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Showing posts from January 13, 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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US President-Elect Biden to Nominate MIT Blockchain Professor Gary Gensler as SEC Chairman

The U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is set to name Gary Gensler as the new chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to replace Elad Roisman. During Obama’s administration, Gensler led the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2009 to 2014. The Former Banker Became Part of Biden’s Transition Team in November According to Reuters’ two unnamed sources, Biden has finally decided on his final pick to lead the SEC, following the stepping down of Jay Clayton as chairman in December. Gensler is a well-known figure in the crypto industry, specifically in the academic sphere. During Trump’s administration, the former Goldman Sachs banker taught courses on crypto assets and blockchain at MIT Sloan School of Management. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Gensler could aim for “tougher regulations,” raising concerns among Wall Street firms. If confirmed by the Senate mostly controlled by Democrats, Gensler would also be leading the regulator...
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Bityard Launched Copy Trading System to Benefit Both Copiers and Traders

PRESS RELEASE. Bityard recently launched the copy trading system for CFD (contract for difference) trading, allowing users to copy trading activities from advanced traders, which greatly reduces the difficulty of crypto investment for beginners. Via Bityard copy trading system, beginners can learn how to trade correctly from the experts, and traders who get copied and followed can receive extra profits from each successful trade while getting copied. Right now, Bityard copy trading service is available on different devices including mobiles and PCs. Cryptocurrencies are different than many types of asset since the prices are much more unstable, which makes it much harder for junior investors to establish proper investing strategies for crypto CFD trading. The invention of copy trading system of trading service providers makes it much more convenient for investors to copy other traders since the copy trading process can be completed on one place online. Investors don’t need to go to...
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Exodus of key staff from Aragon amid philosophical differences

The decentralized governance protocol has seen 13 resignations among related staff over the course of the last week. It’s been a rough week for the Aragon governance platform where philosophical differences have brought about a long list of resignations. Aragon co-founder Jorge Izquierdo announced on Jan. 11 he would no longer be working as CEO of the for-profit Aragon One, a company dedicated to building tools and services related to Aragon. Aragon is an Ethereum-based platform involved with decentralized governance. The announcement took place just hours after news broke that Aragon had purchased Dvote Labs , the company behind blockchain voting protocol Vocdoni . Today I resigned as Aragon One's CEO. Leading this team has been the privilege and adventure of a lifetime and I am immensely proud of what we achieved. I feel quite sad that it's come to this, but given circumstances following, I don't think I can keep doing a good job. — Jorge Izquierdo (@izqui9) ...
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5 stories that suggest crypto is moving into ludicrous territory

Dogecoin, Lindsay Lohan, Ivan On Tech and the New Zealand government, What do they all have in common? The Bitcoin bull run may have slowed since the price retreated from $42,000 last week, but the pace of absurd crypto stories appears to have sped up. Just like we saw in 2017, when a bull run gets going, life in the crypto gets increasingly weird. Maybe that's because retail is finally here, with social media interest in Bitcoin hitting an all-time high last week. The result is a hilarious combination of noobs trying to understand crypto amid crazy memes, influencers doling out terrible advice, and faded celebs shilling Bitcoin for bucks. Dogecoin up 163% and listed on three new exchanges The joke cryptocurrency that won’t quit, Dogecoin ( DOGE ), apparently doesn’t need Elon Musk’s help to maintain interest among crypto holders. This week, the token was listed on exchanges FTX and Huobi Futures with no apparent explanation. The price of DOGE has risen 163% in the past mo...
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Proof-of-Work and Yield Farming: Binance and Poolin Launch Tokens Backed by Bitcoin Hashrate

There’s a new type of token gaining popularity in the crypto space with the launch of coins that are backed by a specific amount of proof-of-work (PoW) hashrate. On January 6, 2021, Binance launched a new project called the bitcoin standard hashrate token (BTCST), a coin that represents 0.1 terahash (TH/s). Furthermore, the mining operation Poolin has also revealed a hashrate token called pBTC35A and each token represents 1 TH/s hashrate with pre-determined SHA256 processing power. Tokens Backed by Proof-of-Work The Bitcoin ( BTC ) network has seen the protocol’s hashrate increase significantly during the last few weeks, despite the network mining difficulty being so high. There have also been substantial numbers of mining rigs added to the network in recent months and exchanges like Binance and Huobi have joined the mining fray. With bitcoin mining showing significant upside potential, a couple of crypto industry heavyweights have introduced tokens backed by PoW hashrate. Last w...
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The Ethereum network is being turbocharged by layer-two solutions

