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Claudio Oliveira, owner of the Bitcoin Bank in Brazil and known as the ‘King of Bitcoin,’ was arrested yesterday for his alleged participation in a fraud scheme involving $300 million. According to inquiries from federal authorities, Oliveira faked a Bitcoin hack back in 2019 in which his company lost a significant amount of bitcoin. More than 7,000 customers lost their funds in this fake hack. ‘King of Bitcoin’ Apprehended in Brazil The Federal Brazilian Police apprehended Claudio Oliveira yesterday for his supposed involvement in a $300 million fraud scheme. Oliveira, who owned the Bitcoin Bank, reported a bitcoin hack on his company back in 2019. But according to police investigations, this was a staged crime to cover the withdrawal of these cryptocurrencies. Brazilian police also seized eight luxury cars and jewels. Operation Daemon, which cracked down on the Bitcoin Bank scheme, resulted in the arrest of four more individuals. The police searched 22 locations in one of the biggest operations against a cryptocurrency organization in the country. 90 police officers participated in the sting. The police organized this task force after the Bitcoin Bank failed to collaborate in the investigations of the alleged fake Bitcoin hack. While the authorities investigated the crime, the organization received a judicial order allowing them to keep operating. Oliveira is now facing charges of embezzlement, money laundering, criminal organization, and crimes against the national financial system. Bitcoin Bank Had a ‘Private Blockchain’ The police found that the Bitcoin Bank was running a so-called private blockchain. If the customers deposited their funds, the system faked operations that showed customers making gains on arbitrage. But the funds going in and out showed inconsistencies with audits made to the system by forensic investigators. After the seizure, Federal Police took ownership of the cryptocurrency accounts managed by the Bitcoin Bank. However, they claim there are not enough funds to pay all creditors. This alleged Ponzi scheme affected more than 7,000 investors, including employees and service providers from the group. However, this is not the first time Oliveira has had a run-in with justice. The King of Bitcoin committed crimes of the same nature in the U.S., according to Brazilian investigators. Also, Oliveira committed embezzlement and document forgery in Switzerland back in 2000. What do you think about the alleged $300 million fraud operated by the King Of Bitcoin? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

After a long break, monthly purchasing data shows that central banks are buying gold again. The World Gold Council says throughout March and April, the organization recorded a higher level of central bank monthly gold purchases and the latest data from May shows the exact same trend. Gold Rises After Data Shows Central Bank Gold Purchases Trend Higher The price of gold per ounce is hovering just above the $1,800 zone, after seeing some fresh gains following the weekend. Gold’s value jumped above its 100-day moving average and is changing hands for the highest price in two weeks. In late June, gold dipped to a two-month low and since then, the precious metal has gathered 3% in gains. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve plans to release the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes from the latest committee meeting and the outcome could shake markets. The mid-June gold price drop took place when the Fed revealed its hawkish interest rate changes and the U.S. dollar gathered some strength. One reason why gold may be gaining on the dollar is because some of the world’s central banks have been actively purchasing gold since the start of the year. Central bank gold purchases are much higher than in 2020 already. After the Covid-19 outbreak and throughout 2020, central bank gold purchases were cut in half in comparison to the two previous years. Today, data from the World Gold Council (WGC) shows higher levels of gold purchased by central banks throughout March and April. Kitco statistics also show that in May, the world’s central banks purchased “56.7t during the month, down 11% M/M but 43% above the YTD monthly average.” The chief precious metals analyst at HSBC, James Steel, told Bloomberg this week that the central banks moving into gold is a positive trend. “If a central bank is looking at diversifying, gold is a marvelous way of moving out of the dollar without selecting another currency.” Steel further said that bullion purchases by central banks will likely continue. The HSBC precious metals analyst stressed that because crude oil prices have risen dramatically, it has amplified central bank bullion buys. Countries purchasing large quantities of gold for central bank reserves include Ghana, Turkey, Serbia, Thailand, Brazil, India, and Kazakhstan. This past week, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic explained why the National Bank of Serbia was increasing gold purchases. “Long term, gold is the most significant guardian and guarantor of protection against inflationary and other forms of financial risks,” Vucic told the press. Serbia’s central bank said it intends to add to its 36.3 tons and increase to 50 tons of gold. Crude Oil Taps a 2021 Price High, Physical Gold Demand Resurfaces Kitco statistics for May indicate that Thailand was the biggest buyer of gold bullion, as the country captured 82% of the month’s net gold purchases worldwide. The same month, Brazil increased gold reserves for the first time since 2012. Gold bug and economist Peter Schiff agrees that crude prices have risen significantly in recent times. “In case no one in America is paying attention to the oil market on a Federal holiday,” Schiff said on Monday. “The price just hit a new high for the year of $76.39.” Schiff continued: We are about 50 cents from hitting the highest price since Nov. of 2014. Low oil prices were transitory. Get ready for much higher prices. American investors are anticipating this week’s minutes report from the Federal Reserve in order to get a clearer view of what the U.S. central bank will do next. Joseph Stefans, head trader at MKS (Switzerland) SA says demand for physical bullion has reappeared in recent times. “Physical demand has begun to resurface a bit, U.S. real yields continue to drift lower, which has brought some dollar selling to the market,” Stefans noted on July 6. Gold is trading 0.83% higher than yesterday’s $1,791 per ounce price at $1,806 per ounce on Monday morning. A few other analysts believe it’s still too early to get clarity on gold’s future performance before the Fed’s minutes. “It seems like the gold price has bottomed out recently after its mid-June sell-off. However, it’s still too early for a clearer picture ahead of the Fed minutes,” Alexander Zumpfe, a senior trader at refiner Heraeus Metals Germany GmbH & Co. KG. told Bloomberg on Monday. What do you think about gold’s recent performance and central banks regaining their appetite for it? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Hedge fund firm Marshall Wace, with $55 billion in assets, is reportedly gearing up to launch a portfolio investing in the crypto sector. London-headquartered hedge fund firm Marshall Wace is planning investments in the crypto sector, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. Founded by Sir Paul Marshall and Ian Wace in 1997, Marshall Wace currently manages $55 billion in assets. The firm is launching a digital finance portfolio that will invest in privately owned, late-stage digital finance companies, the publication detailed, citing people familiar with the plan. It will target investments in areas such as blockchain technology, payments systems for digital currencies, and stablecoins. A particular area of focus for the firm is the infrastructure around stablecoins. Marshall Wace is currently talking to potential investors for the new portfolio, which will be headed by Amit Rajpal, CEO of Marshall Wace Asia and co-founder of Indian fintech firm Niyogin. Marshall Wace has recently been looking to hire staff in the crypto sector, the sources added. At the end of May, the company participated in a funding round for crypto firm Circle. Noting that the new business is still at an early stage, the publication conveyed: The group plans to expand it rapidly in a move that could include other forms of investment, for instance potentially trading digital currencies. What do you think about Marshall Wace’s crypto plans? