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Following a strong weekend, bitcoin’s surge continued to start the week, as Tesla announced close to $2 billion worth of holdings in BTC. Overall, crypto markets were around 3% higher on Monday. Bitcoin Bitcoin, which consolidated for the majority of last week, moved closer to a three-week high today, climbing by as much as 3% as of writing. BTC/USD rose to an intraday high above $43,500.00 during Monday’s session, as markets reacted to the news that Tesla currently holds $1.9 billion in bitcoin. The move came as bitcoin marginally broke out of its resistance level of $42,060 for the first time since January 21. As of writing, the RSI also climbed to a high point, tracking above its long-term ceiling of 60, which it last hit in mid-November. Monday’s move has also led to a crossover of the 10-day (red) and 25-day (blue) moving averages, which many long-term bulls have been waiting for. Bulls may take this as a sign to add more upward pressure to prices, with some targeting $45,000 as the next point of profit taking. Ethereum ETH was also tracking at multi-week highs on Monday, as bulls continue to flock to the world’s second largest cryptocurrency. As of writing, ETH/USD climbed to a high of $3,111.16 today, after trading at $2,965.43 less than 24-hours ago. Overall, ethereum is up over 20% in the last week, coming as its 14-RSI broke beyond two key resistance levels in that time. The first break came after a break above 44 on February 3, followed by Saturday’s surge above the 55 ceiling. These moves have created a shift in both the 10-day and 25-day moving averages, which, similar to BTC, is set for a crossover. Is ETH now headed to a resistance of $3,400? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Over the last 30 days, Bitcoin’s hashrate has been coasting along at the highest levels ever recorded during the network’s lifetime. Bitcoin’s price improved recently but it is still down 38% from the crypto asset’s high, making bitcoin less profitable to mine. However, bitcoin mining is still profitable, in contrast to ten years ago, when the leading crypto asset’s value crashed below the cost of production. Bitcoin’s Price Is 38% Lower Than It’s All-Time High, Bitcoin Miners Still Profit While bitcoin’s price value has climbed quite high against the U.S. dollar during the last 13 years, the network’s hashrate has also risen to all-time highs. Today, the hashrate is coasting along above two hundred quintillion hashes per second (H/s) which is a lot stronger than the Bitcoin network’s hashrate was on January 5, 2009. On that day, statistics show that nine hundred forty-eight thousand H/s was dedicated to the protocol’s security. Calculations show Bitcoin’s hashrate has increased by twenty-one quadrillion percent — or 21,093,375,098,215,930% — since January 5, 2009. Bitcoin’s hashrate is coasting along at all-time highs, but the crypto asset’s value is 38% lower than it was three months ago, on November 10, 2021. This in turn has made it less profitable to mine bitcoin (BTC), but still profitable for a decent majority of high-powered mining rigs. For instance, using today’s BTC exchange rates, the Bitmain Antminer S19 Pro with 110 terahash per second (TH/s) will produce $16.81 per day if the machine’s electrical costs are around $0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). SHA256 machines that produce at least 25 TH/s will still turn a profit using today’s BTC exchange rate and $0.12 per kWh. Mid-October, 2011: Bitcoin’s Price Drops Below the Cost of Production Over ten years ago, on October 18, 2011, the cost of a single bitcoin fell below the price to produce bitcoin (BTC). It wasn’t the only time this has happened, but it was one of the first times the price of bitcoin was said to be lower than the cost to mine the digital currency. That week in 2011, the network’s hashrate was around 8.596 TH/s or 8,596,000,000,000 hashes per second. While the hashrate was much less than today, it was still nine-hundred-six million percent (906,593,161.72%) higher in 2011 than on January 5, 2009. At the time, when BTC’s price fell below the cost of production, it made international headlines. The Guardian’s contributor ​​Charles Arthur wrote about the incident on October 18, 2011, when he explained how BTC’s price crashed from a high of over $30 per unit to $1-2 per BTC in mid-October. That year, Arthur called BTC a “‘Hackers’ virtual currency and favoured means of exchange.” The Guardian writer’s report said that BTC’s price “plummeted across exchanges – to a level where it costs more to ‘mine’ them than they are worth.” Bitcoin’s Value Drops Below Production Cost in 2015, 2018, and 2020 — Estimates Say ‘Current Production Cost Is $34K’ About a year after the 2013 price high, BTC’s value started to near dropping below the cost of production again. During the first week of December, the network hashrate declined and the CEO of Spondoolies-Tech, Guy Corem, explained how the crypto asset’s market value was affecting miners at the time. “Under the current bitcoin value, mining gear efficiency of 0.5–0.7 J/GH range and energy cost, we’ll reach equilibrium very soon,” Corem said. The cost to mine BTC was reportedly more than they were worth in mid-January 2015 after Corem made those statements. That month in 2015, the price of bitcoin (BTC) dropped below the $200 mark. According to reports in mid-December 2018, BTC’s price was lower than production costs again. At that time in 2018, BTC was changing hands for $3,200 per unit. Furthermore, on March 12, 2020, often referred to as ‘Black Thursday,’ BTC’s price shuddered and tanked down to the mid-$3K range, making it unprofitable for a majority of the network’s mining participants. While BTC’s price is 38% lower than the all-time high, some believe that it is still near current mining costs. In mid-January of this year, the popular Twitter account dubbed ‘Venture Founder’ told his 14,600 social media followers that “current production cost is $34K.” Venture Founder also mentioned the crypto asset’s value crashing below the cost of production in December 2018 and March 2020. “The worst dumps bitcoin ever had were due to miners capitulation (Dec 2018, Mar 2020), when BTC fell below production costs, it is at risk for miner capitulation,” Venture Founder tweeted. “BTC was at risk for miner capitulation at $30K in May. The current production cost is $34K,” he added. Can Bitcoin’s All-in Sustaining Production Cost Rise? Knowing exactly what the cost of production is, and what a bitcoin miner’s all-in sustaining cost is, would be extremely hard to estimate, but there have been many who believe there is a number. The aforementioned instances describing the times and price-points where people believed the price of BTC had fallen below the cost to mine the crypto asset are a perfect example of this belief. For example, while a miner leverages a 100 TH/s machine and gets a daily profit for that machine of around $16.81 per day with electricity costing $0.12 per kWh, another miner could pay $0.06 per kWh. Moreover, one study published in October 2020 claims that “the cost of bitcoin mining has never really increased.” What do you think about the reported instances where it’s been said that the price of bitcoin fell below the cost of production? What do you think about the estimated $34K current cost of production statement? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. When it comes to the cryptocurrency industry, it is absolutely vital to be able to convert one cryptocurrency, token or coin for another in an effective, seamless and easy to understand fashion. After all, it is this conversion ability that makes the crypto sector so attractive, as individuals often want and need the option to switch one choice for another for trading, buying and selling purposes. As such, CryptoAltum has recently introduced a new conversion tool that can be used completely free of charge as there are zero associated fees. CryptoAltum’s New Conversion Tool Users of CryptoAltum can now enjoy free coin conversions via the new CryptoConvert tool. The new tool shall enable users to successfully convert their respective CryptoAltum e-wallet balance into that of a completely different currency without having to incur any additional or hidden costs. For instance, users have the option to make a deposit in BTC and then subsequently make a conversion into the stablecoin USDT, which can then be traded via their USDT MT5 Account. After this, it is a simple matter to withdraw the USDT or convert it back into Bitcoin as well if desired, in addition to various other choices like Litecoin (LTC), Cardano (ADA), Ripple (XRP), and Ethereum (ETH). Adding DOGE and SHIBA Dogecoin (DOGE) is a ‘meme’ cryptocurrency that needs no introduction, as it became so popular that it had previously entered into the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization and obtained the support of Tesla CEO Elon Musk. It had played a vital role in the mainstream attention being given to these meme cryptocurrencies and tokens, which had subsequently resulted in the emergence of Shiba Inu (SHIBA). While SHIBA has yet to reach the same heights of DOGE, it is nevertheless an extremely popular choice in the crypto market and industry. CryptoAltum has therefore listed both DOGE as well as SHIBA on the MT5 trading platform, and users can begin buying, selling and trading immediately with up to 1:50 leverage. About CryptoAltum CryptoAltum is well known for its transparent and community led approach, and aims to provide a profitable, diverse, anonymous and safe trading experience on its MT5 platform, at the lowest possible cost to the consumers. This involves giving users the proper tools to execute the best deals and ensuring they maintain as much funds within their Web3 wallets as feasible. In addition to cryptocurrencies, the platform provides access to other popular markets such as forex and gold. There are also several useful tools like a leverage margin calculator, virtual private server, economic calendar, glossary, and the aforementioned converter. Finally, there is a helpful FAQ section and a blog that users can also take a look at whenever desired. 