TokenPost reporter
Mark Jason Alcala
Stories by Mark Jason Alcala
- El Salvador purchases 21 Bitcoin to celebrate the last 21st day of the year 21 of the 21st century
The number of BTC purchased is also to commemorate the scarcity of Bitcoin’s supply, which is only limited to only 21 million BTC by design.
· Regulation
- Crypto, blockchain, and NFT investors should focus on the growth potential and real-world value of projects says Former US Treasurer
Former U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios is hopeful that regulatory uncertainties in the crypto market would finally be over in 2022.
· Insights & Views
- Jack Dorsey thinks Bitcoin will eventually replace the U.S dollar
With his departure from Twitter, there are those who believe that Dorsey could be planning to pursue his interest in Bitcoin.
· Insights & Views
- Crypto mining firm Stronghold to add 9,080 Bitcoin miners
The Bitcoin miners are expected to add an aggregate hash rate capacity of 826 petahash per second.
· Business
- Ray Dalio says he owns Bitcoin and Ether as part of his portfolio diversification strategy
He views owning the cryptos as better than owning cash due to high inflation
· Insights & Views
- IMF chief economist says crypto could be challenging for emerging markets
Banning cryptocurrencies would pose a practical challenge for regulators due to the decentralized nature of digital currencies.
· Regulation
- Bill that will regulate the mining and trading of Bitcoin and other cryptos gets approval by Paraguay’s Senate
Once the bill is passed, the Industry and Commerce Secretariat, along with the National Securities Commission, Anti-Money Laundering Office, and National Electricity Administration, will regulate the crypto mining ind…
· Regulation
- Mexican retailer Grupo Elektra now accepts Bitcoin
Bitcoin is accepted in both of Elektra’s physical stores and online.
· Business
- 53 percent of millennial millionaires say at least 50 percent of wealth is in crypto
Eighty-three percent of millennial millionaires own cryptos such as Bitcoin and Ether.
· Insights & Views
- Binance to set up a crypto exchange in Indonesia
Crypto exchange Binance has formed a joint venture with a consortium led by Indonesia’s largest telecoms company.
· Business
- Misleading crypto ads by Coinbase, eToro, Papa John’s, and Luno banned by UK regulator
The Advertising Standards Authority banned seven crypto ads on December 15 for “irresponsibly taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience and for failing to illustrate the risk of the investment.”
· Regulation
- Crypto fund Hashdex continues its U.S. expansion after surpassing $1B in AUM
The Brazil-based crypto asset manager recently appointed former Morgan Stanley executive Matthew Flood and startup Veteran Jack Song to help accelerate the crypto asset manager’s growth in the U.S. market.
· Business
- Bank of England concerned over the rapid growth of crypto and DeFi
No major banks in the U.K. have direct exposure to crypto but they are starting to offer related services such as custody and derivatives trading.
· Regulation
- Crypto exchange AscendEX to reimburse affected users in Dec 11 hack
Hackers stole $77.7 million in crypto, $60 million of which are in Ether (ETH).
· Technology
- German savings bank clients could trade in Bitcoin, Ether, other cryptos starting next year
The entry of saving banks could once again broaden the reach of crypto and spur further adoption.
· Business
- Stablecoin Tether becomes the official currency of Myanmar’s National Unity Government
The NUG is hopeful that using the world’s largest stablecoin as an official currency could potentially make it easier for it to raise funds and make payments.
· Regulation
- Russia to allow foreigners to use its CBDC and open digital ruble wallets
Russia’s monetary authority will allow users not residing within its jurisdiction to open and use digital ruble wallets and will facilitate the CBDC’s conversion to foreign currencies by non-residents.
· Regulation
- Crypto exchange Binance to close down Singapore operations by Feb 2022
While Singaporean users will be able to continue buying and selling crypto using existing assets at the moment, the service will be discontinued starting January 13, 2022.
· Business
- BTC scammers use Narendra Modi's Twitter account to announce India’s Bitcoin adoption
The PM’s office also advised everyone to ignore any social media post made using Modi’s personal account during the time it was compromised.
