Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

A dogecoin investor has shared his story of how he became a crypto millionaire in a little over two months after learning about the meme cryptocurrency and pouring all his savings into it. He said he was inspired by Elon Musk’s tweets about dogecoin. A Doge Millionaire Shares His Story Glauber Contessoto, a 33-year-old who works at a music company in Los Angeles, has shared his story of how he became a dogecoin millionaire in just a little over two months. He invested over $180,000 in dogecoin on Feb. 5 when its price was about 4.5 cents, the investor told CNBC Make It in an interview published Friday. He learned about the meme cryptocurrency on Reddit and was inspired by Tesla’s technoking Elon Musk who tweeted about DOGE on several occasions. Contessoto explained that he was drawn to dogecoin for a few reasons. Besides loving the Reddit community surrounding dogecoin, he said he appreciates that the crypto was inspired by Shiba Inu “Doge” meme. He is also very bullish on the co

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce believes that the U.S. government cannot ban bitcoin, stating that “it’s very difficult to ban something that’s essentially a peer-to-peer technology.” The commissioner is hopeful that with the new chairman who has deep knowledge of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, the SEC can take a fresh look at some of the reasons used to reject bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). SEC Commissioner Says ‘Very Difficult’ to Ban P2P Technology Hester Peirce, a commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) who is also known in the crypto community as “crypto mom,” was asked whether there is a possibility that the Biden administration could ban bitcoin in an interview with Fox Business’ Charles Gasparino on Thursday. With new cryptocurrency regulations in the works, investors are concerned whether the government will ban cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. Some people have warned that governments can outlaw bitcoin if it becomes a risk to their fina

The digital currency and stablecoin issuer Paxos has been granted conditional approval for a bank charter under the Paxos National Trust in New York. The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a preliminary conditional approval which means the regulating entity still has to authorize the firm’s future banking plans. Paxos Granted Preliminary Conditional Approval for a US Bank Charter The New York-based financial institution and technology company Paxos has been granted preliminary conditional approval for a bank charter by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC published information on the conditional approval on April 23, 2021, showing authorization of the company’s application to charter the Paxos National Trust. “The OCC granted a national trust bank charter to Paxos after [a] thorough review of the company and its current operations,” the OCC’s press release notes. “In granting this charter, the OCC applied the same rigorous review and sta

PRESS RELEASE. Blockchain-powered supply chain management platform, Morpheus.Network, has launched an updated platform, forged an Agribusiness agreement with the Argentinian government, and was a winner in the 2021 “Future of Ports” competition. Burlington, ON — Morpheus.Network is one of the world’s leading supply chain ecosystems and is changing the face of the global trade industry in 2021. The company has just launched its updated enterprise-grade, next-generation supply platform, agreed to a global Agribusiness project with SENASA and was one of the 5 winners of this year’s prestigious Gulftainer “Future of Ports” competition. What is Morpheus.Network? Morpheus.Network is a supply chain ecosystem with the ability to extend itself on top of existing industry technologies through its blockchain technology. The Morpheus.Network platform exists on the cloud in between blockchain and IoT, with the potential to be integrated with different technologies and devices in one single f

Bitcoin’s global hashrate dropped ten days ago following a coal mine accident that caused significant grid blackouts in Xinjiang, China. While initial estimates had shown more than 40% of the hashrate dropped, statistics from a five-day average show the hashpower only lost around 25%. Meanwhile, Chinese miners located in Sichuan may put more pressure on hydropower, as province officials have revealed electricity rates are scheduled to increase 150% this year. Sichuan Electricity Trading Division Report Notes Electrical Prices in the Region Will Increase by 150% Mining bitcoin is extremely competitive and miners are spread out all around the world in order to obtain the cheapest electricity rates they can acquire. Because electrical costs in China are far less than a great number of regions around the world, a large portion of bitcoin miners reside in the country. At one time years ago it was estimated that more than 65% of the hashrate was in China, while more recent studies have s

The U.S. state of Louisiana has passed a resolution to commend bitcoin for its success as well as commend the cryptocurrency’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, “for his contribution to economic security.” State Resolution Recognizing Satoshi and Bitcoin The Louisiana House of Representatives resolution by Representative Mark Wright entitled, “Commends Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry,” has been enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House. House Resolution 33 (HR 33) reads: Resolution to commend Bitcoin for its success in becoming the first decentralized trillion dollar asset and to encourage the state and local governments to consider ways that could help them benefit from the increased use of this new technology. The resolution proceeds to describe various attributes of bitcoin, starting with its creation in 2008 “by the pseudonymous author Satoshi Nakamoto.” Noting that the cryptocurrency “could potentially replace gold as a monetary reserve,” the document h

