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Investors will be focused on the U.S. central bank this Wednesday as Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to raise the benchmark interest rate aggressively. The top U.S. stock indexes saw significant losses at the end of the week, and the Nasdaq composite saw its worst four-month starting performance since 1971. Crypto markets have had a rough week as well, as the crypto economy has shed 8.99% against the U.S. dollar since April 25, dropping from $1.967 trillion to $1.79 trillion. Fed Expected to Raise Benchmark Interest Rate Aggressively, Dutch Bank ING Predicts a 50bp Hike and a QE Tightening Announcement A number of financial institutions, analysts, and economists expect the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will raise interest rates next week in an aggressive manner. Reuters’ authors Lindsay Dunsmuir and Ann Saphir reported on Friday that there may be “big Fed rate hikes ahead” and the authors also cite two reports that claim “hot inflation is peaking.” “U.S. Federal...

Switzerland’s central bank, the Swiss National Bank, says buying and holding bitcoin as a reserve currency is not a problem for the bank. “We can arrange the technical and operative conditions relatively quickly, when we are convinced we must have bitcoin in our balance sheet,” the chairman of the Swiss central bank reportedly explained. Switzerland’s Central Bank on Buying and Holding Bitcoin as a Reserve Currency The Swiss National Bank could buy and hold bitcoin as a reserve currency if the cryptocurrency meets the bank’s currency reserves requirements, Chairman Thomas Jordan reportedly said at the central bank’s annual general meeting Friday. The Swiss central bank chief was quoted by Reuters as saying: Buying bitcoin is not a problem for us. We can do that either directly or can buy investment products which are based on bitcoin. However, he noted: “But from the current perspective we do not believe bitcoin meets the requirements of currency reserves. That’s why we have ...

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, says that he does not particularly like crypto but will defend your right to invest in it. However, he sees benefits in some aspects of digital currency. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon on Crypto, Digital Currency JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon talked about cryptocurrency in an interview with KMTV 3 News Now in Omaha Friday ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting this weekend. Commenting on cryptocurrency, including bitcoin, the JPMorgan boss said: I always say I don’t particularly like it. I defend your right to do it. I’d say be very, very careful how much money you put into it. However, Dimon sees benefits in some aspects of crypto, such as its technology, admitting that the banking industry has its inefficiencies. The executive opined: Not all of it is bad. If you said to me ‘I want to send $200 to a friend in a foreign country,’ that could take you two weeks and cost you $40. You could do it through a digital currency ...

The finance department of the U.S. state of Idaho has warned investors of a series of cryptocurrency scams promising returns as high as 80% every 24 hours with no risks to investors. Crypto Scams Promising High Returns The Idaho Department of Finance announced Wednesday “a series of fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes seen recently targeting Idaho investors.” The regulator detailed: The companies purport to provide high returns with no risks to the investor. These fraudulent schemes are operating under the names and websites of Crypto FX Direct, Shield Investors Ltd., Quartz FX Trade, and Finvest Trading. At the time of writing, some of the schemes’ websites are already offline. The regulator added: These websites make outrageous, demonstrably false statements and claims such as guaranteed returns on investment as high as 65% – 80% every 24 hours. To begin investing with these companies, investors have to purchase an investment plan using cryptocurrency, the finance depa...

Eric Schmidt, a former Google CEO whose net worth is $22.8 billion, reveals that he has put “a little bit” of money into cryptocurrency. He added that he finds Web3’s economics “interesting,” noting that the platforms and the use patterns are interesting. Ex-Google Chief Eric Schmidt Discusses Crypto Investing and Web3 Former Google CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt talked about cryptocurrency investing and Web3 in an interview with CNBC, published Thursday. Schmidt served as the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011. He stayed on as executive chairman until 2017 and technical advisor until 2020. His net worth is currently $22.8 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. Regarding his own crypto investment, he revealed that he has invested “a little bit” of money into cryptocurrency, without naming any coins specifically. He further clarified that he’s just getting started investing in crypto. The 67-year-old explained that for him, the most interesting part of blockchain is...

