Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud discussed potential collaboration between Saudi Arabia and the BRICS on Friday. In addition, Putin and the Saudi Crown Prince “expressed satisfaction with the level of coordination at OPEC Plus aimed at ensuring the global oil market stability,” the Kremlin press service details. Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Discuss Key Bilateral Issues, Including BRICS Collaboration Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia discussed several important bilateral issues during a phone call on Friday, Russian news outlet Tass reported, citing a statement released by the Kremlin press service after the call. The statement details that Russia and Saudi Arabia are satisfied with the level of coordination in the OPEC+ framework, stating: The parties expressed satisfaction with the level of coordination at OPEC Plus aimed at ensuring the global oil ma...

Telegram users can now buy, sell, and send bitcoin, as the leading cryptocurrency has been integrated into the Wallet bot on the popular messaging application. The bitcoin support follows the wallet’s recent tether integration, which enables users to transact with the stablecoin as well. Over a Billion Telegram Users Can Now Transfer Bitcoin in Chats On Friday, April 21, the @wallet bot on Telegram announced the addition of bitcoin (BTC) support to its web interface. The development team explained that previously, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization was only accessible in the text bot. “Now, all @wallet users will be able to take full advantage of our web interface,” the announcement on Telegram details. Telegram is extremely popular among cryptocurrency users, and according to a report from April 2023, the messaging app has an estimated 1.068 billion users. Bitcoin.com News confirmed that BTC has been added, as our publication tested the @wallet bot on Telegram...

On April 20, the American toy manufacturing company Mattel announced an update to its virtual collectibles platform, which will go live on April 27. The peer-to-peer platform, called Mattel Creations Virtual Collectibles, will coincide with the Hot Wheels NFT Garage Series 5, featuring some of Hot Wheels’ most popular car designs. Mattel Creations Virtual Collectibles Platform to Launch Peer-to-Peer Market Feature The toy manufacturer Mattel, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAT ) is continuing to expand into the non-fungible token (NFT) realm with the latest update to its Mattel Creations Virtual Collectibles platform. The addition is a peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace powered by the NFT company Rarible . Mattel collaborated with the wallet-as-a-service provider Magic and its blockchain partner Flow . The P2P marketplace launch will coincide with the launch of the Hot Wheels NFT Garage Series 5, a collection of digital collectibles designed by the same team that created the Hot Wheels die-cast cars. ...

Elvira Nabiullina, governor of the Bank of Russia, has affirmed the bank has stockpiled reserves in assets that are not susceptible to being affected by U.S. sanctions. The official clarified that Russia has built a “safety cushion” in these assets while it continues working on creating new reserves in non-U.S. sanctioned assets. Russia Built Bank Reserves out of Non-Sanctioned Assets Russia has managed to create a so-called safety cushion for its economy, based on assets that are not susceptible to being blocked by U.S. sanctions, according to Elvira Nabiullina, governor of the Bank of Russia. According to reports from the Russian news agency TASS, Nabiullina stated that since the country was affected by a wide package of sanctions due to its involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the bank has focused on piling up this kind of resource. Nabiullina stated the country could “relax” due to the existence of this reserve, and explained the country would keep stockpiling such asset...

PRESS RELEASE. The team behind Worker or Sheikh is excited to announce the launch of their groundbreaking Play-to-Earn game, designed to provide players with an immersive and sustainable gaming experience. With its unique economic model, easy-to-learn gameplay, and AI-driven optimization, Worker or Sheikh is set to redefine the Play-to-Earn landscape. Worker or Sheikh offers players two distinct roles within the game: Workers, who extract oil barrels from the wells, and Sheikhs, who act as investors and receive a passive income from the Workers’ efforts. This dual-role system promotes an inclusive gaming environment that caters to players with different investment capacities and gameplay preferences. One of the standout features of Worker or Sheikh is its sustainable economics, designed by experts and optimized using artificial intelligence. The game employs systems for deflation, dividends, staking, burning, and more, ensuring a stable and sustainable gaming ecosystem over time. ...

