Crypto
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Bitcoin heads into FOMC day on 24-hour highs amid concern over $24.3K top
Bitcoin (BTC) attempted to claw back losses on July 27 as a macro day of reckoning arrived for risk assets. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Analysis: $24,300 resistance “not a good sign” Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirmed a 24-hour high for BTC/USD prior to the Wall Street open on July 27. The pair had sunk below $21,000 in the first portion of the week, heightening nervousness among traders already wary of potential headwinds from the United States Federal Reserve. Likely chop for equities going into FOMC which expected $BTC and crypto chop around also today pic.twitter.com/GDj0GwlDXy — Rager (@Rager) July 26, 2022 July 27 is set to reveal the Federal Open Markets Committee‘s (FOMC) next base rate hike, expectations flitting between 7...
‘Game yet to begin’ for security token offerings, INX exec says
Despite some of the first security token offerings (STO) launching at least four years ago, the STO industry is still yet to take off, according to an executive at the INX cryptocurrency trading platform. The STO industry is still nascent compared to the overall digital asset industry as companies and individuals are just getting into the field, INX’s chief business officer Douglas Borthwick said in an interview with Cointelegraph. According to Borthwick, there is still a huge educational gap between those who are aware of STOs and those who have never heard of the term. Also known as a tokenized initial public offering (IPO), an STO is a type of public offering involving sales of tokenized digital securities, or security tokens, on security token exchanges. Security tokens can be used to ...
NFT potential vast and creative possibility endless, says YellowHeart CEO
While some refuse to adopt nonfungible tokens (NFTs), others are finding ways to realize the potential of NFT technology to solve real-world problems. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Josh Katz, CEO of NFT marketplace YellowHeart, shared his thoughts on using NFTs in ticketing, what the NFT space will look like in the future and whether NFTs can eventually surpass crypto in popularity. According to Katz, ticketing is one of the most compelling use cases for NFTs. Citing the UEFA Champions League incident in Paris where fraudulent tickets caused chaos, the CEO said that NFT tickets are the solution: “By providing immutable proof of authenticity for every ticket issued, venues and artists have an effective defense against ticket counterfeiting.” When asked about his thoughts on what the N...
Audius Hacked for $1 Million Via Malicious Governance Proposal
In the midst of a blistering $2 trillion crypto crash that has roiled the blockchain industry, the world’s leading blockchain-based streaming platform has sustained a seven-figure attack. In a malicious exploit that used the platform’s built-in governance structure as a means to withdraw tokens, Audius reportedly sustained a hack which saw the perpetrator make a speedy exit with over $1 million. According to Cointelegraph, the hacker was able to solely request the transfer of 18 million $AUDIO tokens by establishing themselves as the singular guardian of the contract, known as “Proposal #85.” The 18 million tokens were originally worth $6 million at the time, but due to the hacker’s move to hastily dump the reserves on the open market simultaneously, the resul...
Sentiment and inflation: Factors putting pressure on Bitcoin price
Subsequently, there are fears that Bitcoin prices will take longer to recover. Bitcoin (BTC) has been hovering around the $20,000 range for several weeks now after the coin lost over 60% of its value from its peak in November. The recent plunge wiped out over $600 million from its market cap and caused rising concerns of a bubble burst. Negative investor sentiment Cryptocurrency investors have been on edge since Bitcoin’s fall to around $20,000. Many of them fear that more unprecedented selloffs by key players could precipitate a bigger downtrend. Further declines are likely to amplify losses and make it harder for the market to recover in the medium term. As such, many investors are holding off additional investments. Besides the fall of cryptocurrencies, the decimation of linchpin crypto...
HARTi and Mitsui Sumitomo roll out NFT insurance coverage for claims
As announced on Tuesday, Japanese NFT Platform HARTi and insurance group Mitsui Sumitomo (三井住友海上) will roll out nonfungible token, or NFT, insurance for all digital artworks exhibited within the HARTi app. The insurance will attach to the NFT pieces on display by sellers free of charge, with HARTi responsible for the premium payments. Under the scheme, Mitsui Sumitomo will compensate owners of insured NFTs if their digital assets are compromised by unauthorized third-party access (such as through phishing, theft or wallet hacks) or become bugged or glitched during transfers. In such events, the policy will payout compensation to the NFT owner based on the exhibition price of each item and up to a maximum value of 500,000 yen ($3,661). The two parties expect to expand their collaborat...
