Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Digital asset exchange Binance has agreed to help Georgia to develop its cryptocurrency sector by launching educational and other blockchain initiatives. The leading coin trading platform has been expanding its presence in the region with similar projects in other countries. Binance and Georgian Tech Agency to Jointly Develop Country’s Crypto Economy The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Georgia’s Agency for Innovation and Technology ( GITA ). The sides intend to work together on the implementation of educational and community initiatives in the blockchain space and the further development of the nation’s crypto industry. The agreement comes after a meeting between the trading platform’s CEO Changpeng Zhao and Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in November, during which investments were also discussed. The cooperation will cover projects by both Binance Academy and Binance Charity as well as organizing loca...

Billionaire investor and venture capitalist Tim Draper has reportedly attempted to convince the Sri Lankan government to adopt bitcoin. However, the governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka rejected his recommendation, emphasizing: “Adoption of 100% bitcoin won’t be a Sri Lanka reality ever.” Tim Draper Suggests Sri Lanka Adopts Bitcoin Billionaire investor and venture capitalist Tim Draper reportedly tried to convince the Sri Lankan government and central bank to adopt bitcoin during his visit to the south Asian country earlier this week to shoot an episode of his “Meet the Drapers” TV show with local entrepreneurs. The billionaire met with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe Tuesday to pitch bitcoin adoption, Bloomberg reported, adding that he then visited the Sri Lankan central bank the next day with the same pitch. Wearing a bitcoin tie, Draper was quoted as saying: “I come to the central bank with decentralized currency.” However, Sri Lankan Central Bank Governor Nanda...

Billionaire Ray Dalio, the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, says it’s “amazing” what bitcoin has accomplished but believes the cryptocurrency is not going to be an effective money, a store of value, or a medium of exchange. Nonetheless, he stressed that “we are in a world in which money as we know it is in jeopardy.” Billionaire Ray Dalio on Bitcoin Billionaire investor and hedge fund manager Ray Dalio, who founded the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, and previously served as its co-chief investment officer, has offered his view on bitcoin in an interview with CNBC Thursday. Referring to the world’s largest cryptocurrency, he said: I think it’s been quite amazing that for 12 years it’s accomplished … But I think it has no relation to anything … It’s a tiny thing that gets disproportionate attention. Noting that bitcoin’s total market value is less than a third of Microsoft’s stock, whose market cap stood at $1.92 trillion on ...

Ethereum continued to trade close to a key resistance level of $1,700 on Saturday, following Friday’s U.S. non-farm payrolls (NFP) report. Yesterday’s report showed that 517,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in January, better than the 185,000 many were expecting. Bitcoin mostly consolidated however, as traders moved to take recent profits. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) moved lower to start the weekend, as traders continued to secure gains following a recent climb to a six-month high. Following a high of $23,678.10 on Friday, BTC /USD fell to an intraday low of $23,279.96 earlier in Saturday’s session. Today’s decline sees bitcoin fall for a third straight day, and comes following Thursday’s high of $24,262, which was BTC ’s highest point since early-August last year. As a result of recent declines, bitcoin’s 14-day relative strength index (RSI) is now tracking at 68.41. This is marginally above a point of support at 68.00, which is a level that has not been broken since January...

Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan announced on Feb. 1 that it had raised over $340 million via debt and equity and it expects to raise an additional $60 million from leading international investors. The latest funding round sees MNT-Halan’s valuation rise to over $1 billion which reportedly makes it the country’s “only private billion-dollar company.” ‘Egypt’s Greatest Fintech Success Story’ MNT-Halan, an Egyptian fintech serving the country’s unbanked population, announced on Feb. 1 that it had raised close to $ 340 million via debt and equity financing. The fintech also said it is “in the advanced stages with leading international investors to raise $60 million of primary capital.” This will bring the total capital secured to over $400 million. At the completion of this funding round, MNT-Halan’s valuation will subsequently rise to over $1 billion, the fintech said. According to a statement , Chimera Abu Dhabi, a private investment firm that oversees a portfolio consisting of listed and...

