cryptocurrencies
Major crypto firms and groups form coalition aimed at promoting ‘market integrity’
Several cryptocurrency exchanges and advocacy groups across different countries have banded together to form a coalition intended to fight market manipulation. In a Monday announcement, market surveillance firm Solidus Labs and exchanges including Bitstamp, Coinbase, BitMEX, and CrossTower said they would be launching the Crypto Market Integrity Coalition, or CMIC, asking all other companies involved in the crypto space to follow their example. According to the CMIC, members must pledge to encourage “a fair digital asset marketplace to combat market abuse and manipulation and promote public and regulatory confidence” in crypto. The group’s 17 founding members includes U.S.-based crypto advocacy group Chamber of Digital Commerce, United Kingdom-based self-regulatory trade association Crypto...
Venezuelans reportedly hit by new Bitcoin tax of up to 20%
The Venezuelan government has approved a new tax bill aiming to collect up to 20% in taxes from cryptocurrency transactions, according to local reports. Venezuela’s National Assembly held a second discussion session on Thursday for a new draft bill targeting taxes on “large financial transactions” in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The Venezuelan government reportedly approved the draft bill last Thursday, requiring local firms and individuals to pay up to 20% for operations carried out in cryptocurrencies as well as foreign currencies such as the United States dollar. Filed on Jan. 20, the draft law aims to collect 2%–20% from transactions in any currencies other than those issued by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, or the Venezuelan bolivar and the country’s oil-backe...
What is Harmony (ONE) blockchain and why it is getting so much traction?
Harmony is getting a lot of traction because it addresses core blockchain concerns, is energy-efficient, has cross-chain capabilities, offers lower gas fees and has a huge potential for nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Maintain decentralization and security Harmony thinks its network can scale while maintaining decentralization and security because it uses sharding, which divides validators into multiple groups and allows them to approve transactions and new blocks simultaneously. Harmony can now process 2,000 transactions per second (TPS), which is comparable to Visa, ONE of the world’s largest payment networks. Harmony believes it will process 10 million TPS in the long run. On the other hand, Harmony does not compromise security or decentralization even as it scales. For example, the ne...
Crypto rug pulls: What is a rug pull in crypto and 6 ways to spot it
There are several clear signs that investors can watch out for to protect themselves from rug pulls such as the liquidity not being locked and no external audit having been conducted. The following are six signs users should watch out for to protect their assets from crypto rug pulls. Unknown or anonymous developers Investors should consider the credibility of the people behind new crypto projects. Are the developers and promoters known in the crypto community? What is their track record? If the development team has been doxxed but isn’t well known, do they still appear legitimate and able to deliver on their promises? Investors should be skeptical of new and easily faked social media accounts and profiles. The quality of the project’s white paper, w...
Easy-to-use DeFi protocols will become the new gatekeepers to crypto
It has arguably never been easier to participate in the crypto ecosystem. After centralized exchange powerhouse Coinbase recently began allowing its users to deposit part of their fiat paychecks into the exchange in the form of crypto, more people are beginning to realize the potential of the industry and participate in this ever-growing ecosystem. But, crypto is commonly perceived as fundamentally intricate or lacking the proper interfaces, and whether this is right or wrong, this has been the perception for some time. To some people, the premise of digital currencies will always seem far too complicated. More recently, however, there has been an emergence of easier avenues into the crypto space for those keen to learn more. It’s important to establish just why people should conside...
3 things the crypto sector must offer to truly mainstream with TradFi
In the past year, we’ve seen the crypto economy undergo exponential expansion as heaps of money poured into various cryptocurrencies, decentralized finance (DeFi), nonfungible tokens (NFT), crypto indices, insurance products and decentralized options markets. The total value locked (TVL) in the DeFi sector across all chains has grown from $18 billion at the beginning of 2021 to $240 billion in January 2022. With so much liquidity in the ecosystem, the crypto lending space has also grown a significant amount, from $60 million at the beginning of 2021 to over $400 million by January 2022. Despite the exponential growth and the innovation in DeFi products, the crypto lending market is still only limited to token-collateralized loans, i.e. pledge one cryptocurrency as collateral to borro...