With Ethereum transaction fees still high, more layer-two powered platforms are emerging. The number of decentralized exchanges running layer-two solutions is growing as the Ethereum network struggles to keep up with its own popularity. As excessive Ethereum gas prices continue to hamper smaller transactions and operations on the network, the number of faster and cheaper options continues to expand as layer-two adoption increases. Layer-two solutions have the potential to process thousands of transactions per second, rather than the handful processed on layer-one. The LeverJ decentralized exchange has seen a surge in trading volumes since it launched perpetual contracts four weeks ago. Around $75 million has been traded across 26,600 transactions, costing just under $600 in total gas fees. Industry observer ‘DeFi Dad’ commented ; “Only in DeFi 2021 could you miss these monster numbers trading on an Ethereum DEX—built on L2“ Although these figures may seem small compared to DeFi ...
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Jack Dorsey cites Bitcoin as a better model for the internet in Trump ban explanation

Days after Donald Trump’s account was banned, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey explained that it was the right decision, but still sets a dangerous precedent. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey cited his passion for Bitcoin and decentralization in a 13-Tweet thread today explaining why the company banned U.S. President Donald Trump from the platform last week. Although claiming this was the “right decision for Twitter,” Dorsey admits it sets a dangerous precedent. Having to take these actions fragment the public conversation. They divide us. They limit the potential for clarification, redemption, and learning. And sets a precedent I feel is dangerous: the power an individual or corporation has over a part of the global public conversation. — jack (@jack) January 14, 2021 Trump was banned from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms on January 7 after he was blamed for inciting supporters to storm the Capitol building, resulting in the death of four individuals. The so...
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New Comptroller of the Currency announced: Will he be as good for crypto?

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian P. Brooks is officially stepping down after eight months at the OCC. The head of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Brian P. Brooks has officially announced that he is stepping down on January 14, 2021. In a statement dated January 13, the organization said that Chief Operating Officer Blake Paulson will become Acting Comptroller of the Currency, replacing Brooks who has served for eight months. Brian P. Brooks to Step Down, Blake Paulson to Become Acting Comptroller of the Currency on January 14, 2021 https://t.co/bGpnNapT1F — OCC (@USOCC) January 13, 2021 The outgoing chief Brooks, formerly head of legal at Coinbase, has been a breath of fresh air with his forward looking approach. On January 12, he suggested that DeFi can root out bias and fraud in traditional banking , and that regulations need to be reconfigured for an age of algorithms. Following several years of regulatory uncertainty the agency, which fall...
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EToro warns users it's running out of crypto to trade due to 'unprecedented demand'

Exchange platform eToro is struggling amid surging demand for crypto, sending an email to all users warning of possible trading limitations this weekend. Israel-based exchange platform eToro is struggling to keep up with the demand from crypto traders according to an email sent to users earlier today. “The unprecedented demand for crypto, coupled with limited liquidity, presents challenges to our ability to support BUY orders over the weekend.” As a result, the platform is warning of “possible limitations to crypto BUY orders” and that “spreads on crypto assets may also be much wider than usual.” @MatiGreenspan I know you have a mega position on $BTC on eToro, A sat for your thoughts. pic.twitter.com/Xt12bAJGxJ — CRYPTO KOALA (@Cryptokoala_Aus) January 13, 2021 EToro has become a victim of its own success. Yesterday marketing manager Brad Michelson revealed that in the previous 11 days, 380,000 new users had opened accounts and that trading volumes had surged 25 times highe...
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Rapid Profits: Bitcoin Hashrate Accelerates While Mining Difficulty Touches All-Time High

The Bitcoin network’s hashrate has been operating at very high processing speeds during the last few weeks, as the overall hashrate touched a whopping 171.2 exahash per second (EH/s) on Monday. Moreover, the network’s mining difficulty has also touched an all-time high (ATH) at 20.61 trillion, the highest difficulty the network has ever experienced in the last 12 years. One aspect of the Bitcoin ( BTC ) network that people look at to measure the protocol’s overall health and growth is the hashrate. At the time of publication, the BTC hashrate is processing at speeds of around 165.38 EH/s and the miner’s collective hashpower has been nearing all-time highs again. For instance, on December 30, 2020, the network hashrate spiked to a colossal 178.6 EH/s and 12 days later the hashrate hit 171.2 EH/s . What has surpassed its ATH is BTC ’s network mining difficulty or difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA). This week the mining difficulty is the highest the difficulty has ever been in Bitc...
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Rick and Morty creator auctioning NFT artwork collection

