Finland-based peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency platform LocalBitcoins is shutting down operations after serving its customers for more than 10 years. LocalBitcoins officially announced the termination of services on Feb. 9, citing the tough market conditions of the ongoing cryptocurrency winter. “Regardless of our efforts to overcome challenges during the ongoing very cold crypto-winter, we have regretfully concluded
Bitcoin News
Rosbank has brokered Russia’s first deal involving the exchange of tokenized gold with the digital version of the Russian national fiat currency, the ruble. The successful transaction demonstrates the growing interest in digital financial assets and the need for digital ruble payments, the banking institution stated. Rosbank and Atomyze Exchange Gold and Rubles in Digital
The cryptocurrency miner Argo continues to undergo a series of company changes in light of its major acquisition and newly filed lawsuit. Peter Wall, the CEO of Argo Blockchain, announced his resignation from his executive position on Feb. 9. According to the announcement, Wall will remain an adviser to Argo throughout the next three months to
Russian authorities have reportedly arrested the second co-founder of seized cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato. The man, who recently promised to restore the platform’s operations from Russia, was detained at the request of Interpol and may face extradition to France. Another Co-Founder of the Russia-Linked Bitzlato Exchange Apprehended in Moscow Anton Shkurenko, co-founder of the recently busted
With just a few days left before the old naira banknotes are demonetized on Feb. 10 as scheduled, a court in Nigeria has blocked the country’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, and the central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, from further extending the deadline. Opponents of the central bank’s old naira demonetization plan have asked Buhari and Emefiele
Crypto exchange FTX’s collapse and overall crypto market turmoil were not key factors in the decision to merge crypto mining firm Hut 8 with US Bitcoin Corp., according to Hut 8 CEO Jamie Leverton. On Feb. 8, Leverton said that the merger was mainly about providing diversified revenue and helping scale the combined businesses, stating:
Indian crypto exchange Wazirx has denied the allegations made by Binance regarding the relationship between the two crypto exchanges. Emphasizing that the allegations “are false and unsubstantiated,” Wazirx stressed. “As far as Binance’s actions are concerned, we are taking the necessary steps to seek recourse and protect our legal rights.” Wazirx Says Binance’s Accusations Are
Max Levchin, the CEO of buy-now-pay-later company Affirm, has confirmed that they will be shutting down their “Affirm Crypto Program” amid dampening consumer spending and a changing macroeconomic environment. The CEO released a letter to shareholders on Feb. 8 alongside a 19% staff cut. He cited uncertain macroeconomic conditions and the need to offset some
Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, says that most crypto tokens are worthless and they will eventually drop to zero in value. He added that he now owns seven cryptocurrencies and he is getting the same volatility he did when he owned 32 crypto tokens prior to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
Bloomberg Intelligence’s senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone has warned that “cryptos may be facing their first real recession.” The Federal Reserve tightening despite the risk of a recession “could be a primary headwind for most risk assets, notably cryptos,” he added. ‘Cryptos May Be Facing Their First Real Recession’ Bloomberg Intelligence (BI), the research arm
Major crypto exchanges have offered to help the people of Turkey to overcome the consequences of this week’s devastating earthquake. While the crypto industry pledged support, the country’s financial authorities allowed the raising of relief funds through cryptocurrency donations for a charity organization. Leading Exchanges Commit to Supporting the Victims of the Earthquake in Turkey
Statistics show transfer fees on the Bitcoin network have increased 122% since the end of last month, as the average transaction fee has climbed from $0.767 to $1.704 per transaction. The rise in onchain fees coincides with the new Ordinals digital collectible trend on the network, with the number of inscriptions nearing 20,000. Rising Transaction
In this week’s newsletter, read about how Yuga Labs settled a lawsuit with one of the creators of a copycat nonfungible token (NFT) collection. Learn how the Bitcoin Ordinals creator fixed the first instance of porn uploaded to the protocol and how YouTuber Coffeezilla tricked MMA fighter Dillon Danis into promoting fake NFTs. In other
According to recent court filings, Kyle Davies, co-founder of the defunct cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), has allegedly failed to respond to a subpoena from the firm’s current liquidators, despite it being sent via Twitter. Representatives from advisory company Teneo state that Davies continues to ignore his obligations to Three Arrows. 3AC Liquidators
Polygon rose to its strongest point since last April, as prices rose by as much as 6% on Feb. 8. The token surged for a second straight session, after snapping a three-day losing streak on Tuesday. Cosmos also surged higher in today’s session, as it moved closer to recent highs. Polygon (MATIC) Polygon (MATIC) extended
A little-known Bitcoin (BTC) price metric has just given a new bull run signal — and it has never been wrong. As noted on Feb. 8 by Caleb Franzen, senior market analyst at Cubic Analytics, the Williams %R oscillator has left its bottom zone for the first time since May 2022. Analyst: Oscillator crossover is
Over the past 90 days, the top privacy coins by market capitalization have seen an increase of just over $2 billion, rising from $4.65 billion on Nov. 9, 2022 to $6.69 billion today. However, while crypto assets such as bitcoin and ethereum saw gains of 30% or more in 30 days, privacy tokens like monero
Bitcoin (BTC) held by Tesla is still worth 33% less than its 2021 purchase price, the latest data shows. Two years to the day that Elon Musk’s firm added BTC to its balance sheet, most gains continue to evade the auto manufacturer. Tesla and Bitcoin: From $1.5 billion to $225 million Bitcoin and Tesla have
Major cryptocurrency data aggregator CoinGecko and crypto investment firm 21Shares have joined forces to launch a global standard for classifying various crypto asset. On Feb. 8, CoinGecko and 21Shares released The Global Crypto Classification Standard report, proposing a uniform method to categorize crypto assets. The effort aims to help investors and regulators better understand the
Ethereum closed in on the $1,700 level on Wednesday, as markets reacted to comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Speaking after Tuesday’s session, Powell hinted that the Fed could continue to hike rates, should the data show the need for action. Bitcoin was also boosted by the news, climbing back into the $23,000