CRYPTO WORLD NETWORK NEWS

Mastercard chooses 7 crypto startups for Start Path accelerator

July 28, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

International payments giant Mastercard continues focusing on the digital asset industry by welcoming a batch of major cryptocurrency startups in its fintech accelerator. The company announced Tuesday a new startup engagement program as part of Mastercard Start Path, an accelerator program for fintech startups, aiming to support companies working with digital assets, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. The program has added seven new startups, including digital wallet and trading platform Uphold, crypto storage firm GK8, American investment platform Domain Money, blockchain oracle startup SupraOracles, blockchain infrastructure provider STACS, digital asset firm…

Bank of Korea selects Kakao’s blockchain arm for digital won tests

July 21, 2021July 28, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

The central bank of South Korea has chosen a blockchain subsidiary of local internet giant Kakao as a technology provider for its digital currency pilots. Kakao’s Ground X won the Bank of Korea’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) tender, becoming the principal technology supplier for blockchain-based digital won simulations, local news agency Korea JoongAng Daily reported Tuesday. The central bank announced that Ground X will participate in the South Korean CBDC project in cooperation with United States-based blockchain company ConsenSys as well as other Kakao affiliates like KakaoBank and Kakao…

Germany permits institutional funds to invest in crypto assets

July 12, 2021July 11, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

According to new policies from German regulators, institutional funds can now invest in cryptocurrencies. The new law, which was implemented at the beginning of the month, gives the German Spezial-AIF special funds the right to invest in digital assets. The regulation specifically applies to assets held in the specialized funds called Spezialfonds. Traditionally these special funds are open-ended, regulated investment funds limited to institutional investors, such as financial institutions, insurance companies, corporations, foundations, and churches, excluding the general population. Around 4,000 institutional funds with almost 2 trillion Euros in assets…

China’s Central Bank Shuts Down a Firm Providing Services for Crypto Transactions

July 9, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

China continues to reiterate its hostile stance against the cryptocurrency industry with another warning aimed at local companies. The People’s Bank of China has shut down a local firm suspected of providing various software services to cryptocurrency businesses. As it happened during previous negative actions, the price of bitcoin fell rapidly after the news broke. In the latest statement on the matter, China’s central bank has closed down a firm called Beijing Tongdao Cultural Development Co. because of suspicion that it provided software services to transactions involving digital assets. The…

Bitcoin Whales Accumulate 60,000 Bitcoins In A Day

July 7, 2021July 9, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

Bitcoin whales have resumed accumulating coins in what has turned out to be the biggest Bitcoin accumulation event in 2021. A number of Bitcoin whales addresses that currently hold a number of 100 to 10,000 bitcoins in their wallet accumulated over 60,000 bitcoins in a single day. Lately, Bitcoin has been sluggish in the market due to a high number of sell-offs and not enough people buying back in the coin. But over the past six weeks, the whale wallets have accumulated over 100k bitcoins. With over 60% of these…

Mexican billionaire seeks to launch the country’s first BTC-accepting bank

June 29, 2021June 28, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

Pro-crypto Mexican billionaire, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, is looking to launch the first Bitcoin-accepting bank in Mexico. Salinas unveiled this bullish news through a tweet on June 27, noting that he hopes to achieve this feat by integrating BTC services into Banco Azteca, a leading Mexican bank, which he founded 19 years ago. Salinas shared these details while responding to a tweet in which MicroStrategy CEO, Michael Saylor, tagged him. The tweet contained a video in which Salinas said he had invested a lot of time in studying BTC and that…

Alipay Launches In-App NFT Sales Feature

June 25, 2021June 23, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

Alipay has launched a new feature that allows users to buy non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from within the app, according to local sources. One of China’s largest payment service provider, Alipay, has launched a platform for the sale of NFTs. Local media reports and tweets from Colin Wu and others confirmed the development, which marks a big step forward for the company. Users can buy NFTs directly from the app, as seen in the tweets, which are accompanied by a few screenshots of the UI. Sino Global Capital CEO Matthew Graham,…

