The National Police continues with the investigations to track, and miners who carry out their activities without the required permits. Officials from the country’s crypto assets superintendency also acted in confiscation.

Officials of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) of Venezuela, attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, seized at least 165 graphics cards (GPU) that served as tools for digital mining of networks such as Ethereum.

The Officials of the Bolivarian National Police carried out the operation on Thursday, October 21, in a warehouse based in the Guatire parish in Miranda state.

According to a police report revealed on the official website of the agency, the officials acted in parallel with the National Superintendency of Cryptoactives and Related Activities (Sunacrip), the entity that supervises activities with cryptocurrencies.

This situation happened right after the entity discovered that the site was operating without the corresponding permission.

The report does not clarify if any arrest happened or what kind of cryptocurrencies got mined with the seized GPUs. However, the report highlights that, with these miners,  they were extracting ether (ETH), the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, and others that get mined with graphics cards under normal conditions.

The agency highlighted that investigation would continue to find other locations where digital mining is happening illegally.

Bitcoin mining in Venezuela became a legal activity in September last year. Although, the license to carry out these activities is a mandatory requirement. Said requirement gets requested through the Comprehensive Registry of Cryptoactive Services (Risec).

While digital mining is not illegal in Venezuela, there have been irregular episodes against miners of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, such as the disconnection of farms that had their proper licenses.

One of these events happened last July, when officials from the National Electric Corporation (Corpoelec), for no apparent reason, removed the high-voltage fuses from a warehouse in Carabobo state, rendering it inoperative.

A place dedicated to digital mining also received the visit of officials of the National Electricity Corporation (Corpoelec). Without any apparent reason, the officials removed the high-voltage fuses from the place, rendering it inoperative.

Unidentified sources detailed to various media outlets that the officials appeared at the scene without a search warrant and the presence of the personnel of the governing body of mining activity in the country.

The facility, which allegedly houses hundreds of cryptocurrency mining equipment, was offline for several hours. Sunacrip, together with the Carabobeña de CriptoActivos Corporation, gave a complete response to the complaints made by the representatives of the place and proceeded to reconnect the equipment.

Subsequently, the regulatory body for digital mining in Venezuela promised those who carry out the activity that they would not receive visits from any authority without the presence of their staff.

By: Jenson Nuñez

The value of Shiba Inu rises by more than 70% and reaches a new all-time high. Zcash grows by almost 40% after Grayscale includes it in its list of cryptocurrency funds.

Last week, the cryptocurrency market had ups and downs that have caused the prices of many altcoins to fall. Despite that, about 50% of cryptocurrencies show increases above 70%, according to Live Coin Watch.

Shiba Inu (SHI) led the weekly top by hitting a new all-time high of USD 0.00004 on October 24^th. In the case of Zcash (ZEC), the cryptocurrency is now part of the cryptocurrency funds of Grayscale.

While Solana (SOL) appears on the cryptocurrency list of Argentine exchange SatoshiTango, Avalanche (AVAX) tries to find a space on Bloktopia.

Concerning the price of Bitcoin (BTC), it has been on the rise since last week but has had some ups and downs. Although the cryptocurrency lost 1.4% of its value, it reached a new all-time high above USD 66,000.

The approval of the first American exchange-traded funds by the US SEC contributed to that all-time high.

The value of Ether (ETH), the cryptocurrency of Ethereum, rose by more than 5.4% during the week. The cryptocurrency traded between USD 3,704 and a high above USD 4,300, which it reached on October 21^st. That spike allowed ETH to exceed the all-time high it had hit on May 12^th, when its price was USD 4,362.

The price of Shiba Inu Reaches a New All-Time High

Shannon Bray, a candidate for the US Senate, favors the cryptocurrency meme Shiba Inu, based on the Ethereum network. He defended SHIB by posting an image of the dog nicknamed Floki on his Twitter profile.

Bray stated that the price of SHIB could reach a new all-time high by recovering the zone of USD 0.00003, as there would be less resistance. The ATH occurred on October 24^th, when it peaked at USD 0.000045.

The price of the meme cryptocurrency has been consistently bullish since October 23^rd. It has skyrocketed in recent days, and its average weekly rise is above 71%.

Shiba Inu has a market capitalization of approximately USD 20.7 billion, and its daily trading volume is around USD 7.9 billion.

Zcash Is Part of the Cryptocurrency Funds of Grayscale

Crypto asset manager Grayscale announced the opening of three new altcoin-based trusts, including one for Zcash (ZEC). The Twitter message explains there is a trust for Stellar (XLM) and another for Horizen, in addition to ZEC, a privacy-based cryptocurrency.

Those three trusts now complete fifteen cryptocurrency-based funds managed by Grayscale. Of these, ZCSH represents the investment product that ranks seventh.

Amid those advances, the price of ZEC increased by more than 39% in one week. On October 24^th, the value of the cryptocurrency reached USD 188.9, not seen since 2018.

