Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Nicolas Maduro, president of Venezuela, stated the country could offer cryptocurrency-based loans to the agricultural sector, in addition to the traditional loans in several fiat currencies. He also stated that Venezuela has worked with petro and other cryptocurrencies for three years, pioneering the use of this kind of asset in Latam. Government Hints at Offering Cryptocurrency Loans in Venezuela Maduro hinted at the possibility of giving loans in cryptocurrency to the agricultural industry in an announcement made in a cabinet meeting last Thursday. He stated the country would look for new ways to finance domestic agriculture and also stated these loans would feature low interest rates to benefit farmers. Elaborating to his ministers, Maduro noted: I ask you personally to lead the public banking sector and summon the private banks to multiply loans and financing under the mildest conditions for all food producers in the country. The proposal also introduces the idea of giving ...

PRESS RELEASE. Singapore, August 3, 2021 – Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has partnered with crypto-fiat hybrid payment solutions provider Alchemy Pay to build a payment bridge between crypto and fiat through the Binance Pay wallet. Binance Pay is a contactless, borderless, and secure user-to-user cryptocurrency payment feature on the Binance App . Launched as beta in February, Binance Pay’s functions allow users and merchants to send and receive crypto payments around the world without incurring special handling fees for using crypto. Supported by Alchemy Pay’s fiat-crypto integration, Binance Pay is available for both peer-to-peer payments and merchant-based transactions. Users and merchants can choose their preferred options for paying and getting paid with 40+ supported cryptocurrencies. “Alchemy Pay was founded in 2018 by a team of fiat payment gateway veterans with a shared vision to build a practical bridge between fiat and crypto,” said Alchemy Pay CEO, Joh...

According to a recent study on crypto asset storage and passwords, a survey that polled over 1,000 digital currency owners shows 39.7% have forgotten their passwords. The study produced by cryptovantage.com indicates that users unable to recover their passwords lost an average of $2,134. Survey Polls 1,000 US Crypto Owners, Respondents Invest $7,245 on Average Since the inception of Bitcoin in 2009, a number of people have lost coins along the way and this has spread to the myriad of crypto assets in existence today. Just recently, researchers at cryptovantage.com published a study that polled 1,021 cryptocurrency owners residing in the United States. The study called “ Coin Storage Security: A Closer Look at Crypto Storage and Passwords ” shows that 39.7% of cryptocurrency owners had lost their password at one time. On the positive side, 95.6%% were able to regain access to their crypto investments, but on average those who could not access their passwords lost over $2K. “A who...

Porsche has announced its first NFT auction following the recent launch of the token-based Fanzone platform. The German high-performance car maker will sell a unique design sketch as part of the pilot project. The proceeds will be used to fund a noble cause. Porsche to Auction NFT of New Design by Peter Varga German sports car manufacturer Porsche is launching a pilot project for non-fungible tokens ( NFTs ). Between Aug. 2 and 6, collectors and fans will be able to participate in an auction to buy an exclusive design sketch by Porsche Director of Exterior Design Peter Varga as an NFT, the auto company said. Quoted in a press release, Varga commented: Drawing a design sketch which is then traded online as a digital object was a completely new experience for me. The designer revealed that the sketch combines the Taycan Cross Turismo with the 911. “It links the design language of our iconic sports car with that of the youngest member of the model range. I look forward to seeing th...

A panel of experts has shared their price prediction for dogecoin for the end of the year as well as in 2025 and 2030. Individually, the experts are divided on the future price of the meme cryptocurrency. Some noted that the price of dogecoin is heavily dependent on Tesla CEO Elon Musk promoting it. Experts Share Price Predictions for Dogecoin Finder, a major product comparison website, published the result of its July 2021 survey on the price prediction of dogecoin last week. To determine if the meme cryptocurrency is “about to jump in price, or has this joke finally reached its use-by date … we asked our 42-expert panel what’s in store for the coin,” the company detailed. The experts were asked about their price forecasts for dogecoin for 2025 and 2030. The company explained that according to the panel: Doge should see its value hit an average value of US$1.21 by 2025 and US$3.60 by 2030, according to the panel average. However, Finder pointed out that the high value was due...

