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Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has received regulatory approval from the French financial regulator to operate as a registered digital asset service provider. “Binance will significantly scale our operations in France to make crypto and our services more accessible to all,” the exchange said. Binance Becomes a Fully Regulated Crypto Exchange in France Crypto exchange Binance announced Wednesday that it received approval from the French financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), to operate as a registered digital asset service provider (DASP). The exchange wrote: Binance is now a fully regulated digital asset service provider in France. The French arm of Binance is now listed as a registered digital asset service provider on the AMF website. Specifically, the exchange is permitted to provide exchange and custody services for digital assets. Binance explained that this is its first DASP in Europe. “As the first major global crypto exchange to register in France, we will be able to bring cryptocurrency services and education to millions,” the exchange added. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) noted: “The French DASP and AML/CFT regulations put in place stringent anti-money laundering and fit and proper requirements to meet the high standards necessary to be regulated in France.” The executive emphasized: Effective regulation is essential for the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency. “Binance will significantly scale our operations in France to make crypto and our services more accessible to all,” the announcement notes. What do you think about Binance’s French expansion? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On May 5, 2022, at block height 735,000, the bitcoin mining pool Poolin mined the 105,000th block reward since the last halving. The mined block also represents the halfway point to the next halving that is estimated to take place on or around April 27, 2024. Block 735,000 follows the network issuing over 19 million bitcoin and the hashrate reaching an all-time high three days ago on May 2. Block 735,000: Halfway to the Next Halving The Bitcoin network is getting closer to the next halving which is estimated to happen on or around April 27, 2024, or 723 days from now. At block height 735,000, the 105,000th block was mined and there’s now 105,000 left to go until the next halving. At the time of writing, data shows that there’s 104,928 block subsidy rewards left to mine. Presently, bitcoin miners get 6.25 BTC for a block reward and the fees associated with the confirmed transactions. Poolin earned the 6.25 BTC and 0.16215354 BTC worth of network fees associated with the block reward’s 1,487 transactions. The halfway point to the halving follows Bitcoin’s hashrate all-time high (ATH) recorded on May 2, 2022, at block height 734,577. On that day, BTC’s hashrate reached an ATH at 275.01 exahash per second (EH/s). At the time of writing, the network has 767 blocks left until the next difficulty retarget which is expected to happen on or around May 10, 2022. A difficulty increase of around 5.29% is estimated to happen after the last difficulty change of around 5.56%. When the next halving occurs, bitcoin miners will see their revenues shaved in half as the block subsidy reward will change from the current 6.25 BTC reward to 3.125 BTC. The current Bitcoin network issuance has an inflation rate of around 1.74% per annum. So far, throughout Bitcoin’s entire lifetime, only three halvings have occurred. Next Bitcoin Halving to Occur at Block Height 840,000 in 2024 The first Bitcoin block reward halving took place on November 28, 2012, at block height 210,000. The second halving occurred on July 9, 2016, at block height 420,000, and the third halving event took place on May 11, 2020, at block height 630,000. The next halving that’s expected to happen on or around April 27, 2024, will occur at block height 840,000. The U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks worldwide like to target a 2% inflation rate per annum, but that has changed a great deal since the Covid-19 pandemic and the monetary supply expansions that took place globally. Bitcoin’s current inflation rate of 1.74% per annum is much better than the central bank’s long lost target rate. When the next halving occurs 105,000 blocks from now, Bitcoin’s inflation rate will be an estimated 1.1% per annum. Because Bitcoin has a predictable monetary supply, we can also estimate that by the 2028 block subsidy halving, Bitcoin’s inflation rate will be an estimated 0.5% per annum. What do you think about reaching the halfway point until the next Bitcoin network halving? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order on crypto and blockchain to create a comprehensive and harmonized framework for Web3 technology to thrive. “California is a global hub of innovation, and we’re setting up the state for success with this emerging technology,” said the governor. California’s Governor Issues Executive Order on Blockchain and Crypto The governor of the U.S. state of California, Gavin Newsom, signed an executive order Wednesday to “create a transparent and consistent business environment for companies operating in blockchain, including crypto assets and related financial technologies,” according to a notice published by the office of the governor. The notice states: California becomes the first state in the nation to begin creating a comprehensive and harmonized framework for responsible web3 technology to thrive. Under Governor Newsom’s executive order, the state will also “assess how to deploy blockchain technology for state and public institutions, and build research and workforce development pathways to prepare Californians for success in this industry.” The notice adds that the executive order “aims to create a pipeline of talent for the emerging industry and utilize the technology for public good.” Governor Newsom commented: “California is a global hub of innovation, and we’re setting up the state for success with this emerging technology.” He opined: Too often government lags behind technological advancements, so we’re getting ahead of the curve on this, laying the foundation to allow for consumers and business to thrive. California’s executive order builds on President Joe Biden’s executive order on the regulation of crypto assets, which he signed in March. What do you think about California issuing an executive order on crypto, blockchain, and Web3? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has secured $7.139 billion in new financing commitments to fund his acquisition of Twitter, including from several pro-crypto companies. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance, for example, has committed to invest $500 million in the social media platform alongside Musk. Crypto-Friendly Companies Join Elon Musk to Buy Twitter Tesla CEO Elon Musk has secured funding from 18 companies to purchase Twitter Inc., his filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday shows. The SEC filing explains that Musk received equity commitment letters from these investors on May 4 “providing for an aggregate of approximately $7.139 billion in new financing commitments” in connection with his proposed acquisition of Twitter. Some pro-crypto companies are on the list of investors, including Sequoia Capital Fund which committed $800 million, crypto exchange Binance which committed $500 million, AH Capital Management (aka Andreessen Horowitz, a16z) which committed $400 million, and Fidelity which committed over $300 million. Binance independently announced Thursday that it “plans to invest $500 million alongside Elon Musk in Twitter buyout.” CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) commented: We’re excited to be able to help Elon realize a new vision for Twitter … We hope to be able to play a role in bringing social media and web3 together and broadening the use and adoption of crypto and blockchain technology. Sequoia Capital is a crypto-friendly VC firm. The company launched a cryptocurrency-focused fund of as much as $600 million in February and has partnered with some key players in the crypto space, including FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Fidelity Investments has long been pro-bitcoin, calling the cryptocurrency “a superior form of money.” In April, the financial services giant launched crypto and metaverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and announced that it will start allowing bitcoin investments in 401(k) retirement accounts. The largest funding commitment came from Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle Corp. and a Tesla board member. He agreed to invest $1 billion. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal also agreed to remain an investor of Twitter after Musk’s takeover. He initially refused to consider the Tesla executive’s offer to buy the social media platform, stating that his offer did not come close to Twitter’s intrinsic value. What do you think about pro-crypto companies investing in Twitter alongside Elon Musk? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

