Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

According to Dappradar’s latest crypto industry report that covers 2022’s third quarter, the crypto economy and its participants are “riding out the bear market.” However, these days a number of macroeconomic events have influenced the crypto market, and Dappradar researchers say it’s currently “impossible to foresee a worldwide expansion of cryptocurrencies without a general recovery in conventional financial markets.” Dappradar Report Highlights Crypto Economy’s Slow but Steady Recovery The crypto industry is still dealing with the crypto winter and the latest report from Dappradar indicates that markets and participants are trucking through the storm. For instance, following the Terra collapse , the decentralized finance (defi) and decentralized app (dapp) industry has consolidated after taking heavy losses. Dappradar’s report shows that bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) have remained roughly around the same price since the end of June, but the two leading crypto assets have ...

Google, the web search and software monolith, has announced that it will require authorization from government entities to lend advertising services to financial companies in Spain. This measure, which was also implemented in the U.K. back in 2021, is expected to be extended to more countries in coming months. Google to Require Government Authorization of Advertisers Google, the software and web search giant, will start taking measures to curb possible financial fraud using the advertisement platform of the company in Spain. Google announced it will start requiring customers that want to advertise financial products to have government authorization issued by the Spanish securities regulator (CMNV) or the Bank of Spain, the country’s central bank. At the same time, Google will also require these companies to complete its advertising verification program, which is slated to start this month. The application of the other new measures is expected to start in January 2023. On the objec...

An array of crypto-related services have been targeted in the latest round of sanctions on Russia approved by the EU. The measures are part of an expected tightening of the economic and financial restrictions in response to Moscow’s decision to annex Ukrainian territories. EU Council Adopts Full Ban on Crypto Wallet and Custody Services for Russian Persons The Council of the European Union announced new sanctions against Russia on the backdrop of the deepening military conflict in Ukraine. The penalties, expected to hurt the Russian government and economy, come after Moscow took steps to annex the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. In a statement, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell emphasized that the sanctions are a response to the latest escalation with the “fake referenda” in these four oblasts. Russian individuals and entities that have played a role in their organization will be specifically targete...

Russian media and communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, has restricted access to the website of a major cryptocurrency exchange, Okx. The trading platform was one of those that did not restrict access for Russians amid sanctions that affected the industry’s business in Russia. Okx Blacklisted on Request From Russian Prosecutor’s Office for Disseminating Banned Information Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, also known as Roskomnadzor, has added this week the domain name of crypto exchange Okx to its list of sites containing information, the distribution of which is prohibited in the Russian Federation. The move follows a decision by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office. The Seychelles-based company is among the few leading coin trading platforms that did not introduce restrictions for Russian users despite mounting Western sanctions imposed over Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, the Russian business news porta...

Cryptocurrency scam sites are being targeted by other scammers to hijack their traffic and their possible earnings. A recently detected threat actor, named Water Labbu, is manipulating the users that are drawn to these sites as a source of revenue, injecting a malicious script as a tool for interacting with the wallet that, depending on its funds, will be attacked. Crypto Scammers Are Attacking Crypto Scammers The rise of the cryptocurrency ecosystem has brought interest in targeting investors through scam sites using different resources that include Youtube streams to do so, as a recent report showed. Now, scammers are taking advantage of other scammers through sophisticated script tools. A new kind of threat actor, called Water Labbu, is targeting third-party crypto scam sites to use their attracted users also as targets for its attack. The attack inserts a script in the cryptocurrency scam web page, which is commonly a kind of lending-liquidity providing page, that sends an app...

A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has shown that Fidelity looks to launch an investment product known as the Fidelity Ethereum Index Fund on October 4, 2022. While the new fund is not an exchange-traded fund it is said to be structured as a “traditional limited partnership.” Traditional Limited Partnership According to a filing lodged with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Fidelity planned to launch an Ethereum index on October 4, 2022. As per the filing, a minimum investment accepted from an outsider interested in the security is $50,000. At the time of writing, the fund had just over $5 million worth of assets. As explained by a report published by Barron’s Advisor, the new security, which is also known as the Fidelity Ethereum Index Fund, is not an exchange-traded fund (ETF). Instead, the ethereum index fund is said to be structured as a “traditional limited partnership.” A limited partnership according to Investopedia, is a partnership...

On Thursday, 6:19 p.m. (ET), the official Twitter account for the Bnb Smart Chain explained that the team was temporarily pausing the blockchain, after citing that it noticed irregular activity. Sources say that more than $600 million in Bnb tokens were reportedly stolen from the chain’s cross-chain bridge. The Bnb Smart Chain team detailed on Reddit that funds “taken off BSC are between $100M – $110M.” Bnb Smart Chain Temporarily Pauses Amid Hack Rumors The crypto token BNB is down 4% lower against the U.S. dollar during the last 24 hours following an alleged cross-chain bridge attack that saw around 200 million BNB worth $600 million siphoned. Reports further noted that “Tether blacklisted the account” and it pushed Binance to pause the entire chain. Through the official Bnb Smart Chain Twitter account, the team announced the chain pause. “Due to irregular activity, we’re temporarily pausing BSC. We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide further updates here. Thank y...

