roadrunner

Five days ago, the Aptos blockchain went live after the project received an influx of capital from venture capital (VC) firms and crypto exchanges like a16z, Binance, and FTX. During the past 24 hours, aptos (APT) is up more than 19% against the U.S. dollar and up 11.1% against bitcoin’s value. The VC-backed blockchain token has managed to situate itself within the top 60 largest crypto market capitalizations in existence. Aptos Market Cap Climbs Over $1 Billion, APT Transactions per Second Increases From 4 to 16 A new token has entered the top 100 largest crypto market caps after the developers from Aptos Labs announced the project’s mainnet launch on Monday, October 17, 2022. Prior to the mainnet launch, the layer one (L1) blockchain project has been backed by millions stemming from VC firms and crypto exchanges like Multicoin Capital, Binance, FTX, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The co-founders of Aptos Labs, Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching, worked for Facebook (now Meta) on the now-defunct Diem blockchain project. After the mainnet went live, Aptos took a great deal of flak from the crypto community, as the blockchain dubbed a ‘Solana killer’ was immediately criticized at launch. An engineer from Paradigm stressed in a tweet that “Aptos is broken” and further noted that “Aptos is currently has lower [transactions per second (TPS)] than Bitcoin and a majority of tokens are either staked or ready to be dumped on retail investors.” At the time, the Paradigm engineer said that Aptos was handling 4 TPS, but promised 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) in its finalized version. At the time of writing, Aptos is recording around 16.68 TPS and ​​8,188,514 APT transactions have been settled to date. The current 16 TPS tracked by the Aptos explorer is faster than Bitcoin’s 2.87 TPS recorded on October 22. Meanwhile, the Aptos blockchain is very new and the native token APT has managed to situate itself in the top 60 standings in terms of market capitalization size. Presently, aptos (APT) is ranked 52 out of more than 13,000 listed crypto coin projects today. APT has a circulating supply of around 130,000,000 tokens and the total supply can reach 1,000,935,772 APT tokens. On Saturday, October 22, APT has seen $322.34 million in global trade volume and the market capitalization today is just over a billion at approximately $1,060,489,188. Market stats show the APT token has been trading for prices between $7.24 today up to $8.65 per unit. The Aptos blockchain currency is up more than 20% from the low recorded three days ago at $6.73 per coin. Huobi Global is currently the most active exchange on Saturday, and Huobi is followed by Binance, Okex, and Digifinex respectively. Tether (USDT) is the most active trading pair with APT today and the USDT pairs are followed by BUSD, USD, and BTC. What do you think about the market performance aptos (APT) has seen during the past four days? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

During the last 125 days or roughly four months, the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) has been range bound within the $50 billion to $65 billion region. The TVL in defi has shed significant value during the past six months as it dropped from $161 billion on April 1, down more than 67% lower to today’s $51.72 billion. TVL Dropped More Than 67% in 6 Months, Defi Market Action Remains Vapid for 4 Months Defi action has subsided a great deal in terms of the total value locked during the last six months. On Saturday, October 22, 2022, the TVL in defi is around $51.72 billion, with the collateralized debt position (CDP) protocol Makerdao commanding 14.76% of the entire TVL with $7.64 billion on Saturday morning (ET). In addition to Makerdao, Lido, Curve, Aave, and Uniswap make up the top five largest TVLs today. The liquid staking protocol Lido is just below Makerdao with a TVL of around $6 billion and $5,839,046,587 of Lido’s TVL is staked ethereum (ETH). Makerdao recorded a 30-day increase in value as the TVL jumped 4.82% higher last month. Sushiswap saw a notable increase, rising 41.27% during the last 30 days, and the yield protocol Aura jumped 38.70% over the last month. Out of all the blockchains today, Ethereum is the most dominant in terms of defi TVL with roughly 57% of the entire $51.72 billion locked in defi today. ETH has around $29.56 billion, while the second largest TVL by blockchain, Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has $5.32 billion or 10.33% of the aggregate value locked. Besides ETH and BSC, Tron, Avalanche, Polygon, and Arbitrum follow behind, respectively, in terms of TVL by blockchain. Today, statistics show there are 607 decentralized exchange (dex) protocols with $21.57 billion locked. There are 189 lending defi apps with $13.96 billion locked on Saturday and 57 CDP protocols command $10.37 billion. There’s also a total of 45 liquid staking applications that hold $7.91 billion in value today. The value locked in cross-chain bridge platforms is also down 22% lower during the past 30 days. $7.80 billion is locked on decentralized cross-chain bridge platforms with 13,178 unique depositor addresses total. Polygon is leading the bridge pack with roughly $3.37 billion TVL, but the TVL is down 6% during the past month. Arbitrum has around $1.44 billion which is down 2% lower than the month prior. Polygon and Arbitrum bridges are followed by Optimism, Fantom, and the Near Rainbow bridge. The smart contract platform token market cap today is worth $281 billion and it has increased 1.4% during the last 24 hours. The top five smart contract platform tokens today in terms of market capitalization include ethereum (ETH), bnb (BNB), cardano (ADA), solana (SOL), and polkadot (DOT). ADA, SOL, and DOT have seen losses between 3.4% and 6.8% over the last week. ETH and BNB have remained in the green during the last seven days, up between 0.3% to 0.8% this past week. What do you think about the current state of decentralized finance and smart contract platform tokens? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

In mid-August, or 68 days ago, the market capitalization of the stablecoin BUSD was approximately $17.7 billion and since then, its grown 22.88% higher to today’s $21.78 billion. BUSD’s growth comes at a time when the market valuations of the top two stablecoins tether and usd coin have shed some excess weight. While Tether and Usd Coin Have Shed Billions, BUSD Climbs 22% Higher in Just Over 2 Months Before the Terra stablecoin implosion, in mid-April 2022, the dollar-pegged economy looked a whole lot different than it does today. For instance, On April 11, Bitcoin.com News reported on the stablecoin market nearing the $200 billion mark for the first time in history. That day on Monday, April 11, 2022, the stablecoin economy was worth approximately $190.1 billion, and today it’s worth roughly $146.81 billion. The slide downward all started after Terra’s UST depegging event in May, when Bitcoin.com News reported on the largest stablecoin asset tether (USDT) shedding $12 billion from its market cap. In September, USDC started to see its market valuation deflate, losing $6.7 billion in 83 days. USDC’s market cap has reduced even more so during the last month, as roughly 12.2% has been erased in 30 days. Moreover, a few of the smaller stablecoin markets have slid well below the $0.99 to $1 parity on a few occasions in 2022. Binance’s stablecoin issued in partnership with Paxos Trust Company, BUSD, has done the opposite, as the stablecoin has managed to increase by 22.88% or $4.05 billion higher since August 14, 2022. Since January 1, 2022, the stablecoin token backed 1:1 with U.S. dollars held in reserve, jumped 50.31% from $14.47 billion to today’s $21.78 billion. BUSD is one of three stablecoins that happens to be situated in the top ten crypto market capitalization positions. At the time of writing, BUSD holds the seventh largest market valuation out of more than 13,000 listed crypto assets today. Binance’s stablecoin BUSD, issued by Paxos, has published attestation reports issued monthly on the Paxos website. The attestations are written by the independent third-party accounting firm WithumSmith+Brown. Three years ago, BUSD had a market cap just over the $440K mark on September 27, 2019. Since that day, BUSD’s market valuation has swelled by 4,946,036% in 1,120 days. For comparison, tether’s market cap jumped 1,823% and usd coin’s valuation jumped 10,177% in the same 1,120 days. What do you think about BUSD’s growth while other stablecoins have shed excess weight in the last few months? