Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Mastercard, the payments giant, has partnered with Polygon, an Ethereum scaling platform, to introduce emerging artists into Web3 technology. Mastercard’s artist accelerator, as the program is called, will teach five different emerging artists, including singers, musicians, DJs, and producers, to use blockchain tools to grow their brand and fan engagement. Mastercard Partners With Polygon to Teach Web3 Traditional finance companies are now seeking to harness the power of blockchain for a myriad of activities in different fields. Mastercard, one of the biggest payments companies, has partnered with Polygon, an Ethereum scaling platform, to introduce five different emerging artists to the possibilities that Web3 tech can bring to their activities. The Mastercard artist accelerator program will use the Polygon network to teach the selected artists how to perform a series of activities that will allow them to cut the middleman, mint their own NFT (non-fungible tokens) collections to ...

An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to stealing over 712 bitcoin that was “seized” by the U.S. government in another criminal case. He has agreed to forfeit some bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin as part of his plea. “Due to the increase in market prices, the total value of these forfeitable properties exceeds $12 million,” said the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). US Man Steals Brother’s ‘Seized’ Bitcoin The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that a 31-year-old Ohio man, Gary James Harmon, has pleaded guilty to “unlawfully stealing” bitcoin that was “seized” by the federal government in his brother’s pending criminal case. The DOJ described: Harmon pleaded guilty to wire fraud and obstruction of justice for unlawfully taking more than 712 bitcoin that had been seized by law enforcement and was subject to forfeiture in the pending criminal prosecution of Larry Harmon. As part of his plea, Gary Harmon agreed to forfeit “cryptocurrencies and other properties derived from the...

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is attempting to regain access to his Robinhood shares, worth over $460 million. The former CEO of the collapsed crypto exchange claimed that he needs them to “pay for his criminal defense,” stressing that without them the consequences would be serious and “irreparable.” FTX customers, on the other hand, “face only the possibility of economic loss,” SBF’s court filing states. Disputes Over Robinhood Shares FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is trying to regain control of his Robinhood shares that are currently disputed by several parties, including SBF himself, the new FTX management, and bankrupt crypto lender Blockfi. Bankman-Fried has asked the bankruptcy court to deny the motion to enforce the automatic stay (stay motion) filed by the new FTX management on 56,273,269 shares of Robinhood Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOD), worth more than $460 million, a Thursday court filing shows. The court document details that the fo...

From the start of March, Nigerian public officials will be barred from withdrawing cash from government bank accounts, the head of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit reportedly said. Public officials that want to be exempted from this new regulation will have to obtain a waiver from the Nigerian Presidency. Government Workers Vulnerable to Money Laundering Nigerian government workers will be prohibited from drawing cash from government accounts starting on March 1, Modibbo R. Hamman Tukur, the head of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), has said. The new rule, which reportedly applies to federal, local and state officials, seeks to tackle the high levels of corruption and money laundering in government. In addition, a Reuters report said the new rule in is tandem with the Nigerian government’s goal of achieving a cashless economy. The report also quotes Tukur explaining the reasons behind this decision. He said: Civil servants are becoming more and more vulner...

Gold is on the rise in 2023 and in the first week of the new year alone, the precious metal has jumped 2.36% against the U.S. dollar. Over the past 65 days, gold has soared 14.55% while silver has skyrocketed 22.31% against the greenback since Nov. 3, 2022. According to the head of metals strategy at MKS Pamp Group, there is a “decent amount of bullish ‘pent-up’ demand that has been carried over from last year” for gold. Central Bank Demand and Ongoing Geopolitical Tensions Continue to Drive Gold’s Ascent The insistence for gold has continued to rise according to market prices during the past seven days. Gold jumped from $1,823 per troy ounce to $1,866 in that time frame. While gold is up 2.36% against the U.S. dollar, a troy ounce of fine silver is down roughly 0.58% since the start of the year. Over the past two months, both gold and silver have risen a great deal, with gold jumping 14.55% and silver increasing 22.31% against the greenback. With precious metals on the rise, ‘go...

Authorities in Romania have conducted more than a dozen raids against people suspected of hiding income from cryptocurrency operations. The searches took place in late 2022 following an earlier investigation which established that crypto traders had failed to report digital assets exceeding $50 million in value. Law Enforcement and Tax Authorities in Romania Go After Crypto Taxpayers Police and tax officials in Romania have carried out 17 raids in the fall of last year as part of an investigation against persons accused of evading taxation by concealing profits from transactions with cryptocurrencies, local media revealed. Addresses were searched in the capital Bucharest as well as the counties of Dâmbovița, Ilfov and Olt, according to Cristian Roman, partner at the Iordăchescu & Asociații law firm, who shared the information with Romania Journal. The lawyer was referring to data provided by the Romanian police. Law enforcement authorities in the EU country allege that, betwee...

