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The construction of a bitcoin mega-mining farm in Argentina by Bitfarms is raising concerns for legislators. Martín Berhongaray, a national deputy, recently presented a resolution to force the government to disclose information about the installation of the facility, through representatives from the Ministries of Science, Technology and Innovation, Environment and Sustainable Development, and of the nation’s economy. Bitfarms Mega Farm in Sights of Legislators The ambitious project that Bitfarms, a mining behemoth headquartered in Canada, is building in Argentina, has already started to raise concerns with Argentinian legislators. Martín Berhongaray, a national deputy, introduced a law proposal for the government to explain how this deal was conceived and whether the company has passed oversight of the different state institutions linked to the deal, like the Ministries of Science, Technology and Innovation, Environment and Sustainable Development, and of the nation’s economy. The law proposal requires disclosure related to: The competent areas in energy, environmental, and economic matters registered the agreement announced by the Canadian company Bitfarms, to source electricity through a Wholesale Electricity Market Agent (MEM) for 8 years. The mining farm will host 55,000 mining machines, with Bitfarms reportedly establishing a contract with a private power company to receive 210 megawatts (MW) of infrastructure capacity at a rate of 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour. More Worries The proposal seems to be directed at procuring information about the energy facility that will provide the power, and the sustainability of this deal into the future. While the company that is doing the construction has been identified as PROA, the power company and the location of the facility are still a mystery to the public, as it has only been revealed it’s going to be located in a rural area in a recent PR statement. These doubts have surely influenced the proposal, which also inquires: If the total electrical system installed in the country, or imminent installation, has that available capacity. If the consumption of that electrical energy used will receive a subsidy from public funds. The reason for Bitfarms expanding to Argentina is not a secret. The region offers affordable energy opportunities in certain parts of the country, and this is bringing more and more companies to eye the area as a possible expansion destination. Bitfarms president Geoffrey Morphy concluded: With considerable low-cost energy available to us for many years, we can improve our short-term margin performance and ensure a viable operation. What do you think about the Bitfarms bitcoin mega-mining facility being installed in Argentina? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

On Friday, American social news aggregation and discussion website, Reddit published a job listing seeking a senior backend engineer for a non-fungible token (NFT) platform. As part of Reddit’s development team, the new hire would help “design, build and ship backend services for millions of users to create, buy, sell and use NFT-backed digital goods.” Reddit’s Job Application Is Looking for a Senior Engineer for a Possible NFT Platform Reddit seems to be in the midst of creating a non-fungible token (NFT) feature on its platform and from a recent job description it seems to be a marketplace. Reddit is seeking a “senior backend engineer” for its “NFT platform,” the recently added job listing explains. Reddit has already dipped its feet into cryptocurrency solutions and blockchain technology by leveraging Ethereum and Arbitrum. The job listing for a new engineer dedicated to NFT technology has a different focus than the firm’s community points system. “If there is one thing we’ve noticed with NFTs, they too have an incredible power to create a sense of participation and belonging,” Reddit’s job post details. “With every new NFT project, a vibrant community of owners pops up with it. Fans of today’s biggest creators and brands are now flocking to buy digital goods directly from them — to support them, to gain exclusive access, and to feel a greater sense of connection with them.” The company’s job listing adds: Over time, we believe this will only grow, and NFTs will play a central role in how fans support their favorite creators and communities. Reddit: ‘Experience With Crypto / NFTs / Go Not Required’ While the job description has multiple requirements like over five years of backend development experience, experience with cryptocurrencies, NFTs and the programming language Go is “not required.” The backend, however, definitely will be dedicated to non-fungible token (NFT) services. The new senior backend engineer for the NFT platform will “design, build and ship backend services for millions of users to create, buy, sell and use NFT-backed digital goods,” Reddit’s listing notes. Furthermore, the Reddit job listing explains that the company is accommodating in regards to the pandemic and the job can be done from a remote location. What do you think about Reddit seeking an engineer dedicated to its NFT platform? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. The next-generation NFT Infrastructure – Label Foundation has announced the successful completion of its private sale round. Supported by many leading VCs and famous Grammy-winning artists, the NFT platform raised $1.0 million during the private sale that generated major interest from top investors and venture capitalists in the finance and blockchain industries. A major milestone for Label Foundation The private sale round was led by HG ventures and backed by some of the leading venture capitals and institutions in the blockchain sphere, such as GBIC, Mindfulness Capital, IOST, M6, Adaptive, and Icetea Labs, Alphabit,, and Pragma. These Venture Capital firms have joined forces to fund the next generation NFT infrastructure that provides the P2P incubating platform to foster the education platform. Speaking on the development, Simon Jeung co-founder at HG Ventures, revealed his delight in the development. “As the lead investors in the LABEL Foundation, we are first and foremost fascinated by the dedication of the core team to the unified goal to revolutionize the entertainment education market by bringing the MOOC industry and blockchain technology together. Jeung also added, ‘’We believe that NFTs will definitely need the next level of adoption, and the musicians, artists and other content creators that were previously restrained from their legitimate profits will now be able to protect their rightful IP rights in the most innovative NFT infrastructure platform.” He concluded. Fostering next-gen blockchain-based educational ecosystem Label is an NFT infrastructure protocol built on the Ethereum Network to establish a fair profit-sharing ecosystem. Its ecosystem is powered by LBL utility and governance token. To achieve its goals, LABEL introduces a decentralized P2P incubating platform to invest in world-class entertainment educational content through the DAO voting system that allows contributors to claim profits through its native NFT shareholding mechanism. This system provides content creators in the MOOC industry easy access to investment, promotion and distribution of their IP rights. It solves the problems of unfair structure that exists in the sphere. Tokenizing IP rights using NFTs Label Foundation further innovatively uses NFTs enabling content creators to tokenize their IP rights to allow investors to fund their prospective courses. These courses are listed on the Label platform and, over time, become profitable and influential for investors. The interests on these tokenized IP rights can be accessed by LBL Holders that stake their tokens in the DAO governance mechanisms for voting rights on which courses are registered and receive financing in the Label ecosystem. The courses, that have successfully received investments, will be registered in the ERC-1155 NFT standard, which will clearly illustrate the share ratio of the ownership according to the contributions of instructors, voters and investors. The information on sales revenue from partner platforms will be released on the special NFT Page, and the revenue generated by the course will be accurately distributed based on the NFT Shares held by the contributors. Furthermore, the investors that are willing to liquidate their NFT shares will be able to register it freely in the NFT Marketplace of the LABEL Foundation, or similarly they can retain their access to the IP rights and claim the partial profits that will be generated by the content creators’ courses. Key partnerships established Label Foundation has extended its ecosystem with key partnerships within the blockchain and education industry. It has already collaborated with OPENTRACK, a leading music education platform operated by Clesson. The partnership will provide a batch of world-class instructors that will provide early content within the LABEL ecosystem. The LABEL Platform will feature the top stars such as Mark Lettieri (3x Grammy Winner), Scoop DeVille (2x Grammy Nominee), Robert Sput Searight (6x Grammy Winner), Docskim (BTS producer) and many other influential artists and instructors, that will be sharing their knowledge and insights and perhaps offer their IP rights through the incubating system to register their courses as NFTs and further allocate the NFT shares to the early investors. To learn more about Label Foundation visit the following links: Website Telegram Medium Linkedin Twitter 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 President, Muhammadu