Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Johannes Gawaxab, the governor of the Bank of Namibia (BON), has said his organization is planning to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The governor, however, warns the launch might have implications for financial stability. BON Researching CBDCs The BON governor, Johannes Gawaxab, recently confirmed that the central bank is now planning to launch a CBDC. He confirmed the BON has already started researching CBDCs which, according to him, are now a “reality” that cannot be ignored. In remarks published by Namibia Daily News, Gawaxab hinted that the increased interest in privately issued cryptos may have forced the central bank to act. He said: The number and value of cryptocurrencies have surged, raising the possibility of a financial world operating outside the control of governments and central banks. There is thus a need for central banks to have a clear digital currency agenda to reinforce Central Bank authority over money and maintain control over the payment sy...

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar has outlined the implications of India issuing a central bank digital currency, the digital rupee. ”I think central banks would go about it in a very calibrated, graduated manner, assessing impact all along the line,” he explained. RBI’s Deputy Governor Discusses Indian Central Bank Digital Currency RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar talked about the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) Thursday at an event organized by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). He also outlined potential implications on India’s financial system and monetary policy, PTI reported. The RBI will issue a central bank digital currency this financial year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced during her budget speech in February. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described that the digital rupee will be the digital form of India’s physical rupee and will be regulated by the RBI. “The digital rupe...

A crypto-friendly special economic zone in Honduras has adopted bitcoin as legal tender, allowing the cryptocurrency to be used to pay taxes and fees. In addition, bitcoin bonds can be issued within its jurisdiction using “world-class standards for AML and KYC.” Bitcoin Operates as Legal Tender in Próspera Próspera, a special economic zone located on the island of Roatan in the Western Caribbean and the Northern Corridor of Honduras, announced Thursday that it has adopted bitcoin as legal tender. Referring to Próspera as “crypto-friendly,” the announcement details, “Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies effectively operate as legal tender within its jurisdiction.” A spokesperson for Próspera told Bitcoin.com News: Próspera has no capital gains taxes, which means that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies effectively operate as legal tender in the jurisdiction. “Residents and businesses in Próspera may transact using bitcoin, Honduran Lempiras, U.S. dollars, or any other currency of t...

Amid the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the Russian ruble has managed to rebound despite the strict sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation. The country’s central bank has taken a few steps to protect the nation’s currency as the Bank of Russia revealed a fixed price for gold and rubles. Furthermore, after pegging the fiat currency to gold, on Friday Russia’s central bank announced a surprise interest rate cut that starts Monday. EU Leaders and Western Allies Create Stricter Sanctions Amid Ruble Rebound At the end of February, after the conflict started between Ukraine and Russia, the European Commission and Western allies imposed strict restrictions on the Bank of Russia’s international reserves. The sanctions sparked bank runs and the Russian ruble dropped to record lows against the U.S. dollar. With harsh sanctions still imposed against Russia and the conflict still taking place, European leaders are planning to stop Russian coal imports. On Friday, European Union (EU) leade...

With the current concerns around global energy usage, combined with increasing requirements for data processing services, many countries previously supportive of centralized data processing businesses are investigating the impact of these businesses and how they mitigate a requirement for continuous energy distribution to all sectors – commercial and private. Data processing services consume large amounts of energy in a localized physical space. The combination of energy consumption and physical footprint expansion is impacting the continuous and uninterrupted distribution of energy creating an unsustainable demand from both the commercial and private sectors. To ensure continuous availability across all markets, countries are limiting supply, terminating supply or stopping new operating licenses. However, demand for data processing requirements is not diminishing, it is growing and so alternative data processing solutions are required. Spreading energy consumption with decentralized...

