Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Compass Mining, a bitcoin mining firm, published a blog post stating that Bitmain, the company behind the application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rig, has made changes to its design. The post advised miners to be aware of the changes as Compass Mining identified “three issues” with two different Antminer S19 series mining devices. Bitcoin Miner Compass Mining Identifies 3 Issues with Antminer S19 Series Compass Mining, a bitcoin mining company, posted a blog post titled “Bitmain Changed Its ASIC Design. Miners Need to Be Ready,” highlighting changes in Bitmain’s ASIC design. Compass believes bitcoin mining facility operators should be aware of the changes, which could cause issues. For example, the firm identified three problems with the Antminer S19, producing 90 terahash per second (TH/s), and the S19 XP, offering 140 TH/s. William Foxley of Compass Mining explains that the new machines lack a peripheral interface controller (PIC) on the ASICs, making it harder to ...

The organization representing Russia’s crypto and blockchain sector has urged Vladimir Putin to spur regulatory efforts. The association fears the Russian Federation may lag behind other nations if it maintains its conservative approach towards new financial technologies. Russian Crypto Businesses Want Putin to Engage With Regulatory Process The Russian Association of Cryptoeconomics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain (Racib) has called on President of Russia Vladimir Putin to back the crypto community in shaping the country’s regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and related technologies. In a letter to the Russian head of state, its members warn that the government’s attitude towards digital asset regulation poses “serious risks of the economy lagging behind in the introduction of new financial technologies,” crypto news outlets Bits.media and RBC Crypto reported. The organization insists that the current state policy does not allow Russian companies to take advantage ...

Bitcoin remained in consolidation earlier in Tuesday’s session, as markets prepared for this afternoon’s testimony from Fed Chair Powell. The head of the U.S. Federal Reserve will be speaking in front of the Senate Banking Committee later in the day. Ethereum was also largely unchanged, as it traded close to a support point. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) continued to trade sideways on Tuesday, as market uncertainty remained high ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s testimony. Many believe that Powell will give some forward guidance into the Federal Reserve’s current thinking, and how aggressive they may be in their upcoming meeting. BTC /USD fell to a low of $22,356.62 earlier in the day, less than 24 hours after trading at a high of $22,584.29. Looking at the chart, today’s move sees the world’s largest cryptocurrency continue to trade above a floor at $22,300. This coincides with the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) also hovering above its own point of support at 42.00. At the time of w...

PRESS RELEASE. Shellboxes, a leading Web 3 company with top-level blockchain security and consulting services, has announced its commitment to help project owners stay protected amid rising cyberattacks in the industry. The Shellboxes team has raised the alarm over the carefree attitude of most Web 3 project owners who pay little to no attention to the growing risk of cyberattacks. According to a report by Chainalysis, 2022 witnessed the most significant loss of crypto assets to hackers. The report revealed a whopping $3.8 billion was stolen, mainly from DeFi protocols. As the risk of these cyberattacks increases in the Web 3 space, ShellBoxes is advising Web3 project owners to take the security of their platform/project seriously. These owners need to ensure their projects undergo robust and thorough security audits. Some project owners settle for low-tier quality audits with the sole purpose of laundering the business’ brand image instead of the security of the project. ShellBoxe...

While interest in digital assets has waned in some parts of the world, in the Middle East and Northern Africa adoption of crypto has been skyrocketing according to Mustafa Kheriba, the executive chairman of the asset management firm Iceberg Capital Limited. According to Kheriba, factors such as high inflation and residents’ desire for high-return investment opportunities have drawn many to cryptocurrency. The Many Benefits of Blockchain Despite the bearish conditions that persisted in much of 2022, according to Mustafa Kheriba, the executive chairman of Iceberg Capital Limited, interest and adoption of crypto and blockchain has not dissipated. To support this assertion, Kheriba pointed to the 23rd State of the Developer report which suggests that most experienced software developers are “most likely to be working on blockchain projects.” Nevertheless, the Iceberg Capital Limited executive chairman told Bitcoin.com News interest has particularly been surging in the Middle East an...

