Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Meta, the metaverse-focused social media company, is helping universities get their own virtual reality campuses online. The company will be opening 10 virtual campuses as part of its Immersive Learning project, which seeks to take education to virtual reality environments. In partnership with Victoryxr, an Iowa-based virtual reality education startup, Meta will invest $150 million in this initiative. Meta Getting Universities Into the Metaverse One of the biggest applications of virtual reality and metaverse technology has to do with education and the possibility of virtual reality classes coming true. Meta, the social media behemoth, is executing this idea, helping 10 universities to launch their metaverse-based campuses. One of these is the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), which is an online university. The more than 45,000 students of the university will now be able to meet in a metaverse online to convene and share their experiences. Daniel Mintz, chairman of the ...

The world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform by trade volume, Binance, issued a notice on Monday explaining that the exchange will be removing the stablecoin USDC from the platform’s spot trading pairs list. Binance further details that users holding three types of stablecoins will see their balances auto-converted into BUSD if the user does not remove the specific crypto asset from the exchange. Binance to Delist Specific Stablecoin Trading Pairs by the End of September It seems Binance will be removing the world’s second-largest stablecoin usd coin (USDC), a U.S. dollar-pegged token issued by the Centre consortium . During an announcement made on Monday, Binance explained that it plans to auto-convert certain stablecoin balances if the funds are not removed by September 29, 2022. “Fellow Binancians, in order to enhance liquidity and capital-efficiency for users, Binance is introducing BUSD Auto-Conversion for users’ existing balances and new deposits of USDC, USDP and TU...

Volatility in crypto markets remained high on Monday, as bitcoin was mostly in the red to start the week. The token has once again moved below $20,000, as prices appear to be consolidating. Ethereum was also trading sideways, with prices falling marginally below a key support level earlier in the day. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) started this week how it ended the previous, trading not only in the red, but also below $20,000. The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell to an intraday low of $19,673.05 on Monday, as the post-nonfarm-payrolls-report bearish sentiment continued. Today’s low saw BTC /USD briefly move close to its support point of $19,600, however bulls have so far resisted a move below this point. Looking at the chart, it appears as though the decline came as the 24-day relative strength index (RSI) failed to break through its own ceiling. As of writing, the RSI is tracking at 35.84, which is below the aforementioned resistance point of 37.90. In order for bitcoin to climb ...

Police in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan have detained a man accused of defrauding people who wanted to purchase crypto miners. Law enforcement officials say the suspect made millions of rubles through fictitious sales of mining devices to Russian citizens and foreigners. Investigators Claim Russian Made Money Selling Nonexistent Crypto Mining Rigs A resident of Russian Republic of Tatarstan’s capital city, Kazan, has been apprehended in Astrakhan, Southern Russia, for allegedly defrauding 10 local residents and a number of foreigners who tried to buy mining equipment from him. The Russian posted fake ads of crypto mining machines for sale and insisted on receiving the payments in advance. Law enforcement authorities have estimated he was able to collect around 19 million rubles this way (approx. $315,000). “According to the investigation, the young man posted on the internet tempting offers for the sale of cryptocurrency mining devices, which he never actually had. Now he...

Action Point, an Argentine startup, has developed a white-label solution that allows banks to offer cryptocurrency services through their already existent ATM infrastructures. The company provides this service in partnership with Lirium AG, a crypto-as-a-service organization, and has already implemented the solution in over a dozen ATMs in the country. Argentine Startup Action Point Takes Crypto to Fiat ATMs Latam has been a fertile land for crypto adoption, and now banks in Brazil and Argentina are including cryptocurrency services on their platforms. Action Point, an Argentine startup, aims to surf the wave of this trend by providing middleware tech to help banks achieve this goal. The company has developed a white-label solution for banks to include cryptocurrency services in their already available ATM networks. The white label property of the tool allows each banking organization to preserve its own digital app as the only way of accessing its services. The solution works on t...

The Chinese metaverse industry has reportedly raised about $780 million in funding and there are expectations this will grow to be a $5.8 trillion industry by 2030. So far there are 160,000 virtual human enterprises in China while 20 provinces or cities in the country are reportedly supporting the metaverse. Developing the Metaverse According to a local media report , China’s metaverse industry has raised $780 million (5.46 billion yuan) in funding. In addition to 160,000 “Chinese virtual human enterprises,” there are about 20 provinces or cities that are already supporting the metaverse, the report added. Also, as per a report on the Chinese language news site, there are expectations that the market size of China’s metaverse would grow to $5.8 trillion by 2030. Meanwhile, the report said two Chinese companies — the internet giant Tencent and one of the country’s leading video gaming companies Netease Yaotai — are competing and working to find ways to develop the metaverse. While...

