BTC – Bitcoin

The Bitcoin hashrate plunged over the weekend following a clampdown on cryptocurrency mining by the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan.

Following El Salvador’s move to become the first country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, a Paraguayan congressman has announced plans to do the same in the South American nation next month.

Dashing hopes of greater regulatory clarity for the cryptocurrency industry, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently released annual regulatory agenda does not mention Bitcoin or cryptocurrency regulations.

Global securities index MSCI plans to launch a cryptocurrency index, according to CEO Henry Fernandez.

Australian investors adversely impacted by repeated system failures on Binance are considering taking a class action lawsuit to recoup their losses.

The National Republican Congressional Committee in the US will begin accepting donations in cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin sheds 4% but BTC’s share of the total crypto market grows after US Fed projects higher inflation and plans interest hikes earlier than expected.

The El Salvadorean Department of Labor and Social Welfare has had to clarify it is not within its purview to determine whether salaries can be paid in Bitcoin.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Bitcoin finds fresh favor in Global South. Why would hackers demand a Bitcoin ransom? Chinese miners eye Yunnan probe.

The Indian government and leading industry stakeholders are reviewing elements of legislation that proposed a ban on cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum saw its largest institutional outflows on record last week as outflows from Bitcoin eased, according to a report by CoinShares.

On June 14, the difficulty of Bitcoin mining fell 5.3%, the first time this year that there have been two consecutive downward adjustments.

Africa has emerged as the region with the highest growth in P2P Bitcoin trading volume over the past six months.

Bitcoin transactions in El Salvador during May increased by more than four times compared to a year ago, yet fiat remittances still represent the vast majority of transactions in the country.

Twitter’s founder and CEO says the integration of Bitcoin layer-2 payments — the Lightning Network — into the social media platform may be on the horizon.

Despite regulatory uncertainty over cryptocurrency trading in India, some of the world’s largest crypto exchanges are looking to enter the market.

Australian serviced office firm Business Hub will accept cryptocurrency as payment for rent on serviced office space and other business services as of July 1.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will meet with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to finalize discussions around a pandemic relief loan to support the Central American nation. In a Thursday press briefing, IMF spokesman Garry Rice also implied that El Salvador’s decision to make Bitcoin a national currency will be a focus of the meeting for the IMF team.

El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin has the world buzzing. Can Singapore be next? China mining crackdown continues.

Ninety-three percent of millennial current or former cryptocurrency holders in the U.S. would consider using their digital coins for everyday purchases, according to a recent survey.

Staking service provider Moonstake has partnered with UzNEX to provide blockchain consulting services in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

A bill restricting the granting of crypto mining permits on environmental ground has passed the New York State Senate.

Top blockchain and crypto news: El Salvador bets on Bitcoin as national currency. ETH gains ground on BTC. Beijing dishes out digital yuan in latest trials.

Now that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s Bitcoin-as-legal-tender bill is almost reality, what will it mean for BTC investors around the world?

A Miami property has set a record for the highest price paid in cryptocurrency in a real estate transaction — US$22.5 million.

Bitcoin investors in China saw greater returns in 2020 than almost any other nation — second only to the US.

Crypto exchanges in India have partnered with the Internet and Mobile Association of India to form a self-regulatory body.

Millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin paid to ransomware hackers who shut down the main fuel pipeline on the U.S. East Coast last month has been recovered.

As 50,000 Bitcoiners and crypto superstars whoop it up at Miami’s Bitcoin 2021 fest, a smaller group of BTC fans hold their own at the Fringe in Hong Kong.

Nearly 40% of Australians born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s would rather invest in cryptocurrencies than real estate, according to a nesurvey.

XRP last week saw inflows of US$7 million into investment products, the most since April, according to CoinShares.

Canaan, one of the largest crypto mining rig makers in the world, is opening its first-ever service center outside China—in Kazakhstan.

El Salvador is proposing a bill to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in the Central American nation. In a videotaped announcement shown at the Bitcoin 2021 Conference in Miami, President Nayib Bukele said he would submit the bill this week.

Crypto mining equipment manufacturer Goldshell has announced that it will launch a new line of mining rigs designed specifically for home use in Asian markets.

Australia’s first capital growth fund to offer institutional exposure to BTC has announced its received inquiries from some of the country’s largest companies.

Global crypto exchange Luno is in talks with conglomerate Lippo Group to launch operations in Indonesia in order to enter the Southeast Asian market.

Is Bitcoin’s carbon footprint a growing risk to Earth, or is it a red herring? On this year’s United Nations World Environment Day, crypto mining is a hot topic.

