Crypto
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Pakistani high court orders government to regulate crypto in three months
The High Court of Sindh (SHC), the highest judicial body in Pakistan’s Sindh Province, has asked the government to come up with modalities for cryptocurrency regulation. According to Pakistani English daily The Express Tribune, the SHC gave the instruction while hearing a petition brought before the court challenging the legality of the country’s 2018 crypto ban. The SHC instructed regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the central bank to work with government agencies such as the Ministries of Information Technology and Law to develop crypto regulations within three months. As part of the proceedings, the SHC also requested that a report on the steps taken to regulate cryptocurrencies be submitted in the same time period. As previously reported by...
Bitcoin price eyes $65K breakout as BTC exchange reserves fall to 2018 lows
Bitcoin’s (BTC) ongoing price rally above $64,000 has coincided with a substantial drop in its reserves across all exchanges. According to data provided by CryptoQuant — a South Korea-based blockchain analytics service — the amount of Bitcoin held in exchanges’ wallets dropped to as low as 2.379 million BTC earlier this week, the lowest in more than three years. Currently, the reserves are around 2.38 million BTC. Bitcoin reserves across all exchanges. Source: CryptoQuant CryptoQuant noted that the declining Bitcoin reserves showed the availability of fewer BTC tokens “for selling, altcoins purchasing, and margin trading.” Additionally, that also reflected traders’ intention to “hodl” the cryptocurrency. Demand for Bitcoin grows among whales and fishes On the other hand, the cryptocur...
BREAKING: Bitcoin officially hits new all-time high above $65K
Bitcoin (BTC) has hit a new all-time high in United States dollars as a long-awaited surge pushes BTC/USD into price discovery. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Coinbase). Source: TradingView Bitcoin back in price discovery Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed Bitcoin breaching the $64,900 ceiling in place since April. On the second day of trading for the hugely popular ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, BTC/USD again surged ahead of the U.S. open — a practice that has characterized the pair in recent days. On social media, Bitcoin’s best-known names were celebrating. “The halls of eternity echo with the cries of those who sold their Bitcoin,” MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor summarized. New #bitcoin ATH pic.twitter.com/agaF0u8cS3 — PlanB (@100trillionUSD) October 20, 2021 T...
Blockchain lobby group urges lawmakers to be tech neutral
New regulation is only justified if it mitigates previously unaddressed risk factors, the letter stated Prominent digital currency and blockchain advocacy group Chamber of Digital Commerce presented a six-point action plan asking the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets to adopt a tech-neutral approach towards stablecoin regulation. In a 17-page letter to the Working Group that includes regulators from the Department of Treasury and Federal Reserve, the high-profile lobby group argued that dollar-pegged stablecoins do not pose a systemic threat to the financial system. The letter also explained that all future regulatory action around stablecoins must be proportionate to their risk potential. Explaining its stance on tech neutrality, the Chamber stated that stablecoi...
Ethereum price prediction: ETH looks to top resistance at $3,900
The cryptocurrency market cap is above $2.5 trillion as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue to rally in the fourth quarter The cryptocurrency market is having an excellent fourth quarter so far. Following the bearish trend in the second and third quarters, Bitcoin and the others are now back to making gains. Bitcoin is trading above the $63,000 level and could soon surpass its previous all-time high price above $64,400 if it maintains the current momentum. Ether has also been performing well, up by more than 10% over the past seven days. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap rose by 3.55% on Tuesday, following a 2.65% decline on Monday. The rally puts ETH firmly above the $3,800 level, allowing it to prepare for further upward movement in the coming hours and days. Ethere...
Chainalysis adds BTC to its balance sheet, plans to buy more coins
The past year has seen Bitcoin gain adoption from retail investors, financial institutions and corporate entities Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has joined the list of companies that currently hold Bitcoin on their balance sheet. The company confirmed the purchase of Bitcoin via a blog post yesterday as it shores up its assets. Chainalysis partnered with NYDIG, a leading Bitcoin technology and financial services firm, on this latest development. According to the blockchain analytics firm, NYDIG was key in enabling Chainalysis to buy and custody Bitcoin. Nate Conrad, NYDIG’s Head of Asset Management, stated that “Our expanding partnership with Chainalysis is a mutually beneficial relationship. Chainalysis has long been building trust in the digital asset ecosystem, and this investmen...
