Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The federal government in Moscow has permitted regions to determine local electricity tariffs for the population, a measure that will affect crypto mining at homes. Subsidized household electricity in Russia is often used to mint digital currencies in basements and garages. Regions in Russia Granted Permission to Increase Costs for Home Mining Russians mining cryptocurrencies at their homes may expect higher electricity bills as a result of a reform allowing regional authorities to limit the electrical energy supplied at preferential rates. The move comes after local utilities requested powers to set thresholds for the amount of subsidized electricity available to the general population while complaining about the spread of crypto mining in residential areas. Private customers will have to pay more for consumption exceeding these thresholds, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported. Most Russian regions are yet to adopt new pricing schemes, with the exception of Crimea where ...

SWIFT, the Belgian-based cooperative that serves as an intermediary and settlement executor of financial transactions between banks worldwide is planning to experiment with asset tokenization in 2022. In a blog post about the subject, SWIFT notes that it will be working with firms like Clearstream, Northern Trust, and SETL to explore “the feasibility and benefits” of using SWIFT as an interconnector to tokenization platforms. Financial Intermediary SWIFT to Be Used as a Tokenization Interconnector The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication ( SWIFT) , has been studying cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology for quite some time. For instance, SWIFT published a report in September 2020, that noted criminals preferred cash for money laundering in contrast to using crypto for illicit transactions. Over a year later, SWIFT is still focused on this technology and revealed in a blog post published on December 1, that it was participating in an asset tokenization te...

The number of recorded non-fungible token (NFT) sales during the last 30 days consisted of roughly 362,374 sales. During the past 30 days, the leading NFT marketplace Opensea processed $2.39 billion, up 22.88% since last month. Decentraland volume jumped 192% since last month reaching more than $28 million in sales. NFT and Metaverse Steam Continues With Big Volume and Expensive Collectibles During the last month of the year, the metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) hype has continued to remain strong. Over the last week, Decentraland and The Sandbox processed a significant amount of sales. Seven-day metrics indicate The Sandbox saw $19.3 million in sales while Decentraland did $6.6 million. 30-day stats show Decentraland’s $28 million in sales pushed it up closed to 200% more than last month. While Opensea sales spiked 22.88% this past month, Solana’s Magic Eden marketplace saw $148.86 million in monthly sales, up 86.9%. Superrare’s $26 million in 30 day sales pushed it up 15% ...

The Indian government has not introduced the cryptocurrency bill that was listed to be taken up in the winter session of parliament. Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg says he has no confidence in the ability of the Indian government to figure out crypto. Garg headed the inter-ministerial committee that drafted the original crypto bill that proposes banning cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. India Fails to Introduce Crypto Bill in Parliament Again The Indian government has failed to introduce the cryptocurrency bill that was listed to be taken up in the winter session of Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. The session ended Thursday. Commenting on the government’s failure to introduce the crypto bill, former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg told IANS publication Thursday that “he had no confidence in the ability of government to figure out the complexities of this new crypto phenomenon,” the news outlet conveyed. He was further quoted as saying: I expr...

‘Tis the season of giving and Bybit , one of the world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency exchange and trading platforms , wants to give back to its users. Users can now celebrate Christmas with Bybit through Jolly Jamboree, where they can win amazing prizes by completing a series of simple tasks. The festive assortment of gifts in Bybit’s sleigh includes Amazon gift cards, an iPhone 13, and the best prize of all — a Tesla Model 3. It’s easy for users to add a little more Christmas sparkle to their holiday haul. From Dec. 22, 2021, 10AM UTC to Jan. 12, 2022, 10AM UTC, all they have to do is to start clearing different tasks to unlock attractive rewards like $100 in USDT while collecting special Christmas reward cards. There are a total of 3 Christmas cards. Once all cards are collected, users will be automatically enrolled into the Jolly Jamboree grand lucky draw for a chance to drive off with a Tesla Model 3. Join the Jolly Jamboree today and start trading to win big! https://ww...

A crypto working group has held its first meeting at Russia’s parliament. Its members have been tasked to put forward legislative proposals designed to comprehensively regulate cryptocurrencies and related matters in the Russian Federation. Working Group Gathers at State Duma to Draft Crypto Regulations Lawmakers, government officials, and experts have met at the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, the State Duma , to discuss and propose new legislation aimed at regulating the circulation of cryptocurrencies in the country, the head of the working group, Alexey Gordeev, announced to the media. Gordeev, who is also deputy speaker of the Duma, remarked that authorities in Moscow are well aware of the existence and the development of the crypto industry in the country. He noted, however, that proper regulations for the sector are yet to be introduced. While cryptocurrencies were partially regulated with the law “On Digital Financial Assets” which went into force in January...

Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, a smart contract-enabled cryptocurrency platform, announced yesterday he would fly to space next year to fulfill one of his childhood dreams. The space trip will be done in a Blue Origin spaceship, the company owned by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, which also made an inaugural flight last July. Sun Also announced he will carry 5 unknown individuals with him. Justin Sun Plans for Space Travel Tron founder Justin Sun announced yesterday he had plans to fly to space next year to fulfill one of his childhood dreams. The trip, that would take the crypto entrepreneur out of the earth’s atmosphere, would be done using Blue Origin’s services, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. Sun also revealed that he had been the unnamed winner of an auction to be in the inaugural flight of the company with Bezos. He paid $28 million to be part of the launch. On this, Sun stated: I won the auction 6 months ago but missed the launch. However, thi...

The CEO of Microstrategy expects the price of bitcoin to reach $6 million, noting that it is “unstoppable” and will replace gold. The executive personally owns 17,732 bitcoins while his company is hodling 122,478 bitcoins. Microstrategy’s CEO Expects Bitcoin to Hit $6 Million Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor talked about his bitcoin strategy and BTC price prediction in a recent interview with the Information, published this week. Saylor revealed that he personally owns at least 17,732 bitcoins, which is the same amount he disclosed back in October last year. At the current BTC price, his bitcoin stash is worth almost $858 million. The Microstrategy executive never sold any of his bitcoins and does not believe they should ever be sold. Furthermore, the Information reported: Saylor foresees bitcoin hitting $600,000 a coin, and eventually $6 million. Meanwhile, Microstrategy has amassed 122,478 BTC , worth almost $6 billion at the current price. The coins were acquired at an...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in collaboration with Citibank, Sony, and Japanese law enforcement, has taken action to “return more than $154 million in funds that were allegedly stolen from a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.” The U.S. Department of Justice detailed: “As a result of this coordinated effort, investigators obtained the ‘private key’ … needed to access the bitcoin address.” Citibank and Sony Help FBI Seize Bitcoin Worth $180 Million The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that the U.S. has “filed a civil forfeiture complaint” to “return more than $154 million in funds that were allegedly stolen from a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.” The FBI and various Japanese law enforcement agencies investigated the case “with significant assistance from Sony and Citibank,” the announcement details, adding: As a result of this coordinated effort, investigators obtained the ‘private key’ … needed to access the bitcoi...

The hashpower behind the Bitcoin network has continued to stay above the 180 exahash per second (EH/s) zone after recently reaching a lifetime high. Five months ago the hashrate tapped a low at 69 EH/s and since then, the hashpower has increased by 163% during the last 178 days, or five months ago. Bitcoin Hashrate Continues to Run Hot at End of Year Following China’s Crackdown on Bitcoin Mining This Past Summer Miners dedicating SHA256 hashpower to the Bitcoin blockchain have been keeping the processing power above 180 EH/s. At the time of writing on December 23, BTC ’s hashrate is hovering just above the 186 EH/s zone. The recent hashrate highs follow BTC ’s lifetime hashrate high tapping 194.95 EH/s on December 8, 2021. Since then, metrics indicate that the hashrate has been hovering below that region and 30-day stats show a few times when the it quickly came close to the December 8 high. BTC ’s hashrate is currently doing a whole lot better than records show on June 28, 2021, ...

In the absence of regulations, people in Pakistan have invested a serious amount of money in digital assets. New research claims Pakistanis keep some $20 billion in cryptocurrency, allegedly more than what their central bank has in foreign reserves. Government Urged for Regulations as Study Shows Pakistanis Hold $20 Billion in Cryptocurrency The Pakistani nation owns more cryptocurrency than foreign reserves, according to the Pakistan Frontier and other media outlets quoting a new report by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI). The study, produced by the association’s Policy Advisory Board (PAB), has estimated that Pakistanis have held cryptocurrency worth $20 billion in the 2020-21 period. The authors point out that the popularity of digital currencies like bitcoin has rapidly increased in the last couple of years. With a 711% market growth in 12 months, Pakistan climbed to third place in this year’s Global Crypto Adoption Index calculated by block...

