crypto blog
Cardano network at record capacity due to SundaeSwap launch, but not all users hail it as a success
According to both Cardano Blockchain Insight and pool.pm, the Cardano (ADA) network has maintained record capacity for nearly two weeks due to the launch of decentralized exchange, or DEX, SundaeSwap, the first of its kind to go live on Cardano. At the same time, the total value locked for the ADA blockchain reached a record of approximately $80 million, despite the recent fall in the token’s price from the ongoing down market. The current average blockchain load of the network hovers at 93.19%, which means that 93.19% of its blocks are being filled. In context, the metric amounted to only 32.49% on New Year’s Eve. The number of ADA wallets is also on the verge of breaking the 3 million mark. Many ADA enthusiasts took to social media to celebrate the milestones. However, t...
Bears target new lows for Ethereum as Friday’s $1.1B options expiry approaches
Ether (ETH) price tumbled below the $3,000 support on Jan. 21 as regulatory uncertainty continues to weigh down the sector and rumors that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing DeFi’s high-yield crypto lending products continue to circulate. On Jan. 27, the Russian Finance Ministry submitted a crypto regulatory framework for review. The proposal suggests that crypto operations are carried out within the traditional banking infrastructure and that mechanisms to identify traders’ personal data are included. Further bearish news came as Ryan Korner, a top special agent from the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles field office, issued negative remarks during a virtual event hosted by the USC Gould School of Law. Ac...
Self-taught prodigy Gal Yosef introduces NFT collection with Eden Gallery support
Gal Yosef is launching the first installment of a series of his own collections Eden has earned global acclaim for its high-end curation of artwork First collection is made up of 12,000 breathtaking eagle avatars. Globally respected digital artist and self-taught prodigy Gal Yosef is launching the first installment of a series of his own collections with the support of Eden Gallery, according to a press release. The gallery, which has earned global acclaim for its high-end curation of artwork, will back Yosef’s Meta Eagle Club NFT collection. A watershed movement for the NFT industry The collaboration between Gal Yosef and Eden Gallery is a critical turning point in the NFT industry because it brings accredited artists to the forefront. Gal Yosef and Eden Gallery will br...
Fed’s latest meeting sends bearish wave – Here’s how top crypto coins stand a day later
The Federal Reserve Chairman confirmed that plans to hike interest rates are coming into play this March. Crypto markets, as well as stocks, reacted, with token prices plunging. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is down 3.15% and Ethereum 5.25%. Following a two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that concluded Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell issued a press conference to speak on the country’s plans in monetary policy. Powell said the Fed would halt asset purchases by March and also hold off on plans to hike interest rates till then. In the lead up to yesterday’s press conference, the markets were bullish and looked optimistic. Actually, minutes into the press conference, Bitcoin price ascended, clocking a $38,740 peak. However, half an hour into the b...
Bybit announces 2 notable updates: completion of Arbitrum integration, funds BitDAO with $134M
Bybit, a global cryptocurrency exchange that has seen extensive growth over the past few years, has finally completed the integration of the Arbitrum mainnet, according to a press statement published on 27 January. Arbitrum is an Ethereum Layer 2 platform that was among the first to bring the optimistic rollups features to the Ethereum network. According to the press release shared with CoinText, the move means users can now deposit and withdraw Ether (ETH) as well as the stablecoins Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) via the Arbitrum mainnet. Security, scalability and low cost Ben Zhou, the co-founder and CEO of Bybit said the integration brings Arbitrum’s “promising and innovative scaling technology” to Bybit users. He noted that the exchange will continue to provide next-level products a...
Crypto industry seems willing to adopt FATF travel rule: Survey
The cryptocurrency industry is eager to comply with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) so-called Travel Rule, and appears willing to work with regulators to expedite the process, a new survey found. As per a survey conducted by Notabene, a crypto compliance firm based in New York, most of the crypto industry will be Travel Rule-compliant by Q2 2022. Currently, the report claims that about 70% of respondents are either practicing the rule or planning to complete their compliance in Q1/Q2 2022. The advent of cryptocurrencies has presented a fresh problem in the effort to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. Since 2014, FATF has been monitoring this area to establish norms to address these new dangers. Since then, the FATF has continued to adjust and clarify its positi...
