Crypto
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Crypto community rallies with Ukraine as local NFT artists’ works sell out
It appears that crypto enthusiasts worldwide are rallying in support of Ukrainians during the difficult times. According to reports, Bitcoin (BTC) donations to Come Back Alive, a non-governmental organization helping Ukraine’s military efforts, received $3 million in BTC in a single donation on Friday. Users also took to social media to ask the country’s Ministry of Defense to accept crypto donations, such as Tether (USDT). At the same time, the founder of Ukraine’s Kuna exchange created a crypto fund to assist charities in the country. Everyone! Thank you for all the support and donations! The current plan is separated into 3 parts to involve as many as possible 1) direct donations (aimed at individuals)2) NFT Auction (via telegram & Opensea) 3) Project %...
Cointelegraph’s Top 10 in blockchain are here, but why should anyone care?
Have you ever compiled a ranked list? Perhaps the best movies about finance, your favorite wineries in France, the coolest bars in your city, or simply the people you want to grab a coffee with while in New York City for only two days? If so, I think you will agree with me: It may be extremely fun, but it is also extremely difficult. And the more contenders you plan to feature, the more difficult it is to establish an order that satisfies you. Now, imagine that you are compiling this list not alone but in discussion with dozens of your colleagues, every one of whom has an opinion you greatly appreciate. Then comes the moment in which you start repenting for ever asking for anyone’s opinion, as it is technically impossible to include everyone’s take. Moreover, you have to update the list at...
China’s Supreme Court rules public funding via crypto as illegal
The People’s Bank of China previously outlawed crypto trading across the country The new judicial interpretation from the Supreme Court has spelt out punishment for those that transact in cryptocurrencies China’s initial ban of cryptocurrency activities in September led to a global market-wide crash. The authorities, at the time, cited threat to financial stability as well as breeding of criminal activities like money laundering, gambling, and fraud as the reason for the take. However, the decision did not come with penalties or judicial prosecution for those that went against it. That is set to change from 1st March following a Thursday ruling from the country’s Supreme Court that has amended its Criminal Law in regards to raising public money through virtual assets. The...
BitMEX founders plead guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations
The founders of crypto exchange BitMEX have pled guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act after a lengthy litigation process with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). American Arthur Hayes and British Hong Konger Benjamin Delo admitted to “willfully failing to establish, implement, and maintain an anti-money laundering (AML) program” at their crypto derivatives and futures exchange, BitMEX. BitMEX is a Seychelles-based crypto trading platform that offers crypto futures, derivatives, and margin trading up to 100x. The exchange once offered its services without any know-your-customer (KYC) or AML verification procedures to Americans. The DOJ’s Feb. 24 announcement on the case states that such a lack of regulatory compliance essentially caused BitMEX to become a “money-laundering platform.” ...
Snow Crash’s Metaverse was filled with ads in 1992, and the real one will be too
Neal Stevenson’s Snow Crash, a techno-dystopian science-fiction novel that has become a legend among Silicon Valley tech bros, predicted the rise of a future Metaverse all the way back in 1992. Despite Stephenson saying that he was “just making sh*t up”, the eerily accurate predictions and worldbuilding of Snow Crash have been long-revered by tech entrepreneurs and futurists including Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. Now, Stephenson’s striking fictional depictions of a Metaverse oversaturated with the neon glow of commercial advertising rings truer than ever as Web3 designers and marketers gear up to begin advertising in the Metaverse(s) of today. On Feb. 23, mixed-reality NFT platform Realm announced a partnership with decentralized advertising exchange Alkimi. Realm stated it intend...
Block nets $1.18B Q4 gross profit marking a 47% YoY increase
Crypto-friendly digital payments tech firm Block, Inc. (formerly known as Square) posted $1.18 billion worth of gross profit in Q4, representing a growth of 47% over the same period in 2020. The firm led by Bitcoin maxi Jack Dorsey has multiple business arms including Cash App, Square, and the freshly acquired buy now pay later (BNPL) firm Afterpay after the $29 billion deal officially closed at the end of last month. Block’s 2021 Q4 report was posted on Feb. 24, and the firm revealed significant gross profit increases across Cash App and Square, with each firm generating $518 million and $657 million apiece to mark YoY gains of 37% and 54% respectively. In total, the company generated $4.42 billion worth of gross profit for the entirety of 2021, marking a YoY growth of 62% compared to 202...
