Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

DeFi continues to show the world that the future of finance will forever change from its old and traditional form, developed by solving problems individuals and institutions face with mainstream banks. ADALend continues the string of innovations in DeFi under the guidance of its GM. Javed Khattak , A qualified actuary (FIA), an award winning C-suite executive, and a successful serial entrepreneur who was awarded CFO of the year in 2018 by Wealth & Finance magazine, listed in the the top 20 individuals behind ICOs in 2017, a track record of financial ingenuity and excellence. The Future of DeFi Leadership ADALend’s GM hails from a better-suited background to tackle the problems facing the DeFi ecosystems plagued by professionals who have more to do with programming and less to do with financing. Individuals who rely on DeFi projects to store and maintain their savings are increasing day by day. Someone who knows about actuarial science leading ADALend is a rare asset, with...

The American company that produces Bazooka chewing gum, candy, and collectibles, Topps Company, Inc., announced the launch of the second series 2021 Topps Baseball NFT collection. The latest non-fungible token products from Topps follow the company’s MLB Inception NFT collection release. The collectibles company Topps says that it’s the firm’s largest MLB NFT launch ever. Topps Launches Series 2 MLB NFT Collection At the end of August, the collectibles firm Topps launched the first series of its 2021 NFT Major League Baseball (MLB) NFT collection called “Inception.” A month later in October, Topps introduced the second series of NFT MLB collectibles via the blockchain protocol Avalanche. The new NFTs are based on the sold-out 2021 Topps Series 2 Baseball physical product and can be obtained via toppsnfts.com . Standard and premium packs of the 2021 Topps Series 2 Baseball NFT collection started selling on October 4 and the NFT collectibles contain card rarities ranging from comm...

US Bank has launched its cryptocurrency custody services. “Investor interest in cryptocurrency and demand from our fund services clients have grown strongly over the last few years,” the bank said. US Bank’s Crypto Custody Services Now Live U.S. Bank announced Tuesday that its cryptocurrency custody services are now live and available to its Global Fund Services clients. U.S. Bancorp, with nearly 70,000 employees and $559 billion in assets as of June 30, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest bank in the country. The Minneapolis-based company serves millions of customers locally, nationally, and globally. U.S. Bank Wealth Management and Investment Services has more than $8.6 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $282 billion in assets under management globally as of June 30. The announcement details: The services are intended for institutional investment managers with private funds in the U.S. or Cayman Islands who would like a safekeeping soluti...

On Tuesday, a new Draper Goren Holm incubated company called NFT.FAMILY has announced the launch of a new generative non-fungible token (NFT) collection called “Boring Stone.” The new company stems from community members from Fameladysquad, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Blockchain & Booze. ‘Utilizing Technologies to Build and Empower Our Own Community’ Non-fungible token (NFT) assets are very popular in 2021 and a group of community members from Blockchain & Booze, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Fameladysquad have formed NFT.FAMILY. The new company is backed by Draper Goren Holm , a blockchain venture studio founded by Alon Goren and Josef Holm. The members wholeheartedly believe that digital currencies and NFT communities are very important. A member of the team dubbed ‘Theehustlehouse’ explains that “Crypto is all about community.” “We’re utilizing these new and exciting technologies to build and empower our own community,” Theehustlehouse detailed. “This is just the start;...

PRESS RELEASE. LAS VEGAS & ULAANBAATAR – On Saturday 9 October, Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder will be defending the United States’ honor once more. Known for being the first American World Heavyweight Champion since 2004, which was the longest period of time in boxing history without an American Heavyweight Champion, Wilder will rise to the occasion once more. When he steps into the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to take on the WBC World Heavyweight Champion, Tyson Fury, Wilder will be fighting for the outsider – and a group of rebel crypto-warriors who look to shake up the financial world. In fight trunks sponsored by Inflation Hedging Coin (IHC) , a new crypto asset developed by a group of visionary Mongolian entrepreneurs, Wilder seems to have found the perfect sponsor. IHC has been built to exploit the potential of blockchain to stave off the inflationary effects inherent in the oversupply of fiat currencies. “Wilder’s ongoing crusade for social justice is par...

