roadrunner

Solana was trading close to 15% higher on Tuesday, as crypto markets were mostly in the green to start February. This comes as markets look set to move past January’s red wave. Biggest gainers Cryptocurrency markets were mostly bullish during Tuesday’s session, with several projects seeing their value rise to start the new month. One of these was solana (SOL), which, as of writing is up 14.04%, hitting an intraday high of $108.32 in the process. This move comes as SOL/USD broke out of its resistance level of $100 for the first time since January 22nd. SOL/USD has mainly been consolidating in recent weeks, however, it picked up momentum yesterday after it rose from its floor of $90.49. As a result of this run, the 14-day RSI rose above resistance of 42 for the first time since January 4th, with price strength now tracking at 44.07. Should price strength continue to surge, SOL bulls may target the higher resistance of $120. Biggest losers Uniswap, flow and helium were some of the only notable crypto bears on Tuesday, however, none of these saw the biggest decline in price. That honor went to loopring (LRC), which is currently trading 6.11% lower, hitting an intraday low of $0.9651 as a result of today’s short sellers. Looking at the chart below, today’s decline has resulted in LRC/USD moving closer to its recent support of $0.8854, after trading at resistance of $1.04 only yesterday. This selloff coincided with the 14-day RSI failing to break out of its recent ceiling, which similar to solana’s, has been in place since early January. However, despite this drop the 10-day (red) moving average looks to be getting closer in proximity to the 25-day (blue), which creates the possibility of an upward cross. Should this happen, could LRC make a run for $1.25? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Nicolas Pouard, an executive at Ubisoft, one of the leading videogame companies in the entertainment world, has issued his take on the backlash from gamers regarding the inclusion of NFTs in traditional franchises. The VP at Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovations Lab stated that this reaction could be due to a lack of awareness of the benefits that the inclusion of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) could bring to the industry. Gamers ‘Don’t Get It’ When It Comes to NFTs An executive at Ubisoft, one of the leading traditional entertainment and videogame companies, has issued his opinion on the cold shoulder that fans and gamers have offered to NFTs. In an interview with Finder, Nicolas Pouard, who is in charge of blockchain developments at the company, stated that gamers still don’t understand the benefits that these elements might bring to them. Pouard declared: I think gamers don’t get what a digital secondary market can bring to them. For now, because of the current situation and context of NFTs, gamers really believe it’s first destroying the planet, and second just a tool for speculation. He further explained that one of the objectives of NFT inclusion is to allow players to have true ownership of game assets, and to sell them after they finish playing a game. “It’s really beneficial. But they don’t get it for now,” he remarked. Ubisoft Pushes Forward in Spite of Opposition The statements made by Pouard reveal that, while the company is very aware of the opinion that a segment of the gaming community has on the topic, Ubisoft is going forward with the idea of building gaming experiences that integrate NFT elements. Ubisoft has been one of the traditional gaming companies that has experimented with blockchain and NFT themes since some time ago. It is thought to be the first company of its kind to build its own NFT marketplace, called Quartz. Through Quartz — built on top of the Tezos network — Ubisoft is already offering NFT elements for some of its franchises. But Ubisoft is not the only big gaming company slowly bringing NFTs into their world. Yosuke Matsuda, President of Square Enix, announced the importance of NFTs and play-to-earn economies for the new generation of gaming in a new year’s letter. Konami also recently pulled in $160K in an NFT auction commemorating the 35th anniversary of Castlevania, one of its most successful franchises. What do you think about Ubisoft’s take on the bad rap that NFTs have among the gaming community? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The chief marketing officer (CMO) of a cryptocurrency payments solution company, Rotimi Ogunwede, has insisted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s decision to bar crypto entities from the banking system may be the reason why Nigerians are now more knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies. CBN Prohibition Forced Patricia to Establish Operations Outside of Nigeria An executive with a cryptocurrency payments solution company called Patricia, has argued that cryptocurrency knowledge levels in Nigeria rose just shortly after the CBN asked financial institutions to exclude crypto entities from the banking ecosystem. The executive, Rotimi Ogunwede, insists such growth in knowledge levels, as well as the adoption of cryptocurrencies in general, shows that Nigerians are against the CBN’s tough policies. Speaking in an interview with Legit, Ogunwede, who is the crypto payments company’s CMO, admitted that the CBN’s abrupt move on February 5 had affected Patricia. The same CBN prohibition, however, would later prove to be a key moment that forced the company to move its headquarters to Estonia. In addition to pushing Nigerian crypto startups out, the central bank’s prohibition, according to Ogunwede, may have inadvertently raised a new generation of crypto advocates. He explained: Following the Endsars protest, many young people were worried about depositing their money in banks and resorted to Cryptocurrency. However, this move metamorphosed into an investing adventure. Instead of prohibiting or cracking down on crypto entities as the CBN has been doing since it issued the directive, the CMO suggested that the central bank needs to study the technology first and then find a way to regulate it. He suggested that this is already how regulators in countries like the U.K. are dealing with this financial technology. The False Narrative In the report, the CMO is also quoted seemingly responding to the anti-crypto remarks that were made by Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, in late 2021. As reported by Bitcoin.com News, Emefiele had repeated his past arguments that included the claim cryptocurrency transactions are untraceable. However, in dismissing this narrative, Ogunwede said: “I don’t understand where this narrative of cryptocurrency is untraceable, it is completely false, when in fact blockchain is constructed with transparency in mind. Patricia as a crypto company [has] in place know your customer [KYC] policy and there are companies dealing in tracking exchanges all over the world.” What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

According to the findings of a new survey, the number of financial advisors currently counseling crypto holding clients is expected to double from the current two out of ten or 20% to 44% by the end of 2022. Only Four Percent Expect the Number of Crypto Holding Clients to Decrease The number of financial advisors in the United States that currently counsel their clients on crypto holdings is expected to double in 2022, a new study has found. According to the study, which surveyed wealth management experts based in the U.S., this predicted rise is in the number of advisors to 44% is in tandem with their expectation that more clients (about 33%) will likely become holders of crypto by the end of 2022. As shown by the data that was obtained from the 153 respondents that participated in Arizent Research’s 2022 Prediction survey, about 60% of financial advisors expect to see the number of crypto holding clients increase. And with only 4 per cent of the respondents expecting to see this number drop, the study findings suggest clients’ demand for cryptocurrencies is not waning. Other Competitive Threats Rather, the findings show that cryptocurrencies, which are now widely covered by the financial press, “are [now] a big theme in investing circles” However, according to the study’s report, this growth