Daily digest for Crypto Timeless, on October 1, 2021
admin posted: "This "Crypto City" guide looks at Tokyo's crypto culture, the city's most notable projects and people, its financial infrastructure at which retailers accept crypto and where you can find blockchain education courses — and there's even a short history wit"
This "Crypto City" guide looks at Tokyo's crypto culture, the city's most notable projects and people, its financial infrastructure at which retailers accept crypto and where you can find blockchain education courses — and there's even a short history with all the juicy details of famous controversies and collapses.
Fast facts
City: Tokyo
Country: Japan
Population: 14M
Founded: 1603
Language: Japanese
The largest city in Japan — actually an amalgamation of 23 different wards — is well known for its quirky cafes, famous nightlife, and that mix of modern and ancient which continues to make the country a popular draw for tourists. Many visitors from around the world are often surprised at Tokyo's massive — yet nearly perfectly on time — a transit system that can carry them from Narita Airport all the way to the southern city of Kagoshima within a day.
Before becoming the high-tech modern city it grew to be in the 1970s and '80s, Tokyo started as a small fishing village named Edo. The shogun — essentially the highest leader in Japan, whose influence rivaled the emperor's — established a military government in the area in the early 17th century. However, the city received its namesake as the "eastern capital" at the start of the period known as the Meiji Restoration, when the imperial capital in Kyoto was moved to Edo.
Tokyo has been home to two summer Olympics in 1964 and 2021 and hosts sumo tournaments, baseball games and international conferences in addition to being the setting of movies like Godzilla, Kill Bill, You Only Die Twice, and many others. Though often portrayed in the media as a homogeneous culture of people packed tightly together, a number of foreign nationals reside in Tokyo's 23 wards with a variety of political viewpoints alongside their Japanese neighbors.
Many consider Japan as a country with a social system of insiders and outsiders, permeating every aspect of life in the country, from time with families to the legal system. Children with successful jobs often live with, or house, their parents for decades, and the work culture — while seemingly aimed at promoting a sense of camaraderie — has been criticized for exceptionally long hours, few vacations and an inflexibility for solutions outside of the box.
Even before the pandemic shut Japan's borders to most temporary visitors, less than 3% of the country's 126 million people were non-Japanese citizens, but there are reports the percentage may be three times larger in Tokyo. The country faces challenges including a rising aging population, courts with an unrealistically high conviction rate and underrepresentation from women in government and business.
Despite the etymology of Satoshi Nakamoto, experts and investigators have not definitively proven the legendary Bitcoin creator was Japanese — though they claimed to have lived in the country. While the search for Satoshi continues (and it's unlikely to be Dorian Nakamoto, the man most pictured), Japan has been a popular place for crypto conferences and meetups.
If Satoshi Nakamoto isn't lying, then he should go on Maury Povich to prove he's not the father of Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/y6fXQPChXK
Japan was one of the first countries to recognize digital currencies as legal property under its existing regulatory framework. According to the organizer of the Tokyo Bitcoin Hackers group, an American living in Japan known as Wiz, "the markets were crazy" in 2017 and token projects attracted a lot of attention from Japanese investors.
At the time, the government required crypto exchanges and brokers to register with the country's Financial Services Agency, with Kraken not meeting the requirements and being forced to shutter operations until late 2020. Tokyo has been home to many exchanges, including the Mt. Gox (now defunct), bitFlyer, Liquid, Coincheck and even Binance's offices briefly before the major exchange relocated to Malta.
"Meetups were very popular with lots of newbies wandering in, and mainstream media like NHK and TV Tokyo news crews would show up at the meetups with big video cameras and want to interview people and ask them silly questions like 'how many Bitcoin do you own?'"
Another Meetup group, Bitcoin Tokyo, regularly gathered at different venues across the Roppongi, Shibuya and Akasaka districts, home to some of the first bars to host crypto ATMs and accept payments in Bitcoin starting in 2013. Roger Ver, the CEO of Bitcoin.com who moved to Japan in 2005, was the initial organizer of Bitcoin Tokyo which met from 2011 until 2018.
Although many foreign athletes were allowed to enter Japan for the 2020 Olympics that were held this year, there is no timeline for determining when short-term visitors will be once again able to attend in-person crypto and blockchain conferences in Japan. Tokyo is scheduled to host the TEAMZ Blockchain Summit and the Blockchain and Internet of Things Conference in 2022, but the city has been in and out of a state of emergency since the pandemic started, making it unlikely for groups to gather anytime soon.
Tokyo streets at night (Pexels.com)
Projects and companies
In the private sector, as in the United States, many major Japanese companies are searching for ways to give investors exposure to crypto without incurring the wrath of regulators. Financial conglomerate SBI Holdings is reportedly planning to set up one of the first crypto funds in Japan, and this year the Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Banklaunched an asset-backed securities token in partnership with Securitize. U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase launched a series of retail trading products for Japanese users in 2021 and financial giant SBI Group is the parent company for crypto trading platforms including TaoTao and B2C2.
Japan's Financial Services Agency has approved 31 registered crypto exchanges in the country, many of which are headquartered in Tokyo. These include Quoine, Huobi Japan, GMO Coin, bitFlyer, Liquid, BTCBOX, Bitpoint, bitbank, SBI VC Trade and Coincheck. Though the agency has strong regulatory requirements for the crypto industry in Japan, it has also launched the Blockchain Governance Initiative Network. The project is aimed at driving the development of the blockchain sector through open-source information sharing.
Other projects that may have a future in Tokyo include blockchain-based payments firm Ripple Labs. The company's leadership has hinted it would consider relocating outside the United States and Japan was in the running for a possible headquarters.
Should Ripple decide to move, the company may share the space with LayerX, a Japanese firm responsible for the development of a blockchain-based voting system in addition to working with other companies for blockchain solutions. The blockchain arm of Japan-based exchange bitFlyer currently offers consulting, Blockchain-as-a-Service, Joint Business, miyabi Core and RegTech services, as well as launching its own initiatives for blockchain-based voting solutions at company shareholder meetings.
The famous bullet trains (Pexels.com)
Financial infrastructure
In 2014, the first Robocoin Bitcoin ATM in Tokyo was installed at The Pink Cow, a bar and restaurant in Roppongi. The area is popular among many foreign residents and visitors for its nightlife and continues to be one of the more prominently pro-crypto districts in terms of accepting tokens. Though there are currently no crypto ATMs operating in Japan following stricter regulations, some businesses around the city's 23 wards do accept crypto payments for goods and services.
The Japanese media is going crazy for the first Bitcoin ATM in Tokyo! One customer wants $200k worth! pic.twitter.com/2a8gBOfxtl
Until very recently, Japan was largely a cash-only society, with credit card payments limited to mainly high-end restaurants and hotels. Bank transfers are still widely required for services — and might even demand customers fax in the paperwork — but these practices are slowly fading as new technologies gain more of a foothold.
In Tokyo, electronic giant Bic Camera currently allows retail customers to spend up to 100,000 yen — roughly $911 — in Bitcoin using the payment app from cryptocurrency exchange platform BitFlyer. Aside from the major retail stores, many restaurants and bars in the area including Two Dogs Taproom, Dot & Blue, Irish Pub Craic, Dot Raw and Y2T Stand accept Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash. Though the Bitcoin ATM at The Pink Cow no longer exists, crypto is still welcome as a medium of exchange for food and drinks, as it is at the ramen shop Jinanbou.
According to Coinmap, there are 116 retail outlets in the Tokyo area that accept crypto.
Some figures within the Japanese government have expressed interest in developing a digital yen for payments and cross-border transactions, but the country has yet to sort out many details. The Bank of Japan originally announced plans to develop a CBDC in October 2020 and launched its first phase of a pilot program in April 2021.
