Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Financial sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine may result in reduced dominance of the U.S. currency, according to a high-ranking official at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The confrontation could lead to fragmentation of the world’s current monetary system, the top representative warned. New Currency Blocs May Emerge Amid Mounting Restrictions on Russia, IMF Says Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine has been met with waves of Western sanctions that have limited Moscow’s access to its foreign currency reserves and the global financial market. According to Gita Gopinath, first deputy managing director of the IMF, the unprecedented measures could gradually decrease the dominance of the U.S. dollar. Speaking to the Financial Times, the top IMF official also warned that the restrictions, including those on the Central Bank of Russia, could encourage the emergence of small currency blocs based on trade between groups of nations. Gopinath, nevertheless, predicte...

Koinly is a leading a cryptocurrency tax calculator and portfolio tracker for traders, investors and accountants. There are many features that make it stand out from the competition, and this article will present five key reasons why Koinly is actually the best crypto tax software in the world today. These include a wide range of exchange and wallet integrations, DeFi support, Cardano support, support for liquidity transactions, and compatibility with multiple countries. Wide Range of Integrations Whether someone is a taxpayer looking to get an accurate crypto tax report, a business looking to track their inventory or an accountant trying to work through a maze of transactions, Koinly is the go-to software. It is a crypto tax calculator that makes doing taxes enjoyable. It comes with a hoard of features and integrations that will make it extremely easy and convenient to satisfy all crypto tax needs. With Koinly , one can easily track crypto assets and taxes over time across all wal...

Boston-based Circle Internet Financial has announced the company has selected BNY Mellon to custody the firm’s usd coin (USDC) reserves. The company’s dollar-pegged crypto asset is currently the second-largest stablecoin with a current market capitalization of $51.6 billion. BNY Mellon to Become USDC’s Primary Custodian Circle has chosen America’s oldest investment bank to custody the firm’s usd coin (USDC) reserves, according to an announcement published on March 31. While BNY Mellon will become the primary custodian for USDC, Circle expects the partnership to further “facilitate an exchange of expertise on a range of topics across digital and traditional markets.” The announcement on Thursday says the benefits of the newly announced relationship between Circle and BNY Mellon include: Bridging of traditional and digital capital markets, investment management, digital asset custody, cash management for fiat and non-fiat payments, and the exploration of digital cash for purposes...

Citi has predicted that the total market for the metaverse economy could grow to between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030. In addition, the global bank expects that the number of metaverse users could be as many as five billion. The Metaverse Is Potentially an $8 Trillion to $13 Trillion Opportunity, Says Citi Citi released a new Global Perspectives & Solutions (Citi GPS) report titled “Metaverse and Money: Decrypting the Future” Thursday. The leading global bank has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. The 184-page report explores various aspects of the metaverse in-depth. They include what a metaverse is; its infrastructure; digital assets including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the metaverse; money and defi (decentralized finance) in the metaverse; and regulatory developments applicable to the metaverse. Regarding the size of the metaverse economy, Citi described: “We believe the metaverse may be t...

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has listed crypto assets as an examination priority for market participants this year. “In this time of heightened market volatility, our priorities are tailored to focus on emerging issues, such as crypto assets,” said an official with the SEC Division of Examinations. Crypto Assets Among SEC Examination Priorities The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations published its annual examination priorities Wednesday. Crypto is among the top priorities highlighted in the report this year. The Division of Examinations conducts the SEC’s National Exam Program, its website details, adding that its “mission is to protect investors, ensure market integrity and support responsible capital formation through risk-focused strategies.” SEC Chairman Gary Gensler explained that the examination priorities identify key risk areas that the SEC expects registrants — including investment advisers, broker-dealers, self-regulatory organi...

Layerzero Labs, the firm behind the interoperability protocol Layerzero, has revealed the company has raised $135 million in a Series A+ finance round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), FTX Ventures, and Sequoia Capital. The new financing brings Layerzero Labs’ overall valuation to $1 billion and the funds will be leveraged to develop cross-chain decentralized applications (dapps) powered by Layerzero. Layerzero Raises $135 Million From Andreessen Horowitz, FTX Ventures, Sequoia Capital On March 30, 2022, the company Layerzero Labs announced it had secured $135 million in a Series A+ funding round. The funding round was led by Sequoia Capital, FTX Ventures, and a16z, and the funding also saw participation from Uniswap Labs, Paypal Ventures, Tiger Global, and Coinbase Ventures. The financing also pushes Layerzero Labs to unicorn status, as the latest capital injection brings the company’s overall valuation to $1 billion. “This round is a massive step forward for Layerzero Labs and t...

