Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

With the Bitcoin Cash network’s May 15 Cashtokens upgrade now three months behind us, bustling development in non-custodial wallets, marketplaces, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), games, and other applications continues unabated. Paytaca wallet CEO Joemar Taganna notes that “improvements in consensus building” and “new and powerful upgrades to the protocol” showcase several parties “working together to make the peer-to-peer cash revolution happen.” Little Green Monsters, Gurus, Cats, and Prediction Markets After the May 15, 2023 Bitcoin Cash upgrade , which effectively enables smart contracts onchain for BCH by utilizing unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs), much development has been ongoing on the network surrounding Cashtokens, a feature that has inspired the creation of numerous non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and marketplaces like tapswap.cash . NFT sales and trading activity are still modest compared to other networks, with marketplaces in their nascent stages, and decentralized exchan...

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin “will continue to advance the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership,” according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two leaders are set to participate in next week’s BRICS summit. Xi and Putin Advancing China-Russia Cooperation Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are advancing the strategic partnership between China and Russia. Putin is scheduled to visit China in October. “The presidents of China and Russia have maintained strategic communication in various ways,” Wang explained. “Their discussions cover a rich and comprehensive range of topics. High-level exchanges have proceeded in an orderly manner with extensive exchange of views on bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual interest.” The Chinese official emphasized: The two sides will continue to advance the China-Russia compr...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s former head of internet enforcement has outlined potential changes in the U.S. and at the SEC that could have positive impacts on the crypto industry, including the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The changes could include a Republican president being elected, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler resigning, and “crypto mom” Hester Peirce being appointed as the acting SEC Chair. Possible Changes at SEC That Could Benefit Crypto Industry Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official John Reed Stark highlighted potential changes that could benefit the crypto industry, including the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), in a lengthy tweet on Sunday. Stark is currently president of cybersecurity firm John Reed Stark Consulting. He founded and served as chief of the SEC Office of Internet Enforcement for 11 years. He was also an SEC enforcement attorney for 15 years. A number of companies in the U....

Bank of America has provided its analysis of Paypal’s U.S. dollar stablecoin and the Fednow payments system. The bank does not expect the widespread adoption of PYUSD to occur in the near future, noting that the introduction of Paypal’s stablecoin will not lead to “accelerated regulatory clarity.” Nonetheless, Bank of America believes that stablecoins have the potential to provide a more efficient payment solution. Bank of America on Paypal’s US Dollar Stablecoin Bank of America published a Global Digital Asset Strategy report last week covering its view on Paypal’s U.S. dollar stablecoin and the Fednow payments system. The report was written by Alkesh Shah, head of global crypto and digital assets strategy at Bank of America Global Research, and Andrew Moss, the bank’s global digital asset strategist. Paypal (Nasdaq: PYPL) is launching a U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin, called Paypal USD (PYUSD), which will be available to U.S.-based Paypal customers. According to the payment...

U.S. federal prosecutors have unveiled court documents indicating that ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is entangled in a web of allegations, with illegal political campaign financing being a significant charge. In light of these allegations against SBF, Ryan Salame, FTX Digital Markets’ former co-CEO, has expressed his intent to plead the Fifth if summoned, thus becoming “unavailable as a witness.” Former FTX Co-CEO Ryan Salame to Plead the Fifth Merely a week prior, insiders hinted at Ryan Salame , ex-co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, navigating a plea agreement. These sources claimed that part of the deal might involve Salame parting with his private jet. Yet, with the re-arrest of SBF and new campaign financing allegations surfacing, Salame’s potential contribution to the case seems limited. The authorities have pushed for the inclusion of specific evidence during the trial, while sidelining other bits presented by SBF’s defense. The evidence in question encompasses SBF’s supp...

