Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Regional reports from an exposition in Chengdu indicate Bitmain has unveiled a new scrypt ASIC rig for dogecoin, litecoin, digibyte, and verge mining. The Chinese reporter who disclosed the information says the new Bitmain model has a hashrate of around 9,500 megahash per second (MH/s) and overseas prices are reduced by 13%. Bitmain Unveils New Scrypt Miner With 9.5 Gigahash According to the Chinese journalist Colin ‘Wu’ Blockchain, Bitmain has revealed a new scrypt coin mining device that packs a lot more hashrate than the company’s previous model. Wu tweeted out the news on Saturday after Bitmain showed off the specifications at an exposition held in Chengdu. “On June 19th, Bitmain released the new Litecoin/Dogecoin mining machine L7,” the China-based reporter tweeted . “With a hashrate of 9,500 MH/s and 3425W, equivalent to 19 sets of L3+, and the price is $15,000, [the] overseas purchase price is reduced by 13%. The delivery time is November 2021,” he added. Moreover, Wu also ...

Cornell University professor of economics and former head of the IMF’s China division, Eswar Prasad, sees three major flaws in bitcoin. Because of these flaws, the professor says that “bitcoin really has set off something of a search for a better alternative.” Cornell University’s Professor of Economics Outlines Bitcoin’s Flaws Cornell economics professor Eswar Prasad talked about bitcoin’s flaws in an interview with CNBC Thursday. Prasad is the Nandlal P. Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy and professor of economics at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. He is also a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He was previously chief of the Financial Studies Division in the research department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and, before that, was the head of the IMF’s China division. The first flaw concerns the energy usage in bitcoin mining, which Prasad said is “certainly not good for the environment.” The profess...

Robert Kiyosaki, the best-selling author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” has predicted the “biggest crash” in world history. He also expects the price of bitcoin to fall to the $24K level. Robert Kiyosaki Foresees Biggest Crash in History Coming Famous author and investor Robert Kiyosaki has predicted that the biggest crash in the history of the world is on the way. Rich Dad Poor Dad is a 1997 book co-authored by Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over six years. Over 32 million copies of the book have been sold in over 51 languages across more than 109 countries. Kiyosaki tweeted Friday: Biggest bubble in world history getting bigger. Biggest crash in world history coming. Buying more gold and silver. Waiting for bitcoin to drop to $24K. Crashes best time to get rich. However, Kiyosaki did not elaborate on how he came up with his BTC price prediction. When the price of bitcoin began falling substantially in May, the Rich Dad Poor Dad...

Grayscale Investments is considering 31 crypto assets to add to its family of investment products. The company, with $32.9 billion in crypto assets under management, currently offers investments in 13 cryptocurrencies. Grayscale Investments announced Friday 13 additional crypto assets it is considering for investment products. These cryptocurrencies add to the initial list of coins the company announced it was considering in February. The 13 additional crypto assets are 1inch (1INCH), bancor (BNT), curve (CRV), internet computer (ICP), kava (KAVA), kyber network (KNC), loopring (LRC), near (NEAR), polygon (MATIC), ren (REN), solana (SOL), universal market access (UMA), and 0x (ZRX). The crypto assets already in consideration are aave (AAVE), cardano ( ADA ), compound (COMP), cosmos ( ATOM ), eos ( EOS ), flow (dapper labs) (FLOW), makerdao ( MKR ), monero ( XMR ), numeraire (NMR), polkadot (DOT), reserve rights (RSR), stacks (STX), sushiswap (SUSHI), synthetix (SNX), tezos ( XTZ )...

Over the last few weeks, there have been many reports about crackdowns in China tied to bitcoin mining operations in various provinces. 30-day statistics show the hashrate has been fluctuating wildly, and across the last week it has slid downward roughly 26%. Reports Show Bitcoin Mining Crackdowns in Five Chinese Provinces Despite the slide, the top three mining pools in the world, which represent roughly 41% of the hashrate today, are considered Chinese mining pools. This doesn’t necessarily mean the mining pools actually host physical bitcoin mining facilities in mainland China, however. How much hashrate resides in China is the million-dollar question these days. Especially after Beijing’s crackdown on the mining industry and the following bans in a number of provinces. Five provinces in China have seen bitcoin mining bans. The mandates first appeared in Inner Mongolia, as reports surfaced during the first week of March 2021. Then on June 9, 2021, a report disclosed that sp...

