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Showing posts from August 16, 2021

Former Zcash Developer to Lead Twitter’s Decentralized Social Media Project Bluesky

On December 11, 2019, the CEO of Twitter announced the company was funding a project aimed at creating a decentralized social media standard. Jack Dorsey said that the ultimate goal of the project dubbed “Bluesky” is for Twitter to be a client of the standard. A year and eight months later, Bluesky announced that a former software engineer from the Zcash project, Jay Graber, will be leading the Bluesky initiative. Crypto Dev Jay Graber Will Lead the Bluesky Project The Twitter initiative to decentralize social media called Bluesky will be led by someone involved with cryptocurrency development. On August 16, 2021, the former Zcash software developer Jay Graber announced that she will be leading the project going forward. “I’m excited to announce that I’ll be leading Bluesky,” Graber tweeted on Monday. “An initiative started by Twitter to decentralize social media.” The CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey , also welcomed Graber to the project on Monday. “Jay will be leading Bluesky,” Do...

Alibaba launches NFT marketplace for copyright trading

Alibaba has launched a new marketplace allowing trademark holders to sell NFT representing licenses to their copyright. Chinese multinational e-commerce firm, Alibaba Group Holding, has launched a new nonfungible tokens (NFTs) marketplace allowing trademark holders to sell tokenized licenses to their intellectual property. The new NFT marketplace, dubbed “Blockchain Digital Copyright and Asset-Trade,” can be accessed via Alibaba's Auction platform. NFTs launched via the platform will be issued on the “New Copyright Blockchain” — a distributed ledger technology platform centrally operated by the Sichuan Blockchain Association Copyright Committee. According to an Aug. 17 report from the Alibaba-owned news publication, South China Morning Post (SCMP), the marketplace hopes to target writers, musicians, artists, and game developers. The marketplace is already live, hosting several NFTs that are set to be auctioned next month. Bidders must post a deposit of 500 yuan (roughly $77)...

Eth2 staking contract ranks as single-largest Ether hodler with $21.5B

The Eth2 staking contract is now the single-largest address by Ether holdings. The staking contract for the Ethereum 2.0 blockchain is now the single-largest holder of Ether. According to blockchain analytics provider Nansen, the Eth2 staking contract has surpassed Wrapped Ethereum (wETH) to become the single largest holder of ETH. Unlike Ether, Wrapped Ether adheres to the ERC-20 standard, making it the favored representation of ETH among DeFi protocols that use ERC-20 tokens. The findings were posted to Twitter by Alex Svanevik, CEO of blockchain analytics firm, Nansen, on Aug. 17. The data shows that the Beacon Chain’s deposit contract holds 6.73 million ETH — worth roughly $21.5 billion at current prices. By contrast, Nansen’s data suggests the Wrapped Ethereum contract holds 6.7 million ETH ($21.4 billion), followed by Binance with 2.29 million ETH ($7.3 billion). Check who's #1 ETH holder now guys! pic.twitter.com/3isDLkrv7I — Alex Svanevik ✨ (@ASvanevik) August 16, ...

Minority communities are investing in crypto to escape financial discrimination

Black and LBGTQ Americans are more than twice as likely to invest in crypto than White Americans. A survey provided to USA Today by Harris Poll has found that Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQ Americans are significantly more likely to own crypto assets. According to surveys of 2,010 and 2,003 U.S adults conducted during June and July, 23% of Black Americans and 17% of Hispanic Americans indicated they are currently invested in digital assets, compared to only 11% of white Americans, and 13% of the general public. 25% of LGBTQ respondents also said they hold crypto. Cryptocurrency awareness is also higher among minority groups, with half of Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans expressing familiarity with cryptocurrency, while only 37% of White Americans answered the same. The poll also found that 43% of Black Americans believe they have not been treated fairly by the banking and loans industries, a sentiment echoed by 39% of LGBTQ respondents. By contrast, 28% of th...

Finder’s Expert Panel Suggests Litecoin’s Price to Spike More Than 40%, $266 per LTC by Year’s End

The product comparison website Finder has published a report that polled 42 financial technology (fintech) specialists and found the average forecast from the group indicates they believe the crypto asset litecoin will be worth more than $200 by the end of 2021. The crypto asset launched by Charlie Lee in 2011, has been trading for prices between $175 and $187 over the last three days. Average Prediction Among 42 Fintech Specialists Say Litecoin Will Tap $266 by the End of 2021 In recent times, Bitcoin.com News has reported on forecasts concerning the price of bitcoin ( BTC ), ethereum ( ETH ), and dogecoin (DOGE) via finder.com polls. For instance, Finder’s expert panels suggest DOGE prices will hit $1.21 by 2025 and $3.60 by 2030 . Additionally, another panel report from finder.com shows experts believe ether’s value will reach $4.5K this year and $18K by 2025 . The Finder panel with 42 fintech candidates that discussed litecoin (LTC) shows most panelists agree, LTC is predicted...

