Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

A bitcoin ATM provider has announced a deployment of new machines across several states in the U.S. Bitcoin Depot is set to launch over 100 new bitcoin ATMs in 24 states soon. Bitcoin Depot Expects to Grow by 200% in 2021 According to the company , almost 115 BTC ATMs will be installed, doubling its current count in the last six months. Globally, the ATM network has surpassed 2,000 kiosks, boosted with launching the new ATMs in the United States. Per the distribution, 14 new kiosks will be deployed by the Atlanta-based company across Alabama, 13 in Minnesota, 12 will be installed in Florida, and the last 12 across California. Brandon Mintz, Bitcoin Depot President and CEO, commented on the expansion: Cryptocurrency offers a lot of opportunities for people that don’t have access to traditional financial services, like banks. Our kiosks allow them to essentially self-bank through the digital wallet on their phone by turning their cash into cryptocurrency, which can be used to tran...

South Korean tax authorities are unstoppable in keeping crypto holders in their eyes and making them accountable to pay taxes. The National Tax Service (NTS) has issued a warning to the crypto traders that they have to report their earnings even from tokens held in foreign exchanges. No Details on How the Agency Will Supervise the Process According to MBC , the agency alerted that South Koreans who are using overseas exchanges are also responsible for reporting all their profits gained. By doing so, crypto holders should pay correspondent taxes on them from 2022. That year is where the government seeks to deploy the new tax laws on cryptocurrencies. As Bitcoin.com’s newsdesk recently reported , the South Korean central government is expected to introduce a 20% on crypto trading profits from domestic crypto exchanges, only if gains cross the $2,300 threshold. The NTS is concerned about crypto traders using foreign crypto exchanges to bypass their tax obligations in South Korea. St...

In just over two weeks, a company called Wisemining plans to launch a new product called Sato, a boiler that can provide heat to a home by leveraging ASIC mining rigs for heat production. It also means that the heater provides revenue in the form of cryptocurrency, which offsets the costs of heating a home a great deal. Bitcoin Mining and Cogeneration While bitcoin ( BTC ) and a slew of crypto assets have seen values increase a great deal, there’s been a lot of criticism aimed at digital currency mining and how it utilizes lots of electricity. Despite the numerous rebuttals written over the years and even books that explain that proof-of-work (PoW) mining’s electrical consumption is way overhyped, people continue to spread the myths. Another subject that is often missed is the fact that bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining can bolster cogeneration concepts. Essentially, cryptocurrency miners have the ability to provide cogeneration ideas for a myriad of heat-producing mechanisms. T...

During the last week, the Bitcoin network’s hashrate has jumped to a record high of 185 exahash per second on March 14, 2021. The hashpower has relentlessly continued to rise, climbing a whopping 18,400% in five years since January 21, 2016. Bitcoin Price Jumps Over 1,500% in a Year, Hashrate Climbs 18,400% in Five Years The price of bitcoin ( BTC ) touched an all-time high (ATH) reaching $61,782 per BTC on March 13, 2021. It happened pretty much one year after the crypto asset’s most recent market bottom on March 12, 2020. The price had risen over 1,500% since that day, otherwise known as ‘Black Thursday,’ which saw BTC prices slide to $3,850 per unit. BTC prices are down over 6% since the recent ATH and the value of the leading crypto asset has driven mining profitability. A touch after BTC hit the ATH in value, BTC miners ramped up the hashrate to 185 exahash per second (EH/s) the day after on March 14, 2021. Bitcoin mining is extremely competitive and with the hashrate ...

PRESS RELEASE. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, March 19th 2021 – Affinity Design – Rarify Apps just launched a new deFi application only possible on layer 2 tech. After only a week since the claiming app debut, the price of Rare Coin soared well over 1000 USD on the Honeyswap DEX after the app garnered over 3 thousand daily active claimers. This was all possible due to xDai chain’s speed and low fees that let users claim a small fraction of “Rare” for only ten cents per claim. As gas fees on Ethereum continue to rise, yield farming on the platform has begun to wreck yield and make it outright impossible for the little guys to earn a fair share. By building on the xDai chain (a stable coin layer 2 solution) the barriers of cost to entry are eliminated as fees are fractions of a penny and can transact in under 5 seconds. This makes it possible to distribute the total supply of “Rare Coin” to anyone who makes a daily claim on the rare.claims app (available now) or earn more for locking u...