On March 30, Gumi Cryptos Capital (GCC), announced the blockchain-focused venture capital firm’s second fund that will invest $110 million in early-stage blockchain startups. The second fund follows GCC’s initial $21 million fund that backed seed stage founders. Gumi Cryptos Capital Reveals Fund II — Firm Will Invest $110 Million Into early-Stage Blockchain Startups The blockchain-focused venture capital firm Gumi Cryptos Capital (GCC) has announced the launch of a $100 million fund that will be focused on blockchain concepts like decentralized finance (defi), game finance (gamefi), Web3, and other types of ideas being created by early-stage blockchain startups. In a statement sent to Bitcoin.com News, GCC’s managing partner Rui Zhang said: “Think of us as blockchain’s experienced, high-conviction, high trust, hands-on value adding, long time preference, unicorn to megacorn, builder-focused all-in venture society.” GCC’s announcement further details that Fund II will target soft...

PRESS RELEASE. Yield App, one of the rising and most trusted digital wealth platforms, recently underwent a thorough ‘proof of reserves’ audit. The inspection was conducted by Armanino LLC, the firm responsible for auditing Kraken – one of the largest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Yield App passed the audit with flying colors, bolstering its stance on safety and accountability of the assets deployed by customers into portfolios available on its platform. What is ‘proof of reserves’ ? A proof of reserves is an independent audit of a company’s balance sheet conducted by a third party, such as Armanino LLP. These cryptographically reconciled public reports empower customers to verify that the digital asset service providers they use do indeed hold enough assets on their balance sheets to offset their customers’ liabilities. The first report was completed on 24 January 2022, using a ‘point in time’ methodology to determine the results, and can be read here ...

CME Group, one of the world’s largest derivatives marketplaces, has launched micro-sized bitcoin and ether options. “The launch of these micro-sized options builds on the significant growth and liquidity we have seen in our micro bitcoin and micro ether futures,” said a CME executive. CME Now Offers Micro Bitcoin, Ether Options CME Group announced Monday that it is now offering options on micro bitcoin and micro ether futures. CME’s Micro Bitcoin futures (MBT) is 1/10 the size of one bitcoin ( BTC ) and Micro Ether futures (MET) is similarly sized at 1/10 of one ether ( ETH ). Tim McCourt, CME Group’s global head of equity and FX products, commented: The launch of these micro-sized options builds on the significant growth and liquidity we have seen in our micro bitcoin and micro ether futures. “Sized at one-tenth of their respective underlying tokens in size, these contracts will offer a wide range of market participants — from institutions to sophisticated, active, individual ...

Billionaire Mike Novogratz says he is much more optimistic about the crypto market now than he was a month ago. He explained that bond sell-offs and increased crypto adoption have boosted the prices of cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin. “I think you are going to see the Democrats taking a softer stance,” he added. Mike Novogratz Expects Lawmakers to Take a Softer Stance on Crypto Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz talked about why he is more optimistic about the crypto market now than he was six or seven weeks ago in an interview with CNBC Tuesday. The executive explained: Maybe what I got wrong was with all this selling in fixed income that money has got to go somewhere. The billionaire predicted earlier this month when BTC was struggling to break the $40,000 level that bitcoin’s price would range between $30,000 and $50,000 throughout the year. At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading at $47,327 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. Novogratz continued, “We certainly...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says a lot more work needs to be done on crypto regulation. “We’ve certainly seen an increase in the use of cryptocurrencies before this war, and we’ve seen it happen more in emerging markets than in others,” said the deputy managing director of the IMF. IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva Pushes for Harmonized Crypto Framework The top two leaders at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) discussed crypto regulation on the Foreign Policy Live podcast, published last week. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath were asked how governments should respond to the growing number of challenges facing the global economy, including cryptocurrency. Georgieva explained that the IMF separates digital assets into three types: “crypto assets like bitcoin,” stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Regarding crypto assets, she said: Time has passed to have regulatory frameworks that are as much as pos...

The largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Opensea has plans to add Solana support in April. The news follows an abundance of rumors that said the company would be adding Solana in the near future. Opensea Confirms Solana Support After a Myriad of Rumors and Speculation Opensea has confirmed it will be adding Solana (SOL) support in April, according to a teaser video the company tweeted out on March 29. Opensea is the largest NFT marketplace in terms of all-time sales with $23.5 billion sold to date. The $23.5 billion was between 1,417,562 traders and the average NFT sale on Opensea this week is around $930.59 per NFT. The best kept secret in web3🤣 pic.twitter.com/xuZn64cZ4U — OpenSea (@opensea) March 29, 2022 Opensea already supports three blockchain networks which include Ethereum, Klaytn, and Polygon. Solana (SOL) will be the fourth blockchain addition to the NFT marketplace’s current protocol lineup. Solana (SOL) is the seventh-largest cryptocurrency (at the ...

