Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, blockchain surveillance companies have discussed and implemented ways to combat sanctioned countries from using digital assets. Last week, Chainalysis revealed screening tools for crypto firms that aim to comply with international sanctions. On Monday, the CEO of Elliptic published a blog post describing the company’s work to combat sanction evasion. Elliptic CEO Speaks on the Company’s ‘Work to Combat Sanction Evasions in Crypto’ This week, Simone Maini, the chief executive officer of the blockchain surveillance firm Elliptic, published a blog post concerning how the company deals with sanction evasions tethered to crypto assets. Maini’s blog post stresses that “the war in Ukraine has demonstrated that powerful technologies such as cryptocurrency can be used in both positive and negative ways.” The Elliptic CEO details how funds were raised for the Ukrainian government and other Ukraine-based NGOs. On the other hand, Maini’s blog post no...

A lot has happened since the idea of Penguin Karts was first conceived. Who would have thought that a nostalgic memory would spawn the development of a blockchain project, let alone one that has been gaining steam like this. Today, we wanted to highlight what we believe makes Penguin Karts special and (if you’ll excuse the pun) how it really drives forward the blockchain gaming scene. The Game For those who don’t know, Penguin Karts is an immersive 3D battle-racing game built on the blockchain . Essentially, it takes the arcade-style kart racing you know and love and seamlessly introduces NFT dynamics alongside a Play-to-Earn system. Here’s what that means for you, as the player: you race against up to eight opponents across a selection of tracks while earning prizes and NFTs , which can be used in game (skins for your character and kart, for example) or sold for profit . There are also leaderboards to contend with, tournaments to take part in and even a wager system to...

The Indian government has told parliament that it does not have a plan to issue cryptocurrency to be regulated by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The government also clarified that India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), that the RBI will launch this financial year, is “a digital version of traditional paper currency.” Indian Parliament Asks Government About ‘RBI Cryptocurrency’ The Indian ministry of finance answered some questions Tuesday in Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of parliament, regarding “RBI Cryptocurrency.” Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh asked the finance minister to state “whether it is a fact that [the] government is planning to introduce a cryptocurrency that will be regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).” Pankaj Chaudhary, the minister of state in the ministry of finance, replied: “No sir.” Singh further asked whether the government is aware that cryptocurrency “is unregulated and free from government intervention.” Minister Ch...

The famous author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has predicted the end of the U.S. dollar. Furthermore, he said that the Russian-Ukraine war has given rise to crypto as “a safer haven asset than government fake fiat money.” Robert Kiyosaki on War and Bitcoin The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, discussed bitcoin, the Russian-Ukraine war, and the end of the U.S. dollar in a series of tweets Tuesday. Rich Dad Poor Dad is a 1997 book co-authored by Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over six years. More than 32 million copies of the book have been sold in over 51 languages across more than 109 countries. Citing that many Russians are using bitcoin as a lifeline after the Russian ruble collapsed , he wrote: “Ukraine/Russian war giving rise to crypto as a safer haven than government fake fiat money.” Kiyosaki also tweeted Monday that the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve “want infl...

PRESS RELEASE. Vancouver, Canada – MetaBlox has completed their seed round and have raised over $2 million ​​from some of the most highly regarded firms in Web3. The seed funding is co-led by Synergis Capital and CollabCurrency, followed by NFT Technologies, SNZ holdings, Future Life, Slope, CrowdCreate, and multiple technology and few crypto-focused family offices. While MetaBlox secured funding, they are also ecstatic that they have developed partnerships and relationships with some of the most prominent figures in the space today. The funds Metablox has raised will accelerate their Network Protocol roll out. They are hiring a team to work on MetaBlox full time. They will use the initial funds to focus on marketing their network and garnering as much exposure to the crypto community as a user-centric network. Once they have the initial exposure established, MetaBlox will reward its users with passive income and income generating capabilities. The team at MetaBlox believes the f...

Gladstone Arantes, a director of the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), gave new details about the progress of the Brazilian Blockchain Network, a project that has been in development since 2018. The network will be created on top of the Hyperledger Besu 2.0, which uses a proof-of-authority consensus mechanism. The final goal of this project is to move public spending to the network in order to increase the transparency of these fund movements. Brazilian Blockchain Network Advances The Brazilian Blockchain Network, a project that was conceived back in 2018, is now in its development phase. Gladstone Arantes, head of blockchain initiatives at the Development Bank of the country (BNDES), revealed new insights about the development and the technical data of the project. At the Ethereum.Rio event, Arantes stated the project had selected Hyperledger Besu 2.0 to be its base platform, and that the network would also be using a proof-of-authority consensus system. Proof-of-authority mean...

