Category Financial

More than a decade after Satoshi Nakamoto combined proof of work and bitcoin mining together, fallacious comparisons of “energy cost per transaction” continue to be spread by seemingly intelligent and well-researched individuals.

We can trace much of the spread of this narrative back to Alex de Vries—a data scientist who goes by the handle “Digiconomist” and is cited in nearly every anti-bitcoin energy article and op-ed in the mainstream media. There's just one problem. Neither he, nor most of the journalists that cite him, regularly disclose that his employer is De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch Central Bank, which is an undeniable opponent of bitcoin and open payment rails. It’s irresponsible for journalists to cite de Vries, or his work, without disclosing his conflict of interest. He is effectively a DNB lobbyist.

Continue reading at bitcoinmagazine.com

Many of South Korea’s 200 crypto exchanges face an “existential crisis” as they struggle to meet conditions for regulatory approval, in a shake-up for one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency markets.

To win a business licence as a legal trading platform, Korean exchanges are required to partner local banks to open real-name bank accounts for customers. But banks are concerned that this could leave them liable for any money laundering in digital currencies.

Now, a deadline of September 24 from the Financial Services Commission is looming, and only a handful of exchanges is expected to meet the requirements, reflecting the pressure on the thousands of crypto exchanges that have sprung up around the world while global regulators tighten up on the market.

Continue reading at ft.com

US banks may soon give their customers to buy cryptocurrencies – Gecko

The New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) is a financial service dedicated to financial services Bitcoin. It has partnered with global banking technology solutions group Fidelity National Information Service (FIS) to provide and provide guidance to US banks seeking to offer exchange services.

When asked by the American channel CNBC on Wednesday, Patrick Sell, director of banking solutions for NYDIG, said that many small banks had already signed up for the program, but also that the firm was in contact with large institutions . Actually, according to him, big banks prefer JP Morgan Or Bank of America, previously reluctant to bitcoin, may change its mind if the adoption of cryptocurrency trading proves successful for small banks.

More and more US banks’ increasing interest in access to crypto-assets can be explained by the success of exchange platforms Robin Hood Or Coinbase, the latter recently went public with flying colors. The amount of money deposited in the accounts of these platforms is staggering. Some 9.5 million Americans have traded cryptocurrency on the Robinhood platform since the beginning of the year and Coinbase deployed in Q20 2021 has revenue of $ 765 million. According to NYDIG President Yan Zhao, banks want a piece of the pie: “It’s not just banks that think their customers want bitcoin, they say: We have to do it, because we see the numbers.” They see deposits known in the world’s Coinbases, Galaxies and Krakens“.

Continue reading at sproutwired.com

Bitcoin – the world’s biggest and most popular cryptocurrency by market cap – is shooting back up. At the time of writing, the asset is trading for just over $57,000. This is a huge improvement over the $54,000 it was at a few days ago and the $49,000 per unit it was stuck at early last week.

Bitcoin May Grow Again Soon

For the most part, it was believed that bitcoin would likely continue its bullish patterns into the month of May, though thus far, this period is proving to be far more volatile than analysts thought. Nate Cox – chief investment officer of digital assets at Two Prime – explained in a recent interview:

Bitcoin did not move the way many derivative traders expected this month.

Steve Ehrlich – chief executive of Voyager Digital – echoed this sentiment but commented that this could potentially lead into something bigger. He says that a drop of this sort in the past has usually led to heavily bullish behavior, suggesting that bitcoin could be on a route to reach new all-time highs over the summer.

Continue reading at livebitcoinnews.com

Turkey’s fiat currency, the Lira (TRY), is in serious trouble – especially against Bitcoin – with consumer price inflation reaching an alarming 16% in March of this year. In January of 2008, the Lira traded at near-parity with the US Dollar but is currently near its all time low of 8.5 TRY to the USD.

Perhaps in response to the surging demand for reliable hard money alternatives like Bitcoin, the Turkish central bank, the CBRT, banned cryptocurrency as a payment method for goods and services in mid-April of this year.

