- Bitcoin Tumbles Back Below $30k as Bullish Momentum Wanes
Bitcoin (BTC) fell 5.58% in the last few hours and is currently trading at $29,500 after the daily candle close.
The move mimicked the price action on June 1 when the world’s largest cryptocurrency tumbled from $32,000 to below $30,000.
Despite the drop, bitcoin remains in a relatively tight trading range of $32,000 to $28,000, with price rarely deviating since early May.
The lack of volatility has translated to a slight decline in trading volume, with bitcoin rarely exceeding $30 billion in daily volume.
More than $218 million worth of positions on derivative exchanges have been liquidated in the past 24 hours, according to Coinglass.
- Bitso Partners With Addem Capital to Provide Cryptocurrency Investment Instruments in Latam
Cryptocurrencies are starting to be included more and more in traditional financial structures in the world and also in Latam. Bitso, a Latam-based exchange, announced a partnership with Addem Capital, a Mexican debt fund that allows startups to get access to financing structures. On the importance of these decentralized finance methods, Pedro Cetina, co-founder and managing partner of Addem Capital, stated:
Cryptocurrencies and DeFi protocols have the potential to become a driver for financial inclusion in Latin America. Our model intrinsically has some operational complexity, cryptocurrencies come to revolutionize the model through which we operate.
According to Addem Capital’s vision, cryptocurrencies can make the VC funding market for tech companies in Latam grow more — a market that reached $15 billion in 2021, according to a joint statement.
- Indonesian Exchange Pintu Raises $113M to Be ‘Coinbase of Southeast Asia’
Overcoming recent headwinds in the crypto market, Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange and wallet Pintu announced today that it has raised $110 million in Series B funding from Lightspeed, Pantera Capital, Northstar Group, and Intudo Ventures.
Pintu says it will use the newly-raised funds to further develop its product offerings and expand its educational arm, Pintu Academy.
With an exchange, crypto wallet, and staking platform with its own token, the Pintu app has gone from zero to four million downloads in just two years, Eddy Chan, Founding Partner at Intudo, told Decrypt in an interview.
https://decrypt.co/102175/indonesian-crypto-exchange-pintu-raises-110-million
- New Japanese law may allow seizure of stolen crypto
Japan’s Justice Ministry is reportedly considering a revision of an asset seizure law relating to organized crime to include a stipulation that crypto can be commandeered in such instances.
If the reports are found to be true, a potential revision of the Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes and Control of Proceeds of Crime (1999) would enable law enforcement officers and courts to take control of crypto assets used in criminal activity such as money laundering.
According to reports from local media outlets such as the Yomiuri Shimbun on June 4, the Justice Ministry will first need to engage in talks with the Legislative Council on the issue before proceeding forward. While it will also need to iron out important details such as how officers can go about obtaining a criminal’s private keys.
The talks with the legislative Council could go ahead as soon as next month according to the Jiji Press.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-japanese-law-may-allow-seizure-of-stolen-crypto
- 24% American Households Purchased NFTs or Crypto, Study Shows
Cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are emerging as some of the sought-after assets by households and sports fans on American soil, according to a poll by the Seton Hall University.
Per the report:
“While the concepts of cryptocurrency and NFT may still be foreign to many Americans, 24 percent of households in the U.S. have owned either or both.”
The demographics were even higher for avid sports fans at 57%, whereas the rest of the sports fans acknowledged owning these financial assets at 34%. The poll added:
“When asked specifically if their holdings were cryptocurrency and/or NFTs, survey participants indicated stronger engagement with crypto. Of those who hold and/or sold either, 62 percent specified crypto only, while 31 percent specified NFTs only. Seven percent said both.”
https://blockchain.news/news/24-percent-american-households-purchased-nfts-or-cryptostudy-shows
- Canadian Crypto Trading Platform VirgoCX Raises $8M With Growth In Sight
Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform VirgoCX has raised $7.95 million (C$10 million) in a Series A funding round that will help the firm expand globally and add products and services.
