Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

To pave the way for greater adoption of non-fungible tokens and bring down the barriers hampering more widespread participation, Polygon is leveraging its parallel network’s proof-of-stake approach to reduce Ethernity Chain’s gas costs. Layer 2 Solution to Make Ethereum-Based NFTs More Accessible Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) remain the talk of the town, intriguing crypto enthusiasts and collectors alike with their value proposition for creators and unique ownership properties. Yet, despite the intrigue, the hype has also illuminated the many drawbacks of these novel tokens, primarily their steep environmental and transactional costs. For many interested parties, NFTs simply remain out of reach due to their costs. Costs in this context don’t simply refer to the price of the works being auctioned but also the accompanying gas costs, which can add hundreds of dollars to any transaction. Gas fees have been a hot topic this year, and although Ethereum has pledged to address this matter, t...

Cuba has witnessed some exciting times in the last few months as far as nationwide digital currency acceptance, but the road toward this goal is still under construction. The country’s central bank recently issued a warning about the rising number of cryptocurrency-related scam cases across the island. Alleged Crypto Scams Are Mentioned in the Alert According to the notice published by the Banco Central de Cuba, citizens should be aware of the Ponzi schemes hiding under legit-looking digital asset investments. The schemes have been scamming several people across the nation, whose has been hurt by a long-lasting economic crisis. The central bank’s officers also released the names of some of the alleged scams operating without licenses in Cuba, such as Mind Capital, Mirror Trading, Arbistar, Trust Investing, Qubit Life/Qubit Tech, X-Toro, among others. Arbistar has been under the loop of the Spanish authorities, as the bogus company is accused of being a million-dollar crypto scam...

A South Africa-based tax expert, David Lesperance, says with the country’s revenue collector now closing in on cryptocurrencies, holders must now take the initiative and approach South Africa Revenue Services (SARS) before it descends on them. Lesperance argues that by making the first move, cryptocurrency investors will be able to avoid the punitive penalties that SARS often imposes on tax dodgers. Crypto Taxes Inevitable In the meantime, Lesperance, in remarks that were made during a call with Bitcoin.com News, urged crypto holders to get over “the fantasy that they are not going pay taxes.” Also, in his message aimed especially at early crypto adopters, the tax expert explains how features of the public ledger work in the favor of revenue collectors like SARS. He said: Cryptocurrency based transactions are a revenue collector’s dream because everything is on the public ledger whose data cannot be changed. Lesperance, who recently delivered a presentation at a recent tax web...

North Africa’s largest bank, National Bank of Egypt, joins RippleNet via LuLu International Exchange to process cross-border payments from the UAE to Egypt. The post National Bank of Egypt and LuLu International Exchange Connect Through RippleNet to Elevate Remittance Experience into Egypt appeared first on Ripple. http://dlvr.it/Rzxq2S

Chess.com, one of the most popular chess internet sites, has announced it will host a contest called “Cryptochamps,” a crypto-themed chess tournament. The event, which will be sponsored by Coinbase, will feature several important cryptocurrency personalities and will offer prizes that will be donated to charity next month. Crypto Meets Chess at Cryptochamps Chess.com , the largest chess-playing site on the internet, just announced it will host a new cryptocurrency-themed tournament called Cryptochamps. Powered by Coinbase, the online event will pit important crypto influencers and other characters against each other starting June 12. Some of the participants of the tournament include known Bitcoin influencer Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano, founder and CEO Of Optimism Jing Wang, co-founder of Paradigm Matt Huang, Coinshares CSO Meltem Demirors, Civic CEO Vinny Lingham, and the crypto podcaster Peter McCormack. The influencers will compete for a total prize of $25,000 that will be donated...

PRESS RELEASE. Blockchain-backed ecosystem, the Travel Coin Project, set to challenge the status quo by leveraging the ever-growing technology. The Travel Coin project is looking like a gamechanger in the tourism industry as the blockchain-backed solution is looking to bring freedom to different stakeholders in the market. The ecosystem includes the Travel Coin token, otherwise known as TCOIN, the Travel Coin Mobile App, and the all-inclusive Travel Coin Dashboard. The comprehensiveness of the project and its versatility, especially as it allows everyone and anyone to leverage decentralization in the tourism industry, are some of the unique features of the Travel Coin project. The popularity and acceptance of blockchain technology have continued to increase over the years, as more businesses across different industries look to harness its features and benefits. The multi-billion-dollar tourism industry has also embraced the technology, with the emergence of a wide range of solutions...

