BITCOIN

Will the Intel ASIC disrupt the Bitcoin mining game? If Tom’s Hardware numbers are correct, the answer is an unequivocally yes. “The company’s mining hardware could have the best price-to-performance ratio on the market,” says Tom. However, there’s no guarantee that the prices that Intel gave to mining company GRIID will be the same as a general consumer will get. In fact, there’s no guarantee that GRIID is talking about the Intel Bonanza Mine in the SEC documents that this report follows. “A recent SEC filing by one of Intel’s premier partners has revealed both the pricing and performance of Intel’s second-gen Bonanza Mine (BMZ2) Bitcoin miners.” A couple of weeks ago, NewsBTC reported on Intel’s first batch of clients: “We can’t prove it, but, all of these companies probably knew years ago about Intel’s plans to release a bitcoin mining chip. Again, Raja Koduri: “Our blockchain accelerator will ship later this year. We are engaged directly with customers that share our sustainabil...

Bitcoin broke the key $40,000 resistance zone against the US Dollar. BTC is up over 12% and might continue to rise above the $43,000 level. Bitcoin surged above a few key hurdles near the $40,000 resistance zone. The price is trading above $42,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance near $38,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair has moved into a bullish zone and might accelerate higher towards $45,000. Bitcoin Price Surges Bitcoin price remained in a positive zone above the $38,00- pivot level. BTC was able to start a major increase after it cleared the $38,800 resistance zone. There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance near $38,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. It opened the doors for a sharp increase above the $40,000 resistance and the 100 hourly simple moving average. The price rallied over 10% and there was a clear move above the ...

The CEO of the world’s largest movie exhibition company, AMC Entertainment, has announced that AMC Theatres will accept two meme cryptocurrencies, dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba inu (SHIB), in the coming weeks. Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Payments Coming to AMC Theatres in March The CEO of AMC Entertainment Holdings, Adam Aron, announced on Twitter Monday that AMC Theatres will be accepting payments in two popular meme cryptocurrencies, dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba Inu (SHIB), in March. AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC), aka AMC Theatres, is the largest movie exhibition company in the U.S., Europe, and the world. The company owns or operates approximately 950 theaters and 10,500 screens globally. Aron explained that the IT department at AMC Theatres says that “Bitpay will be live for AMC online payments” by March 19 and live on the company’s mobile apps by April 16 or a few days earlier. The CEO has promised the crypto community that AMC Theatres will accept DOGE and SHIB payments since he put ...

Ukraine is now trying to expose cryptocurrency wallets used by politicians in Moscow amid warnings that Russia may employ digital coins to circumvent sanctions. The initiative comes as western allies agree to expel some Russian banks from SWIFT, the global interbank payments system. Government of Ukraine Seeks Info on Crypto Assets of Russian and Belarusian Officials Authorities in Kyiv have issued a call on social media for information about crypto wallets controlled by politicians in Russia and Belarus. On Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on Twitter that the country’s crypto community will reward those who provide details leading to their identification. Ukrainian crypto community is ready to provide a generous reward for any information about crypto-wallets of Russian and Belarusian politicians and their surroundings. War crimes must be pursued and punished! To share info please contact in Telegram: https://t.co/XHidwUQ8bE . — Mykhailo Fedor...

Bitcoin is struggling to clear the $40,000 resistance zone against the US Dollar. BTC must settle above $40,000 to start a steady upward move. Bitcoin struggled to clear the $40,000 resistance zone and corrected lower. The price is trading below $39,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There was a break below a short-term contracting triangle with support near $38,800 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair could start a major increase if there is a close above the $40,000 resistance zone. Bitcoin Price Faces Key Resistance Bitcoin price remained in a positive zone above the $38,00 pivot level. BTC even broke the $39,500 resistance level. The bulls made a couple of attempts to clear the $40,000 resistance zone, but they failed. The recent swing high was formed near $39,888 before there was a downside correction. There was a move below the $39,000 and $38,800 support levels. Besides, there was a break below a short-term contracting tria...

