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Massive airdrop and AXS staking catapult Axie Infinity to a new all-time high
Airdrops have become the cryptocurrency ecosystem’s equivalent of stimulus checks over the past couple of years and further proof of this can be evidenced from popular protocols like Uniswap and dYdX which rewarded their early adopters with token drops that are now worth $30,000 to $2 million. The latest protocol to surprise its userbase with a wallet fattening airdrop was Axie Infinity (AXS), a blockchain-based battle game that has risen in prominence over the course of 2021 as users embrace its play-to-earn (P2E) gaming model. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since bounding off a low of $47.92 on Sept. 21, the price of AXS has stormed 145% higher to establish a new record high at $118.00 as its 24-hour trading volume surged from $421 million to $1.95 billion...
Umbrella Network launches on Ethereum with cross-chain bridge to BSC
Decentralized oracle service Umbrella Network officially launched on Ethereum on Friday, setting the stage for cross-chain transactions between the dominant smart contract platform and Binance Smart Chain, or BSC. The cross-chain bridge connecting Ethereum and BSC was developed in-house at Umbrella Network, underscoring the need to transfer tokens and other crypto assets between the two networks. The cross-chain bridge also enables users to stake and farm crypto tokens on either blockchain. Umbrella said it’s planning future cross-chain integration with Polygon, Solana, Cardano and Avalanche, though no timetable was given. Although the blockchain industry has given birth to several oracle services, Umbrella claims that its protocol provides quick and affordable price feeds when compa...
Crypto community concerned over impact of infrastructure bill on DeFi
Members of the crypto community have been up in arms recently about the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that the United States House of Representatives was expected to vote on this week. The legislation includes a crypto-tax reporting provision, along with the establishment of a definition for the term “broker.” House lawmakers stated that a vote for the infrastructure bill would take place on Thursday, Sept. 30, yet Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi announced on Sept. 29 that the infrastructure bill vote would be delayed beyond Thursday. Media sources have since noted that the infrastructure bill could be voted on during Friday, Oct. 1. While the looming implications of the infrastructure bill may seem obvious, some members of the crypto community voiced specific concerns regarding the leg...
Hackers exploit MFA flaw to steal from 6,000 Coinbase customers — report
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has reportedly suffered another security breach after attackers were able to bypass the company’s multi-factor authentication, or MFA, feature in a coordinated campaign earlier this year. The attackers stole cryptocurrency from 6,000 accounts, though the monetary value of the theft wasn’t disclosed, according to a report from Bleeping Computer. Earlier this week, Coinbase reportedly notified affected customers that the theft occurred between March and May of this year. To gain access to the accounts, the attackers must have known the affected users’ email address, password and phone number. It’s not clear how the attackers obtained this information, though phishing scams targeting exchange users are not uncommon. However, Coinbase did identify a vulne...
3 factors that can send Ethereum price to 100% gains in Q4
Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), has the potential to double its market valuation in the coming months, thanks to a confluence of supportive technical and fundamental indicators. Ether’s price soared by more than 9% on Oct. 1 to hit nearly $3,300 for the first time in 10 days. Its gains surfaced primarily in the wake of a price rebound across all the top cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), which gained 9.5% to hit $48,000, its highest level in 10 days. Ether-Bitcoin correlation against rising U.S. inflation Oct. 1’s crypto market boom coincided with the release of the United States Commerce Department’s report on consumer spending. The data shows that the U.S. core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, ro...
As the power crisis subsides, crypto mining to resume in Iran
The crypto mining industry in Iran is expected to be worth over $1 billion A three-month ban on crypto mining in Iran imposed by former President Hassan Rouhani has come to an end with the government announcing that it will allow licensed crypto miners to resume operations from today. The announcement is being seen as a breath of fresh air for the cryptocurrency mining industry which has been critically hit by regulatory and environmental concerns in the last few months. The ban was initially levied as a response to the massive electricity shortage and grid instability that led to widespread power outages in various parts of the country. President Rouhani blamed the shortages on the extreme heat in the summer months this year with temperatures sometimes rising to as high as 120° F (4...
