Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

On Thursday, Warner Bros. announced it was collaborating with the non-fungible token (NFT) focused social media platform Nifty’s and at the end of June, the two firms will launch a story-driven NFT collection called “Looney Tunes: What’s Up Block?” The upcoming NFTs will tell a unique Looney Tunes storyline and will also celebrate the character Tweety’s 80th anniversary. Looney Tunes: What’s Up Block? A unique Looney Tunes-based blockchain program will leverage non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to tell a story, according to the American film and entertainment company Warner Bros. and the NFT-centric social media firm Nifty’s . Warner Bros. says that it is collaborating with Nifty’s again in order to release an NFT compilation called “Looney Tunes: What’s Up Block?” According to the announcement the NFTs will be used to create a “fresh narrative for the Looney Tunes franchise” via a storytelling experience. Looney Tunes is an animated short film series that was launched by Warner Bros. in...

Just weeks after launching its cryptocurrency trading platform , online brokerage Firstrade Securities has already begun expanding its available crypto listings. The most recent additions to the tradeable crypto coins on Firstrade are ENJ (Enjin), Maker ( MKR ), Bancor Network Token (BNT) and Compound (COMP). The latest 4 coins now make a total of 41 available cryptocurrencies on the Firstrade crypto platform. Enjin (ENJ) is a decentralized network on Ethereum which enables Developers to create and manage digital assets like NFTs, for game developments. The Maker ( MKR ) is a decentralized network, also on the Ethereum network, which primarily functions as a governance token for MakerDAO and as a fully functioning DeFi ecosystem. Compound (COMP) is similar, also a decentralized finance ecosystem on ETH , and Bancor Network Token (BNT), operates pools which bring Ethereum and other blockchains together. Why Trade Crypto on Firstrade? Traders and investors can get started trading f...

Former Monero lead maintainer, Riccardo Spagni, faces over 370 counts of fraud, forgery, and uttering. The charges against the developer stem from fraudulent activities he allegedly committed when he was still employed by Cape Cookies. Fluffypony Pleads Not Guilty The so-called crypto mogul and former Monero lead developer, Riccardo Spagni, has been charged with 378 counts of fraud by the South African government, a report has said. The charges follow allegations that Spagni defrauded his former employer of more than $93,500 (R1,453,561). The crimes are alleged to have taken place between October 2009 and June 2011. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Spagni was arrested in Tennessee by U.S. law enforcement. The lead maintainer’s arrest stems from a warrant that was issued by a South African court when Spagni, who is also known as “Fluffypony,” failed to make a routine court appearance. Spagni, who has since pleaded not guilty to the charges, is accused of cheating his fo...

Despite a strong start to the week, bitcoin fell below $30,000 on Thursday, as crypto bears returned to action. Following an uncertain day of trading yesterday, bearish momentum has taken charge of markets, with ETH also in the red. Bitcoin Following a strong start to the month, BTC fell lower, dropping below $30,000 on the second day of June. Bitcoin rallied to a nearly three-week high earlier this week, however on Thursday fell to an intraday low of $29,501.59. This drop comes less than 24 hours after BTC /USD hit a high of $31,848.82. However, as we approach tomorrow’s NFP report, market uncertainty seems to have pushed prices lower. Today’s move sees prices fall below the recent resistance level of $30,500, and they now look set to move towards a floor of $28,600. Bulls have so far resisted any further declines, with the $29,500 point acting as interim support, however should bearish pressure intensify, we will likely see this decline extended. A reason for the interim s...

The bill “On Digital Currency,” meant to comprehensively regulate crypto transactions in Russia, will be a “tough” law, according to the head of the State Duma Financial Market Committee. The legislation is yet to be finalized and will not be reviewed by lawmakers in the near future, Anatoly Aksakov revealed in an interview, despite Bank of Russia’s decision to drop its opposition to crypto payments, at least when they facilitate Russia’s foreign trade amid sanctions. Adoption of Russian Law on Cryptocurrencies Delayed by Ongoing Debate Over Rules Discussions about the regulation of the Russian crypto market continue in the government and it’s not worth expecting that the draft law “On Digital Currency” will be filed with the State Duma soon, the Chairman of the Financial Market Committee at the lower house of Russian parliament, Anatoly Aksakov, told Parlamentskaya Gazeta this week. Russian officials are currently debating over the bill’s third revision and the talks are heated, ...

