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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has named “cybercrime, including relevant cybersecurity and virtual currency considerations” a national priority. In particular, the Treasury is concerned about the “misuse of virtual assets that exploits and undermines their innovative potential, including through laundering of illicit proceeds.” FinCEN, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, published its “Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism National Priorities” last week. One of the priorities listed is “cybercrime, including relevant cybersecurity and virtual currency considerations.” The document details: Treasury is particularly concerned about cyber-enabled financial crime, ransomware attacks, and the misuse of virtual assets that exploits and undermines their innovative potential, including through laundering of illicit proceeds. The document adds that “Countering ransomware has been identified as a top priority for the United States.” Among the strategies developed to combat ransomware attacks is “enabling rapid tracing and interdiction of virtual currency proceeds,” the document notes. FinCEN wrote that convertible virtual currencies (CVCs) “have grown as the currency of preference in a wide variety of online illicit activity.” The bureau detailed: “Criminals use a number of techniques to obscure the source of illicit funds when conducting transactions involving CVCs, including the use of mixers and tumblers.” In June, President Joe Biden issued a directive to federal agencies to prioritize efforts to confront global anti-corruption, and cryptocurrency was a focus. The Biden administration also unveiled its strategy to combat ransomware that included expanding cryptocurrency analysis to find criminal transactions. What do you think about FinCEN naming the misuse of cryptocurrency a national priority? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

According to Jerome Powell’s conference calendar, the CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, met with the Federal Reserve chairman and former House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan to speak about the implications of digital currencies. The meeting’s details are unclear but most of the discussions seemingly revolved around the construction of an American central bank digital currency (CBDC) and countries that are already ahead of the game. Coinbase CEO: ‘China’s Digital Yuan represents a Threat to US Reserve Currency Status’ The Federal Reserve wants to build a digital dollar and moves to make it a reality have been happening more frequently. Almost every member of the Fed has something to say about an American CBDC and in May the Fed chairman held a number of meetings with members of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. Participants who discussed the CBDC idea with Powell include individuals like the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, members of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Digital Dollar Project’s Chris Giancarlo, Jens Weidmann the president of Deutsche Bundesbank, Jamie Dimon the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and Brian Armstrong the CEO of Coinbase. Armstrong discussed the meetings he had with various American bureaucrats and central bankers in 21 separate tweets. “I spent most of this week in DC meeting with members of Congress and heads of various federal agencies,” Armstrong said at the time. “[The] goal was to establish relationships and help answer questions about crypto. And to see what we can do to help the U.S. get more regulatory clarity in this space, as part of the newly formed [Crypto Council for Innovation].” Armstrong continued: Crypto is as important as the birth of the internet in terms of the jobs, GDP growth, and innovation it can create. The U.S. will need to be a major player in crypto to stay relevant long term. Armstrong Says ‘Legal uncertainty’ Is a ‘Major Problem’ Armstrong further said that he thinks China’s digital yuan advances could be a threat to the U.S. dollar. The digital yuan has been entering many different areas within China’s economy as the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has hosted a number of red envelope lotteries. Subcontractors are being paid in the CBDC in China’s Xiong’an New Area, and Hong Kong is connecting with the digital yuan as well. The Coinbase CEO believes the U.S. needs to get moving on the digital dollar with a quickness. “I also relayed my thoughts on China and their central bank digital currency,” Armstrong detailed about his meeting with members of Congress and the heads of various federal agencies. Armstrong added: It is real, they are moving quickly on it, and I believe it represents a threat to U.S. reserve currency status long term if the U.S. doesn’t move quickly to create their own. The CEO of Coinbase stressed that the bureaucrats and agency heads he met with were all “thoughtful and committed individuals.” He further noted that the U.S. currently doesn’t have a lot of clarity when it comes to regulatory policy and standards. “Some cryptos might be securities (SEC), some are commodities (CFTC), some are currencies/property (Treasury/IRS), and some are none of the above,” Armstrong said. “So it’s a bit of a jump ball across existing federal regulators,” Armstrong concluded. “This means fewer startups who are able to brave the legal uncertainty. Some of them wind up founding their companies abroad, or not at all. This is a major problem.” What do you think about Brian Armstrong’s meeting with Jerome Powell, American bureaucrats, and federal agency heads? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

U.S. lawmaker and bitcoin advocate Cynthia Lummis has indicated that cryptocurrency miners are welcome in Wyoming. In a recent interview, the senator defended bitcoin’s carbon footprint and later invited miners to her home state on social media. Crypto Mining Adapted to Non-Carbon Emitting Energy With the ongoing crackdown on cryptocurrency mining in China, companies in the business of coin minting have been actively looking for friendlier jurisdictions to relocate their operations. Some perspective destinations have emerged in the U.S., with Texas and Florida now being among the prominent examples. Both states can offer crypto miners access to affordable energy. Wyoming, which has maintained a positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies for some time, can easily become the next bitcoin mining hotspot. Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a well-known supporter of Bitcoin, recently took to Twitter to welcome crypto miners to the state urging them to reach out. PS – If you are in the #Bitcoin mining space, please reach out. We WANT you in Wyoming. https://t.co/OUPAEYTXTG — Cynthia Lummis (@CynthiaMLummis) July 3, 2021 Lummis tweeted her call on Saturday posting an excerpt of her interview from the CNBC Financial Advisor Summit in which she defended Bitcoin’s environmental record. The senator referred to research conducted at the University of Cambridge, according to which bitcoin mining uses about 40% renewable energy while the indicator stands at only 12% in the non-bitcoin mining economy. She emphasized: Bitcoin mining is already more environmentally adapted to non-carbon emitting energy sources. Bitcoin Mining Is Not an Energy Bad Guy, Says Cynthia Lummis The Wyoming representative in the U.S. Senate also turned attention to the “innovation that’s happening behind the scenes” in the crypto mining industry, providing an example with her own energy-rich state. Wyoming is a producer of oil and gas and when a new well is drilled, initially it’s not connected to a pipeline, Lummis explained. Bitcoin miners are helping to utilize the gas that would otherwise be vented into the atmosphere with mobile mining platforms that can be installed and operated close to the source. “I would say – don’t judge bitcoin mining as an energy bad guy. There are a lot of things going on to prove otherwise,” the lawmaker concluded. Cynthia Lummis also noted that cryptocurrency mining is helping the drilling industry in a way that keeps carbon out of the air while using it to produce another product in the form of bitcoin. The race to attract crypto miners is on in the U.S. with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez recently giving his best to entice mining companies that are leaving China. “Hey, we want you to be here,” Suarez addressed them in another interview with CNBC, highlighting that his region relies on nuclear power which is a source of clean and cheap electrical energy. Do you expect many crypto miners from China to relocate to the United States? