The crypto ecosystem continues to sparkle and explode like a tinderbox. There’s a launch here. A potential blowup there in what promises to be a Summer of Disasters for crypto projects. All of this is happening even as the price of bitcoin remains rangebound. Earlier this morning, it touched $21,327.41, up 20% from its low of $17,721 six days ago. As of this writing, it … Continue reading Notes: 6/24: A Web3 Phone And Crypto Hacks
Tether, the world’s biggest stablecoin, has faced relentless questioning over reserves backing for USDT, its stablecoin pegged to the dollar. But that hasn’t stopped it from launching stablecoins pegged to various currencies. Its latest is a plan to launch a sterling-denominated stablecoin on the Ethereum blockchain. Called GBPT, the coin will be launched in early July according to a press release issued by the company. … Continue reading Tether Plans to Launch GBP-Pegged Stablecoin. No Details, As Usual, On Reserves.
Binance Introduces Zero Trading Fees In Crypto It took decades for trading firms to offer zero commission trades. It took less than three years for Binance.us to offer the same feature. The trading platform announced yesterday that it has cut trading fees for many of its bitcoin pairs down to zero. According to the company’s blogpost, four market pairs will become free to trade: BTC/USD … Continue reading Notes 6/23: Binance’s Zero Fee Gamble and Voyager Digital’s Crash
These are strange times in cryptoland. On the one hand, the number of projects and businesses that have either crashed or are in danger of crashing has multiplied. But that increasing list hasn’t stopped investors from throwing money at startups in the sector or bidding up their valuations. Magic Eden Achieves Unicorn Status Magic Eden, an online NFT marketplace, recently received an infusion of … Continue reading Magic Eden, Solend, and Saylor
There goes the dream of decentralization. Bitcoin enthusiasts have railed against central banks since the cryptocurrency was introduced to the world in the aftermath of a global financial crisis, widely blamed on central bank policymaking. But digital currencies issued by central banks, also known as Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), are at the center of a future monetary system in a report released by the … Continue reading CBDCs Will Drive The Future Monetary System: BIS Report
Crypto. Web3. Blockchain. It can be difficult to keep track of jargon from tech’s box of wonders. Right now, though, those buzzwords do not sound so magical. Crypto’s critics are having a field day, what with plummeting valuations for tokens in the market and the collapse of multibillion dollar projects. Adding to the chaos are people like noted venture capitalist and crypto booster Marc Andreessen. … Continue reading Web3 Critics, Bitcoin Price Recovery, And Crypto’s Effect On Mainstream Markets
Ethereum has ambitions to become a hub for decentralized finance (DeFi) – one where millions of users conduct sophisticated transactions using financial applications and payment systems on its network. The platform’s selling point is its decentralized and peer-to-peer design that reduces costs and transaction times. But transactions on Ethereum are time-consuming. A technical and complicated interface also ensures that users have little control over the … Continue reading An Experiment In Ethereum’s Gas Fees
UST. Celsius. Three Arrows Capital. The list of crypto’s casualties in the current downturn is growing by the day. There’s more bad news ahead. Experts say that the crypto ecosystem is due another capitulation event. “Some giant player will go to zero [soon],” Shark tank personality and crypto investor Kevin O’Leary told Coindesk recently. The chances it might be Tether, the world’s biggest stablecoin, are … Continue reading Will Tether, Crypto’s Biggest Stablecoin, Be Its Next Casualty?
