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Showing posts from February 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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Indian Official Provides Updates on Crypto Bill and Transition Period for Crypto Holders: Report

As the Indian government gets closer to moving forward with the cryptocurrency bill, an official from the Ministry of Finance reportedly explained what discussions the government has been having regarding the crypto bill and the impending legislation. Indian Crypto Bill’s Progress Update The Indian government is getting closer to introducing the cryptocurrency bill in Parliament. On Friday, CNBC TV18 and Bloombergquint provided some updates on the status of the bill and what discussions the government has been having regarding cryptocurrency. However, both news outlets cited anonymous sources. According to Bloombergquint, “India will go ahead with a complete ban on investment in cryptocurrencies, while providing existing investors a transition period to exit the holdings … this would include a ban on transacting directly via foreign exchanges.” The publication cited “a senior finance ministry official on condition of anonymity.” The official also clarified that the ban will not be...
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Darknet Market Joker’s Stash Retires After Raking in $1 Billion in Cryptocurrencies

One of the largest darknet marketplaces for selling identity data and stolen credit card information, Joker’s Stash retired last month after making off with a cool $1 billion in cryptocurrencies. Weeks ago, U.S. and European officials seized some of the web portal’s servers tied to Joker’s Stash site, but were unable to completely shut operations down. Darknet Market Joker’s Stash Closes Shop A number of reports indicate that the world’s largest darknet market (DNM), in terms of stolen credit card and identity sales, has called it quits after operating since 2014. Joker’s Stash explained in mid-January that the business would be closing shop in mid-February and it has followed through with the plan. The blockchain analysis firm Elliptic detailed that the Joker’s Stash raked in more than $1 billion in cryptocurrencies during its tenure. Elliptic also revealed that the estimate was a conservative calculation based on the revenue Joker’s Stash took in during the years and all the fe...
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Mirror Trading International Named Biggest Crypto Scam of the Year After Raking in $589 Million

Blockchain analysis firm, Chainalysis’ latest crime report has named Mirror Trading International (MTI) as the biggest cryptocurrency scam of 2020. Chainalysis arrived at this conclusion after an investigation found that MTI had taken in $589 million from more than 471,000 deposits. According to the report, MTI’s haul is significantly higher than that of Forsage and J-enco, the next biggest scams. Both scams raked in less than $350 million each. More South African Victims Meanwhile, in the report’s brief focus on MTI, Chainalysis reveals that more than half of MTI’s web traffic had originated from South Africa. On the other hand, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the U.S together account for nearly a quarter of the remaining web traffic. Using this web traffic data, the blockchain analysis firm concludes that “most MTI victims hail from these countries in similar proportions as well.” Separately, the blockchain analysis firm’s report also found that the BTC that was sent to...
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3 reasons why Theta price hit a new all-time high at $3.49

Big-name partnerships and the release of ThetaSwap DEX are just a few of the factors pushing THETA price to a new all-time high. The sustained bullish performance from Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) has increased the confidence of crypto investors and many are now looking deeper into projects that have strong fundamentals and offer real-world use cases.  This week investors turned their attention to Theta (THETA), a decentralized network that allows users to share bandwidth and computing resources in order to stream video. In the last two months THETA price has increased by more than 350%, rallying from $0.66 on Dec.10 to a new all-time high of $3.44 on Feb.13. THETA/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView Three reasons for Theta’s recent price growth include the project’s plan to engage with DeFi through its Theta DEX, the addition of smart contract capabilities and NFTs to its blockchain and a growing list of high-level partnerships that will help bring quality content to i...
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Synthetix announces $12 million raise led by Paradigm, Coinbase Ventures, and IOSG

As the community debates VCs participating in DAOs, Synthetix welcomes three new community members The Synthetix DAO has added some new, perhaps surprising voices to its governance.  Today the synthetic asset protocol announced a $12 million dollar fundraise led by venture capital firms Paradigm, Coinbase Ventures, and IOSG. The funds purchased SNX tokens directly from the DAO treasury, and will be “providing liquidity, engaging in the Synthetix governance process and helping to bring institutional grade participation into the ecosystem,” the announcement reads. “We’re excited about supporting the synthetixDAO as it builds the leading synthetic asset platform,” said Paradigm investment partner Arjun Balaji. “Synthetix has one of the best communities in crypto and we’re glad to be a part of it.” The investment is notable for being among the first instances of funds investing directly with and through a project governed by a DAO. How VCs interact with DAO-governed protocols has...
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Elon Musk Could Face SEC Investigation Over Tesla’s Bitcoin Buy, Lawyers Warn