High-end fashion house Gucci will begin accepting cryptocurrencies at some of its stores this month, including bitcoin, ether, dogecoin, and shiba inu. The company plans for all of its directly operated stores in North America to accept crypto by this summer. Gucci to Start Accepting Crypto Payments Italian high-end luxury fashion house Gucci will start accepting cryptocurrency payments in five stores later this month, Vogue Business reported Wednesday. The five stores are located in New York City (Wooster Street), Los Angeles (Rodeo Drive), Miami (Design District), Atlanta (Phipps Plaza), and Las Vegas (The Shops at Crystals). Gucci will accept bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, wrapped bitcoin, litecoin, dogecoin, shiba inu, and five stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar, the publication conveyed. These coins are the ones supported by popular crypto payment service provider Bitpay, which also supports GUSD, USDC, USDP, DAI, and BUSD stablecoins. Marco Bizzarri, the president and CEO of Gucci, commented: “Gucci is always looking to embrace new technologies when they can provide an enhanced experience for our customers.” He added: Now that we are able to integrate cryptocurrencies within our payment system, it is a natural evolution for those customers who would like to have this option available to them. The publication added that the fashion house plans for all of its directly operated North American stores to accept crypto payments by this summer. Gucci has been ramping up its non-fungible token (NFT) and Web3 efforts. The company recently established a Web3-focused team and released a few NFTs. The fashion house is also establishing a presence in the metaverse. It is developing digital real estate in The Sandbox. The two companies “will collaborate to create an interactive fashion experience based on Vault, Gucci’s conceptual space and meeting place inspired by childhood memories of the search for beauty,” they previously announced. What do you think about Gucci stores accepting cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On May 4, the product comparison platform finder․com published a ripple price prediction report that polls 36 fintech specialists. According to findings stemming from the participating panelists, ripple could jump to $2.55 per unit by December 2022. However, the prediction relies on Ripple Labs winning or settling its lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Finder’s Report Gives a Short and Long-Term Ripple Price Forecast Stemming From 36 Panelists Last week, Bitcoin.com News reported on Finder’s experts predicting the future value of apecoin (APE). According to Finder’s fintech specialists, APE will likely end the year at $27 per coin. Our newsdesk also summarized finder․com’s most recent ethereum (ETH) prediction, which said ETH could reach $5,783 this year. This week, the product comparison platform published a study on ripple’s (XRP) future value, and the report’s authors Tim Falk and Richard Laycock note that after discussing the subject with 36 experts, XRP’s price could reach $2.55 by December 2022. The panelist’s predictions say that XRP could be worth $3.61 by 2025, and $4.98 by 2030. Roughly 23% of the experts said it was the time to buy ripple, 45% said people should hold, and 32% of the 36 participants said people should sell XRP. Much of the forecasts, however, are entirely dependent on whether or not Ripple Labs either settles or wins the case with the U.S. SEC. The study’s participants said if Ripple Labs loses the lawsuit, then XRP may exchange hands for $0.68 per unit by December 2022. While Some Finder’s Experts Say Ripple ‘Could Replace SWIFT,’ Others Say Ripple ‘Is Worthless’ Carol Alexander, a University of Sussex professor of finance explained that if Ripple wins, the token could reach $2.50, but if the company loses then XRP will be $0.50. “​​It is not like any other crypto. If it wins vs SEC it really *will* start to replace SWIFT,” Alexander said. While some of the panelists like Alexander said XRP could possibly replace SWIFT, other participants were not so optimistic about XRP’s future value. “The XRP token is worthless for anything other than speculation,” Matthew Harry, the head of funds at Digitalx Asset Management remarked. “The underlying technology is terrific but the token itself does not currently have a use, it simply attracts speculators as it is cheap and an easily digestible value prop – none of which is born out in the token,” the Digitalx executive added. The report highlights how Finder’s experts believe in the long term, XRP might be worth around $3.61 by the end of 2025, and roughly $4.98 per unit by the end of 2030. Although, five of the 14 Finder’s experts who gave long-term outlooks noted that by 2025, XRP will be worth less than $1. Coinflip founder and chairman Daniel Polotsky said even if Ripple Labs wins the SEC case, his prediction is around $0.90 per unit. “I believe XRP does not offer anything proprietary compared to its peers to justify its relatively large market cap,” Polotsky says in the report. “I think that the project has a lot of inflated interest due to retail investors ignoring its market cap and looking at its per-unit price (less than $1), and erroneously thinking that because it’s ‘so cheap’ it will grow a lot faster than its peers,” the Coinflip executive added. What do you think about Finder’s short and long-term ripple XRP price predictions? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to a report published on Thursday, the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) explained that it acquired 37,863 bitcoin worth more than $1.4 billion through two over-the-counter deals. The LFG now holds 80,394 bitcoin in its reserves currently worth just under $3 billion using today’s exchange rates. Luna Foundation Guard Scoops up 37,863 Bitcoin On May 5, 2022, the Luna Foundation Guard reported that it purchased 37,863 bitcoin (BTC), worth a touch over $1.4 billion at the time of writing. LFG, the non-profit based out of Singapore aims to have $10 billion of stablecoin reserves by the end of the third quarter of this year. While the organization has acquired a total of 80,394 bitcoin, LFG also purchased $100 million in avalanche (AVAX) to bolster the algorithmic stablecoin UST’s decentralized forex reserves. While 42,530.828 BTC can be seen on the blockchain via LFG’s public address, the 37,863 bitcoin purchased were acquired via two over-the-counter (OTC) deals. According to the LFG press release, $1 billion worth of UST was traded with the prime broker Genesis for the BTC, and it purchased the other $500 million from the hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. Terraform Labs Founder Says UST’s Decentralized Forex Reserve Stash Is Aligned With the Bitcoin Standard Do Kwon, the cofounder and CEO of Terraform Labs told CNBC during the announcement that the pegged currency’s reserves are aligned with the Bitcoin standard. “For the first time, you’re starting to see a pegged currency that is attempting to observe the Bitcoin standard,” Kwon remarked. “It’s making a strong directional bet that keeping a lot of those foreign reserves in the form of a digital native currency is going to be a winning recipe,” the Terraform Labs founder added. The press release further notes that LFG’s purchase was once worth $1.5 billion, but today it’s reduced in value to $1.4 billion worth of BTC. LFG’s current bitcoin wallet now holds more than Tesla’s bitcoin reserves, which is approximately 42,902 bitcoin, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. With 80,394 bitcoin, LFG’s stash is only 48,824 BTC away from catching up to Microstrategy’s 129,218 BTC. Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC) slipped down to a low of $36,520 on Thursday and the leading crypto asset is down 5% over the last 24 hours. “The jury’s still out on the effectiveness on the subject, but I think it is symbolic in the sense now that we live in a time where there’s excess money printing across the board and when monetary policies [are] highly politicized that there are citizens that are self-organizing to try to bring systems back to a sounder paradigm of money,” Kwon concluded on Thursday. What do you think about the Luna Foundation Guard scooping up 37,863 bitcoin? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

