Bitcoin hit a two-week peak just shy of $40,000 on Monday, after another weekend reacting to tweets from Tesla boss Elon Musk, who fended off criticism over his market influence and said Tesla sold bitcoin but may resume transactions using it.

Bitcoin has gyrated to Musk's views for months since Tesla announced a $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase in February and said it would take the cryptocurrency in payment. He later said the electric car maker would not accept bitcoin due to concerns over how mining the currency requires high energy use and contributes to climate change.

"When there's confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend, Tesla will resume allowing Bitcoin transactions," Musk said on Twitter on Sunday.

Bitcoin rallied more than 9% after that message, breaking above its 20-day moving average, and it climbed a tiny bit further in Asia to hit $39,838.92.

"The market had been going through another round of correction over the weekend ... until Elon Musk's tweet of accepting BTC again for Tesla purchases changed sentiment," said Bobby Ong, co-founder of crypto analytics website CoinGecko.

He said the market was also supported by software company and major bitcoin-backer MicroStrategy raising half a billion dollars to buy bitcoin.

Bitcoin is up about 33% this year but has collapsed from a record peak above $60,000 amid a regulatory crackdown in China and Musk's apparently wavering enthusiasm for it. Telsa stock is down about 30% since the company's bitcoin purchase.

Musk's tweet was made in response to an article based on remarks from Magda Wierzycka, head of cybersecurity firm Syngia, who in a radio interview last week accused him of "price manipulation" and selling a "big part" of his exposure.

"This is inaccurate," Musk said. "Tesla only sold ~10% of holdings to confirm BTC could be liquidated easily without moving market."

Musk had tweeted in May that Tesla "will not be selling any bitcoin" and "has not sold any bitcoin," but investors are keenly awaiting Tesla's next earnings update - due next month - for any disclosure of changes to its position.

Musk has taken issue with the vast computing power required to process bitcoin transactions and in early June posted messages appearing to lament a breakup with bitcoin.

Other cryptocurrencies were steady after weekend gains, with ether at $2,491 and one-time Musk darling dogecoin buying about 32 U.S. cents on crypto exchange Binance.

Bitcoin hit a two-week peak just shy of $40,000 on Monday, after another weekend reacting to tweets from Tesla boss Elon Musk, who fended off criticism over his market influence and said Tesla sold bitcoin but may resume transactions using it.

Bitcoin hit a two-week peak just shy of $40,000 on Monday, after another weekend reacting to tweets from Tesla boss Elon Musk, who fended off criticism over his market influence and said Tesla sold bitcoin but may resume transactions using it. Bitcoin has gyrated to Musk's views for months since Tesla announced a $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase in February and said it would take the cryptocurrency in payment. He later said the electric car maker would not accept bitcoin due to concerns over how mining the currency requires high energy use and contributes to climate change. "When there's confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend, Tesla will resume allowing Bitcoin transactions," Musk said on Twitter on Sunday. Bitcoin rallied more than 9% after that message, breaking above its 20-day moving average, and it climbed a tiny bit further in Asia to hit $39,838.92. "The market had been going through another round of correction over the weekend ... until Elon Musk's tweet of accepting BTC again for Tesla purchases changed sentiment," said Bobby Ong, co-founder of crypto analytics website CoinGecko. He said the market was also supported by software company and major bitcoin-backer MicroStrategy raising half a billion dollars to buy bitcoin. Bitcoin is up about 33% this year but has collapsed from a record peak above $60,000 amid a regulatory crackdown in China and Musk's apparently wavering enthusiasm for it. Telsa stock is down about 30% since the company's bitcoin purchase. Musk's tweet was made in response to an article based on remarks from Magda Wierzycka, head of cybersecurity firm Syngia, who in a radio interview last week accused him of "price manipulation" and selling a "big part" of his exposure. "This is inaccurate," Musk said. "Tesla only sold ~10% of holdings to confirm BTC could be liquidated easily without moving market." Musk had tweeted in May that Tesla "will not be selling any bitcoin" and "has not sold any bitcoin," but investors are keenly awaiting Tesla's next earnings update - due next month - for any disclosure of changes to its position. Musk has taken issue with the vast computing power required to process bitcoin transactions and in early June posted messages appearing to lament a breakup with bitcoin. Other cryptocurrencies were steady after weekend gains, with ether at $2,491 and one-time Musk darling dogecoin buying about 32 U.S. cents on crypto exchange Binance.

Bitcoin jumps after Musk says Tesla could use it again

Police in China arrested over 1,100 people suspected of using cryptocurrencies to launder illegal proceeds from telephone and Internet scams in a recent crackdown, the Ministry of Public Security said. 
 
The arrests came as authorities in China step up their crackdown on cryptocurrency trading. Last month, three industry bodies banned crypto-related financial and payment services, and the State Council, China`s cabinet, vowed to clamp down on bitcoin mining and trading. 
 
The public security ministry said that by Wednesday afternoon police had busted more than 170 criminal groups involved in using cryptocurrencies to launder money. 
 
The money launderers charged their criminal clients a commission of 1.5% to 5% to convert illegal proceeds into virtual currencies via crypto exchanges, the ministry said via its official Wechat account. 
 
China`s Payment &amp; Clearing Association said on Wednesday that the number of crimes involving the use of virtual currencies is on the rise. 
 
Because cryptocurrencies are anonymous, convenient and global in nature, "they have increasingly become an important channel for cross-border money laundering," the association said in a statement. 
 
Cryptocurrencies have already become a popular means of payment in illegal gambling activities. Nearly 13% of gambling sites support the use of virtual currencies, and blockchain technology has made it more difficult for authorities to track the money, according to the association.

Police in China arrested over 1,100 people suspected of using cryptocurrencies to launder illegal proceeds from telephone and Internet scams in a recent crackdown, the Ministry of Public Security said.

Police in China arrested over 1,100 people suspected of using cryptocurrencies to launder illegal proceeds from telephone and Internet scams in a recent crackdown, the Ministry of Public Security said. The arrests came as authorities in China step up their crackdown on cryptocurrency trading. Last month, three industry bodies banned crypto-related financial and payment services, and the State Council, China`s cabinet, vowed to clamp down on bitcoin mining and trading. The public security ministry said that by Wednesday afternoon police had busted more than 170 criminal groups involved in using cryptocurrencies to launder money. The money launderers charged their criminal clients a commission of 1.5% to 5% to convert illegal proceeds into virtual currencies via crypto exchanges, the ministry said via its official Wechat account. China`s Payment & Clearing Association said on Wednesday that the number of crimes involving the use of virtual currencies is on the rise. Because cryptocurrencies are anonymous, convenient and global in nature, "they have increasingly become an important channel for cross-border money laundering," the association said in a statement. Cryptocurrencies have already become a popular means of payment in illegal gambling activities. Nearly 13% of gambling sites support the use of virtual currencies, and blockchain technology has made it more difficult for authorities to track the money, according to the association.

China arrests over 1,100 suspects in crackdown on crypto-related money laundering

On Wednesday,&nbsp;El Salvador's legislature passed a law that designates Bitcoin legal tender. This makes it possible to pay taxes with Bitcoin, and businesses will now be obligated to accept Bitcoin payments, and converting Bitcoin to other currencies will no longer be subjected to capital-gains tax. With this law that will take effect in 90 days, El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to consider Bitcoin a legal currency.

<img alt="Cryptocurrency" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="1901c461-46c5-4078-b849-f8f1269d5196" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/crypto.jpg" />

The advantage of being first might make El Salvador a tidy gain when investors and entrepreneurs alike flock to the nation, taking advantage of the good climate, lack of property tax, no capital-gains tax for Bitcoin, and immediate permanent residence for crypto entrepreneurs.

<img alt="Cryptocurrency" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c6da70e5-6a28-4501-a2ef-2ebeeb1bf54e" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/crypto%201_0.png" /> 
&nbsp;

After El Salvador's legislature has legalised Bitcoin and deemed it a currency, the road ahead looks bright for other developing countries in the region. It is not only the President of El Salvador who is positive towards crypto-currencies, but a lot of other leaders in Central and South American countries too.

Paraguay might be the second country to adopt Bitcoin, as the Deputy of the Nation Carlos Antonio Rejala Herman tweeted hints about adoption a few days back: “As I was saying, our country needs to advance hand-in-hand with the new generation. The moment has come, our moment. This week we start with an important project to innovate Paraguay in front of the world.”

Note the #BTC &amp; #PayPal in the tweet, could a collaboration be looming? Rejala also mentions 'to the moon' along with a picture of himself with laser eyes, a trend that caught on in the crypto currency community earlier this year.

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Como ya lo decía hace un buen tiempo, nuestro país necesita avanzar de la mano de la nueva generación. 
Llegó el momento, nuestro momento. 
Esta semana empezamos con un proyecto importante para innovar a Paraguay frente al mundo! 
 
El verdadero to the moon ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/btc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#btc</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/paypal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#paypal</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZMRJgAIxgO">pic.twitter.com/ZMRJgAIxgO</a>
— Carlitos Rejala ?￰ﾟﾇﾵ?￰ﾟﾙﾌ (@carlitosrejala) <a href="https://twitter.com/carlitosrejala/status/1401712725886132224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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A move toward Bitcoin adoption could be very good for the economy of Paraguay, as the electricity is really cheap in the country and they produce more than twice as much electricity than what's used domestically, and they export power to both Argentina and Brazil at good rates. The cheap electricity, and positive legal outlook has led to the construction of one of the world's largest mining centers in the country.

<img alt="Crypto" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="299a3436-257b-4f3c-ab64-b13b7963496b" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/crypto%203%20final.JPG" />

<img alt="Crypto" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c78ebf0f-2ca1-438c-a0c3-8727ed2f7ddc" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/crypto%204.jpg" />

The Golden Goose Mining Center has been built on a 200,000m² site near the Laipu hydro-power plant in Paraguay. Stable and cheap hydro-power coming from this mega-sized dam, along with political stability, low taxes, support of foreign-funded enterprises, low risk of armed conflict with neighboring countries and high speed internet has made Paraguay tick all the boxes that mining companies are looking for when setting up operations.

Panama

Gabriel Silva is pushing for support and tweets, “This is important. And Panama cannot be left behind. If we want to be a true technology and entrepreneurship hub, we have to support cryptocurrencies We will be preparing a proposal to present at the Assembly. If you are interested in building it, you can contact me”.

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Esto es importante. Y Panamá no se puede quedar atrás. Si queremos ser un verdadero hub de tecnología y emprendimiento tenemos que apoyar las criptomonedas 
 
Estaremos preparando una propuesta para presentar en la Asamblea. Si están interesados en construirla me pueden contactarte <a href="https://t.co/yiAzPpD9nj">https://t.co/yiAzPpD9nj</a>
— Gabriel Silva (@gabrielsilva8_7) <a href="https://twitter.com/gabrielsilva8_7/status/1401965129051389958?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Mexico&nbsp;

Senator Indira Kempis has also changed her twitter profile picture to one with laser eyes, along with many tweets supporting El Salvador's moves and the industry.

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<a href="https://t.co/h5iJ24TmNw">https://t.co/h5iJ24TmNw</a> <a href="https://t.co/pBKVLDp7E9">pic.twitter.com/pBKVLDp7E9</a>
— Indira Kempis de I. (@IndiraKempis) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndiraKempis/status/1402129280830742531?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Eduardo Murat Hinojosa also sports the laser eyes, will propose a legal framework for cryptos in Mexico's lower house.

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Voy a promover y proponer ante la Cámara de Diputados un marco legal para las criptomonedas en México <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/btc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#btc</a> 
 
I will be promoting and proposing a legal framework for crypto coins in Mexico's lower house <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/btc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#btc</a> <a href="https://t.co/zwhYOZ7KAg">pic.twitter.com/zwhYOZ7KAg</a>
— Eduardo Murat Hinojosa (@eduardomurat) <a href="https://twitter.com/eduardomurat/status/1402257568580390923?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Colombia

Jehudi Castro Sierra, Digital Transformation Adviser, Office of the Presidency of Colombia, contributed to the World Economic Forum's Decentralized Finance Policy-Maker toolkit and is calling for Colombia to embrace the emerging technology.&nbsp;

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Very pleased to have contributed to the Decentralized Finance: (DeFi) Policy-Maker Toolkit from <a href="https://twitter.com/wef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wef</a> 
and <a href="https://twitter.com/Wharton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Wharton</a>. 
DeFi is a great opportunity and Colombia is ready to embrace it. <a href="https://t.co/iih2IaPWm3">https://t.co/iih2IaPWm3</a>
— Jehudi ?￰ﾟﾇﾴ (@JCastroS) <a href="https://twitter.com/JCastroS/status/1402311469774131205?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Brazil

Fábio Ostermann updated his profile picture with laser eyes and tagged #LaserEyesTill100k showing his support.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LaserEyes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LaserEyes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LaserEyesTill100k?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LaserEyesTill100k</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NovaFotoDoPerfil?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NovaFotoDoPerfil</a> <a href="https://t.co/tbxThxh5Ps">pic.twitter.com/tbxThxh5Ps</a>
— Fábio Ostermann (@FabioOstermann) <a href="https://twitter.com/FabioOstermann/status/1401988499893587968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Argentina

Francisco Sanchez updated his profile photo of himself with the laser eyes, commenting “I can't believe it, but this is how it is”.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NuevaFotoDePerfil?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NuevaFotoDePerfil</a> <a href="https://t.co/zqftvmKRfB">pic.twitter.com/zqftvmKRfB</a>
— Francisco Sánchez ?￰ﾟﾇﾷ (@fsancheznqn) <a href="https://twitter.com/fsancheznqn/status/1402045792333012997?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Tonga

Tonga is another country positive towards Bitcoin, with Lord member of Parliament Lord Fusitua looking to invest in Bitcoin with the nation's $750m of reserves.

