roadrunner

The non-profit that focuses on policy issues facing cryptocurrencies, Coin Center, has filed a lawsuit against the Treasury department, the secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) director Andrea Gacki. Coin Center’s court filing says that the government’s sanctioning of Tornado Cash exceeds the Treasury’s statutory authority. The Coin Center lawsuit insists that Americans have a right to privacy and a right to protect their property, as Tornado Cash can be used for these benefits in a legitimate fashion. Coin Center’s Lawsuit Insists the US Treasury and OFAC Banning Tornado Cash Exceeded Their Statutory Authority Coin Center is following Coinbase’s lead as it has sued the U.S. Treasury over the Tornado Cash ban, according to a court filing registered on October 12. Coinbase announced its lawsuit against the government’s department on September 8, 2022, in a blog post called “Defending Privacy in Crypto.” The non-profit Coin Center, an organization that specializes in addressing policy toward cryptocurrencies and blockchain tech, hinted at engaging with the Treasury on August 15. The blog post published in mid-August said that by the U.S. Treasury treating autonomous code as a ‘person,’ “OFAC exceeds its statutory authority.” The lawsuit filed on Wednesday names OFAC director Andrea Gacki, and the current secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen. The suit highlights that the Treasury’s “defiance of this statutory element assumes an authority that would give them virtually unlimited control to regulate the American economy.” Coin Center’s lawsuit adds: Americans use Tornado Cash unilaterally to protect their own property. Lawsuit Filed Against the Treasury Argues That There Are Legitimate Use-Cases for Tornado Cash It’s been 65 days since OFAC banned the ethereum (ETH) mixer Tornado Cash, and as soon as it did, it was criticized heavily by a great number of crypto proponents and freedom advocates. Coin Center notes in the court filing that the plaintiffs are ethereum users, and the group summarizes how the Ethereum blockchain is fully transparent. “To protect themselves, users of Ethereum employ privacy tools,” the lawsuit states. “These tools generally allow users to clear any publicly discernible connection between their past and future transactions. They do this by making transactions by the same person appear unrelated, thereby stymying bad actors who seek to track, stalk, retaliate, and endanger.” Coin Center’s lawsuit adds: Tornado Cash is [a] state-of-the-art privacy tool on Ethereum. It is a software program permanently stored on the Ethereum ledger, so it can be accessed or used by anyone. Coin Center’s grievances with the Treasury are very similar to the issues Coinbase mentioned in September. Coinbase also said that “there are legitimate applications for this type of technology and as a result of these sanctions, many innocent users now have their funds trapped and have lost access to a critical privacy tool.” Coin Center’s lawsuit has been filed in Florida, and the filing declares that the defendant’s action on august 8 2022, when OFAC officially banned Tornado Cash “was unlawful.” “As a result of the Biden Administration’s action, Americans who use Tornado Cash to protect their privacy while using their own assets are criminals,” Coin Center’s complaint further explains. “Additionally, their receipt of any asset through Tornado Cash, even one from a stranger that they did not solicit, is a federal crime. And their use of Tornado Cash to protect their expressive activities is criminal as well.” What do you think about Coin Center suing the U.S. Treasury over sanctioning the ethereum mixer Tornado Cash? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The Bnb Smart Chain commenced the blockchain’s hard fork on October 12, at block height 22,107,423, in order to add a security patch to “mitigate the cross-chain infrastructure between [the] Beacon Chain and Smart Chain.” Binance and the Bnb Smart Chain suspended withdrawals and deposits on Wednesday in order to execute the upgrade. Not too long after, Binance noted that the upgrade was complete a touch after 5 a.m. (ET) on Wednesday morning. Bnb Smart Chain Hard Forks to Apply Exploit Patch Five days ago, the Bnb Smart Chain was exploited for roughly $100 million and the chain was paused in order to address the issue. At the time, the hacker managed to leverage phony security proofs to exploit the blockchain network’s cross-chain bridge. Following the hack, Binance announced that it planned to support an upgrade on October 12 that will add a security patch to the protocol that addresses the issue. “Fellow Binancians, Binance will support the BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) network upgrade and hard fork,” the exchange wrote on October 11. “The BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) network upgrade and hard fork will take place at the BNB Smart Chain block height of 22,107,423, or approximately at 2022-10-12 08:00 (UTC). Deposits and withdrawals on BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) will be suspended starting from approximately 2022-10-12 07:00 (UTC),” Binance added. Binance further announced the halting of deposits and withdrawals via Twitter when it said: “Binance has temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals for BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) network to support the network upgrade [and] hard fork.” At approximately 5:16 a.m. (ET) Binance explained that the Bnb Smart Chain has resumed operations following the upgrade. “Thank you for your patience and apologies for any inconvenience caused,” the world’s largest exchange by trade volume tweeted. While four tokens out of the top five by market cap have seen small percentage gains on Wednesday, the price of BNB has declined 0.4% against the U.S. dollar during the past 24 hours. BNB has had a 24-hour price range between $269.98 and $273.67 per unit on October 12. BNB is the fifth largest crypto asset by market capitalization and it is down 60% since the asset’s all-time high (ATH). Although, 60% down from BNB’s ATH is a lot better than the 70% to 90%+ losses a great deal of other digital assets have recorded since their ATHs. What do you think about the Bnb Smart Chain hard fork on Wednesday? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to various reports, the Solana-based trading and lending platform Mango Markets was hacked as a malicious actor was able to siphon $117 million from the protocol. An analysis of the hack published by Certik explains that the attacker manipulated the price of the project’s native token mango (MNGO) which allowed them to borrow $117 million against the exploited collateral. Mango Markets Hacked for $117 Million, Blockchain Security Firm Summarizes the Attack Vector On Tuesday, the Solana-based Mango Markets platform was hacked for $117 million. The team tweeted about the issue at 7:36 p.m. (ET) on October 11. “We are currently investigating an incident where a hacker was able to drain funds from Mango via an oracle price manipulation,” the Mango Market’s Twitter account detailed. “We are taking steps to have third parties freeze funds in flight. We will be disabling deposits on the front end as a precaution, and will keep you updated as the situation evolves.” The blockchain security and auditing firm Certik summarized the Mango Market hack in a post mortem and the team explained that the hacker was able to manipulate the token mango (MNGO). “The attacker used two addresses to manipulate the price of MNGO – Mango’s native token and collateral asset – from $0.038 to a peak of $0.91,” Certik explained in a note sent to Bitcoin.com News. “This allowed them to borrow heavily against their $MNGO collateral, which they did so to the tune of approximately $117 million, though this figure is fluctuating due to the prices of affected tokens reacting to the news.” #CertiKSkynetAlert On October 11, 2022 at 11:19 PM UTC, Mango Market was attacked for a total loss of roughly ~$116M. The attacker was able to manipulate the price of the MNGO token and exploitatively borrowed more assets than what they were supposed to be able to. … pic.twitter.com/HSIUsPYyA4 — CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) October 12, 2022 According to the blockchain security firm Hacken, the hacker started with roughly $5 million in USDC to accomplish the goals. The official Mango Market Twitter account confirmed that two accounts funded with USDC took out a massive long position in “MNGO-PERP.” “Underlying MNGO/USD prices on various exchanges (FTX, Ascendex) experienced a 5-10x price increase in a matter of minutes,” Mango said. Mango further added that no oracle providers were at fault for the incident. The team stressed: We want to clarify and add mention here that neither oracle providers have any fault here. The oracle price reporting worked as it should have. Meanwhile, the blockchain security and auditing firm Certik has disclosed that the attack vector was allegedly known as early as March 2022. “The vulnerability here stemmed from the thin liquidity on the MNGO/USDC market, which was used as the price reference for the MNGO perpetual swap,” Certik’s summary adds. “With only a few million USDC at their disposal, the attacker was able to pump the price of MNGO by 2,394%. This exact attack vector was apparently raised in Mango’s Discord channel back in March of this year,” the Certik post-mortem concludes. What do you think about the Mango Markets exploit? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Quant continued to trade close to an eight-month high on Wednesday, as prices of the token rose for a second straight day. Hedera was another notable mover in today’s session, as it rose by as much as 11% earlier in the day. Overall, crypto markets are marginally down as of writing. Quant (QNT) Quant (QNT) rose for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, as prices remained close to an eight-month high. On Sunday, the token surged to a peak of $163.83, which is the highest point quant has hit since February 8. Earlier in today’s session, QNT/USD was at a high of $157.80, which sees prices only $6 away from the aforementioned peak. As a result of recent gains, QNT is now firmly in overbought territory, with the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) tracking at 70.19. This is marginally below a ceiling of 71.00, which quant bulls will need to overcome, should they intend to send prices higher. Price uncertainty will likely be heightened around this region, with bears potentially also waiting for the opportunity to reenter. Hedera (HBAR) Hedera (HBAR) was another notable gainer on hump day, with the token climbing by as much as 11%. Following a low of $0.05879 on Tuesday, HBAR/USD managed to rise to a peak of $0.06596 earlier today. As a result of this surge in price, hedera has now hit its strongest point in one month, since when the token was trading above $0.0737. Looking at the chart, HBAR has since fallen from earlier highs, as bears reentered the market following the failed attempted breakout of a ceiling at $0.06600. Today’s move comes as the 10-day (red) moving average crossed over its 25-day (blue) counterpart, for the first time since September 13, which is when we last saw HBAR at these current levels. Should we see this upwards momentum continue, then bulls will likely force a breakout of the resistance point referenced above. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Could hedera maintain this momentum throughout the remainder of the week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Bitcoin was trading lower on Saturday, as cryptocurrency prices continued to trade in the red following the latest U.S. nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report. The token dropped for a fourth consecutive day, moving closer to a key support point in the process. Ethereum was also in the red, hitting a five-day low in the process. Bitcoin Bearish sentiment remained in bitcoin (BTC) markets to start the weekend, as they continued to digest the latest nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report. Following the better-than-expected jobs report, BTC/USD fell to an intraday low of $19,395.79 earlier in the day. The move pushed the token close to a key support point of $19,200, and as of writing, it is trading close to a six-day low. Looking at the chart, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) has also dropped, and is also approaching a floor of 45.70. Despite moving closer to this bottom, the 10-day (red) moving average has recently crossed over its 25-day (blue) counterpart, which is typically a sign of bullish momentum. Should BTC move to its floor of $19,200, there will likely be an influx of bulls looking to buy this dip, sending prices higher as a result. Ethereum Ethereum (ETH) was also down for its fourth consecutive day, with the token breaking out of a key support point in the process. The world’s second largest cryptocurrency dropped to a low of $1,321.75 on Saturday, a day after hitting a peak of $1,356.88. As a result of today’s sell-off, ETH/USD dropped below its support of $1,330, and is currently trading at its lowest point since October 3. From the chart, it appears that the RSI is now marginally above its own floor of 42.00, with the price trading at $1,328 as of writing. Unlike BTC, there has not been any crossover of moving averages, however, the trend lines seem to be nearing in proximity to this point. Overall, even with the current market turbulence, it seems that bulls are still targeting a breakout of the $1,400 level. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Could ethereum bulls return to action this weekend? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Authorities in Kazakhstan have granted Binance a license to operate as a digital asset platform and provide an array of relevant services. While working out of the nation’s financial hub in the capital Nur-Sultan, the crypto exchange will offer registration to customers from other countries as well. Crypto Exchange Binance Receives License to Operate From Kazakhstan Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, has been granted a permanent license by the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), the regulatory body that oversees the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), Kazakhstan’s financial hub. The license will allow Binance to extend its services as a digital asset platform operator and work from AIFC as a custodial service provider for global clients. The financial center is based in Kazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana). The move comes after Binance obtained preliminary approval in August. The permanent authorization gives it the status of a regulated platform in Kazakhstan, the exchange explained. With compliance and security controls, it will now be able to process deposits and withdrawals of fiat money, conversion to cryptocurrencies, and offer storage and exchange trading for crypto assets. The exchange indicated it plans to expand the range of supported services. Private individuals and legal entities from any other country will be able to register with the Kazakhstan-licensed trading platform, Binance assured in an announcement. Its Director for Asia, Gleb Kostarev, commented: We welcome Kazakhstan’s intention to become a leading player in the field of new digital technologies and the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The government in Nur-Sultan has made significant changes to Kazakhstan’s legislation and regulatory environment, setting the highest compliance standards for cryptocurrency platforms in the republic, the executive added. Kostarev pointed out that the strong regulatory framework has helped AIFC to become a leading platform in the region, facilitating the development of services for digital assets. He also emphasized that Binance is taking another step in its quest to be a compliance-focused exchange. Binance will support Kazakhstan in what the two sides describe as the safe development of the country’s crypto market. As part of a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding, the crypto exchange and the Central Asian Nation’s Financial Monitoring Agency agreed to share information on financial crimes involving cryptocurrencies. Kazakhstan, which turned into a major crypto mining hotspot following the crackdown in China, has been taking steps to regulate other sectors of the digital asset industry, too. A local lender and a domestic crypto exchange, Eurasian Bank and Intebix, recently reported conducting a crypto purchase transaction for a client — the first such joint operation in the country, they said. Do you expect other global crypto trading platforms to seek to acquire a license to operate in Kazakhstan? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Despite seeing a 3.11% drop in value in September, bitcoin still outperformed both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, the latest Cryptocompare report has shown. Ethereum, on the other hand, was named “the worst performer after the long-awaited Merge proved to be a ‘buy the rumour, sell the news’ event.” Increased tether and U.S. dollar trade volumes for bitcoin are said to suggest panicking investors were dumping depreciating currencies in favor of the cryptocurrency. Ethereum Sees ‘Biggest Decline’ According to the latest Cryptocompare report, bitcoin, which saw a negative return of 3.11% in September, still outperformed “both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq which saw negative returns of 9.34% and 10.5% respectively.” Only Solana — the cryptocurrency among the tracked four that saw a positive monthly return of 5.59% — and gold (2.87%) had better risk-adjusted returns than bitcoin. Ethereum, on the other hand, is identified in the report as “the worst performer [among four tracked cryptocurrencies], after the long-awaited Merge proved to be a ‘buy the rumour, sell the news’ event.” To support this assertion, the report points to the crypto asset’s contrasting fortunes in August and September. After seeing its best risk-adjusted returns in August, ETH still went on to have “the biggest decline” in September, the same month the Ethereum blockchain was switched to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. Traders Dumped Fiat and Piled Into BTC In terms of the different assets’ volatilities, the report said bitcoin was the “least volatile asset and the most dominant” among four cryptocurrencies that were tracked in the month of September. Explaining the study’s crypto market volatility findings, the report states: Volatility across cryptocurrency markets saw a slight increase in September amid the interest rates spikes and the unstable macro environment. ETH and SOL continued to be the most volatile assets, with 30-day volatility of 80.0% and 82.6% respectively. Bitcoin’s volatility rose 19.2% in September breaking a declining trend that started in June. Meanwhile, the findings of Cryptocompare’s examination of both USDT and U.S. dollar traded volumes suggest that panicking investors were dumping depreciating currencies in favor of BTC. In September alone, traded volumes in tether and the greenback went up “by 15.4% and 15.1% respectively.” According to the report, this could mean “market participants are piling into BTC following recent volatility in fiat currencies, including the British pound and Japanese yen.” In contrast, USDT volumes for ETH during the same “saw a big drop of 49.4%,” while SOL saw “a noticeable rise of 10.5% in USDT volumes in September.” ADA and SOL both saw declines in USD volumes. Do you agree with Cryptocompare’s latest findings? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The Norwegian government is reviewing a proposal to abolish the policy of preferential tax treatment for data centers mining cryptocurrency with cheaper electricity. The executive power in Oslo says conditions have changed and the country needs the energy currently used by miners. Mining Firms Likely to Lose Tax Incentive as Norway Seeks to Save Power, Collect More Tax Norwegian authorities are on their way to scrap a tax cut that has been benefitting crypto mining businesses for years. They are proposing to get rid of the reduced electricity tax rate for data centers in the Nordic country, many of which are minting digital currencies. Power for data centers will thus be subject to the general electricity tax rate, the same that applies for other service industries, the government said in an announcement published this week. Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum explained the reasoning behind the move: We are in a completely different situation in the power market now compared to when the reduced rate for data centers was introduced in 2016. In many areas power supply is now under pressure, which causes prices to rise, Vedum elaborated. At the same time, the crypto extraction sector has expanded in Norway. “We need this power for the community. The government will therefore discontinue the scheme,” the member of the cabinet in Oslo was quoted as stating. Investigations have shown that it is practically impossible to distinguish between electrical energy used for the minting of digital coins and that consumed by data centers for other purposes, the government also noted. If crypto mining is to be subject to the regular electricity tax rate, the tax cut for data centers must be phased out entirely, officials believe. They estimate that in this case budget receipts will increase by 150 million Norwegian kroner (over $14 million) now and another 110 million kroner (more than $10 million) next year. The latest development comes after a failed attempt to ban the energy-intensive mining of proof-of-work cryptocurrencies in May of this year. A push in that direction by the far-left Red Party in parliament was rejected by the majority of Norwegian lawmakers. At the time, they also turned down a proposed electricity tax hike for crypto miners. Do you think Norway will lose its attractiveness as a crypto mining destination if it scraps the tax cut for miners? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Of the $566 billion in cryptocurrency transaction volume for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region between July 2021 and June 2022, nearly 40% went to Turkey, which kept its place as the region’s biggest cryptocurrency market, according to the latest Chainalysis data. In Afghanistan, the Taliban’s takeover has seen the value of cryptocurrencies sent to the country drop from a peak of $68 million to less than $80,000 per month. Turkey Cements Position as MENA’s Biggest Crypto Market According to the latest Chainalysis data, the volume of cryptocurrency transactions by users from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) grew by 48% to $566 billion between July 2021 and June 2022. The data shows this growth rate is the fastest of any of the eight regions surveyed. As explained in Chainalysis’ latest blog, inflation-stricken Turkey remained the MENA region’s biggest cryptocurrency market after its citizens “received $192 billion from July 2021 to June 2022” or nearly 40% of the region’s total. However, despite cementing its position as MENA’s top crypto market, Turkey’s year-on-year crypto transaction volume growth of 10.5% means the country is ranked last among the six surveyed countries. Meanwhile, in Egypt, whose currency — the pound — is said to be overvalued, the year-on-year (YoY) growth in cryptocurrency transaction volume topped 221.7% in the period under review. Concerning the growing usage in Egypt, the Chainalysis blog stated: Egypt’s position at the intersection of growing crypto remittances and increased inflationary pressures help explain why it’s the fastest-growing crypto market in all of MENA this year. Between July 2021 and June 2022, transaction volume in Egypt tripled compared to the preceding year. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the MENA region country with the next highest (194.8%) YoY growth in its cryptocurrency transaction volumes. Crisis-torn Lebanon is in third place with a YoY growth of 120.9%, and is followed closely by Morocco with 120.8%. Impact of the Taliban’s Takeover In Afghanistan, which used to be the MENA leader in grassroots crypto adoption, the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021 has led to a sharp drop in the country’s onchain activity, the report noted. From the $68 million which Afghan residents received “in the average month” before the Taliban’s takeover, the country has been seeing an average volume of under $80,000 per month since November 2021. What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Laliga, the premier soccer league organization in Spain, has announced the launch date of Laliga Golazos, a memorable moment NFT (non-fungible token) platform. The platform, built in partnership with Dapper Labs, will allow users to purchase NFTs with videos of the most memorable goals starting from 2005 to the present. Spanish Laliga Launches Laliga Golazos Laliga, the premier soccer league in Spain, is entering the world of digital collectibles. The company recently announced the launch of its own NFT platform, Laliga Golazos. The service, launched in partnership with NBA Top Shots developer Dapper Labs, aims to connect fans with some of the most iconic moments in Spanish soccer. Laliga Golazos aims to deliver videos of the most spectacular moments and games of the league, starting from 2005 to the present. The name Golazos comes from the word “gol,” Spanish for goal, referring to the best scoring moments in the history of the league. These NFTs will allow users to view several angles of some of the games, listening to the official play-by-play narration. According to a press release, moments will include “amazing dribbles and skills, extraordinary assists, incredible saves, great defensive actions, and the goals millions of fans around the world celebrate.” Each one of these moments will have a grade of rarity, with rarer moments seeing less issuance than others, and will be issued on top of the Flow blockchain, which is said to be optimized for this kind of application. About the new platform, Jorge Urrutia del Pozo, general manager of Laliga Golazos for Dapper Labs, stated: Laliga Golazos will enable fans to own a piece of Laliga history and participate in a whole new kind of football community that recognizes and rewards them for their fandom. The platform is currently in a closed beta phase and is expected to launch its first NFT drop on October 27. Laliga’s Digital Approach This is just the latest in a series of product launches and partnerships that Laliga is currently developing to increase the target audience of its business and awaken the interest of newer generations in the league. Earlier this month, the company also announced a partnership with Globant, an Argentine software company, to build digital products in the areas of Web3 and metaverse. Also, the company has licensed its IP (intellectual property) to be included in Decentraland, to offer several experiences on a parcel of the Ethereum-based metaverse platform. What do you think about the Laliga Golazos NFT platform? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

