Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Warren Buffett-backed Nubank, a Brazil-based neobank that debuted crypto trading options back in May 2022 on its platform, has announced the launch of nucoin, its own cryptocurrency. Part of the first batch of the currency, issued on top of Polygon’s network, will be issued to its customers as an airdrop, and for cashback purposes. Nubank Launches Nucoin Cryptocurrency Warren Buffett-backed Nubank, one of the biggest digital neobanks in Latam, has announced the issuance of its own cryptocurrency called nucoin. The token, which is issued on top of the Polygon network, will be airdropped to end users of the institution, with 80% of the total issuance being directed to the customers. According to local reports , nucoin will be key to several activities in the future, including the establishment of a cashback program, with users receiving rewards in the form of the token, and the realization of internal nucoin raffles. Nucoin will not have a secondary market, as transactions with the t...

An official of India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), says that the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) will act as an alternative to cryptocurrency. He stressed that the digital rupee must possess all the attributes of physical currency, including anonymity. India’s CBDC Update Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Executive Director Ajay Kumar Choudhary provided some updates on India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) during an interview with CNBC-TV18 on Friday. The Indian central bank is exploring the offline functionality of the digital rupee, Choudhary conveyed. Noting that the CBDC will soon become a medium of exchange in India, he emphasized that it needs to have all features of physical currency, including anonymity. The RBI executive director previously said the design of India’s CBDC will be the least disruptive and will not replace physical currency or the current financial system. Choudhary further told the news outlet that the digital rupee will ...

Bitcoin dropped to a two-week low on Friday, as crypto markets continued to react to the uncertainty surrounding Silvergate. The solvency of the bank has been put into question, with Binance, Coinbase and other exchanges moving to halt transactions. Ethereum also edged lower, falling below $1,600 in the process. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) plunged further into the red on Friday, as markets reacted to fallout surrounding Silvergate. The crypto bank recently announced that it wouldn’t be able to file its annual report to the Security and Exchange committee, whilst hinting at its “ability to continue (operating).” BTC /USD slipped to an intraday low of $22,241.78 earlier in the day, less than 24 hours after trading at a high of $23,540.16. Bitcoin chart by TradingView As a result of the move, bitcoin has now fallen to its weakest position since Valentines day, on February 14. However, instead of a pool of roses, Friday’s red wave has washed through the markets, leading to a hug...

Russia-linked cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato has begun processing withdrawals of digital assets belonging to its customers. The trading platform was shut down in an operation carried out by law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Europe alleging that it had been used to launder dirty money. Bitzlato Allows Withdrawals After Staying Offline for Weeks Users who have deposited funds to Bitzlato can now start to withdraw their coins, the recently seized crypto exchange said in a Telegram message. The announcement comes after a period of over a month during which the trading platform was unavailable. The Hong Kong-registered exchange, better known to Russian-speaking traders, was taken down in a coordinated law enforcement operation in January when French authorities took control of its website and their American colleagues arrested its co-founder Anatoly Legkodymov. The U.S. Justice Department believes Bitzlato has processed over $700 million in funds from criminal entities such as...

PRESS RELEASE. How to participate in the Arbitrum ecosystem as Layer 2 continues gaining traction? The Ethereum’s Layer 2 (L2) players have been performing exceptionally well to date, with impressive TVLs in the ecosystems of Arbitrum, Polygon, and Optimism as the market rebounds. Among these, Arbitrum has the largest TVL, accounting for almost 50% of L2 markets and 3% of the entire Ethereum mainnet. Arbitrum has consistently demonstrated strong operational capabilities with technical upgrades: the launch of dual mainnets – Arbitrum Nova and Arbitrum One and the debut of a brand new programming language, Stylus. The release of Odyssey’s weekly event has also generated significant attention to the ecosystem. Meanwhile, in the long run, as suggested by Vitalik, ZK Rollups might likely have more technical breakthroughs than Optimism Rollups and will become the leading L2 solution. Many crypto investors and enthusiasts are highly concerned with how to make good use of Arbitrum and bene...

The Spanish tax agency has included crypto as part of its new guidelines for this year’s upcoming tax collection season. Apart from boosting the channels for voluntary tax applications, the agency will potentiate the investigation of cryptocurrency in digital payments, including potentially seizing cryptocurrency associated with tax debts and criminal activity. Spanish Tax Agency to Intensify Crypto Tax Oversight The Spanish tax agency is preparing its crypto strategy for the upcoming tax collection season. On Feb. 27, the agency revealed several guidelines to increase the collection of taxes related to the use of cryptocurrency in digital payments, and also to curb criminal activity. In the document, the agency declares that “this year, the intention of the collection area to promote actions to locate crypto assets subject to seizure is underlined.” This could mean that tax debtors will be tracked and have their cryptocurrency seized to amend their debts. However, the document do...

