Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Terra’s new LUNA 2.0 token has lost 54% in value in the last two weeks, after reaching $11.33 per unit on May 30. Meanwhile, the whistleblower Fatman has accused Terra’s co-founder Do Kwon of cashing out $2.7 billion a few months before the UST de-pegging incident. Kwon, however, has been keeping tabs on Fatman’s accusations and he claims the allegations are “categorically false.” LUNA 2.0 Token Drops 54% in Value During the Last 2 Weeks The LUNA 2.0 rebirth token has been extremely lackluster in terms of market performance during the past two weeks. However, as Bitcoin.com News reported six days ago, a myriad of decentralized finance (defi) protocols have re-joined the ecosystem. Terra’s 2.0 chain has roughly $1.32 billion locked in the Stader defi application according to defillama.com stats. The Terra Classic chain still has $10.54 million total value locked in defi today as well, with $3.11 million held on Terraswap and $2.47 million locked into Anchor. During the past two...

Renowned billionaire hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller says that in an inflationary bull market, he wants to own bitcoin more than gold “for sure.” However, he explained that in a bear market, he would prefer to have gold. Stanley Druckenmiller on Crypto, Bitcoin, and Blockchain Stan Druckenmiller shared his view on bitcoin and cryptocurrency investing in an interview with the Sohn Conference Foundation, published Saturday. Druckenmiller is chairman and CEO of Duquesne Family Office LLC. He was previously a managing director at Soros Fund Management where he had overall responsibility for funds with a peak asset value of $22 billion. According to Forbes’ list of billionaires, his personal net worth is currently $6.8 billion. “If you believe we are going to have an irresponsible monetary policy and inflation going forward,” he explained, adding that “If it’s in a bull phase, you want to own bitcoin.” In contrast, he noted: “If it’s in a bear phase for other assets, you want ...

Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff has made some dire predictions about cryptocurrency, particularly bitcoin and ether. He explained that “The need to sell bitcoin to pay the bills will only get worse as the recession deepens,” adding that bitcoin is poised to crash to $20K while ether will sink to $1K. Peter Schiff Shares Future Outlook for Bitcoin, Ether, Crypto Gold bug Peter Schiff, the chief economist and lead strategist at Euro Pacific Capital and founder of Schiffgold, has made some dire predictions about bitcoin, ether, and the crypto market in general. He tweeted Saturday: Bitcoin looks poised to crash to $20K and ethereum to $1K … Don’t buy this dip. You’ll lose a lot more money. Schiff further explained in several tweets Sunday: “With food and energy prices soaring, many bitcoin Hodlers will be forced to sell to cover the cost. Grocery stores and gas stations don’t accept bitcoin.” The economist noted: “When Bitcoin crashed during Covid no one needed to sell. Consu...

The CEO of Devere Group, a financial advisory and asset management firm, has predicted a bull run and a significant bounce in the price of bitcoin during the fourth quarter of this year. Devere’s CEO Predicts a Bull Run in Q4 for Bitcoin Financial advisory and asset management firm Devere Group has predicted that the price of bitcoin will bounce significantly in the fourth quarter of this year. Nigel Green, Devere’s founder and CEO, said early last week: I believe that we’ll soon see a bull run that will lead to a significant bounce in the fourth quarter of the year for the world’s leading digital currency. The Devere boss explained: “Bitcoin is currently highly correlated to leading global stock markets, such as Wall Street’s S&P500, and I’m confident that the recent market downturn is close to the bottom and a rally is imminent.” The CEO added: Bitcoin will benefit from a stock market rally as investors move back into riskier assets. Green explained that one of the ke...

Huobi, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has announced the creation of a new investment arm to tackle decentralized finance and Web3 projects. Ivy Blocks, as it was named by the exchange, will focus on finding projects in seed stages to aid them via financing and other supporting services with the objective of making a “better, more inclusive” Web3 ecosystem. Huobi Enters the Web3 Investing Scene With Ivy Blocks Web3 has become a thriving nascent industry with lots of crypto exchanges and VC firms joining the trend. Huobi, a top ten cryptocurrency exchange in volume traded, has announced the launch of its own investment arm to tackle these new markets. Ivy Blocks, as the exchange has named it, will have the task of identifying potentially successful Web3 and decentralized finance projects to incubate and nurture. According to a PR statement issued by the company, Ivy Blocks will have a multi-billion dollar war chest to complete its goal, something that makes it “well-placed to ta...

