Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

OVR launched its new Token Burning Program on 1 November to make its own tokens more rare and valuable. The results of this first month of November saw a total of 246 thousand OVR burned. OVR and the Numbers From the Token Burning Program’s First Month OVR’s updated token economics started on November 1, 2021, after the OVR team burned nearly 1 million of its tokens last May. By the end of last month, the platform had collected a total of 615,365 OVR from its sales of OVRLand NFTs, excluding GAS costs. As anticipated, the Token Burning Program foresees that 40% of the collected OVR are burned, while 10% is used to incentivize OVRLand sales with monthly draws among new OVRLand buyers using Chainlink VRF . And indeed, for this month of November 2021, the total tokens burned amount to 246,146 OVR , while exactly 61,536 OVR have been dedicated to the OVRLand draw on Chainlink . In general, the more OVRLands purchased on Chainlink, the higher the probability of winning the jackp

Authorities in Russia and Ukraine have closed down a number of illegal crypto mining facilities allegedly powered by stolen electricity. The underground farms have been discovered around the capital cities, Kyiv and Moscow, as well as in the Russian republic of Dagestan. Russia Busts Illegal Mining Farms in Moscow Region and Dagestan Russian law enforcement and customs agents have recently uncovered the theft of a large amount of electricity from the network operated by Rosseti in Moscow Oblast, the region adjacent to Russia’s capital. Tass broke the news about the operation this week, quoting Ekaterina Korotkova from the Moscow Interregional Transport Prosecutor’s Office. The official explained: An audit revealed an unauthorized connection to the power grid, theft of electricity and illegal seizure of land for the operation of equipment designed to perform cryptographic calculations related to the mining of digital currencies. The cost of the illegally consumed electricity use

Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s right-hand man, says China did the right thing to “ban” cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. He wishes that cryptocurrencies had never been invented, emphasizing that he will not participate in the crypto boom. He considers “this era even crazier than the dot-com era.” Warren Buffett’s Right Hand Man, Charlie Munger, Wishes Crypto Had Never Been Invented Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, often known as Warren Buffett’s right-hand man, talked about cryptocurrency Friday at the Sohn Hearts and Minds, Australia’s premier investor event. The 97-year-old previously called bitcoin “rat poison” and likened cryptocurrency trading to “trading turds.” Commenting on the current investing environment, he said: I think the dot-com boom was crazier in terms of valuations than even what we have now. But overall, I consider this era even crazier than the dot-com era. Discussing cryptocurrency, Munger said: “I just

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged a citizen of Latvia with defrauding investors in two crypto offerings. The fraudster “used fake names, fictitious entities, and fraudulent profiles to perpetrate his schemes, and misappropriated nearly all of the investor funds that were raised.” Two Fraudulent Crypto Schemes The SEC announced Thursday that it has “charged a Latvian citizen with defrauding hundreds of retail investors out of at least $7 million through two separate fraudulent digital asset securities offerings.” Noting that Ivars Auzins defrauded U.S. and foreign investors, the securities watchdog explained: Auzins allegedly used fake names, fictitious entities, and fraudulent profiles to perpetrate his schemes, and misappropriated nearly all of the investor funds that were raised. His first scheme ran from January through March 2018. “Auzins fraudulently offered and sold unregistered digital tokens as part of an ICO [initial coin offering] of Denaro

The popular American rapper Snoop Dogg revealed at the end of September that he acquired land in the blockchain-based virtual metaverse The Sandbox and had plans to recreate his mansion. On December 2, The Sandbox held a “Snoopverse Land Sale,” which allowed participants to purchase land adjacent to the famous hip hop star’s virtual estate. Plot of Land Next to Snoop’s Virtual Mansion in The Sandbox Metaverse Sells for Six-Digits Two days ago, The Sandbox disclosed it was selling virtual plots of land that are located next to Snoop Dogg’s virtual property. Snoop has been a cryptocurrency advocate for quite some time and in recent days, he revealed he was a non-fungible token (NFT) whale called “Cozomo de’ Medici.” Then at the end of September, Snoop partnered with The Sandbox, a gaming ecosystem where people can create, share and monetize NFTs and gaming experiences on the Ethereum ( ETH ) network. The Sandbox blog post published on Thursday, explains that plots of land in the

