Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Government of the city of Shanghai has proposed a group of guidelines to help it shift into a metaverse power. The plan of action defines each one of the technologies that the municipality needs to focus on to achieve the goals of building a $52 billion metaverse economy, while at the same time helping to establish 10 innovative companies in the area. Shanghai Establishes Metaverse Development Plan The metaverse is emerging as a technology that is attracting the interest of major countries and cities in the world. Shanghai, the largest city in China by population, has issued a document where it presents a plan to turn itself into an important center for metaverse industry activities. One of the main goals of this focus is to grow a $52 billion metaverse cluster in the city. To this end, the city plans to house at least 10 innovative leading enterprises in the metaverse industry, and 100 companies that present metaverse-related technologies, all of these with international reac

The interior ministry of Russia has decided to go after those providing money-laundering services to crypto fraudsters, suggesting they should go to prison. The department wants to introduce criminal liability for the activities of these people, also known as ‘droppers.’ Law Enforcement in Russia Targets Droppers Involved in Fraudulent Crypto Schemes The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation ( MVD ) and other security agencies are hoping to introduce criminal liability for citizens providing assistance to scammers that exploit the popularity of cryptocurrency investments. Law enforcement officials say they have been registering a growing demand for the services of so-called “droppers” — people who are willing to help crypto fraudsters with laundering illegally obtained funds, Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media reported. A dropper is usually someone who was offered to accept illicit funds to their bank account or crypto wallet. The person can then buy cryptocurr

The famous author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has advised investors not to miss “the greatest sale on earth.” He said asset prices are crashing and indicated that he is waiting in cash position to pick up bargains, including bitcoin. Robert Kiyosaki Waiting to Buy Bitcoin The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, reiterated this week that he is waiting to buy bitcoin, emphasizing that “the Greatest Sale on Earth” is coming as asset prices are crashing. 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. Noting that his “Favorite 4-letter word is SALE,” Kiyosaki tweeted Monday: Asset bubble found a Pin. Asset prices crashing. In cash position waiting to pick up bargains especially in real estate and bitcoin … Do not miss the Greatest Sale

Bank of America has forecasted that the U.S. economy will slide into a recession this year. “A number of forces have coincided to slow economic momentum more rapidly than we previously expected,” the bank’s economists said. US Economy Heading Into a Recession This Year, Says Bank of America Bank of America’s economists now expect a recession in the U.S. this year. In a report published Wednesday, they explained: “Our previous baseline outlook for the U.S. economy featured a growth recession. But a number of forces have coincided to slow economic momentum more rapidly than we previously expected.” The analysts added: We now forecast a mild recession in the U.S. economy this year. They considered factors such as inflation from food and energy prices, tighter financial conditions, and higher mortgage rates. Bank of America estimated in June that there was a 40% chance of a U.S. recession next year. The economists now expect the fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product to decline

PRESS RELEASE. Monopoly Millionaire Game, a marine-themed GameFi that involves island construction, cultivating, shooting and more, announced that it has completed a seed funding of 1 million US Dollar. By this round of funding, MMG was valued at 10 million US Dollar. Mirana Ventures led the seed funding round. Other notable investors included Kernel Ventures, Mint Ventures, Crypto J, and Ventorylabs. MMG Team said it will use the fund to help realize the MMG GameFi vision and attract more users to participate in the Web3 games. In MMG, players shall buy Cannon NFTs to get the entry. With the NFT entry, players can earn daily check-in rewards and P2E rewards. Daily check-in rewards guarantee players to earn their principal back. Besides, players can earn additional rewards by P2E within the NFT life cycle. “In MMG GameFi economic model, each NFT has a life cycle, that means, each can only be used for P2E for a limited period of time. Players have to upgrade the NFT or sell it in

During the last 30 days, the Celsius Network’s native token CEL increased in value by over 140% against the U.S. dollar. On July 13, just before the lending company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, CEL was exchanging hands for $0.961 per unit. Following the news that the company filed for bankruptcy protection, the native crypto asset dropped 58% to a low of $0.40 on the same day. CEL has managed to climb back from the drop as the digital currency is currently swapping for prices between $0.69 to $0.73 per coin on July 14. So-Called CEL Short Squeeze Attempt Slips, Token Drops 58% After Bankruptcy News Following the company pausing withdrawals and other operations on the lending platform, traders on social media started a trend to get people to “short squeeze” the crypto asset CEL. Social media posts on Twitter , Reddit , and Facebook claim that Celsius Network’s native token CEL is being short-squeezed by members of the Celsius community. Some people promoting the trend explain

