Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

On December 15, the non-fungible token (NFT) market platform Makersplace will drop an assortment of NFTs based on Tupac Shakur’s most well-known jewelry pieces. Makersplace and the NFT artists and curators Impossible Brief and Digital Arts & Sciences worked closely with Shakur’s estate in order to drop the NFT collectibles called “The Immortal Collection.” Tupac’s ‘The Immortal Collection’ to Drop on December 15 Fans of the rap legend Tupac Shakur (also known by his stage names 2pac and Makaveli) will soon be able to bid on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) officially backed by the Shakur estate. The NFTs will feature rare jewelry inspired by some of the pieces the influential rap star wore before his death on September 7, 1996. The NFTs for the drop hosted on Makersplace were designed by the NFT artist Impossible Brief, and curated by Digital Arts & Sciences in conjunction with the Shakur estate. “[‘ The Immortal Collection ‘ is] set for release on December 15, this drop will fe

The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has revealed that it has made decentralized finance (defi) more accessible by giving Coinbase customers from over 70 countries access to earning yield on the stablecoin DAI. Coinbase claims the process is simple with “no fees, lockups, or set-up hassle,” as the firm believes “defi has tremendous potential to help increase economic freedom.” Coinbase Now Offers Yield on the Defi Stablecoin Issued by Makerdao Coinbase has announced that it has opened up decentralized finance (defi) services to customers in more than 70 different countries. The news follows the company’s announcement last week when it revealed it acquired BRD wallet and Unbound Security. According to Coinbase, eligible customers in these countries can now earn yield on the defi stablecoin issued by Makerdao called DAI. “Today we’re introducing a new way for Coinbase’s global customers to put their crypto to work and earn yield,” the firm’s announcement explains. “We are making d

A high-level meeting is reportedly being held on cryptocurrency regulation in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take a final decision on how India will regulate the crypto sector. All options are being discussed including full and partial regulation as well as a complete ban and a partial ban. Indian Crypto Regulation to Be Decided by Prime Minister Modi Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take a final decision on the country’s cryptocurrency regulation, the Economic Times reported Friday, citing two people familiar with the development. A high-level meeting was held Thursday to consider all options of how India should regulate the crypto sector, the publication noted, adding: The options include a complete ban on private cryptocurrencies, a partial ban, allowing all categories of crypto products with regulation, or just a select few with regulation. Issues discussed in the meeting included stakeholder views and concerns raised by the country’s central bank. The

Kickstarter, one of the leading crowdfunding platforms on the market, has decided to abandon its current business model and migrate to a blockchain-based platform. This will be built by an independent organization funded initially by Kickstarter to work on the protocol. The new platform will be built on top of the Celo blockchain. Kick-Starting a Blockchain Replacement Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform for products, services, and ideas, announced yesterday it will shift its operations to a blockchain-based platform. The platform made the announcement in a blog post titled “The Future of Crowdfunding Creative Projects,” where it mentioned decentralization as one of the key reasons for the pivot. According to Kickstarter: [The platform will] be available for collaborators, independent contributors, and even Kickstarter competitors, from all over the world to build upon, connect to, or use. The newly designed platform will also be open-source, so other similar projects will be

The Bitcoin.com Team is excited to announce support for shared (multisig) wallets for Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash in the Bitcoin.com Wallet . That means you can protect your most valuable wallets with a unique form of two-factor authentication, set up a corporate treasury, safely introduce your kids to Bitcoin, and more. What Are Shared Wallets? Standard crypto wallets use one private key to access and send transactions while shared wallets require two or more private keys to access the funds connected with the wallet. Private keys in shared wallets are often given to different people, called participants. For example, if you have three private keys, you might keep one yourself and give the others to family members. Why Use Shared Wallets The first key reason to use a shared wallet is that it is a solution to the problem of having a single point of failure , which can result in losing access to your funds. For example, imagine there is a fire in the apartment building you live in.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation has insisted that the term “cryptocurrency” should be added to the country’s legislation. The move would allow authorities in Moscow to confiscate digital assets that have been involved in criminal activities. Russian Prosecutor General’s Office Prepares Amendments Allowing Seizure of Cryptocurrency With cryptocurrencies being only partially regulated through the law “On Digital Financial Assets,” work is underway in Russia to adopt legislation introducing comprehensive rules for the turnover of bitcoin and the like. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has joined these efforts as it wants the term “cryptocurrency” added to the legal texts. “We have developed amendments to a number of regulatory legal acts so that cryptocurrencies in illegal circulation are not only recognized as а subject of a crime, but there’s also a legal possibility of their arrest and confiscation ,” Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Igor Krasnov said

Novi, the remittance and payments initiative of Meta (formerly Facebook), has launched a Whatsapp pilot test for customers in the U.S. This means that a small number of Whatsapp users will be able to send and receive payments, as well as purchase digital dollars directly from the interface of the messaging service. This is an extension of the pilot program started six weeks ago focusing on remittances. Novi Extends Pilot Program With Whatsapp Integration Novi, the wallet service of Meta, has launched an extension of its pilot program that started six weeks ago. This new phase includes integration with one of the most used messaging services in the world, Whatsapp. Now, selected users in the U.S. will have the opportunity to buy, send, and receive digital dollars with other users also enrolled in the test. The announcement was made by Stephane Kasriel, the new head of Novi, who detailed this new phase of the pilot program on Twitter. Regarding the choice of Whatsapp, Kasriel explain

The well known playing card manufacturer Bicycle has announced the launch of the company’s first non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The NFT card collectibles called the “Genesis Collection” were designed by the artist Adrian Valenzuela and the first drop of NFTs were officially revealed via the NFT marketplace Kolectiv on Thursday. Bicycle Playing Card Manufacturer Aims to Bridge the Gap Between Tradition and Innovation When it comes to playing cards, the name Bicycle has been a popular brand since the company’s inception in 1885. The card’s official name Bicycle was chosen because the bicycle was an extremely popular invention at the end of the 19th century. Now close to 136 years later, Bicycle is entering the world of blockchain technology with its first non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The artwork designed by Adrian Valenzuela represents iconic Bicycle playing cards but they transformed into cards from 1,000 years into the future. “At Bicycle, we’re a heritage brand that

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