As the crypto market shed billions of dollars, El Salvador bought the dip, taking advantage of the falling price of bitcoin early Saturday morning. With the latest buy, El Salvador has purchased a total of 1,370 bitcoins altogether. According to Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, the coins were bought seven minutes before the price of the cryptocurrency bottomed out. El Salvador Buys the Dip: 150 Bitcoins Added to Treasury The price of many cryptocurrencies began plummeting late Friday night, with bitcoin sliding almost 14% from slightly above $52K at 11:42 p.m. EDT to below $45K at 12:28 a.m. based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. At the time of writing, the price of BTC is hovering around $48,040. Taking advantage of the falling price of bitcoin, El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, tweeted at 12:19 a.m. about his country’s latest BTC purchase. “El Salvador just bought the dip! 150 coins at an average USD price of ~$48,670.” He followed up with another tweet a few minutes la

A great number of cryptocurrencies dropped considerably in value during the early morning hours (after 12:00 a.m. EST) on December 4. At the time of writing, the crypto economy is down more than 16% and the price of bitcoin slid below the $50K zone to a low of $43,972 per unit. Since then, bitcoin has managed to climb back to just above the $47K per unit position. Crypto Economy Value Dives Digital currency markets have lost significant value during the last 24 hours as billions have left the crypto economy in a matter of hours. Currently, the crypto economy and its 11,388 coins in existence have lost more than 16% in USD value. Bitcoin ( BTC ) slipped from the $53K per unit region to $43.9K during the first hour of Saturday morning. The downward slide took BTC down 17.16% but the crypto asset has since regained 7.28% following the market carnage. BTC has managed to rise above the $47K region and has an overall market valuation of around $895 billion. Seven-day statistics indicat

PRESS RELEASE. MetaGods, the world’s first play-to-earn 8-bit action role-playing game built on the blockchain, has raised $3 million USD in funding from supporting investors. Numerous investors and partners have partnered with the initiative to combine blockchain technology and the fast growing gaming sector to revolutionize the world of non-fungible tokens. MetaGods is the world’s first blockchain-based 8-bit action RPG. Players will be able to build their own avatars based on mythologies and acquire unique characters and skills. In addition to fighting dangerous monsters, the MetaGods blockchain will enable players to trade virtual goods for cryptocurrency – giving them a chance to earn something real from their adventures in a digital world. The project is grateful for its incredible investors: Hashed, Mr Beast, ABV, Cinchblock, BoxMining, Faculty Capital, Raptor Capital, CoinUnited, Magnus Capital, Banter Capital & Icetea Labs for their support. This remarkable group of i

The recent movements in the treasury of Terra, a decentralized financial payment network, which is now burning more than $4 billion worth of LUNA due to a governance proposal, have seemingly made the price of the asset rise to all-time high (ATH) levels. This rise has been also accompanied by new proposals to further cement the stability of its stablecoin, UST. Do Kwon, head of Terraform Labs, hinted at the inclusion of a bitcoin reserve to safeguard UST’s dollar peg. LUNA Booming The recent changes in the issuance model of Terra, which were brought by the recent Columbus 5 update, seem to have been successful in fostering the growth of the currency of the network, LUNA. The price of its native asset, LUNA, has grown significantly, reaching ATH levels at $69.59 yesterday, recording an increase in the price of more than 50% during the last week. One of the most interesting choices taken by the cryptocurrency project was the burn of more than $4 billion worth of LUNA that was held

A paper published by the European Central Bank (ECB) discusses various conditions for successful implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) such as the eurozone’s own digital euro. The authors also point to different risks that such projects entail, like the danger of crowding out the private sector. ECB: Digital Euro Should Be Widely Used for Payments, Not Investment In order to create a successful CBDC , a monetary authority needs to establish the digital currency as a widespread means of payment and exchange that also has a sufficient store of value function, according to the paper released by the European Central Bank. At the same time, central banks need to ensure that currencies like the digital euro do not turn into a significant means of investment, crowd out private payment solutions, or undermine the banking sector’s intermediation role. The document, which was published this week, is authored by three high-ranking ECB officials — Fabio Panetta, Ulrich Bin

