U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has updated her projection regarding the date the U.S. government could default on its debt obligations. She warned that the Treasury “will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5.” Yellen Warns US Could Default on June […]

Florida’s 46th Governor, Ron DeSantis, recently declared his candidacy for the U.S. presidency in 2024 and has since participated in several interviews. While conversing with Dana Loesch on The Dana Show, DeSantis criticized the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a “corrupt organization” and no ally to the typical American citizen. DeSantis Discusses Single-Rate Tax […]

Trading within a Russia-led regional organization has effectively moved away from the U.S. dollar, according to the deputy head of the Russian government. The use of national currencies in the bloc’s transactions has reached around 90%, the official pointed out. EAEU Replaces Dollar in Trade With National Currencies, Russian Official Says Trade between member states […]

China’s oldest credit rating agency, Chengxin International Credit Rating (CCXI), made headlines this week by downgrading the United States’ credit rating. The agency lowered the rating from AAAg to AAg+ and attributed this decision to the escalating political discord, rising inflation, and the ongoing impasse over the debt ceiling. U.S. Credit Rating Suffers Downgrade by […]

Economist and ardent gold advocate Peter Schiff caused a stir on Friday by announcing his participation in an upcoming art sale featuring non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These unique digital collectibles will be minted on the Bitcoin blockchain using Ordinal inscription technology. Schiff’s surprising entry into the NFT market through Bitcoin has piqued the curiosity of onlookers, […]

One of Saturday’s biggest movers is XRP, which rose to a 30-day high earlier in today’s session. The token rose for a third consecutive day, as bulls returned to the market to start the weekend. Cardano was another notable gainer today. XRP XRP (formerly ripple), moved to a one-month high on Saturday, as bulls began […]

Bitcoin moved closer to the $27,000 level on Saturday, as markets continued to react to the latest Personal Consumption data from the United States. The key inflation index rose to 4.4% in April, higher than expectations of a drop to 3.9%. Ethereum also edged higher. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) rallied towards $27,000 to start the weekend, […]

The government of Argentina is reportedly seeking to expand its de-dollarization agreement with China due to the lack of dollars that the country is facing. According to reports, Economy Minister Sergio Massa would be in talks to expand the current swap line to double the available amount from $5 to $10 billion, lent in Chinese […]

Three integration unions with Russian participation, BRICS, SCO, and the EAEU, should adopt joint policies on the use of digital currencies, according to a top representative of one of them. He also believes the international organizations should develop a new payment system with its own bank cards. BRICS, SCO, and EAEU May Launch Common Payment […]

A recent study by Dappradar discloses the May loan volumes for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) reached a high of $375 million. The findings emphasize the significant influence of Blur within the NFT lending market, as the NFT marketplace platform constitutes 82% of the entire value settled in the NFT lending sector. Blur Emerges as NFT Lending […]

Litecoin (LTC) is still trending low like the rest of the cryptocurrency market but one thing that separates the altcoin from the others is its obvious bullish case. Unlike the rest of the market, Litecoin looks set for another rally which will likely be propelled forward by the next halving. Litecoin Halving Presents Bullish Scenario Just like Bitcoin, the Litecoin halving happens every four years and cuts block rewards by 50%. The aim of this halving is to reduce the amount of new supply flowing into the market. And as demand rises, there is less supply to meet this demand, thus leading to scarcity and a surge in prices. Related Reading: When Is A Token Coming For Coinbase’s Base L2? Here’s What The Roadmap Says The next Litecoin halving is now around the corner with only about three months left to go. This halving, like the ones before it, carries the same promise of a rally for the digital asset. The last halving in 2019 saw LTC’s price bottom out around $62 and then rally to a local peak of $80 in the same month. LTC halving will happen in August | Source: Nicehash If this year’s halving stays true to this trend, then the digital asset should be seeing some upside in the coming months. This could result in LTC clearing the $100 level once more as investors prep for the next leg-up. A 20% upside is attainable at this point, especially with the halving expected to happen in early August. So more than likely, the buyers will dominate the market for the next two months, leading to rising prices for Litecoin. LTC Outlook For 2023 Presently, the crypto market is seeing muted momentum as investors remain indecisive. For Litecoin, the upcoming halving remains a bullish event but the prospects for the months following the halving event do not look good given historical performances. Previous performance paint bull case for LTC | Source: LTCUSD on TradingView.com After each halving, LTC has seen a reversal in sentiment following the initial surge and the subsequent crashes have been more brutal than the uptrends. For example in 2019, LTC’s price crashed almost 50% in the month of September, one month after the halving was completed. This was because the bull market was yet to begin and the cryptocurrency fell back into lockstep with the rest of the market again. Related Reading: Elon Musk Reveals Reason Behind Dogecoin Investment, But Why Is DOGE Down? Going by this historical performance, it would seem the best time to take profits would be toward the end of August after the asset has rallied around 30%. The window of opportunity closes with the month of September which has historically been a bearish month for cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, LTC is trading at $87.11, up 3.22% in the last day. Follow Best Owie on Twitter for market insights, updates, and the occasional funny tweet… Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin’s (BTC) current sideways price action has left investors wondering what the future holds for the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The upcoming interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve (Fed) may pose the next big challenge for Bitcoin, according to the crypto market analysis firm Blofin Academy. Related Reading: Arbitrum (ARB) Fallout: 70% Price Drop, But These Charts Reveal Its True Value Is Bitcoin Ready For The Heat Of Interest Rate Hikes? The US economy has shown considerable resilience in recent months, prompting the Fed to consider raising interest rates to prevent inflation. However, this could be bad news for the crypto market, as higher interest rates tend to make traditional investments more attractive, potentially leading to a decrease in demand for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The correlation between interest rates and Bitcoin’s price action has been observed in the past. When interest rates rise, investors tend to move their money into traditional investment vehicles such as stocks and bonds, leading to a decrease in demand for cryptocurrencies. However, it’s worth noting that Bitcoin has often been viewed as a hedge against inflation, which means that it could still hold some appeal for investors during times of economic uncertainty.  The next scheduled Fed meeting is set to take place on June 14, 2023, where the central bank will likely discuss the possibility of raising interest rates in response to the current state of the US economy.  Macro Determinants Leave Crypto Traders Waiting Noelle Acheson, owner of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” newsletter, has cautioned against investors piling into the crypto market at this time. While the upside potential for Bitcoin remains significant, Acheson suggests that there is currently no compelling reason for investors to take on additional risk. According to Acheson, there are few macro determinants at the moment, such as debt limit negotiations and Fed rate policy, which are leaving investors waiting for more clarity before making any major investment decisions. As a result, there is a sense of caution in the market as traders wait to see how these macro factors will play out. Despite the lack of clarity, Acheson notes that there is not much reason for existing crypto holders to sell their holdings. This suggests that the current wait-and-see period is not necessarily a sign of bearish sentiment in the market, but rather a period of caution as investors await more information. Acheson also notes that there may be some downside movement in the near term, but the belief in a potential rally is not strong enough to warrant the possibility of missing out on any potential gains. As a result, there has been some buying and selling in the market, but not enough to significantly increase volatility despite low volumes and liquidity. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $26,700, reflecting a 1.2% increase over the last 24 hours. However, the 50-day Moving Average (MA) has placed the largest cryptocurrency in a narrow range between $26,200 and $26,800. This means that Bitcoin may struggle to surpass its current trading range in the near term, as the 50-day MA is currently situated at the upper end of this range on the 1-hour chart, making it a challenging level to breach. While Bitcoin has experienced some upside movements in recent weeks, the current trading range suggests that further gains may be limited until there is a significant shift in market sentiment or the emergence of a bullish catalyst. Related Reading: Why This Signal Means Uniswap’s Bear Run Is Almost Over Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com 

Politicians in the United States will likely strike a deal and raise the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for two more years. Amid this debate, the price of Bitcoin is firm but lower, tracking below the psychological $30,000 level as bulls recover after posting sharp losses mid-this week. The Debt Ceiling Debate There are reports that there will be more discretionary spending on the military and veterans with the reduction of other sectors. Moreover, there are unconfirmed reports that the Biden administration will likely not fund the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to boost collection, as laid out earlier. Instead, the immediate focus will be to hire more auditors and target wealthy citizens. Related Reading: Bitcoin Up After Fed Rate Reveal, Correlation With Stocks Over? There are concerns that the Treasury Department and the United States government will default on their obligation as soon as the first half of June 2023. Even though highly unlikely, as the Treasury Department has said it will liquidate $119 billion of debt on that day, the market is watching how discussions pan out. Bitcoin is firming up after losses on May 24. As a deal is reportedly struck and consensus reached, politicians would once again lift the debt ceiling, sending mixed signals to the economy. Unlike in previous years when top cryptocurrencies were decoupled from the mainstream economy, things have changed as Bitcoin’s prominence rises. Will Bitcoin Benefit? BTC prices will likely rally if there is an instance of default brought about by politicians disagreeing on the way forward. On the reverse side, a deal that addresses concerns brought by the negotiating parties could signal confidence in the economy despite more debt on the table. This averts a crisis and keeps operations running, removing uncertainty and stabilizing the economy. In that case, the USD could strengthen, possibly reversing gains by Bitcoin bulls in the last two trading days. Still, the crypto community remains bullish on Bitcoin considering macroeconomic events and next year’s halving. After months of steady interest rate hikes, the United States Federal Reserve could slow down rate increments in the next meeting in mid-June. Their action could support the commodities and securities markets. Related Reading: Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council Approves Blockchain Policy At the same time, the expected supply shock following the halving of Bitcoin miner rewards could make BTC scarcer, driving prices even higher. Miners are special nodes tasked with confirming transactions and decentralizing the network. If past price action can be used to predict future formations, BTC’s prospects look positive. Before the rally of 2020 to 2021, BTC prices bottomed up in 2018 and rose in 2019 before the halving event 2020. The same pattern may be repeated through to 2024 when Bitcoin halving occurs. Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView

Arbitrum (ARB) has been making waves in the crypto world as it recently became the 4th largest ecosystem in the market. Despite experiencing a sharp decline of 70% since its airdrop, Arbitrum’s native token has continued to gain attention from investors, currently trading around $1.158, down from $1.1808 on April 18th. Related Reading: Toncoin (TON) Continues Downward Trend As Bears Maintain Control Arbitrum Defies The Odds According to the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) researcher Deebs, Arbitrum has emerged as a major player in the crypto market, with its Total Value Locked (TVL) soaring to an impressive $2.3 billion. This puts it in 4th position by TVL, surpassing many of its competitors.  Additionally, since the launch of Arbitrum, the value of stablecoins has grown by over $500 million in just two months. At its peak, the network’s active user base reached over 600,000, surpassing Optimism (OP), a fast, stable, and scalable L2 blockchain built by Ethereum developers, and nearly overtaking the blockchain platform designed to host decentralized, scalable applications Solana (SOL).  Despite these impressive metrics, ARB’s price has experienced a significant drop of 70% since its airdrop and has had very little positive price action since. However, DeFi researcher Deebs believes that this dip in price may be a sign of a hidden gem in the crypto market. One of the main factors that make Arbitrum an attractive investment opportunity is its high TVL, user base, and liquidity. In fact, since its launch, Arbitrum has maintained the highest liquidity of all Layer 2 (L2) networks and is the third highest of all chains on DeFi Llama. Furthermore, while many other chains have a market capitalization to TVL ratio above 1, Arbitrum boasts one of the smallest ratios at 0.6. This means that the potential price upside for ARB is significantly higher than its competitors, making it an enticing investment opportunity for those looking for long-term gains. Additionally, ARB’s technology has been praised for its ability to address some of the key issues facing the crypto industry, such as scalability and high transaction fees. ARB’s use of cutting-edge technology such as Optimistic Rollups provides a solution to these problems, making it an attractive option for investors looking for a reliable network with great potential. Another positive sign for ARB is the amount of support it has received from major players in the crypto industry. This includes partnerships with well-known crypto projects such as Uniswap, Aave, and Chainlink. These collaborations demonstrate that the industry recognizes the value of ARB’s technology and the potential it holds for the future of decentralized finance. Related Reading: JPMorgan Predicts Bitcoin (BTC) To Revisit $45,000, Here’s Why Overall, despite the recent drop in price, ARB’s strong fundamentals and growing network usage suggest that it is a hidden gem in the crypto market. Its partnerships with major players in the industry, as well as its innovative technology, make it a promising investment opportunity for those looking to capitalize on the potential of decentralized finance. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com 

The price of Uniswap, the largest decentralized exchange by trading volume, is down roughly 35% from Q1 2023 peaks. Even so, on-chain data from Etherscan shows that there has been a steady increase in the number of UNI holders in the past two days. As of May 13, there were 369,646 UNI holders. Since then, the number has increased to over 370,100 as of May 26. During this time, UNI prices have remained stable but relatively high. Based on the UNIUSDT chart, the prices have found support around $4.9. However, prices have increased by approximately 10% over the past two weeks, rising to $5.4. Although the number of UNI holders may not directly affect the prices, there is a clear correlation between the demand for UNI and the increase in token prices. Related Reading: Toncoin (TON) Continues Downward Trend As Bears Maintain Control Several factors could have provided tailwinds for UNI, the governance token of Uniswap.  Apple Jail Break On May 23, Uniswap’s mobile wallet was released from what Uniswap Labs, the team maintaining Uniswap, said was “Apple jail.”  With this jailbreak, users can download the Uniswap Wallet, that’s non-custodial like MetaMask.  Through this wallet, users can buy and sell various supported cryptocurrencies.  This announcement is bullish because as more users opt for Uniswap Wallet, the demand for the decentralized exchange could rise, increasing its dominance and stature.  While MetaMask remains the most dominant Ethereum and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) wallet enabling the storing and trading of various tokens, even using processors like PayPal, the popularity of Uniswap could see Uniswap Wallet gnaw market share.  Presently, Uniswap Labs said their wallet could support the trading of tokens across Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, and Arbitrum. Uniswap To Launch On Base? Earlier on, the Uniswap contributors proposed the deployment of the DEX v3 on Coinbase’s Base.  Among supporters of this proposal is GFX Labs, one of the largest UNI holders and supporters of Uniswap’s expansion to other chains. Recently, GFX Labs voted for the launch of the DEX on BNB Smart Chain (BSC) and MoonBeam.  Even so, before voting starts, the proposal will undergo a “temperature check-up” to gauge community support. If there is majority support, it will proceed to the next step. Uniswap v3 is the latest iteration of the DEX, introducing the concept of concentrated liquidity for higher capital efficiency and more return on investment (ROI) for liquidity providers.  Base is a layer-2, open-source, and EVM-compatible platform by Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Related Reading: JPMorgan Predicts Bitcoin (BTC) To Revisit $45,000, Here’s Why It is unclear whether the above-spurred demand for UNI, pushed the number of holders higher in the last week.  However, this could suggest that the project is generating interest, which may support future token prices. Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView

Toncoin (TON) has experienced a negative price decline, resulting in a bearish sentiment among investors of the altcoin. TON has been exhibiting a bearish strength on a monthly timeframe, based on data from CoinMarketCap.  Within the last 30-Day trading session, the asset is down by 15,67%, indicating a high bearish strength with low buying pressure. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance As of the time of writing, the asset is experiencing a decline in value, as it’s down today by 2.76%. This downward trend has resulted in the asset, TON, reaching a low point of $1.91.  The decrease in value reflects a temporary setback in the market, indicating a decrease in investor confidence. It also detects a shift in the supply and demand dynamics surrounding the asset. Toncoin (TON) Bears Maintained Their Positions Toncoin (TON) witnessed a sharp price decline on May 23, from $2.03 to its present value of $1.89. This price decline represents a loss of 6.89%. This decline reflects the dominance of bearish sentiment in the market, which shows a lack of investor confidence and a shift in the supply and demand dynamics. According to the market sentiment indicator, the current market sentiment is bearish, while the Fear & Greed index value is a neutral 49. Notably, a Fear & Greed index value below 50 points to an increase in bearish momentum. Conversely, an important resistance level is noted at $2.080, representing a significant hurdle for potential upward movement.  Toncoin trades below the 50-day and 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). The SMAs formed a Death Cross in the TON market on May 21, 2023.  This confirms the bearish sentiment present in the market, indicating a potential sell signal and further price decline. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) momentum oscillator value is 40.98 and points downwards. RSI is a popular indicator showing whether a cryptocurrency is oversold or overbought.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level If TON RSI drops below 30, it may ignite high selling pressure and further price decline. TON Demand Index and Bollinger Bands Signals Bearish Activities The TON/USDT trading pair demand index is at -0.449, suggesting relatively weak demand for the asset in the market. Note that a demand index below zero is generally considered a lack of buying pressure. It also indicates that the selling pressure outweighs the buying interest. In addition, the asset is heading toward the lower part of the Bollinger Bands indicator. This suggests an increase in selling pressure and high bearish momentum. Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview.com

In a recent note, JPMorgan strategists have made a prediction, suggesting that Bitcoin (BTC) could soar and revisit its former trading price of $45,000 due to the rising price of gold. This prediction comes amid Bitcoin’s price action of a blend of bulls and bears in the past week. Meanwhile, over the past 24 hours, BTC has seen a 2.1% gain with a current trading price above $26,000. The current surge comes after Bitcoin previously fall that dropped its price below its previously ranging market price of $28,000. Bitcoin And Gold: A Correlation Bitcoin and gold have often been regarded as alternative investments by investors, and their prices have displayed a tendency to move in tandem. Given this, JPMorgan analysts note that the current gold price, hovering near $2,000 per ounce, implies a Bitcoin price of $45,000. This assumption is based on the idea that BTC will reach a similar standing as gold in the portfolios of private investors. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Struggles To Recover and Remains Vulnerable To Fresh Decline JP Morgan wrote in a note: With the gold price rising above $2,000, the value of gold held for investment purposes outside central banks is currently valued at around [$3 trillion]. In turn, this implies a $45,000 price for bitcoin under the assumption that bitcoin equalizes gold in private investors’ portfolios in risk capital or [volume]-adjusted terms. One key factor contributing to JPMorgan’s optimistic prediction is the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, scheduled to take place between April and May 2024. The halving mechanism reduces the rate at which new Bitcoins are produced, effectively doubling the production cost. The JPMorgan strategists believe this event will push Bitcoin’s production cost to approximately $40,000, acting as a lower bound and potentially driving the price upward. Drawing from historical data, JPMorgan highlights the bullish trajectory observed during previous halving events in 2016 and 2020. These events were accompanied by significant surges in Bitcoin prices, indicating the potential for a similar outcome following the next halving. As a result, JPMorgan sets an upper limit of $45,000 for BTC, indicating limited potential beyond the increase driven by the doubling of production costs. Reflecting On Ethereum (ETH) While Bitcoin takes the spotlight in JPMorgan’s prediction, the bank suggests that Ethereum (ETH) may face some selling pressure in the near term, extending beyond the Shanghai upgrade until mid-year. JPMorgan expects Ethereum to “somewhat underperform” BTC during this period. However, it’s essential to note that Ethereum’s performance is subject to a range of factors, including market dynamics and technological developments. Related Reading: The Best Decision Is To ‘Buy Bitcoin (BTC),’ Robert Kiyosaki Urges Meanwhile, regardless of JPMorgan’s prediction, BTC is currently in a bullish trend recording an uptick. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has seen more than a 2% gain, while the past seven days have seen a dip of 1.2%. At the time of writing, the top crypto currently trades at $26,823. Bitcoin’s trading volume has, however, ranged around $20 billion in the past 7 days, indicating a possible accumulation. Bitcoin currently has a trading volume of $13.1 billion in the past 24 hours. Featured image from Shutterstock, Chart from TradingView

A top SHIB whale added $1.18 million worth of Shiba Inu within 24 hours. Data from Etherscan.io reveals that this whale ranked as the nineteenth largest SHIB holder accumulating 140 Billion SHIB. The whale acquired the SHIB tokens in two separate transactions marking its second massive accumulation within 72 hours. SHIB Token Burns And Shibarium Launch Likely Behind Accumulation Shiba Inu network and users engaged in massive SHIB burn events in 2023. The burning mechanism aims to reduce excess tokens and boost SHIB’s price. However, no notable price increase has occurred since the token burn events.  Nevertheless, the top SHIB whales are accumulating the tokens ahead of the Shibarium launch and a possible price increase for the asset. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level BLAZE token has been identified as the largest SHIB burner in recent times on the ecosystem. Shiba Inu Team Member Projects Timeline For Shibarium Launch A member of Shiba Inu’s marketing team, LUCIE, shared her thoughts on the proposed mainnet launch of Shibarium in a Tweet.  Shibarium is a Layer-2 (L2) scaling solution created for the Shiba Inu ecosystem. Its launch date is highly speculative, with several dates proposed in the past. However, LUCIE stated that she guessed the launch date would be in Q3 of 2023, while Shiba Inu founder Shytoshi Kusama projects in July. The exact launch date remains a mystery and LUCIE believes the Shibarium Mainnet Launch will happen between the second and third quarters of 2023.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance Additionally, she believes that Shiba’s team remains confident about the launch, with multiple teams working on it and exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration. LUCIE emphasized that the testing process is crucial and security audits are necessary before its launch. She explained further, that if tests go wrong, the Shibarium mainnet release will delay. Shiba Inu Price Outlook Despite the recent announcements concerning Shibarium’s launch, SHIB did not record much price fluctuation. It traded at $0.000009967 on May 1, 2023, before moving to $0.00001002 on May 2. However, by May 4, its price dropped to $0.000009896, losing some of its earlier gains. SHIB dropped to $0.000008695 on May 11, showing price volatility. The bulls attempted to rally on May 23, pushing its price to $0.000008899. However, SHIB met resistance returning to $0.000008519 on May 24 and is trading at $0.000008479 at press time today, depicting a 0.16% increase in 24 hours.  Despite the price gain, SHIB’s trading volume is down by 8%, a possible signal of traders’ hesitation in the market. But the launch of the Shibarium mainnet in the ecosystem may be the price catalyst SHIB needs to reclaim its gains as it may boost SHIB usage. Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview.com

On-chain data suggests a majority of the Bitcoin exchange inflows are currently coming from investors holding their coins at a loss. Bitcoin Exchange Inflow Volume Is Tending Towards Losses Right Now According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, the short-term holders are mostly contributing to these loss inflows. The “exchange inflow” is an indicator that measures the total amount of Bitcoin that’s currently flowing into the wallets of centralized exchanges. Generally, investors deposit to these platforms whenever want to sell, so a large amount of inflows can be a sign that a selloff is going on in the BTC market right now. Low values of the metric, on the other hand, imply holders may not be participating in much selling at the moment, which can be bullish for the price. In the context of the current discussion, the exchange inflow itself isn’t of relevance; a related metric called the “exchange inflow volume profit/loss bias” is. As this indicator’s name already suggests, it tells us whether the inflows going to exchanges are coming from profit or loss holders currently. When this metric has a value greater than 1, it means the majority of the inflow volume contains coins that their holders had been carrying at a profit. Similarly, values under the threshold imply a dominance of the loss volume. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin exchange inflow profit/loss bias over the last few years: The value of the metric seems to have observed some decline in recent days | Source: Glassnode on Twitter As shown in the above graph, the Bitcoin exchange inflow volume profit/loss bias has had a value above 1 for most of the ongoing rallies that started back in January of this year. This suggests that most of the exchange inflows in this period have come from the profit holders. This naturally makes sense, as any rally generally entices a large number of holders to sell and harvest their gains. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance There have been a couple of exceptional instances, however. The first was back in March when the asset’s price plunged below the $20,000 level. The bias in the market shifted towards loss selling then, implying that some investors who bought around the local top had started capitulating. A similar pattern has also occurred recently, as the cryptocurrency’s price has stumbled below the $27,000 level. Following this plunge, the indicator’s value has come down to just 0.70. Further data from Glassnode reveals that the bias of the long-term holders (LTHs), the investors holding their coins since at least 155 days ago, have actually leaned towards profits recently. Looks like the indicator has a positive value right now | Source: Glassnode on Twitter From the chart, it’s visible that the indicator has a value of 1.73 for the LTHs, implying a strong bias toward profits. Naturally, if the LTHs haven’t been selling at a loss, the opposite cohort must be the short-term holders (STHs). This group seems to have a heavy loss bias currently | Source: Glassnode on Twitter Interestingly, the indicator’s value for the STHs is 0.69, which is almost exactly the same as the average for the entire market. This would mean that the LTHs have contributed relatively little to selling pressure recently. The STHs selling right now would be the ones that bought at and near the top of the rally so far and their capitulation may be a sign that these weak hands are currently being cleansed from the market. Although the indicator hasn’t dipped as low as in March yet, this capitulation could be a sign that a local bottom may be near for Bitcoin. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $26,400, down 1% in the last week. BTC has struggled recently | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, Glassnode.com

On-chain data from Santiment suggests that altcoins across the entire cryptocurrency sector may be underbought right now. MVRV Of The Various Altcoins Suggests Underpriced Conditions According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Santiment, cryptocurrency assets have become underbought as traders are now capitulating following a failed price rebound. The relevant indicator here is the “MVRV” (Market Value to Realized Value), which measures the ratio between the market cap and the realized cap of a given cryptocurrency. Here, the “realized cap” refers to a capitalization model for BTC where the value of any coin in the circulating supply is assumed to be not the current spot price, but the price at which it was last transacted on the blockchain. This model aims to calculate a sort of “fair value” for the asset. As the MVRV compares the market cap (that is, the current price) with the real value of the cryptocurrency, it can provide hints about whether the price is currently overinflated or not. Santiment has defined an “opportunity” zone and a “danger” zone for this indicator. As their names already imply, the asset in question becomes underpriced when the metric is in the former area, while it becomes overpriced in the latter one. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance Here is a chart that shows the trend in the divergence of the MVRV from these zones for the various altcoins in the sector: The value of the metric seems to be above zero for most of the market | Source: Santiment on Twitter Whenever the MVRV divergence has a value of 1 or more, the indicator is said to be inside the opportunity zone. Similarly, the danger area occurs below a value of -1. While these are the two extreme zones, the metric being firmly inside either the positive or the negative zone (but not hitting either of these thresholds), still signals slight underbought or overpriced conditions, respectively. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level This means that the chances of bullish rebounds can become greater whenever the indicator enters positive territory. From the chart, it’s visible that the vast majority of the coins in the digital asset sector are at least inside the positive territory at the moment. This would imply that these coins may have become underpriced recently. Some of the altcoins are also outright inside the opportunity zone, suggesting that they may be offering low-risk buying opportunities right now. There are a few cryptocurrencies, however, that are inside the negative zone, with a couple of them even being inside dangerous territory. Such alts have more chances of registering a decline in the near future. Recently, the various altcoins have attempted to amass together a rebound, but so far, they have only seen failure. However, now that the prices have started to become undervalued, perhaps a break may be found soon. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $26,400, down 1% in the last week. Looks like BTC has once again plunged below $27,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from Art Rachen on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, Santiment.net

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has updated her projection regarding the date the U.S. government could default on its debt obligations. She warned that the Treasury “will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5.” Yellen Warns US Could Default on June […]

Florida’s 46th Governor, Ron DeSantis, recently declared his candidacy for the U.S. presidency in 2024 and has since participated in several interviews. While conversing with Dana Loesch on The Dana Show, DeSantis criticized the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a “corrupt organization” and no ally to the typical American citizen. DeSantis Discusses Single-Rate Tax […]

Trading within a Russia-led regional organization has effectively moved away from the U.S. dollar, according to the deputy head of the Russian government. The use of national currencies in the bloc’s transactions has reached around 90%, the official pointed out. EAEU Replaces Dollar in Trade With National Currencies, Russian Official Says Trade between member states […]

China’s oldest credit rating agency, Chengxin International Credit Rating (CCXI), made headlines this week by downgrading the United States’ credit rating. The agency lowered the rating from AAAg to AAg+ and attributed this decision to the escalating political discord, rising inflation, and the ongoing impasse over the debt ceiling. U.S. Credit Rating Suffers Downgrade by […]

Economist and ardent gold advocate Peter Schiff caused a stir on Friday by announcing his participation in an upcoming art sale featuring non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These unique digital collectibles will be minted on the Bitcoin blockchain using Ordinal inscription technology. Schiff’s surprising entry into the NFT market through Bitcoin has piqued the curiosity of onlookers, […]

One of Saturday’s biggest movers is XRP, which rose to a 30-day high earlier in today’s session. The token rose for a third consecutive day, as bulls returned to the market to start the weekend. Cardano was another notable gainer today. XRP XRP (formerly ripple), moved to a one-month high on Saturday, as bulls began […]

Bitcoin moved closer to the $27,000 level on Saturday, as markets continued to react to the latest Personal Consumption data from the United States. The key inflation index rose to 4.4% in April, higher than expectations of a drop to 3.9%. Ethereum also edged higher. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) rallied towards $27,000 to start the weekend, […]

The government of Argentina is reportedly seeking to expand its de-dollarization agreement with China due to the lack of dollars that the country is facing. According to reports, Economy Minister Sergio Massa would be in talks to expand the current swap line to double the available amount from $5 to $10 billion, lent in Chinese […]

Three integration unions with Russian participation, BRICS, SCO, and the EAEU, should adopt joint policies on the use of digital currencies, according to a top representative of one of them. He also believes the international organizations should develop a new payment system with its own bank cards. BRICS, SCO, and EAEU May Launch Common Payment […]

A recent study by Dappradar discloses the May loan volumes for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) reached a high of $375 million. The findings emphasize the significant influence of Blur within the NFT lending market, as the NFT marketplace platform constitutes 82% of the entire value settled in the NFT lending sector. Blur Emerges as NFT Lending […]

FTX reboot is in the works, Multichain issues spark uncertainty and Sam Altman’s crypto project Worldcoin raises millions of dollars.

From time to time, rumors surface that Grand Theft Auto 6 will integrate cryptocurrency, fueling expectations that the franchise may make its way to Web3.

The move follows the acquisition of the regulated crypto exchange Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC) in November 2022.

Cheds shares the story of how he shifted his focus to crypto after being diagnosed with cancer.

This week’s Crypto Biz explores Hotbit’s closure, Hong Kong’s licensing of crypto firms, Bitstamp’s acquisition by Ripple and Ledger’s branding crisis.

The fashion industry is progressively employing NFTs in conjunction with virtual technology to enhance user experiences.

So far, a total of 1.7 million verified members of the Stargate community have voted in favor of the proposal.

Efforts are underway to recover compromised assets and enhance security measures as users express concerns on social media.

Bitcoin sentiment is overly bearish, some claim, with BTC price protecting a key moving average trend line.

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Popular metaverse properties, such as Otherdeeds, The Sandbox, Decentraland, Somnium and Voxels, have all depreciated in value over the past year.

Gemini said the SEC’s lawsuit against its “Earn” product — which offered yields to customers against their crypto deposits — was “ill-conceived.“

The DAI savings rate was increased to 1% in December 2022, leading to 35 million DAI being deposited in a month, according to MakerDAO.

JPMorgan’s ChatGPT rival, IndexGPT, will be used across various business units, including advertising, business consulting and different finance-focused software.

Despite hating on crypto for years, and calling NFTs worthless and easy to replicate two years ago, Peter Schiff is set to release an NFT art collection on Bitcoin.

On May 15, the chosen projects commenced the 12-week program after being granted seed funding of $30,000.

The executive appears to have now recovered his account.

The European Central Bank exercise looked at a variety of use cases, most of which were quite satisfactory, as well as the use of self-custodied wallets.

Diluted net loss per American depositary share in Q1 2023 stood at $0.51, down from $0.55 in the previous quarter.

The system uses “time-lock puzzles” to encrypt the contents of votes, making them unreadable until balloting has finished.

DeFi saw another multimillion-dollar rug pull this past week, and the Multichain saga continues to spiral out of control.

The Neuralink device is designed to be surgically implanted and, according to CEO Elon Musk, will eventually be marketed to the general public.

Cointelegraph analyst and writer Marcel Pechman explains why the cryptocurrency market has lost 60% of its market cap, with the S&P 500 only about 15% from its all-time high.

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The recovery in the U.S. stock market seems to have acted as a catalyst for the relief rally in Bitcoin and select altcoins.

Twitter emailed researchers to let them know they’ll either have to delete their data or pay $42,000 to keep using the platform’s API.

Bitcoin decides that bad news is not bad enough as upside volatility accompanies proof that U.S. inflation remains sticky.

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Binance and its Thai partner Gulf Innova have secured digital asset operator licenses in Thailand to launch a new crypto exchange.

Litecoin (LTC) is still trending low like the rest of the cryptocurrency market but one thing that separates the altcoin from the others is its obvious bullish case. Unlike the rest of the market, Litecoin looks set for another rally which will likely be propelled forward by the next halving. Litecoin Halving Presents Bullish Scenario Just like Bitcoin, the Litecoin halving happens every four years and cuts block rewards by 50%. The aim of this halving is to reduce the amount of new supply flowing into the market. And as demand rises, there is less supply to meet this demand, thus leading to scarcity and a surge in prices. Related Reading: When Is A Token Coming For Coinbase’s Base L2? Here’s What The Roadmap Says The next Litecoin halving is now around the corner with only about three months left to go. This halving, like the ones before it, carries the same promise of a rally for the digital asset. The last halving in 2019 saw LTC’s price bottom out around $62 and then rally to a local peak of $80 in the same month. LTC halving will happen in August | Source: Nicehash If this year’s halving stays true to this trend, then the digital asset should be seeing some upside in the coming months. This could result in LTC clearing the $100 level once more as investors prep for the next leg-up. A 20% upside is attainable at this point, especially with the halving expected to happen in early August. So more than likely, the buyers will dominate the market for the next two months, leading to rising prices for Litecoin. LTC Outlook For 2023 Presently, the crypto market is seeing muted momentum as investors remain indecisive. For Litecoin, the upcoming halving remains a bullish event but the prospects for the months following the halving event do not look good given historical performances. Previous performance paint bull case for LTC | Source: LTCUSD on TradingView.com After each halving, LTC has seen a reversal in sentiment following the initial surge and the subsequent crashes have been more brutal than the uptrends. For example in 2019, LTC’s price crashed almost 50% in the month of September, one month after the halving was completed. This was because the bull market was yet to begin and the cryptocurrency fell back into lockstep with the rest of the market again. Related Reading: Elon Musk Reveals Reason Behind Dogecoin Investment, But Why Is DOGE Down? Going by this historical performance, it would seem the best time to take profits would be toward the end of August after the asset has rallied around 30%. The window of opportunity closes with the month of September which has historically been a bearish month for cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, LTC is trading at $87.11, up 3.22% in the last day. Follow Best Owie on Twitter for market insights, updates, and the occasional funny tweet… Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin’s (BTC) current sideways price action has left investors wondering what the future holds for the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The upcoming interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve (Fed) may pose the next big challenge for Bitcoin, according to the crypto market analysis firm Blofin Academy. Related Reading: Arbitrum (ARB) Fallout: 70% Price Drop, But These Charts Reveal Its True Value Is Bitcoin Ready For The Heat Of Interest Rate Hikes? The US economy has shown considerable resilience in recent months, prompting the Fed to consider raising interest rates to prevent inflation. However, this could be bad news for the crypto market, as higher interest rates tend to make traditional investments more attractive, potentially leading to a decrease in demand for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The correlation between interest rates and Bitcoin’s price action has been observed in the past. When interest rates rise, investors tend to move their money into traditional investment vehicles such as stocks and bonds, leading to a decrease in demand for cryptocurrencies. However, it’s worth noting that Bitcoin has often been viewed as a hedge against inflation, which means that it could still hold some appeal for investors during times of economic uncertainty.  The next scheduled Fed meeting is set to take place on June 14, 2023, where the central bank will likely discuss the possibility of raising interest rates in response to the current state of the US economy.  Macro Determinants Leave Crypto Traders Waiting Noelle Acheson, owner of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” newsletter, has cautioned against investors piling into the crypto market at this time. While the upside potential for Bitcoin remains significant, Acheson suggests that there is currently no compelling reason for investors to take on additional risk. According to Acheson, there are few macro determinants at the moment, such as debt limit negotiations and Fed rate policy, which are leaving investors waiting for more clarity before making any major investment decisions. As a result, there is a sense of caution in the market as traders wait to see how these macro factors will play out. Despite the lack of clarity, Acheson notes that there is not much reason for existing crypto holders to sell their holdings. This suggests that the current wait-and-see period is not necessarily a sign of bearish sentiment in the market, but rather a period of caution as investors await more information. Acheson also notes that there may be some downside movement in the near term, but the belief in a potential rally is not strong enough to warrant the possibility of missing out on any potential gains. As a result, there has been some buying and selling in the market, but not enough to significantly increase volatility despite low volumes and liquidity. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $26,700, reflecting a 1.2% increase over the last 24 hours. However, the 50-day Moving Average (MA) has placed the largest cryptocurrency in a narrow range between $26,200 and $26,800. This means that Bitcoin may struggle to surpass its current trading range in the near term, as the 50-day MA is currently situated at the upper end of this range on the 1-hour chart, making it a challenging level to breach. While Bitcoin has experienced some upside movements in recent weeks, the current trading range suggests that further gains may be limited until there is a significant shift in market sentiment or the emergence of a bullish catalyst. Related Reading: Why This Signal Means Uniswap’s Bear Run Is Almost Over Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com 

