roadrunner

ETH moved into the $1,200 region to start the weekend, as prices rose for a third consecutive session. Bullish sentiment has been missing from crypto markets in recent months, however the timely return also saw BTC near its highest point this week. Bitcoin Bitcoin entered the weekend trading in the green, as bulls extended their recent run for a third consecutive session. Following a low of $20,794.19 during Friday’s session, BTC/USD rose to an intraday peak of $21,520.91 on Saturday. Today’s move was the highest point prices have reached since Tuesday, when bitcoin was trading at $21,732. This looks to be the next target for bulls, who will need to overcome this hurdle in order to reach their next destination at $22,000. Looking at the chart, there is another hurdle they must first overcome, and that is the 36.45 ceiling on the RSI. Should we see this point broken, then we might see bullish momentum also increase, leading prices to their respective targets. Ethereum Following some turbulence in the middle of the week, ETH started the weekend trading higher, as bullish sentiment returned. Prices of the world’s second largest crypto token hit a high of $1,238.62 on Saturday, following a low of $1,146.52 yesterday. As discussed yesterday, once the resistance of $1,190 was breached, bulls re-entered with significant pressure. As of writing, ETH is at its highest point in nine days, and is up nearly 10% in the last seven days of trading. Similar to BTC, ethereum has also just encountered a resistance point via the 14-day RSI, and until this is broken, we may see a slight drop in upwards momentum. Could we see ETH move to $1,300 this weekend? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Authorities in Albania are finalizing regulations that will allow the taxation of income and profits from cryptocurrency investments. The government intends to begin imposing the levy in 2023, after adopting the necessary legislation which has been proposed for public consultations. Albania Set to Impose Crypto Tax as Early as Next Year The Albanian state should begin collecting taxes on income from crypto assets as of 2023 in accordance with a new income tax bill, the local English-language portal Exit News reported on Friday. The government also hopes to pass a number of other laws and bylaws this year in order to comprehensively regulate the matter. The special tax legislation is currently open for public consultations. It introduces the concept of taxing crypto holdings and income derived from virtual assets. The latter have been defined as “a digital representation of a value that can be deposited, traded or transferred in digital form, and that can be used for payment or investment purposes or as a medium of exchange, including but not limited to cryptocurrencies.” However, the definition does not cover central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), the report notes. That’s despite a growing number of monetary authorities around the world developing a digital version of their national fiats. The list includes major powers such as the United States, the European Union, China, and the Russian Federation. The Albanian law also defines cryptocurrency mining as an activity using computing power to confirm transactions and gain virtual assets in exchange. The extraction of cryptocurrencies has been a grey area although law enforcement has been going after illegal mining facilities in the country and pressed charges against some of their operators. Under the new legislation, any income from crypto transactions or mining will be classified as corporate income when it’s received as a result of business activity. And when the beneficiaries are private individuals, they will have to pay capital gains tax of 15%. Financial Watchdog Tasked to Expand Crypto Regulatory Framework Earlier this month, the Albanian parliament ordered the Financial Supervisory Authority (AFSA) to prepare and adopt new regulations regarding cryptocurrencies by the end of 2022. Albanian law allows crypto trading platforms to legally work in the country but no licensed entities are currently operating in Albania, Exit News remarked. Two years ago, Albania also adopted a law titled “Financial markets based on distributed ledger technology.” While many have welcomed the legislation, critics have questioned whether the small nation in South East Europe, still an EU hopeful, is capable of properly regulating its crypto sector to prevent it from being used for money laundering, something it’s struggling to achieve in the fiat space. The legislature referenced a recent report by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (Moneyval), which recommended additional steps regarding the risks associated with cryptocurrency. In November 2021, the AFSA approved its first two regulations implementing the crypto markets law, which introduced capital and licensing requirements for entities working with digital assets. Do you expect Albania to adopt comprehensive regulations for its crypto space by the end of the year? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Brave Group Inc., a Japanese virtual IP firm, recently said it had raised $10 million in new capital and that the company expects to use part of these funds to boost its “solution services for clients in the metaverse marketing business.” Taking part in Brave Group’s latest funding round were two local companies, foreign investment funds, as well as individual investors. Metaverse Market Growth A Japan-based virtual IP business, Brave Group Inc., recently said it had raised $10 million in new funding, thus bringing the total raised so far to $18 million. The company is set to use the new capital to strengthen its existing business operations and to “expand its solution services for clients in the metaverse marketing business.” In a recent statement, Brave Group revealed that Japanese companies like Dawn Capital and Osaka Gas Co. Ltd. had participated in the round that also featured “foreign investment funds and individual investors.” In remarks following the announcement of the capital raise, Kazuhiro Ishikura, a general partner at Dawn Capital, said: As the boundary between real and virtual life disappears, the form of entertainment will also change, and new IP content KOLs are expected to be born. As the metaverse market grows globally, we believe that the Brave group’s content will be at the center of the enthusiastic virtual communities that will emerge. We hope that the strength of the anime and manga culture that Japan has cultivated over the years will be brought to the world virtually. Yuichi Sakamoto, senior general manager with Osaka Gas’ innovation department, is quoted stating his company is ready to help Brave Group Inc. “realize lifestyles and businesses that respond to the New Normal.” For his part, the CEO of Brave Group Inc., Keito Noguchi, said through the $10 million fundraise, his company would now “maximize the impact of Brave group’s IP not only in Japan but also in the world.” What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

DeFi is a sub-sector in the crypto industry that has witnessed significant innovation since its inception. However, the narrative has struggled to stay consistent, affecting the domain overall. The current bear market has wiped out more than half of DeFi Total Value Locked (TVL), hampering innovations. Furthermore, several projects have simply forked (copied) existing protocols and brought zero ideas to the market. Amidst all of this, one project is making strides with the best innovations DeFiers have seen in a long time. Saddle Finance is the protocol that enables efficient DeFi trading for stablecoins and pegged-value crypto assets like wETH and wBTC. It redefines DeFi trading by offering cheap, efficient, swift, and low-slippage swaps for traders and high-yield pools for Liquidity Providers. The protocol has facilitated over $2B in transaction volume to date. Enabling an Efficient and Secure DeFi Trading Experience Saddle Finance is an AMM-based decentralized exchange (DEX) running on multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Fantom, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Evmos. It is designed specifically for trading stablecoins and pegged crypto assets. The platform is ideal for HODLers and newbies because of its easy-to-use interface. Its strongest point, however, is that it ensures minimum slippage while swapping assets. This is accomplished through innovative liquidity pools that use the StableSwap mathematical formula to maintain market liquidity. The protocol is also known for its top-notch security. It has been audited by some of the best auditing firms in the sector, including Certik, Quantstamp, and OpenZeppelin. Moreover, the platform is backed by several renowned venture capital firms like Polychain Capital, Electric Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Framework, Coinbase Ventures, Nascent, and BoostVC. The project’s most intriguing aspect is its open collaboration. Saddle’s code is completely open-source, inviting Web3 developers to join the mission and build on top of the protocol. Moreover, its recent SEMPI project has enabled developers