All posts tagged: Bitcoin

Trump fights for the crypto vote at Bitcoin conference

Trump fights for the crypto vote at Bitcoin conference

Published by skeptic

At the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, former President Donald Trump delivered a keynote speech. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, used the platform to appeal to the tech community and solicit campaign donations. During the conference, he said: I pledge to the Bitcoin community that the day I take the oath of office, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s anti-crypto crusade will be over … If we don’t embrace crypto and Bitcoin technology, China will, other countries will. They’ll dominate, and we cannot let China dominate. They are making too much progress as it is. Trump’s address focused heavily on cryptocurrency policy, positioning it as a partisan issue. He claimed that if re-elected, he would dismiss SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on his first day in office, a statement that drew enthusiastic cheers from the audience. This declaration marks a stark contrast to Gensler’s tenure, which has been characterized by stringent oversight of the crypto industry. The former president outlined several pro-crypto initiatives he would pursue if elected. These included making the US the global cryptocurrency …

Bitcoin Bros Go Wild for Donald Trump

Bitcoin Bros Go Wild for Donald Trump

Published by skeptic

Trump’s speech is an hour behind. A half hour into the wait, restless attendees start chanting “Trump.” The woman sitting in front of me murmurs her own chant: “Bitcoin, bitcoin—that’s what they should be chanting.” She must have gotten the memo: It’s not a Trump rally; it’s a bitcoin rally. When Trump finally takes the stage to “God Bless the USA,” he basks in the glory of his standing ovation, “thrilled…to become the first American president ever to address a bitcoin event.” His next step is to pander to his supporters in the audience. “This is the kind of spirit that will help us make America great again. I stand before you today filled with respect and admiration,” for what he later calls all the “high IQ individuals” in the room. He reiterates past promises (freeing Ross on day one, never creating a Central Bank Digital Currency) and tacks on some new ones (the plan for a US strategic bitcoin reserve, which senator Lummis details in a brief speech after Trump’s; the firing of SEC …

Japan’s DMM Bitcoin says over 0 million of cryptocurrency lost

Japan’s DMM Bitcoin says over $300 million of cryptocurrency lost

Published by Sam

TOKYO :Japan’s cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin said on Friday that it had lost 4,502.9 bitcoin, worth about 48.2 billion yen or $308 million, in what the company called an “unauthorised leak”. It gave no details of how the incident occurred or whether an outside party had been involved, but said it was investigating and had restricted some services in response. Cryptocurrency companies are frequent targets for hacks and cyberattacks, although losses of this scale are rare. DMM Bitcoin said it would replace customers’ lost bitcoin deposits with the help of other group companies. Japan’s Financial Services Agency demanded that the company investigate the incident, public broadcaster NHK said. Tom Robinson, chief scientist and co-founder of the crypto research firm Elliptic, said that if DMM’s loss turned out to be theft, it would be the eighth largest crypto theft of all time, based on exchange rates at the time it occurred. It would be the largest since the $477 million hack suffered by FTX in November 2022, he added. Crypto news outlet CoinDesk said DMM’s loss …

FTX Creditors Say Payout Deal Is ‘an Insult’—and Plan to Revolt

FTX Creditors Say Payout Deal Is ‘an Insult’—and Plan to Revolt

Published by skeptic

Some creditors of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX are preparing to reject a plan that would see them recover 118 percent of the money they lost. The proposal is far less generous than it might seem, they claim. Starting in January, the FTX creditors began to form a voting block, now made up of 1,600 claimants. The new plan is due to be put to a vote in June; the leaders of the block—Sunil Kavuri and Arush Sehgal—will urge members to vote against its approval. “The recovery percentages are drawn from a fake baseline. It’s a false narrative,” says Sehgal. “It’s an insult to creditors.” FTX fell to pieces in November 2022 after running dry of funds with which to process customer withdrawals. Billions of dollars’ worth of customer funds was missing. A year later, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy in connection with the collapse of the exchange. In April, he was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. Filed on Tuesday, the FTX bankruptcy plan charts …

FTX crypto fraud victims to get their money back — plus interest

FTX crypto fraud victims to get their money back — plus interest

Published by skeptic

Bankruptcy lawyers representing customers impacted by the dramatic crash of cryptocurrency exchange FTX 17 months ago say that the vast majority of victims will receive their money back — plus interest. The news comes six months after FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was found guilty on seven counts related to fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering, with some $8 billion of customers’ funds going missing. SBF was hit with a 25-year prison sentence in March, and ordered to pay $11 billion in forfeiture. The crypto mogul filed an appeal last month that could last years. Restructuring After filing for bankruptcy in late 2022, SBF stood down and U.S. attorney John J. Ray III was brought in as CEO and “chief restructuring officer,” charged with overseeing FTX’s reorganization. Shortly after taking over, Ray said in testimony that despite some of the audits that had been done previously at FTX, he didn’t “trust a single piece of paper in this organization.” In the months that followed, Ray and his team set about tracking the missing funds, …

