FINANCE

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Colorado will become the first state to accept cryptocurrency as payment for state taxes and fees, Governor Jared Polis announced Wednesday.

Polis said the state, which was also the earliest to use blockchain technology for government infrastructure, will take the digital coin payments and deposit the equivalent value in dollars into the state’s treasury.

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Millions of Americans who have never filed a tax return will need to do so this year in order to claim what’s coming to them under the enhanced child tax credit.

Previously, only people who earned enough money to owe income taxes could qualify for the full credit.

But as part of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, President Joe Biden expanded the program, increasing the payments to up to $3,600 annually for each child aged 5 or under and $3,000 for those who are ages 6 to 17.

The monthly payments have amounted to $300 for each child 5 and younger and $250 for those between 5 and 17.

The government began to send the payments out — an overall $93 billion — on a monthly basis starting last July. Now, there are an additional six months’ worth of payments waiting to be claimed. And some families haven’t collected any of the benefits they’re due yet. In all, an estimated $193 billion is yet to be claimed.

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Bitcoin hit its highest in two weeks on Saturday, extending the previous session's strong gains as cryptocurrencies basked in a recovery in risk appetite and a rally in stock markets.

The world's largest cryptocurrency hit $41,983, taking gains from Thursday's lows to nearly 16%, and marking a 27% rise from the year's low of $32,950.72 on Jan. 24.

Ether , the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, scaled the $3,000 level for the first time since Jan. 21.

Friday's 11%-plus was the biggest single-day gain for bitcoin since mid-June, and the first major bounce after weeks of being roiled, along with technology and growth stocks, by fears of faster-than-expected Fed rate hikes to curb a surge in inflation.

It came alongside a rally in U.S. stocks, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) ending the week with gains despite the heavy volatility from earnings, including Amazon's robust growth and Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc's (FB.O) disappointing results.

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Asian shares skidded Tuesday following a volatile day on Wall Street. Inflation-fighting measures from the Federal Reserve and the possibility of conflict between Russia and Ukraine are overhanging markets.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 2.0% in morning trading to 27,027.23. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 2.3% to 6,972.10. South Korea’s Kospi lost 2.1% to 2,734.03. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.7% to 24,242.91, while the Shanghai Composite dipped 1.0% to 3,487.46.

“The surprise turnaround in U.S. market overnight does not seem to provide any relief into Asia’s session today,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.

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Morgan Stanley (MS.N) Chief Executive Officer James Gorman will get a 6% raise in annual pay, bringing his total compensation for 2021 to $35 million, the bank said on Friday.

Gorman's total compensation will include an annual base salary of $1.5 million, a cash bonus of $8.38 million, a deferred equity award of $5.03 million and a performance-based equity award of $20.1 million, according to a regulatory filing.