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Bitcoin

Wharton Business School Accept Tuition in Bitcoin!

The Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania has announced that starting today, it will accept cryptocurrency as tuition to admit students.   

According to a Bloomberg report, the option to pay tuition fees in cryptocurrency is restricted to only students who register for an executive education course known as “Economics of Blockchain And Digital Assets.”

The course, which is scheduled to run for six weeks, is an online program designed for professionals in the finance space.

Even more interesting about the latest move is that students enrolling for the professional finance course are allowed the option to choose from three cryptocurrencies namely; Bitcoin, Ethereum, or USDC stablecoin via credit cards or PayPal.

It is worthy to note that popular crypto proponent Elon Musk is an alumnus of the Wharton business school. More so, “Economics of Blockchain And Digital Assets” is a newly launched blockchain program to be paid for with cryptocurrency.

Students who register for the blockchain course can pay using any on-chain wallet, while the business school will depend on Coinbase Commerce to process payments.

The latest crypto payment option is not the first time the University of Pennsylvania will interact with cryptocurrency. In May, it received its largest-ever Bitcoin gift worth $5 million from an anonymous donor, to support innovations in finance at the Wharton School.

An unnamed high school was reported to accept cryptocurrency from a handful of parents who paid their entire tuition in bitcoin.

Apart from the education sector, there have been bitcoin use cases in several industries including healthcare and shopping malls.

Bitcoin has become much talked about, not only as an asset class but also as a means of settling payment. This no doubt follows the fact that it has performed well beyond critics’ expectations.

Despite the long-standing argument against the king coin, it has received massive support for mainstream adoption.

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Regulation

Joseph Stiglitz Wants Regulators To Ban Cryptocurrencies

Joseph Eugene Stiglitz, an American economist and public policy analyst, has called on global regulators to ban cryptocurrencies for their role in destroying the existing financial system. 

According to a report today by Korean news outlet The Korean Herald, Stiglitz made the comment at the 2021 Seoul International Finance Conference hosted in South Korea.  

Stilglitz expressed concern that the rapid growth of cryptocurrencies has undermined the transparency of the global financial system, given the anonymous and pseudonymous nature of digital currencies. 

He added that malefactors take advantage of the anonymous payment feature cryptocurrencies offer to conduct various illicit activities, which has continued to mar the growth of a functioning society. 

Based on these concerns, Stiglitz has urged global regulators to completely ban cryptocurrencies. 

“I’m of the view that now is the time for regulators all over the world to basically shut down cryptocurrencies,” the American economist suggested. 

Despite being a strong advocate of electronic payment, Stiglitz has never been a fan of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. 

Since cryptocurrencies gained global attention in 2017, which led to the widespread retail adoption of the asset class, Stiglitz, who is a Nobel Prize-winning economist, has publicly criticized cryptocurrencies on different occasions, saying the payment method is mainly used to facilitate illicit transactions. 

On one of the occasions, Stiglitz stated that there is no need for people to use cryptocurrencies because there is a “better medium of exchange called the dollar.” 

“We can trade in that. Why do people want bitcoin? For secrecy,” the 2001 Nobel Prize-winning economist said. 

He argued that people want to keep their illicit activities such as tax evasion and money laundering from the watchful eyes of regulators, which is why they are adopting cryptocurrencies.

Interestingly, while Stiglitz has remained a Bitcoin pessimist, global regulators are gradually shifting their stance about the payment method, as they seek better ways to regulate the asset class to become beneficiaries of its opportunities. 

More so, in recent times, in a bid to retain customer loyalty, banks, including America’s oldest bank BNY Mellon, has joined the crypto bandwagon to offer crypto-related services to their users.

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Altcoins News

$8000 Worth of SHIB Bought A Year Ago Is Now $5.7 Billion

Following the recent SHIB rally, one early investor has now joined the list of crypto billionaires with an $8,000 accruing gains of more than 60 million percent.

The wallet address, which had $8,000 worth of SHIB last year, has accumulated massive gains, with the SHIB holding currently worth more than $5.7 billion in today’s prices.

The address had made SHIB purchases about 44 times since August last year, spending about $8,000 worth of Wrapped Ethereum(WETH).

With the recent SHIB rally, which saw the meme coin smashing ATH after ATH, the individual’s total SHIB holdings, about 70,200,003,106,584 SHIB, are now worth more than $5.7 billion, an increase of more than 60 million percent.

Considering that SHIB’s market cap is currently sitting at $38.93 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap, this wallet now holds more than 14% of SHIB’s market cap.

Concerns Arise

However, despite the excitement in the crypto space, crypto enthusiasts are concerned about the effect on the stability of the market if the holder decides to cash in on the massive gains, which could well be one of the largest individual trades of all time.

Speaking on the impact, one Twitter user, “Untraceable, questioned whether the market will possibly absorb the large transaction if the holder decides to liquidate the wallet.

“Can the SHIB market absorb $5.7b if this wallet sells?” the tweet reads.

Shiba Inu has made massive gains in recent months, placing it among the top ten cryptocurrencies in the market, a feat that seemed nearly impossible a year ago.

It has accumulated a significant amount of retail demand over time, with its 24-hour trading volumes knocking off most of the top cryptocurrencies in the market, including Ethereum.

SHIB’s trading volume has skyrocketed to $39.61, which is pretty close to that of the king of cryptocurrencies, bitcoin.

The digital asset’s impressive performance over the past few months has greatly rewarded early investors.

Earlier in May, it was reported of a SHIB holder who saw an investment of $3,973 surge to a whopping $2 million in less than a year.

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Blockchain DeFi News

KTCU Denies Launching a Bitcoin ETF Anytime Soon

The Korean Teachers’ Union (KTCU), an institution established to cater for teachers’ welfare, has denied reports that it was considering delving into Bitcoin investing via the launch of an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Speaking in a statement published by the Korean Herald today, KTCU said it has never considered a Bitcoin-related ETF and does not have any intention to venture into the form of investment.

“The KTCU has never reviewed an investment in a bitcoin-related ETF, and will never have a plan to do so,” the teachers’ welfare union said.

Recall that yesterday, the media was rife with reports about KTCU’s possible investment in a Bitcoin ETF.

Citing industry sources, Korean Economic Daily stated that KTCU, which has over $40 billion in assets under management (AUM), was to become the country’s first pension fund that will invest in Bitcoin ETF.

Per the report, the teachers union was planning to allocate some of its capital to a Bitcoin ETF that will be created by the organization’s external partner during the first half of next year.

The report further noted that KTCU will determine the amount of capital it would allocate to the investment in an upcoming investing committee meeting.

The news came as a shock to many given the institution’s risk-averse approach toward investing and the risky nature of crypto-related investments.

While crypto-related investments have the potential to give investors massive returns in a short period, there is also a tendency that clients could suffer huge losses when the market goes against them.

Despite the risky nature of cryptocurrencies, institutional players are still considering gaining exposure to the asset class.

However, many preferred to invest in the financial instrument via a Bitcoin ETF, an investment that tracks the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency and is tradable on a regulated stock exchange.

Bitcoin ETF saves investors the stress of going through the complex process of trading the cryptocurrency on a cryptocurrency exchange.

While regulators were initially skeptical of a cryptocurrency ETF, Canadian authorities made a bold move in February by approving the world’s first Bitcoin ETF.

Brazilian regulators followed suit in March when it gave the green light for the launch of another Bitcoin ETF by QR Capital.

Interestingly, the long wait for the launch of a Bitcoin ETF in the United States finally came to an end on Tuesday, after ProShares’ Bitcoin futures ETF made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

Categories
Altcoins

Tether Steps Up Compliance Trials Notabene’s Travel Rule Technology

To increase the transaction transparency platform against money laundering in the crypto space, Tether Operations Limited announced today that It will employ the services of Notabene’s Travel Rule technology.

Notabene is an all-in-one compliance platform that manages regulatory and counterparty risk in crypto and blockchain transactions.

Tether Operations Limited, the name behind the largest stablecoin Tether by market capitalization will begin testing the Notabene solution as a tool to curb money laundering and crime on cross-border transactions via Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs).

To be sure that customers’ funds are safe and secure, Tether is bringing Notabene’s protocol as an agnostic solution to the table. the integration will allow Tether to test complex cryptocurrency use cases in a less volatile environment.

Moreover, the new solution protocol will focus on transactions made on the VASPs by discreetly providing the other VASPs with important information about their customers.

Commenting on the integration, with Notabene “if successful,” and how the new development will foster transparency compliance on Tether’s digital platform, the CCO at Tether, Leonardo Real noted,

“Because the Travel Rule traditionally applies to financial institutions, we see this as an opportune moment to foster cooperation across traditional and digital channels in order to create better services for customers globally.”

Meanwhile, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the regulatory body for money laundering on a global level recently released guidelines for VASPs, which also applies to financial institutions.

Part of the FATF guidelines states that the ” Travel Rule” recommends that VASPs dealing with virtual assets should transmit specific customer data between counterparties for transactions over a certain threshold.

Tether has continued to soar in the crypto industry, enjoying 1st place despite issues involving assets backing surrounding adoptions and usage of the stablecoin.

At the time of publication, fresh data on CoinMarketCap reveals that Tether now has a total market capitalization of $69.7 billion, indicating that Tether remains the leading stablecoin by market cap.

Earlier today, Coinposters reported that the U.S. SEC has gained authority to regulate the $131 billion stablecoin market.

Categories
Bitcoin

Elon Musk’s Tesla To Resume Accepting Bitcoin Payments

Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, has hinted at resuming the use of cryptocurrency, especially bitcoin, to purchase any of its cars, which it had halted earlier this year.

In a recent 10-Q filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Tesla acknowledged the potential of these digital currencies and pointed that it would likely resume accepting bitcoin payments.

The electric car manufacturer said,

“We may in the future restart the practice of transacting in cryptocurrencies (“digital assets”) for our products and services.”

Following Tesla’s $1.5 billion bitcoin investment earlier this year, thousands of institutional investors were moved to join the crypto industry, fueling the massive bull run at the time.

In the filing with SEC, Tesla noted that it had made that initial bitcoin purchase and the decision to accept payments in bitcoin because of its strong belief in the asset’s long-term potential “both as an investment and also as a liquid alternative to cash.”

However, the company made headlines when it abruptly stopped bitcoin payments, citing energy concerns. 

This sparked speculations within the market that it had sold off its bitcoin holdings. But a Q2 earnings report revealed that the company had not sold any of its bitcoins.

As per the recent filing, Tesla mentioned that it may also increase its crypto holdings. 

“We may increase or decrease our holdings of digital assets at any time based on the needs of the business and on our view of market and environmental conditions,” Tesla said.

This new development comes just a few months after Tesla’s billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, revealed at “The B Word” conference held earlier in July that the company will eventually be resuming accepting bitcoin shortly.

Elon Musk noted that the company will move back to accepting bitcoin once crypto miners utilize more renewable energy for their activities.

Categories
Blockchain

“Understanding Bitcoin Will Drive Widespread Adoption.”

Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital, believes that having a clear understanding of Bitcoin (BTC) will make people want to invest in the asset class.

Speaking in a CNBC Capital Connection interview today, Scaramucci named a few skeptics who did not initially believe in Bitcoin until they conducted research about the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

Some of the former Bitcoin skeptics Scaramucci mentioned include Ray Dalio, Paul Tudor Jones, and Stanley Druckenmiller. However, after conducting their “homework” about the cryptocurrency, they ended up investing in the asset.

“These are brilliant guys [who] did the homework and drew a conclusion that they needed to own a piece of bitcoin,” Scaramucci said.

One of the major constraints believed to be hindering the widespread adoption of Bitcoin is the lack of understanding of the subject.

People are so heavily reliant on the traditional financial sector that they find it difficult to invest in cryptos because they do not have adequate knowledge to get involved with the financial instrument

Many people still feel crypto requires some form of advanced financial knowledge before they can invest in the market.

However, several crypto education programs have been launched by notable firms, including Binance, targeted at people living in developing countries, to help them get a better understanding about the asset class.

