Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Privatbank, the largest commercial bank in Ukraine, has temporarily halted transfers in national currency to digital asset exchanges. The financial institution explained the move with restrictions imposed by the country’s central bank under the current martial law. Leading Bank in Ukraine Bans Clients From Sending Hryvnia to Crypto Trading Platforms Ukraine’s largest bank in terms of assets, Privatbank, has prohibited its clients from transferring funds in Ukrainian hryvnia, the national fiat currency, to exchanges trading cryptocurrencies. The temporary ban has been introduced on March 16. According to a statement, quoted by the crypto news outlet Forklog, the measure stems from a resolution issued by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on Feb. 24, the day when Russia launched its military invasion of the country. Although it does not specifically mention crypto-related transactions, the document regulates the operation of the banking system under martial law and introduces strict...

Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority has licensed two cryptocurrency exchanges: Binance and FTX. The regulator was formed last week when Dubai approved its first law to regulate crypto assets. Dubai Licenses Binance and FTX Cryptocurrency exchanges FTX and Binance have been licensed by Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). The regulator was established last week when the first law to regulate crypto assets was adopted in Dubai. Binance announced Wednesday: We have been granted a virtual asset license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). With this license, “Binance will be able to operate within Dubai’s ‘test-adapt-scale’ virtual asset market model as a base for expansion into the region,” the company explained. “All licensed VARA service providers will be monitored progressively to open access to the retail market,” Binance noted, adding that in the future, it “will be permitted to extend limited exchange products and services to pre-qua...

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and 10 other lawmakers have introduced the “Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act of 2022.” The bill “would place sweeping restrictions on persons who build, operate, and use cryptocurrency networks even if they have no knowledge or intent to help evade sanctions,” an expert said. Lawmakers Unveil Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill titled “Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act of 2022” during a Senate Banking Committee hearing Thursday. The bill is co-sponsored by 10 other Democratic senators, including Mark Warner, Jack Reed, and Jon Tester. The aim of the bill is “to ensure that Vladimir Putin and Russian elites don’t use digital assets to undermine the international community’s economic sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine,” the senators explained in a joint press release. Noting that the bill will “strengthen our sanctions program and c...

Luno cryptocurrency exchange recently announced the launch of an investment arm, Luno Expeditions, whose objective is to invest in fintech, crypto, and Web3 startups globally. The investment arm will target digital assets and later-stage companies starting from Series A upwards. Funding Over 200 Startups per Year One of Africa’s pioneering cryptocurrency exchanges, Luno, recently announced the launch of an early-stage investment arm whose objective is to back fintech, crypto, and Web3 startups. Known as Luno Expeditions, the investment arm is expected to fund somewhere between 200 to 300 startups each year, a report has said. According to a report by Techcrunch, CEO Jocelyn Cheng will lead the all-female team of five at Luno Expeditions. The report added that Barry Silbert, the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), and Marcus Swanepoel of Luno, will be a part of the new venture capital company’s Investment Committee. Also in the report, Cheng — who has previously held i...

As western sanctions increase the pressure on their country’s economy, many young Russians consider cryptocurrency to be a “reliable and profitable” investment option. According to a recent study, the share of Russian citizens who know about bitcoin has reached two thirds of the population. Under Sanctions, Russians Consider Buying Property, Gold, and Crypto Financial and other penalties imposed by the West over Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine are already affecting the economic situation in Russia. Despite the bleak perspectives, for many Russians property and gold continue to be — just like before — the most desired investment. The share of those who regard the purchase of real estate as the most reliable investment has been declining in the past few years but it’s still 33% in 2022, the Russian analytical center NAFI revealed in a new report. And 36% of the respondents in its study believe it’s the most profitable option. At the same time, gold has been gaining recognition a...

During the last 24 hours, the cryptocurrency community has been discussing the launch of a new token called apecoin (APE), released by the newly-formed Apecoin DAO. At launch, the token exchanged hands for $10.36 per coin, but dropped more than 40% to $6.21. Since the token’s all-time low and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) owners getting a sizable airdrop, the price of APE moved closer to the price it saw when it first came out. Apecoin DAO Airdrops Tokens to NFT Owners, Forms the Ape Foundation There’s a new crypto token among the 13,243 cryptocurrencies in existence and it’s already positioned itself in the top 100. Apecoin (APE) was launched after the creation of a decentralized autonomous organization called Apecoin DAO, initiated by the firm Yuga Labs. According to the non-fungible token (NFT) startup, the Apecoin DAO will be managed by council members. Additionally, the formation of an Ape Foundation has been constructed in order to help manage the DAO’s governance process. “Ap...