in cryptocurrency’s popularity has added to banks’ list of worries that already include the threat posed fintech and payments firms as well as the mooted U.S. digital currency. The study report explains: Only four in ten banks see an increase in their investment in traditional credit cards with loyalty and rewards features within the next three years. That may be a reflection of other competitive threats to credit cards, such as digital payment alternatives like PayPal and Venmo and initiatives by the Federal Reserve. This is in addition to one in four banks that sees a real possibility of a competitive threat posed by consumers banking in the U.S. Federal Reserve initiatives “such as FedNow real-time payments, an alternative to traditional wires and ACH transfers” The potential creation of a ‘digital dollar’ currency is also seen as another possible competitive threat. Meanwhile, the study also found the possibility of big tech firms muscling their way into the financial services industry to be a key worry for banks and insurers. As shown in the data, about “six in ten digital insurers worry that those forays are a competitive threat.” On the other hand, almost half of all banks, “or 47%, expect Big Tech to become a major competitor within three years.” The findings also show regional banks to be the most worried with 64%. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Apple CEO Tim Cook says the metaverse has a lot of potential and his company is investing accordingly. “It’s very interesting to us,” he noted. Global investments banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have predicted that the metaverse could be an $8 trillion opportunity. Apple Sees a Lot of Potential in the Metaverse, Says CEO Tim Cook Apple Inc. answered a question about the metaverse during its Q1 2022 earnings call last week. CEO Tim Cook was asked, “How are you thinking about the metaverse opportunity and Apple’s role in that market?” “We’re a company in the business of innovation,” the Apple CEO replied. “So we’re always exploring new and emerging technologies. And I’ve spoken at length about how this area is very interesting to us.” Cook elaborated, “Right now, we have over 14,000 ARKit apps in the App Store, which provide incredible AR [augmented reality] experiences for millions of people today,” emphasizing: We see a lot of potential in this space and are investing accordingly. Several people have estimated the potential size of the metaverse to be multitrillion dollars. Global investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have estimated the metaverse to be an $8 trillion market opportunity. In December, Bank of America’s strategist, Haim Israel, said that the metaverse is a massive opportunity where cryptocurrencies will be widely used as currencies. “I definitely believe this is a massive, massive opportunity,” he opined. Do you think the metaverse has a lot of potential? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

ADALend’s mission is to democratize the lending industry by using the Cardano blockchain to eliminate the traditional banking middlemen. This will be accomplished through the development of a platform that connects borrowers, and lenders in a decentralized manner. With the help of blockchain technology and IOHK’s research and development, the platform will provide a simple, secure, and more transparent way of exchanging value. The decentralized lending platform will allow creditors to perform lending activities and create a safer and more efficient lending environment for all users. Ensuring the Security and Safety of Lending in a Decentralized Environment While traditional banks continue to disregard the needs and concerns of the people, ADALend has come to provide access to loans for those in need who have been ignored. The inability to gain access to funds has long-term consequences. ADALend provides a platform to change the current state of financial affairs. While the cryptocurrency market is young, it is already very versatile. ADALend is a revolutionary platform that brings the best of both worlds together, with an innovative business model to take advantage of the best features of multiple industries, thus creating a new and sustainable source of income for businesses, investors, and borrowers. Lenders and borrowers alike have had to contend with a lack of transparency and safety, making it difficult to efficiently manage a lending platform. The team at ADALend is working to solve this problem. The team has expert economists, engineers, and business professionals that are working to build a trustless, decentralized lending protocol that will allow users to operate in a self-governed environment. By using decentralized lending protocols, users can borrow, lend and earn money in a secure and anonymous environment. A New Architect for ADALend It is a challenge to build ADALend on the Cardano blockchain using Haskell and Plutus with smart contracts being quite limited in these early days. However, ADALend has announced today that after a long executive search they have hired a new Chief Technology Officer Ali Krynitsky, who brings extensive experience of working software development for Enterprise and Consumer software companies, and a deep passion for developing on Cardano. However, ADALend stated today that they have hired a new Chief Technology Officer, Ali Krynitsky, who offers vast experience designing software for Enterprise and Consumer software firms, as well as a strong passion for Cardano development. ADALend will launch its public IDO in March 2022 across numerous Launchpads and will list on several top-tier exchanges shortly thereafter. The ADAL tokens will be available for purchase at the discounted rate of 55 cents until the end of the Private Sale round A on January 31st at Midnight GMT. From the 1st of February, there will be a Private Sale Round B with a price of 70 cents, which will last until the IDO Launch, when the beginning price will be 1 US Dollar. More about ADALend: https://adalend.finance Join Our Discord: https://discord.gg/afTpq4mQRG Join Private Round: privatesale@adalend.finance This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has restricted 281 Nigerian user accounts. Citing user security and fraud prevention, CEO Changpeng Zhao explained that “approximately 38% of these cases [are] restricted at the request of international law enforcement.” 281 Nigerian Accounts Restricted by Binance, CEO Says 79 Cases Have Been Resolved Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has sent a letter to its Nigerian users. In the letter, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) apologized for the inconvenience caused by delays in resolving customer support requests. Noting that “User security” remains his exchange’s top priority, Zhao detailed: “Protection mechanisms such as KYC, anti-money laundering measures, collaboration with law enforcement, and account restrictions are in place to ensure our community remains protected and that fraudulent activity is prevented. This is a global approach applied in every country.” The CEO added: Some 281 Nigerian accounts have been affected by these personal account restrictions with approximately 38% of these cases restricted at the request of international law enforcement. Zhao proceeded to highlight what Binance is doing to rebuild trust in the Nigerian community. Firstly, he said that Binance is “Ensuring speedy resolutions of ongoing user cases tied to account restrictions,” noting: Currently, we have resolved 79 cases and continue to work through others. All non-law enforcement-related cases will be resolved within two weeks. Another area that is being addressed is “Devoting more customer service personnel to the region.” Zhao stressed, “We will dedicate more CS and risk agents with a great understanding of the Nigerian market.” Recently, some Nigerian users of Binance launched a campaign boycotting the platform for freezing their accounts. “At times, we proactively restrict accounts to protect users’ funds. Other times, we have to restrict accounts at the request of law enforcement. But never will we restrict accounts without good reason,” Binance said last week. The cryptocurrency exchange has been facing scrutiny in a number of jurisdictions worldwide, including Pakistan, Canada, the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Australia, Norway, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, and Lithuania. In August, Binance said it is making regulatory compliance a top priority. The company is moving from a decentralized business model to a centralized one, as it pivots from a technology company to a financial services company. What do you think about Binance restricting 281 Nigerian accounts? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Ark Investment Management (Ark Invest) has predicted that the price of bitcoin could surpass $1 million per coin by 2030. “Our research suggests that bitcoin has the potential to transform monetary history by providing financial freedom and empowerment in a fair, global, and distributed way,” Ark’s analyst added. Bitcoin’s $1 Million Prediction by Ark Invest In Ark Invest’s “Big Ideas 2022” report published last week, the firm’s analyst Yassine Elmandjra explained that “As bitcoin’s market capitalization hit an all-time high in 2021, Ark’s research indicated that its network fundamentals remained healthy.” Noting that “Bitcoin’s market capitalization still represents a fraction of global assets and is likely to scale as nation-states adopt [it] as legal tender,” the analyst detailed: According to our estimates, the price of one bitcoin could exceed $1 million by 2030. El Salvador adopted BTC as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar in September last year. The Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, has predicted that bitcoin will be legal tender in two more countries this year. Devere Group’s CEO expects three countries to do so while Bitmex’s CEO said five countries will. Meanwhile, Fidelity said that it “wouldn’t be surprised to see other sovereign nation states acquire bitcoin in 2022 and perhaps even see a central bank make an acquisition.” The Ark report also cites network upgrades and growing adoption by institutions as some of the reasons for the price of the cryptocurrency to soar. In addition, the firm said that bitcoin mining will encourage and generate cleaner solutions. The analyst further wrote: Our research suggests that bitcoin has the potential to transform monetary history by providing financial freedom and empowerment in a fair, global, and distributed way. In addition, the Ark Invest report describes: “Public blockchains are powering novel forms of coordination across money, finance, and the internet. By decentralizing institutions with open-source software, blockchain technology minimizes the need to trust centralized authorities.” Ark’s analysts, including Elmandjra, concluded: We believe bitcoin is the most profound application of public blockchains, the foundation of ‘self-sovereign’ digital money. “The Bitcoin protocol has enabled two other revolutions: the financial (defi) and internet (Web3) revolutions,” they emphasized. Do you agree with Ark Invest’s bitcoin price prediction? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has warned that bitcoin is increasingly vulnerable to the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes as the cryptocurrency grows more widely adopted. “Over the last two years, as bitcoin has seen wider mainstream adoption, its correlation with macro assets has picked up,” the Goldman analysts explained. Goldman Sachs Warns Bitcoin Increasingly Vulnerable to Fed Rate Hikes Global investment bank Goldman Sachs published a research note Thursday detailing bitcoin’s increased vulnerability to the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates. Zach Pandl, bank’s co-head of foreign exchange strategy, and FX analyst Isabella Rosenberg explained that as mainstream adoption of bitcoin increases, so does the cryptocurrency’s vulnerability to Fed policy. They described: Over the last two years, as bitcoin has seen wider mainstream adoption, its correlation with macro assets has picked up. Noting that higher bond yields have affected technology stocks in recent weeks, with the Nasdaq 100 index falling more than 13% for the year, the analysts noted: “Bitcoin and other digital assets have likely suffered from the same forces … These assets will not be immune to macroeconomic forces, including central bank monetary tightening.” The markets now expect the Fed to hike interest rates five times this year. Goldman Sachs believes that the Fed could raise interest rates at every meeting this year. The post-meeting statement from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) last week did not provide a specific time for when the increase will come, though indications are that it could happen as soon as the March meeting. Goldman’s analysts further commented: Over time, further development of blockchain technology, including applications in the metaverse, may provide a secular tailwind to valuations for certain digital assets. Recently, Goldman Sachs said that the metaverse could be an $8 trillion opportunity. Rival investment bank Morgan Stanley similarly estimated a comparable size for the metaverse. Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs predicted that bitcoin could reach $100,000 as the cryptocurrency continues to take gold’s market share. Meanwhile, Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, has warned of a crypto winter amid expectations of Fed rate hikes and regulation. At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading at $37,502 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. The crypto is up 6.6% in the last seven days but down 20.5% in the past 30 days. However, it is still up 9.8% for the year. A recent report by Crypto.com shows that the number of global crypto owners is expected to surpass 1 billion this year. Do you agree with Goldman Sachs? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Ethereum’s average network fees have dropped to the lowest value in 30 days at 0.0096 ether or $24.64 per transaction. Median-sized ethereum fees are lower today as well, as fees are between $8.37 to $10.82 per transaction as ether fees haven’t been this low since January 1. Onchain Ethereum Fees Drop, Current Bitcoin Fees 91% Cheaper Than Ethereum Fees It’s cheaper today to send ethereum (ETH), as network fees are 0.0096 ETH or $24.64 on average to send the second leading crypto asset. On January 30, 2022, ethereum has a 24-hour price range of around $2,575 to $2,647 per unit. Average-sized ETH fees haven’t been this low since January 1, 2022, when the average-sized fee (ASF) was $25.75 per transfer. Ethereum fees reached a high on January 10, at $52.46 per transaction and the current ASF today is 53.03% lower than the high. Median-sized fees (MSF) on Ethereum are also lower today, as the MSF on ETH on January 10, is $29.92 per transfer. Statistics show MSF on Ethereum today are between $8.37 to $10.82 per transfer which is 63.83% lower than the MSF on Ethereum on January 10. Ll2fees.info metrics show the MSF on Ethereum today is $8.37 to send ethereum, $19.14 to send tokens, and to swap tokens it costs $41.87. Polygon Hermez is the cheapest Layer two (L2) transfer fee today with $0.25 per transfer. Loopring fees are $0.29, Zksync fees are $0.37 per transfer, Optimistic costs $1.75, Arbitrum transfers are $1.91, and Boba Network L2 fees cost $2.24 per transfer. To swap tokens Loopring will be $0.65 per swap, Zksync is $0.90, Optimistic is $2.58, Boba Network is around $2.94, and Arbitrum is $3.30 per transaction. At 0.00000014 BTC per byte and 0.000054 BTC or $2.02 per BTC transaction, fees are 91.80% cheaper on the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. The MSF on Bitcoin is 0.000014 BTC or $0.52 per transfer which is 95.19% cheaper than ETH’s MSF rates. The ASF on Ethereum hasn’t been under $1 since mid-November 2020. MSF on Ethereum dipped under $1 per transfer at that time as well. What do you think about ethereum fees being 53% lower than they were on January 10? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Dmitry Medvedev, former president and prime minister of Russia, has voiced his concerns over Bank of Russia’s initiative to ban most crypto operations. Prohibition could bring the opposite result, the Russian politician warned, joining a chorus of opinions against the restrictive policy. More Officials and Organizations Reject Central Bank’s Call to Prohibit Cryptocurrency Central Bank of Russia’s proposal to place a number of crypto-related activities outside the law has sparked a wave of reactions in Moscow. Among the critics are the Finance Ministry which put out its own regulatory concept, the State Duma where deputies are working on a new crypto law, and the government which prepared a roadmap for crypto regulation together with various departments. The central bank’s position has its reasons, Dmitry Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, acknowledged in an interview with Russian media. The monetary authority has cited threats to the nation’s financial stability and risks for its citizens as key factors for its hardline stance on crypto. However, quoted by Tass, Medvedev warned: To be honest, when you try to ban something, this very often leads to the opposite result. Other Russian officials have recently expressed more specific concerns. Any restrictions on the issuance and circulation of cryptocurrencies would halt the development of the blockchain industry and go against the country’s policy of supporting the IT sector, Minister Of Digital Development Maxut Shadayev was quoted as saying by the business daily Vedomosti. A ban would also lead to outflow of qualified specialists, he added. The Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC) has also joint the front against Bank of Russia’s push for prohibition while backing the finance ministry and the federal government. A ban would not solve existing problems with fraud and other illegal acts but, on the contrary, it will complicate control as market activity will move to the “grey” sector, the industry organization noted. In a statement quoted by the business news portal RBC, RAEC also said: The ban on the circulation of cryptocurrencies will leave Russia on the sidelines of the development of one of the fastest growing digital markets at the moment, which will significantly slow down the innovative development of the country. According to data compiled by RAEC’s experts, the contribution of digital markets to the Russian economy amounted to 6.7 trillion rubles (over $85 million) in 2020. The association’s preliminary estimates for 2021 suggest that the indicator has increased by 29%, to 8.6 trillion rubles (around $110 million at current exchange rates). Meanwhile, the head of the State Duma Financial Market Committee, Anatoly Aksakov, has publicized the idea of legalizing cryptocurrencies under the Russian law “On Experimental Legal Regimes in the Field of Digital Innovations.” This would allow authorities to examine how the various elements of the crypto infrastructure function under strict government control, Aksakov elaborated during a conference devoted to crypto regulations. Do you think Russia will eventually legalize cryptocurrencies and operations with them? Share your expectations in the comments section below. View the full article

A roadmap on cryptocurrencies has been prepared by a number of ministries, regulatory bodies, and law enforcement agencies, Russian media reported. The document, which aims to regulate Russia’s crypto market by the end of this year, comes amid disagreements between the central bank and other government institutions about the future of decentralized digital money in Russia. Moscow Moves to Adopt Rules for Cryptocurrencies After Putin’s Call Soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin urged government officials to reach a consensus on how to regulate cryptocurrencies, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko has reportedly signed a roadmap to regulate, rather than ban, crypto operations in Russia as early as this year. The business news portal RBC broke the news, quoting a copy of the document and a source close to the working group that produced it. According to the report, the plan has been drafted by representatives of the ministries of finance, economic development and digital development, the country’s financial watchdog and revenue service, as well as the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). The Prosecutor General’s Office and the Federal Security Service (FSB) also took part in the process. The goals listed on the roadmap have been supported by all participants, except the CBR. Last week, Bank of Russia shared its view on the matter in a consultation paper. It called for imposing a blanket ban on crypto-related activities, including payments, exchange and mining, citing threats to the nation’s financial stability and risks for its citizens. The monetary authority’s hardline stance was met with opposition from other Russian institutions. The Finance Ministry insisted that prohibiting cryptocurrencies is impossible and regulation is needed to limit the risks and increase budget revenues through taxation. Ivan Chebeskov, who heads the ministry’s Financial Policy Department, emphasized: Regulation will only provide the transparency that will ensure the protection of citizens. Regulations Proposed by Russian Finance Ministry Deemed Compliant With FATF Standards The treasury department put out its own regulatory concept. It suggests that all crypto-related transactions should be carried out through licensed Russian banks and registered exchanges and calls for introducing identity verification for Russian crypto owners. Minfin’s ideas were backed by Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s financial watchdog. Quoted by Tass, the agency noted that “the proposal is conceptually compliant with the FATF standards.” In accordance with the roadmap, the Ministry of Finance is expected to establish a control system for organizers, operators, and clients of peer-to-peer platforms by May. Financial authorities will also develop a regulatory regime for crypto service providers, determine the legal status of market participants and appoint a regulatory body. By November, the FATF standards pertaining to virtual assets should be transposed into the Russian regulatory framework. And by December, the registration and reporting mechanisms concerning organizations facilitating the circulation of digital currencies in the Russian Federation must be finalized. The next step will be to introduce legal liability for crimes involving cryptocurrencies, including administrative or criminal liability for evading the declaration of crypto transaction data. The government also wants to put in place a mechanism to verify the accuracy of the filed information on the ownership of digital assets. Reporting obligations will be incorporated into a new law. Meanwhile, the Financial Market Committee at the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament, has started working on a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies, its Chairman Anatoly Aksakov told RIA Novosti. Once the draft legislation is finalized, it will be presented to the Finance Ministry and Bank of Russia for further discussion, the high-ranking deputy added. Do you think Russia will implement the roadmap for cryptocurrency regulation? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Last week, non-fungible token (NFT) sales remained unscathed while crypto asset spot markets were dismal. However, a week later, NFT sales have dropped 13% to $800 million in sales over the last seven days. During the past week, NFT sales on the Ethereum blockchain have slipped 11.78% but Ronin blockchain-based NFT sales (Axie Infinity) dropped 47.83%. Weekly NFT Sales Slide Lower, Axie Infinity’s Ronin Sales Shed More Than 47% Statistics over the last seven days show that NFT sales are down across the 12 blockchains that produce NFTs. Cryptoslam.io shows that weekly NFT sales dipped 13% and the leading blockchain network Ethereum’s NFT sales slipped 11.78%. The second-leading blockchain in terms of NFT sales, Solana, saw its sales decrease by 16.87% during the last seven days. The third-largest blockchain network for NFT sales, Ronin, shed 47.83% this week and Flow blockchain NFT sales increased by 10.18%. 