Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Indian government is reportedly planning to introduce cryptocurrency regulation by the time of the next general Budget, which is in February next year. Instead of banning cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, the government is likely to regulate crypto assets as commodities, according to reports. Indian Crypto Law Could Comes as Early as February The Indian government is planning to introduce cryptocurrency regulation in February next year, local news outlet Business Today reported, elaborating: Finance Ministry officials have told Business Today Television that a law for cryptocurrencies would most likely come around by the time of the next general Budget. The Budget 2022-23 is expected to be presented on Feb. 1 during the first half of the parliament’s Budget session, which usually begins in the last week of January. Furthermore, the government is likely to regulate cryptocurrencies as an asset class, similar to how commodities are regulated, with appropriate taxation on trans...

Operation Dark Huntor, a coordinated international effort on three continents to disrupt opioid trafficking on the darknet, has led to the arrests of 150 people. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the operation has also resulted in the seizure of over $31.6 million in cash and cryptocurrencies. Operation Dark Huntor: 150 Arrests, Crypto and Cash Seized The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday that “Operation Dark Huntor” has resulted in 150 arrests worldwide. In addition, over $31.6 million in cash and cryptocurrencies were seized. The DOJ described Operation Dark Huntor as “a coordinated international effort on three continents to disrupt opioid trafficking on the darknet.” It was conducted across the U.S., Australia, and Europe in partnership between the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) and foreign law enforcement “against the illegal sale of drugs and other illicit goods and services.” Coordination efforts were led by Euro...

A group of U.S. banking regulators is working on how banks can be allowed to offer crypto services and hold cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets. The chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said, “If we don’t bring this activity inside the banks, it is going to develop outside of the banks … The federal regulators won’t be able to regulate it.” US Regulators to Set Clear Rules for Banks to Deal With Crypto Jelena McWilliams, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), told Reuters in an interview at a fintech conference Monday that a team of U.S. bank regulators is working on providing a roadmap for banks to engage with crypto assets. The team comprises the FDIC, the Federal Reserve, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Federal Reserve Vice Chair of Supervision Randal Quarles revealed the collaboration between the three U.S. regulators in May. McWilliams said on a conference panel: My goal in this interagency gr...

Adobe Inc., the American multinational computer software company that’s well known for its platforms like Photoshop and Illustrator, has jumped into the non-fungible token (NFT) universe. According to Adobe chief product officer Scott Belsky in a recent interview with The Verge, “NFTs will change creativity.” New Adobe Photoshop Tool Will Assist NFT Creators in ‘Packaging and Preparing, Along With the Attribution Capabilities’ The software company Adobe has launched a Photoshop tool that allows creators to pre-construct the images for non-fungible token (NFT) applications. On October 26, Scott Belsky, Adobe’s chief product officer, spoke in an interview with The Verge’s Nilay Patel about the firm’s deep dive into the world of NFTs. The new Adobe Photoshop tool will allow users to add specific credentials so popular markets such as Opensea can read the metadata. During the interview with Patel, Belsky said he was bullish about the NFT industry. Belsky disclosed that the ‘prepare a...

PRESS RELEASE. PlanetWatch, a French start-up which decentralizes and incentivizes environmental monitoring, announced that its utility token, PLANETS, will be listed on Oct. 22 on Bitmart. Claudio Parrinello, PlanetWatch’s CEO said: “PlanetWatch is experiencing explosive growth. With over 6,000 sensors already deployed worldwide, we are happy to see PLANETS becoming available worldwide via multiple exchanges.” PlanetWatch is revolutionizing the way people measure air quality and other environmental parameters by leveraging the Algorand Blockchain, IoT-enabled sensors and AI-based data analysis. Dense sensor networks can be activated in any city quickly and cost-effectively by incentivizing local residents to deploy and operate approved sensors and earn token rewards for data streams. PlanetWatch is gaining traction amongst consumers as well as in the corporate world. Following the successful completion of a seed funding round of about 1 million euros back in July, the company is ...