Politicians in the United States will likely strike a deal and raise the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for two more years. Amid this debate, the price of Bitcoin is firm but lower, tracking below the psychological $30,000 level as bulls recover after posting sharp losses mid-this week. The Debt Ceiling Debate There are reports that there will be more discretionary spending on the military and veterans with the reduction of other sectors. Moreover, there are unconfirmed reports that the Biden administration will likely not fund the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to boost collection, as laid out earlier. Instead, the immediate focus will be to hire more auditors and target wealthy citizens. Related Reading: Bitcoin Up After Fed Rate Reveal, Correlation With Stocks Over? There are concerns that the Treasury Department and the United States government will default on their obligation as soon as the first half of June 2023. Even though highly unlikely, as the Treasury Department has said it will liquidate $119 billion of debt on that day, the market is watching how discussions pan out. Bitcoin is firming up after losses on May 24. As a deal is reportedly struck and consensus reached, politicians would once again lift the debt ceiling, sending mixed signals to the economy. Unlike in previous years when top cryptocurrencies were decoupled from the mainstream economy, things have changed as Bitcoin’s prominence rises. Will Bitcoin Benefit? BTC prices will likely rally if there is an instance of default brought about by politicians disagreeing on the way forward. On the reverse side, a deal that addresses concerns brought by the negotiating parties could signal confidence in the economy despite more debt on the table. This averts a crisis and keeps operations running, removing uncertainty and stabilizing the economy. In that case, the USD could strengthen, possibly reversing gains by Bitcoin bulls in the last two trading days. Still, the crypto community remains bullish on Bitcoin considering macroeconomic events and next year’s halving. After months of steady interest rate hikes, the United States Federal Reserve could slow down rate increments in the next meeting in mid-June. Their action could support the commodities and securities markets. Related Reading: Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council Approves Blockchain Policy At the same time, the expected supply shock following the halving of Bitcoin miner rewards could make BTC scarcer, driving prices even higher. Miners are special nodes tasked with confirming transactions and decentralizing the network. If past price action can be used to predict future formations, BTC’s prospects look positive. Before the rally of 2020 to 2021, BTC prices bottomed up in 2018 and rose in 2019 before the halving event 2020. The same pattern may be repeated through to 2024 when Bitcoin halving occurs. Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView

Arbitrum (ARB) has been making waves in the crypto world as it recently became the 4th largest ecosystem in the market. Despite experiencing a sharp decline of 70% since its airdrop, Arbitrum’s native token has continued to gain attention from investors, currently trading around $1.158, down from $1.1808 on April 18th. Related Reading: Toncoin (TON) Continues Downward Trend As Bears Maintain Control Arbitrum Defies The Odds According to the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) researcher Deebs, Arbitrum has emerged as a major player in the crypto market, with its Total Value Locked (TVL) soaring to an impressive $2.3 billion. This puts it in 4th position by TVL, surpassing many of its competitors.  Additionally, since the launch of Arbitrum, the value of stablecoins has grown by over $500 million in just two months. At its peak, the network’s active user base reached over 600,000, surpassing Optimism (OP), a fast, stable, and scalable L2 blockchain built by Ethereum developers, and nearly overtaking the blockchain platform designed to host decentralized, scalable applications Solana (SOL).  Despite these impressive metrics, ARB’s price has experienced a significant drop of 70% since its airdrop and has had very little positive price action since. However, DeFi researcher Deebs believes that this dip in price may be a sign of a hidden gem in the crypto market. One of the main factors that make Arbitrum an attractive investment opportunity is its high TVL, user base, and liquidity. In fact, since its launch, Arbitrum has maintained the highest liquidity of all Layer 2 (L2) networks and is the third highest of all chains on DeFi Llama. Furthermore, while many other chains have a market capitalization to TVL ratio above 1, Arbitrum boasts one of the smallest ratios at 0.6. This means that the potential price upside for ARB is significantly higher than its competitors, making it an enticing investment opportunity for those looking for long-term gains. Additionally, ARB’s technology has been praised for its ability to address some of the key issues facing the crypto industry, such as scalability and high transaction fees. ARB’s use of cutting-edge technology such as Optimistic Rollups provides a solution to these problems, making it an attractive option for investors looking for a reliable network with great potential. Another positive sign for ARB is the amount of support it has received from major players in the crypto industry. This includes partnerships with well-known crypto projects such as Uniswap, Aave, and Chainlink. These collaborations demonstrate that the industry recognizes the value of ARB’s technology and the potential it holds for the future of decentralized finance. Related Reading: JPMorgan Predicts Bitcoin (BTC) To Revisit $45,000, Here’s Why Overall, despite the recent drop in price, ARB’s strong fundamentals and growing network usage suggest that it is a hidden gem in the crypto market. Its partnerships with major players in the industry, as well as its innovative technology, make it a promising investment opportunity for those looking to capitalize on the potential of decentralized finance. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com 

The price of Uniswap, the largest decentralized exchange by trading volume, is down roughly 35% from Q1 2023 peaks. Even so, on-chain data from Etherscan shows that there has been a steady increase in the number of UNI holders in the past two days. As of May 13, there were 369,646 UNI holders. Since then, the number has increased to over 370,100 as of May 26. During this time, UNI prices have remained stable but relatively high. Based on the UNIUSDT chart, the prices have found support around $4.9. However, prices have increased by approximately 10% over the past two weeks, rising to $5.4. Although the number of UNI holders may not directly affect the prices, there is a clear correlation between the demand for UNI and the increase in token prices. Related Reading: Toncoin (TON) Continues Downward Trend As Bears Maintain Control Several factors could have provided tailwinds for UNI, the governance token of Uniswap.  Apple Jail Break On May 23, Uniswap’s mobile wallet was released from what Uniswap Labs, the team maintaining Uniswap, said was “Apple jail.”  With this jailbreak, users can download the Uniswap Wallet, that’s non-custodial like MetaMask.  Through this wallet, users can buy and sell various supported cryptocurrencies.  This announcement is bullish because as more users opt for Uniswap Wallet, the demand for the decentralized exchange could rise, increasing its dominance and stature.  While MetaMask remains the most dominant Ethereum and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) wallet enabling the storing and trading of various tokens, even using processors like PayPal, the popularity of Uniswap could see Uniswap Wallet gnaw market share.  Presently, Uniswap Labs said their wallet could support the trading of tokens across Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, and Arbitrum. Uniswap To Launch On Base? Earlier on, the Uniswap contributors proposed the deployment of the DEX v3 on Coinbase’s Base.  Among supporters of this proposal is GFX Labs, one of the largest UNI holders and supporters of Uniswap’s expansion to other chains. Recently, GFX Labs voted for the launch of the DEX on BNB Smart Chain (BSC) and MoonBeam.  Even so, before voting starts, the proposal will undergo a “temperature check-up” to gauge community support. If there is majority support, it will proceed to the next step. Uniswap v3 is the latest iteration of the DEX, introducing the concept of concentrated liquidity for higher capital efficiency and more return on investment (ROI) for liquidity providers.  Base is a layer-2, open-source, and EVM-compatible platform by Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Related Reading: JPMorgan Predicts Bitcoin (BTC) To Revisit $45,000, Here’s Why It is unclear whether the above-spurred demand for UNI, pushed the number of holders higher in the last week.  However, this could suggest that the project is generating interest, which may support future token prices. Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView

Toncoin (TON) has experienced a negative price decline, resulting in a bearish sentiment among investors of the altcoin. TON has been exhibiting a bearish strength on a monthly timeframe, based on data from CoinMarketCap.  Within the last 30-Day trading session, the asset is down by 15,67%, indicating a high bearish strength with low buying pressure. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance As of the time of writing, the asset is experiencing a decline in value, as it’s down today by 2.76%. This downward trend has resulted in the asset, TON, reaching a low point of $1.91.  The decrease in value reflects a temporary setback in the market, indicating a decrease in investor confidence. It also detects a shift in the supply and demand dynamics surrounding the asset. Toncoin (TON) Bears Maintained Their Positions Toncoin (TON) witnessed a sharp price decline on May 23, from $2.03 to its present value of $1.89. This price decline represents a loss of 6.89%. This decline reflects the dominance of bearish sentiment in the market, which shows a lack of investor confidence and a shift in the supply and demand dynamics. According to the market sentiment indicator, the current market sentiment is bearish, while the Fear & Greed index value is a neutral 49. Notably, a Fear & Greed index value below 50 points to an increase in bearish momentum. Conversely, an important resistance level is noted at $2.080, representing a significant hurdle for potential upward movement.  Toncoin trades below the 50-day and 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). The SMAs formed a Death Cross in the TON market on May 21, 2023.  This confirms the bearish sentiment present in the market, indicating a potential sell signal and further price decline. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) momentum oscillator value is 40.98 and points downwards. RSI is a popular indicator showing whether a cryptocurrency is oversold or overbought.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level If TON RSI drops below 30, it may ignite high selling pressure and further price decline. TON Demand Index and Bollinger Bands Signals Bearish Activities The TON/USDT trading pair demand index is at -0.449, suggesting relatively weak demand for the asset in the market. Note that a demand index below zero is generally considered a lack of buying pressure. It also indicates that the selling pressure outweighs the buying interest. In addition, the asset is heading toward the lower part of the Bollinger Bands indicator. This suggests an increase in selling pressure and high bearish momentum. Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview.com

In a recent note, JPMorgan strategists have made a prediction, suggesting that Bitcoin (BTC) could soar and revisit its former trading price of $45,000 due to the rising price of gold. This prediction comes amid Bitcoin’s price action of a blend of bulls and bears in the past week. Meanwhile, over the past 24 hours, BTC has seen a 2.1% gain with a current trading price above $26,000. The current surge comes after Bitcoin previously fall that dropped its price below its previously ranging market price of $28,000. Bitcoin And Gold: A Correlation Bitcoin and gold have often been regarded as alternative investments by investors, and their prices have displayed a tendency to move in tandem. Given this, JPMorgan analysts note that the current gold price, hovering near $2,000 per ounce, implies a Bitcoin price of $45,000. This assumption is based on the idea that BTC will reach a similar standing as gold in the portfolios of private investors. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Struggles To Recover and Remains Vulnerable To Fresh Decline JP Morgan wrote in a note: With the gold price rising above $2,000, the value of gold held for investment purposes outside central banks is currently valued at around [$3 trillion]. In turn, this implies a $45,000 price for bitcoin under the assumption that bitcoin equalizes gold in private investors’ portfolios in risk capital or [volume]-adjusted terms. One key factor contributing to JPMorgan’s optimistic prediction is the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, scheduled to take place between April and May 2024. The halving mechanism reduces the rate at which new Bitcoins are produced, effectively doubling the production cost. The JPMorgan strategists believe this event will push Bitcoin’s production cost to approximately $40,000, acting as a lower bound and potentially driving the price upward. Drawing from historical data, JPMorgan highlights the bullish trajectory observed during previous halving events in 2016 and 2020. These events were accompanied by significant surges in Bitcoin prices, indicating the potential for a similar outcome following the next halving. As a result, JPMorgan sets an upper limit of $45,000 for BTC, indicating limited potential beyond the increase driven by the doubling of production costs. Reflecting On Ethereum (ETH) While Bitcoin takes the spotlight in JPMorgan’s prediction, the bank suggests that Ethereum (ETH) may face some selling pressure in the near term, extending beyond the Shanghai upgrade until mid-year. JPMorgan expects Ethereum to “somewhat underperform” BTC during this period. However, it’s essential to note that Ethereum’s performance is subject to a range of factors, including market dynamics and technological developments. Related Reading: The Best Decision Is To ‘Buy Bitcoin (BTC),’ Robert Kiyosaki Urges Meanwhile, regardless of JPMorgan’s prediction, BTC is currently in a bullish trend recording an uptick. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has seen more than a 2% gain, while the past seven days have seen a dip of 1.2%. At the time of writing, the top crypto currently trades at $26,823. Bitcoin’s trading volume has, however, ranged around $20 billion in the past 7 days, indicating a possible accumulation. Bitcoin currently has a trading volume of $13.1 billion in the past 24 hours. Featured image from Shutterstock, Chart from TradingView

A top SHIB whale added $1.18 million worth of Shiba Inu within 24 hours. Data from Etherscan.io reveals that this whale ranked as the nineteenth largest SHIB holder accumulating 140 Billion SHIB. The whale acquired the SHIB tokens in two separate transactions marking its second massive accumulation within 72 hours. SHIB Token Burns And Shibarium Launch Likely Behind Accumulation Shiba Inu network and users engaged in massive SHIB burn events in 2023. The burning mechanism aims to reduce excess tokens and boost SHIB’s price. However, no notable price increase has occurred since the token burn events.  Nevertheless, the top SHIB whales are accumulating the tokens ahead of the Shibarium launch and a possible price increase for the asset. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level BLAZE token has been identified as the largest SHIB burner in recent times on the ecosystem. Shiba Inu Team Member Projects Timeline For Shibarium Launch A member of Shiba Inu’s marketing team, LUCIE, shared her thoughts on the proposed mainnet launch of Shibarium in a Tweet.  Shibarium is a Layer-2 (L2) scaling solution created for the Shiba Inu ecosystem. Its launch date is highly speculative, with several dates proposed in the past. However, LUCIE stated that she guessed the launch date would be in Q3 of 2023, while Shiba Inu founder Shytoshi Kusama projects in July. The exact launch date remains a mystery and LUCIE believes the Shibarium Mainnet Launch will happen between the second and third quarters of 2023.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance Additionally, she believes that Shiba’s team remains confident about the launch, with multiple teams working on it and exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration. LUCIE emphasized that the testing process is crucial and security audits are necessary before its launch. She explained further, that if tests go wrong, the Shibarium mainnet release will delay. Shiba Inu Price Outlook Despite the recent announcements concerning Shibarium’s launch, SHIB did not record much price fluctuation. It traded at $0.000009967 on May 1, 2023, before moving to $0.00001002 on May 2. However, by May 4, its price dropped to $0.000009896, losing some of its earlier gains. SHIB dropped to $0.000008695 on May 11, showing price volatility. The bulls attempted to rally on May 23, pushing its price to $0.000008899. However, SHIB met resistance returning to $0.000008519 on May 24 and is trading at $0.000008479 at press time today, depicting a 0.16% increase in 24 hours.  Despite the price gain, SHIB’s trading volume is down by 8%, a possible signal of traders’ hesitation in the market. But the launch of the Shibarium mainnet in the ecosystem may be the price catalyst SHIB needs to reclaim its gains as it may boost SHIB usage. Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview.com

On-chain data suggests a majority of the Bitcoin exchange inflows are currently coming from investors holding their coins at a loss. Bitcoin Exchange Inflow Volume Is Tending Towards Losses Right Now According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, the short-term holders are mostly contributing to these loss inflows. The “exchange inflow” is an indicator that measures the total amount of Bitcoin that’s currently flowing into the wallets of centralized exchanges. Generally, investors deposit to these platforms whenever want to sell, so a large amount of inflows can be a sign that a selloff is going on in the BTC market right now. Low values of the metric, on the other hand, imply holders may not be participating in much selling at the moment, which can be bullish for the price. In the context of the current discussion, the exchange inflow itself isn’t of relevance; a related metric called the “exchange inflow volume profit/loss bias” is. As this indicator’s name already suggests, it tells us whether the inflows going to exchanges are coming from profit or loss holders currently. When this metric has a value greater than 1, it means the majority of the inflow volume contains coins that their holders had been carrying at a profit. Similarly, values under the threshold imply a dominance of the loss volume. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin exchange inflow profit/loss bias over the last few years: The value of the metric seems to have observed some decline in recent days | Source: Glassnode on Twitter As shown in the above graph, the Bitcoin exchange inflow volume profit/loss bias has had a value above 1 for most of the ongoing rallies that started back in January of this year. This suggests that most of the exchange inflows in this period have come from the profit holders. This naturally makes sense, as any rally generally entices a large number of holders to sell and harvest their gains. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance There have been a couple of exceptional instances, however. The first was back in March when the asset’s price plunged below the $20,000 level. The bias in the market shifted towards loss selling then, implying that some investors who bought around the local top had started capitulating. A similar pattern has also occurred recently, as the cryptocurrency’s price has stumbled below the $27,000 level. Following this plunge, the indicator’s value has come down to just 0.70. Further data from Glassnode reveals that the bias of the long-term holders (LTHs), the investors holding their coins since at least 155 days ago, have actually leaned towards profits recently. Looks like the indicator has a positive value right now | Source: Glassnode on Twitter From the chart, it’s visible that the indicator has a value of 1.73 for the LTHs, implying a strong bias toward profits. Naturally, if the LTHs haven’t been selling at a loss, the opposite cohort must be the short-term holders (STHs). This group seems to have a heavy loss bias currently | Source: Glassnode on Twitter Interestingly, the indicator’s value for the STHs is 0.69, which is almost exactly the same as the average for the entire market. This would mean that the LTHs have contributed relatively little to selling pressure recently. The STHs selling right now would be the ones that bought at and near the top of the rally so far and their capitulation may be a sign that these weak hands are currently being cleansed from the market. Although the indicator hasn’t dipped as low as in March yet, this capitulation could be a sign that a local bottom may be near for Bitcoin. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $26,400, down 1% in the last week. BTC has struggled recently | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, Glassnode.com

On-chain data from Santiment suggests that altcoins across the entire cryptocurrency sector may be underbought right now. MVRV Of The Various Altcoins Suggests Underpriced Conditions According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Santiment, cryptocurrency assets have become underbought as traders are now capitulating following a failed price rebound. The relevant indicator here is the “MVRV” (Market Value to Realized Value), which measures the ratio between the market cap and the realized cap of a given cryptocurrency. Here, the “realized cap” refers to a capitalization model for BTC where the value of any coin in the circulating supply is assumed to be not the current spot price, but the price at which it was last transacted on the blockchain. This model aims to calculate a sort of “fair value” for the asset. As the MVRV compares the market cap (that is, the current price) with the real value of the cryptocurrency, it can provide hints about whether the price is currently overinflated or not. Santiment has defined an “opportunity” zone and a “danger” zone for this indicator. As their names already imply, the asset in question becomes underpriced when the metric is in the former area, while it becomes overpriced in the latter one. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance Here is a chart that shows the trend in the divergence of the MVRV from these zones for the various altcoins in the sector: The value of the metric seems to be above zero for most of the market | Source: Santiment on Twitter Whenever the MVRV divergence has a value of 1 or more, the indicator is said to be inside the opportunity zone. Similarly, the danger area occurs below a value of -1. While these are the two extreme zones, the metric being firmly inside either the positive or the negative zone (but not hitting either of these thresholds), still signals slight underbought or overpriced conditions, respectively. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level This means that the chances of bullish rebounds can become greater whenever the indicator enters positive territory. From the chart, it’s visible that the vast majority of the coins in the digital asset sector are at least inside the positive territory at the moment. This would imply that these coins may have become underpriced recently. Some of the altcoins are also outright inside the opportunity zone, suggesting that they may be offering low-risk buying opportunities right now. There are a few cryptocurrencies, however, that are inside the negative zone, with a couple of them even being inside dangerous territory. Such alts have more chances of registering a decline in the near future. Recently, the various altcoins have attempted to amass together a rebound, but so far, they have only seen failure. However, now that the prices have started to become undervalued, perhaps a break may be found soon. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $26,400, down 1% in the last week. Looks like BTC has once again plunged below $27,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from Art Rachen on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, Santiment.net

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has updated her projection regarding the date the U.S. government could default on its debt obligations. She warned that the Treasury “will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5.” Yellen Warns US Could Default on June […]

Florida’s 46th Governor, Ron DeSantis, recently declared his candidacy for the U.S. presidency in 2024 and has since participated in several interviews. While conversing with Dana Loesch on The Dana Show, DeSantis criticized the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a “corrupt organization” and no ally to the typical American citizen. DeSantis Discusses Single-Rate Tax […]

Trading within a Russia-led regional organization has effectively moved away from the U.S. dollar, according to the deputy head of the Russian government. The use of national currencies in the bloc’s transactions has reached around 90%, the official pointed out. EAEU Replaces Dollar in Trade With National Currencies, Russian Official Says Trade between member states […]

China’s oldest credit rating agency, Chengxin International Credit Rating (CCXI), made headlines this week by downgrading the United States’ credit rating. The agency lowered the rating from AAAg to AAg+ and attributed this decision to the escalating political discord, rising inflation, and the ongoing impasse over the debt ceiling. U.S. Credit Rating Suffers Downgrade by […]

Economist and ardent gold advocate Peter Schiff caused a stir on Friday by announcing his participation in an upcoming art sale featuring non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These unique digital collectibles will be minted on the Bitcoin blockchain using Ordinal inscription technology. Schiff’s surprising entry into the NFT market through Bitcoin has piqued the curiosity of onlookers, […]

One of Saturday’s biggest movers is XRP, which rose to a 30-day high earlier in today’s session. The token rose for a third consecutive day, as bulls returned to the market to start the weekend. Cardano was another notable gainer today. XRP XRP (formerly ripple), moved to a one-month high on Saturday, as bulls began […]

Bitcoin moved closer to the $27,000 level on Saturday, as markets continued to react to the latest Personal Consumption data from the United States. The key inflation index rose to 4.4% in April, higher than expectations of a drop to 3.9%. Ethereum also edged higher. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) rallied towards $27,000 to start the weekend, […]

The government of Argentina is reportedly seeking to expand its de-dollarization agreement with China due to the lack of dollars that the country is facing. According to reports, Economy Minister Sergio Massa would be in talks to expand the current swap line to double the available amount from $5 to $10 billion, lent in Chinese […]

Three integration unions with Russian participation, BRICS, SCO, and the EAEU, should adopt joint policies on the use of digital currencies, according to a top representative of one of them. He also believes the international organizations should develop a new payment system with its own bank cards. BRICS, SCO, and EAEU May Launch Common Payment […]

A recent study by Dappradar discloses the May loan volumes for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) reached a high of $375 million. The findings emphasize the significant influence of Blur within the NFT lending market, as the NFT marketplace platform constitutes 82% of the entire value settled in the NFT lending sector. Blur Emerges as NFT Lending […]

RockX, an Asia-based institutional-grade staking services provider, announced today the broadening of its staking product suite with the addition of a new ether (ETH) native staking solution. This latest offering strengthens RockX’s position as a comprehensive provider of diverse staking needs, maneuvering quickly to the evolving crypto market landscape. Navigating the Ethereum ecosystem presents institutions with […]

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Hex Trust, a regulated institutional-grade crypto-asset custodian, today announced it has partnered with The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world to enable fully-licensed and highly-secure custody of assets such as LAND in The Sandbox’s metaverse. The partnership sees Hex Trust fully integrate LAND into its custody platform, Hex Safe, which supports cryptocurrencies, security tokens, and NFTs. […]

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CoinFlip, a bitcoin ATM and crypto services company, announced today a new offering with the launch of ‘Olliv,’ a self-custody-powered crypto platform. The Olliv platform provides a frictionless way to buy, sell, send, receive, and swap cryptocurrency securely stored on a self-custodial wallet, removing the uncertainty of unknown third-party custodians. By leveraging CoinFlip’s existing network […]

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Deribit, a popular cryptocurrency derivatives platform, has announced the launch of zero-fee spot trading, allowing clients to buy and sell crypto while simultaneously managing risk using other derivatives. Spot trading will start on April, 24th 2023 at 1 PM UTC with three pairs (BTC/USDC, ETH/USDC, and ETH/BTC), providing clients with a simple and free solution […]

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Japan-based banking giant Nomura, announced today that its digital assets subsidiary, Laser Digital, has made a strategic investment in Infinity, a non-custodial interest rate protocol built on Ethereum. Infinity’s wholesale exchange, the first of several planned infrastructures, provides inter-exchange clearing, fixed and floating rate markets, as well as enterprise-grade risk management utilizing hybrid on-chain/off-chain infrastructures […]

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Blocknative, a real-time Ethereum (ETH) infrastructure platform, has newly introduced features including transaction bundle send, cancellation, and replacement support for the Blocknative Builder. Searchers can now submit MEV bundles privately to the Blocknative Builder to be included on-chain. This market utility builds upon Blocknative’s reliable, real-time infrastructure that is systematically important to the Ethereum ecosystem. […]

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Eventus, a provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, announced today that cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Deribit has chosen the firm’s Validus platform to provide market abuse monitoring on the exchange. Headquartered in Panama City, Panama, Deribit is one of the largest cryptocurrency options exchanges by volume and open interest, with approximately 90% […]

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Gemini, the popular bitcoin & crypto exchange company, today announced the launch of electronic over-the-counter trading (eOTC), an automated crypto trading solution designed for institutions. The Gemini eOTC solution offers a variety of advantages to institutional traders including: Competitive Pricing & Execution: Liquidity is sourced from top-tier liquidity providers with deep liquidity pools, enabling counterparties […]

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GenTwo Digital, the crypto-asset securitization platform based out of Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland, today announced a partnership with Coinbase, the publicly-listed cryptocurrency platform. This new partnership for GenTwo Digital allows all Coinbase crypto assets to be wrapped in bankable financial investment products and enables financial intermediaries to issue certificates such AMCs (Actively Management Certificates). […]

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ThunderCore, a leading blockchain & web3 ecosystem announced today that they are making a new development push, partnering with new validators as the chain rolls out its new crypto staking model. The newest ThunderCore validators include the famous crypto-asset exchange Huobi and one of the earliest staking platforms in the space, MyCointainer. Users of both […]

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Pods, creators of a DeFi platform, announced today that earlier this year, the team raised $5.6M in seed funding to create structured products for crypto-assets. The financing featured investors such as IOSG, Tomahawk, Republic, Framework Ventures, and more. The first strategy on Pods Yield is stETHvv (Ethereum Volatility Vault). stETHvv is a low-risk product focused […]

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Deribit, the popular cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, announced today it has launched a new ‘Proof of Reserves‘ tool for clients using the trading platform. Now, clients are provided with the functionality to verify their assets to be included in Deribit’s overall reserves. How it Works Deribit provides all addresses for all on-chain assets and it delivers […]

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Tenderly, creators of a blockchain development platform, today announced that it is the first web3 development platform to offer simulations through RPC on its Tenderly Web3 Gateway, the company’s production node as a service. Note, Tenderly already processes more than 50 million simulations per month through its Transaction Simulator. Now, the company is introducing the […]

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DFINITY Foundation, the not-for-profit organization contributing to the development of the Internet Computer (IC) — a high-speed, internet-scale public blockchain — has announced today the Internet Computer’s mainnet integration with Bitcoin, bringing smart contract functionality to the cryptocurrency. Now, the Internet Computer can serve as a layer-2 for Bitcoin where smart contracts on the Internet […]

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Coinbase, the popular bitcoin & crypto exchange company, announced today it will be rolling out ‘Easy Bank Transfers’ for UK users. The new feature delivers an easy way to add funds to Coinbase accounts. Through a partnership with TrueLayer, one of Europe’s leading open banking platforms, Coinbase is able to support Easy Bank Transfers, which […]

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Biconomy, a web3 development platform & toolkit that superpowers blockchain technology stacks, today announced it has launched a software development kit (SDK) to transform the way developers build easy-to-use decentralized applications (dApps). Since 2019, Biconomy has been engaged with the web3 infrastructure space by building easy-to-integrate, plug-and-play APIs for developers to scale their projects. The […]

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Trust Wallet, a self-custodial and multi-chain cryptocurrency wallet application, has announced the launch of its brand-new browser extension wallet. Supporting all EVM chains, as well as Solana, it is available now on browsers including Chrome, Brave, and Opera. The browser extension complements Trust Wallet’s mobile wallet, which is the world’s leading mobile crypto wallet with […]

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BlockFills, a company specializing in building trading and management solutions for cryptocurrency market participants, today announced the launch of Vision Crypto Cloud, a secure, full-service, end-to-end digital asset trading, order management, and risk management platform. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform enables institutions to quickly access the crypto ecosystem out of the box, without the multi-year timeline […]

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Hash Blockchain Limited (HBL), a member of the HashKey Group (HashKey), a blockchain asset financial services group in Asia, announced today it has received approval from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) to operate a virtual asset trading platform, under a Type 1 (dealing in securities) license and a Type 7 (automated […]

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Pundi X, a blockchain payments startup, recently announced that its “On-chain payment” function within its XPOS crypto point-of-sale platform is now known as “Cashier Pro” and available for all merchants. Cashier Pro enables merchants to accept crypto payments from 3rd party blockchain wallet users across multiple blockchain networks, including Bitcoin Lightning Network, BNB Chain, Ethereum, and […]

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BetDEX Labs, the company behind BetDEX, a new sports betting exchange for peer-to-peer wagering, this week announced that the BetDEX Exchange will officially launch on the Solana mainnet on Thursday, November 17th, which coincides with the beginning of the 2022 World Cup. Just recently, BetDEX became one of the first licensed sports betting exchanges built […]

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OKX, one of the largest crypto exchanges by volume and a leading web3 platform, today announced its registration as a Digital Asset Business in The Bahamas under the newly adopted Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (DARE) Act. The company has also formed a new subsidiary, OKX Bahamas, for which it appointed Dr. Jillian Bethel, a […]

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Today, crypto services company Blockchain.com, announced the launch of its new Visa debit card. With the Blockchain.com Visa card, users can spend any crypto in their Blockchain.com Wallet without fees while earning 1% back in crypto on all purchases. Key Features: Works like a debit card – Pay from crypto or cash balances anywhere Visa […]

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Kraken, the popular crypto exchange, has announced the results of its second 2022 Proof of Reserves audit, which has now been expanded beyond *BTC, and ETH* to include USDT, USDC, XRP, ADA*, and DOT.  *Indicates Proof of Reserves audit covered assets held both on Kraken’s spot exchange and Kraken’s staking platform. The addition of five […]

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Blocknative, a web3 infrastructure company, today launched the Transaction Distribution Network (TDN). This tool allows blockchain users to respond to pre-chain risks and opportunities faster than ever, ensuring each transaction has the best chance of getting into the next block. The result is better, more predictable outcomes when submitting or replacing transactions. TDN works by […]

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FTX reboot is in the works, Multichain issues spark uncertainty and Sam Altman’s crypto project Worldcoin raises millions of dollars.

From time to time, rumors surface that Grand Theft Auto 6 will integrate cryptocurrency, fueling expectations that the franchise may make its way to Web3.

The move follows the acquisition of the regulated crypto exchange Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC) in November 2022.

Cheds shares the story of how he shifted his focus to crypto after being diagnosed with cancer.

This week’s Crypto Biz explores Hotbit’s closure, Hong Kong’s licensing of crypto firms, Bitstamp’s acquisition by Ripple and Ledger’s branding crisis.

The fashion industry is progressively employing NFTs in conjunction with virtual technology to enhance user experiences.

So far, a total of 1.7 million verified members of the Stargate community have voted in favor of the proposal.

Efforts are underway to recover compromised assets and enhance security measures as users express concerns on social media.

Bitcoin sentiment is overly bearish, some claim, with BTC price protecting a key moving average trend line.

Discover how to learn JavaScript effectively using ChatGPT, an AI-powered language model.

Popular metaverse properties, such as Otherdeeds, The Sandbox, Decentraland, Somnium and Voxels, have all depreciated in value over the past year.

Gemini said the SEC’s lawsuit against its “Earn” product — which offered yields to customers against their crypto deposits — was “ill-conceived.“

The DAI savings rate was increased to 1% in December 2022, leading to 35 million DAI being deposited in a month, according to MakerDAO.

JPMorgan’s ChatGPT rival, IndexGPT, will be used across various business units, including advertising, business consulting and different finance-focused software.

Despite hating on crypto for years, and calling NFTs worthless and easy to replicate two years ago, Peter Schiff is set to release an NFT art collection on Bitcoin.

On May 15, the chosen projects commenced the 12-week program after being granted seed funding of $30,000.

The executive appears to have now recovered his account.

The European Central Bank exercise looked at a variety of use cases, most of which were quite satisfactory, as well as the use of self-custodied wallets.

Diluted net loss per American depositary share in Q1 2023 stood at $0.51, down from $0.55 in the previous quarter.

The system uses “time-lock puzzles” to encrypt the contents of votes, making them unreadable until balloting has finished.

DeFi saw another multimillion-dollar rug pull this past week, and the Multichain saga continues to spiral out of control.

The Neuralink device is designed to be surgically implanted and, according to CEO Elon Musk, will eventually be marketed to the general public.

Cointelegraph analyst and writer Marcel Pechman explains why the cryptocurrency market has lost 60% of its market cap, with the S&P 500 only about 15% from its all-time high.

The highly accessible introductory text mentions all the concepts and names a curious reader would need, along with some assessments.

The recovery in the U.S. stock market seems to have acted as a catalyst for the relief rally in Bitcoin and select altcoins.

Twitter emailed researchers to let them know they’ll either have to delete their data or pay $42,000 to keep using the platform’s API.

Bitcoin decides that bad news is not bad enough as upside volatility accompanies proof that U.S. inflation remains sticky.

Memecoins have come a long way from the early days of being joke cryptocurrencies.

Your brand establishes a bond. Without that bond, your customer base will simply erode more easily.

Binance and its Thai partner Gulf Innova have secured digital asset operator licenses in Thailand to launch a new crypto exchange.

Litecoin (LTC) is still trending low like the rest of the cryptocurrency market but one thing that separates the altcoin from the others is its obvious bullish case. Unlike the rest of the market, Litecoin looks set for another rally which will likely be propelled forward by the next halving. Litecoin Halving Presents Bullish Scenario Just like Bitcoin, the Litecoin halving happens every four years and cuts block rewards by 50%. The aim of this halving is to reduce the amount of new supply flowing into the market. And as demand rises, there is less supply to meet this demand, thus leading to scarcity and a surge in prices. Related Reading: When Is A Token Coming For Coinbase’s Base L2? Here’s What The Roadmap Says The next Litecoin halving is now around the corner with only about three months left to go. This halving, like the ones before it, carries the same promise of a rally for the digital asset. The last halving in 2019 saw LTC’s price bottom out around $62 and then rally to a local peak of $80 in the same month. LTC halving will happen in August | Source: Nicehash If this year’s halving stays true to this trend, then the digital asset should be seeing some upside in the coming months. This could result in LTC clearing the $100 level once more as investors prep for the next leg-up. A 20% upside is attainable at this point, especially with the halving expected to happen in early August. So more than likely, the buyers will dominate the market for the next two months, leading to rising prices for Litecoin. LTC Outlook For 2023 Presently, the crypto market is seeing muted momentum as investors remain indecisive. For Litecoin, the upcoming halving remains a bullish event but the prospects for the months following the halving event do not look good given historical performances. Previous performance paint bull case for LTC | Source: LTCUSD on TradingView.com After each halving, LTC has seen a reversal in sentiment following the initial surge and the subsequent crashes have been more brutal than the uptrends. For example in 2019, LTC’s price crashed almost 50% in the month of September, one month after the halving was completed. This was because the bull market was yet to begin and the cryptocurrency fell back into lockstep with the rest of the market again. Related Reading: Elon Musk Reveals Reason Behind Dogecoin Investment, But Why Is DOGE Down? Going by this historical performance, it would seem the best time to take profits would be toward the end of August after the asset has rallied around 30%. The window of opportunity closes with the month of September which has historically been a bearish month for cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, LTC is trading at $87.11, up 3.22% in the last day. Follow Best Owie on Twitter for market insights, updates, and the occasional funny tweet… Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin’s (BTC) current sideways price action has left investors wondering what the future holds for the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The upcoming interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve (Fed) may pose the next big challenge for Bitcoin, according to the crypto market analysis firm Blofin Academy. Related Reading: Arbitrum (ARB) Fallout: 70% Price Drop, But These Charts Reveal Its True Value Is Bitcoin Ready For The Heat Of Interest Rate Hikes? The US economy has shown considerable resilience in recent months, prompting the Fed to consider raising interest rates to prevent inflation. However, this could be bad news for the crypto market, as higher interest rates tend to make traditional investments more attractive, potentially leading to a decrease in demand for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The correlation between interest rates and Bitcoin’s price action has been observed in the past. When interest rates rise, investors tend to move their money into traditional investment vehicles such as stocks and bonds, leading to a decrease in demand for cryptocurrencies. However, it’s worth noting that Bitcoin has often been viewed as a hedge against inflation, which means that it could still hold some appeal for investors during times of economic uncertainty.  The next scheduled Fed meeting is set to take place on June 14, 2023, where the central bank will likely discuss the possibility of raising interest rates in response to the current state of the US economy.  Macro Determinants Leave Crypto Traders Waiting Noelle Acheson, owner of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” newsletter, has cautioned against investors piling into the crypto market at this time. While the upside potential for Bitcoin remains significant, Acheson suggests that there is currently no compelling reason for investors to take on additional risk. According to Acheson, there are few macro determinants at the moment, such as debt limit negotiations and Fed rate policy, which are leaving investors waiting for more clarity before making any major investment decisions. As a result, there is a sense of caution in the market as traders wait to see how these macro factors will play out. Despite the lack of clarity, Acheson notes that there is not much reason for existing crypto holders to sell their holdings. This suggests that the current wait-and-see period is not necessarily a sign of bearish sentiment in the market, but rather a period of caution as investors await more information. Acheson also notes that there may be some downside movement in the near term, but the belief in a potential rally is not strong enough to warrant the possibility of missing out on any potential gains. As a result, there has been some buying and selling in the market, but not enough to significantly increase volatility despite low volumes and liquidity. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $26,700, reflecting a 1.2% increase over the last 24 hours. However, the 50-day Moving Average (MA) has placed the largest cryptocurrency in a narrow range between $26,200 and $26,800. This means that Bitcoin may struggle to surpass its current trading range in the near term, as the 50-day MA is currently situated at the upper end of this range on the 1-hour chart, making it a challenging level to breach. While Bitcoin has experienced some upside movements in recent weeks, the current trading range suggests that further gains may be limited until there is a significant shift in market sentiment or the emergence of a bullish catalyst. Related Reading: Why This Signal Means Uniswap’s Bear Run Is Almost Over Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com 

Politicians in the United States will likely strike a deal and raise the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for two more years. Amid this debate, the price of Bitcoin is firm but lower, tracking below the psychological $30,000 level as bulls recover after posting sharp losses mid-this week. The Debt Ceiling Debate There are reports that there will be more discretionary spending on the military and veterans with the reduction of other sectors. Moreover, there are unconfirmed reports that the Biden administration will likely not fund the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to boost collection, as laid out earlier. Instead, the immediate focus will be to hire more auditors and target wealthy citizens. Related Reading: Bitcoin Up After Fed Rate Reveal, Correlation With Stocks Over? There are concerns that the Treasury Department and the United States government will default on their obligation as soon as the first half of June 2023. Even though highly unlikely, as the Treasury Department has said it will liquidate $119 billion of debt on that day, the market is watching how discussions pan out. Bitcoin is firming up after losses on May 24. As a deal is reportedly struck and consensus reached, politicians would once again lift the debt ceiling, sending mixed signals to the economy. Unlike in previous years when top cryptocurrencies were decoupled from the mainstream economy, things have changed as Bitcoin’s prominence rises. Will Bitcoin Benefit? BTC prices will likely rally if there is an instance of default brought about by politicians disagreeing on the way forward. On the reverse side, a deal that addresses concerns brought by the negotiating parties could signal confidence in the economy despite more debt on the table. This averts a crisis and keeps operations running, removing uncertainty and stabilizing the economy. In that case, the USD could strengthen, possibly reversing gains by Bitcoin bulls in the last two trading days. Still, the crypto community remains bullish on Bitcoin considering macroeconomic events and next year’s halving. After months of steady interest rate hikes, the United States Federal Reserve could slow down rate increments in the next meeting in mid-June. Their action could support the commodities and securities markets. Related Reading: Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council Approves Blockchain Policy At the same time, the expected supply shock following the halving of Bitcoin miner rewards could make BTC scarcer, driving prices even higher. Miners are special nodes tasked with confirming transactions and decentralizing the network. If past price action can be used to predict future formations, BTC’s prospects look positive. Before the rally of 2020 to 2021, BTC prices bottomed up in 2018 and rose in 2019 before the halving event 2020. The same pattern may be repeated through to 2024 when Bitcoin halving occurs. Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView

Arbitrum (ARB) has been making waves in the crypto world as it recently became the 4th largest ecosystem in the market. Despite experiencing a sharp decline of 70% since its airdrop, Arbitrum’s native token has continued to gain attention from investors, currently trading around $1.158, down from $1.1808 on April 18th. Related Reading: Toncoin (TON) Continues Downward Trend As Bears Maintain Control Arbitrum Defies The Odds According to the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) researcher Deebs, Arbitrum has emerged as a major player in the crypto market, with its Total Value Locked (TVL) soaring to an impressive $2.3 billion. This puts it in 4th position by TVL, surpassing many of its competitors.  Additionally, since the launch of Arbitrum, the value of stablecoins has grown by over $500 million in just two months. At its peak, the network’s active user base reached over 600,000, surpassing Optimism (OP), a fast, stable, and scalable L2 blockchain built by Ethereum developers, and nearly overtaking the blockchain platform designed to host decentralized, scalable applications Solana (SOL).  Despite these impressive metrics, ARB’s price has experienced a significant drop of 70% since its airdrop and has had very little positive price action since. However, DeFi researcher Deebs believes that this dip in price may be a sign of a hidden gem in the crypto market. One of the main factors that make Arbitrum an attractive investment opportunity is its high TVL, user base, and liquidity. In fact, since its launch, Arbitrum has maintained the highest liquidity of all Layer 2 (L2) networks and is the third highest of all chains on DeFi Llama. Furthermore, while many other chains have a market capitalization to TVL ratio above 1, Arbitrum boasts one of the smallest ratios at 0.6. This means that the potential price upside for ARB is significantly higher than its competitors, making it an enticing investment opportunity for those looking for long-term gains. Additionally, ARB’s technology has been praised for its ability to address some of the key issues facing the crypto industry, such as scalability and high transaction fees. ARB’s use of cutting-edge technology such as Optimistic Rollups provides a solution to these problems, making it an attractive option for investors looking for a reliable network with great potential. Another positive sign for ARB is the amount of support it has received from major players in the crypto industry. This includes partnerships with well-known crypto projects such as Uniswap, Aave, and Chainlink. These collaborations demonstrate that the industry recognizes the value of ARB’s technology and the potential it holds for the future of decentralized finance. Related Reading: JPMorgan Predicts Bitcoin (BTC) To Revisit $45,000, Here’s Why Overall, despite the recent drop in price, ARB’s strong fundamentals and growing network usage suggest that it is a hidden gem in the crypto market. Its partnerships with major players in the industry, as well as its innovative technology, make it a promising investment opportunity for those looking to capitalize on the potential of decentralized finance. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com 

The price of Uniswap, the largest decentralized exchange by trading volume, is down roughly 35% from Q1 2023 peaks. Even so, on-chain data from Etherscan shows that there has been a steady increase in the number of UNI holders in the past two days. As of May 13, there were 369,646 UNI holders. Since then, the number has increased to over 370,100 as of May 26. During this time, UNI prices have remained stable but relatively high. Based on the UNIUSDT chart, the prices have found support around $4.9. However, prices have increased by approximately 10% over the past two weeks, rising to $5.4. Although the number of UNI holders may not directly affect the prices, there is a clear correlation between the demand for UNI and the increase in token prices. Related Reading: Toncoin (TON) Continues Downward Trend As Bears Maintain Control Several factors could have provided tailwinds for UNI, the governance token of Uniswap.  Apple Jail Break On May 23, Uniswap’s mobile wallet was released from what Uniswap Labs, the team maintaining Uniswap, said was “Apple jail.”  With this jailbreak, users can download the Uniswap Wallet, that’s non-custodial like MetaMask.  Through this wallet, users can buy and sell various supported cryptocurrencies.  This announcement is bullish because as more users opt for Uniswap Wallet, the demand for the decentralized exchange could rise, increasing its dominance and stature.  While MetaMask remains the most dominant Ethereum and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) wallet enabling the storing and trading of various tokens, even using processors like PayPal, the popularity of Uniswap could see Uniswap Wallet gnaw market share.  Presently, Uniswap Labs said their wallet could support the trading of tokens across Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, and Arbitrum. Uniswap To Launch On Base? Earlier on, the Uniswap contributors proposed the deployment of the DEX v3 on Coinbase’s Base.  Among supporters of this proposal is GFX Labs, one of the largest UNI holders and supporters of Uniswap’s expansion to other chains. Recently, GFX Labs voted for the launch of the DEX on BNB Smart Chain (BSC) and MoonBeam.  Even so, before voting starts, the proposal will undergo a “temperature check-up” to gauge community support. If there is majority support, it will proceed to the next step. Uniswap v3 is the latest iteration of the DEX, introducing the concept of concentrated liquidity for higher capital efficiency and more return on investment (ROI) for liquidity providers.  Base is a layer-2, open-source, and EVM-compatible platform by Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Related Reading: JPMorgan Predicts Bitcoin (BTC) To Revisit $45,000, Here’s Why It is unclear whether the above-spurred demand for UNI, pushed the number of holders higher in the last week.  However, this could suggest that the project is generating interest, which may support future token prices. Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView

Toncoin (TON) has experienced a negative price decline, resulting in a bearish sentiment among investors of the altcoin. TON has been exhibiting a bearish strength on a monthly timeframe, based on data from CoinMarketCap.  Within the last 30-Day trading session, the asset is down by 15,67%, indicating a high bearish strength with low buying pressure. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance As of the time of writing, the asset is experiencing a decline in value, as it’s down today by 2.76%. This downward trend has resulted in the asset, TON, reaching a low point of $1.91.  The decrease in value reflects a temporary setback in the market, indicating a decrease in investor confidence. It also detects a shift in the supply and demand dynamics surrounding the asset. Toncoin (TON) Bears Maintained Their Positions Toncoin (TON) witnessed a sharp price decline on May 23, from $2.03 to its present value of $1.89. This price decline represents a loss of 6.89%. This decline reflects the dominance of bearish sentiment in the market, which shows a lack of investor confidence and a shift in the supply and demand dynamics. According to the market sentiment indicator, the current market sentiment is bearish, while the Fear & Greed index value is a neutral 49. Notably, a Fear & Greed index value below 50 points to an increase in bearish momentum. Conversely, an important resistance level is noted at $2.080, representing a significant hurdle for potential upward movement.  Toncoin trades below the 50-day and 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). The SMAs formed a Death Cross in the TON market on May 21, 2023.  This confirms the bearish sentiment present in the market, indicating a potential sell signal and further price decline. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) momentum oscillator value is 40.98 and points downwards. RSI is a popular indicator showing whether a cryptocurrency is oversold or overbought.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level If TON RSI drops below 30, it may ignite high selling pressure and further price decline. TON Demand Index and Bollinger Bands Signals Bearish Activities The TON/USDT trading pair demand index is at -0.449, suggesting relatively weak demand for the asset in the market. Note that a demand index below zero is generally considered a lack of buying pressure. It also indicates that the selling pressure outweighs the buying interest. In addition, the asset is heading toward the lower part of the Bollinger Bands indicator. This suggests an increase in selling pressure and high bearish momentum. Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview.com

In a recent note, JPMorgan strategists have made a prediction, suggesting that Bitcoin (BTC) could soar and revisit its former trading price of $45,000 due to the rising price of gold. This prediction comes amid Bitcoin’s price action of a blend of bulls and bears in the past week. Meanwhile, over the past 24 hours, BTC has seen a 2.1% gain with a current trading price above $26,000. The current surge comes after Bitcoin previously fall that dropped its price below its previously ranging market price of $28,000. Bitcoin And Gold: A Correlation Bitcoin and gold have often been regarded as alternative investments by investors, and their prices have displayed a tendency to move in tandem. Given this, JPMorgan analysts note that the current gold price, hovering near $2,000 per ounce, implies a Bitcoin price of $45,000. This assumption is based on the idea that BTC will reach a similar standing as gold in the portfolios of private investors. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Struggles To Recover and Remains Vulnerable To Fresh Decline JP Morgan wrote in a note: With the gold price rising above $2,000, the value of gold held for investment purposes outside central banks is currently valued at around [$3 trillion]. In turn, this implies a $45,000 price for bitcoin under the assumption that bitcoin equalizes gold in private investors’ portfolios in risk capital or [volume]-adjusted terms. One key factor contributing to JPMorgan’s optimistic prediction is the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, scheduled to take place between April and May 2024. The halving mechanism reduces the rate at which new Bitcoins are produced, effectively doubling the production cost. The JPMorgan strategists believe this event will push Bitcoin’s production cost to approximately $40,000, acting as a lower bound and potentially driving the price upward. Drawing from historical data, JPMorgan highlights the bullish trajectory observed during previous halving events in 2016 and 2020. These events were accompanied by significant surges in Bitcoin prices, indicating the potential for a similar outcome following the next halving. As a result, JPMorgan sets an upper limit of $45,000 for BTC, indicating limited potential beyond the increase driven by the doubling of production costs. Reflecting On Ethereum (ETH) While Bitcoin takes the spotlight in JPMorgan’s prediction, the bank suggests that Ethereum (ETH) may face some selling pressure in the near term, extending beyond the Shanghai upgrade until mid-year. JPMorgan expects Ethereum to “somewhat underperform” BTC during this period. However, it’s essential to note that Ethereum’s performance is subject to a range of factors, including market dynamics and technological developments. Related Reading: The Best Decision Is To ‘Buy Bitcoin (BTC),’ Robert Kiyosaki Urges Meanwhile, regardless of JPMorgan’s prediction, BTC is currently in a bullish trend recording an uptick. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has seen more than a 2% gain, while the past seven days have seen a dip of 1.2%. At the time of writing, the top crypto currently trades at $26,823. Bitcoin’s trading volume has, however, ranged around $20 billion in the past 7 days, indicating a possible accumulation. Bitcoin currently has a trading volume of $13.1 billion in the past 24 hours. Featured image from Shutterstock, Chart from TradingView

A top SHIB whale added $1.18 million worth of Shiba Inu within 24 hours. Data from Etherscan.io reveals that this whale ranked as the nineteenth largest SHIB holder accumulating 140 Billion SHIB. The whale acquired the SHIB tokens in two separate transactions marking its second massive accumulation within 72 hours. SHIB Token Burns And Shibarium Launch Likely Behind Accumulation Shiba Inu network and users engaged in massive SHIB burn events in 2023. The burning mechanism aims to reduce excess tokens and boost SHIB’s price. However, no notable price increase has occurred since the token burn events.  Nevertheless, the top SHIB whales are accumulating the tokens ahead of the Shibarium launch and a possible price increase for the asset. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level BLAZE token has been identified as the largest SHIB burner in recent times on the ecosystem. Shiba Inu Team Member Projects Timeline For Shibarium Launch A member of Shiba Inu’s marketing team, LUCIE, shared her thoughts on the proposed mainnet launch of Shibarium in a Tweet.  Shibarium is a Layer-2 (L2) scaling solution created for the Shiba Inu ecosystem. Its launch date is highly speculative, with several dates proposed in the past. However, LUCIE stated that she guessed the launch date would be in Q3 of 2023, while Shiba Inu founder Shytoshi Kusama projects in July. The exact launch date remains a mystery and LUCIE believes the Shibarium Mainnet Launch will happen between the second and third quarters of 2023.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance Additionally, she believes that Shiba’s team remains confident about the launch, with multiple teams working on it and exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration. LUCIE emphasized that the testing process is crucial and security audits are necessary before its launch. She explained further, that if tests go wrong, the Shibarium mainnet release will delay. Shiba Inu Price Outlook Despite the recent announcements concerning Shibarium’s launch, SHIB did not record much price fluctuation. It traded at $0.000009967 on May 1, 2023, before moving to $0.00001002 on May 2. However, by May 4, its price dropped to $0.000009896, losing some of its earlier gains. SHIB dropped to $0.000008695 on May 11, showing price volatility. The bulls attempted to rally on May 23, pushing its price to $0.000008899. However, SHIB met resistance returning to $0.000008519 on May 24 and is trading at $0.000008479 at press time today, depicting a 0.16% increase in 24 hours.  Despite the price gain, SHIB’s trading volume is down by 8%, a possible signal of traders’ hesitation in the market. But the launch of the Shibarium mainnet in the ecosystem may be the price catalyst SHIB needs to reclaim its gains as it may boost SHIB usage. Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview.com

On-chain data suggests a majority of the Bitcoin exchange inflows are currently coming from investors holding their coins at a loss. Bitcoin Exchange Inflow Volume Is Tending Towards Losses Right Now According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, the short-term holders are mostly contributing to these loss inflows. The “exchange inflow” is an indicator that measures the total amount of Bitcoin that’s currently flowing into the wallets of centralized exchanges. Generally, investors deposit to these platforms whenever want to sell, so a large amount of inflows can be a sign that a selloff is going on in the BTC market right now. Low values of the metric, on the other hand, imply holders may not be participating in much selling at the moment, which can be bullish for the price. In the context of the current discussion, the exchange inflow itself isn’t of relevance; a related metric called the “exchange inflow volume profit/loss bias” is. As this indicator’s name already suggests, it tells us whether the inflows going to exchanges are coming from profit or loss holders currently. When this metric has a value greater than 1, it means the majority of the inflow volume contains coins that their holders had been carrying at a profit. Similarly, values under the threshold imply a dominance of the loss volume. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin exchange inflow profit/loss bias over the last few years: The value of the metric seems to have observed some decline in recent days | Source: Glassnode on Twitter As shown in the above graph, the Bitcoin exchange inflow volume profit/loss bias has had a value above 1 for most of the ongoing rallies that started back in January of this year. This suggests that most of the exchange inflows in this period have come from the profit holders. This naturally makes sense, as any rally generally entices a large number of holders to sell and harvest their gains. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance There have been a couple of exceptional instances, however. The first was back in March when the asset’s price plunged below the $20,000 level. The bias in the market shifted towards loss selling then, implying that some investors who bought around the local top had started capitulating. A similar pattern has also occurred recently, as the cryptocurrency’s price has stumbled below the $27,000 level. Following this plunge, the indicator’s value has come down to just 0.70. Further data from Glassnode reveals that the bias of the long-term holders (LTHs), the investors holding their coins since at least 155 days ago, have actually leaned towards profits recently. Looks like the indicator has a positive value right now | Source: Glassnode on Twitter From the chart, it’s visible that the indicator has a value of 1.73 for the LTHs, implying a strong bias toward profits. Naturally, if the LTHs haven’t been selling at a loss, the opposite cohort must be the short-term holders (STHs). This group seems to have a heavy loss bias currently | Source: Glassnode on Twitter Interestingly, the indicator’s value for the STHs is 0.69, which is almost exactly the same as the average for the entire market. This would mean that the LTHs have contributed relatively little to selling pressure recently. The STHs selling right now would be the ones that bought at and near the top of the rally so far and their capitulation may be a sign that these weak hands are currently being cleansed from the market. Although the indicator hasn’t dipped as low as in March yet, this capitulation could be a sign that a local bottom may be near for Bitcoin. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $26,400, down 1% in the last week. BTC has struggled recently | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, Glassnode.com

On-chain data from Santiment suggests that altcoins across the entire cryptocurrency sector may be underbought right now. MVRV Of The Various Altcoins Suggests Underpriced Conditions According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Santiment, cryptocurrency assets have become underbought as traders are now capitulating following a failed price rebound. The relevant indicator here is the “MVRV” (Market Value to Realized Value), which measures the ratio between the market cap and the realized cap of a given cryptocurrency. Here, the “realized cap” refers to a capitalization model for BTC where the value of any coin in the circulating supply is assumed to be not the current spot price, but the price at which it was last transacted on the blockchain. This model aims to calculate a sort of “fair value” for the asset. As the MVRV compares the market cap (that is, the current price) with the real value of the cryptocurrency, it can provide hints about whether the price is currently overinflated or not. Santiment has defined an “opportunity” zone and a “danger” zone for this indicator. As their names already imply, the asset in question becomes underpriced when the metric is in the former area, while it becomes overpriced in the latter one. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance Here is a chart that shows the trend in the divergence of the MVRV from these zones for the various altcoins in the sector: The value of the metric seems to be above zero for most of the market | Source: Santiment on Twitter Whenever the MVRV divergence has a value of 1 or more, the indicator is said to be inside the opportunity zone. Similarly, the danger area occurs below a value of -1. While these are the two extreme zones, the metric being firmly inside either the positive or the negative zone (but not hitting either of these thresholds), still signals slight underbought or overpriced conditions, respectively. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level This means that the chances of bullish rebounds can become greater whenever the indicator enters positive territory. From the chart, it’s visible that the vast majority of the coins in the digital asset sector are at least inside the positive territory at the moment. This would imply that these coins may have become underpriced recently. Some of the altcoins are also outright inside the opportunity zone, suggesting that they may be offering low-risk buying opportunities right now. There are a few cryptocurrencies, however, that are inside the negative zone, with a couple of them even being inside dangerous territory. Such alts have more chances of registering a decline in the near future. Recently, the various altcoins have attempted to amass together a rebound, but so far, they have only seen failure. However, now that the prices have started to become undervalued, perhaps a break may be found soon. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $26,400, down 1% in the last week. Looks like BTC has once again plunged below $27,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from Art Rachen on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, Santiment.net

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has updated her projection regarding the date the U.S. government could default on its debt obligations. She warned that the Treasury “will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5.” Yellen Warns US Could Default on June […]

Florida’s 46th Governor, Ron DeSantis, recently declared his candidacy for the U.S. presidency in 2024 and has since participated in several interviews. While conversing with Dana Loesch on The Dana Show, DeSantis criticized the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a “corrupt organization” and no ally to the typical American citizen. DeSantis Discusses Single-Rate Tax […]

Trading within a Russia-led regional organization has effectively moved away from the U.S. dollar, according to the deputy head of the Russian government. The use of national currencies in the bloc’s transactions has reached around 90%, the official pointed out. EAEU Replaces Dollar in Trade With National Currencies, Russian Official Says Trade between member states […]

China’s oldest credit rating agency, Chengxin International Credit Rating (CCXI), made headlines this week by downgrading the United States’ credit rating. The agency lowered the rating from AAAg to AAg+ and attributed this decision to the escalating political discord, rising inflation, and the ongoing impasse over the debt ceiling. U.S. Credit Rating Suffers Downgrade by […]

Economist and ardent gold advocate Peter Schiff caused a stir on Friday by announcing his participation in an upcoming art sale featuring non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These unique digital collectibles will be minted on the Bitcoin blockchain using Ordinal inscription technology. Schiff’s surprising entry into the NFT market through Bitcoin has piqued the curiosity of onlookers, […]

One of Saturday’s biggest movers is XRP, which rose to a 30-day high earlier in today’s session. The token rose for a third consecutive day, as bulls returned to the market to start the weekend. Cardano was another notable gainer today. XRP XRP (formerly ripple), moved to a one-month high on Saturday, as bulls began […]

Bitcoin moved closer to the $27,000 level on Saturday, as markets continued to react to the latest Personal Consumption data from the United States. The key inflation index rose to 4.4% in April, higher than expectations of a drop to 3.9%. Ethereum also edged higher. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) rallied towards $27,000 to start the weekend, […]

The government of Argentina is reportedly seeking to expand its de-dollarization agreement with China due to the lack of dollars that the country is facing. According to reports, Economy Minister Sergio Massa would be in talks to expand the current swap line to double the available amount from $5 to $10 billion, lent in Chinese […]

Three integration unions with Russian participation, BRICS, SCO, and the EAEU, should adopt joint policies on the use of digital currencies, according to a top representative of one of them. He also believes the international organizations should develop a new payment system with its own bank cards. BRICS, SCO, and EAEU May Launch Common Payment […]

A recent study by Dappradar discloses the May loan volumes for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) reached a high of $375 million. The findings emphasize the significant influence of Blur within the NFT lending market, as the NFT marketplace platform constitutes 82% of the entire value settled in the NFT lending sector. Blur Emerges as NFT Lending […]

Hot news: These changes have happened in the last hour.

In the last one hour Bitcoin is leading the record of among the most popular crypto-currency in the trading ecosystem, it has an decrease of -0.33% from its previous value from 6631.875 dollars now at 6609.990 dollars exchange rate. Next to Bitcoin is T..

The post Bitcoin $6609.990 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 09:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: The summaries of the last one hour are the followings:

Bitcoin is leading the rank on the most popular crypto-currency, it has an upsurge of 0.12% in its exchange rate, which means 6668.000 dollars from the 6660.008 dollars earlier. Tether is in the second position as Bitcoin leads the first spot. ..

The post Bitcoin $6668.000 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 08:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

In the last hour, Bitcoin is leading the cryptocurrency rank. A fall in the exchange rate was seen from 6663.014 dollars to 6640.360 dollars a -0.34% change. Next to Bitcoin is Tether in the second position..

The post Bitcoin $6640.360 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 07:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here you can read the new CryptoCurrency report of the last 60 Minutes.

Bitcoin is leading the rank in the last hour as the most popular crypto currency in the trade market, with a recorded fall on its value of about -0.12% in the last hour with a current standing rate of 6674.850 dollars from 6682..

The post Bitcoin $6674.850 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 06:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: There were a lot of happenings in the last 60 minutes on the Crypto stock exchanges.

Bitcoin is listed as the most popular cryptocurrency in the market. In the last sixty minutes, it had an downswing of -0.19% on its trading price. This means from 6699.038 dollars now at 6686.310 dollars. Tether is..

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Hot news: Now we show you the newest summary of 60 minutes.

Bitcoin is now leading the rank on the most popular digital currency in the trade market. It has an decrease of -0% in its exchange rate from 6704.570 dollars now at 6704.570 dollars. Bitcoin is seconded by Tether, in a 60 minutes time it has a drop..

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Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

Bitcoin was in the top position in the last hour, the exchange rate decreases from 6710.021 dollars to 6709.350. This is a -0.01% recorded change. Tether is at the second position next to Bitcoin, with a re..

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Hot news: These changes have happened in the last hour.

Bitcoin was in the top position in the last hour, the exchange rate increases from 6689.711 dollars to 6709.780. This is a 0.3% recorded change. Bitcoin is followed by Tether, with a -0.07% tumble on its trade value in the last one hour, equivalent to 0..

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Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

The number one cryptocurrency leader is Bitcoin, this data was fetched in the last hour. It has an decrease on its trade value to -0.2%, now at 6687.450 dollars from 6700.852. Tether is at the second positi..

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Hot news: These are the changes of the CryptoCurrency market in the last one hour.

Bitcoin is now leading the rank on the most popular digital currency in the trade market. It has an increase of 0.05% in its exchange rate from 6689.215 dollars now at 6692.560 dollars. Tether is next to the leading crypto Bit..

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RockX, an Asia-based institutional-grade staking services provider, announced today the broadening of its staking product suite with the addition of a new ether (ETH) native staking solution. This latest offering strengthens RockX’s position as a comprehensive provider of diverse staking needs, maneuvering quickly to the evolving crypto market landscape. Navigating the Ethereum ecosystem presents institutions with […]

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Hex Trust, a regulated institutional-grade crypto-asset custodian, today announced it has partnered with The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world to enable fully-licensed and highly-secure custody of assets such as LAND in The Sandbox’s metaverse. The partnership sees Hex Trust fully integrate LAND into its custody platform, Hex Safe, which supports cryptocurrencies, security tokens, and NFTs. […]

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CoinFlip, a bitcoin ATM and crypto services company, announced today a new offering with the launch of ‘Olliv,’ a self-custody-powered crypto platform. The Olliv platform provides a frictionless way to buy, sell, send, receive, and swap cryptocurrency securely stored on a self-custodial wallet, removing the uncertainty of unknown third-party custodians. By leveraging CoinFlip’s existing network […]

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Deribit, a popular cryptocurrency derivatives platform, has announced the launch of zero-fee spot trading, allowing clients to buy and sell crypto while simultaneously managing risk using other derivatives. Spot trading will start on April, 24th 2023 at 1 PM UTC with three pairs (BTC/USDC, ETH/USDC, and ETH/BTC), providing clients with a simple and free solution […]

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Japan-based banking giant Nomura, announced today that its digital assets subsidiary, Laser Digital, has made a strategic investment in Infinity, a non-custodial interest rate protocol built on Ethereum. Infinity’s wholesale exchange, the first of several planned infrastructures, provides inter-exchange clearing, fixed and floating rate markets, as well as enterprise-grade risk management utilizing hybrid on-chain/off-chain infrastructures […]

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Blocknative, a real-time Ethereum (ETH) infrastructure platform, has newly introduced features including transaction bundle send, cancellation, and replacement support for the Blocknative Builder. Searchers can now submit MEV bundles privately to the Blocknative Builder to be included on-chain. This market utility builds upon Blocknative’s reliable, real-time infrastructure that is systematically important to the Ethereum ecosystem. […]

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Eventus, a provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, announced today that cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Deribit has chosen the firm’s Validus platform to provide market abuse monitoring on the exchange. Headquartered in Panama City, Panama, Deribit is one of the largest cryptocurrency options exchanges by volume and open interest, with approximately 90% […]

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Gemini, the popular bitcoin & crypto exchange company, today announced the launch of electronic over-the-counter trading (eOTC), an automated crypto trading solution designed for institutions. The Gemini eOTC solution offers a variety of advantages to institutional traders including: Competitive Pricing & Execution: Liquidity is sourced from top-tier liquidity providers with deep liquidity pools, enabling counterparties […]

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GenTwo Digital, the crypto-asset securitization platform based out of Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland, today announced a partnership with Coinbase, the publicly-listed cryptocurrency platform. This new partnership for GenTwo Digital allows all Coinbase crypto assets to be wrapped in bankable financial investment products and enables financial intermediaries to issue certificates such AMCs (Actively Management Certificates). […]

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ThunderCore, a leading blockchain & web3 ecosystem announced today that they are making a new development push, partnering with new validators as the chain rolls out its new crypto staking model. The newest ThunderCore validators include the famous crypto-asset exchange Huobi and one of the earliest staking platforms in the space, MyCointainer. Users of both […]

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Pods, creators of a DeFi platform, announced today that earlier this year, the team raised $5.6M in seed funding to create structured products for crypto-assets. The financing featured investors such as IOSG, Tomahawk, Republic, Framework Ventures, and more. The first strategy on Pods Yield is stETHvv (Ethereum Volatility Vault). stETHvv is a low-risk product focused […]

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Deribit, the popular cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, announced today it has launched a new ‘Proof of Reserves‘ tool for clients using the trading platform. Now, clients are provided with the functionality to verify their assets to be included in Deribit’s overall reserves. How it Works Deribit provides all addresses for all on-chain assets and it delivers […]

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Tenderly, creators of a blockchain development platform, today announced that it is the first web3 development platform to offer simulations through RPC on its Tenderly Web3 Gateway, the company’s production node as a service. Note, Tenderly already processes more than 50 million simulations per month through its Transaction Simulator. Now, the company is introducing the […]

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DFINITY Foundation, the not-for-profit organization contributing to the development of the Internet Computer (IC) — a high-speed, internet-scale public blockchain — has announced today the Internet Computer’s mainnet integration with Bitcoin, bringing smart contract functionality to the cryptocurrency. Now, the Internet Computer can serve as a layer-2 for Bitcoin where smart contracts on the Internet […]

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Coinbase, the popular bitcoin & crypto exchange company, announced today it will be rolling out ‘Easy Bank Transfers’ for UK users. The new feature delivers an easy way to add funds to Coinbase accounts. Through a partnership with TrueLayer, one of Europe’s leading open banking platforms, Coinbase is able to support Easy Bank Transfers, which […]

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Biconomy, a web3 development platform & toolkit that superpowers blockchain technology stacks, today announced it has launched a software development kit (SDK) to transform the way developers build easy-to-use decentralized applications (dApps). Since 2019, Biconomy has been engaged with the web3 infrastructure space by building easy-to-integrate, plug-and-play APIs for developers to scale their projects. The […]

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Trust Wallet, a self-custodial and multi-chain cryptocurrency wallet application, has announced the launch of its brand-new browser extension wallet. Supporting all EVM chains, as well as Solana, it is available now on browsers including Chrome, Brave, and Opera. The browser extension complements Trust Wallet’s mobile wallet, which is the world’s leading mobile crypto wallet with […]

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BlockFills, a company specializing in building trading and management solutions for cryptocurrency market participants, today announced the launch of Vision Crypto Cloud, a secure, full-service, end-to-end digital asset trading, order management, and risk management platform. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform enables institutions to quickly access the crypto ecosystem out of the box, without the multi-year timeline […]

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Hash Blockchain Limited (HBL), a member of the HashKey Group (HashKey), a blockchain asset financial services group in Asia, announced today it has received approval from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) to operate a virtual asset trading platform, under a Type 1 (dealing in securities) license and a Type 7 (automated […]

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Pundi X, a blockchain payments startup, recently announced that its “On-chain payment” function within its XPOS crypto point-of-sale platform is now known as “Cashier Pro” and available for all merchants. Cashier Pro enables merchants to accept crypto payments from 3rd party blockchain wallet users across multiple blockchain networks, including Bitcoin Lightning Network, BNB Chain, Ethereum, and […]

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BetDEX Labs, the company behind BetDEX, a new sports betting exchange for peer-to-peer wagering, this week announced that the BetDEX Exchange will officially launch on the Solana mainnet on Thursday, November 17th, which coincides with the beginning of the 2022 World Cup. Just recently, BetDEX became one of the first licensed sports betting exchanges built […]

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OKX, one of the largest crypto exchanges by volume and a leading web3 platform, today announced its registration as a Digital Asset Business in The Bahamas under the newly adopted Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (DARE) Act. The company has also formed a new subsidiary, OKX Bahamas, for which it appointed Dr. Jillian Bethel, a […]

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Today, crypto services company Blockchain.com, announced the launch of its new Visa debit card. With the Blockchain.com Visa card, users can spend any crypto in their Blockchain.com Wallet without fees while earning 1% back in crypto on all purchases. Key Features: Works like a debit card – Pay from crypto or cash balances anywhere Visa […]

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Kraken, the popular crypto exchange, has announced the results of its second 2022 Proof of Reserves audit, which has now been expanded beyond *BTC, and ETH* to include USDT, USDC, XRP, ADA*, and DOT.  *Indicates Proof of Reserves audit covered assets held both on Kraken’s spot exchange and Kraken’s staking platform. The addition of five […]

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Blocknative, a web3 infrastructure company, today launched the Transaction Distribution Network (TDN). This tool allows blockchain users to respond to pre-chain risks and opportunities faster than ever, ensuring each transaction has the best chance of getting into the next block. The result is better, more predictable outcomes when submitting or replacing transactions. TDN works by […]

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FTX reboot is in the works, Multichain issues spark uncertainty and Sam Altman’s crypto project Worldcoin raises millions of dollars.

From time to time, rumors surface that Grand Theft Auto 6 will integrate cryptocurrency, fueling expectations that the franchise may make its way to Web3.

The move follows the acquisition of the regulated crypto exchange Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC) in November 2022.

Cheds shares the story of how he shifted his focus to crypto after being diagnosed with cancer.

This week’s Crypto Biz explores Hotbit’s closure, Hong Kong’s licensing of crypto firms, Bitstamp’s acquisition by Ripple and Ledger’s branding crisis.

The fashion industry is progressively employing NFTs in conjunction with virtual technology to enhance user experiences.

So far, a total of 1.7 million verified members of the Stargate community have voted in favor of the proposal.

Efforts are underway to recover compromised assets and enhance security measures as users express concerns on social media.

Bitcoin sentiment is overly bearish, some claim, with BTC price protecting a key moving average trend line.

Discover how to learn JavaScript effectively using ChatGPT, an AI-powered language model.

Popular metaverse properties, such as Otherdeeds, The Sandbox, Decentraland, Somnium and Voxels, have all depreciated in value over the past year.

Gemini said the SEC’s lawsuit against its “Earn” product — which offered yields to customers against their crypto deposits — was “ill-conceived.“

The DAI savings rate was increased to 1% in December 2022, leading to 35 million DAI being deposited in a month, according to MakerDAO.

JPMorgan’s ChatGPT rival, IndexGPT, will be used across various business units, including advertising, business consulting and different finance-focused software.

Despite hating on crypto for years, and calling NFTs worthless and easy to replicate two years ago, Peter Schiff is set to release an NFT art collection on Bitcoin.

On May 15, the chosen projects commenced the 12-week program after being granted seed funding of $30,000.

The executive appears to have now recovered his account.

The European Central Bank exercise looked at a variety of use cases, most of which were quite satisfactory, as well as the use of self-custodied wallets.

Diluted net loss per American depositary share in Q1 2023 stood at $0.51, down from $0.55 in the previous quarter.

The system uses “time-lock puzzles” to encrypt the contents of votes, making them unreadable until balloting has finished.

DeFi saw another multimillion-dollar rug pull this past week, and the Multichain saga continues to spiral out of control.

The Neuralink device is designed to be surgically implanted and, according to CEO Elon Musk, will eventually be marketed to the general public.

Cointelegraph analyst and writer Marcel Pechman explains why the cryptocurrency market has lost 60% of its market cap, with the S&P 500 only about 15% from its all-time high.

The highly accessible introductory text mentions all the concepts and names a curious reader would need, along with some assessments.

The recovery in the U.S. stock market seems to have acted as a catalyst for the relief rally in Bitcoin and select altcoins.

Twitter emailed researchers to let them know they’ll either have to delete their data or pay $42,000 to keep using the platform’s API.

Bitcoin decides that bad news is not bad enough as upside volatility accompanies proof that U.S. inflation remains sticky.

Memecoins have come a long way from the early days of being joke cryptocurrencies.

Your brand establishes a bond. Without that bond, your customer base will simply erode more easily.

Binance and its Thai partner Gulf Innova have secured digital asset operator licenses in Thailand to launch a new crypto exchange.