Buhari, is expected to formally launch the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) on October 25, 2021. High-Level Endorsement of the CBDC According to a statement released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the formal event marking the e-naira’s launch will be held at the Buhari’s official residence. After the initial launch was postponed due to different factors, the CBN suggests in the statement that it has done enough to prepare for the launch this time around. The press statement explains: Following a series of engagements with relevant stakeholders including the banking community, fintech operators, merchants and indeed, a cross-section of Nigerians, the CBN designed the digital currency, which shall be activated on Monday, October 25, 2021. Describing the e-naira launch as a major step forward in the evolution of money, the CBN insists its CBDC will be available to everyone. The CBN to Promptly Address Challenges Encountered During Implementation Meanwhile, the statement adds that the CBN, being aware that this will be one of the first of CBDCs, has already put in place a structure to promptly address any issue that might arise from the pilot implementation. At the same time, the central bank says it will continue to work with relevant partners to ensure a seamless process that will benefit every user, particularly those in the rural areas and the unbanked population. What do you think of the CBN’s decision to use President Buhari for the CBDC launch? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey has warned that hyperinflation will soon happen in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. “Hyperinflation is going to change everything. It’s happening,” he predicted. Many people disagreed with him, however. US Will Soon Experience Hyperinflation, Says Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey The CEO of Twitter and Square Inc., Jack Dorsey, tweeted a warning about hyperinflation in the U.S. Friday. “Hyperinflation is going to change everything. It’s happening,” he wrote. Comments flooded his tweet. At the time of writing, it had garnered more than 7K comments and had been liked 70.1K times and retweeted 22.9K times. In a follow-up tweet, Dorsey emphasized: “It will happen in the U.S. soon, and so the world.” The Twitter CEO’s tweet came as consumer price inflation is running near a 30-year high in the U.S. and there are increasing concerns that the problem could be worse than what policymakers led on. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged Friday that inflation pressures “are likely to last longer than previously expected,” and could run “well into next year.” However, many people disagreed with the Twitter boss that hyperinflation is going to happen in the U.S. Patrick Horan, program manager for Monetary Policy at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, opined: “In the United States, hyperinflation is not happening.” His colleague, Lawrence White, professor of economics at the same university, chimed in: “What’s happening is higher inflation, not hyperinflation (except in Venezuela). It’s too bad that Twitter doesn’t allow Jack to edit his tweet.” Daniel Drezner, professor at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, noted: “I lived through actual hyperinflation in Ukraine in the early 1990s. This ain’t it mate.” Economist Steve Hanke, a bitcoin skeptic who prides himself as an expert on inflation and hyperinflation, commented: There have been 62 certified hyperinflations in world history. At present, no country is experiencing hyperinflation. Jack should know better than to tweet irresponsible public statements. While a number of people on Twitter disagreed with Hanke’s statement, Dorsey simply replied with a “rolling on the floor laughing” emoji. Some people heeded Dorsey’s warning, tweeting, “Thank God for bitcoin,” noting that BTC will inevitably become the world’s reserve currency. Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation, commented on Dorsey’s hyperinflation tweet: Those shocked by this tweet live in a bubble of financial privilege. 1.3 billion live under double, triple, or quadruple-digit inflation: Turkey, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Iran, Lebanon, Venezuela, Cuba, Sudan, and beyond. It’s already one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises. What do you think about Jack Dorsey’s hyperinflation warning? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has shared what he believes to be the most important dogecoin improvements. He also clarified that he does not have anything to do with the Dogecoin Foundation and is not investing in the shiba inu (SHIB) token. Musk confirmed that he is only holding three cryptocurrencies. Elon Musk on Dogecoin Improvements, Shiba Inu Token Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk made several tweets about cryptocurrency, bitcoin, dogecoin, and the shiba inu token Sunday. Regarding Dogecoin’s improvements, he was asked whether he had any recent interactions with the Doge development team. While admitting that he had not interacted with them lately, Musk shared: What matters imo is lowering fees, decreasing block time & increasing block size. A single layer network with exchanges as de facto layer 2 seems like the simplest solution for a medium of exchange. Dogecoin co-creator Billy Markus chimed in and responded to Musk’s Doge improvement tweet. He stressed that in his opinion, “dogecoin being fast, scalable, and inexpensive to send around is all it needs to be,” adding that “it doesn’t need to be yet another blockchain that hosts NFTs or other tokens or whatever.” Musk replied with a “hundred points” symbol. Furthermore, Musk responded to another Doge supporter who asked: “Do you think if Dogecoin accomplishes the goals you put forth here then it could be more practical and efficient than something like the Lightning Network as a medium of exchange?” The Tesla executive answered: “Possibly. Bitcoin was conceived at a time of relatively low bandwidth & high latency. If both continue to improve substantially, we will reach a point when no second layer is needed.” In August, Musk agreed with the billionaire owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, that “The community for doge is the strongest when it comes to using it as a medium of exchange.” Musk also clarified Sunday that he does not have anything to do with the Dogecoin Foundation in response to a comment on Twitter stating: “Jared Birchall represents Elon Musk, but as all advisors he has no direct voting rights. This guarantees the foundation stays independent while taking advantage of the expertise of shibes like Elon.” The Spacex CEO wrote: Neither Jared, nor me, nor anyone I know has anything to do with this foundation. The Dogecoin Foundation relaunched in August. Its website lists Jared Birchall as one of its four board advisors, describing him as a “legal & financial advisor” to Musk. Other board advisors include Markus and Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin. Musk was asked how much shiba inu (SHIB) he is holding. The Tesla technoking simply replied, “None.” Besides SHIB, Musk was asked whether he had holdings in several other cryptocurrencies, including FLOKI, the token named after his shiba inu puppy. Instead of responding about each coin, Musk confirmed that he only owned bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin. “Out of curiosity, I acquired some ASCII hash strings called ‘Bitcoin, Ethereum & Doge.’ That’s it,” he affirmed. “As I’ve said before, don’t bet the farm on crypto. True value is building products & providing services to your fellow human beings, not money in any form.” Musk previously said that his companies, Spacex and Tesla, only owned bitcoin. The electric car company released its Q3 earnings report this week showing $1.26 billion in BTC. What do you think about Elon Musk’s tweets? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

While the African continent is generally viewed as one of the most ideally placed to embrace and fully exploit the blockchain, the reality on the ground suggests otherwise. The East Africa Blockchain Expedition As Adedayo Adebajo, the managing director of Jelurida Africa and a blockchain enthusiast told Bitcoin.com News, much of the focus in terms of investment has been on two regions, Southern and West Africa. Adebajo suggests in written responses to questions sent to Bitcoin.com News that the East Africa region is being left behind. Therefore, to correct this anomaly, Adebajo has organized the East Africa Blockchain Expedition, an education and awareness campaign that will see him tour several African countries. This expedition, which commenced on October 23, is set to run for 30 days. To learn more about this expedition as well as its objectives, Bitcoin.com News sent questions Adebajo, and below are his responses. Bitcoin.com News (BCN): Can you explain in brief what this blockchain expedition is all about? Adedayo Adebajo (AA): The blockchain expedition is a journey across East African countries that seeks to educate, train, create communities and then showcase areas where blockchain technology is already being used in the zone. The intention is to increase developer’s communities, encourage more adoption and enhance public and private knowledge especially in areas where blockchain technology can help businesses and standards. BCN: What prompted you to do this? AA: The main activator was the open statement by the President of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan encouraging the banks and other sectors to look into blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. It was