Frankfurt’s Central Office for Combating Cybercrime (ZIT) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) conducted a joint operation against the Russian Darknet Marketplace “Hydra Market.” The authorities shut down its server infrastructure and seized over $25 million worth of bitcoin. ‘Hydra Market’ is Down According to a federal police statement, German law enforcement agents “secured...Read More
The California Macintosh and iPhone maker is in the process of ramping up its proprietary financial services technology and increasing Apple’s lending to iPhone users of Apple Pay. This is according to a Bloomberg report from earlier this week. The Cupertino high-tech giant sounds serious about the project, dubbing the effort “Breakout” and seeking to...Read More
According to the global investment manager Van Eck, the prices of bitcoin and gold could skyrocket to record highs if fiat currencies lose their dominance. Specifically, BTC could start trading between $1,300,000 and $4,800,000, while the yellow metal could tap $31,000 per ounce. Bitcoin’s Price if it Replaces Fiat It is safe to say that...Read More
Michael Saylor, CEO of business intelligence firm MicroStrategy, believes that the financial market is not ready to have a Bitcoin-backed bond. Meanwhile, El Salvador has postponed the launch of its BTC-backed volcano bonds. Now is Not the Time for a Bitcoin-Backed Bond In a recent interview with Bloomberg, the MicroStrategy CEO, while not generally opposed...Read More
Bengal Energy – a Canadian-based oil and gas company – will reportedly deploy energy from “stranded” gas wells into bitcoin mining operations. The firm also intends to set up 70 BTC mining rigs inside a portable building (known as “donga”) near the Cooper Basin. Bengal Energy Jumps Into BTC Mining Cryptocurrency mining has been a...Read More
One of the largest derivatives trading platforms has indeed proceeded with releasing options on Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether futures, as promised earlier this month. The company outlined the growing investor demand for such products as the main reason behind the launch. CryptoPotato reported earlier in March CME Group’s intentions to launch options on Micro...Read More
The lack of knowledge among common investors about cryptocurrencies and how to safely invest in them is resulting in a growing number of frauds. In a recent example, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Ahmedabad Police in India’s Gujarat province registered a case where the victim was duped of Indian Rupees (Rs.) 22 lakh (approximately...Read More
There’s been a lot of discussion surrounding EU’s proposed MiCA regulations, especially the text that was aimed at outlawing proof-of-work cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Now, the law is moving forward but without these clauses. A Relief for Bitcoin in EU The European Union’s (EU) proposed Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulatory package has decided not to...Read More
Almost half of the German population is motivated to invest in cryptocurrency, as revealed by digital asset exchange KuCoin’s ‘Into the Cryptoverse 2022’ report. Crypto Adoption in Germany Grows According to the report, 44% of Germans are somewhat motivated to “invest in cryptocurrencies to be a part of the future of finance.” 35% of them...Read More
A man in New York has been charged with running a cash-to-Bitcoin money laundering scheme in New York. Among other things, the case also shows the negative bias of law enforcement to crypto. Laundering Money Through Bitcoin According to a recent Bloomberg report, a 42-year-old man called Thomas Spieker was indicted for allegedly running a...Read More
Cryptocurrency adoption comes in different forms these days, but it seems that countries and cities are becoming more open to the idea of allowing certain payments to be made using such assets. Brazil’s second-largest city said it wants to become the first within the nation’s borders to accept BTC payments for taxes. The report from...Read More
The largest Canadian Bitcoin ETF is hitting back-to-back all-time highs with respect to its BTC holdings as inflows intensified. Purpose Bitcoin ETF Sees Huge Infusion Of Capital Citing data from the blockchain intelligence platform, Glassnode, market analyst Jan Wüstenfeld revealed that Purpose Bitcoin ETF currently holds more than 36k BTC, meaning a 23% increase in...Read More
The number of large banking organizations opting in the digital asset industry continues to expand, with the latest example coming from Bank Leumi. The organization has partnered with blockchain company Paxos to provide Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services. Bank Leumi to Enter the Crypto World? Reuters reported on March 24 that Bank Leumi – the...Read More
As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues and Western sanctions loom over the former, the country might accept Bitcoin for oil payments, according to some reports. Pavel Zavalny, deputy for the United Russia party in the 7th State Duma of the Russian Federation, was quoted saying that the country might accept Bitcoin for oil...Read More
The Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) intensified its negative stance against crypto-related companies. It warned such entities not to encourage individuals to purchase digital assets with credit cards or swap their pensions for coins like bitcoin. The ASA’s Latest Warning The British authorities and financial regulators are known for their harsh stance against the cryptocurrency sector....Read More
