Crypto
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Iran halts authorized crypto mining to save energy for winter
Amid Iran’s energy consumption increasing during the winter, local energy authorities have decided to halt operations of authorized cryptocurrency mining centers. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, chairman of the board and managing director of Iran Grid Management Company (Tavanir), announced that Iran is shutting down crypto mining centers again to reduce liquid fuel consumption in power plants amid decreasing temperatures. Mashhadi said that Iranian authorities took this action to reduce energy consumption last month, The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported on Saturday. “The Energy Ministry has been implementing measures since last month to reduce the use of liquid fuels in power plants, including cutting licensed crypto farms’ power supply, turning off lampposts in less risky are...
Binance gets green light from Canada and Bahrain
Binance is celebrating the new year with approvals from two different sides of the world. The crypto exchange has been granted an in-principle license by the Central Bank of Bahrain to operate as a crypto asset service provider in the Kingdom of Bahrain. According to the announcement, the in-principle approval a first for a Binance entity in the Middle East and North Africa region. In a statement, Binance CEO CZ said that approval from national regulators is “essential to build trust in crypto and blockchain and help further improve mass adoption.” When it comes to licensing, it is “a matter of formalities,'” according to Abdulkarim Haji, director for licensing at the country’s central bank. He highlighted Bahrain as the ideal location for Binance to establish...
Analysts say 2022 will be ‘defined by agility and cost-efficiency’ instead of ‘blockchain purity’
The entire crypto market took great strides toward mass adoption in 2021 and now that the year is nearly complete, analysts are setting their price targets for 2022. Many analysts supported calls for a $100,000 (BTC) price before the end of 2021 and although this seems unlikely, most investors expect the key price level to be tackled before Q2 of 2022. Here’s a look at some of the Bitcoin price predictions analysts are expecting in 2022. Bitcoin is still on track to surpass $100,000 Analysts has been more reticent in providing off the cuff Bitcoin predictions ever since PlanB’s stock-to-flow model incorrectly predicted a $98,000 BTC price by the end of November, even though the model had been spot on from August through October. While some traders are now questioning the validity of ...
6 Questions for Cristina Dolan of InsideChains
We ask the buidlers in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector for their thoughts on the industry… and throw in a few random zingers to keep them on their toes! This week, our 6 Questions go to Cristina Dolan, co-founder and chief operating officer of InsureX Technologies, an alternative insurance marketplace based on blockchain, and CEO of InsideChains, which builds large consortia and marketplaces with economic token layers to facilitate the global exchange of data and transactions. Cristina is an engineer, entrepreneur and author who has successfully embraced advanced technologies to build and grow disruptive businesses throughout her career in media, telecommunications, e-commerce and, more recently, fintech. As an early adopter of crypto and blockchain technologies, she co-founded an...
Crypto mainstream adoption: Is it here already? Experts Answer, Part 3
Sebastian is the chief strategy officer at Coinsource, a Bitcoin ATM provider in the United States. “In 2022, we expect more countries to follow El Salvador’s lead and adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, particularly countries across Latin America and Asia. As a result, we anticipate an increase in the number of Bitcoin ATMs across Latin America, and also in Europe. As new countries adopt, it is likely U.S. dominance in the crypto industry will be reduced. Regulation of crypto will continue into 2022, which is generally a good thing. However, it must be reasonable and fairly applicable to all. We have the potential to solve compliance in many of the protocols once and for all, so we need to double down on this. The industry is on a good path to increase the standards by whic...
7 NFL players that chose crypto over cash salaries
For NFL fans, 2021 was a great year. Stadiums returned to capacity crowds after the 2020 season was shortened with limited attendance. Stadium parking lots were again filled with the enthusiastic anticipation of tailgaters and their barbequed camaraderie. It was also a great year for Bitcoin (BTC) investors as the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization reached all-time high prices multiple times throughout 2021, eventually topping out at $69,000 in early November. This led to a dramatic increase in media coverage of Bitcoin. Seven NFL players in 2021 decided to call the audible and begin either being paid in crypto or having their cash salary partially converted to crypto. These players have capitalized on the return of the regular season and the increased profitability of B...