NCR Corp., a global leader in ATM software applications, has announced that it is acquiring Libertyx, the crypto company that claims to be “America’s first and largest network of bitcoin ATMs, cashiers, and kiosks.” NCR Acquires Libertyx NCR Corp. (NYSE: NCR), a leading enterprise technology provider, announced Monday “a definitive agreement to acquire Libertyx, a leading cryptocurrency software provider.” Libertyx claims to be “America’s first and largest network of bitcoin ATMs, cashiers, and kiosks.” Its software runs on ATMs, kiosks, and point-of-sale (POS) systems, allowing customers to buy BTC at more than 20K retail stores and 9,500 traditional ATMs. NCR’s website states that the company is the number one “global provider of multi-vendor ATM software applications and middleware” and “the world’s #1 ATM brand,” with more than 650K ATMs installed globally. The company also claims that more than 15 million consumers are using its digital banking solution. NCR’s products are d...

On Tuesday, Bakkt Holdings revealed a partnership between the national quick-service restaurant (QSR) Quiznos. The company Quiznos is a brand based in Denver, Colorado, and the restaurants specialize in offering submarine sandwiches. According to the announcement, Bakkt and a Quiznos location in Denver will be launching a pilot that allows customers to purchase food with bitcoin by leveraging the Bakkt application. Denver Airport’s Quiznos Plans to Pilot Payments via the Bakkt App in Mid-August Bakkt has revealed that it is collaborating with the company Quiznos and plans to launch a test pilot at the Quiznos located at the Denver airport. The pilot will allow customers to pay for goods and services at Quiznos using bitcoin ( BTC ) via the Bakkt App. According to the announcement the Denver airport Quiznos sees a lot of traffic and the pilot will start in mid-August. The president of REGO Restaurant Group, which owns Quiznos and a number of national QSR chains, believes partnering ...

PRESS RELEASE. Bitcoin.com Exchange is ecstatic to announce the listing of ERG, being available to trade on the 3rd August 2021 at 10:00AM UTC. Ergo was created by its team to build advanced cryptographic features and radically new DeFi functionality on the rock-solid foundations laid by a decade of blockchain theory and development. ERG will start trading with BTC and USDT pairs. What is Ergo? Ergo is designed for developing decentralized applications with the main focus of providing an efficient, secure and easy way to implement financial contracts. Ergo’s advanced cryptographic features and radically new DeFi functionality complement tried and tested principles with the latest peer-reviewed academic research in blockchain, consensus models and digital currencies. The ecosystem is powered by Multi-Stage Contracts using Ergo’s native language, ErgoScript. With its signature Σ-protocols (Sigma-protocols) and use of NIPoPoWs (Non-Interactive Proofs of Proof of Work), ErgoScrip...

HSBC has reportedly become the latest British bank to announce that it has suspended payments to cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Citing a consumer warning by the country’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the bank told its customers: “We’ve made this decision due to concerns about the possible risks to you.” ‘We’re Suspending Payments to Binance,’ Said HSBC British bank HSBC has reportedly become the latest bank to suspend payments to global cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Several people have shared on Twitter a notice they claim to have received from the HSBC Banking Team in the U.K. The notice, titled “We’re suspending payments to Binance,” reads: We wanted to let you know we’re stopping payments from our credit cards to Binane wherever possible. We’ve made this decision due to concerns about the possible risks to you. “We take our duty as a responsible lender seriously and want to do everything we can to protect you. We’ll continue to monitor the...

On Monday, the publicly listed bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings announced that it purchased 30,000 S19j Pro Antminers from Bitmain. According to the company, once the new lot of mining rigs are fully deployed, Marathon will gain 13.3 exahash per second (EH/s) from the newly added machines. Marathon Buys 30K Miners for $120 Million On August 2, Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. ( Nasdaq:MARA ) revealed the bitcoin mining company has acquired 30,000 S19j Pro Antminers. Depending on the model, S19j Pro processes SHA256 hashrate at around 100 to 104 terahash per second. A single S19j Pro machine using today’s BTC prices, current mining difficulty, and electricity at $0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), can profit by $29 per day. According to the announcement, the machines cost around $120.7 million for the entire lot. Marathon says that it anticipates all 30,000 newly purchased miners to be delivered between January 2022 and June 2022. This timeframe shows lead times for newly pr...

