Crypto news
Bitcoin is pinned below $20K as the macro climate stifles hope for a sustainable BTC bull run
Bitcoin (BTC) crashed below $19,000 on Sept. 6, driving the price to its lowest level in 80 days. The movement not only completely erased the entirety of the 32% gains accrued from July until Aug. 15, it also wiped out $246 million worth of leverage long (buy) futures contracts. Bitcoin price is down for the year but it’s important to compare its price action against other assets. Oil prices are currently down 23.5% since July, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has dropped 36.4% in 30 days and Moderna (MRNA), a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, is down 30.4% in the same period. Inflationary pressure and fear of a global recession have driven investors away from riskier assets. By seeking shelter in cash positions, mainly in the dollar itself, this protective movement has caused the U.S....
UK advertising watchdog cites 2 former reality stars for crypto ads on Instagram stories
The United Kingdom’s independent advertising regulator has upheld a complaint involving former reality show Love Island contestants Eve and Jessica Gale for “triviali[zing] investment in cryptocurrency.” In a Wednesday notice, the U.K. Advertising Standards Authority, or ASA, said the reality stars promoted crypto in an Instagram story in June at the request of an influencer named Elizabeth O’Donell and upheld claims the ad was “misleading” and “irresponsible.” According to the regulator, O’Donell was not only providing trading crypto advice — as the Gales’ stories claimed — but promoting investing in cryptocurrencies without illustrating the possible risks. “We therefore considered the ads were addressed to a general audience who were unlikely to have any specialist knowledge ...
US Fed vice chair Michael Barr favors hard line on crypto, OCC acting head no friendlier
Two United States government financial officials gave speeches on Sept. 7 in which they expressed their positions on crypto regulation. Both had reservations about crypto. Michael Barr, who was recently appointed United States Federal Reserve Board vice chair for supervision, made his first speech in his new capacity at the Brookings Institute. Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu, reiterated his feelings about crypto at the annual conference of The Clearing House and Bank Policy Institute. Barr spoke about “some of my near-term goals and how I will approach achieving them.” He mentioned crypto in two contexts. First, he cited historical examples of private money destabilizing the economy and called for action to regulate stablecoin. Barr said: “I believe Congress should work exp...
Vermont’s financial regulator alleges Celsius and its CEO made ‘false and misleading claims’
The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, or DFR, alleged crypto lending platform Celsius Network and CEO Alex Mashinsky misled state regulators about the firm’s financial health and its compliance with securities laws. In a Wednesday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, Vermont’s financial regulator said Celsius and Mashinsky “made false and misleading claims to investors” which allegedly downplayed concerns about volatility in the crypto market, encouraging retail investors to leave their funds on the platform or make new investments. According to the state regulator, Celsius and its CEO “lacked sufficient assets to repay its obligations” despite claiming the firm had enough funds in its reserves to mitigate the risk of insolvency. The DFR c...
How high transaction fees are being tackled in the blockchain ecosystem
High transaction fees have been a long recurring issue for users on popular blockchain networks like Ethereum and Bitcoin during periods of increased demand. However, there are protocols, platforms and methods that help users to reduce costs. What are transaction fees? Transaction fees are fees that users pay to send a transaction or interact with a smart contract on a blockchain network. While gas fees can refer to transaction fees on any blockchain, the term is mainly used to describe the Ethereum network transaction fees. Transaction fees are paid in small fractions of the network’s native cryptocurrency. For example, with Bitcoin (BTC), users will pay in Satoshi’s (very small fractions of BTC), and with Ether (ETH), they will pay in gwei. There are two main reasons users need to pay fe...
Bitcoin price hits 10-week low amid ‘painful’ US dollar rally warning
Bitcoin (BTC) provided a long awaited breakout into Sept. 7 as BTC price action dashed bulls’ hopes of a recovery. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView $23,000 relief bounce “still likely” says trader Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView captured snap losses for BTC/USD later on Sept. 6, with overnight lows coming in at $18,540 on Bitstamp. The pair put in its lowest levels since June 30, taking liquidity from the July floor and only marginally recovering on the day. BTC/USD 1-day candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Downside price action followed almost a week of sideways movements and volatility was nowhere to be seen as market participants gritted their teeth hoping for an exit to the upside. In the event, they were left disappoi...