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. AscendEX (formerly BitMax), a global cryptocurrency financial platform with a comprehensive product suite, is thrilled to announce the listing of the Radix tokens (EXRD and XRD) under the pairs USDT/XRD and USDT/EXRD on June 29 at 1 p.m. UTC. Radix intends to remove the technology barriers limiting the expansion of DeFi by building a layer-1 protocol that directly addresses the technology needs of DeFi, both for today’s applications and the future of general financial services worldwide. The platform leverages a full-stack approach, re-engineering consensus, distributed virtual machines, executable on-ledger code, DeFi component building, DeFi application building, and developer incentives. Radix is the first layer 1 protocol specifically built to serve the DeFi ecosystem. Radix aims to significantly improve the developer experience by reducing DeFi hacks, bugs, and exploits by restricting output states using an FSM runtime environment instead of Turing complete. It offers an on-ledger component catalog where developers can easily chain together DeFi “money legos” to create dApps. Radix features an on-ledger incentivization scheme whereby components generate royalties for developers based on usage. Its goal is to make access to DeFi projects mainstream and as frictionless as possible by not being limited by scale – Radix scales linearly and indefinitely by adding more nodes. In addition, Radix aims to maintain atomic composability – transactions, when needed, settlement atomically across the global ledger. This is a vital feature for any DeFi ecosystem because key DeFi features, such as flash loans are impossible without it. Some major upcoming milestones for Radix include its mainnet launch in July 2021, which will demonstrate the core foundation of the project. Additionally, Radix will launch radix engine V2 in December 2021, which will then enable developers to build safely on the Radix Ecosystem. About AscendEX AscendEX (formerly BitMax) is a global cryptocurrency financial platform with a comprehensive product suite including spot, margin, and futures trading, wallet services, and staking support for over 150 blockchain projects such as bitcoin, ether, and ripple. Launched in 2018, AscendEX services over 1 million retail and institutional clients globally with a highly liquid trading platform and secure custody solutions. AscendEX has emerged as a leading platform by ROI on its “initial exchange offerings” by supporting some of the industry’s most innovative projects from the DeFi ecosystem such as Thorchain, xDai Stake, and Serum. AscendEX users receive exclusive access to token airdrops and the ability to purchase tokens at the earliest possible stage. To learn more about how AscendEX is leveraging best practices from both Wall Street and the cryptocurrency ecosystem to bring the best altcoins to its users, please visit www.AscendEX.com. For more information and updates, please visit: Website: https://ascendex.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/AscendEX_Global Telegram: https://t.me/AscendEXEnglish Medium: https://medium.com/ascendex About Radix Radix intends to remove the technology barriers limiting the expansion of DeFi by building a layer-1 protocol that directly addresses the technology needs of DeFi, both for today’s applications and the future of general financial services worldwide. They leverage a full-stack approach, re-engineering consensus, distributed virtual machines, executable on-ledger code, DeFi component building, DeFi application building, and developer incentives. For more information and updates, please visit: Website: https://www.radixdlt.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RadixDLT Discord: https://discord.com/invite/WkB2USt Telegram: https://t.me/radix_dlt This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

The national stock exchange of the Philippines, the PSE, says cryptocurrency is “an asset class that we cannot ignore anymore.” The stock exchange further says cryptocurrency trading “should be done at the PSE,” given its infrastructure and investor protection safeguards. The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the national stock exchange of the Philippines, is reportedly eyeing cryptocurrency trading. President and CEO Ramon Monzon said Friday that the PSE should be the exchange platform for crypto assets, CNN Philippines reported Friday. Noting that the matter was discussed during a top management meeting two weeks ago, Monzon said, “It’s an asset class that we cannot ignore anymore.” He was quoted as saying: If there should be any exchange for cryptos, it should be done at the PSE. Why? Number one, it’s because we have the trading infrastructure. But more important, we’ll be able to have investor protection safeguards especially with a product like crypto. He explained that many people are attracted to cryptocurrencies “because of the volatility.” However, he warned that “Instant riches could be instant poverty too.” The stock exchange chief further explained: “Unfortunately, we are not in a position to do that now kasi wala pa tayong rules from the regulator eh (because we don’t have rules yet from the regulator),” according to the publication. He additionally opined: We’re waiting for the rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on how crypto or digital asset trading will be governed. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, has registered 17 cryptocurrency exchange service providers so far. The central bank established new guidelines for crypto asset service providers in January after seeing “accelerated growth” in the use of cryptocurrencies in the past three years. “It is high time that we broaden the scope of existing regulations in recognition of the evolving nature of this financial innovation and set out commensurate risk management expectations,” the central bank wrote. Do you think the Philippine Stock Exchange should offer cryptocurrency trading? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg is considering issuing NFTs for works of art from its rich collection and is holding talks with Binance on the matter. The museum’s management expects the tokens to bring extra funding, provided Russian authorities exempt NFTs from current digital assets regulations. Hermitage Museum in Talks With Binance for Artwork NFTs The world-renowned State Hermitage Museum in Russia is negotiating with leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, on the issuance and sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of artwork. On June 24, Binance launched its NFT marketplace which features various forms of digital artwork and collectibles. The coin trading platform also announced its “100 Creators” program presenting NFT content from local talent around the world. For the Hermitage to issue its tokens, Russia’s legislation governing the sector may require some clarification. Marina Tsyguleva, head of the museum’s legal department, said that this type of token may be taken out of the scope of the digital assets regulations, as the Central Bank of Russia has proposed, according to her statement. Quoted by the Interfax news agency, Tsyguleva revealed: We are in the process of discussing our collaboration with Binance. The Hermitage Museum hopes to use the NFTs to attract additional funding. However, it remains unclear whether the tokens fall under the existing regulations. The law “On digital financial assets,” the main piece of legislation regulating the Russian crypto space right now, went into force on Jan. 1, 2021, but it does not cover all aspects of the crypto sphere. Russian Digital Assets Legislation Needs Refinement Crypto experts and even Russian lawmakers agree that the digital assets law’s definitions need to be clarified and refined. It currently allows the issuance and circulation of tokens, also referred to as “digital rights,” as well as security tokens, utility tokens, and stablecoins. Tsyguleva further explained that the cultural institution can only sell non-exclusive rights to its works of art. This creates certain difficulties when entering the NFT market but does not rule out the possibility completely. The NFTs can be used to raise funds for restoration projects, for example, the museum’s representative added. The Hermitage Museum plans to hold Russia’s first art exhibition of NFT tokens, according to an announcement released earlier this year. The event will be organized as part of the “Hermitage 20/21” project, RBC reported. The museum said that the use of non-fungible tokens is the most relevant agenda in the field of contemporary art. What do you think about the initiative of the Hermitage Museum in Russia to issue NFTs for works of art? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

