Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

It’s been over a year since El Salvador codified bitcoin as legal tender in the Latin American country, and by popping the ‘orange pill,’ the country was propelled into the international spotlight. At the end of September, the 41-year-old Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele penned an opinion editorial that takes aim at the detractors who think it was the wrong decision, those who think it was a good decision but for the wrong reasons, and opponents who “are afraid of our decision.” Nayib Bukele’s Opinion Editorial Tells People to ‘Stop Drinking the Elite’s Kool-Aid’ According to Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele , if the bitcoin experiment his country is participating in succeeds, a great number of other countries worldwide will follow in the Latin American country’s footsteps. Bukele said this in a recently penned opinion editorial called “ Stop Drinking the Elite’s Kool-Aid ,” which was published on September 30, 2022, in English and Spanish. In the editorial, Bukele criticized thre...

The new crypto sanctions imposed by the European Union are likely to spur the development of the country’s digital asset market, according to a Russian lawmaker. Anatoly Aksakov, who chairs the parliamentary Financial Market Committee, believes Russians will manage to bypass the restrictions. Meanwhile, major exchanges have reportedly informed Russian users that trading continues. Russians Find Ways to Circumvent Mounting European Crypto Sanctions, Duma Member Insists This week, the EU adopted its eighth package of penalties against Russia, meant to hit its government, economy, and energy exports in response to the recent escalation of the military conflict in Ukraine and the annexation of Ukrainian territories. Russian access to cryptocurrency, viewed as a tool to circumvent financial restrictions and export wealth, was also targeted. The Council of the European Union completely banned the provision of crypto wallet, account, and custody services to Russian residents and entities...

Xrp, the token formerly known as ripple, rose close to a five-month high on Saturday, despite the current red wave sweeping through markets. The token was trading marginally above a ceiling of $0.525, as bulls attempted to recapture recent highs. Cosmos was also higher, nearing a breakout of a key resistance point. XRP XRP surged towards a five-month high to start the weekend, despite crypto markets trading mostly lower on Saturday. Following a low of $0.4855 in yesterday’s session, XRP /USD rose to a high of $0.5279 less than 24-hours after the previous bottom. This surge saw the token marginally break out of a key resistance point of $0.525, climbing for a sixth straight day in the process. Looking at the chart, since the day’s previous peak, gains have somewhat eased, and as of writing prices are trading at $0.5184. The decline comes as earlier bulls opted to secure gains, and close their positions as opposed to holding on as XRP entered an area of uncertainty. One of thes...

Bitcoin was trading lower on Saturday, as cryptocurrency prices continued to trade in the red following the latest U.S. nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report. The token dropped for a fourth consecutive day, moving closer to a key support point in the process. Ethereum was also in the red, hitting a five-day low in the process. Bitcoin Bearish sentiment remained in bitcoin ( BTC ) markets to start the weekend, as they continued to digest the latest nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report. Following the better-than-expected jobs report, BTC /USD fell to an intraday low of $19,395.79 earlier in the day. The move pushed the token close to a key support point of $19,200, and as of writing, it is trading close to a six-day low. Looking at the chart, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) has also dropped, and is also approaching a floor of 45.70. Despite moving closer to this bottom, the 10-day (red) moving average has recently crossed over its 25-day (blue) counterpart, which is typically a sign of ...

Authorities in Kazakhstan have granted Binance a license to operate as a digital asset platform and provide an array of relevant services. While working out of the nation’s financial hub in the capital Nur-Sultan, the crypto exchange will offer registration to customers from other countries as well. Crypto Exchange Binance Receives License to Operate From Kazakhstan Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, has been granted a permanent license by the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), the regulatory body that oversees the Astana International Financial Center ( AIFC ), Kazakhstan’s financial hub. The license will allow Binance to extend its services as a digital asset platform operator and work from AIFC as a custodial service provider for global clients. The financial center is based in Kazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana). The move comes after Binance obtained preliminary approval in August. The permanent authorization g...

Despite seeing a 3.11% drop in value in September, bitcoin still outperformed both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, the latest Cryptocompare report has shown. Ethereum, on the other hand, was named “the worst performer after the long-awaited Merge proved to be a ‘buy the rumour, sell the news’ event.” Increased tether and U.S. dollar trade volumes for bitcoin are said to suggest panicking investors were dumping depreciating currencies in favor of the cryptocurrency. Ethereum Sees ‘Biggest Decline’ According to the latest Cryptocompare report, bitcoin, which saw a negative return of 3.11% in September, still outperformed “both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq which saw negative returns of 9.34% and 10.5% respectively.” Only Solana — the cryptocurrency among the tracked four that saw a positive monthly return of 5.59% — and gold (2.87%) had better risk-adjusted returns than bitcoin. Ethereum, on the other hand, is identified in the report as “the worst performer [among four tracked cryptocurre...

The Norwegian government is reviewing a proposal to abolish the policy of preferential tax treatment for data centers mining cryptocurrency with cheaper electricity. The executive power in Oslo says conditions have changed and the country needs the energy currently used by miners. Mining Firms Likely to Lose Tax Incentive as Norway Seeks to Save Power, Collect More Tax Norwegian authorities are on their way to scrap a tax cut that has been benefitting crypto mining businesses for years. They are proposing to get rid of the reduced electricity tax rate for data centers in the Nordic country, many of which are minting digital currencies. Power for data centers will thus be subject to the general electricity tax rate, the same that applies for other service industries, the government said in an announcement published this week. Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum explained the reasoning behind the move: We are in a completely different situation in the power market now compared ...

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...