Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

PRESS RELEASE. On February 17th, 2022, Hoo announced the completion of the first-stage token-repurchase plan on HOO Token with a cumulative total of 423,982.18 HOO repurchased from the secondary market. From January 2022, Hoo had imposed the strategic plan on generating 30% of the income revenue from spot trading (Spot Zone + Innovation Zone) of Hoo Exchange for enhancing the liquidity of the AMM pool. 15% of the income revenue would be used to repurchase HOO from the secondary market, and all the repurchased HOO would be placed into AMM liquidity pool. The remaining 15% income revenue would also be transferred to the AMM liquidity pool for optimizing the depth and activation of the secondary market continuously. According to the announcement, Hoo’s accumulated spot transaction income is 3,385,520 USDT in January 2022. Thus, 1,015,656 USDT will be imposed into token-repurchase agreement, and half of which will be used to repurchase HOO from the secondary market and the remaining...

Following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charging the crypto lending platform Blockfi with failing to register its retail crypto lending product and fining the firm $100 million, the crypto lender Nexo has announced it will no longer allow U.S. citizens to earn interest on new savings wallet top-ups. However, Nexo customers from the U.S. will continue to earn interest on their current savings wallet balances held prior to the announcement. Nexo ‘Reveals Big Savings News for US Customers’ Last week, the SEC cracked down on the crypto lending platform Blockfi and the company was fined $100 million in penalties. The news followed several regulators from a myriad of states like New Jersey , Kentucky , Texas, Alabama , and Vermont giving warnings to Blockfi about the firm’s interest-bearing accounts. Some states issued cease and desist orders and the company had to stop offering Blockfi Interest Accounts (BIAs) by a certain date. After Blockfi’s penalties were hand...

Global Investment bank JPMorgan says, “The metaverse will likely infiltrate every sector in some way in the coming years, with the market opportunity estimated at over $1 trillion in yearly revenues.” The firm has set up a lounge in Decentraland. JPMorgan on the Metaverse Global Investment bank JPMorgan recently published a report titled “Opportunities in the metaverse.” The report is authored by Christine Moy and Adit Gadgil. Moy is the global head of Liink, Crypto & the Metaverse at Onyx by J.P. Morgan. Gadgil is the head of e-commerce solutions at J.P. Morgan Payments. The JPMorgan report details: The metaverse will likely infiltrate every sector in some way in the coming years, with the market opportunity estimated at over $1 trillion in yearly revenues. The report cites research by Grayscale Investments which states: “The metaverse is estimated to be a trillion-dollar revenue opportunity across advertising, social commerce, digital events, hardware, and developer/creat...

The third-richest billionaire in Mexico, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, advises to buy bitcoin, keep buying while the price is still low, and hold the crypto without thinking of selling. “Trust me, you’re going to thank me later,” he affirmed. Billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego’s Bitcoin Advice Mexico’s third-richest billionaire, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, gave some advice Saturday about investing in bitcoin. Salinas is the founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas, a group of companies with interests in telecommunications, media, financial services, and retail stores. According to Forbes’ list of billionaires, his net worth is currently more than $13 billion. The billionaire tweeted Saturday urging his Twitter followers to buy bitcoin and keep buying while the price of BTC is still low. His tweet reads: You have to buy bitcoin (keep buying when the price is low), then just hold your BTC , forget about selling … Trust me you’re going to thank me later. Bitcoin has fallen more than 40% sinc...

U.S. President Joe Biden is reportedly expected to issue an executive order on cryptocurrency this week. It will direct a wide range of government agencies to come up with a government-wide strategy to regulate crypto assets. Executive Order on Crypto Expected This Week U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to issue an executive order on cryptocurrency this week, an administration official familiar with the matter reportedly told Yahoo Finance. The news of the Biden administration preparing an executive order on crypto was first reported in January. The executive order will direct a wide range of government agencies to study cryptocurrency and central bank digital currency (CBDC), and come up with a government-wide strategy to regulate crypto assets, the publication conveyed. Various government agencies will be asked to produce a report on the future of money and payment systems, including the Departments of the Treasury, State, Justice, and Homeland Security. The Financial Stabi...

