roadrunner

ACH is the cryptocurrency token driving the adoption of Alchemy Pay’s crypto payments around the world. Alchemy Pay enables real-world crypto payments and mainstream-friendly access to crypto services. It has had an incredible rise over the past year, partnering with the likes of Binance Pay, Shopify, Checkout.com, Polygon, Avalanche, and VeChain. ACH is the token that incentivises clients and investors attracted to the advantages Alchemy Pay’s crypto payment solutions offer them and their businesses. It is listed on Bithumb, Binance, Coinbase, Huobi, Bybit, MEXC, Pancake Swap, Uniswap, and many more. ACH is used to pay transaction (gas) fees when Alchemy Pay’s clients leverage the power of its global payment network. While transacting the Alchemy Pay network, clients pledge ACH and are then rewarded with discounted fees and ACH rewards depending on transaction volume. The growth of the ACH token has helped create a thriving online community of investors and rewards our clients and partners for encouraging the expansion of the partner network. Transaction fees collected in ACH are used to fund the growth and development of Alchemy Pay’s network and services. ACH rewards and fee structure provides an organic and sustainable budget to attract and onboard new businesses for continuous expansion. ACH value is correlated to network growth which will occur exponentially as the crypto payments market grows. Cointelegraph’s report on payment tokens suggests that, as the market grows, ACH will reach just under $10 by 2030. Alchemy Pay has 300+ fiat payment channels and its crypto acceptance system is supported in over 70 countries with touchpoints with 2+million merchants. TokenInsight’s Digital Assets Payment Industry Research Report 2021 highlighted Alchemy Pay’s unique crypto-fiat payment model and stated that, “it has the most complete product ecosystem with integrated payments.” ACH is a ERC-20 token native to the Ethereum blockchain but it is also now available on Binance Smart Chain as a BEP-20 token via Multichain’s bridging platform. About Alchemy Pay Founded in Singapore in 2018, Alchemy Pay (ACH) is a payment solutions provider that connects fiat and crypto payments for global consumers and businesses. It provides online and offline merchants with convenient acceptance of both fiat and cryptocurrency and makes crypto services accessible to mainstream users. Alchemy Pay is supported in 70+ countries, has 300+ payment channels, and touchpoints with more than 2 million merchants. Alchemy Pay is also a member of the Blockchain Association Singapore and Blockchain Infrastructure Alliance. Alchemy Pay’s token, ACH, runs on the Ethereum blockchain. Website: alchemypay.org Twitter: twitter.com/alchemypay Telegram: t.me/alchemy_official This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, is now launching a pilot project that will let users in Horizon Worlds, its VR metaverse platform, monetize their creations. This pilot will allow a number of users to collect payments for access to their created environments, or for virtual items sold in these worlds. Meta will also take a cut from the sales, which could reportedly be up to 50% of the price. Meta Launches Horizon Worlds Monetization Program Meta is starting to take the reach of Horizon Worlds, its flagship VR metaverse experience, more seriously. After the December 2021 launch, and experiencing significant growth with its userbase growing tenfold in just three months, Meta has decided to embark on a monetization path for the experience. Horizon Worlds had reached a milestone of 300K monthly active users in February with more than 10K worlds being created at that time, but it had still not set up means for profiting from this growth. The company is now launching a pilot program that will allow some creators on the platform to sell virtual items or to collect payments for access to their experiences. The company did not offer a definitive number on how many creators will be included in this first stage, only saying there will be a “handful.” The idea is to implement an open market where all users can benefit from user-generated content availability. Meta’s Cut Naturally, Meta is not going to open these options without taking a cut of the sales. The company set up a 30% fee for each sale after paying store fees. This can be tricky to calculate, but according to calculations made by The Verge, creators would be left with a little more than half of each sale of a virtual item or access to a virtual world. To Meta, this is an adequate model that lets storefronts take their cut. On this, Vivek Sharma, Meta’s VP of Horizon, stated: We think it’s a pretty competitive rate in the market. We believe in the other platforms being able to have their share. Meta has abstained from integrating ads into Horizon Worlds, aside from one instance that features a Wendy’s themed experience inside Horizon Worlds, called the Wendysverse. However, Meaghan Fitzgerald, product marketing director for Horizon has stated that ads “may be an area we want to explore in the future.” Meta is already allowing companies to post metaverse-inspired ads on some of their apps, including Instagram and Facebook. What do you think about Meta’s pilot monetization program for Horizon Worlds? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The spread of cryptocurrencies brings significant risks for Russia’s economy, financial stability, and national fiat, the monetary authority in Moscow has reiterated. The central bank has reaffirmed its hardline stance on decentralized digital money in a new report published as the government prepares to regulate the Russian crypto space. Central Bank of Russia Issues Warnings About Cryptocurrencies Russians’ growing interest in cryptocurrencies, their significant crypto investments, and the high risks associated with crypto operations create potential systemic threats, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has pointed out in its annual report for 2021. Expanding on a long list of previously highlighted negatives related to digital currencies like bitcoin, the monetary authority stated: There is a risk of undermining the circulation of money and loss of sovereignty for the national currency. The regulator is repeating earlier warnings that digital assets increase the risk of outflow of funds from the traditional financial system towards the still largely unregulated crypto market. This transfer of savings threatens the financial stability of Russian banks, the CBR says, quoted by RBC Crypto. Bank of Russia remains concerned about the “well-being of citizens” as in its view, the growth of the crypto market forms a bubble while cryptocurrencies bear characteristics of financial pyramids. Investor protection is limited and investments in digital coins can be lost due to price volatility or as a result of fraud and cyberthreats, the CBR adds. The report comes after in January the central bank suggested a ban on most crypto activities. Its hardline proposal was met with opposition from other government institutions. In February, the CBR presented legislation prohibiting cryptocurrencies. However, it is unlikely to win support as a growing number of officials in Moscow now see opportunities to employ crypto assets to circumvent western sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Ministry of Finance has been leading efforts to legalize cryptocurrency operations, with the exception of bitcoin payments, and recently resubmitted its new bill “On Digital Currency” to the federal government which backs its approach. The draft law now features provisions regulating crypto mining. Meanwhile, the Bank of Russia has also indicated it may accept the legalization of this industry. The central bank further notes that according to some estimates, the volume of crypto transactions made by Russian residents reached $5 billion last year. Russians have been actively trading on digital asset exchanges and their country ranks among the world’s leaders in terms of digital coin-minting capacity, the regulator has acknowledged. What future do you see for cryptocurrencies in Russia? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Rappi, one of the biggest delivery companies in Latam, has launched a pilot project with the objective of accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment method. Users will be able to buy Rappi credits with cryptocurrency to spend later on various services offered by the app. This functionality will only be available for users of these services in Mexico. Rappi Gets Into Cryptocurrency Payments Rappi, one of the largest delivery services in Latam, has decided to bring cryptocurrencies to its app. The company — which last year reached a valuation of more than $5 billion in its Series G funding round — announced that it is bringing the possibility for customers to use cryptocurrencies as a payment method, using them to purchase Rappi credits directly from the app. These Rappi credits can then be used to pay for delivery services offered in the app. The company, which has its origins in Colombia, becoming the first Colombian unicorn in 2018, has a presence in almost all of Latam, including Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. However, Rappi announced this new pilot project will be limited to Mexican users and has not referred to a possible expansion. This inclusion of cryptocurrencies answers the rise of the digital world and the search for innovation regarding ways for users to interact with the app. On the importance of innovation and cryptocurrencies for the future of the company, Sebastián Mejia, president of Rappi, stated: Innovation is one of the pillars of Rappi. We are studying the crypto world with interest and we believe that the future is the intersection of the crypto world with non-crypto companies, with easy user experiences and without complexity. Implementation and Other Instances of Crypto Inclusion While this pilot project is still in its early stages, the company did announce they were working with exchanges in the country to further integrate their services and make it easier for customers to spend their cryptocurrencies in the app. Rappi mentioned Bitso and Bitpay, two exchanges with a presence in the country, as participants in this regard. Rappi also explained the company is working to enhance the security of transactions between the exchanges and the app. Other companies in Latam are also working to include crypto in their business model. This is the case with Nequi, a Colombian fintech platform that is planning to make an entrance into the crypto sector in the country. What do you think about the pilot project that Rappi is starting in Mexico? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. The global cryptocurrency market is experiencing an unprecedented boom. The market is at $2 trillion dollars and growing. MappedSwap is launching a promotional campaign from April 13th – May 12th. During that period they plan to give more than 800,000 MST in total as well as provide referral and staking rebates in MST to users. MappedSwap also has plans to lower the barrier to entry for new users and referrers to earn MST during this campaign period while attracting users to leverage 10x margin trading function to boost trading and earning possibilities. Participants will also hope to cast a larger net through referrals, by sharing their very own referral code to their audiences to improve individual earnings. Making an entrance into this market is MappedSwap Protocol, a decentralized, on-chain cross-margin trading swap exchange built on Eurus Blockchain, a layer-one, decentralized and secure inter-transfer network based on Ethereum side-chain. To put this growth into perspective, one of the key objectives of April’s campaign is to attract users to keep staking to earn more MST. To earn MST, users have to either trade, stake or refer. When the referred trade, the user will earn MST. Cast a larger net through referrals by sharing your very own referral code to your audiences to improve your very own earnings. To the uninitiated, Decentralized exchanges (DEX) are a type of crypto exchange designed to permit direct peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions to take place online, securely between 2 existing user wallets. All these without the need for an intermediary. Hence, on MappedSwap, users can swap, earn, and build on the leading decentralized crypto trading protocol. MappedSwap allows users to earn up to 80% stake and referral rewards. MappedSwap is a by invite-only stake and referral online protocol, if you do not have a referral code, all you need to do is to trade or stake in MappedSwap to get one. MappedSwap provides its users with this freedom, and an exciting array of DEX services. MappedSwap was designed with the highest technical specifications and standards in the DEX industry, and provide its users with exceptional experiences with its unique selling points, which includes: Leverage the difference using up to 10x loan to trade and return the loan within the hour before loan interest kicks in! Enjoy one of the lowest slippage tolerance of less than 0.1% across the blockchain industry. High liquidity of 3 Billion USD for a major trading pair, BTC/USD. Utilize the 2-second speedy transactions on Eurus. Additionally, all new users get free 0.1 EUN that covers about 100 free transactions on Eurus networks. This applies to only new wallet addresses connected through MappedSwap to help users trade and stake for free. For more information on MappedSwap and April Campaign: More than 800,000 MST campaign: https://www.mappedswap.io/promotion Twitter: https://twitter.com/mappedswap Telegram: https://t.me/mappedswapofficial Media contacts: Name of contact person: Gerald Chan Company: Mappedverse Pte Ltd Email: pr@mappedswap.io Website: https://www.mappedswap.io Country and city: Hong Kong 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

Terra Bridge, the cross-chain bridge protocol now supports Solana, Fantom, Moonbeam, Osmosis, and Avalanche according to Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon. “Easiest way to move funds in crypto,” the Terraform Labs CEO explained in a tweet. Terra Bridge Adds 5 New Chains On April 12, 2022, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon told his 352,800 Twitter followers that Terra Bridge, otherwise known as bridge.terra.money, now supports five new blockchain networks. Cross-chain bridge technology has come a long way over the last 12 months and in mid-September 2021, there was over $7 billion total value locked (TVL) across several bridges to Ethereum. Today, cross-chain bridges to ethereum hold $19.51 billion in value across over a dozen blockchain networks. “Bridge.terra.money now supports Avalanche, Solana, Osmosis, Fantom, and Moonbeam Network. The easiest way to move funds in crypto,” Do Kwon said on Tuesday. The Terraform Labs co-founder also shared a screenshot of the protocol in action. In addition to the newly added Solana, Fantom, Moonbeam, Osmosis, and Avalanche networks, bridge.terra.money also supports Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Harmony, Secret, Injective, Cosmos, and Polygon. The Terra (LUNA) network has been a prominent fixture in decentralized finance (defi) in recent times as the network is the second-largest blockchain in terms of defi TVL, according to defillama.com stats. The value locked in Terra today is $26.14 billion or 12.52% of the $208 billion locked in defi on April 12. Anchor is the largest defi protocol on Terra with $14.38 billion locked and Lido is the second-largest defi protocol with $7 billion locked. Terra (LUNA) is also the fifth-largest smart contract platform coin by market capitalization with $29.8 billion today. Anchor recently added support for the Avalanche (AVAX) blockchain and the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) recently explained it planned to purchase $100 million in AVAX, in addition to the non-profit’s bitcoin (BTC) reserves. What do you think about Terra Bridge adding five support for five new blockchains? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Blackrock, Fidelity, Marshall Wace, and Fin Capital are investing in crypto firm Circle. In addition, Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, has entered into a broader strategic partnership with the crypto firm. Blackrock, Fidelity, Marshall Wace, Fin Capital to Invest in Circle Circle Internet Financial announced Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement for a $400 million funding round with investments from Blackrock Inc., Fidelity Management and Research, Marshall Wace LLP, and Fin Capital. Circle is the issuer of USD Coin (USDC). The stablecoin USDC has a market cap of about $51 billion and market dominance of about 2.58% at the time of writing, based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. Expanding on its partnership with Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, Circle detailed: In addition to its corporate strategic investment and role as a primary asset manager of USDC cash reserves, Blackrock has entered into a broader strategic partnership with Circle, which includes exploring capital market applications for USDC. Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, commented: “Dollar digital currencies like USDC are fueling a global economic transformation, and Circle’s technology infrastructure sits at the center of that change.” The funding round is expected to close in the second quarter. Allaire further explained the significance of the partnership with Blackrock and investments from other major companies in a series of tweets Tuesday. “With the Blackrock partnership, we are expanding on our existing relationship with Blackrock for managing significant assets for the reserves that back USDC to explore new ways that USDC can be adopted in tradfi capital markets applications,” he described. The Circle CEO concluded, “As the U.S. seeks out a leadership role in digital currency, we firmly believe that the strength of private sector innovation, building on an open financial system on public blockchains, can cement America’s leadership role in the internet economy,” elaborating: This is a huge milestone on the road towards mainstream adoption of digital currency. What do you think about Blackrock, Fidelity, and other financial corporations investing in Circle? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

With the rapid technological advancements, digitalization has witnessed a golden age in the past few years. Concepts we never even heard of are now becoming mainstream. One such example is NFT domains, rising as new web extensions. Quik.com is launching NFT domain names like .doge, .shib, .metaverse, .blockchain, .bored and .vr that are linked to the blockchain via smart contracts. The main characteristic of NFT domains that differentiates them from traditional domains is their decentralized nature. Traditionally, when we purchase a domain name, we are merely renting it for a certain period controlled by centralized servers. However, decentralized domains allow us to maintain self-custody and completely control our assets. NFT domains, like any other cryptocurrency, are verified on the blockchain and stored in a digital wallet. These domains, in addition, offer advantages like the ability to support decentralized internet portals, offer full ownership control of domain management elements, and empower developers to innovate beyond what is typed into a web browser. Notably, these NFT domains are called catalysts of revolutionizing the internet as we know it today. Recognizing this massive potential of decentralized crypto domains, Quik.com has launched a platform, touted as “the world’s top blockchain marketplace for NFT domains,” that enables users to purchase and sell blockchain-based domain names, including an advanced search system where users can browse specific listings. “We aim to harbor creative NFT domain names for the internet of tomorrow,” said the founders of Quik when sharing their intention behind the project. The Quik ecosystem is designed as a gateway into Web 3.0. The platform seeks to help businesses move away from the centralized Web 2.0 towards Web 3.0, a permissionless and permanent future of the internet. It will allow us to reclaim the lost freedom when we transited from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. Owing Domains Over Renting Out NFT domain names building upon the traditional standard for domain sales, Quik allows buyers to browse offerings powered by an advanced search system, enabling them to acquire decentralized domain names with minimal effort. Blockchain enables NFT domain names to be owned by the users instead of rented. Hence, you will be able to mint the domain name with a one-time registration fee with no need for periodic renewals. Having true ownership means that original minters will get a permanent royalty of about 5% to 10% on every subsequent sale. Learn more about Quik here. Upon launch, you can browse TLDs, top-level domains like .doge, .vr, .shib, .metaverse, .blockchain, and more. Each of the minted domain names comes with a unique artwork attached to it. These assets will allow you to enter the internet of tomorrow. Notably, TLDs are limited to minting capacity, meaning users are subjected to a first-come, first-mint basis. Even though the first round of TLDs on Quik exists on the ETH Ethereum blockchain, Quik.com plans to add additional blockchains, including BSC (Binance Smart Chain), SOL (Solana), and GateChain shortly. From Domain Names to Wallet Addresses As a domain holder, you will be able to use your domain as a website URL, universal username across websites and apps, and payment address for your digital wallet within the Quik ecosystem. After the launch of Quik’s marketplace for NFT domains, the team is now focused on launching extensions for web browsers, including their own, and partnering with major cryptocurrency wallets like Coinbase. These collaborations will allow exchanges to utilize Quik NFT domains in addition to existing wallet addresses. Quik.com will also be hosting a public token sale for QUIK tokens later this year. Buy your first blockchain domain name today on Quik.com. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Hacktivist collective Anonymous claims it has already published millions of leaked Russian emails. The group has been waging a cyberwar on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, carrying out attacks on government institutions, state-run television channels, and the central bank. Russia’s Culture Ministry Becomes Latest Target of Anonymous Anonymous has released well over two million emails obtained in cyberattacks on Russian organizations, the decentralized hacking group announced through social media. “This is just the beginning,” read a message posted on Twitter by the affiliated Anonymous TV account this past Sunday. #OpRussia: Since declaring ‘cyber war’ on Kremlin’s criminal regime, #Anonymous has released over 2 million Russian emails via #DDoSecrets and this is just the beginning. In the coming days #Anonymous collective will release other data related to Russian entities. #FreeUkraine pic.twitter.com/f1povI6uF1 — Anonymous TV 🇺🇦 (@YourAnonTV) April 10, 2022 In the tweet, Anonymous also vowed to release other appropriated data belonging to Russian entities. Following through on its promise, the collective said on Monday it has leaked almost 600,000 new emails from three Russian datasets. The batch contains more than 200,000 emails (446GB) from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. According to the hackers, censorship is among the main responsibilities of the department which is tasked to implement the state policy in arts and takes care of archives. Anonymous has also published 230,000 emails (150GB) from the Blagoveshchensk city administration sent in the past three years as well as 130,000 emails (116GB) from the governor of Tver region and his staff from the past five years. Soon after Moscow launched its military assault on Ukraine in the early hours of Feb. 24, Anonymous vowed to disrupt Russia’s internet space. The websites of the Kremlin, the State Duma, and the Defense Ministry were later targeted. The group also threatened to hack Russian state-run TV channels “to broadcast the truth about what happens in Ukraine.” The government-funded international network Russia Today (RT) suffered a massive DDoS attack. Then the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company was also hit by NB65, an Anonymous affiliate. In late March, the hacktivist collective released 28GB of data obtained from the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). The leaked documents, more than 35,000 files, were said to contain some of the monetary authority’s “secret agreements.” Anonymous has also allegedly taken down the websites of foreign companies that continue to operate in Russia. Do you expect Anonymous to target other Russian institutions and organizations? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

