The president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, warned that cryptocurrencies are prone to money laundering. She agrees with the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, who recently said that cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value and investors should be prepared to lose all their money if investing in them. ECB Chief Lagarde Sees Crypto as a ‘Real Risk’ for Investors European Central Bank (ECB) chief Christine Lagarde talked about cryptocurrency Friday during a webinar hosted by the European University Institute. She said: Crypto-currencies — these two things don’t go well together and I totally agree with Dr. Bailey’s conclusion in that respect. Lagarde further noted that “There are crypto assets … which people are free to invest in and take total risk… [Read More...]

The infamous meme-based cryptocurrency dogecoin is on the move again just before the upcoming Saturday Night Live episode featuring Elon Musk. While dogecoin is up 81% today a lot of cryptocurrency veterans have been warning newbies about the digital currency that was meant to be a joke. Meanwhile, others believe that dogecoin has a lot of potential, and could be a long-standing competitor in the world of crypto assets. Dogecoin Markets See a Pre-SNL Rise The cryptocurrency that literally began as a joke, dogecoin (DOGE) is nearing a $100 billion market capitalization on Saturday. DOGE is a crypto asset that was developed and launched in December 2013 by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. The dogecoin logo features the face of the Shiba Inu… [Read More...]

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are steadily becoming a serious discussion among governments globally, with Kazakhstan as the latest country unveiling its plans. The National Bank of Kazakhstan is making preparations to launch a CBDC pilot program soon. The National Bank Released a Public Consultation Paper According to the announcement published on their website, the bank expects to pilot its prototype of a digital tenge within the private companies of the financial industry in the first stage. The participants will adopt the CBDC to provide payment services via a two-tier architecture where the digital currency will be built. That said, to guarantee the proper official launch of Kazakhstan’s digital tenge, the National Bank looks forward to conducting “a comprehensive study of the benefits and risks with… [Read More...]

Coinbase, the most prolific U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, has announced it will close the doors of its former San Francisco HQ by 2022, in its push to go 100% remote. Earlier the company had announced its intention of ditching the traditional office-based model to decentralize its operations and instead impulse work from home politics as part of its response to Covid-19. Coinbase to Shutdown Former San Francisco HQ Office by 2022 Coinbase has announced today it would shut down its former San Francisco HQ office via its official Coinbase News Twitter account. The company is transitioning from a traditional work model to a remote-first company since the Covid-19 epidemic last year. This move is yet another action that the exchange is taking to show its compromise… [Read More...]

The creator of the world’s first successful blockchain network has been an enigma ever since the mysterious inventor released the white paper over 12 years ago. Interestingly, Satoshi Nakamoto worked on the Bitcoin project publicly for 25 months and 13 days, all while being able to remain completely anonymous. What the Public Knows About Satoshi Nakamoto Is Different Than What Is Assumed Satoshi Nakamoto is a very interesting mystery and the inventor of the technological revolution that was invoked by the birth of the Bitcoin network. We don’t know much about Satoshi, except for what the creator told the public while he/she or they were around. Satoshi Nakamoto managed to stay anonymous, while releasing the protocol’s white paper, kickstarting the network, and even dealing with development contributors. Satoshi continues… [Read More...]

On April 26, 2021, the Danish multinational banking and financial services corporation Danske Bank published a press release explaining that the institution has changed the threshold for personal customers and standard interest rates for business customers in Denmark. The Bank plans to lower the threshold for charging negative interest on deposits from DKK 100,000 to DKK 250,000 ($16k to $40k USD). Denmark Savers Will Feel the Brunt of Negative Rates This Summer A number of large financial institutions in Europe have been embracing negative interest rates. Bitcoin.com News recently reported on ECB President Christine Lagarde’s opinion of the situation and how she defended negative interest rates. Lagarde noted that it might bother savers, but people need to put the global economy ahead of savers. Moreover, the Bank of… [Read More...]

The infamous meme-crypto dogecoin has seen double-digit gains in recent days after Tesla’s Elon Musk tweeted about his upcoming Saturday Night Live appearance on May 8. On Wednesday, Musk tweeted “The Dogefather SNL May 8,” and a great number of people assume dogecoin will be mentioned to some degree on the show. Dogecoin Captures a $50 Billion Market Cap This weekend, dogecoin (DOGE) has started to surge again, as the token featuring the likeness of the Shiba Inu dog is nearing the asset’s all-time high (ATH). The last dogecoin ATH was two weeks ago when the cryptocurrency reached $0.44 per token. DOGE has jumped more than 45% during the last seven days, and 30-day stats show dogecoin gained 537.92% against the U.S. dollar. In… [Read More...]

Russian authorities have recently labeled one of the leading independent media outlets in the country as a “foreign agent.” Such a maneuver led Meduza to set up a fiat and crypto fundraiser to survive the consequences of labeling. Fund Will Accept Donations in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance Coin According to an editorial statement published by the outlet, the Russian Justice Ministry added Meduza on April 23 to its “foreign agent” media list. It implies that every news piece or social post they do should be accompanied by a message, notifying their readers about its new status. However, the Meduza team says that Kremlin considers them an “enemy of the state” with such labeling. It will make the journalistic routines more complicated, such as looking for sources or… [Read More...]

