Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Sources report that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the erstwhile crypto magnate and former head of FTX, intends to utilize his newly appointed legal team, despite these attorneys also serving Alex Mashinsky, the former chief of Celsius. On Wednesday, in a courtroom declaration, SBF confirmed his complete understanding that his legal representatives were also advocating for Mashinsky. […]

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse believes that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on crypto tokens other than bitcoin. “I think it’s inevitable that there’ll be multiple ETFs around different tokens,” he stressed, noting that Ripple would welcome an XRP ETF. “In my opinion, it makes these markets […]

Fundstrat’s head of research, Tom Lee, has doubled down on his $150,000 bitcoin price prediction, stating that the crypto could reach that price level this year. He cited three key reasons driving his bullish price forecast. Describing bitcoin as “sound money,” he emphasized that the cryptocurrency is incredibly secure and proving to be a good […]

Some Nigeria-based users of Binance’s peer-to-peer platform have blasted the crypto exchange’s decision to block or remove traders quoting USDT to naira exchange rates exceeding NGN1,802. Binance says it has the right to remove “users behaving in a malicious or manipulative way.” The Nigerian Currency’s Woes Some Nigerian users of Binance’s peer-to-peer (P2P) platform have […]

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says “every institution is now starting to hold crypto,” emphasizing that “the asset class will be a standard part of every diversified portfolio.” Moreover, the executive noted that institutions will eventually be using crypto in other ways, such as “holding it on their balance sheet, paying their vendors, [and] doing payroll.” […]

This week, a prison snapshot featuring Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the ex-FTX chief, was released by the independent journalist Tiffany Fong. Capturing the first glimpse of SBF since his detention, the image places the once-prominent cryptocurrency magnate alongside five other detainees within the confines of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn. First Look: SBF Behind […]

Comments on Lightning Network adoption, made by Russell Okung, a former NFL star who is among the first to receive part of his salary in crypto, sparked a discussion that highlighted the opposing opinions of the crypto community about the usage of bitcoin and stablecoins in emerging markets. Russell Okung Ignites Discussion on Bitcoin vs. […]

Cryptocurrency advocate John Deaton has formally announced his candidacy for the Senate in Massachusetts, setting his sights on unseating the current Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren from her position. “I’m excited for the opportunity to fight for change, and for the people of Massachusetts in the United States Senate,” Deaton wrote on Tuesday. Deaton vs. Warren: […]

Investors in the bitcoin Ponzi scheme Mirror Trading International are reportedly resisting liquidators’ attempts to have them repay digital assets withdrawn before it collapsed. According to the investors’ lawyer, MTI liquidators are intentionally misinterpreting the Insolvency Act for their benefit. Liquidators Face Accusations of Prolonging the Settlement Process A group of Mirror Trading International (MTI) […]

Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki expects the price of bitcoin to reach $100,000 by June this year. This prediction aligns with his earlier forecast of bitcoin’s rise and gold’s decline. Kiyosaki recently increased his bitcoin holdings in anticipation of a price surge fueled by the recent approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) […]

Edward Snowden, a privacy advocate and former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor and whistleblower, says bitcoin “is the most significant monetary advance since the creation of coinage.” He views his statement as “unpopular but true.” Edward Snowden’s ‘Unpopular but True’ Bitcoin Statement Edward Snowden, a privacy advocate, posted about bitcoin on social media platform X […]

Coinbase Commerce, the cryptocurrency payments solution of U.S.-based exchange Coinbase, has removed support for bitcoin payments using self-custody wallets. Brian Armstrong, CEO of the exchange, clarified it maintains support for payments from UTXO-based chains from Coinbase accounts. However, Commerce will focus on supporting ERC-20 tokens on layer 2 protocols, like Base and Polygon. Coinbase Commerce […]

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego offers bitcoin investment advice, Bitso’s report finds Latam is a bitcoin region, and Honduras bans financial institutions from dealing with crypto. Mexican Billionaire Ricardo Salinas Gives Bitcoin Investment […]

Economist and gold advocate Peter Schiff has sounded the alarm about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) potentially changing the definition of a “security.” He cautioned: “Now that the U.S. Appeals Court has upheld the SEC’s authority to unilaterally change the definition of a ‘dealer,’ I expect lots of private investors to be retroactively […]

