Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Portugal now has two approved cryptocurrency exchanges. The country’s central bank, the Banco de Portugal, has licensed Mind the Coin and Criptoloja. In Portugal, the central bank is responsible for registering entities that intend to act as virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The bank must also ensure that they are in compliance with the legal and regulatory provisions on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT). Mind the Coin supports bitcoin, litecoin, and monero. “Buy bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies at our terminals or P2P online,” the company explained. Criptoloja, located in the heart of Lisbon, claims to be “the first company, 100% Portuguese, to provide the service for the purchase and sale of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.” The central bank clarified: Banco de Portugal’s supervision regarding virtual assets service providers, as determined by Law No 83/2017 of 18 August 2017, is limited to AML/CFT purposes, and does not extend t...

Sotheby’s, the world’s largest auction house, is auctioning a rare, 101.38-carat flawless diamond estimated to be worth $15 million, and cryptocurrencies are accepted. Biggest Auction House Accepts Cryptocurrencies Sotheby’s announced Monday that it is auctioning a rare, pear-shaped diamond on July 9 in Hong Kong that can be purchased with cryptocurrency. Established in 1744, Sotheby’s described itself as the world’s largest marketplace for art and luxury. With a network of specialists spanning 40 countries and 44 departments, “we host over 600 auctions annually and offer a cross-category selection of items available for immediate purchase via both digital and physical shopping experiences as well as private sales,” its website details. Artprice.com ranks Sotheby’s as the number one auction house by turnover, followed by Christie’s. The auction house explained that this is the first time a diamond of such size, or any physical object of such high value, is offered for public purch...

President Nicolas Maduro stated that Venezuela was a pioneer in cryptocurrency adoption in Latam in an interview with Bloomberg last week. Venezuela is still one of the first cryptocurrency volume movers in South America. However, the petro token, its official cryptocurrency, has failed to pick up steam in national and international markets. President Nicolas Maduro Reaffirms Venezuelan Pioneer Status in the Cryptocurrency Field Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reaffirmed the pioneer action that Venezuela had on crypto adoption in Latam. The statements were given during an interview offered to Bloomberg, where he also referred to geopolitics and sanctions-related topics. Maduro was quick to ascertain that the country was one of the first to give cryptocurrencies a pivotal role in monetary policy. Maduro stated: Venezuela created a cryptocurrency the Petro and created a worldwide cryptocurrency operating system, which has allowed many people to do national and international tra...

According to a blog post on the Ethereum Foundation’s website, three Ethereum testnets leveraging the London hard fork will go live during the next few weeks. Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko explained last Friday that the “upgrade will first go live on Ropsten, at block 10499401, which is expected to happen around June 24, 2021.” London Upgrade Begins to Root With Testnet Implementations Slated to Launch Three Ethereum testnets will see the London upgrade applied in the near future which shows progress is being made toward implementing the new features. Essentially, the London hard fork is the upgrade that follows the Berlin hard fork that took place in April 2021. The London hard fork will implement a number of significant Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIP) in order to prepare for the Serenity ( ETH 2.0) upgrade slated for 2022. Two EIPs, in particular, aim to enhance the blockchain’s fee model and the ETH mining ecosystem’s difficulty time bomb. EIP-1559 is the improveme...

David Marcus, head of Facebook Financial (F2) who is in charge of crypto project Diem, formerly Libra, believes that the Chinese government cracking down on bitcoin mining is “a great development” for the cryptocurrency. Many people in the crypto space agree with him. Facebook’s Executive Believes China’s Bitcoin Mining Crackdown Is a Good Development David Marcus, head of F2 (Facebook Financial), has shared his view on the Chinese government cracking down on bitcoin mining. F2 includes Facebook Pay, Novi, and all payments and financial services efforts by the social media giant. Marcus is also a co-creator and board member of the crypto project Diem, formerly Libra. He tweeted Monday: “How is more bitcoin mining power moving to the United States and the West a bad thing? IMO China cracking down on mining is a great development for BTC .” Many people agree with Marcus, sharing their opinions on Twitter. Several of them agree that the move may seem bearish in the short term but is...

Mad Money host Jim Cramer said he has sold almost all of his bitcoin. He cited the Chinese government’s crackdown on bitcoin mining and concerns over bitcoin’s role in ransomware attacks. Jim Cramer Worried About China’s Mining Crackdown and Ransomware, Sold Almost All His Bitcoin The host of CNBC’s Mad Money show, Jim Cramer, revealed Monday that he has sold almost all of his bitcoin. A former hedge fund manager, Cramer co-founded Thestreet.com, a financial news and literacy website. Citing the Chinese government’s bitcoin mining crackdown and the cryptocurrency’s role in ransomware attacks, Cramer said: Sold almost all of my bitcoin. Don’t need it. Cramer got into bitcoin towards the end of last year in fear of massive inflation . In March this year, he said gold let him down and advised people to sell gold and increase their bitcoin holdings. “If they listen to me, they’re going to drop half their gold. I’ve been saying 10% in gold since 1983. And now I say 5% in gold, 5% in...

