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Bitcoin-related altcoins surge as BTC ETF rumors spread across the sector
On Oct. 14, bulls flexed their muscles and showed their intent to push the price of Bitcoin (BTC) closer to its $65,900 all-time high. One reason for the move is the steady chatter about the possibility of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) being approved by the end of October. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after hitting a low of $54,103 on Oct. 13, the price of Bitcoin rallied 8.2% to an intraday high of $58,532 on Oct. 14 as the ETF discussion made fresh rounds on Crypto Twitter. BTC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView The spike above $58,500 is also significant because it marks a 100% increase in the price of BTC since bottoming at $29,193 on July 20, signaling a strong recovery and increasing demand. Bitcoin’s price performance is also a ...
Bitwise applies for ‘actual’ Bitcoin ETF with NYSE Arca
After almost two years, Bitwise Asset Management has once again applied with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to create a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. In an Oct. 14 Twitter announcement from Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan, the investment firm will be pursuing a Bitcoin (BTC) ETF with NYSE Arca that holds “actual BTC,” and not derivatives or other indirect exposure to cryptocurrencies. According to Hougan, the Bitwise team has spent more than two years analyzing the firm’s ability to “surveil and enforce” any attempts at manipulation and concluded that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, or CME, is a “regulated market of significant size” for the crypto market. “The market has matured,” said the Bitwise CIO. “An actual BTC ETF can now be approved.” The company’s...
What will happen if a Bitcoin ETF is approved? Find out on ‘The Market Report’ with Mati Greenspan
Join Cointelegraph host and analyst Benton Yaun alongside resident market experts Jordan Finneseth and Marcel Pechman on “The Market Report” — which is live right now! Here’s what to expect in this week’s markets news breakdown: $820 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) options are set to expire on Friday. The bulls are ready to celebrate as they target prices above $58,000. Billionaires are backing Bitcoin over gold as governments in the West print more and more money. What does this mean for the crypto market? Could we soon be able to pay using crypto at a variety of stores and online markets via Google Pay? After the weekly news round-up, Mati Greenspan, founder and CEO of Quantum Economics, joins to talk about how more institutions are getting involved in Bitcoin, the approval of a...
Crypto adoption in sights: Regulators and industry join to fight ransomware
With an increasing number of people forced to work from their homes, data suggests that ransomware attacks are at their all-time highest with the frequency of these incidents increasing by 45% over the course of April 2021 alone. Not only that, some are adamant that the rise in ransomware attacks is closely connected to the meteoric growth of the crypto sector. Also, in the midst of the recent positive crypto market activity, news of the United States regulators aggressively studying the link between crypto and ransomware seems to be dampening the mood somewhat, especially since various government agencies are seemingly seeing crypto ransomware as a big issue requiring stringent action. As digital asset adoption continues to spread across the U.S., it appears as though lawmakers are lookin...
CME Bitcoin futures open interest hits 8-month high, greater than when BTC price was at $65K
Open interest (OI) for Bitcoin (BTC) Futures trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) inched toward a new record high Thursday as BTC reclaimed its five-month high of $58,550 on BitStamp. The total number of outstanding derivatives contracts on CME Group’s Bitcoin Futures market reached $3.22 billion, according to data provided by ByBt.com, just $40 million below its record high logged in Feb 2021. Nonetheless, the OI came out to be higher than it was at the Bitcoin price’s peak in mid-April. In detail, the Bitcoin Futures OI on CME was $3.02 billion on April 14, the day on which the BTC price—nearly reached $65,000. But on Thursday, the OI was more than 6% higher than the readings from mid-April, even as the BTC price wobbled inside the $57,000-$58,550 price range. CME...
Ryan Hurd ‘Never Expected’ Maren Morris Duet ‘Chasing After You’ to Become a Hot 100 Hit
On Friday (Oct. 15), Hurd celebrates another career first with the release of his full-length debut album, Pelago, out via Arista Nashville. The album is a major milestone for the Michigan native, who initially moved to Nashville to be a songwriter instead of an artist. Hurd is signed with House of 42 for management (which also manages Morris), WME for booking and Big Machine Music for publishing. While studying sociology at Belmont University, Hurd focused on bettering his songcraft, and later found success writing for other artists, including two No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hits for Luke Bryan, “Sunburn, Sunset, Repeat,” and “Waves.” Hurd also penned “Last Turn Home” for Tim McGraw, “You Look Good” and “What If I Never G...
