cryptocurrencies
What decentralization? Solend approves whale wallet takeover to avoid DeFi implosion
On Sunday, the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector came under scrutiny again after DeFi protocol Solend put together a spur-of-the-moment governance proposal related to one of the whale wallets at risk of liquidation. The proposal, dubbed “SLND1 : Mitigate Risk From Whale,” was abruptly launched on Sunday without announcement and the vote closed with a 97% approval rating. The scandal comes on the heels of last week’s sudden layoffs from Coinbase and BlockFi, and the liquidation debacle of Three Arrows Capital. Adding to the melee of unexpected volatility and market sell-offs, the spur-of-the-moment alterations of a supposed decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, show that crypto is not as “decentralized” as its users may have thought. Details of the proposal include the...
Russia seems to be preparing to mine Bitcoin with flare gas
The Russian government continues to establish links with major players in the cryptocurrency mining industry despite staying skeptical about legalizing cryptocurrency trading and payments. Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom Neft has entered into a partnership with BitRiver, the largest crypto-mining colocation services supplier in Russia providing hosting services for major crypto mining operations. Gazprom will provide BitRiver’s partner data centers with electricity generated from the associated petroleum gas, the companies officially announced on June 16. As part of the collaboration, BitRiver will be developing a digital infrastructure based on the oil fields that Gazprom provides crypto mining services from the flare gas. Gazprom first deputy CEO Vadim Yakovlev emphasiz...
BIS to launch market intelligence platform amid stablecoin, DeFi collapse
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub announced the launch of a new set of projects targeting various aspects of traditional and crypto payments — including a cryptocurrency market intelligence platform and security for retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). BIS’s cryptocurrency market intelligence platform will be launched under the Eurosystem Centre initiative, which aims to provide vetted data about crypto projects. One of the key drivers for the project’s commencement is the collapse of numerous stablecoins projects and decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platforms such as Terra (LUNA) and Decentralized USD (USDD). As explained in the official announcement: “The project’s goal is to create an open-source market intelligence platform to shed light on m...
What is a bear trap in trading and how to avoid it?
As a difficult proposition for novice traders, a bear trap can be recognized by using charting tools available on most trading platforms and demands caution to be exercised. In most cases, identifying a bear trap requires the use of trading indicators and technical analysis tools such as RSI, Fibonacci levels, and volume indicators, and they are likely to confirm whether the trend reversal after a period of consistent upward price movement is genuine or merely meant to invite shorts. Any downtrend must be driven by high trading volumes to rule out the chances of a bear trap being set up. Generally speaking, a combination of factors, including the retracement of price just below a key support level, failure to close below critical Fibonacci levels and low volumes, are signs of a b...
What is an Iceberg order and how to use it?
An iceberg trade is most often executed by large institutional investors. Iceberg orders, also known as reverse orders, are mostly used by market makers, which is another word for an individual or firm who is providing offers and bids. When it comes to such big crypto transactions, we mostly talk about institutional crypto investors. They often trade in big amounts of cryptocurrencies, which may have a huge impact on the market. As a watcher, it’s possible to look up the order in the order books, but only a small part of the market maker iceberg orders is visible on level-2 order books. Level-2 order books, in the crypto world, contain all bids and asks on an exchange including price, volume and timestamp — real-time data collection it is. They call ...
Bitcoin critics say BTC price is going to $0 this time, but these 3 signals suggest otherwise
Like clockwork, the onset of a crypto bear market has brought out the “Bitcoin is dead” crowd who gleefully proclaim the end of the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. If #Bitcoin can collapse by 70% from $69,000 to under $21,000, it can just as easily fall another 70% down to $6,000. Given the excessive leverage in #crypto, imagine the forced sales that would take place during a sell-off of this magnitude. $3,000 is a more likely price target. — Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) June 14, 2022 The past few months have indeed been painful for investors, and the price of Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen to a new 2022 low at $20,100, but the latest calls for the asset’s demise are likely to suffer the same fate as the previous 452 predictions calling for its death. Bitcoin obitu...