Samsung, the Korean electronics company, has revealed it is working to build its own metaverse and extended reality devices, hinting at the possibility of the launch of a VR headset in the near future. TM Roh, head of Samsung mobile experiences business, stated that the device will be built in partnership with Google and Qualcomm. Samsung to Enter the Metaverse Hardware Business Samsung, the Korean mobile company, revealed it will be joining the market of metaverse and VR (virtual reality) headsets soon. The company announced that it is already working on what it calls “extended reality” hardware, hinting at the production of a VR headset. TM Roh, Head of Samsung mobile experiences business, confirmed that such a device is in the works, but did not offer a launch window for the hardware. However, he reported the involvement of Qualcomm, the fabless chip maker, and Google, as partners. On Feb. 1, Roh told The Washington Post: Many different companies … have been making these anno...

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, has shared its fourth quarter results, reporting better numbers than expected. While the company beat revenue estimates, CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared 2023 a “Year of Efficiency,” hinting at a further restructuration of the company to focus on its AI (artificial intelligence) and metaverse projects in the longer term Meta Reports Better Than Expected Q4 2022 Results Meta, the social company, reported mild positive results for Q4 2022, beating revenue expectations, and giving a deeper explanation of the direction that the company will take during 2023. The company received revenues of $32.17 billion, higher than the $31.53 billion estimated, giving hope to investors about the recovery of the company in the future. The company, which has been criticized for the pivot of its business model to the metaverse, a digital representation of the real world, is now trying to refocus after the heavy losses that R&D in this tech...

Binance has announced that Indian crypto exchange Wazirx can no longer use Binance wallet services. Zanmai, the operator of Wazirx, has until Feb. 3 “to remove the funds from the accounts that they used for Wazirx’s operations.” The move followed a public dispute regarding the relationship between Binance and Wazirx. Binance Ends Wallet Services to Wazirx Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said Friday that Indian crypto exchange Wazirx “can no longer use Binance wallet services.” Noting that it “has no control over Wazirx user funds or any aspect of the Wazirx exchange’s operations,” Binance explained: We provided wallet and related technology services to the exchange’s operator, Zanmai Labs (Zanmai), – a service we are terminating. While Zanmai has conveyed its intention to withdraw funds from relevant accounts, Binance noted that at the time of its announcement, the Indian company “has not fully withdrawn assets held in the Binance wallets that it uses for Wazirx’s operations.” ...

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis says 2022 was “the biggest year ever for crypto hacking,” with $3.8 billion stolen from cryptocurrency businesses. The firm added that decentralized finance (defi) protocol hacks accounted for 82.1% of all cryptocurrency stolen by hackers during the year. Crypto Hacking Hit Record High in 2022 Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis published a section of its upcoming 2023 Crypto Crime Report on Wednesday, stating: 2022 was the biggest year ever for crypto hacking, with $3.8 billion stolen from cryptocurrency businesses. The firm explained that crypto hacking activity significantly increased in March and peaked in October — the month which “became the biggest single month ever for cryptocurrency hacking, as $775.7 million was stolen in 32 separate attacks,” Chainalysis described. The firm added that “82.1% of all cryptocurrency stolen by hackers — a total of $3.1 billion” came from decentralized finance (defi) hacks. Noting that this percent...

Binance has returned to the South Korean cryptocurrency market after two years with a “meaningful” investment in a local, licensed crypto exchange. Gopax fell into trouble following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and the bankruptcy filing of crypto lender Genesis Global. Binance Invests in Troubled Korean Crypto Exchange Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced Friday that it has invested in Gopax, a licensed crypto exchange in South Korea. The investment marks Binance’s return to the Korean crypto market, which the company exited two years ago, citing low usage and trading volume. Gopax halted withdrawals of both principal and interest payments from its decentralized finance (defi) service “Gofi” in November last year “as a consequence of the upstream challenges experienced by Genesis Global Capital LLC,” Binance detailed. “Since then, Gopax has been working closely with local regulators and industry partners in an effort to raise funds to make affected users whole.” The glo...

