Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Crypto exchange Binance has dropped Russian banks under sanctions from the payment options on its peer-to-peer (P2P) platform. Russian traders can no longer use cards issued by these banks to make payments while transactions in foreign fiat currencies are also restricted for them. Binance No Longer Offers P2P Traders Option to Pay Through Sanctioned Russian Banks The world’s largest digital asset exchange, Binance, has dropped Russian banks placed under Western sanctions from its P2P service, the Wall Street Journal reported . The move comes after the crypto giant faced criticism for facilitating payments through such institutions. A few days ago, Russian crypto media revealed that Binance has renamed bank cards issued by Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, and the neobank Tinkoff to “green local card” and “yellow local card” after the publishing of an earlier WSJ article alleging that the exchange is helping Russians move money abroad in circumvention of sanctions. Unprecedented r...

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi says crypto needs “a global framework and regulations.” He stressed: “The rapid pace of change of technology is a reality — there is no point in ignoring it or wishing it away. Instead, the focus should be on adoption, democratization, and a unified approach.” Modi on Crypto Regulation Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about cryptocurrency regulation in an interview with Business Today, published on Saturday. Modi, who recently returned to India from South Africa, where he attended the BRICS summit, said: The rapid pace of change of technology is a reality — there is no point in ignoring it or wishing it away. Instead, the focus should be on adoption, democratization, and a unified approach. “At the same time, the rules, regulations, and framework around it should not belong to one country or a group of countries. So not only crypto, but all emerging technologies need a global framework and regulations,” the Indian prime minister str...

A German expert says that the BRICS economic bloc adding several oil giants as new members “is a strategic success for China and Russia.” The BRICS leaders announced at their annual summit last week that they have invited Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia to join as new members. BRICS Adding 6 New Members Prof. Dr. Daniela Schwarzer, an executive board member at Bertelsmann Stiftung, an independent foundation based in Germany, said in an interview with Austria’s Der Standard newspaper that the BRICS economic bloc adding some of the world’s largest oil producers marks a strategic success for Russia and China. “Schwarzer is regularly consulted as an expert and policy advisor. She is currently a member of the working group convened by the French and German governments on reforming the EU,” Bertelsmann Stiftung described. “She also advised France and Poland during their respective EU presidencies and was a consultant to the French prime minister’s Centre dʼAna...

In an announcement on Sunday, cryptocurrency mining rig manufacturer Bitmain revealed its intention to sell a machine designed for mining the digital currency monero ( XMR ). The machine boasts a hashrate of 212 kilohash per second (KH/s), and the firm asserts that it is the first “professional XMR miner” available. ‘Hard Fork Go Brrrrrrrr’ — Monero Mining Machine Launch by Bitmain Creates a Stir Bitmain is preparing for the unveiling of its latest XMR mining rig, the Antminer X5. Sales are scheduled to commence on September 4, according to the Sunday announcement . While the machine’s price remains undisclosed for now, the manufacturer has engaged its social media followers by inviting them to speculate on the price of the new X5 rig. Individuals whose price estimates fall within 5% of the actual value will have the chance to receive a $1,000 Bitmain coupon, while those within 10% will be rewarded with a $500 coupon. Although the announcement does not specify the value of the R...

The six countries that received an invitation to become members of BRICS at its summit have confirmed their decision to join the bloc, one of Russia’s top diplomats unveiled. The high-ranking official added that at this point in time it would be premature to name those in the next batch of candidates. BRICS and Its New Members Need Time Before Next Expansion Wave, Moscow Says All of the newly invited countries have reaffirmed their desire to join BRICS, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said at a press conference after the organization’s 15th annual summit which was held on Aug. 22-24 in South Africa. At their meeting in Johannesburg, the current five member states (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) agreed to admit six more nations as members of the group on Jan. 1, 2024 — Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. “All the countries who have been invited to join BRICS confirmed their willingness to accept the invitati...

India’s oil and gas minister says de-dollarization is a long way away. The official emphasized his desire to conduct all transactions in rupees, expressing his wish for the Indian currency to become “the lead currency in the world.” Indian Official on De-Dollarization India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri stated in an interview with CNBC on the sidelines of the B20 Summit in New Delhi on Friday that de-dollarization is a long way off. Puri explained that he expects the U.S. dollar to maintain its dominance in global trade. Commenting on factors that could dethrone the USD as the world’s reserve currency, he opined: I don’t know what kind of change [the dollar needs to] be affected but I don’t see it … It’s not so easy. The minister further shared that he does not see the Indian rupee challenging the U.S. dollar as a major global currency, even though it is being used in some oil transactions alongside the Chinese yuan and the Russian ruble. Nonetheles...

