Category Archives: Bitcoin
Trump, price dots and COVID-19: 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week – Cointelegraph
Bitcoin (BTC) rose to highs of $10,730 before settling lower on Oct. 5 as markets fluctuated in line with United States President Donald Trump contracting COVID-19.
Cointelegraph takes a look at the factors set to influence BTC price action this week, as the virus and its consequences dictate the macro mood.
President Trump buoyed markets late Sunday as traders priced in the possibility that he would leave hospital on Monday after treatment for COVID-19.
Futures were up, reversing losses on Friday, along with major stock markets including the S&P 500, to which Bitcoin continues to show high correlation.
Trumps coronavirus diagnosis had caused modest panic late last week, with stocks diving and BTC/USD reacting in kind, dropping from $10,940 to lows of $10,380.
Its been a really interesting journey; I learned a lot about Covid, Trump said in a video update posted to Twitter late Sunday, apparently addressed to a crowd of supporters situated outside his hospital prior to a surprise meet-and-greet:
Wall Street had yet to open at publishing time, with resumption of trading set to dictate further market trajectory for the start of the week.
BTC/USD vs. S&P 500 one-year chart. Source: Skew
Beyond Trump, coronavirus continues to create uncertainty in the U.S. and abroad.
New York continued with phased infrastructure shutdowns on Monday, while in Europe, the worsening infection rate caused Paris to close certain establishments.
In a fresh toll to business, meanwhile, Cineworld, the worlds second-biggest movie theater chain, said it would close its entire operation in both the U.S. and United Kingdom until further notice from Oct. 8. Its shares subsequently plunged 56% to a new all-time low.
Nevertheless, rumors abound that Trumps situation may in fact spur both political sides in Washington to reach a stimulus deal, something which would have an immediate impact on markets.
As Cointelegraph reported, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had already alayed fears of a continued stalemate by confirming that whatever happens, the package would include another $1,200 stimulus check for eligible Americans.
The long-term impact of state-sponsored income is in itself controversial, with commentators previously arguing that once implemented, the checks would be difficult to simply turn off.
At the time that the first round of checks hit in April, cryptocurrency exchanges noticed increased volume specifically for the amount of the $1,200 payouts.
BTC/USD one-week chart. Source: Coin360
Europes turn in spotlight when it comes to macro market movements may lie ahead of it, as last-minute intense talks over Brexit got underway Monday.
Long a contentious issue for the British pound and its traders, the Brexit deal or lack of it has previously even managed to produce knock-on effects for Bitcoin.
This time around, the talks aim to produce a compromise before a crucial European Union meeting on Oct. 15, with a realistic deadline to produce consensus now set for sometime in early November.
Asked what the impact of no deal would be, U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson told a BBC radio show that the country could more than live with it.
In London, FTSE 100 futures were nonetheless up on Monday, more than reversing their losses from throughout the previous weeks trading.
Along with Brexit, as Cointelegraph noted, the Bank of England is currently researching the idea of introducing negative interest rates for the first time in its history.
Recent selling pressure meant that Bitcoins fundamentals were unable to continue their record winning streak.
Difficulty, perhaps the most important measure of miner health, barely moved at its latest readjustment on Oct. 4. Previously, estimates suggested that the metric would build on existing all-time highs to shoot higher still.
In the event, a 0.09% dip extinguished optimism, which was running high after the previous readjustment saw an 11.35% uptick.
Hash rate, a measure of the computing power dedicated to validating the Bitcoin blockchain, was also flat on Monday, hovering at 135 exahashes per second (EH/s).
Seven-day hash rate highs had reached a record 143 EH/s in September, with another surge to 141 EH/s on Oct. 1.
Bitcoin seven-day average hash rate two-month chart. Source: Blockchain
As Cointelegraph reported, another difficulty metric, Difficulty Ribbon Compression, showed a much more bullish trend last week.
Zooming out, Bitcoin analysts appeared as satisfied as ever with the largest cryptocurrencys performance.
For quant analyst PlanB, creator of the stock-to-flow family of BTC price models, it was now time for Bitcoin to follow its historical trend and put in fresh gains.
The impetus was the 200-week moving average (200WMA), which on Oct. 4 reached a new all-time high of $6,800.
