Crypto news
Genesis director to step down and move into advisory role
On Wednesday, Matthew Ballensweig, managing director of cryptocurrency broker Genesis, announced via Linkedin that he was formally leaving his post after over five years of tenure. Ballensweig is also the co-head of sales and trading. As told by Ballensweig, he has been transitioning his core responsibilities to a handful of trusted colleagues who will be taking the front-line role. “I am forever thankful to both Digital Currency Group [Genesis’ parent company] and Genesis for giving me the opportunity to build a capital markets business from the ground up. We built an eight-person company huddled in a small office in New York City back in 2017 to a sell-side trading behemoth doing billions in volumes in multiple countries today.” Ballensweig will stay with the firm...
JPMorgan’s CEO feels threatened by disruption in payment systems: Kevin O’Leary
JPMorgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon feels threatened by how the crypto space is disrupting the payment systems, stated the Shark Tank host and multi-millionaire venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary speaking at a Converge22 panel on Sept 28. O’Leary made his remarks after Dimon declared himself as a “major skeptic” on “crypto tokens, which you call currency, like Bitcoin,” referring to them as “decentralized Ponzi schemes” in his testimony to the United States Congress last week. Still on the panel, O’Leary explained that friction is one of the major problems in the traditional financial system and, plus, it’s how banks profit on transaction fees, adding that stablecoins could lead to a reduction in fees throughout the world. He stated: “...
Biden’s cryptocurrency framework is a step in the right direction
The White House released its first comprehensive framework this month for the Responsible Development of Digital Assets following President Joe Biden’s March 9 executive order. The order called for regulators to assess the industry and develop recommendations to safeguard investors while simultaneously promoting innovation. While more work is needed, the framework is a step in the right direction as it shows the willingness of regulators to provide the industry with the much-needed regulatory clarity it seeks. The framework’s recommendations addressed six key areas to protect market participants, offer access to financial services, and promote innovation. While Biden’s administration has focused more on just the protection of consumers in the industry in the past, it is encouraging t...
Are decentralized digital identities the future or just a niche use case?
As users take advantage of online services and explore the internet, they eventually create a digital identity. This type of identity is then tied to central entities like Google and Facebook, which make it easier to share data with new services through simple sign-in buttons. While these digital identity management systems are convenient, they are relying on centralized intermediaries that hold and control user data. Personal identifiers and attestations are in their hands, and they can decide — or be forced — to share this information with other parties. Blockchains offer a solution: decentralized digital identities. These allow individuals to manage information related to their identities, create identifiers, control who they’re shared with and hold attestations without relying on a cen...
Cointelegraph Store introduces Halloween Crypto Monsters merch
From all-time highs to massive price dips, the crypto market can be tricky to navigate, which is why traders need cool merchandise that can get them all the treats this Halloween. Cointelegraph is here to assist and has dropped a Halloween collection to help hodlers express their belief in the industry’s bright future when it’s time to go trick-or-treating. Inspired by blockchain, proof-of-stake and the crypto community’s popular “to the moon” catchphrase, the Cointelegraph Store created a new collection to celebrate this year’s Halloween. The Crypto Monsters Halloween Collection features t-shirts, hoodies and mugs with various crypto-inspired designs. Crypto Monsters Tees Celebrate the season with Cointelegraph’s new t-shirt designs now available in the store, featuring the Bloc...
Bitcoin ‘great detox’ could trigger a BTC price drop to $12K — Research
Bitcoin (BTC) is in a “dire condition” when it comes to adoption — but a silver lining is already visible, new research says. In the latest edition of its weekly newsletter, the Week On-Chain, crypto analytics firm Glassnode said that Bitcoin was going through a “great detox.” Bitcoin adoption returns to March 2020 Current BTC price action is pressuring everyone from long-term holders (LTHs) to miners, and relief is hard to come by. Macro turmoil and resistance at $20,000 is keeping BTC/USD at levels visited only once since 2020. With this week’s push above $20,000 accompanied by major profit-taking, warnings remain that more pain is due for the market first before a recovery takes place. For Glassnode, sustained lower levels are causing a seismic shift in the Bitcoin investor profile, wit...