A recent paper authored by members of several universities, including Sydney and Macquarie, argues that recent changes in Ethereum monetary policy are making it a better store of value than bitcoin. The deflationary effect that the EIP-1559 proposal has caused in the issuance of the currency is said to be the main cause of this. Ethereum in the Spotlight A new paper released by members of Australian universities last month is putting the spotlight on Ethereum and its possible future as a store of value. The paper , titled “Better than Bitcoin? Can cryptocurrencies beat inflation?,” is authored by Ester Félez-Viñas of the University of Technology in Sydney and other academics, and compares the issuance of Bitcoin with the new issuance model of Ethereum, that is making the currency deflationary. The paper states: We show that following the recent change in its transactions protocol, the digital currency Ethereum displays a significantly lower net issuance rate of tokens than Bitcoi

Binance has named three former housemates from the popular Nigerian reality television show “Big Brother Naija” as the cryptocurrency exchange’s brand ambassadors for the African continent. Bringing Crypto to the Mainstream Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance has said as part of its plan to increase its foothold on the African continent, it has partnered with three former Big Brother Naija housemates. The exchange said the three former housemates, Hazel Oyeze Onou, Ikechukwu Sunday Okonkwo, and Pere Egbi will help it bring crypto to the mainstream. In a statement published by Techpoint Africa, Binance director for Africa Emmanuel Babalola explained the rationale for choosing the three individuals, and how their efforts are going to help the exchange achieve some of its goals. Babalola stated: “Our goal is to make people understand crypto and ease the process of bringing it into their daily lives. One of the things we have seen is how these influencers and their stories embody

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has seized bitcoin worth more than $2.2 million tied to ransomware payments. The cryptocurrency allegedly belongs to an affiliate of Gandcrab and Revil/Sodinokibi ransomware. US Seizes Bitcoin Worth Over $2 Million The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has seized almost 40 bitcoins from a Russian resident tied to Revil and Gandcrab ransomware, according to a court document unsealed Tuesday. The forfeiture complaint reads: The United States of America files this verified complaint in rem against 39.89138522 bitcoin seized from Exodus wallet … that is now located and in the custody and management of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Dallas Division. At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is around $56,318.06 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. The amount seized totals almost $2.247 million. The seizure took place on Aug. 3. While the FBI did not reveal how it gained access to the wallet, the court document explains

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), the British defense and security think tank, questions whether or not non-fungible token (NFT) assets can be used for money laundering purposes. The report determines that in order to mitigate the money laundering risks a ‘know your customer’ monitoring system “needs to be implemented.” RUSI: ‘NFT Technology Can Raise Alarm Bells From a Money Laundering and Financial Crime Perspective’ The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies otherwise known as RUSI , was founded in 1831 and it is the oldest defense and security think tank worldwide. On December 2, RUSI published a report that covers the subject of non-fungible token (NFT) assets and the RUSI researchers ask whether or not NFTs can contribute to money laundering schemes. “This technology can raise alarm bells from a money laundering and financial crime perspective,” RUSI warns. “To start with, NFTs are most often purchased with cryptocurrencies on online marke

Senator Elizabeth Warren has written a letter to the CEO of the New York bitcoin mining firm Greenidge Generation, Jeff Kirt, asking for details on the company’s emissions. Warren’s letter insists “Greenidge and other [bitcoin mining] plants raise concerns about their impacts on the global environment.” Elizabeth Warren Takes Aim at Bitcoin Mining Operations The former law professor and the United States Democratic Party senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren , has taken aim at cryptocurrency mining operations after she criticized digital currency markets in recent times. In mid-September, Warren pressed the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate increasing digital currency oversight. Warren has also denounced cryptocurrency mining in the past and she has cited bitcoin mining’s environmental impact on many occasions. On December 2, Warren shared a letter she sent to the CEO of the New York bitcoin mining firm Greenidge Generation Holdings ,

