Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva says India is “a country that is on the frontline of digital currencies,” especially “how it handles a reduction of risk from crypto assets for the Indian people and businesses.” She met with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss crypto regulation. IMF’s Chief Comments on Indian Crypto Policy IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva commended the Indian government’s approach to cryptocurrency at an IMF press conference Wednesday. Responding to a question about “what role India can play in improving the global economic situation so as to safeguard the interests of the most vulnerable,” the IMF chief said, “India already plays a very important international role.” She elaborated: And it is a country that is on the frontline of digital currencies, especially central bank digital currency and how it handles a reduction of risk from crypto assets for the Indian people and businesses. The IMF b

Twenty-three U.S. lawmakers have called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increase oversight of cryptocurrency’s environmental impacts. “We request that the EPA evaluate ‘Proof-of-Work’ mining facilities’ compliance with environmental statutes,” they said. Lawmakers Want More Oversight of Bitcoin Mining Industry U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) and 22 other Congress members jointly sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan regarding cryptocurrency mining operations Wednesday. The congressman from California is the chair of the United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife. He is also a member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. The letter calls for “increased oversight of cryptocurrency’s environmental impacts,” Rep. Huffman’s office announced Thursday. In their letter, the lawmakers described: We have serious concerns regarding reports that cryptocurrency faci

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has been accused in a media report of agreeing to provide user data to Russia’s financial watchdog. The trading platform has refuted the allegations. It also insists it’s complying with Western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Binance Consented to Russian Request for Customer Info, Reuters Claims in ‘Special Report’ Binance, the world’s leading digital asset exchange, has agreed to hand over customer data to Russia’s financial intelligence agency, a report by Reuters suggests. The article refers to messages allegedly sent by Binance’s regional head Gleb Kostarev to a business associate revealing that the Russian officials asked for such information, including names and addresses, during a meeting last April. The Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation (Rosfinmonitoring) saw its request supposedly motivated by the need for help in the fight against crime. Quoting an anonymous source familiar with

Forty-six European crypto businesses and organizations have asked finance ministers in 27 European countries to loosen some regulatory requirements for the crypto industry. For example, they asked for decentralized finance (defi) projects to be excluded from the requirements to register as legal entities. Crypto Industry’s Letter to EU Policymakers Forty-six European crypto businesses and organizations have sent a letter to 27 EU finance ministers regarding disclosure requirements for crypto transactions, Reuters reported this week, noting that it has seen the letter. In the letter, dated April 13, the businesses and organizations asked EU policymakers to ensure their regulations do not extend beyond the existing rules that are in line with the standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). They raised concerns about the rules requiring crypto firms to obtain information on parties involved in digital currency transfers. Specifically, they asked that the EU excludes dec

Kadena, a proof-of-work-based cryptocurrency that also has the possibility of supporting smart contracts, has announced a new set of grants directed to incentivize the creation of Web3 experiences. This $100 million grant fund is part of the Kadena Eco initiative, whose objective is to offer builders a complete suite to deploy their solutions on top of the chain. Kadena Grants Seek to Attract People to Ecosystem Kadena, a top-100 cryptocurrency project that is based on proof-of-work (PoW) consensus but also offers the possibility of executing smart contracts, has revealed a new set of developer grants seeking to attract builders to its chain. The grant program, which will have $100 million available for interested teams, is part of the Kadena Eco program, which presents a set of other initiatives directed to help teams, companies, and startups to produce Web3 experiences. The Kadena Eco program includes several other aspects that are to be developed in the near future. Among them

PRESS RELEASE. On 22 April, Tori Zero announced the strategic partnership with Wirex. The first collaboration will focus on a new product developed by Wirex – the Wirex Wallet. Tori Zero will be the first group of NFT projects integrated into this new wallet. Tori Zero is the first virtual idol project in the blockchain industry and the first NFT project that utilises motion capture and facial motion capture technologies. The character has a great background story and comes with a unique virtual idol economic model, which empowers its long-term potential. The collaboration with Wirex is a cross-industry partnership and the first presentation of Tori in Web 2. Wirex is a digital payment platform headquartered in London. It operates globally with teams and offices in different countries and has over 5 million users in more than 130 countries. The new product – Wirex Wallet, will be a cross-chain wallet used for DeFi and NFTs. The initiation of this partnership between Tori and Wirex

