roadrunner

Several major financial services firms, including Citi, Wells Fargo, and BNY Mellon, are investing in institutional digital asset technology provider Talos, which aims to remove “the barriers to wide-scale crypto adoption.” The latest funding round values the company at $1.25 billion. Citi, Wells Fargo, BNY Mellon Participate in $105M Funding Round for Digital Asset Tech Firm A number of major financial services companies, including Citi and Wells Fargo, have joined a funding round for Talos, a global firm that provides institutional digital asset trading technology. Talos announced a $105 million Series B funding round Tuesday that values the company at $1.25 billion. “Our institutional-grade infrastructure technology supports the full lifecycle of digital asset trading, from price discovery to execution through to settlement,” its website describes, adding that “Talos is removing the barriers to wide-scale crypto adoption.” The funding round was led by global growth equity firm General Atlantic, the announcement notes, adding: New investors including Stripes, BNY Mellon, Citi, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, DRW Venture Capital, SCB 10x, Matrix Capital Management, Fin VC and Voyager Digital, Graticule Asset Management Asia (GAMA) and Leadblock Partners joined the round. Existing Talos investors included Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Paypal Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Fidelity Investments, Illuminate Financial, Initialized Capital, and Notation Capital. Anton Katz, co-founder and CEO of Talos, commented: This funding round represents a major inflection point for the industry. We’ve long heard that ‘the institutions are coming.’ The institutions are now here, and we’re extremely proud to be the digital asset trading platform of choice for leading institutions around the world. What do you think about major financial services companies investing in digital asset firms? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Pressure from the Kremlin and sanctions from the West have forced Russian news outlet Meduza to increasingly rely on cryptocurrency donations to fund its independent journalism. As the restrictions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine have prevented its Russian readers from contributing in fiat currency, the Riga-based website now accepts several digital coins. Meduza Pulls Journalists out of Russia, Seeks Crypto Support The war in Ukraine has affected Russian-language news site Meduza in more than one way, a report by Bloomberg reveals. Soon after the Kremlin launched its “special military operation,” President Vladimir Putin’s administration clamped down on independent reporting on the conflict and the media outlet has sought help to resettle its 25 journalists in Latvia. The small Baltic nation of around 2 million, which has a large Russian speaking minority, has become a hub for exiled Russian media. Western sanctions, however, do not allow Meduza’s 30,000 Russian readers who supported it before the conflict to send funds through Stripe, after the payment processor suspended services in the Russian Federation to comply with the penalties. The war and the sanctions have forced Meduza to turn to its international audience and ask for financial help in U.S. dollars, euros, or cryptocurrency. It now accepts card payments, bank wires, Paypal transfers, and multiple coins including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), the stablecoin tether (USDT), and the privacy-oriented monero (XMR). The report notes that the provided BTC and ETH wallets have already accumulated about $230,000 worth of cryptocurrency. Commenting on the situation, the news portal’s editor-in-chief Ivan Kolpakov pointed out that Meduza is currently raising only around half of what it needs to develop. While declining to reveal the total amount of donations, he noted that the website is soliciting crypto and relying entirely on money from foreigners for the first time and stated: We couldn’t predict that the sanctions of Western governments will come first and destroy our crowdfunding. Independent Russian media outlets have faced unprecedented pressure from authorities in Moscow and as a result some have shut down, while others have been blocked by the Russian state. The Novaya Gazeta newspaper suspended publication in March after receiving warnings about its coverage, and the Ekho Moskvy radio station had its FM frequency handed over to the state-run Sputnik. Meduza, which was founded in the Latvian capital after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, during another media crackdown, was labeled last year a “foreign agent” by the Russian government. The designation, which targets Russian media receiving funding from abroad, had already hurt its advertising revenue before the new sanctions effectively ended Russian donations. Do you expect other independent Russian publications to turn to cryptocurrency donations to fund their reporting? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Solana, NEAR and AVAX were all trading over 20% lower on Wednesday, as global crypto markets continued to fall on hump-day. The cryptocurrency market cap is currently down 6.35%, as traders continued to digest the recent crash in the price of LUNA and UST. Solana (SOL) Solana was down by over 20% during Wednesday’s trading session, as the bear market caused by the crash in LUNA continued to send shock waves through the markets. After trading at a peak of $70.90 on Tuesday, SOL/USD dropped to a low of $49.69 earlier in the day. This drop in price is the biggest one day move this year, and has sent SOL to its lowest level since August last year. Overall, prices have been on a downward trend since a failed breakout attempt of the $93 resistance point, which came the day before the Fed rate decision. Looking at the chart, the 14-day RSI is reading off the charts, and is currently tracking at 24.87, which is the weakest level it has recorded in nearly five months. Despite earlier losses easing, price was still down 24.30% from yesterday’s peak, with traders still looking to find a stable support point. Avalanche (AVAX) Aside from LUNA, which fell by over 90% in today’s session, AVAX was another notable mover, as it dropped by over 30% today. The token fell to an intraday low of $27.85 on Wednesday, following a peak of $48.52 during yesterday’s session. As a result of the move, AVAX/USD fell to its lowest level in nearly nine months, as prices almost dropped below $20. Overall, AVAX has dropped by over $70 since the start of April, with today’s floor the lowest level prices have been since last August. Looking at the chart, the 14-day RSI is now tracking below 23, which is the weakest level this indicator has hit since the inception of AVAX. Bulls will use the fact that prices are so deeply oversold as a positive, however with no clear price floor, we may see more uncertainty to come in upcoming sessions. Could we see AVAX break below $20 this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Decentralized finance (defi) protocols are having a hard time weathering the storm, as the total value locked in defi today is down 39.26% since April 3, from $230.18 billion to the current $139.81 billion. The sudden value drop stemming from Terra’s native assets, LUNA and UST, has pushed Lido down to the third-largest TVL position in defi, losing 19.42% in 24 hours. Anchor Protocol has slipped down to the 12th largest TVL position, losing 66.34% in the 24-hour timeframe. Value Locked in Defi Sheds 10% During the Last 24 Hours — Terra Defi Apps Rock the Boat According to defillama.com stats, the value locked in decentralized finance protocols has dropped 10.58% in value during the past 24 hours, and 39.26% over the past 38 days since April 3, 2022. All ten of the top defi protocols in terms of TVL size have dropped between 1.61% and 19.42% in the last day. The defi protocol Lido dropped from the second-largest position to the third-largest on Wednesday after losing close to 20% in value. Lido supports a number of blockchains, and one of them is the Terra network as it pays rewards in UST payments and allows LUNA bonding. While the defi lending protocol Anchor was once the third-largest defi project just three days back, it is now holding the 12th position as it lost 66.34% during the last 24 hours. Seven-day stats show Anchor’s TVL lost 85.92% in value. One of the only defi protocols that has seen its TVL rise over the last week is Tron’s Sunswap as it’s up 10.69% during the past seven days. Dydx managed to see its TVL rise by 0.80% this week and Arrakis Finance jumped 4.48% higher this week. The stablecoin-centric automated market maker and decentralized exchange (dex) Curve Finance still dominated on Wednesday by 9.94% of the entire $139.81 billion. However, Curve is down 11.51% during the last 24 hours, 27% down for the week, adn 31.85% during the last month. The TVL in cross-chain bridges has also dropped 20.3% this month and there’s currently a TVL of around $16.49 billion spread across cross-chain bridge protocols. Polygon and Avalanche command the largest cross-chain bridge TVLs today. While Terra was once the second largest in the defi space under Ethereum’s TVL, it has dropped to the sixth position. $3.71 billion remains in Terra-based defi protocols, while the leader Ethereum has $86.51billion. What do you think about the decentralized finance market action during the last few days and how Terra’s ecosystem is affecting the value locked? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

