Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Hedge funds are likely to significantly increase their crypto holdings, a global poll of chief financial officers has indicated. According to an average figure based on their forecasts, the funds will keep more than 7% of assets in cryptocurrency within the next five years. Hedge Fund CFOs Expect Sizable Increase in Crypto Investments The survey, conducted among 100 CFOs around the world, signals that the hedge funds are planning to markedly expand their exposure to cryptocurrencies by 2026. Reuters described the poll results as a major vote of confidence for digital assets, one that comes after the recent market decline and amid plans for stricter capital regulations. The executives believe their funds will hold 7.2% of all assets in cryptocurrency five years from now, or around $312 billion based on estimates for the size of the industry, fund administrator Intertrust detailed. And while this is the average forecast of the sample, 17% of the respondents shared higher expectatio...

Porsche, the German carmaker, is diversifying to digital markets through the launch of Fanzone, an NFT-based trading card market. Fanzone, built by Forward31, a Porsche company builder, seeks to capitalize on classic trading card demand. At the same time, Fanzone tries to combine this classical market with the NFT craze to offer digital products. Porsche Launches NFT-Based Trading Card Platform Fanzone Porsche, the German luxury car brand, is now dabbling in NTF markets. The brand just launched an NFT-based trading card platform called Fanzone , where users will be able to purchase and trade digital assets. The startup was launched by Forward31, a digital company builder that expands Porsche into non-core markets. Fanzone lets users acquire, trade, and even game with their soccer trading cards. Each card features a different player with their unique traits and info. These cards live as digital assets on the Lukso blockchain, so anyone can extract them from the platform for safeke...

The celebrity influencer Kim Kardashian posted about a project called Ethereum Max on Instagram this week by sharing an advertisement with her 228 million followers. The project Ethereum Max has also been promoted by former Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce and professional boxer Floyd Mayweather. Kim Kardashian Follows Mayweather and Pierce by Shilling Ethereum Max on Instagram The American reality television personality, socialite, model, and businesswoman Kim Kardashian posted about a cryptocurrency project called Ethereum Max. The Ethereum Max project (emax or ETH max) is an ERC20 project built on the Ethereum blockchain and launched roughly 30 days ago. There are many questions , reports , and forum posts with people who are skeptical of the project asking whether or not emax is “legit or a scam.” The recent Instagram Ethereum Max post wasn’t the first time Kardashian posted about emax as she posted about the project last month as well. Kardashian’s Instagram post which...

The chairman of Italy’s financial regulator has raised concerns over the cryptocurrency market without proper regulation. “Without proper oversight there could be a worsening in market transparency, the basis of legality and rational choice for (market) operators,” he said. Chairman of Italy’s Securities Regulator Sees Issues With Unregulated Cryptocurrency Market The chairman of the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob), Paolo Savona, voiced concerns regarding cryptocurrency Monday. Consob is the government authority of Italy responsible for regulating the Italian securities market. He said as he presented the watchdog’s yearly report: Without proper oversight there could be a worsening in market transparency, the basis of legality and rational choice for (market) operators. The Consob chairman noted that there are some 4,000-5,000 cryptocurrencies in circulation without any form of real regulation. He further opined, “If we add to this Consob’s recent own e...

Personal finance guru and best-selling author Suze Orman has given advice on how to invest in bitcoin. She likes the cryptocurrency as a long-term investment despite regulatory uncertainty and the influence Tesla CEO Elon Musk seems to have on the bitcoin market. Suze Orman’s Bitcoin Investing Advice Suze Orman has shared her bitcoin investment strategy in an interview with CNBC Monday. The Suze Orman Financial Group founder, whose show ran on CNBC from 2002 to 2015, has written 10 consecutive New York Times bestsellers about personal finance. She was named twice on Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people and was appointed as a personal finance educator for the United States Army and Army Reserve in 2016. In addition, she won two Emmy Awards and eight Gracie Awards. Emphasizing that she likes bitcoin as a long-term investment but not as a currency, the famed author of the book “The Ultimate Retirement Guide for 50+” said: You have to hold it for the long run. Sh...

