Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Despite the market conditions that prevailed in much of 2022, decentralized finance (defi) still demonstrated its greater scaling potential than that of the traditional financial industry, a new report has said. Even though the total value locked dropped from the peak of $180 billion in Dec. 2021, to just over $50 billion by end of Oct. 2022, certain sectors of the defi market still “show a very optimistic trend.” Decline in Total Value Locked According to Hashkey Capital’s end-of-year report, decentralized finance (defi) has the “potential to be many times more scalable than the traditional financial industry.” In addition to the scaling potential, defi protocols are resilient and are likely to emerge from black swan events such as the Terra luna/UST collapse unscathed, the report suggested. However, in the report titled Defi Ecosystem Landscape Report, Hashkey Capital — an end-to-end digital asset financial services group — acknowledged that unfavorable market conditions that l...

U.S. Congressman Warren Davidson has touted the self-custody of cryptocurrencies as the antidote to crypto exchange FTX’s fraud. He is pushing for his bill called “Keep Your Coins Act,” which aims to “protect self-custody from misguided attempts to restrict it.” U.S. Lawmaker Pushes for Self-Custody Congressman Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) has touted crypto self-custody following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. He tweeted Wednesday: Self-custody is the antidote to FTX’s fraud and my Keep Your Coins Act would protect self-custody from misguided attempts to restrict it. “Anyone attacking self-custody is telling you they oppose individual freedom,” the lawmaker added. Responding to a question on Twitter about why new laws are needed if people can already self custody today, the congressman replied: Current and previous Treasury secretaries have discussed banning what they call ‘self-hosted wallets’ — self-custody. Senator Elizabeth Warren and numerous other members of C...

On Dec. 21, 2022, U.S. attorney Damian Williams announced that the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Department of Justice (DOJ) filed charges against Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang. Williams declared that both Ellison and Wang have been cooperating with law enforcement officials. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also charged Wang and Ellison the same day, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) followed suit with charges. “Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang acknowledge liability,” the CFTC said in a statement on Wednesday. Wang and Ellison Are Cooperating With Law Enforcement U.S. attorney Damian Williams and the SDNY Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the government has filed fraud charges against FTX co-founder Zixiao (Gary) Wang and Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison. “Both [Ellison and Wang] have pleaded guilty to [the] charges,” Williams told the press. “And they are both cooperating with the [SDNY]. ...

Guggenheim Partners CIO Scott Minerd believes there is going to be a crypto washout similar to the internet bubble. “There’s another shoe to drop,” he warned. Nonetheless, the executive is confident that the crypto industry will move forward despite the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Guggenheim’s Scott Minerd Shares Crypto Outlook Guggenheim Partners Global Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Scott Minerd shared in an interview with Bloomberg last week his thoughts on the future of cryptocurrency following the implosion of crypto exchange in FTX. He was asked if he has confidence that bitcoin and crypto can move forward given the FTX fallout, subsequent contagion, and recent crypto market sell-offs. Minerd replied: “I do.” The CIO then proceeded to detail: “A year ago we were talking about crypto, and there were approximately 19,000 coins, to which my comment was, ‘this is mostly crap.'” He warned: There is going to be a washout. “Just like the internet bubble, we will have s...

Coinbase has announced it has secured regulatory approval as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) in Ireland, according to a company blog post published on Dec. 21. According to the company, Coinbase has been approved by Ireland’s central bank which means the company can “provide products and services to individuals and institutions in Europe and internationally, from Ireland.” Coinbase Approved to Be a Regulated VASP by the Central Bank of Ireland On Dec. 21, 2022, Coinbase (Nasdaq: Coin ) informed the public that it has been granted regulatory approval by the Central Bank of Ireland, a member of the European System of Central Banks. The news follows Singapore’s central bank giving Coinbase “ in-principle approval ” last October so the trading platform can operate as a VASP and provide products and services in the island state. Ireland’s central bank has approved Coinbase’s VASP registration as well, and the trading platform can continue to provide digital asset products and s...