Qatar Central Bank is presently examining the possibility of issuing a digital currency as well as digital bank licensing, an official has said. The official adds this study will help the central bank get an understanding of what its area of focus should be. The Growing Significance of CBDC An official with the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has said the institution is presently studying digital bank licensing as well as digital currencies. The official, Alanood Abdullah Al Muftah, the head of the bank’s fintech division, adds the study will enable the QCB to gain a better understanding of what its area of focus should be. In her remarks to The Peninsula, Al Muftah said the study will look into “the different aspects and verticals of fintech.” The study will also determine if it is feasible for Qatar to have a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or not. “In the next couple of months, there will be [a] greater understanding about the future focus of [the] QCB. Each central bank should ...

On March 16, Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitmex, published a blog post called “Energy Cancelled,” which describes the economics behind the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Hayes explains in his 26-minute long opinion piece that historians may point to February 26, 2022, as the time in history when the “Petro Dollar / Euro Dollar monetary system” ended. Speculation Concerning an Independent International Monetary and Financial System Free From the Petro Dollar and Euro Dollar Monetary System There’s been a lot of economic calamity since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as financial conditions worldwide have tightened and Russia has been sanctioned by a large swathe of countries. Analysts and economists believe the war and sanctions could have negative effects on the global economy and on March 5, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned the “economic consequences are already very serious.” A few days after the IMF warning, U.S. lawmakers int...

PRESS RELEASE. Meme coins have been trending for a while now in the crypto space and most of them are animal related. Dogs, in particular, are the most popular meme element used in global meme coin community. From Dogecoin to Shiba Inu (SHIB), the success of numerous meme coins has been witnessed by the vast majority of crypto investors and enthusiasts. And now, this everlasting trend of using animal as the major meme coin element might just come to an end, with the inception of a new meme created by a prodigy. Recently, random (RND), a 12-year-old primary school student’s new project, once again set off a “meme boom” and caused a sensation in the crypto community. After receiving widespread attention, it’s now listed on LBank Exchange to provide opportunities for more people who are interested in investing RND. Meme and the Prodigy On February 6, an extensive discussion occurred in the crypto space, all because a 12-year-old child released a video tutorial of smart contract on bi...

Several European regulators have issued a joint warning on crypto assets. “These assets are not suited for most retail consumers as an investment or as a means of payment or exchange,” they stressed. EU Supervisory Authorities Warn About the Danger of Investing in Crypto Assets Three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) issued a joint statement warning about the risks of crypto assets Thursday. The European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) “warn consumers that many crypto assets are highly risky and speculative.” Their statement also outlines “key steps consumers can take to ensure they make informed decisions.” The regulators explained that their warning followed “growing consumer activity and interest in crypto assets and the aggressive promotion of those assets and related products to the public, including through social media.” The supervisory authorities st...

Kenyans are believed to have lost as much as $120 million to cryptocurrency scammers in the last financial year, a government official has said. The official, however, suggested the number of Kenyans losing funds this way can be reduced if the media helps by disseminating the right information. Media Told to Offer Guidance A Kenyan cabinet secretary has claimed his fellow countrymen lost about $120 million to crypto scammers in the last financial year. The secretary, Joe Mucheru, added that many Kenyans are getting scammed because they lack the proper information. In his remarks while speaking at a conference focused on law and order, Mucheru suggested the number of those suffering after losing funds to criminals can be reduced if the media plays its part. He explained: I think even as you report and investigate these issues, you can also be giving people guidance on the direction, where they need to invest, how they need to protect themselves. Mucheru also encouraged the shar...

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed the law “On Virtual Assets” which aims to regulate the crypto market in Ukraine. The approval comes as his country is increasingly relying on cryptocurrency donations to fund its defense and deal with humanitarian problems amid an ongoing Russian invasion. Law Regulating Cryptocurrencies Approved by Ukraine President Zelenskyy Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed into law a bill establishing rules for cryptocurrency transactions. The law “On Virtual Assets” will allow crypto platforms to operate in the country which has been using digital assets to finance its defense efforts and help its civilian population in the face of Russia’s military assault. “Ukraine has legalized the crypto sector,” the Ministry of Digital Transformation tweeted on Wednesday. “From now on, foreign and Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchanges will operate legally and banks will open accounts for crypto companies,” added the department, which has been involv...

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 ...