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A report published by the British bank Standard Chartered indicates the company’s analysts are bullish about the crypto asset ethereum. The bank’s analysts think that bitcoin could reach $175K and said “structurally, we ‘value’ ethereum at $26,000-$35,000.” British Bank Publishes ‘Ethereum Investor Guide,’ Formulates the Economic Case for Ethereum’ The British multinational banking and financial services giant Standard Chartered has published a report on the two leading cryptocurrencies. In fact, the report is called the “Ethereum Investor Guide” and was written by Geoff Kendrick, Christopher Graham, and Melissa Chan. The report goes into various factors including “structural considerations” like what the “economic case is for Ethereum.” The Standard Chartered research report notes that “ETH and BTC share many characteristics,” but the Ethereum blockchain has things like smart contracts, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), decentralized finance (defi), non-fungible token (NFT) assets, and initial coin offerings (ICOs). Despite the myriad of applicable use cases Ethereum offers, the bank does say there could be a greater risk than it would be with bitcoin (BTC). “While potential returns may be greater for ETH than for BTC, risks are also higher,” the three Standard Chartered researchers said. Standard Chartered: Proof-of-Stake Shift Has ‘Obvious Environmental Advantages’ In addition to the NFTs, DAOs, defi, ICOs, and other applications, Standard Chartered’s report highlighted the upcoming Ethereum 2.0 transition. “The shift has obvious environmental advantages,” Standard Chartered’s researchers stressed. “As it removes the need for excessive computer power to be used in ‘mining.’ The switch from [proof-of-work (PoW)] to [proof-of-stake (PoS)] is expected to be gradually phased in during H1 2022,” Kendrick, Graham, and Chan said. Standard Chartered also discussed subjects like “sharding,” “from EVM to eWASM,” and the overall supply of ether. It also notes that scaling Ethereum and the ETH 2.0 rollout is a difficult task. “ETH 2.0 is complex,” the writers insist. “[And] a comprehensive upgrade to an already complex platform. The complexity is compounded by the fact that both ETH 1.0 and ETH 2.0 are running in parallel for a protracted period,” the researchers state. The Standard Chartered report also takes into consideration the “regulatory landscape,” and “competitive landscape.” It mentions blockchains that are competing with Ethereum in the world of defi, NFTs, and decentralized applications (dapps). “Separate ecosystems already exist and may continue to challenge Ethereum in niche areas,” the report emphasizes. Moreover, “regulatory concerns related to Ethereum will be very different to those than Bitcoin,” the bank’s report concludes. What do you think about the Standard Chartered report about Ethereum and other competing networks? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

After touching a high of $52,956 on Monday evening, the very next day the price of bitcoin slid to a low of $42,900 at around 11 a.m. (EST). Bitcoin is currently trading for prices between $46K-$47K per unit and down 8% during the last 24 hours. Bitcoin Price Slides Significantly After Nearing $53K Crypto advocates watched bitcoin tumble in a very short period of time down to $42,900 per BTC on September 7, 2021. The drop was on the same day El Salvador adopted bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in the country. Hovering between the $46K to $47K handle, BTC’s overall market capitalization is $890 billion at the time of writing. There’s $60 billion in global trade volume across a myriad of cryptocurrency trading platforms worldwide. BTC/USD at 12:30 p.m. (EST). BTC is down more than 8% at the time of writing, and many other digital currency markets also saw significant drops in fiat value on Tuesday. The entire market economy of 10,000+ crypto assets slid over 9% collectively to a low of $2.21 trillion. Ethereum (ETH) slid 9.3% and cardano (ADA) dropped by 10.3% on Tuesday morning. Neo (NEO), zcash (ZEC), and eos (EOS) were the biggest losers during the dip seeing double digit losses. Horizen (ZEN), qtum (QTUM), filecoin (FIL) lost double digits during the slide as well. BTC/USD at 1:30 p.m. (EST). Coins that were barely affected by the drop in value included crypto assets like fantom (FTM), near (NEAR), and solana (SOL). All three of these crypto-assets saw double-digit 24-hour returns despite the swift drop across crypto markets. At the time of writing, there’s $242 billion in 24-hour volume across the whole crypto economy and tether (USDT) captures $122 billion of that volume at press time. Across the board, stablecoins of all flavors saw a lot more volume on Tuesday than prior days. For now, BTC remains consolidated in the $46K-$47K region and crypto supporters are uncertain as to what will take place next. Of course, as bitcoin prices plummeted, the economist and gold bug Peter Schiff had to throw in his two cents about El Salvador adopting bitcoin. “Welcome to Bitcoin El Salvador,” Schiff said. “Your national ‘currency’ just lost over 15% of its purchasing power in under an hour. Get used to it. Just another perfectly orchestrated pump-and-dump by the Bitcoin whales. Too bad this time they had to sacrifice an entire nation to pull it off,” he added. What do you think about bitcoin’s price dropping on the same day El Salvador adopted bitcoin as legal tender? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The popular Golden State Warriors point guard, Stephen Curry, asked his 15.5 million followers for some “advice” about crypto. Curry said he was “just getting started” and a great number of people shared advice with the professional basketball player. Stephen Curry Gets ‘Advice’ From Crypto Twitter Well known athletes, celebrities, and musicians worldwide have been getting into digital currencies and asking fans for pointers. Recently, Bitcoin.com News reported on the American rapper Busta Rhymes asking about cryptocurrencies and whether or not he should “buy in.” Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson asked his fans whether they preferred bitcoin (BTC) or ethereum (ETH). The “Legally Blonde” star, actress Reese Witherspoon, told her 2.9 million Twitter followers that she just bought ethereum. Witherspoon said: Just bought my first ETH. Let’s do this #cryptotwitter Now the star point guard for the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry, has tweeted about cryptocurrencies and is looking for advice. “Just getting started in the crypto game… y’all got any advice?” Curry asked on September 7. Of course, Curry got a lot of responses from crypto supporters shilling their favorite blockchain-based assets. One person said he should ignore what people on crypto Twitter say. “Yes. Ignore all Twitter crypto advice,” the person replied to Curry. A number of others used the opportunity to ask the Golden State Warriors star for an interview about crypto. Microstrategy CEO Speaks Up, Tribalistic Crypto Comments and Shilling Taint Conversation Microstrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor told Curry to direct message him if he needed. “Steph, I spent more than a thousand hours considering this question and chose bitcoin,” Saylor said. “So far, I have purchased more than $3 billion in BTC because I think it’s the future of digital property. I have posted tons of free bitcoin education on hope.com (or DM me).” Alongside commentary of people telling Curry why he should buy this or that crypto asset, bitcoin maximalists — as per usual — and those who support a variety of alternative blockchains, had to throw in tribalistic shade comments and argue in Curry’s Twitter thread. The finance writer Frances Coppola said “don’t” to Curry’s tweet and the Human Rights Foundation’s Alex Gladstein remarked: “Consider making small gifts in Bitcoin to charities that you care about and support with the condition that they can’t spend it for 4 years.” Numerous people commented on the fact that Curry had a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) as his Twitter profile picture. While some loved the BAYC profile pic, others showed distaste for the NFT picture. “Take the silly ape off your profile, it’s like waving around and idiot flag,” the well-known bitcoin artist dubbed ‘Fractal Encrypt’ wrote. “Next do intense research and learn about the Bitcoin vs. sh**coin dichotomy,” the artist added. In contrast to comments like that, NFT fans shilled their favorite BAYC NFTs and told the professional basketball player to look into other NFT collections. With all the tribalism, the shilling of coins and different NFT collections, probably the best advice Stephen Curry got from Twitter was to “Ignore all Twitter crypto advice.” At the time of writing, that specific reply to Curry has close to 20,000 likes and hundreds of retweets. What do you think about the NBA star from the Golden State Warriors asking for advice about crypto? Let us know what you think about his recent tweet and the mixed replies in the comments section below. View the full article

