Saudi Arabia and U.S. Mum as 50-Year Petro-Dollar Agreement Expires

Joe Biden and MBS Petro Dollar

On Sunday, with no official statement from either side, Saudi Arabia apparently allowed a deal with the U.S. to expire that could have dire financial ramifications.

The Kingdom reportedly did not renew its 50-year petro-dollar agreement with the United States when it expired on June 9, meaning Saudi Arabia can now sell its oil in other currencies, including the Chinese renminbi (RMB), Euros, Yen, and Yuan, instead of exclusively in U.S. dollars. According to reports, the use of digital currencies like Bitcoin is also being considered.

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Bukele Generates More than $30 Million in Profits for El Salvador with Bitcoin

Nayib Bukele

El Salvador has accumulated more than $30 million in profits by retaining bitcoin reserves, after becoming the first country in Latin America to adopt this digital currency in an initiative led by President Nayib Bukele since 2021.

Bitcoin , the most used cryptocurrency , soared this Wednesday, reaching November 2021 levels and exceeding $60,000 , after surpassing $57,100 the day before, which has generated profits for the Central American country.

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Commentary: Bitcoin Could Spark a Cheap Energy Boom

People who have a problem with how much energy it takes to mine Bitcoin should take a more long term view of the situation and realize Bitcoin´s energy requirements are a feature, not a bug. Bitcoin mining provides a powerful market incentive for energy producers worldwide to increase the production of cheap energy, which could potentially drive down global energy prices. That’s great news for everyone, but it’s especially good for the least well-off in society, as they’ll be the ones who benefit the most from cheaper energy.

Bitcoin relies on a consensus mechanism called Proof-of-Work (PoW) which requires energy to issue new tokens into existence. PoW is a complex computing process performed with specialized machines that consume a lot of energy. Thanks to this technological innovation, today we all have access to a new form of money that exists in the digital world. Therefore, Bitcoin can be seen as both an “energy currency” and a “digital currency.”

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University Official Defends Decision to Accept Crypto Donations

Chief Financial Officer of San Diego State University’s (SDSU) Campanile Foundation, David Fuhriman, spoke to Campus Reform about the school’s decision to accept Bitcoin and cryptocurrency donations.

Fuhriman noted the push to expand SDSU’s donor base, explained how the donated funds will be used, and expressed optimism for the asset class.

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University Bets on Bitcoin as Nationwide Enrollment Dips

San Diego State University is now accepting donations in the form of Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

An anonymous donor has sent the school approximately $25,000 worth of Bitcoin, according to the SDSU NewsCenter.

“The SDSU auxiliary will keep almost all of the contribution in the form of Bitcoin instead of immediately converting it all to cash as many other universities have done,” the outlet reported.

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Crypto Market Sees $130 Billion Sell-off over Last 24 Hours

The cryptocurrency market lost nearly $130 billion in value over the last 24 hours as major digital coins continue their extended sell-off, multiple sources reported.

Bitcoin dropped 4.81% to $33,693.63 over the last 24 hours while Ethereum slid 9.41% to $2,206.22, according to Coinbase. Both assets fell to their lowest level since July 2021, and each has lost roughly 50% of its highest value.

Cryptocurrencies have trended similarly to stocks, which have seen a sell-off since the start of 2022. Investors have dumped their assets, especially technology stocks, in preparation for tighter monetary policies from the Federal Reserve, including interest rate hikes and halting of the central bank’s asset purchasing stimulus program.

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El Salvador Becomes First Country to Use Bitcoin as National Currency

El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender Tuesday, allowing Salvadorans to use the cryptocurrency to purchase goods and services.

President Nayib Bukele officially announced the adoption of Bitcoin as a national currency in a press release late Monday, tweeting that the country had bought its first 400 bitcoins.

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Founder of Papa John’s Headlines Cryptocurrency Event

John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John’s pizza, headlined a unique event for cryptocurrency supporters and investors on Thursday, ahead of the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami. 

Schnatter was selected as the featured speaker because the first physical purchase in history made with Bitcoin was the purchase of two Papa John’s pizzas in 2010 with 10,000 Bitcoins. 

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Commentary: The Coverage of Cryptocurrencies on Television News

Dogecoin

How have cryptocurrencies been covered on television news? The timeline below shows total mentions of “cryptocurrency” and Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin over the past decade, showing an initial glimmer of mentions from 2013-2015, but that coverage of cryptocurrencies did not really take off until December 2017 when Bitcoin reached a valuation of $20,000 per coin. Mentions again took off in January of this year and have increased steadily month over month as it has attracted ever greater prominence.

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Florida Teen Arrested for Massive Twitter Hack, Prosecutors Say

A 17-year-old from Tampa, Florida, was arrested Friday for allegedly carrying out the massive Twitter hacking scam on July 15, according to WFLA.

Graham Ivan Clark was arrested Friday around 6 a.m. and faces 30 felony charges in the alleged scam, which prosecutors have dubbed the “Bit-Con” hack, according to a press release from Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew H. Warren.

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Biden, Gates, Other Twitter Accounts Hacked in Bitcoin Scam

Unidentified hackers broke into the Twitter accounts of technology moguls, politicians, celebrities and major companies Wednesday in an apparent Bitcoin scam.

The ruse included bogus tweets from former President Barack Obama, Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg and a number of tech billionaires including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Celebrities Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, were also hacked. The fake tweets tweets offered to send $2,000 for every $1,000 sent to an anonymous Bitcoin address.

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