Members of the European Parliament have called for “effective taxation” of crypto assets and “better use of blockchain” to counteract tax evasion. A resolution aiming to achieve both objectives has been approved by a large majority which also wants small crypto traders to enjoy a simpler tax regime. European Parliament Adopts Framework for Uniform Taxation of Cryptocurrencies in EU European lawmakers have supported a non-binding resolution setting out a framework seeking to achieve the implementation of blockchain technology in taxation and uniformly tax digital assets across the 27-strong block. The document, drafted by Lídia Pereira from the conservative Group of the European People’s Party, was adopted on Tuesday with 566 votes in favor, while only seven members of the European Parliament voted against and 47 abstained. Crypto assets must be subject to fair, transparent, and effective taxation, the resolution says. At the same time, it suggests that authorities in the European ...

Eight years ago today on October 6, 2014, while the price of bitcoin was coasting along at $330 per unit, an anonymous Bitstamp trader placed an order to sell 30,000 bitcoins. Moreover, the trader, now infamously known as the “Bear Whale,” sold the coins at $300 per unit, which put extreme pressure on the nascent bitcoin market that saw roughly $29 million a day in global trade volume. A Look at the October 2014 Bitcoin ‘Bear Whale Incident’ While bitcoin (BTC) is trading for just below the $20K region, approximately eight years ago today, bitcoin traders faced off with the notorious “Bear Whale.” It was October 6, 2014, when the anonymous trader decided to sell 30,000 BTC in a single trade for $300 per coin. At the time, the trader was looking to obtain $9 million from the sale and today, those bitcoins are worth roughly $603 million. When the event took place, the crypto community went wild and it even caught the attention of mainstream media outlets. The price of bitcoin jus...

PRESS RELEASE. Since the last product offering comparison with Fireblocks , Unido has now successfully launched the EP self-custody multi-wallet, powered by Multi Party Computation (MPC) technology. Unido EP represents a first to market for a fully decentralized, distributed private key management solution, which is packaged in a lightweight turnkey DApp (available on Appstore and Google Play) and web dashboard. Given Fireblocks remains Unido’s only true distributed key signing engine competitor, we have chosen Fireblocks to analyze again, this time from a market positioning perspective. Fireblocks vs. Unido Fireblocks was founded in 2018 as an end-to-end blockchain security platform that protects, stores and transfers digital assets to the blockchain/s while using Multi-Party Computation (MPC). Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade solution that allows customers to transfer assets across exchanges, custodians and wallets securely using MPC & patent-pending chip isolation technol...

The Egyptian pound recently became the latest currency from the African continent to see its value versus the greenback slump to a record low. The pound’s fall came amidst reports suggesting the Egyptian government is hoping to strike a loan deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) within a month or two. Egyptian Pound Still Overvalued The Egyptian pound has become the latest African currency to depreciate to a record low versus the U.S. dollar, after it slipped to an exchange rate of 19.6736 for every greenback on October 4. Before this, the currency’s previous record low exchange rate of 19.6725 per dollar was last seen in December 2016. Other African currencies that have struggled against the U.S dollar in 2022 include the Nigerian currency, which recently touched a new all-time low of 735 naira for every dollar. In September, Bitcoin.com News reported that the gap between the Ethiopian birr’s official and parallel market exchange rate had grown to a new record high. Th...

The Bank of Namibia recently said it has brought virtual assets and virtual asset service providers under its fintech innovations regulatory framework, and that it plans to amend applicable laws and regulations. According to the central bank’s governor, there is an ongoing “battle between regulated and unregulated money on the one hand and sovereign versus non-sovereign money on the other.” Amending Applicable Laws The Bank of Namibia (BON) has said that while cryptocurrencies have no legal tender status in the country, it has now brought “virtual assets (VA) and virtual assets service providers (VASP) under its Fintech Innovations Regulatory Framework in a phased approach, through its innovation hub.” The central bank added it is also considering amending “applicable laws and regulations diligently in consultation with other relevant authorities.” In a recently issued statement , the BON also clarified that even though privately issued digital currencies are still not legally reco...

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has hinted that “X, the everything app,” is coming. He explained that his purchase of the social media platform Twitter is an accelerant to the creation of X, which could knock three to five years off the project. Elon Musk’s X — The Everything App Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted about the creation of “X, the everything app.” Responding to a tweet about why he is buying Twitter, Musk wrote Wednesday: Twitter is an accelerant to fulfilling the original X.com vision. He similarly tweeted Tuesday that buying Twitter is “an accelerant to creating X.” In a follow-up tweet, he said that Twitter could accelerate X by three to five years. This was not the first time Musk mentioned X. In August, when asked whether he had thought about creating his own social medial platform if the Twitter deal does not come through, the Tesla boss replied : “X.com.” Some people pointed out on Twitter that the Tesla CEO is obsessed with the letter X. Firstly, X.com was an ...