France has to adopt a licensing regime for crypto service providers, the head of the country’s central bank has suggested. According to the executive, the need to tighten regulatory oversight stems from the “disorder” in the industry throughout the past year. Licensing Should Replace Registration for Crypto Firms in France, Governor Galhau Says Banque de France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau has urged for subjecting crypto businesses to stricter regulatory requirements. Licensing must be introduced instead of the current registration in response to the recent volatility in the sector, he insisted. De Galhau also thinks that Paris should not hesitate but act even before the upcoming EU regulations take effect and make it obligatory for Digital Asset Service Providers (DASPs) to obtain licenses from the French government, Bloomberg reported. Around 60 platforms working with cryptocurrencies have so far registered with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers ( AMF ), France’s finan...

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked victims of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)’s fraud to come forward. The former FTX executive has been charged with “defrauding customers of FTX.com, investors in FTX.com, and lenders to Alameda Research,” the Justice Department noted. DOJ Urges Victims of SBF Fraud to Come Forward The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reached out to victims of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)’s fraud via its website Friday, explaining their rights and asking them to come forward. Bankman-Fried co-founded FTX and served as its CEO when the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy in November last year. The DOJ wrote: If you believe that you may have been a victim of fraud by Samuel Bankman-Fried, a/k/a ‘SBF,’ please contact the victim/witness coordinator at the United States Attorney’s Office … for assistance in verifying whether you are a victim in this case. The Justice Department explained that on Dec. 13, 2022, “an eight-count indictment was unsealed ...

Mark Cuban, a Shark Tank star and the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, has warned that the next crypto implosion could come from “the discovery and removal of wash trades” on centralized exchanges. The billionaire’s comments followed the collapse of crypto exchange FTX which wiped out billions of dollars of customer funds. Mark Cuban on the Next Crypto Implosion Shark Tank star and the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, shared his thoughts on the next crypto implosion with The Street, published Friday. The billionaire said: I think the next possible implosion is the discovery and removal of wash trades on central exchanges. “There are supposedly tens of millions of dollars in trades and liquidity for tokens that have very little utilization,” Cuban emphasized. “I don’t see how they can be that liquid.” However, the Shark Tank star admitted: “I don’t have any specifics to offer to support my guess.” Wash trading has long been a concern with cryptocurrenc...

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says crypto is “too dependent on the ‘greater fool theory’ to be a desirable investment.” However, he noted that the collapse of crypto exchange FTX was “purely fraud,” rather than the result of a feature inherent to crypto. He does not expect the FTX contagion to spread far beyond the crypto space. Alan Greenspan on Crypto, FTX, and US Economy Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan shared his views on cryptocurrency, the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, and the U.S. economy in a year-end Q&A published by Advisors Capital Management this week. Greenspan served five terms as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1987 to 2006. He was appointed chairman by four different U.S. presidents. He joined Advisors Capital Management in September 2016 as Economic Advisor to the asset management firm. The former Fed chair was asked to comment on the FTX meltdown and whether he expects contagion from it. “I...

The host of Mad Money, Jim Cramer, says he expects the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to do a roundup of crypto firms that are not compliant with regulation. Expecting the SEC “to sweep everything,” Cramer urges investors to “get out” of crypto now. Jim Cramer’s Latest Crypto Warnings The host of CNBC’s Mad Money show, Jim Cramer, is back with more warnings for crypto investors. Cramer is a former hedge fund manager who co-founded Thestreet.com, a financial news and literacy website. Following a joint statement about crypto risks by the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Cramer said on CNBC Wednesday: I think these statements are the beginning of what I have been calling for, which is that the SEC is going to do a roundup of all of the ones [crypto firms] who are not compliant. Citing John Stark, who served as an attorney for over 18 years in the SEC’s Enforcement Division, ...

Since the beginning of 2023, cryptocurrency miners operating in Kazakhstan are obliged to pay new fees for the power they need to mint digital coins. A surcharge introduced in 2021 now depends on the price of electricity consumed by bitcoin farms and can be much higher than the original levy. New Year Brings Higher Costs for Companies Mining Crypto in Kazakhstan Starting from Jan. 1, an electricity fee imposed on crypto miners in Kazakhstan is being calculated according to a progressive scale. The initial universal surcharge of 1 Kazakhstani tenge ($0.002) per kilowatt-hour ( kWh ), first adopted in the summer of 2021, can now reach 25 tenge (over $0.05). The rate in each case depends on the source and price of electrical energy used to extract digital currencies. The new mechanism to determine the tariff was introduced with a bill amending the country’s Tax Code which President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed into law in July 2022. The base for the levy is the average price of ele...