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Quant moved higher for a second straight session on Saturday, as prices rose by as much as 10%. The move sees the token break out of a key resistance level, with many now expecting a move towards $200. Xrp was also higher, extending recent gains in the process. Quant (QNT) Quant (QNT) was up for a second straight day, as prices rose by as much as 10% to start the weekend. Less than 24 hours after hitting a peak of $179.15, the token surged to an intraday high of $193.75 earlier today. Today’s move sees QNT/USD break out of its recent resistance point of $185.00, with many now expecting prices to move back to $200. However, earlier gains have somewhat eased, and as of writing, the token is currently trading at $182.97 Looking at the chart, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) is now tracking at 60.88, after failing to move past a ceiling of 65.00. Should bulls eventually overcome this obstacle, it is likely that we will see the price move back above $200.00. XRP Another notable mover on Saturday was XRP, which rose by over 6% to start the weekend. XRP/USD rose to a high of $0.4668 on Saturday, which follows up from Friday’s low of $0.4418. The move sees prices bounce from a key support point of $0.4495, moving away from a three-week low in the process. Looking at the chart, the move comes as the 14-day RSI marginally broke out of a resistance level of 49.00. Currently, the index is tracking at 50.03, which is the highest point price strength has hit since Tuesday, signaling a return of bullish sentiment. Should bulls continue to maintain upward momentum, we will likely see the token formerly known as ripple moving closer to a ceiling of $0.5000. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Could xrp surge to $0.5000 before the end of October? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Three people are facing trial in Germany for their roles in one of the crypto world’s most infamous scams, Onecoin. The defendants are accused of fraud, among other crimes, allegedly committed as they assisted the pyramid scheme’s mastermind, ‘Cryptoqueen’ Ruja Ignatova, who is still on the run. Lawyer and Couple Face Criminal Allegations in Germany Over Roles in Onecoin Scam A husband and wife as well as an attorney from Munich are now among the first people in Europe to face criminal charges over their participation in the Onecoin crypto scam. On Tuesday, they appeared in a German court, Bloomberg reported. The three have been accused of money laundering, fraud, and banking crimes linked to the multibillion-dollar fraud scheme. The pyramid was founded and managed by Bulgarian-born German national Ruja Ignatova, dubbed the ‘Cryptoqueen.’ The lawyer allegedly transferred €20 million ($19.7 million) to the Cayman Islands on behalf of Ignatova for the purchase of two London apartments for €75 million euros. The couple are charged with handling €320 million in payments from Onecoin customers within a year. The German indictment points out that the pyramid defrauded people by falsely claiming that Onecoin was a cryptocurrency with market-determined value. Investors were also told that it could be mined at a rate of 50,000 coins per minute. In the court room, prosecutors explained: In reality, the ever-growing value was a fake and the mining process was only simulated by the software. Cryptoqueen Ruja Still Missing, Wanted by Europe and America Onecoin was established in 2014 and had an office in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, which was raided by law enforcement after Ruja Ignatova’s disappearance. The Cryptoqueen was last seen boarding a Ryanair flight bound for Athens on Oct. 25, 2017. Ignatova is now wanted by Interpol, Europol, and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for misappropriating at least $4 billion from Onecoin clients. In July, Greek media revealed that the Hellenic Police had unsuccessfully tried to locate and arrest her this year, acting on information that she met with specific persons. After Ignatova vanished from the public eye in late 2017, her brother Konstantin Ignatov took over, but he was later arrested in Los Angeles in 2019. Konstantin pleaded guilty and sought witness protection. In the U.S., Ignatova has been charged with wire and securities fraud as well as money laundering. In August, news came out that a British national accused of money laundering and wire fraud related to the Onecoin scam, Christopher Hamilton, had lost his bid to avoid extradition to the United States and would be handed over to U.S. authorities. At some point, the crypto pyramid claimed to have more than 3 million members around the world, generating some €3.4 billion euros in revenue in less than two years of operation as a multilevel marketing network, between late 2014 and the third quarter of 2016. Do you expect more people to face charges in connection with the Onecoin crypto pyramid scheme? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Nubank, one of the largest digital banks in the world, has announced it will issue its own cryptocurrency during the first half of 2023. The currency, called Nucoin, will be issued on top of Ethereum with the help of Polygon, a second layer that allows users and developers to take advantage of lower fees, and will be airdropped to all the customers of the bank. Nubank to Launch Nucoin in 2023 Nubank, the biggest digital bank outside of Asia, revealed its plans to delve deeper into the digital economy through the issuance of its own coin. The Brazil-based institution, which also has offices all across Latam, will issue its own token, called Nucoin. The token will be issued on top of Ethereum, and will use Polygon, a scaling layer, to allow its users to transact with low fees. This move is directed at ramping up the loyalty and benefits program of the bank. The issuance of the token is projected to happen during the first half of 2023. While the company did not specify whether this token would have a market value, it did explain that the nucoins would be useful for customers to access discount prices for Nubank’s products and services. Motivations and Similar Initiatives in Latam For Fernando Czapski, Senior Director and General Manager at Nubank, this will allow the company to keep innovating in its cryptocurrency usage. Czapski stated: This project is one more step that we take because we believe in the transformative potential of blockchain technology and in democratizing it even more, going beyond the purchase, sale and maintenance of cryptocurrencies in our application. Nubank’s interest in cryptocurrency is not new. The neobank was one of the first that introduced cryptocurrency trading services in Brazil, in May. Many more followed, including companies like Picpay, Rico, and Itau Unibanco. At the same time, the company announced it was holding bitcoin as part of its treasury. The company announced it was offering its services to more than 54 million customers in June. In September, Nubank issued a press release stating that it was now serving 70 million customers in Latam and that almost 2 million had purchased crypto using its services. Mercado Libre, another e-commerce and fintech services giant in the area, also launched its own cryptocurrency, called Mercadocoin, in August, and it is already available for trading. What do you think about Nubank’s proposed new token Nucoin? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

A group of Russian and Venezuelan nationals have been charged by U.S. authorities for their roles in a scheme to circumvent Western sanctions and launder money on a global scale. They have been accused of obtaining military technologies from American companies, smuggling oil, and disguising money flows for Russian oligarchs through shell companies and crypto transactions. Russians Arrested in Europe Face Extradition to US on Allegations of Shipping Oil, Dual-Use Technology in Violation of Sanctions Five Russian citizens and two Venezuelans have been charged for violations related to the purchase of U.S.