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Showing posts from October 28, 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...
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Travala’s 2021 Q3 Report Shows Crypto Adoption ‘Offset the Negative Impact of the Pandemic’

The crypto-friendly travel company Travala published its third-quarter 2021 report showing the firm has grown significantly alongside the growth of crypto adoption. In fact, cryptocurrency adoption has “more than offset the negative impact of the pandemic,” the company said as Travala posted a record-setting quarter in Q3 2021. Crypto Adoption Bolstered Travel Company Travala’s Third Quarter According to a third-quarter 2021 report published by Travala, the company has seen “explosive growth” in the firm’s three core services: hotels, flights, and activities. In Q3, Travala introduced its “Community Pool” and “Community Vote” concepts alongside its “proof-of-travel” NFTs. Thanks to services like hotels, flights, activities, concierge, and integration fees, Travala’s Q3 revenue was $9.8 million which represents 651% growth compared to Q3 2020. Travala noted that hotel bookings and flights grew 50% from Q2 2021 and activities increased by 70%. However, the firm’s concierge service sa...
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Immersive cooling tech could help Bitcoin mining go green by 2030

Immersive cooling technology helps to increase hash rates and minimize energy output. Immersive cooling technology may help with the transition to zero-emission Bitcoin mining Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) member Hass McCook told Cointelegraph.  McCook, known online as Friar Hass, believes the industry is on track to hit the goal by 2030. Immersive cooling involves submerging Bitcoin mining ASICs into a specialized cooling fluid, which absorbs and recycles heat from the data center. This method of Bitcoin mining increases productivity. Earlier this month, Bitcoin mining company Riot Blockchain announced that it will be developing 200 megawatts of immersion-cooled Bitcoin mining infrastructure at its Whinstone Facility. Based on the company’s preliminary immersion-cooling test results, it expects hash rate to increase by 25%, and ASIC performance to increase by up to 50%. Brian Roemmele, co-host of Around the Coin podcast, posted a photograph of an immersed Bitcoin mining ri...
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Cathie Wood's ARK snaps up $80M Robinhood shares after crypto led price dip

Ark Investment took the opportunity to buy Robinhood shares at a discount following the trading company's unsatisfactory earnings report. ARK Invest, the investment management firm focused on innovative tech led by Cathie Wood, took advantage of a dip in the price on Wednesday to buy nearly $80 million worth of Robinhood stock. As per daily trading data , Wood’s ARK purchased a total of 2.24 million shares of Robinhood across three of Ark’s ETF funds, with the majority of shares going to the flagship fund ARK Innovation ETF. Robinhood now accounts for 1.33% of the Innovation ETF. On Oct. 27, the trading platform had declared a 78% decline in crypto revenue — from $233 million in Q2 to $51 million in Q3 — which drove the share price down below its July IPO price of $38. The stock is down more than -11% since the start of the week, from $39.85 on Monday 25 Oct. to $35.47 as of market close Thursday 28 Oct. Following the earnings report analysts at JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Pipe...
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MicroStrategy added 9,000 BTC last quarter, its stash is now worth $7 billion

As of Sept. 30, MicroStrategy held 114,042 BTC at an average purchasing price of $27,713. MicroStrategy added almost 9,000 Bitcoin to its holdings in Q3, bringing its total BTC stash to a valuation of around $7 billion. The company highlighted the purchase of 8,957 BTC in its Q3 report on Oct. 28, with the firm’s perma-bull CEO Michael Saylor stating that there is more BTC accumulation to come: “Today, MicroStrategy is the world’s largest publicly traded corporate owner of Bitcoin with over 114,000 Bitcoins. We will continue to evaluate opportunities to raise additional capital to execute on our Bitcoin strategy.” The software firm has increased its Bitcoin holdings by 198% since the same period last year , and as of Sept. 30 the total stood at 114,042 BTC with an estimated average purchasing price of $27,713 per coin, or a total spend of $3.16 billion. On paper, Microstrategy posted a carrying value of $2.406 billion for its BTC holdings at an impairment loss of $754.7 millio...
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UK Police Seize Bitcoin Worth $2.8 Million From Teen Operating Scam Website