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is looking into the possibility of implementing blockchain technology across its government as well as allowing the use of cryptocurrencies. However, an official said the kingdom can only successfully build blockchain-based solutions if it hires people that are proficient in this technology. Government Needs to Hire Talented Individuals Saudi Arabia is considering putting into action the use of cryptocurrencies in the kingdom as well as the adoption of blockchain, a report quoting a government official has said. In addition, the report says the kingdom has also been discussing Web3 technologies and how these can be utilized. The official, Prince Bandar Bin Abdullah Al Mishari, an assistant to the Minister of Interior for technology, is nonetheless quoted in an Unlock Media report suggesting that more needs to be done before Saudi Arabia can successfully build blockchain-based solutions. He said: There have been several meetings, webinars that have dis

Fidelity Investments, a major financial services firm with $11.3 trillion in assets under administration, has entered the metaverse with the opening of an eight-story learning center and the launch of a metaverse exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fidelity Stack features “a multi-level design complete with a lobby, dance floor, and rooftop sky garden for users to explore on foot – or even through teleport.” Fidelity Enters the Metaverse Fidelity Investments announced Thursday the grand opening of “The Fidelity Stack,” which the brokerage firm described as its “first immersive metaverse experience aimed at offering a new way to learn investing basics.” Fidelity is one of the largest financial services firms; it currently has $11.3 trillion in assets under administration. The Fidelity Stack is an eight-story building in the metaverse where visitors can learn about different ways of investing. One whole floor is dedicated to providing information about Fidelity Metaverse ETF (FMET), the

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has revealed his priorities for improving Twitter if he successfully takes over the social media platform. Among his promises are to eliminate crypto spam bots, ensure free speech, implement edit functionality, and simplify the account verification process. Elon Musk’s Twitter Improvement Priorities Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and Spacex, has shared how he plans to improve Twitter if his bid to buy the social media giant succeeds. Musk agreed to a tweet Friday stating that he will focus on solving “real problems.” The tweet specifically mentions making Twitter’s algorithm open source, eliminating scam bots, adhering to free speech, and simplifying the account verification process. The Tesla boss has previously addressed each of these improvements in greater detail. Crypto Spam Bots Problem A major problem on Twitter concerns spam bots. Earlier this month, the Tesla boss said that in his opinion, crypto spam bots are the “single most annoying proble

On April 22nd Michael Cameron the CEO and Co-founder of Game Space announced that it has released one of the first GaaS “GameFi as a Service” Platform. Game Space also announced that it had received more than US $7 million in financing. This round of financing is jointly led by top-tier VCs, Listed Gaming companies and top-tier Exchanges. Game Space provides a one-stop GameFi as a Service for large gaming companies and AAA titles, one line of code SDK integration, as well as an NFT exchange engine that can be embedded in games, helping the GameFi project shorten the launch time by up to half a year and greatly reducing the threshold for game companies to enter into Web3. Game Space focuses on being a one-stand solution for AAA gaming studios, making sure there are no limitations for the Gaming companies Game Space works with. Game Space ensures this by having a flexible Tech Stack and compatibility with both EVM and non-EVM Public chains. Also, the Game Space system allows SDK inte

A new study has found that 25% of U.S. cryptocurrency investors own or rent land in the metaverse, or plan to acquire the same. Out of four generations, the Baby Boomer generation has the highest (18%) proportion of crypto investors interested in owning or renting land in the metaverse. Gen Z Less Likely to Own/Rent Property in Metaverse About 25% of cryptocurrency investors in the United States are either owners or rent land in the metaverse, or have plans to, the findings of a study have shown. The findings also show the Baby Boomer generation has the highest proportion of respondents (18%) that are interested in renting or owning space in the metaverse. Millennials, according to the study results, are the generation with the next highest proportion of respondents (12%) that already own or are planning to acquire land or rent in the metaverse. And not far behind are generations X and Z which are tied at 11% each. While it is identified as the digitally native generation in the s

Following the latest round of EU restrictions against Russia, digital asset exchange Binance is limiting services to Russian clients. The company pledged to lead the industry in implementing the sanctions and urged all major trading platforms to follow. Crypto Exchange Binance Cuts Services to Russian Accounts in Accordance With EU Penalties Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, is restricting services for Russian nationals or natural persons residing in Russia and legal entities established in the Russian Federation that have crypto assets exceeding €10,000 ($10,800) in value. The move is in compliance with the European Union’s fifth package of sanctions on Russia, the company said in an announcement on Thursday. Earlier in April, the EU member states agreed to ban the provision of “high-value” crypto asset services to Russian businesses and citizens in response to Moscow’s ongoing military invasion of Ukraine. Binance now requires customers to complete their add

