Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

PRESS RELEASE. Palo Alto, October 18, 2021 – LTNM, the next generation insured asset-backed cryptocurrency, continues to gain momentum and expand its global acceptance as it announced today it will be listed on FMFW.io Exchange (formerly known as Bitcoin.com Exchange), a top-tier cryptocurrency exchange. This represents a milestone for both parties – one where LTNM will list on one of the world’s leading exchanges, while FWFW.io will be the second crypto exchange to list it. LTNM will be available for trading with BTC and USDT pairs, and the official trading is expected to start at the end of November 2021. LTNM is an insured asset-backed cryptocurrency developed by Monsoon Blockchain Corporation on behalf of a foundation. LTNM is a greener, faster, and more secure version of Bitcoin, capable of managing massive crypto transactions while being highly efficient in terms of cost and scalability. As a revolutionary new Bitcoin blockchain-based token, LTNM focuses on efficiently servin

The digital currency exchange FTX Trading Limited announced the firm has raised more than $420 million in a Series B-1 fundraise. The capital raise follows the crypto exchange’s financing round at the end of July when FTX raised $900 million. After the raise was announced on October 21, FTX said the firm’s estimated valuation is around $25 billion today. Crypto Exchange Giant FTX Raises $420 Million in Series B-1 On Thursday, the crypto asset exchange FTX revealed it raised more funds in a Series B-1 financing round. The company raised $420 million from 69 different investors. According to the announcement, FTX said Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, via its Teachers’ Innovation Platform, Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sea Capital, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners participated in the latest financing. Moreover, in addition to the $900 capital raise in July , FTX said Temasek participated in the original Series B round and pushed the

Pimco, an asset manager with $2.2 trillion under management, is looking to start trading cryptocurrencies. “We’re trading from a relative value perspective,” the firm’s chief investment officer said. Pimco’s clients include central banks, sovereign wealth funds, public and private pension funds, financial and non-financial corporations, foundations, and endowments. Pimco Getting Into Crypto Pimco’s chief investment officer, Daniel Ivascyn, told CNBC in an interview Wednesday that his company is looking to trade digital assets, noting that some of its hedge fund portfolios are already investing in crypto-linked securities. Pimco, an asset management subsidiary of Allianz Group, is a global leader in fixed income, its website details. Pimco manages $2.2 trillion in assets as of June 30. Its clients include central banks, sovereign wealth funds, public and private pension funds, financial and non-financial corporations, foundations and endowments, financial advisors, family offices, a

Tesla is currently holding bitcoin worth $1.26 billion on its balance sheet, the company’s third-quarter earnings report shows. The electric car company reported a bitcoin-related impairment of $51 million in the quarter. Meanwhile, CEO Elon Musk tweeted a meme showing the price of bitcoin at $69K and ether at $4.2K. Tesla Continues to Hold Bitcoin on Balance Sheet Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA), released its third-quarter earnings report Wednesday. The company posted $13.757 billion in revenue, a 57% increase from the same period last year. It wrote: “The third quarter of 2021 was a record quarter in many respects. We achieved our best-ever net income, operating profit and gross profit.” Tesla’s balance sheet shows net digital assets of $1.26 billion as of Sept. 30, down from $1.311 billion at the end of the second quarter. Tesla reported a bitcoin-related impairment of $51 million in Q3. Tesla’s cash flow statement still shows that the only BTC purchase

The $5.5 billion pension fund for the U.S. city of Houston’s firefighters has announced an investment in bitcoin and ether. “This investment marks the first announced investment in digital assets by a public pension plan in the U.S.” ‘A Watershed Moment for Bitcoin and Its Place in Public Pensions’ The Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund (HFRRF), the pension fund for the city of Houston’s firefighters, announced Thursday that it had purchased bitcoin and ether for the defined benefit plan’s portfolio. The announcement describes: This investment marks the first announced investment in digital assets by a public pension plan in the U.S. According to Bloomberg, the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund has $5.5 billion in assets and it invested $25 million in bitcoin and ether. The investment was facilitated by the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), a bitcoin investment arm of Stone Ridge Asset Management. The HFRRF pension fund handles retirement b

