Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians  Four days ago, on May 31, 2023, the cross-chain protocol Multichain announced on Twitter that the team has been unable to locate the firm’s CEO. As a result, controls to several blockchain network routers have been impaired. The project’s native token, MULTI, has experienced a 1% decline in the last 24 hours and a decrease of over 50% in the past two weeks. Multichain Protocol Struggles as CEO Disappears This week, the cryptocurrency community has been discussing the Multichain Cross-Chain Router Protocol after the team revealed its founder has gone missing. Multichain’s bridge technology allows users to transfer assets between different blockchain networks. As of the time of writing, the decentralized finance (defi) platform holds $1.45 billion in value. “In the past two days, the Multichain protocol has experienced multiple issues due to unforeseeable circumstances,” the t...

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians  While non-fungible token (NFT) sales witnessed a substantial increase in May, demonstrating significant progress, recent data indicates that NFT sales have soared by 39.35% within just the last week alone. Furthermore, sales figures for the trailing week demonstrate that the Bitcoin blockchain maintains its rank as second in weekly sales volume. Ethereum Dominates NFT Market with 60% Share, Bitcoin NFT Sales Capture 17% of Weekly Sales Volume The NFT sales for this week saw a 39.35% growth from last week, amounting to $202.22 million in global sales. The quantity of NFT buyers also expanded by 37.45%, reaching the current week’s total of 724,193 buyers. Besides those two data points, NFT transactions have ascended to 2,350,977 transactions, marking a 6.94% increase compared to the preceding week. In the meantime, sales originating from the Ethereum blockchain led the $202 milli...

The Twitter account of Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff was found advertising a gold-branded token as a result of an apparent hacking. His son, crypto enthusiast Spencer Schiff, warned users in a tweet not to follow the link posted by the unknown attackers trying to lure victims using his father’s name. ‘Dad Almost Certainly Hacked,’ Son Tweets After Peter Schiff Launches $GOLD Token on Twitter Hackers obviously took control of economist Peter Schiff’s Twitter account to promote the supposed launch of a “groundbreaking cryptocurrency token” called $GOLD. A series of tweets posted in the space of a few hours suggested that the digital asset represents tokenized gold and is “a complete and utter gamechanger for gold-backed DeFi” that will “empower the #Web3 community.” “Claim your $GOLD,” as it is “extremely close to selling out,” the perpetrators of the apparent scam urged followers of Schiff, who is a well-known gold proponent but also a vocal critic of cryptocurrencies like bitcoi...

Bitcoin started the weekend in the red, as markets continued to digest the latest nonfarm payrolls in the United States. Despite payrolls coming in better than expected, the unemployment rate also rose, hitting 3.7%, which is its highest point since last October. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) was mostly consolidating to start the weekend, as traders continued to digest the latest U.S. nonfarm payrolls data. Payrolls rose to 339,000 last month, which was higher than the 190,000 markets were expecting. Following a low of $26,898.00 on Friday, BTC /USD is trading at $27,149.78 at the time of writing. For many, a recent upward crossover of the 10-day (red) and 25-day (blue) moving averages was a signal that bullish momentum was set to return. However, yesterday’s economic data has added more questions than provided answers, as to what the Federal Reserve could do in its upcoming meeting. A ceiling at $27,300 remains a key hurdle for bulls to overcome, and should this occur, the chances o...

On Friday, Cathedra Bitcoin Inc. announced a partnership with 360 Mining, revealing plans to deploy mobile data centers and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin miners at 360 Mining’s off-grid location in Texas. 360 Mining and Cathedra Bitcoin Announce Texas Bitcoin Mining Venture According to Cathedra Bitcoin (CBIT), the firm will be deploying bitcoin miners at 360 Mining’s off-grid Texas campus. CBIT will pay $55.00 per megawatt hour for power consumed, plus 10% of gross bitcoin mined at the site, the announcement details. The deal gives CBIT the rights to two megawatts of mining capacity which could produce an estimated 0.054 exahash per second (EH/s) or 54 petahash per second (PH/s) of capacity. If necessary and its “economically advantageous to do so,” the company can abstain from bitcoin mining and sell the natural gas on the open market. “We are excited to begin working with 360 Mining, a company run by bitcoiners who have put in the proof-of-work to dev...

