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Showing posts from June, 2023

The future economy: Anticipating the central role of crypto payments in financial transactions

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With advances in scaling and interoperability, cryptocurrencies are more ready than ever for widespread adoption. With crypto gas prices dropping to lows after numerous recent innovations in scaling and interoperability across different chains, we can more vividly imagine a possible shift toward widespread crypto payment s. Crypto payments at scale are currently prevented by regulation, lack of understanding and mass adoption, as well as digital assets being used primarily for investment purposes. For starters, Satoshi Nakamoto’s original concept was steeped in the idea of peer-to-peer digital cash — that’s exactly what appears in the title of his 2008 Bitcoin white paper. Despite the initial excitement and deep conviction surrounding this pioneering system since its inception, the core idea quietly slipped through the cracks as our focus shifted to cryptocurrency as an investment. The often-expressed nostalgia for the famous white paper became overshadowed by this unintentional dev

Crypto Lawyer Shares His Take On Ripple’ ODL XRP Sales

Bill Morgan recently highlighted the controversy surrounding XRP sales to Ripple’s ODL customers. The crypto lawyer believes that the difference between XRP’s programmatic and ODL sales is significant for the lawsuit. Morgan asserted that the XRP sales to ODL clients cannot be deemed investment contracts by the SEC.  Bill Morgan, a lawyer who is popular among crypto circles on Twitter, recently shared his take on the issue of Ripple’s XRP sales to its on-demand liquidity (ODL) customers. This issue has been underreported despite being cited by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in its lawsuit against Ripple.  Bill Morgan took to Twitter earlier today to highlight the difference between the programmatic sales and the ODL sales of XRP by Ripple. According to the crypto lawyer, the difference is significant in the context of the lawsuit, given that it may lead to inferences that the XRP community may not be prepared to consider.  “My theory is Ripple XRP

$1.7m in Crypto Supposedly Used for Terrorism is Now Seized by Israel

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Join Our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage Following the orders by the Defense Minister of Israel- Yoav Gallant, the Israeli forces seized about $1.7 million worth of cryptocurrency in an unprecedented event. Crypto Seized From Wallets Linked to Iran and its Lebanon Ally. $1.7 million worth of cryptocurrency was wiped out from a digital wallet linked to the Iranian military and Hezbollah. Gallant said that Hezbollah is a Lebanese militant group that has substantial backing from the Iranian government. While addressing the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing in Israel, Gallant announced that this was the first time Israel had carried out a crypto seizure of this magnitude, and that too against Iran. The crypto assets were handled by Iran ’ s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah and supposedly were used for terrorism activities. Seizure Carried out with the Help of Chainalysis The seizure was carried out weeks after Defen

MixPay Partnership with BTC domain

MixPay Partnership with BTC domain, Offering Users a New Experience in Purchasing BTC Domains with Cryptocurrency. BTC domain ’s domain registration services have successfully integrated MixPay, accepting mainstream cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, DOGE, USDT, among over 70 other cryptocurrencies. The service is already live on the official BTC domain website. As MixPay announced their Partnership with BTC domain . What is BTC Domains? A domain system fully built on the Bitcoin Mainnet. All .btc domain data storage and resolution are based on Bitcoin’s Layer 1 technology. Unlike traditional naming methods, BTC domain uses ZK technology to ensure fully decentralized domain resolution. Under the BTC domain system, each .btc domain owner can build their own Bitcoin-native website. For instance, if you own xxxx.btc, you could design and own the //xxxx.btc.page website. All website data storage and resolution are also based on the Bitcoin Mainnet. Through the collaboration with Mi

MicroStrategy buys $347M worth of Bitcoin amid market thaw

"DCA works," wrote Binance CEO in response to the purchase. On June 28, software analytics firm MicroStrategy announced the corporate purchase of 12,333 Bitcoin (BTC), worth $347 million at the time of publication. After the transaction, the total balance of Bitcoin owned by MicroStrategy has increased to 152,333 ($4.52 billion) with an average purchase price of $29,668 apiece.  The total average purchase price is close to the $28,136 apiece purchase price disclosed in today's announcements. The coins were bought between April 27 and June 27. The purchase was partly financed with the issuance of new stock, as the company wrote: "On May 1, 2023, MicroStrategy entered into a Sales Agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC and Canaccord Genuity LLC, as sales agents, pursuant to which MicroStrategy may issue and sell shares of its class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share ("Shares"), having an aggregate offering price of up to $625.0 million from time to