On Friday, the bitcoin mining operation Greenidge Generation Holdings announced the company is expanding to South Carolina in order to develop the firm’s next bitcoin mining facility. Greenidge details that the carbon-neutral Spartanburg facility will be ready in 2021 or early 2022. Bitcoin Miner Greenidge Generation Plans to Expand to South Carolina Spartanburg, South Carolina, the 12th most populous city in the state will be home to bitcoin miners by Q4 2021 or Q1 2022, according to Greenidge Generation Holdings. The Dresden, N.Y.-based firm signed a letter of intent with LSC Communications that says Greenidge aims to expand its bitcoin mining operations to a property owned by the Atlas Holdings’ portfolio company LSC. The terms of the deal will begin with a ten-year lease of a retired printing plant. Greenidge details that the printing plant at one time drew approximately 80 megawatts (MW) of energy but it believes the Spartanburg facility has “potential beyond that capacity.” The company will leverage the site’s existing electrical framework and also utilize clean nuclear power. “This is an important step in Greenidge’s strategy to build upon our unique expertise in environmentally sound bitcoin mining at additional locations across the country,” Jeff Kirt, the CEO of Greenidge explained in a statement. Flare Gas and 500 MW by 2025 Like many bitcoin mining industry firms, Greenidge has continued to expand operations. Back in March, Greenidge announced plans to be publicly listed via Nasdaq through a merger with Support.com. The year prior, the company launched a fleet of mining rigs at the 65,000 square-foot natural gas utility plant in Dresden New York. During the merger, the bitcoin mining operation Greenidge said it hopes to have 500 MW online by 2025. Furthermore, Greenidge also stressed on Friday that the company plans to “invest a portion of its mining profits in renewable energy projects across the country.” The Greenidge Generation power plant in Dresden, NY. “Using natural gas to generate electricity, Greenidge Generation runs at new levels of thermodynamic efficiency, achieving historic lows in the cost of producing power,” the company says. “A pipeline brings natural gas directly to the plant, eliminating the trucking and handling procedures involved in burning coal.” The Greenidge Generation power plant located in New York’s Finger Lakes region leverages flare gas or excess gas to power the firm’s fleet of bitcoin miners. Similarly, companies like Upstream Data, Crusoe Energy Systems, and EZ Blockchain work with systems that leverage flare mitigation mechanisms. “We have a superior team with proven expertise in this emerging field,” Kirt said. “LSC’s Spartanburg site, with its favorable energy mix, capacity potential, and business-friendly climate, is the ideal next location for us. The site’s existing electrical infrastructure should allow us to commence our data mining buildout almost immediately,” the Greenidge executive added. What do you think about Greenidge’s expansion to South Carolina? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

A growing number of regulators worldwide have come after Binance. Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a criminal complaint against the crypto exchange after the authorities in the Cayman Islands, the U.K., and Japan issued similar warnings on Binance and related companies. Thailand’s Regulator Files Criminal Complaint The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday that it “has filed a criminal complaint against Binance … with the Economic Crime Suppression Division of the Royal Thai Police (ECD).” According to the SEC: Binance has solicited the Thai public and investors to use its services, either via its website or Facebook page: Binance Thai Community. The securities regulator stated that it issued a warning letter to Binance on April 5 but the company failed to submit a response within the specified time. The SEC said that Binance is operating a crypto exchange business without a license. The company is therefore “liable to criminal sanction under Section 66 of the Digital Asset Businesses Emergency Decree, i.e., imprisonment for a term of two to five years and a fine of 200,000 to 500,000 baht and a further daily fine not exceeding 10,000 baht for every day during which the contravention continues.” Cayman Islands Warns About Binance The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) published a notice on its website Thursday stating that Binance is not authorized to operate a crypto exchange in the country. The notice reads: Binance, the Binance Group and Binance Holdings Limited are not registered, licensed, regulated or otherwise authorised by the authority to operate a crypto-currency exchange from or within the Cayman Islands. CIMA emphasized that companies incorporated in the Cayman Islands must either be “registered or licensed in accordance with the Virtual Asset (Service Providers) Act, 2020 “ or be “an existing regulated entity that has been granted a waiver by the authority.” Recently, two other regulators issued warnings on Binance: the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA). What do you think about so many regulators coming after Binance? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Global investment bank JPMorgan has predicted that the bitcoin price slump will likely be over when the cryptocurrency’s dominance rises back above 50%. “I think that’s another indicator to watch here in terms of whether this bear phase is over or not,” the firm’s analyst explained. JPMorgan’s Bitcoin Market Prediction JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou has shared his view of when he expects the current bitcoin bear market to be over. In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, the analyst explained that the bitcoin price slump will likely end when the cryptocurrency’s market share of all cryptocurrencies climbs back above 50%. He explained: A healthy number there, in terms of the share of bitcoin as a percentage of the total cryptocurrency market cap, is 50% or above. I think that’s another indicator to watch here in terms of whether this bear phase is over or not. “It was like 60% back in the beginning of April,” the JPMorgan analyst recalled, adding that bitcoin’s relatively low market share was a negative signal that suggests interest in BTC remains relatively subdued. However, Panigirtzoglou pointed out that bitcoin’s market share had risen in recent weeks. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently about 46% and BTC’s price stands at $34,609 at the time of writing, based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. While the JPMorgan analyst sees little sign of big investors buying the dip in bitcoin, he noted: The flow into ethereum funds has slowed over the past two to three weeks, at the same time as the flow into bitcoin funds … has improved. That means there is perhaps a relative value opportunity that some institutional investors are seeing to buy bitcoin and sell other cryptocurrencies. Last week, another JPMorgan analyst said that the crypto market is healing even though it is not yet healthy. Furthermore, the near-term outlook for the crypto market is “challenging,” the analyst added, warning of more sell-offs. Panigirtzoglou said earlier this month that there was “an unusual development” in the bitcoin futures trend. “We believe that the return to backwardation in recent weeks has been a negative signal pointing to a bear market,” he wrote. Meanwhile, JPMorgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, said last month during his congressional testimony before the House of Financial Services Committee regarding cryptocurrency that his personal advice to people is to stay away from bitcoin. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that JPMorgan’s clients want exposure to the cryptocurrency. What do you think about JPMorgan’s bitcoin prediction? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Cardano has been added to Grayscale Investments’ large-cap cryptocurrency fund. It is now the third-largest component of the fund after bitcoin and ether. Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital currency asset manager, announced Friday the addition of cardano to its Digital Large Cap Fund (OTCQX: GDLC). Grayscale described this fund as “a passive, rules-based strategy that seeks to provide exposure to 70% of the digital asset market.” The announcement followed a quarterly review and rebalancing of the fund. The company explained: In accordance with the fund’s construction criteria, Grayscale has adjusted the fund’s portfolio by selling certain amounts of the existing fund components in proportion to their respective weightings and using the cash proceeds to purchase cardano (ADA). At the end of the day on July 1, the Digital Large Cap Fund’s components comprised 67.47% bitcoin (BTC), 25.39% ethereum (ETH), 4.26% cardano (ADA), 1.03% bitcoin cash (BCH), 0.99% litecoin (LTC), and 0.86% chainlink (LINK). During the April quarterly component weighting update, Grayscale added chainlink to fill the gap left by XRP, which was dropped from the Digital Large Cap Fund as Ripple’s lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) heated up. Grayscale Investments currently has about $30 billion in assets under management (AUM). The company offers 14 investment products. The product with the largest AUM is the Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) which has over $22 billion in assets, followed by the Ethereum Trust with almost $6.9 billion. The Digital Large Cap Fund has approximately $357 million in assets under management. Early this month, Grayscale announced that it was considering 31 crypto assets for investment products, including ADA. In April, the company announced its intention to convert GBTC into a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Meanwhile, the firm has been saying that it is seeing rising institutional demand for cryptocurrency. “Digital currencies have reached an inflection point,” CEO Michael Sonnenshein commented in March. “Investor demand has never been higher, and every day we’re seeing new entrants to what has surely become a bona fide asset class.” What do you think about Grayscale adding cardano to its Digital Large Cap Fund? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

