Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Analysts from Venezuela have expressed their worries about the expulsion of a number of Russian banks from SWIFT, an international messaging system that allows the interconnection of banks. These measures could affect the finances not only of Venezuela, but also of other countries in the region, damaging their capability to move funds, which is highly dependent on services provided by Russian banks. Russian Banks’ SWIFT Expulsion Could Affect Venezuela The recent announcement of the expulsion of some Russian banks from the SWIFT payments system has raised concern about the effects it could have in countries like Venezuela, which is linked to the Russian banking system. Jose Guerra, a Venezuelan economist, was one of the first to speculate about this possible problem on social media. Guerra stated : What does it mean for Venezuela? If the government money is in Russian banks, it will not be possible to transfer it to make payments. everything gets complicated. Guerra further exp

One of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s leading real estate property developers, DAMAC Properties, is planning to launch a project in the metaverse soon, the company’s managing director (MD) has said. DAMAC Looking Into NFTs and Metaverse According to Ali Sajwani, the managing director of the real estate property developer DAMAC Properties, his company is planning to start a project in the metaverse sometime in March. The project, if launched, will be a first for the London Stock Exchange-listed property developer. Sajwani’s confirmation of the company’s planned foray into the metaverse came a few weeks after an online poll he conducted suggested real estate is likely to be the first sector to adopt non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In addition, the revelation came shortly after Sajwani himself was said to have purchased a plot in The Sandbox metaverse. In remarks following an announcement made during NFT collection Crypto Bear Watch Club (CBWC)’s ask me anything (AMA) session, Sajwani

Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has criticized the Biden administration and European governments for not pressuring cryptocurrency exchanges to end transactions with Russian users. She believes regulators “should look hard at how they can prevent the crypto markets from giving an escape hatch to Russia, both governmental and private transactions in and out of Russia.” Hillary Clinton ‘Disappointed’ Crypto Exchanges Are Not Blocking All Russian Users Hillary Clinton, a former first lady, U.S. senator, secretary of state, and the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, heavily criticized the Biden administration, the Treasury Department, and European governments on MSNBC Monday night for allowing Russians to use cryptocurrency as an escape route. Commenting on some major cryptocurrency exchanges refusing to block accounts of all Russian users, Clinton said: I was disappointed to see that some of the so-called crypto exchanges, not all of them but some of them, are re

Airbnb confirms that it is looking to support cryptocurrency. The company has also offered to provide housing for up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. According to the European Union, about four million people may try to leave Ukraine because of the Russian invasion. Airbnb’s CEO Discusses Cryptocurrency and the Refugee Crisis in Ukraine The CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, talked about cryptocurrency and his company’s efforts to help Ukrainian refugees in an interview with CNBC Tuesday. According to its website, Airbnb has about 6 million active listings worldwide, with more than 4 million hosts. There are 100,000 cities and towns with active Airbnb listings. Chesky was asked if Airbnb supports crypto since some people in Ukraine are trying to take payments in cryptocurrency following Russia’s invasion. He replied: Airbnb is. I mean, I am personally supportive of the idea of crypto, of course. I think it’s a really interesting technology. He continued: “I went on Twitter in the begin

According to reports and data stemming from ruble-denominated crypto trading pairs, Russian citizens are flocking toward cryptocurrencies amid the conflict in Ukraine. Analytical data indicates that the ruble is the sixth most traded pair with tether and tether’s fourth most traded fiat-denominated pair globally excluding two crypto assets. Report Highlights Russian Rubles Pouring Into Tether, Data Shows Binance RUB-Denominated Crypto Trading Pairs Spike 24 hours ago, Bitcoin.com News reported on ruble (RUB)-denominated crypto volumes increasing and further investigation shows the trend has continued. According to a report published by vice.com author Ekin Genç, metrics sent to Motherboard from Arcane Research indicate that USDT /RUB trading volume has been surging. A number of other data points show similar findings as ruble trade volume has been rising across the crypto ecosystem. A report published by the Wall Street Journal reporter, Paul Vigna, shows that between February

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed that there are benefits for cryptocurrency companies to self-report their violations of securities laws to the regulator. While noting that there will be no amnesty, the SEC enforcement director said, “We’ll view their conduct more favorably if they come in — such as what the remedies will look like.” No Amnesty for Crypto Firms Cryptocurrency companies that self-report violations of security laws to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cannot expect amnesty but there are some benefits, Gurbir Grewal, the agency’s enforcement director, told Reuters Monday. The director elaborated: Our message to them is not, ‘Register your product and we’ll just ignore the billions you have under management in this crypto lending product and your violations of the securities laws.’ SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has repeatedly urged companies in the crypto space to come in and discuss their products with the SEC to bring the

Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has announced a series of humanitarian aid actions it will take to support Ukrainians. The exchange stated it will donate a minimum of $10 million to help the Ukrainian people through the Binance Charity Foundation. Binance also announced it was kickstarting a crypto-first crowdfunding site to coordinate donations to the Ukrainian cause. Binance to Offer Humanitarian Donation to Ukrainians Binance, one of the leading exchanges in the cryptocurrency sphere, has announced its intentions to help the people of Ukraine in light of the current conflict. The exchange announced it will donate at least $10 million to support humanitarian efforts to improve the situation of Ukrainian citizens in the midst of the conflict. The donation, which will be made by the Binance Charity Foundation, will be divided between nonprofit and governmental organizations present in the country. Among these organizations is UNICEF, which has a lon

An Islamic scholar, Irshad Ahmad Ijaz, has asserted that digital currency is not fake currency and that it should be legitimized once certain conditions are met. Ijaz’s viewpoint is echoed by other scholars that attended a seminar examining the status of digital currencies from the perspective of Islamic law. Use of Crypto in the Digital Age An Islamic scholar or Mufti, Irshad Ahmad Ijaz, recently argued digital currencies are not so-called fictitious currency, a report has said. He, however, suggested that such currency can only be justified once certain conditions have been met. According to a report published by Academia, Ijaz, who made his remarks while speaking at a seminar held in Pakistan on cryptocurrencies — organized by the University of Karachi and the Al-Asr Foundation — also urged the Pakistani government to play its part and ensure the confusion surrounding the use of cryptos is removed. Meanwhile, the report also quotes another scholar, Ishaq Alam, who suggested th

Humans have always had the ambition to explore outer space. To this day, the Moon Landing remains etched in history as one of the most highly regarded events of all time, one that continues to inspire over half a century later. Space travel is still far from universally available, such that even the planets and moons of our Solar System are beyond our reach but for the hard work and effort of the world’s various space programmes. MARS4 Metaverse aspires to bring that dream closer. What is MARS4? MARS4 is a blockchain-based project consisting of three interconnected parts: NFTs, MARS4 dollars and the upcoming game. All these elements will come together to create an interactive virtual Mars with a self-sustaining economy. Like many blockchain games, MARS4 will be a Play-to-Earn game where NFTs and tokens are utilized as tools to give a rich and exciting experience of Mars for the players. With MARS4, you can own a unique Mars land NFT modeled after NASA’s Mars data. MARS4 land NFTs

The concept of leveraging a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) has become very popular these days, as a myriad of DAO ideas have been created. A new DAO dedicated to purchasing fast-food restaurants called Fries DAO has raised more than $5.4 million to achieve the goal. Fries DAO Creators Dream of a ‘DAO-Governed Fast-Food Franchise Empire’ Last week, Bitcoin.com News reported on a newly launched DAO that is attempting to purchase the NFL’s Denver Broncos football franchise for $4 billion. Ever since 2016’s Genesis DAO and the subsequent hack that followed, DAO concepts have grown in popularity and security seems stronger. Basically, a DAO is automated, decentralized, and operated by the community’s blockchain governance system. A DAO’s native token is typically leveraged to be used as a stake in governance voting processes, and for paying for goods, services, and future goals. A newly launched DAO called Fries DAO is attempting to leverage the DAO idea to purchase fas

On Monday, Sven Henrich, the founder and the lead market strategist for northmantrader.com discussed bitcoin “rallying in the face of this crisis.” The technical analyst and market commentator highlighted four reasons why he believes bitcoin’s value surged — “Fundamental, Sentiment, Technical, [and] Safety trade.” Northmantrader’s Founder Sven Henrich Describes Why He Thinks ‘Bitcoin Is Rallying in the Face of Crisis’ The price of bitcoin (BTC) surged on Monday to a high of $44,256 per unit at 5:35 p.m. (EST). BTC ’s price hasn’t been this high in USD value in roughly 39 days, since January 20, 2022. Bitcoin’s price rise sparked a number of conversations on social media and forums during the course of the day. After the price of the leading crypto jumped, gold bug and economist Peter Schiff shared his two cents about the market action on Monday. “Gold and bitcoin are both up today,” Schiff tweeted . “But this move in no way implies a correlation. They’re rising for different reas

Hack VC, a crypto investment firm, has launched a new $200 million crypto-based seed fund. The venture capital company, which is behind the hack.summit() event, one of the biggest blockchain programming events in the world, aims to invest in early stage Web3-based teams. The idea behind this fund is to accompany these teams each step of the way, instead of just providing funding as with other, similar proposals. Hack VC Launches $200 Million Fund Backed by Sequoia Capital and Fidelity Hack VC, a crypto-led venture capital group behind the hack.summit() blockchain programming event, announced it is launching a new $200 million crypto seed fund, that aims to invest in early-stage cryptocurrency and Web3 teams. The funds come from several VC companies in the field and include investments from Sequoia Capital , Fidelity, A16z’s Marc Andreessen, and Digital Currency Group, among others. The fund aims to implement a different approach when it comes to incubating these early-stage ventur