A new report issued by LAVCA, the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America, has found that the venture capital (VC) investment in the region has grown immensely compared to the previous year’s numbers. In general, the region registered investments of more than $15 billion, more than three times the amount registered in 2020. However, crypto and blockchain investments grew almost tenfold. Crypto Outpaces Conventional VC Investments in Latam A new report issued by LAVCA, the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America, details the growth of the venture capital (VC) movement in the region and highlights the interest that these companies took in crypto in 2021. The report found that the region experienced notable growth when it comes to venture capital investments, more than tripling the numbers registered the previous year. In 2020, LAVCA registered $4.14 billion in VC investments, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, this influx reac...

Over the last week, there’s been a lot of discussion about Canada ‘freezing’ digital currency accounts that are associated with the Canadian trucker’s Freedom Convoy. Amid the topical conversation, it should be stressed that decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum, cannot be frozen directly within the network. However, the Canadian government can flag specific digital currency addresses and take it even further, by asking centralized entities like crypto exchanges and payment processors to freeze the funds. Canadian Officials Can Flag Crypto Addresses and Threaten Exchanges, but They Can’t ‘Freeze Bitcoin’ Last week, the Canadian government and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the country’s Emergencies Act and enacted Canada’s terrorist financing policy in order to blanket cryptocurrencies donations. Trudeau and the government did this to quell the protesters occupying the streets of Ottawa. The Canadian government managed to get Gofundme to shut down the Fr...

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has warned that bitcoin’s price corrections have taken many months in the past and it may take some time for the price of the cryptocurrency to hit another all-time high. He criticized bitcoin’s proponents for constantly hyping the crypto regardless of the price. Peter Brandt Warns It May Take Some Time for Another Bitcoin Peak Veteran trader Peter Brandt cautioned investors Thursday that it could take some time for the price of bitcoin to reach another all-time high. Brandt has been a futures and FX career trader since 1975. He is a chartist and the author of the Factor Report. He trades a variety of markets, including Dow futures, bonds, corn, crude oil, European wheat, Osaka Dow, U.S. dollar, and sugar. He criticized bitcoin’s proponents for constantly hyping the cryptocurrency regardless of what the price is doing. “Cheerleaders who constantly beat the drums of ‘to the moon’ are doing a huge disservice to BTC investors,” the trader tweeted, elabora...

Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has shared what he thinks the price of bitcoin will be in the coming years. He said when institutions get the go-ahead from their compliance departments to invest in bitcoin, the price of the cryptocurrency “is going to appreciate dramatically.” Kevin O’Leary’s Bitcoin Prediction Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary shared his prediction of the price of bitcoin in an interview with Stansberry Research last week. He explained that many institutions are not allowed to invest in bitcoin, stating: “That’s well-known because it just hasn’t been ruled by the regulator yet. So, as a proxy to getting exposure to bitcoin, they buy the equities of public bitcoin mining companies, Marathon, Riot, etc.” O’Leary detailed: You want to talk about bitcoin going to $100K, $200K, $300K, it’s going to happen when institutions can finally buy it. “I can tell you with certainty right now because I service sovereign wealth funds and pension plans,” Mr. Wonderful continued...

Elon Musk has revealed that Tesla’s upcoming futuristic diner and drive-in theater, planned for the Hollywood area, will accept the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin. The electric car company currently accepts DOGE for some merchandise on its website. Tesla CEO Elon Musk: ‘You Can Pay in Doge’ Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk tweeted about future dogecoin payment acceptance Friday in reply to a tweet by developer Ryan Zohoury, who said a new Tesla supercharger station in Santa Monica, California, is almost full 10 minutes after it opened. The Tesla boss tweeted, “And futuristic diner / drive-in theater planned for Hollywood area.” He added in a follow-up tweet: And, of course, you can pay in Doge. At press time, the Tesla CEO has not clarified what exactly customers can pay for with the meme cryptocurrency. Some people assume that Tesla supercharger stations will accept dogecoin while others interpreted Musk’s tweet as applicable to only the upcoming diner and drive-in theater in the...

