Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Authorities in the energy-rich Russian region of Irkutsk have imposed hefty fines on crypto miners this year for illegal use of electricity to produce digital currencies. Power utilities have also filed hundreds of lawsuits, a report reveals, quoting prosecutors. Irkutsk Crypto Miners Pay 100 Million Rubles in Fines in 2022 Cryptocurrency mining has become a profitable business for many companies in Russia’s energy-rich regions, and an alternative income source for ordinary Russians. Despite the generally low rates of electricity for commercial purposes, many have been tempted to mint digital coins on cheaper household power or even stolen energy. Authorities in Irkutsk, a Siberian oblast with abundant energy resources where rates start as low as $0.01 per kWh in rural districts, have been going after illegal mining operations. The latter have caused a spike in consumption in both residential and industrial areas, allegedly leading to frequent breakdowns and outages across the re...

Iranian authorities have seized nearly 10,000 illegal cryptocurrency mining devices since March. According to reports, many of the seized crypto mining rigs were operating in public locations that receive free or heavily-subsidized electricity, such as schools and mosques. Iran Confiscates Nearly 10K Crypto Mining Devices Kambiz Nazerian, head of Tehran Electricity Distribution Company, said Monday that Iranian authorities have discovered and seized 9,404 illegal cryptocurrency mining devices in Tehran since the beginning of the Persian calendar year which started on March 21, local media reported. He explained that the mining equipment was discovered by inspectors in different districts of the Iranian capital. Iranian authorities have regularly announced the discovery of illegal cryptocurrency mining machines in different parts of the country over recent years. Many of these unauthorized cryptocurrency mining operations were based in public locations, such as schools and mosques,...

DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, says that it has benefited from the recent crypto market sell-off. The trading volume of its crypto exchange nearly doubled in July, compared to April. The quantity of bitcoin bought on its exchange grew nearly four times during that time period. DBS Crypto Customers Bought the Dip DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia by assets, announced Monday that DBS Digital Exchange (Ddex) has benefited as crypto investors sought safety amid market volatility. DBS, headquartered and listed in Singapore, has a presence in 18 markets. “With the digital asset industry experiencing unprecedented volatility … DBS’ digital asset ecosystem has been a beneficiary of this flight to safety,” the bank detailed, elaborating: Investors who believe in the long-term prospects of digital assets are gravitating towards trusted and regulated platforms to access the digital asset market. As investors bought the dip, the total number of trades executed on Ddex in Ju...

Following the federal judge’s decision to give the accused Bitfinex money launderer Heather Morgan permission to “engage in legitimate employment,” Morgan has broken her silence on social media. Morgan’s Twitter account dubbed “Heather ‘Razzlekhan’ Morgan” is verified on Twitter and her latest tweet insists that she does not endorse any crypto or NFT project bearing her name. Heather Morgan Insists: ‘I Am Not Involved in Any Crypto Project’ On Tuesday, one of the accused Bitfinex bitcoin launderers, Heather Morgan, the wife of Ilya Lichtenstein, tweeted a message to her 24,900 Twitter followers on social media. Morgan and Lichtenstein were arrested last February after U.S. law enforcement announced that it had confiscated 94,636 bitcoin from the duo. At the time of Morgan’s and her husband’s arrest, the bitcoin was worth roughly $4.5 billion and today, the cache of 94,636 BTC is worth $2.03 billion. Using her Twitter account, Morgan’s tweet is short and sweet and aims to give the...

PRESS RELEASE. Today, Web3 development studio Emergent Games has launched a range of 1,000 limited edition Genesis 0 Cryotag NFTs for massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Resurgence . The NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are offered exclusively via invite-only free mint and confer access to a private portion of the game’s Discord server, airdrops for future tokens and NFTs, whitelisting for future sales, real-life perks on merchandise, and other benefits that have yet to be revealed. Resurgence ’s first NFT drop offers players a chance to contribute to the central framework of the game. As a core part of the community, members will be able to influence every aspect of the project moving forward, from lore to smart contracts. Cryotags’ utility and purpose will evolve alongside Resurgence ’s narrative and are designed to continuously reward early supporters as they embark on their journeys through a post-apocalyptic world. The Cryotags’ design reflects its practical,...