Ivory Coast or Côte d’Ivoire’s Tietto Minerals recently said it had drilled and extracted as much as 503.85 grams per tonne from 83 metres at its Abujar Gludehi deposit. The drilling result moves the miner another step towards production on what may become West Africa’s biggest new gold mines, a report has suggested. The Abujar Deposit Tietto Minerals, the Ivory Coast-based gold miner, has reportedly drilled 503.85 grams per tonne (g/t) from 83 metres at its flagship Abujar-Gludehi deposit. On top of this very high grade, the miner’s other better results include a 10-metre hit which had 51.75 g/t. An even richer 3-metre section had about 171 g/t from the same depth. According to a report by The West, the Abujar-Gludehi deposit is, in fact, part of a larger Abujar gold project which is comprised of three “contiguous tenements” that have a total land area of 1,114 square kilometres. Similar to the Gludehi deposit, the report noted that the miner’s other prospects had delivered notew

Ukraine is now trying to expose cryptocurrency wallets used by politicians in Moscow amid warnings that Russia may employ digital coins to circumvent sanctions. The initiative comes as western allies agree to expel some Russian banks from SWIFT, the global interbank payments system. Government of Ukraine Seeks Info on Crypto Assets of Russian and Belarusian Officials Authorities in Kyiv have issued a call on social media for information about crypto wallets controlled by politicians in Russia and Belarus. On Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on Twitter that the country’s crypto community will reward those who provide details leading to their identification. Ukrainian crypto community is ready to provide a generous reward for any information about crypto-wallets of Russian and Belarusian politicians and their surroundings. War crimes must be pursued and punished! To share info please contact in Telegram: https://t.co/XHidwUQ8bE . — Mykhailo Fedor

PRESS RELEASE. NFTs have taken the crypto community by storm. As market participants realized the number of applications for ‘Non-fungible tokens’ (used to certify the authenticity of digital assets), many immediately saw $$$ signs. Nevertheless, although the talk about NFTs often only revolves around certifying artwork, there is another field that has natural synergies with NFT technology too – metaverses, i.e., the next generation of gaming. On top of this trend is MetaShooter , the first decentralized blockchain-based hunting metaverse that joins millions of gaming enthusiasts in a community to share a realistic (VR compatible) hunting experience. Not only are modern-day hunters invited to compete in tournaments with stunning visuals, but they are also rewarded with NFTs of monetary value by hunting trophies and triumphing against their fellow hunters. MetaShooter modernizes the hunting experience, developing new ways old hobbyists and new gamers alike can interact within the

Rakuten Group, the Japanese electronic commerce and online retail company based in Tokyo has announced the launch of a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace called Rakuten NFT. The announcement notes that new features will be added in the future, and a peer-to-peer service for minting and selling NFT content is planned to launch in 2023. Rakuten Launches Non-Fungible Token Marketplace During the last few years, the Japanese online retail giant Rakuten has been dipping its feet into the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain solutions. In the summer of 2019, Rakuten launched a cryptocurrency exchange and in the spring of 2021, Rakuten allowed customers to load crypto into Rakuten Pay accounts. Now the company is getting into the NFT game, as Rakuten announced the launch of a new platform called Rakuten NFT . “Rakuten NFT is a service that provides a marketplace for users to purchase NFTs, as well as peer-to-peer buying and selling of NFTs, in a range of areas such as sports and e

It’s getting cheaper to send ethereum these days as the gas price to push a transaction is more than 80% less expensive than it was to transact with ether 48 days ago on January 10. On that day, Ethereum network fees were around $52 per transaction and today, the average transaction fee is $10.26 per transfer. While on-chain fees are cheaper, layer two (L2) transactions have followed suit dropping significantly during the last seven days. Ethereum Gas Fees Continue to Slide It’s a lot less expensive to transact with the Ethereum (ETH) network on February 27, as average size fees are down to 0.0039 ETH or $10.26 per transfer. The last time Ethereum network fees were this low was six months ago, back in late-August 2021. Currently, with average fees at $10.26 per transfer, it’s 80.26% cheaper than it was transferring ETH on January 10, 2022. At that time over a month ago, the average transaction fee was $52 per transaction. Ethereum fees have been sliding downward ever since tha

