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Showing posts from September 9, 2021

Report Says Western Union Could Lose $400M if El Salvador’s Chivo Bitcoin Wallet Gains Traction, Tim Berners-Lee Weighs In

The Republic of El Salvador has made many headlines this week as the country adopted bitcoin as legal tender on Tuesday and became the first-known nation-state to purchase the leading crypto asset. A recent report details that remittance providers like Moneygram and Western Union could lose up to $400 million annually if the Chivo wallet is used more. Furthermore, the creator of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee has written an opinion piece about why Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele announced the bitcoin tender law at the Miami bitcoin conference. Chivo Wallet Could Hurt Remittance Giants Like Moneygram and Western Union, Says Report Ever since El Salvador adopted bitcoin ( BTC ) as legal currency on September 7, 2021, the country has continued to be a topic of discussion. Bitcoin.com News has reported on the many developments in El Salvador from ‘ Bitcoin Beach ’ to the ‘30for30’ trend that took place this week. Moreover, the country started buying mass quantities of bitcoin (...

NFT Heroes Announce Release of Remaining Heroes Plus Rare and Legendary Upgrade Cards

PRESS RELEASE. At the end of August, the new NFT avatar collection known as SIDUS: NFT Heroes released its first batch of characters – in just 10 minutes, the entire batch had sold out! The release of the remaining characters from the collection is scheduled for September 10th at 4:00 am UTC. The team has also announced that the Rare and Legendary upgrade cards needed to modify an NFT Hero to Rare and Legendary status will be launched on the same day. I Want an NFT Hero – How Do I Get One? The public sale for the remaining NFT Heroes starts on September 10th at 4:00 am UTC, on the NFT Heroes website. The price for 1 NFT Hero is the same as before – 0.055 ETH . The remaining Heroes will come with new features and physical traits. After the whole collection of Original NFT Heroes is minted, users will be able to learn the precise percentage of their Hero’s rarity. On the same day, September 10th, SIDUS will be presenting its Rare and Legendary upgrade cards. The upgrade cards are t...

New blockchain platform aims to track one third of all shipping containers globally

Global Shipping Business Network launched a new blockchain-based platform to digitize the shipping process, and sought out key partnerships to target the Asian markets. Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN) has launched a new blockchain-based platform that could potentially track one-third of shipping containers across the globe. The GSBN was founded in October 2020 by eight global national freight maritime cargo companies to build a blockchain platform that digitizes shipping processes such as document issuance, clearance and logistics data. Members of the Hong-Kong-based non-profit consortium GSBN are said to “account for one in every three containers handled in the world,” and this may soon be verifiable on the blockchain once the platform is fully utilized. The GSBN announced the launch of the new blockchain platform on Sept. 8 in partnership with Oracle, Microsoft Azure, AntChain and Alibaba Cloud. “As an independent consortium, it chose a best-of-breed approach to techn...

YouGov poll finds 27% support for making Bitcoin legal tender in US

Republicans show less support for recognizing Bitcoin as legal tender than Democrats, and baby boomers think its a dreadful idea. A new poll has found that 27% U.S. residents support the government recognizing Bitcoin as legal tender. According to a poll from research and data analytics firm YouGov, 11% of respondents “strongly support” the idea that Bitcoin should be used as legal tender in the United States and a further 16% of respondents would “somewhat support” it. The poll, which queried 4,912 U.S. residents, indicated that a larger number of Democrat respondents support the proposition than Republicans. Around 29% of Democrats stated they either strongly or somewhat support recognizing BTC as legal tender compared to 26% of Republicans. As you might expect, there is more support among younger generations. Respondents aged 25-34 are highly supportive of BTC as legal tender, with 44% responding in favor. But almost as many baby boomers (aged between 57-75) strongly opposed t...

Ohio man pleads guilty to fraud over $30M crypto scam promising 15% monthly

Michael Ackerman faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted of fraud following his guilty plea. The man behind a multi-million dollar cryptocurrency scam has pleaded guilty to fraud this week according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Ohio man Michael Ackerman could face up to 20 years inside following the guilty plea for defrauding investors in a crypto scam he orchestrated in 2017. The too good to be true scheme lured hundreds of investors who deposited USD into a crypto fund called the Q3 Trading Club promising 15% monthly returns. U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Audrey Strauss, announced the guilty plea on Sept. 8 stating that Ackerman admitted to causing losses of more than $30 million from victims. “As he admitted today, Michael Ackerman raised millions of dollars in investments for his fake cryptocurrency scheme by falsely touting monthly returns of over 15 percent.” Strauss added that he falsified documents to convince investors into believing his f...

SEC charges Rivetz over $18M ICO, seeks the return of 'ill-gotten gains'

The SEC alleged that some of the proceeds from the offering were used to give the founder a bonus of $1 million and a loan of $2.5 million which he used to purchase a house in the Cayman Islands. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Rivetz over an alleged illegal securities offering that fetched around $18 million. Rivetz was founded in 2013 and the now-defunct blockchain hardware firm has been accused of generating $18 million via an unregistered securities offering between July and September of 2017 from more than 7,200 investors. The SEC’s Sept. 8 complaint names defendants Rivetz Corp., founder Steven Sprague and the firm’s subsidiary Rivetz International. The ICO revolved around the RvT token, which the SEC states was promoted and sold as an investment opportunity and used to capitalize on Rivetz’s business in building an app, ecosystem and cyber security hardware. The SEC asserts that the defendants touted the value of RvT tokens as “inve...

