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Showing posts from January 18, 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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3 reasons why Ethereum has been rising faster than Bitcoin price in 2021

Ether has been outperforming Bitcoin in the last few weeks as Ethereum's momentum strengthens. The price of Ether ( ETH ), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain network, has been soaring since the beginning of the new year. What's more, it has outperformed Bitcoin ( BTC ) since Jan. 1, gaining roughly 81% compared to Bitcoin's 26% in their respective USD pairs year-to-date. Bitcoin, Ether YTD performance. Source: Digital Assets Data There are three main reasons why ETH has been outpacing BTC throughout the past several days. The factors are Ethereum’s accelerating growth, the improving sentiment around DeFi and BTC’s current period of relatively low volatility. ETH/BTC 1-day price chart (Binance). Source: TradingView.com Ethereum is seeing rapid growth fueled by DeFi sentiment DeFi tokens have been surging rapidly as of late, led by majors such as Aave and SushiSwap, as Cointelegraph reported . The rally of DeFi tokens is partly fueled by the fast...
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Ex-Real Madrid Football Player Joins a Spanish Lower Division Club in Deal Financed With Crypto

In a possible first for Spanish football, DUX Internacional de Madrid, a lower division side says it has used crypto buy a new player. The player, David Barral moved to his new club after Criptan, the new club sponsor facilitated the acquisition. Criptan is a cryptocurrency trading company that is registered in Valencia, Spain . Meanwhile, following the player’s move, a Spanish football news site quotes Barral, who is now aged 37, expressing his eagerness to continue playing for what will be his seventh club. Barral says: I am happy to join this project, with desire, ambition and responsibility to continue competing and achieve important challenges in my sports career. Furthermore, the news report also details Barral’s football journey prior to joining Dux International de Madrid. The report says in addition to playing for Real Madrid, Barral has also played for four other sides which are namely “Granada, Cádiz, Levante and Sporting.” During his stint as a player in the Spanish...
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Flipped: Ethereum now processes 28% more transactions than Bitcoin

Messari estimates Ethereum’s daily transaction volume is now 28% greater than Bitcoin's. The daily volume of transactions on the Ethereum ( ETH ) network is now 28% greater than on Bitcoin ( BTC ), according to crypto analytics firm Messari. On Jan. 19, Messari’s Ryan Watkins tweeted that Ethereum’s daily transaction volume “is going parabolic” alongside a chart indicating that Ethereum and Ethereum-powered stablecoins have processed $12.3 billion in transactions over the past 24 hours — dwarfing Bitcoin and Omni-based USDT’s $9.3 billion. Ethereum's daily transaction volume is going parabolic. It now settles $12 billion in transactions daily - $3 billion more than Bitcoin. Imagine not being bullish $ETH . pic.twitter.com/3NfOz1ruiM — Ryan Watkins (@RyanWatkins_) January 19, 2021 The data excludes non-stablecoin ERC-20 transactions for Ethereum to avoid double-counting DEX volumes. According to Blockchain Center’s “Flippening Index,” which uses eight key metrics t...
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More than 80% of LINK is controlled by 125 wallets

New research from Glassnode indicates the top 1% of Chainlink holders control nearly 81% of the token’s supply. According to crypto market data aggregator Glassnode, Chainlink’s ( LINK ) token distribution is at record levels of centralization — with more than 80% of LINK not held on exchanges currently residing in the top 1% of Chainlink wallets.  Glassnode’s research found that 81% of LINK not held on crypto exchanges of smart contracts is currently stashed away in 125 wallets, with the number of tokens held by Chainlink’s whales steadily increasing over the past two years. When including the tokens held on exchanges and in smart contracts that Glassnode’s data excluded, the centralization of Chainlink’s token distribution appears extreme — with Etherscan data indicating that 82.7% of LINK is held by just 100 wallets, or less 0.03% of LINK-holding addresses. However, Glassnode estimates that only 12,500 of these addresses are currently active , suggesting nearly 83% of LI...
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Ethereum price inches closer to a new all-time high as Bitcoin consolidates

Ethereum price is in hot pursuit of a new all-time high, while Bitcoin price continues to trade sideways. Bitcoin ( BTC ) continues to trade in a tightening range within a pennant pattern and while the price has moved above the 20-day moving average, it's clear that the bulls and bears are fighting over the direction the digital asset will take.  Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView show that BTC traded in a range between $34,955 and $37,850 over the weekend but traders buying each dip appear to be doing so with less bullish conviction. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 JPMorgan research analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou recently stressed the importance of Bitcoin breaking out above the $40,000 level soon in order to avoid being hurt by an exodus of “trend-following” investors who could worsen last week’s correction. According to Yves Renno, Head of Trading at Wirex, Bitcoin is in a “consolidation above the $35,500 level” but Renno still ...
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Uniswap's founder wants your advice on how to spend $500 million

