Crypto news
Crypto community welcomes Ethereum zkSync testnet
zkSync, a provider of zero-knowledge blockchain solutions, has announced the successful deployment of its Rollup protocol on the Ethereum (ETH) testnet. The deployment is seen as a positive development by proponents of Ethereum, as it removes the need for human operators to validate transactions. Last year, the creators of zkSync described their vision for a permissionless, Turing-complete rollout that allows decentralized applications (DApps) to be deployed in a low-cost and scalable layer-2 environment. Users will supposedly have “a better” experience on this network, according to the official announcement by Matter Labs. One of the major issues when utilizing the Ethereum blockchain is its prohibitively high gas fees. As a result, many users and developers have mig...
Coinbase Wallet now supports Ledger Hardware Wallets as it aims for additional security
The launch also comes with co-branded Nano X Coinbase Edition wallets available for a limited period The partnership is part of Ledger’s push to evolve into a software-focused firm Crypto exchanges have been ramping up security efforts against the threat of losses, and Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US, is the latest name to take action in this regard. The crypto exchange confirmed yesterday that it had added support for the Ledger Hardware Wallets onto its Coinbase Wallet browser extension. Coinbase and Ledger have shown an insistence to enhance security as users can benefit greatly from an additional layer of protection. Hardware wallets such as Ledger’s enable self-custody as they are cold crypto wallets that store user private keys. These wallets can only be accessed offl...
Tether slashes commercial paper by 21% in latest reserves attestation
USDT stablecoin issuer Tether cut its reserves allocation to commercial paper by more than one fifth between September and December last year, dropping from around $30.5 billion to $24.16 billion. Tether is legally required to disclose its reserves every quarter as part of an $18.5 million court settlement with the Office of the New York Attorney General from February 2021. The firm was alleged to have misrepresented the specific amount of fiat backing USDT in 2017 and 2018. The latest attestation was conducted by Cayman Islands-based Accountants MHA Cayman and provides a breakdown of Tether’s reserves as of 31 December 2021. The report states that Tether’s “consolidated assets exceed its consolidated liabilities,” however the difference is minimal with total assets tallied $78.67 billion ...
NY stock exchange owner ICE buys stake in tZero security token platform
The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has announced a strategic investment in private digital securities marketplace and crypto asset liquidity platform tZero. ICE, which owns and operates 12 global exchanges including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), made the announcement on Feb. 22, however, there was no mention of the terms or details of the investment other than ICE becoming a “significant minority shareholder” in tZero. It did state that as part of the investment, ICE’s Chief Strategy Officer David Goone will join tZero as its new CEO serving on the board of directors. tZero operates a blockchain-based alternative trading system (ATS) upon which companies can list tokenized versions of their stocks. The firm is fully regulated with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and act...
Bitcoin price could ‘probe lower’ as volumes dip and macroeconomic issues loom overhead
Bitcoin’s sell-off appears to be taking a pause even though the United States rolled out new sanctions against Russia on Feb 22. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of Bitcoin (BTC) continues to hover slightly below $38,000, which some analysts have identified as a significant support and resistance zone. BTC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView Here’s a closer look at what analysts are saying about Bitcoin price and what levels to keep an eye on in the short-term. 25% of entities are underwater On-chain data outlet, Glassnode, posted the following chart analyzing the percentage of entities in profit and the analysts concluded “that the proportion of on-chain entities in profit is oscillating between 65.78% and 76.7% of the network.” Percent...
Appellate court decision allows Bitconnect class action to proceed
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that victims of the Bitconnect Ponzi scheme can proceed with a class action suit by reversing a previous ruling that prohibited such a case. Bitconnect is the endlessly memed ICO from 2017 that collapsed in January, 2018. Appellate courts are superior courts that are used to review previously tried cases so the ruling may be reversed or confirmed. The alleged victims may now move forward with a class action case against BitConnect (BCC) and its promoters Glenn Arcaro, Ryan Maasen, Trevon James, Ryan HiIdreth, and Craig Grant. There is no word yet on whether the complainants will proceed with the case. The original complainants filed suit in order to be compensated for damages from being defrauded by BitConnect and its promoters. The complaint say...
