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Bitcoin Mining Giant in the Making? Riot Reveals Bitfarms Takeover Plan
Bitcoin miner Riot has made an unsolicited offer to buy Bitfarms in a move to create the largest publicly-traded mining company.
Bitcoin mining giant Riot has announced plans to try and snap up smaller miner Bitfarms in a hostile takeover, which if successful would turn the resulting entity into the world’s largest publicly-traded miner.
The American miner announced Tuesday that it had made a private proposal last month, but Bitfarms rejected the offer.
Riot said today it has accumulated a 9.25% stake in Bitfarms to become the miner’s largest shareholder—and is now offering to buy it for $2.30 per share.
Bitfarms shares (NASDAQ: BITF) were up on the news and have today risen by nearly 8%, currently trading for $2.18 a pop. Read More
UK Digital Bank Blocks Clients From Performing Crypto Transactions
London-based digital bank Kroo has barred its customers from performing cryptocurrency transactions. The bank attributes this decision to the increased association of crypto with scams. Kroo joins fellow banks Starling Bank and Chase UK in blocking clients from engaging in crypto transactions.
According to the bank’s updated terms and conditions, starting from May 30, 2024, Kroo will decline bank transfer requests or card transactions associated with cryptocurrencies.
“[We can freeze or restrict your account if] you use your account to purchase or trade in cryptocurrency or you receive credits to your account which arise from cryptocurrency trading or transactions. If we detect such activity we will not process the payments involved, and if you persistently make such transactions we may close your account,” the digital bank explained. Read More
PayPal’s new stablecoin on Solana will offer ‘confidential transfers’
Confidential transfers allow merchants to provide confidentiality for transaction amounts to their consumers while maintaining visibility for regulatory purposes.
PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin, which was recently deployed on Solana, will offer “confidential transfers” as an additional feature.
On May 29, payments platform PayPal announced that it had deployed its dollar-pegged stablecoin on Solana, having only previously been available on Ethereum.
One notable extension initialized for PYUSD is “confidential transfers,” which will allow merchants to “provide confidentiality for transaction amounts to their consumers while maintaining visibility for regulatory purposes,” according to a May 29 Solana blog post. Read More
Are crypto cashback rewards taxable?
Cashback reward programs are popular mechanisms used by companies to reward consumer activity and loyalty, and the growth and awareness around cryptocurrencies make cryptocurrency rewards an excellent way to target savvy consumers interested in digital currencies.
Most users are familiar with successful cashback or rewards programs that offer consumers coupons or air miles to be traded for discounts, as well as fiat currency as cashback. Users typically sign up to use a credit or debit card, and depending on commercial activities performed, they get paid back either in fiat currency or points that have a monetary value and can be used within certain transactions.
There are also cashback sites where users can register their cards, and any purchases from groceries to electronics to insurance and holidays via those sites will help users accumulate cashback rewards.
Cryptocurrency cashback programs have been targeted at the growing niche of savvy digital natives who are familiar with cryptocurrencies and are comfortable earning any rewards in their favorite digital currencies. Read More
Ledger Begins Shipping New Hardware Wallet Co-Created by Former iPod Designer
A new hardware crypto wallet designed by the inventor of Apple’s iconic iPod is now being shipped to consumers.
According to a new blog post from the French-based startup company manufacturing the device, the Ledger Stax wallet is being delivered to those who pre-ordered it.
Says Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier,
“[May 28th] marks a special day for Ledger. I am excited to announce that the shipping of our next-generation device, Ledger Stax, has begun for pre-order customers. The first pre-orders will be shipped over the coming weeks, and new orders will be globally available in Summer 2024. I will share further details at Bitcoin Nashville 2024 on July 26th, so stay tuned.”
The device was first announced 18 months ago. Read More
The Fourth Bitcoin Halving is done. How Has It Stacked Up Historically? What can you expect in the coming months?
The Bitcoin halving, a highly anticipated and pivotal event in the cryptocurrency industry, has finally taken place. As history has demonstrated, when the supply of new BTC is reduced while demand remains steady or increases, Bitcoin tends to reach record levels, significantly impacting the entire cryptocurrency market.