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has reportedly offered its first-ever loan backed by cryptocurrency. The cash loan was collateralized by bitcoin owned by the borrower. A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs explained that the deal is interesting to the investment bank due to its structure and 24-hour risk management. Goldman Sachs and Bitcoin-Backed Loans Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has offered its first-ever cash loan backed by bitcoin ( BTC ), Bloomberg reported Thursday. A spokeswoman for the bank explained to the publication that the secured lending facility lent cash collateralized by bitcoin that is owned by the borrower. She further noted that the deal was interesting to Goldman Sachs because of its structure and 24-hour risk management. Goldman Sachs has been increasingly friendly to cryptocurrency. In March, the investment bank featured cryptocurrencies, the metaverse, and digitalization on its homepage. The firm sees the metaverse as an $8 trillion opportunity...

The Argentinian government has taken the first steps in the launch of its own central bank digital currency (CBDC). A new decree identified the number 207/2022 gives new faculties to the Argentinian mint to involve in the investigation, development, and issuance of digital currencies. This puts Argentina on the trail of countries like Brazil and Mexico, that are already involved in the development of their e-currencies. Argentina Prepares the Field for a CBDC The government of Argentina is preparing the legal field for future issuance of its own central bank digital currency, the digital peso. In a decree approved and published on April 26 with the number 207/2022, the Argentinian government modified the functions and faculties of the national mint, giving it new responsibilities and possibilities. In these new faculties, the decree includes capture and digital processing of data, images, codes, sounds, and microchips, software design and development, implementation of digital s...

On April 29, photography-focused tech start-up Picture This is finally launching the ‘Polar Bear’ NFT, which raises awareness and money towards climate change and the impact humans have on our planet. Digital artworks have seen a booming rise in sales and popularity since the start of the decade. Minting art as an NFT has enabled artists to reach audiences in ways earlier not fathomable. Now, the photography community is finally entering the NFT space. One devotee is Christian Houge. For decades, the artist’s dramatic photography has provoked a strong emotional response from international museums and art institutions like the California Museum of Photography, Auction Paris, and Three Shadows Photography Art Center in Beijing, among others. This week, Houge is officially expanding his internationally renowned art from gallery walls to the blockchain. — At first, I was naturally sceptical of NFT art, being an analogue ‘old school’ photographer working for years to finalise my ...

In recent times, cryptocurrencies that burn tokens have been very popular and a number of well known blockchain projects have destroyed large sums of digital assets. While a number of crypto projects have different burn schemes, the overall effect is usually the same, as destroying tokens reduces the circulating supply. Blockchain Projects Burn Tokens for Specific Benefits and Objectives Burning tokens has been a popular trend and articles often highlight specific projects like Ethereum, Terra, Shiba Inu, and many more that have destroyed large sums of native tokens. $SHIB burn portal is a huge success!👺🔥 — Shiba Inu to $1 (@ShibInform) April 28, 2022 Six days ago, Bitcoin.com News reported on the Shiba Inu (SHIB) developers launching a burn portal, which allows shiba inu holders to burn their stash of SHIB. In that particular case, SHIB burners are rewarded for destroying their tokens. SHIB currently has a burn rate of around 180.18% during the past 24 hours. 1/ The o...

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank and the regulator of the crypto sector, says that its licensing process for digital asset service providers needs to be stringent. “It needs to be because we want to be a responsible global crypto hub with innovative players, but also with strong risk management capabilities,” said the central bank chief. Singapore’s Crypto Regulation Needs to Be ‘Stringent’ Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Managing Director Ravi Menon talked about cryptocurrency regulation at the Financial Times Crypto and Digital Asset Summit Wednesday. The central bank chief raised concerns regarding the risks of investing in crypto assets to retail investors, Bloomberg reported. Noting that crypto could be used for money laundering and terrorism financing, Menon emphasized: The licensing process is stringent. And it needs to be because we want to be a responsible global crypto hub with innovative players, but also with strong risk ...

Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital asset manager, is expanding into Europe. “We’re going to be very thoughtful, very methodical about each of the financial centers and financial hubs that we ultimately launch in,” said the CEO. Grayscale Entering Europe The world’s largest digital asset manager, Grayscale Investments, is getting ready to expand into Europe, CEO Michael Sonnenshein told Bloomberg Tuesday. He explained that decisions have yet to be made regarding which exchanges, which products, and which countries Grayscale will target first. The executive revealed that he has been meeting with various local partners to discuss the launch timeline, adding that the company plans to run a series of pilot tests in different markets. “Although the EU is unified, we don’t view the entire European market as in fact one market,” Sonnenshein described, elaborating: Instead we’re going to be very thoughtful, very methodical about each of the financial centers and finan...

PRESS RELEASE. For a gaming community to complete 4 years in the crypto gaming industry is a remarkable achievement to say the least. CropBytes was launched during the 2018 bull run, and the team’s strategy and agility towards changing market scenarios and needs of the community have enabled the game to sustain and grow over the years. What started out as a NFT based game with initial flash sale, is now a game with a sustainable economy with a mix of FTs and NFTs with over 550k downloads and adequate liquidity is the market. With the first few months fo launching the assets in erly 2018, the initial version of the game was launched which was a big hit and it drew attention of the early adopters of crypto-based games. As the players grew, so did the demand for game assets and goods in the game. This set the ball rolling for the expansive game economy we see today. B uilding a web3 games for the Bulls & the Bears When the game’s acceptance grew and more players began to hold a...

While there’s a number of bitcoin whales that often get caught by blockchain parsers and written about in media reports, ethereum whales get a lot less attention. According to statistics in 2022, there are a lot more ethereum whales than holders with large sums of bitcoin. In fact, while the top 100 richest bitcoin addresses control 14.08% of the circulating supply, the top 100 richest ethereum addresses hold 39.81% of all the ether today. Data Shows Ethereum Still Has a Large Concentration of Whales in 2022 Ethereum, the second-largest crypto asset in terms of market capitalization, has an overall USD valuation of around $348 billion. Ethereum’s market cap represents 18.3% of the $1.89 trillion crypto economy’s net value. While the leading crypto asset has been around for close to seven years, 100 addresses command 39.81% of the current ether in circulation. However, after subtracting the Ethereum 2.0 Contract address, which holds 10.06% of the current ether in circulation, 99 w...

The Central Bank of Russia has recently proposed authorizing traditional stock exchanges to operate in the digital assets market. Industry watchers say the regulator aims to provide investors with an option to trade cryptocurrencies in a controlled environment. Russian Stock Exchanges to List Digital Financial Assets, Central Bank of Russia Suggests Stock exchanges and central clearing counterparties may be allowed to facilitate the trading of digital financial assets (DFAs), a collective term encompassing cryptocurrencies and tokens under current Russian law. The proposal was put forward by the Central Bank of Russia ( CBR ) at a meeting with exchanges, brokers, and information system operators, a group of entities to which crypto platforms pertain. Representatives of the Moscow Exchange, SPB Exchange, major brokers, and information system operators that have the right to issue digital financial assets met with Bank of Russia officials behind closed doors on Tuesday, the Komme...

The Nepal Telecommunications Authority has issued a warning that crypto activities are illegal. The regulator emphasized that websites, apps, and online networks related to crypto activities are prohibited to be used, operated, or managed within the country. xxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Nepalese Regulator’s Crypto Warning Nepal’s regulator of the technology sector, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), issued a notice Monday warning the public about engaging in illegal activities, specifically naming cryptocurrency, bitcoin, and online gambling. Noting that transactions using digital technologies, such as cryptocurrency, have been on the rise in Nepal, the NTA stressed that websites, apps, and online networks related to crypto activities are prohibited to be used, operated, or managed within the country. The regulator proceeded to warn the public that activities involving cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, are “illegal and criminal,” elaborating: If anyone is ...