The government of Iran has reportedly started issuing licenses to crypto miners under the new “comprehensive and detailed” regulatory framework approved last week. The authorities previously issued licenses to a number of crypto mining operations but halted the process due to power consumption and illegal mining issues. Iran Resumes Issuing Licenses to Crypto Miners The Iranian government approved a set of “comprehensive and detailed” crypto regulations during a meeting last week that include provisions for crypto mining. Reza Fatemi Amin, Iran’s minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade, said his ministry now has permission to resume issuing licenses for crypto mining, local media reported. He was quoted as saying: Based on the rulings by the government, the entities that apply to mine crypto assets can get an establishment license and an operating license. A pair of licenses are needed before an entity can start mining cryptocurrencies in Iran: an establishment license and an op...

U.S. Representative Brad Sherman says Congress has not banned crypto because “there’s too much money and power behind it.” He elaborated: “Money for lobbying and money for campaign contributions works, or people wouldn’t do it, and that’s why we haven’t banned crypto.” US Lawmaker on Regulation and Why Congress Won’t Ban Crypto Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) shared his views on cryptocurrency and its regulation in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, published Sunday. The U.S. lawmaker from California, who chairs a House subcommittee on investor protection, wants to outlaw cryptocurrency but does not believe Congress will take such action. “I don’t think we’re going to [ban crypto] anytime soon,” he told the news outlet. “Money for lobbying and money for campaign contributions works, or people wouldn’t do it, and that’s why we haven’t banned crypto,” Sherman explained, elaborating: We didn’t ban it at the beginning because we didn’t realize it was important, and we didn’t b...

On September 2, the crypto market aggregation web portal Coingecko.com published a study that identifies the top ten states in America that are most interested in the two leading digital currencies, bitcoin and ethereum. The team leveraged Coingecko’s page traffic data and found that California captures 43% of the traffic visiting the site’s bitcoin and ethereum web pages. California and Illinois Lead the Pack, New Jersey and Indiana Ranked the Lowest Between May 2 and August 21, 2022, Coingecko’s researchers conducted a study that aims to determine the top 10 and 20 states in America that are the most interested in the two leading cryptocurrencies, bitcoin and ethereum. Coingecko utilized the site’s web traffic data and indexed the data set to 100, with 100 being the highest point for web page traffic scores. The crypto market aggregation website is popular as it has a similarweb.com global rank of 1,743 and in the U.S. it’s 3,150. In the last month, coingecko.com recorded 44.4...

The Bank of Ghana has said the expected implementation of the central bank digital currency will not disrupt or negatively impact the operations of mobile money operators. Rather, the central bank expects the digital currency to improve the efficiency of Ghana’s settlement systems as well as to “fast-track cross border trade.” CBDC to Complement Mobile Money The Ghanaian central bank has moved to allay fears that the implementation of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) known as the e-cedi might adversely impact the operations of mobile money operators (MNO). In a speech delivered at the recently held stakeholder’s forum, Clarence Blay, the Bank of Ghana (BOG)’s assistant director of fintech and innovation said the central bank would ensure that operations of MNOs are not disrupted. In the Joy Online report, Blay is quoted outlining the principles guiding the BOG as it moves ahead with plans to launch the CBDC. He reportedly said: For the central bank, one of the critical pr...

Just over 11% of United Arab Emirates (UAE) residents have invested in cryptocurrencies, a report issued by the country’s Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) has reportedly said. Globally, the United Arab Emirates is now ranked tenth in terms of cryptocurrency investment rate. UAE’s Mission to Become a Global Crypto Hub According to a study by the United Arab Emirates telecoms regulator, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), about 11.4% of the country’s residents own or have invested in cryptocurrencies. With this proportion of residents exposed to crypto, the UAE now ranks among the top ten countries with the most crypto-investing residents. As per a report in the Khaleej Times, the findings of the TDRA’s 2022 Digital Lifestyle study suggest that the UAE may be on course to fulfill its goal of becoming a global hub for digital assets. In addition, the revelations in the TDRA’s Digital Lifestyle report to some ...