The American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer, Gamestop, is seeking a non-fungible token (NFT)-focused senior software engineer, according to a new job listing. Similar to the recent job listing stemming from the social media services company Reddit, the retail giant Gamestop seems to be building an NFT marketplace. Gamestop Looks to Hire Engineer to Join Company’s NFT/Blockchain Team On October 25, the corporate entity Gamestop, a retail chain of video game merchandise and consumer electronics, published a job listing seeking a senior software engineer for a possible NFT platform. The candidate, if hired, will join Gamestop’s “NFT/Blockchain team.” “Gamestop is looking for a Sr. Software Engineer to join our NFT/Blockchain team,” the company’s job listing notes. “This role will be remote and will collaborate with a team of engineers, product managers, designers, and business partners distributed across the U.S. In this role, you will help design, ...

After fighting in court since 2015, the former hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in prison for conspiring to commit securities fraud and he was forced to pay $7.4 million in fines. One of Shkreli’s prized possessions, an unreleased Wu-Tang Clan album, was seized by the U.S. Marshals and sold for $4 million. Just recently, the public was told that the unreleased record called “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” was sold to the non-fungible token (NFT) collectors syndicate called “Pleasrdao.” The New Owners of ‘Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’ Long ago, the hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli used to live stream and brag about his unreleased Wu-Tang Clan album he purchased at an auction for $2 million in 2015. However, a few years later, Shkreli was sentenced by the U.S. court system for conspiring to commit securities fraud and he was sentenced to seven years. While spending his prison sentence at the low-security Federal prison in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, Shkreli w...

On January 3, 2022, the Bitcoin network will be celebrating its 13th year of life after its creator Satoshi Nakamoto kick-started the protocol. The creator of Bitcoin has always been the community’s most famous and mysterious character. Roughly ten years ago, Satoshi logged off, never to return and it’s very likely the inventor won’t ever come back. Communication Breakdown Satoshi Nakamoto invented the Bitcoin network and released the technology’s white paper on Halloween (October 31) 2008. The paper was authored by “Satoshi Nakamoto” using the email “satoshin@gmx.com” and the creator also attached the web domain name “bitcoin.org” to the paper. The name “Satoshi Nakamoto” is of Japanese descent and it’s widely considered a pseudonym or a falsified name. It is assumed that Nakamoto’s birthday is April 5, 1975, as the date is displayed on the inventor’s P2P Foundation profile. If the birth date is correct, Nakamoto would be 46 years old today. Over the years a great number of sle...

Locations providing crypto ATM services have increased exponentially this year, according to data compiled by a major tracking site. Bitcoin ATMs have doubled in number since January and close to 80 countries now host teller machines exchanging cryptocurrencies with fiat money. Over 30,000 Bitcoin ATMs Operate Around the World In a year when cryptocurrency markets broke all-time highs , the availability of digital coins has increased and bitcoin ATMs have contributed greatly. Their number has recently exceeded 30,000 — more than double the count at the beginning of 2021. Data collected by Coin ATM Radar shows that on Jan. 1, there were 14,016 registered locations supporting automated teller services for leading cryptocurrencies. And, as of Oct. 27, their number has reached a staggering 30,011. These Bitcoin ATMs and other crypto teller services are spread across 76 countries and run by 628 operators, according to the tracking website. The United States is the pronounced leader w...

The Legends of Bezogia , the land where everything always goes up, is a massive open-world sandbox-style game where players can summon their own Bezogi characters from a large selection of different breeds by minting in-game NFTs, which randomly generate Bezogi. Each unique to their own playstyles and lore, Bezogi fight, craft and explore the epic lands of Bezogia. Crypto integrations in the gaming space are becoming ever more sophisticated and Bezoge Earth is taking this to the next level by making The Legends of Bezogia the most comprehensive gaming world where players can interact with the game in numerous ways without actually being obliged to have any cryptocurrencies. The Legends of Bezogia gives the player the power to fully control their character’s destiny in a game that is actually fun to play. The current issue with the crypto gaming space is that the games are just too basic. With a total market cap sitting at $20B, expected to grow exponentially, the NFT gaming indust...