· Regulation
- Increasing number of investors sold their stocks to buy crypto, according to study
As of November, 7 percent of respondents said they sold stocks to buy crypto while 16 percent said they know someone who did the same.
· Insights & Views
- Regulators should provide crypto firms with compliance tools before enforcing fines, says CFTC Commissioner
CFTC Commissioner Dawn Stump noted that it’s becoming commonplace for regulators including her own agency to punish firms without giving them the necessary guidance for compliance.
· Regulation
- SHIB joins the list of cryptos accepted by travel website Travala
SHIB can now be used to pay for over 3 million travel products on the site, which include hotels, travel packages, and flights.
· Business
- El Salvador would have been $125M richer if it converted its gold to Bitcoin last year, says Bukele
Staying true to its bullish stance, El Salvador bought the dip and acquired 150 BTCs taking advantage of its low price.
· Insights & Views
- Crypto exchange Binance to set up UK unit to serve users in a fully compliant manner
Binance plans to set up a separate company called Binance UK similar to Binance.US within 6 to 18 months.
· Business
- Crypto platform Bitmart to compensate users affected by $150M hack
Hackers were able to gain access to two of the crypto exchange's hot wallets.
· Technology
- South Korea postpones crypto tax implementation to 2023
Some lawmakers argued that there are no measures in place that will help identify taxable income from crypto trading done via overseas exchanges.
· Regulation
- Bitcoin is going to dramatically appreciate and overtake gold’s market cap, says Saylor
The MicroStrategy CEO sees BTC becoming the world reserve asset while the dollar remains the world reserve currency.
· Insights & Views
- Bitcoin recovers and stabilizes above $48K after plunging to $43,000
At the time of writing, BTC traded at $49,030.50.
· Investing
- Metaverse could help push crypto’s widespread adoption for transactions, says BofA
However, existing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) might be too volatile for this role allowing stablecoins to dominate the metaverse.
· Insights & Views
- Bitcoin firm Bitfarms mines 3,089 BTC for the first 11 months of 2021 despite increasing network difficulty
Bitfarm’s target is to grow its hashrate to 3 EH/s in the first quarter of 2022 and to 8 EH/s by end of 2022.
· Business
- Binance fixes a rare issue that prevented users from withdrawing DOGE
The crypto exchange said that no one was at fault since neither the DOGE Network nor Binance knew of this rare issue beforehand.
· Technology
- Grayscale questions SEC’s rejection of VanEck’s spot Bitcoin ETF application
The company claimed that SEC’s decision has been “arbitrary and capricious” considering that the agency already approved three Bitcoin futures ETFs.
· Regulation
- Crypto exchange Huobi chooses Singapore as regional HQ for Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is a major market for the global crypto exchange as the number of users from the region quadrupled over the past month.
· Business
- Indonesia could launch a CBDC to counter cryptos such as Bitcoin
A Bank Indonesia official said that a CBDC would be one of the tools to fight crypto.
· Regulation
- India prepares to tackle crypto bill but there’s no proposal to recognize Bitcoin as currency
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman revealed that there is no proposal from the government to recognize Bitcoin as currency in the country.
· Regulation
- Seller will accept Bitcoin, Ether, Dogecoin as payment for a $10M luxury yacht
The option to use crypto as payment for the superyacht shows the growing acceptance of digital currencies in the luxury goods industry.
· Business
- MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin stash soars to 121,044 BTC after acquiring $414M worth of the crypto
At the time of writing, BTC traded at $56,663, which means that the company’s crypto stash is now worth around $6.86 billion.
· Business
- Jack Dorsey might focus on Bitcoin-related projects after leaving Twitter
His departure from Twitter means that he has now more time for his other company, Square, which is actively involved in crypto and blockchain.
· Insights & Views
- Thailand is targeting crypto-owning tourists
The government sees a huge opportunity in luring rich crypto-owning tourists which could help offset lost tourism revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic.
· Regulation
- Bitcoin, Tether, Litecoin, and Ether ranked top four most popular cryptos in Russia
A recent study also revealed that online chatter on cryptos has significantly increased along with the market rally this year.
· Insights & Views