Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

In less than two weeks after its previous bitcoin purchase, Microstrategy bought more bitcoins. The company has added 1,434 coins to its treasury, bringing the total holdings to 122,478 coins. At the time of writing, the company’s total bitcoin stash is worth about $6 billion. Microstrategy Purchases 1,434 More Bitcoins The Nasdaq-listed company Microstrategy has purchased more bitcoin. CEO Michael Saylor announced Thursday: Microstrategy has purchased an additional 1,434 bitcoins for ~$82.4 million in cash at an average price of ~$57,477 per bitcoin. As of 12/9/21 we hodl ~122,478 bitcoins acquired for ~$3.66 billion at an average price of ~$29,861 per bitcoin. Before this latest purchase, Microstrategy bought 7,002 bitcoins at the end of November. At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is $48,736.87 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. This means Microstrategy’s bitcoins are now worth almost $6 billion. Saylor believes that bitcoin will become a $100 trillion asset

Bank of France, the Swiss National Bank (SNB), and the Bank for International Settlements have successfully tested the application of wholesale central bank digital currency in cross-border payments. The project used distributed ledger technology and was realized with help from private firms. France and Switzerland Explore Direct Transfer of Euro, Swiss Franc Wholesale Digital Currencies An experiment carried out by the monetary authorities of France, Switzerland and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has indicated that central bank digital currencies ( CBDCs ) can be used effectively for international settlements between financial institutions, the participants in the trial announced. Project Jura , which has been completed recently, focused on settling foreign exchange transactions in euro and Swiss franc wholesale CBDCs as well as issuing, transferring, and redeeming a tokenized euro-denominated French commercial paper between French and Swiss financial institutions, t

The carbonated soft drink manufacturer Pepsi has revealed the company is stepping into the world of blockchain with its first collection of non-fungible token (NFT) assets. Pepsi introduced the “Pepsi Mic Drop” genesis NFT collection on Thursday, which features 1,893 generative NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. Pepsi aims to create a real-time community of NFT holders with the NFTs that feature designs like the classic blue Pepsi, silver Diet Pepsi, red Pepsi Wild Cherry, black Pepsi Zero Sugar, and Crystal Pepsi. Pepsi Introduces the Company’s First NFT Collection Pepsi-Cola is a well-known soft drink manufacturer that was created and developed back in 1893 by Caleb Bradham. When the soft drink first came out it was called “Brad’s Drink,” but was rebranded to Pepsi-Cola in 1898. These days both Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola are the two most popular cola-flavored drinks on the market. In order to celebrate the birth year of Pepsi-Cola, Pepsi has launched a genesis collection of non-fung

Binance Labs is a chain-agnostic investor and incubator focused on supporting the global blockchain ecosystem and decentralized web. Their portfolio includes 1inch, Audius, Axie Infinity, Chiliz, Elrond, Injective, Matic / Polygon, Sandbox and Terra. Ken Li is an Investment Director at Binance Labs, with a focus on equity & token investments in Web3 social, gaming & crypto adoption platforms. He recently joined the Bitcoin.com News Podcast to talk about the market: Ken also helps lead the Binance incubation program. Prior to Binance, Ken led blockchain investment & incubation strategy at BCG Digital Ventures and started his career as a management consultant at Bain. The Bitcoin.com News podcast features interviews with the most interesting leaders, founders and investors in the world of Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), NFTs and the Metaverse. Follow us on iTunes , Spotify and Google Play . This is a sponsored podcast. Learn how to reach our audience

The director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has revealed that the agency is working on a number of cryptocurrency-focused projects. Cryptocurrencies “could have enormous impact on everything from ransomware attacks,” he said. CIA Has Been Working on Various Crypto Projects CIA Director William Burns revealed Monday at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Summit that the agency is working on “a number of different projects focused on cryptocurrency.” Responding to a question from someone in the audience about whether the CIA is on top of cryptocurrencies, Burns said: This is something I inherited. My predecessor had started this, [and] had set in motion a number of different projects focused on cryptocurrency. Burn elaborated that the agency is “trying to look at second- and third-order consequences as well and helping our colleagues in other parts of the U.S. government to provide solid intelligence on what we’re seeing as well.” The CIA director explained that cryptoc