The price of shiba inu cryptocurrency got a boost Tuesday after Coinbase announced that the meme crypto will start trading on Coinbase Pro as early as this week. This announcement follows Coinbase adding trading for dogecoin. Coinbase Pro Adds Shiba Inu Trading Following the listing of the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE) early this month, Coinbase announced Tuesday that the shiba inu (SHIB) crypto will start trading on Coinbase Pro this week. The ERC20 crypto shiba inu is seen by some as an alternative token to dogecoin. The Nasdaq-listed company says that starting immediately, Coinbase Pro users can transfer shiba inu tokens into their accounts. However, SHIB will not be available to New York residents. The company clarified: Trading will begin on or after 9AM Pacific Time (PT) Thursday June 17, if liquidity conditions are met. The announcement also covers chiliz (CHZ) and the keep network (KEEP). Besides dogecoin, the company recently added trading support for a number ...

Cryptocurrency investing has been rising in popularity among New Zealanders and a fifth of the respondents in a new survey either plan to or have already, put money into digital assets. The poll also found that young Kiwis are more likely to use micro-investing platforms than older generations. Over 20% of New Zealanders Plan to or Have Invested in Cryptocurrency Investing in cryptocurrencies and shares has been on the rise in New Zealand, with young people getting into digital investments faster than other age groups. According to a survey conducted for the Financial Services Council ( FSC ), 40% of Kiwis are currently using or intend to use micro-investing platforms, the New Zealand Herald reported. The poll found that 21%, or a fifth of 2,000 respondents, have either invested in cryptocurrencies or plan to buy digital coins in the future. That’s a 7% increase since March 2020, the report noted. Actual crypto investors have increased markedly, from 3% to 9.5%, between March las...

On June 13, the billionaire investor and co-host of the television series Shark Tank, Mark Cuban, explained his fascination with decentralized finance (defi) in an editorial published to his blog. Cuban details that many defi organizations are different because they are not corporate entities or based in the United States. He believes that “no one owns majority control” of these operations which makes them “permissionless” innovations. Mark Cuban Sees Massive Potential When It Comes to Permissionless Finance The entrepreneur Mark Cuban has been in the crypto space for quite some time now, and a recently published blog post explains he is focused on defi innovation and decentralized exchange (dex) platforms . Cuban wrote an opinion piece on his blog called: “The Brilliance of Yield Farming, Liquidity Providing and Valuing Crypto Projects,” which explains the defi universe from his point of view. Cuban stressed that yield farming via staking and liquidity providing are the core feat...

Investment bank JPMorgan Chase is stockpiling cash according to the company’s CEO Jamie Dimon. The investment banker doesn’t seem to believe inflation is “transitory” and he thinks there’s a “very good chance” inflation could stick around. JPMorgan Chase CEO: ‘I Do Expect to See Higher Rates and More Inflation’ At the end of April, Bitcoin.com News reported on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and explained how FOMC members said the benchmark interest rate will be kept near zero. Moreover, members of the FOMC also said the committee wasn’t too concerned about inflation, but admitted inflation may have “transitory effects” on the American economy. JPMorgan Chase’s boss doesn’t believe this is the case, according to his recent statements. While telling the public he warned people about cryptocurrencies at the end of May, Dimon recently warned of runaway inflation , alongside Larry Summers’ inflation predictions. On Monday during a conference, Dimon reiterated his inflation ...

On Monday, Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at Fidelity and co-manager of the Fidelity Global Strategies Fund, told his 56,000 Twitter followers his perspective on the current bitcoin prices. “In my view, it looks like the bottom is in,” the Fidelity executive explained, sharing a BTC /USD chart. Fidelity’s Jurrien Timmer Attempts to Call Bitcoin’s Bottom In mid-April, bitcoin ( BTC ) prices touched an all-time high at $64,895 per coin and then plummeted to $30,066 per unit on May 19. The price of BTC has not fallen below the $30K threshold but a number of investors have speculated that it could. There’s been a few predictions noting that $20K BTC prices could be in the cards, while others are still hopeful BTC will achieve six-digit values by the end of the year. On Monday the director of global macro at Fidelity, Jurrien Timmer, tweeted that he believes bitcoin’s price has dropped to its lowest point. “In my view, it looks like the bottom is in,” Timmer tweeted . Of ...