Pennsylvania-based cryptocurrency mining company – Stronghold Digital Mining – reportedly employs coal waste to power its hundreds of supercomputers. Thus, the company aims to use a byproduct instead of harming the US national energy network. SDM Uses Coal Waste Bitcoin mining is an energy-intensive process, and many critics claim it damages the environment and harms...Read More
Sophie Gilder – Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) – revealed that the financial institution could start offering more cryptocurrency services to clients. She further disclosed that the organization seeks to double the size of its blockchain team in the months to come. ‘Crypto is Here to Stay’ Australia...Read More
Following the launch of Russia’s “special military operation” against Ukraine, which turned out to be an all-out war, NATO, the EU, and other countries decided to take a different approach and impose sanctions against Russia’s leaders and its economy instead of getting directly involved in the conflict. But it wasn’t just governments that went in...Read More
US Attorney Dena J. King announced that law enforcement seized $547,000 worth of bitcoin from a criminal who conned an elderly person last year. The officials will return all funds to the victim. Cracking Down a Crypto Scam In its latest efforts to fight fraudulent activities involving cryptocurrencies, American officials confiscated more than $500,000 in...Read More
Deloitte believes Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies can help deliver a payment system that is fast, secure, effective, can facilitate efficient cross-border transactions, but there are challenges to overcome first. In the latest study called ‘State-sponsored cryptocurrency,’ Deloitte provided a fresh perspective of a central bank’s digital currency by revamping the traditional fiat system and adapting Bitcoin’s...Read More
Some regulatory bodies worldwide are becoming more oppressive and hostile towards Bitcoin and digital assets. This has been exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as policymakers mistakenly think that the former will suddenly switch to using cryptocurrencies. Other watchdogs are growing concerned about the excessive energy demands of proof-of-work Bitcoin mining (though it still...Read More
The world’s richest man – Elon Musk – took it to Twitter to reveal that the company he spearheads – Tesla – is coming under pressure from the increasing inflation. He also shared his opinion on what assets it’s better to own when inflation goes up. In a recent tweet, the man behind Tesla and...Read More
The Lower House of Russia’s Parliament – State Duma – has reportedly called upon establishing a regulatory framework on cryptocurrencies rather than imposing a blanket ban on them. The authorities joined the likes of the Finance Ministry, which urged for the same thing. The Never-Ending Saga Earlier this year, the Bank of Russia – the...Read More
According to a recent report, some of the notorious Mexican drug cartels are increasingly using bitcoin for their illicit operations. Among these organizations are Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel. Drug Kingpins Turn to Bitcoin Despite their various merits and numerous proponents, cryptocurrencies have their opponents, too. Those often claim that criminals use bitcoin...Read More
A Bitcoin exchange-traded fund is something that the cryptocurrency community is looking forward to for quite some time. Unfortunately, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is not on the same page yet. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission rejected two proposals to list and trade shares of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, according to Reuters. The...Read More
The Nordic-based financial technology firm – Lunar – closed a $77 million financing round. The organization reached a valuation of $2 billion and introduced a cryptocurrency trading platform. Lunar Dives Into The Crypto Industry The Danish company Lunar secured a $77 million Series D-2 funding round, bringing the series’ total to $310 million. The investment...Read More
Yoon Suk-Yeol – a member of the Conservative party – won the South Korean presidential election. The new political leader of the East Asian country has demonstrated a pro-crypto stance. Not long ago, he vowed to increase the minimum threshold for paying capital gains tax on profits from digital asset investments. South Korea to Become...Read More
A Satoshi-era bitcoin address holding 489 coins has been activated after over 11 years. The last time a transaction occurred at the wallet was in 2010, when the BTC in it was worth $50. HODLing Over The Years or Something Else? According to the popular crypto data analytics platform Whale Alert, the bitcoin address has...Read More
The leading cryptocurrency exchange – Kraken – will give $1,000 in bitcoin to each Ukrainian citizen who opened an account on the platform before March 10th. The initiative is designed to help those in need after Russia launched its “special military operation” in the country. Kraken’s Support to Ukrainians The list of companies, trading venues,...Read More
The Major Soccer League participant Nashville SC partnered with the digital asset investment manager Valkyrie Investments. The latter vowed to pay its sponsorship fee entirely in bitcoin. The First MSL Team to Accept BTC Sponsorship Payment One of the leading American soccer teams – Nashville SC – dived in the world of crypto by signing...Read More