-made military and dual-use equipment on behalf of Russian buyers and shipping Venezuelan oil in breach of restrictions. Federal prosecutors say some of the electronic components ended up in Russian weapon systems seized on the battlefield in Ukraine. On Wednesday, a 12-count indictment was presented in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. The five Russians facing various charges of global procurement and money laundering are Yury Orekhov, Artem Uss, Svetlana Kuzurgasheva, also known as ‘Lana Neumann,’ Timofey Telegin, and Sergey Tulyakov. The United States currently seeks the extradition of Orekhov and Uss, who were arrested in Germany and Italy respectively. Venezuelan nationals Juan Fernando Serrano Ponce (‘Juanfe Serrano’) and Juan Carlos Soto were also charged. The two brokered illicit oil deals for the Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) as part of the unraveled scheme. Elaborating on the charges, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace stated: As alleged, the defendants were criminal enablers for oligarchs, orchestrating a complex scheme to unlawfully obtain U.S. military technology and Venezuelan sanctioned oil through a myriad of transactions involving shell companies and cryptocurrency. “We will continue to enforce the unprecedented export controls implemented in response to Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine and the Office of Export Enforcement intends to pursue these violators wherever they may be worldwide,” emphasized Jonathan Carson, special agent-in-charge at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement. U.S. officials claim the defendants used a German-registered entity to carry out the shipments. Yury Orekhov served as the part owner and chief executive of the Hamburg-based company Nord-Deutsche Industrieanlagenbau GmbH (NDA), the main activity of which was industrial equipment and commodity trading. NDA served as a front company through which the Russians sourced and acquired sensitive technologies such as microprocessors used in fighter aircraft, missile systems, smart munitions, and radar systems. The items were then shipped to end users in the Russian Federation, including sanctioned companies working with Russia’s defense industry. Using the same entity, Orekhov and Uss also smuggled hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from Venezuela for Russian and Chinese clients. Among them, the aluminum company of a Russian oligarch under sanctions and a Beijing-based oil and gas conglomerate, said to be the world’s largest. The deals between PDVSA and NDA were brokered by the Venezuelans and transactions worth millions of U.S. dollars were routed through a number of shell companies and bank accounts. The participants in the scheme also employed cash drops through couriers in Russia and Latin America and crypto transfers to conduct the transactions and launder the proceeds, the DOJ alleged. If convicted, the defendants face up to 30 years’ imprisonment, the announcement noted. Do you expect other arrests of people involved in the sanctions evasion scheme? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

While the U.S. dollar has been extremely robust in recent times, compared to a myriad of fiat currencies worldwide, a number of analysts and economists think the greenback will eventually falter in an inconceivable manner. The owner of aheadoftheherd.com, Richard Mills, published a comprehensive research post on Wednesday called “Walking Dead U.S. Dollar,” warning that “we are rushing headlong into a U.S. dollar crisis of epic proportions.” The investor thinks that within the next five years, the greenback could very well “lose its status as the world’s reserve currency.” Richard Mills Discusses the Dollar Losing Its ‘Exorbitant Privilege’ If you are acquainted with the financial world, then you probably know that the U.S. dollar has been on a tear and Richard Mills, the investor and owner of aheadoftheherd.com, doesn’t think the greenback’s bull run will last. During the first week of October, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) recorded a brief dip after reaching a 2022 high, above the 114.000 region on September 27. On October 20, 2022, the DXY has been coasting along between the 112.000 and 113.000 region, after some range-bound action during the last 48 hours. Comparing the U.S. dollar’s value to a variety of fiat currencies like the yuan, yen, pound, euro, and the dollars of Canada, Hong Kong, and Australia highlights the significant losses these currencies have seen over the last six months. The blog post written by Mills and published on aheadoftheherd.com explains how the dollar is doing so well, the last six months of rising interest rates, and how short and long-term U.S. Treasury note and bond markets have shown erratic behavior. “Rising interest rates have put upward pressure on the dollar, as foreign investors pour capital into the country,” Mills’ blog post details on October 19. “The dollar has also done well because the U.S. economy is perceived to be stronger than Europe’s, which is suffering from an energy crisis. On Aug. 22 the euro fell to a two-decade low of 0.9903 against the dollar. The New York Times stated in July that the dollar is the strongest it’s been in a generation, citing safe haven demand, inflation, higher interest rates, and worries over growth as factors.” Akin to most of the blog posts on aheadoftheherd.com, the article called “Walking Dead U.S. Dollar” is jam-packed with citations and data to back up the claims Mills makes in his editorial. After explaining how strong the greenback has been and detailing what it has been doing to foreign nations, Mills says he believes the U.S. dollar is “due for a reckoning.” “Only six months into the Fed tightening cycle, we’ve got developing countries defending their own currencies against the surging U.S. dollar, trying to support them by selling Treasuries and dumping the dollar,” Mills writes. The author adds that a strong dollar is bad for U.S. exporters. “When American companies sell their products to other countries, the latter’s purchasing power is weakened by the strong dollar. The result is lower demand for U.S. exports,” Mills explains. The owner of aheadoftheherd.com adds: Conversely, the dollar as the world’s reserve currency can only go so low because it will always be in high demand for countries to purchase commodities priced in U.S. dollars, and U.S. Treasuries. It should not be allowed to fall too much, because that would risk the dollar losing its ‘exorbitant privilege.’ ‘We Are Rushing Headlong Into a US Dollar Crisis of Epic Proportions’ Mills is not the only person who believes the dollar is doomed to fail or face a reckoning as a great number of market strategists, analysts, and economists have stressed the greenback is down to the last straw. For instance, Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, detailed this month that the U.S. dollar will crash by January 2023. Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff recently explained that the U.S. central bank faces two choices, either “a massive financial crisis” is in the cards or “the world will run away from the dollar.” The investor and financial author Mills thinks that an economic crisis and the greenback losing its status in the global currency arena will happen. “I personally believe we are rushing headlong into a U.S. dollar crisis of epic proportions. In fact, within the next five years, the buck could lose its status as the world’s reserve currency,” Mills’ blog post on Wednesday notes. Mills further argues that Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve will not be able to get inflation down to the 2% range without significantly raising the Federal Funds Rate (FFR). “Arguably the Jay Powell Fed will not be able to bring inflation down to its 2% target without increasing the FFR significantly — probably into the double digits. How high can rates go, and how strong can the dollar get, before the rest of the world ‘cries uncle’?” Mills asks his readers. He adds: Will Powell make the same mistake as Volcker, running the economy into the ground with rate hikes? It seems likely, given the importance the Fed has placed not only on taming inflation, but maintaining the dollar system. Mark Twain is reputed to have said, ‘History does not repeat itself but it rhymes.’ What do you think about the investor Richard Mills and his opinion about the U.S. dollar? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Following two days of declines, dogecoin rebounded earlier in today’s session, moving away from a key level of support. The meme coin, which has been hovering close to a one-month low, surged, as bulls seemingly bought the dip. The token formerly known as ripple (xrp) was also higher. Dogecoin (DOGE) Dogecoin (DOGE) was a notable gainer in today’s session, as the meme coin rebounded following recent losses. So far this week, DOGE/USD has been trading around a floor of $0.0580, however prices rallied beyond that point today. The world’s tenth largest cryptocurrency rose to a high of $0.06068 earlier today, as bulls seemingly have their sights set on a resistance point. Looking at the chart, this ceiling is the $0.0620 mark, which was last hit ten days ago, on October 10. Currently, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI), has reached a resistance level of its own, and is currently tracking at this point of 47.50 Should dogecoin bulls intend to take prices higher, we would first need to see a breakout of this current hurdle. XRP XRP, formerly ripple, was another big mover on Thursday, as price bounced from its own support point. Following a low of $0.4501 on Wednesday, XRP/USD raced to an intraday peak of $0.4638 earlier today. Today’s move sees XRP snap a two-day losing streak, bouncing from a support of $0.4500 in the process. Recent declines have also led to the 10-day (red) moving average (MA) dropping below its 25-day (blue) counterpart. Although prices have since rebounded today, this shift in moving averages could be a signal for greater drops in price to come. Momentum in XRP has shifted in the last two weeks, as it was hovering close to a five-month high previously. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Could bulls continue to send xrp higher this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Tesla’s third-quarter balance sheet shows that the electric car company is still holding $218 million in bitcoin. CEO Elon Musk claims that Tesla could be worth more than Apple and Saudi Aramco combined. The executive is also “excited” about acquiring Twitter. Tesla Still Holds $218 Million in Bitcoin Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) released its third-quarter earnings results Wednesday. The company’s Q3 financial statements show that Tesla did not sell any bitcoin during the quarter. Its balance sheet still shows $218 million in digital assets, unchanged from the second quarter. At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is $19,188 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency in early 2021 and has not purchased any more since. The company sold about 75% of its BTC holdings in the second quarter of this year. In the third quarter, Tesla’s revenue rose to $21.5 billion, compared with analysts’ projections of $22.1 billion. Profit excluding some items rose to $1.05 a share, exceeding the $1.01 average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. During the company’s Q3 earnings call, Musk said Tesla could be worth more than the combined value of Apple (Nasdaq: APPL) and Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) in the future. The two are currently the world’s largest companies by market cap. “For the first time I see a way for Tesla to be roughly twice the value of Saudi Aramco,” Musk said, elaborating: This is the first time I’ve seen that potential. At the time of writing, Saudi Aramco’s market cap is $2.09 trillion while Apple’s market cap sits at $2.31 trillion. Tesla’s market cap is $695.76 billion. Elon Musk on Recession Musk also shared his economic outlook during the call. He explained that “China is experiencing a recession of sorts,” mostly in the property markets, and “Europe has a recession of sorts driven by energy.” The Tesla executive continued: North America’s in pretty good health, although the Fed is raising interest rates more than they should, but I think they’ll eventually realize that and bring them down again. Recently, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and JPMorgan & Chase CEO Jamie Dimon also said that the U.S. economy is doing well and consumers are in good shape despite inflation. Over the weekend, President Joe Biden said the U.S. economy is “strong as hell.” Musk ‘Excited’ About Acquiring Twitter The Tesla CEO also commented on his Twitter acquisition. He said: I’m excited about the Twitter situation … Myself and other investors are obviously overpaying for Twitter right now … [However] the long-term potential for Twitter in my view is an order of magnitude greater than its current value. Musk recently revealed that buying Twitter accelerates the creation of “X, the everything app.” He originally tried to back out of buying the social media platform but reversed course this month and decided to go through with the purchase. The court has given Musk until Oct. 28 to close the acquisition to avoid a trial. What do you think about the comments by Elon Musk? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin snapped a two-day losing streak on Thursday, as prices of the cryptocurrency rebounded at a key point of support. The current price uncertainty in markets comes as global inflation continues to hover close to historical highs. Ethereum was also back in the green in today’s session. Bitcoin Following two days of consecutive declines, bitcoin (BTC) rose higher in today’s session, moving away from its recent floor below $19,000. On Wednesday, the world’s largest cryptocurrency fell to an intraday low of $18,971.46, however the token rebounded earlier today. So far in Thursday’s session, BTC/USD has hit a peak of $19,280.68 as the bulls rejected a breakout below a key floor of $18,900. Looking at the chart, the relative strength index (RSI) of 14-days also moved closer to its own floor of 43.70, however the index has since moved away from this point. As of writing, the index is tracking at 45.68, with the next visible point of support being the 48.00 mark. Should this level be reached, we will likely see bitcoin back trading at a level of $19,600 in the coming days. Ethereum Ethereum (ETH) also returned to the green on Thursday, as the token was once again trading above $1,300. ETH/USD climbed to a top point of $1,304.90 earlier today, which comes less than a day after hitting a low of $1,275.32. Like with bitcoin above, today’s rebound in price came as bears failed to break out of a key support level of $1,270. Although there is current turbulence in the market, traders who have entered the market today will likely be targeting a return to a recent resistance point. This ceiling is the $1,330 mark, which was last reached on Tuesday, however there was not enough bullish pressure at the time to move beyond that point. In order for this to take place in the coming days, a ceiling of 46.80 on the RSI must first be broken. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Do you believe the resistance will be broken in the coming days? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Digital asset platform Nuri has told customers to withdraw their funds in the next two months, after taking a hit from the crypto winter. Formerly known as Bitwala, the Berlin-headquartered cryptocurrency bank filed for insolvency earlier this year and failed to find a buyer. Nuri to Maintain Trading Until Last Day of November, Prepares to Close Down Crypto bank and exchange Nuri has instructed users to withdraw their funds by Dec. 18, 2022 at the latest. The Germany-based company will then terminate and liquidate its digital asset business, according to a letter from its CEO Kristina Walcker-Mayer, who assured: Customers have access and will be able to withdraw all funds until the aforementioned date. All assets in your Nuri account are safe and unaffected by Nuri’s insolvency. The chief executive pointed out that the platform will continue to support trading until Nov. 30, 2022. The announcement comes after Nuri filed for temporary insolvency in August. Reports at the time noted that it became the first German fintech to make the move in a challenging year for crypto startups. Nuri launched in 2015 and for a few years, until the rebranding in 2021, operated under the name Bitwala. Over the years, the company went through ups and downs but this year’s challenges became insuperable. The tough economic and political conditions prevented it from attracting investors and raising new funds. The insolvency of one of its main business partners worsened the situation even further, and despite working closely with its administrators on a restructuring plan in the past three months, Nuri was unable to find an acquirer. While many companies operating with digital assets saw significant growth when crypto prices reached their all-time highs last year, many were hit hard by the market slump in 2022 and events such as the collapse of the terrausd (UST) stablecoin in May. Finding an investor has proven difficult. For example, last month online payments firm Bolt scrapped a deal to buy crypto provider Wyre. Do you expect other German crypto companies to go out of business in the near future? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to a general notice published in a government gazette, crypto assets are now treated as financial products under South Africa’s Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act. Declaration of the crypto assets as financial products means crypto asset service providers (CASP), such as exchanges, must apply for a license. Declaration Applicable to Any Digital Representation of Value Not Issued by Central Bank According to a recently published South African government gazette, crypto assets have been declared as financial products under the country’s Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act. Signed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) commissioner, Unathi Kamlana, the declaration became effective on October 19. This is an historic moment for South Africa: Today the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) declared a crypto asset as a financial product under the FAIS Act. This Declaration was published in the Government Gazette as well as the FSCA website. — Farzam Ehsani (@farzamehsani) October 19, 2022 The designation, which has been welcomed by some players in South Africa’s crypto industry, applies to any “digital representation of value which is not issued by a central bank but is capable of being traded, transferred or stored electronically by