Litecoin (LTC) is still trending low like the rest of the cryptocurrency market but one thing that separates the altcoin from the others is its obvious bullish case. Unlike the rest of the market, Litecoin looks set for another rally which will likely be propelled forward by the next halving. Litecoin Halving Presents Bullish Scenario Just like Bitcoin, the Litecoin halving happens every four years and cuts block rewards by 50%. The aim of this halving is to reduce the amount of new supply flowing into the market. And as demand rises, there is less supply to meet this demand, thus leading to scarcity and a surge in prices. Related Reading: When Is A Token Coming For Coinbase’s Base L2? Here’s What The Roadmap Says The next Litecoin halving is now around the corner with only about three months left to go. This halving, like the ones before it, carries the same promise of a rally for the digital asset. The last halving in 2019 saw LTC’s price bottom out around $62 and then rally to a local peak of $80 in the same month. LTC halving will happen in August | Source: Nicehash If this year’s halving stays true to this trend, then the digital asset should be seeing some upside in the coming months. This could result in LTC clearing the $100 level once more as investors prep for the next leg-up. A 20% upside is attainable at this point, especially with the halving expected to happen in early August. So more than likely, the buyers will dominate the market for the next two months, leading to rising prices for Litecoin. LTC Outlook For 2023 Presently, the crypto market is seeing muted momentum as investors remain indecisive. For Litecoin, the upcoming halving remains a bullish event but the prospects for the months following the halving event do not look good given historical performances. Previous performance paint bull case for LTC | Source: LTCUSD on TradingView.com After each halving, LTC has seen a reversal in sentiment following the initial surge and the subsequent crashes have been more brutal than the uptrends. For example in 2019, LTC’s price crashed almost 50% in the month of September, one month after the halving was completed. This was because the bull market was yet to begin and the cryptocurrency fell back into lockstep with the rest of the market again. Related Reading: Elon Musk Reveals Reason Behind Dogecoin Investment, But Why Is DOGE Down? Going by this historical performance, it would seem the best time to take profits would be toward the end of August after the asset has rallied around 30%. The window of opportunity closes with the month of September which has historically been a bearish month for cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, LTC is trading at $87.11, up 3.22% in the last day. Follow Best Owie on Twitter for market insights, updates, and the occasional funny tweet… Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin’s (BTC) current sideways price action has left investors wondering what the future holds for the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The upcoming interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve (Fed) may pose the next big challenge for Bitcoin, according to the crypto market analysis firm Blofin Academy. Related Reading: Arbitrum (ARB) Fallout: 70% Price Drop, But These Charts Reveal Its True Value Is Bitcoin Ready For The Heat Of Interest Rate Hikes? The US economy has shown considerable resilience in recent months, prompting the Fed to consider raising interest rates to prevent inflation. However, this could be bad news for the crypto market, as higher interest rates tend to make traditional investments more attractive, potentially leading to a decrease in demand for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The correlation between interest rates and Bitcoin’s price action has been observed in the past. When interest rates rise, investors tend to move their money into traditional investment vehicles such as stocks and bonds, leading to a decrease in demand for cryptocurrencies. However, it’s worth noting that Bitcoin has often been viewed as a hedge against inflation, which means that it could still hold some appeal for investors during times of economic uncertainty.  The next scheduled Fed meeting is set to take place on June 14, 2023, where the central bank will likely discuss the possibility of raising interest rates in response to the current state of the US economy.  Macro Determinants Leave Crypto Traders Waiting Noelle Acheson, owner of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” newsletter, has cautioned against investors piling into the crypto market at this time. While the upside potential for Bitcoin remains significant, Acheson suggests that there is currently no compelling reason for investors to take on additional risk. According to Acheson, there are few macro determinants at the moment, such as debt limit negotiations and Fed rate policy, which are leaving investors waiting for more clarity before making any major investment decisions. As a result, there is a sense of caution in the market as traders wait to see how these macro factors will play out. Despite the lack of clarity, Acheson notes that there is not much reason for existing crypto holders to sell their holdings. This suggests that the current wait-and-see period is not necessarily a sign of bearish sentiment in the market, but rather a period of caution as investors await more information. Acheson also notes that there may be some downside movement in the near term, but the belief in a potential rally is not strong enough to warrant the possibility of missing out on any potential gains. As a result, there has been some buying and selling in the market, but not enough to significantly increase volatility despite low volumes and liquidity. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $26,700, reflecting a 1.2% increase over the last 24 hours. However, the 50-day Moving Average (MA) has placed the largest cryptocurrency in a narrow range between $26,200 and $26,800. This means that Bitcoin may struggle to surpass its current trading range in the near term, as the 50-day MA is currently situated at the upper end of this range on the 1-hour chart, making it a challenging level to breach. While Bitcoin has experienced some upside movements in recent weeks, the current trading range suggests that further gains may be limited until there is a significant shift in market sentiment or the emergence of a bullish catalyst. Related Reading: Why This Signal Means Uniswap’s Bear Run Is Almost Over Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com 

Politicians in the United States will likely strike a deal and raise the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for two more years. Amid this debate, the price of Bitcoin is firm but lower, tracking below the psychological $30,000 level as bulls recover after posting sharp losses mid-this week. The Debt Ceiling Debate There are reports that there will be more discretionary spending on the military and veterans with the reduction of other sectors. Moreover, there are unconfirmed reports that the Biden administration will likely not fund the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to boost collection, as laid out earlier. Instead, the immediate focus will be to hire more auditors and target wealthy citizens. Related Reading: Bitcoin Up After Fed Rate Reveal, Correlation With Stocks Over? There are concerns that the Treasury Department and the United States government will default on their obligation as soon as the first half of June 2023. Even though highly unlikely, as the Treasury Department has said it will liquidate $119 billion of debt on that day, the market is watching how discussions pan out. Bitcoin is firming up after losses on May 24. As a deal is reportedly struck and consensus reached, politicians would once again lift the debt ceiling, sending mixed signals to the economy. Unlike in previous years when top cryptocurrencies were decoupled from the mainstream economy, things have changed as Bitcoin’s prominence rises. Will Bitcoin Benefit? BTC prices will likely rally if there is an instance of default brought about by politicians disagreeing on the way forward. On the reverse side, a deal that addresses concerns brought by the negotiating parties could signal confidence in the economy despite more debt on the table. This averts a crisis and keeps operations running, removing uncertainty and stabilizing the economy. In that case, the USD could strengthen, possibly reversing gains by Bitcoin bulls in the last two trading days. Still, the crypto community remains bullish on Bitcoin considering macroeconomic events and next year’s halving. After months of steady interest rate hikes, the United States Federal Reserve could slow down rate increments in the next meeting in mid-June. Their action could support the commodities and securities markets. Related Reading: Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council Approves Blockchain Policy At the same time, the expected supply shock following the halving of Bitcoin miner rewards could make BTC scarcer, driving prices even higher. Miners are special nodes tasked with confirming transactions and decentralizing the network. If past price action can be used to predict future formations, BTC’s prospects look positive. Before the rally of 2020 to 2021, BTC prices bottomed up in 2018 and rose in 2019 before the halving event 2020. The same pattern may be repeated through to 2024 when Bitcoin halving occurs. Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView

Arbitrum (ARB) has been making waves in the crypto world as it recently became the 4th largest ecosystem in the market. Despite experiencing a sharp decline of 70% since its airdrop, Arbitrum’s native token has continued to gain attention from investors, currently trading around $1.158, down from $1.1808 on April 18th. Related Reading: Toncoin (TON) Continues Downward Trend As Bears Maintain Control Arbitrum Defies The Odds According to the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) researcher Deebs, Arbitrum has emerged as a major player in the crypto market, with its Total Value Locked (TVL) soaring to an impressive $2.3 billion. This puts it in 4th position by TVL, surpassing many of its competitors.  Additionally, since the launch of Arbitrum, the value of stablecoins has grown by over $500 million in just two months. At its peak, the network’s active user base reached over 600,000, surpassing Optimism (OP), a fast, stable, and scalable L2 blockchain built by Ethereum developers, and nearly overtaking the blockchain platform designed to host decentralized, scalable applications Solana (SOL).  Despite these impressive metrics, ARB’s price has experienced a significant drop of 70% since its airdrop and has had very little positive price action since. However, DeFi researcher Deebs believes that this dip in price may be a sign of a hidden gem in the crypto market. One of the main factors that make Arbitrum an attractive investment opportunity is its high TVL, user base, and liquidity. In fact, since its launch, Arbitrum has maintained the highest liquidity of all Layer 2 (L2) networks and is the third highest of all chains on DeFi Llama. Furthermore, while many other chains have a market capitalization to TVL ratio above 1, Arbitrum boasts one of the smallest ratios at 0.6. This means that the potential price upside for ARB is significantly higher than its competitors, making it an enticing investment opportunity for those looking for long-term gains. Additionally, ARB’s technology has been praised for its ability to address some of the key issues facing the crypto industry, such as scalability and high transaction fees. ARB’s use of cutting-edge technology such as Optimistic Rollups provides a solution to these problems, making it an attractive option for investors looking for a reliable network with great potential. Another positive sign for ARB is the amount of support it has received from major players in the crypto industry. This includes partnerships with well-known crypto projects such as Uniswap, Aave, and Chainlink. These collaborations demonstrate that the industry recognizes the value of ARB’s technology and the potential it holds for the future of decentralized finance. Related Reading: JPMorgan Predicts Bitcoin (BTC) To Revisit $45,000, Here’s Why Overall, despite the recent drop in price, ARB’s strong fundamentals and growing network usage suggest that it is a hidden gem in the crypto market. Its partnerships with major players in the industry, as well as its innovative technology, make it a promising investment opportunity for those looking to capitalize on the potential of decentralized finance. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com 

The price of Uniswap, the largest decentralized exchange by trading volume, is down roughly 35% from Q1 2023 peaks. Even so, on-chain data from Etherscan shows that there has been a steady increase in the number of UNI holders in the past two days. As of May 13, there were 369,646 UNI holders. Since then, the number has increased to over 370,100 as of May 26. During this time, UNI prices have remained stable but relatively high. Based on the UNIUSDT chart, the prices have found support around $4.9. However, prices have increased by approximately 10% over the past two weeks, rising to $5.4. Although the number of UNI holders may not directly affect the prices, there is a clear correlation between the demand for UNI and the increase in token prices. Related Reading: Toncoin (TON) Continues Downward Trend As Bears Maintain Control Several factors could have provided tailwinds for UNI, the governance token of Uniswap.  Apple Jail Break On May 23, Uniswap’s mobile wallet was released from what Uniswap Labs, the team maintaining Uniswap, said was “Apple jail.”  With this jailbreak, users can download the Uniswap Wallet, that’s non-custodial like MetaMask.  Through this wallet, users can buy and sell various supported cryptocurrencies.  This announcement is bullish because as more users opt for Uniswap Wallet, the demand for the decentralized exchange could rise, increasing its dominance and stature.  While MetaMask remains the most dominant Ethereum and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) wallet enabling the storing and trading of various tokens, even using processors like PayPal, the popularity of Uniswap could see Uniswap Wallet gnaw market share.  Presently, Uniswap Labs said their wallet could support the trading of tokens across Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, and Arbitrum. Uniswap To Launch On Base? Earlier on, the Uniswap contributors proposed the deployment of the DEX v3 on Coinbase’s Base.  Among supporters of this proposal is GFX Labs, one of the largest UNI holders and supporters of Uniswap’s expansion to other chains. Recently, GFX Labs voted for the launch of the DEX on BNB Smart Chain (BSC) and MoonBeam.  Even so, before voting starts, the proposal will undergo a “temperature check-up” to gauge community support. If there is majority support, it will proceed to the next step. Uniswap v3 is the latest iteration of the DEX, introducing the concept of concentrated liquidity for higher capital efficiency and more return on investment (ROI) for liquidity providers.  Base is a layer-2, open-source, and EVM-compatible platform by Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Related Reading: JPMorgan Predicts Bitcoin (BTC) To Revisit $45,000, Here’s Why It is unclear whether the above-spurred demand for UNI, pushed the number of holders higher in the last week.  However, this could suggest that the project is generating interest, which may support future token prices. Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView

Toncoin (TON) has experienced a negative price decline, resulting in a bearish sentiment among investors of the altcoin. TON has been exhibiting a bearish strength on a monthly timeframe, based on data from CoinMarketCap.  Within the last 30-Day trading session, the asset is down by 15,67%, indicating a high bearish strength with low buying pressure. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance As of the time of writing, the asset is experiencing a decline in value, as it’s down today by 2.76%. This downward trend has resulted in the asset, TON, reaching a low point of $1.91.  The decrease in value reflects a temporary setback in the market, indicating a decrease in investor confidence. It also detects a shift in the supply and demand dynamics surrounding the asset. Toncoin (TON) Bears Maintained Their Positions Toncoin (TON) witnessed a sharp price decline on May 23, from $2.03 to its present value of $1.89. This price decline represents a loss of 6.89%. This decline reflects the dominance of bearish sentiment in the market, which shows a lack of investor confidence and a shift in the supply and demand dynamics. According to the market sentiment indicator, the current market sentiment is bearish, while the Fear & Greed index value is a neutral 49. Notably, a Fear & Greed index value below 50 points to an increase in bearish momentum. Conversely, an important resistance level is noted at $2.080, representing a significant hurdle for potential upward movement.  Toncoin trades below the 50-day and 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). The SMAs formed a Death Cross in the TON market on May 21, 2023.  This confirms the bearish sentiment present in the market, indicating a potential sell signal and further price decline. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) momentum oscillator value is 40.98 and points downwards. RSI is a popular indicator showing whether a cryptocurrency is oversold or overbought.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level If TON RSI drops below 30, it may ignite high selling pressure and further price decline. TON Demand Index and Bollinger Bands Signals Bearish Activities The TON/USDT trading pair demand index is at -0.449, suggesting relatively weak demand for the asset in the market. Note that a demand index below zero is generally considered a lack of buying pressure. It also indicates that the selling pressure outweighs the buying interest. In addition, the asset is heading toward the lower part of the Bollinger Bands indicator. This suggests an increase in selling pressure and high bearish momentum. Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview.com

In a recent note, JPMorgan strategists have made a prediction, suggesting that Bitcoin (BTC) could soar and revisit its former trading price of $45,000 due to the rising price of gold. This prediction comes amid Bitcoin’s price action of a blend of bulls and bears in the past week. Meanwhile, over the past 24 hours, BTC has seen a 2.1% gain with a current trading price above $26,000. The current surge comes after Bitcoin previously fall that dropped its price below its previously ranging market price of $28,000. Bitcoin And Gold: A Correlation Bitcoin and gold have often been regarded as alternative investments by investors, and their prices have displayed a tendency to move in tandem. Given this, JPMorgan analysts note that the current gold price, hovering near $2,000 per ounce, implies a Bitcoin price of $45,000. This assumption is based on the idea that BTC will reach a similar standing as gold in the portfolios of private investors. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Struggles To Recover and Remains Vulnerable To Fresh Decline JP Morgan wrote in a note: With the gold price rising above $2,000, the value of gold held for investment purposes outside central banks is currently valued at around [$3 trillion]. In turn, this implies a $45,000 price for bitcoin under the assumption that bitcoin equalizes gold in private investors’ portfolios in risk capital or [volume]-adjusted terms. One key factor contributing to JPMorgan’s optimistic prediction is the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, scheduled to take place between April and May 2024. The halving mechanism reduces the rate at which new Bitcoins are produced, effectively doubling the production cost. The JPMorgan strategists believe this event will push Bitcoin’s production cost to approximately $40,000, acting as a lower bound and potentially driving the price upward. Drawing from historical data, JPMorgan highlights the bullish trajectory observed during previous halving events in 2016 and 2020. These events were accompanied by significant surges in Bitcoin prices, indicating the potential for a similar outcome following the next halving. As a result, JPMorgan sets an upper limit of $45,000 for BTC, indicating limited potential beyond the increase driven by the doubling of production costs. Reflecting On Ethereum (ETH) While Bitcoin takes the spotlight in JPMorgan’s prediction, the bank suggests that Ethereum (ETH) may face some selling pressure in the near term, extending beyond the Shanghai upgrade until mid-year. JPMorgan expects Ethereum to “somewhat underperform” BTC during this period. However, it’s essential to note that Ethereum’s performance is subject to a range of factors, including market dynamics and technological developments. Related Reading: The Best Decision Is To ‘Buy Bitcoin (BTC),’ Robert Kiyosaki Urges Meanwhile, regardless of JPMorgan’s prediction, BTC is currently in a bullish trend recording an uptick. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has seen more than a 2% gain, while the past seven days have seen a dip of 1.2%. At the time of writing, the top crypto currently trades at $26,823. Bitcoin’s trading volume has, however, ranged around $20 billion in the past 7 days, indicating a possible accumulation. Bitcoin currently has a trading volume of $13.1 billion in the past 24 hours. Featured image from Shutterstock, Chart from TradingView

A top SHIB whale added $1.18 million worth of Shiba Inu within 24 hours. Data from Etherscan.io reveals that this whale ranked as the nineteenth largest SHIB holder accumulating 140 Billion SHIB. The whale acquired the SHIB tokens in two separate transactions marking its second massive accumulation within 72 hours. SHIB Token Burns And Shibarium Launch Likely Behind Accumulation Shiba Inu network and users engaged in massive SHIB burn events in 2023. The burning mechanism aims to reduce excess tokens and boost SHIB’s price. However, no notable price increase has occurred since the token burn events.  Nevertheless, the top SHIB whales are accumulating the tokens ahead of the Shibarium launch and a possible price increase for the asset. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level BLAZE token has been identified as the largest SHIB burner in recent times on the ecosystem. Shiba Inu Team Member Projects Timeline For Shibarium Launch A member of Shiba Inu’s marketing team, LUCIE, shared her thoughts on the proposed mainnet launch of Shibarium in a Tweet.  Shibarium is a Layer-2 (L2) scaling solution created for the Shiba Inu ecosystem. Its launch date is highly speculative, with several dates proposed in the past. However, LUCIE stated that she guessed the launch date would be in Q3 of 2023, while Shiba Inu founder Shytoshi Kusama projects in July. The exact launch date remains a mystery and LUCIE believes the Shibarium Mainnet Launch will happen between the second and third quarters of 2023.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance Additionally, she believes that Shiba’s team remains confident about the launch, with multiple teams working on it and exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration. LUCIE emphasized that the testing process is crucial and security audits are necessary before its launch. She explained further, that if tests go wrong, the Shibarium mainnet release will delay. Shiba Inu Price Outlook Despite the recent announcements concerning Shibarium’s launch, SHIB did not record much price fluctuation. It traded at $0.000009967 on May 1, 2023, before moving to $0.00001002 on May 2. However, by May 4, its price dropped to $0.000009896, losing some of its earlier gains. SHIB dropped to $0.000008695 on May 11, showing price volatility. The bulls attempted to rally on May 23, pushing its price to $0.000008899. However, SHIB met resistance returning to $0.000008519 on May 24 and is trading at $0.000008479 at press time today, depicting a 0.16% increase in 24 hours.  Despite the price gain, SHIB’s trading volume is down by 8%, a possible signal of traders’ hesitation in the market. But the launch of the Shibarium mainnet in the ecosystem may be the price catalyst SHIB needs to reclaim its gains as it may boost SHIB usage. Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview.com

On-chain data suggests a majority of the Bitcoin exchange inflows are currently coming from investors holding their coins at a loss. Bitcoin Exchange Inflow Volume Is Tending Towards Losses Right Now According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, the short-term holders are mostly contributing to these loss inflows. The “exchange inflow” is an indicator that measures the total amount of Bitcoin that’s currently flowing into the wallets of centralized exchanges. Generally, investors deposit to these platforms whenever want to sell, so a large amount of inflows can be a sign that a selloff is going on in the BTC market right now. Low values of the metric, on the other hand, imply holders may not be participating in much selling at the moment, which can be bullish for the price. In the context of the current discussion, the exchange inflow itself isn’t of relevance; a related metric called the “exchange inflow volume profit/loss bias” is. As this indicator’s name already suggests, it tells us whether the inflows going to exchanges are coming from profit or loss holders currently. When this metric has a value greater than 1, it means the majority of the inflow volume contains coins that their holders had been carrying at a profit. Similarly, values under the threshold imply a dominance of the loss volume. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin exchange inflow profit/loss bias over the last few years: The value of the metric seems to have observed some decline in recent days | Source: Glassnode on Twitter As shown in the above graph, the Bitcoin exchange inflow volume profit/loss bias has had a value above 1 for most of the ongoing rallies that started back in January of this year. This suggests that most of the exchange inflows in this period have come from the profit holders. This naturally makes sense, as any rally generally entices a large number of holders to sell and harvest their gains. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance There have been a couple of exceptional instances, however. The first was back in March when the asset’s price plunged below the $20,000 level. The bias in the market shifted towards loss selling then, implying that some investors who bought around the local top had started capitulating. A similar pattern has also occurred recently, as the cryptocurrency’s price has stumbled below the $27,000 level. Following this plunge, the indicator’s value has come down to just 0.70. Further data from Glassnode reveals that the bias of the long-term holders (LTHs), the investors holding their coins since at least 155 days ago, have actually leaned towards profits recently. Looks like the indicator has a positive value right now | Source: Glassnode on Twitter From the chart, it’s visible that the indicator has a value of 1.73 for the LTHs, implying a strong bias toward profits. Naturally, if the LTHs haven’t been selling at a loss, the opposite cohort must be the short-term holders (STHs). This group seems to have a heavy loss bias currently | Source: Glassnode on Twitter Interestingly, the indicator’s value for the STHs is 0.69, which is almost exactly the same as the average for the entire market. This would mean that the LTHs have contributed relatively little to selling pressure recently. The STHs selling right now would be the ones that bought at and near the top of the rally so far and their capitulation may be a sign that these weak hands are currently being cleansed from the market. Although the indicator hasn’t dipped as low as in March yet, this capitulation could be a sign that a local bottom may be near for Bitcoin. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $26,400, down 1% in the last week. BTC has struggled recently | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, Glassnode.com

On-chain data from Santiment suggests that altcoins across the entire cryptocurrency sector may be underbought right now. MVRV Of The Various Altcoins Suggests Underpriced Conditions According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Santiment, cryptocurrency assets have become underbought as traders are now capitulating following a failed price rebound. The relevant indicator here is the “MVRV” (Market Value to Realized Value), which measures the ratio between the market cap and the realized cap of a given cryptocurrency. Here, the “realized cap” refers to a capitalization model for BTC where the value of any coin in the circulating supply is assumed to be not the current spot price, but the price at which it was last transacted on the blockchain. This model aims to calculate a sort of “fair value” for the asset. As the MVRV compares the market cap (that is, the current price) with the real value of the cryptocurrency, it can provide hints about whether the price is currently overinflated or not. Santiment has defined an “opportunity” zone and a “danger” zone for this indicator. As their names already imply, the asset in question becomes underpriced when the metric is in the former area, while it becomes overpriced in the latter one. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance Here is a chart that shows the trend in the divergence of the MVRV from these zones for the various altcoins in the sector: The value of the metric seems to be above zero for most of the market | Source: Santiment on Twitter Whenever the MVRV divergence has a value of 1 or more, the indicator is said to be inside the opportunity zone. Similarly, the danger area occurs below a value of -1. While these are the two extreme zones, the metric being firmly inside either the positive or the negative zone (but not hitting either of these thresholds), still signals slight underbought or overpriced conditions, respectively. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level This means that the chances of bullish rebounds can become greater whenever the indicator enters positive territory. From the chart, it’s visible that the vast majority of the coins in the digital asset sector are at least inside the positive territory at the moment. This would imply that these coins may have become underpriced recently. Some of the altcoins are also outright inside the opportunity zone, suggesting that they may be offering low-risk buying opportunities right now. There are a few cryptocurrencies, however, that are inside the negative zone, with a couple of them even being inside dangerous territory. Such alts have more chances of registering a decline in the near future. Recently, the various altcoins have attempted to amass together a rebound, but so far, they have only seen failure. However, now that the prices have started to become undervalued, perhaps a break may be found soon. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $26,400, down 1% in the last week. Looks like BTC has once again plunged below $27,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from Art Rachen on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, Santiment.net

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has updated her projection regarding the date the U.S. government could default on its debt obligations. She warned that the Treasury “will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5.” Yellen Warns US Could Default on June […]

Florida’s 46th Governor, Ron DeSantis, recently declared his candidacy for the U.S. presidency in 2024 and has since participated in several interviews. While conversing with Dana Loesch on The Dana Show, DeSantis criticized the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a “corrupt organization” and no ally to the typical American citizen. DeSantis Discusses Single-Rate Tax […]

Trading within a Russia-led regional organization has effectively moved away from the U.S. dollar, according to the deputy head of the Russian government. The use of national currencies in the bloc’s transactions has reached around 90%, the official pointed out. EAEU Replaces Dollar in Trade With National Currencies, Russian Official Says Trade between member states […]

China’s oldest credit rating agency, Chengxin International Credit Rating (CCXI), made headlines this week by downgrading the United States’ credit rating. The agency lowered the rating from AAAg to AAg+ and attributed this decision to the escalating political discord, rising inflation, and the ongoing impasse over the debt ceiling. U.S. Credit Rating Suffers Downgrade by […]

Economist and ardent gold advocate Peter Schiff caused a stir on Friday by announcing his participation in an upcoming art sale featuring non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These unique digital collectibles will be minted on the Bitcoin blockchain using Ordinal inscription technology. Schiff’s surprising entry into the NFT market through Bitcoin has piqued the curiosity of onlookers, […]

One of Saturday’s biggest movers is XRP, which rose to a 30-day high earlier in today’s session. The token rose for a third consecutive day, as bulls returned to the market to start the weekend. Cardano was another notable gainer today. XRP XRP (formerly ripple), moved to a one-month high on Saturday, as bulls began […]

Bitcoin moved closer to the $27,000 level on Saturday, as markets continued to react to the latest Personal Consumption data from the United States. The key inflation index rose to 4.4% in April, higher than expectations of a drop to 3.9%. Ethereum also edged higher. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) rallied towards $27,000 to start the weekend, […]

The government of Argentina is reportedly seeking to expand its de-dollarization agreement with China due to the lack of dollars that the country is facing. According to reports, Economy Minister Sergio Massa would be in talks to expand the current swap line to double the available amount from $5 to $10 billion, lent in Chinese […]

Three integration unions with Russian participation, BRICS, SCO, and the EAEU, should adopt joint policies on the use of digital currencies, according to a top representative of one of them. He also believes the international organizations should develop a new payment system with its own bank cards. BRICS, SCO, and EAEU May Launch Common Payment […]

A recent study by Dappradar discloses the May loan volumes for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) reached a high of $375 million. The findings emphasize the significant influence of Blur within the NFT lending market, as the NFT marketplace platform constitutes 82% of the entire value settled in the NFT lending sector. Blur Emerges as NFT Lending […]

Celsius Network, the digital asset lender that filed for bankruptcy protection in July last year, has selected Fahrenheit’s bid to restart the business under a new name, NewCo. Fahrenheit is a group of investors that includes Bitcoin mining company, US Bitcoin Corp.; crypto investment firm, Arrington Capital; and technology consulting firm, Proof Group. Steven Kokinos, a former Algorand CEO, and Ravi Kaza, an angel investor, are also part of the group.

Celsius announced the development on Thursday, noting that it also secured a backup bid with Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC), which is a group of investors that fund blockchain firms battered by the crypto market downturn. The agreement includes provisions for the investors to fund a public mining firm potentially to be managed by crypto miner GlobalXDigital.

🍎 @FahrenheitHldg won, #BRIC is backup. It's official. Term sheet included. I’ll cover more on my Space tonight #Celsius Creditors https://t.co/jrCiZ7rv2A 🙏 to all who participated. https://t.co/CSk93ui5Wa

— Simon Dixon (@SimonDixonTwitt) May 25, 2023

Fahrenheit to Fund Celsius Reboot

Celsius in a statement noted that Fahrenheit’s winning bid was selected after a court-approved auction process and in partnership with the bankruptcy company’s unsecured creditors. The bid proposes to provide the capital, management team and technology needed to successfully establish and run NewCo, which will be owned by Celsius creditors.

The bid selection comes after Celsius folded up in June 2022 after initially suspending crypto withdrawals on its platform, citing market volatility. The digital asset lender became insolvent following the Terra-Luna collapse that sent shockwaves across the global crypto industry last year.

In the aftermath of its fall, Celsius has been facing several investigations in the United States and Alex Mashinksy, its Co-Founder, was recently charged with fraud. However, the latest development shows the failed digital lending business is making progress in its efforts to reorganize under a new entity.

Customers to Get ‘Hundreds of Millions of Dollars’

Announcing the winning bid, Celsius noted that Fahrenheit’s bid will be executed in accordance with its reorganization plans. According to the plan, NewCo for the benefit of account holders will manage Celsius’ illiquid assets, including its institutional loan portfolio, mining business and alternative investments.

The plan also provides for the distribution of ‘hundreds of millions of dollars of additional liquid cryptocurrency' to Celsius’ customers. Compared to what Celsius called ‘the stalking horse bid’ put forward at the start of the auction process, Fahrenheit’s bid cuts down proposed management fees by hundreds of millions of dollars.

“The winning bid also provides attractive offers for Celsius to immediately energize its mining rigs that are currently inactive and for NewCo to build its mining business over time,” Celsius said, noting that NewCo will be managed by a new Board of Directors majorly appointed by its creditors.

Furthermore, the crumbled digital lender pointed out that 100% of the new equity in NewCo will be owned by its account holders, again in accordance with its reorganization plan.

“In the coming weeks, Celsius intends to negotiate and publicly file a plan sponsor agreement with Fahrenheit, a backup plan sponsor agreement with the BRIC, a revised chapter 11 plan, and a disclosure statement, all of which remain subject to bankruptcy court approval,” the lender explained.

Gate.io in Hong Kong; CFI's new office; read today's news nuggets.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex never made public a confidential report that found its security lapses responsible for over 119,000 bitcoins stolen from the platform in August 2016, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) reported on Thursday. The stolen BTCs, worth about $3.2 billion in today’s market, were priced at $71 million at the time.

OCCRP, a global network of investigative journalists, said it obtained a version of the secret report that says Bitfinex failed to execute operational, financial and technological controls recommended by its digital security partner Bitgo. The network said the report was commissioned by iFinex, the owner and operator of Bitfinex, and was produced by Canada-based blockchain services firm, Ledger Labs.

Giving further details, OCCRP said the report claims that Bitfinex deployed a security system that placed two of its three security keys with an administrator. The keys were required to conduct a significant operation on the exchange, including transferring bitcoins.

Furthermore, OCCRP citing the document, noted that Bitfinex made the mistake of storing two of the three keys on a single device. It, however, added that while it is not known if the device was compromised during the hack, access to it would give a hacker complete access to the crypto exchange’s internal system and ‘security tokens’.

"[the confidential report also said] other basic security measures were also absent, including the logging of server activity outside of the server itself,’’ OCCRP wrote in its report, adding that the 'withdrawal whitelist,' a security component that enables cryptocurrency transfers to verified addresses, was also not available.

Additionally, the journalism network said the confidential report suggested that the hack was probably organized from Poland, going by a detailed examination of the source Internet Protocol address.

Bitfinex Slams OCCRP Report

As reported, Bitfinex told OCCRP that Ledger Labs’ analysis in the report was “incomplete" and “incorrect.” The network also quoted Bitfinex as saying that there was “evidence of negligence…on the part of other counterparties that led to the hack.”

In an undated statement published on its website, Bitfinex also reiterated these points, noting that “assertions made by the OCCRP are factually incorrect." The crypto exchange also bashed a report on the issue published by Wired whose journalist worked on the report with the OCCRP.

“Bitfinex refutes the findings of the OCCRP,” said the digital exchange operator. “As is well known, there is an investigation being conducted by authorities into the 2016 hack, with which Bitfinex has collaborated and shared information over many years.”

In addition, Bitfinex said it will provide full details on the case when investigations are completed, noting that “to make any comments before the investigation into the breach is concluded would be inappropriate.”

United States Charges Two Suspects

Meanwhile, while the Bitfinex hacker remains at large, US prosecutors in February last year charged an American couple for trying to launder about $4.5 billion in cryptocurrency linked to the 2016 hack. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) in a statement said the government seized more than 94,000 bitcoins connected to the attack from the couple, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan. The bitcoins were worth over $3.6 billion at the time.

Furthermore, the prosecutor noted that the BTCs stolen from Bitfinex through over 2,000 unauthorized transactions were sent to a crypto wallet under Lichtenstein’s control. OCCRP reported that the couple pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

“Over the last five years, approximately 25,000 of those stolen bitcoins were transferred out of Lichtenstein’s wallet via a complicated money laundering process that ended with some of the stolen funds being deposited into financial accounts controlled by Lichtenstein and Morgan,” DOJ explained. “The remainder of the stolen funds, comprising more than 94,000 bitcoins, remained in the wallet used to receive and store the illegal proceeds from the hack,” it added.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, billionaire twins known for alleging that Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for the creation of Facebook, are planning to move their cryptocurrency business from the United States to another location.

Citing 'hostile' conditions in the United States, they are considering transferring the operations of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini to the City of London, one of the most important financial capitals of the world.

Gemini Considers Relocation to the UK

As The Telegraph reported this week, the twins met with representatives of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the local central bank to discuss the potential of launching their operations in the UK.

Gemini has no intention of leaving the United States entirely. Based on the statements from the Winklevoss twins, it is clear that they intend to continue fighting for improved regulatory conditions in their home country. However, for the sake of their business, they are considering relocating the core of their operations to the United Kingdom, which, in their view, has a decidedly better and clearer approach to digital asset regulation.

"There are so many headwinds right now in the US it's hard to get anything done there," Cameron Winklevoss, one of the Gemini Founders, said. "And so in order to keep building our business and invest in hiring, we have to look elsewhere."

The United States Fight against Crypto

The Winklevoss twins aren't the only crypto business owners in the country lamenting deteriorating regulatory conditions. After the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, owned by Sam Bankman-Fried, last year, US regulators began scrutinizing companies' operations related to digital assets more closely.

In late March, Beaxy Exchange ceased its operations after receiving a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Earlier, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance for running an "illegal derivatives exchange." The platform disagrees with the allegations from the regulator and describes them as an "incomplete recitation of facts."

Almost four months ago, Kraken, another cryptocurrency exchange, suspended some of its services in the US after paying a $30 million settlement in relation to accusations from the SEC involving offering "staking-as-a-service" to its US clients.

Gemini Cuts Workforce and Enters New Countries

Regulatory issues in the US are certainly not helping Gemini, which, struggling with the aftermath of the cryptocurrency winter, has cut its workforce three times over several months, most recently in January 2023.

In April, Gemini entered the Canadian market, filing for pre-registration with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), a state regulator in the country. Once approved, Gemini will become a restricted dealer with the OSC.

A month ago, the Winklevoss brothers announced their intention to launch a non-US crypto derivatives platform called Gemini Foundation in response to regulatory pressure in the United States. The first products that the Gemini Foundation offers will be based on Gemini dollars (GUSD), the exchange's proprietary stablecoin, and will be used for settling Bitcoin (BTC) perpetual contracts.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Fusion Digital Assets, TP ICAP’s crypto spot exchange for institutional investors initially planned for launch in mid-2021, has finally gone live. The platform has successfully completed its first Bitcoin/US dollar trading pair transaction, the top interdealer broker said on Wednesday, noting that the trade was settled by one of its partners, Fidelity Digital Assets.

TP ICAP Floats New Platform

The launch of the enterprise-grade trading venue comes six months after TP ICAP secured a UK license to operate the exchange. However, the financial market infrastructure and data solutions provider has been offering crypto derivatives services since 2019.

The new platform combines TP ICAP’s proprietary over-the-counter electronic platform, Fusion, with the institutional-grade custodial expertise of Fidelity Digital Assets. In addition to depending on TP ICAP’s order matching and trade execution technology, the exchange taps into the firm's diverse liquidity from its global client base.

“The venue currently supports trading in Bitcoin and Ether against USD,” TP ICAP said. “Going forward, it will expand the assets it supports in line with client demand," the firm added, noting that the platform will further expand to support “a multi-custody model."

A Joint Project

Apart from Fidelity Digital Assets, TP ICAP onboarded several industry stakeholders as partners and clients for the launch of Fusion Digital. They include liquidity provider, Flow Traders; crypto liquidity provider and asset manager, XBTO Global; and crypto asset trading and custody integration services provider, DLT Finance.

Previously, Finance Magnates reported that TP ICAP onboarded a quantitative trading firm, Hudson River Trading as a spot crypto market maker for the project. On top of that, the London-listed company previously tapped Standard Chartered’s Zodia Custody. However, these firms are not mentioned in the latest announcement.

“Today is a further milestone in our collaboration with TP ICAP and the evolution of the digital assets ecosystem to enable even more participation from institutional investors,” said Manuel Nordeste, the Head of European Business Development at Fidelity Digital Assets Europe. “Our collective goal is to enable investors to navigate this nascent asset class, execute trades, and custody their assets with confidence.”

Hantec Markets’ brand ambassadors; FlexTrade brings AI; read today's news nuggets.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), a global body for securities regulators, has put forward 18 recommendations to regulate the global crypto industry. The recommendations cover six key areas such as market manipulation, insider trading and fraud as well as conflict of interest arising from ‘vertical integration’ of various activities and functions by crypto firms.

Other key areas covered include cross-border risks and regulatory cooperation, custody and client asset protection, operational and technological risk, and retail access, suitability and distribution. The global regulatory body plans to finalize the recommendations around the fourth quarter of 2023.

IOSCO announces global crypto regulation recommendations. 📍 Link to the Consultation Report 🔗 https://t.co/Je0UQulWFs📍 Link to Press Release 🔗 https://t.co/gf9qXuYdwE📍 Link to the Crypto-Asset Roadmap 2022/2023 🔗 https://t.co/Rcth0NkMmt#CryptoAssets#Regulationpic.twitter.com/aqXPmUmQJN

— IOSCO Press (@IOSCOPress) May 23, 2023

IOSCO Addresses Multiple Issues

According to IOSCO, many crypto firms adopt a ‘vertically integrated’ business model where they engage in multiple activities, such as exchange trading, brokerage, market-marking, custody and settlements under ‘one roof’. The global watchdog believes that this creates conflicts of interest for the firms.

It is, therefore, proposing that crypto asset service providers (CASPs) should have “effective governance and organizational requirements in place to effectively address” these conflicts. Additionally, the commission believes that measures, such as obtaining separate registrations and adopting legal disaggregation, could solve the issue.

Furthermore, IOSCO believes that a conflict of interest arises in situations where a CASP may front-run clients’ orders in favour of their own transactions or those of a related party. Front running is a type of market manipulation in which a trader or broker takes advantage of non-public information about a large upcoming trade to make a profit. In this type of scenario, the trader or broker typically buys or sells the security before the public announcement of the trade in order to profit from the expected price movement.

To address this, IOSCO is calling on crypto firms to put in place “systems, policies and procedures that provide for fair, orderly, timely execution and in the best interest of clients.”

On market manipulation, IOSCO explained that the crypto industry’s market integrity risks have been worsened by the “fragmented, cross-border nature” of crypto markets. The risks include manipulative market practices, such as Ponzi schemes and wash trading, as well as insider dealing and fraudulent, misleading or insufficient disclosure.

To address this, IOSCO is calling for “effective systems and controls to identify and monitor for manipulative market practices and to prevent leakage of insider information.”

IOSCO Launches Public Consultation

IOSCO explained the recommendations were developed by the IOSCO Board's Fintech Task Force (FTF) in alignment with the organization’s Crypto-Asset Roadmap published in June 2022. Jean-Paul Servais, the Chairperson of IOSCO, noted that the recommendation “is the outcome of an intense period of regulatory risk analysis, information sharing and capacity building.”

“Crypto-asset service providers need to address unacceptable conflicts of interest and take far more seriously the right of clients to have their monies and assets carefully minded and accounted for,” added Lim Tuang Lee, the Chairperson of the IOSCO Board-Level Fintech Task Force.

In a statement released on Tuesday, IOSCO disclosed that it has opened a public consultation and issued a consultation report on the recommendations and expects to receive comments until July 31, 2023. After consultation, the body also expects that its 130 members across the globe “will review their current regulatory frameworks to ensure that they comply with the standards and fix any gaps promptly.”

Hidden Road taps Crossover Markets; Equiti in Uganda; read today's nuggets.

This article was written by Pedro Ferreira at www.financemagnates.com.

Japan will enforce stricter anti-money laundering (AML) measures to trace cryptocurrency transactions. The country’s cabinet has already approved the laws, which will become effective on 1 June, local Kyodo News reported.

Japan’s New Crypto Rules

The new AML laws around crypto will put Japan’s legal frameworks around the industry in line with global standards. The new rules came following the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international financial standard-setting agency that deemed specific revised crypto-centric laws brought in December insufficient.

One of the significant features of the new crypto rules will be the enforcement of the so-called ‘Travel Rules’ for tracking transactions in the decentralized industry.

Under the Travel Rules, crypto exchanges, wallet platforms, and other service providers need to collect customer information in transactions of more than $3,000. The information should include the name and address of the sender and recipient, along with their account information. These laws are expected to curb criminal activities using cryptocurrencies.

Upon failure to comply with the proposed laws, the violators will face criminal proceedings.

Countries Pushing for Strict Crypto Monitoring Rules

Japan adopted the new crypto rules when the global leaders of G7 countries discussed the Travel Rules during the summit that ended last Sunday. Additionally, the G7 committee clarified its support for Travel Rules to monitor crypto transactions.

