Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Argo Blockchain, a London-based cryptocurrency mining company, has announced an expansion of its mining capacity that will more than double its current hashrate. The expansion will be done through the acquisition of 20,000 S19J Pro bitcoin miners from Bitmain, which will be delivered in several installments. These miners will populate the facility the company plans to build in Texas next year. Argo Blockchain Expands Hashrate Argo Blockchain, a London-based crypto mining company, has announced the purchase of 20,000 mining machines to expand its capacity. This is part of the planned company expansion to West Texas, where it will build a mega-mining facility. The mining machines will be provided by Chinese manufacturer Bitmain in consecutive installments. This purchase agreement will allow Argo to more than double its current mining capacity, taking it to 3.7 exahash for Q3 2022, betting big on the future of Bitcoin as a network and a profitable asset. While the amount of the initi...

PRESS RELEASE. YIELD App, a FinTech company, is thrilled to announce it has become the Official Digital Asset Wealth Management Partner of top Premier League football club, West Ham United. This exciting partnership comes just seven months after the public launch of YIELD App in February 2021, demonstrating the growing attractiveness of digital assets to a mainstream audience across the world. YIELD App enables its users to invest in digital assets and earn as much as 20.5% annual interest at the touch of a button. YIELD App is challenging the status quo of the traditional investment system and has seen significant growth since its public launch, with 60,000 users and an impressive $400 million of managed assets to date. YIELD App users will now benefit from the opportunity to experience hospitality at West Ham United home fixtures, through regular competitions throughout the season. Commenting on the partnership, Justin Wright, Chief Operations Officer of YIELD App, says: “‘We ar...

A government agency in Uzbekistan has published a list of unauthorized crypto exchanges that residents of the country have been advised to avoid. The trading platforms collect personal data and bear no responsibility for the cryptocurrency transactions, officials have warned. Authorities in Uzbekistan Blacklist ‘Unofficial’ Crypto Exchanges The National Agency of Project Management under the President of Uzbekistan has identified a number of online platforms offering crypto trading services without authorization. During a monitoring campaign on the internet, the body registered an increase in activities of such “unofficial” digital asset exchanges. The entities behind them offer Uzbekistani citizens the option to buy, sell or trade crypto assets without having an office in the country. They are usually registered in other jurisdictions and their servers are located abroad, but at the same time they collect personal information from residents of the Central Asian republic, the agenc...

Compound, one of the trademark defi protocols on the Ethereum blockchain, is experiencing a bug that allows users to reclaim unusually high amounts of its native token. The issue was caused by the implementation of a proposal that modified the contract that awards tokens to users. Compound Labs founder Robert Leshner declared that user funds were safe and that the bug would have to wait seven days to be patched due to platform policies. Compound Hit With Distribution Bug Compound, one of the leading decentralized finance platforms built on top of Ethereum, is experiencing a bug that allows users to claim more comp, the native token of the protocol, than what they normally are able to. The bug was a product of the application of governance proposal 062, which modified the relation in which comp tokens are awarded. According to Robert Leshner, founder of Compound Labs, this was the result of the code for the proposal being written by a community member, aided by other community memb...

On September 30, the Italian luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana sold an NFT collection for $5.7 million or 1,885 ether. The designers’ Collezione Genesi collection was sold via the platform UNXD, a Polygon network-powered marketplace. Dolce and Gabbana’s Collezione Genesi Rakes in 1,885 Ether Dolce and Gabbana’s first-ever non-fungible-token (NFT) drop, Collezione Genesi raked in a whopping 1,885 ether or $5.7 million, using ethereum ( ETH ) exchange rates at the time of sale on Thursday. Two notable NFTs brought in the most funds, “ The Doge Crown ” and “ The Glass Suit .” “The Glass Suit” NFT was personally designed by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana and the suit is both an NFT and a physical version tailored specifically for the winner. There were also two versions of an NFT called “Dress from a Dream” in the 9-piece “one-of-a-kind collection.” “In a historic moment for the NFT ecosystem, Collezione Genesi is the first luxury NFT collection that involves both digital ...