natural and legal persons for the purpose of payment, investment or other forms of utility.” The declaration also comes just a few months after the deputy governor of the South African central bank, Kuben Naidoo, revealed that his institution would be treating crypto assets as financial products. Such treatment would allow the South African Reserve Bank to regulate crypto assets. ‘Mounting Risk in the Crypto Asset Environment’ Reacting to the news, Farzam Ehsani, the founder and CEO of South African crypto exchange platform Valr, offered his perspective on what he thinks prompted this move. He tweeted: The reason for the declaration was cited as being due to the ‘mounting risk in the crypto asset environment’ but it also looks [like] this action was done to comply with a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) deadline for remediation of recommendations for South Africa. Recommendations not fully remediated or significantly progressed by October 2022 can lead South Africa to be placed on the FATF grey list, which could have materially negative consequences for the country as a whole. According to Ehsani, one consequence of this declaration is that crypto asset service providers (CASP) such as exchanges, now need to apply for a license under the FAIS Act. This has to be done between June 1, 2023 and November 30, 2023. In addition, CASPs will also be required to share information with the FSCA upon request. On what the declaration means for the industry, the Valr CEO said: “Overall this is a positive step for the crypto industry and South Africa in general. This Declaration will open the door to many of the large traditional financial institutions (TradFi) in South Africa to start providing crypto products and services.” The CEO added the declaration brings regulatory clarity — something which has been lacking. 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

Walmart’s global chief technology officer has revealed crypto’s role in the retail giant’s future. “Crypto will become an important part of how customers transact,” the executive said. “We want to make sure that we make it as friction free for customers to be able to transact.” Executive Discusses Crypto in Walmart’s Future Walmart Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer Suresh Kumar discussed cryptocurrency at Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit Tuesday. Replying to a question about the role of crypto in Walmart’s future, Kumar said: “I think that there are three major areas of disruption. Crypto falls in sort of the middle of it. I have talked before about the way in which customers are getting inspired and discovering products. That is changing.” He continued: “Part of that is going to happen in the metaverse. Part of that is going to happen on live streams, inside your social media app. So whether it is physical goods or virtual goods, they [crypto] play a part in terms of what the customer wants.” The Walmart executive opined: Crypto will become an important part of how customers transact. We want to make sure that we make it as friction free for customers to be able to transact, and to be able to buy, and how they are able to derive value out of it. “And that is where I think a lot of the disruption is going to start happening in terms of different payment methods, different payment options,” he added. “The role of crypto is going to continue to play a very important role in that. And obviously, we want to be there where the customer really needs us to be.” “The last part of it is how products get discovered, products get delivered. A lot of disruption going on over there,” Kumar noted, elaborating: When you specifically talk about crypto, it is going to be about discovery of products, whether it is physical or virtual inside, either the metaverse or upfront, and then how people transact. Walmart filed several trademark applications last year covering cryptocurrency, metaverse, and non-fungible token (NFT) products and services. The retail giant entered the metaverse last month with the launch of Walmart Land and Universe of Play on Roblox. What do you think about the comments by Walmart’s CTO? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

A fintech bill, which seeks to regulate fintech and cryptocurrency-related activities in Chile, has been approved by the deputy chamber of the congress, leaving it ready to be sanctioned by the president of Chile, Gabriel Boric. According to individuals in the sector, the bill is directed to stimulate innovation and competition in an unregulated market. Fintech Bill Almost Law in Chile A fintech-related bill, that seeks to bring clarity to institutions providing digital and cryptocurrency-based services, has been approved by the deputy chamber of the congress in Chile. The project, which was approved without any votes against it in the Chilean senate, is now in the hands of President Gabriel Boric, who must sign it for it to be sanctioned. The bill includes in its scope the oversight of cryptocurrency exchanges, and defines cryptocurrency assets as a “digital representation of exchange units of money, goods or services.” It also broadens the regulatory reach of the Financial Market Commission to include the supervision of cryptocurrency exchanges and cryptocurrency custody providers. The Chilean finance minister, Mario Marcel, noted that this bill was directed to entice competition in a sector that was considered part of a gray, unregulated area until now. He stated: I would like to emphasize that it is a project that does not seek to favor a particular sector, it seeks to promote competition and allow institutions that are different from our traditional banking or traditional financial retail to compete by providing cheaper financial services to the public, it is a pro-competition project. Reactions and Views The approval of the bill has been received positively by companies and personalities in the sector in Chile, who think the project will attract new investments into the country and will allow companies that are already operating to regulate their status. Chile has been home to several judiciary battles between banks and cryptocurrency companies in the past, and this law aims to avoid more controversies in that aspect. Samuel Canas, legal manager of Buda, one of the biggest exchanges in Chile, celebrated the approval of the law. He declared: The new regulations provide greater certainty for the growth of this industry, attracting more investment and defining a specific legal framework that did not exist until now. Canas also believes that, if sanctioned, this bill would help people with no access to the traditional financial system to have access to financial instruments provided by these fintech and alternative finance companies. What do you think about the fintech bill recently approved in Chile? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

India plans to discuss crypto regulations during its G20 presidency with member countries. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has revealed that the Indian government hopes to arrive at a framework or standard operating procedure (SOP) so that countries globally “can have a technology-driven regulatory framework” for crypto. India to Discuss Crypto Regulatory Framework With G20 Member Countries Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shared the government’s plan regarding crypto regulation Saturday before concluding her trip to Washington, D.C., to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, PTI reported. The finance minister told a group of Indian reporters that crypto will be part of India’s agenda during its G20 presidency. Noting that various organizations are doing their own research on cryptocurrency, she said: We would definitely want to collate all this and do a bit of study and then bring it on to the table of the G20 so that members can discuss it and hopefully arrive at a framework or SOP, so that globally, countries can have a technology-driven regulatory framework. “But implicit in this is that we don’t want the technology to be disturbed,” Sitharaman stressed. “We want the technology to survive and also be in a position for the fintech and other sectors to benefit from it.” The finance minister then referenced the Enforcement Directorate (ED) detecting money laundering activity involving crypto assets and crypto trading platforms in India. “This concern has been actually acknowledged by several members of the G20 saying yes money trail, yes money laundering, yes drug misuse, and so on,” Sitharaman continued, concluding: There is an understanding that we need to have some kind of regulation, and that all the countries will have to be true together on it. No one country is going to be able to singularly handle it. So, on that we will certainly have something. The G20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. Member countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the U.K., the U.S., and the European Union (EU). India will assume the presidency of the G20 for one year from Dec. 1 to Nov. 30, 2023. After sitting on a draft crypto bill for several years, the Indian government is reportedly working to finalize its stance on the legality of cryptocurrency by the first quarter of next year in order to become Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compliant. Last month, the finance minister urged the IMF to take a leading role in regulating cryptocurrency. The IMF said that it is ready to work with India on crypto regulation. While India has yet to establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, the country is already taxing crypto income at 30% in addition to levying a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on crypto transactions. Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance is reportedly working on how the goods and services tax (GST) could be applied to crypto. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) continues to have “serious concerns” about cryptocurrency. The central bank has repeatedly recommended a complete ban on all non-government-issued cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether. However, the finance minister said in July: “Any legislation for regulation or for banning can be effective only after significant international collaboration on evaluation of the risks and benefits and evolution of common taxonomy and standards.” What do you think about the comments by India’s finance minister? Do you think India will finally have a regulatory framework for crypto? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Payments giant Mastercard has introduced a new program called Crypto Source to enable financial institutions to offer crypto trading and other related services to their customers. Mastercard has partnered with Paxos Trust Company to support this program. A Mastercard executive says that crypto is on the “cusp of really going mainstream.” Mastercard to Help Banks Offer Crypto Services Mastercard introduced a new program called Crypto Source Monday that will bring “crypto trading capabilities to banks.” In partnership with regulated and licensed crypto custody providers, Crypto Source will “enable financial institutions to bring secure crypto trading capabilities and services to their customers,” the announcement details, elaborating: Mastercard’s financial institution partners will gain access to a comprehensive suite of buy, hold and sell services for select crypto assets, augmented with proven identity, cyber, security and advisory services. “This Crypto Source offering is complemented by Mastercard Crypto Secure to bring additional security to the crypto ecosystem,” the payments company emphasized, noting that Crypto Source is currently being prepared for pilot programs. Mastercard further explained that to support this program, it is “expanding its partnership and work with Paxos Trust Company, a leading regulated blockchain infrastructure platform,” adding: The partnership aims for Paxos to provide crypto-asset trading and custody services on behalf of the banks, while Mastercard will leverage its technology to integrate those capabilities into banks’ interfaces. Jorn Lambert, chief digital officer at Mastercard, described: “Our crypto product innovations will provide choice at scale and continue to bring one-of-a-kind opportunities to financial institutions as they seek to offer new, advanced services to their customers.” He opined: Our commitment is simple – to explore crypto and the underlying digital assets technology to support consumer choice in payments. Commenting on the Crypto Source launch, Lambert told CNBC: “There’s a lot of consumers out there that are really interested in this, and intrigued by crypto, but would feel a lot more confident if those services were offered by their financial institutions … It’s a little scary to some people still.” He added that crypto is on the “cusp of really going mainstream.” Mastercard recently outlined five key areas it is focusing on in order to turn cryptocurrencies into “an everyday way to pay.” What do you think about Mastercard launching Crypto Source to enable banks to offer crypto trading and other related services to their customers? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

According to the National Police Agency (NPA) in Japan, North Korean hackers from the crime syndicate Lazarus Group have been targeting crypto companies in the country. Local reports detail that it’s the fifth time the NPA has tied “public attribution” to the organization of North Korean cyber criminals. Japan’s Law Enforcement and Financial Regulator Warn Against Lazarus Group Attacks Hackers from the notorious crime syndicate Lazarus Group are reportedly targeting crypto companies in Japan, according to a recently published NPA cyber security report. Officials have applied “public attribution” to the suspects and have noted that the hackers are from North Korea and most likely members of the Lazarus gang of cyber criminals. The NPA calls Lazarus “a subordinate organization of the North Korean authorities” and says recent cyber attacks are “targeting crypto-asset-related businesses.” Japan’s NPA also notes that law enforcement officials from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have sent out similar warnings about Lazarus Group’s specific methods of attack. The NPA details that the hackers send “employees phishing emails pretending to be executives of the target company,” and they also “approach employees of the target company” under the guise of a “false account.” The Japanese news organization Japan News details that this is the fifth time Japanese authorities have warned about the notorious Lazarus Group. The report notes that the NPA has not disclosed any specific case associated with Lazarus. However, the Japan News report does say sources familiar with the matter believe Lazarus was responsible for the Zaif hack in 2018 and the Bitpoint Japan hack in 2019. The NPA’s notice warns about engaging with suspicious phishing emails and shady characters leveraging a disguise. An executive from the information security firm Trend Micro, Katsuyuki Okamoto, says the NPA’s joint warning with the Financial Services Agency (FSA) is helpful by bringing attention to the matter. “It’s important to engage in public attribution, as it will raise public awareness of the perpetrator’s tactics and prompt people to take measures,” Okamoto said in a statement on Saturday. The latest notice from Japan’s NPA and FSA follows North Korea firing a ballistic missile over the country during the first week of October. The last time Pyongyang fired a missile over Japan was five years ago in 2017. Tensions between the two countries have been heightened since North Korea’s recent missile provocation over Aomori Prefecture. What do you think about Japan’s NPA and FSA warning about cyber attacks from the notorious hacking syndicate Lazarus Group? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to an announcement from Ripple’s core development team Ripplex, developers have introduced the first step toward Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility with the XRP-based sidechain XRPL. The XRPL is now live on Devnet and developers can “assess available technologies,” alongside deploying “existing Solidity apps on the EVM sidechain.” Ripple Core Developers and Peersyst Reveal First Phase of the EVM Sidechain XRPL On Monday, October 17, Ripplex announced the introduction of the XRP-based and EVM-compatible side chain XRPL. The distributed ledger project XRP is the sixth largest crypto project by market capitalization, and XRP core developers have wanted to make the project compatible with smart contract processes for quite some time. Some accounts say XRP developer, David Schwartz, conceived the idea back in 1988. According to Ripplex, the XRPL chain is the first phase of the EVM sidechain and it’s being introduced by Peersyst Technology. “This first phase of the EVM sidechain is currently available for testing on the XRPL Devnet,” the announcement details. “Using a bridge, developers can test the exchange of Devnet XRP between the EVM sidechain and XRP Ledger to: (1) Assess available technologies. (2) Deploy their existing Solidity apps on the EVM sidechain and access the XRPL Devnet userbase.” Compatibility with Ethereum’s Virtual Machine has been addressed by a handful of alternative blockchain networks during the last few years. Phase two of XRPL will start in early 2023 and it will “feature a permissionless EVM sidechain and bridge,” the blog post written by Ripplex developer Mayukha Vadari details. “The end goal is phase three: a permissionless EVM sidechain and bridge available on the XRPL Mainnet slated to follow,” Vadari’s blog post explains. Vadari’s blog post further adds: Throughout all three phases, the EVM sidechain will feature block and finality times comparable to the XRPL Mainnet and support Ethereum smart contracts and applications like Metamask, Remix, and Truffle. Following the announcement, the native crypto asset xrp (XRP) is down 0.6% during the last 24 hours and 10.6% in seven days against the U.S. dollar. Despite recent losses, two-week stats show XRP is up 6%, and over the last month, XRP has gained 33.7%. Year-to-date, however, XRP has lost 58.1% in value against the U.S. dollar. What do you think about Ripple’s XRPL sidechain? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Regulators from the state of Texas and the state’s attorney general are objecting to FTX purchasing Voyager Digital, as the state’s securities commissioner needs to “determine whether FTX US is complying with the law.” Texas State Securities Board, Department of Banking, and Attorney General File Objection Against FTX Buying Voyager Digital According to a bankruptcy court document filed on October 14, 2022, the Texas State Securities Board (SSB), the Texas Department of Banking, and the Texas attorney general are objecting to FTX’s solicitation of Voyager Digital. FTX, the exchange led by the crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, bid to purchase Voyager Digital and its assets for $1.4 billion. The news follows Bankman-Fried’s statements before the purchase when he said the company was prepared to deploy billions on acquisitions. Before the attempt to purchase Voyager, Bankman-Fried and FTX further announced at the end of July, that he was “happy to do what we can to get liquidity to Voyager’s customers.” However, regulators from the state of Texas and the state’s attorney general want to stop the acquisition because they believe regulators, and the Texas securities commissioner need to investigate FTX. While FTX is a money services business with FinCEN, the Texas SSB insists FTX is “not, however, registered as a money transmitter or in any other capacity with the Texas Department of Banking and it is not registered as a securities dealer with the Texas State Securities Board.” While FTX won the auction to purchase Voyager Digital, the director of the Enforcement Division of the Texas SSB, Joseph Jason Rotunda, explained that FTX may be violating securities laws stemming from the Texas Securities Act. Rotunda said that while he downloaded the FTX mobile applications, and told the firm he was a Texas resident, the FTX application shows Rotunda is “earning yield on [ethereum]” and “the yield is valued at 8 percent APR.” “An ongoing investigation by the Enforcement Division of the Texas State Securities Board, [shows] the yield program appears to be an investment contract, evidence of indebtedness and note, and as such appears to be regulated as a security in Texas as provided by Section 4001.068 of the Texas Securities Act,” Rotunda’s filing explains. “At all times material to the opening of this FTX account, FTX Trading and FTX US have not been registered to offer or sell securities in Texas.” The Texas SSB director added: FTX Trading and FTX US may therefore be violating Section 4004.051 of the Texas Securities Act. On Twitter, Bankman-Fried hasn’t commented on the recent actions filed by the regulators from the state of Texas, and the state’s attorney general. Moreover, the FTX CEO has been very vocal that he and his company are supportive of regulation in recent times. Just recently, Bankman-Fried explained that he believes enhanced regulatory oversight for the stablecoin industry is “crucial.” On Monday, Bankman-Fried said he looked forward to FTX being regulated in Dubai. “FTX is excited to be regulated in Dubai by VARA! We’re excited to expand out our presence in the city, and to work with regulators who have taken the lead in establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets, protecting customers, and allowing for innovation,” the FTX CEO tweeted. What do you think about the regulators from the state of Texas objecting to FTX purchasing Voyager Digital? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

19 days ago, usd coin (USDC), the second largest stablecoin by market capitalization, had an overall valuation of around $48.82 billion and since then, it has continued to deflate down to today’s $44.93 billion. Statistics show that during the last three months, USDC’s market valuation has dropped by more than 19%, shedding approximately $10.59 billion. USDC Sheds $3.89 Billion in 19 Days, $10.59 Billion in 3 Months More than $10 billion worth of the stablecoin USDC has been erased from the project’s market capitalization since July 7, 2022. Bitcoin.com News reported on USDC’s market cap sliding much lower on September 28, 2022, or roughly 19 days ago. Metrics show usd coin (USDC), issued by the Centre consortium, is the fourth largest cryptocurrency today by market capitalization and the second largest stablecoin by market valuation, under tether (USDT). USDC’s market valuation actually rose after the Terra blockchain fiasco and UST depegging incident five months ago, while billions of tethers were removed from circulation at the time. After UST (now called Terrausdclassic USTC) imploded, usd coin’s (USDC) market cap increased by 9%, while tether’s (USDT) valuation dropped by more than $12 billion in two months’ time. In more recent times, USDT’s market cap is growing slowly as it increased by 0.6% during the last 30 days. However, 30-day statistics show that USDC did the opposite as the stablecoin’s market capitalization shed 10.6%, according to coingecko.com’s top stablecoin stats. Since our last report on USDC’s market cap deflating, roughly 3.89 billion in USDC has been removed from circulation. Since the July 7 market cap of around $55.52 billion, USDC’s valuation has dropped by approximately $10.59 billion in roughly three months’ time. BUSD Market Cap Swells by 3% in 30 Days, Binance Backed Stablecoin Captures Double the Trade Volume USDC Commands The news follows Binance and Wazirx auto-converting USDC holdings held on the aforementioned exchanges into the stablecoin BUSD. The Binance-backed stablecoin BUSD has seen its market valuation grow by 3% during the last 30 days. Out of the top ten dollar-backed stablecoin assets, BUSD, USDD, and GUSD were the only stablecoins that saw 30-day growth. USDD increased by 4.3% last month, while GUSD saw the largest increase out of the top ten after rising 9.7% last month. There’s still quite a long way to go until any other stablecoin comes close to USDC’s size but BUSD is close to halfway there today. While USDC has a market capitalization of around $44.93 billion, the Binance stablecoin BUSD has a valuation of around $21.29 billion. BUSD’s market cap represents 47.38% of USDC’s size and BUSD’s 24-hour global trade volume is higher. Today, USDC has around $2.96 billion in swaps, while BUSD commands $6.02 billion in global trade volume in the last day. What do you think about USDC’s market cap dropping close to $4 billion in less than 20 days? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Quant was one of the big movers in crypto markets to start the week, as the token rose beyond $200, hitting its highest point since last December. The move means that the token has now risen by nearly 40% in the last seven days. Monero was another notable gainer, rising for a second straight day. Quant (QNT) Quant (QNT) surged higher to start the new week, hitting its highest point in nearly a year in the process. Following a low of $182.88 on Sunday, QNT/USD raced to a peak of $226.09 earlier in today’s session. This is the strongest point that QNT has traded at since December 12, 2021, when it was at a high of $236.00. Looking at the chart, today’s move comes as the relative strength index (RSI) of 14-days rose past a key ceiling. The index is currently tracking at 87.03, which is its highest point in over a year, and this comes following a breakout of the ceiling at 75.00 QNT has already slipped from earlier highs, as bears saw an opportunity to push prices lower, as they moved deep into overbought territory. Monero (XMR) Monero (XMR) was also in the green on Monday, as the token rose for its second consecutive session. XMR/USD surged to a high of $145.03 earlier in the day, which comes less than 24 hours after trading at a low of $141.48. Today’s climb comes as the token continued to move away from its recent support point of $137.00. As of writing, the token is now trading at $143.90, with earlier bulls opting to liquidate their positions, as a resistance point looms. This ceiling is the $148.00 mark, which has historically been a point of high uncertainty in price movement. The RSI is currently tracking near an obstacle of its own at 48.70, and should it move beyond this point, we will then likely see the token continue to trend higher. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Could monero move past its upcoming resistance this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

