Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

  In just under two weeks, the number of unconfirmed transactions on the Bitcoin network has skyrocketed from 134,000 to over 390,000, causing a bottleneck in the mempool. This surge in unconfirmed transactions has resulted in a staggering 343% increase in transaction fees, which have risen from $1.99 per transaction on April 26 to a current rate of $8.82 per transaction as of May 7. Bitcoin miners are struggling to keep up with the demand, leaving many users frustrated and unable to complete their transactions in a timely manner. Bitcoin Network Struggles with Unprecedented Traffic and Soaring Fees As of Sunday, May 7, 2023, the Bitcoin network is experiencing a major traffic jam due to an overwhelming number of unconfirmed transactions. The latest statistics reveal that a whopping 390,000 transfers are currently stuck in limbo, waiting for confirmation. This backlog can be attributed to the surge in minting and transferring of Ordinal inscriptions and BRC20 tokens, which have...

  Louisiana Republican senator John Kennedy recently stated in an interview published on Wednesday that the U.S. Federal Reserve may need to increase the federal funds rate to 8-10% to address the country’s inflationary pressures. Kennedy’s remarks come after he criticized the Biden administration in mid-March for bailing out Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, emphasizing that the decision to make all depositors whole “was a bail out,” regardless of what it was called. Senator John Kennedy: ‘Powell’s Gonna Have to Raise Rates Much Higher Than He Normally’ During a recent interview with CNBC, Louisiana Republican senator John Kennedy expressed his belief that the U.S. central bank will need to increase the benchmark bank rate from its current level of 5% to around 8-10% to combat inflation. Kennedy went on to state that Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell will have to raise rates much higher than usual if Congress does not slow down its stimulus spending. On the same day...

  Since April 18, 2023, the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) has been fluctuating just below the $50 billion threshold. As of today, the TVL amounts to $49.31 billion, registering a 1% increase within the last 24 hours. TVL in Defi Shows Signs of Improvement, Yet to Surpass Previous Record of $53 Billion Currently, the combined TVL across all defi platforms stands at $49.31 billion as of May 6, 2023, with Lido Finance leading the pack by commanding a 24.82% share of $12.24 billion on Saturday. Over the past month, Lido’s TVL has grown by 9%, while posting a moderate 2.42% increase in the preceding week. The remaining top five candidates in today’s defi landscape include Makerdao, Aave, Curve Finance, and Uniswap; three out of these four experienced monthly downturns, with Uniswap being the exception by posting a 3.48% gain over the past 30 days. Ethereum takes the lion’s share of this TVL with its $28.66 billion accounting for over 58% of the defi marke...

  After the second largest bank failure in history, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly investigating First Republic Bank executives for allegedly engaging in insider trading. Two sources have claimed that the securities regulator is scrutinizing the bank’s executives for making trades using confidential information. Although the sources have not named any specific individuals under investigation, they assert that the SEC is looking into the matter. Furthermore, reports indicate that U.S. lawmakers sold shares of the troubled bank before it collapsed and was acquired by JPMorgan Chase. Securities Watchdog Investigates First Republic Execs On May 1, 2023, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) took control of First Republic Bank, a San Francisco-based financial institution, and placed it under the receivership of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). With $229 billion in assets, this was the second largest b...

  Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is facing a U.S. probe over suspected violations of sanctions against Russia, according to a media report. The inquiry is looking into whether the trading platform was used by Russians to circumvent financial restrictions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Crypto Exchange Binance Faces Another US Probe, Sources Say The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is trying to establish if Binance Holdings , the operator of the world’s largest crypto exchange, has been used to allow Russians to evade Western sanctions, Bloomberg revealed, quoting multiple sources familiar with the matter. According to five people who chose to remain anonymous, the Department’s national security division is looking at whether the company or its officials have violated restrictions introduced in relation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as part of a confidential investigation. “The probe, which hasn’t previously been reported, is moving on a parallel track with an exis...