During the first quarter of 2022, Bitcoin’s hashrate averaged between 180 to 200 exahash per second (EH/s) and during the course of that time, 13,233 block rewards were found by 16 mining pools. According to three-month statistics, Foundry USA was the network’s top mining pool in terms of hashrate percentage, as the bitcoin mining operation scored 2,380 blocks in Q1 2022. Foundry USA Commands Q1 2022’s Top Bitcoin Mining Pool Position Metrics indicate bitcoin miners issued approximately 82,706.25 BTC over the last three months after collectively finding 13,233 block rewards. That bitcoin block data does not include the fees paid to miners during the first quarter of 2022. During that timeframe, there were 16 known mining pools and one “unknown” source of hashrate dedicating computational power to the Bitcoin network. The top mining pool during the last three months was Foundry USA as the pool captured 17.99% of the global hashrate in Q1. Out of 2,380 BTC blocks mined, Foundry USA mined one empty block in Q1. Following Foundry USA’s lead in Q1 was Antpool, as it captured 14.34% of the global hashrate in 90 days. Antpool managed to mine 1,898 bitcoin blocks but four of them were empty. F2pool was the third-largest bitcoin pool, commanding 14.05% of the network’s overall hashrate in the last three months. The 14.05% of computational power gave F2pool 1,859 blocks out of the 13,233 block rewards found in Q1. Behind the top three pools, records show Poolin had 12.06% of the global hashrate with 1,596 blocks found, and Binance Pool captured 11.33% of the hashrate with 1,499 blocks found in Q1. The aforementioned five pools collectively captured 57.71% of Bitcoin’s global hashrate. While there were 16 known mining pools, an “unknown” source of hashrate sometimes called “stealth miners” scored 158 bitcoin blocks, or 1.19% of the overall hashrate. While 2021 was a prominent year for stealth miners, the first quarter of 2022 shows unknown hashrate is much lower this year. Mining Difficulty Jumped Close to 17% Higher This Year, Unknown Hash Is Still the Most Dominant With 225,778 Blocks Mined Since 2009 During 2022’s first three months, the difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA) saw five increases and just two reductions. Out of the seven epoch changes, the network’s mining difficulty increased 16.98% higher than prior to the first week of January. On January 8, 2022, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty was 24.37 trillion and today, the difficulty is 28.59 trillion. The largest DAA increase took place at block height 719,712 on January 20, when the DAA shifted upwards by 9.32%. The largest DAA reduction took place during the first week of March at block height 725,760 when it dropped by 1.49%. While Foundry USA was the top mining pool in 2022 over the last three months, in terms of lifetime statistics, the pool only represents 0.9% of the hashrate since 2009. The largest entity in terms of lifetime hashrate since 2009, is the unknown hashrate, as it captured 30.9% of the hashrate. The unknown hash is followed by F2pool, Antpool, Btc.com, and Slush Pool, respectively. The now-defunct mining pool BTC Guild still holds the sixth-largest quantity of hashrate since 2009 with 4.5% or 32,935 blocks mined. For some comparison, Foundry USA has only found 6,300 blocks during the pool’s lifetime mining. What do you think about the first quarter’s top bitcoin mining pools? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Inflation in the U.S. continues to remain red hot as consumer prices last month increased sharply to 8.5% in March compared to the same month last year. Metrics show the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) spiked last month at the fastest pace since December 1981. Inflation Continues to Hammer the US Economy — White House Blames Putin The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that inflation has continued to rise month over month in the United States. BLS published the organization’s latest CPI numbers and inflation has spiked a great deal since last year. According to the latest CPI numbers, consumer prices in March jumped to 8.5%. The data follows February’s CPI numbers which showed a 7.9% annual increase in February. Last month’s annual rise was 0.8% higher than the year prior, while March saw a 1.2% jump. According to a Bloomberg data report, “consensus economists” expected an 8.4% increase for March. Just before the CPI data was released, the White House said that it expected inflation to be “extraordinarily elevated.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki blamed the inflation on Vladimir Putin and Russia when she said: “We expect March CPI headline inflation to be extraordinarily elevated due to Putin’s price hike.” On Tuesday, the economist and gold bug Peter Schiff told his 686,700 Twitter followers that inflation will not be transitory. “The 8.5% YoY gain in March CPI is the highest since 1981, when interest rates were 20% & CPI was 13.5%,” Schiff tweeted. “Current interest rates are .25%, and using the 1981 CPI the YoY gain is likely 17%. With real rates negative 16.75% now, versus positive 6.5% then, inflation is here to stay.” On April 8, 2022, northmantrader.com’s Sven Henrich wrote: We’re now entering the part of the monetary experiment where even millionaires feel poor. A Few Economists Expect an Inflation Peak Soon Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics thinks the March increase will “mark the peak” for inflation. “The big news in the March report was that core price pressures finally appear to be moderating,” Hunter said in a note sent to CNBC. Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics told CNBC in the same report that the latest BLS CPI data is “encouraging.” “Overall, this report is encouraging, at the margin, though it is far too soon to be sure that the next few core prints will be as low; much depends on the path of used vehicle prices, which is very hard to forecast with confidence,” Shepherdson remarked. “We’re sure they will fall, but the speed of the decline is what matters.” Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US told CNN the March numbers might be closer to a peak. “Yes, inflation may soon find its peak. However, that does not imply significant relief is on the way in the near term,” What do you think about the inflation in the U.S. surging to new heights at the fastest pace since 1981? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Shiba inu (SHIB) was one of the biggest gainers in crypto markets on Tuesday, as Robinhood added the meme coin to its list of crypto offerings. This came as the trading app also added a host of others, including SOL which also gained following recent losses. Shiba Inu (SHIB) Shiba inu (SHIB) was undoubtedly the biggest gainer during Tuesday’s trading session, as it was finally confirmed that Robinhood had added the meme coin to its offering. Following a low of $0.00002198 to start the week, SHIB/USD rallied to an intraday high of $0.00002695 earlier today. This peak was the highest level SHIB has traded since February 17, and comes after prices rebounded from the long-term support level on Monday. Looking at the chart, yesterday’s floor at $0.00002175, held firm for the last few weeks, as bulls likely were anticipating today’s announcement. As a result of the surge in price, SHIB has now broken out of its long-term resistance level of $0.00002747. Despite this almost two-month high, the 14-day RSI is only tracking at 57, with its recent high closer to 70. Robinhood traders could see this as an opportunity to push the meme coin higher. NEAR Protocol (NEAR) Although SOL was also added to Robinhood on Tuesday, it was NEAR which was today’s second-biggest gainer. NEAR rose to a peak of $17.17 during today’s session, as prices continued to move away from its recent support level. Earlier gains in NEAR have somewhat eased as the day matured, as prices came closer to the resistance point of $17.55. However, before touching this point, bears have moved to quash the upwards trend, as the price NEAR seems as if it will continue to consolidate. Today’s surge comes as price strength climbed back above a recent floor within the 14-day RSI indicator, and now sits at the 60 level. With the nearest ceiling at the 64 point, there may be some further gains in NEAR, however, if the resistance of $17.55 is hit, we may see yet another drop. Do you believe NEAR could breakout above the resistance level of $17.55? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. We are hugely excited to announce the official launch of Parex, a new decentralized exchange with an in-built PRX token unique to the mining production mechanism. Developed in response to the costly and often ethically dubious state of centralized finance, Parex promises to offer a secure, fluid and accessible platform like no other. Before Parex, teams had to develop and operate proprietary indexing servers, which required significant engineering and hardware resources, while breaking important security properties required for decentralization. The opportunities of decentralized networks like Parex offer solutions to these issues. So what sets Parex apart? Increased interoperability, a community-oriented ethos, and an environmentally friendly mining method. The Parex production network is processed with the DRC-16 protocol and designed to build bridges with many networks thanks to Proof of Interoperability. Indeed, the Proof of Interoperability mechanism ensures that the PRX token is an interoperable token in every network. Every inter-network transfer is possible thanks to Parex Market. Switching between networks can be done for a low fee and with high efficiency, facilitating transfer routes for PRX. There is a balance between all networks, including Polygon, BEP20, Ethereum, Polkadot, and Avax, among others. Tokens and transfers are produced directly and autonomously by all PRX users: unlike other decentralized exchanges, this one is community-led. It functions like a WEB3 project, modernizing more traditional tokenization, transfer and mining systems. Speaking of mining: PRX is the most valuable long-term method as it is environmentally friendly and balanced against inflation. Concretely speaking, Parex Market updates the mining system through a more ecological approach, known as burning. As soon as the PRX token is sent to production, it is burned and falls out of circulation. It continues its existence as a community-oriented project to overcome all difficulties. This burning algorithm ensures a sustainable and environmentally friendly exchange, lasting many years. The current PRX Burn Percentage stands at 86.84%. Furthermore, Parex is currently set to lead many projects in the developable smart contracts ecosystem. Parex will activate The Ethereum(#ERC20) bridge on April 13. This will light the way for parex as a faster and developing token using different networks. Parex, which also has a certik certificate, has recently announced that it will apply for skynet. Parex Market also does not neglect to contribute to the blockchain ecosystem. In this regard, it allocates a fund of $75M. Funds are provided to projects that want to develop DeFi, Metaverse and Web3 projects in-house. More than 300 applications were submitted. Projects benefiting from the fund will be announced soon. With 31,693 total users as of March 2022 and a market value of $3,477,608.9641 for the PRX token, Parex looks set to take the world by storm. Social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/parexmarket Instagram: https://instagram.com/parexmarket Telegram Group: https://t.me/ParexPRX Telegram channel: https://t.me/parexmarket YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoaCqqGjbEZU-n2ZkBKfoAg 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

On Tuesday, the NBA team the Golden State Warriors announced the organization’s second non-fungible token (NFT) collection to commemorate the team’s 2022 NBA Playoff run. The Warriors NFT compilation is being called “a responsive NFT collection” as the NFTs will change based on real performance. Golden State Warriors to Launch 2022 Playoff NFT Collection Featuring Responsive NFTs The San Francisco-based NBA team the Golden State Warriors (GSW) is launching a new NFT collection this Friday, April 15, at 12 p.m. (PDT) via the FTX US NFT marketplace. The NFT collectibles stem from the “Golden State Warriors 2022 Playoff NFT Collection” (GSW Playoff NFTs) and every time the Golden State Warriors win a 2022 playoff series, the responsive NFTs will change by unlocking new utilities and benefits. According to the press release sent to Bitcoin.com News, there will be a total of 3,000 GSW Playoff NFTs with 12 different designs. Every design has a unique level of rarity and special utilities offered, according to the announcement. “Each Playoff NFT is a digital collectible that doubles as an entrance pass into the GSW community on Discord,” the GSW NFT announcement explains. “The NFTs will grant fans access to member-only benefits, exclusive Warriors swag, and white-list access to future NFT drop.” Based on the GSW NFT’s rarity, the fan could unlock a chance to ride on the Warriors Championship Float or win NBA Playoff tickets. Fans could win additional non-fungible token collectibles, autographed team memorabilia, exclusive NBA Playoff merchandise, and even championship rings. The full collection of GSW Playoff NFTs can be seen at the website gswnft.com and the collection will feature the following designs: 1947 Warriors NBA Championship Ticket Stub Oracle Arena Ticket Stub Warriors Varsity Jacket (1-of-1) Warriors Foam Finger Warriors 2015 NBA Championship Ring Warriors Championship Banner (1-of-1) Warriors Historic Logo Collage Warriors Basketball Hoop Warriors Golden Basketball Hoop Warriors 75th Anniversary Diamond 1-of-1 GSW Playoff NFT Auction Winner Will Receive a Gold Bar According to the Golden State Warriors, the rarest NFT of them all will be the 1-of-1 special edition Gold Bar All-Access Pass. “The highest bidder of this special 1-of-1 auction will receive the NFT as well as a physical version of the Gold Bar—made of real gold—and two tickets to all Warriors 2022 playoff games at Chase Center,” the announcement discloses. Each GSW Playoff NFT will sell for $499.99 per unit except for the 1-of-1 special edition Gold Bar All-Access Pass NFT. Fans will need an FTX US account to mint and participate and each NFT will act as an entrance pass into the GSW community on Discord as well. The upcoming GSW Playoff NFT collection will follow the Warriors’ last NFT sale which holds the record for the all-time highest sports NFT sale to date. The GSW 1-of-1 6x World Championship ring NFT sold for 285.111 ether or $871,591 at the time of settlement. What do you think about the Golden State Warriors’ upcoming 2022 NBA Playoff NFT collection? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Popular trading platform Robinhood has listed shiba inu (SHIB) as well as three other popular cryptocurrencies. Supporters of the meme crypto have petitioned for months for Robinhood to list SHIB. Robinhood Finally Lists Shiba Inu Crypto Popular trading platform Robinhood announced the listing of four new cryptocurrencies Tuesday. The company wrote: We’re pleased to announce that customers can now buy and sell four additional cryptocurrencies through Robinhood Crypto: compound (COMP), polygon (MATIC), solana (SOL) and shiba inu (SHIB). Supporters of shiba inu are ecstatic to see that SHIB is now live on the Robinhood app. The SHIB community has been petitioning on Change.org for the platform to list the meme coin since October last year. Nearly 560K signatures have been collected as of Tuesday. “Over the past year, our crypto customers have consistently asked for two things: the ability to send and receive their tokens, and a broader selection of cryptocurrencies,” the Robinhood announcement noted. The company added that it has addressed customers’ top request by rolling out new crypto wallets to over two million users. Steve Quirk, chief brokerage officer at Robinhood, commented: We’re excited to add more choices for our customers as we work to make Robinhood the best place to invest in crypto. He further opined: “As a safety-first company, we have a rigorous framework in place to help us evaluate assets for listing, and we remain committed to providing a safe and educational crypto platform.” Robinhood noted that while the new crypto assets can now be bought and sold, “Deposit and withdrawal won’t be available immediately for these assets, but that capability is coming soon.” At the time of writing, SHIB is trading at $0.00002799 per coin. It has risen more than 20% over the past 24 hours and more than 5% in the last seven days, based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. What do you think about Robinhood finally listing shiba inu? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin and ETH both fell below key price levels on Tuesday, as crypto bears continued to push prices lower. Despite this, both have now regained these levels following news that U.S. inflation rose to a record 8.5% year-over-year. Overall, cryptocurrency markets were down 1% as of writing. Bitcoin BTC dropped below its key level of $40,000 earlier in today’s session, as recent losses in value continued to mount. Following a high above $42,000 to start the week, BTC/USD fell to an intraday low of $39,373.06 on Tuesday. This is the lowest level BTC has traded since March 16, however declines have somewhat eased as the floor was hit. As seen on the chart, this floor was at the $39,450 level, which then gave bulls the courage to re-enter the market due to previous rebounds which occurred at this price. Since today’s low, BTC is now trading at $40,270, meaning that losses have eased, and now sit at negative 1.82% for the day. Price strength continues to be oversold, which could be yet another positive for bulls looking to buy recent dips in value. Ethereum In addition to BTC, ethereum also fell below a key support point earlier in today’s session, before regaining its footing. ETH/USD dropped below $3,000 for the first time since March 23, as it went on to hit an intraday low of $2,957.87 in the process. However, following the release of U.S. inflation data, which showed that consumer prices rose to a record 8.5% annualized rate, ETH has somewhat rebounded. As of writing, ETH is now trading above its floor of $2,950, as it currently sits at $3,050, which is roughly 0.9% lower than yesterday’s high. Looking at the chart, the RSI is currently hovering below its resistance of 50, and now sits at 45, so if price strength continues to increase, this could be the target point. Despite this, recent momentum has now brought moving averages on the cusp of a cross, but bulls still have the opportunity to avert this, by re-entering the market. Now that inflation data has been released, will we see market uncertainty marginally reduced? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

An average of 54% of survey respondents from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said they believe cryptocurrency should be used as currency. Still, a significant proportion of the respective countries’ respondents believe certain obstacles are stopping cryptocurrencies from going mainstream. Crypto as Currency According to the findings of a study by Checkout.com, about 54% of respondents in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia “believe that cryptocurrency should be used as currency” and not only as “an investment asset.” This figure is nine percentage points higher than the global average of 45%, the study data shows. For comparison, in the United States — the world’s largest economy and one of the biggest crypto markets globally — only 36% of the respondents said that crypto should be used as currency. In Germany, some 31% of the respondents agreed that crypto should be used as currency, while 32% from the U.K. said the same thing. Benefits of Paying With Crypto Meanwhile, in the study report, several reasons are given which explain why nearly half of the surveyed residents aged between 18 and 35 are eager to make payments using cryptocurrency. The report states: Consumers find utility and benefits in paying with cryptocurrencies, be they stablecoins or non-pegged crypto. Faster transactions and lower fees, particularly for cross-border purchases, provide significant benefits to consumers. Although the study found that nearly half (48%) of the 30,000 respondents are planning to regularly or occasionally pay with crypto, there are still obstacles that stop digital currencies from going mainstream, even in countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE. For instance, the study found that approximately 25% of respondents in Saudi Arabia and just over 30% in the UAE said “crypto is too complicated to become mainstream.” The other countries with more than 30% of respondents who similarly believe crypto is too complicated are Australia, France, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. Another significant obstacle stopping privately issued digital currencies from going mainstream in Saudi Arabia and the UAE is the consumers’ assertion that crypto is risky. According to the study data, just over 30% of respondents in Saudi Arabia and around 30% in the UAE agreed that crypto is too risky. For perspective, over 40% of respondents in Hong Kong and Singapore also agreed with the notion that cryptocurrencies cannot go mainstream because they are too risky. Other key obstacles listed in the report include the education gap as well as the gender divide. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The stablecoin economy has grown during the last month as the market capitalization is now only $10 billion away from reaching the $200 billion mark. While the largest stablecoin, by market valuation, tether (USDT) swelled by 3% during the last 30 days to $82 billion, terrausd (UST) has increased by 15.4% to $16.7 billion. Stablecoin Economy Swells by 1.65% in 30 Days Nearing the $200 Billion Milestone According to statistics on Monday, April 11, 2022, the stablecoin economy is worth $190.1 billion. During the last 24 hours, stablecoins have captured $68 billion in trade volume out of the aggregate of $107 billion worth of today’s global trade volume. The largest of the bunch is tether (USDT) and over the last 30 days, USDT increased by 3%. Tether now holds an $82.6 billion market valuation which represents 4.21% of the entire crypto economy. The second-largest stablecoin usdcoin (USDC) saw a decline over the last month dropping 2.9%. BUSD also dropped during the last 30 days, losing 1.2% during the timeframe. The fourth-largest stablecoin, in terms of market capitalization, terrausd (UST) spiked by 15.4%. UST’s market capitalization on Monday is $16.7 billion or 0.85% of the entire crypto economy’s current value at $1.96 trillion. Makerdao’s DAI is the fifth largest stablecoin today with $8.9 billion, but during the last 30 days, its market valuation slid by 4.9%. Neutrino USD (USDN) has been having troubles in recent times keeping the $1 peg, but it’s market cap over the last 30 days increased by 70.2%. Besides USDN’s steep jump, HUSD spiked by 16.8% during the last month increasing its market valuation to $294 million. Gemini dollar’s (GUSD) valuation saw a steep decline over the last month losing 23.9% during the timeframe. Trueusd’s (TUSD) market cap has also lost 9% during the last 30 days as well. Despite some of the losses during the last month, the entire stablecoin market valuation has expanded by 1.65% in 30 days. With Terra’s UST at $16.7 billion and BSC’s BUSD at $17.8 billion, UST is coming awfully close to surpassing the BSC stabecoin. Additionally, after swelling another $10 billion higher than today’s current stablecoin economy value, the fiat-pegged crypto assets will reach the $200 billion milestone. What do you think about the stablecoin economy’s continued growth? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Over the last six days, the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) has dropped 9.21% from a high of $232.88 billion on April 5, to today’s $211.43 billion. The value locked in defi protocols shed 4.40% of that value during the last 24 hours. Value Locked in Defi Shudders This Week While the crypto economy has shed billions, the defi landscape has also felt the brunt of the storm. Last week, the TVL in defi neared a record high but most of that value has been erased since April 5. At the time of writing on Monday, April 11, 2022, the TVL in defi is coasting along at $211.43 billion which is 9.21% less than it was six days ago. Presently, the top defi protocol in terms of TVL is Curve Finance with a 9.52% dominance rating. Curve has a TVL of around $20.12 billion which is down 5.30% over the last week. The second-largest defi protocol, in terms of value locked, is Lido with $17.43 billion. Lido, however, has lost 13.95% during the last seven days. The third-largest defi protocol, Anchor, has $14.75 billion total value locked but has lost 6.79% this past week. Two defi protocols that have increased during the last week include Cbridge, up 35.34% and Platypus Finance up 22.44%. Out of the $211 billion locked on Monday, Ethereum commands 55.59% of the aggregate with $117.52 billion. Terra’s (LUNA) defi TVL is the second largest with $26.68 billion or 12.62% of the $211.43 billion. The third-largest defi TVL by blockchain is Binance Smart Chain (BSC) as the network currently commands $13.16 billion or 6.23% of the TVL in defi today. Ethereum’s, Terra’s, and BSC’s TVLs are followed by the TVLs held on Avalanche and Solana, respectively. The top 12 blockchains in terms of TVL are all down in value during the last week, except for the Near blockchain network which is up 22.57% over the last seven days. Overall, the top smart contract platform coins by market capitalization are all down in value during the last week. 24-hour stats show the $667 billion worth of the top smart contract platform coins is down 8.5%. As far as cross-chain bridges to Ethereum are concerned, there’s $19.9 billion TVL across cross-chain bridges among 40,184 unique addresses. The figure is down 8.8% during the last 30 days. What do you think about the week’s defi action and the TVL losing $21 billion in six days? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The law firm representing Ira Kleiman has sent a notice of appeal to the Florida District Court in an attempt to appeal the court’s rejection of a Kleiman v. Wright retrial. The self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor, Craig Wright, was cleared of all charges at the end of the Kleiman v. Wright trial, except one count of conversion. Ira Kleiman Appeals Retrial Rejection in the Kleiman v. Wright Case On April 8, 2022, the law firm Roche Freedman LLP submitted a notice of appeal to the Florida District Court system. The appeal is tied to the recently concluded Kleiman v. Wright trial which ended on December 6, 2021. The trial started on February 14, 2018, as the self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright was accused of perpetrating “a scheme against Dave’s estate to seize Dave’s bitcoins and his rights to certain intellectual property associated with the Bitcoin technology.” The verdict at the end of 2021 came to a conclusion after the jury was deadlocked for a number of days at the end of the trial. Finally, a verdict was reached and Wright and his defense team from Rivero Mestre LLP managed to beat all the charges except one count of conversion. While Wright was mandated to pay $143 million to W&K Info Defense, Wright told the press that he was “incredibly relieved.” The latest notice of appeal stems from Roche Freedman’s Velvel Freedman, and the appeal is filed on behalf of Ira Kleiman as representative of the estate of Dave Kleiman. Ira Kleiman is the brother of the now-deceased security expert Dave Kleiman. The notice is appealing the rejected retrial as Roche Freedman and Ira Kleiman want to take the case to trial again. The appeal follows Velvel Freedman’s recent tweet that explains how Wright owes W&K Info but allegedly has not paid. On March 9, Freedman tweeted: Make that $143,132,492.48 after W&K just won prejudgment interest. Unfortunately, Craig Wright still hasn’t paid a cent. Coingeek Article Hints at Possible Cross-Appeal, Wright Says ‘He Won the First Time and Fully Expects to Win Again’ In a recent article published by Coingeek author Jordan Atkins, the reporter says that “given the ownership status of that company, it isn’t clear how Kleiman will be able to recover any of the $140 million award.” Atkins also quotes Craig Wright in the article who firmly said that he had won the lawsuit, despite the one count of conversion. The Coingeek editorial published on April 10 also hints at a possible “cross-appeal from Dr. Wright on the count found in favor of W&K.” “I won the first time and fully expect I will win again. The jurors came to the right decision after listening to 13 days of testimonials and deliberating for seven days, and am confident there will be no change to their decision on appeal,” Wright remarked in the Coingeek article. “David Kleiman, while being a close friend, did not co-invent Bitcoin and Ira Kleiman is entitled to nothing.” Wright has attempted to persuade the masses that he is Satoshi Nakamoto for many years now, but overwhelming evidence against his story has provoked the crypto community at large to dismiss Wright’s theory and claims entirely. What do you think about the case against the self-styled Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

THETA and RUNE are trading over 10% lower to start the week, as recent declines in the crypto market extended during Monday’s session. As of writing, the global cryptocurrency market cap is down nearly 5%. THORChain (RUNE) In addition to BTC and ETH, RUNE also fell to a three-week low to start the week, as bearish pressure mounted in crypto markets. Following a high of $9.47 on Sunday, RUNE/USD fell to an intraday low of $8.06 during today’s session, as prices fell to their lowest point since March 25. This drop sees RUNE hit its long-term support point at $8.08, after trading near its resistance of $12 almost a week ago. Looking at the chart, today’s move comes as price strength failed to move beyond the ceiling of 50, which then prompted bears to send prices lower. The decline in price strength came as momentum also declined, with the 10-day and 25-day moving averages preparing for a downwards crossover. As of writing, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is sitting at its lowest point since February 27, however some still expect further falls in price. Theta Network (THETA) Like RUNE, THETA was also down by over 10% during Monday’s session, as it fell for a second consecutive session itself. THETA/USD hit a bottom of $3.03 to start the week, which is its lowest point since March 25, and this comes as the long-term floor was broken. This support level at $3.30 caved in as prices fell for the ninth time in eleven sessions, as THETA’s value dropped by over 20% in the last week. As a result of this descending pressure on price, we are now on the cusp of a downside cross between the moving averages of 10 and 25 days, respectively. Should this happen, we could see even more upcoming lows, with bears likely to target the $2.65 level as the next long-term floor. Despite the 14-day RSI currently tracking near multi-month lows, should the floor of 40 give way, we may head to 34, which will be enough to see the $2.65 level hit. Will bulls see today’s drop as a good opportunity to buy THETA and RUNE? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

The co-founder and former CEO of Bitmex, Arthur Hayes, has published a new blog post concerning the current state of cryptocurrency markets. Hayes says currently there’s an inability to recognize the cyclical nature of markets and the “inconvenient truth” that is crypto is now moving in “lockstep” with market equities. Hayes expects the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) to experience a significant 30% to 50% drawdown and leading crypto assets like bitcoin and ethereum to drop in value too, amid a great deal of stock market carnage. While the Long Term Crypto Market Outlook Was Bright, Bitmex Co-Founder’s Short Term Perspective Is Scary The crypto economy dropped under the $2 trillion mark on Monday, sliding 4.7% down to $1.98 trillion. The downturn is being attributed to the Federal Reserve’s expected rate hikes as economists believe the U.S. central bank is “expected to deliver two back-to-back half-point interest rate hikes in May and June,” according to a Reuters poll. The surveyed economists also predict the chance of a recession happening next year is 40%. Following a blog post published in mid-March, the co-founder of Bitmex Arthur Hayes has written some new predictions for the near term. The last blog post on March 16 explained that Hayes believes the end of the “Petro Dollar / Euro Dollar monetary system” is drawing closer. Hayes also said that he predicted gold’s value could reach $10K per ounce while bitcoin (BTC) marches to $1 million per coin. However, the blog post published on April 10 paints a different picture, as Hayes is predicting a crypto market downturn. Via the blog post and sharing a great number of charts, Hayes shows that bitcoin (BTC) and crypto markets, in general, are very correlated at the moment. Hayes expects the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) to shudder and he believes crypto markets will follow in tandem. He speculates that the NDX will drop by roughly 30% or even as much as 50% lower but he’s not sure. Hayes is clear, however, that the Federal Reserve has put a stop to monetary easing practices and that time has ended. “[NDX] down 30%? … Down 50%? … your guess is as good as mine,” Hayes said on Sunday. “But let’s be clear – the Fed isn’t planning to grow its balance sheet again any time soon, meaning equities