ZEC has a market capitalization above USD 2 billion, and its daily trading volume is around USD 427 million.

The price of Bitcoin and tweets by renowned figures affect the value of cryptocurrencies like Shiba Inu and Zcash. Last week’s market was bumpy, but those two altcoins managed to remain to the upside.

By Alexander Salazar

The pension fund added cryptocurrencies to their investment portfolio, as they have grown too much to ignore them. There will be more supply and demand dynamics as the number of institutional adoptions increases.

The Houston Fire Relief and Retirement Fund recently bought USD 25 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). In that way, the American public administration gets closer to investments in crypto assets.

To make the purchase, the pension fund used the New York Digital Investment Group, Bloomberg reported.

Until June, the pension fund had more than USD 4.1 billion in total net assets. According to public records through the Texas comptroller’s office, the group has allocated approximately 0.6% of its portfolio to crypto assets.

Ajit Singh, the fund’s chief investment officer, said they had considered adding cryptocurrencies to their investment portfolio. He commented that those assets had grown so much that no one should ignore them.

The Fund Has USD 5.5 Billion in Invested Assets

The Houston Fire Relief and Retirement Fund has already invested USD 5.5 billion in assets. Those in charge of it said that USD 25 million would be a significant amount to dedicate to crypto assets. The New York Digital Investment Group subsidiary served as a vehicle for the fund to acquire the cryptocurrencies.

Furthermore, the pension fund controls retirement benefits for around 6,600 active and retired firefighters. While active firefighters have contributed 9% of their salary to the fund, the city of Houston has given at least 18%.

Singh expressed that he preferred to invest directly in cryptocurrencies rather than risk investments related to futures contracts. The executive explained that they did not want to get the synthetic exposure, so they decided to go directly to the token.

The fund’s chief investment officer noted that there would be more supply and demand dynamics as the number of institutional adoptions increases. He also commented that having actual physical assets or tokens would offer the possibility of generating potential income.

The United States Leads the Adoption of Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies

The number of public institutions in different countries that invest in cryptocurrencies is growing. Many governments are taking steps to regulate digital assets as they are already in daily use.

In the case of the United States, this country has made considerable progress in terms of cryptocurrency adoption. In addition, each local government is creating new use cases for those assets.

The city of Miami is one of the best-known examples of adoption by the US public administration. The population accepted Bitcoin as a method for paying taxes or fees, thus becoming a pioneer.

The mayor of that city, Francis Suárez, was one of the initial promoters of that system. Houston wants to follow Miami’s lead in adopting crypto assets for different functions.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have become a crucial part of the world economy, which governments and regulators can not ignore. The adoption of those assets by the public administration will allow them to receive substantial profits.

By Alexander Salazar

Various representatives in Colombia criticized that the budget got approved “lightly. The money can get back to the owner as long as he proves to be the owner of the intervened account.

The problem of centralized money, according to the recently approved Colombian budget law for next year, aims at bank accounts that have less than 92,000 pesos (just over USD 20) and have not received use for more than a year. These bank accounts might get under Government’s control.

This information appeared in Article 81 of the budget, approved two days ago by the Colombian House of Representatives. It is a project that comes directly from the Presidency of the Republic and got quickly accepted by the New Granada congressmen.

In simpler words, the State can keep the money gathered in an account under the criterion that it will be helpful for the general budget of the nation.

However, the article also details that the owners of these accounts may request that the money should get back in return, with interest if necessary, but all in case they can prove to be the owners.

A Budget approved

According to the local press, of the 139 articles of the General Budget of the Nation, at least 102 received approval in the Chamber is one of the fastest votes in memory.

For some congressmen, the budget received light approval without further analysis of initiatives that could generate controversy, such as the one already mentioned.

In more detail, the budget designed by the administration of Iván Duque for the year 2022 needs a little more than 350 billion pesos, an increase of 5.3% compared to the current year.

On the other hand, almost 60% of that money will help to manage operating expenses, just over 20% for the payment of debt service, and the remaining 20%   for investment, reports Pulzo.

Cryptocurrencies as an Alternative Method to save Finances

The Colombian budget law alerts many banking establishments with their savings stored in bank accounts, and it also helps show all the benefits and strengths of decentralization.

In Colombia, the emerging market is not unknown. A survey by the Sherlock agency revealed that 52% of New Granada people viewed El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law favorably.

Furthermore, that country is a fixed target for the ecosystem. This week, the arrival of the OSL exchange happened. It allows operating without any commission in countries such as Argentina, Mexico, and, of course, Colombia, at least until the end of the year.

Even in that country, even financial institutions have kept some relationship with the ecosystem. It is to remember the sandbox, where banks and exchanges converge, operating together.

This project is an initiative where companies that bring services with cryptocurrencies that work in that country or want to work, must go in parallel with an entity supervised by the Financial Superintendence.