The United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned Coinfloor’s bitcoin advert for “irresponsibly” promoting investments in the crypto asset. The watchdog claimed the crypto exchange’s marketing campaign had targeted pensioners who were “unlikely to know” much about the topic. ASA’s ruling comes after the regulator received two complaints concerning the advert. According to a report , the ASA said it is particularly concerned with the advert’s use of the phrase “there is no point in keeping your money in the bank”. While acknowledging Coinfloor’s effort to inform investors of the risks associated with cryptocurrency investment, ASA however, asserts that the exchange’s disclaimer, which is printed in small print, is “insufficient to counteract the overall message”. Meanwhile, ASA is also alleging that the advert is “misleading because it had failed to make clear the risks associated with bitcoin investments.” The watchdog also assails the advert for not being “socia...

A few months ago a trend started where well known businesses like Microstrategy, Square, and Tesla started adding bitcoin to their company balance sheets. Now a Canadian condominium company has decided to invest in bitcoin in order to replace some of the firm’s reserve fund with crypto. Thornton Place Condominium Corporation leveraged the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to process the transaction. Canadian Condo Company Purchases Bitcoin for Reserves Crypto assets and the leading digital currency bitcoin ( BTC ) have been gathering steam in 2021 as assets like BTC have touched all new price highs. For instance, BTC reached an all-time high (ATH) touching $61,782 per BTC on March 14, 2021. In 2020 and into 2021, a great number of companies have been trading cash and stocks from their treasuries in order to replace them with bitcoin ( BTC ). In recent times, firms have also been adding ethereum (ETH) to their balance sheets as well. On March 17, the Canadian condo business called ...

A new study revealed that cryptocurrency-related scams almost doubled over the last year. However, forecasts are not optimistic going forward, as the report forecasts another significant increase in the number of cases in 2021. Research Scanned Over 300 Million Websites According to the “Cryptocurrency Scam Report” published by fraud prevention company Bolster and shared with Bitcoin.com News, the correlation with the surge of cryptos’ popularity and the coronavirus pandemic boosted the figures of crypto scams in 2020. Bolster analyzed over 300 million websites and found out that more than 400,000 crypto scams were created over the last year. In fact, it represents a 40% increase in comparison with the numbers seen in 2019, said the study. With such a number in place, and considering the bitcoin ( BTC ) becoming increasingly mainstream, crypto scams could witness an increase of 75% in 2021, stated Bolster. Shashi Prakash, co-founder and CTO of Bolster, told Bitcoin.com News: Th...

Crypto assets that are linked with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) marketplaces have risen sharply since the mania took off a few months ago. NFTs are selling at prices that many consider ridiculous for intangible artwork. Third-Largest Art Sale by a Living Artist Was Tokenized One piece of art created by the digital artist called Beeple – a collage of the artist’s work since 2007 – recently sold for a record $69.3 million at the auction house Christie’s. The JPG file became the third-largest art sale by a living artist after Jeff Koons and David Hockney. According to the latest data from blockchain research firm Kaiko, NFT-related tokens have soared in line with the record sales in digital art. Decentraland, a virtual world where players can purchase NFTs, has seen its MANA token surge 682% since Feb. 1. The token Flow, a product of Dapper Labs (partner of NFT marketplace NBA Top Shot), climbed 216% to a high of $37.73 on Mar. 13. Rarible (RARI) rose more than 825% from $4.11 on Feb...

The famed American actress, artist, singer, and entrepreneur is set to auction her exclusive collectibles on a Tron-based NFT auction platform, joining the chorus of celebrities promoting coins and projects in the blockchain ecosystem. Hollywood Star to Promote NFT Education & Adoption in Upcoming Clubhouse Session The recent non-fungible token (NFT) asset boom has seen no shortage of participation from both the crypto ecosystem and celebrities seeking to join the latest craze. Lindsey Lohan is the latest Hollywood personality to join the trend with her upcoming collectible sale, following several high-profile auctions which have illuminated the NFT space and its potential. With an event set for March 20th, Lohan will be auctioning her exclusive NFT on the Tron network . The move puts the spotlight on Tron’s capabilities, which is increasingly considered a viable alternative for NFT auctions given its lower transaction costs and higher performance relative to the events curren...

NFT tokens are taking over the investment scene these days, with unbelievable valuations and all kinds of brands and major artists rushing in. On the technology side SmartKey shows that NFT tokens can be used for more than just speculation, bringing real value and utility to the world. The project is now listed on KuCoin, with support for trading SKEY starting on March 19, 2021. SmartKey Brings Blockchain Technology to Real Life SmartKey is a platform that connects the DeFi revolution with real world objects. Unlike so many projects in the field that promise a lot but have nothing real to show for it, SmartKey has working blockchain technology that is already being used not only by companies but also by government emergency services to save lives. Last year it made headlines around the world when the city of Olsztyn in Poland used blockchain technology to streamline its fire, ambulance and police teams, reducing critical response times – using SmartKey. The advanced technologies...

