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Showing posts from July 27, 2021

Unique Addresses Tethered to Ethereum Defi Apps Climb Past 3 Million

The number of users or unique addresses leveraging decentralized finance (defi) protocols via Ethereum has risen past 3 million according to recent statistics. A vast majority of these unique addresses use the defi protocol Uniswap, as 2.4 million users have been recorded since December 2018. Ethereum Defi Applications See Unique Addresses Surpass 3 Million According to statistics from Dune Analytics , the number of users or unique ethereum addresses utilizing defi has jumped past the 3 million threshold this week. At the time of writing, data shows there are 3,092,000 unique addresses recorded on July 27. The lion’s share of these addresses stems from the decentralized exchange (dex) platform Uniswap. Uniswap’s dex currently has approximately 2,438,374 unique addresses that leverage the Uniswap trading protocol. It’s worth noting, however, that since a user can have more than one unique address, records could be considered overestimates. Further, the data from Dune Analytics’ “De...

$7B investment firm recommends crypto to beat currency debasement

Crypto and land are the best assets to protect against currency debasement, advises contrarian investment firm, Horizon Kinetics. Contrarian investment firm, Horizon Kinetics, is advising investors to seek exposure to crypto assets amid mounting global economic challenges. Speaking to the Financial Times , Horizon’s co-founder Peter Doyle warned that the coronavirus pandemic and growing debt will usher an inflection point for the world economy, predicting: “There is no turning back after the pandemic and globally there is a debt problem and it means either default or currency debasement.” Horizon’s Paradigm fund made a 1% allocation into Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust in 2016, with the investment now representing 10% of the fund’s portfolio. “People should have exposure to the asset class,” asserted Doyle, emphasizing Bitcoin’s capped supply amid concerns regarding currency debasement. “The best long-term investors tend to have concentrated portfolios and low turnover in holdings as ...

CBDCs ‘concocted in hell by Satan himself’ says ASI president Rich Checkan

Rich Checkan described CBDCs as the spawn of Satan, and thinks that Bitcoin is still a speculative asset and not a currency alternative yet. Rich Checkan, the president of Asset Strategies International (ASI) has described central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as a product that was “concocted in hell by Satan himself.” ASI was founded in 1982 and deals in alternative assets such as precious metals, foreign currencies and pre-1933 U.S. gold coins, and offers a precious metals trading platform. Speaking during an interview with streaming financial news provider Kitco News on July 27, Checkan slammed CBDCs due to the threat they posed to individual privacy, noting they give the state the ability to monitor every transaction you make and track your entire life. “I think central bank digital currencies were concocted in hell by Satan himself,” he said, and asserted that they will give governments an incredible control “over everybody’s bank accounts” which will “create a void of pri...

Gone in 31 seconds: Yield Guild Games’ IDO raises $12.5M from just 32 participants

The $12.6 million initial DEX offering of play-to-earn collective, Yield Guild Games, sold out in just 31 seconds to just 32 participants. Yield Guild Games (YGG), a collective of play-to-earn gamers, completed its initial DEX offering via SushiSwap’s Miso platform in under a minute earlier today. The offering saw YGG raise roughly $12.5 million on July 27, with the token sale distributing 25 million tokens or 2.5% of the project’s 1 billion token supply via a dutch auction. The YGG tokens were sold for roughly $0.50 each. Disappointed investors criticized the sale after 32 wallets exhausted the allocation in 31 seconds, even though YGG’s Discord membership exceeds 47,000. A single address appears to have been able to nab 4.5 million tokens or 18% of the coins available in the offering, although onlookers have speculated the purchaser was likely a pool. 32 participants / Biggest ape (looks like a pool) did 4.5milly pic.twitter.com/EpR69WXKTT — Darren Lau (@Darrenlautf) J...

ETH's trading volume grew much faster than BTC’s in first half of 2021

Trading volumes for ETH increased by 1,461% over the first half of 2020. The world’s second-largest crypto asset has gained ground on Bitcoin in terms of trading volume growth during the first half of this year according to a new report. Ethereum’s trading volume grew faster than Bitcoin’s in the first half of this year according to a new report from leading U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase. The Coinbase Institutional H1 2021 in Review report , released on July 26, acknowledged that the first half of this year has been one of the most active periods on record for crypto, with several new all-time highs in prices, user adoption, and trading activity. Taking data from twenty exchanges across the globe, the report revealed that the trading volume for Bitcoin reached $2.1 trillion for the period, up 489% from $356 billion over the first half of last year. Ethereum’s total trading volume reached $1.4 trillion, but its growth was much faster, up 1,461% from $92 billion in the first half ...

