Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has revealed that the collapsed crypto exchange FTX paid him about $15 million to become its spokesperson. “I put about $9.7 million into crypto. I think that’s what I lost. I don’t know. It’s all at zero,” O’Leary said. Kevin O’Leary Was Paid $15M by FTX Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary revealed in an interview with CNBC Thursday that the collapsed crypto exchange FTX paid him about $15 million last year to become its spokesperson . Noting that he fell prey to “groupthink,” O’Leary detailed: Total deal was just under $15 million, all in … I put about $9.7 million into crypto. I think that’s what I lost. I don’t know. It’s all at zero. The Shark Tank star further revealed that he also had over $1 million of FTX equity, which is now rendered worthless due to the bankruptcy protection process. In addition, Mr. Wonderful explained that the balance of a little over $4 million was purportedly eaten up by taxation and agent fees. He admi...

Two congressional hearings will be held next week on the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and U.S. lawmakers have asked former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to testify. As the founder of FTX and Alameda Research, “you must answer for the failure of both entities that was caused, at least in part, by the clear misuse of client funds and wiped out billions of dollars owed to over a million creditors,” Senator Sherrod Brown told Bankman-Fried. 2 Congressional Hearings on FTX Set for Next Week The House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs are separately holding a hearing on the collapse of crypto exchange FTX next week. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chair of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) Wednesday asking him to attend his committee’s hearing titled “Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers” that will take pla...

Jordan Belfort, aka the Wolf of Wall Street, expects bitcoin and ethereum to be “a lot higher” than they are now. Noting that the collapsed crypto exchange FTX is a scam, he stressed that its implosion “doesn’t mean that you can disregard bitcoin completely and say it’s worthless or going to zero.” The Wolf of Wall Street Calls FTX a Scam Jordan Belfort, a former stockbroker whose memoir was adapted into a film called “The Wolf of Wall Street,” shared some recommendations about bitcoin and ethereum in a video posted on his Youtube channel Monday. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and starred Leonardo DiCaprio. Belfort founded Stratton Oakmont which functioned as a boiler room that marketed penny stocks and defrauded investors with pump-and-dump stock sales. He became a motivational speaker after pleading guilty to fraud in 1999 and went to prison for 22 months. Regarding FTX, the crypto exchange that imploded and filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, the Wolf of Wall Street des...

The U.S. dollar price of ether, which presently hovers around $1,200, is expected to fall to $922.66 by Dec. 10, a Coincodex prediction chart has shown. Ethereum is nonetheless projected to close the following day trading above $1,000. According to the Coincodex analysis, there are presently 15 technical indicators out of a total of 28 that project a bearish outlook for the asset. ETH ’s Negative Trend According to an analysis by the digital asset exchange platform Coincodex, the U.S. dollar value of ETH is expected to drop to $922.66 by Dec. 10. The analysis suggests ether price, which stood at $1,230 on Dec. 7 (1:00 p.m. EST), must decline by almost 25% for this prediction to become a reality. In a report which shares some factors that led to the negative price prediction, the Coincodex team also points to ETH ’s negative trend which can be evidenced by its 21.5% decline between Nov. 5 and Dec. 5. Similarly, in a period of 90 days that ended on Dec. 5, the crypto asset’s price ...

Companies extracting cryptocurrencies in Kazakhstan will be allowed to purchase only excess electricity on a government-controlled market. The decision comes with new legislation approved by lawmakers which regulates the activities of the industry and the taxation of its profits. Law to Regulate Crypto Mining in Kazakhstan, Change Licensing Rules The lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament, the Mazhilis, has adopted the bill “On Digital Assets of the Republic of Kazakhstan” and four related draft laws which aim to regulate mining, among other crypto activities, local media reported. In accordance with the legislation, miners operating in the country will be able to buy power from the national energy system only if it has a surplus to offer, and exclusively through the KOREM exchange, the country’s centralized electricity market. Commenting on the new regime, Mazhilis member Ekaterina Smyshlyaeva pointed out that price restrictions have been lifted for that excess amount of electric...

The crypto mining industry may see a two-fold increase in its share of Russia’s power consumption in 2022, according to a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Energy. The department supports a bill designed to regulate the sector which is likely to be adopted this year. Russian Energy Ministry Forecasts Rise in Crypto Mining’s Electricity Consumption The share of cryptocurrency miners may reach 1.5 – 2% of Russia’s total consumption of electrical power by the end of 2022, according to the Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Snikkars. During a crypto conference organized by the business news portal RBC, the government official recalled that last year’s figure was around 1%. The availability of electricity for mining across the vast country would depend on the number of users that want to connect to the grid in a particular location, Snikkars added. In certain Russian regions — the deputy minister mentioned Murmansk as an example — unused power generating capacities are curren...

