Business

Around 6% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply has been accumulated by asset managers and companies, signaling ever increasing mainstream and institutional adoption of crypto assets. According to Buy Bitcoin Worldwide, 816,379 BTC worth $40.1 billion is currently held by 14 Bitcoin fund issuers and asset managers — representing 4% of the cryptocurrency’s supply. Industry leader, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, represents more than 3% of the Bitcoin supply, managing 654,600 BTC (worth $32 billion). CoinShares’ XBT Provider ranks second with 48,466 BTC ($2.4 billion) representing 0.23% of supply. The 12 remaining issuers represent 113,313 BTC or 0.54% of thesupply combined. The data provider also tracks 34 public companies that hold BTC on their balance sheets, which collectively command 1% of Bitco...

Crypto grew to represent 73% of trading commissions on popular retail trading app eToro in the second quarter. eToro announced its Q2 results on Aug. 25, with the firm posting $362 million worth of total trading commissions and reporting its assets under administration had reached $9.4 billion. In an investor update released on the same day, the firm outlined that crypto-assets accounted for 73%, or $264.26 million of commissions, which marked a massive 2259% increase compared to the $11.2 million reported in Q2 2020. Overall trading volumes are up 125% on Q2 2020, with Yoni Assia, the CEO and co-founder of eToro noting in the announcement that the growth was “underpinned by long-term secular trends in investor behavior” and enabled by providing “simple access” to crypto via a user-friendl...

OnlyFans has made a sharp u-turn on its decision to ban sexually explicit content after it received a  backlash from creators and some new assurances from at least one bank suffering bad PR. The platform became wildly popular by connecting online sex workers to subscribers, but this has not gone down well with a number of major banks. The firm was forced to change its policy on Aug. 19 to prohibit “sexually explicit conduct” following pressure from the Bank of New York Mellon, Metro Bank, and JPMorgan Chase, who refused to provide services to users of the platform. In a tweet on Aug. 25, OnlyFans stated that it has now reversed this decision and it “will continue to provide a home for all creators.” Thank you to everyone for making your voices heard. We have secured assurances necessa...

A new survey has found that more than one in ten American citizens aged between 18 to 34 have invested part of their Covid-19 stimulus checks into crypto assets. Conducted by CNBC and research firm Momentive, the survey queried 5,530 adults and found that 11% of survey participants had purchased cryptocurrency with their stimulus money. Roughly half of the respondents were found to have funneled their stimulus money into investments broadly — with 15% seeking exposure to stocks, 9% investing in mutual funds, and 6% backing exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The majority of young Americans appear bullish on cryptocurrency’s future prospects, with 60% of survey participants indicating they see digital assets as a long-term investment. By contrast, 21% described crypto as a short-term in...

Bitcoin (BTC) remains on a strong footing after bears failed to capitalize on the rejection near the psychological mark at $50,000.  The recent price rise in Bitcoin has not enticed longer-term investors to part with their holdings, and Glassnode data shows that the Bitcoin supply held by long-term holders has hit a new all-time high of 12.69 million BTC. This tops the previous record achieved in October 2020. MicroStrategy’s recent Form 8-K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission shows that the company bolstered its Bitcoin holdings by 3,907 BTC between July 1 and Aug. 23. The company bought at an average price of $45,294. This brings MicroStrategy’s total holdings to 108,992 BTC, with an average price of $26,769. Daily cryptocurrency market perfor...

The nonprofit organization behind Cardano has partnered with blockchain analytics provider Coinfirm to ensure ADA is in compliance with the Financial Action Task Force’s guidelines. In an Aug. 24 announcement, the Cardano Foundation said it would be using Coinfirm’s services to provide Anti-Money Laundering, or AML, and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, or CFT, analytics for Cardano’s native cryptocurrency ADA. According to the foundation, the integration will allow the project to be “in full compliance” with the guidelines set forth by the Financial Action Task Force, the European Union’s Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, or 6AMLD, and other regulations applicable to Cardano. “AML/CFT analytics is essential for a cryptocurrency to receive mass adoption within regulated markets,” ...

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 ...