The financial asset services platform Matrixport has introduced a variety of new products since the firm raised $100 million in a Series C financing round during the first week of August. Following the launch of the company’s “ETH2.0 Staking Earn” earning service, Matrixport has introduced another service product called “BTC-U Range Sniper” which allows traders to earn high returns when bitcoin values move within a specified price range. Matrixport Launches Ether Staking and Range Sniper Bitcoin Product The Singapore-based Matrixport has been unveiling a number of new products after the company revealed it raised $100 million last month. On August 25, the startup launched its “ETH2.0 Staking Earn” earning service, which provides ethereum (ETH) staking at a “low threshold.” The product allows customers to “earn yield from ethereum lock-up rewards, while simultaneously benefitting from additional token rewards, mining revenues, and better liquidity from related [decentralized finance (defi)] projects.” On September 6, Matrixport revealed another new service called the “BTC-U Range Sniper.” BTC-U Range Sniper participants can earn annualized returns “between 6% to 200% in either USDT/USDC or BTC” depending on the price of bitcoin (BTC) at the time of settlement. There are three ways Range Sniper traders can settle. Either by earning a 6% APY minimum if the settlement price is above the given range, or if it is below the given range, “the principal will be converted to BTC with a minimum guarantee of 6% APY.” Lastly, if the chosen settlement price is on point and falls within the range, an investor can earn up to 200% in USDC. Matrixport Executive: Range Sniper Allows People to ‘Ride Bitcoin’s Innate Volatility’ John Ge, co-founder and chief executive officer at Matrixport, explained that the Range Sniper product can be beneficial, like stablecoins. “Stablecoins are an important fiat on-ramp pathway and have been a great entry point for the crypto-curious,” Ge remarked. “However,” the Matrixport executive added, “many stablecoin holders now desire to accumulate BTC whilst earning higher yields. ‘BTC-U Range Sniper’ is a user-friendly crypto investment product where we empower users to continue to earn attractive stablecoin yields or ride BTC’s innate volatility to accumulate more BTC.” Matrixport calls itself a “one-stop crypto financial services” company and the startup details its services clear “$5 billion in monthly trading volumes.” The company competes with a number of exchanges that offer crypto options and perpetual swap products like Deribit, Okex, Ledgerx, and CME Group. The exchange Deribit commands the top position, as far as bitcoin (BTC) options open interest and volume is concerned, according to Skew Analytics. However, Matrixport owns the derivatives exchange Bit.com, which is often the second or third largest options provider on a monthly basis with Okex. What do you think about the BTC-U Range Sniper concept? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. No-code NFT platform Guradianlink.io announces its strategic partnership with Beyondlife.Club, an exclusive platform for artists, brands, and celebrities from different fields of entertainment. 7th September 2021, Singapore — Influential Indian actor, producer, and TV host Amitabh Bachchan is all set to launch his first set of NFTs with BeyondLife.Club, powered by Guardian Link. The blockchain R&D company will partner with the exclusive brand platform BeyondLife.Club, owned by Rhiti Entertainment, Singapore to make the purchase of NFT art belonging to Amitabh’s legacy a reality for any individual. Taking NFT Art Global This sphere creates a platform for global artists, athletes, and celebrities where they launch their first-ever NFTs, an exclusive curated collection presented at a global scale. NFTs preserve information on a digital ledger (blockchain network) guaranteeing a certificate of authenticity to a digital asset, can be uniquely identified, and are trackable via the blockchain network that offers proof-of-ownership to its collectors. NFT sales volume is experiencing huge growth in the market, with $2.5 billion in sales recorded in the first half of 2021. The extensive team of researchers at Guardian believes that now is the perfect time to enter the NFT space, as many celebrities and influencers introduce exciting new projects. Arun Pandey, MD & Chairman of Rhiti Group stated that the biggest motivation behind this venture is to empower artists, celebs & athletes globally and at the same time help the diehard fans to get their hands over the purest form of the content. Guardian Link is a unique project and it has three core aspects that are critical to making NFTs mainstream. These three core foundations are its No-Code NFT Launchpad & Marketplace, Anti.Rip technology, and a solution called Wallet Cipher. No-Code NFT launchpad & Marketplace Creation The No-code NFT launchpad allows creators to mint and sell their NFTs within three minutes via their own curated launchpads. BeyondLife.Club would be the first to accelerate this. At Guardian Link, royalties remain intact even with cross-blockchain and cross-marketplaces. Guardian Link also allows NFT marketplace creation, where NFTs can be flexibly traded. It is considered to be similar to OpenSea or Rarible. Anti.Rip Technology Anti-Rip AI SPYDER Technology allows NFTs to be monitored across the web for duplicates, Rip-offs, and copycats that can damage the authenticity and impact the auction. The Anti.Rip AI technology is trained to extract the DNAs of NFTs from their respective decentralized file systems, including Pixel, Quantization, Geometric, Fourier transform, Filtering, and Segmentation. Guardian Link keeps a record of all NFTs, and shares information in the unlikely event of any duplications discovered with their constant surveillance. It also verifies NFTs to be authentic, offered to the buyers. Wallet Cipher Guardian Link’s wallet cipher observes the creator’s and collector’s wallet addresses to assure no manipulation in the price of the NFTs. Detailed real-time tracking also happens across blockchains to arrive at a trust score to be defined for their wallets. This ensures the legitimacy of the entire NFT commerce ecosystem. Founders & Team Leading from the front, Keyur Patel, the Co-Founder and Chairman of Guardian Link, Ramkumar Subramaniam, Co-Founder & CEO helming the project to democratize NFT commerce with astounding technology partnerships and insight into future trends. Arjun Reddy (Co-Founder & CTO), the mastermind behind many blockchain products and has this intuitive vision to bring dlt in real-world use cases, Kamesh Elangovan (Co-Founder & COO), a crypto expert who executed 50+ token launches. This blockchain-driven entity aims at protecting the NFTs using their Anti-Rip AI Engine and also to ensure royalties for creators across various marketplaces and blockchains. Kamesh, Co-Founder & COO of Guardian Link stated that: “We have a pioneering advantage in an exponentially growing NFT commerce ecosystem. Our groundbreaking blockchain tech is accelerating mainstream adoption of NFTs. GuardianLink will soon be a vital utility for NFT artists and collectors.” Guardian Link is a face of intensive work methodologies, technological experts on the table, and a team of 350 crypto avengers that has developed since 2016. Their research and development belong to the arena of blockchain technology and its business on a global scale. Guardian Link’s base in blockchain technology is here to analyze and rectify the current and future issues under NFT and crypto space. The entity provides key solutions for the stakeholders and supports the journey through, to be more aware and technically equipped. Arjun Reddy, CTO of Guardian Link had this to say: “IMHO NFTs have so much more potential than static collectibles. We are inventing newer types of NFTs along with legitimacy frameworks for all permissioned and permissionless economies to conduct sustainable decentralized trades.” Guardian Link Socials Telegram | Twitter | Discord Media Contact Details Contact Name: Ramkumar Subramaniam Contact Email: info@guardianlink.io Guardian Link is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. 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