Global venture fund Draper Dragon led the financing, which also included Blockdream Ventures, Cobo Ventures, Molecular Group, Sora Ventures, and How Link Investment, according to a statement Monday.
On the regulatory front, the Toronto-based company has been approved by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) as a Restricted Dealer in crypto assets in all Canadian provinces and territories. Meanwhile, VirgoCX is one of eight registered crypto trading platforms listed by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
VirgoCX’s CEO Adam Cai told CoinDesk the company worked diligently to secure the proper licenses to operate in Canada, and is preparing for potential expansion into Australia, the UK, and some parts of Europe.
- Lawsuit Claims US Labor Department’s Crypto Guidance Is Unlawful
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh have been sued over the department’s Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-01. The guidance, titled “401(k) Plan Investments in ‘Cryptocurrencies,’” was issued on March 10.
The lawsuit alleges that the Labor Department breached its statutory purview by threatening “an investigative program” aimed at plan sponsors that offer digital assets.
According to the court document:
This lawsuit seeks to preserve the rights of American investors to choose how to invest money in their own retirement accounts.
The plaintiff is Forusall Inc., which provides administrative and other services to retirement plans. The company claims to be “the first company to announce that it would make cryptocurrency available to 401(k) plan participants through a self-directed window,” the lawsuit details.
The complaint states:
DOL’s issuance of the Release was arbitrary, capricious, and otherwise not in accordance with law, and in excess of DOL’s statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, and is therefore ‘unlawful and [shall be] set aside.’
https://news.bitcoin.com/lawsuit-claims-us-labor-departments-crypto-guidance-is-unlawful/
- $133M in Bitcoin, Ethereum Liquidated as Leading Cryptocurrencies Drop
The prices of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) shed 6% and 7%, respectively, over the past 24 hours, wiping out recent gains.
The swift and bearish price action also resulted in roughly $133 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum positions liquidated, according to Coinglass. The majority of these positions were longs.
Currently, Bitcoin is changing hands at $29,587, down 5.85% over the day, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
This also puts the largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $563.33 billion down a whopping 57.06% from its all-time high of $68,789.63 recorded last November.
Ethereum is also struggling to maintain its recent bullish momentum. The second-largest cryptocurrency has shed 7.42% over the past 24 hours and currently trades at $1,764.
https://decrypt.co/102188/bitcoin-ethereum-liquidated-leading-cryptocurrencies-drop
- Checkout.com launches 24/7 stablecoin settlement in partnership with Fireblocks
Global payment processor Checkout.com has launched a new stablecoin settlement system that will allow merchants to process crypto payments from their customers in real time — potentially widening the use cases of stablecoins within e-commerce.
The stablecoin settlement system centers around Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, and allows merchants to automatically convert USDC payments into fiat upon receipt. The service will be available to merchants around the clock, meaning payments will be settled on weekends and holidays in addition to regular business hours.
The settlement system leverages payout technology developed by crypto infrastructure provider Fireblocks. Through its beta program with Fireblocks, Checkout.com settled over $300 million in USDC transactions.
- Argo May Bitcoin Output Drops 25% From April Amid Teething Problems at Texas Facility
Argo Blockchain (ARB), the only London Stock Exchange-listed crypto miner, said bitcoin production dropped 25% from April as its new Helios facility in Texas experienced “unplanned downtime” and mining difficulty increased on the Bitcoin network.
The company produced 124 bitcoin or bitcoin equivalents in May compared with 166 the previous month.
May saw the start of mining operations at the Helios facility in Dickens County, Texas. While bringing the facility online, the company “faced some limited instances of unplanned downtime,” it said in an announcement Tuesday.
In addition, high temperatures in the state saw increased energy demand and higher electricity prices, so Argo voluntarily curtailed reduced its energy usage there curtailing mining operations.
Argo also attributed the decline to an increase in mining difficulty on the Bitcoin network.
