President Raisi Calls on Central Bank of Iran to Ditch US Dollar in Trade, Shift to National Currencies

Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi has called on the Central Bank of Iran to lay the groundwork necessary to ditch the U.S. dollar for bilateral trade settlements and to make the switch to use the Iranian real whenever possible. The Central Bank…

Bitcoin Community Divided: Scaling Challenges Trigger Intense Debate as Mempool Overflows

This week, the Bitcoin community has been abuzz with discussions about the network’s scaling challenges. As the blockchain’s transfer fees continue to surge, the backlog of transactions stuck in the mempool has hit an unprecedented high. Crypto enthusiasts have been sharing…

Binance Announces Lightning Network Withdrawal Implementation Amidst Bitcoin Network Congestion Issues

Binance has announced its intention of implementing Lightning Network, a layer 2 Bitcoin scaling protocol, on its platform after experiencing an episode of congestion regarding withdrawals on the Bitcoin network. The exchange had to pause bitcoin withdrawals twice due to a…

Latam Insights: Bolivia Sells Gold for Dollars, Argentina Bans Fintech Crypto, Fitch Upgrades El Salvador’s Credit Rating

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic development news from Latin America during the last week. In this issue, Bolivia passes a law to sell gold for dollars, the Central Bank of Argentina bans fintech…

Digital Assets for 1 Billion Rubles Issued in Russia in a Month

Platforms authorized by the Russian government issued digital assets worth around a billion rubles in April, the local press reported. The spike in the volume has been attributed to Russian companies experimenting with new financial instruments amid limited access to traditional…

SEC Probes First Republic Bank Executives for Insider Trading; Lawmakers Dump Bank’s Shares Before Collapse

After the second largest bank failure in history, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly investigating First Republic Bank executives for allegedly engaging in insider trading. Two sources have claimed that the securities regulator is scrutinizing the bank’s executives…

Former SEC Enforcement Chief: Coinbase’s Arguments ‘a Surefire Loser’ and Possibly Criminal

According to John Reed Stark, crypto exchange Coinbase’s assertions that its business activities were endorsed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when it approved its initial public offering are “a surefire loser.” According to Stark, the SEC’s approval of…

Brazilian President Lula to Act as BRICS Liaison to Help Argentina, Discusses Credit Line in Brazilian Reals

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stated Brazil will serve as a facilitator to try and arrange BRICS bloc assistance for Argentina. Lula stated that the New Development Bank — the BRICS bank — could modify some of its rules…

Chatgpt ‘Is the New Crypto,’ Meta Says Malware Actors Exploit AI Craze

A growing number of malware creators are now taking advantage of the significant interest in Chatgpt to lure victims, Facebook owner Meta has noticed. According to its head of information security, the AI-based chatbot is “the new crypto” for bad actors…

Breaking the Barriers of Traditional Banking With Digital Assets

Another one bites the dust! The banking industry in the United States is in trouble, and regional banks are feeling the squeeze. A number of banks have failed recently due to mismanagement, poor risk management, and other factors which are leading…