Nasdaq-listed company Microstrategy has avoided a “multi-billion dollar mistake” by choosing to invest in bitcoin instead of gold. The company now holds about 108,992 bitcoins. ‘Multi-Billion Dollar Mistake’ Avoided The Nasdaq-listed software company Microstrategy has avoided making a mistake that could have cost the company multi-billion dollars. CEO Michael Saylor tweeted Sunday: If I had chosen gold instead of bitcoin last year, it would have been a multi-billion dollar mistake. It doesn’t help to diagnose the problem if you don’t choose the right solution. The CEO also posted the return of gold vs. bitcoin. According to his estimation, gold returned -5.88% during the past 12 months while bitcoin returned 376.34%. In addition, the return of gold vs. bitcoin was -80% during the last 12 month period. Gold’s returns versus bitcoin. Source: Microstrategy. Microstrategy has made acquiring bitcoin one of its primary goals. The company now hodls about 108,992 BTC. Saylor said earlier this year: “Gold is dead money. Sell your gold, buy bitcoin because other people are going to sell their gold and if you wait until you’ve been front-run by all the hedge funds when they dump their gold, you’re going to be the last person out.” In April, Saylor and Frank Giustra debated about bitcoin vs. gold. The Microstrategy CEO explained at the time that “Diversification makes no sense when there’s a cracked answer to an engineering problem.” He opined: “You will never diversify the metal in an aircraft wing, or the answer to a math problem, or the shape of the ship’s hull, or the oxygen content in a scuba tank. When the cabin depressurizes, you don’t place an oxygen mask on 10% of your family. Money is a winner-take-all competition. There is an answer. Choosing the wrong answer has dire consequences.” Investors have been increasingly buying bitcoin as an alternative to gold. A survey by UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, finds that central bankers see benefits in investing in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Among respondents, 28% see cryptocurrency as an uncorrelated asset, and “11% would consider it as an alternative to gold.” What do you think about Microstrategy avoiding a multi-billion dollar mistake by choosing to invest in bitcoin instead of gold? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Fourteen suspects allegedly behind a cryptocurrency scam have been arrested in Taiwan. According to the country’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, the scheme has defrauded investors out of millions of dollars. Suspects Behind Crypto Scam in Taiwan Arrested The country’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) explained that the crypto scam allegedly defrauded more than 100 people out of about NT$150 million (US$5.41 million) over the past year. The suspects now face charges of fraud, money laundering, and breaches of the country’s Organized Crime Prevention Act, the Taipei Times reported Sunday. Kuo Yu-chih, the CIB investigator in charge of the case, explained that a businessman with the last name Chen is believed to be the mastermind behind the fraudulent crypto scheme. He added that the scheme focused on cryptocurrencies ethereum, tronix, and tether. Chen also led the Taipei-based Azure Crypto Co., which offered cryptocurrency and other investment services. The investigator detailed that Chen promoted crypto investments on social media, promising high earnings. He elaborated: Chen and his staff set up websites and allegedly used photographs of pretty women to attract mainly male victims, many of whom were in retirement with substantial savings. The attractive images drew the victims to the websites where they were persuaded to invest via interactions with whom they believed to be the attractive women, Kuo said. Chen and his staff claimed to be financial advisers specializing in cryptocurrency mining. The bureau revealed that investigators seized ledgers containing the details of more than 100 people who invested in the scheme. Prior to the arrests, the police monitored the scheme’s activities and online transactions for several months after receiving complaints. The bureau subsequently conducted raids late last month at the company’s office and the residences of Chen and his staff. What do you think about this crypto scam in Taiwan? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

FTX, a spot and cryptocurrency exchange, announced the launch of an NFT marketplace on its trading platform today. According to the information provided by CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, the marketplace will be available both for customers in the U.S. and in other locations. FTX is likely trying to capitalize on the popularity of these instruments, which are moving billions in specialized decentralized exchanges. FTX Debuts NFT Marketplace FTX, one of the most successful derivatives exchanges, has announced today the launch of a new NFT marketplace embedded in its trading platform. The announcement was made by the company’s CEO, San Bankman-Fried, who took to Twitter to invite users to make their own NFTs. This means the marketplace also includes a minting tool that will let users create their own NFTs from images and other data. Bankman-Fried showed a test NFT minted on the platform — an image with the word “test” scribbled on a white background. Bankman-Fried announced that the marketplace will allow deposits and withdrawals in the next couple of weeks following launch. It will also feature cross-platform support, allowing trading of different NFTs minted on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. NFT Popularity Growing FTX is trying to capitalize on the momentum that the NFT market is experiencing right now. Currently, three NFT projects have reached more than $1 billion in sales: CryptoPunks, a collectible series of images, Axie Infinity, an NFT project, and Opensea, an NFT marketplace. Proof of the NFT mania is that the NFT submitted by Bankman Fried has already received 23 bids, with the highest one offering $2,100 for the “Testing Testing 123 #1” NFT. Since the announcement was made in the morning, hundreds of submissions have already been posted in the marketplace. But some problems have arisen with the platform. Bankman-Fried noted that due to spammy submission from a user, FTX would implement a one-time $500 fee to submit NFTs to the platform. Some users complained on social media about the amount of money required, stating that minting an NFT on Ethereum decentralized exchanges is cheaper than the proposed sum. After this, he backpedaled and stated this might change in the future, acknowledging FTX is working “on a pricing system that reduces spam.” What do you think about FTX including an NFT marketplace on its trading platform? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Visa, the multinational payments giant, has announced it is planning to bring cryptocurrency services to traditional banking platforms in Brazil. The company also announced that it is working with several cryptocurrency companies in the country to bring cryptocurrency payment cards to the market and hinted at a possible direct integration of bitcoin in payments. Visa Gears Up for Crypto Integration in Brazil Credit card giant Visa has announced it plans to integrate cryptocurrency solutions into traditional banking platforms. Eduardo Abreu, Visa’s vice president of new business in Brazil, stated the company has plans to develop applications (APIs) to unite traditional banks with cryptographic products. In this way, it would be possible to make investments in cryptocurrencies and ETFs within banking platforms with no intermediates. Visa also announced it is working with several national companies to issue cryptocurrency cards. Among these are Zro Bank, Alterbank, and Rippio, which will allow users to connect these to bank accounts. The Visa executive did not comment on a possible ETA for these developments. B2B Developments, Direct Bitcoin Payments, and NFTs Visa revealed that they are also working on a B2B (business-to-business) oriented blockchain that will allow payment settlement among companies using smart contracts. Abreu stated that the system was already in testing phases with some of their customers, and that the company would have more announcements in this regard in the future. This system would enhance transparency in payments among providers and suppliers, allowing everyone with access to the system to verify payments and deposits. Visa also stated they will start testing direct bitcoin payments in the country. This means that transactions will allow bitcoin to be transferred to other accounts directly. This is completely different than what happens now with most crypto cards, where there has to be an intermediary that exchanges bitcoin for fiat money on the fly. The inclusion of direct bitcoin payments will facilitate the payment process and eliminate these intermediaries. In March, the CEO of Visa in Brazil stated it expects to implement this functionality sometime this year. Abreu stated there was also an NFT initiative in the works for Brazil. Visa has already jumped onto the NFT bandwagon by purchasing a Cryptopunk, a digital avatar on the Ethereum network, for $165K in ether, in August. What do you think about Visa combining crypto and traditional banking platforms in Brazil? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The European Central Bank (ECB) says it is “starting to investigate” a digital euro by launching a two-year investigation. ECB President Christine Lagarde believes the ECB should be ready to respond to people’s demands for digital currencies and come up with a European-based solution that “does not jeopardize the whole banking system.” Lagarde Unveils ECB’s Plans to Respond to Digital Currency Demand With Digital Euro The president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, talked about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), particularly the digital euro, in an interview last week with Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. Following the interview, Lagarde tweeted: “We at ECB believe that we should be ready and have the technology available to respond to people’s demands. That’s why we are launching a two-year investigation into a digital euro.” The ECB’s website states: We are now starting to investigate what a digital euro might look like. This investigation phase will start in October 2021 and last for about two years. “We will look at how a digital euro could be designed and how it could be distributed to merchants and citizens, as well as the impact it would have on the market and the changes to European legislation that might be needed,” the European Central Bank detailed. ECB chief Lagarde further explained to Schwab, “If customers prefer to use digital currency rather than have banknotes and cash available, it should be available.” She opined: We should respond to that demand. And make sure that we have a solution that is European based, that is secure, that is available under friendly terms, that can be used as a means of payment at reasonable terms as well and does not jeopardize the whole banking system, which should be part and parcel of the proposal. Lagarde continued: “So that’s the reason why we’ve decided to go ahead with a two-year experiment to ensure that we can actually respond to that demand: Availability, just as cash is available and will continue to be available, but it will be a consumer’s preference; the safety and security of the device; user-friendliness; cheap cost; and ways of transacting business that will be recognized and accepted not only in the euro area, but around the world.” The ECB clarified: Once the investigation phase has ended, we will decide whether or not to start developing a digital euro. We would then create and test possible solutions, working together with banks and companies which could provide the technology and the payment services. Do you think the ECB should launch a digital euro? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Kim Kardashian has been singled out by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for pumping a crypto token that could put investors at risk. With 250 million Instagram followers, the FCA chairman said that Kardashian’s cryptocurrency promotion “may have been the financial promotion with the single biggest audience reach in history.” Kim Kardashian Promotes Crypto Token That Could Put Investors at Risk, Said Regulator The chairman of the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), Charles Randell, singled out celebrity Kim Kardashian in a new warning about crypto scams. Kardashian is an American media personality, socialite, model, and businesswoman. She married the pro-bitcoin rapper Kanye West but filed for divorce earlier this year. In his speech Monday at the Cambridge International Symposium on economic crime, Randell discussed “The risks of token regulation” and the “rules which protect people from investment fraud and scams.” When detailing how online platforms can give advice about scams to help investors avoid making bad decisions, he said: “We’ll work with online platforms who want to protect both consumers and their own brands – and we’ll call out those who aren’t playing their part and are destroying the trust of their users.” Randell continued: Which brings me on to Kim Kardashian. When she was recently paid to ask her 250 million Instagram followers to speculate on crypto tokens by ‘joining the Ethereum Max Community,’ it may have been the financial promotion with the single biggest audience reach in history. While acknowledging that Instagram’s rules required Kardashian to disclose that her post was an ad, Randell argued that “she didn’t have to disclose that Ethereum Max — not to be confused with Ethereum — was a speculative digital token created a month before by unknown developers – one of hundreds of such tokens that fill the crypto-exchanges.” The head of the FCA opined: Of course, I can’t say whether this particular token is a scam. But social media influencers are routinely paid by scammers to help them pump and dump new tokens on the back of pure speculation. Some influencers promote coins that turn out simply not to exist at all. Despite all the risks, Randell said that “the hype around them generates a powerful fear of missing out [FOMO] from some consumers who may have little understanding of their risks.” Randell proceeded to discuss regulations, stating that “It will take a great deal of careful thought to craft a regulatory regime which will be effective in the decentralized world of digital tokens.” He elaborated that “it’s clear that legislators need to consider three issues.” The first is “how to make it harder for digital tokens to be used for financial crime.” The second is “how to support useful innovation,” and the third is “the extent to which consumers should be free to buy unregulated, purely speculative tokens and to take the responsibility for their decisions to do so.” The FCA chairman described: In the meantime, it appears to me that there are two cases where regulators should have the powers to take action to reduce the potential harm to consumers from purely speculative tokens, not least to ensure that trust in the overall technology isn’t destroyed by bad actors in this space. The first case is crypto promotions, he said, reiterating that “a surprisingly large proportion of people buying these speculative tokens seem to think they may be regulated already.” He then warned that “The second issue is the risk of contagion of the regulated business of authorized firms by unregulated activities in digital tokens.” What do you think about the FCA chief calling Kim Kardashian out for pumping a crypto token? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin will become legal tender in El Salvador on Tuesday, Sept. 7. The Salvadoran government has started buying bitcoin ahead of the law taking effect. The first 200 coins have been purchased and “a lot more” are coming, said President Nayib Bukele. El Salvador Begins Mass Buying Bitcoin Ahead of Bitcoin Becoming Legal Tender El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, announced Monday: “El Salvador has just bought its first 200 coins. Our brokers will be buying a lot more as the deadline approaches.” At the current BTC price of $51,691, the 200 bitcoins are worth about $10.34 million. Bukele also tweeted, “Tomorrow, for the first time in history, all the eyes of the world will be on El Salvador.” The country’s Bitcoin Law, passed in June, will enter into force on Tuesday, Sept. 7. It will make bitcoin legal tender in the country alongside the U.S. dollar. The government recently published a video explaining what to expect. In preparation for bitcoin becoming legal tender, El Salvador’s Congress approved a law on Aug. 31 to create a $150-million fund to facilitate conversions from bitcoin to U.S. dollars. Money for the new fund will be redirected from the finance ministry’s current budget and administered by the state development bank of El Salvador. Meanwhile, a growing number of bitcoin supporters are planning to buy $30 worth of BTC to show their support for El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law. $30 is also the amount that President Bukele promised to give anyone who uses the government’s bitcoin wallet, Chivo. Some people are planning to spend more than $30. Tahini’s Restaurant, for example, said that in support of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law, it will “buy $300 every hour tomorrow.” According to Bukele, about 200 ATMs and 50 bank branches featuring the government’s Chivo wallet are being installed in different parts of the country where users can deposit and withdraw money without paying commissions. Not everyone is keen on bitcoin becoming legal tender in El Salvador, however. A recent national survey shows that seven out of 10 Salvadorans want the Bitcoin Law repealed and as many as nine out of 10 respondents do not have a clear understanding of what bitcoin is. What do you think about El Salvador buying a lot of bitcoin and making the cryptocurrency legal tender? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Baanx, the fast growing B2B2C “Better than a Banking Platform” specializing in fintech services & lending, becomes the third-largest shareholder in the United States regulated Maxwell State Bank in a multi-million-dollar deal to enhance cybersecurity and banking access to communities throughout America. Maxwell State Bank is a fintech bank and VISA Principal Member established circa 1943 in Iowa. With total assets of $29,655,000 and deposits of $25,058,000 Maxwell has been FDIC certified since 1943 for insured deposits. Maxwell was acquired by serial fintech entrepreneur Ronald Ingram, founder of multi-billion dollar fintech programs and companies. He has ambitious plans to make this bank the most secure and future-proof bank in America by expanding their services. He plans to achieve this by working with fintech leaders in cybersecurity, cryptography, tokenization and private/public key infrastructure companies. Baanx has rapidly become a market leader in secure transaction payment systems, secured lending and banking services with a focus on fast growing verticals. Offering VISA & Mastercard programs through their platform, combined with secured lending services from as little as 0% APR, they are expanding quickly through their B2B2C business model. Baanx partners with leading corporate communities, white-labelling as a leading brand, whilst completely managing the delivery and support of the service to each community they engage with. Garth Howat, CEO of Baanx said today: “We are very excited to have taken a stake in Maxwell and working with Ronald Ingram, who has a strong track record of delivering high performing secure fintech services, having been