Originally launched on June 15 th , 2021, EverRise is a blockchain technology company that offers bridging and security solutions across multiple chains through an ecosystem of decentralized applications. With their RISE token, they were the first to bring the buyback to crypto. Since then, the buyback mechanic has become standard in space with countless forks. EverRise v2.0 EverRise is working on bringing their ecosystem of dApps to as many blockchains as possible to increase adoption of safety protocols across all DeFi. Keeping that in mind, EverRise, have recently gone live with version 2 of their contract on Monday, November 29 th at 11:00pm UTC. The upgraded contract features several noteworthy innovations and changes. A representative from Certik.io noted in an update to the EverRise community, “The upgraded EverRise contract is a technological tour de force. The Certik team is impressed with the level of innovation and engineering.” The new RISE token will be available o

During the last few months, the Smartbch project has swelled with numerous projects, custom tokens, and the total-value locked (TVL) in five Smartbch decentralized exchange (dex) platforms has jumped more than 180% since November 3. Smartbch Defi TVL Climbs 180% in a Month — Bitcoin Cash Universe Now Has 5 Dex Platforms Eight months ago, bitcoin cash ( BCH ) proponents were introduced to a new website ( smartbch.org ) that featured a project called Smart Bitcoin Cash or Smartbch for short. Smartbch is a Bitcoin Cash sidechain that is compatible with Ethereum’s EVM and Web3 API, but further allows people to interact with smart contracts and custom tokens for extremely low data transfer fees. Chain statistics in terms of total-value locked in decentralized finance (defi) indicates that Smartbch has $36 million in value today. That’s more than 180% higher than the Smartbch TVL of $12.9 million recorded on November 3. At that time, the metrics that derived from defillama.com, indica

The crypto firm Blockchain.com is joining the slew of digital currency exchanges that have launched non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces in recent times. On December 2, the company announced it is launching the Blockchain.com NFT marketplace, and select users can sign up for beta access today. Blockchain.com NFT Marketplace Launches Beta Access Non-fungible token (NFT) assets have become a billion-dollar industry and it seems like this technology will be a mainstay for years to come. As the NFT hype grows exponentially in 2021, a number of crypto-asset exchanges have launched NFT markets this year. Well-known exchanges like Crypto.com, Coinbase, and FTX have revealed NFT markets in the midst of giant standalone NFT markets like Opensea and Rarible . Now Blockchain.com , the cryptocurrency-dedicated financial services company, has announced its NFT marketplace. “We want to make accessing the NFT market as easy as accessing the crypto market,” Blockchain.com’s announcement details.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says that she has not made up her mind about whether the Fed should issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC). “There are some benefits” to a digital dollar, Yellen said, but noted that “there are also meaningful costs.” Janet Yellen Has Not Decided Whether the Fed Should Develop a Digital Dollar Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday during an interview at the Reuters Next conference that she has not formed an opinion about whether the Federal Reserve should create a digital dollar. She explained that the decision would require broad consensus among Congress, the central bank, and the White House. The treasury secretary believes that more study is needed on the advantages and disadvantages of having a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the U.S., including its effects on the banking system. Yellen opined: I see both pros and cons to doing it. And my own mind is not made up about this. According to the Atlantic Council’s Ge

India is no longer planning to ban cryptocurrency, a cabinet note circulated by the government reportedly indicates. Activities relating to crypto assets will be regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Crypto Will Not Be Banned in India, Cabinet Note Indicates Despite reports of the Indian government planning to ban cryptocurrencies, NDTV reported Thursday that a cabinet note circulated by the government indicates that cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin and ether, will not be banned. Emphasizing that cryptocurrency is not recognized as legal currency in India, the publication noted: The legislation also describes cryptocurrency as cryptoasset. According to the cabinet note, crypto exchange platforms will be regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the regulatory body for securities and commodity markets in India under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance. In addition, “A cut-off date will be prescribed for those having cryptoa

Roskomnadzor, the government body responsible for oversight of communications in Russia, is taking steps to block six more VPN providers. The move comes after the agency cut access earlier this year to a number of VPN services helping Russians to reach “banned” information. Roskomnadzor Moves to Block More VPNs in Russia The Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media ( Roskomnadzor ) is preparing to restrict another six VPN platforms active in the country. The targeted providers are Betternet, Lantern, X-VPN, Cloudflare Warp, Tachyon VPN, and Privatetunnel. VPN services such as those listed provide Russian residents with an option to bypass government restrictions and gain access to information that is prohibited by the law in Russia, Forklog noted in a report quoting Roskomnadzor’s announcement . In a growing number of cases, Russian authorities have treated crypto-related content as banned. In June, a court in the Perm regi