Number of unique BAYC buyers plunged in August to second-lowest on record
According to data from cryptoslam.io, the number of unique buyers for the nonfungible tokens (NFT) collection Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) has fallen to 263 for the month of August, with 438 total transactions. These metrics were the second-lowest on record since the collection’s launch in April 2021. Since crypto winter began earlier this year, the average transaction value of BAYC NFTs has fallen to $106,456, compared to a peak price of $312,101 per ape collectible in April 2022. In May 2021, the collection saw the peak number of buyers and transactions, at 3,550 and 9,255, respectively. An estimated $55 million worth of BAYC and CryptoPunks NFTs are at risk of liquidation due to users pledging them as collateral to take out loans denominated in Ethereum — the price of which h...
Why Prince Philip of Serbia is bullish on Bitcoin (not crypto)
Philip Karageorgevitch, Hereditary Prince of Serbia and Yugoslavia, is a strong proponent of Bitcoin while he criticizes altcoins for being mere attempts to copy the original cryptocurrency. “People want to make fiat. They want to make money. And so they’re going to use Bitcoin’s technology, Bitcoin’s ideas and try to make them their own and try to ride that fad,”, he said in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph. Philip is convinced that Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that has the potential to fix one of the biggest problems affecting the world: the problem of money. “The reason why the world’s in such a terrible shape is because of the money. People think, “Yeah, money corrupts,” but actually, no, money is corrupted itself and that needs ...
Celsius co-founder declares his equity is ‘worthless’ in court
A Celsius Network co-founder has moved in court to declare the entirety of his equity stake in the embattled crypto company as “worthless.” In a Monday document to the United States Bankruptcy Court, law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP filed a declaration on behalf of Celsius Co-Founder Daniel Leon, confirming his status as a substantial shareholder and declaring that his 32,600 common shares are now considered worthless. #CelsiusNetwork #CelsiusBankruptcy Here’s a new one — a declaration of “wothlessness” was just filed by Daniel Leon , one of the cofounders. The Declaration was filed by K&E. https://t.co/OHldovdhBZ — David Adler (@DavidJAdler1991) September 5, 2022 A declaration that a particular stock or common share is “worthless” generally occurs when shareholders in a company...
What is veTokenomics and how does it work?
All facets of a token’s production and management, including its allocation to various stakeholders, supply, token burn schedules and distribution, are managed through tokenomics analysis. Tokenomics help to determine the potential value of decentralized finance (DeFi) projects. Since the law of supply and demand cannot be changed, tokenomics dramatically impacts the worth of each nonfungible token (NFT) or cryptocurrency. Related: What is Tokenomics? A beginner’s guide on supply and demand of cryptocurrencies However, there are various loopholes in the tokenomics design, such as a substantial initial supply allocation to insiders, which may be a pump and dump warning sign. Also, there is no manual on how founders, treasury, investors, community and protocol designers should split th...
FBI seeks Bitcoin wallet information of ransomware attackers
Three federal agencies in the United States — the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center — jointly issued an advisory seeking information to curb ransomware attacks. As part of the #StopRansomware campaign, the joint cybersecurity advisory alerted citizens of Vice Society, a ransomware-type program that encrypts data and demands ransom for decryption. The trio anticipates a spike in ransomware attacks, primarily aimed at educational institutions, adding that “School districts with limited cybersecurity capabilities and constrained resources are often the most vulnerable.” While proactive measures remain vital to counter ransomware, the FBI asked US citizens to report infor...
Getting hitched, Satoshi style: a Bitcoin-themed wedding in Lebanon
A Bitcoin (BTC) evangelist in Lebanon took their love for Bitcoin to the next level. Said Nassar, an international business engineer, themed his wedding day around Satoshi Nakamoto’s innovation, Bitcoin. Each and every wedding guest received Satoshis (the smallest denomination of a Bitcoin) as a wedding gift for attending the Nassar family’s special day, while the theme of the wedding was volcanoes–a nod to El Salvador’s Bitcoin bonds, commonly known as the Volcano bonds. The Bitcoin volcano followed the wedding party. Source: Nassar Nassar told Cointelegraph that he put a volcano stand in the wedding and “distributed gifts via the Lightning Network.” Indeed, under every cutlery set for the post-ceremony banquet were instructions to download a Bitcoin Lightning Network wallet to receive 4,...