Tokyo Skytree, Sumida Ward (Pexels.com)
Education
The University of Tokyo currently offers a course on innovation in blockchain at its graduate school of engineering which is scheduled to run until Oct. 31, 2021, while the Tokyo Institute of Technology provides education on crypto and blockchain within existing courses at its school of computing. In addition, Ripple Labs has partnered with Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo as part of its University Blockchain Research Initiative, providing resources to students to support industry research.
Controversies and collapses
The Shibuya district of Tokyo was once the home of one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in the world, Mt. Gox. Launched in 2010 by programmer Jed McCaleb and later purchased by developer Mark Karpelès, the exchange was the target of two major hacks in 2011 and 2014. Mt. Gox subsequently collapsed in early 2014, resulting in the loss of 850,000 BTC, approximately $460 million at the time.
Still in the process of refunding the exchange's clients, the Mt. Gox saga has not completely ended. In 2018, the Tokyo District Court approved a petition for the exchange to begin civil rehabilitation, and creditors are aiming to vote on a compensation plan starting in October 2021. Authorities ultimately acquitted Karpelès of embezzlement charges related to the exchange but found him guilty of altering financial records.
"The first front-page news event about Bitcoin was the Mt. Gox bankruptcy," said Wiz. "At that time, people got a very negative image of Bitcoin. After that, during the 2017 bubble, people felt comfortable to gamble because the Japanese government had regulated exchanges, and many of them were large well-known Japanese companies operating them, so they felt comfortable to trade on them."
Other major Tokyo-based exchanges have similarly been mired in controversy. In 2018, hackers stole roughly $60 million in crypto from the Zaif Exchange, while a separate group removed more than $500 million worth of NEM from Coincheck's wallets, one of the largest crypto thefts by value at the time.
The Shiba Inu behind the famed Doge meme is a Tokyo resident.
Notable figures in Japan and former residents
Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto (maybe, according to him); Mark Karpelès head of Mt. Gox; Kim Nilsson, developer behind the investigation of Mt. Gox's missing Bitcoin; Noriyuki Hirosue, founder and CEO of bitbank; Yuzo Kano, founder and CEO of bitFlyer; Mai Fujimoto, founder and CEO of blockchain and crypto consultancy firm Gracone, also known as "Miss Bitcoin"; Tomoyuki Tagami, CEO of crypto and blockchain online learning service Techtec; Yoshinori Fukushima, CEO of LayerX; Shogo Ochiai, co-founder and chief technology officer of Cryptoeconomics Lab; Takahito Kagami, CEO of crypto and blockchain media outlet CoinPost; Tetsuyuki Oishi, accelerator and evangelist for crypto and blockchain; Taisuke Horitsugi, evangelist at Kyber Network; Kabosu, the Shiba Inu featured in the meme on which Dogecoin was based. Cointelegraph team members based in Tokyo: Yoshihisa Takahashi, Wataru Miura and Hose Mitamura.
Temporary residents of Japan while involved in the crypto space: Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, Mt. Gox and Ripple founder Jed McCaleb, Bitcoin executive chair Roger Ver.
If you have any suggestions for additions to this guide please contact turner@cointelegraph.com
admin posted: "Ether (ETH) price has seen quite a bit of volatility lately and to the surprise of many traders, the $4,000 level continues to present considerable resistance. Currently, the price is respecting the upward channel which started in August but every time th"
Ether (ETH) price has seen quite a bit of volatility lately and to the surprise of many traders, the $4,000 level continues to present considerable resistance. Currently, the price is respecting the upward channel which started in August but every time the support is tested, the risk of an aggressive correction increases. With that in mind, this Friday's $340 million options expiry will likely be dominated by neutral-to-bearish put options.
Ether price at Bitstamp in USD. Source: TradingView
Bulls placed larger bets for the expiry but it appears that they were too optimistic for Oct. 1, so their $215 million call (buy) options are getting closer to becoming with the looming approach of the expiry date.
It's possible that Ether could be a victim of its own success because the demand for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and the minting of non-fungible tokens (NFT) continue to clog the network. This has caused the average gas fee to surpass $20 over the past ten days.
Largest gas spenders past 24 hours. Source: etherscan.io
Notice above how OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, represents over 20% of the entire Ethereum network's gas use in the past 24 hours.
When analyzing the incredible demand for blockchain transactions, Polygon's co-founder, Sandeep Nailwal, says it is a matter of time before Ethereum overtakes Bitcoin as the dominant layer-1 protocol.
However, negative news continues to emerge as the fourth-largest Ethereum mining pool will shut down operations in China, citing "regulatory policies." Furthermore, SparkPool, the second-largest Ether mining pool, will also cease operations this month.
As for the $340 million options expiry on Friday, bulls need to push the price above $3,000 to avoid significant bearish pressure.
Ethereum options aggregate open interest for Oct. 1. Source: Bybt.com
As noted above, bulls were caught by surprise because the call (buy) instruments were placed at $2,900 or higher. Consequently, if Ether remains below that price on Sept. 17, only $1.4 million worth of neutral-to-bullish call options will be activated on the expiry.
This means that a $3,000 put option becomes worthless if Ether remains below that price at 8:00 am UTC on Oct. 1.
Bulls placed more bets, but there's a catch
The 1.74 call-to-put ratio represents the slight difference between the $215 million worth of call (buy) options versus the $125 million put (sell) options. Although favoring bulls, this broader view needs a more detailed analysis because some of those bets are implausible considering the current $2,800 price.
Below are the four most likely scenarios for Ether price. The imbalance favoring either side represents the theoretical profit from the expiry.
Depending on the expiry price, the quantity of calls (buy) and puts (sell) contracts becoming active varies:
Between $2,400 and $2,500: 0 calls vs. 38,050 puts. The net result is $95 million favoring the protective put (bear) instruments.
Between $2,500 and $2,800: 100 calls vs. 22,300 puts. The net result is $60 million favoring the protective put (bear) instruments.
Between $2,800 and $3,000: 2,300 calls vs. 13,800 puts. The net result is $33 million favoring the protective put (bear) instruments.
Between $3,000 and $3,200: 9,600 calls vs. 6,700 puts. The net result is balanced between bears and bulls.
This raw estimate considers call options being exclusively used in bullish strategies and put options in neutral-to-bearish trades. However, investors might have used more complex strategies that typically involve different expiry dates.
Bulls are wrecked one way or another
Bears have absolute control of Friday's expiry and they have sufficient incentive to keep pressuring the price below $2,800. However, one must consider that during negative price trends, like now for Ether, a seller might cause a 2% negative move by placing large offers and making aggressive sales.
On the other hand, bulls need a 7% positive price swing taking Ether above $3,000 to balance Friday's options expiry. It is impossible to calculate how much a trader needs to spend to drive the market that way, although it seems a colossal task.
If no surprises come before Oct. 1, Ether's price should keep trading below $2,800.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
admin posted: "Kryptomon, the highly anticipated NFT game and hottest new GameFi project that attracted more than 100,000 people to register interest in it during its week-long launch, has partnered with DODO to unveil its KMON-BNB Liquidity Mining campaign. And this is"
Kryptomon, the highly anticipated NFT game and hottest new GameFi project that attracted more than 100,000 people to register interest in it during its week-long launch, has partnered with DODO to unveil its KMON-BNB Liquidity Mining campaign. And this is after just a few days from the official announcement of a partnership with Simplex, the fiat/crypto payment processing giant.
The Kryptomon community can now participate in the KMON-BNB staking pool, facilitated by DeFi protocol and on-chain liquidity provider, DODO, to earn extra cryptocurrency – in the form of KMON and DODO tokens.
