Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Over the last seven days, decentralized exchange (dex) trade volume has tapped $17 billion across the 21 Ethereum dex platforms. Pancakeswap has seen between $400K to $860K every 24 hours during the last week as well. Meanwhile, dex aggregators are eating away at dex trade volumes, becoming more popular by the day. Uniswap Commands Top Dex Trade Volume, Aggregation APIs Capture a 22% Share of Ethereum-Based Dex Volumes Decentralized exchange (dex) trading continues to see billions of dollars in swaps every week. During the last seven days, dex trade volume has tapped $17 billion across 21 Ethereum-based dex platforms. Over the last 24 hours, the 21 dex platforms saw $2.95 billion in global swaps and dex aggregators captured $3.8 billion in 24-hour volume. Dex aggregators like 1inch share around 22.7% of the dex trade volumes today, according to stats from Dune Analytics . Dex aggregators today, share around 22.7% of the dex trade volumes, according to stats from Dune Analytics. ...

Blockchain data platform Chainalysis has published its 2021 Cryptocurrency Adoption Index, which ranks 154 countries by crypto adoption. According to the firm, global crypto adoption has grown by over 2,300% since Q3 2019 and over 881% in the last year. New Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index On Wednesday, Chainalysis published a preview of its 2021 Geography of Cryptocurrency report, which will be released in September. The report contains the “2021 Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index,” the company’s second iteration “to measure grassroots cryptocurrency adoption around the globe.” The blockchain data analytics firm explained that its Global Crypto Adoption Index is made up of three metrics. The first is “on-chain cryptocurrency value received, weighted by purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita.” The second is “on-chain retail value transferred, weighted by PPP per capita,” and the third is “peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange trade volume, weighted by PPP per capita and number o...

PRESS RELEASE. Molecule, a decentralised biopharma marketplace, has developed a novel IP-to-NFT framework with Web3 technology innovator Nevermined. In a historic transaction, the first biopharma IPNFT was successfully transferred to research collective VitaDAO to fund novel longevity therapeutics at the University of Copenhagen. 18th August 2021, Basel, Switzerland — For the first time in history, NFTs are being used for a transfer of IP ownership in medical research. This unique milestone is a result of a partnership between biopharma IP marketplace Molecule , and VitaDAO , a decentralized collective (DAO) funding longevity research, and the University of Copenhagen. This innovation is enabled by a groundbreaking data storage solution developed by web3 technology innovator Nevermined . VitaDAO, Nevermined and Molecule Overcome Biopharma Industry Challenges Early-stage biopharma research is the lifeblood that fuels advances in medicine. However, many domains in biopharma suffe...

The Dogecoin Foundation has been reestablished with “a renewed focus” to accelerate the development of Dogecoin. Among the foundation’s advisers are Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Jared Birchall, the manager of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s family office. Dogecoin Foundation Relaunched The Dogecoin Foundation has been reestablished “with a renewed focus on supporting the Dogecoin ecosystem, community and promoting the future of the Dogecoin blockchain,” the foundation announced Monday. After being inactive for many years, the foundation tweeted Monday: “Guess who’s back!” Emphasizing that it is “not here to ‘take control’ of the Dogecoin Core wallet project,” the foundation explained: We are here to accelerate the development effort by supporting current Dogecoin Core and future Dogecoin developers to work on a full-time basis through sponsorship, as well as providing a welcome landing for new contributors hoping to help with the project. The Dogecoin Foundation is a nonprofi...

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid is suspending deposits and withdrawals after a security breach resulting in the loss of around an estimated $80 million in digital assets. The platform published the suspected hacker’s addresses and said it’s moving funds to cold storage. Hacker Hits Japanese Crypto Exchange Liquid Asian cryptocurrency exchange Liquid Global has confirmed it has been targeted in a hacking attack. In a notice tweeted early on Thursday, the coin trading platform revealed that some of its warm wallets were compromised, adding that it’s currently investigating the incident. Important Notice: We are sorry to announce that #LiquidGlobal warm wallets were compromised, we are moving assets into the cold wallet. We are currently investigating and will provide regular updates. In the meantime deposits and withdrawals will be suspended. — Liquid Global Official (@Liquid_Global) August 19, 2021 Liquid , which operates under a license from Japan’s Financial Servi...

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reportedly frozen bank accounts belonging to four fintech firms for up to 180 days after a Federal High Court in Abuja acceded to an “ex parte motion.” The ex parte motion, which is a form of temporary suspension, was granted after a Nigerian chief, Micheal Kaase Aondoakaa, filed the motion on behalf of CBN governor Godwin Emefiele. Accounts Frozen to Enable Further Investigation According to one report , this temporary freeze of the bank accounts will enable the CBN to institute further investigations into the activities of the four firms. Meanwhile, several Nigerian media outlets have identified the affected firms as Rise Vest Technologies Limited, Bamboo Systems Technology Limited, Chaka Technologies Limited, and Trove Technologies Limited. The report also suggested that the CBN’s decision to seek the ex parte motion was made after the findings of the central bank’s preliminary probe showed that the four firms were operating unlicensed asset man...