to get compensated for developing and forking the protocol. $SDL: The Utility Rich Token Powering Saddle Ecosystem $SDL is the native utility token of Saddle Finance. Its use cases revolve around staking, yield farming, and governance. The platform recently announced the completion of $SDL’s first vesting stage. Thus, users who provided funds to its liquidity pools can now trade and transact $SDL tokens. They can also stake $SDL on saddle.exchange to earn rewards and receive the $veSDL tokens. $veSDL is the vote escrowed (ve) token that will serve as the platform’s governance token. Stakers will be able to vote with $veSDL and manage the $SDL supply in associated liquidity pools. Beyond that, users can provide liquidity to the SDL/WETH pair on SushiSwap In the future, Saddle also plans to create more initiatives to take the protocol to the next level. These include migrating to on-chain governance, adding liquidity to $SDL through Tokemak, and introducing a new gauge to unlock extra staking yield boosts. The protocol will also issue bonds through Olympus Pro to generate more protocol-owned value. Similarly, launching a borrowing function against liquidity providers and adding leveraged yield farming through Rari Capital’s Fuse is also part of the plan. Lastly, Saddle intends to improve its virtual swaps and launch new services where users can deploy their own customizable pools. Building the Future of DeFi Although the current bear market has hit DeFi hard, the sector’s long-term potential is enormous. Innovations are critical in keeping this space alive. Saddle Finance is thus heavily focused on creating innovative solutions in DeFi. Its stableswap model, along with robust tokenomics, is an excellent example of genuinely innovative solutions. The $SDL token and its utilities across various protocols clearly indicate token-level innovation. It is now tradable on the platform. Join the emerging revolution by staking $SDL on saddle.exchange—contribute to DeFi’s future while earning passive income. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says the central bank is “not really seeing significant macroeconomic implications” from crypto’s volatility. The Fed chair stressed that there is a need for a better crypto regulatory framework. Fed Chair Powell Says Crypto Needs Better Regulation Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on “the semiannual monetary policy report to congress” Wednesday. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) asked him whether the Fed has been tracking crypto activities given the recent market volatility, and what implications crypto has on the broader economic outlook and monetary policy. “We are tracking those events very carefully, of course,” Powell replied, elaborating: [We are] not really seeing significant macroeconomic implications, so far. “The principal implication is really what we’ve been saying, and others have been saying for some time, which is that in this very innovative new space, really, there is a need for a better regulatory framework,” he emphasized. Powell continued: The same activity should have the same regulation no matter where it appears and that isn’t the case right now. In March, the Fed chair said: “Our existing regulatory frameworks were not built with a digital world in mind … Stablecoins, central bank digital currencies, and digital finance more generally, will require changes to existing laws and regulation or even entirely new rules and frameworks.” Powell also told the Senate banking committee on Wednesday that the central bank is determined to bring down inflation which he believes the Fed can make happen. “At the Fed, we understand the hardship high inflation is causing. We are strongly committed to bringing inflation back down, and we are moving expeditiously to do so,” he said. Regarding the U.S. economy possibly sliding into a recession, he stressed: “It’s not our intended outcome at all, but it’s certainly a possibility, and frankly the events of the last few months around the world have made it more difficult for us to achieve what we want, which is 2% inflation and still a strong labor market.” What do you think about Fed Chair Powell’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has taken action against two cryptocurrency trading platforms. Kucoin is permanently banned from participating in Ontario’s capital markets. Bybit has promised to take steps to comply with regulations and register with the OSC. OSC Sanctions 2 Crypto Trading Platforms The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced Wednesday the outcome of enforcement actions against two foreign cryptocurrency trading platforms operating in its jurisdiction. The first is Bybit, a crypto trading platform operated by Bybit Fintech Ltd., incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. The other is Kucoin, operated by Mek Global Ltd., incorporated in the Republic of Seychelles, and Phoenixfin Pte. Ltd., incorporated in Singapore. “Bybit and Kucoin both operate unregistered crypto asset trading platforms and allowed Ontario investors to trade securities without a prospectus or any exemption from the prospectus requirements,” the Canadian regulator explained. Regarding Kucoin, the announcement states: The OSC successfully obtained orders permanently banning Kucoin from participating in Ontario’s capital markets and requiring Kucoin to pay an administrative penalty of CAD $2,000,000. Kucoin must also pay a further CAD $96,550.35 ($74,497) towards the costs of the OSC’s investigation. As for Bybit, the regulator settled with the exchange. The OSC explained that, unlike Kucoin, Bybit responded to its enforcement action, maintained an open dialogue, provided requested information, and committed to engaging in registration discussions. The Canadian securities watchdog described: As part of a settlement agreement, Bybit has disgorged USD $2,468,910 and paid a further CAD $10,000 towards the cost of the OSC’s investigation. “Bybit has also given an undertaking to the OSC, which holds the firm accountable for taking steps to bring its operations into compliance,” the regulator added. The exchange will also require existing Ontario retail investors to wind down their positions in certain restricted products. In March last year, the OSC told crypto trading platforms that offer derivatives or securities trading in Ontario to start registration discussions with it by April 19, 2021, or face enforcement action. The Canadian regulator noted: Despite this warning, Bybit and Kucoin did not contact the OSC by the deadline and continued operations in Ontario. What do you think about the OSC taking action against Bybit and Kucoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. “Play & Earn” is no longer a strange term for most GameFi believers. Recently, Remitano Network, Remitano’s blockchain network, has launched a novel airdrop in the format of “Play to Earn”, allowing users to own the network’s RENEC token in the form of “group mining”. Starting from the free daily RENEC solo mining at Remitano.com, users can now mine together in groups to receive a larger amount of RENEC token airdrop as a reward. Each mining pool is called a mining room, and after 24 hours, the team members will split a larger amount of RENEC than the solo mining effort. This is a fairly new form of airdrop in the market, making the traditional airdrop less boring. Participation is quite simple. You just need to sign up for a free Remitano account and start mining solo or in groups. Try RENEC mining for free here! Refer to the official RENEC Whitepaper. The RENEC mining program is limited to a maximum of the end of Q3 of 2022, so the sooner you join the better your chances of owning more of the exchange’s tokens. Remitano Network Launches Testnet At the beginning of April 2022, the Remitano Network Team successfully launched a test network (Testnet) that promises strong moves of Remitano, a 9-year-old crypto exchange, in the world of blockchain. The Testnet network launched with the appearance of the Testnet RENEC wallet which allows registered users to receive 100 testing RENEC into the wallet. You can also register to receive 100 RENEC to Testnet wallet here. The RENEC mainnet is expected to launch sometime between the end of Q2 and Q3 of 2022, which is also the time when the RENEC airdrop program ends. The potential of Remitano Network In addition to taking advantage of owning RENEC Token from now on, perhaps what the community is most interested in is which applications will appear first on the network. Although the development team has not officially announced the first applications to run on the network, with recent observations based on Remitano’s activities, we can predict their next steps. Here’s what we’ve been able to observe in recent times: Firstly, a decentralized exchange will appear on the Remitano Network this year according to the development roadmap mentioned in the RENEC whitepaper. This is the basic step and premise of many blockchain networks today. Also in the whitepaper, Remitano talks about bringing P2P transactions between cryptocurrencies and fiat on the blockchain, along with a decentralized KYC service. Imagine, RENEC