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Bitcoin is following the same route as it did during the 2016 Bitcoin halving event, with one indication indicating it may be nearing its local bottom and another predicting it may hit $350,000 during “the peak” of current cycle, according to cryptocurrency traders. “Bitcoin has repeated 2016 history perfectly, offering a downside wick below the
The activity of the Runes protocol has dropped dramatically since the first week of trade. In comparison to other times, there was a noticeable drop in activity on May 10th, with very few new wallets and mints engaging with the system. Runes Is’s compilation of a Dune analytics dashboard shows a consistent decline in the
Before the daily close on May 10, Bitcoin was testing $60,000 support as bulls were alarmed by the traditional post-halving “danger zone.” There were intraday BTC price lows of $60,190 on Bitstamp, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView. Attempts to maintain levels around $63,000 were thwarted by an abrupt decline, the cause of which has been loosely explained. Both the monthly buyers and the monthly open have been swept out once more. The majority of the decline was followed by popular trader Skew writing, “If bulls want higher & want to break this downtrend, its here imo,” in part of his most recent market commentary on X (previously Twitter). “Specifically key area for bulls to do something is $60.8K – $61K (also happens to be range low).” Commenting on the events, trading resource Material Indicators suggested that large-volume institutional players may be at work. “Speculating that some institutional entity may not want to see Bitcoin breakout over the weekend while the BTC
The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has asked for an interlocutory appeal on a “controlling question” in the ongoing lawsuit, but the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected the request, claiming that Coinbase is trying to alter the interpretation of the question itself. In a document filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on May 10, the SEC stated that “Coinbase’s attempts to manipulate the question for appeal to shoehorn it into a certifiable question under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) are self-defeating.” The SEC additionally stated that Coinbase “does not like” the Howey test, which is the agency’s criterion for defining what constitutes a security, and the present securities regulatory framework, alleging that Coinbase has structured its operations in a way that could “make it costly” to abide by the law as it is. “Coinbase just does not like the answer. Having made the weather, Coinbase cannot now complain that it is raining.” That follows Coinbase’s April 12 interlocutory appeal, in which the company claimed that the absence of a post-sale obligation was incompatible with the existence of an investment contract. The SEC contests this, and Coinbase argues that whether it does so or not is a controlling question, a crucial legal matter that could significantly impact the case’s conclusion. However, the SEC argued that Coinbase is only claiming this to be a controlling question as the exchange can’t provide a clear explanation of what constitutes a “contractual undertaking.” “Coinbase remains unable to advance
The largest U.S. bank, with assets of $2.6 trillion, disclosed to the SEC that it had acquired shares of Bitcoin ETFs for about $760,000. JPMorgan Chase, a financial firm with headquarters in the United States, has revealed holdings in Bitcoin and exchange-traded funds provided by Bitwise, BlackRock, ProShares, Grayscale, and Fidelity. The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy
Forensic Risk Alliance, an international consulting group, is apparently going to closely monitor Binance’s compliance efforts for the next three years. Forensic Risk Alliance (FRA), an international consulting firm, has apparently been hired by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to make sure cryptocurrency exchange Binance complies with regulatory standards for the next three years,
Bloomberg ETF analyst Erich Balchunas speculates that the update might be a response to possible SEC feedback. Staking intentions have been eliminated from ARK Invest and 21Shares’ revised proposal for an exchange-traded fund that would hold spot ether. The provision indicating that 21Shares will stake a portion of the fund’s assets through third-party providers was
The CEO of Harvest thinks that access to crypto ETFs in mainland China may be made possible by the Hong Kong-mainland China ETF bridge programme. The CEO of Harvest, a Hong Kong-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks Bitcoin spot prices, wants mainland Chinese investors to be able to purchase the Bitcoin ETF. Han Tongli, the
cryptocurrency trading platform According to court filings made in the Northern District of California on Thursday, Kraken has requested that the charges made against it by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) be dismissed in order to prevent a “significant reordering” of the country’s financial regulatory framework. In November of last year, the SEC filed
The biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, along with competitor KuCoin, were barred for “operating illegally” for several months before India’s anti-money laundering agency confirmed their approval—making them the first offshore cryptocurrency-related firms. Both individuals are officially registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) of the country, overseen by the Finance Ministry. The highest
The realms of bitcoin and decentralised finance (DeFi) are rising in prominence, bringing with them complexity as well as potential. It is important to comprehend important financial measures because navigating this dynamic terrain can be difficult. Thus, what distinguishes APY from APR? Among the parameters that hold the key to optimising profits and minimising expenses
Exodus Movement, a cryptocurrency wallet startup, stated late Wednesday that it will not be launching on NYSE American, the sister market of the New York Stock Exchange, on Thursday as scheduled. According to a press release from Exodus, NYSE American informed the business on Wednesday that Exodus’ registration statement, which the company said had been