Cryptocurrency mining is among several energy-intensive industries hurt by a power deficit in Iceland. The country’s main utility is now rejecting requests to connect new coin minting facilities to the grid, after cutting supply to aluminum smelters and fish factories. Iceland Turns Away New Crypto Miners to Deal With Lack of Energy Iceland’s largest utility, Landsvirkjun, has been forced to limit energy supplies to power-hungry industrial customers including aluminum producers and fish processing plants. The restrictions have been applied to consumers with curtailable short-term contracts as well. Data centers mining digital currencies are among the affected enterprises and the company has been turning away new bitcoin miners. Landsvirkjun explained the need for the reduction citing a malfunction at a power station and the low water reservoir levels, Bloomberg reported. The supplier also faced a delay in sourcing electricity from an external producer. The utility announced on Tue

Some economic experts from Africa have suggested that the continent now needs a common cryptocurrency and an integrated capital market to boost trade and sustain growth. The Importance of a Common Crypto Experts on the African economy have argued that a common cryptocurrency along with an integrated capital market is needed to boost trade and to sustain growth on the continent post the Covid-19 crisis. According to a press statement released by the African Development Bank Group (ADBG), these experts had made their arguments during a discussion on reforming Africa’s financial system. One of the experts quoted in the statement, Anouar Hassoune, a Professor of Finance and CEO of the West Africa Rating Agency, argued that a common cryptocurrency has the potential to reduce the cost of doing business. He explained: We need to come up with a cryptocurrency that is acceptable to each member state. It’s better to do it at the continental level, and we have the expertise to do it. It’s

The Biden-Harris administration has unveiled its strategy on “countering corruption.” It includes utilizing the government’s newly established task force, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, to focus on “complex investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of cryptocurrency.” US Crypto Enforcement Strategy for ‘Countering Corruption’ The White House announced Monday, “In line with the president’s direction, the Biden-Harris administration is releasing the first-ever ‘United States Strategy on Countering Corruption.'” The 38-page report outlines the U.S. government’s strategy to fight corruption globally. One of the key strategies is to “enhance enforcement efforts,” which includes a section on “cryptocurrency and corruption.” The report states: DOJ will utilize a newly established task force, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, to focus specifically on complex investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of cryptocurrency. The report adds t

The Indian government has reportedly proposed banning the use of cryptocurrency for payments and setting a deadline for investors to declare their crypto holdings. Violators may be arrested without a warrant and held without bail. In addition, the crypto bill may call for a uniform know-your-customer (KYC) process for all crypto exchanges. Proposed Rules in Indian Crypto Bill As a cryptocurrency bill awaits to be taken up in parliament in India, several reports have emerged about what’s in the bill, which the government has not made public. While crypto assets will reportedly be regulated, the Indian government is planning to ban the use of cryptocurrency for payments, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed source and a summary of the bill it has seen. The proposed legislation also states that the rules will be “cognizable.” Violators may be arrested without a warrant and held without bail, the news outlet detailed, quoting the summary of the bill: The Indian government i

During the last week of November, the stablecoin economy had crossed the $150 billion mark for the first time with tether and usd coin dominating the pack. In a mere ten days, the stablecoin economy gathered another $11 billion in value with origin dollar and terra usd swelling significantly during the last 30 days. $11 Billion Added to the Fiat-Pegged Token Economy Stablecoins are definitely a prominent part of the crypto industry whether people like them or not. In ten days’ time, the entire stablecoin economy has grown 7.33% larger from $150 billion to today’s $161.2 billion. Month after month, stablecoin markets have swelled, and the token tether ( USDT ) is the largest stablecoin in terms of market valuation. Statistics indicate that USDT has a market valuation of around $77.3 billion and its market cap grew 6.1% during the last month. Usd coin (USDC) is the second-largest stablecoin today with a market valuation of around $41 billion. USDC’s market cap grew by a sizable 19.

