Category Archives: Bitcoin
Binance and Kazakhstan to Share Information About Crypto-Related Crime Exchanges Bitcoin News – Bitcoin News
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has agreed to support Kazakhstan in ensuring the safe development of the countrys crypto market. The trading platform and Kazakhstans financial regulators intend to inform each other about cases involving the use of digital assets for illicit purposes.
The worlds leading coin trading platform, Binance, and Kazakhstans Financial Monitoring Agency have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding expressing their mutual interest in the safe development of the Central Asian nations virtual assets market.
An announcement explained that the agreement will govern joint efforts to fight crimes involving digital assets. The crypto exchange and the regulatory body plan to share data that can be used to identify and block crypto holdings obtained by criminal means as well as those employed in the laundering of proceeds from crime and the financing of terrorism.
According to Tigran Gambaryan, global head of intelligence and investigations at Binance, the company has the most robust compliance program in the industry, incorporating the principles of anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance as well as tools to detect suspicious accounts and fraudulent activity.
During the meeting, Gambaryan and Chagri Poyraz, who heads Binances global sanctions department, presented reports devoted to investigations in the crypto space and suppression of illegal activities leading to sanctions evasion using cryptocurrencies.
The signing was also attended by the Chairman of the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhanat Elimanov, executives and employees of the regulatory body, and other representatives of the Binance ecosystem, the exchange noted in a press release.
The memorandum is part of Binances global training program for representatives of regulatory and law enforcement agencies. Its main purpose is to develop cooperation with local and international authorities in the fight against cyber and financial crimes. The initiative has already been implemented in France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., Norway, Canada, Brazil, Paraguay, and Israel.
The agreement follows the signing of another Memorandum of Understanding with Kazakhstans Ministry of Digital Development and Innovation in May, under which Binance will advise the government in Nur-Sultan on crypto regulations. In August, the exchange was granted preliminary approval to provide trading and custody services for digital assets in Kazakhstan, a major crypto mining hub.
Do you expect Kazakhstan to seek assistance from other global crypto companies as it tries to regulate its digital asset economy? Tell us in the comments section below.
Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchenss quote: Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do. Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Binance
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
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Binance and Kazakhstan to Share Information About Crypto-Related Crime Exchanges Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News
Why Its Important To Build Stablecoins On Bitcoin – Bitcoin Magazine
This is a transcribed excerpt of the Bitcoin Magazine Podcast, hosted by P and Q. In this episode, they are joined by Lightning Labs head of business development, Ryan Gentry, to talk about how the company is building the ability to use stablecoins on the Lightning Network with their new Taro protocol.
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Q: I want to talk about stablecoins with you and have this conversation of: Are they necessary within the Bitcoin ecosystem and why or why not?
Ryan Gentry: It's a great question, and it's one that really drove our decision to focus on Taro this year.
Rewind to Bitcoin 2021 when we got news of the El Salvador bitcoin legal tender law, we got Jack Mallers amazing presentation. That kick-started this massive wave of emerging markets adoption of Lightning, Lightning apps and Lightning wallets everywhere from Brazil to Argentina to El Salvador, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Vietnam, like all around the world.
I think the coolest part of my job is that I get to work with Bitcoin entrepreneurs and Bitcoin developers all around the world who are all trying to get Lightning adopted. In discussing with them all of last year as they were getting hit with tons of new signups, tons of new adoption, we were very excited.
As the year started coming to a close, we kept hearing this repeated thing from these entrepreneurs in emerging markets that was like, OK, this has been the best year ever, huge adoption, numbers all up and to the right and I have now successfully acquired all the Bitcoiners, like in Chiang Mai, Vietnam. Neutron Pay: We got all the Bitcoiners. We have acquired all of 'em. They're all using our app. It's amazing. This is great. The next tier of users that we're looking to acquire, they want the dollar.
That was just something that we kept hearing from all around the world, from South America to Africa to Southeast Asia was that there's this next group of users that we want to onboard into the Bitcoin ecosystem, but using bitcoin for everyday payments was a little too much and they really wanted to use the dollar.
Of course, being at Lightning Labs, by definition, you're a Bitcoin Maximalist. I think everybody on the team is extremely bullish on bitcoin. We wouldn't be building a payments protocol on top of Bitcoin if we werent bullish on bitcoin the asset. But we just kept hearing from these real people out in the world, trying to solve real problems and trying to grow adoption of their apps that they really need the dollar.