The Mbridge project, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) international payment system, is starting to worry observers. Such a system, when completed, could ostensibly allow the digital yuan to reach more countries in trade settlements, chipping away at the world dominance of the U.S. dollar and bypassing established sanctions systems. Mbridge Project Worries Observers The Mbridge project, a structure that would leverage central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to move value in seconds, has American and European observers worried about the possible implications of its completion and implementation. While Mbridge is still in its construction and prototyping stages, Bloomberg reported it might have a minimum working product ready by year-end, according to four people with knowledge of the subject. The system, which is being built with the participation of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), would allow the digital yuan to further its reach as a trade settlement currency a...

Goldman Sachs has predicted that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in the second quarter of next year. The global investment bank’s economists also expect the Fed officials to forego hiking rates at their upcoming meeting. “We are penciling in 25 basis points of cuts per quarter but are uncertain about the pace,” Goldman said. Goldman Sachs’ Interest Rate Cut Prediction Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has predicted that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in Q2 next year. Goldman economists, including Jan Hatzius and David Mericle, detailed in a note Sunday: The cuts in our forecast are driven by this desire to normalize the funds rate from a restrictive level once inflation is closer to target, not by a recession. “Normalization is not a particularly urgent motivation for cutting, and for that reason, we also see a significant risk that the FOMC will instead hold steady,” the economists described. They noted: We are penciling in 25 b...

Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase has officially launched in Canada with new offerings to “make cryptocurrencies more accessible to millions of Canadians.” A Coinbase executive stated: “Canada is well positioned to be a global leader in the cryptoeconomy.” Coinbase Officially Launches in Canada Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) announced its “official launch in Canada” with a series of new offerings on Monday. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted announcing the launch, stating that his company’s Canadian operation has new leadership, new payment rails, new regulatory milestones, and 200 local employees. “Smart countries are embracing this technology (and creating regulatory clarity) to help update the financial system and drive economic growth,” he described. Coinbase is launching in Canada today! New leadership, new payment rails, new regulatory milestones, and 200 local employees. Smart countries are embracing this technology (and creating regulatory clarit...

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman believes that an alien invasion would be inflationary, not deflationary. He reiterated that “the government should lie and claim that we were facing an imminent alien invasion.” He added: “If there is intelligent life out there, it’s almost surely thousands or millions of years ahead of us.” Paul Krugman on Alien Invasions Nobel laureate Paul Krugman discussed a variety of topics, including alien invasions and the U.S. economy, on Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast, published Friday. 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. He was asked: “Do you think there could be life elsewhere in the galaxy?” The economist replied: “I would think that it’s extremely unlikely that there isn’t.” Krugman was also asked: “Would an alien invasion be deflationary or inflationary?” The Nobel laureate replied: I think that we can say it prett...

Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki has urged investors to buy silver before it’s gone, noting that the precious metal is getting rarer. He stressed that silver is “a better bargain” as a long-term investment than gold. Robert Kiyosaki Urges Investors to Buy Silver The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has urged investors to buy silver before it’s gone, noting that the precious metal is becoming rarer. 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. Kiyosaki tweeted Monday that he considers both gold and silver God’s money. However, the author pointed out that gold is multiple times more expensive than silver, noting that the latter, being an industrial precious metal, is becoming rarer due to its usage. Kiyosaki expressed his belief that silver is a better bar...

Reports have surfaced that Bitmain, the well known mining rig manufacturer, intends to unveil a cutting-edge bitcoin ( BTC ) miner at the 2023 World Digital Mining Summit (WDMS) in Hong Kong this coming September. The device, christened the Antminer S21, is being hailed by Bitmain as the market’s most proficient machine, marking a pivotal shift in the industry into the 1X joules per terahash (J/T) era. Antminer S21: Bitmain’s Next-Gen Bitcoin Miner to Debut at Hong Kong’s WDMS 2023 The impending launch of this new mining rig has been detailed in a report by Weixin, which highlights that the device will be revealed at the 2023 WDMS in Hong Kong from September 22 to 23, 2023. The Antminer S21, whose existence was also confirmed by local Chinese crypto reporter Colin “Wu Blockchain,” is poised to take center stage. “Bitmain announced that it will hold the Summit in Hong Kong from September 22 to 23, 2023 and release the latest Antminer S21 bitcoin mining machine,” proclaimed the rep...

