Crypto

Are crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) finally coming to the United States of America? Dozens of cryptocurrency-based ETFs or ETF-like products are currently selling on regulated exchanges in Europe, while Canada and Brazil have already introduced their own versions this year. Over the past eight years, however, not a single investment firm has won the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) approval for a cryptocurrency-backed ETF. The winds may now be shifting.  “A futures-based Bitcoin ETF will be approved in the coming weeks, not months,” John Sarson, co-founder and CEO at Sarson Funds LLC, told Cointelegraph, adding that “the futures market for Bitcoin is now extremely well tested and very liquid at three years of age.” The outlook wasn’t nearly as promising a month ...

The S&P 500 slid to the intraday highs of Sept. 2 while Bitcoin (BTC) climbed to its highest levels in more than three months. The moves came as a key report on Sept. 3 showed that the United States economy added fewer jobs than anticipated, lowering the Federal Reserve’s likelihood to start unwinding its stimulus program this year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that nonfarm payrolls (NFPs) grew by 235,000 in August, against expectations of 733,000 positions. Nevertheless, the unemployment rate inched lower to 5.2% from the previous month’s 5.4%. OUCH! US economy adds just 235,000 jobs vs 733k expected, slowest gain in 7mths amid Delta surge. At least prior mth revised higher to 1053k from 943k. The unemployment rate falls to 5.2% as expected. Average hourly ...

ChangeNOW has announced an update for the fixed rate functionality on their cryptocurrency exchange platform. The changes involved interface, transaction time, exchange limits, and the size of the rates during a fixed rate exchange. The fixed rates exchanges will now be processed with enhanced speed, without any security cutback for each of the 211 crypto assets that support the fixed rate functionality, Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, Cardano, Doge, and Ripple among them. ChangeNOW is going to keep adding new coins to this list. The update also touches upon several interface adjustments. Once a ChangeNOW customer agrees to a fixed rate, the clock is set for 2 minutes to create a transaction, and for 20 more minutes to send a deposit after the transaction is created. Now the time is indicated rig...

Crypto can be a satellite asset instead of a core asset in an investor’s portfolio, Asakura explained Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings has announced that it will be launching the country’s first cryptocurrency investment fund in a bid to enable retail investors to diversify their portfolios and invest in digital assets. The move is the latest positive development for the Japanese crypto industry that has been making crucial strides towards mass adoption in the last few months. Expected to be available by the end of November, the crypto fund could facilitate investments of millions of dollars in a range of crypto assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. SBI is looking to target investors who understand the volatility associated with the crypto market...

Some cryptocurrency companies have experienced massive growth over the past few years and are now considering becoming publicly listed entities Blockchain.com intends to go public in two years Blockchain.com, one of the leading crypto trading platforms and wallet service providers, has indicated its desire to become a publicly listed company. Macrina Kgil, Blockchain.com’s chief financial officer, told Fortune in a recent interview that the company is eyeing a stock exchange listing by 2023. The company has experienced massive growth over the past few years, with the CFO revealing that Blockchain.com had processed over $1 trillion in cryptocurrency transactions in the last decade. Blockchain.com joins a list of prominent crypto entities to seek a stock exchange listing. Cryptocurrency exch...

The original Doge meme NFT has soared to a valuation of around $220 million following its successful fractionalized token sale this week. Ludicrously high prices for in demand NFTs are the flavor of the week, with Sotheby’s new Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT auction predicted to fetch up to $18 million. Earlier this week Doge meme owners PleasrDAO fractionalized the NFT into 17 billion ERC-20 tokens named $DOG, and auctioned off 20% of them on SushiSwap-owned Miso on Sept. 1. The $DOG tokens snapped up in the auction can now be traded via decentralized exchanges such as SushiSwap and Uniswap. The auction generated 11,942 Wrapped Ethereum (WETH) worth around $44.6 million from a total of 1,769 buyers. GET YO STICKS READY! $DOG trading is now live on @SushiSwap. Ape, hooman, cat, all is welcome on...

JPMorgan analysts have warned clients that cryptocurrency markets are looking frothy after the August trading boom saw spot market trading volumes once again top $1 trillion.  In a note to clients reported by Markets Insider, the JPMorgan analysts suggested valuations in crypto markets, especially altcoins and NFTs, are getting too high. “The share of altcoins looks rather elevated by historical standards and in our opinion it is more likely to be a reflection of froth and retail investor ‘mania’ rather than a reflection of a structural uptrend.” The bank’s analysts noted that altcoin trading now accounts for about 33% of the total cryptocurrency market, up from just 22% at the beginning of August. Although many crypto traders are delighted at the price increases, th...

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban’s NBA franchise, started a cashback rewards program to incentivize merchandise and ticket payments in Dogecoin (DOGE). The rewards program is dubbed “Mavs Cryptomania,” and customers who spend more than $150 worth of Dogecoin in one transaction will receive a $25 e-gift card that they can use for online purchases in the Dallas Mavs shop. The program is slated to finish on September 30. At the time of writing, users will need to outlay 505 Doge in order to receive the e-gift card. The Mavs started accepting DOGE for payments back in March and were also one of the first NBA franchises to accept Bitcoin (BTC) payments for tickets and merchandise back in 2019. Cuban is a major Dogecoin proponent and stated in April that while the coin started as a joke, it is ...

Franklin Templeton is the latest investment company to go on a cryptocurrency hiring spree by posting fresh job applications seeking crypto professionals. The American asset manager is looking for two medium-senior level experts to lead its crypto trading and research efforts, according to LinkedIn job postings published on Sept. 1. Franklin Templeton’s newly opened crypto positions target professionals to work with the “largest, most liquid and tradable crypto assets,” including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The company’s crypto research analyst will be responsible for creating and maintaining valuation models and keep portfolio managers and senior executives informed of related business opportunities, regulations, as well as technologies like staking. The analyst will be expected t...

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said all cryptocurrencies, in which she included stablecoins and speculative assets, “are not currencies at all.” In a Sept. 1 interview with World Economic Forum founder and executive chair Klaus Schwab, Lagarde said cryptocurrencies “present themselves as currencies,” but she still considered them as assets to be regulated and “supervised by asset regulators.” Under this definition, the ECB president claimed fiat-pegged digital currencies were also considered assets. “Stablecoins are pretending to be a coin, but in fact it’s completely associated with an actual currency,” said Lagarde. “For instance, some of them are saying that they can be used for transactions, but the value will be exactly aligned to the dollar.” She added tha...