Ethair Market has listed ETHR token on Uniswap as a result of its first governance vote by the holders. Utilities of the token are directly tied to a user’s interaction with the marketplace. On top of the proprietary token, Ethair Market currently supports fiat and cryptocurrencies such as: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Stellar and USDC, and more . The marketplace is currently in beta, allowing sellers to their items before the full release. Ethair Market operates in the traditional B2C/C2C modes with two types of listings: Market which are new fixed price items, and “Buy Offer Bid” (referred to as BOB on the platform) which includes new and used auction items that customers can buy outright, make an offer on, or bid on like in traditional auctions. Ethair is aggressively marketing through Google, YouTube, Yahoo, and Twitter ads. Running Uber ads in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York with soon to have nationwide major highway billboards. You may check ETHR’s token contract here . ...

According to a new report, illegal transactions, scams and gambling together make up less than 3% of the volume on the Bitcoin blockchain while exchanges and trading desks account for around 80% of volume. Exchanges Dominate Bitcoin Volumes A new study called “B lockchain Analysis of the Bitcoin Market” has found that illegal transactions, scams, and gambling combined account for just 3% of all onchain bitcoin trade volume. On the other hand, the study asserts that exchange and trading desk-related volume — which is mostly speculative — constitutes about 80% of the total volume. In their analysis, the authors of a report released by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) appear to debunk the assertion that illegal transactions dominate bitcoin ( BTC ) trade volumes. In particular, the authors, Igor Makarov from the London School of Economics and Antoinette Schoar of the MIT Sloan School of Management, explain how earlier studies were likely to be overstating the economic...

The Dubai World Trade Centre will become a comprehensive ecosystem for cryptocurrencies and providers of related services. The move is part of efforts to support new industries and the emirate intends to source help from crypto companies like Binance. Dubai World Trade Centre to Host and Regulate Crypto Space Authorities in the United Arab Emirates plan to establish a special zone at the Dubai World Trade Centre ( DWTC ) from which businesses dealing with digital assets will be able to offer their products and services. The government of Dubai announced that the DWTC will also play the role of a regulator for the sector, enforcing “rigorous standards for investor protection, anti-money laundering (AML), combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) compliance and cross border deal flow tracing.” According to an official announcement, the goal is to further develop Dubai’s virtual assets space and market by introducing a regulatory framework for innovative financial products that incl...

The popularity of cryptocurrencies in economically embattled Turkey has continued to surge with the number of daily trades now surpassing one million, a report has said. This surge in trades has been attributed to the depreciating lira which plunged to a new low against the USD on December 20. Lira Plunges Cryptocurrency trades in inflation-stricken Turkey have surged to above one million per day for the first time since March, a Reuters report citing Chainalysis and Kaiko data has said. According to the report , the return to over a million trades per day has come at a time when Turkey’s fiat currency, the lira, has depreciated by almost 40% since September. Prior to the latest surge, cryptocurrency trades in Turkey had previously surpassed the one million per day mark after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unexpected dismissal of the central bank governor on March 22. The dismissal of then-governor Naci Agbal sparked inflation fears among Turks and caused the lira to plunge by ...

On December 22, Twitter trends indicate that thousands of people on social media are talking about the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) “Great Reset” agenda, as Reuters and the BBC had run fact-checking posts on the subject. According to the reports, the Great Reset has been tied to various conspiracy theories and the initiative was launched in June 2020. BBC, Reuters Fact Checkers Claim Great Reset Initiative Has Been Hijacked by Conspiracy Theories Ever since the outbreak of Covid-19, an agenda called the Great Reset has been discussed far and wide across the globe. The subject has been tied to a number of theories that claim the global elite are planning to reset society and the economy to “build back better.” A Reuters fact check article says that the initiative was named the Great Reset in June 2020. In recent times, Reuters journalists claim that an image circulating on the internet inviting Dutch politicians to a Great Reset-themed forum in Davos “has been taken out of context....

Xinhua, the official news agency of China, is going to issue an NFT collection with photographs depicting historic moments of the passing year. The initiative, which comes amid an ongoing crypto crackdown, is seen as a boost for blockchain, the technology that also underpins cryptocurrencies. Xinhua to Create Digital Collectibles Based on Photo Reports The state-owned Chinese news agency Xinhua is preparing to issue a digital collection representing photographic news reports from 2021. The selection of 11 photos, each limited to 10,000 copies, will be released on Dec. 24. They will be issued free of charge via Xinhua’s news app, using non-fungible token ( NFT ) technology, the agency announced, quoted by Bloomberg and Reuters. The collection, which also features a photo commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, will “imprint digital memories into the metaverse,” Xinhua noted. Euronews remarks that Beijing-controlled media has in the past described the virt...