The platform stated it would offer “several original artworks” from Justin Roiland as part of his NFT collection. The Winklevoss-owned Nifty Gateway has announced the auction of a crypto art collection from the voice actor and co-creator behind Adult Swim's cult animation series Rick and Morty. According to a tweet from Nifty Gateway today, the non-fungible token, or NFT, marketplace will be auctioning artwork from Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland on Jan. 19. The platform stated “several original artworks” from Roiland would be offered as part of the collection. We are thrilled to welcome @JustinRoiland to Nifty Gateway for his first ever crypto art release! The full collection features several original artworks from Justin and will go live next Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 7 pm ET. pic.twitter.com/cHppLujZlo — Nifty Gateway (@niftygateway) January 14, 2021 The Rick and Morty co-creator first t weeted about Bitcoin ( BTC ) in 2015 and he mention ed the crypto asset during...
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Indian Doctors Warn of Illegal Covid-19 Vaccine Sales for Bitcoin: Citizens Urged to Wait for Government Approved Vaccine

Indian doctors have warned that the sale of unauthorized Covid-19 vaccines on the black market, where vendors ask for bitcoin as payment, is illegal. According to the doctors, the unsanctioned marketing of the vaccine to the elite is prevalent in the state of Karnataka. Some doctors say the Indian government must intervene by tracking down these vendors. Vaccine for VIPs As media reports from that country confirm, doctors “have been getting calls from VIP patients, wanting to know whether these Covid-19 vaccines offered by certain dealers are genuine and can be taken.” For instance, the president of the Indian Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes’ Association (Phana) has acknowledged learning about such vaccine sales. The Phana president, who is identified as “Dr. HM Prasanna” in one report, claims “he heard that certain vaccines are being administered to residents for bitcoin.” While Prasanna is condemning the unsanctioned sales, he does, however, ask potential buyers of the unsan...
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Grayscale Investments liquidates all of its XRP ... while it still can

Grayscale is dissolving its XRP Trust, and will distribute cash to investors after liquidating all XRP held by the trust. Institutional crypto fund manager Grayscale Investments has begun the dissolution of its XRP Trust in response to the SEC’s December lawsuit alleging the XRP token is a security under U.S. law. According to an announcement published Jan. 13, Grayscale decided to dissolve the trust in response to the spate of XRP delistings from major crypto asset exchanges after the SEC’s complaint was filed. Grayscale concluded: “It is likely to be increasingly difficult for U.S. investors, including the Trust, to convert XRP to U.S. dollars, and therefore continue the Trust’s operations.” All XRP held by the trust has already been liquidated, with Grayscale intending to distribute the net cash proceeds to XRP Trust shareholders after deducting expenses. The Trust will be terminated following the distribution of said cash. Despite the SEC’s hardlineposition on XRP, regula...
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Crypto mining allegedly worsening air pollution in Iran

Mining for Bitcoin may be contributing to “thick layers of toxic smog” and blackouts across many Iranian cities. The push by many in Iran to establish the country as a mecca for crypto miners may be having some unintended environmental consequences.  According to a Bloomberg report, the energy requirements of Bitcoin ( BTC ) and crypto mining in Iran coupled with the demand for heat in an exceptionally cold winter have contributed to a natural gas shortage, forcing power plants to allegedly burn "low-grade fuel oils" to meet the country’s electrical needs. The result has been "thick layers of toxic smog" across many Iranian cities and blackouts as some power plants have closed. Iran is already facing economic burdens as U.S. sanctions have isolated the country from foreign financial institutions, a dire situation with the global pandemic — roughly 1.3 million total cases of COVID-19 — and now a winter with average temperatures just above freezing at night in T...
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Bitcoin price rally to $37,850, signals that bulls intend to reclaim $40K