an open invitation considering Tanzania’s position in the East African region. This is an opportunity that evangelists and stakeholders like me have been waiting for. Taking the awareness campaign to another level of all-around engagement. I believe now is the perfect time to educate more people and by so doing foster more adoption. BCN: Why East Africa and are there plans to do this in other parts of the continent? AA: I guess everyone is always on the lookout for opportunities. While most will seek greener pastures that enable them to scale easily, I’m more of a pathfinder and pacesetter creating opportunities where others might consider a crazy journey. The focus of most tech giants is mostly in Western and Southern Africa and that has got to change. You’d be amazed at the amount of tech genius present in East Africa that the rest of the world didn’t know about. So my expedition is set to commence from the East and as a reference point to the rest of the continent. BCN: What do you hope to see after this expedition has ended? AA: By the end of the expedition, I hope to have: Gathered hundreds of thousands of communities across the region to continue spreading the awareness, The backing of specific public offices after having technology-focused interactions that foster a dynamic and startup-friendly regulatory framework for blockchain technology. Successfully convinced and planted a seed for mass adoption in the private and public sectors. Increase the blockchain developer’s community by hundreds. BCN: Charles Hoskinson, the creator of the Cardano blockchain, has seemingly identified Africa as the most ideal market for the blockchain and is currently touring the continent. On the other hand, the CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey has in the past tweeted about the potential of blockchain-backed cryptocurrencies like bitcoin in African countries like Nigeria. Why do think influential people like Hoskinson or Dorsey are repeatedly highlighting the blockchain’s potential in Africa? AA: I see them basically as investors, and like any other person that sees the potential in the population and the need for decentralized solutions. Africa despite the numerous resources, likes of which isn’t possessed by the other part of the world is still considered poor and underdeveloped. These are great enough potentials for decentralized technologies to scale and any investor would see that. BCN: Do you agree that the blockchain can potentially be more useful in Africa than in North America or Europe? AA: As earlier mentioned, we have the population and resources, what we lack in the journey of becoming the most sought-after continent is proper utilization and allocation using these emerging technologies such as blockchain. If adopted and deployed in the right sectors and used, it (blockchain) will foster fast developments across the continent allowing us to compete with other developed continents. BCN: Do you think that African governments fully understand the blockchain and what it can do? AA: With respect to what the African government understands, I will say not enough. Most of the people in the seat of power aren’t from the new generation. Most are from the analog age who still see value in using a typewriter rather than printing, then some are from the intermediate generations. The adoption and embracement of these 4IR technologies would have been increasing if the government understood it and fully understand its potentials. Do you agree with Adebajo’s idea of raising awareness about the blockchain in East Africa? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

During the last month, four out of five of the top stablecoins by market capitalization saw their valuations swell in size. At the time of writing, there’s $135.4 billion in stablecoins but the top five collectively represent 94.40% of that total. While the largest stablecoin in terms of market cap increased by 2% over the last 30 days, the stablecoin DAI issued by the Makerdao protocol expanded by 22%. Tether and Circle’s USD Coin Rule the Roost Stablecoins are very popular these days and it’s safe to say that these dollar-pegged tokens are not going anywhere any time soon. For instance, at the time of writing, there’s around $29.2 billion in global trade volume dedicated to bitcoin (BTC) trades only. Currently, the stablecoin tether (USDT) commands 61.46% of all the BTC trades according to cryptocompare.com data. Below the U.S. dollar is the stablecoin BUSD, a stablecoin curated on the Binance Smart Chain as BUSD commands 5.29% of all BTC trades today. BUSD is, in fact, the only stablecoin in the top five that did not see its market cap inflate. The largest stablecoin market cap today is tether (USDT) which commands a valuation of $71 billion at the time of writing, according to market aggregation sites like Coingecko’s “Top Stablecoins by Market Cap.” Tether’s transparency web page that shows Tether’s current balances says there’s approximately $70,578,488,377 worth of USDT. With close to a $71 billion increase, USDT has grown by 2% during the trailing 30 days. The second-largest stablecoin issued by Circle and the Centre Consortium, usd coin (USDC), has swelled by 8.9% this month. Presently, USDC has a market valuation of around $32.8 billion which is around 46.19% or close to half the size of USDT’s market cap. Tether’s global trade volume is much higher than USDC’s at $52,791,455,644 while USDC’s is around $1,936,810,797. USDC is paired with USDT and BUSD and according to cryptocompare.com data, they are the top two trading pairs with USDC. The 3rd, 4th, 5th Stablecoin Contenders While the stablecoin that stems from the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem, busd (BUSD) is the third-largest cap, it has not increased during the last month. BUSD holds a valuation of about $12.9 billion at the time of writing and $3.4 billion in global trade volume. BUSD is swapped on 98 different exchanges according to today’s data and it’s ranked 18th out of 9,957 crypto assets. The algorithmic decentralized finance (defi) stablecoin issued by the Makerdao project, dai (DAI), has seen the most growth this past month gaining 22.7%. While the third-largest stablecoin BUSD has a market cap of around $12.9 billion, DAI’s market cap is $7.4 billion today. DAI’s volume, however, is much smaller than its competitors with only $438,185,462 in global swaps. DAI’s largest pair today is USD with 53.35% of all trades and WETH with 28.68% of swaps. Tether is traded with DAI and commands 7.24% of all DAI’s volume. The fifth-largest stablecoin market terrausd (UST) expanded 4.8% this past month in terms of market capitalization. UST is a stablecoin that is part of the Terra protocol and it has an overall valuation of around $2.7 billion today. UST has around $66.6 million in global trade volume as well and is ranked 62 out of 9,957 crypto assets. 60.38% of UST trades are currently swapped for the U.S. dollar while tether (USDT) commands 36% of UST swaps. While all five of these stablecoins collectively represent 94.40% ($126.88) of the $135 billion in stablecoin value, USDT, USDC, DAI, and UST grew by 38.4%. What do you think about the growth of stablecoins and the top five leading dollar-pegged tokens in the crypto market today? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On October 22 at 4:52 p.m. (EDT), a miner that acquired 50 bitcoin on May 17, 2010, spent the funds that sat idle for 11 years and five months. There hasn’t been a 2010 block reward spent in three months and the last time a 2010 miner spent their ‘sleeping bitcoin’ was on July 4, 2021. After waiting patiently for more than a decade, the miner who spent the ‘sleeping bitcoin’ on Friday saw a percentage gain of 76,249,900% if the individual cashed out into U.S. dollars today. Editor’s Note: Another block reward from 2010 that was created on July 18, with 50 ‘sleeping bitcoin’ was transferred on October 24, 2021, the day this post was published. The 2010 block reward was transferred at block height 706,461 and at today’s exchange rate it was worth just over $3 million. (Updated at 11:25 a.m. EDT on 10-24-21). Old School Miner Spends 2010 Block Reward After Bitcoins Sat for More Than a Decade It’s been a while since a block reward of 2010 ‘sleeping bitcoins’ have been spent and on Friday, a block reward from that era was transferred after sitting for 11 years and five months. Prior to Friday’s 2010, block reward spend, the last 2010 block transferred was on July 4, 2021. Bitcoin.com News, alongside help from the creator of the blockchain parser btcparser.com, and members of the Telegram channel “Gold Found In Sand,” have been identifying these old school miners from 2010 and other years for quite some time. The block reward spent on Friday came from a mining reward acquired on May 17, 2010, and was transferred at block height 706,203. On September 28, 2021, an in-depth report on ‘sleeping bitcoins,’ showed that old school miners from 2010 through 2013 had moved $1 billion in BTC (using exchange rates from the day the study published) or 23,250 BTC transferred. 