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A new organization has been established in Turkey with the aim to monitor and help develop the country’s crypto sector, local media reported. Its first task will be to address recent problems with some cryptocurrency exchanges and boost confidence in the industry as a whole. New Entity to Deal With Issues in the Crypto Space in Turkey, Hopes to Increase Transparency People trading cryptocurrencies in Turkey have been estimated at over 8 million as of 2022, according to Emrah Inanc, head of the Crypto Industry Development, Monitoring and Reporting Association. The country is in the world’s top five in terms of crypto investments, he highlighted. Speaking to the Anadolu Agency, the top executive of the newly-founded organization also emphasized that transparency is crucial for the development of the crypto sector. That’s why it will first focus efforts on solving problems with crypto exchanges and improve confidence in the industry. Inanc pointed out that a number of exchanges from the Far East have been trying to attract Turkish customers. On this backdrop, he noted that the lack of rules and regulatory authority has led to “inconvenient results,” and acknowledged some of the challenges in relations with the public sector: We are faced with allegations that some exchanges have blocked customer accounts illegally for financing terrorism and money laundering. Emrah Inanc also indicated that the association is ready to periodically and transparently share information about the shortcomings it’s identifying with all relevant institutions. He also warned traders about dealings with offshore exchange platforms. “In order to prevent these illegal practices and irregularities, we will take the necessary steps to block cryptocurrency exchanges … that cause unlawful transactions, cause victimization, and threaten our citizens and the country’s economy,” Inanc elaborated. He also urged both individuals and organizations to send requests, suggestions, and complaints to the group by filling out a form posted on its website. With the popularity of cryptocurrencies growing amid high inflation, Turkey has become an attractive market for crypto exchanges in the past few years. Turkish traders were also affected by a few failures in the sector, including that of FTX which filed for bankruptcy in mid-November. Turkey’s financial watchdog launched a probe into the collapse of the major exchange as it had a Turkish platform. Several domestic exchanges have also shut down, such as Thodex, whose founders and top executives were accused of committing fraud and money laundering as part of a suspected exit scam. Vebitcoin was investigated when it ceased activities after the country’s central bank banned crypto payments, and Coinzo closed down as well. Do you think the new crypto association will help the development of the crypto industry in Turkey? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk has reaffirmed his commitment to eat a McDonald’s Happy Meal on TV if the fast food chain accepts the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE). Musk originally made the offer a year ago but McDonald’s responded with a counteroffer at the time. Elon Musk, McDonald’s, and Dogecoin Payments Tesla, Spacex, and Twitter CEO Elon Musk has reaffirmed his commitment to eat a McDonald’s Happy Meal on Television if the fast food giant starts accepting payments in dogecoin (DOGE). It has been a year since the billionaire tweeted his offer on Jan. 25, 2022. However, McDonald’s did not accept his offer at the time. “Only if Tesla accepts grimacecoin,” the Twitter account for the fast food corporation replied to him. Grimace is a fluffy, purple character who tags along with Ronald McDonald in McDonaldland commercials. The subject came up again this week when Twitter user Dogedesigner asked Musk on Thursday whether his offer is still open. The Tesla boss replied with the 100 emoji, indicating that he still stands by his offer. Following the interaction between the McDonald’s Twitter account and Musk in January last year, grimacecoin (GRIMACE), a crypto token that has nothing to do with either McDonald’s or Musk, was launched. At the time of writing, each grimacecoin is trading at $0.5879. Musk, who is known in the meme crypto community as the Dogefather, has long been a supporter of dogecoin. His electric car company, Tesla, currently accepts DOGE for some merchandise, and Musk has said that Spacex will follow suit. Moreover, his Boring Company accepts DOGE payments for some rides. The billionaire previously revealed that he personally owns bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin. He said in June last year that he will keep buying and supporting DOGE. In July, he confirmed that Tesla has not sold any DOGE, and in November, he said: “Dogecoin to the Moon.” What do you think about Elon Musk offering to eat a McDonald’s Happy Meal on TV if the fast food chain accepts dogecoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The famous author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, says that we are in a global recession. Warning of soaring bankruptcies, unemployment, and homelessness, he noted that there is good news for investors looking for “bargains.” Robert Kiyosaki’s Latest Warnings The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, is back with more warnings about the U.S. economy and global recession. Rich Dad Poor Dad is a 1997 book co-authored by Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over six years. More than 32 million copies of the book have been sold in over 51 languages across more than 109 countries. Kiyosaki tweeted Saturday: “Q: What is worse than a great depression? A: a global recession.” He added: Unfortunately, we are in global recession. Hang on. Rough landing for world. Bad news. Bankruptcy, unemployment, homelessness soar. Retirements toast. However, the famed author pointed out there is good news for investors, elaborating: “Bargains [are] everywhere. Gold, silver, bitcoin priceless.” In July last year, Kiyosaki cautioned that inflation may lead to greater depression, noting that real estate is crashing and layoffs are starting. He also warned about hyperinflation and depression in April, predicting that the U.S. dollar is about to implode. In May, he reiterated: “Bad news. Depression coming.” The Rich Dad Poor Dad author is not the only one concerned about a global recession. In September last year, the World Bank said the risk of a global recession in 2023 is rising as central banks worldwide simultaneously hike interest rates in response to inflation. In addition, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned of a tough year ahead for the world economy. Kiyosaki has regularly warned about the state of the U.S. economy while recommending investors buy gold, silver, and bitcoin. He often said that he does not trust the Biden Administration, the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and Wall Street. He stressed that the Fed and the Treasury are destroying the U.S. dollar. He tweeted on Jan. 14 that bitcoin, gold, silver, and oil are moving up in price, noting: “Good news for those that know inflation is permanent … now systemic … not transitory. Bad news for the uninformed, poor, middle class … anyone who believes Biden cares about them and their families.” The famous author said in December that bitcoin investors will get richer when the Federal Reserve pivots and prints trillions of dollars. He explained in November that he is a bitcoin investor, not a trader, so he gets excited when the price of BTC plunges. In September, he urged investors to get into crypto now before the biggest economic crash in the world happens. What do you think about the latest warnings by Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The White House has published a “roadmap to mitigate cryptocurrencies’ risks.” The roadmap calls for authorities to “ramp up enforcement where appropriate” and Congress “to step up its efforts” to regulate the crypto sector. It also notes that legislation should not greenlight mainstream institutions “to dive headlong into cryptocurrency markets.” ‘The Administration’s Roadmap to Mitigate Cryptocurrencies’ Risks’ The White House published a blog post titled “The Administration’s Roadmap to Mitigate Cryptocurrencies’ Risks” Friday under the National Economic Council (NEC), an Executive Office of the President (EOP) established to advise the president on U.S. and global economic policy. The roadmap is authored by four White House advisors: NEC Director Brian Deese, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Arati Prabhakar, Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) Chair Cecilia Rouse, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The CEA is charged with providing objective economic advice on the formulation of both domestic and international economic policy while the OSTP advises the president on all matters related to science and technology. The White House advisors detailed: At President Biden’s direction, we have spent the past year identifying the