ain’t going any higher,” the Bitmex co-founder added. Crypto Derivatives Exchange Co-Founder’s Predictions: Bitcoin $30,000, Ethereum $2,500 Hayes thinks that the crypto economy will follow suit with U.S. technology stocks and will drop significantly lower in value in the coming months. The crypto derivatives exchange co-founder highlights that there are “many crypto market pundits who believe the worst is over” but he believes they “ignore the inconvenient truth.” While Hayes predicts the NDX will slide by 30% or even 50% lower, he predicts bitcoin (BTC) will drop to $30K per unit. Hayes also expects the second leading crypto asset, ethereum (ETH), to slide to $2,500 per unit. The numbers Hayes came up with stem from what he believes and not from a technical analysis standpoint. “There isn’t much science to these numbers other than a gut feeling,” Hayes writes. “The annoying part is that there are a number of altcoins I have begun to accumulate because the prices are quite attractive. Even though some of these coins are already down 75% from their all-time high, I don’t believe even they can escape the coming crypto carnage. As such, I am buying crash June 2022 puts on both bitcoin and ether.” Hayes ends his blog post by saying that of course, his “market prognosis might be wrong” and he is fine with that. If he is wrong then he only loses the premium he paid on crash protection. “I will be wrong if the correlation between bitcoin / ether and NDX starts dropping before a crash in risk asset markets,” Hayes’s blog post concludes. “I’m perfectly okay with that outcome, as I’m already in a long crypto position.” What do you think about the crypto market predictions from the Bitmex co-founder’s recent blog post? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin and ETH both fell to their lowest level in over three weeks on Monday, as a red wave passed through crypto markets. As of writing, BTC and ETH are trading between 2% and 5% lower, while the overall crypto market cap is down 3.75%. Bitcoin Bitcoin extended its recent decline on Monday, as prices fell for the fifth session in the last seven to start the week. Following a high of $43,376.38 less than 24 hours ago, BTC/USD fell to an intraday low of $41,055.79 earlier today. This drop pushed prices below the long-term support level of $42,000, taking the asset to a three-week low in the process. As seen on the chart, this is the first time since March 22 that BTC has traded below this floor, and the drop comes as another support point was broken. This being that of the 14-day RSI, which saw the 43.55 floor finally cave in, after holding firm during the weekend. As of writing, this indicator is now tracking at 40, which is its lowest point in two months, and should it continue to fall, we could see BTC below $40,000. Ethereum The fall in ETH was even greater than that of BTC on Monday, as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency lost over 5% of its value. This was double that of BTC’s fall, and saw ETH/USD fall to an intraday low of $3,068.59 to start this week’s session. Monday’s drop saw prices fall to their lowest point since March 24, when ETH was attempting to break into the resistance at the time of $3,145. Although ETH almost fell below $3,000, a makeshift floor seems to have been found at $3,010, which is a point where bulls typically look to buy. Looking at the chart, losses have eased since hitting this floor, which is likely due to bears fleeing, in anticipation of a rebound. As of writing, the 14-day RSI is now tracking at a nearly one-month low of 45.10, which could be another signal to bulls to buy, as markets are relatively oversold. Could we see ETH and BTC fall below $3,000 and $40,000, respectively, in the coming days? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has asked thousands of banks and other financial institutions it supervises to declare existing crypto activities and any plans they have to engage in crypto activities in the future. Banks to Disclose Crypto Plans to FDIC The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an agency created by Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the U.S. financial system, announced Thursday: The FDIC is requesting all FDIC-supervised institutions that are considering engaging in crypto-related activities to notify the FDIC of their intent and to provide all necessary information that would allow the FDIC to engage with the institution regarding related risks. The FDIC is the insurer for all insured depository institutions (IDIs) in the U.S. and the primary federal supervisor for state-chartered banks and savings institutions that have not joined the Federal Reserve System. As of Dec. 31, 2021, there were 3,122 FDIC-supervised institutions and 4,839 FDIC-insured institutions. Among FDIC-supervised institutions, 2,816 were commercial banks and 306 were savings institutions. “Any FDIC-supervised institution that is already engaged in crypto-related activities should promptly notify the FDIC. Institutions notifying the FDIC are also encouraged to notify their state regulator,” the announcement details, adding: The FDIC will review the information and provide relevant supervisory feedback. In its letter to supervised entities, the FDIC outlined several risk considerations relating to crypto assets. They involved safety, soundness, financial stability, and consumer protection. The FDIC reiterated: Crypto-related activities may pose significant safety and soundness risks, as well as financial stability and consumer protection concerns. What do you think about the FDIC asking supervised entities to disclose their crypto activities and future plans related to crypto? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Spanish central bank, Bank of Spain, has warned users about certain actions banks can take if they detect cryptocurrency purchases. In a post published on its web page, the institution explains that traditional banks have the ability to block these transactions if they suspect there are suspicious circumstances involved, such as those related to identity theft or money laundering. Bank of Spain Explains Crypto-Related Account Restrictions The Bank of Spain has issued a post explaining to users the potential actions that commercial banks can take when detecting a cryptocurrency-related purchase. First and foremost, the bank explains that according to Spanish and European supervisors, these assets are not fit as payment methods or investment vehicles. The bank also explains that accounts can be blocked as a result of suspicious behavior associated with identity theft. It explained: It may happen that the bank has suspicions that identity theft with credential theft is taking place. There are frequent cases of fraud in which there is fraudulent access to the accounts of the clients of an entity after having stolen their passwords from the client, and which end in a transfer to acquire cryptocurrencies. This might trigger alarms integrated into the banking system and prompt the aforementioned block to protect the customer. Money Laundering However, there are other reasons that might prompt a transaction restriction. The post goes on to explain that clues linking funds transacted with money laundering can also cause the block of a cryptocurrency purchase transaction. In this sense, the bank clarified: It may also happen that the bank classifies this type of operation as high risk and decides to require additional controls, such as making a phone call or asking you to come to the branch. Banks must comply with a series of laws that prevent them from incurring these kinds of transactions that might be used to launder funds or could be used to finance terrorism around the world. However, it was also explained that banks cannot do this without maintaining a line of communication with the affected user, giving a general reason for the block of the transaction. In some cases users may be asked to visit a bank branch. However, the post says banks are to remain flexible depending on the health status of the customer and the distance from their residence. Europe is currently drafting MiCA, the Markets in Crypto Assets regulatory framework, that will better clarify the attributions of each one of the organizations regarding cryptocurrency and its associated actors. What do you think about the warning of the Bank of Spain on cryptocurrency purchases? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article