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 Nigerian blockchain advocacy group, the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN), has said crypto is legit and must be regulated. The group adds that any such regulation should on one hand encourage innovation, but discourage bad actors on the other. Equal Access to Banking and Financial Services The Nigerian blockchain advocacy group, the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN), has implored the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reconsider its decision to block crypto entities from the banking ecosystem. The group insists that “crypto is legit” and has subsequently started a Twitter campaign to get cryptocurrencies regulated. In its statement released exactly a year after the CBN directive came into effect, the advocacy group called on various bodies and government ministries to play their part in ensuring cryptocurrencies become a recognized and regulated asset class. The statement also discusses the potential benefits of regulating cryptocurrencies. “Today we advocate equal access to banking and financial services by virtual asset service providers (VASPs) without discrimination in accordance with the Nigerian Constitution, applicable laws, and particularly Nigerian laws on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations. Amongst other benefits, this approach will aid investigations by our law enforcement agencies, including the Nigeria Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),” SIBAN explained. Joint Regulation of Crypto Assets Still, in a move that might not please the CBN, the stakeholder group suggested that Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as other relevant regulators, must be included in any attempts to regulate cryptocurrencies as per “their statutory duties under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” Before February 5, 2021, both the SEC and the central bank appeared to be overseeing the crypto industry, with the former having issued a circular that designated crypto assets as securities back in September 2020. However, following the move by the central bank, the SEC said it had suspended its circular and was in talks with the CBN. The statement meanwhile lays out what SIBAN envisions will come from having a regulated cryptocurrency industry. It explains: Regulators should adopt a regulatory approach that encourages innovation while discouraging bad actors, not all actors. While concerned about the risks often associated with crypto, the role of regulation is not to make risks disappear but manage them in accordance with global best practices and in collaboration with all concerned stakeholders, including industry players. The statement added that SIBAN also cares “about consumer protection, investment safety, and a safe and sound financial system.” However, the group, which has volunteered to help, insists “no regulator in the world can do this alone.” Do you agree that regulating cryptocurrencies is beneficial to Nigeria? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Electricity suppliers in the Russian region of Irkutsk have registered a surge in power consumption in residential areas which they are blaming on cryptocurrency mining. Planes with mining equipment from restricted China continue to land in the region, and cases of hardware theft have also increased significantly. Irkutsk Dealing With Rising Electricity Needs Amid Growing Popularity of Mining Companies ensuring electricity supplies in the Russian region of Irkutsk have reported a fourfold increase in consumption by the population in 2021 over the previous year, blaming amateur crypto miners for the spike. Quoted by Tass, the Director for Development at Irkutsk Electric Grid Company, Evgeny Vechkanov, pointed to the high crypto prices and China’s mining ban as the main reasons. Oleg Prichko, CEO of the Baikal Energy Company, confirmed that the growth is largely due to “grey” mining. Commenting on its spread, he revealed that just in the first half of January, seven Boeing-737s, loaded with coin minting hardware, have arrived in Irkutsk. “A lot of trucks are transporting equipment from China that’s not needed there because of the ban. Practically free equipment migrates to Irkutsk region,” Prichko added. Many residents of Irkutsk Oblast have set up mining farms at their homes and dachas, the report notes. The load on the power grid is growing, leading to frequent breakdowns and blackouts. Russian authorities insist these miners are in reality engaged in business activities while they keep paying for the energy they burn at preferential, household rates. These are around four times lower than commercial tariffs and in Irkutsk prices start at only $0.01 per kilowatt-hour in rural areas. Meanwhile, the number of cases involving theft of mining rigs has been on the rise as well. Last year, 344 such crimes were registered in the region. The losses amounted to 160 million rubles (over $2.1 million). Law enforcement officials have so far resolved 54 cases, with 66 perpetrators brought to justice. Andrey Zhbanov, head of Irkutsk Regional Criminal Investigation Department, said that in 2021, such crimes had been committed almost on a daily basis. Russia’s importance as a mining hotspot has increased significantly since the Chinese government launched a nation-wide crackdown on cryptocurrency mining. A study by the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance ranked Russia third in terms of mining capacity and as of last August, its share in the global bitcoin hashrate exceeded 11%. Mining is a profitable business in Russia and also an additional income source for many ordinary Russians. Its legal status is yet to be determined and many officials in Moscow have backed the idea to recognize it as an entrepreneurial activity, which would allow the government to tax it and raise electricity rates for both mining companies and individual miners. At the same time, power suppliers in Russia have proposed measures to curb home mining. Do you think Russia will allow its citizens to continue to mine cryptocurrencies in their homes? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

According to a California-based real estate technology company called Propy, a four-bedroom home in Gulfport, Florida, will be tokenized leveraging non-fungible token (NFT) technology and sold for $650K. In addition to the Gulfport home, another blockchain project has launched aiming to purchase The One Bel Air 105,000-square-foot megamansion by creating a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Gulfport Home in Florida to be Tokenized and Sold for $650K On February 8, 2022, a home in Gulfport will be auctioned as an NFT, according to the homeowner Leslie Alessandra. The current owner told the Tampa Bay Times it will be the first U.S.-based real-estate sale to auction a home in NFT form. Alessandra is working with the Palo Alto-based company Propy, a firm that sold Michael Arrington’s flat in Kiev via tokenization. The Techcrunch founder Michael Arrington’s apartment was originally sold in 2017 in one of the first blockchain real estate deals. “I’m very excited to have bought the first real-estate NFT from Michael Arrington with Propy,” the current homeowner that purchased Arrington’s apartment told the press at the time. In the case in Florida, Alessandra is a founder of a Tampa Bay blockchain startup and a real estate investor. Alessandra insisted that the NFT allows the owners to sell the home as quickly as a Venmo transfer. According to the report, the NFT will also feature a mural crafted by a local artist Derek Donnelly, otherwise known as ‘Saint Paint.’ A DAO’s Attempt to Tokenize The One Bel Air In addition to Alessandra’s Gulfport home, another project called the One DAO plans to leverage a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to purchase the infamous home dubbed The One Bel Air. The home in Los Angeles was created by the real estate developer Nile Niami and renowned architect Paul McClean. In March 2021, the owner of the property Niami’s firm Crestlloyd defaulted on debt, and the 3.8-acre property is now being sold via auction. The One DAO wants to purchase the famous residential neighborhood home on the Westside of Los Angeles. The DAO’s ultimate goal to have it owned by “a collective of anonymous people.” The project’s roadmap says if the One DAO wins the auction successfully, the home will provide DAO members with a chance to stay at the megamansion. “As a member of the DAO, you will be able to enjoy and stay in The One megamansion,” the website notes. “With 21 bedrooms and 2 people per bedroom, The One can accommodate 15,330 DAO members, per year.” The One DAO says that it will provide tours to the public and host crypto events throughout the year. Similar to other decentralized crypto organizations, the One DAO will have a governance system that allows community members to vote on specific requests and issues. “Since the DAO is a fully decentralized organization, any member of the DAO has the opportunity to bring any proposal to a vote,” the website details. While the Gulfport home in Florida is only $650,000, The One Bel Air is starting with a significant asking price of $295 million. The Florida property has four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. The megamansion in California that’s being eyed by the One DAO has a bowling alley, nightclub, theater, running track, and a moat. What do you think about the tokenization of physical properties? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Chainalysis, one of the leading blockchain and cryptocurrency auditing firms, has issued a report indicating signs of significant wash trading activity involving NFTs. In these operations, some actors effectively sell their assets to themselves, with the intention of increasing the floor price of the NFTs to sell them at a higher price later. However, this wash activity has not always been profitable due to gas costs. Wash Trading Involving NFTs Is Real, Says Chainalysis A new report issued by Chainalysis, one of the leading auditing and tracking firms in crypto, has detected “significant” wash activity in the NFT market. These activities have the objective of making an NFT more valuable by giving the appearance of previous sales. Using blockchain analysis, the company was able to detect 262 users that have sold NFTs to self-funded addresses more than 25 times. The most active address in these activities has done this procedure over 800 times, but it has not yielded very good results for its owner or owners. Due to gas fees, the price of transactions made to allow these movements was significantly higher than the benefit obtained for the sales. According to the report, the address has lost over $8K. Profitability and Legal Status However, the wash trading activity involving NFTs has been profitable if viewed as a whole, with several addresses earning millions. The company found that 110 addresses involved in these activities made more than $8,800,000 in profit from wash trading. The legal status of wash trading in NFT markets is not clear, according to the firm. Chainalysis states: NFT wash trading exists in a murky legal area. While wash trading is prohibited in conventional securities and futures, wash trading involving NFTs has yet to be the subject of an enforcement action. This could change, however, as NFTs become more popular. With the explosion of NFTs during 2021, and several companies beginning to integrate NFTs into their business models, occurrences of wash trading could begin to catch the attention of regulators around the world. The company also detected limited instances of money laundering using NFTs, coming mostly from scam-related addresses. Chainalysis described this activity as a “drop in the bucket” compared to the amount laundered using cryptocurrency during 2021. What do you think about Chainalysis’ report on NFT-related wash trading? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The famous author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has warned that the Federal Reserve and the Treasury are destroying the U.S. dollar. Noting that they are sending billions of dollar savers and uninformed investors to “financial hell,” he advised, “Save gold, silver, and bitcoin.” Robert Kiyosaki’s Warning and Advice Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, tweeted this week that the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury Department are “destroying the dollar.” Rich Dad Poor Dad is a 1997 book co-authored by Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over six years. More than 32 million copies of the book have been sold in over 51 languages across more than 109 countries. Kiyosaki wrote, “There are a million paths to financial heaven and a billion paths to financial hell,” adding: Fed and Treasury [are] destroying the dollar sending billions of dollar savers and uninformed to financial hell. Go to financial heaven. Save gold, silver, and bitcoin. This is not the first time the famous author has warned about the Fed and the Treasury hurting the economy and individual investors. In December last year, Kiyosaki tweeted a warning that the Fed and U.S. President Joe Biden are “pushing fake inflation.” He predicted an imminent, massive crash that will be followed by a depression. Kiyosaki also said in October last year that Biden and the Fed are “ripping off poor people,” reiterating that the U.S. is sliding into a depression. “Inflation rips off the poor. Inflation makes [the] rich richer,” he stressed. The famous author also tweeted in the same month: I love bitcoin because I do not trust [the] Fed, Treasury, or Wall Street. Kiyosaki has been recommending that investors buy gold, silver, and bitcoin for quite some time. In January, the famous author said it was great news that the price of bitcoin was crashing. He added that he will buy more BTC when the price of the cryptocurrency tests $20K. In November, he said he will also buy ether as inflation fears escalated. What do you think about Robert Kiyosaki’s advice? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Several U.S. lawmakers have introduced the Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act to strengthen “the legitimacy of cryptocurrency in our digital economy.” The bill also aims to expand the use of cryptocurrencies for payments. Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act Introduced in the US Representatives Suzan DelBene and David Schweikert introduced the “Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act of 2022” on Thursday. The bipartisan bill is cosponsored by Congressmen Darren Soto and Tom Emmer. The bill “would create a workable structure for taxing purchases made with virtual currency, also known as cryptocurrency,” the lawmakers explained. It will also expand the use of cryptocurrency for payments and further strengthen “the legitimacy of virtual currency in our digital economy.” The current legislation states that any crypto gains must be reported as taxable income regardless of the size or purpose of the transaction, the lawmakers stressed, emphasizing that “This includes purchases as small as buying a cup of coffee.” Asserting that the existing law “makes the everyday use of virtual currency near impossible, discouraging people from using it, and inhibiting the growth of our digital economy,” the lawmakers detailed: The Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act would exempt personal transactions made with virtual currency when the gains are $200 or less. Jerry Brito, executive director of cryptocurrency think tank Coin Center, explained: “Today you have to keep track of and report every transaction you make using them, whether it’s a $10,000 investment trade or whether you’re buying a 99¢ song online or a latte at a cafe.” He elaborated: This obviously creates friction and puts cryptocurrencies at a disadvantage relative to other digital payment methods. The bill would “treat cryptocurrencies similarly to how foreign currency is now treated,” Brito noted. Rep. DelBene commented: Antiquated regulations around virtual currency do not take into account its potential for use in our daily lives, instead treating it more like a stock or ETF. “This commonsense bill cuts the red tape and opens the door to further innovations, ultimately growing our digital economy,” she concluded. What do you think about the Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Venezuelan Government has approved a new tax that would affect transactions made in foreign currency and cryptocurrency transactions. Approved by the National Assembly of the country, the tax, called the “large financial transactions” tax would collect up to 20% over transactions made in currencies different from the national fiat currency or the Petro. Venezuelan Government To Tax Crypto Transactions The Venezuelan government has approved a new tax that will affect transactions and payments made with cryptocurrencies and foreign currency. The tax, which is called the “large financial transaction” tax, seeks to incentivize the use of the national currency that has lost its relevance in a multi-currency environment like the one present in Venezuela in the last years. The tax establishes that any transactions or payments made in foreign currencies or cryptocurrencies, without a limit quantity, will have to pay up to 20% over each movement, depending on the nature of it and the companies or persons making them. The percentage to be paid will be established by the national government