Italy’s second-largest bank UniCredit and the Bitcoin (BTC) mining farm Bitminer Factory have faced each other in the Bosnian city Banja Luka court, which decided that the bank improperly closed the company’s account and must compensate €131 million (about $144 million) to the plaintiff. As reported in La Repubblica on March 27, the court of Banja Luka held that a Bosnian branch of UniCredit didn’t have legitimate reasons to freeze the operations of Bitminer Factory Gradiska LLC’s account. The Bitminer Factory estimated its losses at €131 million, asserting that the closure of its accounts had “hindered its initial coin offering …

The world’s most popular sport suffered an own goal as European clubs canceled their partnerships with Bitci, a Turkish crypto exchange. However, plenty of substitute crypto companies are on the bench, ready to bring crypto to the mainstream through soccer. Growing yet unclear cryptocurrency regulations in Turkey have reportedly hampered the company’s ability to make payments, leading to a lack of confidence among major soccer clubs. Portugal’s Sporting CP, the green-and-white-striped footballers famed for being the club where Cristiano Ronaldo cut his teeth, whereas Italian club Spezia, play in Italy’s Serie A, have also canceled their partnership with Bitci. The …

Italian carmaker Alfa Romeo has unveiled its latest vehicle, the Tonale SUV. The firm claims that it is the first in the industry to connect each vehicle to its own blockchain-based token, which can keep track of the car's whole life cycle. One of the most distinctive features of this SUV is that each car is linked to an accompanying NFT. The Tonale NFT, according to Alfa Romeo, certifies a car upon purchase and then simply records and keeps data during the vehicle's lifespan. Francesco Calcara, Alfa’s head of global marketing and communication, said: "Upon customer's consent, the NFT will …

Italian luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari is moving into the blockchain industry by inking a partnership with Swiss blockchain startup Velas Network. Ferrari officially announced Monday that it signed a multi-year agreement with Velas to jointly issue “exclusive digital content” for the Scuderia’s fans. Velas will also be the main sponsor for Ferrari Esports Series, the online series competing in the F1 Esports Series, the official digital championship including all teams participating in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The announcement describes Velas as a major company in the industry of digital assets and blockchain, emphasizing the startup’s focus on …

Multimedia film director and artist Yi Zhou is set to mint the first-ever royal nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, based on the story of Italy's House of Savoy. The digital works are made in collaboration with the House of Savoy's (non reigning) descendent, Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, Prince of Venice. The House of Savoy is known for playing a pivotal role in the Unification of Italy, or the "Risorgimento", over 150 years prior. Its then king, Victor Emmanuel II, acted as a symbol of the movement. Together with the Sardinia-Piedmont premier Camillo Benso, known as the Count of Cavour, revolutionary activist …

European central banks ramp up their efforts to utilize distributed ledger technology (DLT), the foundation of blockchain, in central bank money settlements. Banca d’Italia and Deutsche Bundesbank, central banks of Italy and Germany, respectively, joined forces to work on settlements in central bank money of DLT-based asset exchanges. The official announcement stressed that the primary goal of the joint workshop was not to use DLT as a replacement for conventional systems. Instead, the initiative aims to complement the current central bank money settlement practices with a programmable trigger mechanism that connects the DLT-based asset, like a tokenized security, and cash …

Digital asset exchange platform Crypto.com will be prominently featured in football matches during Italy’s Lega Serie A competition as part of a partnership with the league. In a Thursday announcement, Lega Serie A said Crypto.com was going to be presenting key broadcast moments for the Italian football competition “where technology enhances the match.” Specifically, the platform has formed a multi-year partnership to help present the series’ “goal of the month,” as well as broadcast moments using video playback to judge fouls and whether goals are legitimate. Crypto.com sponsored Lega Serie A in the Coppa Italia football cup in May, when …

Troubled global cryptocurrency exchange Binance continues moving fast in curbing services to respond to the ongoing regulatory scrutiny worldwide, partly shutting down derivatives trading. Binance officially announced Friday that it would suspend its derivatives trading across the European region, starting with Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The company clarified that users in mentioned countries cannot open new futures accounts on Binance effective immediately. We're continually evaluating our products and working with our partners to meet our users’ needs. Today we’re announcing that we plan to wind down our derivatives products offerings across the European region, commencing with the Netherlands, Germany, …

Italy’s securities market regulator, the Italian Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB), has issued a statement, in which it said that Binance Group and affiliated companies are unauthorized to provide investment services and operate in Italy. The regulator specified that the warning refers to Binance.com, the main website of the global crypto exchange. CONSOB went on to warn the public about potential implications of Binance’s legal status in Italy, advising to exercise caution in making investment choices. Italy has joined the growing number of countries to issue a public warning regarding Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. “In …

A group of Italian and international investors have filed a class-action suit against major crypto exchange Binance, alleging the firm violated its own rules on futures trading. In a Tuesday announcement, Italy-based legal and consulting firm Lexia Avvocati said it would be taking legal action against Binance to recover damages from trades on the crypto exchange’s futures platform. On behalf of a group of investors, the company and the Swiss Blockchain Consortium allege Binance breached its rules on crypto derivatives trading and did not function properly at certain peak trading times. According to local news outlet Milano Finanza, the lawsuit …

Paolo Savona, the chairman of the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob) — Italy’s securities regulator — has raised alarms over crypto’s growing popularity in the absence of firm regulatory standards. According to Reuters, Savona made this position known while delivering Consob’s annual report on Monday stating that the lack of clear-cut regulations creates an opportunity for criminals to utilize crypto for illegal activities. According to Savona: “Without proper oversight, there could be a worsening in market transparency, the basis of legality and rational choice for (market) operators.” Despite several research studies indicating that crypto criminality only …

At a meeting in London earlier this month, the finance ministers from the G7 — the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada — unanimously agreed to begin creating the framework for a global corporate tax rate. The framework laid out a “two pillar” principle. The first pillar ensures that companies that make a 10% profit margin would be subject to the tax rate. The second pillar ensures that countries will charge a 15% minimum tax rate. Under all of this, the new rules will focus on where the profit was made and not where the company is …