The Plan

The subsequent failure of two Turkish crypto exchanges, Thodex and Vebitcoin, was perhaps a fairly predictable consequence of the harsh and sweeping new restrictions. While the CBRT’s governor has denied any blanket ban of crypto, according to a report published on Bloomberg and attributed to a senior government official, the CBRT is now planning to aggressively regulate the Turkish crypto industry. Much of the proposed regulation appears designed to prevent further exchange failures.

Continue reading at newsbtc.com

Bitcoin is facing a make-or-break moment following a recent bout of selling, according to technical analysis.

Though the cryptocurrency has rebounded above its average price over the past 100 days, it’s still trading below its 50-day moving average. Such a dynamic typically indicates an asset is nearing an inflection point. If Bitcoin can’t overtake its 50-day mean -- which currently sits at about $57,042 -- then it might be in for a period of volatility as the gap between the two trend lines converges. Technical indicators suggest breaking out might not be an easy feat -- Bitcoin failed to do so on several occasions last week.

Trading in the world’s largest digital asset has been choppy in recent days after it hit a record high in mid-April above $64,000. It’s down more than 15% since then, though it rebounded earlier this week amid positive news, including comments from Tesla Inc.’s chief financial officer that reiterated the company’s commitment to the cryptocurrency.

Continue reading at bloomberg.com

Bitcoin's recent sell-off looks to have found support and a new uptrend is "likely underway," Fundstrat's Tom Lee said in a note on Wednesday.

The most valuable cryptocurrency sold off more than 20% in recent weeks after topping out just below $65,000 amid the Coinbase IPO. Bitcoin broke below $50,000, which represents a key psychological level for investors, but has since recovered and is trading near $55,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.

Now, bitcoin has found support near $47,000, which coincided with a "9" count buy signal generated by the DeMark indicator. This counter-trend indicator, created by Tom DeMark, helps measure price exhaustion in securities.

Traders should look for bitcoin to move above $62,000 to affirm that the sell-off is over, according to Lee.

Continue reading at businessinsider.com

What people want most from digital currency is privacy, the European Central Bank (ECB) said in its report from public consultations about the possibility of a central bank coin.

The ECB said that 43 percent of the respondents pointed to anonymity as a main requirement for any digital currency. People also stated that any digital euro should also be integrated with the methods and resources already being used for payments and other financial services. 

Further, citizens and businesses answering the survey indicated that they want a no-fee solution in addition to security, usability, and non-digital use. The ECB is still in the research stages of deciding whether it makes sense to pursue eCurrency. 

The public consultation — conducted from October 2020 until January of this year — is just one step in determining what will work for consumers and businesses alike. About 25 percent of respondents also said they believed that a digital euro should advance cross-border payments, and make the transactions fast, seamless, and less expensive.

The ECB is just one of many central banks worldwide looking into launching digital currency that would be on par with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin but also more usable and predictable.

Continue reading at pymnts.com

Coinbase, a San Francisco startup that allows people to buy and sell digital currency, became the first major cryptocurrency company to go public when it made its stock market debut on Wednesday.

Trading began around $381 a share, pushing the company's valuation close to $100 billion. That's about what Facebook was worth when it had its initial public offering in 2012.

Coinbase's listing on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "COIN" was heralded by enthusiasts as a turning point for once-obscure digital currencies.

"Today was a landmark moment," said cryptocurrency investor Ian Lee. "Crypto is the future of finance."

Bradley Tusk, a political consultant and venture capitalist who financially backed Coinbase, said the company's public offering shows that more Wall Street banks and other traditional investors are warming up to the idea of cryptocurrency.

Read more at mainepublic.org

A thousand years ago, when money meant coins, China invented paper currency. Now the Chinese government is minting cash digitally, in a re-imagination of money that could shake a pillar of American power.

It might seem money is already virtual, as credit cards and payment apps such as Apple Pay in the U.S. and WeChat in China eliminate the need for bills or coins. But those are just ways to move money electronically. China is turning legal tender itself into computer code.

Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin have foreshadowed a potential digital future for money, though they exist outside the traditional global financial system and aren’t legal tender like cash issued by governments.

China’s version of a digital currency is controlled by its central bank, which will issue the new electronic money. It is expected to give China’s government vast new tools to monitor both its economy and its people. By design, the digital yuan will negate one of bitcoin’s major draws: anonymity for the user.

Continue reading at wsj.com