The trading platform Robinhood (HOOD) announced impressive first-quarter profits yesterday, with a 40% year-over-year increase in revenue driven by a spike in cryptocurrency trading. This led to some analysts raising their projections for profitability and price targets. KBW kept its market perform rating but increased its price target from $20 to $21.50. Competing broker JMP
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing interviews with former and current Binance employees, documents, emails, and other industry participants, that Binance fired a staff member who discovered evidence of market manipulation at cryptocurrency investment firm DWF Labs, one of the exchange’s clients. In an effort to clean up its act in front of
Ever since Ethereum launched the much awaited Dencun upgrade two months ago, the supply of Ether has not been deflationary.According to data from CryptoQuant, the total amount of ether supply rose to 120.1 million on May 7 from 120 million on March 12 prior to the Dencun update being sent out on mainnet.Although it is a slight increase, this is the first time since September 2022, when the much-awaited Merge moved Ethereum to its present proof-of-stake consensus process, that the supply of Ether has been inflationary. According to the founder and CEO of Cryptoquant, Ether’s temporary loss of its deflationary status is not catastrophic for the Ethereum network because its primary advantages are more closely linked to decentralized applications (DApps).Ki Young Ju posted on May 9th, X. “Post-Dencun upgrade, $ETH lost deflationary status with reduced fees, departing from “ultrasound money.” Ethereum’s strength lies in DApps; it’s wiser not to compare it to Bitcoin’s sound money narrative.” Following the Merge on September 15, 2022, a mechanism was introduced that permanently burnt transaction fees on the network, causing a decrease in the amount of Ether available. This is when the Ether supply first become deflationary.According to ultrasound.money, more than 419,713 Ether tokens have been destroyed, or taken out of circulation permanently, since the Merge. With the same level of network activity, Ether’s inflationary trend has come to a halt thanks to the Dencun upgrade, which has made median transaction costs up to four times less than they were previously.Although this is an important development for the Ethereum network and its users, a May 8 report by CryptoQuant suggests that Ether’s standing as ultra-sound money may be jeopardized. “The Dencun upgrade has made ETH inflationary again, potentially killing the narrative of “Ultra sound” money as a structurally lower amount of
The first quarter saw more than $690 million in loan processing for cryptocurrency lending startup Ledn, making it the company’s most successful quarter since its founding in 2018. That amount is over five times higher than the preceding three months’ total.More than 84% of the transactions were aimed towards institutions, and demand skyrocketed following the U.S. acceptance of spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January, when loans totaling several hundred million dollars were given to ETF market makers, according to a news release from Ledn.Ninety percent of the $140.3 million in loans that the company made in the fourth quarter of 2023 went to institutional borrowers. “The first quarter of 2024 has set the tone for a promising year for Ledn, as we’ve not only doubled our loan book since November 2022 but have also solidified our leading position in the market by adapting to the increasing demand for digital asset financial products,” CEO Adam Reeds said in a statement.
Through its node auction, Sophon, a zkSync Hyperchain with an entertainment focus, has raised $60 million in Wrapped Ether (wETH).The funds will be utilized to introduce Sophon, an ecosystem with a focus on gaming and artificial intelligence (AI) that is designed as a modular rollup using zero knowledge (ZK) technology. The ecosystem is scheduled to debut in the third quarter of 2024.For a fledgling initiative, the $60 million node sale is regarded as substantial. According to Sophon co-founder Seb, part of the reason for the node sale’s success is the requirement for dependable infrastructure for use cases that are entertainment-focused, including gaming and AI. “Gaming and AI require their tech partners to be able to scale cheaply and with robust infrastructure. Choosing ZK tech here is the move that these folks are making since the TPS capacity is much larger than within optimistic setups, and especially within the zkSync codebase, the fees are much less dynamic —
Stablecoins’ market capitalization has increased significantly over the last six months, from $122 billion in October 2023 to $157 billion in April 2024.Tether (USDT) is the stablecoin supplier with the largest market share, having raised over $100 billion and holding more than 70% of the market.Building on this pace, Tether reported a record $4.52 billion profit from holdings in U.S. Treasury, resulting in $1 billion in net operating earnings, in its Q1 2024 attestation report.As of April 28, there were 5.6 million active Tether addresses (balances that were not zero). Using the Herfindahl Index, we explore these wallets’ decentralization in additional detail.Repurposed to gauge the market concentration of Tether wallets, this index sums the squares of each address’s network balance to determine the proportions of the total supply held by various addresses.If the score is low, it means that the supply is more evenly dispersed among numerous addresses, whereas a high score implies that the supply is concentrated in a few hands. The Herfindahl index scores for the various stablecoins are 0.00708164 for USDT, 0.00981202 for USDC, and 0.00331652 for DAI, as seen above.The supply of DAI, followed by USDT and USDC, is spread among addresses in the most equitable manner among the top three stablecoin providers.A more equally distributed supply may result from the recent addition of USDT to the TON network, which could lower its Herfindahl score.April saw the announcement by Telegram, a messaging app with 900 million active users per month, that USDT would be supported natively on TON.The distribution of Tether wallets could be greatly impacted by this action. With a 98.2% domination, USDT dominates TRON transactions when looking at the top three blockchain platforms and how they use stablecoins.Gas expenses can vary, but USDT transfers on TRON usually range from 95 cents to about $2. Peer-to-peer USDT transactions can be carried out for free within the TON wallet as it is naturally integrated within the Telegram