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Showing posts from March 22, 2021

U.S. miner Blockcap plans to have 40,000 ASICs operational by Q4

Despite launching in December, Blockcap plans to possess an operational hashrate of 3.5 EH/s by 2022. Blockcap, one of the largest Bitcoin mining firms in North America, has added more than 12,000 additional Bitmain Antminer S19s to its inventory. The firm is now expecting to have deployed more than 40,000 Bitcoin miners by the fourth quarter, and projects an operational hashrate of roughly 3.5 exahashes per second, or EH/s — equal to roughly 2% of BTC’s currently combined hashrate of 171.3 EH/s . Blockcap currently mines approximately six BTC each day. The firm was founded in December 2020 by veterans of major blockchain hosting company, Core Scientific, with Blockcap claiming to have combined the assets of five existing mining companies. After launching with roughly 13,000 Antminer S19s, and 500 upgraded S17s , Blockcap added another 10,000 S19s to its inventory in mid-February, before acquiring 8,400 new-generation miners from Canaan earlier this month. Blockcap...

Bitcoin rally slows as whales transfer wealth to retail investors

Crypto analytics firm Glassnode has spotted several indicators suggesting Bitcoin's bulls could be slowing down. Analytics provider Glassnode is reporting that current on-chain indicators suggest the Bitcoin bull market may be entering into its later stages. In its March 22 Week on Chain report , on-chain analytics provider Glassnode noted a decline in the number of Bitcoin whales despite consistent accumulation from wallets holding 1 BTC or less since March 2018. “The persistent accumulation of small holders demonstrates a willingness to HODL through volatility with the trend unbroken from mid-2018 through the chaos of 2020,” the report noted. Whale addresses holding over 100 BTC have been relatively flat by comparison, with the group currently holding 62.6% of the supply — an increase of just 0.87% over the past 12 months. Drawing on its “Reserve Risk” metric — which is used to assess the confidence of long-term holders relative to the price of Bitcoin, Glassnode asserts a...

DeFi Tokens Created by Antier Solutions Transcend $500M in Market Cap

PRESS RELEASE. Crypto adoption is on the crest of a wave and so is India’s Antier Solutions that has aced the business in a short span. The blockchain and cryptocurrency development company has launched tokens worth USD 500M for its customers all over the world. In an industry that values worth USD 1 Trillion, this is an encouraging achievement for one of the earliest entrants in decentralized finance development . “We take immense pride in devoting our efforts towards the futuristic scope of decentralized finance that has had a scintillating take-off in the past 2 years. Despite an irregular sentiment curve towards the business, we never deviated from our core areas and built products that have churned explosive returns for businesses. “– as told by Shashi Pal, COO, Antier Solutions . For Antier, crypto token development is an integral part of their center-of-excellence. The company provides full-stack support from planning, development, and listing a token on leading platfor...

US Authorities Indict a Canadian Telecom Provider in a Crypto Money Laundering Case With Encrypted Phones

A communications provider is in legal trouble with the U.S. authorities for a money laundering case involving cryptocurrencies. A federal court incited Sky Global for allegedly having facilitated criminal organizations to launder millions worth in crypto. Sky Global Is Also Accused of Remotely Destroying Devices to Avoid Seizing Per the filings , the Southern District of California stated that the Canadian-based company had been selling encryption devices to allegedly facilitate drug trafficking into Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America. The court believes Sky Global committed obstruction of justice by “creating, maintaining, and controlling” a system whereby the firm would remotely delete evidence of the illegal activities once authorities arrived to seize the equipment. Moreover, law enforcement accused the Canada-based telecom provider of using its infrastructure for the following purpose: To avoid detection of its illicit conduct by, among other things, laundering its ...

