Bitcoin

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned about social media being used in cryptocurrency investment scams. “Social media is a tool for scammers in investment scams, particularly those involving bogus cryptocurrency investments — an area that has seen a massive surge in reports,” said the FTC. Federal Trade Commission Warns of Crypto Scams Utilizing Social Media The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a “Consumer Protection Data Spotlight” last week, warning the public about scams, including crypto investment scams, utilizing social media. The FTC is an independent agency of the U.S. government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil U.S. antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. “More than 95,000 people reported about $770 million in losses to fraud initiated on social media platforms in 2021,” FTC’s program analyst Emma Fletcher wrote. “Those losses account for about 25% of all reported losses to fraud in 2021 and represent a stunning

Eight U.S. lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have sent letters to top U.S.-based bitcoin mining firms questioning them about their crypto mining operations. “The extraordinarily high energy usage and carbon emissions associated with bitcoin mining could undermine our hard work to tackle the climate crisis — not to mention the harmful impacts cryptomining has on local environments and electricity prices,” Senator Warren wrote. US Senators Want Answers From Top Bitcoin Mining Firms U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, announced Thursday that she and seven other senators have sent letters to six crypto mining companies “raising concerns over their extraordinarily high energy usage.” The announcement details: “Senator Warren and her colleagues asked each company to detail their electricity consumption, scaling plans, agreements with electricity companies, and impact on energy costs for consumers and

PRESS RELEASE. Ariva , a next-generation tourism & travel blockchain protocol, has announced a partnership with World Tourism Forum Institute and Global Tourism Forum. This is a significant development and will place Ariva at the forefront of the tourism industry. Ariva reveals key partnership Ariva will be leveraging its collaboration with World Tourism Forum Institute and Global Tourism Forum to position itself as a leading blockchain service provider in the global tourism sector. World Tourism Forum Institute will also serve as a bridge between Ariva and the global tourism industry. In addition, the organization plans to create fund the Ariva ecosystem with $50 million in two years. Ariva expects the partnership to enable ARV to become a globally accepted cryptocurrency. It would also achieve its aim of fostering blockchain use within the tourism community. As part of the partnership, the three organizations will be working together on several projects and initiatives. Fur

Following the company’s subsidiary FTX US raising funds in its first Series A financing round, parent company FTX Trading Ltd. has announced it has secured $400 million in a Series C fundraise. The crypto company’s latest financing round brings the firm’s post-money valuation to $32 billion. FTX Series C Fundraise Brings Firm’s Valuation to $32 Billion FTX Trading Ltd. has raised $400 million in a Series C fundraising round according to an announcement on Monday. The fundraise follows the firm’s Series B at the end of July last year and Series B-1 toward the end of October 2021. The latest financing saw participation from Temasek, Paradigm, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Steadview Capital, Tiger Global, Insight Partners, NEA, IVP, Softbank Vision Fund 2, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. “Our Series C financing round represents a milestone achievement for FTX, as we raised close to $2 billion in six months. This round will support our continued mission of delivering innovat

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis says that the recently introduced “America Competes Act of 2022” is a direct attack on the crypto industry. “I will not stand by and let the heavy hand of the government pick winners and losers,” she stressed. Congressman Tom Emmer explained that the legislation would give Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen “dictatorial-level power to prohibit any transactions they deem concerning without due process.” US Lawmakers Raise Alarm About ‘America Competes Act of 2022’ A bill called the “America Competes Act of 2022,” introduced in the House of Representatives last week, has raised much concern in the financial sector, as Bitcoin.com News reported . Among those who have warned about its detrimental effect is the pro-bitcoin U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis. She explained in a series of tweets last week why this bill is “a direct attack” on the crypto industry. “I wanted to share a few thoughts about House Democrats’ version of the America Competes Act … which is ra

Arweave, which rose by over 44% in the last week, was once again in the green, trading over 10% higher on Monday. This comes as monero slipped in today’s session. Biggest gainers Following a bearish January, crypto markets began to rebound within the last week, with arweave being one of the biggest gainers in that period. To start the week, AR/USD is currently trading 10.32% higher, hitting an intraday peak of $39.81 in the process. This comes as the decentralized storage network rose by 44% in the last 7-days, as it continues to move towards the $40 mark. Looking at the chart below, the move began after arweave rallied from its recent support of $29.40, where it traded on Friday, leading to four consecutive sessions of gains. As a result of this run, the 14-day RSI now tracks at 50.25, which means prices are neither oversold or overbought. This sets up perfectly for a breakout beyond $40, however, with resistance at this level fairly strong, there are likely to be bears waitin