Five South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges recently said they will delist litecoin because the crypto asset’s Mimblewimble Extension Blocks (MWEB) upgrade violates the country’s laws. As a result, the exchanges’ users cannot use the Korean won to trade the crypto asset, which has since been named a “dark coin.” Upgrade Violates Specific Financial Information Act Following the recent Mimblewimble Extension Blocks (MWEB) upgrade to litecoin, five of South Korea’s major cryptocurrency exchanges, namely Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax, responded by announcing that they would delist the crypto asset. The exchanges argue that the upgrade has made litecoin transactions anonymous, which is against the country’s laws. According to a News1 report , the anonymity that was brought about by the Mimblewimble upgrade violates a provision in the Specific Financial Information Act which stipulates that cryptocurrency exchanges cannot handle crypto coins that hide transfer records. In a ...

Courts in Russia are hearing a growing number of cases around crypto assets, a new study has shown. About two-thirds of them have been launched under provisions of the country’s Criminal Code but civil cases represent a large share as well. Criminal Cases Involving Cryptocurrency in Russia Near 1,000 in 2021 Lawsuits related to cryptocurrency, exchange of digital assets and coin minting have seen a serious increase in Russia over the course of last year, reaching a total of 1,531. The number comes from research conducted by the cybersecurity company RTM Group and quoted by Izvestia this week. The majority of these, 954 cases, have been initiated under various articles of the Russian Criminal Code, the daily wrote on Friday. Another quarter of the proceedings, 365, are civil cases, almost one in 10 (141) is a bankruptcy, and 5% (71) are administrative cases, the article detailed. The authors of the study note that most often cryptocurrency appears in criminal cases related to drug ...

The Indian government’s chief economic adviser has warned about innovations like crypto and decentralized finance (defi) in the absence of regulation. “We may not be fully aware or comprehend the kind of forces we are unleashing ourselves,” he opined. Indian Government’s Chief Economic Adviser Skeptical of Crypto, Defi, Decentralization The Indian government’s chief economic adviser (CEA), V. Anantha Nageswaran, reportedly warned about the danger of crypto and the risks posed by its lack of regulation Thursday at an Assocham event. Referring to cryptocurrency, he was quoted by local media as saying: The more decentralized they become and the absence of a watchdog or a centralized regulatory authority also means that there is a world of Caribbean pirates or a world of ‘winner take all’ in terms of being able to really take it all from somebody else. The government’s economic adviser explained that he agreed with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar on crypto...

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns crypto is a “very risky investment,” adding that she would not recommend it to most people who are saving for retirement. However, Yellen noted that Congress could restrict the type of investments allowed in retirement accounts, including 401(k) plans. Janet Yellen on Investing in Cryptocurrencies for Retirement The topic of whether Americans should be able to put retirement savings in cryptocurrencies continues to be hotly debated. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was asked Thursday at an event organized by the New York Times about Fidelity’s announcement to allow bitcoin as an investment option in 401(k) plans. Yellen replied: It’s not something that I would recommend to most people who are saving for their retirement … To me it’s very risky investment. Fidelity’s announcement followed a guidance issued by the Labor Department (DOL) warning 401(k) plan administrators about allowing cryptocurrencies in retirement plans. Fidelity...

American Express and Abra are launching a new credit card that will allow shoppers to earn cryptocurrency rewards “tradable across over 100 different cryptocurrencies” without annual or foreign transaction fees. American Express and Abra Launching Crypto Rewards Credit Card American Express (Amex) and crypto trading platform and wallet provider Abra announced the upcoming launch of the Abra Crypto Card on the American Express network Friday. Abra described the new card as: The first crypto rewards credit card on the American Express network that will transact in U.S. dollars and offer crypto back on any purchase category and amount. “The crypto rewards will be tradable across over 100 different cryptocurrencies supported by Abra, with no annual or foreign transaction fees,” the crypto company detailed. The Abra Crypto Card will offer several benefits from the American Express Network, including Amex Offers, presale ticket access, global dining benefits, and purchase protections...