Pantera plans to raise $1.25B for second blockchain fund: Report
Dan Morehead, founder and CEO of Pantera Capital, reportedly said the hedge fund was planning to raise $1.25 billion for a second blockchain fund. According to a Sept. 28 Bloomberg report, Morehead said Pantera aimed to close the blockchain fund by May. The fund will reportedly invest in digital tokens and equity in an effort to appeal to institutional investors. “We want to provide liquidity for people that are kind of giving up because we’re still very bullish for the next 10 or 20 years,” said the Pantera CEO, according to the report. Pantera Capital is seeking $1.25 billion for its second blockchain fund, founder Dan Morehead says https://t.co/H5AXy55hqa — Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) September 28, 2022 Launched in 2013, Pantera was one of the first crypto funds in the United States at a...
BIS marks CBDC pilot as ‘successful’ with $22M transacted
A multi-jurisdictional central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot has been marked “successful” by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) after a month-long test phase that facilitated $22 million worth of real-value cross-border transactions. The central banks of Hong Kong, Thailand, China and the United Arab Emirates took part in the pilot program along with 20 commercial banks from those regions. More than $12 million worth of value was issued onto the test platform, which facilitated 164 foreign exchange transactions and cross-border payments between the participating firms totaling over $22 million worth of value, according to a Tuesday LinkedIn post from the BIS. Graphic from the BIS on the CBDC pilot. Source: LinkedIn Daniel Eidan, an adviser and solution architect at the BIS,&...
Nifty News: Napoleon Dynamite cast reunites in Web3 animated series, Sega’s blockchain game and more
The main cast from the cult-classic film, Napoleon Dynamite, is reuniting for an animated series that will be released through blockchain technology. According to a Tuesday report from Hollywood news outlet Deadline, the stars from Napoleon Dynamite have all signed on to voice characters in CyKo KO, an animated rendition of Rob Feldman’s comic book bearing the same name, with a 12-minute pilot to launch on Web3 streaming service Rewarded.TV. Napoleon Dynamite is an indie comedy from 2004 that developed a cult following across the globe despite being shot in just 22 days and having a limited budget of $400,000. The main cast includes Jon Heder, Tina Majorino, Efren Ramirez and Jon Gries. Heder, who played Napoleon Dynamite, will take up the role of the main character, who also bears th...
BTC price stays under $19K amid hopes Q4 will end Bitcoin bear market
Bitcoin (BTC) hit new weekly lows into Sept. 28 as risk asset drawdown continued overnight. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Trader: “First new lows” before Q4 recovery Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD falling to $18,461 on Bitstamp, down almost $2,000 versus the previous day’s high. The change of direction came in lockstep with stocks, which turned red after initially heading marginally higher at the Wall Street open. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index ultimately finished the day down 0.25% and up 0.25%, respectively. Crypto, however, failed to recoup its losses, and while hopes were for Q4 to bring about a more solid recovery, traders were betting on the pain continuing first. Popular Twitter account Il Capo of Crypto a...
FTX reportedly considers bailing out Celsius via asset bid
Crypto exchange FTX, led by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), is reportedly considering bailing out Celsius Network by bidding on the bankrupt lender’s assets. Coincidently, the information came out the same day Alex Mashinsky resigned as the CEO of Celsius. “I regret that my continued role as CEO has become an increasing distraction, and I am very sorry about the difficult financial circumstances members of our community are facing,” said Mashinsky while explaining his decision. For FTX, acquiring the assets of Celsius would imply the exchange’s intent to save the lending firm, similar to what FTX US did for Voyager by securing the winning bid of approximately $1.4 billion. Bloomberg reported on FTX’s interest in Celsius Network based on insights from a person familiar wit...
Tax on income you never earned? It’s possible after Ethereum’s Merge
After much buildup and preparation, the Ethereum Merge went smoothly this month. The next test will come during tax season. Cryptocurrency forks, such as Bitcoin Cash, have created headaches for investors and accountants alike in the past. While there has been progress, the United States Internal Revenue Service rules still weren’t ready for something like the Ethereum network upgrade. Nonetheless, there seems to be an interpretation of IRS rules that tax professionals and taxpayers can adopt to achieve simplicity and avoid unexpected tax bills. How Bitcoin Cash broke 2017 tax returns Because of a disagreement over block size, Bitcoin forked in 2017. Everyone who held Bitcoin received an equal amount of the new forked currency, Bitcoin Cash (BCH). But when they received it caused some issu...
