Crypto

Following a colossal surge of $4B sales volume throughout the month of August for the leading nonfungible token, or NFT, marketplace OpenSea, recent figures indicate a metaphoric return to earth after propulsion to the mighty heights of the moon. NFT marketplaces have largely paralleled the bearish momentum witnessed across the cryptocurrency markets across the last week, as platforms, collections and floor prices all suffer corrections. Analytical data from DappRadar reveals that over the last seven-day period, the sales volume on OpenSea has fallen sharply by almost 50% to $792.23M from a pool of 156,811 traders, 10% less than registered across the previous week. Despite this short-term correction, OpenSea still holds a dominant position over its closest competitors Axie Infinity an...

In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, the race to establish a highly scalable, user-friendly network capable of being adopted on a global scale is a never-ending marathon where new competitors regularly join in on the race.  Bitcoin is undoubtedly the market leader when it comes to network security, active users and market capitalization value, while Ethereum has thus far established itself as the top smart contracts platform, but the continued difficulty in getting these networks to scale has opened the door for next-generation blockchain protocols to gain a foothold in the market. The tenuous nature of Ethereum’s reign has begun to come under increased pressure in recent months as several up-and-coming layer-one- and layer-two-based protocols have...

As if he didn’t have enough to do, Gary Gensler appeared before the European Parliament on Sept. 1 to share his policy recommendations regarding the regulation of crypto assets and other matters. While the United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair made clear that he was presenting his own views — not those of the Commission — his (virtual) appearance necessarily raised questions. Does Gensler, regarded by some as America’s most crypto-savvy regulator, believe that cryptocurrency and blockchain policy has to be harmonized globally? If so, can he make common cause with the Europeans — or do the U.S. and the European Union have different priorities? More generally, are globally harmonized regulations even feasible, particularly in areas such as decentralized finance? The question...

Welcome to the latest edition of Cointelegraph’s decentralized finance, or DeFi, newsletter. In a week where the crypto market bears returned for blood, DeFi enlisted an army of lobsters to fight its feuds. While we ponder a feasible battleground for that mammalian–invertebrate combat, feel free to scroll on and read the top choices for the week’s most impactful stories. What you’re about to read is a shorter, more succinct version of the newsletter. For a comprehensive summary of DeFi’s developments over the last week — delivered to your inbox quicker than a food delivery order in lockdown — subscribe below. Fishing for finance Lobby Lobsters joined the burgeoning list of animal-themed nonfungible token (NFT) projects this week, showcasing the genuine power of community-centric NFT campai...

Facebook’s ambitious digital currency payment project Diem is yet to get off the ground despite concerted attempts to win over financial regulators. According to The Washington Post on Friday, Diem is facing difficulties smoothening regulatory wrinkles with senior policymakers in the Biden administration. Even with the full weight of Facebook’s significant lobbying power in Washington, the digital currency project is yet to get off the ground. Reports indicate that David Marcus, Facebook Financial (F2) head, met with regulators in Washington earlier in September. According to anonymous sources reportedly present at the meeting, Marcus argued for the importance of crypto in broadening access to financial products while highlighting the benefits of Diem’s payment app Novi. Diem represen...

Bitcoin’s recent plunge does not seem to have shaken the investors and data shows that exchange reserves were down to 2.399 million (BTC), which is close to the May all-time low at 2.390 million Bitcoin. Ki Young Ju, CEO of on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, said this could result in a “sell-side liquidity crisis on Bitcoin.” Although Bitcoin has outperformed gold by a huge margin in 2021, Omega Advisors chairman and CEO Lee Cooperman remains averse to investing in it because he said that he does not understand Bitcoin. The billionaire investor still considers gold to be a better store of value. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 A new poll from research and data analytics firm YouGov showed that 43% of baby boomers strongly oppose the idea of Bitcoin being...

The cryptocurrency market was rife with activity this week as adoption continued despite a sudden price crash El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption is now official It is official! Bitcoin is now legal tender in El Salvador. The leading cryptocurrency made headlines earlier this week after becoming the first digital currency in the world to become legal tender in a country. The El Salvador parliament adopted the bill to make Bitcoin legal tender in June, and now the bill has come into effect. Thanks to this latest development, businesses and companies operating in the country have to accept BTC as a means of payment from their clients.  An executive at Fidelity Investments believes that Bitcoin will now be tested as a medium of exchange after El Salvador’s adoption Jurrien Timmer told CNBC th...

The governor of the Bank of Mexico, Alejandro Díaz de León, dismissed Bitcoin’s (BTC) position as a reliable legal tender, citing price volatility as a major roadblock toward full-fledged adoption.  Díaz de León said in a Reuters interview that Bitcoin’s position in today’s financial system resembles “a dimension of precious metals” when compared to the central bank’s fiat money. In stark contrast to El Salvador’s mainstream Bitcoin adoption that requires businesses to accept payments in Bitcoin, Mexico’s central bank chief questioned Bitcoin’s position as a viable legal tender: “Whoever receives bitcoin in exchange for a good or service, we believe that (transaction) is more akin to bartering because that person is exchanging a good for a good, but not really money for a good.” Díaz ...

Bitcoin (BTC) ranged below a critical weekly close target on Friday as analysis warned its multi-week uptrend was in danger.  BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView BTC price lags $1,500 below crucial level Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD trading at around $46,000 Friday after rejecting near $47,450 the day before. That level marks the lower bound of Bitcoin’s uptrend on the weekly chart, one that has continued since mid-July. Now, BTC/USD needs to reclaim it, trader and analyst Rekt Capital said, in order to preserve that trend. #BTC bounces from Weekly support (blue) However, it is still below the black Weekly Higher Low which represents a price of ~$47400$BTC needs to Weekly Close above the HL to retain the multi-week upt...

The governor of Sweden’s central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank, has dismissed Bitcoin (BTC) as an altogether far-fetched alternative to government-backed fiat currencies.  Speaking at a banking conference in Stockholm, Sveriges Riksbank governor Stefan Ingves argued, “Private money usually collapses sooner or later.” In a further disparaging remark, he claimed, “Sure, you can get rich by trading in bitcoin, but it’s comparable to trading in stamps.” Notwithstanding Ingves’ view of Bitcoin’s weaknesses as a currency, he has taken its popularity among investors seriously. Highlighting consumer interests and money laundering as being of particular concern, the central banker conceded this June that the cryptocurrency had gotten “big enough” to merit close attention from regulators, central...