Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Recent metrics from a variety of analytical web portals show that the quantity of bitcoin whales has been shrinking in recent times. The data indicates that the leading crypto asset has been distributed quite a bit since the price run-up started. Pods of Bitcoin Whales Shrink — Addresses With Small Quantities of Bitcoin Catch the Downward Distribution Cycle Today, data shows that bitcoin whales are shrinking and metrics from bitinfocharts.com ’s top 100 richest bitcoin addresses list compared to a whale count article Bitcoin.com News published on May 14, show things have changed. Statistics from Glassnode show that whale-sized addresses with 1,000 BTC + have dipped to the smallest amount in eight years and ten months ago. In addition to those two sites that offer onchain whale analytics, whalemap.io also implies a decline in whales (balance ≥ 1k) and a downward distribution cycle. Also, the top 100 richest bitcoin addresses from bitinfocharts.com indicate that on May 13, 2021 ,

PRESS RELEASE. Bitcoin of America is a popular virtual currency exchange, registered as a money services business with the United States Department of Treasury (FinCEN)(RegNum). Apart from ensuring a fast and hassle-free transaction, they are known for their customer support. Bitcoin of America recently announced their newest addition to their Bitcoin ATM machines (BTMs). Ethereum is now available to buy and sell at Bitcoin of America ATM locations. Bitcoin of America recognized the growing popularity of the cryptocurrency Ethereum and decided it was time to include it in their BTMs. To date, Bitcoin of America has 1300 plus BTMs across 31 states. Bitcoin of America also offers Bitcoin and Litecoin options online and at their BTM locations. To find a BTM you can visit their website and enter in your address to find one near you. Bitcoin of America has made several updates to their machines and services this year. In May, Bitcoin of America announced their new Universal Kiosk. Th

Hedge fund manager Michael Burry, famed for forecasting the 2008 financial crisis, has confirmed that he has not been shorting cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, despite speculations that he may have. His confirmation came after he recently asked how to short crypto. Michael Burry Says He Is Not Shorting Cryptocurrencies Famous investor and founder of private investment firm Scion Asset Management, Michael Burry, confirmed to CNBC Friday that he has not been shorting bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Burry is best known for being the first investor to foresee and profit from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010. He is profiled in “The Big Short,” a book by Michael Lewis about the mortgage crisis, which was made into a movie starring Christian Bale. He told CNBC Friday: I’ve not been shorting cryptocurrencies at all. And I’m not now … I believe that cryptocurrencies are in a bubble and that most in it do not understand it well. Many people in

Robert Kiyosaki, the best-selling author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, now says bitcoin’s future is “very bright,” after predicting a “giant stock market crash” that could also tank the crypto market. He further revealed that he is waiting for the next pullback before investing more in bitcoin. Bitcoin’s Future Is ‘Very Bright,’ Says Kiyosaki Famous author and investor Robert Kiyosaki said last week that bitcoin’s future is “very bright.” Rich Dad Poor Dad is a 1997 book co-authored by Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over six years. More than 32 million copies of the book have been sold in over 51 languages across more than 109 countries. Kiyosaki tweeted Friday: Hooray. Bitcoin rising above $60,000. Future very bright. Celebrate yet be cautious. I am waiting for a pullback before investing more. While the famous investor has been recommending bitcoin to investors for quite some time, he predicted that a “giant stock market crash” wa

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has published its proposal for crypto regulation after “more than 75 meetings with stakeholders in government, industry, and academia,” CEO Brian Armstrong revealed. In its Digital Asset Policy Proposal, the company recommends “four core pillars to inform future U.S. regulation.” Coinbase’s Proposal for Crypto Regulation The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase published its Digital Asset Policy Proposal (DAPP) Thursday. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted: “Today we’re launching our Digital Asset Policy Proposal (DAPP) which we hope will help chart a course for clear regulation of cryptocurrency and web 3.0 in the U.S. It’s critical to bring clarity to this space and ensure America remains a financial leader.” He further shared: This is not about Coinbase — we completed more than 75 meetings with stakeholders in government, industry, and academia to help shape this proposal, and we feel it represents a consensus point of view. It’s in

U.S. citizens and financial institutions are concerned about the Biden administration’s goals to get banks to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) aggregate inflows from a customer’s bank account annually that exceed $600. Mainstream media is reporting and Big Tech’s swarm of fact-checkers have said that some lawmakers are mischaracterizing the proposal. Biden Administration’s $600 Tax Proposal Ignites Heated Debate and So-Called Fact-Checking In May, it was reported that Biden’s IRS planned to add more staff and focus on cryptocurrency exchange. The accounts stemmed from a Treasury Department report, and the department’s officials projected that during the next decade it could net $700 billion from tax offenders. The following decade later, the Treasury expects the plan to net $1.6 trillion, and the Federal entity believes those estimates are conservative. At the time of writing, the tax proposal dubbed the “ American Families Plan Tax Compliance Agenda ” is still being de

