crypto blog
Aussie FPA supports ‘crypto rule book’ and regulation of exchanges
The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) has shown its support for the “crypto rule book” idea and called for regulating exchanges instead of crypto assets. In May, the Australian Law Reform Council (ALRC) proposed to tackle crypto regulation through a rule book-style framework which sets out a series of gradually updated compliance principles for local crypto firms to adhere to. The comments came via a submission to the Treasury by FPA’s head of policy, strategy and innovation, Ben Marshan, who also argued that the regulation of crypto exchanges should fall under the current financial services regime and not under a new separate legal framework. “Firstly, it would create an alternate, duplicate regulatory regime to regulate what at the core is the purchase and holding of a fi...
Ankr Unveils Its Biggest Upgrade, Ankr Network 2.0, to Truly Decentralize Web3’s Foundational Layer
San Francisco, United States, 15th July, 2022, Chainwire Ankr, one of the world’s leading Web3 infrastructure providers, is delighted to introduce Ankr Network 2.0, described in the new whitepaper as a “Decentralized marketplace for Web3 infrastructure.” The upgrade brings a full suite of decentralized products and services that serve as the critical infrastructure behind Web3 growth. There have long been concerns that Web3 is not as decentralized as its boosters claim as the majority of its server (node) infrastructure for underlying blockchains is hosted by centralized companies and data centers. Ankr 2.0 solves this crucial problem with new decentralized web services – a protocol that allows independent node operators to connect developers and dApps to blockchains and earn rewards while...
OpenSea lays off 20% of its staff, citing ‘crypto winter’
Nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea announced mass layoffs on Thursday, joining other crypto companies in reducing headcount during one of the most volatile periods in the industry’s history. Co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer took to Twitter Thursday afternoon to disclose that his company was laying off up to 20% of its staff. In a long message conveyed to employees, Finzer blamed “an unprecedented combination of crypto winter and broad macroeconomic instability” for the layoffs. Today is a hard day for OpenSea, as we’re letting go of ~20% of our team. Here’s the note I shared with our team earlier this morning: pic.twitter.com/E5k6gIegH7 — Devin Finzer (dfinzer.eth) (@dfinzer) July 14, 2022 “[W]e need to prepare the company for the possibility of a prolonged downtu...
Crypto markets need to hit ‘total panic’ before revival: Kevin O’Leary
Millionaire investor from the Shark Tank TV show Kevin O’Leary says there’s going to be “total panic” and “massive volatility” in the crypto markets ahead before the industry swings back toward stronger firms and clearer regulations. Despite the recent fall of crypto finance firms including Voyager Digital and Celsius, O’Leary told Cointelegraph on July 13 that we’re still missing a “real big event” seen in previous market cycles before we go back to accelerated growth in the space, stating: “This passion play gets played out over and over again.” Some investors have pointed to the current market conditions as a result of over-leveraged centralized finance firms such as Voyager and Celsius. O’Leary said the problems with firms like those come from “idiot managers” who needed to be we...
Ankr Network’s 2.0 upgrade aims to improve Web3 decentralization
Decentralized Web3 infrastructure provider Ankr Network (ANKR) has introduced its Ankr Network 2.0 upgrade aimed at transitioning blockchains into more resilient node networks. The upgrade is detailed in the Ankr 2.0 Whitepaper which was obtained by Cointelegraph ahead of its release later today. The upgrade centers around making Web3 more decentralized through several new features, such as an option to run an independent node, the ability to stake ANKR tokens on a full node, and the Ankr DAO. A spokesperson explained to Cointelegraph: “The upgrade is aimed at transitioning more blockchains, and the DApps built on them, to more distributed and resilient node networks supported by independent node providers.” Ankr is one of the largest remote procedure call (RPC) endpoint providers in the c...
UNI, MATIC and AAVE surge after Bitcoin price bounces back above $20K
Crypto investors found cause for celebration on July 14 as the market experienced a positive trading session just one day after the Consumer Price Index (CPI) posted a June print of 9.1%, its highest level since 1981. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 The move higher in the market wasn’t entirely unexpected for seasoned traders who have become familiar with a one to two-day bounce in asset prices following the most recent CPI prints. These traders also know there’s nothing to get too excited about as the bounces have typically been followed by more downside once people realize that the high inflation print is a negative development. Nevertheless, the green in the market is a welcome sight after the rough start to 2022. Top 5 coins with the highest 24-hour price...
