Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The National Assembly of Panama has advanced a cryptocurrency law project that seeks to regulate cryptocurrency activity to give more clarity to the sector in the country. The proposal, which was approved in the first discussion, was composed of two different projects presented to the economic affairs commission of the Assembly. Panama Moves to Regulate Crypto Assets Panama is taking steps to regulate crypto assets and the businesses that use them in the country. The National Assembly of the country, which is the highest legislative organization in Panama, has taken the first step toward regulating the use of cryptocurrencies. The institution has approved in the first debate a cryptocurrency law project titled “Law that regulates the commercialization and use of crypto assets, the issuance of digital value, the tokenization of precious metals and other goods, payment systems and other provisions.” The proposed law includes definitions and concepts about cryptocurrencies, blockchain...

At the end of May last year, Tesla’s Elon Musk convinced bitcoin industry leaders to form a Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) and in mid-July, the BMC launched its public services and website. On April 25, 2022, the organization published a report that discusses the bitcoin mining industry’s improvements in sustainable energy use during the first quarter of 2022. The BMC report’s findings show Bitcoin’s electricity usage dropped by 25% in Q1 2022 compared to the year prior. Bitcoin Mining Council Publishes Q1 2022 Covering Mining Industry’s Sustainable Power Mix and Technological Efficiency According to the latest Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) report, the bitcoin mining industry continues to improve its sustainable energy use and technological efficiency. The Q1 2022 survey conducted by the BMC, showcases three metrics which include: “electricity consumption, technological efficiency, and sustainable power mix.” BMC researchers managed to survey roughly 50% of the network’s hashpower, w...

Abu Dhabi Global Market has awarded a full financial license to crypto exchange Kraken. “Kraken will be the first global virtual assets exchange group in the UAE to offer investors the ability to invest, trade, withdraw and deposit virtual assets (bitcoin and ether) directly in local AED currency,” the regulator explained. Kraken Establishes Middle East Headquarters Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) announced Monday that cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has become “the first global virtual assets exchange group in the UAE to receive a full financial license from ADGM.” Abu Dhabi Global Market is an international financial center and free zone in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the largest regulated jurisdiction of virtual asset activities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The regulator explained: Kraken is the first global cryptocurrency exchange to receive a Financial Services Permission (FSP) license to operate a regulated virtual as...

Buzzwords like NFTs, Web 3.0, and blockchain domains have infatuated everyone in the tech and crypto of late. The term Web 3.0 is now a part of everyday conversation. However, you won’t seem serious about it until you own an NFT domain. Web 3.0, the internet of tomorrow, is an umbrella term that combines different ideas aimed at a single goal, bypassing the big intermediaries from the internet. There is no need to use giants like Google, Meta, or Twitter on this new web. One of the important pillars of building the internet of tomorrow is simplification. This is where Quik.com plays an integral role in pushing innovations for Web 3.0. Quik is a marketplace for blockchain domains that address one of the core missions of the next internet revolution; offering direct ownership to end-users without any intermediaries. “NFT domains are an exciting development in the decentralized internet. They can change how we use the internet with an added layer of security, functionality, and tran...

A South Korean music sharing platform, Koong World, recently announced the registration of a non-fungible token (NFT)-based music theft prevention patent. Using this patent, the music sharing platform aims to “solve the problem of copyright protection in the rapidly growing music market.” Tackling the Problem of Copyright Infringement in the Music Industry A South Korean peer-to-peer music sharing platform, Koong World, recently registered an anti-music theft patent with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, a report has said. Kung World says the patent will enable it to solve the challenge of copyright infringement in the music industry. The registration of the patent comes less than a year after the launch of the music-sharing platform itself. Since its launch in 2021, the platform now boasts over 2 million members and over 40,000 registered songs. According to a report by Forkast, Koong World was awarded a patent registration by the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Ap...

