Bitcoin (BTC) is a tool for freedom and economic empowerment. For one young Zimbabwean, Ovidy, it turned his life around when he returned to his home country at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. An entrepreneur who first learned of Bitcoin while living in the United States, Ovidy has since built a business with Bitcoin at its core. Below, Ovidy (center) is pictured with Paco the Bitcoin traveler (left): Day 276 Obidy imports cars in Zimbabwe using #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/Y2TmZZX6Bv — Paco de la India⚡ (@RunwithBitcoin) June 20, 2022 Ovidy imports cars using Bitcoin. “I really like to import BMWs,” he …

Natalie Brunell, the host of Coin Stories podcast, thinks that the recent incidents involving Terra (LUNA, now rebranded LUNC) and Celsius (CELH) and the following market sell-off will lead to regulatory action that will likely favor Bitcoin (BTC) over the rest of cryptocurrency. “I'm going to be watching for regulation developments, just signifying that Bitcoin is a digital property and that maybe there's more fair accounting that can be done to allow institutions to invest," she said in her latest interview with Cointelegraph. "And the other cryptocurrencies, I think will be deemed securities,” she continued. Brunell defines herself as a …

The emergence of forty-year high inflation readings and the increasingly dire-looking global economy has prompted many financial analysts to recommend investing in gold to protect against volatility and a possible decline in the value of the United States dollar. For years, crypto traders have referred to Bitcoin (BTC) as “digital gold,” but is it actually a better investment than gold? Let’s take a look at some of the conventional arguments investors cite when praising gold as an investment and why Bitcoin might be an even better long-term option. Value retention One of the most common reasons to buy both gold …

A survey from digital payment company Block Inc. has found that the higher respondents rated their own level of cryptocurrency knowledge, the more optimistic they are about the future of Bitcoin (BTC). Block surveyed more than 9,500 people from the Americas (2,375), EMEA (4,360) and APAC (2,860) regions in January, ensuring to include 100 Bitcoin owners in each region for its 2022 Bitcoin Knowledge and Perceptions Report. The report, released on Tuesday, shows a correlation between optimism and the likelihood of purchasing, and compared the result with the respondent’s self-identified level of knowledge. Of those who identified as having fair …

As economic conditions continue to worsen, financial experts worldwide are increasingly placing the blame at the feet of the United States Federal Reserve after the central bank was slow to respond to rising inflation early on. Financial markets are currently experiencing their worst stretch of losses in recent history, and it doesn’t appear that there is any relief in sight. May 24 saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq fall another 2%, while Snap, a popular social media company, shed 43.1% of its market cap in trading on May 23. This past couple of months have been absolutely brutal for the markets… 8 …

AXIA, the team behind the novel message-to-earn approach of AXChat, announced the mainnet launch of its blockchain and native currency on Thursday. The new network is designed to provide a "hyper-deflationary" economic model in which the cryptocurrency becomes more and more scarce as its adoption grows. According to its website, the AXIA blockchain is a third-generation blockchain that attempts to address problems like the lack of interoperability, speed and accessibility. The AXIA network uses a participatory hyper-deflationary system. This implies that all activity on the blockchain and within the ecosystem helps to ensure that AXIA Coin becomes scarce over time. …

A new study has revealed staggering growth in crypto adoption across Nigeria, fueled by limited access to affordable fiat-based financial services in Africa. Crypto exchange KuCoin’s “Into the Cryptoverse Report” highlights that many Nigerian citizens have started using cryptocurrencies as a viable alternative to store and transfer assets. According to the report, 35% of the Nigerian population aged 18 to 60 — or 33.4 million people — have owned or traded cryptocurrencies during the last six months. Out of those people, nearly 17.36 million (or 52% of Nigerian crypto investors) have allocated over half of their assets to cryptocurrencies. One …

Cryptocurrency adoption in Africa is on the march, despite socioeconomic factors and headwinds. A positive report by cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin shows that crypto transactions increased by up to 2,670% in 2022. An astonishing growth trend, the steep influx relates to the low values that have been observed during previous periods. The number of crypto transactions in Africa constitutes roughly 2.8% of global volumes. Johnny Lyu, CEO of KuCoin, told Cointelegraph that “the adoption of digital assets in Africa will continue to grow exponentially,” adding that “African countries have the highest crypto adoption rate in the world, outperforming even the biggest …

As rising inflation threatens to eat up further the purchasing power of the global fiat ecosystem, finding the perfect hedge against a falling economy has become the need of the hour — especially for the general public across the world. Joining this discussion online, Tesla CEO Elon Musk asked publicly about the probable inflation rate over the next few years to gauge the notion of global investors. Sharing his thoughts on the matter, American billionaire and MicroStrategy CEO Michael J. Saylor opined that with rising inflation, he expects the capital cash flow will move away from traditional fiat into scarce …

Rising prices are grabbing headlines all over the world. Across the pond in the United States, inflation recently broke a 40-year record. The situation is severe in Europe, with prices rising over 5% across the Eurozone and 4.9% in the United Kingdom. While prices rise, Bitcoin (BTC) is flatlining at around $39,000. It poses many questions: Is Bitcoin an effective hedge against rising prices, what role can Bitcoin play in a high inflation environment and did Bitcoiners know that inflation was coming? Experts from the world of Bitcoin, finance and even European politics responded to these questions, sharing their views …

On Wednesday, the European Union announced that within 10 days, it intends to remove seven Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, messaging system. The list of sanctioned banks includes Russia's second-largest bank VTB, Bank Otrkitie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Bank Rossiya, Sovcombank, and VEB. Without access to SWIFT, a Belgian messaging system that connects over 11,000 financial institutions worldwide, Russian banks, and by proxy, the Russian economy, is likely to endure severe losses. For example, Iran lost 30% of its foreign trade after being banned from SWIFT in 2012. VTB stock price | Source: Yahoo Finance …

Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency holders are enjoying the fruits of their labor on Feb. 10 after Bitcoin price rallied shortly after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a blistering 7.5% Consumer Price Index (CPI) print. This shows that inflation continues to worsen as fiat currencies bleed out their purchasing power. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after trading below $44,000 during the early hours on Thursday, the price of Bitcoin spiked to an intraday high at $45,850 following the release of the CPI data and most major stock market indices plunged into the red. Here’s a …