Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

General Bytes experienced a security incident on March 17 and 18 that enabled a hacker to remotely access the master service interface and send funds from hot wallets, according to the company and sources. The breach forced a majority of U.S.-based crypto automated teller machine (ATM) operators to temporarily shut down. The hacker was able to liquidate 56.28 bitcoins, worth approximately $1.5 million, from about 15 to 20 crypto ATM operators nationwide. Crypto ATM Operators Temporarily Shut Down After General Bytes Security Breach Enables Hacker to Liquidate $1.5M in Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies The largest cryptocurrency automated teller machine (ATM) manufacturer, General Bytes , has produced 9,505 such machines globally, with thousands located in the United States. On Saturday, March 18, the company informed the public of a serious security incident that occurred on March 17 as well. “We released a statement urging customers to take immediate action to protect their per...

The CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, has warned about additional bank seizures and shutdowns that could result from regulatory changes in response to the failures of several major banks in the U.S. “It does seem inevitable that some banks will now need to pull back on lending to shore up their balance sheets, and we’re likely to see stricter capital standards for banks,” he added. Blackrock’s Chief on More Bank Seizures, Shutdowns Larry Fink, the chairman and CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, shared his view on the U.S. economy and recent bank failures in his annual chairman’s letter to investors, published this week. “This past week we saw the biggest bank failure in more than 15 years as federal regulators seized Silicon Valley Bank . This is a classic asset-liability mismatch. Two smaller banks failed in the past week as well,” Fink described. Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by regulators on March 10 while Signature Bank was seized by t...

According to a presentation recently submitted by the FTX debtors on March 16, Sam Bankman-Fried’s companies had a $6.8 billion hole in their intercompany balance sheet when they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. FTX and its conglomerate of firms have debts of around $11.6 billion, including customer claims and various other liabilities. FTX’s $6.8 Billion Gap The FTX debtors have released a third presentation that provides an overview of FTX’s debts and liabilities. The presentation reveals that, while a significant amount of money is owed to customers, FTX and its few subsidiary firms also owe funds to certain vendors, counterparties, and unpaid invoices. Some of the vendors include Margaritaville Beach Resort owned by Jimmy Buffett, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Fairview Asset Management, Stripe, Meta, Trulioo, Spotify, Turner Network Television, and American Express. Advisers concluded that when FTX filed for bankruptcy, the more than 100 companies under its umbrella had...

Ethereum classic rose by as much as 12% in today’s session, as cryptocurrency markets rallied to start the weekend. The global market cap is trading over 3% higher at the time of writing, as investors continue to buy crypto following the recent banking crisis. Solana was also higher in today’s session. Ethereum Classic ( ETC ) Ethereum classic ( ETC ) rose by as much as 12% in today’s session, as traders continued to pump cryptocurrencies. Following a low of $19.14 on Friday, ETC /USD moved to a high of $22.46 to start the weekend. The move came as ethereum classic rose back above a recent floor at $20.00, hitting its strongest point since February 22 in the process. Looking at the chart, the rally also coincided with the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) breaking out of a ceiling at the 58.00 mark. As of writing, the index is tracking at 60.22, which is its highest reading since February 2. The next visible point of resistance appears to be a ceiling at 65.00, which could l...

Ethereum rose above $1,800 for the first time since August, as markets continued to react to the Fed’s decision to inject $300 billion into the economy. This comes following the recent banking crisis, which saw the likes of Silicon Valley Bank collapse. Bitcoin neared $28,000 in today’s session. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) closed in on the $28,000 level to start the weekend, as markets continued to react to the Federal Reserve’s decision to pump liquidity into the U.S. economy. BTC /USD jumped to an intraday high of $27,787.81 earlier in the day, which comes after falling to a low of $26,209.29 on Friday. As a result of the move, bitcoin climbed a fresh nine-month high, which is its strongest point since June 2022. Looking at the chart, the surge took place as the 10-day (red) moving average crossed its 25-day (blue) counterpart. In addition to this, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) continues to gain traction, moving deeper into overbought territory. At the time of writing,...