The highly anticipated crypto NFT game and hottest new GameFi project,Kryptomon, has announced a partnership with DODO, the DeFi protocol, and on-chain liquidity provider to unveil its KMON-BNB Liquidity Mining Campaign.
Through the staking pool, Kryptomon is now offering the community the opportunity to make their funds work for them and earn passive income in the form of KMON (the currency attached to the Kryptomon world) as well as DODO tokens.
This brand new partnership enables KMON token holders another opportunity to earn extra income from their tokens: by participating in the lottery to win valuable NFTs in the form of unique Kryptomon eggs, or by joining the new liquidity pool campaign to enjoy up to a whopping 416%(!) APY!
The campaign is part of DODO's Booster Program.
Participation is easy. The Kryptomon community – players who are also known as 'Trainers' – simply need to head over to DODO's website, connect their crypto wallet and provide KMON-BNB liquidity in exchange for DODO LP tokens. People can then stake these LP tokens and be rewarded with KMON and DODO in return.
A maximum of $45,000 worth of DODO and 225,000 KMON tokens in liquidity mining rewards will be available every week. The amount of available KMON will be fixed, whereas the number of DODO tokens will be adjusted depending on the weekly KMON trading volume on the DODO platform. This program will last for 4 weeks, with rewards being paid out every block (3 seconds) and no lock period for staked funds. Players are free to remove their liquidity at any point.
Liquidity mining is a process where users can earn passive income by putting their funds in a liquidity pool. Participants are rewarded with additional crypto tokens; in this case – KMON and DODO tokens!
Kryptomon creatures are currently in their egg phase. In Q4 2021 Phase 1 will launch, where the eggs will hatch and Trainers will meet their unique, digital creatures for the first time. Kryptomon's own currency KMON will be used by Trainers all around the world to breed and train their digital pets.
Umberto Canessa Cerchi (founder & CEO of Kryptomon), said:
"Our KMON-BNB Liquidity Mining Campaign is the latest in a series of exciting developments in the Kryptomon journey! We are excited to have partnered with DODO on its Booster Program to give our community (AKA Trainers) a higher return on their invested cryptocurrency, whilst helping to support the wider Kryptomon community.
"With the new Booster Program, trainers now have the choice of either staking their KMON to earn additional KMON and DODO tokens, or to stake their KMON in a special egg lottery that will give everyone the chance to win Kryptomon eggs, including the rare Gen 0 egg of which only 100 exist in the world!"
What is Kryptomon?
Kryptomonis a highly anticipated crypto NFT game that runs on Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Kryptomon will be a more appealing option to the mainstream players, unlike other platforms that charge higher fees for transactions. Community members play as 'Trainers' of their own individual monsters – Kryptomons – each of which is a completely unique digital asset connected to an NFT.
Each has a unique but mutable genetic code (genotype) that determines all of the aspects – physical and behavioral – of the creature. In short – think Pokémon meets CryptoKitties and Tamagotchi.
KMON tokens can be used by Kryptomon Trainers to breed their creatures, as well as to buy items and power-ups within the game itself.
admin posted: "Orlando Bravo, co-founder and managing partner of private equity firm Thoma Bravo, expressed his unwavering endorsement of the cryptocurrency market in an interview at CNBC's Delivering Alpha conference on Wednesday, revealing that he is "very bullish" on"
Orlando Bravo, co-founder and managing partner of private equity firm Thoma Bravo, expressed his unwavering endorsement of the cryptocurrency market in an interview at CNBC's Delivering Alpha conference on Wednesday, revealing that he is "very bullish" on his personal investment in Bitcoin (BTC).
The billionaire businessman owns one of the world's largest private equity firms, which boasts assets-under-management (AUM) of $83 billion as of June 30, 2021. Questioned on the potential of digital assets, Bravo spoke with delight on the emergence of the space:
"How could you not love crypto? [...] Crypto is just a great system. It's frictionless. It's decentralized. And young people want their own financial system. So it is here to stay."
Thoma Bravo participated in FTX's $900 million Series B funding round — the largest in crypto exchange history — alongside sixty venture capital and crypto firms including Sequoia Capital, Coinbase Ventures, VanEck and the Paul Tudor Jones family. The funding resulted in FTX's value soaring to a colossal $18 billion, establishing the exchange as a decacorn.
In the interview, Bravo also spoke highly of blockchain, crypto's underlying technology, conveying his belief that it could improve the current system:
"The underlying technology of blockchain, regardless of what protocol or what system you are building upon, can be very powerful and sometimes provides better use cases than data-based software."
Subscribing to a similar sentiment is crypto maverick Elon Musk, who spoke to CNBC at Tuesday's Code Conference in California. Musk advocated for the adoption of cryptocurrencies but warned on government invention: "It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto, but it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement."
When questioned on his instincts for regulating the ecosystem, Musk responded in a laissez-faire tone, claiming: "I would say, 'Do nothing.'"
admin posted: "The token sale (PRESALE) of the EKARTINU has been extended until 4TH OCT 2021. The reasons for this are: Several investors declared their intention to participate in the project via the PRESALE and the unsold tokens will be burnt after the presale is clos"
The token sale (PRESALE) of the EKARTINU has been extended until 4TH OCT 2021. The reasons for this are: Several investors declared their intention to participate in the project via the PRESALE and the unsold tokens will be burnt after the presale is closed. We believe this decision will have a good effect on EKARTINU ecosystem in the future.
This creates a positive approach for new participants to join up with major investors and receive greater returns once trade opens. During the presale the price of the tokens is minimal. Those investors who believed in the project in its earliest stages will receive a 2% additional bonus on their previous orders as an effective justification for the extension of the token sale.
The presale began with a total token count of 1000,000,000,000,000 EKART from this supply already 80% of the tokens burned, 2% to Vitalik Buterin as a donation to help in the fight against Covid-19.and the sale started distributing the remaining tokens on each sale. after the presale completion, we are left with 21105447260357
After the presale is completed the remaining unsold tokens from this address will be burned. The act of burning effectively removes tokens from the available supply, increasing its relative scarcity.
Ekart Inu is officially listed in Bitforex, XT, Probit Exchanges. According to the sources, Ekart Inu is all set to come into the market in the first week of October. Bitforex Exchange said in a Tweet that it is like the biggest and most valuable token ever in 2021 of all Inu's and definitely gives you amazing returns.
Initially, the coin came as a token and successfully reached many investors and as a result, now it will come as a coin that is going to be listed on October 5, 2021. Users can trade the Ekart Inu at Bitforex, Probit , Coinsbit, Azbit, Indoex, p2pb2b,XT.com, Pancakeswap,1inch,Quickswap . After the presale is closed, the trade will be live.
What is token burn?
Token burn is basically done to create a supply crunch, thereby creating an artificial upward pull for the token price. Token burn is a process where the miners and developers remove the tokens from circulation.
In other words, token burn is a process of destroying the token so that it is not available for further use (trading or otherwise). The developers and miners will send the tokens to the specialized addresses whose private keys are not accessible.
Each cryptocurrency network defines a protocol for accomplishing the burn but it amounts to associating the tokens in circulation with unobtainable private keys so nobody can claim them to be theirs. Additionally, the event of a Token burn itself is recorded in the ledger books so the burn is foolproof.
The primary objective of token burn is to regulate the supply and thereby stabilize the price. As a result, the price of the token will increase (at least theoretically it should). Even so, till such a saturation point is reached, the crypto promoters reckon the Token burn is a good way to boost the value of cryptocurrencies.
What is the need to burn a token?
Token burns directly affect the dynamics of supply and demand. The most notable objective is to create a deflationary effect. By reducing the overall number of tokens in circulation, these events make tokens scarce and boost the crypto currency's valuation.