Galaxy Interactive raises another $325M fund aimed at Metaverse and next gen games
Galaxy Interactive, a venture capital firm focused on next generation interactive technolo, has announced it has raised $325 million for its second fund from 70 different investors. The fund is focused on virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and blockchain-based games. In an Oct. 19 announcement, Galaxy Digital, the majority owner of Galaxy Interactive, stated that $150 million from the fund has already been allocated to new portfolio companies including Republic, 1047 Games, Elodie, ROAR, Art Blocks and Masterworks with other additional investments to be announced in coming months. Established in 2018 by general partners Sam Englebardt and Richard Kim, the company now has more than $650 million in assets under management and has invested in more than 75 companies. Engle...
Senators pressure Facebook to ‘immediately discontinue’ Novi wallet pilot
Five Senators have called for the immediate closure of Facebook’s new crypto wallet just hours after it was launched in partnership with Coinbase. Crypto skeptic Senator Elizabeth Warren was one of the five urging Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to “immediately discontinue” the project. In a letter sent to Zuckerberg on Oct. 19, the five Democrat Senators wrote: “Given the scope of the scandals surrounding your company, we write to voice our strongest opposition to Facebook’s revived effort to launch a cryptocurrency and digital wallet, now branded ‘Diem’ and ‘Novi,’ respectively.” Diem is Facebook’s ambitious stablecoin project, formerly known as Libra, which has been the subject of heavy scrutiny and regulatory roadblocks for years resulting in a number of key partne...
Mashinsky says USDT is minted for crypto as $1M bounty offered to unpick reserves
A bounty of up to $1 million has been offered up to anyone who can cast light on the precise backing of Tether’s reserves. That backing just got a little bit murker, after Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky reportedly said that Tether mints new USDT in exchange for crypto assets — which appears to conflict with Tether’s own terms and conditions. “Forensic financial research” firm Hindenburg Research tweeted on Oct. 20 to its 171K followers that it holds “doubts about the legitimacy of Tether,” and offered a reward of up to $1 million for important details on Tether’s reserves which it claims could pose a threat to investors on a “systemic” scale. “Tether is a key underpinning of the multi-trillion-dollar crypto market. Yet despite its repeated claims of transparency...
Aussie cyber spies to control critical infrastructure during ransomware attacks
Australia’s top cyber spies are set to gain greater powers in the event of ransomware or other cyber attacks on critical infrastructure. The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), a government agency in charge of cyber warfare and information security, would be able to take over control of critical infrastructure — including energy, communications and banking systems — under new legislation introduced into Parliament. The legislation even considers health care and grocery businesses to fall under the definition of critical infrastructure and imposes new positive security obligations. For ASD operatives to provide assistance, operators from the affected infrastructure have to report a serious cyber incident. According to The Australian newspaper, the Critical Infrastructure Bill will be intr...
Celsius responds to NYAG crackdown on crypto lending platforms
Crypto lending firm Celsius Network has confirmed it is one of three platforms requested to provide information to the New York Attorney General’s office. In a Tuesday blog post, Celsius said it was not one of the two unnamed crypto lending platforms that New York Attorney General Letitia James ordered to “cease any and all such activity” around selling or offering cryptocurrencies. Rather, Celsius said it was “working on providing regulators in New York” with information regarding its business. “If any regulatory or technical changes are required in a specific jurisdiction, Celsius will provide clear and timely communication as needed,” said the lending platform. “We know that the only way to thrive and ensure our long-term growth is through clear regulatory guidance. We anticipate a...
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn thinks Bitcoin may be the best hedge for inflation
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn warned Tuesday that the next market crisis may be on the horizon, and Bitcoin could be the best hedge against inflation. With the United States government continuing to stimulate the economy, Icahn stated that he fears the dollar is becoming more devalued and that the price of goods is rising. “In the long run we are certainly going to hit the wall. I really think there will be a crisis the way we are going, the way we are printing money, the way we are going into inflation. If you look around you, you see inflation all around you and I don’t know how you deal with that in the long term.” Icahn said on Monday with CNBC. His comments were in line with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell who mentioned that inflation was rising along with supply issues: “As ...