after the official publication of the law, but in its first application, it will collect 2.5% on these payments. Cryptocurrency Volumes Recognized And Reactions The inclusion of cryptocurrencies in this law is a recognition of the importance of this kind of currency and the volume that is moved in the country in regard to transactions and payments. This is the opinion of Aaron Olmos, a national economist. However, the main objective of the law would be to tax transactions made using dollars, which are 65% of the operations and payments in the country according to estimates. Jose Guerra, a Venezuelan economist, thinks that this will be a hit to the pocket of the Venezuelans, that use foreign currency and cryptocurrencies to store their savings. About this, Guerra stated: It must be recognized that foreign currency has solved part of the cash problems, reserves of value and savings of everyone in the country. Also crypto assets, to a certain extent. Making this decision is trying to privilege one means of payment over another. Another secondary effect of this law would be the incentivization of the creation of black markets to avoid the payment of this law, according to Oscar José Torrealba, director of the Economic Knowledge Dissemination Center in the country. Torrealba stated that merchants and people would transact outside the law encouraged by tax pressure. What do you think about this new tax established by the Venezuelan government? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The cryptocurrency community has been discussing a newly announced bitcoin miner called the Numiner NM440 that claims to produce speeds of up to 440 terahash per second (TH/s). Furthermore, a publicly-listed company called Sphere 3D has detailed that it purchased 60,000 Numiner NM440 mining rigs and aims to deploy 32 exahash per second (EH/s) of SHA256 hashpower. Furthermore, there’s been some disbelief among members of the crypto community on whether or not the hashrate speed claims are legitimate. Numiner NM440 Revealed, Manufacturer Claims Device Boasts Speeds Up to 440 TH/s A number of crypto supporters have been talking about a new bitcoin (BTC) miner that claims to process speeds that are higher than any mining rig on the market today. Furthermore, the machine called the Numiner NM440 series, allegedly processes at higher hashrate speeds than Bitmain’s upcoming models. That’s because the Numiner NM440s reportedly produces 440 TH/s, in comparison to the Bitmain Antminer S19 XP (140 TH/s) and the Antminer S19 Pro+ Hyd. (198 TH/s). In addition to the newly announced mining rigs, a publicly-listed firm called Sphere 3D (Nasdaq: ANY) has announced it has purchased 60,000 Numiner NM440s. According to the press release, Sphere 3D will “receive 12 pre-production NM440s for final evaluation and testing to [be] completed on or before June 1, 2022.” Sphere 3D, the data management firm that is merging with bitcoin miner Gryphon Digital Mining in a SPAC transaction, has signed a deal with mining computer maker NuMiner Technologies to purchase 60,000 its high-end NM440 machines for $1.7 billion@Sphere3D — PANONY (@PANONYGroup) February 4, 2022 After a final evaluation, more batches will be shipped to Sphere 3D with the option to purchase an additional 26.4 EH/s of machines. The current deal of 60,000 NM440s cost Sphere 3D $1.7 billion, according to the company. Sphere 3D’s stocks saw a rise after the announcement, jumping 30% higher. We launched with ~$1.7B in sales to preferred customer @Sphere3D. With only 60,000 machines, @Sphere3D will be one of the largest bitcoin miners in the global bitcoin mining industry. Learn more: https://t.co/kLQpNqhHhQ — numinerglobal (@numinerglobal) February 4, 2022 According to Numiner’s website, the firm says the flagship NM440 is “the world’s most powerful and environmentally friendly miner.” In addition to the massive 440 TH/s, the specifications claim a single NM440 gets an efficiency rating of 20.2 joules per terahash (J/TH). The web portal claims the machines give a 75% reduction in energy consumption and the firm further insists if “all bitcoin miners deployed the NM440, global bitcoin mining energy consumption in 2021 would drop from ~121 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity1 to ~30 TWh.” Luxor Mining Says ‘Reported Specs Are Highly Dubious’ While the specifications are better than most machines on the market, people are wondering if the machines are legitimate and individuals are curious about the new company. Poolin’s Alejandro De La Torre tweeted about the new miner and said: “Never heard of these guys before.” Luxor Mining tweeted about the announcement as well and on Twitter it asked its followers if people thought it was legit. “Numiner came out of nowhere and announced a 444 TH/s miner with an efficiency of 20.2 J/TH,” Luxor Mining said. “These specs would make it an industry-leading ASIC. What do we think fam, is this thing legit?” Luxor Mining continued to be skeptical and further said: “Jokes aside regarding the Numiner NM440: When we saw Gryphon’s preorder yesterday, we were highly skeptical but gave the rig the benefit of the doubt due to Gryphon’s press release. That said, there are too many red flags for us to regard the NM440 as a legitimate product,” the mining operation added. Luxor Mining further remarked: The NM440’s reported specs are highly dubious, as are Numiner’s marketing materials. Further, there’s very little information on Numiner’s development and team. As such, we cannot attest to the validity of the product and would caution our followers against it at this time. The Chinese journalist known as Wu Blockchain discussed the Numiner project as well on February 3. “Numiner announced its new bitcoin mining machine NM440, uses TSMC chips and cooperates with Foxconn and Xilinx, the highest 440T in history and 20.2 J/T. Sphere 3D has committed to buy 60,000 NM440 for $1.7 [billion]. (The authenticity of the data is questionable),” Wu Blockchain said. The website does say that the Numiner models are being produced in coordination with TSMC, Foxconn and Xilinx. While many questioned the legitimacy of the project, others made jokes about the pictured unit’s Mountain Dew colors, aesthetics and features. Meanwhile, the bitcoin miner Gryphon Digital Mining’s special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal was reported on by Coindesk in mid-November 2021. The publication further covered Sphere 3D’s acquisition of 60,000 mining rigs from Numiner on Thursday. Gryphon tweeted on February 3, and said that the mining operation was “excited at the prospect of working with Numiner as our pending merger partner, Sphere 3D.” Interestingly, Sphere 3D hasn’t tweeted since February 14, 2019. What do you think about the Numiner NM440? Do you think the company will produce the world’s most powerful bitcoin miner? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) has jumped back above the $200 billion range, hovering around $216.49 billion on Saturday morning (EST). The TVL in defi has increased 13.60% since tapping a low of $190.57 billion 13 days ago on January 23. The decentralized exchange (dex) Curve’s $19.41 billion TVL dominates the total value locked by 8.84% Ethereum’s Defi TVL Dominates by 61% Increasing 10% During the Last Week, Cross-Chain Bridge Value Jumps 16.2% in 30 Days The value locked in decentralized finance (defi) has climbed higher since the low it saw on January 23 dropping $10 billion below the $200 billion mark. Today the TVL is 13.60% higher as the value locked has increased a great deal during the last few days. The protocol Uniswap’s TVL jumped 9.44% during the last seven days, Balancer increased by 9.25%, and this week Makerdao’s TVL swelled by 9.10%. Furthermore, smart contract platforms, in terms of market capitalization have increased their overall value to $674 billion up 8.3% in the last 24 hours. The top smart contract platform token ethereum (ETH) has seen its value swell by 18.5% in the last seven days. Binance coin (BNB) jumped 8.8% this week, and cardano’s (ADA) value increased by ​​9.3%. At the same time, solana (SOL), polkadot (DOT), terra (LUNA), and avalanche (AVAX) saw double-digit weekly gains. SOL climbed the highest this past week, jumping 25.6% against the U.S. dollar. In terms of defi TVL per blockchain, Ethereum still rules the roost with 516 defi protocols and $135.78 total value locked today. ETH’s TVL represents 61.41% of the entire $216.49 billion locked in defi. The second-largest defi chain is Terra with the network’s 17 defi apps commanding $14.67 billion in value today. While Ethereum saw a seven-day change by increasing its TVL by 10%, Terra’s defi TVL jumped 7.49%. Avalanche (AVAX) saw one of the largest jumps this week in the top ten TVLs by chain with a 19.38% increase to $10.08 billion. Cross-chain bridge TVLs have increased during the last month by 16.2% and today, there’s $25.11 billion locked across various bridges. While Polygon’s bridges lead the pack with a $5.59 billion TVL, Avalanche has $5.53 billion locked on Saturday. Wrapped ethereum (WETH), ethereum (ETH), and USDC are the most leveraged crypto assets on cross-chain bridges this weekend. What do you think about this week’s defi action and smart contract token markets? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