A favored price feature for PlanB, the 200WMA has never been broken in price downtrends, and currently increases by around $200 each month. Analyzing the latest data from stock-to-flow, PlanB summarized on Twitter:
Such behavior, where the dots represent BTC/USD according to its distance from halving events, has repeated following both the 2012 and 2016 halvings.
Bitcoin stock-to-flow chart as of Oct. 5. Source: PlanB/Twitter
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Trump, price dots and COVID-19: 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week - Cointelegraph
$8M Worth of ‘Sleeping’ Bitcoin Rewards from 2010 Moved the Day Before ‘Black Thursday’ – Bitcoin News
Over a half a million dollars worth of bitcoin from a May 2010 coinbase reward was transferred to Bitfinex on October 1. A parser recorded the old coins being spent and since mid-February 2020, roughly 33 so-called sleeping bitcoin addresses from ten years ago have been spent to-date. Interestingly, 20 out of the 33, 2010-issued rewards moved this year were spent the day before Black Thursday.
Earlier this week, the software program, Btcparser, recorded an old coinbase reward from 2010 getting spent on Thursday, after the 50 bitcoins sat dormant for over a decade. Btcparser is a Telegram and browser bot that was developed in order to monitor the activity of so-called sleeping bitcoin addresses.
Btcparser.com shows three types of parsed data obtained from the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. The first parser combs the BTC blockchain for activity related to 64,529 addresses stemming from 2009 through 2017.
Btcparsers Telegram channel shows these alleged dead addresses have been recorded since February 13, 2020. A great majority of rewards spent in 2020 on Btcparsers first list were minted in 2017, 2016, and 2015.
Blocks stemming from 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 are rarely spent but have been recorded on a few occasions this year. From mid-February 2020 until today, 33 blocks with 50 BTC coinbase rewards from 2010 were moved after a whole decade. Another block reward from 2009 was also spent this year as well. Thats a total of 1,650 BTC (34 block rewards) worth over $17 million using todays exchange rates.
The last 2010 block of coins moved was transferred on October 1, 2020, and it was allegedly sent to a Bitfinex hot wallet. The 2010 block spent last Thursday was originally minted on May 24, 2010, when bitcoin was practically worthless. For instance, the blocks creation was a week after Laszlo Hanyecz successfully traded 10,000 BTC for two pizzas.
The last group of bitcoins that were moved stemming from 2010, prior to the October 1st transfer, was on September 22, and September 2, 2020. Those 100 old bitcoins (over $1M in value) were issued on September 16, and October 6, 2010.
Out of the total 33, 2010-based block rewards moved this year since mid-February, a single 2009 block reward was transferred on May 20, 2020. This block moved made headlines in the media because it was mined only a month after the BTC network was first invoked.
However, one story that didnt make headlines was the massive 20 block rewards (50 BTC) transferred on March 11, 2020, the day before Black Thursday. March 12 or Black Thursday saw crypto markets decline significantly in value, as bitcoin BTC prices slid -49% from $7,648 to a low of $3,870.
Additionally, another 2010 block reward, coincidentally mined on March 11 of that year, was also transferred on Black Thursday. It is uncertain whether or not the mined blocks from 2010 that were moved in mid-March were mined by a single entity, but its likely that it was the same person.
Furthermore, the BTC minted in 2010 spent the day before Black Thursday also saw its corresponding BCH moved on the same day. The BCH spent was worth $271k using bitcoin cash exchange rates on March 11, 2020. Moreover, the corresponding bitcoinsv (BSV) coins tied to these block rewards were also spent.
For some reason before the market carnage on March 12, the 1,050 BTC stemming from numerous 2010 block rewards were possibly sold at the top for $8 million. Its quite possible that the owner of those Satoshi-era bitcoins knew the market would see a big sell-off the next day.
There are a lot of Satoshi-era or so-called sleeping bitcoins that never have moved. Estimates assume there are close to 1.8 million bitcoins from old coinbase rewards left unspent that are sitting dormant in wallets.
There were 67,920 BTC blocks solved in 2010 with the first block of the year mined at height 32,490. Bitcoin blocks that were mined prior to block height 79,764 were also mined into a single payout address. Blocks mined prior to block height 135,000 saw rewards sent to unencrypted wallets as well. Wallet encryption wasnt officially added to BTC wallet software until July 2011.
