Bitcoin news LIVE: Purpose Bitcoin ETF hits $1 billion in assets as cryptocurrency price SOARS

FIRST BITCOIN ETF APPROVED IN SOUTH AMERICA

Last month it was announced that the first-ever bitcoin exchange-traded fund in Latin America could go live in Brazil this summer.

QR Capital said the product would be listed on Brazilian stock exchange B3.

It could be listed by June.

PURPOSE BITCOIN ETF HITS $1 BILLION IN ASSETS

The Purpose Bitcoin ETF has hit $1 billion in assets.

“Less than two months after launching, the first North American Bitcoin ETF already reached $1 billion … in assets,” Bloomberg reported.

“The product from Toronto-based Purpose Investments, ticket BTCC, has seen massive interest as investors clamour for crypto exposure, especially in an exchange-traded fund wrapper.”

SETTING NEW RECORDS

Bitcoin started just above $55,000 on April 7 (£39,905), but its price moved steadily upwards over the next two days.

Then on April 10, it shot up from $58,000 (£42,081) past $60,000 (£43,533).

It reached a new all-time high just below $65,000 (£47,160) yesterday.

CRYPTO KING

The pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin is now one of the world’s richest people.

Based on their estimated holdings of the cryptocurrency, Satoshi Nakamoto is believed to own about one million Bitcoin, which is roughly five per cent of the total supply that will ever be created.

As the currency’s value has skyrocketed in recent months – hitting $63,509 (£46,073) at the time of writing – so too has Nakamoto’s estimated wealth.

MUSK BE LOVE

Tesla boss Elon Musk said his car firm has bought $1.5billion of Bitcoin and said his business would accept them as payment for its cars.

Mastercard, meanwhile, said it would also start to allow payments in Bitcoin.

People considering investing in Bitcoin or shares and stocks have been warned over “risky” tips being shared on TikTok.

How risky is Ripple’s XRP? The dangers of buying the cryptocurrency explained.

The price of Dogecoin has also surged recently but again, you should be aware of the dangers.

VIRTUAL WALLET

If you have invested in Bitcoin, you can set up a virtual wallet to store, keep track and spend your digital money.

You are also able to purchase Bitcoin through an online exchange or Bitcoin ATM –  but not all businesses accept Bitcoin as a form of payment.

You can use the Where To Spend Bitcoin UK website to find merchants that accept the currency.

MASSIVE NUMBERS

Coinbase says it has more than 56million verified users across 100 countries.

The company has benefited from bitcoin’s rise in value, which has rocketed by 1,000% over the past year and hit a new record high yesterday.

WHAT IS COINBASE?

Coinbase is an American cryptocurrency exchange platform, and customers can buy and sell around 50 cryptocurrencies on its site, including bitcoin.

The company was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam.

As of March 2021, Coinbase was the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US by trading volume.

ENERGY PROBLEM

Bitcoin is said to have an “energy problem” according to one estimate.

It is believed that the process of mining bitcoins and keeping the network running uses more energy than Belgium in a year, CNN reports.

CRYPTOCURRENCY ENJOYING BOOM IN TURKEY

Cryptocurrency trading is also enjoying a boom in Turkey.

It comes as investors seek refuge from the country’s economic turmoil and surging inflation.

WARNING THAT BITCOIN IN SPECULATIVE ‘BUBBLE’

The multifold rise in cryptocurrencies has been driven by investors seeking high-yielding assets amid low interest rates.

However, the meteoric rise of bitcoin, which traded at a few hundred dollars only five years ago, has led major investment banks to warn of a speculative bubble.

Several fund managers surveyed by BofA and Deutsche Bank have said Bitcoin was in “bubble” territory and expect it to pull back sharply.

OFFICIALS LOOK FOR BRITISH MAN BEHIND £100MILLION SCAM

Officials are looking for a mysterious British man behind a £100million Bitcoin scam.

US regulators say they want to speak to Benjamin Reynolds, 38, even though some victims believe he may not exist.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has accused Reynolds, from Manchester, of stealing Bitcoin through a firm called Control-Finance.

A court in New York has ruled that he owes £103million in compensation, in addition to a £310million fine.

BITCOIN VALUE TONIGHT

The value of one Bitcoin tonight is £45,486.00.

It can be checked live on Google and anyone can see how its value changes over time.

LUXURY PENTHOUSE IN LONDON CAN BE BOUGHT WITH BITCOIN

A luxury Knightsbridge penthouse overlooking Hyde Park is on the market for £175million – and the seller will take offers in Bitcoin.

Developer Nick Candy is selling the 18,000 sq ft, five-bedroom apartment in the One Hyde Park development.

The 48-year-old told Bloomberg the penthouse is “a world-class real estate asset in the heart of London that will continue to perform as a solid investment for years to come”.

Offers in Bitcoin and Ethereum will be considered as cryptocurrencies are a “big opportunity”, he added.  

WHAT IS BITCOIN?

Bitcoin is a virtual currency that was created in 2009 by an unknown computer whizz using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto.

Unlike physical currencies such as pounds, dollars or euros, which come in physical notes and coins, Bitcoin isn’t printed or minted.

Instead, Bitcoin tokens are a digital-only form of payment and are created by a computer code.

HOW MANY BITCOIN ARE THERE?

There are currently about 21 million Bitcoin tokens in existence.

To receive a Bitcoin, a user must have a Bitcoin address – a string of 27-34 letters and numbers – which acts as a kind of virtual postbox.