John McAfee’s bodyguard pleads not guilty to role in crypto scams worth $13m

John McAfee’s bodyguard and executive advisor has pleaded not guilty to involvement in crypto scams that duped investors out of $13 million. A former navy seal and bodyguard to the banged-up abroad McAfee antivirus software founder, John McAfee, has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he was involved in two wholesale crypto scams that duped investors out of roughly $13 million. Jimmy Gale Watson Jr, the former executive advisor of the “ McAfee Team ” — a website offering crypto tips endorsed by John McAfee, was arrested in Texas on March 4. Watson faces charges of allegedly defrauding investors through cryptocurrency scams, money laundering, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit commodities and securities fraud. In a March 5 indictment , Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss asserted: “McAfee, Watson, and other members of McAfee’s cryptocurrency team allegedly raked in more than $13 million from investors they victimized with their fraudulent schemes.” John McAfee is currently...

Tokenized Jack Dorsey Tweet Sells for $2.9M, Funds From NFT Auction Will Be Sent to Charity

On Monday, Jack Dorsey the founder of Twitter and Square witnessed a digital certificate or non-fungible token (NFT) of his first tweet being sold for $2.9 million. The new owner of the NFT Jack Dorsey tweet is the CEO of Bridge Oracle, Sina Estavi, who outbid the founder of Tron Justin Sun for the tokenized tweet. The non-fungible token (NFT) asset hype has grown immensely and on Monday, March 22, 2021, Jack Dorsey’s tokenized tweet from March 21, 2006, was sold for $2.9 million in ether . Bitcoin.com reported on the tokenized 2006 Dorsey tweet during the first week of March when bids were up to $1.5 million for the tweet. Jack Dorsey’s first tweet was tokenized by an application called Valuables, which is operated by a company named Cent. The Web3 compatible website v.cent.co leverages the Matic blockchain for the tokenization process. The final bid from the Bridge Oracle CEO Sina Estavi was for $2,915,835 or a touch over 1,630 ETH . The project Bridge Oracle is an oracle...

Institutional crypto managers report record AUM despite U.S. inflows plummeting

Institutional inflows have declined 59% this past week, but AUM is at an all-time high. According to digital asset investment manager, CoinShares, institutional demand in the U.S. has declined slightly however European funds are still buying. According to Coinshares’ March 22 Fund Flows Weekly report , combined flows into institutional crypto products totaled $99 million for the week ending March 20. The data indicates a significant decline in institutional demand, with inflows down 59% from the previous week , which recorded $242 million. However, the researchers noted that the assets under management figure for the top institutional investment products reached a record high of $57 billion. The report added that while demand has declined in the U.S., institutions located in Europe and Canada continued buying last week. Daily volumes for Bitcoin related products have also declined by around 35% to $713 million per day versus $1.1 billion per day on average for 2021. Howeve...

100,000 investors deluge Casper Labs’ token sale, with most expected to miss out

More than 100,000 investors are trying to participate in CasperLabs’ offering on CoinList, but only about 12,000 are likely to secure tokens. That’s about 10X more hopefuls than are likely to secure tokens in the sale. It’s the first of three phases to Casper’s token sale and commenced on March 23 at midnight UTC. Investors are competing for 800 million CSPR tokens at prices of $0.015, with the tokens subject to a 12-month lock-up. Participants are limited to purchasing between $100 and $1,000 worth of tokens each. If every investor invests the full $1,000 allocated to them, only 12,000 investors will be able to participate. With 15% of tokens already sold and more than 100,000 people queued up, the only way everyone will be served is if each investor tips a meager $102 into the sale. Investors hoping to participate in Casper Labs’ CSPR token sale on CoinList are in for a rude shock, with more than 100,000 investors queuing up for the sale so far. Waiting room to participate in ...

Legendary Skateboarder Tony Hawk to Auction NFT of Trick Footage

Tony Hawk joins a growing list of celebrities digitizing and selling their collectibles as non-fungible tokens. The skateboarding icon plans to auction a film of the last time he performed the Ollie 540 – the trick he first mastered 32 years ago. Ethernity Chain to Mint and Auction the Digital Collectible as NFT Boom Accelerates On the heels of numerous blockbuster NFT auctions by artists, celebrities, entertainers, and crypto evangelists, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk is set to auction his digital collectible at a still-unannounced date and time. The 52-year old pop-culture icon announced on Instagram that he had completed his final performance of the 540-degree “Ollie” that he landed first in 1989, underlining the scare and danger of doing the trick. On Twitter, he added, “Did my last ever ollie 540 today. You can compare it with my first one 32 years ago. This one meant a lot to me.” Did my last ever ollie 540 today. You can compare it with my first one 32 years ago. T...

