Soon after becoming the first United States lawmaker to accept a part of his salary in Bitcoin, Suarez wants to dedicate a part of his retirement savings to Bitcoin based on “a personal choice,” he said in an interview with Real Vision: The long-standing mayor of Miami Francis Suarez has now announced plans to take a part of his 401(k) payout in Bitcoin (BTC) just a month after he started receiving salary in BTC. “I just think it is a good asset to be invested in. I think it’s one that’s obviously going to appreciate over time. It’s one that …

The first Bitcoin (BTC) futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) was launched in the United States back on October 19, 2021. Since then, a number of other cryptocurrency investment products have been launched in various markets. That first ETF, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, quickly became one of the top ETFs of all time by trading volume on its debut, and soon after, several other Bitcoin futures ETFs were launched in the United States, providing investors with different investment options. To Martha Reyes, head of research at cryptocurrency trading platform Bequant, these options are important. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Reyes pointed out that …

Growing inflation has become a mounting concern for nations around the world, especially the United States. The U.S. has seen one of the sharpest rises in consumer inflation over the past year. Lawmakers around the globe have claimed that they didn’t see the inflation coming, but people often draw their attention towards the seeming unrestricted money printing spree throughout the pandemic. The U.S. has printed 35% of the total U.S. dollar in circulation in 2021 alone which has played a key factor in record-breaking inflation. Market pundits expect a 6% rise in the consumer price index (CPI) in November, which …

Illinois Representative Marie Newman has disclosed she purchased up to $50,000 in exposure to crypto through shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. According to a financial disclosure report filed with the U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 8, Congressperson Newman bought between $15,001 and $50,000 of GBTC between Nov. 9 and Dec. 4. In addition, she conducted four separate purchases of shares of Coinbase Global’s Class A stock between November and December, up to $215,000. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are permitted to buy, sell and trade stocks and other investments while in office but required to …

Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom have called upon the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to limit the use of the word “invest” and “investment” by cryptocurrency firms for promotional purposes. According to a Dec. 9 report in The Times, MPs at the treasury select committee told FCA chief Nikhil Rathi that the use of the word “your investment” often portrays that these are on par with an FTSE 100 company or a unit trust, thus giving the wrong impression about the type of investment. Harriett Baldwin, Conservative MP for West Worcestershire took special exception to FCA’s supposed inability …

Kazakhstan, one of the world’s largest countries in terms of Bitcoin (BTC) mining hash power, is continuing to explore a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC). The National Bank of Kazakhstan has completed a prototype of a digital tenge platform, governor Erbolat Dossayev announced, according to a report by local news agency Kazinform. The central bank is now preparing to publish preliminary results of digital currency testing and a pilot CBDC project on Dec. 15, Dossayev said. He noted that the pilot involved local financial companies and some international partners. Despite actively moving forward with CBDC testing, Kazakhstan is yet …

Following another corruption scandal, the government of Puerto Rico is reportedly seeking to improve its anti-corruption efforts by adopting blockchain technology. Puerto Rican House Speaker Rafael “Tatito” Hernandez announced that lawmakers will hold meetings with local blockchain enthusiasts this month to discuss the potential adoption of blockchain technology to reduce corruption. The implementation of blockchain and smart contracts could bring more transparency and accountability to the public sector, the official said at a Puerto Rico Blockchain Trade Association conference, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 6. “We have a real credibility problem and this might be part of the solution,” Hernandez said, …

Bitfury CEO and former Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks has hinted the regulatory environment in the United States could drive many crypto firms outside the country, and has already stymied companies attempting to offer a variety of financial products. Speaking at a Wednesday hearing on Digital Assets and the Future of Finance with the House Committee on Financial Services, congressperson Ted Budd said he feared the current policy of regulation by enforcement in the U.S. could “force the next generation of financial tech to be created outside of our country.” Speaking of behalf of Bitfury, Brooks said: “There …

Blaine Luetkemeyer, a House Representative from Missouri, revisited the issue of major companies exerting control over vast swaths of the Internet, something he expressed concerns about encroaching in the crypto space. Speaking at a Wednesday hearing on digital assets with the The House Committee on Financial Services, Luetkemeyer addressed Bitfury CEO and former Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks in saying that major tech firms including Instagram, Facebook — now Meta — and Twitter “control people on their platforms.” Luetkemeyer asked whether this level of control could extend to undue influence for the rollout of a digital dollar. “The …

On Wednesday, Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, issued the following statement to the Treasury Committee when asked about the risks of the much-unregulated cryptocurrency sector in the country: When we talk about the compensation scheme, we have to draw some pretty clear lines. I would suggest anything is crypto-related should not be entitled to compensations, and consumers should be clear about that when investing. In the passage, Rathi refers to the FCA's Financial Services Compensation Scheme, or FSCS, which pays out compensation to consumers when certain authorized financial institutions cannot meet claims against …

The House Committee on Financial Services heard from several chief executive officers at major crypto firms in the United States, some of whom seemed to present a united front in urging lawmakers to provide a clear regulatory framework for crypto. Speaking at a Wednesday hearing on Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Bitfury CEO Brian Brooks, Paxos CEO Chad Cascarilla, Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon, and Alesia Haas, the CEO of Coinbase Inc. and the CFO of Coinbase …

The Australian government is seriously consider the rollout of central bank digital currency (CBDC) and has backed numerous forward-looking regulatory crypto-proposals as part of a new “payments and crypto reform plan.” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the reforms "will firmly place Australia among a handful of lead countries in the world." The reform plan is said to be the biggest shake-up of the Australian payments system since the 1990s, with part of the crypto-related groundwork set by the innovative proposals put forward by an Australian Senate Committee in September. According to the Australian Financial Review, the government is in favor of …