Category Archives: Cryptocurrency

How to Dip a Toe Into Bitcoin – The Wall Street Journal

Does bitcoin belong in your financial plan?

With cryptocurrency starting to pop up in portfolios managed by institutional investors, its a question a growing number of individuals are asking themselves and their financial advisers.

The answer, advisers say, is: It dependson factors including an investors tolerance for risk, financial capacity to absorb losses, and knowledge of the digital asset industry. Among those who use it for some clients, most recommend sticking to a small allocation, on the order of 1% to 2%.

In a recent survey of more than 500 financial advisers conducted by organizations including the Financial Planning Association, nearly half of advisers said clients have asked them about investing in cryptocurrencies, up from 17% in 2020. About 14% said they use or recommend it, compared with fewer than 1% last year.

Bitcoin is only 10 years old, said Ric Edelman, founder of advisory firm Edelman Financial Engines LLC and an investor in digital startups. The focus has been on mining and trading it. But now people are beginning to go to the next level of how to incorporate it as part of a larger portfolio.

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How to Dip a Toe Into Bitcoin - The Wall Street Journal

Pakistan moves to bring cryptocurrency boom out of the dark – Reuters

Representations of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, DogeCoin, Ripple, Litecoin are placed on PC motherboard in this illustration taken, June 29, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

ISLAMABAD, July 16 (Reuters) - Once a week Ghulam Ahmed, 38, takes time out from his cryptocurrency consulting business to log into a WhatsApp group with hundreds of members eager to learn how to mine and trade cryptocurrency in Pakistan.

From housewives looking to earn a side income to wealthy investors wanting to buy cryptomining hardware, many barely understand traditional stock markets but all are eager to cash in.

"When I open the session for questions, there's a flood of messages, and I spend hours answering them, teaching them basic things about cryptocurrency," said Ahmed, 38, who quit his job in 2014, believing it was more profitable to mine Bitcoin.

Pakistan has seen a boom in trading and mining cryptocurrency, with interest proliferating in thousands of views of related videos on social media and transactions on online exchanges.

While cryptocurrency is not illegal in Pakistan, the global money laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has called on the government to better regulate the industry. Pakistan is on the FATF's grey list of countries it monitors for failing to check terror financing and money laundering.

In response, the federal government has set up a committee to study cryptocurrency regulation, which includes observers from the FATF, federal ministers, and heads of the country's intelligence agencies.

"Half the members had no clue what it was and didn't even want to understand it," said committee member Ali Farid Khwaja, a partner at Oxford Frontier Capital and chairman of KASB Securities, a stock brokerage in Karachi.

"But the good thing is someone set up this committee. The relevant bodies in the government who need to get things done are supporting it, and the promising thing is nobody wants to stand in the way of technical innovation."

And the head of the country's central bank, Reza Baqir, said in April the authority was looking into another digital asset, a central bank digital currency, and its potential for bringing transactions happening off the books into a regulatory framework.

"We hope to be able to make some announcement on that in the coming months," he told CNN. Baqir declined to comment to Reuters on the topic.

Even the education sector has caught on.

In February, one of the country's leading universities, the Lahore University of Management Sciences, received a grant worth $4.1 million to study the technology from Stacks, a blockchain network that connects Bitcoin to apps and smart contracts.

LEGALISATION AND INVESTMENT

These moves can't come soon enough for cryptocurrency advocates.

Institutions have at times treated those involved in the trade of cryptocurrency with suspicion, worried about possible associations with money laundering.

Ahmed said he has been arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and charged with money laundering and electronic fraud twice, though the charges have not held up in court.

On one occasion, he said, the FIA seized a cryptocurrency mining farm he had set up in Shangla, in Pakistan's northern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, which ran on its own hydroelectric power. The FIA did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Waqar Zaka, a former TV host with more than a million followers on Youtube, has been lobbying officials for years to not only legalise the industry, but have the government invest in it. Zaka, like Ahmed, had set up a cryptocurrency mining farm running on hydroelectric power.

Earlier this year, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's provincial government tapped Zaka and Ahmed to be on a committee studying how it can profit from such ventures. In March, the group announced it was looking into setting up new mining farms using Zaka's facility as a template.

The committee was dissolved in June, with the provincial government saying federal authorities should handle any new policies on cryptocurrencies.

Despite the challenges, Pakistan's crypto boom shows no signs of stopping.