A Nigerian Federal Court judge recently ruled that the two frozen bank accounts belonging to Rise Vest Technologies, which is accused of trading cryptocurrencies, must be reopened. CBN’s Bank Account Freeze Order Dismissed In a ruling that overturns the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s August 17 decision to freeze the bank accounts, Judge Taiwo Taiwo is quoted by The Nation insisting that the central bank could not simply rely on a mere circular when deciding to close an account. In addition, the news outlet quotes the judge explaining in his ruling that the CBN’s February 6 directive to banks is, in fact, not the law. Judge Taiwo notes in his ruling that the CBN had failed to furnish the court with the relevant sections of the law which prove that cryptocurrency trading is indeed illegal. “I have perused the counter affidavit of the Respondent and I see that the reason for freezing the account of the applicant is based on the alleged infraction of the circular of the CBN. The law...

Law enforcement authorities in Ukraine have exposed a crime ring specializing in cryptocurrency theft and laundering of illicit funds for hackers. The gang, which provided services to clients on the darknet, has been dismantled as a result of a joint operation carried out with the United States. Cybercriminals From Ukraine Launder Millions, Offer Flash Drives With Crypto Malware The Cybersecurity Department at the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has recently identified a group of individuals who allegedly laundered tens of millions of dollars from darknet sources, the agency announced. The Ukrainians were legalizing illicit funds on behalf of international hackers, the SBU revealed in a press release published Monday. To launder the money, the suspects organized a large-scale scheme involving fake online identities and fictitious persons. Investigators were able to establish that the funds had been transferred through various financial services. Customers were mostly hackers eng...

Peer-to-peer cryptocurrency marketplace Localbitcoins has announced the launch of a new mobile application for its global user base. The software is designed for devices running on Android. The app has been released in response to a growing number of mobile traders. P2P Crypto Market Localbitcoins Offers Users Android App Popular P2P crypto exchange Localbitcoins has presented a mobile application for traders around the world. The app has been developed for Android users and according to an announcement published on Monday, it has already seen thousands of downloads. Work continues to create an iOS version as well, the marketplace assured. The Helsinki, Finland-headquartered company said it’s launching the app after signing up 1.7 million customers in 2020, most of whom were using mobile devices to access its platform. Quoted in the press release, Localbitcoins Chief Marketing Officer Jukka Blomberg commented: Our new mobile app shows our commitment to our global user base and e...

The European Central Bank (ECB) has appointed an advisory group for the digital euro project. Called the Digital Euro Market Advisory Group, it was founded with 30 members from business backgrounds. The council will have a say in the design, distribution, and value that this new digital currency can provide for the payments ecosystem. The currency could start its development phase in two years. ECB Integrates Digital Euro Advisory Group The European Central Bank has announced the appointment of the Digital Euro Market Advisory Group, an organization that will give council to the bank in terms of how they can add value to the proposal of a central bank digital currency. The ECB called for parties to express their interest in joining the group in June, and the bank filtered and selected the most experienced applicants. Of the individuals that applied, the ECB selected 30 senior business professionals. Among the selected are members of known banking and economic institutions in Europ...

Tether, the operator of one of the leading stablecoins in the crypto market has announced it will commence trials of a system that will allow the company to comply with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) travel rule. The system, that is provided by Notabene, a company that offers ID and travel rule compliance solutions, will allow Tether to automatically communicate travel rule data between Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). Tether Eyes Compliance Solution Tether, the company behind the issuance of the biggest stablecoin by market cap in the cryptocurrency market, USDT , will test trial a solution that will allow it to comply with the travel rule proposed by the Financial Action Task Force. The solution that will be tested, provided by Notabene, a software company that offers compliance solutions, will allow this information to be relayed between VASPs. Tether’s actions are directed to thwart bad actors using USDT to move funds coming from illicit or going to illegal so...