More than $4 million have already been contributed to non-governmental organizations helping Ukraine from Russia’s unprovoked invasion of the country. A “crypto war,” according to analysts, has just begun. Meanwhile, as the panic of war depletes the country’s ATMs, many Ukrainians resort to Bitcoin. Elliptic, a blockchain analysis company in London, provided statistics on Friday revealing that crowdfunding has increased since Thursday, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “On the 24th of February alone, one NGO got over $675,000 in Bitcoin, and by 9.30 a.m. on the 25th, it had already received more than $3.4 million – over $3 million of which was provided by a single contributor,” Elliptic said. This brings the total amount raised by these groups from the beginning of the invasion to more than $4 million, Elliptic said. Total crypto market cap at $1.738 trillion in the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com Crypto War: Who’s Winning? This increase in donations is part of a more ...

Private banks in Mexico want to join efforts with the central bank of the country in the creation of a new digital currency. The president of the Mexican Bank Association (ABM) met with the governor of the Bank of Mexico to offer the help of the group of private banks for the creation of a national digital currency in the future. Private Banks Want to Be Involved in Potential CBDC Members of the Mexican Bank Association have stated their intention of helping the central bank of the country in the design and issuance of a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC). The president of the association, Daniel Becker, met with the governor of the Bank of Mexico, Victoria Rodríguez Ceja, to review some important factors related to making banks more accessible for Mexican citizens. About the meeting, Becker stated: If Banxico determines that the banking opinion can help build better elements or a cryptocurrency, count on us and the best banking opinion so that it is something that p...

A recent report states that freelancing is experiencing a boom in Argentina, and also comments on how Argentinians are among workers in the region that most actively use cryptocurrencies to receive part of their paycheck. The report further states that workers accepting their paychecks in crypto favor traditional cryptocurrencies such as ether and bitcoin, which together amount to almost 90% of the payments made in crypto. Freelancing and Crypto Becoming More Popular in Argentina Freelancing seems to be experiencing a boom in Argentina, and with it, crypto, as a way of collecting payments outside of the traditional financial system. A report titled “State of Global Hiring 2021,” made by Deel, a global hiring firm, has discovered that Argentinians, and Latam in general, are increasingly focusing on international companies and jobs. The report explains this is likely a result of the decline of local economies and jobs due to the after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, compa...

PRESS RELEASE. DUBAI, UAE : MContent has announced the arrival of the Cineverse to the world whereby they aspire to bring Cinema to people anywhere, anytime – MContent and their launch was enabled due to a collaboration with PwC Middle East emerging technology teams. A high-end launch event was attended by notable guests at Palm Jumeirah Dubai where MContent premiered their original co-productions titled “Ripple vs. SEC Saga” and “El Salvador vs. World Bank”. The Cinema premier however was different from the norm as participants were seen glaring at the ocean sitting at a beach wearing their virtual reality (VR) headsets engaged in an immersive Cineverse experience. Earlier in January 2022, the leading UAE conglomerate, Gargash Group, had announced a major investment in MContent, the world’s first tokenised content ecosystem that aims to revolutionise the global content landscape. Designed to convert content viewers into content owners, the first-of-its-kind platform enables...

The founder of the $3.4 billion crypto Ponzi scheme Bitconnect has been charged in the United States. “If convicted of all counts, he faces a maximum total penalty of 70 years in prison,” said the U.S. Department of Justice. Bitconnect’s Founder Could Go to Prison for 70 Years The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that the founder of the global crypto fraud scheme Bitconnect has been charged. “Bitconnect is an alleged fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platform that reached a peak market capitalization of $3.4 billion,” the DOJ described, adding: A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Satishkumar Kurjibhai Kumbhani, a citizen and resident of India, with multiple crimes for his alleged role in a massive criminal conspiracy involving the cryptocurrency company he founded, Bitconnect. The 36-year-old from Hemal, India, misled investors that the scheme’s “Lending Program” was able to “generate substantial profits and guaranteed returns” using “...