British police have seized bitcoin worth almost $3 million from a teenager who set up a fake website to scam consumers. “At the time they were worth £200,000. They are now worth a little over £2 million.” UK Police Seize $2.8 Million in Bitcoin British police have arrested a 17-year-old boy from South Lincolnshire and seized bitcoin worth almost $3 million from him, BBC News reported Tuesday. The authorities cannot name the boy for legal reasons. Prosecutor Sam Skinner said the teen set up a fake website that was almost identical to the official site of Love2shop, which sells gift vouchers. He then paid to advertise on Google, resulting in his bogus site appearing above the genuine site in search results. The scam site duped Love2shop users into entering their personal details. The prosecutor said: People were duped into clicking on his website thinking they were accessing the official site. The teen took the site down after a week when Love2shop began investigating him follow...
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Shanghai Man: Inside Blockchain Week’s private parties, Vitalik’s speech, and Gate.io climbs the ranks

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. This week, Wanxiang Blockchain hosted its annual Shanghai Blockchain Week, an event that usually brings together the government, enterprise, academic and degen side of the industry for a big celebration of how far decentralized technology has come. This year was a lot different, as the degens have been pushed out of the limelight by the recent spate of regulation. That didnt stop them from having their private parties, but it was a big change from previous years where nearly every major project, VC, exchange, and media group hosted glitzy all-you-can-eat-and-drink events at landmark venues all over Shanghai.     Vitalik giving his thoughts on the need to keep improving infrastructure   For the main event, Ethereum cofounder Vitali...
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Petition to List Shiba Inu on Robinhood Gains 400K Signatures as SHIB Price Soars

Shiba inu supporters are petitioning on Change.org for the trading platform Robinhood to list the shiba inu token for trading. Robinhood currently lists the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin which made up 62% of the company’s crypto trading volume in Q2. Petition to Get Robinhood to List Shiba Inu A petition on Change.org for the trading platform Robinhood to list the shiba inu crypto has garnered almost 400,000 signatures. At the time of writing, almost 397K people have signed the petition. If the petition gathers 500K signatures, it would become one of the top signed petitions on Change.org. The petition, started by SHIB supporter Tristan Luke, explains that it “is designed to kindly request of Robinhood to please list shiba inu coin to trade,” adding: Dogecoin has been a huge success for Robinhood, and its investors. We have all enjoyed the ride. Shiba Inu is a similar meme coin with genuine potential, up 2,000% in the last weeks. The petition further describes that the cryptoc...
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Meme coin mania triggers triple-digit gains from Binance Smart Chain-based altcoins

HOGE, ASS and TABOO are three Binance Smart Chain-based projects that have seen triple-digit rallies after traders rotation into meme coins. This week's surge in popular meme coins like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin ( DOGE ) could be signs that the good times are back and a quick glance at crypto Twitter shows a long list of tweets where aspiring traders discuss buying Lambos, quitting their day jobs and becoming a full-time crypto traders.  While DOGE and SHIB are receiving a majority of the attention from media and investors, they are not the only low-priced tokens that have seen a spike in price. On all major networks including, the Binance Smart Chain, the value of meme coins has risen, a sign that retail investors of all classes are feeling bullish again. Top-five biggest meme coin gainers on the 7-day chart. Source: CoinGecko Here’s a look at three relatively "unknown" Binance Smart Chain-specific tokens which have put up respectable gains over the past week....
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Matt Damon Stars in Global Crypto Ad ‘Fortune Favours the Brave’ to Air in 20 Countries

Famous actor Matt Damon is starring in an ad for cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com. The ad, called “Fortune Favours the Brave,” is directed by Oscar-winner Wally Pfister and will be aired in more than 20 countries. The crypto platform “shares my commitment to empowering people around the globe with the tools needed to take control of their futures,” said Damon. Matt Damon Featured in Crypto.com Ad Campaign Cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com announced a global ad campaign Thursday starring Hollywood actor Matt Damon. CEO Kris Marszalek tweeted: Today we unveiled Fortune Favours the Brave. The “Fortune Favours the Brave” ad is directed by Oscar-winner Wally Pfister and produced by David Fincher. It “highlights the company’s own ethos, while inspiring those who want to change the course of history with a timeless phrase first uttered thousands of years ago,” the announcement details. The company said that the ad starring Matt Damon will be aired in more than 20 countries and will...
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Central Bank of Sri Lanka completes proof-of-concept KYC platform

