US Education Department promotes putting student records on blockchain
A new government-funded challenge seeks blockchain-based solutions to simplify educational data sharing, but implementation could take time.
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Crossing the crypto chasm: Paving the way to mass adoption
As cryptocurrency pushes toward the mainstream, raising general public understanding is essential to gain mass adoption.
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Bitcoin Price Drops 18%, Fed Discusses ‘Soft’ Inflation, Analyst Says BTC Sell-Off Attracts More Investors
Digital asset markets are seeing some turbulence on Tuesday as the entire crypto market capitalization has lost 11% in value during the last 24 hours. Bitcoin has slid to a low of $44,846 during the morning trading sessions (EST) losing more than 18% during the last day.
Bitcoin Price Dips Over 18% and Quickly Regains Some of the Losses
Cryptocurrency proponents are watching markets closely after the price of bitcoin (BTC) started sliding early Sunday morning after coasting along at the $55k range. 12 hours prior the crypto asset had reached an all-time high at $58,354 per unit. Since then BTC touched a low of $44,846 on Tuesday and has been very volatile during the last 24 hours.
Today, BTC’s market valuation is under the $1 trillion mark it once held at $909 billion at the time of publication. There’s a whopping $47 billion in global BTC trades among the overall $177 billion in swaps across the entire crypto economy.
The second-largest market cap is still held by ethereum (ETH) but ether is down 8% at the time of writing. Currently, ETH is swapping for $1,576 per coin and has a market valuation of around $180 billion.
Tether has regained the third-position in the top ten rankings, while binance coin (BNB) now holds the fourth spot. BNB is down 14% and trading for $227 per token. The fifth position is held by polkadot (DOT) which is down over 5% and swapping for $34 per unit.
‘Soft’ Inflation, Fed Could Scale Treasuries Purchases Fueling Bitcoin
Meanwhile, as crypto assets took a dive during the last 24 hours, stocks have slid as well while the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified to Congress. Powell didn’t seem phased by the dreadful U.S. economic outlook and rising bond yields.
The Fed Chair noted that inflation was “soft” and the central bank would be there with continued fiscal policy. The cryptocurrency analyst Ben Lilly explained in a recent blog post that this is bullish. “If the Fed does scale up their purchase of Treasuries, then this can be bullish for bitcoin,” Lilly stressed.
‘Sell-Off Will Attract More investors Long-Term’
Simon Peters, the crypto-asset analyst at the multi-asset investment platform Etoro also says the sell-off is part of a global downfall. Today’s correction for crypto assets is part of a wider sell-off in markets globally,” Peters wrote in a note to investors.
“Being driven by profit-taking,” Peters continued. “Investors are closing positions, which will have generated significant gains for many of them. However, as positions are being closed and prices fall, Etoro data shows even more new investors are coming on stream for the first time and buying bitcoin, with 26% more opened positions than closed ones in the last seven days (to Monday).”
Peters continued by adding:
The sell-off will attract more investors long-term. However, in the short-term some we will see some volatility, as we are today. We still see great potential for bitcoin and peers as we move through the year.
Meanwhile, after the fall under the $45k handle, BTC has managed to jump back above $48k for the time being. So far, people are curious as to where the crypto asset will be headed next after a crazy run-up to the $58k+ territory last week.
What do you think about this week’s crypto sell-off? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
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Bitwise assets under management hit $1B, fueled by professional investors
Assets under management have doubled since the fourth quarter, highlighting growing mainstream adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
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Moneygram Halts Using Ripple Due to SEC Lawsuit Over XRP Cryptocurrency
Moneygram has announced that it has suspended using Ripple’s platform due to the lawsuit against Ripple Labs and its executives by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Last year, the company earned $50.2 million from Ripple for using the platform.
Moneygram Stops Using Ripple’s Platform
Moneygram International announced Monday that it has suspended trading on Ripple’s platform. The announcement came as part of the company’s earnings report for the fourth quarter and full year 2020. For the year 2020, Moneygram recorded total revenue of $1,217 million; its money transfer revenue was $1,105 million.
As part of its first quarter 2021 outlook detailed in the report, Moneygram wrote that it “is not planning for any benefit from Ripple market development fees in the first quarter,” adding:
Due to the uncertainty concerning their ongoing litigation with the SEC, the company has suspended trading on Ripple’s platform.
How Much Ripple Is Paying Moneygram
Moneygram has had a commercial agreement with Ripple since June 2019 to “use Ripple’s foreign exchange (FX) blockchain trading platform (ODL) for the purchase or sale of four currencies,” the company explained. The platform utilizes the XRP cryptocurrency. Its use by Moneygram is subsidized by Ripple.
