Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank of Brazil, has stated that the digital real project, the Brazilian central bank digital currency (CBDC) could be launched in 2024. Campos Neto also remarked on the benefits the digital currency system might bring as it is integrated with traditional finance structures and decentralized finance (defi) institutions. Digital Real Might Be Ready in 2024, According to Roberto Campos Neto Brazil is one of the countries that has made significant advancements in the field of central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the last year. While there is currently no official date for the issuance of the digital real, Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank of Brazil, has hinted at a possible launch of the currency in 2024. At a Dec. 13 event, Campos Neto stated : In 2024, I would like to have a release. There are still many challenges to reach this schedule, but this is our vision, our goal. Campos Neto considers this to be possible i...

Hedge fund manager Michael Burry, famed for forecasting the 2008 financial crisis, says the problem with auditing cryptocurrency exchanges, like Binance and FTX, is the same as when he started using a new kind of credit default swap. “Our auditors were learning on the job,” he described, adding that it’s “not a good thing.” Michael Burry on Audits of Crypto Firms Famous investor and founder of investment firm Scion Asset Management, Michael Burry, said Friday that proof-of-reserves (POR) audits of cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance and the collapsed exchange FTX, are meaningless. Burry is best known for being the first investor to foresee and profit from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010. He is profiled in “The Big Short,” a book by Michael Lewis about the mortgage crisis, which was made into a movie starring Christian Bale. Commenting on accounting firm Mazars Group halting proof-of-reserves audits for crypto companies, Burry tweeted:...

Roughly seven days ago the owner of Twitter, Elon Musk, disclosed that the social media platform planned to purge 1.5 billion Twitter names if they were inactive or the accounts haven’t logged in for years. After the statement, bitcoiners grew concerned that the now-deceased computer scientist Hal Finney’s Twitter account would be terminated. It seems that since then, Finney’s wife Fran Finney has taken over Hal’s social media account in hopes Musk won’t purge her husbands account. Fran Finney Has Control of Hal’s Twitter Account — Says She Activated It to Protect the Account From Elon Musk’s Inactive Twitter Account Purge On Dec. 16, 2022, the bitcoin supporter Jameson Lopp tweeted an alert letting people know that Hal Finney’s Twitter account — @halfin — was now active. “ALERT,” Lopp said. “Someone has taken control of Hal’s Twitter account. Consider that we don’t know the intentions of the new owner; it could be compromised.” Lopp’s tweet got a reply from the @halfin Twitter ac...

Hong Kong’s first crypto-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have attracted over $73 million ahead of their debut on the region’s stock exchange. The launch of the two ETFs tracking cryptocurrency futures listed in the United States comes despite the industry’s current troubles. Hong Kong Debuts Bitcoin and Ether Futures ETFs Amid Crypto Winter Two ETFs tracking crypto futures raised a total of $73.6 million ahead of their debut on the stock exchange in Hong Kong on Friday, with the larger one raising $53.9 million, according to Reuters. The news agency noted that the launch is in defiance of the ongoing turmoil in the sector. The funds, offered by CSOP Asset Management, invest in bitcoin ( BTC ) and ether ( ETH ) futures listed on the CME exchange in the U.S., the only crypto assets allowed by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) at the moment. Commenting on the development Yi Wang, head of quantitative investment at CSOP, stated: Coming after the recent liquidity...

Following the arrest of the former FTX boss Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), spectators continue to wonder where ex-Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison is, and whether or not she turned on SBF. A few reports suggest Ellison is “likely working with feds” and it’s possibly the reason why Ellison was reportedly spotted at the Ground Support cafe in Soho. Did Caroline Rat on SBF? No One’s Heard a Peep From the Mysterious Ex-Alameda Executive Since FTX Collapsed A great deal of crypto supporters and the media have been wondering where Caroline Ellison , the former Alameda Research CEO, is currently located. After FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), galavanted on a media tour with the likes of the New York Times ’ Dealbook event and his appearance on Good Morning America. Then over a month after FTX collapsed, SBF was arrested in The Bahamas and indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, charged with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commiss...

The European Central Bank (ECB) decided to hike three of its key interest rates by 50 basis points (0.5%) as part of its ongoing war against inflation. The organization stated that further increases are likely to happen “because inflation remains far too high and is projected to stay above the target for too long.” ECB Follows Federal Reserve, Hiking Interest Rates by 50 Basis Points The European Central Bank (ECB) has explained its economic policy in its war against inflation. The governing council of the body decided to hike the interest rates on its main refinancing operations, its marginal lending facility, and its deposit facility by 50 basis points (bps) across the board. In a press release , the organization explained that this rise is part of a plan to ensure a “timely return” to the 2% levels of inflation formerly faced by the bloc. This hike is similar to the one applied by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Dec 14, when it also hiked its interest rates by 50bps. Inflation lev...