The establishment of Russia’s first mutual investment fund dedicated to financing cryptocurrency mining operations is underway. According to a report by the Russian press, it will be available to qualified investors and will finance the acquisition of coin minting equipment. Russian Crypto Mining Sector to Attract Shareholders Through Investment Fund Work has begun to set up the first mutual fund for investments in crypto mining enterprises in Russia, the business daily Kommersant reported. It will operate as a venture fund for the purchase of mining hardware through a special entity which will then lease the equipment. The new closed-end fund will be established by Finam Management, which will register it with the specialized depository in March, the article details. Only qualified investors will have access, with a minimum threshold of 300,000 rubles (almost $4,000). The company intends to raise 500 million rubles (over $6.6 million) before incorporating the leasing firm, Finam ...

Unity, a gaming engine development company, has announced the introduction of several blockchain-based integration options to its platform. The new options offer opportunities for developers, that will be able to take advantage of digital identity, tokens, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other technologies with direct integration into the Unity engine. Unity Reveals New Decentralization Push in Its Gaming Engine Unity, one of the biggest companies in the gaming industry, has announced support for a number of new blockchain technologies in its engine. The options, which are developer-focused, will allow users to obtain real ownership of their in-game assets, as well as manage tokens and digital identity solutions that can be exported to the real world. This means that developers will be able to take advantage of and integrate these technologies in their games in a streamlined way, focusing on building experiences instead of the technical issues that derive from complex blockchain i...

Three U.S. senators have asked crypto exchanges Binance and Binance US for documents and answers pertaining to “potentially illegal business practices.” The lawmakers told Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ): “Your actions have called into question the legitimacy of your business and the safety of your customers’ assets.” U.S. Lawmakers Probe Binance U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) sent a letter to Binance and Binance US on Wednesday, calling for the crypto exchanges to “provide transparency about potentially illegal business practices.” The letter, addressed to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and BAM Trading Services CEO Brian Shroder, asks for documents and answers concerning each crypto exchange’s “finances, risk management, and regulatory compliance as it faces investigations into potential crimes,” the senators detailed. Binance and its U.S. affiliate, Binance US, are two separate entities. BAM Trading Services is doing bu...

On March 2, Xapo Bank announced its partnership with Lightspark, a company led by David Marcus, former crypto boss at Facebook. The partnership aims to extend the utility of bitcoin and the Lightning Network. Xapo revealed on Thursday that it is the first fully licensed private bank to offer payments through the Lightning Network. Xapo CEO Sees Lightning Network Integration as a Solution to High Fees and Long Transaction Times Xapo has partnered with Lightspark to integrate the Lightning Network, according to an announcement sent to Bitcoin.com News. The company, founded in 2013, detailed that its clients can now pay for small purchases of up to $100 at any vendor that accepts Lightning Network payments. Additionally, Xapo is offering interest-bearing U.S. dollar bank accounts, with plans to soon offer the same for bitcoin. Xapo CEO Seamus Rocca believes that using the Lightning Network can help clients avoid long wait times and higher onchain fees. “The average transaction conf...

Bitcoin fell into the red on March 2, as markets reacted to further negative data from the United States. The nation’s manufacturing sector contracted for a fourth straight month in February, which comes as consumer confidence also fell last month. Ethereum was also lower, retreating from yesterday’s high. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) fell lower in today’s session, as markets reacted to news that the U.S. manufacturing sector remained in contraction territory. In its monthly report, the ISM’s manufacturing index came in at 47.7, and typically any reading below 50.00 indicates contraction. As a result of this, BTC /USD slipped to an intraday low of $23,374.66, which comes a day after trading at a high of $23,821.15. The drop came as bitcoin bulls were unable to sustain a breakout above a resistance level of $23,800. Additionally, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) has also declined, following a failed breakout of a ceiling at 55.00 At the time of writing, price strength is tra...

PRESS RELEASE. Since last year, CoinEx Charity has been funding children in poor areas, bringing them back to school to continue their education. The Mercy Children’s Educational Welfare Program is still ongoing and has helped over 20,000 children with funds from CoinEx Charity. Recently, CoinEx Charity received a report from the Human Development Foundation (HDF), a charitable organization based in Thailand. In its report, HDF thanked CoinEx Charity for its charitable donations and illustrated how the scholarship funds were used. HDF is a non-profit and non-denominational charitable foundation located in Klong Toey, the largest slum community in Bangkok, Thailand. To help poor children, HDF has established the Mercy Centre which currently houses 100 children, more than 20 of whom were born with HIV/AIDS. Since 2022, CoinEx Charity has been reaching out to the children at HDF Mercy Centre through donations. By providing protection, care, and appropriate education for the kids, HDF a...

While centralized exchanges are thought to be safer and more efficient, proponents of decentralized platforms like Tim Shan insist that user experience on decentralized exchanges has improved. In addition, inherent benefits associated with decentralized exchanges such as the self-custody of assets make look more appealing than centralized exchanges. Decentralized Exchanges Closing the Gap Despite seemingly possessing the edge over centralized exchanges (cex), according to Tim Shan, the COO of Dexalot , decentralized platforms still come short when it comes to the number of users or the volumes traded. Part of the reason for this is that cex platforms are often perceived to be safer and perhaps much faster and cheaper to use than decentralized exchange (dex) platforms. Although being slower and more expensive is “not a good combination for dexs,” Shan insisted in his written responses sent to Bitcoin.com News that ongoing innovations and improvements are helping decentralized platfo...

