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Showing posts from June 7, 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...

Scammers Pick Bank Transfers Over Cryptocurrency, Australian Report Reveals

Investment scams have been by far the most common type in Australia recently, a new report by the country’s consumer watchdog has revealed. And while a growing number of Australians fall victim to fraudulent schemes involving cryptocurrency, bank transfers remain the scammers’ favorite way to extract money. Australians Lose $670 Million to Scammers in a Year, Including $75 Million Through Bank Transfers Residents of Australia have lost $851 million Australian dollars (almost $670 million) in over 444,000 reported scam cases in 2020, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced in its latest Targeting Scams report published Monday. The review compiles data from the commission’s own Scamwatch website, Australia’s cybersecurity center Reportcyber, other government agencies, and about a dozen banks and financial intermediaries. ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard commented: Last year, scam victims reported the biggest losses we have seen, but worse, we expect the...

Spanish seafood firm partners with IBM for supply chain tracking

Spanish multinational seafood giant, Nueva Pescanova Group, has partnered with The IBM Food Trust to trace the shrimp and prawns it fishes on the blockchain. Spanish-based seafood firm, Nueva Pescanova Group, has announced its working with IBM to utilize its Food Trust platform — a distributed ledger technology platform designed for supply chain traceability. According to a June 8 announcement from IBM, the partnership is already underway, with Nueva Pescanova utilizing blockchain technology to track shrimp fishing in Argentina and prawn cultivation in Ecuador. In the announcement, Ignacio González, the CEO of the Nueva Pescanova Group, stated the tracability platform will help the firm in meeting the United Nation’s Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (DGST) standards, stating: “We want to offer our consumers all over the world rigorous and detailed information on the traceability of our seafood products, from their origin until they reach their tables. Now is the time for b...

Crypto markets tumble after miners unload 5,000 BTC in one week

With Bitcoin’s price consistently trending below its 200-day moving averages and heavy selling identified among miners, some analysts are bracing for further bearish momentum. The crypto markets are against dropping, with Bitcoin crashing below $33,000 for the first time since May 23 as Ethereum similarly broke below support at $2,500. The downward momentum comes as bearish indicators continue to stack up for Bitcoin, with popular analyst William Clemente III identifying that miners sold more than 5,000 BTC over the past week — worth roughly $164 million at current prices. Miners have sold over 5,000 BTC in the last week pic.twitter.com/5pEvLgIls2 — William Clemente III (@WClementeIII) June 7, 2021 Crypto author Timothy Peterson also highlighted that BTC’s price has remained below its 200-day simple moving average (SMA) for 17 days consecutively. ”This metric has *always* marked the end of a bull run and the start of a bear market,” he asserted. #Bitcoin price has dropped...

Huobi Eco Chain’s TVL surges to $2.7b, but two DApps represent 86% of locked assets

The decentralized exchange Mdex and yield aggregator Filda represent roughly $2.4 billion of Heco’s $2.7 billion TVL combined. Despite Huobi Eco Chain attracting an impressive total value locked (TVL) since launching in December, just two DApps represent 86% of the blockchain’s TVL. According to crypto data aggregator, CryptoRank, approximately $1.98 billion or 73% of Heco's TVL is locked in the Mdex decentralized exchange. Mdex is Heco’s rival to PancakeSwap, an automated market maker offering yield farming incentives to users. In early April, Mdex also launched on BSC to gain access to a wider range of tokens not supported on Heco Chain. Yield aggregator Filda is the second-largest DApp on Heco, with Filda representing a TVL of almost $400 million or 13% of Huobi Eco Chain’s combined value locked. As such, all other DApps share the remaining 16% or roughly $300 million in assets locked in Heco. Top Projects by TVL on Huobi Eco Chain https://t.co/NHxAgsHoj5 $MDX $FILDA ...

Take Back the Internet With Crypto: Pocketnet Offers 4 Free Live Educational Sessions

The Internet was once a bastion of freedom and was hoped to bring economic power to everyday people. These days a few centralized platforms such as Google, Facebook and Amazon dominate the online world, deciding what we can and cannot say, while keeping all the value for themselves. In an upcoming 4-session live event you can find out how Pocketnet, a decentralized social media platform, changes this forever. Join an Exclusive Live Crypto Challenge Pocketnet is a decentralized, open-sourced, and censorship-resistant platform that offers an alternative to centralized social network such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It is powered by the cryptocurrency Pocketcoin (PKOIN), a Proof-of-Stake token that allows authors to earn crypto for their content and protects them from arbitrary censorship through community moderation. Blockchain tracks reputation and high reputation users moderate the platform. The token is for decentralized advertising, boosting posts, buying unique fonts and t...