risks of cryptocurrencies and acting to mitigate them using the authorities that the Executive Branch has. “Experts across the administration have laid out the first-ever framework for developing digital assets in a safe, responsible way while addressing the risks they pose,” they added. The framework identifies a number of risks, including crypto entities ignoring applicable financial regulations and basic risk controls, misleading consumers, having conflicts of interest, providing inadequate disclosures, and committing outright fraud. Moreover, the authors claimed that “there is poor cybersecurity across the industry” that has enabled North Korea to “steal over a billion dollars to fund its aggressive missile program.” While encouraging regulators to continue “using their authorities to ramp up enforcement where appropriate and issue new guidance where needed,” the roadmap authors stressed: The events of the past year underscore that more is needed. Agencies have redoubled their efforts to fight fraud … Enforcement agencies are devoting increased resources to combatting illicit activities involving digital assets. “In the coming months, the Administration will also unveil priorities for digital assets research and development, which will help the technologies powering cryptocurrencies protect consumers by default,” they revealed. Congress Needs to ‘Step up Its Efforts’ to Regulate Crypto The roadmap also calls on Congress to “step up its efforts” in regulating the crypto sector, such as expanding regulators’ powers to prevent misuse of customer assets and mitigate conflicts of interest. The White House advisors suggested that Congress could also strengthen transparency and disclosure requirements for cryptocurrency firms, increase penalties for violating illicit-finance rules, and subject crypto intermediaries to bans against tipping off criminals. However, they cautioned: Legislation should not greenlight mainstream institutions, like pension funds, to dive headlong into cryptocurrency markets. The advisors explained that the limited exposure of traditional financial institutions to crypto over the past year has prevented turmoil in the crypto market from affecting the broader financial system. In conclusion, they emphasized: The Administration wholeheartedly supports responsible technological innovations that make financial services cheaper, faster, safer, and more accessible. Nonetheless, the roadmap authors noted that “to realize these benefits, new technologies need commensurate safeguards,” elaborating: “To put the right safeguards in place, we will keep driving forward the digital-assets framework we’ve developed, while working with Congress to achieve these goals.” What do you think about the White House advisors’ roadmap to mitigate crypto risks? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Three months since announcing its launch, Metaspins.com is rapidly flying into the crypto space. The new crypto casino offers players 100% crypto gameplay, a selection of over 2,500 games, and plenty of promotions which will keep its growing audience asking for more. With quick signups and instant withdrawals an important part of its product offer, Metaspins supports numerous top cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, LTC and many more. Registration typically takes one click, and transferring funds from crypto wallets to the casino is quite easy. Players can also buy and sell their crypto directly at the casino. Moreover, new players can benefit from a 100% Welcome Offer that can go up to 1 BTC or equivalent in any of the supported currencies. The bonus funds can be used on thousands of games at the casino, which include top games from NetEnt, Yggdrasil, Pragmatic Play and all the top names of the gaming industry. Metaspins guarantees its players a massive selection of slots, live casino and table games, and also features a section dedicated to provably fair games, which allow players to verify the fairness of their bets. A highlight of Metaspins is undoubtedly their gamification and loyalty programme, with a custom-built feature to reward players. The Metaspin is triggered when players go up a level at the casino, and they’re rewarded with a guaranteed crypto prize. Unlike traditional cashback schemes which offer players part of their losses, at Metaspins they can get up to 60% Rakeback, meaning they recoup part of the amount they have played. In addition to this, they can trigger a Big Win that can reach up to USD 1000 at the higher levels. There is also a Daily Metaspin, which gives crypto prizes to players based on their gameplay over a 12-hour span. Metaspins is licensed in Curacao. Affiliates interested in this crypto casino can get in touch here. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

During the past 30 days, the layer one blockchain asset aptos (APT) has risen 391.8% against the U.S. dollar. In the past seven days, Aptos has increased 123.7% after reaching an all-time high of $19.92 per unit on Jan. 26, 2023. The Role of Decentralized Finance, Infrastructure Support, and NFTs in Aptos’ Recent Surge in Value A relatively new cryptocurrency, aptos (APT), reached an all-time high on Thursday when the token hit $19.92 per coin. Aptos, which launched in mid-Oct. 2022, was created by two developers who previously worked on Meta’s Diem project before it was discontinued. The project is also supported by several venture capital firms including Parafi, Andreessen Horowitz, and Multicoin Capital. When the mainnet went live and aptos (APT) started trading, the price increased about 20%. However, like the rest of the cryptocurrency market during the last two months of 2022, the value of aptos dropped. On Dec. 29, 2022, aptos reached an all-time low of $3.08 per coin. As of Jan. 27, however, the value of APT is 474% higher. Today, aptos’ value is around 11% lower than its all-time high of $19.92 per coin, and in the past 24 hours, APT reached a low of $17.37 per unit. Currently, APT is the 28th largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization out of the entire $1 trillion cryptocurrency market. On Friday, aptos had an overall market capitalization of around $2.83 billion. At the time of writing, aptos has a circulating supply of around 160.54 million APT tokens and in the last 24 hours, the token has seen $813 million in global trading volume. While some traders attempted to short the market during the climb in value, many were ultimately unsuccessful. “I got completely wiped out,” one trader wrote on Wednesday. “I never short, today I decided to do it and I lost everything. I committed to my APT short and got destroyed. I’m left with nothing, even my bags I sold trying to save that f***ing short. It hurts, I’ve never lost so much in my entire life,” the trader added. The recent surge in aptos (APT) is being attributed to its deployment by the leading decentralized exchange Pancakeswap. Aptos’ total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) has climbed rapidly in recent weeks, with Pancakeswap accounting for 57.62%. The price rise is also being credited to the blockchain’s issuance of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and NFT projects like Aptos Land Genesis, Aptos Monkeys, Babyapetos, and Aptopunks. Aptos-based NFTs are seeing significant trading activity on the NFT marketplace topaz.so. Furthermore, APT has also been recently integrated with Atomic Wallet, a defi Web3 wallet with more than 5 million users. What do you think is driving the recent surge in aptos (APT) and do you think it has the potential to continue its upward trend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. View the full article

Polygon rose to its highest level since early November on Friday, as markets reacted to the latest U.S. consumer sentiment data. Sentiment rose to 64.9 in January, up from a reading of 59.7 in December. Chainlink also surged in today’s session, hitting its strongest point in nearly two months. Polygon (MATIC) Polygon (MATIC) was a big gainer on Friday, as prices rose to their highest point in 11 weeks. Following a low of $1.07 on Thursday, MATIC/USD raced to an intraday peak of $1.15 earlier today. As a result of this, polygon moved to its strongest point since November 11, which is the last time prices were trading at this point of resistance. Looking at the chart, the surge took place when the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) broke out of a ceiling at 69.00. As of writing, the index is tracking at 72.14, and appears to be en route to a ceiling at the 77.00 mark. Should this occur, there is a strong possibility that MATIC will be trading above the $1.20 mark. Chainlink (LINK) Another notable mover on Friday was chainlink (LINK), which also surged to a multi-month high. LINK/USD jumped to a high of $7.33 earlier in the day, which comes less than a day after falling to a low of $6.93. This rally in price pushed chainlink to its highest point since December 5, breaking it out of a price ceiling in the process. As can be seen from the chart, LINK climbed past its resistance level of $7.25, however the RSI was unable to also achieve this feat. Price strength is currently at a reading of 64.15, which is marginally below a ceiling at 65.00. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Do you expect chainlink to move towards $7.50 this weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

