Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

According to a recent study by Clever, a real estate data company, nearly three out of four Americans worry there will be a recession this year, and 69% of the research participants say the U.S. is already in a recession. What’s worse, 55% of the study’s respondents said they would lose everything if a recession in the United States came to fruition. Survey Shows Americans Have a Gloomy Economic Outlook After the Federal Reserve’s recent rate hike and the inflation data from the U.S. Department of Labor that followed, investors and analysts are uncertain about what will happen to the economy in 2023. However, many expect a recession. A recent study by the real estate data firm Clever polled a group of 1,000 Americans and asked 21 questions about the U.S. economy. Clever’s report shows that one in five U.S. residents considers the economy the most pressing issue today, while 43% of those surveyed rank it within the top three most pressing issues. Clever’s study shows that two ou

German conglomerate Siemens has for the first time issued a blockchain-based digital bond denominated in euros. In an announcement, the corporation highlighted the benefits of using blockchain, including the opportunity for direct sale to investors. Digital Bond Issued Under Germany’s Electronic Securities Act The largest industrial manufacturer in Europe, Siemens, announced it has become one of the first companies in Germany to issue a digital bond in accordance with the country’s Electronic Securities Act which came into force in June, 2021. The €60-million bond ($64 million) has a maturity of one year and is based on a public blockchain, that of Polygon, according to crypto media reports. Announcing the deal on Tuesday, Siemens emphasized certain advantages of employing a blockchain platform over traditional methods: For instance, it makes paper-based global certificates and central clearing unnecessary. What’s more, the bond can be sold directly to investors without needing a

Warren Buffett’s right-hand man and the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Charlie Munger, says people who oppose banning cryptocurrencies are “idiots,” adding that it’s “just ridiculous” anybody would buy crypto. He also likened replacing national currencies to replacing air, stating that “It’s massively stupid.” Berkshire Vice Chair Charlie Munger Says Replacing National Currencies Is Like Replacing Air Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger continued his insults against cryptocurrency and its supporters Wednesday during a live-streamed interview with CNBC at the Daily Journal’s annual shareholders meeting. Referencing his recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal stating that cryptocurrency should be banned , the 99-year-old executive insisted there is no “rational” argument against his position of banning crypto. He opined: I think the people that oppose my position are idiots … It’s just ridiculous that anybody would buy this stuff. “You can think of hardl

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has proposed amending federal custody rules to cover “all crypto assets.” The SEC chief said: “Though some crypto trading and lending platforms may claim to custody investors’ crypto, that does not mean they are qualified custodians.” Gary Gensler Proposes Including Crypto in Expanded Custody Rules The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, announced Wednesday that he has proposed changes to federal regulations “to expand and enhance the role of qualified custodians.” All asset classes, including crypto, would be included in the expanded custody rules under his proposal, and companies offering crypto custody services to their clients will be required to obtain registration. Gensler emphasized: Today’s proposal, in covering all asset classes, would cover all crypto assets. The SEC chairman proceeded to highlight four key proposed changes to the existing regulations. Firstly,

Rightfulshare, an income equality advocacy movement, recently said it has launched what it describes as the “first unconditional” crypto universal basic income (UBI) transfer. According to Karen Jooste, the crypto UBI not only expands the possibilities for unemployed South Africans but also nurtures their entrepreneurial spirit. Fairer Income Access Rightfulshare, a movement advocating for equality, recently said it had sent its “first unconditional” crypto UBI transfer to a local entrepreneur residing in South Africa. According to the movement’s Jan. 31 press release , selected beneficiaries will receive the crypto UBI “in Gooddollar to use as they choose.” Also, in the statement, Rightfulshare touted the launch as a pioneering step that channels “both resources and Web3 solutions to a small town in the country.” Commenting on the launch, which has been described as “a pioneering step for fairer income access,” founder of Rightfulshare Karen Jooste claimed that the launch not on

Wirex, a London-based digital payments company, has announced it has become a global partner of Visa, to allow the company to bring its card services to more markets in the world. The new partnership means that Wirex will be able to offer its crypto card services to APAC and U.K. markets. Wirex Partners With Visa to Expand to New Markets Wirex, a payments and crypto company based in London, has reached a long-term service agreement with credit card giant Visa. With this move, qualified as a significant milestone by the company, Wirex will now be able to reach customers in new markets, targeting areas like APAC and the U.K. The company, which offers cryptocurrency-linked card services, will be able to reach customers in over 40 countries with this partnership. The company claims it was the first one to bring this kind of service to mainstream audiences in 2015, also in partnership with Visa. The partnership builds on prior Wirex endeavors, which became a principal member of Visa i

Ukrainian authorities are speeding up the development of the electronic hryvnia, a high-ranking government official indicated. The executive power in Kyiv is now in talks with the central bank and businesses involved in the project to pilot the digital currency as early as this year. Minister Says Ukraine Aims to Launch Digital Hryvnia Sooner Than Planned Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation wants to step up efforts to finalize the development of the nation’s electronic hryvnia (e-hryvnia), its head Mykhailo Fedorov revealed in an interview. The initial plan was to start the pilot phase in 2024 but the government now wants do that this year. The first blockchain transactions with the digital hryvnia have been already conducted, Fedorov told the business news portal RBC-Ukraine. “It is developing, I was recently presented with an electronic hryvnia based on the Stellar product,” the minister said. In January, 2021, the department chose the Stellar Development Foundation as