PRESS RELEASE. Blockbank announced plans to join Coach K’s Conference Experience in donating to charities focusing on social impact. The conference will be held at Le Meridien Beach Resort, Phuket, Thailand, from May 9th to May 13th, 2022. Blockbank, an all-in-one mobile banking solution with crypto integration, will partner with Coach K, a thought leader in cryptocurrency investment. Blockbank has helped its users generate managed assets worth more than $100 million while promising a 30% APY in the future. In addition, Coach K insightful advice and coaching produced 100 millionaires in the crypto space in 2021. Blockbank is on a mission to streamline access to financial technology necessary to invest in cryptocurrency. It combines the best of centralized and decentralized finance with traditional banking to deliver a holistic overview of the crypto industry. Participation in the Coach K Conference is part of the platform’s concerted efforts to build partnerships in the industr

A director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that crypto regulation is “certainly high on the agenda” for India. “We are trying to come up with global standards for #crypto asset regulations. I think that’s important for India to also adopt,” said the IMF official. IMF on Crypto Regulation in India Tobias Adrian, Financial Counselor and Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department, discussed India’s crypto regulation in an interview with PTI Tuesday at the annual spring meeting of the IMF and the World Bank. Adrian said that for India: Regulating crypto assets is certainly high on the agenda. “That is something that is done globally,” he stressed. “Within the Financial Stability Board, we are trying to come up with global standards for crypto asset regulations. I think that’s important for India to also adopt.” Officials of India’s Ministry of Finance have reportedly been consulting with the IMF and the World Bank on

Everscale is the most scalable network in DeFi. With the capacity to process over a million transactions per second, Everscale is able to offer users some of the fastest transaction speeds paired with fractional fees. The Everscale ecosystem includes a cross-chain bridge platform with a unique Universal Bridge mechanism that facilitates liquidity transfers to and from virtually any network, a native DEX with some of the highest APY rates in DeFi on its staking and farming pools, and native wallets. Vlad Ponomarev is the CEO of Broxus. He recently joined the Bitcoin.com News Podcast to talk about the technology they are developing: Vlad Ponomarev is the CEO of Broxus – one of the core developer teams of the Everscale network and architects of a cross-chain bridge platform, network-native DEX and much more. Commercial strategy, B2B sales and marketing professional with over 10 years of industry experience. To learn more about the technology visit Broxus.com and join the commun

A non-fungible token (NFT) collection called Moonbirds has been a topical conversation within the NFT community as the compilation’s sales have been enormous. The Moonbirds NFT project started selling five days ago on April 16, and since then statistics show the collection has seen $364.83 million in sales. Moonbirds NFT Collection Takes the Top Spot This Week This week a new NFT collection called Moonbirds has surpassed the likes of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), and Cryptopunks sales. Traders only started swapping the 10,000 Moonbirds NFTs five days ago and since then it has captured $364.83 million in sales volume. Moonbirds is currently the top NFT collection this week in terms of overall sales above dozens of unique collections. In fact, Moonbirds sales represent approximately 37.85% of the $963.8 million in total NFT sales recorded during the last week. Moonbirds have been popular because the collection is backed by Proof Collective , a group of

Blizzard, a game studio and part of the Activision-Blizzard company, has started polling some gamers about the use of NFTs and cryptocurrency elements. The survey, which was only directed to some of its players, raised rumors about the possibility of the company introducing some of these elements into its games. However, Mike Ybarra, head of the studio, denied this possibility. Blizzard Makes Selective Poll, Includes NFTs and Play-to-Earn Subjects Blizzard, the game development studio that created franchises like Starcraft, Warcraft, and Overwatch, is polling some gamers about their opinions when it comes to NFTs and play-to-earn mechanics. According to sources on social media, the poll consulted players about issues that included other, more common topics for a gaming company, like augmented reality and cloud gaming. However, there was a section that asked directly about the opinion and the feelings of these users on the inclusion of NFTs and cryptocurrency elements in some of th