The U.S. dollar’s dominance in global payments has strengthened, according to data compiled by global financial messaging service SWIFT. The share of SWIFT FX transactions involving the U.S. dollar rose to a record 46% in July. In addition, the share of the transactions involving the Chinese yuan has increased. SWIFT Data Indicates US Dollar Dominance The dominance of the U.S. dollar in international payments has reached a record high, according to the latest transaction data from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the leading global financial messaging service. SWIFT’s messaging platform, products, and services connect more than 11,000 banking and securities organizations, market infrastructures, and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories. The data shows that the share of SWIFT FX transactions involving the U.S. dollar rose to a record 46% in July, compared to slightly more than one-third a decade ago, Bloomberg report...

Economist Peter Schiff has warned about an impending “full-blown financial crisis” that he expects to hit the U.S. economy before the Federal Reserve reaches its inflation target. He further predicted that the financial crisis will force the Fed to raise its inflation target. Peter Schiff’s Latest Warnings Gold bug and economist Peter Schiff warned of an impending U.S. financial crisis in a series of posts on the X social media platform this week. Commenting on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the central bank’s Jackson Hole symposium regarding inflation on Friday, Schiff wrote: “During his Jackson Hole speech, Powell admitted that the Fed still has a long way to go to achieve its 2% inflation target.” The gold bug exclaimed: That’s a gross understatement, as a full-blown financial crisis will ensue long before the target is hit, forcing the Fed to raise the target above 2%. In a follow-up post, the economist wrote: How can Powell give a speech about inflatio...

Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki has outlined the reasons why investors should consider purchasing silver. He emphasized that despite the affordability of silver coins, most people still prefer to “save counterfeit fake dollars.” Robert Kiyosaki Highlights Reasons to Buy Silver The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has returned to outline the reasons why he believes investors should buy silver. 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. Reiterating that silver is the “best investment bargain,” he wrote on the X social media platform on Thursday: Silver still 50% below all-time high, in demand by greenies solar EVs. Silver 2nd most used commodity after oil. Silver has been money for centuries. Who can’t afford 1 silver coin, yet most people prefer to s...

One of the founders of the Tornado Cash crypto mixer, Roman Storm, has been released on bail, his lawyer announced on social media. Storm, who was arrested in the United States, has been charged with money laundering and sanctions violations through the unlicensed platform. Storm Out on Bail After Indictment for His Role in Running Tornado Cash Roman Storm, a co-founder of the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash , has been released on bail, his lawyer Brian Klein revealed Thursday in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The news came a day after Storm and another co-founder, Roman Semenov, were indicted on charges of conspiracy to launder money and violate sanctions laws while operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Pleased to share that my client Roman Storm is already out on bail, although I remain very disappointed that the prosecutors charged him because he helped develop software – their novel legal theory has dangerous implications for all software developers....

Crypto exchange Binance has replaced the names of cards issued by Russian banks with colors, Russian media revealed amid reports of a U.S. investigation into potential sanctions violations. The changes concern the ruble exchange feature on Binance’s peer-to-peer platform. Russian Traders on Binance Offered ‘Green’ and ‘Yellow’ Cards as Payment Options Binance, the world’s largest digital asset exchange by trading volume, has changed the names of the cards of two Russian banks, Sberbank and Tinkoff, on its platform, Russian crypto news outlets Bits.media and RBC Crypto reported. The change has been made on Binance’s peer-to-peer ( P2P ) platform where Russian users can now choose between a “green local card,” (for Sberbank, according to the websites) and a “yellow local card” (for Tinkoff) in the payment options menu. The renaming follows the publishing of a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Tuesday, quoting sources, according to which Binance is under investigation by th...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has declared that the actions of the BRICS bloc, integrated by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, are focused on reducing dependency on the economic system managed by the U.S. and its Western allies. He denied a possible unified currency for all BRICS countries at this juncture. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov: ‘No One Is Talking About a Single Currency Now’ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated one of the objectives of the BRICS bloc was to achieve independence from the Western-controlled economic and payment system in its internal trade settlements and transactions. At the BRICS summit recently held in Johannesburg, Lavrov explained that this would be one way of escaping the hegemony of the U.S. as the issuer of the dollar. Quoted by the state-owned Russian news outlet TASS, Lavrov stated : All attention is now focused on finding ways to ensure our mutual trade, mutual economic projects and investments in such a way so...

