crypto blog
Celsius users concerned over personal info revealed in bankruptcy case
Crypto lending platform Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, 2022. Although the Celsius case involves digital assets, it remains subject to United States Bankruptcy Code under the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. While this may be, a series of unusual events have ensued since Celsius filed for bankruptcy. For instance, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn — the judge overseeing the Celsius case — stated on Oct. 17 that the court will look abroad for guidance. Glenn specifically mentioned that “Legal principles that are applicable in the United Kingdom are not binding on courts in the United States,” yet he noted that these “may be persuasive in addressing legal issues that may arise in this case.” While the treatment of the Celsius c...
Bitcoin will surge in 2023 — but be careful what you wish for
The Bitcoin (BTC) community is divided about whether the token’s price is going to surge or crash in the year ahead. A majority of analysts and technical indicators suggest it could bottom between $12,000 and $16,000 in the months to come. This correlates with a volatile macroeconomic environment, stock prices, inflation, Federal Reserve data and (at least according to Elon Musk) a possible recession that could last until 2024. On the other side, influencers, BTC maximalists and a range of other fanatical “shills” maintain its price could skyrocket to $80,000 and beyond. There is evidence to support both sides. One issue is that they may be looking at different time horizons. There’s a strong case to be made that BTC is likely to drop sharply in the months ahead but potentially rise ...
Crypto incubators have a responsibility to maintain fiscal discipline
Contrary to popular belief, a bear market provides ideal conditions for startup founders and developers to work on technological innovations. The absence of market frenzy and speculative investing helps startups to focus on the fundamentals, which are beneficial in the long run. However, bear markets dry up capital sources, and liquidity becomes the proverbial mirage of an oasis in the desert sand. Thus, startups turn toward incubators who become messiahs with their network of angel investors and venture capitalists. As incubators hold the key to funding, they are powerful enough to make or break a crypto startup. And, as Marvel’s Spider-Man reminded us, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Incubators, therefore, play a crucial role in guiding startups to adhere to crypto regulat...
Will ETH price crash to $750? Ethereum daily active addresses plunge to 4-month lows
Ethereum has witnessed a substantial drop in its daily active address (DAA) count over the last four months, raising fears about more downside for Ether (ETH) price in the coming weeks. Stagnant Ethereum price spooks investors The number of Ether DAA dropped to 152,000 on Oct. 21, its lowest level since June, according to data provided by Santiment. In other words, the plunge showed fewer unique Ethereum addresses interacting with the network. Ethereum daily active address count on a daily timeframe. Source: Santiment Interestingly, the drop comes after Ether’s 80%-plus correction from its November 2021 high of around $4,850. This coincidence could mean two things: Ethereum users decided to leave the market and/or paused their interaction with the blockchain network after the market’s...
Kazakhstan among top 3 Bitcoin mining destinations after US and China
For over a year, the oil-rich Central Asian country of Kazakhstan has maintained its position as the third-biggest contributor to Bitcoin (BTC) mining after surpassing Russia back in February 2021. As of January 2022, Kazakhstan contributed to 13.22% of the total Bitcoin hash rate, positioned right after the historical leaders the United States (37.84%) and China (21.11%), as shown below. Along similar timelines, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance data estimated that Kazakhstan’s absolute hash rate contribution (monthly average) was 24.8 exahashes per second (Eh/s). Meanwhile, the US and China contributed 71 Eh/s and 39.6 Eh/s, respectively. The International Energy Agency (IEA), which is co-funded by the European Union, highlighted Kazakhstan’s heavy reliance on non-renewable ...
3Commas issues security alert as FTX deletes API keys following hack
Automated crypto trading bot provider 3Commas issued a security alert after identifying certain FTX API keys being used to perform unauthorized trades for DMG cryptocurrency trading pairs on the FTX exchange. 3Commas and FTX conducted a joint investigation in relation to reports from users of unauthorized trades on the DMG trading pairs on FTX. The duo identified that hackers used new 3Commas accounts to perform the DMG trades adding that “The API keys were not taken from 3Commas but from outside of the 3Commas platform.” A subsequent investigation found fradulent websites posing as 3Commas were being used to phish API keys as users linked their FTX accounts. The FTX API keys were then used to perform the unauthorized DMG trades. 3Commas further suspects that hackers used 3rd-party browser...