The official Youtube channel of the South Korean government has been hacked on Saturday and those who did it, broadcasted a cryptocurrency-related clip. The video also featured billionaire and crypto enthusiast Elon Musk, local media reported quoting sources in Seoul. Hackers Air Interview With Musk via Korean Government’s Youtube Account The official Youtube channel of the South Korean government has become target of a hacking attack on September 3, 2022. The perpetrators have managed to broadcast a crypto-themed video, the Korean Yonhap news agency revealed in a report based on statements by officials from the executive power in Seoul and Google. In the early morning hours on Saturday, the channel on the video-sharing platform appeared to have been hacked as its name changed to “Spacex Invest.” It also showed a live broadcast dedicated to cryptocurrency that included an interview with U.S. business magnate and Spacex founder and CEO Elon Musk. A representative of the Republic o...

India is now the world’s fifth-largest economy after surpassing the U.K., the latest data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows. India’s former chief economic advisor expects the country to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2028-30. India Becomes 5th Largest Economy in the World India has leaped past the U.K. and become the fifth-biggest economy, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing IMF’s GDP data and historic exchange rates. According to this estimation, the former British colony surpassed the U.K. in the last quarter of 2021 and is now behind only the U.S., China, Japan, and Germany in terms of the size of its economy. A decade ago India was the 11th largest. “On an adjusted basis and using the dollar exchange rate on the last day of the relevant quarter, the size of the Indian economy in ‘nominal’ cash terms in the quarter through March was $854.7 billion. On the same basis, the U.K. was $816 billion,” the publication explained. Many people in India welcome th...

A great deal of digital currencies are down in value during the last 30 days and the worst performing crypto out of the top ten coins with the largest market valuations was solana, losing 19.12% against the U.S. dollar. Bitcoin was the second biggest loser in the top ten, as the leading crypto asset shed 12.71% in USD value this month. Despite Mid-August Pump, Crypto Economy Shrank by $102 Billion Last Month Crypto assets saw a decent rise on August 14, 2022, as bitcoin (BTC) jumped over the $25K zone and ethereum (ETH) surpassed $2K per unit. Despite the jump in value, BTC shed 12.71% in the last 30 days from Wednesday, August 3, 2022, up until Friday, September 2, 2022. Ethereum’s monthly loss was less brutal after ETH took a 2.75% hit against the U.S. dollar. BNB lost ​​7.02%, XRP dropped 10.53% against the dollar, and ADA slid 9.34%. Solana (SOL) was the biggest loser out of the top ten crypto assets as it lost 19.12% against the dollar. The tenth largest crypto asset,...

Despite a largely volatile session, there have been a few tokens which managed to evade the red wave. Cardano rose to its highest level in over a week to start the weekend, as prices moved toward a key resistance level. Filecoin was another notable gainer, climbing by over 12% on Saturday Cardano ( ADA ) Cardano ( ADA ) was back in the green on Saturday, as the token rallied following recent declines in price. Following a low of $0.4499 on Friday, ADA /USD surged to an intraday high of $0.4769 to start the weekend. The move sees cardano move closer to its long-term resistance level of $0.4800, as bulls take prices away from a floor of $0.4430. Looking at the chart, the rally comes as the 10-day moving average (red) continues to trend sideways, after a spell of downward movement. This signals a possible end to the bearish spell we saw in mid-August, where price went from $0.5811 to $0.4343 in a space of four days. As of writing, ADA is now trading at $0.4742, with the 14-day re...

Following a brief rally above $20,000 and $1,600 respectively, bitcoin and ethereum fell below these levels to start the weekend. The decline comes as momentum surrounding yesterday’s nonfarm payrolls report faded. Bitcoin moved closer to its support point of $20,500, while ethereum was trading close to its floor of $1,550. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) was back below $20,000 to start the weekend, as prices of the token moved closer to a key support point. Initial bullish momentum following last month’s payrolls has seemingly faded, with markets gearing up an economic downturn. Although Friday’s figure of 315,000 jobs was better than expected, this was lower than July’s number of 528,000. As a result of this, BTC /USD slipped to a low of $19,779.55 on Saturday, less than 24 hours after trading at a peak of $20,401.57. Looking at the chart, bitcoin is now on the cusp of colliding with its price floor of $19,500, which hasn’t been broken since July 16. However, should the relative stre...