Bitcoin crashes under $30,000

June 23, 2021June 23, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

Bitcoin dropped under $30,000 for the first time since the end of January on Tuesday 22 June. The world’s leading cryptocurrency has fallen over 27% in value since last Tuesday, when it briefly went above $41,000. The price decline has accelerated in the last two days after China’s central bank urged the country’s financial institutions to cut all money flows to cryptocurrency markets, labelling crypto assets a threat to the safety of the Chinese people’s property. While Bitcoin itself is not illegal in China, mining and trading activities are, and…

Belfast rewards its citizens for spending time in green spaces

June 22, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

Individuals can earn rewards such as transport passes via the social currency mobile app which also provides a promotional platform for local businesses, services and events. Citizens in Belfast can earn rewards for time spent in local parks and open spaces via a new mobile app. Rewards include Translink DayLink passes and tickets to visitor attractions or they can choose to support their local community group by donating Civic Dollars to them. Social currency The social currency app was developed by local company Moai Digital with support from Belfast City…

El Salvador president claims he will offer volcanic geothermal energy to Bitcoin mining data centers

June 18, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, has told the country’s state-owned geothermal electric company to come up with a plan to offer power for Bitcoin mining data centers. The move follows the country becoming the first to recognize the controversial cryptocurrency as legal tender, despite Bitcoin’s environmental impact and the lack of Internet penetration in El Salvador. “I’ve just instructed the president of LaGeo (our state-owned geothermal electric company), to put up a plan to offer facilities for Bitcoin mining with very cheap, 100 percent clean, 100 percent renewable, 0 emissions…

The web’s source code is being auctioned as an NFT

June 16, 2021June 15, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

British computer scientist and inventor Tim Berners-Lee is auctioning the original code for the world wide web as a non-fungible token. NFTs are a type of digital asset designed to show that someone has ownership of a unique virtual item, such as online pictures and videos, or even sports trading cards. The auction for the world wide web NFT — titled “This Changed Everything” — will be run by Sotheby’s in London from June 23-30, with bidding starting at $1,000. The proceeds of the auction will benefit initiatives that Berners-Lee…

Thailand Has Officially Banned Meme Coins and NFTs

June 15, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

Thailand has now officially banned the trading of meme coins and NFTs. According to news reports, the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission ordered various exchanges to delist numerous meme coins such as Dogecoin as well as other utility tokens, social tokens and even NFTs. The specific wording of the regulations states that these digital assets have “no clear objective or substance or underlying [value]” and that their prices are purely “running on social media trends.” The ban has already been implemented, and Thailand is now looking ahead to also ban…

MicroStrategy Plans $1B Stock Offering to Buy Bitcoin

June 15, 2021June 15, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

MicroStrategy has filed an application for a $1 billion securities offering of its class A common stock, NASDAQ: MSTR. The company will use the money for “general corporate purpose, including the acquisition of Bitcoin.” MicroStrategy is planning yet another Bitcoin purchase. Hours after completing a $500 million raise in corporate bonds to add to its holdings of the digital asset, the business intelligence firm filed for a new “securities offering” worth $1 billion with the SEC. The registration explained that the sale would be for its NASDAQ-listed MSTR shares, which…

51 crypto firms withdraw licensing applications in the UK

June 4, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

Strict Anti-Money Laundering laws in the United Kingdom appear to be constituting a major operational hurdle for crypto firms in the country. According to the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), several crypto businesses in the country might be preparing for an exit. In a release issued on Thursday, the regulatory agency revealed: “A significantly high number of businesses are not meeting the required standards under the Money Laundering Regulations. This has resulted in an unprecedented number of businesses withdrawing their applications.” According to a report by The Guardian, 51 companies…

Iran bans Bitcoin mining after power outages

June 1, 2021May 31, 2021 CRYPTO WORLD

Iran has banned mining for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, after blackouts hit major cities. The move follows restrictions on crypto mining in China. Iran’s power cuts are blamed on droughts, but the ban, announced on state TV, will require miners to shut down for four months. All crypto miners in Iran have to pay a license fee and a higher electricity tariff, but the majority are unlicensed, according to Bloomberg. President Hassan Rouhani announced the ban on state TV, saying that the ban will last at least until September 22.…