Crypto
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Russian court orders Sber to unblock account used for Bitcoin trading
The state of cryptocurrency regulation in Russia has taken another twist as a local court has ordered the country’s largest bank to resume account support for a Bitcoin (BTC) trader. Sverdlovsk regional court, a court in Russia’s fourth-largest city of Yekaterinburg, has ordered Sber, formerly known as Sberbank, to unblock account services to a client involved in Bitcoin trading, according to an official announcement on Monday. The client’s bank accounts processed multiple transactions associated with trades on cryptocurrency exchanges from May to August 2020. Sber blocked the individual from access to their bank accounts, citing suspicious transaction activity and Anti-Money Laundering policies. The bank also refused to resume the service after the client attempted to regain access to the...
Singapore grants first regulatory in-principle approval to crypto exchange
Independent Reserve, an Australian crypto exchange founded in 2013, has become the first cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore to receive an “in-principle approval” to operate as a fully regulated virtual asset service provider (VASP). In a letter from the city-state’s de facto central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the exchange was approved under the terms of the Payments Services Act, which came into effect in January 2020 and provides clear-cut rules and regulations for crypto exchanges and service providers seeking to operate locally. Since January, VASPs awaiting their applications’ approval have been permitted to continue to operate under the exemption. Using the specific terms of the Singaporean framework, Independent Reserve has now been approved, in principle, for...
Regulatory clarity for crypto would take 3 to 5 years, FTX CEO says
Running a successful crypto business requires close attention to the cloud of regulatory changes put forth by governments. Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of prominent crypto exchange FTX, featured in a CNBC International interview to discuss his efforts on this front. During the conversation, Bankman-Fried highlighted FTX’s efforts to stay on top of the changing regulatory landscape. As a part of this move, the entrepreneur shared his company’s drive toward applying for licenses across numerous jurisdictions. Pointing out the need to be responsive to changing regulatory landscapes, he added: “I’m spending five hours a day on everything from regulation to licensing and everything in between.” As the CNBC spokesperson discussed the ongoing regulator’s concerns over the Know Your Customer ...
Polkadot price analysis: Bulls defend the $16.77 support level
The bearish sentiment in the market continued, but Polkadot has been able to defend its critical support level at $16.77 over the past 24 hours The cryptocurrency market continued with its bearish sentiment over the past 24 hours, with Bitcoin slipping below the $38,000 mark. Ether is also down below the $2,500 level after rallying to close to $2,700 yesterday ahead of the major upgrade on the Ethereum network. Polkadot wasn’t left out of the bearish performance, with DOT currently down by more than 5% in the past 24 hours. However, the bulls have been able to defend the critical support level at $16.77, and that could allow DOT to perform well once the upward movement in the market resumes. However, it is unclear if DOT can maintain this support level for much longer. Analysts are n...
Marathon Digital announces purchase of 30,000 Bitcoin miners
The North American Bitcoin mining company has bought Antminer S19j Pros from the Beijing-based company Bitmain Crypto mining company Marathon Digital Holdings announced yesterday that it is acquiring another 30,000 mining machines for $120.7 million. The miners in question are Antminer S19j Pros with a maximum hash rate of 100 Th/s and have been bought from blockchain hardware and solutions company Bitmain. Bitmain’s Antminer Sales Director of North, Central and South America, Irene Gao, commented, “Marathon is a key customer of Bitmain’s, and we appreciate the opportunity to support their growth with another large order for 30,000 of the industry’s most powerful and efficient miners. We look forward to continuing to collaborate and build upon this mutually beneficial relationship.” Bitmai...
FTX to create an NFT-focused sport and entertainment marketplace
The exchange partnered with Dolphin Entertainment to provide a marketplace for brands such as film, television, music and gaming Leading crypto exchange FTX announced yesterday that it is currently developing an NFT marketplace dedicated to prominent sport and entertainment brands. FTX will be working with entertainment company Dolphin Entertainment to create the marketplace. FTX announced this latest development via a tweet yesterday. According to the announcement, the marketplace will focus on brands in various sport and entertainment sectors such as film, television, music, gaming, esports, culinary, lifestyle and charity industries. https://twitter.com/blockfolio/status/1422213038514577416 The partnership with Dolphin Entertainment is expected to be great for this venture since Dolphin...