The government in Vilnius has approved amendments introducing more stringent regulations for the country’s growing crypto space. The legislation is aimed at managing risks associated with crypto assets and preventing Russian attempts to circumvent Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine. Lithuanian Authorities to Tighten Rules for Crypto Industry Lithuania is preparing to revise its Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing with the stated goal of ensuring greater transparency and sustainable development for its cryptocurrency sector. This week, the government approved amendments that the small Baltic nation plans to adopt before the upcoming EU regulations . The new provisions have been prepared by the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Lithuania, the Financial Crime Investigation Service, the Ministry of Interior, and the Lithuanian Money Laundering Prevention Competence Center. Their main purpose is to further regulate the operations of crypto service...

Crypto prices plunged as the weekend commenced, following yesterday’s U.S. inflation report, which came in at a 40-year high of 8.6%. ETH fell to its lowest point in fifteen months, while BTC dropped below $29,000. Bitcoin Following days of consolidation, BTC finally moved late on Friday into Saturday, as crypto prices responded to the latest inflation report. Data from the United States showed that inflation came in at a 40-year high of 8.6%, which is higher than the 8.3% many had expected. As such, investors seem to have panicked, and in turn liquidated some of their positions in crypto markets. BTC /USD fell to an intraday low of $28,911.36 to start the weekend, taking prices to their weakest point in almost two weeks. Despite the drop, prices still remain above support at $28,800, however some expect the sell-off to intensify as the weekend progresses. Should we see the 14-day RSI move below its current support of 40.50, then we could see this expectation come into fruit...

The cryptocurrency market is stagnant. Investors are cautious and hesitant to make investments. Some initiatives, however, thrive even in such circumstances: Mars4, a play-to-earn project, has seen an upsurge in NFT sales. Mars4 is growing thanks to scheduled releases (such as a game demo) and some help from Japanese KOLs. Mars4, a metaverse game , has been generating increased sales in the first weeks of June. Mars4’s use of a regional marketing strategy has seen the majority of the sales come from Japan. In collaboration with KOLs such as Daisuke and Crypto Train , Mars4 is grabbing the Japanese market. Yuzo Kano , a famous crypto advocate and CEO of BitFlyer, took an interest in Mars4 a year earlier. This inspired the Mars4 team to create a Telegram group for Mars4 Japan , which was quickly followed by other cultural communities such as Turkey , Italy , China , and others. Some cultural channels are available on Mars4 Discord too, as the company tries to be inclusive to every...

A Nigerian court has convicted and sentenced a man to one year in prison who is accused of duping an unsuspecting cryptocurrency investor. On its charge sheet, the prosecution said that the man had contravened Nigeria’s anti-fraud laws and hence should be punished accordingly. Fake Cryptocurrency Investment Scheme A court in Nigeria has convicted a man accused of using a bogus cryptocurrency platform to defraud $680 from an unsuspecting investor, a report has said. In its ruling, the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the man, Obu Ebibo, whose alias is Kenneth Gibson, must serve one year in jail. The court however said the accused has an option to pay a fine of $1,180 (N500,000) which he can deposit into the government’s consolidated revenue account. According to a PM News report that details the accused’s alleged crimes, by committing the alleged offenses, Ebibo was in contravention of Nigeria’s anti-fraud laws. “That you Obu ...

Felix Capital, a London-based VC company, has raised $600 million in its fourth fundraising round, this being its biggest yet. The company, which has been investing in commerce and money-tooling startups, is planning to use part of the funds raised to increase its Web3 exposure as part of its new business strategy. Felix Capital Includes Web3 in Business Plan Venture capital firms from all over the world are now turning their eyes to Web3, a new field that intertwines the internet and crypto. One such firm has been Felix Capital, a London-based VC company that has expanded its business plan to include Web3 as part of its current interests. With its latest fundraising round, the company obtained $600 million, surpassing its initial goal of $500 million. For the firm, this is its fourth and largest fundraise to date, bringing its total assets under management to $1.2 billion. In a blog post, the company explained that these funds will be used to back another 20 to 25 companies over t...