Sri Lanka’s recent economic uncertainty seems to be the driving force behind its interest in cryptocurrency and the government's new exploration into KYC technology. A report presented  to Sri Lankan central bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal on Monday detailed the results of a now-completed Know-Your-Customer, or KYC, proof-of-concept project.  The project Sri Lanka's central bank, also known as the CBSL, included 3 collaborators who developed the Blockchain-based KYC platform concept. The KYC platform was also tested by the CBSL and 10 regional and international commercial banks, including Amana Bank, Bank of Ceylon, Cargills Bank, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, DFCC Bank, Hatton National Bank, HSBC, National Development Bank, People’s Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. The team initiated the project in July 2019, and completed development and testing of the experimental platform on June 10 of this year. “We invited software companies to develop a shared KYC PoC free of...
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Decentralized design platform Moralis raises $13.4M in seed funding from EQT Ventures

The middleware DApp-building platform hopes to play a role in taking the sector mainstream. Moralis, a platform that powers decentralized applications, or DApps, announced  Thursday that it has received a $13.4-million investment from EQT ventures. The company said that it expects to use this seed capital for product development and corporate expansion. Moralis seeks to provide the blockchain space with a unique user-friendly interface solely for front-end development, while the company and its developers handle the entire back end. The software can also provide complex services such as node management, authentication and transaction indexing — which are needed for cross-chain networks , layer-two solutions and Web 3.0 applications .  Moralis, which has been active since June, was founded in 2020 by CEO Ivan Liljeqvist (also known as Ivan on Tech) and Chief Operating Officer Filip Martinsson. On its website, Moralis states that more than 35,000 blockchain projects are cur...
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3 reasons why Curve (CRV) price is trending toward a new 1-year high

This week CRV price rallied toward a new 1-year high, but what’s behind the move? This week cryptocurrency traders turned their focus to the pack of dog-themed meme tokens as altcoins like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin ( DOGE ) saw a surge in volume which resulted in SHIB hitting a new all-time high and the remaining Dogecoin clones booking some juicy gains. Traders are now debating whether the launch of the first Bitcoin ( BTC ) exchange-traded fund (ETF) kicked off the next leg of the bull market or if meme-tokens rallying is a top signal.  While SHIB, DOGE and Samoyedcoin are the hot flavor of the week, there are other tokens which are equally bullish and posses stronger fundamentals. Take for example, Curve protocol's native CRV token which broke to a near yearly high earlier this week. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $2.05 on Sept. 26, the price of CRV has climbed 168% to hit a yearly high of $5.51 on Oct. 28 as its 24-hour...
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More than 40 digital currency ETFs await US regulatory approval

Competitors are quickly following suit after the first U.S.-based Bitcoin ETF debuted earlier this month. Fund managers appear to be scrambling to match demand from investors as major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin ( BTC ) and Ether ( ETH ) teeter around record price levels. According to a Bloomberg Terminal screenshot taken by Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart, over 40 cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are now awaiting listing in the United States.  The source indicated that four have already been approved by the Securities Exchange Commission, the most notable of which is the Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, created in a joint effort by 21 Shares and ARK Invest. The latest fund applications came from AXS Investments on Oct. 27. They are the AXS Bitcoin Strategy ETF and the AXS Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF. The vast majority of funds pending listing seek to purchase BTC directly, or their futures and derivatives. A few funds operate on a mixed strategy, onl...
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HeliconNFT: All-New Play-to-Earn NFT Ecosystem Launches NFT Mystery Box Event and Battlefy Partnership