Certik, a Web3 and blockchain auditing and security firm, has raised $88 million in its recent B3 funding round. The round, which was led by Tiger Global and included Goldman Sachs as an investor in the firm, gives the company a valuation of $2 billion. This doubles the valuation that Certik reached via its last funding round in November 2021. Certik Reaches $2 Billion Valuation Certik, a blockchain auditing firm, has closed its Series B3 financing round with a significant increase in investments. The company raised $88 million, with Tiger Global, Insight Partners, and Advent International leading the round, and with the participation of Goldman Sachs and other current investors. With this funding round, the company has managed to reach a valuation of $2 billion, doubling the numbers it obtained in its Series B2 funding round in November 2021, which gave it a valuation of $1 billion. Regarding how the company has managed these funding rounds and their successes, Ronghui Gu, founde...

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced that it is launching full-scale crypto trading in India with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) support. However, moments later, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which developed UPI, stated that no crypto exchange is using the UPI system. Coinbase Launches in India, Hit With UPI Problem The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced Thursday at an event in Bengaluru that its trading platform will be fully available for retail traders in India. The company said that customers will be able to buy cryptocurrencies on Coinbase using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the most widely used payment method in India. Coinbase began testing UPI payments a few weeks ago. However, the company did not disclose the names of its banking partners for UPI payments. UPI, an instant real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), accounts for 60% of retail payment traffic in the c...

Following the Luna Foundation Guard’s (LFG) purchase of 5,040 bitcoin on Wednesday, the following day the Singapore-based non-profit announced it will be acquiring $100 million avalanche (AVAX) tokens. LFG detailed on Thursday that the purchase is meant to strategically align the Terra network with Avalanche ecosystems. LFG to Add $100 Million in Avalanche Backing to UST Reserve On Thursday, the Luna Foundation Guard announced that it inked a deal with the Avalanche Foundation to acquire $100 million worth of AVAX , the Avalanche blockchain’s native asset. LFG is a non-profit dedicated to fostering decentralized finance (defi) via the Terra (LUNA) network and the blockchain’s algorithmic stablecoin UST. LFG detailed that the goal behind purchasing AVAX was meant “to help bolster its UST Decentralized Forex Reserve and strategically align the two ecosystems.” Both LFG and the Avalanche Foundation will be handling the transaction in an over-the-counter (OTC) fashion. AVAX will beco...

PRESS RELEASE. Facebook transformation to Meta a conceptual displacement towards Metaverse and Web 3.0, crypto and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are perceived by the global community as a game changing leap forward with a huge potential. The estimated number of global crypto users is 106 million people in the world. 13% of Americans bought or traded crypto in the past 12 months. (By comparison, only 24% of Americans invested in stocks). Even bigger companies such as Tesla or Square have up to 7-10% of their assets in cryptocurrency. In 2021 investors poured a record $30 billion into crypto. Armaldia is a fantasy metaverse globe. It is an economic, social, MMO unique cryptogame using BNB chain (BInance smart chain). The universe is composed of 198k revenue generating land plots that can be purchased as NFT. A pivot is a war. War is the main amusement and money provider. The builder game includes construction, production of resources and trade. Crypto and Web 3.0 as the edge of ...

On Thursday, the payments and checkout and shopper network, Bolt has announced the firm plans to acquire the digital currency provider Wyre in a $1.5 billion deal. Bolt has explained the acquisition is aimed at bolstering cryptocurrency services and “the opportunity of Web3.” Payments and Checkout Firm Bolt Acquires Wyre The e-commerce platform Bolt has revealed a definitive agreement to acquire Wyre , according to the company’s press statements published on Thursday. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the deal was one of the largest crypto firm acquisitions in terms of financial settlement size in 2022, as the WSJ report noted the acquisition was roughly $1.5 billion. The official Bolt press release does not disclose the financial details of the acquisition deal. The announcement explains that the companies aim to “decentralize commerce” and “simplify digital shopping.” Both Bolt and Wyre plan to “close the transaction and fully integrate before the end of the year, an...