Analyst nails Bitcoin monthly close 2 months running — His October target is $63K
Bitcoin (BTC) was keen to retain $44,000 on Oct. 1 as the monthly close sparked a late show of strength. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView BTC monthly close matches PlanB’s prediction Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it first returned to the $44,000 mark Thursday, then test lower levels before heading even higher. While still not tackling resistance at $45,000 and higher, Bitcoin did not disappoint with its end-of-month performance, this almost exactly matching predictions from stock-to-flow model creator PlanB for a second month running. Aug>47k✅Sep>43k✅Next targets: Oct>63k, Nov>98k, Dec>135k pic.twitter.com/C45nfQkQSC — PlanB (@100trillionUSD) October 1, 2021 With $63,000 now planned for O...
Bitcoin price eyes $50K as the US dollar retreats after hitting its one-year high
Bitcoin (BTC) looks to reclaim $45,000 on Oct. 1 as the United States dollar retreated lower after hitting its one-year high. Bitcoin’s tight inverse correlation with the greenback over the past month suggests that a weakening dollar could push BTC’s price even higher in the coming sessions. Bitcoin-dollar correlation on hourly chart. Source: TradingView Dollar drops following labor market shock In detail, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar’s strength against a basket of six foreign currencies, including the euro and sterling, hit 94.50 Thursday for the first time since Sept. 28, 2020. But it retreated on news of rising U.S. jobless claims against the forecasts of a decline. The labor data released Thursday showed that the number of jobless claims rose to 362,000 ...
Global CBDC bridge needs public and private cooperation, says BIS
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) continues investigating the development of the global central bank digital currency (CBDC), publishing a new joint report with seven central banks. Released Sept. 30, BIS’ latest CBDC report refers to joint efforts to explore a retail CBDC alongside the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the United States Federal Reserve, Sveriges Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank. The report provides an executive summary of investigation progress made since publishing a report in October 2020, which pointed out common foundational principles and core features of a CBDC. The BIS also published three detailed CBDC reports related to CBDC system design and interoperability, user needs, adoption and financial stabi...
Billionaire investor bullish on Bitcoin: ‘Crypto is here to stay’
Orlando Bravo, co-founder and managing partner of private equity firm Thoma Bravo, expressed his unwavering endorsement of the cryptocurrency market in an interview at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha conference on Wednesday, revealing that he is “very bullish” on his personal investment in Bitcoin (BTC). The billionaire businessman owns one of the world’s largest private equity firms, which boasts assets-under-management (AUM) of $83 billion as of June 30, 2021. Questioned on the potential of digital assets, Bravo spoke with delight on the emergence of the space: “How could you not love crypto? […] Crypto is just a great system. It’s frictionless. It’s decentralized. And young people want their own financial system. So it is here to stay.” Thoma Bravo participated in FTX’s $900 million Serie...
Fed Chair has no intention of banning cryptocurrencies
China has taken a tough stance on cryptocurrencies in recent years but not every country is looking to follow that route The chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, has stated that he doesn’t intend to ban cryptocurrencies in the country. Powell added, however, that he intends to regulate stablecoins and increase the Fed’s oversight of the market. The Fed chair made these comments while speaking to the House Financial Services Committee yesterday. The meeting also had in attendance Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, with the house committee asking the duo about the Federal Reserve’s and Treasury Department’s pandemic response and also some questions about cryptocurrencies. China has taken a tough stance on cryptocurrencies in recent months. The People’s Bank of China (P...
Weekly report: China’s crypto crackdown forces companies out
China is cracking down hard on cryptocurrencies, and this is making it tough for crypto-related companies to operate in the country. More than 18 crypto companies have exited the Chinese market The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) issued a ban on cryptocurrency services and transactions last month. This resulted in several companies shutting down their operations and exiting the Asian country. Leading crypto exchange Huobi announced last week that it is closing Chinese accounts on its platform. New users in China can also not open accounts with the cryptocurrency exchange as it complies with China’s latest laws. Bitmain, the world’s leading cryptocurrency mining manufacturer, also announced that it is stopping its operations in Southern China and halting sales in the country. The mining machi...
