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Showing posts from November 12, 2021

Chinese provincial official expelled for violating crypto mining ban

A former CCP official from Jiangxi province allegedly abused his administrative powers to undermine the political principle of “two maintenance,” which relates to the notion of firmly maintaining the authority of the party. The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expels a top provincial official after investigations suggest unlawful emgagement with crypto mining activities among other abuse of power. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) alleged that Xiao Yi, former vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference from Jiangxi province abused his state-backed administrative powers to undermine the political principle of “two maintenance,” which relates to CCP’s notion of firmly maintaining the authority of the party: “[Xiao Yi] violated the new development concept, abused power to introduce and support enterprises to engage in virtual currency "mining" activities that do not meet the requirements of the national...

Bitcoin’s Hashrate Soars 42% Higher Over the Last 3 Months Following Crypto Asset’s 36% Price Increase

While bitcoin has been hovering above the $60K handle for a great majority of the last 28 days, the network’s hashrate has jumped considerably during that time as well. Since August 13, Bitcoin’s hashrate has climbed 42% from 110 exahash per second (EH/s) to today’s 157 EH/s. Moreover, after nine consecutive difficulty changes, going forward, it will be 50% more difficult to mine bitcoin than it was three months ago for the next two weeks. Bitcoin’s Hashrate Follows the Price Rise At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s hashrate is coasting along at 157 EH/s and approximately 14 known mining pools are dedicating hashpower to the network. 16.39 exahash or 10.24% of the network is being mined by stealth miners and the hashrate is classified as “unknown.” The unknown hashrate represents the fifth-largest mining ‘pool’ dedicating hash toward the network. Meanwhile, during the last three months, Bitcoin’s hashrate has followed the price moving northbound. The overall hashrate is 42% higher ...

Finiko Fugitives Suspected of Moving 750 BTC From Crypto Pyramid’s Wallet

A large amount of cryptocurrency has reportedly been withdrawn from a wallet previously controlled by the Finiko Ponzi scheme in Russia. The wallet’s unknown operators have transferred coins worth $48 million this month. The digital currency was split into smaller amounts and deposited to different addresses. 750 BTC Removed From Crypto Pyramid Finiko Wallet A total of 750 BTC , worth around $48 million at the time of writing, has been withdrawn from one of the wallets used by crypto Ponzi scheme Finiko, Forklog reported . Youtube blogger Andrey Alistarov broke the news about the transfer, revealing that it was made in three separate transactions of 250 BTC each since the beginning of November. The money was initially moved to a single address and subsequently sent to another wallet at the cryptocurrency exchange Huobi, quoted data from blockchain analysis platform Crystal Blockchain shows. The crypto funds were then divided into smaller amounts and transferred to other addresse...

Moonshot to $90K — After Bitcoin Upgrade Taproot Activates, Crypto Advocates Expect the Price to Rally

In mid-June, the ‘Speedy Trial’ lock-in period for the Bitcoin network upgrade Taproot locked in at block height 687,285 and was mined by the bitcoin mining pool Slushpool. Taproot is expected to activate on the network on Saturday, November 13, 2021, and the upgrade is considered one of the largest changes the protocol has seen since Segregated Witness (Segwit) went live in 2017. Bitcoin Upgrade Taproot Expected to Activate on Saturday Taproot is expected to activate and go live on the main network on Saturday, November 13, 2021, following the lock-in period this past summer. When activated, Taproot is expected to enhance the digital currency network’s scripting capacity and the ability to leverage Schnorr signatures (BIP340) will be made available. Taproot is also expected to amplify bitcoin transactions by allowing certain types of complex, ‘smart’ transactions. People say this often but this is actually the first time I do… this may literally be the last dip before a HUGE ral...

Altcoin Roundup: 3 Proof-of-work protocols focused on building Web 3.0

Proof-of-work models are evolving to support the growth of Web 3.0. Here’s 3 projects that offer miners substantial rewards for supporting the network. The proof-of-work (PoW) consensus model is the mechanism that kicked off the revolution that launched Bitcoin ( BTC ) in 2009 and it was the model of choice behind many of the popular projects in the early fledgling years of the crypto ecosystem. As time progressed, other consensus models like proof-of-stake (PoS) rose in popularity, especially as the cost of running mining rigs, the constant need to update equipment and environmental concerns led to the PoW model falling out of favor with many. As a result, projects looking to employ a proof-of-work model have had to adapt to stay aligned with the demands of the wider market. This has led to the emergence of projects that offer a more environmentally and economically friendly approach to PoW, while also aiming to build Web 3.0. Let’s take a look at some of the projects that allow ...

