Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

According to a new report published by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kenya, the country’s regulatory sandbox has now received 24 applications, queries, and proposals since March 2019. From this total, only seven firms have been admitted into the sandbox, and “a few more (are now) in the final stages of review.” However, just two out of the seven admitted firms have completed their testing phase and plan to roll out the products soon. Regulator and Innovator Rapport Meanwhile, the CMA concedes that this regulatory sandbox had afforded it with the opportunity to work and learn from innovators. In the document , which is titled the Regulatory Sandbox Milestone Report, the CMA states: While it is still too early to assess the impact of the Regulatory Sandbox in the capital markets, one important point to note is that the sandbox allowed the Authority to work with innovators to build appropriate consumer protection safeguards into new products and services. Further, the regu...

As cryptocurrencies become a trending topic across Argentina, local authorities hunt virtual currencies scammers amid the coronavirus-driven crisis and high inflation levels. The Argentine Federal Police detained two members of an alleged pyramid scheme operating in a northern province. Investigations Initiated After Two Complaints Filed With the Authorities According to Valle Calchaquí , the operation happened within the context of an investigation pursued by the Fourth District Prosecutor’s Office of Santa María. They are making inquiries on an alleged crypto scam named Intense Live. Two victims of the presumably fraudulent scheme filed complaints with the police in Santa María, located in the northern province of Catamarca. During the authorities’ action, law enforcement found two vehicles owned by an alleged victim that paid part of his investment by giving the scammers cars. Per the prosecutor’s office, victims could likely recover their stolen money during the alleged scam,...

Non-fungible tokens can be sold to raise funds and two independent initiatives are now going to use proceeds from NFT auctions to finance charity projects. The tokens will represent one of the best known American landmarks, the Hollywood Sign, and a New York photograph of the late singer Amy Winehouse. Hollywood Sign to Be Sold as NFT to Raise Funds for Charity The Hollywood Sign, a world famous landmark in the hills above Los Angeles, will be offered as a non-fungible token ( NFT ) to collect funds in support of charitable initiatives. The NFT will be launched by Sugar23 , an emerging management and creative platform founded by Oscar-winning producer Michael Sugar. The company has partnered with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and is now looking for an artist or filmmaker to complete the digital art project. The token will be sold this summer, although no specific time frame has been established yet. Quoted by the Hollywood Reporter, Sugar stated: As storytellers who recognize...

PRESS RELEASE. AscendEX, formerly BitMax, an industry-leading digital asset trading platform built by Wall Street quant trading veterans, has announced the listing and auction of the Freela token (FREL) under the pair USDT/FREL . The auction will take place on May 26 at 1:00 p.m. UTC. and the listing will go live on May 27, one hour after the IDO. Freela is a first-of-its-kind Defi-powered and self-governed DAO designed to act as a broad decentralized platform for freelancing transactions. It provides platform features for both B2B and P2P (Peer to Peer) commission-free transactions with its intuitive user interface, matching skilled freelancers with job postings worldwide. In the digital asset space, it’s pretty hard to find the right freelance talent for startups. Freela aims to be a one-stop solution for various professional freelancers with diversified skill sets, including writing, marketing, designing, and coding, just to name a few. Freela brings in a unique, innovative...

Jim Cramer, otherwise known as the ‘stock guru,’ has weighed in how the latest cryptocurrency market correction can affect the stock markets. Cramer thinks this contingency will benefit stock markets, with some investors taking profit and moving them to less volatile, less transient investments. But some volatile stocks also felt the correction in crypto, now that some tech shares are more correlated than ever. Jim Cramer Thinks Crypto Correction Will Benefit Stock Markets Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC’s Mad Money, and one of the most recognizable stock gurus stated the current correction the cryptocurrency economy experienced recently could benefit the stock market. According to him, this shakedown can cleanse the market from speculators, driving serious traders and investors to more value-driven stocks. Cramer stated: This speculative meltdown can temporarily weigh on the entire market, sure, but once the speculators get shaken out, I’m betting it’s a win for the Dow and defin...

The South Korean government seems to be easing its anti-crypto tone, as the Deputy Prime Minister came forward with a statement that opened the doors for future open dialogue on virtual currency topics. Hong Nam-ki unveiled that officials are assessing ways to get young people into “domestic asset markets” and thus bringing more opportunities in that regard. Economic Agenda Also Targets Stock Market Investments With a Focus on Youth According to the statement released by Hankook Ilbo , Hong Nam-ki – who is also the country’s finance minister, said that it’s necessary to “reinforce policy details and support efforts for the domestic asset market, where the interest of young people is high,” referring to cryptocurrency markets. Such words came forward in the wake of the government’s plans to approach three aspects of the economy, said the Deputy Prime Minister, including youth employment, housing, and “asset formation.” Furthermore, Hong highlighted the “high interest” among the Sou...

The CEO of Ark Investment Management (Ark Invest), Cathie Wood, still predicts that the price of bitcoin will be $500K. She says that all indicators “are all suggesting that we are in a capitulation phase, which is a really great time to buy, no matter what the asset is.” Ark Sees Bitcoin Reaching $500K Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood has shared her view about the current bitcoin market and her prediction of where the price of the cryptocurrency will rise to in an interview with Bloomberg Wednesday. Wood has previously predicted that the price of bitcoin will increase to $500K. With the current market turbulence and sell-offs across a broad range of cryptocurrencies, she was asked if she still stands by her forecast. Referencing work done by her firm’s crypto analyst, Wood replied, “We do. I do,” emphasizing: Yes, our conviction is as high. She continued: “The one thing that has changed here, however, is the environmental concerns around bitcoin, in particular, have caused people l...