According to Dappradar’s latest crypto industry report that covers 2022’s third quarter, the crypto economy and its participants are “riding out the bear market.” However, these days a number of macroeconomic events have influenced the crypto market, and Dappradar researchers say it’s currently “impossible to foresee a worldwide expansion of cryptocurrencies without a general recovery in conventional financial markets.” Dappradar Report Highlights Crypto Economy’s Slow but Steady Recovery The crypto industry is still dealing with the crypto winter and the latest report from Dappradar indicates that markets and participants are trucking through the storm. For instance, following the Terra collapse, the decentralized finance (defi) and decentralized app (dapp) industry has consolidated after taking heavy losses. Dappradar’s report shows that bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) have remained roughly around the same price since the end of June, but the two leading crypto assets have a high correlation with equity markets. “In Q3, the correlation between BTC and the S&P 500 increased, showing that investors still consider cryptos in the same category as risky stocks,” Dappradar’s researcher Sara Gherghelas details. Moreover, while Ethereum’s transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake via The Merge pushed prices up, crypto markets “cooled down after the event.” Moreover, while Dappradar’s Gherghelas says The Merge was a technical success, a 36% drop in layer two (L2) transactions was recorded. Despite the overall crypto market performance, technology adoption saw a significant upswing. “In July, Polygon and Nothing company announced a partnership to build a Web3-native smartphone, while Disney, Ticketmaster, Mastercard, and Starbucks became the latest leading brands to announce the integration of NFTs as part of their Web3 strategy,” Dappradar’s Q3 report further notes. According to the Dappradar researchers, $428.71 million in losses were recorded during 2022’s third quarter. Most of the losses were stolen from Nomad Bridge, Dappradar explains, as $190 million was siphoned away from the bridge. “On a positive note, these figures indicate a decline of 62.9% compared to the third quarter of 2021, when hackers and fraudsters stole $1,155,334,775,” Dappradar’s researchers add. During the last quarter, the study notes that in general, the defi ecosystem has shown improvement. “Defi as a whole showed signs of recovery with a 2.9% growth in TVL [total value locked] from Q2,” Dappradar’s study notes. “Ethereum remains the most dominant chain with its dominance increasing to 69% with $48 billion, a 3.17% growth from Q2.” While the defi ecosystem and crypto economy as a whole saw declines in the third quarter, non-fungible token markets also recorded a decline in trading volume activity. Dappradar’s research shows NFT trade volume is down 67% but NFT sales volume increased 8.3% higher from Q2. “The rise in sales indicates that the NFT business continues to be in great demand, whereas overall the drop in trading volume may be attributable to the decline in cryptocurrency values,” Dappradar’s research report suggests. Dappradar’s report concludes that the global economy is dealing with “extreme challenges” and in some people’s opinions, the tides may get worse. The researchers note that it’s possible “we may be in the beginning phase of the crisis” but when the tides do turn, a bullish runup will eventually materialize. “Undoubtedly, a further bull run will occur, and it may be much stronger than the last one,” the Dappradar report’s closing statements detail. “Each time the market has difficulties, it eventually becomes stronger, and the quality of initiatives increases.” What do you think about Dappradar’s Q3 Industry report? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Google, the web search and software monolith, has announced that it will require authorization from government entities to lend advertising services to financial companies in Spain. This measure, which was also implemented in the U.K. back in 2021, is expected to be extended to more countries in coming months. Google to Require Government Authorization of Advertisers Google, the software and web search giant, will start taking measures to curb possible financial fraud using the advertisement platform of the company in Spain. Google announced it will start requiring customers that want to advertise financial products to have government authorization issued by the Spanish securities regulator (CMNV) or the Bank of Spain, the country’s central bank. At the same time, Google will also require these companies to complete its advertising verification program, which is slated to start this month. The application of the other new measures is expected to start in January 2023. On the objective of the new requirements to be applied on Spanish soil, Google stated: Our goal is to create a new layer of security against fraud, which will further improve the protection of our network against financial fraud. Furthermore, Google stated that this new policy will contribute to “guarantee a safe, healthy and sustainable advertising ecosystem.” Previous Implementations and Expansion Spain is part of a group of countries that are piloting these restrictions in order to get access to the advertisement platform of the company. The first measure of this kind was applied in the U.K. back in 2021, and is said to have produced positive results. In the same way, advertisers there need the approval of the Financial Conduct Authority to be able to publicize financial products. Google has stated this has produced “a very notable drop” in reports of ads that could be promoting financial scam projects. Spain will be the second country in which these restrictions are implemented, and the company expects to take the same approach in more countries in the coming months. The CNMV has been active when it comes to vigilance about cryptocurrency products being advertised, requiring notification from any of these campaigns targeting more than 100,000 people at least 10 days before launch. Influencers with more than 100,000 followers on social media involved in such cryptocurrency advertising campaigns also have to inform regulators of their plans, and have the responsibility of explaining the risks of the investments being advertised to their followers. What do you think about Google’s new advertising requirements for financial products in Spain? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

On Friday, October 7, 2022, the precious metals gold and silver dropped in U.S. dollar value following the recent U.S. jobs report for September. The USD value of gold per troy ounce is awfully close to slipping below the $1,700 range, while the price of silver is teetering near the $20 threshold. Precious Metals Price Patterns Follow Friday’s Equity Market Rout and Crypto Carnage Just before the weekend, Wall Street’s major indices tumbled as the latest U.S. jobs report for September is making investors believe the Federal Reserve will continue its aggressive rate hikes. The price of bitcoin (BTC) slid 3.4% against the U.S. dollar, and ethereum (ETH) dropped 3.2% during the past 24 hours. The entire crypto-economy hovering at around $979 billion on Friday, and it is down 2.4% at 2:30 p.m. (ET). In addition to the crypto economy, all four major precious metals — gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are down between 0.64% to 3.32%. Kitco’s precious metals senior market analyst and columnist Jim Wyckoff detailed on Friday afternoon that the data stemming from the U.S. jobs report was “arguably the most important U.S. data point of the week.” Wyckoff noted that the official data was 263,000 jobs, “which was just below the expected rise of 275,000.” The news, Wyckoff reckons, may lead to the U.S. central bank keeping its aggressive stance going strong. “The August report showed non-farm jobs rise of 315,000. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% in September, which was lower than expected,” Wyckoff wrote on Friday. “The August jobless rate was 3.7%. Average hourly earnings were up 4.98% from last year at the same time. The marketplace reckons the jobs report did nothing to dissuade the Federal Reserve from its aggressively tight monetary policy,” the senior market analyst added. Similar to equity and cryptocurrency markets, gold markets felt the pressure of the latest U.S. data point. At the time of writing, the nominal U.S. dollar value of a single troy ounce of .999 fine gold is 1,701.40 per unit. Some exchanges have seen gold drop below the $1,700 threshold on Friday as well at $1,699 per ounce. Silver is also nearing dropping below the $20 threshold on Friday, as it’s 20.35 nominal U.S. dollar per ounce of silver as the weekend approaches. Gold’s USD value per ounce is down 0.64% and silver is down 1.87% during the last 24 hours. Platinum shed 0.33% and palladium’s price slid by 3.32% on Friday afternoon (ET). “Technically, the December gold futures bears have the overall near-term technical advantage. However, recent gains begin to suggest a market bottom is in place,” Wyckoff explained. Silver futures, in terms of bulls, also show an advantage the precious metals market analyst said. “September silver futures bulls have [a] slight overall near-term technical advantage. Silver bulls’ next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $22.