Nearly a month after Do Kwon’s arrest by Montenegro law enforcement, local prosecutors have now indicted the co-founder and CEO of Terraform Labs. The decision to indict Kwon is likely to delay attempts to extradite him to South Korea and the United States where he faces several charges. Local prosecutors have reportedly asked a court to extend Kwon and his associate’s detention. Kwon’s Hideout Seized by Local Law Enforcement Prosecutors in Montenegro have reportedly hit Terraform Labs co-founder and CEO Do Kwon with charges of using a fake passport and other identification documents when he attempted to flee the Balkan state on March 23, 2023. According to a DL News report, Kwon’s indictment is likely to complicate efforts to extradite him to the U.S. and South Korea where he faces multiple charges. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Kwon and his associate Han Chang-Joon were arrested while attempting to leave for Dubai via a private jet. At the time of his arrest, Kwon...

A University of Tehran professor and member of Iran’s Presidential Delegation to China has stressed the importance of de-dollarization for the international community. “The dollar has been used as a weapon by the U.S. against different countries. It is unreliable and it is dangerous,” the professor warned. Iranian Professor Stresses the Importance of De-Dollarization Professor Mohammad Marandi discussed de-dollarization and Iran’s relations with Saudi Arabia and China in an interview with Chinese government-owned news outlet Global Times, published Wednesday. He is an Iranian American academic who is the University of Tehran’s Vice President for International Affairs and a member of Iran’s Presidential Delegation to China. Commenting on the de-dollarization trend in several parts of the world, Marandi emphasized: De-dollarization is very important for the international community, because the dollar has been used as a weapon by the U.S. against different countries. It is unreliabl...

Bloomberg Intelligence’s senior commodity strategist, Mike McGlone, has warned that the U.S. economy is “heading towards a severe deflationary recession,” emphasizing that the Federal Reserve is still tightening. “Typically, when you have commodities collapsing at this velocity in the past, the Fed has already been easing, and they’re still vigilant against that,” he cautioned. Strategist Says We’re ‘Heading Towards a Severe Deflationary Recession’ Mike McGlone, a senior commodity strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence (BI), the research arm of Bloomberg, warned in an interview with Yahoo Finance Live last week that the U.S. economy is heading towards a severe deflationary recession. He described: I see what we’re doing is heading towards a severe deflationary recession, as indicated by commodities, by the Fed still tightening. “Now we have a pretty serious credit crisis going on with just pulling back of deposits from the major banks. That means it’s just starting to get started...

Fewer nations are willing to hold the U.S. dollar as America’s share in the global economy becomes smaller while China’s role in international trade expands, billionaire Ray Dalio noted. The founder of the world’s largest hedge fund also said that Western sanctions on Russia have highlighted new risks of keeping dollar assets. ‘Dollar Is Debt,’ Central Banks Are Less Inclined to Hold It The importance of the U.S. fiat in international trade is decreasing and as a result the dominance of the dollar is fading, billionaire investor Ray Dalio said in recent interviews on Youtube. He also pointed out that sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have exposed new threats for governments keeping assets in the American currency. Central banks around the world are less inclined to hold the greenback, the founder of Bridgewater Associates remarked on the Julia La Roche Show last week. “Dollars are debt. In other words, when one holds a dollar — a central bank — they hold a d...

A new token named after Pepe the Frog, the infamous meme, and cartoon character created by Matt Furie, has entered the meme coin economy. The token is called Pepe (PEPE), and at the time of writing, it has become the sixth-largest meme coin asset in terms of market capitalization, valued at just over $130 million. However, amidst the fast rise, both the website coinmarketcap.com and the Web3 security startup Gopluslabs have warned that the contract owner may have the ability to modify the transaction tax and blacklist function. PEPE Market Booms Despite Warnings of Contract Modification Doge and the other dog friends in the meme economy have a new companion, but this time, the newcomer is a frog, specifically Matt Furie’s Pepe the Frog. The coin pepe (PEPE) has not been around for long, appearing on the scene on April 18, 2023. According to current statistics, PEPE is up more than 400% from the coin’s all-time low on the day it started trading. Two days later, on April 20, PEPE’s m...