On Thursday, Apifiny, a global digital asset trading and mining network, announced the company’s subsidiary Apifiny Prime has been granted a broker-dealer license from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The firm now joins the ranks of brokerage and exchange businesses like Coinbase, Etoro, and Circle. FINRA Grants Apifiny Prime a Broker-Dealer License The leading regulator that oversees American broker-dealers, FINRA has granted a broker-dealer license to Apifiny Prime. The license allows Apifiny to make private investor placements and vend securities, cryptocurrencies, stocks, and other types of financial products. Apifiny was founded by Haohan Xu in 2018 after he saw inefficiencies across global bitcoin exchanges, and said that he “took advantage of this by buying and selling bitcoin across different exchanges.” Haohan Xu… [Read More...]

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has become the latest body to warn of risks associated with cryptocurrency investments. In a public warning, the law enforcement agency argues that investing in cryptos “is a high-risk activity as the terrain is largely unregulated and prone to fraud.” Proliferation of Scams According to a report that quotes Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC spokesperson, the law enforcement agency is alarmed by “the rate at which Nigerians sent them petitions on fraudulent investments.” Meanwhile, the spokesperson also bemoans the fact crypto scams continue to proliferate “despite enforcement and public enlightenment interventions by the commission and other stakeholders.” However, Uwujaren still urges the Nigerian investing public to be more careful when making investment decisions. He said: While EFCC… [Read More...]

Bitcoin options markets are set to see a large expiry on Friday as more than 77,000 BTC worth over $4 billion in derivatives contracts are set to expire. The lion’s share of bitcoin options stems from the derivatives trading platform Deribit, as the exchange has more than $11 billion in open interest today. Sizzling Hot Bitcoin Options Markets Continue to Bubble, Traders Brace for Max Pain Crypto derivatives markets, particularly futures, perpetual swaps, and options have continued to see relentless demand in recent weeks. As far as options are concerned, a great number of puts and calls will expire in two days and a touch over 12 hours from now. On April 26, the data analytics company Skew.com tweeted about the 77k BTC worth over $4 billion that will… [Read More...]

Bitcoin prices have dropped below the $50k region during this week’s trading sessions sinking to a low of $47,555 on Friday. The popular creator of the stock-to-flow (S2F) bitcoin price model, Plan B has discussed the recent price dip and stressed that “nothing goes up in a straight line.” Plan B believes this price drop might be a “mid-way dip,” similar to the crypto bull runs in prior years. ‘Looks Like the Mid-way Dip,’ Says Plan B During the first week of March, Bitcoin.com News reported on Plan B’s popular but also controversial stock-to-flow (S2F) price model. In that report, Plan B was very confident and BTC’s price surpassed the model by 26%. People… [Read More...]

A Kenya-based digital media company, Picha Images, is reportedly set to hold one of the first non-fungible token (NFT) auctions in Africa. The auction event, which is set to be held between April 26 through May 3, 2021, will initially feature the works of Rich Allela, the award-winning photographer and filmmaker from Kenya. Perpetual Royalties According to a report, in return for purchasing the NFTs, the buyers will get a “hacker-resistant proof of ownership of a digital piece of art.” Inversely, the NFTs give artists, who have been getting “a raw deal,” a chance to earn more. Meanwhile, in its own statement, Picha Images claims the creation of NFTs shows that the company is “placing the wellbeing of their creative artists first by exposing… [Read More...]

PRESS RELEASE. AscendEX, formerly BitMax, an industry-leading digital asset trading platform built by Wall Street quant trading veterans, has announced the listing of the Crowny Token (CRWNY) under the pair USDT/CRWNY on Apr 21 at 1:00 p.m. UTC. Crowny has created a new platform by aligning blockchain and digital assets with the world of advertising. The platform will allow brands to develop effective campaigns to reach audiences who are enticed to listen to their messages. Users will be able to connect to their favorite brands through a smartphone application without the risk of privacy breaches. It has become a challenge for brands to reach and interact with their potential customers through digital and traditional media. The Crowny proposition brings the right tools to help advertisers reach… [Read More...]

Fresh reports from South Africa suggest another local company, Sygnia, is set to apply to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to list a new cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF). This application will be the second time Sygnia has attempted to list the crypto ETF. A similar application in 2017 was rejected by JSE on grounds that the bourse was “not ready to approve cryptocurrency listings.” However, according to a report which quotes the company’s CEO, David Hufton, Sygnia plans to re-apply for an ETF using the same design structure from 2017. In remarks, Hufton said: A lot of work went into designing the actual structure of the ETF in 2017 which we can reuse. With cryptocurrencies becoming more mainstream, we are hopeful that the JSE will be more… [Read More...]