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Tonga ?￰ﾟﾇﾴ may be next nation to adopt <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bitcoin</a> 
 
Lord Member of Parliament <a href="https://twitter.com/LordFusitua?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LordFusitua</a> says he's already chatting with <a href="https://twitter.com/jackmallers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jackmallers</a> and is looking to buy <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bitcoin</a> with the nation's $750 million of reserves. 
 
Remittances also make up 37% of their GPD. <a href="https://t.co/mk1cxMC4Ul">pic.twitter.com/mk1cxMC4Ul</a>
— Documenting Bitcoin ? (@DocumentingBTC) <a href="https://twitter.com/DocumentingBTC/status/1402655617462980613?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Support for crypto-currencies can come in many forms, whether it be by approving a certain project's tokens as legal tender, or by investing a countries reserves into digital assets to hedge against inflation. The industry is full of entrepreneurs and investors who are moving ahead at full speed, and the first countries to show support for these emerging technologies are set to gain tremendously by attracting jobs, talent and investments into their territories. Choosing an outright ban of crypto-currencies can make countries miss out on a huge opportunity for growth and high tech jobs, something that the entire world will need a lot more of after recuperating from the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, El Salvador's legislature passed a law that designates Bitcoin legal tender. This makes it possible to pay taxes with Bitcoin, and businesses will now be obligated to accept Bitcoin payments, and converting Bitcoin to other currencies will no longer be subjected to capital-gains tax.

On Wednesday, El Salvador's legislature passed a law that designates Bitcoin legal tender. This makes it possible to pay taxes with Bitcoin, and businesses will now be obligated to accept Bitcoin payments, and converting Bitcoin to other currencies will no longer be subjected to capital-gains tax. With this law that will take effect in 90 days, El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to consider Bitcoin a legal currency. The advantage of being first might make El Salvador a tidy gain when investors and entrepreneurs alike flock to the nation, taking advantage of the good climate, lack of property tax, no capital-gains tax for Bitcoin, and immediate permanent residence for crypto entrepreneurs. After El Salvador's legislature has legalised Bitcoin and deemed it a currency, the road ahead looks bright for other developing countries in the region. It is not only the President of El Salvador who is positive towards crypto-currencies, but a lot of other leaders in Central and South American countries too. Paraguay might be the second country to adopt Bitcoin, as the Deputy of the Nation Carlos Antonio Rejala Herman tweeted hints about adoption a few days back: “As I was saying, our country needs to advance hand-in-hand with the new generation. The moment has come, our moment. This week we start with an important project to innovate Paraguay in front of the world.” Note the #BTC & #PayPal in the tweet, could a collaboration be looming? Rejala also mentions 'to the moon' along with a picture of himself with laser eyes, a trend that caught on in the crypto currency community earlier this year. Como ya lo decía hace un buen tiempo, nuestro país necesita avanzar de la mano de la nueva generación. Llegó el momento, nuestro momento. Esta semana empezamos con un proyecto importante para innovar a Paraguay frente al mundo! El verdadero to the moon ?#btc & #paypal pic.twitter.com/ZMRJgAIxgO — Carlitos Rejala ?￰ﾟﾇﾵ?￰ﾟﾙﾌ (@carlitosrejala) June 7, 2021 × A move toward Bitcoin adoption could be very good for the economy of Paraguay, as the electricity is really cheap in the country and they produce more than twice as much electricity than what's used domestically, and they export power to both Argentina and Brazil at good rates. The cheap electricity, and positive legal outlook has led to the construction of one of the world's largest mining centers in the country. The Golden Goose Mining Center has been built on a 200,000m² site near the Laipu hydro-power plant in Paraguay. Stable and cheap hydro-power coming from this mega-sized dam, along with political stability, low taxes, support of foreign-funded enterprises, low risk of armed conflict with neighboring countries and high speed internet has made Paraguay tick all the boxes that mining companies are looking for when setting up operations. Panama Gabriel Silva is pushing for support and tweets, “This is important. And Panama cannot be left behind. If we want to be a true technology and entrepreneurship hub, we have to support cryptocurrencies We will be preparing a proposal to present at the Assembly. If you are interested in building it, you can contact me”. Esto es importante. Y Panamá no se puede quedar atrás. Si queremos ser un verdadero hub de tecnología y emprendimiento tenemos que apoyar las criptomonedas Estaremos preparando una propuesta para presentar en la Asamblea. Si están interesados en construirla me pueden contactarte https://t.co/yiAzPpD9nj — Gabriel Silva (@gabrielsilva8_7) June 7, 2021 × Mexico Senator Indira Kempis has also changed her twitter profile picture to one with laser eyes, along with many tweets supporting El Salvador's moves and the industry. https://t.co/h5iJ24TmNw pic.twitter.com/pBKVLDp7E9 — Indira Kempis de I. (@IndiraKempis) June 8, 2021 × Eduardo Murat Hinojosa also sports the laser eyes, will propose a legal framework for cryptos in Mexico's lower house. Voy a promover y proponer ante la Cámara de Diputados un marco legal para las criptomonedas en México #btc I will be promoting and proposing a legal framework for crypto coins in Mexico's lower house #btc pic.twitter.com/zwhYOZ7KAg — Eduardo Murat Hinojosa (@eduardomurat) June 8, 2021 × Colombia Jehudi Castro Sierra, Digital Transformation Adviser, Office of the Presidency of Colombia, contributed to the World Economic Forum's Decentralized Finance Policy-Maker toolkit and is calling for Colombia to embrace the emerging technology. Very pleased to have contributed to the Decentralized Finance: (DeFi) Policy-Maker Toolkit from @wef and @Wharton. DeFi is a great opportunity and Colombia is ready to embrace it. https://t.co/iih2IaPWm3 — Jehudi ?￰ﾟﾇﾴ (@JCastroS) June 8, 2021 × Brazil Fábio Ostermann updated his profile picture with laser eyes and tagged #LaserEyesTill100k showing his support. #LaserEyes #LaserEyesTill100k #NovaFotoDoPerfil pic.twitter.com/tbxThxh5Ps — Fábio Ostermann (@FabioOstermann) June 7, 2021 × Argentina Francisco Sanchez updated his profile photo of himself with the laser eyes, commenting “I can't believe it, but this is how it is”. #NuevaFotoDePerfil pic.twitter.com/zqftvmKRfB — Francisco Sánchez ?￰ﾟﾇﾷ (@fsancheznqn) June 7, 2021 × Tonga Tonga is another country positive towards Bitcoin, with Lord member of Parliament Lord Fusitua looking to invest in Bitcoin with the nation's $750m of reserves. Tonga ?￰ﾟﾇﾴ may be next nation to adopt #Bitcoin Lord Member of Parliament @LordFusitua says he's already chatting with @jackmallers and is looking to buy #bitcoin with the nation's $750 million of reserves. Remittances also make up 37% of their GPD. pic.twitter.com/mk1cxMC4Ul — Documenting Bitcoin ? (@DocumentingBTC) June 9, 2021 × Support for crypto-currencies can come in many forms, whether it be by approving a certain project's tokens as legal tender, or by investing a countries reserves into digital assets to hedge against inflation. The industry is full of entrepreneurs and investors who are moving ahead at full speed, and the first countries to show support for these emerging technologies are set to gain tremendously by attracting jobs, talent and investments into their territories. Choosing an outright ban of crypto-currencies can make countries miss out on a huge opportunity for growth and high tech jobs, something that the entire world will need a lot more of after recuperating from the coronavirus pandemic.

El Salvador legalises Bitcoin as other nations plan similar moves

A slew of crypto-related accounts in China's Twitter-like Weibo platform were blocked over the weekend, as Beijing stepped up a crackdown on bitcoin trading and mining. 
 
More actions are expected, including linking illegal crypto activities in China more directly with the country's criminal law, according to analysts and a financial regulator. 
 
Last month, China's State Council, or cabinet, vowed to crack down on bitcoin mining and trading, escalating a campaign against cryptocurrencies days after three industry bodies banned crypto-related financial and payment services. 
 
Over the weekend, access to several of widely followed crypto-related Weibo accounts was denied, with a message saying each account 'violates laws and rules'. 
 
"It's a Judgment Day for crypto KOL", wrote a Weibo bitcoin commentator, or key opinion leader (KOL), who calls herself 'Woman Dr. bitcoin mini'. Her main account was also blocked on Saturday. 
 
"The government makes it clear that no Chinese version of Elon Musk can exist in the Chinese crypto market," said NYU Law School adjunct professor Winston Ma, referring to the Tesla founder and cryptocurrency enthusiast. 
 
Ma, author of the book 'The Digital War', also expects China's supreme court to publish a judicial interpretation soon that may link crypto mining and trading businesses with China's body of criminal law. 
 
The view was echoed by a financial regulator, who said that such an interpretation would address the legal ambiguity that has failed to clearly identify bitcoin trading businesses as 'illegal operations'. All the rules against cryptocurrencies so far in China have been published by administrative bodies. 
 
The Weibo freeze comes as Chinese media have stepped up reporting against crypto trading. 
 
The official Xinhua News Agency has published articles that exposed a series of crypto-related scams. State broadcaster CCTV has said cryptocurrency is a lightly regulated asset often used in black market trade, money laundering, arms smuggling, gambling and drug dealings. 
 
The stepped-up crackdown also comes as China's central bank is accelerating testing of its own digital currency. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

A slew of crypto-related accounts in China's Twitter-like Weibo platform were blocked over the weekend, as Beijing stepped up a crackdown on bitcoin trading and mining.

A slew of crypto-related accounts in China's Twitter-like Weibo platform were blocked over the weekend, as Beijing stepped up a crackdown on bitcoin trading and mining. More actions are expected, including linking illegal crypto activities in China more directly with the country's criminal law, according to analysts and a financial regulator. Last month, China's State Council, or cabinet, vowed to crack down on bitcoin mining and trading, escalating a campaign against cryptocurrencies days after three industry bodies banned crypto-related financial and payment services. Over the weekend, access to several of widely followed crypto-related Weibo accounts was denied, with a message saying each account 'violates laws and rules'. "It's a Judgment Day for crypto KOL", wrote a Weibo bitcoin commentator, or key opinion leader (KOL), who calls herself 'Woman Dr. bitcoin mini'. Her main account was also blocked on Saturday. "The government makes it clear that no Chinese version of Elon Musk can exist in the Chinese crypto market," said NYU Law School adjunct professor Winston Ma, referring to the Tesla founder and cryptocurrency enthusiast. Ma, author of the book 'The Digital War', also expects China's supreme court to publish a judicial interpretation soon that may link crypto mining and trading businesses with China's body of criminal law. The view was echoed by a financial regulator, who said that such an interpretation would address the legal ambiguity that has failed to clearly identify bitcoin trading businesses as 'illegal operations'. All the rules against cryptocurrencies so far in China have been published by administrative bodies. The Weibo freeze comes as Chinese media have stepped up reporting against crypto trading. The official Xinhua News Agency has published articles that exposed a series of crypto-related scams. State broadcaster CCTV has said cryptocurrency is a lightly regulated asset often used in black market trade, money laundering, arms smuggling, gambling and drug dealings. The stepped-up crackdown also comes as China's central bank is accelerating testing of its own digital currency. (With inputs from agencies)

China blocks several cryptocurrency-related social media accounts amid crackdown

Hacker group Anonymous has released a video targetting Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In the video released on Youtube on June 4, Anonymous,&nbsp; responsible for some of the major cyber-attacks has criticised Musk's hold on the cryptocurrency market.

Calling Musk a "Narcissistic rich dude" with "Superiority and savior complex', Anonymous alleged that mainstay of Tesla's income doesn't come from selling cars but comes from government subsidies. And money from these subsidies has been used by Musk to buy Bitcoins, alleges Anonymous.

Elon Musk has lately been very vocal about Bitcoins and cryptocurrencies. His tweets on Bitcoin have caused value of the cryptocurrency to drastically increase and decrease.