NASA, the U.S. space agency, has partnered with Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, to build a challenge for developers to help create a Martian metaverse experience. The challenge will include various tasks, including designing several key environments for Martian astronauts, which will be rendered using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 to provide a realistic environment. NASA to Develop Martian Metaverse to Help in Training Exercises NASA, the U.S. space agency, has recently posted a challenge to attract developers to help build a Martian metaverse environment to aid in training purposes. The challenge, which was posted in Herox, a crowdsourcing problem-solving platform, calls for developers to aid the institution in building “Virtual Reality (XR) assets and scenarios for use by NASA in research focused on extravehicular activities on the surface of Mars.” The challenge aims to populate an already-started metaverse world called MarsXR, which has now mapped 400 km2 of Mars terrain, with realistic day/night cycles, all modeled with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5, which will also be used by the developers to create the submissions in the challenge. Virtual Experiences The virtual experiences that NASA has defined as categories for this task include set up camp, scientific research, maintenance, exploration, and blow our minds, each one with a different purpose to fulfill. The challenge will reward the winners with a total prize purse of $70,000, shared across twenty individual prizes. This means that each prize for every category will be an average of $6K. This activity has already gathered a lot of attention from several groups that want to contribute to grow NASA’s Martian metaverse, according to the Herox page. More than 24 teams and 237 innovators are contributing to the construction of the Martian simulation, which will help the agency to cut costs by using a virtual reality module known as Apache to train upcoming astronauts in various experiences. While institutions have been slow to adopt virtual reality and metaverse-based apps, this seems to be changing, as both Microsoft and Meta are introducing virtual reality suites in the field. Microsoft announced last year it would integrate Mesh, an app that will replace video with digital avatars for meetings and presentations, directly into the popular Microsoft Teams app. For its part, Meta just announced the launch of Venues in its flagship metaverse app, Horizon Worlds. What do you think about NASA’s Martian metaverse approach? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Georgetown, Cayman Islands, May 10, 2022 – Today, HUMAN Protocol has announced that it has awarded a grant to VeritaTrust to power on-chain reviews. Following the announcement of HUMAN Protocol’s $10 Million funds dedicated to grants, this work with VeritaTrust represents their very first grant awarded since the inception of this program. VeritaTrust are seeking to reward reviewers with cryptocurrency for their reviews on products and services; and to use blockchain technology to track the reviews, as well as the corresponding reputation of reviewers. The VeritaTrust project is expected to ramp up the on-chain activity for HUMAN Protocol; and offers new utility to the Protocol’s native token, HMT, which will be used to reward reviewers. “It is a highly compatible partnership,” said Andreas Schemm, who heads up the grants program for HUMAN Protocol. “We are delighted to be working with the VeritaTrust team; to fund their work as they seek to build using our blockchain technology and reward mechanisms to improve e-commerce solutions.” Brahim Ben Helal, founder of VeritaTrust and former Head of Strategic Development at Trust Pilot said: “HUMAN Protocol share our vision of rewarding contribution. So far, they have successfully brought hCaptcha on-chain to allow people to earn for their ‘clicks’. Their method of evaluating and paying out micro-work on-chain is a great solution for our needs; by leveraging this technology, we can automatically pay out reviewers automatically on-chain thanks to the power of smart contracts.” About HUMAN Protocol HUMAN Protocol is a broadly applicable solution to the management of distributed workforces. It started by bringing hCaptcha – the bot blocker – on-chain, to reward individual workers for the key ML work they were completing by solving these CAPTCHAs. This, however, has become a more broad solution to the tokenization of any contribution; and, therefore, the ability to orchestrate the management of that work, the evaluation of it, and the reward of micropayments to many individuals. In this sense, reviews are just another form of work, or value contribution, that can be rewarded via blockchains. HUMAN anticipated the applicability of such a project in their blog release about the potential of projects, like VeritaTrust, made possible by blockchain technology. About VeritaTrust VeritaTrust helps e-commerce businesses to improve the online shopping experience. With 9 out of 10 people checking reviews before purchasing online, there has never been more value to reviews of products. By providing trusted reviews on the blockchain, they hope to help reduce cart abandonment, and boost conversion rates and loyalty. VeritaTrust collects customer reviews to help brands reward customers. They employ blockchain, A.I and machine learning, to create a plug&play SaaS solution to build a complete customer review strategy. 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

A new report has concluded that restrictions on cryptocurrency trading, as well as the banning of Twitter by Nigerian authorities, may have “crippled foreign direct investment in the fintech industry.” Foreign Direct Investment ‘Crippled’ A new report has found that restrictions imposed by Nigerian authorities on crypto trading may have contributed to the reduced foreign direct investment that goes to the fintech industry. The same restrictions, as well as the banning of Twitter, have also adversely affected young Nigerians who were earning money via crypto trading. The report, which is titled Africa’s Urbanisation Dynamics 2022: The Economic Power of Africa’s Cities, was jointly published by the secretaries-general of the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations (UN). “The restrictions on cryptocurrency transactions and the outright ban of Twitter in Nigeria have crippled foreign direct investment in the fin‑tech industry and negatively impacted millions of young Nigerians who earn a living from the sector,” the report concluded. Nigeria Denied Taxes However, an excerpt from the report published by Business Insider Africa suggested some Nigerian youths may have found ways to “lawfully bypass these restrictions and continue the business.” This fact is also backed by a Bitcoin.com News report which stated that peer-to-peer crypto trading in Nigeria had surged shortly after the central bank asked financial institutions to stop facilitating crypto-related transactions. By switching to alternative yet legal ways of transacting, the report opined that traders were “effectively denying Nigeria the taxes and transaction fees that would otherwise come into the system.” What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Qualcomm, one of the largest fabless mobile chip makers, is very optimistic about the future of the metaverse and what it might bring for companies and consumers in the area. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon believes that, while there is much to do in the development space, this development is real and will bring a very big opportunity for the people involved. Qualcomm CEO Talks Future of Metaverse Hardware companies are starting to view the recent metaverse push in the software industry as an interesting market for them to tackle. Qualcomm, which is one of the biggest fabless chip makers in the mobile world, is focused on the importance that this new technology might bring to the chip and electronic consumer market in the not-so-distant future. Cristiano Amon, CEO of the company, explained the importance that the company gives to the metaverse in an interview with Yahoo Finance. On the future of the metaverse, he explained: It’s real, it’s going to be a very big opportunity. We started investing in fundamental technologies that allow the merger of physical and digital spaces over a decade ago. To Amon, the metaverse means that there will be a need for specialized software for applications that will emerge to provide the metaverse feel for different targets. A New Market Qualcomm’s CEO believes there could be a big market for wearables that will be able to provide metaverse augmentations for people on the go. Amon stated: We have a number of different developments to eventually be able to create companion to your smartphone with fully immersive augmented reality glasses that actually is going to look like [normal glasses]. I think that’s a big opportunity. It could be as big as phones. Chips made by the company drive several devices used in metaverse applications, such as the Quest line of VR headsets produced by Meta, and the upcoming, updated version of the Hololens, a VR headset by Microsoft. However, there are also people against the use of wearables and augmented reality technologies as part of the metaverse. Ken Kutaragi, considered by some as the father of the first iteration of the Sony Playstation gaming console, considers this amalgamation of wearables in the current conception of the metaverse to be misguided. For Kutaragi, the metaverse has to do more with the application of augmented reality techniques that allow users to enjoy the current world without the use of wearables. What do you think about Qualcomm’s metaverse take? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The Indian government is reportedly considering imposing a 28% goods and services tax (GST) on all crypto transactions. “Currently tax is levied only on the part of the services provided by crypto exchanges. Subjecting the whole transaction to tax at a higher slab of 28% could give the markets a free fall,” one tax expert warned. Council Mulls Over 28% GST on Crypto Transactions India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council will soon make a decision on whether to expand the scope of applicable transactions and levy a 28% GST on all services and activities related to cryptocurrencies, CNBC TV18 reported Monday. The GST Council is the apex decision-making body chaired by the country’s finance minister. The council has nominated its law committee to form a view on the GST issue relating to cryptocurrency. Sources told the publication: There are various aspects of cryptocurrencies — the transactions involving cryptos, cryptos being used to make purchases, cryptos being received as payments. All these aspects are under examination and will be discussed by the law committee. “Tax proposals will be analyzed by the law committee, which will recommend its views to the GST Council for its consideration,” one person familiar with the matter was quoted as saying. The sources explained that crypto exchanges in India are currently classified as “an intermediary service” and are taxed at 18% GST. “They will have to be classified separately,” the sources noted, adding: Every transaction will be subject to 28% GST, if agreed upon by the GST Council. The GST rate for online gaming (without betting) is currently 18%. However, online games involving betting or gambling are taxed at 28% GST. A number of parliament members have demanded that cryptocurrency transactions be treated as gambling. One person familiar with the issue explained: “Several MPs demanded to raise GST on cryptocurrencies to 28% like gambling and lotteries. As Parliament is an apex body, their demands will also be examined by the law committee.” Commenting on the Indian government expanding the type of transactions that are subject to GST, Saket Patawari, an executive director at tax consultancy firm Nexdigm, opined: Currently tax is levied only on the part of the services provided by crypto exchanges. Subjecting the whole transaction to tax at a higher slab of 28% could give the markets a free fall. Cryptocurrency income is currently taxed at 30% in India. Moreover, a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) will start being levied on crypto transactions on July 1. Meanwhile, the Indian government is working on the country’s crypto policy. Finance ministry officials have been consulting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank on cryptocurrency regulation. Do you think India will decide to impose a 28% GST on all cryptocurrency transactions? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Aloha Browser is paving the way towards a decentralized web with the recent Handshake (HNS) integration. Now websites with HNS names automatically resolve within the Aloha Browser without additional configuration. Aloha has always focused on privacy and security for its users and is now at the forefront by having a revolutionary browser for Web3. There are currently more than 28 million monthly active users on Aloha’s mobile apps for Android and iOS. With this release, an Aloha desktop browser is now available too. Download Aloha Browser here. Aloha Browser has several first of its kind Web3 features, making this a must-have for Web3 enthusiasts. While Web3 is multifaceted from DeFi to NFTs, having a Web3 enabled browser at the center is just as important as the browser was for the Web2 user experience. Handshake aims to be the base of the web by decentralizing the DNS root zone and replacing the need for centralized Certificate Authorities (CAs) through DNS-based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE). Of all the decentralized naming services, only Handshake is focused on this ambitious undertaking. More than 4 million HNS names exist, which is more than all the other decentralized naming services combined (ENS, Unstoppable Domains, etc.). While using HNS names as a website is a critical use case, users can also use HNS names ​​for secure login, universal username, and wallet address. Having a similar ethos to Bitcoin, Handshake has no company or foundation. The Aloha Browser HNS integration came about through a partnership with Hey tx, the custodian of the .tx blockchain domain that’s made possible through Handshake. Nole Oppermann, the Founder of Hey tx, said, “As Handshake is at the center of the decentralized web, Aloha’s integration is a great step towards mainstream adoption; this now makes Aloha Browser the largest browser to natively support HNS to date.” To learn more about Handshake, check out Handshake.org and Namebase Learning Center. For owning HNS names, check out Namebase for TLDs or Porkbun for registering HNS domains like .tx, .c, or .sats. 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

Nine out of 10 central banks globally are exploring central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), according to the latest survey by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). Furthermore, “the emergence of stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies have accelerated the work on CBDCs.” BIS Central Bank Digital Currency Survey The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) published a report last week titled “Gaining momentum — Results of the 2021 BIS survey on central bank digital currencies.” The report is authored by the bank’s senior economist Anneke Kosse and financial market analyst Ilaria Mattei. The BIS CBDC survey was conducted in autumn 2021 with the participation of 81 central banks. The report describes: Nine out of 10 central banks are exploring central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and more than half are now developing them or running concrete experiments. In particular, work on retail CBDCs has moved to more advanced stages. The authors explained that both the Covid-19 pandemic and “the emergence of stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies have accelerated the work on CBDCs.” This is especially true in “advanced economies, where central banks say that financial stability has increased in importance as a motivation for their CBDC involvement,” they added. Noting that “the year 2021 was characterized by the strong growth of the cryptoassets and stablecoin market,” the report states, “On average, almost six out of 10 respondent central banks said that this growth has accelerated their work on CBDCs.” The authors continued: This has also spurred collaboration between central banks to monitor the implications of cryptoassets and stablecoins and to coordinate regulatory approaches to contain their risks to the financial system. In addition, many central banks revealed that they are working on wholesale CBDCs to improve cross-border payment efficiency while more than two-thirds said they are likely to issue a retail CBDC “in either the short or medium term.” What do you think about central banks heavily exploring CBDCs? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

El Salvador has bought the bitcoin dip. Amid a heavy crypto market sell-off, the Salvadoran president announced that his country has purchased 500 more bitcoins. Since El Salvador adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender, the Salvadoran government has purchased 2,301 bitcoins altogether. El Salvador Buys the Bitcoin Dip Amid a crypto bloodbath, El Salvador has bought the dip. The Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, announced Monday on Twitter that his country has purchased 500 more bitcoins. “El Salvador just bought the dip! 500 coins at an average USD price of ~$30,744,” he wrote. His tweet came as the crypto market lost billions, and the price of bitcoin fell more than 50% from its all-time high. At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $31,607. It was down 8.5% in the last 24 hours, 18.1% in the past 7 days, and 25.4% in the last 30 days. El Salvador became the first country to make bitcoin legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar in September last year. Since then, the company has been purchasing bitcoin periodically. After an initial purchase of 700 bitcoins, the country bought 420 BTC in October, 100 BTC in November, 171 BTC in December, and 410 BTC in January. With Monday’s purchase, the total number of BTC purchased by El Salvador has grown to 2,301 bitcoins. According to one estimate, El Salvador’s total bitcoin holdings have lost more than $30 million in value. Nonetheless, President Bukele is still bullish about bitcoin, expecting the price of BTC will reach $100K this year. El Salvador also plans to issue bitcoin bonds but the launch date has not been set. Alejandro Zelaya, El Salvador’s treasury minister, explained that the market conditions and the Russia-Ukraine war have affected the bond issuance. “We are waiting for the right moment and the president says when … It depends on how the market is,” he noted. What do you think about El Salvador buying 500 bitcoins after the price of the cryptocurrency plunged 50%? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