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Elon Musk went after Bitcoin hater Warren Buffett recently, sharing what looked like a bullish crypto quote attributed to the billionaire investor. The tech entrepreneur, whose comments on social media have been moving crypto markets this year, later removed the post with the obviously fake Buffett statement. Elon Musk Finds Buffett’s ‘Best Financial Advice’ Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted a meme of the famous American business magnate Warren Buffett with a quote underneath reading “Find as many coins as you can. And fast!” Musk attributed the statement to Buffett, describing it as his “best financial advice.” The entrepreneur turned-crypto-influencer said he found it on the internet. In just a few hours, Musk’s latest crypto tweet gathered thousands of likes and comments early on Tuesday but the post later disappeared from his Twitter account. The quote in the tweet is most likely fake or wrongly attributed to the 90-year old legendary investor who is a well-known critic of Bitcoin, to say the least. Warren Buffett has maintained a negative stance on cryptocurrencies over the years. In 2019, the Oracle of Omaha said “bitcoin has no unique value at all,” calling it a “delusion.” In 2018, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway stated that those who put money into bitcoin were not investing but speculating and gambling. “Probably rat poison squared” is arguably Buffett’s most famous description of Bitcoin, which he gave at the company’s annual meeting in May of that year. On the other hand, Elon Musk has been a prominent supporter of cryptocurrencies, with few exceptions such as this year’s decision to suspend BTC payments for the vehicles produced by his electric car company, due to concerns about the increasing use of fossil fuels to power bitcoin mining. The crypto-economy lost billions following his announcement on Twitter. However, Tesla’s $1.5 billion investment in bitcoin earlier this year gave crypto markets a serious boost. Then in May, Musk reaffirmed his allegiance to decentralized money stating that in the battle between fiat and crypto, his support goes to the latter. He also said that Tesla would resume accepting bitcoin upon confirmation of a “reasonable” 50% clean energy usage by cryptocurrency miners. Musk and Buffett have in the past clashed over business models. In 2018, the Spacex founder said that “moats are lame” referring to a term popularized by Warren Buffett, and emphasized the importance of innovation. Buffett responded by warning Musk to stay away from his moated ventures. Musk then announced he is starting a new candy company to take on Berkshire-owned moat See’s Candies that he’s going to call “Cryptocandy.” Why do you think Elon Musk removed his Warren Buffett tweet? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

India’s finance minister has provided a status update on the country’s cryptocurrency bill that the government has been working on. “We have done a lot of work on it. We have taken stakeholders’ inputs,” she was quoted as saying. Status of Indian Crypto Bill Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has provided a status update on the country’s cryptocurrency bill in an interview with Businessline published last week. Sitharaman was asked about the status of “the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021” and when it is likely to be passed. The Indian minister of finance replied: We have done a lot of work on it. We have taken stakeholders’ inputs. The Cabinet note is ready. We have to see when the Cabinet can take it up and consider it so that then we can move it. “From our side, I think one or two indications that I have given is that at least for fintech, experiment and pilot projects a window will be available. The Cabinet will have to take a decision,” she clarified. The bill was originally listed to be introduced during the budget session of parliament earlier this year but was not. According to its description on the parliament’s website, the crypto bill aims “To create a facilitative framework for [the] creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The bill also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses.” However, the government has since provided some more information about the bill. The finance minister said in May: “There will be a very calibrated position taken … [The] world is moving fast with technology. We can’t pretend we don’t want it.” In May, the government reportedly set up a panel of experts to re-examine the recommendations within the bill. Do you think India will ban cryptocurrencies after all? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On the surface, it looks like Nigeria’s suspension of Twitter operations on June 4 may have been triggered by the microblogging company’s decision to take down a controversial tweet — from President Mohammed Buhari. However, as some observers have noted, the removal of the tweet may have presented the Nigerian government with the perfect excuse for targeting Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey. Nigeria’s Anti-Tech Policies As widely reported, social media mogul Dorsey tweeted his support and endorsement of the EndSars protests back in October 2020. In a tweet that enraged Nigerian officials, Dorsey asked his followers to donate bitcoin to organizers of the protest after the movement’s bank accounts were frozen. Also, in addition to supporting the protests, the CEO recently tweeted and shared articles that call on Nigerian authorities to pursue what he calls the “bitcoin standard.” Therefore, when Twitter deleted the President’s tweet after alleging that it had violated its policies, this proved to be the final straw. The Nigerian government responded to the tweet’s removal by suspending the company’s operations and by threatening to arrest Twitter users that defied an order to stop using the platform. While this decision has been condemned by many including the U.S. government, President Buhari’s administration remains undeterred. Still, others are viewing Twitter’s suspension as a continuation of Nigeria’s anti-tech policies that appear to have started with the targeting of the crypto industry. Starting on February 6, 2021, Nigerian financial institutions have been adhering to a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive that requires them to stop extending their services to businesses or individuals that deal with cryptocurrencies. De Facto Home to the Crypto Community As a result of this directive, players in Nigeria’s crypto industry have had to resort to platforms that cannot be censored by the government. However, unlike the CBN directive, the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria appears to have indirectly created an even bigger challenge for the country’s crypto industry. As one Nigerian media outlet explained, Twitter has acted as “the voice of the crypto world and has been recognized as the de facto home of the crypto community.” The outlet warns that with Twitter now blocked, Nigerian crypto enthusiasts can no longer “get insights and perspective from some of the greatest minds in the crypto space.” This view is shared by Adedayo Adebajo, who is the managing director of Jerulida Africa DLT. In response to inquiry sent by Bitcoin.com News, Adebajo said: Most crypto influencers and news are obtained and spread on Twitter. The social media platform is the best source for one to get real-time updates on market trends. The Twitter ban has for example affected all businesses including blockchain and crypto-related enterprises who carry out their outreach and marketing using Twitter. When the CBN directed financial institutions to stop offering their services to crypto entities earlier in the year, crypto exchanges and traders responded by moving their business to P2P platforms. As previously confirmed in a report by Bitcoin.com News, Nigeria’s P2P bitcoin volumes surged following the imposition of the CBN directive. Similarly, some Nigeria-based Twitter users have responded to the Twitter ban by installing virtual private network (VPN) applications on their mobile devices. Use and Impact of VPNs This growing use of VPNs by Twitter users in Nigeria has been confirmed by Nigeria-based crypto enthusiasts like Aniekan Fyneface, a Nigerian blockchain enthusiast and content developer. In his response to an inquiry from Bitcoin.com News, Fyneface notes that many Nigerians are still active on Twitter despite the suspension. Still, this use of VPNs has not had the desired results, according to Adebajo. He explained: Yes, VPN still allows people to use Twitter, but a huge percentage of the population either don’t have the luxury of money, time or tech know-how on how to go about it, so they just stepped back. The Twitter ban is a huge blow in the heart of all businesses and crypto. Tweets are not getting as much engagement as before while many people are in the dark on the trends. Meanwhile, Fynface tells Bitcoin.com News that the Twitter ban is unlikely to have a big impact on the industry. He insists that Nigerian crypto users will still find alternative ways of accessing information just like they have found ways of using their bank accounts to buy cryptocurrencies even after the CBN directive was issued. Do you think the suspension of Twitter by Nigerian authorities is hindering the growth of the country’s crypto space? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

While the U.S. ramps up discussions of a digital dollar and China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) draws near, Japan’s CBDC, otherwise known as the digital yen, is getting closer to its realization as well. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party member, Hideki Murai, explained in a recent interview this week that more clarity on the digital yen would be revealed next year. Ruling Liberal Democratic Party Member Hideki Murai Says Clarity on the Bank of Japan’s CBDC Is Coming Next Year In recent times, Japan has been discussing the creation of a digital yen and the country’s politicians have been mentioning the subject more frequently. In November 2020, the head of Japan’s Monex Group, Oki Matsumoto, told the press that a Bank of Japan (BOJ) issued digital version of the yen would “significantly enhance the interoperability of cryptocurrencies.” Monex Group purchased the Tokyo-based digital asset exchange Coincheck for $34 million in 2018. Hideki Murai, Harvard graduate, former member of Japan’s Ministry of Finance, and the Liberal Democratic Party’s lead on digital currencies, says clearer information on Japan’s CBDC will be ready by late next year. In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Murai said that the digital yen wouldn’t “meddle in private businesses.” “By around the end of next year, we’ll have a clearer view of what Japan’s CBDC would look like,” Murai explained during the interview. Even though Murai stressed that the CBDC will not meddle with the private sector, “more details on its design may spur debate on how CBDC issuance could affect financial institutions,” the Reuters report noted. Still, Murai emphasized that financial players may feel some impact from the digital yen. “If the BOJ were to issue CBDC, it would have a huge impact on financial institutions and Japan’s settlement system,” Murai said. “CBDC has the potential to completely reshape changes occurring in Japan’s financial industry.” Murai also discussed the relationship between Japan’s theoretical CBDC and the digital yuan produced by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). He added: If a digital yuan becomes so convenient it’s frequently used by tourists or becomes a main settlement means for trade, the relationship between the yen and yuan could change. Murai concluded that the digital yen must be able to intermingle with CBDCs developed by other nation-states. The Liberal Democratic Party’s lead on digital currencies mentioned China’s rapid progress with the digital yuan. China’s CBDC is moving fast, and just recently Beijing and Suzhou railways announced they now accept digital yuan payments for ride fares. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve said at the end of March that it planned to unveil digital dollar prototypes in July. The Fed’s vice chairman of supervision and the chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), Randal Quarles, also spoke about the digital dollar recently. However, Quarles’ opinion of a digital U.S. dollar differed significantly from Murai’s vision for a Japanese CBDC. While Quarles said an American CBDC could pose a risk to the U.S. banking system, Murai said that a digital yen could possibly shift data and business solutions back to the Japanese banking system. What do you think about Hideki Murai’s comments regarding a clearer picture of a digital yen in late 2022? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Axie Infinity, an Ethereum based game, is now one of the biggest successes of the play-to-earn model. Featuring NFT’s like the game characters, the game monetizes breeding these characters and selling them. As a result, there is now a growing demand for Axies, whose stats can make them reach high prices in markets. This has incited a bit of an economic boom, generating more revenue than other known protocols last week. Axie Infinity Economy Thrives Axie Infinity, a battling/breeding game in the style of Pokemon, is creating a booming economy that has started to outshine other financially focused protocols. According to DappRadar, Axie Infinity is now the biggest NFT market in crypto. With 50k traders involved in moving more than $80 million throughout the last week, it has surpassed OpenSea and CryptoPunks. Jeffrey Zirlin, co-founder and growth lead of Sky Mavis, the company behind Axie, also gave numbers about this growth. Zirlin stated on Twitter that Axie’s growth had surpassed other more well-known protocols. He stressed that: Axie generated more revenue than Metamask, Pancakeswap, Synthetix, MakerDAO, and Curve COMBINED. Axie is still a pretty basic product and has many upgrades coming over the next 9 months. The reason behind this is simple: Axie’s model has created an economy that has (for the time) achieved self-sustainability. Newcomers that want to be part of this model need to purchase Axie NFTs to profit. Players already in the game are incentivized to breed new Axies to profit from their sales, and the demand for the native token of the game rises as a consequence of these two activities. NFT Prices Rise This growing demand for Axies (the NFTs needed to play the game) has made their prices rise in the market. Not so long ago, three Axies could be bought for less than 600 dollars. To play Axie Infinity, you need at least three Axies to start. Now, the same set would require 900 dollars just to start playing. Axies with uncommon features are even more expensive: mystic characters are part of the original batch of NFTs in the game. Last week, a triple mystic Axie was sold for 369 ETH, a little more than $820K at the time of writing. Other less rare characters (double mystic) can be bought for 75 ETH. Buyers are waiting for these prices to keep rising in the medium term. It seems then that NFTs can be a source of revenue and used as an investment if there is a compelling usage linked to them. In the future, more NFT platforms could seek to achieve Axie Infinity’s success by mimicking what they have done. Axie has seen success in emerging markets where investors even go so far as to offer scholarships to novice players. What do you think about Axie Infinity’s booming economy? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Barclays has reported it no longer supports wiring funds to Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of daily volume. The bank announced its issues with wiring funds to Binance in a resolution message to the customers today. The banking giant cites the warning that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued against Binance last week. The measure affects more than 24 million Barclays customers at a worldwide level. Barclays Blocks Wires To Binance Barclays, one of the leading banking institutions in the UK, announced they would no longer support wiring funds to Binance. The bank made this announcement effective immediately and told customers it was meant to protect their money. Barclays based this measure on the warning that the FCA issued last week on the cryptocurrency exchange. The bank stated: This action does not impact on the ability for customers to withdraw funds from Binance. The decision has been taken following the FCA warning to consumers. Last week, the FCA stated Binance Markets Limited “is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK.” As a result of this, many institutions are studying which will be the best resolution on this subject. However, Barclays is not the first bank that has acted directly by blocking payments to crypto trading platforms. Last month, Natwest also established a limit on daily transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges. This due to the alleged fraud numbers associated with these operations. TSB, another UK bank, said it would be studying to exert similar measures. The recent measure taken by Barclays would affect more than 24 million customers worldwide. These customers are now unable to move their funds to Binance to buy cryptocurrencies. While the company has no offices in the UK, it uses a series of payment processors to route fiat money from its customers to its platform. Reports note that these affiliates would not be able to process these payments now. Binance Under Scrutiny Binance has been under scrutiny by world regulators recently. The exchange is facing a criminal complaint filed in Thailand. According to the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the exchange has no authorization to operate there. Similar warnings have been emitted against the exchange in the Cayman Islands, the Canadian province of Ontario, South Africa, and Japan. Also, there were reports about Binance being investigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last May under money laundering assumptions. The exchange has worked to strengthen its systems to comply with existing regulations. Recently, it was announced that it would be one of the first exchanges to adopt Traveler, a tool that automates the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Travel Rule compliance. The company also hired a former top regulator and acting head of the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, Brian Brooks at the end of April. What do you think about Barclays blocking customers from sending funds to Binance? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is actively building a cryptocurrency hub in India. The company says it has “ambitious plans” for the South Asian crypto hub and is looking to hire for many positions, including hundreds of engineers. Coinbase Has ‘Ambitious Plans’ for Its Indian Crypto Hub Coinbase published a blog post on Friday, authored by Pankaj Gupta, the company’s VP of Engineering and Site Lead in India. Gupta joined Coinbase about two months ago “to establish and lead a new tech hub for Coinbase in India,” he explained, elaborating: There’s never been a more exciting time for builders working in crypto. This is true worldwide, but especially in India which is seeing a boom in crypto-native talent and in creating and growing important crypto projects. “It is early days for our India tech hub but it has already taken off with an incredible amount of interest in our open roles from across India,” Gupta emphasized. He added that Coinbase is “also exploring startup acquisitions and acquihires.” The Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange is currently hiring senior and junior roles “across product management, user experience, design and program management.” Gupta noted that the company is also “creating a core support team — in areas such as in HR and recruiting — to provide well-rounded support for our India hub.” The VP of Engineering further shared: We have ambitious plans for this hub in the near future — we want to hire hundreds of world class engineers in the near term. “As a product-led company, it’s important that our new hires in India truly understand the products and services that they are helping to deliver,” he detailed. “That’s why we’re introducing a new program called CIkka — short for ‘Coinbase India Sikka’ — offering each new employee in India a one-time $1,000 in crypto when they start.” Coinbase officially announced its expansion into India in March. The exchange recently unveiled its plan to launch an Apple-like app store. What do you think about Coinbase’s efforts to build a crypto hub in India? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, has advised investors to “stay clear” of cryptocurrencies and “build their portfolio around less risky assets.” The UBS analysts warned that “Regulators have demonstrated they can and will crack down on crypto.” UBS’ Crypto Advice and Warning The global wealth management team at UBS warned in a note published last week that regulators worldwide, particularly the U.S. and the U.K., will impose tougher cryptocurrency regulations. Citing that “China’s latest crackdown — extending to miners, banks, e-payment networks, and social media — hurt crypto prices and operators,” the UBS analysts wrote: Regulators have demonstrated they can and will crack down on crypto … So we suggest investors stay clear, and build their portfolio around less risky assets. “We’ve long warned that shifting investor sentiment or regulatory crackdowns could pop bubble-like crypto markets,” the analysts added. “We think investors should avoid crypto speculation, and consider risk-adjusted returns before buying alternative assets.” The bank pointed out that a number of regulators worldwide have begun tightening their oversight of the crypto market. Recently, China has been cracking down on bitcoin mining and payments. Canada’s regulator has sent notices to crypto exchanges and the regulators in Japan, the U.K., Cayman Islands, and Thailand have targeted global crypto exchange Binance. The U.K. has imposed tight registration requirements on crypto exchanges, causing 64 firms to withdraw their applications to register. In South Korea, most small exchanges are at risk of having to shut down operations due to strict regulatory and banking requirements. The UBS analysts further described: “Crypto trading practices, such as extending 50x or 100x leverage, appear fundamentally at odds with mainstream finance regulation.” They warned: While we can’t rule out future price gains in cryptos, we see this as a speculative market that poses significant risks to professional investors. The bank, however, reportedly recognizes that some clients want exposure to cryptocurrency, particularly bitcoin, and is rumored to be considering offering crypto services to wealthy clients. A growing number of investment banks are already doing so, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Standard Chartered, and DBS. What do you think about UBS’ crypto advice and warning? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Equity strategists and portfolio managers were asked about what the price of bitcoin will be by the year-end. Almost half of the surveyed participants say the price of the cryptocurrency will fall below the $30K level but some believe it will rise to $60K. Year-End Bitcoin Price Expectations by Equity Strategists and Portfolio Managers Equity strategists and portfolio managers revealed what they think bitcoin’s price will be at the end of 2021 in a survey by CNBC, published last week. Every quarter, the media outlet polls about 100 chief investment officers, equity strategists, and portfolio managers about their views on the markets for the rest of the year. The latest survey was conducted from June 23-30. According to the survey results unveiled last week, 44% of respondents said the price of bitcoin will be below $30,000 by the end of the year. In addition, 25% of equity strategists and portfolio managers said it will be $40,000 and another 25% said it will reach $50,000. Only 6% expected the BTC price to hit $60,000 by the year-end. Equity strategists and portfolio managers Survey’s results. Source: CNBC Several surveys recently conducted indicate the growing popularity of cryptocurrency investments among institutional investors. The 2021 Trends in Investing Survey, conducted by the Journal of Financial Planning and the Financial Planning Association (FPA), found that more than 26% of financial advisors plan to increase their recommendation of cryptocurrencies over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, 49% of the advisors said that clients have asked them about investing in cryptocurrencies in the last six months. The latest Bank of America’s Global Fund Manager Survey showed that “long bitcoin” is the second most crowded trade for fund managers. Moreover, a global poll of chief financial officers indicated that hedge funds are likely to significantly increase their cryptocurrency holdings. Where do you think the price of bitcoin will be by the year-end? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

After tweeting through its account since 2018, Splinterlands, a blockchain-based NFT trading card game, has been banned from the service permanently as social media giant Twitter refuses to respond to appeals. Suspension Coincides With Twitter Unveiling its Own NFTs While non-fungible token (NFT) hype may have cooled, there is no shortage of controversy surrounding the space. The latest incident includes none other than the social media outlet Twitter. Although Jack Dorsey warmly embraced the NFT movement after auctioning off his very first tweet in NFT form, the platform’s recent decision to suspend blockchain-based gaming operator Splinterlands has embroiled the social media platform in a fresh censorship debate. Splinterlands, which offers gamers the opportunity to collect, trade, and battle with scarce NFT collectibles, was among the first to embrace the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens as part of its platform experience. The company’s Twitter account was suspended from the platform on June 23rd for no discernible reason. This was done without warning or explanation. There is some speculation that Splinterlands may have been suspended for violating certain Twitter policies about selling “illegal or certain regulated goods or services.” The policy states, “You may not use our service for any unlawful purpose or in furtherance of illegal activities. This includes selling, buying, or facilitating transactions in illegal goods or services, as well as certain types of regulated goods or services.” Because the company does not sell financial products, is a gaming platform, and does not run secondary markets for its collectibles, which are overseen by the community, the violation is unclear. Still, given no prior warning from the platform about any violations, it’s challenging to ascertain whether they were the cause, especially given the multitude of other accounts engaged in similar practices. Already, Splinterlands has lodged multiple appeals to reverse the suspension, with a cryptic message arriving on June 30th from Twitter explaining that the suspension would be permanent and that further appeals would be ignored. The Not-So-Elegant Timing of the Twitter Suspension Though entirely speculative, Chris Roberts, Splinterlands’ Content Director, pointed out the troublesome timing in a post published on Peakd. The company’s account ban corresponded with a same-day decision by Twitter to unveil its lineup of NFTs for sale to its 60 million followers, making the suspension either a little suspect or tone-deaf. @CryptoStache You seeing this!? #freesplinterlands https://t.co/zPQXnVKJdt — Outside The Vox Thinking (@OutsideVox) June 30, 2021 There are also curiosities about whether Twitter is leveraging its status to crush other NFT players by launching its product “a la” Amazon to knock out any formidable competition. Others, like Chris Roberts from Splinterlands, believe it could be a form of censorship, highlighting once again the need for more censorship-resistant platforms, like Hive Blockchain and Peakd. Given that Splinterlands operates on Hive and tweeted the news on the blockchain’s latest token pairings the same morning, there are also concerns that the censorship-resistant properties that Hive Blockchain espouses could be under attack by social media giants. Like other platforms have had their hosting and other services canceled by tech giants, this might be a similar tactic, especially given Twitter’s history of forcefully evicting accounts without notice. However, given the absence of more concrete evidence, this connection remains unsubstantiated at very best. While no new developments have emerged since the suspension notification received on the 30th and amid an absence of clarification from Twitter, questions continue to shroud the motives behind the social giant’s move and whether it was justified. In the meantime, #freesplinterlands is circulating through Twitter as the community takes up the cause and fights back against what it considers to be an unjustified suspension. Further to the point, Splinterlands was selected as Marketsquare’s game of the month, bringing more attention to the issue for Marketsquare’s followers. Congratulations to Splinterlands for being named our Game of the Month for July! https://t.co/Za1rxD5yTo#Splinterlands #hive #blockchain #marketsquare pic.twitter.com/SghpQpmK6o — MarketSquare (@HelloMSQ) July 1, 2021 What do you think of Twitter’s decision to permanently suspend Splinterlands’ account? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Four days ago, the crypto community and mainstream audiences caught a whiff of a new meme-based crypto asset called baby doge. The coin got a lot more attention when Tesla’s Elon Musk tweeted about baby doge and almost immediately after the tweet, the asset’s value skyrocketed. Musk hasn’t said anything about baby doge since then, but the crypto asset has continued to climb higher in value. Weekly Stats Show Baby Doge Outshines Most Crypto Asset Market Performances Last week, Bitcoin.com News reported on the cryptocurrency called baby doge (BABYDOGE) after the CEO of Tesla tweeted about the coin. At that time, baby doge jumped 228.3% during a 24 hour period on July 1, and during the last few days, the digital currency continues to gather gains. Ever since the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, mentioned baby doge coin (BABYDOGE) on Twitter, the crypto asset has seen mainstream media reports about it and the currency has doubled in value in four days. The picture above is a meme shared by the Twitter handle @babydogecoin which has 109,200 Twitter followers on July 5, 2021. The following Monday morning (EDT), baby doge dropped a touch over 2% but seven-day statistics show BABYDOGE is still up 248.9%. Over the last two weeks, baby doge has captured a mammoth-sized 723% gain. Baby doge has gathered mainstream media (MSM) attention after the Musk tweet, as many publications followed Bitcoin.com News’ lead and reported on the baby doge situation. Fool.com, a subsidiary publication owned by the Motley Fool asked: “Should You (or Anyone) Buy Baby Doge Coin?” Baby doge was also featured in articles published by newsdesks like the Indian Times, Futurism, Republic World, Benzinga, Gamerevolution, Techstory, Business Insider, Toysmatrix, and more. Baby doge coin has rallied during the last week gathering 248% in seven days and 723% in fourteen days. The New York Post gave the public an introduction to baby doge in an article called: “Baby Doge? What to know about the Dogecoin spinoff that Elon Musk is hyping.” Since July 1, the number of trading platforms listing baby doge has increased by three centralized exchanges after it was initially available on Pancakeswap. The meme-based crypto asset is available on Pancakeswap, MEXC Global, XT.com, and Lbank. Pancakeswap version one shows baby doge has lots of liquidity with $71 million in 24 hour swaps and the protocol’s version two shows more than $3 million. Top Meme Tokens Coins by Market Capitalization List Shows Other Doge-Like and Musk-Related Meme Coins on the Rise During our last report, baby doge coin was swapping for $0.000000002014 per unit and it’s doubled since then at $0.000000004585 per BABYDOGE. Every time a baby doge transaction happens, people must pay a 10% fee but the 5% of the fee is redistributed to every baby doge holder. The other 5% taken from the fee is added to the BABYDOGE/BNB liquidity pool hosted on Pancakeswap. According to Coingecko’s “Top Meme Tokens Coins by Market Capitalization” list, dogecoin (DOGE) hasn’t done as well as baby doge in recent times. DOGE is down 11.4% during the last seven days compared to baby doge’s 248% rise. There are all kinds of dogecoin-like and Musk-related meme coins these days, as there’s tokens like Dogelon Mars, Polydoge, Dogefi, SHIBA BSC, and many more. Some of the dogecoin-like and Musk-related meme coins have seen double-digit gains this past week. Now shiba inu (SHIB) is up 7.4% today and a few other DOGE-like tokens have seen decent weekly gains. A crypto-asset called dogelon mars (ELON) jumped 31% this week and another one called elon doge token (EDOGE) jumped over 20%. Baby doge doesn’t have the amount of trade volume seen by its predecessors SHIB and DOGE, but it’s rising fast. Today, dogecoin (DOGE) captures $1.3 billion in trade volume while SHIB has over $400 million. Collective baby doge trade volume during the trailing 24 hours has been around $103 million. Baby doge coin holds the 31st position among the dozens of meme-coins listed on Coingecko’s aggregation site. Most crypto coin aggregation sites don’t say what baby doge’s market cap is today but four hundred twenty quadrillion multiplied by $0.000000004585 is approximately $1.925 billion. What do you think about the Baby Doge project and the coin’s rise this week? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

While a large quantity of hashrate has stopped dedicating resources to the Bitcoin network, a great number of alternative mining ecosystems are swelling with new participants. China’s ASIC exodus has ignited a significant increase in demand for accessing storage power on both Filecoin and Chia’s proof-of-storage networks. Both networks have seen space allocation spike significantly since the bitcoin mining crackdown in China. Alternative Consensus Algorithms Reap Benefits of the SHA256 Hashrate Drop A lot has been happening in the cryptocurrency mining space recently, as the industry is seeing a massive shift since the start of the bitcoin mining crackdown in various Chinese provinces. SHA256 hashrate dedicated to the Bitcoin (BTC) network has plummeted over the last few weeks and the hashrate drop caused the network’s mining difficulty to dip close to 28% this past weekend. Interestingly, this was the largest epoch mining difficulty drop BTC has ever experienced and in two weeks it may be even larger. At press time, according to coinwarz.com’s hashrate chart set for a one-month interval, BTC’s hashrate is 87,660,572,446,369,430,000 hashes per second or 87 exahash per second (EH/s). The mining difficulty drop made it easier and more profitable to mine BTC but alternative crypto assets that leverage different consensus algorithms have been far more profitable. Today’s most profitable consensus algorithm is Blake256R14 which can mine the crypto asset decred (DCR). Today’s most profitable mineable coins leverage consensus algorithms like Ethash and Blake256R14. A machine that boasts more than 52 terahash per second (TH/s) — and pulls 2,200 watts off the wall with an electricity consumption rate of $0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) — can see profits of up to $116 per day using DCR exchange rates on July 5. A machine that can mine the Ethash algorithm and coins like ETH, ETC, CLO, PIRL, and UBQ can get roughly $42 per day using today’s crypto exchange rates, the same electrical consumption with 750 megahash per second (MH/s), and 1,350 watts of power. Chia and Filecoin Networks Benefit From the ASIC Exodus These specific consensus algorithms have seen an increase since the SHA256 exodus, but in comparison to times prior to China’s crackdown, these networks also lost a considerable amount of hash during the shift as well. Two notable crypto networks, however, saw the opposite effect as space allocations dedicated to the Chia network and Filecoin network have grown exponentially. In mid-October, Bitcoin.com News reported on Filecoin’s miner strike which saw a standoff between members of the Filecoin mining community. Filecoin’s 7.087 exbibytes (EiB) of effective storage on July 5, 2021. At that time, Filecoin’s “Network Storage Power” according to filfox.info was 600 pebibyte (PiB) of effective storage. When the first warnings of a miner crackdown in China came out of Inner Mongolia back in March and went viral, Filecoin’s effective storage rate skyrocketed. The effective storage rate climbed higher and higher as each week passed, as today’s rate is 7.087 exbibyte (EiB). he network crossed a milestone of 1 EiB on November 24, 2020. The network crossed a milestone of 1 EiB on November 24, 2020, then a great majority of the effective storage increase stemmed from Q2 2021. Chia’s 30,505 PiB of allocated storage on July 5, 2021. The crypto asset network Chia has also seen the space allocated to the Chia network grow exponentially and after the Sichuan crackdown, it spiked considerably higher than usual. Chia network statistics show 30,505 PiB of allocated storage dedicated to the chain on July 5. It was only 26,718 PiB on June 22, which shows it has increased 14.17% since the start of the Sichuan mining crackdown that week. The Chinese journalist Colin ‘Wu’ Blockchain tweeted about the demand that Chia and Filecoin mining was seeing on June 20 and since then space allocated to both networks has increased a great deal. “The computing power of Chia and Filecoin in China has not been affected,” the regional reporter noted that day. “[The] Chinese government mainly controls the power sector to crack down bitcoin mining, but they consume less electricity. Their computing power is continuing to rise, and some bitcoin miners may switch to them,” he added. What do you think about the other consensus algorithms besides Bitcoin’s SHA256 seeing more demand these days? What do you think about the exponential increase in space allocated to Chia and Filecoin’s networks? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Joe Biden wants to crackdown on ransomware according to statements he made on Friday, after hackers hijacked software from a Miami-based IT supplier called Kaseya. Hundreds of American businesses were affected by the breach as the attackers encrypted the files of some 200 clients. Biden said on Friday that he’s ordered an investigation into the exploited Florida-based IT infrastructure. Biden Directs US Intelligence Agencies to Look Into the Kaseya Ransomware Attack Following the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, this past week an IT supplier called Kaseya was breached and the company’s software management tool called VSA was exploited. This attack affected a great number of Kaseya clients on Friday and suspicions of Russian gang involvement were sparked by investigators. Huntress, a security company, said that the company believes Russians were involved and blames a gang called Revil. The Revil ransomware gange is suspected of attacking the meatpacking company JBS last month as well. American president Joe Biden remarked during a public appearance that he had directed U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate the matter and that the U.S. would do something if Russia was found to be behind it. Last month, Biden met with Russian president Vladimir Putin and told the leader that if ransomware attacks continued and were found to be from Russia there would be consequences. However, Biden said “we’re not certain” who was behind the attack on the Florida IT company and added: The initial thinking was it was not the Russian government but we’re not sure yet. Kaseya’s chief executive, Fred Voccola, told the press that the company had found the vulnerability and would “release that patch as quickly as possible to get our customers back up and running.” John Hammond, Huntress senior security researcher, said that this single piece of shared software allowed hundreds of companies to get exploited. “This is a colossal and devastating supply chain attack,” Hammond stressed on Friday. Ransomware Has Pushed the Biden Administration Toward Investigating the Crypto Ecosystem Biden’s statements follow U.S. Department of State’s undersecretary of state for political affairs Victoria Nuland’s comments about the Colonial Pipeline hack. Speaking of a discussion she had with Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, Nuland remarked that after the Colonial Pipeline ransomware hack the U.S. State Department was taking a “tough look at bitcoin.” The U.S.