Press Release: Beyondlife ․ club and Orange Comet have joined forces to launch a special NFT collection dedicated to the legendary Marvel comics founder Stan Lee. 22nd December 2021, Singapore — Chakra The Invincible is a unique NFT collection and tribute to legend Stan Lee, that will launch on his 99th Birthday, (December 28th) on chakra.beyondlife.club . The collection includes an exclusive category dedicated to Stan Lee’s prominence as an artist and narrating the story behind, creating Chakra The Invincible. Beyondlife.club and Guardianlink ․ io , have associated with Orange Comet and Graphics India to curate a one-of-a-kind superhero NFT collection that signifies Stan Lee’s existence in the creative domain. Chakra The Invincible NFT Collection Stan Lee’s Chakra The Invincible was the first international superhero visualised by the comic legend, created in collaboration with Sharad Devaraj. The Chakra The Invincible NFT collection includes categories that highlight the chara...

In advance of presenting its comprehensive view on crypto regulations, the Central Bank of Russia has indicated that it sees no place for cryptocurrencies in the country’s financial market. The monetary authority also announced that the prototype of the platform for its own digital currency is already completed. Bank of Russia to Issue Report on Cryptocurrency Known for maintaining a hardline stance on the question of legalizing cryptocurrencies, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is now preparing a report that will provide its view on the matter in detail. The regulator intends to push for adopting rules to govern the circulation of digital assets through legislative changes, Deputy Chairman Vladimir Chistyukhin revealed in comments to Russian media. “I think that we will resolve the issue through amendments to the legislation. There will be a more precise definition of how cryptocurrencies can be traded,” Chistyukhin said speaking to reporters in the State Duma, the lower house of ...

GSC Game World and Ubisoft, two game development companies, are dealing with backlash about the inclusion of NFT elements in some of their games. While GSC Game World — developer of the popular Stalker gaming franchise — has abandoned its plans in this regard, Ubisoft is pushing forward and has announced a partnership with Aleph.im to store images from its NFT platform. GSC Game World and Ubisoft Take Different Approaches Two game developers that recently announced the introduction of NFT elements as part of their upcoming and existing games are dealing with negative backlash from the gaming public on this issue. However, each one of them is doing it differently. GSC Game World, creators of the Stalker gaming franchise, based in Ukraine, stated that they would stop all plans regarding including NFT elements in Stalker 2, an upcoming game. The company released a statement on Twitter, declaring: We hear you. Based on the feedback we’ve received, we’ve made a decision to cancel anyt...

PRESS RELEASE. Affyn’s private round was oversubscribed within a week of its website unveiling, resulting in the opening of a new strategic round that once again became oversubscribed, ahead of its presale in December 2021. Backed by more than 50 venture capitalists, institutional investors and partners, signaling high confidence and strong demand for Affyn’s Play-to-Earn Metaverse. The much anticipated presale round will be launched in December 2021 in preparation of the public launch in early 2022. Whitelisting is now open for registration on their website, www.affyn.com . SINGAPORE, Dec. 21, 2021 – Singapore startup Affyn, a blockchain-powered Metaverse project, is developing a Free-to-Play and Play-to-Earn mobile game with integrated geolocation and augmented reality (AR) capability. Reimagining Free-to-Play and Play-to-Earn As a metaverse-based project with geolocation capability and AR mechanics, Affyn incorporates the fun concept where every in-game character, which th...

PRESS RELEASE. MaximNFT – an NFT marketplace by Maxim magazine and xSigma – is excited to announce that former professional boxer Vitali Klitschko is launching an NFT collection on its platform for charity. Proceeds will go to the Ukrainian branch of Rotary International, a non-profit organisation promoting humanitarian services across the world. Once a professional boxer, Vitali Klitschiko is now a Ukrainian politician serving as the Mayor of Kyiv. As a boxer, Kyiv won multiple heavyweight titles, including the WBO 1999-2000 title, the Ring Magazine 2004-2005 title, and WBC title twice from 2004 to 2013.He defeated 15 opponents in his title fights across his career, including 12 title defences. He and his brother dominated heavyweight boxing from 2006 to 2015, ushering in what is now called the “Klitschko era”. Meanwhile, Rotary International is an international service organisation that offers humanitarian assistance and promotes goodwill and peace around the world. It was f...