The managing partner of SkyBridge advised that people seeking to know about BTC should start by reading the Bitcoin Whitepaper, which was written and published in 2008 by the pseudonymous founder Satoshi Nakamoto.

Scaramucci Confident About Bitcoin

One of the theories postulated in the whitepaper is Bitcoin being a store of value, which implies that people can preserve their economic value by holding the cryptocurrency.

Describing Bitcoin as a digital gold, Scaramucci disclosed that since he started accumulating bitcoin last year, he now has over $1 billion in the cryptocurrency.

He has continued to accumulate bitcoin because he believes in the payment method and its ability to increase in value over time as more people join its bandwagon.

“If you had one cent in bitcoin and 99 cents in cash over the last decade, you outperformed everything. Just think about that,” he said.

Categories
Altcoins Blockchain NFT

The Seditious Technology Behind Crypto Art and NFTs

Many people have inquired as to what crypto art entails. To get a better perspective, crypto art is a rare digital masterpiece, also known as digital trading cards, that are linked to unique and rare tokens on the blockchain.

Individuals can buy, sell, and trade digital products just like they would actual goods. These one-of-a-kind works of art, also known as NFTs (non-fungible tokens), are pieces that cannot be replaced. 

Unlike ordinary coins, NFTs have a unique valuation process in which the highest bidder determines the value. The artist retains copyrights in addition to a standard cryptocurrency transaction. It brings together communities of artists from all over the world who share a common goal and work together to create unique artworks.

The point is, they’re expensive as paintings because they’re one of a kind. It’s made up of things like images, movies, audio, and other forms of digital information, and it uses blockchain technology to provide verified and public evidence of ownership. 

The Ethereum network is where the majority of them are created and stored. They may be bought and sold like other sorts of art since they have monetary worth, and their value is determined mainly by the market and demand, much like physical art. 

The point is, just because someone clicks right and saves an image of an NFT doesn’t mean they’ve hacked the system. The data that makes up the Ethereum blockchain isn’t only visible through the snapshot. 

The cryptographic transaction mechanism ensures that each digital file is authenticated by providing a digital signature, subsequently used to track NFT ownership.

When it comes to the greatest platforms to use, it appears that the following are the most well-known:

NFTismagic is a platform that helps anyone to get their art acknowledged by utilizing their services. They’ve developed a directory in which they’re constantly looking for the most unusual NFTs to bring onto the platform, where they’ll be listed. 

Another exciting example is OpenSea, which allows users to invest in remarkable NFTs and sell or collect them.

Individuals can buy and trade NFTs from the world’s top artists on the SuperRare portal, which has an extensive digital art collection. 

Aside from that, digital art in the crypto space has spread to a wide range of domains, and being an artist isn’t the only method to break into this field. It has impacted the collectibles industry and ticketing, games, music, cinema, memes, sports, and fashion, and that’s not all.

Furthermore, crypto art is more than simply a way to trade with art; it’s also a chance for people to get famous for their work. It is the innovative way that everyone has been looking for, and it has a means with the help of crypto.

Categories
Altcoins Bitcoin Blockchain

Price Analysis: BTC, BNB, ETH, ADA, SOL, XRP, DOT

A lot has happened in the crypto space over the last seven days. As per the report from Coinposters, the first Bitcoin Futures EFT launched on Tuesday. The report came a day before stating that fund manager ProShares will launch an exchange-traded fund tracking bitcoin futures on the New York Stock Exchange. The final prospectus submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) did not meet any opposition, paving the way for trading to begin on Tuesday.

Buoyed by this news Bitcoin recorded all-time news The new ATH of the most valued coin is $67,016. The crypto industry also recorded a big win as the Sindh High Court finally ruled that the ban be lifted by the government and cryptocurrencies be accepted in the country. For the first time since 2018, Pakistanis will soon be able to buy cryptocurrencies.

Unfortunately, the crypto market hasn’t seen a lot of improvements in market cap. The week started with the global cryptocurrency market cap at $2.50 trillion. The current market as of this time is $2.55 trillion – not up to a 5% increase. The industry peaked at a high of $2.67 trillion and saw a low of $2.3 trillion.

We noticed that some exchange tokens have had a tremendous run since the start of the week. One such is OKB, as it increased by 67% during this time, with Huobi token rising by more than 20%. Other cryptos also increased in value including SHIB, gaining 32%, SOL gained 22%, ONE gained more than 10% and many more. Having passed through the week, let’s see what the charts say.

Bitcoin BTC/USD

The most valued coin suffered a major setback in prices after its ATH. Many traders started taking profit from the market resulting in massive sellers congestion. Bitcoin value per unit dipped to as low as $59k before rebounding off the support.

Bitcoin as of the time of writing is recovering and holding on to the $60,000 support. Since the drop to $59,633, the largest crypto by market cap has not risen past $62,000. The King coin performance over the last seven days is not up to par as it may close the week in loss.

With the $60k support continuously flipped over the last three days, BTC did not drop below $59k – making it a support to watch. In a case of an intense price dip, we may expect the buyers to hold the most valued coin at $56,000. The bulls will aim for a return to $65k but may face a tough time at $63,000.

ETH/USD

The second-largest coin had a tremendous week as it is about to close the week with an increase of 5.37% as of this time. The largest alt saw a low of $3,675 and a high of $4,375. Ether will be closing in on gains for the fourth week in a row.

ETH rose past $4,000 for the first time in 30-days on Wednesday. The coin has been hitting the mark since its first crossing till the time of writing. The $3,800 support held out over the last three days. Ether will look to flip the $4,500 resistance soon.

BNB/USD

BNB is barely up by 1% after having a very volatile week. The Binance coin hit a high of $514 and a low of $444. The cryptocurrency is down by 2% in the last 24 hours as it’s being rocked by a lot of sell-off.

The predicted death cross is about to take place as we notice that a crossing may happen on the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD). The chart above shows the fast line dipping in response to price movements as we this indicator may hint at impending selloff.

The exchange token was unable to cross $520 this week. With the death cross in view, we may expect a dip lower than the previous. The $400 support may be the strongest as Binance coin flipped the $450 mark twice this week.

ADA/USD

Kraken users were thrilled to get Cardano at a discounted price of $1.8 per unit. On average, the fifth largest coin by market cap hit a low of $2.1 on other exchanges and a high of 2.3.

We saw a change in the ADA trend this week as it showed that the ADA/USD pair showed hit a high that was not attained last week. The coin was presumed to have finally joined the bullish market after more than two weeks with retracements.

Unfortunately, the buyers could not sustain the uptrend and the sellers’ congestion resumed. Cardano is down by 2.45% over the last seven days. If the dip continues, the pair may drop as low as $1.9.

SOL/USD

Solana is about to end another week in profit as it is up by 18.96% in the past seven days. The coin hit a new all-time high this week as it rose as high as $222 as opposed to $220. The current sixth coin by market cap reclaimed this spot during the time under consideration – unseating XRP.

The coin is facing retracements as of the time of writing as it is trading at $189 per unit. If the downtrend continues, we may expect a rebound at $140. A resumption of the uptrend may result in the SOL/USD pair reclaiming $200.

XRP/USD

Ripple coin is trading more than 3% lower than the price it started the week. The coin is on its way to recording its second week of losses as it failed to surge higher. XRP saw a high a high of $1.16 and low of $1.06.

The XRP/USD pair came crashing after hitting a weekly high as of failed to hold on to underlying supports. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) shade more light as to why the seventh-largest crypto-asset keeps dipping. The chart above shows a bearish cross on the indicator under consideration.

DOT/USD

Polkadot has lost more than 4% over the last 24 hours. The body of candle on the weekly chart is a doji as the body is thinning as a result of the intraday trading activities. The coin hit a high of $46.3 and a low of $40.

The price dip is bringing the interception of MACD fast and slow lines after they both surged considerably for more than half the current month. A cross will mean more drop in value per unit. The first line of defense against further retracements is $39.

Categories
Blockchain News

Australian Senate Calls for Crypto-Friendly Policy

As cryptocurrencies continue to thrive and receive global recognition, Australia’s government has begun to look into creating favorable regulations for the space in the country.

The Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Center noted in a draft report published today by Bloomberg that the country’s cryptocurrency industry requires a favorable and robust regulatory framework to compete with other global financial hubs like the U.K. and Singapore.

Per the report, the regulatory framework will not only protect Australian cryptocurrency investors from market manipulation and asset theft but, will also promote healthy crypto-related investments and establish a structure where innovations can thrive.

Recommendations for a Crypto-friendly Environment

Some recommendations in the report include establishing a market licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges, which will be responsible for conducting audits and background checks on trading platforms.

The report also suggested that there needs to be a custodial regime with minimum requirements for cryptocurrencies under the Treasury portfolio.

As part of its proposals, the committee suggested that the government should establish a suitable structure that will aid in the classification of all cryptocurrencies to identify which law applies to them.

Speaking in an interview, Andrew Bragg, an Australian Senator and head of the committee, said the governing coalition needs to swiftly adopt the recommendations cited in the report so that it can be enacted into law immediately after next year’s general election.

Bragg added that establishing favorable cryptocurrency regulations will also curtail the constant act of de-banking, which has resulted in financial institutions closing the bank accounts of high-risk clients.

According to Bragg, the indiscriminate act of de-banking is affecting small-scale Australian businesses and the government must move against this practice by formulating a robust regulatory framework for the crypto industry.

There has been a growing interest in cryptocurrencies across various nations, including Australia. While countries like China have halted crypto-related activities due to fears that the asset class is mainly used to finance illicit operations, others are considering regulating their crypto space.

Australian Finance Minister Jane Hume at a conference earlier this year noted that although cryptocurrencies are subject to the country’s laws, regulators need to desist from placing tighter regulations on the asset class as it would reduce the number of new entrants.

Hume noted that the world’s largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) is not a fad as considered by several traditional financial experts, adding that Australians should be allowed to invest in the asset class as they desire.

Categories
Blockchain NFT

Candy Digital Raises $100M To Expand Its NFT Footprint

Candy Digital, a non-fungible token sports startup, announced today that it has completed a Series A funding round that saw it raise $100 million, in a bid to continue its expansion in the NFT space. 

The recently-concluded funding was co-led by Insight Partners and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from other notable investors including Connect Ventures, Will Ventures, Gaingel, and Athletes Syndicate, among others.

According to Reuters, the fresh capital injection values the Toronto-based firm at $1.5 billion. 

Candy Digital’s NFT Journey 

Candy Digital launched in June as the official NFT partner of Major League Baseball (MLB). The firm was co-founded by Michael Rubin, CEO of popular merchandise retailer Fanatics, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, and serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk.  

Candy Digital’s NFTs are minted on Palm, an Ethereum sidechain, and the firm is currently developing the MLB NFT ecosystem, an initiative that will enable sports fans to buy and trade licensed digital tokens. 

Before the end of the month, Candy Digital will release a digital pack of MLB non-fungible tokens collectibles, with other MLB-related NFTs planned to be launched in the coming weeks. 

Meanwhile, Fanatics, one of the companies backing Candy Digital, is also seeking to expand its offerings to include online betting, NFTs, and trading cards, to attain its vision of developing a global digital sports platform. 

Fanatic recently raised $350 million to push its valuation to $10.4 billion, with the firm seeking to usurp other established brands in becoming the best digital sports provider. 

The investment suggests that there is still a growing appetite among investors for NFT businesses, especially in the sports and gaming niches. 

NFTs have received a lot of attention this year with celebrities and seasoned investors trooping into the space to have a slice of the massive opportunities. 

Interestingly, the growing interest in NFTs is evident in the transaction volume, which surged above $10 billion in the third quarter of 2021. 

Although there are different types of NFTs, sports and gaming happen to be the hottest niches that have continued to lure several investors. 

Coinposters reported that Animoca Brand, a Hong Kong-based NFT gaming developer, raised $65 million, to increase its products and offerings as well as acquire licenses for famous intellectual properties.

Categories
Blockchain

Animoca Brands Raises $65M To Push NFT Gaming

Hong Kong-based non-fungible token (NFT) game developer, Animoca Brands, has raised $65 million from several top investors in a just-concluded funding round.