The volume of daily transactions on the Bitcoin network has seen a significant decline since Jan. 28, 2024, with numbers falling from peaks above 600,000 to below 300,000 transactions per day. This downturn is in sync with a decrease in the daily creation of Ordinal inscriptions, overall easing congestion and reducing onchain fees. Network Activity […]

In the past seven years, the crypto world has witnessed various individuals claiming to be the true Satoshi Nakamoto, the mastermind behind the Bitcoin white paper and the initiator of the first blockchain. Yet, despite their efforts, none have managed to convince the community of their authenticity as the creators of Bitcoin. It appears there […]

The chief executive of Sound Planning Group has predicted a major bitcoin price surge, stating that the crypto is priced for “a serious rally.” He identified the upcoming Bitcoin halving and the adoption of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as key factors driving his bullish prediction for the cryptocurrency’s price. The financial advisor believes that […]

Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki has predicted that bitcoin and silver will take off while gold will crash below $1,200. He urges investors to prepare for the “biggest crash in history” which he forecasted in his book years ago. Emphasizing that the Federal Reserve is “destroying” the U.S. economy, he advised: “Rather than […]

Barstool Sports kingpin Dave Portnoy is experiencing a serious case of crypto regret, wishing that he hadn’t sold his bitcoin. He also wishes that his company, Barstool, had invested $10 million in the crypto. “I’m so mad at myself about bitcoin. I should be up like 75% in bitcoin,” he stressed. However, Portnoy revealed to […]

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has warned that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler should not be trusted. He stressed that Gensler “has a long history of not looking out for the interests of investors.” Brandt further emphasized that the SEC chairman “was instrumental in the bankruptcy” of a major company and was […]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), a statistics agency of the U.S. Energy Department, has sent letters to cryptocurrency miners requiring data related to energy consumption and configuration of their mining sites. According to one of the letters posted on social media, miners have until February 23 to report the info regarding the activities carried […]

Citi, in alliance with Wellington Management, Wisdomtree, and ABN AMRO, completed a proof of concept for the tokenization of a private fund on top of the Avalanche blockchain. The test used Spruce, an Avalanche subnet, to tokenize the fund and transact the tokenized assets, which were programmed to “automate operations, settle faster, and enable new […]

Tron is embarking on an ambitious journey to transform the Bitcoin ecosystem, as announced by its founder, Justin Sun. Through the integration of Bitcoin Layer two solutions, Tron seeks to decentralize and interconnect a variety of token types, including major stablecoins, with the Bitcoin network. Justin Sun’s Outlines Vision to Merge Tron and Bitcoin Networks […]

On Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, bitcoin’s value hovered between $51,850 to $52,350, with onchain insights from Arkham Intelligence revealing that the Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange giant, Coinbase, now possesses over 1 million bitcoin. Based on the current market prices, the stash secured by the San Francisco-headquartered firm is valued at just above $52 billion. Coinbase Outshines […]

Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas has outlined four key reasons why investors should buy bitcoin, including long-term growth potential, diversification, and protection against inflation and currency devaluation. Moreover, he advised: “You have to know how to invest and be patient, not get scared when it goes down and buy, and not get excited when it goes […]

U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Under Secretary Brian E. Nelson has confirmed that terrorists’ use of crypto remains a small fraction of more established mechanisms to move money. He also admitted that “digital assets were not even a popular tool for Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad” and “Hamas is using crypto in relatively small […]

Blackrock has amassed nearly 110,000 bitcoins for its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), since its launch about a month ago. The world’s largest asset manager’s bitcoin ETF has a total net inflow of nearly $5 billion, leading the pack among all spot bitcoin ETFs. Blackrock CEO Larry Fink has stated that […]

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has released an analysis that reports an alleged increase in the use of cryptocurrency in human trafficking cases. According to FinCEN, reports of cryptocurrency linked to these purposes grew from 336 in 2020 to 1,975 in 2021, an increase of almost 500%. FinCEN Alerts of Crypto Usage Linked to […]

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has provided an update to Congress members regarding the Fed’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) work. “If we’re going to have a CBDC, Congress needs to authorize it,” he stressed. Moreover, the Fed chair reportedly said that a framework for stablecoins is needed. Fed Chair Powell on US CBDC and […]

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has outlined a “very real economic difference” between crypto like bitcoin and fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar. “You have a whole central bank, and support for one currency, generally per economic region,” the SEC chief noted, adding that we don’t have the same in bitcoin. […]