Police in the U.K., in collaboration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), have raided several sites allegedly hosting cryptocurrency ATMs. “No crypto ATM operators currently have FCA registration,” the British financial regulator stressed, adding that it is “working with multiple law enforcement partners, including local police forces, to disrupt and disable illegal crypto ATMs.” UK Regulator Cracks Down on Unregistered Crypto ATMs Authorities in the U.K. have raided several sites around the city of Leeds in a cryptocurrency ATM crackdown. The raids followed a joint investigation between the country’s top financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and West Yorkshire Police’s Digital Intelligence and Investigation Unit. The FCA announced Tuesday that it “has used its powers to enter and inspect several sites around Leeds suspected of hosting illegally operated crypto ATMs.” Emphasizing that “Crypto exchange providers, which includes crypto ATM operators, in

The famous author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has predicted that the price of bitcoin will hit $500,000 by 2025. During the same time period, he expects the price of gold to reach $5,000 and silver to hit $500. Kiyosaki also warned that a “giant crash” is coming and a depression is possible. Robert Kiyosaki’s Latest Bitcoin, Gold, Silver Price Predictions The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has shared his latest predictions on bitcoin, gold, and silver. 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 Sunday: Giant crash coming. Depression possible. Fed forced to print billions in fake money. By 2025 gold at $5,000, silver at $500, and bitcoin at $500,000. “Why? Because faith in U.S. dollar, fake money, will be

Hello Pets team is building an open entertainment ecosystem where the community can join in the storytelling and art creation of shared IPs. Starting from their own adorable pet characters, Hello Pets also actively incorporate external NFT characters into their story and invite the holders and communities to create amazing content together. The Hello Pets team believes this is a paradigm shift that can fully unleash the potential of the community. Their ultimate goal is to be the next Disney in Web3. How will Web3 Revolutionize the Entertainment Industry? In the traditional entertainment world, when an artist wants to incorporate well-known IPs (e.g. the classic characters from Disney, Nintendo, and Marvel) into her new story, she has to pay a heavy IP authorization fee and dedicate a significant amount of time communicating, negotiating, and signing contracts with the companies who own the IPs. However, in the NFT world, in most cases all she needs to do is to purchase an NF

According to reports, the CEO and co-founder of the Nigerian fintech Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola, recently visited Kenya where he sought to convince the country’s monetary authorities to grant the firm access to funds that have been blocked since July 2022. Agboola claimed that his firm had “instituted a number of changes over the past year to ensure all internal governance structures are best-in-class.” Money Laundering Allegations More than six months after a Kenyan High Court granted an order to freeze bank accounts belonging to the Nigerian fintech unicorn Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola, the co-founder and CEO of the startup, is seeking to convince the Central Bank of Kenya to end the embargo. In addition, Agboola reportedly used his recent trip to the East African state to push for the licensing of his firm. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, more than 50 Flutterwave bank accounts holding funds equivalent to nearly $60 million were frozen at the behest of the Asse

According to the National Bank of Rwanda, the country’s regulated financial services providers are now prohibited from facilitating crypto-related transactions. In her Jan. 31 letter justifying the decision, the acting governor Soraya Hakuziyaremye cites the unregulated status of most crypto assets and how this leaves users without the “guarantees and safeguards associated with regulated financial services.” Rwanda’s Growing Interest in Crypto The National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) has said the country’s financial services providers are forbidden from engaging in “any crypto-related activities until a regulatory framework has been put in place.” In a letter addressed to managing directors and CEOs of financial services providers, the NBR’s acting governor Soraya Hakuziyaremye suggested that the prohibition would help to ensure “efficient and sound financial services.” Despite the central bank’s 2018 warning against crypto-related activities, Hakuziyaremye acknowledged in her letter tha

On Feb. 12, 2023, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) announced the launch of a new initiative called the “Financial Infrastructure Transformation Program,” which has nine key objectives. One of these objectives is the research and development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) designed to address both cross-border payments and domestic use cases. United Arab Emirates CBDC Initiative to Address Inefficiencies in Cross-Border Payments and Drive Domestic Innovation The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) aims to bolster the region’s financial infrastructure with a new program , the “Financial Infrastructure Transformation Program” (FIT), which includes nine key initiatives. The FIT aligns with the CBUAE’s mission to “enhance monetary and financial stability” through a “robust financial infrastructure” and the adoption of digital technologies. The nine initiatives included in the Financial Infrastructure Transformation Program (FIT) include: a dome