The Bitcoin halving event has sparked concerns about its potential impact on Bitcoin miners, which could, in turn, affect the value of the cryptocurrency and the broader market. This article explores the Bitcoin halving, examining its historical effects on the crypto market and its implications from the most recent halving in April 2024. Read More
DePIN networks can disrupt Big Tech and free the internet
DePIN networks can eat infrastructure the way software consumed most commerce. Akash, Helium and Filecoin are at the forefront of that movement.
Today, control of the internet is heavily concentrated in the hands of a few companies that enjoy massive scale advantages and regulatory protection. These companies operate the internet’s most critical infrastructure, from providing services like telecommunications to offering digital commodities like compute power. Their dominance has lowered competition in their respective industries, which has inevitably led to rising prices and fewer choices — ultimately hurting end users.
A new set of platforms, termed decentralized physical infrastructure Networks (DePIN), return control of the internet’s infrastructure to the people it’s supposed to most benefit: users. Built on public blockchains, these networks have the ability to take the disruptive innovation of some companies — such as Airbnb — a step further by empowering citizens to own, monetize, and improve the infrastructure around them.
More simply: DePIN allows individuals to provide their own labor or resources — for example, their electricity and internet connection — in return for micropayments. This allows protocols to create massive infrastructure footprints without having to front the bill. Read More
Open sourcing lets developers explore beyond initial ideas: Trust Wallet
Trust Wallet’s head of engineering, Luis Ocegueda, discusses Barz, an open-source smart wallet solution compatible with ERC-4337.
Trust Wallet's head of engineering, Luis Ocegueda, shared the idea behind open-sourcing its latest solution called Barz, an ERC-4337 compatible smart wallet solution.
On May 29, Trust Wallet released Barz to help developers overcome wallet challenges and limitations and further drive Web3 adoption. The solution offers use cases like account recovery, flexible key management and signature migration.
In addition, the newly released smart wallet solution has also been open-sourced.
Open-source protocols are created to be open to the public, allowing everyone to examine, alter and share the code. This allows for more transparency and broader accessibility. Read More
Bitcoin Startup Babylon Raises $70 Million to Bring BTC Staking to Ethereum and Solana
Babylon, a startup working to enable native Bitcoin staking on chains like Ethereum and Solana, just raised $70 million towards that goal.
A crypto startup seeking to use Bitcoin for native staking on other blockchain networks has secured $70 million in fresh funding to fuel its ambitious goals.
Babylon, which is aiming to do something never accomplished before, secured the cash from lead investor Paradigm, a prominent crypto venture capital firm. Other contributions came from Bullish Capital and Polychain Capital.
The startup wants to use Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, as a resource for staking. Previously, the firm told Decrypt that it’s building infrastructure to use Bitcoin staking to validate nodes on networks such as Ethereum and Solana.
“This funding will accelerate our mission to make Bitcoin the security backbone of proof-of-stake systems,” Babylon founder David Tse said in a statement. “Our team is dedicated to advancing the utility of Bitcoin beyond its traditional roles and enhancing the security of the entire blockchain ecosystem.” Read More
Ark CEO Cathie Wood Talks Bitcoin With El Salvador's President — Applauds His Vision for BTC Hub
Asset management firm ARK Invest’s CEO, Cathie Wood, met with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele last week. The visit, arranged by Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert, included economist Art Laffer and ARK Invest research associates David Puell and Marc Seal.
“Harnessing bitcoin and AI to turbocharge his economic and education reforms, the President could potentially increase El Salvador’s GDP tenfold during his next five-year term,” Wood shared on social media platform X on Tuesday. “Currently, El Salvador’s GDP is at a low base, approximately $30 billion, and the average income is only $450 per month. President Bukele clearly understands the Laffer Curve, and Art Laffer and I see many ways to build on the momentum his tax incentives have created!”
Wood continued: “The President also embraced the idea of introducing Ark Educate’s curriculum on technologically enabled innovation — including robotics, energy storage, AI, blockchain, and multiomics — to schools in El Salvador. Since 2020, our educators have adapted Ark’s research to be age-appropriate.” Read More
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