For quite some time now cryptocurrency traders have been leveraging bitcoin-based assets tethered to alternative blockchains. Mid-May statistics show there’s more than 299,000 bitcoin, worth over $12.8 billion today, tied to wrapped or synthetic bitcoin projects hosted on Ethereum or the Binance Smart Chain. Layer 2 and Sidechain Competitors Command $251 Million in Bitcoin Value Collateralized crypto tokens with underlying assets like fiat currencies or stocks, bonds, and commodities have been around for years now. In fact, with just fiat currencies alone, the stablecoin market valuation today is around $97.5 billion . During the last two years, bitcoin-pegged tokens have been all the rage, and a significant number of collateralized BTC is tied to alternative chains today. Bitcoin-pegged tokens are hosted on a variety of blockchains and bitcoins are also utilized in the layer 2 solution called the Lightning Network (LN) as well. The LN total-valued locked (TVL) statistics for Tues...

A number of asset managers have cautioned about investing in cryptocurrencies, including UBS Wealth Management, Pimco, T. Rowe Price, and Glenmede Investment Management. “We expect more stringent policy and regulatory controls ahead for crypto as it becomes more mainstream,” said UBS. Asset Managers Caution of Crypto Investing A number of asset managers have expressed caution on cryptocurrency after the recent price swings, including UBS Wealth Management, Pimco, T. Rowe Price, and Glenmede Investment Management, the Financial Times reported Monday. UBS Wealth Management explained that the price volatility that followed the Tesla bitcoin announcement “highlights risks companies face if they take on crypto balance sheet exposure.” The bank added: We expect more stringent policy and regulatory controls ahead for crypto as it becomes more mainstream. Last week, Bitcoin News reported that UBS, the largest bank in Switzerland, was exploring offering cryptocurrency services to its ...

The most recent Bank of America Fund Manager Survey finds that the most crowded trade is “long bitcoin.” Nonetheless, 75% of fund managers say the cryptocurrency is in a bubble zone. Fund Managers Say Long Bitcoin Is Most Crowded Trade but Most See Bubble The Bank of America (BoA) Fund Manager Survey for May, published Tuesday, shows that “long bitcoin” is currently the most crowded trade in the world. Last month, long bitcoin was the second-most crowded trade, with the most crowded trade being “long tech.” Bank of America surveyed 216 fund managers with $625 billion in total assets under management (AUM) between May 7 and May 13. According to the results, fund managers say “long bitcoin” is the most crowded trade at 43%. The survey notes that being identified as crowded has historically been associated with tops. This was not the first time bitcoin topped the list as the most crowded trade in a Bank of America Fund Manager Survey. It was also the most crowded trade in Ja...

The blockchain company Tether has announced it will make available its stablecoin token as a native asset in Avalanche, a smart contract platform that has picked steam in the last year. Avalanche has a growing decentralized finance (defi) ecosystem, so this launch will most likely improve its state, providing users an official and safe way of parking and staking their assets on Avalanche. Tether to Launch on Avalanche Tether, the company behind the issuance of USDT , one of the most popular stablecoin tokens in the cryptocurrency market, has announced it is in the early stages of launching USDT on Avalanche, a smart contracts platform. While still being a young blockchain that launched last year, Avalanche has grown pretty fast. It is now a top 50 cryptocurrency, with a bustling defi environment that already moves large financial figures. Avalanche is also compatible with Solidity, so blockchain developers can easily port their apps quickly to the ETH ecosystem. Paolo Ardoino,...

