Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has become the first national legislature to release a non-fungible token. The special NFT has been created for the country’s new president, Isaac Herzog, who took office this week after his election in early June. Knesset Becomes First Parliament to Issue NFT Isaac Herzog received the token right before his inauguration on Wednesday, the Jerusalem Post reported. The unique NFT represents a copy of the original oath signed by his late father, Israel’s sixth president, Chaim Herzog. President Isaac Herzog With the symbolic gesture, the Knesset becomes arguably the first parliament to create an NFT. “I am excited to present President Herzog with a special memento of his father that includes the oath he signed 38 years ago,” Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy was quoted as saying. Levy also stressed: It is a great honor for the Knesset to implement one of the world’s most innovative technologies in order to preserve such a significant historical docume...

A UBS survey finds that central bankers see benefits in investing in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. 28% see benefits from cryptocurrency being an uncorrelated asset and “11% would consider it as an alternative to gold.” Central Bankers See Benefits in Investing in Cryptocurrencies Like Bitcoin The 27th Annual Reserve Management Seminar Survey by UBS explores the prospects of cryptocurrencies as investments for central banks. This survey, conducted between April and June, questioned central bankers from close to 30 central banks in all regions globally, UBS explained. According to Switzerland’s largest bank, this survey “is among the most authoritative depictions of official reserve management activities available.” Central bankers were asked what the motivation for central banks to invest in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin would be. The most popular answer was “Learning/ building up knowledge about crypto investing process and investment management.” UBS described, “83% of participan...

PRESS RELEASE. ESTONIA — JULY 8, 2021 — YIELD App , the decentralized finance (DeFi) wealth management platform bridging traditional and digital finance, is pleased to announce the launch of its Bitcoin Fund, allowing users to earn high-interest returns on the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin ( BTC ). This will consist of a base annual percentage yield (APY) of 6% on BTC with a further 6% available in YLD rewards. * The fund will initially be available to YIELD App Tier 5 users only. These are users of the YIELD App platform that hold 20,000 YLD tokens or more in their on-platform wallets and who are entitled to the maximum APYs available. Tier 5 users will be able to deposit unwrapped Bitcoin into the YIELD App Bitcoin Fund from today, 07:00 UTC Thursday, July 8, until 07:00 UTC Sunday, July 11, or until an initial fund cap of 500 BTC is reached. Unwrapped Bitcoin is BTC on the Bitcoin blockchain, rather than synthetic BTC tokens used to trade the asset’s value on other ...

Visa Inc. announced Wednesday that the transactions via crypto-linked Visa cards exceeded $1 billion in the first quarter. The company further said that it is partnering with 50 major cryptocurrency platforms “to launch card programs that make it easy to convert and spend digital currency at 70 million merchants worldwide.” Visa Announces $1 Billion in Crypto Card Transactions and Partnerships With 50 Crypto Platforms Visa announced Wednesday that more than $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency was spent by consumers globally through crypto-linked Visa cards in the first six months of the year. The payments giant also said that it is partnering with 50 leading crypto platforms “to launch card programs that make it easy to convert and spend digital currency at 70 million merchants worldwide.” Visa CFO Vasant Prabhu told CNBC: “We see a lot of volume on our [network] of people buying cryptocurrencies at these various regulated exchanges and as far as we can see that trend continues.” H...

Bank of America has become the latest major bank to make a foray into the cryptocurrency sector. According to an internal memo, the bank has created a team dedicated to researching cryptocurrencies. Bank of America believes that it is “uniquely positioned to provide thought leadership” on cryptocurrencies and the technology behind them. Bank of America (BOFA) has created a new team dedicated to researching cryptocurrencies, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg. A spokeswoman for the bank confirmed the contents of the memo. The new crypto team will be led by Alkesh Shah, a founding member of the Data & Innovation Strategy Group at Bank of America. It will report to Michael Maras, who leads the bank’s global fixed income, currencies, and commodities research. Besides cryptocurrencies, the team will also cover technologies tied to digital currencies. Candace Browning, head of Bank of America’s global research, said in the memo: Cryptocurrencies and digital assets co...

Binance.us has hired Manuel Alvarez, a former financial regulator from California, to work as its chief administrative officer. The San Francisco-based crypto exchange, which sources technology from Binance, is aiming to deal with “the big question” — compliance. Binance.us Filling Roles in Compliance, Risk Management, and Legal Binance.us, powered by matching engine and wallet technologies licensed from the world’s leading coin trading platform, announced the appointment of Alvarez in a statement released this week. The exchange’s new chief administrative officer has previously served as the commissioner of the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, Bloomberg reported. Manuel Alvarez will join the company on July 22 and report to its CEO Brian Brooks , himself a former bank regulator. Brooks, who was acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), took his post at Binance.us in May this year. Since then, Brian Brooks has been building h...