Disapproving of these practices, Anonymous has held Musk responsible for playing with common man's money that is invested in hope of getting good returns from cryptocurrencies.

"The games you have played with crypto market have destroyed lives," says Anonynous. The hacker group ends their video with an ominous 'expect us'.

Anonymous has been a formidable hacker group, past cyberattacks of which have shut down governments and corporations alike.

Hacker group Anonymous has released a video targetting Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In the video released on Youtube on June 4, Anonymous, responsible for some of the major cyber-attacks has criticised Musk's hold on the cryptocurrency market.

Hacker group Anonymous has released a video targetting Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In the video released on Youtube on June 4, Anonymous, responsible for some of the major cyber-attacks has criticised Musk's hold on the cryptocurrency market. Calling Musk a "Narcissistic rich dude" with "Superiority and savior complex', Anonymous alleged that mainstay of Tesla's income doesn't come from selling cars but comes from government subsidies. And money from these subsidies has been used by Musk to buy Bitcoins, alleges Anonymous. Elon Musk has lately been very vocal about Bitcoins and cryptocurrencies. His tweets on Bitcoin have caused value of the cryptocurrency to drastically increase and decrease. Disapproving of these practices, Anonymous has held Musk responsible for playing with common man's money that is invested in hope of getting good returns from cryptocurrencies. "The games you have played with crypto market have destroyed lives," says Anonynous. The hacker group ends their video with an ominous 'expect us'. Anonymous has been a formidable hacker group, past cyberattacks of which have shut down governments and corporations alike.

'Expect us': Hacktivist group Anonymous targets Elon Musk over his crypto market hold

Many cryptocurrency firms are not meeting Britain`s anti-money laundering and financing rules and, as a result, unprecedented numbers of them have withdrawn applications to register with the country`s financial watchdog, it said on Thursday. 
 
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it would extend the date of its temporary registrations regime from July 9 to the end of March 2022. The extension will allow crypto firms to carry on their business while the regulator conducts further checks, it said in a statement. 
 
The cryptocurrency sector has been plagued through its 12-year life by lax standards on money laundering and other illicit activities. 
 
While standards are widely seen to have improved, global regulators and policymakers have in recent months voiced concerns over the illicit use of crypto. 
 
Since January, cryptocurrency-related firms have had to comply with UK laws on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing. 
 
"The FCA will only register firms where it is confident that processes are in place to identify and prevent this activity," it said.

Many cryptocurrency firms are not meeting Britain`s anti-money laundering and financing rules and, as a result, unprecedented numbers of them have withdrawn applications to register with the country`s financial watchdog, it said on Thursday.

Many cryptocurrency firms are not meeting Britain`s anti-money laundering and financing rules and, as a result, unprecedented numbers of them have withdrawn applications to register with the country`s financial watchdog, it said on Thursday. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it would extend the date of its temporary registrations regime from July 9 to the end of March 2022. The extension will allow crypto firms to carry on their business while the regulator conducts further checks, it said in a statement. The cryptocurrency sector has been plagued through its 12-year life by lax standards on money laundering and other illicit activities. While standards are widely seen to have improved, global regulators and policymakers have in recent months voiced concerns over the illicit use of crypto. Since January, cryptocurrency-related firms have had to comply with UK laws on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing. "The FCA will only register firms where it is confident that processes are in place to identify and prevent this activity," it said.

Cryptocurrency firms not meeting anti-money laundering rules, UK regulator says

Bitcoin's value plunged on Wednesday after China signaled a new crackdown on the cryptocurrency, but its losses were cushioned after Tesla head Elon Musk spoke up on Twitter.

The virtual currency fell to almost $30,000 — less than half the record value it reached last month — before climbing back over $39,500 around 2000 GMT. It was still above its level at the start of the year.

Bitcoin recovered somewhat following tweets from Musk that featured a diamond and hands emoji, taken as a signal the company had not sold off its huge bitcoin holdings as the CEO appeared to suggest recently.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/elon-musks-tesla-halts-bitcoin-purchases-amid-concerns-of-increasing-carbon-emissions-384647" hreflang="en">Elon Musk's Tesla halts bitcoin purchases amid concerns of increasing carbon emissions</a>

At its daily low on Wednesday, the unit lost nearly a third of its value compared to the start of the week and more than half compared to its record, reached just a month ago, on April 14, at $64,869.78.

Making matters worse, Chinese authorities on Wednesday said cryptocurrencies would not be allowed in transactions and warned investors against speculative trading in them, despite the country powering most of the world's mining.

Trading in cryptocurrencies has been banned in China since 2019 to prevent money laundering, as leaders try to stop people from shifting cash overseas. The country had been home to around 90 percent of the global trade in the sector.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/musk-pokes-fun-at-himself-admits-twitter-puts-him-in-trouble-383862" hreflang="en">Musk pokes fun at himself, admits Twitter puts him in trouble&nbsp;</a>

In a statement, three state-backed industry associations said "cryptocurrency prices have skyrocketed and plummeted, and cryptocurrency trading speculation activities have rebounded."

The price fluctuations "seriously violate people's asset safety and disrupt normal economic and financial order," said the statement posted to social media by the People's Bank of China.

The notice warned consumers against wild speculation, adding that the "losses caused by investment transactions are borne by the consumers themselves," since Chinese law offers no protection to them.&nbsp;

It reiterated that providing cryptocurrency services to customers and crypto-based financial products was illegal for Chinese financial institutions and payment providers.

"This is the latest chapter of China tightening the noose around crypto," said Antoni Trenchev, managing partner and co-founder of London-based crypto lender Nexo.

Linghao Bao, analyst at Trivium China, said that despite the ban, Chinese investors could still find ways to buy cryptocurrencies through illegal vendors.

"There will always be a way to circumvent regulations," he said. "The point of this order is to tell financial institutions to up their game to detect these crypto-related transactions."

Bitcoin had a roller-coaster day on Wednesday, falling from $45,600 to under $40,000, then climbing back before dropping to $30,017 and up again.

"This looks like your typical flash crash, but there seems to be some hesitancy in getting back in," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.

'Here to stay'

Adam Reynolds, of Saxo Markets, added that avoiding use of cryptocurrency, which can be transferred out of the country, is "essential to maintaining capital controls" in China.&nbsp;

Bitcoin has had a torrid few days, in good part because of Musk and Tesla.

Last week Tesla hit the brakes on letting people pay for its electric cars with bitcoin, citing concerns about the harmful effects that mining cryptocurrencies has on the environment.

Then Musk appeared to suggest Tesla was planning to sell its huge holdings of the unit, before clarifying that the company had not sold any bitcoin.

"Elon Musk started the ball rolling," Germany-based crypto analyst Timo Emden told AFP. "It will take some time for them to recover from this shock."

Mining cryptocurrency is a hugely energy-intensive process requiring large amounts of electricity in giant data centers.

China, which powers nearly 80 percent of the global cryptocurrency trade, relies on a particularly polluting type of coal, lignite, to power some of its mining.

"If bitcoin was a country, it would use around the same amount of electricity a year to mine as Switzerland does in total," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note.

Some Chinese enthusiasts, however, remained unfazed.

"This has happened before and it happens every year...," said trader and ex-tech industry worker Zeng Jiajun. "Crypto is here to stay." &nbsp;

China is in the midst of a wide-ranging regulatory crackdown on its fintech sector. Its biggest players — including Alibaba and Tencent — have been hit with big fines after being found guilty of monopolistic practices.

Bitcoin's value plunged on Wednesday after China signaled a new crackdown on the cryptocurrency, but its losses were cushioned after Tesla head Elon Musk spoke up on Twitter.

Bitcoin's value plunged on Wednesday after China signaled a new crackdown on the cryptocurrency, but its losses were cushioned after Tesla head Elon Musk spoke up on Twitter. The virtual currency fell to almost $30,000 — less than half the record value it reached last month — before climbing back over $39,500 around 2000 GMT. It was still above its level at the start of the year. Bitcoin recovered somewhat following tweets from Musk that featured a diamond and hands emoji, taken as a signal the company had not sold off its huge bitcoin holdings as the CEO appeared to suggest recently. Also read | Elon Musk's Tesla halts bitcoin purchases amid concerns of increasing carbon emissions At its daily low on Wednesday, the unit lost nearly a third of its value compared to the start of the week and more than half compared to its record, reached just a month ago, on April 14, at $64,869.78. Making matters worse, Chinese authorities on Wednesday said cryptocurrencies would not be allowed in transactions and warned investors against speculative trading in them, despite the country powering most of the world's mining. Trading in cryptocurrencies has been banned in China since 2019 to prevent money laundering, as leaders try to stop people from shifting cash overseas. The country had been home to around 90 percent of the global trade in the sector. Also read | Musk pokes fun at himself, admits Twitter puts him in trouble In a statement, three state-backed industry associations said "cryptocurrency prices have skyrocketed and plummeted, and cryptocurrency trading speculation activities have rebounded." The price fluctuations "seriously violate people's asset safety and disrupt normal economic and financial order," said the statement posted to social media by the People's Bank of China. The notice warned consumers against wild speculation, adding that the "losses caused by investment transactions are borne by the consumers themselves," since Chinese law offers no protection to them. It reiterated that providing cryptocurrency services to customers and crypto-based financial products was illegal for Chinese financial institutions and payment providers. "This is the latest chapter of China tightening the noose around crypto," said Antoni Trenchev, managing partner and co-founder of London-based crypto lender Nexo. Linghao Bao, analyst at Trivium China, said that despite the ban, Chinese investors could still find ways to buy cryptocurrencies through illegal vendors. "There will always be a way to circumvent regulations," he said. "The point of this order is to tell financial institutions to up their game to detect these crypto-related transactions." Bitcoin had a roller-coaster day on Wednesday, falling from $45,600 to under $40,000, then climbing back before dropping to $30,017 and up again. "This looks like your typical flash crash, but there seems to be some hesitancy in getting back in," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. 'Here to stay' Adam Reynolds, of Saxo Markets, added that avoiding use of cryptocurrency, which can be transferred out of the country, is "essential to maintaining capital controls" in China. Bitcoin has had a torrid few days, in good part because of Musk and Tesla. Last week Tesla hit the brakes on letting people pay for its electric cars with bitcoin, citing concerns about the harmful effects that mining cryptocurrencies has on the environment. Then Musk appeared to suggest Tesla was planning to sell its huge holdings of the unit, before clarifying that the company had not sold any bitcoin. "Elon Musk started the ball rolling," Germany-based crypto analyst Timo Emden told AFP. "It will take some time for them to recover from this shock." Mining cryptocurrency is a hugely energy-intensive process requiring large amounts of electricity in giant data centers. China, which powers nearly 80 percent of the global cryptocurrency trade, relies on a particularly polluting type of coal, lignite, to power some of its mining. "If bitcoin was a country, it would use around the same amount of electricity a year to mine as Switzerland does in total," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note. Some Chinese enthusiasts, however, remained unfazed. "This has happened before and it happens every year...," said trader and ex-tech industry worker Zeng Jiajun. "Crypto is here to stay." China is in the midst of a wide-ranging regulatory crackdown on its fintech sector. Its biggest players — including Alibaba and Tencent — have been hit with big fines after being found guilty of monopolistic practices.

Bitcoin tumble slows with help from Elon Musk

Bitcoin regained some lost ground to trade near $40,000 on Thursday, a day after a brutal selloff on concerns over tighter regulation in China and unease over the extent of leveraged positions in the cryptocurrency world.

The biggest and most popular cryptocurrency rose 9% to a touch below $40,000, after plunging 14% on Wednesday to its lowest since late January. Smaller rival ether was up 11% at $2,700 at 0829 GMT, after its 28% tumble.

Its bounce came after prominent crypto backers such Ark Invest's Cathie Wood and carmaker Tesla's Elon Musk indicated their support on Wednesday. Wood said in an interview with Bloomberg that she was still sticking to her $500,000 forecast.

Musk reiterated that Tesla was holding on to its bitcoin investments.

"People consider this as a 'buy the dip' moment, and many consider this as 'the last chance to buy bitcoin cheap'," said Ruud Feltkamp, chief executive at crypto trading bot Cryptohopper. "The next few months will show if the bull market will continue or if it's the start of the end of its run."

Wednesday's declines in both digital assets were one of their biggest daily percentage moves in more than a year as investors rushed to exit trades that until recently were outperforming traditional markets such as stocks and bonds.

The latest catalyst was a statement by Chinese financial industry bodies banning the use of cryptocurrencies in payment and settlement, and prohibiting institutions from providing crypto-related products or exchange services between cryptocurrencies and the yuan or foreign currencies.

But bitcoin had already been under pressure for almost a week after a series of tweets from Musk, a major cryptocurrency backer, chiefly his reversal on Tesla accepting bitcoin as payment.

Analysts said the upheaval was far from over.