As bureaucrats across the globe continue to ask the common citizenry for access to every financial decision they make, politicians and celebrities worldwide are hiding large amounts of wealth in tax havens according to the Pandora Papers. While American politicians like the Biden administration claim to be against tax corruption, some people view the U.S. as the world’s “main tax lagoon.” Pandora Papers Expose Hypocrisy Among Bureaucrats Worldwide, US Public Officials Manage to Escape Investigation During the last month, the Biden administration and other U.S. politicians have been discussing proposed legislation that aims to address tax evasion by the so-called billionaire class and corporate entities. One proposal aims to give the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) access to bank account information, regardless of tax liability. If enacted, financial institutions across the country would have to report accounts with at least $600 worth of transactions or more. Another proposal ...

Privacy activist and whistleblower Edward Snowden says that bitcoin is up about 10 times since he tweeted about buying it. Bitcoin is stronger “despite a coordinated global campaign by governments to undermine public understanding of — and support for — cryptocurrency,” he said. Edward Snowden Says Bitcoin Stronger Despite Governments’ Anti-Crypto Campaign Former computer intelligence consultant for the National Security Agency (NSA) and contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Edward Snowden, tweeted about bitcoin Sunday. It references another tweet he made last year that reads, “This is the first time in a while I’ve felt like buying bitcoin.” “Sometimes I think back to this and wonder how many people bought bitcoin then,” Snowden wrote Sunday. “It’s up [about] 10x since, despite a coordinated global campaign by governments to undermine public understanding of — and support for — cryptocurrency. China even banned it, but it just made bitcoin stronger.” The price of...

Bank of America’s Global Research has begun covering crypto, debuting with a report stating that “digital assets are too large to ignore.” Noting that digital assets are “creating a whole ecosystem of new companies, new opportunities, and new applications,” the bank said, “This is growing, this is mainstream, and it’s not just bitcoin.” Bank of America Debuts Crypto Research Bank of America announced Monday the launch of its “digital asset research” with the publication of a report titled “Digital Assets Primer: Only the first inning.” The bank wrote: Report finds digital assets are too large to ignore. The announcement explains that “The primer provides an investment framework for the digital asset landscape.” The topics it covers include smart contract applications, stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Bank of America’s crypto research team was formed in July. It is led by Alkesh Shah, the bank’s head of Global Cryptocurrency a...

Aureo Ribeiro, a federal deputy in Brazil, stated that bitcoin might become a recognized currency in Brazil soon, during an interview with local media. The politician stated that Brazilians may be able to purchase houses, cars, and even fast food at McDonald’s with cryptocurrency in the near future. Bill 2.303/15, which regulates cryptocurrencies, might approve the legal use of the asset, similar to El Salvador. Bitcoin Might Become Regulated Currency in Brazil Bitcoin might become a regulated currency for payments in Brazil in the near future, according to statements given by Aureo Ribeiro, a federal deputy. Ribeiro stated that with the future approval of Bill 2.303/15, which regulates cryptocurrencies, new uses would be open for crypto holders, such as buying houses, cars, and even food in restaurants like McDonald’s. These comments are the product of the approval of the so-called Brazilian “Bitcoin Law” for presentation in the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies, after being stu...

PRESS RELEASE. SINGAPORE — EnjinStarter , a launchpad for blockchain games, has announced a strategic partnership with Enjin to accelerate growth of the Enjin ecosystem. EnjinStarter helps games and apps leverage Enjin’s non-fungible token (NFT) technology and infrastructure, specifically the gas-free JumpNet blockchain and Efinity , an upcoming Polkadot-based NFT parachain. EnjinStarter has secured a seed investment from Enjin and is working closely with the team to accelerate adoption of Enjin’s infrastructure. EnjinStarter offers developers a virtual accelerator program for their games’ blockchain integration, monetization, and marketing strategies, as well as strategic advice and support on using digital assets for fundraising and community building. “We share Enjin’s vision for blockchain games and the metaverse, and we are excited to work closely with the team to foster adoption in their ecosystem,” said Prakash Somosundram, CEO of EnjinStarter. “The roadmap ahead is ...

