Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Spot and futures trading volumes on centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs) have increased in June, a new report shows. At the same time, website traffic to major trading platforms for digital assets continued to decline, according to the study which also tracks its geographical distribution. Spot Volume on Leading Exchanges Jumped by Over 10% in a Month Spot trading volume on major centralized platforms for cryptocurrency exchange rose 10.4% in June over the previous month, according to data from Coingecko compiled by Chinese crypto journalist Colin Wu, also known by his Twitter handle ‘Wu Blockchain.’ The highest increases were registered by Bitmart (61%), Upbit (48%) and Bybit (35%). Those with the most negative rates were Crypto.com (-18%), Huobi (-17%) and Mexc (-11%), Wu detailed in a blogpost published earlier this week. The futures trading volumes on these exchanges climbed by a similar percentage last month (9.5%). The top three change rates were Bitmart (46%), Deribit (15%...

A recently published survey by Bankrate reveals that there is a 3-in-5 likelihood of a recession occurring in the United States within the next year. Bankrate’s survey of economists firmly indicates that the chances of a recession taking place in the U.S. are greater than the chances of it not happening. Bankrate Survey: 3-in-5 Chance of U.S. Recession in Next Year According to economists surveyed by Bankrate, the probability of a recession occurring in the U.S. is significant. The survey, published on July 12, 2023, reveals that Bankrate’s experts estimate a 59% chance of a recession taking place by July 2024. Bankrate states that the expert forecasts “suggest a downturn is more probable than not.” “Illustrating those odds even more, most respondents (78 percent) indicated that the percentage chance of a recession was greater than 1-in-2, while 28 percent said the odds were 70 percent or higher,” Bankrate’s Sarah Foster writes. Bankrate’s most recent poll is not the sole survey ...

Ripple Labs’ chief legal officer has broken down Thursday’s ruling on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) v. Ripple case. Emphasizing that the landmark ruling is “a huge win” for the crypto firm, he stressed that “as a matter of law – XRP is not a security.” In addition, he noted that crypto sales on exchanges are also not securities. Ripple Lawyer on SEC v Ripple Case Ruling Ripple Labs’ chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, explained the ruling in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) v. Ripple case in a series of tweets on Thursday. The lawyer wrote: A huge win today — as a matter of law — XRP is not a security. Also a matter of law — sales on exchanges are not securities. Sales by executives are not securities. Other XRP distributions — to developers, to charities, to employees are not securities. “The only thing the court found constitutes an investment contract is past direct XRP sales to institutional clients. There will be further court pro...

Two weeks ago, Bitcoin.com News used six artificial intelligence chatbots to predict the price of bitcoin ( BTC ) by the end of 2023. After the release of Anthropic’s Claude 2 in July, we conducted another experiment, tasking Claude with predicting the prices of the top 40 cryptocurrencies on Jan. 1, 2024. Along with providing a projected price list of 40 crypto assets, Claude also detailed the reasoning behind the forecasts. An AI Chatbot’s Comprehensive Crypto Predictions for 2024 The AI firm Anthropic recently unveiled its second iteration of Claude , rivaling the likes of Google’s Bard and Openai’s Chatgpt 4. Claude can handle substantial data, consuming nearly 75,000 words via Anthropic’s large language model. Therefore, our news desk put Claude to the test, supplying it with the top 40 cryptocurrency assets by market capitalization, along with the assets’ one-hour, 24-hour, and seven-day performance and daily volumes in a single prompt. Before supplying Claude with the inform...

The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has relisted XRP following a landmark ruling in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) v. Ripple Labs case. Several other crypto exchanges have also resumed trading of XRP . Crypto Exchanges Bring Back XRP Trading Following the landmark ruling in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) v. Ripple Labs case regarding XRP , multiple cryptocurrency exchanges have relisted the cryptocurrency. The Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase tweeted Thursday afternoon: Our XRP-USD trading pair is now in full-trading mode on Coinbase Exchange, Coinbase Pro, and Advanced Trade. Limit, market, and stop orders are all now available. Coinbase explained earlier: “Once sufficient supply of this asset is established trading on our XRP-USD, XRP- USDT , and XRP-EUR trading pairs will launch in phases. Support for XRP may be restricted in some supported jurisdictions.” Crypto exchange Kraken has also made XRP trading avail...