"It's too early to say if the rebound we’ve seen off the lows in crypto has legs," said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne.

"I question if we will get a chance to catch our breath or is there more volatility in store?" he said.

Weston pointed to how $9.13 billion of cryptocurrency positions had been liquidated across exchanges over 24 hours, and $532 billion in total volume transacted.

The slide forced some investors to close out leveraged positions in cryptocurrency derivatives, which caused prices to fall further and knocked digital assets down into a lower trading range, traders said.

Coming off a six-fold jump on the back of rising usage in non-fungible tokens on digital art platforms, ether's selloff was far more damaging with the digital currency trading 39% below record highs.

James Quinn, managing director at Q9 Capital, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency private wealth manager, said the selling reflected huge crowded positions in ether.

"Sometimes a market event is looking for a cause. I think this is about positioning. Over the long term, maybe it’s positive because a very crowded trade from a lot of new entrants means there are a lot of new entrants," Quinn added.

Still, ether is up more than 270% so far this year and bitcoin's year-to-date gains stand at 37%.

While some retail traders saw missed opportunities in the slide, others saw the rout as a chance to pick up digital assets on the cheap.

Milko Markov, an independent London-based trader, said he had been buying ether.

"Those with a bit more experience in the crypto market know two cardinal rules: don't leverage and dollar cost average," he said. (Graphic: Bitcoin slumped 14% on May 19 - worst selloff since March 2020.

Bitcoin regained some lost ground to trade near $40,000 on Thursday, a day after a brutal selloff on concerns over tighter regulation in China and unease over the extent of leveraged positions in the cryptocurrency world.

Bitcoin regained some lost ground to trade near $40,000 on Thursday, a day after a brutal selloff on concerns over tighter regulation in China and unease over the extent of leveraged positions in the cryptocurrency world. The biggest and most popular cryptocurrency rose 9% to a touch below $40,000, after plunging 14% on Wednesday to its lowest since late January. Smaller rival ether was up 11% at $2,700 at 0829 GMT, after its 28% tumble. Its bounce came after prominent crypto backers such Ark Invest's Cathie Wood and carmaker Tesla's Elon Musk indicated their support on Wednesday. Wood said in an interview with Bloomberg that she was still sticking to her $500,000 forecast. Musk reiterated that Tesla was holding on to its bitcoin investments. "People consider this as a 'buy the dip' moment, and many consider this as 'the last chance to buy bitcoin cheap'," said Ruud Feltkamp, chief executive at crypto trading bot Cryptohopper. "The next few months will show if the bull market will continue or if it's the start of the end of its run." Wednesday's declines in both digital assets were one of their biggest daily percentage moves in more than a year as investors rushed to exit trades that until recently were outperforming traditional markets such as stocks and bonds. The latest catalyst was a statement by Chinese financial industry bodies banning the use of cryptocurrencies in payment and settlement, and prohibiting institutions from providing crypto-related products or exchange services between cryptocurrencies and the yuan or foreign currencies. But bitcoin had already been under pressure for almost a week after a series of tweets from Musk, a major cryptocurrency backer, chiefly his reversal on Tesla accepting bitcoin as payment. Analysts said the upheaval was far from over. "It's too early to say if the rebound we’ve seen off the lows in crypto has legs," said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne. "I question if we will get a chance to catch our breath or is there more volatility in store?" he said. Weston pointed to how $9.13 billion of cryptocurrency positions had been liquidated across exchanges over 24 hours, and $532 billion in total volume transacted. The slide forced some investors to close out leveraged positions in cryptocurrency derivatives, which caused prices to fall further and knocked digital assets down into a lower trading range, traders said. Coming off a six-fold jump on the back of rising usage in non-fungible tokens on digital art platforms, ether's selloff was far more damaging with the digital currency trading 39% below record highs. James Quinn, managing director at Q9 Capital, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency private wealth manager, said the selling reflected huge crowded positions in ether. "Sometimes a market event is looking for a cause. I think this is about positioning. Over the long term, maybe it’s positive because a very crowded trade from a lot of new entrants means there are a lot of new entrants," Quinn added. Still, ether is up more than 270% so far this year and bitcoin's year-to-date gains stand at 37%. While some retail traders saw missed opportunities in the slide, others saw the rout as a chance to pick up digital assets on the cheap. Milko Markov, an independent London-based trader, said he had been buying ether. "Those with a bit more experience in the crypto market know two cardinal rules: don't leverage and dollar cost average," he said. (Graphic: Bitcoin slumped 14% on May 19 - worst selloff since March 2020.

Bitcoin's star backers, dip buyers help cryptos recover

Fake promised giveaways by celebrities such as Telsa CEO Elon Musk are being used by scammers to cash in on interest in cryptocurrencies, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday in noting a jump in complaints about cryptocurrency fraud since October.

In one type of scam, people are told that if they give a certain amount of cryptocurrency to a "celebrity" they will get more back.

"People have reported sending more than $2 million in cryptocurrency to Elon Musk impersonators over just the past six months," the FTC said.

Musk had been a supporter of cryptocurrencies but recently knocked dogecoin by calling it "a hustle" on national television. He has also recently said that bitcoin would not be accepted to buy a Tesla because of the environmental costs associated with mining it.

Scammers also impersonate government authorities or a potential romantic partner, the FTC said.

Overall, nearly 7,000 people reported losses of more than $80 million since October, with a median loss of $1,900, the agency said. That's twelve times more reports of scams than the same period a year earlier, the agency said.

People in their 20s and 30s were the biggest victims, reporting losing much more money on investment and cryptocurrency fraud than any other type of scam. Older people, over 50, were less likely to report falling for the scams but when they did the losses were bigger, with a median loss of $3,250.

Fake promised giveaways by celebrities such as Telsa CEO Elon Musk are being used by scammers to cash in on interest in cryptocurrencies, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday in noting a jump in complaints about cryptocurrency fraud since October.

Fake promised giveaways by celebrities such as Telsa CEO Elon Musk are being used by scammers to cash in on interest in cryptocurrencies, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday in noting a jump in complaints about cryptocurrency fraud since October. In one type of scam, people are told that if they give a certain amount of cryptocurrency to a "celebrity" they will get more back. "People have reported sending more than $2 million in cryptocurrency to Elon Musk impersonators over just the past six months," the FTC said. Musk had been a supporter of cryptocurrencies but recently knocked dogecoin by calling it "a hustle" on national television. He has also recently said that bitcoin would not be accepted to buy a Tesla because of the environmental costs associated with mining it. Scammers also impersonate government authorities or a potential romantic partner, the FTC said. Overall, nearly 7,000 people reported losses of more than $80 million since October, with a median loss of $1,900, the agency said. That's twelve times more reports of scams than the same period a year earlier, the agency said. People in their 20s and 30s were the biggest victims, reporting losing much more money on investment and cryptocurrency fraud than any other type of scam. Older people, over 50, were less likely to report falling for the scams but when they did the losses were bigger, with a median loss of $3,250.

Crypto scammers made over $2 million through fake Elon Musk giveaways 

China has banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and warned investors against speculative crypto trading.&nbsp;

Under the ban, such institutions, including banks and online payments channels, must not offer clients any service involving cryptocurrency, such as registration, trading, clearing and settlement, three industry bodies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.&nbsp;

"Recently, crypto currency prices have skyrocketed and plummeted, and speculative trading of cryptocurrency has rebounded, seriously infringing on the safety of people's property and disrupting the normal economic and financial order," they said in the statement.&nbsp;

China has banned crypto exchanges and initial coin offerings but has not barred individuals from holding cryptocurrencies.&nbsp;

The institutions must not provide saving, trust or pledging services of cryptocurrency, nor issue financial product related to cryptocurrency, the statement also said.&nbsp;

The statement also highlighted the risks of cryptocurrency trading, saying vitural currencies 'are not supported by real value’, their prices are easily manipulated, and trading contracts are not protected by Chinese law. &nbsp;

The three industry bodies are the National Internet Finance Association of China, the China Banking Association and the Payment and Clearing Association of China. &nbsp;

China has banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and warned investors against speculative crypto trading.

China has banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and warned investors against speculative crypto trading. Under the ban, such institutions, including banks and online payments channels, must not offer clients any service involving cryptocurrency, such as registration, trading, clearing and settlement, three industry bodies said in a joint statement on Tuesday. "Recently, crypto currency prices have skyrocketed and plummeted, and speculative trading of cryptocurrency has rebounded, seriously infringing on the safety of people's property and disrupting the normal economic and financial order," they said in the statement. China has banned crypto exchanges and initial coin offerings but has not barred individuals from holding cryptocurrencies. The institutions must not provide saving, trust or pledging services of cryptocurrency, nor issue financial product related to cryptocurrency, the statement also said. The statement also highlighted the risks of cryptocurrency trading, saying vitural currencies 'are not supported by real value’, their prices are easily manipulated, and trading contracts are not protected by Chinese law. The three industry bodies are the National Internet Finance Association of China, the China Banking Association and the Payment and Clearing Association of China.

China bans financial, payment institutions from cryptocurrency business 

Bitcoin dropped to a three-month low on Monday as investors sold cryptocurrencies in the wake of Tesla boss Elon Musk's hinting over the weekend that the carmaker is considering to shed or may have already sold some of its bitcoin holdings.&nbsp;

Musk has boosted crypto markets with his enthusiasm for the asset class, but has lately roiled trade by appearing to cool on bitcoin in favour of its one-time parody, dogecoin. The gyrations are beginning to spook even steeled traders.&nbsp;

"This has gone from clear FOMO (fear of missing out) to fear of not getting out, and you’re seeing a lot of people dumping," said Chris Weston of brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne, adding that he was looking at the 200-day moving average just below $40,000 as the next key test for bitcoin.&nbsp;

"Why would I want to buy bitcoin right now, even if I’m bullish, until the liquidation is over and you see some consolidation in price?"&nbsp;

Bitcoin fell more than 9% on Monday to as low as $42,185, its lowest since February 8, while ether, linked to the ethereum blockhain, fell even more to as low as $3,123.94. Dogecoin fell nearly 7% to $0.48, and all three are well under recent records.&nbsp;

On Wednesday, Musk said Tesla would stop taking bitcoin as payment, owing to environmental concerns about energy use to process transactions. Defending that decision on Sunday, he suggested Tesla may have sold its own holdings.&nbsp;

In response to an unverified Twitter account called @CryptoWhale, which said, "Bitcoiners are going to slap themselves next quarter when they find out Tesla dumped the rest of their #Bitcoin holdings. With the amount of hate @elonmusk is getting, I wouldn't blame him...," Musk wrote: "Indeed". &nbsp;

It is not clear whether he was confirming sales or whether he referred only to the fact that he had faced criticism.&nbsp;

Musk said Tesla would not sell its bitcoin, but the cryptocurrency has dropped by almost a quarter since Musk's reversal on Tesla taking it as payment.&nbsp;

On Tuesday, it was reported that Tesla is seeking to enter the multi-billion dollar US renewable credit market, hoping to profit from the Biden administration's march towards new zero-emission goals.&nbsp;

Dogecoin is also yet to fully recover from Musk describing it as a 'hustle’, although he did boost the price last week by saying he was working to improve its efficiency.&nbsp;

For an asset class that has surged this year, with dogecoin up about a hundredfold, ether up more than fourfold and bitcoin gaining 45%, some are beginning to call time on the wild ride.&nbsp;

"Our weekend trading has kicked up, and we`re looking at some serious liquidations through the exchanges," said Pepperstone's Weston.&nbsp;

"I am closing the short-bitcoin/long-ethereum trade and moving to the sidelines," he added. "I feel the dust really needs to settle here." &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Bitcoin dropped to a three-month low on Monday as investors sold cryptocurrencies in the wake of Tesla boss Elon Musk's hinting over the weekend that the carmaker is considering to shed or may have already sold some of its bitcoin holdings.

