BITCOIN

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) economists have cautioned that banning cryptocurrency “may not be effective in the long run.” Instead of outlawing crypto, they suggest countries should address “the drivers of crypto demand, including citizens’ unmet digital payment needs.” IMF Economists on Crypto Adoption, Banning, and Regulation The International Monetary Fund (IMF) published an article titled “Interest in Central Bank Digital Currencies Picks Up in Latin America and the Caribbean While Crypto Use Varies” on Thursday. The article is authored by IMF senior economist Rina Bhattacharya, economist Dmitry Vasilyev, and Mauricio Villafuerte, a division chief in the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department. The IMF economists highlighted that four Latin American countries (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador) ranked among the top 20 countries globally in terms of crypto adoption according to Chainalysis. However, they stressed: Crypto asset adoption also presents numerous cha

The BRICS leaders’ summit will take place in a couple of months, and French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly expressed interest in attending. However, Russia believes it would be “inappropriate” for the French president to attend. “Clearly, leaders of states that pursue such a hostile and unacceptable policy towards us” are inappropriate BRICS guests, said a top Russian official. Russia Says No to Macron Attending BRICS Summit Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov was asked by reporters Thursday about the possible participation of French President Emmanuel Macron in the upcoming BRICS leaders’ summit. South Africa is currently holding the BRICS presidency and is hosting the summit in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24. The BRICS nations comprise Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The Russian official told reporters that Russia has informed its South African partners that the presence of the French president at the upcoming BRICS summit would be “inappro

Bitcoin extended recent gains on Thursday, climbing above the $30,000 level for the first time since April, and ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s testimony today. The move also came following a death cross of moving averages, which prompted bulls to intensify buying pressure. Ethereum moved to a multi-month high. Bitcoin Bitcoin moved above the $30,000 level in today’s session, ahead of a testimony by the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell. Powell will be speaking today for the first time since the Fed’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged in June. BTC /USD hit a peak at $30,737.33 earlier in the day. This is the strongest point that bitcoin has hit since April 14, when price reached a top at $31,050. Another major catalyst for the move was a crossover of moving averages (MA), with the 10-day (red) MA, moving above its 25-day (blue) counterpart. In addition to this, the relative strength index (RSI) has also marginally broken out of a ceiling at 70.00, and is now track