Author: Anthony M. Orbison

Follow Aaron on Nostr or X. The IMF yesterday announced they have reached a $1.4 billion loan deal with El Salvador. In return, the Central American country that in 2021 made bitcoin legal tender had to remove some of its pro-Bitcoin policies.I spent about three months in El Salvador around the time the Bitcoin law went into effect. I thought then that it was a positive development for the country, but there were aspects of the law that I strongly disliked. Exactly these aspects are now being removed.Most importantly, Salvadoran merchants will no longer be obligated to accept bitcoin. Great!…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Tulip Siddiq, Treasury minister responsible for the City of London, has been named in a Bangladesh court application that accused her family of embezzling $5bn, with the country’s High Court ordering a probe into the affair.Siddiq has declined to comment publicly on the claims relating to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina — Siddiq’s aunt — and a $12bn nuclear power plant that Bangladesh is building with Russian assistance.A Downing Street spokesperson said that the prime minister was not concerned about the allegations…

LONDON (Reuters) – An Australian computer scientist who falsely claimed he invented bitcoin was on Thursday found in contempt of court for bringing a 911 billion-pound ($1.2 trillion) lawsuit against Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s payments company Block in Britain. Craig Wright had long claimed to have been the author of a 2008 white paper, the foundational text of bitcoin, published under the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto”. But a judge at London’s High Court found in May that Wright had lied “extensively and repeatedly” and forged documents to support his false claim, after a trial in a case brought by the Crypto…

Vancouver’s Mayor, Ken Sim, is a genuine Bitcoin enthusiast who’s doing his part to get Vancouver’s city council as well as its citizens to see what he sees when it comes to Bitcoin.And his efforts are starting to bear fruit.On December 11, 2024, the Vancouver City Council greenlit a motion Mayor Sim prepared to start making Vancouver a more Bitcoin-friendly city.The motion directs city staff to explore the ideas of Vancouver establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve as well as accepting taxes and city fees in bitcoin.In my conversation with Mayor Sim, we discussed the passing of this motion as well…

Luigi Mangione, suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, departs after a hearing at Blair County Courthouse on December 19, 2024 in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Mangione appeared in Pennsylvania court on forgery and firearms charges on Thursday where he waived extradition to New York after being indicted on 11 charges including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.Gene J. Puskar-Pool—Getty Images Source link

Disney is betting that many of the families who enjoy watching Disney stories on their TVs will want to watch them come to life aboard its cruise ships. Disney+ streaming service subscribers just got a holiday gift from Disney Cruise Line. As we head into 2025, the cruise line has launched a new promotion aimed at driving bookings from Disney+ subscribers. The new special offer is only available to Disney+ subscribers and provides a sizeable Disney cruise discount for families, which typically isn’t easy to find.Related: Disney Cruise Line brings back a popular special offerDisney cruise deals aren’t common, though…

If you’ve been watching bitcoin, you probably noticed the pullback yesterday. It dropped from $108,000 to $99,000 after the FOMC meeting, where the Fed cut rates, and Jerome Powell, the Fed Chair, when asked about the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, said: “We’re not allowed to own bitcoin and not looking for a law change,”. The market, as usual, overreacted by dumping bitcoin. But let me tell you: This dip? It’s nothing to worry about.First of all, Jerome Powell’s comments shouldn’t have surprised anyone. The Fed doesn’t control Bitcoin policy—Congress does. David Bailey, CEO of BTC Inc., even pointed this out, saying the…

(Reuters) – A gauge of manufacturing activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region slid to the lowest in nearly two years in December, with new orders and shipments both contracting in an indication the factory sector remains in a slump. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said on Thursday that its monthly manufacturing index fell unexpectedly for a second straight month to negative 16.4 – the lowest since April 2023 – from negative 5.5 in November. The median forecast among economists polled by Reuters was for a reading of 3.0. Negative readings indicate a contraction in activity. The report’s new orders…

Investing.com — Shares of Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE: HIMS) fell sharply by 15% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the resolution of the tirzepatide injection shortage. The FDA’s decision, based on a comprehensive analysis, marks the end of a period where certain pharmacies could compound, distribute, or dispense the drug without facing repercussions for violations related to the drug’s shortage status. The FDA’s re-evaluation, announced on Thursday, December 19, 2024, reverses its previous position from October 2, 2024, stating that the tirzepatide shortage has ended. The agency has set grace periods until February 18, 2025,…

Today, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) announced its most recent round of Bitcoin Development Fund grants, in a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine.700,000,000 satoshis (7 BTC) currently worth $706,000 at the time of writing, is being granted across 20 different projects around the world focusing on technical education for people living under authoritarian regimes, independent media outlets, decentralizing mining, and providing human rights groups with more private financial solutions — with a main areas of focus for these grants center around countries and regions in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.While the HRF did not disclose how much money each project is receiving…