As blockchain developers compete for traffic and resources for their respective dapps (decentralized applications), the downside to this, according to some in the industry, can be a poor user experience which in turn undermines the mass adoption cause. Therefore, unless current blockchains — both Layers 1 and 2 — can overcome niggling issues like high gas fees or poor network speed, it will be difficult to convince traditional organizations that they need the tech, according to Ankr’s Josh Neuroth. Overcoming Blockchain Scalability Challenges In cases where an attempt to improve a blockchain’s transaction throughput is made, history has shown that compromises that might affect the chain’s security may have to be made. Alternatively, developers can consider overcoming this problem, known as the blockchain trilemma, using sidechains or application-specific blockchains (Appchains). As Josh Neuroth, head of product at the decentralized Web3 infrastructure platform Ankr explained, the ...

The Central Bank of Russia has introduced measures to protect entities working with digital assets from sanctions pressures. These businesses will be exempted from some reporting requirements as part of a regulatory relief intended to minimize the burden on financial organizations. Russia’s Central Bank Eases Supervision of Digital Asset Platforms Amid Sanctions The Central Bank of the Russian Federation ( CBR ) has allowed issuers of digital financial assets (DFAs) not to disclose information sensitive in the light of sanctions risks. The exemption, valid until July 1, 2023, concerns data revealing the beneficial owners of such entities. According to an announcement quoted by Russian crypto media, the temporary reporting relief is part of a package of measures meant to help persons and organizations operating within the Russian financial market infrastructure. While Russia is yet to regulate cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, the existing law “On Digital Financial Assets” permits co...

Two U.S. senators, including Elizabeth Warren, have introduced a bipartisan bill for the regulation of cryptocurrency. The bill, titled “Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act,” is “the most direct attack on the personal freedom and privacy of cryptocurrency users and developers we’ve yet seen,” according to crypto advocates. Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022 Launched U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced new legislation to regulate the cryptocurrency sector Wednesday. Their bill , titled “Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022,” seeks to crack down on money laundering in the crypto industry. Senator Warren tweeted Wednesday: By closing some loopholes and applying some common-sense rules, we can crack down on the ways rogue nations, oligarchs, and drug lords use crypto to launder billions, evade sanctions, and finance terrorism. I’ve got a bipartisan bill for that. The legislation directs the Treasury Department’s Fin...

PRESS RELEASE. Crypto enthusiasts are constantly looking for new options to get passive income with crypto, but this task has become quite challenging recently. Making money on the coins’ growth is not easy when the market is down, while to manage assets by yourself, you need to have in-depth knowledge of investment strategies and a huge amount of time. With all the geopolitical developments and the prolonged bear market, one might wonder: what is the best way to accumulate more crypto, store it safely and get the highest possible return? HEXN.IO HEXN.IO is a crypto lending platform that unites habitual and advanced approaches to money lending to help people make their crypto work. The company offers a wide selection of 48 cryptocurrencies, high interest rates, and regular weekly payouts. One of HEXN’s distinctive features is that it offers a wide range of stablecoins for those who do not want to take risks trying to capitalize on volatile crypto assets during this severe winter...

Germany’s financial watchdog has issued a call for global regulation of the crypto industry in the aftermath of the FTX collapse. The hands-off approach was wrong, the head of the agency says, insisting it’s time to protect consumers as the sector expands links with traditional finance. Bafin President Convinced Self-Regulation Won’t Work for Crypto The man at the helm of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany ( Bafin ) has urged for global regulation of the cryptocurrency space. This would ensure better protection for consumers, prevent money laundering and preserve financial stability, according to Mark Branson. A hands-off approach that would “just let the industry grow as a playground for grownups” was the wrong tactic, the executive told reporters in Frankfurt on Tuesday, shortly after U.S. authorities charged Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of failed crypto exchange FTX , with fraud and other crimes. A “crypto spring” may follow what has been a “crypto winter” bu...

Decentralized applications (dapps) are prone to data tampering because they “are largely built on top of centralized databases and services,” the CEO of Space and Time Nate Holiday has said. The CEO also shared a list of data tampering risks which he said are specific to data warehouses. Companies Relying on Centralized Databases and Services According to Nate Holiday, the CEO of decentralized data warehouse Space and Time, the recent draining of funds on the defi (decentralized finance) lending platform Lodestar Finance, and Axie Infinity’s Ronin network attack before that, are key events reminding users that decentralized apps (dapps) are prone to data tampering. Although he concedes that many dapps are powered by blockchain, Holiday nevertheless claimed many of these applications “are largely built on top of centralized databases and services.” As recently reported by Bitcoin.com News, the hacker behind the siphoning of $6.9 million from Lodestar Finance had tampered with “the...

