Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has launched a new data service in collaboration with MSCI and Coin Metrics to help investors analyze crypto markets. The new system is “designed to provide a consistent, standardized way to help market participants view and analyze the digital assets ecosystem,” Goldman detailed. Goldman Sachs’ New Crypto Classification System Global investment bank Goldman Sachs announced Friday “the launch of Datonomy, a new classification system for the digital assets market,” in collaboration with global index provider MSCI and crypto data firm Coin Metrics. The announcement details: The new framework for digital assets classification is designed to provide investors, service providers, developers, and researchers a way to help monitor market trends, analyze portfolio risk and returns, and help build new products. “Delivered as a new data service, Datonomy classifies coins and tokens based on how they are used,” the investment bank explained, adding that

The Bank of Ghana recently warned businesses quoting U.S. dollar prices that the practice is still prohibited and that the cedi remains Ghana’s sole legal tender. The bank said it is working with law enforcement to “clamp down on illegal foreign exchange operations.” In addition to naming and shaming businesses violating the law, a Ghanaian actress urged the central bank to stop Ghanaians from operating USD accounts. Cedi Ghana’s Sole Legal Tender As shortages of foreign exchange and currency depreciation continue to weigh on the Ghanaian economy, the country’s central bank has again warned businesses displaying prices in U.S. dollars that the cedi is the sole legal tender. Responding to Ghanaian actress Lydia Forson’s Nov. 2 tweet which questioned the practice of quoting prices in U.S. dollars for local real estate transactions, the Bank of Ghana (BOG) insisted that the practice is still outlawed. Dear @thebankofghana we need to know the dollar is the official currency for tran

Software giant Microsoft has made a $14.8 million investment in Wemade, a Korea-based blockchain gaming services company that has recently launched its own stablecoin, named Wemix. The company was part of a $46 million investment round, that also saw the participation of two more companies: Shinhan Asset Management and Kiwoom Securities. Microsoft Backs Korea-Based Gaming Company Wemade Microsoft has participated in a $46 million investment round to back Korea-based blockchain gaming operator Wemade. The round, which involved Wemade selling convertible bonds, saw Microsoft purchase $14.8 million in these bonds. Two other companies also participated — Shinhan Asset Management and Kiwoom Securities — with bond purchases of $21.2 million and $10.5 million respectively, according to regulatory filings. Founded in 2000 and having operated more than 20 blockchain games, Wemade sees this development as a big success, more so in the troubling economic times that the cryptocurrency industr

The Nigerian currency appeared to accelerate its decline versus the U.S. dollar after it slipped to a new low of 900 naira for every dollar. The currency has continued to depreciate even after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s raid on suspected illegal foreign exchange dealers. Continuing U.S. Dollar Shortages Following the Oct. 27 announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that intends to put into circulation newly designed naira banknotes, the local currency’s parallel market exchange rate versus the dollar has slipped by almost 20%. From an exchange rate of around N760:$1 at the time of the announcement, the naira had, by Nov. 2, dropped to a new all-time low of 900:1. As noted by several local media reports, the CBN’s decision to release the new banknotes as well as to demonetize the current 100, 200, 500, and 1,000-naira banknotes after Jan. 31, 2023, has sparked a rush to buy the greenback. According to one report , the shortage of the U.S. dollar on both

Foundry Digital, a digital asset mining and a staking-focused subsidiary of Digital Asset Group, has announced the launch of a new bitcoin mining hardware training program. The training course, which is expected to commence on Nov. 7, is expected to help professionals and enthusiasts learn how to set up a miner as well as to identify and solve common hardware failures. ‘In-Person Classes’ to Be Conducted by Industry Players Foundry Digital, a subsidiary of Digital Asset Group (DCG), has announced the launch of a new training course for individuals seeking to further “their education in the areas of installation, maintenance and troubleshooting of bitcoin mining machines.” The three-day training program seeks to produce top technicians for what has been described as “the fast-growing mining industry.” According to Foundry Digital’s Nov. 3, 2022 press statement , the training program, which includes “in-person classes” conducted by players in the industry, will cover topics such as s

Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency recently said it has launched a blockchain training program and over 30,000 people are set to participate. The objective of the training course is to make the participants “early solution providers in the fourth industrial revolution.” Hastening Adoption of Blockchain The Nigerian government has said it plans to educate over 30,000 people about blockchain technology. The training, which will be conducted by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), is intended to hasten the adoption of the tech and make Nigeria a leading player in the blockchain industry. According to a report by Radio Nigeria, the announcement was made by the director-general of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, who encouraged Nigerians to take advantage of the scholarships which have been made available for this purpose. Inuwa also suggested the purpose of the government’s push to train many Nigerians is to ensure they become “early solution

The government body overseeing the crypto market in Uzbekistan has restored access to Bestchange.ru, a well-known exchange aggregator in the region. The move comes after earlier this year the regulator blocked a number of coin trading platforms, including Binance. Residents of Uzbekistan Can Again Use the Services of Bestchange.ru Uzbekistan’s National Agency of Perspective Projects ( NAPP ), the authority regulating the crypto space in the Central Asian nation, has removed restrictions imposed on Bestchange.ru , a popular exchange aggregator in Russia and the former Soviet space. The development was announced by the Digital Rights Center (DRC) law firm whose legal experts have been representing the crypto platform. The DRC is specializing in providing legal assistance to internet users and businesses and was able to secure the unblocking of Bestchange.ru in Russia. The NAPP, which is subordinated to the presidential administration in Tashkent, began restricting foreign-based c

SevenX Ventures, a crypto investment fund focused on early-stage blockchain projects in Asia, has built over 80 public investment portfolios. The three co-founders, industry veterans, have built portfolios in DeFi, NFT, GameFi, and beyond. Since its launch in 2020, SevenX Ventures has advocated for immersive investing – going beyond financial support to assist funded projects in financial planning, tokenomic design, and marketing. The team helps startups create a stronger foundation that will hold during periods of growth and market changes. By mapping out parts of its portfolio below, Seven X shares its vision for a Web3 future. Blockchain Network Near is a Layer 1 public chain, which includes optimized sharding design, Nightshade consensus, and a large block design. It has developed and implemented Ethereum 2.0 in its system designs for POS and sharding. The protocol’s account system and the support for large-scale concurrent applications make it the most promising infrastruc

On Nov. 1, The Brazilian Securities Regulator, CVM, announced that it might create a new superintendence to deal with crypto-related market regulation. João Pedro Nascimento, president of the organization, said that the regulator is currently suffering from a lack of personnel that makes it challenging to give the attention needed to the growing cryptocurrency market. Brazilian Securities Regulator CVM to Create Separate Crypto Regulatory Institution The growth of the cryptocurrency market is causing troubles for some regulatory agencies around the world that lack the manpower needed to reach all actors in the market. The Brazilian Securities Regulator, CVM, announced on Nov. 1 that it will create a crypto-specific superintendence with the objective of exercising the needed oversight over all participants in the market. Joao Pedro Nascimento, president of the CVM, stated that one of the causes of this decision is the lack of manpower the organization is experiencing right now, whic

Blocto, a multichain wallet has announced the launch of a $3 million Aptos Ecosystem Fund whose objective is to help onboard new users to Aptos. Besides financially supporting projects, the Aptos fund will be used to back standout projects when they get to the “user acquisition phase.” Access to Aptos’ in-House and External Investor Base Blocto, a multichain wallet and crypto ecosystem, has announced the launch of a $3 million Aptos Ecosystem Fund to be used for onboarding new users to Aptos, a layer one proof of stake blockchain. The launch of the fund follows Blocto’s recent integration with Aptos which reportedly saw “more than 300,000 users set up an Aptos wallet within the first week.” According to a statement shared with Bitcoin.com News, Blocto, which is backed by billionaire Mark Cuban, plans to use the Aptos Ecosystem Fund to financially support mutually beneficial projects. Besides extending financial support, Blocto will also back standout projects when they get to the “