In a press release, the company noted that the funds will be used to make strategic investments and acquisitions, increase its product offering and acquire licensees for popular intellectual properties.

Speaking on the capital raise, Animoca Brands’ co-founder and CEO, Yat Siu said,

“With the backing of our new strategic investors, Animoca Brands will continue to advance blockchain in gaming and beyond to introduce billions of gamers and Internet users to true digital ownership.”

The funding round saw the notable participation of investors like Ubisoft Entertainment, Sequoia China, Dragonfly Capital, Liberty City Ventures, Justin Sun, Mirana Corp, and many more.

A spokesperson for MSA Capital added,

“We believe crypto not only provides novel in-game monetization but also precipitates new systems for digital rights, begetting NFTs and metaverses. Animoca Brands has been a pioneer in this burgeoning space and we believe this team has the right skillset and tools to usher in this new digital world.”

Following the latest capital injection, Animoca Brands is currently at a $2.2 billion valuation.

The Rise of NFT Gaming

The NFT market has witnessed explosive growth in recent months, with the rise of NFT-based play-to-earn games that offer digital property rights, and GameFi opportunities.

Animoca Brands is one of the earliest companies to bet on the blockchain gaming framework, investing early in some of the biggest NFT projects today, including OpenSea, Dapper Labs, and Axie Infinity.

The company is focused on creating an open metaverse that allows people to have complete ownership of their data and seamlessly move their digital assets from one world to another.

Siu added,

” In 2018 we laid out a strategy based on our assessment that in the future digital property rights would revolutionize industries by expanding financial inclusion and that this significant change would start with NFT adoption in games. That future is already here.”

Earlier this year, Animoca Brands raised about $138.88 million on two separate funding rounds from some of the biggest names in the tech and crypto industry including Samsung and Coinbase Ventures.

The NFT space has opened up many opportunities and several companies, both within and outside the crypto industry are jumping on the trend, including Coinbase, Facebook, Visa, and even TikTok.

Categories
Blockchain

FTX Hits $25B Valuation After Securing $450M

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX today announced it has raised $420 Million from a new funding round which increased its valuation to $25 billion.

According to the announcement, the new funding round saw participation from 69 Investors, including Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sea Capital, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.

FTX noted that the investment company, Temasek has previously participated in its series B round that saw it update its remarkable $900 million raise to $1 billion.

The exchange noted that the fresh capital will be used for its advancement and growth in the industry and to set up a “better financial marketplace.”

Speaking on the development, Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX said: 

“We founded FTX two years ago with the idea of creating a better financial marketplace. For this round, we capitalized on those strides and were able to partner with investors that prioritize positioning FTX as the world’s most transparent and compliant cryptocurrency exchange.”

Founded by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried in 2019, FTX has significantly grown to be one of the largest cryptocurrency spots and derivatives exchanges in the world. It has seen a remarkable improvement with a 48% user base and its average trade volume rising by 75%, now averaging $14 billion per day in daily volume.

The company recently received authorization for its Bahamas headquarters while its US subsidiary, FTX US, acquired the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), regulated digital currency futures and options exchange and clearinghouse Ledgerx, and has rolled out its own non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace.

“The additional capital and group of investors will let us provide the experience our users deserve and address other adjacent market opportunities including equities, prediction markets, NFTs, and videogame partnerships,” Ramnik Arora, Head of Product at FTX said.

FTX continues to expand its presence in the industry. Just last month, Coinfomania reported that NBA superstar Stephen Curry joined the ranks of football star Trevor Lawrence and his wife to become a global ambassador for the cryptocurrency exchange.

The report noted that the cryptocurrency exchange entered a long-term partnership deal with the NBA Superstar who received an equity stake that made him become a shareholder of FTX.

Categories
Bitcoin

Five Star Bank & UNIFY Offering Bitcoin Services via NYDIG Solution

Traditional financial institution users can now buy, sell, and hold bitcoin (BTC) through a solution developed by digital asset company New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) and Q2 Holding, a leading banking software developer.

According to an announcement, following the integration of NYDIG’s software into Q2’s digital banking platform, traditional financial institutions can offer Bitcoin services to their clients, while eliminating the problems of wallet and key management.

The NYDIG Bitcoin solution will allow bank customers to view their BTC balance from their traditional banking accounts.

Per the announcement, Five Star Bank and Unify Credit Union have been onboarded as the first financial institutions in the United States to use the service.

Describing the initiative as a game-changer for traditional financial institutions in the U.S., Jonathan Price, Q2’s Vice President of Emerging Businesses, Corporate & Business Development, said:

“This new Q2-NYDIG offering gives financial institutions the choice to offer Bitcoin to their end-users while taking into account the regulatory and security requirements needed to enable banks and credit unions to securely step into the bitcoin arena and meet growing consumer demand.”

Commenting on the development, Patrick Sells, NYDIG’s Chief Innovation Officer, noted that there is a growing interest in the largest virtual currency. He noted that integrating NYDIG Bitcoin services into Q2’s digital banking platform will help banks and credit union’ customers take advantage of the current market rally.

“Our partnership with Q2 is simply groundbreaking for Bitcoin + Banking, and together we will work towards creating a more prosperous financial future for consumers,” Sells added.

According to a survey conducted by NYDIG in May, more than 46 million American citizens, representing 22% of the nation’s adult population, own the digital asset.

Of the total respondents who declared they have bitcoins, 80% indicated that they would prefer to store the asset class in a bank provided there are stronger security systems in place.

On the other hand, 71% of them noted that they would not hesitate to change their existing bank for another that offers Bitcoin-related services.

With more people indicating they will change their primary banks for another that offers bitcoin services alongside conventional banking, traditional financial institutions are seeking ways to join the Bitcoin bandwagon to retain their customers.

This year alone, traditional financial firms such as BNY Mellon and U.S. Bank, among others, are among the top institutions in the United States that have announced Bitcoin offerings.

Categories
Bitcoin

Bitcoin MACD On A Collision Course

There has repeatedly been warnings of impending bearish dominance. In one analysis, the analyst warned that the Relative Strength Index (RSI) joined the list of indicators blaring warnings. Bitcoin crossed 70 on the RSI chart, making it an oversold asset. Stochastic oscillators remain bullish but hinting at a possible retracement soon.

The bears took control of the market over the last 48 hours. We noticed the almost 9% decrease in price during this time. RSI is dipping as it returns below 70 following the drop in price. The stochastic oscillator also follows suit as both the fast and slow lines plummet.

With the highlighted indicators returning back to the safe zone, many may conclude that price hikes will resume. It is important to note that Bitcoin flipped the $60k support today as a result of increased selling pressure. Nonetheless, one indicator has not turned bullish and may be a ticking time bomb.

MACD Convergence

Another analysis stated that The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is one of the many indicators flashing warnings and that we may see a bearish interception soon. A crossing may mean a break from the uptrend as prices will plummet.

We may see the above prediction take place as MACD fast line is dropping and hinting at an interception. The chart above shows how close both lines are to crossing and giving off a bearish signal. Does the bearish crossing mean an end to the bullish run?

A previous article noted that the fourth quarter started with a lot of positivity, and a hint that it will be bullish till the end. Q4 has notably been the most productive for HODLers as it’s presumably the quarter with the highest increase.

With the above statement in view, we may conclude that the bearish dominance will be short lived as Bitcoin will resume its uptrend. With the $60k support flipping today, we may expect the buyers to hold the most valued coin at $56,000.

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Bitcoin Blockchain

Binance US Users Get BTC at $8.2K After Sudden Flash Crash

Barely 24 hours after the king of cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, hit a new all-time high (ATH) of almost $67,000, the market saw bitcoin’s price experience a flash crash, with some crypto exchanges having it worse than others.

Binance US, the dedicated United States exchange of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance was the worst hit.

$8,200 For One Bitcoin!

The platform saw prices of bitcoin hit unimaginable lows. The BTC/USD pair on the platform plummeted from around $65,800 to $8,200 within a couple of seconds, signifying a whopping 87% drop.

While the crash had affected other cryptocurrency exchanges, none were hit as hard as Binance US. Some exchanges saw bitcoin’s price drop to $63,000 and others, like Kraken and FTX, saw a price drop of $54,000 and $58,500 respectively.

It is still unclear as to what had prompted the massive price decline on the Binance US platform and the exchange has not yet commented on the matter.

Speculation, however, is rising and some market watchers hint at a possible fat finger error, which is a keyboard error or mouse misclick where a buy or sell order is placed at the wrong price, in this case, far lower than intended.

Although the crash happened in a matter of seconds, one Bitcoiner took to Twitter to reveal that he took advantage of the flash crash and bought the “dip”.

Just bought my first bitcoin for $8,200

I love crypto currency!!! 

— Crypto ฿itlord (@crypto_bitlord7) October 21, 2021

Some other traders could have also taken advantage of this 87% “discount” on the Binance US platform to purchase bitcoin at the time.

A few minutes after the crash, though, bitcoin’s price briefly recovered and is currently trading at $64,300, according to live data from CoinMarketCap.

The crash also affected Ether, which had recently crossed the $4,000 mark, pushing the asset’s price from $4,300 to 4,100. 

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Bitcoin Blockchain DeFi News

DarkSide Moves 107.8 Bitcoins Amidst Fear of Possible Crackdown

Following the attack on servers of popular cryptocurrency ransomware group “REvil” this week, operators of the DarkSide and BlackMatter ransomware organizations have moved all their illicit Bitcoin (BTC) to multiple wallets.

Omri Segev Moyal, CEO and co-founder of the security firm, Profero, told The Record that the total 107.8 bitcoins ($6.8 million) that the DarkSide’s had so far received were broken into small volumes and transferred to different wallets.

About seven different Bitcoin wallets received between seven and eight bitcoins, while smaller volumes were sent to different addresses, the report stated.

“Basically, at 2 AM UTC, whoever controlled the wallet [bc1q2sewgrnau4e4gvceh8ykzf8lqxawpluu0k0607] started to break the BTC into small chunks,” Moyal said.

According to Moyal, the funds are still under the control of DarkSide; however, they are looking for the perfect means to cash out the illicit bitcoins.

With the funds sent to different wallets, Moyal called on cryptocurrency exchanges that have control over the wallets to block the funds from being cashed out.

DarkSide Avoids a Repeat of Its History

DarkSide’s idea to transfer all of its funds to multiple wallets seemed like the best move for the group due to its history.

Recall that the ransomware group was the main perpetrator of the devastating attack on the Colonial Pipeline in May, which resulted in fuel supply outages in the U.S. East Coast.

The firm agreed that it paid nearly $5 million in bitcoin before it could turn on its server.

After the attack, DarkSide shut down its operations due to the consequences of the action.

Commenting on why it shut down its operations, DarkSide claimed it had lost control of its server and some of the wallets storing its funds.

However, the ransomware group has since resumed its illicit operations in July under the name BlackMatter.

With REvil’s servers hacked earlier this week by multi-country cyber security as reported by Reuters, DarkSide feared its servers could be next, which may lead to a repeat of the May incident that saw it lose some of its bitcoins.

Based on this, the criminal group had to take precautionary measures by moving its funds.

The development comes a month after U.S. security operatives sanctioned a Russian-based cryptocurrency exchange that helped ransomware attackers process payments.

At the time, the U.S. treasury department disclosed it was prepared to crackdown on ransomware-related activities within its jurisdiction.

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Blockchain

Is BNB Off The Danger Zone?

Binance coin has not had significant increase since the start of the week. The coin hit a high of $516 and a low of $444 during this time. Two weeks ago, BNB was struggling to hold on to the $390. The bid to hold this critical support continued last week but situations improved towards the end of the week.

The inability of the third largest coin to stay above $470 has resulted in the convergence of the 50-day and 200-day Moving Average. The exchange’s coin started a price hike on Sunday that continued into the new week as the coin increased by 3% and the surge continued over the next two days.

The four-day increase has resulted in BNB averting the impending death cross as we noticed both MA maintaining the same distance apart. Is the Binance coin clear from the danger zone?

Market sentiments have changed over the last 24 hours, with the bears having a larger share of the market as of the time of writing. This has caused a chain reaction between prices and the Moving Averages.