24-hour NFT marketplace metrics from dappradar.com indicate that the NFT market Looksrare is dominating with $645.81 million in sales, and Opensea has processed $157.34 million this past week. Solana’s Magic Eden NFT marketplace saw just over $10 million in NFT sales volume. The most expensive NFT sale during the last seven days was Meebit #10067 when it sold for 11,880 ethereum or $29.05 million. While the Meebits collection was the top NFT compilation in terms of sales for the last two weeks, that’s not the case this week. Azuki NFT Compilation Takes Top Sales This Week, Cryptopunks Sales Spike 197% Over the last seven days, the Ethereum-based NFT compilation Azuki took the week’s top sales. Azuki captured $76.4 million in the last seven days in terms of NFT sales, and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) took the second position with $58.6 million in sales. Cryptopunks held the third position this week with $54.6 million. Azuki’s weekly sales jumped 1.23%, BAYC saw a 25.99% increase, and Cryptopunks sales spiked 197.56% over the last seven days. BAYC’s sister project, Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), saw $41.9 million up 21.46% this past week and Clonex commanded $39.1 million in NFT sales. Sales stemming from the blockchain network Binance Smart Chain (BSC) jumped 206% over the last seven days. Besides Meebit #10067, the NFT dotdotdot 4646 sold for over 5,000 ether or $13.35 million nine hours ago, and Cryptopunk #3783 sold for $1.12 million or 450 ether. What do you think about the last seven days of NFT sales? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

In mid-May 2021, the American multinational technology company Nvidia Corporation revealed that it added a hashrate limiter to curb the use of cryptocurrency mining with its graphics processing units (GPUs). However, crypto miners now say the move was pointless, and the mining organization Nicehash details that the hashrate limiter scheme introduced by Nvidia “did not discourage miners at all.” Nvidia’s Hashrate Limiter Didn’t Stop Crypto Miners From Using the Products Last year Bitcoin.com News reported on Nvidia’s “Lite Hash Rate” (LHR) technology, when the graphics cards manufacturer attempted to stop crypto miners from leveraging its GPUs to mine digital assets. Nvidia applied LHR to three specific GPU products, and the company said the motivation was to get its card back into the hands of gamers. Eight months later, reports say that the LHR tech did very little to stop crypto miners from utilizing these specific Nvidia devices. The cryptocurrency mining Platform Nicehash told pcmag.com that LHR technology “did not discourage miners at all.” Moreover, a crypto miner named Blake Teeter from Colorado told pcmag.com’s Michael Kan that the LHR tech did not stop him from purchasing the GPUs and leveraging them for crypto mining purposes. Teeter said he added LHR-based Nvidia GPUs to his GPU farm, which gets $4.5K per month in ethereum (ETH) profits. “Yes, I feel LHR was pointless,” Teeter remarked and further noted that LHR-based Nvidia GPUs “isn’t a deal-breaker for miners.” LHR-Based GPU Miners Sold at the Same Rates, Ethereum Hashrate Coasting Along at Record Highs Meanwhile, a week after Nvidia introduced the Lite Hash Rate products, the company admitted that it made $155 million from crypto mining chips in Q1 2021. At the time, Nvidia disclosed that cryptocurrency miners had boosted sales, but the company also explained it was trying to deter miners from using specific products. A digital currency miner named Tim Tarshis told Kan that he owns 30 LHR RTX 3060 Nvidia GPUs and he bought them because “everyone was flipping them.” Tarshis further said that the LHR tech did not make the price of the GPUs cheaper, and he agreed that the Lite Hash Rate products “did nothing” to discourage people from using these devices to mine digital assets. “Many people, miners, and scalpers, still were buying cards at the same rates as before,” Tarshis added. Currently, ethereum (ETH) is up more than 95% year-to-date and the network’s hashrate has tapped all-time highs this year. At the time of writing, the Ethereum hashrate is above 1 petahash per second (PH/s) or 1,038,957,431,086,586 hashes per second (H/s). Until Ethereum transitions from a proof-of-work (PoW) chain to a full proof-of-stake (PoS) model, it seems miners will leverage any device they can use to rake in profits. If Nvidia’s LHR products still produce ETH and other GPU mineable crypto assets, they likely will be used for such purposes. What do you think about the crypto miners that say Nvidia’s LHR products didn’t stop them from using the GPUs to mine cryptocurrencies? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Flow is trading almost 30% higher on Saturday, as the majority of the crypto top 100 are in the green. Today’s move sees flow also enter the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Biggest Gainers Following a bearish end to the working week, cryptocurrency markets are green across the board to start the weekend. Notable gainers included solana, which is up over 10%, whilst SAND is also trading higher, and is up almost 15% as of writing. However, the clear bull of the day is FLOW, which as of writing is up around 23%, hitting an intraday high of $6.62 in the process. The move began after FLOW/USD rallied from recent support of $4.50, where it last traded on Thursday, to now hitting an intraday high of $6.62 two days later. Saturday’s surge saw flow move past aave, to become the #50 ranked cryptocurrency across the globe, by market cap. Looking at the chart, the RSI is tracking at 47, which is around its strongest point this year, whilst prices look to be at resistance of $6.48. Should price strength continue to surge, we could see FLOW/USD at $8.00 sooner than later. Biggest Losers As of writing, only two out of the top 100 cryptocurrencies are trading lower on Saturday, as yesterday’s bears seem to be occupied this weekend. One of the bears that remained was LEO, which as of writing is trading around 1% lower, hitting an intraday low of $3.36 as a result. Looking at the chart below, today’s decline has resulted in LEO/USD breaking below the 0.382 Fibonacci level, which has also acted as its recent support point. In addition to the breakout, the 14-day RSI is tracking around 36, which is close to its lowest level since November, when it was priced at $2.75. Could we see LEO rebound over the weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Following two consecutive days of losses, bitcoin and ethereum both rebounded strongly to start the weekend. Crypto markets were trading close to 5% higher on Saturday. Bitcoin The world’s largest cryptocurrency regained some upward momentum on Saturday, as bitcoin bulls appeared to have re-entered the race. BTC/USD rose to an intraday high of $37,952.88 on Saturday, following a low of $36,211.11 earlier in the session. Today’s rally comes as bitcoin appears to have broken above the key RSI level of 30, and now tracks north of 35 on the indicator. Despite remaining oversold, the breakout invigorated traders who were hoping to take BTC/USD to the $40,000 resistance level. Overall and long-term, the BTC/USD chart is still positioned within a descending triangle. However, the recent shorter-term ascending run has created a slight bottleneck in price. This, along with the potential for the RSI to rise to its next resistance point 41, may be enough to send price to, and potentially above, $40,000. Bulls could attempt to reach this point throughout the course of the weekend. Ethereum ETH was trading over 8% higher during today’s session, hitting its recent resistance level of $2,570 in the process. Saturday’s rally saw ETH/USD climb to an intraday high of $2,576.46, which is its highest point since Thursday. Looking at the chart below, the moving averages of 10-days (red), and 25-days (blue), were still declining, however as the RSI tracks higher, many will begin to anticipate a potential cross. If this occurs, some may begin to target a range of $2,800 – $3,000. Has the bear run in ETH cooled off for now? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

