Crypto

Ether (ETH) will face a critical $820 million monthly options expiry on Friday, Aug. 27. That will be the first time that $3,000 and higher options will have a real fighting chance, even though bulls seem to have missed a good opportunity to dominate the expiry because they were too optimistic about Ether’s price potential. It is unclear why $140 million of the neutral-to-bullish call options were placed between $3,800 and $8,000, but these instruments will likely become worthless as the monthly expiry approaches. Competition and the success of interoperability-focused protocols impact Ether price The Ethereum network has struggled due to its own success, which consistently leads to network congestion and transaction fees of up to $20 and higher. Furthermore, the rise of nonfungible tokens...

Altcoins and DeFi tokens have been on a tear for the last two weeks  and as the end of August approaches many projects are seeing their tokens reach for new all-time highs. Data shows that a majority of the top-10 DeFi tokens gained more than 20% in the past 30-days, with projects like Bancor (BNT) and THORChain (RUNE) seeing gains in excess of 115%. Top-10 DeFi assets by price. Source: Messari Here’s a look at some of the factors behind the current boost to DeFi tokens and the projects that are leading the way in terms of protocol upgrades and cross-chain interoperability. Total value locked reaches a new all-time high Data from DeFi Llama shows that the total value locked (TVL) in all DeFi protocols reached a new all-time high at $157.06 billion on Aug. 22 and many analysts bel...

An Afghan refugee who had planned to start a crypto mining business has been arrested in Turkey after illegally crossing the border. According to a Reuters report, Muhammad Ali’s goal was to mine Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) in Afghanistan before the recent Taliban takeover, when he was forced to flee the country. He claimed that with the restrictions on personal liberties the group was likely to impose, smartphones with cameras could easily be deemed illegal, and internet access could be compromised. Ali, who previously had a YouTube channel where he discussed financial topics, reportedly left Afghanistan amid the Taliban gaining control of major populated areas, traveled across northern Iran, and crossed the Turkey-Iran border — a journey of more than 2,000 km. However, he reported his g...

Bitcoin (BTC) quickly regained lost ground on Aug. 25 after a brief dip towards $47,000 failed to keep bulls down. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Rebound or bull trap? Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked BTC/USD as it returned to higher levels almost as quickly as it lost them earlier in the day. At the time of writing, the pair traded at near $48,700, having gained $1,500 in a matter of hours. Analysis had hinted at a rebound even as lower lows continued to come on the hourly chart, these coming true as volume and relative strength index (RSI) performance improved. “Looking good so far,” trader Scott Melker, who originally noticed the RSI move, subsequently added. For trader and analyst Rekt Capital, however, there was ...

The government of the Kyrgyz Republic is moving forward to cryptocurrency adoption by introducing a national regulatory framework for crypto trading platforms. Kyrgyzstan’s State Service for Regulation and Supervision of Financial Markets (Gosfinnadzor), a regulatory agency operating under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, has developed a draft provision for regulating crypto exchanges, local news agency 24.kg reported Wednesday. The newly proposed regulations reportedly aim to establish the legal status of crypto exchanges operating in Kyrgyzstan, functions, responsibilities and compliance requirements including necessary registration with the unified state register. The rules also require crypto exchange service providers to ensure measures to counter illicit activities like money lau...

The amount of Ether (ETH) held by all cryptocurrency exchanges has declined dramatically in the previous 12 months. Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant reported that Ethereum reserves on trading platforms dropped 26.29 million ETH to 19.22 million ETH year-on-year (YoY), indicating that traders’ preference to hold their tokens increased. At least the Ether price performance in the same period indicates the same. Between August 25, 2020, and press time, the ETH/USD exchange rate exploded by a little over 730%— from $407 to $3,190, signaling an erratic inverse correlation between the Ethereum token prices and its reserves across all exchanges. Ethereum reserves versus ETH/USD price performance YoY. Source: CryptoQuant In detail, traders typically prefer to keep their crypto assets on...

It is now easier to track your cryptocurrencies on your mobile, allowing you to check your balance and transaction history even while on the move ChangeNOW has announced the launch of its NOW Tracker app on the Google Play store, making it available to millions of users on the Android platform. The company announced this recently, with the app expected to make it easy for people to track their cryptocurrency portfolio. In a blog post, ChangeNOW said the NOW Tracker app is designed to allow users to track the balance of their crypto assets and their history even while on the move. To ensure its adoption, ChangeNOW has made the mobile app easy to use. “Simply add the wallet addresses of the cryptocurrencies you’d like to track. The balance and the transactions’ history will appear on your sc...

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand continues introducing new regulations for the cryptocurrency industry, citing investor protection concerns. On Wednesday, the Thai SEC proposed a set of additional regulations related to custody of investors’ cryptocurrency holdings held by digital asset business operators. The newly proposed rules refer to custody of fiat money for digital asset accounts as well as cryptocurrency lending, or earning interest on crypto holdings. The SEC is specifically looking to prohibit crypto companies from using investor assets for the “benefit of another client or other persons,” or seeking benefits from both investors’ fiat money and digital assets, including digital lending to other persons. “Seeking benefits from clients’ fiat mone...

Seychelles-based crypto exchange KuCoin is launching a mining pool aimed at providing revenue to proof-of-work miners after integrating their rigs. In a Wednesday announcement, the exchange said its KuCoin Pool product would allow miners around the world to contribute to the Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and share rewards. At the moment, miners are required to install and run the necessary hardware themselves to join the pool, but KuCoin said it would introduce mining in the cloud in the future. KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu also claimed the pool would be encouraging miners to participate in environmentally-friendly solutions — people using renewable energy sources for mining will receive discounts on fees. The move is seemingly part of a shift in many mining firms beginning to transition t...

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is likely to approve a Bitcoin (BTC) futures exchange-traded product (ETF) by the end of October, according to Bloomberg ETF experts. Bloomberg ETF analysts, Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart, issued an investor note on Tuesday suggesting that last week’s abrupt withdrawals of Ether (ETH) futures ETF proposals by VanEck and ProShares could trigger SEC approval of a Bitcoin ETF.  “VanEck and ProShares’ rapid withdrawal of proposals for Ethereum futures ETFs is a good sign for a potential Bitcoin futures ETF, given the SEC has allowed those filing to remain active. A launch could come as soon as October, and we believe the SEC should permit several at once to avoid handing out a first-mover advantage,” the analysts said. Ba...

Seung-beom Koh, a nominee for chairman of South Korea’s Financial Service Commission (FSC), does not regard cryptocurrencies as a financial asset.  In a press meeting with local journalists, Seung-beom said that fintech experts from prominent organizations such as the G20, the International Monetary Fund and others “find it difficult to see virtual currencies as a financial asset, and think they could not function as a currency.” Seung-beom’s comments coincide with the ongoing surge in crypto trading among young investors, who primarily invest seeking short-term profits, according to The Korean Times. Investors also see cryptocurrencies as a fair chance to buy homes by countering skyrocketing property prices. Koh also pointed out that excessive household credit could negatively ...