The total value locked in decentralized finance (defi) has managed to jump above the $200 billion zone, as crypto markets have rebounded from the market downturn last week. A number of native assets from the $611 billion worth of smart contract protocols have seen double-digit gains with cypherium (CPH), counterparty (XCP), and terra (LUNA) leading the pack. TVL in Defi Jumps Back Above $200 Billion — Cypherium, Counterparty, Terra Rise Crypto markets have recovered after initially dropping after Russia invaded Ukraine three days ago and the rebound has pushed defi value up as well. After falling beneath the $200 billion mark, the total value locked (TVL) in defi has jumped back above the zone to $200.94 billion on February 27. The TVL in defi across all the top blockchains hit a low of $185.9 billion on January 28 and it’s up 10.61% since that day. Curve dominance is 8.68% on Sunday with $17.86 billion total value locked but the defi protocol’s TVL is down 5.61% since last week.

Private banks in Mexico want to join efforts with the central bank of the country in the creation of a new digital currency. The president of the Mexican Bank Association (ABM) met with the governor of the Bank of Mexico to offer the help of the group of private banks for the creation of a national digital currency in the future. Private Banks Want to Be Involved in Potential CBDC Members of the Mexican Bank Association have stated their intention of helping the central bank of the country in the design and issuance of a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC). The president of the association, Daniel Becker, met with the governor of the Bank of Mexico, Victoria Rodríguez Ceja, to review some important factors related to making banks more accessible for Mexican citizens. About the meeting, Becker stated: If Banxico determines that the banking opinion can help build better elements or a cryptocurrency, count on us and the best banking opinion so that it is something that p

A recent report states that freelancing is experiencing a boom in Argentina, and also comments on how Argentinians are among workers in the region that most actively use cryptocurrencies to receive part of their paycheck. The report further states that workers accepting their paychecks in crypto favor traditional cryptocurrencies such as ether and bitcoin, which together amount to almost 90% of the payments made in crypto. Freelancing and Crypto Becoming More Popular in Argentina Freelancing seems to be experiencing a boom in Argentina, and with it, crypto, as a way of collecting payments outside of the traditional financial system. A report titled “State of Global Hiring 2021,” made by Deel, a global hiring firm, has discovered that Argentinians, and Latam in general, are increasingly focusing on international companies and jobs. The report explains this is likely a result of the decline of local economies and jobs due to the after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, compa

PRESS RELEASE. DUBAI, UAE : MContent has announced the arrival of the Cineverse to the world whereby they aspire to bring Cinema to people anywhere, anytime – MContent and their launch was enabled due to a collaboration with PwC Middle East emerging technology teams. A high-end launch event was attended by notable guests at Palm Jumeirah Dubai where MContent premiered their original co-productions titled “Ripple vs. SEC Saga” and “El Salvador vs. World Bank”. The Cinema premier however was different from the norm as participants were seen glaring at the ocean sitting at a beach wearing their virtual reality (VR) headsets engaged in an immersive Cineverse experience. Earlier in January 2022, the leading UAE conglomerate, Gargash Group, had announced a major investment in MContent, the world’s first tokenised content ecosystem that aims to revolutionise the global content landscape. Designed to convert content viewers into content owners, the first-of-its-kind platform enables

The founder of the $3.4 billion crypto Ponzi scheme Bitconnect has been charged in the United States. “If convicted of all counts, he faces a maximum total penalty of 70 years in prison,” said the U.S. Department of Justice. Bitconnect’s Founder Could Go to Prison for 70 Years The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that the founder of the global crypto fraud scheme Bitconnect has been charged. “Bitconnect is an alleged fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platform that reached a peak market capitalization of $3.4 billion,” the DOJ described, adding: A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Satishkumar Kurjibhai Kumbhani, a citizen and resident of India, with multiple crimes for his alleged role in a massive criminal conspiracy involving the cryptocurrency company he founded, Bitconnect. The 36-year-old from Hemal, India, misled investors that the scheme’s “Lending Program” was able to “generate substantial profits and guaranteed returns” using “

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz says one of the reasons he is so bullish on bitcoin is because it is decentralized and not controllable. He added that “China recently banned bitcoin because they can’t control it, which is the exact same reason Elizabeth Warren hates bitcoin.” US Senator Bullish on Bitcoin U.S. Senator Ted Cruz from Texas spoke favorably about bitcoin at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Thursday. Launched in 1974, CPAC “is the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world,” its website describes. During his speech at the event, the senator said: One of the reasons why I’m so bullish on crypto, on bitcoin, is because it is decentralized and not controllable. “Let me give a fantastic example,” he continued. “So Justin Trudeau said I don’t like me some truckers, so we are going to freeze your assets. So the court went to try to freeze the crypto that was being given to the truckers.” Senator Cruz proceeded to read aloud a letter fr