The Bitcoin network is set to record another meaningful difficulty increase on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, as current estimates expect it to rise 3.82% higher. The change follows the last difficulty retarget, which advanced by 10.26% to the current all-time high of 37.59 trillion. Block Time Breakdown: How Faster Discovery is Impacting Bitcoin Difficulty In just over a day, the Bitcoin network will see a difficulty increase of around 3.82%, according to current estimates. Right now, the mining difficulty is already at an all-time high (ATH) at 37.59 trillion, and with a 3.82% jump, it’s expected to be around 39.03 trillion. The number of hashes needed to mine a block is directly proportional to the difficulty level, which means each participating miner needs to perform 39.03 trillion hashes in order to mine a block at that level. The average Bitcoin block time has been around 8:54 minutes to 9:31 minutes, which has been lower than the 10-minute average. This too is linearly related to the estimated increase expected on Jan. 29. This is because when blocks are discovered faster than the 10-minute average, the 2,016 blocks in between difficulty retargets are also found faster than the two-week average. As a result, the Bitcoin protocol’s mining difficulty rises. With BTC’s price higher, a lot more hashrate has been dedicated to the blockchain. Bitcoin’s hashrate is running high with an average of 278.2 exahash per second (EH/s) during the last 2,016 blocks. Foundry USA commands the top position in terms of mining pools with the most amount of dedicated SHA256 hashrate. Foundry has around 93.82 EH/s, over a three-day period, which accounts for 32.99% of the network’s computational power. The Bitcoin mining pool Antpool has dedicated 49.57 EH/s to the Bitcoin network over a three-day span, accounting for 17.43% of the hashpower. What impact do you think this difficulty increase will have on the overall Bitcoin network and its miners? Share your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Bitcoin consolidated on Friday, as traders prepared for the release of the upcoming consumer sentiment figures from the United States. Following a move to a five-month high on Thursday, prices were once again below $23,000. Ethereum also slipped, moving below $1,600 in the process. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) fell back below $23,000 on Friday, as markets consolidated ahead of U.S. consumer sentiment data. BTC/USD slipped to a bottom of $22,654.59 earlier in today’s session, less than 24 hours after hitting a high of $23,215.00. The drop came ahead of this afternoon’s U.S. consumer sentiment report, which is expected to come in at a reading of 64.6. As can be seen from the chart, the relative strength index (RSI) also edged closer to a floor of 78.00, leading to a slight shift in momentum. The 10-day (red) moving average continues to move in an upward direction, however should the index move below 78.00, this trend will likely reverse. Currently, the index is tracking at 79.64, with BTC/USD trading at $22,965.60. Ethereum There was a slight shift in sentiment in ethereum (ETH), with prices moving below $1,600 during today’s session. Following a high of $1,619.45 on Thursday, ETH/USD dropped to an intraday low of $1,565.25 earlier in the day. Today’s move came as the world’s second largest cryptocurrency was unable to break out of a resistance level of $1,640 on Wednesday. Since this time, prices have moved to lower lows in back-to-back sessions, with ethereum’s RSI also dropping below a key point of support. The index is tracking at 61.94, which is marginally under its recent floor at 63.00, and its weakest level since January 8. Should this bearish trend continue into the weekend, there is a strong possibility that ETH will hit a floor at $1,500. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Will today’s data send cryptocurrencies higher? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. As Bitcoin and crypto grows in its appeal and global use by individuals, businesses and merchants from all places and corners of the world, the desire for them also increases. Now, perhaps more than any other time in history, digital currencies like BTC, ETH and others, are in demand. The internet has been actively progressing into underlying web 3 standards, and digital assets are increasingly utilized as the underlying money employed by various virtual platforms. The news and media are reporting about crypto more, people are becoming more aware, and therefore interest in crypto seems to be brewing, even as regulatory standards are being formed real-time. As People Gain Understanding, Crypto Gains Further Adoption As with all new concepts, as public education and awareness of cryptocurrencies steadily increases, fear and uncertainty around crypto is being settled for many. As a result, more people are becoming willing to interact with cryptocurrencies for their utility within digital ecosystems, trading, investing, alternative payment processing and more. As more people and businesses begin using crypto themselves, they are also beginning to share them at a greater rate with others. Bitcoin gift cards have arisen as a popular method of sharing BTC and other popular cryptocurrencies with friends, family, co-workers, clients, staff and others. Why Bitcoin Gift Cards Are Growing In Popularity BTC gift cards have increased in their draw and popularity since first reaching the market in the early 2010’s. Now, with more than a decade on the market, gift cards with denominations redeemable in BTC, ETH, and even stablecoins like USDC others, the overall proposition has been implemented, and furthermore developed, by platforms like BitCard®. BitCard® is a US-based BTC gift card distributor and B2B supplier that gives the end user several ways to take advantage of BTC gift cards for themselves personally, or to gift others individually, or even in an effort to build or expand existing loyalty and rewards programs. Over the last decade-plus several companies have looked for ways to implement gift cards purchased and furnished with digital assets to satisfy the desire many have to gift with alternative means than other traditional methods. Additional Ways To Gift With Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency While it isn’t very attractive in terms of the packaging, people can always elect to send cryptocurrency directly to others they wish to gift as an alternative to putting the crypto in gift card form. While it isn’t the most sophisticated way of giving, the desire to produce a gift that one has genuine interest in would be accomplished by such means. In addition to sending BTC or other cryptos directly, crypto could also be put into other forms in order to accomplish the goal. NFTs and other on-chain digital assets can sometimes be relatively less-impacted by the volatility typically associated with the cryptocurrency market in general. This means that as Bitcoin price fluctuates, or any other associated digital asset, the value of the gift could remain at or near the original dollar value of the intended gift – or in some cases, increase. Although it involves the same method of gifting with gift cards, some platforms such as BitCard® enable the end user to not only gift in physical cards but also digitally produced Bitcoin gift cards as well. While the effect may be different, particulars such as borderless, global and near-instant transmission could prove to be immensely beneficial in some instances. More Than Gifting Not only can crypto be loaded onto gift cards, but BTC and additional cryptocurrencies can also be implemented in customer loyalty, employee incentives, and other rewards programs. Even in this form, crypto could still be seen as a gift, as it is given to individuals, customers, clients or others as a reward, bonus, or incentive. As cryptocurrency continues to be used on a global scale at an increased rate by businesses and individuals throughout the world, perhaps even more methods of gifting will be developed and one day become mainstream gifting alternatives. For now, crypto and BTC gift cards, crypto itself, crypto converted into other forms, and rewards, loyalties and incentives are the most popular ways to give the gift of crypto for most. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

