The Russian central bank has once again reiterated its negative stance on Bitcoin (BTC), with one of the bank’s top executives comparing the cryptocurrency with a pyramid scheme. Sergey Shvetsov, the first deputy governor at the Bank of Russia, expressed the authority’s concerns over cryptocurrency investment in a Wednesday interview, warning about the perceived risk of losses by investors. Shvetsov said that local investors have been increasingly pouring their money into alternative financial instruments that he referred to as “technological financial pyramids,” stating that Bitcoin is just one of such pyramid schemes. He said that many retail investors expect huge …

Crypto and blockchain investments continue to grow thanks to ever-rising investor interest, according to a new report from Big Four accounting firm KPMG. Titled “Pulse of Fintech H1 2021,” the study covers global investment activities in different financial technology verticals for the first half of the year. It details 2,456 investment deals worth $98 billion made between January and June. One of the top fintech trends for 2021 is the explosive growth in the crypto and blockchain investments, the report reads. The first six months of 2021 saw 548 investments activities, including venture capitals, private equities, and mergers and acquisitions …

New York-based investment management firm Neuberger Berman has filed for a commodity-focused fund to be able to gain indirect exposure to crypto investments. In a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today, the investment firm said its Commodity Strategy Fund would allow investors to have indirect exposure to cryptocurrencies and digital assets through Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) futures, as well as Bitcoin trusts and exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. According to the filing, the fund plans to gain exposure to crypto through a subsidiary. Neuberger Berman reported the fund had more than $164 million in assets …

United States investment adviser Titan has officially launched its new cryptocurrency offering targeting U.S. investors, giving market participants additional avenues for accessing digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The new product, dubbed Titan Crypto, seeks to invest in a concentrated basket of leading cryptocurrencies that can outperform over the long term, the company announced Wednesday. The portfolio will be actively managed by Titan’s dedicated crypto team and will be available to U.S. residents who reside outside of New York state. In July, Titan concluded a $58 million Series B financing round led by Andreessen Horowitz, bringing its total …

Bitcoin (BTC) and the crypto market have been accelerating heavily in recent weeks, as Bitcoin has surged by 60% from the July lows, while Ether (ETH) has been showing strength with a 90% rally as altcoins have been seeing massive gains across the board. The general sentiment has flipped heavily as well. Three weeks ago, the majority of the people were discussing a potential breakdown to $20,000, including the effects of a death cross. But now, a golden cross could happen for Bitcoin, with a potential breakout above $48,000 certainly on the table. Key resistance at $48K The daily chart …

Asset manager VanEck is filing for a Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund (ETF) after it unsuccessfully attempted to launch a similar fund four years ago. According to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, VanEck filed a prospectus for a Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund on Monday. Unlike its Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) ETFs currently under review by the federal agency, the proposed fund would not invest in BTC directly, but provide exposure through Bitcoin future contracts, pooled investment vehicles and other exchange-traded products. VanEck said the Bitcoin Strategy ETF would allow exposure through crypto ETFs listed and traded …

Despite the recent slight recovery of the cryptocurrency market, there is no denying the fact that the crypto industry has been faced with a great deal of volatility over the last few months, made evident by the total market capitalization of the sector that dipped from $2.5 trillion to $1.18 trillion over a 45-day span earlier this year. Through all these ups and downs, however, 2021 has continued to see an increasing amount of capital enter this fast-evolving space. For example, reports indicate that over the first half of the year alone, venture capital (VC) funds poured in $17 billion …

Since 2017, dozens of projects have created games that use blockchain and nonfungible token (NFT) technology. The overall vision is inspiring and has attracted a solid base of fans and investors in equal measure. However, the industry is still in its infancy, and we have a long way to go until it achieves mainstream adoption. There are various hurdles on the path to this promised land. Some of the primary barriers are that NFT games have relied too heavily on their money-making traits as the selling point and lag behind traditional games when it comes to engaging game mechanics. But …

Atlanta-based investment company Invesco is planning to launch a new Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund, or ETF, that will not invest in BTC directly. On Wednesday, Invesco filed an application with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list a new investment product called Bitcoin Strategy ETF. The Invesco Bitcoin Strategy ETF seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing “all or substantially all of its assets” in Bitcoin futures and exchange-traded products (ETPs), as well as Bitcoin-linked private investment trusts like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. The fund may also “at times” invest in Bitcoin ETFs listed outside of …

Paris-based derivatives fund manager Melanion Capital has launched a new, European Union-regulated fund that aims to track the price of Bitcoin (BTC) at a correlation of up to 90%. The fund is the first of its kind to be issued under the EU’s investment fund umbrella UCITS — an acronym for “undertakings for the collective investment in transferable securities.” According to the European Commission’s data, UCITS-compliant funds account for roughly 75% of all collective investments by small investors in Europe. UCITS provides a framework for regulation at the European, rather than national, level and places exacting demands on fund managers. …

Hedge fund manager Ray Dalio says he’s still bullish on Bitcoin (BTC) but has a greater penchant for gold. Speaking to CNBC on Wednesday, the billionaire investor admitted to owning a “very small amount” of Bitcoin but said that he would choose gold if he had to make the choice between the two. “If you put a gun to my head, and you said, ‘I can only have one.’ I would choose gold.” But he added that he sees Bitcoin as digital gold and that it remains an important way to diversify. “There are certain assets that you want to …

Marc Andreessen, co-founder and general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (also known as a16z), made a case for crypto and blockchain as the most significant new architecture change in the tech industry. In a Bloomberg Wealth interview with David Rubenstein, Andreessen reframed the terms of the debate and shifted away from the talk as to whether Bitcoin (BTC) — and crypto more broadly — is or is not an endurable investment proposition. “Crypto is a bit like the parable of the blind men and the elephant. People touch it from different sides. They get distracted and carried away …