I think that that's just one of those things where if we can provide the same Lightning experience, we can onboard more users to the Lightning Network, we can help out all of the startups that are pushing Bitcoin infrastructure and bringing users in and trying to educate users on why bitcoin is important, if we can give them this tool that allows them to reach the next 50,000 users, 100,000 users, million users, I think that's an absolute win. I think that's a huge, huge boom to the ecosystem and it's just following user demand, which I think is really important.
One side benefit of this that I think is not discussed very much is because Taro is running on Bitcoin rails, because it requires a full Bitcoin node, because it requires a Lightning node as well, if we give the market what it wants in stablecoins, we are getting the benefit as these new companies adopt of spreading Bitcoin infrastructure and spreading Bitcoin nodes and spreading Lightning nodes and Lightning channels into all these places that maybe they wouldn't necessarily adopt if it was just bitcoin only.
I think that's an underappreciated point, just the spread of Bitcoin infrastructure. Because if we're right about what bitcoin the asset is, then over time, demand for the dollar will decline anyway and this Bitcoin infrastructure will be in place for users to switch their demand from USD to BTC. I think that's a moment that we're all really excited for and really pushing for, but there's just this bridge step in the middle where we gotta give the people what they want.
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Why Its Important To Build Stablecoins On Bitcoin - Bitcoin Magazine
Bitcoin’s role in the evolution of money with University of Exeter’s Dr. Jack Rogers – CoinGeek
Is Bitcoin just another kind of money? An undergraduate module dedicated to Bitcoin at the University of Exeter sheds light on the question by delving into the history of money. The module, called Bitcoin, Money and Trust, was launched in 2018 after a high demand from students to learn about Bitcoin.
Dr. Jack Rogers, a senior lecturer in economics at the University of Exeter launched the Bitcoin module as a precursor to an MSc Fintech course which he leads. He says participation increased tenfold in recent yearsfrom less than 50 students when it launched to 700 this year.
Despite the impressive turnout, Jack believes that probably the big number is partly driven for the wrong reasonsall the various hype and sense that you could get rich from this.
On this weeks episode of CoinGeek Conversations, Charles Miller talks to Jack about the University of Exeters Bitcoin teaching, the evolution of money and the role Bitcoin plays.
Jack points to the emergence of central banking as a step change in history. He quoted Felix Martin, the author of Money: The Unauthorized Biography, whom he recalls speaking of a compromise power structure between the central bank and the government. For the first time in centuries, a decoupling between money and the state is happening before our eyes, Charles suggests. Jack agrees, saying a new technology that allows people to potentially pay each other without using existing fiat-based systems has indeed raised fundamental questions. He pertains to the authors view on cryptocurrency and how its lead to a disruption in the payment system which central banks have been in control of for a long time.
Jack believes the disruption in central banking was inevitable eventually: I think this stuff, central bank, digital currencies and things that you see now, maybe it was coming anyway I think the emergence of Bitcoin and all the hype and everything has kind of brought that forward.
Based on Jacks comments, its safe to say that the future of money will depend on the outcome of the competition between blockchain-based payment systems. For now, he admits no one is certain as to where Bitcoin is heading.
One of my students did a great dissertation on this, speculating that in 20 years time, will there be loads of different types of money? What does it look like? I mean, no-one can really say, Jack said.
Dr. Jack Rogers is co-authoring a textbook alongside Brendan Lee and Neil Smith. The book will be out by the end of 2023.
Hear the whole of Dr. Jack Rogers interview in this weeks CoinGeek Conversations podcast or catch up with other recent episodes:
You can also watch the podcast video on YouTube.
Please subscribe to CoinGeek Conversations this is part of the podcasts ninth season. If youre new to it, there are plenty of previous episodes to catch up with.
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Search for CoinGeek Conversations wherever you get your podcasts
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New to Bitcoin? Check out CoinGeeksBitcoin for Beginnerssection, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about Bitcoinas originally envisioned by Satoshi Nakamotoand blockchain.
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Bitcoin's role in the evolution of money with University of Exeter's Dr. Jack Rogers - CoinGeek
US Senator Says ‘I Love That Bitcoin Can’t Be Stopped’ Citing Concerns About National Debt and Inflation Regulation Bitcoin News – Bitcoin News
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis says she loves that bitcoin cannot be stopped and that governments cannot just confiscate the cryptocurrency. Its actually comforting to know that bitcoin is there, she said, citing concerns about the national debt and inflation.
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) talked about bitcoin in an interview with Hard Moneys Natalie Brunell, published last week.
Discussing the merits of bitcoin, including how the cryptocurrency cannot be stopped, the senator from Wyoming said:
I love that it cant be stopped especially because Im concerned about our national debt. Im concerned about inflation.