H-E-B shoppers will soon be able to obtain digital assets at more than two dozen locations in Texas. Coin Cloud, a crypto automated teller machine (ATM) provider, says 29 H-E-B stores will feature kiosks that provide access to more than 30 crypto assets including defi tokens and stablecoins. H-E-B Stores in Texas to Host Coin Cloud Digital Currency ATMs 29 H-E-B locations will soon have cryptocurrency ATMs at their disposal. The machines will be provided by Coin Cloud, a digital currency ATM provider based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Coin Cloud calls its devices “digital currency machines” or “DCMs.” The company is set to reach 2,000 DCM installations after the H-E-B locations are complete. Besides H-E-B grocery stores, Coin Cloud has partnerships with the National Alliance of Trade Associations, United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), and CAL’s Convenience Store. The DCMs are stretched across the United States and countries in South America as well. In the U.S., Coin Cloud has crypto machin...

According to local media, leading South African financial institution FNB is denying allegations of a banking relationship with the recently collapsed crypto investment company, Africrypt. FNB also insists it did not enable the investment company’s transactions which helped Africrypt’s two directors disappear with billions of dollars in investor funds. Disappearance of Investor Funds The financial institution’s denial comes nearly two months after Africrypt abruptly stopped operating. At that time, the crypto investment firm’s management claimed Africrypt’s trading system had been breached. This breach compromised client accounts, wallets, and nodes, thus forcing Africrypt to freeze all accounts, the directors claimed. However, shortly after the so-called breach, Africrypt directors Ameer Cajee and his brother Raees Cajee are alleged to have “transferred the crypto investment’s pooled funds from its South African account(s) through bitcoin on the blockchain in April 2021.” South Af...

Indian rapper Raftaar is reportedly accepting cryptocurrency for his upcoming performance in Canada. “Nevertheless, I’ve finally taken the baby steps in this direction and all the credit goes to my manager, Ankit Khanna for making this dream a reality for me,” Raftaar said. Raftaar, an Indian rapper, lyricist, dancer, TV personality and music composer, made headlines this weekend for being the “first Indian artist to accept performance fee in cryptocurrency.” Raftaar’s real name is Dilin Nair. The performance for which Raftaar will be paid in cryptocurrency is a one-hour virtual event in Ottawa, Canada, for a private group of about 100 people. It is scheduled for the second week of July. “I’ve always been an ardent admirer of blockchain technology. I’ve always wondered why artistes and managers alike haven’t explored the potential of this disruptive medium,” Raftaar opined. “Nevertheless, I’ve finally taken the baby steps in this direction and all the credit goes to my manager, An...

India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested a Mumbai resident known as “crypto king,” who allegedly used bitcoin to purchase narcotics on the dark web. Indian cryptocurrency exchange Wazirx says the accused is not one of its customers. ‘Crypto King’ Arrested in India A Mumbai resident, Makarand Pardeep Adivirkar, also known as “crypto king” in the country’s underground drug circuit, has been arrested by India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). He allegedly used bitcoin to purchase drugs on the dark web that were delivered to India from Europe. Sameer Wankhede, director of the Mumbai Unit of NCB, explained that “In November 2020, a team of NCB Mumbai had seized 20 LSD blots from Kharodi Village in Malad,” local media reported. The director was further quoted as saying: The seized psychotropic substance was purchased from Europe by using bitcoin by a drug peddler from Mumbai. “His modus operandi was to receive cash, and provide bitcoins on marginal profits by using his wal...

CEBL, the Canadian men’s basketball league, will offer its professional basketball players the option to receive a portion of their salary in cryptocurrency. The new payment option has been enabled through a partnership with the Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Bitbuy. Bitbuy to Convert Canadian Dollar Salaries Into Bitcoin The Canadian Elite Basketball League ( CEBL ) announced the deal with Bitbuy days before the start of its third season, on June 24. The league, which was founded four years ago, launched in 2019 with six teams, all of them owned and managed by the Canadian Basketball Ventures group. It now says the crypto partnership will be the first of its kind for any professional sports league in North America. CEBL Commissioner and CEO Mike Morreale commented: Our partnership with Bitbuy speaks to our commitment to players, and also to our forward-thinking approach to how we go about our business. We appreciate Bitbuy’s investment in helping us further grow Canada’s offici...

A group of Spanish deputies filed a proposal that seeks to accelerate the implementation of a digital euro. The proposal, presented on June 8, asks for the creation of a group to study the implementation of a digital currency in the Eurozone. This study group, if created, would be aided by the Bank of Spain. However, the issuance of a digital euro is still under study by the European Central Bank (ECB). Spanish Deputies File Proposal to Accelerate the Digital Euro A group of Spanish deputies from the Socialist Party introduced a no law proposal to accelerate the issuance of a digital euro. The proposal, filed on June 8, asks the central government to establish a study group to examine the benefits of the implementation of such currency. The Bank of Spain would aid this central bank digital currency (CBDC) study group in this task. The proposal mentions four motives to advance this research: first, the advances in digitalization techniques that make these new payment forms possible...