21shares to Launch Bitcoin ETP for Institutional Investors in the UK

Switzerland-based 21shares announced it’s going to offer its crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) to institutional investors in Britain. The platform said the aim is to provide U.K. investors with exposure to bitcoin without the need to deal with crypto custody and security. New Bitcoin ETP to Be Offered on London-Based Aquis Exchange The 21shares bitcoin ETP (ABTC) will be made available through a partnership with GHCO, a leading market maker and liquidity provider that specializes in exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It will be listed on Aquis Exchange, a multilateral trading platform based in London and Paris. The exchange facilitates stock trading across 15 European markets. The ETP is engineered like an ETF and will be centrally cleared, 21shares detailed in a press release on Monday. As ETPs trade on exchanges similarly to stocks, institutional investors in the U.K. will be facing a regulated framework and structure to which they are already accustomed to. The Swiss company furt...

Latin lawmakers don lazer eyes on Twitter in support of Bitcoin

An increasing number of Latin American lawmakers are donning Lazer eyes on their Twitter avatars to express their support for Bitcoin and digital assets. Gabriel Silva, a Panamanian congressman, is moving to follow in El Salvador’s footsteps by proposing legislation to adopt Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on a national scale.  El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele announced during the Miami Bitcoin conference on June 6, that he will submit a bill to lawmakers demanding that Bitcoin be made legal tender. In a June 8 tweet, Silva emphasized the significance of Panama not being left behind by Bukele’s progressive crypto plans, which also includes removing capital gains tax on Bitcoin in El Salvador. According to a rough translation, Silva asserted: “This is important. And Panama cannot be left behind. If we want to be a true technology and entrepreneurship hub, we have to support cryptocurrencies.” “We will be preparing a proposal to present at the Assembly. If you are in...

Former SEC head and treasury undersecretary defend US crypto regulations

Former top policymakers Jay Clayton and Brent McIntosh has defended the crypto regulatory regimes established during their respective government tenures. The regulatory pressure is mounting in the U.S., with more politicians questioning whether the current framework is adequate. An opinion piece penned for Wall Street Journal by former SEC Chairman, Jay Clayton, and former Undersecretary of the Treasury, Brent McIntosh, have defended the United States’ existing regulatory apparatus regarding crypto and warned that excessive rulemaking could stifle innovation. The discussions come as cryptocurrencies have been thrown into the regulatory spotlight once again in the wake of two crippling ransomware attacks in the U.S. Over the weekend, two senators deliberated on the prospect of banning cryptocurrencies as a solution to the ransomware attacks. Clayton served as SEC head from May 2017 until December 2020 and stated that the agency did not take up Bitcoin regulation because the asse...

As Crypto Interest Winds Down Bitcoin’s Daily Transaction Rate Plummets to Two-Year Lows

Onchain data indicates that bitcoin transactions per day have plummeted to lows not seen since October 2018. Further, bitcoin transaction fees have dropped 93% after touching a high of $62 per transaction in April 2021. Bitcoin Daily Transaction Rate Dips by 35%, Google Trends Data Shows Interest Has Dropped Since May While bitcoin ( BTC ) prices have dropped to lower bound ranges, after touching an all-time high over $64K per coin, the number of daily transactions has dive-bombed as well. In fact, daily BTC transactions have been plummeting since the first week of 2021, as statistics show a high of 387K transactions on January 6. Data from bitinfocharts.com indicates that the number of bitcoin transactions confirmed on June 3 was around 249K. Between the first week of January up until now, daily transactions have slipped by more than 35%. Statistics from bitinfocharts.com indicate daily transaction rates are as low as they were in October 2018. Fork.lol stats show on June 7...