2010 Block Reward Transfers Become Infrequent, Friday’s Transfer Would Net 76 Million Percent in Gains if Sold for USD The 2010 block reward move on Friday, if exchanged for fiat would be worth over $3.1 million, as bitcoin (BTC) opened the day on Friday exchanging hands for $62,237 per unit. Remarkably, when the bitcoin miner acquired the coins, the entire lot was only worth $4. The miner decided to wait and not spend it at $0.08 per unit, which was the price equivalent of a single bitcoin in June-July 2010. The miner would manage to gain a whopping 76,249,900% increase in value if he or she decided to trade the funds for fiat that day. Meanwhile as mentioned above, 2010 block reward spends have been far and few between during the last four months. Although, there’s been a greater number of 2011 block reward transfers. Prior to Friday’s 2010 block, 13 block rewards from 2011 were moved on the blockchain in October alone. Using exchange rates from October 23, that’s $39.5 million in value if exchanged for fiat. This is because the terms “spent” or “spend” in this article do not necessarily mean that the bitcoins were “sold” to a third party like a popular crypto exchange. The 2010 transfer on October 22, did not see the corresponding bitcoin cash (BCH) or bitcoinsv (BSV) moved. Those coins remain idle to this day as the stash of BCH is worth $31,312 and the BSV is worth $8,595 at the time of writing. All 2010 block rewards mined in that era will have BCH and BSV tethered to the private keys, alongside the myriad of lesser-known BTC forks. Additionally, the mystery whale that was caught by Bitcoin.com News and help from btcparser.com, has not returned to move strings of bitcoin rewards in over three months. The last time we caught the infamous 2010 mining whale was on June 9, 2021, at block height 686,865. The whale was quite special because it constantly spent 1,000 BTC or 20 block rewards from 2010 in a single block. We cannot say whether or not the whale that constantly spent 20 block rewards from 2010 will not return. Prior to the June 9 spend of 1,000 ‘sleeping bitcoin,’ worth $35 million at the time of transfer, the whale waited 78 days to come back. What do you think about the miner who waited 11 years and five months to spend the 50 bitcoin transferred on Friday? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. NFTs are all the rage right now – they are essentially unique units of data that generally represent a piece of art, media, or other forms of digital files. There are many interesting projects in youthful stages right now, but one of the most prominent NFT projects to arise recently is CryptoDragons. The project is currently offering a limited collection of 10,000 NFT dragon Eggs for minting. The uniqueness of each individual Egg illustration has been generated through Artificial Intelligence, facilitating a process where the technology creates art. Once the Eggs hatch a unique firstborn Dragon will be minted. It can earn, battle on blockchain Arena, give offspring to the CryptoDragons Metaverse. This means that the initial 10,000 Eggs can be an investment, providing Egg owners an opportunity to generate an offspring of unique NFT dragons. The DNA of a dragon can consist of a genome package of 12,000 possible attributes. The project uses the term “Egg Today, Dragon Tomorrow” to outline the roadmap of the Metaverse. Notably, the team has created four main dragons classes, which include Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. The Rare variety can be found as a result of dragon breeding. In addition to the unique approach to NFT art, CryptoDragons is also the first project to share 50% of its earnings. As the current limited collection of 10,000 NFTs eventually grows, the project promises to share 50% of its earnings from all breeding income with Legendary Dragon owners, meaning a serious sum of Ethereum can be earned. The online earning calculator on CryptoDragons’ website estimates that a Legendary Dragon owner could potentially earn equivalent to 7.2 ETH for 100,000 breedings and 5 million breedings can potentially generate 361.1 ETH. Dragon owners organize battles with other dragons via the Dragon Arena. Kassis, a Dragon language with its phonetic standards and alphabet, will be utilized. Overall, CryptoDragons is looking to be a highly exceptional NFT project. Not only it provides a unique take on NFTs by generating its art through special algorithms, but it is also allowing users to use these NFTs for entertainment purposes in its very own Metaverse. On top of providing an Ethereum investment opportunity, it’s a project that looks to have some potential for the future. All-in-all, the project will evolve into a fully functional dragon Metaverse, allowing dragon owners experience also on iOS and Android platforms. About CryptoDragons CryptoDragons is essentially a blockchain-based Metaverse project providing a unique take on NFTs with a focus on entertainment and fun elements. Visit for More Information Website: https://cryptodragons.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CryptoDragons Discord: https://discord.com/invite/cryptodragons 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 main organization representing participants in the Russian crypto space has lambasted authorities in Moscow for not doing enough to regulate the industry. The criticism comes four years after President Putin directed institutions to legally define the status of digital financial technologies. Regulators Accused of Failure to Take Russian Crypto Market Out of Shadow Russian regulatory bodies have been criticized for their actions regarding the cryptocurrency industry in the country. According to Yuri Pripachkin, head of the Russian Association of Cryptoeconomics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain (Racib), their actions are still “half-hearted” and are not aimed at finding a systematic solution for Russia’s state policy in the field of digital assets. Speaking to the business news portal RBC, Pripachkin reminded about President Vladimir Putin’s order from Oct. 21, 2017, in which the Russian leader mandated the adoption of legislation tailored to define the legal status of digital technologies utilized in the financial sector by July 2018. The president of Racib, formerly known as the Russian Association of Crypto Industry and Blockchain, noted that since Putin issued the order, the crypto market capitalization has increased by 1,250%. Pripachkin further emphasized that “from the point of view of regulation of the crypto industry in the Russian Federation, according to its professional representatives, absolutely nothing has been done to bring out of the shadow the domestic segment of this market (accounting for more than 10% of the global one), with turnovers comparable to the annual federal budget revenues ($270 billion).” Cryptocurrency matters in Russia remain only partially regulated after the adoption of the law “On Digital Financial Assets” which went into force in January of this year. While it provides some regulatory clarity regarding these currencies, no rules have been introduced to govern their issuance and circulation in the country’s economy. Pripachkin pointed out that the term “smart contract” is nowhere to be found, neither in the already approved legislation, nor in the draft laws that are currently under consideration. Then there’s crypto mining, which although not prohibited in Russia, remains unregulated. The Racib official added that there has been no progress on any of the other instructions in Putin’s order and provided another example: Despite the establishment of a regulatory sandbox in 2018, due to the irreconcilable position of Bank of Russia towards cryptocurrencies, not a single public blockchain project submitted for testing has received approval from the country’s main financial regulator. The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has remained stubbornly opposed to the legalization of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin in Russia. The monetary authority views them as money surrogates that are banned under current Russian law. Earlier this year, the bank advised stock exchanges against listing financial instruments tied to crypto assets. This week, its governor Elvira Nabiullina said the CBR is not ready to allow the trading of bitcoin ETFs. In a situation determined by insufficient and opaque legislation, Russian crypto users find themselves forced to export an estimated 18 trillion ruble ($255 billion) worth of funds outside the Russian economy, Pripachkin remarked. That’s comparable to the total revenues of the Russian federal budget for the entire 2020, or around 20 trillion rubles, the head of Racib stated. Do you think Russian authorities will hear Racib’s criticism? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