Central bank overkill: Russia’s proposed crypto ban and why everyone’s against it
On Jan. 20, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) issued a report summarizing its position on digital assets and proposing a ban on any crypto trading and mining operations in the country. Although the CBR’s strict position on the matter was never a secret, such a bold statement triggered waves of fear, uncertainty, and doubt — otherwise known as FUD — across the board, given Russians’ high rates of involvement in the global digital assets market. Yet, there are reasons to doubt the ultimate effectiveness of the CBR’s hardline bidding, both in terms of its enforceability and its acceptance by other power centers, including legislators and siloviki (securocrats). The picture gets even more complicated for the central bank, as a high-ranking official within another major center of economic ...
Around El Salvador in 45 days: A Bitcoin-only travel story
El Salvador adopted Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender over four months ago on Sept. 7, 2021. Bitcoiners around the world have been watching with intent as the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, attempts to “orange-pill” an entire nation. The president regularly buys the dip, has promised a low-tax Bitcoin “Citadel” in the form of Bitcoin City, and is exploring renewable energy BTC mining using volcanoes. But what is it like for those living day to day in the smallest Central American country, known as “the land of volcanoes”? Moreover, what’s it like trying to live off only Bitcoin? An Italian couple, Rikki and Laura, have done just that. Rikki is a Bitcoin podcaster and human rights activist, active in the space since 2016. Laura works as a community manager in the blockchain space and h...
Cointelegraph Consulting: The bigger role of LUNA in Terra
In an interview, Do Kwon, co-founder and CEO of Terraform Labs, said that Terra’s ecosystem was built with several use cases such as savings, payments, investments and others that leverage its stablecoin assets. The previous Market Insights newsletter tackled Terra’s ecosystem growth in 2021 and how it got to hundreds of decentralized applications from just two at the beginning of last year. And all of it is grounded on Terra’s stablecoins and the protocol’s ability to maintain the stability of their peg. Yet the key ingredient for such stability is its primary staking asset, LUNA. On the surface, investors got to know LUNA because of its rapid price rise in 2021, but according to the project’s white paper, owning and holding LUNA is meant to represent something entirely mo...
Putin is not entirely against crypto mining in Russia, cites ‘competitive advantages’
Russia’s central bank last week released a report proposing a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies Some members of the political class are opposed to the idea President Putin has established that Russia has competitive advantages in this sector He asked for a ‘unanimous opinion’ by the government and the central bank In a move that sparks hope for digital assets in Russia and the world, President Vladimir Putin has spoken in favour of cryptocurrencies. During a recent video conference meeting with members of the government, Putin explained that Russia holds certain advantages that have it better-placed to support crypto mining. The Russian President pointed to an abundance of skilled hands and electricity as the boons that put the country in the box seat. “Of course, we ...
LINK, GRT and WAVES are the best Solana Ecosystem tokens you can buy on January 27, 2022
LINK, GRT, and WAVES are all connected to the Solana ecosystem. These tokens have seen an increase in their trading volume throughout the last 24 hours. All of these tokens have the potential to increase in value by the end of February 2022. Chainlink (LINK), The Graph (GRT), and Waves (WAVES) are all tokens that connect in some way with the Solana Ecosystem. Given its high transactions per second (TPS) throughout, Solana has been an attractive choice for a lot of decentralized application (dApp) developers. As such, these three tokens are the top picks you can make as of January 27, 2022. Should you buy Chainlink (LINK)? On January 27, 2022, Chainlink (LINK) had a value of $15.29. The all-time high value of Chainlink (LINK) was on May 10, 2021, when it reached a value of $52.70. This mean...
IRS special agent: Crypto’s the future but there are ‘mountains of fraud’
A top special agent from the Internal Revenue Service has told a conference that NFTs and crypto are the “future” but highlighted that fraud and manipulation is still rampant in the space. Ryan Korner from the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles field office made the comments virtual event held on Tuesday by the USC Gould School of Law, Korner. Bloomberg reports Korner said: “We’re just seeing mountains and mountains of fraud in this area.” He told the event the IRS CI division acknowledges the significant growth of the crypto sector, but noted that the usage of digital assets has not been limited to payments and trading. He outlined various illicit behaviors such as fraud, including money laundering, market manipulation and tax evasion. Korner highlighted market manipulation in parti...
