Crypto

FTX.US’s NFT marketplace has expanded support to the Solana blockchain, enabling users to trade, deposit and withdraw nonfungibles that conform to the Metaplex token standard. The U.S. registered branch of FTX announced the expanded functionality on Oct. 11, revealing the marketplace also plans to support Ethereum-based tokens in the near future. The marketplace is open to both U.S. and non-U.S. customers from a long list of jurisdictions, however New York residents are unable to sign up for the platform. Brett Harrison, the president of FTX.US, said that the firm is looking to provide “simpler, safer and easier tools” for mainstream users to trade NFTs via its marketplace, adding: “The NFT ecosystem has started to infiltrate pop culture, but has been lacking a platform that provides...

On-chain analytics provider glassnode reports that long-term Bitcoin holders are refusing to sell despite the BTC markets rallying to a five-month price high. In its Oct. 11 “Week on Chain” report, Glassnode noted that “long-term holders” — BTC wallets that have not seen outflows for more than 155 days — are currently sitting on nearly 13.3 million BTC or 70% of Bitcoin’s supply. The report notes that long-term holders have increased their collective stash by more than 2.37 million BTC (roughly $134 billion at current prices) over the past seven months. With only 186,000 BTC being newly minted by miners during the same period, Glassnode concludes that long-term whales are accumulating 12.7 times more BTC than is created as new supply. Despite long-term holders refusing to sell, Glassnode n...

Andreessen Horowitz (A16z), a leading venture capital firm operating in the crypto sector, has nabbed two of the leading engineers working on Facebook’s digital currency project for its digital asset fund. According to an Oct. 11 report from CNBC, Nassim Eddequiouaq and Riyaz Faizullabhoy have jumped ship from Facebook to A16z after spending two years working on the social media giant’s Novi digital wallet (formerly Calibra). Faizullabhoy will serve as CTO while Eddequiouaq will take on the role of CIO at A16z’s crypto division. Faizullabhoy stated: “Andreessen Horowitz has shown an impressive dedication to advancing the entire crypto ecosystem over the past decade, and we jumped at the chance to join their premier team and provide technical support to their rapidly-expanding portfolio.” A...

Institutional investors are continuing to pile into Bitcoin despite prices pushing up to a five-month high. According to CoinShares’ Oct. 12 Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly report, more than $226 million in capital flowed to institutional Bitcoin (BTC) products this past week. Bitcoin products dominated inflows for the third consecutive week, posting a week-over-week increase of 227%. The heavy inflows coincided with the price of BTC gaining 12.5% for the week, with BTC sitting at around $54,000 on Oct. 8. CoinShares attributes the positive shift in sentiment towards Bitcoin to recent statements from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Gary Gensler’s suggesting the long-awaited approval of the United States’ first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) may be just around the...

Users who hold debit cards issued by cryptocurrency exchange Bakkt will be able to convert their crypto balances to make fiat payments using Google Pay. In an Friday announcement, Bakkt said it had partnered with Google to allow its users to purchase goods and services using Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies through the Google Pay wallet and payment system. In addition, Bakkt plans to build new analytics and geolocation functionality on its platform using Google Cloud tools. The exchange hopes that the features will expand loyalty redemption options “while providing Bakkt partners with valuable consumer behavior patterns.” “This partnership is a testament to Bakkt’s strong position in the digital asset marketplace, to empower consumers to enjoy their digital assets in a real-time, s...

Cryptocurrency risk management firm Elliptic has announced a $60 million Series C funding round led by Evolution Equity Partners and supported by a panoply of venture capital firms including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, as well as existing investors AlbionVC, Digital Currency Group, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital and SBI Group, amongst others. Elliptic’s history of funding charts a consistent increase, with their debut funding raise in 2016 totaling $5 million, while their second raise across late 2019 to early 2020 resulted in an additional $28 million. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in London, Elliptic captures analytical data from the blockchain sector to provide anti-money laundering and compliance services to fintech institutions, governmental and legislative groups, and crypto org...