ADALend’s mission is to democratize the lending industry by using the Cardano blockchain to eliminate the traditional banking middlemen. This will be accomplished through the development of a platform that connects borrowers, and lenders in a decentralized manner. With the help of blockchain technology and IOHK’s research and development, the platform will provide a simple, secure, and more transparent way of exchanging value. The decentralized lending platform will allow creditors to perform lending activities and create a safer and more efficient lending environment for all users. Ensuring the Security and Safety of Lending in a Decentralized Environment While traditional banks continue to disregard the needs and concerns of the people, ADALend has come to provide access to loans for those in need who have been ignored. The inability to gain access to funds has long-term consequences. ADALend provides a platform to change the current state of financial affairs. While the cryptocur

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has restricted 281 Nigerian user accounts. Citing user security and fraud prevention, CEO Changpeng Zhao explained that “approximately 38% of these cases [are] restricted at the request of international law enforcement.” 281 Nigerian Accounts Restricted by Binance, CEO Says 79 Cases Have Been Resolved Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has sent a letter to its Nigerian users. In the letter, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) apologized for the inconvenience caused by delays in resolving customer support requests. Noting that “User security” remains his exchange’s top priority, Zhao detailed: “Protection mechanisms such as KYC, anti-money laundering measures, collaboration with law enforcement, and account restrictions are in place to ensure our community remains protected and that fraudulent activity is prevented. This is a global approach applied in every country.” The CEO added: Some 281 Nigerian accounts have been affected by these personal account re

Ark Investment Management (Ark Invest) has predicted that the price of bitcoin could surpass $1 million per coin by 2030. “Our research suggests that bitcoin has the potential to transform monetary history by providing financial freedom and empowerment in a fair, global, and distributed way,” Ark’s analyst added. Bitcoin’s $1 Million Prediction by Ark Invest In Ark Invest’s “Big Ideas 2022” report published last week, the firm’s analyst Yassine Elmandjra explained that “As bitcoin’s market capitalization hit an all-time high in 2021, Ark’s research indicated that its network fundamentals remained healthy.” Noting that “Bitcoin’s market capitalization still represents a fraction of global assets and is likely to scale as nation-states adopt [it] as legal tender,” the analyst detailed: According to our estimates, the price of one bitcoin could exceed $1 million by 2030. El Salvador adopted BTC as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar in September last year. The Salvadoran presi

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has warned that bitcoin is increasingly vulnerable to the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes as the cryptocurrency grows more widely adopted. “Over the last two years, as bitcoin has seen wider mainstream adoption, its correlation with macro assets has picked up,” the Goldman analysts explained. Goldman Sachs Warns Bitcoin Increasingly Vulnerable to Fed Rate Hikes Global investment bank Goldman Sachs published a research note Thursday detailing bitcoin’s increased vulnerability to the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates. Zach Pandl, bank’s co-head of foreign exchange strategy, and FX analyst Isabella Rosenberg explained that as mainstream adoption of bitcoin increases, so does the cryptocurrency’s vulnerability to Fed policy. They described: Over the last two years, as bitcoin has seen wider mainstream adoption, its correlation with macro assets has picked up. Noting that higher bond yields have affected technology stocks in recent weeks, with

Ethereum’s average network fees have dropped to the lowest value in 30 days at 0.0096 ether or $24.64 per transaction. Median-sized ethereum fees are lower today as well, as fees are between $8.37 to $10.82 per transaction as ether fees haven’t been this low since January 1. Onchain Ethereum Fees Drop, Current Bitcoin Fees 91% Cheaper Than Ethereum Fees It’s cheaper today to send ethereum ( ETH ), as network fees are 0.0096 ETH or $24.64 on average to send the second leading crypto asset. On January 30, 2022, ethereum has a 24-hour price range of around $2,575 to $2,647 per unit. Average-sized ETH fees haven’t been this low since January 1, 2022, when the average-sized fee (ASF) was $25.75 per transfer. Ethereum fees reached a high on January 10, at $52.46 per transaction and the current ASF today is 53.03% lower than the high. Median-sized fees (MSF) on Ethereum are also lower today, as the MSF on ETH on January 10, is $29.92 per transfer. Statistics show MSF on Ethereum t