MCO2 is a carbon credit token traded by Moss.Earth. One MCO2 token is equivalent to one carbon credit. It is now possible to find this asset available on the largest exchanges on the planet, such as Gemini . The token goes through several processes to guarantee the security and reliability of the product. MCO2 Is the First Carbon Credit Based Token on Gemini The MCO2 token is an asset that makes the carbon credit market more democratic, secure, dynamic, and liquid. Carbon credits are no longer just an extra expense for companies that pollute, they are an asset that can be sold globally on international exchanges. By using blockchain and digital wallets, Moss.Earth have increased transparency in transactions and enhanced security in trading these assets. There are clear trends that strongly support market growth coupled with the entry of individuals and civil society organizations into the financial market. You can now buy and trade MCO2 on Gemini here . How Can I Contribute to th

On October 20, the iconic rap star Snoop Dogg announced he’s participating in a non-fungible token (NFT) sitcom with the popular basketball team the Harlem Globetrotters. According to the announcement, the NFT drop is part of a campaign featuring a limited edition Snoop Dogg and Globetrotters NFT collection. NFT Whale Snoop Dogg Partners With the Harlem Globetrotters It’s well known that the musician and American rapper Snoop Dogg is a fan of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible token (NFT) assets. In recent times, the crypto community discovered that Snoop was a crypto whale with a large collection of NFTs in his portfolio. This was after the hip-hop star said bitcoin was “here to stay” and lauded the innovations behind non-fungible token technology. Snoop also partnered with Crypto.com when it launched its NFT marketplace and recently the rapper partnered with the NFT blockchain virtual world The Sandbox. On Wednesday evening (EDT), the rapper revealed that he partnered with the

A Senate committee in Australia has made a number of proposals to address the lack of proper regulations for the cryptocurrency space. The lawmakers believe the country needs new rules for its fintech and digital asset industries to be able to compete with jurisdictions that are already attracting some of its own crypto firms. Senate Committee Calls for Accommodating Crypto Rules in Australia The rapid expansion of the crypto space has caught many governments by surprise, but while other nations are already providing market participants with some regulatory clarity, Australia is yet to introduce more specific rules for related industries. According to the Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre, which has published a new report on the matter, updated regulations should allow the country to drive innovation. The committee has put forward a set of recommendations for dealing with issues in key areas affecting the competitiveness of Australia’s tech, financ

Today, we’re excited to share new milestones in our partnership with Tranglo — following our intent to acquire a 40% stake in Asia’s leading cross-border payments specialist in March 2021 to scale the footprint of RippleNet, Ripple’s global financial network, in the region and beyond. The partnership has demonstrated significant momentum within six months, with Tranglo launching its first live … Continued The post Ripple and Tranglo Singapore’s Partnership Scales to New Heights in Asia-Pacific appeared first on Ripple. http://dlvr.it/SB2rR9

The crypto economy has come awfully close to nearing the $3 trillion handle as far as the value of all 10,000+ crypto assets is concerned. Today, crypto market aggregation sites show the entire crypto-economy at $2.756 trillion is worth more than the value of Apple’s market cap at $2.467. Furthermore, the top ten crypto-asset exchanges, in terms of cryptocurrencies held in reserves, hold more than $200 billion or 7.47% of the entire crypto economy. 10 Centralized Crypto Exchanges Hold 7.47% of Crypto Economy’s Value in Custody Digital currencies are far more valuable today than they were a month ago and the crypto economy is coming close to topping $3 trillion in value. The whole crypto-economy surpassed Apple’s overall worth this past week as bitcoin ( BTC ) became the sixth-most valuable asset on earth and ethereum ( ETH ) is now the 15th-largest global asset. While BTC has a $1.2 trillion market cap, ETH commands a market valuation of over $500 billion. Meanwhile, the top ten