Aptos, a new startup created by some of Meta’s former employees involved in the Diem project, has announced it has raised $200 million for its upcoming goal of creating a scalable blockchain system. The investment, conducted in a strategic funding round, involves some well-known VC names, including Tiger Global, Katie Haun, Multicoin Capital, 3 Arrows Capital, FTX Ventures, and Coinbase Ventures. Aptos to Propose Scalability Solutions A group of Meta’s ex-employees that worked on Diem, and abandoned the company in December, are now dedicated to developing their own blockchain system aiming for it to be used by millions. Aptos, the startup the group founded, has announced the company raised $200 million in its first funding round, which was qualified as “strategic.” The company had the support of several VC companies in this funding round, including Tiger Global, Katie Haun, Multicoin Capital, 3 Arrows Capital, FTX Ventures, and Coinbase Ventures, putting it at unicorn status. Aptos...

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced that it has received a full license from the Central Bank of Bahrain. “The crypto asset license will allow Binance to provide crypto-asset trading, custodial services, and portfolio management to customers under the supervision of the Bahrain regulators,” said the exchange. Binance Now Licensed in Bahrain Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced Monday that it has been granted a crypto asset service provider license from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder and CEO of Binance, tweeted: Binance has been granted the first license for a global crypto-asset provider in The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) by the Central Bank of Bahrain. He added: “The license from Bahrain is a milestone in our journey to being fully licensed and regulated around the world.” The cryptocurrency exchange company received in-principle approval from the central bank in December last year. And in-principle...

Authorities in China recently announced the arrest of ten suspects they say are behind an online pyramid platform that is thought to have stolen millions of dollars from unsuspecting users. The suspects are accused of using the promise of high returns and a regular income to lure more victims. A ‘Unicorn in the Field of Global Applications’ Chinese authorities recently said they had arrested ten individuals behind an online platform which they believe to be a pyramid scheme, a regional report from China has said. The report suggests the scammers may have defrauded unsuspecting investors of more than $15 million or 100 million yuan. According to the report , the arrests of the unnamed suspects followed the completion of a six-month investigation into the activities of the platform. The probe was initiated after authorities reported seeing the initial use of digital currency to implement the pyramid scheme in Shanghai. One of the probing teams, the Economic Investigation Team of the...

PRESS RELEASE. BTC Proxy , the Bitcoin Liquidity Protocol on Polygon, has entered into a strategic partnership with Blockchain.com , one of the world’s largest crypto platforms and an early pioneer of key Bitcoin infrastructure. As part of the partnership, Blockchain.com will add BTC Liquidity into the Proxy ecosystem by Minting BTCpx. Moving Bitcoin to the Polygon network will expand the DeFi ecosystem and provide reward opportunities for users. BTC Proxy believes it has solved a real pain point with Bitcoin by creating a mechanism of interoperability to access stored value from long-term holders without sacrificing safety through the use of qualified custodians. This tokenized volume can then be utilized to provide liquidity and drive value to all the networks involved. BTCpx is the tokenized receipt of Bitcoin ( BTC ) that has been deposited into a qualified custodian. In this arrangement, the BTCpx is used to navigate through carefully crafted and sustainable reward programs ...

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance is showing its intention of expanding its activities to Brazil. The company announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with a regulated securities brokerage firm in Brazil, with the intention of acquiring it. The company, called Sim;paul Investimentos, offers different investment options to its customers, including various funds and stocks, and is said to be completely compliant with Brazilian laws. Binance Inks Memorandum of Understanding With Sim;paul Investimentos Binance is setting its sights on Latam, specifically Brazil, as the company is making moves to establish a more significant foothold in the country. The exchange announced it has inked a memorandum of understanding with a Brazilian brokerage firm called Sim;paul Investimentos, with the intention of acquiring the company after having cleared the requirements and receiving approval from regulators, including the Bank of Brazil. Binance’s move, according to the pres...

India’s income tax department has reportedly identified about 700 cryptocurrency investors who have failed to pay taxes on high-value crypto transactions. “We have a long list of people who were transacting in crypto assets but were not paying tax,” said an official with the country’s Central Board of Direct Taxation. Indian Tax Authority Going After 700 Crypto Investors India’s income tax department is reportedly cracking down on non-payment of taxes from cryptocurrency gains. The department is examining the high-value crypto transactions of about 700 investors, the Economic Times reported Tuesday, adding that the authority is proposing to issue notices to them. Income tax officials said most of these people have either omitted declaring crypto gains on their tax returns or have not filed tax returns at all. They could face 30% tax, penalty, and interest. A senior official with the Indian Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) told the publication: We have a long list of peopl...