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz says one of the reasons he is so bullish on bitcoin is because it is decentralized and not controllable. He added that “China recently banned bitcoin because they can’t control it, which is the exact same reason Elizabeth Warren hates bitcoin.” US Senator Bullish on Bitcoin U.S. Senator Ted Cruz from Texas spoke favorably about bitcoin at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Thursday. Launched in 1974, CPAC “is the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world,” its website describes. During his speech at the event, the senator said: One of the reasons why I’m so bullish on crypto, on bitcoin, is because it is decentralized and not controllable. “Let me give a fantastic example,” he continued. “So Justin Trudeau said I don’t like me some truckers, so we are going to freeze your assets. So the court went to try to freeze the crypto that was being given to the truckers.” Senator Cruz proceeded to read aloud a letter fr...

Russia could turn to cryptocurrency if it is banned from the SWIFT payments system. Analysts have warned that if Russia is able to use crypto to evade sanctions, “political support in the U.S. for crypto will fall and regulatory risk will rise.” Crypto Faces Regulatory Risks if Used by Russia to Evade Sanctions Amid growing talk of banning Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payments system after its invasion of Ukraine, some analysts have warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could turn to cryptocurrency to evade sanctions. “We believe Washington is worried that Russia will use crypto to evade sanctions,” Cowen Washington Research Group analyst Jaret Seiberg reportedly said Friday. He added: If Russia is able to use crypto this way, then we believe political support in the U.S. for crypto will fall and regulatory risk will rise. Seiberg believes that since most global trade is still dollar-denominated, it could be challenging for Russia to use crypto to evade SWIFT....

Cryptocurrency donations have poured into a nonprofit organization that provides support to Ukrainian soldiers after Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine. More than $5 million in bitcoin has already been raised. Meanwhile, the group’s fundraising page on Patreon has been abruptly removed. Crypto Donations Soar After Russia Invaded Ukraine One of the largest non-governmental organizations (NGOs) providing support to Ukraine’s military, Come Back Alive, has received over $5 million in bitcoin donations after Russia launched a large-scale offensive against Ukraine. Founded in 2014, the Kyiv-based group provides support to Ukrainian soldiers, including a range of military equipment, training services, and medical supplies. Donations to the BTC address listed on the organization’s website soared Thursday after Russia launched a full-scale military attack on Ukraine. At the time of writing, the wallet address has received 131.78144015 BTC . An analysis of all the donations ...

The Advertising Standards Council of India has released guidelines for the advertising and promotion of crypto assets and related services. “We had several rounds of discussion with the government, finance sector regulators, and industry stakeholders before framing these guidelines.” India’s Crypto Ad Guidelines Published The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) published Wednesday “guidelines for advertising and promotion of virtual digital assets and services.” The guidelines are applicable to all advertisements related to virtual digital assets (VDA) which are “commonly referred to as crypto or NFT [non-fungible token] products,” ASCI explained. ASCI Chairman Subhash Kamath described: We had several rounds of discussion with the government, finance sector regulators, and industry stakeholders before framing these guidelines. Firstly, all crypto-related ads must carry the disclaimer that states: “Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. Ther...

The U.S. Secret Service has launched a cryptocurrency awareness hub. The new platform “will feature the latest in the agency’s work combating illicit use of digital assets as well as provide public awareness information on digital asset security and how to ensure it remains secure.” Secret Service’s Crypto Awareness Hub The U.S. Secret Service announced last week that it “has launched a cryptocurrency public awareness hub.” Established in 1865 as a bureau in the Treasury Department to suppress widespread counterfeiting, the Secret Service is now under the Department of Homeland Security. Its website states: “We have an integrated mission of protection and financial investigations to ensure the safety and security of our protectees, key locations, and events of national significance.” The announcement details: The new website will feature the latest in the agency’s work combating illicit use of digital assets as well as provide public awareness information on digital asset securi...

