Crypto

A new alt season is here — at least, according to some crypto industry commentators. Over the last month, altcoins — aka cryptocurrencies that aren’t Bitcoin (BTC) — have surged in price, with projects such as Solana, Cardano and Polkadot seeing their tokens triple in value. However, though people are screaming “alt season” with an air of familiarity, the industry is still very much exploring uncharted territory. The Cointelegraph Markets Pro alt season indicator states that the industry is in the midst of an alt season, showing a 32% inclination. While The Altseason Index, which defines the alt season as a period of 90 days where 75% of the top 50 altcoins outperform Bitcoin, says it isn’t an alt season just yet. But if the last few weeks are anything to go by, the altcoin market is ...

Resolution 215 of 2021 issued by the Banco Central de Cuba (BCC) — the country’s central bank — recognizing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) is now in effect. According to Cuba’s official state news agency Prensa Latina, the order became official on Wednesday. With crypto legally recognized by the BCC, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can now be used for commercial transactions and investments in Cuba. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the central bank first announced plans to recognize and regulate crypto back in late August. Indeed, Resolution 215 of 2021 contains provisions for a licensing regime for crypto exchanges and other virtual asset service providers operating in Cuba. Despite legalizing the use of crypto assets in Cuba, the BCC has warned of the risks asso...

Morgan Stanley started granting its wealthy clients exposure to Bitcoin, and it is now diving deeper into the cryptocurrency space Morgan Stanley, one of the top investment banks in the United States, is increasing its exposure to the cryptocurrency space. The multinational bank has reportedly set up a cryptocurrency research division to allow it to explore the opportunities in the sector. According to a recent report by Bloomberg, the banking giant has chosen Sheena Shah to serve as the lead cryptocurrency analyst for the team. Shah has been a key part of Morgan Stanley’s move into the cryptocurrency space and served as its lead currency strategist covering G10 currencies for nearly a decade. Shah has been appointed to focus on analysing the impact of cryptos on stocks and fixed-income in...

Australian cryptocurrency exchange BTC Markets has observed a significant uptick in older clients using its platform over the past financial year. More older Australians are viewing crypto assets as viable investments according to the data provided by one of the country’s oldest and largest exchanges. In its annual Investor Report, BTC Markets — which started in 2013 — reported a 15% increase in the number of investors over 65. Thed they are also the group making the largest deposits. Baby Boomers, which are classified as those born between 1946 and 1964, now comprise 5% of the platform’s estimated 325,000 customer base. BTC Markets CEO Caroline Bowler proclaimed that “young male traders have relinquished their monopoly on crypto,” as the boomer growth figure was the second-highest after t...

Tyler Hobbs, the artist behind the popular generative NFT series Fidenza has slammed a Solana-based project for utilizing his code to produce knock-off artworks without his approval. The Fidenza series is a curated drop of 999 NFTs on Art Blocks — an Ethereum-based platform that creates and hosts tokenized computer generated artworks. Hobbs wrote code that generates unique art pieces using the randomized transaction hash of the buyer’s transaction as input. Fidenza #313 Hobbs sold the 999 works originally for $400,000 and has since made more than $4 million in commissions as they were sold on. Now his code has been used without permission to generate art for an NFT project called “SolBlocks.” Hobbs fired a salvo at the team after it announced a tokenized art drop using his code on Se...

Alternative investment firm SkyBridge capital hopes to expand its crypto offerings, filing for a crypto-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Tuesday and revealing plans for an Algorand fund at this week’s SALT conference in New York. Speaking to CNBC, SkyBridge founder and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci said the firm had raised more than $100 million toward the newly announced Algorand fund. He added that the firm currently holds roughly $700 million worth of crypto assets. Scaramucci asserted that “crypto is here to stay,” adding that regulators must act “very quickly” if they intend to stem the snowballing adoption of the technology. “This is a lot like Uber — the regulators wanted to knock Uber out of business, but the people wanted Uber and the people wo...

NFT NSFW Nafty, a blockchain firm that produces decentralized NSFW platforms —such as OnlyFans competitor Nafty.TV — launched an erotic-themed NFT marketplace dubbed “NaftyArt” today. NaftyArt aims to provide a platform for erotic artists and adult-content creators to promote and sell their tokenized works without fears of it being removed, or their accounts shadowbanned. It may also give some NFT proponents an excuse for out-laying large sums of money on NSFW content. The announcement read: “Erotic Artists and Adult Content creators have been struggling for some time to get their work prominently featured on mainstream NFT marketplaces. A lot have found their work is removed as it contains nudity or at best they are shadowbanned, with potential buyers unable to see their work.” Nafty is a...

Time magazine has named Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin one of the most influential people this year, along with musicians, world leaders, activists, and others. Appearing in the list of Time’s innovators for 2021, Buterin is named alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Tesla CEO and Dogecoin (DOGE) proponent Elon Musk, and others. In his profile on the Ethereum co-founder, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian cited Buterin’s role in building the Ethereum network to a market capitalization of more than $400 billion and encouraging the development of decentralized apps and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. “No one person could’ve possibly come up with all of the uses for Ethereum, but it did take one person’s idea to get it started,” said Ohanian. “From there, a new world has opened up, and given r...

Bitcoin (BTC) is leading the recovery in the crypto sector and the cryptocurrency briefly rallied to $48,429 on Sept. 15, before pulling back to test the underlying support levels. While speaking during a live stream at the SALT conference, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood said that Bitcoin is the default currency of the crypto space and could rise tenfold in the next five years. Her projection is based on the presumption that Bitcoin will find a place in the balance sheets of many companies and institutional investors will increase their allocation to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to about 5%. Several legacy finance companies have realized the growing demand for digital assets and are increasing their crypto offerings to fulfill that demand. Morgan Stanley recently set up a new crypto-focu...

Bitcoin detractors and those protesting the policies of El Savador President Nayib Bukele have destroyed a crypto kiosk in the nation’s capital city. News outlet Teleprensa and others posted videos on social media showing a Chivo-supported kiosk in San Salvador burning amid a crowd of journalists and protesters on Wednesday. The Bitcoin (BTC) machine, one of many arranged by the El Salvador government since its acceptance of the cryptocurrency as legal tender in the country, could be seen defaced with anti-BTC logos and a sign saying “democracy is not for sale.” Los manifestantes quemaron el kiosko Chivo como medida de protesta contra el #Bitcoin. Vía @Luis33Tv #Teleprensa33 #Nacionales pic.twitter.com/XlacUWCPNN — Teleprensa (@Teleprensa33) September 15, 2021 San Salvador Mayor Mario Durá...