PRESS RELEASE. Mohali, India, April 21, 2022: Amidst the rapidly growing popularity of metaverse, and global giants like Facebook, Microsoft, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and more tapping into the metaverse world, Antier Solutions is helping businesses to ride the wave with its diligently-crafted metaverse development services . The metaverse gained exposure and momentum in October when Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook to Meta and shared his vision to create an immersive virtual world where people can interact as avatars. According to Nishant, CTO of Antier, “Web 3.0 and metaverse are poised to redefine the internet. They will pave the path for a persistent 3D environment where the movement across places and interaction with people will be as easy as in the real world.” Antier Solutions provides a host of offerings – including consulting and development services – to help businesses harness the potential of Web 3.0 and launch their metaverse. Antier’s team of skilled metaverse develo

While the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) hovers just above the $214 billion mark, a defi protocol called Lido has been moving closer toward taking Curve’s top spot in terms of TVL in a defi protocol. Currently, the liquid staking solution Lido has $19.2 billion in staking assets derived from five different blockchain networks including Ethereum, Solana, Terra, Polygon, and Kusama. Lido’s Staked Assets Represent Close to 9% of the $214 Billion Locked in Defi According to defillama.com, there’s $214 billion total value locked in decentralized finance at the time of writing. Presently, the largest defi protocol in terms of TVL size is Curve Finance , the decentralized exchange (dex) platform. Today, Curve dominates the pack with $20.71 billion and a dominance rating of around 9.67%, according to defillama.com statistics on April 20, 2022. As far as TVL in defi protocols is concerned, Curve has led the pack for weeks on end, but the liquid staking solution Lid

Square Enix, the Japanese gaming company, is pressing on with its vision of integrating blockchain elements into its games. In a recent interview, president Yosuke Matsuda talked about the importance of user-generated content and the advantages that allowing this kind of development, as well as introducing blockchain-based self-sustained economies, might bring to the future of the gaming industry. Square Enix to Double Down on Blockchain and Autonomous Content Square Enix is doubling down on its business plan of including blockchain elements in its games in the not-so-distant future. The company, which had already made plans to make a robust entry into the blockchain gaming world, seems to now be interested in using these tools to create self-sustaining economies in gaming worlds. Yosuke Matsuda, president of Square Enix, reiterated the compromise that he and the company have to deliver some of these experiences in the future in a recent interview given to Yahoo News. To Matsuda,

According to a recent study published by the online investing news and education platform Invezz, Switzerland currently has the most profitable bitcoin traders worldwide. That’s according to data stemming from Chainalysis, Worldometers, and Triple A, which helped Invezz assign each country a score in terms of the most profitable bitcoin trading by country. Researchers Rank the Best Bitcoin Trading Nations and the Most Profitable Bitcoin Traders by Country This week, invezz.com researchers published a study that looks at the most profitable bitcoin traders by country by leveraging statistics from multiple datasets. The study’s author Dan Ashmore explained one dataset stemmed from Chainalysis, which shows the top 25 countries in the world by realized bitcoin (BTC) gains in 2020. This served as the study’s backdrop, as the invezz.com research team also utilized statistics from Worldometers and Triple A. While the data shows Switzerland currently has the most profitable bitcoin trade

The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) has partnered with the Court of Accounts of the Union (TCU), a constitutional institution of the Brazilian government, to complete the development of the Brazilian Blockchain Network. The partnership, established through a memorandum of understanding, establishes a deadline for the completion of the project, which should be finished in five years. Brazilian Blockchain Network Development Powered by a New Partnership New details are available on the development of the Brazilian Blockchain Network, a common rail that will be used as a base for the development of apps by public institutions in the country. The details were revealed in Official Gazette of the country. The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), the institution responsible for the creation of this platform, has partnered with the Court of Accounts of the Union (TCU), a comptroller institution of the Brazilian state, to advance the development of the aforementioned blockchain. The coop

Nigerian public and law enforcement agencies have been urged to “ stop the demonization” of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. According to an association that advocates for the risk-based regulation of the crypto industry, financial institutions should not use a Nigerian central bank directive as basis for denying service to industry players. Risk-Based Regulation of Crypto Activities A blockchain and crypto industry association has told Nigerian public and law enforcement agencies to stop demonizing and discriminating against blockchain and crypto entities. In its latest press release, the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN) argues that Nigeria urgently needs risk-based regulation for cryptocurrency activities as well as capacity building. In a press release , SIBAN reiterates its strong belief that a February 5, 2021 directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) did not ban cryptocurrencies in Nigeria. Yet, despite there being no la