The red planet is a mystery to man and his obsession with it has created many legends and myths over the centuries. As the US’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars and drills its first Martian rock core for NASA, interest in Mars is at an all-time high, and pioneers are dying to stake their claim on the Red Planet’s soils. A meaningful approach for the visionary is to speculate on Mars’s value. You can do this by participating in the Mars4 non-fungible token (NFT) and land plot sale running on Ethereum. What is Mars4? Mars4 is a Metaverse ecosystem where you can explore a geographically exact virtual Mars, own and customize your land with MARS4 dollars and even reap the rewards of the world’s first revenue-generating NFT. The Attractive tokenomics of Mars4 leverages NFT Mars Land, Gamification and Token Redistribution. Mars4 is a unique metaverse. The Mars4 project’s development team has modeled their detailed 3D map of Mars’ terrain based on the latest data from Mars and other s...

French multinational investment bank and financial services company, Societe Generale, has proposed to leverage the decentralized finance (defi) protocol Makerdao. The proposal dubbed “Security Tokens Refinancing” was published on October 1 to Makerdao’s forums and the submission aims to utilize the DAI stablecoin to refinance a covered bond concept. Societe Generale Proposes Leveraging Makerdao and DAI Stablecoins to Refinance Bond Token The international bank Societe Generale’s digital currency division has submitted a proposal on Makerdao’s governance forums (MIP6 application) and the bank wants to refinance a bond token. The “covered bond token,” as it’s called, was issued on the Ethereum blockchain last year. The proposal is on “behalf of European investment firm Societe Generale-Forge (SG-Forge),” the MIP6 application notes. “This refinancing transaction experimentation is in line with the innovative process and solutions developed by SG-Forge,” the bank’s digital currency d...

On Friday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed four bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) deadlines for another 45 days. The regulator notes that the entity needs more time to decide on the ETF applications. Global X, Kryptoin, Valkyrie, Wisdomtree Bitcoin ETF Deadlines Extended The Kryptoin Bitcoin ETF, Global X Bitcoin Trust, Valkyrie XBTO Bitcoin Futures Fund, and Wisdomtree Bitcoin Trust have all been delayed according to the latest SEC filing . ​​”The 45th day after publication of the notice for this proposed rule change is October 24, 2021,” the U.S. regulator’s filing details. While there’s been a large quantity of bitcoin ETFs filed in the U.S., the SEC has yet to approve any of them. The SEC filing was published by the regulator’s assistant secretary J. Matthew DeLesDernier. “The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the ...

The director of Tehran’s Stock Exchange has resigned from his post following the discovery of cryptocurrency mining rigs in his organization’s basement. The scandal has erupted as licensed crypto miners in Iran are reportedly resuming operations amid fears of new restrictions in the winter. Iran Stock Exchange CEO Loses Job for Illegal Crypto Mining Under His Watch Ali Sahraei, chief executive of the Tehran Stock Exchange, has submitted his resignation after cryptocurrency mining machines were uncovered in the building occupied by the organization. Media reports of the illegal mining operation at the market’s offices were initially denied by the exchange. It only admitted to having launched an “investigation and research project” related to the liquidity outflow towards crypto assets in 2020. According to another statement, quoted by the state-run Mashreq News, an internal inspection came across several mining devices that were allegedly operated by the stock exchange. “During the ...

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, has formally approved two companies to provide crypto services. One is the brokerage arm of DBS, the largest bank in Singapore and Southeast Asia. The other is Independent Reserve, a crypto exchange and OTC trading desk. Singapore’s Central Bank Formally Approves DBS and Independent Reserve DBS Bank announced Friday that its brokerage arm, DBS Vickers (DBSV), “has received formal approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act 2019 to provide digital payment token services as a Major Payment Institution.” The bank explained: “This will enable DBSV, as a member of DBS Digital Exchange (Ddex), to directly support asset managers and companies to trade in digital payment tokens through Ddex.” Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, head of Capital Markets at DBS and chair of the DBS Digital Exchange, commented: Having received formal regulatory approval from MAS, DBSV is now in a better positio...