During a volatile day of trading, ethereum classic rose to a one-week high earlier in the session, before falling victim to a red wave. AXS also rose today, climbing by over 12% in the day, however, a bearish wave pushed prices lower as the day progressed. Ethereum Classic (ETC) ETC climbed to a one-week high earlier in Thursday’s session, when bulls were still buoyed by yesterday’s Fed decision. However, as the day progressed, these bulls turned to bears, as the magnitude of the current inflationary landscape continued to spark market uncertainty. ETC/USD rose to an intraday peak of $32.36 earlier in the session, which was its highest point since April 25. At that point, prices were up by nearly 9% from Wednesday’s lows, however, these gains swiftly fell, and as of writing prices are now trading at $28.28. Looking at the chart, this decline came as the prices failed to break out of resistance at $33, with bears using this as an opportunity to re-enter the market. The 14-day RSI is now also tracking below a ceiling of its own, at 43, as the wave of bearish pressure pushed the price into oversold territory. Axie Infinity (AXS) AXS started the day being easily one of the biggest gainers, climbing by over 12%, however, these gains were also lost later in the session. To start the day, AXS/USD followed up Wednesday’s low of $29.04, by climbing to a peak of $34.75 earlier today. This gain saw prices move away from the floor of $28.90, which was close to a ten-month low for the blockchain gaming token. However, as the day progressed, we are now back close to this floor, with AXS currently trading at a level of $29.13. This market volatility means that April’s red wave in crypto markets has moved into the first week of May, and could extend beyond this, as traders continue to be wary of the risk of inflation. Some are however hopeful that a strong non-farm payroll report on Friday could help ease the bleeding, with prices rebounding from today’s losses in such an event. Could a strong NFP number help push crypto prices higher? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. StreamCoin revealed that it has secured a corporate ICO investment from blockchain consulting firm TNC IT Group. Specifically, TNC IT Group has purchased over 200 million STRM during the recently-concluded STRM public sale. The announcement came after StreamCoin revealed that it has raised more than $11.7 million during its three-month public sale, enabling the team to exceed the STRM soft capitalization goal of $11,250,000. StreamCoin’s friendly rapport with TNC started when the latter organized the simultaneous World Live Streamers Conference (WLSC) and World Metaverse Conference (WMC). The back-to-back conferences, which were held from March 25 to 26, 2022, saw the participation of over 30,000 people – both at the Festival Arena in Dubai, UAE and virtually. During the said events, StreamCoin actively supported the organizer as one of the Platinum Sponsors. StreamCoin CEO Michael Ein Chaybeh was also given the honor of delivering the welcome address, on top of other on-stage appearances. In addition, StreamCoin’s multi-streaming platform MeiTalk sponsored the MeiTalk Top 100 Influencer Awards. Michael commented on the TNC investment: “StreamCoin is known as a prime mover in the live streaming industry. This recent investment made by TNC only goes to show how much potential they see in StreamCoin, and for that, I am truly grateful. This also bears testament to the friendship and understanding that we have developed over the months.” For his part, TNC Executive Director Jason H. Jang remarked: “Since our correspondence earlier this year, we at TNC IT Group have seen tremendous potential in StreamCoin in revolutionizing social media, particularly live streaming. It is our mission to look for promising companies to support, and StreamCoin is definitely one that exhibits all of the qualities we are looking for in a partner company. We look forward to more fruitful collaborations in the future.” Meanwhile, StreamCoin announced the multiple listing of STRM on more than 100 cryptocurrency exchanges. Alongside this, the company has launched STRM Staking, an online portal where STRM holders will be able to earn interest in GaStream (GSTRM) when they stake their STRM. Furthermore, the company will also provide a swapping service via Stream Bridge. For more updates on StreamCoin, kindly follow the company’s official social media channels: Telegram: https://t.me/streamcoinofficial Twitter: https://twitter.com/streamcoin_strm LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/streamcoin/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/streamcoinofficial/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/streamcoinofficial YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/STREAMSTRM Medium: https://medium.com/streamcoin 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

According to a recent report, a secretly held, invitation-only crypto gala took place in Beverly Hills called the “Medici LA 22” event. The exclusive cryptocurrency gathering took place under the radar, but the two-day meeting was reported on after “130 or so” attendees met. An Exclusive, Closed-Door Meeting Took Place in Beverly Hills With Wall Street Big Wigs and Crypto Industry Leaders On May 3, Bloomberg reporter Yueqi Yang described an event called Medici LA 22, a secret gathering meant to create “actionable investment ideas” in the crypto industry. The event was closed doors and a no-name tag meeting that saw around 130 people attend for two days. Yang’s report explained the conference was held at the French eatery Jean-Georges restaurant in Beverly Hills. Some attendees told Yang “tickets for the event were hard to come by” and some of the Medici LA 22 participants were from Jane Street, Goldman Sachs, and Blackrock. The report further notes that Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, attended as well as billionaire and chief executive officer of Galaxy Digital, Mike Novogratz. Yang detailed that Anatoly Yakovenko, the co-founder of Solana attended, Kanav Kariya, the president of Jump Crypto, Mihailo Bjelic, the co-founder of Polygon, and Adam Jackson, CEO of Braintrust, went to the exclusive Medici event. The chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was a Medici participant as well. According to the Bloomberg report, the Medici Network was created five years ago by the founding partner of Finality Capital Partners, Adam Winnick. The Finality Capital founding partner explained that when he got into finance, high-yield bonds were all the rage. “Today, tokens are the novel instrument that is bootstrapping a whole new group of networks and we are proud to support that effort,” Winnick said in the conference’s program. The Annual Satoshi Roundtable Is Also an Invitation-Only Event Held in a Secret Location The Medici Network events are not the only exclusive, invite-only meetings that have taken place within the crypto industry. For instance, every year Watchdog Capital founder and crypto advocate Bruce Fenton hosts the Satoshi Roundtable event at a secret location. During the first annual event, the Satoshi Roundtable was called the “Bilderberg” meeting of the crypto-world. “The Satoshi Roundtable is an annual gathering of the industry’s key players in an informal, yet private environment where participants freely discuss current events, obstacles, and opportunities in the blockchain space,” the website’s description states. What do you think about the private Medici LA 22 event held in Beverly Hills this year? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On Wednesday, the leading crypto industry firm, Bitcoin.com, announced it has concluded a private sale of its VERSE token and secured $33,600,000 from strategic investors. VERSE is meant to bolster Bitcoin.com’s growing infrastructure by providing a utility token that rewards users for contributing to the Bitcoin.com ecosystem. Bitcoin.com’s Private Token Sale Raises $33.6 Million This week, Bitcoin.com revealed that it has completed a private sale of its VERSE token and raised $33.6 million from participating investors. For over seven years, Bitcoin.com has been an industry leader when it comes to blockchain technology and cryptocurrency solutions. Bitcoin.com provides crypto exchange services, educational resources, a non-custodial wallet, and news. VERSE is meant to enhance the company’s growth by rewarding VERSE users for participating in the myriad services Bitcoin.com has to offer. Perks include rewarding the crypto community with VERSE for things like buying, selling, and swapping digital assets. VERSE will be released this summer as an Ethereum-based (ERC20) token with cross-chain compatibility. Just recently, Bitcoin.com revealed the introductory web portal getverse.com and VERSE white paper, in order to give the crypto community details about the VERSE launch. On May 5, 2022, Bitcoin.com announced that it completed a private token sale and raised $33.6 million from firms like Digital Strategies, Blockchain.com, Kucoin Ventures, Redwood City Ventures, 4SV, and Boostx Ventures. Furthermore, well-known crypto pioneers and influencers such as Jihan Wu, Roger Ver, and David Wachsman participated in the private VERSE sale. Dennis Jarvis, Bitcoin.com’s CEO, explained in a statement that the token will add a significant amount of utility and value to the firm’s multiple finely-tuned crypto services. Jarvis further explained that the VERSE token public sale will take place this summer. “Since 2015, Bitcoin.com has been a leader in introducing newcomers to crypto and guiding them along their crypto journey. So far we’ve built an incredible portfolio of products and services that count more than 4 million monthly active users and 30 million self-custody wallets created,” Jarvis said after the private sale concluded. “Today, we’re proud to announce VERSE, a utility, and rewards token for everyone who participates in the ready-built Bitcoin.com Verse ecosystem.” Bitcoin.com’s CEO added: VERSE is user-centric and adds tremendous value across our range of crypto products and services including the Bitcoin.com self-custody wallet app, the Bitcoin.com Exchange, the Verse DEX, Bitcoin.com News, and our upcoming crypto-enabled debit card. We’re also extremely excited to announce the Verse public token sale, which is scheduled to begin in June. Kucoin Ventures Exec Says ‘Next Wave of Growth in Crypto Will Be Led by Strong Global Brands’ VERSE tokens are similar to the likes of crypto utility tokens such as BNB, CRO, or FTT. In the Bitcoin.com ecosystem, VERSE users will gain utility from things like yield farming on the Verse DEX, trading via the Bitcoin.com Exchange, staking tokens in contracts, and earning VERSE from a variety of Bitcoin.com’s current services. Justin Chou, the chief investment officer at Kucoin Ventures, believes the crypto industry will be bolstered by well-known and reliable brands. “The next wave of growth in crypto will be led by strong global brands that create real-world products for millions of people,” Chou said in a statement. “Bitcoin.com will accelerate the development of products and partnerships that expand their reach globally.” In addition to the recent private sale, the public sale is scheduled for June 2022 and 12,600,000,000 VERSE tokens will be available. Bitcoin.com will release the Bitcoin.com Verse Launchpad, which will give visitors information about the public sale, and allow people to purchase VERSE. The getverse.com website offers a signup form for updates about the public sale and other information related to the VERSE token and ecosystem. What do you think about Bitcoin.com completing a private VERSE token sale for $33.6 million? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin moved closer to $40,000 during Thursday’s session, as traders continued to react to yesterday’s Fed rate hike. The FOMC opted to increase interest rates by 0.5% during May’s meeting, which is the largest hike in over twenty years. Bitcoin Bitcoin rose for a second consecutive session on Thursday, as bulls were buoyed by the Fed’s decision to increase interest rates. Following yesterday’s surge, BTC/USD climbed even higher during today’s session, as it moved closer to the $40,000 level. BTC hit an intraday high of $39,902.95 earlier today, which is the highest point prices have reached since last Thursday. Today’s rally was halted by a key resistance point of $39,800, which has historically been the main obstacle preventing prices entering $40,000. Looking at the chart, this resistance coincided with another ceiling within the RSI indicator, as price strength was unable to move past 48.70. As we identified yesterday, this level of resistance would be an area of contention for both bulls and bears, and it seems that bears have so far won this battle. Ethereum ETH was also higher during today’s session, as the uncertainty surrounding the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting finally passed. As this cloud passed, bulls seemed to be tentatively returning to crypto markets, with ETH hitting a one-week high as a result. This high was the $2,956.69 point which ETH/USD hit earlier today, and comes following a low of $2,829.99 yesterday. Thursday’s move saw ethereum marginally pass its long-term resistance level of $2,950, climbing over 2% from yesterday’s low in the process. Despite this upwards momentum, some bulls have backed away as we hit resistance, with earlier gains easing, likely as a result of positions being closed. Momentum however continues to be bullish, as the 14-day RSI is tracking at 48.50, which is above its own ceiling. Once we enter the $3,000 level, will we see a sustained rise in prices? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

The European Central Bank (ECB) leans toward a “transparent” digital euro over one that ensures a higher level of privacy for its users, a presentation devoted to the project has indicated. In the document, the monetary authority explores different privacy options for the eurozone’s digital fiat. User Anonymity Not Desirable for Digital Euro, ECB Says A presentation by the European Central Bank has thrown some light on the regulator’s “preliminary views” on the privacy-related features of the digital euro. It comes as the project to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the eurozone is still in its investigation phase. Recognizing that maintaining control over their personal data and upholding privacy as a fundamental right is important for Europeans, the monetary authority nevertheless remarks that a shift towards digital payments implies less privacy by default. That’s despite the possibility to preserve some cash-like features in a digital version of the euro. A report by the ECB highlighted privacy as a key concern for future users of the digital euro, but the bank now says that privacy needs to be assessed in the context of other EU policies. Among them, anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-financing of terrorism (CFT) efforts. Elaborating on the matter, the regulator states: User anonymity is not a desirable feature, as this would make it impossible to control the amount in circulation and to prevent money laundering. Digital Euro Data to Be Transparent Rather Than Private The European central bank further insists that the Eurosystem, which consists of the ECB and the central banks of the eurozone members, should have access to the digital euro transaction data in order to validate payments. Also, anonymized, aggregate data should be available for statistical and oversight purposes as well as to fight fraud and crime. In the presentation, brought to the public’s attention by crypto venture advisor Patrick Hansen this week, the ECB lists three privacy options for the digital euro platform. The first one, which is referred to as the “currently applicable baseline scenario,” aims to ensure that personal and transaction data is transparent to intermediaries which need to comply with AML and CFT regulations. The second approach would allow a higher degree of privacy for low-value payments and the last one envisages privacy for offline transfers, in which case low-value balances and amounts would not be known to financial intermediaries or authorities. The ECB admits that the latter two “desirable options” could be investigated together with European legislators. What are your thoughts on the privacy options for the digital euro reviewed by the European Central Bank? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The government of Kazakhstan has revised the registration requirements for persons and companies involved in crypto mining. The updated regulations come amid an ongoing clampdown on the industry in the Central Asian nation, where the influx of miners has been blamed for persisting electricity shortages. Crypto Miners to File Quarterly Reports With Kazakhstan Authorities An order issued by Kazakhstan’s minister of digital development, Bagdat Musin, has expanded the registration and reporting requirements for those minting digital coins. The document obliges individual entrepreneurs and legal entities that intend to mine crypto to notify regulators at least 30 days before commencing activities. The same applies to firms and persons providing services to such enterprises. Cryptocurrency miners are now asked to submit certain data including the name, registration number, and contact information of their companies, as well as their bank details and IP addresses. They will have to also specify the energy needs of their mining facilities, the planned investments, and the number of employees. Among the required documents are copies of customs declarations or other proof of ownership of mining equipment, documents confirming that the persons involved in the undertaking are residents of Kazakhstan, information indicating the location of the mining farm in the country, and a technical description of how the hardware will be connected to the power grid. Miners that have already started operations, and their providers of maintenance services, are obliged to file similar reports with the government for every quarter. Furthermore, mining entities that pull out of business will have to notify the state within ten days after terminating their activities. The new reporting requirements come as the authorities in Nur-Sultan are clamping down on the crypto mining industry, a year after Kazakhstan became a magnet for miners amid China’s offensive against the sector. The government has been targeting illegal miners but even authorized bitcoin farms have suffered from power cuts caused by the growing electricity deficit. The shortages have already forced some companies to leave the country while dozens of mining facilities have been shut down this year, and many of them remain unplugged. Auditors have also been trying to close tax loopholes exploited by some miners, while authorities prepare to increase the tax burden for those that remain in Kazakhstan, and intend to tie the levy to the value of the minted digital currency. Do you expect more crypto miners to leave Kazakhstan following the adoption of the stricter registration and reporting rules? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. NAFSTARS, a Polygon-based play-to-earn [P2E] platform that allows users to collect artist branded cards from all around the globe and from every music genre, has announced a successful fund raise of $1.7 million in seed, token pre-sale, and NFTs. This announcement comes right after the Non-fungible Conference [NFC] in Lisbon, Portugal. Leveraging cutting-edge technology, NAFSTARS collects artists’ metrics such as streams, views, social media followers, and career milestones [gold, and platinum certifications] and translates them into scores. Hence allowing these cards to represent an artist’s real-life performance score. Additionally, NAFSTARS will allow users to participate in numerous battles and earn rewards. NAFSTARS receives support from French hits radio, NRJ, and TRACE—Africa’s number one music TV network. Its artist directory counts over 7 billion YouTube views and 30 million followers from three continents. NAFSTARS Allows Artists to Gain from Their Online Popularity NAFSTARS is a solution that allows artists from across the world to capitalize on their online fame and, in turn, channels these real-life metrics or data into unique digital NFTs that become part of a branded card P2E game. NFC Lisbon has played a significant role in the growth of this French start-up. The Polygon-based P2E gaming platform has officially integrated Polygon Studios and has entered agreements with several launchpads for its upcoming initial DEX offering [IDO]. And recently, NAFSTARS has signed a handful of internationally acclaimed Brazilian and Portuguese artists. At the NFC, NAFSTARS announced new signings. First on the list is Portuguese-based international sensation CALEMA, who is on the verge of kicking off his stadium tour in Africa. BLAYA, whose hit song was covered by Grammy Award-winning singer Madonna in her 2019 album, and Portugal’s number one singer, SOYARA RAMOS, are two of the other signings announced by the French P2E gaming platform. The $NSTARS Token Like most crypto and NFT projects, NAFSTARS has launched a native currency, $NSTARS. As the native in-game token on the gaming platform, $NSTARS will serve as a utility token for users. First, users can mint unique cards on NAFSTARS using $NSTARS. Secondly, users will earn $NSTARS when they participate in leaderboards, and finally, they can earn this token by taking part in the project’s liquidity pool. $NSTARS pre-sale is closed and NAFSTARS will kick off an IDO through a few renowned launchpads soon. While the global music industry is still in recovery mode, the emergence of streaming has aided the proliferation of this billion-dollar industry, opening doors for Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asian markets. NAFSTARS bridges the music industry with the budding concept of NFTs. About NAFSTARS NAFSTARS is a Polygon-based play-to-earn and NFT platform that allows users to collect branded artist cards. By leveraging technology, NAFSTARS offers users rewards for playing games and enables artists to gain immensely from their online popularity. The introduction of its native token $NSTARS, along with their fast growing artist and investor community proves that this project is here to stay. Take a look at their light paper: https://manager.nafstars.com/nafstars_lightpaper_en.pdf. Media Contact Company Name: NAFSTARS Company Contact Person: contact@nafstars.com Contact Person Title: Romain Delnaud Company Website: manager.nafstars.com Company Email: contact@nafstars.com Social Contact Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nafstars_off Telegram: https://t.me/nafstars_en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nafstars_off Discord: https://discord.gg/6uHKPCX9mV LinkTree : https://linktr.ee/nafstars 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

The Dubai virtual assets regulator, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), has established its metaverse headquarters in The Sandbox virtual world. By establishing a presence in the metaverse, the regulator said it hopes to make itself accessible to all stakeholders. World’s ‘Virtual Assets Capital’ Dubai’s digital assets regulator, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), has established its metaverse headquarters (HQ) in the virtual world of The Sandbox, a statement from the regulator has said. The regulator said its objective for setting up the metaverse HQ is to ensure VARA “is accessible to its industry in their environment.” VARA is also expected to help facilitate engagement between virtual asset service providers (VASPs), industry influencers, and global regulators. According to the statement, by making this move, the Dubai regulator is signaling a willingness to make the Emirate “the world’s Virtual Assets Capital.” Maintaining Dubai’s Lead In remarks following the announcement, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, said: “Dubai maintains a leading position at the forefront of technological transformation. We have exceeded the role of an early adopter to become an innovator and participant in shaping the future of this technology. Today, VARA joins the metaverse to become Dubai’s – and the metaverse’s – first government authority, ushering in a new era in which [the] Dubai government utilises modern innovations to extend its services and regulatory power to audiences in an open technological expanse, without constraints or borders.” Sheikh Hamdan added that by establishing the metaverse HQ, VARA has created a decentralized regulatory model that allows stakeholders to share or exchange knowledge, and solve problems collectively. Helal Saeed Almarri, the director-general at the Dubai World Trade Center Authority, said: “As the first niche regulator for the VA [virtual assets] sector globally, VARA’s Metaverse HQ also makes the UAE the first jurisdiction to enter this platform, reflecting our leadership’s aspiration to facilitate a borderless new market enabling sustainable economic freedom.” What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Brubank, one of the first Argentinian digital banks approved by the central bank of the country, is getting into the cryptocurrency business. The company announced it is now allowing customers to make cryptocurrency investments via its platform, giving them the ability to purchase crypto assets in its app. This is reportedly the second financial institution that is providing these services in the country. Brubank Introduces Cryptocurrency Services Private Banks in Argentina are starting to see the value of offering cryptocurrency services to their customers amidst a crypto boom in the country. Brubank, an all-digital financial institution licensed by the country’s central bank, has reported it is now offering cryptocurrency purchase services in its app. The bank announced this new functionality on social media when answering an inquiry from a customer about the new options on the platform. Brubank stated: Yes, we already have crypto! It is a functionality that is being progressively enabled for all our users. When you have it enabled you will be able to view it by entering ‘Investments’ from the app. Brubank chose to offer only four cryptocurrencies on its platform, listing BTC, ETH, and two stablecoins: USDC and DAI. Legality of the Banking Crypto Frenzy Brubank is not the first banking institution to include cryptocurrency services for its customers in Argentina. On May 2, Banco Galicia, another private bank, also announced it was already offering cryptocurrency investments directly from its home banking app, after noting a demand for these instruments from customers. However, cryptocurrencies are still not regulated in the country, and banks cannot offer cryptocurrency investments by themselves. To do this, banks are partnering with third-party institutions that operate outside the country, offering white label services. In the case of Banco Galicia, it is Lirium, a European regulated platform, that provides the liquidity, executes the trades, and provides custody services for the customer of the bank. Brubank has not yet announced which platform is providing these services for the institution. The nature of such arrangements means that the funds stored in these cryptocurrency wallets are not secured by the laws of the country, and are out of the scope of the protections that institutions of the country, like the central bank or the National Values Commission, can offer for investment instruments. What do you think about the inclusion of crypto in another Argentinian bank? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Bankoff, a platform offering virtual cards that could be topped up with cryptocurrency, has told customers its cards are no longer supported by payment systems Visa and Stripe. They allowed Russians to pay abroad after major processors restricted their services in the country. Visa and Stripe Halt Support for Bankoff Cards Payment processors Visa and Stripe have halted services for cards issued by Bankoff, the online banking platform informed clients on Tuesday, May 3. In a notice, a copy of which was posted on social media, the company explained that the suspension was due to the increased number of active users and transactions from Russia. “It means our cards are no longer supported for any offline and online payments,” the Bankoff team elaborated. The neobank also revealed that its funds in a U.S. account had been frozen, assuring customers it’s currently working to restore access to the money. Representatives of Bankoff have confirmed the development to Forklog. The crypto news outlet added in a report that some users who deposited cryptocurrency to their accounts have complained they were been unable to withdraw their balances as well. The news of the terminated services comes after in early March, Visa and Mastercard halted operations in Russia as part of sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Russian-issued cards supported by the world’s leading payment processors cannot be used for purchases outside Russia. Following the restrictions, Russian residents began ordering Bankoff’s virtual cards which allowed them to make payments abroad. The cards could be topped up with the stablecoin tether (USDT) and added to major electronic wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Alipay. Russia has been facing mounting western sanctions that have limited access to global finances for its government and citizens. Abiding by the restrictive measures, major global payment and remittance providers such as Western Union, Paypal, Wise, Remitly, Transfergo, Zepz, Wirex, and Revolut have already suspended services in the Russian Federation. Do you know of other crypto payment card services that have been halted for Russian users? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Web3 platform Infinite Arcade launches batch 3 Gamer NFTs sale. The Gamer (avatar) NFTs act as access keys to unlock play & earn on the platform. The games are free-to-play, each set. The first 2 batches of the Genesis Gamer NFTs were sold out very quickly. Now the last stage of NFTs sale starts and it will be held for those players only who are Whitelisted. Infinite Arcade has launched a month ago. It makes it possible for developers and creators to connect with players in a marketplace in order to create a common economy. Infinite Arcade is like an arcade in the metaverse. Users can own part of the ecosystem and gain from its growth, as well as be rewarded for their time spent in the game and contribution to the community. By now players are enjoying 15 live P2E games. About 200 games will be launched in the near future on this exclusive metaverse Web3 platform. Players can earn TIC, the utility token of the Infinite Arcade. To get access to the platform one should use the Gamer NFT. However, the main goal is not to earn money using the P2E mechanism. This is only a lever. And the core idea is to create an ecosystem of players who play favorite games, have fun, and socialize with new players. There are three main points to differ the Infinite Arcade from other blockchain games: great familiarity; big choice; and low switching costs. Popular games like arcades seem to be casual, and there is no need to spend hours learning to understand the game mechanics. Soon there will be hundreds of games on the platform, and switching costs are really low with no hassle, same token, same NFT, and rewarding system. Mobile games market in total counts up to 3 billion players and 100 million game developers. The Infinite Arcade Roadmap indicates launching 50 games in Q2, 100 in Q3, and 200 in Q4. But that’s not all. Any casual game developer can add a game to the platform. Right now Infinite Arcade has a launch partner Coda with about 15K studios that will be connected to the platform. 10M+ existing players can join Infinite Arcade. Last but not least is that Infinite Arcade has partnered up with several guilds that provide scholarships. Nexxt Gaming Guild (NGG) is the biggest one. It provides thousands of scholarships to lower the barrier to entry into the next generation of games. Being a scholar means joining frequent giveaways, tips & tricks, live streams, educational content, early access, whitelist spots, beta testing, and others. To become an NGG scholar one should join NGG Discord and follow the simple steps required. Each Scholar can earn from 100 to 1500 dollars per month depending on the games and rank in the ranking system. The Infinite Arcade platform is developed on the Polygon mainnet due to its speed, scalability, and low transaction fees. Polygon is a Layer2 solution with the combination of the best features of Ethereum and sovereign blockchains. Infinite Arcade uses a dual token model with TIC and ARC tokens. TIC is an ERC-20 token with unlimited emission, it will be traded on a Decentralized Exchanges (DEX), and it is also used to earn money by players with a two-hour daily playtime limit. TIC will go live on May 11th, players are already earning TICs for the past month. ARC is a utility token to govern the platform. It has a limited supply of 3B and will be available via IDO in Q3 2022. Having an NFT is the key to start playing. No one can play and earn TICs without an NFT. NFTs can be sold on the marketplace like OpenSea. 10.000 Genesis NFTs were already minted and they were sold out quickly. But there is the last batch of only 6666 NFTs available for those who are whitelisted. These NFTs will be minted on May 10th. To be whitelisted on www.infinitearcade.com one should enter an email and Discord name, and add a wallet address. Now it’s the right time to get avatar NFT to stake on an early stage of the Infinite Arcade economy. Whitelist is open from 25/04 – 09/05. To be whitelisted visit www.infinitearcade.com/whitelist and Discord https://discord.com/invite/QxyKQDcWnE/ To know about NGG visit https://www.ngg.io To learn about Infinite Arcade and NGG partnership see www.ngg.io/infinite-arcade NGG scholarship options are at https://discord.com/invite/8DC7QgSHVQ This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Following one of the largest non-fungible token (NFT) mints in history and after apecoin transactions from the sale fueled Ethereum network fees, apecoin is now integrated with the Polygon (MATIC) network. On May 2, the Apecoin project announced that with Polygon support, APE is now available via MATIC’s 19,000 decentralized applications (dapps) and games. Apecoin Is Now Supported by Polygon, Apecoin DAO Board Member Says Separate Apecoin Network Proposal Would Need to Use the AIP-1 Process Three days ago, Bitcoin.com News reported on the Bored Ape Yacht Club-centric Otherside metaverse land sale which has been the largest NFT collection in terms of sales during the last seven days. Week-long statistics from cryptoslam.io show Otherdeed has seen $721,337,124 in sales to date. Moreover, the crypto token apecoin (APE) and its transactions during the sale, pushed ether gas fees significantly higher during the metaverse deed sale. The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) creators, Yuga Labs, said at the time that it “seems abundantly clear, that Apecoin will need to migrate to its own chain in order to properly scale.” However, instead of a separate Apecoin network, the token built on Ethereum is now integrated with Polygon and an Apecoin DAO board member said there might not be a separate Apecoin blockchain. 1/ Following the @OthersideMeta mint we saw a series of reactions & discussions in & around the @apecoin community including that $ape should move to its own chain to limit issues with gas fees & scaling. Let me step back and provide some clarity & context https://t.co/FdgznVeMr8 — Yat Siu (@ysiu) May 3, 2022 Apecoin DAO board member Yat Siu stressed: “no discussion was had either at the [Apecoin] board level or with any other parties (including [Yuga Labs]) of a possible apechain; this is a completely new idea to us.” Yat Siu further added: As with all [Apecoin] DAO initiatives, any decision to consider building a chain can only be done with the consent of the [Apecoin] community through [AIP-1: DAO proposal process]. Various L1 & L2s have signaled that they will submit a proposal to the DAO. Any received proposals will go through the standardized governance process outlined on the official site. Apecoin Taps an All-Time Price High, Apecoin DAO Board Member Mentions Animoca Brands’ Stake in Apecoin Projects The Polygon integration also follows apecoin’s recent all-time price high on April 28, 2022, six days ago. APE tapped an all-time high against the U.S. dollar at $26.70 per unit and APE is down 42% since then. Despite the weekly drawdown, APE is up 24% during the last 30 days and it holds the 32nd largest market cap among 13,388 cryptocurrencies in existence. At the time of writing, APE’s market valuation is $4.35 billion and the coin has seen $2.58 billion in 24-hour trade volume. The APE market cap represents 0.23% of the $1.84 trillion crypto-economy this week. The Apecoin DAO board member Yat Siu also detailed that Animoca Brands is an investor in many Apecoin-related L1 or L2s. “[Animoca Brands] as a significant investor in many L1 or L2s will also not be voting on any decisions of potential L1 & and L2 collaborations in which it has a material stake,” the Apecoin DAO board member concluded. Presently, there are 3.9K Apecoin DAO members involved with the governance process, according to apecoin.com stats. What do you think about apecoin support on Polygon and the recent commentary from Apecoin DAO board member Yat Siu? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Tron (TRX) rallied to a five-month high earlier in today’s session, as bulls continued to feed off recent news of the USDD stablecoin. While TRX climbed to multi-month highs, WAVES moved away from a two-month low today, as prices surged by as much as 15%. Tron (TRX) May the 4th was definitely with Tron on Wednesday, as TRX was one of the most notable gainers in today’s session, with prices surging to a five-month high. Following a low of $0.07003 during Tuesday’s session, TRX/USD raced to a high of $0.08134, breaking out of a key resistance level in the process. The move saw the ceiling of $0.07600 broken, which resulted in TRX hitting its highest level since Christmas day last year. Although earlier gains have since eased, which is likely as a result of bulls liquidating positions, prices are still marginally above the resistance. As of writing this, TRX is now trading at $0.07688, which is close to 7% higher than yesterday’s bottom. The 14-day RSI is now tracking at 66.11, which is the most price strength it has hit since April 2, 2022, and is close to yet another ceiling of 67.54, and another potential reason as to why earlier gains have eased. WAVES While TRX was the most notable gainer on Wednesday, WAVES was easily the biggest, with prices climbing by as much as 15%. WAVE/USD rose to an intraday high of $14.45 earlier today, as prices rebounded from their lowest level in the last two months. Tuesday saw WAVES hit a bottom of $11.89, which is just above its floor of $11.80, and the lowest price has been since February 28. However, as seen on the chart, a bull run followed the last time WAVES traded at this level, and today’s moves increase hope for a reversal in price. WAVES was one of the hardest-hit tokens during April’s crypto red wave, with prices going from a peak of $63.69, all the way to the recently stated floor. Price strength currently hovers at 33.36 as seen on the RSI, which is deep in oversold territory, and could be a good sign for those who believe we may have seen the worst. Will we see April’s red wave begin to fade the deeper we get into May? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Trading online has become very popular over the years. There are no specific requirements for becoming a trader or an investor, for that matter, as long as people know what they are doing. That being said, everyone has to start somewhere or they’ll never learn the ropes. No matter which commodity people choose to trade with, such as cryptocurrencies, stocks, bonds, currency pairs and so on, they have to understand that they are beginners. That means a lot of practice is needed before they actually invest any real money into trading. By disregarding this little fact, people are more likely to lose their entire investment on a first trade that they make. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to get the much-needed practice A good example is opening a demo account provided by Binaryoptions.com. All the information can be found here: https://www.binaryoptions.com/tools/demo-account/. That way, people will be able to experience the market in real-time without spending any real money on trades. Once newcomers get enough trading experience using a demo account, they can try out their strategies in a real market environment. With that in mind, here are a few of the things Binaryoptions.com can help new and experienced traders with Types of investments to consider There are plenty of commodities worth investing in. Trading these commodities comes down to buying when the price is low and selling when the price is high. That sounds a lot simpler than it actually is. Binaryoptions.com allows people to trade different commodities in a simulated environment and practice online trading so that they can decide which assets to focus on. Every commodity or asset depends on the market trends and overall economic situation in the world. Their prices fluctuate based on numerous factors that are unique for each asset. For instance, the value of stocks will depend on the overall market performance of the company. Therefore, it’s important to consider all the options before the best asset or commodity is chosen for trade and investment. That being said, here are a few types of investments to consider. Stocks. Bonds. Real Estate. Precious metals. Gold. Currency pairs. Cryptocurrencies. Collectables and curios. Venture capital. Angel investments. The importance of a diverse portfolio As beginner traders, people should focus on a single investment or asset for the time being. Every experienced trader and investor has a diverse portfolio. What that means, they have invested into multiple assets and commodities. The main reason is that every investment opportunity and trade comes with a certain amount of risk. As the saying goes: “Don’t put all your eggs in the same basket.” it perfectly applies to online trading. Portfolio diversification is designed to help traders mitigate and minimize investment risks. Using Binaryoptions demo account, traders can simulate what it would look like if they invested everything they had into a single trade. It can either mean a total loss or a great win depending on the market conditions. By diversifying investments, people will have other trades they can rely on if one deal goes sideways. The end result is, therefore, not a total loss but a minor setback. When traders have a diverse portfolio it means they’ve invested their capital into multiple different assets. For example, a trader can risk everything they have on a Bitcoin trade or have multiple cryptos invested in to mitigate and minimize the risks should their first trade turn sour. Practice makes perfect As mentioned before, creating a demo account is an excellent way to practice trading in real-time conditions. Binaryoptions provide access to the actual market with real market conditions and options. The only difference is that traders don’t actually trade but instead practice trading. Traders aren’t investing any money so they can try out different tactics as much as they want. The fact of the matter is that even experienced traders use demo accounts to test their strategies and theories. Testing out strategies in actual trades is not something anyone can afford to do. That’s why everyone does it in a risk-free environment. Therefore, demo accounts are not for beginners only. Even after people have learned the ropes and begun trading, they should keep their demo accounts for when they are not certain or for when they want to develop a new trading strategy. Developing a trading plan Trading is basically a business and if people don’t treat it as such, they are most likely to fail. Every business needs a business plan and every trader needs a trading plan, it’s as simple as that. Trading plan, however, needs to be well-written and it needs an outlined approach that suits each individual trader the most. Therefore, a trading plan requires effort, research, careful consideration and strategies that will help people trade effectively and trade successfully. Binaryoptions can help traders develop such a plan. Moreover, the trading plan isn’t and shouldn’t be written in stone. Plans don’t fundamentally change, they evolve and adapt as trader’s trading skills develop further and as market conditions shift. That being said, here are a few things worth considering when creating a trading plan. 1. Skill assessment After practicing trading, people need to be certain that their strategies will work in a live trading environment. Live trading, especially online trading, is very demanding. People need to be able to follow their signals without any hesitation or they’ll just be giving money away to others. 2. Setting the risk level Before any trade is made, it’s vital to decide the percentage of the portfolio that will be risked on a trade. This depends on the risk tolerance and trading style but generally, anywhere between 1% and 5% of a trader’s portfolio is used for any given trading day. 3. Setting the goals The next step is to set realistic risk/profit ratios for the trades. Therefore, it’s important to consider what the minimum risk/reward is. A good example is refusing to take the trade unless the profit is at least three times greater than the risk. Therefore if the stop loss is $3 per share, the goal should be $9 profit per share. People should set the goals as they see fit, as well as set goals they’re comfortable with. 4. Conducting extensive research Before the start of the trading day, it’s crucial to research the state of the market and happenings around the world. Taking a look at index features can tell traders a lot about the current state of affairs. For beginners, it’s better to wait for reports to be released than to take unnecessary risks. Trading ahead of the report is considered a gamble because none can know how volatile the reactions to the reports will be. 5. Setting the exit rules Most traders are not comfortable with a loss. People don’t want to sell because they’re down, which is a mistake best avoided. Setting the exit rules and learning to accept the loss is important because losses do happen in trading, and often. If traders focus only on buy signals, they’ll miss out on an opportunity to exit the trade with losses they can manage. Managing money and losses is more important because traders will lose more trades than they win. Even the most experienced traders lose more often than they win. 6. Analyzing the performance Once the trading is over, it’s of vital importance that traders focus on the hows and whys instead of focusing on the profits and losses. If traders want to win in the long-run, their trading plan must evolve in accordance with their trading experience. Knowing the conclusion of the trade is more important than regretting losing or celebrating a win. Following the data Beginner traders want to succeed, which is completely logical. However, success comes from developing unique trading styles and strategies, not from relying on rumors and speculations of other traders. People may visit various websites and forums regarding the trade, market and other things in search for tips, advice and perhaps a bit of help. There are, in fact, find people willing to help or even mentor others but those things are rare. It’s important to remember that the success of other traders largely depends on other traders making a mistake. Therefore, there’s a lot of bad information and misguided tips out there, especially when those tips originate from another trader. Instead of listening to what others have to say, traders should follow the data. Information is right there and research can tell them all they need to know. Binaryoptions, for example, helps their clients with understanding and interpreting the data. People at Binaryoptions are professionals that are familiar with the market and its conditions. They are also financial advisors who can provide traders with some good advice. But at the end of the day, people should try to rely on their own strategies, their plan and the information they manage to gather from doing research. Closing Words Trading is a full-time job and a business at the same time. To be successful and effective at online trading people have to commit to it and invest a lot of effort into devising a seamless plan and efficient strategies. At Binaryoptions.com, beginner traders can find plenty of information and tools that will help them while practicing online trading. This is a sponsored post. 