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $19.00,” Wyckoff’s report details. The analyst’s statements concerning the formation of a market bottom are similar to Mike McGlone’s recent analysis. The ​​Bloomberg Intelligence commodity analyst explained in a recent commodities report for October that he saw the price of gold forming in a similar fashion to the way it did in 1999. In addition to gold resuming its rally in the near future, McGlone added in his October crypto report that when the “ebbing economic tide turns,” McGlone and his team see “propensity resuming” for bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) and he believes they will “outperform most major assets.” What do you think about gold and silver’s recent decline during the last 24 hours and following the latest U.S. jobs report? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On October 7, 2022, a bitcoin supporter named Jim Blasko claimed that he discovered the oldest upload of Bitcoin’s version 0.1 codebase. The original code was thought to have been lost for more than a decade and with a “little browser hacking” Blasko was able to find the lost version 0.1 raw data and files stored on sourceforge.net. Bitcoiner Scrapes Up the ‘Cleanest Original Version of Bitcoin’ Thought to Be Lost Forever For well over ten years, Satoshi Nakamoto’s version 0.1 codebase was thought to be lost. If one is to search, it’s extremely difficult to find and some people have discovered bits and pieces of the code. Bitcoiner Jim Blasko revealed on October 7 via a Facebook post that using a touch of browser hacking he was able to scrape up the long-lost code. After explaining a bit of history, Blasko detailed that it took Bitcoin’s creator roughly six months to mine the inventor’s stash of 1 million BTC. “Satoshi would take at least 6 months to mine 1 million bitcoin,” Blasko’s post explains. “As block 20,000 wouldn’t come until July 22nd, 2009, and others like Hal [Finney] were mining as well, so at least this time or shortly thereafter. [The network’s difficulty] was only 1 at the time and basic [CPU] mining would continue for a couple of years.” Furthermore, the bitcoiner explained that in late August 2009, Martti Malmi uploaded the raw code of Bitcoin v0.1 to sourceforge.net. “Since 2012 it was thought that the raw code and the files were gone as they had been scraped from the Sourceforge search engine for some reason,” Blasko’s post says. “I know many users [were] looking for the original v0.1 code for a very long time and Hal Finney was planning to email it to some people in 2012, but his health was poor and by his own words didn’t get online much to respond,” the crypto researcher adds. Blasko’s post continues: I’m not sure if Hal ever did send it out, as Hal was the earliest to receive Bitcoin v0.1 code from Satoshi. Either way, I did some digging and I was able to find the original code still on Sourceforge using some browser hacking. Via Blasko’s discovery, the hidden code uploaded on August 30, 2009, by Martti Malmi aka SIRIUS can be found here and here. Blasko’s discovery is unique because it is the very first version of Bitcoin presented in an untampered way and it contains all of Satoshi’s personal notations in the early codebase. Blasko said that he was aware that there are older and existing versions of Bitcoin version 0.1’s codebase on Github, however, he believes it’s “the cleanest original version of Bitcoin.” In the codebase, Nakamoto explains things like why base-58 was chosen instead of standard base-64 encoding, and other notations like things the inventor planned “to do” later in the future. There’s also a great description of the original Bitcoin operations codes (opcodes) and what each one does. Opcodes such as OP_CHECKSIG, OP_CHECKSIGVERIFY, OP_CHECKMULTISIG, and OP_CHECKMULTISIGVERIFY. What do you think about Jim Blasko’s early Bitcoin codebase discovery? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On Wednesday, the team behind the blockchain game Splinterlands announced that it reached a new milestone after the project sold more than 10 million packs from the fantasy-themed battle game’s Chaos Legion series of cards. The achievement follows the project’s recent partnership with the Major League Soccer Players Association and Warner Music Group. Play-to-Earn Game Splinterlands Sells More Than 10 Million Packs of NFT Playing Cards The play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain game Splinterlands has announced the project has sold more than 10 million packs stemming from the game’s third major card expansion series, Chaos Legion. Splinterlands is a game that leverages cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to enhance online collectible card tournaments. The Splinterlands cards or NFTs can be purchased and sold via secondary markets and in order to start playing, new users need to obtain a “Summoner’s Spellbook.” The Chaos Legion series cards went on sale eight months ago on January 17, 2022, and there were only 15,000,000 packs minted. The Splinterlands project says that the cards’ limited availability after the 10 million sold, marks the cards’ “homestretch” in terms of what’s left. Splinterlands co-founder and current CEO, Jesse Reich, said the team was pleased with the Chaos Legion sales achievement, and the co-founder detailed the Splinterlands team looked forward to more expansion. “The successes are coming like a flood these days, and we are thrilled,” Reich remarked on Wednesday. “Our community is phenomenal and we are so grateful for their loyalty and enthusiasm, which is an ongoing inspiration to our team to keep co-creating this remarkable game with them. We can’t wait to expand more into the mainstream gaming industry and show the world what Web 3.0 is all about.” Data Shows Splinterlands Is the Fourth-Largest Gamefi Game in Terms of Monthly Subscribers News of 10 million packs sold further follows Splinterlands partnering with the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA) and Warner Music Group (WMG). “I don’t think we can underestimate how massive the opportunity around P2E gaming is,” Oana Ruxandra, the chief digital officer at WMG said at the end of February. “Our partnership with Splinterlands pulls focus to our artists and their music as we all work together to develop and maintain tokenized games.” Additionally, at the end of September, amid the crypto winter as NFT sales have dive-bombed, the Splinterlands card series called Riftwatchers sold out in less than two minutes. Gamefi (the intersection of gaming and finance) has been a popular trend in 2022 as games like Axie Infinity have seen billions of dollars in sales. For instance, the Axie Marketplace has sold $4.25 billion since its inception across 2,163,241 traders. A recent study shows that Gameta is the latest gamefi project with the highest number of monthly subscribers. While Gameta holds the number one position, Axie Infinity is the fifth largest and Splinterlands is the fourth largest in terms of monthly subscribers. What do you think about the gamefi project Splinterlands selling 10 million packs of the game’s Chaos Legion series? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

South Korean authorities have reportedly frozen $40 million in crypto assets, including bitcoin, allegedly belonging to Luna founder Do Kwon. However, Kwon denied that any funds of his have been frozen. “I don’t even use Kucoin and Okex, have no time to trade, no funds have been frozen,” he insisted. Prosecutors Say They’ve Frozen Do Kwon’s Crypto, Including Bitcoin South Korean prosecutors have reportedly frozen nearly $40 million in crypto assets allegedly belonging to Terraform Labs co-founder Kwon Do-hyeong (also known as Do Kwon). Citing Korean publication News1, journalist Colin Wu tweeted Wednesday: South Korean prosecutors have frozen $39.66 million of crypto assets, including BTC, owned by Do Kwon through two exchanges. Do Kwon and LFG previously denied trying to transfer their 3,313 BTC after being issued an arrest warrant. The coins were frozen at cryptocurrency exchanges Kucoin and Okx, the publication noted, adding that the two trading platforms have agreed to freeze Kwon’s crypto at the request of the prosecution. South Korean prosecutors revealed last month that they were seeking to freeze 3,313 bitcoins tied to Kwon that were transferred to Kucoin and Okx from a wallet allegedly linked to Luna Foundation Guard (LFG). However, the organization denied the allegation, insisting that it “hasn’t created any new wallets or moved BTC or other tokens held by LFG since May 2022.” Following the news of the prosecutors freezing $39.66 million in crypto belonging to him, Kwon took to Twitter to deny that the frozen funds are his. “I don’t get the motivation behind spreading this falsehood – muscle flexing? But to what end?” the Luna founder tweeted Tuesday, adding: Once again, I don’t even use Kucoin and Okex, have no time to trade, no funds have been frozen. I don’t know whose funds they’ve frozen, but good for them, hope they use it for good. A South Korean court issued an arrest warrant for Kwon on Sept. 14. He is accused of fraud after the collapse of the cryptocurrency luna (now called luna classic (LUNC)) and stablecoin terrausd (UST). Moreover, Interpol has issued a Red Notice for him. “A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action,” Interpol’s website details, adding that “Red Notices are issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence.” The Luna founder’s whereabouts are currently unknown. He was believed to be in Singapore but the Singapore police force recently said that he is currently not in the city-state. Kwon has maintained that he is not “on the run,” tweeting recently that he is “making zero effort to hide.” Do you think South Korean prosecutors have frozen Do Kwon’s crypto? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has hinted that “X, the everything app,” is coming. He explained that his purchase of the social media platform Twitter is an accelerant to the creation of X, which could knock three to five years off the project. Elon Musk’s X — The Everything App Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted about the creation of “X, the everything app.” Responding to a tweet about why he is buying Twitter, Musk wrote Wednesday: Twitter is an accelerant to fulfilling the original X.com vision. He similarly tweeted Tuesday that buying Twitter is “an accelerant to creating X.” In a follow-up tweet, he said that Twitter could accelerate X by three to five years. This was not the first time Musk mentioned X. In August, when asked whether he had thought about creating his own social medial platform if the Twitter deal does not come through, the Tesla boss replied: “X.com.” Some people pointed out on Twitter that the Tesla CEO is obsessed with the letter X. Firstly, X.com was an online bank that Musk co-founded. It merged with competitor Confinity Inc. in 2000 and changed its name to Paypal. Musk repurchased the domain name X.com from Paypal in 2015. The Tesla CEO has also set up a few entities with “X Holdings” in their names, including “X Holdings I” and “X Holdings II” that he used in his bid to buy Twitter. While Musk has not disclosed any details of X, he shared his vision of what he wants Twitter to become with Twitter employees in June. The Spacex chief drew a comparison to Wechat, the Chinese app that mixes social media with payments, games, and even ride-hailing. Musk said: There’s no Wechat equivalent outside of China … You basically live on Wechat in China. If we can recreate that with Twitter, we’ll be a great success. He also complimented Tiktok’s algorithm for not being boring, suggesting that Twitter could be honed “in the same way to be interesting.” He further noted: “I think Twitter can be much better about informing people of serious issues.” After months of trying to back out of the deal to buy Twitter over the number of fake accounts and spam bots, Musk has decided to follow through with the original offer of $44 billion. His legal team told Twitter Monday that the billionaire intends to close the deal to buy Twitter subject to certain conditions. Twitter subsequently issued a statement: We received the letter from the Musk parties which they have filed with the SEC. The intention of the company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share. What do you think about Elon Musk creating X, the everything app? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Solidus Ai Tech has recently announced a new strategical partnership with Galaxy Arena, currently the only VR Earn game aggregator metaverse hub. Galaxy Arena are really making some noise in the Play2Earn and Meta space by bridging the gap between virtual and reality by ‘bringing events, attractions and businesses into the metaverse.’ Galaxy Arena and its partners will benefit from using Solidus Ai Tech’s immense computing power, while Solidus Ai Tech will have a robust gateway for the players of its play to earn game from the metaverse. Galaxy Arena boasts three impressive, distinct sectors: the ‘Entertainment Venue’ 30,000 square meters of explorable digital space divided in to six action packed floors. Every floor will have its own unique amenities, attractions, functionalities, and experiences. The arena will boast a virtual reality space for celebrity real world concerts, fighting events and various types of performances. The ‘Galaxy Gym’ is the world’s first state of art meta facility that provides an array of interactive virtual reality health benefits and fitness movement mini games. The gym provides a fully immersive fitness studio connecting celebrities, world renowned athletes and trainers to users while offering courses and classes in VR. And the ‘Galaxy Tower’, standing alongside the arena and the gym the tower is a marvel on its own. The top floor will feature a Sky Lounge Social club and a Celestial Casino. The rest of the tower will include a collection of 20,000 NFT units divided into luxury space, offices, and digital real estate. The platform is truly remarkable where participants can ‘play, move, learn, dance, sing and participate to earn all under one roof’, making Galaxy Arena the exclusive ‘X to earn’ hub. Speaking about the new partnership, Solidus Ai Tech founder Paul Farhi said: ‘We are and have been actively looking for Web 3.0 companies operating in gaming or the metaverse, and Galaxy Arena ticks a number of boxes for us. Galaxy Arena is a highly professional company with an impressive product. It’s also the case that they have more than 150 partners who they provide gateways to their games and metaverses. We also have access to these companies who will also benefit from our unmatched computing power. And users of the Galaxy Arena ecosystem will be able to play our own play to earn game. So it’s very much a mutually beneficial partnership.’ Speaking to the still untapped potential of the metaverse, Farhi said: ‘In its simplest terms, the metaverse is simply a 3D version of the internet – a form of digital interaction where connected virtual experiences can simulate our world or re-imagine worlds. Fundamentally, I see the metaverse as a powerful force for good in the sense that it is a tool that can connect us as human beings through stories and experiences, but it can also connect us with our planet. The metaverse and the technologies that are taking us towards it can make an overwhelmingly powerful and positive impact in the world providing we put what’s good for the world and the people in it at the heart of its design.’ Since its inception, Solidus Ai Tech has enjoyed an extraordinary string of accolades and successes, including lucrative partnerships with industry leaders. Recent successes include winning Top Initial Coin Offering (AI) at the 2022 World Blockchain Summit in Singapore for its AITECH token – the world’s first deflationary artificial intelligence utility token – and a number of lucrative, high-profile partnerships such as its recent announcement of a partnership with Blockchain industry leader Herbert Sim aka BitcoinMan who is one of the less than 100 verified ‘blue tick’ public figures across all major social media platforms in Blockchain industry, in the world. He not only invested an undisclosed amount into the company but is also an adviser to the company. Solidus Ai Tech has also been accepted to list on multiple cryptocurrency exchanges, including BitMart, MEXC Global, LBank, XT.com, and Coinstore. About Founded in December 2017, Solidus Technologies started as a cryptocurrency mining firm with a particular focus on mining Ethereum (ETH) via GPU-based mining rigs. In the wake of the 2020 financial crash and the significant boost in demand for AI services, the company shifted its core focus to Artificial Intelligence and incorporated Solidus AI Tech to become the AI arm of the business. Solidus’ Artificial Intelligence and HPC infrastructure will enable Government Authorities, Corporations, SME’s, Professionals, Play2Earn and Metaverse projects to licence AI services and rent HPC power. Solidus AI Tech is launching its eco-friendly AITECH token to operate seamlessly with their AI infrastructure. AITECH can be bought, staked or held. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Hundreds of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) collected by Starry Night Capital have been transferred to a new wallet. The NFT fund of the insolvent crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) bought the tokens in 2021. 