On Wednesday, global markets have been volatile as Ukraine officials declared a state of emergency amid fears of a Russian invasion. Wall Street’s top indexes shuddered during the day’s trading sessions, and cryptocurrency markets slipped more than 4% during the 24 hour period. On the other hand, the price of gold has jumped 1.47% during the last four days, surging to $1,925 per ounce. Global Investors Are Concerned About the relations Between Russia and Ukraine, Wall Street Continues to See Sell-Offs While the globe grows tense over the ongoing issues between Russia and Ukraine, stock markets on Wednesday continued to bleed out more money. According to the U.S. State Department, Russia is not backing down and Ukraine officials have declared a state of emergency. Speaking to the press, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the Russian military is ready to advance. “Russian forces continue to assemble closer to the border and put themselves in an advanced stage of readiness to act...

The Stock Exchange of Thailand is getting ready to launch a digital asset exchange. The president of the Thai bourse expects the country’s crypto regulator, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to approve the launch “very soon.” Stock Exchange of Thailand Prepares to Launch a Digital Asset Exchange The president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Dr. Pakorn Peetathawatchai, discussed the SET’s upcoming digital asset exchange in an interview with Bloomberg, published Sunday. He explained: We expect that our regulator, the SEC, will give an approval very soon, and we hope that we can start operation in the second or third quarter this year. In Thailand, the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is responsible for licensing entities wanting to offer crypto services, including crypto exchanges. The president of the Thai stock exchange detailed: “For our digital asset exchange, we would concentrate on investment tokens and utility tokens — those are...

U.S. Senator Rand Paul says “statutes that allow presidents or heads of state to invoke emergencies are very, very dangerous.” Commenting on Canada’s Emergencies Act invoked by the Trudeau government, the senator warned, “We have the same sort of statutes here.” Senator Rand Paul Warns of Emergency Act in the US U.S. Senator Rand Paul warned of statutes in the U.S. similar to the Emergencies Act invoked by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week during an episode of the Based Politics podcast that aired Sunday. “I think statutes that allow presidents or heads of state to invoke emergencies are very, very dangerous,” Paul stressed, adding: We have the same sort of statutes here, and I have long-time been an opponent of these. We actually have in the United States an Emergency Act that allows the president to shut down the internet. “I tried, when President Trump was in office, to take this power away,” he noted. However, “I could never get it through,” Paul conceded. ...

El Salvador’s tourism has grown more than 30% after adopting bitcoin as legal tender, according to the country’s ministry of tourism. “Cryptocurrency multiplies the opportunities to do business with more partners anywhere in the world,” the Salvadoran government explained. El Salvador’s Economy Boosted by Bitcoin Law The Salvadoran government has outlined some economic benefits resulting from adopting bitcoin as legal tender. The country’s bitcoin law went into effect in September last year, making BTC a national currency alongside the U.S. dollar. A notice posted on the government website Monday explains that during the first months of bitcoin being legal tender in El Salvador, “it was possible to identify the advantages of having added innovation and financial freedom.” The notice adds that tourism was one of the first sectors where it was possible to verify how bitcoin has helped the country’s economy. The head of the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR), Morena Valdez, commented: “The...

The creator of Ruby on Rails says the situation in Canada is “terrifying” and “a real wakeup call.” He admits that he was wrong about bitcoin and cryptocurrency. “A few months ago, I would not have found it credible if you said a three-week peaceful protest in Canada could have led to martial law, frozen bank accounts, and terrorist-financing laws being used to hunt protest donors,” he stressed. ‘I Was Wrong, We Need Crypto’ The creator of Ruby on Rails, David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH), has admitted that he was wrong about bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Ruby on Rails, or Rails, is a server-side web application framework written in Ruby under the MIT License. Hansson, a Danish programmer, is also a partner at the web-based software development firm Basecamp. Hansson outlined why he changed his mind about bitcoin and crypto in an opinion piece titled “I was wrong, we need crypto,” published Monday. “To say I’ve been skeptical about Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto universe would be a...