Pakistan-based social media groups explaining how to trade and mine cryptocurrency abound, some with tens of thousands of followers on Facebook. On YouTube, cryptocurrency videos in Urdu have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

Online cryptocurrency exchanges, most based outside Pakistan, like Localbitcoins.com, have hundreds of Pakistani traders listed, some with thousands of transactions.

Apps like Binance and Binomo, which track and trade cryptocurrency, have more downloads than some of the country's largest banks' apps, according to web analytics company SimilarWeb.

"You cannot stop crypto, so the sooner Pakistan regulates things and joins the rest of the world, the better," Ahmed said.

(This story corrects to clarify State Bank head was referring to a central bank digital currency, not cryptocurrency, in paragraph 9 and to show provincial committee dissolved in paragraph 19)

Reporting by Umar Farooq; Editing by Karishma Singh

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Pakistan moves to bring cryptocurrency boom out of the dark - Reuters

KSI made 7million cryptocurrency and then lost it all – NME

KSI has revealed that he made 7million in cryptocurrency last year, only to lose it all in the Bitcoin crash.

The YouTuber and rapper shared the revelation during an appearance on Made In Chelsea star Jamie Laings podcast, Private Parts.

When he was asked about a lot of money he had invested in Bitcoin by the host, KSI replied: I put 2m into Bitcoin well, I say Bitcoin. I put [in] 2m last year November, December but this was into cryptocurrencies.

I made 7m and now Ive lost it all. Its mental. Its been a full journey, but I had to experience it. I fully understand it now. I put money in things where I essentially leveraged myself and I kinda over-leveraged myself to a point where I lost money because of it.

CREDIT: Zoobs Ansari

He explained that the big loss came because of the Bitcoin crash, adding: Theres no point crying over spilt milk.

Despite the reverse in his cryptocurrency fortunes, the star said he was still fully crypto and called Bitcoin the future.

Meanwhile, KSI released his new album All Over The Place on Friday (July 16). The record features cameos from a range of stars, including Future and 21 Savage on Number 2, as well as the likes of Yungblud, Bugzy Malone and Lil Durk.

Speaking about the album before its release, KSI said: Im super excited for the people to hear this album. Ive improved on everything I did with [2020s] Dissimulation.

The singing has improved. The writing has improved. The beats have more layers to it, Im a lot more experimental, Im way more comfortable on the mic etc. This album is a reflection of a lot of hard work and passion combined and Im really proud to be releasing it.

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KSI made 7million cryptocurrency and then lost it all - NME

Future of Cryptocurrency – Analytics Insight

Cryptocurrency has gone global over the past decade and no matter the medium used, either old-fashioned talking or online regarding money, cryptocurrency is sure to be mentioned as it has proven to change peoples financial status overnight.

Cryptocurrency is a decentralized digital currency (not controlled by a central body like fiat) that works on blockchain technology and makes transactions easy to do across borders. It is fast, efficient, secure, and has anonymity with peer-to-peer trading. It can be listed on exchanges and bought and sold like fiat which is traded on the stock exchange. It is extremely volatile which makes the value fluctuate drastically.

Despite the impact, it is still not widely accepted albeit the possibilities it has. A lot of people dont fully understand digital currency and being new it has a lot of myths and people with bad experiences, so we are left wondering, what is the future of crypto?

Bitcoin being the most popular crypto and one of the stable profitable coins due to its volatility has a chance to lead the future and may determine the successes of some cryptocurrencies later. It is a source of investment for a lot of people to make money and secure their future with a platform for trading like British Bitcoin Profit to make a profit.

Technological advancements can in the future help the loss of all crypto portfolios that can happen right now due to a computer crash that wipes the information on it including the crypto wallet. The other way it can help is from hackers who can wipe all your holdings at a moments notice. Advancement also helps in making it easily accessible to everyone and making it more understanding and inclusive for all people.

Some businesses have accepted crypto as a form of payment which has increased its acceptance, more and more business acceptance will drive more people to use it and with new technologies, it becomes easier to use the technology. Blockchain is not only even used in cryptocurrency but also in insurance, fintech, and medical industries and more acceptance mean the more problems the technology can solve in our every day-to-day life.

Governments have started creating their o cryptocurrency as a way to get into the technological revolution and a lot of regulations has come from a lot of countries to control the use of it which gives it more legitimacy as a currency to be used by business and individuals. More regulations will be seen and will fast-track the use of crypto in everyday activities.