With Uniswap's treasury now worth more than $500 million, creator Hayden Adams has asked the crypto community for suggestions on how to spend it. Unsiwap creator Hayden Adams has taken to crypto-twitter to source feedback on how the DEX should allocate its $500 million governance treasury. With Uniswap’s native UNI token currently trading at $9.30 after rallying to break its previous all-time high of $7.10 last week, the vested share of Uniswap’s warchest is now valued at more than half a billion dollars. “What are some of the most impactful ways governance can allocate this UNI?” Adams asked the community. ~$500M worth of UNI has already vested to the Uniswap governance community treasury out of $4b total (based on current price) What are some of the most impactful ways governance can allocate this UNI? Dream big — Hayden Adams (@haydenzadams) January 18, 2021 Adams received a variety of suggestions, including a request for a second UNI airdrop  to recent Uniswap us...
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Four of the top 70 crypto assets by market cap are Bitcoin

Crypto data sites are double-counting tokenized Bitcoin, with three BTC tokenization protocols representing more than 1.4% of the reported altcoin market cap. Tokenized Bitcoin is booming, with the increasing demand from DeFi combined with BTC’s recent meteoric price rise has resulted in three Bitcoin tokenization protocols ranking among the 70 largest crypto markets. According to popular market data aggregators CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap, Wrapped Bitcoin ( WBTC ) currently ranks as the 13th-largest market boasting a capitalization of $4.04 billion, with roughly 0.6% of Bitcoin’s supply currently locked in the protocol. Huobi BTC (HBTC) ranks 56th with a market cap of $660 million, followed by the 63rd-ranked renBTC (RENBTC) with a capitalization of $510 million. However, the emergence of Bitcoin ( BTC ) tokenization protocols as top-ranked crypto markets is problematic for data aggregators as it risks double-counting a portion of Bitcoin’s supply when estimating the total mark...
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Iran Seizes 45,000 Bitcoin Miners for Illegally Using Subsidized Government Electricity: Report

Police in Iran have reportedly seized 45,000 bitcoin mining rigs for illegally using subsidized electricity from the state-owned power utility Tavanir, the local Tasmin News Agency reported this week . According to Mohammad Hassan Motavalizadeh, head of Tavanir, the efficient application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin miners had been consuming 95 megawatts (MW) per hour of electricity at cheaper prices. Authorized miners are charged around 4,800 rials ($0.11) per kilowatt-hour in autumn, winter and spring, says the Iranian Energy Ministry. Subsidized rates may be half as much. Since 2019, when crypto mining became legal in Iran, the Islamic Republic has shut down 1,620 unauthorized mining farms, local media reported earlier this month. The farms consumed 250MW of electricity, it said. Now, the Middle East country is currently facing severe power shortages due to rising winter demand, with rolling blackouts across major cities. The government decided to blame bitcoin ...
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Bitstamp imposes KYC for Dutch traders withdrawing to external wallets

To comply with Dutch regulations, Netherlands-based Bitstamp users can no longer make withdrawals without first providing photographic proof they own the recipient wallet. Digital asset exchange Bitstamp has reportedly banned Netherlands-based users from withdrawing crypto to external wallets without first verifying they own the receiving address. According to a letter authored by Bitstamp that was shared on Twitter by user “Bitcoin Marcus,” Bitstamp’s users in Holland must now submit third-party addresses alongside photographic evidence they own the wallet for whitelisting before withdrawals will be processed. “Whitelisting is a security feature which was already available at Bitstamp, but now it has become obligatory for all customers affected by the new regulation in the Netherlands,” the letter stated. Yes, this is real. People in the Netherlands now have to KYC their withdraw addresses. pic.twitter.com/S2H5Gszh9X — Bitcoin Marcus ☣️⚡️ (@plan_marcus) January 17, 2021 Bits...
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EU Seeks to Curb Reliance on US Dollar After American Sanctions Exposed Financial Infrastructure Vulnerabilities

The European Union (EU) is reportedly planning to reduce its reliance on the U.S. dollar-based financial system, after American sanctions on Iran exposed the vulnerabilities of the bloc’s financial infrastructure. According to officials, who are now determined to challenge the dollar’s supremacy, the renewed desire to boost the role of the euro currency is also partly inspired by “lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic.” The US Dollar Domination In sentiments expressed in the draft European Commission (EC) policy paper, officials warn of the current over-reliance “on the US dollar to cushion financial tensions and stability risks.” Prior to the latest revelations, the EU had “long sought to promote greater use of the euro as the bloc tries to bolster its financial and economic autonomy.” Yet, as a Financial Times report explains, it took the negative effects of the dollar’s dominance under the Trump presidency to nudge EU leaders into action. This is because when the U.S. gove...
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CoinShares to launch $200m Bitcoin ETP on Swiss stock exchange