On Wednesday, the firm Bit Mining Limited, formerly known as 500.com, announced it has entered into a binding investment in a cryptocurrency mining data center located in Texas. The binding investment worth $25 million is with Dory Creek, LLC as the two companies will construct and operate a 57.2 MW mining facility powered by 85% low-carbon energy. Bit Mining Pledges $25M to Build a Texas Mining Facility With Bitdeer The Chinese company Bit Mining Limited has been making a number of moves into the cryptocurrency mining industry after the business used to be dedicated to lottery operations. Back in mid-February, Bitcoin.com News reported on Bit Mining when the company was called 500.com and the firm announced it acquired the mining company Btc.com. In April, the company revealed it had rebranded and Bit Mining Limited (NYSE: BTCM ) also said it acquired the mining rig manufacturer Bee Computing. The partnership with Dory Creek, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bitdeer, was announced o...

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is preparing to release a digital prototype of the national fiat towards the end of 2021, a high-ranking official has confirmed. Transfers between private individuals will be free of charge with the digital ruble, which is going to have legal tender status on par with Russia’s traditional currency. Bank of Russia to Work With Financial Sector on Digital Ruble Project The monetary policy regulator of the Russian Federation, also known as Bank of Russia, has been working to digitalize the ruble since mid-October when its plan was announced to the public. The Russian central bank digital currency ( CBDC ) will be designed as a unique digital code stored in dedicated electronic wallets. The coin will become a fully-fledged means of payment that Russians will be able to use alongside the regular ruble. The bank has already published a consultative report and presented the concept of the new digital ruble. “We’ll make a prototype at the end of the year,...

PRESS RELEASE. B2BinPay, one of the industry’s leading crypto processing providers , has announced the launch of version 2 of its award-winning payments solution. The new version is a highly-anticipated upgrade to the current offering and includes a series of feature enhancements and the inclusion of many new capabilities to fulfill all transaction requirements at top speed. Version 2 delivers to clients an industry-first with a vast number of options available for the fastest and easiest user-experience possible. About B2BinPay B2BinPay is a cryptocurrency payment provider offering solutions for both Merchant and Enterprise Clients enabling businesses to send, receive, store, exchange and accept crypto payments online safely, securely and cost-effectively across the globe in a matter of minutes. B2BinPay services a wide spectrum of clients including Forex brokers, cryptocurrency exchanges, hedge funds, online stores and other merchants, enabling cryptocurrency payments via a b...

Blockfi, a cryptocurrency lending platform, wrongly distributed a set of payments to a group of customers, who found deposits of up to 700 BTC in their accounts. While most weren’t able to withdraw these funds, in the confusion, other customers that applied for withdrawals are now being threatened with legal actions against them. Blockfi Messes up Promo Payments Blockfi, one of the most popular cryptocurrency lending and borrowing platforms in the cryptocurrency sphere, mistakenly overpaid bonuses to a group of customers, with some receiving up to 700 BTC in their accounts. According to reports, these payments were related to a stablecoin promotion Blockfi is running, that would give additional benefits to customers to maintain a determinate balance of dollars in their Blockfi Interest Accounts. The bonuses also included income from enrolling partners into the platform. Seems that Blockfi issued stablecoins sums of payments, but in bitcoin, sending some users BTC instead of GU...

While bitcoin prices plummeted this week, the network’s hashrate has also dropped considerably since tapping a high on May 9. Since then, the hashrate has seen swings between 10-15% because of the crypto market downturn, alleged issues with power outages in Sichuan, China, and the upcoming difficulty change. Similar to the Price, Bitcoin Hashrate Sees Wild Fluctuations Bitcoin’s hashrate has been fluctuating in recent days after the price of BTC dropped significantly in value during the last week. After some recovery, bitcoin ( BTC ) market data shows that seven-day stats indicate a weekly loss of 15% on Thursday afternoon (EST). The network’s hashrate or processing power has also followed the downward slide . There are numerous factors that show why the hashrate has slumped, as bitcoin’s price drop is just one of the reasons. On May 16, the Bitcoin hashrate of the entire network plummeted, with Antpool -16%, F2pool -11%, Binancepool -14%, and Huobipool -23%. People in the Sichu...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced measures to crack down on tax evasion involving cryptocurrencies as part of President Joe Biden’s proposed tax compliance measures. Among the measures is a requirement for businesses that receive crypto assets with a fair market value of more than $10,000 to report transactions to the IRS. Treasury Proposes Measures to Crack Down Tax Evasion via Cryptocurrency The U.S. Department of the Treasury published a report on Thusday entitled “The American Families Plan Tax Compliance Agenda.” The report outlines President Joe Biden’s proposed tax compliance measures. Among the proposals is “Increased information reporting.” The report explains that “The President’s proposal requires information reporting on financial accounts to increase the visibility of gross receipts and expenses to the IRS,” adding that “The reporting regime would also cover foreign financial institutions and crypto asset exchanges and custodians.” The report notes tha...

America’s currency has been flirting with lows again, as the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) dropped to a low of 89 on Tuesday and the following Thursday. This is the third time since April 2018, the DXY has been this weak, and some analysts think the currency could drop even lower. US Dollar ‘Is a Bit Extended,’ RSI Levels Indicate ‘Oversold’ Territory Analysts and economists have been concerned about the U.S. dollar during the last year, after Covid-19 guidelines shook the global economy and wreaked havoc on the supply chain . Following more than 12 month’s worth of coronavirus mandates and business shutdowns, the American economy is still having a very hard time trying to recover. Market Insider Fellow, Ben Winck, recently explained that analysts are puzzled by the U.S. economy “stumbling,” as “experts badly misjudge the labor market.” Furthermore, the U.S. dollar has been spiraling downward for two months, losing 3.7% since the end of March. On Tuesday, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) ...