MyEtherWallet allows users to mint Ethereum blocks as NFTs

CEO Kosala Hemachandra discussed MyEtherWallet’s first NFT drop and its dedication to “making history.” MyEtherWallet, or MEW, launched its first nonfungible token (NFT) collection called ETH Blocks on Thursday, which tokenizes individual blocks on the Ethereum blockchain. Unique images associated with ETH Blocks are generated based on the block’s data. These NFTs are available exclusively to MEW users via the MyEtherWallet website. A number of blocks have already been claimed, according to the company. Ethereum’s founders called first dibs on blocks one through 10. There are also 13 ETH Blocks representing the history of Ethereum — such as major milestones, forks and updates to the blockchain — that have been put up for a month-long auction, the proceeds of which will be donated to organizations such as The Skid Row Housing Trust, Wikipedia, Girls Who Code and NPR, among others. Cointelegraph spoke with Kosala Hemachandra, CEO of MEW, to learn more about the original Et...

Wealth flex? Coinbase now allows users to share their crypto allocations

“We want to empower the cryptoeconomy to share knowledge and information and learn from each other,” said Coinbase senior product manager Rishav Mukherji. All of United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase’s roughly 68 million verified users can now more easily make information on their portfolio public. In a Coinbase blog post on Friday, senior product manager Rishav Mukherji said the crypto exchange’s app now includes a feature that shares a user’s allocation percentage — not balances — to their network of friends. He said this would just be the first move in the coming weeks for users to begin sharing additional details on trades conducted on Coinbase. “We want to empower the cryptoeconomy to share knowledge and information and learn from each other,” said Mukherji. With a reported 8.8 million monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2021, Coinbase is the largest crypto exchange in the United States, reporting more than $1.2 billion in revenue in Q3. The firm’s profi...

ADALend: Announcing Imminent Cross-Platform Development

ADALend , currently in the process of developing a decentralized financing (DeFi) project has just announced its plans to start the development of its cross-platform integrations very soon. The cross-platform integrations will simplify and allow access to decentralized financial services by a larger segment of users around the globe. ADALend’s GM, Javed Khattak, has earlier announced that ADALend will work on its UI and the platform’s user experience and simplicity to provide less barriers of entry for traditional users to get involved with decentralized financing. About ADALend ADALend is a decentralized lending protocol governed by the Cardano system. Within this Cardano system, ADALend will influence the flexibility of digital finance markets by providing a basis for immediate access to loans and collaterals, resulting in sustained liquidity of the blockchain assets of the lender. Permissionless Lending On Any Pairing Guarantees the users will always be granted the best o...

Look out below! Dogecoin risks further downside after a key support is tested

Some analysts point to Binance's pause on DOGE withdrawals as the catalyst for the altcoin's pullback, but data suggests overheated derivatives markets may have been a factor. Dogecoin ( DOGE ) is potentially at risk of losing critical support if the price falls from the ascending channel traded in for the last 53 days. Although technical analysis is not an exact science, a daily close below $0.26 will likely invalidate the current movement. DOGE/USD price at FTX. Source: TradingView Aside from the Bitcoin-driven headwinds, which are weighing on DOGE price, this week, the meme token underwent a software upgrade and users were requested to implement version 1.14.5. Two important security patches were involved: "Remote Code Execution in Dogecoin QT" (CVE-2021-3401) and "Sensitive Information Exposure on Unix platforms" (CVE-2019-15947). The latest release finalized a new minimum fee recommendation, following a previous version's reduction of relay ...

Axie Infinity guild CGU helps players enter the fantasy play-to-earn NFT game with 'scholarships'

"By playing-to-earn and learn, our scholars are gaining critical new skills that will shortly be in huge demand by employers setting up shop in the metaverse," says CGU co-founder Sergei Sergienko. Axie Infinity, a monster-battling NFT game, has been gaining a lot of traction with over $600 million Axies bought and sold in the past month. Each Axie is a nonfungible token, or NFT, minted on the Ethereum ( ETH ) blockchain. Similar in theme to Nintendo's Pokemon series, Axies come in different rarity types, with varying strengths and attributes, with the strongest fetching very high prices on the game's marketplace. Players earn Smooth Love Potions ( SLPs ) by completing daily quests, defeating monsters and battling other players in arenas with their Axies. SLPs can then be sold in exchange for various cryptocurrencies. Due to the high initial cost of buying/borrowing/breeding Axies, in-game guilds have formed as of late to fund players' upfront expenses, or off...

Pew Research Center: At least 16% of Americans have owned crypto

The poll seems to indicate that crypto investors skew younger and more male than the population as a whole. A survey released by the Pew Research Center on Thursday found that roughly 16% of Americans have invested, traded or used some form of cryptocurrency. The number jumps to 31% for people aged 18–29, and even higher to 43% for males in the same age bracket. Black, Hispanic and Asian participants in the study were also each more likely to have invested in crypto than those who identified themselves as white. There seems to have been no disparity by income. Pew Research Analyst Andrew Perrin said: “We do see now that a large share of the American public has heard at least a little about cryptocurrencies. It was striking to see how there are demographic differences in awareness and use of cryptocurrencies.” The survey’s sample consisted of 10,371 adults selected from the center’s American Trends Panel. The panel is recruited by a national random sampling of addresses, and ...