This past week, Valve, the parent company of the video game digital distribution service Steam updated its distribution onboarding guidelines. According to the newly updated rules, the company is banning any “applications built on blockchain technology that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs.” Newly Updated Onboarding Guidelines for Steam Says ‘You Shouldn’t Publish’ Applications ‘Built on Blockchain,’ or ‘Allow the Exchange of NFTs, Cryptocurrencies’ Valve seems to have an issue with games that involve blockchain technology, crypto assets, or non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles. The company quietly updated the firm’s onboarding page and the new rule was added to the list of games “you shouldn’t publish on Steam” Interestingly, Steam once supported bitcoin ( BTC ) for payments at the storefront but stopped supporting BTC in December 2017. The decision in 2017 was made 18 months after Valve allowed the storefront to accept the leading crypto asset for payments.

On October 15, the day bitcoin’s price surpassed the $60K per unit handle, Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele taunted the professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, Steve Hanke, over his recent statements. At the time, the well known economist warned that El Salvador faces “financial ruin” with “Bukele at the helm,” after El Salvador’s president bought the bitcoin dip when the price was down. 3 Weeks Ago Steve Hanke Said ‘With Bukele at the Helm’ His Country Faces ‘Financial Ruin,’ Bukele Responds After Bitcoin Spikes and Says: ‘You Were Saying?’ When El Salvador adopted bitcoin (BTC) during the first week of September, the first day the law was enacted, BTC ’s fiat value dropped a great deal. At that time, Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele told his Twitter followers that El Salvador was “buying the dip” as the country added 150 BTC to its stash. Meanwhile, the professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, Steve Hanke, has criticized the Salvadoran p

In mid-April the creator of the Bitcoin network, Satoshi Nakamoto entered the world’s top 20 richest billionaire list but after bitcoin’s price dropped, the inventor’s wealth plummeted. This week, Nakamoto has once again joined the top 20 richest people on the face of the earth. The last time, Nakamoto made the 19th position, and this time around, Bitcoin’s inventor is now the 20th richest person(s) on the face of the planet. 6 Months After Bitcoin’s All-Time High, Satoshi Nakamoto Becomes the 20th Wealthiest Person in the World The leading crypto asset bitcoin (BTC) has skyrocketed past the $60K handle and tapped a high of $62,945 on Friday. Using today’s exchange rate and the estimated stash of bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto reportedly owns, indicates that Bitcoin’s inventor is the 16th richest person or persons worldwide. The last time Bitcoin.com News reported on this subject, Nakamoto climbed from the 159th richest person in the globe to the 19th in a mere five months. Using today’

The digital asset company Bakkt Holdings has completed a merger with a firm called VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings and the combined business will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 18. Bakkt revealed it was aiming to go public last January, and the Bakkt listing on Monday will leverage the ticker “BKKT.” Digital Currency Firm Bakkt Set to List on NYSE Next Week The digital currency firm Bakkt is set to start trading on NYSE next week, according to an announcement from the combined firms on Friday. The shares will be called “BKKT” and the public-listing was made possible via a merger with the company VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings, according to the Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) and VPC’s press statements . VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings is an affiliate of Victory Park Capital, a global investment firm. “At the extraordinary general meeting of its shareholders held on October 14, 2021, the shareholders voted to approve its previously announced business c

The President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, denied having any interest in adopting cryptocurrencies as legal tender in the country. The statements, offered in a press conference in the National Palace this week, also confirmed that the Mexican government will keep dealing with the financial matters of the country in a traditional and orthodox way. Mexico Won’t Adopt Bitcoin as Legal Tender The President of Mexico stated his opinions about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies earlier this week. In a press conference offered at the National Palace, Lopez Obrador denied having any interest in adopting Bitcoin as legal tender, as El Salvador did earlier this year. When asked by a journalist about the matter, he stated: No. We are not going to change in this aspect. We see fit to maintain the orthodoxy in managing finances. We are not going to try to innovate a lot in the financial system. The statements serve to continue the stance Mexico has taken on cryptocurrencies to date. L