"It drives the token price higher. It makes existing investors pretty happy as the value of their investments move skywards."
admin posted: "Bitcoin (BTC) shot to nearly $48,000 during Oct. 1 as a classic "short squeeze" liquidated over $270 million of crypto positions in under an hour.BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView"Goodbye bears"Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro"
A familiar setup for traders, the upward volatility followed signs that a BTC price recovery was already on the way Thursday, particularly as the dollar struggled.
539 #BTC shorts liquidated in 1 minute sending #Bitcoin to 47k.
admin posted: "DBS Vickers, the venture arm of DBS Bank, has been granted a crypto-license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Additionally, the Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve became the first foreign business to receive licensing app"
DBS Vickers, the venture arm of DBS Bank, has been granted a crypto-license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Additionally, the Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve became the first foreign business to receive licensing approval.
The licenses will now allow the businesses to provide digital payment token (DPT) services.
It is reported that close to 170 applicants are still waiting for similar license approvals. Meanwhile, some businesses are operating within an exemption limit under the Payment Services Act. The exemption limit is a transition window till an application is approved or rejected by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) or withdrawn by the business.
Last month, FOMO Pay was issued a crypto-license by the city-state.
This is a milestone development since the licensees will be able to operate within the Digital Data Exchange (DDEx) guidelines by using digital payment tokens. DBS's Head of Capital Markets, Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, said in the statement,
"This marks another significant milestone in our ability to provide integrated solutions across the digital asset value chain, from deal origination to tokenization, listing, trading and custody."
He added that the approval "coupled with recent enhancements to DDEx such as round-the-clock operations since August, could add to DDEx's volumes in the coming months."
The Asian country has become a frontrunner in crypto-adoption on the back of a clear regulatory framework. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) grants licenses and regulates the sector under the Payment Services Act (PSA). Additionally, all crypto-platforms in Singapore need to adhere to anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) controls.
Last month, the MAS ordered Binance to cease providing payment services to Singapore residents due to a lack of an operating license.
Owing to favorable regulations, Australia-based Independent Reserve had set up its first overseas headquarters in Singapore in 2019. The company, in fact, plans to make Singapore its ASEAN headquarters. According to Independent Reserve's Chief Executive Adrian Przelozny,
"A well-regulated environment will benefit both investors and crypto industry stakeholders. With tailormade rules for the crypto industry, Singapore currently has the clearest and most detailed licensing requirements of any jurisdiction in Asia."
admin posted: "China's declaration on crypto-transactions being illegal fueled a sell-off of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets. However, this came as a surprise to absolutely no one. As expected, headlines such as "this is a big opportunity for the U.S" h"
China's declaration on crypto-transactions being illegal fueled a sell-off of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets. However, this came as a surprise to absolutely no one. As expected, headlines such as "this is a big opportunity for the U.S" have been floating around too.
Venture capitalist Katie Haun agrees with the idea. While speaking to CNBC, Haun said the U.S. should look towards China for what not to do as far as crypto-regulations are concerned. According to Haun, even though China's actions have affected the crypto-market negatively, it lays the foundation for the U.S. to act upon it.
"This is an opportunity for the United States because we should be doing the exact opposite in my mind in this realm of what China is doing."
Earlier this year, China took steps to launch its own digital currency, the digital Yuan. It aims to replace some of the cash in circulation. The digital currency, of course, will be controlled by the People's Bank of China. Quite contrary to the whole 'decentralized' crypto-assets scenario.
Haun further predicts that China will "tie trade, loans, and other assistance to the use of essentially their stablecoin."
Now, while the United States is unlikely to follow in China's footsteps, some have argued that it is working towards over-regulating crypto. As far as CBDCs are concerned, however, Haun believes the U.S is taking the right approach.
"I'm glad we as a country are studying CBDCs, but we've publicly said that we're going to keep studying it for a couple of years. I think it's really important that policymakers and private industry in the U.S. work together."
The exec also took aim at the aforementioned over-regulation on the part of government agencies.
"It's not that the industry does not want regulation. It wants clarity, but it also does not want to be treated as a monolith."
These statements come at an interesting time, especially in the background of the SEC's actions against Coinbase and Ripple Labs.
Some relief on the horizon?
Additionally, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, irrespective of speculations against him, recently stated,
"There is no intention to ban them, but, you know, stablecoins are like money-market funds, they are like bank deposits, but they are, to some extent, outside of the regulatory perimeter. It's appropriate that they be regulated."
This statement is in line with the initial U.S. stand, one that doesn't go down the China route of banning all cryptos. Other U.S Senators have also shared a similar position on the narrative of crypto-regulations.
admin posted: "Bitcoin (BTC) was keen to retain $44,000 on Oct. 1 as the monthly close sparked a late show of strength.BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewBTC monthly close matches PlanB predictionData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingVie"
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it first returned to the $44,000 mark Thursday, then test lower levels before heading even higher.
While still not tackling resistance at $45,000 and higher, Bitcoin did not disappoint with its end-of-month performance, this almost exactly matching predictions from stock-to-flow model creator PlanB for a second month running.
With $63,000 now planned for October, expectations were high for Bitcoin to make up for lost ground going into Q4.
"September was bad. October is great. November is great. December is great," Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe summarized, telling Twitter followers to "buy the f*cking dip."
Van de Poppe highlighted historical performance across various months each year, something which Cointelegraph previously noted all but consigned September to be a "boring" 30 days.
Others, however, were more cautious. In its latest market update, crypto trading firm QCP Capital said that it would remain cautious in its approach to the market as a whole.
"Overall, we struggle to find any directional conviction amidst the macro and market crosswinds. Our strategy going into Q4 is to remain fairly neutral and nimble," executives summarized.
Macro factors at play were China's reiteration of its crypto crackdown and two United States issues: legislation and the potential approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
On Friday, a vote on the government's infrastructure bill, originally slated to happen Monday, was again delayed after a shutdown later this month was averted in a separate vote.
Ethereum returns to $3,000
Altcoins meanwhile saw another 24 hours of modest to flat moves, again headed by Binance Coin (BNB) on 6% daily gains.
admin posted: "Disclaimer: The findings of the following analysis are the sole opinions of the writer and should not be taken as investment advice A double top formed at $44.5 kickstarted a correctional phase as ATOM cooled off from record levels. The altcoin shed "
Disclaimer: The findings of the following analysis are the sole opinions of the writer and should not be taken as investment advice
A double top formed at $44.5 kickstarted a correctional phase as ATOM cooled off from record levels. The altcoin shed 25% of its value over the past week and awaited a pushback at certain support levels. A rebound above $28.9 would initiate the next upcycle as sellers get rooted out from the market.
At the time of writing, ATOM was trading at $36, up by 2.8% over the last 24 hours.
ATOM Hourly Chart
Source: ATOM/USD, TradingView
Lower highs at $42, $38, and $36.6, along with lower lows at $35.7, $33.1, and $32, identified a bit of a downtrend for ATOM as investors locked in their gains. As selling pressure diminished, a rebound was seen at $33.4. This fueled speculations of an upwards run.
From here, a close above 29 September's swing high of $36.6 and a resistance barrier of $38 will flush out some more selling positions and a decisive jump above $41.6 could be needed for a fresh ATH.
On the other hand, sellers can deny the same by restricting ATOM below $38. A failed breakout attempt would see ATOM test its defenses at $33.4 and $31.5. If $30 is conceded as well, ATOM's best chance of a reversal would come from a double bottom at $28.8.
Reasoning
ATOM's indications invited near-term opportunities for bullish traders. The RSI traded above 60 and presented further upside before reaching overbought conditions. According to the DMI, ATOM was trading within an uptrend as the +DI line maintained itself above the -DI line.