Kenyan Farmers Pivot to Cryptocurrency as Popularity of Community Currencies Grows

The growth and popularity of community inclusion cryptocurrencies in Kenya continues to soar with the country’s rural farmers being the latest group to embrace the financial technology. As one report reveals, some farmers in Kenya’s countryside are now accepting cryptocurrency as payment while others are using the same to buy important supplies. Use of Sarafu Cryptocurrency Helps Farmers Save Money According to a report from media outlet VOA, one of the reasons this alternative monetary system has become popular is because it allows users to preserve their fiat currency savings. For instance, the report quotes Emmanuel Kahindi, a 26-year-old farmer from Kenya’s Kilifi, explaining how using this novel currency system helps him. Kahindi said: “Sarafu [the community inclusion cryptocurrency] helped me a lot especially because it makes me save my money, my Kenyan currency.” According to the report, Kahindi is using the sarafu to purchase items for the garden like seeds and fertilizer....

US Bitcoin miner Stronghold files for $100M IPO to fund massive expansion

Sustainably focused and vertically integrated Bitcoin mining company Stronghold Digital Mining has filed for a $100 million initial public offering with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Pennsylvania-based Bitcoin mining firm Stronghold Digital Mining has filed for a $100 million initial public offering (IPO) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm filed its S-1 form on July 27 and if given the green light by the SEC, Stronghold intends to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the “SDIG” ticker. Stronghold is a sustainably focused and vertically integrated Bitcoin mining company that was founded in 2021. In June Cointelegraph reported that the firm completed two private equity securities raises worth $105 million . According to the new filing, Stronghold will use the funds for general corporate purposes such as “acquisitions of miners and power generating assets” with the firm outlining plans to sig...

Nuggets News CEO under fire over alleged unpaid loans and investment funds

Popular crypto influencer Alex Saunders is under heavy criticism, with numerous associates levying accusations Saunders owes them significant sums of Bitcoin. Alex Saunders, the popular crypto influencer behind Nuggets News, is facing a slew of claims he failed to repay crypto loans, along with allegations that funds invested in a new project had been redirected to a crypto exchange. Saunders is one of the most highly regarded Australian crypto educators. He provides a paid service and he has 140,000 subscribers on YouTube. Over recent days, crypto Twitter has been ablaze with allegations that Saunders has run out of capital. Numerous individuals including YouTuber Bitboy claim that Saunders personally owes them multiple Bitcoin each, prompting investigations from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Australian Financial Review (AFR). According to the AFR , Saunders received roughly $7 million from 100 or so investors seeking to back his forthcoming stablecoin pr...

Regulators scrutinizing Tether's commercial paper reserves: Comptroller of the Currency

Tether is still under regulatory pressure with eyes now cast towards its commercial paper reserves. The firm behind the world’s leading stablecoin, Tether, is facing more regulatory pressure this week with U.S. financial watchdogs scrutinizing the composition of its reserves. According to a July 27 Bloomberg report the Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said regulators are looking into Tether’s stockpile of commercial paper to see whether each USDT token really is backed by the equivalent of one U.S. dollar. A team of regulators led by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has held a high-level, closed-door talk on the risks posed by stablecoins and particularly Tether. Citing “people familiar with the matter”, the report stated the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets was concerned about Tether’s claims that it holds massive amounts of commercial paper. This investment type relates to debts that companies issue to meet their short-term funding needs. The group co...

IMF Warns Against Adopting Crypto Assets Like Bitcoin as Legal Tender

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned against adopting cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, as legal tender. Noting numerous risks and costs involved, the IMF does not see crypto assets catching on as a national currency. IMF Warns of Risks in Adopting Cryptocurrencies as National Currency The International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a blog post on Monday discussing the topic of cryptocurrencies as legal tender. The post titled “Cryptoassets as National Currency? A Step Too Far” was authored by Tobias Adrian, the financial counselor and director of the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department, and Rhoda Weeks-Brown, general counsel and director of the IMF’s Legal Department. The post does not mention El Salvador, the Central American country which recently adopted bitcoin as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar. The authors wrote: As national currency, cryptoassets — including bitcoin — come with substantial risks to macro-financial stability, financial integrity...

Traders anticipate 'DeFi Summer 2.0’ after TVL and token prices rise

A rally in blue-chip DeFi tokens and the sector’s rising total value locked has traders hopeful that a prolonged rally will take place. Decentralized finance (DeFi) was one of the main factors that pushed the crypto market higher throughout 2021 and to date, platforms like Uniswap (UNI), SushiSwap (SUSHI) and Aave (AAVE) form the bedrock of the sector. Similar to altcoins, DeFi tokens took a severe beating as Bitcoin price corrected from its $65,800 all-time high, and data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since DeFi index perpetual futures contract hit a low of $5,340 on July 20. Since then, the value of the index has rallied by 45% to $7,682 and this has analysts watching to see if a reversal is in order. DeFi index perpetual futures contract 1-day chart. Source: TradingView Total value locked reverses course In DeFi, the total value locked (TVL) is a platform or the sector as a whole is used to determine the strength and weakness across all pla...