Dmitry Medvedev, former president and prime minister of Russia, has voiced his concerns over Bank of Russia’s initiative to ban most crypto operations. Prohibition could bring the opposite result, the Russian politician warned, joining a chorus of opinions against the restrictive policy. More Officials and Organizations Reject Central Bank’s Call to Prohibit Cryptocurrency Central Bank of Russia’s proposal to place a number of crypto-related activities outside the law has sparked a wave of reactions in Moscow. Among the critics are the Finance Ministry which put out its own regulatory concept, the State Duma where deputies are working on a new crypto law, and the government which prepared a roadmap for crypto regulation together with various departments. The central bank’s position has its reasons, Dmitry Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, acknowledged in an interview with Russian media. The monetary authority has cited

Stablecoins have become prominent payment rails in the world of cryptocurrencies commanding $177 billion in fiat value today. The top ten stablecoins by market capitalization represent the largest share of the value in the fiat-pegged coin economy and many of these tokens grew exponentially last year. Terra’s UST stablecoin grew the most last year, jumping 5,431% in 2021. A Deep Dive Into Stablecoin Growth During the Course of 2021 Stablecoins today represent 9.77% of the $1.8 trillion crypto-economy today which is $177 billion in USD value. While many digital assets surged in growth last year, stablecoins also saw their market valuations swell as issuance grew month after month. Tether ( USDT ) is the top stablecoin, in terms of market capitalization with $78.3 billion. USDT alone represents 4.32% of the entire crypto economy’s $1.8 trillion and amid the $177 billion stablecoin economy, USDT towers over the pack by 44.24%. On January 2, 2021, tether ( USDT ) had a market cap of

Visa has now partnered with more than 65 crypto platforms and exchanges. In addition, the payments giant revealed that crypto-linked card usage exceeded $2.5 billion in the first fiscal quarter, “which is already 70% of the payments volume for all of fiscal 2021.” Visa Outlines Crypto Strategy and Achievements Visa Inc. discussed its crypto strategy and achievements during the company’s earnings call Thursday. Visa CEO Al Kelly said: “Many current trends in payments, including … crypto, and wallets, are enabling new ways to pay. These represent opportunities for Visa.” Regarding his company’s efforts in the crypto space, the executive highlighted: We’re also providing on-ramps for crypto players creating connectivity with fiat economies. There are over 65 crypto platforms and exchanges that have partnered to issue Visa credentials. Recently, Bitcoin.com News reported that consumers will be able to spend cryptocurrency at 80 million merchants using crypto-linked Visa cards. How

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has unveiled how he will use $100 million in cryptocurrency from India’s Covid Crypto Relief Fund (Cryptorelief) to accelerate relief efforts and “bring great benefit to Indians and non-Indians.” The crypto is part of the Shiba Inu funds Buterin donated to Cryptorelief last year. Vitalik Buterin to Personally Deploy $100M From Shiba Funds to Help Covid Relief Efforts Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin tweeted Friday that Cryptorelief is sending $100 million in cryptocurrency from the “Shiba funds” back to him. He added that he plans to “personally deploy these funds” in some “higher-risk, higher-reward Covid science and relief projects worldwide.” Buterin’s statement was in response to a tweet by Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon. Nailwal founded the Covid Crypto Relief Fund (Cryptorelief) in April last year. Noting that he and Buterin have been in discussion “on how to accelerate relief efforts in India,” the Cryptorelief founder detailed

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman sees parallels between the crypto market and the subprime mortgage crash. “There’s growing evidence that the risks of crypto are falling disproportionately on people who don’t know what they are getting into and are poorly positioned to handle the downside,” he stressed. Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman Warns About Crypto Crashing Like Subprime Mortgage Nobel laureate Paul Krugman warned about cryptocurrency investing in an opinion piece he authored in the New York Times, published Thursday. Krugman won the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 2008 “for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity,” the Nobel Prize website shows. The Nobel Prize winner began by acknowledging that “crypto has become a pretty big asset class,” noting that the market value of all cryptocurrencies reached almost $3 trillion last fall. He added that the prices of cryptocurrencies have crashed, “wiping out arou