SEC Rejects Vaneck Bitcoin Spot Market ETF Over Price Manipulation Concerns

On Friday, November 12, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected Vaneck’s bitcoin spot market exchange-traded fund (ETF). The U.S. regulator noted that the denial was due to the lack of prevention toward “fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.” SEC Turns Down Spot Market ETF – US Regulator Believes There Should be More Manipulation Protection for Investors Following the approval of a few bitcoin ETFs that leverage future markets, the SEC has rejected Vaneck’s bitcoin spot market ETF on Friday. So far, the U.S. regulator has not approved any bitcoin ETFs that are tethered to spot market prices. In its ruling , the SEC explains spot market ETF offerings have not “met its burden” when it comes to “[protecting] investors and the public interest.” The Vaneck ETF was turned down over “the requirement that the rules of a national securities exchange be “designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.” For one, standards need to include “sur...

Price analysis 11/12: BTC, ETH, BNB, ADA, SOL, XRP, DOT, DOGE, SHIB, LUNA

Bearish pressures mount against Bitcoin price and this could lead to sharp short-term pullbacks in the prices of many altcoins. Bitcoin ( BTC ) price continues to weaken following the shakeout of the leveraged traders in the derivatives markets on Nov. 10. This caused the derivative funding rates to drop to the neutral territory of 0.01% across exchanges. Data analysis firm Arcane Research said in its latest weekly newsletter that the derivatives markets had matured compared to the run to the previous all-time high in April. The firm highlighted that the futures’ basis, the difference between Bitcoin’s spot price and futures price, which was at elevated levels in April have dropped much lower, “indicating a healthier market.” Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 According to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the ProShares Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) has soared in popularity , with its average volume placing it among the top 2% of ...

Shark tank star Kevin O'Leary says crypto holdings comprise 10% of this portfolio

O'Leary claims that he was never a cryptocurrency skeptic in the first place but instead, was pressured by his compliance department to "back-off" on crypto. In a live recording with Reddit's r/CryptoCurrency Talk Thursday, Shark Tank celebrity Kevin O'Leary discussed how cryptocurrencies now make up 10% of his investment portfolio: "At the beginning of the year, I was at 3% weighting; the target was to get 7% by year-end. However, because of the appreciation of so many of the assets I have now, we're almost at 10% today. Some people think the game is over, and Ethereum is it, but I don't agree. There are many other alternatives, whether it be Solana or anything else. If you're an investor like I am, you want diversification. That's the key." O'Leary was previously a cryptocurrency skeptic , calling Bitcoin ( BTC ) "garbage" in an interview with CNBC two years prior. In explaining the shift in his outlook of cryptocurre...

Traders look to ‘buy the dip’ after spot ETF rejection sends Bitcoin price to $62K

The SEC’s rejection of VanEck's spot Bitcoin ETF application may have influenced today’s drop to $62,000, but most traders view the correction as a buying opportunity. Bears swooped in to seize the upper hand on Nov. 12 after news that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had rejected the VanEck spot Bitcoin ( BTC ) Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) application made ripples through the crypto-sphere and deflated the bullish momentum that had been building throughout the week. While many investors had high hopes that the passage of a spot BTC ETF would send the price of Bitcoin to the coveted $100,000 price level, its denial was expected by others, including Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, who placed the odds of the SEC approving the VanEck fund at less than 1% . Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after holding support at $65,000 on Nov. 11, the bull's defensive line began to break early on Nov. 12 and was followed b...

Finance Redefined: ENS airdrops token, and SEC’s Crenshaw speaks on DeFi, Nov. 5–12

Ethereum Name Service issued its native token, an SEC commissioner published a DeFi opinion piece, and Polkadot’s parachains registered billions of dollars — all coming to you in this week’s Finance Redefined. Welcome to the latest edition of Cointelegraph’s decentralized finance (DeFi) newsletter. Ethereum Name Service announced a retroactive token airdrop this week to a fanfare of crypto enthusiasts. If you happen to own a .eth domain, read on to discover how you can claim your eligible tokens. What you’re about to read is the smaller version of this newsletter. For the full breakdown of DeFi’s developments over the last week, subscribe below. “The DAO space has matured,” says ENS' director of operations Domain protocol Ethereum Name Service distributed its native ENS governance token this week in an airdrop event to early adopters of the protocol and announced the formation of a decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO. Users who registered Ethereum addresses, such...