Cats cause chaos on Ethereum again as Mila Kunis project sells out in 35 minutes

Data from Dune Analytics shows there was a total of 344.4 ETH ($793,000) in value lost to failed Stoner Cats transactions. Tokenized cats have once again caused chaos on the Ethereum network after an NFT project from actress Mila Kunis sold out in 35 minutes. It echoes the launch of another cat-based NFT project CryptoKitties, which famously gummed up the Ethereum network in 2017. The launch Stoner Cats was initially delayed by a day after the team found a bug in the underlying art layers . However, the second attempt has been successful and sold out in just “35 meow-nutes” according to a catastrophic pun from Stoner Cats. We SOLD OUT in 35 meow-nutes! If you got a TOKEn, drop it here! — Stoner Cats (@stonercatstv) July 27, 2021 Gas prices soared as NFT collectors snapped up the first tranche of Stoner Cats that had a cap of 10,420 NFTs at a price of 0.35 ETH each, worth roughly $804 at the time of writing. According to the project’s website, another 3,000 new NFTs will be r...

Senator Warren Urges Treasury Secretary Yellen to Urgently Adopt Policy to Mitigate Cryptocurrencies’ Risks

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has asked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to “act with urgency” and adopt an appropriate policy to address the risks posed by cryptocurrencies. “The longer that the United States waits to adapt the proper regulatory regime for these assets, the more likely they will become so intertwined in our financial system that there could be potentially serious consequences if this market comes under stress.” Senator Warren Wants Quick Regulatory Response to Crypto Risks U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Monday outlining numerous concerns regarding the risks posed by cryptocurrency. “I am writing to you in your capacity as Chair of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) regarding the need for a coordinated and cohesive regulatory strategy to mitigate the growing risks that cryptocurrencies pose to the financial system,” Warren wrote. She explained that the FSOC “is responsible for identifying and responding...

Mastercard Launches Global Program to Help Cryptocurrency Startups Scale Their Innovations

Payments giant Mastercard has launched a new, global program for cryptocurrency startups. Seven crypto companies have already joined the program. Together with Mastercard, they will work to “expand and accelerate innovation around digital asset technology and make it safer and easier for people and institutions to buy, spend and hold cryptocurrencies and digital assets.” Mastercard’s New Crypto Program Mastercard announced Tuesday “a new Start Path global startup engagement program dedicated to supporting fast-growing digital assets, blockchain and cryptocurrency companies.” Seven startups have already joined the program. They will work with Mastercard “to expand and accelerate innovation around digital asset technology and make it safer and easier for people and institutions to buy, spend and hold cryptocurrencies and digital assets,” the announcement details. The startups include GK8, Mintable, Stacs, and Supraoracles. GK8 (Israel) is a self-managed end-to-end institutional cry...

ZKSwap’s V2 mainnet is set to go live tomorrow

ZKSwap’s V2 upgrades include unlimited token listings and faster withdrawal times. Decentralized cryptocurrency exchange ZKSwap has announced that its upcoming V2 mainnet will go live on July 28 via the Layer 1 Ethereum mainnet. A layer 2 launch is planned to occur sometime thereafter on Binance Smart Chain, Huobi Eco Chain, and OKEx Chain. This update will introduce a variety of new features for third-party projects looking to list their tokens for trade, such as the allowance of unlimited token listings and pairs. The update will also lower cross-layer withdrawal times from 40 minutes down to 20 minutes, and give users the ability to pay their withdrawal fees using an expanding list of tokens, such as Ether, Tether, and the platform’s own ERC20 token, ZKS. Once deployed on all planned networks, the team noted that ZKSwap v2 will be ready for mass adoption, ensuring listed projects can move liquidity across blockchains as they see fit. As for scalability, transactions take place ...

Fireblocks Custody Company Raises $310 Million, Reaches $2 Billion Valuation

Fireblocks, a blockchain infrastructure firm, raised $310 million in its most recent funding round, reaching a valuation of $2 billion. The company, which specializes in the custody of digital assets, is interested in bringing traditional assets to the blockchain realm. Fireblocks expects this trend of digitalization to keep growing in the recent future. Fireblocks Raises $310 Million in Series D Funding Round Fireblocks, a custody and blockchain infrastructure company, raised $310 million in its Series D funding round. The new investment took the valuation of the company to $2.2 billion, tripling its value since the Series C funding round last February. The round had the confirmed participation of six investments firms: Sequoia Capital, Stripes, Spark Capital, Coatue, DRW Venture capital, and SCB 10X, the venture arm of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank. The company aims to use these funds to bring traditional assets and products to the blockchain. Fireblocks’ CEO Michael Shaulov ...