While bitcoin’s price has dropped to levels not seen since January 2022, a number of detractors think bitcoin is on its death bed. Data stemming from the Bitcoin Obituaries list shows the leading crypto has died seven times in 2022, outpacing the first three years of obituaries by year written by bitcoin haters. The last obituary written about bitcoin, opined by the financial journalist, John Plender, claims the leading crypto asset follows the “greater fools” scenario. Bitcoin Obituaries List in 2022 Surpasses First 3 Years of So-Called Deaths by Year During the course of Bitcoin’s 13 years, the leading crypto asset has been deemed ‘dead’ or ‘extremely close to death’ by many journalists, economists, analysts, and financial experts. In fact, these types of opinions happen so much, that the team at 99bitcoins.com curated a list called the “Bitcoin Obituaries.” The data from the website shows bitcoin (BTC) has died 447 times since the list was started in 2010. That particular opinion that said bitcoin was dead was written on December 15, 2010 in a post called: “Why bitcoin can’t be a currency.” As the years continued, bitcoin obituaries were published more often, and during the bull run of 2017, there was 124 bitcoin obituaries added to the web portal. The following year in 2018, bitcoin died 93 times, and in 2019, only 41 deaths were recorded. 2020 saw a smaller number of bitcoin obituaries, as the year only saw 14 listed on the website. In 2021, bitcoin obituaries picked up the pace again, and the leading crypto asset saw 47 obituaries written about its so-called demise. In 2022, there’s only been seven bitcoin obituaries recorded, but the year is not over and it has outpaced 2010, 2011, and 2012 by the number of yearly obituaries so far. Bitcoin’s price has experienced a downturn in recent weeks, and it’s quite possible even more bitcoin obituaries will be added this year. The last obituary listed on 99bitcoins.com was written by the British financial journalist and columnist for the Financial Times (FT), John Plender. The post listed as: “Bitcoin Will Run Out of Greater Fools,” quotes Plender’s statements from his April editorial. While Plender does not believe in bitcoin, the FT columnist does think blockchain is a powerful technology. “There can be no denying the astonishing power of blockchain technology, which is here to last,” Plender writes in his FT editorial. “Yet bitcoin is intangible, risky and incomprehensible to most human beings. While it is increasingly gaining acceptance among professional investors, its performance this year makes it hard to believe it can topple gold from its position as the ultimate bolt hole for frightened money.” The financial journalist adds: As for the important cultural dimension of the argument, bitcoin, frankincense and myrrh lacks a certain ring. The supply of greater fools will in due course run out. Gold Bug Peter Schiff Says Sub-$10K Bitcoin Prices Are ‘Highly Likely,’ Schiff’s Recent Poll Shows 54% of 37,000 People Say They Will Still HODL While bitcoin is not dead, the cryptocurrency still has many detractors like the Iranian-American economist Nouriel Roubini, and the economist and gold bug Peter Schiff. The gold bug Schiff believes bitcoin and other crypto assets will keep falling in value. Schiff recently held a poll on Twitter after he said: “If bitcoin breaks decisively below $30K it seems highly likely that it will crash below $10K.” Schiff then added that this means any BTC holder has an important decision to make. “What will you do?” Schiff asked. “You had better decide now so you don’t panic and make a rash spur-of-the-moment decision.” Schiff then left a poll in his Twitter thread that gives people some choices on what they would do. Choice one was “it won’t break below $30K,” which received 19.6% of the 37,000 votes. 54.5% said they would “HODL,” and 15.5% said they would sell and buy lower. Roughly 10.4% of the surveyed participants said they would sell bitcoin and would not rebuy. In Schiff’s eyes bitcoin will always be dead, and he wholeheartedly believes the precious metal gold will continue to soar. “The 6% weekend drop in bitcoin was in fact a leading indicator of weakness in other risk assets as stock market futures are trading down 1%,” Schiff said on Monday. “Once investors figure out that Fed rate hikes will result in recession but not a significant reduction in inflation, gold will soar,” the bitcoin detractor added. What do you think about the Bitcoin Obituaries list hosted on 99bitcoins.com and John Plender’s opinion? What do you think about Peter Schiff’s opinion about bitcoin and his recent Twitter poll? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

As bitcoin dropped to fresh new lows on Monday, the price of terra (LUNA) slid by 33.3% during the last 24 hours. Moreover, the project’s stablecoin terrausd (UST) has lost stability, dropping to $0.932008 per token. Additionally, the Luna Foundation Guard’s bitcoin wallet and ethereum Gnosis safe address has been emptied. **This article was updated with a new paragraph to reflect the price of terrausd (UST) dropping to $0.86 per token on Monday, May 9, 2022, at 6:10 p.m. (ET). It also mentions the Luna Foundation Guard bitcoin wallet that holds 28,205 bitcoin at the time of writing. By 8:15 p.m. (ET), terrausd (UST) hit a low of $0.704843 per unit, down 29.4% during the last 24 hours. LUNA Price Puts Intense Pressure on Terra’s Stablecoin UST During the past 24 hours, more than $830 million has been liquidated from the crypto economy, and the price of bitcoin (BTC) sunk to lows not seen since January 2022. Over the past seven days, BTC has shed 20.2% in value against the USD, and 11% of the value was shaved during the past 24 hours. Furthermore, numerous crypto assets have seen deeper losses as terra (LUNA) dropped by 33.3%. The stress has caused the project’s UST peg or $1 parity to slip beneath the dollar value. At its lowest point on Monday, terrausd (UST) dipped to $0.932008 per unit according to Coingecko.com statistics. UST’s 24-hour price range on Monday has been between $0.932008 to $0.999601 per unit. Luna Foundation Empties Bitcoin and Ethereum Wallets In addition to the losses, UST and LUNA took on Monday, after revealing the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) would lend $1.5 billion in BTC and UST, both LFG’s public bitcoin and ethereum wallets have been drained. The LFG bitcoin wallet once held 42,530.82 BTC but sent the entire stash in a single transaction to another wallet. Additionally, LFG’s Gnosis safe address, which once held millions of dollars in USDC and USDT, has also been drained. Deploying more capital – steady lads — Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) May 9, 2022 On May 3, the LFG Gnosis safe address held $143 million and today, it currently holds $195. At 2:36 p.m. (ET), Terra co-founder Do Kwon tweeted “Deploying more capital – steady lads.” UST’s price has seen some improvement on Monday after the deployment of capital, but has been down between 4.5 to 6.5% during the last few hours. While other stablecoin assets like USDC and USDT have felt pressure today seeing much smaller percentage losses, the two largest stablecoins by market cap have held their pegs. Tether slipped down to $0.995691 per unit on Monday, while usd coin (USDC) dipped to $0.994630 per unit. Binance usd (BUSD) is exchanging hands for $0.996616 and DAI has been trading for $0.995420. Most USD pegged stablecoins besides UST remained trading for at least $0.975328 to $0.99 per token. Meanwhile, toward the end of writing this article at 4:00 p.m. (ET), UST has been trying to regain the $1 parity but has yet to accomplish the goal. At press time at 4:30 p.m., the stablecoin UST has managed to jump to $0.956017 per unit. ** On May 9, 2022, at 6:10 p.m. (ET), UST’s value slipped to a low of $0.86 per token, according to market data stemming from coingecko.com and multiple reports from social media. At 4:47 p.m., the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) updated the public about its bitcoin (BTC) wallet. LFG also noted that “updates were coming.” The LFG bitcoin wallet holds 28,205.54 BTC at 6:10 p.m. on Monday, and it once held 70,736 BTC. By 8:15 p.m., terrausd (UST) hit a low of $0.704843 per unit, down 29.4% during the last 24 hours. Moreover, the UST de-peg conversation has been one of the most topical crypto discussions on social media and forums during the course of the day. What do you think about the stablecoin UST dropping from its $1 parity on Monday? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The government of Venezuela is now focusing its action on trying to establish the bolivar as the go-to currency for purchases in the country. According to several economists, this might be a risky bet in a country that has just exited hyperinflation and still suffers high levels of inflation. However, the establishment of a 3% tax targeting expenses in foreign currency and crypto is having some effects in this regard. Venezuela Seeks to Strengthen Its Fiat Currency After having defacto dollarization, which the president of the country called an “escape valve” from the economic crisis that Venezuela had faced five years ago, now the country is seeking to establish its fiat currency, the bolivar, as an interesting choice for payments. A new tax called the IGTF, which seeks to tax transactions and payments made in dollars, foreign currency, and crypto at 3% in some instances, seems directed to aid in achieving this purpose. However, this might not yet be the time for such adjustments, now that Venezuela is just exiting a period of hyperinflation that was also combined with the devaluation of its fiat currency, which had to be redenominated a pair of times. Asdrubal Oliveros, a national economist who manages Ecoanalitica, a consulting firm, declared: It is a risky bet, with bad timing, because the recovery is very weak and the economy is still suffering from chronic inflation, not hyperinflation, but chronic inflation. It is very high to restore confidence in the currency from one day to the next. De-Dollarization in Progress However, the measure seems to be having a real effect on the spending patterns of Venezuelans. According to numbers presented by the bank superintendence, the use of the national fiat currency has shown a rise after the tax was presented and started being applied. Numbers show that digital transactions in local currency increased by 21%, and debit payments by 22%. The utilization of the bolivar has been steadily climbing since 2021 when 70% of the purchases were made with dollars or Colombian pesos. Surveys from Ecoanalitica now show that the bolivar and other payment methods trump the dollar, which is now only being used in 44.7% of the commercial transactions in the country. This is due in part to the intervention of the central bank of the country to stabilize the fiat currency, whose volatility has stabilized against the dollar this year. What do you think about the de-dollarization process that Venezuela is going through? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. GensoKishi Online -Meta World- is developed under the license of the well-known Japanese 3D MMO title “Elemental Knights Online.” The iconic game has a 14-year history and has accumulated 8 million downloads worldwide. It already has a 3D MMORPG game with active users, with a fully-functioning 3D metaverse that simultaneously connects users worldwide, be it smartphones, PCs, or video game consoles. The game recently announced its collaboration with gaming legend Yoshitaka Amano to design its NFT collection. Since the release of the GensoKishi website and various social media channels on December 2, 2021, GensoKishi has achieved several records to date. The governance token of the GensoKishi is currently more than 50 times higher than the initial listing price of Bybit, the first exchange to list MV token. GensoKishi Online has opened up applications to enter the Closed Alpha Bronze Tickets lottery. Winners of the lottery will be provided exclusive access to GensoKishi’s Closed Alpha Test. Click here to read details about Closed Alpha Test. Click here to visit the GensoKishi Online Metaworld Official Website. Campaign details regarding the Closed Alpha Testing Period All participants of the Closed Alpha will receive a limited edition NFT to commemorate their participation in the Testing Period. During the Closed Alpha Testing Period, the “Alpha Hunter’s Certificate” item will drop at a specific probability rate when players defeat monsters during gameplay. Each “Alpha Hunter’s Certificate” will be treated as 1 point. At the end of the first half and the second half of the Closed Alpha Testing Period, a ranking will be generated based on the number of “Alpha Hunter’s Certificate” collected. The top 10 players of this rank will receive a limited edition NFT (equivalent to SR). In addition, the top 11 to 100 players will receive a limited edition NFT (equal to SR). How do you apply for the Closed Alpha Bronze Ticket lottery? Please complete the tasks listed here and submit your application via the application form. Application Period for the Closed Alpha Bronze Ticket Start Date: May 3, 2022 12:00 (GMT+8) End Date: May 17, 2022 23:59 (GMT+8) Scheduled date of ticket distribution to winners: May 27, 2022 *Please note that applications cannot be accepted after the end date of the application period. *Please note that the ticket distribution date is subject to change. Closed Alpha Period The specific schedule will be announced at a later date. Apply now from here Check out the GensoKishi White Paper： https://genso.game/pdf/WhitePaper_genso_EN.pdf GensoKishi Online -META WORLD- Community Official Site: https://genso.game/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/genso_meta Discord: https://discord.gg/gensometa Telegram: https://t.me/gensometamain YouTube：https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMi4wGMEWgC9VVps8d_NLDA 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 African fintech industry has grown rapidly over the past few years and this has caught the attention of some well-resourced venture capital (VC) firms. As one would expect, Nigerian fintech startups have dominated the continent in terms of funds raised or the number of transactions performed. Nigeria’s Burgeoning Fintech Scene This dominance has convinced VCs to pour tens of millions of dollars into different Nigerian fintech projects. In fact, a few fintech startups that originated in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country, have managed to secure funding in excess of $100 million. Using the funds raised, the fintech startups have not only expanded their footprint across the African continent but have increased the number of services they offer. Overall, the rapid growth of the fintech industry is said to have benefitted many financially excluded people from Africa. However, critics of Nigeria’s fintechs have argued that some of the VC-backed startups appear interested in brandishing volumes or the number of transactions performed over a certain period. Only a few are concerned about the future prospects of their businesses, the critics claim. In order to gain some insight into this and other issues within Nigeria’s growing fintech industry, Bitcoin.com News recently reached out to Eghosa Nehikare, the CEO of a financial services fintech startup, Multigate. In written responses to questions sent via Whatsapp, Nehikare offers his thoughts on why Nigerian fintechs are accounting for a larger share of funds being raised by startups. Besides giving his views concerning the Nigerian fintech industry, Nehikare also explained why he thinks the industry will continue to grow. Bitcoin.com News (BCN): What motivated you to pursue a business in fintech? Eghosa Nehikare (EN): My journey and motivation started years ago when my father disowned me for not completing my full medical studies back at university in the UK (I completed my BSc but dropped out of my MBBS). But kindly note that my father and I have reconciled and are now best friends. So, I moved to Lagos and worked at Africa Courier Express (ACE), where I helped them build their food delivery service within the span of eleven (11) months to become one of the largest food delivery providers in Nigeria back in 2015. In 2016, I joined Venture Garden Group (VGG) as a Vice President, and a year later became the General Manager and intrapreneur that built their fintech subsidiary to generate revenue growth of 1000% year-on-year. However, I realized that there were no fintechs that provided solutions to the challenges experienced by large corporate enterprises in Nigeria (and Africa at large). It was evident that the major fintechs — though very successful at it — provided solutions to SMEs and eCommerce giants, particularly in the aspect of payment collections. As such, this market [payment collections] was a red ocean for me. To this end, I decided that I wanted my company to focus on providing financial technology solutions to large enterprise corporates, particularly with the aim to simplify treasury management and cross-border payments for these organizations operating in Africa. This was my motivation; to solve treasury and cross-border payment challenges for large corporate enterprises (inclusive of banks and other fintechs). This same motivation pushed me to pursue an Executive MBA degree from the University of Oxford, where I am currently studying at. My experience so far at the University of Oxford has served as an added motivation to take Multigate to the next level. BCN: Since getting into this industry in 2017, what can you say are some of the highlights of your fintech journey thus far? EN: Within two (2) years of operations, we became a necessity for some of the largest pan-African companies, fintechs and banks as well. By solving a terribly complex problem they all shared we became embedded in their cross-border operational fabric. So far, Multigate has provided fintech treasury services with a cumulative total of $4.3bn to date. Additionally, more importantly, and most excitingly is that Multigate became the first African fintech to be onboarded on SWIFT as a shared-platform provider to corporates (and other fintechs). This was — and continues to be — a significant achievement for us because it enables us to solve a major problem in cross-border payment and treasury management, which is the corporate-to-banks (i.e. one-to-many) messaging operational challenge. BCN: It has been reported that fintechs accounted for a greater portion of funds that were raised by startups in the past year. What, in your opinion, could be the reason(s) why fintechs are getting more attention/funding than tech startups for instance? EN: From my experience, the reason for this is a function of the interrelationship between certain variables such as (1) the scale potential of the business, (2) the level of patience (or impatience) of the VC/PE providing the funding, (3) the proportion of “true” addressable market size of the fintech in comparison to other tech startups, (4) and ultimately the return on investment (ROI). Fortunately (and unfortunately) African Fintechs have a greater scale potential than other tech startups in the region given the large proportion of the population that is in desperate need of most solutions offered by fintechs today. African Fintechs have a greater scale potential than other tech startups in the region given the large proportion of the population that is in desperate need of most solutions offered by fintechs today. From another angle, with the recent exponential growth of most fintechs, a large number of VC and PE firms — with a relatively high ROI financial obligation to their LPs [liquidity providers] — are left with no choice but to channel a large proportion of their designated African fund to fintechs. On another note, when you compare the “true” addressable market size of most fintechs to other tech startups, it becomes apparent that fintechs have a “boundary-less” market compared to other tech startups, thus allowing them to scale faster than their peers. Finally, and again, in relation to the matter of ROI, fintechs are more likely to generate higher returns given the nature of their cost profile vis-à-vis the fintech’s growth and rate of scale. However, it is worthy to note that the aforementioned points do not insinuate that building a fintech is easier than other tech startups. I dare proclaim that establishing a fintech, securing investors and the relevant licenses, partnering with the banks, hiring the right people (engineers especially), and marketing the fintech business (as a Nigerian) to scale sustainably is one of the most challenging endeavours of all. BCN: To what do you attribute the rapid rise in the number of transactions processed not just by your company but by Nigerian fintech startups in general? EN: To answer this, consider the analogy of a water tank that’s being filled with water at a steadily increasing rate. For the water tank to supply multiple taps with the right pressure, it needs an efficient piping and pressure pump system. In this analogy, the Nigerian business ecosystem is the water tank, whilst the water is the business transactions being generated by the various firms in the ecosystem (the water tank). The efficient piping and pressure pump system are the fintech startups. The more efficient fintech solutions are deployed to the tank, the higher the flow (and pressure) of transactions from the ecosystem to other parts of the Nigerian economy. Notwithstanding, of course, there will come a time when this rapid rise will plateau (or slow down), for which a new level of innovation will be required to spur growth within the ecosystem. However, such a time still seems far out. In summary, the rapid rise in transactions is due to the consistent increase in business transactions in the Nigerian business ecosystem as well as a surge in the digital economy of the country, thus consistently leading to a new level of demand by customers. Furthermore, another important point is that the inchoate demand of customers continues to provide an avenue for fintechs to develop a variety of products for customers. BCN: In the past few years, Nigeria’s rapidly growing fintech industry has attracted the interest of some of the most renowned VCs. Backed by these well resourced VCs, some Nigeria fintech startups have suddenly become billion-dollar companies. However, with a lot of money now having been pumped into the industry, do you now get a sense the rate of growth, particularly in Nigeria, will slow down? EN: I strongly doubt that the rate of growth for fintechs in Nigeria will slow down anytime soon. Undoubtedly, the competition will become more vicious and aggressive but due to the inchoate demand and ever-increasing size of the aforementioned “business ecosystem,” the demand for fintech solutions will continue to increase. The trajectory of the development and growth of the fintech space in Nigeria can also be academically explained using concepts from an interesting book I recently read, “The Evolution of New Markets” by Paul Geroski where he explains how new markets develop and the characteristics they present as they develop. Firstly, multiple random products emerge in the arena in various random and uncoordinated fashions. Then, superior products and apps arise from the arena. Afterwards, a seemingly “sluggish” development of the superior products/apps, then comes a breakout and very fast acceptance of the technology across various markets. The fintech space in Nigeria is now in the stage of the fast acceptance of technology across various markets. The regulator (Central Bank of Nigeria) has recently provided a very conducive environment for various fintech players. The banks are now more receptive to fintech partnerships and “previously resisting” customers are now more willing to engage. There couldn’t have been a better time to be in the space. BCN: Still, on the issue of growth, there are accusations that some founders of fintech startups are not keen on seeing their businesses grow and prosper. Their only interest, the critics say, is to get their hands on funds being pumped out by the risk-taking VCs. Do you agree with this? EN: In every market (i.e. Nigeria or even in the Western, more developed markets), there will always be good and bad actors. From experience, whilst these bad actors typically tend to cast a bad light on the industry, it motivates the good actors to generate more value for their stakeholders (investors, customers, and employees), thus creating a net-positive output for the fintech industry. However, to answer the question directly, I am aware of these accusations but I cannot confirm this as I personally do not possess tangible evidence to back it up. BCN: Nigerian fintech founders are also accused of being more interested in showcasing the large volumes processed by their companies rather than the revenues generated. In other words, instead of using a business model that prioritizes revenue generation and profitability, Nigerian fintech founders are said to prefer what has been called a freemium model? What is your reaction to this? EN: Every company is different, and their motivations and ultimate goals are equally different. Most fintechs find the “large volumes processed” as an objective measure of “output” to evaluate performance in comparison to other fintechs. In the same way, some banks value customer deposits over profits, some fintechs place more value on volumes processed over revenue or profits. Sometimes, this direction is governed by the investors (VC and PE firms). However, I must add that just because they showcase the large volumes processed, doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t focus on the revenue generated or profitability. I will like to believe that whilst the external metric of evaluation is “volumes processed,” the internal metrics that keep them up at night are revenue (particularly gross profit) and profitability. BCN: Now let us talk about cryptocurrency. In early February 2021, the Nigerian central bank revealed it had asked banks to stop facilitating or processing any crypto-related transactions. Now it’s been over a year since this directive was issued, yet interest in cryptocurrencies remains strong. What do you think are the major reasons why Nigerian residents continue to show an interest in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin? EN: It is worthy to note the Central Bank of Nigeria had good and worthy intentions in doing this. They explained that it was to prevent the financing of terrorism and other criminal activities, which we have seen to be a real menace in Nigeria i.e., terrorism. Though, as previously mentioned, there will always be good and bad actors in every market. From my engagements and discussions, I have found that Nigerian residents continue to show interest in cryptocurrencies due to the profitable (though risky) nature of trading these cryptos like bitcoin. It has become a good source of livelihood for most traders that indulge in it responsibly and diligently. As most know, Nigerians are extremely hardworking and ambitious, despite the challenges experienced on a daily basis, Nigerians will work hard to be the best at whatever is in vogue. Furthermore, the increase in the youth population in the country coupled with the increase in the digital economy also contributes greatly to the continued interest in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. BCN: In your opinion, what can the Nigerian government do to help the fintech space grow further? EN: Using the above mentioned water-tank analogy, the fintech space can only grow further if certain variables are optimized and enhanced: (1) the size of the water tank (the Nigerian business ecosystem) and (2) the size of the output pipes and pressure pump (the quality of the fintechs and the support received thereof). For the fintech space to grow, the size of the business ecosystem and transactions need to grow, which can be achieved with the right “positively impactful” policies by the government. In relation to the fintechs and the support received, the various regulating agencies need to continue to play a supporting role in areas of tax incentives, innovation funding, transaction monitoring and compliance support. With collaborative support between the various government agencies and fintechs, we will see the fintech arena continue to grow and expand. With the right economic policies, we will see transactions within the Nigerian business ecosystem grow tremendously. What are your thoughts on this interview? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Leading U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase has reportedly notified certain Russian customers that their accounts may be blocked at the end of this month. According to Russian media, the trading platform has offered them to withdraw their funds unless they prove they are not under sanctions. Coinbase Reportedly Asks Russian Clients to Withdraw Funds Some Coinbase users from Russia have received letters informing them that their accounts will be blocked on May 31, the crypto page of the Russian business news portal RBC reported. The company suggested that these customers withdraw their funds unless they provide documents indicating they are not subject to EU sanctions, the publication explained quoting the correspondence, which stated: Until May 31, 2022, you must withdraw all funds from your account or provide us with special documents that confirm that you do not fall under these sanctions. After that date, the funds may be frozen and all assets transferred to the accounts in the future will also be blocked, the crypto exchange’s support team warned the Russians, according to the post published by RBC Crypto. The news of the notice comes after earlier in May, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal tweeted that the exchange could no longer provide services to certain Russian clients registered to the platform’s EU entities or located within the European Union. Grewal assured that the company is working with affected customers to give them an opportunity to demonstrate if these sanctions don’t apply to them or help them withdraw their funds from Coinbase, if they do. He also emphasized the exchange will continue to provide services to non-sanctioned Russian users who are not located in the EU and are not registered with its EU entities. Expanding western sanctions, targeting the Russian government and citizens’ access to global finances, have also affected the crypto space. Coinbase’s move follows Binance’s decision in April to limit services for Russian nationals and companies that have crypto assets exceeding €10,000 (close to $11,000) in value. The largest crypto exchange by trading volume cited the EU’s latest sanctions as well. In a new round of penalties approved by the member states in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the European Union prohibited the provision of “high-value” crypto-asset services to Russian entities and residents. Do you expect other crypto exchanges to comply with the latest EU sanctions on Russia? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