A Turkish cryptocurrency exchange with about 400,000 users has been accused of pulling an exit scam. Its CEO has reportedly fled Turkey, allegedly taking $2 billion of customer funds with him. The police have an arrest warrant for the CEO and 62 people have already been detained in connection with the case. Crypto Exchange Accused of Exit Scam Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex is offline and its CEO has reportedly gone missing. Thousands of investors are worried that their funds have been stolen since they are unable to access their accounts. A statement on the exchange’s website details that the platform is “temporarily closed” to address an “abnormal fluctuation in the company accounts.” Local media reported that Thodex’s founder, Faruk Fatih Ozer, has fled the country to Albania, allegedly taking $2 billion of investors’ funds with him. Demiroren News Agency published a photo which it claims to be Ozer leaving Istanbul Airport. Turkish authorities have issued an internati

The tax department of the Seoul metropolitan government in South Korea has reportedly seized cryptocurrencies worth about $25 million from hundreds of crypto investors with delinquent taxes. The cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, were seized from three exchanges. The tax authority is now going after hundreds more taxpayers who are delinquent on paying their taxes. Crypto Seizure for Tax Payments The Seoul metropolitan government announced Friday that it has seized cryptocurrencies from hundreds of individuals who are delinquent on their tax payments, Yonhap reported. Cryptocurrencies belonging to 1,566 individuals, including heads of companies, have been identified by the city government’s tax collection department at three cryptocurrency exchanges. So far, the tax authority has seized the coins from 676 people who owe the government 28.4 billion won (approximately $25.47 million) in overdue taxes. It will soon go after the crypto assets of the other 890 people. Since the crypto

Sevilla is becoming a crypto-friendly city in Spain at a fast pace, with two prominent local hotels announcing they will start accepting crypto payments. Hotel Bécquer and Hotel Kivir have joined the crypto adoption bandwagon by allowing customers to book rooms with digital assets. Hotels Will Receive 100% of Funds in Fiat Euros According to Diario de Sevilla , both hotels signed a partnership agreement with the domestic exchange Criptan to enable crypto payment gateway for their customers. Bécquer is a 134-room hotel located in the former place of the Marquises of Las Torres while the 31-room Hotel Kivir is based in the city’s Old Town. With both four-star hotels partnering with the exchange, Criptan has increased its portfolio of retail stores and even tourism businesses across Spain that now accept cryptos, such as bitcoin ( BTC ), as a means of payment. Alejandro Rodríguez, general manager of both hotels, is optimistic about the extensive future adoption of cryptos across the

PRESS RELEASE. AscendEX, formerly BitMax, an industry-leading digital asset trading platform built by Wall Street quant trading veterans, has announced the listing of the Crowny Token (CRWNY) under the pair USDT/CRWNY on Apr 21 at 1:00 p.m. UTC. Crowny has created a new platform by aligning blockchain and digital assets with the world of advertising. The platform will allow brands to develop effective campaigns to reach audiences who are enticed to listen to their messages. Users will be able to connect to their favorite brands through a smartphone application without the risk of privacy breaches. It has become a challenge for brands to reach and interact with their potential customers through digital and traditional media. The Crowny proposition brings the right tools to help advertisers reach customers with ease while rewarding the customers with tokens for engaging with ads. Rewards play a key role on the Crowny platform driving users to interact with brands. Crowny offer

South Korea’s crypto-sphere has been witnessing a volatile environment in terms of regulatory moves, as bitcoin prices and other altcoins are also having wild moves. Such a scenario hasn’t stopped the country’s middle class to profit from the crypto market, even with very successful stories. One of the Interviewees Risked His Life Savings in Cryptos According to a report published by TV network JTBC, employees from major companies such as Shinhan Card, Samsung, and LG Electronics claimed they collected enough profits to quit their jobs. Testimonies featured in the video report show that the individuals managed to collect millions of dollars worth of cryptos. One of them, a former Shinhan Card worker, told JTBC that he managed to gain almost 3 billion won ($2.7 million) but clarified that he took a high-risk move by achieving such astonishing profits. In fact, he invested his life savings and some loans onto crypto trades, and after he earned the millionaire amount in profits, he

