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Showing posts from January 7, 2021

MLB Team Washington Nationals Partners With Terra Blockchain Community, Ballpark Plans to Accept UST

On February 9, the American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C., the Washington Nationals, announced the team has partnered with Terra, the open-source blockchain platform and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The Washington Nationals detail that the team is a “leading innovator” and is “consistently introducing new technologies to enhance the fan experience.” Washington Nationals Ink Long-Term Deal With Terra Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Washington Nationals has partnered with the blockchain platform and DAO Terra, according to an announcement published by the team on Wednesday. The deal with Terra follows a slew of sports-related deals with crypto firms, but the MLB team will be the first to partner with an open-source blockchain project. In addition to the partnership, the algorithmic stablecoin UST that’s issued on the Terra blockchain will be “accepted as a payment method at Nationals Park as early as next season.” “The Nationals continue t...
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As BTC Continues to Soar Finland Wants to Cash in on Bitcoins Seized in 2016

Finland’s customs officials have revealed plans to sell 1,981 bitcoins that were seized mainly in connection with drug trafficking-related criminal investigations. The majority of the confiscated bitcoins (1,666) are from the Douppikauppa case, the darknet operator who was arrested in 2016. To Sell or to Destroy the Coins According to a report by one Finnish broadcaster, the confiscated bitcoins had an estimated value of $800,000 at the time of the seizure. However, with bitcoin now trading above $38,000, Finnish Customs may well get over $75 million if the coins are sold at current prices. Meanwhile, the same report quotes an official with Finnish Customs explaining the process that preceded the decision to sell. The official, Pekka Pylkkänen, reveals the other options that were examined by Finnish Customs before the final decision was made. Pylkkänen explains: On behalf of the Customs Act, we had the option of handing them over to another government agency or some other party ...
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The EURST Stablecoin Set the Path That Major Central Banks Now Want to Follow

From Asia to Europe, major central banks all around the world are expected to announce their own digital currencies soon. This is vindication that stablecoins like EURST are on the right path forward, and they can serve to show how national economies should reinvent themselves following the current crisis. Why Everyone Wants a CBDC Now There is a lot of discussions in economic forums and reports in the financial press these days about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and how they can help with building a new post-Covid economy. Many countries in various regions are said to be developing some version of a CBDC, as far apart as Thailand and Ukraine. In fact, major central banks have been working on CBDCs for a few of years already, and the European Central Bank’s upcoming digital euro and China’s digital yuan are expected to be among the first. Even usually closed minded anti cryptocurrency detractors are now forced to admit that digital currencies are an unavoidable reality. ...
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Google searches for 'Ethereum' hit all-time high

Not many crypto search terms have come close to their peaks in spite of the new bull market, but Ethereum is a notable exception. More people are searching for the word “Ethereum” now than ever before in its history.  Google Trends reveals that the number of Google searches currently being performed for “Ethereum” is at an all-time high, eclipsing search interest during the height of the last ETH bull run. Ethereum’s previous peak in search term popularity was on Jan. 13, 2018 — the date of ETH’s all-time high of $1,432.88. Google Trends Worldwide Search Interest for #Ethereum projected to reach an all-time high: pic.twitter.com/oisOk9HhoD — Michael Vincent (@mmichaels_21) January 7, 2021 Historically considered a “ folk metric ,” a rising Google Analytics interest score for a crypto search term is associated with positive sentiment for that particular coin/project. While it makes sense that search interest on Ethereum would peak during the run-up to a new all-time high...
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Bakkt may go public through rumored $2B merger