The government of Brazil has formally presented a proposal to Argentina to settle bilateral trade transactions in the Chinese yuan. The proposal, which would leverage resources in the Chinese credit swap line, aims to maintain trade between the countries and secure the payment of Brazilian exporters even with Argentina’s low foreign reserves. Brazil Proposes De-Dollarization of Trade With Argentina The government of Brazil has made an official proposal to abandon the use of the U.S. dollar in bilateral trade settlements with Argentina, one of its main commercial partners. Fernando Haddad, Economy Minister of Brazil, presented the proposal to the Argentine government on the sidelines of the BRICS leaders summit recently held in Johannesburg. Quoted by the Argentine state-owned news outlet Telam, Haddad stated : We sent the Argentine government a guarantee proposal in yuan for Brazilian exports, for Brazilian exporters it is a good thing, it will be good news if Argentina accepts. ...

South Africa’s minister of finance has explained why he believes that no country is ready for a common currency, including a unified BRICS currency. “Setting up a common currency presupposes setting up a central bank, and that presupposes losing independence on monetary policies, and I don’t think any country is ready for that,” he emphasized. ‘I Don’t Think Any Country Is Ready for That’ South Africa’s Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana talked about the prospect of creating a common currency in an interview on the sidelines of the BRICS economic bloc’s annual summit in Johannesburg on Thursday. South Africa was the host of this year’s BRICS summit. Despite widespread expectations of the BRICS countries announcing the creation of a common currency, potentially backed by gold , he stressed that “No one has tabled the issue of a BRICS currency, not even in informal meetings.” The official continued: Setting up a common currency presupposes setting up a central bank, and that pre...

Mastercard and crypto exchange Binance are ending their partnership for crypto cards. According to the payment giant, the decision will affect all four of Mastercard’s co-branded crypto card programs with Binance in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Bahrain. Partnership Between Mastercard and Binance Ending Mastercard and cryptocurrency exchange Binance are ending their partnership for crypto cards, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing an emailed statement by a Mastercard spokesperson. The decision will affect all four of Mastercard’s co-branded crypto card programs with Binance in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Bahrain, starting Sept. 22, the news outlet conveyed, adding that the spokesperson declined to provide a reason for the partnership termination. Binance’s customer support team similarly explained on social media platform X: The Binance Card will no longer be available to users in Latin America and the Middle East. “The product, like most debit cards, has been utilize...

A study of CME Group’s bitcoin futures and open interest indicates the crypto bear market may be approaching its end, according to JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou. The bank’s market experts suggest that there’s “limited downside for crypto markets over the near term.” Reversal on the Horizon? JPMorgan Sees Limited Downside for Crypto Going Forward Over the past fortnight, bitcoin (BTC) and the broader crypto economy have experienced a decline, with the entire market valued just above one trillion at roughly $1.05 trillion as of Friday, August 25, 2023. Regardless of the recent crypto slump and the recorded $1 billion in liquidations on August 17, JPMorgan analysts, directed by senior analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, posit that this decline might have reached its end. The JPMorgan experts assert that extensive positions in CME’s bitcoin derivatives markets convey a narrative indicating that the recent unwinding has ceased. “As a result, we see limited downside fo...

The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia does not expect the rapid development of a common currency for the BRICS bloc. Deputy Economic Development Minister Vladimir Ilyichev stated that “quick breakthroughs” on this issue are unlikely to happen during the ongoing BRICS summit, citing the process the European Union underwent to create the euro. Ministry of Economic Development of Russia Expects No ‘Quick Breakthroughs’ on a Common BRICS Currency The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia does not expect rapid decisions or announcements on issuing a common currency of the BRICS bloc, integrated by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In an interview with CGTN, a Chinese news outlet, Deputy Economic Development Minister Vladimir Ilyichev indicated he was pessimistic about developing such a currency in the short term, even with the size and importance of the BRICS organization. He stated : The BRICS group’s economy accounts for about 25% of global GDP. In our vi...

BRICS nations should address the risks related to artificial intelligence (AI), Chinese President Xi Jinping said during the group’s summit in South Africa. China’s leader is also convinced that the members of the economic bloc must work to standardize the technology. BRICS Should Strive for AI Standardization, Chinese President Suggests BRICS members should resist the risks stemming from the implementation of AI technology and work together on its standardization, China’s head of state, Xi Jinping, said at a plenary session of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. He was quoted by the Russian Tass news agency as stating: It is necessary to jointly work on lowering the risks related to employment of AI technology and develop the standards of its employment for making AI more secure, reliable and manageable. Xi also highlighted the key role of a BRICS working group in the cooperation and exchange of information on various issues connected with the adoption of technologies based on ar...