  Four days ago, the market capitalization of all the BRC20 tokens built on top of the Bitcoin network was a modest $95 million. However, over the past four days, the BRC20 market valuation has seen tremendous growth, increasing by 192% and reaching $279 million. More Than 13,000 BRC20 Tokens Built on Bitcoin Are Now Worth $279M The BRC20 token standard, which is built on top of the Bitcoin network, is gaining momentum and the BRC20 token economy is flourishing. As of Sunday, May 7, 2023, the BRC20 token economy is valued at $279.07 million , with approximately 13,530 tokens in circulation. This marks a significant increase from just four days ago when the BRC20 token market capitalization was $95 million and there were around 10,487 BRC20 tokens. The top ten most valuable BRC20 tokens today are ordi, pepe, piza, meme, moon, punk, domo, oshi, xing, and shib. Ordi is currently the most valuable BRC20 coin, with a single ordi token exchanging hands for $9.46. With a market valuat...

Software developer Jason Dreyzehner says smart contracts “comparable to Ethereum,” but remarkably more efficient will be made possible by the May 15 upgrade coming to the Bitcoin Cash network. In other news, the world’s largest regional organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) plans to switch to settlements in national currencies, moving away from the U.S. dollar. This and more, just below, in the latest Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. Bitcoin Cash Smart Contracts ‘Comparable to Those on Ethereum’ Possible via May Upgrade, ‘1000x Efficiency Advantage’: Dev Jason Dreyzehner Pro-freedom technologies advocate and software developer Jason Dreyzehner recently spoke with Bitcoin.com News via email about the upcoming Bitcoin Cash network upgrade on May 15. One of the most talked about improvement proposals set to go through on that date — which proponents view as a boon to economic freedom — is the Cashtokens CHIP. Beyond UTXO-level token creation, the upgrade will allow...

A strategist at Swedbank, a Swedish bank, has warned that the regional banking crisis in the U.S. is spreading. After several bank failures, he stressed that Pacwest Bank, Western Alliance Bank, and First Horizon Bank have all been “subject to financial meltdowns.” Swedbank on U.S. Banking Crisis Spreading Pär Magnusson, a fixed income strategist at Swedbank, a Swedish bank based in Stockholm, has warned about the spreading of the U.S. banking crisis. He reportedly said : After Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, First Republic Bank and now potentially Pacwest Bank, Western Alliance Bank, and First Horizon Bank all having been subject to financial meltdowns, the proverbial cat will be very difficult to put back into the bag. First Republic Bank was seized by regulators last week and most of its assets were sold to JPMorgan Chase. It was the biggest U.S. bank failure since 2008. Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed in March. Following the seizure of First Republic...

On May 4, in a recent Youtube video, Validus Power Corp.’s executive director, Greg Foss, discussed the potential for the banking industry’s failures to wipe out $10 trillion in equity. Foss expressed his support for “hard assets” such as real estate, gold, and bitcoin. He believes that bitcoin, the leading crypto asset, is one of the best hard assets available. According to Foss, bitcoin provides insurance against “the failure of a basket of fiat currencies.” Foss Supports Holding Hard Assets Like Real Estate, Gold, and Bitcoin In less than two months, chaos has erupted in the U.S. banking industry following the second, third, and fourth-largest bank failures in the country’s history. During a conversation with Kitco’s lead anchor and editor-in-chief, Michelle Makori, Greg Foss weighed in on Fed chairman Jerome Powell’s recent statement that the U.S. banking system is “sound and resilient.” “I think Jerome Powell is a horrible poker player,” Foss opined to Makori. “There’s ano...

Platforms authorized by the Russian government issued digital assets worth around a billion rubles in April, the local press reported. The spike in the volume has been attributed to Russian companies experimenting with new financial instruments amid limited access to traditional capital. Russia’s Digital Assets Market Livens Up as Capital Markets Dry Up for Russian Businesses Seven placements of digital financial assets (DFAs) for a total of about 1 billion rubles ($13 million) were made in Russia last month, the Kommersant reported . Experts quoted by the business daily note that while this market is still rather small, significant projects may be expected by the end of this year. DFAs are relatively new instruments in Russia defined in the law “On Digital Financial Assets” that went into force in January 2021. Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, which are yet to be comprehensively regulated, these represent “digital rights” to securities or utility tokens and must have an issu...