Bitcoin dominance, the metric that measures bitcoin’s overall market capitalization against all the other crypto asset valuations has dropped considerably in recent weeks. At the end of February, bitcoin dominance levels started sliding downward from 61% to today’s 50%. Meanwhile, from the same point in time ethereum’s market capitalization has increased from 11.8% to today’s 14.5% . Bitcoin Dominance Sinks to 50% Ever since the birth of alternative crypto assets, people have used a metric called bitcoin ( BTC ) dominance, a measurement that records BTC ’s entire capitalization against all the market capitalizations held by other coins. Interestingly, minus a few small dips, BTC ’s dominance was above the 80% range from the day it was conceived to February 2017. BTC /USD hourly chart on April 23, 2021. During the first week of January 2018, BTC ’s dominance dropped to an all-time low of 33%. This year, bitcoin dominance levels have been mostly above the 60% region and in Januar

On April 23, the publicly listed mining operation Bitfarms revealed a partnership with the Digital Currency Group (DCG) subsidiary Foundry Digital LLC. Bitfarms will be joining Foundry’s American mining pool and the two bitcoin mining firms have revealed the joint purchase of 2,465 Whatsminer M30S ASIC mining machines. Bitfarms Partners With Foundry’s US Operations At the end of March, the mining company Hut 8 explained that the bitcoin mining operation was joining Foundry’s U.S. mining pool. At the time, Hut 8’s CEO Jaime Leverton explained that “having a formidable bitcoin mining pool based and operated entirely in North America is important.” Now another mining operation has announced a partnership with the DCG-owned Foundry as Bitfarms (TSXV:BITF) explained on Friday it was joining the company’s U.S. operations. The two companies disclosed the joint purchase of 2,465 machines and 1,465 were previously installed in Bitfarms’ Sherbrooke facility for hosting purposes. The comp

Although he is outspoken, raucous, and bombastic when it comes to his public persona, Sun’s questionable publicity stunts could be part and parcel of his strategy for catapulting Tron into the spotlight and capitalizing on crypto’s momentum. Bombastic Approach May Underpin Tron’s Success It’s tough to take Tron’s Justin Sun seriously. His endless shilling on Twitter and use of celebrity endorsements of the likes of Lindsey Lohan are certainly not helping him cultivate an image of blockchain savvy. Yet, despite his controversial approach, something more interesting is brewing beneath the surface. Even with his limited technological abilities compared to Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin and Polkadot’s Gavin Wood, Sun has managed to position himself as one of the most successful individuals within the field. With his brash style of sucking all the oxygen out of the room with his comments or ideas, no matter good or bad, Justin Sun has positioned himself as a mighty successful cryptoprene

The craze for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) has engulfed the blockchain space as more people move towards this unique sector. The ability to sell works of art and tokenize real-life assets has ensured that the NFT sector has grown immensely, with record sales of NFTs witnessed in recent weeks. However, to this point the NFTs released have been for personal gain or issued by large companies and organizations. Metis, a blockchain project focused on developing Decentralized Autonomous Companies (DACs), plans to introduce a new concept with the launch of the first ever community-minted NFT, named ‘’Rebuilding The Tower of Babel’’. First community-minted NFT The ‘’Rebuilding the Tower Babel’’ NFT will bring together a community of incentivized contributors. NFT participants will take part in five major phases: Reserve Airdrop, Claim Tribe NFT, Community NFT minting, Auction, and Rewards. Community members that participate in the airdrop phase can unveil a mystery box displaying three cards

The Biden administration has revealed plans to raise taxes on investors who are millionaires according to a flurry of recent reports. President Joe Biden wants to overhaul the U.S. economy in order to help fund American childcare and education. Biden’s proposal will almost double the current capital gains tax rate from 20% to 39.6%, and for some investors, the tax rate could be as high as 43.4%. Biden’s Capital Gains Tax Rate on Wealthy Individuals Could Climb as High as 43.4% Fresh off the heels of proposing new stimulus in order to bolster the American economy, President Joe Biden is also planning to increase the tax rate on wealthy individuals with $1 million or more. The increased capital gains tax will jump to near double for some individuals and possibly even 43.4%. Every report disclosing the capital gains matter stems from people who are familiar with the proposal but wish to remain anonymous. Currently, U.S. capital gains taxes are around 20% and the marginal rate of 39.