According to a Gallop poll published on May 2, the public’s confidence in America’s current economic leaders has been deteriorating. Confidence in U.S. president Joe Biden managing the U.S. economy has dropped from 57% to 40%, and faith in Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has faltered from 55% to 43%. The April 2022 Gallop poll, published amid the highest inflationary pressure the country has seen in decades, indicates trust in economic leaders is at its lowest point since 2008. Americans Are Not Confident in Current Leaders Managing the Economy After the largest monetary expansion the country has seen in its entire lifetime, faith in America’s economic leaders is “flagging,” according to a recently published Gallop poll. The poll was conducted via telephone interviews on April 1-19, 2022, with 1,018 adult U.S. residents. The Gallop poll particpants resided in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Furthermore, the survey was done before U.S. gross domestic product report, and the recent Federal Reserve rate hike. The Gallop survey authors state: Public confidence in key U.S. leaders’ management of the national economy is shaken amid the highest inflation rate in more than 40 years and Americans’ increasingly bleak assessments of the national economy and their own financial situations. Average Americans are not the only ones who believe the Fed and current economic leaders have lost credibility. A number of analysts, financial authors and economists like Peter Schiff, Robert Kiyosaki, Gerald Celente and many others don’t believe the Fed can save the day. As far as the Gallop poll is concerned, “confidence ratings for all leaders are below historical averages for each,” the report’s authors explain. Powell Says He’s Not Concerned About Credibility, Gallop Poll Shows Faith in Democratic Leaders Is Lower Than the Confidence in Republican Leaders On May 4, when Fed chair Jerome Powell was asked directly if he was “concerned about Fed credibility with the American people,” Powell said that he was not. “No. I don’t,” Powell told the Bloomberg Television reporter Mike McKee. “A good example of why would be that, so in the fourth quarter of last year, as we started talking about tapering sooner and then raising rates this year. You saw financial markets reacting. You know, very appropriately.” The Federal Reserve chief added: Not to bless any particular day’s measure. But the way financial markets, you know, the forward rate curve has tightened in response to our guidance and our actions really amplifies our policy. I mean, its monetary policy is working through expectations now, to a very large extent. Moreover, Powell also told the Bloomberg reporter that the U.S. central bank decided to choose the June 1 date to “begin letting securities roll off” on a mere whim. “It was just pick a date, you know, and that happens to be that happened to be the date that we picked,” Powell stressed to McKee. “[There] was nothing magic about it. You know, it’s not going to have any macroeconomic significance over time,” he added. The Gallop poll shows that since U.S. inflation has risen a great deal, “Americans’ confidence ratings for Biden’s and Powell’s economic management declined by double digits.” The poll says less than half of American adults said they have “‘a great deal’ or ‘a fair amount’ of confidence” in Biden’s and Powell’s economic management. Powell scored a 43% and Joe Biden scored an even lower 40%. Moreover, Gallop’s stats indicate faith in Democratic leaders (38%) is currently lower than the trust in Republican leaders (40%) when it comes to managing the U.S. economy. What do you think about the Gallop poll that shows trust in America’s current economic leaders is lagging? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has halted a $62 million global cryptocurrency trading and mining scheme and the Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted its CEO and founder. If convicted of all counts, he faces a maximum total penalty of 45 years in prison, the Justice Department. SEC Halts $62M Global Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Friday that it has halted a fraudulent crypto mining and trading scheme. The SEC charged MCC International (aka Mining Capital Coin), its founders (Luiz Carlos Capuci Jr. and Emerson Souza Pires), and two entities controlled by them. The charges are “in connection with the unregistered offerings and fraudulent sales of investment plans called mining packages to thousands of investors,” the agency noted. The securities watchdog detailed that since at least January 2018: MCC, Capuci, and Pires sold mining packages to 65,535 investors worldwide and promised daily returns of 1 percent, paid weekly, for a period of up to 52 weeks. The complaint also alleges that MCC investors were initially promised returns in bitcoin (BTC). However, the defendants later “required investors to withdraw their investments in tokens called capital coin (CPTL), which was MCC’s own token.” DOJ Charges MCC’s Founder and CEO The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) also independently announced Friday that Capuci, the founder and CEO of MCC, a purported cryptocurrency mining and investment platform, has been indicted in a $62 million global cryptocurrency fraud scheme. Capuci of Port St. Lucie, Florida, misled investors about his platform’s cryptocurrency mining and investment program, luring them to invest in MCC’s “mining packages,” the DOJ described. He and his co-conspirators claimed that MCC had an international network of cryptocurrency mining machines that could generate “substantial profits and guaranteed returns” for investors. They also touted MCC’s own cryptocurrency as a purported decentralized autonomous organization that was “stabilized by revenue from the biggest cryptocurrency mining operation in the world,” the DOJ added, noting: However, Capuci operated a fraudulent investment scheme and did not use investors’ funds to mine new cryptocurrency, as promised, but instead diverted the funds to cryptocurrency wallets under his control. The indictment further alleges that Capuci touted and fraudulently marketed MCC’s purported “trading bots” as an additional investment mechanism to help investors profit in the cryptocurrency market. The MCC founder also allegedly recruited promoters and affiliates to promote MCC in a pyramid scheme, the DOJ said, adding that he further concealed the location and control of the fraud proceeds by laundering the funds through various foreign-based cryptocurrency exchanges. The Justice Department added: Capuci is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. If convicted of all counts, he faces a maximum total penalty of 45 years in prison. What do you think about this case? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The value locked in decentralized finance (defi) protocols has lost 17.77% over the last 30 days, falling from $221.67 billion to today’s $182.27 billion. Moreover, statistics show the total value locked (TVL) across a broad range of defi protocols shed significant value during the last seven days. Defi Protocols Shed Considerable Value Decentralized finance (defi) protocols have lost lots of value during the last month, as 17.77% has been shaved off the TVL in defi since April 8, 2022. The largest defi protocol, in terms of TVL size, Curve Finance, lost 16.55% this past month, while Lido shed 13.28% in value over the 30 day range. Anchor’s TVL is down 10.15%, Makerdao has dipped by 20.48%, and Aave’s TVL has lost 21.12% this past month. Two protocols saw substantial 30-day TVL gains which include Aave’s version three (v3) and Tron’s Sunswap protocol. During the last 24 hours alone, the TVL in defi has slipped by 6.25% in value, and the largest protocol by TVL today is Curve Finance. As of Sunday afternoon (ET), Curve’s $17.24 billion TVL currently dominates the aggregate by 9.46%. Ethereum still dominates the defi TVL by 55.59%, as $101.32 billion of the $182.27 billion TVL is held on the ETH chain. Terra is the second largest, in terms of defi TVL, as Terra’s $23.44 billion represents 12.86% of the defi TVL aggregate. Lastly, Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is the third-largest blockchain in defi with 6.37% of the total, which is roughly $11.6 billion today. In terms of the top smart contract platforms with tokens by market capitalization today, the entire lot is valued at $546 billion. However, the top smart contract tokens have lost 6.1% in collective value during the past 24 hours. Although, tron (TRX) has managed to jump 5.3% higher during the last day. One of the biggest losers today, in terms of smart contract platform tokens, was counterparty (XCP), as the coin lost 19.4%. Terra (LUNA) was also a big percentage loser, shedding double digits during the last 24 hours, as LUNA lost 11.1% in USD value today. 30 day statistics also show that cross-chain bridge TVLs are also down 21.1%. There’s currently $16.78 billion TVL across a myriad of blockchain bridges. The top three ranking cross-chain bridge TVLs today include Polygon, Avalanche, and Arbitrum respectively. The top three crypto assets leveraged on cross-chain bridges today include USDC, wrapped ethereum (WETH), and tether (USDT). While the entire crypto economy has lost 5.1% in value over the last 24 hours down to $1.65 trillion, it’s likely the value locked in defi will follow. What do you think about the latest decentralized finance market action? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On Saturday, the cryptocurrency mining platform Nicehash revealed the company has “fully [unlocked] Nvidia’s [Lite Hash Rate]” graphic processing units (GPUs). Nicehash says the firm’s Quickminer mining software is the first protocol that can unlock LHR GPU cards by 100%. Nicehash Says Software Is the First to Fully Crack Nvidia’s Lite Hash Rate Technology According to the digital currency mining platform Nicehash, the firm has developed software that completely unlocks Nvidia’s Lite Hash Rate-brand GPUs. “Nicehash has successfully unleashed the locked computing power for millions of people worldwide,” the company said on Saturday. “We are the first to fully unlock Nvidia’s LHR.” Nvidia revealed the Lite Hash Rate (LHR) GPU cards in mid-May 2021 after the semiconductor giant said it wanted to put these chips back into the hands of gamers. “We believe this additional step will get more Geforce cards at better prices into the hands of gamers everywhere,” a Nvidia spokesperson said at the time. The GPU manufacturer’s competitor AMD also introduced the first GPU dedicated to cryptocurrency mining called the AMD Navi 12. When Nvidia introduced the LHR technology it applied the protocol to three of its proprietary GPU cards. Cracking Nvidia’s LHR Tech Started Months Ago Nicehash is not the only person to be able to remove Nvidia’s LHR tech. Last January, Bitcoin.com News reported on solo miners that had overcome the mining reducing technology. The report further explained that Nicehash told pcmag.com that month that Nvidia’s LHR technology “did not discourage miners at all.” However, at that time, the reports noted that the miners bypassed the LHR tech by a fraction. The announcement Nicehash made on Saturday claims the Quickminer mining software removes LHR reducers by 100%. “We are very excited to tell you that Nicehash Quickminer (Excavator) is the first mining software to fully (100%) unlock LHR cards,” a blog post published by Nicehash says. “Now you can earn more profits than any other mining software on the market if you are using LHR graphics cards with Nicehash Quickminer.” Nicehash’s new software that unlocks Nvidia’s LHR GPU cards, follows the recent charges against Nvidia by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to the SEC, Nvidia failed to disclose that crypto mining had increased revenue. The semiconductor firm agreed to pay a $5.5 million penalty for the lack of disclosure. What do you think about Nicehash claiming that its software can fully unlock Nvidia’s LHR GPU cards so people can mine with them? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Today’s top meme coins have lost 4.8% in value against the U.S. dollar, as the crypto market carnage has wreaked havoc across the entire digital currency economy. While dogecoin had a phenomenal year in 2021, over the past 12 months, dogecoin lost 82.8% against the USD. DOGE Tapped an All-Time High a Year Ago Today, Meme Coin Value Is Down 82% Since That Point Meme coin assets are down this week following the rest of the crypto economy’s downward spiral. Statistics show that dogecoin (DOGE) has shed 14% in value during the past month and 30 day stats show shiba inu (SHIB) is down 24%. In the last day alone, the $28.3 billion worth of meme tokens lost 4.8% in value. DOGE lost 1.7% over the last seven days and this week SHIB has dropped by 6.8%. DOGE is also down 82.8% from the crypto asset’s all-time high on May 8, 2021, which was exactly a year ago today. At that time, DOGE reached an ATH of around $0.731 per unit. Six months ago, SHIB tapped an ATH at $0.00008616 per unit and today it’s down 78% since that price point. Both DOGE and SHIB make up most of the $28.3 billion meme token market capitalization by representing 95% with a combined market valuation of around $26.9 billion today. Google Trends Data Shows Interest in Dogecoin and SHIB Is Low While most of the meme coin economy has shed significant value in recent times, a relatively unknown meme token called litedoge (LDOGE) has gained 400% this week. Poodl token (POODL) is up 34.2% and dogefi (DOGEFI) is up 27.3% during the past seven days. However, jejudoge (JEJUDOGE) has lost 44.6% this week, lets go brandon (LETSGO) is down 43.3%, and shiba fantom has shed 28.9% in value against the USD. Meme tokens were all the rage last year, but interest seems to be dwindling fast. After hitting a Google Trends (GT) score of 100 last May, this year during the same weekly timeframe, the search phrase “dogecoin” has scored a three. SHIB hit a 100 in October and GT data shows the search term “SHIB” has scored a four this week, according to worldwide statistics. What do you think about the meme coin market carnage and the lack of interest in SHIB and dogecoin these days? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The crypto economy has dropped considerably in value during the last five weeks, slipping 23.28% from $2.19 trillion to today’s $1.68 trillion. Furthermore, both bitcoin and ethereum are awfully close to sinking 50% below the all-time highs recorded six months ago. Bitcoin Sinks Lower Against the US Dollar, 39% Down in 30 Days Digital currency markets have been in the red during the last few weeks, as a great number of crypto assets have seen significant percentage losses. During the last 24 hours, the crypto economy has shed 3.6% against the U.S. dollar. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to a low on Saturday evening around 11:00 p.m. (ET), hitting $34,279 per unit. Presently, BTC is below the $35K mark and since the all-time high ($69K) on November 10, 2021, BTC has lost 49.6%. At the time of writing, BTC’s market valuation is around $662 billion, which equates to 39.4% of the $1.68 trillion crypto economy. BTC’s most dominant trading pair today is tether (USDT) with 57.03% of all trades, followed by USD with 13.76% of today’s trades. The stablecoin BUSD represents 7.32% of all BTC-denominated trades on Sunday. $26.7 billion of today’s $99.6 billion in global trades are all bitcoin (BTC) swaps. That means 26.8% of Sunday’s aggregate crypto trade volume derives from BTC trades. Year-to-date statistics show BTC is down 39.3% and during the last month BTC has shed 20% in value against the U.S. dollar. Ethereum’s Value Falls Losing 20% Since Last Month Ethereum (ETH) has also shed a significant amount of value in recent times. While BTC hit a low of $34,279 per unit on Saturday evening, ETH slipped to a low of $2,518 per unit at the same time. Currently, ethereum (ETH) is exchanging hands for prices just under $2,600 and it has $17.7 billion in global trades today. Tether (USDT) is ethereum’s top trading pair today with 59.32% of all trades. The USDT/ETH pairs are followed by USD pairs (9.70%) and bitcoin (8.36%) trading pairs. Since ethereum’s all-time high six months ago at $4,878 per unit, the price has lost 47.3% from the price high. Still, ETH commands a dominance rating of around 18.48% of the $1.68 trillion crypto economy. Ethereum’s market valuation is around $310.12 billion at the time of writing. Year-to-date statistics show ETH has lost 26.5% and 30 day statistics shows ETH is down 20.5%. While bitcoin, ethereum, and a number of digital assets are down quite a bit this week, four different crypto assets have seen double digit gains during the last seven days. Algorand (ALGO) is up 33.2%, tron (TRX) is up 32.8%, curve (CRV) has gained 20.9%, and helium (HNT) is up 13.8%. Apecoin (APE) suffered the week’s deepest losses losing 39.7%, and cronos (CRO) shed 24.8% against the U.S. dollar this past week. What do you think about the crypto economy’s current downward spiral? Do you expect prices to rebound in the near future? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Another whirlwind week in crypto draws to a close, and of course there’s no shortage of spicy stories and new, compelling narratives in the world of innovative digital money. This week, Elon Musk gives investment advice, United States Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler catches flack from SEC commissioner Hester Peirce, and Joe Rogan calls bitcoin a viable currency, noting that it’s got the government “freaking out.” Buckle up and look lively, this is the Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. Joe Rogan: Bitcoin Is Now a Viable Currency and the Government Is Freaking Out Famous podcaster Joe Rogan, the host of The Joe Rogan Experience, talked about bitcoin on his show, posted Tuesday. The show features an interview with UFC light heavyweight fighter Khalil Rountree Jr. Noting that now bitcoin is “a viable form of currency” that “You can actually buy things with,” he said, “the government is freaking out.” Read More Lawmakers, SEC Commissioner Slam Chair Gensler for Focusing on Crypto Enforcement Several U.S. lawmakers and a commissioner with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have voiced concerns about the securities regulator expanding its crypto enforcement unit. “The SEC is a regulatory agency with an enforcement division, not an enforcement agency.” Read More Tesla CEO Elon Musk Gives Investment Advice He Says ‘Will Serve You Well in the Long Term’ Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has shared his recommended investment strategy, which he believes “will serve you well in the long term.” Some people noted that Musk’s strategy is similar to one adopted by Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. Read More US Central Bank Raises Rates by Half a Percentage Point, Fed’s Powell Says Similar Hikes Are on the Table The U.S. Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate on Wednesday and the increase was the biggest rate hike in two decades. “Inflation is much too high,” the central bank’s chair Jerome Powell said after the Fed raised rates by 0.5%. Read More What are your thoughts on this week’s hottest stories? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article