Robinhood has “set aggressive goals to start opening its crypto platform up to customers internationally in 2022,” the popular trading platform revealed during its Q4 earnings call. “The company believes in the immense potential of the crypto economy and sees a big opportunity in serving customers across the globe.” Robinhood’s Crypto Earnings, Expansion Plans Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD) released its fourth quarter and full year 2021 results Thursday. The company’s total net revenues for the quarter increased 14% from the same period in 2020 to $363 million. For the year, the total net revenues increased 89% to $1.82 billion from the previous year. The trading platform’s transaction-based revenues, which include revenues from cryptocurrency trading, were $264 million in Q4 and $1.40 billion in 2021. Robinhood detailed: Cryptocurrencies for the quarter increased 304% to $48 million, compared to $12 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, and for the year increased to $41

A roadmap on cryptocurrencies has been prepared by a number of ministries, regulatory bodies, and law enforcement agencies, Russian media reported. The document, which aims to regulate Russia’s crypto market by the end of this year, comes amid disagreements between the central bank and other government institutions about the future of decentralized digital money in Russia. Moscow Moves to Adopt Rules for Cryptocurrencies After Putin’s Call Soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin urged government officials to reach a consensus on how to regulate cryptocurrencies, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko has reportedly signed a roadmap to regulate, rather than ban, crypto operations in Russia as early as this year. The business news portal RBC broke the news, quoting a copy of the document and a source close to the working group that produced it. According to the report, the plan has been drafted by representatives of the ministries of finance, economic development and digital

Last week, non-fungible token (NFT) sales remained unscathed while crypto asset spot markets were dismal. However, a week later, NFT sales have dropped 13% to $800 million in sales over the last seven days. During the past week, NFT sales on the Ethereum blockchain have slipped 11.78% but Ronin blockchain-based NFT sales (Axie Infinity) dropped 47.83%. Weekly NFT Sales Slide Lower, Axie Infinity’s Ronin Sales Shed More Than 47% Statistics over the last seven days show that NFT sales are down across the 12 blockchains that produce NFTs. Cryptoslam.io shows that weekly NFT sales dipped 13% and the leading blockchain network Ethereum’s NFT sales slipped 11.78%. The second-leading blockchain in terms of NFT sales, Solana, saw its sales decrease by 16.87% during the last seven days. The third-largest blockchain network for NFT sales, Ronin, shed 47.83% this week and Flow blockchain NFT sales increased by 10.18%. 24-hour NFT marketplace metrics from dappradar.com indicate that the NFT

A member of the Brussels Parliament, Christophe De Beukelaer, says he will receive his entire salary in bitcoin this year. He believes that the technology will disrupt all industries and crypto adoption is going to be “exponential.” Belgian MP Says He Will Receive Entire Salary in Bitcoin — ‘We Can No Longer Remain Ignorant of This New World’ Christophe De Beukelaer, a member of the Brussels Parliament, said in a blog post on his personal website that he will receive his 2022 salary in bitcoin. The lawmaker explained that “with the blockchain, we are at the dawn of a revolution of the same order as what we experienced with the internet 30 years ago.” He believes that all sectors “will be disrupted,” adding that in other countries, “large institutions are beginning to invest massively in crypto assets in order not to miss this gigantic opportunity.” Noting that “it is the role of politicians to make the population aware of these societal changes that are coming,” he stressed: We

Finder’s panel of 33 fintech specialists has forecasted that the price of bitcoin will peak at about $94K before ending the year above $76K. In addition, the panel expects the price of the cryptocurrency to reach $192,800 in 2025 and $406,400 in 2030. Finder’s Experts Predict BTC Price for 2022, 2025, and 2030 Finder, a major product comparison website, published an updated bitcoin price prediction Wednesday for 2022 by “Finder’s panel of 33 fintech specialists.” According to the panel’s BTC price forecasts: Bitcoin ( BTC ) is expected to peak at US$93,717 this year before dropping to $76,360 by the end of 2022 … This is roughly 60% higher than the price of bitcoin at the beginning of 2022. The panel of specialists also predicted the price of bitcoin for 2025 and 2030. However, their most recent predictions are lower than their October forecasts. At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is $36,311.13 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. By the end of 2025, the panel

