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On Tuesday, the publicly-listed business intelligence company, Microstrategy, announced the purchase of 229 bitcoins adding to the firm’s current stash of crypto. The company’s CEO Michael Saylor told his Twitter followers that Microstrategy now holds 92,079 bitcoins. Microstrategy Stocks Up on More Bitcoin, Buys $10 Million Worth to the Balance Sheet Microstrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) has stepped in and bought the dip once again. On Tuesday morning (ET), the firm’s chief executive officer Michael Saylor shared the announcement on Twitter as he usually does. Alongside the CEO’s statements, he also shared the Form 8-K filing that was registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. On Twitter, Michael Saylor wrote: Microstrategy has purchased an additional 229 bitcoins for $10.0 million in cash at an average price of ~$43,663 per bitcoin. As of 5/18/2021, we hodl ~92,079 bitcoins acquired for ~$2.251 billion at an average price of ~24,450 per bitcoin. The announcement comes after the company purchased $15 million worth of BTC on May 13, 2021. Following the purchase of $10 million worth of BTC on Tuesday, the CEO of the exchange Binance tweeted a response to Saylor’s announcement. “Legend,” Changpeng Zhao otherwise known as “CZ” tweeted. Microstrategy Shares Drop More Than 60% Since First Week of February Microstrategy has accumulated a lot of BTC since it started adding the crypto asset to its balance sheet in mid-August 2020. At that time, the business intelligence company said that BTC was “superior to cash” and a “dependable store of value.” Ever since then Microstrategy has been on a bitcoin buying spree and the company’s CEO Michael Saylor has been put on a pedestal by many crypto advocates. The Nasdaq-listed stock MSTR, however, has seen better days. MSTR shares tapped a high on February 9, 2021, but have dropped 62.3% since then. The company’s shares have been seemingly correlated in line with BTC’s price changes. As Bitcoin.com News reported earlier, stocks exposed to digital assets like COIN, RIOT, and CAN have all seen losses since the recent crypto market rout. While crypto markets have recovered some losses, MSTR shares have seen a small increase in value after the opening bell on Tuesday morning. What do you think about Microstrategy’s recent bitcoin purchase worth $10 million? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The price of bitcoin has dropped to a new low for the month of May, sliding to $42,100 per unit during Monday evening’s trading sessions. While a few analysts see bitcoin rebounding and gathering new highs in the coming weeks, a few crypto market strategists believe bitcoin prices could sink much lower than today’s current values. CNBC’s ‘Chartmaster’ Carter Worth Envisions Bitcoin Hitting a $29K Low The other day, Bitcoin.com News reported on Plan B’s stock-to-flow bitcoin (BTC) price model and how the model’s creator is still positive about the bull run moving forward. A number of other crypto proponents believe that BTC will climb back again and think that a correction was in the cards even before Tesla’s recent announcement. However, a few analysts are talking about much lower BTC prices coming in the weeks ahead as Cornerstone Macro’s Carter Worth believes bitcoin could hit $29k. BTC/USDT price on May 18, 2021, via the Bitcoin.com Exchange. Cornerstone Macro’s Carter Worth appeared on CNBC this week and stressed that he thinks the current price is a top support region. Worth, who is also called the ‘Chartmaster’ sees BTC dropping 55% from the crypto asset’s high. The ‘Chartmaster’ told “Fast Money” hosts Melissa Lee, Guy Adami, Tim Seymour, Dan Nathan and Brian Kelly “were we to go down 55%, we’d be in the lower end of support.” A 55% drop from BTC’s highs would land just below the $30k region according to stats. Worth further stated: I think we’re in support— it’s fighting, but my hunch is it goes lower. Delta Exchange CEO: ‘We Don’t Think Bitcoin Has Found a Floor Yet’ – APAC Market Analyst Expects ‘Another Leg Lower’ Worth is not the only crypto analyst expecting lower prices. The crypto derivatives trading platform Delta Exchange’s CEO Pankaj Balani also sees BTC sliding lower. In a note sent to Bitcoin.com News, Balani wrote that the leading crypto asset hasn’t hit bottom yet. “Despite a sharp correction and BTC price trading in the support zone of $42,000-$44,000, we don’t think bitcoin has found a floor yet,” Balani said. The Delta Exchange executive added: Unlike the previous dips in bitcoin – in the last 9 months – this time, we are not finding any buyers looking to bottom fish on a sharp move down. Most traders are convinced of further downside and are looking at 35,000-38,000 levels on BTC. The 200 DMA at ~38,000 should act as strong support for bitcoin, but the recovery is going to be slow and we might spend the next few weeks around current levels. Tony Sycamore, APAC market analyst at Stonex Retail Division, City Index spoke about current BTC charts as well on Tuesday. In another note sent to Bitcoin.com News, Sycamore said he reported in early May that the leading crypto asset was due for “another leg lower (Wave c) towards support at $42,000 where signs of basing will be watched for as an opportunity to buy bitcoin, in anticipation of the uptrend resuming.” “While there is nothing concrete yet in terms of a base at $42,000, it’s encouraging to see the support level highlighted in our previous article well-defended thus far,” Sycamore told Bitcoin.com News. “Not far below, is support from the 200-day moving average at $39,700. Should this support region hold, a daily close above $48,000 would be an initial indication the uptrend has resumed, looking for a retest of the April $64,895 high,” the APAC market analyst added. What do you think about bitcoin prices dropping lower than they are today? Do you expect the price to rise or do you see markets dropping lower? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Fox Broadcasting Company, the American commercial broadcast television network is launching a non-fungible token (NFT) business called Blockchain Creative Labs, according to a recent report. Moreover, Fox is also planning to release a new blockchain-based animated series crafted by Dan Harmon called “Krapopolis.” Fox to Enter the NFT Fray, Aims to Launch an Animated Series Crafted by Blockchain Technology The New York-based television network Fox is a popular company that’s been in business for over 34 years. The corporate broadcasting company operates a variety of entertainment channels including popular shows like “The Simpsons,” “Undeclared,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Melrose Place,” “Glee,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Party of Five,” and more. This week, Fox Entertainment’s CEO Charlie Collier spoke to the Hollywood Reporter and explained that the firm is in the midst of constructing a subsidiary called Blockchain Creative Labs. The new company aims to provide a class of entertainment where “art meets technology.” Collier gave the Hollywood Reporter a short summary of how the company’s new blockchain venture plans to meld art and technology. “Not to go too far into it today, but as an advertiser-focused, artist-first and animation-obsessed company, Fox is going to take advertisers into the world of blockchain-powered tokens, including NFTs,” the Fox CEO said. Daniel Harmon to Return With ‘Krapopolis’ Collier also spoke about the project with Daniel Harmon, the American writer, producer, actor, and comedian who co-created the show “Rick and Morty” with Justin Roiland. The co-creator of the show “Rick and Morty,” Daniel Harmon is working on a blockchain animated series called “Krapopolis.” The Fox CEO noted that Harmon is working on another television series called “Krapopolis” which is “centered on a flawed family of humans, gods, and monsters that tries to run one of the world’s first cities without killing each other.” The new show will be crafted with blockchain technology and will be the first television series to do so, Collier insists. “Dan’s series, currently entitled Krapopolis, will be the first-ever curated entirely on the blockchain,” Collier said during his interview. “And just as we’re doing this for our own animation, we will also help your brands connect directly with fans and enthusiasts through NFTs. With and for you, Fox will help art meet brands meet technology.” Moreover, since co-creating the animated series “Rick and Morty” with Roiland, Harmon hasn’t crafted a new show since 2013. Michael Thorn, president of entertainment for Fox Entertainment, is pleased with Harmon’s return. “Leave it to Dan Harmon to turn the mythos of early Greek civilization into remarkably sharp commentary on today’s politics, celebrity and pop culture,” Thorn remarked. What do you think about the Fox Broadcasting Company getting into non-fungible token (NFT) assets and creating a blockchain show with Dan Harmon? