Russian authorities have released the recently arrested co-founder of crypto exchange Bitzlato, said to have processed illicit funds worth millions of U.S. dollars. Anton Shkurenko, who was questioned in Moscow, denies the French charges against him that became the reason for his brief detention. Shkurenko Says Potential Case Against Him in Russia Won’t Interfere With
Bitcoin
On Feb. 10, 2023, Republicans Patrick McHenry of North Carolina and Bill Huizenga of Michigan, both members of the U.S. House of Representatives, sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Gary Gensler seeking answers about the arrest of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried prior to his scheduled testimony before the House Financial Services
The first production update of 2023 from publicly listed Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies shows a steady increase in hash rate and a surge in BTC production compared to the previous month, according to a new analysis from Hashrate Index. The majority of public miners increased their bitcoin production in January, with CleanSpark boosting it by
Bitcoin’s difficulty decreased 0.49% on Feb. 12, 2023, following a sustained all-time high of 39.35 trillion over the previous two weeks (2,016 blocks). The decrease in difficulty offers a brief respite for bitcoin miners, after the network recorded a 14.94% increase in the last month. Bitcoin Difficulty Drops 0.49% Lower; Top Five Mining Pools Continue
Investment management firm Ark Invest has offered three bitcoin price predictions in a new report, including a bull scenario where bitcoin could reach $1.48 million per coin. In other news, a 7zip file possibly linked to activist Julian Assange was reportedly discovered in the Bitcoin blockchain, and billionaire investor Tim Draper has encouraged the government
South Korea has imposed sanctions on the North in relation to a number of cyberattacks often resulting in the theft of cryptocurrency. The authorities in Seoul say the regime in Pyongyang is using the digital assets to fund its nuclear and missile development projects. South Korea Hits North Korean Hackers With First Cybercrime Sanctions The
Bitcoin (BTC) edged closer to $22,000 over the weekend as traders and analysts urged caution on overly bearish sentiment. Analyst dismisses “hysterical” crypto sentiment Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD seeing small spurts higher into Feb. 12. After hitting three-week lows the week prior, Bitcoin was a target for opportunistic whales, on-chain
According to a recent mission statement published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), El Salvador has adopted bitcoin as legal tender and has avoided risks so far. The IMF states that the risks have not materialized due to the limited use of bitcoin. However, the United Nations financial agency warns that if its legal tender
Authorities in Abkhazia are stepping up efforts to clamp down on cryptocurrency mining amid electricity shortages in the winter months. The government of the breakaway Georgian region announced it’s also taking measures to prevent imports of mining equipment. Abkhazia Creates Headquarters to Combat Illegal Crypto Mining Operations Police in Abkhazia are conducting daily raids to
India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has revealed that 50,000 users and 5,000 merchants are now using its central bank digital currency (CBDC). Digital rupee transactions are currently processed by eight banks, with five more banks set to join the pilot soon, said RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar. Digital Rupee Now
El Salvador has been advised by the global monetary watchdog to exercise caution in expanding government exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) due to the “speculative nature” of crypto markets. A Feb. 10 statement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) emphasized that Bitcoin’s risks to El Salvador have “not materialized” yet due to the country’s “limited” use
Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff has warned of a financial crisis and a much more severe recession than the Federal Reserve recognizes. “The economy is not only going to weaken, but weaken much more than the markets expect,” the economist stressed. Peter Schiff’s Warning Gold bug and economist Peter Schiff voiced his concerns regarding
The famous author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has warned that “everything will crash,” including gold, silver, and bitcoin. However, he sees crashes as buying opportunities, noting that he will buy more bitcoin. Robert Kiyosaki Reiterates Market Crash Warning The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has reiterated
The Chinese government is setting up a national blockchain innovation center in Beijing to focus on industrial applications and major use cases of blockchain technology, particularly those related to the Chinese economy. China Establishing New Blockchain Center China’s Ministry of Science and Technology has approved the establishment of a blockchain research center called the National
The crypto world was jolted last week when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shut down Kraken’s staking program, much to the satisfaction of Chairman Gary Gensler and his team. But what does this mean for the future of cryptocurrency and, more specifically, staking? The following opinion editorial was written by Bitcoin.com’s Business Development Manager
During the first week of 2023, payment service giant Paypal said it was exploring the launch of a stablecoin. At the time, an executive at Paypal stated that if the company moved forward, it would work closely with financial regulators. However, on Feb. 10, a source noted that Paypal has put the concept on hold
sponsored Bit2Me, the biggest Spanish exchange, and the first company to be recognized as a virtual service provider by the Bank of Spain has just launched a long-awaited debit card. The Bit2Me debit card works across the entire Mastercard network, enabling both crypto-stablecoin payments across more than 90 million global businesses and up to 9%
As of Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, the Bitcoin blockchain had seen the addition of more than 50,000 Ordinal inscriptions as the trend has continued to increase daily. People are inscribing text, images, videos, audio, and software applications onto the blockchain, with some inscriptions fetching high prices via over-the-counter (OTC) trades. A clone of the popular
To power their mining operations, Bitcoin miners either purchase electricity from conventional and renewable energy sources or develop and run their own renewable energy facilities, turning them into energy consumers. Miners typically purchase electricity from energy providers, such as utility companies or independent power producers, to mine BTC. They then use that electricity to power
Non-fungible token (NFT) sales rose 18.43% this week, totaling $272.68 million. However, the number of NFT buyers declined by 60.31% to approximately 195,716. Ethereum NFT sales continue to lead the market, accounting for $233.85 million of the total sales, a 25.42% increase from the previous week. Top NFT Collection of the Week: Otherdeed Leads with
Will 2023 finally see an explosion of crypto gaming? The signs are mixed, with former play-to-earn darling Axie Infinity falling out of favor and hemorrhaging players, while mainstream gamers report that Web3 games still have playability issues. The bright spot is that AAA games are finally starting to emerge in Web3, with projects like Illuvium