The bearish dominance resulted in the Binance token dipping as sellers’ congestion increased. The 50-day MA is also dipping and may intercept the 200-day if the dominance continues – marking the death cross.

More bad news follows as we notice that a crossing may also happen on the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD). The chart above shows the fast line dipping in response to price movements as we this indicator may hint at impending selloffs.

The global cryptocurrency market cap is estimated at $2.56 trillion, signifying a 3.36% drop over the last 24 hours. Crypto derivatives is filled with a lot of activity as the bulls lose more dominance to the bears. As 0f this time, there are more than 52% short positions. The buyers also lost more than $250 million in the last 24 hours as a total of $425 million was REKT.

Categories
Bitcoin News

Peter Thiel Says He Feels Underinvested In Bitcoin

As bitcoin price hits a new historical high (ATH) above $67,000, Peter Thiel, a billionaire Venture Capitalist and PayPal co-founder, said he feels like he doesn’t have enough investment in the leading cryptocurrency

Speaking at an event hosted in Miami by the Lincoln Network, the billionaire investor noted that his only regret was not buying more bitcoin when the price was still below its current range. 

“You’re supposed to just buy more bitcoin,” Thiel teased, adding, “I feel like I’ve been underinvested in it.” 

He also noted that his hesitation about investing more in bitcoin was because he assumed everyone knows about cryptocurrencies and that it is no longer a secret. But “maybe it still is enough of a secret,” he concluded. 

Aside from cryptocurrencies, the tech venture capitalist spoke about artificial intelligence (AI) while also criticizing central banks. 

After cautioning AI developers about how they are helping to destroy the world, Thiel then compared crypto to artificial intelligence. The billionaire described crypto as a reformer due to its decentralized nature and AI as a communist because it calls for centralization. 

Slamming central banks, Peter Thiel noted that the currency surge in cryptocurrencies should be a great concern to the world’s financial system.  According to him, bitcoin’s latest ATH surely “tells us that we are at a complete bankruptcy moment for the central banks.”

A Bitcoin Proponent

Peter Thiel is one of the major active Bitcoin proponents known for calling the cryptocurrency “a hedge against the whole world falling apart” and believes the digital asset became a currency in 2014.

Meanwhile, Thiel is a serial investor in the crypto space. The billionaire, alongside other venture capitalists, recently invested in Layer1, a cryptocurrency mining firm based in San Francisco that uses geothermal energy  for its operations. 

The mining company raised $50 million from Thiel and Shasta Ventures, among others. Adding that the capital to the $2.1 million it previously secured in a funding round will help Layer1 to achieve its dreams of becoming a world leader in the bitcoin mining sector.

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Blockchain DeFi News

Bitwise Launches Polygon Fund to Abet MATIC Adoption

San Francisco-based cryptocurrency asset manager Bitwise has announced the launch of a new fund focused on Polygon, an initiative that will promote the widespread adoption of the Ethereum-based scaling solution’s native token MATIC. 

The fund, dubbed Bitwise Polygon Fund, will give investors exposure to MATIC using a professionally managed investment vehicle, Bitwise noted in an announcement today. 

According to the asset manager, the move to launch an exclusive fund for Polygon is because of the groundbreaking achievements the network has made since its inception. 

The milestones achieved by Polygon so far have attracted significant interest from people seeking to build and invest in the project. 

“With the new Bitwise Polygon Fund launching today, we’re excited to continue helping investors gain access to the expanding set of opportunities emerging in crypto,” Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, said. 

Per the announcement, the Polygon fund will be made available only to accredited investors, who would be eligible for a private placement subscription of at least $10,000.  

Bitwise, which surpassed $100 million in assets under management (AUM) last year, said it had chosen popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to act as the custodial of the fund. 

The asset manager also hinted that it may opt for a public quote for the fund in the future. 

Polygon’s Success in DeFi and NFT  

One of the reasons Polygon was established is to provide solutions to some of the challenges associated with Ethereum, including high transaction costs and severe network congestion. 

The technical issues faced by Ethereum have slowed the growth of several crypto sectors, especially decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

Several blockchain networks like Polygon have made light of these issues as people can now conduct DeFi and NFT-related activities at a relatively low cost and at a faster pace. 

Earlier this year, the Ethereum scaling platform recently declared its support for the development of NFT projects by announcing the launch of Polygon Studios.  

These feats are prompting many investors to indicate interest in using the network to build decentralized applications (dApps), with Bitwise suggesting that over 1,000 developers have already tapped Polygon for these purposes.

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Blockchain DeFi News

Pimco Dipping Some of Its $2.2 Trillion Into Crypto

Global investment manager Pimco has indicated an interest in increasing its cryptocurrency exposure and possibly trading them.

The fixed-income investment firm, which manages approximately $2 trillion worth of assets as of the end of last year, would soon include the trading of some cryptocurrencies on its platform as part of its services.

The information was disclosed by Daniel Ivascyn, Chief Investment Officer of Pimco, in a recent interview with CNBC.

“Now we’re looking at potentially trading certain cryptocurrencies as part of our trend-following or quant-oriented strategies, then doing more work on the fundamental side,” said Ivascyn.

He however admitted that some of Pimco’s hedge fund portfolios have already begun trading crypto-linked securities, using that “very narrow segment of our business” as a starting point.

“We’re trading from a relative value perspective. So we’re not taking directional exposure, but we’re looking to take advantage of mispricings between the cash product, popular trust that trades on the exchange, and then the futures.”

Ivascyn further commented, saying that digital assets offer a pretty significant value proposition for the present and future generations and have the potential to make a great impact on the financial industry, hence, the reason for Pimco’s adoption of cryptocurrencies.

He also noted that Pimco intends to be fully prepared to deal with any of the needs of its investors and the financial market in general, adding that it will take “baby steps in an area that’s rapidly growing.”

Pimco is not the first financial institution to take a similar step. Considering the growing rate of institutional interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the American firm surely won’t be the last.

A recent survey report revealed that a considerable number of hedge fund managers, in the United Kingdom, about 74% of them, plan to deepen their foray into the crypto space within the next two years.

In April, Coinfomania reported that European hedge fund company Brevan Howard Asset Management invested 1.5% of its capital ($84 million) in cryptocurrencies.

Also, the leading venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, launched its new $2.2 billion cryptocurrency fund that was to be invested in several blockchain and crypto-focused startups.

Categories
Bitcoin Blockchain

Russia Consider Proposal to Mine Crypto With APG

Russia continues to show interest in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as the asset class continues to gain mainstream adoption.

According to today’s report from local media, the Russian government is considering mining cryptocurrencies with associated petroleum gas (APG).

The country’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Vasiliy Shpak, filed a proposal with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBRF) and Ministry of Digital development on September 7, to use tools in the country’s oil fields for cryptocurrency mining. 

“The implementation of the mechanism should increase the efficiency of the use of natural gas in thermal generation through hybrid modules for the “extraction” of digital currencies,” the document said.

The minister noted that the initiative originally came from local oil and gas companies.

Additionally, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Digital Industry and the CBRF are currently discussing a project of Russian oil companies for the mining of cryptocurrencies in their fields.

In the proposal, the agencies noted that the government should permit the use of associated petroleum gas to power nearby data processing centers (DPC) for cryptocurrency mining.

The APG is produced as a byproduct of oil extraction, but if there is no infrastructure to put it to productive use, it is burnt off for disposal which will bring about economic loss.

The Russian government has made an effort to put the  associated petroleum gas into productive use but it lacks the necessary infrastructure to achieve that.

Meanwhile, just a day ago, Coinposters reported that the country is looking at the possibility of replacing the US dollar with “digital assets” in the long run.

Russia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Pankin, noted that the move comes in line with the country’s efforts to put an end to sanctions imposed by the US government, which it does not encounter from other European countries.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin aired his view in an interview with CNBC that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could one day be used to settle oil trades.

However, he noted that it is “still too early” to say whether they will replace the US dollar when settling oil trades.

Categories
Blockchain

Pakistani Government To Lift Crypto Ban Very Soon

After hearing and considering a petition challenging the long-imposed ban on cryptocurrencies in Pakistan, the Sindh High Court has finally ruled that the ban be lifted by the government and cryptocurrencies be accepted in the country.

Present at the hearing were members of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), as well as the petitioners.

To ensure that the order is rightfully carried out, the court instructed that a high-level committee that will look over the matter be formed. The committee is to be headed by the country’s federal secretary of finance.

The Pakistan government were further ordered to consult all of the country’s stakeholders, including members and representatives of the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the ministry of law, and the ministry of Information and Technology so that they would unitedly take the needed steps in regulating cryptocurrencies back to the nation within three months.

The Asian country is expected to submit a report back to the court after the three-month ultimatum has been completed.

Pakistan’s Long Drawn Battle With Digital Currencies

In 2018, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declared cryptocurrency illegal and unacceptable in the country, issuing an advisory warning against all deals involving the use of any digital currencies. Commercial banks were also prohibited from offering crypto-related services to their customers.

The government however implemented some crypto-related regulations in 2019, as one of its steps in controlling financial crimes in the nation.

It was thought that the new laws were set in preparation for the cancelation of the crypto restriction. That was however not the case as citizens were still not allowed to use bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Interestingly, in September 2020, the SBP was sued in court by people who filed a petition challenging the crypto restriction and requesting that the ban be canceled.

Fortunately, the Sindh High Court (SHC) of Pakistan took the case up and the recent development – Pakistan lifting the ban and regulating cryptocurrencies back to the country in three months – is the court’s decision.

Categories
Blockchain

Use Cases of Blockchain in Banking & Finance

The power of Blockchain technology in transforming businesses has now been recognized worldwide. But years ago it first made its presence felt in the banking and finance sector. It is still regarded as a financial technology because of its close association with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin

The market adoption of Blockchain technology across the industries is predicted to grow at 62.73% every year. No doubt, the banking and finance sector is on the frontline in adopting Blockchain to develop custom finance apps. By now most banks and financial institutions in the US and Europe have embraced blockchain technology. 

There are many reasons behind the overwhelming popularity of Blockchain in the banking and finance industry. There are several widely succès use cases of Blockchain in the finance sector that set up milestones for other industries to follow. Here we are going to explain some of these use cases. 

Payments, Particularly International Payments

Digital payment solutions have become popular because of the speed and ease of sending money to another account. But digital payment solutions from banks and financial institutions now got an overwhelming push from blockchain technology. When it comes to cross-border payments, Blockchain has brought never-before ease. 

International payment and money transfers are quicker and least expensive because of Blockchain. While third-party remittance costs around 5-20% of each transaction, Blockchain only takes 2-3% of the transaction amount. The only downside is that crypto-based international payments can be subjected to certain security vulnerabilities and corresponding norms. 

Stock Exchange and Share Trading

Stock market trading generally involves several third parties to complete the transactions. The brokers facilitate the transactions, and the stock exchange works as third-party mediators for buying and selling stocks. 

Because of the involvement of so many third-party mediators, traditional stock market transactions involve several steps and stages, taking huge time to complete buying and selling. Blockchain-based stock trading applications can do away with these intermediaries and steps, leading to faster purchases and sales and lower transaction costs. 

Quicker transactions in a fast-changing market like the stock market can help traders rip in the opportunities when they are ripe and get rid of stocks showing volatility.  Already Nasdaq, the second-largest stock exchange globally, has started using blockchain for stock market trading. 

Smooth and Accurate Claim Settlement

Blockchain as a distributed ledger technology can allow insurance companies and banks to settle claims and transactions directly and keep monitoring them. On average, a regular traditional bank transfer takes several days, and insurance claims take several months for settlement. 

However, the logistical challenges and complications involved in dealing with several intermediaries for processing a simple money transfer consume great resources, and the process is error-prone. In the case of insurance claim settlement, the complications go manifold, involving more risks and resource consumption. 

This is where a decentralized ledger system like Blockchain can come to the rescue by enabling banks and financial institutions to keep track of every transaction in a transparent and accessible manner, leaving no scope of tampering or fraud. Banks no longer need to depend on the so-called trusted intermediaries and regulatory protocols such as SWIFT to facilitate transactions. Public Blockchain allows them to facilitate and settle all transactions directly.