After bitcoin reached its all-time high (ATH) on Wednesday, the second-largest crypto asset in terms of market capitalization, ethereum, is nearing its own ATH. The last time the crypto asset hit an ATH was five months ago on May 12. Ethereum Climbs 46% in 30 Days, Commands Half Trillion Market Cap The digital currency ethereum ( ETH ) came awfully close to surpassing its all-time high this week, reaching $4,379 per unit on the exchange Deribit. That’s only 0.1141% away from the ATH ethereum tapped five months ago ($4,384) on May 12, 2021. Ethereum’s market movements have been slower over the last week, taking a backseat to bitcoin ( BTC ) after the first U.S.-based bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) was launched. Three days after the listing, ethereum and a slew of other crypto assets started to pick up the pace in terms of market performance. Seven-day statistics show ethereum is up 21.0% this week and during the last month, ether has risen 46.5%. Year-to-date, ether has gained

Nigeria’s company registration agency, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), reportedly rejected an application for registration by a start-up on the basis that blockchain is yet to be recognized by the Nigerian government. Decision Disappoints Blockchain Community According to a report , the unnamed start-up, which is building an API connection for blockchain gaming rewards, was told the agency will only process the application once the reference to blockchain technology is resolved. The CAC reportedly wrote: “Blockchain is yet to be recognised by the Nigerian government, kindly expunge.” As expected, the decision has angered some members of Nigeria’s blockchain community. One of those expressing their disappointment with the CAC is Adedeji Owonibi, the founder and COO at Convexity, a blockchain incubating hub. As the report by Cryptoassetbuyer explains, Owonibi’s displeasure with the agency stems from the fact that CAC is one of the 27 institutions in Nigeria that are supposed

After the Proshares Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund (ETF) listed and smashed records in the first two days of trading, Vaneck’s bitcoin futures ETF was given the green light to start trading next week. Furthermore, sources say that the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF is set to launch this week with a possible listing on Friday. Proshares Bitcoin ETF Smashes Records October is the month of bitcoin exchange-traded funds as the United States approved the first ETF last week. Proshares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSE: BITO ) listed on Tuesday and saw close to $1 billion in volume on its first day of trading. The following day, BITO continued to perform remarkably and bitcoin (BTC) spot markets tapped a new lifetime price high at $67,017 per unit. If $BITO keeps up this pace of inflows it wont have any futures left to buy by the end of the month due to pos limits (via rough back of envelope calc w/ @JSeyff ). https://t.co/KauFuaPzhb — Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 21,

A sizable majority of young investors seeking high-risk opportunities are motivated by competition and hype, a new survey has indicated. They often turn to cryptocurrency and forex products, according to the poll conducted by the U.K.’s financial regulator. FCA Launches ‘Investsmart’ Campaign Targeting Risk Prone Investors The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA ) has carried out new research into the attitudes of young investors towards high-risk products. The watchdog has surveyed 1,000 respondents, aged between 18 and 40, as it launches a 5-year campaign to reach out to inexperienced investors that could cost the British taxpayer £11 million ($15 million). Through the poll, the regulator has been able to establish that many of these investors are driven by competition with friends and family members when investing in cryptocurrency and forex. Three-quarters of the surveyed, 76%, said they felt a sense of competitiveness while two-thirds, or 68%, likened the experience to ga

On Wednesday, the global developer utilizing popular brands, gamification, A.I., blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and mobile technology, Animoca Brands announced the company has closed a capital raise for $65 million. Animoca Brands now has an overall valuation of $2.2 billion after raising funds from firms like Liberty City Ventures, Ubisoft Entertainment, Sequoia China, and Dragonfly Capital. Animoca Brands Raises $65 Million In July, Animoca Brands announced the company raised $138.88 million in order to deliver digital property rights via non-fungible token (NFT) technology. The company Animoca Brands was co-founded by Yat Siu in January 2014 and in recent times the company has been focused on blockchain gaming and NFTs. Animoca Brands has backed Sky Mavis the creators of Axie Infinity and the leading NFT marketplace in terms of trade volume Opensea . “Animoca Brands is bringing digital property rights to online users, primarily for consumer video game players and the