PRESS RELEASE. Bitcoin of America (BOA) is a popular virtual currency exchange, headquartered in Chicago, IL. They are known for their extensive number of Bitcoin ATM locations across the United States. Bitcoin of America’s CEO, Sonny Meraban, and Director of Marketing, Jenna Polinsky, have been featured on air at WGN Radio over the past couple of months. BOA is hoping to provide more free opportunities for the public to learn the basics of cryptocurrency. In BOA’s first WGN radio segment, Meraban and Polinsky discuss the basics of how to use a Bitcoin ATM. They also talk about an additional option, which they are hoping to promote to their beginner audience. Bitcoin of America recognized a major learning gap and created their own face to face purchasing experience, this is known as a Bitcoin Teller location. This means that customers can go in and ask questions regarding their purchase. According to Bitcoin of America, all merchants are trained and ready to assist all users. BOA’s...

Egyptian banks are reportedly on course to launch a $69.6 million fund which is earmarked to support the country’s fintech companies. According to a report, this fund is expected primarily to target the digital banking and financial services sector. Fintech Apps Targeted Fintech apps that can extend banking and financial services to all segments of society in a cost-effective way will also be targeted. So far, only the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and Banque du Caire have been identified as the financial institutions that are participating in this initiative. Fintechnews Africa reveals in a report that “investments from the fund will be made in both local and international emerging fintech companies.” The report adds that part of the funds will be used to nurture “young talent in this space.” Aside from helping fintech companies grow, having this fund is expected to help the country narrow its financial exclusion gap. With 67% of its adult population currently financially...

The central bank of New Zealand has lined up among monetary authorities exploring the question of issuing their own digital currencies. The financial regulator is now seeking feedback from the public about the need for a digital form of the national fiat while also promising to preserve cash. New Zealand Central Bank Considers Risks and Benefits of CBDC Reserve Bank of New Zealand ( RBNZ ) is now gathering input from the public on the potential use of a central bank digital currency ( CBDC ), Reuters reported following an announcement released by the bank on Thursday. Assuring that financial authorities are still working “to preserve cash and the cash system for those that need it,” RBNZ Assistant Governor Christian Hawkesby stated: A Central Bank Digital Currency would see the features and benefits of cash enjoyed in the digital world, working alongside cash and private money held in commercial bank accounts. The high-ranking official elaborated that a CBDC could benefit both ...

Bitbay has become a fully licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Estonia which introduced stricter rules for the industry last year. The European trading platform has recently passed an independent audit that confirmed its “solvency, security and fiscal responsibility.” Audit Examines AML and KYC Procedures at Bitbay Bitbay, a leading crypto trading platform in Europe, is now a fully licensed and regulated exchange under Estonia’s stringent regulations imposed last fall. The company has been audited by an independent third party which thoroughly examined its accounting practices, including anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) procedures. The inspection also verified the platform’s financial assets, including crypto and fiat funds, as well as the current state of user accounts. Income, revenue, and profit were analyzed too, and according to an announcement published on the exchange’s website on Wednesday, the audit has confirmed Bitbay is solvent, secure, and fisca...

Dydx, a decentralized exchange, has seen its trading volumes explode in the last few days, surpassing other recognized decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and Pancakeswap. Some analysts have suggested this might be the result of the latest Chinese cryptocurrency ban causing China-based users to move their trading activities to these platforms. Dydx Bursts With Activity Dydx, a decentralized exchange that, unlike other similar platforms, offers an order book, has been bustling with activity during the last few days. The activity in the decentralized exchange has grown enormously, with volumes surpassing those of its decentralized rivals such as Uniswap and Pancakeswap. In fact, On September 26, dydx trading volumes surpassed those of Coinbase, achieving a big milestone for the platform. According to Antonio Juliano, Dydx’s founder, the exchange managed to move $3.68 billion on September 26, while Coinbase moved $3.61 billion on the same day. Dydx was originally based on Ethereum,...