Saudi Arabia’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiment, which is being carried out in conjunction with local banks and fintechs, is presently focused on domestic wholesale uses cases, the central bank has said. Meanwhile, the Saudi Minister of Finance has said CBDCs can be a “fantastic tool” which can be used by developing countries as a “social safety net.” Local Banks and Fintechs Central to Saudi Arabia’s Digital Currency Project The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has said its digital currency experiment is ongoing and is presently focused “on domestic wholesale CBDC [central bank digital currency] use cases in collaboration with local banks and fintechs.” Also, during this testing phase, SAMA will examine a CBDC-based payment system’s likely impact on the economy as well as the market’s readiness. Outlining the central bank’s CBDC approach, Fahad Almubarak, the governor of SAMA, claimed that local banks and payment companies “will always be a cornerstone of this project and its implementation.” To support this claim, a statement issued by the central bank on Jan. 23 states that SAMA has already engaged local banks, fintechs, and technology providers as it seeks to better understand the functions of a CBDC as well as the different design options available. Although SAMA has vowed to continue its research on CBDCs, it nonetheless emphasized in the statement that “no decision has been made regarding the introduction of CBDC in the Kingdom.” According to the statement, SAMA wants to make an informed decision thus it intends to continue “exploring the benefits and potential risks of implementing CBDC.” CBDCs Require Compromise on Privacy Despite the central bank’s seemingly cautious approach, the country’s Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan recently lauded CBDCs which he sees as a useful tool for developing countries. As per his remarks during a World Economic Forum session, the Saudi minister also sees CBDCs being used to further social agendas. “For me, I think CBDCs, at least for developing nations, would be a fantastic tool to provide for example social safety net,” Al-Jadaan said. However, the Saudi minister did acknowledge that while CBDCs can achieve much, it will be at a cost — a compromise on privacy. Meanwhile, in its statement, the Saudi central bank said the ongoing CBDC experiment will also examine the possibility of using the digital currency as “an infrastructure enabler of innovation in financial services that has the potential to contribute to a more resilient payment ecosystem.” What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

While the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX and its affiliate Alameda Research is thought to have left many crypto players, including market makers, in the worst possible position, according to Andrei Grachev, managing partner at DWF Labs, this incident may have helped to “flush out companies that were not sustainable enough to operate during a storm.” As a result, the “market will be healthier” going forward. The Art of Market Making Besides weeding out weak players, Andrei Grachev suggested in a written response to questions from Bitcoin.com News that the collapse of key crypto industry players like FTX and Terra has highlighted the importance of adopting measures that protect users. One such measure, which can be used by global digital asset market makers like DWF Labs, is the so-called pump-and-dump protection scheme. The scheme is essentially a liquidity management technique across exchanges. Meanwhile, Grachev also shared his views on topics that range from the misconception about market makers to how market-making differs between centralized exchanges (CEXs) and decentralized exchanges. Below are the managing partner’s responses to the rest of the questions from Bitcoin.com News. Bitcoin.com News (BCN): Can you briefly define market making as well as what happens when a user buys a crypto asset on a centralized exchange or sells this on a decentralized exchange? Andrei Grachev (AG): A market maker creates liquid markets, quotes order books (puts buy and sell limit orders in order books) and maintains spread. In simple words – market makers create tradable markets. [Decentralized exchanges] DEXs (especially the automated market maker-based) are a bit more limited in terms of market-making tools, but even here – a market maker maintains a sufficient liquidity level across AMM [automated market maker] pools and does some additional work in order to maintain the same price level across centralized and decentralized exchanges. Because market makers make money by spreading between the bid and ask prices, based on a given proposal, the market maker would [for instance] sell a token on Coinbase a few [basis] points (bps) higher than on a DEX and sell a token on the DEX a few bps cheaper than on Coinbase. BCN: What would you say is the common misconception about market making? AG: This is very close to a conspiracy theory: while a token goes up, the market maker is pumping; while a token is going down, the market maker is dumping. You know that situation when you bought something and then it went down instantly? The same. A market maker had a look at your position and traded against you. The reality is completely different – a market maker maintains liquidity on both sides (buy and sell) and keeps a narrow spread. More advanced ones can also take limit orders from an order book in order to improve the market and boost organic volumes. BCN: Does market making differ between decentralized exchanges and centralized exchanges? AG: I would divide it a bit differently – order book based (it could be CEXes and DEXes) and other ones (only DEXes. It includes the AMMs on DEXes and concentrated liquidity on Uniswap V3). Order books based exchanges allow market makers to use different order types (limit, Immediate-or-Cancel, market, etc.) in order to create a market and provide or take liquidity from the books. AMMs are much less flexible because the trades happen in liquidity pools. The biggest challenge for AMMs is to maintain the same price on DEXes as their centralized counterparts by adding or removing liquidity as needed. They also constantly monitor large and predatory trades to mitigate their impact. Concentrated liquidity is similar to AMM, but it allows traders and market makers to decide a price range for liquidity provision. It gives much more flexibility compared to AMM, but it’s still less flexible than the order book-based platforms. Given that advanced market makers use their proprietary systems for operations, most of them, including DWF Labs, interact with DEXes via a virtual order book that is emulated based on blockchain transactions and the status of the AMM and concentrated liquidity pools. BCN: How has the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research affected market makers and how is the market dealing with the crypto liquidity crisis? Also, are whales now wary of trading large volumes? AG: First of all, all proper market makers had funds on FTX, because it was not possible to avoid trading on the second-largest exchange in the crypto world. Some of them were badly affected and collapsed. Many others are going through a rough financial situation now. In general, it’s a very sad event, but it’s good for the long run. The market is flushing out companies that were not sustainable enough to operate during a storm. As a result, the market will be healthier. Regarding whales and trading volumes, we observe a lot of activities on the over-the-counter (OTC) market as the exchange liquidity has declined dramatically since the crash. For example, the same tokens that used to see only [a] 10-12% price drop after a $500,000 sell order won’t even be able to absorb a $100,000 sell order now without the prices crashing 60-70%. Fortunately, the market is recovering. We have begun to see this positive dynamic since the beginning of January 2023. BCN: There is this notion among some project founders that liquidity is not a function of the market but of marketing. In fact, some founders believe that making sure there are enough buyers for sellers of their tokens is enough to solve their liquidity issues. How correct are these assertions? AG: It’s true and not true simultaneously. Without marketing, liquidity is kind of inactive and artificial. If nobody trades or trades rarely, it would prompt a market maker to predict price deviations properly and they would need to increase the spread in order to maintain an acceptable risk level. That could lead to a death spiral – the spread gets worse and trading volume falls further, which results in an even worse spread. In another scenario, let’s say a project relies entirely on organic traders. It’s possible – Bitcoin started without any market makers and it was fine. But it can be challenging to repeat this success. Traders go to the market and have a wide range of tokens available for trading. If we are talking about a developing token – it would probably have a weak market structure even with good marketing. Why? Because compared to market makers, organic traders trade by their own vision instead of quantitative models. That makes spreads wider and execution speed slower because retail orders have to match against each other, instead of being bought and sold by a market maker instantly. For example, DWF Labs has a market share of 40-70% of trading volumes for many tokens and in case if we remove our configs from those markets, volumes would collapse. BCN: Some market players have incorporated what is