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says crypto tokens are like pet rocks. The executive also believes crypto regulation should be strengthened, stating: “The regulators who beat up on banks should maybe focus a little more on crypto.” JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon Compares Crypto to Pet Rocks The chairman and CEO of global investment bank JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, talked about crypto and its regulation following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in an interview with CNBC Tuesday. He was asked whether the FTX meltdown is contained and does not matter or whether he believes it is a symbol of something larger that is happening in the economy. The JPMorgan boss said: Crypto is a complete sideshow, okay, and you guys spend too much time on it. I’ve made my views perfectly clear about crypto tokens are like pet rocks, and people are hyping this stuff up. Pet rocks are just rocks in custom cardboard boxes, marketed as live rocks in 1975. Over 1 million pet rocks were sold for $4 each ...

Bitcoin.com , a digital ecosystem and secure self-custody platform where users can safely and easily interact with cryptocurrencies and digital assets, announced completion of the pre-sale of its rewards and utility token VERSE, where 16% of the total supply was purchased for $50 million. Bitcoin.com also announced the launch of VERSE trading on its decentralized exchange, the Verse DEX , starting at 00:30 UTC on Dec 8. The initial listing price will be $0.0015 per VERSE. “The success of the Verse token sale despite severe bear market conditions is a testament to the quality of Bitcoin.com ’s ecosystem token,” said Bitcoin.com CEO Dennis Jarvis. “I have no doubt that Verse will supercharge Bitcoin.com ’s mission to create economic freedom by helping to onboard millions more people to Bitcoin and decentralized finance where they can take advantage of the benefits enabled by self-custody, transparency, and censorship resistance.” The VERSE token will provide utility in Bitcoin....

The host of Mad Money, Jim Cramer, has advised investors to sell their crypto, emphasizing that “it’s never too late to sell an awful position.” Regarding FTX, Cramer predicted that the collapsed trading platform “won’t be the last of these crypto exchanges to go down.” Jim Cramer’s Latest Crypto Advice The host of CNBC’s Mad Money show, Jim Cramer, has advised investors to sell their cryptocurrencies following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Cramer is a former hedge fund manager who co-founded Thestreet.com, a financial news and literacy website. He said Monday: You can’t just beat yourself up and say, ‘hey, it’s too late to sell.’ The truth is, it’s never too late to sell an awful position, and that’s what you have if you own these so-called digital assets. The Mad Money host used to invest in bitcoin, ether, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) but sold all his crypto holdings last year. “I told you I sold my bitcoin and ethereum a long time ago … and used the proceeds to bu...

Bitcoin was consolidating on Wednesday, as the U.S. dollar continued to strengthen versus several G7 currencies. A strong dollar means demand for cryptocurrencies typically plummets, with the global market cap trading in the red as of writing. Ethereum was also lower today, falling as it remained below $1,300. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) continued to consolidate in today’s session, as prices hovered around the $17,000 mark on hump-day. Following a low of $16,939.92 on Tuesday, BTC /USD raced to an intraday peak of $17,109.38 earlier in today’s session. The move saw bitcoin continue to trade under its recent resistance level of $17,180, which has mostly been in place for the last month. Looking at the chart, the consolidation comes as the relative strength index (RSI) also remained below its own ceiling of 50.00. As of writing, the index is currently tracking at the 47.80 level, and seems to be heading to a floor at the 45.80 mark. Should we see this decline occur, BTC will likely ...

On Tuesday, the hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger announced the launch of a new device called Ledger Stax. The machine was designed by iPod creator, Tony Fadell, and the France-based firm Ledger says the new device was built with “uncompromisingly secure architecture.” iPod Creator Tony Fadell Partners With Ledger to Launch a New Crypto Hardware Wallet Called Stax Ledger has revealed a new hardware wallet that’s roughly the same size as a credit card. Ledger Stax also features an e-ink touch screen that’s customizable and offers capacitive touch. The France-based crypto hardware wallet manufacturer is well known for creating hardware wallets such as the Nano. Similarly, Stax allows users to secure their cryptocurrency assets and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a EAL 5+ certified secure element-equipped setting. The new machine was designed by Tony Fadell, an American engineer and former senior vice president of the iPod division at Apple. Reports explain that in 2001, Apple sup...

The CEO of crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), has countered several “wrong narratives” about the collapsed crypto exchange FTX and its co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). The Binance boss calls SBF “a master manipulator” and “one of the greatest fraudsters in history.” Binance’s CEO on ‘Wrong Narratives’ About FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried The CEO of crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), took to Twitter Tuesday to address what he called “wrong narratives” that he has seen recently about the collapsed crypto exchange FTX and its co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). The first narrative he addressed was “CZ wants to be the savior of crypto,” the Binance boss described. He explained: Crypto doesn’t need saving. Crypto is fine. It’s the beauty of decentralization. We are just part of it. We want to help other good projects that may be in a cash crunch because of recent events. It’s in our collective best interest. The second narrative is “FTX was killed by xyz (ie, a 3...