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could investigate Elon Musk over Tesla’s $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase, some legal experts have warned, including a former SEC enforcement officer. Given the timing of Tesla’s bitcoin purchase and Musk’s multiple tweets on the subject, some say that the SEC will look into the matter. Elon Musk Could Face an SEC Probe Regulators could probe Tesla CEO Elon Musk over his company’s bitcoin purchase, the Telegraph reported Tuesday. Last week, an SEC filing reveals that Tesla bought a substantial amount of bitcoin in January. “We invested an aggregate $1.50 billion in bitcoin … we expect to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future,” the filing reads. Doug Davison, a partner at Linklaters and a former branch chief of the SEC’s division of enforcement, explained: It would not be surprising – given the focus on the chief executive’s tweets, bitcoin pricing and recent dramatic market moves – for the ...
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Bitcoin goes mainstream as institutions hold 3% of BTC’s circulating supply

The growing appetite of institutional investors means companies now hold more than 460,000 BTC, which is 3% of the total supply in circulation. Institutional investors are rapidly gobbling up Bitcoin, and at the time of writing, nearly 3% of the Bitcoin ( BTC ) in circulation are locked up in long-term holdings by these investors. Data shows that 24 entities have amassed more than 460,500 BTC, which is equivalent to $22 billion at Bitcoin's current price. According to Michael Novogratz, this figure excludes the 3 million BTC forever lost , who estimates that a supply shortage could occur shortly if institutions keep up their current buying spree. The current list of holders includes MtGox K K, which has close to 141,690 BTC ($6.6 billion). Next is Block.one with an estimated 140,000 BTC $6.5 billion). MicroStrategy also has about 71,000 BTC ( $3.3 billion) and this week Tesla bought 38,500 BTC (about $1.8 billion). Analysts now expect that holding Bitcoin in treasury will so...
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Morgan Stanley to consider Bitcoin for $150 billion investment wing

Another domino falls in crypto’s institutional takeover According to a report from Bloomberg news this morning, Morgan Stanley is the latest major financial institution to consider an investment in Bitcoin.  Citing “people with knowledge of the matter,” the report says that Cointerpoint Global, a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Investment Management with $150 billion in assets under management, “is exploring whether the cryptocurrency would be a suitable option for its investors.” Morgan Stanley’s website describes Counterpoint Global as a fund specializing in investments “whose market value can increase significantly for underlying fundamental reasons.” The fund is up 72.7% on the year, significantly outperforming the MSCI All Country World Net Index returns of 16.25%. The growing interest in Bitcoin shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise, given that the company has made significant investment in Microstrategy. In Janurary, Cointelegraph reported that Morgan Stanley had purch...
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Cardano is soaring, but can ADA gain another 380% to break its record high vs. Bitcoin?

The price of ADA has surged by 170% in February to new all-time highs in U.S. dollars. Bitcoin’s ( BTC ) price has been consolidating in recent days, which kickstarted the rest of the cryptocurrency market. This frequently happens as Bitcoin starts to consolidate, it gives the chance for the rest of the market to catch up. Cardano ( ADA ) is one such cryptocurrency, which gained 170% in February alone with its price nearing $1 for the first time ever.  Cardano's BTC pair is showing signs of life ADA/BTC 3-day chart. Source: TradingView However, lots of information can be derived from the BTC chart as it’s just starting to wake up from its bear market slumber. The recent run created a new higher high — the highest since July 2018 — which is a big signal for the uptrend to continue. However, the all-time high in the BTC pair is still 380% away. Such a run would, of course, push its value in USD even higher. Altcoins have been showing massive strength in their USD pairs, as...
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Why some cryptocurrencies are worth $40,000, while others stay at $0.40