Nequi, a fintech neobank which allowed Colombian citizens to test all-digital financial services, has announced its plans for expansion after having parted ways with Bancolombia, the bank that gave it its origin. These plans include an entry into the cryptocurrency world while complying with the limits set by current regulators. Colombian Nequi to Enter Crypto Market More and more neobanks are considering including cryptocurrencies in their service offerings. This is the case with Nequi, a fintech platform that is reportedly considering making an entrance into the crypto sector in Colombia. The platform, which has more than ten million customers, is now in talks to become an independent company and platform, separating itself from Bancolombia. The announcement was made by Nequi’s CEO, Cipriano Lopez, in a webinar with Credicorp Capital, a holding company that also lends financial services to its customers. Lopez explained that Nequi wants to make a direct entry into the market, wi...

The Argentinian Tax Agency (AFIP) is watching the movements of cryptocurrency traders and holders, to tighten its control over their transactions. The institution is now sending emails to Argentinian citizens asking for a series of data regarding supposed cryptocurrency operations made in their names. The agency requires the public keys of the citizen and a list of transactions made during a certain time period. Argentinian Tax Agency to Scrutinize Crypto Users The AFIP, the Argentinian tax watchdog, has decided to take the battle against cryptocurrency tax evasion directly to users of these currencies. While the agency had required information from exchanges before, the responsibility is now directed to certain users that have received a requirement to answer a series of questions regarding their history with digital assets. The requirement compels users to deliver data like the public keys of the wallets they are currently managing, and a list of digital asset movements that mus...

Activists and lawmakers in Kyiv are urging the EU to accept Ukraine as a member of the European Blockchain Partnership. They believe the recently adopted law “On Virtual Assets” opens the way for the country to become a blockchain leader on the Old Continent. Kyiv Officials Hope Blockchain Technology Can Help Post-War Reconstruction of Ukraine Members of the “Virtual Assets of Ukraine” public union and Blockchain4Ukraine, an inter-factional association of Ukrainian lawmakers, are lobbying for Ukraine’s full membership in the European Blockchain Partnership ( EBP ). Representatives of the two organizations have urged EU institutions to allow their country to participate in the initiative. Letters with the appeal have been sent to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the head of her cabinet, Bjoern Seibert, and Anthony Whelan, who works as a digital policy adviser to the executive body in Brussels, the crypto news outlet Forklog reported. The authors of the cor...

The central bank in crisis-stricken Sudan has warned residents dealing with cryptocurrencies that they face numerous risks including loss of value. The warning comes as Sudan is grappling with an economic crisis that worsened after the civilian government was deposed by the military. Sudan’s Worsening Economic Crisis As Sudan’s currency continues to plummet, the country’s central bank has warned citizens against using or trading cryptocurrencies, a report has said. It warned those dealing with crypto assets that they face risks such as loss of value, financial crimes, and electronic piracy. The warning by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) comes amidst a worsening economic crisis that has seen Sudan’s exports plummet by 85% in January. The warning also comes as reports suggest the country’s currency, the pound, is losing further ground against the U.S. dollar on the black market. The deteriorating economic conditions are believed to be key factors behind the increased interest in cr...

On Tuesday, the fund manager Wisdomtree announced the launch of three crypto asset exchange-traded products (ETPs). The ETPs are associated with the cryptocurrency networks Solana, Cardano, and Polkadot and the new crypto investment products are currently listed on Börse Xetra, SIX, and the Swiss Stock Exchange. Wisdomtree Launches Cardano, Solana, and Polkadot Exchange-Traded Products Wisdomtree has announced the launch of three new digital currency exchange traded products (ETPs) and the products are physically-backed by cryptocurrency. Wisdomtree revealed on Tuesday that the new funds will include Wisdomtree Solana (SOLW), Wisdomtree Cardano (ADAW) and Wisdomtree Polkadot (DOTW). All three of these digital currencies are currently positioned in the top 20 list of the largest crypto market capitalizations today. The fund manager further disclosed that the three crypto ETPs will list on Euronext exchanges in Amsterdam and Paris on March 31. “The ETPs have a total expense ratio (T...

Nasdaq-listed Microstrategy has obtained a $205 million bitcoin-collateralized loan from Silvergate Bank through a subsidiary to buy more bitcoin. “The interest-only term loan is secured by certain bitcoin held in Macrostrategy’s collateral account.” Company to Use $205M Bitcoin-Backed Loan to Purchase Bitcoin The Nasdaq-listed pro-bitcoin software company Microstrategy announced Tuesday that one of its subsidiaries has obtained a bitcoin-backed loan to purchase additional BTC . Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor tweeted Tuesday: Macrostrategy, a subsidiary of Microstrategy, has closed a $205 million bitcoin-collateralized loan with Silvergate Bank to purchase bitcoin. Silvergate Bank “has issued a $205 million term loan under its Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) Leverage program to Macrostrategy LLC,” Microstrategy detailed. “The interest-only term loan is secured by certain bitcoin held in Macrostrategy’s collateral account with a custodian mutually authorized by Silvergate a...