Smooth Asset Sales and Purchases

By just doing away with the intermediaries and the corresponding protocols for transferring asset rights, blockchain ledger technology can reduce the asset transfer fees and solve security vulnerabilities. This is why banking securities and other assets moved to Blockchain are estimated to save millions of dollars every year. 

Generally, sales and purchases of financial assets such as debt, stocks, commodities, etc. are carried out by tracking the ownership and holding of assets. The transfer of rights for assets from the seller to the buyer involves a network of professionals, protocols, and systems such as brokers, exchanges, central security depositories, custodian banks, etc. Apart from keeping all these parties in sync, the traditional paper trail managing the processes and contracts further slows down the process and increases the risks of errors. 

On the other hand, carrying out these transactions electronically involves a trust deficit on the custodian banks. This is where Blockchain as the impartial, openly accessible, and fully transparent ledger system that offers a balanced solution, doing away with the shortcomings of both third-party intermediaries and the trust deficit of a bank application. 

Blockchain can truly transform financial debt and security markets by offering a fully decentralized and transparent database of all assets. The distributed Blockchain ledger will create cryptographic tokens to facilitate the transfer of assets through cryptocurrency transactions. Several blockchain companies are on their way to creating token-based solutions to allow the transfer of assets like gold and real estate. 

KYC Documentation and Verifying Customer Identity

Since banks and financial institutions need to deal with cyber-attacks and security vulnerabilities more than any other industry, verification of customers through KYC documentation is an important step. With the emergence of Blockchain-based shared and transparent databases, such verification and documentation became easier than ever before. Once a customer is verified, documented and registered with accurate credentials, one doesn’t need to go through multiple authorisations and KYC verification across multiple banks. 

All traditional processes with a huge amount of paperwork can be completely avoided through streamlined customer documentation shared by multiple banks and financial institutions. The streamlined documentation shared and made available through a distributed database can also reduce the risk of manual errors and falsification of documents. 

How credit rating companies share credit ratings across banks and financial institutions can be applied to KYC documentation using blockchain technology. Such a unified solution covering the entire KYC process and documentation can save huge costs and manual resources for every bank and finance company.  

Categories
Blockchain News

Russia Might Adopt Digital Assets For Foreign Reserves

As the cryptocurrency industry edges closer to a mainstream adoption stage, various countries, including the Russian Federation, are looking to replace the US dollar with “digital assets” in the long run.

In an interview, today with the local media outlet,  Interfax, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Pankin, noted that the country has continued in its conscious efforts to reduce the influence of the US dollar on its national economy.

The minister noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA Russia) is looking at the possibility of replacing the US dollar with other traditional fiat currencies as well as digital currencies.

“At the same time, it is possible to replace the American dollar with other currencies, both national and regional, and in the future, probably, with some kind of digital assets,” Pankin said.

He added that for this initiative to be possible, the government will play a major role in implementing the policy by setting up cooperation models and putting in place mechanisms for the new development to take effect.

According to the official, the move comes in line with the country’s efforts to put a stop to sanctions imposed by the U.S. government, which it does not experience from other European countries.

He noted that the US government uses its currency as a sanction instrument.

He said:

“Payments in U.S. dollars go through American banks and a clearing system, which allows Washington to block any transactions they deem suspicious,” 

Russia Sees Value in Cryptocurrencies

Russia has been looking to accelerate the de-dollarization move and is considering replacing it with digital assets in the long run. Last week, the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, aired his view in an interview with CNBC that bitcoin and other digital assets could one day be used to settle oil trades.

The president noted that crypto “has the right to exist and can be used as a means of payment.”

However, he cautioned that due to its extremely volatile nature, it cannot replace the U.S. dollar in settling oil and other energy trades as of yet.

While Russia is yet to make a clear stand on cryptocurrencies, El Salvador, the first and only country to legalize bitcoin, is already making plans to build a vet with the profits from its bitcoin investment.

Categories
Bitcoin Blockchain DeFi News News

India’s Crypto Industry Making Amazing Progress

India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, CoinSwitch Kuber, has disclosed that the country’s crypto ecosystem is currently in talks with regulators to help them understand the asset class.

Speaking in an interview today with Bloomberg TV, Ashish Singhal, co-founder and CEO of CoinSwitch, noted that the industry has made “amazing progress” toward getting India’s government to understand crypto assets.

“Regulators are engaging with industry leaders like us and industry bodies and trying to understand cryptocurrencies — and we do understand the stance of the government,” Singhai said.

Controversy Surrounding India’s Crypto Space

In recent times, many have argued that the Indian government is bent on banning cryptocurrencies because they believe the asset class is mostly used to finance illegitimate activities.

However, Singhai believes that the current crypto ecosystem has some flaws of its own like privacy, which makes it difficult to abide by India’s laws. This issue had in the past prompted the government to take stringent measures against crypto-related activities.

“The idea is not to shut crypto down, but how to plug those holes. Crypto could be the next internet and India would definitely not want to miss out on that,” Singhal said.

Notably, both parties are currently in a question-and-answer phase, with many expecting the outcome to be in favor of the industry.

India’s Regulators’ Move on Crypto

Recall that there have been several forms of hostility by the Indian government against cryptocurrencies.

In 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed all regulated banks to desist from offering financial services to companies or banks that are involved in cryptocurrency trading, following a series of crypto-related fraud cases.

However, in March 2020, a ruling by the Indian’s Supreme Court squashed the ban imposed by the RBI, thus allowing residents in the country to freely trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Ever since the SC ruling was made in favor of crypto, there has been speculation that the government will still move against the asset class and completely prohibit its use as a means of payment in illegitimate activities.

According to reports, India is close to regulating cryptocurrencies. Contrary to speculation that the government may place an outright ban on cryptocurrency trading, the country’s finance minister Anurag Thakur noted earlier this year that the upcoming crypto bill would be established without bias.

Categories
Blockchain News

Binance Burns Over $639 Million Worth Of BNB

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, recently announced the completion of its 17th quarterly burn of its token, Binance Coin (BNB). As specified in its roadmap, the exchange dedicates twenty percent of its quarterly profits to the burning of some of its tokens.

In the latest burn, about 1.3 million BNB (worth around $639 million) were burned, a figure that suggests the company realized approximately $3.2 billion in profit within the last quarter.

An additional 17,839 BNB ($8.5 million) tokens were burnt via the Binance Power Burn Program, an incentive that aims to assist users who had lost tokens to smart contracts through mistakes in honest transactions. The exchange chooses to cover the losses, returning the lost tokens little by little to their owners under specific circumstances and then deducts the token numbers from their quarterly burn.

Binance Weathers Regulatory Storm

Lately, Binance seems to be having issues with several authorities. For instance, Italian regulator, Consob, has had cause to complain about and question Binance’s operations in Italy.

In July, European and British regulators reportedly planned to investigate the exchange to determine whether it had breached any of its security laws via its tokenized stock trading feature. Binance subsequently responded by delisting the offering from its platform.

The exchange has also had to deal with problems with the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a few other authorities for allegedly violating the countries’ regulations.

Interestingly, Binance does not seem to be affected by any of the issues with the regulators. Compared to its last (July) estimated quarterly profit of about $2 billion, the exchange did make a significant increase in profit in its latest quarter.

In fact, the latest BNB burn valued at over $639 million, marks a new record-high for the exchange as it is so far the largest in Binance’s token fiat value burn history, with its 15th quarter burn of $600 million worth of BNB dropping to second place.

As at the time of writing, Binance Coin (BNB), was trading at a little above $478, having jumped significantly because of news that Binance committed $1 billion to build out the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem.

Categories
Bitcoin Blockchain DeFi News

UK Citizens Lost More than $200M to Crypto Fraud This Year

The rate of cryptocurrency fraud in the United Kingdom has been on the rise, with victims losing over £146 million ($200m) over the last nine months, Bloomberg reported Monday. 

Crypto Fraud in the UK

According to an emailed statement from the City of London Police, the country has witnessed a spike in crypto-related crimes since the beginning of the year, with a total of 7,118 cases reported  to the UK’s national reporting center for fraud and cyber crimes. 

The report also stated that there is a 30% increase in the amount of funds lost in 2021 compared to the previous year with most of the victims ranging between the ages of 18 to 45. 

Fraudsters entice their victims by using fake celebrity deals to capture their interests. The police noted that about 79% of complaints in regards to fake endorsements and proposals are crypto-related. 

“Being online more means criminals have a greater opportunity to approach unsuspecting victims with fraudulent investment opportunities,” Craig Mullish, Temporary Detective Chief Inspector commented. 

Still on the growing fraud rate in the UK, the country’s Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) recently reported a drastic increase in crime complaints relating to cryptocurrency in the first quarter of the 2021/22 financial year, moving from 3,028 to 5,025 cases. 

Commenting on the increasing rate of crypto scams, Nausicaa Delfas, chief executive and chief ombudsman, said: 

“While cryptocurrencies are unregulated investments, the Ombudsman Service can look into complaints about the banking providers who refuse to reimburse consumers who feel they’ve been a victim of a cryptocurrency fraud or scam,”

More than $400M Lost in Q1

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the crypto space lost a total value of $432 million to hackers and fraudulent schemes in the first quarter of the year. 

According to data gathered by the Blockchain analysis startup, CipherTrace, DeFi-related hacks and frauds DeFi-related hacks and scams accounted for more than half of the total value lost in the crypto space in the first four months of 2021, reaching an all-time high of $240 million.

Categories
Altcoins Blockchain

Wallet With More Than $100M In Crypto Hasn’t Been Touched Since 2017

With non-fungible tokens (NFTs) being one of the most sought after assets in the cryptocurrency space recently, a wallet that has 141 CryptoPunks is now worth over $100 million, and the owner has been HODLing since 2017.

According to data from Larva Labs, the value of CryptoPunk NFTs has increased significantly, with the lowest Punk price currently worth 105 ether (approximately $394k).

The inactive wallet holds some of the oldest Punks and was last active more than four years ago. Interestingly, it is expected that some of the Punks in the wallet will be valued above the lowest Punk collection should the owner decide to sell.

Wallet Attracts Attention

Despite being last active in 2017, the wallet has garnered a lot of attention lately as the market value of NFTs continues to skyrocket.

As per the data, a total of 47 people are currently keeping tabs on it, with hopes that the owner may choose to sell some of the Punk collections in the future.

Meanwhile, some buyers have already made significant moves in a bid to get the wallet’s owner to sell some of the CryptoPunks.

So far, the Punks have attracted 10 bids valued around $8,667 from investors who are looking to convince the owner to sell some of the digital arts.

CryptoPunks’ Rising Value

Launched in mid 2017, CryptoPunks have a fixed supply of 10,000 non-identical characters. The collection is among the earliest NFT projects and is believed to be the inspiration behind the CryptoArt movement.

Since its launch, the collection has been featured in Bloomberg, the Financial Times, CNBC, the New York Times, etc., which also contributed to their popularity over the years.

Also, the NFT space has become a topic of interest for many crypto traders since the beginning of the year, especially as the famous Beeple Art sold for $69 million in March.

Crypto Twitter Reaction

Reacting to the development, some market participants went to Crypto Twitter to discuss the possibility of holding valuable assets like the famous CryptoPunks for over four years without thinking of selling some of the digital arts.

One user, known as @swissbeatsis commented that “[The] best way to ‘diamond hand’ is to forget you have hands,” indicating that the best way to hold assets of such for a long time is for the owner to forget about it completely.

However, another tweep with the username @10Xrp suggested that it is possible the owner of the CryptoPunks is dead, commenting:

“It is very important that your family or someone you trust will know how to access your wallet after you die. Otherwise it is lost and worth nothing really.”

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Bitcoin Blockchain

U.S. First Bitcoin Futures ETF Will Roll Out on Tuesday

The long wait is almost over. The first Bitcoin-linked exchange traded product for the U.S. market is launching Tuesday.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, fund manager ProShares will launch an exchange-traded fund tracking bitcoin futures on the New York Stock Exchange. The final prospectus submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) did not meet any opposition, paving the way for trading to begin on Tuesday.

