5 Major Bitcoin News Stories From The Past Week

Introduction

Bitcoin News: Bitcoin is a digital asset and payment system invented by Satoshi Nakamoto. Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public dispersed ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin is unique in that there are a finite number of them: 21 million. In the past week, we’ve seen some pretty big news stories involving bitcoin. From China announcing plans to ban cryptocurrency exchanges to Facebook announcing it will start accepting bitcoin as payment, it was an eventful week for the world of bitcoin. If you’re new to the world of bitcoin, or just want to brush up on your current knowledge, read on for our top five major news stories from the past week.

SEC Charges Two Bitcoin News Miners With Fraud

1. The SEC has charged two Bitcoin miners with fraud for allegedly using capital gains exemptions to avoid paying taxes on profits made from their mining operations.

2. The SEC alleges that the defendants ignored red flags that their business was not being conducted in a legitimate way and falsely claimed that they were mining Bitcoin when they were actually just trading on the currency.

3. The case is a setback for Bitcoin, which has been struggling to gain mainstream acceptance due to concerns about its security and legitimacy.

Coinbase Raises $100 Million in Funding

Coinbase, one of the most popular Bitcoin exchanges and wallet platforms in the world, has raised $100 million in funding from venture capitalists. The company was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. Coinbase is now one of the leading Bitcoin companies in the world.

This investment brings Coinbase's total funding to over $300 million. The new capital will be used to expand its product offerings, increase customer acquisition and grow its engineering team.

"Coinbase has become one of the most trusted and popular ways to buy and use bitcoin," said Brian Armstrong, CEO at Coinbase. "This latest round of funding will help us continue our mission of making it easy for everyone to get involved with bitcoin."

SEC Wants to Clarify How Bitcoin Is Securities

The SEC has been working on a proposed rule change that would clarify how bitcoin and other digital assets are securities. They want to make sure that these assets are treated the same as traditional stocks and bonds. The proposed rule change would require companies who offer digital assets to register with the SEC as a security exchange and would require them to meet certain requirements. This could potentially increase regulation of digital assets, but it's still unclear if this will happen.

Winklevoss Twins Launch a Crypto ETF

Winklevoss Twins Launch a Crypto ETF

The Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, have launched their own crypto ETF. The fund is called the Gemini Exchange Traded Fund and will offer investors access to cryptocurrencies that are listed on the Gemini exchange. Cryptocurrencies will be included in the ETF until they are not regulated by the SEC. The ETF is open to investors who are registered with a brokerage account.

The Winklevoss twins have been involved in bitcoin since 2013. They filed for a bitcoin-based ETF back in March of 2017, but the SEC rejected their application. This new fund follows up on that application and is considered more compliant with SEC regulations. The launch of this crypto ETF could pave the way for other similar products to enter the market.

The Top 5 Cryptocurrencies by Market Cap

1. Bitcoin continued its steady climb, reaching a new all-time high of $11,000 early this week.

2. Ethereum is also experiencing a boom, with its market cap increasing by more than 30% in the past week.

3. Ripple has seen an increase in popularity recently, as it continues to surge past other cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap.

4. Litecoin is one of the oldest and most well-known cryptocurrencies on the market, and it's seeing some renewed interest lately.

5. Finally, there are a number of smaller altcoins that are seeing significant growth too - so be sure to do your research before investing!

Conclusion

In this week's major Bitcoin news stories, we looked at the potential implications of Segwit2x and the future of Bitcoin.

Segwit 2x is a proposed upgrade to the Bitcoin network that was originally scheduled to take place in November. However, it has now been cancelled due to disagreements between the two main developers of the Bitcoin software.

The future of Bitcoin is still uncertain, but this news has caused prices to drop slightly. However, it is likely that the price will continue to rise in the long term.

There were also several other major Bitcoin news stories this week. We looked at how India plans to use blockchain technology for welfare payments, how Bitfinex became insolvent, and how Ethereum is being tested as a platform for initial coin offerings (ICOs).