During the weekend, when bitcoin rose to a two-week high, it was Gala that stole the show after climbing 37%. Bulls returned to action on Saturday, as the global crypto market capitalization was around 8% higher. Biggest gainers Following a huge week of news in the gaming and crypto space, it was only a matter of time till traders turned their attentions to gala (GALA). Crypto bulls flocked to GALA to start the weekend, pushing prices of the gaming-based blockchain almost 40% higher GALA/USD, rose to an intraday high of $0.2668, following its low of $0.1865 during yesterday’s session. Today’s move has come just as the price of GALA broke out of its 2-week resistance level of $0.2115, which has been held since January 21. As seen from the chart, this rally led to two consecutive breakouts of recent ceilings in the 14-day RSI, firstly the 35 level, followed by 41. Overall, GALA is significantly below its ATH of $0.8415, which was established on November 26, despite this, some still have hopes of this eventually reaching $1. Biggest losers Similar to yesterday, there were not many bears at the start of the weekend , with around five of the top 100 cryptocurrencies marginally falling. However, the two biggest to remain red today were quant (QNT) and maker (MKR), with QNT stealing the honor of biggest loser on Saturday. Following four consecutive sessions of rallies to start the week, QNT/USD was down by almost 5% as of writing, hitting an intraday low of $130.77 in the process. The move came as the 14-day RSI began to stall at the 54 resistance level, with prices selling off at the price ceiling of $140.00. With short-term momentum still bullish, is today’s decline only temporary? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

India’s economic affairs secretary, Ajay Seth, has provided an update on what the Indian government is doing in terms of finalizing cryptocurrency legislation. He expects crypto regulation to be discussed at the upcoming G20 meeting for finance ministers and central bank governors. Economic Affairs Secretary Discusses Cryptocurrency Regulation in India India’s economic affairs secretary, Ajay Seth, reportedly shared the progress of cryptocurrency legislation in India in an interview with PTI, published Friday. A cryptocurrency bill was listed to be considered in the Winter session of parliament but it was not taken up. Many people in the crypto industry are now anxiously awaiting to see when the Indian government will introduce a crypto bill. Responding to a question about whether the government would introduce crypto regulation in the Budget session of parliament, Economic Affairs Secretary Seth stated: Regulation or ban, whatever it is, appropriate policy response to crypto assets is in the making. Regarding when crypto legislation will be introduced, he replied: “How long? I am unable to put a finger on. I don’t see this happening in the Budget session for sure. The work is in progress.” The economic affairs secretary further revealed what the Indian government is currently doing in terms of finalizing cryptocurrency legislation. “At this point of time, we are interacting with various stakeholders, especially the institutional stakeholders and not crypto stakeholders,” he detailed, adding: Stakeholders which have the mandate on monetary policy, fiscal policy, financial stability, and development economics are in touch. Global Crypto Policy and G20 Meetings The Indian government has previously said that the country’s crypto legislation will take a balanced approach. Finance Secretary T. V. Somanathan said last week the government’s approach is to consult widely and also to look at what’s happening internationally in terms of crypto regulation. Economic Affairs Secretary Seth told PTI that the Indian crypto policy will not be finalized until after discussion at G20 meetings. He emphasized: “Whatever regulations are brought in, unless there is a global consensus they won’t succeed. It may succeed 80%-90% but it will not be a comprehensive solution.” The economic affairs secretary opined: I do expect that in the current year the discussion would be starting in the G20 forum on appropriate global response to crypto assets. The first G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors is scheduled to begin on Feb. 17 under the presidency of Indonesia. The second meeting for the finance chiefs will take place in April and the third in July. Seth also confirmed that India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), which will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will be a reality in 2022-23 as announced by the finance minister during her Budget speech. Do you think India will come up with a crypto-friendly regulation? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Following a week of consolidation, bitcoin and ethereum prices both rallied past key resistance levels to start the weekend. Bitcoin moved beyond $40,000, with ethereum climbing over the $3,000 mark. Bitcoin Cryptocurrencies were higher to start the weekend, as markets appear to have moved past recent bearish sentiment. The world’s largest cryptocurrency bitcoin (BTC), became even more valuable on Saturday, as it broke out of its $40,000 resistance level. BTC/USD hit an intraday high of $41,729.43 during Saturday’s session, as markets continue to react to yesterday’s Non-farm payrolls report. The move came following bitcoin’s 14-day RSI finally moving past its recent hurdle of 40, which was held for most of the year. As of writing, the RSI is currently tracking at 55.67, which is its highest level since November 15, when prices were trading above $60,000. The move has brought the 10-day and 25-day moving averages closer together, however, a cross still hasn’t transpired. If this does eventually happen, we could be looking at BTC trading nearer to $50,000. Ethereum Ethereum (ETH) rose for the third consecutive session, as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency surged to a 2-week high. ETH/USD climbed to a high of $3,032.66 on Saturday, after rising by as much as 7% in the last 24-hours, and almost 20% in the last week. As of writing, ETH has found resistance at the 54.40 RSI level, which has coincided with the bullish momentum slowing at a ceiling of $3,015. Heading deeper into the weekend, traders will likely be viewing the moving averages, to see if both short, and mid-term momentum could swing further upward. What could be the next resistance level for ETH/USD? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

This week the world has been watching the thousands of truckers in Canada protesting the vaccine mandates at the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa. The Freedom Convoy has received worldwide support and millions of dollars were raised using Gofundme to help fund the protest. However, the crowdfunding platform decided to halt the fundraise and reimburse the donors who sent money. The decision has caused a massive uproar as Gofundme’s decision has exposed the vulnerabilities of centralized crowdfunding applications. Trucker’s Vaccine Mandate Protest Raises $9 Million, Gofundme Shuts Down the Fundraiser and Reveals Plans to Reimburse Donors There’s a large group of truckers that are currently protesting in Ottawa over the vaccine mandates applied to the trucking industry, specifically truckers who cross the U.S.-Canada border. The Covid-19 vaccine mandate has prompted a large convoy of truckers to occupy the streets surrounding the Parliament buildings in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Truckers are upset about the mandates for various reasons as many believe that the sanctions are immoral and that no drug should be taken without voluntary consent. Additionally, there’s growing evidence that the vaccines in highly vaccinated regions are not mitigating the virus. Yes – Follow the money. @gofundme should be called before a parliamentary committee and required to provide a full list of donors and recipients. https://t.co/URNGMUfxk5 — Catherine McKenna (@cathmckenna) February 3, 2022 Truckers are also upset with the 23rd prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau who has been against the truckers convoy and is not willing to hear the protestors’ demands. At a press conference last week, Trudeau called the protesters “a small fringe minority.” Furthermore, after being vaccinated three times and getting his boosters, Trudeau fell ill with Covid-19 just before the truckers arrived in downtown Ottawa. While some of the protestors left after the weekend, the majority has remained behind to express their discontent and grievances with the Canadian government. ATTN: everyone who donated to the @gofundme for the Trucker convoy needs to report fraud to their credit card companies and file a claim. We need tens of thousands of claims against their company — CHARGE BACK GOFUNDME 🇺🇸🇦🇺 (@ElijahSchaffer) February 5, 2022 On Friday, after the Freedom Convoy raised $9 million in funds, the crowdfunding company Gofundme decided to stop the fundraise and reimburse those who donated to the Canadian trucker’s crowdfund. “To simplify the process for our users, we will be refunding all donations to the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser,” Gofundme