Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Importers are accusing the Central Bank of Argentina of stalling on the delivery of dollar-based payments under the pretext of high freight costs. According to importers, the Argentine government considers freight costs exceeding 15% of the value of the merchandise imported as an inconsistency. Central Bank of Argentina Delays Dollar Disbursements to Importers The government of Argentina is now being accused of delaying the delivery of dollars to Argentine importers by using freight costs as an excuse. According to Argentine economist Ignacio Olivera Doll, the government is using a limit for the cost of freights that hadn’t been applied before, as a basis for these actions. The government has denied dollar requests for freight payments whose costs exceed 15% of the value of the merchandise transported. Argentine importers, as a result of exchange controls, need to receive dollars via government approval to conduct their operations. Customs General Manager Guillermo Michel denied

South Africa’s top diplomat responsible for BRICS relations has revealed that more than 40 countries are interested in joining the economic bloc. Among them, 22 nations have formally applied for membership. He believes that the BRICS group could expand to include more than 50 countries. BRICS Group Attracts More Than 40 Nations Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s top diplomat in charge of BRICS relations, and officials from the South African foreign affairs department shared the latest stats on BRICS membership applications in a press conference in Johannesburg on Thursday. South Africa will host this year’s BRICS summit. The economic bloc comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Sooklal revealed that 22 countries have formally asked to join the BRICS. He was also quoted by Reuters as saying: An equal number of countries … have informally expressed interest in becoming BRICS members … (including) all the major global south countries. Countries interested in joining th

JPMorgan has warned of the risks to the U.S. dollar’s dominance from escalating U.S.-China tensions and political instability. The global investment bank’s strategists anticipate “partial de-dollarization,” in which the Chinese yuan gradually assumes a more significant role in global trade. JPMorgan on De-Dollarization Threat Global investment bank JPMorgan has warned that the dominance of the U.S. dollar could be at risk due to rising tensions between the U.S. and China, as well as concerns about political instability within the United States. The firm’s strategists, led by Jan Loeys and Joyce Chang, explained in a report published on Tuesday that the markets are not adequately factoring in the risk of a “rapid and deep” decline in the U.S. dollar’s status as the preferred currency for global reserves and trade. They detailed: If U.S.-China tensions intensify and we get more global fragmentation, it would likely lead to de-globalization in trade and finance … In finance, it cou

The Federal Reserve has launched its Fednow Service for instant payments with 35 participating banks and credit unions, as well as 16 service providers. “The Federal Reserve is committed to working with the more than 9,000 banks and credit unions across the country to support the widespread availability of this service for their customers over time,” the U.S. central bank stated. Fednow Officially Live The Federal Reserve announced Thursday that its new system for instant payments, the Fednow Service, has launched with 35 participating banks and credit unions, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, and 16 service providers. Participating financial institutions include BNY Mellon, JPMorgan Chase, Peoples Bank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo Bank. “The Fednow Service is designed to maintain uninterrupted 24x7x365 processing with security features to support payment integrity and data security,” the Federal Reserve detailed, adding: The Fednow Service is ne

A Turkish court has sentenced Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, to an effective seven months and 15 days in prison. During the trial, Özer denied being an executive of the crypto exchange when the platform allegedly failed to furnish the Tax Inspection Board with the documents requested. Appointment of Trustee Reportedly Made Submission of Requested Documents Impossible A court in Turkey has sentenced Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, to just over seven months in prison for failing to furnish the Tax Inspection Board with the documents it requested. However, according to a report in the Hurriyet Daily News, the Anatolian 17th Criminal Court of First Instance has since agreed to delay announcing the verdict as well as the implementation of the sentence. As explained in the report, Özer, who was arrested in Albania in Aug. 2022, claimed that he was not a company executive when the alleged crime w

French banking giant Societe Generale’s subsidiary, Forge, has been issued with the first crypto services license issued under the country’s crypto assets laws. According to France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers, the license allows Forge to offer services which include crypto custody, trading, and sales. License Said to Enable Forge to Meet Institutional Demand for Digital Assets Forge, the crypto division of France’s banking giant Societe Generale, recently received what is being described as the first crypto services license issued under the country’s crypto assets laws, a report has said. French market regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) stated on its website that the license allows Forge to offer services which include crypto custody, trading, and sales. According to a Reuters report , the license given to Forge does not subject the Societe Generale’s subsidiary to the same onerous rules faced by other crypto entities, particularly in the areas of corporate gove