Bitcoin chart fractal suggests BTC price will rally to at least $80K by September
While Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has slipped by more than 8.2% after rising to $42,230, the 43.5% rally included 10 consecutive days of gains. But despite BTC currently trading at around $39,700 as of Aug. 2, some analysts anticipate that it can rise by another 100%. Nunya Bizniz, an independent market analyst, posted the bullish setup on Sunday, noting that each of the cryptocurrency’s previous 10-day bull runs has ended up doubling its prices at a later stage. Therefore, if the history repeats or rhymes, Bitcoin price can go up by more than 100% in the next 30-60 days. Bitcoin and its bull runs after 10 consecutive green closes. Source: Nunya Bizniz Bizniz noted that the next Bitcoin peak could form on Sep. 21, 2021, citing the cryptocurrency’s performances before and after ...
NCR Corporation plans to purchase Bitcoin ATM company LibertyX
Enterprise technology provider NCR Corporation has announced an agreement to buy LibertyX, the company that launched one of the first retail Bitcoin ATMs. In a Monday announcement, NCR said it expected to purchase LibertyX later this year depending on regulatory licensing consents and approvals. The firm said it planned to offer LibertyX’s capabilities as part of its solutions for banks, retailers and restaurants, implying NCR clients could see crypto withdrawals, purchasing and payment features after the deal is finalized. “Our customers require a complete digital currency solution, including the ability to buy and sell cryptocurrency, conduct cross-border remittance and accept digital currency payments across digital and physical channels,” said NCR chief technology officer Tim Vanderham...
China’s attempt to kill Bitcoin failed — Here are 3 reasons why
Bitcoin (BTC) might have suffered its largest coordinated attack over the last couple of months, but in this instance, the investor community did not capitulate. China outright banning mining in most regions after giving BTC miners a two-week notice and this caused the single largest mining difficulty adjustment after the network hash rate dropped 50%. The market sentiment surrounding Bitcoin was already damaged after Elon Musk announced that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin payments due to the environmental impact of the mining process. It remains unknown whether China’s decision was influenced or related to Musk’s remarks, but undoubtedly those events held a negative effect. A couple of weeks later, on June 16, China blocked cryptocurrency exchanges from web search res...
OpenSea’s daily volume is exceeding its 2020 total
Leading NFT marketplace, OpenSea, is now processing more transactions daily than it did during the entirety of 2020. On Aug. 2, Devin Finzer, the co-founder and CEO of OpenSea, tweeted that the platform had processed $95 million worth of transactions in two days. Finzer estimates that OpenSea processed $21 million in volume for the entirety of 2021, a the marketplace appears to have enjoyed an increase in daily transaction value by more than 650 times since 2020. In 2020, OpenSea did about $21M in total transaction volume. In the last two days, we did $95M. The growth curve for NFTs is insane. — Devin Finzer (dfinzer.eth) (@dfinzer) August 2, 2021 DappRadar data shows that OpenSea is extending its lead over rival NFT marketplaces, with SuperRare and Rarible currently representing daily vol...
Monero’s former maintainer arrested in the US for allegations unrelated to cryptocurrency
Riccardo Spagni, the former maintainer of the Monero (XMR) cryptocurrency, was arrested last month in Nashville, Tennessee on fraud charges tied to alleged offenses in South Africa between 2009 and 2011. Spagni was on board a private jet scheduled to fly to Los Cabos, Mexico when he was apprehended in Nashville during a scheduled refueling stop, according to court documents. His journey originally began just outside of New York City. He is currently in the custody of the U.S. Attorney General, according to court documents. The arrest was made at the request of the South African government, which is seeking Spagni’s extradition on fraud charges. The charges, which are unrelated to Spagni’s role at Monero, are tied to his previous employment as an information technology manager at a co...
Brad Garlinghouse’s lawyers file request for Binance documents in ‘international’ challenge to SEC lawsuit
The lawsuit between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, now involves major crypto exchange Binance after a recent filing on behalf of Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. According to court documents filed in the Southern District of New York on Monday, Garlinghouse’s legal team has requested documents “relevant to the case and unobtainable through other means” from Binance Holdings Limited, the Cayman Islands-based subsidiary of the major cryptocurrency exchange. The filing cited U.S. laws concerning the Department of State and the Hague Convention and asked the court to issue a letter of request for the Central Authority of the Cayman Island to compel evidence from Binance. “Mr. Garlinghouse seeks foreign discovery on the basis of his good faith belief that [Bin...