Meta, the company that owns Whatsapp, Instagram, and Facebook, is reportedly preparing to announce a new round of layoffs in the coming days. According to reports, the company is delaying the finalization of the budget for each one of its teams, causing operational delays and affecting the output of employees of the company. Meta to Lay Off More Staff Meta, the social media company, may be looking to trim more of its workforce in the near future. According to reports from Financial Times, the company has not finalized the budgets for its internal teams, meaning that some of them will be affected by a new round of layoffs. This situation has caused managers of each division to be unable to plan ahead for the needed activities, disrupting operational output, and even affecting projects in critical areas such as the metaverse and advertising, which are now taking more time to be solved. The move, which is currently called “the flattening” internally, is also affecting the morale of

India is having “detailed discussions” with other G20 members about forming a collective standard operating procedure (SOP) to regulate crypto assets, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has revealed. She also called for “a globally coordinated approach on the regulation of crypto assets” during her recent meeting with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. G20’s Crypto Regulatory Discussion Underway Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman answered some questions regarding crypto mining and regulation on Monday in Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. Noting that cryptocurrencies are largely unregulated in India at the moment, Sitharaman explained: “Whether it’s mining or whether it’s the asset or whether it’s the transaction, we recognize that it is very, completely almost, driven by technology, and a standalone country’s effort in controlling or regulating it is not going to be effective.” She added: There is an evolving

Authorities in the Russian region of Irkutsk have so far filed 1,000 lawsuits against what they call “gray” miners, or people minting coins in their homes. In over half of these cases, courts have ordered the defendants to compensate the operators of the distribution networks. Hundreds of Crypto Miners Sued in Irkutsk for Extracting Digital Currencies Using Subsidized Electricity Power distributors in the Siberian Irkutsk Oblast have filed lawsuit number 1,000 against consumers illegally mining cryptocurrency in residential areas. In 600 of these, judges have decided that the so-called “gray” miners should pay a total of more than 260 million rubles ($3.5 million) in compensation for losses and damages. The most common reason for going to court is an unusually high usage of electricity, the regional news portal Irk.ru reported. Such is the recent case with the owner of a house in the village of Novaya Razvodnaya, whose average monthly power consumption over the course of one year

Bitcoin miner, Iris Energy, announced plans to increase the company’s self-mining capacity, from 2 exahash per second (EH/s) to approximately 5.5 EH/s, after it receives 4.4 EH/s of new Antminer S19j Pro miners from Bitmain. Iris Energy Leverages $67 Million in Bitmain Prepayments for Latest Mining Expansion Bitcoin mining company, Iris Energy, announced plans to increase its self-mining capacity to 5.5 exahash per second (EH/s) from 2 EH/s. The company recently unplugged 3.6 EH/s of mining rigs in November 2022 after receiving a default notice from a lender. To obtain 4.4 EH/s worth of machines, the company is utilizing approximately $67 million in Bitmain credits. The newly acquired S19j Pro mining rigs will be distributed among Iris Energy’s data centers in British Columbia and Texas. If the company finds it has an excess of machines, it will sell them to invest in corporate purposes and growth initiatives. Daniel Roberts, co-founder and co-CEO of Iris Energy, described the la

Individuals are expected to pay income tax on gains from cryptocurrency trading, the tax authority of Bosnia has determined. In the absence of dedicated regulations, the federal government in Sarajevo has set up a working group to assess various risks associated with digital assets. Income Tax Is Due on Profits From Crypto Trades, Bosnia Tax Officials Tell Finance Ministry The taxation of crypto assets is not explicitly prescribed by Bosnia’s current legislation but the country’s tax authority has addressed the matter in communication with the finance ministry. The latter is responsible for initiating amendments to the tax regulations . Cryptocurrencies have seen increasing media coverage in the Balkan nation, the capital city of which is soon going to have its first bitcoin ATM, the FENA news agency noted in a report. On this backdrop, the aspect of taxation has also come to the forefront. According to the Tax Administration of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, natural pe

Coinbase, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S., has stated that the staking services offered on its platform do not constitute securities. The statements, made in the wake of the $30 million settlement that Kraken, another U.S.-based crypto exchange, completed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), also criticize the institution’s approach to the issue. Coinbase Defends Its Staking-as-a-Service Program Coinbase, one of the leading U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges, has published a blog post differentiating its staking-as-a-service program from others in the market, and clarifying that, for the institution, this kind of service does not constitute a security offering. In a blog post published on February 10, Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of the company, states how getting this point wrong in regulation may affect the whole crypto industry in the country. The article explains the stance of the company on the issue, stating: Staking is not a

Software giant Microsoft is shutting down one of its most significant groups dedicated to the development and promotion of the industrial metaverse. According to reports, the company terminated its whole Industrial Metaverse Core group, which was composed of 100 employees, as part of the 10,000-person layoff rounds announced in January. Microsoft Reportedly Terminating Industrial Metaverse Group Microsoft, the Washington-based software giant, seems to be abandoning the metaverse in favor of other initiatives. According to reports from The Information, the company announced internally the disbandment of the Industrial Metaverse Core group, a division of the company directed to bring the metaverse to industrial environments. The group, which was formed just 4 months ago, served as a bridge for the implementation of metaverse interfaces to control electrical power plants, industrial robotics, and transportation networks. The division was part of the efforts directed to bring the meta