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Showing posts from February 8, 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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Serbian National Arrested and Extradited to the US for His Role in a $70M Crypto Mining Case

A Serbian national has been extradited to the United States to face charges of defrauding investors out of more than $70 million through a cryptocurrency mining and binary options scam. Antonije Stojilkovic, 32, and six accomplices, who were all arrested between July and October 2020, faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted. Bogus Profiles According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Stojilkovic was nabbed in his home country after the country submitted a “provisional arrest request on July 24, 2020. The statement adds that his removal “from Serbia to the Northern District of Texas” was completed on On Feb. 4, 2021. Alongside his six coconspirators, Stojilkovic is accused of targeting “investors around the globe – including several in north Texas – soliciting ‘investments’ in binary options and cryptocurrency mining.” The DOJ says the defendants, who used their home bases in China and Serbia, orchestrated the scam through “more than 20 fraudulent...
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Solana announces DeFi hackathon offering $200k in seed funding

Solana will host a DeFi hackathon offering a $200,000 prize pool and $200,000 in seed funding to aspiring developers. Solana has announced an upcoming DeFi hackathon offering $200,000 in seed funding from the Solana Foundation. The hackathon, which is scheduled to take place from Feb. 15 through March 1st, will be hosted in partnership with Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX’s Project Serum. Bankman-Fried will also offer mentorship to hackathon participants alongside Solana CEO Anatoly Takovenko. Bankman-Fried stated : “A lot of an ecosystem's success depends on how much the community builds on it. I've been really happy with the growth of Solana so far building out the world's fastest, most scalable on-chain ecosystem; I'm excited to see some projects come to market!” Participants will also compete for a $200,000 prize pool, with the event’s judges including crypto-notables Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, Aave CEO Stani Kulechov, CoinShares CSO Meltem Demirors, and CoinGecko C...
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Binance Labs backs Polkadot ecosystem with $2.4m investment in Plasm Network

Binance has mobilized nearly one-quarter of its Polkadot ecosystem fund to lead Plasm Network’s Series A funding round. Binance Labs has led a $2.4 million Series A funding round for Polkadot-based smart contract platform, Plasm Network. Plasm Network's funding round is the first investment made using Binance Labs’ $10 million fund to support projects in the Polkadot ecosystem . Plasm is a leading parachain candidate on Polkadot supporting Ethereum and Layer-2 scaling solutions. Binance Labs is the venture capital and incubator arm of crypto exchange giant Binance. In December 2020, Binance Labs led a $12 million funding round for MATH, a multi-chain assets hub behind MathWallet. In August of the same year it made a strategic investment in decentralized streaming protocol Audius. According to the announcement , Binance Labs investment will enable Plasm Network to develop on-chain governance, build a bridge between the Polkadot and Ethereum networks, and accelerate research and...
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Etoro’s Gooddollar Basic Income Initiative Aims to Fund 1 Million New Users With New Referral Program

An incentive of 100G$ will be given to registered users for new referrals, and 50G$ to new users as a ‘welcome bonus.’ Etoro, one of the world’s leading social trading platforms, has announced that it’s funding rewards for the next one million users of its Gooddollar project, following the launch of a brand new referral program. Stablecoin G$ Aims to Become Digital Universal Basic Income Gooddollar is a digital coin and wallet founded in September 2020 by Yoni Assia, the cofounder, and CEO of Etoro. It provides a digital form of universal basic income (UBI) to citizens worldwide by issuing a stablecoin named G$. To date, Gooddollar has supported over 50,000 users with its digital UBI, with this new referral program set to grow that further. Under the terms of the referral program, Gooddollar users will receive a bonus of 100 G$ for each new invitee that signs up. New users are set to benefit too and receive a welcome bonus of 50 G$ once registration is completed. Etoro has yet to ...
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Bitcoin's Twitter-volume spikes to new all-time highs on Elon pump

Elon Musk has pushed Bitcoin’s social sentiment into new highs on Twitter. Social media activity for Bitcoin is at an all-time high following a massive endorsement from Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. Speaking to Cointelegraph, co-founder and CEO of crypto data provider The TIE, Joshua Frank, noted there have been 143,000 tweets over the last 24 hours from “non-bot accounts.” The new record beats out the previous high of 140,000 from Jan. 3, 2021. Historic BTC tweet volume: The Tie On Feb. 8, news that electric vehicle maker Tesla had added Bitcoin to its balance sheet sent prices and market sentiment to record highs. BTC prices hit an all-time high of $47,500 in early Asian trading on Feb. 9. Frank described the surge in social engagement as evidencing bullish sentiment among retail traders: “I think that it's definitely clear that retail is here. We are seeing absolutely massive surges across the board in twitter activity, trading activity, and price movement for altcoins which...
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ETH represented 80% of last week's institutional crypto inflows