The Ukrainian government has launched an official cryptocurrency donation website to raise funds in support of the Ukrainian armed forces and humanitarian aid programs in the fight against Russia. The donation platform is a collaboration between the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Everstake, and cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Government’s Crypto Donation Website Now Live The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine announced Monday that it has launched the official “ Aid For Ukraine ” website to raise funds in support of the Ukrainian armed forces and humanitarian aid programs in the fight against Russia. The crypto donation platform is in partnership with staking service provider Everstake and cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Mykhailo Fedorov, vice prime minister of Ukraine, tweeted Monday confirming that the official website where anyone around the world can make cryptocurrency donations to Ukraine has gone live. The new donation website describes, “Aid For Ukrain...

The U.S. Better Business Bureau (BBB) says cryptocurrency scams have become the second riskiest. In addition, the organization noted that “Payment made via cryptocurrency that resulted in a monetary loss more than doubled from 2020.” BBB Sees Rising Crypto Scams The U.S. Better Business Bureau (BBB) released its 2021 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report Friday. “This annual report uses data submitted by individuals and businesses to BBB Scam Tracker to shed light on how scams are perpetrated, who is being targeted, which scams have the greatest impact, and much more,” the report explains. Founded in 1912, the BBB is a private, nonprofit organization focused on advancing marketplace trust, its website details. The report states: Cryptocurrency scams rose from seventh riskiest in 2020 to the second riskiest scam in 2021. Online purchase scams maintained the top position as the riskiest, accounting for 37.4% of all scams reported to BBB Scam Tracker in 2021. Employment scams dropped from...

Japan’s top financial regulator has asked cryptocurrency exchanges in the country not to process transactions subject to asset-freeze sanctions. The penalty for unauthorized payments to sanctioned persons includes three years in prison. Japan’s Financial Regulator and Ministry of Finance Ask Crypto Exchanges to Comply With Sanctions Restrictions Japan’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), announced Monday that the country will contribute to international sanctions efforts surrounding Ukraine following its attack by Russia. The FSA added that it has received approval by the Cabinet to implement “various measures including payment restrictions under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act.” The financial regulator detailed that it and the Ministry of Finance have made a request to crypto exchanges in the country not to process transactions subject to asset-freeze sanctions against Russia and Belarus. The FSA detailed: All payments, including payments b...

Argentinian citizens involved in the cryptocurrency industry are criticizing a perceived anti-crypto requirement that the recent deal made with the IMF has introduced. The deal, which restructures and gives more facilities to the country to pay the $45 billion owed to the fund, also hints at a series of measures directed at stifling the growth that the crypto industry has experienced in the country. IMF Slips Controversial Crypto Clause Into Argentinian Debt Restructuring Deal An perceived anti-crypto requirement in the newly-approved deal Argentina signed with the IMF has Argentinians talking about the implications it might have on the adoption of crypto in the country. The agreement , which serves to restructure the $45 million in debt Argentina has with the international organization, will give the country a much-needed time period to repay this debt. The debated statement slipped into the law project that approves the aforementioned refinancing of the debt declares: The Nati...

PRESS RELEASE. IHC token team just announced a contest of video content creation with a prize pool of 100 million IHC tokens among Youtubers. All Youtube content creators with above 5k subscribers can compete by posting a full explanatory video on “Inflation Hedging Coin” between March 15 and April 15. The preliminary qualification will be held on April 20, 2022 and the top 30 entries with the most YouTube views will be selected. Then judges will select the five winners on May 1 from the list of 30 contestants with the most views on their entry video. Videos published to YouTube must comply with the fair use of copyrighted materials and they must be either in English or have English subtitles. The video length should be at least 3 minutes and the content should be exclusively about the IHC token. There are no limits to creativity; contestants can even submit multiple entries to the contest. Contestants can register their entry via pressoffice@ihcoin.io e-mail address with the subjec...