Blockchain.com has announced it has partnered with the Web3 digital identity platform and NFT domain name provider Unstoppable Domains in order to launch .blockchain NFT domains. The company says that in the next few weeks, 83 million Blockchain.com wallet users will get a free .blockchain domain. Blockchain.com Partners With Unstoppable Domains — Firms Launch 1st Branded Top-Level Domain Blockchain.com has been a pioneer in the crypto space for quite some time, as the company launched the first Bitcoin ( BTC ) block explorer in 2011. This week, the company has announced it has teamed up with the Web3 digital identity company Unstoppable Domains . The startup is an identity firm dedicated to Web3 services and a domain name provider that has issued 2.4 million registered usernames. The two firms announced the launch of the first-ever branded top-level domain by Unstoppable Domains which will be called .blockchain. In the coming weeks, Blockchain.com says that all 83 million Blockch...

While Bitcoin’s mining difficulty was expected to decrease two days ago on June 8, instead the difficulty increased by 1.29% on Wednesday. On the same day, at block height 739,928, Bitcoin’s hashrate tapped an all-time high (ATH) reaching 292.02 exahash per second (EH/s). Bitcoin’s Blockchain Secured by Close to Three Hundred Quintillion Hashes per Second This week, the Bitcoin network has never been more powerful as the protocol’s computational processing power reached a lifetime high on Wednesday. In fact, at 292.02 EH/s the network neared the 300 EH/s region for the first time. The last hashrate ATH took place on May 2, 2022, at Bitcoin block height 734,577, when it reached 275.01 EH/s. The jump to 292.02 EH/s 37 days later, was approximately 6.18% higher than the ATH on May 2. The ATH on Wednesday was only 2.73% away from reaching 300 EH/s or 0.3 zettahash per second (ZH/s) range. The hashrate has been running so high that the difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA) that was ex...

Payments giant Mastercard has announced it is working to bring direct payment support for a number of NFT and Web3 platforms with its cards. According to the company, this will enable more customers to enter the industry as the barrier to acquiring such digital goods is lowered via more flexible payment products. Mastercard To Enable NFT and Web3 Payments Traditional payments companies are starting to embrace cryptocurrencies and include them as options in their business strategies. Mastercard, one of the biggest payments companies in the world, has announced it is working with a number of companies in the NFT and Web3 fields to enable customers to pay with Mastercard technology for their products. According to a PR statement, the company is working directly with Immutable X, Candy Digital, The Sandbox, Mintable, Spring, Nifty Gateway, and Web3 infrastructure provider Moonpay, to allow customers to use their Mastercard cards to pay for digital goods provided by these platforms. Ma...

PRESS RELEASE. Recent news reveals that AuroraFS has progressed in its vision and direction concerning the development of the next generation of DApps which will be deployed on the decentralized P2P cloud storage and distribution network. AuroraFS announced intentions to begin building DApps which will run on the content storage and streaming network, in addition to Web3Tube. Web3Tube is the decentralized video storage and sharing application which has been in full test mode for over a month now. Web3Tube was the first decentralized application to display the power and ability of the decentralized cloud network known as AuroraFS. Now, with the expansion into development of more DApps, the search for DApps developers is on. What do the New Development Plans Look Like? The development of the next generation of DApps has triggered a search for Decentralized Application Developers to bring talent to AuroraFS in order to deliver just that. In order for the AuroraFS blockchain network ...

A survey conducted by Deloitte in collaboration with PayPal found that over 85% of merchants “are giving high or very high priority to enabling cryptocurrency payments.” In addition, “nearly three-quarters of those surveyed reported plans to accept either cryptocurrency or stablecoin payments within the next 24 months.” Majority of Merchants Surveyed Plan to Enable Crypto Payments Financial services firm Deloitte published a report titled “Merchants getting ready for crypto” on Wednesday in collaboration with payments giant Paypal. The report includes the results of a survey conducted between Dec. 3 and Dec. 16, 2021. The survey polled a sample of 2,000 senior executives at retail organizations with annual revenues ranging from less than $10 million to over $500 million across the U.S. “Respondents reported at least a general knowledge of cryptocurrency and stablecoins,” the report notes, adding that most of them are “a primary decision-maker when deciding whether their organizat...