Blend Generated More Than $365M In Borrowing Volume In May

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Messari revealed in a tweet that Blur.io’s Blend generated over $365 million in borrowing volume during May. Despite its success in the NFT space, BLUR’s price dropped by more than 15% over the past day. At press time, BLUR’s price was trading between the 9-day and 20-day EMA lines and was resting on the minor support level at $0.3506. Earlier today, the crypto market intelligence platform Messari revealed on Twitter that Blur Lending (Blend) saw a massive increase in its volume in May of this year. According to the post, Blend’s volume for May stood at over $365 million. Weekly NFT borrow volume per platform (Source: Twitter) Messari also pointed out that this is more than most of its competitors in the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) space have done in a whole year. However, despite its latest success in the NFT space, the price of BLUR saw its price drop over the past 24 hours of trading. CoinMarketCap indicated that BLUR was trading hands at $0.3563 foll

Robinhood carries out third round of layoffs

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US trading platform Robinhood Markets reportedly cut its workforce for the third time, as the company faces a decline in crypto trading activities and customer demand for its services. Robinhood let go of 150 employees representing 7% of its full-time workforce, according to the Wall Street Journal which cited an internal company message. The latest round of layoffs affected staff in customer trust and safety, customer experience and platform shared services, and safety and productivity. According to WSJ, Robinhood’s chief financial officer Jason Warwick in the internal company message said that cuts were carried out to “adjust to volumes and to better align team structures.” You might also like: Binance initiates layoffs amid market uncertainty, sources claim “We’re ensuring operational excellence in how we work together on an ongoing basis. In some cases, this may mean teams make changes based on volume, workload, org design, and more.” Robinhood spokesperson. Meanw

Gemini enables crypto withdrawals for victims of Voyager’s bankruptcy 

Crypto exchange Gemini has initiated crypto transfers for customers affected by Voyager’s bankruptcy , stating that they can transfer their crypto to Gemini and withdraw their funds. According to Gemini, affected Voyager customers can only transfer crypto supported by Gemini, stating that customers who send unsupported crypto from Voyager to their Gemini accounts could be lost and are unrecoverable.  Also, transferring tokens to Gemini over an unsupported network could result in the loss of funds, with the company urging customers to be careful and carry out the necessary checks before initiating a crypto currency deposit.  You might also like: Voyager to commence partial return of customers’ funds The crypto exchange also announced a promotional welcome for new Gemini customers from Voyager in the United States, stating that they will receive $5 worth of bitcoin after sign-up and verification within 30 days of account opening.  Voyager Digital’s bankruptcy plan admini

Crypto Insider’s Shocking Revelation: A Better Alternative To Enjin (ENJ) Emerges, Anticipating A Mind-Blowing 200X ROI

We all remember when Enjin Coin (ENJ) made its debut in the crypto market and climbed its way up to the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap. It intrigued thousands of hopeful individuals, eagerly anticipating its potential for development and growth. However, as time went on, that initial enthusiasm began to wane, and people started feeling a bit disheartened. But this Crypto Insider has made a shocking new revelation. They’ve discovered a new meme coin, $ANA, as an alternative to the failing Enjin. Rumour also has it that these insiders are tipping $ANA to deliver up to 200x on your initial investment! Now that’s a whole lot of zeros. What is this mysterious new coin set for huge profits, and what does this mean for Enjin? Don’t worry, folks; we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ll answer your questions and more. Keep on reading! BUY $ANA NOW Enjin Coin (ENJ) Struggles Enjin Coin (ENJ) is the gaming cryptocurrency that has brought joy and sweet returns to gam

Here's why Ripple XRP partnerships and MoUs often go nowhere

Over the years, Ripple has announced innumerable XRP partner ships that it ultimately abandoned. Thousands of crypto leaders publish official-looking Press Releases about preliminary initiatives that generate minimal results. Their primary intention is usually to associate the token with the large brand partner and its “utility.”  Occasionally, those large brands are not even aware that the partnership exists. Helium (HNT), for example, once promised token holders that it had partnerships with Salesforce and Lime scooters that never existed. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ripple’s partnership announcements were not merely innocent attempts at brand-building — to the contrary, Ripple made over $2 billion off XRP sales in large part as it “made an avalanche of public statements” attempting to increase the value of XRP. According to commissioners, Ripple misused XRP partnerships to sway investors into believing they were making an investment in XRP that

LUNC developers submit proposal for liquid staking on Quicksilver

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Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) developers have submitted a joint governance proposal to the community and validators that will introduce liquid staking derivatives with the Quicksilver network. The proposal incorporates multiple interchain account (ICA) host message types for integrating QuickSilver. It has garnered positive feedback from the LUNC community, paving the way for potential advancements in the token’s ecosystem. Titled “Allow Various ICA Host Message Types (For QuickSilver),” the proposal was presented to Commonwealth by developer Parker Lowe, who also took to Twitter to generate awareness and gather community attention. https://t.co/z3TvAoGm5s Be ready to vote in a week for a governance proposal! — Parker Lowe (@ParkerLowe47985) June 24, 2023 The document bears the signatures of influential figures in the LUNC community, including Fragwuerdig, Parker Lowe, Rexxaurus, Ohhbilbobaggins, and LuncBurnArmy. It has so far received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with som