During the first half of the year, non-fungible token (NFT) sales surged to $2.5 billion in 2021, and trade volume shows the trend hasn’t slowed down. For instance, July saw a record $363 million spent on approximately 157,801 NFT sales. Meanwhile, as new NFTs enter the space every day, older Rare Pepe NFTs from 2016 are making a comeback and are being sold on the Opensea marketplace for top dollar. New Dispenser Technology Makes Old School Counterparty NFTs Accessible on Today’s Most Popular Marketplaces Non-fungible token (NFT) sales have been all the rage these days as millions of dollars have been exchanged for NFT art and collectibles. On Monday, Bitcoin.com News reported on the project Cryptopunks outpacing the competition this week in terms of sales. Furthermore, one Cryptopunk owner wants to sell a rare punk (Cryptopunk 3100) for $91 million or 35,000 ether. Additionally, NFTs like Stoner Cats, Art Blocks, Meebits, and more are also selling for tens and even hundreds of th...

Wells Fargo, one of the largest wealth managers in the U.S., has reportedly started offering crypto investments to its wealth management clients. Wells Fargo Offers Crypto Exposure A spokesperson for American financial services company Wells Fargo reportedly confirmed to Business Insider Friday that the company has started offering cryptocurrency exposure to its wealth management clients. Wells Fargo’s wealth and investment management arm, which includes the firm’s private banking services and Wells Fargo Advisors, is one of the largest U.S. wealth managers. It oversees nearly $2 trillion in assets. Darrell Cronk, the president of Wells Fargo Investment Institute, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank, revealed in May that his team was preparing to offer “a professionally managed solution” for cryptocurrency to clients. “We think the cryptocurrency space has just kind of hit an evolution and maturation of its development that allows it now to be a viable investable asset...

A court has ordered one of Russia’s largest banks to lift restrictions imposed on the accounts of a Russian citizen who was selling digital coins on cryptocurrency exchanges. The state-owned giant Sberbank will now have to unblock its client’s cards and restore his access to its online banking platform. Regional Court in Russia Rules in Favor of Crypto Trader Suing Sberbank The plaintiff identified as Pavel R., a resident of Revda in Sverdlovsk Oblast, had accounts and cards issued by Sberbank and was also offered remote banking services as per his contract. Between May and August last year, he received regular deposits from other individuals and withdrew the money. The bank decided these were unusual transactions that could be linked to money laundering and blocked Pavel’s accounts and cards. He was asked to prove the source of the funds, explain the purpose of the transactions and told that any future operations should be ordered in person. But even after Pavel presented all t...

Fundraising has experienced a dramatic change over the past ten years. What was once limited to individuals with a specific acumen, network, and level of capital is now accessible to anyone with an internet connection. New technologies and platforms allow the average retail investor to become an early supporter of some of the most exciting ideas that just hit the market. This capability was fostered by the cryptocurrency space with its decentralized funding, but it also applies to other asset classes. As a result, the number of angel investors in the crypto industry has rapidly increased in recent years. While angel investing is a common practice within the sector, there still exist many outside of the community who know little about the practice. What Is Angel Investing? Angel investors, also known as seed investors, are those who contribute early-stage and pre-launch funding for startups. They are a big part of the fundraising process and often know the company and its founders i...

A South African court has granted liquidators of the collapsed bitcoin investment firm Africrypt the powers to track down missing investor funds. Also, as part of the court decision, Africrypt liquidators will now have the authority to sell assets and property belonging to the company. Africrypt’s Evidence Under the Microscope According to a report , the court decision follows recent claims that Raees Cajee, one of the collapsed firm’s directors, is opposing the final liquidation of Africrypt from his hideout in Tanzania. The latest decision by the South Africa court comes as doubts grow surrounding Africrypt directors’ claims of a breach by Ukrainian hackers. For instance, in the past few weeks the liquidators’ legal representative, Ruann Kruger, is reported to have released a statement wherein he unravels Africrypt’s dubious business model. In addition to questioning Africrypt’s model, the statement also takes aim at the evidence which has been used by the firm’s management to b...