On March 29, blockchain parsers caught a sequence of 11 transactions totaling 11,325 bitcoin moving from unknown wallets created in 2014, to a great number of recipient addresses. Furthermore, the stash of bitcoin worth $540 million today is possibly linked to the Cryptsy theft, according to onchain analytics. 11,325 Bitcoins Move From Dormant 2014 Addresses, Assets May Be Linked to Cryptsy Theft A whole lot of bitcoin stemming from wallets created in 2014 moved on Tuesday and the funds may be tied to the Cryptsy theft . The now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange led by Paul Vernon lost millions of dollars worth of digital assets years ago at the end of 2015. More recently at the end of January 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it had indicted Vernon for allegedly stealing over $1 million from digital currency wallets. The DOJ said Vernon, otherwise known as ‘Big Vern,’ stole from accounts between May 2013 and May 2015 and proceeded to deposit the stolen funds int...

The famous author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has warned that the U.S. dollar is “about to implode.” Among the investments he suggested are cryptocurrencies bitcoin, ethereum, and solana. Robert Kiyosaki Foresees Dollar Imploding, Blames Biden for Inflation The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, is back with more warnings about the imminent collapse of the U.S. dollar. He also suggested investors buy some cryptocurrencies, naming three in particular: bitcoin, ether, and solana. 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. Kiyosaki tweeted Monday warning that the world is in trouble. “National debt to go through the roof,” he wrote, emphasizing that the dollar is “about to implode.” The famous author insisted that President Joe Bid...

As inflation continues to wreak havoc on American wallets, the U.S. dollar’s lack of purchasing power has been affecting nearly every U.S. resident’s spending decisions. On Monday, U.S. president Biden and his administration predicted lower inflation forecasts as officials announced Biden’s proposed budget for the 2023 fiscal year. According to marketwatch.com author Victor Reklaitis, the Biden administration’s inflation forecast “doesn’t look realistic.” Biden Administration Expects ‘Inflation Will Ease Over the Coming Year’ The Biden administration and White House economist, Cecilia Rouse, are predicting very low estimates as far as future inflation rates are concerned. This is despite the inflation rate in February skyrocketing to 7.9%, and rising at the fastest pace since 1982. Prices across the nation have been growing across the board and reports show that inflation is causing people to make different spending decisions. While the inflation rate jumped close to 4x higher than...

On March 28, the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Blur announced the company has raised $11 million in a seed round led by Paradigm. The NFT marketplace Blur says the startup is focused on building an institutional-grade NFT market that’s made “for pro traders.” Blur Raises $11 Million to Craft the Startup’s Institutional-Grade Products The NFT marketplace Blur announced the firm has raised $11 million in a seed funding round led by Paradigm. According to Blur, the round also saw participation from Egirl Capital, Keyboard Monkey, Ledgerstatus, 0xmaki, Santiago Santos, Zeneca, Deeze, and Andy (Fractional). Blur explains that the marketplace will be crafted for pro traders and the startup believes that most offerings today are focused on retail traders. “Current NFT marketplaces prioritize the retail experience, but they neglect the growing needs of pro traders,” Blur’s announcement on Monday details. “Infrastructure has failed to keep up as monthly trading volumes hit billions,...

An Indian parliament member has urged the government to increase the tax on crypto income from the current proposed rate of 30%, stressing that crypto trading is similar to gambling. He has also requested that the goods and services tax (GST) be imposed on the total transaction value of crypto. Indian Parliament Member Wants to Tax Crypto Income More Than 30% India’s Finance Bill 2022 containing the proposed 30% tax on crypto income is now being considered in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s parliament. Parliament member Sushil Kumar Modi reportedly asked the government Monday to increase the tax on cryptocurrency income from the current rate of 30%. He said: I would like to request the finance minister that the 30% tax that you have imposed on crypto, please consider in the coming days if this tax can be further increased. Parliament member Modi argued that cryptocurrency is not a commodity, an asset, goods, or a service, emphasizing that it does not have intrinsic valu...

Over the past six months, the Everscale network has gone through a complete metamorphosis. Originally called FreeTON, the network has made great strides in improving its technical capabilities as well as developing a robust ecosystem of DeFi platforms. The scale of these changes led the coчафmmunity to call for a rebranding to reflect how the project has come into its own as a mainstay of the DeFi industry, distinct from its origin as a continuation of the no-longer active Telegram TON project. Under the hood, the main technical changes to the network consisted in a revamping of the programming language complete with a node switch from C++ to more stable and efficient Rust nodes. The changes have made the network’s scaling capabilities virtually limitless and have improved its already top-of-the-line speed. Following the changes that were introduced to the network and subsequent rebranding, platforms that have been constructed around the network and helped its ecosystem crystallize...