A Russian bank, one of the country’s largest by assets, has conducted a successful trial with digital ruble transactions processed through its mobile app. The state-owned Promsvyazbank was one the institutions placed under Western sanctions earlier this year in connection with Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. Russian Bank Experiments With Digital Ruble Transfers via Mobile Application Promsvyazbank (PSB) is one of the first Russian lenders to join the trials of the central bank digital currency ( CBDC ) issued by the Bank of Russia. According to a report by the business news outlet Plus Journal, the bank has recently tested digital ruble transactions through its app for mobile devices. To carry out the operations, participants had to pass a registration in the application and set up a digital wallet. Then, using their account, they were able to exchange regular electronic bank money for digital rubles and transfer digital cash to other clients of the bank as well as those of other bank...

American actor and comedian Bill Murray saw 119.2 ethereum drained from his wallet on September 1, 2022, after Murray held a non-fungible token (NFT) charity auction. Statistics show that most of the tokens and NFTs in Murray’s wallet have been moved, and roughly $556 in token value remains. Bill Murray Loses 119 Ethereum to Hackers — Comedian’s Team Is Working With Law Enforcement, Chainalysis On Thursday, Bill Murray, the popular actor and comedian best known for his appearances on Saturday Night Live and The National Lampoon Radio Hour, saw 119 ether siphoned from his wallet. The story was first reported by Coindesk and author Eli Tan notes that onchain data and “details from Murray’s team” explain his wallet was drained at around 7:00 p.m. (ET) on Thursday evening. Data from dappradar.com’s portfolio tool indicates that Murray’s wallet has roughly $556 in tokens and NFTs still held in the wallet at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on September 2. A large portion of Murray’s portfolio has been...

Anti-government hackers have attempted to sell what they say is an NFT of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko’s passport. The members of the ‘Belarusian Cyber Partisans’ collective claim to have obtained the passport data of all of the country’s citizens. Cyber Guerrillas From Belarus Try to List NFT Passport Collection on Opensea A hacking group known as ‘Belarusian Cyber ​​Partisans’ have bragged about gaining access to a government database storing the passport details of every citizen of Belarus, including high-ranking officials like the country’s long-term head of state, Alexander Lukashenko. The hackers have released a collection of non-fungible tokens ( NFTs ) called “Passports of Belarusians,” which also is said to contain the passport data of the country’s president and his close associates. The group further tried to list the collection on leading NFT marketplace Opensea, but the platform removed it as a violation of its terms. 🧵1/3🔥For the 1st time in human histor...

Mercado Bitcoin, one of the biggest Brazilian cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced a new wave of layoffs amidst a worsening global economic situation for fintech startups, which the exchange states is affecting innovation-based companies. The exchange laid off 15% of its workforce on September 1st, this being the second round of layoffs the company has executed in three months. Brazilian Exchange Mercado Bitcoin Announces New Wave of Layoffs Cryptocurrency companies in Latam and all over the world are being negatively affected by the recent downturn in crypto and traditional markets. Mercado Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Brazil, has announced the execution of a series of layoffs due to the global economic conditions. According to local media , Mercado Bitcoin let go of 15% of its workforce on September 1st, as part of a series of measures taken by 2TM, the holding company of the exchange, directed to streamline operations. In a statement, the company also criticiz...

Yuga Labs, the creators of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), and Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) non-fungible token (NFT) collections, has released another video clip showcasing the Otherside metaverse. The second Otherside trailer features characters called “Kodas” and the development team says “the story continues later this Q4.” Sword-Carrying Koda Meets the Otherside Portal — Yuga Labs Hints at Continuing Metaverse Story in Q4 On September 1, 2022, Yuga Labs leveraging the Twitter account @Othersidemeta , shared a new video teaser of the upcoming metaverse the Otherside . The video follows Yuga Labs publishing the Otherside litepaper , which covers the “foundational principles” of the upcoming metaverse. The second trailer is somewhat of a backstory before the BAYC dubbed “Curtis” steps through the portal, while the Doors song “Break On Through” plays. The 2-minute clip features a character called a “Koda” and one of them equipped with a sword ...

Thailand has introduced tighter rules that will oblige crypto companies to duly inform potential customers of the investment risks on their advertisements. The new regulations also prohibit businesses in the industry from making misleading or exaggerated claims. Securities Watchdog Adopts Stricter Advertising Rules for Crypto Platforms in Thailand Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) has approved new requirements for crypto ads, Bloomberg and Reuters reported quoting the regulator. According to a statement released on Thursday, the changes come after the SEC found that some advertisements lacked any warnings about the risks associated with cryptocurrencies or featured only positive information. Crypto firms in Thailand will now be obliged to clearly indicate the relevant risks for investors in their ads and the warnings must be easy to notice. They should present balanced views of the expected returns and mention both positive and negative factors. The advertisemen...