While operations with digital assets are not taxed in Uzbekistan, the government is receiving a growing amount of revenues from the industry. The increase in budget receipts has been attributed to the licensing regime and the introduction of fees for crypto companies. Crypto Exchange in Uzbekistan Pays Over $10,000 a Month to the State Coffer Licensed crypto firms have paid 3.5 billion Uzbekistani som (more than $310,000) to the budget in the course of 2022, Uzbekistan’s regulatory authority responsible for the oversight in the sector revealed during a press conference, quoted by the crypto news outlet Forklog. At the briefing , the National Agency of Perspective Projects ( NAPP ), a body subordinated to the president, announced the results of its activities. Officials said that the government has been able to collect the money thanks to the revamped licensing system and the imposing of fees for businesses working with digital assets. Five crypto platforms are currently authorized...

Egyptian lawmakers recently hailed the parliament’s endorsement of a pact that allows the country to join the New Development Bank, a report has said. According to the report, the lawmakers believe joining this BRICS-backed institution will help Egypt reduce its demand for dollars and enable it to preserve its forex reserves. Joining BRICS Following the Egyptian parliament’s recent endorsement of an agreement that paves the way for the country to join the New Development Bank, lawmaker Mohamed Abdel-Hamid, reportedly said the move helps reduce demand for U.S. dollars. Set up by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa or BRICS nation states, the New Development Bank seeks to support “public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments.” In addition to helping Egypt preserve its foreign currency reserves, Abdel-Hamid, who is the deputy chairman of the parliament’s economic committee, said joining the institution enables the...

Russian banks may be the main losers from the introduction of a digital ruble while retailers will save on acquiring fees, analysts have predicted. The benefits for consumers using the new digital currency are not that obvious as they may not be paid any interest or cashback. Launch of Russia’s Digital Ruble Said to Result in Losses for Banking Institutions Commercial banks may lose up to 50 billion rubles annually (almost $715 million) when a digital version of the ruble is introduced, according to a forecast produced by financial experts at Yakov and Partners, the former Russian division of management consultancy McKinsey. Meanwhile, retail chains could potentially increase their income by up to 80 billion rubles each year, believe the authors of the research, quoted by the Russian edition of Forbes. At the same time, consumers may receive no interest on their balances or cashback for their transactions. The specialists see the digital ruble occupying a niche in the domestic ret...

The online marketplace giant, Ebay, is seeking to fill several positions in the area of Web3 and non-fungible token (NFT) technology, according to several Linkedin job postings. Ebay is looking for a “creative crypto attorney” for the marketplace, Knownorigin, which it acquired in June 2022. Big Corporations Still Seek Workers to Manage Crypto and Blockchain Services Amid Widespread Layoffs According to Ebay job postings published on Linkedin, the e-commerce company is seeking to fill several positions in the non-fungible token (NFT) technology and Web3 space. This follows Ebay’s acquisition of the NFT marketplace Knownorigin and the company’s filing for trademark applications for various NFT and metaverse services in the same month. The new job openings include positions such as “ crypto counsel ,” “ head of community ” for Knownorigin, and “ marketing campaign executive ” for Knownorigin. So far, over the last 24 hours, 17 people have applied for the crypto attorney position, 3...

A U.S. district judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Coinbase and its CEO Brian Armstrong filed by customers of the crypto exchange. The lawsuit alleges that Coinbase sold 79 crypto tokens that are unregistered securities. Customer Lawsuit Against Coinbase Dismissed A proposed class action lawsuit filed in Manhattan by customers of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) was dismissed with prejudice by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer on Wednesday, meaning they cannot be brought again, Reuters reported. The lawsuit was filed against Coinbase Global Inc., Coinbase Inc., and CEO Brian Armstrong in March last year. The plaintiffs accused the crypto exchange of selling 79 crypto tokens that were unregistered securities and failing to register as a broker-dealer. The lawsuit seeks damages from the sale or soliciting of the crypto tokens, which the plaintiffs claimed were illegal contracts because Coinbase is not registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (S...

Warren Buffett’s right-hand man and the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Charlie Munger, has urged the U.S. government to ban cryptocurrencies like China has done. “A cryptocurrency is not a currency, not a commodity, and not a security. Instead, it’s a gambling contract with a nearly 100% edge for the house,” he stressed. Berkshire Vice Chair Charlie Munger Wants Cryptocurrencies Banned Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger has urged the U.S. government to ban crypto in an opinion piece titled “Why America Should Ban Crypto,” published by the Wall Street Journal Wednesday. The Berkshire executive wrote: A cryptocurrency is not a currency, not a commodity, and not a security. Instead, it’s a gambling contract with a nearly 100% edge for the house, entered into in a country where gambling contracts are traditionally regulated only by states that compete in laxity. “Obviously the U.S. should now enact a new federal law that prevents this from happening,” Munger stres...