A part of having currency is the security of it and cryptocurrency is very secure. Blockchain has never been hacked and it is open source which shows the level of security it has. The only way cryptocurrency can be hacked is by the companies in the ecosystem that has a vulnerability in their sites and with information linked that can be used to hack wallets, but generally, cryptocurrency is widely secured and can be used for a long time as currency for the future.

As crypto matures, we will achieve a lot of stability which will make it easily transferable, and a store of value that will make it more used by businesses, the government, and everyone as a part of everyday life.

Cryptocurrency is still a lot in its early stages and some people are still skeptical about it but it is here to stay and has been adapted into our lives and will be a currency used by everyone which is only a matter of time. With the acceptance and how widely talked about it is, the future of crypto is sure to be bright.

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Analytics Insight is an influential platform dedicated to insights, trends, and opinions from the world of data-driven technologies. It monitors developments, recognition, and achievements made by Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Analytics companies across the globe.

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Future of Cryptocurrency - Analytics Insight

The US has the resources to regulate cryptocurrency we must utilize them | TheHill – The Hill

The Treasury Department is reportedly considering using the Financial Stability Oversight Council to regulate cryptocurrencies. This would be an appropriate role for the council that could result in an effective regulatory regime for these controversial assets.

Currently, there is no single U.S. regulator with authority to comprehensively regulate cryptocurrencies and large portions of the crypto industry are outside the jurisdiction of any regulator.

Cryptocurrencies are complicated. They share attributes applicable to securities, commodities and currency. Their issuers and intermediaries can resemble banks or non bank payment systems. If a cryptocurrency is a security, the Securities and Exchange Commission has anti-fraud and disclosure regulatory authority. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency in terms of value, however, has been determined not to be a security. Similarly, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission has authority to regulate other limited aspects of crypto. States may also regulate crypto entities in their jurisdictions and law enforcement agencies may regulate crypto-related criminal conduct.

The lack of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies has caused the House to form a working group of Democratic members to consider legislation to regulate these assets, but Republicans have also called for stringent regulation of crypto. This is a bipartisan issue and congressional action is needed.

In designing a regulatory system for cryptocurrencies, Congress could move in either of two directions. It could establish a new agency to regulate cryptocurrency as an entirety, but this would require it to replicate skill sets that already exist in agencies such as the CFTC, the SEC, Treasury and the banking agencies. Alternatively, it could grant additional powers to existing agencies. If it adopts the latter approach, it must solve the problem of how to coordinate the activities of these agencies in the crypto space. The United States has a fractured system of financial regulation. Three different federal agencies exist to regulate banks, and the regulation of securities-like instruments is divided between the SEC and the CFTC. These agencies have often marched to the beat of their own drummers, creating regulatory inconsistencies. To avoid these problems, a structure to establish interagency coordination is needed. The Financial Stability Oversight Council is the perfect vehicle to accomplish this task.

The council is chaired by the secretary of the Treasury and comprised of the heads of the principal U.S. financial regulatory agencies, as well as representative state regulators. Established in 2010 by the Dodd-Frank Act, FSOC is tasked with identifying and responding to threats to U.S. financial stability. In determining whether an activity poses a threat, the council focuses on the scale of the risk and its transmissibility to financial markets and the non-financial sector of the U.S. economy.

Cryptocurrencies can be viewed as a threat to U.S. financial stability for at least two reasons. First, they are the payment system of choice for criminals, including those who conduct ransomware attacks. The recent proliferation of these attacks against entities that are essential to the U.S. economy, such as Colonial Pipeline, certainly constitute the type of threat that the council was established to avoid.

Second, stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency backed by cash or other assets, also pose a threat to U.S. financial stability, because they potentially threaten the position of the U.S. dollar as the worlds principal reserve currency. This threat became apparent in 2019, when Facebook proposed a stablecoin that potentially could be used in lieu of the dollar by its several billion subscribers worldwide. The dollar is the dominant currency used today in international transactions and in the first quarter of 2021, non-U.S. central banks held 59.5 percent of their reserves in dollar-denominated assets, according to the International Monetary Fund. These assets are typically U.S. Treasury securities. The demand by central banks for Treasury securities helps keep Treasury interest rates low, supporting the U.S. economy, and is of crucial importance to the Biden administrations plans to fund their proposed $4.1 trillion budget.