However, a weak ADX reading meant that additional price ceilings need to be toppled for a more convincing rally. Meanwhile, higher peaks on the MACD lined up favorably for buyers, but an impeding bearish crossover can be expected to keep gains in check.
Conclusion
Although ATOM's near-term outlook was favorable, the altcoin needs to tackle some more price ceilings to fully realize its potential. A close above $38 would allow buyers to slice through some important barriers and set a new ATH.
admin posted: "The Islamic Republic of Iran has always been a "hotspot" for Bitcoin miners across the globe. Geographical conditions, certainly, have played a role in the same. Nevertheless, it hasn't been a smooth ride. Former President Hassan Rouhani, for instance, ha"
Former President Hassan Rouhani, for instance, had barred mining operations within the country a while back. Fast forward to October 2021, however, and this billion-dollar industry is again gaining some traction.
"Iran has permitted licensed cryptocurrency mining machines to resume operations after a three-month lull ordered by former President Hassan Rouhani."
The initial ban was put in place due to concerns over the stability of the country's unreliable power grid. Middle Eastern countries usually record extremely hot weather conditions. In fact, Iran once topped out at 51 degrees Celsius. Thanks to these conditions, "Iran experienced renewed electricity shortages in June when temperatures rose and air-conditioning units were turned on."
This was when the controversial practice of cryptocurrency mining was banned for three months. Worth noting, however, that tens of thousands of illegal, underground computers continued to work later.
Here's the interesting part though – Crypto mining used only around 300 megawatts of power, as per some officials.
Many see cryptocurrencies as a way to evade international sanctions. There are many in Iran who share this sentiment, especially since it faces a near-complete embargo by the USA.
However, "Iran's Bitcoin production would amount to revenues close to $1 billion a year," according to figures from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.
Iran's decision to resume mining operations in the country is bound to move the needle in the global picture. The report added,
This is thanks to the fact that the country provides some of the cheapest electricity rates in the world. This would encourage lucrative businesses in this field. Ergo, the importance of the region cannot be taken lightly. Furthermore, metrics such as Network difficulty, hash rate too have seen some signs of recovery lately.
Illegal no more?
Having said that, around 85% of all cryptocurrency mining operations are still carried out illegally. Just recently, dozens of ASICs were discovered in Iran's largest stock exchange's basement. The Director of Tehran's stock exchange also announced his resignation soon after.
Illegal mining may soon be a thing of the past, however, since authorities are taking notice and policies will be implemented. In fact, just recently, Iran's tax agency called for a legal framework for crypto-trading activities in the country.
admin posted: "French stock market regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), continues monitoring the cryptocurrency market to warn investors about unauthorized crypto services.On Oct. 1, AMF updated its web portals identified as offering crypto and foreign "
French stock market regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), continues monitoring the cryptocurrency market to warn investors about unauthorized crypto services.
On Oct. 1, AMF updated its web portals identified as offering crypto and foreign exchange (forex) investments through unauthorized entities. The list included four websites related to cryptocurrency derivatives investments alongside 12 forex-related sites.
According to the regulator, the listed entities have been offering investment products without being authorized to provide such services. To protect investors from potentially fraudulent investments, AMF and French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) regularly update the blacklist of unauthorized investment providers. Still, those lists are "not intended to be complete" as "new unauthorized entities appear regularly."
The authority strongly recommended investors to follow the list of authorized investment providers using the online register of financial service providers as well as the list of authorized in the financial investment advisor or crowdfunding categories.
The AMF's latest warning comes shortly after Paris-based derivatives fund manager Melanion Capital launched a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in August. Melanion CEO Jad Comair reportedly said that getting the fund approved by AMF was "a real challenge because of the sensibilities and politics currently surrounding Bitcoin and Bitcoin investing."
Global authorities have been increasingly expressing concerns over unregulated crypto investment services recently.
In mid-August, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission advised citizens to only invest in crypto via financial institutions holding an Australian Financial Services license. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, crypto scams made up more than 50% of Australian investors' losses in the first six months of 2021.
Earlier this year, Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau urged Europe to prioritize crypto regulation due to the risk of digital assets challenging its monetary sovereignty.
admin posted: "This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industry's most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape, and enterprise blockchain integrations. Well, it "
This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industry's most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape, and enterprise blockchain integrations.
Well, it finally happened. The regulation-driven crypto-apocalypse in China. They started by clamping down on miners earlier this summer before finally tightening the screws on exchanges. This week, the final nail in the coffin came with even more rules from the PBoC that resulted in many platforms announcing they could no longer accept Chinese users.
Banned yet again
The new rules handed down by the People's Bank of China made things incredibly clear for businesses from a legal standpoint. One of the main points was that cryptocurrency-related business activities are illegal, a ruling that cast doubt over the long list of projects, exchanges, and financial service providers in the country.
Many projects responded instantly by eliminating WeChat communities and even internal messaging groups on domestic networks, preferring to operate through VPNs and more privacy-focused chat apps. Leading exchange Huobi, which sits third on the global leaderboard for volume, announced they would be permanently closing down Chinese user accounts at the end of the year.
Chinese users on Huobi must make a decision before accounts close on December 31.
If true, this would be a massive blow to the exchange that has long-serviced the Chinese community with a high standard of service that includes deep liquidity, a wide range of assets, and few security blemishes to speak of. Experienced Chinese investors might still be skeptical that Huobi would make such a drastic change, as announcements and policies can change very quickly in the Chinese world of crackdowns and political posturing.
Trouble for overseas players
Perhaps the most alarming point of the PBoC announcement was that overseas cryptocurrency exchanges providing services to Chinese residents are also deemed to be illegal financial activities. Additionally, it stated that there are legal risks to participating in cryptocurrency investment transactions. This sparked some fear among employees of crypto companies who suddenly worried they might be the next target of crackdowns by law enforcement.
Binance was quick to point out that the domain Binance.com has been blocked in China since 2017, excluding it from the regulatory discussion. It also announced it would no longer accept new registrations from Chinese users, but said nothing about existing accounts. BitMart, another exchange with ties to China, also announced that on November 30, it would be closing accounts from users in the Chinese mainland. Biki, an even smaller exchange, announced it would be winding up exchange operations altogether.
Many people are asking, China has banned Bitcoin 19 times, what's the difference this time? 😂 Fine, this lawyer explained in detail the 5 differences. Google Translate is required to read. https://t.co/WEMq99QCU1
For smaller exchanges, the risks of operating are quite high, especially as many have diversified business models that include investment, mining, or other financial services. Smaller CeFi exchanges in this space may also be feeling increasingly crowded out by the rapid growth of top CeFi platforms, as well as the widespread adoption of decentralized exchanges. Closing doors on the exchanges may not mean exiting the industry altogether, but simply abandoning a high-risk and underperforming business line.
So what is left for Chinese traders?
Individual users are still in a gray area as the announcement didn't strictly say that the possession of cryptocurrencies was illegal. This seems unlikely as the general trend is to try to protect the citizens by targeting the businesses, a move we've seen in a number of different industry verticals this year, including education and entertainment.
Another area that isn't clear is Chinese users who live abroad. In addition to the large population of overseas Chinese citizens, many are still able to fake their location using VPNs. Assuming that these users are still able to get past IP bans, it could leave a possible route for more technically savvy holders to continue trading on CeFi platforms.
Exchanges without any operations in China might see this as an opportunity, as regulators would have very little recourse against them. At this stage, it seems like China's regulators might be successful in discouraging much of the smaller retail cryptocurrency activity. However, the large players are already overseas or finding ways to get around these new barriers. If they've been in the space awhile, they are more than familiar with the ebbs and flows of regulations.