Donald Trump Detests Bitcoin, Calls BTC a Scam, Wants Heavy Crypto Regulation

Former U.S. President Donald Trump says he does not like bitcoin because it is a currency that competes with the dollar, which he wants to be the currency of the world. He calls bitcoin a scam and wants cryptocurrency to be very heavily regulated. Trump Thinks Bitcoin Is a Scam, Wants Heavy Regulation on Crypto Donald Trump talked about bitcoin in an interview with Fox Business Monday. Responding to a comment that he does not like bitcoin and he would not invest in it, Trump said the cryptocurrency “seems like a scam.” He noted that when he was president, the price of bitcoin was only $6,000, much lower than it is now, adding: I don’t like it because it’s another currency competing against the dollar, essentially it’s a currency competing against a dollar. I want the dollar to be the currency of the world. That’s what I have always said. The former U.S. president also talked about bitcoin in response to questions regarding recent cyberattacks on major companies. Emphasizing sev...

Record $141M outflow from Bitcoin products signals institutions are bearish on BTC: CoinShares

Institutional investors withdrew a record $141 million from Bitcoin investment products this past week. The latest report from analytics firm CoinShares shows that outflows from institutional BTC investment products continue to surge. According to CoinShares’ June 7 Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly report , institutional investors are continuing to reduce Bitcoin exposure, with BTC investment products seeing a record outflow of $141 million this past week. Capital flows for crypto investment products: CoinShares The data follows heavy institutional selling amid May’s dramatic crypto market meltdown, with institutions having withdrawn nearly $100 million from crypto products between May 10 and May 16, before outflows briefly slowed towards the end of last month. Trade volume for BTC products is also sharply declining, with the first week of June seeing a 62% drop in trade activity compared to May’s weekly average. Despite describing institutional sentiment towards BTC as having...

Asset Managers Could Violate Fiduciary Duty If They Don’t Consider Bitcoin, Says Finance Professor

A professor of finance and business economics at the University of Southern California says that asset managers focusing on growth strategy could violate their fiduciary duty if they do not consider bitcoin in their portfolios. Asset Managers With Growth Focus Need to Consider Bitcoin Financial researcher Nik Bhatia said last week that asset managers seeking growth returns on behalf of their clients need to consider bitcoin, the Insider reported. Bhatia is also an adjunct professor of finance and business economics at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. In addition, he is the author of the book “Layered Money: From Gold and Dollars to Bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies.” He explained: Growth managers that are responsible for securing growth returns for their clients that haven’t done research into bitcoin at this point are bordering on some sort of fiduciary violation. “If you’re ignoring bitcoin now as a growth manager, you are ignoring...

Theta and Theta Fuel (TFUEL) soar ahead of June 30 mainnet launch

THETA and TFUEL rallied more than 50% as investors anticipate the upcoming Mainnet 3.0 launch. Major protocol upgrades can play a significant role in altcoin rallies regardless of the state of the wider cryptocurrency market because new features excite token holders and help to attract new investors.  One ecosystem that has been heating up over the past two weeks is the Theta protocol. The project's THETA token rallied 50% and Theta Fuel (TFUEL) gained 71% ahead of the network's upcoming Mainnet 3.0 launch scheduled for June 30. THETA/USDT vs. TFUEL/USDT. Source: TradingView Toward the end of May, price action for THETA and TFUEL began to ramp up after the project revealed that the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a talent and sports agency, had become the newest validator node operator for the network. The subsequent release of one-click delegated staking for the Theta web wallet also raised excitement in the community as the simplified method for earning a yield is ide...

FBI Agent Recovers Private Key to $2.3M in Bitcoin Paid to Colonial Pipeline Hackers

U.S. law enforcement officials from the Justice Department on Monday announced the seizure of $2.3 million dollars worth of crypto assets that were paid to the Colonial Pipeline hackers. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco explained during a news conference that federal agents “recaptured the majority of the ransom Colonial paid to the Darkside network.” FBI Recovers Private Key for Over 63 Bitcoin, Investigator Says Real-Time Blockchain Surveillance Used On May 14, Bitcoin.com News reported on the Darkside network of hackers extorting Colonial Pipeline for close to $5 million. Last month, Colonial’s CEO said the firm authorized the payment of around $4.4 million in digital assets. The Department of Justice noted on Monday that the full amount of the seizure was 63.7 bitcoins valued at approximately $2.3 million at the time of capture. An affidavit filed on June 7, 2021, by an agent working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “Earlier today, the Department of Ju...