Bitcoin price falls under $21K, bringing more capitulation or just consolidation?
On July 26, Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped below $21,000, giving back the majority of the gains accrued in the previous week and returning to the $23,300 to $18,500 range that Glassnode analysts describe as “the Week 30 high and Week 30 low.” A handful of analysts and traders attribute the July 26 to July 27 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and the expected Federal Reserve rate hike as the primary reasons for the current sell-off. Barring the announcement that the United States economy has entered a recession, a few traders believe that the expected 75 to 100 basis point (BPS) hike will be followed by a relief rally that could see BTC, Ether and other large-cap altcoins snack back to the top of their current range. Of course, this sentiment reflects more speculation than sou...
UPenn’s Wharton School rolls out online certificate course on business in the Metaverse
The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business announced Tuesday that its Aresty Institute of Executive Education will launch a certificate program titled “Business in the Metaverse Economy.” The six-week course will be taught online with a heavy dose of immersion. Wharton, one of the world’s leading business schools, teamed up with consulting firm Prysm Group to design the course, which will include more than 50 lectures by faculty and industry representatives, as well as six case studies. Guest speakers will come from Adobe, Animoca Brands, R/GA, RLY Network, Second Life, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among other organizations. The program’s academic director, Prof. Kevin Werbach, said in a statement: “The metaverse is a significant and broad phenomenon that ...
Aptos Labs raises $150M, more than doubling valuation
Layer-1 blockchain developer Aptos Labs has closed a $150 million funding round to further its ambitions in the Web3 space, further highlighting venture capital’s appetite for budding crypto-focused startups. The funding round was co-led by venture studios FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto, with additional participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Apollo, Franklin Templeton and Circle Ventures. According to Bloomberg, the funding round more than doubled the startup’s valuation, which was over $1 billion as of March. Aptos was launched by former Meta employees Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching. The founders also had a role in advancing Mark Zuckerberg’s failed Diem project. As Cointelegraph reported, the Diem Association and its subsidiaries wound down operations in February of this year, with Meta ...
Over a quarter of Asian Pacific ‘emerging giant’ startups tied to blockchain: Report
The Asia Pacific region is seeing a major business shift with increasing numbers of new technology startups appearing, even as venture capital investment is decreasing compared to last year. A report from Big Four accountant KPMG and international banking company HSBC based on a survey of 6,472 Asian Pacific startups found that over a quarter of them are blockchain related. Nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, led the way among sectors where Asian Pacific “emerging giants” were active, followed directly by decentralized finance, also known as DeFi. Electric vehicle charging infrastructure, quantum computing and robotic processing automation rounded out the top five sectors. Blockchain real estate and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) ranked 14th and 15th, respectively, on the sam...
CFTC will remodel LabCFTC, education office to increase regulatory efficiency
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the regulatory agency that shares the main crypto regulatory responsibility with the Securities Exchange Commission, will undergo restructuring to become more proactive and comprehensive, CFTC chair Rostin Behnam announced July 25. LabCFTC, which was described as “the focal point for the CFTC’s efforts to promote responsible fintech innovation,” will become the Office of Technology Innovation (OTI) and report directly to the chairman’s office. “We are now engaged in a more proactive and comprehensive effort across the agency to regulate these markets with the tools currently available to us,” Behnam said at a Brookings Institute webinar, adding, “Our core policy divisions are now directly addressing how the CFTC can lever...
Chipotle takes ‘buy the dip’ literally with new $200K crypto giveaway
United States-based fast casual restaurant chain Chipotle has started an online game which will give customers the chance to win more than $200,000 in crypto. In a Monday announcement, Chipotle said that, through July 31, fans would be able to play its “Buy The Dip” game using their rewards accounts. The company will give away $45,000 in Bitcoin (BTC), $10,000 in Ether (ETH), $13,750 in Solana (SOL), $14,250 in Avalanche (AVAX) and $14,250 in Dogecoin (DOGE) via the game. “We want to build the next generation of Chipotle fandom by connecting with the Web3 community,” said Chipotle chief marketing officer Chris Brandt. Free crypto giveaway? — Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) July 25, 2022 The restaurant chain gave away $100,000 in BTC in April 2021 as part of a promotion for National Burrito Day....