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Coinbase shares have dropped in value during the last month after opening at $342 per share. The company’s shares have dropped over 27% to $248 per share since the Nasdaq listing in mid-April. On Monday, the firm further announced intentions to sell $1.25 billion of convertible debt. Coinbase Shares Drop Below Reference Rate Coinbase Global, Inc. (Nasdaq: COIN) announced on Monday that it intends to sell $1.25 billion of convertible debt depending on market conditions. The company’s first shareholder letter published four days ago explains the firm has noticed strong competition in the digital currency industry. “Despite our strong Q1 results,” the Coinbase shareholder letter details. “The rapid expansion of the crypto economy also creates challenges for Coinbase. Competition is increasing as new market entrants join the crypto economy every month.” The announcement took place while the company’s shares have been dropping and closed below its $250 reference price at $248 per share. While the firm’s shares have been losing value during the last 30 days, COIN’s dip has also coincided with the market carnage affecting the crypto economy. In the same fashion, other tech stocks with exposure to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and the blockchain technology industry, in general, have seen similar drops in value. Stocks like Canaan (CAN), Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), Microstrategy (MSTR), and Riot Blockchain (RIOT) have all seen losses. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is also down in value alongside a variety of other digital asset trusts. The announcement from Coinbase follows the recent revenue report published on Thursday. The company said that it had earnings per share of $3.05 and accrued $1.80 billion of revenue in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. The company is up from $585 million in Q4 2020 and it expects monthly transacting users of 5.5 million to grow 63% this year. After originally starting off in San Francisco, Coinbase further announced this year that the firm operates remotely without a physical headquarters. The $1.25 billion of convertible debt will be used to cushion the company’s holdings according to the Form 8-K SEC filing. “This capital raise represents an opportunity to bolster Coinbase’s already strong balance sheet with low-cost capital that maintains operating freedom and minimizes dilution for Coinbase’s stockholders,” the filing notes. What do you think about Coinbase shares dropping below the reference price and the convertible notes deal? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. After announcing two major partnerships with Master Ventures and GD10 Ventures, the famous investment firm DFG now takes its turn in supporting the Ternoa project. Digital Finance Group (DFG) The international investment firm, created in 2015, now manages over $1 billion in assets. Always on the lookout for promising projects, the company was able to detect and invest early on in initiatives such as LedgerX, Brave and Circle. Their influence within the ecosystem is well known. They are among the main contributors in the creation of the stablecoin USDC and part of the select group that leads investments in the Polkadot ecosystem. They have also launched the Matrix Exchange, an international virtual assets exchange supported by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi International Market (ADGM). The DFG team includes industry experts such as James Wo, Terry Culver and Joanna Liang, whose skills will accelerate Ternoa‘s development. The investment firm now has dozens of employees worldwide and a team of skilled researchers who identify trends in digital assets. Ternoa now has an international exhibition After the announcement of its Initial Dex Offering on DAO Maker and Ignition, the Ternoa project, developed by the French company Capsule Corp, is starting a new phase of its expansion. Such support consolidates the company’s ambitions. Thanks to its influence in the ecosystem and its relational network, DFG will improve the international exposure of the project. While such a partnership illustrates the confidence that one of the world’s leading crypto players can have in Ternoa, it also expresses their willingness to accompany the French project in the international market. Ternoa‘s blockchain promises to dissipate the barriers of time and DFG will take this ambition beyond borders. The hard work done by Ternoa‘s teams is now paying off. Major international funds such as Master Ventures, GD10 Ventures, LVT Capital, and DFG will now have the common objective of increasing the visibility of the project and maximising the future value of the CAPS token. DFG’s Opinion A DFG spokesperson has expressed great enthusiasm for the new Ternoa partnership: “At DFG, we are convinced that NFTs will be one of the major driving forces for the whole digital assets space. Ternoa is a decentralized data transmission blockchain based on NFTs, able to store, encrypt, and segment data over the long term, allowing users to transmit personally identifiable data according to configurable protocols. The first Dapp will be presented in the form of a mobile app, which will be an encrypted wallet for the transmission of capsules holding data such as photos, videos and private cryptographic wallet keys. We believe that its unique design will be suitable for many application scenarios, such as insurance and legal purposes, among others. In addition, Ternoa’s decentralized storage (in cooperation with SIA, Filecoin) offers NFT transmission technologies that support the owner’s equity. Its distinctive and innovative features include a multifunctional NFT platform created for the Polkadot ecosystem as well as Intel SGX, providing security for NFT data storage modules. Finally, Ternoa uses blockchain technology to connect our day-to-day experiences and has above-average social attributes, which is why we look forward to it becoming a “popular” app adopted by millions around the world.” This new growth phase will be supported by the Initial Dex Offering which will take place at the end of May. DFG’s exposure and expertise will enhance the value of CAPS and democratise its use around the world. New partnerships, key development points, details of the IDO are all communicated on the team’s Twitter. This is currently the project’s preferred channel for announcements. 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 U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says reports of cryptocurrency scams have skyrocketed. In particular, people have reported sending more than $2 million in cryptocurrency to Elon Musk impersonators within the past six months. Elon Musk Impersonators and Other Cryptocurrency Scams The FTC published “Consumer Protection Data Spotlight” Monday. FTC analyst Emma Fletcher wrote, “Reports to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel suggest scammers are cashing in on the buzz around cryptocurrency and luring people into bogus investment opportunities in record numbers.” She elaborated: Since October 2020, reports have skyrocketed, with nearly 7,000 people reporting losses of more than $80 million on these scams. Their reported median loss? $1,900. Compared to the same period a year earlier, that’s about twelve times the number of reports and nearly 1,000% more in reported losses. Fletcher explained that as the price of cryptocurrencies soared, scammers “blend into the scene with claims that can seem plausible because cryptocurrency is unknown territory for many people.” She described that some of these schemes are based on referral chains where existing members are paid a referral fee to recruit new investors to join the schemes. “Many people have reported being lured to websites that look like opportunities for investing in or mining cryptocurrencies, but are bogus. They often offer several investment tiers – the more you put in, the bigger the supposed return,” the analyst detailed. “Sites use fake testimonials and cryptocurrency jargon to appear credible, but promises of enormous, guaranteed returns are simply lies. These websites may even make it look like your investment is growing. But people report that, when they try to withdraw supposed profits, they are told to send even more crypto – and end up getting nothing back.” The FTC analyst then warned about “giveaway scams,” noting that they often appear to be “sponsored by celebrities or other known figures in the cryptocurrency space, that promise to immediately multiply the cryptocurrency you send.” However, she said that “people report that they discovered later that they’d simply sent their crypto directly to a scammer’s wallet.” Fletcher further revealed: People have reported sending more than $2 million in cryptocurrency to Elon Musk impersonators over just the past six months. The analyst noted that “scammers will use whatever story works to get people to send crypto,” including “impersonating a government authority or a well-known business.” Moreover, Fletcher detailed that “many people have told the FTC they loaded cash into bitcoin ATM machines to pay imposters claiming to be from the Social Security Administration.” Some reported losing money to scammers posing as cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinbase. The analyst noted, “In fact, 14% of reported losses to imposters of all types are now in cryptocurrency,” concluding: Promises of guaranteed huge returns or claims that your cryptocurrency will be multiplied are always scams. Besides Musk, other popular celebrities and companies used by scammers include Richard Branson, Spacex, Tesla, Amazon, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Chamath Palihapitiya. In March, one man shared his story of how he fell for an Elon Musk bitcoin giveaway scam. What do you think about the Elon Musk impersonator crypto scam? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Authorities in Germany launched a massive operation that cracked down on a sophisticated crypto scam, resulting in the arrest of six people in different European countries. Initial reports state that such a fraudulent scheme stole over $36.2 million worth in virtual currencies from individuals across Europe. Raids Conducted in Poland, North Macedonia, and Sweden According to The National News, the investigation from the German police was initiated after locals accused a gang of stealing over 7 million euros ($8.5 million) in the country through bogus online trading platforms, which promoted high yield returns from investing in cryptocurrencies. Five of the six people were taken into custody by the authorities in Bulgaria, and one in Israel, stated the media outlet, in collaboration with Europol. Raids were also done in Poland, North Macedonia, and Sweden as part of the investigation. Europol issued a statement about how the millionaire digital asset scam operated: The criminal group ran at least four such professional-looking trading platforms, luring victims through advertisements on social media and search engines. The members of the criminal group were posing as experienced brokers when contacting the victims via the call center they had set up. The suspects were using manipulated software to show the gains from the investments and to motivate the victims to invest even more. Furthermore, law enforcement confirmed the seizure of properties, jewelry, luxury vehicles, electronic devices, and 2 million euros ($2.4 million) in cash allegedly connected to the scam’s masterminds. Victims Also Reported in Spain The call centers where the scammers ran their fraudulent investment scheme were based in Bulgaria and North Macedonia, ran mostly by Israeli citizens. Also, authorities believe the criminals laundered stolen money via shell companies established in European Union countries. But the extent of the victims reached Spain, where 300 complaints were reportedly filed by people who allegedly were scammed by the same fraudsters. What do you think about the bogus crypto-related scheme taken down by the German authorities? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The popular collector car auction company Mecum Auctions has announced the company is now accepting crypto assets for payments. The company says that the new payment acceptance allows the auction firm to “attract new customers and sales.” Collector Car Auctions Giant Plans to Start Accepting Crypto Assets at Dana Mecum’s Original Spring Classic The Wisconsin-based Mecum Collector Car Auctions, the largest collector car auction company globally, has revealed the firm will now accept cryptocurrency payments through Bitpay. Mecum Auctions was invoked by a father and son duo Dana and Frank Mecum, alongside a number of Mecum family members. In 2014, Dana Mecum and his son Frank also starred in a reality program that aired on NBCSN called “Mecum Dealmakers.” In the announcement sent to Bitcoin.com News, Mecum explains the firm is “welcoming in a whole new dimension to the live auction events” with its digital currency acceptance. According to the announcement, registered Mecum bidders can leverage cryptocurrency as a payment option via Bitpay. The settlement can be done in-person at the auction or online bidders can also pay with crypto in one of Mecum’s classic car auctions. By utilizing the Atlanta-based Bitpay, Mecum will accept five stablecoins (DAI, GUSD, USDC, PAX, BUSD) alongside BTC, BCH, WBTC, ETH, and DOGE. “We recognize the growing acceptance of cryptocurrency for commerce and are confident that by accepting crypto for collector cars, it will widen our scope of influence and introduce the Mecum Experience to an entirely new audience,” Mecum Auctions Chief Operating Officer Sam Murtaugh explained in a press release statement. Mecum further says that it will start accepting crypto payments at the 34th annual flagship event called “Dana Mecum’s Original Spring Classic” hosted in Indianapolis, Indiana. It will run through May 22 and feature 2,500 classic or collector cars, Mecum details. “Mecum will be accepting cryptocurrency payments for purchases made at the Indianapolis auction and for all auctions moving forward,” the company’s statement notes. “Mecum’s website is updated daily with the latest consignments including detailed descriptions and photographs of the vehicles slated to cross the auction block.” What do you think about Mecum Collector Car Auctions accepting cryptocurrency payments? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Despite gold’s longstanding status as an alternative store of value, the commodity continues to experience unusual price variations in countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe. In turn, such price variances, as well as the rampant smuggling of the commodity, are distorting the precious metal’s actual production figures. Recycled Gold vs Non-Recycled Gold According to a new report that outlines the extent of the problem, such price discrepancies (which seem to be more prevalent in Southern Africa) stem from South Africa’s gold tax policies. Explaining how South Africa’s distinction between recycled and non-recycled gold is creating opportunities for illicit traders, the report states: In South Africa, the sale of second-hand gold products, such as jewellery, are tax exempt. Gold that is either illegally produced or smuggled into the country is often disguised as recycled gold. Therefore, South African gold merchants seeking to benefit from this tax exemption rule will simply “fabricate transactions that enable them to falsely claim that they have paid the 15 percent value-added tax (VAT). Next, the merchants will then submit the “fraudulent requests for tax rebates.” As the May 16 report notes, it is such VAT scams (that) “skew local gold prices because traders know profits will be padded with the tax rebates.” The South African Tax Rebate and Gold Prices in Zimbabwe The same South African gold tax rebate system appears to be one of the main reasons why gold prices in Zimbabwe are seemingly higher than the LBMA average. The report explains: As most of Zimbabwe’s gold is thought to be smuggled to South Africa, this could also be the reason for the high gold prices seen in Zimbabwe. While gold prices in Zimbabwe were regularly reported to be above the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) gold price, margins on the sales are smaller than those reported in Eastern Africa. The LBMA gold price is administered independently by ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA). IBA provides the price platform and methodology as well as the overall administration and governance for the LBMA gold price. However, as the report explains, traders laundering gold in South Africa are able “to pay the LBMA gold price and still make a profit through VAT fraud.” Meanwhile, in its conclusion, the study report asserts that activity in illicit gold markets will require “not only targeting influential criminal and corrupt actors but also putting the tools, resources, and support in place.” This, in turn, will make it easier for informal mining operators to comply with legal and regulatory requirements and to engage with the formal private sector. Last week, the Zimbabwe Miners Federation head distanced herself from Tashinga Masinire over alleged gold smuggling. Last December, Zimbabwe revealed the initiation of a multibillion-dollar venture in order to spark the economy. The project called Kuvimba Mining House Ltd. will house Zim’s precious metals like gold, platinum, and nickel. Do you agree that South Africa’s gold rebate system and smuggling are causing price distortions? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Startups have spoken out against government attempts to curb the operations of crypto exchanges in Iran. Cryptocurrency trading is not illegal, Iranian fintechs insist, calling on lawmakers and regulators to develop rules that would allow the sanctioned country to continue to take advantage of decentralized money transfers. Iranian Fintechs Insist There Is No Ban on Cryptocurrency Trade Recent statements by various authorities in Teheran have prompted a response from the Iran Fintech Association (IFA) which represents companies working in the sector. In a letter to the speaker of parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and the head of the central bank, Abdolnasser Hemmati, the independent industry body stated: Resorting to restrictive measures is the simplest, but not the best response to the issue. Doing so would deprive the nation of potential opportunities and create grounds for underground business. Amid growing interest in cryptocurrencies, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) issued a warning earlier this month against unrestrained crypto trading and reminded Iranians about the ban on transacting with coins minted outside the Islamic Republic. Then the Majlis leadership called on financial regulators to adopt a cautious approach to dealing with the controversial aspects of the matter. “There are no regulations per se barring the work of crypto exchanges,” IFA now says, quoted by the Financial Tribune. “Government regulations only ban using cryptocurrencies for purchasing goods and services. It is explicit that trading cryptos is not illegal though traders are accountable for the ensuing risks,” the organization emphasizes in its address to government institutions. Businesses Bypass Economic Blockade Using Cryptocurrencies In March, the CBI ordered Iran’s domestic payment settlement network, Shaparak, to block online payment gateways owned by coin trading websites. Last week, Abdolnasser Hemmati said that crypto trade will be limited only to selected exchanges processing cryptocurrency transactions for commercial purposes. Iranian lawmakers, however, are not satisfied with merely a ban on crypto trading and have urged the central bank to develop precise rules. The IFA agrees and says that “all the decision-making bodies need to pool minds to develop regulations that are comprehensive and efficient.” It proposes the establishment of special working groups including representatives of the industry that will be tasked to examine the complicated issue, in all its dimensions, in order to avoid repeating mistakes from the past. IFA also points out that businesses have benefited from the use of cryptocurrency in their international transactions. Iranian companies have managed to bypass the economic blockade imposed by the U.S., circumventing restrictions on various industries, banking, shipping, and insurance services. “Several businesses have either used the technology for meeting their needs or have invested in cryptocurrencies without any particular risk,” emphasized the trade association. Where do you stand on the debate over crypto regulations in Iran? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The crypto economy has dropped significantly in value during the last few days tapping a low of $2.06 trillion on Monday. Additionally, the leading crypto asset bitcoin has seen its market dominance drop to 40% of the crypto economy’s overall valuation. Bitcoin’s dominance index hasn’t been this low since June 2018. Bitcoin Dominance Drops to the Lowest Point Since 2018 At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency economy is worth roughly $2.06 trillion, as far as the value of all 9,869 digital currencies in existence is concerned. Furthermore, bitcoin’s (BTC) market valuation captures 40% of the entire crypto market capitalization. At press time, bitcoin (BTC) dominance levels or the percentage of its total market valuation in comparison to the entire crypto economy is 40% on Monday. Ethereum’s overall market valuation captures 19.15% on May 17, 2021. This measurement is much lower than it has been in a while, as the first week of January saw BTC dominance at 69.7%. Bitcoin’s dominance index has been steadily dropping since then, even after the crypto asset tapped all-time price highs weeks later. The reason for this loss in BTC dominance stems from a number of digital currencies competing for the crypto asset’s market position. In fact, most of the top ten digital currencies in terms of market cap, have gathered a great deal of value against BTC. It is well known that ethereum (ETH) has been eating BTC dominance in recent weeks and ETH’s overall valuation captures 19.15% of the economy’s market valuation on Monday. Ethereum continues to gain on BTC and the U.S. dollar, and some people think ETH’s market cap could flip BTC’s overall market valuation in due time. Top Ten Digital Assets Gain Against Bitcoin’s Market Advantage Besides ETH, three other tokens capture 3-4% of the crypto economy’s market valuation on Monday. This includes BNB, ADA, and DOGE, while bitcoin cash (BCH) down to tether (USDT) commands 1-2% of the crypto economy’s capitalization. While the top ten crypto assets are eating away at bitcoin (BTC) dominance levels, ethereum (ETH) is the only one close enough to cause a ‘flippening.’ The decentralized exchange (dex) Uniswap and its native token UNI holds the tenth market position today and around 0.95% of the entire economy. In fact, the top ten market positions all the way to the fifteenth position all have between .50-0.94% of the whole global crypto capitalization. It is interesting to note, that up until February 26, 2017, bitcoin (BTC) held an above-average dominance level between 84% to 95% since the day the Bitcoin network came to life. Bitcoin’s dominance level dropped significantly after the second month of 2017, and dipped to 37% on June 18, 2017. We’re back! —> https://t.co/tgl9FsRK15 Flippening levels are at levels not seen since July 2018 pic.twitter.com/yyzkaNxnTD — Flippening Watch | flippeningwatch.eth (@flippeningwatch) May 3, 2021 Bitcoin’s market dominance level also dropped lower than that on January 14, 2018, when it slid to 32%. Hardcore BTC supporters are convinced the coin will never lose the top position, while others believe a ‘flippening’ is inevitable. What do you think about bitcoin’s dominance level dropping to 40% while ethereum’s climbs past 19%? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

After the dogecoin hype invoked a new ERC20 token project called Shiba Inu, the crypto asset has been making waves throughout the crypto industry. On Wednesday, the cofounder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin donated $1 billion worth of Shiba Inu to India’s Crypto Covid Relief Fund. Then a few days later on Sunday, Buterin decided to burn 410.24 trillion Shiba Inu tokens worth over $6 billion using today’s exchange rates. Buterin Burns $6.6 Billion Worth of Shiba Inu Tokens A new token called Shiba Inu (SHIB) has been a topical discussion within the digital currency community, aside from the recent focus on Tesla’s Elon Musk. The coin first started making headlines because of dogecoin (DOGE), as the ERC20 token is considered the “dogecoin killer” and the coin has turned people into multi-millionaires almost overnight. Additionally, five days ago, the cofounder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, decided to donate around $1 billion worth of SHIB to India’s Crypto Covid Relief Fund. Today, SHIB is exchanging hands for $0.00001617 per unit and is up close to 2% on Monday morning. At the time of writing, there is a massive circulating supply of over 497 trillion SHIB. The SHIB market has an overall valuation of around $8 billion with more than $3 billion in global trade volume. The Shiba Inu project has a sizable community, a “woofpaper,” and the team’s vision simply claims to be “Decentralized Meme Tokens that grew into a vibrant ecosystem.” After seeing massive gains in recent times and making headlines stemming from the recent Covid-19 relief effort donation, Vitalik Buterin brought SHIB into the spotlight again. Ethereum Cofounder Says ‘I Don’t *Want* to Be a Locus of Power’ During the late evening hours on Sunday, Buterin burned 410.24 trillion SHIB and left a message in the transaction hash. “I’ve decided to burn 90% of the remaining shiba tokens in my wallet. The remaining 10% will be sent to a (not yet decided) charity with similar values to cryptorelief (preventing large-scale loss of life) but with a more long-term orientation,” Buterin said. Buterin also commented on the recent “dog token” communities. “I’ve actually been impressed by how the dog token communities have treated the recent donations,” Buterin’s message said. “Plenty of dog people have shown their generosity and their willingness to not just focus on their own profits but also be interested in making the world as a whole better. I support all who are earnestly doing that,” he added. Moreover, Buterin further added that he wished ERC20 project creators sent funds to charitable efforts rather than to his wallet. Buterin insisted: I don’t *want* to be a locus of power of that kind. The crypto community was informed immediately about the burned 410.24 trillion SHIB with an estimated value of $6.6 billion. Vitalik Buterin’s entire message via the burn transaction hash. Photo credit: The Twitter account “VB Goat” or @icebucket95. The Twitter account called “Shib Informer” wrote about Buterin’s billion-dollar token burn after the event. “25 minutes ago Vitalik Buterin burned most of his SHIB wallet. He has only 5% instead of 45%,” the account tweeted. “I hope some of you are at least able to recognize the good deeds he has done both for the world and for the #SHIBArmy,” the SHIB Twitter account added. “You were all literally doubting a person -which is also one of the smartest persons in the world- that could have destroyed SHIB if he wanted but instead [chose] to use our token to improve the lives of thousands that were suffering.” What do you think about Buterin burning 410.24 trillion SHIB worth $6.6 billion? Let us know what you think about this event in the comments section below. View the full article