Institutions were aggressively accumulating ETH in the lead up to the launch of CME futures, with Ether products representing 80% of last week’s institutional crypto inflows. Crypto asset manager CoinShares has reported that investment inflows into institutional cryptocurrency funds surged last week, and the majority of it was Ethereum. The report states that of the $245 million crypto inflow last week, 80% of it or $195 million was invested into Ether products ahead of the launch of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Ethereum futures contracts on Feb. 8. Comparatively, Bitcoin had $41.9 million of the weekly flows, with a year-to-date total of $2.02 billion. The report suggested that investor diversification was starting to occur, adding that there was little evidence of taking profits with investors preferring to buy and hold. “We believe investors are looking to diversify and are growing increasingly comfortable with Ethereum fundamentals. Bitcoin had its lowest inflows (US$42m)...
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Estonia’s Government Still Wants to Implement Stricter Rules for Licensing Crypto Firms

The new administration in Estonia is still planning to pursue an agenda to tighten rules for companies dealing with cryptocurrencies. The Ministry of Finance is looking to strengthen anti-laundering measures within the context of a major money-laundering scandal that involved Danske Bank. Estonia Revoked Over 1,000 Crypto Firms’ Licenses in 2020 Per a report by ERR News , the Ministry of Finance is not aiming to ride-off from the past administration’s agenda regarding the regulation of crypto assets, such as bitcoin ( BTC ). The current draft legislation is inherited from Jüri Ratas, the former country’s prime minister and head of the Centre Party. Although Estonia was considered several years ago as a crypto-friendly hotspot in the region, especially during Taavi Rõivas’ mandate, the situation has changed recently. Before the ministry drafted legislation to make regulations stricter, Estonia issued over 1,300 licenses. With the Ratas’ legislation, over 1,000 licenses of crypto fi...
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Bitcoin volatility almost returned to 'Black Thursday' levels in January

A report from Kraken has identified last month’s BTC volatility at levels not seen since the ‘Black Thursday’ crash of early 2020. With Bitcoin rallying from $30,000 to $42,000 and back again during January, BTC’s annualized volatility rose to levels last seen in April 2020, according to a new report from U.S. crypto exchange Kraken. January was a roller-coaster ride for Bitcoin, with BTC rallying 46% to a new high of $41,989 before retracing 32% to below $29,000. This resulted in the annualized volatility spiking to over 100% — which was last seen 10 months ago during the infamous ‘Black Thursday’ price plummet. Bitcoin price vs. volatility vs. trading volume. Source: Kraken In early-March 2020, Bitcoin’s price dove more than 40% in a matter of days from $9,000 to $5,200 — resulting in volatility spiking from 60% to more than 150%. Despite its surging volatility, Bitcoin registered the smallest volatility spike of the top five crypto assets by market cap (excluding Tether)....
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G7 to discuss CBDC and digital taxation this week

The G7 will begin its Feb. 12 meeting on the subject of central bank digital currencies, before moving to digital taxation and accelerating global debt. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso has revealed the G7’s financial leaders will discuss central bank digital currencies during a meeting on Feb. 12. The meeting will be chaired by Britain, with representatives from the world’s largest economies set to discuss strategies for navigating their way out of the global economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Friday’s meeting will commence on the topic of CBDCs, but the minister noted the G7 will also discuss the implementation of digital taxation and emerging debt problems. The G7, or Group of Seven, is an intergovernmental organization consisting of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The G7 has recently pushed to prioritize the regulation of digital currencies , with the organization reiterating its October statement calling ...
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Cordoba Becomes the First Argentinean Province to Impose Taxes on Crypto-Related Activities

In Argentina, a provincial legislature has voted in favor of a bill to impose new taxes on gross incomes from crypto transactions. Cordoba’s central province is now the first one to impose crypto taxes in the country, which involves crypto exchange platforms and retail traders. Approved Tax Bill Grants a Definition of Cryptocurrencies According to CBA4N , the “Tax Law 2021” approved by the legislature seeks to tax people 4% to 6.5% on gross incomes from crypto-related transactions. Also, individuals or businesses who receive payments in cryptocurrencies “in exchange for goods or services” will be subject to a rate of 0.25%. Citing Cordoba Bitcoin, a local crypto community, the local media outlet believes other provinces and even the national government could replicate the measure. Cordoba Bitcoin also clarified CBA4N that previously, there was only a 15% tax corresponding to earnings, and that covered cryptos as a result of the difference in price in the year. The Central Bank of ...
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Bitcoin price hits $46,794 as altcoins, stocks rally to new highs