There was a time when space travels showed only on screens and dreams about Mars seemed out of this planet. Welcome to the present, then it has become real. Now You can own a piece of the Red Planet by participating in the Mars Land NFT sale running on Ethereum. Touch the red earth, take the first step, discover the water, or grow the first plant on Mars. MARS4 – How is it unique? Mars4 – centered ecosystem where you can explore a virtual Mars Metaverse, own and customize your land property with MARS4 Tokens and even reap the rewards of the world’s first revenue-generating NFT! Attractive tokenomics of Mars4 leverages NFT Mars Land, Gamification, and Token Redistribution. The Mars4 project’s development team has modeled a detailed 3D map of Mars’ terrain after NASA’s Mars data. Think of it as Mars’ equivalent of the 2001 Google Earth 3D map. The total area of the Red Planet is divided into 99.888 unique land plots, each represented by a unique NFT. Mars4 is a platform that allows

On October 20, the day bitcoin smashed a new all-time price high, the real estate platform Pacaso announced it will be accepting cryptocurrencies via Bitpay. The CEO of the real estate firm that helps people buy and co-own a second home, Austin Allison, says the firm has seen increased crypto adoption “across the real estate industry.” Real Estate Platform Pacaso Now Supports Crypto Payments The firm Pacaso is a real estate platform co-founded by Spencer Rascoff and Austin Allison. Rascoff is well known for co-founding Zillow Group and co-founding Hotwire.com as well. In October 2020, Rascoff co-founded Pacaso with Allison, and the company is considered a real estate platform that makes owning a second home easier by leveraging shared ownership. Pacaso’s business model is similar to the timeshare model but it’s also a touch different. “Forget timeshares, with Pacaso, you own a home, not just a block of time,” the company’s website details. “You can book stays throughout the year,

Billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones says that bitcoin is currently “winning the race against gold.” He added that the cryptocurrency is his preferred inflation hedge over gold. Paul Tudor Jones Chooses Bitcoin Over Gold Paul Tudor Jones, the founder of asset management firm Tudor Investment Corp., talked about bitcoin being his preferred hedge against inflation in an interview with CNBC Wednesday. He said: Clearly, there’s a place for crypto. Clearly, it’s winning the race against gold at the moment … It would be my preferred one over gold at the moment. “I’ve got crypto in single digits in my portfolio,” he continued. “I do think we are moving into an increasingly digitized world.” Jones said he is worried about rising inflation, noting that it’s posing a major threat to the U.S. financial markets and the recovering Covid-hit economy. The price of bitcoin surpassed all-time highs Wednesday after the first bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S. star

A group of U.S. senators has asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to discontinue his company’s crypto wallet pilot and commit to not bringing the cryptocurrency Diem to market. “Facebook cannot be trusted to manage a payment system or digital currency when its existing ability to manage risks and keep consumers safe has proven wholly insufficient,” the lawmakers said. US Senators Urge Facebook to Stop Crypto Wallet Pilot U.S. Senators Brian Schatz, Sherrod Brown, Richard Blumenthal, Elizabeth Warren, and Tina Smith wrote a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding the company’s cryptocurrency project Tuesday after the social media giant launched a pilot for its crypto wallet Novi. Facebook has chosen the Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase as its custody partner for the pilot . “Novi users who can participate in the pilot can acquire pax dollar (USDP) through their Novi account, which Novi will hold on deposit with Coinbase Custody. Novi users will then be able to transfer