India is the global leader in non-fungible token (NFT) gaming, while the number of play-to-earn (P2E) players in developed countries like the U.S. and France is significantly lower than in much of the rest of the world, the latest data from Finder has shown. More People Plan to Play in the Future According to Finder’s latest NFT gaming statistics, India is the country with the highest number of respondents (34%) that have played a P2E game. Hong Kong is the next highest country with 29%, while the United Arab Emirates is third with 27%. While the popularity of P2E games appears to be growing, data from Finder seemingly show a distinction in the level of interest between respondents from Western countries and the rest of the world. To illustrate, in the United States, where nearly 14% of the respondents said they know what P2E is, only 9.4% played at least one game. Only 4.3% of respondents in Sweden admitted to having played. However, in the study wherein Finder sought to determ...

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has partnered with major banks and financial services companies to explore the uses of asset tokenization and decentralized finance (defi). DBS Bank and JPMorgan will pilot the first project. Project Guardian Launched The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, announced Tuesday that it has partnered with the financial services industry to launch Project Guardian. The central bank described Project Guardian as “a collaborative initiative with the financial industry that seeks to explore the economic potential and value-adding use cases of asset tokenization” and decentralized finance (defi). Heng Swee Keat, Singapore’s deputy prime minister and coordinating minister for economic policies, announced the commencement of Project Guardian Tuesday at the Asia Tech x Singapore Summit. “The first industry pilot under Project Guardian will explore potential defi applications in wholesale funding markets,” the MAS detaile...

Colombian soccer superstar James David Rodríguez Rubio has announced his partnership with ZKSpace to launch the James Rodríguez Commemorative Edition NFTs, Zurda (left foot in Spanish), with the presale scheduled for June 15th, 2022 . The 1,500 unique pieces are currently the only digital art collections available featuring key highlights from his illustrious career spanning three continents and celebrating Rodríguez’s outstanding contribution to the game. Rodríguez is amongst the first of many prominent athletes and celebrities to get involved in the digital art space, and his strategic partnership agreement with ZKSpace, the team behind ZKSea , is a testament to the quality of the layer 2 NFT minting platform and marketplace. Instead of merely turning a digital photo into NFTs, Zurda NFTs are based on exquisite artwork digitally hand-painted by professional artists. The NFT collection will be made up of 4 different rarities comprising 1 Platinum, 10 Gold, 400 Silver, and 1,089 Br...

For years, traditional financial institutions in different parts of the world have been attempting to narrow the financial exclusion gap by extending their services to the unbanked population. Yet for many reasons, these institutions still cannot avail their products and services to everyone that needs them. Regulatory Hurdles While there are several reasons cited for why banks are still not able to do this, their failure to serve this unbanked population has, on the other hand, led to the meteoric rise of fintech startups. Instead of relying on metrics often used by traditional banks when making a decision on whether to open a new branch or not, fintech startups such as Eversend are often primed to serve even those without regular incomes. For individuals like Stone Atwine, a veteran banker who has been named in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List for Europe, and Technology, the failures of large financial institutions have created opportunities. In addition to explaining why he thinks tra...

Soros Fund Management’s chief executive and chief investment officer, Dawn Fitzpatrick, says cryptocurrency is here to stay and it’s already gone mainstream. She also believes that a recession is inevitable Soros Fund’s CEO: Crypto Is Here to Stay Dawn Fitzpatrick, chief executive and chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, discussed cryptocurrency and the U.S. economy in an interview with David Rubenstein, aired Tuesday on Bloomberg. Soros Fund Management was founded in 1970 by George Soros and his former business partner Jim Rogers. Fitzpatrick was asked about her view on crypto. Referencing Fidelity’s announcement to allow bitcoin investments in 401(k) retirement accounts, she replied: It’s here to stay. I think it’s gone mainstream. The executive added: “The one caveat I would say is … climate impact is going to become increasingly focused so, in that context, I think ethereum is likely to gain some more traction over bitcoin.” She also noted, “the blockchain te...