PRESS RELEASE. BitKeep , a leading multi-chain wallet, has joined forces with the Solana Foundation in an exciting collaboration aimed at promoting the growth and evolution of the blockchain landscape. This strategic partnership combines BitKeep’s robust wallet solution with Solana’s high-performance blockchain platform, providing a comprehensive solution to existing scalability and throughput concerns in the industry while placing users at the forefront of industrial innovation and evolution. BitKeep, with its secure and convenient asset management services, has integrated with the Solana mainnet , allowing users to safely store, transfer, and conduct both single-chain and cross-chain transactions on the Solana network in a seamless manner. Additionally, BitKeep users can also expect to leverage Solana’s vibrant ecosystem and interact with popular decentralized applications (DApps) all from the convenience of their BitKeep Wallet. BitKeep Wallet is also listed on the official Solan

The CEO of investment management firm Ark Invest, Cathie Wood, has explained why her firm’s confidence in bitcoin’s price reaching $1.5 million has increased. Citing the crypto’s performance during the regional bank crisis earlier this year, she stressed, “That was the flight to safety,” emphasizing that bitcoin is the insurance her team believes “everyone will want at the end of the day.” Ark Invest’s Bitcoin Price Predictions Ark Investment Management (Ark Invest) is now more confident in bitcoin’s price reaching $1.5 million per coin. The firm’s CEO, Cathie Wood, said in an interview with Bloomberg Monday: Our confidence has increased toward the bull case. The bull case Wood referred to was one of the three scenarios Ark Invest outlined in its annual Big Ideas 2023 that was published in February. In the firm’s base case scenario, the price of bitcoin is projected to reach $682,800 by the end of December 2030, while the bull case scenario envisions BTC soaring to $1.48 mill

U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) has unveiled two new reforms for bitcoin if he is elected president. He plans to back the U.S. dollar with the cryptocurrency and eliminate capital gains taxes on the conversion of bitcoin to USD. RFK Jr. stressed that his administration’s mission is to make America “the global hub of cryptocurrency, particularly bitcoin.” Kennedy Administration Plans to Back US Dollar With Bitcoin U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled several bullish plans for bitcoin if he is elected president during his speech at a Heal-the-Divide event on Tuesday. Kennedy is a son of former U.S. Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The presidential hopeful began by outlining the reforms he previously promised regarding BTC , stating that his administration’s mission is to make America “the global hub of cryptocurrency, particularly bitcoin, as a means of incentivizing

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that the U.S. economy will face “more than a recession” if he is not elected president. Trump also made several other promises, including getting Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to make a deal with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “very quickly.” Donald Trump’s Warnings Former U.S. President Donald Trump made several promises and predictions during an interview with Fox News Sunday. He was asked about his plan to get the U.S. economy growing again and whether he thinks the U.S. is going into a recession. “If people think Trump is going to be elected, you’ll never have a recession … because people will start investing,” the former president claimed, adding: If people think I’m not, you’ll have more than a recession. You’re going to have a depression. “But, what I would do is very simple. I’ve got to get interest rates down. We have to get rid of inflation because inflation is a country killer,” he stressed, noting that the Bi

The leaders of the BRICS states will discuss the organization’s enlargement when they meet in South Africa, the country’s president indicated. The summit is set take place in August when over a dozen countries will hope to be given a path to membership. Nearly 20 Nations Aspire for BRICS Membership, SA President Ramaphosa Says Leaders of the five BRICS members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) will talk about the group’s expansion at their summit scheduled for August, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed. Ramaphosa told the SABC radio: As we speak now, close to 20 or so of others want to join BRICS and they want us to admit them into the BRICS family. So, at this summit, we are also going to be discussing the prospect of whether BRICS grows beyond the five countries or not. Media reports and official statements in the past few months have unveiled that a number of countries are seeking to become BRICS members. In April, South Africa’s Ambassador