According to a new study, out of the estimated 55.3 million cryptocurrency holders that are spread among 33 African countries, three countries — Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya — account for approximately 36.14 million or nearly two-thirds of this total. In contrast, the study found that Seychelles, which is home to several cryptocurrency exchanges, has approximately 1,000 cryptocurrency holders. Nigeria Dominates The findings of the latest study undertaken by the Moroccan think tank Policy Center for the New South (PCNS), suggest that Nigeria has by far the largest number of cryptocurrency holders (40.5%) among the 33 African countries that were surveyed. The study findings also show South Africa as the next highest-ranked African country with an estimated 7.71 million cryptocurrency holders. Kenya’s estimated 6 million crypto holders mean it is the third highest-ranked African country. In addition to having the highest number of crypto holders among the surveyed states, the thr...

The alleged operator of crypto exchange BTC-e, Alexander Vinnik, has asked to be released on bail due to the delay in court proceedings. In early August, the Russian IT specialist was extradited to the United States to face charges of money laundering through the now-defunct coin trading platform. Vinnik’s Defense Appeals for His Release on Bail After Months in U.S. Custody Crypto entrepreneur Alexander Vinnik has applied for release on bail because of the delay of his trial, according to Russian media. He has been in U.S. custody for over three months but the documents required by the court have not been provided by the respective American authorities, his lawyers have pointed out. According to information published in the Northern District of California’s federal court documents database on Friday, Vinnik’s defense team is asking for all documents pertaining to the trial to be presented within 60 days. Alexander Vinnik believes he should be released on bail or allowed to exercis...

Visa, the financial services corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California, published a blog post that talks about leveraging ethereum and the layer two (L2) scaling solution Starknet so people with self-custodial wallets can pay their bills. The blog post notes that while Ethereum doesnt support account abstraction or delegable accounts, the financial services company implemented a delegable accounts solution on Starknet, the L2 blockchain network. Visa Develops Account Abstraction Using the L2 Ethereum Scaling Solution Starknet, Payments Company Envisions a Future With Programmable Money On Dec. 19, 2022, Visa’s Crypto Thought Leadership blog published a post written by Andrew Beams, Catherine Gu, Srini Raghuraman, Mohsen Minaei, and Ranjit Kumaresan. Visa’s subject brief is about “auto payments for self-custodial wallets,” and Visa shows that it is possible to leverage Ethereum to execute auto-payments from a self-custodial wallet solution. However, the concept utilizes...

Gold bug and economist Peter Schiff has warned that the price of bitcoin may not rise when other financial assets rebound, even though the crypto fell alongside them. “The bitcoin bubble popped and collectors will be selling no matter what happens to financial assets,” he predicted. Peter Schiff’s Bitcoin Outlook Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff shared his thoughts about the future of bitcoin and cryptocurrency in a series of tweets this week. He wrote Monday: The fact that bitcoin fell along with financial assets doesn’t mean that it will rise once those markets turn. “Bitcoin isn’t a financial asset. It’s a collectable digital token,” Schiff continued. “The bitcoin bubble popped and collectors will be selling no matter what happens to financial assets.” The economist also believes that bitcoin is not scarce despite the cryptocurrency’s 21 million supply cap. Responding to a tweet Tuesday stating that BTC is “the scarcest and most desirable asset the world has ever seen,” ...

A U.S. senator has suggested that cryptocurrency should “maybe” be banned following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. However, he acknowledged that banning crypto “is very difficult because it will go offshore and who knows how that will work.” Senator Sherrod Brown Suggests Banning Crypto U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, talked about cryptocurrency in an interview with NBC Sunday. He stated that the Treasury Department and all the different regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), need to get together and assess any possible action related to the cryptocurrency market. Referring to the SEC and CFTC, the senator said: We want them to do what they need to do. At the same time, maybe banning it, although banning it is very difficult because it will go offshore and who knows how that will work. Last week, the ...

The Central Bank of Russia plans to use cryptocurrency for cross-border payments in trials with private companies, a member of its top management has revealed. The testing will be conducted under a special legal regime that’s currently under development. Russia’s Central Bank to Explore Crypto Settlements Amid Financial Sanctions The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) intends to trial international trade settlements with cryptocurrencies, the monetary authority’s First Deputy Chairman Olga Skorobogatova announced on Monday. “We are now planning, within the framework of the experimental legal regime that we are preparing, to try the use of cryptocurrency for international settlements, that is, for foreign economic activity,” she said, quoted by the Tass news agency. Speaking at the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament, Skorobogatova detailed that the pilot project will be carried out with interested companies. However, she did not specifically name the market...