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has agreed to support Kazakhstan in ensuring the safe development of the country’s crypto market. The trading platform and Kazakhstan’s financial regulators intend to inform each other about cases involving the use of digital assets for illicit purposes. Binance Exchange to Help Kazakhstan Authorities Combat Crime Linked to Cryptocurrencies The world’s leading coin trading platform, Binance, and Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding expressing their mutual interest in the safe development of the Central Asian nation’s virtual assets market. An announcement explained that the agreement will govern joint efforts to fight crimes involving digital assets. The crypto exchange and the regulatory body plan to share data that can be used to identify and block crypto holdings obtained by criminal means as well as those employed in the laundering of proceeds from crime and the financing of terrorism. Accor...

PRESS RELEASE. It can be increasingly frustrating when someone has a worthwhile crypto and NFT project but cannot find a way to gain enough engagement. Many people fall into this category, believing they can handle promoting their crypto and NFT projects only to be swallowed by other projects. It is not like they have a better project. Instead, most of these creators and investors choose a top crypto marketing agent to handle all their project’s online marketing campaigns and strategies. But now that you know what you have been missing, it is still not enough to make your project the number one trending topic in crypto and NFT. So what next? Choosing the right crypto marketing agency with enough experience in creating awareness and ensuring investors invest heavily in a project. Thankfully, this article has removed the stress of selecting a top marketing agency by introducing the best one in 2022—ICO SPEAKS. So, what makes ICO Speaks the top crypto marketing agency in 2022? Here a...

Jared Huffman, a United States lawmaker who advocates for increased scrutiny of crypto-mining entities, has reportedly chastised U.S. energy agencies that he accuses of failing to act on the White House’s call on them to do “reliability assessments of current and projected crypto-asset mining operations on electricity system reliability and adequacy.” However, a commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Allison Clements, insists crypto mining should not be singled out from grid studies. Agencies Reviewing White House Recommendations Jared Huffman, a United States House of Representatives member, has reportedly queried some U.S. federal agencies’ unwillingness or reluctance to give their response to recommendations contained in a recently released White House report on cryptocurrency mining. According to Huffman, a California representative and member of the Democratic Party, the Federal agencies’ silence could well mean “this problem [environmental damage allegedly ...

The latest data from Coin 98 Analytics shows the Web3 gaming platform Gameta as the top-ranked gamefi (the intersection of gaming and finance) project after it garnered 1.85 million recorded subscribers by September 28. The data also shows that the top five gamefi projects alone accounted for more than 70% of September’s total gamefi subscribers in the top 20. Most Popular Project on the BNB Chain According to Coin 98 Analytics’ latest rankings of the leading gamefi projects, Gameta, a Web3 gaming platform, topped the list with 1.85 million subscribers as of September 28, 2022. The project’s phenomenal rise to the top spot means Gameta, which reportedly began September with 80,000 active daily users, now has subscribers that dwarf those of the more established gaming platform Axie Infinity. Before being revealed as the gamefi project with the highest number of subscribers, Gameta, according to one report , was already the most popular project on the BNB Chain. “Gameta [is] stil...

Golden, a startup that seeks to build a decentralized data hub, has raised $40 million dollars in a Series B funding round. The round, which was led by a16z crypto, will allow the company to keep building its concept, which revolves around combining data submission and validation with Web3-based token incentives. Golden Raises $40 Million to Build Decentralized Encyclopedia Golden, a decentralized data hub company, has announced it has raised $40 million in its latest Series B funding round. The round, which was led by a16z crypto, had the participation of many big names in the VC industry including Opensea Ventures and leaders associated with Solana, Protocol Labs, Figma, and others. The company, which seeks to pair Web3 with the construction of a solid and verifiable information hub, will use the funds to keep building on its business model, which revolves around providing reliable data to customers. This is because current data mining models have proven to be unreliable, accor...

Billionaire hedge fund founder Ray Dalio has stepped down as chief executive of Bridgewater Associates, according to a transfer of voting rights on September 30. Bridgewater’s co-chief executive explained on Tuesday that “Ray no longer has the final word,” in regard to the hedge fund’s future. Hedge Fund Giant and Bridgewater Associates Founder Ray Dalio Steps Down, Co-CEOs Mark Bertolini and Nir Bar Dea to Take Over Senior Management On Tuesday, October 4, after founding Bridgewater Associates more than 40 years ago, Ray Dalio stepped down as co-CIO. Bloomberg’s Erik Schatzker first reported on the matter after the hedge fund founder relinquished all of his voting rights to the board of directors on September 30. After founding Bridgewater in 1975, Dalio was considered a mogul hedge fund titan and within the first ten years of business, Bridgewater got a $5 million investment from the World Bank. Schatzker report cites Bridgewater’s co-chief executive, Nir Bar Dea, who told the r...