It was announced today that OVR , a mobile app linked to the world of blockchain and NFTs, is heading towards a new front, that of augmented reality chats. In fact, the new update of the app, available for both iOS and Android, promises AR face-to-face chats, i.e. the ability to talk to friends within the app using avatars and interacting with them. It is the first app to allow such a feature, especially if we think about the crypto sector and the implications of OVR in the blockchain world. OVR is therefore moving towards a new direction of inclusivity and greater customization of avatars thanks to 10 new characters and ethnicities that can be used in the app. With this new update of the app, you will also be able to receive notifications of chats with your friends and avatars that you meet in the OVR metaverse and also the ability to share links to your LANDs. Prior to this update, it was not possible to share a simple LAND URL to invite people into your metaverse. Now each ...

The Boston-based crypto financial company Circle has announced the firm plans to go public this year in a merger with Concord Acquisition Corp. Circle revealed the news on Thursday and noted that the company expects to close the deal in Q4 with a valuation of $4.5 billion. Circle Announces SPAC Deal With Plans to Go Public The payments technology company Circle founded by Sean Neville and Jeremy Allaire in 2013 plans to go public soon. The company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts has operated numerous services during the last eight years and more recently it launched the usd coin (USDC) with Coinbase and the Centre consortium . For a small period of time Circle also owned Poloniex and then sold the exchange, and Circle sold the digital asset trading platform to Voyager Digital in February 2020 as well. Circle was the first company in New York to receive the Bitlicense back in September 2015 and now the company plans to leverage a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) me...

The crypto asset shiba inu (SHIB) now has a decentralized exchange (dex) platform called Shibaswap and since the trading protocol’s launch, the dex has $1.55 billion total value locked (TVL). The SHIB-fueled dex has a lot more liquidity than most platforms today as Shibaswap has been catching up to popular dex platforms like Pancakeswap and Sushiswap. Shibaswap Dex Gathers Significant Liquidity in 48 Hours Shiba inu has a leg up over dogecoin and baby doge this week as the meme-based crypto asset has launched a dex platform called Shibaswap. The dex Shibaswap is similar to dex applications like Uniswap, Sushiswap, and Pancakeswap the dex that leverages the Binance Smart Chain. During the first 24 hours, Shibaswap gathered more than $1 billion TVL and on Thursday, the TVL jumped to $1.55 billion. SHIB stats show that on Thursday, SHIB is down 5.9% according to Coingecko and SHIB lost 7.9% during the last seven days. However, two-week stats show SHIB has increased by 18.8% and...

The European Union is preparing to set up an anti-money laundering agency to coordinate national supervisory authorities. According to a media report based on EU documents, the bloc also plans to impose new rules to increase transparency for cryptocurrency transfers. Europe Steps Up Anti-Money Laundering Efforts on Union Level In response to calls for enforcement of anti-money laundering (AML) rules throughout Europe, the European Commission is likely to propose the establishment of a new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA). According to documents seen by Reuters, the agency should become the “centrepiece” of an integrated supervisory system consisting also of national authorities. In the absence of a pan-European anti-money laundering body, the executive power in Brussels has so far relied mainly on national regulatory agencies to enforce its AML rules. Cooperation hasn’t always been satisfactory when it comes to stopping dirty money, the report notes. That’s why the authors of...

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has warned of the growing risks of cryptocurrency trading. She recently called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to “use its full authority to address these risks,” adding that “Congress must also step up to close these regulatory gaps.” US Senator Warren Presses SEC to Step Up Crypto Oversight U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Policy, warned Thursday of the growing risks posed by the cryptocurrency market. She also blasted the SEC for the lack of crypto regulatory oversight. “While demand for cryptocurrencies and the use of cryptocurrency exchanges have sky-rocketed, the lack of common-sense regulations has left ordinary investors at the mercy of manipulators and fraudsters,” the senator was quoted by Reuters as saying. She elaborated: These regulatory gaps endanger consumers and investors and undermine the safety of our financial markets. The SEC must use its full au...

Bitcoin and a number of popular digital assets have been dropping in value over the past 24 hours, as bitcoin has slipped below the $33K handle. The entire market capitalization of all 10,000+ crypto assets in existence has shed billions during the overnight trading sessions, and the crypto economy currently rests at $1.38 trillion, down more than 6% since yesterday. Crypto Market Cap Sheds 6%, Ether Dominance Climbs Higher Traders are focused on what will happen next in the land of crypto markets, as prices have started to dip after a long period of consolidation. At 7:00 a.m. (EDT), the price of bitcoin ( BTC ) slid to a low of $32,100 per unit but has regained some of the losses. 24-hour statistics show BTC has lost 6.4% during the last 24 hours and 2.87% during the last seven days. BTC is 49.64% down from the all-time high it captured three months ago. Meanwhile, bitcoin dominance has dropped to 44.3% and ethereum ( ETH ) dominance has climbed higher in recent times (18.3%). ...