One of Africa’s fintech giants, Chipper Cash, is said to be weighing the possibility of selling the business or bringing in new investors. According to the CEO of the FTX and Silicon Valley Bank-backed fintech startup, Chipper Cash had insignificant exposure to both SVB and Signature Bank. Chipper Cash ‘Never Sought to Be Acquired’ The FTX and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) backed-African fintech giant, Chipper Cash, is weighing options including the sale of the business or bringing in new investors, a Bloomberg report that cites unnamed sources has said. According to the report, the fintech, which began exploring its options before SVB’s abrupt collapse, is yet to make a final decision on which course of action it will take. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News in late 2021, Chipper Cash successfully raised $150 million in a Series C extension that was led by the now-collapsed crypto exchange FTX. SVB, which led the first Series C, also participated in the round as did Deciens C...

Russian lawmakers have approved a draft law facilitating the implementation of the digital version of the national currency, the ruble. The legislation amends various other acts to introduce definitions and establish procedures related to the launch of the central bank digital currency. Russian State Duma Passes Digital Ruble Draft Law on First Reading The lower house of Russian parliament, the State Duma, has adopted in the first reading a bill introducing legislative changes necessary for the realization of the digital ruble project. Most notably, it seeks to amend the law “On the National Payment System.” The latter will be supplemented with legal definitions related to the central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the Bank of Russia. The authors also propose procedures for accessing the state-backed coin’s platform as well as for opening a digital wallet, RBC Crypto noted in a report. According to the business daily Vedomosti, the draft suggests terms like “participant o...

After the fall of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and Signature Bank (SNBY), First Republic Bank, a commercial bank and wealth management services provider, is the latest financial institution to receive a bailout. Close to a dozen lenders announced they will deposit $30 billion into the beleaguered bank’s coffers to shore up liquidity. U.S. banks have suffered from the financial contagion that followed the three bank failures last week. According to reports, depositors removed $8.8 billion from Charles Schwab Corporation’s prime money market funds. Impact of Recent Bank Failures on U.S. Banking Industry Spurs Wave of Bailouts Several banks received bailouts in the past week due to the collapse of three major U.S. banks. This event shook the banking industry, and banks of all sizes, including giants like Bank of America and JPMorgan, saw a decline in their stocks. After Silvergate, SVB, and SNBY failed, banks borrowed approximately $164.8 billion from the Federal Reser...

Bitcoin moved to a fresh nine-month high on Friday, as prices moved above the $27,000 level. The surge comes following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to backstop embattled banks to a record tune of $152.9 billion. Ethereum was also in the green in today’s session. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) rose back above $27,000 in today’s session, as markets reacted to the Federal Reserve’s decision to pump liquidity into the U.S. economy. Following a low of $24,624.74 on Thursday, BTC /USD raced to an intraday peak of $27,002.39 earlier in the day. As a result of the move, bitcoin climbed to its strongest point since June 2022, when price was above $28,500. Bitcoin chart by TradingView Since this latest rally, the 10-day (red) moving average is now on the verge of an upwards crossover with its 25-day (blue) counterpart, which many see as a sign of a longer-term bull run. In addition to this, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) has broken out of a resistance level at 67.00, mov...

The Africa-focused venture capital (VC) firm, Echovc, has launched a fund that seeks to support blockchain startups on the continent. While global blockchain funding has been on a decline over the past year, Echovc founder Eghosa Omoigui claimed that investing now enables the VC to get in “at lower entry valuations on average than in prior years.” Startups Offering Blockchain-Based Solutions Qualify for Funding The pan-African venture capital firm, Echovc, recently said it had launched an $8 million fund which is dedicated to Africa’s blockchain startups. According to the company’s blog post , the fund known as the Echovc Chain will be accessible to startups that are attempting to solve the continent’s challenges using the blockchain. As noted in a report by Techcabal, Echovc’s new fund has been launched at a time when global funding for crypto and blockchain startups has been declining. The drop in funding has already forced some entrepreneurs to sell their startups. Echovc Tar...

An international operation has taken down Chipmixer, a cryptocurrency mixing service that allegedly laundered more than $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The operation involved national authorities in the U.S., Germany, Belgium, Poland, and Switzerland — with Europol’s support. International Operation Takes Down Chipmixer The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday “a coordinated international takedown of Chipmixer,” which it described as “a darknet cryptocurrency ‘mixing’ service responsible for laundering more than $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency.” Europol, which provided support for the operation to take down the mixing service, independently announced: National authorities took down the infrastructure of the platform for its alleged involvement in money laundering activities and seized four servers, about 1909.4 bitcoins in 55 transactions (approx. EUR 44.2 million) and 7 TB of data. U.S. federal law enfor...