-based energy firm Colonial Pipeline saw its infrastructure fold in May after a ransomware gang exploited the system. Colonial Pipeline then paid the hackers 75 bitcoin (BTC) to get its infrastructure back online. However, in early June, U.S. law enforcement agencies said they recovered a majority of the funds (63.70 BTC) that were meant to go to the ransomware gang members. Before the Kaseya hack, Biden’s administration had already published a “Memorandum on Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core United States National Security Interest” in the first week of June. Biden’s directive to federal agencies put cryptocurrencies in the spotlight and the administration explains that the directive is meant to bolster national security. A Kaseya hack response team member said that the breach on Friday sent out a myriad of ransom demands to all the businesses that were infected. Reuters reports that demands for “a few thousand dollars to $5 million or more” were sent to the clients affected by the Kaseya ransomware attack. What do you think about Joe Biden giving a directive to U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate the Kaseya ransomware hack? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

A total of 8,000 bitcoins belonging to Mirror Trading International (MTI) have been traced while an additional 29,000 bitcoins could soon meet a similar fate. The traced coins, which are valued at over $280 million (4 billion rand), represent a potential breakthrough for beleaguered MTI investors. Liquidators Want Court to Declare MTI a Ponzi Scheme The latest revelations came shortly after the granting of a final liquidation order against MTI by a South African court. Before this announcement, liquidators of the Ponzi scheme had only recovered 1,281 bitcoins that were surrendered to liquidators by MTI’s previous broker, FX Choice. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the 1,281 bitcoins were ultimately sold and more than $70 million was raised from the sale. However, as a Moneyweb report explains, liquidators intend to argue in favour of having MTI declared a Ponzi Scheme on their return to court on September 8. This declaration, according to the report, makes it “easier to chase down funds the liquidators believe rightfully belong to the insolvent estate.” The report also notes that those opposed to the declaration have until August 31 to file their replying affidavits. Meanwhile, the report quotes Riaan van Rooyen, who is one of the liquidators, explaining why it is important for investors to lodge their claims against MTI. Rooyen said: We obviously want to recover as much money as possible for members, particularly the elderly and the vulnerable. It’s important for members to know that they will not be required to pay into the estate just because they benefitted from withdrawals. It merely means that their claims will be reduced by the amount that they have already received in terms of withdrawals. If they paid in for example, R30 000 and withdrew R10 000, this means their claim against MTI would be reduced from R30 000 to R20 000. Roadshow for MTI Investors Planned Before its collapse in December 2020, MTI repeatedly claimed it had over 280,000 accounts and a majority of these belonged to investors based in South Africa. However, liquidators insist this number will be reduced to between 150,000 and 180,000 “once accounts opened in the name of family pets and other bogus accounts are stripped out.” In the meantime, the report reveals that liquidators are also planning to launch a national roadshow to assist MTI investors. This initiative is expected to help liquidators contact as “many members of MTI as possible and to assist them in lodging their claims.” Do you think MTI liquidators will succeed in recovering all the missing bitcoins? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Pham Minh Chinh, the prime minister of Vietnam, has asked the country’s central bank to conduct a study of cryptocurrency and pilot the implementation of a blockchain-based currency within the next two years. The efforts are part of the Asian country’s new e-government strategy. Cryptocurrency Highlighted in Prime Minister’s Decision Cryptocurrency is one of the highlights in a decision regarding the establishment of a digital government issued recently by the Vietnamese premier. “Cryptocurrency based on blockchain is among core technologies Vietnam hopes to develop and master,” Vietnam Plus said in a report, obviously referring to a coin issued by the state. Other priority areas include artificial intelligence, big data, and augmented and virtual reality, the English-language news outlet detailed. Before mastering crypto, however, the Vietnamese government needs to adopt specific definitions for the various types of digital currencies and virtual assets as well as comprehensively regulate the crypto space. In April last year, a working group was established by the Ministry of Finance to study the matter and propose regulatory policies. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has in the past warned that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are not legally recognized in the country. The same applies to their use as a means of payment. The central bank has previously instructed financial institutions not to regard crypto as currency and the regulator has not licensed any coin trading platforms so far. According to Huynh Phuoc Nghia, deputy director of the Institute of Innovation at the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City, it’s time for the government in Hanoi to study and carry out a pilot implementation of digital currency. The academic emphasized: Digital money is an inevitable trend. The pilot implementation should help the executive power to identify both positive and negative aspects as well as to develop a “more appropriate management mechanism,” Nghia also said. In his view, the recognition of digital currencies by the SBV will facilitate this process. Vietnam to Catch Up With Other Nations in the Digital Currency Race Le Dat Chi, deputy head of the university’s Finance Faculty, thinks the study should be accelerated to allow Vietnam to advance in the global race in the field of digital currencies. According to a survey he quoted, central banks around the world are at different stages in these efforts. Over 60 institutions are already piloting digital currency use and others are working on plans for pilot implementation, while a third group of banks is only observing developments. Vietnam now wants to move to the second stage. Traditional currencies such as the U.S. dollar, the euro and the Japanese yen have a greater impact on the world currency basket and international trade than other fiat currencies, Vietnam Plus notes. But in the race to develop and apply new technologies, countries like Vietnam will have a chance to increase their influence on the global financial system, the publication points out. Among the central banks working on projects to issue central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are those of China, Russia, the U.S., and the Eurozone. The People’s Bank of China has the most advanced project so far, with numerous domestic trials underway and a plan to test the digital yuan (e-CNY) in cross-border transactions with Hong Kong. Do you expect Vietnam to adopt crypto-friendly regulations and issue a blockchain-based digital currency? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Prompt.cash, a bitcoin cash noncustodial payment processor, is adding a bunch of interesting functionalities. The payment processor now features a URL shortener that allows users to monetize content on any site on the net. Also, Prompt.cash added Paypal API integrations, making it easier for merchants to test Bitcoin Cash payments seamlessly. Prompt.cash Adds URL Shortener Functionality Prompt.cash, a hosted permissionless bitcoin cash (BCH)-based payment processor, is adding a slew of important updates that extend the functionality of the platform. While the platform launched just three months ago, they are already introducing new features to make its proposal more useful to its users. One of these interesting additions is a URL shortener. This will allow users to monetize access to any website. Prompt.cash can also accept any Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) tokens minted using the Bitcoin Cash chain. Happy to announce we are the first Payment Processor that accepts all #SLP tokens on #BitcoinCash. Create & add your token to receive payments within minutes!