The Central Bank of Russia has spoken out against stablecoins, which it says are highly risky and not fit for payments. The monetary authority reacted to a statement by a top finance ministry official who suggested that his department would support the development of Russian stablecoins. Russia’s Central Bank Voices Opposition to Stablecoins Unlike the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) believes stablecoins are not intended for settlements, either within the country or abroad. The monetary authority said that the issuance and use of private stablecoins is associated with high risks as the underlying assets do not belong to the holder. Quoted by the crypto news outlet Bits.media, it elaborated: Therefore, redemption at the nominal price of the assets in collateral is not guaranteed, and the price of a stablecoin is not actually stable. The regulator commented on a recent statement by the head of the finance ministry’s Financial Policy Department Ivan Chebeskov,

About 14% of Saudi residents are either current crypto investors or have traded crypto in the past six months, the latest Kucoin study has found. The study has also found that 76% of investors have less than one year of experience and thus may be in need of relevant crypto education. Crypto Winter Effect Around three million Saudi Arabians, or about 14% of the adult population aged 18 to 60, are either crypto investors or have traded crypto over the last six months, the latest study conducted by the cryptocurrency exchange Kucoin has shown. The study findings also suggested that a further 17% of the country’s adults are said to be “crypto-curious and are likely to invest in cryptocurrencies over the coming six months.” According to the crypto exchange’s Into The Cryptoverse report , the study also looked at how Saudi residents’ sentiment toward crypto trading has shifted since the onset of the ongoing crypto winter. “In the first quarter of 2022, 49% of crypto investors intended

Swiss post office’s banking unit, the state-owned Postfinance, is reportedly preparing to enter the crypto market. “Our clients want direct access to this market through their house bank.” Swiss Post Office’s Banking Arm to Enter Crypto Market The banking and financial services arm of Swiss Post, the state-owned enterprise responsible for Switzerland’s postal and other essential public infrastructure services, is reportedly planning to offer its customers direct access to cryptocurrencies. The Swiss parliament established Postfinance’s predecessor in 1906 to provide payment services to retail customers. Postfinance operated as a division of Swiss Post until June 2013, when it became a bank under Swiss law. It is currently regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The bank already offers crypto exposure to its customers through the Yuh app , which it co-developed with banking group Swissquote. “Yuh combines paying, saving, and investing in one package,

European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) Chair Verena Ross says that the crypto market crash should be a “cautionary lesson” for investors. She noted that there is a “real question” about whether many crypto assets will survive. ESMA Chair on Crypto Risks and Regulation Verena Ross, chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has cautioned investors about cryptocurrency investing after the crypto market lost 70% of its value, the Financial Times reported Sunday. Emphasizing that there was no prospect of a European bailout for out-of-pocket crypto investors, she said: We already warned earlier this year . . . about the serious risks retail investors were taking investing in some of the crypto assets. ESMA will be responsible for licensing crypto asset service providers as recently agreed in Brussels as part of the provisional agreement on the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) proposal. The deal will enter into force from mid-2023 and has an 18-month im

PRESS RELEASE. Adshares (ADS) is putting another stake in Metaverse’s advertising territory through a partnership with Sandbox (SAND) . The long-awaited partnership by the Adshares community has finally come to a head. The official partnership will bring the two projects closer, in order to jointly devise a clear and transparent path for the development of Adshares in the Sandbox space. Already, at this early stage of development, Sandbox is attracting the attention of the world’s largest corporations by building its brand in the metaverse and crypto space. The partnership can help automate the process of establishing relationships with companies inside the world presented by Sandbox. As mentioned earlier, this is the first step of a collaboration that, over time and agreements, will bring many benefits to companies, players and both ecosystems. Adshares intends to build its interactive headquarters in the Sandbox world, thus providing a gamified experience for its community and m