Its quite interesting that the miner spent the decade-old bitcoins worth around $527k on October 1, 2020. But whats even more intriguing is the 20 or so 2010-based BTC, BCH, and BSV blocks spent before Black Thursday.
What do you think about the 2010 block spent on October 1 and the 20 blocks spent in mid-March? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Btcparser.com
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article.
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$8M Worth of 'Sleeping' Bitcoin Rewards from 2010 Moved the Day Before 'Black Thursday' - Bitcoin News
Interest in Bitcoin Soars in Egypt Amid Economic Crisis and Unemployment | News – Bitcoin News
A growing number of Egyptians are reportedly turning to bitcoin amid rising unemployment and the economic crisis. An Egyptian bitcoin community is seeing a huge spike in the number of members interested in bitcoin mining and trading.
Many Egyptians are drawn to bitcoin amid the coronavirus pandemic, economic crisis, and resulting unemployment, Al-Monitor news outlet reported last week.
A bitcoin mining and trading expert, Muhammad Abd el-Baseer, is a leading member of the Bitcoin Egypt Community, one of Egypts professional online communities for people interested in cryptocurrency. He told the publication that there has been a spike in the number of community members, indicating high demand for bitcoin mining and trading in Egypt. Noting that more than 16,000 Egyptians have joined the community, he estimated:
The number of miners in Egypt should be greater, since each one of the 16,000 [members] may train and guide many of their friends, family and neighborhood zones.
He explained that Online work from home, reduced working hours and curfews have been imposed since March as precautionary measures against the outbreak of Covid-19 in Egypt, the publication conveyed. The huge business shift to online work from home along with reduced working hours and curfews are encouraging thousands of Egyptians to invest their spare time in unusual online businesses like mining and trading of cryptocurrencies, most notably the bitcoin.
Another bitcoin miner, who is a member of several bitcoin and cryptocurrency communities like Bitcoin Egypt, told the publication that he chose this business after losing his job at a contracting company that downsized, following the coronavirus outbreak. He invested what he saved over the past years into the business. More than half a million Egyptians have lost their jobs as unemployment in the country rose from 7.7% in the first quarter to 9.6% in the second quarter, the news outlet added.
According to the 2020 Geography of Cryptocurrency report compiled by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, Egypt ranks 64th out of 154 countries on the firms global cryptocurrency adoption index. The firm ranks Ukraine first, followed by Russia, Venezuela, and China. The report further shows that most of the bitcoin trading in Egypt takes place on Okex, Coinbase, Binance, Huobi, Bitfinex, FTX, and Bitmex exchanges. Only small amounts of BTC are traded on peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms in Egypt. Localbitcoins, for example, saw 10 BTC traded in the week ending Sept. 26, but the trading volume on the platform has also been steadily growing.
Egyptian economist and financial adviser Wael al-Nahhas told the publication:
Unemployment and recession resulting from the spread of the coronavirus and the precautionary measures taken are the main reasons behind the youths inclination toward bitcoin trading and mining.
The miner noted that bitcoin mining and trading are attracting thousands of Egyptians since they do not require much startup capital and millions of Egyptians savings are dwindling amid the recession.
Many young Egyptians started investing in small amounts despite the increase in the value of the bitcoin. They started mining satoshi, which is 100 millionth of a bitcoin, and on a daily basis they are making profits of 4% to 5% from the difference between buying rates during the timing of demand decline and selling rates at the time of peak demand, besides some quarterly or yearly profits from unexpected hikes in bitcoin rates, he was quoted as saying.
Mohamed Mohsen, an Egyptian bitcoin miner and lawyer, told the news outlet that Egyptian laws do not criminalize the dealing in cryptocurrencies. He added that people who have been arrested by the authorities misused cryptocurrencies in crimes, such as fraud and financing of terrorism.
Ahmed Shuair, an economics lecturer at Cairo University, believes that the Central Bank of Egypt will soon legalize cryptocurrencies. He explained that the central bank was preparing to issue a law to that effect in January, but the coronavirus pandemic changed the banks priorities.
