Coinbase and PayPal join hands to offer crypto transactions in Europe

• European users will now be able to purchase cryptocurrencies on Coinbase using PayPal.
• So far Coinbase users from the US, Canada, UK and Europe can use PayPal to purchase crypto.
• Coinbase recently got the green light from the National Futures Association to provide cryptocurrency futures to qualified US clients.

The world’s largest online payment company, PayPal, has teamed with Coinbase, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange. This collaboration seeks to make the procedure of purchasing cryptocurrencies for crypto aficionados in Germany and the UK as simple as possible.

According to Coinbase, purchasing cryptocurrencies should be as simple as making any other purchase. However, conventional banking techniques, such as wire transfers, can cause the process to lag. This partnership promises a smoother transactional experience for clients thanks to PayPal’s extensive knowledge and technology investments ensuring safety and transparency.

Purchasing crypto using PayPal on Coinbase

Coinbase is now accessible to those in Germany and the UK that have a PayPal account. The increased security is one of this integration’s most notable benefits. Users of Coinbase no longer have to trust the cryptocurrency exchange with their financial information because they can now rely on PayPal’s advanced security system.

Users who are making a purchase on Coinbase first choose their favourite cryptocurrency, then the payment method, and finally “Add a payment method.” When customers click this, they are redirected to PayPal where they can create an account, choose or add their bank account or debit card, and set up for future purchases. The combined best features of both platforms result in a smooth procedure.

Beyond simple usability, Coinbase offers modern security features including encryption and diligent fraud monitoring.

Coinbase will extend this feature to more European nations over the coming months. Currently, PayPal users in countries including the US, UK, Canada, and the EU can now deposit cash directly into their accounts.

The news adds to Coinbase’s August achievements that saw the crypto exchange get permission from the National Futures Association to provide cryptocurrency futures to qualified US clients.

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Elon Musk’s X platform has payments licenses in seven US states

• The most recent payment license that X obtained was from Rhodes Island.
• Some of the US states that X has received clearance for payment processing include Arizona, Maryland, and Georgia.
• Elon Musk has previously hinted that X would support crypto payments in addition to fiat currency transactions.

The social media site X, owned by Elon Musk and formerly known as Twitter, has been granted payment licenses by a number of American states, including a currency transmitter license in Rhode Island which the company received earlier this week.

Elon Musk has hinted at supporting crypto on X, even briefly replacing the old Twitter bird logo with dogecoin’s dog before its rebranding to X last month. It is however not clear if the obtained licenses allow for crypto payments despite the fact that the licenses allow for broader payment services to be offered on the platform.

Plans to support payments processing on X

So far, the money transmitter licenses obtained are from Arizona, Maryland, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, and New Hampshire. The move indicates the tech billionaire may have plans to support nationwide payment processing similar to Venmo or PayPal, a company he co-founded.

Musk has stated that he plans for X to expand beyond social media posts and become an “everything app.”

The most recent Payment processing license that X obtained was from Rhodes Island. The Department of Business Regulation (DBR) of Rhode Island stated in a frequently asked questions document that businesses needing clearance “include those transmitting money for its customers, including traditional wire transfers (like Western Union) and electronic transfers (like PayPal)” needed to obtain the currency transmission license.

The state’s currency transmission license is also necessary for businesses looking to conduct cryptocurrency exchange and custody business. Fintechs are only exempt in “very rare cases” where the company “is registered as a true ‘agent’ of the Rhode Island licensed currency transmitter… and money transmission is not the core profit-making business of the fintech.”

In New Hampshire, “money transmission’ means engaging in the business of selling or issuing payment instruments or stored value, or receiving currency or monetary value for transmission to another location.” The state’s laws also say “an administrator or exchanger that accepts and transmits a convertible virtual currency or buys or sells convertible virtual currency for any reason is a money transmitter under federal regulations”

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DOT/USD price forecast: A descending triangle keeps bulls at bay

• DOT/USD is in a triangular consolidation
• The bias remains bearish
• Conservative traders might want to wait for the market to move first

There is nothing positive in the DOT/USD chart for bulls. The price action remains constrained by a triangular pattern that formed in the last twelve months.