software.According to reports, there is a network charge of 0.0145 TON (or roughly $0.09 as of May 6, 2024) for transactions between two USDT users that happen outside of the wallet. Users may decide to move from TRON to TON for frequent, minor transactions due to the integration of USDT, which offers faster transactions and reduced fees.In 2023, the US, Indonesia, Brazil, India, and Russia will be the top five nations on Telegram in terms of users.In the international remittance business, the majority of these nations are major players.While Russia experiences large inflows from its diaspora in Europe and the former Soviet states, India is one of the top recipients globally.Malaysia and the Middle East are major sources of remittances that Indonesia receives from its migrant labor force.On the other side, Brazil is more renowned for its remittances, which it sends to its emigrants in Europe, Japan, and the US. Due to Tether’s TON network integration, substantial market share, and possibility for a more dispersed wallet system, USDT may be more widely used in major remittance markets as a result of Telegram’s user base growth.
A specialised committee was established to keep an eye on the cryptocurrency market by the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory institution, often known as Bappebti, an Indonesian government institution tasked with supervising the sector. Regulations passed in January gave rise to the Crypto Asset Committee. Since cryptocurrency is seen as a commodity in Indonesia, it is
Following an effort to investigate sharing ledger technology, Citi, JPMorgan, Mastercard, Swift, and Deloitte are a few of the significant financial services firms collaborating to simulate multiasset transactions in US dollars. According to a statement released recently, the research project, named Regulated Settlement Network (RSN) proof-of-concept (PoC), will investigate the possibility of bringing securities like
The digital asset derivatives industry veterans Joshua Lim and Shiliang Tang formed Arbelos Markets, a major trading firm for cryptocurrencies, on Wednesday announced that they had secured $28 million in an investment round that was “significantly oversubscribed.” Prominent cryptocurrency venture capital firm Dragonfly Capital oversaw the loan and seed equity funding for the project. Additional
The resurgence of the cryptocurrency market in recent days has been driven by native cryptocurrencies of blockchain projects that purport to use artificial intelligence (AI). Shares of Nvidia (NVDA), a chipmaker listed on the Nasdaq that is the poster child for all things AI, have also increased.According to data provider CoinGecko, RNDR, the utility token of The Render Network, a decentralized GPU-based rendering system, has increased by about 40% to $10.432 in just seven days, marking the largest gain among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market value. Some AI currencies have outperformed the market, rising between 17% and 23%. Examples of these are SingularityNET’s AGIX, Bittensor’s TAO, and Fetch.ai’s FET.The market-value leader in cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, has increased 1.7%, while the CoinDesk 20 Index, a measure of the overall state of the market, has increased by 0.6%.Decentralized AI currencies and DePIN, or decentralized physical infrastructure, tokens are among the top performers over the last seven days, according to the relative strength crypto narrative tracker of the cryptocurrency analytics platform DYOR. “There is a strong buzz around Nvidia’s impending earnings,” Hitesh Malviya, founder of DYOR, told CoinDesk. “AI coins will keep having cyclical runs [higher] as they are directly correlated with the whole AI-side development happening around us.” After the market closes on May 22, the chipmaker is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings.Zacks Investment Research anticipates that the business will produce $5.49 in earnings per share, up 403% from the previous year.According to Bloomberg, several AI startups have recently seen generally positive outcomes. Over time, NVDA—whose chips were once used to power mining rigs before attracting AI interest—and bitcoin, as well as the larger cryptocurrency market, have established a strong positive association.After an almost year-long decline, the NVDA and the cryptocurrency market bottomed out in late 2022 with the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which contributed to a greater public understanding of artificial intelligence. On Monday, NVDA shares increased to $922, the highest level since April 1.TradingView, a data source, indicates that they have recovered more than 20% from the low of $756 they hit on April 19. Over time, NVDA—whose chips were once used to power mining rigs before attracting AI interest—and bitcoin, as well as the larger cryptocurrency market, have established a strong positive association.After an almost year-long decline, the NVDA and the cryptocurrency market bottomed out in late 2022 with the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which contributed to a greater public understanding of artificial intelligence. There is much speculation that in the upcoming months, OpenAI will probably release ChatGPT version 5.Due in large part to their significant expenditures in artificial intelligence, tech companies revealed late last month that their quarterly earnings growth exceeded expectations.Notably, CEO Tim Cook discussed Apple’s ongoing investments in generative AI on the company’s most recent earnings call. He also hinted at significant announcements regarding AI that will be made at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 10 and the “Let Loose event” on May 7. “OpenAI will launch a new model in the coming months, better
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has granted In-Principle Approval to QCP Capital, a digital assets trading firm.The company, headquartered in Singapore, is the most recent provider of digital assets to obtain a license to operate in Abu Dhabi.The company announced that it has partnered with Further Ventures to grow throughout the Middle East during Token 2049 in adjacent Dubai in April. “Our intention is to be a responsible player that wants to support market confidence,” CEO Melvin Deng said in a statement. “We are proud to be the first Singaporean digital asset market maker and broker-dealer to set up here in the market and hope we can encourage others to venture into this dynamic market.”