Perhaps even more important than its role as a financial stability policeman is FSOCs role in coordinating the policies and activities of U.S. financial regulators. Both Democratic and Republican secretaries of the Treasury have used the council as a vehicle to harmonize financial policies across agencies. A particularly good example of this was Secretary Mnuchins use of FSOC to coordinate member agencies responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FSOC has a relatively small, but highly professional staff, but can also draw on the staff and resources of its member agencies. The council works principally through committees. Since 2017, the council has had a digital asset and distributed ledger technology working group, that has met periodically and developed expertise in cryptocurrencies.

In FSOC, the U.S. government has an already-existing entity to coordinate the efforts of the financial regulatory agencies to meet threats to financial stability. The council could easily establish a committee, comprised of senior representatives of each of the regulatory agencies with an interest in cryptocurrencies, to coordinate an interagency regulatory regime for the crypto world and to ensure that the government speaks with one voice in containing the threats that cryptocurrencies pose to the U.S. economy.

Howard B. Adler was formerly deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for the Financial Stability Oversight Council. He is currently working on a book on U.S. financial stability during and emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The US has the resources to regulate cryptocurrency we must utilize them | TheHill - The Hill

Police seize record $249 million of cryptocurrency in UK – CNN

The confiscation is thought to be one of the largest globally, the Met Police said, and comes just weeks after police confiscated 114 million ($158 million) of cryptocurrency in June.

The seizures were made by the force's economic crime command, after pursuing intelligence received about the transfer of criminal assets, a press statement said Tuesday.

The seizures formed part of an ongoing investigation into international money laundering.

Cryptocurrency is an all-digital money system made up of "coins" or "tokens" that are controlled by a decentralized ledger.

Police have not specified which cryptocurrency was seized.

A 39-year-old woman was arrested on June 24 on suspicion of money laundering offenses, and was released on bail, police said.

She was interviewed under caution in relation to the latest discovery of nearly 180 million on July 10 and has been released on bail until later this month, the force added.

Detective constable Joe Ryan said this month's seizure was a "significant landmark" in an ongoing operation.

"Less than a month ago we successfully seized 114 million in cryptocurrency. Our investigation since then has been complex and wide-ranging," he said.

"We have worked hard to trace this money and identify the criminality it may be linked to. Today's seizure is another significant landmark in this investigation which will continue for months to come as we hone in on those at the centre of this suspected money laundering operation," Ryan added.

Deputy assistant commissioner Graham McNult added in the statement: "Proceeds of crime are laundered in many different ways. While cash still remains king in the criminal word, as digital platforms develop we're increasingly seeing organised criminals using cryptocurrency to launder their dirty money.

"Whilst some years ago this was fairly unchartered territory, we now have highly trained officers and specialist units working hard in this space to remain one step ahead of those using it for illicit gain."

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Police seize record $249 million of cryptocurrency in UK - CNN

Cryptocurrency innovation vs. hype: A view from the inside – BetaBoston

Caveat: These are all cryptocurrency advocates, not skeptics. But some of them, like analyst and writer John Robb, bought bitcoin when it was priced at a buck; today it trades at about $32,000 per coin. Perhaps some are worth listening to?

Whats important about cryptocurrencies, from an individual investors point of view?

Robb, author of the Global Guerillas Report, a research series: Its a long bet on a realm of technological innovation that could transform the global financial economy. Some cryptocurrencies exist primarily to store and transfer value, but others exist to enable financial activities like lending and borrowing, or sending remittances to family members around the world. Robb calls it a new system that has the potential to radically compress and reduce the steps needed to do everything we do today, while adding a bewildering variety of new capabilities, impossible with the current system.

Dave Balter, CEO, Flipside Crypto, a startup that provides analytics and data visualization related to cryptocurrencies: For any investor to get access to sophisticated, transformative investment vehicles, theres a distinction between the us and them. If you wanted to do a really interesting lending strategy, and you called Fidelity, theyd say, Are you accredited? This is risky. One example: earning higher interest rates through loans made using cryptocurrencies, with none of the downside protections of a federally insured bank account.

The belief that theres downside protection for investors is a fallacy of belief, Balter says. Im not a hardcore libertarian, but downside protection is just faith that your government is going to do the right thing at the right time, and right now theyre printing trillions of dollars. Many look at cryptocurrencies as a good hedge against the inflation of government-issued currencies.