$SPICE token dem link on front page: https://t.co/4ur9ZKDjpU Includes: – Token Fiat value conversion – REST API$BCH pic.twitter.com/WdUjyUUXid — PromptCash (@CashPrompt) July 4, 2021 While URL shorteners are not something new, most companies providing this service are fiat-based. Prompt.cash uses a bitcoin cash address to send the received payment directly to the wallet of the user. This provides instant redemption of the funds received. It also gives the user an advantage compared to traditional service offerings. Using these fiat-based competitors, the customer needs to withdraw the funds manually after a certain amount is reached. Paypal API Integration Allows for Seamless Migration One of the biggest problems that incipient payment processors face is the cost of integration. Many companies that would like to test new payment processors will often pass on them. This due to the price associated with integrating them into their structure. Prompt.cash is aware of this issue and is working to minimize the friction and cost of adding bitcoin cash payments to every platform out there. Ekliptor, the developer of Prompt.cash, stated that Paypal Rest API integration will go a long way in achieving this goal. Ekliptor stressed: Compatibility on the API layer enables websites using Paypal to try out bitcoin cash payments without investing many resources and developer knowledge. As a result of this work, merchants can modify any of the thousands of plugins out there to make it compatible with Prompt.cash. Consequently, just by changing a couple of things, these merchants will be able to offer bitcoin cash payments in no time. To make things even easier for merchants, Prompt.cash features integration with many popular platforms. For this reason, static pages, WordPress, Node.js, PHP, WHCMS, and Android-based platforms can integrate Prompt.cash payments. In addition to these benefits, Prompt.cash offers examples for noncoders to understand what needs to be done and apply it to their own platforms. What do you think about Prompt.cash functionality upgrades? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

EY, the multinational professional services network commonly known as Ernst & Young, has announced the company has contributed a set of tools for privately managing transactions on the Ethereum network. EY’s global media relations executive Joanna Hardy explained on Thursday how the company’s protocol helps ethereum transaction fees become more affordable and it enables the private transfer of ether. Professional Services Giant and Big Four Member EY Releases Ethereum Protocol Nightfall 3 EY is a well known professional and financial services brand and the company headquartered in London has been working with blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions for quite some time. While EY is one of the largest professional services networks on a global scale it is also a member of the “Big Four” accounting firms. On July 1, Hardy detailed in an EY blog post that the company has released a set of tools that make ether transactions cheaper and more private. The protocol is called “Nightfall” and it leverages zero-knowledge proofs and other technologies to help bolster the tool’s privacy and transaction affordability goals. “EY today released a new set of tools for privately managing transactions on the Ethereum blockchain,” Hardy said on Thursday. “The project, known as Nightfall 3, combines zero-knowledge proofs (ZK or ZKP) with a new model for handling transaction verification to increase efficiency and reduce transaction costs known as an optimistic rollup. The combined protocol is known as a ZK-Optimistic Rollup.” The EY global media relations executive added: Nightfall 3 aggregates ZKP transactions into groups, called rollups. These are known as ‘optimistic’ rollups because the system assumes the transactions to be valid unless proven otherwise and eliminates the process of having all participants verify all transactions. Hardy further claims that the Nightfall 3 tool set with the help of ZK-Optimistic Rollups can make it so the cost of a single transaction would be “one-eighth of the cost needed to make a conventional, public ERC20 token transfer.” “When developing a new ZKP protocol, developers need to be able to interact directly with low-level ZKP constructs,” Dr. Duncan Westland, the associate director and head of global blockchain research and development at EY said. Westland continued: If the user only requires private token transfers, it’s possible to have the application manage the ZKP interactions. In that case, provided the user is careful about how Layer 1 to Layer 2 transfers are made, a ZKP transaction can be considered a conventional token exchange, albeit with added privacy. Having an API that allows users to work that way can speed up development. Nightfall 3 Balances Security Incentives and Mathematical Efficiency Hardy’s EY announcement notes that the prototype code for Nightfall 3 is available on Github and available in the public domain. EY has dedicated a lot of energy toward the growing crypto industry and in 2016, the company said blockchain is poised for critical mass. The month prior ET helped Australia auction 24,000 BTC and last year in July, EY launched an app that helps U.S. crypto investors with tax filings. EY has dedicated time to Ethereum as well and Nightfall 3 is “designed to reduce the learning curve required by developers.” “Based on EY experience, ZK-Optimistic roll-ups are currently among the most effective in balancing security incentives and mathematical efficiency for running private transactions on the public Ethereum network,” EY global blockchain leader Paul Brody concluded in the blog post written by Hardy. “As we have in the past, we are again contributing this code into the public domain to speed up enterprise adoption of this technology,” Brody added. What do you think about EY’s set of tools that aim to make ether transactions cheaper and more private? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The U.S. has sold about 500 bitcoins seized back in 2018 for about $19.2 million. This was reportedly the largest net forfeiture in the Northern District of Ohio’s history. Federal authorities in the U.S. state of Ohio have sold bitcoins seized back in 2018 in a fraud case. The seized bitcoins were sold for nearly $19.23 million, Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan announced Thursday. The coins seized during the investigation were initially valued at approximately $2.88 million. This was reportedly the largest net forfeiture in the Northern District of Ohio’s history. The authorities did not say how and where the coins were sold. The case involved a 37-year-old Toledo-area man, Mark Alex Simon, who made false identification documents for residents of Ohio, Michigan and Utah. The documents included driver’s licenses and personal identification cards. He was paid in bitcoin. Simon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money and the transfer of false identification documents in June 2019. He was sentenced to two years in prison. Prior to this case, Simon was already investigated by the police in 2008 for making fake identifications, but he was never charged. In 2015, the authorities traced fake identification cards found at a bar near Wittenberg University back to a website Simon built. Court documents detail that after months of investigation, the police was able to link the fake cards to Simon and others working with him. The authorities raided Simon’s home in Toledo along with the homes of others linked to the case. They seized more than 500 bitcoins from Simon through forfeiture proceedings. In forfeiture cases, the proceeds are shared between federal agencies and local police departments involved in the investigation, as well as used to compensate any crime victims. Any remaining money is returned to the U.S. Treasury. What do you think about the Feds selling seized bitcoins? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce says that the regulator should have approved a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S. a long time ago. She emphasized that it is not the SEC’s job to approve or reject applications based on the merits of the underlying investment itself. “People should make their own decisions” whether to buy bitcoin, said the commissioner. SEC Commissioner Wants Bitcoin ETF Approved A commissioner with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Hester Peirce, talked about the prospects of the SEC approving a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in an interview with CNBC on Thursday. Peirce is also known in the crypto circle as “crypto mom.” The SEC has yet to approve a bitcoin ETF. However, the industry is hopeful that things will change this year since the SEC has a new chairman, Gary Gensler, who taught crypto and blockchain courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Commissioner Peirce described: I thought that if we had applied our standards as we have applied them to other products, we would already have approved one or more of them. With each passing day, the rationale that we have used in the past for not approving seems to grow weaker. The commissioner has previously stated that she sees a double standard at the SEC when it comes to bitcoin products. She explained that the SEC is asking exchanges and would-be bitcoin ETF sponsors for more assurances than what it asks for traditional, equity-based products. “People of a regulatory mindset, when they encounter something new like this, say, ‘Oh, wait a minute: The market for bitcoin looks a bit different than the markets we’re used to,'” Peirce opined. She disagreed with the SEC’s decision to reject a bitcoin ETF application by the Winklevoss twins back in 2018. Noting that the bitcoin market now looks more like an established market that has more participation from institutional and mainstream retail investors, Peirce remarked: I think the markets have matured quite a bit. In May, Peirce said, “We’re seeing more interest coming from institutional quarters than we have in the past. I think that will continue … as people are looking to diversify their portfolios, I think people are also likely to look more to the crypto space.” Peirce is not alone. Investment banks and fund managers are seeing the same trend and a growing number of them have begun investing in bitcoin or offering crypto services to clients, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup. The commissioner emphasized that it is not the SEC’s job to approve or reject applications based on the merits of the underlying investment itself, especially if exchanges are meeting statutory requirements for protecting investors from fraud. Pointing out that “Bitcoin now is so decentralized. The number of nodes that are involved in Bitcoin is large, and the number of people who have an interest in keeping that work decentralized is very large,” Commissioner Peirce concluded: People should make their own decisions: If people don’t want to buy bitcoin because they think it’s manipulated, they shouldn’t buy bitcoin. Do you think the SEC will finally approve a bitcoin ETF this year? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Angolan central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) recently hiked the country’s benchmark interest rate from 15.5% to a record of 20%. The largely unexpected hike, which is one of the National Bank of Angola (NBA)’s attempts to curb inflation, marks the first time the benchmark rate has been increased since November 2017. Rising Inflation a Threat to Angola’s Growth According to a Bloomberg report, the MPC was compelled to bring forward the meeting that ultimately sanctioned the rate hike due to an “evolution of the main indicators.” These indicators, according to the NBA governor, Jose de Lima Massano posed a threat to Angola’s growth trajectory. He explained: The spread between inflation and the interest rate has been growing wider since the beginning of the year. Current data indicates additional inflationary pressures, which may put at risk the central bank’s inflation target of 19.5% for the end of the year. As the data from Angola’s Instituto Nacional de Estatistica shows, the country’s year-on-year inflation has been on an upward trajectory since December 2019. For instance, in December 2019, the inflation rate stood at 17% yet by March 2021 it surpassed 26%. The Central Bank’s Exchange Rate Stability Concern As the data also shows, Angola’s year on year was only previously above the 26% threshold back in December 2017. The data appears to suggest that unless the NBA acts, Angola’s inflation rate will likely continue to surge and it may possibly reach the December 2016 high of 40%. Meanwhile, the Bloomberg report quotes Tiago Dionisio, an analyst at the Lisbon-based Eaglestone Advisory SA, explaining that while the decision will have an impact on the economy, the NBA is more worried about the stability of the local kwanza currency. He said: (The decision) shows that the central bank is more concerned about the current inflation trajectory and in maintaining the kwanza exchange rate stability. In the meantime, the report notes that these changes still need to be gazetted before they become law. Are interest rates hikes the best way to tame inflation in emerging economies? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

During the last three months, there’s been a significant focus on the effects bitcoin mining has on the global environment. While many have claimed bitcoin mining is bad for the environment and many others have stressed that it affects the environment in a positive way, either way, most are relying on unreliable and old data from a few years ago. On July 1, 2021, the recently formed Bitcoin Mining Council published a report that claims 56% of the hashrate uses sustainable energy resources. Will Elon Musk Bend? Report Claims Bitcoin Miner Energy Consumption Mix 56% Sustainable Bitcoiners are hoping Elon Musk has noticed a new report published by the Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) that shows more than half of the hashrate leverages sustainable energy to mine bitcoin. BMC published the report on July 1, 2021, and as soon as it was online posts about Elon Musk changing his mind started to appear. “Tesla said they wouldn’t again accept BTC until energy consumption reached 50% from renewables,” one Redditor said on Saturday. “Now that BTC uses 56% renewable energy, I wonder if Tesla will soon start accepting BTC again.” The ‘Tesla accepting bitcoin again’-Reddit post on r/bitcoin has clocked in more than 5,700 upvotes. The BMC report explains that the organization collected information on miners leveraging sustainable energy from “over 32 percent of the current global Bitcoin network in its first-ever voluntary survey.” The results of the survey indicate that members of the BMC are utilizing electricity “with a 67% sustainable power mix.” The BMC report states: Based on this data it is estimated that the global mining industry’s sustainable electricity mix had grown to approximately 56 percent, during Q2 2021, making it one of the most sustainable industries globally. Microstrategy CEO: ‘Report Draws Data From Miners Around the World’ The data is very different from the Coinshares’ report published over three years ago and the unreliable data stemming from Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) and the digiconomist.net index. Both the digiconomist’s and Cambridge’s data have significant discrepancies between both electrical consumption estimates and both have mining maps that have not been updated since April 2020. Microstrategy and its CEO, Michael Saylor, a member and founder of the BMC, said he was pleased to hear the results. “I am pleased to see that the Bitcoin mining industry has come together, voluntarily, to provide critical information to the general public and policymakers, especially as it pertains to clarifying common misconceptions about the nature and scale of Bitcoin energy usage,” Saylor said. “This survey— the first quarterly release of many we expect to come— draws on data from miners around the world. As I’ve stated before, just because the Bitcoin network is decentralized doesn’t mean it has to be disorganized,” Saylor added. The BMC is made up of members like Blockware Solutions, CCU.ai, Celsius Network, Compute North, Core Scientific, Enegix, Frontier Mining, Galaxy Digital, Hive Blockchain, Ankr, Argo Blockchain, Atnorth, Bit5ive LLC, Bitfarms, Bitfury, Bitquest, Bitriver, Blockcap, HMTech, Hut8, Marathon Digital Holdings, New Data Ventures LLC, Riot Blockchain, and SBI Crypto. BMC spokesperson Saylor also released a video that goes over some of the data found in the global mining report. What do you think about the use of green energy in bitcoin mining jumping to 56%? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Analysts are predicting a rise in Bitcoin mining profitability of about 35% during the short term. This would be the effect of the bitcoin mining crackdown in China. Since the crackdown happened, a significant portion of hashrate stemming from the Bitcoin network disappeared. Ousted miners are struggling to relocate, and some might not even make it due to the complicated logistics of these operations. All of these reasons combined can create a great time for new companies to enter the mining space. Bitcoin Mining Profitability Will Rise In The Short Term Bitcoin’s mining profitability is expected to rise in the short term due to the complex situation miners are facing in mainland China. According to Whit Gibbs, CEO, and founder of Compass, this will continue in the short to medium term. Gibbs told CNBC: We are expecting a period of much higher mining profitability for Compass Mining clients. We expect miners to be approximately 35% more profitable. Compass is a bitcoin mining company that started offering its services this year, after getting $1.7 million in a seed round last February. The mining exodus will likely benefit incipient providers and companies like them in the future. Other crypto analysts concur. Darin Feinstein, founder of Blockcap, a mining behemoth in North America, stated: We are expecting a revenue and profit increase for the foreseeable future. This was an unexpected gift to the network, not just on revenues but on decentralization and sustainable energy metrics. Bitcoin just experienced one of the biggest difficulty drops in its history shaving more than 27% in one hit. This means that most miners will reap more rewards in the short term. This mechanism is implemented to maintain Bitcoin operativity when facing hashrate fluctuations like the ones that happened last month. The Mining Exodus Analysts and mining company officers estimate this bonanza period could last up to 15 months. Mining bitcoin is not a straightforward process, and the hardware needed cannot be moved easily along borders. The logistics of relocating a Bitcoin mining operation need for months or even years to develop. Some operations might not even relocate and could choose to get out of the mining business due to fears of retaliation in mainland China. This is the case of Liu Hongfei, a Chinese Bitcoin mining operator. Hongfei told Reuters: If the government doesn’t allow it, I just have to quit. While the situation is dramatic for established miners in the country, the exodus is opening new opportunities for entrepreneurs around the world. What do you think about Bitcoin mining profitability rising in the short term? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article