According to blockchain data, a hacker who stole $125 million from Poloniex’s hot wallets in November delivered 1,100 ether (ETH) to Tornado Cash, an approved coin mixer. After lying inert for 178 days, the ether, valued around $3.3 million, was transferred to Tornado Cash on Tuesday in increments of 100 ETH. On April 30, the
Professional bitcoin traders can now use the digital bank Revolut’s cryptocurrency exchange, Revolut X. To rival the industry’s top cryptocurrency exchanges, Revolut, a London-based company with over 40 million global users, created Revolut X. In February, Revolut informed users that it was going to launch an exchange after allowing users to purchase and sell cryptocurrency
Last week, a phoney marijuana lab was shut down by Indonesian authorities in Sentul, Bogor Regency, West Java. The facility was located in an upscale neighbourhood. Brigadier General Suyudi Ario Seto, the deputy chief of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, disclosed that the primary ingredients were purchased using cryptocurrencies and originated from China. The amount of
Researchers have employed search engines like Google to predict trade volume and bitcoin profits. This is so that it is possible to forecast future market trends using search engine data, which can reveal investor mood and interest in cryptocurrencies. A popular method is to make use of Google Trends data, which displays the relative frequency
In order to accumulate cryptocurrency before the next leg up of the bull market begins, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes believes that the upcoming months will present an excellent chance.“This is the perfect opportunity to do so for those who have fiat and extra cash that want to allocate to crypto,” Hayes said in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, alluding to the present rangebound market. Hayes predicts that later this year, inflationary monetary policies will be the primary driver of the price increase of Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. “Major economies around the world are going to print even more money between now and, say, the next 18 to 24 months,” Hayes predicted. As the nation’s financial authorities are motivated to enact looser monetary policies—possibly in order to promote President Joe Biden’s reelection—Hayes predicts that the impending US presidential elections will be a bullish stimulus for cryptocurrency.Crypto market rallies have historically occurred during times of monetary expansion. “When you control the purse of the government, it’s very easy to do so by printing money, borrowing it, and handing it out to people in various forms,”
The development of Bitcoin-native decentralized finance (DeFi) may include more steps than Bitcoin Runes and BRC-20 tokens.According to Rich Rines, a Core DAO contributor creating Bitcoin DeFi solutions, the motivation behind the creation of Runes and Bitcoin DeFi was to increase the usefulness of the safest blockchain network in the world.Rines shared with Cointelegraph. “[Bitcoin] started as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system then morphed more into a store value and now protects $1.5 trillion of wealth. We’ve seen over the last one and a half years this desire to add more utility to the underlying Bitcoin through the rise of Ordinals, token protocols like BRC 20s and now
The newest advancement in Bitcoin-native decentralized finance (DeFi) has been revealed by Hermetica: the introduction of the first-ever synthetic US dollar backed by Bitcoin that can generate yield.The new synthetic dollar, known as USDh, is expected to launch in June and provide users with payouts of up to 25%, according to a Hermetica announcement that Cointelegraph received.As per Jakob Schillinger, the CEO and founder of Hermetica Labs, the new synthetic dollar will allow Bitcoiners to hold and earn yield on their U.S. dollars without exposing them to non-Bitcoin related items or having to trust the banking system. “USDh will play a pivotal role in bringing increased liquidity and new use-cases to Bitcoin DeFi, allowing Bitcoiners to trade, lend, and transact in a dollar asset that is fully backed by Bitcoin.” Hermetica is a Stacks-native DeFi protocol on Bitcoin and part of a wider movement known as Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi), which aims to