Synapse Network is developing the first cross-chain investment ecosystem based on blockchain technology. It will offer five cross-chain products for the cryptocurrency sector, including a DEX and DeFi marketplace, saving a lot of time and effort to everyone frustrated with the current fractured landscape. Trade ETH to MATIC or BNB in Just One Swap Technology specialist Synapse Network will provide investors with a simple one-stop-shop solution to consolidate their transactions. Compared to a multichain solution, where you need to invest into one of multiple pools – a costly and time-consuming process – it allows investors to allocate their funds in different blockchains, including Ethereum, Binance SmartChain, Solana, Polygon and many other popular blockchains. So investors can trade ETH to MATIC or to BNB in just one swap. “The cross-chain revolution is the next big step of blockchain evolution, so we are thrilled to be the only player in the market to offer this technology....

A bill has been introduced in Argentina to allow workers to receive their salaries in cryptocurrency. He explained the idea is that workers “can strengthen their autonomy and conserve the purchasing power of their remuneration.” Argentina’s national deputy for the Mendoza province, José Luis Ramón, tweeted that he has introduced a bill allowing workers to get paid in bitcoin. He wrote , as translated by Google: I presented a bill so that independent workers … have the option of receiving their full or partial salary in cryptocurrencies. He added: “The idea is that they can strengthen their autonomy and conserve the purchasing power of their remuneration.” The Argentine lawmaker said that cryptocurrencies “have been used for a long time, because of the advantages they offer.” The deputy noted that “This project was born from our participation in the Knowledge Economy forum some years ago, where we saw the need to solve some problems.” Following El Salvador making bi...

A South African regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), has informed key figures behind Mirror Trading International (MTI) that it intends to impose a fine of $7 million against the now-defunct crypto investment company. Contravention of Financial Sector Law According to a July 6 letter , which has also been sent to the CEO and other members of the managerial team, the regulator says its proposal to fine the company stems from MTI’s involvement in activities that it says “contravened a financial sector law.” The confidential letter’s emergence as well as its leak to the South African media comes just a few days after a court issued a final liquidation order against MTI. Also, as previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the letter is coming a few months before the court hears submissions from liquidators who plan to argue in favour of having MTI declared a Ponzi scheme. Meanwhile, the FSCA letter also explains how MTI executives — Johann Steynberg, the CEO, and C...

Award-winning movie star Anthony Hopkins’ new film called Zero Contact is set to launch on a new non-fungible token (NFT) platform this summer. The feature-length movie was produced entirely virtually during the 2020 global pandemic. Anthony Hopkins Stars in Movie Launching as NFT A new feature-length movie starring Anthony Hopkins will premiere on a new non-fungible token (NFT) platform, Vuele, according to an announcement Wednesday by several companies involved. The movie, called “Zero Contact,” stars Hopkins, Veronica Ferres, Aleks Paunovic, Lilly Krug, TJ Kayama, and Martin Sternmark. Hopkins has won six Oscars, with the most recent win being this year for best actor in his role in the film “The Father.” Zero Contact follows “five characters around the world connected only by their devotion to tech titan Finley Hart (Hopkins),” the announcement details. “They are forced to work together to shut down Hart’s secret invention, a machine that is either the solution to mankind’s pr...

Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov has revealed that legislative amendments are being prepared on the confiscation of crypto assets. “A serious challenge is the criminal use of cryptocurrencies in our country,” he said. Russia is preparing amendments to the current legislation to allow for the confiscation of crypto assets found to be proceeds from crime, Tass reported Wednesday. The announcement came from the prosecutor general of the Russian Federation, Igor Krasnov. He was speaking at a conference of heads of prosecutor’s offices of European states in St. Petersburg Wednesday. The event is co-organized by the Council of Europe and the International Association of Prosecutors. Krasnov said that virtual assets have become a source of income for criminals, emphasizing that cryptocurrencies are being used for corruption, including bribery. “The latency of these criminal acts has recently been aggravated by the use of crypto assets as bribes,” he asserted, adding that cryptocur...

Whenever the prices of digital assets skyrocket, social media gets flooded with stories of people that could be millionaires now but forgot the keys to wallets they opened a few years before. But if this happened to you, don’t lose hope, cryptocurrency wallet recovery service KeychainX can save your money. Your Wallet With a Forgotten Password Is Not Lost Yet KeychainX is a bitcoin wallet recovery service operating since 2017. In the last 6 months alone, the company recovered wallet keys for about 100 clients from all over the world and you can see some of their raving reviews on Trustpilot where KeychainX has an almost perfect 4.9 ‘Excellent’ score. The service covers all kinds of situations such as recovering lost Bitcoin wallets from wallet.dat files, Dogecoin wallet passwords, blockchain second or first passwords, Android wallet or spending PIN, Ethereum from JSON files, and Ethereum presale wallets. KeychainX can even decrypt your blockchain.info 15,17,19 or 21 word mnemonic...