known as pump and dump protection. Can you briefly explain what this is all about and how market makers use this to ensure that the participants are safe in the event of extreme price volatility? AG: If we exclude really dramatic events like FTX or Terra LUNA market crashes when the selling pressure was insane and nobody could help, we would see that market makers mitigate price actions by liquidity management across exchanges. In 99% of cases, pump or dump is executed on a particular exchange and then extended to other venues as a plague. If it’s not so dramatic, the plague could be prevented by fixing the price on the particular exchange. If it doesn’t work, market makers let the price discovery take place organically, and maintain a relevant market depth around the spread. BCN: On the surface, market making seems like the smartphone industry where the products on offer are seemingly indistinguishable. How then do market makers differentiate themselves from the competition? AG: [The] times market makers could offer just a simple bot to build an order book are gone. Market makers play an important role in the markets. We are not visible, but without us, the market would be much less efficient and spreads would be much wider. I also believe that a proper market maker is also a proper partner, advisor and sometimes even investor that can leverage their knowledge and relationships with exchanges, funds and portfolio companies in order to push the project up and let it grow. DWF Labs builds relationships with projects only in this manner, acting not just as a market maker but also as a partner. As you said, it’s like the smartphone industry, but there is only one Apple even in the smartphone industry. BCN: Many projects are often said to be wary of launching their tokens in a bear market. Is this true (and if so does this makes sense)? AG: There are two sides to every coin. During a bull market, a project could raise at a massive valuation, get listed on exchanges with a large market cap, and be pumped further by the market. Most such projects come crashing down once the market turns bearish. It’s hard to survive and meet the expectations of investors, especially when the ground reality lags far behind. Compared to bullish markets, bearish markets have some beauty. Yeah, it is true that it’s more complicated to raise funds and valuation is usually smaller. But when a project goes to an exchange with a small cap, it is highly likely to be pushed by the market and then stabilized. Then given the fact that the project went to the market when everything was selling at depressed valuations, the market can only reverse to a bullish mode – which will push the project up and give it additional chances to succeed. What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Paraguayan mining companies are taking a hit to their profitability due to the steep power fee hikes the government has established for cryptocurrency mining activities. According to reports from Braiins Mining business developer Nano Grijalba, after the veto of the crypto law, the change in power fees makes mining hosting an unprofitable business in Paraguay. Bitcoin Mining Power Fee Hike Hurts Paraguayan Companies Once seen as a haven for bitcoin and crypto miners, Paraguay has changed. Paraguayan miners now complain due to the price hikes the government has applied specifically for the industry of cryptocurrency mining. According to reports from Nano Grijalba, business developer of Braiins Mining, this price hike of over 50% is discriminating against bitcoin miners directly using the excuse of the low number of jobs the industry creates. Grijalba criticized the environmental logic of these measures. On this issue, he stated: Paraguay’s decision to increase fees for bitcoin mining, a clean industry, while attracting high-emissions industries with low fees, is questionable. We must prioritize support for clean industries for a sustainable future. Hosting Activity Affected Grijalba raised concerns about the future of the hosting activity in the country, which consists in offering mined logging maintenance services for third parties. He explained that costs and the margins of the international market made offering this service impossible. The Paraguayan Congress passed a legal framework to regulate cryptocurrency mining and exchange activities in the country, establishing limits to the power fees for mining in July, last year. However, this law was vetoed in August by the current president of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benitez, who stated the industry was characterized by its “high consumption of electrical energy, with intensive use of capital and little use of labor.” Abdo Benitez also explained that the growth of the crypto-mining activity might push the country to import energy in the future. Congress attempted to pass the cryptocurrency law project without having presidential support but lacked the necessary votes, and finally shelved it in December. Grijalba revealed that miners are currently working hand in hand with authorities to reintroduce laws that would lessen the burden that miners are currently facing. About this, Grijalba declared: A new decree is currently being worked on to make it attractive again, we hope it will address the issue of import taxes, another weak point. However, no more details were offered on this new decree. Finally, Grijalba called for the normalization of these activities in the country for the benefit of the national economy. What do you think about the state of bitcoin mining in Paraguay? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. ForChain Labs was founded in April 2022 as a web 3 startup company. Meanwhile, the NFT project, Fortune Unicorn Club, was being developed. ForChain Labs has raised 2 million funds in its seed round and will use the funds to develop and operate Fortune Unicorn Club (FUC), the first NFT project to utilize DIY-minting. As reported, ForChain Labs currently manages investments in four major segments: industrial, technology, finance, and web 2, with 198 portfolio companies and $9.3 billion in assets. As a result, the venture capital sector is actively exploring opportunities in the Web 3 market, and ForChain Labs has become one of the VC’s first companies to be backed by a Web 3 company. Due to confidentiality agreements, we cannot disclose more information about the venture capital firm at this time. Fortune Unicorn Club (FUC) allows people to select traits during their mint. It offers 500+ high-quality 3D traits for people to assemble their FUC avatar, so the minter is the one to decide what the metadata is and the one to decide what each unique FUC avatar looks like. Thus, the NFT collection is generated by pure human aesthetics rather than generated by a cold random program or AI. ForChain Labs hopes people can put their personalities and stories into each FUC avatar using the DIY-mint method. In addition, it lets each FUC avatar carry an additional sentiment value, making the FUC collection more meaningful. Furthermore, FUC has built its Create-to-Earn system. Minter (who decides what the unique FUC avatar looks like) will become Avatar Creator and receive 3% royalties on the avatar they created for life. Minters can claim their royalties anytime in FUC Holder Portal. The team aims to lower the threshold of co-creation and encourage people to co-create an NFT collection through this approach. Metaverse and AR are also parts of FUC’s roadmap. However, the team claims it will never build its metaverse but will keep adapting for more popular metaverses. The team believes there are more proper ways to bring holders value than creating a metaverse. Instead, they will bring holders eternal value by building its compatibility and adapting FUC avatars into increasingly popular metaverses. Soon, holders can get into metaverses with the FUC avatar they created. More Info: https://fortuneunicorn.club/ https://twitter.com/FortuneUnicornC https://discord.gg/joinfuc This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff has explained why bitcoin and gold are going up this year. “They’re rising for opposite reasons,” he said, claiming that the price of gold is climbing as investors view the metal as a hedge against inflation and a weaker dollar. Peter Schiff Explains Why Bitcoin and Gold Are Rising Gold bug and economist Peter Schiff has shared his view on why bitcoin and gold are going up this year. Schiff is the founder and current chairman of Schiffgold, a precious metals dealer specializing in gold and silver bullion. He has long been a bitcoin skeptic, regularly bashing the crypto while promoting gold. He tweeted Monday: Both gold and bitcoin are up in 2023, but they’re rising for opposite reasons. “Gold is rising as a hedge against inflation and a weaker dollar, while bitcoin is rising with other high-risk assets as speculators bet that a Fed pivot will cause a rally in 2022’s biggest losers,” the economist detailed. A number of people on Twitter disagreed with Schiff, replying to his tweet that gold is not a good hedge against inflation. Some people took the gold