The metaverse will become the most popular place to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency, according to a recent survey. In addition, 70% of respondents agreed that “cryptocurrency and blockchain technology advancements will be critical to shaping the future of the metaverse.” Survey: Metaverse Will Be the Most Popular Place for Crypto Nasdaq-listed Agora (NASDAQ: API), a video, voice, and live interactive streaming platform, conducted a survey on the metaverse and published the results Tuesday. The company asked 300 U.S.-based developers a set of questions “to learn more about what they thought about the metaverse and what we will see in the coming years,” Agora detailed. Developers were surveyed because for them, “the growth of the metaverse allows the development of new communities and allows them to better connect with users,” the company explained. According to the results: 57% of respondents think that the metaverse will become the most popular place to buy, store and trade...

The crypto space is growing at a rapid pace, and it’s beginning to change major industries around the world. Even with the widespread of crypto, some people still do not have any idea of what it is. According to a survey mabe by Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), three in 10 people in the UK can’t correctly identify the definition of cryptocurrency from a selection of possible answers. The importance of crypto education can’t be overemphasized, with the accelerating growth of crypto adoption, there are key things to be aware of, for example, you need to know how to DYOR (Do Your Own Research). Having a solid foundation in crypto and financial education will help you to understand the evolution of the crypto space. Financial education is important for every individual to function in their everyday life, ranging from business owners to investors, etc. Business owners need this knowledge to make wise business decisions, likewise investors. Unfortunately, getting well-structured Crypt...

The Central Bank of Russia has turned down a proposal to allow the use of digital currencies for the purpose of sanctions evasion. The monetary authority believes this is hardly an option as Western regulators are already taking steps to prevent such transactions. Employing Bitcoin to Evade Sanctions Not Possible, Central Bank of Russia Says Bank of Russia considers it impossible to use cryptocurrencies to circumvent financial restrictions imposed over the military conflict in Ukraine. That’s according to a statement by the central bank’s First Deputy Governor Ksenia Yudaeva, issued in a reply to a proposal by a member of the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament. Anton Gorelkin, a lawmaker from the ruling United Russia party, had suggested that Russian companies and individual entrepreneurs should be allowed to make payments in digital currencies, including for settlements with foreign partners. He thinks the establishment of a Russian national crypto infrastructure ...

A newly established Ukrainian charity organization, Pray4Ukraine, has brought together hundreds of digital artists that are using art to raise funds for the Ukrainian army and civilians devastated by the war. The organization is also attempting to use the power of art to help end the war in Ukraine. 10,000 NFTs Created A newly launched Ukrainian charity project, Pray4Ukraine, has brought together hundreds of the country’s digital artists who have created 10,000 NFT art pieces. Working in concert with Pray4Ukraine, the artists hope to raise funds that will be used for humanitarian aid and to support the country’s armed forces. In a statement, the Pray4Ukraine team also revealed the charitable organization has already launched the sale of its NFT collection which consists of 9,930 artworks. According to the statement, the funds raised from the sale will go directly to the wallet of Come Back Alive , another charitable foundation that has been on the “humanitarian frontline since May...

On April 6, one of the largest cryptocurrency payment platforms in the world, Bitpay, announced the Atlanta-based company has integrated bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network. According to the announcement on Wednesday, the youth-focused American retail clothing brand Pacific Sunwear (Pacsun) will be the first merchant to leverage Bitpay to accept Lightning Network payments. Payment Platform Bitpay Adds Lightning Network Support, Pacsun Accepts Lightning Payments Bitpay is now allowing bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network (LN) in order to allow bitcoin users to pay using the crypto asset’s second layer network. Before adding LN payments, Bitpay accepted bitcoin ( BTC ) via onchain, alongside bitcoin cash, ethereum, wrapped bitcoin, shiba inu, xrp, and a slew of stablecoins. Bitpay says users and merchants can now utilize the LN payment rail with wallets like Cashapp and Strike. “Consumers now have a low-cost alternative when paying with Bitcoin at a Bitpay-enabled mercha...