Magic Internet Money token depegs as Terra (LUNA) domino effect persists
Magic Internet Money (MIM), a US dollar-pegged stablecoin of the Abracadabra ecosystem, joins the growing list of tokens losing their $1 value amid an untimely crypto winter. The sudden de-pegging of the MIM token commenced roughly on June 17, 7:40 pm ET, which saw the token’s price drop to $0.926 in just three hours. Terra’s LUNA and TerraUSD (UST) death spiral not only affected the investors but also had a negative impact on numerous crypto projects, including Abracadabra’s MIM token ecosystem — as alleged by Twitter handle @AutismCapital. Depegging of Magic Internet Money (MIM) token price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap Citing an insider scoop, AutismCapital claimed that Abracadabra accrued $12 million in bad debt as a direct result of Terra’s sudden downfall “because liquidations couldn&...
Sweeping layoffs, hiring and firing as crypto prices take a massive downturn
Many in the crypto world have been glued to their screens with eyes dead set on financial conditions this week. That isn’t the case for everyone though, as thousands are suddenly experiencing thewoes of sudden unemployment. Words of encouragement and sympathy also poured out across Twitter and LinkedIn consoling individuals released from their responsibilities. Some expressed frustration, confusion and anger while others expressed gratitude, renewed vision and reflections. My heart is with those recently laid off. I too have been one of the lucky ones to be spared by massive layoffs on days where friends have been let go. This privileged situation has its own anxiety, displacement and upheaval. Sorry you’re going through this moment. — Matt Murray (@vintageneon) June 16, 2022 As...
Senators join chorus of disapproval of ‘backdoor regulation’ in SEC staff accounting bulletin
United States Senator Bill Hagerty has sent a letter, cosigned by four other Republican senators, to Securities and Exchange (SEC) Commission chair Gary Gensler urging the withdrawal of a staff accounting bulletin, referred to as SAB 121, issued by the agency March 31. According to the senators, the bulletin amounts to “regulation disguised as staff guidance” and does not adhere to the Administrative Procedure Act. SAB 121 provides guidance on accounting and disclosure for companies that safeguard clients’ crypto assets and allow them to perform transactions with them. The bulletin said those companies, which include platforms such as Coinbase and Robinhood, should list digital assets as liabilities on their balance sheets at fair value. The need for the new accounting procedure was chalke...
5 indicators traders can use to know when a crypto bear market is ending
The bull market is gone and the reality of a long crypto winter is surely giving traders a bad case of the shivers. Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has fallen to lows not even the bears expected, and some investors are likely scratching their heads and wondering how BTC will come back from this epic decline. Prices are dropping daily, and the current question on everyone’s mind is: “when will the market bottom and how long will the bear market last?” While it’s impossible to predict when the bear market will end, studying previous downtrends provides some insight into when the phase is coming to a close. Here’s a look at five indicators that traders use to help know when a crypto winter is coming to a close. The crypto industry begins to recover One of the classic signs that a crypto winter ha...
Tether’s USDT market cap dips below $70B for an 8-month low
Tether (USDT), the biggest stablecoin and the third largest digital currency by market capitalization, continues losing its market value amid the current market downturn. On June 16, USDT’s market cap dropped below $70 billion for the first time since October 2021. The drop followed a cascade of repeated declines shortly after the USDT market value reached its all-time high above $80 billion in May. At the time of writing, Tether USDT’s market capitalization stands at $69.3 billion, up around $300 million from the multi-month low, according to data from CoinGecko. USDT 90-day market capitalization chart. Source: CoinGecko Tether’s biggest rival, USDC, is the second-largest U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin backed by the peer-to-peer payments technology company Circle. The stablecoin reached $5...
Elusive Bitcoin ETF: Hester Perice criticizes lack of legal clarity for crypto
The crypto sector may be maturing, but regulatory clarity around the treatment of digital assets continues to remain cumbersome. This was recently highlighted by Commissioner Hester Peirce — also known as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) “crypto mom” — in remarks she made at “The Regulatory Transparency Project Conference on Regulating the New Crypto Ecosystem: Necessary Regulation or Crippling Future Innovation?” Peirce began her speech by emphasizing the importance of “regulating the new crypto ecosystem.” While this may be, Peirce also noted that the crypto industry is still in search of an actual regulator. She said: “A bipartisan bill announced last week attempts to answer that question. Some people in the crypto industry are celebrating the all...