No answer for decentralization
The biggest benefactor in the short term may be DeFi protocols. The one-two punch of China cracking down and liquidity rewards on DYDX caused a massive spike in adoption for the StarkWare-based derivatives platform. According to data on Similarweb, China was the top region to access the site, with over 10% of the market share. Users with VPNs from China likely accounted for even more. It's still not clear if this will be a long-term solution, or if the massive increase is more speculative in search of earning the DYDX token as a reward.
China and Hong Kong lead the way for DYDX website visitors. Source: Similarweb
Toeing the party line
Seeing an opportunity to display their best behavior, eCommerce platform Alibaba announced the platform could no longer be used for the sale of cryptocurrency mining machines. This stance is not surprising, considering the scrutiny the company is already under by financial regulators. The organization is being restructured after their p2p lending models sparked a high-profile row between founder Jack Ma and financial oversight bodies.
**DISCLAIMER*** Everything on this channel is not financial advice so all the viewers must take his information with a grain of salt and do their own research. Cryptocurrencies are super volatile and risky so please do your own due diligence and research before investing in these markets. Crypto ZX is not responsible for your investment gains or losses.
admin posted: "DONT MISS #XRP and #Ripple! THIS CASE IS OVER! IT WAS ALL A PLAN! XRP Settlement Confirmed Mid-October! You have to see this! Massive news. I believe the technical and fundamentals are showing that the SEC vs ripple case will be settled!. This will cause "
DONT MISS #XRP and #Ripple! THIS CASE IS OVER! IT WAS ALL A PLAN! XRP Settlement Confirmed Mid-October! You have to see this! Massive news. I believe the technical and fundamentals are showing that the SEC vs ripple case will be settled!. This will cause the price to skyrocket! #Brad #Garlinghouse and #Chris #Larsen are Kings! XRP will #100x! Why XRP is the worlds best crypto! Ripple is KING! Must watch update! Don't miss XRP PLEASE! ##BradGarlinghouse #ChrisLarsen #RosieRios #XRPnews #XRPupdate XRP will have clarity! #xrpmoon #xrp king
admin posted: "Crypto traders breathed a sigh of relief on Sept. 30 after media headlines reflected positive news regarding adoption and future regulation in the crypto sector. Early in the day, Visa announced that it has developed a layer-2-based blockchain intero"
Crypto traders breathed a sigh of relief on Sept. 30 after media headlines reflected positive news regarding adoption and future regulation in the crypto sector. Early in the day, Visa announced that it has developed a layer-2-based blockchain interoperability hub that will support cryptocurrency payments and Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell stated that the regulator has no intention to ban cryptocurrencies.
The rise in sentiment coincided with a positive day for the price action in Bitcoin, which is up 5.74% and trading near $44,000 at the time of writing.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24-hours were Rari Governance Token (RGT), Polymath (POLY) and Telos (TLOS).
Rari Capital TVL surpasses $500 million
The Rari Governance Token is the native token of Rari Capital that allows users to direct the future of the project's DeFi protocol.
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, market conditions for RGT have been favorable for some time.
The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historical and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.
As shown in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for RGT first climbed into the green zone on Sept. 25 and eventually reached a high of 82 on Sept. 28, around 33 hours before its price began to increase by 29% over the next day.
The boost in the price of RGT comes as the community celebrates the Rari Capital protocol surpassing $500 million in total value locked as it strives to now break above the $1 billion mark.
Telos pops as holders expect airdrops
Telos is a blockchain network based on the EOSIO network that focuses on enabling the creation of smart contracts for nonfungible tokens (NFT), DeFi, gaming and social media.
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, market conditions for TLOS have been favorable for some time.
As shown in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for TLOS has been elevated in the green zone for the majority of the past week and reached a high of 73 on Sept. 28, around the same time as the price began to increase by 42% over the next two days.
The surge in price for TLOS comes as the community has been active and excited about an ongoing airdrop for the Fortis and Destiny World projects which was designed to show the Ethereum Virtual Machine's (EVM) capabilities of the Telos network's capacity to offer a flat gas price.
Polymath is a decentralized protocol that operates on the Ethereum (ETH) network and focuses on the developing technology that allows for the creation, issuance and management of digital securities on the blockchain.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after hitting a low of $0.51 on Sept. 29, the price of POLY has rallied 51.58% to a daily high at $0.772 on Sept. 30 as its 24-hour trading volume spiked from an average of $21 million to $544 million.
POLY/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The spike in price and trading volume for POLY come as the developers behind the protocol continue to update and expand the network's capabilities while new projects such as RedSwan and its commercial real estate marketplace launch on the Polymath network.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.91 trillion and Bitcoin's dominance rate is 42.7%.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
admin posted: "Even as billions of dollars were poured into the DeFi space over the past year, the industry continues to be plagued with regular exploits and hacks. Most recently, one of DeFi's biggest lending and borrowing protocols, Compound Finance, fell victim to a "
Even as billions of dollars were poured into the DeFi space over the past year, the industry continues to be plagued with regular exploits and hacks. Most recently, one of DeFi's biggest lending and borrowing protocols, Compound Finance, fell victim to a bug that could potentially cost the company millions of dollars.
The interest rate protocol recently introduced an update that led "some users to receive far too much COMP" tokens in unearned rewards. Compound Labs, the team behind the Compound protocol, tweeted about the incident earlier, stating,
"Unusual activity has been reported regarding the distribution of COMP following the execution of Proposal 062. No supplied/borrowed funds are at risk — Compound Labs and members of the community are investigating discrepancies in the COMP distribution."
Later, the protocol's founder, Robert Leshner, tweeted out an explanation stating that the newly introduced Proposal 62 which updated the Comptroller contract, tasked with distributing COMP to users of the protocol, contained a bug that caused this issue.
The update's purpose was to split the COMP distribution to borrowers and liquidity suppliers based on governance-set ratios rather than the 50/50 model that was used previously, along with fixing minor bugs. However, as the upgraded contract contained a bug, some users were able to claim around 168,000 COMP tokens already, which were worth almost $50 million at press time.
Leshner further revealed that "the impact is bounded, at worst, 280,000 COMP tokens," which was worth about $80 million at the time of writing. While there are still thousands of tokens left in the Comptroller, the protocol's decentralized nature prevents the distribution contract from being changed without governance interaction. He said,
"There are no admin controls or community tools to disable the COMP distribution; any changes to the protocol require a 7-day governance process to make their way into production. Labs, and members of the community, are evaluating potential steps to patch the COMP distribution."
DeFi Llama developer "0xngmi," who delved deeper into the issue, reported on Twitter that most of the faulty rewards were on the borrower side, with one user taking their 10 million in COMP and dumping them on OKEX and Huobi for stablecoins.
He also stated that the bug only allowed people who had borrowed from the protocol earlier to claim these rewards, while those greedy enough to try borrowing now to earn these rewards wouldn't be successful.
At the time of writing, COMP had lost over 11% of its valuation over the past day and was priced at $300, presumably due to fear spread by the bug.
DeFi protocols are vulnerable to bugs because of hackers having the ability to leverage through even minor bugs in the codebase. Last month, one of the biggest DeFi hacks took place when a white hat hacker stole over $600 million from Poly Network. While this protocol was lucky enough to be returned their funds, pNetwork lost $12.7 million last week in an exploit that cost them 277 Bitcoins.
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*DISCLAIMER: All opinions expressed by content contributors that appear on D.A.D. are solely expressing their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of D.A.D., its affiliates, or its sponsors. Content contributors may have previously disseminated information on a social media platform, website, or another medium such as a podcast, television, or radio.