According to the chief executive officer (CEO) of the United Arab Emirates-based financial institution, Bank of Sharjah, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are not only difficult to regulate but are also here to stay. Despite this prediction, the CEO admits that many in the banking industry still do not fully understand this technology. A Revolutionary Technology The CEO of Bank of Sharjah, Varouj Nerguizian, has said the blockchain and cryptocurrencies are not going away but are likely to become a significant part of the banking system. Nerguizian, however, said banks can only fully benefit from technology when they deploy non-public or enterprise blockchains. In comments made during an interview with Emirates News, the CEO also explained how the blockchain can potentially be a double-edged sword to financial institutions that are attempting to adapt to the post-pandemic landscape. He said: Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that is not yet fully understood by the banking industry at large. While its application is easy to grasp in certain areas like Know Your Customer [KYC] or the real estate title deed verification, blockchain supposedly allows parties to transact with each other without the need for an intermediary. This raises the concerns of the authorities that would like to monitor the activity. Concerning the future of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, especially in the wake of increased pressure from regulators and governments around the world, Nerguizian is quoted asserting that the technology is not going away. “I personally believe blockchain technology and by extension, cryptocurrency is here to stay and [are] impossible to regulate at large. However, in UAE, jurisdictions like Abu Dhabi Global Market [ADGM] and Dubai International Financial Centre [DIFC] have come up with crypto regulations and might in time be a significant part of the banking landscape as we move forward,” Nerguizian is quoted explaining. Digital Transformation Meanwhile, the CEO also is quoted in the report expressing his belief that the banking industry had been headed for a digital transformation even before the pandemic struck. As the pandemic spread globally, more companies including banks shifted to a practice where employees worked remotely. According to Nerguizian, when banks exploit their employees’ ability to work remotely they will likely “reap future gains and profitability.” Do you agree with Nerguizian’s view that cryptocurrencies are here to stay? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Nansen, a cryptocurrency and blockchain statistics and analytics platform, has issued a report on the growth of decentralized finance (defi) in 2021. The document highlights how defi managed to keep growing, opening the field to new participant chains. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) also had a notable year, with many new wallets experiencing growth as a result. Nansen Puts 2021 in Review Nansen, a blockchain analytics firm backed by Coinbase Ventures and a16z, has presented a report about the behavior and growth that decentralized finance and NFTs experienced in the last year. The document, titled “Nansen’s State of The Crypto Industry Report 2021,” highlights how defi growth accelerated and NFTs rose as an important part of the crypto industry, as well as other industries — even attracting celebrities. Regarding defi, Nansen estimates the growth of the market compared to 2020 was 1,120% in TVL. While ethereum finished the year with 70% dominance in the defi sector, the crypto’s inability to scale opened the doors for other solutions to arise. BSC and Polygon were two of these chains that surpassed the number of transactions on Ethereum by 1,345% and 760%, respectively, at their peaks. In the same way, solana and avalanche reached significant levels of activity on their networks. When it comes to protocol activity, Uniswap and Aave were two of the protocols that registered significant movements, and Lido, an ETH2 staking protocol, also saw the participation of large ETH whales. NFTs Galore Another of the notable phenomena of last year was the rise of the NFT market. With projects like Cryptopunks and Bored Yacht Ape Club leading the way, NFTs managed to take the attention of celebrities like Stephen Curry and Jay-Z, who substituted their avatars on social media with images of these NFTs. Data from the report indicates that the NFT market bloomed during 2021, experiencing two notable peaks during the year. The highest trading occurred around August 29, seeing sales for 132K ETH, worth $422 million. The NFT market registered sales of 4.6 million ETH worth $17 billion. Nansen also informs about the rise of smart money connected to this new market, with the top 10 NFT traders recording more than $185 million in profits. The company believes that similar themes will continue to grow and develop in the defi market this year. Quality dapps, decentralized stablecoins, government regulation, and NFT innovation are some of these themes. What do you think about Nansen’s latest defi report? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Leading investment bank JPMorgan has changed its view on the estimate of bitcoin’s price on a long-term basis. The institution had estimated a long-term price of $146K back in November when bitcoin was over $60K. One of the most important reasons for this change has to do with the increased volatility the asset has faced in recent times. JPMorgan Changes Long-Term Bitcoin Price Estimate JPMorgan, one of the biggest financial institutions in the world, has drastically changed its opinion on the price that bitcoin will reach long term. While JPMorgan was bullish last year, when it estimated this number at almost $150K, it has lowered its estimations due to the situation the market is experiencing this year. The new $38K price, about one-fourth of the previously calculated number, was estimated in a different context concerning gold and bitcoin and the volatility of the market. On this, JPMorgan stated in a note: Our previous projection that the bitcoin to gold volatility ratio will fall to around 2x later this year seems unrealistic. Our fair value for bitcoin based on a volatility ratio of bitcoin to gold of around 4x would be 1/4th of $150,000, or $38,000. Increased Volatility Hurts Institutional Adoption Another factor that JPMorgan examined is the volatility bitcoin and the crypto market at large have been experiencing. This, according to the bank, makes it difficult for institutions to put their bets on bitcoin for reasons other than being a speculative asset. The note concluded: The biggest challenge for bitcoin going forward is its volatility and the boom and bust cycles that hinder further institutional adoption. The recent slump in cryptocurrency prices was attributed to several factors, and some considered the recent announcements by the Federal Reserve would affect the crypto markets, which have exhibited a correlation with other markets like the S&P500. One of these people was Arthur Hayes, who in a recent digest called “Circo Loco,” recommended a “wait and see” approach for investors wanting to get into the cryptocurrency market. Also, a report from Huobi titled “Taper Landed” issued in December, explained that the upcoming tapering would affect the growth of the cryptocurrency market. JPMorgan believes the market could go down even further, as it also found no signs of capitulation in the recent market movements. What do you think about the lowered expectations for bitcoin by JPMorgan? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Some disgruntled Nigerian users of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance have launched a campaign to boycott the platform, which they accuse of freezing client accounts without valid reason. Accounts Blocked Cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance recently became the target of a boycott campaign initiated by disgruntled users in Nigeria. Using the hashtag #Binancestopscamming, the campaigners are urging other Binance users around the African continent to join them in registering their displeasure with the exchange. According to a report in the Premium Times newspaper, the users’ anger towards Binance stems from apparent changes made to the platform’s terms of use which have resulted in certain users losing access to their funds. Similarly, on Twitter, frustrated users shared their experiences with the exchange and how efforts to get their issues resolved have proved to be in vain so far. For instance, one user named Brown-Mi alleges that Binance blocked his account and therefore his access to his portfolio’s altcoins. He tweeted: It is enough, I am a victim. My account has been frozen for about 4 months now with over $500k, mostly comprised of alts coins. Is it a crime to be an African? Another user, Newnew — who tweeted with the hashtag #BinanceStealingCrypto — claims the exchange blocked his account some ten months ago and that no valid reason has been given by Binance so far. Another user, Strong is the will, suggested that Binance was not any different from banks “who act tyrannically.” Binance Rejects Accusations Meanwhile, in its official response to the complaints, Binance Africa admitted in a tweet on January 26 that it has been restricting access to some accounts. However, the exchange insisted it only blocks accounts when there is a good reason. The exchange tweeted: At times, we proactively restrict accounts to protect users’ funds. Other times, we have to restrict accounts at the request of law enforcement. But never will we restrict accounts without good reason. Still, the exchange said aggrieved users must fill out an online form which it will then use to “review if and why your account is restricted.” In cases where an account has been blocked at the behest of a law enforcement agency, Binance “will send you details of who to contact for [the] next steps.” In concluding its Twitter thread, Binance said it is “committed to working with law enforcement agencies to ensure our community remains safe, and to prevent fraudulent activity throughout the industry. Binance is not scamming you.” What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

A member of the Brussels Parliament, Christophe De Beukelaer, says he will receive his entire salary in bitcoin this year. He believes that the technology will disrupt all industries and crypto adoption is going to be “exponential.” Belgian MP Says He Will Receive Entire Salary in Bitcoin — ‘We Can No Longer Remain Ignorant of This New World’ Christophe De Beukelaer, a member of the Brussels Parliament, said in a blog post on his personal website that he will receive his 2022 salary in bitcoin. The lawmaker explained that “with the blockchain, we are at the dawn of a revolution of the same order as what we experienced with the internet 30 years ago.” He believes that all sectors “will be disrupted,” adding that in other countries, “large institutions are beginning to invest massively in crypto assets in order not to miss this gigantic opportunity.” Noting that “it is the role of politicians to make the population aware of these societal changes that are coming,” he stressed: We can no longer remain ignorant of this new world. It’s a bit like clinging to the carriage or the candle as cars and light bulbs appear. Adoption is going to be exponential. To generate interest around bitcoin and the crypto industry, the lawmaker has “decided to convert his entire salary for the whole of 2022 into bitcoin,” the post details. The lawmaker opined: I am the first in Europe, but not in the world, to want to shine the spotlight on cryptocurrencies with such an approach. He proceeded to reference the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, who is receiving his first three paychecks in cryptocurrency. His first paycheck was recently converted into bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) via Coinbase. Mayor Adams said he converted his paycheck into bitcoin to send a message that New York City is open to technology. “I think it’s not too late for Brussels and Belgium to be at the forefront of the cryptocurrency industry. We already have some great companies in the field … but it’s time to position ourselves clearly and create a real ecosystem,” De Beukelaer concluded. What do you think about the lawmaker planning to receive his entire salary in bitcoin? And, do you agree with him that crypto adoption is going to be exponential? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Three months ago the crypto economy was worth more than $3 trillion and since then, digital currency prices have slid a great deal in value, as crypto assets have been sold and distributed across many hands. Over the last decade, fluctuating price cycles have made it so some addresses, typically referred to as crypto whales, have been able to accumulate vast quantities of coins. Moreover, a few crypto projects have also seen whales accumulate a majority of a token’s circulating supply via the initial distribution process. The Top 8 Crypto Assets by Concentration of Large Holders The subject of whales is a popular one in the world of cryptocurrencies, as the entities have always been a force to be reckoned with. Whales are large crypto asset holders who own more tokens than the average person, and they are called whales because their giant holdings can move markets, much like whales in the ocean that can shake up boats and cause massive waves. After more than a decade of people launching thousands of alternative crypto assets, years of digital currency trading, and the ever-changing price cycles, whale concentrations have changed over the years. The following is a look at the current concentration of large holders and crypto whales throughout the crypto economy’s top digital assets by market valuation. The concentration of large holders list and its onchain data derive from coincarp.com and intotheblock.com statistics. Bitcoin (BTC) Concentration of Large Holders The leading crypto asset bitcoin (BTC) is the oldest digital currency in the world based on blockchain technology, and it is assumed that BTC had a very fair distribution process. It is also assumed that Satoshi Nakamoto may own around 750,000 to 1 million BTC, which sit in addresses holding unspent block rewards. This means Satoshi’s stash is spread out and the inventor’s concentration of ownership is not easy to find. Intotheblock.com metrics shows BTC’s concentration of large holders today is 10%. Intotheblock.com leverages the “total holdings of whales (addresses that own more than 1% of the circulating supply) and Investors (addresses that own between 0.1% and 1% of the circulating supply).” Coincarp.com data on January 28, 2022, indicates that the top ten bitcoin addresses hold 5.30% of the current BTC supply in circulation. The top 20 largest BTC holders own 7.26% of the supply, and the top 50 bitcoin addresses own 10.78%. Onchain metrics further indicate that there are 40,301,661 bitcoin holders today. Ethereum (ETH) Concentration of Large Holders Ethereum metrics are different as Intotheblock.com stats show concentration by large holders is 42%, which is much higher than BTC’s concentration of whales. Coincarp.com data shows that there’s 185,912,265 ethereum holders and ETH’s top ten addresses hold 23.39% of the current supply. The top 20 ether holders possess 27.06% of the supply and the top 50 own 33.02%. Regarding the top 100 wallet addresses by ether balance, these hold 39.58% of the current ETH supply. Binance Coin (BNB) Concentration of Large Holders Binance coin’s (BNB) concentration of large holders data is not available on Intotheblock.com. Coincarp.com metrics, however, indicate that the top ten BNB addresses possess 88.23% of the supply. Onchain stats further show there are 321,134 BNB holders today. The top three BNB addresses are operated by Binance’s exchange platform, as the richest BNB holder is an exchange wallet with 52.02% of the BNB supply. The second-richest BNB wallet operated by Binance holds 27.14%, while 3.55% of the supply is also held by the third-largest address owned by the trading platform. BNB metrics indicate that more than 82% of the BNB supply is held by Binance operated wallets. Cardano (ADA) Concentration of Large Holders According to stats, there are 325,604 cardano (ADA) holders on January 28, 2022. Intotheblock.com metrics show that ADA’s concentration by large holders data today is 17%. Data shows that the top 10 addresses hold 4.36% of the ADA supply, while the top 20 own 5.86% of the supply. The number one richest ADA wallet currently possesses 1.37% of the ADA supply. 