On Thursday, following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suing the insolvent crypto lender Celsius, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) divulged a settlement with the firm and imposed a $4.7 billion fine for “duping consumers.” Nevertheless, the penalty will be deferred to enable Celsius to return its remaining assets to consumers in bankruptcy proceedings. FTC’s Settlement to Be ‘Suspended to Permit Celsius to Return Its Remaining Assets to Consumers in Bankruptcy Proceedings’ The now-defunct crypto lender Celsius has incurred a fine from the FTC for allegedly hoodwinking investors and “squandering billions in user deposits.” The company contended that it possessed “more than enough” assets to safeguard customer deposits, but according to the FTC, this was a spurious claim. The platform and its affiliated entities are indefinitely barred from managing customer assets, and three executives have been charged. Per the FTC, the case against Alexander Mashinsky, former ...

Singapore’s state-owned investment fund Temasek does not plan to put money into crypto firms amid the current regulatory uncertainty, according to a top executive. The statement comes months after Temasek lost $275 million from its involvement in the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Temasek to Refrain From Investments in Crypto Companies for Now The sovereign wealth fund Temasek , owned by the Singapore government, is not currently looking to invest in companies dealing with crypto asserts due to the regulatory uncertainty in the industry, its Chief Investment Officer, Rohit Sipahimalani, said in an interview on Tuesday. Speaking with CNBC, he elaborated: There’s a lot of regulatory uncertainty in this environment. And I do think that be very difficult for us to make another investment and exchange in the middle of all this regulatory uncertainty. Sipahimalani’s comments come at a time when the crypto sector finds itself under heightened pressure from regulators around the wo...

Binance’s U.S. platform has rejected rumors regarding its bitcoin cash ( BCH ) reserves, reassuring customers that their funds are safe. On Sunday, the exchange restored BCH withdrawals after a brief suspension attributed to a technical issue with the automated system managing deposit flows. Binance US Restores BCH Withdrawals Amid More FUD The American subsidiary of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance US , addressed what it described as FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) about users’ bitcoin cash holdings. “Binance US maintains 1:1 reserves, which means for every BCH you hold on our platform, we maintain a BCH in reserve,” the company said. In statement posted Tuesday on Twitter, the exchange explained a pause in BCH withdrawals last week citing a technical issue in its deposit sweeping system. “Under normal conditions, our systems based on predetermined thresholds automatically sweep funds from our customers’ individual deposit wallets into our platform’s h...

The state-owned financial institution Bank of China has revealed a partnership with China Unicom and China Telecom in order to test SIM cards and near-field communication (NFC) payments tethered to the renminbi. The Bank of China explains that the pilot will be tested by selected users and areas and it currently only supports Android phones. China Taking Digital Yuan Usage to SIM Cards and Contactless Transactions China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) called the “e-CNY,” otherwise known as the digital yuan or renminbi continues to see infrastructure growth. On July 10, the Bank of China announced that the country’s CBDC is being tested with SIM cards and NFC payments. Presently, the testing is being rolled out to select users and it will be gradually promoted in “selected pilot areas in the near future.” The Bank of China reveals it has partnered with China Unicom and China Telecom in order to streamline the digital yuan toward “unlocking new capabilities.” The SIM card har...

Russia’s second-largest bank’s chairman says by imposing sanctions on Russia, the West has “demolished the global trade system and caused an inflation surge.” Pointing to the U.S. banking crisis as an example, he stressed: “This is virtually the largest financial and banking crisis since 2008, and it is already spreading to Europe.” ’Sanctions Against Russia Are a Double-Edged Sword’ Andrey Kostin, the chairman of state-controlled VTB, Russia’s second-largest bank, talked about the U.S. banking crisis and the effects of Western sanctions on Russia in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. Kostin told Putin: We are actively creating a new payments and settlements infrastructure involving rubles and currencies of friendly states. “We have the necessary expertise and infrastructure for this because we are present in major Asian countries, such as China and India, and we are present in the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries. We are therefore work...

