers pay and sellers receive exactly the same amount of cryptocurrencies that they are transacting to one another. The platform supports over 30 cryptocurrencies, including industry leaders like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Tether, Dash, and many others. Hashbon is expanding the list of supported cryptocurrencies regularly and the company is compliant with the European KYC policies. Hashbon platform is an easy-to-integrate payment solution, which enables businesses and individuals to make crypto operations worldwide, with zero fees, enhanced security, and transparency. The payment gateway has an easy and blazing fast integration with only one line of code that makes it different even from industry giants. Business ow...

The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has defended the apex bank’s decision to exclude cryptocurrency transactions from the banking ecosystem. In his testimony before the Nigerian Senate, Emefiele claimed that the February 5 directive is “in the best interests of Nigerians.” Crypto Not Money Immediately following the announcement of the CBN prohibition, Nigeria’s regulated financial institutions began to sever ties with crypto traders and exchanges. However, following an outcry over the move, some supportive members of the Nigerian Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance, and Other Financial Institutions requested Emefiele to brief the legislative body on the rationale behind the CBN prohibition. In justifying the move, the CBN governor told the Nigerian legislators that “cryptocurrency is not legitimate money” since it is not issued by any central bank. Using this argument, Emefiele then added: Cryptocurrency has no place in our monetary system at ...

Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman and Warren Buffett’s long-time business partner, Charlie Munger, has advised investors not to buy bitcoin or gold. He believes the cryptocurrency is too volatile to serve well as a medium of exchange. Munger also says he doesn’t know which is worse between Elon Musk’s Tesla reaching $1 trillion in market cap or bitcoin hitting $50,000. Billionaire Investor Charlie Munger Thinks Bitcoin Is Too Volatile to Be a Good Medium of Exchange Legendary investor Charlie Munger answered some questions about bitcoin at the annual meeting of shareholders of the Daily Journal Corporation in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman and Warren Buffett’s long-standing business partner is also chairman of the Daily Journal. He is often known as Warren Buffett’s right-hand man. The 97-year-old has never been a fan of bitcoin. He previously called bitcoin “ rat poison ” and likened its trading to “trading turds.” Buffett then called bitcoin “ rat...