Meta will continue to invest in VR (virtual reality) tech in 2023, according to statements made by Andrew Bosworth, head of Reality Labs, the metaverse division of the company. While Meta has made some changes and adapted to the current shaky economic atmosphere, Bosworth states that the company is still committed to its metaverse pivot. Meta to Continue Pushing Metaverse and VR in 2023 Meta, the social metaverse company, is planning to continue to develop metaverse and VR-related projects during 2023. In an article written on Dec. 19, Andrew Bosworth, head of the metaverse division called Reality Labs, explains that while the company has suffered major drawbacks due to the economic downturn, it will still be pushing its new vision forward. Bosworth stated: I can say with confidence that after one of the hardest years in the history of the company, Meta remains as committed to our vision for the future as we were on the day we announced it. Facebook’s rebranding to Meta was an...

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) had a difficult day in court on Monday according to a number of accounts that said SBF’s local attorney seemed to be in conflict with his U.S. legal team. Furthermore, courtroom reports noted that SBF dozed off for an extended period of time and had to be shaken awake by an official. SBF’s Day in Court After Close to a Week in Fox Hill Prison Doesn’t Go so Smoothly According to a number of reports on Monday, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was transferred back to Fox Hill prison after a “confusing turn of events” in court, according to the local island media publication The Tribune. SBF’s local lawyer, Jerone Roberts, “appeared at odds with [SBF’s] U.S. legal team,” the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported the same day. The Tribune and other reports detailed that SBF had mentioned to the judge that he had not yet seen his U.S. indictment. Roberts was allegedly unaware that his client SBF was supposed to be in court on Monday as well. “I did not requ...

John Carmack, the founder of renowned company ID Software and executive consultant on VR for Meta, has announced he is leaving Meta. Among the reasons for this departure, Carmack signals that there are inefficiencies and self-sabotage at Meta that have affected the work that the company is doing regarding its VR (virtual reality) and metaverse efforts. John Carmack Abandons Meta Meta (formerly Facebook), the social network and metaverse company, has lost one of its leading VR consultants. John Carmack, a founder of ID Software, creators of the Doom franchise of games, has announced his departure from the Meta. In a Facebook post , Carmack explains that his resignation as a VR consultant for the company marks the end of a VR-dedicated decade, and reveals the company is plagued by inefficiencies regarding the work done towards VR and metaverse development. Carmack explains: We have a ridiculous amount of people and resources, but we constantly self-sabotage and squander effort. The...

The government of India has provided some updates on its cryptocurrency bill and investigations of crypto exchanges in Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. “Crypto assets are by definition borderless and require international collaboration to prevent regulatory arbitrage,” said the minister of state in the Ministry of Finance. Indian Government Answers Questions About Crypto Bill and Regulation The Indian government answered two sets of questions about cryptocurrency and its regulation Monday by various members of Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. Parliament member Bhartruhari Mahtab asked the minister of finance to state “the current status of the cryptocurrency bill, which was due for being tabled during the winter session, 2021, of the Parliament” and “the timeframe within which the cryptocurrency bill would be tabled and subsequently be open for public inputs.” Pankaj Chaudhary, minister of state in the Ministry of Finance, replied without providin...

Tesla CEO and Twitter chief Elon Musk has promised to step down as head of Twitter. As the billionaire seeks a new CEO to run the social media platform, privacy advocate Edward Snowden threw his name in the hat, stating that he takes payment in bitcoin. “The question is not finding a CEO, the question is finding a CEO who can keep Twitter alive,” Musk clarified. Elon Musk Discusses Finding New Twitter CEO Elon Musk set up a poll on Twitter over the weekend asking his 122.3 million followers whether he should step down as head of the social media platform. The billionaire added that he will abide by the results of the poll, which ended with 57.5% of over 17.5 million respondents wanting him to step down. Responding to a comment about him having a new CEO picked out already and that he will retire to being chairman of the Twitter board, Musk clarified: “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.” In another tweet, the Tesla chief explained: Th...