The launch of the fund will mark a historic moment for Bitcoin, as it introduces yet another vehicle for investors to get BTC exposure without holding the asset.

Although the Bitcoin Futures ETF doesn’t directly hold bitcoin (an approach that only a spot Bitcoin ETF can provide), it gives investors the opportunity to speculate on the cryptocurrency’s price action via the futures market. The ProShares Bitcoin Futures ETF will track bitcoin futures that trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

Tellingly, the approval of a Bitcoin futures ETF product could potentially pave the way for U.S. regulators to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF for the industry. A number of applications are currently under the SEC’s review.

Bitcoin Hits New Highs Buoyed By ETF Rumors

Buoyed by reports of an impending Bitcoin ETF for the U.S market, the price of Bitcoin has seen a remarkable 40% increased in October. The cryptocurrency recently recorded its highest weekly close and even traded as high as $62,695 within the last 24 hours.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $60,700, seeing a sharp sell-off after news of the Tuesday launch emerged. Market participants continue to speculate on whether the ProShares listing on NYSE will trigger a broader market sell-off or provide a springboard for the leading cryptocurrency to breach its previous all-time high.

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Bitcoin Blockchain Ethereum

BTC, ETH, BNB, ADA, XRP Price Analysis 10/17

We are seeing a lot of price movement as we wait for the approval of Bitcoin Futures-based EFT. With approval looking more likely than ever, many are anticipating a spike in prices once that happens. Coinposters reported that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to be softening its stance on the investment vehicle.

Market sentiment is becoming bullish by the days. The Fear and Greed index reading is at 78 – a huge improvement from yesterday’s 72. Traders are extremely greedy as of this time as the EFT approval draws near.

While we wait for the official listing, American provider of specialized exchange-traded products, ProShares, is set to roll out the U.S.’s first bitcoin futures ETF. The Maryland-based firm made this revelation in a post-effective amended prospectus filed on Friday, October 15. ProShares was one of the firms that filed for its Bitcoin Strategy ETF this past summer.

The global cryptocurrency market cap has increased by 8% over the week. The top gainer over the last seven days is STX as it amassed gains of up to 22%. Other gainers in the top 20 include WBTC, LINK, LTC, BCH and SHIB.

The top 100s is not painted green as many may expect. Most of the cryptos on this list have peaked mid-week resulting in the total cryptocurrency market cap hitting a high of $2.51 trillion. Let’s us examine how some coins in the top 100 performed this week.

BTC/USD

Bitcoin has gone up by more than 10% in the last seven days. The most valued coin has been causing a lot sleepless nights for the bears as a daily candle during the last trading session is the proof of BTC hitting $60,000.

The sellers’ sleepless nights extend as BTC is at the treshold of a new all-time. The most valued coin peaked at $62,933 during this time – marking the highest since April. As per calculation, short accounts worth $20 million are liquidated daily.

The week was not all bullish for the king coin as prices dipped as low as $53,879 – raising concerns as to if the uptrend is over. On the part of the indicator, three indicators are flashing warnings as Bitcoin continues its run.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is the latest to join the list of indicators blaring warnings. Bitcoin crossed 70 on the RSI chart, making it an oversold asset. The Pivot Point Standard suggests that the king coin is very bullish as it is trading above the second pivot resistance.

With bitcoin trading above the pivot resistance at $58k, the price mark is now a short-term support for the largest crypto. The bulls must fend off any attack at this support as there is non until $56k. BTC will look to hit a new ATH in the coming days.

ETH/USD

The largest alt is eyeing the $4k mark as attaining the it will guarantee a retest of the all-time. Ether value per unit got as high as $3,971 – the highest in the last seven days. Prices dipped as low as $3,370 as the coin progressed to gaining more than 10% in the last seven days.

It has been reported that the a drop in supply and stability of demand in reaction to ETH hitting $3,800 for the first time in the last seven days. The analysis concluded with an assertion that if the dwindling supply persists, we may see the largest alt surge higher than $4,000 as scarcity increases. A filling of the gap between demand and supply may result in a revert to the dull movement the coin once had.

Ether daily supply as of this time is more than 6,000; indicating the bridging of the gap between demand and supply. As a result, we noticed the gradual drop in the price of ether as it is about closing the week below $3,800.

Amidst the drop in price, the bulls must defend the $3,700 support. Although it is shortterm support, it is critical for the buyers to hold prices at this point and fend off attacks. After the highlighted price mark, a long-term support lies at $3,500.

BNB/USD

A previous analysis stated that the stochastic oscillator is hinting at a stalemate at $460 and $480, we may expect that with market fundamentals becoming bullish BNB can surpass the set mark.

Unfortunately, the improvement in market sentiment was not enough to help the Binance coin remain above the two barriers. We noticed a drop in prices after BNB exceeded $500 as predicted.

The price dip is ongoing as the third largest coin is trading at $466 as of the time of writing. The bulls will take care to fend off any threat to the $45o support as a flip of this level could result in the largest exchange token dipping below $430.

ADA/USD

Cardano is down by 3.3% over the last seven days. The coin hit a low of $2.07 and a high of $2.24 marking another week with no clear breakout amidst the general market being bullish. ADA is on its way to ending its second week of losses.

Looking at the chart, it is almost impossible not to notice that the docile movement of price has resulted in the fourth largest coin trading below the 50-day MA. Continuous trading below this mark is also causing a slight drop in this MA.

With the gap between the 50-day MA and 200-day MA closing, a death cross is imminent. A sudden drop in price may speed up the process and we may it happen in the coming week. A safe point to cushion the effect of any massive sellers’ congestion is at $2 as it is the strongest support before a drop to the subs.

XRP/USD

Following two weeks of successive gains, XRP is about to close the week at a loss of 1.48%. The coin traded within confines $1.18 and $1.06 over the last seven days. On the part of the indicators, the Ripple coin remains bullish.

The sixth largest coin is trading above both Moving Averages. Using the Pivot Point Standard, the XRP/USD pair is bullish as it is trading above its pivot point at $1.06. Ripple coin will look to flip the first pivot resistance at $1.29 as market condition favors an uptrend.

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Blockchain DeFi News

US Leads in Global Grassroots DeFi Investments

A fresh report from blockchain analytics company Chainalysis has ranked the United States as the leader in grassroots adoption of decentralized finance (DeFi).

While the world’s DeFi investments are driven by larger investors in terms of transaction size, the U.S. is leading as the nation with the highest number of retail-sized investments in decentralized finance.

By retail-sized, Chainalysis refers to investments below $10,000 across different DeFi protocols. According to the report, between July 2020 and June 2021, the total volume of retail-sized transactions sent to different DeFi platforms from the United States surpassed $10 billion.

Ranking in second, third, and fourth position are China, the United Kingdom, and Canada respectively. It is worth noting that there is a 300% difference in the volume of retail transactions in DeFi between the United States and China, which recorded nearly $2.5 billion grassroot investment in the sector.

Not only did the U.S. volume of grassroots investment in decentralized finance surge tremendously between June 2020 and July 2021, the number of web visits to different DeFi platforms like Uniswap, dYdX, and Compound, also spiked within the period.

Chainalysis noted that over 20 million web visits to DeFi platforms were recorded from the U.S. within that period, ahead of China, who came second in the ranking with six million visits.

With the United States and Canada ranked in the top five countries with the highest retail-sized transactions in decentralized finance, it shows the extent to which DeFi has become popular among retail investors in North America.

North America is currently ranked the second-largest cryptocurrency market after receiving $750 billion in cryptocurrency between June 2020 and July 2021.

Of the total cryptocurrency investments from North America, $164 billion was channeled to DeFi platforms, with the U.S. and Canada leading the way.

However, North America is still ranked behind Central Western Europe (CNWE) in DeFi investments, which was reported as the largest cryptocurrency market last month.

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Bitcoin Blockchain

BTC.com Disables Crypto Services in China

China’s crypto crackdown has proven to have some major effects that is affecting businesses and individuals in the country. One of those effects is that major service providers in the country have closed shop, which led to the leading crypto mining company, BIT Mining Limited, to announced that its mining pool branch BTC.com is disabling services in the Chinese markets.

BTC.com says new users from China wouldn’t be able to register on the platform anymore starting October 15th in order to obey local regulations in the country.

BIT Mining is a renowned technology-driven crypto mining firm that provides data center operation, mining pool, and crypto mining. The company owns the blockchain browser BTC.com and a mining pool business operated on the website. It also provides mining services for a variety of cryptocurrencies such as BTC, BCH, ETH, and LTC.

Back in July, China’s Central Bank publicized that crypto trading or mining is considered illegal in the country. Ever since the regulatory bodies and authorities have been on the lookout for crypto firms to make sure they aren’t in business anymore resulting in the crypto businesses and people leaving.

China cited mining energy usage, money laundering, and fraud as some of the major reasons for the shutdown of virtual money dealing in the country. The People’s Bank of China announced that it is ready to help financial platform companies to modify their practices in line with the regulations. 

While the country continues to clamp down the crypto industry, its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) keeps getting more attention internationally. According to the Central Bank’s digital currency research institute of China, the Digital Yuan delivers the highest privacy protection.

Australia, India, Japan, France, and a few other countries are also working on their digital currencies. Meanwhile, Brazil is preparing to adopt Bitcoin as its Legal Tender before the end of the year. However, the U.S. has seen an increasing number of usage of the virtual currencies. Also, a few states are advocating for Bitcoin legalization.

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Bitcoin Blockchain DeFi News

ProShares Is Launching First Bitcoin Futures ETF In The U.S.

Following a Friday report by Coinposters that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering approving a bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF), the regulator has finally given a green light for the investment vehicle to be traded in the country’s market.

According to a new report, the American provider of specialized exchange-traded products, ProShares, is set to roll out the U.S.’s first bitcoin futures ETF. 

The Maryland-based firm made this revelation in a post-effective amended prospectus filed on Friday, October 15. ProShares was one of the firms that filed for its Bitcoin Strategy ETF this past summer. 

The scheduled date for the listing is Monday, October 18, under the ticker “BITO”, according to the filing. However, the fund may not commence trading straight away on that day.

Although the SEC has not made a formal announcement about this new development, the approval has been confirmed by several sources aware of the matter.

The top U.S. exchange for the listing and trading of ETFs, NYSE Arca confirmed “its approval for listing,” meaning that investors will have the liberty to commence the fund’s trading operations without encountering any issues with the SEC.

The crypto community is optimistic about the approval of the product and believes the financial watchdog will not go back on its approval after SEC Chair Gary Gensler earlier this year disclosed his support for the project, saying that it offers more investor protections since it is regulated.

Although the SEC is yet to approve a Bitcoin ETF, citing several regulatory reasons, since the financial watchdog has in the past rejected several Bitcoin ETF applications.

The approval of the Bitcoin Futures ETF represents a big win for the industry and could lead to the approval of a Bitcoin ETF.

Other fund providers, including Invesco and Valkyrie, have also filed applications to launch ETFs that could follow ProShares’ lead in entering the market in the coming weeks.

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Altcoins Blockchain Business

U.S. CFTC Is Charging Tether and Bitfinex $42.5M

The United States Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has fined stablecoin issuer Tether and its associated crypto exchange, Bitfinex. Both entities will pay a combined fine of $42.5 million for alleged violation of regulatory requirements.

In an announcement published Friday, the CFTC said Tether had made “untrue or misleading statements and omissions of material fact” regarding its widely used stablecoin, USDT.

The stablecoin issuer had since launch claimed that its token was 100% backed by equivalent fiat assets. But according to the CFTC, Tethers only had equivalent fiat reserves for only 27.6% of the time over a 26-month period between 2016-2018.

The company failed to disclose this information to the public, and also the fact that its reserves were being held by unregulated entities and was a mixture of fiat and non-fiat financial products.

The CFTC also alleged that Tether mixed USDT “reserve funds with Bitfinex’s operational and customer funds,” even though there was no documented agreement or contract between the two entities.

Another allegation is that Tether retained an accounting firm to audit its reserves on a date that they selected in advance. On one occasion, this advance notice allowed Bitfinex to remit $382 million into Tether’s bank account, just before the audit, further hiding the fact that the token was not sufficiently backed. Tether has been fined $41 million for the alleged false claims.