Grayscale listing ‘bump’ emerges as Livepeer (LPT) soars to a record high

Livepeer price quickly rallied to a new all-time high shortly after Grayscale Investments revealed a new product offering. Every bull market is marked by a particular trend which which catalyzes and sustains the uptrend in asset prices. In late 2020 Ether ( ETH ) led the way as the network saw a surge in activity due to the growing popularity of the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector and the expectation that the altcoin would rally into the Eth2 launch. As further signs of institutional money entering the cryptocurrency sector increase, the ‘Grayscale bump’ has emerged as the newest 'trend' which may trigger rallies in assets that are listed for addition to Grayscale's family of products. This is exactly what happened with Livepeer (LPT), a decentralized video streaming network built on the Ethereum ( ETH ), that was recently included in a new Grayscale trust. LPT/USD 6-hour chart. Source: TradingView Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that...

Mining firm aims to go public through merger with Nasdaq-listed company

Support.com and Greenidge Generation are expected to complete the merger in the third quarter of 2021. Greenidge Generation, a New-York based Bitcoin mining company that owns its own power plant, aims to go public through a merger with technical support provider Support.com. In an announcement today, Greenidge said it had signed an agreement with Support.com to merge in a stock-for-stock transaction. Though shareholders will have to approve the merger, the firm reports it would be one of the first publicly listed Bitcoin ( BTC ) mining companies to generate the power consumed by its crypto farms. Greenidge owns a power plant in Dresden, New York and a mining facility nearby. "This merger is an important next step for Greenidge as we build upon our existing, integrated and proven platform for Bitcoin mining and generation of lower carbon affordable power," said Greenidge CEO Jeff Kirt. "It will allow for public market growth capital to propel Greenidge as we look to ...

William Shatner-backed firm teams up with Mattereum for NFT provenance tracking

Mattereum and William Shatner’s Third Millenia are collaborating to combat counterfeiting in the expanding nonfungible token space. Blockchain authentication outfit Third Millenia — founded by science fiction icon William Shatner — has partnered with Mattereum, a London-based “digital twin” trading platform, to launch an initiative focused on NFT provenance. Digital twins refer to real-world asset NFTs, or rwaNFTs — tokenized versions of physical goods. According to a press statement issued on Monday, the joint initiative will feature rwaNFTs based on memorabilia and props from Shatner’s iconic character, Captain Kirk, on the seminal sci-fi series Star Trek. The collectibles catalog will also include props from Boston Legal where Shatner played the character Denny Crane, as well as merchandise from movies like Titanic and Logan’s Run. The items will be auctioned on the OpenSea NFT marketplace later in the week. As part of the collaborative initiative, Ocuver — a service under the...

Ebang Hopes to Capture a ‘Competitive Edge’ After Developing a Next-Generation 6nm Bitcoin Mining Chip

The publicly-listed bitcoin mining rig manufacturer Ebang has announced the completion of a new 6nm ASIC mining chip. Ebang believes the next-generation mining chip will give the firm’s ASIC products a “competitive edge” in the ambitious bitcoin mining industry. Mass Production of 6nm Chips to Begin When Market Conditions Become Suitable During the last few weeks, Bitcoin’s hashrate has been climbing to new heights as the network tapped 190 exahash per second on March 22, 2021. The price of bitcoin ( BTC ) has also helped propel bitcoin mining profits, but improved mining rig semiconductors have also increased the hashpower a great deal. Firms like Bitmain, Canaan, Microbt , and Ebang have seen massive demand in 2020 and into 2021. Most of these manufacturers are out of stock after selling mass quantities of ASIC miners to institutional buyers. On March 17, the China-based Ebang International Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: EBON), announced the development of a new 6nm ASIC mining chip. ...