Man Buys Ferrari With Bitcoin, Gets 18-month Prison Sentence

A 21-year-old French citizen who bought a Ferrari with bitcoin had his 18-month sentence and $3.7 million fine upheld by a Moroccan court.  The original sentence handed down by the Casablanca Court of Appeals in October 2022 against Thomas Clausi was upheld earlier this month , his lawyer, Mohamed Aghanaj, confirmed. Clausi was arrested for buying the luxury sports car in 2021. Morocco banned holding and trading cryptocurrencies in 2017.  The enforcement actions against Clausi began when a French woman living in Casablanca sold the Ferrari in question to Clausi for a bitcoin payment worth 400,000 euros ($436,600) at the time. She filed a complaint accusing him of “fraud.” A Moroccan citizen submitted a separate complaint against the Frenchman, alleging Clausi signed a fraudulent check with the name of another individual — which he obtained in exchange for bitcoin — in order to buy three of the Moroccan citizen’s watches.  The court ordered Clausi to repay the watch owner with 3,

Celsius Enters Fresh Market Manipulation Scandal Involving Wintermute

Celsius Creditors allege that Wintermute assisted in wash trading. They claim Celsius and Wintermute artificially inflated CEL trading volume for personal gain. Celsius will be dumping a long list of altcoins starting next month. Celsius Network, the bankrupt crypto lending platform, is facing new allegations from its creditors regarding market manipulation and inflated CEL token volume.  In a recent court filing in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the creditors claimed that Celsius executives collaborated with crypto market maker Wintermute to manipulate the price of Celsius CEL tokens through wash trading. Notably, Wash trading is a deceitful practice that creates a false impression of high trading volume for a particular asset.  The lawsuit alleges that Wintermute assisted Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky and other executives in engaging in illegal wash trading of CEL tokens for personal gain. The creditors argued that both the

Is there More to VeChain, VeThor's 11% Rally?

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VeChain managed to garner a fair amount of traction from the community today. A few hours back, Coinbase revealed its intention to onboard two prominent assets, VeChain [VET] and VeThor [VTHO] onto its exchange. On the back of the development, both assets started registered increase in valuation. At press time, VeChain was the second-largest gainer of the day, among the top 100 assets. Post noting a swift 9% incline, the VET was seen exchanging hands at $0.01818. VeThor Token’s gains, on the other hand, were in double digits. The 285th-ranked asset was priced at $0.001182, owing to its 11% uptick over the past 24-hours. Also Read: Coinbase Onboards VeChain and VeThor as Part of Its Roadmap Is there more room for VeChain, VeThor to rally? The inclines of both assets come at a time when large and mid-cap cryptos including Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, XRP, and Dogecoin are consolidating. On the short-term timeframe, both VET and VTHO have a couple of hurdles around their current price. VET

LAC countries more open to CBDCs compared to cryptocurrency: IMF report

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes that countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) see central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as a better option to improve their payment systems compared to cryptocurrencies which are considered riskier assets.  Banning crypto is ineffective A recent study by the IMF noted that LAC countries are leading the adoption of digital money, mentioning four countries in Latin America — Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia — being among the top 20 in the global adoption of crypto assets, according to a Chainalysis report .  While there has been a steady rise in the adoption of crypto in LAC countries, with the belief that cryptocurrency could offer benefits such as financial inclusion for the unbanked and faster and low-cost payments, the IMF believes that embracing crypto may not be all too advantageous for such a region and comes with risks for “vulnerable LAC countries with a history of macroeconomic instability, low institutio

Terra Luna Classic Proposes L2 Team For Community-Owned Station Wallet; Terra Rebels Responds

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Also Read: Terra Luna Classic Core Developer Revises Q3 Proposal, LUNC Price To Rally advertisement Terra Classic LITF Seeks To Establish L2 Team For Wallet Joint L1 Task Force project manager LuncBurnArmy on June 22 revealed that a proposal is submitted on Commonwealth to build a community-owned wallet. Terra Classic has L2 wallet dApp providers including TFL (Station), Keplr, Trust Wallet, and others. Moreover, forked versions of Station wallet are owned by individual groups, but none are owned by the community. According to the proposal, a community-owned web version of Station, iOS & Android mobile apps, and Chrome browser extension will be created. This will help improve client wallet diversity, the Station codebase enhancements, and ease the burden on TFL for testing L1 upgrades and maintenance on the Station after every Terra Luna Classic upgrade. L1TF proposes to create an independent L2 team. The L2 support team will maintain and manage the comm