Following the announcement of a few days ago, the decentralized multiverse platform OVR , which unites the physical and virtual worlds through Augmented Reality, has launched “ The ARwards ” contest open to all creators who are looking for an opportunity to gain wide visibility and possibly win interesting prizes. First of all, The ARwards is completely free for any participant who will simply be asked to register. Creators will be required to provide: username, password, email and nationality, thus completing the registration in less than five minutes. The platform offers content creators the opportunity not only to project their 3D experiences to the world, but also to encourage competition among creators to make augmented reality experiences even better. In concrete terms, through an OVRLand NFT, the famous virtual hexagon developed by OVR to create three-dimensional objects on top of it, participants can upload a 3D model to the dedicated workspace, edit it, refine it and final...

Billy Markus, the co-founder of Dogecoin, explained on Wednesday that an Ethereum bridge to the Doge network would bolster the dogecoin ecosystem. Markus also said that non-fungible token (NFT) markets “would help Dogecoin” as well. Dogecoin Co-Creator Thinks 2 Ideas Could Help the Doge Network The popular crypto asset dogecoin (DOGE) has gained a whopping 7,500% during the last 12 months and reached a high of $0.731 per unit on May 8, 2021. However, DOGE is down 72% since that all-time high and 25.4% during the last month. While the Dogecoin co-founder Jackson Palmer criticized the crypto world and said it was managed by powerful cartels, Billy Markus speaks about crypto in a positive manner. On Wednesday, Markus tweeted about the meme-based crypto network he helped create and discussed how the project could be helped by adding two things. “Two things I believe would help Dogecoin: [The] completion of DOGE ETH bridge, [and] NFT platforms (e.g. Opensea) allowing for the DOGE-...

Former federal prosecutor Katie Haun says that regulators really need to take stock of the fact that we’re beyond just financial use cases of cryptocurrency. “There’s much more to crypto than that,” she said, adding that “Regulation cannot be one size fits all.” Haun further said that crypto is not the Wild West and the industry wants clarity, not lack of regulation. Former Federal Prosecutor Discusses Crypto Regulation and SEC’s Role Katie Haun talked about cryptocurrency and its regulation at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha Conference Wednesday. Haun is a general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. She previously spent a decade as a federal prosecutor focusing on fraud, cyber, and corporate crime alongside agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Treasury. She created the government’s first cryptocurrency task force and led investigations into the Mt. Gox hack and the corrupt agents on the Silk Road task...

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, explains that some laws provide “significant investor protections” for exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including those seeking to invest in bitcoin futures. He looks forward to seeing the SEC’s review of such filings. SEC Chairman Looks Forward to Staff’s Review of Bitcoin Futures ETF Filings SEC Chairman Gary Gensler talked about crypto regulation and bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at the Financial Times’ Future of Asset Management North America conference Wednesday. In prepared remarks, he discussed “investment vehicles providing exposure to crypto assets,” noting that “Earlier this year, a number of open-end mutual funds launched that invested in Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)-traded bitcoin futures.” Gensler added, “Subsequently, we’ve started to see filings under the Investment Company Act [’40 Act] with regard to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) seeking to invest in CME-traded bitcoin futures...

Orlando Bravo, the billionaire who co-founded private equity firm Thoma Bravo, says he is very bullish on bitcoin, expecting the cryptocurrency to “increase significantly.” He described: “Crypto is just a great system. It’s frictionless. It’s decentralized. And young people want their own financial system. So it is here to stay.” Billionaire Investor ‘Very Bullish’ on Bitcoin Orlando Bravo, co-founder and managing partner of private equity firm Thoma Bravo, talked about bitcoin Wednesday at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha conference. His net worth as of Sept. 29 is $6.3 billion, according to Forbes. Bravo is reportedly the first Puerto Rican-born billionaire. “How could you not love crypto?” he said at the conference, elaborating: Crypto is just a great system. It’s frictionless. It’s decentralized. And young people want their own financial system. So it is here to stay. “The underlying technology of blockchain, regardless of what protocol or what system you are building upon, can be v...