Bitcoin is 'more a substitute for gold than the dollar' — Fed Chair Powell

Jerome Powell reiterates his opinion about Bitcoin as a gold substitute, but a sell-off accompanies his other criticisms. While Bitcoin ( BTC ) is too volatile to be money and "backed by nothing," it could be a "substitute for gold," says the Chair of the United States Federal Reserve. Speaking at an event hosted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) on March 22, Jerome Powell delivered frank comments in response to a question on cryptocurrency. Powell takes issue with Bitcoin's backi Asked whether he thought Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies posed a threat to financial stability, Powell wheeled out familiar arguments that long come from legacy finance figures. "Cryptoassets — we call them 'cryptoassets' — they're highly volatile, see Bitcoin, and therefore not really useful as a store of value, and they're not backed by anything," he said. "They're more of an asset for speculation, so they're not particu...

Number-two gaming DApp raises $2 million in private utility token sale

Player interest in Alien Worlds has propelled it into the most used Dapps within just weeks of launching. Gaming decentralized application Alien Worlds announced on March 22 that it had successfully raised $2 million in a sale of its utility token, Trilium, to selected private investors. Alien Worlds is currently the number two ranked gaming Dapp by number of users according to DappRadar . Investors in the recent token sale included Animoca Brands , developers of The Sandbox and F1 DeltaTime; Longling Capital, who created China’s Meitu app; 3Commas, and Digital Assets Group. Alien Worlds is a DeFi metaverse in which planets are run as decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAO. Trilium is used as a governance token across these six DAOs, and has been mined by players in-game since December 2020. Tokens can be used to attempt hostile takeovers of other planet’s treasuries, along with increasing mining yield from in-game land and other non-fungible tokens. Co-founder Saro McKenn...

Optimism abounds for crypto and blockchain adoption at virtual Blockchain Africa

Blockchain Africa highlights the remaining hurdles that stand in the way of widespread adoption of crypto and blockchain on the continent. The first-ever virtual version of Blockchain Africa delivered an optimistic outlook for the cryptocurrency and blockchain space in the continent as the world settles into a new normal dictated by COVID-19. The conference featured a number of well-known industry commentators, participants and thought leaders from around the world who addressed a completely virtual audience. The event attracted around 4,000 attendees online, according to organizer Sonya Kuhnel, despite going virtual in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A major highlight of the conference was an insightful keynote address from Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson on Africa’s burgeoning position as a hotbed for cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption and development. Hoskinson outlined his belief that the continent would drive innovation in the space and highlighted Cardano’s ongo...

South Korean internet giant Naver reportedly joins Bithumb stake race

Naver is reportedly looking to strengthen its position in the crypto industry with a potential equity stake in South Korea’s largest crypto exchange. Major South Korean internet company Naver has reportedly begun negotiations to acquire a stake in the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb. Naver has discussed a potential equity stake acquisition with major Bithumb stakeholder Vidente, local publication the Maeil Business Newspaper reported Monday, citing several unnamed sources. Naver is the provider of South Korea’s largest search engine and Line messenger, and is reportedly seeking to expand its platform’s presence in the country’s fintech market. The internet giant is reportedly planning to add Bitcoin ( BTC ) as a payment option on its payment services Naver Pay as well as Line Pay in Japan and the United States. As reported, there are at least 10 firms seeking a stake in Bithumb including major U.S. investment banks like Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan , paymen...

Bitcoin uptrend not over: Big whales aren't selling BTC, data shows

Big whales aren't selling, but accumulating Bitcoin, as the price of BTC consolidates under $60,000. The price of Bitcoin ( BTC ) is consolidating between the $55,000 to $59,000 range, establishing the mid-$50,000 region as a support area. This trend coincides with strengthening on-chain fundamentals, such as whale and address activity. Since the Bitcoin rally began to accelerate in November 2020, the seven-day average active address has increased in tandem. A pseudonymous trader known as "Crypto Birb" pointed out : "$BTC seven day average over daily active addresses in sideways while price action climbs. The upside trend is the strongest when backed by onchain trends." It shows that on-chain trends have been supplementing both short and long-term Bitcoin price cycles. Big whales are not selling but accumulating Bitcoin According to the data from Santiment, big Bitcoin whales have been mostly accumulating Bitcoin as over 35,000 BTC has left exchanges in ...