Several other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, have already adopted the Travel Rules. Several European countries also mandated virtual asset service provider (VASP) licenses for crypto companies, bringing more clarity to the industry.

Meanwhile, Japan has already been regarded as one of the countries with stringent crypto regulations. The country strengthened its oversight of the crypto industry following the Coincheck hack that happened in January 2018. Now, all crypto exchanges operating in the country must be authorized locally.

Binance, the largest crypto exchange regarding trading volume, will start operations in Japan next month. However, two top crypto exchanges, Coinbase and Kraken, shuttered their Japanese operations.

Hantec Markets’ brand ambassadors; FlexTrade brings AI; read today's news nuggets.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Two established crypto exchanges, Bitpanda and Coinbase, have entered a mutually beneficial partnership. Coinbase will use Bitpanda Technology Solutions to offer services to institutional clients outside of the United States, while Bitpanda will add Coinbase Exchange to its network of approved liquidity providers.

Coinbase and Bitpanda Inks Strategic Partnership

Announced on Thursday, the collaboration will enable "Coinbase to offer one of the most scalable Investing-as-a-Service infrastructures to their institutional clients, such as banks and financial institutions outside of the United States."

The partnership will also provide "institutions the ability to leverage Bitpanda's vast set of regulatory licences and KYC-as-a-service to speed up their go-to-market time across Europe, all with the look and feel of their own brand — their design, our technology."

Headquartered in Austria, Bitpanda was founded in 2014 and now has become a prominent European crypto trading venue. Apart from its home country, the exchange is also regulated in Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and a few other European countries.

The exchange also entered the United Kingdom last year, acquiring London-based Trustology, a regulated institutional cryptocurrency custodian wallet provider. It rebranded that FCA-regulated operation to Bitpanda Custody.

Bitpanda also registered itself with the UK's FCA as a crypto exchange, which is mandatory for any crypto business in the country. However, it is yet to offer exchange services to UK residents.

A White-Label Crypto Service?

"Since launching our innovative Investment—as-a-Service (IaaS) solution, Bitpanda Technology Solutions, we've gained the trust of leading fintechs, traditional banks and online platforms to bring an easy and swift route to meeting the increasing demand for modern investing solutions," the announcement stated.

From today @Bitpanda_global and @Coinbase are going to be partners. This deal was based around our shared vision for the future of digital assets, and our shared values of trust, transparency, and security. Exactly the type of collaboration our industry needs more of.… pic.twitter.com/iJj0RWh9bR

— Eric Demuth (@eric_demuth) May 25, 2023

Coinbase, a US-listed cryptocurrency exchange, is accelerating its European presence when it locked horns with the securities market regulator in the US. The exchange is expecting enforcement action again following a Wells Notice by the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, Coinbase also dragged the SEC to court for not clarifying the crypto-rule-making process.

Earlier this month, Coinbae launched a derivatives exchange outside the US. It also received a Bermuda license earlier this year following the exchange's CEO, Brian Armstrong, hinted that Coinbase could leave the US.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

The energy industry is not an exception to how blockchain technology has emerged as a game-changer in different industries. Blockchain technology offers creative approaches to encourage transparency, efficiency, and decentralized energy systems in response to the urgent demand for sustainable practices and renewable energy solutions. In this article, we'll examine how blockchain technology is used in the energy sector and how it advances sustainability objectives.

Increasing energy transparency and traceability

A decentralized, unchangeable ledger that records and authenticates transactions among a network of computers is provided by blockchain technology. Blockchain technology used in the energy sector makes energy transactions transparent and traceable, promoting accountability and minimizing fraudulent activity.

Renewable energy generators can generate digital certificates for each unit of clean energy produced by utilizing blockchain technology. The blockchain can be used to hold and transfer these certifications, also known as Renewable Energy certifications (RECs) or Guarantees of Origin (GOs). The use of renewable energy sources is encouraged by the traceability, which gives consumers the capacity to confirm the origin and environmental effects of the energy they use.

Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading Enabled

Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trade made possible by blockchain technology has the potential to completely transform the energy sector. Energy transactions have historically been centralized through middlemen like utilities. Blockchain, on the other hand, enables direct energy exchange between customers and producers, doing away with middlemen and saving money.

With the use of solar panels or other renewable energy sources, consumers can sell extra energy to neighbors directly through peer-to-peer energy trading on the blockchain. Automated transactions, metering, and settlement processes are made possible by smart contracts, which are programmable agreements on the blockchain. This not only increases the adoption of decentralized energy systems and lessens reliance on conventional power grids, it also gives customers more power to participate in the energy market.

Managing the energy supply chain more effectively

For sustainability and financial viability, the energy supply chain must be managed effectively. A transparent and secure platform for managing energy transactions, streamlining supply chains, and cutting waste is provided by blockchain technology.

Blockchain technology enables smart grids, which allow for real-time monitoring and management of energy production, distribution, and consumption. Predictive maintenance, load balancing, and more effective grid integration of renewable energy sources are all made possible by this real-time data. Blockchain-powered smart grids reduce reliance on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions by increasing overall efficiency.

Furthermore, energy trade between various market participants, including generators, distributors, retailers, and consumers, can be streamlined via blockchain. Smart contracts and automated settlement procedures streamline administrative activities, cut down on paperwork, and do away with reconciliation problems, which lowers costs and improves operational effectiveness.

Decentralizing Energy Systems

Scalability, robustness, and adaptability are constrained by the centralized nature of conventional energy systems. The development of distributed energy systems is made possible by the decentralized framework provided by blockchain technology, which encourages sustainability and resilience.

Blockchain-powered microgrids enable localized energy production and consumption. Energy security is increased and reliance on long-distance transmission lines is decreased because to these self-contained systems' ability to run independently or in combination with the main grid. Blockchain-enabled microgrids close the energy gap and advance sustainable development by giving access to affordable and renewable energy sources in rural or underdeveloped locations.

Blockchain Technology Use Cases in the energy sector

Blockchain technology has transcended its cryptocurrency origins to revolutionize industries worldwide, including the energy sector. This transformative technology offers unprecedented opportunities for efficiency, transparency, and decentralization. Naturally, it is important to delve into real-world examples of how blockchain technology is being utilized in the energy sector, in order to better understand its potential to reshape the industry and foster a sustainable future.

Companies are now leveraging blockchain technology to enable peer-to-peer energy trading and renewable energy tracking. They do so by setting up platforms which allow consumers to trade surplus solar energy directly with other participants, ensuring transparency, accuracy, and equitable pricing.

By utilizing smart contracts, blockchain-based platforms in the energy sector are eliminating the need for intermediaries, and streamlining the energy trading process. This decentralized approach empowers individuals to take control of their energy consumption, facilitates the integration of renewable energy sources, and encourages investment in sustainable infrastructure.

Blockchain technology is also being used to create retail energy marketplaces. Platforms are connecting energy consumers with a wide array of energy providers, enabling consumers to select the most suitable and cost-effective energy plans.

As such, blockchain ensures transparent and secure transactions, while smart contracts automate billing, metering, and settlements. By offering consumers choice and competition in the energy market, individuals are empowered to make informed decisions and encouraged to pursue renewable energy adoption.

As these innovative applications continue to evolve and mature, blockchain technology will further revolutionize the energy sector, facilitating the transition to a sustainable and decentralized energy ecosystem. The utilization of blockchain in the energy industry serves as a testament to the immense value it brings, encouraging collaboration, innovation, and environmental stewardship.

Conclusion

Blockchain technology has the power to revolutionize the energy sector and advance sustainability initiatives. Blockchain contributes to a more open, efficient, and sustainable energy landscape by improving energy traceability, facilitating peer-to-peer energy trading, streamlining supply chain management, and decentralizing energy infrastructure.

The implementation of blockchain technology in the energy sector is a critical step towards establishing a greener and more sustainable future as the globe embraces renewable energy sources and works to achieve carbon neutrality.

We can build a more inclusive and ecologically conscientious energy market by utilizing the potential of blockchain. Additionally, the combination of blockchain technology with other cutting-edge innovations like the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to maximize sustainability in the energy industry even further.

Real-time data on energy generation and consumption can be collected by IoT devices and safely saved and analyzed on the blockchain. The data can then be processed by AI systems to discover inefficiencies, improve energy use, and suggest sustainable practices.

It is significant to remember that the energy sector is only just beginning to utilize blockchain technology. For wider deployment, issues with scalability, interoperability, and regulatory frameworks must be resolved. However, there are encouraging signs of development in the continuing pilot programs and partnerships among energy firms, technology providers, and governments.

The energy sector has a lot of chances to improve sustainability thanks to blockchain technology. Blockchain technology has the potential to fundamentally alter how we generate, distribute, and use energy by strengthening traceability, enabling peer-to-peer energy trading, improving supply chain management, and decentralizing energy infrastructure.

The fusion of blockchain technology with renewable energy options will be crucial in building a cleaner and more effective energy ecosystem for future generations as we work towards a greener and more sustainable future.

This article was written by Finance Magnates Staff at www.financemagnates.com.

The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a warning against the crypto derivatives platform launched last month by Winklevoss twins-controlled Gemini Trust.

An Unregistered Crypto Derivatives Platform

According to the regulatory notice published last week, the newly launched platform markets and offer derivative products categorized as securities under local laws. Gemini did not seek any registration from the Philippines regulator to launch its platform there.

“GEMINI TRUST COMPANY, LLC. is not registered with the Commission and OPERATES WITHOUT THE NECESSARY LICENSE AND/OR authority to solicit, accept or take investments/placements from the public nor to issue securities,” the regulatory notice stated.

“GEMINI TRUST COMPANY, LLC’s lack of prior registration with the Commission makes their activities of offering and/or selling securities in the form of derivatives ILLEGAL in violation of the provisions of the [Securities Regulation Code].”

Gemini launched its crypto derivatives exchange last month globally but outside the United States. However, the Philippines and dozens of other countries were among the regions where the platform went live. Known as the Gemini Foundation, the derivatives platform is operated by a subsidiary, Gemini Artemis.

2/ That’s not all, we will soon be introducing additional perpetual contracts, dated futures, and options trading. Stay tuned! https://t.co/xwIzR4ntlE

— Gemini (@Gemini) May 18, 2023

The Southeast Asian regulator further advised the public not to invest on the unregistered platform or halt their investments if they have already made investments.

The regulatory notice clarified that anyone, including salespersons, brokers, dealers, or agents, selling or promoting unregistered securities, like Gemini’s derivatives products, will face a fine of up to 5 million Filipino pesos ($89,826) or 21 years imprisonment.

Another Era of Regulatory Warnings against Crypto?

The Philippines SEC’s warning against Gemini came shortly before the Malaysian regulatory flagged Huobi Global for offering ‘illegal’ services without any registration. Additionally, the Malaysian waning named Huobi Global’s CEO, Leon Li.

“The [Malaysian] SC has ordered Huobi Global Limited to stop its operations in the country, including disabling its website and mobile application on several platforms, such as Apple Store, Google Play, and any other digital application platform,” the warning stated.

Both these warnings resemble the barrage of regulatory warnings in 2021 issued against Binance and several other crypto platforms that were expanding globally without receiving proper authorization.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

The emergence of Web3, an evolving vision of the internet built on decentralized technologies such as blockchain, is set to revolutionize the way financial data flows between institutions and customers. This paradigm shift has profound implications for the financial industry, enabling multi-directional data sharing, enhancing transparency, and empowering individuals with greater control over their financial information.

Understanding Web3's Enhanced Data Ownership and Control

In a Web3 ecosystem, individuals are no longer merely data subjects but become data owners. Blockchain technology empowers customers to have greater control over their financial data, deciding who can access it and how it is used. Through decentralized identity systems, customers can selectively grant permissions to institutions, ensuring data privacy while enabling secure and seamless interactions.

By enabling individuals to own and control their financial data, Web3 puts an end to the traditional data silos held by institutions. This shift enhances customer trust and fosters a more transparent and equitable relationship between financial service providers and their customers.

Secure and Immutable Financial Transactions

Web3, built on blockchain technology, ensures the immutability and security of financial transactions. By leveraging distributed ledger technology, financial data is recorded in a tamper-proof and transparent manner, reducing the risk of fraud and enhancing trust between institutions and customers.

Smart contracts, self-executing agreements written on the blockchain, enable automated and verifiable financial transactions. These contracts can include predefined conditions, such as loan agreements or insurance policies, which are executed automatically when the conditions are met. Such transparency and automation streamline processes, reduce costs, and minimize the need for intermediaries.

Open and Interconnected Financial Ecosystem

Web3 fosters an open and interconnected financial ecosystem, allowing for seamless data flow between institutions and customers. Through the use of standardized protocols and decentralized applications (dApps), customers can securely share their financial data with various institutions of their choice.

This multi-directional data flow enhances competition and innovation by enabling customers to access a broader range of financial services. Institutions, in turn, can leverage customer data from multiple sources to offer personalized and tailored products and services.

Improved Risk Assessment and Financial Inclusion

Web3's multi-directional data flow enables institutions to access a broader range of customer data, leading to more accurate risk assessments. Institutions can leverage data from multiple sources, including alternative data and decentralized credit scoring, to assess creditworthiness and provide financial services to previously underserved populations.

By incorporating a more comprehensive range of data, Web3 can help bridge the financial inclusion gap, allowing individuals with limited traditional credit histories to access loans, insurance, and other financial services.

Regulatory Challenges and Data Privacy Concerns

While Web3 offers significant benefits in terms of multi-directional financial data flow, it also presents challenges in terms of regulation and data privacy. Regulators must adapt to the evolving landscape to ensure appropriate oversight and consumer protection while fostering innovation.

Additionally, the shift towards Web3 raises concerns about data privacy and security. As financial data becomes more distributed, individuals must have confidence that their data is handled responsibly and protected from unauthorized access.

Wrapping up

Web3's multi-directional financial data flow represents a paradigm shift in the relationship between institutions and customers.

As the Web3 ecosystem continues to evolve, collaboration between stakeholders, including institutions, regulators, and individuals, will be key to realizing the full potential of multi-directional financial data flow and creating a more inclusive and efficient financial landscape.

This article was written by Finance Magnates Staff at www.financemagnates.com.

Over a month after gaining a virtual asset service provider registration in Lithuania, crypto exchange and copy trading platform Bitget has secured a similar registration in Poland. Bitget is aiming to provide “a more secure and transparent trading experience” for Polish users, the exchange said on Tuesday.

Bitget Goes to Poland

In addition, Bitget noted that the registration means that it can now work in line with local and international laws and regulatory standards while expanding across the European Union (EU). The exchange’s efforts come at a time when the EU is working towards implementing a landmark crypto law, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which was recently passed by the EU Council and the EU Parliament. The law is expected to come into force in July 2024.

“The recent registrations in the two European countries enhance our foothold and service in Europe," noted Gracy Chen, Bitget’s Managing Director. "By proactively working with policymakers and regulators across the EU and worldwide, Bitget aims to enable open access to crypto in a safe, responsible and compliant manner.”

Regulation helps achieve mainstream adoption of crypto.At Bitget, we understand and embrace regulatory frameworks.Working with policymakers across the EU and worldwide, we aim to enable open access to crypto in a safe and compliant manner.https://t.co/DsFbDP4fKbhttps://t.co/dWE36GHEuK

— Gracy Chen @Bitget (@GracyBitget) May 23, 2023

Furthermore, Bitget, which serves over 8 million users in more than 100 countries and regions, said it has doubled its compliance team over the last year. The team is tasked with navigating the exchange’s licensing processes and continuous global expansion.

Licensing Race

In recent months, other crypto exchanges have ramped up their presence in Europe. In April, OKX, the second largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, opened a French subsidiary and has now applied for a license to offer crypto services in France.

Kraken, a US-based crypto exchange, recently secured a similar registration in Ireland despite facing regulatory headwinds in the United States. In fact, Binance appears to be leading the race as the top crypto exchange in January gained its 7th regulatory license in the EU region.

Hidden Road taps Crossover Markets; Equiti in Uganda; read today's nuggets.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

Gulf Binance, a joint venture firm between Binance and Gulf Innova, has obtained a digital asset operator license from Thailand’s Ministry of Finance. Gulf Innova is a subsidiary of Gulf Energy Development which operates the firm’s digital business.

Binance announced the license approval on Friday, noting that the firm is aiming to launch a cryptocurrency exchange in the Southeast Asia country during the last quarter of the year. The project will see Binance combine its digital asset expertise with Gulf’s local industry knowledge and presence.

Sawasdee Thailand! 🇹🇭Our joint venture, Gulf Binance, has now been granted digital asset operator licenses by Thailand's Ministry of Finance.This opens up access to digital assets for even more people, building on our dedication to bring crypto and Web3 to the world.

— Binance (@binance) May 26, 2023

Binance Plans Launch in Thailand

Binance’s new license in Thailand comes years after the crypto exchange faced regulatory backlash from the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission for operating illegally in the country. The exchange also faced opposition in other jurisdictions in Asia and across the world, including in Singapore, Cayman Islands, Japan and the UK. However, Binance is now set to launch in Japan next month.

“Ever since reaching an agreement around a joint venture back in 2022, Binance and Gulf have been working closely with Thailand’s regulators to ensure the formation of a compliant-first exchange that strictly adheres to the SEC’s guidelines,” Binance said in a blog post.

Speaking on the development, Richard Teng, Binance’s Head of Asia, Europe and MENA, described Thailand as a country with a thriving crypto space that has demonstrated strong commitment in embracing blockchain technology. This is even as Chainalysis’ 2022 data confirms Thailand as the eighth biggest crypto adopter in the world.

“By harnessing Binance's expertise together with Gulf’s established local presence and network, Gulf Binance aims to showcase the full potential of blockchain technology to meet the needs of Thai users,” Teng explained. “Local users can expect access to a trusted and regulated service that prioritizes user security alongside compliance with local regulations.”

Binance Expands despite Hurdles

Binance’s planned launch in Thailand comes amidst the leading exchange’s efforts to build its presence and regulatory license portfolio across the globe. In January, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume obtained its 7th regulatory license in the EU with a new Swedish registration.

However, the exchange is still facing several regulatory challenges across the world, including in the United States, Canada and Australia.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

South Korea’s ruling party, the People’s Power Party is seeking to move up the enforcement date for December to a new bill that will require lawmakers in the country to declare their cryptocurrency holdings. Application of the new bill is expected to come into effect in the next one or two months, Yun Jae-ok, the floor leader of the party, told reporters on Tuesday.

According to local media Yonap, the revision to South Korea’s Public Service Ethics Act was scaled through a parliamentary sub-committee on Monday and is now scheduled for voting on Friday. However, Yun told reporters that the planned enforcement of the law in December is too distant. Therefore, the lawmaker said it has instructed the Public Administration Committee to put forward a modified version, the outlet reported.

"Given the current high level of public interest, especially regarding lawmakers, it's not appropriate to enforce the law six months later after the promulgation," Yonap quoted Yun as saying.

South Korean Lawmaker Faces Crypto Scandal

The new bill primarily aims to address the growing demand for transparency on the digital asset holdings of lawmakers, which is a trend that has intensified following the ongoing investigation into the crypto holdings of Kim Nam-kuk, a former opposition lawmaker who is now independent.

Kim is currently facing scrutiny after allegations emerged that he possessed approximately 800,000 Wemix coins in 2021, valued at around 6 billion won (US$4.5 million) at that time. In addition, the lawmaker is alleged to have hidden this information from his asset declaration as current laws do not mandate it.

Furthermore, it is being alleged that Kim withdrew the crypto assets before South Korea implemented the global anti-money laundering body Financial Action Task Force's (FAFT) travel rule in March last year. The rule demands that crypto exchanges record and report personal data on transactions that exceed a certain threshold.

New Concerns

Meanwhile, Yonhap reported that Yun raised new concerns about the lawmaker's crypto activities. According to the outlet, the legislator said Kim might have withdrawn 250 million won worth of coins between February and March 2022 before the country’s presidential election.

Furthermore, the lawmaker believes that the amount far exceeds the 4.4 million won Kim previously acknowledged to have cashed out during that period. Additionally, Yun expressed suspicions that Kim's involvement in cryptocurrency transactions may have been linked to money laundering activities.

As the investigation into Kim’s alleged crypto transfers continues, three local crypto exchanges have been raided and the ruling party recently sent a team to Wemix issuer with the hope of shedding light on the case.

Hidden Road taps Crossover Markets; Equiti in Uganda; read today's nuggets.

This article was written by Pedro Ferreira at www.financemagnates.com.

Digital Currency Group (DCG) will shutter its trade execution and prime brokerage subsidiary, TradeBlock, citing the concerns of the broader economy and regulatory uncertainties in the United States. It will initiate the close-down process on 31 May, as reported by Bloomberg.

TradeBlock Could Not Survive the Harsh Market Conditions

“Due to the state of the broader economy and prolonged crypto winter, along with the challenging regulatory environment for digital assets in the US, we made the decision to sunset the institutional trading platform side of the business,” a DCG spokesperson said in a media statement.

TradeBlock was established in 2011 by Jaron Lukasiewicz and Paul Simos, that received popularity for its crypto price indexes, trading platforms, and analytics tools. The company was acquired by Coindesk, the crypto-focused media outlet of DCG, in 2021. However, Coindesk only kept the index data business, rebranding it to CoinDesk Indices, and spun off the other units as a standalone trading business.

Many Challenges for DCG

The shuttering came when the Digital Currency Group has been facing challenges over the bearish market stance and from its exposure to other collapsed crypto companies. The group also shuttered its wealth wealth-management division headquarters in January.

Barry Silbert-led DCG’s crypto lending arm also filed for bankruptcy in New York earlier this year. Genesis Global Holdco and its two lending subsidiaries, Genesis Global Capital and Genesis Asia Pacific, were named in the Chapter 11 proceedings.

The DCG’s troubles can also be measured by its losses exceeding $1 billion in 2022, as disclosed by the group, mostly due to its exposure to the cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.

DCG also locked into a spat with Winklevoss-twins’ crypto exchange Gemini. During the bankruptcy, Genesis agreed to an exit plan to repay a $765.9 million loan to Gemini. However, the bankrupt company missed its $630 million repayment earlier this month, pushing Gemini to consider a forbearance option against DCG.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Earlier in the week, it seemed that the Winklevoss brothers' crypto exchange, Gemini, would set its headquarters in England. On Thursday, Cameron Winklevoss indeed confirmed reports that due to regulatory turmoil in the US, their platform is seeking a safe haven in another jurisdiction and that this would be located in the British Isles.

However, Instead of London, Gemini has chosen Dublin, the capital of Ireland. What is more, Gemini is not moving its global HQ, but sets the European one in the Irish city.

Gemini Bets on Crypto Development in Ireland

Finance Magnates, citing information from The Telegraph, reported that the Winklevoss twins had been meeting with representatives of the British FCA and the central bank to discuss a potential move of the headquarters to the UK.

However, as it turns out, the Gemini founders also had talks with representatives of other countries in the British Isles, ultimately choosing Ireland. Tyler Winklevoss confirmed This information on Thursday on his Twitter after meeting with the Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar.

"We talked about the profound promise of crypto and the importance of common sense regulation to realize that promise. We believe MiCA is that common sense regulation. We also announced that Gemini has made Ireland its European HQ," Winklevoss commented.

Awesome meeting this morning with @LeoVaradkar, the Prime Minister of Ireland. We talked about the profound promise of crypto and the importance of common sense regulation to realize that promise. We believe MiCA is that common sense regulation. We also announced that @Gemini has… pic.twitter.com/Iv3NmPTmju

— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) May 25, 2023

It is worth reminding that in July 2022, Gemini became the first company to be registered as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in Ireland after launching its local branch a year earlier.

"Gemini's decision to locate in Ireland highlights our competitive offering for the international financial services sector," Varadkar commented in a social media post.

Gemini's decision to locate in Ireland highlights our competitive offering for the international financial services sector. We take pride in how it has grown from 60 staff in Dublin 30 years ago, to approximately 56,000 people around the country working in finance today.

— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) May 25, 2023

Gemini Will Not Leave the United States Entirely

Although the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange is setting European headquarters in Ireland, it does not intend to leave the United States altogether.

From the Winklevoss twins' statements, it is clear that they intend to continue fighting for improved regulatory conditions in their country. For the good of their business, they are considering moving the main part of their operations to Ireland, which, in their opinion, has a decidedly better and more transparent approach to regulations concerning digital assets.

"There are so many headwinds right now in the US it's hard to get anything done there," Cameron Winklevoss, one of the Gemini Founders, commented for The Telegraph. "And so in order to keep building our business and invest in hiring, we have to look elsewhere."

Increasing regulatory pressure from US supervisory authorities and solid drops in cryptocurrency prices in 2022 have significantly impacted Gemini. The exchange has cut employment three times in the last few months, most recently in January of this year.

Looking for alternatives to the American market, the Winklevoss twins had earlier announced plans to launch a platform for cryptocurrency derivatives outside the US named Gemini Foundation in response to regulatory pressure in the United States. Additionally, in April, Gemini entered the Canadian market by obtaining a license from the Ontario regulator.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

In the second part of our two-part article on crypto market structures, Finance Magnates considers the likelihood of the crypto market eventually adopting the same structures as the FX OTC interdealer market.

The phrase ‘there is more that unites us than divides us’ has been used in various ways by many politicians over the years as they sought to heal divisions in their parties or nations. But, it could equally be applied to the FX and crypto markets, where fragmentation and the absence of a single regulatory authority are just some of the common factors.

The collapse of FTX highlighted shortcomings in the segregation of customer assets and measures to prevent firms from trading against their customers. Traditional financial market infrastructure (such as in the FX market) benefits from the compounding effects of both operational procedures and regulations that have been developed over time in response to different market failures. The concept of segregating trading and custody is one of the results of this evolution.

Segregation of Customer Funds

The crypto asset market would benefit greatly from embracing this model to provide new market participants with the necessary confidence, suggests Tom Flanagan, the Digital Assets Head of Platform Trading at TP ICAP.

“This segregated model is proven to mitigate conflicts of interest – and the single point of failure risk – that arise from co-mingling asset custody with trading,” he says.

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— Goodwill Wealth Management (@GOODWILLGWC) May 18, 2023

Markets Should be Transparent

Another element of the FX market structure that Flanagan reckons crypto would benefit from is the transparency and liquidity analytics accessible within wholesale FX venues.

“Most crypto venues are anonymous with a lack of information detailing the type of flow and the market participants involved,” he says. “Statistics such as fill rates and round-trip time (along with more advanced analytics such as pre and post-trade mark-outs) provide clients with better information on the types of liquidity their firm is dealing against in an anonymous marketplace and whether it is a beneficial flow to them and their franchise.”

According to Flanagan, a global code of conduct akin to the FX Global Code would also help to level the playing field and provide a layer of transparency for how all institutional market participants should interact.

“Using a third-party custodial solution requires a degree of trust, but there are benefits in terms of convenience, and for many traders it would be more secure,” says Christo de Wit, the Country Manager at Luno South Africa. “Of course, it is important that customers understand how centralized custody and self-custody work and the risks and benefits associated with both before making a decision.”

Centralized Orderbooks Might Help

It has been suggested that the creation of a centralized settlement utility would increase the stability of the crypto market, although de Wit cautions that there could be negative as well as positive effects. “A centralized settlement utility in the crypto market would enhance efficiency, mitigate counterparty risk, and streamline settlement processes,” he says. “However, it would also pose a systemic risk and introduce counterparty dependency.”

Typically, FX OTC is traded away from centralized markets. However, Deribit believes in the potential of centralized liquid order books where large sizes can be traded.

“Crypto will use capital market models for addressing market structure issues such as separating custody from market making and capital allocation services,” suggests David Wells, the CEO at Enclave Markets.

He reckons the infrastructure used to run these systems will be crypto-native and much more efficient and stable than what exists in traditional financial markets, which rely on technology and code bases that are decades old. Thomas Restout, CEO of EMEA at B2C2, says crypto will become OTC driven as exchanges become harder to trade on. “As the settlement and credit process improve, I see strong convergence with FX markets,” he adds.

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Crypto and FX markets have a similar base of trading 24/7, and therefore it is not surprising that a similar client-based crypto OTC offering has emerged in the last few years, suggests Danny Bailey, the Senior Institutional Sales Lead at Bitstamp.

“As more institutions trade crypto, there will be more of an interdealer appetite,” he adds, “Although this will take time and require a robust risk management and regulatory framework.”

It is a natural transition for institutional digital markets to move to an OTC-style trading model, cleared either bilaterally or through a central clearer, according to Ayal Jedeikin, CEO and Founder of Cypator.

“Leading centralized exchanges are spinning off OTC desks to cater to institutional clients,” he adds. “This is non-custodial in nature and settled post-trade, hence reducing counterparty risk significantly.”

It must, though, be recognized that the crypto market is still relatively young, and many regulators have failed to determine what asset class it should be compared with.

There are already some similarities between the crypto and FX markets, such as the decentralized nature of trading and the ability of each asset class to be used for traditional purchases, observes Patrick Bärtschi, head of business development at Bittrex Global.

“However, I think it ultimately depends on whether crypto will be considered a security or a commodity or whether it will be regulated as a whole new asset class,” he says. “Once we have clarity on that, we may have more insight on what structures it may be able to adopt.”

Regulations Are Must

There is no question that crypto markets would benefit from both legal and regulatory definitions. Yet, so much of the ecosystem’s overall structure is derived from functionality that is baked into the core programming of its flagship networks.

That is the view of Rich Evans, the Managing Director of Institutional Sales, Prime Liquidity at CEX.IO, who observes that Bitcoin and Ethereum provided a blueprint and launch pad, respectively, for the vast majority of projects that came to populate the ecosystem.

“In turn, the development of automated market maker technology has accelerated the usage of decentralized exchanges that connect participants directly without third-party intermediaries – a phenomenon unique to the crypto space,” he says.

Though similarly decentralized and prone to volatility, the crypto ecosystem is conversely highly transparent relative to OTC markets through the constant production of on-chain data, adds Evans. “Coupled with crypto’s fast transaction times, it becomes clear that any attempt to force these markets into a pre-existing mold would only diminish these features and potentially weaken the space.”

This article was written by Paul Golden at www.financemagnates.com.

The San Francisco-based blockchain company, Ripple has taken an undisclosed minority stake in the cryptocurrency exchange, Bitstamp in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest transcript of Galaxy Digital’s shareholder conference call.

Ripple Buys Bitstamp Stake

Ripple acquired the stakes from Pantera Capital, a US-based digital asset investment firm, and Galaxy Digital advised on the deal.

“On the back of a record year for our investment banking team, we advised Pantera, a leading blockchain asset management firm on the sale of its stake in European digital asset exchange Bitstamp to Ripple Labs in Q1,” the meeting’s transcript noted.

“Executing on a deal with this complexity, post-FTX, reinforces our position as a leading investment bank for digital assets with unparalleled sector knowledge and execution acumen, and the investment banking teams pipeline remains strong with a dozen active mandates being pursued right now by the team.”

Note that Bitstamp did put EUR on the XRPL in January. So Pantera sold Bitstamp equity to Ripple. Were there other suitors or did Pantera know Ripple wanted Bitstamp? Why did they know that? Seems a lot of backroom negotiating involved; relationships.https://t.co/SaqgJDrjSHhttps://t.co/lprO2A4bc1

— WrathofKahneman (@WKahneman) May 24, 2023

A Strategic Investment?

Bitstamp is one of the oldest cryptocurrency trading venues, established in 2011. Headquartered in Luxembourg, it is one of the top ten sport crypto exchanges and handled $171 million in trading volumes in the past 24 hours, as seen on Coinmarketcap.com.

In addition, it is one of the top platforms to trade XRP tokens, the native cryptocurrency of Ripple. XRP is the second most-traded cryptocurrency on Bitstamp, following Bitcoin. On top of that, it is the second-largest XRP market, only behind Binance, the largest crypto exchange in terms of trading volume.

Pantera invested $10 million in Bitstamp in 2014. It remained the largest shareholder in Bitstamp until 2018, when acquired by Belgium-based investment firm NXMH acquired the crypto exchange in an all-cash deal at a valuation of $60 million. Moreover, Pantera sold its stake in Bitstamp to NXMH earlier.

Neither Ripple nor Pantera did not disclose the closed deal officially. Also, the financial terms of the Bitstamp deal remain unknown.

Meanwhile, Bitstamp continues its expansion efforts within Europe and obtained registration in Spain and Italy last year. Furthermore, the exchange appointed JB Graftieaux as the CEO last May and made a few other management changes.

Gate.io in Hong Kong; CFI's new office; read today's news nuggets.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

OKX has the latest cryptocurrency exchange to apply for a French digital asset service provider (DASP) license, aiming to make the country its regional hub.

OKX’s New European Hub

The application came after OKX, the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trade volume, established a local French subsidiary, OKX France, in April. Registration with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) will make the exchange compliant with European laws and allow it to offer a suite of products and services to customers in France.

“The French DASP regulation provides a clear and secure regulatory framework for digital asset service providers,” said Tim Byun, the Head of Global Government Relations at OKX.

Additionally, Byun pointed out that several other crypto exchanges are registered in France. Indeed, OKX rival Binance and 73 other companies have received DASP licenses from the French regulator, according to the official regulatory registry.

Meanwhile, the European Union Parliament lawmakers approved the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation last month, which is now expected to become effective in July 2024. Though some sections of the law are criticized, It will bring the European cryptocurrency market under the regulatory umbrella.

“For OKX, this application is a huge opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to support new regulatory frameworks as well as to plan for the future with MiCA coming onboard in 2024 for the entire European Union,” Byun added.

The French expansion of OKX will see the hiring of around 100 people in the next three years, Coindesk reported.

Global Expansion Continues

Apart from France, the Seychelles-headquartered OKS is establishing its presence in other parts of the globe. The exchange, which already holds a Bahamas authorization and a provisional license in Dubai, will also apply for a digital asset license in Hong Kong. It has already opened an office in the Chinese self-administrative region.

“Our dedication lies in broadening our reach and involvement with European regulators, and we consider our operations in France to be crucial in this endeavour,” said Hong Fang, the President at OKX. “As a Web3 leading company, we are looking forward to introducing French people to all the amazing projects we are working on.”

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, mixed up customer funds with company revenue between 2020 and 2021, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing “three sources familiar with the matter.” The act violates the US financial laws that require both funds to be separated, the outlet said.

‘Billions of Dollars’ Commingled?

One source that had direct knowledge of the crypto exchange’s group finances, told the news agency that Binance blended its earnings with its customer’s money, with the figure running into “billions of dollars.” The source further said that the violation occurred “almost daily” in accounts held by Binance at now-liquidated US lender Silvergate Bank.

Earlier, Reuters had reported in February that Binance had secret access to a bank account held by its United States arm, Binance.US, through which the CEO, Changpeng Zhao between January and March 2021 moved over $400 million to a trading firm called Merit Peak Limited.

For its latest investigation, Reuters noted that while it could not independently confirm the source’s figures, it obtained a bank record showing that Binance on February 10, 2021, mingled $20 million from a corporate account with $15 million from an account dedicated to receiving customers’ funds. Furthermore, Reuters said it could not find evidence that customer funds were lost as a result of the commingling.

Providing Binance's reaction to the allegations, Reuters said that the exchange's spokesperson denied its finding, saying that the accounts were not used to receive user deposits. Instead, the spokesperson told Reuters, the accounts were deployed to aid users’ purchases.

“There was no commingling at any time because these are 100% corporate funds,” the spokesperson said.

Binance Blasts Reuters Report

Meanwhile, reacting to the report, Patrick Hillmann, Binance’s Chief Communication Officer, on Twitter described the story as “weak,” noting that Reuters wrote “conspiracy theories” on what the exchange had previously clarified was false. Moreover, Hillmann said the news agency lacked “zero evidence other than a ‘a former insider.’”

“We’ve been very public about where the company had regulatory shortcomings in the past, there’s no reason for a respected news outlet like Reuters to continue making stuff up,” Hillmann wrote.

Let me explain just how desperate a journalist @Reuters is to publish a negative story. The whole base of their story this morning, is that when users purchased BUSD (Paxos) from Binance, they were taken to a transaction page that had the term “deposit” on it. Users were making a…

— Patrick Hillmann (@PRHillmann) May 23, 2023

Reuters’ report comes less than two months after the US derivatives market regulator charged Binance with operating an illegal digital assets exchange in the country. Furthermore, the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission accused Zhao of running Binance via several entities and through “an intentionally opaque common enterprise.”

Hidden Road taps Crossover Markets; Equiti in Uganda; read today's nuggets.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

Canada has the highest percentage of Gen Z investors according to a new study by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a US private brokerage industry regulator. The watchdog said nearly three-quarters or 74% of Gen-Zers based in Canada and covered by the study had at least one form of investment.

The new study was conducted by FINRA Education, the regulator’s education arm, in partnership with the CFA Institute, a global association of investment professionals. The research findings are based on a November/December 2022 online survey of 2,872 Gen Zers from the US, Canada, the UK and China.

The Gen Z investors surveyed were aged 18 – 25 at the time of the study. In addition, the research examined millennials aged 26 – 41 and Gen X investors aged 42 – 57 across all regions.

Comparing its results from these jurisdictions, FINRA noted that the United States trails behind Canada with 56% of surveyed Gen Z investors in the former country saying they owned at least one form of investment. The United Kingdom and China come after with 49% and 57%, respectively.

More than Half of US Gen Zers Pile into Crypto

Meanwhile, the study found that ‘a surprisingly large percentage’ or 56% of Zoomers in the United States own at least some investments with cryptocurrency as their top choice. In detail, the research noted that young investors in the country primarily invest in cryptocurrency (55%) and individual stocks (41%).

“[Gen Z investors in the United States] are less likely than their older counterparts to use mutual funds and are more likely, along with millennials, to invest in crypto and non-fungible tokens compared with Gen Xers,” FINRA noted.

Furthermore, the FINRA-CFA Institute project found that social media (48%), internet searches (47%) and parents/family (45%) are just about as equally important as primary sources of learning about investment and finances for US Gen Zers. However, when it comes to online resources YouTube dominates (60%) which is followed by internet searches, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Reddit and Facebook.