Ledger customers are receiving fake wallets by mail to steal their cryptocurrency. A user in Reddit reported receiving a suspicious package that claimed to be mailed by Ledger. The package included a letter stating the user needed to substitute the current wallet for safety reasons. Ledger has been the source of several leaks of information of customer data. Criminals are presumably using this information to organize these schemes. Scammers Are Mailing Fake Wallets to Ledger Customers Scammers are reportedly mailing fake hardware wallets to Ledger customers to steal their private seeds. According to the statements of a Reddit user, he received a package sent by Ledger with a legit-looking Ledger Nano X. The package also contained a letter that stated their current wallet was compromised. This letter stressed the user needed to replace their current wallet with the new one. It declared: For security purposes, we have sent you a new device you must switch to a new device to stay sa...

Danske Bank will not block credit cards used in crypto trading, according to its newly announced position on cryptocurrencies. The Danish bank would also accept deposits related to crypto investments, although it follows a cautious approach towards decentralized digital assets. Denmark’s Largest Bank Clarifies Its Stance on Cryptocurrencies Responding to mounting inquiries from customers and other stakeholders, Danske Bank has released an official position on crypto assets. “In recent years, cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum have received significant attention from investors and media,” the bank noted, outlining its current stance on crypto trading and investing. Denmark’s largest banking institution recognizes that “cryptocurrencies represent a significant digital innovation in financial services” and praises the “great potentials in the blockchain technology.” At the same time, it continues to maintain “a very cautious approach towards cryptocurrencies.” The bank li...

Galaxy Digital’s co-president Damien Vanderwilt announced today that his firm has partnered with Goldman Sachs to help provide bitcoin futures products. The partnership marks one of the first occasions where an American multinational investment bank has partnered with a crypto asset service provider. Galaxy Serves as Goldman’s Counterparty for Bitcoin Futures Trading Goldman Sachs is trading bitcoin futures products with Galaxy Digital according to statements made by Galaxy’s co-president Damien Vanderwilt during an interview with CNBC. Galaxy Digital is a financial services and investment management innovator founded by the company’s CEO Mike Novogratz. Vanderwilt explains that Goldman Sachs, the bank with $2.1 trillion assets under management (AUM), may entice other financial incumbents to follow its lead. “There’s a whole dynamic with the major banks that I’ve seen time and time again: safety in numbers,” Vanderwilt explained during his discussion about the subject. “Once one ...

The American professional stock car racing driver, Landon Cassill, has announced he has partnered with the crypto-asset platform Voyager Digital Ltd. in order to get paid in cryptocurrency. Cassill’s announcement notes that the racer will be paid in crypto for the remainder of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Landon Cassill to be Paid in Digital Currencies, JD Motorsports’ No. 4 Chevrolet Will Sport Voyager Branding According to an announcement published on nascar.com, Landon Cassill, the professional stock car racing driver who drives the JD Motorsports’ No. 4 Chevrolet, will be paid in crypto for the rest of the NASCAR season. Cassill is a big supporter of the crypto ecosystem and a friend of Voyager CEO Steve Ehrlich. The partnership will also see the No. 4 Chevy feature a “Voyager paint scheme in Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway.” Cassill explained to nascar.com that he checks his “Voyager account probably 100 times a day.” Even though cryptocu...

Are you a crypto trader looking for a fun opportunity to earn more returns or a soccer fan who wants to add some excitement during the Euro Cup? Great news, crypto-powered investing app SimpleFX launches a trading contest with a $50,000 prize pool. The SimpleFX Euro 2021 Trading Cup SimpleFX is an online broker covering crypto, forex, stocks, gold and other assets that has been around since 2014. The platform is designed to be powerful yet very easy-to-use and offers a very quick registration process for cryptocurrency accounts – no KYC is needed just a simple signup with an e-mail. You can invest using bitcoin, ether, tether, Binance Coin or any of the 40 supported cryptocurrencies. Recently SimpleFX announced a promotion that is great incentive to check out the app if you are a crypto trader that doesn’t know it yet. The platform is launching a trading competition called the “Euro 2021 Trading Cup” during the UEFA European Football Championship. The event will feature a $50,000...