Crypto

This holiday season, fintech provider Unbanked will be enabling crypto donations for Toys for Tots, a program run by the United States Marine Corps that collects toys to distribute to disadvantaged children. In a Dec. 2 announcement, Unbanked said it would be allowing users to donate cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as part of a fundraising effort for Toys for Tots. Until Dec. 20, good Samaritans can send any amount of money towards the program which has given 604 million toys to 272 million children across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We are honored to support the incredible work of @ToysForTots_USA this #holidayseason We have set up a #crypto payment profile to enable donations in 28 #cryptocurrencies for this wonderful cause ɦ...

Looking at the winners and losers of the past week clearly shows that traders endured some serious heat as the total crypto market capitalization dropped by 12.7% when Bitcoin fell to $41,000. This sharp downside move knocked the figure from $2.37 trillion to $1.92 trillion on Dec. 3 and a total of $2 billion long future contracts were liquidated. Top winners and losers from top 80 coins. Source: Nomics Bitcoin (BTC) price retraced 14.6% over the past week, effectively underperforming the broader altcoin market. Part of this unusual movement can be explained by the performance seen in decentralized applications which held up better than most of the market. Data shows Ether (ETH) traded down 6.0%, Binance Coin (BNB) lost 7.3% and Solana (SOL) dropped by 7.8%. This week’s top gainers i...

Crypto investment firm Hashed is currently under investigation by the National Tax Service (NTS) in South Korea according to local media. The 4th Bureau of Investigation from the Seoul Regional Tax Office, which is handling the investigation, is best known for conducting investigations into tax evasion and slush fundraising. A slush fund is a pool of funds raised through undisclosed means and set aside for undisclosed purposes. On Dec. 7, local media reported that the exact nature of the investigation is not clear. An official from the regional tax office told reporters that although they could not confirm the exact nature of the investigation “intense investigations on small businesses without any prior notice are not uncommonly related to slush fundraising or tax evasion on the part of t...

A new survey shared with Cointelegraph has found that the proportion of Australian women who own crypto assets has doubled in the last year. The 2021 Independent Reserve’s Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI) of 2000 Australians found that the number of women who currently or have previously invested in crypto rose from 10.3% in 2020 to 20% in 2021. The percentage of female Bitcoin owners also rose from 8.3% to 14.8% according to the survey. Independent Reserve is an Australian-based cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in 2013, it has more than 200,000 users. Karen Cohen, Deputy Chair for the Board of Blockchain Australia, said that more women have entered the crypto market this year as the asset class has continued to become a mainstream investment. Speaking to Cointelegraph, she said: “I thi...

With the market capitalization of digital currencies surpassing $2 trillion, there is now record interest in crypto philanthropy. From helping to build a school in Uganda to fundraising for frontline healthcare workers and raising awareness for artists with intellectual disabilities, many nonprofit projects are gaining traction with generous assistance from crypto enthusiasts. But the rewards of giving crypto to charities aren’t limited to the feeling of having accomplished an altruistic task. The Internal Revenue Service currently classifies crypto as capital assets, like stocks. That means an investor can deduct the full market value of the cryptocurrency at the time of donation against their ordinary income (i.e., salary) over the period of a few years, while avoiding the...

The wider cryptocurrency ecosystem is in a heightened state of fear on Dec. 6 after the Dec. 3 market sell-off continues to send ripples across the the sector and Bitcoin (BTC) price remains pinned below $50,000.  Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that bulls are managing to hold BTC price above $49,000 but the general outlook suggests that additional days of consolidation are in store. BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView Here’s a look at what analysts are saying about what to expect from BTC price in the coming weeks. Strong support in the lower $40,000s Insight into the weekly price action for Bitcoin was provided by market analyst and pseudonymous Twitter user Rekt Capital who posted the following chart highlighting the major support and resistance zon...

Mysten Labs, the research and development firm founded by former engineers from social media giant Facebook, has announced the completion of a $36 million funding round towards its goal developing a Web 3.0 infrastructure platform. In a Monday announcement on Medium, the team behind Mysten Labs said the firm had raised $36 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Redpoint, Lightspeed, Coinbase Ventures, Electric Capital, Standard Crypto, NFX, Slow Ventures, Scribble Ventures, Samsung NEXT and others. According to a CNBC report, CEO Evan Cheng said Mystery would use the funds to build the infrastructure necessary for cryptocurrency- and blockchain-focused firms to deliver technology. “We believe fundamental limitations in existing crypto infrast...

Bitcoin (BTC) is attempting to extend its recovery by rising above the psychological mark at $50,000, but several popular analysts believe that BTC could remain range-bound for a few weeks or even months. On-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant said that Bitcoin “whales are still depositing BTC to exchanges.” This simply indicates that whales are setting themselves up to react at short notice depending on which path the price elects to take. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 The sharp correction of the past few days has pulled the Crypto Fear and Greed Index to 16, which indicates a sentiment of “extreme fear.” Some believe the current fall looks similar to the March 2020 crash. However, CoinCorner CEO Danny Scott said that Bitcoin’s fall was due to the liquidation of po...

Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency trading firm founded by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, has led a $35 million investment in the automated crypto trading app Stacked. On Dec. 9, the startup officially announced the successful completion of a Series A funding round co-led by Alameda and Mirana Ventures, a venture partner of Bybit exchange and BitDAO. The new funding will reportedly help Stacked grow its 40-person team to over 100 employees in 2022 and continue scaling its suite crypto portfolios and automated lending products. According to Alameda Research Ventures’ partner Brian Lee, Alameda started investing in Stacked over a year ago and is now sure about their ability to provide a “unique and simple investment experience for retail investors.” “The ability to give users some gua...

Kotak, India’s leading private bank, has reportedly become the first to open its gates to the crypto community, per a report published in the Economic Times.  The banking giant announced it has partnered with the leading crypto exchange WazirX, which would allow traders to use the banking services to liquidate their funds. The partnership between the two parties is being seen as a major breakthrough for the crypto community, given Indian banks have frozen crypto payments and withdrawals for the past eight months. “WazirX has opened an account with Kotak which can be used to receive and pay money to investors trading on the exchange. The account is yet to become operational. Paperwork, KYC, and some testing are on,” said one of the people familiar with the matter. Private banks in...