Digital currencies have seen significant gains in 2021 jumping 154% in value since January 1. On August 18, Cryptovantage published a study that shows 3 in 4 crypto investors said they had made money on their crypto holdings and cryptocurrencies represent 12% of the average millennial portfolio. 3 in 4 Digital Currency Investors Have Profited Following the recently published research by Cryptovantage concerning people forgetting their crypto passwords, the company published another poll surveying 1,044 people born between 1965 to 1997. The poll explains how millennials, xennials, and Gen Xers invest in digital assets. “The popularity of crypto assets varied by age,” the new Cryptovantage report called “Generational Philosophies on Investing in Crypto,” explains. “Crypto-assets represented 12% of the average millennial portfolio, compared to 9.2% of the average xennial portfolio and only 6.3% of the average Gen Xer portfolio,” the study details. “Despite this larger proportional ...

Leading US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced it will launch operations in Japan yesterday. The exchange will be partnering with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), a banking institution with more than 40 million customers, to make it easy for residents of Japan to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies. Coinbase Launches in Japan Coinbase, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, has launched operations in Japan, offering part of its products and services to Japanese customers. The blog post communicating the news confirms Coinbase will strive to offer an easy-to-use and regulated cryptocurrency product to users in the country. In this sense, Coinbase stated: In line with our global strategy, we will aim to be the easiest to use and most trusted exchange in Japan that’s fully compliant with local regulations. The company will also evolve products via localization to offer its full line of products to the Japanese market, including advanced trading...

PRESS RELEASE. Singapore – Following the much-awaited launch of the world’s first and only insured (POSI) DeFi token on PancakeSwap, iBG users can now expect the roll-out of yield farming, which will give every member of the community more opportunities at maintaining liquidity and scaling their wealth. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has created a surge of opportunities for investors worldwide. As more and more people turn their attention towards digital assets and the FinTech revolution, iBG Finance is making it easier for the common individual to make the most out of this space with its official launch. DeFi platforms today are now using a method called yield farming to enable their community to scale their investment and transfer their wealth from one liquidity pool to another to enjoy the most attractive interest rates that they otherwise would not be able to attain in traditional financial institutions. As the industry continues to disrupt industries across the board and grow a...

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has made regulatory compliance its top priority. The exchange is on a hiring spree to “significantly” add to its compliance and legal teams. “We are going through a pivot from a technology innovator into a financial services company, so we need to be fully compliant,” said the CEO of Binance. Binance’s Regulatory Compliance Plans Binance is focusing on regulatory compliance as the exchange pivots from a technology startup into a financial services company, CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) explained in an interview with Bloomberg TV Tuesday. Commenting on crypto regulatory efforts in the U.S., he said: “The U.S. is very mature on the crypto regulation part. They are leading now. They have a cryptocurrency exchange listed on Nasdaq which is very positive.” The executive continued: When the new crypto regulations come in, many of them will be somewhat restrictive. That’s kind of expected. But over time, we do think that regulations will adjust with mar...

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari says crypto is “95% fraud, hype, noise, and confusion.” He added, “I’ve not seen any use case other than funding illicit activities like drugs and prostitution.” Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis’ President Says Crypto Is ‘95% Fraud, Hype, Noise and Confusion’ Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, talked about bitcoin and cryptocurrency Tuesday at the Pacific Northwest Economic Regional Annual Summit in Big Sky, Montana. Responding to a question about cryptocurrency given what Miami is doing with bitcoin and its own recently launched Miami coin, Kashkari said: I was more optimistic about crypto or bitcoin about five or six years ago. So far, what I’ve seen is 99% … Let me be charitable, 95% fraud, hype, noise and confusion. He also does not see any legitimate use case for bitcoin. “I’ve not seen any use case other than funding illicit activities like drugs and prostitution. I have not seen any...

On August 17, the decentralized exchange (dex) aggregator 1inch announced the platform will leverage the Layer 2 solution called optimistic rollups provided by the project Optimism. The collaboration with Optimism aims to “substantially increase transaction speeds and lower gas fees for 1inch users.” 1inch to Use the L2 Solution Optimistic Rollups via Optimism Gateway Ever since the Ethereum network has been dealing with transaction congestion and much higher fees in 2021, innovations revolving around Layer 2 (L2) scaling solutions and sidechains have been pushed to the forefront of conversations. For instance, sidechains like the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Polygon (formally Matic) have been leveraged to stave off expensive ether gas fees. Other concepts include protocols that are not as battle-tested as the leading sidechains, but show the promise of reducing ether fees and network congestion. One specific concept called “ optimistic rollups ” has been a very popular L2 solutio...

President Vladimir Putin has tasked several ministries and the central bank to prepare to verify information provided by government employees about their digital asset holdings. The order comes as part of a new plan to combat corruption which was recently approved by the Russian leader. Authorities to Inspect Crypto Disclosures Filed by Russian Officials as Putin Approves Anti-Corruption Plan Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree approving the country’s National Anti-Corruption Plan 2021-2024. As part of the new strategy, the Russian head of state has instructed the ministries of finance, labor and digital development, along with the central bank, to propose inspections of officials who are obliged to disclose their digital assets and currency. The government departments and the Bank of Russia have until Nov. 15 to submit their proposals, the Russian business news portal RBC reported. The eventual checks must be able to properly establish how accurate and complete ...

