Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

U.S. diplomats have reportedly called on authorities in Tokyo to increase pressure on Japanese crypto exchanges and miners to sever links to Russia. The request was made to deepen Moscow’s financial isolation amid the ongoing Russian assault on Ukraine. Washington Wants Japan’s Crypto Companies to Cut Ties, Further Isolate Russia The United States has urged Japan to put more pressure on cryptocurrency exchanges and mining companies that continue to work with Russians. The U.S. wants the Japanese entities to end their business relations with Russia, thus adding to its financial isolation from the rest of the world. The request, made by American diplomats, is targeting several of Japan’s more than 30 licensed crypto trading platforms that are still present in the Russian Federation, the Financial Times revealed in an article on Friday, quoting people familiar with the matter. The U.S. representatives told Tokyo to focus on halting crypto mining operations with Japanese participation...

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is probing crypto lender Voyager Digital over claims that it is FDIC-insured. The crypto firm previously explained that through its strategic relationships with Metropolitan Commercial Bank, “all customers’ USD held with Voyager is FDIC insured.” Voyager Probed by FDIC The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is looking into Voyager Digital Ltd. (TSE: VOYG) and its marketing of deposit accounts for cryptocurrency purchases, Reuters reported Thursday, citing confirmation by an FDIC official. The FDIC is an independent agency created by Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation’s financial system. It regulates and insures the deposits of a number of community banks and other financial institutions. “The standard insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category,” the regulator’s website details. While crypto lender Voyager is not an FDIC-insured bank, it ...

A class-action lawsuit has been filed claiming that cryptocurrency solana (SOL) is an unregistered security under the Howey test. “The specific facts and circumstances relating to SOL securities support the conclusion that SOL is a security under the Howey test,” the plaintiff argued. Solana Is a Security, Lawsuit Claims A lawsuit , filed on July 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claims that cryptocurrency solana (SOL) is an unregistered security. Lead plaintiff Mark Young, a California resident and SOL investor, is suing on behalf of himself and all investors who purchased solana tokens from March 24, 2020. The defendants named in the lawsuit are Solana Labs Inc., the Solana Foundation, Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko, Multicoin Capital Management LLC, Kyle Samani, and Falconx LLC. The lawsuit states: Defendants made enormous profits through the sale of SOL securities to retail investors in the United States, in violation of the registration...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has formally informed Twitter that he is terminating his $44 billion bid to buy the social media platform. “Twitter is in material breach of multiple provisions” of the agreement, Musk’s lawyer explained. Musk Ending Deal With Twitter Citing ‘Material Breach of Multiple Provisions’ Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk’s lawyer sent a letter to Twitter Inc. Friday regarding Musk’s offer to buy the social media platform. The letter, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), states: Mr. Musk is terminating the merger agreement because Twitter is in material breach of multiple provisions of that agreement. The letter claims that Twitter “made false and misleading representations” and Musk relied on them when he signed the merger agreement between Twitter and his companies: X Holdings I Inc. and X Holdings II Inc. The lawyer explained that Twitter has not complied with its contractual obligations to provide necessary data to Musk. For nearly two m...

Ripio, an Argentina-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced the launch of two products, a cryptocurrency educational textbook to help newcomers navigate the crypto market, and a Web3 wallet that the company aims to position as an easy gateway to the metaverse. While other Latam-based exchanges have laid off some staff to survive the current market, Ripio is expanding to Spain. Ripio Launches Educational Crypto Book Ripio, a Latam-based exchange, made some announcements regarding its product offerings earlier this week. The company presented two products directed to improve the knowledge of crypto and the experience of its users in the metaverse. First, Ripio launched a cryptocurrency textbook, created to help newcomers to the industry learn about the basics of blockchain and crypto. The book, which will be available for users to download for free, is part of the philosophy of the exchange of bringing crypto education to as many people as possible. Ignacio Carballo, an economist fr...