What do you think about Egyptians growing interest in bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Coin.dance
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article.
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Interest in Bitcoin Soars in Egypt Amid Economic Crisis and Unemployment | News - Bitcoin News
A Major Tesla Investor Has Predicted Bitcoin Will Be Worth More Than $1 Trillion In Under 10 Years – Forbes
Bitcoin has had a strong start to the decade, adding over 40% to its price so far this yearand taking its market capitalization to around $200 billion.
The bitcoin price, which began the year at around $7,000 per bitcoin token, has been on a roller coaster through 2020, crashing to under $4,000 in March before rebounding to well over $10,000.
With a raft of established investors turning to bitcoin this year as a potential hedge against the inflation they see coming as a result of unprecedented government spending and money-printing, a prominent investor in electric car-maker Tesla TSLA has said it expects bitcoin's total value to balloon to between $1 trillion and $5 trillion during the next five to ten years.
This year has seen a number of high-profile investors name bitcoin as a potential hedge against ... [+] inflation.
"Bitcoin offers one of the most compelling risk-reward profiles among assets, as our analysis suggests it should scale from roughly $200 billion today to $1-5 trillion network capitalization during the next five to ten years," Ark Investment Management analyst, Yassine Elmandjra, wrote in a report out last month, adding that investors shouldn't ignore bitcoin as an asset class.
Ark is best known for its wildly optimistic price target for Teslaa bet that has somewhat paid off this year as the Tesla price increased fourfold.
Bitcoin was by far the best performing asset of the last decade, with its price increasing from almost zero to highs of around $20,000 per bitcoin token in late 2017 before falling back somewhat. But, despite this massive run, Ark remains very bullish on bitcoin.
"Our analysis suggests bitcoin is early on its path to monetization, with substantial appreciation potential," Elmandjra wrote. "In our view, bitcoins $200 billion market capitalizationor network valuewill scale more than an order of magnitude to the trillions during the next decade."
Ark analysis shows bitcoin could reach an eye-watering $3 trillion total valuation by 2025.
However, Elmandjra also cautioned over a number of "risks" that could derail bitcoin's run. Tricky technological problems with holding large amounts of bitcoin, an uncertain regulatory future, and what Elmandjra describes as "over-institutionalization"which could result in "a few trusted parties dominating transactions" and destroying bitcoin's value propositionare all hurdles that need to be overcome.
Ark has been bullish on bitcoin for some time, first buying shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) in 2015 before cashing out its stake in 2018 in what was described as a "complicated decision" driven more by regulatory and tax-related concerns than by the "merits" of bitcoin itself. Ark does, however, still hold some GBTC shares via its exchange-traded fund, ARKW, as well as some of its other products.
Earlier this year, Ark said bitcoin is a "contender for the first global digital money"echoing comments made by Tesla's controversial chief executive Elon Musk.
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A Major Tesla Investor Has Predicted Bitcoin Will Be Worth More Than $1 Trillion In Under 10 Years - Forbes
Crypto for Congress: Bitcoin Sent to All Congress Members’ Campaigns | News – Bitcoin News
The Crypto for Congress initiative has launched. All members of Congress will be given bitcoin as campaign contributions to help them learn about cryptocurrency. The initiative is supported by Congressional Blockchain Caucus members, including pro-crypto Representatives Darren Soto and Tom Emmer.
The Crypto for Congress initiative has launched, the Chamber of Digital Commerce announced Monday. Today, all members of the United States Congress will receive a campaign contribution in bitcoin as part of this initiative, the announcement details. There are 535 members of Congress: 100 serve in the U.S. Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives.
The Chamber of Digital Commerce Political Action Committee will provide a $50 bitcoin contribution to all 535 members of Congress. The organization also provides online public educational training, a toolkit, and various resources to Congress members across all parties to help them engage directly in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the announcement explains. According to information on the initiatives website:
Crypto for Congress is an educational initiative aimed at expanding the use and adoption of digital assets among Congressional candidates, elected leaders, and engaged citizens.