PRESS RELEASE. The global financial system has undergone multiple changes throughout its lifetime. First, with the introduction of the gold standard, then with advancements in banking communications, digitized international trade and investment, and remittances. All of these inventions have made the world economy more efficient. In recent years, this trend hasn’t stopped. World-leading entrepreneurs still continue to release exciting financial products that improve our lives and make the market more efficient. The next iteration of financial technologies are already here: cryptocurrency, cryptography, distributed ledgers, and blockchain technology. These four technologies are already changing the nature of P2P payments and global value exchanges. World Pay (WPAY) is the newest creation that seeks to build on the P2P and blockchain revolution to make finance more direct and transparent. Introducing WPAY: A Decentralized Payment System For Everyone WPAY is a decentralized payment s...

The BRICS challenge to the world’s established economic order is not a joke, according to experts in the field of international relations. Now that the bloc, which unites leading emerging markets, accounts for over a quarter of the global gross domestic product (GDP), it could become a counterpart of the G7 group of developed economies, they say. BRICS Push for Global Economic and Financial Reform Deemed Hard to Ignore With more countries willing to join BRICS , which currently consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the bloc’s push to reform the global economic and financial system should be taken seriously, according to Anthony Rowley, a veteran journalist specializing in Asian economic and financial affairs. Given the weight of the economies of the BRICS members, which already account for more than a quarter of the world GDP, “no one can dismiss lightheartedly now their challenge to the established economic order,” Rowley wrote in an article published Saturda...

A new study suggests bitcoin mining could actually help drive the transition to renewable energy sources. Researchers Juan Ignacio Ibañez and Alexander Freier make the case that Bitcoin miners’ demand for cheap electricity provides incentives for increased renewable energy production. However, for mining to play this decarbonizing role, the industry needs to adapt. Researchers Reveal Bitcoin Mining Could be a Potential Catalyst for Renewable Energy Growth The energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) process that underpins Bitcoin has faced criticism for high electricity use and carbon emissions. However, Ibañez and Freier’s research analysis indicates the network’s thirst for inexpensive energy may attract miners to renewable sources like solar and wind. This additional revenue stream could aid renewables’ profitability and incentivize capacity expansion. “There are reasons to view Bitcoin for decarbonization in a positive light: not only does it need minimal policy support to deploy,...

While X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has made a turn to share some of its earnings with its users, the lack of a genuinely universal payment method – like crypto – means users of countries such as Russia and Venezuela are excluded from getting these benefits, disrupting Elon Musk’s intentions of incubating a global content ecosystem. Elon Musk’s X Seeks to Open an ‘Entire Financial World’ While the acquisition and transition of X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to the hands of Elon Musk, tech visionary, and eccentric millionaire, has not been without its hiccups , it’s undeniable that Musk’s vision has changed the direction of the company – for good or otherwise, depending who you ask to. The legacy Twitter, commandeered by Jack Dorsey, felt like more of a traditional Nasdaq-listed company with processes carried out by company employees, and users were separated from it. Musk has tried to scrap this notion, having a more close-to-the-user approach and introduci...

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 peso reaches historic lows, Tether’s USDT accounts for more than 80% of the transactions in the Brazilian market, and Binance gets fully licensed in El Salvador. Argentine Peso Sinks Before Elections The Argentine peso sank to historic lows this week, reaching an exchange rate of 605 pesos per U.S. dollar. Economic analysts linked this accelerated devaluation with the uncertainty surrounding the general ballotage held on Sunday, where Argentines elected their candidates for the next elections. Mateo Reschini, a research analyst for Inviu, explained that big capitals preferred to secure their investments in foreign currency to protect from possible fluctuations caused by the outcome of the ballotage. Reschini stated : The market takes note of the relevance of the date of the upcoming elections and decides to be covered against possib...