An investigation into digital asset exchanges in the Russian capital has established that some of them are ready to buy digital coins and deliver paper money in the U.K. The transfer of funds does not usually involve the identification of the clients, Transparency International Russia reveals in a report. Russia-based Cryptocurrency Exchanges Swap Stablecoins for British Cash Russian crypto exchanges that can transfer money abroad without following know-your-customer (KYC) procedures and anti-money laundering (AML) are in the focus of a study conducted by the Russian Chapter of Transparency International. The results were presented in a new report published on Wednesday. The association’s researchers were able to identify more than 20 coin trading platforms operating from Moscow International Business Center, commonly referred to as Moscow City. Through conversations with operators, they also found that eight of them were ready to exchange U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins for British...

The Ethereum layer two (L2) scaling solution Arbitrum has launched a native governance token named ARB and a self-executing decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) governance model. The ARB token will have an initial supply of 10 billion, and coins will be airdropped to the Arbitrum DAO treasury, Offchain Labs (the company behind Arbitrum), Offchain Labs investors, users of the Arbitrum platform, and DAOs that are building with the L2 technology. Arbitrum Launches Self-Executing DAO Governance Model That Aims for Increased Decentralization Arbitrum, the L2 scaling project, has announced the launch of a self-executing DAO governance model and a new governance token called ARB on March 16, 2023. “Today, the Arbitrum Foundation is extremely excited to announce the launch of DAO governance for the Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova networks, alongside the launch of ARB,” the team tweeted on Thursday. The ARB airdrop will be distributed to eligible Arbitrum ecosystem participants, and c...

Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) collapse has had a “limited impact” on the European Union but authorities must still “stay alert” to events as they unfold, European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness has said. Despite McGuinness’ reassuring remarks, stocks of Europe’s largest banks still plunged by as much as 10% on March 15. Silicon Valley Bank’s ‘Limited’ EU Impact According to the European Commissioner for financial services, Mairead McGuinness, the collapse of the U.S. bank Silicon Valley Bank has so far had limited impact on the European Union (EU). However, in her March 15 remarks before the EU parliament, McGuinness said the region’s authorities should “stay alert” to the unfolding events in the international markets. McGuinness also revealed that the European Commission (EC) is currently monitoring the banking situation in the United States and that it hopes to learn important lessons. “The direct impact on the European Union seems to be limited but we should reflect on whether ...

Bitcoin briefly moved back above $25,000 on Thursday, as markets rebounded from a volatile session the day prior. The potential collapse of Credit Suisse was somewhat averted, following an intervention from the Swiss National Bank, which has helped calm markets. Ethereum mostly consolidated in today’s session. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) rose back above the $25,000 level in today’s session, as market volatility eased, as the Swiss National Bank moved to prevent a collapse of Credit Suisse. Following a low of $23,964.91 on Wednesday, BTC /USD rallied to an intraday peak of $25,240.62 earlier in the day. As a result of the move, bitcoin once again broke out of a key resistance level at the $25,050 zone. Overall, BTC is now trading 15% higher from the same point last week, with the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) at its strongest point since February 20. Currently, the index is tracking at 62.54, which is marginally below a resistance point at the 65.00 mark. This ceiling remain...

The Nigerian central bank has said the recently demonetized ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1,000 banknotes will remain legal tender until Dec. 31, 2023. The central bank statement, which reaffirms a Supreme Court ruling that extended the lifespan of the demonetized naira banknotes, followed a rebuke of the CBN by the outgoing Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari. Central Bank’s Silence and the Resulting Speculation The Central Bank of Nigeria finally issued a statement on March 13 reaffirming a Supreme Court ruling which extended the lifespan of the recently demonetized naira notes. In the statement, the CBN said the ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1,000 banknotes would “remain legal tender alongside the redesigned banknotes till December 31, 2023.” After the Nigerian Supreme Court ruled against the central bank’s decision to demonetize the old naira banknotes, the CBN initially did not issue a statement directing banks and the public to accept the old notes. CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, as well as the outgoin...

Meta, the social media company, will continue to shed part of its workforce, recently announcing 10,000 new layoffs to be executed during 2023 as part of its new efficiency policy. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the company, stated that artificial intelligence (AI) was currently the company’s most prominent investment, even over the metaverse. Meta Announces 10,000 Layoffs, Striving to Achieve Sustainability Meta, the parent company of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, has announced a new set of moves as part of its “year of efficiency” policy. In a Facebook post , Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new round of 10,000 layoffs, which will be executed during the remainder of 2023. Furthermore, he stated that 5,000 open hiring spots will be closed. Zuckerberg explained that these layoffs were the consequence of the new economic configuration that the U.S. and the world are currently facing. In this sense, Zuckerberg declared: Higher interest rates lead to the economy run...