will become the first blockchain to support on ramp off ramp and users do not need to go through centralized exchanges. What does this mean for developers of decentralized applications (dApps)? Take, for example, popular play-to-earn games like AXEI, STEPN. New users have to go through multiple registrations on various exchanges to be able to convert between fiat and crypto, before they can start participating in the app. This creates a huge barrier for new users, making developers limited in terms of audience. With Remitano Network supporting decentralized KYC on the blockchain, P2P fiat crypto trading can take place right in decentralized applications. Allows users to cash in cash out easily right in the app without having to move around or need a lot of blockchain knowledge. For app developers, this means reaching out to the general population, easily reaching new users. It seems that NFT5, BombCrypto and ToCom will be the pioneer projects for this approach. However, what few people notice is that in 2022 it is Remitano that has entered into a strategic alliance with NFT5.io. Thus, it can be predicted that NFT will be one of the prominent applications on this blockchain network in the near future. At the same time by the end of 2021, Remitano also has a strategic cooperation with BombCrypto, an NFT game in the Play to Earn genre. And according to an unofficial source, a GameFi community in the form of Play to Earn will be invested and developed by Remitano to promote community interest in blockchain and crypto in general. A website shared recently by the GameFi community called https://tocom.io/ is said to be developed by Remitano. Linking the above facts, we can imagine the future picture of Remitano Network Blockchain. Do you think the growth potential of the network is extremely large? About Remitano Remitano is one of the largest peer-to-peer (p2p) cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world, currently serving users in more than 30 countries. The platform provides an escrowed p2p crypto marketplace allowing users to buy bitcoin and cryptocurrency easily and safely. Remitano is a market leader in the p2p platform space, featuring an intuitive and user-friendly interface, 24/7 customer support, and boasts some of the lowest fees in the industry. Got Questions? Reach out to Remitano via: E-mail: marketing@remitano.com Socials: Fanpage, Group, Instagram, Twitter This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

During a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Terraform Labs (TFL) founder Do Kwon said he was “devastated” by the LUNA and UST implosion that took place in mid-May. He told the WSJ that he was probably a billionaire when LUNA tapped an all-time high before the collapse, but lost a great portion of his net worth following the aftermath. Do Kwon Speaks About the Terra LUNA Collapse Do Kwon has recently discussed the LUNA and UST fallout during an interview with the WSJ contributors Alexander Osipovich and Jiyoung Sohn. The interview was published on June 22, and its the first interview Kwon has done since the Terra collapse. Kwon told the reporters that he lost most of his wealth after the crash but that doesn’t bother him that much. “This doesn’t bother me,” Kwon told the reporters. “I live a fairly frugal life,” the Terra co-founder said. Kwon, however, said he was sorry about the losses investors took from the fallout. “I’ve been devastated by recent events and hope that all the families who’ve been impacted are taking care of themselves and those that they love,” Kwon stated in the interview. He also discussed his confidence that many called cocky, and noted that it was because he was a big believer in the Terra ecosystem. Kwon said: I made confident bets and made confident statements on behalf of UST because I believed in its resilience and its value proposition.” Adding he said, “I’ve since lost these bets, but my actions 100% match my words. There is a difference between failing and running a fraud. Kwon Has ‘Great Confidence’ in the Terra’s ‘Ability to Build Back Even Stronger’ Furthermore, Kwon discussed the new Terra blockchain and LUNA 2.0 which is down 90% from the $18.87 per unit all-time high and now trades for $1.88. LUNA 2.0 has a market capitalization of around $238 million on June 23 and the token has lost 2.6% during the past 24 hours. Kwon believes the revival will be strong and thinks that LUNA 2.0 could someday surpass the LUNA classic (LUNC) chain. “I have great confidence in our ability to build back even stronger than we once were,” Kwon told The WSJ reporters. Kwon’s WSJ interview follows the reports that said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was investigating Terraform Labs and the UST collapse. Moreover, a whistleblower called Fatman has accused Kwon of having massive amounts of LUNA in personal wallets. Fatman has also accused Kwon of cashing out $2.7 billion in funds before the project collapsed but the Terra co-founder denies that he cashed out and he said the allegations were false. Kwon and Terraform Labs are also being sued in a class-action lawsuit that claims the co-founder and company misled investors. Additionally, official records indicate that Do Kwon dissolved Terraform Labs Korea before the LUNA and UST collapse. Three members of Terraform Labs’ in-house legal team left the company amid the controversy as well. What do you think about Do Kwon’s interview with the WSJ? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The e-commerce and online auction giant Ebay has announced the company has acquired the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Knownorigin. Ebay declared that the acquisition is an “important step in Ebay’s tech-led reimagination.” Ebay Purchases NFT Marketplace in Order to Make E-Commerce Site the World’s Top Destination for Collectibles Ebay revealed on Wednesday that the company has purchased the NFT marketplace Knownorigin. Last February, Ebay’s chief executive officer, Jamie Iannone, discussed NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and how the company continues to “evaluate other forms of payments.” Knownorigin is a UK-based company and according to dappradar.com stats, the marketplace has seen $7.8 million in all-time sales. The e-commerce and online auction corporation said on Wednesday that the acquisition is an “important step in Ebay’s tech-led reimagination, ushering in a new era of digital collecting to the world’s top destination for collectibles.” CEO Jamie Iannone also spoke about the acquisition and said that the NFT marketplace was a leader in the digital collectibles industry. Ebay, however, did not disclose the financials behind the deal and the company said the deal was ​​signed and closed on June 22, 2022. “Ebay is the first stop for people across the globe who are searching for that perfect, hard-to-find, or unique addition to their collection and, with this acquisition, we will remain a leading site as our community is increasingly adding digital collectibles,” Iannone explained in a statement. The Ebay CEO added: Knownorigin has built up an impressive, passionate, and loyal group of artists and collectors making them a perfect addition to our community of sellers and buyers. We look forward to welcoming these innovators as they join the Ebay community. Ebay’s Knownorigin acquisition comes during the crypto winter, and a time when many believe there will be quite a bit of mergers and acquisitions within the crypto industry. During the first week of June, Ripple Labs CEO, Brad Garlinghouse said: “I think there’ll be an uptick in M&A in the blockchain and crypto space.” Additionally, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried explained at the end of May that FTX is ready to deploy billions on acquisitions. Two days before the Knownorigin acquisition, the company that operates the decentralized exchange (dex) Uniswap, Uniswap Labs, announced that it acquired the NFT aggregation platform Genie. “In pursuit of our mission to unlock universal ownership and exchange, today we’re expanding our products to include both ERC-20s and NFTs,” Uniswap Labs detailed. “We’re excited to announce that we’ve acquired Genie, the first NFT marketplace aggregator, which lets anyone discover and trade NFTs across most platforms.” What do you think about Ebay acquiring Knownorigin? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to reports, the TSX-listed Voyager Digital is another company that has been negatively affected by financial issues tied to the crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC). In a letter to investors, Voyager’s management explained that 3AC potentially defaulted on a $655 million loan and it hopes to obtain some of the funds by the end of this month. The Three Arrows Contagion: 3AC Owes $655 Million to Voyager Digital — Management Has Set a Repayment Date 3AC’s financial hardships have seemingly started a contagion throughout the crypto industry and while a number of firms said they were safe, others explained they were suffering from the fallout. For instance, a company backed by 3AC called Finblox detailed on June 16 that it had to pause rewards (up to 90% APY) for all of its users, and the platform upped withdrawal limits as well. This week, the publicly listed crypto company Voyager Digital revealed it was dealing with issues tied to 3AC. In a letter sent to Voyager’s investors on Wednesday, the company disclosed it was owed $655 million and 3AC was supposed to pay the funds back in bitcoin (BTC) and the stablecoin usd coin (USDC). Voyager is owed 15,250 BTC and 350 million USDC, according to the company. Management said it originally asked for $25 million worth of USDC to be paid by June 24, but now it wants the entire balance of USDC and BTC by June 27. TSX-Listed Stock VOYG-T Loses Half of Its Value in a Day — Voyager Is ‘Unable to Assess at This Point the Amount It Will Be Able to Recover’ The news seemingly did not sit so well with Voyager investors as the company’s shares dropped 53% in value during a 24-hour period. Presently, the TSX-listed stock VOYG-T is down 52% and trading for $0.76 per unit. On June 21, VOYG-T exchanged hands for $1.60 per share and in March 2021, VOYG-T saw an all-time high (ATH) at $32.68 per share. VOYG-T is currently more than 97% lower than the ATH and the stock has been sliding lower ever since crypto markets have dropped in value. The 3AC loan default announcement added another blow to the value of the company’s shares. The letter that discusses the initial USDC payment request, and then the request for the entire balance, says that Voyager does not know if it will be repaid. “Neither of these amounts has been repaid, and failure by [Three Arrows] to repay either requested amount by these specified dates will constitute an event of default,” Voyager said. “[The company is] unable to assess at this point the amount it will be able to recover.” Bitcoin.com News recently reported on Three Arrows Capital and explained how the company’s founders have been silent about the situation. 3AC co-founder Kyle Davies did disclose to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the Terra LUNA and UST fallout hurt the company and plans were being made to find an “equitable solution” for all of 3AC’s constituents. Furthermore, 3AC allegedly tried to pitch a GBTC arbitrage trade to a lot of big name investors a few days before the company’s rumored collapse. Besides Finblox, Voyager, and 3AC, Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital has seen its shares plummet significantly since the Terra LUNA and UST fallout. Galaxy’s shares are down close to 90% from the share’s price highs in mid-November. Novogratz was also silent for a bit following the Terra fiasco but then published a public apology about the matter but said Galaxy did not suffer much from the Terra collapse. This is because Novogratz said that Galaxy stuck to a core tenet of investing which includes only investing in what you are comfortable losing. Since the letter, Novogratz has been a bit more active on social media while many others who promoted or invested in Terra have remained silent or dissociated themselves from the blockchain project. What do you think about the problems Voyager Digital faces with the crypto hedge fund 3AC? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Cryptostone, a genuinely anonymous, No-KYC blockchain financial ecosystem, has announced the token sale date for the CPS token. After a successful pre-sales round, which has raised over two million USD from thousands of followers, the token will be available for public sale from June 30, 2022. The project is creating the next evolution of blockchain, a world where cross-border payments, SME fundraising, and crypto trading will happen just as they ought to. The significant outcomes of Cryptostone (token: CPS, on Binance smart chain) will be equity, inclusion, and justice. Cryptostone aims to address some significant shortcomings in today’s blockchains. There is yet to be true decentralization, and the ideal scenario of a truly democratic society is still far away with government control over money and cross-border payment restrictions. Cryptostone has been created to address these issues with a host of services. Cryptostone will offer five major services: an anonymous crypto payment gateway, a centralized exchange, an ICO launchpad, a decentralized, worldwide security token stock market & a native coin (CPS). The project is listed on CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap. An airdrop is ongoing to earn free CPS by referring family and friends. “With our no KYC platform, nobody has to reveal their identity, and this makes global payments easier. Apart from a crypto payment platform, merchants will also get liquidity with new income streams and easy ways to raise capital. Cryptostone is more than just a payment gateway. It is the gateway to the future of crypto payments and the blockchain itself,” says a spokesperson. On a theoretical level, Cryptostone subscribes to the crypto-anarchist agenda of ending centralized decision-making through its consensus mechanism. The three government institutions, banks, and stock markets are not natural or fundamental, nor is government control over money. Cryptostone aims to utilize the full power of decentralized blockchains with their original blueprint of anonymous actors transacting with each other across borders. The beneficiaries of Cryptostone form a large percentage of global workers and the unbanked (over 2 billion). These include merchants, expat labor, travelers, freelancers, remote workers and so on. In particular, SMEs and teleshopping users will love its Non-KYC based features. “Today’s blockchains are far from what they were supposed to be, chained by various groups or governments making their regulations. Cryptocurrencies have been reduced to assets like gold and silver rather than what they were intended to be – ushering in a new order of democratic freedom from monopolies and restrictions. Cryptostone aims to unshackle blockchains and become a corrective force to address these challenges,” said a spokesperson. Cryptostone utilizes Proof of Importance to create consensus, where staking and time duration of the stake get counted. The initially identified sectors that can utilize the ecosystem are DeFi, Healthtech, Agri-tech, distributed storage, IoT and identity verification. For SMEs, it offers a new, cheaper form of payment, cheaper cloud storage, smart contracts, funding opportunities, and salary payments in crypto. The CPS coin has gone through multiple phases of pre-sale and will soon have an ICO. The sales activities include a bounty program, airdrop, social media and forums, affiliate programs and digital marketing campaigns, and more. About Us For more information, please visit: https://www.crypto-stone.io/ Follow on social media Telegram: https://t.me/cryptostoneofficial Twitter: https://twitter.com/cryptostone_io YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Cryptostone Medium: https://crypto-stone.medium.com/ This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

MATIC moved back into the cryptocurrency top 20 on Thursday, as prices rose by over 25% in today’s session. The token replaced FTT, which entered the list following declines in MATIC on Wednesday. ATOM also rose today, hitting a 12-day high in the process. Polygon (MATIC) MATIC was one of the standout movers in crypto markets on Thursday, as the token re-entered the top-20 list. Following a low of $0.4042 on Wednesday, MATIC/USD surged to an intraday peak of $0.5145 earlier today. This move saw MATIC become the world’s 18th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, all while hitting an 11-day peak. Despite these gains, it appears that bulls are looking towards the ceiling of $0.6650 as the next price target. Overall, MATIC has risen by over 25% in today’s session, with its seven-day average now nearing a 30% increase. In addition to this, the 14-day RSI is tracking at its highest point in over three months, after hitting a high of 48.64 earlier today. All in all, sentiment seems to be firmly bullish in the short-term, however traders will see if this matures into the mid-term. Cosmos (ATOM) ATOM also rose to an 11-day high on Thursday, as prices rose for a fifth consecutive session. Following a breakout of its floor at $5.50 last week, which saw prices hit their lowest point since January 2021, ATOM bulls re-entered the market with full force. As a result of this short-term rise in bullish sentiment, ATOM/USD rose to an intraday peak of $7.73 earlier today. This gain means prices are now trading nearly 12% higher than yesterday’s lows, sending them to their most valuable level since June 12. Looking at the chart, this uptake in momentum has meant that the moving average of ten days is now nearing a potential cross with that of the 25-day SMA. Should this occur, then we will likely see prices not only reach, but breakout of, resistance at $10. Do you expect ATOM to break out of this resistance before the month ends? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

