Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he does not want anti-crypto people on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He also slammed the securities regulator for protecting banks rather than the American people. “What they’re doing is obscure, it’s not transparent, and it’s not bringing transparency to our system,” said the presidential hopeful. RFK Jr on SEC, Bitcoin, Crypto Regulation U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) expressed admiration for bitcoin while criticizing the regulatory approach of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) towards the cryptocurrency industry in an interview with Thestreet, published Friday. RFK Jr. is a nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy and a son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. Sharing his intention to nominate crypto-friendly individuals to the SEC should he be elected president, Kennedy stated: I don’t want people on the SEC commission who are anti-crypto. At mos...

Bkex, a crypto exchange based in the British Virgin Islands, has suspended withdrawals due to an allegation that a user’s “funds were involved in money laundering.” In order to assist law enforcement with their investigation and gather evidence, Bkex said it has decided to halt withdrawal activity for the time being. British Virgin Islands-Based Digital Currency Platform Bkex Pauses Withdrawals At 7:56 a.m. Eastern Time on March 29, the digital currency trading platform Bkex took to Twitter to share important news about the suspension of withdrawals. In an announcement on Monday, Bkex revealed that a user’s funds were linked to a money laundering incident. To facilitate the collection of evidence, the crypto exchange will temporarily halt all withdrawals and collaborate closely with the police. “[The] Bkex team will fully cooperate with the regulatory investigation and do its best to restore the normal operation of the exchange,” the announcement details. “The team will actively ...

On May 29, Huobi HK announced its expansion of services after Hong Kong implemented its new crypto exchange license system. The platform now provides spot and custodial services to both retail and institutional customers in Hong Kong. Huobi’s update comes shortly after Huobi Global faced regulatory hurdles in Malaysia, where authorities prohibited the operation of its crypto trading platform without a proper permit. Huobi HK Launches Spot Trading and Managed Services in Hong Kong Huobi Global’s Hong Kong trading arm Huobi HK has announced it is offering spot trading services and custodial solutions to retail and professional traders. Hong Kong’s new licensing regime was launched in May with help from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) CEO Julia Leung. Leung said at the end of April that the effort could make Hong Kong “more attractive [and] more competitive” for “international and Mainland capital.” Crypto trading platforms will be regulated by the regulator’s Fin...

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic development news during the last week. In this issue, Venezuela tries to regain control of the gold stash held in London again; Argentina seeks to expand the Chinese yuan swap line; and Azteco enables bitcoin purchases in more than 55,000 stores in Colombia and Costa Rica. Venezuela Appeals to Regain Control of Gold Held in England The Venezuelan government has introduced a new appeal to try and regain control of the Venezuelan gold held in the vaults of the Bank of England. According to the appeal presented before the London Court of Appeals by the party representing the Central Bank of Venezuela board controlled by President Nicolas Maduro, the disbandment of the interim government of Juan Guaido on January 2022 changes the case’s background. The board named by the Venezuelan assembly, elected back in 2015 to protect the country’s foreign assets, has no official recognition from the U.K...

  In the cryptocurrency realm, there are thousands of projects born every year – each with aspirations to set the bar higher. The harsh reality is that most fail somewhere along the way, not for lack of passion or trying, but rather they lack the full list of ingredients required to create something truly great. So what exactly are those ingredients? The truth is – no one determines this except the investors or the user base – So then the real question becomes, what do investors want to see, and what value can a project bring to users in the space? One project, SquidGrow , co-founded by notorious crypto billionaire – Shibtoshi , and renowned trader – AreDub , looks to have discovered these answers through the heart of the bear market. So let’s dive in, what is SquidGrow doing so well where others are struggling? For starters, investors want to see other investors joining them for a common goal. If the sectors where investors communicate and share their thoughts about a pr...

The Nigerian gift card and crypto trading platform, Patricia, announced on May 26 that one of its trading applications had been breached and that BTC as well as naira assets were compromised. The crypto exchange platform said it has since suspended withdrawals and is presently “undergoing internal restructuring.” Patricia Says Customer and Merchant Assets ‘Secure’ The Nigerian gift card and crypto exchange platform, Patricia, revealed on May 26 that hackers had breached its retail trading application leaving an undisclosed amount of BTC and naira assets compromised. According to an update issued by the firm, other crypto balances were not affected by the breach. Patricia also reassured the public that the assets belonging to its customers and merchants were still secure. Hello Chief, We have a much needed update for you. #patriciatechnologies #cryptocurrencies pic.twitter.com/AcOIdIE8Vu — Patricia (@PatriciaSwitch) May 26, 2023 However, despite the statement which sough...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko says his country’s response to sanctions is to deepen relations with the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “The creation of a comprehensive economic union remains our priority,” he emphasized. “There should be no barriers and no restrictions at all. This is a basic principle for building our union, and we must reach this target as soon as possible.” Belarus Prioritizes Building Economic Union With ‘No Barriers and No Restrictions at All’ Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko outlined his country’s priorities and response to sanctions during the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting in Moscow on Thursday. The meeting was chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko explained that Belarus’ response to sanctions is to strengthen cooperation within ...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance says it has created a new crypto trading platform for Japan residents that will be available this summer. The new exchange will fully comply with Japanese crypto regulations and will offer trading of a limited number of tokens initially, according to the exchange. Binance Has Created New Crypto Trading Platform for Japan Users Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced that it is launching a local crypto trading platform for residents of Japan this summer. Binance wrote: We are pleased to announce that we have created a new platform for residents in Japan in order to fully comply with local regulations. “The new platform will be available this summer. We will inform the launch date and provide further details in the coming months,” the global crypto exchange continued. The services offered by Binance’s global platform will b...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  In the past 21 months following Ethereum’s London hard fork, the network has witnessed the destruction of over 3.33 million ether, valued at $6.1 billion. At present, roughly 3.51 ether is burned every single minute. Standing out as a prominent participant in the burn process since August 5, 2021, just below conventional ETH transfers, is the Opensea platform, which has contributed to the burning of 230,050 ETH . More Than $6 Billion in Value Destroyed Since EIP-1559 Back on August 5, 2021, a significant event occurred in Ethereum’s history with the implementation of the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1559 as part of the London upgrade . Since then, 660 days have passed. In the initial three months alone, over 700,000 ether was burned, setting the stage for what was to come. Fast forward to the end of May 2023, utilizing the latest burn metrics, EIP-1559 has fueled t...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  Roughly three months ago, 74 AI-driven digital currencies boasted a market value exceeding $4 billion. However, since that time, the AI-centric crypto market has experienced a loss of more than $1 billion in value. The Decline in AI-Driven Cryptocurrencies: $1 Billion Wiped Out From Market At the start of the year, products incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) witnessed substantial demand with the rise of AI-focused software noted throughout 2023. This trend permeated into the cryptocurrency sphere, resulting in up to 74 AI-centric tokens amounting to a value of $4.03 billion by the end of February. At its peak, the AI crypto market recorded a $444.39 million 24-hour trade volume on February 27, 2023. Presently, both trade volume and market valuation within the AI crypto sector have significantly decreased. Data from cryptoslate.com reveals that a total of 89 crypto ...