Now is the moment for all members of Congress to learn about and embrace cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, and the best way to do that is to set up a digital wallet and get started on the blockchain journey, said Perianne Boring, the organizations founder and president. Many other nations like China, Japan, Singapore and Switzerland have rapidly embraced blockchain technology and created robust national plans to be global leaders in this area. The United States is falling behind in technological innovation and this is not a risk we should be willing to take.
The Crypto for Congress initiative is supported by members of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, including pro-cryptocurrency Representatives Darren Soto and Tom Emmer. Sponsors of the newly launched initiative include Anchorage, Bitpay, Blockfi, CMT Digital, Circle, Civic, Etoro, Flipside Crypto, Medici Ventures, Messari, and Paxos.
Crypto for Congress brings an opportunity for our entire Congressional community to join this generational shift in finance and technology, Rep. Tom Emmer commented. By embracing the digital asset movement, we have an opportunity to take a significant step forward to ensure Americas leadership position in the future of the global economy.
What do you think about the Crypto for Congress initiative? Let us know in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article.
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Stacking Satoshis: Leveraging Defi Applications to Earn More Bitcoin | Featured – Bitcoin News
As decentralized finance (defi) has become more popular, digital currency proponents are making money off of more than 140 yield-bearing cryptocurrencies. While most of the defi ecosystem revolves around the Ethereum network, a number of people leverage these defi applications in order to earn more bitcoin. The following list is a few defi platforms that allow individuals to stack satoshis by utilizing liquidity pools and lending apps.
A great number of people hold bitcoin (BTC) for a long period of time whether in a noncustodial wallet or with a custodian like an exchange. However, these days a lot of individuals are earning interest on their cryptocurrencies via defi apps rather than letting the assets sit dormant in a wallet or exchange.
As mentioned above decentralized finance (defi) has been very prominent within the Ethereum ecosystem, but there are ways people can stack satoshis by yield-producing applications.
However, in order to specifically use a defi application to gain more BTC, the user will have to utilize a tokenized version of the asset. Or they can trade and use another token that uses the ERC20 token standard. Tokenized bitcoin projects include WBTC, renBTC, hBTC, sBTC, imBTC, tBTC, and pBTC.
BTC investors can earn a yield without using tokenized BTC assets, but the platforms that offer direct interest for BTC are centralized exchanges (cex) and are custodial. For instance, data shows that BTC holders can deposit coins on Coinlist, Cred, Blockfi, Bitfinex, Crypto.com, and Poloniex and earn a 30-day average yield rate of 0.8% to 8.5% depending on the platform chosen.
In mid-August, news.Bitcoin.com published a comprehensive, deep dive into crypto earning, staking, and interest-bearing accounts.
Now if the person wants to leverage a defi application, one that allows for lending and earning yields by providing liquidity, they can transfer the funds they want to use into ethereum (ETH) or an ERC20. If the individual wants to gather yield off of 10 BTC ($105k) they can swap the coins for a touch over 30 ETH (using todays exchange rates) and again swap for something like WBTC, renBTC, or hBTC.
Now most of the tokenized bitcoin assets today can be used on nearly any defi liquidity or lending provider built on Ethereum.
With most of the tokenized bitcoin assets, users can leverage defi applications like Uniswap, Aave, Compound, Balancer, and more. Both lending providers and liquidity pools will offer different interest rates depending on the deposited amount.
Unlike using a cex platform, to earn interest, the defi applications can be done in a noncustodial fashion via a wallet like Metamask. However, cex platforms are the only services that will pay earnings directly in BTC.
If you happen to transfer funds into Ethereum and your ultimate goal is to end up selling the earnings for BTC, then leveraging these schemes with an ERC20 based stablecoin will produce a better APY.
For instance, defirate.com shows the best lending rates stem from DAI and USDC and they are the most profitable yield-bearing cryptocurrencies on defi platforms. The web portal stakingrewards.com offers insight into over 666 yield-producing providers as well. Data stemming from stakingrewards.com also shows stablecoin assets provide a better yield.
Even cex applications like Crypto.com will offer a much higher APY for stablecoin balances, as opposed to cryptos like BTC, BCH, or ETH.
Ultimately there are ways bitcoiners can earn satoshis by leveraging defi, but they have to either transfer funds into alternative blockchain assets, tokenize their BTC, or leverage a centralized custodian in order to yield directly from BTC deposits.
