Bitcoin (BTC) briefly slipped below $20,000 for the first time in nearly two months, following the latest budget from United States President Joe Biden and the collapse of “crypto-bank” Silvergate. The price of BTC dipped to $19,945 on March 10 before recovering to hover just above $20,000, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin had a
Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. South Korea invests another $51M in metaverse tech South Korea’s plans for metaverse domination are gathering pace. A Mar. 8 document prepared by the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the National IT Industry Promotion Agency, and the
According to the Central Bank of Brazil, the digital real pilot project will use an Ethereum-compatible, permissioned blockchain for the issuance of the tokenized version of the country’s currency. Hyperledger Besu, the open-source platform elected for the tests, will allow the project to run without any licensing costs and to deal with maintenance costs later,
United States crypto miners could eventually be subject to a 30% tax on electricity costs under a budget proposal by President Joe Biden aimed to “reduce mining activity.” A Department of the Treasury supplementary budget explainer paper released Mar. 9 said any firm using resources — whether they be owned or rented — would be
Bitcoin mining company Compass Mining claims to have found “three issues” in the ASIC design of the two new Antminer S19 miners, units that are primarily used to mine Bitcoin (BTC). These issues could result in the machines overheating and in some cases, completely breaking down. The firm’s mining operations team warned in its Mar.
On March 9, 2023, New York attorney general Letitia James announced that her office had once again cracked down on crypto platforms by filing a lawsuit against the Seychelles-based crypto exchange Kucoin. Members of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) were able to purchase crypto assets, despite the exchange not being registered in the
March started off on a low due to a resurrection of inflationary fears. On March 7, hawkish comments from United States Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell amplified the market’s expectation of a 50-basis point hike in the upcoming policy rate meeting on March 22 to March 23. On March 8, the U.S. government’s $1 billion
The collapse of crypto exchange FTX and other bearish events in the space were at the center of discussions among lawmakers and witnesses at the inaugural hearing of the United States House Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion. Addressing lawmakers at the March 9 hearing, BitGo co-founder and CEO
During the Covid-19 pandemic, central banks such as the U.S. Federal Reserve loosened fiscal and monetary policy. Now, these same financial institutions are seemingly engaging in quantitative tightening (QT) practices. According to Nick Gerli, CEO and founder of Reventure Consulting, “the money supply is officially contracting.” This has only happened four times in the last
Bitcoin (BTC) traders saw continued downward pressure after the 5.5% decline in BTC price on March 7. Increased odds of further interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve and regulatory pressure in cryptocurrencies explain some of the movement. Financial markets showed signs of stress as the inverted bond curve reached its highest level since the
Statements from Republican lawmakers ahead of the inaugural hearing of the United States House of Representatives subcommittee focused on digital assets, financial technology and inclusion suggest partisan divides on crypto regulation. In a March 6 memo, House Financial Services Committee Republicans said the first hearing of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion
After Silvergate Bank announced its voluntary liquidation, U.S. senator Elizabeth Warren is attributing the financial institution’s downfall to “crypto risk.” According to Warren, she had previously warned about Silvergate. However, some critics are dismissing Warren’s opinion as “terribly misinformed” and claim that she is “tossing out egregious accusations.” Crypto Proponents Offer Different Perspectives on Silvergate
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) — a watchdog that oversees audits of public companies in the United States — recently issued an advisory that warned investors about proof-of-reserves (PoR) reports issued by auditing firms. Crypto entities may engage a service provider to issue “proof of reserve” reports. A new Investor Advisory from the
Polygon fell to its lowest point since January earlier in today’s session, as overall sentiment in crypto markets remained bearish. Overall, the global market cap is now down 1.46% as of writing. Solana also slipped on Thursday, as the token neared a two-month low. Polygon (MATIC) Thursday saw polygon (MATIC) drop to its weakest point
The United States Treasury has announced deputies of the multilateral Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs, or REPO, Task Force have targeted crypto in Russian entities’ attempts to evade sanctions. In a March 9 announcement, the U.S. Treasury said the task force had blocked or frozen more than $58 billion worth of assets subject to sanctions
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) analyst Daniel Batten said Tuesday that the computational backbone of the Bitcoin network now uses 52.6% sustainable energy. Batten and onchain analyst Willy Woo created Dynamic Bitcoin ESG Charts to showcase the protocol’s progress. Contrary to Cambridge University Data, Analyst Says Bitcoin Mining Uses 52.6% Sustainable Energy These days, there
XRP price extended its gains on March 9, rising around 1.5% to $0.40, despite a general downturn in the cryptocurrency market. XRP price four-day winning streak The rally in the XRP/USD pair started on March 5 with the XRP market capitalization gaining over 10% in the past four days. In contrast, the entire crypto market’s cap
According to a statement on Mar. 9, bank messaging platform Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT, disclosed that the financial institution witnessed positive results related to its pilot test of linking different central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). During a 12-week testing period, SWIFT simulated nearly 5,000 transactions between two different blockchain networks and
Bitcoin continued to trade lower on March 9, as prices fell to a fresh multi-week low in today’s session. The decline came as crypto bank Silvergate confirmed that it will be winding down operations. Ethereum also edged lower. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) fell for a fourth straight session on Thursday, as markets reacted to news that
Crypto tax software provider CoinTracker is integrating its software with H&R Block, a company that helps millions of customers prepare their income taxes across Canada, the United States and Australia. In an announcement seen by Cointelegraph, CoinTracker noted the partnership will allow American H&R Block customers to use CoinTracker and automatically fill in their Form 8949