Top crypto winners and losers of 2021
The year 2021 has undoubtedly been a bull market with Bitcoin (BTC) raising the all-time high price bar several times this year. But not all crypto assets have performed equally. There have been a number of losers in addition to the majority of winners in terms of price gains. Since the beginning of 2021, total crypto market capitalization has gained 190% from just under $800 million to over $2.3 trillion today. It hit an all-time high of just over $3 trillion in early November. Top 3 crypto gainers in 2021 The crypto top-ten in terms of market capitalization looked a little different on Jan. 1, 2021, as it contained Litecoin (LTC), Chainlink (LINK), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). These have dropped out and have given way to Solana (SOL), USDC, and Avalanche (AVAX) by the year’s end. Dogecoin (DO...
Bitcoin slips under $50K amid warning ‘new player’ Binance whale is pressuring BTC price
Bitcoin (BTC) lost $50,000 for the first time in several days on Dec. 26 as exchange inflows caught up with the cautiously optimistic mood. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView “New player” beefs up $50,000 sell wall Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed volatility hitting BTC/USD overnight on Saturday. The pair had reached $51,500 before starting to retrace, this culminating in a dip to $49,644. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was back circling $50,000. The move came in tandem with a rise in inflows to major exchange Binance, with order book data showing a new wall of resistance being built at $50,000. Binance order book heatmap chart. Source: Material Indicators The behavior points to a large-volume investor shaping market bias...
Indian police commissioner issues a public warning against crypto frauds
The Additional Commissioner of Police Shikha Goel warned Indian citizens about the rise in cybercrime in an event hosted by the city police of Hyderabad, India, suggesting not to transfer cryptocurrencies to unauthorized private wallets. Goel highlighted the various methods that are actively being used by fraudsters to dupe investors such as lucrative investment opportunities, illegitimate bank transfers and cryptocurrencies. Acknowledging the growth of Indian crypto users, Goel added: “They [fraudsters] ask you to share your cryptocurrency details. And once you put it in your wallet, then the money is taken away.” After simplifying the elaborate fraud in a sentence, Goel also highlighted that sixteen such cases have been registered involving cryptocurrencies. Do not transfer your cryptocu...
What is a honeypot crypto scam and how to spot it?
What is a crypto honeypot and why is it used? Smart contracts programs across a decentralized network of nodes can be executed on modern blockchains like Ethereum. Smart contracts are becoming more popular and valuable, making them a more appealing target for attackers. Several smart contracts have been targeted by hackers in recent years. However, a new trend appears to be gaining traction; namely, attackers are no longer looking for susceptible contracts but are adopting a more proactive strategy. Instead, they aim to trick their victims into falling into traps by sending out contracts that appear to be vulnerable but contain hidden traps. Honeypots are a term used to describe this unique sort of contract. But, what is a honeypot crypto trap? Honeypots are smart contracts that appear to ...
Binance Turkey fined 8M lira for non-compliance against money laundering
The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) has fined Binance Turkey 8 million lira (nearly $750,000) after the crypto exchange failed the financial watchdog’s audit for monitoring Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance. The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), which serves as Turkey’s financial intelligence unit under the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, found crypto exchange Binance’s Turkey operations guilty of violating laws that intend to prevent the laundering of money acquired through criminal means. According to local news media Anadolu Agency, MASAK carried out an audit of Law No. 5549 on Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime, also known as the AML Law. The AML Law in Turkey requires companies to identify and verify the personal identification information...
Just 1.3 million Bitcoin left circulating on crypto exchanges
In glad tidings for an orange Christmas, Bitcoin (BTC) supply is drying up to lows not seen for years. In a recent tweet by CryptoRank, just 6.3% of the total Bitcoin supply, or 1.3 million BTC, is held on cryptocurrency exchanges. The decreasing supply is nothing new, trending down since the Bitcoin halving in 2020 when the BTC block reward was cut in two. BTC availability on exchanges followed suit, slowly trending down over the past year. Exchange wallets accounted for 9.5% of the BTC supply in October 2020, just before the 2020 Christmas all-time highs, and 7.3% in July this year. The 6.3% December figure is the lowest recorded in 2021. Interestingly, Coinbase’s BTC wallet dominance is also slipping. The American exchange used to custody more BTC than all other exchanges combined...