On Wednesday, July 12, 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Consumer Price Index report for June, showing a 3% increase in inflation, the lowest level since March 2021. The U.S. inflation rate has fallen for 12 consecutive months, with the index rising 0.2% on a monthly basis. Labor Department’s CPI Data Shows 3% Inflation Rate for June Inflation in the United States continues to cool, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday. Inflation has fallen consecutively each month since June 2022. The inflation rate in June 2022 was 9.1%, but the latest CPI statistics show it has dropped to 3%. “The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.2 percent in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.1 percent in May,” the CPI report details . “Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.0 percent before seasonal adjustment.” Stocks performed well after the news ...

The chief economist at S&P Global has predicted that the U.S. dollar “will no longer be the dominant world currency.” Highlighting the diminishing influence of the USD, he pointed out that an increasing number of countries are de-dollarizing, noting that the Chinese yuan is growing in popularity as a trading currency. Economist Expects US Dollar to Lose ‘Dominant World Currency’ Status S&P Global’s chief economist, Paul Gruenwald, shared his prediction about the end of the U.S. dollar’s dominance at a conference hosted by the ratings firm in London on Tuesday. The U.S. dollar “doesn’t have quite the pull it used to … There’s a fragmentation around the edges,” the economist stated, elaborating: We’ve got other things happening outside of the dollar world. The implementation of aggressive U.S. sanctions, including the freezing of Russia’s reserves worth around $300 billion last year, has prompted numerous countries to de-dollarize and increase the use of national currenc...

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in volume traded, has revealed his secret for building a comprehensive team of employees for any startup. According to Zhao, external pressure has contributed to the unity of the team behind the exchange, and it also makes the Binance team more driven to its objective of increasing the “freedom of money for people all around the world.” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao States Pressure Contributes to Building ‘Tight Teams’ Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, took to social media to explain what he believes is a “little secret” for building “tight teams” in companies. Amidst recent reports indicating that several high-level executives had left the company after a response to an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, Zhao detailed the elements needed to build and maintain a comprehensive team in a startup. Zhao stated : It’s not fancy team building dinners, outings, etc. It’s not the coaching exercises, ment...

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an organization that seeks to support the international cooperation of the world’s central banks, has released the results of its 2022 survey on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and crypto. The survey found that 93% of the 86 banks surveyed were involved in CBDC-related work at different levels. BIS: 93% of Central Banks Involved in CBDC Activity The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an institution that acts as the bank of central banks, has released the results of a 2022 survey on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and crypto. In a recent paper titled “ Making Headway ,” the institution reports that 93% of the 86 banks included in the survey were “engaged in some form of CBDC work and more than half are running concrete experiments or working on pilots.” The paper states that these numbers show the uncertainty regarding the issuance of CBDCs in the short term is fading. However, through their research, some of these c...

The governor of Russia’s central bank says the creation of a common BRICS currency “requires the consent of many parties.” While emphasizing that the proposed BRICS currency “deserves attention,” the Russian central bank chief cautioned that this project is challenging and “will be quite difficult to implement.” Bank of Russia Governor on BRICS Currency Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina talked about the proposed BRICS currency on the sidelines of the central bank’s annual Financial Congress, which took place on July 6-7 in St. Petersburg. The BRICS economic bloc comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The BRICS currency initiative is expected to be one of the topics discussed at the upcoming BRICS leaders’ summit in South Africa that’s scheduled for Aug. 22-24. The proposal gained much attention over the past week when Russian news outlet RT reported that Russia has confirmed the BRICS is launching a gold-backed currency . However, no BRICS officials have ...

Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki has warned that the U.S. dollar will die. He expects the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to launch a gold-backed currency that will kill the USD. The famous author further stressed that U.S. dollars will come flooding home and inflation will go through the roof. Robert Kiyosaki on Death of US Dollar, BRICS Currency Launch, Inflation Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, has weighed in on the proposed BRICS currency and its potential impact on the U.S. dollar. 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. The BRICS nations comprise Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The anticipation surrounding the new BRICS currency has surged after a report by Russian news outlet RT, suggesting...

According to current data, about 2,086,034 bitcoins were held on exchanges as of July 11, 2023. This figure is 154,160 bitcoins less than the number held on centralized trading platforms 72 days earlier, on April 30. The number of bitcoins on exchanges has significantly dropped since July 31, 2020, when nearly 3 million bitcoins were held in exchange reserves. Centralized Crypto Exchanges Face Bitcoin Drain The number of bitcoins held in exchange reserves has steadily decreased over the past two years and 11 months, data from cryptoquant.com shows. On July 31, 2020, metrics indicated that 2,941,655 bitcoins were held on exchanges. As of today, the number has decreased to 2,086,034. This means that over the past 1,075 days, customers have removed 855,621 bitcoins from centralized trading platforms. Since April 30, 2023, approximately 154,160 bitcoins have been removed from exchanges, which then held 2,240,194 bitcoins in reserves. Bitcoin reserve balance data from coinglass.com sh...