While Colombia is not a country that has embraced cryptocurrencies compared to Venezuela or some African countries, it is the country with the second most cryptocurrency ATMs in the Latam region. The reason behind this could be that Colombia has a high percentage of cash usage. This makes cryptocurrency ATMs a very important tool for adoption in the country. Colombia, Crypto ATM Haven There is a cryptocurrency ATM boom going on in Colombia right now, being this is the country that hosts the second-highest number of these ATMs in the region. Columbia was in first place until not so long ago, before El Salvador made its bitcoin bet and declared the leading cryptocurrency legal tender. Currently, there are 50 cryptocurrency ATMs in Colombia, but the reasons for this boom are still not clear to some. Colombia has not been especially known for its cryptocurrency adoption, and its involvement with cryptocurrencies at a government level was limited to a regulatory sandbox that exchanges are running with banks. However, there seems to be an increasing interest by cryptocurrency ATM companies in offering their services there. This might have to do with the close proximity to Venezuela and the vibrant commercial exchange that happens between these two countries. About this, Alejandro Beltrán, CEO of Buda, a Latam-based exchange, told Forbes: Colombia continues to be an important crypto hub in transactionality, and as Venezuela is in the top 3 in the global adoption index, the border position makes ATM systems good alternatives for consumers. Numbers and Explanations The cryptocurrency ATMs are concentrated mostly in the capital of the country, Bogota, where there are 29. Six are located in Medellín, three in Bucaramanga and Pereira, with the remaining ones being scattered throughout other locations. This clearly shows that most crypto ATMs are concentrated in city areas, away from the borders. This fact seems to rule out transactionality between countries as an important driving force behind the ATM push. However, Beltran has another theory about this boom. Colombia is one of the leading countries for cash use in the region, and these ATMs aid customers in managing and transacting funds that would be impossible to do use efficiently with the current limitations of the banking sector in the country. To conclude, Beltran stated: We believe that this can be one of the great contributions of the sector so that the ecosystem continues to grow in a vertical way. What do you think about the cryptocurrency ATM boom in Colombia? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Central Bank of Russia isn’t prepared to admit a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to the market, the head of the regulator, Elvira Nabiullina, told Russian media. Her statement, reaffirming the bank’s hardline stance on cryptocurrencies that has been recently criticized again, came after the debut of bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. Central Bank of Russia Not Open to Bitcoin ETFs Yet The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is not ready to permit the trading of ETFs based on bitcoin futures, its chair Elvira Nabiullina said at a press conference this week, quoted by the business news portal RBC. Nabiullina made the comment in response to a question whether the Russian monetary policy regulator is going to follow the example set by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and authorize the listing of bitcoin ETFs in the country. The first such investment fund, the Proshares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, launched on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Tuesday, Oct. 19, reaching almost $1 billion in total volume before trading closed. Soon after, wealth manager Vaneck got a green light from the SEC to offer its own bitcoin futures ETF, and on Friday, Valkyrie’s Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund was listed on Nasdaq. Nabiullina’s statement is in line with CBR’s long-standing conservative position on decentralized digital currencies and crypto-based investment products. In July, the bank advised Russian stock exchanges to avoid the trading of financial instruments tied to crypto assets and their prices. Their listing “entails increased risks of losses for people who do not have sufficient experience and knowledge,” the authority warned. The recommendation issued by the regulator also insisted that asset managers should not include cryptocurrency assets in mutual funds. The CBR further called on brokers and trustees to refrain from offering “pseudo-derivatives with such underlying assets to unqualified investors.” Later reports revealed that Russian lawmakers are considering imposing legal restrictions on the funds private investors may put into crypto. The law on “Digital Financial Assets,” which went into force at the beginning of this year, partially regulates cryptocurrencies, but officials have indicated that additional legislation is needed to ensure comprehensive regulation of the Russian crypto space. The CBR has been opposed to legalizing the circulation of bitcoin and the like, and views cryptos as prohibited money surrogates. The bank’s attitude has recently been criticized by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska who accused the CBR of turning a blind eye to the growing cryptocurrency market, calling its behavior “infantile” in a Telegram post. In July, he remarked that even El Salvador realizes the need to legalize bitcoin. Deripaska also insisted that the Bank of Russia should have launched the digital ruble two years ago, describing the task as more important than Gagarin’s space flight in 1961. Do you think Bank of Russia will change its position on cryptocurrencies and bitcoin ETFs in the future? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Last week the leading luxury auction house Sotheby’s introduced its non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace called “Metaverse.” The Sotheby’s NFT marketplace has featured a number of collectible artworks including cards from the Rare Pepe card collection. Now the socialite Paris Hilton has introduced a few of her NFTs on Sotheby’s native NFT market featuring works from popular NFT artists such as Chelsea Evenstar and Maalavidaa. Leading Auction House Sotheby’s Introduces Metaverse NFT Market The British-founded American multinational luxury auction headquartered in New York City, Sotheby’s has been going big on non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles in recent times. Last week the company introduced the “Sotheby’s Metaverse” in order to host and auction the hottest NFTs in the space. The original Sotheby’s website could not offer the same experiences Metaverse offers and people can host their NFT collections by connecting with Sotheby’s. Just recently a collection of some of the rarest Rare Pepe blockchain trading cards were listed on the Sotheby’s NFT Metaverse market. The Twitter account dubbed “Token Angels” tweeted about having his Rare Pepe blockchain trading cards listed on the luxury NFT market. “Very honored to take part [in this] auction [and] super proud to present RAREPEPE to the world art community,” Token Angels said. “Please watch the video (in link) where I present the 3 amazing cards on auction and I explain why RAREPEPEs are the OG of the OGs of NFTs & Crypto Art.” Paris Hilton Lists Her NFTs Using Sotheby’s Market On October 19, just before bitcoin (BTC) surpassed its all-time price high, the media personality, socialite, businesswoman, model, singer, and actress Paris Hilton tweeted about her new listing in the Sotheby’s Metaverse NFT marketplace. “I love the amazing [artwork] for my [Natively Digital] @Sothebys @Sothebysverse Auction,” Hilton said on Twitter. Hilton’s NFT collection hosted on Sotheby’s Metaverse features artwork from Maalavidaa in a piece called “Fractures.” Another piece by Serwah Attafuah called “Aether: Galaxy Goddess” and an NFT crafted by Chelsea Evenstar called “AQUARIUS – Keeper of the Amethyst Star.” The NFT auction listing on Sotheby’s market notes that Hilton developed her first NFT in March 2020, and she won the “Best Charity NFT” at the NFT Awards ceremony. “Paris sees the NFT art market as the future, and loves that artists are pushing boundaries and changing the art industry forever,” the Sotheby’s listing says. It’s been known for a long time that Paris Hilton is a fan of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry as she said this past spring that she is “very, very excited” about bitcoin. What do you think about Paris Hilton dropping some of her NFT collectibles on the Sotheby’s Metaverse NFT marketplace? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Silta Finance, a new DeFi lending solution, challenges traditional banking sector’s predominance in project finance by announcing a partnership with the Singapore headquartered development company WEnergy Global. WEnergy Global has agreed to explore cryptocurrency lending solutions to access project finance. The company is partnering with Silta, a new startup connecting DeFi with infrastructure funding. Silta gives DeFi lenders access to a new real asset class, diversifying the investment universe and offering competitive interest rates. With this deal, WEnergy Global will be one of the first borrowers to receive early access to Silta’s new DeFi solution. Silta facilitates lending for building various kinds of infrastructure assets in a project finance framework. Borrowers can submit loan applications, and Silta conducts a risk analysis and carries out a credit assessment. Based on this information, the Silta community votes on which projects should be financed. Anyone holding crypto can contribute to Silta’s loan pool and receive periodic interest payments. Besides offering competitive lending rates, Silta aims to significantly speed up the due diligence process. Silta founder, Ben Sheppard, with more than 12 years of experience in the project finance and PPP (public–private partnership) space, comments: “Silta sells debt to a project developer and takes a fee for selling that debt. The difference to traditional banking is that borrowers do not need to pay fees that may run into millions just for lenders’ transaction advisory services and for the creditworthiness assessment. High transaction costs are the main reason why smaller projects based on new and environmentally friendly technologies are finding it difficult to get funded. Such PPP lite is the sweet spot for Silta because banks cannot easily facilitate debt to these kinds of projects.” Smaller PPP projects, particularly those in emerging economies, do not always come with contractual step-in rights such as government backed guarantees. Without such additional layers of protection, the risk premium applied by lenders can be excessively high, making the loans unaffordable. This is what Silta aims to change. WEnergy Global intends to make a funding application in the range of 8-10 million USD through Silta. On previous transactions with its lenders, WEnergy Global has completed and fully paid off its loans within five years