Regulated Bitcoin futures platform Bakkt is reportedly eyeing going public through a rumored merger. Bakkt, the cryptocurrency trading platform majority-owned by Intercontinental Exchange, is rumored to be deep in discussions to go public through a merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings. On Jan. 7, Bloomberg published a story citing anonymous sources “with knowledge of the matter” who claimed Bakkt is already in advanced talks regarding the merger, predicting that an official announcement on the matter could be published as soon as next week. The sources estimate the combined entity could be valued at more than $2 billion should the merger be completed. VPC is a special purpose acquisition company closely affiliated with Victory Park Capital — an SEC-registered alternative investment firm. VPC chief executive John Martin has described the firm’s core strategy as seeking to “identify, partner with and help grow a business in the fintech sector.” Bakkt launched in 2019 and is...
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New Online System at Mt. Gox May Be Used to Facilitate Bitcoin Refunds to Creditors, Says Trustee

Mt. Gox’s trustee, Nobuaki Kobayashi, has asked creditors of the defunct crypto exchange to register on a new online system so that they might receive their refunds and be able to vote on the civil rehabilitation plan. ● In a statement released Jan. 7, Kobayashi said the registration targets those creditors who have already filed claims but have been unable to log in to the old Mt.Gox online system . ● Users can register on the new system using the creditor numbers they received in the past, he said. Registration must be completed by March 31, 2021. The trustee is also planning to expand the registration function to enable creditors with what he called “self-approved” claims to register such claims. ● “The trustee is considering using the system to facilitate the smooth carrying out of future processes, such as voting on the rehabilitation plan and making payments,” said Kobayashi, a Japanese bankruptcy lawyer appointed to oversee the repayment of investors. ● In December, Kobay...
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Bitcoin's 'real' volume doubles previous all-time high

Weekly BTC trade volume has surged to dwarf the previous record by 100% amid Bitcoin’s dramatic run up to $40,000. Bitcoin’s meteoric rally to $40,000 has seen BTC smash its previous all-time high for 'real' volume by roughly 100%. On Jan. 7, Quantum Economics founder Mati Greenspan shared a chart showing that weekly spot volume has surged to double its previous high — according to Messari’s “real volume” metric — with more than $60 billion worth of BTC changing hands over the past seven days. Messari’s “ Real ” volume metric was launched to aggregate and adjust the volumes of the top exchanges it believes report legitimate activity — Binance, Bitfinex, Bitflyer, Bitstamp, Bittrex, Coinbase Pro, Gemini, itBit, Kraken, and Poloniex. The metric was updated in May of 2020 to include an adjusted score for top Asian exchanges including Huobi, OKEx, Gate.io, Bithumb, UpBit, CoinOne, and Liquid using an adjusted score based on information provided by 10 third-party crypto data...
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Ripple CEO answers 5 key questions about the SEC lawsuit

Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse has responded to some of the community’s concerns surrounding the SEC’s $1.3 billion lawsuit against the firm. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has revealed the firm unsuccessfully attempted to settle its securities violation lawsuit with the SEC, and slammed the “regulatory chaos” around cryptocurrencies.  I’m not going to litigate the SEC’s unproven allegations on Twitter, and as you can imagine, there are new considerations to what can / should be said publicly after the litigation process starts. However, I would like to address 5 key questions I’ve seen. 1/10 — Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) January 7, 2021 In a Twitter thread addressing what he described as “5 key questions”, the CEO strongly denied the “SEC’s unproven allegations” and claimed his firm is “on the right side of the facts and of history.” Garlinghouse said Ripple would continue to work towards a settlement with the SEC: “Know we tried - and will continue to try w/ the ne...
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Tron’s DLive platform under fire for live streaming US Capitol extremists

The crypto-powered streaming platform DLive has come under fire after far-right extremists used the service to live stream this week’s violent insurrection in the U.S. Capitol. DLive, the decentralized streaming platform that Justin Sun purchased and migrated to Tron in December 2019, was used by several far-right extremists to live-stream their insurrection in the U.S. Capitol building on Jan 6. The extremists were also able to raise donations during the broadcast and the platform has been accused of allowing extremists to raise “hundreds of thousands” of dollars, mostly in cryptocurrency, since it was founded. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch blog , at least five DLive accounts live streamed Wednesday’s shocking protest, “Murder the Media,” “ Loulz,” “Woozuh,” “Gloomtube” and “ Baked Alaska”. However the organization could only confirm that DLive user “Baked Alaska” had actually breached the Capitol Building. Baked Alaska’s real name is Tim Gionet. A form...
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Bitcoin is now worth more than a 20 ounce gold bar