Afghan residents are reportedly acquiring digital assets that they use to preserve their savings and to diminish the ruling Taliban’s ability to affect their financial well-being. Since the militant group seized control, the value of crypto transactions per week has in some cases doubled, a Bloomberg report has said. Demand for Digital Currencies Surges Demand for digital currencies in Afghanistan has reportedly surged as residents seek to pre-empt the possible seizure of their funds by the Taliban government. In addition, digital currencies are being used to curb the Taliban’s influence on their economic well-being. As per a Bloomberg report , some Afghans are looking to buy stablecoins like tether because they are pegged to the U.S dollar. The report quotes one 26-year-old Afghan resident, Habibullah Timori, who backs assertions his countrymen are using digital assets to preserve savings. He said: Demand for cryptocurrencies is high. During other crises, people stored their cas...

PRESS RELEASE. In this industry, it is crucial to establish key strategic partnerships in order to ensure both longevity and prosperity. As such, LABEL Foundation has officially announced a partnership with Polygon Studios, with the further intention to chase their multichain goal and launch their Dapp additionally on Polygon Network, along with Binance Smart Chain and Ethereum Network. What is Polygon? Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution which works in tandem with the Ethereum blockchain to make transactions quicker and less expensive. Polygon is a PoS (Proof-of-Stake), Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compliant, secure, Layer-2 solution for dApps (decentralized applications) that offers rapid transactions and minimal costs. Polygon Studios is Polygon’s gaming and NFT division, dedicated to doing its part in terms of building the worldwide blockchain-based gaming and NFT space as well as bridging the gap between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 gaming via investment, marketing, and develope...

Only 5.3% of Spanish crypto investors have received a warning to declare income taxes, according to a report in local media. If accurate, this would mean that only 233,000 investors, a minuscule portion of the estimated 4.4 million Spanish citizens that have delved into the crypto world with investment ideas in mind, were contacted by the tax agency. Spanish Tax Agency Falls Flat on Crypto Vigilance Only a small portion of cryptocurrency investors and users in Spain have been contacted by the national tax agency in regards to their crypto operations from last year. The organization managed to send warnings to only 5.3% of the estimated number of Spanish citizens that have invested or made transactions with cryptocurrency, according to a report from local media. This means that only 233,000 investors of 4.4 million have been warned about their duty of declaring cryptocurrencies using the income tax and holdings models. While this fails to include a significant part of the total of ...

The top meme tokens by market capitalization saw a significant jump on Monday after being fueled by dogecoin’s recent price rise. Crypto meme coins like shiba inu, dogelon mars, and floki inu saw 2-13% gains over the last 24 hours. The entire meme token economy is worth $35.8 billion, up 9.4% today. Meme Token Assets See Double-Digit Gains on Monday Following Dogecoin’s Rise Following Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion, digital currency markets jumped in value and crypto meme tokens saw a significant spike. 24-hour statistics at 4 p.m. (ET) on Monday had shown dogecoin (DOGE) jumped 26.3% in value against the U.S. dollar. Dogecoin (DOGE) is still up 18.8% today and is hovering just above the $0.15 zone. Many believe the rise is based on mere speculation that Musk could possibly implement dogecoin payments into some of Twitter’s operations. While dogecoin jumped in value against the dollar, a number of other popular meme coin assets followed DOGE’s lead on Mond...

Uniswap, one of the main decentralized finance exchanges in the cryptocurrency world, is now taking measures to ensure illegal funds cannot be transacted using its platform. The company has already started blocking addresses linked to “blocked activities” and will apply a filter with data provided by TRM Labs, a blockchain analysis firm that focuses on detecting illegal activities. Uniswap Scrutinizes Addresses Interacting With Its Frontend Uniswap, the decentralized finance exchange, has taken measures to curb the illegal activity conducted using its platform. The exchange has now introduced address screening procedures that log the addresses using its official frontend. These addresses are then compared to a blacklist provided by TRM Labs, a blockchain firm that provides transaction monitoring services. While the extent of these measures is still unknown, in its address-screening FAQ, Uniswap explains the kind of activities it wants to exclude from taking advantage of its servic...