Bradesco, one of the biggest banks in Brazil, has stated it does not have plans to enter the cryptocurrency market in the near future. In an interview, Bradesco CEO Octavio de Lazari Junior stated that the company was currently not interested in launching crypto services to its customers, considering the cryptocurrency market will be “very small.” Bradesco Won’t Offer Cryptocurrency Services In Near Future While many neobanks and traditional private banks are launching crypto investment services as part of their portfolio to keep customers using their services, others are still on the sidelines. Bradesco, the second biggest bank in Brazil and Latam in terms of assets, with more than 70 million customers, is still not interested in the cryptocurrency market. Bradesco CEO Octavio de Lazari Junior issued his take on cryptocurrency and how he believes these investments will evolve in the country. For de Lazari Junior, The cryptocurrency market is still too small, with dangerous charact...

The law enforcement and counter-intelligence agency of Ukraine has managed to seize the funds in a cryptocurrency wallet used to finance the Russian military campaign in the country. Officials in Kyiv claim that money collected through the wallet has been spent on military equipment for the pro-Russian separatist forces in the east. Ukraine Seizes Crypto Donations Funding Russia’s Invasion The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has for the first time implemented a mechanism to curb fundraising through cryptocurrency for the troops fighting on the Russian side in the ongoing hostilities in the country. The conflict escalated into a full-scale war when the Russian army crossed the Ukrainian border in late February in what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in support of the pro-Russian breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. In a press release on Tuesday, the SBU announced that a crypto wallet operated by a citizen of the Russian Federation and used to sponsor Russia’s mili...

Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, has hinted at a series of Web3 enhancements coming to the popular messaging platform. Durov talked about the benefits that tradable usernames and channel links might have in the future, creating a marketplace where users could use them in the same way Ethereum Name Service addresses are utilized. Telegram Might Receive Web3 Enhancements Digital companies are starting to see benefits that Web3, NFTs, and user-led digital marketplaces might bring to their operations. Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, one of the most popular messaging services linked to crypto, has hinted at the integration of some Web3 services into the platform. Durov examined the success of a recent domain name auction on the TON network where more than 2,000 domains were sold for prices as high as $260,000. TON is the platform that Telegram dropped in 2020 due to a restraining order requested by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for selling alleged unregistered securiti...

The CEO of a major cryptocurrency exchange, Bitstamp, says that his trading platform is seeing “massive crypto interest” from institutional clients. “Many institutional companies are looking to make their first move into crypto,” he explained. Bitstamp’s CEO on Crypto Regulation, Institutional Interest Bitstamp’s global CEO, Jean-Baptiste Graftieaux, shared his view on cryptocurrency regulation in an interview with Business2community, published Monday. Discussing crypto winter, he explained that Bitstamp has “a very active licensing journey across all the regions – 10 in progress globally.” The executive added that his crypto exchange will increase its regulatory footprint over the next couple of quarters in order to be “in a strong position to fully participate in the next bull run.” He shared, “We see a strong trend on the institutional side,” elaborating: Many institutional companies are looking to make their first move into crypto – there is massive crypto interest from our ...

Despite the apparent slow embrace of the e-naira digital currency by Nigerians, the Central Bank of Nigeria governor has said his institution is targeting a tenfold increase in the number of users of the digital currency in the next twelve months. The governor predicted that the use of cash will “dissipate to zero” while the “use of digital currency will increase to become part of our lives.” E-Naira to Become Available to All Nigerians Some ten months after its launch, the app for the Nigerian central bank digital currency (CBDC) — the e-naira — has now been downloaded 840,000 times, a report has said. This revelation suggests that less than one million Nigerians have embraced the digital currency that the CBN touts as a better alternative to volatile cryptocurrencies. The revelation of the number of times the e-naira app has been downloaded follows reports of growing Nigerian interest in cryptocurrencies. For instance, early this month, Bitcoin.com News reported that a survey h...

As a crypto trader, you have to be on your toes. From checking market conditions to tracking your portfolio, there are many things to keep track of. Whether a newbie or a pro, it’s essential to pick a reliable and user-friendly platform to help you make informed decisions from the get-go and on the go. Introducing Phemex , an all-in-one cryptocurrency trading and digital asset investment platform. From advanced features to 24/7 customer support, Phemex has everything you need to make the most out of your portfolio. In this Phemex article, we’ll look at all the features that make this platform stand out from the rest. We’ll also see how it could help you take your trading game up a notch! Phemex Mobile App Features The Phemex Mobile App offers everything a crypto trader needs, all in one place. The user interface is clean and easy to navigate, making it easy for anyone to get started with the platform. It allows you to seamlessly place orders with a single button, accessible fr...