Bitcoin dropped for a second consecutive session on Thursday, as price moved towards a key point of support. Today’s sell-off has sent the cryptocurrency below $29,000, with the coin now trading at a ten-day low. Ethereum fell to a one-week low in today’s session. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) was once again in the red on Thursday, as traders continued to secure gains from last week’s bull run. BTC /USD fell to an intraday low of $28,596.91 earlier in today’s session, which comes a day after hitting a high of $29,509.35. This is the lowest point that bitcoin has hit since April 10, when price traded at a bottom of around $28,100. Looking at the chart, Thursday’s move saw BTC fall under a recent floor at $28,600, with the relative strength index (RSI) also dropping toward a floor of its own. At the time of writing, the index is now tracking at 51.47, which is marginally above the aforementioned support at 50.00. BTC has already moved away from earlier lows, and is currently trading ...

In 2022, African blockchain businesses raised a total of $474 million, a 429% increase from what was raised in the year earlier, the latest CVVC African blockchain funding report has revealed. The custody and exchanges category raised over $250 million, which is equivalent to more than 50% of funds raised by blockchain companies. South Africa and Seychelles Accounted for More Than 80% of Funds Raised According to the latest CVVC Africa Blockchain funding report , blockchain businesses from the continent raised $474 million in 2022, a year-on-year funding increase of 429%. The report states the continent’s 2022 total blockchain funding was realized from some 29 deals, about four more than the 25 that were sealed in 2021. Regarding individual countries with the biggest share of the total funding, the report showed that South Africa (37.3%) and Seychelles (43.9%) alone received more than 80% of the total. Nigeria, which accounted for the second-highest share in 2021, had nine deals wi...

On Wednesday, Sotheby’s, one of the world’s largest brokers of fine and decorative art, announced its plans to auction a number of non-fungible token (NFT) assets that were previously owned by the now-defunct crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC). The auction, called the “Grails” NFT collection, will take place during Marquee Sale Week at the firm’s New York location. Sotheby’s Introduces the ‘Grails’ NFT Collection In July of last year, the crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) filed for bankruptcy protection, and Teneo took over as the liquidator for the firm. In February, Teneo announced its intentions to sell a significant non-fungible token (NFT) collection that the now-insolvent company had amassed. Sotheby’s, the luxury auction house founded in 1744, will auction several of 3AC’s blue-chip NFTs under the name “ Grails Collection .” On Wednesday, Sotheby’s tweeted about the upcoming auction, which will begin on May 19, 2023. The auction house’s metaverse divi...

According to Trezor, the crypto hardware wallet manufacturer, owners of the Trezor T model can now use a Coinjoin feature to preserve their privacy. Trezor had announced the Coinjoin feature’s impending arrival on the hardware wallet seven months ago, and the feature went live on April 19. Trezor Adds Coinjoin to Software Suite Owners of the Trezor T model can now use a new Coinjoin service that was added to the device’s features on Wednesday. Trezor announced in September 2022 that the Coinjoin feature was coming after the company revealed its collaboration with the developers of the Wasabi wallet. Essentially, Coinjoin enables bitcoin users to obfuscate their UTXOs by mixing their funds with a pool of other users. The technology has been available since 2013, and several other blockchains have utilized the scheme to mix UTXOs. Hardware Wallet Coinjoins. Coming April 19th, 2023. pic.twitter.com/cVilSYXBBO — Trezor (@Trezor) April 12, 2023 The use of Coinjoin with the Tre...

According to the latest Coingecko crypto industry report, during the first quarter of 2023, bitcoin became the best-performing asset after it saw its U.S. dollar value go up from just under $17,000 observed on Dec. 31, 2022, to just over $28,000 by March 31, 2023. The report attributes the crypto asset’s resurgence to “increased volatility from the banking crisis” and to Binance’s decision to end part of its zero-fee incentive scheme for bitcoin trades. Bitcoin Beats Nasdaq Index and Gold After closing the past year trading below $17,000, bitcoin staged a comeback that saw it close the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 trading above $28,000. With this performance, bitcoin, which eventually went past the $30,000 level, has outperformed major asset classes including the Nasdaq index and gold, data from the latest Coingecko crypto industry report has shown. As shown in the report , bitcoin’s quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth of 72.4% makes it the best-performing asset during the period. The Na...