tweeted. “This refund will happen automatically—you do not need to submit a request. Donors can expect to see refunds within 7-10 business days.” Furthermore, the police in Ottawa thanked the Gofundme platform for shutting down the Freedom Convoy’s fundraiser. The police stated: We want to thank Gofundme for listening to our concerns as a City and a police service. The decision to withhold funding for these unlawful demonstrations is an important step and we call on all crowdfunding sites to follow. Gofundme’s Move Sparks Controversy and Decentralized Crowdfunding Ideas Of course, Gofundme got a lot of backlash from Freedom Convoy supporters and those who are against vaccine mandates in general. One individual tweeted a reply to the police statement and said: “This is fascism, Ottawa Police. Good job.” Others shared videos of the Freedom Convoy participants dancing in the streets and being completely peaceful. Furthermore, Gofundme’s decision exposed the vulnerabilities tied to centralized crowdfunding applications, and it sparked a decentralized fundraise that was created for the truckers. A Freedom Convoy fundraiser was initiated via Flipstarter by a BCH supporter after Gofundme shut down the donations page. The Flipstarter’s description says: “The Canadian Freedom Convoy is a peaceful protest of truckers and citizens speaking out against vaccine mandates and the government’s heavy-handed approach to curbing the spread of Covid. Many feel these measures have unreasonably infringed upon Canadians’ rights as guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedom.” The Flipstarter is attempting to raise 100 bitcoin cash (BCH) for the Freedom Convoy. Yes, the horror taking place is unbearable… 😐 https://t.co/bDCIfTgr6W — Five Times August (@FiveTimesAugust) February 5, 2022 In addition to the decentralized Flipstarter fundraise, a Twitter account dubbed: “Honkhonk Hodl,” has created a fundraiser where people can leverage the Lightning Network (LN) to donate satoshis (fractions of bitcoin) to the Freedom Convoy. Bitcoin advocate Marty Bent wrote an opinion editorial about Gofundme’s decision called “They’re making the case for Bitcoin right before our eyes.” Bent’s blog post insists the move by “Gofundme and the Canadian government is an incredible endorsement of bitcoin and its reason for being.” The bitcoin supporter added: Bitcoin is an imperative and today’s events make this fact more evident than ever. What do you think about Gofundme shutting down the Freedom Convoy’s fundraise? What do you think about people raising cryptocurrencies to donate to the effort? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

An African startup, Nestcoin, said it raised $6.45 million in a pre-seed funding round in which tennis’ star, Serena Williams’ Serena Ventures took part. The startup, which was launched in November 2021, plans to use the capital raised to educate, build and invest in web 3.0 applications. Facilitating Crypto Adoption Nestcoin, a Nigerian startup that plans to operate and invest in Web3 applications, recently announced it had raised $6.45 million in pre-seed. Leading the funding round were venture capital firms, Distributed Global and Alter Global. Also participating in the funding round were U.S sports personality Serena Williams’ Serena Ventures, Alameda Research, A&T Capital, MSA Capital and 4DX Ventures. According to a report by Forbes, the startup, which was co-founded by Yele Bademosi and Taiwo Orilogbon, plans to use the funds raised to facilitate the adoption of cryptocurrencies. Nestcoin also plans to use the capital raised to fund the building of a platform that allows content creators to earn while educating the startups’ subscribers. Speaking after the announcement of the capital raise, Bademosi explained why he believes that Nestcoin is going to be a better undertaking than Bundle, a fintech which he launched in 2019. He said: The goal was to be present in 30-plus African countries and have millions of users. The Evolving Crypto Market While Bundle did become one of the biggest locally established crypto exchange platforms in Africa, it still could not meet Bademosi’s goal of being present in several countries. In fact, according to a report, by the time Bademosi left Bundle, the startup was only live in just two countries, Nigeria and Ghana. It had less than 100,000 active users, the report added. Bundle’s apparent inability to meet some of Bademosi’s goals eventually convinced the co-founder to launch another startup in November 2021. Meanwhile, the report quotes Bademosi explaining how the crypto market has evolved. “The first iteration of crypto products were trading products. The second iteration has been more around decentralized finance and non-custodial trading of financing activities. The current situation of crypto, and now more like applications that everyday people use and love, whether it is like consumer applications, finance apps, entertainment, gaming, but these applications now have the potential to reach millions of users across frontier markets. And that’s sort of what we are trying to do with Nestcoin,” Bademosi explained. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The Central Bank of Ecuador is planning to issue cryptocurrency-specific regulation later this year. According to statements from Guillermo Avellan, the manager of the Central Bank of Ecuador, this will bring more clarity to the cryptocurrency scene in the country, and will contribute to preventing crimes such as money laundering. Central Bank of Ecuador Has Eyes Set on Crypto The Central Bank of Ecuador is planning to prepare and issue cryptocurrency-related regulations this year. The announcement was made by Guillermo Avellan, manager of the Central Bank in an interview on January 30th. When asked about the state of the cryptocurrency regulation of the country and how it seems to be lagging as compared to other countries in the region, Avellan stated: The Central Bank is working on a project to regulate cryptocurrencies, bearing in mind that the Monetary Code establishes that the dollar is the only legal tender in the country. Avellan further explained that the new regulation would not make bitcoin or any cryptocurrency legal tender, as happened in El Salvador with the approval of the bitcoin law, due to the volatility associated with these assets. Instead, this piece of regulation would be directed at bringing more clarity to the status of crypto in the country. Reasons Behind the Resolution Apart from the aforementioned factors, another reason to issue the regulation concerning cryptocurrencies are worries the government has about the possible illegal use of these assets. Avellan stated that with regulation in place, the banks will be able to establish limits on how these tools are being leveraged. There have been cases of actors using cryptocurrencies for money laundering purposes in the country, and these regulations would be directed at curbing such instances. While the government issued a ban on bitcoin back in 2014 and launched its own digital token called Dinero Electronico in 2017, cryptocurrency usage in the country has continued to grow. The population is largely unbanked, with 50% of people having no access to a bank account, according to Avellan’s numbers. While he did not give specific dates for the establishment of these regulations, Avellan did offer some estimates. He declared: We are going to work in the first quarter of 2022 so that it can be reviewed and approved between the second and third quarters of the year by the Monetary Board. What do you think about the initiative to regulate cryptocurrencies in Ecuador? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Crypto exchange Valr has announced it has closed its crypto arbitrage service to new customers in order to comply with the requirements of its banking partner. This announcement makes Valr the latest South African crypto exchange platform to close its arbitrage business. Ovex was one of the first exchanges to announce its exit from the market. Banking Partner Requirements Push Exchange out of Arbitrage Market The South African cryptocurrency exchange, Valr, will be exiting the crypto arbitrage market on February 28 in order to comply with its banking partner’s requirements, a report has said. The exchange also revealed it stopped offering crypto arbitrage to new customers on January 31. With this announcement, Valr becomes the latest South African cryptocurrency exchange to exit the crypto arbitrage market in 2022. Ovex became one of the first exchanges to state it would be exiting the crypto arbitrage business after it issued a statement informing its clients of the decommissioning on January 31. While Ovex did not share its reasons for exiting, Valr is quoted in a Moneyweb report suggesting that partner requirements forced the exchange to make the decision. Valr, however, insists its exit from the arbitrage market will not affect other services. The company said: The decision to discontinue our arbitrage service has been taken to comply with some of our banking partner requirements. No other Valr services are affected and your funds remain secure. You will continue to have access to Africa’s largest marketplace for crypto assets with the ability to buy, sell and store over 60 cryptos on Valr. Banks Hostile to Crypto Arbitrage Traders This message was reiterated by the exchange’s COO Gianluca Sacco, who suggested that Valr will now focus on its core business. Meanwhile, Asif Aziz, the chief technology officer of Libex — another crypto exchange that claims to have been pressured to end its arbitrage service — said banks’ hostility towards crypto arbitrage could be one of the reasons why exchanges are abandoning the business. “Banks have reportedly been hostile to crypto arbitrage for some time, evidently seeing customers purchase large amounts of forex for export, without paying much heed to the return flow as these crypto trades were closed out and profits recycled back to SA,” Aziz is quoted saying. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. ADALend and Robatz Network sign the contract for development of the decentralized lending protocol. Robatz Network and ADALend represents a significant milestone for developing the lending protocol and will allow both companies to work together to further the development of the protocol, which will ultimately increase the utility of the platform for users. ADALend is a scalable, trustless, and decentralized lending protocol built on the Cardano blockchain. The partnership will allow developers to perform further research to analyze the aggregate protocol environment, including liquidity, swap, UI, and UX. Robatz Network will also be involved in the design and deployment of the platform, with an expected date to commence development of the protocol architecture around the 1st of April 2022. Robatz Network plans to improve the user experience on the ADALend platform, allowing users to conduct self-governed lending transactions with greater ease. About Robatz Network Robatz Network is a software development company that specializes in 360-degree business solutions. The company specializes in back-end, front-end, and mobile development, with Ruby, React, and Flutter serving as the foundational technologies. In 2020, the company began expanding its expertise in decentralized systems such as swarm algorithms, edge computing, and blockchain, providing research services and developing solutions. This approach helped the company establish a reputation as a pioneer willing to take on even the most complex challenges with confidence. The Future of Decentralized Lending Lending is a crucial component of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, as it is one of the few ways for investors to benefit from their holdings. ADALend ADALend is a decentralized lending protocol that aims to provide affordable credit to the billions of people worldwide that are currently unbanked. The protocol will help further the development of the decentralized lending protocol and bring the benefits of cryptocurrency to more people. High fees and invasive marketing practices plague the lending industry. The decentralized nature of the lending platforms allows users to operate in a self-governed environment, which provides significant benefits to both lenders and borrowers, enabling them to operate outside of the traditional banking system. The lending market is currently worth billions of dollars and has the ability to reach even more significant proportions with the right platform in place. More about ADALend: https://adalend.finance Join Our Discord: https://discord.gg/afTpq4mQRG Join Private Round: privatesale@adalend.finance 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

Grayscale Investments has launched its first exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Grayscale Future of Finance ETF “seeks to invest in the companies and technologies shaping the ‘future of finance.'” Grayscale’s First ETF Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital currency asset manager, announced Wednesday the launch of its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) called Grayscale Future of Finance ETF (symbol: GFOF). The company explained that its new ETF “seeks to invest in the companies and technologies shaping the ‘future of finance.'” In addition, it is “the first equity ETF to track the investment performance of the Bloomberg Grayscale Future of Finance Index.” David LaValle, global head of ETFs at Grayscale Investments, opined: Through GFOF, investors now have the opportunity to receive exposure to the companies that are pivotal to the evolution of the global financial system. 22 Holdings but No Microstrategy The fund has 22 holdings as of Feb. 2. The top holdings are Paypal Holdings, Coinbase Global, Silvergate Capital, Robinhood Markets, Block (formerly Square), Plus500, Argo Blockchain, Hut 8 Mining, Bitfarms, and Hive Blockchain Technologies. The Nasdaq-listed Microstrategy, however, is not in the components of the ETF. Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein explained on CNBC Wednesday that “the way we designed this product was to exclude companies that are holding bitcoin on the balance sheet.” Microstrategy bought 660 more BTC on Tuesday, raising the company’s bitcoin holdings to about 125,051 BTC. Grayscale has selected U.S. Bank as the administrator and service provider for the ETF. Foreside will serve as the ETF’s distributor. Dave Gedeon, global head of Multi-Asset Indices at Bloomberg, noted that the new ETF product is backed by proprietary data and “robust research from Bloomberg Intelligence,” elaborating: The Bloomberg Grayscale Future of Finance Index is primed to become the key equity benchmark for our ever-evolving digital economy. Grayscale currently has $34.6 billion in assets under management (AUM). The company offers 16 crypto investment products. The largest is Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) which has $24.8 billion in assets. The latest addition was the Solana trust which was launched in November last year. In January, Grayscale said it is considering 25 more crypto assets for investment products, bringing the total number of assets under consideration to 43. What do you think about Grayscale Investments launching its first ETF? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Nasdaq-listed company Microstrategy sees “evidence of a lot more institutional adoption” of bitcoin. The firm cited various reasons including “The circumstances and the currency volatility” in Turkey, South America, and Africa — “all of these things have elevated institutional awareness of bitcoin.” Microstrategy Outlines Future Outlook for Bitcoin The Nasdaq-listed software company Microstrategy discussed the future outlook for bitcoin during the company’s Q1 earnings call Wednesday. “With regard to the outlook for bitcoin, I think that in the past 12 months, the asset class has evolved and matured,” Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor explained, elaborating: I see evidence of a lot more institutional adoption, greater adoption amongst macro and other hedge funds. “We’ve made great progress with corporations,” he continued. “There will be 24 publicly traded bitcoin miners by the end of the quarter, so lots of publicly traded companies in the Bitcoin space.” Saylor also predicted that there will be “more and more publicly traded companies holding bitcoin on their balance sheets, more and more public investors with bitcoin exposure, more banks rolling out bitcoin acquisition and trading and custody services, more regulatory awareness and more clarity as to how the entire crypto industry is going to evolve.” The pro-bitcoin executive proceeded to outline many developments that have raised bitcoin awareness. “Many of the macroeconomic developments have elevated the stature and the awareness of businesses and investors in the rest of the world to bitcoin,” Saylor said, noting: The circumstances and the currency volatility in Turkey, the currency volatility in South America, the currency volatility in Africa, all of these things have elevated institutional awareness of bitcoin. In addition, “the capital market volatility, the volatility of equities, the S&P index, the volatility of Nasdaq, of big tech stocks, all of these things have elevated mainstream investors’ awareness to bitcoin,” Saylor described. The Microstrategy CEO further detailed: “There’s a growing sentiment that we see across the mainstream that Bitcoin is here to stay. The crypto economy represents a great opportunity for the entire world. And politicians and investors and corporations are working diligently to come to terms on what this means and how they should adjust their practices.” Saylor concluded: We look forward to the next wave of institutional adoption that, I think, should be driven as people get more educated and more aware of what digital property is. This week, Microstrategy bought 660 more bitcoins, raising the company’s crypto holdings to about 125,051 BTC. Do you agree with Michael Saylor about the future outlook for bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