A new unnamed investor has offered to bail out Africrypt, the collapsed South Africa-based crypto investment company, with $5 million. The offer, which does not require criminal charges against Africrypt directors to be dropped, must be accepted within seven days. A Better Offer A new mystery investor has offered to bail out the collapsed crypto investment outfit, Africrypt, with $5 million, a report has said. However, investors have been given seven days to accept an offer that was made on December 3, 2021. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, another unknown investor had initially offered $5 million in exchange for 51% of Africrypt’s shares. As part of the conditions for this offer, the investor wanted all criminal proceedings against the missing directors of Africrypt, Raees and Amir Cajee, to be dropped. Unlike the first bailout offer, the latest one — according to a report by Moneyweb — does not compel creditors to agree to the condition that was proposed by the firs

Digital asset exchange Huobi Global has revealed its intention to exit the Chinese Market. The crypto trading platform with Chinese roots said it will stop processing transactions for existing users on the mainland by the end of the year. Huobi Global Halts Services in the People’s Republic Crypto exchange Huobi Global is going to discontinue services for users based in mainland China this month. In a statement quoted by the English-language Chinese TV channel CGTN, the company announced on Sunday that starting from 11:00 a.m. Beijing time on Dec. 14, users in the People’s Republic will not be allowed to purchase cryptocurrencies. Huobi Global further detailed it will cease crypto exchange operations on the following day, Dec. 15, and terminate all crypto asset trading by 12:00 p.m. on Dec. 31. However, traders will still be able to log into their accounts and apply for the withdrawal of remaining assets within the next one to two years, emphasized the platform, which has not acce

David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, one of the leading banking institutions in the world, has stated his opinion on the bitcoin vs blockchain dilemma. To Solomon, bitcoin is not as important as the advancements in technology that implementing blockchain and other new ledger-based tools can bring to the traditional finance world. The executive further stated he doesn’t own bitcoin or ethereum personally. Goldman Sachs CEO on Bitcoin David Solomon, CEO of one of the biggest banks in the world, Goldman Sachs, has explained that for him, bitcoin is less important than the technology behind it. The executive issued these statements in an interview on CNBC’s Squawkbox on Tuesday. When asked about his views on crypto, Solomon answered: My view on, on bitcoin for example is I really don’t know but it’s really not something, you know, individually that’s important to me. Furthermore, he argued that the true value of bitcoin lies in the technology that powers it, blockchain, and how it

Coinsbee is a platform for buying gift cards with more than 100 cryptos, from all your favourite brands and shops, as well as get payment cards and top-ups. This holiday season, use Coinsbee to purchase vouchers for online video game stores such as Steam and PlayStation, gift subscriptions of the video streaming giant Netflix, top up your mobile phone account, and buy almost any goods with Coinsbee . Treat Yourself or Your Loved Ones Using Crypto Launched in 2019, Coinsbee is a rapidly growing solution for buying gift cards, payment cards, and mobile phone credit using more than 100 different kinds of crypto. Its bullish growth has seen it surpass 100,000 customers recently and the Germany-based company now offers a vast network of brands to consumers – last month adding a lot of new gift card brands, taking the tally over 3000, and 600 mobile top-up providers. It provides service in over 165 countries, and you can pay for your purchases on Coinsbee using all the popular cryptoc

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a finance organization comprised of several central banks, has stated that while the objective of decentralized finance is to move control of financial tools away from current financial institutions, it just provides an ‘illusion’ of doing so. The organization argues that there is some kind of centralization around governance tokens and that this extends to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus chains. Bank for International Settlements Criticizes Decentralized Finance’s Raison D’etre The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a group of central banks, has addressed the rise of decentralized finance applications and their current impact on capital markets. The bank has criticized cryptocurrencies before, and now, in its latest quarterly review , the organization issued a report called “Defi risks and the decentralization illusion,” where it questions the ethos of the sector, and declares there is no real decentralization in it. The report

The Ethereum network will be undergoing a scheduled upgrade soon called “Arrow Glacier,” a change that aims to mimic the “Muir Glacier” upgrade. Essentially, Ethereum’s Arrow Glacier changes the parameters of the network’s Difficulty Bomb delay to June 2022. This will give the Ethereum network another six months until it leads to the “Ice Age” proof-of-stake (PoS) transition. Arrow Glacier Aims to Postpone Ethereum’s Ice Age At Ethereum block height 13,773,000 the network will implement the Arrow Glacier upgrade which aims to postpone Ethereum’s Difficulty Bomb. The bomb mechanism has been around since 2015 and makes the network’s mining difficulty increase over time. The end result will lead to the Ice Age, a moment in time when the blockchain stops proof-of-work (PoW) block production and the chain is 100% reliant on proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus. The Difficulty Bomb was supposed to happen 4,000,000 blocks or 611 days after the Muir Glacier network upgrade. However, Arrow Glac