One of the backbones of crypto market in today’s world are decentralized exchanges that took the world by the storm in recent years. And as the crypto exchange market is moving and developing rapidly, it is absolutely no surprise that the exchanges have to evolve in accordance. Therefore, today, The CEO of Soldex.ai , John Robertson will present you with the next step in crypto exchanges, which is the AI powered trading that may be the future of the token trading. The impact of Soldex.ai and what makes it to stand out from the other projects One of the most salient blockchain in the recent times is Solana. It took the world by storm while offering many benefits, hence it has been chosen for the Soldex.ai. Soldex.ai was created to solve certain issues caused by order-matching centralized exchanges and the trust-less custody found in the exchanges of the today. Soldex.ai will power the new avalanche of flexible financial markets. The protocols will serve as a foundational layer for s...

On September 27, the digital currency firm Coinbase announced that U.S. customers will soon be able to directly deposit their paycheck into their Coinbase accounts. With the new direct deposit feature, Coinbase customers can leverage their funds to make investments, generate yield, or add value to their Coinbase prepaid debit card. US Coinbase Customers Will Soon Be Able to Use Direct Deposit Feature Coinbase has come a long way since the firm was created in 2012, and now as a publicly-listed company, the crypto firm offers a myriad of services and is still one of the top gateways to the crypto world. On Monday, the company’s senior director of product, Prakash Hariramani, published a blog post explaining how U.S. Coinbase customers will soon be able to directly deposit their paycheck into their Coinbase accounts. “Over the next few weeks,” Hariramani announced, “we’re rolling out the ability for customers in the U.S. to deposit their paycheck into Coinbase to more easily make reg...

One of the largest and oldest American comic book publishers DC Comics, Inc., has announced the firm has partnered with Palm NFT Studio in order to unleash a large swathe of non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles. The NFT drop will take place during the DC Fandome on October 16 and the NFT art will feature superheroes like Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Harley Quinn. American Comic Book Publisher DC Comics to Drop a Large Collection of NFTs Two weeks from now on October 16, the American comic book publisher DC Comics aims to drop a large quantity of non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles featuring the firm’s most beloved characters at the DC Fandome event. The NFT drop from DC Comics is in partnership with Palm NFT Studio and the comic book publisher plans to release a number of NFTs featuring Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern. The announcement that was revealed to Bitcoin.com News explains that the NFTs were hand-selected by DC’s p...

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has charged 14 trading platforms that claim to offer crypto-related investments but have either failed to register with the CFTC or falsely claimed to be registered. These websites also exhibit other signs of being scams. 14 Entities Charged by CFTC After charging major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken , the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has now gone after trading platforms claiming to offer crypto-related investments. The CFTC announced Wednesday that it has “filed charges against 14 entities for either failing to register as futures commission merchants (FCMs) or else making false and misleading claims of having CFTC registration and National Futures Association (NFA) membership.” Most of the 14 trading platforms exhibit signs of scams, such as using identical websites, asking users to pay to join the platforms before they can start trading, claiming to be regulated, and guaranteeing huge returns. For example, some of t...

While there’s a lot of hype surrounding digital currencies like bitcoin, a great number of people are still confused by the crypto economy and the myriad crypto assets that exist. One study shows that some people think Ethereum is a drug, while others think Cardano is a cheese. Traders of Crypto Surveys Hundreds of Britons, Researchers Parse 12 Months of Crypto Query Data A recent study published by the researchers at tradersofcrypto.com combed through the most-searched questions that could be entered into Google Keyword Planner in order “to discover how many searches each question received.” The researchers scanned data over the last 12 months using results from the U.S. and U.K. to rank the most-asked questions to the least. The results produced a data set which attempts to explain “the most common cryptocurrency questions.” Tradersofcrypto.com’s researchers also surveyed “hundreds of members of the British public” to get the answers to the crypto questions. The statistics sho...