According to the latest crypto prediction report published by the product comparison platform finder.com, 77% of 53 fintech specialists polled in the report say cryptocurrency markets are officially in a “crypto winter.” The poll further explains that only 29% of the report’s participants believe the bear market will end in 2022. While bitcoin is expected to surpass $100K per coin by 2025, Finder’s experts think bitcoin will bottom out at $13,676 per unit, but also end 2022 at $25,473 per unit. Finder’s 53 Fintech Specialists Attempt to Guess Bitcoin’s Future Value Finder.com published a new forecast that says bitcoin ( BTC ) will drop to $13,676 per unit this year, according to 53 surveyed fintech specialists. While the report notes that the experts think the bottom will be around $13,676 per BTC , they also expect the leading crypto asset to end the year at $25,473 per coin. The panelists’ prediction is very much aligned with the 80% drop theory as BTC has lost more than 80% fr

As crypto matures and continues along its path of inevitable adoption, so too does the importance placed on adequately accounting for crypto as an asset class and a source of income. Cryptocurrencies at their core were not designed to fit into traditional financial systems, after all, that’s where some of their primary benefits over fiat and banking systems are found. For crypto natives, trying to fit the square peg of crypto into the round hole of traditional finance is done begrudgingly, often come tax time – or in the case of businesses with crypto, monthly to close books. In the US and other regulated economies, these actions are necessary evils to maintain crypto – but accounting for crypto neither has to be hard nor detrimental to the overall crypto ecosystem. But let’s back up for a moment. A Paradoxical Equation As companies and funds continue to make the push for a Bitcoin spot ETF and other financial products involving cryptocurrency functioning in the more traditional

South Africa’s famed Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) coins or the Krugerrands collection are set to be tokenized and will be available to potential buyers from a price as low as $200. Tokenized coins will be minted by Web3 tech firm Momint and will be available on the firm’s non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. Fractionalized Krugerrand Coins The South African Web3 tech firm Momint, in conjunction with two gold coin dealers, the Scion Shop and the South African Gold Coin Exchange, is set to tokenize the old Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) coins. The availability of tokenized ZAR coins makes it possible even for the less wealthy enthusiasts to own portions of South Africa’s famed coins. As explained in a report published by IT News Africa, possession of the non-fungible tokens (NFT) of ZAR coins means holders are also part owners of the actual coins. The complete set of coins being tokenized includes those minted before the South African War of 1899. To ensure the tokenized c

Electronics giant Samsung has announced the launch of Space Tycoon, a metaverse-based experience built as part of the Roblox world. The gaming metaverse, which is directed to entertain Gen Z users, will feature a world in which Samsung products can be constructed by picking their fundamental components. The experience will also include a shop for buying in-game items. Samsung’s New Metaverse in Space Big companies are now focusing part of their efforts on creating enticing metaverse-based worlds as part of their strategy. Samsung, the electronics company, is launching a metaverse world constructed as a part of the Roblox universe. The experience, called Space Tycoon, will allow users to participate as part of a space station getting resources to design and produce Samsung products. The virtual world will also offer the opportunity to purchase items for the players’ avatars from a shop. This experience is directed toward a younger audience, which will have the opportunity to learn

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed into law a bill amending the country’s Tax Code to impose higher tax rates on crypto miners. The levy will depend on the amount and average price of electricity utilized in the extraction of digital currencies like bitcoin. Cryptocurrency Miners in Kazakhstan to Pay Higher Taxes President Tokayev of Kazakhstan has signed a new piece of legislation introducing changes to the nation’s law “On Taxes and Other Mandatory Payments to the Budget” and supplementary law enhancing the implementation of the Tax Code. The amendments introduce differentiated tax rates for cryptocurrency mining. The exact levies will be determined based on the average price of the electricity consumed to mint coins during a certain tax period. They start as low as 1 Kazakhstani tenge (approx. $0.002 at the time of writing) per kilowatt-hour (kWh), when a miner paid 25 tenge or more ($0.053) per kWh, and can reach 10 tenge, if the electricity tariff was in

Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s right-hand man, has a message for investors considering cryptocurrency. “Never touch it,” he stressed, adding that everyone should follow his example and avoid crypto “as if it were an open sewer, full of malicious organisms.” Charlie Munger Reaffirms His Anti-Crypto Stance Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s right-hand man and longtime business partner, threw more insults at cryptocurrency in an interview with The Australian Financial Review, published Tuesday. Munger previously called bitcoin “rat poison” and said last year that he hated the success of BTC . Noting that the “crypto craze” is a “mass folly,” he told the publication: I think anybody that sells this stuff is either delusional or evil. I won’t touch the crypto. The Berkshire executive continued: “I’m not interested in undermining the national currencies of the world.” Munger was then asked what advice he would give to other investors who may be consi

