Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Before taking the stage at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami, U.S. presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. emphasized the democratic nature of bitcoin, calling it an “exercise in democracy.” Additionally, during his Florida appearance, Kennedy revealed that his campaign would accept bitcoin for political contributions. RFK Jr. Champions Bitcoin as a Democratic Tool, Now Accepts Leading Crypto for Campaign Contributions Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Democrat challenging incumbent U.S. president Joe Biden, declared that his campaign would welcome bitcoin (BTC) donations. At the conference, Kennedy underscored the widely recognized connection between bitcoin and the pillars of democracy and liberty. If elected president, he pledged to “ensure the United States remains the global hub of bitcoin.” Many attendees at the Bitcoin 2023 conference expressed approval of Kennedy’s remarks. One individual tweeted , “Truly surreal to listen to a Kennedy speak to how his presidency would secur...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  Binance Australia said on May 18 that it is “unable to facilitate PayID AUD deposits for Binance users” due to a third-party payment service provider’s decision to discontinue support for the crypto exchange. Binance Australia said while it works to find an alternative, users can still “buy and sell crypto using credit or debit cards.” Scott Collary, an executive at the service provider, claimed that “scammers are increasingly using overseas exchanges.” Binance Australia Seeks an Alternative Third-Party Payment Service Provider Crypto exchange Binance Australia announced on May 18 that it had “temporarily” suspended Australian dollar services after its payment service provider Westpac abruptly discontinued support for the platform. As a consequence, the crypto exchange said it is now “unable to facilitate PayID AUD deposits for Binance users.” The exchange warned users that t...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  On May 18, 2023, at block height 790,272, Bitcoin’s difficulty reached an all-time high after rising 3.22% on Thursday. The network’s difficulty is now at an impressive 49.55 trillion, or 0.90% away from 50 trillion hashes, making it the most difficult it has ever been to discover a block reward. Bitcoin’s Difficulty Rises to Uncharted Territory, Straining Miners This year, Bitcoin once again broke a record as the network’s difficulty jumped by 3.22% , rising to an unprecedented height of 49.55 trillion . The network’s difficulty is a measure of how hard it is to find a hash value that meets the required criteria for a new block to be added to the Bitcoin blockchain. Notably, the recent rise in difficulty followed a 1.45% drop at block height 788,256, where the chain’s difficulty remained at 48.01 trillion for approximately two weeks. ​​Bitcoin miners are currently dedicati...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  Cosmos fell to a key price floor on Friday, as bearish sentiment returned to cryptocurrency markets. Volatility has been high most of the week, with today seeing the global market cap drop by 0.95% as of writing. Chainlink also slipped in today’s session. Cosmos ( ATOM ) Cosmos ( ATOM ) dropped to a key support point on Friday, as bearish sentiment returned to the market. Following a high of $10.92 on Thursday, ATOM /USD slipped to an intraday bottom of $10.50 earlier in the day. The drop in price saw the token collide with its long-term floor, with bulls opting to buy the dip from that point. At the time of writing, ATOM is trading at $10.61, which is still almost 3% lower than yesterday’s peak. From the chart, it appears that the shift in momentum came after a failed breakout of a ceiling of 48.00 on the relative strength index (RSI). The index is now tracking at 40.7...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  During the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami, bitcoin mining rig producer Microbt unveiled three new additions to their Whatsminer series. The latest Whatsminer models, namely the M50S++, M53S++, and M56S++, boast hashpower ranging from 150 terahash per second (TH/s) to an impressive 320 TH/s. Microbt Introduces Cutting-Edge Whatsminer Models at Bitcoin 2023 This week at Miami’s Bitcoin 2023 event, Microbt introduced three distinct application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin mining devices. “Microbt is glad to release three new models of Whatsminer M50 series at Bitcoin 2023 which are air-cooling M50S++, hydro-cooling M53S++ and immersion cooling M56S++,” the company tweeted on May 18. Micorobt’s three new miners are expected to be released to the general public this month. The newly released models offer significantly more hashpower compared to previous iteratio...