Russia’s largest social network, Vkontakte, has launched a feature allowing users to upload digital collectibles to the platform. Account holders will also be able to buy and sell them in the future as the company intends to establish a marketplace for non-fungible tokens. Vkontakte Users to Showcase Their NFTs, Set Them as Avatars The leading social media network in the Russian-speaking segment, Vkontakte ( VK ), has introduced an NFT service along with an educational course on non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the crypto page of the Russian business news portal RBC reported, quoting the company. The new features will be available to all users within a few days, VK’s CEO Marina Krasnova and Chief Technology Officer Alexander Tobol announced during a presentation in Moscow. The VK NFT option will allow owners of digital collectibles to transfer them to their accounts. Furthermore, the tokens can be employed as avatars or presented in a special showcase in the profile. In order to do tha...

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has told U.S. Congress that he believes the collapsed crypto exchange FTX failed because rival Binance intentionally put it out of business. He said former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) told him that Binance, which owned a 20% equity stake in FTX, refused to comply with regulators’ requests whenever FTX applied for a license in different jurisdictions. Kevin O’Leary Shares Why He Thinks FTX Failed With U.S. Senators Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary shared why he thinks crypto exchange FTX collapsed in a congressional hearing, titled “Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers,” before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Wednesday. Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) asked O’Leary, “Why do you believe FTX failed?” Mr. Wonderful replied, “I have an opinion. I don’t have the records.” He proceeded to convey what former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) told him after the Shark Tank star noticed that...

At the end of November, an unknown person signed a signature tied to an extremely old block reward mined on Jan. 19, 2009, and the user published a message and verified signature linked to the reward on the forum bitcointalk.org. The message was tied to a bitcoin address associated with block 1,018, a block reward that was minted 16 days after Satoshi Nakamoto launched the network. Upon further investigation, onchain data shows that block 1,018 is linked to a great number of block rewards ostensibly mined by Hal Finney, and the signed block is also connected to the very first bitcoin transaction that derived from block 9. Block 1,018 Signed by ‘Onesignature’ on Nov. 26, 2022, Is Associated With Hal Finney’s Mined Bitcoins and the Very First Bitcoin Transaction On Nov. 26, 2022, a newly created bitcointalk.org forum account called “ Onesignature ” shocked the crypto community when the unknown individual signed a message associated with block 1,018. Onesignature’s message contained a...

Russian authorities are now prosecuting miners extracting cryptocurrency using subsidized electricity for the population, according to a top official from the energy ministry. Power utilities are detecting their increased consumption and trying to make them pay at commercial rates. Amateur Crypto Miners in Russia Under Pressure Despite Lack of Regulation for Home Mining Electricity distribution companies in Russia have started to identify improvised mining farms in residential buildings by the rising volume of energy consumption and higher loads on the grid at substations, Deputy Ministry of Energy Pavel Snikkars revealed to the Russian press. The government official told the daily Izvestia that authorities are going after the “illegal miners.” While crypto mining is yet to be regulated and such activities are not explicitly prohibited right now, utilities can prove in courts that these consumers are not using the electricity for domestic needs. Lawyers interviewed by the newspap...

PRESS RELEASE. As part of their ongoing development, Dvision Network has announced the launch of their upgraded Dvision World 2.0 in Beta mode. The launch will officially commence on 14th December, 2022. Not too long ago, via a collaborative partnership with market leaders Binance NFT and GameFi.org, Dvision Network had unveiled the highly anticipated 4th LAND Sale, which began on October 28th at 06:00 PM, KST. What’s there to know? As stated in the official disclosure, the second iteration of Dvision World will include numerous features which will be released in an unprecedented manner. This includes the long-awaited release of Meta-City Seoul, the PET system known as “Ondoll,” and even a Play-to-Earn (P2E) model attached to their LAND NFTs, ensuring their sustainability and uniqueness. It was indicated that the upgraded version of Dvision’s metaverse will have significantly improved UI and UX, and it has already demonstrated certain aspects of its virtual reality (VR) by reg...

Bitso, a Latam-focused cryptocurrency exchange, has partnered with chat-based payments provider Felix Pagos in order to offer Whatsapp-integrated remittances. The objective of this partnership is to put nearly instant chat-based remittances in the hands of Mexican and US users that might be intimidated by crypto tech otherwise. Bitso to Power Felix Pagos Whatsapp-Integrated Remittances Remittances have been a big use case for cryptocurrency, but the relative lack of knowledge of these tools has slowed adoption in this arena. Bitso, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in Latam, with more than six million users, has partnered with Felix Pagos, a chat-based payments provider, in order to facilitate the use of crypto for remittances using Whatsapp. Through the use of Whatsapp, users of Felix Pagos will be able to send remittances without knowing they are even using cryptocurrencies. This would allow such remittances to reach audiences that are normally not crypto savvy, including the ...