The founder of cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato has denied guilt in a money laundering case in the United States. Anatoly Legkodymov was arrested in Miami, in mid-January, for his role in running the trading platform which allegedly processed over $700 million in illicit funds. Bitzlato Founder Legkodymov Appears in US Court Anatoly Legkodymov, one of the founders and majority owner of the Russia-linked crypto exchange Bitzlato, has made his first appearance in New York federal court on Tuesday, the Law360 portal reported. He has been ordered held without bail over allegations of laundering millions in criminal proceeds through the platform, which he has denied. The Russian national, a resident of China, was detained by the FBI in Miami on Jan. 17 and charged with unlicensed money transmitting. The defendant was also accused of operating the Hong Kong-registered exchange that failed to implement anti-money laundering safeguards and processed more than $700 million dollars’ worth of...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says cryptocurrency investment fraud rose 183% from $907 million in 2021 to $2.57 billion in 2022, based on data from its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The FBI also warned the public of “a spike in cryptocurrency investment schemes.” FBI’s Crypto Crime Statistics The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published its 2022 Internet Crime Report last week. The report is compiled using data from the agency’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) which “serves as a public resource to submit reports of cyberattacks and incidents,” the bureau described. “In 2022, investment scams were the costliest scheme reported to the IC3. Investment fraud complaints increased from $1.45 billion in 2021 to $3.31 billion in 2022, which is a 127% [increase],” the FBI wrote, adding: Within those complaints, cryptocurrency investment fraud rose from $907 million in 2021 to $2.57 billion in 2022, an increase of 183%. “Crypto-investment scams saw unpre...

Bitcoin briefly surged to a nine-month high late on Tuesday, as prices moved above the $26,000 mark. Although prices have since declined, overall sentiment remains bullish following the latest U.S. inflation report. Consumer prices fell to 6% last month, with ethereum climbing above $1,700 as a result. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) fell from a nine-month high on Wednesday, following yesterday’s post-U.S.-inflation-report rally. BTC /USD is trading at $24,858.50 at the time of writing, hours after prices surged to a peak of $26,514.72. Tuesday’s peak saw the world’s largest cryptocurrency hit its strongest point since June 13, when BTC was above $26,600. Bitcoin chart by TradingView Earlier gains have since fallen, which comes as a result of the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) nearing a ceiling of 65.00 Currently, the index is tracking at 63.07, however overall momentum remains higher, with the 10-day (red) moving average trending upwards. Should the ceiling of 65.00 be ...

A recent study that examined the interest of several countries in bitcoin and crypto ranked El Salvador as second for having the most interest in the issue. While the U.S. was still ranked first, El Salvador’s high rank comes amidst criticism President Nayib Bukele has drawn from Salvadorans for his push for bitcoin adoption. El Salvador Retains Interest in Bitcoin El Salvador ranks amongst the countries most interested in learning about bitcoin and its uses, according to a recent study made by Crypto Betting, a decentralized gaming portal. The study, which examined the behavior of the queries using Google Analytics and the number of bitcoin ATMs in each country, found El Salvador was the country with the second highest interest in the subject. The study gave the country a grade of 46.19 on a scale of 0 to 100, where the most interested countries in bitcoin ranked closer to 100. About the situation of El Salvador, the report stated: El Salvador is a unique and prominent player i...

Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere these days. With the rise of ChatGPT and other trending AI applications, many cryptocurrencies have been rushing to adopt it as well. However, not all AI is created equal. Logical-AI, an approach adopted by Tau , has been an integral part of Agoras token for a long time, and it is what sets it apart from other cryptocurrencies. Agoras ($AGRS) is the first cryptocurrency entirely run by its users in a sound manner. It is the cryptocurrency of Tau Net, a user-controlled blockchain network. This unprecedented user control over the network and its tokenomics is made possible by Tau technology, which is based on the use of Logical AI – a combination of a unique software specification language and communication paradigm. The use of Logical AI allows Tau to detect and calculate agreed constraints and highlight points of agreement, disagreement, and implications across conversations in formal languages. The resulting specification is ex...