The U.S. Federal Reserve has revealed that 722 banks reported unrealized losses exceeding 50% of their capital at the end of the third quarter of 2022. “Rising interest rates are creating significant unrealized losses in investment securities and in some cases depressing tangible equity,” according to the Fed’s Division of Supervision and Regulation. 722 Banks Reported Unrealized Losses of More Than 50% of Capital The U.S. Federal Reserve has revealed in a board presentation by the Division of Supervision and Regulation that 722 banks reported unrealized losses exceeding 50% of their capital at the end of the third quarter of 2022. The presentation, released to the public in April, is dated Feb. 14. It highlights the impact of raising interest rates on certain banks and the Fed’s supervisory approach to address issues at these banks. “Rising interest rates are creating significant unrealized losses in investment securities and in some cases depressing tangible equity,” the Fed pres...

A high court in the United Kingdom recently set aside a proprietary injunction that was issued against the crypto exchange Binance. In its application challenging the injunction, Binance said the action had been taken without notice. Binance also said it could not comply with the injunction since it was granted after the fraudulently acquired crypto assets in question were moved. Claimant Proceeded Against Binance Without Notice A United Kingdom high court recently ruled to set aside an interim proprietary injunction against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The interim injunction, which required Binance to preserve a certain amount of cryptocurrency, was issued after a victim of cryptocurrency fraud claimed to have traced the stolen funds to the crypto exchange. According to a recent post on the law firm Herbert Smith Freehills’ blog , the discharge of an injunction against Binance is one of the first known cases where a cryptocurrency exchange has challenged granting a proprie...

In the past week, sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have increased by 1.46%, raking in a total of $149,312,180. However, while the number of NFT buyers has risen by 22.48%, the number of NFT transactions has decreased by 8.78% compared to the previous week. Azuki Emerges as Top-Performing NFT Collection This Week With 504.96% Sales Surge Over the past week, non-fungible token (NFT) sales have experienced a modest uptick, rising by 1.46% compared to the previous week. In total, NFT sales amounted to $149.31 million, with Ethereum-based NFT sales accounting for $108,272,701 of that figure. Ethereum NFT sales made up 72.5% of all digital collectibles sold in the past week. The latest statistics reveal that Ethereum NFT sales have surged by 22.79% this week. This week, Solana-based NFT sales made up $12,225,000 of the total sales, however, this marks a 56.64% decrease from the previous week. Ethereum and Solana sales still lead the pack, followed by Mythos, Polygon, and Immutable X...

Efforts to transition to trade in national currencies in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) can no longer be stopped, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. During a meeting with his colleagues in India, Moscow’s top diplomat also discussed the similar initiative within BRICS. Sergey Lavrov Convinced SCO Countries Will Switch to National Currencies, Won’t Rule Out Single Fiat There is understanding about increasing the use of national currencies in settlements between the member states of the SCO, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov said after conferring with counterparts in Panaji, capital of the Indian state of Goa. To achieve that, Lavrov believes participants can apply practices that are being formed in the Eurasian Development Bank, the Asian Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the New Development Bank established by the BRICS bloc. “All this was discussed. All of this is very relevant. All this is now being considered by the rele...

Following Binance’s withdrawal from the Voyager Digital deal on April 25, the now-defunct crypto lender has recently informed creditors that they can expect to receive their initial cash and crypto distributions “within the next few weeks.” This update comes nine days after Binance’s decision to back away from the deal. Voyager Digital Expects Initial Distributions to Creditors ‘Within the Next Few Weeks’ Voyager Digital has published an update for creditors. According to a tweet from the firm on May 4, 2023, they may be able to expect some cash or crypto back “in a few weeks.” This update comes after a long and difficult journey for the TSX-listed crypto lender. Last year on July 1, 2022, Voyager Digital halted withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy just days later. Since then, the defunct business has been navigating the bankruptcy process after it was almost acquired by Binance US. After Binance US backed out of the deal , the crypto lender has been left to navigate the bankrup...