Crypto donations collected by the government in Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion have amounted to almost $70 million, according to Chainalysis. Ether has been the most donated crypto followed by bitcoin and the stablecoin tether, the blockchain intelligence firm said in a report. Ukraine Receives Millions of Dollars in Various Coins From the Global Crypto Community The amount of cryptocurrency transferred to addresses published by the Ukrainian government to raise money for defense and other purposes has reached nearly $70 million, blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis revealed on the first anniversary of the conflict in the Eastern European nation. The authorities in Kiev started accepting donations in digital currencies soon after Russia launched its invasion in late February 2022. In March, Chainalysis said that more than $56 million worth of cryptocurrencies had been donated to the wallets of the Ukrainian government. Other digital donations have been made to addr...

PRESS RELEASE. VICTORIA, Seychelles — Bitget , a leading crypto derivatives exchange and copy trading platform, has announced direct integration with TradingView, a charting and trading platform used by millions of traders worldwide. The given addition will further expand the usability of Bitget’s service, offering users the chance to trade crypto without leaving the TradingView interface and make more informed and professional decisions, while enjoying the top-notch protection and security of Bitget. TradingView is a charting and trading platform. It not only enables users to perform technical and fundamental analysis using comprehensible instruments but also to communicate via the largest social platform for investors. With the TradingView integration, Bitget’s users can now access a variety of advanced analysis instruments, including charting tools, real-time market data, and technical indicators, and learn new strategies tested by millions of active traders from its thriving,...

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s president has warned of disastrous economic consequences similar to those seen during the financial crisis of the 1970s if the Fed loosens its policy prematurely. Noting that “inflation remains too high,” he stressed: “We don’t want a repeat, so we must defeat inflation now.” Fed Officials on Rate Hikes and Inflation Fight The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Raphael Bostic, warned about “disastrous” economic consequences should the Fed loosens its policy prematurely in an essay published by the Atlanta Fed on Wednesday. “I believe inflation remains too high,” he wrote, emphasizing the need for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to raise interest rates more aggressively. Commenting on a narrative that the Federal Reserve should consider “reversing its course of raising the federal funds rate lest we go too far and cause undue economic hardship,” Bostic opined: While that perspective is understandable, history teaches that i...

The famous author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, says the world economy is on the verge of collapse. He warned investors about the risks of bank runs, frozen savings, and bail-ins that may come next. Robert Kiyosaki on Collapsing World Economy The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, is back with more gloomy warnings about the world economy. 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 said on Tuesday that the world economy is on the verge of collapse, warning of several risks that could hurt investors. He tweeted: World economy on verge of collapse. Runs on banks next? Savings frozen? Bail-ins next? He then urged investors to buy silver. “You can buy a real silver coin for about $25,” he noted, adding that he doesn’t make ...

Two Zimbabwean startups, Flexid and Uhuru Wallet, recently launched a platform that offers digital identity and remittance services to migrants living and working in South Africa. The two startups hailed what they’ve described as the “first cross-chain collaboration between the two companies.” Harnessing the Benefits of the Blockchain The Zimbabwean blockchain startup Flex ID and the South Africa-based Whatsapp remittance platform, Uhuru Wallet, recently said they have launched a platform that offers “combined digital identity and remittance services to millions of Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa.” In a statement shared with Bitcoin.com News, the two startups hailed what they described as the “first cross-chain collaboration between the two companies.” As revealed in the statement, Flex ID, which was co-founded by Victor Mapunga, harnesses the Algorand blockchain, while the Uhuru Wallet is built on the Stellar blockchain. Remarking on the two startups’ joint solution, Trust ...

PRESS RELEASE. Crypto investors have access to a wide range of investment methods, including short-term and long-term trading, wealth management, and auto-invest, among others. As investors differ from each other in terms of risk appetite and expected return, it’s crucial to identify an investment strategy that suits one’s unique circumstances. For crypto beginners or prudent investors, “lazy” investment strategies such as auto-invest are always a good choice. So, what is auto-invest? Auto-invest is a process of automatically investing a fixed amount of money with regular cycles. This investment strategy consists of two key components: fixed cycles and fixed amounts. The former means that investments are made at fixed intervals, while the latter represents the sum of money used to purchase the investment target every time is predefined. Many auto-invest methods are available, and the simplest one involves users investing a fixed amount of money at fixed intervals. When employing th...

Faced with cash shortages caused by the central bank’s currency policies, traders in the Nigerian state of Benue have reportedly resorted to barter trading. Traders from the state have implored the Nigerian government to consider rescinding the Central Bank of Nigeria’s naira redesign policy. The Nigerian Supreme Court has said it will pass its judgment on a suit challenging the naira redesign policy on March 3. Barter Trade Helping Businesses Stay Afloat The cash shortages sparked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s so-called naira redesign policy have seen traders in the Nigerian state of Benue resort to barter, a local report has said. The report added that some traders, especially those without bank accounts, began accepting payment in the form of goods or produce shortly after the passage of the old naira demonetization deadline. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the CBN’s botched attempt to replace old naira banknotes with newly designed ones has sparked unrest...