Sure enough, the triangle may break in either direction. But the bias is bearish while Polkadot’s price action holds inside the pattern.

Polkadot’s price collapsed after the triple failure at the $50 area. The dollar’s strength was one reason, but surely some other factors contributed to the selloff.

Not even the renewed optimism in the cryptocurrency market that was seen in 2023 was enough. After a small bounce, Polkadot gave away all of its 2023 gains as the market was (and still is) unable to break the lower highs series. At the same time, it pushes for another lower low – a bearish development.

Polkadot chart by TradingView

The bullish case for Polkadot

The only way to construct a bullish case for Polkadot is to wait for the market to move first simply. For a “proof of life,” if you want.

Such proof that the market turned bullish will appear only if the price moves above $8. And, if it holds there.

It would mean that the previous lower high is broken, and the bias turned bullish. Until such a move is seen on the daily chart, buying DOT/USD is risky.

The bearish case for Polkadot

It is easier to build a bearish case because of the descending triangle mentioned earlier. If the market makes a new lower low, the triangle’s measured move points to a drop toward the $1 area.

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First Digital USD (FDUSD) reaps big as Binance cease BUSD support

• Binance aims to stop support for BUSD by February 2024.
• The Binance USD stablecoin was being issued by Paxos before the New York Department of Financial Services ordered it to stop.
• Paxos has also indicated that it will stop support of the Binance stablecoin by February 2024.

With plans to discontinue support for Binance USD (BUSD), the Binance cryptocurrency exchange has urged users to begin converting their BUSD holdings into FDUSD, a newly listed stablecoin.

Binance confirmed earlier rumours that it will gradually remove support for BUSD by February 2024 in a statement on August 31. This decision is in line with Paxos’ plans to stop BUSD redemption at that time.

Binance’s official statement comes after multiple customers uploaded photos of a pop-up announcing the upcoming support suspension on their mobile app.

Converting BUSD to First Digital USD (FDUSD)

In the statement, Binance is encouraging its users who still have BUSD in their wallets to exchange or convert their BUSD balances for First Digital USD (FDUSD), a new stablecoin that was introduced in June by the Hong Kong-based trust company First Digital Group and made its debut on Binance in late July.

Binance delisted eight BUSD pairings on August 30 and added BUSD to the list of currencies for which transactions and conversions are free. On the other hand, the exchange previously announced zero-fee Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) FDUSD trading pairings to encourage customers to utilize the stablecoin.

Binance’s move to stop supporting BUSD appears to be in response to the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States alleging in a wells notice it sent to Paxos on February 13 that BUSD was an unregistered security.

Paxos was told to stop issuing BUSD by the New York Department of Financial Services on the same day the SEC sent the wells notice.

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Crypto Celebrity Endorsements: Influencers in the Bitcoin Casino Space

In the dynamic world of digital currency, several factors affect the values of all digital assets. Some factors include utilities of the crypto, demand & supply, cost of mining, regulation, and media coverage. However, a significant factor that drives crypto’s value is its popularity among people. 

The fundamental aim of all crypto projects is wide acceptance. All project owners wish to reach a large number of people globally. And most of the crypto projects in the coin market today gain popularity through a series of endorsements from celebrities worldwide. 

This article will explore the influence of celebrity endorsement on digital assets. We will also discuss its ripple effect in casinos like Bitcoin live casino and other platforms.

Influence of Celebrity endorsement on crypto

Celebrities are public figures with large fan bases from around the world. They are influencers that control a large amount of crowd due to their integrity, credibility, or crafts. These celebrities include musicians, athletes, philanthropists, actors, actresses, etc.