Luna Foundation Guard raises $1B to form UST reserve denominated in Bitcoin
The nonprofit organization focused on the open-source stablecoin network behind Terra USD, Luna Foundation Guard, has closed on a $1 billion raise through the sale of LUNA tokens. In a Tuesday tweet, Terra said Jump Crypto and Three Arrows Capital led the $1 billion round with participation from DeFiance Capital, Republic Capital, GSR, Tribe Capital and others. The platform said proceeds from the sale — $1 billion — would “go towards establishing a Bitcoin-denominated Forex Reserve for UST,” a stablecoin in the Terra ecosystem. 1/ The long awaited [REDACTED] 3 is here! The Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) has closed a $1 billion private token sale to establish a decentralized $UST Forex Reserve denominated in $BTC! — Terra (UST) Powered by LUNA (@terra_money) February 22, 2022 “One common ...
Record label CEO explains how music NFTs are set to revolutionize the industry
Music-based nonfungible tokens are an emerging frontier in the crypto and NFT space, but the first questions that come to mind are: What are they? And what are their utility? Music NFTs are relatively new to the scene and cannot be pinned down by one definition. At the most basic level, however, they are verifiable digital collectibles, with a core component being the integration of a song. One of the first collections was “Audioglyphs,” which cemented itself as revolutionizing the way users consume music, synthesizing an infinite stream of audio for each NFT. Creators and investors began to discover the novelty of music NFTs, as they lessened the barriers of access to artists and consumers. Electronic DJ and NFT collector 3LAU made history selling his record-breaking album Ultraviolet for...
Puma registers ENS domain, changes name to Puma.eth on Twitter
Puma is the latest in a growing list of major brands to purchase a decentralized URL and reveal their nonfungible token, or NFT, by changing their Twitter handle to Puma.eth. The German sportswear brand registered the domain name with the Ethereum Name Service, or ENS. welcome PUMA.eth (@PUMA) https://t.co/BuPplzfJgR — ens.eth (@ensdomains) February 21, 2022 Other major companies with .ETH domains include Budweiser, the subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, which bought Beer.eth through ENS on OpenSea for 30 ETH last year. And when the fast-food chain White Castle registered whitecastleofficial.eth, ENS’ former director of operations even tweeted about his excitement. All .ETH names are NFTs that can be “easily plugged-in to the ever-expanding NFT ecosystem,” as an...
Journalist alleges Mimo Capital co-founder was behind 2016 exploit of The Dao: Report
Laura Shin, a cryptocurrency journalist and host of the Unchained Podcast, claimed to have discovered the identity of the individual behind an exploit which drained more than 3.6 million Ether from Germany-based startup Slock.it’s The DAO in 2016. According to a Tuesday Bloomberg report, Shin claimed that she had “extremely strong evidence” that Mimo Capital co-founder Toby Hoenisch was responsible for removing more than 3.6 million Ether (ETH) from The DAO in June 2016 — roughly $50 million at the time. An unknown hacker used an exploit to drain roughly a third of The DAO’s ETH supply, forcing developers to hard fork the network and leaving the illicit funds in what became the Ethereum Classic (ETC) blockchain. EXCLUSIVE: With the publication of my book today, I can finally announce: in t...
Market crash sees ADA fall to a multi-month low, DOT and AVAX drop out of the top ten
The price of Cardano’s native token ADA sank to $0.82 after enduring more losses today Binance USD has moved to 9th in market capital, displacing Avalanche and Polkadot that have suffered heavy losses today Cryptocurrencies are trading in the red on Tuesday as the bloodbath persists on account of the growing tensions between Russia-Ukraine. Market data shows that only Terra’s LUNA has registered a green candle in the last few hours. Bitcoin dropped below $36,500 earlier today for the first time since 4th February, setting a multi-week low of $36,488 as per CoinMarketCap. Though the OG cryptocurrency has since steadily climbed back to $37,600 as of writing, it is still down 2.85% in the last 24 hours. The current Bitcoin price means it has shed almost 14% in one week. Ether has ...
UK law firm Gunnercooke starts accepting crypto payments for legal services
Gunnercooke says one of its clients, Attestant, has already paid up for services in Ether Crypto adoption will also favour partners at the firm who would prefer getting paid in alternative methods As mainstream crypto adoption continues rising, more industries and sectors are trying their bit to incorporate these digital assets. In the US, a number of legal firms have been accepting crypto for a while now, including Steptoe & Johnson, Perkins Coie, Frost Brown Todd, McLaughlin & Stern, and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. In the UK, law firm Gunnercooke revealed yesterday that it started accepting crypto payments in Bitcoin and Ether. The move, Gunnercooke said, made it the first among major firms in the country to do so. In taking legal fees in crypto, the firm intends to su...