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, would not answer a direct question in a congressional hearing about whether ether is a security. While the SEC chair insisted that the law is clear on crypto, Congressman Patrick McHenry argued that the SEC’s regulatory actions say “there’s a great deal of uncertainty.” Lawmaker Probes SEC Chair Gary Gensler on Whether Ether Is a Security The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, testified on Tuesday before the House Financial Services Committee on the oversight of the SEC. During the hearing, the committee’s chairman, Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), asked the SEC chief whether ether ( ETH ) is a commodity or a security. McHenry explained that back in 2018, Bill Hinman, who was the director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance at the time, stated that ether was not a security. Last month, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC),...

Taylor Swift, a pop icon and 12-time Grammy Award winner, reportedly turned down a $100 million sponsorship offer from the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX due to concerns about unregistered securities. A number of FTX celebrity endorsers are currently facing a class action lawsuit, including Shaquille O’Neal (Shaq), Tom Brady, and Larry David. How Taylor Swift Avoided Partnering With FTX Taylor Swift, a famous singer-songwriter who has won 12 Grammy Awards from 46 nominations, reportedly did due diligence on now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX and turned down a sponsorship proposal from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November of last year. Adam Moskowitz, one of the attorneys leading a $5 million class-action lawsuit against 16 celebrity endorsers of FTX revealed during an episode of the Block’s Scoop podcast that Swift took the step of consulting with her lawyer when approached by SBF, in contrast to other celebrities who in...

After the New York Times (NYT) published an editorial about bitcoin mining, claiming the industry is harmful to the environment, an organization called Stop the Presses took issue with the Times’ paper usage. Stop the Presses launched a social media campaign against the NYT’s newspaper production. The organization’s website, nytimesup.org, alleges that the company “kills approximately 59 million trees per year.” Activists Blast New York Times Over Physical Newspaper Print Production On April 10, 2023, the New York Times faced criticism for publishing a one-sided “hit piece” on bitcoin mining. Crypto proponents claimed that Times reporter Gabriel Dance did not use factual information. Since then, the focus has shifted to the environmental impact of the American news outlet, founded in 1851, due to its newspaper production. A group called Stop the Presses launched a social media campaign and website exposing the news business’s current printing practices. The accusation is that t...

After announcing the production of bitcoin application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, appears to be abandoning its blockchain chip production. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the chip manufacturer explained that Intel has “end-of-lifed the Intel Blockscale 1000 Series ASIC.” Intel Spokesperson Discloses Company Has End-of-Lifed the Blockscale 1000 Series ASIC In February 2022, the California-based technology company Intel made headlines when it announced its plan to create “energy-efficient accelerators,” or ASIC technology, to contribute to the development of blockchain technologies. Later that month, at the 2022 International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), the company unveiled the Bonanza Mine BMZ1 . At that time, Tom’s Hardware author Paul Alcorn stated that Intel was also developing a second iteration of the Bonanza Mine ASIC, known as the BMZ2. Moreover, in March 2022, it was reported tha...

The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, expects the price of bitcoin to keep rising. “I’m betting on it,” he said. Kiyosaki also shared that he bought 60 bitcoin when the price of the cryptocurrency was at $6,000 per coin. Robert Kiyosaki Expects Bitcoin’s Price to Keep Going Up The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has expressed his confidence that the price of bitcoin will keep 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 Tuesday: Bitcoin up over 100% in a year. Will bitcoin keep going up? I’m betting on it. At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading at $30,264.50, up 82% year-to-date. However, the largest cryptocurrency is down 26% from the previous year but up 224% over the past five years. The famous author added: “W...

PRESS RELEASE. Volt Inu announced on Twitter on April 18, 2023, that it would launch VoltiEco within the following 3 weeks. VoltiEco, an AI-powered ecosystem, will collect existing and upcoming crypto protocol airdrops to sustain the Volt Inu ecosystem by rewarding holders and ensuring project development. A new product developed by Volt Inu Volt Inu has recently announced that it would launch VoltiEco, a decentralized and autonomous protocol that aims to engage with multiple network, protocol, or blockchain airdrops. Through VoltiEco, Volt Inu aims to sustain the company’s ecosystem, as VoltiEco can easily become a major revenue stream for Volt Inu. VoltiEco leverages blockchain technology, automated algorithms, and AI (Artificial Intelligence) to optimize and automate users’ entry into various crypto airdrops. The project is focused on automation and decentralization and aims to maximize the financial value creation for the Volt Inu ecosystem while also working to minimize ri...