Bitcoin once again fell below the $27,000 level on Friday, ahead of a panel discussion which includes Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Powell will be holding a discussion with former Chair Ben Bernanke at a conference in Washington. Ethereum was marginally lower today. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) dropped below the $27,000 mark on Friday, ahead of a panel discussion which will include Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Markets anticipate some forward guidance from Powell regarding future decisions that the Federal Reserve could take in coming months. Following a high of $27,466.53 on Thursday, BTC /USD dropped to an intraday low of $26,415.10 earlier today. Bitcoin chart by TradingView The move, which saw the price fall by over $1,000, pushed bitcoin towards a key price floor at $26,300. Friday’s slippage occurred as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) once again dropped below a resistance of its own at the 42.00 mark. Price strength is now tracking at 40.83, with bears possibly targetin...

Eurozone banks are profitable but the benefits from higher interest rates may be smaller than expected, according to the deputy head of the single currency area’s monetary authority. The official noted that while most of the tightening has been done already, more rate increases are to come. Euro Banks Have Solid Fundamentals, ECB’s de Guindos Says, Rate Raises to Continue The turmoil in the eurozone’s banking sector has been “short-lived” due to limited exposure to bank stress in the U.S. and Switzerland and shielding regulations, Vice President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Luis de Guindos said during a banking conference in Spain. Euro area banks are weathering the storm also thanks to solid fundamentals in key areas such as resilience, liquidity, and profitability, the high-ranking official emphasized. However, he also thinks there is no room for complacency amid a challenging outlook that creates uncertainties. “While higher interest rates boost banks’ net interest income...

Cryptocurrency proponents in the United States are facing increasing challenges when it comes to utilizing digital assets for expenditures. Several crypto companies have encountered difficulties in securing banking partners. This week, Bitpay, a prominent player in the crypto payments sector, made an announcement regarding the termination of its current Bitpay prepaid Mastercard program. This decision follows the end of its partnership with Metropolitan Commercial Bank. Crypto Payment Giant Bitpay Ends Prepaid Mastercard Program Bitpay , the Atlanta-based crypto payments company, has made the decision to halt its prepaid Mastercard program, rendering the card unusable for Bitpay Mastercard holders after the specified deadline. Breaking the news through a series of informative tweets on May 18, 2023, Bitpay also notified cardholders via email . Urging users to promptly terminate any recurring payments linked to the prepaid card, the company has set June 1, 2023, as the final day for...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  The digital ruble law project, which was already discussed and approved in its first reading, could be passed in June, according to Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Duma’s Financial Markets Committee. The Bank of Russia is currently waiting for the enactment of this ruleset to conduct a live test of the CBDC’s (central bank digital currency) capabilities with real users. Digital Ruble Law to Be Passed in June, According to State Duma Official The race to have a digital ruble cryptocurrency law approved in Russia is coming to an end. The Russian State Duma (the lower chamber of the Russian parliament) has estimated that the digital ruble — the Russian central bank digital currency (CBDC) — cryptocurrency law might be approved in June, according to statements from the chairman of the Duma’s Financial Markets Committee Anatoly Aksakov. On Tuesday, Aksakov stated : The bill on...

The governments of Russia and Iran are starting to phase out the usage of the U.S. dollar to conduct bilateral trade settlements. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated that 80% of Russia-Iran trade transactions are settled using national currencies and that they are considering also the usage of the Chinese yuan. 80% of Russia-Iran Trade Settlements Involve National Currencies Russian and Iran have started to phase out the usage of the U.S. dollar in their bilateral trade settlements. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, the call to use national currencies, including the Russian ruble and the Iranian rial, has been effective, leaving only a small amount of these transactions still relying on the U.S. dollar. After meeting with Iranian officials, Novak stated : We discussed these issues in great detail today, and both the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia were present, as were our Iranian counterparts. I believe approximately 80% of o...

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has announced the commencement of its e-HKD pilot which “will take deep dives into potential use cases in six categories.” The pilot paves the way for “the possible implementation of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC),” the central banking institution explained. Pilot Program for e-HKD Begins The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced Thursday “the commencement of the e-HKD Pilot Programme.” The central banking institution revealed that 16 firms from the financial, payment, and technology sectors have been selected to participate in the first round of e-HKD pilots for 2023. The HKMA detailed: The pilots will take deep dives into potential use cases in six categories, including full-fledged payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenized deposits, settlement of Web3 transactions, and settlement of tokenized assets. “The HKMA will conduct a series of pilots in close collaboration with various stakeholders to ex...