Jason Fung, former head of gaming at Tiktok, the video-based social media, is launching a blockchain-based gaming startup. The company, called Metao, will focus on providing “blockchain-agnostic” solutions that will allow Web3 game creators to expand their reach and not be limited to just a chain and an ecosystem tied to a certain token. Metao to Focus on Interoperability Blockchain is becoming a big element in several companies that are trying to mix gaming with cryptocurrency. Jason Fung, who was the gaming boss at Tiktok, one of the biggest video-based social networks, is reportedly launching a blockchain-based gaming company. Metao, as the startup is being called, will focus on offering a framework for other companies to build blockchain-based games, in the same way in which companies like Unity license their tech to others. This would make the lives of developers easier, focusing just on the content while dropping the complexities of integrating these mechanisms by themselves...

The Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications of Colombia, Mintic, has issued a guide that describes the steps to implement blockchain in projects directed at the state level. The document defines blockchain and its basic elements, and also describes the guidelines that some projects should follow, depending on the needs of each project. Colombia Issues Guidelines for Blockchain Projects More and more governments are including blockchain in projects that require transparency and decentralization. The Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications of Colombia, the main technology institution in the country, has issued a guide that describes how blockchain should be integrated into projects directed to solve problems at a government and state level. The document , titled “Reference Guide for the adoption and implementation of projects with blockchain technology for the Colombian State,” explains the basics of blockchain and the kinds of projects that would bene...

On July 7, 2022, the pseudonymous non-fungible token (NFT) collector known as “0xb1” published a Twitter thread that discusses the collector’s true identity and his relationship with the crypto lending firm Celsius. According to 0xb1, otherwise known as Jason Stone, his team found “major problems in how the company operated,” and Stone told Celsius his team would terminate their relationship in March 2021. When the team started to unwind defi positions, Stone says Celsius suffered impermanent loss and accused him of being a thief. Keyfi Founder, Also Known as ‘0xb1,’ Sues Crypto Lender Celsius Jason Stone, the founder of Keyfi , a decentralized finance (defi) aggregator startup that Celsius had a stake in, has accused Celsius of practicing a number of bad standards including “operating a Ponzi scheme.” Stone addressed the public via Twitter and used an account called “ 0xb1 ,” a well known NFT whale in the crypto industry with 121,200 Twitter followers. Bitcoin.com News reported on...

The U.S. and South Korean governments have reportedly agreed to share data on ongoing crypto cases, including the case surrounding Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon and the collapse of cryptocurrency terra (LUNA) and stablecoin terrausd (UST). U.S. and South Korea to Share Data on Crypto Investigations South Korea’s Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon met with U.S. prosecution officials during a visit to New York this week, Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday. The U.S. officials present at the meeting included Andrea Griswold, chief counsel to the United States Attorney, and Scott Hartman, co-chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The officials from the two countries examined ways to enhance cooperation in the investigation of major securities fraud and financial crimes, including those involving cryptocurrency. Specifically, they discussed information exchange between the Seoul Southern District Prosecut...

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, has warned that the global economic outlook “has darkened significantly,” emphasizing that, regarding a global recession, “we cannot rule it out.” IMF Says Global Economic Outlook ‘Has Darkened Significantly’ Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), discussed the global economic outlook and the prospect of a global recession in an interview with Reuters Wednesday. Commenting on the global economy, the IMF managing director said: The outlook since our last update in April has darkened significantly. She cited several factors, including a more universal spread of inflation, more substantial interest rate hikes, China’s economic growth slowdown, and mounting sanctions related to the Russia-Ukraine war. In April, the IMF slashed its global growth forecast from an estimated 6.1% in 2021 to 3.6% in 2022 and 2023. This was “0.8 and 0.2 percentage points lower for 202...

Book of Aztec unleashes the power of luck, and dishes out a massive 5,000x multiplier! A 3 Bitcoin Jackpot Was Awarded From a Small Bet of 0.0006 Bitcoin When it rains, it pours – but it’s pouring money, or more precisely bitcoin ( BTC ), for this lucky player on our crypto casino! We reported earlier in March ‘21 that a lucky player has bagged not one but two epic wins within minutes of each other. The consecutive wins worth more than $175,000 came on a popular slot game ‘The Dog House Megaways’ by Pragmatic Play at Bitcoin.com Games . Now, the same player has bagged another jackpot win of over 3 BTC on Book of Aztec by Amatic. What’s notable in this instance is that while the first win came after a massive 13,780x multiplier, this second win was secured with a 5,000x multiplier. Nevertheless, in the context of such big multipliers, the initial bet value is of minuscule importance. Bitcoin.com Games, offers various types of casino games including exciting slot and table game...

