crypto blog
NFTs ‘biggest on-ramp’ to crypto in Central, Southern Asia and Oceania — report
Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) may be the biggest driver of crypto adoption in Central, Southern Asia, and Oceania (CSAO), a new report has found. According to a Sept. 21 Chainalysis post titled “Crypto Adoption Steadies in South Asia, Soars in the Southeast,” NFT-related actions accounted for 58% of all web traffic going to cryptocurrency services from this region in the second quarter of 2022. Meanwhile another 21% of traffic in the quarter went to websites of play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain games, with major titles including Axie Infinity, STEPN and Battle Infinity. Chainalysis noted that P2E blockchain games are “intimately related” to NFTs, as most P2E games feature in-game items in the form of NFTs that can be sold on marketplaces like MagicEden and OpenSea, thus meaning: ...
Cardano Vasil upgrade ready with all ‘critical mass indicators’ achieved
The Cardano Vasil upgrade is set to take place in less than 24 hours on Sept. 22, with the Cardano team noting all three “critical mass indicators” needed to trigger the upgrade are now met. A Sept. 21 update on Twitter by the company behind Cardano, Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK) states within the last 48 hours 13 cryptocurrency exchanges had confirmed their readiness for the hard fork, representing over 87% of Cardano’s (ADA) liquidity. With this latest addition we have met all 3 critical mass indicators: 39 exchanges upgraded (87,59% by liquidity)Over 98% of mainnet blocks are now being created by the Vasil node (1.35.3)The top Cardano #DApps by TLV have confirmed they have tested and are ready — Input Output (@InputOutputHK) September 21, 2022 Of the top exchanges for ADA liquidity, Coi...
FTX in talks with investors to raise $1B for further acquisitions — Reports
Sam-Bankman Fried’s crypto exchange FTX is reportedly engaged in talks with investors to raise $1 billion in new funding, as it looks to utilize extra capital for financial acquisitions during the bear market. According to a Sept. 21 report from CNBC which cites sources close to the matter, the talks are still ongoing and the details could still be subject to change. If found to be true, the funding amount would keep the FTX’s current valuation of roughly $32 billion intact. The potential $1 billion funding round would add to the $400 million FTX raised in January, and could signal strong investor faith in the firm despite the sector undergoing a lengthy crypto winter. Other details are sparse at this stage, however, the sources said some of the new funds would be put towards m...
Price analysis 9/21: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, SOL, DOGE, DOT, MATIC, SHIB
The Federal Reserve hiked rates by 75 basis points on Sept. 21 and Fed Chair Jerome Powell projected another 125 basis points increase before the end of the year. If that happens, it will take the benchmark rate to 4.4% by the end of the year, which is sharply higher than the June estimates of 3.8%. The Fed also intimated that it only expects rate cuts to be considered in 2024. The expectation of higher rates pushed the 2-year Treasury to 4.1%, its highest level since 2007. This could attract several investors who are looking for safety in this uncertain macro environment. Higher rates are also likely to reduce the appeal of risky assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies and may delay the start of a new uptrend. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 Even though Bitcoin...
Hong Kong Monetary Authority provides update on retail CBDC that may become DeFi onramp
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published a paper outlining the state of research on its proposed retail central bank digital currency (rCBDC) and plans for its further development. This is the third paper the HKMA has published on the e-HKD, as the proposed CBDC is called. The proposed rCBDC would have a two-tier structure consisting of a wholesale interbank system and the retail user wallet system. No wholesale Hong Kong CBDC has been introduced yet, but research on it began in 2017, four years before rCBDC planning started. The rCBDC would be disintermediated. The paper notes: “While it appears that e-HKD might not have an imminent role to play in the current retail payment market, we believe prospective use cases for e-HKD can emerge quickly out of the rapid evolution, or...
Japanese banking giant Nomura launches digital ecosystem VC arm
Nomura, one of the largest investment banks in Japan, has established a venture capital arm aimed at investing in companies focusing on crypto and blockchain. In a Wednesday announcement, Nomura said the business, named Laser Digital, will “provide new value in the area of digital assets” for clients under the Switzerland-based holding company Laser Digital Holdings AG. The investment bank said it chose Switzerland based on its “robust regulatory regime for digital assets and blockchain projects” in addition to potentially recruiting talent. “Staying at the forefront of digital innovation is a key priority for Nomura,” said president and group CEO of Nomura Holdings Kentaro Okuda. Laser Digital’s venture capital product, Laser Venture Capital, will focus on investments including centralize...