Bitcoin dropped to a three-month low on Monday as investors sold cryptocurrencies in the wake of Tesla boss Elon Musk's hinting over the weekend that the carmaker is considering to shed or may have already sold some of its bitcoin holdings. Musk has boosted crypto markets with his enthusiasm for the asset class, but has lately roiled trade by appearing to cool on bitcoin in favour of its one-time parody, dogecoin. The gyrations are beginning to spook even steeled traders. "This has gone from clear FOMO (fear of missing out) to fear of not getting out, and you’re seeing a lot of people dumping," said Chris Weston of brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne, adding that he was looking at the 200-day moving average just below $40,000 as the next key test for bitcoin. "Why would I want to buy bitcoin right now, even if I’m bullish, until the liquidation is over and you see some consolidation in price?" Bitcoin fell more than 9% on Monday to as low as $42,185, its lowest since February 8, while ether, linked to the ethereum blockhain, fell even more to as low as $3,123.94. Dogecoin fell nearly 7% to $0.48, and all three are well under recent records. On Wednesday, Musk said Tesla would stop taking bitcoin as payment, owing to environmental concerns about energy use to process transactions. Defending that decision on Sunday, he suggested Tesla may have sold its own holdings. In response to an unverified Twitter account called @CryptoWhale, which said, "Bitcoiners are going to slap themselves next quarter when they find out Tesla dumped the rest of their #Bitcoin holdings. With the amount of hate @elonmusk is getting, I wouldn't blame him...," Musk wrote: "Indeed". It is not clear whether he was confirming sales or whether he referred only to the fact that he had faced criticism. Musk said Tesla would not sell its bitcoin, but the cryptocurrency has dropped by almost a quarter since Musk's reversal on Tesla taking it as payment. On Tuesday, it was reported that Tesla is seeking to enter the multi-billion dollar US renewable credit market, hoping to profit from the Biden administration's march towards new zero-emission goals. Dogecoin is also yet to fully recover from Musk describing it as a 'hustle’, although he did boost the price last week by saying he was working to improve its efficiency. For an asset class that has surged this year, with dogecoin up about a hundredfold, ether up more than fourfold and bitcoin gaining 45%, some are beginning to call time on the wild ride. "Our weekend trading has kicked up, and we`re looking at some serious liquidations through the exchanges," said Pepperstone's Weston. "I am closing the short-bitcoin/long-ethereum trade and moving to the sidelines," he added. "I feel the dust really needs to settle here." (With inputs from agencies)

Bitcoin hits three-month low as Musk drives investors to exit 

Tesla Inc boss&nbsp;Elon&nbsp;Musk has&nbsp;denounced the "insane" amount of energy used to produce bitcoin, doubling down on his sudden rejection of the cryptocurrency as a means of payment over environmental concerns.

Musk, one of bitcoin's most ardent backers, tweeted a graph of bitcoin's power consumption and said: "Energy usage trend over past few months is insane."&nbsp;

Obtaining&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;is an energy-intensive endeavour, and the chart showed the evolution of its power usage, rising constantly from 2016 and accelerating sharply in 2020 on an annualized basis to hit its current level of 149 terawatt-hours (TWh), an all-time high.

That's compared to Google's entire energy usage of 12.2 TWh, and the approximately 200 TWh used by all data centers in the world except those that mine&nbsp;bitcoin, according to George Kamiya, an analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA).

"If&nbsp;Bitcoin&nbsp;was a country, it would use around the same amount of electricity a year to mine as Switzerland does in total," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note.

Indeed, the IEA predicts the situation could worsen: if miners used the most energy intensive equipment, their consumption could rise to 500 TWh.

Citing its energy consumption particularly by miners who use coal, Musk on Wednesday said Tesla would no longer accept&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;as a means of payment for its electric cars.

The announcement sent the cyrptocurrency's value down 15 percent to a two-and-a-half month low, a reversal from late March, when Tesla announced it would accept the digital currency as payment after announcing a $1.5 billion investment in&nbsp;bitcoin.

The promise of a juicy reward has fueled the rise in giant data centers dedicated to&nbsp;bitcoin, which reached a $1 trillion market capitalization earlier this year, before falling back.

The cryptocurrency is earned by participants in the network called "miners," who solve deliberately complicated equations using brute force processing power under the so-called "proof of work" protocol.

"Proof of work" was one of the founding principles of the best-known cryptocurrency, created in 2008 by an anonymous person or group that wanted a decentralized digital currency.

The system is designed so that around every 10 minutes, the network awards some&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;to those who have successfully cracked the puzzle.&nbsp;

But as the price of&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;has risen, interest in obtaining it has followed, along with electricity consumption.

Last month, scientific journal Nature published a study saying that emissions from mining in China, which powers nearly 80 percent of the global cryptocurrency trade, could compromise the country's climate goals.

That country relies on a particularly polluting type of coal, lignite, to power some of its mining.

Bloomberg predicts that it will take until 2060 before China can meet its cryptocurrency industry's needs through renewable energy.

One way to reduce energy consumption would be to move away from the processor-intensive "proof of work" model, similar to changes being considered for the Ethereum cryptocurrency.

But it's hard to imagine&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;making such a change, which could make its network less secure and decentralized.

"Tesla's move might serve as a wake-up call to businesses and consumers using&nbsp;Bitcoin, who hadn't hitherto considered its carbon footprint," said Laith Khalaf, a financial analyst at AJ Bell.

"This highlights that the long-term adoption of cryptocurrencies by businesses, consumers and investors is still highly uncertain."

(With inputs from agencies)

Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk has denounced the "insane" amount of energy used to produce bitcoin, doubling down on his sudden rejection of the cryptocurrency as a means of payment over environmental concerns.

Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk has denounced the "insane" amount of energy used to produce bitcoin, doubling down on his sudden rejection of the cryptocurrency as a means of payment over environmental concerns. Musk, one of bitcoin's most ardent backers, tweeted a graph of bitcoin's power consumption and said: "Energy usage trend over past few months is insane." Obtaining bitcoin is an energy-intensive endeavour, and the chart showed the evolution of its power usage, rising constantly from 2016 and accelerating sharply in 2020 on an annualized basis to hit its current level of 149 terawatt-hours (TWh), an all-time high. That's compared to Google's entire energy usage of 12.2 TWh, and the approximately 200 TWh used by all data centers in the world except those that mine bitcoin, according to George Kamiya, an analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA). "If Bitcoin was a country, it would use around the same amount of electricity a year to mine as Switzerland does in total," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note. Indeed, the IEA predicts the situation could worsen: if miners used the most energy intensive equipment, their consumption could rise to 500 TWh. Citing its energy consumption particularly by miners who use coal, Musk on Wednesday said Tesla would no longer accept bitcoin as a means of payment for its electric cars. The announcement sent the cyrptocurrency's value down 15 percent to a two-and-a-half month low, a reversal from late March, when Tesla announced it would accept the digital currency as payment after announcing a $1.5 billion investment in bitcoin. The promise of a juicy reward has fueled the rise in giant data centers dedicated to bitcoin, which reached a $1 trillion market capitalization earlier this year, before falling back. The cryptocurrency is earned by participants in the network called "miners," who solve deliberately complicated equations using brute force processing power under the so-called "proof of work" protocol. "Proof of work" was one of the founding principles of the best-known cryptocurrency, created in 2008 by an anonymous person or group that wanted a decentralized digital currency. The system is designed so that around every 10 minutes, the network awards some bitcoin to those who have successfully cracked the puzzle. But as the price of bitcoin has risen, interest in obtaining it has followed, along with electricity consumption. Last month, scientific journal Nature published a study saying that emissions from mining in China, which powers nearly 80 percent of the global cryptocurrency trade, could compromise the country's climate goals. That country relies on a particularly polluting type of coal, lignite, to power some of its mining. Bloomberg predicts that it will take until 2060 before China can meet its cryptocurrency industry's needs through renewable energy. One way to reduce energy consumption would be to move away from the processor-intensive "proof of work" model, similar to changes being considered for the Ethereum cryptocurrency. But it's hard to imagine bitcoin making such a change, which could make its network less secure and decentralized. "Tesla's move might serve as a wake-up call to businesses and consumers using Bitcoin, who hadn't hitherto considered its carbon footprint," said Laith Khalaf, a financial analyst at AJ Bell. "This highlights that the long-term adoption of cryptocurrencies by businesses, consumers and investors is still highly uncertain." (With inputs from agencies)

Here is why Elon Musk decried bitcoin's 'insane' energy use after Tesla payment U-turn

Observing an increase in climate-harming emissions, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/elon-musk?page=1">Elon Musk’s</a> electric car company, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/tesla">Tesla</a>, has decided to temporary suspend payment for cars with bitcoin.

"Tesla has suspended vehicle purchase using Bitcoin. We are concerned about the rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel," Musk&nbsp;said in a statement.

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Tesla &amp; Bitcoin <a href="https://t.co/YSswJmVZhP">pic.twitter.com/YSswJmVZhP</a>
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1392602041025843203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-elon-musk-reveals-he-has-asperger%E2%80%99s-syndrome-on-%E2%80%98saturday-night-live%E2%80%99-383885" hreflang="en">Elon Musk reveals he has Asperger’s syndrome on ‘Saturday Night Live’</a>

Recently, Tesla shifted towards fulfilling its owner’s dream of making electric cars mainstream and tried to drive people away from combustion engines pumping out emissions contributing to climate change.

In a bid to give a boost to digital currency, in March, the electric car company started accepting bitcoin in exchange for electric cars from Tesla.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/elon-musks-tesla-says-it-appears-driver-was-at-the-wheel-in-crash-380728" hreflang="en">Elon Musk's Tesla says it appears driver was at the wheel in crash</a>

"Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this can not come at great cost to the environment," the statement read.

Musk also said that Tesla will not be selling any of its bitcoin and will wait to resume bitcoin purchases and sales only after "mining transitions to more sustainable energy".

Meanwhile, the company is also looking at other options in digital currency that do not harm the environment like bitcoin.

Observing an increase in climate-harming emissions, Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, has decided to temporary suspend payment for cars with bitcoin. "Tesla has suspended vehicle purchase using Bitcoin.

Observing an increase in climate-harming emissions, Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, has decided to temporary suspend payment for cars with bitcoin. "Tesla has suspended vehicle purchase using Bitcoin. We are concerned about the rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel," Musk said in a statement. Tesla & Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/YSswJmVZhP — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 12, 2021 × Also read | Elon Musk reveals he has Asperger’s syndrome on ‘Saturday Night Live’ Recently, Tesla shifted towards fulfilling its owner’s dream of making electric cars mainstream and tried to drive people away from combustion engines pumping out emissions contributing to climate change. In a bid to give a boost to digital currency, in March, the electric car company started accepting bitcoin in exchange for electric cars from Tesla. Also read | Elon Musk's Tesla says it appears driver was at the wheel in crash "Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this can not come at great cost to the environment," the statement read. Musk also said that Tesla will not be selling any of its bitcoin and will wait to resume bitcoin purchases and sales only after "mining transitions to more sustainable energy". Meanwhile, the company is also looking at other options in digital currency that do not harm the environment like bitcoin.

Elon Musk's Tesla halts bitcoin purchases amid concerns of increasing carbon emissions

The founder, CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk has said his rocket company SpaceX will now accept the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin as payment.

Musk has tweeted that "SpaceX launching satellite Doge-1 to the moon next year Mission paid for in Doge 1st crypto in space 1st meme in space".

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SpaceX launching satellite Doge-1 to the moon next year 
 
– Mission paid for in Doge 
– 1st crypto in space 
– 1st meme in space 
 
To the mooooonnn!!<a href="https://t.co/xXfjGZVeUW">https://t.co/xXfjGZVeUW</a>
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1391523807148527620?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Geometric Energy Corporation announced the dogecoin-funded mission earlier on Sunday, with the statement not disclosing the mission's financial value.

"This mission will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and set the foundation for interplanetary commerce", SpaceX Vice President of Commercial Sales Tom Ochinero was quoted as saying in the statement released by Geometric Energy.

Musk said on Twitter in April that SpaceX was going to put a "literal Dogecoin on the literal moon".

Dogecoin lost more than a third of its price on Sunday after Musk called it a 'hustle' during his guest-host spot on the "Saturday Night Live" comedy sketch TV show.

Musk's tweets this year turned the once-obscure digital currency, which began as a social media joke, into a speculator's dream.

On crypto data tracker CoinGecko.com, dogecoin has jumped more than 800% over the last month and is now the fourth-largest digital currency, with a market capitalization of $73 billion. It hit a record high Thursday above $0.73.

Electric carmaker Tesla Inc, where Musk is CEO, said in February it bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and would soon accept it as a form of payment for its electric cars, a large stride toward mainstream acceptance that sent bitcoin soaring to a record high of nearly $62,000.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

The founder, CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk has said his rocket company SpaceX will now accept the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin as payment. Musk has tweeted that "SpaceX launching satellite Doge-1 to the moon next year Mission paid for in Doge 1st crypto in space 1st meme in space".