PRESS RELEASE. Singapore: HeliconNFT, the brand-new, global, gaming-focused NFT ecosystem, which recently unveiled a partnership with Battlefy, has announced that it will launch an NFT mystery box event on Sunday, 24th October. Ahead of the event, users will be given the opportunity to access an exclusive pre-launch sale and have the chance to be among the first to purchase mystery boxes containing rare NFT game items, artworks and collectibles, after completing their whitelist registration. HeliconNFT x Battlefy The announcement comes just weeks after the unveiling of HeliconNFT’s ground-breaking partnership with esports giant Battlefy – a collaboration that is set to change the way gamers see their favourite games forever. With over 70,000 tournaments under its belt, Battlefy has hosted some of the world’s largest and most prestigious tournaments, providing support for about 40,000 games. Through the collaboration, people can expect to see NFT-enabled games join the ranks of ic...
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Blockchain platform Alchemy raises 250M in Series C led by Andreessen Horowitz

Alchemy's tertiary financing round brings the company's valuation to $3.5B. San Francisco based blockchain web services company Alchemy announced a $250 million Series C fundraising round led by Andreessen Horowitz on Thursday, bringing its current valuation to $3.5 billion. This announcement comes hot on the heels of a late April $80 million Series B, which previously valued the start up at $505 million. Pantera Capital, Redpoint, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue, DFJ and Lee Fixel’s Addition also participated in the Series C round. According to founders Nikil Viswanathan and Jon Lau, the company is “very profitable” and has thus far not spent any of that money, but plans to use the new capital to build a community around blockchain.  Alchemy was founded in 2017 but didn’t launch its product until August of 2020. According to reporting from TechCrunch, the company’s thirty seven employees now service clients that include every major NFT platform, UNICEF, Adobe and Pri...
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Mastercard is preparing its infrastructure for the deployment of CBDCs

The world's third-largest consumer payment processor remains bullish on the adoption of CBDCs. During an earnings call with investors and stakeholders, Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard, discussed his positive outlook on the cryptocurrency industry. The company has not only seen sizable volume growth in consumers using their Mastercards to purchase crypto but has also secured several partnerships with cryptocurrency firms. But Miebach's most ambitious viewpoint emerged during a discussion regarding central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, saying: "We are saying at this point in time, the most likely chance for this kind of technology to work for payments is if it's issued through a government in the form of a CBDC. We said that on a couple of calls before, and we said that we will make our network ready to do that as and when a government is ready to put out a CBDC that will exist alongside the dollar or the euro as a settlement currency in our network." Mi...
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Data shows Ethereum bulls expect a new ATH after Friday’s $1.25B ETH options expiry

ETH price is on the cusp of a new all-time high and derivatives data shows bulls may attempt to capture it ahead of Oct. 29’s $1.25 billion Ethereum options expiry. Ether ( ETH ) has gained 950% in 2021 and from the look of things, the altcoin has no intention of stopping. This can also be seen in the ultra-optimistic bets for October’s $1.25 billion options expiry. However, this phenomenon is not exclusive to Ether bulls. The right to acquire Ether at a fixed price in the future does not come at a cheap price. On Sep. 4, the $5,000 call option for Oct. monthly expiry was trading at ETH 0.082 which is equivalent to $320. Unfortunately, for the bulls, these options are now worthless. Gas fees on Ethereum transactions are still above $25 and this will continue to favor competitor blockchains with their own decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) markets. Even with these high fees, the leading smart contract network still holds 80% or higher total value locked (TVL) a...
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Disney to Drop ‘Golden Moments’ NFT Collectible Series via Digital Collectibles App Veve

On November 12, the Walt Disney Company will be celebrating the first annual Disney+ Day and will be launching non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles to celebrate the experience. Disney fans will be able to obtain official NFTs from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and more via the digital collectibles app Veve. Entertainment Giant Disney to Drop NFT Series Disney has plans to launch official non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles in celebration of the first annual Disney+ Day. The well known multinational entertainment and media conglomerate headquartered in California has revealed a series of NFTs featuring iconic Disney characters and items. The first series collection is called “Golden Moments,” and fans will be able to obtain the NFTs by utilizing the digital collectibles app Veve. The Veve application has dropped NFTs stemming from Marvel , DC Comics , and special promotions based on beloved superheroes like Spider-Man and Captain America . The “Golden Moments” Disney NFT se...
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LinkedIn reports crypto and blockchain job listings have surged 615% since August 2020