The Spanish treasury has introduced a new series of requirements regarding the reporting and taxation of cryptocurrency holdings in the country. The new rules include the obligation of taxpayers to disclose all of their cryptocurrency holdings to the tax authorities, as well as their value in euros, including details of transactions with the addresses of origin and destination. Spanish Treasury Proposes New Crypto Rules Spain is sharpening its taxing apparatus when it comes to cryptocurrency holders. The Spanish Treasury has proposed a new set of rules that will apply to cryptocurrency holders and operators, imposing obligations that some consider excessive. The new rules presented by the Ministry of Treasury, which are still being reviewed and will have to be approved, specify that cryptocurrency holders might have to disclose their cryptocurrency holdings and their value in euros. This is different from what was proposed before, where holders only had to declare the earnings of their trading operations, having no duty of presenting their crypto holdings. These rules will further apply to custody providers and cryptocurrency exchanges that would also have to provide this data to Spanish tax regulators. Cryptocurrency transactions must also be reported, including the origin and destination addresses, with the type of cryptocurrency and its associated value. However, the document establishes a minimum amount at which taxpayers would be required to give this data. If the cryptocurrency holdings of the citizen are under the value of €50,000 ($52,854), there will be no duty of presenting this information to the tax authorities. Crypto Tax Woes The Spanish tax authorities are trying to describe a new model in which cryptocurrencies are included after having problems with the legality of Model 720, which had to do with taxing properties and goods held outside of the country by citizens, and was declared in part illegal by the European Union due to the severity of its fines. With these new definitions, the Spanish authorities are now en route to creating a Model 721 that would define all of the duties for crypto holders inside and outside of the country. The rules, if approved, will be applied starting in 2023, but taking the movements made during 2022 into account. The Bank of Spain has also been active in registering virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in the country. The crypto registry, required to operate in the country, has already onboarded 17 exchanges and custody providers, but some big names in the crypto industry have not registered yet. What do you think about the new crypto rules proposed by the Spanish treasury? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Following yesterday’s drop in price, bitcoin stabilized during Thursday’s session, as prices hovered marginally below $21,000. Bulls are attempting to take BTC back towards this resistance level, which was broken as a result of Wednesday’s sell-off. Bitcoin BTC was trading marginally below $21,000 on Thursday, as prices slightly rebounded following declines on hump day. Following Wednesday’s low of $19,848.08, BTC/USD rose to an intraday high of $20,835.75, earlier in today’s session. This move comes as bulls seem set to once again break out of the current resistance at $21,100, which has been in place for the last week. Hope of a break will be increased by the fact that the 14-day RSI has moved beyond a resistance level of its own. As seen from the chart, after almost ten days of reluctance to give way, the 30.50 ceiling was finally broken. The next visible level of resistance looks to be the 36.60 point. Should we see relative strength move to this point, BTC could be trading above $22,000. Ethereum ETH was also back in the green on Thursday, after appearing to overcome Wednesday’s hump of uncertainty. Prices of the world’s second largest crypto token rose to an intraday peak of $1,119.61, which comes less than a day after nearly dropping back below $1,000. As a result of today’s rebound in price, bulls will likely attempt to maintain this momentum, with some eyeing a key resistance point. This ceiling is at the $1,190 mark, which is the main obstacle that could prevent ETH from moving back into $1,200. Overall, momentum seems bullish, with the Relative Strength Index tracking at its highest level in almost two weeks.. As of writing, the index is tracking at 32, with the next resistance level at 35.85. Do you expect bullish momentum to increase as we head to the end of the week? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Billionaire investor Seth Klarman says he cannot see the point of crypto. “I don’t think anybody needs to own it. It just seems to me that it could end up very much in tears,” he added. Seth Klarman on Crypto Investing, Gold, and U.S. Dollar American billionaire investor and hedge fund manager Seth Klarman shared his views on a variety of topics, including cryptocurrency, gold, and the U.S. dollar, in an interview with Harvard Business School, released this week. Klarman is the chief executive and portfolio manager of the Baupost Group, a Boston-based hedge fund he co-founded in 1982. The investment firm currently has about $30 billion under management. According to Forbes, his estimated net worth is $1.5 billion. On the topic of cryptocurrency, Klarman said: I can’t see the point of crypto. It has this feel to me of being like catnip for techies. “The idea that we’re using more energy than the country of Iceland, to mine extra crypto, to solve math problems that don’t need to be solved, seems crazy to me,” he added. “Why do people need 10 or 50 different cryptocurrencies? I don’t get it,” the billionaire investor continued, emphasizing: I don’t think anybody needs to own it. It just seems to me that it could end up very much in tears. In contrast, Klarman said: “I’m a fan of gold. I think gold’s valuable in a crisis.” The Baupost Group boss also commented on the U.S. dollar. “The U.S. has had an enormous advantage of the dollar being the world’s reserve currency for a very long time. It’s unlikely to change anytime soon.” he opined. Noting that “It’s hard to imagine people accepting Chinese currency,” the billionaire also said: It’s hard to imagine people accepting cryptocurrency. There are just too many uncertainties. Klarman has long been a crypto skeptic. He previously compared bitcoin to trading sardines. The Baupost Group chief is a proponent of value investing, the strategy championed by legendary investors such as Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham. Klarman has been dubbed “the next Warren Buffett” and “the Oracle of Boston.” Buffett also does not see value in bitcoin and cryptocurrency. He previously said bitcoin was “probably rat poison squared.” In May, he said he wouldn’t pay $25 for all the bitcoin in the world. What do you think about the comments by Baupost Group CEO Seth Klarman? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the global body for central banks, claims the weaknesses in crypto that were pointed out before “have pretty much materialized.” BIS General Manager Agustin Carstens opined: “You just cannot defy gravity … At some point, you really have to face the music.” BIS on Crypto Weaknesses The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has warned that a perceived danger of decentralized digital money is materializing. The BIS explained in its Annual Economic Report, published Tuesday, that the crypto market sell-off and the collapse of cryptocurrency terra (LUNA) and algorithmic stablecoin terrausd (UST) are indicators of a structural problem in crypto. “Structural flaws make the crypto universe unsuitable as the basis for a monetary system: it lacks a stable nominal anchor, while limits to its scalability result in fragmentation. Contrary to the decentralisation narrative, crypto often relies on unregulated intermediaries that pose financial risks,” the BIS report reads. Agustin Carstens, the BIS general manager, said in an interview with Reuters Tuesday that any form of money ultimately lacks credibility without a government-backed authority that can use reserves funded by taxes. He opined: I think all these weaknesses that were pointed out before have pretty much materialized. The BIS executive continued: “You just cannot defy gravity … At some point, you really have to face the music.” Carstens does not believe that the crypto market meltdown will cause a systemic crisis in the way that bad loans triggered the global financial crash. He detailed: Based on what we know, it should be quite manageable. But, there are a lot of things that we don’t know. The BIS executive proceeded to talk about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). In a report published in May, the BIS said that nine out of 10 central banks worldwide are exploring their own digital currencies. “This is a topic that has been on the G20 agenda for quite some time,” Carstens further told the news outlet, adding that there is “a good chance for this to move forward.” He pointed out that some countries have already conducted “real life” trials with their central bank digital currency. Carstens believes there will be international standards for CBDCs “in the next couple of years,” noting that 12 months is probably “too short.” This week, the BIS Innovation Hub announced that its Eurosystem Centre projects will explore cryptocurrency markets. Citing that “The collapse of many stablecoins and decentralized finance (defi) lending platforms has highlighted the difficulty in assessing their risks and economic potential,” the BIS described: “The project’s goal is to create an open-source market intelligence platform to shed light on market capitalizations, economic activity, and risks to financial stability.” What do you think about the comments by BIS General Manager Agustin Carstens? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

