Crypto Currency

Do kwon told Laura Shin on her Unchained podcast that he is betting on the long term growth of BTC price and isn’t worried about short term volatility. Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon has conceded that a crash in the price of Bitcoin would be “negative” for the stability of the UST stablecoin, but that he expects Bitcoin to go up. Terraform Labs is the entity behind the Terra ( LUNA ) blockchain platform which plans on buying a total of $3 billion in Bitcoin as a reserve for the UST stablecoin. Kwon made the comments in an interview on the Unchained podcast on Mar. 29. Host Laura Shin asked Kwon what the short term implications of holding so much BTC will be for the stability of UST. Kwon said “the worst case would be if we were buying Bitcoin and a crash happens six months later, and it’s correlated with a massive fall in demand for UST” which would be, as he modestly put it, “negative.” However, that scenario isn't keeping him up at night: “I’m sort of betting that the long te...

“Not quite ready” — MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor said that traditional financial markets aren’t prepared for bonds backed by Bitcoin. MicroStrategy CEO and Bitcoin permabull, Michael Saylor believes that traditional financial markets aren’t quite ready for Bitcoin-backed bonds.  Saylor told Bloomberg on Tuesday, that he’d love to see the day come where Bitcoin-backed bonds are sold like mortgage-backed securities, but warned that, “the market is not quite ready for that right now. The next best idea was a term loan from a major bank.” MacroStrategy, a subsidiary of @MicroStrategy , has closed a $205 million bitcoin-collateralized loan with Silvergate Bank to purchase #bitcoin . $MSTR $SI https://t.co/QYw2ZgeE3U — Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) March 29, 2022 The remarks come two days after MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) Bitcoin-specific subsidiary MacroStrategy, announced that it had taken out a $205 million Bitcoin-collateralized loan to purchase even more Bitcoin. This loan wa...

"Imagine if the EU required your bank to report you to the authorities every time you paid your rent merely because the transaction was over 1,000 euros,” said Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. The crypto industry has reacted strongly against a EU Parliament committee voting in favor of a regulatory package for tighter know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) rules for ”unhosted” private wallets. The new guidelines would require crypto service providers — most commonly exchanges — to verify the identity of every individual behind an unhosted wallet that interacts with them, while any transaction greater than 1,000 Euros ($1,100) would need to be reported to authorities. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong vented his frustrations against the move via Twitter, as he drew comparisons with fiat to highlight the absurdity of reporting and verifying a 1,000 Euro transaction: “Imagine if the EU required your bank to report you to the authorities every time you paid your rent m...

The Bank of Japan has warned G7 nations that a common regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies needs to be introduced quickly, as current rules do not take into account the potential for digital assets to be used to skirt sanctions. A senior official from the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has warned G7 nations that a common framework for regulating digital currencies needs to be put in place as quickly as possible.  G7 refers to the Group of Seven, an inter-governmental political forum made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The statement comes in response to the continued conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as cryptocurrencies and their potential applications for skirting economic sanctions falls under increasing scrutiny. The head of the BOJ's payment systems department, Kazushige Kamiyama, told Reuters that using stablecoins makes it very easy to “create an individual global settlement system,” which would in turn make it easier...

The investment firm made very high valuation for BTC and gold based on the extreme case that either becomes the reserve global currency. American investment firm VanEck believes that Bitcoin has double the upside of gold and could be worth as much as $4.8 million per coin if it becomes the global reserve asset. That’s a big ‘if’ of course, and VanEck thinks the Chinese Yuan is a more likely contender. The lofty assessment for BTC came in a March 30 insights piece written by VanEck’s Head of Active EM Debt Eric Fine and Chief Economist Natalia Gurushina who attempted to compare the price implications for gold and Bitcoin ( BTC ) if either were to be adopted as the backing for global currency regimes. VanEck’s analysis found that the implied price for BTC ranged from $1.3 million to $4.8 million. The lower prediction was based on BTC as a monetary base (M0), which investment database Investopedia says includes all circulating supply of a currency and bank deposits but is not a com...