Hong Kong arranged a Bitcoin gathering ahead of Bitcoin 2021 Conference in Miami as Phillips auction house offers Banksy’s work for crypto.

Many of Britain’s crypto firms are failing to meet required anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, says the country’s watchdog.

BitFlyer announced today that it is launching a Bitcoin-to-Japanese yen pair for currency traders in the U.S.

Governments meet up with the crypto industry to discuss how to regulate the booming industry as BC Group’s OSL ties up with SC Ventures.

Standard Chartered and BC Group to launch digital asset trading platform for corporate and institutional clients in Europe and the UK.

Chinese Bitcoin mining hardware maker Canaan says overseas sales accounted for almost four-fifths of its revenue during the first quarter of 2021.

Green crypto mining operations should be spared China’s recent crackdown on the sector, according to the CEO of Canaan Inc.

Other top blockchain and crypto news: Thailand’s SEC tries to rein in DeFi via regulation. Will China’s future DCEP digital yuan offer smart contracts?

Dogecoin has gained an additional measure of credibility, with crypto exchange Coinbase announcing that it will add DOGE to its professional trading platform.

Bitcoin’s proposed Taproot update for smart contracts and privacy has wide verbal support from miners, but will they put their crypto where their mouth is?

China-based trading apps Futu and Tiger Brokers have announced plans to move into crypto to compete outside China with apps such as Robinhood and eToro.

Bitcoin dropped by 37.5% in May after hitting a low of US$34,195 yesterday, the second-largest drop on record after it fell 40% in September 2011.

Gold prices are rising again and at a three-month high. How does gold — a store of value for over 2,500 years —  compare to Bitcoin as a refuge from market turmoil?

The latest Bitcoin mining difficulty adjustment, made at 1 a.m. UTC on May 30, saw the difficulty of Bitcoin mining drop 15.97%.

Crypto crime is surging in Asia while Bitcoin is being blamed for splitting up married couples in South Korea.

From mass liquidations to meme trading, the characteristics unique to the crypto market can now be seen in traditional markets, says FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Sanctions enforcement affecting the cryptocurrency industry has intensified rapidly in the past two years, according to a new report by crypto compliance consultancy Elliptic.

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has announced that it is committed to becoming carbon-negative within 18 months, following carbon-neutral initiatives launched by other Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchanges FTX and BitMEX.

Consumer adoption of cryptocurrencies has grown, with 38% of respondents to a survey saying they have either invested in or bought a cryptocurrency, according to digital wallet provider Skrill, part of payments provider Paysafe.

BitDeer, one of China’s biggest crypto mining operators, blocked access to anyone using a mainland Chinese IP address last night.

Global payments giant PayPal plans to let its users move the cryptocurrency they hold on its platform into third-party wallets.

Other top blockchain and crypto news: Australia signals progressive approach to crypto as Hong Kong moves closer to banning retail crypto trading.

Investors are turning to green alternatives to tackle Bitcoin’s impact on the environment as Indonesia gears up for a CBDC.

China’s miners prepare for migration and Hong Kong reacts to possible retail ban. Meanwhile a South Korean governor becomes a crypto influencer.

Amid declines in Bitcoin and Ethereum, Cardano and its native cryptocurrency ADA saw US$10 million inflows as institutional investors switch to proof-of-stake coins.

Chinese authorities’ latest regulatory offensive against the crypto industry may not be as bad for the sector as it appears.

Marathon Digital Holdings has announced a deal with Compute North to host 73,000 of Marathon’s Bitcoin miners at a new data center in Texas.

Bitcoin has rallied to nearly US$40,000, boosted by tweets from Tesla founder Elon Musk and MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor announcing that they have met with North American miners of the cryptocurrency to promote a renewable energy initiative.

Hong Kong is poised to ban small investors from buying cryptocurrencies, while making exchanges get licences. Industry experts discuss how this might play out. 

The current dip aside, what are Bitcoin and Ethereum’s longer-term price forecasts? Finder’s brain trust of 35 crypto experts peers into a crystal ball.

As the crypto sell-off continued over the weekend, Bitcoin once again proved its resilience relative to other cryptocurrencies in not bleeding as much.

Bitcoin and altcoin prices take heavy hits and sell-off deepens as more bad news, including a blatant DeFi exit scam, continue battering crypto markets.

The crypto market has rebounded after one of its biggest crashes. Bitcoin is a ‘safe haven’ for many investors.

Coinbase Pro adds Solana’s native token, opening the doors for US investors after SOL outperforms Bitcoin and most other cryptos amid market crash.

Diversification to allocate funds to Bitcoin is an “opportunity that (fiat) money cannot buy”, says DBS Bank’s chief investment officer.