Starting on July 25, the Zimbabwean public will be able to buy and hold gold coins which weigh one troy ounce each. In addition to their use as an alternative store of value, the central bank says the coins can be traded and used as “security for loans and credit facilities.” Coins to Be Sold at ‘Prevailing International Price of Gold’ Just a few weeks after revealing its plans to roll out gold coins, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) released a statement on July 4 advising “the public of the salient features and characteristics of the gold coin.” According to the statement , the public will be able to purchase the gold coins “at a price based on the prevailing international price of gold and the cost of production.” The sale of the coins is expected to commence on July 25 and buyers will be able to purchase the coins using local currency or USD, the RBZ said. The gold coins, which have been named Mosi-Oa-Tunya (the local language equivalent for the Victoria Falls), weigh one troy...

Russia’s mass media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has restored access to a major Russian crypto news portal. Bits.media was recently blocked as a result of proceedings in a regional court that its representatives were not even summoned to attend. Crypto News Site Bits.media Again Available to Russian Readers as Roskomnadzor Delists It Bits.media, the source for crypto-related news with the second-largest audience in the Russian-speaking space, has managed to win the cancellation of its blacklisting by Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media. Roskomnadzor, as the agency is also known, blocked access to the Bits.media website last week, after adding an unspecified number of pages to a register of internet sources disseminating information considered prohibited in the Russian Federation. The measure was imposed based on a ruling by the Volzhsky District Court of the city of Saratov in a lawsuit initiated by the local prosecutor’s ...

The Bank of England says “extreme volatility” in the crypto market “underscores the need for enhanced regulatory and law enforcement frameworks.” The British central bank has warned that crypto prices could fall further. Bank of England Calls for Enhanced Crypto Regulation The Financial Policy Committee of the British central bank, the Bank of England (BOE), said Tuesday that the “extreme volatility” in crypto prices in recent months underscores vulnerabilities in the crypto market, Bloomberg reported. Citing a $2 trillion reduction in the total market capitalization of crypto assets, the Bank of England stressed the need for tougher law enforcement and regulation for the crypto sector, the publication conveyed. The market cap of all cryptocurrencies currently stands at about $1 trillion. It was nearly $3 trillion at its peak in November last year. Last month, Agustin Carstens, the general manager of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), said all the weaknesses in the cryp...

Bank of America has revealed that the number of its customers who are active crypto users has declined more than 50% from its peak in November last year. In addition, the bank said its data “shows that outflows to crypto platforms have fallen sharply,” indicating that “consumers are pulling back on their net investment into crypto platforms.” Bank of America’s Active Crypto Users Bank of America published a report last week showing a steep decline in the number of active cryptocurrency users from its peak in November last year. The bank explained: Anonymized Bank of America internal customer data shows a sharp, greater than 50%, decline in the number of active crypto users from the peak of over 1 million users in November 2021 to below 500,000 in May. “We also found that ‘first time’ users, customers who made a transaction with a crypto platform having not made one previously, have also fallen very sharply,” the report adds. Bank of America further noted that there were only ar...

Elon Musk’s Boring Company will accept the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin as payment for rides on its Las Vegas transit system Loop. Musk confirmed that he is “supporting Doge whenever possible.” Tesla already accepts the meme crypto for some merchandise and Spacex will soon follow suit. Elon Musk’s Boring Company to Accept Dogecoin Payments The Boring Company, founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, will accept the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin for rides on Loop, its Las Vegas transit system, CNN reported Wednesday. Musk previously said that The Boring Company’s goal “is to solve traffic, which plagues every major city on Earth.” One of the company’s projects is Loop, also known as “Teslas in Tunnels.” Loop is “an express public transportation system that resembles an underground highway more than a subway system,” its website details, adding that the system is all-electric with zero-emissions. The Tesla CEO indicated that the news of The Boring Company’s plan to accept dogecoin payments fo...