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced that Venezuela will shift away from using U.S. dollars in trade, emphasizing that the de-dollarization process is “inevitable.” He described: “This is the path of Venezuela and the path of a free economy where currencies are not used to punish countries and impose sanctions.” Venezuela Shifting Away From USD in Trade The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, said on his weekly “Con Maduro +” program earlier this week that Venezuela will shift away from using the U.S. dollar in trade. Commending Zimbabwe for its initiative to issue gold-backed digital currency, he said (as translated from Spanish by Google): Many alternative initiatives to the dollar are emerging in the world. We could say that we are beginning to experience a sustained accelerated process of de-dollarization of the commercial world — of world trade. He added that it would be good for Venezuela to study these initiatives, emphasizing that the process of de-doll...

Interest rate hikes in the euro area are already causing a decline in housing investment, the zone’s central bank revealed in a study. While smaller than in the United States, the impact of the monetary policy tightening on the Old Continent is likely to grow further, the regulator expects. Housing Investment in Europe Declining Amid ECB’s Rate Increases The series of rate hikes announced by the European Central Bank (ECB) is already depressing housing spending across the eurozone, the monetary authority has established in a study , the results of which were published on its website on Wednesday. The findings come after in early May the ECB raised its key interest rates by 25 basis points (bps), slowing the pace from previous increases. The bank has raised them by a total of 375 bps since last July, Reuters noted in a report. The impact of the rate hikes on home purchases in Europe is likely to increase in the future, although it will remain smaller than that in the United States...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  Court documents filed on May 17, 2023, reveal that current executives overseeing FTX and its subsidiary, Alameda Research, have initiated a lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, Nishad Singh, FTX’s former director of engineering, and Zixiao “Gary” Wang, co-founder of FTX. The legal action stems from the exchange’s ambitious FTX Stocks project, which was being pursued alongside the acquisition agreement with Embed, a stock clearing service. Legal Battle Ensues as FTX Executives Accuse Former CEOs of Fraud in Relation to FTX Stocks Venture Representatives for FTX Limited and the subsidiaries Alameda Research and West Realm Shires (WRS) are suing three former FTX executives over a deal the company now believes is “worthless.” Prior to FTX’s bankruptcy protection filing, Bankman-Fried, Singh, and Wang allegedly purchased a stock clearing firm and FINRA-license...

Between 2017 and 2022, hacking groups affiliated with North Korea are thought to have stolen crypto assets worth $721 million from Japan alone. According to the findings of a study by Elliptic, hackers were primarily focused on Japan and Vietnam because operators from the two countries had lax security systems. Japan Losses Equivalent to 30% of the Global Total According to the findings of a study conducted by the blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic, North Korea coordinated cyber attacks targeting Japanese crypto assets netted $721 million worth of digital assets between 2022 and 2017. This figure is equivalent to 30% of total global losses that have been attributed to North Korea-affiliated hacker groups. As per the report in Nikkei Asia, which commissioned the study, the value of crypto assets stolen from Japan alone is 8.8 times more than North Korea’s 2021 export figure. While the cyber attackers are thought to have targeted several countries, the Nikkei report suggested tha...

Authorities in Pakistan intend to prohibit all internet-based crypto services despite significant digital-asset investments made by Pakistanis. The decision comes as government officials in Islamabad take a strong stance against the legalization of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Crypto ‘Will Never Be Legalized in Pakistan,’ Minister Tells Senators Pakistan’s government announced on Wednesday its decision to suspend cryptocurrency services offered online in the country, local media reported. One of the declared goals of the measure is to prevent illegal transactions with digital assets. The State Bank of Pakistan ( SBP ) and the Ministry of Information Technology have already started working on banning cryptocurrencies, Minister of State for Finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha revealed during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue. Cryptocurrency will “never be legalized in Pakistan,” Pasha insisted, quoted by the News International daily. She cited requirements by...