Crypto app Valora raises $20M, becomes independent from Celo

Valora said it will use the funds for product development and create educational content "to get more people comfortable using cryptocurrencies." Celo-powered crypto wallet Valora has closed on a $20 million funding round, as the company announced it will become a standalone entity. In a Tuesday announcement, Valora said Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital, SV Angel, Nima Capital, NFX, Valor Capital, and others had invested $20 million in a Series A round for the crypto app, which will now operate as an independent company. Jackie Bona, the former head of consumer growth of Celo's cLabs cLabs, will become Valora’s new chief executive officer. "I am delighted to be leading Valora at such a dynamic time in this important evolution, both as an independent company and in the cryptocurrency world at large," said Bona. "Consumer awareness of crypto has never been higher, and yet many people remain on the sidelines, either due to skepticism or lack of acce...

Here’s why DinoSwap’s (DINO) TVL rose above $330M a week after launch

High yield opportunities and a steady resurgence in DeFi tokens helped push DinoSwap’s TVL above $330 million just one week after launch. Decentralized finance (DeFi) remains one of the fastest-growing subsectors of the cryptocurrency ecosystem and newly launched platforms looking to grow their userbase and attract liquidity typically offer high-interest staking pools for the first few weeks after launching. One new project that has steadily gained traction in terms of user growth and total value locked (TVL) since farming went live is DinoSwap (DINO), a Polygon network-based cross-chain protocol that rivals the likes of PancakeSwap and other automated market makers. DINO/USD 1-hour chart. Source: CoinGecko Data from CoinGecko shows DINO that saw its price trade as high as $4.28 upon launch and a surprise flash crash pushed the price to $2.30 on July 25. The price has since recovered to trade above $3. Related : DeFi industry draws in commercial banks? Siam ...

NFT animation 'Stoner Cats' preps for launch following delay

After a false start yesterday, the Stoner Cats team say they're now ready for take two. A cat-themed animated series, featuring prominent entertainers and personalities from the crypto space, is reportedly back on schedule after an unexpected delay. Stoner Cats is an NFT series launched by actress Mila Kunis in partnership with CryptoKitties co-founder Mack Flavelle, CryptoPoops NFT creator Jonathan Howard, and others through their recent endeavor Big Head Club. The project is scheduled to launch at 5:00 PM EST today after a false start prevented the tokens from dropping on Monday. The project's NFTs, which feature characters from the show, will allow holders to watch episodes as they're produced and, at some future point, may also allow some form of governance over the studio's production decisions. "We are ready for the launch tonight and excited,” Flavelle told Cointelegraph, before going on to acknowledge the difficulties experienced during yesterday's...

The NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers to Collaborate With Blockchain Firm Socios.com

Following the announcement from the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers has officially partnered with the blockchain firm Socios.com. The partnership is aimed at increasing the Socios brand and awareness via the Cavaliers’ global asset platform. Socios Partners With the Cavs On July 26, Socios.com and the NBA team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, revealed a new partnership. The Socios company is a blockchain project that allows fans to become “superfans” by letting them influence “club-specific decisions, trade digital items, and access VIP experiences.” Socios says that currently the “team-based fan engagement elements and activations” tethered to the Cavaliers is still under review. However, Socios will leverage the Cavaliers global asset platform to boost brand awareness. For instance, in the upcoming 2021-22 NBA season, the Socios.com logo will be featured on the Cavs’ practice jersey just below the player’s number. Socios will also have a...

October 2020 Déjà vu? Bitcoin pullback at $38K has traders at odds over next move

Bitcoin consolidates below $38,000 following yesterday’s rally above $40,000 while altcoins give back most of their gains. The wider cryptocurrency market entered a period of consolidation on July 27 following Bitcoin’s ( BTC ) brief spike above $40,000 the day before that helped ignite a rally across the market and brought a renewed sense of optimism to the market. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that a mid-day attempt by bulls to lift the price of BTC back above the $40,000 level was rejected resulting in a price pullback to $37,500. BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView While Tuesday's price pullback may suggest that Monday's rally was simply a short squeeze, others point to the rising Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) premium, which is now at the highest levels in months at -5.88%, suggesting that institutions are once again betting on more BTC price upside. Bitcoin bulls battle to reestablish uptrend Rumors that Amazon would be...