A commissioner with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has voiced concerns regarding a new proposal that could give the securities regulator new powers to regulate cryptocurrency platforms and decentralized finance (defi) protocols. New SEC Proposal Could Hurt the Crypto Industry, Commissioner Peirce Cautions U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce has warned that a recent proposal could be devastating for the crypto industry, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Peirce is a pro-bitcoin commissioner, who is also known in the crypto community as “crypto mom.” The SEC proposed amendments to regulate “significant Treasury markets platforms” within Regulation ATS last week. The 654-page proposal seeks to “expand Regulation ATS for alternative trading systems (ATS) that trade government securities, NMS [National Market System] stock, and other securities.” It also proposes to “extend Regulation SCI to ATSs that trade government securities” and “amend the SEC rule regarding the definition of an ‘exchange’ to address a regulatory gap.” Commissioner Peirce warned that while the proposal does not mention crypto, it could give officials sweeping new powers to scrutinize cryptocurrency platforms, including decentralized finance (defi) protocols. She told the publication: The proposal includes very expansive language, which, together with the chair’s apparent interest in regulating all things crypto, suggests that it could be used to regulate crypto platforms. The pro-bitcoin commissioner stressed that “The proposal could reach more types of trading mechanisms, including potentially defi protocols.” The securities watchdog claims that the proposal is meant to close a “regulatory gap” created by market participants using platforms that are not registered as exchanges or brokerages to trade all types of securities. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said last week that it would “promote resiliency and greater access in the Treasury market.” The proposal is now open for public comments. The SEC must hold another vote before the regulations become final. Gensler has been vocal about the need to regulate cryptocurrency and defi platforms. In December, he added a crypto adviser to his executive staff. In January, the SEC chairman said, “If the trading platforms don’t come into the regulated space, it’d be another year of the public being vulnerable.” Do you think the SEC should have more power to regulate crypto trading platforms and defi protocols? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On February 2, 2022, the Wormhole Network’s ethereum solana bridge was exploited for 120,000 WETH (wrapped ethereum) worth $320 million and the following day, the team explained that “all funds have been restored and Wormhole is back up.” The team has also said a “detailed incident report” will be published soon. Wormhole Network Returns, Jump Crypto Replenishes Stolen Ethereum An attacker managed to siphon 120,000 WETH from the Wormhole Network’s ethereum solana bridge on Wednesday. The wrapped ethereum was worth $320 million when it was stolen and the Wormhole team had paused the network. When the funds were stolen, the Wormhole Deployer left an onchain message for the attacker that asked if they would return the funds for a $10 million bug bounty. The attack followed the recent Qubit cross-chain bridge vulnerability five days ago, which saw the loss of $80 million. The following day after the exploit happened, the Wormhole team disclosed on Twitter that the network was back up and running and the crypto funds were reimbursed. “All funds have been restored and Wormhole is back up,” the team tweeted at 8:39 a.m. on Thursday morning (EST). “We’re deeply grateful for your support and thank you for your patience. The team is working on a detailed incident report and will share it ASAP.” The Wormhole team says that the contract was exploited for 120,000 coins at 18:26 UTC, and at 00:33 UTC, “[the] vulnerability was patched.” Furthermore, at 13:08 UTC, “[the] ETH contract has been filled and all wETH are backed 1:1” and at “13:29 UTC the Portal (token bridge) is back up.” The Wormhole Network’s ethereum solana bridge lets both ETH and SOL users cross chains in a bi-directional manner. Cross-chain bridge technology has been a big theme in 2021 and into 2022, with a myriad of blockchains interacting with the Ethereum network or with alternative smart contract blockchains. While the Wormhole team did not publicly disclose how the funds were returned in their Twitter message, it seems the digital assets firm and Wormhole’s parent company Jump Crypto replenished Wormhole’s losses, according to a statement the firm published on Twitter. “[Jump Crypto] believes in a multichain future and that [Wormhole] is essential infrastructure. That’s why we replaced 120K ETH to make community members whole and support Wormhole now as it continues to develop,” the Jump Crypto Twitter account said. What do you think about the Wormhole Network exploit and Jump Crypto replenishing the ethereum? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. ESTONIA — 03 FEBRUARY 2022 — Yield App, a FinTech company and digital asset wealth management platform, has published its 2021 Q4 report, showing the firm continuing on a strong growth trajectory that saw its managed assets grow by 40% from Q3 to reach $475 million. In addition, the platform has published the results of an inspection by leading global auditor Armanino that shows its assets firmly in the black. The firm, which recently celebrated the launch of a revamped “V2” platform, said managed assets increased by 40% from $339.4 million at the end of September to $475 million by 31 December. This marks a bold first year for the passive income provider following its public launch in February 2021 and which has included a heavy-weight partnership with UK premier league football club West Ham United. Over the year, Yield App said it paid more than $29 million to its customers in USDC, USDT, ETH, BTC, and YLD earnings rewards combined. Yield App customers can earn up to 18% on their digital assets, according to their membership Tier. The final quarter of the year saw Yield App publish the results of an audit by Armanino, one of the top 25 largest independent accounting and audit firms in the United States engaged by many leading blockchain firms, which shows Yield App’s assets exceeding its customer liabilities: an important milestone for the young digital wealth manager. Commenting on the results of this important audit, Justin Wright, Yield App’s Chief Financial and Chief Operations Officer, says: “As previously stated in our Q3 report, we have engaged Armanino, the global leader in digital asset audit solutions to conduct a thorough review of our assets. “This engagement is for the purpose of offering Yield App’s customers, prospective customers, regulators, and business partners additional transparency and assurance over the assets held by us as reserves against outstanding customer liabilities. We will continue to work with Armanino and other third-party accreditation service providers to release bi-annual independent reports across our group business activities as we grow.” Asian and European customers grow as $70 million BTC added to Yield App Yield App, which recently celebrated the launch of a revamped “Version 2” (V2) of its platform, said its global customer base grew by 19% to 71,356 in Q4 of 2021. The company said it observed strong growth across Asia and Europe in the final three months of the year, with customer numbers up 60% and 17% in these regions, respectively. The firm added that the reopening of its Bitcoin Portfolio in October contributed strongly to growth in customer numbers, with 1,439 new customers joining the platform in the five days the portfolio was opened (10-15 October 2021). The platform pays a market-leading rate of up to 12% p.a. on BTC. The firm added that its Bitcoin offering also accounted for some of its strongest inflows over the last three months of the year, with BTC assets increasing by close to 50% from 988 BTC at the end of September to 1,456 by 31 December 2021 – representing a market value of $70,067,612. Tim Frost, CEO of Yield App, says: “February marks one year since we launched Yield App to the world, and I couldn’t be more proud of where we are today, with close to $500 million of assets now managed on platform for 70,000 customers to date. “Following the successful launch of V2 of our platform, the first half of 2022 will see us launch our android and iOS mobile apps: something I know our community has been looking forward to for some time, while we will also be adding new blockchains and assets and expanding our on-platform conversion offering. “While Yield App experienced incredible growth in our first year, we believe that 2022 will be an even bigger, better and more exciting year for our customers and community members, and we look forward to serving you all further.” *Please visit the Yield App blog to read the full Q4 Report About Yield App Yield App believes that everyone should have access to the best earning opportunities. Its mission is to unlock the full potential of digital assets, combine them with the most rewarding opportunities available across all financial markets and make these available to the world. To achieve this, we provide an innovative wealth management platform that bridges traditional and decentralized finance in the easiest way possible. For more information, visit www.yield.app. 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