Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Financial services giant Fidelity’s director of global macro says bitcoin is “exponential gold.” He explained that gold is “too deflationary and clunky to be used as a medium of exchange,” noting that “investors own it primarily as a store of value — and one of the many reasons bitcoin is often compared to gold.” Fidelity’s Director Thinks of Bitcoin as ‘Exponential Gold’ Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at financial services giant Fidelity, shared his bitcoin outlook in a series of posts on social media platform X this week. He wrote on Wednesday: In my view, bitcoin is a commodity currency that aspires to be a store of value and a hedge against monetary debasement. I think of it as exponential gold. “Historically, during structural regimes in which inflation runs hot, real rates are negative, and/or money supply growth is excessive, gold tends to shine and gain market share relative to GDP. Notable examples: the 1970s and 2000s,” Timmer detailed. While noting that “Go...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s former head of internet enforcement says the conviction of ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is “just the tip of the iceberg” for the entire crypto industry. “People should not think that it’s safe to go back in the water … It’s a mammoth House of Cards,” he stressed, asserting that crypto, web3, and blockchain are all “nonsense.” ‘This Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg’ Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official John Reed Stark discussed his perspective of the crypto industry following the conviction of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) in an interview with CNBC on Friday. The jury delivered a verdict on Thursday after a month-long trial, finding Bankman-Fried guilty of all seven charges. 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. He said ...

Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki has broken down Rich Dad’s lesson number one. Explaining in simple terms why the rich become richer, the renowned author said: “They understand the importance of preserving tangible assets, such as gold, silver, and bitcoin, which offer lifelong financial security and freedom.” Robert Kiyosaki Breaks Down Rich Dad’s Lesson One The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, explained the core concept of Rich Dad’s first lesson in a post on social media platform X on Thursday. 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. “Rich Dad’s Lesson #1 ‘The rich don’t work for $,'” Kiyosaki began. “Why? Because our wealth is designed to be stolen from our fake money via taxes and inflation and the stock market.” He elaborated: “Instead, th...

Dubai’s financial regulator, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, has approved XRP as a recognized crypto token for use within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a special economic zone. “Licensed virtual asset firms within the DIFC will now be able to incorporate XRP into their virtual asset services,” Ripple explained, adding that institutions located in the zone can now utilize XRP “to accelerate faster, more efficient global value exchange.” XRP Becomes Recognized Crypto Token Ripple announced Thursday that the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has approved XRP for use within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a special economic zone in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The DFSA is the financial regulatory agency of the DIFC. Ripple described: Licensed virtual asset firms within the DIFC will now be able to incorporate XRP into their virtual asset services. On Thursday, the Dubai Financial Services Authority also published a “Notice of...

HSBC announced the launch of a platform that will allow the tokenization of gold bullion, with a stated potential market reach of $525 billion. Mark Williamson, HSBC’s global head of FX and commodities partnerships and propositions, stated that these gold tokens will be tradable using HSBC’s platform, with the bank handling custody of the gold bars in its London vaults. HSBC Enters Gold Tokenization Era HSBC, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, has started using tokenization technology to modernize the precious metals trading industry. The bank announced it is launching a gold tokenization platform to simplify the trading of gold, to allow traders to have better control of the bullion they own, according to statements from Mark Williamson, HSBC’s global head of FX and commodities partnerships and propositions. The gold bars in the platform will be tokenized, and the owners will have the chance to track their bullion via the serial number and the vault where it is l...

By the end of Q3 2023, activity in the stablecoin category as measured by the number of daily active addresses (DAA) stood at over 400,000 — the highest in any category. In the decentralized finance (defi) category — the next highest-ranked category — the number of DAAs at the end of Q3 was just over 200,000. Stablecoin Activity Nearly Doubles That of Decentralized Finance According to the findings of Quicknode ’s latest study, stablecoins are now ranked the most popular blockchain category after ending Q3 with 400,000 daily active addresses (DAA). In addition, the stablecoin category is the only one to register growth in the three quarters that were reviewed. For instance, in Q1 the average DAAs stood at 317,000 and went up to 450,000 in Q2. In Q3, the category’s DAAs had increased marginally to 461,000. As shown by the study data , the stablecoin category’s DAAs at the end of Q3 are approximately double that of the next highest-ranked category — decentralized finance (defi). In t...

