Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Venezuelan government has officially announced the extension of the restructuring period for Sunacrip — the national cryptocurrency watchdog — by six months more due to the link of its former head with a corruption scheme. Asonacrip, a national crypto association, is asking Sunacrip to open communication channels with the community affected by its actions. Venezuelan Government Extends Sunacrip Intervention by Six Months The Venezuelan government has announced the extension of the restructuring of Sunacrip, the cryptocurrency watchdog of the country, by six months more. The executive order, which extended the intervention, also ratified each member of the restructuring board in their charges. Sunacrip will now have until next March to complete its restructuring processes. Sunacrip was intervened in March due to the arrest of its former head, Joselit Ramirez, who was arrested due to alleged links with a corruption scheme where the institution would have served as an intermedia...

Crypto exchange Binance is closing down all exchange services and business lines in Russia. The company has entered into a sales agreement with Commex. A Binance executive explained that operating in Russia is not compatible with the company’s compliance strategy. “We remain confident in the long-term growth of the Web3 industry around the world and will focus our energy on the 100+ other countries in which we operate,” he emphasized. Binance Fully Exiting Russia Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced Wednesday that it will fully exit Russia. According to the announcement: “ has entered into an agreement to sell the entirety of its Russia business to Commex.” According to its website, Commex is “a centralized cryptocurrency exchange backed by top-tier crypto VC.” Binance added that to “ensure a smooth process for existing Russian users, the off-boarding process will take up to one year.” Noting that the financial details of the deal will not be disclosed, the crypto exchange str...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has slammed JPMorgan’s British retail bank, Chase UK, for changing its policy to block all crypto-related payments. Calling the move by Chase “totally inappropriate,” the Coinbase boss said: “UK crypto holders should close their Chase accounts if this is how they’re going to be treated.” Meanwhile, the British government is striving to make the U.K. a global crypto hub. Coinbase’s CEO Slams Chase Bank Over Anti-Crypto Policy The CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), Brian Armstrong, publicly criticized JPMorgan’s British retail bank, Chase UK, on Wednesday for changing its policy to block all crypto-related payments. The Coinbase executive wrote on social media platform X: Totally inappropriate behavior from Chase UK (this is their UK bank only is my understanding) … UK crypto holders should close their Chase accounts if this is how they’re going to be treated. Armstrong also alerted British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Member of...

Economist Peter Schiff has warned of an impending biggest bond market crash in U.S. history. “The coming economic and financial crisis will be unprecedented in size,” he added. “The stagflation nightmare will soon be a full-blown reality. Very few investors are actually prepared for this outcome,” he further cautioned. Peter Schiff’s Latest Economic Warnings Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff issued more warnings about the U.S. economy and the U.S. dollar in multiple posts on social media platform X over the past few days. He wrote on Wednesday: We are still early in what will become the biggest bond market crash in U.S. history. Given that the U.S. economy is more levered now than at any time in history (governments, corporations, and individuals), the coming economic and financial crisis will be unprecedented in size. “The financial crisis we are about to experience will be much worse than anything that happened in 2008, yet Wall Street and the Fed are even more clueless now ...

Crypto exchange Binance has issued a recommendation for customers using the services of Paysafe for euro (EUR) transfers. The crypto trading platform is advising users to convert their euro balances to tether ( USDT ) or withdraw them to bank accounts after the payment processor suspended deposits and withdrawals in the common European currency. Binance Urges Traders to Take Action Amid Paysafe Suspension of EUR Transfers The world’s largest exchange for digital assets, Binance, issued a notice calling on users of Paysafe Payment Solutions to take “appropriate actions” in relation with the payment company’s decision to stop processing euro deposits and withdrawals for Binance customers. In June, the U.K.-based payment processor announced its decision to cease offering its embedded wallet solution to Binance across Europe. It was expected to drop support for bank transfers of euros to and from Binance via the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) in late September. On Thursday, Binance ...