Meanwhile, the CFTC alleged in a separate order that Bitfinex illegally operated as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), offering certain derivatives products to retail U.S. customers. According to the U.S Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), only authorized entities can offer such products.

Bitfinex will pay a $1.5 million fine for the violation and also set up “additional systems” to ensure that it does not facilitate such unlawful retail commodity transactions, according to the CFTC press release.

The CFTC settlement with Tether and Bitfinex follows a similar settlement in February between the entities and the New York Attorney General’s (NYAG) office. On that occasion, the companies were fined $18.5 million and ordered to stop providing services to New York residents.

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Blockchain DeFi News

Indexed Finance $16 Million Stolen By Hackers

DeFi protocol, Indexed Finance, has recently been attacked, leading to the loss of $16 million worth of tokens. The protocol offers passive portfolio management for its users and had its DEF15 and CC10 indices exploited on Thursday.

According to a tweet by the protocol’s independent auditor, @Mudit_Gupta, the attacker exploited a function in the pool that extrapolates the entire value of the pool using the first token.

The Uniswap (UNI) token was the first token in the pool and the attacker manipulated its balance to change the total value of the whole pool.

They first took a series of flash loans including COMP, Aave, UNI, and more from SushiSwap and Uniswap V2. They then used the loans to buy out a significant portion of UNI from the pools.

This action caused the UNI balance in the pool to become so low that when the attacker initialized SUSHI as a new token, the SUSHI got allocated a higher weight and the attacker received more LP tokens than necessary.

Subsequently, the attacker burned the LP tokens for all of the underlying assets, paid off the flash loans, and made away with the remaining funds. The team immediately swung into action when they noticed the exploit, although it was a little too late. 

However, they went on to disable the affected pools and apply several other protective measures. Currently, though, two of the pools have resumed normal operations.

Indexed Finance Apologizes to Users

In a post-mortem report published on Friday, Indexed Protocol apologized to its affected users, adding that this was the first time it had suffered a hack since it was launched in December.

It said,

” We are truly apologetic to both those who have had funds drained and those who remain in unaffected pools.”

The DeFi space has witnessed an impressive amount of growth in recent months. However, with this growth came the increase of bad actors in the space.

DeFi hacks and frauds had hit an all-time high of $240 million earlier in May. However, in the months since then, several other hacks have occurred. Just a few months ago, Ethereum-based DeFi protocol, Cream Finance, lost $25 million in a flash loan attack.

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Bitcoin Blockchain

SEC Has Permit Bitcoin Futures ETF In The US

In a new move to bring bitcoin futures ETF to the US market, the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to be softening its stance on the investment vehicle.

According to a Bloomberg report, the United States SEC has decided to give room for the first Bitcoin Futures Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) to launch in the US.

The report, which cited unidentified sources aware of the matter, revealed that the regulator may not prevent any bitcoin futures ETF from trading eminently, stating that the SEC “isn’t likely to block the products from starting to trade next week.”

It is to be recalled that the SEC had initially rejected  proposal applications to approve a “bitcoin ETF” and not “bitcoin futures ETF”, indicating that a “bitcoin ETF” is not the same as “bitcoin futures ETF.”

Pointing to the high risks associated with approving a bitcoin ETF, Gary Genslay, the SEC chairman had earlier said,

“The cryptocurrency market is surrounded by several unregistered tokens that could manipulate the market and leave investors at risk.

However, because bitcoin futures ETF are founded on future contracts, it could provide what Gary tagged “significant investment protection” for investors.

The latest news comes off the back of a statement SEC made on Twitter via its Investor Education and Advocacy handle, it tweeted: “Before investing in a fund that holds Bitcoin futures contracts, make sure you carefully weigh the potential risks and benefits.”

Interestingly, institutional investors have long awaited the approval of bitcoin ETF in the United States which may be linked to bitcoin’s mainstream adoption.

The news may be responsible for the latest push of the king coin to $60,000 as traders are likely to build confidence that an approval of a bitcoin futures ETF is around the corner.

Earlier in January, Coinfomania reported that BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager saw the green light the SEC could approve a  bitcoin futures ETF as two of its funds- BlackRock Funds V and BlackRock Global Allocation Fund, Inc.- are likely to engage in futures contracts based on bitcoin.

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Blockchain DeFi News News

Binance Partners With Italian Soccer Side Lazio

Leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance announced this week a multi-year partnership deal with Italian professional soccer club Lazio. According to the press release, Binance will become the main jersey sponsor for Lazio and also issue fan tokens for the club.

“We are very satisfied with this new international collaboration. The partnership with Binance will allow us to extend our digital presence and connect with fans and followers from all over the world like never before,” Lazio President Claudio Lotito said.

As per the announcement, the multi-year partnership deal between both companies has an option for a third, and it’s worth up to 30 million euros (appr. $34.7million). The Binance brand will prominently feature on Lazio’s shirt and all communication activities starting with the Italian club’s next home derby match against Inter Milan.

The fan token dubbed “LAZIO” will now be available on the Binance Launchpad to drive the club forward and allow fans participation with their favorite team “through unique and engagement-based rewards, interactivity, gamification and more.” LAZIO will be available for Binance users on Binance Launchpad and later on Spot, bank card purchases and peer-to-peer (P2P).

The latest development means that Lazio has become the first Italian soccer club to launch a fan token with Binance. A host of sports clubs already host their fan tokens Chiliz, a tokenization platform that has partnered with Binance in the past. By launching a separate fan token platform, Binance has become a direct competitor to its former partner.

Sports Industry Accelerates Crypto Adoption 

The sports industry is beginning to adopt cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to connect with fans, attract sponsors and to gain global attention.

Lazio is not the first Italian professional football club to make this move. Two months ago, Italian professional football club, AC Milan announced it has signed a multi-year partnership deal with crypto exchange, BitMEX.

On September 2, another Italian professional football club, Inter Milan announced it has signed a $100 Million multi-year partnership deal with blockchain technology project, DigitalBits and digital banking Platform, Zytara.

A deal that saw DigitalBits serve as Inter Milan’s official global cryptocurrency and Zytara becoming the club’s digital banking partner.

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Bitcoin Ethereum

Bitcoin And Ethereum Analysis 10/15

Ether flipped the $3,800 mark on major exchanges two hours ago. Coinfomania reported that the $3,700 resistance fell prey to the raging bulls as ETH hit the mark for the first time since September 6 in response to the milestone.

Current price actions by the largest alt was predicted as the analyst tried drawing insights from previous price actions. it stated that recent price performance also suggests that crypto’s second largest coin has not had a tremendous increase in the previous October. The highest the coin surge is by 7%. A defiance of the established pattern may result in ether hitting $3,700 with eyes set on the $4k resistance.

Coinfomania predicted that ether may experience a dull month, but the surges are exceeding that of a dull month. Why?

A Drop In The Supplied Quantity

We have noticed a gradual drop in ETH supply since the start of the month. With the decrease in supply and the steady increase in demand, scarcity is birthed. The chart below shows ether’s supply reducing from a peak 14,000 to 1,400 as of the time of writing.

If the dwindling supply persists, we may to see the largest alt surge higher than $4,000 as scarcity increases. A filling of the gap between demand and supply may result in a revert to the dull movement the coin once had.

Bitcoin Hits $60k

The most valued have been causing a lot sleepless nights for the bears as another candle worth more than $2k presents itself. This new candle is the proof of BTC hitting $60,000 barely and hour to the time of writing.

Btcusd_2021-10-14_23-57-06-1536x685-1

The move prompted the Relative Strength Index (RSI) to join the list of indicators blaring warnings. Bitcoin crossed 70 on the RSI chart making it an oversold asset. Stochastic oscillators remain bullish but hinting at a possible retracement soon. With the $60k resistance down, BTC aims for $62,000.

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Bitcoin Blockchain DeFi News

Bitcoin Goes Above $58,000

Following the first failed attempt at $58,000, the most valued coin found support at $53,800. Bitcoin enjoyed a gradual surge to $58k as the 1 hour chart shows a progress in price with every passing candle. The price resistance broke at 02:00 (UTC) this morning and has been met with fierce selloffs.

We saw a more than 10% drop in buying pressure according to the Relative Strength Index (RSI). Traders are still taking profit as of the time of writing as we are seeing an unrelenting price dip with BTC trading as low as $57,450.

The move is one that has not gone unnoticed by the crypto community. While others are glad to have Bitcoin flip its 30-day high, some have voiced their concerns about the most valued coin getting stuck between $57k and $58k.

it is important to note that a previous bitcoin analysis on Coinposters pointed to two warning signs that the current upswing is overextended. it stated that The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is one of the many indicators flashing warnings. We may see a bearish interception within the next seven days. A crossing may mean a break from the uptrend as prices will plummet.

Another indicator that has been flashing warning is the Stochastic Oscillator. This oscillator has been above 80 since October 1. Any asset trading above the set mark is due for correction and is soon to face price retracements. The entire crypto market seems to be in a pump frenzy.

Ether Fails To Flip $3,700

Traders were eagerly anticipating ETH flipping of the $3,700 resistance but it seems the buyers are unable to push prices to that extent. Ether failed for the second time to break the resistance, leading many to worry. At the current rate of change, ether may surge above $3,700 if  bitcoin flips $59k.

A total of $216 million was liquidated during the last 24 hours as BTC raced past $58k. The bears lost more than $160 million as they make up more than 70% of the total REKT funds.

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Blockchain DeFi News News

Telos Launches EVM-Compatible Layer 1 Blockchain

Telos, a high-capacity blockchain network and one of the most active blockchain platforms in the world, announced today that it has launched the Telos Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) Mainnet, the first fully EVM-compatible Layer 1 chain. 

According to a press release, Telos noted that the new project is a true “Ethereum 2.0” that runs on smart contracts with high speed and security while also protecting crypto investors from attackers.

The Telos EVM is a non-Ethereum fork that runs on existing Solidity and Vyper contracts without any modification, just like Ethereum.

However, it has a significant edge over Ethereum as it works at 30 times higher speed, with more than 100 times higher capacity, charging about 1% of the cost of Ethereum transaction fees with reduced energy consumption of up to 31mm times less.

It allegedly resolves some of the pressing issues that Ethereum 2.0 is expected to solve, including the ability of large-scale traders to trade fully insulated from front runners, a situation that greatly hampers mainstream adoption of crypto by institutional investors.

Speaking on this issue, Telos chief architect and whitepaper author, Douglas Horn said,

“Front running on DeFi is becoming even more complex and frankly depressing…  With this, the mining pools operating the chain are extracting this value from users without their consent.”

The project promises to provide additional benefits over other platforms, making it one of the most advanced blockchain software for smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps).

“Telos EVM is faster, better, cheaper and functions on a first-come, first-serve basis. The simplicity of integrating with Metamask allows investors to trade as safely as they are used to on NASDAQ,” Horn concluded.

Telos’ Outstanding Performance 

Telos is renowned for building fast, scalable distributed applications with low transaction fees, that are rapidly revolutionizing the industry.

A few months ago, APPICS, a reward-based social media application that runs on the blockchain, announced it has migrated from the Steem network to the Telos blockchain to help improve its global performance.

APPICS encountered challenges with Steem Blockchain, whereby its performance was hindering the growth of the social media application. The team limited itself to strengthening its marketing campaigns for fear of not being able to register all users on Steem.

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Bitcoin Blockchain DeFi News

U.S. Becomes The World’s Top Bitcoin Mining Hub

As China continues to intensify its crackdown on cryptocurrency transactions and other related activities, including mining, crypto miners have relocated to other locations.

A new report published on Wednesday by the Cambridge Judge Business School has revealed that the United States is currently the biggest bitcoin mining hub in the world, a position previously occupied by China.

The U.S. currently has the highest share of global bitcoin hashrate at 35.4%, up from the 16.8% recorded in April. It is closely followed by Kazakhstan with about 18.1%, up from the 8.2% also recorded in April. Russia comes up third with its share of the digital asset’s hashrate sitting at 11%.