CBDCs could lead to 'deeply negative interest rates': Wall Street Journal

Issuing CBDCs may give a central bank more power over interest rate adjustments according to a new report. According to the Wall Street Journal, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could actually negatively impact interest rates by giving policymakers an additional tool. A Sept. 8 article authored by senior columnist James Mackintosh argued that the difference between a CBDC and cash would be highlighted if interest rates fell below zero. People would be more inclined to hold on to physical cash to “earn zero” rather than lose money on a digital dollar issued by the central bank. This means the central bank will have more leverage with interest rates if it issues digital dollars that can’t be stashed under the mattress, he added. Negative interest rates are used as a last resort by central banks during a recession to stimulate an economy by encouraging borrowing and spending, with interest being paid to borrowers rather than lenders. U.S. interest rates are currently th...

Seychelles Examines the Pros and Cons of Licensing Crypto Trading Platforms

Seychelles’ Financial Services Authority (FSA) together with the country’s finance ministry, is reportedly working on a policy to either prohibit or license crypto trading platforms as registered international businesses. Increase in International Investigations of Crypto Platforms According to a report , the move by the FSA happens against the backdrop of a rising number of international investigations into scam crypto trading platforms that have been traced to the island nation. As recently reported by Bitcoin.com News, the Onecoin bitcoin scam became the latest foreign crypto entity to be a target of such an investigation. This after a request for a probe was submitted to the country’s law enforcement. Meanwhile, in the same report, Randolf Samson, who heads the FSA’s anti-money laundering and terrorist financing section, is quoted explaining the rationale behind the regulator’s move. Samson detailed: There are many incorporated companies that are facilitating that activity. ...

El Salvador's bonds suffer as Bitcoin Law takes effect

Bond investors appear to be betting against El Salvador’s controversial Bitcoin Law, but other factors need to be taken into account. El Salvador’s move to embrace Bitcoin has ruffled the feathers of bond investors, with yields spiking as investors signal uncertainty for the emerging economy. A Sept. 8 report published by Bloomberg notes the yield curve on El Salvador’s bonds has recently inverted, meaning bonds with short-term maturities are now yielding more than is due from the instruments. It stated: “That’s generally considered a bad sign as it means investors see shorter-term debt as riskier, and most yield curves will slope upwards given the inherent uncertainty of pricing things over the longer-term." Ben Emons of Medley Global Advisors emphasized that El Salvador’s bonds lost significant ground “on the first day of its new Bitcoin Law,” describing the market action as “an unwelcome sign that the wide use of Bitcoin may have major implications” for the emerging count...

Central Bankers Say Bitcoin Is High Risk Investment, Poor Store of Value, Could Collapse

Two central bank governors have shared their opinions about bitcoin after the cryptocurrency became legal tender in El Salvador. The governor of the Bank of Mexico sees bitcoin as a high-risk investment and a poor store of value while the governor of Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, believes bitcoin could collapse. Central Bankers Continue to Warn About Bitcoin The governors of the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) and Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, have shared their views on bitcoin after the cryptocurrency became legal tender in El Salvador. Bank of Mexico Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon said Thursday that bitcoin is more like a means of barter than fiat money, Reuters reported, adding that he called the cryptocurrency “a high-risk investment and a poor store of value.” The Banxico governor is an economist; he was appointed by Mexico’s president to serve as governor of the central bank until Dec. 31. He was quoted as saying: Whoever receives bitcoin in exchange for a good or ...

101 Bored Apes NFT auction at Sotheby's closes at more than $24M

Yuga Labs auctioned off collections of Bored Ape Yacht Club and Bored Ape Kennel Club NFT that generated $24 million and $1.83 million respectively. The auction of Yuga Labs’ 101 Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection has smashed through expectations with a winning bid of $24.39 million. The auction closed on Sept.10 and was hosted by the prestigious auction house Sotheby’s which had earlier estimated the collection would fetch between $12 million and $18 million . The bundle of non-fungibles consists of 101 Bored Apes and three M1 and three M2 “Mutant serum” NFTs. When a Bored Ape token is combined with an M1 or M2 serum, it enables the holder to mint a new Mutant Ape NFT that keeps the same traits of the original Bored Ape but depicts it in a mutant format. Taking the serum NFTs out of the equation as they are usually airdropped for free to holders, each Bored Ape in the collection was valued at an average price of roughly $241,000 or 69.4 Ether ( ETH ) at the time of publicat...

Shanghai Man: China declares victory over crypto — Is this the end of the crackdown?