Financial advisor Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Engines and RIA Digital Assets Council, has recommended having bitcoin in investment portfolios despite the cryptocurrency’s volatility. “This is totally new and different and it’s the first genuinely new asset class in about 150 years,” he said, emphasizing that “It has tremendous investment opportunities.” Ric Edelman Sees Benefits of Having Bitcoin in Portfolios Ric Edelman talked about bitcoin and cryptocurrency investments in an interview with Yahoo Finance last week. He founded Edelman Financial Engines and RIA Digital Asset Council. He is also the author of several personal finance books and the host of a weekly personal finance talk radio show called The Ric Edelman Show. Edelman explained that “most financial professionals,” who have been in business a long time and are “very successful, very talented, and experienced,” are missing out on opportunities from the new asset class because they do not have a good under...

The island country of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea has been known to be friendly toward cryptocurrency solutions and blockchain technology for years now. According to a regional report, government sources say more than $70 billion moved through the country over past years while regulations were lax. Furthermore, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was critical of Malta at a recent confidential meeting. Members of a Confidential FATF Meeting Critical of Malta “Sources privy to [a] confidential FATF meeting,” said that the financial regulator is concerned about Malta, according to a regional report published by timesofmalta.com. FATF held a confidential meeting and it’s been said that “some €60 billion in cryptocurrency” (over $70 billion) had passed through the island country of Malta’s borders, according to the report. The article’s sources are unknown but the FATF meeting attendees stressed that one of the biggest issues with Malta was that it allegedly “facilitated a large ...

Authorities seized more than 400 Bitcoin miners in Venezuela this weekend in two major confiscations. Local reports indicate military personnel seized 332 miners from a transport truck. In another procedure, authorities seized 72 miners hidden in a house. These activities resulted in the apprehension of four individuals. Mining in Venezuela is perfectly legal, but it requires permits and licenses from Sunacrip. 400+ Miners Seized Authorities in Venezuela seized more than 400 mining machines last weekend in two separate events. In the first, 332 miners were seized at a control checkpoint in the Portuguesa state: 56 Inosilicon T2s, 136 Antminer S9J-14.5Ts, and 140 Aladdinminers. These miners were being transported from one city to another in a truck. The authorities also apprehended the truck holding the cargo. In another event, authorities seized 72 miners hidden in a home located in Barinas state. Military personnel captured three individuals present at the time. All of the miners...

The independent, publicly-traded business intelligence company Microstrategy announced the acquisition of 13,005 bitcoin on Monday, at a purchase price of approximately $489 million in cash. The company’s CEO Michael Saylor revealed the latest purchase on Twitter, and the firm now has more than 100,000 bitcoins on its balance sheet. Microstrategy Now Holds 105,085 Bitcoin Michael Saylor’s firm Microstrategy now has approximately 105,085 bitcoins which it bought for around $2.741 billion. Using the purchasing average, the company says it purchased all the BTC at around “$26,080 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses.” As usual, Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor tweeted about the purchase telling his 1.2 million Twitter followers. “As of 6/21/21 we #hodl ~105,085,” Saylor noted on Monday morning. Not everyone was impressed with Microstrategy’s bitcoin buy announcement and a few people like Peter Schiff made snide comments. “That’s pretty bearish that you already bought all th...

The U.S. government is selling bitcoin and litecoin worth $377K via the General Services Administration (GSA). The auction closes at 5 p.m. on Monday, with the possibility of an extended closing time. The government auction house is selling the digital assets in 11 lots and so far, the lots have seen active bidding. The GSA Auction House Has Close to Ten Bitcoin and 150 Litecoin for Sale, Auction Ends Today From June 18 to Monday, June 21, the General Services Administration, otherwise known as the GSA, is auctioning two types of crypto assets. GSA auction bidders can try to buy 11 lots of crypto that hold approximately 8.93 BTC and 150.2 LTC . The U.S. government estimates the value to be in the ballpark of $377,000 for the aggregate BTC and LTC lots. The GSA announcement notes that the entity has sold crypto assets on behalf of the U.S. government since the beginning of 2021. To date, the GSA has auctioned crypto assets three times and sold 16.99 BTC in total. The three pr...

China’s central bank has sent notice to the country’s financial institutions instructing them to stop dealing with cryptocurrency transactions. The disclosure notes that the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) aims to protect Chinese citizens and “combat the speculation of Bitcoin and other virtual currency transactions.” PBOC Tells Banks to Stop Dealing With Crypto Exchanges and OTC Desks On June 21, 2021, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) issued a notice to a number of financial institutions concerning crypto transactions. The PBOC says it has discussed the issue of cryptocurrencies with financial services firms like the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Construction Bank, Postal Savings Bank, Industrial Bank, and the Alipay (China) Network. The PBOC stressed that “virtual currency trading activities disrupt the normal economic and financial order, breed the risks of illegal cross-border transfer of assets, money laundering and other illegal and cr...

