Russian industrial tycoon Oleg Deripaska is the latest figure to criticize the Bank of Russia’s stance on cryptocurrency regulation in the country. Deripaska took to his official Telegram channel on Thursday to blast the Russian central bank for pressuring local industry to avoid getting involved into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The Russian oligarch pointed out that even small countries like El Salvador have moved into Bitcoin by recognizing it as legal tender: “Even poor El Salvador, known for being close to oft-mentioned Honduras, has realized the need for digital currencies and taken a simple path, recognizing Bitcoin as a means …

Ether (ETH) is approaching the top 30 most valuable assets in the world following its latest price breakthrough, offering further evidence that the developer network is in the midst of a powerful bull market. ETH price peaked at $2,741.78 on Wednesday, marking a new all-time high, according to TradingView data. With a current value of around $2,730, Ether’s total market capitalization is now $315.4 billion. With the gain, Ether is now the 33rd most valuable asset in the world, swiftly overtaking the precious metal platinum, according to comparison website CompaniesMarketCap.com. The total market capitalization of mined platinum, which is currently …

Dubai Multi Commodities Centre — a free trade zone established by the Dubai Government — has signed a sale and purchase agreement with REIT Development to construct a 100,000 square foot precious metals refinery. According to a DMCC release on Wednesday, the precious metal refinery and storage facility will be the largest in the Gulf Cooperation Council and will reportedly be powered by blockchain technology. Located in the high brow Jumeirah Lake Towers area, the facility will refine and store precious metals like gold, silver, rhodium, palladium and platinum among others. These precious metals will also provide backing for asset-collateralized …

Sandeep Biswas, managing director and CEO at Newcrest Mining, believes crypto investors should consider buying some gold to protect themselves against highly unstable prices of cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC). “If you’re into cryptos, you want to consider having some gold,” Biswas said on Bloomberg TV Thursday, stressing that gold is less volatile than crypto. The exec emphasized that gold is a different class of investment. “It’s a tangible asset: you can see it, you can touch it, you can feel it, you can mold it, you can make it into jewelry, whatever you want.” Biswas noted the scarce nature of …

Uphold, an American digital wallet and trading platform, has acquired European card issuer Optimus Cards UK Limited to launch a cryptocurrency-enabled card on the continent. According to a Feb. 2 announcement, Uphold is planning to roll out its crypto-powered debit card in Europe starting in April 2021. Uphold CEO JP Thieriot said that the launch in Europe follows a successful roll out in the United States: “From April, we plan to start rolling out the world's first, multi-asset, crypto-enabled debit card on the Optimus platform in Europe. The card has already proved a hit with our U.S. customers offering a …

The world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel, Norilsk Nickel, is pressing ahead with its digital technologies strategy. As of Jan. 18, Nornickel's Global Palladium Fund has launched exchange-traded commodities, or ETCs, for metals on the Deutsche Börse, which are custodied by TokenTrust AG and also make use of its distributed ledger platform, Atomyze. Nornickel's Global Palladium Fund intends to launch the ETCs on the London Stock Exchange "within a few days." An ETC, which is an instrument that is tradable like a stock or share, offers traders and investors exposure to an underlying commodity — in this case, …

As the price of gold plunged on Friday, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said the rise of crypto may partly explain the sudden disinterest in the precious metal — a potential sign that the mainstream has flipped the script on Bitcoin (BTC) and digital assets. When asked why gold isn’t rallying amid the political chaos on Capitol Hill this week, Cramer said the market is either not as chaotic as it seems or that all of the money is going into cryptocurrency: either it is not as chaotic out there so gold doesn't jump or it's all going to crypto! But remember …

iTrustCapital says it is offering a new type of platform where users can easily set up an individual retirement account, fund it and use it to begin trading cryptocurrencies — with precious metals to be added soon. This provides a “safe, affordable, and efficient alternative” to existing Self-Directed IRAs, all while keeping the client in full IRS compliance. The shortcomings of Self-Directed IRAs Currently, the majority of American’s investment money goes into retirement accounts. However, the products offered by the biggest names in traditional finance don’t allow for any exposure to alternative assets like cryptocurrencies or precious metals. This limits …

A real mining project is planning to utilize blockchain technology to maximize the potential of land rich with precious metal and natural resources. Blue Hill Mining says its project is based in an “exceptional location” in Mongolia — and that, after eight years of geological planning, research across 10 percent of its surface area has indicated that there are large quantities of copper, nickel, cobalt and gold. Overall, the land is forecasted to have one of the largest copper reserves in Asia, and it is almost as big as Lichtenstein. A security token is being launched through Blue Hill Foundation, …

A cross-market platform called LH-Crypto says its service gives traders the opportunity to transact across a plethora of cryptocurrencies and 200 other financial instruments — including forex on fiat currencies, precious metals, shares and commodities. Its beta version also enables users to participate in margin trading — a feature that it says helps distinguish its ecosystem from crypto exchanges. Not without risks, margin trading via LH-Crypto means members can make deals using sums 100 times larger than their account balance. Traders can receive funds in cryptocurrencies or fiat — and if they top up their account using traditional currencies, this …

A company is creating an ecosystem where tangible assets such as gold can be traded for virtual currencies in a digital environment. The platform, known as the Digital Gold Exchange (DGE for short,) says it has the goal of establishing a place where users can securely store their assets and trade with others “quickly, safely, and without intermediary intervention.” It is designing a blockchain-based ecosystem which it hopes will allow individuals and companies to join – trading without borders wherever they are in the world. Although gold is going to be a primary focus for the platform, DGE’s white paper …

A new monetary system is aiming to overcome the “severe price volatility” which has made cryptocurrencies unappealing to use as tender — creating two primary digital currencies which are based on gold and silver. Kinesis says these currencies — known as KAU and KAG — are based one-to one on allocated physical gold and silver. This means that the full, direct title to the bullion backing these coins is held by the person who owns the cryptocurrency. These coins can be loaded on to a debit card and instantly converted into fiat for payments to merchants who accept Visa and …