While the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) executives continue to reiterate the central bank’s willingness to heed the government’s call to prepare for cryptocurrencies, some economists insist Tanzania lacks the resources needed for it to adopt such digital currencies. Economists: Tanzania an Unsuitable Candidate In their views, published by the Citizen following the BOT’s latest update, Tanzania’s cryptocurrency opponents argue that a lack of resources makes it “difficult to participate in worldwide trade.” For instance, the Citizen report quotes Haji Semboja, a professor at the State University of Zanzibar, who suggests that Tanzania’s economic profile makes it difficult for the country to adopt crypto. Semboja explained: The development of our economies is a complete function of the development of global international monetary and commodity markets. I am not yet to accept an instrument that will never benefit the majority of people. It is not simply because of limited knowledge, but al...

The Nigerian High Court that is presiding over the e-naira trademark infringement case brought against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has ruled that Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) “may proceed on national interest” considerations. The ruling clears a crucial legal hurdle for CBN’s yet to be rolled out digital currency. CBN’s Alleged Trademark Infringement As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Nigerian firm Enaira Payments Solution had filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the central bank for its use of the term “e-naira.” The firm’s lawyers have argued that the CBN’s plan to use the e-naira term posed a threat and would represent a willful infringement. Yet in a ruling that came just a few days after a CBN spokesperson announced the deferment of the CBDC launch, the High Court judge, Taiwo Abayomi Taiwo, reportedly justified this decision by suggesting the “plaintiff may be adequately compensated.” Parties to the case are now expected to return to court...

Bitwage, the pioneer cryptocurrency-based payroll and invoicing company, has raised $1.5 million in its latest funding round. The funding round had participation from Draper Associates and Max Keiser’s Heisenberg Capital, using Bnktothefuture, a platform designed for making online investments. Bitwage will use these funds to extend its functionalities, now that it is facing competition from Coinbase, which launched a similar service for U.S. citizens. Bitwage Raises $1.5 Million Dollars in 55 Hours Bitwage, one of the pioneer companies in cryptocurrency payrolls and invoicing services, has closed a funding round raising $1.5 million in the process. The round was undertaken using Bnktothefuture, an online platform that allows registered investors to support projects directly. The company reached its goal in 55 hours and had the participation of Draper Associates and Max Keiser’s Heisenberg Capital. The funds will be used to further cement the status of the company in the crypto pay...

On October 1, the global esports firm TSM FTX announced the launch of the organization’s first-ever non-fungible token (NFT) collection in partnership with the Solana blockchain-based NFT game Aurory. TSM FTX Collaborates With Solana and Serum-Powered Blockchain Game Aurory During the first week of June, FTX Trading Limited , revealed the crypto company inked a naming rights deal with the U.S. professional esports organization TSM for $210 million. The announcement said that the crypto firm would rename the esports organization “TSM FTX,” and the two companies would collaborate in a multi-year partnership arrangement. On Friday, TSM FTX explained the company is launching the organization’s first-ever NFT collection. The NFTs were crafted by aurory.io . The Aurory game is similar to the blockchain-powered game Axie Infinity but leverages the Solana blockchain and Serum, a decentralized exchange (dex) built on Solana. “Aurory is a JRPG computer game where people will evolve in ...

PRESS RELEASE. Global cryptocurrency financial platform, AscendEX is proud to announce the listing of the Vulcan Forged token (PYR) under the trading pair USDT/PYR on Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. UTC. To celebrate the listing, AscendEX and the PYR team will launch several limited-time promotional events, offering users a chance to share pooled rewards up to 60,000 USDT ! Vulcan Forged is a game studio that has migrated to a blockchain network with more than 12 games and thousands of users. VulcanVerse is a live metaverse, combining high-quality graphics with World of Warcraft-style gameplay featuring the building capabilities of Minecraft. Their market differentiation focuses on developing successful games first and then implementing blockchain integrations second, leading to a much more engaging user experience. Vulcan Forged has grown from a small digital art NFT platform and game studio to a multi-DApp platform, launchpad, and a top-five volume NFT marketplace. They are the second busie...