Hardware wallets designed to securely store cryptocurrency have seen a several-fold increase this spring in Russia, on the backdrop of currency restrictions introduced amid foreign sanctions. Ledger and Tangem have been the most popular products on the market, a media report revealed. Russians Buy More Hardware Crypto Wallets, Market Players Say Russian crypto users have sought to purchase up to eight times more hardware wallets in March – April 2022 over previous periods, the daily Vedomosti reported, quoting representatives of the Tangem wallet developer, the retail chain M.video-Eldorado, and the Ozon marketplace. Ledger, which sells wallets resembling a USB stick, and Tangem, whose products are designed to take the space of a bank card, have been the most popular brands among Russian customers, the article details. M.video-Eldorado started selling crypto wallets in the fall of 2021. It currently offers a single-currency and a multi-currency Tangem and a Ledger. In 2022, the re...

In its attempt to relieve the pressure against the rupee, the Indian government announced on July 1 that it had hiked the duty on imported gold by five percentage points to 12.5%. However, there are fears the import duty hike will spur a resurgence in the smuggling of the commodity. India’s Worsening Trade Deficit Faced with a rising trade deficit and weakening local currency, the Indian government announced on July 1 that it was hiking the duty on imported gold from 7.5% to 12.5%. Immediately after the announcement, the precious metal’s price in India went up by 3%. According to a report, the latest data from the country shows that imports of the precious metal into India — the world’s second largest consumer of gold — grew by almost ten times in twelve months to $6 billion. During the same period (May 2021 to May 2022), India’s negative trade balance grew to $24.29 billion, up from the $6.53 billion that was recorded a year ago. Following the announcement, some Indian experts l...

Leading cryptocurrency lender Nexo has offered to buy distressed competitor Vauld, which halted operations in the face of financial difficulties. The proposal comes after the Singapore-based company said it was exploring restructuring options. Nexo Secures Exclusive Agreement to Explore Vauld’s Acquisition Singapore-based crypto lending and trading platform Vauld, which announced suspension of withdrawals and other transactions for customers, has been offered a way out of its troubles. On Tuesday, major crypto lender Nexo unveiled it had signed an indicative term sheet with Vauld that grants it a 60-day exploratory period for exclusive talks over the intended acquisition of the rival company. On Monday, Vauld’s management said it’s halting operations because of “financial challenges” due to “the volatile market conditions.” It also cited financial difficulties at its partners and blamed the current market climate for the withdrawal of almost $198 million by its customers in about...

Citizens of Argentina are hedging their savings by using stablecoins amidst the recent climate of uncertainty created by the resignation of certain key members of the government. The minister of economy in the country resigned last weekend, alongside other personalities, creating the turmoil that prompted the price of stablecoins in the country to rise by 11% on some exchanges. Dollar-to-Peso Exchange Rate Plummets Due to Political Uncertainty in Argentina The rate that citizens in Argentina use to exchange the native fiat currency, the Argentinian peso, for dollars, has plummeted due to the climate of political and economic uncertainty the country is currently facing. The resignation of economy minister Martin Guzman caused shockwaves, as he was one of the biggest articulators of the deal the country inked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to restructure the debt that the country has with the organization. The resignation of Guzman also brought about demissions from othe...

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has told Parliament that the central bank is considering imposing additional restrictions on cryptocurrency trading. They include “placing limits on retail participation, and rules on the use of leverage when transacting in cryptocurrencies.” MAS Considers New Restrictions on Crypto Trading Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the minister in charge of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), answered a parliamentary question about the regulation of cryptocurrency Monday. Murali Pillai, a member of the Singapore Parliament, asked whether the MAS “intends to implement further restrictions on cryptocurrency trading platforms with a view to protect unsophisticated persons from entering into such trades which are considered highly risky.” The minister in charge of the MAS explained that since 2017, the central bank “has consistently warned that cryptocurrencies are not suitable investments for the retail public.” He detailed that in January, the central...

A hacker claims to have stolen the personal data of a billion Chinese citizens from the Shanghai National Police (SHGA) and is selling it for 10 bitcoins. “This database contains many TB of data and information on billions of Chinese citizens.” 23 Terabytes of Data on a Billion Chinese Citizens on Sale for 10 Bitcoins An anonymous hacker has claimed to have stolen about 23 terabytes of data on a billion Chinese citizens from a Shanghai police database. Experts say that, if true, this would be one of the biggest data breaches in history. The data is being offered for sale for 10 bitcoins. At the time of writing, this sum amounts to about $197,806. On a hacker forum, an anonymous user using the handle “Chinadan” offered the data for sale on Thursday. The user claimed that the information was leaked from the Shanghai National Police (SHGA) database. “This database contains many TB of data and information on billions of Chinese citizens,” the post details. The leaked data includes na...

Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, is preparing to face a strong market downturn. According to reports, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, announced a change in the hiring policies of the company, lowering the number of engineers planned to be hired from 10K to 6-7K. Previously, Zuckerberg had warned about the metaverse pivot of the company and how it could make it lose money in the near future. Meta Preparing for a Difficult Future Meta, the social media and tech company that pivoted to metaverse tech, has announced a series of actions to help it face a market downturn in the future. According to reports , Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of the organization, stated that the current economic situation would change the hiring plans of the company for this year. Zuckerberg stated that Meta will now only hire between 6,000 and 7,000 engineers this year, lowered from the estimated 10,000 planned before. This means that the company will effectively reduce hiring between 30% to 40...

BTC briefly rose back above $20,000 on Tuesday, as U.S. markets reopened following yesterday’s Independence Day holiday. Prices of ETH also surged, climbing over its $1,100 resistance level. Overall, the crypto market cap is trading 0.63% higher. Bitcoin On Tuesday, bitcoin rallied back above $20,000, as traders returned from the U.S. Independence Day celebrations. In what has been a highly volatile trading session, BTC /USD rose to an intraday peak of $20,405.12 earlier in the day. However, these gains were not sustained, with prices since moving to a low of $19,438.48, as bulls likely liquidated their positions. As of writing, prices are now trading at $19,447.73, which is roughly around 1.13% lower than today’s high. Looking at the chart, the drop comes as prices approached a short-term resistance point of $20,500. Overall, volatility continues to be high, with bearish pressure remaining present, and bears likely looking to take price below $19,000 in upcoming sessions. E...

Between June 13 and June 27, or roughly two weeks, Tron’s stablecoin USDD dropped lower than the $1 parity and slipped to a low of $0.928 per unit on June 19. During the past seven days, USDD has managed to jump back to the $0.98 to $0.99 region while reaching $1 on July 3. Tron’s USDD Stablecoin Climbs Back Above $0.98 per Unit The stablecoin USDD , issued on top of the Tron network, saw its value slip below the typical $1 parity it held prior to June 13. Prior to that day, the stablecoin’s chart looked similar to an electrocardiogram flatline holding a stable value of around $0.994 to $1. Between June 13th to the 15th, however, USDD’s fiat value slipped to a low of $0.964 per unit. At that time, the Tron Reserve DAO collateralized the stablecoin with crypto assets such as tron (TRX) and usd coin (USDC) . During that time, bitcoin ( BTC ) and a number of other top crypto assets slid significantly in value. On June 18, the crypto economy shuddered and around 2 p.m. (ET), BTC hi...

The Ghanaian government has reportedly changed its mind and will now seek a financial rescue package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The decision comes just a few days after residents took to the streets to protest the spiraling inflation and growing economic hardships. Ghana’s Growing Balance of Payments Deficit After initially refusing to seek the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s support, the Ghanaian government has said it will now hold formal talks with the financial institution, a report has said. According to the report, the government’s decision followed a conversation between President Nana Akufo-Addo and the IMF’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva. As per the report , the government’s about-face comes after Ghana’s inflation rate, which topped 27.6% in May, as well as the deteriorating economic situation, helped spark street protests across the country in late June. Ghana’s apparent volte-face also came less than two months after the central bank hike...

The British Army’s official Youtube and Twitter accounts were compromised Sunday and hackers used them to promote crypto, including bitcoin and ether giveaway scams featuring Tesla CEO Elon Musk. British Army’s Social Media Accounts Used to Promote Bitcoin, Crypto, NFT Scams The British Army confirmed Sunday that its official Youtube and Twitter accounts were breached. The army’s verified Twitter handle with nearly 363K followers retweeted a number of posts promoting non-fungible token (NFT) scams before they were removed by Twitter. During the breach, the account name, profile picture, and banner image were changed to resemble NFT collections. Meanwhile, the army’s Youtube account, which has 177K subscribers, was renamed “Ark Invest” and four live videos promoting bitcoin and ether giveaway scams were uploaded to the account. The scammers advertised that for every bitcoin or ether sent to them, you will receive twice the amount back. The videos featured Tesla CEO Elon Musk, forme...