After seeing Ghana’s inflation rate surge to 31.7% in July, the Bank of Ghana responded by hiking the benchmark interest rate by 300 basis points. In addition to the rate hike, the central bank said it will gradually raise banks’ primary reserve requirements. One expert has said President Nana Akufo-Addo must trim the size of his government. Largest Benchmark Rate Hike Since 2002 In an attempt to tame the country’s runaway inflation rate, which topped 31.7% in July, the Ghanaian central bank hiked the benchmark interest rate by 300 basis points. Following the latest hike, which is the largest increase on record since 2002, Ghana’s benchmark interest rate is now 22 percent. According to a Bloomberg report , the latest increase means Ghana’s benchmark rate has now risen by 550 basis points since November 2021. In addition to increasing the benchmark rate, the Bank of Ghana (BOG) revealed in its emergency monetary policy committee (MPC) press release that it plans gradually increase b...

Iran’s association of importers has stressed the need for a stable regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies now that the Iranian government is officially using crypto to pay for imports. “By the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be widespread in foreign trade with target countries,” a government official said. Imports Association: Iran Needs Stable Crypto Regulation Alireza Managhebi, the chairman of Iran’s Importers Group and Representatives of Foreign Companies (Imports Association), voiced concerns about the country’s crypto regulation Saturday, local media reported. He stressed that a stable regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies should be established for cryptocurrencies to be successfully used as a means of payment for imports. Noting that crypto can be useful in this regard under the right regulatory infrastructure, Managhebi said: Our main and most important concern is that this new method cannot be exploited by some people. “The...

Officials at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) say that the correlation between the performance of the Asian equity markets and crypto assets such as bitcoin and ethereum has increased significantly. IMF Staff on Crypto and Correlation to Asian Equities The International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a blog post on Monday on cryptocurrency regulation and how crypto is now “more in step with Asia’s equities.” Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf, deputy director of IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, Nada Choueiri, the mission chief for India, and Tara Iyer, an economist in the global financial stability analysis division of the IMF’s Monetary and Financial Markets Department, authored the post. “While the returns and volatility correlations between bitcoin and Asian equity markets were low before the pandemic, these have increased significantly since 2020,” they wrote. “Crypto trading, however, soared as millions stayed home and received government aid, while low interest rates and easy finan...

A survey by NYSE-listed Stifel Financial shows that most executives are bracing for a recession in the U.S. In addition, “53% of respondents believe that inflation will be an issue for the next two quarters to a year.” Most Executives Surveyed Say Recession Cannot Be Avoided Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) announced the results of a survey it conducted on the state of the U.S. economy last week. The St. Louis-headquartered financial services company surveyed 70 corporate executives, business owners, and private equity investors between July 18 and Aug. 5. According to the company: Nearly all respondents believe the U.S. economy is either already in a recession (18%) or will face one within the next 18 months (79%). Noting that 3% think the U.S. economy will avoid a recession entirely, the firm added that “Inflation and the tight U.S. labor market represent the two biggest perceived threats to business today.” Moreover, “53% of respondents believe that inflation will be an is...

The investment management giant Invesco has launched a metaverse fund that will invest in a myriad of startups focused on metaverse technology, a Citywire report detailed on Monday. “We will seek to capitalise on these opportunities through a highly selective, valuation-conscious approach,” Tony Roberts, Invesco’s fund manager, explained. Invesco Reveals Metaverse Fund — Investment Manager Plans to Invest in Small, Medium, Large-Cap Startups On Monday, Citywire’s Chris Sloley published a report explaining that the fund manager Invesco (NYSE: IVZ ) launched a metaverse fund. According to the report , the Invesco metaverse fund will invest in small, medium, and large-cap companies worldwide that are dedicated to metaverse technologies like virtual worlds, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), augmented reality, play-to-earn (P2E) gaming, and artificial intelligence (AI). Sloley’s report notes that the fund will be managed by Invesco’s fund manager Tony Roberts and the deputy fund manager Jame...