The Solana-based digital asset exchange announced on Aug. 23 that it is planning the “most fair” token launch in the history of Solana. According to Cypher, part of the funds raised via the initial decentralized offering will be used “to sustain protocol development, pay for audits to relaunch the protocol, and initiate a treasury for the protocol.” August Hack Prompts IDO Cypher, the Solana-based decentralized exchange, said on Aug. 23 that it would kickstart what it called the most fair token launch in the history of Solana. In a statement issued by the Cypher team via the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the launch is part of steps being taken to make whole all users who suffered when the exchange was hacked on Aug. 7. According to a blog post titled Loss of Funds Resolution, the token sale followed “a pro-rata redemption package of current assets in the Cypher protocol.” Such assets would be redeemed via wallets “that [are] associated to margin accounts on cypher.”...

The BRICS leaders stress “the importance of encouraging the use of local currencies in international trade and financial transactions” in their declaration released at the conclusion of their 15th annual summit. In addition, the BRICS nations have tasked their finance ministers and central bank governors to “consider the issue of local currencies, payment instruments, and platforms.” BRICS Declaration and Use of Local Currencies The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) wrapped up their 15th annual summit on Thursday in Johannesburg. The three-day summit was held under the theme: “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism.” The BRICS leaders released their “Johannesburg II Declaration” at the conclusion of the summit. The declaration states that all leaders of the BRICS nations are committed to “strengthening the framework of mutually beneficial BRICS cooperation.” Emphasizing that t...

The BRICS economic bloc has invited six countries to become new members: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The BRICS leaders wrapped up their 15th annual summit on Thursday. “We have reached agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria, and procedures of the BRICS expansion process,” said South Africa’s president. BRICS to Become 11-Nation Bloc On Thursday, the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) wrapped up their 15th annual summit in Johannesburg and released their “Johannesburg II Declaration.” Russia will assume the 2024 BRICS Chairship and host the XVI BRICS Summit in the city of Kazan. The economic bloc has decided to invite six countries to become new members: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). South Africa, the chair of the BRICS summit this year, previously stated that 23 countries have formally applied for membership. The BRICS declaration st...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Aug. 23 that it had charged a former New Jersey correctional officer “with fraudulently raising funds through the unregistered offering of the blazar token.” The Commission said the correctional officer’s scam was primarily targeted at law enforcement agents and first responders. Replacing the State Pension System With Blazar Token The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Aug. 23 that it has charged John DeSalvo, a former New Jersey correctional officer, “with fraudulently raising funds through the unregistered offering of the blazar token.” The SEC alleged that by selling the now-defunct token, DeSalvo was able to raise $620,000 from approximately 220 investors. As explained in a statement released by the SEC, the former correctional officer primarily targeted law enforcement agents and first responders. In addition to falsely claiming that the token was registered with the SEC, DeSalvo told investors that ...

The BRICS members are mulling over the possible launch of a common unit of account, Russia’s Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov unveiled. This would be an alternative to the U.S. dollar that can be used to denote the cost of some commodities, for example, but not a single currency like the euro, the Russian official explained. BRICS States Focused on Trade in National Currencies, See Potential in Unified Settlement Systems The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are discussing the possibility of creating a common unit of account that would serve as an alternative to the U.S. dollar, Minister Siluanov told the Chinese state-run CGTN TV channel during the BRICS summit. Leaders of the BRICS member states are meeting in Johannesburg on Aug. 22-24, with Russian President Vladimir Putin joining via video link , to discuss the future moves of the group. The prospect of issuing a single currency for the bloc, which unites leading emerging economies, is one of ...

Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried claim the FTX founder, who has fallen from grace, based his business decisions on legal advice from company attorneys before the cryptocurrency exchange’s downfall. FTX Founder Bankman-Fried Claims Actions Were Based on Legal Advice, Denies Fraudulent Intent In a court document filed Wednesday, attorneys for Bankman-Fried from Cohen & Gresser LLP maintain he received assurance from both in-house and external lawyers that his actions complied with the law. They contend this indicates Bankman-Fried operated in good faith, without intentions of misleading FTX clients and investors. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers state: The defense intends to elicit evidence that Mr. Bankman-Fried was aware that Fenwick lawyers as well as in-house counsel for FTX, including Dan Friedberg, Can Sun, Ryne Miller, and others, were involved in reviewing and approving decisions related to these matters and others, which gave him assurance that he was acting in good faith. The ...