In recent times, gold and silver have faced a downtrend, with gold losing over 2% of its value in the past month and silver tumbling more than 5% against the U.S. dollar. Even amid gold’s rather uninspiring performance this last month, David Neuhauser, the founder of the investment company Livermore Partners, forecasts that gold’s worth could rise to $2,500 by the close of 2024. From Slump to Surge: Some Expect Gold to Bounce Back Approximately three years ago, in August 2020, gold soared to an unprecedented peak, hitting $2,074 per ounce, while silver simultaneously reached a high of around $28 per ounce on August 6 of the same year. Since then, however, the luster has faded from these precious metals, and prices have slid downward. As of August 12, 2023, gold’s current trading price stands at $1,913 per ounce , with silver trailing at $22.67 per ounce . Earlier in the month, on August 1, the World Gold Council (WGC) published the latest Gold Demand Trends report , shedding ligh...

Hovering just above the $29,000 mark, bitcoin’s value remained relatively stable while an interesting event occurred on Saturday afternoon: a dormant cache of 195.79 bitcoins, untouched for over seven years, was transferred for the first time since 2016. This action was followed by another sequence of events; when a batch of slumbering bitcoins from 2014 was spent, marking their first movement in nearly a decade. Over $11 Million in Dormant Bitcoins Spring to Life Fast forward to August 12, 2023, when an impressive sum of 391.305 BTC , valued at $11.4 million, stirred from its long hibernation. The term “sleeping bitcoins” denotes a category of bitcoins lying inactive in an address, unspent and unmoved for extended periods. These quiescent bitcoins, often the subject of intrigue and conjecture among cryptocurrency enthusiasts, earn their “asleep” label due to their lack of active trading or usage. A significant shift in these dormant assets could conceivably send ripples through th...

Hackers working for North Korea have continued to attack companies in the crypto space this year, according to independent sanctions monitors. Their findings, which reveal that Pyongyang proceeds with the development of its nuclear and weapons programs, will be included in a U.N. report which is to be released in the coming weeks. North Korea Still Trying to Steal Cryptocurrency, Sanctions Experts Say North Korea continued to produce nuclear fissile material and develop nuclear weapons in 2023, a new report prepared for a U.N. Security Council committee unveils. The document, which is yet to be officially published, has been seen by Reuters. Its authors, independent sanctions monitors who report to the U.N. twice a year, have also established that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ( DPRK ) continued to evade sanctions put in place to cut off funding for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. North Korea has been previously accused of conducing cyberattacks to source f...

The world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has selected Liquid as an identity verification partner for its Japanese platform. The services of the Tokyo-headquartered biometrics firm will allow Binance Japan to ensure its know-your-customer (KYC) procedures comply with Japan’s strict regulations. Liquid to Provide Binance Japan With AI-Based KYC Solution Binance, the largest crypto exchange in terms of trading volume and users , will employ Japanese company Liquid for identity verification of customers on its new domestic platform in Japan. As a first step in this partnership, Liquid said it will provide Binance with its eKYC service. “Liquid eKYC offers top-in-class facial authentication through its unique AI-based image processing capability, enabling smooth identity verification in accordance with the respective legal and security framework in each country,” explained the firm which specializes in image and big data analysis related to biometrics. Binance’s General Ma...

The Zimbabwean central bank recently said it is close to rolling out gold-backed digital tokens “for transactional purposes.” According to the bank’s governor, the gold-backed digital tokens have already proven to be an effective monetary policy instrument. Central bank governor John Mangudya also said the results of a consumer survey had shown that residents had limited knowledge about an envisaged central bank digital currency (CBDC). An ‘Effective Monetary Policy Instrument’ The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has said it is now “at an advanced stage in preparations for the rolling out of GBDT [gold-backed digital tokens] for transactional purposes.” The bank said the rollout would see the gold tokens complement the U.S. dollar “in domestic transactions as retailers will be offered a safer, more convenient, and value-preserving medium of exchange.” In a recently released mid-term monetary policy statement, RBZ governor John Mangudya revealed that the central bank will soon kickst...