Fidelity: Pension Funds Exploring Bitcoin Investments On ETF Approval

Fidelity: Pension Funds Exploring Bitcoin Investments On ETF Approval

Published by skeptic

Authored by Vivek Sun via Bitcoin Magazine, Fidelity, a major financial services firm, says pension funds are starting to explore investing in Bitcoin, particularly after the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds earlier this year… Fidelity has been bullish on Bitcoin for years, launching its Digital Assets branch in 2018 and bringing a successful Bitcoin ETF to market earlier this year. The firm’s ETF attracted significant capital compared to competitors. Now, Fidelity’s VP of Digital Assets Manuel Nordeste says the company is engaging with major pension funds and other institutional investors about allocating to Bitcoin. Speaking at a recent event, Nordeste stated: “Now, we’re starting to have conversations with the larger, real money institutional investor types, and we’re getting some of those clients, as well as corporates and so on.” His comments come after BlackRock also mentioned yesterday having educational conversations with pension funds regarding Bitcoin ETFs. Recent 13F filings show major pension consultants have already purchased spot Bitcoin ETFs. This mounting evidence indicates serious diligence is underway about allowing pension investments in Bitcoin vehicles like ETFs.  With over $4 trillion in capital, U.S. pension …

The Great Gold Vs Bitcoin Debate

The Great Gold Vs Bitcoin Debate

Published by skeptic

  https://t.co/z5tfJThm9J — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 3, 2024 Watch Live on X, YouTube and Rumble.  ZeroHedge is partnering with Crypto Banter to bring together four top minds to debate one of the most combustible topics of the day: gold or bitcoin? In the anti-crypto corner is the man whose name is synonymous with “gold”, infamous crypto bear Peter Schiff. Alongside Schiff will be “Dr. Doom”, renowned economist Nouriel Roubini. Arguing in favor of crypto will be Anthony Scaramucci – wealth manager with over $10 billion in AUM – as well as day-one crypto veteran Erik Voorhees, founder of ShapeShift and torch-bearer for the asset class’s libertarian roots. The debate will be moderated by Ran Neuner, founder and host of Crypto Banter, one of the largest digital asset news channels on YouTube. ZeroHedge would also like to thank our sponsors for this debate: Preserve Gold and BITLAYER — “Layer 2. The future of Bitcoin.” Whether you’re a fan of gold or Bitcoin, you probably see the wisdom in diversifying away from U.S. dollars. Do so by visiting their websites and checking …

Coinbase profits soar over billion from a year amid Bitcoin ETF boom

Coinbase profits soar over $1 billion from a year amid Bitcoin ETF boom

Published by skeptic

Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, reported a remarkable turnaround in its first-quarter financial results on Thursday (May 2). The company swung to a staggering $1.2 billion profit, or $4.84 per share, for the three months ended March 31, a stark contrast to the $79 million loss, or $0.34 per share, it posted a year earlier. This dramatic shift in fortunes came on the heels of surging cryptocurrency trading volumes, fueled by the launch of the first U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking Bitcoin in January. Coinbase profits rise with the launch of Bitcoin ETFs The SEC’s approval of several spot bitcoin ETFs ignited a frenzy in the crypto markets. Coinbase, serving as the custodian for multiple spot Bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, reaped the benefits of this renewed investor enthusiasm. Bitcoin prices skyrocketed to a new all-time high above $72,000 in March, driving trading volumes on Coinbase’s platform to $312 billion, more than doubling from $145 billion a year prior. CEO Brian Armstrong attributed the company’s success to its focus on …

How Scrappy Cryptominer CoreWeave Transformed Into the Multibillion-Dollar Backbone of the AI Boom

How Scrappy Cryptominer CoreWeave Transformed Into the Multibillion-Dollar Backbone of the AI Boom

Published by skeptic

Fulfilling the world’s surging demand for AI chatbots and image generators depends on mundane components as much as glitzy GPUs. Server cabinets, heavy-duty metal enclosures to store GPU systems, have at times been a crucial bottleneck. As it scrambled to build up its facilities, CoreWeave once ordered 1,400 of the wrong cabinets. It was a costly mistake because supply chain backups have delayed new shipments by months. “You’re moving so fast, and somewhere along the line a process fails—and you don’t realize until you have 17 tractor trailers with cabinets outside the door and you have to turn them all away,” Venturo says. But in an example of the shrewdness that’s been key to rapid expansion, Venturo’s team in that crisis quickly put aside frustration and decided to buy used cabinets off what he called the gray market. The move prevented a significant delay. “This was just one of the instances of challenges we faced and overcame to make sure we delivered for our partners,” he says. To keep things moving, CoreWeave has turned to …