Mirror Trading International, the now-defunct fraudulent bitcoin investment platform, is said to be owed more than $129 million by debtors that had not been declared previously. Unaccounted for Debtors Liquidators of the collapsed South African bitcoin Ponzi scheme, Mirror Trading International (MTI), recently released a statement that suggested the scheme is owed as much as $129.6 million (2.07 billion rands) by previously unaccounted for debtors. According to a report by Moneyweb, preliminary investigations by liquidators also show that MTI had assets valued at over $190 million. However, the report said liquidators conceded they still needed to carry out more investigations. These reports of fresh claims against MTI follow the confirmation by liquidators that they had successfully applied for the liquidation of JNX Online, a firm that is allegedly controlled by Johann Steynberg, the scheme’s former CEO. As explained in the report, Steynberg and his wife, Nerina, had allegedly

Eco-friendliness and mass market accessibility cited as major factors in choosing WAX. WAX Blockchain has been chosen by Sony Pictures and AMC Theatres (NYSE:AMC) for Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: No Way Home NFT Promotion, the first ever NFT promotion between a studio and a major theatrical exhibitor. The decision to utilize WAX blockchain was based on several key benefits of WAX Blockchain including eco-friendliness and mass market accessibility. “In addition to being eco-friendly, it was essential that the process for receiving the NFT was also consumer friendly,” said Adam Aron, Chairman of the Board and CEO, AMC Theatres. “It’s easy to use and already widely adopted WAX Cloud Wallet combined with no gas fees for minting, sending and receiving NFTs gave us confidence that everyone, including first time blockchain users, would be able to participate in the promotion.” “We’ve always believed that blockchain technology and NFTs should be accessible to the masses in an environmental

Russia’s central bank has voiced opposition to the provision of financial services related to cryptocurrencies. The monetary authority believes such offerings would go against the interests of Russian investors as they are highly risky. Central Bank of Russia Unwilling to Allow Financial Services for Crypto Assets The Central Bank of Russia (CBR), known for its hardline stance on the legalization of cryptocurrencies, has dismissed a call by members of the financial sector to authorize the provision of crypto-related services. The regulator announced its position during a meeting with representatives of the industry, held to discuss the prospects for the development of the Russian stock market. According to a recently published announcement , the financial businesses raised the question of allowing crypto investment in the Russian Federation. Responding to their suggestion, the monetary policy regulator stated: According to Bank of Russia, the provision by financial institutions o

A report issued by the Huobi Research Institute, the investigative arm of the Asian exchange, examines the effect that upcoming changes of U.S. Federal Reserve policy could have on the price of cryptocurrencies. The report, titled “Taper Landed: The Turning Point of The Cryptocurrency Market is Coming,” states that due to the upcoming tapering, the continued growth of high-risk assets (including cryptocurrency) could be difficult to maintain. Huobi Report Examines Fed Taper Effects Huobi Research’s latest report , titled “Taper Landed: The Turning Point of The Cryptocurrency Market is Coming,” establishes the possible route cryptocurrency prices could take due to the action of the Federal Reserve taper. The taper — that is, the continual reduction of dollar liquidity in the market due to reduction in bond purchases — could negatively affect the growth of bitcoin and other assets. The taper discussion started months ago, and according to study forecasts, it could start next June, w

Binance Smart Chain, one of the leading smart contract platforms in the blockchain market, has partnered with Animoca Brands, operator and investor of several NFT based games, to launch a joint $200 million gamefi (financialization of gaming) incubation program. The two institutions will invest $100 million each to fund and ease the development of new gaming experiences on top of the Binance Smart Chain. Binance Smart Chain and Animoca Bet on Gamefi Binance Smart Chain has a new tool to entice the development of new games on top of its platform. The acceleration and investing branch of the smart contract chain has partnered with Animoca Brands, one of the leading metaverse gaming firms, to establish a $200 million gaming incubation fund. Each one of the parties will put $100 million destined to fund projects focused on gaming on top of the Binance Smart Chain. Establishing these projects from scratch is a difficult thing, according to Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Animoca B