Nigeria’s use of multiple exchange rates regimes may have contributed to a rise in the country’s inflation rate, the latest World Bank report has said. In addition, the report says ongoing restrictions on the use and movement of foreign exchange are “further pushing up prices of food and agricultural inputs like fertilizer.” Misaligned Exchange Rates In a report that focuses on the country’s inflation trends, the global lender bemoans Nigeria’s reluctance to move the official exchange rates in tandem with the naira’s depreciation. The report explains: Even though the nominal Investors and Exporters Foreign Exchange window [IEFX] exchange rate has been depreciating, which has helped to alleviate inflationary pressures, it has not been doing so fast enough to equilibrate the FX market. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Nigeria recently devalued the naira’s exchange rate to the current N411 for every US dollar. However, this new rate still falls short of the parallel ma...

As Signature Bank expands its commercial banking offerings, the trueusd stablecoin has been integrated with its Signet blockchain-based digital payment platform to deliver instant dollar payments. Signet Integration to Deliver 24/7 Dollar Payment and Settlement As more enterprises flirt with the idea of blockchain-based products and services, stablecoins are one of the areas of fascination for banks, especially given their possibilities in terms of speed and reliability. Yet, not all stablecoins are the same, and some have been targeted by enforcement agencies, among them tether ( USDT ). Still, some are breaking the mold and finding ways to improve upon the existing model. With stablecoins increasingly playing a larger role in trading and decentralized finance (defi), banks are slowly coming around to realize their beneficial traits. Signature Bank has become the first U.S. financial services provider to adopt stablecoins specifically for payments. Its Signet digital payments p...

TSB, a British bank, is planning to ban cryptocurrency purchases due to fraud concerns. The company reported an alarming number of fraudulent transactions on cryptocurrency purchases. Reportedly, transactions involving Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange behemoth, are involved in two-thirds of these fraud reports. A Binance representative denies these claims and said the exchange deals with complaints like these complaints in a “very serious” manner. TSB to Ban Cryptocurrency Purchases Due to Fraud Numbers TSB, the UK-based banking institution, is planning to issue a ban on cryptocurrency purchases. Its customers are reporting an alarming number of fraudulent transactions associated with cryptocurrency institutions. According to the Telegraph, the bank will introduce this ban in the coming weeks. This action can leave more than five million customers without access to cryptocurrency exchanges. A spokesperson alleged the ban will take the measure to protect its customers from prob...

The pseudonymous creator of the popular stock-to-flow (S2F) bitcoin price model, Plan B, has published his “worst case scenario for 2021” predictions on social media on Sunday. The analyst says there’s also a “more fundamental reason” to why bitcoin prices have been dropping in June and how the month of July may see “weakness” as well. Best Case Scenario: $450K Worst Case Scenario: $135K Five months ago, bitcoin ( BTC ) prices went parabolic and the value of the leading crypto asset seemingly was following the well known stock-to-flow (S2F) model. At the time, the S2F creator said : “bitcoin stock-to-flow model [is] on track… like clockwork.” The price of bitcoin skyrocketed over $64K per unit but has since lost more than half that value. At the end of April, Plan B remarked that the downturn was a “mid-way dip” and stressed that “nothing goes up in a straight line.” This past Saturday, Plan B further discussed the infamous death cross pattern in the BTC /USD chart and remained o...

Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska wants the Bank of Russia, the country’s central bank, to embrace cryptocurrency, citing El Salvador’s bitcoin law as an example. El Salvador recently passed a bill making bitcoin legal tender in the country. Billionaire Oleg Deripaska is the founder of Basic Element, a Russian industrial group focusing in areas such as aluminum, energy, construction, and agriculture. In 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions against Deripaska and some of his companies. According to Forbes, his net worth is currently $4.7 billion. Deripaska commented about bitcoin and criticized the central bank’s cryptocurrency policy in his Telegram channel last week. He said that even a poor country like El Salvador “realized the need for digital currencies and took a simple path – recognized bitcoin as a means of payment.” According to the World Bank, “El Salvador suffers from persistent low levels of growth and poverty r...

Billionaire investor and CEO of Point 72 Asset Management, Steve Cohen, says he is taking a deep dive into cryptocurrency. Emphasizing that he is “fully converted,” the billionaire said, “I’m not going to miss this. I already feel like I missed the first part of it.” Steve Cohen Gets Into Crypto, Says He Is ‘Fully Converted’ Steve Cohen is the chairman, CEO, and president of Point72, an asset management firm with approximately $22.1 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of April 1. The firm has 12 offices around the globe and more than 1,650 employees. He shared his view on cryptocurrency in an interview last week, emphasizing that he has finally decided that he has got to get into the game. The billionaire CEO said: I’m doing a deep dive into crypto. I’m fully converted. Cohen added: “I have an old saying at the poker table, you got to pay to learn. There’s no way around it. You can talk all you want, but you’ve got to get in the game.” He continued, “I’m hopeful that ...