PRESS RELEASE. Top6 Derivatives Exchange Bitget has launched a Global Ambassador Program in its latest announcement. Any crypto enthusiasts , professional traders, crypto community leaders and KOLs can apply to become a Global Ambassador of Bitget. Successful applicants can engage in community development of Bitget and share profits from its growth. What is a Global Ambassador? The past year has witnessed an excellent performance of Bitget in market expansion thanks to its efforts in compliance and localization. To better accommodate the rapid development of global markets and serve local users, the platform launches the Global Ambassador Program to attract more powerful partners to join its community. The opportunity is open to crypto lovers, professional traders, social media community leaders and KOLs across the globe. Global Ambassadors, preferably local people, are expected to create local communities on behalf of the platform and introduce its products and services...

Larry Dean Harmon, founder and operator of the bitcoin mixing service Helix has pleaded guilty on Wednesday to money laundering charges. Harmon’s guilty plea follows the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (Fincen) fining Harmon $60 million last year. Helix Operator Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering, Conspiracy Charges According to several reports and a court- issued plea , Ohio resident Larry Harmon (38) pled guilty in a D.C. federal court on Wednesday for money laundering and conspiracy charges. Harmon detailed in court that he plans to cooperate with federal authorities after being accused of operating the bitcoin ( BTC ) mixing service called Helix from 2014 to 2017. U.S. prosecutors said that more than $300 million in bitcoin was transferred into Helix and sent out in an anonymous fashion. However, Charles Flood, the defense attorney for Harmon claims that the operator used a “double-blind system” so he was fully unaware of how much BTC was funneled through ...

The war in Afghanistan has been an extremely long conflict since the United States invaded the country in 2001, in order to drive the Taliban from power. After a messy exit, the U.S. occupation in Afghanistan has been compared to mistakes made during the Vietnam War. Now that U.S. forces have left Kabul in great numbers, reports show that the New York branch of the Federal Reserve has confiscated $10 billion worth of the Afghanistan central bank’s assets. Moreover, last week the Biden administration halted dollar shipments that were headed to Afghanistan. America’s ‘Messy’ Afghanistan Exit Transforms Into Financial War The Afghanistan War that the U.S. participated in has been a long-running foreign policy embarrassment for American bureaucrats who backed the invasion. 2021’s “ fall of Kabul ” has been a messy exit and critics of the United State’s military-industrial complex have compared the Afghanistan War to the Vietnam War. Addressing the American public, president Joe Biden ex...

Government watchdog Empower Oversight has requested internal documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on cryptocurrency that potentially show conflicts of interest at the commission involving former high-level officials. This affects the commission’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs and its executives. SEC’s Conflicts of Interest Involving Bitcoin, Ether, XRP , Ripple Empower Oversight Whistleblowers & Research (Empower Oversight) announced Wednesday that it has submitted a detailed request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “seeking communications between SEC officials and their current and former employers.” Empower Oversight is “a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization dedicated to enhancing independent oversight of government and corporate wrongdoing,” its website describes. The organization “works to help insiders document and report corruption to the proper authorities while also see...

Major Dutch football club PSV has signed a partnership deal with a crypto exchange and its sponsorship will be paid entirely in bitcoin. “PSV is the first club in the EU to receive the sponsorship amount in crypto,” said the football club. PSV Professional Football Club Will ‘Hodl’ Bitcoin Major Dutch football club PSV, also known as PSV Eindhoven, announced Tuesday that it will hodl bitcoin with the help of crypto exchange Anycoin Direct. The professional sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands, plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. “PSV has signed a unique partnership with Anycoin Direct,” the announcement details, adding: The entire sponsorship amount will be paid in bitcoin. PSV is the first club in the EU to receive the sponsorship amount in crypto. The club worked with crypto technology for the first time earlier this year to sell a non-fungible token (NFT) of its 1988 European Cup 1 final victory against Benfica. Anycoin Direct, a local startup...

PRESS RELEASE. Crown Sterling’s Crown Sovereign token (CSOV), the world’s first quantum-resistant digital asset, will be listed on Bitcoin.com Exchange in late September. This represents a milestone for both parties, one where Crown Sterling’s (CSOV) token will be listed on one of the world’s leading exchanges, while the Bitcoin.com Exchange team will be the first CEX in the space to list the token. CSOV will trade with BTC and USDT pairs. What is Crown Sterling in a nutshell? Crown Sterling is unlike many other software companies in the space, it delivers Quantum-Resistant cryptography, by means of certain secure communications techniques with it’s random number generators (RNGs), alongside its other encryption products. The company has innovated the well-known and scalable Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) encryption software module by replacing vulnerable prime number private keys with high entropy non-repeating irrational number derived private keys. Its purpose, ultimately...