In addition, FINRA said Gen Z investors in the United States are risk-takers with almost half (46%) “willing to take substantial or above-average financial risks.” Half of US respondents said they have previously made an investment as a result of the fear of missing out (FOMO).

Looking at barriers to investing among young people in the United States, the study found that the lack of savings (65%), lack of sufficient income, or living paycheck-to-paycheck (64%) are the biggest discouraging factors for Zoomers who did not own any form of investment. Additionally, more than half of the young investors (56%) cited a lack of knowledge about investing as a major reason they do not have any investments.

Young Investors across the World

Meanwhile, the British financial regulator released a study on young investors on Wednesday, noting that only 20% of youths are capable of disregarding investment hype despite the fact that the number is significantly higher (33%) when it comes to dating hype. At the start of the year, Cyprus' financial watchdog published a report on retail investor behaviour, noting that only 31% of retail investors rely on so-called ‘finfluencers’.

In a related development, Finance Magnates recently reported that regulators across the world are increasingly cracking down on ‘finfluencers’. However, questions remain about what regulatory approach should be taken towards them.

Hantec Markets’ brand ambassadors; FlexTrade brings AI; read today's news nuggets.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

Hot news: These changes have happened in the last hour.

In the last one hour Bitcoin is leading the record of among the most popular crypto-currency in the trading ecosystem, it has an decrease of -0.33% from its previous value from 6631.875 dollars now at 6609.990 dollars exchange rate. Next to Bitcoin is T..

The post Bitcoin $6609.990 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 09:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: The summaries of the last one hour are the followings:

Bitcoin is leading the rank on the most popular crypto-currency, it has an upsurge of 0.12% in its exchange rate, which means 6668.000 dollars from the 6660.008 dollars earlier. Tether is in the second position as Bitcoin leads the first spot. ..

The post Bitcoin $6668.000 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 08:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

In the last hour, Bitcoin is leading the cryptocurrency rank. A fall in the exchange rate was seen from 6663.014 dollars to 6640.360 dollars a -0.34% change. Next to Bitcoin is Tether in the second position..

The post Bitcoin $6640.360 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 07:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here you can read the new CryptoCurrency report of the last 60 Minutes.

Bitcoin is leading the rank in the last hour as the most popular crypto currency in the trade market, with a recorded fall on its value of about -0.12% in the last hour with a current standing rate of 6674.850 dollars from 6682..

The post Bitcoin $6674.850 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 06:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: There were a lot of happenings in the last 60 minutes on the Crypto stock exchanges.

Bitcoin is listed as the most popular cryptocurrency in the market. In the last sixty minutes, it had an downswing of -0.19% on its trading price. This means from 6699.038 dollars now at 6686.310 dollars. Tether is..

The post Bitcoin $6686.310 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 05:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Now we show you the newest summary of 60 minutes.

Bitcoin is now leading the rank on the most popular digital currency in the trade market. It has an decrease of -0% in its exchange rate from 6704.570 dollars now at 6704.570 dollars. Bitcoin is seconded by Tether, in a 60 minutes time it has a drop..

The post Bitcoin $6704.570 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 04:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

Bitcoin was in the top position in the last hour, the exchange rate decreases from 6710.021 dollars to 6709.350. This is a -0.01% recorded change. Tether is at the second position next to Bitcoin, with a re..

The post Bitcoin $6709.350 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 03:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: These changes have happened in the last hour.

Bitcoin was in the top position in the last hour, the exchange rate increases from 6689.711 dollars to 6709.780. This is a 0.3% recorded change. Bitcoin is followed by Tether, with a -0.07% tumble on its trade value in the last one hour, equivalent to 0..

The post Bitcoin $6709.780 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 02:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

The number one cryptocurrency leader is Bitcoin, this data was fetched in the last hour. It has an decrease on its trade value to -0.2%, now at 6687.450 dollars from 6700.852. Tether is at the second positi..

The post Bitcoin $6687.450 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 01:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: These are the changes of the CryptoCurrency market in the last one hour.

Bitcoin is now leading the rank on the most popular digital currency in the trade market. It has an increase of 0.05% in its exchange rate from 6689.215 dollars now at 6692.560 dollars. Tether is next to the leading crypto Bit..

The post Bitcoin $6692.560 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 00:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

RockX, an Asia-based institutional-grade staking services provider, announced today the broadening of its staking product suite with the addition of a new ether (ETH) native staking solution. This latest offering strengthens RockX’s position as a comprehensive provider of diverse staking needs, maneuvering quickly to the evolving crypto market landscape. Navigating the Ethereum ecosystem presents institutions with […]

The post RockX broadens suite with launch of new ether (ETH) native staking solution appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Hex Trust, a regulated institutional-grade crypto-asset custodian, today announced it has partnered with The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world to enable fully-licensed and highly-secure custody of assets such as LAND in The Sandbox’s metaverse. The partnership sees Hex Trust fully integrate LAND into its custody platform, Hex Safe, which supports cryptocurrencies, security tokens, and NFTs. […]

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CoinFlip, a bitcoin ATM and crypto services company, announced today a new offering with the launch of ‘Olliv,’ a self-custody-powered crypto platform. The Olliv platform provides a frictionless way to buy, sell, send, receive, and swap cryptocurrency securely stored on a self-custodial wallet, removing the uncertainty of unknown third-party custodians. By leveraging CoinFlip’s existing network […]

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Deribit, a popular cryptocurrency derivatives platform, has announced the launch of zero-fee spot trading, allowing clients to buy and sell crypto while simultaneously managing risk using other derivatives. Spot trading will start on April, 24th 2023 at 1 PM UTC with three pairs (BTC/USDC, ETH/USDC, and ETH/BTC), providing clients with a simple and free solution […]

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Japan-based banking giant Nomura, announced today that its digital assets subsidiary, Laser Digital, has made a strategic investment in Infinity, a non-custodial interest rate protocol built on Ethereum. Infinity’s wholesale exchange, the first of several planned infrastructures, provides inter-exchange clearing, fixed and floating rate markets, as well as enterprise-grade risk management utilizing hybrid on-chain/off-chain infrastructures […]

The post Nomura’s Laser Digital invests in Infinity, an Ethereum-based money market protocol appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Blocknative, a real-time Ethereum (ETH) infrastructure platform, has newly introduced features including transaction bundle send, cancellation, and replacement support for the Blocknative Builder. Searchers can now submit MEV bundles privately to the Blocknative Builder to be included on-chain. This market utility builds upon Blocknative’s reliable, real-time infrastructure that is systematically important to the Ethereum ecosystem. […]

The post ETH infrastructure platform Blocknative adds TX bundles, cancellation, and replacement support appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Eventus, a provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, announced today that cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Deribit has chosen the firm’s Validus platform to provide market abuse monitoring on the exchange. Headquartered in Panama City, Panama, Deribit is one of the largest cryptocurrency options exchanges by volume and open interest, with approximately 90% […]

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Gemini, the popular bitcoin & crypto exchange company, today announced the launch of electronic over-the-counter trading (eOTC), an automated crypto trading solution designed for institutions. The Gemini eOTC solution offers a variety of advantages to institutional traders including: Competitive Pricing & Execution: Liquidity is sourced from top-tier liquidity providers with deep liquidity pools, enabling counterparties […]

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GenTwo Digital, the crypto-asset securitization platform based out of Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland, today announced a partnership with Coinbase, the publicly-listed cryptocurrency platform. This new partnership for GenTwo Digital allows all Coinbase crypto assets to be wrapped in bankable financial investment products and enables financial intermediaries to issue certificates such AMCs (Actively Management Certificates). […]

The post Crypto securitization platform GenTwo links to all Coinbase assets appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

ThunderCore, a leading blockchain & web3 ecosystem announced today that they are making a new development push, partnering with new validators as the chain rolls out its new crypto staking model. The newest ThunderCore validators include the famous crypto-asset exchange Huobi and one of the earliest staking platforms in the space, MyCointainer. Users of both […]

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Pods, creators of a DeFi platform, announced today that earlier this year, the team raised $5.6M in seed funding to create structured products for crypto-assets. The financing featured investors such as IOSG, Tomahawk, Republic, Framework Ventures, and more. The first strategy on Pods Yield is stETHvv (Ethereum Volatility Vault). stETHvv is a low-risk product focused […]

The post DeFi protocol Pods raises $5.6M to support its structured crypto products dApp appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Deribit, the popular cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, announced today it has launched a new ‘Proof of Reserves‘ tool for clients using the trading platform. Now, clients are provided with the functionality to verify their assets to be included in Deribit’s overall reserves. How it Works Deribit provides all addresses for all on-chain assets and it delivers […]

The post Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit releases new client verification of assets tool appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Tenderly, creators of a blockchain development platform, today announced that it is the first web3 development platform to offer simulations through RPC on its Tenderly Web3 Gateway, the company’s production node as a service. Note, Tenderly already processes more than 50 million simulations per month through its Transaction Simulator. Now, the company is introducing the […]

The post Tenderly introduces TXN simulations on its blockchain gateway for efficient dApp development appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

DFINITY Foundation, the not-for-profit organization contributing to the development of the Internet Computer (IC) — a high-speed, internet-scale public blockchain — has announced today the Internet Computer’s mainnet integration with Bitcoin, bringing smart contract functionality to the cryptocurrency. Now, the Internet Computer can serve as a layer-2 for Bitcoin where smart contracts on the Internet […]

The post DFINITY brings new smart contract functionality to Bitcoin with Internet Computer integration appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Coinbase, the popular bitcoin & crypto exchange company, announced today it will be rolling out ‘Easy Bank Transfers’ for UK users. The new feature delivers an easy way to add funds to Coinbase accounts. Through a partnership with TrueLayer, one of Europe’s leading open banking platforms, Coinbase is able to support Easy Bank Transfers, which […]

The post Crypto exchange Coinbase to support Easy Bank Transfers for UK users appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Biconomy, a web3 development platform & toolkit that superpowers blockchain technology stacks, today announced it has launched a software development kit (SDK) to transform the way developers build easy-to-use decentralized applications (dApps). Since 2019, Biconomy has been engaged with the web3 infrastructure space by building easy-to-integrate, plug-and-play APIs for developers to scale their projects. The […]

The post Biconomy releases new SDK for better crypto and blockchain development appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Trust Wallet, a self-custodial and multi-chain cryptocurrency wallet application, has announced the launch of its brand-new browser extension wallet. Supporting all EVM chains, as well as Solana, it is available now on browsers including Chrome, Brave, and Opera. The browser extension complements Trust Wallet’s mobile wallet, which is the world’s leading mobile crypto wallet with […]

The post Trust Wallet launches anticipated browser extension of its crypto management app appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

BlockFills, a company specializing in building trading and management solutions for cryptocurrency market participants, today announced the launch of Vision Crypto Cloud, a secure, full-service, end-to-end digital asset trading, order management, and risk management platform. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform enables institutions to quickly access the crypto ecosystem out of the box, without the multi-year timeline […]

The post BlockFills launches end-to-end enterprise crypto trading technology stack appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Hash Blockchain Limited (HBL), a member of the HashKey Group (HashKey), a blockchain asset financial services group in Asia, announced today it has received approval from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) to operate a virtual asset trading platform, under a Type 1 (dealing in securities) license and a Type 7 (automated […]

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Pundi X, a blockchain payments startup, recently announced that its “On-chain payment” function within its XPOS crypto point-of-sale platform is now known as “Cashier Pro” and available for all merchants. Cashier Pro enables merchants to accept crypto payments from 3rd party blockchain wallet users across multiple blockchain networks, including Bitcoin Lightning Network, BNB Chain, Ethereum, and […]

The post Pundi X’s on-chain payment app for merchants now called Cashier Pro, adds Tron appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

BetDEX Labs, the company behind BetDEX, a new sports betting exchange for peer-to-peer wagering, this week announced that the BetDEX Exchange will officially launch on the Solana mainnet on Thursday, November 17th, which coincides with the beginning of the 2022 World Cup. Just recently, BetDEX became one of the first licensed sports betting exchanges built […]

The post Solana-powered sports wagering platform BetDEX to launch ahead of World Cup appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

OKX, one of the largest crypto exchanges by volume and a leading web3 platform, today announced its registration as a Digital Asset Business in The Bahamas under the newly adopted Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (DARE) Act. The company has also formed a new subsidiary, OKX Bahamas, for which it appointed Dr. Jillian Bethel, a […]

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Today, crypto services company Blockchain.com, announced the launch of its new Visa debit card. With the Blockchain.com Visa card, users can spend any crypto in their Blockchain.com Wallet without fees while earning 1% back in crypto on all purchases. Key Features: Works like a debit card – Pay from crypto or cash balances anywhere Visa […]

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Kraken, the popular crypto exchange, has announced the results of its second 2022 Proof of Reserves audit, which has now been expanded beyond *BTC, and ETH* to include USDT, USDC, XRP, ADA*, and DOT.  *Indicates Proof of Reserves audit covered assets held both on Kraken’s spot exchange and Kraken’s staking platform. The addition of five […]

The post Crypto exchange Kraken’s second reserves audit adds 5 new assets: USDT, USDC, XRP, ADA, and DOT appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Blocknative, a web3 infrastructure company, today launched the Transaction Distribution Network (TDN). This tool allows blockchain users to respond to pre-chain risks and opportunities faster than ever, ensuring each transaction has the best chance of getting into the next block. The result is better, more predictable outcomes when submitting or replacing transactions. TDN works by […]

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FTX reboot is in the works, Multichain issues spark uncertainty and Sam Altman’s crypto project Worldcoin raises millions of dollars.

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DeFi saw another multimillion-dollar rug pull this past week, and the Multichain saga continues to spiral out of control.

The Neuralink device is designed to be surgically implanted and, according to CEO Elon Musk, will eventually be marketed to the general public.

Cointelegraph analyst and writer Marcel Pechman explains why the cryptocurrency market has lost 60% of its market cap, with the S&P 500 only about 15% from its all-time high.

The highly accessible introductory text mentions all the concepts and names a curious reader would need, along with some assessments.

The recovery in the U.S. stock market seems to have acted as a catalyst for the relief rally in Bitcoin and select altcoins.

Twitter emailed researchers to let them know they’ll either have to delete their data or pay $42,000 to keep using the platform’s API.

Bitcoin decides that bad news is not bad enough as upside volatility accompanies proof that U.S. inflation remains sticky.

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Binance and its Thai partner Gulf Innova have secured digital asset operator licenses in Thailand to launch a new crypto exchange.

Litecoin (LTC) is still trending low like the rest of the cryptocurrency market but one thing that separates the altcoin from the others is its obvious bullish case. Unlike the rest of the market, Litecoin looks set for another rally which will likely be propelled forward by the next halving. Litecoin Halving Presents Bullish Scenario Just like Bitcoin, the Litecoin halving happens every four years and cuts block rewards by 50%. The aim of this halving is to reduce the amount of new supply flowing into the market. And as demand rises, there is less supply to meet this demand, thus leading to scarcity and a surge in prices. Related Reading: When Is A Token Coming For Coinbase’s Base L2? Here’s What The Roadmap Says The next Litecoin halving is now around the corner with only about three months left to go. This halving, like the ones before it, carries the same promise of a rally for the digital asset. The last halving in 2019 saw LTC’s price bottom out around $62 and then rally to a local peak of $80 in the same month. LTC halving will happen in August | Source: Nicehash If this year’s halving stays true to this trend, then the digital asset should be seeing some upside in the coming months. This could result in LTC clearing the $100 level once more as investors prep for the next leg-up. A 20% upside is attainable at this point, especially with the halving expected to happen in early August. So more than likely, the buyers will dominate the market for the next two months, leading to rising prices for Litecoin. LTC Outlook For 2023 Presently, the crypto market is seeing muted momentum as investors remain indecisive. For Litecoin, the upcoming halving remains a bullish event but the prospects for the months following the halving event do not look good given historical performances. Previous performance paint bull case for LTC | Source: LTCUSD on TradingView.com After each halving, LTC has seen a reversal in sentiment following the initial surge and the subsequent crashes have been more brutal than the uptrends. For example in 2019, LTC’s price crashed almost 50% in the month of September, one month after the halving was completed. This was because the bull market was yet to begin and the cryptocurrency fell back into lockstep with the rest of the market again. Related Reading: Elon Musk Reveals Reason Behind Dogecoin Investment, But Why Is DOGE Down? Going by this historical performance, it would seem the best time to take profits would be toward the end of August after the asset has rallied around 30%. The window of opportunity closes with the month of September which has historically been a bearish month for cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, LTC is trading at $87.11, up 3.22% in the last day. Follow Best Owie on Twitter for market insights, updates, and the occasional funny tweet… Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin’s (BTC) current sideways price action has left investors wondering what the future holds for the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The upcoming interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve (Fed) may pose the next big challenge for Bitcoin, according to the crypto market analysis firm Blofin Academy. Related Reading: Arbitrum (ARB) Fallout: 70% Price Drop, But These Charts Reveal Its True Value Is Bitcoin Ready For The Heat Of Interest Rate Hikes? The US economy has shown considerable resilience in recent months, prompting the Fed to consider raising interest rates to prevent inflation. However, this could be bad news for the crypto market, as higher interest rates tend to make traditional investments more attractive, potentially leading to a decrease in demand for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The correlation between interest rates and Bitcoin’s price action has been observed in the past. When interest rates rise, investors tend to move their money into traditional investment vehicles such as stocks and bonds, leading to a decrease in demand for cryptocurrencies. However, it’s worth noting that Bitcoin has often been viewed as a hedge against inflation, which means that it could still hold some appeal for investors during times of economic uncertainty.  The next scheduled Fed meeting is set to take place on June 14, 2023, where the central bank will likely discuss the possibility of raising interest rates in response to the current state of the US economy.  Macro Determinants Leave Crypto Traders Waiting Noelle Acheson, owner of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” newsletter, has cautioned against investors piling into the crypto market at this time. While the upside potential for Bitcoin remains significant, Acheson suggests that there is currently no compelling reason for investors to take on additional risk. According to Acheson, there are few macro determinants at the moment, such as debt limit negotiations and Fed rate policy, which are leaving investors waiting for more clarity before making any major investment decisions. As a result, there is a sense of caution in the market as traders wait to see how these macro factors will play out. Despite the lack of clarity, Acheson notes that there is not much reason for existing crypto holders to sell their holdings. This suggests that the current wait-and-see period is not necessarily a sign of bearish sentiment in the market, but rather a period of caution as investors await more information. Acheson also notes that there may be some downside movement in the near term, but the belief in a potential rally is not strong enough to warrant the possibility of missing out on any potential gains. As a result, there has been some buying and selling in the market, but not enough to significantly increase volatility despite low volumes and liquidity. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $26,700, reflecting a 1.2% increase over the last 24 hours. However, the 50-day Moving Average (MA) has placed the largest cryptocurrency in a narrow range between $26,200 and $26,800. This means that Bitcoin may struggle to surpass its current trading range in the near term, as the 50-day MA is currently situated at the upper end of this range on the 1-hour chart, making it a challenging level to breach. While Bitcoin has experienced some upside movements in recent weeks, the current trading range suggests that further gains may be limited until there is a significant shift in market sentiment or the emergence of a bullish catalyst. Related Reading: Why This Signal Means Uniswap’s Bear Run Is Almost Over Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com 

Politicians in the United States will likely strike a deal and raise the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for two more years. Amid this debate, the price of Bitcoin is firm but lower, tracking below the psychological $30,000 level as bulls recover after posting sharp losses mid-this week. The Debt Ceiling Debate There are reports that there will be more discretionary spending on the military and veterans with the reduction of other sectors. Moreover, there are unconfirmed reports that the Biden administration will likely not fund the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to boost collection, as laid out earlier. Instead, the immediate focus will be to hire more auditors and target wealthy citizens. Related Reading: Bitcoin Up After Fed Rate Reveal, Correlation With Stocks Over? There are concerns that the Treasury Department and the United States government will default on their obligation as soon as the first half of June 2023. Even though highly unlikely, as the Treasury Department has said it will liquidate $119 billion of debt on that day, the market is watching how discussions pan out. Bitcoin is firming up after losses on May 24. As a deal is reportedly struck and consensus reached, politicians would once again lift the debt ceiling, sending mixed signals to the economy. Unlike in previous years when top cryptocurrencies were decoupled from the mainstream economy, things have changed as Bitcoin’s prominence rises. Will Bitcoin Benefit? BTC prices will likely rally if there is an instance of default brought about by politicians disagreeing on the way forward. On the reverse side, a deal that addresses concerns brought by the negotiating parties could signal confidence in the economy despite more debt on the table. This averts a crisis and keeps operations running, removing uncertainty and stabilizing the economy. In that case, the USD could strengthen, possibly reversing gains by Bitcoin bulls in the last two trading days. Still, the crypto community remains bullish on Bitcoin considering macroeconomic events and next year’s halving. After months of steady interest rate hikes, the United States Federal Reserve could slow down rate increments in the next meeting in mid-June. Their action could support the commodities and securities markets. Related Reading: Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council Approves Blockchain Policy At the same time, the expected supply shock following the halving of Bitcoin miner rewards could make BTC scarcer, driving prices even higher. Miners are special nodes tasked with confirming transactions and decentralizing the network. If past price action can be used to predict future formations, BTC’s prospects look positive. Before the rally of 2020 to 2021, BTC prices bottomed up in 2018 and rose in 2019 before the halving event 2020. The same pattern may be repeated through to 2024 when Bitcoin halving occurs. Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView

Arbitrum (ARB) has been making waves in the crypto world as it recently became the 4th largest ecosystem in the market. Despite experiencing a sharp decline of 70% since its airdrop, Arbitrum’s native token has continued to gain attention from investors, currently trading around $1.158, down from $1.1808 on April 18th. Related Reading: Toncoin (TON) Continues Downward Trend As Bears Maintain Control Arbitrum Defies The Odds According to the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) researcher Deebs, Arbitrum has emerged as a major player in the crypto market, with its Total Value Locked (TVL) soaring to an impressive $2.3 billion. This puts it in 4th position by TVL, surpassing many of its competitors.  Additionally, since the launch of Arbitrum, the value of stablecoins has grown by over $500 million in just two months. At its peak, the network’s active user base reached over 600,000, surpassing Optimism (OP), a fast, stable, and scalable L2 blockchain built by Ethereum developers, and nearly overtaking the blockchain platform designed to host decentralized, scalable applications Solana (SOL).  Despite these impressive metrics, ARB’s price has experienced a significant drop of 70% since its airdrop and has had very little positive price action since. However, DeFi researcher Deebs believes that this dip in price may be a sign of a hidden gem in the crypto market. One of the main factors that make Arbitrum an attractive investment opportunity is its high TVL, user base, and liquidity. In fact, since its launch, Arbitrum has maintained the highest liquidity of all Layer 2 (L2) networks and is the third highest of all chains on DeFi Llama. Furthermore, while many other chains have a market capitalization to TVL ratio above 1, Arbitrum boasts one of the smallest ratios at 0.6. This means that the potential price upside for ARB is significantly higher than its competitors, making it an enticing investment opportunity for those looking for long-term gains. Additionally, ARB’s technology has been praised for its ability to address some of the key issues facing the crypto industry, such as scalability and high transaction fees. ARB’s use of cutting-edge technology such as Optimistic Rollups provides a solution to these problems, making it an attractive option for investors looking for a reliable network with great potential. Another positive sign for ARB is the amount of support it has received from major players in the crypto industry. This includes partnerships with well-known crypto projects such as Uniswap, Aave, and Chainlink. These collaborations demonstrate that the industry recognizes the value of ARB’s technology and the potential it holds for the future of decentralized finance. Related Reading: JPMorgan Predicts Bitcoin (BTC) To Revisit $45,000, Here’s Why Overall, despite the recent drop in price, ARB’s strong fundamentals and growing network usage suggest that it is a hidden gem in the crypto market. Its partnerships with major players in the industry, as well as its innovative technology, make it a promising investment opportunity for those looking to capitalize on the potential of decentralized finance. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com 

The price of Uniswap, the largest decentralized exchange by trading volume, is down roughly 35% from Q1 2023 peaks. Even so, on-chain data from Etherscan shows that there has been a steady increase in the number of UNI holders in the past two days. As of May 13, there were 369,646 UNI holders. Since then, the number has increased to over 370,100 as of May 26. During this time, UNI prices have remained stable but relatively high. Based on the UNIUSDT chart, the prices have found support around $4.9. However, prices have increased by approximately 10% over the past two weeks, rising to $5.4. Although the number of UNI holders may not directly affect the prices, there is a clear correlation between the demand for UNI and the increase in token prices. Related Reading: Toncoin (TON) Continues Downward Trend As Bears Maintain Control Several factors could have provided tailwinds for UNI, the governance token of Uniswap.  Apple Jail Break On May 23, Uniswap’s mobile wallet was released from what Uniswap Labs, the team maintaining Uniswap, said was “Apple jail.”  With this jailbreak, users can download the Uniswap Wallet, that’s non-custodial like MetaMask.  Through this wallet, users can buy and sell various supported cryptocurrencies.  This announcement is bullish because as more users opt for Uniswap Wallet, the demand for the decentralized exchange could rise, increasing its dominance and stature.  While MetaMask remains the most dominant Ethereum and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) wallet enabling the storing and trading of various tokens, even using processors like PayPal, the popularity of Uniswap could see Uniswap Wallet gnaw market share.  Presently, Uniswap Labs said their wallet could support the trading of tokens across Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, and Arbitrum. Uniswap To Launch On Base? Earlier on, the Uniswap contributors proposed the deployment of the DEX v3 on Coinbase’s Base.  Among supporters of this proposal is GFX Labs, one of the largest UNI holders and supporters of Uniswap’s expansion to other chains. Recently, GFX Labs voted for the launch of the DEX on BNB Smart Chain (BSC) and MoonBeam.  Even so, before voting starts, the proposal will undergo a “temperature check-up” to gauge community support. If there is majority support, it will proceed to the next step. Uniswap v3 is the latest iteration of the DEX, introducing the concept of concentrated liquidity for higher capital efficiency and more return on investment (ROI) for liquidity providers.  Base is a layer-2, open-source, and EVM-compatible platform by Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Related Reading: JPMorgan Predicts Bitcoin (BTC) To Revisit $45,000, Here’s Why It is unclear whether the above-spurred demand for UNI, pushed the number of holders higher in the last week.  However, this could suggest that the project is generating interest, which may support future token prices. Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView

Toncoin (TON) has experienced a negative price decline, resulting in a bearish sentiment among investors of the altcoin. TON has been exhibiting a bearish strength on a monthly timeframe, based on data from CoinMarketCap.  Within the last 30-Day trading session, the asset is down by 15,67%, indicating a high bearish strength with low buying pressure. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance As of the time of writing, the asset is experiencing a decline in value, as it’s down today by 2.76%. This downward trend has resulted in the asset, TON, reaching a low point of $1.91.  The decrease in value reflects a temporary setback in the market, indicating a decrease in investor confidence. It also detects a shift in the supply and demand dynamics surrounding the asset. Toncoin (TON) Bears Maintained Their Positions Toncoin (TON) witnessed a sharp price decline on May 23, from $2.03 to its present value of $1.89. This price decline represents a loss of 6.89%. This decline reflects the dominance of bearish sentiment in the market, which shows a lack of investor confidence and a shift in the supply and demand dynamics. According to the market sentiment indicator, the current market sentiment is bearish, while the Fear & Greed index value is a neutral 49. Notably, a Fear & Greed index value below 50 points to an increase in bearish momentum. Conversely, an important resistance level is noted at $2.080, representing a significant hurdle for potential upward movement.  Toncoin trades below the 50-day and 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). The SMAs formed a Death Cross in the TON market on May 21, 2023.  This confirms the bearish sentiment present in the market, indicating a potential sell signal and further price decline. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) momentum oscillator value is 40.98 and points downwards. RSI is a popular indicator showing whether a cryptocurrency is oversold or overbought.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level If TON RSI drops below 30, it may ignite high selling pressure and further price decline. TON Demand Index and Bollinger Bands Signals Bearish Activities The TON/USDT trading pair demand index is at -0.449, suggesting relatively weak demand for the asset in the market. Note that a demand index below zero is generally considered a lack of buying pressure. It also indicates that the selling pressure outweighs the buying interest. In addition, the asset is heading toward the lower part of the Bollinger Bands indicator. This suggests an increase in selling pressure and high bearish momentum. Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview.com

In a recent note, JPMorgan strategists have made a prediction, suggesting that Bitcoin (BTC) could soar and revisit its former trading price of $45,000 due to the rising price of gold. This prediction comes amid Bitcoin’s price action of a blend of bulls and bears in the past week. Meanwhile, over the past 24 hours, BTC has seen a 2.1% gain with a current trading price above $26,000. The current surge comes after Bitcoin previously fall that dropped its price below its previously ranging market price of $28,000. Bitcoin And Gold: A Correlation Bitcoin and gold have often been regarded as alternative investments by investors, and their prices have displayed a tendency to move in tandem. Given this, JPMorgan analysts note that the current gold price, hovering near $2,000 per ounce, implies a Bitcoin price of $45,000. This assumption is based on the idea that BTC will reach a similar standing as gold in the portfolios of private investors. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Struggles To Recover and Remains Vulnerable To Fresh Decline JP Morgan wrote in a note: With the gold price rising above $2,000, the value of gold held for investment purposes outside central banks is currently valued at around [$3 trillion]. In turn, this implies a $45,000 price for bitcoin under the assumption that bitcoin equalizes gold in private investors’ portfolios in risk capital or [volume]-adjusted terms. One key factor contributing to JPMorgan’s optimistic prediction is the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, scheduled to take place between April and May 2024. The halving mechanism reduces the rate at which new Bitcoins are produced, effectively doubling the production cost. The JPMorgan strategists believe this event will push Bitcoin’s production cost to approximately $40,000, acting as a lower bound and potentially driving the price upward. Drawing from historical data, JPMorgan highlights the bullish trajectory observed during previous halving events in 2016 and 2020. These events were accompanied by significant surges in Bitcoin prices, indicating the potential for a similar outcome following the next halving. As a result, JPMorgan sets an upper limit of $45,000 for BTC, indicating limited potential beyond the increase driven by the doubling of production costs. Reflecting On Ethereum (ETH) While Bitcoin takes the spotlight in JPMorgan’s prediction, the bank suggests that Ethereum (ETH) may face some selling pressure in the near term, extending beyond the Shanghai upgrade until mid-year. JPMorgan expects Ethereum to “somewhat underperform” BTC during this period. However, it’s essential to note that Ethereum’s performance is subject to a range of factors, including market dynamics and technological developments. Related Reading: The Best Decision Is To ‘Buy Bitcoin (BTC),’ Robert Kiyosaki Urges Meanwhile, regardless of JPMorgan’s prediction, BTC is currently in a bullish trend recording an uptick. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has seen more than a 2% gain, while the past seven days have seen a dip of 1.2%. At the time of writing, the top crypto currently trades at $26,823. Bitcoin’s trading volume has, however, ranged around $20 billion in the past 7 days, indicating a possible accumulation. Bitcoin currently has a trading volume of $13.1 billion in the past 24 hours. Featured image from Shutterstock, Chart from TradingView

A top SHIB whale added $1.18 million worth of Shiba Inu within 24 hours. Data from Etherscan.io reveals that this whale ranked as the nineteenth largest SHIB holder accumulating 140 Billion SHIB. The whale acquired the SHIB tokens in two separate transactions marking its second massive accumulation within 72 hours. SHIB Token Burns And Shibarium Launch Likely Behind Accumulation Shiba Inu network and users engaged in massive SHIB burn events in 2023. The burning mechanism aims to reduce excess tokens and boost SHIB’s price. However, no notable price increase has occurred since the token burn events.  Nevertheless, the top SHIB whales are accumulating the tokens ahead of the Shibarium launch and a possible price increase for the asset. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level BLAZE token has been identified as the largest SHIB burner in recent times on the ecosystem. Shiba Inu Team Member Projects Timeline For Shibarium Launch A member of Shiba Inu’s marketing team, LUCIE, shared her thoughts on the proposed mainnet launch of Shibarium in a Tweet.  Shibarium is a Layer-2 (L2) scaling solution created for the Shiba Inu ecosystem. Its launch date is highly speculative, with several dates proposed in the past. However, LUCIE stated that she guessed the launch date would be in Q3 of 2023, while Shiba Inu founder Shytoshi Kusama projects in July. The exact launch date remains a mystery and LUCIE believes the Shibarium Mainnet Launch will happen between the second and third quarters of 2023.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance Additionally, she believes that Shiba’s team remains confident about the launch, with multiple teams working on it and exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration. LUCIE emphasized that the testing process is crucial and security audits are necessary before its launch. She explained further, that if tests go wrong, the Shibarium mainnet release will delay. Shiba Inu Price Outlook Despite the recent announcements concerning Shibarium’s launch, SHIB did not record much price fluctuation. It traded at $0.000009967 on May 1, 2023, before moving to $0.00001002 on May 2. However, by May 4, its price dropped to $0.000009896, losing some of its earlier gains. SHIB dropped to $0.000008695 on May 11, showing price volatility. The bulls attempted to rally on May 23, pushing its price to $0.000008899. However, SHIB met resistance returning to $0.000008519 on May 24 and is trading at $0.000008479 at press time today, depicting a 0.16% increase in 24 hours.  Despite the price gain, SHIB’s trading volume is down by 8%, a possible signal of traders’ hesitation in the market. But the launch of the Shibarium mainnet in the ecosystem may be the price catalyst SHIB needs to reclaim its gains as it may boost SHIB usage. Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview.com

On-chain data suggests a majority of the Bitcoin exchange inflows are currently coming from investors holding their coins at a loss. Bitcoin Exchange Inflow Volume Is Tending Towards Losses Right Now According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, the short-term holders are mostly contributing to these loss inflows. The “exchange inflow” is an indicator that measures the total amount of Bitcoin that’s currently flowing into the wallets of centralized exchanges. Generally, investors deposit to these platforms whenever want to sell, so a large amount of inflows can be a sign that a selloff is going on in the BTC market right now. Low values of the metric, on the other hand, imply holders may not be participating in much selling at the moment, which can be bullish for the price. In the context of the current discussion, the exchange inflow itself isn’t of relevance; a related metric called the “exchange inflow volume profit/loss bias” is. As this indicator’s name already suggests, it tells us whether the inflows going to exchanges are coming from profit or loss holders currently. When this metric has a value greater than 1, it means the majority of the inflow volume contains coins that their holders had been carrying at a profit. Similarly, values under the threshold imply a dominance of the loss volume. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin exchange inflow profit/loss bias over the last few years: The value of the metric seems to have observed some decline in recent days | Source: Glassnode on Twitter As shown in the above graph, the Bitcoin exchange inflow volume profit/loss bias has had a value above 1 for most of the ongoing rallies that started back in January of this year. This suggests that most of the exchange inflows in this period have come from the profit holders. This naturally makes sense, as any rally generally entices a large number of holders to sell and harvest their gains. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance There have been a couple of exceptional instances, however. The first was back in March when the asset’s price plunged below the $20,000 level. The bias in the market shifted towards loss selling then, implying that some investors who bought around the local top had started capitulating. A similar pattern has also occurred recently, as the cryptocurrency’s price has stumbled below the $27,000 level. Following this plunge, the indicator’s value has come down to just 0.70. Further data from Glassnode reveals that the bias of the long-term holders (LTHs), the investors holding their coins since at least 155 days ago, have actually leaned towards profits recently. Looks like the indicator has a positive value right now | Source: Glassnode on Twitter From the chart, it’s visible that the indicator has a value of 1.73 for the LTHs, implying a strong bias toward profits. Naturally, if the LTHs haven’t been selling at a loss, the opposite cohort must be the short-term holders (STHs). This group seems to have a heavy loss bias currently | Source: Glassnode on Twitter Interestingly, the indicator’s value for the STHs is 0.69, which is almost exactly the same as the average for the entire market. This would mean that the LTHs have contributed relatively little to selling pressure recently. The STHs selling right now would be the ones that bought at and near the top of the rally so far and their capitulation may be a sign that these weak hands are currently being cleansed from the market. Although the indicator hasn’t dipped as low as in March yet, this capitulation could be a sign that a local bottom may be near for Bitcoin. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $26,400, down 1% in the last week. BTC has struggled recently | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, Glassnode.com

On-chain data from Santiment suggests that altcoins across the entire cryptocurrency sector may be underbought right now. MVRV Of The Various Altcoins Suggests Underpriced Conditions According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Santiment, cryptocurrency assets have become underbought as traders are now capitulating following a failed price rebound. The relevant indicator here is the “MVRV” (Market Value to Realized Value), which measures the ratio between the market cap and the realized cap of a given cryptocurrency. Here, the “realized cap” refers to a capitalization model for BTC where the value of any coin in the circulating supply is assumed to be not the current spot price, but the price at which it was last transacted on the blockchain. This model aims to calculate a sort of “fair value” for the asset. As the MVRV compares the market cap (that is, the current price) with the real value of the cryptocurrency, it can provide hints about whether the price is currently overinflated or not. Santiment has defined an “opportunity” zone and a “danger” zone for this indicator. As their names already imply, the asset in question becomes underpriced when the metric is in the former area, while it becomes overpriced in the latter one. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bearish Signal: NUPL Finds Rejection At Long-Term Resistance Here is a chart that shows the trend in the divergence of the MVRV from these zones for the various altcoins in the sector: The value of the metric seems to be above zero for most of the market | Source: Santiment on Twitter Whenever the MVRV divergence has a value of 1 or more, the indicator is said to be inside the opportunity zone. Similarly, the danger area occurs below a value of -1. While these are the two extreme zones, the metric being firmly inside either the positive or the negative zone (but not hitting either of these thresholds), still signals slight underbought or overpriced conditions, respectively. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hangs At $26,200: Why This Is A Crucial Support Level This means that the chances of bullish rebounds can become greater whenever the indicator enters positive territory. From the chart, it’s visible that the vast majority of the coins in the digital asset sector are at least inside the positive territory at the moment. This would imply that these coins may have become underpriced recently. Some of the altcoins are also outright inside the opportunity zone, suggesting that they may be offering low-risk buying opportunities right now. There are a few cryptocurrencies, however, that are inside the negative zone, with a couple of them even being inside dangerous territory. Such alts have more chances of registering a decline in the near future. Recently, the various altcoins have attempted to amass together a rebound, but so far, they have only seen failure. However, now that the prices have started to become undervalued, perhaps a break may be found soon. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $26,400, down 1% in the last week. Looks like BTC has once again plunged below $27,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from Art Rachen on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, Santiment.net

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has updated her projection regarding the date the U.S. government could default on its debt obligations. She warned that the Treasury “will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5.” Yellen Warns US Could Default on June […]

Florida’s 46th Governor, Ron DeSantis, recently declared his candidacy for the U.S. presidency in 2024 and has since participated in several interviews. While conversing with Dana Loesch on The Dana Show, DeSantis criticized the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a “corrupt organization” and no ally to the typical American citizen. DeSantis Discusses Single-Rate Tax […]

Trading within a Russia-led regional organization has effectively moved away from the U.S. dollar, according to the deputy head of the Russian government. The use of national currencies in the bloc’s transactions has reached around 90%, the official pointed out. EAEU Replaces Dollar in Trade With National Currencies, Russian Official Says Trade between member states […]

China’s oldest credit rating agency, Chengxin International Credit Rating (CCXI), made headlines this week by downgrading the United States’ credit rating. The agency lowered the rating from AAAg to AAg+ and attributed this decision to the escalating political discord, rising inflation, and the ongoing impasse over the debt ceiling. U.S. Credit Rating Suffers Downgrade by […]

Economist and ardent gold advocate Peter Schiff caused a stir on Friday by announcing his participation in an upcoming art sale featuring non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These unique digital collectibles will be minted on the Bitcoin blockchain using Ordinal inscription technology. Schiff’s surprising entry into the NFT market through Bitcoin has piqued the curiosity of onlookers, […]

One of Saturday’s biggest movers is XRP, which rose to a 30-day high earlier in today’s session. The token rose for a third consecutive day, as bulls returned to the market to start the weekend. Cardano was another notable gainer today. XRP XRP (formerly ripple), moved to a one-month high on Saturday, as bulls began […]

Bitcoin moved closer to the $27,000 level on Saturday, as markets continued to react to the latest Personal Consumption data from the United States. The key inflation index rose to 4.4% in April, higher than expectations of a drop to 3.9%. Ethereum also edged higher. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) rallied towards $27,000 to start the weekend, […]

The government of Argentina is reportedly seeking to expand its de-dollarization agreement with China due to the lack of dollars that the country is facing. According to reports, Economy Minister Sergio Massa would be in talks to expand the current swap line to double the available amount from $5 to $10 billion, lent in Chinese […]

Three integration unions with Russian participation, BRICS, SCO, and the EAEU, should adopt joint policies on the use of digital currencies, according to a top representative of one of them. He also believes the international organizations should develop a new payment system with its own bank cards. BRICS, SCO, and EAEU May Launch Common Payment […]

A recent study by Dappradar discloses the May loan volumes for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) reached a high of $375 million. The findings emphasize the significant influence of Blur within the NFT lending market, as the NFT marketplace platform constitutes 82% of the entire value settled in the NFT lending sector. Blur Emerges as NFT Lending […]

“I will explain why I allocate a share of my wealth to bitcoin and how I see it as ideal for preserving the value of my net worth.”