Discussions on the future of “virtual currency exchangers” in Russia should be completed in 2022, a high-ranking representative of the country’s financial watchdog has indicated. Following international standards, authorities in Moscow would have to either regulate or ban such platforms. Decision on Digital Currency Exchangers in Russia Expected Next Year Considerations regarding the regulatory treatment of online exchangers working with cryptocurrencies must come to an end in 2022. That’s according to a statement by the Deputy Director of Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service ( Rosfinmonitoring ) Herman Neglyad, quoted by Tass. At this year’s Banking Legal Conference, the official noted that in the light of efforts to manage risks associated with money laundering and terrorist financing under the national risk assessment adopted in 2018, virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies are recognized as a high risk factor for Russia’s financial space. Neglyad also emphasized: Her

Marathon Digital Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed bitcoin mining-based company, has announced a new deal with Compute North, a data center service provider, to host more than 100,000 mining machines in its data centers. The deal is an expansion of an earlier deal that secured positioning for 73,000 mining machines in Texas. Now, the new partnership secures hosting for all of these machines, to be powered with renewables. Marathon Expands Mining Operations Marathon, one of the largest bitcoin mining companies in the U.S., has announced it will expand its prior agreement with Compute North to host more than 100K miners in data centers around the country. The former agreement secured hosting for 73K miners in several data centers managed by Compute North, which is a Tier 0 data center service provider. The partnership also includes the installation, operations, and deployments of Marathon’s existing and new mining facilities. With this partnership, Marathon will position all of its mining m

PRESS RELEASE. Abu Dhabi, UAE – Empire Token’s flagship utility, the Empire NFT Marketplace, is now live on the Ethereum mainnet. The Ethereum Blockchain is a global computing platform and operating system which can be used to create decentralized services and applications. Fortunately, the bright future of this blockchain now has Empire on its side. NFT creators and traders can now use Ethereum coin and Ethereum based tokens to mint and trade NFTs on the Empire NFT Marketplace. Projects that are powered by Ethereum may include anything from smart contracts, voting systems, decentralized exchanges, and much more. Constructing a bridge to the Ethereum Blockchain will be the building blocks for exciting applications to come to the Empire Ecosystem. Empire NFT Marketplace expansion to Solana is likewise around the corner. Solana is a company that offers enterprise-grade blockchain solutions to meet the increasing demands of enterprises. Solana is a high-performance blockchain that’s de

Hashed, a Korean blockchain VC firm, has announced the launch of Hashed Venture Fund II, a new fund that will focus on investing in Web 3.0-based startups. The fund raised $200 million for these investments, and while the company did not disclose those who participated, it did announce it will be scaling operations to have a more global impact. Hashed Focused on Web 3 Investments Hashed, one of the biggest blockchain-based VC firms in Korea, has announced the launch of a new fund that will focus on Web 3.0 investments. Hashed disclosed its new fund, called Hashed Venture Fund II, would open with $200 million available to incubate startups in the Web 3.0 arena, including play-to-earn initiatives and decentralized finance companies. With this fund, Hashed wants to expand its influence and reach a global scale, connecting with creators in places not contemplated before. Hashed’s announcement, written by partner Baek Kim, states: We are carefully scaling our impact in key markets. I

PRESS RELEASE. On the back of a big year for CoinFLEX, the crypto derivatives exchange that now powers the Bitcoin.com exchange, has just launched its brand ambassador initiative to expand its global community. CoinFLEX’s first brand ambassador is world-renowned poker star, Doug Polk . Doug Polk is one of poker’s most well-known superstars, having won over $9.5 million in live tournaments and more recently booking a win for $1.2 million in a heads-up competition versus fellow poker pro Daniel Negreanu. Doug is just as well known for his skills “away from the felt” as a content creator and educator as he is for being a card shark. Some may know Doug from his crypto youtube channel , which gained 150,000+ subscribers in 2017. He also built one of poker’s most beloved youtube channels , amassing over 350,000 subscribers and over 1.3 billion views across his four YouTube channels. Doug discovered crypto during his poker career when he needed a simple way to move money around the worl