US State Department offers up to $10 million in crypto rewards to white hat hackers

The United States is offering crypto assets to incentivize white-hat hackers to uncover state-sponsored actors and potential terrorists on the dark web. The United States government is offering rewards in cryptocurrency for information relating to the operations of enemy state-backed hackers or suspected terrorists. The U.S. State Department's new “Rewards for Justice” platform allows informants to submit anonymous tips and information in return for rewards in digital assets. The platform was promoted at the Black Hat USA event — which ran from July 31 to August 5 in Las Vegas — with users able to submit tips via an unsecured Wi-Fi network called #Rewardsnotransoms. The open network was purposely set up to encourage attendees to log in and access the RFJ website , according to CNN . Rewards of up to $10 million are being offered in exchange for info on various terrorist suspects, extremists, and state-sponsored hackers. Informants elect whether they wish to receive compensatio...

Alex Saunders again under fire after virtual HQ in Decentraland fails to launch

Controversial crypto influencer Alex Saunders is making headlines again, with followers claiming he raised $57,000 in NFT from them to launch a virtual community headquarters that hasn’t materialized. Australian crypto influencer and Nuggets News founder Alex Saunders is facing backlash over his non-fungible token (NFT) sale from late last year. Nuggets News is a paid group providing technical analysis and crypto tips to subscribers that was founded by Saunders in 2017. As of Aug.17, Nuggets News had roughly 146,000 subscribers on YouTube. In November 2020, Saunders minted 100 NFTs comprising tokenized tickets he said would grant holders access to an exclusive Nuggets News community headquarters being developed in the crypto-powered virtual metaverse, Decentraland . Saunders priced the NFTs at 1 ETH each, worth around $570 at the time. Saunders reportedly sold all NFTs within weeks of the drop, accumulating $57,000 from his supporters in total. At today’s prices, 100 ETH is worth ...

Ethereum, Bitcoin, Cardano Are Most Popular Cryptocurrencies in Singapore: Study

A new study shows that ethereum is the most popular cryptocurrency among more than 4,000 adults surveyed in Singapore. The second-most popular crypto is bitcoin, followed by cardano. Singapore-Based Crypto Investors Prefer Ethereum, Bitcoin, Cardano The new 2021 State of Crypto in Singapore, a joint study by Seedly, Gemini, and Coinmarketcap, was published Monday. It contains a survey of 4,348 Singapore-based adults ages 18 to 65 across varying household incomes. The survey was conducted between June 29 and July 9. It included 2,862 respondents who said they were current crypto holders and 1,486 respondents who said they were non-crypto holders. One in five crypto holders surveyed were women. According to the survey results, 78% of respondents who had crypto said they owned ethereum ( ETH ), 69% said bitcoin ( BTC ), 40% said cardano ( ADA ), 31% said binance coin ( BNB ), and 25% said XRP . The report describes: Of the 2,862 crypto holders, 2,236 of them are currently holding ...

Bank of America Sees Long Road Ahead for Coinbase to Become the ‘Amazon of Crypto Assets’

Bank of America has initiated coverage of Coinbase Global. The bank has identified several factors that could boost Coinbase’s revenue. Regarding the crypto exchange’s plan to become “the Amazon of crypto assets,” Bank of America says it is “still in very early stages of development.” Bank of America Awaits Concrete Signs of Progress Against Coinbase’s Long-Term Vision. Bank of America (Bofa) initiated coverage of Coinbase Global Inc. (Nasdaq: COIN) Friday. Jason Kupferberg, a senior equity research analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, started Coinbase with a “neutral” rating and a $273 price target. While the analyst sees Coinbase as the “leading provider of crypto infrastructure,” he cautioned that its stock, which is trading at 18.3 times sales, may have limited near-term upside. He described : COIN aims to become the Amazon of crypto assets, though in our view COIN’s model is still in very early stages of development, and we await more concrete signs of progress against ...