Three Russians are going to spend time in high-security prison for stealing over a million U.S. dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency from another man. In addition, the court has also ordered them to fully compensate the victim for the damages, prosecutors announced. Robbers Get Prison Sentence for Cryptocurrency Theft in Russia A court in the Russian city of Omsk has issued a verdict in a criminal case against three men from Moscow who extorted a large amount of digital currency from a man in Siberia. Two of them have been found guilty of robbery and forgery of documents and the third one of fraud. In July 2021, these individuals learned that a resident of Omsk owned significant crypto funds. They traveled all the way from the capital to the Siberian city where they followed the victim for about 10 days, examining his movements and daily routines. On the day of the attack, they stopped the man on the street, presented fake IDs and forced him into a car. Later, they took away 3 million...

A recent study indicates that Spain is one of the hottest countries regarding real estate offerings that can be paid with cryptocurrency. The report, prepared by Forex Suggest, found that Spain is the country with the most properties available for crypto, followed by Thailand, Portugal, and the UAE. Spain Ranks First Among Countries With Properties on Sale for Crypto A recent study made by Forex Suggest, which examined which countries had the most properties on sale for cryptocurrency, found that Spain was the hottest destination for real estate crypto investors. The study, which aggregated properties available in specialized crypto real estate portals, found that 289 properties were available to purchase with crypto in Spain alone. The report explains that the properties offered are mostly located in the cities of Alicante and Marbella, and more urban properties are in the city of Barcelona. This number puts the country at the forefront of all other nations by a significant numb...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency action against Miami-based investment adviser Bkcoin and one of its principals, Kevin Kang. “The defendants disregarded the structure of the funds, commingled investor assets, and used more than $3.6 million to make Ponzi-like payments to fund investors,” the SEC alleged. SEC’s ‘Emergency Action’ Against Bkcoin, Kevin Kang The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Monday that it has filed an “emergency action” against Miami investment adviser Bkcoin and one of its principals, Kevin Kang, “for orchestrating a $100 million crypto fraud scheme.” The securities regulator explained that “it successfully obtained an asset freeze, appointment of a receiver, and other emergency relief” against Bkcoin and Kang. The SEC detailed that from at least October 2018 through September 2022, Bkcoin raised approximately $100 million from at least 55 investors to invest in crypto assets. “Bkcoin and Kang assured...

Meta, the social network company, is getting some pushback on its plan to market and bring Horizon Worlds, its flagship metaverse app, to teens. Democratic senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal directed a letter to the company to halt these actions, citing concerns about the interactions that teens could have in Meta’s virtual worlds. Meta Sees Opposition to Metaverse Adoption Plans for Teens Two Democratic senators have written a letter asking Meta to stop its recently reported plan of opening its metaverse world to teens. Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal, Democrat senators from Massachusetts and Connecticut, criticize the idea of opening Horizon Worlds, Meta’s flagship metaverse app, to teens 13 years and up, citing diverse factors that might endanger them through the interactions available in this virtual world. The letter differentiates between standard virtual reality experiences and Horizon Worlds, explaining that “the cumulative set of immersive virtual reality experien...

Growing shortages of foreign exchange on the interbank market have reportedly forced the Central Bank of Kenya to ask financial institutions to ration dollar purchases by Kenyan businesses. The shortages have forced Kenyan firms to seek greenbacks on alternative markets where the exchange rate is higher than the official government rate. New Limits Curtailing Operations of Kenyan Firms Kenya’s ongoing foreign exchange shortages have reportedly forced the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to instruct financial institutions to impose caps on the amount of forex that businesses and individuals can purchase. According to a Business Daily report, some financial institutions have imposed caps as low as $5,000 per day. The imposed limits make it difficult for Kenyan manufacturers and importers to meet their obligations. The shortages, which reportedly began in mid-2022, suggest that the country’s foreign currency woes are worsening. In October of that year, a CBK statement denied Kenyan Deput...

PRESS RELEASE. In traditional financial markets, the term trading strategy describes a comprehensive plan covering all trading activities, guiding investors to execute their target trades. In the world of crypto, a trading strategy refers to a predetermined plan or trading behavior designed to help investors profit from buying or selling cryptos in both long and short markets. Although not necessary for all types of crypto trading, a sound trading strategy can help investors mitigate potential risks. During extreme market conditions, an effective trading strategy enables crypto users to take prompt countermeasures and minimize their losses. In other words, by setting out a trading strategy, investors prepare for all sorts of scenarios and design the corresponding measures. Overall, a mature and well-designed trading strategy is crucial for investors, as it helps them take advantage of market swings, make easy investments, and maximize profits or minimize losses. Generally speaking...