Market capitalization and asset supply factor into prices, but could any token be worth $1 million one day? At the time of publication, one Bitcoin ( BTC ) values $47,247, while one Dogecoin ( DOGE ) is worth around $0.068. If you are new to crypto or markets, you may initially think: Hey, DOGE is cheaper than Bitcoin, and if it picks up enough steam, maybe it could catch up to BTC and rise over $20,000, too. This way of thinking, however, is illogical. Why? Market capitalization and asset supply.  Market cap is the combined dollar value of an asset’s circulating supply. It changes as the value of a given asset rises and falls. Crypto metrics websites, such as CoinMarketCap, rank each cryptocurrency in order of market cap. Bitcoin is the long-standing front runner in this category, holding a market cap of about $879 billion at the time of publication. Market cap takes each asset’s circulating supply into account. Circulating supply is the amount of any given asset freely moving...
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Kim Dotcom Publishes a Website That Highlights the Benefits of Bitcoin Cash

On February 12, the founder of the now-defunct file-sharing website Megaupload and cryptocurrency proponent, Kim Dotcom tweeted about a new website he created that shows the upside of bitcoin cash. The web portal whybitcoincash.com highlights why people should join the digital money revolution and how “cryptocurrencies stand to transform the way business and individuals exchange value.” Kim Dotcom Launches Whybitcoincash.com In mid-January, news.Bitcoin.com chatted with Kim Dotcom and he discussed how he planned to “accelerate” the mission of peer-to-peer electronic cash. Dotcom has been very vocal about his support for bitcoin cash (BCH) and before our interview, the internet entrepreneur said his next-generation content monetization app K.im will see bitcoin cash ( BCH ) integration. Dotcom has continued to pursue accelerating bitcoin cash adoption and on Friday, Dotcom told his 700,000 Twitter followers about his new website. “Many people are asking me why I’m supporting Bitc...
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What the COVID-19 pandemic has taught crypto community about curbing our emissions

We should encourage more climate-friendly practices, including less air travel, and the crypto community can be a great example of it. For the first time ever, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report’s top-five global risks were all climate-related. From devastating wildfires in Australia and the Amazon to ravaging locust plagues on the Horn of Africa, 2020 was punctuated not only by the global COVID-19 pandemic but also a number of worrying reminders about the effects of climate change if left unchecked. Over the past year, we witnessed the severe effects of belated action amid impending crises. While the timeframe for climate change is not measured in days or weeks, climate change headlines over the coming decade may not look dissimilar to those of the coronavirus pandemic. To this end, the blockchain and crypto community should look to apply lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic to the next impending global crisis: climate change. Crypto and climate change The bl...
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Alpha Homora loses $37 million following Iron Bank exploit

Though a "prime suspect" has been identified, how will the protocol make itself whole? In one of the largest exploits of the DeFi era, this morning an attacker successfully drained over $37 million from Alpha Homora by leveraging Cream’s Iron Bank protocol-to-protocol lending platform.  Alpha Finance Lab, whose protocol was audited by Quantstamp and Peckshield, announced on Twitter this morning that they were aware of an attack, that the “loophole” that allowed it had been patched, and that the team had a “prime suspect”: Dear Alpha community, we've been notified of an exploit on Alpha Homora V2. We're now working with @AndreCronjeTech and @CreamdotFinance together on this. The loophole has been patched. We're in the process of investigating the stolen fund, and have a prime suspect already. — Alpha Finance Lab (@AlphaFinanceLab) February 13, 2021 The transaction from the exploit is notably complex . The attacker used Alpha Homora to borrow and lend ...
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DEXs becoming unusable? How to navigate record gas fees ahead of Eth2

Ethereum gas fees are too high for decentralized trading, but there are some alternatives now and others on the way. While Bitcoin ( BTC ) has been in the spotlight since the start of the year, and even more so given the recent $1.5-billion Tesla purchase , Ether has not been lagging behind. Ether ( ETH ) is currently sitting at $1,800, and its network has now processed over 1 billion transactions, mostly on the back of the DeFi sector and also due to growing institutional engagement .  According to Lanre Jonathan Ige, research associate at 21Shares — a European issuer of crypto Exchange Traded Products — “Investors understand that Bitcoin is part of a wider asset class and are now attempting to diversify past Bitcoin.” He further told Cointelegraph that for institutional investors, “the prospect of a pure technology play within the industry is an interesting one and the reason why Ethereum is increasingly compelling.” As decentralized finance continues to grow, the products bu...
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