During the past week, Bitcoin’s hashrate has dropped a few percentages after reaching 288 exahash per second (EH/s) on June 8, 2022. Bitcoin miners, however, got a break on Wednesday, June 22, as the mining difficulty dropped by 2.35% making it easier for miners to find blocks. The 2.35% drop brings the difficulty down to the 29.50 trillion range for the next two weeks. Bitcoin’s Mining Difficulty Drops 2.35% On Wednesday, June 22, at block height 741,888, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty decreased 2.35% lower than two weeks ago. At that time, the difficulty rating was 30.28 trillion and today it is 29.50 trillion. Furthermore, bitcoin’s fiat value dropped to a low of $17,593 on June 18. Essentially, Bitcoin’s difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA) shifts every 2016 blocks and the changes are based on the amount of time it took to find the previous 2016 block subsidies. The difficulty is meant to keep block times consistent at roughly 10 minutes in between each BTC block found. The last difficulty change at block height 739,872, two weeks ago, increased by 1.29%. That means the previous 2016 blocks before block height 739,872 took less than two weeks to find, which means miners were faster during the period. This means while the DAA shift dropped by 2.35% today, the previous 2016 blocks were found at a much slower rate. A 2.35% reduction makes it 2.35% easier to find BTC blocks than it was during the past two weeks or 2016 blocks found. BTC’s block reward halving is expected to occur on April 23, 2024, and is less than 100,000 blocks away. While the hashrate tapped 288 EH/s on June 8, the network’s hashrate dipped during the crypto market rout and it hit a low of 164 EH/s on June 18. At the time of writing on Wednesday, June 22, the hashrate is coasting along at speeds just below 200 EH/s. Over the last three days, the top five BTC mining pools include Foundry USA, F2pool, Antpool, Poolin, and Viabtc. The aforementioned five BTC mining pools command 72.8% of the global hashrate today. During the last month, 4,271 BTC blocks were mined into existence and Foundry discovered 959 of those blocks. Antpool found 636, F2pool discovered 591, Poolin found 457, and Viabtc found 434 bitcoin (BTC) block rewards. Over the next two weeks, it will be 2.35% easier to find BTC blocks than it was the two weeks before block height 741,888. With the price being lower, miners will benefit from the DAA reduction on Wednesday. What do you think about Bitcoin’s difficulty reduction on Wednesday afternoon (ET)? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Last week there was a lot of focus on the crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) as the firm allegedly had a great deal of leveraged positions liquidated and there’s been speculation about insolvency. According to a recent report, 3AC’s over-the-counter (OTC) operation TPS Capital pitched a GBTC arbitrage opportunity before the company reportedly failed to meet margin calls. 3AC Co-Founder Says ‘Terra-Luna Situation Caught Us Very Much off Guard’ — FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Insists Problems Like 3AC Couldn’t Have Happened With an Onchain Protocol Before June 14, which was the last day Su Zhu tweeted, the co-founder of Three Arrows Capital Ltd. (3AC) was very active on Twitter. Since then, Zhu and 3AC co-founder Kyle Davies are not active on social media at all, but the silence has not stopped people from investigating the company. This is because various reports indicate that 3AC positions were liquidated and some reports speculate that the Terra LUNA and UST fallout crippled the company with “massive losses.” The same account indicates that it’s possible that it caused 3AC “to use more leverage to earn it back. Also known as ‘Revenge trading,’” the report added. On June 17, it was reported by Reuters and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that 3AC was “exploring options, including the sale of assets and a bailout by another firm.” Davies spoke with the WSJ and he told the press that the “Terra-Luna situation caught us very much off guard.” Additionally, Michael Moro, the CEO of Genesis Trading, explained on Twitter that the firm “mitigated our losses” against a large counterparty that did not meet a margin call. He also added that no Genesis Trading client funds were impacted. Then ​​the FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried spoke about 3AC on June 19, and he stressed that issues like 3AC’s financial meltdown “couldn’t have happened with an on-chain protocol that was transparent.” Bankman-Fried’s statement stemmed from a question that asked how the crypto industry can ensure that a 3AC moment does not happen again. Report Says 3AC’s OTC Desk TPS Capital Pitched a GBTC-Linked Trade Before the Alleged Collapse Additionally, The Block reporter Frank Chaparro published a report that said “days before Three Arrows Capital blew up it was pitching investors on a new arbitrage trade.” Chaparro detailed that The Block reviewed investment documents that were allegedly pitched to investors by TPS Capital and the arbitrage opportunity involved GBTC, the Grayscale exchange-traded product tied to bitcoin (BTC). “They pitched to so many people,” an individual familiar with the matter told Chaparro. “Three Arrows’ pitch was to structure a trade for counterparties that would offer the upside of the discount collapsing as the deadline neared for the SEC decision,” Chaparro wrote. “GBTC currently trades at a 33.75% discount to the price of Bitcoin, which it is meant to track.” Similar to the Celsius situation, the public has not really heard from anyone tied to 3AC. Although, the Celsius Network team did publish a blog post that noted the “process will take time.” What do you think about the 3AC situation and the firm’s alleged GBTC arbitrage opportunity? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Tether, the company behind the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, has announced another fiat-pegged stablecoin called GBPT on Wednesday, tied to the value of the British pound sterling. The news follows Tether’s most recent launch of a Mexican peso-pegged crypto asset called MXNT. Tether Launches the Company’s 4th Fiat-Pegged Crypto Asset On June 22, 2022, Tether announced the launch of GBPT, a stablecoin that will be initially issued by the Ethereum blockchain. GBPT is pegged to the value of the British pound sterling, the oldest fiat currency in the world, first issued in 1694. “GBPT will be a stable digital asset that is pegged 1:1 to the British Pound Sterling. GBPT will be built by the trusted team of developers behind tether USDT and operate under tether.to,” the Tether announcement sent to Bitcoin.com News details. “The creation of GBPT will put British Pounds on the blockchain and provide a faster, less costly option for asset transfers.” USDT is the largest stablecoin by market cap today with $68 billion and the project was just recently launched on the Polygon network. Over the last two months, more than 12 billion USDT has been removed from circulation. USDT commands significant trade volume and today, tether’s global volume is around $40.9 billion during the past 24 hours, while the entire crypto ecosystem recorded $76.5 billion in trades on Wednesday. Out of the $956 billion crypto economy, USDT’s market cap dominates by 7.035% and it is the third-largest crypto asset market cap out of 13,471 crypto assets. Tether’s GBPT announcement on Wednesday follows Circle’s recent euro coin (EUROC) launch. EUROC is Circle’s second fiat-pegged stablecoin, while Tether has released a few different kinds over the years. Tether has a stablecoin pegged to China’s yuan called CNHT and a euro-based stablecoin called EURT. At the end of May, Tether launched a fiat-pegged token tied to the Mexican peso’s value called MXNT. The stablecoin issuer also has a token tied to the value of one ounce of fine gold called XAUT. Tether gold or XAUT has an overall market valuation of around $458,303,598 today. “We believe that the United Kingdom is the next frontier for blockchain innovation and the wider implementation of cryptocurrency for financial markets,” Paolo Ardoino, the CTO of Tether said in a statement sent to Bitcoin.com News. “We hope to help lead this innovation by providing cryptocurrency users worldwide with access to a GBP-denominated stablecoin issued by the largest stablecoin issuer.” “Tether is ready and willing to work with UK regulators to make this goal a reality and looks forward to the continued adoption of Tether stablecoins,” Ardoino added on Wednesday. What do you think about Tether’s newly launched stablecoin GBPT? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