Telegram username auction marketplace ‘almost’ ready to launch
The popular messaging app Telegram has developed a new marketplace that doesn’t involve nonfungible tokens (NFTs). The social messaging platform said that it is all set to launch its marketplace for auctioning unique usernames for social platforms, an idea first floated in August. In an official announcement on its Telegram channel, the firm said that the development phase of the marketplace is near its end. The marketplace is based on its native blockchain called The Open Network (TON). The idea was first teased by the company founder Pavel Durov in late August this year when he proposed a marketplace that could utilize “NFT-like smart contracts” to auction highly-sought after usernames. Durov made the suggestion after the “success” of domain name auctions by The Open Network (TON), a lay...
Web3 projects focus on education to bring Latin American women to the sector
Interest in Web3 continues to grow despite the crypto bear market. A recent article from McKinsey noted that venture capital investments in Web3 exceeded $18 billion during the first half of 2022. Findings from Cointelegraph Research also show that Web3 attracted the most interest from venture capitalists in comparison to other blockchain sectors during Q2 of this year. While notable, a lack of diversity has become apparent within the Web3 sector. For instance, it was found that only 16% of nonfungible token (NFT) creators are women. Although this number is low, women are taking an interest in owning digital assets. Given this, industry experts believe that a lack of education around Web3 is creating a barrier to entry for women, especially for those who are from underrepresented reg...
Uzbeki police get ‘how to seize crypto’ training from UN security org
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) organized a five-day training course on cryptocurrencies and Dark Web investigation for Uzbekistan’s police and prosecution forces. The course is a part of OSCE’s consistent efforts to educate Central Asian law enforcers on the emerging technologies that criminals might abuse in a strategically important region for the global drug trade. As the official press release from Oct. 21 goes, representatives from the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service attended the training from Oct. 17 to 21 to learn about the main concepts and key trends in the areas of internetworking, anonymity and encryption, cryptocurrencies, obfuscation techniques, Dark Web and the Tor networ...
Web3 to inject $1.1T in India’s GDP by 2032, following 37x growth since 2020
The global Web3 boom is expected to add $1.1 trillion to the Indian economy over the next decade, supporting the investment-based momentum driven by over 450 in-house startups, including CoinDCX, Polygon and CoinSwitch. A recent study from the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), an Indian non-governmental trade association and advocacy group, highlighted India’s position as a leading global player in the Web3 market owing to several factors spanning a large talent pool, high adoption rate and product development for international markets. Snapshot of India’s Web3 startup ecosystem in 2022. Source: NASSCOM The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) estimated that “Web3 can add $1.1 trillion of new economic value to the Indian GDP in the next 10 yea...
Bitcoin price hits 1-week lows as Fed rate hike rumors unsettle market
Bitcoin (BTC) dipped further below $19,000 on Oct. 21 as rumors circulated over the United States Federal Reserve. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Fed still on track for major November rate hike Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD abruptly dropping before the Wall Street open, hitting lows of $18,660 on Bitstamp. A recovery took the pair higher, and it was attempting reclaim $19,000 as support at the time of writing. The action came as commentators claimed the Fed was softening its policy on rate hikes ahead of the Nov. 1–2 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Citing mainstream media quotations from Fed officials, they suggested that the November hike could be the last 75-basis-point adjustment, with smaller ones following...
VC Roundup: Web3 dev, EVM sharding and crypto banking headline blockchain funding deals
Web3 dominance within crypto funding rounds has been well documented by Cointelegraph Research. In addition to the Web3 mega funds announced recently, venture capital has also been making smaller, more targeted investments in the sector. In this week’s Venture Capital (VC) Roundup, we chronicle the latest Web3 funding initiatives and draw attention to a sharding platform, nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace, crypto banking solution and co-ownership infrastructure provider. Related: Blockchain games and metaverse projects raised $1.3B in Q3: DappRadar Gamers, athletes and content creators back WWVentures WWVentures, a boutique crypto venture firm, has raised $15 million for its Web3 fund — putting the company on track to invest in metaverse, decentralized finance and blockchain gaming...