D.A.D., Content Contributors, Affiliates, or Sponsors are not obligated to update or correct any information. The content contributors are sharing the information which they believe to be reliable. D.A.D., its affiliates, or sponsors cannot guarantee the accuracy of the opinions shared and viewers, readers and listeners should not rely on it.
Opinions expressed are not financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial adviser before making any financial decisions. It is imperative that before you invest in anything, that you research, before investing. Do not invest based on what someone else is doing, or not doing, or based on other persons opinions.
admin posted: "Due to the enormous growth of DeFi and a lack of direct competitors, Ethereum wallet and browser extension MetaMask recently surpassed 10 million active users, a major milestone for the ConsenSys-led protocol. Now, a new browser wallet is looking to provi"
Due to the enormous growth of DeFi and a lack of direct competitors, Ethereum wallet and browser extension MetaMask recently surpassed 10 million active users, a major milestone for the ConsenSys-led protocol. Now, a new browser wallet is looking to provide an alternative to MetaMask by doing something that most developers are shying away from — creating a web-based experience as opposed to a mobile client.
Emile Dubié, the CEO of XDEFI Wallet, explained to Cointelegraph why MetaMask's growth has previously gone unperturbed by competitors:
"I think developers decided to get on mobile being the next client for blockchain users while the reality is that most of the volume in DeFi is still going via web client. Why? Because you have more real estate from a UI point of view and browser wallets give much more flexibility to users."
This flexibility, Dubié said, eliminates the need for native integrations with specific protocols within the mobile wallet, making any decentralized application accessible with an extension.
So, whereas most developers are placing the future of DeFi growth in the mobile experience, Dubié said web-based extensions currently offer more usability.
XDEFI Wallet, which operates a browser wallet that seeks to integrate with Web 3 technologies, recently concluded a $6 million funding round backed by some of the biggest venture funds in crypto. The investment round was led by Mechanism Capital, with participation from DeFiance Capital, Alameda Research, Sino Global Capital, Animoca Brands, Morningstar Ventures and CoinGecko.
Dubié explained to Cointelegraph how XDEFI plans to fully utilize the Web 3 experience:
"If you want to unleash the full potential of Web 3 you need to have a wallet that allows [you] to interact with web applications built on different blockchains. No need to switch from a wallet to another, no need to deal with several seed phrases — just use the same vehicle to access different destinations."
XDEFI currently integrates with nine blockchains: Ethereum, Polygon, Terra, THORChain, Bitcoin, Binance chain, Binance Smart Chain, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. Support for Arbitrum, Solana and Avalanche are coming next, the CEO said.
admin posted: "Ethereum was in a delicate position on the charts. Trading between its EMA Ribbons and the 200-SMA (green), ETH faced pressure from either side. However, bulls needed to go the extra mile to save ETH from additional drawdowns. A close above $3,200 would h"
Ethereum was in a delicate position on the charts. Trading between its EMA Ribbons and the 200-SMA (green), ETH faced pressure from either side. However, bulls needed to go the extra mile to save ETH from additional drawdowns. A close above $3,200 would help flush out majority of sellers and present opportunities for bullish traders. At the time of writing, ETH traded at $3,001, up by 1.4% over the last 24 hours.
Ethereum Daily Chart
Source: ETH/USD, TradingView
Ethereum was positioned more favorably for sellers after its candles slipped below the EMA Ribbons. Now functioning as resistance, these moving average lines would continue to limit short-term market rallies moving forward. A crossover between 20 and 50 SMA's five days ago was also expected to restrain ETH's progression on the chart.
To overcome these uncertainties, ETH needed to close above the junction between $3,200 and its EMA Ribbons. Such a move would allow bulls to push through to $3,400 with little counter-resistance. From there, a run up to $3,700 can be achieved as long as the broader market provides support.
Bulls could also hope that an emerging symmetrical triangle functions as a reversal pattern and provide the impetus needed for an upwards run. However, bears would have an easier task triggering a breakdown from this pattern. A move below $2,900 would drag ETH to its 200-SMA (green), from where traders would hunt for shorting opportunities.
Meanwhile, the Relative Strength has not found the strength to climb above 50 just yet. The index needed to rise above 55 to fuel some more buying pressure. Similarly, the Awesome Oscillator and Directional Movement Index continued to flash bearish readings.
Conclusion
The coming days would see Ethereum extend its symmetrical triangle and prepare for a breakout. The bears were in a prime position to capitalize on this pattern and initiate another sell-off. On the other hand, a close above $3,200 would help formulate a bullish argument from where $3,700 can be targeted.
admin posted: "Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading in a descending pattern since the strong $53,000 rejection that occurred on Sept. 7, and the $3.4 billion futures contracts liquidation along with China's ban on crypto trading appear to have severely impacted traders' moral"
Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading in a descending pattern since the strong $53,000 rejection that occurred on Sept. 7, and the $3.4 billion futures contracts liquidation along with China's ban on crypto trading appear to have severely impacted traders' morale.
Adding to the negative sentiment, major crypto exchanges like Binance and Huobi halted some services in mainland China, and some of the largest Ethereum mining pools, like Sparkpool and BeePool were forced to shut down completely.
Bitcoin price in USD at Coinbase. Source: TradingView
Based on the above chart, it is possible to understand why buyers placed 80% of their bets at $44,000 or higher. However, the past two weeks definitively caused those call (buy) options to lose value quickly.
On Sept. 25, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) posted a nationwide ban on crypto and barred companies from providing financial transactions and services to market participants. The news triggered an 8% dip in Bitcoin's price along with a broader pullback on altcoins.
The bearish sentiment was confirmed after Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressed his support for cryptocurrency at the Code Conference in California.
Musk said:
"It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto, but it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement."
Had we been in a neutral-to-bullish market, those remarks would likely have reversed the negative trend. For example, on July 21, Elon Musk said that Bitcoin had already hit his benchmark on renewable energy. As a result, Bitcoin price, which had previously dropped 12% in ten days, reverted the move and hiked 35% over the next ten days.
The Oct. 1 expiry will be a strength test for bulls because any price below $42,000 means a bloodbath with absolute dominance of put (sell) options.
Bitcoin options aggregate open interest for Oct. 1. Source: Bybt.com
Initially, the $285 million neutral-to-bullish instruments dominated the weekly expiry by 21% compared to the $320 million puts (sell) options.
However, the 1.21 call-to-put ratio is deceiving because the excessive optimism seen from bulls could wipe out most of their bets if Bitcoin price remains below $43,000 at 8:00 am UTC on Friday.
After all, what good is a right to acquire Bitcoin at $50,000 if it's trading below that price?
Bears were also caught by surprise
Sixty-six percent of the put options, where the buyer holds a right to sell Bitcoin at a pre-established price, has been placed at $42,000 or lower. These neutral-to-bearish instruments will become worthless if Bitcoin trades above that price on Friday morning.
Below are the four most likely scenarios that consider the current price levels. The imbalance favoring either side represents the potential profit from the expiry.
The data shows how many contracts will be available on Friday, depending on the expiry price.
Between $40,000 and $41,000: 110 calls vs. 4,470 puts. The net result is $175 million favoring the protective put (bear) instruments.
Between $41,000 and $43,000: 640 calls vs. 4,000 puts. The net result continues to favor bears by $140 million.
Between $43,000 and $45,000: 1,780 calls vs. 2,070 puts. The net result is balanced between bears and bulls.
Above $45,000: 2,530 calls vs. 1,090 puts. The net result shifts in favor of bulls by $65 million.
This crude estimate considers call (buy) options used in bullish strategies and put (sell) options exclusively in neutral-to-bearish trades. Unfortunately, real life is not that simple because it's possible that more complex investment strategies are being deployed.
For example, a trader could have sold a put option, effectively gaining a positive exposure to Bitcoin above a specific price. Consequently, there's no easy way to estimate this effect, so the simple analysis above is a good guess.