Americans are worried about a new tax reporting requirement that will force applications like Venmo, Cash App, Paypal, Airbnb, and Ebay to send 1099-K forms to users. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is specifically focusing on payments of $600 or more for goods and services received through a third-party payment network. US Residents Think Form 1099-K Will Cause Headaches — IRS Says It’s Important ‘Records Reflect Business Income’ A new tax reporting requirement from the IRS will require third-party payment processors to send users who receive payments of $600 or more from goods and services a form 1099-K . The third parties must send users the form by mail or electronically for transactions that occurred during the 2022 tax year. The new rule has a number of Americans worried about side hustles, part-time gigs, and under-the-table income. Janet Yellen defended the push by the IRS to require US banks to report all transactions over $600. Here's a better idea: How abou...

PRESS RELEASE. EverRise , a leading web3 security and infrastructure platform, has released EverRevoke. The newest addition to the EverRise Ecosystem is a utility to review and revoke token and NFT approvals from a single place across multiple blockchains. EverRevoke supports five blockchains: Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Avalanche, and Fantom. Token approvals are an often overlooked vulnerability in decentralized finance. EverRise developed EverRevoke not only to provide a solution to revoking active permissions but also to bring awareness to the potential problem . With DeFi and web3 gaining more adoption, security must be at the forefront to give users assurance that their assets are protected. EverRise believes credible tools must be readily available. “The token revoking tools currently available aren’t the most reliable and don’t provide users with an easy way to navigate what is in their wallet. EverRevoke provides them with the information they need to know to make an inf...

The San Diego-based cryptocurrency firm Edge has announced the launch of a confidential crypto Mastercard that doesn’t collect KYC data and doesn’t charge transaction fees. Edge’s website notes that there’s “no name or address associated with [the] Edge Mastercard” giving privacy advocates peace of mind. Edge Reveals Privacy-Centric Crypto Mastercard The digital currency firm Edge has announced the launch of the Edge Mastercard , a loadable crypto debit card that doesn’t collect KYC data. Edge revealed the Mastercard on Twitter and told the company’s followers: “Zero fees. Instant funding — With Edge Mastercard everyone can now spend BTC , DOGE, DASH , LTC , [and] BCH instantly, with zero personal information required.” Blockspace.io founder Gabe Higgins gave Edge props for the new privacy-centric crypto Mastercard. “Kudos to Edge, sticking with their original vision of providing an easy way to secure [and] use bitcoin without compromising on privacy,” Higgins tweeted on Wednesd...

PRESS RELEASE. On June 9, 2022 at 14:30 UTC, the FIAT currency pairs of MV(ERC20)/USD and MV(ERC20)/EUR will be listed on Kraken, a leading crypto exchange. Genso believes that by listing MV on Kraken, Genso will be able to increase the reach of our Metaverse to more users, and therefore stimulate the GensoKishi Online Economy. What is Kraken? Kraken is a US based cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2011. The exchange is known to be the first for providing crypto price information to Bloomberg Terminal, a computer software system by the financial data vendor Bloomberg L.P.. It is also the first crypto exchange to provide BitCoin leveraging as a service, and therefore trusted by millions of users worldwide. Blog： https://blog.kraken.com/ Twitter： https://twitter.com/krakenfx About GensoKishi Online GensoKishi Online Metaworld is a GameFi and metaverse incarnation of the award-winning Nintendo Switch/PS4 game “Elemental Knights”. The iconic game has a 14 year history and has a...

U.S. Treasury secretary Janet Yellen doesn’t think inflationary pressures stem from the stimulus policies enacted after the Covid-19 outbreak. While speaking to lawmakers on Wednesday, during the House Ways and Means Committee, Republicans criticized Yellen for not knowing about the risks of inflation. A U.S. senator from Wyoming questioned the Treasury secretary’s “pronouncements and decisions” concerning the record gas prices and rising inflation. Yellen Claims Stimulus ‘Produced Excellent Rewards for Americans’ — Republican Senator Says American Rescue Plan ‘Overheated the Economy’ On Wednesday, Treasury secretary Janet Yellen downplayed the theory that the stimulus from the American Rescue Plan and other monetary expansion policies contributed significantly to the current rising inflation. “The success of the policy adopted is that we have an economy with the strongest labor market, arguably in the entire post-war period,” Yellen remarked during her House Ways and Means Committ...