Crypto Exchange Bittrex Enters Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection Following SEC Lawsuit

Bittrex Inc., the U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware after being sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to register with the regulator. The exchange reportedly has over 100,000 creditors and liabilities…

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…

Bitcoin Network Overwhelmed by 390,000 Unconfirmed Transactions and Surging Fees

In just under two weeks, the number of unconfirmed transactions on the Bitcoin network has skyrocketed from 134,000 to over 390,000, causing a bottleneck in the mempool. This surge in unconfirmed transactions has resulted in a staggering 343% increase in transaction…

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…

Voyager Digital Provides Update on Reimbursement Plan for Creditors

Following Binance’s withdrawal from the Voyager Digital deal on April 25, the now-defunct crypto lender has recently informed creditors that they can expect to receive their initial cash and crypto distributions “within the next few weeks.” This update comes nine days…

Ex-Coinbase Exec Balaji Srinivasan Closes Out $1 Million Bitcoin Bet

Former Chief Technology Officer at Coinbase, Balaji Srinivasan, closed out early a bet that the price of bitcoin would hit $1 million by mid-June amid hyperinflation of the U.S. dollar. Srinivasan paid a total of $1.5 million, more than the initially…

Pacwest Stock Plummets Over 35% Following Release of Q1 Earnings Report Amidst Turmoil in Banking Industry

Following the acquisition of First Republic Bank by JPMorgan Chase, several regional banks such as Pacwest and Western Alliance experienced a significant drop in their stock prices. On Tuesday afternoon, all four major U.S. benchmark stock indexes are in decline as…

Bitcoin Cash Smart Contracts ‘Comparable to Those on Ethereum’ Possible via May Upgrade, ‘1000x Efficiency Advantage’: Dev Jason Dreyzehner

Pro-freedom technologies advocate and software developer Jason Dreyzehner recently spoke with Bitcoin.com News via email about the upcoming Bitcoin Cash network upgrade on May 15. One of the most talked about improvement proposals set to go through on that date —…

Ethereum Network Fees Surge 153% in 30 Days, While Arbitrum Daily Transactions Outpace ETH Following Shapella Upgrade

Ethereum network fees have experienced a significant upswing following the implementation of the Shapella upgrade on April 12th. In the last 30 days, onchain fees have soared by over 153%, from a prior rate of $4.65 per transfer to a current…