PRESS RELEASE. Venture capitalists, founders, and eminent crypto investors graced the event to meet and connect. While the event was insightful, it was also a moment of unwinding for the attendees after weeks of back-to-back cryptocurrency and blockchain summits in Dubai. The host, Patrick Aljord, opened the floor for the speaker Ryan Coordinator, the Head of Operations at Developer DAO, to speak on “Onboarding New People to Web3 and Building Public Goods.” Ryan says that Developer DAO’s mission is to onboard more web3 builders by educating and supporting them. He also stated that it aims to foster and build Web3 tools and public goods, bringing transparency, diversity, and inclusion through its open-source and self-governed mechanism. The second speaker, Anton Permenev, Co-Founder of ChainSecurity, touched on “Network Bridge Security.” He mentioned that he and his team are building trust within the blockchain ecosystem to allow the emerging technology to reach its potential among...

An Indian parliament member says crypto is like gambling and must be taxed at a very high rate, such as 50%. “We need to discourage and disincentivize” trading and investing in the asset class, he stressed. Indian Parliament Member Wants to Tax Crypto at 50% Indian parliament member Sushil Kumar Modi shared his view on cryptocurrency in an interview with Forkast, published Tuesday. Modi is a member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s parliament. He recently made headlines when he urged the Indian government to impose more than 30% tax on crypto income prior to Rajya Sabha passing Finance Bill 2022. He told the publication that the Indian government should tax crypto income as much as 50%. Modi explained: The government has not said in so many words … that crypto is like gambling. It is like lottery, it is like a casino, it is like horse racing … and in all these things the tax rates are very high. Besides wanting to tax crypto income at 50%, Modi also suggested levying...

The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has warned that crypto creates an “opportunity for the downright criminal.” The central bank chief described: “You only have to ask the question ‘What do people committing ransom attacks usually demand payment in?’ The answer is crypto.” Bank of England’s Governor Warns About Cryptocurrency Bank of England (BOE) Governor Andrew Bailey talked about cryptocurrency Monday at a “Stop Scams” conference organized by the central bank. Bailey said cryptocurrencies are the new “front line” in criminal scams, stressing that crypto created an “opportunity for the downright criminal.” He described: You only have to ask the question ‘What do people committing ransom attacks usually demand payment in?’ The answer is crypto. Bailey urged banks, tech companies, and government institutions to work with the Bank of England to tackle scams targeting consumers, which he acknowledged is a job that “will never be done.” The central bank governor ...

PRESS RELEASE. Heroes of Arcan aims to create a play-to-earn game that offers players engaging, challenging peer-to-peer strategic gameplay backed by ethical, carbon-neutral blockchain technology. The play-to-earn revolution has catalyzed global change in blockchain and cryptocurrency markets, with over 750,000 individual blockchain wallets now participating in play-to-earn and NFT-based games on a daily basis . With over $4 billion USD invested in play-to-earn games by Venture Capital over the course of 2021, blockchain-based games that allow players to earn real-world currency by playing to earn NFT-based in games items are becoming the new standard of gaming. Play-to-earn games are empowering gamers with the ability to capitalize on the time and effort they spend in virtual worlds. The vast majority of play-to-earn games, however, are limited in scope and largely PvE, or player versus environment, rather than placing players in direct competition with one another. Heroes of Ar...

Sberbank, the largest bank in the Russian Federation, has denied connection to a new cryptocurrency called “sbercoin.” The project is offering high returns to buyers of the token, which was launched shortly after Bank of Russia allowed Sberbank to issue digital currencies. Sbercoin Traded on Pancakeswap Exchange, Not Issued by Sberbank A crypto project called Sbercoin.Finance has been promising investors up to 383,025.80% fixed annual percentage yield (APY) on the money they put into a token allegedly linked to Sberbank, Russia’s majority state-owned and largest banking institution. “Sbercoin,” advertised as the “world’s first auto staking & USDT rewards token,” was listed on the decentralized exchange Pancakeswap last month and has since lost most of its value. According to Coinmarketcap, it’s currently trading at $0.00006674 per coin. The SBER token was launched on March 17, the day the Central Bank of Russia ( CBR ) authorized Sberbank to issue digital financial assets, a...