In its earnings release Monday, Moneygram revealed that “In the first quarter of 2020, the company realized a net expense benefit of $12.1 million from Ripple market development fees.” In the fourth quarter, it generated “$8.5 million net benefit from Ripple market development fees of $9.2 million, partially offset by related transaction and trading expenses of $0.7 million.”
Meanwhile, its financial statements for the year 2020 and 2019 include Ripple market development fees of $50.2 million and $11.3 million, respectively. These figures were partially offset by related transaction and trading expenses of $11.9 million and $0.4 million, respectively.
Moneygram Cites SEC Lawsuit as Reason for Suspending Use of Ripple’s Platform
The SEC filed a lawsuit in December against Ripple Labs Inc., its CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and co-founder Christian Larsen, charging them with conducting a $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering of the XRP cryptocurrency.
The SEC lawsuit alleges that “Much of the onboarding onto ODL was not organic or market-driven. Rather, it was subsidized by Ripple.” The regulator further described: “Though Ripple touts ODL as a cheaper alternative to traditional payment rails, at least one money transmitter … found it to be much more expensive and therefore not a product it wished to use without significant compensation from Ripple.”
Without naming the money transmitter in question, the SEC detailed, “The money transmitter has served that principal purpose for Ripple in exchange for significant financial compensation,” adding:
The money transmitter became yet another conduit for Ripple’s unregistered XRP sales into the market, with Ripple receiving the added benefit that it could tout its inorganic XRP ‘use’ and trading volume for XRP.
What do you think about Moneygram’s decision to stop using Ripple’s platform? Let us know in the comments section below.
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The United Arab Emirates chase crypto and blockchain adoption
UAE regulators are looking to develop a comprehensive crypto governance framework as part of its 2021 business agenda.
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1 billion people will store life savings on their phone in Bitcoin by 2026 — MicroStrategy CEO
The next five years will see the first billion people opting to store their wealth using Bitcoin simply using mobile devices, says the MicroStrategy CEO.
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Flow NFTs Are Coming to OpenSea
PRESS RELEASE. February 23, 2021 – OpenSea, the largest marketplace for blockchain-enabled non-fungible tokens (NFTs), is in the process of building support for Flow, a blockchain built for mainstream consumer scale originally created by Dapper Labs, the company behind CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot, which has recently reached over $150 million in sales volume, becoming the highest-selling NFT dapp across the entire crypto ecosystem. The integration will allow for the creation of a massive open economy powering the next generation of apps and games, fueled by OpenSea’s position as industry leader and Flow’s unique ability to bring blockchain technology to mainstream audiences.
Flow brings remarkable opportunities to further the growth of the marketplace’s digital economy around NFTs and digital collectibles. With a rich ecosystem including global brands such as NBA, Warner Music Group, and UFC, the potential for mainstream adoption of Flow is represented in the enormous success of NBA Top Shot. Coupled with uniquely-architected technology that allows for scalability without compromising decentralization or sharding the network, Flow offers great user experience for wider non-blockchain audiences.
Pioneering the NFT trading space, with over 12 million assets, 500+ dapps, and 10,000 ETH in monthly volume, OpenSea has long established its position as an industry leader. The upcoming Flow support on the platform will bring new users interested in leveraging the open nature of OpenSea’s economy in their interactions with Flow NFTs. It will also enable new types of engagement for OpenSea’s existing user base by unlocking a faster, more affordable and user-friendly blockchain.
About OpenSea
Founded in November 2017, OpenSea is proud to remain the largest general marketplace for crypto collectibles, with the broadest set of categories , the most items , and the best prices. We’re doing this through a community of passionate users and developers. We partner with game developers and artists to create customizable storefronts for users to automatically buy and sell their crypto collectibles.
About Flow
Flow is a fast, decentralized, and developer-friendly blockchain, designed as the foundation for a new generation of entertainment apps, games and the digital assets that power them. Flow is the only layer-one blockchain originally created by a team that has consistently delivered great consumer blockchain experiences: CryptoKitties, Dapper Wallet, NBA Top Shot.
Flow boasts a rich ecosystem of top entertainment brands, development studios, and venture-backed startups. Flow ecosystem partners include global IP brands like Warner Music, Ubisoft, NBA and UFC; leading game developers, including Animoca Brands, Sumo Digital and nWay; and many leaders in the crypto space such as Circle and Binance.
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.
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ECB wants final say on the legal status of private stablecoins in the EU
The European Central Bank has demanded veto power from lawmakers in the European Union over private stablecoin projects like Diem.
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India’s Warren Buffet says Bitcoin hangover will be worse than the party
The man known as India’s Warren Buffet is eager for a blanket ban on all cryptocurrencies and believes the Bitcoin “party” will result in a terrible hangover for investors.
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