NFT influencer and founder Farokh talked to Bitcoin Magazine about the future of Ordinals and Bitcoin NFTs.

Bitcoin Core users should be sure to read through the release notes before updating their software to the latest release version.

Calling Bitcoiners “tax evaders” or imposing arbitrary tariffs can’t stop the inevitable progression of technology.

A new company will be formed by the acquisition of embattled lender Celsius, which went bankrupt amidst the larger turmoil of 2022.

The company is encouraging users to withdraw their funds and to save transaction statements before the app’s closure.

Luxor describes its newly-released methodology for improving the accuracy of Bitcoin mining difficulty predictions.

Chen elaborated on the mission of MicroBT and how the updates in the new machines exemplify this focus.

The partnership will leverage Chain Reaction’s ASIC announced at Bitcoin 2023 to further develop systems for miners.

Ideological battle lines are being drawn around artificial intelligence, and Bitcoiners need to enter the fray.

The lawsuit alleges that Crusoe’s mining operations utilizing stranded natural gas infringe upon Upstream’s patent.

Turning a profit from Bitcoin mining is a challenge, but not impossible. Here are some factors to consider if you want to start.

Ark promises easier access to a scalable Layer 2, negating the need for channel management.

Canadians who want to send money back to the Philippines can now leverage the Lightning Network to do so.

The surge of Ordinals demonstrates a significant market, but not one that Bitcoin is built to sustain on the base layer.

The rise of Ordinals has brought massive transaction volume to Bitcoin and its promise as a historic accounting innovation is starting to show.

Markets analyst Zoltan Pozsar addressed issues facing the Fed, the dollar’s diminishing power and whether bitcoin can be the world’s money.

The Bitcoin Conference will be heading to Music City next year as it brings together Bitcoiners from around the world.

DIBA, the announced marketplace, also introduces the BitMask Bitcoin-only wallet capable of storing unique digital assets.

Strike announced its availability in 65 additional countries, a new app design and USDT support at Bitcoin 2023.

At Bitcoin 2023, best-selling author and journalist Michael Lewis shared his views on Bitcoin, FTX and the ills of the financial system.

Former congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard described how CBDCs threaten freedom at the Bitcoin 2023 event.

Making his first public appearance as a presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. outlined his vision for supporting Bitcoin and freedom in the U.S.

The populous country would benefit greatly from taking advantage of the abundant renewable energy available.

Employers using payroll providers like ADP, Paychex and Paycom can now utilize Bitwage to easily pay their employees in their preferred currency.

Marathon Digital Holdings will match donations made to Brink to support Bitcoin development, for as much as a $1 million total this year.

The partnership kicked off with one of Mexico’s largest internet providers, Total Play, partnering with IBEX to integrate bitcoin Lightning payments.

The M50S++, M53S++ and M56S++ boast impressive stats that maximize efficiency while simultaneously boosting potential environmental benefits.

A physical coin loaded with 1 BTC, along with the Genesis Block text, will venture beyond the atmosphere on a space launch this summer.

Lava utilizes discreet log contracts and other Bitcoin-native mechanisms to provide a full-fledged Bitcoin financial service platform.

In a panel discussion at Bitcoin 2023, leaders from some of the largest Bitcoin-focused companies discussed building on the Lightning Network.

The SDK is designed to offer businesses and platforms an easily accessible Lightning wallet experience.

“This improperly-enacted moratorium is low-hanging fruit and Bitcoiners need to press public officials like those in Buncombe County…”

The announcement describes how the Envoy app will utilize Magic Backups to make recovery easy, alongside updates on the Passport wallet.

Users of the Swiss Bitcoin app can now take advantage of one zero-fee bitcoin purchase up to 100 CHF/EUR monthly.

The company says the funding will be used to expand its suite of Bitcoin services and strengthen its position in the market.

Formal approval for blockchain technology in Nigeria marks an about-face for the government and it could increase Bitcoin adoption.

Participants in the course will learn the basics of the Lightning Network and what additional capabilities it brings to Bitcoin.

A new office in El Salvador will make the company’s expansion into Latin America as seamless as possible.

With the specter of technologies like AI and CBDCs rising, Bitcoin 2023 will foster critical human connections.

With U.S. politicians quibbling over the debt ceiling, will more people recognize the benefits of Bitcoin?

“Having participated in many Bitcoin events in different cities and states, I’ve noticed that women are always outnumbered… This is a problem!”

2024 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for Bitcoin and the U.S. That’s why it’s time for a generational change in leadership.

The reports will look to answer questions about the impacts of El Salvador’s bitcoin legal tender law on the U.S. and other countries.

A member of Congress has now requested action in regards to billions of dollars locked in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

If your mom has a hard time getting off zero, like this author’s does, you should give it another shot on Mother’s Day.

A court filing by the Chamber of Commerce found that the SEC’s slow and unclear regulatory actions have hampered innovation.

According to a quarterly filing by the miner, the SEC is still inquiring about a Montana mining operation previously investigated in 2021.

Speaking at Bitcoin 2023, Bitcoin Core Developer Amiti Uttarwar will advocate for Bitcoin’s unique and critical development model.

As they increase financial surveillance and control, Swiss authorities are inadvertently making the case for Bitcoin as an alternative.

Celsius Network, the digital asset lender that filed for bankruptcy protection in July last year, has selected Fahrenheit’s bid to restart the business under a new name, NewCo. Fahrenheit is a group of investors that includes Bitcoin mining company, US Bitcoin Corp.; crypto investment firm, Arrington Capital; and technology consulting firm, Proof Group. Steven Kokinos, a former Algorand CEO, and Ravi Kaza, an angel investor, are also part of the group.

Celsius announced the development on Thursday, noting that it also secured a backup bid with Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC), which is a group of investors that fund blockchain firms battered by the crypto market downturn. The agreement includes provisions for the investors to fund a public mining firm potentially to be managed by crypto miner GlobalXDigital.

🍎 @FahrenheitHldg won, #BRIC is backup. It's official. Term sheet included. I’ll cover more on my Space tonight #Celsius Creditors https://t.co/jrCiZ7rv2A 🙏 to all who participated. https://t.co/CSk93ui5Wa

— Simon Dixon (@SimonDixonTwitt) May 25, 2023

Fahrenheit to Fund Celsius Reboot

Celsius in a statement noted that Fahrenheit’s winning bid was selected after a court-approved auction process and in partnership with the bankruptcy company’s unsecured creditors. The bid proposes to provide the capital, management team and technology needed to successfully establish and run NewCo, which will be owned by Celsius creditors.

The bid selection comes after Celsius folded up in June 2022 after initially suspending crypto withdrawals on its platform, citing market volatility. The digital asset lender became insolvent following the Terra-Luna collapse that sent shockwaves across the global crypto industry last year.

In the aftermath of its fall, Celsius has been facing several investigations in the United States and Alex Mashinksy, its Co-Founder, was recently charged with fraud. However, the latest development shows the failed digital lending business is making progress in its efforts to reorganize under a new entity.

Customers to Get ‘Hundreds of Millions of Dollars’

Announcing the winning bid, Celsius noted that Fahrenheit’s bid will be executed in accordance with its reorganization plans. According to the plan, NewCo for the benefit of account holders will manage Celsius’ illiquid assets, including its institutional loan portfolio, mining business and alternative investments.

The plan also provides for the distribution of ‘hundreds of millions of dollars of additional liquid cryptocurrency' to Celsius’ customers. Compared to what Celsius called ‘the stalking horse bid’ put forward at the start of the auction process, Fahrenheit’s bid cuts down proposed management fees by hundreds of millions of dollars.

“The winning bid also provides attractive offers for Celsius to immediately energize its mining rigs that are currently inactive and for NewCo to build its mining business over time,” Celsius said, noting that NewCo will be managed by a new Board of Directors majorly appointed by its creditors.

Furthermore, the crumbled digital lender pointed out that 100% of the new equity in NewCo will be owned by its account holders, again in accordance with its reorganization plan.

“In the coming weeks, Celsius intends to negotiate and publicly file a plan sponsor agreement with Fahrenheit, a backup plan sponsor agreement with the BRIC, a revised chapter 11 plan, and a disclosure statement, all of which remain subject to bankruptcy court approval,” the lender explained.

Gate.io in Hong Kong; CFI's new office; read today's news nuggets.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex never made public a confidential report that found its security lapses responsible for over 119,000 bitcoins stolen from the platform in August 2016, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) reported on Thursday. The stolen BTCs, worth about $3.2 billion in today’s market, were priced at $71 million at the time.

OCCRP, a global network of investigative journalists, said it obtained a version of the secret report that says Bitfinex failed to execute operational, financial and technological controls recommended by its digital security partner Bitgo. The network said the report was commissioned by iFinex, the owner and operator of Bitfinex, and was produced by Canada-based blockchain services firm, Ledger Labs.

Giving further details, OCCRP said the report claims that Bitfinex deployed a security system that placed two of its three security keys with an administrator. The keys were required to conduct a significant operation on the exchange, including transferring bitcoins.

Furthermore, OCCRP citing the document, noted that Bitfinex made the mistake of storing two of the three keys on a single device. It, however, added that while it is not known if the device was compromised during the hack, access to it would give a hacker complete access to the crypto exchange’s internal system and ‘security tokens’.

"[the confidential report also said] other basic security measures were also absent, including the logging of server activity outside of the server itself,’’ OCCRP wrote in its report, adding that the 'withdrawal whitelist,' a security component that enables cryptocurrency transfers to verified addresses, was also not available.

Additionally, the journalism network said the confidential report suggested that the hack was probably organized from Poland, going by a detailed examination of the source Internet Protocol address.

Bitfinex Slams OCCRP Report

As reported, Bitfinex told OCCRP that Ledger Labs’ analysis in the report was “incomplete" and “incorrect.” The network also quoted Bitfinex as saying that there was “evidence of negligence…on the part of other counterparties that led to the hack.”

In an undated statement published on its website, Bitfinex also reiterated these points, noting that “assertions made by the OCCRP are factually incorrect." The crypto exchange also bashed a report on the issue published by Wired whose journalist worked on the report with the OCCRP.

“Bitfinex refutes the findings of the OCCRP,” said the digital exchange operator. “As is well known, there is an investigation being conducted by authorities into the 2016 hack, with which Bitfinex has collaborated and shared information over many years.”

In addition, Bitfinex said it will provide full details on the case when investigations are completed, noting that “to make any comments before the investigation into the breach is concluded would be inappropriate.”

United States Charges Two Suspects

Meanwhile, while the Bitfinex hacker remains at large, US prosecutors in February last year charged an American couple for trying to launder about $4.5 billion in cryptocurrency linked to the 2016 hack. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) in a statement said the government seized more than 94,000 bitcoins connected to the attack from the couple, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan. The bitcoins were worth over $3.6 billion at the time.

Furthermore, the prosecutor noted that the BTCs stolen from Bitfinex through over 2,000 unauthorized transactions were sent to a crypto wallet under Lichtenstein’s control. OCCRP reported that the couple pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

“Over the last five years, approximately 25,000 of those stolen bitcoins were transferred out of Lichtenstein’s wallet via a complicated money laundering process that ended with some of the stolen funds being deposited into financial accounts controlled by Lichtenstein and Morgan,” DOJ explained. “The remainder of the stolen funds, comprising more than 94,000 bitcoins, remained in the wallet used to receive and store the illegal proceeds from the hack,” it added.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, billionaire twins known for alleging that Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for the creation of Facebook, are planning to move their cryptocurrency business from the United States to another location.

Citing 'hostile' conditions in the United States, they are considering transferring the operations of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini to the City of London, one of the most important financial capitals of the world.

Gemini Considers Relocation to the UK

As The Telegraph reported this week, the twins met with representatives of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the local central bank to discuss the potential of launching their operations in the UK.

Gemini has no intention of leaving the United States entirely. Based on the statements from the Winklevoss twins, it is clear that they intend to continue fighting for improved regulatory conditions in their home country. However, for the sake of their business, they are considering relocating the core of their operations to the United Kingdom, which, in their view, has a decidedly better and clearer approach to digital asset regulation.

"There are so many headwinds right now in the US it's hard to get anything done there," Cameron Winklevoss, one of the Gemini Founders, said. "And so in order to keep building our business and invest in hiring, we have to look elsewhere."

The United States Fight against Crypto

The Winklevoss twins aren't the only crypto business owners in the country lamenting deteriorating regulatory conditions. After the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, owned by Sam Bankman-Fried, last year, US regulators began scrutinizing companies' operations related to digital assets more closely.

In late March, Beaxy Exchange ceased its operations after receiving a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Earlier, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance for running an "illegal derivatives exchange." The platform disagrees with the allegations from the regulator and describes them as an "incomplete recitation of facts."

Almost four months ago, Kraken, another cryptocurrency exchange, suspended some of its services in the US after paying a $30 million settlement in relation to accusations from the SEC involving offering "staking-as-a-service" to its US clients.

Gemini Cuts Workforce and Enters New Countries

Regulatory issues in the US are certainly not helping Gemini, which, struggling with the aftermath of the cryptocurrency winter, has cut its workforce three times over several months, most recently in January 2023.

In April, Gemini entered the Canadian market, filing for pre-registration with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), a state regulator in the country. Once approved, Gemini will become a restricted dealer with the OSC.

A month ago, the Winklevoss brothers announced their intention to launch a non-US crypto derivatives platform called Gemini Foundation in response to regulatory pressure in the United States. The first products that the Gemini Foundation offers will be based on Gemini dollars (GUSD), the exchange's proprietary stablecoin, and will be used for settling Bitcoin (BTC) perpetual contracts.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Fusion Digital Assets, TP ICAP’s crypto spot exchange for institutional investors initially planned for launch in mid-2021, has finally gone live. The platform has successfully completed its first Bitcoin/US dollar trading pair transaction, the top interdealer broker said on Wednesday, noting that the trade was settled by one of its partners, Fidelity Digital Assets.

TP ICAP Floats New Platform

The launch of the enterprise-grade trading venue comes six months after TP ICAP secured a UK license to operate the exchange. However, the financial market infrastructure and data solutions provider has been offering crypto derivatives services since 2019.

The new platform combines TP ICAP’s proprietary over-the-counter electronic platform, Fusion, with the institutional-grade custodial expertise of Fidelity Digital Assets. In addition to depending on TP ICAP’s order matching and trade execution technology, the exchange taps into the firm's diverse liquidity from its global client base.

“The venue currently supports trading in Bitcoin and Ether against USD,” TP ICAP said. “Going forward, it will expand the assets it supports in line with client demand," the firm added, noting that the platform will further expand to support “a multi-custody model."

A Joint Project

Apart from Fidelity Digital Assets, TP ICAP onboarded several industry stakeholders as partners and clients for the launch of Fusion Digital. They include liquidity provider, Flow Traders; crypto liquidity provider and asset manager, XBTO Global; and crypto asset trading and custody integration services provider, DLT Finance.

Previously, Finance Magnates reported that TP ICAP onboarded a quantitative trading firm, Hudson River Trading as a spot crypto market maker for the project. On top of that, the London-listed company previously tapped Standard Chartered’s Zodia Custody. However, these firms are not mentioned in the latest announcement.

“Today is a further milestone in our collaboration with TP ICAP and the evolution of the digital assets ecosystem to enable even more participation from institutional investors,” said Manuel Nordeste, the Head of European Business Development at Fidelity Digital Assets Europe. “Our collective goal is to enable investors to navigate this nascent asset class, execute trades, and custody their assets with confidence.”

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This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), a global body for securities regulators, has put forward 18 recommendations to regulate the global crypto industry. The recommendations cover six key areas such as market manipulation, insider trading and fraud as well as conflict of interest arising from ‘vertical integration’ of various activities and functions by crypto firms.

Other key areas covered include cross-border risks and regulatory cooperation, custody and client asset protection, operational and technological risk, and retail access, suitability and distribution. The global regulatory body plans to finalize the recommendations around the fourth quarter of 2023.

IOSCO announces global crypto regulation recommendations. 📍 Link to the Consultation Report 🔗 https://t.co/Je0UQulWFs📍 Link to Press Release 🔗 https://t.co/gf9qXuYdwE📍 Link to the Crypto-Asset Roadmap 2022/2023 🔗 https://t.co/Rcth0NkMmt#CryptoAssets#Regulationpic.twitter.com/aqXPmUmQJN

— IOSCO Press (@IOSCOPress) May 23, 2023

IOSCO Addresses Multiple Issues

According to IOSCO, many crypto firms adopt a ‘vertically integrated’ business model where they engage in multiple activities, such as exchange trading, brokerage, market-marking, custody and settlements under ‘one roof’. The global watchdog believes that this creates conflicts of interest for the firms.

It is, therefore, proposing that crypto asset service providers (CASPs) should have “effective governance and organizational requirements in place to effectively address” these conflicts. Additionally, the commission believes that measures, such as obtaining separate registrations and adopting legal disaggregation, could solve the issue.

Furthermore, IOSCO believes that a conflict of interest arises in situations where a CASP may front-run clients’ orders in favour of their own transactions or those of a related party. Front running is a type of market manipulation in which a trader or broker takes advantage of non-public information about a large upcoming trade to make a profit. In this type of scenario, the trader or broker typically buys or sells the security before the public announcement of the trade in order to profit from the expected price movement.

To address this, IOSCO is calling on crypto firms to put in place “systems, policies and procedures that provide for fair, orderly, timely execution and in the best interest of clients.”

On market manipulation, IOSCO explained that the crypto industry’s market integrity risks have been worsened by the “fragmented, cross-border nature” of crypto markets. The risks include manipulative market practices, such as Ponzi schemes and wash trading, as well as insider dealing and fraudulent, misleading or insufficient disclosure.

To address this, IOSCO is calling for “effective systems and controls to identify and monitor for manipulative market practices and to prevent leakage of insider information.”

IOSCO Launches Public Consultation

IOSCO explained the recommendations were developed by the IOSCO Board's Fintech Task Force (FTF) in alignment with the organization’s Crypto-Asset Roadmap published in June 2022. Jean-Paul Servais, the Chairperson of IOSCO, noted that the recommendation “is the outcome of an intense period of regulatory risk analysis, information sharing and capacity building.”

“Crypto-asset service providers need to address unacceptable conflicts of interest and take far more seriously the right of clients to have their monies and assets carefully minded and accounted for,” added Lim Tuang Lee, the Chairperson of the IOSCO Board-Level Fintech Task Force.

In a statement released on Tuesday, IOSCO disclosed that it has opened a public consultation and issued a consultation report on the recommendations and expects to receive comments until July 31, 2023. After consultation, the body also expects that its 130 members across the globe “will review their current regulatory frameworks to ensure that they comply with the standards and fix any gaps promptly.”

Hidden Road taps Crossover Markets; Equiti in Uganda; read today's nuggets.

This article was written by Pedro Ferreira at www.financemagnates.com.

Japan will enforce stricter anti-money laundering (AML) measures to trace cryptocurrency transactions. The country’s cabinet has already approved the laws, which will become effective on 1 June, local Kyodo News reported.

Japan’s New Crypto Rules

The new AML laws around crypto will put Japan’s legal frameworks around the industry in line with global standards. The new rules came following the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international financial standard-setting agency that deemed specific revised crypto-centric laws brought in December insufficient.

One of the significant features of the new crypto rules will be the enforcement of the so-called ‘Travel Rules’ for tracking transactions in the decentralized industry.

Under the Travel Rules, crypto exchanges, wallet platforms, and other service providers need to collect customer information in transactions of more than $3,000. The information should include the name and address of the sender and recipient, along with their account information. These laws are expected to curb criminal activities using cryptocurrencies.

Upon failure to comply with the proposed laws, the violators will face criminal proceedings.

Countries Pushing for Strict Crypto Monitoring Rules

Japan adopted the new crypto rules when the global leaders of G7 countries discussed the Travel Rules during the summit that ended last Sunday. Additionally, the G7 committee clarified its support for Travel Rules to monitor crypto transactions.

Several other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, have already adopted the Travel Rules. Several European countries also mandated virtual asset service provider (VASP) licenses for crypto companies, bringing more clarity to the industry.

Meanwhile, Japan has already been regarded as one of the countries with stringent crypto regulations. The country strengthened its oversight of the crypto industry following the Coincheck hack that happened in January 2018. Now, all crypto exchanges operating in the country must be authorized locally.

Binance, the largest crypto exchange regarding trading volume, will start operations in Japan next month. However, two top crypto exchanges, Coinbase and Kraken, shuttered their Japanese operations.

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This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Two established crypto exchanges, Bitpanda and Coinbase, have entered a mutually beneficial partnership. Coinbase will use Bitpanda Technology Solutions to offer services to institutional clients outside of the United States, while Bitpanda will add Coinbase Exchange to its network of approved liquidity providers.

Coinbase and Bitpanda Inks Strategic Partnership

Announced on Thursday, the collaboration will enable "Coinbase to offer one of the most scalable Investing-as-a-Service infrastructures to their institutional clients, such as banks and financial institutions outside of the United States."

The partnership will also provide "institutions the ability to leverage Bitpanda's vast set of regulatory licences and KYC-as-a-service to speed up their go-to-market time across Europe, all with the look and feel of their own brand — their design, our technology."

Headquartered in Austria, Bitpanda was founded in 2014 and now has become a prominent European crypto trading venue. Apart from its home country, the exchange is also regulated in Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and a few other European countries.

The exchange also entered the United Kingdom last year, acquiring London-based Trustology, a regulated institutional cryptocurrency custodian wallet provider. It rebranded that FCA-regulated operation to Bitpanda Custody.

Bitpanda also registered itself with the UK's FCA as a crypto exchange, which is mandatory for any crypto business in the country. However, it is yet to offer exchange services to UK residents.

A White-Label Crypto Service?

"Since launching our innovative Investment—as-a-Service (IaaS) solution, Bitpanda Technology Solutions, we've gained the trust of leading fintechs, traditional banks and online platforms to bring an easy and swift route to meeting the increasing demand for modern investing solutions," the announcement stated.

From today @Bitpanda_global and @Coinbase are going to be partners. This deal was based around our shared vision for the future of digital assets, and our shared values of trust, transparency, and security. Exactly the type of collaboration our industry needs more of.… pic.twitter.com/iJj0RWh9bR

— Eric Demuth (@eric_demuth) May 25, 2023

Coinbase, a US-listed cryptocurrency exchange, is accelerating its European presence when it locked horns with the securities market regulator in the US. The exchange is expecting enforcement action again following a Wells Notice by the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, Coinbase also dragged the SEC to court for not clarifying the crypto-rule-making process.

Earlier this month, Coinbae launched a derivatives exchange outside the US. It also received a Bermuda license earlier this year following the exchange's CEO, Brian Armstrong, hinted that Coinbase could leave the US.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

The energy industry is not an exception to how blockchain technology has emerged as a game-changer in different industries. Blockchain technology offers creative approaches to encourage transparency, efficiency, and decentralized energy systems in response to the urgent demand for sustainable practices and renewable energy solutions. In this article, we'll examine how blockchain technology is used in the energy sector and how it advances sustainability objectives.

Increasing energy transparency and traceability

A decentralized, unchangeable ledger that records and authenticates transactions among a network of computers is provided by blockchain technology. Blockchain technology used in the energy sector makes energy transactions transparent and traceable, promoting accountability and minimizing fraudulent activity.

Renewable energy generators can generate digital certificates for each unit of clean energy produced by utilizing blockchain technology. The blockchain can be used to hold and transfer these certifications, also known as Renewable Energy certifications (RECs) or Guarantees of Origin (GOs). The use of renewable energy sources is encouraged by the traceability, which gives consumers the capacity to confirm the origin and environmental effects of the energy they use.

Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading Enabled

Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trade made possible by blockchain technology has the potential to completely transform the energy sector. Energy transactions have historically been centralized through middlemen like utilities. Blockchain, on the other hand, enables direct energy exchange between customers and producers, doing away with middlemen and saving money.

With the use of solar panels or other renewable energy sources, consumers can sell extra energy to neighbors directly through peer-to-peer energy trading on the blockchain. Automated transactions, metering, and settlement processes are made possible by smart contracts, which are programmable agreements on the blockchain. This not only increases the adoption of decentralized energy systems and lessens reliance on conventional power grids, it also gives customers more power to participate in the energy market.

Managing the energy supply chain more effectively

For sustainability and financial viability, the energy supply chain must be managed effectively. A transparent and secure platform for managing energy transactions, streamlining supply chains, and cutting waste is provided by blockchain technology.

Blockchain technology enables smart grids, which allow for real-time monitoring and management of energy production, distribution, and consumption. Predictive maintenance, load balancing, and more effective grid integration of renewable energy sources are all made possible by this real-time data. Blockchain-powered smart grids reduce reliance on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions by increasing overall efficiency.

Furthermore, energy trade between various market participants, including generators, distributors, retailers, and consumers, can be streamlined via blockchain. Smart contracts and automated settlement procedures streamline administrative activities, cut down on paperwork, and do away with reconciliation problems, which lowers costs and improves operational effectiveness.

Decentralizing Energy Systems

Scalability, robustness, and adaptability are constrained by the centralized nature of conventional energy systems. The development of distributed energy systems is made possible by the decentralized framework provided by blockchain technology, which encourages sustainability and resilience.

Blockchain-powered microgrids enable localized energy production and consumption. Energy security is increased and reliance on long-distance transmission lines is decreased because to these self-contained systems' ability to run independently or in combination with the main grid. Blockchain-enabled microgrids close the energy gap and advance sustainable development by giving access to affordable and renewable energy sources in rural or underdeveloped locations.

Blockchain Technology Use Cases in the energy sector

Blockchain technology has transcended its cryptocurrency origins to revolutionize industries worldwide, including the energy sector. This transformative technology offers unprecedented opportunities for efficiency, transparency, and decentralization. Naturally, it is important to delve into real-world examples of how blockchain technology is being utilized in the energy sector, in order to better understand its potential to reshape the industry and foster a sustainable future.

Companies are now leveraging blockchain technology to enable peer-to-peer energy trading and renewable energy tracking. They do so by setting up platforms which allow consumers to trade surplus solar energy directly with other participants, ensuring transparency, accuracy, and equitable pricing.

By utilizing smart contracts, blockchain-based platforms in the energy sector are eliminating the need for intermediaries, and streamlining the energy trading process. This decentralized approach empowers individuals to take control of their energy consumption, facilitates the integration of renewable energy sources, and encourages investment in sustainable infrastructure.

Blockchain technology is also being used to create retail energy marketplaces. Platforms are connecting energy consumers with a wide array of energy providers, enabling consumers to select the most suitable and cost-effective energy plans.

As such, blockchain ensures transparent and secure transactions, while smart contracts automate billing, metering, and settlements. By offering consumers choice and competition in the energy market, individuals are empowered to make informed decisions and encouraged to pursue renewable energy adoption.

As these innovative applications continue to evolve and mature, blockchain technology will further revolutionize the energy sector, facilitating the transition to a sustainable and decentralized energy ecosystem. The utilization of blockchain in the energy industry serves as a testament to the immense value it brings, encouraging collaboration, innovation, and environmental stewardship.

Conclusion

Blockchain technology has the power to revolutionize the energy sector and advance sustainability initiatives. Blockchain contributes to a more open, efficient, and sustainable energy landscape by improving energy traceability, facilitating peer-to-peer energy trading, streamlining supply chain management, and decentralizing energy infrastructure.

The implementation of blockchain technology in the energy sector is a critical step towards establishing a greener and more sustainable future as the globe embraces renewable energy sources and works to achieve carbon neutrality.

We can build a more inclusive and ecologically conscientious energy market by utilizing the potential of blockchain. Additionally, the combination of blockchain technology with other cutting-edge innovations like the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to maximize sustainability in the energy industry even further.

Real-time data on energy generation and consumption can be collected by IoT devices and safely saved and analyzed on the blockchain. The data can then be processed by AI systems to discover inefficiencies, improve energy use, and suggest sustainable practices.

It is significant to remember that the energy sector is only just beginning to utilize blockchain technology. For wider deployment, issues with scalability, interoperability, and regulatory frameworks must be resolved. However, there are encouraging signs of development in the continuing pilot programs and partnerships among energy firms, technology providers, and governments.

The energy sector has a lot of chances to improve sustainability thanks to blockchain technology. Blockchain technology has the potential to fundamentally alter how we generate, distribute, and use energy by strengthening traceability, enabling peer-to-peer energy trading, improving supply chain management, and decentralizing energy infrastructure.

The fusion of blockchain technology with renewable energy options will be crucial in building a cleaner and more effective energy ecosystem for future generations as we work towards a greener and more sustainable future.

This article was written by Finance Magnates Staff at www.financemagnates.com.

The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a warning against the crypto derivatives platform launched last month by Winklevoss twins-controlled Gemini Trust.

An Unregistered Crypto Derivatives Platform

According to the regulatory notice published last week, the newly launched platform markets and offer derivative products categorized as securities under local laws. Gemini did not seek any registration from the Philippines regulator to launch its platform there.

“GEMINI TRUST COMPANY, LLC. is not registered with the Commission and OPERATES WITHOUT THE NECESSARY LICENSE AND/OR authority to solicit, accept or take investments/placements from the public nor to issue securities,” the regulatory notice stated.

“GEMINI TRUST COMPANY, LLC’s lack of prior registration with the Commission makes their activities of offering and/or selling securities in the form of derivatives ILLEGAL in violation of the provisions of the [Securities Regulation Code].”

Gemini launched its crypto derivatives exchange last month globally but outside the United States. However, the Philippines and dozens of other countries were among the regions where the platform went live. Known as the Gemini Foundation, the derivatives platform is operated by a subsidiary, Gemini Artemis.

2/ That’s not all, we will soon be introducing additional perpetual contracts, dated futures, and options trading. Stay tuned! https://t.co/xwIzR4ntlE

— Gemini (@Gemini) May 18, 2023

The Southeast Asian regulator further advised the public not to invest on the unregistered platform or halt their investments if they have already made investments.

The regulatory notice clarified that anyone, including salespersons, brokers, dealers, or agents, selling or promoting unregistered securities, like Gemini’s derivatives products, will face a fine of up to 5 million Filipino pesos ($89,826) or 21 years imprisonment.

Another Era of Regulatory Warnings against Crypto?

The Philippines SEC’s warning against Gemini came shortly before the Malaysian regulatory flagged Huobi Global for offering ‘illegal’ services without any registration. Additionally, the Malaysian waning named Huobi Global’s CEO, Leon Li.

“The [Malaysian] SC has ordered Huobi Global Limited to stop its operations in the country, including disabling its website and mobile application on several platforms, such as Apple Store, Google Play, and any other digital application platform,” the warning stated.

Both these warnings resemble the barrage of regulatory warnings in 2021 issued against Binance and several other crypto platforms that were expanding globally without receiving proper authorization.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

The emergence of Web3, an evolving vision of the internet built on decentralized technologies such as blockchain, is set to revolutionize the way financial data flows between institutions and customers. This paradigm shift has profound implications for the financial industry, enabling multi-directional data sharing, enhancing transparency, and empowering individuals with greater control over their financial information.

Understanding Web3's Enhanced Data Ownership and Control

In a Web3 ecosystem, individuals are no longer merely data subjects but become data owners. Blockchain technology empowers customers to have greater control over their financial data, deciding who can access it and how it is used. Through decentralized identity systems, customers can selectively grant permissions to institutions, ensuring data privacy while enabling secure and seamless interactions.

By enabling individuals to own and control their financial data, Web3 puts an end to the traditional data silos held by institutions. This shift enhances customer trust and fosters a more transparent and equitable relationship between financial service providers and their customers.

Secure and Immutable Financial Transactions

Web3, built on blockchain technology, ensures the immutability and security of financial transactions. By leveraging distributed ledger technology, financial data is recorded in a tamper-proof and transparent manner, reducing the risk of fraud and enhancing trust between institutions and customers.

Smart contracts, self-executing agreements written on the blockchain, enable automated and verifiable financial transactions. These contracts can include predefined conditions, such as loan agreements or insurance policies, which are executed automatically when the conditions are met. Such transparency and automation streamline processes, reduce costs, and minimize the need for intermediaries.

Open and Interconnected Financial Ecosystem

Web3 fosters an open and interconnected financial ecosystem, allowing for seamless data flow between institutions and customers. Through the use of standardized protocols and decentralized applications (dApps), customers can securely share their financial data with various institutions of their choice.

This multi-directional data flow enhances competition and innovation by enabling customers to access a broader range of financial services. Institutions, in turn, can leverage customer data from multiple sources to offer personalized and tailored products and services.

Improved Risk Assessment and Financial Inclusion

Web3's multi-directional data flow enables institutions to access a broader range of customer data, leading to more accurate risk assessments. Institutions can leverage data from multiple sources, including alternative data and decentralized credit scoring, to assess creditworthiness and provide financial services to previously underserved populations.

By incorporating a more comprehensive range of data, Web3 can help bridge the financial inclusion gap, allowing individuals with limited traditional credit histories to access loans, insurance, and other financial services.

Regulatory Challenges and Data Privacy Concerns

While Web3 offers significant benefits in terms of multi-directional financial data flow, it also presents challenges in terms of regulation and data privacy. Regulators must adapt to the evolving landscape to ensure appropriate oversight and consumer protection while fostering innovation.

Additionally, the shift towards Web3 raises concerns about data privacy and security. As financial data becomes more distributed, individuals must have confidence that their data is handled responsibly and protected from unauthorized access.

Wrapping up

Web3's multi-directional financial data flow represents a paradigm shift in the relationship between institutions and customers.

As the Web3 ecosystem continues to evolve, collaboration between stakeholders, including institutions, regulators, and individuals, will be key to realizing the full potential of multi-directional financial data flow and creating a more inclusive and efficient financial landscape.

This article was written by Finance Magnates Staff at www.financemagnates.com.

Over a month after gaining a virtual asset service provider registration in Lithuania, crypto exchange and copy trading platform Bitget has secured a similar registration in Poland. Bitget is aiming to provide “a more secure and transparent trading experience” for Polish users, the exchange said on Tuesday.

Bitget Goes to Poland

In addition, Bitget noted that the registration means that it can now work in line with local and international laws and regulatory standards while expanding across the European Union (EU). The exchange’s efforts come at a time when the EU is working towards implementing a landmark crypto law, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which was recently passed by the EU Council and the EU Parliament. The law is expected to come into force in July 2024.

“The recent registrations in the two European countries enhance our foothold and service in Europe," noted Gracy Chen, Bitget’s Managing Director. "By proactively working with policymakers and regulators across the EU and worldwide, Bitget aims to enable open access to crypto in a safe, responsible and compliant manner.”

Regulation helps achieve mainstream adoption of crypto.At Bitget, we understand and embrace regulatory frameworks.Working with policymakers across the EU and worldwide, we aim to enable open access to crypto in a safe and compliant manner.https://t.co/DsFbDP4fKbhttps://t.co/dWE36GHEuK

— Gracy Chen @Bitget (@GracyBitget) May 23, 2023

Furthermore, Bitget, which serves over 8 million users in more than 100 countries and regions, said it has doubled its compliance team over the last year. The team is tasked with navigating the exchange’s licensing processes and continuous global expansion.