bug’s tweet as a BTC buy signal. Unlike Schiff, some people believe that bitcoin is a better hedge against inflation than gold. Venture capitalist Tim Draper, for example, has repeatedly said he is bullish about bitcoin due to its trait as an inflation hedge. Billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones has also said he prefers bitcoin over gold, expecting the price of BTC to be “much higher.” Bitcoin Has Outperformed Gold Since Schiff’s Sell Recommendation Many people on Twitter also pointed out that bitcoin has hugely outperformed gold, emphasizing that the price of BTC has increased significantly since the gold bug’s sell recommendation. In December 2018, when the price of bitcoin was around $3K, Schiff warned that “a lot more air yet to come out of this bubble.” Commenting on Schiff’s Jan. 12 tweet telling investors to sell their BTC at the $18K level, bitcoin proponent Peter McCormack tweeted Sunday: Bitcoin is trading around 27% up since Peter Schiff advised you to sell your bitcoin. Gold isn’t. While admitting that the price of bitcoin has risen since he told people to dump their coins, Schiff argued that he also advised people to sell their BTC when its price was well over $60K. At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading at $22,838.33, up about 35% over the past 30 days, while both gold futures and spot prices are up about 7% during the same time period. Do you agree with Peter Schiff about why bitcoin and gold are rising this year? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Seven major banks, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, have reportedly teamed up to launch a digital wallet that will compete with other third-party wallet providers such as Paypal and Apple Pay. Big Banks to Launch a Digital Wallet Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and four other financial institutions behind the payment network Zelle are collaborating to launch a digital wallet for consumers to use at online checkout, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The wallet will be managed by fintech firm Early Warning Services (EWS), which owns and operates Zelle. EWS provides risk management solutions to financial institutions, government entities, and payment companies. It is co-owned by Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Truist, Capital One, PNC Bank, and U.S. Bank. The new digital wallet, which will be linked to shoppers’ debit and credit cards for online payments, will operate separately from Zelle. The banks aim to compete with other third-party wallet providers such as Paypal and Apple Pay as they are worried about losing control of their customer relationships, the publication conveyed, citing people familiar with the matter. EWS plans to begin rolling out the new wallet in the second half of this year. Visa and Mastercard are already on board, and the fintech firm has reached out to other card networks, such as Discover Financial Services, to assess their interest in adding their cards to the wallet. Bernstein analyst Harshita Rawat commented on the news in a note to clients Monday. She explained that the major banks have “likely always had Paypal envy,” adding: It simply takes a very long time, a killer customer experience (which needs to be better than incumbents, not just similar), and a compelling merchant value proposition to build the two-sided network effects in payments to achieve scale. What do you think about major banks collaborating to launch a digital wallet to possibly compete with Paypal and Apple Pay? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Chinese embassy in Zambia denounced the United States over its debt limit and the “extraordinary measures” Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has implemented to stave off a U.S. debt default. Yellen said on Monday that it was very important that Zambia restructure its debt, but Zambia sees it differently. The embassy castigated Yellen’s comments in response, stressing that the U.S. has a “catastrophic debt problem.” Chinese Embassy in Zambia Denounces U.S. Debt Limit and Yellen’s Recent Comments Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged Congress to increase the government’s spending limit or the country could face default on its debts. She also noted that the Treasury would have to leverage “extraordinary measures” to keep the debt at bay until early June 2023. Federal financial data indicates that the country’s debt surpassed $31.4 trillion earlier this week. Yellen also made comments about Zambia on Monday, after meeting with Chinese officials in Zurich the week prior. “I specifically raised the issue with Zambia (with Chinese officials) and asked for their cooperation in trying to reach a speedy resolution. And our talks were constructive,” Yellen is cited as saying in a report published by Reuters. On the other hand, Zambian finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said the meeting with Yellen and Chinese officials did not reach a conclusion in regard to a debt restructuring process. The Chinese Embassy in Zambia then reproached the issue in direct response to Yellen’s commentary and said that the U.S. needs to fix its own debt problems. “The biggest contribution that the U.S. can make to the debt issues outside the country is to act on responsible monetary policies, cope with its own debt problem, and stop sabotaging other sovereign countries’ active efforts to solve their debt issues,” the Zambian-based officials in Lusaka wrote. The Chinese embassy in Lusaka further added: Assuming secretary Yellen’s statements about debt were correct, the best prospect of the debt issues outside the U.S. would be the U.S. Treasury Department solving the US’ own domestic debt problem, given how well she knows about facts, her professional capacities and her team’s implementation ability. The Chinese Embassy’s criticism highlights the underlying communication issues China and the U.S. have been dealing with for years. In May 2022, reports noted that Chinese experts had urged the leaders of BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to end their dependence on the U.S. dollar. China was not pleased with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in Aug. 2022. The very next month, the Chinese Communist Party-backed Global Times published an opinion editorial that insisted the rising dollar may become “the beginning of another nightmare” for other countries. What is your take on this diplomatic exchange and the underlying issues at play between China and the U.S.? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. View the full article

The price of bitcoin is set to rise in 2023, but crypto and fintech experts chosen by the product comparison web portal finder.com do not believe the leading digital asset will break the $30,000 range this year. Finder’s panel of 56 specialists convened to give their 2023 bitcoin price forecast, and the panelists suggest bitcoin will peak at $29,095 this year. Experts Weigh in on Bitcoin’s Future Price: Will it Reach Six-Digit Prices by 2030? Finder.com has conducted another report that aims to predict bitcoin’s future price with 56 experts stemming from the cryptocurrency and financial technology industry. Today, on Jan. 24, 2023, bitcoin (BTC) is exchanging hands for just under $23,000 per unit, and it’s the highest price since FTX collapsed in Nov. 2022. The latest BTC predictions report published by finder.com indicates that the consensus is bitcoin will peak at $29,095 this year. However, the leading crypto asset is also predicted to end 2023 at roughly $26,844 per unit. Furthermore, the Finder’s panelists expect a deep plunge down to a low of $13,067 per unit. Ruadhan O, the creator and founder of Seasonal Tokens, believes bitcoin will peak at $27,000 per unit because of the worries surrounding centralized entities within the crypto industry. “The price is low because possible imminent catastrophes are being priced in,” Ruadhan O told Finder’s researchers. “By the end of the year, market sentiment will have changed, and after the fear goes away, the market will rediscover the scarcity of bitcoin.” Around 21% of the panelists expect institutional investors to leave the crypto market for different asset classes this year. Roughly 65% of Finder’s experts, including Alexander Kuptsikevich, the senior market analyst at Fxpro, believe bitcoin is underpriced. “The phase of the most active cryptocurrency sell-off is over. 2023 will be a year of careful price recovery. However, a real FOMO market is unlikely to come until 2024-2025,” Kuptsikevich remarked. Finder’s Experts Predict Dip in Bitcoin’s Value, But See Potential for Long-Term Growth Finder’s says 16% of the panelists believe BTC is currently overvalued, but a large majority of the 56 panelists believe bitcoin’s value will be much higher after the next halving in 2024. The panel currently predicts BTC’s value will rise to $77,492 in 2025, and by 2030, bitcoin will be in the six-digit zone at $188,451 per coin. Damian Chmiel, the senior analyst and editor at Finance Magnates, predicts bitcoin will be around $70,000 per unit in 2025. Chmiel insists, however, that two things need to happen: the return of Wall Street excitement toward crypto assets and the U.S. Federal Reserve discontinuing the current monetary tightening policy. “The former will not happen without the latter, and we are left to wait patiently for now,” Chmiel detailed. “In the long term, however, I believe bitcoin will become a popular choice among traders,” the Finance Magnates senior analyst added. The latest Finder’s forecast from the experts gathered is a whole lot different than the predictions from Jan. 2022. Last year, around this same time, Finder surveyed 33 crypto and fintech specialists and the group predicted BTC would end 2022 at $94,000 per unit. On Dec. 31, 2022, BTC ended the year at $16,544 per unit before entering 2023. Finder’s experts did convene in Oct. 2022, with a whole new outlook that predicted BTC would end 2022 at $21,000 per unit. It’s safe to say, Finder’s crypto and fintech specialists are a lot less optimistic during the crypto winter and the current macroeconomic conditions. You can check out Finder’s bitcoin price prediction report in its entirety here. What do you think about the experts’ predictions for bitcoin’s future price? Do you agree or disagree with the forecasted peak and low prices for 2023 and beyond? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below. View the full article

In just the first 17 days of the new year, the Ghanaian currency reportedly depreciated by 12.7%, making it the second worst-performing among Sub-Saharan Africa’s top 15 currencies. While one U.S. dollar bought 13.10 units of the cedi on the parallel market, according to the latest Bank of Ghana data, one greenback buys around 10.36 units of the local currency. The Cedi’s Short-Lived Resurgence After ending 2022 as one of the world’s worst-performing currencies, the Ghanaian currency is already one of two in Sub-Saharan Africa’s top 15 currencies that depreciated by double-digit figures within the first 17 days of the new year, a report has said. The Egyptian pound, which depreciated by 16.5% during the same period, is the only currency among Sub-Saharan Africa’s top 15 that has depreciated faster than the cedi. Although the Ghanaian cedi’s year-to-date 12.7% drop is still lower than that of the whole of 2022 (38.86%), the latest depreciation suggests that the currency’s resurgence that started in late 2022 has dissipated. As reported by Bitcoin.com News in mid-December 2022, the cedi rallied from around GHS14:$1 to under 9:1 in just four days. The currency’s revival had been fueled by reports suggesting the Ghanaian government had secured a $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Ghana needs the loan to help it stabilize its economy. In addition to the IMF loan package, Ghana, one of Africa’s top gold producers, hopes to ease the pressure on the cedi through the recently launched gold-for-oil scheme. Bank of Ghana Exchange Rates pic.twitter.com/AGI7GfW5M3 — Bank of Ghana (@thebankofghana) January 20, 2023 However, the cedi’s plunge to around GHS13.10:$1 on the forex parallel market suggests that neither the IMF loan nor the barter scheme can halt the currency’s fall. Meanwhile, at the time of writing, the Bank of Ghana’s data showed that one U.S. dollar bought GHS10.36 on the official foreign exchange market. Register your email here to get a weekly update on African news sent to your inbox: What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Web3 infrastructure firm Quicknode raised $60 million in a Series B funding round, according to an announcement the company made on Tuesday. The capital injection brings the company’s post-valuation to $800 million, and Quicknode says the funds will be used to “further fuel blockchain adoption.” Quicknode Aims to Streamline Web2 to Web3 Movement With $60 Million in Series B Funding Led by 10T Holdings On Jan. 24, 2023, Quicknode revealed it has raised $60 million in a Series B funding round led by 10T Holdings. Other participating investors in the round included QED, Tiger Global, Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six, and Protocol Labs. “This latest round will be used to accelerate the company’s global expansion and further empower the builders laying the groundwork for a decentralized, globally-connected future,” Quicknode’s announcement said. Quicknode also raised $35 million in a Series A in Oct. 2021. That round was led by Tiger Global, and Seven Seven Six, Soma Capital, Arrington XRP Capital, Crossbeam, and Anthony Pompliano also participated. Quicknode claims to handle “billions of blockchain calls daily with 2X faster response time than competitors.” Quicknode competitors include firms like Kaleido, Alchemy, Blockcypher, Velas, and Infura. The company detailed on Tuesday that the funds will be used to “streamline the Web2 to Web3 movement at scale.” The company also plans to make new hires and develop Web3 offerings for the Quicknode marketplace. Despite the crypto winter, the company added that “QuickNode has seen remarkable growth over the past year with its revenue growing more than 300%.” “At Quicknode, we firmly believe in Web3 as the future of the Internet,” Alex Nabutovsky, CEO and co-founder of QuickNode said in a statement. “Blockchain adoption and development continue to increase year-over-year, and we expect continued momentum in the space. The industry is about to enter its next era, and with this raise, we are preparing for mass adoption of blockchain technology in 2023 and throughout the rest of the decade. We are proud to help our customers scale to their full potential and move the industry forward,” Nabutovsky added. What do you think about Quicknode’s latest funding round? Share your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Avalanche moved to a multi-month high on Jan. 24, after reports that the number of bitcoin on its network rose to 5,493. The news saw the token surge by nearly 5% today, rising for a third straight session in the process. Polygon also moved higher on Tuesday, hitting a one-week high. Avalanche (AVAX) Avalanche (AVAX) rose to a multi-month high on Tuesday, as prices rallied for a third consecutive session against a backdrop of bullish news. Following a low of $17.43 to start the week, AVAX/USD moved to an intraday peak of $18.86 earlier today. As a result of today’s surge in price, AVAX has risen to its strongest point since Nov. 6. Looking at the chart, the move took place following a breakout of a ceiling at the $18.50 mark. In addition to this, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) neared a resistance level of its own at 72.00 At the time of writing, the index is tracking at 71.11, with earlier gains fading, resulting in AVAX currently trading at $18.22. Polygon (MATIC) In addition to AVAX, polygon (MATIC) climbed higher in today’s session, following a collision with a key price floor. MATIC/USD raced to a peak of $1.04 earlier in the day, less than a day after hitting a low of $0.9849 The move saw polygon reach its highest level since last week Monday, when price was last close to a resistance of $1.05. However, like on that occasion, prices have since plunged, with momentum not strong enough to force a breakout. As of writing, MATIC/USD is now trading at $1.00, which is also its long-term support point. One positive is that the RSI seems to be a fair distance away from its own floor at 61.00, and is currently tracking at 63.27, with a ceiling of 65.00 a possible target. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Do you expect polygon to move beyond $1.05 this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

A Washington, D.C., townhome tied to FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been listed on the market for roughly $3.28 million. The property was purchased by Bankman-Fried’s brother’s nonprofit, Guarding Against Pandemics, for the same price it is selling for today. FTX Co-Founder’s Luxury Property Suspected to Have Been Used for Wining and Dining Political Elite in the Name of ‘Pandemic Prevention’ According to the New York Post reporter Mary K. Jacob, a four-bedroom Washington townhome associated with the disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), is now listed on the market. The luxury 4,100-square-foot property is selling for $3.28 million and was originally purchased by Gabe Bankman-Fried’s nonprofit, Guarding Against Pandemics. Jacob detailed that just before FTX collapsed, the Washington home hosted two parties specifically for bureaucrat donors. Realtor.com also reported on a Washington townhome listing, a Victorian brownstone building crafted in 2017. The home has five bathrooms, four gas fireplaces, and all bedrooms are en suite, Realtor.com explained. The report also notes that the property was leveraged “to serve as a D.C. base for the FTX crew to wine and dine the political elite.” Interestingly, the property is selling for the same price Guarding Against Pandemics purchased it for in April 2022. SBF and his inner circle of deputies reportedly purchased a great deal of real estate, most of which was located in the Bahamas. For instance, Bitcoin.com News reported on the so-called “effective altruist” SBF’s $40 million penthouse, which was listed for sale three days after FTX filed for bankruptcy protection. Recent court filings indicate that SBF and the FTX group purchased a total of 36 Bahamas-based properties. Fifteen properties were located in the Albany, Bahamas, oceanside district, worth an estimated $166.1 million. Another 12 properties in the Bahamas that were not located at the Albany resort are worth $39.4 million. Moreover, it has been reported that SBF and a number of high-level executives donated tens of millions to U.S. politicians, and it is suspected that the Washington townhome with luxury amenities was likely chosen to entertain them. FTX, the company, contributed a lot of money to pandemic alarmists who believe the immune system can be replaced with sanitizers, masks, and mRNA gene therapy. Senior members of the Biden administration met with FTX executives to discuss the idea of so-called “pandemic prevention,” according to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. What do you think about the listed Washington property for sale? What are your thoughts on the use of luxury properties for the purpose of political influence and pandemic prevention? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