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva has announced that state oil company Petrobras will not be using US dollar-based international prices to set its internal fuel pricing structure. The “Brazilianization” of the industry determines discounts for distributors, with prices now being determined by other benchmarks. Brazilian President ‘Lula’ Announces New Fuel Pricing Structure; Abandons U.S. Dollar Import Parity Peg Brazilian President Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva has announced the establishment of a new price policy for fuel and oil derivates in the country on Tuesday, breaking away from the import parity for prices pegged to the US dollar. Petrobras, Brazil’s state oil company, will now use different benchmarks to set its fuel and diesel prices for distributors. The measure, which was part of Lula’s presidential campaign promises, was called a “victory for the people” by the president. Lula informed that prices of fuel and diesel would be lowered by more than 12%, while...

The Council of the European Union has given its final approval to new regulations for crypto assets and markets in the EU. The decision completes a lengthy and complex legislative process for what’s considered to be the world’s first comprehensive legal framework for digital assets like bitcoin. EU Finance Ministers Give Final Nod to Markets in Crypto Assets Law At a meeting on Tuesday, the EU Council , composed of the finance ministers of the member states, adopted the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation. The set of rules brings crypto assets, their issuers and crypto service providers under a Union-wide regulatory framework. The formal adoption is the final step in the legislative process, the Council noted. It comes after a provisional agreement was reached in June 2022, following trilogue negotiations with the European Parliament and the Commission, and the EU lawmakers’ vote in April of this year. “I am very pleased that today we are delivering on our promise to sta...

South Africa’s BRICS Sherpa says one of the priorities at the upcoming BRICS summit is “to strengthen economic cooperation.” He added: “We need a stable global financial architecture, a global financial arena. That is why we say that we need to trade in our own currencies.” He also believes that the recession forecasts by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank will not affect the BRICS nations. BRICS Sherpa Discusses Summit Priorities South Africa’s BRICS Sherpa, Anil Sooklal, delved into the agendas and priorities of the upcoming BRICS summit under South Africa’s presidency in an interview with BRICS TV, published Wednesday. Sooklal previously taught at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the University of South Africa. He also served as Deputy Director General of the Asia and Middle East Department of International Relations and Cooperation until January 2022. From 2006 to 2012, he served as South Africa’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium, and Luxembour...

Top executives from 146 major companies in the U.S. — including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Nasdaq, and Pfizer — have urged President Joe Biden and congressional leaders to act swiftly to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt, which could occur as early as June 1. They warned of “potentially disastrous consequences” if the U.S. defaults on its debt obligations. Executives Warn of ‘Disastrous Consequences’ From US Default A total of 146 executives from major companies in the U.S. have jointly written an open letter to President Joe Biden and congressional leaders urging them to take swift action to save the U.S. from defaulting on its debt obligations. Among the letter signers are Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, Guggenheim Partners Executive Chairman Alan Schwartz, and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. Addressing President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker...

Axie Infinity Origins, the blockchain-based, play-to-earn (P2E) game, has successfully cleared Apple’s rigorous App Store review process and the game’s app is now available for Apple iOS users. Sky Mavis, the creator behind Axie Infinity, has adopted a strategic approach by rolling out the game’s app in stages, with targeted release plans for various Latin American and Asian countries. Blockchain Game Axie Infinity Origins Clears Apple’s Review Following the phased release on the Google Play Store, Axie Infinity Origins is now available for Apple iOS users in select countries. The game’s developer, Sky Mavis, announced the launch of the iOS version on Wednesday. “Origins has passed review with Apple and is now available on the App Store,” Sky Mavis said. “We believe this is the first time that Apple has agreed to make an externally-purchased NFT usable on the App Store,” the team added. The blockchain-based game that leverages non-fungible token (NFT) assets, Axie Infinity, was la...

Russia’s tax administration is going to be tasked with overseeing the crypto industry in the country, a high-ranking government official has indicated. According to the regulatory concept that’s currently under consideration, the revenue service will also serve as an entry point for market participants. Russians to Report Crypto Holdings and Transactions to Their Tax Service The Federal Tax Service of Russia ( FTS ) will likely be the nation’s leading regulator for the cryptocurrency sector and admit participants to the market, Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev has said in interview with the daily Izvestia. Russian lawmakers are preparing to adopt a package of laws on crypto assets during the spring parliamentary session. According to the draft legislation designed to introduce rules for the industry, the Russian government is expected to appoint a state body that will regulate it. The matter is still under discussion, Moiseev remarked. “In the concept that we have developed,...