The famous author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has shared his view on why the prices of gold, silver, and bitcoin are rising higher. Noting that silver is cheap right now, Kiyosaki urged investors to buy a silver coin and start getting richer. Robert Kiyosaki Bullish on Gold, Silver, Bitcoin The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has shared his thoughts on why the prices of his top three investment picks — gold, silver, and bitcoin — are going up. Rich Dad Poor Dad is a 1997 book co-authored by Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over six years. More than 32 million copies of the book have been sold in over 51 languages across more than 109 countries. Kiyosaki tweeted a question Tuesday asking why gold, silver, and bitcoin are going higher. He then answered his own question, stating that it is because the poor and middle class in the U.S. are getting poorer and deeper into debt. “Please don’t...

Press Release. LONDON, ENGLAND – February 2nd, 2023 – Neon Link , a blockchain gaming company building a technologically robust and scalable environment, announced its opening of the presale of the $NEON token, taking place on the 15th February at 5PM UTC, which is set to fuel the next generation of games that sit on top of the project’s own cross-chain network. The $NEON pre-sale is only one side of the coin distribution – soon after that, the Neon Link public sales will follow. The earliest adopters to join in and participate may end up quite lucky in joining possibly one of the next big players in crypto gaming, which is to become apparent once the bulk of Neon Link’s products finally enters the market. The game-focussed $NEON token will power every product under Neon Link’s wing, including upcoming games like Ascend The End, as well as more utility-based tools such as the Neon Wallet, Neon NFT marketplace, Neon Gaming ID + Name Service (NNS), Neon Bridge, and others. Most of t...

Nigerian blockchain and crypto enthusiasts have said recent reports suggesting that local residents are paying a premium of almost 100% on top of the prevailing price of bitcoin “are totally false.” They argue that such reports are based on a claim that is being propagated by persons who do not fully grasp the dynamics in the country and should therefore be ignored. Supposed 100% BTC Premium Generates Global Interest Some Nigerian crypto and blockchain users and enthusiasts have said recent reports suggesting that the value of BTC on local crypto exchanges is nearly double the prevailing U.S. dollar value are totally false. According to the users, the reports are based on tweets posted by social media users who do not fully understand how Nigerian residents use local crypto exchange platforms. Look how much Nigerians are paying for #Bitcoin right now on @paxful pic.twitter.com/WxAam58mWR — 🧡NEEDcreations is stacking sats & jamming to EDM (@NEEDcreations) January 30, 2023...

An economics professor and former adviser to the People’s Bank of China has urged the Chinese government to reconsider its ban on cryptocurrencies. He warned that banning crypto activities could result in missed opportunities that are “very valuable” to regulated financial systems. Chinese Economist Warns of Missed Opportunities Due to Crypto Ban A former adviser to the Chinese central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), has called on the Chinese government to reevaluate its cryptocurrency ban, the South China Morning Post reported Monday. Huang Yiping served as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the People’s Bank of China between 2015 and 2018. He is currently a professor of finance and economics at Peking University’s National School of Development. While acknowledging that a cryptocurrency ban may be practical for China for the time being, the former central bank adviser stressed that the government should consider whether such policies will be sustainable in the...

The Indian government has introduced new crypto tax penalties, including for non-payment of crypto tax deducted at source (TDS). Much to the disappointment of the crypto community, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention crypto in her Budget speech this year. Crypto income remains taxed at 30% while TDS stays at 1%. No Crypto Tax Relief in India Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023 in parliament Wednesday, one day after she presented this year’s Economic Survey which highlighted the need for “a common approach to regulating the crypto ecosystem.” Much to the disappointment of the Indian crypto community, Sitharaman made no mention of crypto during her Budget speech. Following her speech, many Indian crypto proponents took to Twitter to voice their opinions. Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founder of crypto exchange Coindcx, tweeted: No changes to crypto taxation in India in the Budget Session. It stands at 1% TDS and 30% on profits. This p...