By: Jenson Nuñez

After a new all-time high of $ 66,900, bitcoin crumbled down 8.5% in just three days. This resistance is above $ 60,000, and it is lower than Woo estimated.

According to analyst Willy Woo, there are expectations of the launch of the bitcoin ETFs, which went in parallel with the fear of being left out to lead a rebound in its price; although the cryptocurrency could be an overvalued asset.

This boom, which started to accentuate at the end of last week, was vital to see the establishment of a new all-time high on Wednesday, October 20.

Woo highlights in his analysis that, since last October 16, when the price of bitcoin surpassed $ 60,000, the market was going through a period of intense purchases for the possibility of approval of a bitcoin ETF.

The analyst had stated that the price was likely to rally past its previous all-time high of $ 64,900. Indeed, this milestone got achieved last Wednesday, a day after the successful launch of the first bitcoin ETF in the United States, facts reported by CriptoNoticias.

In the analyst’s opinion, bitcoin showed signs of being overvalued due to the strong purchase impulse and warned that if it surpassed the historical mark, a price decline would happen, as indeed it did.

The touchdown of the milestone happened because of the boost provided by the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States of America, something that had already been under expectations since the end of last week.

Regarding its behavior on the stock market, the bitcoin ETF got close to a break of the trading record in just one day. Something that any instrument of this type had done before.

Although this new boost for the price of bitcoin happens due to the arrival of the ETF on Wall Street, the truth is that various analysts have been warning of an accumulation phase that gave rise to thoughts about a significant bullish scenario for weeks.

In that sense, Willy Woo had already assured that October would be a vital month for the bitcoin price, with the collecting of investors at maximum levels. This behavior, along with various indicators, brought the analyst the opportunity to foresee an upward movement.

Woo shows that, as a result of the supply shock and the supply and demand dynamics of bitcoin, the metric called “the Supply Shock Oscillator” entered the zone as an oversold item.

According to the analysis, the most relevant parameters of the network aim at a price around USD 50,000. The price crumbled down for two days in a row, after the all-time high of $ 66,900, to recover and fluctuate around $ 61,000.

Willy Woo also estimated the level of support after the all-time high at $ 64,000. However, the subsequent intense sales affected the decline, making it close to USD 6,000 in two days, Thursday 21 and Friday 22, while this Saturday, the price has managed to stay slightly above USD 61,000.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Sam Bankman-Fried said there would soon be new cryptocurrency-linked digital products, for which regulators might tighten the regulation and centralization of crypto assets. Besides cryptocurrency exchanges and ETFs, a growing number of banks want to venture into cryptocurrencies.

The CEO of the FTX exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried, recently spoke about the approval of Bitcoin futures ETFs by the SEC. He sees those funds as a big step forward in the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the United States.

Billionaire entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried said there would be new cryptocurrency-linked digital products in the United States very soon. For that reason, he commented regulators might tighten the regulation and centralization of cryptocurrencies.

Bankman-Fried, a celebrity in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, is also the CEO of quantitative trading company Alameda Research. According to Forbes, the 29-year-old entrepreneur has a fortune of USD 22.5 billion, being the wealthiest person in the world of cryptocurrencies.

FTX Wants to Solve Its Regulatory Problems in the United States

Although the FTX exchange has several offices in the United States, Bankman-Fried said they have obstacles with regulators and difficulties with licenses. He explained that that situation had prevented them from expanding their operations in the United States.

According to the CEO, the FTX legal team is working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the SEC, and other regulatory agencies. They want to find a way for the exchange to do legal, authorized and regulated operations in the United States.

The United States Already Has Two Exchange Traded Funds

ProShares’s Bitcoin ETF, BITO, began trading last week and reached USD 1 billion in assets under management. The long-awaited launch of the first exchange-traded fund of Bitcoin futures contracts in the United States has marked a series of milestones. According to Bloomberg, the fund achieved a 10-figure AUM in two trading days.

Regarding the second ETF linked to Bitcoin futures in the United States, it recently started trading on Nasdaq. It opened at USD 25.52 per BTF share before falling by 3.3% to USD 24.66. Its objective is to track the value of futures contracts that go public on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Spanish Banks Are Looking Forward to Trading Bitcoin

Besides cryptocurrency exchanges and ETFs, a growing number of banks are interested in cryptocurrencies. In the case of Spain, many of them are still waiting for greater regulatory clarity from the central bank, according to local media.

In June, the Bank of Spain announced it would post registration instructions for cryptocurrency exchanges and custody platforms. However, the institution’s supervisor has not yet done anything about it for banks.

When the central bank releases a registry, Spanish companies can register until January 29^th, 2022. Meanwhile, banks are testing the waters to offer services with crypto assets directly to their customers.

Large financial institutions use their compliance departments to see whether they need to register to offer those services.

Exchanges and ETFs have not ignored the prominent role of cryptocurrencies in the economy. It is just a matter of time before all banks can also offer services with those assets.

By Alexander Salazar