European law enforcement authorities have detained four more members of the team of crypto exchange Bitzlato, Europol announced. According to the police agency, nearly half of the funds processed through the platform were associated with various criminal activities. Bitzlato Senior Management Targeted in Europe, Exchange Infrastructure Dismantled High-ranking executives of the recently busted Bitzlato have been apprehended as part of the international investigation against the crypto exchange with the participation of law enforcement and judicial authorities in several European countries. According to a press release published by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) on Monday, the operation led by the U.S. and France, also involved Belgium, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. The Hong Kong-registered coin trading platform is suspected of facilitating the laundering of large amounts of criminal proceeds, the agency emphasized. Last week, the U.S. announced the arrest in Miami of its co-founder and majority owner Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national residing in China. Its France-based digital infrastructure was also shut down. Besides Legkodymov, believed to be Bitzlato’s main administrator, four more individuals have been detained in Europe so far. Among them, the CEO, financial director, and marketing director of the exchange who were arrested in Spain, and another person handcuffed in Cyprus, Europol detailed without revealing their identities. Police have conducted eight home searches, half of which in Spain, at one address in the U.S., two in Portugal, and one in Cyprus. Wallets with €18 million ($19.5 million) worth of cryptocurrency, vehicles and electronic equipment have been seized and over 100 accounts at other exchanges frozen, involving a total of €50 million. Almost Half of Bitzlato Transactions Linked to Crime, Europol Claims Little-known outside the Russian-speaking market, Bitzlato operated globally, Europol said, facilitating the quick conversion of digital currencies, including bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, bitcoin cash, dash, dogecoin, and tether, into rubles. According to quoted estimates, the platform received a total of €2.1 billion worth of assets. “While the conversion of crypto assets into fiat currencies is not illegal, investigations into the cybercriminal operators indicated that large volumes of criminal assets were going through the platform,” the agency elaborated and highlighted: The analysis indicated that about 46% of the assets exchanged through Bitzlato, worth roughly €1 billion, had links to criminal activities. The majority of the suspicious transactions were linked to entities sanctioned by the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), with the rest associated with various crimes including scams and ransomware attacks. According to Europol, 1.5 million BTC transactions were made between Bitzlato users and the darknet market Hydra, which was closed down in April, 2022. On Jan. 18, U.S. officials described the takedown of Bitzlato as a “blow to crypto crime” dealt by an “international cryptocurrency enforcement action.” Do you expect more arrests in the Bitzlato case in the near future? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Cryptocurrencies continued to consolidate recent gains on Jan. 24, as markets prepared for a big week of U.S. economic data. Gross domestic product (GDP) figures for Q4 2022 will be released on Thursday, followed by consumer sentiment data the day after. Ethereum also secured recent gains in today’s session, with prices nearing a move below $1,600. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) consolidated for a third straight day, as traders continued to secure gains from Saturday, when prices rose to a five-month high. Despite consolidating, BTC/USD remained above $23,000 for most of today’s session, hitting a high of $23,134.01 in the process. This comes less than 24 hours after it was trading at a low of $22,654.30, which is near a short-term support at $22,500. Looking at the chart, BTC is currently trading at $22,913.54, and this comes as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) neared a ceiling of 86.00. At the time of writing, the index is tracking at a level of 85.09, with a floor at 80.00 another possible destination for traders. The 10-day (red) moving average has also begun to show signs of peaking, which could lead to a sudden shift in momentum. Ethereum Momentum in ethereum (ETH) somewhat slowed in today’s session, with price approaching its floor at $1,600. Following a high of $1,658.02 to start the week, ETH/USD dropped to a bottom of $1,609.16 earlier in the day. Sentiment in the world’s second largest cryptocurrency seems to have already shifted, with several dojis (candlesticks signaling reversal) appearing on the chart. As can also be seen on the chart, the RSI is currently hovering slightly above a floor at 74.00, which is a current reading of 74.07. Should a breakout take place, bearish pressure will likely increase, with traders potentially eyeing a move under $1,600. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Do you expect markets to rebound following this week’s economic data? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Decentralized finance (defi) has continued to remain deeply ingrained in the cryptocurrency economy as the ecosystem provides users with a non-custodial way to exchange digital assets, lend cryptocurrencies, issue stablecoins, and ways to profit from arbitrage. In the lending sector of defi, a lot has changed during the last 12 months as lending applications like Terra’s Anchor Protocol bit the dust, and 71.95% of the total value locked in defi lending protocols evaporated. From $37 Billion to $10 Billion: The Top Five Defi Lenders Then and Now Last year around this time, decentralized finance lending protocols held $37.41 billion in total value locked (TVL), and the defi protocol Aave dominated with $12.87 billion. An archive.org snapshot from Jan. 10, 2022, shows that Aave’s $12.87 billion TVL was larger than the TVL the top five defi lending protocols held on Jan. 17, 2023. Data shows that the top five defi protocols in mid-Jan. 2023 include Aave ($4.58 billion), Justlend ($3.02 billion), Compound ($1.85 billion), Venus ($813.63 million), and Morpho ($221.59 million). Currently, all five of the aforementioned defi protocols have a combined TVL of around $10.49 billion. On Jan. 10, 2022, Terra’s Anchor Protocol held approximately $8.5 billion in value, but now the defi protocol is in ashes. Anchor was one of the main components in the Terra ecosystem as terrausd (UST) holders deposited UST for a 20% annual percentage rate return that compounded daily. But in May 2022, UST depegged from its $1 parity, and Anchor holds only around $2 million today. Compound held the third-largest TVL in terms of defi lending protocols with $8.09 billion at the time. On Jan. 17, 2023, Compound’s TVL has shrunk to $1.85 billion. The second-largest defi lending protocol today is Justlend with $3.03 billion. The Tron-based Justlend moved from the seventh-largest defi lending protocol TVL to the second by jumping from $1.72 billion to the current $3 billion. Justlend is one of the only decentralized finance lending applications that saw an increase during the last 12 months. The fourth and fifth-largest defi lenders last year, Abracadabra and Cream Finance, are no longer in the top five standings and have been replaced by Venus and Morpho. Cream Finance is now in the 20th position, dropping from $2.14 billion to the current $42.94 million. What do you think about the defi lending protocol shake-up over the last 12 months? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article