The Federal Reserve has banned its senior officials from investing in cryptocurrency. “Officials covered by the new rules will have 12 months from the effective date of the rules to dispose of all impermissible holdings,” said the Federal Open Market Committee. Senior Federal Reserve Officials Prohibited From Investing in Cryptocurrency The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced Friday that it has “unanimously formally adopted comprehensive new rules for the investment and trading activity of senior officials.” The FOMC is a committee within the U.S. Federal Reserve System charged with overseeing the nation’s open market operations. The rules were first announced in October last year to strengthen “the impartiality and integrity of the Committee’s work by guarding against even the appearance of any conflict of interest,” the announcement details, elaborating: Under the new rules, senior Federal Reserve officials are prohibited from … holding investments in individual bon...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is getting ready to start issuing federal licenses to cryptocurrency service providers in the first quarter. The UAE crypto regulation will take a hybrid approach. The government hopes that a nationwide crypto licensing system will attract big companies to the region. UAE Prepares to Regulate Crypto Sector Nationwide The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is getting ready to start issuing federal licenses to virtual asset service providers (VASPs) by the end of the first quarter, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing an unnamed government official. The UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) is in the final stage of amending legislation to regulate VASPs. The government hopes that a nationwide crypto licensing system will attract big companies to the region. The country completed a risk assessment of crypto assets late last year. The assessment involved 14 public-sector agencies and 16 private-sector entities. The government concluded that proper regu...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a new unit to tackle crypto exploitation. The new team will work with the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat “the criminal misuse of cryptocurrencies.” FBI Establishes New Crypto Unit; DOJ Appoints First Director for National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a new crypto unit. According to an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ): The FBI’s new Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit [is] a specialized team of cryptocurrency experts dedicated to providing analysis, support, and training across the FBI, as well as innovating its cryptocurrency tools to stay ahead of future threats. In addition, the Justice Department announced Thursday the appointment of Eun Young Choi to serve as the first director of its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET). Choi “is an accomplished leader on cyber and cryptocurrency is...

While the Canadian government and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau try to quell the demonstrations in Ottawa by sending police to the encampment on Friday, a United States version of the Canadian trucker’s Freedom Convoy called the “People’s Convoy” is underway. According to the American Foundation for Civil Liberties & Freedom, the U.S. convoy has raised more than $100K so far. As Trudeau Cracks Down on Trucker’s Protest in Ottawa an American Convoy Is Underway For weeks, the entire world has been watching the Freedom Convoy protests in Canada and the hundreds of truckers participating in the effort. The truckers protested in the streets of downtown Ottawa over the Covid-19 vaccine mandates applied to the trucking industry. In recent times, the Canadian government has enacted the Emergencies Act, after Trudeau said he would do “whatever it takes” to end the protest in Ottawa. The national police in Canada also sent letters to crypto exchanges asking them to single out over tw...

A U.S. congressman has introduced the “Keep Your Coins Act” in order to “preserve Americans’ right to privacy in transacting with crypto assets.” The lawmaker says, “this legislation would prohibit any federal agency from promulgating a rule that would impair a person’s ability to act as self-custodian.” US Lawmaker Seeks to Protect Privacy in Crypto Transactions With ‘Keep Your Coins Act’ The office of Congressman Warren Davidson (OH-R) announced Thursday that the lawmaker has introduced the Keep Your Coins Act “to protect transaction privacy.” The announcement explains that the proposed legislation is “designed to preserve Americans’ right to privacy in transacting with crypto assets,” adding: Specifically, this legislation would prohibit any federal agency from promulgating a rule that would impair a person’s ability to act as self-custodian. “A person would then be able to conduct peer-to-peer transactions with their crypto assets without the need to utilize a third-party i...