Lord Jim O’Neill, the British economist credited with coining the acronym BRIC, has explained that the U.S. dollar will lose its dominant status. He expects the Chinese yuan and possibly the Indian rupee to become “much more important currencies for the world.” Lord Jim O’Neill on USD Losing Its Dominant Status British economist Lord Jim O’Neill discussed de-dollarization and the potential for a proposed common BRICS currency or the Chinese yuan to replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency in a couple of interviews this week. O’Neill, a former Goldman Sachs economist, coined the acronym BRIC over 20 years ago to describe the economic potential of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa joined the group a few years later, and the acronym was changed to BRICS. O’Neill is now the chair of venture capital firm Northern Gritstone. He believes that the U.S. dollar will lose its world’s reserve currency status at some point, stating in an interview with Going Undergro...

Countries in the BRICS bloc intend to encourage the use of local currencies in cross-border trade, their foreign ministers revealed. The top diplomats, who met in South Africa, also emphasized the importance of financial inclusion, welcoming new technologies that support it. BRICS to Stimulate Trade Transactions in Local Currencies The BRICS group of the largest emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), will encourage the use of local currencies in international trade. The plan was announced during the meeting of their foreign ministers in Cape Town, Russian news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti reported. The first diplomats of the nations in the union met in South Africa’s oldest city on June 1 – 2. The hosting country took over the BRICS chairmanship from China earlier this year. In a joint statement published by its foreign ministry, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, they stated: Ministers underscored the importance of encourag...

The Tanzanian central bank said on May 31 that foreign currency dealers are required to trade all transactions that exceed $1,000,000 within “interbank foreign exchange market prevailing quoted prices.” According to the Bank of Tanzania, the latest directives are intended to “foster macroeconomic stability and safeguard the stability of the financial system.” Forex Dealers Must Only Trade With Authorized International Brokers The Tanzanian central bank has reminded forex dealers that all transactions exceeding USD 1,000,000.00 per transaction must be “traded within the interbank foreign exchange market prevailing quoted prices.” The central bank also reminded foreign currency dealers that they should only trade with licensed international foreign currency brokers. In a statement signed by the institution’s governor, Emmanuel M. Tutuba, the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) said it made the decision to issue the reminder after reviewing the operations of the foreign exchange market. “As part...

According to Rocket Pool, a liquid staking derivatives provider, users will have the ability to liquid stake their ETH using the Layer 2 (L2) Zksync Era network. The company clarified that Rocket Pool liquid stakers utilizing Zksync Era will enjoy faster speeds and lower transaction costs. Liquid Staking Protocol Rocket Pool Joins Forces With Zksync Era The liquid staking protocol Rocket Pool, ranked third in size, is set to integrate with Zksync, as announced on Twitter. Statistics reveal that Rocket Pool currently holds 733,575 ether, equivalent to $1.3 billion, within its liquid staking protocol. On Thursday, the team tweeted, “Rocket Pool is coming to Zksync Era. You’ll soon be able to liquid stake your ETH on Zksync Era by simply holding rETH in your wallet. Just like on mainnet and other L2’s, rETH will continue to accrue staking rewards automatically.” Liquid staking has gained popularity in recent years, and this year has witnessed a significant surge in the number of ...

Stablecoin provider, Circle Internet Financial, has revealed that its dollar-pegged token, USDC, will be natively introduced on the layer two (L2) blockchain Arbitrum on June 8. The announcement follows Circle’s disclosure of its euro-pegged coin, EUROC, merging with the Avalanche blockchain last week. Circle Plans to Launch USDC on Arbitrum on June 8 On Thursday, Circle revealed that usd coin (USDC) , the second largest stablecoin by market valuation, will make its debut on Ethereum’s L2 scaling network, Arbitrum. With a current market capitalization of roughly $28.8 billion, USDC ranks as the second-largest stablecoin. “USDC issued by Circle will be native to Arbitrum and will be considered the official version of USDC for the Arbitrum ecosystem,” Circle said on Thursday. “Over time, native USDC liquidity will grow and replace the currently circulating ‘bridged USDC’ liquidity that comes from Ethereum.” Arbitrum also released a blog post discussing the impending USDC native sup...

Cryptocurrency miners in Russia have extracted digital currencies for around $700 million last year, according to a state-run fintech entity. However, the growing industry remains unregulated with the government having postponed the adoption of the respective legislation once again. Russian Crypto Miners Produce Coins for up to 60 Billion Rubles in 2022 Miners operating in Russia have minted cryptocurrencies for an estimated 50 – 60 billion rubles ($620 million – $740 million) last year, the Director of the Skolkovo Fintech Hub Pavel Novikov announced, quoted by the Prime business news agency. Speaking at the “Finance of the Future: Challenges and Opportunities” conference organized by Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, the executive of the state-owned company pointed out that the figure ranks Russia second in the world by that indicator. Novikov also highlighted that Russian miners have consumed about 1 gigawatt ( GW ) of electric power during the same period. He also noted that th...