National Australia Bank (NAB) has joined other major lenders in the country in blocking payments to some cryptocurrency exchanges. The banking institution said it’s introducing new customer protections regarding financial transactions with certain scam-related crypto platforms. Australia’s NAB Bank Intervenes in $184 Million Worth of Payments That Raised Scam Concerns National Australia Bank, one of the four largest Australian banks, is restricting transfers to certain high-risk crypto exchanges. On Monday, the lender announced it’s introducing new blocks on digital asset platforms where scams are more prevalent. Between March and July of this year, NAB customers abandoned payments for more than $270 million Australian dollars (almost $184 million) after receiving scam alerts from the bank. Nearly half of scam funds reported to the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange in a recent 30-day period were linked to cryptocurrencies, the bank noted. Chris Sheehan, NAB executive for group

An economist with the Heritage Foundation has warned about the potential calamity of the U.S. dollar losing its reserve currency status. He stressed that “The Biden administration has taken so many actions to dethrone King Dollar that it would be difficult to rank them all by their destructiveness.” Economist Warns Biden Administration’s Actions Threaten U.S. Dollar’s Reserve Currency Status Heritage Foundation economist and research fellow E. J. Antoni sounded the alarm on the potential calamity of the U.S. dollar losing its reserve currency status in an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation, published Sunday. “The Biden administration has taken so many actions to dethrone King Dollar that it would be difficult to rank them all by their destructiveness,” the economist stated, warning: Losing reserve currency status … would mean 70 years of deficits flooding back to the U.S., all competing with existing dollars held domestically to buy goods and services. That’s a hyper

U.S. lawmakers have called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to drop its regulatory assault on the crypto industry following the landmark ruling on the SEC v. Ripple case regarding XRP . “The SEC has chosen to communicate and regulate not by clear rule or guidance but by enforcement actions, often politically timed,” one congressman described. Congressmen Urge SEC to Stop Regulating Crypto by Enforcement U.S. Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY) wrote a letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler on Tuesday regarding how the SEC should regulate crypto following the landmark ruling on the SEC v. Ripple case regarding XRP . “I’m writing to inquire if the SEC intends to come to terms with the folly of the Commission’s crusade against crypto assets in light of the latest decision by Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York,” he began. “Needless to say, regulation by enforcement had a dreadful day in court.” The lawmaker c

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler says the SEC could benefit from making greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) in several areas, including enforcement and market surveillance. However, he also raised a number of concerns associated with AI, emphasizing that the regulator is currently developing rules to address AI-related challenges. Gary Gensler on AI Benefits and Challenges U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler discussed AI and the challenges surrounding it, including the impact on financial stability, in his remarks before the National Press Club on Monday. “Today’s AI-based models provide an increasing ability to make predictions about each of us as individuals,” he described. “Models have been developed to assist in making decisions about who gets jobs, loans, credit, entry to schools, and healthcare, to name a few. This raises a host of issues that are not necessarily new to AI but are accentuated by it.” Noting

Fintech company Wallex.US has launched a new non-custodial crypto and defi wallet app. The app offers a secure and encrypted way to store, send, and receive more than 150 cryptocurrencies. It also provides real-time chart monitoring and analysis capabilities, as well as easy Pay & Get Paid function. The app is designed to be safe, free, and give users full control over their crypto assets. Wallex Opens New Gateway for Web3 Users Wallex.US , a global fintech company, has recently launched a new non-custodial crypto and defi wallet app that is set to revolutionize the way users store, send, and receive cryptocurrencies. The app offers a user-friendly, innovative, and secure solution for managing digital assets, giving users the freedom to control their own money. The wallet is already available for iOS on Apple’s App Store and for Android devices on Google Play . One of the key features of the Wallex.US app is its non-custodial nature. This means that users hold their own keys a

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume traded, has announced it has completed the integration of the Lightning Network, a BTC scaling layer, on its platform. Now users can execute bitcoin deposits and withdrawals using the network, taking advantage of lower fees. Binance Completes Integration of Lightning Network Binance recently announced the completion of its integration of Lightning Network, a scaling layer for the Bitcoin blockchain. The exchange informed about these new capabilities on July 17, explaining that users can now deposit and withdraw bitcoin from Binance using this new option. The Lightning Network allows users to accelerate the speed of their transactions to and from the exchange, given that there is no need for waiting for transactions as when using Bitcoin in its base layer. Also, the fees for Lightning Network transactions are cheaper than Layer 1-based transactions. This difference is especially notable in times of high congestion on the BTC