These addresses are in turn stored in Bitcoin wallets, which are used to manage savings.

The bulk of Bitcoin “mining” is done in China, where energy costs are cheaper than in places like the UK or US.

WHAT IS COINBASE?

Coinbase is an American cryptocurrency exchange platform, and customers can buy and sell around 50 cryptocurrencies on its site, including bitcoin.

The company was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam.

As of March 2021, Coinbase was the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US by trading volume.

Coinbase says it has more than 56million verified users across 100 countries.

The company has benefited from bitcoin’s rise in value, which has rocketed by 1,000% over the past year.

COINBASE GOES PUBLIC IN ‘WATERSHED MOMENT’

Coinbase has gone public in a “watershed event for cryptocurrency”, reports ABC News in the US.

The popular cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase officially became a publicly traded company after being listed on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, April 14.

The news site adds: “It is being traded under the ticker symbol ‘COIN’.

“The direct listing marks the first time a major digital currency platform has gone public in the US.

“Coinbase users primarily trade Bitcoin and Ethereum. Both cryptocurrencies were trading at new all-time highs ahead of Coinbase’s public debut.”

‘BE PREPARED TO LOSE ALL YOUR MONEY’ – WATCHDOG

People “considering purchasing cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, should be aware that these are high risk and highly volatile assets,” the Financial Markets Authority has warned New Zealanders.

The watchdog told the NZ Herald – after Bitcoin’s latest rollercoaster moves – “Cryptocurrencies are not regulated in New Zealand and are often exploited by scammers and hackers.

“Some crypto exchanges are promising high returns and customers should be prepared to lose all of their money.

“Many overseas cryptocurrency exchanges are unregulated and operate exclusively online – with no connection to New Zealand. This makes it hard to find out who is offering, exchanging, buying or selling the cryptocurrencies.”

VISA TO ALLOW BITCOIN PAYMENT

Visa recently said it will allow the use of the cryptocurrency USD Coin to settle transactions on its payment network.

It’s the latest sign of growing acceptance of digital currencies by the mainstream financial industry, reports Reuters news agency.

The company told Reuters it had launched the pilot programme with payment and crypto platform Crypto.com and plans to offer the option to more partners later this year.

Bitcoin is the most popular crypto coin.

COINBASE’S VALUE ‘HIGHER THAN BP’

Crypto firm Coinbase has been valued at more than oil giant BP, says BBC News.

Coinbase, “which runs a top exchange for Bitcoin and other digital currency trading, hit a market value of nearly $100bn (£72.5bn) in its stock market listing,” the broadcaster reported yesterday.

It adds: “The initial valuation put Coinbase ahead of many well-known firms, such as oil giant BP and key stock exchanges.

“The listing was seen as the latest step toward cryptocurrencies gaining wider acceptance among traditional investors.

“The price of Bitcoin surged more than 300% last year – and has climbed even higher in 2021.”

COIN WARS – BITCOIN SLAMMED AS CHINESE WEAPON BY PAYPAL FOUNDER

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel has issued a chilling warning about Bitcoin as its value continues to soar.

The PayPal founder said that the cryptocurrency should be treated as a “Chinese financial weapon” that threatens the global power of the US.

Thiel called for tighter restrictions on Bitcoin, which he said could undermine the status of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

“I do wonder whether at this point, Bitcoin should also be thought [of] in part as a Chinese financial weapon against the US,” Thiel said during an appearance at a virtual event.

“It threatens fiat money, but it especially threatens the US dollar,” he told members of the Richard Nixon Foundation.

BILL GATES WARNS ABOUT BITCOIN

Bill Gates recently issued a stark warning to anyone thinking of dipping their toes into the murky world of Bitcoin.

In an interview, the Microsoft co-founder said the dangers of investing in the cryptocurrency mean it’s really only suitable for the super-rich.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Gates revealed that he fretted traders without much cash to spare are taking a huge financial risk, particularly as the crypt-currency is becoming more mainstream.

Fellow billionaire Tesla boss Elon Musk sparked interest in the digital dinero after he described it as “slightly better” than real cash.

But Gates said: “Elon has tonnes of money and he’s very sophisticated, so I don’t worry that his Bitcoin will sort of randomly go up or down. My general thought would be that if you have less money than Elon, you should probably watch out.”

BURGEONING CRYPTO INDUSTRY BRINGS FOCUS ON ‘REBEL’

“Regulators as well as Wall Street are stepping in to remake the crypto industry as the value of Bitcoin surges,” reports Bloomberg Business Week.

The website has been following the case involving “crypto rebel” BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, which it says “could lay down legal markers as digital currency moves into the mainstream”.

On April 6 the former CEO of crypto exchange BitMEX surrendered to American authorities in Hawaii, and later pleaded not guilty of failing to implement adequate money laundering controls.

“BitMEX became a force in the burgeoning crypto industry, handling about $65 billion a month in trades by the summer of 2020.

“Hayes became rich, with some media organisations reporting that he and his two co-founders had become billionaires,” Bloomberg adds.

BITCOIN AT RECORD HIGH

World stocks were on course to extend a five-day run of record highs on Thursday.

Meanwhile bitcoin took a breather after its latest surge and Russia’s markets tumbled at the prospect of the harshest US sanctions in years.

The world’s biggest and best-known bitcoin is just shy of its record high at $62,614, having now doubled in value this year.

Buying cryptocurrencies as well as stocks and shares is a risky business.

Investing is not a guaranteed way to make money, so make sure you know the risks and can afford to lose the money.