The team said that financial services firms were expected to hire more than three times as many staff with experience in digital assets than in 2015. Online employment-oriented platform LinkedIn has reported demand for employees with experience in crypto or blockchain is on the rise across many companies. According to an Oct. 27 report from LinkedIn editor Devin Banerjee, data from the platform’s Economic Graph team shows job postings in the United States which included terms like “blockchain” or “crypto” grew 615% compared to those in August 2020. The data shows that while many jobs with companies already focused on crypto and blockchain contributed to this rise, traditional financial institution JPMorgan was among the top employers for roles in the digital asset space. The LinkedIn team added that financial services firms were expected to hire more than three times as many staff with experience in digital assets than in 2015. JPMorgan’s job postings as of July included positions...
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BREAKING: Facebook rebrands to Meta as focus expands beyond social media

The name change reflects Facebook's growing ambitions beyond online social media, a medium it helped build over the past two decades. Facebook Inc. announced Thursday that it has changed its company name to Meta — marking the first major rebrand for the social media giant.  The name change, which reflects the company’s growing ambitions beyond social media, was unveiled by CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the Facebook Connect conference. An accompanying news release laid out the company’s vision for creating a “metaverse” that connects online social experiences and the physical world. Facebook Connect is an annual conference that brings together virtual reality developers, content creators and marketers. This year’s event is heavily focused on the metaverse concept, which has proliferated thanks to blockchain technology. The shift to Meta has been in the works since at least the summer when Facebook first announced the formation of a new team dedicated to building its metaverse. During...
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Supply chain woes and the growth of Web 3 back OriginTrail’s fresh ATH

A decentralized focus on supply chain logistics and the growing popularity of Web 3 applications back TRAC’s move to a new all-time high. Supply chain management continues to be an important are of focus and concern for the global economy, especially with the current shipping backlog at major ports across the globe and the dwindling supply of items available on store shelves.  Interestingly, OriginTrail (TRAC), a logistics and supply-chain management-focused blockchain protocol, has been gaining traction over the past couple of months and this week the project's TRAC token hit a new all-time high. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView show after hitting a low of $0.278 on Aug. 29, the price of TRAC has vaulted 306% to a new record high at $1.39 on Oct. 28 as its 24-hour trading volume spiked from an average of $4.66 million to $11.55 million. TRAC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView Let's take a look at what might be behind TRAC's current rally to...
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Coinbase regains #1 position on Apple App Store as Crypto​.com jumps to third

Crypto​.com's jump to third could be the result of Matt Damon's recent TV spot promoting the exchange. Cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Crypto.com are now two of the most downloaded apps for the U.S. Apple App Store, topping the charts at first and third place, respectively. According to the Top Charts list on the Apple App Store, Coinbase has regained its position as the most popular app in the United States ahead of TikTok. However, Crypto.com’s app has surged in number of downloads today to jump ahead of both YouTube and Instagram, moving from 5th to 3rd position in a matter of hours. Robinhood’s app, which has previously held positions in the top ten, sits at #48 under Walmart. First listed on the app store in 2014, Coinbase has previously been the most popular download in the U.S. in both 2017 and in May 2021. Notably, the description of the trading app now lists Shiba Inu (SHIB) following Bitcoin ( BTC ) and Ether ( ETH ) — the price of the dog-themed token has ...
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Voyager Digital announces $75M strategic investment from Alameda Research

The entente brings together a retail cryptocurrency brokerage and an emerging cryptocurrency market maker. United States-based cryptocurrency brokerage firm Voyager Digital announced a $75 million investment from cryptocurrency quantitative trading firm and liquidity provider Alameda Research on Thursday. Founded in 2018, Voyager Digital offers more than 60 digital currencies for trade on its mobile app, which also includes services such as yield farming. According to the company’s website, Alameda Research was founded in 2017 and now manages $1 billion in digital assets. In addition, the firm claims to trade anywhere between $1 billion and $10 billion worth of major cryptocurrencies, altcoins and crypto-derivatives each day . The company took an active interest in decentralized finance , or DeFi, this past year. Steve Ehrlich, CEO and co-founder of Voyager Digital, issued the following statement regarding the new partnership: "While the immediate opportunity is on the...
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