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has warned that an economic “hurricane” is coming. “You better brace yourself,” he advised. “We just don’t know if it’s a minor one or Superstorm Sandy.” Jamie Dimon on the U.S. Economy and QT The CEO of JPMorgan & Chase, Jamie Dimon, warned about an incoming economic hurricane Wednesday at a financial conference sponsored by Alliancebernstein Holdings. “It’s a hurricane,” Dimon exclaimed. While noting that “Right now it’s kind of sunny, things are doing fine, everyone thinks the Fed can handle it,” the JPMorgan executive stressed: That hurricane is right out there down the road coming our way. We just don’t know if it’s a minor one or Superstorm Sandy … You better brace yourself. The JPMorgan chief said in May that there were “storm clouds.” However, he has now revised his forecast. “I said there’s storm clouds, they’re big storm clouds, they’re — it’s a hurricane,” he cautioned. “JPMorgan is bracing ourselves and we’re going to be very conservativ...

Fidelity is planning a hiring spree to add ether trading and custody services to its cryptocurrency business. “As the demand for digital assets continues to steadily grow and the marketplace evolves, we will continue to expand our hiring efforts,” a Fidelity executive explained. Fidelity Expanding Crypto Services Fidelity Investments’ digital assets subsidiary, Fidelity Digital Assets, is expanding its services. Founded in 2018, Fidelity Digital Assets currently employs about 200 people. The company is looking to fill 110 new positions to focus on assets beyond bitcoin, a spokesperson for Fidelity told Reuters Tuesday. Tom Jessop, president of Fidelity Digital Assets, commented: As the demand for digital assets continues to steadily grow and the marketplace evolves, we will continue to expand our hiring efforts. According to Fidelity’s product manager, Terrence Dempsey, Fidelity Digital Assets has around 400 clients, including registered investment advisers, hedge funds, and a...

The government of Kazakhstan has collected $1.5 million from crypto miners in the first quarter of this year, official data shows. The money comes from a fee charged on the electricity spent to mint digital currencies, which was introduced in January. Crypto Mining Increases Budget Revenues in Kazakhstan Kazakhstan has received 652 million tenge (almost $1.5 million) from the crypto mining industry in the first three months of the year, the government announced this week. The funds have been collected through a surcharge on the electricity used by mining farms operating legally in the country. The fee, which was imposed on Jan. 1, 2022, is calculated at a rate of 1 tenge per kilowatt-hour of electrical energy burned for the extraction of cryptocurrencies. Entities operating mining facilities are expected to pay it no later than the 20th day of the month following the respective quarter. The surcharge is not yet part of Kazakhstan’s tax code. Authorities now plan to introduce diff...

Dmitry Vasiliev, co-owner and former chief executive of the now defunct Russian crypto exchange Wex, has been arrested upon entering Croatia, local media reported. The crypto entrepreneur is wanted by Kazakhstan where he is accused of stealing money from an investor. Wex Executive Vasiliev Apprehended at the Airport in Zagreb Belarus-born Dmitry Vasiliev, former CEO of Wex, once the largest crypto trading platform in the former-Soviet space, has been detained at Franjo Tudjman Airport in the Croatian capital on Wednesday, May 25, the Jutarnji List reported. According to the daily, the authorities in Zagreb have acted on a red warrant issued by Interpol on a request from Kazakhstan. Vasiliev, who resides in the Russian Federation, is wanted in the Central Asian country for defrauding an investor of $20,000. Kazakhstan’s law enforcement has been seeking Vasiliev’s extradition for some time, but the crime he is accused of there is relatively minor compared to other suspected offenses...