PRESS RELEASE. Blockchain that provides an environment of security, transparency and traceability is an innovative technology that applies in various kinds of life activities. For Africa, it is an opportunity for evolving and making changes. The SimbCity – SimbCoin Swap project, a solution for real estate and finance, is making an impact on the African market with the power of blockchain technology. The project could be viewed as two parts that complement each other, for the real estate part, there is SimbCity project that focuses on booming African tourism industry. In Africa, currently more than 63 million visitors are being received every year, and this number is expected to grow even larger by the year of 2027, which will be astounding 110 million. SimbCity project concentrates on real estate located on popular touristic area of Africa like Kribi, to ensure that it chooses the best locations with minimal expenses and supply reliability for each division. As for the finance part,...

While the blockchain network Solana’s native token has skyrocketed in value this week jumping 31.4%, the Solana-based perpetual swap platform Drift Protocol announced it raised $3.8 million from strategic investors. At the same time, Drift announced the launch of its alpha mainnet after several months of “grind, hard work, debugging, building security guardrails.” Solana Perpetual Swap Exchange Drift Reveals Mainnet Launch, Raises $3.8 Million While centralized exchanges like Binance, FTX, Bybit, and Bitmex offer crypto-based perpetual swaps , decentralized finance (defi) competitors are aiming to take the large amounts of trading volume these trading platforms command. There are a number of decentralized apps (dapps) attempting to move forward in this direction like dYdX, Mango Markets, and MCDEX. On October 25, a Solana-based perpetual swap platform called the Drift Protocol launched its mainnet. “We successfully launched our mainnet at the Solana’s Chicago Hacker House, workin...

Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, has informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a quarterly filing that it may restart the practice of transacting in cryptocurrencies for its products and services. Tesla suspended accepting bitcoin in May, citing environmental concerns. Tesla May Resume Accepting Bitcoin, SEC Filing Shows Tesla Inc. filed a quarterly report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday. The company explained that during the nine months ended Sept. 20, it “purchased an aggregate of $1.50 billion in bitcoin.” In its Q3 earnings report, Tesla’s balance sheet shows bitcoin worth $1.26 billion, after reporting bitcoin-related impairments in the past two quarters. The SEC filing further states that during the three months ended March 31, Tesla “ accepted bitcoin as a payment for sales of certain of our products in specified regions, subject to applicable laws.” However, the company noted that it “suspended this practice in M...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says the SEC v. Ripple case “seems to be going better than expected.” He added that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission “is realizing that attacking crypto is politically unpopular.” Coinbase’s CEO on the Ripple Lawsuit, SEC Attacking Crypto The CEO of the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, commented on the enforcement action against Ripple Labs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday. Referencing a Forbes article titled “The crypto uprising the SEC didn’t see coming,” he tweeted: The Ripple case seems to be going better than expected. Meanwhile, the SEC is realizing that attacking crypto is politically unpopular (because it harms consumers). “The irony is that the people they are supposedly protecting are the ones attacking them,” the Coinbase boss added. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has made a similar statement regarding the SEC. Noting that the regulator is refusing to provide a clear fra...

German authorities are auctioning bitcoin seized from the darknet in cybercrime cases. The auction website reportedly experienced high traffic to bitcoin listings, with 4,000 new registered users over the past few days. German Government Auctioning Seized Bitcoin The Justice Ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s largest state by population, announced Monday an auction of bitcoin seized from criminal cases. Justiz Auktion, the auction website for the ministry, experienced high traffic to the bitcoin listings Monday after the prosecutors began listing the cryptocurrency on the site, Bloomberg reported, adding that the auction platform had 4,000 new registered users in the last few days. The bitcoins were seized in cybercrime and drug trafficking cases, mostly from the darknet, the publication conveyed. Prosecutors in Germany cannot sell seized cryptocurrencies on the market; they are required to auction them like any other seized stolen goods. The Ministry of Justice was qu...