The Russian President held a meeting with the attorney general’s office where cryptocurrencies came to the discussion table. Vladimir Putin raised red flags toward taking measures to prevent illegal activities on cross-border transfers with cryptos. Putin Calls Other Offices to Join the Fight Against the Usage of Cryptos for Illicit Purposes According to a transcript made public on the Kremlin’s official site, Putin considered that the General Prosecutor’s Office should keep engaged in strengthening financial monitoring. That being said, the Russian President pointed directly to cryptocurrencies: There is one more point — quite new, but essential: to take additional measures to suppress the illegal cross-border movement of funds of digital financial assets. Criminal elements are increasingly using these digital financial assets, and this certainly needs to be paid close attention to with colleagues from other departments, including Financial Monitoring. Financial Monitoring, or...

Bank of America sees no good reason to own bitcoin other than “sheer price appreciation.” The firm’s strategists found that the cryptocurrency’s “inflation hedging benefits are not particularly apparent.” Bank of America also claims that bitcoin does not offer diversification benefits and is “impractical as a store of wealth or payments mechanism.” Bank of America Sees One Good Reason to Own Bitcoin A Bank of America team led by strategist Francisco Blanch said in a report published Wednesday that there is “no good reason to own bitcoin unless you see prices going up.” Blanch is head of Global Commodities, Equity Derivatives, and Cross-Asset Quantitative Investment Strategies at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research. The strategists wrote that “Bitcoin has … become correlated to risk assets, it is not tied to inflation, and remains exceptionally volatile, making it impractical as a store of wealth or payments mechanism.” They continued: The main portfolio argument for hol...

Ripple is thrilled to welcome Brooks Entwistle as Managing Director of Southeast Asia to lead and scale the company’s operations in our fastest growing region.  Brooks joins at an exciting time for RippleNet, which now includes Singapore-based remittance company BKK Forex, adding to Ripple’s fast growing customer base in the region like—Siam Commercial Bank, iRemit, … Continued The post Announcing Brooks Entwistle: Scaling Ripple’s Momentum in SE Asia appeared first on Ripple. http://dlvr.it/RvwrxC

One of China’s top internet app makers, Meitu Inc., has purchased more bitcoin for its treasury. The company now holds about $90 million in cryptocurrencies. Meitu is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and its flagship app has more than 1 billion users worldwide. Chinese Publicly Traded Company Increases Bitcoin Holdings in Its Treasury Meitu Inc. announced Wednesday that its wholly owned subsidiary Miracle Vision has acquired more bitcoin and ether in open market transactions. This is the second purchase announcement by the company. Meitu is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange under the stock code 1357.HK. The company has bought 386.08581655 more BTC “at an aggregate consideration of approximately US$21.6 million” and 16,000 more ETH at “an aggregate consideration of approximately US$28.4 million,” the announcement details, adding: The group has accumulated a net purchase of approximately US$90 million worth of cryptocurrencies. “Settlement of the cryptocurrencies acq...

The mastermind behind a large-scale Twitter hack to promote a bitcoin giveaway scam has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to three years in prison. During the hack, a number of high-profile companies, politicians, and celebrities saw their accounts taken over to promote the cryptocurrency scam. Graham Ivan Clark, the Florida teen who hacked prominent Twitter accounts to promote a bitcoin giveaway scam in July last year, reportedly pleaded guilty on Tuesday to all state charges against him in exchange for a three-year sentence in a juvenile facility. He also agreed to three years of probation after his sentence, the Office of the State Attorney 13th Judicial Circuit in Tampa announced. Clark, now 18 years old, and his accomplices took control of popular Twitter accounts belonging to corporations, politicians, and celebrities. They included the accounts of U.S. President Joe Biden, former U.S. President Barack Obama, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Tesla Technoking Elon Musk, Am...

The Belarusian president held a meeting over the week where he mentioned cryptocurrencies within the context of regulating the IT industry. Alexander Lukashenko hinted at tightening the regulatory framework to control crypto usage in Belarus. Lukashenko Seeks to Create a Unified Governmental Regulatory Body According to news agency Belta , Lukashenko met with senior government officials to clarify the regulatory environment that rules the crypto sphere. Overall, he asks for changes in the industry’s current rules. Firstly, he praised the fact that Belarus has been a “pioneer” in discussing legal matters on cryptocurrencies: The use of digital signs (tokens) and cryptocurrencies has become commonplace in many countries in the world. They are accepted as an additional means of payment along with traditional money. In 2017, we were the first in the world to create legal conditions for the development of these technologies in Belarus. That’s why the Belarus president believes the c...