Digital asset manager Bakkt Holdings, Inc., announced on Thursday that the company has acquired the firm Apex Crypto from Apex Fintech Solutions. Bakkt detailed that the acquisition of the turnkey crypto platform aims to “bolster Bakkt’s cryptocurrency product offering and expand its footprint into additional client verticals.” Bakkt to Expand Client Verticals With Different Offerings by Acquiring Apex Crypto On Nov. 3, 2022, Bakkt announced that the company has purchased a “turnkey” crypto-trading platform called Apex Crypto, a platform that offers trading solutions, custody, and more for a myriad of crypto assets. Bakkt acquired the firm from Apex Fintech Solutions (AFS) and Bakkt says it intends to continue its commercial relationship with AFS. The company believes that Apex Crypto will further enhance Bakkt’s crypto offerings. “We found a unique asset in Apex Crypto, which will expand our crypto client base, provide us with faster speed to market for new crypto capabilities and

The Swiss financial regulator has published its updated anti-money laundering (AML) ordinance, noting it’s extending the coverage to include blockchain trading platforms. It also clarified certain reporting and identification requirements that apply to crypto transactions. Financial Authorities Adjust Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Rules Concerning Crypto Transfers Following consultations that started earlier this year, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority ( FINMA ) has partially revised its Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO), clarifying the application of a maximum limit for unidentified crypto exchange transactions. In a press release on Thursday, the regulator said that the regulations, which will come into force on Jan. 1, 2023, now reflect the latest amendments to Switzerland’s Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Federal Council’s Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance. FINMA noted that the collected feedback confirmed its position that the mandatory identity verification

JPMorgan, DBS Bank, and SBI Digital Asset Holdings have completed their first lives trades on a public blockchain using decentralized finance (defi), tokenized deposits, and verifiable credentials under the supervision of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Singapore’s central bank is planning two more pilots that involve Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, and UOB. JPMorgan, DBS Bank, SBI, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, UOB Participate in MAS Digital Asset Pilots The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s central bank, announced Wednesday that “the first industry pilot under the MAS’ Project Guardian that explores potential decentralized finance (defi) applications in wholesale funding markets has completed its first live trades.” The announcement details that for this pilot: DBS Bank, JP Morgan, and SBI Digital Asset Holdings conducted foreign exchange and government bond transactions against liquidity pools comprising of tokenized Singapore Government Securities

Four congressmen have accused the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Chairman Gary Gensler of “regulatory hypocrisy and inconsistency.” They added: “While the SEC is failing to comply with federal transparency and record-keeping laws, the SEC is aggressively enforcing record-keeping laws on private businesses.” Gensler’s Regime at SEC ‘Has Been Characterized by Regulatory Hypocrisy and Inconsistency’ Four lawmakers sent a letter to the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, on Tuesday “denouncing the Biden administration’s inconsistency and hypocrisy of enforcing record-keeping laws, this time at the SEC.” The letter was signed by U.S. Representatives Tom Emmer (R-MN), Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and James Comer (R-KY). They wrote: Recent reports suggest that SEC officials are using ‘off-channel’ communications platforms, such as Signal, Whatsapp, Teams, and Zoom, for official business and without producing the

The CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance does not see central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as a threat to cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin and ether. “It will validate the blockchain concept so that anybody who still has concerns about the technology will say: ‘Ok, our government is using the technology now,'” he opined. CZ Sees No Threat to Crypto Coming From CBDCs Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said Wednesday that he believes central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are not a threat to cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin ( BTC ) and ether ( ETH ), Reuters reported. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), nine out of 10 central banks are exploring launching their own digital currencies. The Atlantic Council’s CBDC tracker shows that 105 countries are currently exploring central bank digital currencies. Zhao was asked during a news conference at the Web Summit in Lisbon whether CBDCs could pose a threat to Binance and cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin and ethere