As of November 2022, Kenyan fintechs accounted for 30.2% or 93 out of the 308 tracked tech startups, a Disrupt Africa study recently found. In addition, the study findings show that the fintech sub-sector alone accounted for 3,100 or 27% of the 11,462 people that were employed by tech startups during the same period. Fintechs Solving Fundamental Problems According to the findings of a study on Kenya’s startup space, fintech ventures alone accounted for just over 30% or 93 out of the 308 tracked startups. This figure is almost three times more than that of the nearest challengers, namely agri-tech and e-health, which both accounted for 10.1% of Kenya’s tech startups that were tracked between January and November 2022. However, as explained in Disrupt Africa’s study report on the Kenyan startup ecosystem, the dominance of fintechs is not unusual. “Fintech takes the top spot in most African countries as it solves fundamental problems for the populace, is an area in which novel tech ...

Animoca Brands, a Web3 gaming-focused company, has announced it is now targeting a raise of $1 billion for a fund directed to inject help for already established blockchain projects. The number is significantly lower than the $2 billion the company announced back in November as an upper limit for this same fund. Animoca Brands Announces Lower Numbers for Web3 and Metaverse Fund Animoca Brands, one of the most popular Web3 gaming and blockchain companies, has made a new announcement regarding its fundraising goals for Q1 2023. Yat Siu, a co-founder of the company, recently stated in a Twitter Spaces chat it was looking to raise $1 billion from various parties for a fund provisionally called Animoca Capital, which would focus its activities on supporting already established Web3 projects. This number is significantly lower than the goal Siu established back in November when he first revealed plans to launch this fund, declaring that Animoca Brands expected to raise up to $2 billion...

The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a crypto academy where investors can learn about digital assets free of charge before investing. “The more you know your investments, the less risk you will have,” the Thai regulator emphasized. Thai SEC’s Crypto Academy Launched The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Wednesday that it has launched “Crypto Academy” to provide free online resources and courses on digital assets. The initiative aims to equip the public with in-depth knowledge of digital assets and blockchain technology before they invest, the regulator described, adding: The more you know your investments, the less risk you will have. The SEC Crypto Academy currently offers four courses. The first aims to provide new investors with a basic understanding of the crypto market, including the definition of cryptocurrency and the principles of blockchain technology. The second course focuses on the key features of cryptocurrencies and ...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged the team behind Coindeal, a $45 million fraudulent crypto investment scheme. The regulator explained that the defendants falsely claimed that Coindeal “would generate investment returns of more than 500,000 times for investors.” SEC Takes Action Against Coindeal Crypto Fraud The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Wednesday that it has charged the creator of crypto investment scheme Coindeal and seven others in connection with the $45 million fraud. Describing Coindeal as “a brazen and far-reaching unregistered offering fraud conducted between at least 2018 and 2022,” the securities regulator detailed: Coindeal … raised more than $45 million from sales of unregistered securities to tens of thousands of investors worldwide. The SEC explained that creator Neil Chandran and promoters Garry Davidson, Michael Glaspie, Amy Mossel, and Linda Knott “falsely claimed that investors could generate extravaga...

A top Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official says, “Cryptocurrency is here to stay,” and “it’s becoming more legitimate.” The official added that the U.S. tax authority is looking to partner with crypto companies, noting: “I don’t see how we can operate in this space without it.” Top IRS Official Says Crypto Is Here to Stay Thomas Fattorusso, acting special agent-in-charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)’s New York office, talked about cryptocurrency in an interview with The Wall Street Journal earlier this week. “We can’t be hostile to the technology. We have to embrace it,” the IRS official emphasized, elaborating: Cryptocurrency is here to stay. As far as I’m concerned, it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and it’s becoming more legitimate. As the years roll on, it becomes more sophisticated. Fattorusso explained that the IRS is looking to partner with crypto companies. “My thought is that those relationships will develop as the years go on a...