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue, the Argentine central bank sheds yuan for dollars as its reserves bleed, the Central Bank of Brazil would be able to manipulate balances and block digital real accounts, and the first bitcoin futures contract goes live in Argentina. Argentine Central Bank Sheds Chinese Yuan as Its Reserves Bleed The Central Bank of Argentina is leveraging its Chinese yuan stash to purchase dollars and manage its internal operations as its reserve level dwindles. The bank is making payments to importers using part of the Chinese swap line that government officials extended to $10 billion in June. Local newspaper La Nacion reported that the bank lost $170 million on July 10 and July 11 due to the payments the republic had to disburse to importers and the purchase of dollars. The gross reserves of the central bank bled out $580 million last week, reaching $26 billion

The Venezuelan cryptocurrency ecosystem remains on shaky ground four months after the intervention of national crypto watchdog Sunacrip, and the arrest of its head, Joselit Ramirez, due to alleged participation in a $20 billion corruption scandal involving the undeclared sale of crude oil for crypto. There have been no official updates from Sunacrip’s restructuring board, but Bitcoin mining activities are still halted per local sources’ reports. Venezuelan Crypto Ecosystem Still Affected After Sunacrip Intervention The situation of the Venezuelan cryptocurrency ecosystem and the current status of its official cryptocurrency asset, the petro, are yet uncertain after four months of the intervention of Sunacrip, the Venezuelan cryptocurrency watchdog. The restructuring board has made no official statements on the processes it is developing, and it is currently not known if the regulatory institution will even survive. The government of Nicolas Maduro issued an executive order to inter

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says the U.S. dollar’s dominance “won’t last forever.” While recognizing the global de-dollarization trend, he expressed skepticism about the Chinese yuan’s ability to replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s dominant currency. Economist Paul Krugman on U.S. Dollar Dominance and Chinese Yuan Nobel laureate Paul Krugman discussed the U.S. dollar’s dominance and the potential for the Chinese yuan to replace the USD in an opinion piece published in The New York Times earlier this month. Krugman won the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 2008 for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity. Krugman acknowledged the growing de-dollarization trend worldwide and the potential decline of the U.S. dollar’s role in international trade, as more countries seek to de-dollarize. However, citing a Federal Reserve report that analyzed various indicators of dollar dominance, he stressed that the U.S

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler has stated that the regulator is “disappointed” with the SEC v. Ripple ruling on XRP regarding retail investors. “We are still looking at it and assessing that opinion,” he affirmed. Gensler also reiterated the SEC’s commitment to enforcing regulations on the crypto industry and ensuring compliance among crypto firms. Gensler Says SEC Is ‘Assessing’ the Ripple Ruling on XRP The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, commented on the ruling in the SEC v. Ripple case during his remarks at the National Press Club luncheon Monday. The court ruled last Thursday, as described by Ripple’s chief legal officer, that “ XRP is not a security … 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 Ripple legal counsel noted: “The only thing the court found constitutes an inv

As of July 17, 2023, the decentralized finance (defi) sector has been witnessing a great deal of consolidation with total value locked (TVL) figures standing at $44.19 billion. Throughout most of the year in 2023, except for a brief period of seven days in April, the TVL in defi has consistently remained below the $50 billion range. Value Locked in Defi in 2023 Remains Above $40B but Stagnates Below $50B Throughout the first half of 2023, the decentralized finance (defi) landscape has exhibited a lackluster performance, with the value locked in the sector remaining relatively stagnant. Specifically, on Monday, July 17, 2023, the total value locked (TVL) stands at $44.19 billion, according to defillama.com metrics . Within this sum, Lido Finance commands a significant portion, securing $14.78 billion, which accounts for 33.45% of the aggregate TVL. Following Lido, prominent players in the defi realm include Aave ($5.88B), Makerdao ($5.47B), Uniswap ($3.78B), and Justlend ($3.69B)