On Dec. 17, reports detail that residents in Lebanon have been staging sit-ins and protests at banks in order to access their own savings accounts. Since the economic collapse in 2019, Lebanon’s banks froze Lebanese bank accounts, and a number of branches have remained closed indefinitely. The deprivation of wealth has caused a few impoverished Lebanese to demand their savings at gunpoint but so far, even these tactics have left most residents walking away or arrested penniless. Lebanon’s Banks Deal With Protests and Gunpoint Demands From People Who Want Their Savings Back In August 2019, it became apparent to the world that Lebanon was suffering from a liquidity crisis, and there have been many reports that say financial coverups and U.S. sanctions put Lebanon’s economy in a vice grip. It has been reported that by late 2018, a handful of Lebanese commercial banks froze people’s accounts and by the first week of March 2020, Lebanon said it would default on its Eurobond debt. Th...

Zhejiang, a coastal province of China, has presented a metaverse development plan that seeks to build a metaverse hub in its territory. The plan aims to entice the creation of a $28.7 billion metaverse industry and construct an ecosystem of several companies integrating this tech as part of its operations by 2025. Zhejiang Presents Metaverse Development Plan Zhenjiang, a Chinese province, presented its metaverse development plan on Dec. 15, aiming to become one of the biggest metaverse hubs in the country. The plan, which contemplates the integration of several active companies into the metaverse, aims to produce a $28.7 billion metaverse industry by 2025. In the document, the province outlines the actions that it will need to reach its goal, starting in 2023. One of these includes the incubation of 10 industry leaders and 50 companies involved in several of the key technologies related to the metaverse, like AI (artificial intelligence), VR (virtual reality), and even blockchain....

Aztec, a Web3 privacy layer, has raised $100 million in a Series B funding round led by the Andreessen Horowitz subsidiary a16z crypto. The organization, which already offers privacy-based services for a slew of Ethereum-based apps, will now focus on constructing an encrypted version of Ethereum, allowing individuals and organizations to transact privately. Aztec Raises $100 Million to Create Interoperable and Encrypted Blockchains Web3 privacy-focused layer Aztec raised $100 million on Dec. 15 as part of its Series B funding round. The resources raised during this round, which was led by a16z crypto with the participation of A Capital, King River, Variant, SV Angel, Hash Key, Fenbushi, and AVG, will be used on building a high-level encrypted version of Ethereum. For Aztec, while today’s focus on interoperable public chains has its virtues, there is also the need for private and confidential transactions that preserve the identity and the data of the ones involved. Joe Andrews, on...

Russian authorities are finding it hard to cash out digital assets they have gotten hold of, prosecutors have warned. They have also urged the government to recognize cryptocurrency as property, allow departments to have digital wallets and use crypto exchanges. Prosecutor’s Office Insists Russian Investigators Should Have Cryptocurrency Wallets Russian prosecutors are convinced that investigative authorities, among other government bodies, should be allowed to set up crypto wallets and be able to store and convert confiscated digital coins to fiat money, the business daily Kommersant reported. The Prosecutor General’s Office has consistently advocated for recognizing digital assets as property that can be seized, if acquired criminally, Prosecutor Madina Dolgieva from the Office’s Main Judicial Department told participants in a round table discussion on e-justice . During the meeting, organized by the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building at the Federation C...

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has stressed the importance of bringing “intermediaries and issuers of crypto securities” into compliance. In addition, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) has recommended that regulatory agencies continue to “enforce existing rules and regulations applicable to the crypto-asset ecosystem.” SEC Chair Gensler on Crypto Regulation SEC Chairman Gary Gensler talked about crypto regulation Friday in his remarks before the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). Gensler said: Nothing about the crypto markets is incompatible with the securities laws. Yet risks from this speculative, volatile, and what I believe is a largely noncompliant market put investors at risk. “This is why bringing intermediaries and issuers of crypto securities tokens into compliance is so important,” he stressed. “While the risks from the crypto markets gener...