BTC finally hit the projected $45,000 support zone, but analysts have mixed views on whether continuation or consolidation will be the next step. The euphoric calls for a return of the bull market may have been a bit early especially after Bitcoin ( BTC ) bulls failed to push the price over the $46,000 level on March 31. Even with the current pullback, analysts continue to expect a lower support retest at the $45,000 level. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that today's attempt to push the price of BTC above $47,500 was soundly rejected by bears which sent the top cryptocurrency plunging to $45,500. BTC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView Here’s a look at what several analysts in the market are saying about the price pullback for BTC and whether or not traders should brace for further losses or prepare for another move higher. This is just a short term correction Not all traders were caught flat-footed by Thursday's move lower in Bitcoin, i...

Companies started to offer crypto back rewards for credit card transactions, from business expenses to monthly subscription payments. Receiving cashback from your credit and debit card purchases has been a long-time benefit for credit card users. However, crypto entered the scene as projects start to implement crypto back rewards for card purchases.  Back in 2021, BlockFi launched a Visa-backed Bitcoin rewards card as a way to welcome users into the crypto ecosystem. With the card, users can get 1.5% back in Bitcoin ( BTC ) instead of other rewards like cashback or miles. In the same year, Venmo also employed mechanics that allows users to buy crypto with their cashback rewards . A program called Cash Back to Crypto allowed credit card users to spend their cashback rewards on crypto-assets like BTC, Ethereum ( ETH ), Litecoin ( LTC ) and Bitcoin Cash ( BCH ). Some companies started to follow the trend and integrated new crypto rewards for the old cashback mechanic. Let’s have...

“Ethereum is like New York City: it is vast, expensive, and congested in certain areas. However, it also features the richest application ecosystem,” Grayscale wrote. Digital asset manager Grayscale has published a report on smart contract platforms in which it likens the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain to the best and worst parts of New York City. The report examines the granddaddy smart contract network Ethereum in comparison to newer competing blockchains such as Solana (SOL) , Avalanche (AVAX), Polkadot (DOT), Cardano (ADA) and Stellar (XLM). The report comes in the wake of the firm launching a crypto fund dedicated to smart contract platforms excluding Ethereum. In a section titled “digital cities,” Grayscale analyzed Ethereum, Avalanche and Solana. The firm compared Ethereum to the Big Apple, noting that they both share similarities with issues that arise from their stature: “Ethereum is like New York City: it is vast, expensive, and congested in certain areas. However, it also...

Blockchain.com has secured a staggering $14 billion valuation after raising an undisclosed amount in funding from global VC firms. Cryptocurrency exchange and financial services firm, Blockchain.com, has reportedly raised new funding at a valuation of $14 billion. According to Bloomberg , the financing round was led by global venture capital firm Lightspeed Ventures and Baillie Gifford & Co., an investment management firm renowned for its early involvement in growth stocks such as Tesla. The funding round — which is yet to be publicly confirmed by Blockchain.com or the investors — reportedly saw the firms’ valuation increase from $5.2 billions to $14 billion. The total amount of funding raised is yet to be announced. Founded in 2011, Blockchain.com is now one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency companies, and offers a wide range of blockchain-based financial services from its exchange platform and crypto wallets all the way to specific institutional products. It has 37 mill...

The northwest pacific state’s governor has finally passed a bill into law to form a working group to explore the opportunities for industry and commerce to benefit from blockchain. Three years and one veto after it was first proposed, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee has signed a bill into law today that aims to expand the state’s adoption of blockchain technology across various financial and industrial sectors. The law saw Governor Inslee order the formation of the Washington Blockchain Work Group which will “examine various potential applications for blockchain technology.” The Work Group will be composed of seven government officials and eight leaders of various trade associations across the state. It will study practical applications of blockchain technology and present a report on its findings to Governor Inslee by Dec. 1, 2023. Republican Senator Sharon Brown, who originally proposed the bill, stated in an announcement that Washington state is showing that it’s ready to...

