Sotheby's (a 277-year old British auction house) sold a rare 101.38-carat-diamond for HK$95.1

Million (US$12.3million) in cryptocurrency to an anonymous buyer on Friday at a Hong Kong sale.

According to the auction house, the sale of this gemstone proves that there was a "milestone" in the adoption and use of cryptocurrency.

The Key 10138 is the second-largest pear-shaped diamond ever to hit the public market. It came from Diacore, the world's most respected diamond company, Sotheby's said.

Although Friday's release did not mention which cryptocurrency was used to purchase the diamond, Sotheby's had previously indicated that it would accept Bitcoin and Ethereum for its estimated sale of $15 Million.

Wenhao Yu is the deputy chairman of Sotheby's Jewellery in Asia. "By adding this innovative payment method to our luxury sales, we open up more possibilities and expand our reach in a whole new clientele," Yu said.

Coinbase Commerce will handle the transaction.

City watchdog crackdowns on major cryptocurrency exchange Binance
Although the FCA has not provided reasons, it required that all companies offering cryptocurrency-related services register by January.

Although the financial regulator has stopped one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the UK from operating, it has not explained why it has done so.

Over the weekend, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that Binance Markets Ltd., Binance's UK-only regulated entity, "mustn't, without the prior written consent of the FCA, operate any kind of activities."
The watchdog issued a warning to consumers regarding Binance Markets and the wider Binance Group.
While it gave no explanation for the move, the FCA has required all firms offering cryptocurrency-related services to register since January and show they comply with anti-money laundering rules.
It has stated earlier this month that only five companies had registered and that most operators weren't yet compliant.

Binance was established in China and announced that it had purchased an FCA-regulated entity in June 2013. It would use the entity to offer cryptocurrency trading services using pounds or euros.
It stated that Binance Markets had not used its regulatory permissions yet and that the FCA's decision would not affect services on Binance.com.
Reuters stated that they take compliance very seriously and take a collaborative approach when working with regulators.

"We are actively keeping abreast of changing policies, rules, and laws in this new space."
According to the FCA: "Due to the impositions by the FCA Binance Markets Limited is currently not permitted to engage any regulated activities without prior written consent from the FCA.

"No other entity within the Binance Group has any form of UK registration, authorization or license to carry out a regulated activity in the UK."
It also included a non-specific, general warning about investments. "Always be cautious if you are contacted suddenly, pressured into investing quickly, or promised returns that seem too good to be true."

Binance was informed by the FCA that it must post a notice on its website and social media channels stating that "BINANCE MARKETS LIMITED IS NOT PERMITTED TO UNDERTAKE ANY REGULATED ACTIVITY IN THE UK" by June 30.

Although trading cryptocurrencies is not regulated directly in Britain, it is possible to offer trading cryptocurrency derivatives.
The UK isn't the only one looking into Binance. Japan also took similar steps last Friday.
Globally, regulators and politicians are more interested in cryptocurrency and the products that it can be used to create.
Andrew Bailey, Bank of England Governor, has warned those who have purchased them before that they should be ready to lose everything.

China-based joint-stock company Bit Mining Limited announced the successful delivery of the first batch of cryptocurrency mining equipment to Kazakhstan, Tengrinews.kz reported.

The company announced the successful delivery of the first batch of cryptocurrency mining equipment to Kazakhstan, Tengrinews. kz reports.

According to Bit Mining Limited, the first batch, consisting of 320 mining machines, should provide a hash rate (the unit with which the machine's computational power for mining cryptocurrency) of 18.2 PH/s and will be deployed and put into operation by the computational power of the mining cryptocurrency June 27, 2021.

The second and third batches of 2,600 mining machines with a theoretical maximum total hash rate of 102.3 PH/s are expected to be delivered to Kazakhstan by July 1, 2021.

"We are committed to protecting the environment and reducing our carbon footprint. We are strategically expanding our overseas operations as part of our enterprise growth strategy. Following our investments in cryptocurrency mining data centers in Texas and Kazakhstan, we will accelerate our overseas development of alternative high-quality mining resources," said Xiangfeng Yang, CEO of BIT Mining.

BIT Mining Limited is a leading Shenzhen-based cryptocurrency mining company with a long-term strategy to create value in the cryptocurrency industry. The company owns the entire mining pool operating under the brand name BTC.com, including the domain name and cryptocurrency wallet service.

In May 2021, it was reported that Kazakhstan would introduce a tax on digital mining. Corresponding amendments are provided in the draft law "On amendments to the Code "On taxes and other obligatory payments to the budget," approved by Majilis on May 12.

Earlier this week, five Chinese provinces banned mining centers in their territories. The media reported that one factor putting pressure on the cryptocurrency market was reducing its mining in China due to coal-generated electricity and accidents in coal mines.

Tunisia's finance minister says bitcoin ownership should be decriminalized.
Ali Kooli said in a TV interview that the arrest of a local teenager had prompted the country to review its cryptocurrency policy.

The proposed law change comes after local media reported that a 17-year-old Tunisian youth was arrested in April for using cryptocurrency for an online transaction. The incident sparked outrage in the Tunisian cryptocurrency community. Many blamed the arrest on the lack of a clear law to regulate cryptocurrencies in Tunisia.

While regulators across Africa seem unable to decide on a policy on cryptocurrencies, making conflicting statements and taking crackdowns, their adoption by African retail users has only accelerated. Speaking on CoinDesk TV's 'First Mover' programme earlier this month, Paxful CEO Ray Youssef said that the African continent was leading the world in cryptocurrency adoption and urged the cryptocurrency community to "pay full attention to Africa right now".

At a Swiss crypto conference last year, Tunisian central bank governor Marouane El Abassi said on bitcoin:

"We are convinced that holding back the technology at its initial stage of development would be a mistake... The Central Bank of Tunisia has made a strategic choice to position itself as an intermediary in the Tunisian innovation ecosystem."

Even in the absence of regulatory clarity, the acceptance of cryptocurrencies in Tunisia is proliferating. According to a report by the English-language Tunisian publication Carthage, the registration of Tunisian users on cryptocurrency exchanges such as CEX.IO grew by 11% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021.

El Salvador's trade minister: Bitcoin will not be a complete substitute for the US dollar

Miguel Cattan, a member of President Naib Buquele's cabinet, has called for reassurance for Salvadorans who fear a complete switch to the bitcoin cryptocurrency.

El Salvador's proposed bitcoin introduction will not end the use of the dollar by the Central American economy, senior government officials said, responding to citizens' concerns about the plan.

"The dollar will still be legal tender in El Salvador. Transactions can also be conducted with bitcoins - obviously depending on their value in dollars." This was stated by Miguel Cattan, El Salvador's minister of trade and investment, in local newspaper El Mundo on Monday.

Cattan primarily explained during the central bank's press conference Saturday's surprise announcement by Buquela, televised at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami. He explained that goods in El Salvador will remain denominated in dollars. For example, a tomato that costs 20 cents will still cost 20 cents, even among Bitcoin-accepting sellers.