CoinShares' CSO says the firm is “starting 2021 off with a bang” by launching a $200 million physically-backed Bitcoin ETP on Switzerland’s SIX exchange. Digital asset manager CoinShares is launching a Bitcoin exchange-traded product, or ETP, on the SIX Swiss Exchange. According to a report from Bloomberg today, the Bitcoin ETP will go live on Switzerland’s principal stock exchange tomorrow under the ticker symbol BITC. Each ETP will be physically backed by 0.001 Bitcoin ( BTC ) — worth roughly $36 at the time of publication. The custodian behind the ETP will be Komainu, the custodian established by CoinShares in partnership with Japanese bank Nomura Holdings and hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger during June 2020. “A lot of institutional clients have a very strong due-diligence process, and we wanted to bring to market a best-in-class product to embrace that demand,” said CoinShares' chief revenue officer, Frank Spiteri. “We are ready, as of January, to embrace the fort...
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Binance Coin (BNB) hits a new all-time high one day before its token burn

A growing DEX ecosystem, competitive futures platform and low fee incentives pushed Binance Coin to a new all-time high one day ahead of its scheduled token burn. Over the past 6 months, Binance Coin (BNB) has been quietly rallying higher, gaining 189% during this period and notching a new all-time high at $46.90 on Jan. 18. This price peak happened just one day before its quarterly token burn, leading investors to question whether or not BNB price will move higher once the event concludes.  A token burn is a permanent removal of coins from circulation and this deflationary technique is a common practice used by many projects in the crypto sector. As Cointelegraph reported, the process does not destroy the coins but rather renders them unusable. Aside from the supply change, Binance Chain recently launched smart contract capabilities which allow Decentralized Finance (DeFi) applications and cross-chain asset swaps to join. The exchange has also been wildly profitable since lau...
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Nornickel to use blockchain for its new ETCs on Deutsche Börse and LSE

A palladium fund founded by Norilsk Nickel will launch exchange-traded commodities for metals custodied using blockchain at the Deutsche Börse and London Stock Exchange. The world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel, Norilsk Nickel, is pressing ahead with its digital technologies strategy. As of Jan. 18, Nornickel's Global Palladium Fund has launched exchange-traded commodities, or ETCs, for metals on the Deutsche Börse, which are custodied by TokenTrust AG and also make use of its distributed ledger platform, Atomyze. Nornickel's Global Palladium Fund intends to launch the ETCs on the London Stock Exchange "within a few days." An ETC , which is an instrument that is tradable like a stock or share, offers traders and investors exposure to an underlying commodity — in this case, metals. Nornickel's fund will contribute palladium, platinum, gold and silver to the newly-launched ETC instrument and will collaborate with the Swiss-based company Tok...
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Infinite Fleet publisher launches STO led by $1M investment from Tether

Unlike most blockchain gaming fundraises, this one offers equity in the company and future profit-sharing. Exordium, the publisher of the upcoming sci-fi strategy game Infinite Fleet, has announced a public security token offering, or STO, on the STOKR platform, starting Jan. 18. The $8 million sale to raise funds for the long-touted blockchain-powered MMO (or massive multiplayer online game), is being led by a $1 million investment from Tether International, the issuer of the largest stablecoin Tether ( USDT ). The public portion of the STO will have a hard-cap of $1 million and be limited to select European countries. This will include the majority of the European Union, with the notable exceptions of Germany and Belgium, due to regulatory restrictions. However, unlike the majority of pre-sales to raise funds for upcoming games, participants will receive equity in the game’s publishing company and a share in future profits. The security tokens in this $8 million raise will repre...
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The case for Bitcoin price dropping to $27K in a possible bearish scenario

Bitcoin could drop to as low as $27,000 in a bearish scenario, analysts say, which would bring panic to the altcoin market. Some analysts say that the price of Bitcoin ( BTC ) could drop to $27,000 in a bearish scenario if it falls through the $30,000 support area. The potential drop to $27,000 is conditional in that BTC would have to break down below $30,500, where it strongly bounced from on Jan. 11. Bitcoin whale clusters. Source: Whalemap Which is the short-term Bitcoin bottom? In the foreseeable future, there are three key technical levels at play for Bitcoin: $34,500, $30,500, and $27,000. $34,500 has been acting as a critical support area throughout the past 72 hours. Each time BTC dropped to this level, it recovered fairly quickly to around $36,300. If $34,500 breaks, the next major support level is $30,500. This is where Bitcoin recovered from in the big correction on Jan. 11, when $2 billion worth of futures contracts were liquidated . A pseudonymous trader known a...
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AC Milan employs blockchain to reach 450 million fans amid COVID lockdowns