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, launched its own chatbot based on artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Meta AI provides an alternative to products like Openai’s Chatgpt and is setting out to offer interaction tailored to attend to different interests and solve specific tasks. Zuckerberg Unveils Meta AI Chatbot, AI Personas at Meta Connect Event Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of the U.S. tech giant’s new AI-powered assistant in a keynote speech at the Meta Connect developers conference on Wednesday. The chatbot will compete against the already established player in the space, Chatgpt, and other offerings like Google’s upcoming Gemini. It became clear from Zuckerberg’s presentation that Meta’s approach to the development of AI differs from the rest of the industry in that the company does not believe in a “singular superintelligence” for everyone. In its view, most people would rather have a number of AIs for different purposes or eve...

Trying to make the digital yuan more attractive for foreigners, China has added a “recharge before use” feature to its digital currency system. The upgrade will allow visitors from abroad to replenish a digital yuan wallet through the global payment networks Visa and Mastercard among other methods. China Allows Foreign Users of Its Digital Yuan to Preload Their E-CNY Wallets The operators of China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform have upgraded its payment services to make the process of spending the digital yuan (e-CNY) more user-friendly to foreign nationals visiting the country, the state-run China.org.cn portal informed readers. The newly introduced “recharge before use” feature on the digital yuan app allows visitors to replenish the built-in e-CNY wallet using the online services of the leading global payment networks Visa and Mastercard. Foreigners can also load the Chinese digital currency wallet by depositing cash in a bank office. At the end of their stay,...

While both attackers and smart contract auditors are motivated to find vulnerabilities in code, according to Eyal Meron, the co-founder and CEO of Spherex, the former “is always more incentivized as the protocol’s total value locked (TVL) grows.” To overcome this challenge, Meron told Bitcoin.com News that decentralized protocols will need to put in place what he called “asymmetric countermeasures.” Human Error and Smart Contract Vulnerabilities The Spherex boss also suggested deploying an exploit prevention solution as another way protocols can prevent attackers from using errors in code to steal digital assets worth millions. Meron, a senior veteran of the elite Israeli 8200 cyber unit, nevertheless admits that most smart contract vulnerabilities are often the result of human error which in many cases is “inevitable.” One common error, which according to Meron is almost impossible to detect, often occurs when developers “overlook how every code line affects the contract dependin...

Layer one (L1) and layer two (L2) blockchains offer different approaches to scaling distributed ledger networks. While developers of L1 blockchains focus on improving the base protocol, L2 programmers have moved transactions off-chain to enable faster and cheaper transactions. What Are Layer One Blockchains? Layer one or L1 refers to a base blockchain protocol like Bitcoin or Ethereum. These networks operate on a decentralized ledger secured by proof-of-work (PoW) mining or proof-of-stake (PoS) staking . L1 chains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum offer unparalleled security. However, during peak times, both of these chains grapple with sluggish transaction speeds and steep fees. Developers from several L1 networks are working to improve layer one scaling through methods like increasing block size, sharding , and introducing proof-of-stake consensus. However, substantial layer one upgrades require coordination among node operators and can take years to implement. Some blockchains inte...

U.S. authorities are seeking to recover cryptocurrencies linked to the popular pig-butchering crypto scam. “Law enforcement was able to trace cryptocurrency involved in the fraud and money laundering to two Binance accounts, where it was seized,” the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts has revealed. US Continues to Crack Down on Pig-Butchering Crypto Scam The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced Tuesday that it has filed “a civil forfeiture action to recover cryptocurrency alleged to be the proceeds of a ‘pig-butchering’ fraud scheme targeting a Massachusetts resident and involved in money laundering.” The announcement details: Specifically, the government seeks to forfeit 412,543.555 tether ( USDT ) and 100.896 Binance coin ( BNB ) seized from two accounts located at Binance.com, a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian. The U.S. Attorney’s Office added: “Collectively, this cryptocurrency has a current estimate...

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has expressed concerns about the Federal Reserve potentially raising interest rates to 7% and that the U.S. economy could experience stagflation. “I am not sure if the world is prepared for 7%,” he stressed, adding that there is “a range of outcomes.” Jamie Dimon’s Economic Warnings The CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, discussed various aspects of the U.S. economy, including the impact of further interest rate hikes, in an interview with the Times of India, published Tuesday. When asked about the possibility of a hard landing in the U.S., the JPMorgan boss replied: “No one knows. There is a range of outcomes. It will be affected by everything else — Ukraine, oil, gas, war, Europe.” The executive added: “I would be cautious … We have to deal with all these serious issues over time, and the deficits can’t continue forever. So rates may go up more. But I hope and pray there is a soft landing.” Dimon explained: “When rates go up sharply, there is stre...