In October, the landscape of bitcoin mining revenue brightened, climbing by $131.45 million over September’s figures. Last month’s surge in BTC prices significantly bolstered revenues, although there was a slight dip in the earnings from fees, which saw a $5.44 million decrease from the previous month. October emerged as the runner-up for the year in terms of monthly revenue generated from BTC block rewards. Staying Alive — October Marks Near-Record 2023 Earnings for Bitcoin Mining As of this report, a total of 43 distinct mining pools are channeling SHA256 hashpower toward the Bitcoin blockchain. Collectively, they contribute an impressive 463 exahash per second (EH/s). In the past month, Foundry USA led the charge, discovering 28% of the block rewards, while Antpool was close behind, securing 27% of the subsidies in October. Not to be overshadowed, both F2pool and Viabtc each claimed about 11%, and Binance Pool rounded out the group by locating 7.23% of the month’s total block...

Director of Rosfinmonitoring Yuri Chikhanchin referred to the rise in popularity that crypto is experiencing in Russia in a recent interview, stating that more than 185,000 cryptocurrency transactions were completed during the first nine months of 2023. Chikhanchin also called for regulation in the crypto industry to be introduced as soon as possible due to its involvement in illicit activities. Rosfinmonitoring: Crypto Adoption Rises in Russia Cryptocurrency is gaining traction in Russia, according to statements by Yuri Chikhanchin, director of Rosfinmonitoring, the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring. In an interview given to Izvestia, Chikhanchin talked about the recent rise in crypto transactions during the first nine months of 2023 and how they have surpassed the total completed in 2022. Chikhanchin told Izvestia: According to our data, the number of transactions with cryptocurrency in the nine months of this year exceeded 185,000 (last year, during the same period, 60...

PFC Botev Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s oldest soccer team, recently said it now accepts bitcoin payments at fan shops and catering points during matches. Fans who make payments using the top cryptocurrency anytime in the month of November are eligible for a 10% discount. Fans to Buy Tickets With BTC Bulgaria’s oldest soccer team, PFC Botev Plovdiv, has said fans and the general public can now pay for merchandise with BTC at the club’s fan shops and catering points in the central stand during matches. The club said it is planning to avail this payment option for fans who wish to buy tickets. According to a report published by Novinite.com, club fans who make purchases using cryptocurrency in the month of November will get a 10% discount. Remarking on the club’s acceptance of bitcoin as a payment option, club president Anton Zingarevich said: We are excited about this technology, which is creating new opportunities and has the potential to become an integral part of our lives, just as it ...

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has found that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in a case involving the stock buyback disclosure rule. “Another day and another court finds that the SEC again acted arbitrarily and capriciously. Is anyone else concerned about this very troubling pattern of the SEC flouting any faithful allegiance to law under Mr. Gensler?” Ripple’s chief legal officer asked. SEC Loses Another Legal Battle Following a federal court’s determination that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in a case involving a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) application, another federal court reached a similar conclusion in a separate matter involving the securities regulator. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stated on Tuesday that the SEC’s stock buyback disclosure rule was arbitrary and capricious. While this case is ...

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former CEO of FTX, has been convicted on all seven charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud, and money laundering. The jury reached a verdict at around 7:45 p.m. (ET) on Thursday evening according to an account shared by Matthew Russell Lee from the Inner City Press. Bankman-Fried Convicted on Multiple Charges The ex-FTX CEO has been found guilty by a jury of his peers, according to several reports on Thursday evening. The 31-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried was charged in December 2022, about a month after the exchange collapsed. Bankman-Fried had a sweeping set of allegations, as prosecutors accused him of orchestrating an extensive plan to mismanage billions of dollars in customer deposits entrusted to FTX. These charges also implicated him in deceiving both FTX investors and lenders, as well as those associated with Alameda Research. On Thursday, the reporter Matthew Russell Lee reported the courtroom account of the situat...

The CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, has warned that inflation may be more persistent than many expect, and the government’s fiscal and monetary stimulus in the past several years has been greater than many realize. Dimon also expects more interest rate hikes from the Fed, stating: “I suspect that they may not be done … I just think there’s a higher chance than probably other people think.” Jamie Dimon Shares Economic Outlook JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon discussed the U.S. economic outlook in an interview with Yahoo Finance Live on Wednesday after Fed officials wrapped up their Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The committee decided to pause raising interest rates this month, keeping the target range for the federal funds rate at 5-1/4 to 5-1/2 percent. Regarding the FOMC decision, Dimon said: “I think they’re right to pause here and see what happens.” However, the JPMorgan executive believes that the central bank may raise interest rates further, stating: I sus...

Britain’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith MP has reaffirmed the government’s ambition to make the U.K. a global hub for crypto asset technologies. He stressed that in order to realize this ambition, “we must make the U.K. a place where cryptoasset firms have the clarity needed to invest and innovate, and where customers have the protections necessary for confidently using these technologies.” U.K. Aspires to Become Global Crypto Hub Andrew Griffith MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has reaffirmed the British government’s commitment to make the U.K. a global crypto hub. In the forward of HM Treasury’s response to the consultation and call for evidence regarding the future financial services regulatory regime for crypto assets, published this week, Griffith wrote: “I am very pleased to present these final proposals for cryptoasset regulation in the U.K. on behalf of the government.” He emphasized: The government’s ambition to make the U.K. a global hub for...

U.S. Senator Rand Paul has cautioned that the government’s “out-of-control spending” is threatening the very existence of the U.S. dollar and even the country. Commenting on the government spending billions of dollars to help multiple countries, Paul warned: “They’ll bankrupt our country in sending money everywhere all over the planet.” Senator Rand Paul’s USD and Economic Warnings U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) expressed concerns during an interview on Fox News, released on Sunday, about the potential economic impact of the U.S. government spending billions of dollars in aid to multiple countries simultaneously. Replying to a question about whether the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel are related, Senator Paul stressed: I would only say they are only related in the sense that they’ll bankrupt our country in sending money everywhere all over the planet. “It is probably the greatest threat to our national security if that’s what we are thinking that we’re supposed to do … to prote...

Global asset management firm Alliance Bernstein expects the price of bitcoin to reach $150,000 by 2025. The firm’s analyst has predicted “imminent” approvals of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including those by leadi ng asset management companies like Blackrock and Fidelity. Alliance Bernstein: Bitcoin Could Hit $150K in 2025 Global asset management firm Alliance Bernstein expects the price of bitcoin to reach $150,000 by 2025, the firm’s senior analyst specializing in digital assets, Gautam Chhugani, wrote in a note Tuesday. This prediction is driven by optimism that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will soon approve spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). “You may not like bitcoin as much as we do, but a dispassionate view of bitcoin as a commodity suggests a turn of the cycle,” the Bernstein analyst stated , elaborating: A good idea is only as good as its timing — SEC approved ETFs by world’s...

Renowned billionaire hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller says he doesn’t own any bitcoin but he should. He sees the crypto as a brand. When comparing bitcoin to gold, he said: “It’s clear that the young people look at it as a store of value because it’s a lot easier to do stuff with.” Stan Druckenmiller Says He Should Own Bitcoin Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller discussed bitcoin investing with fellow hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones during a fireside chat at the JPMorgan/Robin Hood Investors Conference in New York City on Oct. 24. Druckenmiller is the chairman and CEO of Duquesne Family Office LLC. He was previously a managing director at Soros Fund Management where he had overall responsibility for funds with a peak asset value of $22 billion. According to Forbes’ list of billionaires, his personal net worth is currently $6.4 billion. When asked about gold and bitcoin, Druckenmiller said: “I’m 70 years old. I own gold.” Emphasizing that he likes both gold and bi...