PRESS RELEASE. Zug, Switzerland, April 25, 2022) – UniX Gaming , a leading crypto gaming guild, has partnered with industry giants DAO Maker and SL2 Capital to launch its own launchpad, ‘ Final Round’. UniX also announced that Delysium would be one of the first games to debut on ‘ Final Round’ . Invested in by the likes of Y Combinator, Delysium is the world’s first AAA blockchain MMO game, which in itself demonstrates UniX Gaming’s determination to see Final Round succeed. The idea behind the launchpad for UniX is not just to give investors early access to the latest games but its community as well. The launch of ‘Final Round’ also puts UniX in a unique position as the only all-in-one guild, launchpad, and DAO. The addition of a launchpad to the UniXverse not only enables it to contribute positively to the Play-to-Earn space but adds more utility and value to its UniX token. “We have been working tirelessly to make this possible for our community, and we have finally done...

Wall Street suffered Monday morning as the major U.S. stock indexes dropped further, building on losses gathered last week. Reports indicate that investors are concerned about the upcoming Federal Reserve rate hikes and China’s recent Covid-19 outbreak. As equities floundered on Monday, the crypto economy slid under the $2 trillion mark and gold prices dropped 1.6% against the U.S. dollar during the past 24 hours. However, after Elon Musk revealed he acquired Twitter at 2:50 p.m. (ET), both equities and crypto markets rebounded a great deal following the announcement. Global Markets Shake Over Fears of Covid-19 Related Supply Chain Issues and the Possibility of Aggressive Rate Hikes Four days ago, Jerome Powell, the current U.S. Federal Reserve chair, explained at an International Monetary Fund (IMF) panel discussion on April 21, that the U.S. central bank may have to move “more quickly” when it comes to bank rate hikes. Powell further noted that the U.S. central bank could impleme...

Everyone would agree that the metaverse is a novel concept that is only going to become more popular as time goes on. Even now, many international companies from a variety of backgrounds such as Samsung, Emirates Airlines, and even JPMorgan have all gotten involved with the metaverse, so it is safe to say that this idea is not going away anytime soon. As such, the Olive Corporation’s metaverse platform may best be understood as an effective communication environment which develops and shares anything players can conceive via 3D Avatar and Playground services, allowing everyone to enjoy a variety of experiences, services and features. By providing point integration services inside the ecosystem, Olive Corporation hopes to enhance its business model and produce a reliable source of income as well as a steady stream of clients. Moreover, Olive is developing a metaverse that will begin with colleges, which are significant clients for the MZ generation. The objective is to boost the us...

The CEO of the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, says Apple has not played nice with crypto, noting that the tech giant has banned a bunch of crypto features in its App Store. Apple’s anti-crypto policy raises “potential antitrust issues,” said the Coinbase executive. Potential Antitrust Issues Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong talked about Apple’s crypto policy in an episode of the Superteam podcast, which aired last week. Superteam is a podcast that explores the web3 ecosystem in India. Commenting on Apple’s anti-crypto policy, he detailed: “You try to get your app in the App Store and Apple ejected it and then they had this competing one that got approved … it’s a black box.” The Coinbase boss elaborated: Apple so far has not really played nice with crypto. They’ve actually banned a bunch of features that we would like to have in the app, but they just won’t allow it — so there’s potential antitrust issues there. Armstrong added: “There’s going to h...

Skybridge Capital, a $3.5 billion asset management firm, is “extremely bullish” on the crypto sector, says an executive of the firm. “For us, we think the cryptocurrency markets represent tremendous growth.” ‘The Cryptocurrency Markets Represent Tremendous Growth’ Two executives of Skybridge Capital — founder Anthony Scaramucci and director John Darsie — talked about the firm’s crypto outlook in an interview with Bloomberg ahead of SALT, a global thought leadership forum, this week. Scaramucci explained that almost half of Skybridge’s asset under management is linked to crypto assets, including bitcoin, the Algorand protocol, Ethereum, and publicly traded, crypto-related stocks. Noting that his firm expects the crypto focus to triple its assets under management from $3.5 billion to $10 billion, he said: We feel so strongly about this opportunity that we’ve adapted and repositioned the firm to eventually be a leading cryptocurrency asset manager and adviser. “For us, we think t...