As things currently stand, bears have absolute control of the Oct. 1 expiry and they have a few good reasons to keep pressuring the price below $43,000.
Unless some unexpected buying pressure comes out over the next 12 hours, the amount of capital required for bulls to force the market above the $45,000 threshold seems immense and unjustified.
On the other hand, bears need a 5% negative price swing that takes BTC below $41,000 to increase their lead by $35 million. So this move also shows little return for the amount of effort required.
The bull's only hope resides in some surprise positive newsflow for Bitcoin price ahead of Oct. 1 at 8:00 am UTC. If any sensible action is bound to occur, it will likely take place during the weekend, when there's less active flow.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.
admin posted: "Last week China's heavy-handed crackdown on crypto trading crypto briefly sent shockwaves across the market as Bitcoin and altcoin prices saw a sharp drop following the announcement, but as is the case with all things crypto-related, the market bounced ba"
Last week China's heavy-handed crackdown on crypto trading crypto briefly sent shockwaves across the market as Bitcoin and altcoin prices saw a sharp drop following the announcement, but as is the case with all things crypto-related, the market bounced back as resilient traders found other ways to participate in the market.
Part of China's goal in limiting citizens ability to trade cryptocurrency seems focused on discouraging the use of cryptocurrencies and the growing decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem but these maneuvers appear to be having the opposite effect as the token price and protocol activity for projects like Uniswap (UNI) and dYdX have seen an uptick since the crackdown began.
According to data from Chainalysis, there has been a significant amount of regional Bitcoin (BTC) flows happening within eastern Asia, as highlighted by the tall orange bar in the graph below. This suggests that crypto holders in the region have been shifting around their holdings in response to the regulatory crackdown.
Regional BTC flows. Source: Chainalysis
As stated by Chainalysis, "assets typically flow within a region, likely due to preferences for local exchanges, but flows between regions often occur as a result of regulatory concerns, geopolitical changes, or significant market price variations."
The lack of flows out of Eastern Asia combined with crypto exchanges like Huobi and Binance suspending services for Chinese residents suggests that funds are being kept within the region, but not on centralized exchanges.
It seems Huobi users moved $ETH, #stablecoins, and DEX tokens to decentralized exchanges like Uniswap.
Outflow transactions spiked after Huobi announced the suspension of existing accounts in mainland China.
At the same time that this increased movement within the Eastern Asian region was occurring, activity on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and the decentralized derivatives exchange dYdX has been on the rise as traders in China seek out a safe haven for their crypto activities.
Uniswap trading volume vs. total revenue. Source: Token Terminal
DydX is a particularly helpful data point as it is now the most widely used decentralized derivatives exchange and has seen a spike in demand after regulators from around the world dropped the hammer on centralized exchanges with loose KYC policies that offer derivative services.
According to data from Token Terminal, dYdX is in the top-5 ranking for numerous categories over the past week, including the increase in token price, total protocol revenue, fees paid, the price to sales ratio and the price to earnings ratio. The exchange also rose to the top 6 in terms of increases in total value locked (TVL).
Total revenue vs. total value locked on dYdX. Source: Token Terminal
A closer look at the available data also shows that layer-two protocols and layer-one Ethereum (ETH) competitors have also seen some of the biggest gains over the past week, led by Avalanche-based protocols like Trader Joe and Pangolin, as well as the Fantom network.
Above all else, what the recent data shows is that the decentralized finance ecosystem is performing as it was originally intended to by providing an uncensorable way for crypto holders to transact outside of the control and purview of governments and financial regulators.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
admin posted: "China's latest crackdown on the crypto industry had a severe impact on several industry players, especially miners located in China. While China's move was met with criticism by several analysts and other market participants, the Chinese co-founder of a p"
China's latest crackdown on the crypto industry had a severe impact on several industry players, especially miners located in China. While China's move was met with criticism by several analysts and other market participants, the Chinese co-founder of a popular ASIC-chip manufacturing company, presented a somewhat unique point-of-view.
On an episode of "The Best Business Show," investment expert Anthony Pompliano interviewed Bitmain co-founder and cryptocurrency entrepreneur Jihan Wu. Together, they explored the nuances of China's latest crackdown on crypto transactions and what the market could look like in 2022.
Wu also shared his thoughts on who was likely leave China after the crackdown and who might be able to stay.
China exodus
While most news reports focused on China's latest ban and its effects on crypto exchanges, Wu tried to present the regime's perspective. Speaking about the crackdown, he said,
"But I think that's quite understandable because China is quite a very large country with 1.4 billion of population. And the situation there was really complicated."
Wu added that the United States was also a "powerful" government looking into cryptocurrency and its regulation. However, on the subject of miners, entrepreneurs, and crypto traders leaving China, Wu noted that there was a group of people who might stay in crypto, even in China. He said,
"…(in a) very short time, the China retail investors will disappear…they will all retreat from crypto and only those high net-worth Chinese families will stay in crypto."
Under Chinese regulatory pressure, Alibaba International Station announced a ban on the sale of all cryptocurrency mining machines. pic.twitter.com/rW1iySx4LX
One giant on the way out might be Bitmain itself. Reports claimed that the mining hardware company could stop selling machines to Chinese buyers and move its factories to Southeast Asia.
Moreover, it is noteworthy that while China was a major contributor of Bitcoin mining hashpower, the same dropped drastically after the "exodus." According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, China's share of the average monthly hashrate fell from 75.53% to 46.04% between September 2019 and April 2021.
Looking to 2022
In spite of recent events, Wu seemed optimistic about what the coming year would bring. To prove his points, he spoke about the stable token exchanges on Ethereum spreading liquidity, as well as "trust-building machines" in GameFi and cloud mining.
More than just price performance, Wu also opined that crypto start-ups would begin to have a greater impact on the "real world."
admin posted: "Almost daily more news comes out about how the Stellar Development Foundation is working with countries, institutions and governments around the globe. Now with the infrastructure bill about to pass many are wondering what will happen with the CBDC for th"
Almost daily more news comes out about how the Stellar Development Foundation is working with countries, institutions and governments around the globe. Now with the infrastructure bill about to pass many are wondering what will happen with the CBDC for the United States. In this video we offer some education on what is potentially happening. Many of us are long term investors in XLM, but it is important to always have a plan for what is next when you have hit your price target.
This is not financial advise and I am not a financial advisor. Please do your own due diligence. This video is for entertainment and educational purposes only.
admin posted: "na lenda de hoje: MEUS AMIGOS LENDA HOJE VOLTEI AQUI NOVAMENTE PRA FAZER UM SPIRIT BOX, PRA TENTAR DESCOBRI ALGO MAIS SOBRE ESSA SENHORA QUE ASSOBRA O LOCAL . MAS VEM COMIGO QUE EU VOU MOSTRA TUDO PRA VOCÊS, E VAMOS QUE VAMOS!!! -Canal Rosy Aventura- "
na lenda de hoje: MEUS AMIGOS LENDA HOJE VOLTEI AQUI NOVAMENTE PRA FAZER UM SPIRIT BOX, PRA TENTAR DESCOBRI ALGO MAIS SOBRE ESSA SENHORA QUE ASSOBRA O LOCAL . MAS VEM COMIGO QUE EU VOU MOSTRA TUDO PRA VOCÊS, E VAMOS QUE VAMOS!!! -Canal Rosy Aventura-
Seja bem-vindo(a) ao canal Com vídeos semanais, o canal é apresentado por Rosy e tem como objetivo compartilhar de uma forma simples e direta um entretenimento de Aventuras de modo geral... --➤ Meu WhatsApp link: https://wa.me/5544988259452
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