PRESS RELEASE. The revolutionary blockchain-based global point integration platform ASSEMBLE Protocol has announced the listing of its utility token ASM on Coinbase, which has been followed swiftly after the ASM-USD and ASM- USDT pairs were enabled on Coinbase Pro. It is highly expected that this development is going to further boost the global adoption of ASM token and also expose it to the larger potential user base across different countries with its latest listing developments. ASM Listed on Coinbase.com As the leading mainstream cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, Coinbase has become a standard on-ramp for new crypto investors. Coinbase is the NASDAQ listed cryptocurrency exchange, that offers a wide variety of products including cryptocurrency investing, an advanced trading platform, custodial accounts for institutions, a wallet for retail investors, and its own U.S. dollar stable-coin. Coinbase has recently released an announcement that it now supports the ASM-USD...

At the end of July, the product comparison website Finder.com published its research findings from a panel of experts that predicted the crypto asset ethereum would reach $4.5K this year. On October 25, Finder updated its “Ethereum Price Predictions Report” that polled 50 financial technology specialists and ethereum is now expected to reach “$5,114 by the end of this year.” Finder’s Panel Suggests Ethereum Will Be Over $5K by Year’s End Finder, an investing companion application and product comparison website, has published numerous surveys and panel forecasts concerning the growing cryptocurrency economy. The comparison website’s researchers delve into a variety of different crypto assets like bitcoin ( BTC ), litecoin ( LTC ), and ethereum ( ETH ). Last July, Finder’s researchers polled experts in the financial technology (fintech) sector and the group predicted that ether would reach $4.5K by the year’s end and $18,000 by the year 2025. On Monday, Finder.com’s Tim Falk and Ric...

Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady announced on ESPN that he was giving a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan a bitcoin for returning the star quarterback’s 600th touchdown pass ball. However, experts have said that if the fan kept the ball it possibly could have sold for $500K. Tom Brady Announces Intention to Give Fan a Bitcoin in Exchange for His 600th Touchdown Pass Ball On Monday, legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady explained on ESPN that he was giving a Bucs fan, Byron Kennedy, a single bitcoin for returning his 600th touchdown pass. Brady discussed the idea on his Monday Night Football appearance. According to reports, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan was standing near the end zone after Brady and wide receiver Mike Evans completed the touchdown pass. Evans, however, didn’t realize how important the ball was and tossed it to Byron Kennedy after the touchdown. Experts are saying that if Kennedy kept Brady’s 600th touchdown pass football he could have gotten a lot of money for the kee...

In this fall 2021 edition of The Ripple Drop, we explore machine learning’s potential on RippleNet, the exciting developer community that’s building on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and how Central Bank Digital Currencies work and why they can promote financial inclusion. Machine Learning Bolsters Liquidity Speed and Availability on RippleNet Ripple’s SVP of Engineering, Devraj … Continued The post The Ripple Drop: Machine Learning on RippleNet, Developers Building on the XRPL & CBDCs on the XRP Ledger appeared first on Ripple. http://dlvr.it/SBL92d

The market history of non-fungible token (NFT) sales has been steadily expanding during the last three months, according to statistics from nonfungible.com’s historical market data. NFT sales over the past three months have increased by 464% since June 27 and the Binance Smart Chain NFT market called Mochi Marketplace is nearing close to a billion dollars in sales. NFT Sales Climb Steadily Over Last 3 Months Nonfungible.com’s all-time market statistics across the last three months indicate that NFT sales have risen 464.53% since the end of June. Today’s top five NFT markets according to metrics from dappradar.com include Opensea, Axie Infinity, Cryptopunks, Mochi Marketplace, and NBA Top Shot. The leading NFT marketplace Opensea is very close to surpassing $10 billion in all-time sales as metrics show Opensea has seen $9.7 billion settled to date. The popular Sky Mavis-crafted, blockchain-based game Axie Infinity is the second-largest NFT market in terms of sales with $2.74 bill...