On Dec. 6, 2022, the former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) reportedly retained the attorney Mark Cohen, the lawyer that represented Ghislaine Maxwell during her recent sex trafficking case. SBF’s spokesperson further explained that the FTX co-founder is being consulted by a professor at Stanford Law School, David Mills. Sam Bankman-Fried Hires Attorney Who Represented Ghislaine Maxwell The disgraced former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is reportedly being represented by Mark Cohen from the litigation firm Cohen & Gresser. Cohen is the well-known attorney that represented Ghislaine Maxwell during her sex trafficking case. Maxwell, a close friend of the now-deceased and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted on five out of six counts which included the sex trafficking of a minor. She was sentenced to 20 years in June and still faces other charges . Cohen is a lawyer licensed in New York and Florida and the now convicted Maxwell was also represented by Chri...

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, has politely asked former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to attend a congressional hearing on the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange. Bankman-Fried says he will testify when he has finished “learning and reviewing what happened.” Bankman-Fried Responds to Rep. Waters’ Invitation The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services will hold a congressional hearing on the collapse of crypto exchange FTX on Dec. 13. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the committee’s chair, has been trying to get former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to attend the hearing. However, instead of issuing a subpoena for him to testify, Waters politely asked him on Twitter Friday. “We appreciate that you’ve been candid in your discussions about what happened at FTX. Your willingness to talk to the public will help the company’s customers, investors, and others. To that end, we would welcome your participation in our hearing o...

The chief executive of the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, has slammed former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) for claiming that FTX is missing $8 billion due to an “accounting error.” He stressed: “It’s stolen customer money used in his hedge fund, plain and simple.” Brian Armstrong on SBF’s ‘Accounting Error’ Claim The CEO of the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), Brian Armstrong, has slammed FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) for blaming his collapsed exchange’s $8 billion hole on an “accounting error.” Bankman-Fried was asked in an interview with Bloomberg, published Friday, how he “misplaced $8 billion.” The former FTX boss replied: “Misaccounted.” He further explained that FTX customers sometimes wired money to his trading firm, Alameda Research, instead of sending it directly to FTX. The crypto exchange’s internal accounting system then double-counted the money, crediting it to both the exchange and the customer...

PRESS RELEASE. On November 30th, the MMORPG game “GensoKishi Online-Meta World” was officially released. It is the web 3 version of the iconic Japanese 3DMMO “Elemental Knights Online,” which won the “Game of the Year Gold Award 2012” in Taiwan and accumulated more than eight million downloads worldwide. The new web3 release will introduce the trading of avatars and in-game items as NFTs – the Genso metaverse will consist of a 3DMMORPG and a Polygon-based economy. This fantasy world will be built around Genso’s governance token $MV, a token that has already achieved numerous milestones; a record-breaking 69,000 people participated in Bybit’s launchpool event, the fastest sell-out on Trustpad, and the Kickstarter hall of fame on MEXC. Known as a 3DMMORPG, it already has an active user base and a fully functioning 3D metaverse that allows users from around the globe to connect with one another. With this game, players go to dungeons, defeat monsters together with friends, and inter...

What if a Metamask wallet has crashed or become corrupted, and a user is afraid of losing all of their digital assets? To ensure that a lost crypto wallet is recovered successfully, users should read the advice of wallet recovery experts from KeychainX, the trusted service provider that specializes in this type of recovery. Recover Metamask Even If a User Loses the 12 Words Many DeFi users have turned to Metamask as their preferred to-go wallet. Unfortunately, the rise of Metamask’s popularity has also resulted in mega buggy code. As panicked users attempt to upgrade their wallets or run out of disk space, they are greeted with screens stating that the wallet has been corrupted (?) as a result of disk space limitations or, even more worryingly, that their wallet address seems empty or disappear after upgrading to popular browsers such as Chrome or Firefox. Users of Metamask should take a close look at these simple steps on what to do and what not to do when the inevitable occurs, n...

The government of Argentina has signed a data sharing agreement with the U.S. to enhance the cooperation of the countries in the tax arena. The agreement, which was signed by Sergio Massa, minister of economy of Argentina, and U.S. ambassador Marc Stanley, will allow the Argentine national tax authority to receive information from accounts and trust beneficiaries of Argentines in the U.S. Argentina to Tighten Tax Controls With Data Sharing Agreement The government of Argentina has signed an automatic tax data sharing agreement with the U.S. that will allow the national tax authority to receive data from accounts and societies managed by Argentine nationals offshore. The agreement, signed on Dec. 5 by the minister of economy, Sergio Massa, and the United States ambassador to Argentina, Marc Stanley, implies a substantial increase in the volume of data that will be shared between the Argentine tax authority (AFIP) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). While the two countries had a...