Ethereum's native token Ether (ETH) plunged sharply hours after the U.S. Federal Reserve released the minutes of their December meeting, showing that they eye a faster timetable for hiking interest rates in 2022. The minutes showed that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is in favor of raising short-term rates "sooner or at a faster pace than participants had earlier anticipated." According to the CME Group, trading in the interest-rate futures market showed a two-thirds possibility of the first increase in March. Ether turned lower after the minutes were released, dropping by over 13.50% to as low as $3,300. Its …

Money transmission network MoneyGram now has a minority investment in crypto ATM operator Coinme following a Series A funding round. In a Wednesday announcement, MoneyGram said it had purchased a roughly 4% ownership stake in Coinme — likely more than $764,000 given its valuation of $19.1 million in June — as part of a strategic investment in the crypto company. The investment follows a May 2021 partnership between the two firms aimed at expanding access to crypto-fiat exchanges. "We continue to be bullish on the vast opportunities that exist in the ever-growing world of cryptocurrency and our ability to operate …

Barnaby Swinburn, a resident of Bristol, England had asked for two Christmas presents, a Mensa test for testing his IQ and a cryptocurrency portfolio. According to BristolLive, Swinburn scored the highest possible score of 162 on the test, beating Einstien’s IQ of 160. As a result, the schoolboy became a member of the high-IQ society, which intakes the top 2% of the highest Mensa scorers. Speaking about cryptocurrencies, Swinburn’s mother Ghislaine said: “He’s been watching the markets. He’ll be getting an envelope with money in it for Christmas which he’ll turn into cryptocurrency.” In tune with his interest in crypto, …

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reportedly confirmed the completion of a crypto law draft that will soon be shared with the Parliament for mainstream implementation in the country. In an effort to counter the falling value of the Turkish lira, President Erdoğan shared plans to implement a new economic model while speaking at a press conference in Istanbul. As reported by local media NTV, Erdoğan said that the cryptocurrency bill is ready, adding: “We will take steps on this issue by sending it to Parliament without delay.” Acknowledging the country’s recent inflationary episode, Erdoğan said that the currency event …

On Thursday, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador reaffirmed his belief forBitcoin (BTC) supremacy on Twitter once again, this time stating that after widespread adoption occurs, "it's game over for fiat." The Salvadoran president has been a mainstay in news headlines due to his regular BTC purchases and absolute pro-Bitcoin stance. He has made frequent statements and comments to support the original cryptocurrency while refusing to budge in the face of criticism that Bitcoin is a bad idea for the nation. Related: El Salvador buys a smokin’ hot 420 more Bitcoin President Bukele's recent tweet comes as the international community …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com continues expanding its crypto on-ramp and off-ramp solutions with a new partnership with the California state-chartered bank Silvergate. Crypto.com announced on Nov. 30 that it is working with Silvergate to allow institutional clients to deposit and withdraw from the exchange using the U.S. dollar (USD). According to the announcement, bank transfers to and from the Crypto.com exchange are now available for institutional investors. With the help of Silvergate, institutional clients can transfer USD between their bank accounts and Crypto.com with no fees. The new feature is enabled through the Silvergate Exchange Network, a payments platform enabling …

Central bank digital currencies (CBDC), digital versions of national currencies introduced in response to growing cryptocurrency adoption, would be an essential tool for combating crypto, according to the Bank of Indonesia. The central bank of Indonesia is considering launching a digital rupiah to “fight” against cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Bank of Indonesia’s assistant governor Juda Agung said at a recent parliamentary meeting. “A CBDC would be one of the tools to fight crypto. We assume that people would find CBDC more credible than crypto. CBDC would be part of an effort to address the use of crypto in financial transactions,” …

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has expressed concerns over El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender after President Nayib Bukele announced the launch of Bitcoin City. Bailey argued that El Salvador’s decision to adopt Bitcoin as a currency was alarming because consumers are likely to suffer from the cryptocurrency’s extreme volatility. Trading around $43,000 on the first day of El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption as legal tender, Bitcoin surged to a new historical high above $68,000 on Nov. 9. BTC price has significantly tumbled since then, with Bitcoin trading at $54,626 at the time of writing. “It concerns …

E-commerce giant JD.com took payments in China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) at a massive local shopping event. JD.com accepted digital yuan (e-CNY) for payment on its e-commerce application for the Singles Day promotion period which began on Oct. 31 and ended on Nov. 11, the firm confirmed on Thursday. Singles Day is an unofficial shopping holiday in the country that also celebrates people who aren't in a romantic relationship. “100,000 people had used e-CNY on JD.com’s app during the Singles Day promotion period as of today,” a spokesperson for JD.com told Cointelegraph. “We will continue to work with related …

The United States territory of Puerto Rico is seeing a resurgence of interest among crypto investors attracted by the fact it doesn’t charge federal income tax and eligible investors can pay zero taxes on their crypto gains. Under local law Act 22, those who live in Puerto Rico for at least half of the year are exempt from taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains — meaning they can keep most or all of the profits from crypto or other investments without having to renounce U.S. residency. The popularity of the territory as crypto tax haven was highlighted when news …

British cryptocurrency services provider Crypterium is the latest crypto firm to secure registration from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Crypterium officially announced on Oct. 25 that it has recently been registered by the FCA to provide cryptocurrency services to local citizens and companies, becoming one of few companies to have passed the registration process. According to data on the FCA’s official website, Crypterium has been registered to operate “certain crypto asset activities” in compliance with the country’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations since Oct. 11. The registration officially authorized Crypterium to continue providing its crypto wallet services, including crypto …

Cryptocurrency-to-fiat infrastructure provider XanPool continues expanding operations in the Asia-Pacific region by securing fresh funding. The Hong Kong-based startup raised $27 million in a Series A funding round led by Valar Ventures, a venture capital firm co-founded by PayPal co-creator Peter Thiel. Other participating investors included crypto-focused venture capital firm CMT Digital alongside angel investors such as TransferWise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus, XanPool announced Friday. Running operations in 13 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, XanPool is looking to further consolidate its presence with new funding. Jeffery Liu, CEO of XanPool, told Cointelegraph that the startup operates in countries like India, Hong …