Stealth rulemaking: Is proposed SEC rule with no mention of crypto a threat to DeFi?
On Jan. 26, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to Rule 3b-16 under the Exchange Act that lacks any mention of digital assets or decentralized finance, which could adversely affect platforms that facilitate crypto transactions. Some cryptocurrency advocates — including SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce — believe that the commission’s extended definition of an exchange could thrust an entire class of crypto entities under the regulator’s jurisdiction, subjecting them to additional registration and reporting burdens. How real is the threat? The proposed change The amendments proposed by the regulator dramatically expand the definition of what an exchange is while eliminating the exemption for systems that merely bring together buyers and sellers of securitie...
Renewed interest in the Metaverse sends Decentraland (MANA) price 75% higher
The influence of blockchain technology on the ongoing digital revolution cannot be overstated as the rise of the Metaverse and the integration of virtual reality is transforming the way humans interact on a global scale. One project that is beginning to gain traction in its effort to bridge the old world with the new is Decentraland (MANA), a virtual reality (VR) ecosystem built on the Ethereum network that allows users to create, engage with and monetize digital content through a variety of interactive experiences. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that over the past two weeks, the price of MANA has climbed 70% from a low of $1.70 on Jan. 22 to a daily high of $2.90 on Feb. 1 as the wider crypto market struggled under bearish pressure. MANA/USDT 1-day chart. ...
America COMPETES Act passes House without ‘disastrous’ provision on crypto
A piece of legislation aimed at addressing supply chain issues to keep the U.S. economy and businesses competitive has passed the House of Representatives — without a provision many in the crypto space had criticized for giving the Treasury Secretary authority to shut down exchanges. In a 222-210 vote on Friday, the House of Representatives passed the America COMPETES Act mostly along party lines. The provision originally proposed by Connecticut Representative Jim Himes would seemingly have allowed the Treasury Secretary to have fewer limits on surveilling financial institutions with suspected transactions connected to money laundering and not open the matter to include public feedback. However, lawmakers modified the wording earlier this week to safeguard restrictions currently under by t...
Winter is coming! Here are 5 ways to survive a crypto bear market
The cryptocurrency market has an interesting way of catching even the most seasoned veterans off guard as each bull and bear market initially shows similarities to previous cycles only to veer off in an unexpected direction and wipe out the fortunes of newly minted crypto millionaires. This was the case with the weak close of 2021 which completely went against the bullish $100,000 BTC price estimates that crypto analysts and influencers were peddling nonstop. Currently, Bitcoin price is more than 50% away from its $69,000 all-time high and altcoins have fared worse, with many down more than 60% in the last 2 months. In times like these, traders need to regroup and re-evaluate their investment strategy, rather than just buying every price dip. Here are five strategies traders can use ...
South Park destroys Matt Damon’s Crypto.com ad in season premiere
More than three months after its release, the ad from crypto exchange Crypto.com featuring Hollywood star Matt Damon was the subject of ridicule in the latest episode of the animated series South Park. In the first episode of its 25th season titled “Pajama Day”, the creators of South Park took on people in the United States refusing to wear a mask and once again associated crypto investments with scams. Characters in the show attacked Damon’s appearance in an TV spot titled “fortune favors the brave”, showing the actor speaking about Crypto.com amid a digital landscape of historic figures. “My dad said he listened to Matt Damon and lost all his money…” “Yes, everyone did! But they were brave in doing so!” The criticism is likely related to cryptocurrencies losing more than $500 billion in ...
3 reasons why Telos (TLOS) price hit a new all-time high
It seems crypto winter is upon us and during times like these, projects that continue to forge ahead by focusing on development and expansion are often rewarded by traders who are looking to set up long positions where strong fundamentals trump the absence of short-term gains. One project that has weathered the storm in the crypto markets to establish a new all-time high is Telos (TLOS), a blockchain network created with the EOSIO software that aims to bring speed and scalability to smart contracts for decentralized finance (DeFi), nonfungible tokens (NFTs), gaming and social media. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $0.42 on Jan. 10, the price of TLOS has soared 229% to a new high of $1.39 thanks in part to a record-high trading volume of...