Matthew Walsh, venture capitalist, Capital Island Ventures, and former vice president, Fidelity Investments: Money has been represented by shells and commodities like gold in the past. Now, money is controlled by governments, but weve only been in that paradigm for 150 years or so. Cryptocurrencies, Walsh says, are digital forms of non-sovereign money, and the software code underlying it is open source, which means it can continually evolve to support new capabilities, and has a high level of transparency. That, he says, is a powerful idea.

What is overhyped at the moment?

Walsh asserts that some of the more established cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, have proven their worth, and are accepted and used widely. But, he says, Its dangerous to go down the list of cryptocurrencies and try to find an underpriced coin, and hope that its going to be the next Bitcoin or Ethereum. Thats not a winning strategy.

As one example, Walsh says he looks at Dogecoin, a parody of Bitcoin that was created in 2013, more in the broader context of meme stocks, where youve got groups of people coordinating to make something more valuable. Its almost like an organized pump and dump, he says, referring to schemes where people promote an investment to elevate its value, then cash out their stake.

Balter says that trying to find the next cryptocurrency that will leap in value is just like the stock market its gambling. But before doing that, he advises learning about what youre buying and understanding the range of options. Chasing what you dont know is probably not a smart idea, he says, citing a friend who didnt want to have to figure out how to put money into the cryptocurrency Polkadot, but had heard it had good upside potential and wanted Balter to make the investment on his behalf.

Robb: On the surface, crypto is a massive penny stock boiler room that has successfully convinced millions of people to invest. That can make it feel a bit like buying into the hot Internet stocks of the late 1990s, he says. But some cryptocurrencies, and the new financial and tech systems they enable, will generate lots of wealth, Robb argues, in part because so many talented people are now working to improve this new kind of financial technology. Its possible that some day soon, cryptosystems will rapidly swallow up huge sections of the existing financial and economic system, he says. At that point, the hype becomes reality.

Semyon Dukach, venture capitalist, One Way Ventures: I cant tell you with any certainty that anything is overhyped. Its a weird world, where in some cases actual hype itself can become a core source of long-term value, which would normally be a total contradiction in terms. But when a new cryptocurrency is launched, he says, cult-like belief is exactly the thing necessary to reach critical mass, disrupt centralized finance, and shift some power from governments to non-hierarchical tribes of individual participants distributed globally.

What percentage of your assets are in cryptocurrencies, and why?

Manasi Vora, vice president at Skynet Labs, a Cambridge data-storage startup that uses a cryptocurrency called siacoin for payments: More than 50 percent of my liquid assets are in crypto right now. My background is in traditional asset and portfolio management, having worked at various banks and financial institutions in the past, including Santander Bank. I look at crypto as an alternative asset class in my overall portfolio, and similar to dollar-cost averaging stocks and exchange traded funds, I have a disciplined way of purchasing and building my crypto portfolio with coins I strongly believe in. Vora says that the appreciation in value of her cryptocurrency assets over the past few years is one reason theyve surpassed that 50 percent level.

Drew Volpe, venture capitalist at First Star Ventures in Cambridge: I have roughly half my liquid investments in crypto. Were early in a fundamental new technology that will change how the financial system, marketplaces, the core of Internet, art, and many other large parts of our world work. He adds, Obviously, this is not investment advice.

Dukach: Less than 1 percent, because Im very conservative with personal assets outside of my own investment in One Way Ventures, and mostly stick to index funds and real estate, as I dont have the time outside managing the fund to do the research necessary to make high-risk bets. (Dukach, I should mention, is a former professional blackjack player who figures in the book Busting Vegas.)

Balter: More than my traditional investment adviser recommends today, and less than theyll recommend tomorrow.

Scott Kirsner can be reached at kirsner@pobox.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottKirsner.

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Cryptocurrency innovation vs. hype: A view from the inside - BetaBoston

What will decide the cryptocurrency markets next big move – Mint

NEW DELHI: With over 50% drop in derivatives since May, the direction of the next large move is likely to strongly reflect underlying supply and demand, rather than a speculative premium or discount, according to a note by blockchain data provider Glassnode.

Since the sell-off in May, futures open interest has remained bound between $10.7 billion and $13.0 billion with only a handful of notable builds or declines within that range. Open interest remained 57% below the all-time high set in April as cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase went public.

As per Glassnode note, volumes across futures markets are also in decline, falling back to $45 billion traded per day.