Fabio Panetta, part of the Executive Committee of the European Central Bank (ECB), believes that unbacked cryptocurrency assets are vehicles for gambling without intrinsic value, which need to be regulated. In an opinion piece, Panetta states that while cryptocurrency regulation is a good answer to the problem, it must also touch on decentralized finance structures. ECB Executive Member Fabio Panetta Believes Crypto Should Face Gambling-Like Regulation The subject of cryptocurrency regulation and how it should be applied continues to be an essential issue across regulators worldwide. Fabio Panetta, a member of the executive committee of the European Central Bank (ECB), believes that cryptocurrencies, posing as investment assets, are more like gambling vehicles. As part of an opinion piece published on Jan. 4, Panetta argues that unbacked cryptos should be regulated more like gambling instruments than as currencies. About crypto, he stated: They are speculative assets. Investors ...

The body overseeing the securities market in Israel is taking steps to incorporate rules for digital assets into the existing legislation. The regulator released a draft proposal to introduce the changes that would define the legal status of cryptocurrencies in the country. Amendments to Israel’s Securities Laws Aimed at Expanding Supervision Over Crypto Arguing that as crypto assets are often used for investment, the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) has insisted they need to be covered by the regulatory framework and placed under its oversight. To achieve that, the watchdog is suggesting amendments to the country’s legislation in the field. The proposal seeks to change the existing securities laws so that they apply to digital assets. The new provisions define them as virtual representations of value that fall under the category of financial instruments, the latter being overseen by the ISA. The logic behind the move stems from the authority’s view that in most cases cryptocurre...

According to web portal darkdot.com and anonymous journalist Darkdotfail, the popular darknet forum Dread has been down for a month. The well-known forum, which was a place for darknet market (DNM) patrons to discuss operations security, rate specific vendors, and talk about stealth delivery ideas, has been absent for 30 days. However, the forum’s founder, “Hugbunter,” has stated that it will relaunch in the near future. Dread Forum Founder Announces Plans to Relaunch In the underground world of darknet markets (DNMs), the forum Dread was known for being a go-to source of information. According to a Jan. 1, 2023 update hosted on darkdot.com, the forum has been down for a month. “Dread is a critical source of truth in an anonymous community proliferated with scams,” the update notes. “The popular Tor freedom of speech forum went offline on Nov. 30, 2022, and has yet to return.” The update adds that while the Dread admin team typically posts status updates on Reddit at /r/dreadalert, ...

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is in the process of seizing Robinhood shares, worth about $460 million, that are linked to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). “We believe that these assets are not property of the bankruptcy estate or that they fall within the exceptions … of bankruptcy code,” a DOJ attorney told the judge overseeing the FTX bankruptcy case. DOJ Seizing Robinhood Shares Linked to FTX The U.S. government is in the process of seizing 56 million shares of Robinhood Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOD), worth about $460 million, that are linked to the disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), said Seth Shapiro, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) at an FTX bankruptcy court hearing in Delaware Wednesday. Shapiro told Judge John Dorsey, who oversees the FTX bankruptcy case: We believe that these assets are not property of the bankruptcy estate or that they fall within the exceptions … of bankruptcy code. According to Robinhood’s filing with the...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has intervened in the asset purchase agreement between Binance US and bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital. The securities regulator explained that it is “formally investigating whether the debtors and others violated the anti-fraud and other provisions of the federal securities laws.” SEC Intervenes in Binance-Voyager Asset Purchase Deal The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a “limited objection” to the asset purchase agreement between bankrupt crypto firm Voyager Digital and the U.S. arm of crypto exchange Binance on Wednesday. The court filing details: The SEC is formally investigating whether the debtors [Voyager Digital] and others violated the anti-fraud and other provisions of the federal securities laws. The securities regulator explained that Voyager Digital is seeking “conditional approval of the Disclosure Statement in support of their Chapter 11 plan … and approval of an asset purchase agreement (A...

Fanatics, the retailer specializing in licensed sports merchandise, is divesting 60% of its stake in the non-fungible token (NFT) company Candy Digital, according to reports. The company is selling its Candy Digital stake to an investor group associated with billionaire Mike Novogratz and his firm, Galaxy Digital. Report Says Sports Retail Giant Fanatics to Sell Majority of Candy Digital Stake After a rough 2022 in the non-fungible token (NFT) industry, licensed sports merchandise firm Fanatics has decided to sell 60% of its Candy Digital shares, according to a CNBC report published on Jan. 4, 2023. CNBC obtained an internal email citing Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. “Divesting our ownership stake at this time allowed us to ensure investors were able to recoup most of their investment via cash or additional shares in Fanatics – a favorable outcome for investors, especially in an imploding NFT market that has seen precipitous drops in both transaction volumes and prices for standalo...