with all payments made on time. For its upcoming project portfolio in South East Asia, WEnergy Global and Silta aim for an interest rate in the 5-6% range with a repayment period of 6-8 years. Silta and WEnergy Global share a strong passion for ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) goals and want to make a material difference in people’s lives. The aim in this first cooperation is to realize an impact investment in a portfolio consisting of clean-powered mini-grids to electrify off-grid communities, similar to the Sabang Project in Palawan in the Philippines, a flagship project developed, co-owned and co-operated by WEnergy Global. The vision for Silta is to deliver finance in the form of debt to PPP projects below the 100M USD range. There will be a variety of investment products available to lenders. Some of the loan pools will contribute to high-impact projects of the kind that WEnergy Global is working on. Others will aim to satisfy robust ESG criteria with added benefits such as energy-efficient street lighting with the potential to reduce crime rates. On the future of project finance via DeFi, Atem Ramsundersingh, CEO of WEnergy Global, and former World Bank Group Senior Program Manager, says: “Powering change is about enabling investors across the planet to connect with people and their businesses in remote areas in emerging economies, hopefully in real-time. This will boost sustainable lifestyles and productivity which is so badly needed in creating that better world we all wish to see. Financing will get augmented by decentralised groups of investors who will accelerate the implementation of sustainable development goals.” A prototype implementation of the Silta solution will become available later this year, allowing partners such as WEnergy Global to experiment with the solution from inception. With an increasing number of borrowers from South East Asia and the MENA Region showing a keen interest in Silta, the aim is to tokenise the first project finance loan by Q2 of 2022. 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. Listen to the latest Bitcoin.com Podcast: View the full article

Mariah Carey has encouraged her fans to invest in cryptocurrencies. To help them get started, she is offering $20 in free bitcoin via her partnered cryptocurrency exchange. “A portion of your trade will go toward Black Girls Code, a non-profit helping to increase the number of women of color in the digital space,” said Carey. Mariah Carey Offers Free Bitcoin Bonus to Help Fans Get Started Investing in Crypto Award-winning artist Mariah Carey has encouraged her fans to start investing in crypto. Throughout her career, the famous singer, songwriter, and actress has won five Grammy Awards, 19 World Music Awards, and 21 Billboard Music Awards. Carey is also an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Carey has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini to offer a small amount of free bitcoin to anyone signing up for a trading account at the crypto exchange and start investing. She tweeted about the offer to her 21.6 million followers and posted a video of herself explaining the offer to her 10.2 million fans on Instagram on Tuesday. “I’m partnering with Gemini to give my fans $20 in free bitcoin,” she said. Noting that her aim is “to support Black Girls Code,” the singer explained that anyone signing up for an account at Gemini using her referral code will get $20 in free bitcoin on their first investment. The offer is only for new users and verification is required. Carey also said in the video: “Did you know that you don’t need to buy a whole bitcoin to invest? In fact, you can buy as little as $5 to get started.” The singer explained that she “learned about crypto and better understand how to invest” from free educational resources provided by the exchange and companies like Cryptopedia. She noted: A portion of your trade will go toward Black Girls Code, a non-profit helping to increase the number of women of color in the digital space by empowering girls of color to become innovators in STEM [Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] fields. What do you think about Mariah Carey encouraging her fans to invest in cryptocurrency and giving a bitcoin bonus? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Global investment bank JPMorgan says inflation concerns are pushing the price of bitcoin to record highs, rather than interest in recently launched bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Noting that investors are pulling out of gold ETFs into bitcoin funds, the firm noted, “The flow shift remains intact supporting a bullish outlook for bitcoin into year-end.” JPMorgan Sees Inflation Driving up the Price of Bitcoin JPMorgan Chase’s analysts, led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, published a research note last week explaining that inflation has been driving up the price of bitcoin to all-time highs rather than the hype around the first U.S. bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF). Proshares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, ticker BITO, began trading Tuesday and rapidly amassed $1 billion in investments. The second bitcoin futures ETF in the U.S. launched Friday. The JPMorgan analysts believe that “By itself, the launch of BITO is unlikely to trigger a new phase of significantly more fresh capital entering bitcoin,” elaborating: Instead, we believe the perception of bitcoin as a better inflation hedge than gold is the main reason for the current upswing, triggering a shift away from gold ETFs into bitcoin funds since September. The analysts added that “The initial hype with BITO could fade after a week.” The price of bitcoin soared to an all-time high of $66,899 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets on Tuesday. At the time of writing, BTC’s price is around $61,249. It has risen approximately 40% since the beginning of the month and more than 90% since the beginning of the year. The price of BTC rose significantly when the market anticipated the approval of a bitcoin futures ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Not only have the JPMorgan analysts explained that the real driver behind the price increase of bitcoin was growing concerns over inflation, but they have also noted that it has pushed investors to seek investments that can act as a hedge against this risk, such as gold and bitcoin. Gold used to be an effective tool to hedge against inflation. However, it has failed in recent weeks to respond to heightened concerns over rising cost pressures. This had driven investors to explore alternative investments, and many have shifted away from gold ETFs into bitcoin funds, the analysts noted, adding: This flow shift remains intact supporting a bullish outlook for bitcoin into year-end. JPMorgan’s analysts are not the only ones viewing bitcoin as a better hedge against inflation than gold. Recently, billionaire fund manager Paul Tudor Jones also said that bitcoin had won the race against gold and he preferred the cryptocurrency to gold as an inflation hedge. What do you think about JPMorgan’s bitcoin view? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The prime minister of Thailand has cautioned investors getting into cryptocurrencies, noting that they are volatile and highly speculative. Recently, interest in cryptocurrencies has soared as young investors in the country discovered that they could make money quickly by investing in cryptocurrencies. Thai Prime Minister Warns About Crypto Investing Ratchada Thanadirek, deputy spokeswoman for the Thai Prime Minister’s Office, said Saturday that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is worried about people investing in cryptocurrencies, particularly young investors. The warning came as the prime minister learned that Thai people entering the workforce have flocked to invest in cryptocurrencies due to their spectacular returns in a short period of time. However, the prime minister urged investors to consider the risks of investing in this asset class. He noted that cryptocurrencies have no supporting fundamentals, and they are highly speculative and very volatile. He also asked parents to be cautious when opening trading accounts for their children, emphasizing that investing by minors must be supervised closely. Furthermore, the prime minister urged investors to understand the investment risks and be able to accept all losses. They should do some research and consider investments carefully before making a decision. Most importantly, they should not be fooled by the hype and must select a service provider that is licensed by the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Ratchada stated: “The prime minister is glad that the new generation is interested in investing. But all investments are risky.” She elaborated: Young people of the new generation, including parents, are encouraged to study data and learn before investing every time to understand the risk characteristics of the investments. “Assess yourself whether you can accept the risks that may arise, including checking that the service provider is legit. Don’t be fooled by advertisements by any companies to invest in digital assets,” she added. Currently, data from the Thai SEC shows there are 1.49 million digital asset trading accounts, 311,000 of which are active accounts, with an average daily trading value of 6.6 billion baht ($198 million). Approximately 3% of traders are youth under 20 years of age and about 47% are under the age of 30. Meanwhile, the number of investment services firms has also grown rapidly, some of which do not have a license to operate in the country. The prime minister further warned the public as well as crypto investors to be careful when using services that are unlicensed as they are not protected by law. What do you think about the Thai prime minister’s warning? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On November 2, a non-fungible token (NFT) magazine is coming to the Ethereum blockchain called “The NFT Magazine” — a periodical publication containing articles and illustrations in the form of an NFT. The project, promoted by Advtech IT Solutions, has partnered with members of the Zilliqa, Algorand, and Bitcoin Cash blockchain communities, alongside Art Rights, Artuu, The Cryptonomist, and the Poseidon Group. The NFT Magazine — A Non-Fungible Token Periodical Featuring Blockchain Topics and Crypto Artists Non-fungible token (NFT) assets and collectibles have become a mainstay in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain. During the last 12 months, thousands of artists, celebrities, athletes, designers, DJs, and more have published NFTs that have sold for millions of dollars. There have been all types of NFTs such as artwork, gaming items, music, and even physical items that are tethered to some form of blockchain technology. Now, a team called Advtech IT Solutions plans to drop an NFT-based periodical containing miscellaneous topics related to the world of crypto art, blockchain, and fintech. The project, called The NFT Magazine, will be minted on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain and 500 copies of the magazine will be issued. According to information shared exclusively with Bitcoin.com News, the artist that will be featured on the magazine’s first cover will be the well-known crypto artist dubbed Hackatao. However, the cover image of The NFT Magazine will not be revealed until the November 2 drop. Moreover, the website details that magazine readers will be able to discover the “biggest players in the crypto world, market trends, rankings, and expert advice.” Readers Club to Transform Into a DAO According to the team, unsold copies will be burned to increase scarcity, and owners of the NFT magazine will be part of an exclusive “Readers Club.” The NFT Magazine creators say the Readers Club will eventually become a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The DAO will leverage the community who can “decide topics, artists and projects to include in the future issues of the magazine.” Among some of the project’s partners are members of the Bitcoin Cash, Algorand, and Zilliqa blockchain ecosystems. “Bitcoin Cash and Zilliqa, in fact, will be quoted as one of the most promising blockchains where users and artists can create NFTs,” the magazine’s announcement details. The day the first issue of The NFT Magazine drops, it will be listed on leading NFT marketplace Opensea. The magazine’s covers will continue to feature “famous artists of the sector, becoming collector’s cards, given the extremely limited number of copies.” Meanwhile, the well-known magazine brand TIME has recently partnered with the Cool Cats NFT project in mid-August. At the end of June, Bitcoin.com News reported on the largest U.S. newspaper publishing company, Gannett, launching the firm’s first NFTs. Furthermore, on August 12, the business magazine Fortune raised $1.3 million in an NFT cover sale. What do you think about The NFT Magazine dropping on the Ethereum blockchain? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On October 21, the bitcoin mining pool operator Titan revealed a new decentralized hashpower routing protocol called Lumerin. The open-source project aims to commodify bitcoin’s hashpower “through smart contracts, making hashpower tradable.” Bloq’s Mining Arm Titan Announces the Lumerin Protocol The bitcoin mining operation Titan, a subsidiary of the company Bloq Inc., has announced its decentralized hashpower routing protocol, “Lumerin.” Titan says that bitcoin mining companies “tend to be concentrated in regions that offer cheap electricity, favorable regulation, and stable infrastructure” and it aims to solve centralization via software. The idea is to commodify bitcoin’s processing power and security by leveraging smart contracts. “The Lumerin Protocol will allow companies and individuals to buy, sell, and deliver hashpower, achieving decentralization through open market dynamics,” Titan’s announcement details. “Furthermore, by making hashpower a transferrable digital commodity, the Lumerin Protocol will provide a foundation for hashpower financialization as well as lending, custody, OTC, and trading services.” Titan Is Looking for Strategic Partners, Announcement Mentions ‘Other Proof-of-Work Hashpower Products’ Titan was co-founded by the company’s CEO Ryan Condron, former Bitcoin core developer Jeff Garzik, and the founding partner of Tally Capital, Matthew Roszak. Condron says that Titan is a significant development in the bitcoin mining space and it aims to partner with industry leaders as well. “The new Lumerin brand and clear solution set definitions will support us in providing leading-edge advances that support the Bitcoin mining ecosystem. Titan is providing significant development effort and time to the Lumerin open source project and is actively looking for strategic partners to join us in developing this technology further,” Condron remarked. While Titan’s other operations will retain the Titan brand, the newly introduced Lumerin open source project will have different software solutions. The announcement details that the project will establish a Lumerin Proxy Node, Lumerin Token, and Lumerin Wallet. “As a result of these changes, we can now move forward with our vision to create a trustless peer-to-peer global marketplace for bitcoin mining and other proof-of-work hashpower products,” Condron said in a statement. “This will allow anyone to harness the power of crypto through bitcoin mining in a decentralized way,” the Titan CEO added. What do you think about Titan aiming to commodify bitcoin’s hashpower via smart contracts? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The price of bitcoin in October has shown signs of a double-bubble similar to the bull run in 2013, and speculators have been trying to guess the leading crypto asset’s top. On October 20, cryptocurrency market analyst Justin Bennett discussed bitcoin’s possible price floor after it reaches the top. Bennett suggests the end of this cycle could be between $207,000 and $270,000. Assuming bitcoin crosses $200K per coin, Bennett thinks the digital asset’s bottom after an 80% pullback will be around $50K. ‘2013 Vibes,’ ‘End-of-Cycle Targets,’ and Searching for the Elusive Bottom The price of bitcoin (BTC) reached an all-time high (ATH) at $67,017 on October 20, 2021, and since then the price has shed around 8% in value. On that same day, cryptocurrency market analyst Justin Bennett published some insights about bitcoin’s future in a blog post called “Charting Bitcoin’s Next Five Years.” Cryptocademy’s analyst Bennett discusses BTC’s market fundamentals and he offers a prediction of the end of the cycle as well. In recent times, many bitcoin supporters suspect that a 2013-like double bubble is on the horizon, and the infamous stock-to-flow creator Plan B explained on Saturday that he’s feeling “2013 vibes.” The blog post written by Bennett covers bitcoin bull cycles and talks about where bitcoin (BTC) is going over the next five years. “A look at the 2.272 and 2.414 Fibonacci extensions from the last two cycles shows a target area that was reached both times,” Bennett writes. “If we apply that same area to the current rant, we get an end-of-cycle target for Bitcoin between $207,000 and $270,000,” the analyst adds. Following the end cycle outlook, Bennett details that the last three bear markets that followed the bull cycles have “produced corrections of 94%, 87%, and 84% respectively.” Bennett writes that the previous data also shows that each bear market was less painful than the one prior. The analyst highlights that this data indicates that the leading crypto asset bitcoin (BTC) is becoming a “maturing market.” As BTC continues to mature, Bennett stresses, bitcoin is “likely to see diminishing returns and bear market corrections.” The Cryptocademy analyst believes this end cycle will be no different. “As such, I’d expect the next bear market to pullback between 75% and 80% from the peak,” Bennett details. The digital currency market analyst’s blog post adds: If we assume bitcoin reaches $200,000+ this cycle and pulls back between 75% and 80% during the next bear market, it would put the next cycle low somewhere around $50,000. And that makes perfect sense. $50,000 is a psychology number, and it’s very near the $65,000 high that lasted for six months recently. Predicting the Lowest of Lows Bennett’s prediction follows the recent bitcoin price model crafted by Will Clemente. The lead insights analyst at Blockware Solutions, Will Clemente, tweeted about a new bitcoin price model called the “Illiquid Supply Floor” in mid-September. “Introducing: ‘Illiquid Supply Floor,’” Clemente tweeted on September 15. “This combines Glassnode’s illiquid supply data with Plan B’s traditional S2F model, creating a price floor based on Bitcoin’s real-time scarcity. Currently $39K,” he added at the time. There’s been a number of people attempting to call bitcoin’s price top and some even believe a single “bitcoin will eventually be equivalent to $1 million.” Bennett’s and Clemente’s recent statements touch upon bitcoin’s price bottom and the lowest of lows. Both of these predictions combined indicate that the lowest of lows following this bull cycle’s top could be anywhere between $39K to $50K. What do you think about Justin Bennett’s blog post that suggests bitcoin’s floor will be around $50K per unit? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a warning that registered investment advisers are not allowed to engage in unregistered activities. This warning includes crypto activities since crypto is currently an unregulated industry in India. SEBI Warns Registered Investment Advisers Cannot Engage in Crypto Activities Indian securities and commodity market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), issued a notice regarding “unregulated products” Thursday. “It has come to the notice of SEBI that some registered investment advisers [RIAs] are engaged in unregulated activity by providing platform for buying/ selling/ dealing in unregulated products including digital gold,” SEBI explained. The regulator warned that “Undertaking such unregulated activity including dealing (i.e. advisory, distribution and execution/ implementation services) in digital gold by investment advisers is not in accordance with the provisions of Section 12(1) of the SEBI Act 1992, read with the SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations 2013,” concluding: Investment advisers are, hereby, advised to refrain from undertaking such unregulated activities. Any dealing in unregulated activities by investment advisers may entail action as deemed appropriate under the SEBI Act, 1992 and regulations framed thereunder. Although SEBI’s notice does not explicitly mention crypto assets, the crypto industry is currently unregulated in India, so all crypto-related activities are considered “unregulated activities.” The Indian government is, however, working on a cryptocurrency bill. In July, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman confirmed that the crypto bill was ready for the Cabinet. In September, Jayant Sinha, a lawmaker with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said that the crypto legislation will be distinct and unique. However, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) continued to have “serious concerns” regarding cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, the central bank is working on its own digital currency, which will be launched in phases. The RBI expects to unveil a digital rupee model by the end of the year. Do you think investment advisers should be able to engage in crypto-related activities? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Just a few days after reports emerged that it had refused to process a company registration application by Flint API limited, the Nigerian agency Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has now registered the blockchain start-up. The agency however blames an unnamed employee for the failure to process the application. The CAC’s About-turn According to a report, the agency’s reversal of its earlier decision followed an intervention by the CAC’s registrar-general Alhaji Garba Abubakar. As reported by Bitcoin.com News, the CAC’s refusal to register the start-up had prompted directors of an incubating hub that is housing Flint API Limited to seek Nigerian vice president Yemi Osinbajo’s intervention. While there is speculation that Osinbajo did intervene, the report by Cryptoassetbuyer, however, suggests it was Muhammad Abdullahi, an assistant to Abubakar, who aided in the registration process. The difficulty in processing the application also is said to have been the result of an unnamed employee’s error. Start-up Issued With Certificate of Incorporation After completing the registration process that reportedly took just six hours, Abdullahi went on to inform the co-founder of Convexity, Adedeji Owonibi, about this development. Writing on Linkedin, he said: Adedeji Owonibi Your application has been registered with RC 1852282. Thanks for reaching out. However, this type of matter should be escalated through the channels provided by the Commission. Meanwhile, following this development, the other co-founder of Convexity, Charles Orkafombah suggested via Linkedin that Osinbajo had indeed intervened in the matter. He also confirmed that a certificate of incorporation had been issued to Flint API limited. Do you agree that it was Osinbajo’s intervention that forced the CAC management to reverse the initial decision? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Input-Output Hong Kong (IOHK) has listed ADALend on their :Essential Cardano List” of projects that are considered part of the ecosystem supporting and providing Cardano users with products and services. “The Essential Cardano List” gives an overview of the Cardano ecosystem with an accompanying map, a central library of materials, Cardano Foundation, and Emurgo resources, as well as community-generated materials and a list of current stake pools. ADALend’s inclusion in the list marks a milestone for the project and its plans to broadcast consumer awareness for the project and its features. About IOHK Input-Output Hong Kong (IOHK) is a technology firm dedicated to employing peer-to-peer innovations to bring financial services to the world’s three billion unbanked individuals. They are a software development firm that creates cryptocurrencies and blockchains for academic institutions, government agencies, and businesses. IOHK is considered one of the world’s leading blockchain infrastructure research and engineering firms, founded in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson and Jeremy Wood. The company is an entirely decentralized organization dedicated to academic rigor and evidence-based software development. The business creates high-assurance blockchain infrastructure solutions. It’s also the brains behind Cardano. About ADALend ADALend is a decentralized lending protocol governed by the Cardano system. Within this Cardano system, ADALend will influence the flexibility of digital finance markets by providing a basis for immediate access to loans and collaterals, resulting in sustained liquidity of the blockchain assets of the lender. The ADALend protocol will power the new wave of flexible financial services to the digital asset markets. Key Features of ADALend Permissionless Lending on Any Pairing: Our governance will ensure that the best offers are available and that only the safest oracles are used. We guarantee trustworthy options for utilization by our clients. To achieve this feat, secure authorization channels are used, limiting the need for permission on pairing. Incentivised Liquidity: Liquidity is predicated on having enough assets in each pool to facilitate lending. ADALend addresses this requirement by incentivizing users to deposit assets and provide liquidity. Community Governance: Token holders can establish consensus by voting on governance proposals or introducing new proposals for a vote. Ecosystem Foundation Layer: The ADALend project has the ability to attract assets and build incentives that can empower an ecosystem of financial products. Benefits Of Using Cardano Lower Transaction & Contract Fees Higher Transaction Speeds Better Code Security & Robustness Uses Multiple Oracles Environment-Friendly To find out more about ADALend, visit the website. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. Listen to the latest Bitcoin.com Podcast: View the full article

One of South Africa’s biggest banks, Standard Bank, has reportedly sent account termination notices to clients that offer automated cryptocurrency arbitrage services. Bank’s Criteria Questioned This move, according to a Mybroadband report, has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency industry. The sending of the notices has also raised questions about the criteria that Standard Bank is using when making a decision on which accounts must be terminated. For example, Carel de Villiers, the co-founder of an arbitrage trading firm Shiftly, is one individual quoted questioning the formula that Standard Bank is using. While acknowledging that Shiftly is not a client of the bank, de Villiers however suggests it is curious that Standard Bank — which once rejected his company’s attempt to open an account — maintains a business relationship with its rivals. The report also quotes an unnamed arbitrage trader who similarly claims their account is being terminated simply because of the company’s arbitrage business model. Meanwhile, the claims by de Villiers and the unnamed trader appear to be corroborated by Sean Sanders, the founder of a crypto investing platform, Revix. In the report, Sanders is quoted admitting that Revix — which he says is not an arbitrage trader — has had better fortunes with the bank but only after going through several grueling meetings. Sanders however bemoans South Africa’s lack of sensible regulation and how this contributes to an astronomically high banking risk. Standard Bank Complying With Regulations Defending the termination notices, a spokesperson for Standard Bank insists the bank’s actions are non-discriminatory but are aimed at ensuring that all clients comply with regulations. “Standard Bank is committed to treating its clients fairly and constantly strives to strike the appropriate balance between maintaining client relationships and ensuring regulatory compliance,” a spokesperson of the bank is quoted as stating. The spokesperson adds the bank has established risk management principles against which all prospective and existing clients are continually evaluated and assessed. In addition, the bank also points to the South African Reserve Bank and Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group’s position paper on crypto assets as another possible reason behind the bank’s move. What are your views about this story? Please tell us in the comments section below. View the full article