Crypto

The Associated Press news agency announced it would be launching its own Chainlink oracle node to ensure any data from its U.S. newspaper and broadcaster members would be cryptographically verified. In an Oct. 21 announcement, the Associated Press, or AP, said smart contract developers would have access to the agency’s “economic, sports, and race call data” once the node was operational. According to the AP, it will be publishing data on-chain for developers to access and reference in any relevant applications, in addition to providing information on upcoming elections and serving artists working with nonfungible tokens. “Chainlink technology is the ideal way to provide smart contract developers anywhere in the world with direct, on-demand access to AP’s trusted economic, sports, and race ...

Ether (ETH) flirted with its $4,380 all-time high on Oct. 21 but failed to breach it by a few dollars. Some analysts, including independent market analyst Scott Melker, believe that an exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval is the next logical step for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). My bet is we will see an Ethereum Futures ETF before we see a physical Bitcoin ETF. — The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) October 20, 2021 However disappointed Ether bulls might be, they are likely to score a $78 million profit on Oct. 22’s options expiry. Bears were apparently caught off-guard as Ether accumulated a 35% gain month-to-date. Ether price at Bitstamp in USD. Source: TradingView Investor sentiment was also positively impacted by the pension fund for firefighters in Houston...

This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industry’s most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape, and enterprise blockchain integrations.   In this 30th edition of the Shanghai Man column, we preview the Wanxiang Shanghai Blockchain Week, an offline event that normally is the biggest blockchain conference on the Chinese calendar. Next week, despite all the regulatory crackdowns, the event is still planning to go ahead, albeit with a one-month delay from its usual place in mid-September.  The flagship event Historically, Wanxiang Blockchain Week has attracted huge crowds of industry participants including traders, investors, developers, financial institutions, and traditional comp...

More than 1 million people are on the waitlist for Robinhood’s long-awaited crypto wallet according to CEO Vlad Tenev Speaking to Jim Cramer during CNBC’s Disruptor 50 summit on Oct. 21, Tenev stated that was very “proud” of Robinhood’s progress in crypto, as he highlighted the firm’s recent push to provide a crypto wallet for its users: “A lot of people have been asking us for the ability to send and receive cryptocurrencies, transfer them to hardware wallets, transfer them onto the platform to consolidate. And you know, the crypto wallets waitlist is well over a million people now, which is very exciting.” “We see an opportunity to continue growing that business,” he added. Robinhood users have long urged the company to develop a crypto wallet as the platform currently does not sup...

Two or three weeks ago, when Bitcoin (BTC) was trading below $52,000, a trader betting on $65,000 by Oct. 22 would have been considered extremely optimistic. The fact that 98% of the put (sell) options for Bitcoin’s weekly options expiry on Oct. 22 has been placed below that price proves that this is true. Fast forward to this week, and the successful launch of the first BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States and news that Digital Currency Group (DCG), the parent company of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, increased its limit to acquire up to $1 billion worth of GBTC shares, boosted Bitcoin price to new all-time highs. The $40.5 billion investment vehicle has been available for trading on United States markets since March 2015, and it recently filed a request to the United S...

Society is headed towards a new form of digital ownership with an economy and greater metaverse based on the blockchain. The concept of “the metaverse” is typically depicted as actual and augmented reality-based in a virtual world. Most recognize this concept since it is present in several fictional movies of dystopian futures like Ready, Player, One, Minority Report and Avatar. However, the concept has since quickly gained attraction from the technology industry, making it more viable than ever before. The metaverse is seen by many as the natural evolution to what comes next after what people are already doing on social media. Industry experts believe that people are already seeking new places to interact with each other, collect virtual likes and gain recognition. Still, othe...

Privacy-focused blockchain file storage service Internxt has a lofty vision: leverage decentralized technology to break Big Tech’s monopoly over user data. Its first product, Internxt Drive, aims to compete as an alternative to Google Drive and Dropbox — without compromising personal privacy and data ownership.  In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Internxt CEO Fran Villalba Segarra described the core technology behind his product and explained why privacy should be considered a fundamental human right. He also explained the perils of centralized architecture, why Big Tech constantly violates user privacy and what’s in store for internet users in the era of Web 3. Privacy-as-a-human-right Although privacy advocates have long been concerned about Big Tech’s exploits of user da...

Wally Adeyemo, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, said the department would likely be enforcing more sanctions on companies involved in illicit transactions related to ransomware payments. Speaking at an online event hosted by the Center for a New American Security with former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Ambassador Paula Dobriansky, Adeyemo said the U.S. government would likely be dipping into its toolbox by employing sanctions when criminals threaten national security interests. He specifically mentioned “crypto exchanges or mixers that are fundamentally in the business of furthering cybercriminals” as possible targets. “Our view is that the vast majority of digital assets are being used for legitimate purposes, but for those that are primarily in the busines...

As Bitcoin (BTC) marked a new all-time high above $67,000, PayPal co-founder and billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel said he should have bought more Bitcoin. Thiel spoke of cryptocurrencies, central banks and artificial intelligence during an interview in Miami hosted by policy think tank Lincoln Network, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. “You’re supposed to just buy Bitcoin,” Thiel said, adding, “I feel like I’ve been underinvested in it.” The tech investor noted that his only concern about buying Bitcoin was that the investment “secret was already known by everybody.” “I think the answers are still to go long. Maybe it still is enough of a secret,” he added. According to Thiel, the latest Bitcoin rally is definitely a big concern for global central banks. The cryptocurrency’s ...

Bitcoin (BTC) passed $66,000 again on Oct. 21 after fresh macro turbulence sparked a retest of previous all-time highs. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Evergrande fails to hold Bitcoin bulls back Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD recovering from a dip to $64,000 overnight. The move had come in step with a comedown in stocks, which were reacting to renewed concerns over Chinese property giant Evergrande. Nonetheless, Bitcoin managed to preserve higher levels, resulting in only a brief trip below the $64,900 threshold, which had held as the BTC record since April this year. #BTC successfully retested the orange area as support to reach a new All Time High Now $BTC is dipping to turn its previous old All Time High into support (blue...

Bitcoin (BTC) broke its all-time high price level following the launch of ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund (ETF), BITO, on Tuesday, but JPMorgan Chase strategists believe the key driver behind the price jump is investor concern over inflation. The BITO launch, which saw the highest-ever first-day natural volume for an ETF, is “unlikely to trigger a new phase of significantly more fresh capital entering Bitcoin,” JPMorgan strategists said in a note. Instead, JPMorgan believes that as gold failed to respond to concerns over rising cost pressures in the last couple of weeks, Bitcoin’s renewed role as a better hedge against inflation in the eyes of investors is the main reason for the current bull run. The team highlighted that the shift away from gold ETFs into Bitcoin funds h...

Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska has once again called on the Russian government to stop ignoring Bitcoin (BTC) after the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation raided his homes in Washington and New York. In a Telegram post on Thursday, Deripaska argued that the Bank of Russia has been “infantile in ignoring the growing cryptocurrency market,” while the U.S. Department of the Treasury has been “investing particularly in this direction.” The billionaire emphasized that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have massive potential to not only help Russia avoid U.S. sanctions but also weaken the U.S. dollar, stating: “The U.S. had realized long ago that uncontrolled digital payments are capable of not only nullifying the effectiveness of the entire mechanism of economic sanctions but also takin...