Accelerate Financial Technologies is planning to match each investment in its pending Bitcoin exchange-traded fund with the planting of thousands of trees. According to a Friday report from Bloomberg, the Calgary-based investment services company has pledged to plant 3,450 trees for every $1 million CAD — roughly $792,000 at the time of publication — invested in its Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund, or ETF. The move is part of Accelerate’s aim to have its Bitcoin ETF be carbon negative — that is, removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the energy required for Bitcoin mining and transactions would create. The …

Canada-based Bitcoin (BTC) infrastructure firm Blockstream, co-founded by cryptographer and cypherpunk Adam Back, has hit unicorn status with its latest valuation at $3.2 billion. The company, which focuses on various Bitcoin-related areas — including operating as a mining service provider and developing renewables-based infrastructure intended to “green” the veteran cryptocurrency — has raised $210 million in its latest financing round, according to Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. Blockstream’s new backers, which join existing investors such as Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, are the United Kingdom-based private equity firm Baillie Gifford and Hong Kong-based iFinex, the operator of crypto exchange Bitfinex. …

The Ontario Securities Commission claimed Aux Cayes FinTech Company Limited, a legal entity in the Republic of Seychelles that operates crypto exchange OKEx, has failed to comply with the province’s law governing securities. In Wednesday's notice, the Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, alleged that Aux Cayes may have engaged in illegal activity and could face regulatory action if it fails to cooperate with authorities. According to the OSC, the crypto asset products offered through OKEx are considered securities and derivatives, and subject to the Ontario securities law. The regulator claims Aux Cayes has failed to comply with the region’s registration …

Canadian public art exhibition organization Vancouver Biennale is preparing to unveil an art installation that combines physical and digital realities with blockchain technology. Located on the south side of the Cambie Street Bridge in Vancouver, the new Voxel Bridge installation is a blockchain-based augmented reality (AR) experience that can be viewed with iOS or Android devices. According to local enthusiasts, the installation is getting ready for the public launch this Tuesday and will run until spring 2023. The art object is a 1,800 square meter installation by New York-based artist Jessica Angel that explores how public spaces can be constructed …

Crypto-asset trading firm Voyager Digital has arranged to purchase payments company Coinify in a deal worth $85 million in cash and stock. In a Monday announcement, Voyager said it would issue 5.1 million shares of its stock — worth roughly $70 million at the time of publication — as well as provide $15 million in cash to Coinify investors. The company said it would retain $5.5 million in cash from Coinify’s balance sheet. The acquisition of Coinify is aimed at helping Voyager expand its capabilities, potentially giving crypto users around the world more options for cross-border payments. Voyager has been …

Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce has voiced concerns over the United States lagging behind global jurisdictions in adopting cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs). During an online appearance at the Bitcoin (BTC) conference “The B Word,” Peirce pointed out that many other countries such as Canada have already been trading crypto ETFs, while the U.S. is still deciding whether to approve such a trading instrument. She stated: “I would never have imagined that I would be in this situation where we would not yet have approved one and other countries are moving ahead.” The SEC commissioner also mentioned her concern that …

The largest Bitcoin ATM operator in the world has said it will be expanding into Circle K locations in the United States and Canada. Bitcoin Depot announced today that more than 700 of its Bitcoin ATM machines had already been installed at Circle K convenience stores in 30 U.S. states as part of the new partnership. The crypto ATM distributer said the expansion could provide underserved communities with financial access tools and attract more people to the crypto space. “Over the last year, we have watched cryptocurrency gain mainstream adoption by wealth managers and investment firms, but what about the …

A study released by Canada’s central bank, Banque du Canada, has noted a number of favorable reasons that the country could benefit from its own Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC. The document laid out two scenarios that might result in the bank issuing a CBDC at some future date. One would be if citizens were no longer widely using cash within the country for reasons that were left unspecified. The other could be if a digital currency, public or private, were to become so widely adopted as to threaten the sovereignty of Canada’s existing central currency. Participants did not …

Even before China finally wielded the ban hammer on crypto mining, Bitcoin (BTC) miners in North America had been building up their capacity amid efforts to gain a larger share of the global hash rate distribution. From building bigger data centers to acquiring hardware inventories, these establishments have been making concert efforts to balance the hash-power dichotomy between the Eastern and Western hemispheres. North American Bitcoin miners often have to contend with energy usage concerns as well and some have been keen to partner with oil and gas firms, becoming buyers of last resort for flared gas. Indeed, American oil …

A Canada-based Bitcoin fund, operated by 3iQ Corp, has witnessed a dramatic decline in its BTC reserves since June. Literally named the Bitcoin Fund (QBTC:CN), the closed-end investment product, was holding around 24,000 BTC in its vaults in early June. However, as the monthly session progressed, the reserves first dropped to below 16,000 BTC in a dramatic, straight-line decline. Later, another massive withdrawal pushed the Bitcoin Fund's BTC reserves to around 13,000 BTC, according to on-chain data from South Korea-based analytics firm CryptoQuant. However, the withdrawals from the QBTC fund across June coincided with an inflow spike in 3iQ's exchange-traded …

Publicly traded North American Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms has doubled its productivity this year amid the Chinese crackdown and resultant miner migration. The Canadian hydroelectricity mining outfit claims to be currently powering an estimated 1.5% of the entire Bitcoin (BTC) network, with more than 99% renewable green energy. In a July 14 production update, the firm revealed that it had mined 1,357 BTC in the first six months of 2021, adding that this was the largest number of BTC mined in North America, as reported by publicly traded miners. It has projected the production of more than 400 BTC for …

Following its approval for a Nasdaq listing, Canadian Hive Blockchain Technologies has bought more than 3,000 Bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs to get involved in the Bitcoin mining shift from East to West. Purchased from Digital Currency Group subsidiary Foundry Digital LLC, the 3,019 MicroBT M30S miners acquired as part of the deal are already located at Hive’s facilities in Lachute, Quebec and Grand Falls, New Brunswick. Foundry will be issued cash and 1.5 million warrants of Hive, according to an official announcement. Hive’s new hash power will join the Foundry USA Pool, which includes Blockcap, Hut 8, Bitfarms and Foundry …