Crypto
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Klaytn token down 15% in a month, but network’s TVL shows resilience
Klaytn (KLAY) had a promising start in March 2021, reaching an impressive $11 billion market capitalization following its debut. However, investors have exaggerated their expectations as the token’s current total value stands at $3 billion, down roughly 70%. KLAY/USD on Binance. Source: TradingView Although not as well known as the leading smart contract blockchains, Klaytn remains a top-35 token by capitalization rank. Moreover, the network holds $1.2 billion worth of deposits locked on smart contracts. Capital locked on smart contracts is known in the industry as total value locked, or TVL. Real use cases and strong backing Klaytn is a flexible modular network architecture created by Kakao, a publicly-traded South Korean internet giant. The Asian tech group’s shares are value...
Run-DMC’s McDaniels at SXSW: Blockchain can take the power back for artists
Cointelegraph’s senior reporter, Rachel Wolfson visited South by Southwest (SXSW) — a ten-day annual technology, film and music festival based in Austin, Texas — to connect with, and interview, a melting pot of pioneers, luminaries, and enthusiasts from the crypto, blockchain and Web3 industries. Wolfson spoke to Darryl McDaniels — known culturally as DMC — founding member of the infamous New York hip-hop trio Run-D.M.C, about the group’s illustrious discography, his views on the capitalistic-induced flaws within the traditional music industry, as well as his overarching vision in collaboration with blockchain project The Song That Owns Itself (STOI)) to advance decentralized digital ownership. Run-D.M.C. achieved colossal success across the 80’s and 90’s with m...
Congress members concerned SEC stifling innovation with crypto scrutiny
In a bipartisan letter put forward by Republican Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer, a cohort of Congress members has written to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler, challenging the regulator’s scrutiny of cryptocurrency firms and expressing concern that “overburdensome” investigation may be suffocating the crypto industry. They suggest the SEC is drowning companies in paperwork in contravention of the SEC’s stated aims and mandated jurisdiction. Emmer tweeted to his 51,000 followers: “My office has received numerous tips from crypto and blockchain firms that SEC Chair @GaryGensler’s information reporting ‘requests’ to the crypto community are overburdensome, don’t feel particularly… voluntary… and are stifling innovation.” This is why I sent a bipartisa...
Internet Computer founder’s $250M plan to help end the war in Ukraine
Internet Computer (ICP) and DFINITY founder Dominic Williams has conjured up an oddball plan to speed up the end of the Russian invasion of Ukraine via smart contracts and $250 million worth of crypto rewards. DFINITY’s Internet Computer was launched in May 2021 and is a public blockchain and protocol that’s trying to decentralize the internet. Williams’ March 16 proposal is focused on countering propaganda, and informing the Russian population — who he suggests are in general “completely ignorant” — on the reality of what is actually taking place in Ukraine, which will then, in turn, spur them on to pressure the government to stop the conflict. “We should not hold out too much hope that sanctions alone will turn the Russian population against their leaders, for the simple reason tha...
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirms Instagram users could soon mint NFTs
Mark Zuckerberg says Instagram will bring functionality such as minting Avatar clothes into NFTs The social will support natively minted NFTs and imported ones CEO and co-founder of Meta (formerly Facebook) Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed a long-running rumour that the mammoth tech firm is looking to explore initiatives around NFTs. Zuckerberg was speaking at the ongoing South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas, during which he confirmed that the digital collectables would be coming to Instagram. The internet entrepreneur did not provide any specific date by which he expects the collectables to launch on the media-sharing app. He, however, indicated that it should be within the coming months. The new feature will likely allow Instagram users to display NFTs they currently own an...
Waves (WAVES) leading altcoins in 24-hr gains: Here are other top gainers
Bitcoin and co. shot up early on Wednesday before the majority retraced to their support zones Fantom, Elrond and Waves are among the top gainers The majority of crypto assets saw a sharp price upswing in the early hours of Wednesday. Bitcoin climbed above $40,000, going as high as $41,465 before the gains were wiped away less than an hour later. The pioneer cryptocurrency has since backtracked to $39,720 where it is currently hovering. FTM, EGLD, WAVES are the standout alts Despite the uncertainty in the markets, a handful of altcoins have defied the general trend and maintained an uptrend. Waves’ native coin WAVES is, as of this writing, one of the best performing crypto-assets. The crypto token embarked on an ascent late Tuesday and has sustained the upward momentum on Wednesday. ...