Twitter Inc. has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk to force the Tesla CEO to go through with the agreement to buy the social medial platform for $44 billion. Twitter alleges that Musk has breached the agreement repeatedly since he signed the deal with the company. Twitter v. Elon Musk: Lawsuit Battle Begins Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) has filed a lawsuit against Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk for backing out of the deal to buy the social media platform. The lawsuit, filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, names Musk and his companies — X Holdings I and X Holdings II — as defendants. Twitter alleges: Musk refuses to honor his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests. The lawsuit explains that after Musk signed the agreement with Twitter, the market fell and the value of his stake in Tesla, and therefore his personal wealth, dropped by more than $100 billion since its November 2021 peak. The social media giant

With live-tested transaction speeds of 64,000 TPS, infinitely scalable blockchain Everscale is undeniably one of the fastest out there, and if H1 2022 is anything to go by, its development progress is no less rapid. Despite seriously bearish trends in the crypto market triggered in large part by the collapse of Terra’s LUNA token and UST stablecoin, and later compounded by a significant crisis for crypto lender Celsius, Everscale continued to bolster its already considerable advantages at a rate of knots, ticking off plenty of roadmap goals as it went. Listings on major crypto exchanges such as Huobi, KuCoin, and BitMartare a testament to the blockchain’s achievements over the period. Everscale’s transaction costs were already comparatively very low before the recent developments, but Q1, which was still a green one for most tokens and positive for the industry in general, saw the platform’s gas fees reduce to just 0.014 EVER (currently around $0.0014). There was good news for an

The government of Spain has announced it will issue a series of grants and aid for metaverse-related developments. The individuals and companies interested in receiving these grants will have to be based in the European Union or Spain and present a plan, and meet a series of requirements, to be considered. The first batch of grants will be dedicated to the gaming and entertainment sector. Spain Acknowledges Relevance of the Metaverse Countries from all over the world are now considering the metaverse and its related technologies as important developmental pillars for the future. Spain has announced it will dedicate more than $4 million in grants for metaverse-related projects. The grants program, which will be managed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation of the country, will be directed to companies and individuals working on the metaverse projects in the European Union or in Spain directly. Those interested in applying for these grants will have to prese

A British jeweler has sued its insurance company for refusing to cover a bitcoin ransom payment of $7.5 million. The jeweler paid the hackers to prevent sensitive customer data from being published. Insurance Company Faces Lawsuit for Refusing to Cover Bitcoin Ransom Payment A luxury British Jeweler, Graff, has sued its insurer, The Travelers Companies, for refusing to cover a ransom bitcoin payment, Bloomberg reported last week. The jeweler paid a bitcoin ransom of $7.5 million to the Russian hacking gang Conti after the group threatened to leak data of the company’s big clients, including Middle East royalty. Graff negotiated the ransom payment amount with the hackers and managed to reduce it from $15 million. Conti attacked Graff in September last year and leaked data about the royal families from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar. The hackers apologized to the families but said that they may need to leak more of Graff’s data. “Our goal is to publish as m

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) says it is working on a “robust” regulatory framework for crypto assets and will report its recommendations to the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in October. FSB to Present Robust Crypto Regulatory Framework to G20 in October The Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system, released a statement Monday on the “international regulation and supervision of crypto asset activities.” The G20 watchdog stated that it is committed to promoting “international consistency of regulatory and supervisory approaches amongst national authorities and international standard-setters as they work towards developing risk-based, technology-neutral policy for the wide spectrum of crypto-assets, grounded in the principle of ‘same, activity, same risk, same regulation.'” Noting that crypto assets, including stablecoins, are fast evolving, the FSB explained that th

NFT domains enable users to establish a presence on the decentralized web and the metaverse, with Quik.com providing top-level domains such as .metaverse, .vr, .web3, and many other powerful options for users to claim. Check out metaverse domains . The metaverse ideology and the emerging concept of brands establishing themselves in the decentralized web-based virtual universe have created a race for top-tier domains for businesses, individuals, and many developers to acquire the best at the early stages of this virtual universe. While traditional domains optimize a centralized dispute resolution process and are managed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), decentralized domains give rightful owners control over their websites and prevent third-party interference, reducing reliance on ICANN. The growing popularity of NFTs and decentralized technology giving sole autonomy to the owner have raised the bar to eliminate the high barriers controlling the