In 2021, there’s been a plethora of cryptocurrency-related announcements about professional sports teams, leagues, and famous athletes. On July 1, the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Portland Trail Blazers announced the professional basketball team has partnered with the cashback blockchain firm Stormx. Portland Trail Blazers Uniforms to Feature Crypto Cashback Firm’s Logo The NBA’s Trail Blazers revealed this week that the basketball team has entered a deal with the blockchain company Stormx. Founded in 2015, the Stormx project is basically a crypto cashback provider that also features a native token called STMX. The Trail Blazers and the NBA’s own publication, hosted on nba.com, claim the deal between Stormx and the team is a “never-before-seen partnership.” The Stormx logo will be featured on the team’s uniform. Photo via nba.com. Essentially, Stormx will be the Portland team’s first International Rights Partner that is meant to “engage fans around the globe.” Stormx will have the rights to conduct team-identified marketing and other forms of activities internationally. The Stormx logo will be featured on the team’s uniform as well, the announcement explains. Chris McGowan, the president and CEO of the Portland Trail Blazers and Rose Quarter, said he looks forward to seeing the team sport “such a groundbreaking, revolutionary company on the front of our jerseys.” “Stormx is a fresh, energetic company with Pacific Northwest roots that can educate and motivate Rip City around cryptocurrency and earning crypto cashback,” McGowan added. “I look forward to taking these next steps together as partners.” Crypto Invades Mainstream Sports Sports deals like these have been leaking into the cryptocurrency world more and more these days. For instance, MLB club the Oakland A’s started accepting bitcoin for 2021 season passes this year and even revealed the ball club would hold the bitcoin obtained from ticket sales. In March, a number of NBA team owners formed an NBA blockchain advisory committee for the American professional basketball league. The NBA blockchain committee is made up of owners of teams like the Nets, Mavs, Wizards, Celtics, Kings, and Jazz. The digital currency firm FTX Trading Limited has been relentlessly partnering with players and professional sports leagues as well. FTX has managed to acquire the naming rights to the NBA’s Miami Heat Arena, partner with the MLB, and obtain a naming deal with esports giant TSM. Last week FTX also announced a partnership with Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen and her spouse, the seven-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady. As far as the deal between the Portland Trail Blazers and Stormx, the two companies will also be launching non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The Trail Blazers and Stormx plan to release the first NFT in mid-July and it will be based on the team’s acclaimed Gameday Poster Series. “We’re honored to be the first crypto company to form a jersey sponsorship with not only a team of such high caliber, but also with a league of the same stature,” Simon Yu, CEO and cofounder of Stormx said in a statement. “Like the Trail Blazers namesake, we see ourselves as trail blazers in the drive for the mass adoption of crypto, by helping everyday people earn crypto while they shop,” he added. What do you think about the partnership between Stormx and the Trail Blazers? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Urged by the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, Iranian lawmakers have prepared new legislation to introduce comprehensive rules for the expanding industry. While the bill effectively bans crypto payments in the country, it aims to support cryptocurrency mining and regulate the exchange market. Draft Law Prohibits Crypto Payments in Islamic Republic Members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Iranian parliament, now have a plan to put the crypto space in order. The new bill, drafted under the supervision of the parliamentary Economic Commission, allocates responsibilities among regulators and answers some outstanding questions to determine the future of cryptocurrencies in Iran. If adopted in its current version, the draft law would ban the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in the Islamic Republic, Tasnim News Agency reported. Besides crypto payments, other domestic transactions with cryptocurrency would also be prohibited. Iranian lawmakers have provided for only one exception and that’s reserved for a state-issued digital currency (CBDC). The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) is to take charge of crypto market oversight within three months of the bill’s adoption. The monetary institution will also regulate the exchange of cryptocurrencies in the country. Iranian authorities have tried to curb crypto trading in the past few months but the CBI authorized domestic banks and exchangers to utilize cryptocurrency mined inside Iran in payments for imports. Iranian Regulations to Support Cryptocurrency Mining The legislation presented in the Iranian Majlis has also been described as a plan to foster “support for cryptocurrency mining and organizing the domestic market for exchanges,” Tasnim noted. Unlike digital coin trading, crypto mining has been a legal activity for licensed Iranian companies for around two years now. According to the draft, Iranian cryptocurrency miners will in the future be allowed to participate in projects to construct and operate new power plants. In order to do that, authorized mining companies will need to acquire special permits from the Ministry of Energy, the report detailed. Miners will even be able to sell surplus energy generated by their stations. Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade will exert regulatory control over the crypto mining industry, the bill postulates. The department will continue to be responsible for issuing the licenses needed to set up and run new cryptocurrency mining farms. The lack of comprehensive regulations and various restrictions have impeded the development of Iran’s crypto industry in the past few months. In May, the Majlis leadership called on financial regulators to adopt a cautious approach to dealing with the complicated matter. In June, the country’s Economy and Finance Minister Farhad Dejpasand stated that the government cannot interfere with the development of crypto technologies for too long. What’s your opinion about the proposed crypto regulations in Iran? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