Mutant Ape Yacht Club crosses $1BN in all-time sales volume
Only four NFT collections have recorded more sales volume than Mutant Ape Yacht Club Mutant Ape Yacht Club has the fourth-highest number of buyers and sellers among the top ten NFT collections by sales volume Mutant Ape Yacht Club is the latest NFT collection to rake up more than $1 billion in sales volume. The collection, born from the Bored Ape Yacht Club last August, joins a list of four others that previously eclipsed the mark. Online game universe Axie Infinity tops the all-time sales volume list with $4.033 billion, CryptoSlam data shows. Backed by its vast gaming community, the collection has the highest number of owners – 2.72 million. AxieInfinity’s sale volume is almost double second-place (previously LarvaLab’s) Ethereum-based CryptoPunks which has collected $2.118 b...
Price analysis 3/16: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, LUNA, SOL, ADA, AVAX, DOT, DOGE
Bitcoin (BTC) is witnessing a see-saw battle near $40,000 with both the bulls and the bears trying to gain the upper hand. The volatility could remain high as the markets await the United States Federal Reserve’s policy decision due on March 16. Analyst Willy Woo suggests that Bitcoin could witness a capitulation event based on a cost basis, a metric that indicates the transfer of Bitcoin from inexperienced to experienced traders. Such sharp declines usually suggest the formation of market bottoms. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 However, Glassnode believes that a capitulation has been avoided because the sell-offs have been absorbed by a relatively strong market. Although 82% of the short-term holders’ coins are in loss, Glassnode considers this to be a late...
Coinbase enables users to fund wallets from Chrome browser extension
On Wednesday, Coinbase launched a new feature, dubbed “Coinbase Pay,” that enables its clients to fund their Coinbase Wallets directly from a Chrome browser extension. According to its staff, Coinbase Pay intends to make it intuitive for anyone to participate in decentralized finance, or DeFi, swap tokens on decentralized exchanges, or DEXs, and purchase nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, in just a few clicks. Specifically, they wrote: “Before Coinbase Pay, users who wanted to add funds to their Coinbase Wallet from the browser extension needed to navigate to Coinbase.com, sign in to their account, copy-paste their wallet address, and manually transfer funds from their Coinbase account. The process was not only cumbersome, but also left the user vulnerable to user error.”...
Ukraine’s president signs law establishing regulatory framework for crypto
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine currently based in Kyiv, has signed a law establishing a legal framework for the country to operate a regulated crypto market. In a Wednesday announcement, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation said Zelenskyy signed a bill named “On Virtual Assets,” first adopted by the country’s legislature, the Verkhovna Rada, in February. Crypto exchanges and firms handling digital assets will be required to register with the government to operate legally in Ukraine, and banks will be allowed to open accounts for crypto firms. The law endows Ukraine’s National Securities and Stock Market Commission with the power to determine the country’s policies on digital assets, issue licenses to businesses dealing with crypto and act as a financial watchdo...
Bitcoin bulls to defend $40K leading into Friday’s $760M options expiry
Over the past two months, Bitcoin (BTC) has respected a slightly ascending trend, bouncing multiple times from its support. Even though that might sound positive, Bitcoin’s performance year-to-date remains a lackluster negative 14%. On the other hand, the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM) gained 2% in the same period. Bitcoin/USD 1-day candle chart. Source: TradingView The broader commodity index benefited from price increases in crude oil, natural gas, gold, corn, and lean hogs. Worsening macroeconomic conditions pressured the supply curve, which, in turn, shifted the equilibrium price toward a higher level. Moreover, the United States approved a $1.5 trillion spending bill on March 15 that funds the government through September. President Joe Biden’s signing of the legislation...
Hong Kong-based Hex Trust concludes an $88M Series B funding round
Hex Trust intends to expand into Europe and the Middle East It will also invest in its proprietary crypto platform Hex SafeTM Asia-based institutional crypto custodian Hex Trust has completed an $88 million Series B funding round led by Animoca Brands and Liberty City Ventures at a $300 million valuation. Of the raised capital, $61 million constituted primary capital, while $27 million was from secondary investors. Several other investments firms, including Sino Global Capital, Terra, CoinList, Protocol Labs, Morgan Creek, Primavera Venture Partners, Ripple, BlockFi, LeadBlock Partners, and Eterna Capital also participated in this round. According to CEO and co-founder of Hex Trust, Alessio Quaglini, investors’ interest in this raise surpassed the initially anticipated numbers. The C...