Over seven years ago, on April 30, 2016, the first decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) emerged, marking a significant shift in the digital world. However, just three months later, a cyberattack brought it down, leading to its unfortunate collapse. Today, the landscape has transformed dramatically, with numerous DAOs thriving, and 179 treasuries surpassing $1 million. In total, these organizations hold $18 billion in assets, both liquid and vested. As of 2023, the top five DAO treasuries alone hold $11 billion, spread across various token assets. 2023’s Leading DAOs Various sectors in the world of digital assets have been hit by the crypto winter but decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) have seen growth. In essence, a DAO stands as a digital governance model, orchestrated by smart contracts, with decisions documented on a blockchain. With 179 DAO platforms overseeing assets surpassing $1 million, the following is an overview of the top five DAOs as they stand in 2023...

America’s securities regulator has been urged to decide if it will approve a plan to transform Celsius Network into a bitcoin mining firm. The proposal seeks to repay customers of the bankrupt cryptocurrency lender with both crypto assets and stock in a new publicly traded mining entity. New York Judge Hopes for Expedited SEC Decision on Celsius’ Repayment Proposal Judge Martin Glenn, who oversees the bankruptcy of Celsius , has called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to quickly decide whether it will authorize the company to transform itself into a crypto mining firm, Bloomberg reported. During a court hearing on Monday, Glenn told a lawyer representing the regulator that he hopes the SEC will expedite the decision-making process because Celsius and its creditors have quickly moved through Chapter 11. The judge was quoted as stating: The SEC will make whatever decision it believes is the correct one. I just hope the process will move forward, so if there are ...

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler has wished Bitcoin’s white paper a happy anniversary. In addition to his playful remark about Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto dressing up in a Halloween costume, Gensler issued a stern warning to crypto firms, emphasizing the importance of complying with securities laws. SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s Message on the Bitcoin White Paper’s 15th Anniversary The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has wished Bitcoin’s white paper a happy anniversary. In a post on social media platform X on Tuesday, the regulator wrote: “Happy 15th anniversary to Satoshi’s famous white paper that started crypto.” He also attempted to make a humorous remark regarding Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s Halloween costume, asking whether we would be able to tell if Satoshi dressed up as himself for Halloween. Gensler ended his post with a trick-or-treating message for crypto firms. “Any crypto companies tha...

Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried are seeking to instruct the jury that no trust or fiduciary relationship existed between the crypto exchange and its customers, a key part of the prosecution’s fraud case. Bankman-Fried’s Attorneys Question Trust Ties In an addendum to earlier requests, Sam Bankman-Fried ‘s attorneys argue that under English law, which governs FTX’s terms of service, no trust relationship arose between FTX and users. “The Terms of Service do not use the words ‘trust,’ ‘trust property,’ or ‘beneficial interest,'” the filing states. It adds that any language about fiduciary duties expressly disclaims such a relationship. The defense aims to counter the government’s claim that Bankman-Fried “engaged in a scheme to defraud customers” by misappropriating deposits. Prosecutors allege FTX customer funds were improperly diverted to Bankman-Fried’s trading firm Alameda Research. However, according to the defense, “subjective intentions are irrelevant” in determining if a...

British banking giant Standard Chartered-owned crypto custody firm Zodia is launching services in Hong Kong. “The Hong Kong government and the regulators see digital assets as the future and also want Hong Kong to be a hub,” the crypto firm’s CEO emphasized. Zodia has already expanded into three other Asian markets. Standard Chartered’s Zodia Expanding Into Hong Kong Zodia Custoday, a crypto custody firm owned by Standard Chartered, Northern Trust, and Japan’s SBI, is launching services in Hong Kong, CNBC reported Sunday. The company is based in London and registered in the U.K. with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in Ireland with the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), and in Luxembourg with the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). Julian Sawyer, the CEO of Zodia, explained that Hong Kong is a market where institutional demand for crypto is stronger than retail demand, making it the ideal market for her company. The executive added: The Hong Kong government ...