Bitcoin price is fragile, but on-chain data points to fresh accumulation

On-chain data shows long-term holders are back in accumulation mode after the recent shake-out cleared network congestion and shook out over-leveraged traders. The May 19 crypto market sell-off saw $1.2 trillion in value erased from the total market capitalization as the froth and excess leverage of over-hyped markets was quickly eliminated. But similar to a forest fire, whose destructive power is essential to the rejuvenation of a forest's ecosystem, dramatic market shake-outs are a vital part of the full life cycle of a developing market, as excesses that have accumulated are burned away and cleared in order to set the stage for a new round of growth. According to data from  Glassnode , the past month saw a “historically large decline” in on-chain activity, “transitioning rapidly from booming on-chain economies at ATH prices, to almost completely clear mempools and waning demand for transactions and settlement.” This clearing of congestion helped address the rising cost of f...

Two-Fifths of Australian Millennials Prefer Crypto Investments Over Real Estate

A report published by the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken shows that two-fifths of Australian millennials prefer to invest in cryptocurrency assets over real estate. The survey shows that a number of Australians are losing faith in traditional assets like gold, stocks, and real estate. Kraken’s Australia Managing Director: ‘Young Aussies Look for Other Options to Grow Wealth’ A survey conducted by the San Francisco crypto exchange Kraken indicates that 40% of millennials believe investing in digital assets like bitcoin ( BTC ) will end up turning into long-term gains. In fact, Kraken’s survey shows that nearly 40% of millennial respondents think digital currencies are an alternative investment to real estate. The study also showed that 22% of millennial Australians (born between the early ’80s and mid-’90s) think that investing in digital assets is a better way to save funds than storing wealth with bank accounts. Close to 50% of the baby boomer (born between the mid-’40s and mid-’6...

US officials recover $2.3M in crypto from Colonial Pipeline ransom

Government officials did not specify the exact method used to seize the funds from the ransomware group. Officials with a United States government task force have seized more than $2 million in crypto used to pay for ransom following an attack on the Colonial Pipeline system.  In a Monday press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said that the task force “found and recaptured” millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin ( BTC ) connected to Russia-based DarkSide hackers , the majority of the $4.4 million funds originally paid. The Justice Department later clarified that authorities had recovered $2.3 million in crypto. Monaco said this action was the first major operation in the task force’s mission to investigate, disrupt, and prosecute ransomware attacks: “Today, we turned the tables on DarkSide [...] By going after the entire ecosystem that fuels ransomware and digital extortion attacks, including criminal proceeds in the form of digital currency, we will continue to...

Crypto Twitter says traders are short Bitcoin, but data shows otherwise

A growing number of analysts have flipped bearish on Bitcoin and expect a significant price drop, but analyzing data from the perpetual futures and options markets uncovers a contrasting narrative. Margin trading allows investors to borrow stablecoins or cryptocurrency to leverage their position and improve the expected return. For example, borrowing Tether ( USDT ) will allow one to buy Bitcoin, thus increasing their Bitcoin ( BTC ) long position in.  Investors can also borrow BTC to margin trade a short position, thus betting on price downside. This is why some analysts monitor the total lending amounts of Bitcoin and Tether to gain insight into whether investors are leaning bullish or bearish. Are analysts flipping bearish based only on Bitfinex’s margin data? This week some prominent analysts cited a surge in Bitcoin short positions at Bitfinex, peaking at 6,621 BTC on June 7. As Cointelegraph reported, independent researcher Fomocap found a visible correlation between mar...

El Salvador Offers No Capital Gains Tax, Permanent Residence to Crypto Entrepreneurs

Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, has weighed in the future of his country now that there is a formal proposal for making Bitcoin a legal tender, announcing complementary measures. Bukele mentioned yesterday on Twitter there would be no capital gains on Bitcoin earnings, and also highlighted the possibility of offering permanent residence to crypto entrepreneurs wanting to move to the LATAM country. El Salvador to Collect No Capital Gains on Bitcoin Earnings, Offers Permanent Residence to Crypto Entrepreneurs Nayib Bukele, President of the Republic of El Salvador, made some interesting remarks yesterday on Twitter, where he answered some concerns and questions of people involved in cryptocurrency businesses. The young politician has put the country in the media spotlight after appearing at the 2021 Bitcoin Conference in Miami, announcing he would be introducing legislation to make Bitcoin legal tender in the country. Bukele stated that because Bitcoin will be legal tender, t...