What do you think about the list of defi applications that let users produce yields? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, defirate.com, stakingrewards.com,
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is 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 this article.
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Stacking Satoshis: Leveraging Defi Applications to Earn More Bitcoin | Featured - Bitcoin News
FCA bans the public from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency derivatives – Evening Standard
City watchdogs today banned companies from offering the public spread betting or other derivative trading on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
The Financial Conduct Authority said it was too dangerous for the public to be allowed to trade crypto derivatives, effectively banning the public from betting on the price of Bitcoin, Ether or Ripple.
Its ruling saw it shun lobbying from the industry.
Big players such as CoinShares had argued hard for retail trading to be allowed to continue but the FCA ruled it should be banned because of the inherent difficulty in reliably valuing the underlying asset and the prevalence of financial crime and market abuse in the market.
Extreme volatility in cryptoasset price movements and the lack of understanding of the products by ordinary retail investors were other reasons for it to be banned.
Analysts noted bigger trading platforms such as IG, Plus 500 and CMC only relied on crypto derivatives for one percent or less of their revenue.
Laith Khalaf, financial analyst at AJ Bell said: "The FCA has delivered a blow to the crypto world. But given how new these markets are, how instinctively appealing they are to the younger generation and the potential for fraudsters and cowboys to muscle in on the act, it's understandable the FCA wants to play it cautiously.
The move does not prevent people from buying and selling the coins themselves, only contracts for difference, options and futures and exchange traded notes.
Sheldon Mills at the FCA said: "Consumer protection is paramount here. Significant price volatility, combined with the inherent difficulties of valuing cryptoassets reliably, places retail consumers at a high risk of suffering losses from trading crypto derivatives.
"We have evidence of this happening on a significant scale. The ban provides an appropriate level of protection."
He also warned the public to beware of crypto-derivative investment scams, which have become increasingly common, often marketed through the Internet and social media.
The outright ban would make it harder for scammers to persuade the public their products were legitimate.
Retail investors should save 53 million from the ban, the FCA said.AJ Bell's Khalaf pointed out that crypto fans would argue that share and bond prices have been distorted by quantitative easing and central bank interest rate policies just as much as cryptos are warped by unpredictable external factors.
Hargreaves Lansdown offers retail investors access to crypto derivatives through the XBT bitcoin tracker on its platform. A spokesman said investors will still be able to invest until the rule comes into effect in January and will be able to retain their holding afterwards if they wished to.
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FCA bans the public from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency derivatives - Evening Standard
Pro-Crypto PAC Giving $50 in Bitcoin to the Campaign of Each Member of Congress – CoinDesk – CoinDesk
If your elected representative to the U.S. Congress has never heard of cryptocurrencies, how do you start telling him or her about it? Hoping to raise awareness, the blockchain advocacy group Chamber of Digital Commerces Political Action Committee (PAC) wants to start by contributing $50 worth of bitcoin to the campaign of those running for re-election.
Announced Monday, the advocacy group said under its new Crypto for Congress initiative members of the House of Representatives and the Senate running for re-election would receive campaign contributions in bitcoin.
According to the groups founder, Perianne Boring, this is an attempt to raise awareness and give members of Congress a chance to interact with blockchain technology and digital assets. In addition to the contribution, the Chambers PAC will also provide online training and a toolkit to help the incumbents engage with cryptocurrencies.
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Ethereum Transaction Fees Fall 82%, as Defi Hype Eases | Altcoins Bitcoin News – Bitcoin News
The average cost of sending a transaction over the Ethereum blockchain has fallen by 82% from a September 2 peak of $11.61, down to $2.09 as of October 4. The decline may be the result of a slow down in the hype around decentralized finance (defi) protocols.
According to data from Glassnode, ethereum (ETH) miners have also seen a corresponding sharp drop in total earnings from fees over the past three weeks. On Sept. 17, miners raked in 42,763 ETH, or $14.97 million, in fees, but that tanked to just 5,898 ETH, or $2.06 million, as of Sunday.
As a percentage of miners total revenue, fees plunged to 29% from 69% during the same period. Fees have risen so high that on September 1, ETH miners made a record profit of over $500,000 in just one hour.