Licensing Race

In recent months, other crypto exchanges have ramped up their presence in Europe. In April, OKX, the second largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, opened a French subsidiary and has now applied for a license to offer crypto services in France.

Kraken, a US-based crypto exchange, recently secured a similar registration in Ireland despite facing regulatory headwinds in the United States. In fact, Binance appears to be leading the race as the top crypto exchange in January gained its 7th regulatory license in the EU region.

Hidden Road taps Crossover Markets; Equiti in Uganda; read today's nuggets.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

Gulf Binance, a joint venture firm between Binance and Gulf Innova, has obtained a digital asset operator license from Thailand’s Ministry of Finance. Gulf Innova is a subsidiary of Gulf Energy Development which operates the firm’s digital business.

Binance announced the license approval on Friday, noting that the firm is aiming to launch a cryptocurrency exchange in the Southeast Asia country during the last quarter of the year. The project will see Binance combine its digital asset expertise with Gulf’s local industry knowledge and presence.

Sawasdee Thailand! 🇹🇭Our joint venture, Gulf Binance, has now been granted digital asset operator licenses by Thailand's Ministry of Finance.This opens up access to digital assets for even more people, building on our dedication to bring crypto and Web3 to the world.

— Binance (@binance) May 26, 2023

Binance Plans Launch in Thailand

Binance’s new license in Thailand comes years after the crypto exchange faced regulatory backlash from the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission for operating illegally in the country. The exchange also faced opposition in other jurisdictions in Asia and across the world, including in Singapore, Cayman Islands, Japan and the UK. However, Binance is now set to launch in Japan next month.

“Ever since reaching an agreement around a joint venture back in 2022, Binance and Gulf have been working closely with Thailand’s regulators to ensure the formation of a compliant-first exchange that strictly adheres to the SEC’s guidelines,” Binance said in a blog post.

Speaking on the development, Richard Teng, Binance’s Head of Asia, Europe and MENA, described Thailand as a country with a thriving crypto space that has demonstrated strong commitment in embracing blockchain technology. This is even as Chainalysis’ 2022 data confirms Thailand as the eighth biggest crypto adopter in the world.

“By harnessing Binance's expertise together with Gulf’s established local presence and network, Gulf Binance aims to showcase the full potential of blockchain technology to meet the needs of Thai users,” Teng explained. “Local users can expect access to a trusted and regulated service that prioritizes user security alongside compliance with local regulations.”

Binance Expands despite Hurdles

Binance’s planned launch in Thailand comes amidst the leading exchange’s efforts to build its presence and regulatory license portfolio across the globe. In January, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume obtained its 7th regulatory license in the EU with a new Swedish registration.

However, the exchange is still facing several regulatory challenges across the world, including in the United States, Canada and Australia.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

South Korea’s ruling party, the People’s Power Party is seeking to move up the enforcement date for December to a new bill that will require lawmakers in the country to declare their cryptocurrency holdings. Application of the new bill is expected to come into effect in the next one or two months, Yun Jae-ok, the floor leader of the party, told reporters on Tuesday.

According to local media Yonap, the revision to South Korea’s Public Service Ethics Act was scaled through a parliamentary sub-committee on Monday and is now scheduled for voting on Friday. However, Yun told reporters that the planned enforcement of the law in December is too distant. Therefore, the lawmaker said it has instructed the Public Administration Committee to put forward a modified version, the outlet reported.

"Given the current high level of public interest, especially regarding lawmakers, it's not appropriate to enforce the law six months later after the promulgation," Yonap quoted Yun as saying.

South Korean Lawmaker Faces Crypto Scandal

The new bill primarily aims to address the growing demand for transparency on the digital asset holdings of lawmakers, which is a trend that has intensified following the ongoing investigation into the crypto holdings of Kim Nam-kuk, a former opposition lawmaker who is now independent.

Kim is currently facing scrutiny after allegations emerged that he possessed approximately 800,000 Wemix coins in 2021, valued at around 6 billion won (US$4.5 million) at that time. In addition, the lawmaker is alleged to have hidden this information from his asset declaration as current laws do not mandate it.

Furthermore, it is being alleged that Kim withdrew the crypto assets before South Korea implemented the global anti-money laundering body Financial Action Task Force's (FAFT) travel rule in March last year. The rule demands that crypto exchanges record and report personal data on transactions that exceed a certain threshold.

New Concerns

Meanwhile, Yonhap reported that Yun raised new concerns about the lawmaker's crypto activities. According to the outlet, the legislator said Kim might have withdrawn 250 million won worth of coins between February and March 2022 before the country’s presidential election.

Furthermore, the lawmaker believes that the amount far exceeds the 4.4 million won Kim previously acknowledged to have cashed out during that period. Additionally, Yun expressed suspicions that Kim's involvement in cryptocurrency transactions may have been linked to money laundering activities.

As the investigation into Kim’s alleged crypto transfers continues, three local crypto exchanges have been raided and the ruling party recently sent a team to Wemix issuer with the hope of shedding light on the case.

Hidden Road taps Crossover Markets; Equiti in Uganda; read today's nuggets.

This article was written by Pedro Ferreira at www.financemagnates.com.

Digital Currency Group (DCG) will shutter its trade execution and prime brokerage subsidiary, TradeBlock, citing the concerns of the broader economy and regulatory uncertainties in the United States. It will initiate the close-down process on 31 May, as reported by Bloomberg.

TradeBlock Could Not Survive the Harsh Market Conditions

“Due to the state of the broader economy and prolonged crypto winter, along with the challenging regulatory environment for digital assets in the US, we made the decision to sunset the institutional trading platform side of the business,” a DCG spokesperson said in a media statement.

TradeBlock was established in 2011 by Jaron Lukasiewicz and Paul Simos, that received popularity for its crypto price indexes, trading platforms, and analytics tools. The company was acquired by Coindesk, the crypto-focused media outlet of DCG, in 2021. However, Coindesk only kept the index data business, rebranding it to CoinDesk Indices, and spun off the other units as a standalone trading business.

Many Challenges for DCG

The shuttering came when the Digital Currency Group has been facing challenges over the bearish market stance and from its exposure to other collapsed crypto companies. The group also shuttered its wealth wealth-management division headquarters in January.

Barry Silbert-led DCG’s crypto lending arm also filed for bankruptcy in New York earlier this year. Genesis Global Holdco and its two lending subsidiaries, Genesis Global Capital and Genesis Asia Pacific, were named in the Chapter 11 proceedings.

The DCG’s troubles can also be measured by its losses exceeding $1 billion in 2022, as disclosed by the group, mostly due to its exposure to the cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.

DCG also locked into a spat with Winklevoss-twins’ crypto exchange Gemini. During the bankruptcy, Genesis agreed to an exit plan to repay a $765.9 million loan to Gemini. However, the bankrupt company missed its $630 million repayment earlier this month, pushing Gemini to consider a forbearance option against DCG.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Earlier in the week, it seemed that the Winklevoss brothers' crypto exchange, Gemini, would set its headquarters in England. On Thursday, Cameron Winklevoss indeed confirmed reports that due to regulatory turmoil in the US, their platform is seeking a safe haven in another jurisdiction and that this would be located in the British Isles.

However, Instead of London, Gemini has chosen Dublin, the capital of Ireland. What is more, Gemini is not moving its global HQ, but sets the European one in the Irish city.

Gemini Bets on Crypto Development in Ireland

Finance Magnates, citing information from The Telegraph, reported that the Winklevoss twins had been meeting with representatives of the British FCA and the central bank to discuss a potential move of the headquarters to the UK.

However, as it turns out, the Gemini founders also had talks with representatives of other countries in the British Isles, ultimately choosing Ireland. Tyler Winklevoss confirmed This information on Thursday on his Twitter after meeting with the Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar.

"We talked about the profound promise of crypto and the importance of common sense regulation to realize that promise. We believe MiCA is that common sense regulation. We also announced that Gemini has made Ireland its European HQ," Winklevoss commented.

Awesome meeting this morning with @LeoVaradkar, the Prime Minister of Ireland. We talked about the profound promise of crypto and the importance of common sense regulation to realize that promise. We believe MiCA is that common sense regulation. We also announced that @Gemini has… pic.twitter.com/Iv3NmPTmju

— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) May 25, 2023

It is worth reminding that in July 2022, Gemini became the first company to be registered as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in Ireland after launching its local branch a year earlier.

"Gemini's decision to locate in Ireland highlights our competitive offering for the international financial services sector," Varadkar commented in a social media post.

Gemini's decision to locate in Ireland highlights our competitive offering for the international financial services sector. We take pride in how it has grown from 60 staff in Dublin 30 years ago, to approximately 56,000 people around the country working in finance today.

— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) May 25, 2023

Gemini Will Not Leave the United States Entirely

Although the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange is setting European headquarters in Ireland, it does not intend to leave the United States altogether.

From the Winklevoss twins' statements, it is clear that they intend to continue fighting for improved regulatory conditions in their country. For the good of their business, they are considering moving the main part of their operations to Ireland, which, in their opinion, has a decidedly better and more transparent approach to regulations concerning digital assets.

"There are so many headwinds right now in the US it's hard to get anything done there," Cameron Winklevoss, one of the Gemini Founders, commented for The Telegraph. "And so in order to keep building our business and invest in hiring, we have to look elsewhere."

Increasing regulatory pressure from US supervisory authorities and solid drops in cryptocurrency prices in 2022 have significantly impacted Gemini. The exchange has cut employment three times in the last few months, most recently in January of this year.

Looking for alternatives to the American market, the Winklevoss twins had earlier announced plans to launch a platform for cryptocurrency derivatives outside the US named Gemini Foundation in response to regulatory pressure in the United States. Additionally, in April, Gemini entered the Canadian market by obtaining a license from the Ontario regulator.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

In the second part of our two-part article on crypto market structures, Finance Magnates considers the likelihood of the crypto market eventually adopting the same structures as the FX OTC interdealer market.

The phrase ‘there is more that unites us than divides us’ has been used in various ways by many politicians over the years as they sought to heal divisions in their parties or nations. But, it could equally be applied to the FX and crypto markets, where fragmentation and the absence of a single regulatory authority are just some of the common factors.

The collapse of FTX highlighted shortcomings in the segregation of customer assets and measures to prevent firms from trading against their customers. Traditional financial market infrastructure (such as in the FX market) benefits from the compounding effects of both operational procedures and regulations that have been developed over time in response to different market failures. The concept of segregating trading and custody is one of the results of this evolution.

Segregation of Customer Funds

The crypto asset market would benefit greatly from embracing this model to provide new market participants with the necessary confidence, suggests Tom Flanagan, the Digital Assets Head of Platform Trading at TP ICAP.

“This segregated model is proven to mitigate conflicts of interest – and the single point of failure risk – that arise from co-mingling asset custody with trading,” he says.

FX RATES AND USDINR FWDS :.>>> https://t.co/3fSnRpcTCb.Click to open an Account : https://t.co/4gcoZydWRD.#goodwill#goodmorning#invest#trading#forex#dedication#pips#stocktrading#analysis#crypto#currencies#stocks#daytrader#forextrader#intraday#daytradingpic.twitter.com/OOHj7x6zDd

— Goodwill Wealth Management (@GOODWILLGWC) May 18, 2023

Markets Should be Transparent

Another element of the FX market structure that Flanagan reckons crypto would benefit from is the transparency and liquidity analytics accessible within wholesale FX venues.

“Most crypto venues are anonymous with a lack of information detailing the type of flow and the market participants involved,” he says. “Statistics such as fill rates and round-trip time (along with more advanced analytics such as pre and post-trade mark-outs) provide clients with better information on the types of liquidity their firm is dealing against in an anonymous marketplace and whether it is a beneficial flow to them and their franchise.”

According to Flanagan, a global code of conduct akin to the FX Global Code would also help to level the playing field and provide a layer of transparency for how all institutional market participants should interact.

“Using a third-party custodial solution requires a degree of trust, but there are benefits in terms of convenience, and for many traders it would be more secure,” says Christo de Wit, the Country Manager at Luno South Africa. “Of course, it is important that customers understand how centralized custody and self-custody work and the risks and benefits associated with both before making a decision.”

Centralized Orderbooks Might Help

It has been suggested that the creation of a centralized settlement utility would increase the stability of the crypto market, although de Wit cautions that there could be negative as well as positive effects. “A centralized settlement utility in the crypto market would enhance efficiency, mitigate counterparty risk, and streamline settlement processes,” he says. “However, it would also pose a systemic risk and introduce counterparty dependency.”

Typically, FX OTC is traded away from centralized markets. However, Deribit believes in the potential of centralized liquid order books where large sizes can be traded.

“Crypto will use capital market models for addressing market structure issues such as separating custody from market making and capital allocation services,” suggests David Wells, the CEO at Enclave Markets.

He reckons the infrastructure used to run these systems will be crypto-native and much more efficient and stable than what exists in traditional financial markets, which rely on technology and code bases that are decades old. Thomas Restout, CEO of EMEA at B2C2, says crypto will become OTC driven as exchanges become harder to trade on. “As the settlement and credit process improve, I see strong convergence with FX markets,” he adds.

📷 We're thrilled to be recognized as a #leader in the #crypto industry by @cryptodailyukLearn how we're empowering merchants worldwide with our comprehensive crypto payment solutions. Read the full article here 📷https://t.co/N4wZugdBTm

— CoinPayments (@CoinPaymentsNET) May 11, 2023

Crypto and FX markets have a similar base of trading 24/7, and therefore it is not surprising that a similar client-based crypto OTC offering has emerged in the last few years, suggests Danny Bailey, the Senior Institutional Sales Lead at Bitstamp.

“As more institutions trade crypto, there will be more of an interdealer appetite,” he adds, “Although this will take time and require a robust risk management and regulatory framework.”

It is a natural transition for institutional digital markets to move to an OTC-style trading model, cleared either bilaterally or through a central clearer, according to Ayal Jedeikin, CEO and Founder of Cypator.

“Leading centralized exchanges are spinning off OTC desks to cater to institutional clients,” he adds. “This is non-custodial in nature and settled post-trade, hence reducing counterparty risk significantly.”

It must, though, be recognized that the crypto market is still relatively young, and many regulators have failed to determine what asset class it should be compared with.

There are already some similarities between the crypto and FX markets, such as the decentralized nature of trading and the ability of each asset class to be used for traditional purchases, observes Patrick Bärtschi, head of business development at Bittrex Global.

“However, I think it ultimately depends on whether crypto will be considered a security or a commodity or whether it will be regulated as a whole new asset class,” he says. “Once we have clarity on that, we may have more insight on what structures it may be able to adopt.”

Regulations Are Must

There is no question that crypto markets would benefit from both legal and regulatory definitions. Yet, so much of the ecosystem’s overall structure is derived from functionality that is baked into the core programming of its flagship networks.

That is the view of Rich Evans, the Managing Director of Institutional Sales, Prime Liquidity at CEX.IO, who observes that Bitcoin and Ethereum provided a blueprint and launch pad, respectively, for the vast majority of projects that came to populate the ecosystem.

“In turn, the development of automated market maker technology has accelerated the usage of decentralized exchanges that connect participants directly without third-party intermediaries – a phenomenon unique to the crypto space,” he says.

Though similarly decentralized and prone to volatility, the crypto ecosystem is conversely highly transparent relative to OTC markets through the constant production of on-chain data, adds Evans. “Coupled with crypto’s fast transaction times, it becomes clear that any attempt to force these markets into a pre-existing mold would only diminish these features and potentially weaken the space.”

This article was written by Paul Golden at www.financemagnates.com.

The San Francisco-based blockchain company, Ripple has taken an undisclosed minority stake in the cryptocurrency exchange, Bitstamp in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest transcript of Galaxy Digital’s shareholder conference call.

Ripple Buys Bitstamp Stake

Ripple acquired the stakes from Pantera Capital, a US-based digital asset investment firm, and Galaxy Digital advised on the deal.

“On the back of a record year for our investment banking team, we advised Pantera, a leading blockchain asset management firm on the sale of its stake in European digital asset exchange Bitstamp to Ripple Labs in Q1,” the meeting’s transcript noted.

“Executing on a deal with this complexity, post-FTX, reinforces our position as a leading investment bank for digital assets with unparalleled sector knowledge and execution acumen, and the investment banking teams pipeline remains strong with a dozen active mandates being pursued right now by the team.”

Note that Bitstamp did put EUR on the XRPL in January. So Pantera sold Bitstamp equity to Ripple. Were there other suitors or did Pantera know Ripple wanted Bitstamp? Why did they know that? Seems a lot of backroom negotiating involved; relationships.https://t.co/SaqgJDrjSHhttps://t.co/lprO2A4bc1

— WrathofKahneman (@WKahneman) May 24, 2023

A Strategic Investment?

Bitstamp is one of the oldest cryptocurrency trading venues, established in 2011. Headquartered in Luxembourg, it is one of the top ten sport crypto exchanges and handled $171 million in trading volumes in the past 24 hours, as seen on Coinmarketcap.com.

In addition, it is one of the top platforms to trade XRP tokens, the native cryptocurrency of Ripple. XRP is the second most-traded cryptocurrency on Bitstamp, following Bitcoin. On top of that, it is the second-largest XRP market, only behind Binance, the largest crypto exchange in terms of trading volume.

Pantera invested $10 million in Bitstamp in 2014. It remained the largest shareholder in Bitstamp until 2018, when acquired by Belgium-based investment firm NXMH acquired the crypto exchange in an all-cash deal at a valuation of $60 million. Moreover, Pantera sold its stake in Bitstamp to NXMH earlier.

Neither Ripple nor Pantera did not disclose the closed deal officially. Also, the financial terms of the Bitstamp deal remain unknown.

Meanwhile, Bitstamp continues its expansion efforts within Europe and obtained registration in Spain and Italy last year. Furthermore, the exchange appointed JB Graftieaux as the CEO last May and made a few other management changes.

Gate.io in Hong Kong; CFI's new office; read today's news nuggets.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

OKX has the latest cryptocurrency exchange to apply for a French digital asset service provider (DASP) license, aiming to make the country its regional hub.

OKX’s New European Hub

The application came after OKX, the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trade volume, established a local French subsidiary, OKX France, in April. Registration with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) will make the exchange compliant with European laws and allow it to offer a suite of products and services to customers in France.

“The French DASP regulation provides a clear and secure regulatory framework for digital asset service providers,” said Tim Byun, the Head of Global Government Relations at OKX.

Additionally, Byun pointed out that several other crypto exchanges are registered in France. Indeed, OKX rival Binance and 73 other companies have received DASP licenses from the French regulator, according to the official regulatory registry.

Meanwhile, the European Union Parliament lawmakers approved the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation last month, which is now expected to become effective in July 2024. Though some sections of the law are criticized, It will bring the European cryptocurrency market under the regulatory umbrella.

“For OKX, this application is a huge opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to support new regulatory frameworks as well as to plan for the future with MiCA coming onboard in 2024 for the entire European Union,” Byun added.

The French expansion of OKX will see the hiring of around 100 people in the next three years, Coindesk reported.

Global Expansion Continues

Apart from France, the Seychelles-headquartered OKS is establishing its presence in other parts of the globe. The exchange, which already holds a Bahamas authorization and a provisional license in Dubai, will also apply for a digital asset license in Hong Kong. It has already opened an office in the Chinese self-administrative region.

“Our dedication lies in broadening our reach and involvement with European regulators, and we consider our operations in France to be crucial in this endeavour,” said Hong Fang, the President at OKX. “As a Web3 leading company, we are looking forward to introducing French people to all the amazing projects we are working on.”

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, mixed up customer funds with company revenue between 2020 and 2021, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing “three sources familiar with the matter.” The act violates the US financial laws that require both funds to be separated, the outlet said.

‘Billions of Dollars’ Commingled?

One source that had direct knowledge of the crypto exchange’s group finances, told the news agency that Binance blended its earnings with its customer’s money, with the figure running into “billions of dollars.” The source further said that the violation occurred “almost daily” in accounts held by Binance at now-liquidated US lender Silvergate Bank.

Earlier, Reuters had reported in February that Binance had secret access to a bank account held by its United States arm, Binance.US, through which the CEO, Changpeng Zhao between January and March 2021 moved over $400 million to a trading firm called Merit Peak Limited.

For its latest investigation, Reuters noted that while it could not independently confirm the source’s figures, it obtained a bank record showing that Binance on February 10, 2021, mingled $20 million from a corporate account with $15 million from an account dedicated to receiving customers’ funds. Furthermore, Reuters said it could not find evidence that customer funds were lost as a result of the commingling.

Providing Binance's reaction to the allegations, Reuters said that the exchange's spokesperson denied its finding, saying that the accounts were not used to receive user deposits. Instead, the spokesperson told Reuters, the accounts were deployed to aid users’ purchases.

“There was no commingling at any time because these are 100% corporate funds,” the spokesperson said.

Binance Blasts Reuters Report

Meanwhile, reacting to the report, Patrick Hillmann, Binance’s Chief Communication Officer, on Twitter described the story as “weak,” noting that Reuters wrote “conspiracy theories” on what the exchange had previously clarified was false. Moreover, Hillmann said the news agency lacked “zero evidence other than a ‘a former insider.’”

“We’ve been very public about where the company had regulatory shortcomings in the past, there’s no reason for a respected news outlet like Reuters to continue making stuff up,” Hillmann wrote.

Let me explain just how desperate a journalist @Reuters is to publish a negative story. The whole base of their story this morning, is that when users purchased BUSD (Paxos) from Binance, they were taken to a transaction page that had the term “deposit” on it. Users were making a…

— Patrick Hillmann (@PRHillmann) May 23, 2023

Reuters’ report comes less than two months after the US derivatives market regulator charged Binance with operating an illegal digital assets exchange in the country. Furthermore, the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission accused Zhao of running Binance via several entities and through “an intentionally opaque common enterprise.”

Hidden Road taps Crossover Markets; Equiti in Uganda; read today's nuggets.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

Canada has the highest percentage of Gen Z investors according to a new study by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a US private brokerage industry regulator. The watchdog said nearly three-quarters or 74% of Gen-Zers based in Canada and covered by the study had at least one form of investment.

The new study was conducted by FINRA Education, the regulator’s education arm, in partnership with the CFA Institute, a global association of investment professionals. The research findings are based on a November/December 2022 online survey of 2,872 Gen Zers from the US, Canada, the UK and China.

The Gen Z investors surveyed were aged 18 – 25 at the time of the study. In addition, the research examined millennials aged 26 – 41 and Gen X investors aged 42 – 57 across all regions.

Comparing its results from these jurisdictions, FINRA noted that the United States trails behind Canada with 56% of surveyed Gen Z investors in the former country saying they owned at least one form of investment. The United Kingdom and China come after with 49% and 57%, respectively.

More than Half of US Gen Zers Pile into Crypto

Meanwhile, the study found that ‘a surprisingly large percentage’ or 56% of Zoomers in the United States own at least some investments with cryptocurrency as their top choice. In detail, the research noted that young investors in the country primarily invest in cryptocurrency (55%) and individual stocks (41%).

“[Gen Z investors in the United States] are less likely than their older counterparts to use mutual funds and are more likely, along with millennials, to invest in crypto and non-fungible tokens compared with Gen Xers,” FINRA noted.

Furthermore, the FINRA-CFA Institute project found that social media (48%), internet searches (47%) and parents/family (45%) are just about as equally important as primary sources of learning about investment and finances for US Gen Zers. However, when it comes to online resources YouTube dominates (60%) which is followed by internet searches, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Reddit and Facebook.

In addition, FINRA said Gen Z investors in the United States are risk-takers with almost half (46%) “willing to take substantial or above-average financial risks.” Half of US respondents said they have previously made an investment as a result of the fear of missing out (FOMO).

Looking at barriers to investing among young people in the United States, the study found that the lack of savings (65%), lack of sufficient income, or living paycheck-to-paycheck (64%) are the biggest discouraging factors for Zoomers who did not own any form of investment. Additionally, more than half of the young investors (56%) cited a lack of knowledge about investing as a major reason they do not have any investments.

Young Investors across the World

Meanwhile, the British financial regulator released a study on young investors on Wednesday, noting that only 20% of youths are capable of disregarding investment hype despite the fact that the number is significantly higher (33%) when it comes to dating hype. At the start of the year, Cyprus' financial watchdog published a report on retail investor behaviour, noting that only 31% of retail investors rely on so-called ‘finfluencers’.

In a related development, Finance Magnates recently reported that regulators across the world are increasingly cracking down on ‘finfluencers’. However, questions remain about what regulatory approach should be taken towards them.

Hantec Markets’ brand ambassadors; FlexTrade brings AI; read today's news nuggets.

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

Hot news: These changes have happened in the last hour.

In the last one hour Bitcoin is leading the record of among the most popular crypto-currency in the trading ecosystem, it has an decrease of -0.33% from its previous value from 6631.875 dollars now at 6609.990 dollars exchange rate. Next to Bitcoin is T..

The post Bitcoin $6609.990 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 09:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: The summaries of the last one hour are the followings:

Bitcoin is leading the rank on the most popular crypto-currency, it has an upsurge of 0.12% in its exchange rate, which means 6668.000 dollars from the 6660.008 dollars earlier. Tether is in the second position as Bitcoin leads the first spot. ..

The post Bitcoin $6668.000 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 08:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

In the last hour, Bitcoin is leading the cryptocurrency rank. A fall in the exchange rate was seen from 6663.014 dollars to 6640.360 dollars a -0.34% change. Next to Bitcoin is Tether in the second position..

The post Bitcoin $6640.360 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 07:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here you can read the new CryptoCurrency report of the last 60 Minutes.

Bitcoin is leading the rank in the last hour as the most popular crypto currency in the trade market, with a recorded fall on its value of about -0.12% in the last hour with a current standing rate of 6674.850 dollars from 6682..

The post Bitcoin $6674.850 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 06:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: There were a lot of happenings in the last 60 minutes on the Crypto stock exchanges.

Bitcoin is listed as the most popular cryptocurrency in the market. In the last sixty minutes, it had an downswing of -0.19% on its trading price. This means from 6699.038 dollars now at 6686.310 dollars. Tether is..

The post Bitcoin $6686.310 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 05:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Now we show you the newest summary of 60 minutes.

Bitcoin is now leading the rank on the most popular digital currency in the trade market. It has an decrease of -0% in its exchange rate from 6704.570 dollars now at 6704.570 dollars. Bitcoin is seconded by Tether, in a 60 minutes time it has a drop..

The post Bitcoin $6704.570 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 04:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

Bitcoin was in the top position in the last hour, the exchange rate decreases from 6710.021 dollars to 6709.350. This is a -0.01% recorded change. Tether is at the second position next to Bitcoin, with a re..

The post Bitcoin $6709.350 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 03:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: These changes have happened in the last hour.

Bitcoin was in the top position in the last hour, the exchange rate increases from 6689.711 dollars to 6709.780. This is a 0.3% recorded change. Bitcoin is followed by Tether, with a -0.07% tumble on its trade value in the last one hour, equivalent to 0..

The post Bitcoin $6709.780 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 02:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

The number one cryptocurrency leader is Bitcoin, this data was fetched in the last hour. It has an decrease on its trade value to -0.2%, now at 6687.450 dollars from 6700.852. Tether is at the second positi..

The post Bitcoin $6687.450 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 01:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: These are the changes of the CryptoCurrency market in the last one hour.

Bitcoin is now leading the rank on the most popular digital currency in the trade market. It has an increase of 0.05% in its exchange rate from 6689.215 dollars now at 6692.560 dollars. Tether is next to the leading crypto Bit..

The post Bitcoin $6692.560 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 00:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

RockX, an Asia-based institutional-grade staking services provider, announced today the broadening of its staking product suite with the addition of a new ether (ETH) native staking solution. This latest offering strengthens RockX’s position as a comprehensive provider of diverse staking needs, maneuvering quickly to the evolving crypto market landscape. Navigating the Ethereum ecosystem presents institutions with […]

The post RockX broadens suite with launch of new ether (ETH) native staking solution appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Hex Trust, a regulated institutional-grade crypto-asset custodian, today announced it has partnered with The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world to enable fully-licensed and highly-secure custody of assets such as LAND in The Sandbox’s metaverse. The partnership sees Hex Trust fully integrate LAND into its custody platform, Hex Safe, which supports cryptocurrencies, security tokens, and NFTs. […]

The post The Sandbox teams with Hex Trust for licensed, secure custody of its virtual assets appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

CoinFlip, a bitcoin ATM and crypto services company, announced today a new offering with the launch of ‘Olliv,’ a self-custody-powered crypto platform. The Olliv platform provides a frictionless way to buy, sell, send, receive, and swap cryptocurrency securely stored on a self-custodial wallet, removing the uncertainty of unknown third-party custodians. By leveraging CoinFlip’s existing network […]

The post CoinFlip launches new self-custodial cryptocurrency wallet platform ‘Olliv’ appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Deribit, a popular cryptocurrency derivatives platform, has announced the launch of zero-fee spot trading, allowing clients to buy and sell crypto while simultaneously managing risk using other derivatives. Spot trading will start on April, 24th 2023 at 1 PM UTC with three pairs (BTC/USDC, ETH/USDC, and ETH/BTC), providing clients with a simple and free solution […]

The post Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit to launch zero-fee spot trading appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Japan-based banking giant Nomura, announced today that its digital assets subsidiary, Laser Digital, has made a strategic investment in Infinity, a non-custodial interest rate protocol built on Ethereum. Infinity’s wholesale exchange, the first of several planned infrastructures, provides inter-exchange clearing, fixed and floating rate markets, as well as enterprise-grade risk management utilizing hybrid on-chain/off-chain infrastructures […]

The post Nomura’s Laser Digital invests in Infinity, an Ethereum-based money market protocol appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Blocknative, a real-time Ethereum (ETH) infrastructure platform, has newly introduced features including transaction bundle send, cancellation, and replacement support for the Blocknative Builder. Searchers can now submit MEV bundles privately to the Blocknative Builder to be included on-chain. This market utility builds upon Blocknative’s reliable, real-time infrastructure that is systematically important to the Ethereum ecosystem. […]

The post ETH infrastructure platform Blocknative adds TX bundles, cancellation, and replacement support appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Eventus, a provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, announced today that cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Deribit has chosen the firm’s Validus platform to provide market abuse monitoring on the exchange. Headquartered in Panama City, Panama, Deribit is one of the largest cryptocurrency options exchanges by volume and open interest, with approximately 90% […]

The post Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit to put in place trade surveillance platform from Eventus appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Gemini, the popular bitcoin & crypto exchange company, today announced the launch of electronic over-the-counter trading (eOTC), an automated crypto trading solution designed for institutions. The Gemini eOTC solution offers a variety of advantages to institutional traders including: Competitive Pricing & Execution: Liquidity is sourced from top-tier liquidity providers with deep liquidity pools, enabling counterparties […]

The post Crypto exchange Gemini launches new electronic OTC trading solution appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

GenTwo Digital, the crypto-asset securitization platform based out of Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland, today announced a partnership with Coinbase, the publicly-listed cryptocurrency platform. This new partnership for GenTwo Digital allows all Coinbase crypto assets to be wrapped in bankable financial investment products and enables financial intermediaries to issue certificates such AMCs (Actively Management Certificates). […]

The post Crypto securitization platform GenTwo links to all Coinbase assets appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

ThunderCore, a leading blockchain & web3 ecosystem announced today that they are making a new development push, partnering with new validators as the chain rolls out its new crypto staking model. The newest ThunderCore validators include the famous crypto-asset exchange Huobi and one of the earliest staking platforms in the space, MyCointainer. Users of both […]

The post Blockchain ecosystem ThunderCore teams with Huobi and MyCointainer in node expansion appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Pods, creators of a DeFi platform, announced today that earlier this year, the team raised $5.6M in seed funding to create structured products for crypto-assets. The financing featured investors such as IOSG, Tomahawk, Republic, Framework Ventures, and more. The first strategy on Pods Yield is stETHvv (Ethereum Volatility Vault). stETHvv is a low-risk product focused […]

The post DeFi protocol Pods raises $5.6M to support its structured crypto products dApp appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Deribit, the popular cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, announced today it has launched a new ‘Proof of Reserves‘ tool for clients using the trading platform. Now, clients are provided with the functionality to verify their assets to be included in Deribit’s overall reserves. How it Works Deribit provides all addresses for all on-chain assets and it delivers […]

The post Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit releases new client verification of assets tool appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Tenderly, creators of a blockchain development platform, today announced that it is the first web3 development platform to offer simulations through RPC on its Tenderly Web3 Gateway, the company’s production node as a service. Note, Tenderly already processes more than 50 million simulations per month through its Transaction Simulator. Now, the company is introducing the […]

The post Tenderly introduces TXN simulations on its blockchain gateway for efficient dApp development appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

DFINITY Foundation, the not-for-profit organization contributing to the development of the Internet Computer (IC) — a high-speed, internet-scale public blockchain — has announced today the Internet Computer’s mainnet integration with Bitcoin, bringing smart contract functionality to the cryptocurrency. Now, the Internet Computer can serve as a layer-2 for Bitcoin where smart contracts on the Internet […]

The post DFINITY brings new smart contract functionality to Bitcoin with Internet Computer integration appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Coinbase, the popular bitcoin & crypto exchange company, announced today it will be rolling out ‘Easy Bank Transfers’ for UK users. The new feature delivers an easy way to add funds to Coinbase accounts. Through a partnership with TrueLayer, one of Europe’s leading open banking platforms, Coinbase is able to support Easy Bank Transfers, which […]

The post Crypto exchange Coinbase to support Easy Bank Transfers for UK users appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Biconomy, a web3 development platform & toolkit that superpowers blockchain technology stacks, today announced it has launched a software development kit (SDK) to transform the way developers build easy-to-use decentralized applications (dApps). Since 2019, Biconomy has been engaged with the web3 infrastructure space by building easy-to-integrate, plug-and-play APIs for developers to scale their projects. The […]

The post Biconomy releases new SDK for better crypto and blockchain development appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Trust Wallet, a self-custodial and multi-chain cryptocurrency wallet application, has announced the launch of its brand-new browser extension wallet. Supporting all EVM chains, as well as Solana, it is available now on browsers including Chrome, Brave, and Opera. The browser extension complements Trust Wallet’s mobile wallet, which is the world’s leading mobile crypto wallet with […]

The post Trust Wallet launches anticipated browser extension of its crypto management app appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

BlockFills, a company specializing in building trading and management solutions for cryptocurrency market participants, today announced the launch of Vision Crypto Cloud, a secure, full-service, end-to-end digital asset trading, order management, and risk management platform. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform enables institutions to quickly access the crypto ecosystem out of the box, without the multi-year timeline […]

The post BlockFills launches end-to-end enterprise crypto trading technology stack appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Hash Blockchain Limited (HBL), a member of the HashKey Group (HashKey), a blockchain asset financial services group in Asia, announced today it has received approval from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) to operate a virtual asset trading platform, under a Type 1 (dealing in securities) license and a Type 7 (automated […]

The post HashKey Group receives approval to operate crypto exchange from Hong Kong SFC appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Pundi X, a blockchain payments startup, recently announced that its “On-chain payment” function within its XPOS crypto point-of-sale platform is now known as “Cashier Pro” and available for all merchants. Cashier Pro enables merchants to accept crypto payments from 3rd party blockchain wallet users across multiple blockchain networks, including Bitcoin Lightning Network, BNB Chain, Ethereum, and […]

The post Pundi X’s on-chain payment app for merchants now called Cashier Pro, adds Tron appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

BetDEX Labs, the company behind BetDEX, a new sports betting exchange for peer-to-peer wagering, this week announced that the BetDEX Exchange will officially launch on the Solana mainnet on Thursday, November 17th, which coincides with the beginning of the 2022 World Cup. Just recently, BetDEX became one of the first licensed sports betting exchanges built […]

The post Solana-powered sports wagering platform BetDEX to launch ahead of World Cup appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

OKX, one of the largest crypto exchanges by volume and a leading web3 platform, today announced its registration as a Digital Asset Business in The Bahamas under the newly adopted Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (DARE) Act. The company has also formed a new subsidiary, OKX Bahamas, for which it appointed Dr. Jillian Bethel, a […]

The post Crypto exchange company OKX secures registration in Bahamas, opens office in Nassau appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Today, crypto services company Blockchain.com, announced the launch of its new Visa debit card. With the Blockchain.com Visa card, users can spend any crypto in their Blockchain.com Wallet without fees while earning 1% back in crypto on all purchases. Key Features: Works like a debit card – Pay from crypto or cash balances anywhere Visa […]

The post Crypto services company Blockchain.com opens waitlist for new Visa debit card appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Kraken, the popular crypto exchange, has announced the results of its second 2022 Proof of Reserves audit, which has now been expanded beyond *BTC, and ETH* to include USDT, USDC, XRP, ADA*, and DOT.  *Indicates Proof of Reserves audit covered assets held both on Kraken’s spot exchange and Kraken’s staking platform. The addition of five […]

The post Crypto exchange Kraken’s second reserves audit adds 5 new assets: USDT, USDC, XRP, ADA, and DOT appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Blocknative, a web3 infrastructure company, today launched the Transaction Distribution Network (TDN). This tool allows blockchain users to respond to pre-chain risks and opportunities faster than ever, ensuring each transaction has the best chance of getting into the next block. The result is better, more predictable outcomes when submitting or replacing transactions. TDN works by […]

The post Blocknative releases new tool to enable high-speed propagation of ETH transactions appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

FTX reboot is in the works, Multichain issues spark uncertainty and Sam Altman’s crypto project Worldcoin raises millions of dollars.

From time to time, rumors surface that Grand Theft Auto 6 will integrate cryptocurrency, fueling expectations that the franchise may make its way to Web3.

The move follows the acquisition of the regulated crypto exchange Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC) in November 2022.

Cheds shares the story of how he shifted his focus to crypto after being diagnosed with cancer.

This week’s Crypto Biz explores Hotbit’s closure, Hong Kong’s licensing of crypto firms, Bitstamp’s acquisition by Ripple and Ledger’s branding crisis.

The fashion industry is progressively employing NFTs in conjunction with virtual technology to enhance user experiences.