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk says commercial real estate is “melting down fast,” warning that home values will be next. Some experts disagree with Musk regarding the residential real estate market, including Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran. However, she agrees that the commercial real estate market is “going to be a bit of a bloodbath before it gets better.” Elon Musk’s Real Estate Market Warnings Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk warned about real estate markets in a tweet Monday. The billionaire cautioned that the commercial real estate market is “melting down fast,” predicting that home values will be next. Musk’s tweet was in reply to venture capitalist David Sacks, founder and partner of Craft Ventures, who extensively discussed the challenges faced by the commercial real estate market through a series of tweets over the past few days. Sacks highlighted the effects of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates from near 0% to about 5% in the past year, stating that they cor...

Economist Peter Schiff has warned of an impending U.S. dollar crisis. He predicted that with the new debt ceiling deal, “reckless government spending and borrowing will continue until a sovereign debt and U.S. dollar crisis bring it to a catastrophic end.” Peter Schiff’s Latest Economic, Dollar Crisis Warnings Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff has taken to Twitter to voice concerns about the U.S. economy and the impending U.S. dollar crisis. His warnings followed the recent debt ceiling deal reached to prevent the U.S. from potentially defaulting on its debt obligations. “Now that the fake debt ceiling crisis is behind us, we can focus on the real crisis that lies ahead,” Schiff tweeted Wednesday, emphasizing: Suspending the debt ceiling yet again means that reckless government spending and borrowing will continue until a sovereign debt and U.S. dollar crisis brings it to a catastrophic end. “The $1.5 trillion the debt ceiling deal purports to save over 10 years amounts to ...

Mark your calendars for the 14th and 15th of June, 2023, as the Louvre Palace, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, prepares to host Proof of Talk , the pinnacle of Web3 leadership and networking events. With the rallying cry of ‘Bringing Back Trust into Web3’, this summit is poised to be a hotbed of innovation, collaboration, and transformation. This inaugural edition of Proof of Talk is set to be a star-studded affair, featuring luminaries such as Charles Hoskinson, Co-Founder of Cardano, Pascal Gauthier, CEO of Ledger, Stani Kulechov, Founder & CEO of Aave, Justin Sun, Founder of Tron, Staci Warden, CEO of Algorand Foundation, and Marieke Flament, CEO of NEAR Foundation, and Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder of Polygon Technologies. This is your chance to rub shoulders with the brightest minds shaping the future of Web3. But the guest list doesn’t stop there. High-potential startups, government officials, and regulatory authorities from European powerhouses like the UK, Germany, and ...

A body representing the interests of Russian businesses has called on president Putin to help with crypto legalization. Their proposals, including on the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade settlements, have been included in a report to Russia’s head of state. Companies Urge President Putin to Support Legalization of Crypto Payments Russian businesses are seeking help from the Kremlin in efforts to legalize decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Their request has been included in the annual report of Russia’s Business Ombudsman, Boris Titov, to president Vladimir Putin. The recommendations were laid out in a paper titled “Key Business Problems under Sanctions and Structural Transformation in 2023” produced by the Institute of the Commissioner for the Protection of Rights of Entrepreneurs under the President of the Russian Federation. Among other suggestions, the authors urge for allowing the use of cryptocurrencies in international settlements. More specifically, they p...

A government official in Moscow has advised Russians to avoid cryptocurrencies now when interest in foreign fiat currencies is declining in the country. The high-risk assets are not suitable for the savings of most people and make sense only for investments by rich people, his comments suggest. Finance Ministry Don’t Want to See Russians Saving in Cryptocurrency Restrictions imposed by the Russian state on foreign currency accounts and operations amid Western sanctions have led to a decrease in the volume of savings kept in foreign fiats. Against this backdrop, Russians have been warned they shouldn’t switch to cryptocurrencies. “We would definitely not want citizens’ savings to be directed to digital currencies,” the head of the Financial Policy Department of the Russian Ministry of Finance, Ivan Chebeskov, stated during the blockchain conference “Finance of the Future: Challenges and Opportunities.” Cryptocurrencies are a high-risk instrument, he pointed out quoted by RBC Crypto...

PRESS RELEASE. According to a report by the World Bank in March 2023, the global poverty rate has reached an alarming figure, with approximately 659 million individuals living in impoverished conditions. Disturbingly, extreme poverty is notably concentrated in Africa. The first quarter of 2023 witnessed a surge in the number of impoverished households across Asia and Africa, primarily due to the devastating impact of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. In light of these challenges, CoinEx Charity , a charity branch of CoinEx, a global crypto exchange, has taken a proactive step towards empowering the dreams of children in need. The organization has announced the launch of the “Grant for Fulfilling Dreams” initiative in various regions, including Vietnam, Nigeria, Thailand, Indonesia, Syria, and Türkiye, commencing this May. The primary objective of this charitable program is to provide grants and school supplies to disadvantaged students, offering them opportunities to...