Bancolombia, Colombia’s largest bank, will be offering cryptocurrency trading to customers in a pilot program within a regulatory framework established by the country’s financial regulator, the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC). Customers of the Colombian bank will be able to trade bitcoin, ether, litecoin, and bitcoin cash. Bancolombia to Offer Cryptocurrency Trading to Customers in Regulatory Sandbox Bancolombia, the largest bank in Colombia by total assets, is set to offer cryptocurrency trading to customers in partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, a New York trust company and custodian regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Cynthia Del Pozo Garcia, the exchange’s principal of strategy & corporate development, announced Monday that starting Dec. 14: Gemini and Bancolombia will launch a partnership to provide an initial cohort of customers of the Colombian bank a seamless on- and off-ramp to trade bitcoin ( BTC ), ether ( ET

PRESS RELEASE. LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA: The GoCrypto project always strives to bring crypto payments into the mainstream. The upgraded solution dubbed GoCrypto 2.0 enables true decentralized payments where the merchant can accept virtually any currency and receive the settlement in its desired crypto currency without virtually any central entity in between. The solution would at its core utilize blockchains that support smart contracts in order to enable automatic processing of the payments and its several steps, such as acceptance of payment, routing and swapping of the funds, fee collection, settlement to a crypto currency address or execution of smart contracts, etc. It will also be possible to connect third party bridges that will enable interaction with blockchains that don’t support smart contracts and possibly even legacy payments such as cards and digital wallets. How it works: Below is the description of the payment flow. The Merchant POS system generates a QR code with inst

Japan’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), is reportedly planning to propose legislation to restrict stablecoin issuance to banks and wire transfer companies. Crypto service providers involved in stablecoin transactions, including wallets, will also be brought under the financial regulator’s oversight. Japan to Tighten Stablecoin Regulation Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is planning to tighten the regulation of stablecoins by imposing strict rules on their issuers, Nikkei reported Monday, stating: The Financial Services Agency seeks to propose legislation in 2022 to restrict issuance of stablecoins to banks and wire transfer companies. The FSA will also tighten regulations related to the prevention of money laundering, the publication added, noting that crypto service providers involved in stablecoin transactions, including wallets, will also be brought under the financial regulator’s oversight. In addition, stablecoin issuers will be require

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has unveiled its plan to become a “fully licensed and fully compliant” exchange in order to serve users in the U.K. The crypto exchange is reportedly “making a number of very substantial changes” in the way it operates in order to comply with the country’s regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Binance Plans to Launch a Fully Licensed Crypto Exchange in the UK Binance is working to become a fully licensed and fully compliant cryptocurrency exchange in order to launch in the U.K. where it recently ran into trouble with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The exchange’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), said in an interview with The Telegraph that Binance will reapply for a license with the FCA. He believes that his exchange’s relationship with the British regulator has improved. He told the news outlet: We’re fully re-engaged there … We’re making a number of very substantial changes in organizational structures, product offerings, our interna

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PRESS RELEASE. Crypto Perx will be listed, starting today, November 22nd on FMFW.io cryptocurrency exchange. It is a new utility token (ERC20) based on the Ethereum Blockchain. CRPX was developed by the Crypto Banking Alliance (CBA), also known as Auriga Alliance AG, and the first project having it on board was ABRA Perx by ABRA – a world-class platform for managing cryptocurrency. The CBA will provide 3 billion Crypto Perx coins, and 1 of them will be part of Abra’s new project. From now on, FMFW.io is introducing this digital currency to traders. Promotion and education of the safe and ethical implementation of cryptocurrency technology for the smooth functioning of the decentralized financial system is the primary goal of the Crypto Banking Alliance. Due to the belief that digitized banks are the future, they aim to promote cryptocurrencies and the possibility of security provided by the blockchain system as an essential banking point. FMFW.io Statement “The availability and u

During the last seven days, virtual lands sold in the metaverse have outpaced a great number of non-fungible token (NFT) sales. Moreover, metaverse native crypto tokens like axie infinity, sandbox and decentraland and play-to-earn digital assets in general have jumped significantly in value this year. Metaverse Properties Outpace NFT Collections — Play-to-Earn Tokens Rise Following the meme-crypto hype, the decentralized finance (defi) trend, and the non-fungible token (NFT) craze, the metaverse has become a big deal. Essentially, a metaverse is a different version of the internet that supports virtual environments, items, collectibles, weapons, and sometimes play-to-earn features. Virtual worlds like Second Life, Minecraft, and Roblox can be considered iterations of the metaverse but in recent times, blockchain technology has entered the realm. For instance, out of the $2.3 trillion crypto economy, $25 billion of it belongs to play-to-earn (P2E) digital assets. Axie infinity (AXS)