The founder, CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk has said his rocket company SpaceX will now accept the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin as payment. Musk has tweeted that "SpaceX launching satellite Doge-1 to the moon next year Mission paid for in Doge 1st crypto in space 1st meme in space". SpaceX launching satellite Doge-1 to the moon next year – Mission paid for in Doge – 1st crypto in space – 1st meme in space To the mooooonnn!!https://t.co/xXfjGZVeUW — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2021 × Geometric Energy Corporation announced the dogecoin-funded mission earlier on Sunday, with the statement not disclosing the mission's financial value. "This mission will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and set the foundation for interplanetary commerce", SpaceX Vice President of Commercial Sales Tom Ochinero was quoted as saying in the statement released by Geometric Energy. Musk said on Twitter in April that SpaceX was going to put a "literal Dogecoin on the literal moon". Dogecoin lost more than a third of its price on Sunday after Musk called it a 'hustle' during his guest-host spot on the "Saturday Night Live" comedy sketch TV show. Musk's tweets this year turned the once-obscure digital currency, which began as a social media joke, into a speculator's dream. On crypto data tracker CoinGecko.com, dogecoin has jumped more than 800% over the last month and is now the fourth-largest digital currency, with a market capitalization of $73 billion. It hit a record high Thursday above $0.73. Electric carmaker Tesla Inc, where Musk is CEO, said in February it bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and would soon accept it as a form of payment for its electric cars, a large stride toward mainstream acceptance that sent bitcoin soaring to a record high of nearly $62,000. (With inputs from agencies)

Cryptocurrency: SpaceX to accept Dogecoin as payment for 'DOGE-1 Mission' to the moon next year

South Korea said on Sunday it will strengthen its monitoring system against cryptocurrency-related phishing websites by working with the National Police Agency amid recent surges in prices of virtual money.&nbsp;

The ICT ministry said there have recently been increasing reports of phishing attempts via text messages that lead cryptocurrency users to enter their exchange IDs and passwords on fake websites to steal them and access their accounts.&nbsp;

The ministry said it found and blocked 32 such phishing websites in the past three months, compared with a total of 41 websites detected in the whole of last year, reports Yonhap news agency.&nbsp;

Examples of such websites include www.bithnub.com, compared with the address of local cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb -- www.bithumb.com.&nbsp;

The ministry said it will strengthen its 24-hour monitoring system to swiftly block such phishing websites.&nbsp;

The National Police Agency has also been conducting a crackdown on phishing websites since the start of March this year.&nbsp;

As of May 4, the police were investigating 21 cases, in which individuals accessed other cryptocurrency users' accounts and sold their assets.&nbsp;

Major cryptocurrency Bitcoin topped $72,000 per unit in South Korea for the first time in mid-April. The virtual currency has since fallen, trading at around 67 million won on Friday, according to Bithumb.&nbsp;

Amid rising prices, South Korean financial authorities are also cracking down on illegal activities involving cryptocurrencies, such as money laundering, until June.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies) &nbsp;

South Korea said on Sunday it will strengthen its monitoring system against cryptocurrency-related phishing websites by working with the National Police Agency amid recent surges in prices of virtual money.

South Korea said on Sunday it will strengthen its monitoring system against cryptocurrency-related phishing websites by working with the National Police Agency amid recent surges in prices of virtual money. The ICT ministry said there have recently been increasing reports of phishing attempts via text messages that lead cryptocurrency users to enter their exchange IDs and passwords on fake websites to steal them and access their accounts. The ministry said it found and blocked 32 such phishing websites in the past three months, compared with a total of 41 websites detected in the whole of last year, reports Yonhap news agency. Examples of such websites include www.bithnub.com, compared with the address of local cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb -- www.bithumb.com. The ministry said it will strengthen its 24-hour monitoring system to swiftly block such phishing websites. The National Police Agency has also been conducting a crackdown on phishing websites since the start of March this year. As of May 4, the police were investigating 21 cases, in which individuals accessed other cryptocurrency users' accounts and sold their assets. Major cryptocurrency Bitcoin topped $72,000 per unit in South Korea for the first time in mid-April. The virtual currency has since fallen, trading at around 67 million won on Friday, according to Bithumb. Amid rising prices, South Korean financial authorities are also cracking down on illegal activities involving cryptocurrencies, such as money laundering, until June. (With inputs from agencies)

South Korea to clamp down on cryptocurrency phishing activity 

Ether, the world's second-largest&nbsp;cryptocurrency&nbsp;after Bitcoin, on Thursday rose to a&nbsp;record&nbsp;high&nbsp;of $3,591.65 on the Bitstamp Exchange.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/bitcoin-other-cryptocurrencies-tumble-over-biden-tax-plan-fears-379752">Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies tumble over Biden tax plan fears</a>

Ether&nbsp;was last up about 3.0 per cent&nbsp;at $3,568.92. Bitcoin was down 0.7 per cent&nbsp;at $57,109.40 and about 12 per cent&nbsp;below its&nbsp;record&nbsp;intraday&nbsp;high&nbsp;at $64,895.22 set on April 14.

Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, on Thursday rose to a record high of $3,591.65 on the Bitstamp Exchange. Also read | Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies tumble over Biden tax plan fears Ether was last up about 3.

Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, on Thursday rose to a record high of $3,591.65 on the Bitstamp Exchange. Also read | Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies tumble over Biden tax plan fears Ether was last up about 3.0 per cent at $3,568.92. Bitcoin was down 0.7 per cent at $57,109.40 and about 12 per cent below its record intraday high at $64,895.22 set on April 14.

Cryptocurrency 'Ether' rises to new record high

A presidential decree published on Saturday added cryptocurrency exchanges to a list of firms covered by Turkey’s terror financing and money laundering.&nbsp;

The move came after a ban on using cryptocurrencies for making payments, which was introduced in response to claims that such transactions are too risky, took effect in Turkey on Friday.&nbsp;

The presidential decree makes 'crypto asset service providers' responsible for seeing their assets are not used illegally. The decree immediately went into force with its publication in Turkey’s Official Gazette.&nbsp;

Turkish authorities last month launched fraud investigations into two cryptocurrency exchanges, Thodex and Vebitcoin. Six suspects linked to the Thodex probe were jailed on Friday pending trial.&nbsp;

The investigation into Thodex, which handled daily trades of hundreds of millions of dollars, initially led to the arrests of 83 people after customers complained of not being able to access their funds. Interpol issued a detention warrant for the firm’s CEO on Turkey’s behalf.&nbsp;

Turks have been increasingly attracted by cryptocurrencies as protection against the decline of the lira and double-digit inflation.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

A presidential decree published on Saturday added cryptocurrency exchanges to a list of firms covered by Turkey’s terror financing and money laundering. The move came after a ban on using cryptocurrencies for making payments, which was introduced in response to claims that such transactions are too risky, took effect in Turkey on Friday.

A presidential decree published on Saturday added cryptocurrency exchanges to a list of firms covered by Turkey’s terror financing and money laundering. The move came after a ban on using cryptocurrencies for making payments, which was introduced in response to claims that such transactions are too risky, took effect in Turkey on Friday. The presidential decree makes 'crypto asset service providers' responsible for seeing their assets are not used illegally. The decree immediately went into force with its publication in Turkey’s Official Gazette. Turkish authorities last month launched fraud investigations into two cryptocurrency exchanges, Thodex and Vebitcoin. Six suspects linked to the Thodex probe were jailed on Friday pending trial. The investigation into Thodex, which handled daily trades of hundreds of millions of dollars, initially led to the arrests of 83 people after customers complained of not being able to access their funds. Interpol issued a detention warrant for the firm’s CEO on Turkey’s behalf. Turks have been increasingly attracted by cryptocurrencies as protection against the decline of the lira and double-digit inflation. (With inputs from agencies)

Turkey adds cryptocurrency exchanges to terror funding rules 

Why is #DogeCoinToTheMoon trending? What is #BitcoinCrash? What's driving the whole crypto craze? Is it worth investing your real money? Or is it a risky gamble? On Gravitas Plus, Palki Sharma has a checklist you must not miss.

Gravitas Plus: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency & Blockchain- What's driving the craze?

Meme-based cryptocurrency&nbsp;Dogecoin&nbsp;fell on Tuesday after hitting an all-time high in a wild session that saw supporters of the token once considered a parody use hashtags to fuel a rally until it lost steam.

Dogecoin&nbsp;ultimately fell 15.4 per cent&nbsp;to US$0.33, but during the session when it hit a record peak, its market capitalisation soared to more than $50 billion. After the slump, its market cap dropped roughly $45 billion, according to coinmarketcap.com.

By comparison, the wildly popular bitcoin has a market cap of more than $1 trillion.

Dogecoin&nbsp;fans used the hashtags #DogeDay and #DogeDay420 to post memes, messages and videos on Twitter, Reddit and TikTok, referring to the informal April 20 holiday to celebrate cannabis which is marked by smoke-ins and street parties.

"GIMME THAT&nbsp;DOGECOIN&nbsp;LAMBO!!! #DogeDay" one tweeted, referring to the Lamborghini sports car popular in crypto culture.

An 8,000% price increase this year has seen&nbsp;Dogecoin, launched as a satirical critique of 2013's cryptocurrency frenzy, overtake more widely-used cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and briefly Tether, to become the sixth-largest coin.

"The current retail fervor probably won't completely give up on&nbsp;Dogecoin," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at online FX trading platform OANDA, but he did anticipate the "sell the event reaction" for the cryptocurrency.

Dogecoin's logo features a Shiba Inu dog at the center of the meme. It can be traded on crypto exchanges and more popular mainstream trading apps.

"The Doge rally represents an interesting convergence," said Diana Biggs, CEO of crypto start-up Valour, after&nbsp;Dogecoin's price soared by more than five-fold in the last week to a record $0.42, according to CoinMarketCap.

"A meme coin created as a joke for early crypto adopters whose community found that kind of thing to be fun, with now a new generation of retail investors for whom memes are a native language," Biggs added.

Online trading

Dogecoin's rise came during a surge in online trading of stocks and crypto by retail investors, stuck at home with extra cash because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The coin has not seen much growth in usage for payments or in commerce.

A boom in usage of online trading apps like Robinhood also fueled the social-media driven rally in GameStop Corp stock this year, which pitted retail investors against hedge funds.

"It's an extension of the same phenomenon that has led Tesla stock to be valued well beyond fundamentals and more recently to the GME (GameStop) short squeeze," said Ajit Tripathi, head of institutional business at decentralised finance startup Aave.

Like other cryptocurrencies,&nbsp;Dogecoin's price is heavily influenced by social media users including Tesla chief Elon Musk, whose tweets on the cryptocurrency in February sent its price soaring over 60 per cent.

Dogecoin&nbsp;currently has a 16.7&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;implied probability to be worth more than $1 at the end of 2021, according to betting aggregators US-Bookies.com, a significant improvement from earlier this month, when it had just a 2.9&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;chance to do so.

(With inputs from agencies)

Meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin fell on Tuesday after hitting an all-time high in a wild session that saw supporters of the token once considered a parody use hashtags to fuel a rally until it lost steam.

Meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin fell on Tuesday after hitting an all-time high in a wild session that saw supporters of the token once considered a parody use hashtags to fuel a rally until it lost steam. Dogecoin ultimately fell 15.4 per cent to US$0.33, but during the session when it hit a record peak, its market capitalisation soared to more than $50 billion. After the slump, its market cap dropped roughly $45 billion, according to coinmarketcap.com. By comparison, the wildly popular bitcoin has a market cap of more than $1 trillion. Dogecoin fans used the hashtags #DogeDay and #DogeDay420 to post memes, messages and videos on Twitter, Reddit and TikTok, referring to the informal April 20 holiday to celebrate cannabis which is marked by smoke-ins and street parties. "GIMME THAT DOGECOIN LAMBO!!! #DogeDay" one tweeted, referring to the Lamborghini sports car popular in crypto culture. An 8,000% price increase this year has seen Dogecoin, launched as a satirical critique of 2013's cryptocurrency frenzy, overtake more widely-used cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and briefly Tether, to become the sixth-largest coin. "The current retail fervor probably won't completely give up on Dogecoin," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at online FX trading platform OANDA, but he did anticipate the "sell the event reaction" for the cryptocurrency. Dogecoin's logo features a Shiba Inu dog at the center of the meme. It can be traded on crypto exchanges and more popular mainstream trading apps. "The Doge rally represents an interesting convergence," said Diana Biggs, CEO of crypto start-up Valour, after Dogecoin's price soared by more than five-fold in the last week to a record $0.42, according to CoinMarketCap. "A meme coin created as a joke for early crypto adopters whose community found that kind of thing to be fun, with now a new generation of retail investors for whom memes are a native language," Biggs added. Online trading Dogecoin's rise came during a surge in online trading of stocks and crypto by retail investors, stuck at home with extra cash because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The coin has not seen much growth in usage for payments or in commerce. A boom in usage of online trading apps like Robinhood also fueled the social-media driven rally in GameStop Corp stock this year, which pitted retail investors against hedge funds. "It's an extension of the same phenomenon that has led Tesla stock to be valued well beyond fundamentals and more recently to the GME (GameStop) short squeeze," said Ajit Tripathi, head of institutional business at decentralised finance startup Aave. Like other cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin's price is heavily influenced by social media users including Tesla chief Elon Musk, whose tweets on the cryptocurrency in February sent its price soaring over 60 per cent. Dogecoin currently has a 16.7 per cent implied probability to be worth more than $1 at the end of 2021, according to betting aggregators US-Bookies.com, a significant improvement from earlier this month, when it had just a 2.9 per cent chance to do so. (With inputs from agencies)

Dogecoin cryptocurrency slumps after hashtag-fueled surge to record high

Cryptocurrency market’s total value touched $2 trillion for the first time ever this week as companies continue to offer recognition to such modes of transactions. According to cryptocurrency data tracker CoinGecko(dot)com, cryptocurrency’s market value crossed the $2 trillion mark on Monday evening and then dropped to $1.99 trillion on Tuesday.