White Paper Published by Microsoft Describes an Ethereum-Based Tool to Combat Pirated Content

Researchers from Microsoft, Alibaba Group, and Carnegie Mellon University have published a paper that claims the Ethereum network can help prevent piracy. The paper, called “Argus: A Fully Transparent Incentive System for Anti-Piracy Campaigns,” describes how Argus is superior to existing solutions. Argus: An Ethereum-Powered Anti-Piracy Tool A study written by Xian Zhang, Xiaobing Guo, Zixuan Zeng, Wenyan Liu, Zhongxin Guo, Yang Chen, Shuo Chen, Qiufeng Yin, and Mao Yang shows researchers have developed a new blockchain-powered incentive system for anti-piracy campaigns. The authors come from Carnegie Mellon University, Alibaba Group, and Microsoft Research Asia. Argus is a “fully transparent” system according to the Argus white paper hosted on microsoft.com. “The groundwork of Argus is to formulate the objectives for fully transparent incentive mechanisms, which securely and comprehensively consolidate the different interests of all roles,” the researchers write. “These objectiv...

Analysts say $46,500 is the key level for Bitcoin to flip to support

Bitcoin’s fundamentals remain strong but analysts pinpoint $46,500 as the key level to reclaim as support in order to preserve the current uptrend. The double-digit rallies seen from many altcoins shows traders are becoming increasingly bullish with the passing of each day, but maintaining this momentum will to some extent depend on Bitcoin's ( BTC ) short-term price action. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after touching the $48,000 price level during the early morning trading hours on Aug. 16 the price of BTC dipped below $45,800 as bulls scrambled to put a halt to the price slide. BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView Here’s what analysts are saying could be the next steps for Bitcoin price. Bitcoin needed to retest support after a 50% rally Bitcoin’s surge from $29,500 on July 20 to $48,000 on Aug. 14 has resulted in the price settling in a trading range between $44,000 and $48,000, as shown in the following tweet from pseudonymo...

TikTok partners with crypto-powered music streaming platform Audius

According to Audius co-founder and chief product officer Forrest Browning, roughly 95% of users “have no idea that blockchain is even involved.” Music-sharing protocol Audius became one of the first streaming platforms to partner with TikTok, allowing users to directly share tracks to the popular app. In a Monday announcement, Audius said it had partnered with TikTok in the creation of a new feature called TikTok Sounds. According to a Rolling Stone interview with Audius co-founder and chief product officer Forrest Browning, the integration will allow users to export songs created with the protocol to TikTok with one click, in an effort to streamline the process. Though Audius claims it seeks to leverage blockchain technology to reward content creators as well as increase transparency on payouts to artists, the integration with TikTok seems to be more about the music rather than pushing messages about cryptocurrency or decentralized finance. According to Browning, roughly 95% of...

Samsung to Aid Bank of Korea in Central Bank Digital Currency Pilot Program

Samsung, the Korean tech giant, has decided to participate in a central bank digital currency (CBDC) program that is being carried out by the Bank of Korea. The company will be testing the feasibility of using these new instruments in its lineup of Galaxy phones, specifically assessing the possibility of making offline payments between peers. Samsung Participates in Korean Digital Currency Pilot Samsung, the Korean technology behemoth , has agreed to aid the Bank of Korea in running a test pilot for a central bank digital currency that will assess the feasibility of using these instruments in the payments sector. The pilot started in July, co-managed by the Bank of Korea and Ground X, a blockchain affiliate of Kakao, the messaging platform. The news was announced by a Samsung executive, who stated: Samsung Electronics has recently decided to participate in the BOK-led CBDC pilot project, under which interested parties will research the practicalities of the CBDC in a test environ...

Wen Dogecoin moon? On-chain data and trading volumes suggest soon

On-chain activity and trading volumes at major exchanges have analysts convinced that DOGE is turning bullish again. The cryptocurrency market has had a wild ride thus far in 2021 as multiple sub-sectors like decentralized finance (DeFi), NFTs, meme coins and layer-two solutions have seen their TVL and token values skyrocket to new highs. One of the biggest success stories of the year was been Dogecoin ( DOGE ), a simple 'joke' cryptocurrency that has morphed into a darling of the cryptocurrency sector. Interestingly, over the past month, the project is again gaining momentum and several data points suggest sentiment for the DOGE is becoming increasingly bullish. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low at $0.159 on July 20, the price of DOGE has rallied 120% to reach an intraday high at $0.35 on Aug. 16 as its 24-hour trading volume jumped by 63% to $8.6 billion. DOGE/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView Three reasons an...