Microstrategy Inc. is selling up to $1 billion of its common stock, MSTR, with the aim to use some of the net proceeds to buy bitcoin. The Nasdaq-listed company also recently completed a $500 million secured notes offering and will use the proceeds to acquire bitcoins. Selling MSTR Stock to Buy Bitcoin Microstrategy Inc. has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch an “‘at the market’ securities offering for flexibility to sell up to $1 billion of its class A common stock over time,” the company announced Monday. The company’s class A common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol MSTR. MicroStrategy Launches “At the Market” Securities Offering for Flexibility to Sell Up to $1 billion of its Class A Common Stock Over Time $MSTR https://t.co/qouK8pFmBF — Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) June 14, 2021 In the prospectus filed with the SEC for this offering, Microstrategy explained how it plans to...

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov talked about the future importance of cryptocurrencies as an international settlements layer at the Primakov Readings Forum. Lavrov referred to these assets as having a “significant role” in the future. Russia has been striving to de-dollarize some of its activities, and this statement might offer a glimpse into future plans. Russian Foreign Minister Says Crypto Could Play Significant Role in Settlements Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov referred to the future importance of cryptocurrencies as a part of the international settlements layer. Lavrov made the reference while attending the Primakov Readings Forum last week, an important diplomat meeting. The Russian Foreign Minister was optimistic about the use of cryptocurrencies to settle debts among countries. Lavrov stated: I think the time will inevitably come when cryptocurrencies will play a very significant role, occupy a very significant segment in international settlements. R...

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has urged her country to be ready for emerging fintech by paving the way for cryptocurrencies. She also urged the country’s central bank to begin the necessary preparations for a step-change in global attitudes towards banking. However, in her address of the Tanzanian finance chiefs, Hassan acknowledges that not everyone in the country is embracing crypto. The 61-year-old leader still wants them to plan ahead. She said: I know that throughout the nation, including Tanzania, they have not accepted or started using these routes. However, my call to the Central Bank is that you should start working on that development. The Central Bank should be ready for the changes and not be caught unprepared. Hassan is the latest national leader to speak favorably of cryptocurrencies after El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele. At the beginning of June 2021, Bukele told attendees of a Bitcoin 2021 conference in the U.S. that his country planned to make BTC ...

Twice as many European startups have achieved unicorn status in 2021 compared to last year. Despite the negative effects of the ongoing Covid crisis, young companies on the Old Continent, including several crypto unicorns, have managed to attract a record high amount of VC capital. European Unicorns Collect €32.5 Billion in 2021 This year alone, 23 companies in Europe and Israel have become unicorns (startup companies valued at over $1 billion), beating last year’s total of eight, according to a report by financial data and software firm Pitchbook . European startups have managed to attract a staggering €32.5 billion (around $39.3 billion) since the beginning of 2021. This year’s capital inflow could easily surpass the €37.6 billion raised in the whole of 2020. Of the total, 20 companies are based in Europe, including several crypto startups. The U.K. accounts for most of these unicorns, with London-headquartered Blockchain.com currently valued at $5.2 billion after securing $420 ...

Docker, a popular cloud computing integration solution, is making changes to its free-tier service due to cryptocurrency mining abuse. The service discontinued its “autobuild” feature due to misuse by bad actors, using it to mine cryptocurrencies in their servers. This is a modus operandi that is now affecting several cloud continuous integration platforms, including GitHub, GitLab, and Microsoft Azure. Docker Forced to Make Changes to Its Free-Tier Services Docker, a popular CI cloud service, is making changes to its service policy due to crypto mining abuse. The cloud computer continuous integration service announced last week it will no longer provide its autobuild features to its free-tier service. Docker announced this in a blog post, stating the attacks have grown in recent months, affecting their paying customers. The team declared: In April we saw the number of build hours spike 2X our usual load and by the end of the month we had already deactivated ~10,000 accounts due ...

The Argentinian National Soccer Selection launched its official token last week, with a great reception. The token that would give fans involvement in the decisions regarding the soccer team, sold out quickly. The Argentinian National Soccer Selection is the first national team to launch its own fan token. Nonetheless, other European clubs already have their fan tokens. The Argentinian National Soccer Selection Launched Its Official Token The Argentinian National Soccer Selection, one of the most popular teams worldwide, launched its fan token last week. The token, launched in partnership with the platform Socios.com, will allow fans to have involvement in some decisions involving the team. According to a blog post from the AFA, the Argentinian Soccer Association, fans will: “Have the possibility of taking part in surveys, discounts, exclusive promotions, and unique experiences, which will only be intended for those who own these digital currencies.” The launch was a success, ...