India’s Ministry of Finance has answered some questions regarding the status of cryptocurrency trading in the country as well as crypto regulation and investor protection. The minister of state for the finance ministry has indicated that the recommendations in the draft bill proposed by the interministerial committee are still being considered. Indian Government Answers Crypto Questions The Indian minister of finance was asked about cryptocurrency trading in Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament on Monday. The first question concerns “the status of cryptocurrency trading in India.” Minister of State for the Ministry of Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary replied, “This information is not collected by the government.” His answer reiterates what the finance minister recently said that the government does not collect information on the number of cryptocurrency exchanges or traders in India and has not been informed of any fraud conducted by any exchanges. The second question wa...

While traditional crypto assets have seen market sentiment drop to a level of uncertainty, non-fungible token (NFT) assets have continued to sell in the millions. One project developed by Larva Labs called Cryptopunks has seen some of its NFTs sell for millions and on May 11, a collection of nine Cryptopunks sold for $16.9 million at Christie’s. Now a Cryptopunk NFT owner is attempting to unload a single NFT (Cryptopunk 3100) for $91.64 million. Cryptopunk 3100 Owner Wants $91 Million Non-fungible token (NFT) artwork and collectibles have shocked the world and NFT artists have made millions selling these products to willing buyers. Bitcoin.com News has been covering the NFT space for quite some time and just recently reported on a study that showed the most prominent and most profitable NFT collectors to date. Furthermore, another study indicated that as far as sports fans are concerned, close to three out of four sports fans are “moderately skeptical” about the longevity of NFT ...

PRESS RELEASE. Blockchain venture capitalist firm Nodeseeds has announced the launch of a three-tier membership system to democratize its investment process. Nodeseeds revealed further details in a blog pos t on its medium page. Fair Allocation Tier System According to the post, Nodeseeds stated that the tiers were designed to ensure fair allocation of bonuses to NDS token holders. The three-tier system is divided into Seed Members, Private Members, and Anchor Members. Seed Members is the entry-level tier and the minimum requirement to qualify is to hold 25 NDS tokens. Some of the perks include early access to some projects and discord rooms. Participants also get 2x referral rewards but are limited in their access to get lottery allocations of forfeited funds. Private Members is the intermediate tier and eligible for users with a minimum of 350 in their portfolio. Members have guaranteed allocations for projects ranging from $500 to $1500. Other benefits include 2.5x referral r...

Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volumes, announced it is discontinuing its derivatives and futures products in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. This is likely the consequence of the regulatory crackdown that governments all over the world have exerted on Binance lately. The company also stressed this was the start of a complete plan to wind down their derivatives products offerings across the European region in a now-deleted tweet. Binance Discontinues Derivatives Offering in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands Binance , one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced it will be winding down its derivatives and futures products in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, three countries that belong to the European Union. In its official statement , Binance stressed: As the crypto ecosystem evolves globally, we are continually evaluating our products and working with our partners to meet our users’ needs. Binance could be making reference to the...

Bank of America has outlined some benefits to be had from adopting bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador. The opportunities include low-cost remittances, financial digitization, more choices, and greater investments from foreign companies. Bank of America Highlights Opportunities Bitcoin Brings to El Salvador as Legal Tender Bank of America (BOA) outlined some potential benefits in El Salvador adopting bitcoin as legal tender in a report published last week. The analysts, including Latin American strategist Claudio Irigoyen, explained that “The market has been excessively pessimistic about it and is overlooking any argument in favor, even if those benefits are admittedly more uncertain.” Firstly, the report details: Bitcoin could be used as an intermediary for cross-border transfer … Using bitcoin for remittances could potentially reduce transaction costs compared to traditional remittance channels. The Bank of America analysts further noted that bitcoin’s volatility could b...