Aside from these top three, some other countries have garnered their fair share of the global bitcoin hashrate. Canada has 9.55%, Ireland has 4.68%, Malaysia has 4.59%, Germany has 4.48%, Iran has 3.11%, and Norway has 0.58%.

As per the report, the portions assigned to Germany and Ireland are not because of an increase in the mining activities going on in both countries, as there is no proof of that.

Rather it is possibly because of an increasing number of bitcoin miners who are using VPNs and proxy servers to reroute through both countries.

For a long time, China had been home to more than half the world’s population of bitcoin miners, even reaching peaks of 75.53% in September 2019 and 67% in September 2020.

However, following intense efforts by the country’s authorities to stamp out crypto activities, thousands of bitcoin miners had to relocate to other crypto-friendly environments.

The move, which has been dubbed the “Great China Mining Migration” took away over 38% of the global bitcoin hashrate, taking up to half of the world’s bitcoin miners offline within 24 hours.

Within a couple of weeks, though, that 38% drop was offset by about 20%, indicating that some migrated Chinese miners were back to work.

On the bright side, the Chinese crackdown on crypto mining has greatly improved the geographic distribution of the global bitcoin mining hashrate, which completely debunks the notion that China controls bitcoin and places much emphasis on the decentralized principles of the largest virtual currency.

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Blockchain DeFi News News

Binance Is Delisting Yuan From Its P2P Trading Platform

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has disclosed that it will cease trading the Chinese Yuan on its peer-to-peer platform.

Per the announcement published on Wednesday, Binance pointed out that it will stamp out the Chinese Yuan Renminbi (CNY) effective 31 December 2021 at 24:00.

Like at other times, Binance said the latest news is in compliance with Chinese government regulations.

Furthermore, to ensure that no Chinese investor or trader is still on the exchanges peer-to-peer trading platform, Binance plans to examine a detailed list of all Chinese customers on the platform to make sure no stone is left unturned.

Failure to comply with the new restriction and to close positions up until December 31, Binance will roll back corresponding accounts to the “withdraw only” mode, thus, Chinese customers will only be allowed to withdraw and redeem their funds.

Moreover, the cryptocurrency exchange has pledged to send out reminder notices via electronic mails, 7 days to the due date to allow affected customers ample time to tidy up loose ends.

Binance Complies with Local Regulations

It is no longer news that Binance has seen better days with local regulations around the world. Notably, the exchange has not been found wanting with yielding to regulatory policies in countries where it conducts its transactions.

It is to be recalled, though, that in 2017 Binance had to leave the Chinese mainland market. Since then, the exchange has not attempted to execute any exchange transactions for regulatory reasons.

This year alone, Coinfomania has reported a series of regulatory issues Binance has had to face in different countries including Thailand, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, and just last week South Africa was added to the list.

Last month, Singapore included the exchange to the “Investor Alert” list for breaching the countries Payment Service Act.

It is important to note, however, that the leading cryptocurrency exchange has been hard at work to resolve these regulatory obstacles to its operations. For instance, the U.K. recently cleared the air, stating that Binance has complied with all local regulatory policies in the country.

Categories
Blockchain News NFT

Coinbase Has Launched Its NFT Marketplace

As part of its mission to boost global economic freedom, San Francisco-based exchange Coinbase announced today that it will be launching its non-fungible token (NFTs) marketplace, dubbed Coinbase NFT.

The second-largest cryptocurrency exchange called on users to join the waitlist to gain early access to the platform, which will enable them to mint, trade, and collect various NFTs.

Coinbase said it will focus more on creators and streamlining the process of delving into the NFT space, whereby content creators can develop an NFT by clicking a few buttons.

Per the announcement, the NFT marketplace will also include “social features,” allowing creators, collectors, and fans to converse freely, build community, and subsequently lead to important discoveries.

The announcement did not specify the official launch date of the platform. However, Coinbase said it will initially support Ethereum based ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards-based NFTs, with plans to add NFTs from other networks shortly.

Coinbase Set to Generate New Revenue Source

Despite claiming that the initiative is focused on empowering content creators, launching the NFT marketplace will be beneficial to the exchange, especially now that the exchange’s plan to generate additional sources of income via its crypto lending product has been thwarted by the SEC.

Recall that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong took to Twitter to complain about the unfavorable regulations slammed on the exchange by the SEC, following its intentions to join other crypto-related firms to offer crypto lending products.

Less than two weeks after calling on the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission to provide regulatory clarity for the crypto industry, Coinbase announced that it will no longer launch the lending product.

Fortunately, as the NFT space continues to gain traction in recent times, Coinbase is hoping to become a major player in the sector via the launch of Coinbase NFT.

The growth of the NFT market has grown immensely since it became popular late last year. According to CNBC, the NFT market recorded $10 billion in transaction volume in the third quarter of 2021, making the industry one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency economies.

Categories
Bitcoin Blockchain News

Binance’s $1B Fund Will Quicken BSC Development

Leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, recently announced that it has launched a $1 billion fund to accelerate the growth and development of the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network.

In an official blog post on Tuesday, Binance revealed that this fund will assist in boosting the reach of the BSC network as well as increasing the number of network participants and project development on the platform.

A Breakdown of the Fund

Going further, Binance gave a detailed breakdown of how the $1 billion Fund will be utilized. There are four major categories, with each targeting a different goal.

The first category is talent development and Binance allocated $100 million to this program. It entails mentoring developer communities, providing academic scholarships to universities, educating new investors, and supporting research and development endeavors within the crypto and blockchain space.

The second category is the liquidity incentive program, which has also been allocated $100 million. This program is geared toward providing liquidity rewards to several DeFi protocols on the BSC network based on different metrics including trading volume, innovation, TVL, and many more.

The third category is worth higher than the first two. It involves a $300 million allocation which has been assigned to a builder and incubation program. 

Out of the $300 million, Binance will invest about $100 million in conducting hackathons, bug bounty programs, and more. The remaining $200 million will then be used to incubate up to 100 innovative decentralized apps (dApps) that are building on the BSC network.

The last category, which is the investment program, receives a significant portion of the fund, a whopping $500 million. It is targeted at growing decentralized computing, gaming, metaverse, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and blockchain-based financial services not only on BSC but on all blockchain networks.

This investment program will also bring several real-life use cases of blockchain technology and bridge the gap between the crypto industry and traditional financial systems, increasing mainstream adoption.

BSC Massive Growth

Over the past year that BSC was launched, the project has managed to attract more than 100 DeFi projects, following a $100 million Accelerator Fund.

The BSC network has supported over 200 startups via hackathons and grant programs. As part of the accelerator fund, Binance had even donated $100,000 to support the Ethereum platform, Gitcoin Grants, in a subtle attempt to refute allegations that BSC is an “Ethereum Killer”.

Categories
Altcoins Bitcoin Blockchain News Press Release

Celsius Network Raised $400M In Equity Funding Round

Popular cryptocurrency lending platform, Celsius Network, recently announced that it has completed an equity funding round that saw it raise $400 million. 

The company stated in an announcement today that the recently concluded round was co-led by growth equity firm WestCap and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Canada’s largest pension fund. 

Alex Mashinsky, CEO of Celsius Network, said:

“The partnership with WestCap and CDPQ puts Celsius in a position to grow and further its mission to leverage blockchain technology to connect and decentralize traditional finance.” 

Interestingly, Celsius Network native token $CEL recorded slight growth moments following the announcement. Per Coingecko data, $CEL rose to $5.95, up from $5.75.

However, the cryptocurrency has dipped to $5.71 as a result of Bitcoin’s market dominance. 

Celsius Strategic Plans

With the newly acquired capital, Celsius Network plans to expand its products and services to establish a bridge between traditional finance and the cryptocurrency industry. 

The firm also said the investment will double its current workforce from 486 to nearly 1,000, as well as expand globally through strategic acquisition, thus continuing its exponential growth. 

Celsius Outstanding Growth

The crypto lending platform’s network has grown significantly since last year. Celsius, which was valued at $120 million following an equity fundraising led by stablecoin issuer Tether, disclosed that the latest investment has increased its valuation to $3 billion. 

Aside from the boost in Celsius’ valuation, the company told the Financial Times (FT) today that its assets under management (AUM) also grew from the $5.3 billion recorded in January to $25 billion this month, up by 0ver 300% within ten months. 

While Celsius thought it would continue its dominance in the crypto lending niche, the firm became a recipient of a regulatory clampdown last month, when New Jersey’s attorney general’s office asked it to stop issuing interest-bearing crypto products. 

The crypto lending platform stated that it currently has over one million registered users on its platform, marking a surging interest in cryptocurrency lending products. 

According to regulators, the network was accused of conducting proprietary trading with users’ funds. Celsius was quick to dismiss the allegation, saying it only uses deposits for lending and cryptocurrency mining. 

Similarly, Texas regulators also filed a notice seeking a hearing in February 2021, to determine whether it will take further action. 

Categories
Blockchain DeFi News News

Musicans Can Now Earn Crypto

American music distributor UnitedMasters on Tuesday announced its partnership with the leading cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, to allow artists to accept crypto payments for the content they create.. 

UnitedMasters noted in its announcement that it will allow musicians to have full control of their earnings and that they can choose to be paid, in full or in part, through fiat or cryptocurrency using Coinbase’s payroll service.

Artists “can now take part in a more equitable, decentralized and transparent economic system,” the music distribution company said.

Founded in 2017, UnitedMasters, which claims to represent 1 million artists, helps musicians get attention while giving them the opportunity to distribute their music to all major streaming services.

The New York-based firm ​has also partnered with major global brands, including Apple, AT&T, the NBA, the NFL and Bose, to create awareness for artists

Its partnership with Coinbase makes the distributor one of the first in the music industry to offer crypto payments to artists.

Commenting on the deal, Surojit Chatterjee, Chief Product Officer at Coinbase, said: “We want to make it easy for every company to pay employees in crypto. This is the future of payroll.”

Last month, the crypto exchange announced plans to launch a new direct-deposit  feature in the United States, which will enable customers to deposit part of their paycheck into Coinbase.

Paychecks deposited directly into the app can be converted into cryptocurrency or US dollars with zero transaction fees. Coinbase noted that once the money reaches its users’ accounts, they can choose what the company should do with the funds.  

UnitedMasters will use its partnership with Coinbase as a way to market itself to artists that admire cryptocurrency. 

Crypto has made its way into different industries, including sports and music. A few months ago, Coinfomania reported that popular American rapper, Busta Rhymes joined the number of people holding bitcoin (BTC). The rapper noted that he was inspired to invest in the leading cryptocurrency after watching the Bitcoin Conference live featuring Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Categories
Bitcoin Blockchain

Bitcoin Goes Below $56k

Bitcoin faced rejection at $57,700 as it failed in its bid for $58,000. The struggle for $58k was the expected needed boost for the a breakout above $60k. Unfortunately this dream was cut short as Bitcoin dipped $56,000.

Bitcoin has held on to this support for a while and the bulls shielded it from every attack as they kept the largest coin by market in an uptrend. Bitcoin apparently fell into bearish dominance, hence the retracement we are seeing today. With bitcoin two clicks away from $58k, what will happen in the next few days?

Following the sudden move to $55k, crypto derivatives have been a little dull as it keeps recording low participations. The same energy is seen in the spot market as it seems the buyers are content with bitcoin price.

The docile interaction between the buyers and sellers changed on the first day of the new week as we noticed the coin pick momentum. The trajectory was aimed at $58,000 but failed as buying pressure wasn’t enough to topple the mark.

Following the failed attempt, two indicators flashed warnings. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence is one such indicator. After a bullish interception at the start of the month, the fast line picked up momentum and has been on the rise.

We may see a bearish interception within the next seven days. A crossing may mean a break from the uptrend as bitcoin and altcoins’ prices will plummet. Another indicator that has been flashing warning is the Stochastic Oscillator. This oscillator has been above 80 since October 1. Any asset trading above the set mark is due for correction and will face a retracement soon.

Using the pitchfork, we created a channel highlighting key resistance and support. The $58k resistance is still a tough one as bitcoin has been unable to flip the price mark. The $53,000 is a critical support as none is present after this mark until $50,000.