During the last two years, a number of public and private companies, exchange-traded products (ETPs), and countries have added bitcoin to their balance sheet. However, during the last nine months of 2022, the number of bitcoin stored in these types of treasuries dropped by 57,481 bitcoin, worth around $1.1 billion using today’s exchange rates. $1.1 Billion Worth of Bitcoin Has Been Removed From the Treasuries List On October 17, 2022, 65 companies, ETPs, and countries hold bitcoin (BTC) on their balance sheet. The data stems from the bitcoin treasuries list, which aggregates the current bitcoin holdings in publicly traded and private companies, ETPs, and countries. At the time of writing and as of September 8, 2022, the bitcoin treasuries list indicates that roughly 65 of the aforementioned types of entities own approximately 1,443,925 BTC or 6.876% of the 21 million capped supply. While the balance is a large sum, 57,481 BTC worth $1.1 billion has been erased from the bitcoin treasuries list since the start of 2022. The 1.44 million BTC in treasuries today is worth roughly $27.76 billion using current spot market values. Data saved via archive.org shows that when 2022 started, the 65 publicly traded and private companies, ETPs, and countries held 1,501,406 BTC. At the time, the 1.501 million BTC was worth $63.25 billion using exchange rates on January 2, 2022. The largest change during the last nine months was Tesla’s balance sheet, which saw 32,177 BTC removed from the firm’s treasury. Tesla once had 42,902 BTC and today, the firm’s treasury holds 10,725 BTC. The 32,177 BTC represents 55.98% of the 57,481 BTC erased from the bitcoin treasuries list since the start of the year. 4 out of 65 Entities Hold More Than 100,000 Bitcoin While firms like Tesla unloaded BTC, the list also shows a few companies increasing their stash. For instance, Microstrategy had 124,391 BTC on January 2, 2022, and today, the company holds approximately 130,000 BTC. Microstrategy’s cache grew by 4.51% since the start of the year. Tesla’s balance sheet, on the other hand, saw a decrease of around 75% of its bitcoin holdings. The largest treasury holder on the bitcoin treasuries list is the ETP managed by Grayscale Investments. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (OTCMKTS: GBTC) holds 643,572 BTC according to the bitcoin treasuries list, which equates to $12.37 billion in USD value using today’s exchange rates. Out of the 21 million supply, the BTC held by GBTC represents 3.065% and GBTC’s cache further equates to 44.57% of the 1.44 million BTC in treasuries today. Out of all 60 entities that hold BTC on their balance sheets, only four entities hold more than 100,000 BTC. The four organizations holding more than 100K BTC include Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (643K), Microstrategy (130K), Mt Gox (141K), and Block.one (140K). These four entities alone command 1,054,000 BTC of the 1.44 million BTC held by 65 entities. Despite erasing 57,481 BTC since January 2, the list has grown since July 17, 2022 as the number of BTC held by treasuries was around 1,325,396 BTC. With 1.44 million held today, roughly 120,000 bitcoins were added to balance sheets since July 17. Statistics for the current bitcoin treasuries list mentioned in this article are derived from the web portal buybitcoinworldwide.com, and archive.org metrics saved on January 2, 2022, from the same website. What do you think about the 57,481 bitcoin that’s been erased from the bitcoin treasuries list? What do you think about the fact that four entities command a majority of the 1.44 million held by 65 entities? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin started the week trading above $19,000, as bulls made a sluggish return to the token, following recent sell-offs. Ethereum also rallied on Monday, after a brief stint trading below $1,300. Overall, the global crypto market is down 1.19% as of writing. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) was trading marginally higher on Monday, as bull began to return to crypto markets following recent sell-offs. Following a low of $19,118.19 on Sunday, BTC/USD raced to an intraday high of $19,491.33 earlier in the day. Monday’s move saw the world’s largest cryptocurrency climb towards a key price ceiling of $19,500. Looking at the chart, the rebound in price comes as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) recently broke out of its resistance at 48.00. As of writing, the index is tracking at 49.42, with the next visible resistance point near the 56.00 level. Should price strength continue to move towards this point, we will likely see prices move towards the $20,000 mark. Ethereum Ethereum (ETH) also surged to start the week, with the token climbing for a second straight session. After a brief breakout below its floor of $1,275 on Saturday, ethereum has put together a run of back-to-back gains. Today’s surge has seen the token hit a peak of $1,322.33, which comes a day after it was hovering around the $1,281.29 mark. Despite today’s gains, momentum in ETH/USD continues to be bearish, with both the 10-day (red) and 25-day (blue) moving averages trending downwards. Bulls will likely be tentative to enter at this point, as we near a ceiling of $1,330, with the RSI also nearing an obstacle. As of writing, the index is tracking at 45.87, which is slightly below a ceiling of 46.00. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Do you expect ethereum to move above $1,400 this week? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, expects the price of bitcoin to go up when the Stablecoin Transparency Act passes, which he believes could be soon after the November midterm elections. O’Leary emphasized that crypto cannot be stopped, stating: “You either join the wave or get lost.” ‘Regulations Come, Bitcoin Goes Up’ Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, the chairman of O’Shares Investment Advisers, shared his reason why investors should long bitcoin on the Crypto Banter Youtube channel Friday. Mr. Wonderful explained that there is a bill called the Stablecoin Transparency Act that has a chance of getting passed by the U.S. Congress after Nov. 8, when the midterm elections take place. The Shark Tank star explained: This Act is very simple in nature which is why it may pass. It’s being supported by both parties and the reason that’s the case is that it makes, effectively, the U.S. dollar the default payment system worldwide. He proceeded to describe why the passing of this Act will boost the price of bitcoin. “Even though it has nothing to do with bitcoin, that will be the first regulation passed by U.S. regulators, and I would argue you want to be long bitcoin going into that outcome,” O’Leary emphasized. “You’re going to see a lot of interest in institutional capital coming into” stablecoins, he added. “If institutions smell policy, then you’ve got a real move up, and that’s when you break out of the $19,000 to $22,000 trading range against the U.S. dollar. I think you will go right through that very quickly,” he opined, elaborating: So, end of the day, regulations come, bitcoin goes up. “Here is a question for every investor to think about,” O’Leary continued. “There’s a risk in investing in bitcoin and all crypto. There’s also risks of not investing in it.” He elaborated: “Because if it’s true that crypto becomes the 12th sector of the S&P in the next decade, some of the value in the financial services stocks, like banks, are going to transfer to these new technologies, and you typically don’t know when that’s going to happen.” O’Leary has been saying that he expects crypto to become the 12th sector of the S&P. “What we’re missing is policy. When we get policy and the regulator regulates … The spigots of capital are going to flood into this sector like you’ve never seen,” he predicted in August. “My thesis is you should have some crypto in your portfolio because you don’t know when that’s going to occur, and if you completely don’t have exposure to it, you may miss participating in the growth of this 12th sector of the S&P which would be a bad outcome for performance,” O’Leary concluded. Kevin O’Leary Says You Can’t Stop Crypto and NFTs O’Leary also shared why he feels strongly about bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Linkedin this week. The Shark Tank star wrote: You can’t stop it, you either join the wave or get lost! “There are people that criticize me on this, but this is one of the reasons I feel so strongly about the future of crypto and NFTs,” Mr. Wonderful stressed. “When you have new technology emerging that can drastically boost our level of productivity and improve how we process transactions globally, you have no choice but to get with it.” Do you agree with Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary about bitcoin and crypto? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article