The dreaded W word is re-entering the crypto lexicon. Chatter about a crypto winter is on the cards once again after the asset class’s spectacular pandemic run. The irony of crypto becoming one of the first casualties of an impending recession is rich because its enthusiasts have spent years positioning it as a hedge against central bank policies and distinguishing the asset class from mainstream … Continue reading Bitcoin Price Continues Crumbling As Celsius Contagion Spreads
The bad news keeps piling up for cryptocurrency markets. There was little respite for investors as the rout in bitcoin price, which began over the weekend, continued this morning. Bitcoin price dipped below the key $22,000 support level though it managed to stay above $20,000. The cryptocurrency is down by roughly 66% from its high last November. Other cryptocurrencies also witnessed significant downdrafts. Ethereum’s ether, … Continue reading Carnage Continues In Crypto Markets
Following the news cycle of crypto scandals is a bit like unpacking stacked Russian dolls. Simple explanations and surface realities are rarely sufficient to explain the workings. As the scandals unfold, the central narrative has another one underneath and another one. A fresh cast of characters – in this case, mostly related to tokens – is introduced with each layer. And so on. Take the … Continue reading Celsius And The Many Narratives of Crypto Scandals
And they all come tumbling down. The congratulations and celebrations from crypto’s biggest and latest shindig had barely died down and its markets took a turn for the worst Monday morning. Bitcoin price, which has been on a steady decline since last November, crashed below $25,000 this morning. As of this writing, it is trading at $23,557.23, a drop of roughly 15% from its … Continue reading Bitcoin Price And Crypto Markets In Turmoil
Yesterday I wrote about a crypto mining bill that is sitting on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk. While New York’s net zero goals are ostensibly the driving factor behind the legislation, an element of political calculus could trump climate change concerns. According to the New York Times, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s re-election campaign has already received $40,000 from the owner of a crypto-mining plant in Massena, N.Y. … Continue reading On Crypto Mining and NYDFS Guidance for Stablecoins
Regulation of cryptocurrencies by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), tax exemptions for crypto transactions, and strict reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers are some of the proposals in a new bipartisan bill for cryptocurrency regulation from Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (R-NY). The bill, titled the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, is the first such attempt to regulate an industry with aspirations … Continue reading Bipartisan Senate Bill Aims to Bring Order to Crypto But Could Set Up Dangerous Dynamic, Says a Critic
How will New York’s proposed two-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining affect miners? While crypto advocacy organizations have labeled the bill’s contents as ‘draconian’, its actual impact on crypto mining operations in the state might be limited. This is mainly because the bill restricts denials to miners who generate electric power away from the grid. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there are very few such miners in … Continue reading New York’s Bitcoin Mining Bill May Not Affect Many Crypto Miners
In yet another sign that the party might be coming to an end in crypto markets, more funds devoted exclusively to cryptocurrencies closed in the first quarter of 2022 than were launched in the same period. According to a new report from research firm Crypto Fund Research (CFR), only 11 new crypto funds were launched last quarter while 14 shut down their operations in the … Continue reading More Crypto Funds Closed Shop Than Launched In First Quarter: Report
Mining revenue from Bitcoin continued to fall, declining by 21.6% in May, even as Ethereum’s ether recovered from a mishap at the beginning of the month to become a more profitable proposition for miners. Revenue from bitcoin mining operations has been in a free fall since last October. The development is not surprising considering that the difficulty of solving bitcoin’s mining puzzle has climbed since … Continue reading Bitcoin Mining Revenue Fell By Double Digits In May As Ethereum’s Ether Became More Profitable
After climbing to dizzy heights last year, markets are hemorrhaging value as prices plummet since the beginning of this year. Expensive assets that were worth millions of dollars as recently as last year have crashed from their earlier valuations. One of the world’s biggest financial instruments careened to a sudden and spectacular crash in less than a month, further deepening distrust of a financial system … Continue reading Can Crypto Handle A Recession?
Terra blockchain’s new token LUNA seems to be a chip off the old block. Within hours of debuting this past Friday, the token’s price shot up by 47% to a peak of $19.53. It crashed soon after and reached a low of $3.98 on the same day based on data from Coinmarketcap. As of this writing, it has recovered to trade at $9.16. According to … Continue reading Terra’s LUNA Jumps On Debut, Then Crashes
Bitcoin’s fortunes may have tumbled this year but its advocates are not backing down yet. Investment firm Grayscale is pulling out all stops in its bid to get approval for conversion of its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) – a closed-end fund for accredited investors – to an ETF. The company submitted its application to the SEC in October last year and a decision is expected … Continue reading Grayscale Launches Advertising Blitz For Bitcoin ETF Approval
The demarcating lines between traditional finance and cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly blurry. Recent announcements by regulators and crypto companies point the way to a future in which the two ecosystems, different in their working and philosophically antagonistic until recently, are coalescing to become a single entity. FTX has become the first crypto exchange to offer trading of regular stocks to customers while SEC chief Gary … Continue reading Crypto and Mainstream Finance Move Towards Each Other