CoinFLEX resumes withdrawals, limiting users to 10%
Cryptocurrency exchange CoinFLEX is partially reopening user withdrawals, raising cautious optimism that the company was gradually recovering from liquidity constraints that were triggered by a high-profile client default. Beginning at 5 am UTC on Friday, all CoinFLEX users will be able to withdraw up to 10% of their funds, the company said. All existing withdrawal requests will be canceled and returned to their respective accounts, giving users the ability to initiate new requests in accordance with the 10% limit. The remaining 90% of user balances will be considered “locked funds,” or funds that appear on their balance but cannot be withdrawn, traded or used as collateral. The new guidelines apply to all assets except flexUSD, an interest-bearing stablecoin, which “cannot be withdr...
Why is there so much uncertainty in the crypto market right now? | Market Talks with Crypto Jebb and Crypto Wendy O
In the fourth episode of Market Talks, we welcome YouTube media creator and crypto educator Crypto Wendy O. Crypto Wendy O is a YouTube media creator and crypto educator. Wendy became interested in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in November of 2017. She has been into crypto full-time since the summer of 2018 and focuses on providing transparent marketing & media solutions for blockchain companies globally. Wendy also provides free education via YouTube and Twitter to her growing audience of over 170 thousand, giving her the largest following of any female crypto influencer in the world. Some of the topics up for discussion with Wendy are the new consumer price index (CPI) numbers and how they might impact the crypto market going forward, and why there is so much uncertai...
Data transfer network Plaid integrates 4 major crypto exchanges
United States data transfer network Plaid has added four major cryptocurrency exchanges to its platform, giving users the ability to connect their digital asset portfolios to other applications more easily. Crypto platforms Binance.US, Gemini, Robinhood and SoFi are now supported by the Plaid network, the company announced Thursday. Support for additional platforms, such as Blockchain.com and BitGo, is scheduled to commence later this year. We now support leading digital asset exchanges on the Plaid network, including @BinanceUS, @Gemini, @Robinhood & @SoFi with plans to support additional crypto providers like @Blockchain and @BitGo later this year. https://t.co/I1QlXmL8hQ — Plaid (@Plaid) July 14, 2022 The integrations are intended to help crypto users “bridge data portability ...
More than 2.6 million users signed up for the City of Shenzhen’s digital yuan airdrop
According to data obtained from local news outlet Sohu.com, the Shenzhen Chamber of Commerce has recorded over 2.6 million signups for its latest digital yuan, or e-CNY, airdrop. Two months prior, the City of Shenzhen announced that it would be airdropping 30 million of the e-CNY central bank digital currency, or CBDC, to local residents to stimulate consumer spending as a recovery measure to the country’s strict coronavirus lockdown. Users who received the airdrops through a randomized lottery selection could then spend the e-CNY vouchers at various participating merchants’ terminals on Meituan, one of China’s leading e-commerce platforms. The event, which ran from May 30 to June 19, attracted more than 67,000 merchants. Similarly, on Wednesday, the City of Fuzhou ...
CoinShares launches staked Algorand ETP on Deutsche Boerse Xetra
Major European cryptocurrency investment firm CoinShares is expanding its exchange-traded products (ETP) with a new physically-backed ETP based on Algorand (ALGO). CoinShares on Thursday announced the listing of its physically-backed staked Algorand ETP on Xetra, the electronic trading platform run by Germany’s exchange operator Deutsche Boerse. Named the CoinShares Physical Staked Algorand, the new crypto investment product will be trading on Xetra under the ticker RAND. The ETP is enabled through CoinShares’ proprietary technology platform Galata, allowing investors to benefit from the 2% staking rewards associated with participating in Algorand’s blockchain security. The new Algorand ETP joins a family of CoinShares’s staked ETP offerings featuring blockchain networks and cryptocu...
Bitcoin fights key trendline near $20K as US dollar index hits new 20-year high
Bitcoin (BTC) found a new focus just under $20,000 on July 14 as U.S. dollar strength hammered out yet another two-decade high. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView DXY moves bring yen, euro into focus Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD rebounding from lows sparked by a fresh 40-year high for U.S. inflation as per the Consumer Price Index (CPI). After briefly dipping under $19,000, the pair took a flight above $20,000 before consolidating immediately below that psychologically significant level. For on-chain analytics resource Material Indicators, it was now “do or die” for BTC price action when it came to a key rising trendline in place since mid-June. On the day, that trendline stood at around $19,600, with BTC/USD n...
