Business
GARI token records a trading volume of over $100M on first day of trading
The social token from video sharing mobile app Chingari became available to international traders on Tuesday India-based short video app company Chingari earlier this week debuted its native token GARI on the international stage. The token quickly saw interest from millions of people on the first day, with trading volume eclipsing $100 million within hours as per an announcement from Chingari. Chingari launched GARI last October as part of efforts to incorporate a cryptocurrency element in the digital content creation world. Renowned actor, producer and TV star Salman Khan served as the brand’s ambassador during the launch. In December, Chingari revealed its Initial DEX Offering launch plans on SolRazr. Taking the market by a storm This week, the token simultaneously arrived on more ...
Bulls aim to turn the tide in Friday’s $580M options expiry after BTC tops $43K
Bitcoin (BTC) investors seem uncomfortable with adding positions after the most recent 40% correction from the $69,000 all-time high made on Nov. 10. In addition to the prolonged downtrend, remarks from the United States Federal Reserve on Dec. 15 about rising interest rates are also weighing on risk-on assets. The Fed signaled that it could raise its benchmark rate three times this year and there are plans to increase the pace of its asset purchasing taper. Consequently, traders are worried that these plans will negatively impact traditional and crypto markets because liquidity will no longer be “easily” available. Bitcoin price at Coinbase, USD (right) vs. China stock market MSCI index (left) Cryptoasset regulation in the U.S. has been in the spotlight and recently a member o...
Former Binance US CEO Catherine Coley is still missing, and no one seems to be talking
Around the time Binance.US announced former Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks would be leading the crypto exchange, former CEO Catherine Coley effectively dropped off the face of the digital world. Coley, who had regularly posted updates on Binance.US and her personal life to her Twitter account, has been inactive on the social media platform since April 19. Her job experience on LinkedIn ends with her two years as CEO of Binance.US, which she left in June 2021, and her online silence has led at least one news outlet to reach out to San Francisco authorities to determine if she had been reported missing — as of October, the answer was “no.” Major figures in crypto also noticed the absence of Coley. Ripple chief technology officer David Schwartz said in July that the former Binance.U...
Moonbeam (GLMR) launch brings EVM interoperability closer to the Polkadot network
Cross-chain compatibility with the Ethereum (ETH) network has become a necessary component for any layer-one protocol looking to remain relevant because a majority of projects and funds locked in smart contracts are found on the top-ranked smart contract platform. After years of development and promises of interoperability, the Polkadot network moved toward its first Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) compatible smart contract protocol with the launch of Moonbeam (GLMR). The platform is designed to make it easy to use Ethereum developer tools to build or re-deploy Solidity projects in a Substrate-based environment. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after a volatile start, which saw its price swing from a low of $8.40 on Jan. 11 to a high of $15.97 on Jan. 14,...
Crypto Biz: Microsoft enters the metaverse, Jan. 14–20
This week’s Crypto Biz explores Microsoft’s Activision purchase, the new partnership between Coinbase and Mastercard and the latest funding news from the world of crypto. For a comprehensive breakdown of business developments over the last week, register for the full newsletter below. Microsoft enters the Metaverse with Activision purchase It’s no secret that Microsoft has been eyeing its entry into the Metaverse ever since Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook to Meta. The company found its perfect entry this week by acquiring gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Satya Nadella, who has served as Microsoft’s CEO since 2014, described video games as playing a “key role in the development of metaverse platforms.” Activision is behind some of the world’s most iconic gaming franch...
David Waxman Appointed President of Ultra Records
Ultra Records has a new leader. On Thursday (Jan. 20), the venerable dance music label announced David Waxman as its president. Ultra’s parent company, Sony Music, confirmed that it now owns 100% of Ultra Records and that Ultra’s founder and now-former president Patrick Moxey has left the label. Moxey founded Ultra Records in 1995, and Waxman has been with the label as its head A&R for more than 20 years. The label entered a partnership with Sony Music in 2012, as dance music was experiencing a major rise in popularity in the United States. As president, the New York-based Waxman will oversee the day-to-day operations of the label, identify and develop new artists and projects and work with Sony Music to expand the Ultra Records roster and back catalog. During his tenure at Ultra Recor...