Exmo, a U.K.-based crypto exchange with extensive presence in Eastern Europe, is pulling out of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The trading platform, Exmo.com, says it’s making the move to avoid jeopardizing its expansion in other regions by operating in high-risk markets like these. The business has been sold to a Russian vendor, alongside rights to the Exmo.me domain and branding. Crypto Exchange Exmo Transfers Russia Operations to Local Entity Major Eastern European exchange Exmo announced earlier this week it’s selling its digital asset business in Russia and Belarus. The company explained the “tough decision” with efforts to avoid risking its global expansion plans by working in these countries. Both nations have been targeted by Western sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “In addition, our Russian UBO, Eduard Bark, is leaving the company, transferring his stake as a part of a response to one of our directors, Serhii Zhdanov,” Exmo pointed out. “Kazakhstan clients wer...

PRESS RELEASE. SeatlabNFT has announced the date for their IDO, with full details available via their website . The 24th of May 2022 is the first opportunity people around the globe will have to invest in the innovative NFT ticketing platform’s native token $SEAT. SeatlabNFT is a revolutionary event ticketing platform built on the climate-neutral NEAR Protocol blockchain, designed to create an immersive, more connected experience for everyone involved in live events. Minting tickets as NFTs and leveraging the transparent, irrefutable ledger provided by the blockchain will eliminate fraud and drastically reduce the impact of ticket scalping (the process of reselling tickets for popular events at a price much higher than the box office listing). Current solutions for event ticketing do not serve artists, fans or event creators. The ticketing industry has been plagued by touts and dehumanised by bots in the pursuit of profit at the expense of fans and those who make live events possi...

The U.S.-based company Compass Mining plans to sell $30 million worth of bitcoin mining equipment that’s currently located in Siberia. The decision to sell the mining rigs follows the U.S. government sanctioning the bitcoin mining operation Bitriver and ten subsidiaries. Compass is hoping to offload 12 megawatts of capacity, according to a company executive. Compass Hopes to Sell 12 MW of Bitcoin Mining Capacity in Russia to Pay Clients According to Compass Mining’s CEO Whit Gibbs, the firm is selling $30 million in mining equipment that is currently located in Siberia. Speaking with Bloomberg on Friday, Gibbs explained the company is hopeful it will be able to obtain funds from the sale to pay off roughly 2,000 customers. Compass offers hosting services and the mining equipment in Siberia was owned by customers renting hosting space. During the last year before the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Russia became a preferred “hotspot” for bitcoin miners as electricity in the country is mu...

Two Japanese carmakers, Nissan and Toyota, have launched operations in the metaverse. Nissan’s virtual showroom can host vehicle launches and other events, while Toyota’s workspaces are being used to hold employee meetings. ‘Limitless Possibilities’ Japanese carmakers Nissan and Toyota have become the latest global corporations to join the metaverse after a report said the former had launched a virtual showroom while the latter had created virtual workspaces. By establishing a presence in the metaverse, the two carmakers join their European counterparts Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz in making use of the technology. As per a Nikkei Asia report, Nissan has created a digital reality version of its Tokyo gallery Nissan Crossing which can be used for vehicle launches and other events. On its website, Nissan Motor Corporation stated that through its Invisible-to-Visible — an augmented reality interface that connects to the metaverse — it has created “limitless possibilities for services a...

A16z, also known as Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital (VC) company that has invested millions in crypto-related projects, has announced the launch of its own crypto research lab. This new initiative seeks to marry academic research with producing ideas and putting them into practice in startups and organizations in which the company is heavily invested. A16z Announces It Will Conduct Blockchain Related Academic Research Andreessen Horowitz, an organization with heavy investments in crypto and Web3 startups, has announced the launch of the a16z crypto research lab, an initiative that will let the company tackle the challenges the sector presents. The company considers that the crypto and Web3 sector has “emerged as a new frontier in technology, and it has matured into an independent field of knowledge that brings together elements of computer science, economics, finance, and the humanities” This potential the VC firm sees in the blockchain environment is what is fueling its ...

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...