The leading cryptocurrency bitcoin has dropped 20% in value after Tesla announced on May 12, the electric car firm would not be accepting bitcoin for purchases. Two days later, the creator of the notorious stock-to-flow cross-asset (S2FX) price model, Plan B, shared his model and said the S2FX was still “intact.” Plan B still shows confidence in the bitcoin bull run and expects another 5x in the next six months. S2FX Price Model Still ‘Intact’ Despite the recent crypto market downturn, Plan B still seems positive that the bitcoin bull run is not quite over. “Plan B,” is a pseudonym leveraged by the Twitter account @100trillionusd and also the creator of the popular stock-to-flow (S2F) price model. This particular model leverages a ratio of bitcoin’s scarcity (BTC in circulation) to BTC issuance. At the time of writing, the Bitcoin network’s inflation rate per annum is approximately 1.77% and will continue to drop lower as time passes. Plan B first published his paper called “Modeling Bitcoin Value with Scarcity” on March 22, 2019. The stock-to-flow model or S2F, quantifies scarcity similar to assets like gold and silver. It takes the BTC in circulation and divides it by the annual issuance rate. When Plan B published that paper, bitcoin (BTC) had a market capitalization of $70 billion and today, the market valuation is $844 billion. Moreover, Plan B has updated the S2F model and now calls it the “BTC S2F cross-asset (S2FX) model.” “S2FX model enables valuation of different assets like silver, gold and BTC with one formula,” Plan B S2FX description explains. Plan B’s latest S2FX chart shared on May 14, 2021. The day after Tesla announced it was not accepting BTC for purchases, Plan B took to Twitter sharing an S2FX chart and said: “S2FX intact … this is starting to look like 2013 bull market.” The following day Plan B shared another chart and gave his 467,000 Twitter followers another S2FX update: Net result (after Turkey ban, US tax FUD, Faketoshi law suits, Elon/Tesla energy FUD) is that bitcoin is 5x higher than ~6 months ago. And both S2FX model + onchain data indicate that we are only halfway this bull market. I would not be surprised to see another 5x next ~6 months. Crypto Fear & Greed Index Hits a 1 Year Low, Momentum Indicator Indicates ‘Typical Mid-Bull-Cycle Drop’ Says Plan B Furthermore, on May 17, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index (CFGI) shows a score of 27 pointing to “fear” and sentiment is the same as it was over a year ago today. CFGI data on May 17, 2021. The index, a metric that “analyzes the emotions and sentiments from different sources and crunches them into one simple number,” reached this same region on April 28, 2020. 30 days ago, CFGI data shows that the sentiment analysis was “extreme greed” or a score of 76. Seven-day statistics show that the CFGI score was 72 or “greed.” Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) chart shared by Plan B on May 15, 2021. On Saturday, Plan B discussed bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) and his thoughts on the next few months. The technical analysis tool dubbed the “Relative Strength Index” (RSI) is essentially a momentum indicator that can help analysts define oversold or overbought conditions in a market. “Bitcoin relative strength index (RSI),” Plan B said sharing another chart. “We are at the typical mid-bull-cycle drop in RSI (yellow circles), in between 2013 and 2017. Excited about [the] next couple of months,” Plan B added. What do you think about Plan B’s current market assessment? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

In a possible policy shift, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently allowed the local naira currency to briefly drop to a new low of USD$1 for 419.75 nairas on May 14, 2021. However, by close of business the naira had recovered and was trading around 411.25. Before the latest adjustment, the naira had fluctuated between 380 and 381 to the dollar since July last year. Unifying Multiple Exchange Rates Meanwhile, a report in the Nigerian media has speculated that the seeming devaluation of the naira indicates that the CBN is now working towards “unifying multiple exchange rates.” According to the report, Nigeria operates multiple currency regimes and this often frustrates businesses. Consequently, some institutions including the World Bank have called for the unification of rates in order to attract investment into the West African state. In the meantime, the Nigerian apex had (in addition to allowing markets to determine the exchange rate) already stopped availing data on the naira’s official rate since May 11, 2021. It is these moves that have prompted some Nigerian economic experts to speculate on the CBN’s next possible moves. In the report, one currency trader is quoted saying: What the central bank is saying is that the (OTC) spot rate will be the official rate because that’s where the largest volumes trade. Black Market Exchange Rate Unchanged Besides the OTC spot rate, the Nigerian government has reportedly been using an exchange rate of 410 “for its business as it tries to boost earnings from crude sales.” On the other hand, the CBN recently revised the futures rate on the naira upwards to 435.81 for a 150-day futures contract. In the meantime, it remains to be seen if the naira exchange rate adjustment will finally result in the black-market exchange rate dropping. At the time of writing, the naira exchange rate on the black market largely unchanged at 480 nairas for every dollar. Do you think the official naira exchange rate adjustment will end the parallel market for this resource? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Crypto derivatives exchange FTX has launched a futures contract that allows Brazilian voters and traders in jurisdictions where the platform is available to bet on the outcome of Brazil’s next presidential election. With health and financial crises looming in the country, Jair Bolsonaro’s second term as head of state is far from certain. FTX Launches Bolsonaro 2022 Futures Contract The new futures contract, Bolsonaro 2022, expires at $1 if the current president wins the election and to $0 if he fails, FTX announced. Brazilians will head to the polls on Oct. 2, 2022, but if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the winner will be determined in a second round to be held on Oct. 30. In case the presidential election is canceled, or no winner is announced by the end of 2022, the contract will expire at $0. Source: FTX The risk profile of Bolsonaro 2022 is different from BTC as the chances of large moves in either direction are significantly higher, the broker noted. In theory, the price should be equal to the probability of reelection, crypto news outlet Portal do Bitcoin commented. That is, if a user estimates Bolsonaro’s chances at 52%, the contract should be trading at $0.52. In reality, however, other factors such as demand and supply as well as capital costs also play a role. At the time of writing, the recorded price is $0.488 and the 24h volume hovers around $3,000. Covid Crisis, Economic Outlook Hurt Bolsonaro’s Candidacy Bolsonaro’s chances of winning the election are not great. Recent polling data shows that 45% of Brazilians evaluate his administration as “terrible” while only 24% approve it. The president’s popularity tumbled largely as a result of the worsening health and economic situation over the past year. With 435,000 deaths so far, Brazil has among the worst Covid-19 death rates in the world. Figures released earlier this year suggested that South America’s largest economy shrank by 4.1% in 2020 and is expected to grow only by 3.6% this year. Unemployment currently exceeds 14%. Add to all the numerous corruption scandals that marked Bolsonaro’s first term. FTX is a leading cryptocurrency derivatives broker but its services and FTT tokens are not available in some jurisdictions, including the United States. The Hong Kong-based company is not a registered provider in Brazil either. Nevertheless, the platform launched a futures contract based on the 2020 U.S. election results last February, and users in other countries were able to trade it. This year, FTX offered them an option to speculate whether Donald Trump will win the 2024 presidential election. Trump 2024’s mark price is currently $0.085 with a daily volume of just $20. The contract “will settle to $1 if Trump is president on February 1st, 2024, and $0 otherwise… You can go long or short using any of the available forms of collateral,” FTX details on its website. What are your expectations about the outcome of Brazil’s presidential election? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Those who mine cryptocurrencies with power intended for domestic use will pay hefty fines, the Iranian government warned. The country is experiencing shortages due to reduced hydropower generation as authorities register a surge in electricity consumption for cryptocurrency mining. Crypto Miners to Pay for Damages to the Power Grid Hydropower plants in Iran have been working with limited capacity as a result of insufficient rainfall this year. At the same time, authorities say the minting of digital coins consumes more and more electrical energy. Illegal mining operations, often relying on electricity supplied to Iranian households, overload transformers, damaging the grid. Unauthorized mining of cryptocurrencies affects electricity supply, noted Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Energy. Miners who run such facilities will be fined when identified and held responsible for the damages they cause to the electricity network, Mashhadi added, quoted by the Teheran Times. Cryptocurrency mining has expanded rapidly in Iran following the government’s decision to legalize it as an industrial activity in 2019. In 2020, the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade issued over 1,000 mining licenses and power companies saw an opportunity to increase their profits by satisfying the industry’s energy needs. Last summer, power plants were also allowed to mine. Constant energy price hikes and the obligation to supply electricity at stable prices have caused a large gap between revenues and expenditures in the electricity industry, according to Mohsen Tarztalab, head of Iran’s Thermal Power Plant Holding Company (TPPH). “We need new sources of income to fill this gap,” the executive added, pointing to the sale of electricity to cryptocurrency miners as an option. Electricity Consumption of Crypto Mining Surges to 1,500 MW Daily The Energy Ministry official also said that new figures reveal a huge surge in crypto mining in recent months. According to the latest available data, the sector reportedly uses up to 1,500 megawatts of electricity daily, a huge increase from the 300 megawatts registered in December. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi told Mehr news agency that only around 200 megawatts of that power usage is legal. Electricity prices are subsidized in Iran and the low rates have already attracted Chinese companies who have established mining operations in some of Iran’s special economic zones. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade estimated that unlicensed facilities in the Islamic Republic mine $660 million worth of cryptocurrency annually. Interest in cryptocurrencies has increased significantly over the past year and many Iranians are investing in bitcoin and the like. In April, the Central Bank of Iran authorized local banks and exchangers to use cryptocurrency mined in the country in payments for imports. However, the regulator later warned against unrestrained crypto trading. Do you expect cryptocurrency mining to continue to expand in Iran? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Amid speculation over the weekend that Tesla may have sold its bitcoins, CEO Elon Musk has clarified that the electric car company “has not sold any bitcoin.” The Technoking of Tesla got into a heated debate with the bitcoin community Sunday after he announced that Tesla has suspended accepting bitcoin for payments due to environmental concerns. Elon Musk Confirms Tesla Has Not Sold Its Bitcoins Tesla CEO Elon Musk got into a string of heated discussions with bitcoiners on Sunday which led to speculation that Musk’s electric car company may have sold its bitcoins or is planning to sell them shortly. The discussions started after Musk announced that Tesla has suspended accepting bitcoin for payments due to environmental concerns. Meanwhile, the price of bitcoin plummeted. To end speculation, Musk confirmed early Monday morning that Tesla has not dumped its bitcoins. He wrote: “To clarify speculation, Tesla has not sold any bitcoin.” This clarification concurred with the statement made by Tesla when it announced that it has suspended accepting bitcoin as a means of payment. The company wrote: “Tesla will not be selling any bitcoin and we intend to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy.” Tesla cited environmental issues as the reason. The company began accepting bitcoin for payments in late March. The speculation that Tesla may have sold its bitcoins started when Musk replied to a tweet by Twitter handle @cryptowhale which states: “Bitcoiners are going to slap themselves next quarter when they find out Tesla dumped the rest of their bitcoin holdings. With the amount of hate Elon Musk is getting, I wouldn’t blame him.” Musk then replied: “Indeed.” Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in the first quarter as disclosed in the company’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). At the end of April, the company’s bitcoin stash was worth $2.5 billion. Musk confirmed on Twitter at the time: “I have not sold any of my bitcoin,” adding that “Tesla sold 10% of its holdings essentially to prove liquidity of bitcoin as an alternative to holding cash on balance sheet.” Do you think Tesla will sell its bitcoins? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

In its bid to help users avoid high gas fees on Uniswap, a Kenya-based fintech firm, UTU, recently launched a liquidity pool on the decentralized exchange (dex), Pancakeswap. This launch enables prospective UTU coin buyers to acquire the token “with low fees and fast confirmation times.” In a statement posted on the firm’s blog, UTU, which wants to end the anonymous star ratings, reviews, and scores as the de facto trust mechanisms, says this move had been necessitated by the feedback received from users. The statement explains: You have expressed your concerns about the high gas fees on Uniswap and how much of a hurdle these fees are to purchasing UTU coin. However, the statement still warns users to be on the lookout for scams and fake liquidity pools. In addition, the statement also lists down some of the steps that users must adhere to if they are to successfully buy UTU tokens on Pancakeswap. In the meantime, the tech start-up reveals that as much as $150,000 in seed money had been raised. From this total, approximately $75,000 went to UTU and the other went to BNB. According to the firm, the initial liquidity had come out of “our growth round budget, which is allocated to exchange listings, marketing and community growth, and general expansion of the UTU ecosystem.” What are your thoughts on the launch of this liquidity pool? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Ethan Allen, a U.S.-based furniture company, has been getting strange traction in markets this year, due to an interesting coincidence. The company’s stock ticker is the same as ethereum’s ticker, something it shares with one of the hottest cryptocurrencies right now. This has caused confusion among investors, who have bought Ethan Allen without doing research and thinking they are buying ethereum. Ethan Allen Enjoys Ethereum’s Market Ticker Ethan Allen, a Nasdaq-listed custom furniture company based in Vermont, has been getting a special kind of attention in the market this year, as its shares are going up for no apparent reason. But what’s the cause of all this? Confusion it seems. It turns out that Ethan Allen’s shares its ticker (ETH) with ethereum, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the market right now, making investors ape in furniture company shares rather than in digital currency. And while this might sound incredible to some, the comments on the social boards of stock investing sites confirm this fact: most of the messages posted are related to ethereum, instead of talking about Ethan Allen. Messages like: “Sideways for the next few days. Load up now #eth.” “Sold everything for a 10k profit, now parked in $Eth till the next dip, LOVE IT!” The aforementioned comments are just a couple of instances that illustrate how investors are indeed confusing the two tickers. However, there are other savvy investors that mock this confusion, with comments like: $ETH to the moon! – give us something to sit in when we get there! In the year 2030, all transactions will be settled digitally with Ethan Allen interiors stock But, even with all this confusion, Ethan Allen has nothing to regret from this. The firm’s stock has been trading 50% over its 5-year price average, an unexpected blessing for Ethan Allen investors. Other Instances Where This Has Happened While Ethan Allen has profited from its coincidental relation with ethereum (ETH), there are other companies that have pivoted their names to benefit from this relation. This is the case of Long Island Iced Tea, a company that changed its name to “Long Blockchain Corp.” during the 2017 bull run. This created a wave of buyers aping in, with its stock surging more than 200% in just one day. However, this change didn’t help the company in the long run. The company had its ticker delisted from the stock market last year, with the SEC stating it had failed to file financial reports since 2018. What do you think about the Ethan Allen- ETH ticker confusion? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Two brothers have shared the story of how they became millionaires after investing in Shiba Inu, the cryptocurrency nicknamed “dogecoin killer,” for just under two months. Before the investment, the covid-19 pandemic almost killed their business, and the government’s stimulus checks did not last long. Shiba Inu Crypto Investors Become Millionaires Two brothers from Westchester, New York, have shared their story of how they went from nearly jobless, and relying on the government’s stimulus checks, to becoming multimillionaires by investing in cryptocurrency, CNN reported Friday. Tommy, 38, and James, 42, put $200 each into Shiba Inu (SHIB), the ERC-20 token nicknamed “dogecoin killer,” in late February. One Shiba Inu coin was worth a fraction of a cent at the time but one of their friends, whom they called “a crypto expert,” told them that the coin could be a big moneymaker. In just two months, the brothers became millionaires. Before investing, Tommy said: I kind of thought about bitcoin — that was once a fraction of a penny and now it’s tens of thousands of dollars, and this happens to people, it’s possible. I trusted my friend and I figured if it went to zero, that’s OK. I thought of it as a lotto ticket that wouldn’t expire. The brothers also presented their investment idea to their mom, dad, sister, and a few other family members. “My mother and sister were skeptical but they each put in $100, too. After a few weeks when it was up about 300% they put another $100 in each, and then it kept going up,” Tommy recalled. He added that in total they invested about $7,900 altogether and as of Thursday, their investment was worth almost $9 million. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the brothers made a living by filming weddings. However, the Covid-19 outbreak nearly shuttered their business. Instead of booking 30-40 weddings that year, James said they only did eight weddings. Tommy explained: We kind of fell through the cracks. The government stimulus checks weren’t enough to sustain us. I’m a positive person but it was really tough, and not knowing the future was kind of scary. Their Shiba Inu crypto investment, however, kept rising. After it shot up to $100K, it kept climbing, Tommy described, elaborating: We woke up the next morning and it doubled. We were like, ‘Oh my god.’ Then it went up to $700,000 and I told my brother it’s going to hit a million. I kept refreshing my phone. The next day, their investment hit a million dollars. “The day it hit a million — my mom and sister, they didn’t think it was real,” he recalled. Bitcoin News recently reported on a few other people becoming millionaires by investing in cryptocurrency. In April, a dogecoin investor became a millionaire after investing in DOGE for two months. He got into the meme cryptocurrency after being inspired by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Last week, a Goldman Sachs executive reportedly left the investment bank after making millions of dollars in dogecoin. What do you think about Shiba Inu investors becoming millionaires? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Shark Tank star and the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, has made an argument that accepting cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, will actually help the environment. He told Elon Musk, whose electric car company Tesla has suspended accepting bitcoin, citing environmental problems. Mark Cuban vs Elon Musk Billionaire entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban has a message for Elon Musk after the Tesla CEO announced that his electric car company has suspended accepting bitcoin for payments. Cuban tweeted Wednesday: We at Mavs.com will continue to accept BTC/ETH/DOGE because we know that replacing gold as a store of value will help the environment. Tesla cited environmental issues as the reason for the suspension of bitcoin payment acceptance. “We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,” Tesla wrote. In his tweet to Musk, Cuban cited an article by The New York Times published back in 2005 that shed light on the gold mining industry based on the publication’s months-long examination, including tours of gold mines in the American West, Latin America, Africa, and Europe. “Some metal mines, including gold mines, have become the near-equivalent of nuclear waste dumps that must be tended in perpetuity. Hard-rock mining generates more toxic waste than any other industry in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The agency estimated last year that the cost of cleaning up metal mines could reach $54 billion,” the article details. Another article Cuban referred to was published by Moneyweek in January this year entitled “Bitcoin does consume a lot of energy — but here’s why it’s worth it.” The article points out that much of the energy bitcoin mining consumers is renewable, noting that half of the global bitcoin mining takes place in Sichuan, China, because of hydroelectricity. “Roughly 5% of Sichuan bitcoin mining power comes from nuclear or burning coal. 95% is from renewables,” the article says. Moreover, Coinshares’ research found that the Bitcoin network obtains 74% of its electricity from renewable sources. In conclusion, Cuban further told Musk: Shrinking big bank and coin usage will benefit society and the environment. Do you agree with Mark Cuban or Elon Muk? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Rokke says bitcoin becoming mainstream is inevitable. Unlike Tesla, which stopped accepting cryptocurrency, Rokke’s company is now considering accepting bitcoin as a means of payment, emphasizing that Elon Musk’s comments about the cryptocurrency’s environmental issues have not changed anything. Norwegian Oil Mogul Dives Deeper Into Bitcoin Norwegian oil billionaire Kjell Inge Rokke believes that bitcoin could be worth millions of dollars. He owns almost 70% of the industrial investment company Aker ASA, which owns oil producer Aker BP that recently branched out into green technology and renewable energy. Rokke’s enthusiasm for bitcoin has made an impact on Aker, which now says it is open to the idea of accepting payments in BTC, Bloomberg reported Saturday. “We’re curious about this technology,” Aker CEO Oyvind Eriksen was quoted as saying. He explained that the payment system has not been configured to accept cryptocurrency yet, but noted that “things happen very quickly here.” In addition, Eriksen emphasized that he is “no stranger” to the idea of receiving payments in bitcoin. Aker’s comment followed the announcement by Elon Musk’s Tesla, which has suspended accepting bitcoin for payments. “We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,” Tesla said. In response to comments by Tesla and Musk about bitcoin’s environmental issues, Aker affirmed that Musk’s latest comments “haven’t changed anything.” In a letter to shareholders earlier this year, Rokke said that bitcoin’s entry into the mainstream economy is inevitable. Despite the cryptocurrency’s volatility, he wrote: The question is not if, but when … We have to ex­pect a lot of volatil­i­ty. But we don’t care, because we be­lieve in the long-term functionality. In March, Rokke established a bitcoin investment company called Seetee AS with an initial capital injection of 500 million kroner ($60 million). He explained that Seetee’s liquid assets will be in bitcoin. Rokke’s enthusiasm about bitcoin has also attracted another Norwegian billionaire to the cryptocurrency. Øystein Stray Spetalen said in April that he bought some BTC after he read that “Røkke had gone into bitcoin.” He admitted, “I cannot bear to see that Røkke makes money and not me.” What do you think about Rokke’s bitcoin comments and Aker’s strategy? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Over the course of the last week, the concern tied to the environmental impact bitcoin mining produces continues to be a very topical discussion. On May 14, the musician and activist, Sean Ono Lennon, the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, said that he’s more concerned with consumerism than those complaining about bitcoin’s use of electricity. Sean Ono Lennon Pokes Fun at Wasteful Consumers Complaining About Bitcoin’s Electricity Use Sean Ono Lennon, the son of the Beatles’ John Lennon, is a fan of the leading digital currency bitcoin (BTC). Back in November 2020, Lennon discussed the subject on the “Orange Pill” podcast with hosts Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert. During the interview, Lennon told the “Orange Pill” podcast hosts that he felt like “bitcoin is something that empowers individuals.” The British-American musician further added that bitcoin “empowers people in a way they’ve never been empowered before.” Sean Ono Lennon is a musician, songwriter, and activist and the son of the Beatles’ John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono. This week on Twitter, Lennon has made another statement about bitcoin, after the recent Elon Musk and Tesla controversy that sparked concerns over the network’s carbon footprint. It seems that Lennon understands that bitcoin miners use a great deal of renewable energy and the musician thinks there are bigger issues humans should consider. On Friday Lennon tweeted: Ppl wearing jeans and drinking coffee and eating almonds and avocados and driving cars and taking flights and using cellphones and buying new computers while complaining that #bitcoin uses electricity (70% of which is renewable). John Lennon’s Son Further Stresses That ‘Rocket Fuel Has a Pretty Big Carbon Footprint’ Lennon’s bitcoin tweet, which criticized the very fabric of mindless consumerism, was quite popular receiving thousands of likes and retweets. Some individuals replied to Lennon and discussed how humans eat a lot of meat, as they believe this causes quite a bit of greenhouse gases that could be curbed. Some people attacked bitcoin and one person called the cryptocurrency a “pyramid scheme.” Lennon responded to the pyramid scheme commentary and said: Ppl tend to completely misuse the terms Ponzi and pyramid scheme. #bitcoin has none of these features, not even vaguely. Some individuals in Lennon’s Twitter thread also mentioned the ‘proof-of-violence’ that backs the petro-dollar. “You missed the most obvious one – Using the petro-dollar every day of their life. Backed by the biggest polluter in the world,” the individual said, referring to the U.S. military as the world’s biggest polluter. A few other individuals responding to Lennon’s statement about bitcoin said it wasn’t about the environment and more about control. “Let’s be honest, it has nothing to do with their concern for the planet. They don’t like it as they have no control of crypto,” the person said to Sean Ono Lennon on Twitter. Sean Ono Lennon also sports a bitcoin hashtag on his Twitter bio and following his tweet about consumerism being a bigger problem, Lennon made another carbon footprint remark. “Newsflash: rocket fuel has a pretty big carbon footprint. Just saying…,” Lennon tweeted the next day. Do you agree with Sean Ono Lennon’s views about bitcoin and the environment? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On May 15, the Bitcoin Cash upgrade was applied successfully to the blockchain, bringing a slew of features directed toward improving the overall experience of users. This particular upgrade marks the start of a new upgrade schedule that will allow developers to invest more time in testing new features added to the protocol in the future. Bitcoin Cash Update Applied Successfully The latest Bitcoin Cash update, which proposed a set of important changes, was applied successfully to the network Saturday afternoon. This specific upgrade provided improvements that would tackle user experience and offer better security against double-spending. Happy Bitcoin Cash Upgrade Day 🥳 — Bitcoin Info (@bitcoininfo) May 15, 2021 The new features were applied to the chain with no problem, and at the time of writing, 82 blocks have been mined with the new rules, according to Coin Dance. This update marks a new era in how developers manage protocol updates, contrasting with how things were done before. A transaction chain of length 4642 was just mined in #BitcoinCash block 688,122 (a 1.4MB block which included 747 other txs)#BigBlocks #BigChains https://t.co/fIBznm6lFq — 🔱 bch 'make Bitcoin cash again' protocol upgrade (@btcfork) May 15, 2021 It brings two new proposals that seek to standardize and improve protocol development: A new yearly update schedule, that will help developers to write and test new features more thoroughly, and CHIPs (Cash Improvements Proposals), whose objective is to present these features to users and miners before being applied. Additionally, the removal of the unconfirmed chained transaction limit has been applied and users have been testing the feature in the wild. No Drama This Time Bitcoin Cash has had a convoluted story when applying updates. Just last year, the network faced a contentious hard fork when the most dominant node’s developers, Bitcoin ABC, proposed a new ruleset. This ruleset changed how mining rewards were distributed, giving Bitcoin ABC a percentage of them. A majority of the community including alternative node software teams decided to let the ABC development team fork away. Bitcoin Cash retained its ticker and the hashrate majority at that time, and the Bitcoin ABC separated entirely, creating its own chain. But even before that, Bitcoin Cash faced another contentious hard fork that pitted Bitcoin ABC’s lead dev Amaury Sechet against Craig Wright over specific changes. This schism gave birth to bitcoinsv (BSV), through what was called at the time a “hash war,” that faced miners supporting one chain against the miners supporting the other. 82 blocks have been mined with the new rules, according to Coin Dance. Developers have now learned from the past mistakes, acknowledging these problems, and are betting for a more off-centered, independent development process with CHIPs at the center of it. CHIPs are now the to-go structure to propose changes, and to find consensus to enable or reject them and avoid now familiar pitfalls that have gone together with centralized development. What do you think about the new Bitcoin Cash Update? Let Us Know In the comments section below. View the full article

Cobie, the host of the Uponly podcast and a popular crypto Twitter personality, bolstered a fundraising session for John Oliver, a six-year-old kid that is currently battling leukemia. The initiative was quite successful, getting the attention of the likes of FTX executive Sam Bankman Fried, and managed to raise more than $800,000 to pay for Oliver’s treatment. Cobie Livestream Mob Raised $800K Cobie, otherwise known as “Crypto Cobain,” hosted a livestream event for John Oliver Zippay, a 6-year-old child who is currently battling leukemia. The idea of fundraising for the child came from another crypto Twitter influencer nicknamed “Ice Bagz.” The crypto pundit Ice Bagz saw the story of John Zippay and decided to contribute to the family of the child dealing with medical bills due to the situation. The fundraising event was a big success and managed to get attention from all corners of crypto Twitter. One of the big highlights was the appearance of Sam Bankman Fried, CEO of FTX Exchange, who donated 12 ether to the cause valued at $40,000 at the time of the donation. This escalated quickly, and in the end, the family managed to get more than $800,000 in ether and other Ethereum-based (ETH) tokens, including USDC and tether (USDT), among others. This is not the first time Cobie has done something like this. He once raided the livestream of Cameron Ferguson, a Twitch musician, which led to a fundraiser to give him $85,000 worth of cryptocurrency last April. And in another livestream, he led the raid of Mela Bee, a twitch singer who managed to get $250,000 in donations. Who Is John Zippay? John Zippay, the child who received a rain of donations, is a kid who was featured in a video that went viral back in 2020. The video showed him receiving an ovation from his friends and returning to his school after facing six months of chemotherapy. This has been a four-year fight for his family, which has had to pay for all his treatment and care. J.O. continues to inspire so many, and his battle with Cancer is a message of HOPE. From the bottom of our hearts we would like to thank everyone helping to support our family and blessing him with a great future. pic.twitter.com/4rGybrTVDQ — John Zippay (@john_zippay) May 14, 2021 The family of the boy was thrilled after Cobie’s live stream, and even John thanked “crypto Twitter” with a colorful banner and a smile, showing that cryptocurrency can also be used to help people in need. What do you think about Cobie raising $800,000 for John Zippay? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article