Kenyan President William Ruto recently urged his counterparts on the African continent to kickstart the process of ditching the U.S. dollar and replacing it with a pan-African settlement system. Ruto said the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS) allows business people to focus on moving goods and services. Pan-African Settlement System to Help African Countries Bypass U.S. Dollar Kenyan President William Ruto has called on fellow African leaders to start taking steps aimed at replacing the U.S. dollar with an alternative payment solution known as the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS). According to Ruto, this alternative settlement system, which was launched in Jan. 2022, allows African countries to use their respective currencies when trading among themselves. The Kenyan leader, who spoke at a forum of government and private sector officials, suggested that African countries can commence the process of ditching the dollar by encouraging central banks a...

PRESS RELEASE . Kermit The Coin, the hottest new memecoin in town, is making waves in the crypto community with its unique charm and promising potential. Today, the Kermit team is thrilled to announce several exciting developments that will take the project to new heights. Kermit The Coin, known for its lovable green frog mascot, has captured the hearts of crypto enthusiasts around the world. With a strong and growing community, Kermit has gained significant attention and support since its launch less than 48 hours ago. Here are the latest updates on Kermit The Coin: Impressive Milestones Achieved: Within just 24 hours of its launch, Kermit The Coin has already attracted over 1,200 holders, showcasing the immense interest and engagement from the crypto community. Additionally, the trading volume reached a staggering $16 million, reflecting the high demand and liquidity of Kermit in the market. Marketing Expansion: Kermit is doubling down on its marketing efforts to reach a wider a...

Acquiring a bank wouldn’t solve the issues with banking for Binance or others, the CEO of the largest crypto exchange is convinced. Speaking in the aftermath of the collapse of crypto-friendly banks in the U.S. and amid Binance’s issues with payment providers in Australia, Changpeng Zhao said investments in several banks might be a better option although not a guarantee that crypto won’t be cut off. Binance Founder CZ Responds to Call to Buy a Bank, Says He Doesn’t Like Running Businesses With Debt Binance has looked into the potential acquisition of a traditional bank but found that’s not an ultimate solution to its own and the crypto industry’s issues with banking. Changpeng Zhao ( CZ ), the exchange’s founder and chief executive, commented on the matter on the Bankless podcast this week. “You buy one bank, it only works in one country, and you still have to deal with the bank regulators of that country,” the crypto entrepreneur said, answering a question from Twitter user @Degen...

Shiba inu moved closer to a six-month low on Wednesday, as sentiment in cryptocurrency markets shifted bearish. Litecoin was another notable token to fall, slipping by over 4% today. The global market cap is currently down by over 2% at the time of writing. Shiba Inu (SHIB) Shiba inu (SHIB) fell below a key support point earlier in today’s session, moving closer to a six-month low as a result. Following a high of $0.000008784 on Tuesday, SHIB/USD dropped to a intraday low of $0.000008398 earlier in the day. This drop resulted in the meme coin falling below a key support point of $0.000008500, approaching its lowest point since January 8. From the chart, it appears that the latest decline comes as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) moved towards a floor at 32.00. At the time of writing, the index is tracking at 33.76, following a failed breakout of a ceiling at 44.00. Should price strength fall to the aforementioned support point, there is a good chance SHIB will hit a new ...

Multiple reports have revealed that Binance, the crypto exchange with the highest trade volume, has announced the removal of 12 privacy-focused cryptocurrencies from its markets in Spain, France, Poland, and Italy. Commencing on June 26, 2023, users residing in these four countries will no longer have the option to purchase or trade these privacy coins on Binance’s trading platform. Binance to Delist 12 Privacy Coins in Spain, France, Poland and Italy Binance has recently informed its customers in France, Spain, Italy, and Poland via email that it intends to remove 12 distinct privacy coins from these markets. Among the privacy coins set to be delisted are dash ( DASH ), verge (XVG), beam (BEAM), monero ( XMR ), navcoin (NAV), firo (FIRO), horizen (ZEN), secret (SCRT), zcash (ZEC), pivx (PIVX), decred (DCR), and mobilecoin (MOB). “Due to local regulatory requirements, Binance is no longer able to offer privacy-enhanced cryptocurrencies in France,” an email to French customers detai...