This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industrys most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape, and enterprise blockchain integrations. Victory for the regulators After a tumultuous summer of crackdowns, the Chinese regulators are declaring their victory in eliminating illegal cryptocurrency trading activities in the country. This revelation came in the outlook section of the “ China Financial Stability Report 2021 ” released by the People’s Bank of China on September 3. In the section titled Major Achievements in the Battle to Prevent and Defuse Major Financial Risks , it emphasizes that regulatory work in internet asset management, equity-based crowdfunding, internet insurance, virtual currency trading, online foreign exchange trading, and other areas has been basically completed. The lengthy report from the PBOC declares victory on the crackdown on digital assets. Source: https:/...

Here’s why Algorand (ALGO) price just rallied to a new multi-year high

Institutional investment, new governance features and a groundbreaking project with the government of El Salvador are just a few of the factors behind ALGO’s rally to a new all-time high. Real-world adoption is what really matters when it comes to being a successful blockchain project and one project that benefited from a recent uptick in adoption is Algorand (ALGO), a pure proof-of-stake protocol aiming to become the go-to base layer for the global financial industry. ALGO/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since bottoming out at $0.67 on July 20, the price of ALGO has rocketed 268% to a daily high at $2.47 on Sept. 9 as its 24-hour trading volume surged to a record-high $4.83 billion. El Salvador builds on Algorand The sudden surge in price and trading volume for Algorand came following El Salvador's announcement that it is now recognized as legal tender. Additionally, El Salvador has also selected Algo...

Robinhood Launches Recurring Crypto Buy Feature to ‘Help Smooth Out Price Swings’

On Wednesday, the stock and cryptocurrency trading platform Robinhood rolled out recurring crypto investments and now customers can purchase as little as $1 in crypto commission-free daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly. The company’s announcement discusses the strategy of investment called dollar-cost averaging “in order to help smooth out the price swings.” Robinhood Rolls Out Recurring Crypto Purchases The investment platform Robinhood (Nasdaq: HOOD) is now providing customers with the ability to purchase crypto assets in a recurring fashion. This means that customers can purchase a set amount of digital currency ($1 or more) and buy it every day, week after week, every two weeks, or on a monthly basis. Additionally, Robinhood says that clients can “set recurring investments across multiple coins without ever incurring a fee.” “Today we’re rolling out crypto recurring investments, a new feature that allows you to regularly buy your favorite coins, commission-free and with as litt...

VORTECS™ Spotlight: Fantom’s 500%+ rally was signalled by this key trading metric

This key trading metric alerted traders to FTM’s bullish outlook on each turn of the altcoin’s parabolic 500% rally. Fantom’s FTM asset has been one of the top trending tokens of the week, and it barely noticed Bitcoin’s ( BTC ) midweek swoon that halted many altcoin rallies. Despite Bitcoin’s price dropping below $43,000, FTM has added 114% in U.S. dollar terms and 127% in its BTC pair over the last seven days. FTM’s monthly stats look even more impressive, with nearly 500% growth against both benchmarks. While it is par for the course for altcoins to rally when Bitcoin consolidates, FTM’s price movement is completely asymmetrical to most of its peers. Let’s investigate what’s behind the record-breaking run and whether there is a way for traders to determine if the rally has the potential to continue. Current growth drivers Fantom is a layer-one smart-contract platform that boasts its own high-speed consensus mechanism and modular architecture that is designed to make it co...

Dydx Protocol Unlocks Airdrop Rewards; Users Get up to $50K

Dydx, a decentralized exchange, finally unlocked its airdrop rewards for users. Its governance token, dydx, was locked due to airdrop restrictions since the protocol announced its distribution on August 3rd. Since its release the price has skyrocketed, giving some of the more active users on the platform more than $50K worth of dydx. However, some users were unable to reclaim the airdrop due to location restrictions. Dydx Unlocks Airdrop, Price Skyrockets Dydx, a derivatives decentralized exchange, announced yesterday the unlocking of its airdropped governance token, dydx. The platform had airdropped these tokens on August 3, but users had to wait for an initial transfer restriction period to be able to withdraw funds. The token, which will be used as a reward and also as a governance token, experienced a quick appreciation in price. This contributed to the most active users getting more than $50K worth of tokens. The protocol dropped tokens to each one of the users that traded ev...

GoMeat Token – Empowering Local Specialty Stores Using Blockchain

PRESS RELEASE. GoMeat Services ( https://gomeat.io ) is a digital marketplace connecting consumers with their local specialty (halal/kosher) stores. Since its launch in 2019, GoMeat has processed over 6k orders and garnered over 5k loyal users. GoMeat application and website bring convenience to the doorstep of specialty consumers by providing web-based ordering and same-day delivery options. GoMeat is the first project of its kind serving this $1.7 trillion industry and empowering local specialty stores. Specialty meat refers to any meat prepared following strict guidelines. Any meat slaughtered and prepared according to Islamic principles is called Halal meanwhile the meat prepared according to Jewish guidelines is called Kosher. The same applies to foods and beverages. While specialty meat certainly is a niche but it is a massive one with over 1.8 billion consumers around the world. These consumers are not just restricted to the Middle East as globalization and increased awaren...