Texas has taken its first steps in order to approve a bill that would issue a 100% gold-backed digital currency. If enacted as law, the bill, which is being discussed by a Texas House committee, would create an electronic system for users to transact and pay with this digital currency and would also allow them […]

  According to John Reed Stark, crypto exchange Coinbase’s assertions that its business activities were endorsed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when it approved its initial public offering are “a surefire loser.” According to Stark, the SEC’s approval of Coinbase’s registration statement was done to ensure the latter had made “proper disclosures in their application.” SEC Not Constrained by Any Doctrine John Reed Stark, a former chief of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of Internet Enforcement, has said the arguments that Coinbase’s business activities were endorsed by the commission when it approved its initial public offering (IPO) are “a surefire loser.” Stark also said the assertion that Coinbase has “some sort of regulatory safe harbor” and that the SEC is constrained by some sort of doctrine “has no basis in law or in fact.” The remarks by Stark came just days after Coinbase chose to publicly disclose its response to the Wells ...

  Recent data reveals that while the banking industry in the U.S. is facing significant challenges, executives are mentioning “credit tightening” more frequently in earnings calls than during the 2008 financial crisis. Additionally, Google Trends data indicates a surge in search queries related to bank failures and crises. The findings suggest that the U.S. economy is experiencing a period of instability and uncertainty, prompting concerns among market observers. ‘Credit Tightening’ Mentions on Company Calls Highlight Concerns Over the Stability of the U.S. Banking Industry The U.S. economy is struggling with a trifecta of challenges: soaring inflation, steep interest rates, and a banking industry in disarray. Since Silvergate Bank’s announcement on March 8, 2023, that it would cease operations and liquidate its assets, the country has witnessed a string of significant bank failures. Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank have all followed suit, marking the...

  The government of Kazakhstan has collected over $7 million in taxes this and last year from enterprises mining cryptocurrency in the country. The news comes amid growing regulatory pressure that is limiting the industry’s access to low-cost energy while increasing its tax burden. Miners Face Higher Expenses, More Challenges Under New Legislation Kazakhstan’s coffers have received 3.07 billion tenge (almost $6.9 million) in tax payments from entities involved in the minting of digital currencies in 2022, the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance announced, quoted by local media and the crypto news outlet Forklog. Cryptocurrency miners in the Central Asian nation are required to pay taxes and fees since Jan. 1, last year. In 2023, they have already transferred 240 million tenge (almost $540,000) to the budget, by April 27. All due payments for the first quarter must be made by May 25, the finance ministry reminded. On Feb. 6, this year, President Kassym-Jomart To...

  Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has warned of “highly uncertain and adverse” economic consequences if the U.S. defaults on its debt obligations. “No one should assume that the Fed can protect the economy from the potential short and long-term effects of a failure to pay our bills on time,” he further cautioned. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Debt Default Warning Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has warned of the potential consequences of a U.S. debt default. “We’d be in uncharted territory and the consequences on the U.S. economy could be highly uncertain and adverse,” he said this week, adding: No one should assume that the Fed can protect the economy from the potential short and long-term effects of a failure to pay our bills on time. Powell’s warning came after the Federal Reserve increased its key interest rates by 25 basis points this week — its 10th hike in 14 months. The increase takes the Fed Funds Rate to a target range of 5%-5.25%, the highest since August 2...

  Professor Ashok Swain of Uppsala University’s Department of Peace and Conflict Research says Saudi Arabia joining the BRICS economic bloc “would accelerate the bilateral trading being conducted using the yuan as the trading currency. ” How Saudi Arabia Joining BRICS Could Boost Use of Chinese Yuan Ashok Swain, a professor of peace and conflict research at Uppsala University in Sweden, told Al-Monitor last week that Saudi Arabia joining the BRICS economic bloc would accelerate the use of the Chinese yuan as a trading currency. Professor Swain is head of Uppsala University’s Department of Peace and Conflict Research. He is also the UNESCO chair on International Water Cooperation. Commenting on Saudi Arabia joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, he said: There is no doubt that Saudi Arabia becoming a member of China-dominated SCO and BRICS would accelerate the bilateral trading being cond...