Bitcoin price hit a new all-time high at $46,794 on the same day Tesla revealed its $1.5 billion investment into BTC and stock markets rallied to new highs. On Feb. 8 Bitcoin ( BTC ) price broke out to a new all-time high at $46,794 after documents from Tesla revealed that the company had allocated 7.7% of its gross cash position to BTC. The purchase gives Tesla a sizable $1.5 billion position in the top-ranked digital asset.  Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows Bitcoin is currently up by 18.5% and trading near $46,000. Meanwhile, the majority of altcoins and DeFi tokens have also surged to notch double-digit gains for the day. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 While some analysts are speculating on which large company will be the next to jump on the Bitcoin train, Royal Bank of Canada Dominion Securities analyst Paul Steves thinks that Apple will be the next institutional player to join the trend. According to Steves, if Apple ...
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Bitcoin hits $43K all-time high as Tesla invests $1.5 billion in BTC

A filing with U.S. regulators confirms that Tesla is on board for Bitcoin payments in future. Bitcoin ( BTC ) jumped by almost $3,000 in minutes on Feb. 8 as reported emerged that Tesla had bought $1.5 billion worth of BTC. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: Tradingview BTC price soars above $43,000 Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView tracked BTC/USD as a sudden spike to over $41,000 appeared as news of Tesla's plans trickled in. A filing with United States regulator the Securities and Exchange Comission (SEC) shows that the company plans to buy $1.5 worth of Bitcoin. "In January 2021, we updated our investment policy to provide us with more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash that is not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity. As part of the policy, which was duly approved by the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors, we may invest a portion of such cash in certain alternative reserve assets incl...
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Bitcoin Cash no longer a top-10 cryptocurrency after being hounded out by Dogecoin

Together with Stellar, Dogecoin passes Bitcoin Cash by market cap and leaves the struggling altcoin in 12th place. The fortunes of beleaguered Bitcoin ( BTC ) spin-off Bitcoin Cash ( BCH ) took a turn for the worse on Feb. 8 as it was chased out of the top ten cryptocurrencies — by Dogecoin ( DOGE ). Data from Cointelegraph Markets and CoinMarketCap showed BCH now occupying 12th place after being passed by both DOGE and Stellar ( XLM ). BCH kicked out of the top ten The latest embarrassment for the altcoin, which last week lost its footing to Binance Coin ( BNB ) and in January was superseded by Chainlink ( LINK ), thus relegates it from the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap. At the time of writing, BCH had a market cap of $8.48 billion, behind Stellar's $8.63 billion and DOGE's $9.59 billion, the latter having risen 25% in the past 24 hours. While Bitcoin itself has gone from strength to strength, BCH has yet to see any real benefits beyond the occasion commitm...
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Coinsquare launches Quick Trade mobile app with instant funding

One of Canada's largest crypto exchanges has launched a new mobile application designed to streamline the buying and selling of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Coinsquare , the Toronto-based digital currency platform, has announced a new mobile trading application designed to simplify the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies in Canada.  Quick Trade was officially unveiled Monday, allowing commission-free transactions of Bitcoin ( BTC ), Ethereum ( ETH ), Litecoin ( LTC ) and Bitcoin Cash ( BTC ). A total of 15 trading pairs are available at launch, with “many more digital assets to be onboarded over the coming months,” the company said. The app is available on Android and Apple devices alongside Coinsquare’s existing mobile application, which is an extension of its web-based trading platform. In addition to commission-free trades, the new app allows for instant account funding via Interac e-Transfer – a considerable upgrade from Coinsquare’s current funding window, which can take up t...
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Bank of Korea publishes book on central bank digital currency's legal issues

South Korea's central bank has issue a book on legal matters that would need to be addressed to ensure the smooth operations and usefulness of a future central bank digital currency. Last fall, the Bank of Korea  announced it would be testing the distribution of a central bank digital currency in 2021. Preparations appear to be going ahead on multiple fronts, with the bank's  publication of a new book today dedicated to the legal questions raised by the potential issuance of such a currency. According to a summary in Korean media, the book calls for revisions to the law to ensure that a future CBDC could successfully operate. The Bank of Korea has notably been using blockchain technology to manage the transactions in its 22-month long CBDC pilot program, which commenced back in April 2020 and will wrap up in December of this year. Testing the currency's distribution in 2021 represents the third phase of this project, following a focus on technological development and ...
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Bill Miller plans $400M Bitcoin investment via GBTC