Binance has reportedly halted services in Israel after the cryptocurrency exchange was approached by the country’s financial regulator inquiring about its activities and the licenses under which it operates. A growing number of regulators have been scrutinizing Binance for operating without a license in their jurisdictions. Binance Halts Crypto Services in Israel Israel’s Capital Market, Insurance, and Savings Authority has reportedly approached Binance regarding the crypto exchange’s activities in the country. The authority, which is responsible for licensing crypto businesses in Israel, has asked Binance for clarification about the services it offers to Israelis and the licenses under which it operates, according to Globes publication. Companies offering crypto services in Israel are required to obtain a license. Binance has not submitted an application to the authority for approval to operate in the country. However, the crypto exchange has activities in Hebrew and it is estim...

On Friday, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced the firm launched digital collectibles for this year’s Daytona 500. NASCAR’s series of limited-edition Daytona 500 NFT drops is part of a partnership with the Wax blockchain team. NASCAR Reveals 2022 Daytona 500 NFT Collection NASCAR plans to issue Daytona 500 non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles and 500 ticket holders can get one NFT per wallet. The stock car racing company emailed 25,000 Daytona 500 ticket holders about the event prior to the launch. According to the announcement sent to Bitcoin.com News, ticket holders had 24-hour notice to sign up for a Wax blockchain wallet in order to enter the contest. “500 NFT winners were automatically entered into a draw to win one of five autographed NASCAR driver helmets,” a representative told Bitcoin.com News. The stock car racing company announced the official digital collectibles launch on February 16. NASCAR explained that it chose Wax because it w...

The Pakistani central bank governor, Reza Baqir, recently revealed that his organization has determined the risks posed by cryptocurrencies “far outweigh the benefits.” The governor, however, suggested that if solutions that address these potential risks emerge, the central bank “is open to looking at them.” Crypto Said to Have No ‘Real Economic Benefits’ for Pakistan The governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Reza Baqir, recently said his institution had concluded that the potential risks that are associated with cryptocurrencies “far outweigh the benefits.” According to Baqir, Pakistan, just like other jurisdictions that have banned or restricted the use of cryptocurrencies, needs more time to “fully understand these technologies not only from the perspective of risk-response.” In his speech at the 2022 MASIC Annual Investment Forum, Baqir defended the SBP’s conclusion, which he said is similar to the ones reached by “large emerging markets including China, India and Russ...

The multinational music corporation  Universal Music Group (UMG) announced the company has partnered with the non-fungible token (NFT) platform Curio on Thursday. UMG says Curio will be a “dedicated global outlet for future officially licensed NFT projects” for the company’s labels and recording artists worldwide. Curio Platform Will Be Universal Music Group’s Dedicated Global Outlet for NFTs Following the UMG’s non-fungible token (NFT) metaverse music group project featuring four Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, the music-based entertainment company has revealed a new partnership with the NFT company Curio NFT . The NFT marketplace platform Curio launched in 2020 and has issued more than 75,000 NFTs to date. According to UMG’s announcement , Curio will be used to bolster “future NFT projects from its unrivaled roster of global artists and labels, providing greater scalability and flexibility to issue authentic fan-orientated collectibles, carefully curated for each project.” Un...

Spellfire has packed 30 years of history into an amazing experience and combined it with the latest trends of tomorrow. Defining the future of NFTs and adding new standards to collectible card games has become the core aims of game developers. St. Valentines day has marked an important date in the game’s development. “Massive news for 10 days in a row starting now – celebrities, MV integrations, leaks – be the first to know!” has appeared in their social media channels and made all their fans keep a close eye on the progress, also looking at the green candles appearing in $SPELLFIRE charts. Spellfire has worked, grown, developed, and made many partnerships and deals in recent times. The game’s development has reached incredible speeds and is almost ready to be shown-off. The best news was packed in the ‘10 Days of Growth’ sprint that has just started promising amazing developments every day. New NFT’s, celebrity backers, in-game partnerships, sneak-peaks, integrations of the game, ...