During the last 12 months the stablecoin economy has grown massive and the current valuation today is only $13 billion away from tapping the $200 billion mark. This month, the two biggest gainers in terms of 30-day issuance include Terra’s UST jumping 29.9% and Neutrino Protocol’s USDN spiking 43.8%. Stablecoin Market Capitalization Continues to Swell, Tether Crosses $80 Billion Monthly statistics show the largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization, tether (USDT) , increased by 2% this month as the valuation crossed the $80 billion mark. USDT is massive compared to the rest of the stablecoins in the crypto economy as its valuation represents 42.78% of the $187 billion stablecoin economy today. Furthermore, tether’s $80 billion market capitalization equates to 4.46% of the entire $1.83 trillion crypto economy. The second-largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization, usd coin (USDC) only increased by 0.3% this past month. USDC has a market valuation of around $5...

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has revealed that his two companies are seeing significant inflation pressure in raw materials and logistics. He advised people to own physical things when inflation is high but stressed he will not sell his cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin. Elon Musk Discusses High Inflation The CEO of Tesla and Spacex, Elon Musk, discussed high inflation in a series of tweets that started Sunday evening. He began by asking his 7.7 million Twitter followers, “What are your thoughts about probable inflation rate over next few years?” Musk also revealed that his companies, Tesla and Spacex, are seeing significant inflation pressure in raw materials and logistics. The Spacex boss noted that other companies are seeing a similar trend. He referenced an article published by the Financial Times earlier this month stating that global commodity prices are on track for the biggest weekly rally in more than 50 years as Europe’s natural gas prices have hit a new r...

The founder of Skybridge Capital has predicted that “bitcoin will be used by many Latin American countries as legal tender over time, not just El Salvador.” He recently doubled down on his $100K bitcoin price prediction but does not currently see the cryptocurrency as a hedge against inflation. Bitcoin Will Be Legal Tender in Many More Countries, Says Scaramucci The founder of investment management firm Skybridge Capital, Anthony Scaramucci, expects more countries to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. “I see bitcoin in its current status as an early adopting technological asset,” he said in an interview with Marketwatch last week. The Skybridge Capital founder elaborated: I think bitcoin will be used by many Latin American countries as legal tender over time, not just El Salvador, but other countries. El Salvador adopted bitcoin as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar in September last year. The Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, predicted in January that two more countries wil...

Sudan has denied claims Russian entities have smuggled hundreds of tonnes of illicit gold from its territory. Officials have called the allegations fake news and suggested that Sudan is in fact looking to revive its economy through gold mining. The Rise in Russia’s Gold Holdings The Sudanese Ambassador to Russia Onor Ahmed Onor recently dismissed claims entities from the latter country have smuggled “hundreds of tonnes of illicit gold” from his country’s territory for years. In pushing back against the allegations, Onor called the report published by the British Telegraph newspaper “fake news” and added the story had been “created from the imagination” of the story’s writer. In its report , the Telegraph newspaper said Russia, which is the world’s third-largest producer of gold, had overseen the more than 300% growth in the amount of gold held at the country’s central bank since 2010. The report alleges that most of the gold was sourced from Africa with Sudan being at the center of...

Changes to the EU’s MiCA proposal to regulate crypto markets, suggested shortly before a vote on the package, indicate a bitcoin ban is still a possibility. Despite recently removing wording that would have prohibited coins with energy-intensive mining, some members of the European Parliament are now targeting “unsustainable” cryptocurrencies. New MiCA Paragraphs Call for Subjecting Cryptocurrencies to ‘Sustainability Standards’ A text banning the offering of services for cryptocurrencies relying on the proof-of-work (PoW) mining method was recently deleted from Europe’s Markets in Crypto Assets ( MiCA ) draft legislation. The controversial provision had sparked negative reactions from the crypto industry and community. However, attempts to effectively ban cryptocurrencies like bitcoin in the EU have continued. Amendments to MiCA proposed on Friday, days before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) votes on the package, aim to restrict cryptos classified as “unsust...

NFTs are showing the brighter side of humanity as real support transcends the boundaries of nations and reaches Ukraine through the metaverse. In light of the ongoing military conflict, people from all around the world send their donations to Ukraine via NFT sales, as artists and activists turn to them over older fundraising methods. Millions in Donations Raised for Ukraine by NFT Sales It feels like NFTs have been taking over the world recently, with more and more types of communities getting involved by the day. From major visual artists to global fashion brands and from video game studios to superstar rappers, everyone is rushing in to join the trend. One aspect of human life in 2022 no one was probably expecting to be drawn into the NFT phenomena is armed conflict between nations, actual war, but here we are. Soon after the start of hostilities in Ukraine, and the countless human tragedies that followed it, NFTs were being used to raise funds for helping refugees and other caus...