responsible for $100s of billions of fintech transactions in recent years.” Ronald Ingram, Chairman of Maxwell said today: “We are very pleased to welcome Baanx as an investor in Maxwell State Bank. Maxwell Bank has been profitable and well managed for decades, Maxwell, as of 2021, is the most connected bank in North America with direct fiber and low earth laser satellite connectivity. We expect Baanx will expand upon Maxwell’s commitment to futurize banking. Baanx is a money center fintech, in the historical banking center of the world, London, with specializations across cryptography, lending, cybersecurity and public/private key infrastructure. We look forward to strategic partnership opportunities such as state-of-the-art cyber security, access to digital safe-keeping of assets and general privacy that we expect to evolve out of this strategic investment. About Baanx Baanx “Better than a Banking Platform”, offers banking services to fintechs, including secured lending against digital assets and payment authorisation integration into VISA, Mastercard & other transaction payment systems. Baanx headquarters are in London (UK) with subsidiaries in Delaware (United States), Portugal and Lithuania. Baanx manages digital assets using military grade cryptography for maximum privacy and security with digital asset insurance through their partners up to $100m. Baanx is managed by a seasoned team with over a hundred years of combined experience in banking, financial technology, cryptography, finance and digital marketing. About Maxwell Maxwell State Bank has been serving Americans for nearly 75 years. January 2021 it was acquired by Ronald Ingram, a serial entrepreneur in fintech, who created a roadmap to ensure the future of this well-established profitable bank for the next generations in the community, region and beyond. Learn more about Maxwell State Bank Homepage Learn more about Baanx Homepage Twitter Telegram community 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 Ethereum 2.0 contract now has more than 7.4 million ether worth over $29.3 billion using today’s ether exchange rates. According to statistics, the smart contract address is the largest holder of ethereum out of all the wallets in existence. Ethereum 2.0 Contract Nears $30 Billion In the early days, the Ethereum (ETH) protocol was a 100% proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain but in more recent times, Ethereum is now a mix of proof-of-stake (PoS) and PoW. In time, the digital currency and smart contract network will be 100% PoS and this will be the main consensus algorithm that keeps Ethereum chugging along. On November 6, 2020, Bitcoin.com News reported on the co-creator of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, adding $1.4 million worth of ether into the Phase 0 smart contract. Since then, the ETH 2.0 contract has swelled significantly. In July 2021, Bitcoin.com News reported on the Ethereum 2.0 contract exceeding six million ether. At the time on July 2, the six million ether was worth $12.4 billion using exchange rates from that day. The Ethereum 2.0 deposit address according to Etherscan data on September 6, 2021. Today, according to Etherscan statistics, the Eth2 Deposit Contract holds 7,489,474 ether worth $29,366,901,606. The smart contract address is the largest wallet among the Ethereum rich list of wallets. The Wrapped Ether smart contract address is fairly close, however, with 6.9 million ether. Ever since Buterin deposited the massive amount of ether he held into the ETH 2.0 contract address, deposits of 32 ETH are continuously deposited to this very day. In order to be a validator, 32 ether is required to join the ETH 2.0 staking community. Behind the ETH 2.0 contract and Wrapped Ether wallet, includes wallets owned by Binance, Kraken, Gemini, Huobi, FTX exchange, and a few unknown ether billionaires. The ETH 2.0 smart contract has seen 150,980 transactions to date and the 7.4 million ether equals 6.37% of the entire circulating supply of ether. 1.3 Million Ether Is Locked in Liquid Staking Pools A lot of the ETH 2.0 money locked in to the contract is being staked in prominent staking pools like Lido, Stkr, SharedStake, Stafi, Stakewise, Cream and Stakehound. These pool services have approximately 1,361,463 ether locked and Lido has the lion’s share of ether. Liquid staking pool stats according to Dune Analytics on September 6, 2021. The Lido liquid staking pool has around 1,167,007 ether staking today, according to Dune Analytics stats. $5.35 billion of the overall $29.3 billion locked is being staked by large pools and that’s about 18.09% of the 7.4 million ether today. In addition to the 7.4 million ether locked, to date, 216,229 ether has been burned after EIP-1559 was implemented. Using today’s exchange rates, that’s $729 million worth of the second-leading crypto asset by market capitalization. What do you think about the 7.4 million in ether worth more than $29 billion locked into the Ethereum 2.0 contract? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

It’s a big day for El Salvador this Tuesday, as the country’s new legal tender law will be enforced. A great number of bitcoin supporters have plans to purchase $30 worth of bitcoin to show support for the upcoming implementation of the bitcoin tender law. The $30 increment was conceived because Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele has promised $30 worth of free bitcoin to every Salvadoran citizen with a government wallet. In Less Than 24 Hours, El Salvador Is Officially Adopting Bitcoin as Legal Tender On Wednesday, September 7, 2021, El Salvador’s bitcoin tender law will come into play. The monetary shift has the whole world focused on the small Latin American country, because people are very curious as to what will happen after bitcoin becomes legal tender. On June 25, Bitcoin.com News reported on the Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele telling citizens that anyone with a government-backed digital currency wallet will receive $30 worth of free bitcoin. Bukele said at the time: It will be within the Chivo app where we will deposit the equivalent $30 in bitcoin to promote its use in the economy and to give people an incentive to use the application. #30for30, #7septemberbuybtc, #buybtctuesday Now, as there’s less than 24 hours left until the crypto asset becomes legal tender, bitcoin supporters have started a social media trend to get a bunch of people to purchase $30 worth of BTC to show support for Salvadorans. On social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, alongside Reddit posts as well, hashtags like “#30for30” “#buybtctuesday” and “#7septemberbuybtc” have been trending. One specific Reddit post that recently published says: “Buy at least $30 tomorrow at 5 PM EDT (2 PM Pacific, 9 PM GMT).” #7SeptemberBuyBTC pic.twitter.com/C4IQRsmz71 — RayG (@RayG12461680) September 6, 2021 The post was removed from the Reddit forum r/bitcoin but before it was taken down many people commented on the subject. “Too late, bought $30 now,” one Redditor exclaimed. “Yeah, I thought it was today… I guess I’ll buy more tomorrow too. And every day after,” another Redditor wrote. BREAKING:At the same time El Salvador’s #bitcoin bill will become law, at 3pm September 7th, a huge Brazilian Reddit community, with more than 3 million members, will buy $30 in #bitcoin each, remembering that Sep 7th is Brazil’s independence Day. More and more users are joining. — Satoshi Nakamoney 🍥 (@nakamoney) September 5, 2021 On Twitter, the commentary is similar as many people on the platform are trying to get bitcoiners to purchase $30 worth of BTC in support of El Salvador’s shift toward bitcoin. Michael Saylor: ‘Every Cyber Hornet I Know Is Planning to Buy $30 in Bitcoin Tomorrow in Solidarity’ Microstrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor also wrote about buying $30 worth of BTC on September 7. “On September 7, El Salvador will officially begin using bitcoin as its national currency alongside the U.S. dollar,” Saylor tweeted. “Every cyber hornet I know is planning to buy $30 in BTC tomorrow in solidarity with the people of El Salvador and their leader Nayib Bukele. Will you join us?” Saylor asked while also sharing a “yes” or “no” survey. Chile 13pm #bitcoin 🚀#7SeptemberBuyBTC — Kensou 🟩 (@Djkensou) September 6, 2021 At the time of writing, 39,949 Twitter accounts voted on Saylor’s poll and 83.4% said “yes” while 16.6% said “no” to Saylor’s “will you join us” question. One person replied to Saylor’s tweet and said: “I’ll do $300 and you do $3 million.” On Reddit one person said that he didn’t think “it’s gonna impact the price at all. The effect on the price happened when the news was first announced,” he said. However, one person said that buying $30 worth of BTC wasn’t about moving the price of bitcoin. He stressed: It’s not about affecting the price. It’s about recognizing and celebrating a historic moment. What do you think about bitcoiners trying to convince others to purchase $30 worth of bitcoin on September 7? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