Investment banking and asset management firm JMP Securities says that “The crypto economy is entering the mainstream,” emphasizing that crypto “adoption and early use cases have established ‘escape velocity.” However, the firm’s analysts noted that “the industry is still in its formative stage.” ‘The Crypto Economy Is Entering the Mainstream’ JMP Securities recently published a research note that discusses cryptocurrency adoption. Noting that “The crypto economy is entering the mainstream,” the analysts wrote: The crypto market has come a long way in its short existence, and we believe both adoption and early use cases have established ‘escape velocity,’ whereby binary arguments about its fate are all but off the table at this point. The analysts further explained that “The industry is far from perfect today, scams do exist, regulation is undeveloped, and the industry needs more education given technical aspects of the space that make adoption and usage not always intuitive.” N

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis said, “Thank God for bitcoin,” during her speech to the Senate about raising the U.S. debt limit. “Bitcoin is not issued by a government, so it is not beholding to the debts that are run up by governments,” she explained. US Senator to Congress: ‘Thank God for Bitcoin’ Senator Cynthia Lummis praised bitcoin during her speech on the Senate floor last week about raising the U.S. debt limit. The senator has been a bitcoin hodler since 2013 and has repeatedly stated that bitcoin is a great store of value . Lummis pointed out that while lawmakers were intensely discussing raising the debt limit, “almost no one is talking about the debt” itself. “We are getting closer to $30 trillion. Certainly, if the spending that is being entertained by the majority party and the Biden administration passes, it will be over $30 trillion,” she warned. The senator from Wyoming explained: Countries have historically tended to decline once the debt surpassed their gross dom

The owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, has said “no” to investing in bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs), one of which could start trading next week in the U.S. The Shark Tank star does not see a reason for him to invest in a bitcoin ETF, emphasizing that he can buy the cryptocurrency directly. Mark Cuban Says No to Bitcoin ETF The Shark Tank star and owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, has shared his thoughts on the heavily hyped bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to approve a bitcoin ETF, the first bitcoin futures ETF could begin trading in the country as early as next week. However, Cuban is not planning to invest in a bitcoin ETF or a bitcoin futures ETF when one starts trading on an American exchange. Responding to a question in an interview with CNBC, published Friday, whether he plans to invest in any bitcoin-based ETF, the shark tank star bluntly replied: No. I can

Cornell University’s professor of economics and former head of the IMF’s China division, Eswar Prasad, has warned that “Cryptocurrencies may contribute to monetary and financial instability.” He added that the risk is amplified if the industry is unregulated and lacks investor protection. Economist Sees Crypto Posing Risks to Financial Stability Eswar Prasad, the Nandlal P. Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy and professor of economics at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, shared his view on cryptocurrency in an interview with CNBC, published Wednesday. Prasad is also a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he holds the New Century Chair in International Economics, and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He was previously chief of the Financial Studies Division in the research department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and head of the IMF’s China division. He said: Cryptocu

Following the latest report from Cambridge University that shows a large percentage of the Bitcoin network’s hashrate resides in the United States, the CEO of Twitter and Square, Jack Dorsey, has announced that Square is considering building a “bitcoin mining system based on custom silicon.” Square Considers Building a Mining System On the same day the CFTC fined Tether Limited and Bitfinex, and the filings that give the impression that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Proshares Trust bitcoin futures ETF, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said Square is possibly jumping into the bitcoin mining industry. Dorsey has been a bitcoin proponent for years and he recently explained that Square is in the midst of building a bitcoin hardware wallet in order to “make bitcoin custody more mainstream.” In recent times Dorsey has also said that bitcoin will be a big part of Twitter’s future. He shared a URL link to a book called “Anatomy of the State” by the economist Mu

As the end of 2021 nears, Ross Ulbricht remains in prison as he continues to serve his draconian double-life prison sentence for creating a website called the Silk Road. Ever since he was arrested, there’s been an ongoing effort to free Ulbricht, as a great majority of individuals and a large swathe of eminent organizations believe his sentence was unjust and the Silk Road court case was a complete miscarriage of justice. Ross Ulbricht’s Change.org Clemency Petition Nears 500K Signatures, Georgetown Law Professor: ‘Sentence Was Grossly Excessive’ Over the last 12 months Ulbricht has been updating the public regularly about his well-being, and this past summer he spoke publicly for the first time since 2013. Today, Ulbricht’s clemency petition is closing in on half of a million signatures and the effort is only 51,014 signatures away from reaching the 500K signature goal. Ross Ulbricht is still serving his double-life prison sentence for creating the Silk Road website and his famil