Economist Peter Schiff has warned that all banks will fail and anyone having a bank account will end up losing money. “No matter what happens, people are going to lose a tremendous amount as this banking crisis unfolds,” Schiff stressed. Peter Schiff Warns About All Banks Failing Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff reiterated his concerns regarding the state of the U.S. economy and the impending banking crisis on the David Lin show, published last week. “The whole banking sector is completely insolvent, thanks to what we’ve done over the last decade or so by loading up these banks with all this long-term, low-yielding debt. And we had all [this] deposit insurance so nobody really cared about what the banks were doing with their money because it was all insured by the government,” Schiff described. However, he stressed that the collapses of major banks earlier this year have made people aware that the government may not fully cover all bank deposits in the event of a failure, espe...

The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proceeding with efforts to shut down all bitcoin ATMs “illegally operating” in the country. After more inspections in the past couple of months, the watchdog vowed to continue to take action against operators of unregistered crypto teller machines. Financial Watchdog Shuts Down Dozens of Crypto ATMs in the U.K. This Year British authorities have inspected 18 more sites believed to be illegally operating automated teller machines (ATMs) supporting cryptocurrencies in the United Kingdom, the country’s financial regulator announced on Tuesday. The checks have been carried out in May and June by the FCA, working together with representatives of the South West Regional Organized Crime Unit, Bedfordshire Police, Hertfordshire Police, and the Metropolitan Police. “This action follows the FCA’s previous inspections of a number of sites across the U.K. including East London, and Leeds, Exeter, Sheffield, and Nottingham that were suspected of ...

Egyptian fintech startup Masroofi recently raised $1.5 million through an investment round supported by unnamed investors. The capital raise came shortly after Masroofi’s co-founders reportedly rejected a funding offer from investors in the “Shark Tank” program. Investors Drawn by Fintech Startup’s Focus on Children Masroofi, the Egyptian fintech focused on electronic payment services for children, recently raised $1.5 million via an investment funding round. The raised capital is expected to fund the fintech startup’s operational and expansion activities. According to a report, Masroofi was able to raise $1.5 million after the company’s directors reportedly rejected funding from investors in the “Shark Tank” program. As explained in the African Heroes report , the unnamed participants in Masroofi’s investment round were drawn by the fintech’s focus on the 20 million Egyptian youth aged between five and 20. The track records as well as the rapport between the fintech startups’ co-f...

Sega, one of the biggest game developers in Japan, has recently announced changes regarding its blockchain and Web3 gaming policy. The company announced it would not involve its largest franchises in blockchain initiatives, avoiding a possible devaluation of its intellectual properties (IPs), shelving in-house developed games and developments from third parties. Sega Changes Its Blockchain Gaming Strategy Sega, the Japanese game development and publishing company, once a supporter of blockchain games, is now withdrawing its support for initiatives of this kind. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, co-Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi stated that the company was pulling the plug on games using this technology. Furthermore, Utsumi also declared that Sega would not license its most prominent intellectual properties (IPs) to third parties involved in these kinds of games to avoid “devaluing” its content. However, Utsumi acknowledged that lesser franchises like Three Kingdoms and V...

Jim Rickards, economist and best-selling author, has accused the Biden administration of destroying the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency. Rickards stated that Biden is to blame for the upcoming marginalization of the U.S. dollar at the hands of a BRICS bloc common currency to be proposed on August 22. Jim Rickards States Biden ‘Destroyed the Dollar’ Best-selling author and economist Jim Rickards has given his opinion about the Biden administration’s handling of U.S. monetary policy. Rickards, an investment expert with 35 years of experience, accused President Joe Biden of taking down the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency. On social media, Rickards stated : Biden is now a world historic figure. He has destroyed the dollar, not an easy task. The currency expert noted that one of the biggest rivals for the dollar is the birth of a BRICS bloc-wide currency that could potentially link the economic transactions of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (the BRICS bloc...