Ukraine Bitcoin exchange volume spikes 200% as Russia war sparks currency concerns
Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoin trading volumes have surged at a major Ukraine cryptocurrency exchange in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion, data shows. According to monitoring resource CoinGecko, on Feb. 24, volume at Kuna almost trippled to over $4 million. Crypto on the radar of Ukrainians As the armed conflict with Russia began, the impact on the fiat currencies of both countries was immediately apparent. While the Russian ruble suffered noticeably more, the Ukrainian hryvnia also fell, targeting 30 per dollar in what would be a new all-time low. Ukraine, which just this month finally ratified a law legalizing cryptocurrency after much to-and-fro between lawmakers, unsurprisingly saw interest in alternatives snap higher. The effect was obvious at seven-year-old Kuna, volumes at which ...
Bitcoin price spike to $39K leads traders to say ‘the panic is over for a few days’
Global financial markets and crypto markets were pummeled over the past 24-hours as the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces sent investors scrambling and sell-offs took place across most asset classes. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of Bitcoin (BTC) hit a low of $34,333 in the early trading hours on Feb. 24, shortly after the Ukraine incursion began, and has since climbed its way back to $38,500 after an unexpected short-squeeze may have rapped bearish investors on the knuckles. BTC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView Here’s a look at what several analysts are saying about BTC price and how the ongoing conflict could impact crypto markets in the short-term. BTC in a “great buy area” Bitcoin’s collapse on the night of Feb. 23 was not unexp...
Crypto could bypass President Biden’s ‘devastating’ sanctions on Russian banks and elites: Report
The sanctions announced by United States President Joe Biden in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine did not include cutting the country off from payments on the SWIFT system or cryptocurrency transfers. In a Thursday announcement from the White House, Biden said the U.S. and its allies and partners would be enforcing sanctions aimed at imposing “devastating costs” on Russia due to “Putin’s war of choice against Ukraine.” The U.S. president announced that the country would sever its financial system from Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, as well as impose “full blocking sanctions” on VTB Bank, Bank Otkritie, Sovcombank OJSC, Novikombank, and their subsidiaries. Biden also named several elite nationals who have “enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian state” as part of the ...
VOXEL, SLP and ALICE rally after protocol updates and a major exchange listing
Crypto markets are taking a beating but there are still a few standout performers even during this week’s volatility. One sector that has managed to rise above the noise are NFT-related altcoins and GameFi tokens. Top gainers in the collectible and NFT sector. Source: CoinMarketCap Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and CoinMarket Cap shows that three notable gainers over the past 48-hours were Voxies (VOXEL), Smooth Love Potion (SLP) and MyNeighborAlice (ALICE). Voxie Tactics launches its marketplace VOXEL is the native utility currency of Voxie Tactics, a free-to-play, 3-dimensional, role-playing game that combines the classic look of the popular tactical games of the 1990s and 2000s with modern game mechanics. Data from TradingView shows that after hitting a low of $0.90 on Feb. ...
US Bitcoin miners expanding operations despite price volatility
Crypto mining operations based in the United States are committed to increasing their hash power with more hardware despite Bitcoin’s (BTC) three-month downturn. The Marathon Digital Holdings and GEM Mining companies in the U.S. told Cointelegraph this week that they each expect the size of their respective operations to grow through 2022 by at least doubling the number of machines at their facilities. Marathon Digital’s VP of corporate communications Charlie Schumacher told Cointelegraph in an interview that it is moving forward with plans to deploy 199,000 new machines by 2023 to secure what is “arguably the future of the global monetary system.” GEM Mining CEO John Warren said via email that it “plans to have 32,000 miners online by the end of 2022.” For Marathon, that would b...
BNY Mellon announces Chainalysis partnership to track customer crypto transactions
Bank of New York Mellon has partnered with Chainalysis to enhance its crypto risk management Chainalysis software provides a plethora of services, including flagging high-risk transactions Having added support for Bitcoin back in February last year, America’s oldest bank is now making further moves to enhance its custodial suite of services for crypto. BNY Mellon announced yesterday that it has partnered with blockchain software company Chainalysis to track its customer’s crypto transactions. BNY Mellon, the largest custodian bank globally with $46.7 trillion in assets, sought the services of Chainalysis to track and analyse crypto products easily. The bank believes this will help it manage the legal risks that come with dealing in them. Tracking customers’ crypto A...