Four U.S. lawmakers have called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to immediately approve spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). “Following the Court of Appeals’ decision, there is no reason to continue to deny such applications under inconsistent and discriminatory standards … We urge you to approve the listing of spot bitcoin ETPs immediately,” the lawmakers told SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Lawmakers Want Spot Bitcoin ETFs Approved U.S. Representatives Mike Flood (R-NE), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Wiley Nickel (D-NC), and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) sent a letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler on Tuesday urging the regulator to immediately approve applications for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The lawmakers wrote: We write to ensure the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not continue to discriminate against spot bitcoin exchange traded products (ETPs). The letter cites a recent decision by the Court of Appeals ...

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced new achievements in implementing its strategy to pursue expansion on the European market. The U.S. trading platform for digital assets said it has received regulatory nods from the monetary authorities of Ireland and Spain, two of the EU nations with relatively clear rules for the industry. Another Major U.S. Crypto Exchange, Kraken, Strides On With European Expansion Digital asset exchange Kraken has obtained authorization from the Central Bank of Ireland as an e-money institution (EMI) and has registered with the Bank of Spain as a virtual asset service provider (VASP). In a press release on Tuesday, the San Francisco-based company emphasized that the regulatory approvals highlight its commitment to growing its business in Europe. With the EMI license, which has been granted to Kraken’s subsidiary in Ireland, the exchange will be able to partner with European banks in order to expand its euro fiat services for clients in the EU’s 27 member...

Amazon, the worldwide tech behemoth, has announced that it will invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic, an artificial intelligence (AI) firm that has developed Claude, a generative AI assistant. As part of this strategic partnership, Anthropic will train its models on top of Amazon silicon, and Anthropic will make its models available through Amazon Bedrock. Amazon to Pour up to $4 Billion Into AI Model Company Anthropic Amazon, one of the leading tech companies in the world, has announced a strategic partnership with artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic that includes an investment of up to $4 billion in exchange for a minority stake in the company. According to a press release issued by Amazon, Anthropic will now use Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its primary cloud services provider. Anthropic will also use Amazon-produced silicon, including its Trainium and Inferentia chips, to “build, train, and deploy its future foundation models, benefitting from the price, performance, sc...

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is now accepting new registrations of Belgian users following an interruption caused by regulatory actions against it. In June, the trading platform was ordered to cease providing crypto exchange and custody services in the EU country. Binance Returns to Belgium 3 Months After Pausing Services Under Regulatory Pressure The world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volume, Binance, has resumed operations in Belgium, one of the European countries where it faced a regulatory crackdown in the past few months. This year the exchange found itself under increased scrutiny from authorities on both sides of the Atlantic. “Great news for our Belgian community,” Binance tweeted on Monday, announcing it has reopened registrations. In another post through its Belgian account on X, formerly Twitter, Binance said it has restored access to products and services for Belgian customers who have accepted its new Terms of Use. Dear Binancians We are delighted ...

Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried are making another attempt to have the disgraced FTX founder temporarily released from jail before his October trial, claiming he needs better access to prepare his defense properly. Lawyers Cite Bankman-Fried’s Indispensable Knowledge for Complex Trial Preparation In a letter to U.S. judge Lewis Kaplan filed Monday, Sam Bankman-Fried ’s attorneys argued that the current restrictions on meeting with their client at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) are “not workable” for a case this complex. “This case is highly technical and complex, and we need our client to help us understand the facts and explain many of the issues,” lawyers state in the letter. “He alone knows the facts which are also critical in preparing his defense. Unfortunately, his knowledge and insight cannot be replicated by third-party experts as they are not familiar with the underlying facts and cannot provide the necessary help.” Bankman-Fried’s lawyers say they need mo...