PRESS RELEASE. Bexplus Exchange is a leading crypto derivatives trading platform offering 100x leverage futures trading on a variety of trading pairs – BTC , ETH , ADA , XRP , DOGE, etc. Bexplus doesn’t require KYC and is trusted by over two million traders from over 200 countries/regions and is accredited by the U.S. MSB license (Money Services Business). The Most Novice-friendly Exchange If you want to be familiar with the market and trading rules as soon as possible, an exchange with a demo account may be a good help. With a demo account, you can practice trading strategies, familiar with the trading rules, and analyze the markets. Successful traders are always those who learn to analyze the market, keep themselves abreast of market news, and keep trying out different strategies. Bexplus provides you with comprehensive simulated trading services. Every user is given 10 BTC at the beginning, and they are replenishable, so you can try out different trading strategies as much as ...

Europe’s top securities regulator has warned that soaring inflation could drive investors to cryptocurrencies. Stressing that there is “an imbalance” in how each EU country deals with crypto, the regulator calls for a common regulatory framework across European countries. Inflation Could Drive Investors to Crypto, EU Regulator Says The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s top securities markets regulator, has warned that soaring inflation may drive retail investors into cryptocurrencies, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The regulator has also called for a formal legal framework to govern the crypto industry across all EU countries. ESMA Chair Verena Ross said in an interview last week: With inflation rising, investors will look to find investments which are able to try to compensate for inflation and bring greater returns, which might lead to greater risk taking. “That is something we are monitoring very closely,” she emphasized. Many investors believe that ...

The famous author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has predicted that a depression and civil unrest are coming. He also warned of the stock and bond markets crashing. Robert Kiyosaki on Markets Crashing, Depression, and Civil Unrest The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has issued more warnings about the U.S. economy. 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 claims that liberals and environmentalists are to blame for a reduction in oil production, which he said caused inflation, while stimulus checks paid workers not to work. Besides predicting that the stock and bond markets are crashing, he warned that a depression and civil unrest are coming. The famous author also noted that inflation is killing retailers, even giant...

PRESS RELEASE. Clesson, the operating company behind OPENTRACK and LABEL Foundation, has officially established a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with CJ Entertainment & Media . The new collaboration has the potential to benefit both parties involved as CJ Entertainment & Media is essentially an entertainment and mass media organization founded by the CJ Group, which is among South Korea’s major conglomerate corporations. What is there to know? Joining Clesson is Hen, the composer of the Netflix serial ‘ My Liberation Notes ’. Hen is from O’PEN CJ Entertainment & Media has reportedly joined LABEL Foundation’s operating company after Clesson successfully managed to enlist the services of the renowned composer as part of the collaboration, much to everyone’s delight as Hen has performed in a number of South Korean music projects and is also well known for creating the soundtrack for the aforementioned Netflix series. Clesson also serves as the main operating company be...

The Brazilian Development Bank has officially launched the Brazilian Blockchain Network, a structure designed to aid other institutions in the country in increasing public transparency. The launch, which was also assisted by the Court of Accounts of the Union, serves to call more institutions to adhere to this project, which aims to have its first applications ready for 2023. Brazilian Blockchain Network Launch Completed The Brazilian Blockchain Network, a public and distributed blockchain, was launched on May 30. The event, which was hosted by the Brazilian Development Bank and the Court of Accounts of the Union, serves as a starting point to call other institutions to collaborate with the development and growth of the network. Gustavo Montezano, the president of the Brazilian Development Bank, who is in charge of the development of the network, declared that the organization will sign agreements with other government institutions to collaborate on this task, stating that “the m...

PRESS RELEASE. Miami, Florida. – Vybe, LLC announced today that they are building an app that lets people mine their social media for cryptocurrency. “What if you earned crypto for every like you earned on social media?” Vybe Business Development Manager Blake Marum said, “That’s what Vybe does. It connects your content creator sites to a cryptocurrency wallet and automatically deposits VYBE into your wallet for every like you get on social media.” VYBE is a token, or Algorand Standard Asset (ASA), on the Algorand blockchain. It operates like Algo, and has been verified by Algorand’s official wallet, Pera. “The app disperses 222,603 VYBE every six hours for 20 years,” Vybe Lead Developer, Ravi Dhar, explained, “It calculates the total number of likes, posts, followers and other metrics that each user gets in six hours and awards them a proportion of this mining pool. So it measures content quality. The more likes you get from the world, the more VYBE you get from the app. Users a...