On Tuesday, the Solana-based non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Magic Eden announced the project is airdropping NFT tickets to existing Magic Eden users and plans to form a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). On February 21, the Magic Eden project airdropped around 4,000 NFTs to active wallets, and the following day the team announced the DAO roadmap. The Magic Ticket Airdrop and DAO According to the developers of the Solana -based Magic Eden NFT marketplace, a DAO is in the making and the fundamentals behind the change. The team detailed that it started distributing thousands of NFTs to active wallets. Magic Eden (ME) developers created three levels of “Magic Tickets,” which includes “OGs – people who first transacted on ME from Sep 17 – Oct 17,” “Degens – people who first transacted on ME between Oct 18 – Dec 18,” and “Normies – people who first transacted on ME Dec 19 onwards.” The Magic DAO has three fundamentals which include: A mission and set of rules to which ...

The co-founder of crypto exchange Huobi has shared his view about the current state of the bitcoin market and when the next bull run will be. “We are now at the early stage of a bear market,” he said, expecting the next bitcoin bull market to be around the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025. Huobi’s Executive on the Next Bitcoin Bull Market Du Jun, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Huobi, discussed when the next bitcoin bull market might be in an interview with CNBC, published Sunday. The exchange executive explained that bitcoin bull markets are closely tied to the halving, which occurs every 210,000 blocks or approximately every 4 years. The next one will take place in 2024. He detailed that the last halving took place in May 2020, and bitcoin topped an all-time high above $68,000 in 2021. Similarly, the halving that took place in 2016 saw BTC hitting a record high the following year. The price of bitcoin then tumbled after hitting record highs. Noting that bitcoin has f...

PRESS RELEASE. London, England, Feb 21st, 2022 – Earn Guild, a next-gen guild system for play-to-earn gaming, will be conducting its public sale tomorrow, February 22, at 2:00 pm UTC on the PancakeSwap exchange. Shortly after the Initial Decentralized Offering (IDO), the $EARN token will be listed on three major exchanges. The project has successfully closed its early sales rounds, with a total investment of $8.1 million, and is firmly backed by a long list of renowned partners and venture capital (VC) firms. However, the token sale still presents an excellent opportunity for Earn Guild to expand and further its exposure, as PancakeSwap is the leading decentralized exchange (DEX) of the popular Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem. What is Earn Guild? Designed for the play-to-earn market, Earn Guild offers all the tools needed to transform gaming into more than just a hobby. Through Earn Guild, players will have a fair chance to participate in most play-to-earn games and effi...

The American streaming television service Sling TV has announced the company is now accepting cryptocurrency payments from customers paying their monthly subscriptions. Sling TV detailed the company is leveraging the crypto payment provider Bitpay and will accept seven different cryptocurrencies and five stablecoins. Sling TV to Accept Crypto Assets for Monthly subscription Services Sling TV LLC , has revealed that it has partnered with the Atlanta-based cryptocurrency payments provider Bitpay and will accept a variety of crypto assets for monthly subscription payments. Sling is a streaming television service provider that offers a selection of channels competing cable providers do not. The company is a subsidiary of Dish Network, the direct-broadcast satellite provider that also accepts crypto payments for subscription services. Data from cordcuttersnews.com indicates that Sling surpassed 2.55 million subscribers in September 2021. By offering over-the-top (OTT)-originated ser...

PRESS RELEASE. On February 17th, 2022, Hoo announced the completion of the first-stage token-repurchase plan on HOO Token with a cumulative total of 423,982.18 HOO repurchased from the secondary market. From January 2022, Hoo had imposed the strategic plan on generating 30% of the income revenue from spot trading (Spot Zone + Innovation Zone) of Hoo Exchange for enhancing the liquidity of the AMM pool. 15% of the income revenue would be used to repurchase HOO from the secondary market, and all the repurchased HOO would be placed into AMM liquidity pool. The remaining 15% income revenue would also be transferred to the AMM liquidity pool for optimizing the depth and activation of the secondary market continuously. According to the announcement, Hoo’s accumulated spot transaction income is 3,385,520 USDT in January 2022. Thus, 1,015,656 USDT will be imposed into token-repurchase agreement, and half of which will be used to repurchase HOO from the secondary market and the remaining...