Bitcoin (BTC) resumed its rally on Oct. 11 and climbed close to $58,000. This marks an almost 100% recovery from the May plunge and shows that any regulatory action by China is having only a temporary effect. The strong rally in Bitcoin in the past few days has boosted sentiment and analysts are back with their six-figure projections. Geoffrey Kendrick, head of emerging market currency research at Standard Chartered, anticipates Bitcoin to rally to $100,000 by early next year. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 David Gokhshtein, the founder of Gokhshtein Media and PAC Global, was even more bullish as he expects Bitcoin to reach $100,000 before the end of the year. Analyst and trader Rekt Capital believes that Bitcoin will rise much higher than $100,000 in the current ...

Video sharing platform YouTube removed the 251,000-subscriber channel of Anthony ‘Pomp’ Pompliano, co-founder of Morgan Creek Digital and host of The Pomp Podcast, before later restoring it. In an Oct. 11 update on his Twitter account, Pompliano — a Bitcoin (BTC) bull known for his interviews educating skeptics and others on crypto — said he received a message from YouTube claiming a recent livestreamed interview with stock-to-flow model creator PlanB encouraged “illegal activities.” Pompliano’s entire channel was unavailable for roughly two hours before being returned to the platform, with all videos on BTC and crypto viewable to the public. “[YouTube] first stated that the content, an interview on Bitcoin, was harmful and dangerous,” said Pomp. “They then stated that we would...

Countries in the developing world will soon follow in the steps of El Salvador and make Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender, BitMEX CEO Alexander Höptner recently predicted. In a Wednesday blog post, Höptner expressed support for El Salvador adopting Bitcoin as legal tender in September, predicting that developing countries will be “leading the way” in Bitcoin adoption: “My prediction is that by the end of next year, we’ll have at least five countries that accept Bitcoin as legal tender. All of them will be developing countries.” According to Höptner, developing countries will adopt Bitcoin faster due to three major factors: the growing need for cheaper and faster international remittances, massive inflation, and political issues. As opposed to consumers in more developed countries, people in ...

The United States federal government’s default on its debt has been averted — at least for now. On Oct. 7, the Senate voted to increase the debt limit by $480 billion, a sum needed for the world’s biggest borrower to keep paying off its obligations until early December. The deal secured a temporary resolution for a weeks-long partisan standoff that had investors both within and far beyond the U.S. unsettled. The once unimaginable prospect of a U.S. default seemed more conceivable than ever before. As the system-wide uncertainty peaked ahead of the vote, the cryptocurrency market has been doing just fine, led by Bitcoin’s (BTC) biggest bull run in months. This has spurred customary narratives of crypto’s decoupling from more traditional asset classes and of Bitcoin as a safe haven in times ...

Bill Miller, a seasoned Wall Street investor and founder of Miller Value Partners, advocated for the rise of Bitcoin (BTC) during a recent conversation with author William Green but voiced skepticism around many of the altcoins birthed during 2017. Miller subscribes to the well-documented thesis that Bitcoin portrays digital gold, and unlike many of his financial contemporaries — Warren Buffet being the most prominent — he has been a keen investor in the digital asset space. Back in early 2016, Miller dedicated 30% of his portfolio to the leading crypto asset Bitcoin at an average value of $500 and has more recently filed a motion with the SEC for Miller Opportunity Trust to invest in BTC via the institutional-grade $2.25 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. During the interview...

Bitcoin (BTC) kept markets guessing into the Wall Street open on Oct. 11 after seeing rejection on hitting its highest since May. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView BTC price teases $58,000 February high Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD tracking $57,000 after reaching $57,450 on Bitstamp — its best since May 10. In so doing, Bitcoin effectively fully canceled out the impact of China’s mining debacle and subsequent redistribution of hash rate around the world. If you’re reading this, you survived the #BTC crash in May 2021$BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin — Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) October 11, 2021 Amid a celebratory mood among analysts, predictions broadly centered on a run to a six-figure peak initiating sooner rather than later...