Now, cryptocurrencies are&nbsp;valued on par with big conglomerates like Apple and Saudi AramCo who’ve also hit the $2 trillion milestone in the last few years. Over the last two months, the cryptocurrency market has doubled as companies embrace the currencies.

The surge in valuation was caused by Ether, the second-largest digital coin based on market value. This year, its price has increased by 181 per cent, climbing as high $2,151.25 on Monday. Ether is powered by the Ethereum blockchain network, which also hosts the ever-growing market for non-fungible tokens.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/technology/nfts-are-neither-miracles-nor-scams-374760" hreflang="en">NFTs are neither miracles nor scams</a>

The market has doubled in value in less than two months. Last month, NFT was accepted as a mode of payment by Christie’s auction to sell a Beeple artwork which was sold $69 million.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey also endorsed NFTs by selling the first ever tweet through Ether.&nbsp;Tesla mogul Elon Musk isn’t far behind. The SpaceX visionary also said that people may now buy electric vehicles with bitcoin.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/elon-musk-says-tesla-customers-can-buy-its-electric-vehicles-with-bitcoin-372845" hreflang="en">Elon Musk says Tesla customers can buy its electric vehicles with bitcoin</a>

Musk said bitcoin paid to Tesla would not be converted into traditional currency, but he gave few other details on how the bitcoin payments would be processed. The company was using "internal and&nbsp;open source software", he said.

Cryptocurrency market’s total value touched $2 trillion for the first time ever this week as companies continue to offer recognition to such modes of transactions.

Cryptocurrency market’s total value touched $2 trillion for the first time ever this week as companies continue to offer recognition to such modes of transactions. According to cryptocurrency data tracker CoinGecko(dot)com, cryptocurrency’s market value crossed the $2 trillion mark on Monday evening and then dropped to $1.99 trillion on Tuesday. Now, cryptocurrencies are valued on par with big conglomerates like Apple and Saudi AramCo who’ve also hit the $2 trillion milestone in the last few years. Over the last two months, the cryptocurrency market has doubled as companies embrace the currencies. The surge in valuation was caused by Ether, the second-largest digital coin based on market value. This year, its price has increased by 181 per cent, climbing as high $2,151.25 on Monday. Ether is powered by the Ethereum blockchain network, which also hosts the ever-growing market for non-fungible tokens. Also read: NFTs are neither miracles nor scams The market has doubled in value in less than two months. Last month, NFT was accepted as a mode of payment by Christie’s auction to sell a Beeple artwork which was sold $69 million. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey also endorsed NFTs by selling the first ever tweet through Ether. Tesla mogul Elon Musk isn’t far behind. The SpaceX visionary also said that people may now buy electric vehicles with bitcoin. Also read: Elon Musk says Tesla customers can buy its electric vehicles with bitcoin Musk said bitcoin paid to Tesla would not be converted into traditional currency, but he gave few other details on how the bitcoin payments would be processed. The company was using "internal and open source software", he said.

Cryptocurrency market value crosses $2 trillion mark for first time

Major payments platform Visa announced that it will allow the use of cryptocurrency USD Coin to settle transactions on its network in a move to promote digital currencies and bitcoin.

World Business Watch: Visa to open payment option on Crypto platforms

More than 4,000 cryptocurrencies exist. Are they the future of money or just fringe players? Why is India looking to ban cryptocurrency? Let's understand the pros and cons. WION Wideangle takes you inside the world of cryptocurrencies

WionWideangle | Cryptocurrency: India's digital dilemma

Bitcoin continued its record-breaking run on Saturday as it briefly rose above USD 60,000 for the first time on Saturday. The most popular virtual currency hit the new high with increasing backing from corporate heavyweights. The cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of $60,012 at 1149 GMT, according to the website CoinMarketCap.

Since March last year, Bitcoin has seen a meteoric rise. At that time, it stood at USD 5000. It's rise has been spurred, in part, by online payments giant PayPal saying it would allow account holders to use cryptocurrency.

Last month Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla invested $1.5 billion in the virtual unit, while Twitter chief Jack Dorsey and rap mogul Jay-Z said they are creating a fund aimed at making Bitcoin "the internet's currency".

Others jumping on the bandwagon include Wall Street player BNY Mellon, investment fund giant BlackRock and credit card titan Mastercard.

Bitcoin hit headlines in 2017 after it rose from less than USD 1000 in January to almost USD 20,000 in December that year.

However the last year's rise has been more steady, with investors and Wall Street finance giants wooed by dizzying growth, the opportunity for profit and asset diversification, and a safe store of value to guard against inflation.

Bitcoins are traded via a decentralised registry system known as a blockchain.

The system requires massive computer processing power in order to manage and implement transactions.

That power is provided by "miners", who do so in the hope they will receive new bitcoins for validating transaction data.

(With AFP inputs)

Bitcoin continued its record-breaking run on Saturday as it briefly rose above USD 60,000 for the first time on Saturday. The most popular virtual currency hit the new high with increasing backing from corporate heavyweights.

Bitcoin continued its record-breaking run on Saturday as it briefly rose above USD 60,000 for the first time on Saturday. The most popular virtual currency hit the new high with increasing backing from corporate heavyweights. The cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of $60,012 at 1149 GMT, according to the website CoinMarketCap. Since March last year, Bitcoin has seen a meteoric rise. At that time, it stood at USD 5000. It's rise has been spurred, in part, by online payments giant PayPal saying it would allow account holders to use cryptocurrency. Last month Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla invested $1.5 billion in the virtual unit, while Twitter chief Jack Dorsey and rap mogul Jay-Z said they are creating a fund aimed at making Bitcoin "the internet's currency". Others jumping on the bandwagon include Wall Street player BNY Mellon, investment fund giant BlackRock and credit card titan Mastercard. Bitcoin hit headlines in 2017 after it rose from less than USD 1000 in January to almost USD 20,000 in December that year. However the last year's rise has been more steady, with investors and Wall Street finance giants wooed by dizzying growth, the opportunity for profit and asset diversification, and a safe store of value to guard against inflation. Bitcoins are traded via a decentralised registry system known as a blockchain. The system requires massive computer processing power in order to manage and implement transactions. That power is provided by "miners", who do so in the hope they will receive new bitcoins for validating transaction data. (With AFP inputs)

Bitcoin goes past USD 60,000 for first time

US Justice Department has charged 3 North Korean military intelligence officials over cyberattacks to steal $1.3 billion in cryptocurrency. The three, who are not in custody, are also accused of deploying malicious cryptocurrency programs.

US charges 3 North Korean hackers over $1.3 bn cryptocurrency attacks

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin on Tuesday rose above $50,000 for the first time ever.&nbsp;

The record high stood at $50,602, and has risen by 72 per cent this year. Most of the gains were recorded after Tesla, the carmaking giant said that it had bought $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency.

The currency is quickly gaining acceptance by investors across the board. In addition, Tesla said that it would now accept the currency as payment.

On February 8, Bitcoin hit its previous record-high above $43,000 &nbsp;after electric carmaker Tesla invested $1.5 billion in the digital currency. The cryptocurrency has been up by around 50 per cent since the start of the year.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/business-economy/india-mulls-bitcoin-ban-existing-investors-to-get-transition-period-363262" hreflang="en">India mulls Bitcoin ban, existing investors to get transition period</a>

Bitcoin hit $43,725.51 around 1300 GMT on February 8, before cooling slightly to $42,352.&nbsp;

Tesla's decision came just days after CEO Elon Musk changed his Twitter bio to simply read "#bitcoin." The announcement came in a US Securities and Exchange Commission document.

Tesla said in a filing the decision was part of its broad investment policy as a company and was aimed at diversifying and maximising its returns on cash. It said it had invested an aggregate $1.5 billion in bitcoin under the changed policy and could "acquire and hold digital assets from time to time or long-term".

It is now expected that Tesla would soon begin accepting payment for its cars and other products with bitcoin in the near future.

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin on Tuesday rose above $50,000 for the first time ever. The record high stood at $50,602, and has risen by 72 per cent this year. Most of the gains were recorded after Tesla, the carmaking giant said that it had bought $1.

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin on Tuesday rose above $50,000 for the first time ever. The record high stood at $50,602, and has risen by 72 per cent this year. Most of the gains were recorded after Tesla, the carmaking giant said that it had bought $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency. The currency is quickly gaining acceptance by investors across the board. In addition, Tesla said that it would now accept the currency as payment. On February 8, Bitcoin hit its previous record-high above $43,000 after electric carmaker Tesla invested $1.5 billion in the digital currency. The cryptocurrency has been up by around 50 per cent since the start of the year. Also read: India mulls Bitcoin ban, existing investors to get transition period Bitcoin hit $43,725.51 around 1300 GMT on February 8, before cooling slightly to $42,352. Tesla's decision came just days after CEO Elon Musk changed his Twitter bio to simply read "#bitcoin." The announcement came in a US Securities and Exchange Commission document. Tesla said in a filing the decision was part of its broad investment policy as a company and was aimed at diversifying and maximising its returns on cash. It said it had invested an aggregate $1.5 billion in bitcoin under the changed policy and could "acquire and hold digital assets from time to time or long-term". It is now expected that Tesla would soon begin accepting payment for its cars and other products with bitcoin in the near future.

Bitcoin rises above $50,000 for the first time ever

India will go ahead with a complete ban on investment in cryptocurrencies, while providing existing investors a transition period to exit their holdings.&nbsp;

Cryptocurrency isn’t fiat currency backed by the Reserve Bank of India and its usage in all forms will be banned through the new law that will be introduced in Parliament.

This would include a ban on transacting directly via foreign exchanges.

Seven million investors hold cryptocurrencies in India worth more than one billion dollars.&nbsp;The ban won’t be enforced overnight and cryptocurrency investors will be given a transition period of three-to-six months after the implementation of the new law to liquidate their investments. The proposed ban --- is part of a comprehensive bill on crypto and digital currencies. It may be introduced in the ongoing budget session of parliament.

Does this mean the end of the road for cryptocurrencies in India?&nbsp;

Not really, the bill may include certain exceptions. They could allow the promotion of the underlying technology. Like block chain, the decentralized digital ledger.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/archaeologists-unearth-worlds-oldest-beer-brewery-in-egypt-363522">Archaeologists unearth 'world's oldest' beer brewery in Egypt</a>

That drives — all types of cryptocurrencies.

An exception like this could provide the legal framework for the reserve bank of India to launch its official digital currency. China has a similar regulatory regime. It effectively banned trading and usage of cryptocurrencies in 2017.

Crypto exchanges were shut down. Last year; Beijing began testing its own digital currency in four cities. India’s move to regulate digital cash comes at a time — when the world is increasingly adopting it.&nbsp;

MasterCard and Visa have opened their payments network for some cryptocurrencies.&nbsp;

Customers using these platforms can now pay or accept money through crypto. Recently, auto giant Tesla made a big bet on bitcoin.

The company bought more 1.5 billion dollars worth of bitcoin.

It also allowed customers to pay through bitcoin for its products. Cryptocurrencies are now part of the mainstream global financial system.

India cannot afford to ignore this shift but it needs a legal framework first.

(With inputs from agencies)

India will go ahead with a complete ban on investment in cryptocurrencies, while providing existing investors a transition period to exit their holdings. Cryptocurrency isn’t fiat currency backed by the Reserve Bank of India and its usage in all forms will be banned through the new law that will be introduced in Parliament.

India will go ahead with a complete ban on investment in cryptocurrencies, while providing existing investors a transition period to exit their holdings. Cryptocurrency isn’t fiat currency backed by the Reserve Bank of India and its usage in all forms will be banned through the new law that will be introduced in Parliament. This would include a ban on transacting directly via foreign exchanges. Seven million investors hold cryptocurrencies in India worth more than one billion dollars. The ban won’t be enforced overnight and cryptocurrency investors will be given a transition period of three-to-six months after the implementation of the new law to liquidate their investments. The proposed ban --- is part of a comprehensive bill on crypto and digital currencies. It may be introduced in the ongoing budget session of parliament. Does this mean the end of the road for cryptocurrencies in India? Not really, the bill may include certain exceptions. They could allow the promotion of the underlying technology. Like block chain, the decentralized digital ledger. Also Read | Archaeologists unearth 'world's oldest' beer brewery in Egypt That drives — all types of cryptocurrencies. An exception like this could provide the legal framework for the reserve bank of India to launch its official digital currency. China has a similar regulatory regime. It effectively banned trading and usage of cryptocurrencies in 2017. Crypto exchanges were shut down. Last year; Beijing began testing its own digital currency in four cities. India’s move to regulate digital cash comes at a time — when the world is increasingly adopting it. MasterCard and Visa have opened their payments network for some cryptocurrencies. Customers using these platforms can now pay or accept money through crypto. Recently, auto giant Tesla made a big bet on bitcoin. The company bought more 1.5 billion dollars worth of bitcoin. It also allowed customers to pay through bitcoin for its products. Cryptocurrencies are now part of the mainstream global financial system. India cannot afford to ignore this shift but it needs a legal framework first. (With inputs from agencies)

India mulls Bitcoin ban, existing investors to get transition period

According to reports, India will impose a complete ban on cryptocurrencies, according to one estimate 7 million investors hold cryptocurrencies in India worth more than 1 billion dollars. Does this mean the end of the road for cryptocurrencies in India? Not really, the bill may include certain exceptions. Wion brings more details.