She continued: I see people in my home state of Wyoming that are going to food banks now because they need fuel, they need gasoline, to get to their jobs, and they have to choose now between high-priced gasoline and food so they are going to food banks for their food.
The senator further detailed: So when we see things that are inflationary, when we see the value of a dollar drop when you go to the grocery store and you come out with one sack of food and used to for the same price come out with two, we really need to look at assets that are going to be there for the long term. She noted:
Thats why to me its actually comforting to know that bitcoin is there.
She further explained that in some countries where the government is unstable, it can come to take peoples homes and property. The senator stressed:
Bitcoin is something the government cannot take.
For people in foreign countries that are living in places that are very insecure, that is definitely a backstop and something that they can comfortably go to bed at night and know its going to be there in the morning, the senator opined.
The senator from Wyoming introduced a crypto bill titled Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act in June with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
Providing an update on the bill, Lummis described, this is a very comprehensive piece of legislation, probably too comprehensive given the time remaining in 2022 for the bill to pass. She added: But what that does is give us more time to get more input on the bill, and we want to embrace that. We want people to provide additional input and ideas and thoughts.
What do you think about the comments by Senator Cynthia Lummis? Let us know in the comments section below.
A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
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US Senator Says 'I Love That Bitcoin Can't Be Stopped' Citing Concerns About National Debt and Inflation Regulation Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News
Hacker Forfeits $21,849,087 Worth of Bitcoin to Feds, Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison – The Daily Hodl
A Canadian hacker is forfeiting millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to the U.S. government while facing a multi-decade prison sentence.
According to a new press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ), 35-year-old Sebastian Vachon-Desjardins has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the NetWalker ransomware attacks and also ordered to relinquish $21.5 million worth of the leading digital asset.
Authorities allege that Vachon-Desjardins was the mastermind behind the NetWalker hacks, which targeted victims all over the world by encrypting and exfiltrating information from Windows-based systems and demanding a ransom of BTC in exchange for the decryption of the data.
Among the bad actors victims were companies, municipalities, law enforcement agencies, and education providers such as colleges, universities and school districts.
The hacker also specifically targeted healthcare providers during the Covid-19 pandemic to take advantage of the troubling times to extort victims, according to the press release.
As stated by Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Departments Criminal Division,
The defendant identified and attacked high-value ransomware victims and profited from the chaos caused by encrypting and stealing the victims data.
Todays sentence demonstrates that ransomware actors will face significant consequences for their crimes and exemplifies the Departments steadfast commitment to pursuing actors who participate in ransomware schemes.
At the time of his arrest in January 2021, authorities searched Vachon-Desjardins home and seized roughly $544,000 and 719 BTC, worth about $14.5 million at time of writing.
Featured Image: Shutterstock/Ahmad Kurnia Sandy
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Hacker Forfeits $21,849,087 Worth of Bitcoin to Feds, Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison - The Daily Hodl
Bitcoin briefly drops to its lowest level in 3 months as risk assets continue to get crushed – CNBC
Ether has hugely outperformed bitcoin since both cryptocurrencies formed a bottom in June 2022. Ether's superior gains have come as investors anticipate a major upgrade to the ethereum blockchain called "the merge."
Yuriko Nakao | Getty Images
Bitcoin fell to its lowest level in three months on Monday as investors dumped risk assets amid expectations of higher interest rates.
The world's largest cryptocurrency dropped as much as about 5% to hit an intraday low of $18,276, its lowest level since June 19, according to Coin Metrics. It was last down 1.2% at $19,465.00. Bitcoin is down 3.77% this month and on pace for the second straight negative month after plunging 15% in August.
"Regulatory pressure, rising base rates, and inflation are pressing heavily on riskier asset classes, especially crypto, and are thus forcing liquidations, reducing capital available for investment, and increasing concerns over undefined regulatory controls," said Sadie Raney, co-founder and head of operations at Strix Leviathan. "These forces may mute the overall crypto complex until the financial system stabilizes and a regulatory framework becomes more clear."
Ether also fell a similar 5% to $1,281 apiece Monday, hitting its lowest level since July 15. It was last lower by 1.6% at $19,465.00. It's currently down -13.8% this month, on track to post its worst month since June.
Risk assets have been under massive pressure as the Federal Reserve is expected to stick to its aggressive tightening schedule. The central bank is widely expected to approve this weeka third consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate increasethat would take benchmark rates up to a range of 3%-3.25%.