3AC filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, after taking a hit from the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and the ensuing crypto winter. Now its liquidator, Teneo, says the tokens are being transferred into its hands. Starry Night Capital Fund’s Collection of NFTs Being Moved to Gnosis Safe Address NFTs from a premium collection belonging to Starry Night Capital, featuring Cryptopunks among other valuable collectibles, are moving to a new wallet, the crypto analytics firm Nansen revealed on Twitter. More than 300 tokens of a total exceeding 400 NFTs have been transferred to a Gnosis Safe account, a multi-signature Ethereum wallet. The Starry Night Capital NFT fund was established last year by crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and an NFT collector going by the pseudonym Vincent Van Dough. Their initial intention was to raise some $100 million in order to acquire tokens from popular NFT collections and prominent artists. NFTs previously collected by Starry Night Capital are moving to a Gnosis Safe address. These NFTs include: – Pepe the Frog NFT Genesis, sold for 1,000 ETH (~$3.5M) on Oct 5, 2021 – Fidenza #718, sold for 240 ETH (~$1.1M) on Nov 13, 2021 Some other notable NFTs below👇 pic.twitter.com/8PU13CqMnn — Nansen 🧭 (@nansen_ai) October 4, 2022 In a statement quoted by Bloomberg and crypto media, Teneo, 3AC’s liquidator, said that thanks to Vincent Van Dough’s cooperation, “all Starry Night Capital NFTs, of which VVD is aware, have been accounted for and are in our possession or are being transferred to us.” The firm indicated it wants to sell them, stating it will likely be working with Vincent Van Dough to oversee their disposal. The NFTs being transferred now include Pepe the Frog NFT Genesis, sold for 1,000 ETH (approx. $3.5 million) on Oct. 5, 2021 and Fidenza #718, sold for 240 ETH (around $1.1 million) on Nov. 13, 2021, several Cryptoart NFTs by the artist XCOPY, sold for between $1.4 and $2.3 million in December, and AI generated Nude Portrait #7 Frame #184 by Robbie Barrat, sold for $1.1 million in ether. Among them are also a few Cryptoadz — Cryptoadz #5634 (135 ETH) and Cryptoadz #54 (25 ETH) sold in October — Meridian #684 and Meridian #171 (priced at 90 and 80 ETH respectively), and multiple Pudgy Penguins, including Pudgy Penguin #6869, which was sold for 16.9 ETH on Jan. 8, 2022, Nansen detailed in its tweets on Tuesday. According to the company, their current estimated portfolio value is 625 ETH (less than $840,000 at the time of writing, a much lower valuation than their sale value), based on the 24-hour median price or seven-day price rate where no sales were made in the last 24 hours. The analytics firm pointed out that 89% of the NFTs have low liquidity, with less than 35 sales in the last seven days. Three Arrows Capital found itself in trouble after the collapse of Terra UST and LUNA. The fund had invested millions of dollars into the Terra ecosystem and its founders, Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, blamed the exposure for the crisis. “What we failed to realize was that Luna was capable of falling to effective zero in a matter of days and that this would catalyze a credit squeeze across the industry that would put significant pressure on all of our illiquid positions,” Zhu said in interview with Bloomberg in July, while also admitting the team may have been too fond of Terra’s co-founder Do Kwon. 3AC filed for bankruptcy in June. It was facing liquidation from a court order issued in the British Virgin Islands and an investigation by financial and judicial authorities in Singapore. Teneo was appointed by a British Virgin Islands court to liquidate Three Arrows Capital and the Singapore High Court granted its petition to have greater insight into 3AC’s assets. Do you expect the NFTs from Starry Night Capital’s collection to be sold in the near future? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to statistics on October 5, the total computational power backing the Bitcoin network tapped a fresh all-time high reaching 321.15 exahash per second (EH/s). Just after the record high, the network’s total hashrate was coasting along above the 300 EH/s on Wednesday afternoon (ET) at around 303.87 (EH/s). Bitcoin’s Hashrate Reaches a Lifetime High in Terms of Hashes per Second On Wednesday, at block height 757,214, statistics from coinwarz.com shows Bitcoin’s total hashrate reached an all-time high (ATH). BTC’s network hashpower data indicates that the last hashrate ATH was recorded on September 11, 2022, at block height 753,647, when it reached approximately 301.87 EH/s. Before the jump over 300 exahash, the network’s hashrate reached a prior ATH on June 8, 2022, at block height 739,928 reaching 292.02 EH/s. The most recent total computational power ATHs are taking place amid the crypto winter, as BTC prices are 70% below the crypto asset’s lifetime price high on November 10, 2021 ($69K). Furthermore, the hashrate increase has taken place at a time when BTC’s mining difficulty also tapped an all-time high in recent times. At block height 753,984, the difficulty increased from 30.97 trillion hashes to 32.05 trillion hashes. While it is lower today at 31.36 trillion hashes, it’s expected to see a 7.10% increase during the next adjustment. If that adjustment estimate comes to fruition, the difficulty could reach 33.59 trillion hashes on October 10, 2022. The 321.15 exahash per second all-time high is equal to 0.32115 zetahash per second (ZH/s). While an exahash is a quintillion, a single zetahash is an unfathomable 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (one sextillion) hashes per second. By 2:20 p.m. (ET), the total hashrate dropped below 300 exahash and it’s currently coasting along at 287.98 EH/s. What do you think about Bitcoin’s hashrate hitting an all-time high at 321 exahash per second? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The non-fungible token (NFT) and blockchain firm Yuga Labs has announced a community council will be representatives of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT collections. Yuga Labs has chosen seven community members with “a proven track record” to represent the NFT club at large. **Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 3:50 p.m. (ET) on October 5, 2022, as it included an erroneous number concerning the community grants from Yuga Labs. Yuga Labs Names Seven Community Council Members On Wednesday, Yuga Labs announced that the team has created a community council of seven Apes in order to represent the entire BAYC and MAYC ecosystem. According to the announcement, the community council will be able to nominate three community projects every month, and BAYC and MAYC communities will then vote on which project will get a grant from Yuga Labs. The seven new community council members include Josh Ong, Sera, Laura Rod, 0xEthan, 0xWave, Negi, and Peter Fang. “The council will work with Yuga and the BAYC/MAYC community to uplift community-driven initiatives such as commercial projects, meet-ups, charitable giving, and other community-led ideas,” Yuga Labs’ announcement details. Yuga Labs says the council members were chosen for their prior track records toward community-led initiatives and building. The news follows Yuga Labs officially releasing intellectual property (IP) rights to Cryptopunks and Meebits owners. The company had already released BAYC/MAYC IP rights to the owners of those specific NFT collections. Furthermore, Yuga Labs recently published the Otherside metaverse whitepaper and released a new teaser video about the upcoming project. Regarding the two project’s autonomy, Yuga Labs said that the newly launched community council will keep the independence strong. “The BAYC/MAYC community is an autonomous bunch, and this council represents that — they’ll be bringing their various skill sets with ideas to the table, and we’ll work with them to make the best ideas reality,” the blog post published by Yuga Labs concludes. What do you think about Yuga Labs launching a community council for BAYC/MAYC? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges against the socialite Kim Kardashian for unlawfully touting the crypto asset ethereummax, the digital currency jumped 124% in value. However, the ethereummax pump was followed by a massive dump as the cryptocurrency slid 47% lower than the high it reached on October 3. EMAX Token Markets Wake Up From Lifeless Slumber After Kardashian’s SEC Charges Go Public After being rather lifeless for quite some time, the crypto asset ethereummax (EMAX) saw a brief spike on Monday after the SEC charges against Kim Kardashian were released to the general public. While Kardashian was forced to pay $1.26 million in penalties, the crypto asset she promoted in June 2021 skyrocketed 124% higher against the U.S. dollar. While the ethereummax (EMAX) pump lasted until the early morning hours on Tuesday, October 4, EMAX prices started to nosedive at 7:10 a.m. (ET) that day. From the coin’s high of $0.000000009788 it dropped more than 47% during the day on October 4. While EMAX is a touch higher than it was prior to the pump, most of the rise was erased on Tuesday. Although, it is still 18.7% higher in USD value since Monday’s low before the pump. EMAX trade volume is very low, as trades during the last 24 hours equate to $97,847, and a significant share of EMAX is traded on Uniswap V2. A large share of EMAX trades are swapped with wrapped ethereum (WETH) and EMAX also has volume on Hotbit and Bitforex. There are two quadrillion coins as far as the total supply is concerned, but the number of EMAX tokens in circulation is unknown. EMAX is trading today for prices that are 99.1% less than the token’s all-time high recorded on May 31, 2021. At the time, EMAX climbed to $0.000000597636 per unit. Ever since that day last year, EMAX’s value has been super low all the way up until Kardashian’s charges were announced by SEC Chair Gary Gensler. In addition to Kardashian, the professional boxer Floyd Mayweather and former Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce promoted EMAX as well. Mayweather participated in the EMAX touting even though he and DJ Khaled were fined by the SEC in 2018 for unlawful initial coin offering (ICO) promotions. At the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, the crowd booed Mayweather when he appeared on stage wearing an EMAX t-shirt. NBA Hall-of-Fame legend Pierce showed his affection for EMAX after he was let go by ESPN for sharing a live video of himself dancing with exotic dancers. After being fired by ESPN in April, a month later, Pierce tweeted: [ESPN] I don’t need you. I got [Ethereummax]. I made more money with this crypto in the past month then I did with y’all in a year. TRUTH shall set u Free — My own boss. Ethereummax.org check it out for yourself. Besides the SEC charges against Kardashian, the three celebrities were accused of helping EMAX pump and dump in a class-action lawsuit against the famous trio. The class-action explained that Mayweather, Pierce, and Kardashian allegedly “misled consumers who invested in ethereummax (EMAX) cryptocurrency” tokens amid a roughly month-long “pump and dump” scheme. EMAX executives Giovanni Perone, Steve Gentile, and EMAX developer Justin French were also named in the class action lawsuit. The 25-page lawsuit said that the celebrities leveraged their large social media followings to “instill trust” with investors. At the time of writing, 110,049 unique addresses hold EMAX and the coin has been transferred 480,893 times since the network launched. What do you think about the brief EMAX pump and dump after the SEC charges against Kardashian went public? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Dogecoin was trading near its highest point since late September on Wednesday, as prices rose for a second straight day. The rally comes as the meme coin continues to trade above a key resistance level, following a breakout on Tuesday. Xrp was also in the green today, trading close to a one-week high. Dogecoin (DOGE) Dogecoin (DOGE) was one of today’s notable movers, as the meme coin hit its highest level in over a week. Following a low of $0.0606 on Tuesday, DOGE/USD rallied to an intraday high of $0.06646 earlier today. The move saw the token continue to trade above a resistance level of $0.0640, hitting its strongest point since September 24. Looking at the chart, it can be seen that prices have declined, which came as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) hit a resistance point of 60.00. This collision has since prompted traders to exit previous positions, securing earlier profits in the process. The memecoin continues to trade above its $0.0640 level, with the 10-day (red) moving average also trending upwards, which could be a sign of further gains to come. XRP Another relatively big mover on hump day was XRP, which also rose close to a one-week high in today’s session. XRP/USD hit a high of $0.4938 earlier, which came as prices of the token rose for a third consecutive day. This rise in price saw XRP hit its highest point since September 30, and it moved closer to a key resistance level in the process. Looking at the chart, the token edged closer to this $0.510 mark, which hasn’t been hit since September 25. As of writing, earlier gains have somewhat faded, which comes as the RSI looks set to hit a ceiling of 62.00. Should the index move past this point, then there is a strong possibility that XRP will continue to climb higher. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: How high do you believe XRP can climb this month? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

A recently published forecast stemming from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s Inflation Nowcasting data indicates upcoming U.S. consumer price index (CPI) metrics will likely be elevated. The newly predicted CPI levels were recorded the same day America’s gross national debt surpassed $31 trillion on October 4, as the country’s growing debt continues to rise rapidly. Fed’s Nowcasting Report Shows Inflation May Not Have Peaked, Data Predicts September and October Core CPI to Jump 0.5% The U.S. central bank may not be too keen on slowing down rate hikes if inflation continues to run rampant despite the flak the Federal Reserve has received for aggressively raising the benchmark lending rate. Data from the most recent Inflation Nowcasting report indicates that the CPI readings for September and October will be higher than expected. Nowcasting in economics is like the weatherman’s forecasting the weather as the economic indicator utilizes three points in time (present, very near future, very near past) to predict future outcomes. The Cleveland-based U.S. Federal Reserve System’s Fourth District branch uses nowcasting to predict the inflation rate increases in the future, and the most recent update is not pleasant. The report estimates a 0.3% month-on-month increase for September and an increase of 0.7% in October. The Cleveland Fed’s Inflation Nowcasting report also shows core CPI will increase by 0.5% for both months. Of course, the Inflation Nowcasting report is merely a prediction and like the local weatherman, nowcasting can be right most of the time and the indicator can also be wrong some of the time. Americans won’t hear about September’s CPI report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics until October 13. While the Fed’s target is 2%, the report for August’s inflation rate had shown the CPI was still running hot at 8.3%. Alternative inflation rate statistics published on September 13 by shadowstats.com indicate CPI is above 10%. The Truflation dashboard shows CPI data for October 3, 2022, year-over-year, is 8.67%. While shadowstats.com data shows all-time highs, the Truflation stats show inflation may have peaked at 11.93% on March 11, 2022. U.S. bureaucrats and the country’s central bankers have blamed the nation’s skyrocketing inflation on things like the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain shocks, and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war. A number of economists blame the U.S. government’s and the Fed’s stimulus and spending following the onset of the pandemic. While the Federal Reserve increased the monetary supply during the last few years like no other time in history, the U.S. government has dedicated trillions of dollars toward infrastructure packages and foreign aid. Moreover, on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, U.S. gross national debt surpassed $31 trillion. The New York Times (NYT) reported that the National Debt topping the threshold was disclosed in a U.S. Treasury Department report. The NYT report quotes Michael A. Peterson, the chief executive officer of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, when he said that higher interest rates could increase government spending. According to the Peterson Foundation’s estimates, higher rates could lead to an extra trillion on top of what the U.S. government will spend on interest payments in ten years. “So many of the concerns we’ve had about our growing debt path are starting to show themselves as we both grow our debt and grow our rates of interest,” Peterson said. “Too many people were complacent about our debt path in part because rates were so low.” What do you think about the Cleveland Fed’s Inflation Nowcasting report and the national debt skyrocketing past $31 trillion on October 4? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin was back above $20,000 on Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar fell to its lowest point in two weeks versus several G7 currencies. The stronger dollar has impacted purchasing power in cryptocurrencies, and commodities like crude oil, which last week fell to a nine-month low. Ethereum was also up, hitting a five-day high. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) briefly rose above $20,000 on Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar continued to decline versus other major currencies. This has resulted in the world’s largest cryptocurrency climbing to a peak of $20,071.20 earlier in today’s session. Today’s high is the strongest point that BTC/USD has traded at since September 30, and is marginally below a ceiling of $20,200. As can be seen from the chart, earlier bulls retreated from the market as BTC neared the aforementioned resistance point. Overall, the rally began following a breakout of another point of uncertainty, this being the ceiling of 49.00 on the relative strength index (RSI). The index is now tracking at 52.22, which is slightly below a resistance of 53.00, and this seems to be another reason why BTC has slipped from its earlier high. Ethereum Like BTC, ethereum (ETH) also rose to a five-day high in today’s session, moving above a key resistance level in the process. Following a low of $1,294.41 to start the week, ETH/USD raced to an intraday high of $1,355.89 earlier in the day. The move saw ethereum break out of its ceiling of $1,330, with the 14-day RSI also moving beyond a point of resistance. Looking at the chart, the indicator rose above its ceiling of 41.50, and as of writing, is tracking at 44.82. This is the strongest reading for the index since September 15, when ETH was trading at a high of $1,470. In order to move back towards those levels, the RSI will need to break out of an upcoming ceiling of 45.00. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Could we see ethereum hit $1,400 before the end of the day? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article