According to a recent survey from Arcane Research, the number of Norwegian women that own cryptocurrency has doubled from 3% to 6% in just one year. The number of women in Norway who own some form of cryptocurrency doubled during 2021, according to a new survey.  The survey , conducted by Arcane Research and Ernst & Young found that the rate of female ownership of crypto assets in Norway, surged from 3% in early 2021 to 6% by Mar. 30 of this year. The online survey interviewed 1000 Norwegians aged 15 and older and was conducted in partnership with NORSTAT one of the leading data collectors for market research services in Northern Europe. Almost two thirds of all female respondents said that they first purchased cryptocurrency in 2021. Up until this recent survey was conducted, the gender gap in Norwegian crypto ownership had been widening, with female ownership steady at 3% from 2019 to early 2021. Over the same period male ownership increased, from 6% in 2019 to 14% in 202...

“I am all for hope and am a big believer in quantum computing as a potentially disruptive technology,” said Sankar Das Sarma but noted quantum computers are nowhere near being close to cracking cryptography. Condensed matter theory physicist and quantum information expert Sankar Das Sarma has argued in MIT Technology Review that quantum computers remain a very long way away from cracking RSA-based cryptography. RSA-Cryptography utilizes algorithms, codes and keys to securely encrypt private data without interference from third parties or malicious actors such as hackers. An example of the methodology in crypto is with the creation of a new wallet that generates a public address and private key. Quantum security is seen as a major issue in the blockchain and crypto sector and it is widely believed that powerful quantum computers will one day become advanced enough to hack current cryptography. That could result in the theft of billions of dollars worth of digital assets, or bring ...

Canadian oil and gas miner Bengal Energy, is set to begin its trial project of accessing formerly “stranded” gas wells with portable Bitcoin mining rigs. Canadian oil and gas company Bengal Energy, is dipping its toes into Bitcoin ( BTC ) mining as a way of utilizing the untapped energy from its gas wells in the far reaches of the Australian outback.  According to a report from The Australian, Bengal Energy is set to conduct a pilot program where roughly 70 Bitcoin mining rigs will be set up inside a portable building — known in the local mining industry as a “donga” — which will be assembled near a series of previously out-of-operation gas wells in the Cooper Basin. According to Bengal Energy’s chief operating officer, Kai Eberspaecher, the company acquired the gas wells from its local oil and gas extraction partners, Santos Energy and Bridgeport Energy. Eberspacher added that the recently acquired gas wells posed an interesting problem to the energy company because they are...

OpenSea shared a 16-second video on Twitter to announce the integration, with many popular Solana collections announcing their intention to list on the marketplace. Solana (SOL) NFT holders will soon have a new option for where to trade, with OpenSea teasing its integration of the Solana blockchain. A 16-second video shared by the OpenSea Twitter account opened with the phrase “wen solana???” being typed into a search box and revealed that Solana will be supported by the marketplace in April. The best kept secret in web3 pic.twitter.com/xuZn64cZ4U — OpenSea (@opensea) March 29, 2022 Rumors of OpenSea supporting Solana NFTs have circulated for months. Security researcher Jane Manchun Wong — who made Forbes 30 under 30 for her high profile tech leak scoops — shared images on Twitter in January she said were sourced from OpenSea’s platform. The images show the marketplace’s “blockchains filter” listing Solana as an option and the Phantom Solana crypto wallet appearsg in a list of...

The scheme, which has been in operation since May 2021, targeted Chinese users through social media groups and fake websites. Research by cyber security firm ESET has uncovered a “sophisticated scheme” that disseminates Trojan apps disguised as popular cryptocurrency wallets. The malicious scheme targets mobile devices using Android or Apple (iOS) operating systems which become compromised if the user downloads a fake app. According to ESET's research , these malicious apps are distributed through bogus websites, and imitate legitimate crypto wallets, including MetaMask, Coinbase, Trust Wallet, TokenPocket, Bitpie, imToken, and OneKey. The firm also discovered 13 malicious apps impersonating the Jaxx Liberty wallet, available on the Google Play Store. Google has since removed the offending apps, which were installed more than 1,100 times, but there are still many more lurking out there on other websites and social media platforms. The threat actors disseminated their wares th...