"Retail buyers have a long term outlook on bitcoin while institutional traders are treating digital assets like tech stocks and adopting a short term mentality that's contributing to the selloff we're seeing," said Chris Kline, chief revenue officer and co-founder of Bitcoin IRA. "The tightening policy at the Fed is strengthening the dollar and is weighing down risk assets, overall."
So-called "whales" institutions, miners, or other holders of large amounts of bitcoin, typically with more than 1,000 bitcoins in a wallet have been hedging the macro condition and selling their coins since June, according to Julio Moreno, senior analyst at blockchainanalytics firmCryptoQuant.
That's evidenced by the increasing amount of coins being sent to exchanges and dumped onto retail investors, who believe bitcoin is finding a bottom at these levels, though it actually has further to go, he said.
CryptoQuant data shows bitcoin bottoming at between $10,000 and $14,500 this cycle.
CNBC's Gina Francolla contributed to this report.
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Bitcoin briefly drops to its lowest level in 3 months as risk assets continue to get crushed - CNBC
Ethereum, Bitcoin Slide Further Through The Weekend – Decrypt
The sugar high of the Ethereum merge on Thursday led into a dour weekend of red for both the newly miner-free ETH and top crypto Bitcoin.
Ethereum is down from its pre-merge perch of $1,580 to $1,335 as of this writing, following a steep drop of 6% within hours of the merge and down 15% overall late Sunday.
Bitcoin, meanwhile, fell to $19,414 on Friday, and saw a brief rally take it above $20,000 on Saturday. The boost was shortlived, however, with the largest cryptocurrency by marketcap returning to its Friday lows as the weekend drew to a close.
Ethereum was down 22% for the week, and Bitcoin was down 10%. The declines echo a similarly down previous week in which overall economic metricsranging from the Consumer Price Index to traditional market indicators Nasdaq and the S&P 500also fell.
But Ethereum's sinking fortunes following the merge belies some analysts' assertions immediately following the upgrade that the impact of the merge on the value of ETH had already been priced into the market.
Prior to the conversion, some had even predicted a "merge surge," But the momentary jump in the price of ETH quickly evaporated. Prominent crypto Twitter commentator Doctor Profit announced today that he had sold all of his Ethereum.
The weekend also brought reports of the first "replay attack" targeting the Ethereum and the recently hardforked EthereumPoW blockchains. As with the invalid blockchain setting that briefly delayed the launch of ETHW, this exploit was caused by the failure to verify the chainlink ID to determine on which blockchain a transaction was taking place.
As for Bitcoin, its total market cap was headed back toward its six-week low of $18,661 on Sept. 6, territory it hasn't touched since the end of June. Bitcoin's total market cap was back below $375 billion on Sunday, a threshold last breached on Sept. 6 and not since July 13 before that.
For his part, Doctor Profitwhose main claim to fame is predicting $18,000 as the "ultimate bottom" for Bitcoin as early as April 2021said that "the bottom is being formed" with a likely prince range of $18,000 to $25,000 through next March.
But a lot hinges on the next move announced by the U.S. Federal Reserve, he warns. While Doctor Profit feels Bitcoin's price can withstand a 0.75 basis point increase in interest rates, a full 1 basis point will mean "we see blood."
"Once the FED decides the great reset, all of us will be fkd," he tweeted.
The last Federal Reserve meeting in July yielded a 0.75% increase. The next meeting, set for Sept. 21, will likely bring another increasethe main question being how big an increase. Some are expecting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to announce a full percent hike.
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Ethereum, Bitcoin Slide Further Through The Weekend - Decrypt
TA: Bitcoin Price Makes U-Turn, Why BTC Could Tumble to $18K – NewsBTC
Bitcoin started a fresh decline below the $20,000 support zone against the US Dollar. BTC traded below $19,000 and remains at a risk of a move to $18,000.
Bitcoin price failed to surpass the $20,500 resistance level. BTC started a fresh decline and traded below the $20,000 and $19,500 support levels.
Besides, there was a break below a connecting bullish trend line with support at $19,850 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The pair accelerated lower below the $19,200 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. It even declined below $19,000 and traded as low as $18,706.
Bitcoin price is now consolidating losses below $19,200 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. On the upside, an immediate resistance is near the $19,050 level. It is near the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $20,197 swing high to $18,706 low.
The next major resistance sits near the $19,350 level. It coincides with the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $20,197 swing high to $18,706 low.
The main barrier is now forming near the $20,000 zone and the 100 hourly simple moving average. A close above the $20,000 resistance might start a fresh increase. In the stated case, the price may perhaps rise towards $21,200.