One of the Big Three credit rating agencies, Moody’s Corporation, often referred to as Moody’s, has listed an employment opportunity for a “crypto-asset analyst.” Moreover, Moody’s job listing shows the company is very interested in the “wide-reaching impact of decentralized finance(defi).” Moody’s Is Hiring a Crypto Analyst, Candidate Needs to Grasp Defi Moody’s is hiring a crypto-asset analyst according to a recent job listing posted to linkedin.com’s employment listings. According to the job description, the newly hired crypto analyst will join the company’s “Blockchain C4E team” and leverage the research and development the team has put together. “You will be part of a team of individuals responsible for supporting successful project deliveries for our C4E,” the Moody’s job listing notes. “The role also includes advocating for operational and process changes to move towards a more data-driven organizational paradigm.” The analyst can work remotely if they qualify but Moody’s would prefer someone located in Frankfurt, London, New York, or Paris. A minimum bachelor’s degree in business, economics, engineering, or a “closely related field” is a required qualification needed for the job. Of course, Moody’s wants someone with five or more years of credit rating analysis-related experience. Leading a crypto startup is a good qualification, the Moody’s job listing details. Moody’s employment listing shows that an understanding of defi is a very important part of the job. The job’s duties will include: [Managing and maintaining] deep understanding of the financial markets and the potential wide-reaching impact of decentralized finance (defi) on [an] existing ecosystem. [Alongside performing] back-testing of assessment framework(s) developed by Blockchain C4E using market data to analyze crypto-assets and other related products; provide detailed feedback for further refinement of risk factors. Moody’s Also Interested in Stablecoins, CBDCs, NFTs Moody’s wants the analyst to craft deep knowledge on defi and blockchain-based elements like stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and non-fungible token (NFT) assets. “[The crypto analyst must] stay up-to-date on development within the industry and perform risk analysis of defi (blockchain) protocols, and other features,” Moody’s listing explains. The company says it would be nice if the person is very passionate about blockchain and defi. “[It would be nice to have (one or more of the following)]: Interest in defi and passion for designing blockchain-based solutions as well as developing crypto-asset assessment frameworks. Good written and oral communication skills, as well as strong analytic, problem solving and decision-making skills. Strong analytical orientation, practical experience with blockchain and crypto-assets, [and a] strong understanding of crypto-asset and defi market dynamics,” the job listing concludes. What do you think about the credit agency Moody’s looking for a crypto analyst and showing a strong interest in defi? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin surpassed the $52K handle on Monday morning, as crypto-asset markets have been moving northbound and gathering more fiat value. The overall crypto economy is around $2.45 trillion and it has gained 3.5% during the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, bitcoin charts show a pending golden crossover which to many means the overall market outlook looks bullish. Bitcoin Hits Resistance Above the $52K Handle Digital asset markets are in the green today and many crypto assets have seen single to double-digit gains during the last 24 hours. At the time of writing, the entire crypto-economy of 10,000+ cryptos in existence is around $2.45 trillion on Monday. Bitcoin (BTC) has gained more than 3.5% today and 6.3% during the last seven days. On Monday morning (EST), BTC surpassed the $52K zone reaching $52,230 per unit. Many assume BTC’s next few months will be bullish and a pending golden cross chart signal indicates this may be the case. Bitcoin (BTC) tapped a high of $52,230 on Monday, but has since regressed back to the $51K range. Basically, when the short-term moving average jumps over the long-term moving average and starts moving northbound, traders call it a golden cross and assume an upward trend is coming. “On Friday, BTC broke through the resistance of $50,500, paused for the weekend, and exceeded $51,500 on Monday, where it is now struggling to hold on,” Fxpro senior financial analyst Alex Kuptsikevich told Bitcoin.com News. “Actually, Bitcoin has been trading above $50,000 since last week as the bulls managed to keep the rate above the 200-day moving average. In light of this, the price of ‘over fifty’ has become quite common over the past few days,” Kuptsikevich added. The analyst further stressed: Anchoring above this mark will open the way to $60,000 and may become a catalyst for a fully-fledged reversal of the crypto market. Ethereum Closing in on All-Time Highs, Myriad of Other Cryptos See Double-Digit Gains Meanwhile, ethereum (ETH) is only up 0.3% today but over the last week, ether has gained 22.2%. ETH hit a high above the $4K handle on September 1, but has been below that region since then. Simon Peters, Etoro’s crypto-asset analyst, says ether is headed toward all-time price highs. “Ether is closing in on all-time highs while bitcoin has reached above $50,000 for the first time since mid-May,” Peters said. “ETH surged in the last week, coming close to breaching the $4,000 level. The crypto asset began the week below $3,200 but rose quickly through the week, reaching $3,981 by Friday. Over the weekend gains have flattened but remain trading in this range,” he added. The Etoro crypto analyst continued: A confluence of factors is contributing to the rising price of ETH. ETH burning, staking, gas fees, transactions, and locked away tokens on defi are all working in concert to support price levels. BTC meanwhile has hit above $50,000 for the first time since mid-May. The crypto asset started the week with falls to below $47,000 before rallying midweek above $50,000. In early trading today BTC has surged again, closing in on $52,000. As bitcoin and ethereum have seen some gains and of course attention, a number of other crypto-assets have seen better returns over the last 24 hours. Coins like quant, omg network, filecoin, ftx token, fantom, qtum, chainlink, mdex, bitcoin cash, and EOS have all seen double-digit 24-hour gains. What do you think about bitcoin and the rest of the crypto economy’s recent improvements? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Leading Crypto service comparison site – Cryptowisser deep dives into the environmental future of cryptocurrency. Despite major scrutiny from traditional media and press, cryptocurrency possibly remains more environmentally friendly than traditional banks, just no one is reporting it. Crypto community anticipates a green future. With the crypto world under constant scrutiny from a variety of sources, the last thing they need are accusations for ruining the earth. While mining bitcoin is very energy intensive, the crypto community are constantly working to improve their carbon footprint. As far as environmental revelations are concerned, the future seems to lie in the use of Proof of Stakes systems Vs Proof of Work. Although several coins have already migrated over from Proof of Work systems, many still exist. The Cryptowisser report details how Proof of Work systems and specifically their security measures require an astronomical amount of energy. The principles of a PoW system require individuals to manage the process of recording transactions and verifying data stored in the block chain, which in turn requires crypto mining and requires a lot of computing hardware. Proof of Systems on the other hand maintain their transactions with multiple holders, which are called validators, and with this Proof of systems protocol, each user creates a node, and each node does not require additional energy to prove the credibility of the node, as opposed to Proof of Work systems. The report also explains the lack of scrutiny in many “traditional” industries, including banks. While it is indeed true that the crypto industry needs to reassess their environmental impact, it could be argued that they are the only financial vertical to receive such speculation, while traditional banks, who consume an incredible amount of energy go unscathed. Cryptowisser is a cryptocurrency services comparison site with the world’s largest, most frequently updated and most trusted lists of cryptocurrency exchanges, news, wallets, debit cards and merchants. With more than 1,000 reviews of the various exchanges, debit cards, wallets and merchants, they help you make all of your purchasing decisions and service choices in the crypto world. For more information please contact press@cryptowisser.com This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