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Bitcoin’s hashrate has once again reached an all-time high (ATH) this year, as the network’s processing power reached 275.01 exahash per second (EH/s) on May 2, 2022. The recent ATH follows a significant difficulty jump on April 27, and bitcoin’s value lost 6.2% against the U.S. dollar over the last two weeks. Bitcoin Hashrate Taps 275 Exahash Just recently, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty tapped an ATH at 29.79 trillion and it’s currently the most difficult it has ever been to find a BTC block reward. On April 27, after coasting along at 28.2 trillion for two weeks prior, the network’s difficulty jumped 5.56% higher. Bitcoin miners have continued to keep the high-speed tempo going despite the difficulty rising. Moreover, over the last two weeks, BTC has shed 6.2% in value against the U.S. dollar. The price drop has also made it less profitable for bitcoin miners during the two-week downturn. Despite those two setbacks, bitcoin miners have pushed the hashrate up to a new all-time high in terms of computational processing power. The hashrate reached the highest it’s ever been at 275.01 EH/s on May 2, 2022, at block height 734,577. The network previously reached an ATH 1,380 blocks prior to the 275 EH/s high at block height 733,197, on April 23. At that time, the ATH recorded was approximately 271.19 EH/s. Data shows that since block height 733,197, the overall hashrate increased 1.40% in seven days. Soon-to-Be Deployed Next-Generation Miners Seven-day statistics indicate that Foundry USA was the top mining pool after capturing 233 out of the 1,071 BTC blocks found last week. Foundry USA has 21.76% of the network hashpower with a 49.29 EH/s average over the last seven days. The second-largest mining pool this past week was Antpool, as it captured 145 block subsidy rewards last week. Antpool has held 13.54% of the global hashrate in the one-week timeframe with 30.68 EH/s. Today, 12 known pools are dedicating hashpower to the BTC network and 0.93% of the global hashrate, or 2.12 EH/s, is operated by unknown bitcoin miners. With Bitcoin’s hashrate reaching an all-time high before bitcoin mining rig manufacturers have shipped the latest next-generation machines, the hashrate could very well go much higher from here. Next-generation miners from Bitmain and Microbt, which pack a lot more hashrate, are due to ship next month. Moreover, Bitmain’s hydro bitcoin mining rig, the Antminer S19 Pro+ Hyd., commands 198 TH/s and has been released this month. Depending on lead times, miners could be deploying these high powered, next-generation miners and upping the network’s overall hashrate a great deal. What do you think about the hashrate rising to new highs on May 2? Do you expect the hashrate to increase after next-generation machines are deployed? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

It’s been six months or roughly 180 days since bitcoin reached an all-time high at $69K per unit on November 10, 2021, and bitcoin’s USD value is down 45% from that point. Typically after bitcoin’s price tops, the bear market that follows leads to a large 80% or more decline in value. However, because the recent price top resembles the growth from April 2013 to November 2013, bitcoin’s current bearish decline may not be so large this time around. An 80% Drop From Bitcoin’s High Would Lead to $13,800 per Unit Bitcoin markets have been bearish over the last six months after reaching the crypto asset’s all-time high (ATH) at $69K last year. While prices are dreary for many, it’s made people wonder how long the downward cycle will last. Using today’s bitcoin (BTC) exchange rates against the U.S. dollar indicates that the leading crypto asset has lost 45% so far. Usually, when BTC peaks, the price drops significantly during long-term bearish cycles and after a few specific tops, BTC has dropped more than 80% lower than the high. For instance, in April 2013, BTC reached an all-time price high at $259 per unit but then it slid to $50 a unit, losing approximately 82.6% in value. From November 2013’s all-time high of $1,163 per unit to January 2016, BTC’s value slid by 86.9%. If bitcoin’s USD value was to shed 80% from the recent $69K high six months ago, the price would drop to a low of $13,800 per unit. The Softer Bear Market Theory However, there’s a chance that the current bear cycle may be shorter and less impactful this time around. While BTC has seen at least three 80% or more drops, it’s seen a lot more 32-51% drops. One reason bitcoin’s bottom may not be so harsh is because the crypto asset’s peak was not that huge. In fact, the last bitcoin bull run was longer and saw a much smaller percentage gain than previous all-time highs. The crypto advocate and Youtuber ‘Colin Talks Crypto’ discussed the softer bear market theory on May 1. From the August 17, 2012 peak ($16) to the April 10, 2013 peak ($259), BTC gained 1,518.75% between that timeframe. Following that cycle, between the April 10, 2013 top and the November 2013 peak, bitcoin gained 349.03%. Then from the November 2013 peak to December 2017 peak, BTC jumped 1,590.97%. This time around, however, the December 2017 peak to the November 2021 top was only 250.85%. It’s been the lowest percentage gain of all the major bull runs in the crypto asset’s lifetime. The lower jump higher could lead to a softer bitcoin bear market that’s much less drastic than an 80% or more plunge. In addition to the smaller ATH, the run-up to the 2021 ATH was over 400 days. The bitcoin bull run prior (2017) only lasted 200 days or roughly half the time. This means while the brunt of the current bear market may be softer in a sense, it may last a lot longer than previous bear cycles. What do you think about the possibility of a softer bear market that’s less harsh than the previous 80% plunges bitcoin experienced in the past? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin was trading marginally higher on Wednesday, as crypto markets returned to the green ahead of the Fed meeting. ETH also rebounded in today’s session, moving away from its long-term support level in the process. Bitcoin BTC was trading higher on Wednesday, as bulls re-entered the market ahead of today’s Federal Reserve rate decision. Following a floor of $37,585.62 during Tuesday’s session, BTC/USD rallied to an intraday peak of $39,095.11 earlier today. The move came as bitcoin used its recent support point of $37,500 as a springboard, and bounced towards its highest point this week in the process. This rebound came as a herd of bulls burst through the gates, and pushed past a major ceiling within the RSI indicator. Looking at the chart, this resistance was at 42.20, and since the breakout, price strength is now tracking at its highest level since April 21. Now tracking at 45.50, a further ceiling awaits at 48.70, which is likely where this current bullish momentum will be tested, with some likely to secure gains and exit their positions. Ethereum The price of ethereum also marginally rebounded on Fed day, as it too moved further away from its long-term support. Wednesday has so far seen ETH/USD hit an intraday high of $2,876.42, which is around 0.9% higher than yesterday’s bottom at $2,762.12. This low came as prices briefly fell below the support level of $2,780. However, history repeated itself, with bulls re-entering at that level, as seen countless times before. Similar to BTC, price strength on the ETH chart is also tracking close to a ten-day peak, but an upcoming ceiling may also dent the chances of further progress. As seen on the chart, this ceiling is the 47.70 level on the Relative Strength Index, however simply hitting this point should be enough to see the price hit $2,950. In order to break past that resistance and go beyond $3,000, we will likely need an influx of more bulls to maintain the upward pressure. Will a rate hike today help or hinder crypto trading? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article