While the crypto economy has seen a decent uptick in performance during the first week of October, a number of decentralized finance (defi) tokens have seen tremendous gains. Furthermore, the total value locked in defi has risen to $195 billion, jumping more than 14% over the last two weeks from $171 billion. Defi Tokens Skyrocket, Total Value Locked in Dapps Grows to $195 Billion, Axie Infinity, Shiba Inu See Top Gains Digital currency markets of all sorts are seeing some gains this week and defi coins and smart contract tokens have all seen significant rises during the last seven days. Weekly metrics show that crypto-assets like QTUM spiked 42%, terra (LUNA) jumped 37%, binance coin ( BNB ) gained 23%, and solana (SOL) rose by 22%. Other notable double-digit seven-day gainers include tokens like arweave (AR), DYDX, hedera (HBAR), and vechain (VET). The two mega gainers this week include axie infinity (AXS) up 119.8% and shiba inu (SHIB) up 92.3% during the last seven days. Meanw...

The CEO of global investment bank JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon, says that bitcoin has no intrinsic value and “regulators are going to regulate the hell out of it.” He emphasized: “If people are using it for tax avoidance and sex trafficking and ransomware, it’s going to be regulated, whether you like it or not.” JPMorgan’s Boss on Bitcoin and Crypto Regulation JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon continued to express his anti- bitcoin and crypto stance in an interview with Axios on HBO, published Monday. Dimon was asked whether bitcoin is “the fool’s gold of the future?” The JPMorgan boss replied: It’s got no intrinsic value, and regulators are going to regulate the hell out of it. While admitting that the cryptocurrency will be around long term, Dimon said: “I’ve always believed it’ll be made illegal someplace, like China made it illegal , so I think it’s a little bit of fool’s gold.” Several regulators have similarly said that bitcoin has no intrinsic value, including Europe...

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has revealed that he has more crypto exposure than gold for the first time. He hopes to increase his crypto allocation to 7% in the next few months, emphasizing: “I don’t see a situation where crypto’s ever going away.” Kevin O’Leary Now Has More Crypto Than Gold Kevin O’Leary has revealed that his portfolio now has greater exposure to cryptocurrency than gold for the first time. He tweeted Saturday: For the first time ever, my crypto exposure is greater than gold. His comment followed his interview with Stansberry Research’s Daniela Cambone, published Friday. Emphasizing, he is “a believer” and an investor in crypto, Mr. Wonderful shared: “At the end of the year, I’m hoping to be at 7% of our operating company’s portfolio in cryptocurrencies.” Moreover, he said, “I’m investing in a wide range of different crypto products as a strategy.” The Shark Tank star noted: I am happy to listen to anybody but, I’m sorry, I don’t agree i...

Grayscale Investments has added solana and uniswap to its large-cap investment fund. This is the first time solana has been added to a Grayscale fund. The company now offers 15 funds, two of which are diversified portfolios. Solana and Uniswap Added to Grayscale Fund Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital currency asset manager, announced Friday the quarterly rebalancing of its two diversified portfolios: the large-cap fund and the defi (decentralized finance) fund. For the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (OTCQX: GDLC), the company sold some of the existing components and used the cash proceeds to purchase solana (SOL) and uniswap (UNI). Grayscale said: [This is] the first time solana (SOL) will be included in a Grayscale investment vehicle. This was also the first time uniswap was added to the large-cap fund. However, the token has been in the Grayscale Defi Fund since the portfolio launched in July. At the end of the day on Oct. 1, the large-cap fund’s componen...