American Express (Amex) sees cryptocurrency as an asset class, according to CEO Steve Squeri. He added that right now, the firm does not see crypto as an immediate or medium-term threat to its business. American Express CEO Discusses Crypto Strategy The chairman and CEO of American Express (Amex), Steve Squeri, answered some questions regarding cryptocurrency during the company’s Q4 earnings call Tuesday. Squeri said: “As far as cryptocurrency goes, we watch cryptocurrencies … We think about the spectrum of digital currencies. We think about crypto. We think about stablecoins. We think about central bank digital currency [CBDC].” The CEO continued: At this particular point in time, we view cryptocurrency more as an asset class. Regarding crypto’s use as currency for payments, he said, “that’s a hard thing to utilize that way.” The American Express executive further noted: “And as far as blockchain, we’ve got investments in blockchain companies … We constantly look at blockchai

The founder of Barstool Sports blog, Dave Portnoy, announced he purchased 29 bitcoin on January 28, spending more than a million dollars. The day trader has had his ups and downs with bitcoin over the last few years, and it seems he’s now jumping back into the market. Day Trader Dave Portnoy Bought 29 Bitcoin on the Fly After His Ups and Downs With the Leading Crypto In August 2020, the stock trader and the founder of Barstool Sports blog, Dave Portnoy, told his Twitter followers that he currently owned “zero bitcoins.” “I will wait and watch,” the day trader wrote at the time. “I lost 25K. Just like with the stock market it took my brain time to figure it out. I know this. The Link Marines are weak and the orchid flowers do die in the crypto world. I may or may not be done,” Portnoy added. Earlier in the day, Portnoy seemed very irritated with cryptocurrency markets and stressed in a video : This Bitcoin — I don’t trust this market at all. I may be out of it by the end of today,

PRESS RELEASE. The Tori Zero NFT project announced a joint cooperation with the trendy silver jewelry brand BWL. BWL founder Bill Wall will be the first celebrity to join the REDLAB Metaverse KOL program and will be giving away 30 pieces of customized hand-crafted BWL silver pendants to the Tori Zero community as gifts. Tori Zero is a NFT project of 10,000 virtual fashion-style 3D female robot characters created by the British team REDLAB. All Tori Zero characters are bound by 3D skeletons. In addition to creating trendy clothing, artworks and other physical peripherals and offline exhibitions and gatherings, they will also be based on 3D bone binding technology, through motion capture and virtual idol production, in future. Tori Zero will also launch a series of IP animations on pan-media channels, and finally enter REDLAB Metaverse with the holders. BWL; Bill Wall Leather,is one of the three top trendy luxury silver jewelry brands in the United States. It was established in Malib

On Friday, the digital currency exchange Crypto.com announced the company has inked a multi-year partnership with LeBron James and the LeBron James Family Foundation (LJFF). The crypto trading platform notes that the partnership will bolster things like “educational empowerment,” providing access to tools that help build “Web3, and the future of the internet.” LeBron James: ‘Blockchain Technology Is Revolutionizing the World’ A number of digital asset firms have been working closely with celebrities and famous athletes in order to raise brand awareness. Crypto.com has been one of those companies as it has worked with the actor Matt Damon , it recently partnered with LA’s Angel City Football Club , and the exchange acquired the naming rights to the Los Angeles Lakers’ Staples Center and renamed it to Crypto.com Arena. On January 28, the digital currency firm revealed it has signed a multi-year with the basketball star LeBron James and his charitable organization the LeBron James F

Three months ago the crypto economy was worth more than $3 trillion and since then, digital currency prices have slid a great deal in value, as crypto assets have been sold and distributed across many hands. Over the last decade, fluctuating price cycles have made it so some addresses, typically referred to as crypto whales, have been able to accumulate vast quantities of coins. Moreover, a few crypto projects have also seen whales accumulate a majority of a token’s circulating supply via the initial distribution process. The Top 8 Crypto Assets by Concentration of Large Holders The subject of whales is a popular one in the world of cryptocurrencies, as the entities have always been a force to be reckoned with. Whales are large crypto asset holders who own more tokens than the average person, and they are called whales because their giant holdings can move markets, much like whales in the ocean that can shake up boats and cause massive waves. After more than a decade of people laun