Bill Miller is set to increase his Bitcoin exposure by plowing 15% of one of his portfolios to buy Grayscale BitcoinTrust shares. Hedge fund legend Bill Miller is exhibiting an even larger appetite for Bitcoin ( BTC ). According to a Friday filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, The Miller Opportunity Trust is seeking indirect exposure to BTC via the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. The planned investment is coming at a time when the GBTC premium is at its lowest level since April 2019 . If the GBTC shares acquisition does pull through, it will mark a significant departure from the usual investments in equities and derivatives for the $2.25 billion fund . Indeed, the trust’s website lists airlines, healthcare and financials among its core investment position focus. With the fund’s Bitcoin exposure limited to 15% of its assets under management, the GBTC outlay could top $300 million. As part of the filing, the trust did comment on price volatility, stating, “The...
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Major Malaysian financial firm to invest in regulated crypto exchange

Malaysian financial services firm Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad is getting into digital assets. Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad, one of the largest financial services companies in Malaysia, is moving into the cryptocurrency industry with a new investment. According to an official Feb. 8 announcement , Kenanga has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire a 19% equity stake in a licensed crypto exchange. The investment was facilitated through Kenanga’s fully-owned private equity arm Kenanga Private Equity. According to the agreement, Kenanga will invest in Tokenize Technology, the operator of local crypto exchange Tokenize Xchange. Offering trading services for major cryptos like Bitcoin ( BTC ) and Ether ( ETH ), the platform is one of the three licensed digital asset exchanges regulated by the Securities Commission Malaysia. According to Kenanga, Tokenize Xchange is the second-largest digital asset exchange in terms of market share in Malaysia. Datuk Chay Wai Leong, group m...
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CME Ethereum futures go live, Bitcoin caps its best week ever: 5 things to watch this week

With its best-ever weekly close in the bag, Bitcoin is set to vie with Ether and the new "altseason" for supremacy this week. Bitcoin ( BTC ) bulls seem firmly in the driving seat this week as the largest cryptocurrency begins Monday at near $40,000. After climbing through much of the previous week’s trading, BTC/USD is now up 15% compared to seven days ago — what’s next? Cointelegraph takes a look at five factors which may influence where Bitcoin heads in the coming few days. Stocks hit records but dollar declines Bitcoin’s ascent prior to the weekend was accompanied by a familiar scenario on macro markets. Despite Coronavirus and its fallout continuing to wreak havoc on many economies worldwide, stock markets hit new all-time highs, with the S&P 500 closing its biggest weekly gain since last November. Oil climbed above $60 a barrel for the first time in more than a year on Monday. The mood was buoyed the prospect of fresh spending in the United States as lawmake...
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Hardware wallet for digital yuan debuts in Xiong’an New Area

China’s first hardware wallet for the digital yuan supports dual offline payments without an internet connection. A Chinese banking institution has completed the development of a hardware wallet for the country’s central bank digital currency, the digital yuan According to a Feb. 7 announcement by Xiong’an authorities, the Xiong’an branch of the Agricultural Bank of China in Hebei has produced the first hardware wallet designed for the digital yuan. The product was developed by the Party Working Committee of the Xiongan New Area and the People’s Bank of China branch in Shijiazhuang. New areas in China are urban districts that are provided special economic support by the central government. They are divided into state, provincial and prefecture levels. Xiong'an is a state-level new area.  According to the announcement, the new hardware wallet supports dual offline payments without an internet connection. The digital yuan wallet also features payments without the use of mobile ...
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Cardano Foundation CEO says blockchain could prevent GME-type showdowns

Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, believes that a blockchain infrastructure for capital markets would make controversial top-down interventions unnecessary. The r ecent GameStop saga  — a financial spectacle that was a good deal more contradictory than a straight-up "David vs. Goliath" tale of Redditor retail investors vs. predatory hedge funds — has sparked numerous blockchain commentators to step in to try to redirect attention to their bet  on a future overhaul of the financial sector. Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, is attempting to shift the conversation away from heated arguments over the balance of forces, rules of the game , or legitimate tactics in the recent showdown between the little guys, the hedge funders, intermediaries, Robinhood and regulators.  Some participants in the meme-stock frenzy saw themselves as quasi-i nsurgents, trolling the system using its own tools. While many have criticized their strategy and ...
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Indian parliament reportedly considering fast-tracking crypto bill

Government officials may be planning to introduce the law potentially banning crypto “within a month” of the ordinance clearing. The Indian government may be taking a legislative shortcut to pass a bill recently proposed to regulate digital currencies in the country. According to a report from news outlet CNBC-TV18, the Indian government may take the “ordinance route” to ban the use of private cryptocurrencies in the country as well as create a regulatory framework for a digital rupee issued by the Reserve Bank of India. Passing the measures within the proposed crypto bill using this method would require the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, to issue an ordinance when Parliament is not in session. The news outlet said the appropriate parties had already begun preparing a draft of the ordinance with the goal of introducing the crypto law “within a month” of it being issued. Unlike bills passed through acts of Parliament, ordinances typically allow the Indian government to immedi...
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