The development bank set up by the BRICS bloc is negotiating with Saudi Arabia on accepting the country as a member, according to a press report. The talks come as the bank, created as an alternative to similar institutions led by the West, seeks to expand its funding options amid sanctions on one of its founding shareholders, Russia. BRICS Development Bank Engaged in ‘Qualified Dialogue’ With Saudi Kingdom The Shanghai-based New Development Bank ( NDB ), established by the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), is in talks with Saudi Arabia on admitting the country as a member, the Financial Times reported. The negotiations come as the NDB prepares to evaluate its options to attract funding during its annual meeting starting on Tuesday, affected by the penalties imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, the British daily noted. “In the Middle East, we attach great importance to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and are currently engaged in a qualifie...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a warning regarding investments in assets like cryptocurrencies. They will remain unregulated in most countries until the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) law is enforced across the Union, the regulator pointed out. ESMA Highlights Risks Related to Unregulated Products and Services for Crypto and Other Assets The European Union’s securities watchdog, ESMA, has issued a statement warning investors of risks arising from investment firms providing both regulated and unregulated products and services for crypto and gold, among other assets, as well as some non-transferable securities. These usually fall outside the scope of the EU’s existing financial services regulation but are offered as alternatives to financial instruments. ESMA remarked that retail investors often rely on the reputation of a provider and a...

The future fate of the U.S. dollar continues to dominate financial news, as investor Jim Rogers says the USD’s time is “coming to an end,” and nine Asian countries have been discussing de-dollarization measures in Iran. In other news, an expert has predicted that the price of gold will skyrocket due to economic conditions, and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has said of interest rates that people “should be prepared for rates going higher from here.” All this and more just below, in this latest Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. 9 Asian Countries Discuss De-Dollarization Measures in Meeting Hosted by Iran Top officials from nine Asian countries, members of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), have gathered in Tehran for their annual meeting, where de-dollarization takes center stage. In addition to the officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, Russia’s central bank governor and officials from Belarus and Afghanistan also attended the meeti...

The White House and House Republicans have reached an agreement in principle to raise the U.S. debt ceiling. Described by President Joe Biden as “good news for the American people,” the deal would open the door to avoiding a historic default by the government in Washington and averting not just a potential economic catastrophe in the United States but a global recession as well. Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy Announce In-Principle Agreement to Raise Debt Ceiling After weeks of negotiations, which put an end to a months-long stalemate, the White House and the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives now have “an agreement in principle” on a deal to raise the debt ceiling in the U.S. for two years and limit budget spending. The agreement has been reached by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a phone call on Saturday. Both sides are now facing the difficult task to convince the Republican-controlled House and Democrat-dominated Senate to back the deal ...

According to Fraser Edward, the CEO and co-founder of the public permissionless network, Cheqd, one of the main hurdles faced when attempting to move data stored on Web2 servers to Web3 is “establishing a clear and scalable revenue model.” Edward however suggested overcoming this hurdle will unlock new use cases which facilitate economic activities within the Web3 ecosystem will be unlocked. The Trusted Data Market The Cheqd co-founder also told Bitcoin.com News that in today’s data-driven world, greater emphasis is now being placed on obtaining accurate and verified data. This shift in value from what Edward labeled generic data to trusted data is evidenced by users’ demand for data that is portable and cryptographically verifiable. According to Edward, it is this demand for assured data that has given rise to what is now known as the “trusted data market.” Meanwhile, in the rest of his responses to questions from Bitcoin.com News, the Cheqd CEO touched on the so-called “bot paran...

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has updated her projection regarding the date the U.S. government could default on its debt obligations. She warned that the Treasury “will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5.” Yellen Warns US Could Default on June 5 U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has revised her estimate for the potential date of a U.S. default. In a letter she sent to all congressional leaders Friday regarding the debt limit, Yellen wrote: Based on the most recent available data, we now estimate that Treasury will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5. “We will make more than $130 billion of scheduled payments in the first two days of June, including payments to veterans and Social Security and Medicare recipients. These payments will leave Treasury with an extremely low level o...