Israel’s tax authority is after two creators of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) suspected of failing to report almost $2.2 million in revenue. The news of the investigation comes after the recent arrest of a graphic designer from Tel Aviv accused of similar offenses. Thousands of ‘Western Wall NFTs’ Allegedly Sold Without Tax Reporting Israel Tax Authority is investigating two NFT creators in Jerusalem who did not report millions of U.S. dollars in revenue received from the sale of their digital works. The tokens they offered were based on a 3D scan of the stones of the Western Wall. The suspects, Avraham Cohen and Antony Polak, own the Holyrocknft.com website through which they sold their NFTs, the Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday. The platform claims to “combine the business world and technological progress with Jewish faith and spirit.” Investigators were able to establish that since 2021 the two Israelis sold 1,700 digital works for 620 ETH . At rates at the time of transactions,...

Numbers from the Brazilian tax authority indicate that the cryptocurrency market experienced a resurgence in January, with trading increasing more than 10% compared to December. Tether’s usdt is still the currency that moves the most volume, a reality related to OTC (over-the-counter) trades, according to market analysts. Crypto Market Moves Again in January, According to Brazilian Tax Authority The Brazilian tax authority, which receives reports of the movements of cryptocurrency by law for tax collecting purposes, released its crypto volume reports corresponding to January. The institution revealed a growth in the volume of the cryptocurrency market, with $2.85 billion dollars being transacted during the period. When compared to December, the market experienced growth of more than 10%, recovering after events that have been affecting the cryptocurrency sector worldwide, like the bankruptcy of several exchanges and crypto lenders such as FTX, Celsius, and Blockfi. The numbers of ...

Banks in Pakistan plan to launch an electronic platform for know-your-customer procedures that will be operating on a national level. The blockchain-based system will allow them to exchange the personal information of customers through what they describe as a decentralized and self-regulated network. Banks of Pakistan Looking to Employ Blockchain for KYC Checks Pakistan Banks’ Association ( PBA ) has signed a contract for the implementation of a blockchain-based know-your-customer (KYC) platform which will be developed by Avanza Group. The latter unites companies specializing in advanced banking applications, customer experience management solutions, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. The signing ceremony was held at the industry organization’s office in Karachi on Thursday and was attended by a number of officials, including its Chairman, Muhammad Aurangzeb and the CEO of Avanza Innovations, Waqas Mirza, the PBA announced. The project to create the electronic KYC system is ...

After a significant spike in February, sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the last seven days are 32.32% lower than last week. Of the 19 different blockchains, Ethereum accounted for $148.56 million out of the total $186.20 million in NFT sales settled this week. NFT Sales Decline Following February Spike in Digital Collectible Purchases During the past seven days, NFT sales totaled $186.20 million among 760,857 buyers. Although the number of buyers increased by 55.41% last week, sales volume decreased by 32.32%, and NFT transactions fell 91% compared to the previous week. Ethereum dominated the market, capturing $148.56 million or 79.78% of the total. However, sales of ETH-based NFTs decreased by 37.78% compared to last week. Solana (SOL) NFT sales increased by 12.93% this week, reaching $17 million, and Polygon recorded just over $6 million in sales, a decrease of 17.34% from the previous week. The top five NFT collections in terms of sales this week are all Ethereum-based. ...

Economist and gold enthusiast Peter Schiff has said that the U.S. Fed may have to fight a “complete economic collapse” and be faced with more to worry about than the current battle against inflation. In other news, artificial intelligence (AI) crypto assets have seen a recent surge, and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has tossed in his two cents about why he views all crypto tokens other than bitcoin as securities. This and more, are just below in the latest Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. Economist Peter Schiff Warns the Fed Could Be Fighting ‘Complete Economic Collapse’ Economist Peter Schiff has predicted that the U.S. Federal Reserve will ultimately throw in the towel on its inflation fight to confront “something it fears even more, which is a complete economic collapse, another financial crisis, or a sovereign debt crisis.” He stressed, “The months of declining inflation are in the review mirror,” emphasizing that now “we’re going to see accelerating inflation.” Read More SEC Ch...