Turkey is reportedly drafting crypto legislation to be submitted to parliament in the coming weeks. The bill may also impose taxes on some crypto transactions. New Turkish Crypto Legislation Underway Turkey is drafting a bill to establish new rules for the crypto industry, Bloomberg reported last week, citing two unnamed Turkish officials familiar with the matter. According to the officials, the governing AK Party of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan plans to submit the cryptocurrency bill to parliament in the coming weeks. Under the new regulatory framework, companies would be required to have a minimum of 100 million liras ($6 million) in capital. In addition, global cryptocurrency exchanges would be mandated to open branch offices that can be taxed in Turkey. The authorities are also exploring ways to safely store cryptocurrencies. The new measures were on the agenda of a meeting held at the president’s office last week. The meeting was attended by Vice President Fuat Oktay, Trea...

After relative calm for a few months, the Lebanese pound has plunged to an all-time low of 35,600 per dollar, a report has said. The currency’s latest slide is expected to worsen Lebanon’s economic challenges. Pound Depreciation In a sign that Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis is worsening, the black market exchange rate of the Lebanese pound is reported to have plunged to an all-time low of 35,600 against the dollar. According to an Al Jazeera report, it took just two weeks for the pound’s black market exchange rate to drop from 26,800 to the latest rate. At the time of writing, the pound’s official exchange rate was 1,510 for every dollar. The pound’s reported quickfire depreciation has worsened Lebanon’s already difficult economic situation. Also as noted in an Al Jazeera report , the currency’s plunge was preceded by a 25% increase in petrol prices. Plans to scrap subsidies — which in turn can lead to further price increases — are expected to worsen the plight of the country’s ...

In the crypto industry, investors are always on the search for undervalued projects that have the greatest potential for increasing early investors’ returns. Finding these hidden gem initiatives just before noteworthy launches is an easy way to profit. Mars4 is one of these projects to keep an eye on, as the team behind it is working on exciting new releases that will be available the next month. These updates will boost the game’s economy and provide players with a sneak peek at the upcoming game. The community should expect the Mars4 project to acquire credibility as a result of these changes, bringing additional investors to the initiative. What exactly is Mars4? Mars4 offers non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that represent virtual Mars . All NFTs are unique in terrain and were modeled using NASA data to make them accurate representations of the Red Planet. The planned Mars metaverse game will make use of these land parcel NFTs. In the game, you can explore your virtual property, g...

India’s economic affairs secretary has reportedly revealed that the government’s consultation paper on cryptocurrency is “fairly ready.” He explained that the Indian government is looking at “a global paradigm on digital assets,” emphasizing that “There has to be a broad framework on which all economies have to be together.” Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth on Crypto Indian Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth provided an update Monday on the government’s progress to establish India’s crypto policy. Speaking about the government’s consultation paper on crypto, he was quoted by CNBC TV18 as saying: Our consultation paper is fairly ready and we went into a deep dive and have consulted not just the domestic institutional stakeholders but also the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. “So we hope that we will soon be in a position to finalize our consultation paper,” the economic affairs secretary added. In April, Bitcoin.com News reported that Indian finance minis...

The CEO of Bank of America says that his bank has hundreds of blockchain patents but regulations will not allow it to engage in crypto. “The reality is that we can’t do it by regulation,” he said. Bank of America’s CEO on Crypto Bank of America (BOA) CEO Brian Moynihan talked about cryptocurrency in an interview with Yahoo Finance Live at the recent World Economic Forum event in Davos, published Saturday. He was asked about his bank’s plans for cryptocurrencies. “The reality is that we run a payments business across our platform. It’s trillions of dollars a day, and almost all of it is digital,” the executive replied, adding: If you think about the blockchain, we have hundreds of patents on blockchain as a process and as a tool and as a technology. However, with regard to cryptocurrency, he revealed: “We’re not engaging in accounts for people in cryptocurrency … we’re not allowed to, frankly.” The Bank of America chief explained: “Because we’re regulated and they [regulators] ...