Bitcoin’s break above the $35,000 resistance shows bulls are serious about retaking $40,000 in the short-term. Bitcoin ( BTC ) price broke through the $35,000 resistance and appears to be stepping into a new range that would see the price trade between $38,000 to $40,000. Today’s recovery from the $34,000 level also appers to have invalidated what looked to be a bearish head and shoulders pattern forming on the 4-hour timeframe.  BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView Reclaiming the $36,000 level as support may also assist with squashing the infantile narrative that Bitcoin price was entering a new bear market after this week’s 26.5% plunge shaved off $200 billion from the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. Despite this plunge, financial advisers continue to develop a more positive outlook on the top cryptocurrency as well as the growing DeFi sector. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 The recent announcement from the Office of the Co...
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GateHub to continue supporting XRP despite Ripple's legal issues

GateHub is the latest crypto firm to announce the continuation of XRP support despite Ripple’s legal issues with the SEC. As Ripple faces serious legal charges over its associated token XRP , many crypto platforms have decided to drop support for the coin until things are settled.   However, GateHub, a United Kingdom-based cryptocurrency gateway service, has decided to continue listing XRP. According to a Jan. 12 announcement , GateHub will not delist XRP unless a decision from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission makes it necessary: “Please be advised that GateHub Ltd. will continue listing XRP until the SEC’s complaint against Ripple is adjudicated and a final decision entered that XRP is properly classified as a ‘security,’ or until we receive a cease-and-desist notice from the SEC.” GateHub said that the decision to keep XRP on its platform follows some careful review of the SEC’s complaint against Ripple , which claimed that the firm sold XRP as...
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Huobi Global now supports ruble deposits and withdrawals

Huobi partnered with fiat and crypto payment processor AdvCash to unlock deposits and withdrawals in the Russian ruble. Major global cryptocurrency exchange Huobi is introducing Russia’s national fiat currency on its trading platform. According to a Jan. 12 announcement , Huobi Global now supports deposits and withdrawals in the Russian ruble. The new feature enables users to purchase and sell major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin ( BTC ), Ether ( ETH ), Tether ( USDT ), and Litecoin ( LTC ) for rubles. Other supported coins include EOS , Bitcoin Cash ( BCH ), Ethereum Classic ( ETC ), Bitcoin SV ( BSV ), DASH , as well as two Huobi-backed tokens like Huobi Token (HT) and Huobi Pool Token (HPT). To add ruble support, Huobi partnered with AdvCash, a fiat and crypto payment processor. The exchange previously collaborated with AdvCash to introduce ruble-denominated crypto purchases on its over-the-counter desk. AdvCash also  provide s  fiat onramp services to Binance, the worl...
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Lawsuit Filed to Stop a Global Cryptocurrency Scam Spreading in India

A class-action lawsuit has reportedly been filed against a cryptocurrency scam that has duped many Indian investors. The scam, promoted in three Indian languages, lures investors by promising up to 900% return on investments. T he Delhi court has directed a notice to be placed in major newspapers, seeking victims of this scam to come forward. Class-Action Lawsuit to Stop a Crypto Scam in India A representative lawsuit has reportedly been filed in order to stop a cryptocurrency scam from continuing to dupe Indian investors. The Delhi court last week directed a notice to be published in leading Indian newspapers to invite victims of the scam to come forward. Advocate Nipun Saxena filed the suit on behalf of various Indian citizens who said they had been duped by a company called IQ Option, local media reported. This platform claims to allow users to trade stocks, forex, options, and cryptocurrencies. Twenty-six cryptos are listed on its website, including bitcoin ( BTC ), ether ( ETH...
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'Thankfully' my son owns Bitcoin, says $140B asset management CEO

Howard Marks hints that he is becoming the latest Bitcoin naysayer to change his tune completely in a new memo to investors of Oaktree Capital. Bitcoin ( BTC ) at $34,000 may have gained a new convert after billionaire investor Howard Marks admitted that he needed to change his "skeptical view." In his latest investor memo dated Jan. 11, Marks, who is co-chairman and co-founder of the $140 billion Oaktree Capital Group, noted that while he was critical of Bitcoin during its 2017 bull run, his son had "thankfully" bought in.  Marks on crypto: Do you own research "Back in 2017, my memo 'There They Go Again... Again' included a section on cryptocurrencies in which I stated a high level of skepticism. This view has been a subject of much discussion for me and  Andrew, who is quite positive on Bitcoin and several others and thankfully owns a meaningful amount for our family," the memo reads. "While the story is far from fully written, the l...
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