The Reserve Bank of Australia said on March 3 that it has selected 14 digital currency proposed use cases from a large number of submissions obtained from industry participants. An assistant governor at the RBA, Brad Jones, said the Aussie central bank is encouraged by the composition of providers that have been “invited to participate in the live pilot.” Collaboration Between Industry Participants and the Central Bank The Australia central bank, which has been exploring the benefits of central bank digital currency (CBDC), recently announced the digital currency’s proposed use cases as well as the names of providers “invited to participate in the live pilot.” In a press statement , the bank, which is known as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), said the chosen use cases were selected from a large number of submissions from industry participants. Brad Jones, an assistant governor at the RBA, is quoted in the statement lauding the industry participants’ willingness to engage regula...

On March 4, the decentralized exchange Pancakeswap announced that the team plans to launch its version three (v3) iteration of the platform during the first week of April 2023. Pancakeswap v3 will provide new features and improve liquidity alongside enhancements in interface accessibility and the decentralized exchange (dex) platform’s yield farming experience. Pancakeswap Announces Version 3 Launch Date Pancakeswap , the multichain dex platform, announced the launch of the program’s third iteration, called Pancakeswap v3. The application is set to go live during the first week of April on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). The new application will include new features, such as improved liquidity provisioning, competitive trading fees, trading incentives, and an enhanced yield farming experience, all accessible from a user-friendly interface. The decentralized finance (defi) protocol Pancakeswap v2 supports other blockchains like Aptos and Ethereum in addition to BSC. Over the last 24 ...

According to an analysis of Google searches by Leverage Trading, Nigeria is the “second-highest country in the world for searches related to crypto leverage.” Along with South Africa and Ghana, the West African nation also dominates searches for the term “trade crypto.” Regulators and consumer protection agencies must “provide greater safeguards against predatory practices,” according to a spokesperson for Leverage Trading. Leveraged Trading and the Risks Nigeria had the second-highest score (94) globally for searches related to crypto leverage in the past five years, the latest analysis of Google searches conducted by Leverage Trading has shown. According to the analysis, Singapore (100) is the only country that outscored the West African nation when it came to searches “with an emphasis on transactional searches such as ‘how to leverage trade crypto.'” On the other hand, the analysis shows that Nigeria, along with South Africa and Ghana, dominate Google searches for the term ...

Major cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Ukraine have temporarily suspended operations with hryvnia bank cards. The measure stems from restrictions imposed by the country’s central bank, Binance and Kuna indicated in comments for crypto media. Ukrainians Unable to Trade Crypto Assets Using Cards in National Currency The world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, and a leading Ukrainian exchange, Kuna, have announced temporary suspensions of operations with bank cards in Ukrainian hryvnia. Both trading platforms confirmed about the problems with such transactions. The limited processing of deposits and withdrawals in the national currency results from restrictions imposed by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), representatives of Binance told the crypto news outlet Forklog. The exchange has advised traders to use its peer-to-peer marketplace. “Currently, fiat channels, namely input and withdrawal through a bank card and other payment services, are temporarily suspended among crypt...

Xrp rebounded from a two-month low to start the weekend, as prices moved back above a key support point. The token, which fell to its lowest point since January on Friday, rose by as much as 2% on Saturday. Cardano also recovered yesterday’s losses. XRP XRP rose higher to start the weekend, as the token formerly known as ripple rebounded from a two-month low. XRP /USD jumped to an intraday high of $0.3795 earlier in the day, which comes after bottoming out at $0.3664 on Friday. Yesterday’s drop saw XRP fall to its weakest point since January 11, when prices were at a low of $0.3477. Looking at the chart, Saturday’s recovery has sent the token back above a long-term floor at $0.3720, which was broken yesterday. Overall, the rebound appears to have taken place as the relative strength index (RSI) bounced from a floor at 43.00 At the time of writing, the index is tracking at 43.48, with the next visible ceiling at the 45.00 mark. Cardano ( ADA ) In addition to XRP , cardano ( ...