Will India launch its own Cryptocurrency? | India Mulls Bitcoin Ban

Bitcoin jumped 14 per cent in Friday to attain two-week high after Tesla chief Elon Musk tagged the cryptocurrency on Twitter. Elon Musk has tagged the cryptocurrency in his Twitter biography. He simply wrote "#bitcoin" in his biography on the social media site. The cryptocurrency was trading at $37,800 as of 0936 GMT.

Elon Musk is known for making market-moving comments on Twitter.

GameStop Corp , which has been at the centre of retail trading frenzy, surged 50% on Tuesday after Musk tweeted "Gamestonk!!", along with a link to the Reddit Wallstreetbets stock trading discussion group.

Musk, in December, asked about possibility of converting "large transactions" of Tesla's balance sheet into bitcoin. He said this during Twitter exchange with a well-known advocate for bitcoin.

(With Reuters inputs)

Bitcoin jumped 14 per cent in Friday to attain two-week high after Tesla chief Elon Musk tagged the cryptocurrency on Twitter. Elon Musk has tagged the cryptocurrency in his Twitter biography.

Bitcoin jumped 14 per cent in Friday to attain two-week high after Tesla chief Elon Musk tagged the cryptocurrency on Twitter. Elon Musk has tagged the cryptocurrency in his Twitter biography. He simply wrote "#bitcoin" in his biography on the social media site. The cryptocurrency was trading at $37,800 as of 0936 GMT. Elon Musk is known for making market-moving comments on Twitter. GameStop Corp , which has been at the centre of retail trading frenzy, surged 50% on Tuesday after Musk tweeted "Gamestonk!!", along with a link to the Reddit Wallstreetbets stock trading discussion group. Musk, in December, asked about possibility of converting "large transactions" of Tesla's balance sheet into bitcoin. He said this during Twitter exchange with a well-known advocate for bitcoin. (With Reuters inputs)

Bitcoin jumps 14 per cent to two-week high after Elon Musk tag

Bitcoin slumped 10% on Thursday to the lowest point in last 10 day. The cryptocurrency has retreated further from record highs as traders increasingly cite fears of tighter US regulation. The world's most popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin was last down 7.5% at $32,779 after falling as low as $31,977. It has lost nearly a quarter since touching a record $42,000 on Jan. 8.

The fall has come amid growing concerns that bitcoin was one of financial market price bubbles. In addition to this, there have been fears that US President Joe Biden's administration could try to regulate cryptocurrency.

During a Senate hearing on Tuesday Janet Yellen, Biden's pick to head the U.S. Treasury, expressed concerns that cryptocurrencies could be used to finance illegal activities.

"I think many are used, at least in a transactions sense, mainly for illicit financing, and I think we really need to examine ways in which we can curtail their use and make sure that money laundering does not occur through these channels," said the former chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/sensex-crosses-historic-50000-mark-358239">Sensex crosses historic 50,000-mark</a>

Joseph Edwards of cryptocurrency broker Enigma Securities said these comments had a substantial impact.

"The action over the last 36 hours or so has largely been rippling outwards from the Janet Yellen comments on crypto," he said, adding that it was still unclear exactly what, if any, moves the Biden administration would take.

"We do think it's probably still just a lapse in momentum rather than a sea change, though," he said.

(With Reuters inputs)

Bitcoin slumped 10% on Thursday to the lowest point in last 10 day. The cryptocurrency has retreated further from record highs as traders increasingly cite fears of tighter US regulation.

Bitcoin slumped 10% on Thursday to the lowest point in last 10 day. The cryptocurrency has retreated further from record highs as traders increasingly cite fears of tighter US regulation. The world's most popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin was last down 7.5% at $32,779 after falling as low as $31,977. It has lost nearly a quarter since touching a record $42,000 on Jan. 8. The fall has come amid growing concerns that bitcoin was one of financial market price bubbles. In addition to this, there have been fears that US President Joe Biden's administration could try to regulate cryptocurrency. During a Senate hearing on Tuesday Janet Yellen, Biden's pick to head the U.S. Treasury, expressed concerns that cryptocurrencies could be used to finance illegal activities. "I think many are used, at least in a transactions sense, mainly for illicit financing, and I think we really need to examine ways in which we can curtail their use and make sure that money laundering does not occur through these channels," said the former chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Also Read | Sensex crosses historic 50,000-mark Joseph Edwards of cryptocurrency broker Enigma Securities said these comments had a substantial impact. "The action over the last 36 hours or so has largely been rippling outwards from the Janet Yellen comments on crypto," he said, adding that it was still unclear exactly what, if any, moves the Biden administration would take. "We do think it's probably still just a lapse in momentum rather than a sea change, though," he said. (With Reuters inputs)

Bitcoin falls 10 per cent to a 10-day low

The FBI announced Monday the arrest of a professed supporter of Al-Qaeda who was planning to target members of the US military and their families with a bomb attack on a July 4 parade in Cleveland, Ohio.

Demetrius Pitts, who had expressed allegiance to the al Qaeda militant group, was arrested on Sunday after a meeting with an undercover FBI agent where he said he planned to plant a bomb at a parade celebrating the U.S. Independence Day holiday and would target other locations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.

"His desire: to kill military personnel and their families," said FBI special agent Steve Anthony.

"What would hit them in the core? ... Blow up. Have a bomb. Blow up at the Fourth of July parade," Stephen Anthony, the FBI's head agent in Cleveland, quoted Pitts as saying. Anthony also told a news conference that the man was "willing to chop off hands and heads."

Pitts, 48, is from the Cleveland suburb of Maple Heights, Ohio, the FBI said in a statement.

FBI and Justice Department officials said Pitts, a US native with "an extensive criminal history" was arrested Sunday after discussing how to carry out the attack with the undercover agent.

They had been watching him for months after he made statements in support of Al-Qaeda and expressed "violent intentions" against groups including the US armed forces, Anthony said.

The posts called for Muslims to train in hand-to-hand combat and in the use of arms and explosives, Anthony said.

"His Facebook posts, quite frankly, were disturbing," he said.

They said he was focused on the possible locations of an attack and that it was not clear whether he had the ability himself to acquire or build bombs.

Officials also said it was not clear if Pitts had a network inside the United States or abroad.

Pitts was charged with attempting to provide support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.&nbsp

The FBI announced Monday the arrest of a professed supporter of Al-Qaeda who was planning to target members of the US military and their families with a bomb attack on a July 4 parade in Cleveland, Ohio.

The FBI announced Monday the arrest of a professed supporter of Al-Qaeda who was planning to target members of the US military and their families with a bomb attack on a July 4 parade in Cleveland, Ohio. Demetrius Pitts, who had expressed allegiance to the al Qaeda militant group, was arrested on Sunday after a meeting with an undercover FBI agent where he said he planned to plant a bomb at a parade celebrating the U.S. Independence Day holiday and would target other locations in Cleveland and Philadelphia. "His desire: to kill military personnel and their families," said FBI special agent Steve Anthony. "What would hit them in the core? ... Blow up. Have a bomb. Blow up at the Fourth of July parade," Stephen Anthony, the FBI's head agent in Cleveland, quoted Pitts as saying. Anthony also told a news conference that the man was "willing to chop off hands and heads." Pitts, 48, is from the Cleveland suburb of Maple Heights, Ohio, the FBI said in a statement. FBI and Justice Department officials said Pitts, a US native with "an extensive criminal history" was arrested Sunday after discussing how to carry out the attack with the undercover agent. They had been watching him for months after he made statements in support of Al-Qaeda and expressed "violent intentions" against groups including the US armed forces, Anthony said. The posts called for Muslims to train in hand-to-hand combat and in the use of arms and explosives, Anthony said. "His Facebook posts, quite frankly, were disturbing," he said. They said he was focused on the possible locations of an attack and that it was not clear whether he had the ability himself to acquire or build bombs. Officials also said it was not clear if Pitts had a network inside the United States or abroad. Pitts was charged with attempting to provide support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Man to lose USD 240 million worth bitcoins if he gets password wrong

Digital currency Bitcoin extended its record smashing rally on Friday topping more than $40,000, double the value from a little more than three years ago.

The digital currency has climbed more than 700% from a March 12 closing low.

Increased demand from institutional, corporate, and more recently retail investors has powered bitcoin’s surge this year, attracted by the prospect of quick gains in a world of ultra-low yields and negative interest rates.

The world’s most popular cryptocurrency climbed as high as $40,402.46 and was last up 6.1% at $39,100. It crossed $30,000 for the first time on January 2 and $20,000 on December 16.

Smaller coins ethereum, the second largest in terms of market capitalization, and XRP, the fourth biggest, gained 1.8% at $1,231 and 31% at 32 U.S. cents, respectively. Both currencies often move in tandem with bitcoin.

Some investors viewed bitcoin as a hedge against inflation amid enormous monetary stimulus aimed at battling the economic devastation caused by COVID-19.

Market participants though warned a correction could be in the cards after a scorching rally.

“While further growth is inevitable, investors should not expect this to move in a straight line,” said Gavin Smith, chief executive officer of cryptocurrency consortium, Panxora Group.

“The reality is that bitcoin is far from being a magic money tree, nor is it free from downward price swings. In fact, we can expect dips as sharp as 25% at times as investors periodically withdraw profits,” he added.

Bitcoins surge happened as the market cap for the entire cryptocurrency sector topped $1 trillion on Thursday, according to data trackers CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko.

Glassnode, which provides insight on blockchain data, noted that retail interest in bitcoin has increased the last few weeks, with the number of bitcoin addresses or wallets holding a “non-zero amount” of the virtual currency reaching an all-time high of more than 33 million.

The information provider also said while interest in bitcoin and news coverage have grown, it is far from being in bubble territory. The number of daily new bitcoins has still not reached 2017 levels, Glassnode said, suggesting the currency is experiencing strong organic growth in adoption, but not the sort of “viral growth typical of a bubble.”

(With inputs from agencies)

Digital currency Bitcoin extended its record smashing rally on Friday topping more than $40,000, double the value from a little more than three years ago. The digital currency has climbed more than 700% from a March 12 closing low.

Digital currency Bitcoin extended its record smashing rally on Friday topping more than $40,000, double the value from a little more than three years ago. The digital currency has climbed more than 700% from a March 12 closing low. Increased demand from institutional, corporate, and more recently retail investors has powered bitcoin’s surge this year, attracted by the prospect of quick gains in a world of ultra-low yields and negative interest rates. The world’s most popular cryptocurrency climbed as high as $40,402.46 and was last up 6.1% at $39,100. It crossed $30,000 for the first time on January 2 and $20,000 on December 16. Smaller coins ethereum, the second largest in terms of market capitalization, and XRP, the fourth biggest, gained 1.8% at $1,231 and 31% at 32 U.S. cents, respectively. Both currencies often move in tandem with bitcoin. Some investors viewed bitcoin as a hedge against inflation amid enormous monetary stimulus aimed at battling the economic devastation caused by COVID-19. Market participants though warned a correction could be in the cards after a scorching rally. “While further growth is inevitable, investors should not expect this to move in a straight line,” said Gavin Smith, chief executive officer of cryptocurrency consortium, Panxora Group. “The reality is that bitcoin is far from being a magic money tree, nor is it free from downward price swings. In fact, we can expect dips as sharp as 25% at times as investors periodically withdraw profits,” he added. Bitcoins surge happened as the market cap for the entire cryptocurrency sector topped $1 trillion on Thursday, according to data trackers CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko. Glassnode, which provides insight on blockchain data, noted that retail interest in bitcoin has increased the last few weeks, with the number of bitcoin addresses or wallets holding a “non-zero amount” of the virtual currency reaching an all-time high of more than 33 million. The information provider also said while interest in bitcoin and news coverage have grown, it is far from being in bubble territory. The number of daily new bitcoins has still not reached 2017 levels, Glassnode said, suggesting the currency is experiencing strong organic growth in adoption, but not the sort of “viral growth typical of a bubble.” (With inputs from agencies)

Just five days after passing $30,000, Bitcoin tops $40,000

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