Google ready to dip its feet in blockchain as it eyes more advancements
Google is looking into crypto as part of its financial services growth plans Google’s parent entity, Alphabet Inc., revealed yesterday it had hired former PayPal executive Arnold Goldberg to take charge of its payments division. The tech company is ramping up efforts towards expanding financial services, an endeavour that includes cryptocurrencies. “Crypto is something we pay a lot of attention to […] As user demand and merchant demand evolves, we’ll evolve with it,” Google’s president of commerce, Bill Ready, told Bloomberg. The company’s current payments platform, Google Pay, allows contactless transactions, in-app, and online purchases. The service is available on select user devices, including smartwatches, tablets, and Android mobile devices. Accord...
DOGE, SHIB and SPELL are the best meme tokens you can buy on January 20, 2022 and this is why!
Dogecoin (DOGE) is a token based on the popular “Doge” internet meme, which originally started as a joke, but is now one of the most commonly-used tokens to transfer value online. Shiba Inu (SHIB) is another meme token, dubbed as the “dogecoin killer,” which over time grew into its own ecosystem, introducing BONE, LEASH, and the ShibaSwap. Spell Token (SPELL) is essentially this reward token on the abracadabra.money lending platform that uses interest-bearing tokens as collateral to borrow a stablecoin known as Magic Internet Money (MIM). Should you buy Dogecoin (DOGE)? On January 20, Dogecoin (DOGE) had a value of $0.16453. DOGE had its all-time high value on May 8, 2021, at $0.731578. The token was 344% higher or by $0.567048. On December 2, the token had it...
Stader Labs announce $12.5 million strategic raise, receives praise from Terra founder Do Kwon
On Thursday, Stader Labs, a crypto firm building decentralized finance, or DeFi, products for proof-of-stake blockchain networks, announced that it raised $12.5 million in a private sale. The funding round was led by Three Arrows Capital with additional participation from Blockchain.com, Accomplice, DACM, GoldenTree Asset Management, Accel, Amber, 4RC, Figment, and anger investors. This puts Staber Labs at a valuation of $450 million. Amitej Gajjala, CEO of Stader Labs, issued the following comment regarding the development: This capital will be strategically deployed to accelerate our cross-chain expansion, as well as to nurture our growing ecosystem of third-parties developing staking applications with decentralized Stader infrastructure. Stader Labs’ two core products are Stake Po...
Wiki continues to accept crypto donations despite pressure to stop
Following a proposal from users to stop accepting crypto donations to Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit confirmed that it would proceed with crypto donations. Contributors banded together to urge the foundation to disable the option to donate in crypto because of environmental concerns. However, while the organization will continuously monitor the conversations around crypto within its communities, it will not budge on accepting crypto donations. Elise Flick from the Wikimedia team told Cointelegraph that Wikimedia’s fundraising approach is meeting donors where they are. Flick mentioned that the foundation aims to “provide the most desired payment options in different parts of the world.” This includes catering to the requests that the foundation received from donors requesting to b...
MicroStrategy CEO won’t sell $5B BTC stash despite crypto winter
Despite a 40% drop in the value of Bitcoin (BTC), MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor has no intention of selling his firm’s $5-billion stash. Even if BTC suffers a lengthy bear market, Saylor told Bloomberg that he is a “Bitcoin bull” and does not intend to alter MicroStrategy’s multi-billion-dollar BTC acquisition plan. He took a firm stance against cashing out BTC: “Never. No. We’re not sellers. We’re only acquiring and holding Bitcoin, right? That’s our strategy.” This current crypto winter doesn’t have Michael Saylor feeling all that cold. He tells @emilychangtv why in Studio 1.0 https://t.co/EsUlY5sscN pic.twitter.com/zWStdl5qsF — Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) January 20, 2022 MicroStrategy became the first publicly listed corporation in the United States to acquire and hold Bitcoin a...
Ad restrictions won’t impact crypto demand, Binance CEO says
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ,” claimed that the growing restrictions on crypto advertisement won’t impact the demand. During his interview with CNBC, CZ stressed that physical crypto advertisements and crypto ads, in general, have not had much impact on user growth, and it has only become common over the past few years. He said that the majority of crypto adoption comes from “word of mouth” marketing. Clampdown on crypto advertising is unlikely to have much of an effect on demand, says @binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pic.twitter.com/K5EtuWyxGz — CNBC International (@CNBCi) January 20, 2022 He also added that primary advertising services such as Google and Facebook had not allowed crypto ads for the longest time. Thus, it’s clear advertisement doesn’t play a significant r...