100 ADA holders hold 16.76% of the 34,186,794,009 ADA in circulation today. Xrp (XRP) Concentration of Large Holders While XRP’s Intotheblock.com metrics are null, Coincarp.com data shows that the top ten holders own 78.02% of the XRP supply. The top five XRP wallets are operated by exchanges, as the richest wallet operated by Binance holds 26.91% of the XRP supply. The top 20 XRP wallets hold 80.93% of the supply, and the top 100 addresses currently possess 85.99% of the XRP in circulation today, which is currently around 47,736,918,345 tokens. Solana (SOL) Concentration of Large Holders Statistics show that there’s a current supply of 314,967,774 SOL in circulation. The top ten addresses hold 10.11% of the SOL supply today, while the largest holder owns 1.58% of the SOL in circulation. The top 20 SOL wallets possess 15.77%, the top 50 hold 26.82%, and the top 100 solana (SOL) wallets hold 34.64% of all the SOL in existence. The number of wallets that hold a fraction of SOL or more today is 8,383,421 holders. Usually, Concentrations of Crypto Whales Grow Larger Data shows that the top eight coins by market valuation today have different concentrations of large holders known as whales. Stablecoins also have a concentration of large holders and the top ten tether (USDT) ERC20 wallets hold 26.79% of the current supply. The top ten usd coin (USDC) wallets currently hold 36.22% of the supply. 10.64% of the USDC supply is held by Maker dao while Binance holds 5.62% of all the ERC20-based tethers. Digital currency proponents don’t like large concentrations of whale holders as they could dump their coins on the market to make people panic sell. It is well known that at times large holders of any financial asset can collude and dump hoards of assets on the open market to make the price drop lower. While initially scaring the market, in the end whales make off after a dump because they simply buy back when the panic selling drops prices lower. Traditionally, because of the concentration of large holder levels and illiquid markets, crypto whales grow much larger after bear market cycles. What do you think about the top eight coins and the concentration of large holders? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Terra (Luna) was one of this week’s biggest crypto losers, falling by as much as 20% during Friday’s session. Declines in terra came as cosmos (ATOM) also had a double-digit decline. Biggest gainers Although crypto markets were mainly trading in the red, symbol (XYM) was one of the rare exceptions to climb higher today. XYM rose to an intraday high of $0.1728 during Friday’s session, rising from an earlier low of $0.155. This move started when the symbol surged from its support at $0.146, an area where it has been trading around for the majority of the week. As of writing, XYM was trading over 7% higher, with price action continuing to gain strength, after a recent breakout from a key RSI resistance point. The 14-day RSI indicator is currently tracking at 44, following its surge from the 35 level, which was a historical point of price uncertainty. Traders will likely now wait to see if symbol could reach resistance of $0.189. Biggest losers Another day, and cosmos (ATOM) was once again trading lower, falling by as much as 10% in the process. Despite this, it was terra (LUNA) which was Friday’s bear of the day, and was down around 16% as of writing. The move saw LUNA/USD extend its recent selloff, hitting an intraday low of $47.72, following an earlier high of $58.20. Looking at the chart below, the decline commenced after a breakout from the $59.75 floor, leading to further drops, which now sees new support of $47.95 being formed. In addition to the breakout, prices are now heavily oversold, which is one of the only indications that the bearish pressure could be fading. Will we see any lower lows this weekend from terra? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. View the full article

Findings stemming from a recent report published by the security-focused blockchain firm Certik indicate that the Binance smart chain Ethereum bridge called Qubit has been hacked for $80 million. Data shows on January 27, 2022, an attacker siphoned a number of tokens from an exploit on Qubit Finance’s bridge and Certik says the hack is “by far the largest exploit of 2022 to date.” Qubit’s Binance Smart Chain Ethereum Cross-Chain Bridge Attacked for $80 Million in Defi Tokens A decentralized finance (defi) exploit tied to Qubit Finance’s Binance smart chain Ethereum bridge has led to the loss of $80 million, according to the blockchain security experts at Certik. Qubit Finance is a defi protocol that offers lending capabilities and a cross-chain bridge between BSC and ETH. Unfortunately looks like @QubitFin from the team at @PancakeBunnyFin has been exploited for over $80m in assets. Exploiter's address:https://t.co/s2WDCCiLho — Stefan (🦎,🦎) (@0xCryptoStefan) January 27, 2022 The cross-chain bridge was exploited by the malicious attacker who managed to net 77,162 qXETH to borrow and convert the funds into other funds. Essentially, the hacker was able to leverage stolen coins to obtain “15,688 wETH ($37.6 million), 767 BTC-B ($28.5 million), approximately $9.5 million in various stablecoins, and ~$5 million in CAKE, BUNNY, and MDX.” Certik’s post-mortem analysis further explains: Essentially what the attacker did is take advantage of a logical error in Qubit Finance’s code that allowed them to input malicious data and withdraw tokens on Binance Smart Chain when none were deposited on Ethereum. Certik: ‘People Need to Bridge Crypto Assets in Ways That Are Not Susceptible to Hackers’ Currently, the address still holds all the stolen coins which are worth approximately $79,332,154 at the time of writing. Certik says that the cross-chain bridge vulnerability highlights two important things. “The importance of cross-chain bridges that facilitate interoperability between blockchains [and the] importance of the security of these bridges.” During the last 12 months, cross-chain bridge technology has grown a great deal. Data stemming from Dune Analytics shows there’s $11.79 billion total value locked (TVL) on Friday. Polygon has the largest (MATIC ETH) cross-chain bridge TVL with $5.1 billion. Certik’s post-mortem analysis stresses that as cross-chain tech grows bridge security will be very important. “As we move from an Ethereum-dominant world to a truly multi-chain world, bridges will only become more important,” Certik’s analysis of Qubit’s losses concludes. “People need to move funds from one blockchain to another, but they need to do so in ways that are not susceptible to hackers who can steal more than $80 million dollars.” What do you think about Qubit’s $80 million cross-chain bridge loss? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Following a volatile week of trading, the uncertainty in cryptocurrency markets continued on Friday. Overall, the global crypto market cap was almost 2% lower during the session. Bitcoin Thursday’s volatility extended into today’s session, with bitcoin prices continuing to consolidate near its recent support level of $35,600.00. BTC/USD fell to an intraday low of $35,629.28 on Friday, following a high of $37,423.99 earlier in the session. The move comes as bitcoin appears to be trading within a range of support ($35,600.00) and resistance ($38,510.00), in other words consolidating, after recent swings in price. Typically, when we see a trending market, bullish or bearish, prices begin to move with uncertainty when early entrants exit, and take profits, whilst later entrants look to capitalize on the recent trend, by longing or shorting. When this happens, prices tend to trade sideways, as markets have no clear direction, which seems to be the case with BTC this week. Friday’s chart shows that the RSI has slightly crept over 30, and is tracking at 32, however bulls still appear hesitant to re-enter the market. It’s possible they could make their move over this weekend. Ethereum ETH was trading over 14% lower in the last seven days, and was down over 3% as of writing, hitting an intraday low of $2,328.45 in the process. Friday’s decline sees ETH/USD fall for a second consecutive session, as it continues to trade around support of $2,400. Looking at the chart below, price action is still weak, or oversold, and is tracking at 26 on the 14-day RSI, whilst short-term momentum continues to hint at further weakness. Although the moving averages of 10/25 days look to have exhausted the bearish sentiment on the daily chart, prices do not look like they are ready for an immediate rebound. Could this streak of consolidation be here for some time to come? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article