These volume levels were last seen in Q1 2021 where prices were trading in a similar range ($29,000 to $38,000). This puts current volumes 62.5% and 49% lower than the May and June capitulations, respectively," the note added.

Options markets are experiencing a similar slow-down, with open interest falling by over 67% since typical highs of $13.2 billion in March and April. Current options open interest is at $4.4 billion, returning to December 2020 levels.

With such a significant decline across all derivatives markets, it becomes increasingly likely that market volatility will be driven by spot volumes, rather than short/long squeezes or leveraged liquidations," Glassnode added.

The note also said that there were early signs of recovery in bitcoin mining activity. As per Glassnode data, the hash-rate recovered from the peak-trough decline of 55% to around a 39% decline last week.

Meanwhile, a note by digital asset manager CoinShares showed that digital asset investment products saw minor outflows totaling $4 million last week in what was the quietest trading week since October 2020.

Minor outflows were seen in bitcoin totaling $7 million last week while trading volumes in investment products totaled just $1.58 billion for the whole week, the lowest since October 2020," the asset manager said in a note.

Ethereum saw very minor inflows totaling $0.8 million while Binance and Cardano saw inflows of $0.4 million and $0.6 million, respectively.

Multi-asset investment products were the most popular last week with inflows totaling $1.2 million.

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What will decide the cryptocurrency markets next big move - Mint

Life Clips To Enter Cryptocurrency Market With A Definitive Agreement To Acquire Global Blockchain And Digital Currency Platform Belfrics Group -…

Life Clips plans to enter the $2 trillion cryptocurrency market by acquiring Belfrics Group

AVENTURA, Fla., July 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Life Clips, Inc. (OTC Pink: LCLP) (the Company, Life Clips), announced today it has agreed to acquire Belfrics Group ("Belfrics"), a global blockchain technology firm that runs cryptocurrency exchanges on its proprietary platform. Belfrics currently has a presence in Malaysia, Singapore, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Bahrain; and it has the capability to process over 1 million transactions per second. Belfrics CEO and Founder, Praveen Kumar, will remain the CEO of Belfrics, while Robert Grinberg will serve as CEO of Life Clips.

The cryptocurrency market is expected to reach $8 trillion dollars by 2030, while the market for blockchain technology is expected to add $176 billion to the US GDP during the same period. Founded in 2014, the Belfrics digital exchange platform, which was fully developed in-house, is one of the most compliant platforms in the cryptocurrency industry. Supported by the proprietary technology of Belrium blockchain KYC solution, the KYC and AML process of Belfrics Exchange is well accepted by regulators globally. With 10 operational offices in 8 countries, Belfrics provides localized and personalized support to digital currency traders. Through its blockchain Academy, Belfrics provides continuous training to traders, developers and blockchain enthusiasts in more than 20 countries. Belfrics is licensed and regulated by the Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA) in Malaysia.

Belfrics CEO and Founder, Praveen Kumar said, "This is an exciting time for Belfrics. After many years of hard work building a global exchange for cryptocurrency and the most secured trading platform, it is time to spread our wings globally. The acquisition of Belfrics by Life Clips will help expand the reach of both our cryptocurrency platform and our blockchain solutions, which will create an impact worldwide.

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Belfrics Group specializes in blockchain technology and digital asset exchange solutions. Belfrics runs two distinct business verticals: Digital asset exchange and blockchain division. Belfrics is one among the few regulated exchanges across the globe, that provides regulated digital asset trading solutions.

Belrium, the proprietary blockchain developed by Belfrics, acts the central focal point of the blockchain division. Belrium, which is a hybrid private-public blockchain solution, focusses on identity management on blockchain for decentralized transactions.

It has taken a tremendous amount of work to prepare Life Clips for this landmark moment. We are proud to have reached this milestone for our shareholders by becoming current and settling previous liabilities of the Company to the satisfaction of our acquisition candidate," said Life Clips CEO Robert Grinberg. Mr. Grinberg continued, "According to PwC, the total volume of mergers and acquisitions in the cryptocurrency industry more than doubled from $481 million in 2019 to $1.1 billion in 2020. The average deal size increased from $19 million in 2019 to nearly $53 million. Major global cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance, FTX and Coinbase made the top three acquisitions in the crypto industry in 2020. We welcome Praveen and his team to our family and look forward to providing them with the resources to take their world class cryptocurrency exchange and platform to the next level."