On February 17, the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital announced the launch of a new $500 million to $600 million sub-fund dedicated to “liquid tokens and digital assets.” The company noted during its announcement that the new fund highlights Sequoia’s strategic “commitment to crypto.” Venture Firm Sequoia Capital to Launch a Fund Focused on Liquid Tokens and Digital Assets The American venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Sequoia Capital is starting a fund that will be focused on investing in crypto assets. In a blog post dubbed “A Block Step Forward,” Sequoia says the new liquid token fund “complements” the firm’s ongoing crypto investing. Sequoia’s announcement further discussed prior partnerships with crypto movers and shakers like FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and Michael Shaulov the co-founder of Fireblocks. The venture capital firm also mentioned blockchains like Ethereum, Solana, and “major” decentralized finance (defi) protocols. While investing in ...

Several U.S. lawmakers have introduced a bill to mitigate the risks from El Salvador adopting bitcoin as legal tender. “El Salvador recognizing bitcoin as official currency opens the door for money laundering cartels and undermines U.S. interests,” said a U.S. senator. US Concerned About Risks From El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations announced Wednesday that Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) have introduced a bill titled the ‘‘Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador Act’’ or ‘‘ACES Act.’’ The proposed legislation requires a report from the State Department on El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender and “a plan to mitigate potential risks to the U.S. financial system,” the announcement details. The State Department report would include an analysis of El Salvador’s bitcoin adoption as legal tender and the risks for cybersecurity, economic stability, and democratic governance in El Sal...

Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s right-hand man, wishes crypto would be banned immediately. He says the government made “a huge mistake” to allow cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin. “It’s like a venereal disease,” he opined. Charlie Munger Says ‘It Was a Huge Mistake’ to Allow Crypto at All Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s right-hand man and longtime business partner, talked about bitcoin and cryptocurrency Wednesday in an interview with Yahoo Finance ahead of the annual shareholders meeting at the Daily Journal, where he serves as chairman. Munger previously called bitcoin “rat poison” and said last year that he hated the success of the cryptocurrency. He was asked if he is surprised that bitcoin has gotten even more mainstream since then. The Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman replied: “If you stop to think about it, it’s an ideal currency if you want to commit extortion, or kidnapping, or have a protection racket or something.” He added: “Why should...

The U.S. state of Colorado is preparing to accept cryptocurrency for tax payments, said Governor Jared Polis. “We expect to accept crypto by this summer,” he said, adding that after tax payments, crypto will be accepted for other things like driver’s licenses or hunting licenses. Colorado to Accept Crypto for Tax Payments The governor of the U.S. state of Colorado, Jared Polis, talked about his state’s efforts to become the leader in cryptocurrency acceptance in an interview with CNBC Tuesday. Regarding his state accepting cryptocurrency for tax payments, he said: “We expect by this summer — pretty soon — to accept crypto for all of our state tax-related purposes, and then we plan to roll that out across all of state governments for things like … driver’s license or hunting license, within a few months after that.” He reiterated: The biggest set of transactions are the taxes that people pay. We expect to accept crypto by this summer. However, the governor clarified: “It’s impor...

Nearly seven out of ten surveyed Americans said they were aware of risks that are associated with cryptocurrencies, a new study by Nordvpn has found. However, about 32% of the respondents said they were not aware of any risks. Understanding Cryptocurrencies According to the findings of a new Nordvpn study, about seven in ten Americans, or 68% of study participants, said they were aware of the risks involved with cryptocurrency. The study also found that an almost identical number (69%) of all the respondents “had some understanding of what cryptocurrency is.” Despite being knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies, the surveyed Americans still expressed their uneasiness over the prospect of these digital currencies “becoming the standard for online purchases.” Also, in a breakdown of the risks identified, the study found that 59% of the respondents were aware that trading platforms and exchanges can get hacked. About 57% said they were aware of the risk of an account takeover, while 5...