Author: NBTC

Sweden’s tax agency identified irregularities in 18 locally operating companies, finding that they hid their involvement in crypto mining, it said Wednesday. The investigation, which spanned from 2020 to 2023 and focused on data center operations, revealed that they deliberately exploited tax incentives for which they were ineligible. Patrik Lillqvist, head of the agency’s intelligence unit, explained that the companies’ actions constituted an attempt to secure undue tax advantages. In response, the agency is demanding an additional 990 million Swedish krona ($91 million) in taxes, including value-added tax (VAT) and surcharges. The report highlighted difficulties investigators encountered in determining the…

The developer stack that powers Cosmos-based blockchains suits the needs of many protocols developed currently, according to Marko Baricevic. The Ethereum layer-2 blockchain narrative could benefit the modularity work of projects built with the Cosmos software development kit (SDK), says Marko Baricevic, product lead of the Cosmos SDK at Binary Builders. As rollups use Cosmos SDK-based structures like Celestia for data availability, Cosmos might be propelled again into the limelight. “Our approach has never been saying we are better, we try not to compare ourselves,” stated Baricevic. “In the Cosmos stack vision, we are working towards taking advantage of the…

JPMorgan analysts remain bearish on Bitcoin’s near-term future, believing the asset’s current rally is attributable to retail and speculative institutions. Both groups, the bank claimed on March 14, have joined momentum traders like commodity trading advisors in burrowing money into both gold and bitcoin futures. JPMorgan’s Bitcoin Analysis The bank’s analysis is a countertheory to those associating the massive success of Bitcoin spot ETFs with outflows from gold ETFs, believing investors are swapping funds from the latter to the former. Since the start of the year, over $5 billion has flowed out of gold ETFs, while almost $12 billion has…

Shiba Inu (SHIB) is on the cusp of a breakout, however, the current bearish drawdown is further elongating the time frame for this bullish burst. Per data from the crypto analytics platform IntoTheBlock (ITB), the meme coin’s profitability is notably showcasing another basis to project an imminent uptrend ahead. The data showed that the number of profitable addresses, or wallets “in the money,” in the Shiba Inu ecosystem comes in at 902,960 addresses, or 67.23% of the total on the network. Addresses “out of the money” are notably fewer, at 352,190, or 26.22%. Addresses “at the money,” or break-even point,…

Widely circulated court documents concerning the legal case of Ripple and the SEC suggest that both parties could settle within the next 24 hours. In particular, the court document endorsed by District Judge Analisa Torres stated that on April 16, 2024, the legal counsels of the SEC and Ripple must appear for a final pretrial conference in a courtroom in New York. With the conference set for today, anticipation has been building within the crypto community about the potential outcome. In addition, the document specifies that before the scheduled pretrial conference, legal counsels representing Ripple and the SEC must meet…

API3 has unveiled a strategic collaboration with the launch of XLayerOfficial. This collaboration marks a pivotal moment for both entities as they join forces to revolutionize decentralized data provision in the crypto space. The announcement, made public earlier today, outlines API3’s commitment to supporting the builders of XLayerOfficial, signaling a new era of innovation and collaboration within the industry. We’re excited for the launch of @XLayerOfficial and are committed to supporting their builders. 💪API3’s oracle stack will be deployed on X Layer soon, giving developers access to over 160 decentralized data feeds integrated with @OEVNetwork to recapture protocol MEV. pic.twitter.com/nr5lrBMJS1…

Peter Schiff, a well-known gold investor and vocal critic of Bitcoin, addressed claims made by cryptocurrency publications suggesting he had changed his stance on Bitcoin. Schiff clarified that his admittance of regret for not purchasing Bitcoin in 2010 does not mark any sort of U-turn on crypto. He stated, “Bitcoin related publications are falsely claiming that I’ve changed my position on Bitcoin because I admitted I wished I had bought some back in 2010. I think everyone wished they bought Bitcoin in 2010.” Schiff further stressed that his hypothetical wish to have invested in Bitcoin early on does not alter…

Andrew Abir, deputy governor of the Bank of Israel, recently said that traditional cash was once competitive with other payment methods, but its role has “eroded” because of technological limitations as finance becomes increasingly digital. Abir made the statement during his speech at the “Engines of the Israeli Ecosystem” conference on April 16, where he also announced a new sandbox to test a central bank digital currency called the digital shekel. The API-based sandbox will allow financial entities, fintech companies, and other participants to participate and develop use cases for the digital shekel. Catalyst for competition The central bank official…

Arbitrum-based Plutus DAO has announced plans to scrap its long-depegged plsARB token, allowing users to redeem their underlying ARB tokens 1:1. However, not all users are happy. Some feel betrayed after they decided to exit at a loss, with others even suspecting insider trading around the announcement. Plutus DAO launched plsARB in March 2023 to capitalise on the ARB airdrop. The DAO aimed to secure an influential governance position on Arbitrum and activate a native ARB staking programme, rewarding depositors to encourage participation. The proposal to activate a staking programme in October 2023 received pushback and criticism on the Arbitrum…

South Korean police have raided the offices of the sports-themed blockchain platform Winnerz as part of a probe into claims its WNZ token is a “scam coin.” Per the newspaper Money Today, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s criminal task force announced on April 16 that it had searched and seized evidence from two locations. WNZ prices over the past 24 hours. (Source: CoinMarketCap) South Korean Police Raid Two Addresses Police said they raided a Winnerz office in Gangnam, Seoul, and the home of the former Winnerz CEO Choi Seung-jeong on April 1. A court warrant granted police the right to…