Despite the role it has played in narrowing the financial inclusion gap, the e-naira central bank digital currency still poses a risk to financial stability. In addition to bolstering the financial inclusion rate, the central bank claimed that the CBDC would “widen the size and stability of banks’ deposit base.” Nigeria’s Financial Inclusion Rates According to a new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) study, the country’s nearly two-year-old e-naira central bank digital currency (CBDC) poses a risk to financial stability. This is despite the fact that such a digital currency can potentially help improve Nigeria’s “financial inclusion rate from 64.1 percent recorded in 2021 to the 95.0 percent target for 2024.” Launched in late October 2021, the e-naira, which was championed by former CBN governor Godwin Emefiele, has not been widely received by the Nigerian population. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News in August 2022, there were fewer than one million downloads of the e-naira ...

Worldcoin, the biometric wallet and ID project, has reported that it has signed up more than 1% of the population of Chile. According to the organization, more than 200,000 Chileans are already using Worldcoin, a popularity uptick shared with other South American countries, including Argentina, where 9,500 Argentines verified their IDs in a day. Worldcoin Achieves Milestone in Chile; More Than 1% of the Population Reportedly Registered Worldcoin, the project that uses biometric iris scanning as “ proof of personhood ,” has reached a milestone in Chile. The organization reported having signed up 200,000 Chileans since its launch. With Chile having approximately 19.5 million residents, this means more than 1% of the population would have signed up to receive Worldcoin’s grant in the form of WLD, the native token of the protocol. This growth signals the popularity rise of the project in South American countries, that have shown interest in the proposal of the World ID app. Due to thi...

A federal judge has issued rulings limiting some arguments the defense can make at Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal fraud trial next month. However, the judge will allow Bankman-Fried’s lawyers to question witnesses about past recreational drug use. Bankman-Fried Can’t Mention Jail Time at Trial In a 16-page order , Lewis Kaplan, the U.S. District judge presiding over the case granted some of prosecutors’ requests to bar certain defense strategies and evidence at the October trial of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder. Kaplan prohibited Sam Bankman-Fried ‘s lawyers from telling jurors he’s been detained pretrial or referencing his family and personal life. The judge also barred arguments over whether FTX customers were negligent in using the exchange or that Bankman-Fried intended to pay back any allegedly stolen funds. Kaplan wrote both are irrelevant or unfairly prejudicial. However, Kaplan declined to prohibit Bankman-Fried’s lawyers from asking witnesses about recreational d...

Bitcoin and crypto asset funds currently represent a niche market with an estimated worth of $50 billion, as highlighted by Bernstein Research. Yet, under the leadership of Gautam Chhugani, Bernstein’s team of analysts anticipates these funds may oversee between “$500-650 billion of assets” in the coming five years. $650B Horizon: Bernstein Envisions Massive Growth in Crypto Funds Over the next five years, the crypto fund management industry could see significant growth, according to Bernstein analysts . Led by Chhugani, Bernstein’s team currently values the sector at $50 billion, describing it as a “cottage industry.” However, they anticipate it will transform into a regulated asset management industry, managing “$500-650 billion of assets” within five years. One reason is they believe regulatory challenges will diminish. “The meat of regulatory backlash is done for now, and the Coinbase case will provide further clarity,” said the Bernstein team in a note to investors on Monday. ...

The U.S. Better Business Bureau (BBB) has issued a warning about a surge in “money-flipping” crypto investment scams on Tiktok. “They may ask for fees several times,” the BBB cautioned, adding that if you question them, “they may resort to scare tactics, telling you that if you don’t pay, you’ll miss out on the giant return or that they can take legal action.” Crypto Scams on the Rise on Tiktok The U.S. Better Business Bureau (BBB) recently issued a warning about the rising number of cryptocurrency investment scams on Tiktok. Founded in 1912, the BBB is a private, nonprofit organization focused on advancing marketplace trust. According to the bureau: Money-flipping cons have long been popular on Instagram and Twitter. But as Tiktok’s popularity grows, so do the con artists. Watch out for this Tiktok scam, which promises to turn a few hundred dollars worth of cryptocurrency into thousands in no time. The BBB explained that when browsing Tiktok videos, you may come across some sho...