Zimbabwe’s increasingly pro-crypto finance minister, Mthuli Ncube, recently told his colleagues in government that it is now impossible to run away from cryptocurrencies. Ncube said this after revealing that some 30% of the country’s youth are now invested in cryptocurrencies. Zimbabwe Ready to Make Concessions on Cryptos According to a report by the Herald, Ncube also hinted that his ministry is now willing to make certain concessions on cryptocurrencies. However, unlike his recent comments in which he simply extolled cryptocurrencies, Ncube insists that these must not be treated as currencies. He explained: But our view is that we do not want it to be a currency. Want this to be an investment class. So through the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange platform, we will try to create crypto-based products there, which are ring-fenced within the offshore zone. By referencing the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFSE) as the ideal platform for cryptocurrency transactions, Ncube is echoin

During the last few years, prepaid cards that offer cryptocurrency rewards have grown popular and a number of digital asset payment cards offer these types of rewards. This means instead of accruing frequent flyer miles or points, consumers get rewarded in crypto assets every time they make a purchase with the card. A recent study with 1,011 Americans shows that 14% of U.S.-based credit card users want cryptocurrency rewards from their credit cards. Percentage of U.S. Residents Prefer Crypto Asset Card Rewards It’s been a number of years since the introduction of the first prepaid digital currency payment cards that can be loaded with crypto assets in order to make purchases. There’s now a slew of different crypto-infused cards, as some of them leverage the Mastercard payment network and others utilize Visa’s payment infrastructure. After the intro of a few different kinds of crypto cards, companies started to add cryptocurrency rewards to card users for every purchase. For instanc

A bitcoin mining operation in Tennessee is being sued by neighbors due to the high level of noise the facility produces. The lawsuit, which was filed in August, asks mining operator Red Dog to shut down operations and pay personal damages fees, as well as compensate owners for decreased property values. The lawsuit could set a precedent for other cases now that Bitcoin mining companies are seeking to migrate to new zones previously ignored. Bitcoin Mining Operation Faces Noise Complaint Red Dog Technologies, the owner of a Bitcoin mining operation located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, is being sued by a member of a neighboring community due to the amount of noise the operation produces. According to reports from local media, the complaint states that the noise coming from the mine creates a situation that “unreasonably interferes” with the “use and enjoyment” of the plaintiff’s property. Worries about the mine disturbing citizens and the legality of the operation have already be

The price of bitcoin jumped over 8% during the last 24 hours after a number of documents stemming from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) web portal indicated that the Proshares Trust exchange-traded fund (ETF) could be listed as soon as next week. Proshares filed a post-effective amended prospectus on Friday that shows the firm’s intention to launch on Monday, October 18 on NYSE Arca. Bitcoin’s Price Spikes as Strong Signals Suggest Bitcoin Futures ETF Could Launch Next Week The crypto community watched the price of bitcoin (BTC) jump awfully close to the crypto asset’s all-time high on Friday afternoon. During the late afternoon trading sessions, BTC tapped a daily high of $62,945 per unit at around 5:30 p.m. (EST). The reason for this increase is likely due to a number of documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeming to strongly indicate a bitcoin ETF is launching soon. The first signal was from James Seyffart, an analyst at Bloombe

A South African regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), says it welcomes Binance’s decision to stop offering some of its services to South Africans. Productive Consultations In a statement , the FSCA suggested that the move by the cryptocurrency exchange came after it held “productive consultations” with the regulator. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Binance announced it was terminating some of its services in South Africa in order to comply with regulations. In its initial warning that prompted Binance to act, the FSCA alleged that the crypto exchange had contravened certain financial sector laws including the Financial Markets Act (FMA) as well as the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002 (FAIS Act). Therefore, as part of the corrective actions that were demanded by the FSCA, Binance informed South African residents on October 8 that they will not be able to open new accounts for trading derivatives. At the same time, the exchange

Authorities in Estonia are working on new legislation expected to stiffen the rules for the country’s cryptocurrency sector. The Baltic nation’s regulator for the industry is considering whether to revoke previously issued crypto licenses and restart authorization from scratch. Licensed Crypto Companies Register Millions in Turnover, Estonia Gets Little With only around 1.3 million people, Estonia is one of the least populated member states of the European Union and the Eurozone. However, the small nation has become a magnet for a large number of crypto companies attracted by the friendly regulatory regime it established a few years ago. These firms process transactions for more than 20 billion euros, equal to over 40% of the cross-border transfers in the local banking sector, according to an interview with Matis Mäeker who heads the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit ( FIU ). Only one in 10 companies has a bank account in the country. The Estonia-licensed crypto businesses