This is the June 2022 monthly market insights report by Bitcoin.com Exchange. In this and subsequent reports, expect to find a summary of crypto market performance, a macro recap, market structure analysis, and more. Crypto Market Performance Crypto markets continued on a downtrend as BTC and ETH were down 30% and 44% respectively over the last 30 days. The macroeconomic outlook continues to be unfavorable for risk assets as high inflation combines with elevated commodity prices and tight U.S. labor market conditions. Adding to that, crypto has experienced a credit crisis as major borrow/lend players such as Celsius, 3AC, and Babel Finance have gone insolvent. Despite the big losses seen on BTC and ETH, some large cap assets have held strong. Out of the top 50 assets by market cap, Helium performed most positively, gaining 33% over the last 30 days. LEO was up 11.20% and LINK remained practically unchanged. The largest underperformance was seen by AVAX which was down 44%, Bitcoin Cash (down 39%), and Cronos (down 40%). Macro Recap: Commodities Pressure Despite Central Banks Actions In the latest FOMC meeting, for the first time since 1994, the U.S. Federal Reserve increased rates by 75 basis points. This was on the back of continued high CPI data, which came in at 8.1% for May 2022 (the highest since 1981). Labor conditions in the U.S. remain tight as April numbers (released on June 1) showed job openings came down only slightly to 11.4M after posting record highs of 11.8M for March. Chairman Powel hinted at another rate hike of between 50 to 75 bps, which would be announced in the FOMC’s July 2022 meeting. As central banks tighten, supply chain issues combined with political instability continue to push commodities prices higher. Oil led the way, with light oil futures reaching $120 USD per barrel before stabilizing above $105 in the latest trading sessions. Supply/demand continues to balance towards higher demand. Despite some demand destruction from high oil prices, the supply chain constraints due to sanctions against Russian exports have kept supply tight. Market Structure: Forced Capitulation A Sign Of Local Bottom? BTC markets have seen two forced sell offs of significant size in a month’s time span. First was the liquidation of assets by Luna Foundation, which sold up to 80,000 BTC, along with considerable sums of ETH and other liquid assets. Second was the credit crisis and liquidation of Celsius, 3AC, and Babel Finance. Crypto market capitalization dropped by $2.1T from the all-time-highs reached in November 2021. This has put pressure on miners, who are also facing increased electricity costs. As prices continue to declinem, we can see that the profitability for miners diminishes. According to Glassnode’s difficulty regression model, the “all-in sustaining cost” of mining currently sits at $17,800, which is approximately where BTC traded last weekend. With Bitcoin’s hashrate already down 10% from its all-time-high, it seems unprofitable miners are already going offline. One can argue that as profitability decreases, miners will become forced sellers. The Puell Multiple (PM), shown in orange in the chart below, is an oscillator which tracks the revenue generated by miners. The PM is showing a value of 0.35, which equates to revenues 61% below the yearly average. This is close to the levels seen in the 2014/2015 and 2018/2019 bear markets. At that time, miners saw a PM multiple of 0.31, which equated to a 69% revenue decline vs the yearly average. The Difficulty Ribbon Compression (DRC), shown in purple in the above chart, is a miner’s stress model. It indicates mining rigs going offline. Mining rigs going offline happens for many reasons. These include regulatory considerations, increasing difficulty of the Bitcoin algorithm, increasing electricity costs, and of course decreasing profitability due to lower market prices. In the above chart, we can see a decrease in this metric, which indicates that less rigs are active due to one or more of the reasons mentioned. Next, we will look at the Long Time Holders (LTH) cohort. As market participants capitulate, LTHs come under stress. As shown below, the LTH cohort has seen a total supply decrease of 178K BTC over the last month, which accounts for 1.31% of the total holdings of this group. Another interesting metric to understand the status of the current sell off is the old supply being revived. As can be seen below, about 20-36K BTC are currently being revived per day, which is similar to levels seen in April 22. This indicator can be viewed as a fear index, as it shows the need for long-term holders to sell their positions due to the current conditions. Lastly, we will look at the inflows and outflows from centralized exchanges, also known as the netflow exchange balance. When we see market inflow to exchanges, we can assume market participants are looking to sell their tokens. When we see market outflow from exchanges, we can assume market participants are looking to hold their tokens. Below we can notice a strong market inflow in May 2022 on the back of the LUNA crash, with inflows reaching +4% per week (exchange balance). This was similar to the 2018-2019 sell off (>1% of exchange balance inflows). In the latest sell off (June), however, we notice an outflow of 2.8% per week. This can be attributed to the uniqueness of the sell off. As the creditworthiness of some of the largest crypto players came into question, participants may have been driven to move their tokens to self-custody, where there is less perceived risk. In summary, the market experienced back-to-back sell offs in May and June 2022. Although these were precipitated by strong macroeconomic headwinds, two black-swan events (namely the LUNA crash and the insolvency of 3AC and other big players) may have caused overselling. This may indicate that we have already seen a local bottom. In the long-term, however, it’s likely that the macro picture will continue to have a strong influence on the markets. View the full article

Uniswap moved into the crypto top 20 on Wednesday, relegating MATIC, after surging by over 10% today. UNI has now gained for four straight sessions, as it approaches a key resistance point. SHIB was once again higher today, with prices hitting their highest point since May. Uniswap (UNI) UNI was trading higher for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, as the token broke into the top 20. Following a low of $4.43 on Tuesday, UNI climbed higher today, hitting an intraday peak of $5.14. This move saw the world’s 19th largest cryptocurrency move closer to its long-term resistance level at $5.20. As a result of this recent surge in price, the 14-day RSI has climbed to its highest point since April 5, hitting a ceiling of its own. Looking at the chart, this ceiling appears to be the 53.60 point, which hasn’t been broken in over three months. Should we see a move beyond this point, it is likely that UNI bulls could attempt to take the price to an even higher price ceiling of $5.80. Shiba Inu (SHIB) SHIB extended its own gains on Wednesday, as prices climbed to their highest levels since May earlier in the day. The so-called meme coin hit an intraday high of $0.00001182 in today’s session, which is its highest point since May 31. After yesterday’s rally, we questioned whether the token could reach its resistance point of $0.00001150, however bulls have broken through this zone. However, following the breakout of this ceiling, we have seen a slip in momentum, with price now trading at $0.00001021. Overall, SHIB/USD is still nearly 8% higher than yesterday’s peak, with bulls likely to attempt to push prices even further. If they do manage to maintain this recent momentum, the $0.00001300 resistance will likely be their next point of interest. Will we see SHIB continue to climb in the coming days? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Tencent’s Wechat intends to impose penalties on public accounts facilitating secondary trading of NFTs, a press report has revealed. Accounts offering transaction channels and guidance for cryptocurrencies have also been targeted by the new rule. Popular Chinese App to Impose Restrictions on NFT Trading Wechat, the instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment app developed by the Chinese tech giant Tencent, is introducing a policy update that will prohibit the provision of certain services related to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies on its platform. Quoted by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Tencent said it will “order accounts to rectify if they provide relevant services or content for secondary trading of digital collectibles, and limit some features or even ban the account.” The news comes after in April, Wechat acknowledged it had suspended some accounts linked to NFTs. The policy update will also introduce penalties for accounts providing transaction channels, guidance, or issuing cryptocurrencies to Wechat users. Accounts enabling initial coin offerings (ICOs) and transactions of crypto derivatives will also be affected. The report notes that with the move, Wechat’s management is taking into account the guidelines issued by Chinese regulators earlier this year suggesting that businesses in the industry should steer clear of the financial aspect of such digital assets. According to Wang Yinying, a Shanghai-based lawyer specializing in blockchain and Web3-related cases, “the new rule’s emphasis is on the narrative that the secondary market for trading digital collectibles might incur speculation and instability of the financial market.” Wechat Said to Be Acting Preemptively The legal expert was referring to joint statement issued by the National Internet Finance Association of China, China Banking Association, and the Securities Association of China in April aimed at curbing risks associated with cryptocurrencies. “Tencent is acting preemptively to keep itself out of trouble,” commented Bao Linghao, a senior analyst at research firm Trivium China. He pointed out that currently there are no formal regulations on NFT trading yet, but emphasized that “Chinese regulators don’t like speculation of any kind, including NFTs.” This spring, Chinese financial institutions were asked to stay away from NFTs, and their use in a number of areas, including securities, insurance, loans, and precious metals, was banned. Experts believe the People’s Republic is likely to establish a centralized platform for secondary trading of NFTs. Chinese digital collectibles are built on consortium blockchains, not open blockchains such as Ethereum. Additionally, the guidelines issued in April suggested that they must be bought using the Chinese yuan under real identities to avoid money laundering risks. SCMP further quoted Wechat as saying that the accounts which display digital collectibles and primary transactions would need to have contracts with blockchain companies certified by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and refrain from supporting secondary trading. Blockchains built by the big tech firms like Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent, Baidu, and JD.com were among the first approved by the CAC in 2019, the daily remarked, adding that since last year, consumer brands and Chinese state media have jumped on the NFT bandwagon with collectibles based on such platforms. What future do you expect for NFTs in China and what’s your opinion about Wechat’s new restrictions? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin hit a hurdle on hump day, as the world’s largest crypto token moved lower, following strong gains to start the week. ETH also slipped during today’s session, with prices moving back towards the $1,000 mark. Bitcoin Following two straight days of gains, BTC was lower on hump day, as bears seemingly re-entered the marketplace. BTC/USD is down by nearly 3% as of writing, after hitting an intraday low of $20,045.63 earlier in today’s session. This move comes after prices failed to sustain a breakout of yesterday’s resistance level at the $21,000 mark. Typically after such a false breakout, this acts as a signal to bears to retake momentum, however there seems to be a level of uncertainty still in this. After previous lows today, BTC is now trading almost $500 higher, which shows that the bullish sentiment from the past two days still remains. Despite this, bears will likely attempt to test this sentiment, and attempt to push bitcoin off the $20,000 cliff in coming days. Ethereum Ethereum was also a cliff of its own, as bears once again pushed prices close to the $1,000 level in today’s session. Following a peak of $1,185.43 on Tuesday, ETH/USD slipped to a bottom of $1,073.88 on hump day. This move put an end to ETH’s first two-day winning streak since June 5, and as of writing the token is trading roughly 4% lower. Thanks to gains in the past few days, ETH has gone from being down by nearly 40% in its seven-day average on Sunday, to now only being down 2.95% in the last week. Overall, momentum still looks bearish for the world’s second largest token, with some expecting moves back towards $800. However, should we see a breakout of the resistance on the 14-day RSI at 30, then there will likely be a continuation of this week’s bullish pressure. Will we see ETH hit $800 or $1,200 first? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

The incoming governor of the Philippine central bank, Felipe Medalla, has suggested that people that invest in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are adherents of the Greater Fool Theory. He also argued that people investing in cryptocurrencies are doing so because they want to “hide their money from the government.” A ‘Very Scary’ Investment Strategy The new governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Felipe Medalla, has claimed that bitcoin investors only buy the cryptocurrency because they are convinced that someone else will buy the same digital asset at a higher price. According to Medalla, who spoke at a virtual roundtable discussion that was organized by a local media outlet, such an investment strategy is “very scary.” Also, as reported in Business World, Medalla believes the value proposition of cryptocurrencies is based on the so-called Greater Fool Theory. According to Investopedia, the theory asserts that prices go up because investors can sell overpriced securities to other investors or the “greater fools.” Investors subscribing to this theory are known to ignore valuations, earnings reports, and all the other data. Using Crypto to Hide Funds In addition to the Greater Fool Theory claims, which were also recently raised by Bill Gates, the incoming BSP governor said people that choose to invest in cryptocurrency do so because the digital currency gives them an ability to hide their holdings. He explained: This is a new tool that adds to the ability to do that. There are plenty of people who want to hide their money from the government. While the BSP does not directly regulate cryptocurrencies, it has issued guidelines that require virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to secure a license from it. Medalla, meanwhile, is quoted in the same report expressing his approval of the application of know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering policies on VASPs. What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Embr is an all-remote corporation building a global Web3 fundraising infrastructure, and Checkout is the first of many product releases focused on moving startups and creators into a new era of the internet. Web3 has the potential to rewrite the future of economic opportunity for innovators and investors everywhere. Still, crypto first-timers and veterans alike often suffer through long, error-prone processes when purchasing digital assets. Embr Checkout eliminates all friction from the current state of token purchases, enabling people to buy tokens with nothing more than a credit card and email. Its Web2-esque design creates optimal experiences where buyers no longer need crypto wallets or assets to back disruptive technology projects they believe in. Checkout embodies the enterprise-grade security of Web2 financial rails with Embr Verified, the Web3 equivalent of PayPal verified. All projects are screened for AML by Sentinel Protocol, an AI/ML-powered threat intelligence program that protects the assets of first-class service providers like Samsung and Coindesk. As part of Embr’s verification program, all project founders are KYC’d, and project liquidity pools are checked in real-time to ensure they’re locked with sufficient liquidity. If they’re not, any transactions are blocked as a safeguard measure. Optimized for everyone, Embr Checkout takes multi-chain navigation, analog contract address entries, and gas fee and slippage calculations out of the equation for anybody wanting to dive right into the borderless, inclusive opportunities Web3 offers. Along with that, there are no setup, monthly, or hidden fees for token-based projects. Checkout is currently in private beta, with more than 40 token-based projects successfully transacting over half a million dollars to date. Embr is targeting the end of July 2022 to release a public version that allows project leaders that are building on any of the 20 chains and counting to enable token sales directly on their website. “As project leaders, we’re supposed to be anti-FUD. Yet, we’ve been sending supporters to places of fear, uncertainty, and doubt when they’re ready to commit. Token-based projects need flawless first impressions. Anything less than Embr Checkout will hurt your project.” – @defi_jason – Jason Dominique, CEO, Embr. Embr Checkout is audited by Hacken, a leading blockchain security consulting firm. It includes a bug bounty program from HackenProof, an expert bug bounty platform for crypto projects, to stay ahead of the curve in discovering any potential security vulnerabilities. About Embr Embr is a gateway to the decentralized world. Its mission is to empower innovators with the tools and know-how to ignite the future of economic opportunity. In less than three hours, Embr sold out its private presale, successfully raising $2.5 million for their IDO while affirming a global need for new layers of trust and delight in Web3 payment experiences. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article