Jerome Powell is prolonging our economic agony
Can we all agree that the Federal Reserve has a plan to combat runaway inflation? They do. Chair Jerome Powell has all but admitted it. After tempering his comments before previous rate hikes, allowing wiggle room which gave way to market rebounds, Powell has left no bones about this one. It is necessary to wreak some havoc on the economy and put downward pressure on the labor markets and wage increases to stop the creep of inflation. Whether you buy into that logic or if you believe — like Elon Musk — that such movements could result in deflation — doesn’t matter. All that matters is what those voting on the rate hikes believe, and there’s plenty of evidence that they won’t stop until the rate is over 4%. Wednesday’s rate increase of 75 basis points only moves us in that direction. This i...
Coinbase Cloud debuts Web3 developer platform
Blockchain infrastructure platform Coinbase Cloud has officially rolled out its Web3 developer platform, allowing users to build new decentralized applications free of charge. The new developer platform, dubbed Node, allows users to create and monitor Web3 applications while accessing the Ethereum blockchain and indexers, the company disclosed Wednesday. While Node offers a tiered subscription model, the free plan includes access to advanced APIs that allow for the creation of decentralized applications and nonfungible token (NFT) applications. Coinbase Cloud claims that Node enables faster creation of Web3 applications while reducing both complexity and cost. This feeds into the platform’s broader service offerings, which include all-in-one access to payments, identity, trading and ...
Blurring the line between crypto and TradFi could redefine global finance
Despite the current struggle in the global economy, the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and crypto seems to be closing with each passing day. For example, earlier this month, Vienna-based fintech unicorn Bitpanda announced that it was adding commodities to its list of investment options, thus allowing investors to rake in profits from short-term price fluctuations related to traditional instruments such as oil, natural gas and wheat. In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, the company’s CEO, Eric Demuth, noted that the bear market had had no major impact on investor demand. He claims that more people are now looking for solutions that can bring the world of TradFi and decentralized finance (DeFi) together. Not only that, there are lessons to be learned about what works out...
From skies to blocks: How an aerospace student became a Web3 entrepreneur
A popular adage says that the path to success is not a straight line. Sometimes, it leads to various detours along the way, like learning about developing aircraft, being a writer, keeping an eye on Bitcoin (BTC) and exploring the blockchain space. In a Cointelegraph interview, Ahmet Usta shared his journey from being fascinated by technology since he was a child to becoming the founder of several successful Web3 projects focusing on blockchain gaming and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Usta studied aerospace engineering at Istanbul Technical University in Turkey mainly because of his passion for technology. After that, he pursued a career in information technology and worked for various businesses. Ten years later, Usta found himself in a weird situation. He said: “By some strange coinci...
Are there too many cryptocurrencies?
The cryptocurrency industry has grown at a staggering pace. There are now almost 21,000 different coins in existence, across a variety of subsectors. From metaverses to decentralized finance, investors are spoiled for choice. But a burning question, especially among crypto skeptics, is this: Are there too many cryptocurrencies? We’ve repeatedly seen how new altcoins can be created in the blink of an eye. Tokens popped up hours after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars — pumping and dumping on low liquidity. And following the death of Queen Elizabeth, the markets were flooded by a flurry of “memecoins” bearing her name. Some critics felt this was in poor taste and argued it was “a bad look for crypto.” Despite the proliferation of thousands of cry...
Totality Corp CEO explains why India is still largely untapped for NFTs
Despite ranking as one of the highest adopters of cryptocurrency among emerging markets, the majority of the Indian market is yet to embrace nonfungible tokens (NFTs). In an interview with Cointelegraph, Totality Corp Founder and CEO Anshul Rustaggi explained that social and cultural barriers, as well as anti-crypto regulations, are holding back NFTs from mass adoption — particularly in some of the lower-tier cities in the country. India has a population of 1.38 billion people and is the second-most populous country in the world sitting just behind China. Last month, the United Nations forecast the country to overtake its competitor sometime in 2023. However, Rustaggi explained that crypto trading and NFT collection are seen as speculative investments — a concept that is frowned upon in In...