If bitcoin fails to start a recovery wave above the $19,050 resistance zone, it could continue to move down. An immediate support on the downside is near the $18,700 zone.
The next major support is near the $18,550 level. A clear move below the $18,700 and $18,550 levels might open the doors for a move towards the $18,000 level.
Technical indicators:
Hourly MACD The MACD is now gaining pace in the bearish zone.
Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) The RSI for BTC/USD is now below the 50 level.
Major Support Levels $18,700, followed by $18,550.
Major Resistance Levels $19,050, $19,300 and $19,500.
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TA: Bitcoin Price Makes U-Turn, Why BTC Could Tumble to $18K - NewsBTC
Bitcoin is Heading to $14,000: Heres Why According to DataDash – CryptoPotato
Nicholas Merten a veteran cryptocurrency analyst and founder of DataDash has called for Bitcoin to sink to $14,000 following its plunge below $19,000 over the weekend.
The analyst cited both technical and macroeconomic factors, including an indicator that he calls absolutely damning for Bitcoins price.
In a video published on Monday, Merten pointed out that Bitcoins 200-week moving average (WMA) has turned into a level of price resistance, rather than support. The primary cryptocurrency has almost always stayed above the average throughout its existence, with rare descents below it marking cyclical bottoms.
However, Bitcoin and crypto markets fell below this level during the crypto market crash in June, which saw Bitcoin plunge to $17,600. It has since ranged within the low twenty thousands narrowly below the 200 WMA of about $23,000.
Given its inability to break back above this level, the analyst claimed that Bitcoin is now in uncharted territory.
We have not seen these circumstances ever play out for Bitcoin, he said. Usually price breaks below the weekly moving averages, the rallies out of it, due to people buying into the capitulation.
The founder concluded that Bitcoins recent price action likely signals the end of a decade-long secular bull market that Bitcoin has experienced throughout its life, alongside stocks. As such, he suspects that it may no longer be a leading asset compared to other commodities and equities.
According to the analyst, the cryptocurrencys next bottom could be close to $14,000. This would mark an 80% correction from its all-time high, similar to previous bear markets.
This is the bare minimum we can ask for at this point, said Merten, adding that investors should consider the possibility of an even steeper decline to $10,000.
Commenting on Ethereums recent Merge, Merten labeled the upgrade a clear buy the hype, sell the news event. He expects the second-largest cryptocurrency to retest the $800 to $1000 level, and possibly lower.
Contributing to potential declines is the Federal Reserves upcoming interest rate decision, in which the market expects another 75 basis point hike. Hawkish monetary policy has coincided with major declines in stocks and crypto throughout 2022.
This policy has created a higher cost of shelter in the United States, including sudden rises in fixed-rate mortgages. Its also caused 2-year Treasury bond yields to invert those of their 10 and 30-year equivalents.
Despite the potential dangers to the economy this could pose, Merten doesnt expect the central bank to stop raising rates until it can confidently quell inflation.
This could very well be depressionary levels of recession, he said.
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Bitcoin is Heading to $14,000: Heres Why According to DataDash - CryptoPotato
Anonymous Bitcoin Whale Just Moved $64M Worth Of BTC Off Coinbase – Bitcoin (BTC/USD) – Benzinga
What happened: A Bitcoin BTC/USD whale just sent $64,972,841 worth of Bitcoin off Coinbase.
The BTC address associated with this transaction has been identified as: 1HxNTUuJiuMnegCbV33zLA6EX9AHnqK3mr.
Why it matters: Bitcoin "Whales" (investors who own $10 million or more in BTC) typically send cryptocurrency from exchanges when planning to hold their investments for an extended period of time. Storing large amounts of money on an exchange presents an additional risk of theft, as exchange wallets are the most sought-after target for cryptocurrency hackers.
The best way to secure Bitcoin is through holding it on a hardware wallet, which can't be done through holding digital assets on an exchange. Hardware wallets store one's private keys in an offline device, making it impossible for funds to be hacked via the internet.
According to Glassnode, only 12.49% of the total supply remains liquid across all centralized exchanges.
The removal of BTC from an exchange reduces potential sell side pressure, allowing the price of Bitcoin to increase more easily.
See Also: Best Crypto Apps 2021 and Best Crypto Portfolio Trackers
Price Action: Bitcoin is down -3% in the past 24 hours.
See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin
Public Blockchain data sourced from Whale Alerts Twitter.
This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.
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Anonymous Bitcoin Whale Just Moved $64M Worth Of BTC Off Coinbase - Bitcoin (BTC/USD) - Benzinga