Crypto developer will lead Twitter's decentralized social media initiative

The new lead plans on hiring for the Bluesky team and “partnering closely with Twitter and other companies” as part of the next steps towards fulfilling the decentralized social media plan. Jay Graber, a former software engineer for Zcash and blockchain firm Skuchain, will be leading the anticipated decentralized social media initiative first announced by Twitter in 2019. In a Twitter announcement on Monday, Graber said that they would be in charge of the Bluesky project after working closely with “a group of thinkers and builders” from the decentralized social ecosystem. They plan on hiring for the Bluesky team and “partnering closely with Twitter and other companies” as part of the next steps towards fulfilling the decentralized social media plan. I’m excited to announce that I’ll be leading @bluesky , an initiative started by @Twitter to decentralize social media. Follow updates on Twitter and at https://t.co/Sg4MxK1zwl — Jay Graber (@arcalinea) August 16, 2021 Twitter...

Traders seek hefty gains from altcoins while Bitcoin price consolidates

SOL, PRE and AR rallied more than 30% while Bitcoin price continues to consolidate around $46,000. Optimism across the cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to grow on Aug. 16 as multiple altcoins put on double-digit gains and Bitcoin ( BTC ) bulls defend the $46,000 support level. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24-hours were Solana (SOL), Presearch (PRE) and Arweave (AR). Top 7 coins with the highest 24-hour price change. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro Solana hits a new all-time high In the past 24-hours, SOL price soared to hit a new high $69.13 as excitement for the protocol’s new Mango Markets decentralized exchange (DEX) helped to increase demand for SOL. VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for SOL on Aug. 11, prior to the recent price rise. The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historic and current market condit...

Poly Network hack exposes DeFi flaws, but community comes to the rescue

The DeFi hacker’s initial intentions remain unclear, but they refused to accept a $500,000 bounty after returning all funds. Although it seemed crypto hacks were on the decline, just recently, the market bore witness to one of the largest-ever attacks in the young history of decentralized finance (DeFi), wherein an unknown hacker was able to exploit a loophole in cross-chain protocol Poly Network’s digital framework, thereby walking away with a cool $610 million from three separate blockchains. The Poly Network is a collaborative project helmed by Ontology, Neo and Switcheo. It seeks to foster a “heterogeneous interoperability protocol alliance” integrating blockchains into the larger cross-chain ecosystem. Thanks to its infrastructure, the protocol allows users to swap tokens across different blockchains seamlessly. Further elaborating on the development, Poly Network’s core developer team has revealed that the attack resulted in roughly $273 million from Ethereum, $85 million ...

Centric Completes Migration to Binance Smart Chain

PRESS RELEASE. After two-and-a-half years on the TRON blockchain, cryptocurrency project Centric completed their migration to the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Centric announced the decision to migrate in May. Later that month, cybersecurity firm iosiro completed an audit of the updated BSC smart contracts. Two days before the migration, Centric added the first BEP-20 Centric Swap (CNS) tokens to the leading BSC decentralized exchange (DEX), PancakeSwap. “As we completed the audit back in May, some community members wondered why we were waiting until July to make the jump,” said Centric COO Tommy Butcher. “Centric encompasses much more than just a smart contract. We’ve built an entire ecosystem that includes partners. We needed to give our devs time to get everything buttoned up before making the move. Taking the time to do it right paid off, as everything went super smooth,” Butcher said. The migration began on July 15 and proceeded with minimal disruption. Within twenty-four hour...

Blockchain Entrepreneur to Regulators: ‘Crypto Community a Useful Ally’

To many people, the year 2020 will probably go down in history as one of the most consequential of the century. After all, it was the year when governments, health professionals, and business owners all seemed to have a common goal: stopping the spread of Covid-19 at all costs. Indeed, in a majority of the cases, stopping the spread of the virus was said to require shutting down economies and forcing the scared masses to stay indoors. These measures, in turn, forced ordinary people to find ways to carry on with their lives without offending governments or without exposing themselves to the virus. It is these circumstances that brought to the fore the importance of an equally consequential innovation — blockchain technology. Kuva Seeks Solution for Crypto’s Uneasy Relationship With Regulators As some studies have shown, the adoption or use of blockchain technology has surged since the second quarter of 2020. The innovation’s surge in popularity may have convinced many central banks ...