A South African judge, Justice Alma de Wet, has ruled in favor of granting a final liquidation order against Mirror Trading International (MTI), the country’s biggest bitcoin scam in the past year. Nevertheless, the judge postponed a ruling on an application by MTI liquidators to have the company declared an unlawful business to September 8, 2021. According to a report, interested parties that are opposed to the liquidators’ intervening application now “have until July 30 to file their answering affidavits.” On the other hand, liquidators “have until August 13 to file responding affidavits and must file their heads of argument before 24 August.” Meanwhile, the latest court ruling, which came almost six months after the provisional liquidation order was granted, represents a victory for liquidators who have faced opposition from MTI shareholders led by Clynton Marks. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Marks, a 50% shareholder in MTI, argued against liquidation claiming this would prejudice investors. MTI Shareholder Arguments Together with other opponents of the liquidation proposal, Marks claimed that MTI was still solvent and that liquidating the company would be premature. In addition, the MTI co-owner raised a series of technicals arguments which according to him proves that the process that led to the granting of the provisional order was not handled properly. After several delays, however, the liquidation hearing was finally held on June 15 with the judgment being delivered 15 days later. It remains unclear if the investing platform’s assets and proceeds from the sale of recovered MTI bitcoins are going to be sufficient to meet all claims against the company. Does the liquidation of Ponzi operations like MTI help the cause of the victims? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Despite the drop in value during the last three months, the leading crypto asset bitcoin is still the ninth most valuable asset in the world in terms of market capitalization. Moreover, bitcoin could flip some of the world’s most valuable assets in the future, as the crypto asset is 67% away from turning over tech giant Google’s overall valuation and other valuable companies and commodities. Bitcoin: The Ninth Most Valuable Asset in the World in Terms of Market Capitalization Bitcoin is still the ninth most valuable asset in the world according to assetdash.com statistics, the market capitalization web portal for global assets. Three months ago, bitcoin (BTC) touched an all-time high (ATH) at $64,895 and the price is still more than 45% below that range. The leading crypto asset also touched a low ten days ago at $28,600 per unit but managed to recover around 14% of the losses since then. Of course, at ATH bitcoin held a much higher position on assetdash.com’s list, outpacing companies like Facebook (Nasdaq: FB). On Saturday, bitcoin’s (BTC) market valuation jumped over Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A). Valuation data as of Sat. June 3, 2021, at 7:30am Bitcoin (BTC), with its $648 billion market valuation, is still among the top assets in the world above firms like JPMorgan Chase, Nvidia, Visa, Alibaba, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The market capitalization of bitcoin is double the size of valuations for companies like Toyota, Procter & Gamble, and Walt Disney Company. Bitcoin’s valuation is four times the size of businesses like Phillip Morris, the Royal Bank of Canada, Anheuser-Busch, and Citigroup. Flippening Percentages and Ethereum The creators of assetdash.com also developed another page called the “BTC Flippening” which shows how close the crypto asset is to surpassing the nine other leading asset valuations. For instance, bitcoin is very close to surpassing Tesla as it is roughly 1% away from jumping over the electric car company’s valuation. BTC is 36% away from Facebook, 57% away from silver’s entire market cap, and 67% away from Google. The top dog on the list, of course, is gold with its $10 trillion market valuation. Still, as far as gold is concerned, BTC is 6% of the way there and 28% into Apple’s gigantic $2.29 trillion market capitalization. Ethereum’s valuation isn’t too shabby either, as it holds a $258 billion capitalization at the time of writing. This puts ethereum’s (ETH) valuation at the 35th position above valuable companies like Netflix, Verizon, Coca-Cola, and Vanguard. The third-largest cryptocurrency valuation, which belongs to tether (USDT), has an overall capitalization of around $62 billion, while cardano (ADA) has $45.3 billion. Both USDT and ADA don’t make the assetdash.com list, as the 100th position is held by Toronto Dominion Bank with its $128 billion market valuation. What do you think about bitcoin still being the ninth most valuable asset on the planet today? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

One of the largest South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, in terms of trade volume, Bithumb, has announced that employees are banned from trading bitcoin on the exchange platform. The company’s chief executive officer revealed the decision in a Bithumb newsletter focused on improving “transaction transparency.” Bithumb Bans Employee Bitcoin Trading – Will Monitor for Individuals Who Don’t Comply The cryptocurrency trading platform Bithumb has revealed that employees are now restricted from leveraging the exchange. This means that Bithumb employees can no longer obtain an internal account on the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange. Bithumb’s chief executive officer wrote in the newsletter that the move is focused on improving “transaction transparency.” Additionally, leaking undisclosed information and participating in unfair trade practices and market price manipulation is also prohibited in order to “ensure transparent operation.” The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange further says that “Bithumb is continuously strengthening compliance management and internal control by providing training to acquire the International Standard Compliance Management System certification.” According to the announcement, Bithumb’s management told employees in June that by July: “Bithumb trading accounts for investment purposes by employees” would be banned indefinitely. The announcement explains that Bithumb employees have taken an oath to withdraw last month and to stop leveraging the trading platform. “From this month on, we will strictly manage whether or not employees comply with the regulations through continuous monitoring, self-audits, and internal reporting system operations.” The employee ban follows the recent closed-door meeting between South Korean regulators and 20 digital currency exchanges. The meeting was after the Financial Supervisory Service of South Korea explained that it would oversee South Korea’s cryptocurrency market. In addition to the increased regulations, officials have been concerned about South Korea’s ‘kimchi premium,’ as crypto assets have seen higher fiat values in the Korean won in comparison to the global exchange rate. On Friday morning at 11 a.m. (EDT) the price of bitcoin (BTC) exchanged hands for $33,529 per unit. However, during the same time frame on Bithumb, the price of BTC is $1,140 higher than the global average at $34,669. At the time of writing, Bithumb has over $1 billion in global trade volume or 31,499 BTC during the last 24 hours. What do you think about Bithumb restricting employees from trading bitcoin? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Law enforcement officials in Ukraine have closed down a cryptocurrency mining farm that was minting digital coins using stolen electricity. The facility had more than 150 mining rigs that have been confiscated during a raid in Chernihiv region. Authorities in Ukraine Seize Over 150 ASICs From Crypto Mining Farm The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has uncovered and shut down a crypto farm that was operating illegally in Chernihiv Oblast, in the north of the country. The unidentified owners had illegally connected the facility to an electrical transformer substation of the region’s power network, Forklog reported. The mining farm had 150 ASICs running on stolen electricity. They were seized by SBU agents during a search along with other auxiliary equipment. The mining hardware was installed in rented warehouses and burned energy for an estimated 3 million Ukrainian hryvnias, or almost $110,000, in just two months. According to the law enforcement agency, the substation to which the miners were connected provides power to the ambulance service in Nizhyn, the city’s water utility company and other important facilities. Part of the region could have been left without electricity, SBU noted, elaborating that the mining farm could have caused emergencies and supply interruptions. The operators of the illegal mining facility reportedly tried to hide the theft from the local power utility, installing specialized equipment allowing them to lower the meter readings. The investigation into the case continues. Previous Busts, Ukraine Crypto Regulation Yet Undecided Ukraine’s security service has been quite active in the crypto space recently and this isn’t the first mining operation that has been targeted this year. In early June, the SBU found a crypto farm illegally connected to the power grid in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. According to a press release, agents confiscated 350 mining rigs that utilized over $70,000 worth of unpaid electricity in three months. Cryptocurrencies are yet to be regulated in Ukraine, a country that has been ranked among the world’s top adopters. However, authorities in Kyiv are still mulling over the proper regulations for the growing industry. An updated bill “On Virtual Assets” was recently put forward by the parliament’s Digital Transformation Committee. It should be adopted this summer but financial regulators, including the National Bank of Ukraine, have insisted on further revisions of the draft. What future do you expect for cryptocurrency mining in Ukraine? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Binance announced yesterday it deployed Ciphertrace’s Traveler system as part of its compliance efforts. Traveler is the first system designed for exchanges to comply with the Travel Rule proposed by the Financial Action Task Force. The exchange would be among the first wave of exchanges implementing this automatic Travel Rule compliance system. Binance Implements Ciphertrace’s Traveler Protocol in Its Trading Platform Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the market, announced the implementation of Traveler, a system that will help them comply with the Travel Rule established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Ciphertrace, a blockchain analytics startup, created Traveler as a third-party compliance platform. Ciphertrace claims Traveler automatizes the process of complying with FATFs mandate, automatically making connections and identifying different VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers). Therefore, exchanges simplify their due diligence burden by implementing it. As a consequence of this deal, the exchange would be able to detect and identify money launders quickly. For this reason, Samuel Lim, Chief Compliance Officer of Binance, stated: We are proud to partner with Ciphertrace to deploy their Traveler compliance solution. As always, we are committed to providing a superior product for our users – one that is secure, decentralized, and meets global compliance standards. Likewise, Ciphertrace’s CEO Dave Jevans also referred to the subject. The CEO stressed: We are confident that Traveler will help Binance to continue to meet the highest standards for global Anti-Money Laundering compliance. Regulatory Crackdowns Aimed at the Crypto Industry According to some reports, this type of tool would appease regulators that are currently investigating crypto exchange activities all over the world. This announcement comes after Binance faced a series of warnings from regulators in several countries. The Japanese cryptocurrency watchdog, the FSA, issued a warning against Binance recently. Japanese regulators state the company has not registered to offer crypto trading services. Similarly, UK regulators also issued a similar warning, stating Binance didn’t have a permit to conduct business in the country. In the same way, Binance stopped offering its services in Ontario after the Ontario Securities Commission said Binance offered security trading with no authorization. Changpeng Zhao, founder, and CEO of the exchange has repeatedly stated Binance has no headquarters because “it is like Bitcoin”, avoiding answering where the company is based. Consequently, its location has remained a mystery, with some pointing at the Cayman Islands as its possible base. What do you think about Binance implementing Ciphertrace Traveler? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin, the leading crypto asset in terms of market capitalization, has seen the cryptocurrency’s network hashrate drop considerably during the last two weeks. On Saturday, July 3, the network’s mining difficulty will see the largest epoch drop in history as the difficulty is set to slide by more than 27%. Bitcoin Difficulty Expected to Drop More Than 27% This weekend, Bitcoin (BTC) is set to experience the largest difficulty drop ever recorded during the crypto asset’s lifetime. At the time of writing, BTC’s mining difficulty is 19.93 trillion and is expected to drop 27.04% by Saturday morning (EDT). In bitcoin mining, the network’s difficulty is the parameter that keeps the average time between BTC blocks consistent. The difficulty parameter is the metric that shows how difficult it is to mine a bitcoin block and the higher the difficulty, the more hashpower is needed to find a block. If the difficulty drops by 27% on Saturday, it is expected to be around 14.54 trillion. When the mining difficulty on the network is lower, it is far easier for bitcoin miners to find blocks. A difficulty that keeps rising alongside the hashrate means an attacker will have to spend enormous amounts of resources to breach the system. Bitcoin’s upcoming difficulty change comes at a time when Chinese miners have been told to operate elsewhere and a great portion of hashpower went offline this past Monday. During the last BTC difficulty change at block height 687,456 on June 13, 2021, the global hashrate was around 142.68 exahash per second (EH/s). Since block height 687,456, BTC’s hashrate dropped by 39% to 86.5 EH/s. Bitcoin’s network difficulty has dropped two times prior to the upcoming 27% slide expected on Saturday. November 2020 and October 2011 Precede Bitcoin’s Largest Difficulty Slide in History The largest difficulty drop so far in BTC’s lifetime, took place on October 30, 2011, the day before Halloween. The difficulty drop on Saturday, July 3, 2021, will be the largest epoch drop in Bitcoin’s history. At that time, the difficulty slid 18.03 %, at BTC block height 151,200 when the global hashrate was a meager 8.61 terahash per second (TH/s). For some perspective, today a single next-generation bitcoin miner crafted by Microbt or Bitmain commands hashpower of around 100 TH/s. Interestingly, BTC did not see a large drop like the one in 2011 until block height 655,200 recorded on November 3, 2020. At that time last year, the mining difficulty slid 16.05% and the hashrate was around 120.12 EH/s. Usually, BTC’s difficulty goes up more so than the number of times it has slid down during the course of its lifetime. At Bitcoin block height 685,440, BTC’s mining difficulty slid 15.97% on May 29 when the hashrate was roughly 150 EH/s. Block Times Expected to Smooth, Hashrate Expected to Increase At today’s 86.5 EH/s hashrate and the current 19.93 trillion difficulty, block times have been longer than ten minutes on average. After the Bitcoin difficulty change on Saturday, the time between blocks should smooth back over to closer to ten minutes on average. Since June 29, BTC’s hashrate has increased a great deal as 30-day hashrate statistics show the network’s hashpower was only 66 EH/s that day. Saturday’s difficulty change will not only be a milestone but will also make it much easier for miners to continue ramping up resources. What do you think about the mining difficulty change set to happen on Saturday? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The U.S. Department of State’s undersecretary of state for political affairs, Victoria Nuland, has explained during a press conference that the U.S. has urged El Salvador to be responsible with the country’s new bitcoin law. Nuland told the press that the U.S. was taking a “tough look at Bitcoin” and that Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele needs to “ensure that it is well regulated.” State Department Official Says US Is Taking a Tough Look at Bitcoin According to statements from a senior U.S. State Department official, the U.S. hopes El Salvador will be responsible with the country’s new bitcoin tender law enacted on June 9, 2021. The undersecretary of state for political affairs, Victoria Nuland, explained that she had a meeting with the Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele and they discussed the crypto asset bitcoin (BTC). The American diplomat stressed to Bukele that after the Colonial Pipeline ransomware case, the U.S. was taking “another tough look at bitcoin.” “I did suggest to the president that whatever El Salvador chooses to do, you ensure that it is well regulated, that it is transparent and that it is responsible, and you protect yourself against malign actors,” Nuland told reporters at the press conference. El Salvador has had issues getting world leaders to agree with the new bitcoin tender law’s benefits. The World Bank rejected a request from El Salvador for assistance and the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, recently discussed the subject with disparagement. At the time, Lagarde reiterated that the ECB’s policy toward bitcoin (BTC) has not changed. Benoit Coeure, head of the Innovation Hub at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) also criticized Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele’s bitcoin tender law. US State Department Claims 14 Salvadorans Associated With President Nayib Bukele ‘Corrupt and Undemocratic’ In addition to the senior U.S. State Department official’s statements after meeting with Bukele, the U.S. State Department named 14 Salvadorans that are members of the Bukele regime as “corrupt” and “undemocratic actors.” This announcement has made people think that the U.S. is cracking down on El Salvador for choosing to leverage bitcoin. “Unconventional Warfare (UW) in action,” explained the popular anonymous analyst Plan B on Twitter. “See link below for what happens to countries that refuse IMF demands [and choose] freedom,” Plan B tweeted. Economist Steve Hanke: ‘State Department Is Wielding the Hammer’ Even the economist Steve Hanke said: “First, it was El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law. Now, the State Department is wielding the hammer.” Hanke has warned that Salvadoran bitcoin adoption could lead to a “complete collapse of the economy.” Moreover, Hanke and two other authors that publish papers on applied economics at Johns Hopkins University wrote a paper that says: “El Salvador’s bitcoin law is destined to be caught in the FATF’s regulatory web.” “Under the Bitcoin Law, El Salvador will undoubtedly be ensnared in the Financial Action Task Force’s web of regulations,” Hanke explained on Twitter. “In this working paper, I identify 27 of the FATF’s ‘red-flag’ behaviors that will be impossible for El Salvadorans to comply with.” Victoria Nuland’s recent comments and the U.S. State Department’s “Corrupt and Undemocratic Actors Report” suggest that American bureaucrats agree with Hanke’s opinion. What do you think about the American diplomat’s recent statements and the U.S. State Department’s latest undemocratic actors report? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has set out to examine the risks associated with cryptocurrency investments. The regulator is going to conduct a dedicated study with the participation of major banks and payment processors operating in the Russian market. CBR Adds Crypto to Its Survey Program for 2021 Russia’s central bank, known as Bank of Russia, is planning to carry out research regarding the risks that accompany crypto investing. The study titled “Assessment of risks of using cryptocurrencies” has been added to the recently published “Bank of Russia survey program for the second half of 2021.” The survey will be conducted in order to “obtain information on trends to assess systemic risks in connection with investments of Russian individuals and legal entities in cryptocurrency,” CBR explained in a note. The regulator will send out questions to a number of financial market participants, including 15 banks such as VTB, Tinkoff, Alfa-Bank, Raiffeisenbank, and the state-owned banking giant, Sberbank. Bank of Russia also wants its study to feature input from the global payment systems Visa and Mastercard, as well as the Russian Mir, RBC reported. Payment service providers like Юkassa, Webmoney, Qiwi, and Western Union should expect to receive the central bank’s questionnaire too. The data submission deadline has been set to July. Central Bank of Russia Remains Hostile to Cryptocurrencies Over the past few years, the central bank of Russia has maintained a negative attitude towards cryptocurrencies. Moscow’s monetary policy regulator remains firmly opposed to accepting the decentralized digital money as a means of payment in the Russian Federation, where the ruble is the only legal tender by law. Bank of Russia is working on a digital version of the national fiat and aims to unveil a ‘digital ruble’ prototype by the end of 2021. In June, the head of the CBR, Elvira Nabiullina, advised against crypto investments, referring to “speculative cryptocurrencies” as “the most dangerous of all strategies” for investors. “The price is very volatile and the losses can be enormous,” Nabiullina warned. She was also quoted by Komsomolskaya Pravda as saying: The central bank never gives advice on where to invest, but in this particular case – [investing] here is definitely not necessary. Early last month, Nabiullina called cryptocurrencies a monetary surrogate and voiced opposition to their use in the country. Russian legislation prohibits the issuance and circulation of “money surrogates.” At the same time, the CBR chairwoman admitted it’s difficult to restrict the crypto market at the national level since it is fundamentally transnational. Why do you think Bank of Russia wants to conduct a crypto survey? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The government of Venezuela is considering a new redenomination of its fiat currency. The proposal that is under study would cut six zeroes from the inflation-affected Bolivar. This would aid companies in processing taxes and provider payments that are absurdly complex with today’s numbers. However, the dollar is the predominant coin in retail payments in Venezuela, according to consulting firms. Venezuela to Redenominate Its Currency The government of Venezuela is studying a mathematical redenomination of its currency, the sovereign bolivar, to simplify payments for big companies. This redenomination would slash six zeros, making it easier to calculate payments now reaching high sums. While there has not been an official announcement yet, Bloomberg reported this subject was commented on by three people with knowledge of the matter. The new measure comes to aid companies who had to make big payments in bolivars. This would also aid consumers paying in bolivars using POS terminals, who now have to swipe their cards several times due to system limits. However, this measure shows the government has failed in controlling inflation and devaluation of the currency. The bolivar now trades at approx. 3,200,000 VES per dollar (or 3.2 redenominated VES per dollar). Most of the payments in the country are now digital, so the government would not have to print many bills to substitute the amount of cash present in the market. According to some estimations made by Econometrica, a national consulting agency, only 1.9% of the money in the Venezuelan system is cash. The highest note has a value of 1,000,000 VES, or about $0.30, and is only useful to pay for bus fares. Not the First Time This is not the first time Venezuela’s central bank will have taken such a measure. In fact, citizens have already gone through this process twice. The first event of monetary reconversion happened in 2008, and it slashed three zeros from the bolivar. At that time, the country was in a very different situation, with interannual inflation of only 20.44%. The second conversion was applied not so long ago, in 2018, and it deleted five zeros from the currency. This time, Venezuela was in dire straits, facing a hyperinflationary process and the start of sanctions that would impact economic development. Around that time, the government launched Petro, its official cryptocurrency, as an attempt of countering this situation. This means that in less than 15 years, Venezuela will have slashed 14 zeroes off of its currency. But, without any effective measures to counter inflation, this only serves as a bandaid for some citizens affected by the current situation. What do you think about the latest fiat currency redenomination in Venezuela? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Asset management firm Skybridge Capital has launched an ethereum fund, CEO Anthony Scaramucci has confirmed. He added that the asset manager will be filing for an ether exchange-traded fund (ETF). Skybridge Capital CEO Anthony Scaramucci revealed in the latest episode of The Scoop, published Tuesday, that his asset management firm has launched a private ethereum fund. “July 1st, we’re launching a private ethereum fund,” he said prior to the launch of the ether fund, adding: We’ll then file for an ETF for ethereum. Again, it is anybody’s guess when those things will be going. He also revealed, “As we’re speaking, we’re making an announcement on an ETF for a digital innovation fund that has some great publicly traded assets that we think are geared, related to [ethereum], related to bitcoin, but also the other coins.” The company filed a registration statement for a bitcoin ETF with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May. Scaramucci emphasized: We have a full commitment to crypto. Skybridge launched a bitcoin fund in December last year with $25 million as the company expected an “avalanche of institutional investors.” The fund was open to the public in January with $310 million in assets under management. Last month, Scaramucci said that bitcoin still had more upside than gold. What do you think about Skybridge launching an ether fund and planning to file for an ETF? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