Cboe is acquiring Erisx to enter the crypto spot and derivatives markets. “With Erisx, in a single step, Cboe is able to enter the digital asset spot, data, derivatives, and clearing ecosystem. Now is the right time to fully embrace and help define this emerging asset class,” said Cboe’s chief operating officer. Cboe Entering Crypto Spot and Derivatives Markets Cboe Global Markets Inc. (Cboe: CBOE) announced Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Eris Digital Holdings LLC (Erisx). Erisx’s futures exchange and clearing house are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In addition, its clearing house is registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and licensed in many U.S. states and territories. Noting that “Erisx operates a U.S. based digital asset spot market, a regulated futures exchange, and a regulated clearing house,” the announcement details: Ownership of Erisx provides Cboe with entry to digital asset spot and derivatives market

Soldex is thrilled to announce that it has officially partnered with Speqto Technologies to accelerate the development of it’s decentralized exchange (DEX) solution, and to build and program the A.I.-powered bots, that form part of the services offered by Soldex to the public. Speqto Technologies were selected as the vendor due to their extensive expertise in building Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) and A.I. trading bots. Soldex has confirmed that the partnership has already been finalized and that the two companies are well underway in the development process of the following features: Token Smart Contract Wallet APIs and Integrations DEX Development Staking Smart Contracts and Integrations Web Applications AI Bots implementation About Speqto Technologies Speqto Technologies Pvt Ltd. is a world-class service provider in Software technology and innovations. With over 6+ years of expertise in building safely operated and word-class Web, Mobile, CMS, CRM, ERP, Blockchain, AI

The wealth manager Vaneck will be launching its bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States following the Proshares ETF listing that launched on Tuesday. According to the post-effective filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Vaneck bitcoin futures ETF launch is approved to be listed after October 23. Vaneck’s Bitcoin Futures ETF Is the Second US Fund to Get Approval From Regulators This week, the Proshares Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund ( BITO ) launched with a lot of fanfare and the ETFs volume broke records on Tuesday. The following day, bitcoin ( BTC ) spot markets smashed an all-time price (ATH) at $67,017 per unit. Additionally, the wealth manager Vaneck published its bitcoin futures ETF post-effective filing on Wednesday which indicates that the SEC has green-lighted the listing on NYSE Arca. The Vaneck Bitcoin Strategy ETF’s ticker will be “XBTF” and the fund leverages cash-settled bitcoin futures contracts. The Vaneck

The U.S. Department of the Treasury says that the growing use of crypto assets challenges the efficacy of American sanctions. “We are mindful of the risk that, if left unchecked, these digital assets and payments systems could harm the efficacy of our sanctions,” the Treasury Department explained. Treasury Says Crypto Threatens Efficacy of U.S. Sanctions The U.S. Department of the Treasury released its 2021 Sanctions Review Monday. “Technological innovations such as digital currencies, alternative payment platforms, and new ways of hiding cross-border transactions all potentially reduce the efficacy of American sanctions,” the report details, elaborating: While sanctions remain an essential and effective policy tool, they also face new challenges including rising risks from new payments systems, the growing use of digital assets, and cybercriminals. “We are mindful of the risk that, if left unchecked, these digital assets and payments systems could harm the efficacy of our sanc

On Wednesday, just before bitcoin surpassed the digital asset’s all-time high (ATH), the crypto analyst known as “Techdev” says the “2-week chart looks strong and ready for much higher highs.” Just 26 days ago, Techdev said that “$200-300K bitcoin looks almost too programmed” and this week, the analyst noted that we are “nowhere near a top.” Bullish Forecasters Rejoice Over Correct Predictions — ‘$200-300K Bitcoin Looks Almost Too Programmed’ The leading digital currency bitcoin ( BTC ) has been on a tear during the last few weeks as it has continuously gained value week over week. It’s safe to say that September wasn’t the greatest month for BTC , and October was a complete reversal. Throughout bitcoin’s lifetime, traditionally the last three months of the year are notable times when BTC sees significant gains. 23 hours ago, on October 19, the notorious bitcoin analyst Plan B tweeted a checkmark after BTC tapped $63K on Tuesday, because of the prediction he made on June 20. A