PRESS RELEASE. Cryptocurrency exchange Quidax officially announced a partnership with JulSwap. JulSwap is one of the biggest decentralized exchanges (DEX) on the Binance Smart Chain Ecosystem. Quidax also announced that it will be launching its ecosystem token, QDX, on JulSwap’s launchpad Julpad on May 19, 2021, at 10 am (UTC) QDX will be the first exchange token to launch on Julpad. On Twitter, the company revealed that the QDX private sale had sold out within 10 minutes. According to Quidax CEO Buchi Okoro, the speed of the private sale showed how enthusiastic the community is towards QDX. ‘’The record sale of the private allocation shows the enthusiasm towards QDX and our transition towards becoming the home of BEP20 tokens,’’’ he added. The private sale was the first phase of the token launch, with 3% of the total QDX supply made available to strategic partners and early community members. To keep everyone updated on the token launch, Quidax will be hosting two AMA session on T...

The crypto regulation crisis is on fire in South Korea, as politicians have struggled to reach agreements with top government officials to ease rulings. A local media outlet reveals that South Korean ministries “do not want” to take charge of the country’s digital assets’ regulation, after several meetings held in the last few days. Prime Minister Took Part of the ‘Crypto Summit’ According to SBS , lawmakers held some meetings over the weekend at Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom’s office as part of “crypto summits” to address regulatory issues. An unnamed government official quoted by the media outlet said that the talks with the Leader of the ruling Democratic Party, Song Young-gil, Yoo Young-min, the Secretary of the Office of the Blue House, and Prime Minister Kim didn’t have an optimistic conclusion: Most ministries do not want to take charge of the problem. A solution will emerge only after the ministries’ responsibilities have been spelled out. Participants in the meeting addr...

On Tuesday, the publicly-listed business intelligence company, Microstrategy, announced the purchase of 229 bitcoins adding to the firm’s current stash of crypto. The company’s CEO Michael Saylor told his Twitter followers that Microstrategy now holds 92,079 bitcoins. Microstrategy Stocks Up on More Bitcoin, Buys $10 Million Worth to the Balance Sheet Microstrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR ) has stepped in and bought the dip once again. On Tuesday morning (ET), the firm’s chief executive officer Michael Saylor shared the announcement on Twitter as he usually does. Alongside the CEO’s statements, he also shared the Form 8-K filing that was registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. On Twitter, Michael Saylor wrote : Microstrategy has purchased an additional 229 bitcoins for $10.0 million in cash at an average price of ~$43,663 per bitcoin. As of 5/18/2021, we hodl ~92,079 bitcoins acquired for ~$2.251 billion at an average price of ~24,450 per bitcoin. The announcement co...

The price of bitcoin has dropped to a new low for the month of May, sliding to $42,100 per unit during Monday evening’s trading sessions. While a few analysts see bitcoin rebounding and gathering new highs in the coming weeks, a few crypto market strategists believe bitcoin prices could sink much lower than today’s current values. CNBC’s ‘Chartmaster’ Carter Worth Envisions Bitcoin Hitting a $29K Low The other day, Bitcoin.com News reported on Plan B’s stock-to-flow bitcoin ( BTC ) price model and how the model’s creator is still positive about the bull run moving forward. A number of other crypto proponents believe that BTC will climb back again and think that a correction was in the cards even before Tesla’s recent announcement . However, a few analysts are talking about much lower BTC prices coming in the weeks ahead as Cornerstone Macro’s Carter Worth believes bitcoin could hit $29k. BTC / USDT price on May 18, 2021, via the Bitcoin.com Exchange. Cornerstone Macro’s Car...

Fox Broadcasting Company, the American commercial broadcast television network is launching a non-fungible token (NFT) business called Blockchain Creative Labs, according to a recent report. Moreover, Fox is also planning to release a new blockchain-based animated series crafted by Dan Harmon called “Krapopolis.” Fox to Enter the NFT Fray, Aims to Launch an Animated Series Crafted by Blockchain Technology The New York-based television network Fox is a popular company that’s been in business for over 34 years. The corporate broadcasting company operates a variety of entertainment channels including popular shows like “The Simpsons,” “Undeclared,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Melrose Place,” “Glee,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Party of Five,” and more. This week, Fox Entertainment’s CEO Charlie Collier spoke to the Hollywood Reporter and explained that the firm is in the midst of constructing a subsidiary called Blockchain Creative Labs. The new company aims to provide a class of entertainment where “a...