Danish Red Cross sponsors $3M blockchain-based volcano catastrophe bond

The Danish Red Cross along with several humanitarian partners have collaborated to float a catastrophe bond to cover volcanic eruption disasters. Crypto and blockchain adoption for humanitarian causes is set for another expansion as the Danish Red Cross has sponsored a catastrophe bond aimed at providing relief in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption. According to CIR Magazine, the catastrophe bond — often shortened to cat bond — has the backing of private firms and other humanitarian establishments with investors like Solidum Partners and Plenum Investments associated with the project. Using blockchain technology developed by Replexus — an insurance risk securitization outfit — the cat bond aims to raise funds for humanitarian relief and expedite its release in the aftermath of a catastrophic volcanic eruption. The blockchain-based cat bond plans to raise about $3 million and will focus on 10 active volcanoes around the world. According to the report, these chosen volcanoes pose...

Bitcoin searches in Turkey spike 566% after Turkish lira drops 14%

Searches for Bitcoin emanating from Turkey exploded after news broke regarding the 14% plunge in the value of the Turkish lira. Google searches for Bitcoin ( BTC ) emanating from Turkey exploded in the past 24 hours, after the value of the Turkish lira dropped 14% following the firing of a central bank governor. According to data from Google Trends, the number of searches for Bitcoin spiked 566% in the hours immediately following news of the lira’s demise. Bitcoin searches from Turkey over 24 hours. Source: Google Trends The lira’s value dropped 14% in a flash dip after Turkey's President Erdogan fired the governor of the country’s central bank. Former governor Naci Agbal had been credited with pulling the lira out of historic lows, partly by raising interest rates to fight inflation. His abrupt removal was said to have shocked domestic and foreign investors, reports BBC News. The Turkish lira regained a fifth of its value against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of 20...

Microsoft reportedly polling Xbox users about Bitcoin payment option

Microsoft wants to know if gamers would spend crypto at the Xbox online store. Tech giant Microsoft seems to be considering introducing Bitcoin ( BTC ) payments at its Xbox gaming console online store. According to a March 21 Reddit post on r/XboxSeriesX, Microsoft has put out a survey asking Xbox users about their preferred payment options at its online store. “Which of these other payment methods would you like to use on Xbox?,” the purported survey asks, listing Bitcoin as one of the potential payment methods. The same photo has also been circulating across several other subreddits including r/ethtrader and r/Bitcoin . Microsoft is now asking Xbox users about #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/TjuY18L5Wh — Documenting Bitcoin (@DocumentingBTC) March 21, 2021 One Xbox user said that the survey is available “if you participate in the Xbox Insider program for beta testing OS updates.” Microsoft did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. Back in 2014, Micro...

Exchange reserves plunge to pre-$61K lows: 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week

Hodlers are being patient amid warnings that a continuation of Bitcoin's bull run may take "some time" thanks to mixed messages from on-chain indicators. Bitcoin ( BTC ) sees a cautious start to the week as macro markets dither and Turkey’s currency loses 15% of its value overnight. After a disappointing weekend that featured a rejection at $60,000 , Bitcoin has yet to impress traders, who are expecting sideways action in the coming days. Cointelegraph takes a look at five factors that could influence how Bitcoin price action evolves as a new week gets underway. All quiet among stocks The picture across equities is one of hesitancy on Monday as concerns over bond yields remain and coronavirus bites. It has become a familiar picture for many, Asian markets opened with modest movement. A rise in economic activity will likely fuel bond worries with 10-year Treasury yields already at 1.7% in the United States after gaining rapidly in recent weeks. Taking a different ...