An economist with the Bank of International Settlements has found that cryptocurrencies are not sought as an alternative to fiat currencies or regulated finance, therefore a “technology-neutral regulation to this asset class” is recommended. The economist discussed “embedded supervision,” adding that “The main aim is low-cost supervision of decentralized markets.” BIS Economist Suggests Regulatory Approach for Cryptocurrencies The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) published a working paper Thursday on “The socioeconomic drivers of US cryptocurrency investments.” It is authored by Raphael Auer, a principal economist for innovation and the digital economy at the BIS, and David Tercero-Lucas from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). In the 52-page report, the authors state that based on an in-depth analysis of representative data on crypto owners: We disprove the hypothesis that cryptocurrencies are sought as an alternative to fiat currencies or regulated finance … Investors in cryptocurrencies show no more concern about the security of cash or commercial banking than the rest of the population. The study also revealed: “Cryptocurrency investors tend to be educated, young and male. People who have experience using digital finance are more likely to invest in cryptocurrencies.” Emphasizing that investors continue to view cryptocurrencies as “a niche digital speculation object,” the authors detailed that “A clarifying regulatory and supervisory framework for cryptocurrency markets may be beneficial for the industry.” They added: From a policy perspective, the overall takeaway of our analysis is that as the objectives of investors are the same as those for other asset classes, so should be the regulation. The report stresses that “Better regulation may also be beneficial – quintessential in fact – for the industry.” It proceeds to discuss applying “technology-neutral regulation to this asset class, while at the same time harnessing the potential of the technology itself in the supervision process.” The authors suggested: One promising option that supervisory and regulatory agencies could pursue is ‘embedded supervision’ … The main aim is low-cost supervision of decentralised markets, which may be particularly relevant amidst recent deliberations of the need for adequate prudential oversight of the cryptocurrency industry. By embedded supervision, “we understand implementing a supervisory framework for cryptocurrencies that allows for compliance to be automatically monitored by reading the market’s ledger,” the report clarifies. What do you think about the BIS report’s findings? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Statistics show that the Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract has exceeded 6 million ether this week as more than $12.4 billion worth of ethereum is held in the contract today. Onchain metrics show that Ethereum has seen some significant drawdowns in recent times and decentralized finance (defi) activity has slowed compared to last summer’s statistics. Despite the onchain dips, this year ethereum markets outperformed bitcoin in Q1 and Q2. Ethereum 2.0 Contract Now Holds 6 Million Ether Worth $12.4 Billion, Onchain Ether Stats Slide There’s been a lot of focus on the Ethereum (ETH) network recently as the Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract now commands more than 6 million ether. Meanwhile, Ethereum participants are getting ready for the highly anticipated EIP1559 upgrade and London hard fork. Statistics from Glassnode and researcher Lars Hoffmann show Ethereum network onchain dips and defi activity slowing in recent times. “Despite volumes declining, the year-over-year growth in monthly [decentralized exchange] volume remains up 5600%+. Volume has consolidated around the $2B daily level, with significant spikes during periods of heightened volatility, silence otherwise,” Glassnode’s study notes.Bitcoin.com News recently reported on the three Ethereum testnets that are transitioning to the London upgrade, and if all goes well the mainnet fork will follow. As more than $12.4 billion has entered the ETH 2.0 contract, a newly published report from Glassnode shows defi activity has dropped considerably but growth remains strong from a big picture perspective. “Growth in new and existing activity throughout defi has taken a hit, as many participants move into a risk-off mindset amidst -60%+ dips from ATH across most governance tokens. While on-chain activity is no longer increasing as a % total month-over-month, year-over-year growth remains massive,” the Glassnode defi study details. Even with Glassnode’s and Lars Hoffmann’s onchain drawdown data, ethereum still outperformed bitcoin in Q1 and Q2 this year. Even though ethereum has managed to make larger gains in comparison to other crypto assets and climb back above the $2K handle, research shows the network has seen some big onchain drawdowns. For instance, The Block Crypto’s Lars Hoffmann shared some insights on Ethereum’s onchain activity on July 1 via Twitter. “As expected, most metrics had severe drawdowns (with ETH metrics having a higher beta),” Hoffmann tweeted. “While we are basing at high levels YoY, the parabola for most metrics is broken. Total adjusted on-chain volume declined by 46.6% to $572.7bn.” Hoffmann added: As for [ethereum] futures, volume declined by 49.3% to $862bn. [Ethereum] monthly options volume declined by 68.8% to $5.19bn, yet still higher than at any time in Q1. Ethereum Active Address and Market Metrics Still Outshine Bitcoin in 2021 Besides the noticeable drawdowns, there have been some positive Ethereum metrics in addition to the 6 million ether locked into the ETH 2.0 contract. For instance, the ether supply on exchanges is the lowest since November 2018. Glassnode’s report shows that defi gas prices have dropped considerably in recent times. “Gas prices have returned to early defi Summer levels from 2020, so much so that traders willing to deploy patience can even get away with a single-digit Gwei gas fee during off-hours,” Glassnode’s defi study details. ETH supply on exchanges lowest since Nov 2018 👀 pic.twitter.com/rQiGQeSb4N — Documenting Ethereum 🦇🔊 (@DocumentEther) July 2, 2021 The latest crypto market insights from Unfolded.io show that the Ethereum network had “about 200K more daily active addresses than BTC on Sunday, June 27th. This was only the third day since January 1st, 2017 that ETH has had more active addresses than BTC.” In fact, Unfolded.io data shows that Bitcoin saw its “worst Q2 performance in over 8 years” and “despite high correlation with bitcoin, ethereum outperformed BTC in Q1 and Q2.” On Friday, bitcoin dominance levels are around 45.7% while ethereum’s dominance is around 17.6% of the entire $1.358 trillion crypto market cap. What do you think about the 6 million ether locked in the Ethereum 2.0 contract? What do you think about ether outperforming bitcoin in Q1 and Q2 this year? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has encouraged “people to buy and hold” bitcoin in their portfolios. “I encourage them to save bitcoin for their retirement, for their future,” she said, adding that with Congress flooding the economy with trillions and trillions of dollars, “there’s no way” the value of the U.S. dollar will not be debased. US Senator Urges People to Invest in Bitcoin for Retirement U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis talked about bitcoin in an interview at the CNBC Financial Advisor Summit Tuesday. Responding to the question of what her ideal crypto future would look like, the pro-bitcoin senator described: I would like to see cryptocurrency, like bitcoin, become part of a diversified asset allocation that are used in retirement funds and other opportunities for people to save for the future. Not only she would like to see retirement funds investing in “bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that are good stores of value,” the senator from Wyoming said that she would “also like to see individuals be able to use bitcoin and cryptocurrencies of their preference that are safe, that have met the hurdles of anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act.” Senator Lummis further shared: “For me, I see bitcoin as a great store of value. I buy bitcoin and I hold bitcoin.” When asked about how much bitcoin she has, Lummis replied, “Well I only have, I think, five bitcoin,” adding that she paid $330 for her first BTC. Responding to a question about whether she invests in other cryptocurrencies, like ether, Lummis said she does not. “The only one I really understand is bitcoin. Now that doesn’t mean that ethereum might not have benefits as well,” the senator clarified. Reiterating that she sees bitcoin as “a great store of value,” the senator said she currently does not see the cryptocurrency “as a means of exchange,” elaborating: I want to buy and hold. I encourage people to buy and hold. I encourage them to save bitcoin for their retirement, for their future. She explained that is “because, as the Congress spends trillions and trillions of dollars, and is flooding our economy and the world economy with U.S. dollars, there’s no way that we cannot debase the value of the U.S. dollar. So, I worry about having all of our retirement monies denominated in U.S. dollars.” Lummis emphasized that one should have a diversified portfolio. “So as part of diversification, having a very diverse asset allocation, so you don’t have all your eggs in one basket, I think one of the strongest stores of value for the long run is bitcoin,” the senator concluded. Do you agree with Senator Lummis? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article