A Nigeria-based research and development economist, Gospel Obele, has called “for a unified regulatory mechanism for cryptocurrency trading.” He adds that such regulation of cryptocurrencies can potentially “complement an African digital currency,” hence this needs to be considered. Cryptocurrencies Show the Way In remarks published by Joy Online, Obele insists that cryptocurrencies have already shown how a single currency must function. The economist explained: Crypto has been able to build a level of singular markets when it comes to digital currency use and trade across borders, and this is a significant philosophy which the [African Continental Free Trade Area] originates. One of the significant issues that the AFCTA presents is an important opportunity for a singular currency in the African Market. We all know because of the different development stages of financial markets in respective member states. Obele, however, concedes that the adoption of a single digital currency by all African states seems impossible in the short term and may prove to be “very much demanding over time.” Yet, according to him, it is only such a digital currency that provides a “reasonable alternative to reaching that level of synchronization to facilitate trade activity across borders.” Crypto Here to Stay As some African central banks contemplate launching their own digital currencies, privately issued cryptocurrencies are already being used as a medium of exchange in some cross-border trades. For instance, in Nigeria, where there is a shortage of foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are being used as an alternative means of payment. This has helped some import businesses to stay afloat. However, the growing use of cryptocurrencies when making cross-border payments has seen some central banks impose measures that hinder this practice. Commenting on this, Obele reminded central banks that “cryptocurrency has come to stay.” Therefore, instead of restricting the use of such digital currencies, the economist wants central banks to understand the technology that underpins such digital currencies — the blockchain. He explained: “So we need to go back to the fundamentals to get things right to be part of the crypto revolution.” What are your thoughts about this story? You can share your views in the comments section below. View the full article

Sunacrip, the Venezuelan cryptocurrency watchdog, and the Intelligence Police (CICPC) issued a warning for the general population about cryptocurrency scams. The institutions gave a series of recommendations to avoid being scammed by cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes involving the national cryptocurrency, petro (PTR), advising users to always keep their accounts’ passwords secure. This is the government’s answer to a series of crypto scams that have been happening in the country in the last few days. Venezuelan Regulator and Intelligence Police Warn Users The cryptocurrency watchdog, Sunacrip, and the Venezuelan intelligence police have issued a warning on social media about general cyber security, advising users to take a series of basic steps to avoid being victims of crypto-related scams. The information was shared using the Instagram account of the information related crime division of the Intelligence police, where the institution stated: We inform the community to avoid being victims of scams through the homeland system with false managers who only seek their own profit. The homeland system is a platform development that serves as a way of getting petros (PTR), the national cryptocurrency, out of the internal wallet of the government and into Sunacrip approved exchanges, that allow users to sell their petros at market value. The intelligence police also suggested users move all of their crypto assets through Sunacrip-approved exchanges to guarantee their safety doing these transactions. Big Crypto Scams Sunacrip also suggested users handle their accounts by themselves and avoid giving their passwords to third parties managing accounts. This is likely the answer to a big cryptocurrency scam that happened last week, when a man allegedly faked his kidnappings and stole more than one million dollars from his customers. According to reports of Douglas Rico, head of the intelligence police in Venezuela, Andrés Jesús Dos Santos Hernández simulated a kidnapping where his captors allegedly forced him to enter the Binance platform and make transfers to different digital wallets, exhausting all of the crypto assets from his customers. Dos Santos is now on the run from national authorities, facing money laundering and fraud charges. Binance has become a hotbed of financial movements from Venezuelans that are investing in cryptocurrencies, and different individuals are offering their services as financial advisors and consultants, managing investments and accounts from their customers. Specifically, Binance’s P2P market has dethroned the former leader platform, Localbitcoins, relegating it to second place in trading volumes. What do you think about Sunacrip’s warning against crypto-scams? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

A meetup in a vehicle warehouse in Houston served as an encounter point for oil producers and bitcoin miners to talk about possible on-site crypto mining opportunities last week. More than 200 investors attended the meeting to talk about an alliance, that would allow oil producers to make more efficient management of their resources and miners could take advantage of direct sources of energy that would be wasted otherwise. Oil Producers and Miners Meet to Talk Bitcoin Mining Several oil producers and bitcoin miners met last week in Texas to talk about the possibilities of on-site mining that Texas energy producers could bring for them. The meetup, that happened in a vehicle warehouse in Houston, served as a point of encounter to examine these possibilities. Oil wells that are not so big to build pipelines into their operations usually burn the natural gas pockets encountered on site. However, bitcoin (BTC) mining can provide a better solution. This natural gas can be used to power generators that would feed micro mining operations in each well. This arrangement would bring benefits to both miners and producers and would be also beneficial to the environment, not having to burn this gas to release it into the atmosphere. Parker Lewis, part of the people organizing the meeting, stated to CNBC he was confident in the success of the meetup. He stated: “I just knew Houston would be prime to explode because of the energy connection to mining – if we organized a good meetup.” Hayden Griffin Haby III is the product of the amalgamation of these two worlds. He is an oilman that is also a bitcoin miner. Haby stated that when he understood the return of a bitcoin mining operation, he just had to jump into the bitcoin bandwagon. He stressed: When I heard that you could make this much money for gas instead of just burning it up into the atmosphere, thanks to the whole ‘bitcoin mining thing,’ I couldn’t look away. Taking Advantage of China’s Ousting One of the key targets of Texas’ oilmen is to capture the numerous bitcoin mining entrepreneurs that are still looking to relocate their operations after being ousted from China. Alejandro de la Torre is one of these miners that are still shipping mining rigs from China to the U.S. He declared these miners were in several Pacific ships waiting to be delivered to ports. However, many of these deals are done secretly and aren’t disclosed to the public eye. Some deals are protected by nondisclosure agreements and other players in the space just don’t want to talk about their relationships because it would give competitors in the space an edge. What do you think of the exploitation of on-site energy opportunities by Bitcoin miners? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone has affirmed his bitcoin price prediction of $100K, seeing $5K for ethereum as the path of least resistance. He expects the crypto market to thrive in a “refreshed bull market.” Cryptocurrencies Poised to Thrive, Bull Market Revived Commodity strategist Mike McGlone discussed his price predictions for bitcoin and ethereum in the September edition of Bloomberg Crypto Outlook, published Friday. “Crypto-assets appear in a revived and refreshed bull market with the 2H benefit of a steep discount from previous highs at the start,” he began, adding: We see ethereum on course toward $5,000 and $100,000 for bitcoin. Portfolios of some combination of gold and bonds appear increasingly naked without some bitcoin and ethereum joining the mix. The analyst explained that “diminishing supply” is boosting the price of ETH amid “increasing demand and adoption,” emphasizing that ethereum is the primary denominator for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) “which are gaining traction.” He discussed “the accelerating downward trajectory of new ethereum supply, in the aftermath of the protocol change that began burning coins at the start of August.” McGlone clarified, “For the first time, the 52-week rate-of-change in the amount of new ethereum coins vs. the total outstanding is on track to drop below 4%.” The Bloomberg Intelligence analyst proceeded to describe that bitcoin reaching $100,000 is “highly probable, especially after last year’s supply cut.” He continued: “Post-halving years have seen the greatest appreciation, and 4x in 2021 would be quite tame for the No. 1 crypto compared with 55x in 2013 and 15x in 2017.” Emphasizing that “the bulls are in control,” the analyst asserted that “Having survived correction, crypto assets [are] now poised to thrive.” He elaborated: After enduring a gut-wrenching correction, we see the crypto market more likely to resume its upward trajectory than drop below the 2Q lows. Do you agree with the Bloomberg Intelligence analyst? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced that it will cease offering trading pairs and payment options in Singapore dollars to remain compliant with the country’s regulators. The announcement followed a notice issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) stating that Binance “may be in breach of the Payment Services Act.” Binance Complying With Singapore’s Regulations Crypto exchange Binance announced Sunday changes to its services in Singapore. The company wrote that “to remain compliant with local regulators,” it will cease offering “SGD trading pairs” and “SGD payment options” on Friday, Sept. 10. Binance will also remove its app from Singapore iOS and Google Play stores. SGD trading pairs will also be removed from Binance P2P Friday. The exchange further advised users to complete all related P2P trades and remove all related advertisements by Sept. 9 “to avoid potential trading disputes.” Moreover, Binance clarified that it is not operating any official Telegram or online communication channels in Singapore. “Our aim is to create a sustainable ecosystem around blockchain technology and digital assets,” Binance commented, elaborating: Binance welcomes developments to our industry’s regulatory framework as they pose opportunities for the market players to have greater collaboration with the regulators. The announcement to cease trading in Singapore dollars followed a notice by Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which oversees the crypto industry in the country. MAS said Thursday that it had “reviewed Binance.com’s operations and is of the view that Binance, the operator of Binance.com, may be in breach of the Payment Services Act.” The central bank added that “Binance is required to cease providing payment services … to Singapore residents and cease soliciting such business from Singapore residents.” Last week, Binance said it hired Richard Teng, former CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) as the new CEO for its operations in Singapore. Binance aims to become “a leader in regulatory compliance” as it pivots into a financial services company. The global crypto exchange recently became the focus of many other regulators worldwide, including those in the U.K., Netherlands, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, Hong Kong, Lithuania, and South Africa. They claimed Binance had been operating without authorization in their jurisdictions. What do you think about Binance ceasing trading in Singapore dollars? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The price of bitcoin has risen above the $51K zone on Sunday and traders and speculators are curious as to where the price is headed next. Historically, in September, bitcoin prices don’t fare so well and usually get better in October. For this reason, skeptics are not sure if bitcoin’s price will continue to be bullish during the ninth month of the year. So far, however, the end of the first week of September 2021 has been much better in terms of gains. Historical Bitcoin Prices in September Are Often Low and Lackluster, 2021 Has Been Different Bitcoin is doing well on Sunday, up 5.4% during the last seven days and 26.3% during the last month. So far it has jumped above the $51K region on Sunday evening (EST), hitting a high of $51,863 per unit. The first week of September is almost over, and so far, BTC is looking real good price-wise but traditionally, the leading crypto asset doesn’t do so well this month. In 2013, BTC was in the red that September after reaching a $240 all-time-high (ATH). It dipped after the previous ATH and was trading for $138 per bitcoin on September 1, 2013. At the end of the month in September 2013, BTC was exchanging hands for $137. But after September, the following months leading up to the end of 2013, BTC’s price skyrocketed to $1,240 per BTC in December. Again in September 2014, BTC was down and during the first week of the month, it was trading for $482.28 per unit. Bitcoin (BTC) price on Bitstamp on September 5, 2021 – one-month chart via Tradingview. At the end of September 2014, BTC’s price dropped even lower at $377.18 per coin. In September 2015, BTC’s price was much lower than previous months, and swapping for $239 per unit during the first week of the month. The end of September 2015 saw prices even lower at $232 per bitcoin. September 2016 was a decent month for BTC, as the price started making headway toward the bull run of 2017. On September 4, 2016, bitcoin was exchanging hands for $608.63 per coin and it ended the month at $600. From the $600 range to to September 3, 2017, BTC’s price increased a whopping 663.66% to $4,582.96 per unit. The price was lower on September 24, 2017, at the end of the month exchanging hands for $3,682.84 per BTC that day. However, most people know what happened at the end of the year in 2017, as BTC came awfully close to rising above the $20K region. 2018 Bear Market Memories, Lackluster 2020 Bitcoin Prices Led to New All-Time Highs by the Year’s End By September 2018, BTC was down again trading for $7,272 per unit during the bear market. BTC’s price was even lower at the end of the month on September 30, 2018, and was trading for $6,625 per unit. BTC managed to gather some steam by the first week of September 2019 and was trading for $9,757 per bitcoin. Bitcoin (BTC) price on Bitstamp on September 5, 2021 – 15 minute chart via Bitcoinwisdom.io. BTC dipped down lower to $8,104 by the 29th of September 2019. The following year, BTC was trading for $10,280 per coin and by the end of that month in 2020, BTC was $10,775 per unit. Again from here, BTC managed to break the $20K per unit ATH by the year’s end and was over that price in December 2020. Historically, September is not the best month for BTC and once in a while, it does shine in September on rare occasions. Bitcoin is still down 29% from the last ATH five months ago when it hit $64,654 per unit. The trend on Sunday, September 5, 2021, seems a lot different than years prior as bitcoin bulls are attempting to go higher. But with three weeks left in the month, anything can happen in the world of bitcoin markets. What do you think about the current bitcoin market and historical September bitcoin price action? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

At the time of writing, the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) is around $176 billion across various blockchains like Ethereum, Binance, Terra, Polygon, Solana, and Avalanche. While Ethereum commands $130 billion of the aggregate total locked, a myriad of other defi-fueled blockchains continue to see TVLs steadily rise. Total Value Locked Across All Defi Compatible Blockchains The total value locked (TVL) in defi today has risen to $176.9 billion with a change of 1.07% during the last 24 hours, according to defillama.com statistics. The TVL has been steadily nearing the $200 billion zone and today Uniswap commands 3% dominance among the variety of defi applications. The defi application Aave commands $16.04 billion and Curve captures $13.92 billion today as most of the TVL is locked into application bolstered by the Ethereum chain. Total value locked on all chains, according to defillama.com statistics on Sunday. A number of other chains, however, have been contributing billions to the overall defi TVL. While Ethereum (ETH) has around $130.07 billion on Sunday, the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has around $19.05 billion TVL. This is followed by Terra ($7.84B), Polygon ($5.34B), Solana ($4.3B), Avalanche ($2.36B) and Klaytn ($1.29B). The latest launch of the Arbitrum mainnet scaling solution for Ethereum has approximately $2,343,531 TVL on Sunday. Total value locked on all chains, according to defillama.com statistics. As far as decentralized exchange (dex) platforms are concerned, Curve has the most TVL today with $13.92 billion followed by the BSC-powered Pancakeswap with $5.94 billion and Uniswap has $5.3 billion TVL. For just the Ethereum chain alone, among 16 different dex platforms, Dune Analytics dex stats show there’s been $19 billion in global swaps during the last seven days. $2.24 billion in 24 hours and Uniswap commands 69.2% of all the dex volume across 16 dex platforms. Uniswap Remains Ethereum’s Top Dex, Unique Defi Addresses Rise to 3.3 Million Seven-day stats show Uniswap exchanged approximately $12,952,621,793 in global trades. 88% of the volume stems directly from dex applications but the rest of the volume (11.7%) are funneled through dex aggregators like 1inch, 0x API, Matcha, and Paraswap. The number of defi users or unique addresses across Ethereum-based defi apps is 3.3 million. The biggest lending apps today include platforms like Aave, Compound, Anchor, Venus, and Cream Finance respectively. The total number of Ethereum-based unique defi addresses is more than 3.3 million on Sunday, September 5, 2021. As far as yield-based TVL rankings on defillama.com are concerned, Convex Finance holds the top position on Sunday. This is followed by Yearn Finance, Alpaca Finance, Tranches, and Autofarm. The largest defi asset in terms of TVL is wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) with $10.05 billion locked. The second-largest defi asset is hbtc (HBTC) with $1.74 billion and mirror (MIR) with $1.01 billion. What do you think about the defi TVL growth across various blockchains? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article