New Jersey's move is just the latest in a series of orders and complaints against crypto-based interest-bearing account issuers in the United States. The New Jersey Bureau of Securities has issued a cease and desist order against Voyager Digital for selling unregistered securities through its Voyager Earn program. Voyager Digital (VGX) is a centralized, crypto-based staking, trading, and lending platform. The order claims that each of the crypto staking and lending accounts issued through the program since 2019 are unregistered securities because of their promise of interest rates as high as 12%. The Bureau cites as evidence for the claim messages on Voyager’s homepage encouraging users to “grow your portfolio” and “journey to the new frontier of investing.” New Jersey claims that about 52,800 accounts and $187 million in assets are from users based in the state, out of roughly 1.5 million active accounts and $5 billion in assets on Voyager in total. The New Jersey Bureau ...

The firm highlighted growth in hash rate, mining equipment sales, hosting revenue, digital asset mining income as key reasons for the improved performance. U.S. Bitcoin mining firm Core Scientific has posted bullish 2021 fiscal year results compared to the year prior, with its revenue increasing by 803% to $544.5 million and gross profit growing 2,443% to $238.9 million. The major BTC miner highlighted growth in hash rate, mining equipment sales , hosting revenue, digital asset mining income as key reasons for the improved performance. The booming price of Bitcoin (BTC) no doubt also played a part. The results were announced on March 29 and show a total net income (take-home after expenses) totaling $47.3 million last year. The figure marks a drastic increase from the net loss of $12.2 million seen in 2020. In terms of Core Scientific’s revenue streams, hosting revenue increased 91% from 2020 to $79.3 million in 2021, equipment sales increased by 1,871% to $248.2 million and dig...

Large Transaction Volume on Cardano has exploded in 2022, suggesting that there is now institutional demand for the blockchain network. Crypto intelligence firm IntoTheBlock reports that the number of large transactions on the Cardano blockchain has increased by more than 50X this year.  Large Transaction Volume (LTV) refers to aggregated volume from transactions denominated in Cardano’s native ADA token valued at more than $100,000. Since Jan. 1, LTV has increased from 1.35 billion ADA per day to 69 billion ADA (worth $81.4 billion) changing hands on Cardano on Mar. 28. That’s a 51-fold increase in about three months and marks one of the highest volume levels since mid-2018, according to IntoTheBlock. In a Mar. 29 tweet, the firm said that such high volume indicates “increasing institutional demand.” @Cardano is experiencing increasing institutional demand The volume of on-chain transactions >$100k has increased by 50x just in 2022 Yesterday, a total of 69.09b $ADA...

Analysts expect Bitcoin price to retest the $45,000 zone as support, after which traders anticipate a stronger move toward a resistance cluster at $54,000. The mood across the cryptocurrency market has seen a notable improvement in the last week as prices are on the rise with Bitcoin ( BTC ) now trading near $48,000 while Ether ( ETH ) attempting to hold  above $3,400.  Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of Bitcoin has been oscillating around $48,000 since it broke out above $45,000 early on March 28 and bulls are now debating whether a bull run to $80,000 is on the cards. BTC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView Here’s a look at what several analysts in the market are saying about the outlook for BTC moving forward and what levels to keep an eye on in case of a price pullback or another breakout to the upside. Bitcoin breaks above its 1-year moving average “Keeping it simple is often best” according to independent market analy...

A new push for clarity on compliance from Senator Wyden aims to ensure economically distressed communities receive promised benefits from crypto mining companies. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden is digging into the activities of crypto companies that take advantage of tax breaks provided by the Opportunity Zone program. Senator Wyden’s main concern stems from the perception that some crypto companies may be taking advantage of what he called “a lack of safeguards and transparency measures” in the Opportunity Zone program. The concerns were raised in letters he sent to two companies and one individual. He wants to understand how they are providing the required reciprocal support for low-income communities as stipulated by the rules of the program. The Oregon Senator wrote letters to crypto miners Argo Blockchain and Redivider Blockchain and to Opportunity Zone specialist accountant from accounting firm HCVT Blake Christian . The Opportunity Zone program was implemented in 2017 and...