Ethereum extended recent declines to start the week, as the token briefly fell below a key support point in today’s session. Monday’s sell-off saw the majority of the cryptocurrency top 100 in the red, with the global market cap down 1.61% as of writing. Bitcoin also slipped, once again falling below $21,000. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) started the week in the red, as prices of the token dropped following a mini-rally over the weekend. Less than 24 hours after hitting a high of $21,668.85, BTC /USD slipped to an intraday low of $20,939.18 earlier in the day. This drop led to bitcoin moving closer to its recent support point of $20,800, which it last hit on Saturday, however bulls have so far resisted a similar occurrence today. Looking at the chart, earlier bearish momentum has somewhat eased, and as of writing, the token is trading at $21,251.86. Overall, BTC has fallen lower for seven of the last nine sessions, and this has resulted in a downward cross between the 10-day (red) mo...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has decided to overhaul the company’s flagship metaverse app Horizon Worlds after it received heavy criticism due to its graphic simplicity. The backlash was received as a consequence of one of the selfies of Zuckerberg’s avatar in Horizon Worlds presented to illustrate the launch of the platform in Spain and France. Horizon Worlds to Get Graphics Overhaul Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, a social media and VR company, announced that a series of changes are coming to Horizon Worlds, Meta’s metaverse-focused app, to make it more immersive and visually impressive for users. Zuckerberg delivered the news via an Instagram post, where he also showed the new graphical style that the platform will use in the future. He explained : Major updates to Horizon and avatar graphics coming soon … The graphics in Horizon are capable of much more — even on headsets — and Horizon is improving very quickly. The announced overhaul comes in answer to backlash that originated f...

A set of hackers managed to impersonate Binance chief communications officer (CCO) Patrick Hillmann in a series of video calls with several representatives of cryptocurrency projects. The attackers used what Hillman described as an AI Hologram, a deepfake of his image for this objective, and managed to fool some representatives of these projects, making them think Hillmann was helping them get listed on the exchange. Binance CCO Patrick Hillmann Impersonated by Third Parties Hackers and scammers are refining their methods by including more technological tools in their schemes. Binance chief communications officer (CCO), Patrick Hillmann, reported last week about a new and sophisticated way in which attackers have used his image to perform a listing scam operation. Hillmann stated that hackers managed to program an AI (artificial intelligence) hologram of him, a kind of deepfake that was used to scam representatives of several cryptocurrency projects in Zoom calls. The hologram was...

An IT specialist working for a medical institution in Russia’s Altai Republic has been detained for illegally mining cryptocurrency at the premises of a Covid-19 hospital. The man minted digital currencies using stolen electricity for almost a year before law enforcement busted his crypto farm. Altai Resident Apprehended for Running Underground Crypto Mining Operation An employee of the republican hospital in Gorno-Altaisk, the capital town of the Altai Republic in southern Siberia, has been arrested for setting up a crypto farm at a medical facility. He had been running the mining equipment since early last year, the Russian crypto news outlets Bits.media and RBC Crypto reported. In February 2021, the man, who worked as a chief information security specialist, installed the coin minting hardware and connected it to the servers of the hospital which was previously used to treat patients with Covid-19, the republic’s Ministry of Internal Affairs detailed in a press release. Accordi...

The upcoming consensus change that Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is planning to execute in September has worried many users about the possibility of censorship happening at a protocol level. This means that, even by interacting directly with smart contracts, blacklisted addresses would not be able to transact or operate in the base layer . Incoming Merge Event Triggers Worries in Crypto Circles The Merge , Ethereum’s migration from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm has raised concerns about the future of the chain when it comes to censorship. After the addresses of the smart contracts of Tornado Cash , a privacy-centered mixing protocol, were sanctioned and blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the privacy and censorship-resistant character of Ethereum has been in the spotlight. Gabriel Shapiro, the general counselor at Delphi Digital, believes that big validators of Ethereum will try to...

Bluebenx, a Brazilian crypto company that recently stopped customer withdrawals, has changed its story regarding the causes which took it to take that measure. While the exchange issued an email statement informing customers it had been the victim of a vicious hack, now the company states the liquidity problems were the consequence of a listing scam. Bluebenx Switches Versions Regarding Liquidity Issues Brazilian crypto investment company Bluebenx changed the version on the recent liquidity issues it is facing, having stopped the withdrawals for some customers last week. The first explanation of this resolution included allegations of the exchange being the victim of an “ extremely aggressive hack ,” with the operations halt being part of the security protocol to handle the aftermath of the event. However, now it has backpedaled on this explanation, offering a very different take on the issue. Bluebenx explained that the incident was the consequence of a listing scam, in which the ...