GNO City features an already playable trading card game on the WAX blockchain. In GNO City you can collect NFTs, win experience points, level up and earn tokens by just playing the game and having fun. Players can explore the story mode or go head to head in matches against other players. Welcome to GNO City GNO City is developing an open world metaverse where players can own land and roam the city to capture characters. The project already features a playable trading card game developed on the WAX blockchain, and the NFTs can be accessed on AtomicHub . If you are not familiar with the genre, digital collectible card games are a huge business these days. Some brands, such as Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone, report reaching more than 100 million players and have a thriving eSport scene. The industry brings in total revenue of $2 billion a year from selling cards to players, but the latter can not earn much from it unless they get to the level of a famous eSport star. The intr...

Compound, one of the main cryptocurrency lending protocols on Ethereum, is facing serious problems again. According to banteg, a Yearn developer, someone called a function that moved more funds to be available for users to claim. Now, users can claim up to $140 million of the protocol’s native currency, comp. Compound is hoping users won’t claim these tokens and is rallying to patch the bug that caused this problem in the first place. Compound Remains Vulnerable to Exploit Compound, a decentralized finance protocol, aggravated its current situation when someone called on a function that put more funds at risk of being claimed. The function, called drip, sent more than 200,000 comp (Compound’s native token) to the Comptroller contract, the component that was affected by a bug last week, allowing users to claim unusually high amounts of comp. According to banteg, developer of another leading defi protocol, Yearn, this was the “best-kept secret in DeFi.” The drip function moves fund...

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has commented on the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies and the crypto crackdown by the Chinese government. He reiterated his anti-crypto stance: “I don’t want to have other currencies coming out and hurting or demeaning the dollar in any way.” Donald Trump Comments on Crypto and China’s Crackdown Former U.S. President Donald Trump commented on the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies and the Chinese government’s crypto crackdown in an interview with Yahoo Finance’s Adam Shapiro , published Monday. Trump was asked: “You have a relationship with the Chinese President Xi Jinping. What do you think Xi Jinping is up to? And is this crackdown on crypto good for the U.S.?” He replied: Well, I think he wants to do his own currency, whether it’s crypto or otherwise. Several people, including famous “Rich Dad Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki , have similarly expressed that China has been cracking down on crypto to pave the way for its central ban...

Bitcoin’s hashrate has been climbing steadily over the last three months and rose more than 40% after the network’s hashpower was below 90 exahash per second (EH/s) on July 5. The trend has led to a consecutive run of five bitcoin mining difficulty accruals with another increase expected during the next transition. Hashrate Steadily Increases, Antpool Commands Top Position, Unknown Hashrate Returns The overall Bitcoin ( BTC ) hashrate has been slowly but steadily rising higher during the last 90 days. The network’s current processing power is coasting along at 130 EH/s, and three months ago the hashpower was 40% lower than today. In the last 24 hours, Antpool has been the top mining pool dedicating hashrate to the BTC network with 29.7 EH/s or 20.47% of the global hashrate. Antpool is followed by F2pool with 23.58 EH/s or 16.2% of BTC ’s overall hashrate, and Pooling captures 13.2% of the network or 19.2 EH/s. Other top pools dedicating vast amounts of hashrate to the BTC networ...

While the price of bitcoin has surged during the first few days of October, the price of the precious metal gold has also increased percentage-wise as the U.S. dollar and the country’s 10-year Treasury yields slid in value this past week. An ounce of fine gold exchanged hands this weekend for $1,760 per unit, up 1.32% since September 29. Gold Spikes More Than 1% This Past Week, Metal’s Rise Attributed to a Soft Dollar, US Default Fears, the Fed’s Upcoming QE and Benchmark Rate Decisions After the end of September, like clockwork, bitcoin ( BTC ) and the crypto-economy saw billions funnel back into crypto markets. Today, the entire crypto-economy is worth around $2.23 trillion and BTC commands $909 billion or 41% of that aggregate total. Meanwhile gold, on the other hand, has been lackluster as far as percentage gains are concerned but the asset has jumped 1.3% in the last six days. Gold bugs, speculators, and precious metal (PM) market analysts have pointed to the soft dollar la...