As Bitcoin price topped $40,000 it became more valuable than a 20oz block of gold. Bitcoin’s meteoric price rise is showing no signs of slowing down and its latest all-time high has priced the asset higher than a 20 ounce gold bar. Over the past six hours, Bitcoin prices topped $40,000 briefly according to Tradingview.com. The move has added a further 5% over the past 24 hours and the rally is showing no signs of cooling down yet. Industry observers often call Bitcoin "digital gold" as it is a store of value asset, and this latest price peak pushed prices higher than those for the standard 20 ounce gold bar. At the time of writing, gold was currently trading at $1912/oz according to Goldprice.org , so a 20 ounce bar would set you back $38,240. Bitcoin’s price, taken at the same time, was a little over $39,000. It now takes more than an entire, 20 ounce, gold bar to buy a single #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/B8YsAgyRJL — Documenting Bitcoin (@DocumentBitcoin) January 7, 2...
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South Korean Gaming Giant Planning to Buy Crypto Exchange Bithumb for $460 Million

Nexon, the South Korean multi-billion-dollar gaming conglomerate, is reportedly planning to buy a 65% stake in troubled crypto exchange Bithumb in a deal worth about 500 billion won ($460 million). ● According to local media reports , Nexon is to buy all the shares owned by Bithumb chairman Lee Jung Hoon, including several others totaling up to 65% of the exchange’s outstanding shares. ● The Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed video gaming giant has since signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the sellers to facilitate the transaction. The MoU was signed at the beginning of this month, said the reports. ● Nexon already owns two other crypto exchanges – Korbit, Korea’s third-largest exchange, and European exchange Bitstamp, which it acquired for around $80 million and $400 million, respectively, three years ago. ● Bithumb, Korea’s largest bitcoin exchange, has been rocked by issues of fraud involving top company staff. Authorities in the Asian country are currently investigating ...
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A Conversation with One of Bitcoin Cash’s Most Prolific Developers

Calin Culianu is the #1 contributor to the Electron Cash project. Also, he contributes to BCHN, and has created the Fulcrum server. Definitely a Bitcoin Cash hero in my book. I picked his brain a bit about all things Bitcoin Cash, and got some juicy answers. Calin likes to talk, so let’s check it out. Jonald Fyookball (JF): So Calin, how did you get into crypto? Calin Culianu (CC): You got time? All right. I had a friend who was, I used to play games with him online. We were part of this crew online. This was like 10 years ago, or whatever, like in 2012. And he was telling me about Bitcoin and it piqued my curiosity. I didn’t know anything about it. And he was telling me how you could mine and you do transactions through your computer, and it sounded so weird. And I was like what is this stupid shit? And I didn’t pay attention to it, and then I heard that podcast with Joe Rogan and Andreas Antonopoulos. When Bitcoin hit $1,000, that’s when I decided to get into it, which was not t...
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Bitcoin NVT ratio suggests BTC may see another 'explosive move' as search interest spikes

The popular metric suggests the Bitcoin bull run is beginning, not ending, according to a report from Stack Funds. Bitcoin ( BTC ) may have hit new all-time highs of $37,600 , but one indicator suggests that yet another bull run is incoming. Released in the latest weekly report from Stack Funds , data from Bitcoin's network value to transaction (NVT) ratio still remains firmly bullish. Report: NVT suggests Bitcoin "not overvalued" According to analysts at Stack, despite Bitcoin gaining 30% in 2021 already, the gains are far from over. Far from warning that the top is imminent or already here, NVT is reminiscent of the start of a bull run, not the end. "Currently, NVT is trading at the 70 handle, and lies roughly in the middle of the range. This suggests that Bitcoin not in the overvalued territory despite the recent price rally the past few weeks," the report summarizes. "If anything, a potential spike in the NVT ratio could mean that Bitcoin is read...
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Report: Major gaming conglomerate Nixon prepares to acquire Bithumb

