Crypto

High transaction fees have been a persistent thorn in the side of investors and blockchain projects since at least 2014 when Ethereum Network co-creator Vitalik Buterin stated in reference to Bitcoin, “The ‘Internet of Money’ should not cost $0.05 per transaction. It’s kind of absurd.”  Fast forward to November 2021 and the simple act of approving a token so that it can be transacted on Uniswap can cost as much as $50 worth in Ether (ETH)  depending on the time of day. Average Ethereum gas cost. Source: Etherscan Even layer-2 solutions, which were billed as the protocols that would help solve the fee issue, have been unable to escape the high-fee curse of congested networks as new users onboard into the cryptocurrency ecosystem by the day. isnt arbitrum supposed to be ...

Joseph O’Connor, known in some corners of the internet as PlugWalkJoe, was indicted on an array of charges relating to a May 2019 cryptocurrency exchange hack. During the attack, he is alleged to have absconded with digital assets valued at approximately $784,000. In the criminal scheme, authorities believe O’Connor utilized SIM swap attacks (an artifice of fraud where 2FA phone calls and text messages are rerouted to a device controlled by the scammer) on three separate executives at an undisclosed cryptocurrency company to take control of their employers systems. O’Connor may have then diverted over 7 BTC, 407 ETH, 6363 LTC and 770 BCH from wallets maintained by the corporation on behalf of their users to wallets under his own control.  The indictment was brought by the US Att...

As reported by Reuters Thursday morning, Tierra Viva (“Alive Earth”), a Colombian exporter of long-horned beetles based in Tunja, has been developing its own cryptocurrency to avoid high commission costs on international sales. According to the outlet, the Hercules, Neptunus, and elephant beetle species exported by Tierra Viva have a retail price of $300 a pair in Tokyo. The beetle species are popular among Japanese schoolchildren and collectors. Carmelo Campos, chief programmer of Tierra Viva, said the following in an interview with Reuters: It’s an alternative to be able to export the beetles to Japan or any other part of the world and be able to use it as a method of payment. Tierra Viva’s digital currency is called the Kumushicoin (KTV), named after the native n...

The total value secured by the Chainlink network has officially surpassed $75 billion, marking a new milestone for the decentralized oracle solution that has become synonymous with price data services for the rapidly growing DeFi sector.  With the milestone, Chainlink has become “one of the most value securing forms of decentralized consensus on the planet,” according to protocol co-founder Sergey Nazarov. Chainlink is also one of the fastest-growing networks in all of crypto, with smart contract value secured growing by a factor of ten since last year.  2020 was a year of record growth for the #Chainlink Network. Here’s an overview of key metrics, like our adoption in #DeFi, implemented research, & blockchain integrations. Thank you to our great community and the amazing sma...

Bitcoin’s (BTC) pullback from its record high of $67,000 to below $60,000 has not deterred bulls from eyeing another peak level ahead, per an indicator that attempts to predict market bottoms and tops. Dubbed MVRV, the risk metric represents the ratio of Bitcoin’s market value to its realized value — similar to the price to book (P/B) ratio that compares a company’s market value to its book value. In doing so, MVRV attempts to identify whether an asset is under or overvalued. A 2017-like bullish setup An MVRV reading above 3.7 alerts about Bitcoin topping out, prompting selloffs. On the other hand, an MVRV reading below 1 implies buying pressure on the prospects of Bitcoin bottoming out. MVRV has historically assisted Bitcoin traders in spotting selling and buying pr...

Paytm, India’s leading digital payments company, has said Thursday that it would consider Bitcoin services if the country’s regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies was more definite. Speaking to Haslinda Amin and Rishaad Salamat during an interview on Bloomberg TV, Paytm’s Chief Financial Officer Madhur Deora stated that the rules surrounding Bitcoin (BTC) remain in a “grey area” in India. “Bitcoin is still in a regulatory grey area if not a regulatory ban in India. […] At the moment Paytm does not do Bitcoin. If it was ever to become fully legal in the country then clearly there could be offerings we could launch.” The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had initially prohibited cryptocurrencies, but the decision was reversed by India’s Supreme Court in March ...

Google’s parent company Alphabet has made a $1 billion equity investment in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group, the exchange responsible for many crypto derivatives products. In a Nov. 4 notice to investors, the CME Group announced the $1 billion investment from Alphabet in addition to a 10-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud aimed at accelerating the exchange’s move to the cloud and changing the way global derivatives markets operate. Google made the investment through the company’s nonvoting convertible preferred stock. “Through this long-term partnership with Google Cloud, CME Group will transform derivatives markets through technology, expanding access and creating efficiencies for all market participants,” said CME Group chair and CEO Terry Duffy. “This p...

Blake Cassidy, CEO of Australian micro-investment app Bamboo, has claimed that the Australian Securities Exchange’s (ASX) bias against listing crypto companies is causing an Aussie brain drain leading firms to seek out a US listing. Cassidy’s comments come in the same week the company announced a $3 million ($4M AUD) Series A investment round including participation from Australia’s largest cryptocurrency hedge fund, Orthogonal Trading, Mountain Ash Investment Management, and VP Capital. Bamboo is a micro-investing app that allows users to buy small amounts of digital currencies such as BTC and ETH by rounding up to the next dollar on each purchase and using the difference to buy any asset offered by the app. Cassidy told the Sydney Morning Herald that when he and his team were in the proc...

The FC Barcelona soccer club has partnered with Ownix to debut the launch of its nonfungible token (NFT) collection focused on enhancing the connection to its global audience. The series will showcase historic moments from the club’s 122-year history, one that includes an illustrious trophy display of 95 domestic and international triumphs, including 26 national league and five UEFA Champions League titles, according to archive data from Wikipedia. The digital assets will be facilitated through Ownix’s marketplace and are expected to launch in the final week of November utilizing the platform’s native ERC-20 token ONX. Cointelegraph spoke to Guy Elhanani, CEO of Ownix, for exclusive insight into the partnership. Cointelegraph: Will the NFT collection be immediately accessible to Barcelona’...