In August alone, miners made $113 million in profit, up more than 3,660% from the $3 million earned in April. Compared with the average transaction cost of just $0.09 in April, current ethereum fees remain excessively high, even with the latest decline.
Per the Glassnode data, the absolute number of transactions on the Ethereum blockchain fell nearly 30% to 935,000 on October 4, down from a 2020 high of 1.32 million three weeks earlier.
Analysts blame the spike in ethereum transaction costs on the hype within the decentralized finance space, which has grown into a $9 billion industry in just three months. In July, over $2 billion of value was locked in the entire defi market, data from Defipulse shows.
And as defi protocols such as uniswap (UNI), compound (COMP), yearn.finance (YFI), curve.finance (CRV) and balancer (BAL) competed for block space to get transactions processed through the Ethereum network, fees rocketed.
According to Etherscan, protocols such as Uniswap is one of a few with the highest network utilization. Tether (USDT), sushiswap, and YFI are the others. Now, the hype appears to have cooled off somewhat, with major defi products falling by between 30% and 45% in the last week.
ETH developers have also been testing technical solutions to reduce costs and improve efficiency, including a network upgrade dubbed Ethereum 2.0. But the project is still several months away from coming to fruition.
What do you think about the falling ether transaction fees? Let us know in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
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Ethereum Transaction Fees Fall 82%, as Defi Hype Eases | Altcoins Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News
Crypto for Congress sends $50 in Bitcoin to all US Congress members – Crypto News Flash
As part of an educational initiative, members of the U.S. Congress received $50 in Bitcoin (BTC) on October 5th. This was announced by the Chamber of Digital Commerce PAC in a press release. The organization said they have launched a campaign called Crypto for Congress. Thus, congressmen will be able to have direct contact with Bitcoin and fully realize the potential of the blockchain technology.
The Chamber of Digital Commerce PAC is a global organization that claims to represent digital assets and the blockchain industry. Its members include heavyweights such as Microsoft, JPMorgan, IBM, Intel, Deloitte, and Binance. Furthermore, Crypto for Congress, the statement said, has the support of major crypto and blockchain companies such as Anchorage, Armanino, BitPay, BlockFi, Bloq, CMT Digital, Circle, Civic, eToro, Flipside Crypto, Hedera Hashgraph, Messari, Paxos, among others.
Its priority is to educate and promote with legislators and government representatives the advantages of blockchain technology. In addition, the organization claims to be committed to the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing and other illegal activities, while maintaining a high level of innovation. To that end, they have proposed creating more effective enforcement and regulatory mechanisms with initiatives such as the Token Alliance and Crypto for Congress. On the latter, the organization states the following:
Crypto for Congress is an educational initiative of the Chamber of Digital Commerce that seeks to provide Congressional candidates, regardless of party, a hands-on experience with blockchain technology. The purpose of Crypto for Congress is to raise awareness of and expand access to blockchain technology, while broadening participation in the political process.
The Chamber of Digital Commerce PAC, as an educational organization, has sent the 535 members of the U.S. Congress not only Bitcoin (BTC), but also a toolkit with an extensive amount of material and online training. The organization claims that direct interaction with a technology is the most effective method of promoting its adoption. Something similar happened, according to the organization, when legislators sent their first mail or made their first post on a social network.
Noteworthy, the initiative is supported by the US congressmen Darren Soto and Tom Emmer. The referred congressmen have a pro-crypto vision. About Crypto for Congress, Tom Emmer stated:
The lightbulb moment is now. Crypto for Congress brings an opportunity for our entire Congressional community to join this generational shift in finance and technology. By embracing the digital asset movement, we have an opportunity to take a significant step forward to ensure Americas leadership position in the future of the global economy.
On the other hand, Congressman Darren Soto said he hopes to ensure that his country is one of the leaders in blockchain technology. Soto added that understanding the technology behind cryptocurrencies is an important step so that it can be used as a tool in optimizing the U.S. economy. The President of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, Perianne Boring, aptly explained:
Now is the moment for all members of Congress to learn about and embrace cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, and the best way to do that is to set up a digital wallet and get started on the blockchain journey.
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Crypto for Congress sends $50 in Bitcoin to all US Congress members - Crypto News Flash