South Korean media has reported that Nexon, a multi-billion dollar conglomerate led by CEO Kim Seong-Ju, plans to acquire the country's largest cryptocurrency exchange. After a troubled few months, crypto exchange Bithumb looks like it's set on turning over a new leaf through an acquisition by one of South Korea's top gaming firms.  South Korean media reported on Jan. 7 that Nexon, a multi-billion dollar gaming conglomerate, has signed a memorandum of understanding, or MoU, to acquire the exchange at an evaluated price of 650 billion won ($460 million). Nexon, led by CEO Kim Seoung-Ju, will reportedly work with one of the major shareholders in Bithumb, Vidente, to buy out the exchange and take control of the company, crypto journalist and Cointelegraph contributor Joseph Young has  summarized . According to South Korean media, Nexon plans to take a 65% stake in Bithumb. As the report notes, Bithumb's existing shares are trading at a total value of 1 trillion won (...
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After Know Your Customer debacle, BitMEX reports 100% of users are verified

Controversial crypto derivatives trading platform BitMEX says its entire user base has completed the obligatory Know Your Customer process. BitMEX has announced the completion of its user verification program, becoming one of the largest crypto trading platforms with a fully certified customer base. As part of the process to verify its entire use base, BitMEX says open positions held by unverified accounts have been closed. Back in Aug. 2020, the platform revealed plans to undertake a comprehensive user identity verification exercise. The move came amid increasing regulatory scrutiny over the platform's notoriously lax Know Your Customer, or KYC, policies.  As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission  charged BitMEX for illegally operating a derivatives trading desk . The New York District Attorney also brought up criminal charges against some of the company’s principal actors including former CEO Arthur Hayes. In resp...
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Top Gambling Firm IGT Obtains US Patent for a System to Enable Customers to Fund Their Bets via Crypto

A gambling tech giant received the green light from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to start offering cryptocurrency payment options to their users. The company is known for manufacturing slot gambling machines. Gamblers Could Also Transfer Crypto From Their Wallets to the Casino’s Ones Per records from the USPTO, International Game Technology (IGT) received the patent that allows gamblers to pay their pets via bitcoin ( BTC ), ethereum ( ETH ), and bitcoin cash ( BCH ). As described in the patent’s filings, IGT’s system will consist of the following: A system that enables cryptocurrency funds to be transferred between a gaming establishment account associated with a player and an external cryptocurrency account. The document shows some graphics of phones with illustrations of what seems to be mobile applications and uses QR codes that transfer cryptos onto the slot machines. The app also seems to act as a wallet, as well. Moreover, the cryptocurrency would conve...
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Bitcoin price now within 10% of $40,000 after ranging flips to new highs

A "healthy correction" is increasingly likely, says analyst Michaël van de Poppe as sellers dig in below the $40,000 mark. Bitcoin ( BTC ) climbed to fresh all-time highs on Jan. 7, coming within striking distance of $40,000. Cryptocurrency market overview. Source: Coin360 BTC price reaches $37,800 Data from Cointelegraph Markets , Coin360 and TradingView showed Bitcoin getting yet another boost overnight on Wednesday as protestors stormed the Capitol in Washington D.C. After showing signs of continuing strength during trading the day before, BTC/USD abruptly headed north, reaching a new peak of $37,800. By press time on Thursday, a subsequent retracement had sent the pair focus on the $37,000 mark, with Bitcoin still within 10% of hitting $40,000. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView According to the latest updates for order books, significant resistance lay in wait at $38,000, with more selling pressure beginning at $39,500. Support wa...
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