European football giants AC Milan are the latest major sporting institution to employ blockchain-based fan tokens in a bid to reach 450 million fans amid lockdown. European football giant AC Milan is the latest sporting organization to jump on the blockchain bandwagon after it announced the impending launch of the $ACM fan token on the Chiliz (CHZ) blockchain. With the launch expected to commence in the coming weeks, ACM token holders will be able to use their tokens to redeem various exclusive rewards and take part in interactive activities with the club and players. The addition of AC Milan takes the number of sporting organizations on the Chiliz blockchain to 20. These include fellow European football heavyweights FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, AS Roma, and Atletico Madrid, as well as various e-sports teams, and leading MMA organization, the UFC . In the past, football fans have used cryptocurrency tokens as a way to engage with their favorite teams in a number of ways. E...
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After alleged hack, Russian crypto exchange Livecoin shuts down

Russian cryptocurrency exchange Livecoin has announced a full shutdown following an alleged hack in December 2020. Russian cryptocurrency exchange Livecoin has announced it is shutting down after abruptly halting operations in late December 2020. According to Livecoin’s main page, the exchange is unable to continue operations due to financial and technical damages caused by an alleged attack on its servers in late 2020. Livecoin announced the shutdown on Jan. 16 on Twitter, linking to its new domain “Livecoin.news.” Livecoin’s previous domain Livecoin.net is not available at publishing time. Livecoin said that it is looking to “pay the remaining funds” to its clients, asking users to contact the exchange via email to complete verification. In order to initiate the procedure, Livecoin users have to send their usernames and the registration date on the platform. The exchange promised to provide detailed instructions in a reply, noting that reimbursement claims will be accepted un...
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Chainlink surpasses Bitcoin Cash making LINK the 8th largest cryptocurrency

The market capitalization of Chainlink has surpassed Bitcoin Cash, as the DeFi market continues to prosper with TVL exceeding $24 billion. Chainlink (LINK), the oracle-focused blockchain protocol, surpassed Bitcoin Cash ( BCH ) to become the eighth-biggest cryptocurrency as of Jan. 18. The market capitalization of Chainlink now hovers at $9 billion and roughly $500 million away from the next biggest crypto asset, Litecoin ( LTC ). LINKUSDT 1-day price chart (Binance). Source: TradingView.com Why is Chainlink surging so rapidly? The price of Chainlink rose by 13% in the last 24 hours and the momentum of LINK likely comes from the positive sentiment around DeFi. The DeFi market as a whole has been rallying strongly throughout recent months with AAVE and SUHI being the most recent standouts . The uptrend can be attributed to the fast-growing metric called total value locked (TVL), which measures the amount of capital deployed across DeFi protocols. As of January 18, the TVL acro...
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Mitsubishi and Tokyo Tech create blockchain system for P2P energy trading

Beginning in April, the electronics giant and university R&D team will evaluate and tweak the new trading system's performance before commercialization. Mitsubishi Electric has teamed up with researchers from the prestigious Japanese university, Tokyo Tech, to jointly design a blockchain-based trading system that can support more flexible, peer-to-peer energy trading. Announced on Jan. 18, the new system is intended to support the efficient use of surplus electricity that is generated from renewable energy sources. In particular, it is hoped that the trading system can ensure that at any given moment, there will be the maximum available amount of surplus electricity accessible on the market for consumers.  Peer-to-peer energy trading set-ups allow consumers and prosumers to engage in direct trading as buyers and sellers. To make their new system less reliant on hardware-intensive, high-volume computations, Mitsubishi Electric and Tokyo Tech have customized their ...
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Bitcoin meets Biden: 5 things to watch for BTC price this week

The week in which the U.S. presidency changes sees limp stocks and a rangebound Bitcoin, but what could provide a fresh shake-up? Bitcoin ( BTC ) is back in familiar territory as the week begins after a weekend spent ranging in its new, albeit large, trading corridor above $30,000. With the United States presidential inauguration just days away, Cointelegraph takes a look at what else may be able to shake up BTC price action. DXY keeps reversing losses The inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden comes as the strength of the U.S. dollar continues to rebound. On Monday, the U.S. dollar currency index (DXY), which measures USD relative to a basket of major trading partner currencies, hit its highest level since Dec. 21. The sustained upside in DXY tends to mean that Bitcoin growth takes a breather, this inverse correlation forming a conspicuous pattern throughout 2020. In the event, BTC/USD had little to lose during the latest gains, the majority of which were preserved despite h...
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