The Belfrics Group acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter. The final number of shares issuable upon closing is subject to adjustment prior to closing. All shares issuable pursuant to the acquisition will be restricted securities subject to statutory resale restrictions.

Visit our corporate website at http://www.lifeclips.com.

About Life Clips, Inc.

Life Clips, Inc. is the parent company of Cognitive Apps Software Solutions Inc. and distributes single-use and cordless batteries under the Mobeego brand for use with cellular phones and other mobile devices. Cognitive Apps is an AI-Powered mental health analytics platform that empowers businesses to measure, understand, and improve mental well-being of their employees, patients and customers. Drug development for mental health disorders and other cognitive impairments is hampered by the inability to identify at risk groups before the onset of clinically significant symptoms, as well as continuous assessments on the progress made by the participants. Cognitive Apps is addressing this problem by pioneering a speech-based AI technology which could help accurately predict risk for various types of depression and mood and anxiety-based disorders years before a clinical diagnosis is obtained. Our technology can help detect and monitor subtle changes in mental state by assessing individuals more frequently and more objectively than the assessments used today. The speech and voice recognition market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.2% from 2019 to 2025 to reach $26.79 billion by 2025.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be preceded by the words intends, may, will, plans, expects, anticipates, projects, predicts, estimates, aims, believes, hopes, potential or similar words. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: (i) the initiation, timing, progress and results of the Companys research, manufacturing and other development efforts; (ii) the Companys ability to advance its products to successfully complete development and commercialization; (iii) the manufacturing, development, commercialization, and market acceptance of the Companys products; (iv) the lack of sufficient funding to finance the product development and business operations; (v) competitive companies and technologies within the Companys industry and introduction of competing products; (vi) the Companys ability to establish and maintain corporate collaborations; (vii) loss of key management personnel; (viii) the scope of protection the Company is able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering its products and its ability to operate its business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; (ix) potential failure to comply with applicable health information privacy and security laws and other state and federal privacy and security laws; and (x) the difficulty of predicting actions of the government and its regulations. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement unless required by law.

For Media and Investor Relations, please contact:

David L. Kugelman(866) 692-6847 Toll Free - U.S. & Canada(404) 281-8556 Mobile and WhatsAppdk@atlcp.comSkype: kugsusahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkugelman/

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Life Clips To Enter Cryptocurrency Market With A Definitive Agreement To Acquire Global Blockchain And Digital Currency Platform Belfrics Group -...

Top cryptocurrency Prices Today: Ethereum, Dogecoin and Polkadot shed upto 7% – Economic Times

New Delhi: Major Cryptocurrencies were trading lower on Friday in the crypto market. The digital token market has turned jitter ever since Beijing's regulatory crackdown. The crypto market tanked as much as 7 per cent from the previous day, with all top-10 digital currencies trading lower at 9.30 hours IST.

The past 24 hours witnessed quite a sell-off across the cryptocurrency spectrum. Multiple factors contributed to this profit booking. Barclays in the UK stopped its customers from depositing money into crypto exchanges.

Global Financial institution, Bank of America Corp. created a new team dedicated to researching cryptocurrencies, marking Wall Streets latest push to capitalize on investors frenzy for digital assets. Alkesh Shah will lead the effort, which will also cover technologies tied to digital currencies.

Back home, Many cryptocurrency traders, shut out of the Indian crypto market by local banks, are now being restrained from buying virtual currencies from overseas markets.

India's largest private sector bank

Tech View by ZebPay Trade DeskBitcoin is likely to move out of its seven-week trading range of $30,000 to $40,000. Analysts believe that several indicators tracking the cyclical nature of price volatility suggest that a big move is on the horizon. Bollinger bandwidth, which is a measure of volatility, and is calculated by dividing the spread between its band, by the 20-day average of the asset's price, has declined to a 2 month low of 0.15.

BTC saw similar action in December and April after the bandwidth fell to 0.15, and during both periods major movement was seen. Bollinger analysis places volatility bands 2 standard deviations away from either side of the 20-day price average. BTC has witnessed this phenomenon repeatedly in the past too, when it saw big moves during the 2017 bull run, namely when each time the bandwidth fell to 0.15.

Time is in UTC and the daily time frame is 12:00 AM - 12: 00 PM UTC

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Top cryptocurrency Prices Today: Ethereum, Dogecoin and Polkadot shed upto 7% - Economic Times