To woo Manchin, Dems could OK climate funds for coal and gas plants
Climate advocates consider that effort, called the Clean Electricity Performance Program, one of the core elements of Democrats’ effort to speed the transition toward solar and wind power and slash greenhouse gas emissions. But Manchin(D-W.Va.) has raised issues with the concept both publicly and privately, putting its inclusion in any final compromise reconciliation bill in doubt. The people familiar with the discussions said lawmakers and the White House could raise the program’s carbon emissions factor, a figure that determines which power plants would qualify as clean energy. Increasing that figure from the level of 0.1 metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent per megawatt-hour that was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee could enable natural gas and coal-fired pow...
Opinion | What the Supply Chain Crisis Reveals About American Infrastructure
As part of a push to get our logistics unstuck, the president is prodding the Port of Los Angeles, one of the most important in the country, to operate on a 24/7 basis. This is welcome news, although it might cause most people to stop and think, “Wait a minute — our ports don’t already operate 24 hours a day?” No, which speaks to the thick layer of irrationality that encrusts our supply chain. It’s beyond the power of any one person to change this anytime soon, but trying to scrape off as many of these encumbrances as possible should be a national priority. We are experiencing the worst disruption of the supply chain since the advent of the shipping-container era in the late 1950s, driven, at bottom, by the pandemic. A surge in e-commerce, coupled with a labor shortage, helped to cre...
Visa launches an NFT programme to attract digital artists
The NFT space has attracted numerous digital artists over the past few months, but more are expected to join in the coming months and years Payment giant Visa has intensified its efforts to attract more digital artists to the non-fungible token (NFT) space. The company wants to support more digital artists to launch NFTs and help grow the emerging market faster. The financial services giant said it has partnered with Micah Johnson to launch a programme that supports digital artists who want to use non-fungible tokens to sell their work. Micah Johnson is an ex-Major League Baseball player turned NFT artist. Johnson stated that “NFTs unlocked an opportunity for me to build a community of people interested in supporting my work — in a way that goes way beyond simply liking or sharing. With gu...
The DeFi ecosystem is now worth $200 billion
The decentralised finance (DeFi) ecosystem has been one of the fastest-growing in the cryptocurrency space, and it just crossed a huge milestone The DeFi space has experienced massive growth over the past few months, thanks to the adoption within and outside the cryptocurrency space. In fact, the DeFi space now accounts for roughly 10% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. According to the latest data obtained from tracking site DefiLlama, the total amount locked in decentralised finance protocols is now $200 billion. However, the amazing part of the statistics is that the value has gone up by 100% since June. The site stated that the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols is $200 billion. The metric refers to the dollar value of the tokens locked in smart contracts within the protoc...
Bitcoin analyst ‘highly doubts’ return to $50K — Will the weekly close spark a correction?
Bitcoin (BTC) challenged brand-new support levels on Oct. 14 after overnight successes took the market past $58,000 BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Bitcoin “dips” to near $57,000 Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked BTC/USD as it reversed towards $57,000 after hitting highs of $58,540 on Bitstamp. The moves mimicked the first time Bitcoin had attacked $58,000 in February — several attempts interspersed by consolidation, followed ultimately by a run to April’s all-time highs. Despite on-chain indicators showing that Bitcoin is a different beast in Q4, however, the mood was just as bullish this time around. “Bitcoin is most likely just continuing this grind towards the all-time highs,” Cointelegraph c...
Digital Pound Foundation launches to promote CBDC development in the UK
The Digital Pound Foundation (DPF), a group of technology, innovation, and regulatory experts, has announced its launch as an independent non-profit organization in the U.K. According to a release issued on Thursday, the DPF will work to promote the implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the country. Indeed, as previously reported by Cointelegraph, the U.K. government in April established a CBDC task force to explore preliminary matters related to the creation of a national digital currency. The DPF, as part of its stated mandate, will carry out research and engage in collaboration with stakeholders to support the U.K.’s CBDC project. In addition to supporting developmental efforts, the foundation will also reportedly advocate for robust regulations for the U.K.’s CBDC...