Crypto agents often engage some renowned individuals to draw more attention to their projects.  Some celebrities often publicize the project out of love for the particular crypto. They leverage the volume of fans that trust and love them to put more spotlight on the asset and increase its value.

Elon Musk and Dogecoin

A prime example of a celebrity influencing token value is the impact of Elon Musk on Dogecoin. Elon Musk owns several multinational corporations such as Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and Twitter. According to a recent ranking by Forbes in August 2023, he is also the wealthiest man in the world.   

Elon frequently mentions Dogecoin on Twitter, his social media account with millions of followers. For instance, in May 2021, he tweeted about Dogecoin light-heartedly. This tweet led to a 20% leap in the Doge’s value to attain its all-time highest price. 

Also, in December 2021, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would start accepting Dogecoin as a means of payment. Dogecoin’s value increased by 40% after this announcement. 

Conversely, when Elon tweets negatively about the digital currency, its value drops; for example, in May 2022, he tweeted that he would sell most of his physical possessions to hold Bitcoin and Ethereum without mentioning Dogecoin. This tweet leads to a decline in the value of digital assets by 30%.

However, Elon’s mention of Dogecoin in its tweets has made the project popular globally. The coin is now among the top 10 most valuable digital assets in the coin market. 

These activities show that the influence of celebrities like Musk has a direct impact on a token’s value. This effect can extend to the world of casinos and increase their popularity among gamblers.

How Celebrity endorsement will influence Bitcoin Live Casinos

As digital assets gain popularity, their use cases expand. Beyond portfolio investment, they become viable as payment methods. This shift is reflected in Bitcoin live casinos, which incorporate these tokens into their payment systems.

Celebrity endorsements of tokens create a buzz that extends to casino platforms. This results in a surge of new players at Bitcoin live casinos, particularly among the fans of those celebrities who also enjoy gambling. This surge in new players enhances user engagement and drives the platform’s growth.

Furthermore, these endorsements contribute to building trust within the casino industry. They legitimize the platforms in the eyes of the public, as people feel confident using tokens that their favorite artists endorse.

For online casinos to fully leverage the spotlight brought by celebrity endorsements, they must generously reward new players. This involves crafting exclusive offers like registration bonuses and other enticing rewards to captivate new users.

Exciting Game Experiences

Casinos should also curate distinctive gaming experiences. This may involve hosting exclusive tournaments and innovative promotional campaigns. Overall, such activities should give out rewards to participants. When players are content with their casino experience, they’re more likely to become repeat customers, fostering the casino’s growth.

An intriguing perk of celebrity-endorsed tokens for gamblers is the potential for increased winnings upon cashing out. As mentioned earlier, when celebrities back a digital asset, its value often rises.

Consequently, gamblers who win, bet, and withdraw using the endorsed token may see their earnings grow in their digital wallets. This prospect of augmented earnings enhances the appeal of celebrity-endorsed tokens among global gamblers.

However, it’s essential to recognize that celebrity endorsements of digital assets have both pros and cons. A notable downside is the potential for heightened price volatility in the coin market. This volatility can lead to fluctuations in gamblers’ earnings. 

One strategy to mitigate such volatility’s impact on earnings is to convert earned tokens into stablecoins. These stablecoins are pegged to physical assets, promoting stability, reducing volatility, enhancing utility, and bolstering liquidity. Examples of stablecoins suitable for swapping earned tokens include USDT, DAI, and USDC.

What are the Challenges and Ethical Considerations

While celebrity endorsements can bring visibility and credibility to Bitcoin live casinos, they also raise important ethical considerations. There is a distinction between genuine endorsement and exploitative behavior. 

Critics argue that celebrities endorsing gambling platforms could potentially influence vulnerable audiences. Young fans can also be motivated to gamble without fully understanding the associated risks. However, underage gambling is illegal in different parts of the world. 

For casinos to curtail this ethical risk, there should be awareness of the risks associated with gambling. Casinos should also indicate a discretion message on their platform about the minimum age to bet.

Transparency is another crucial aspect. Celebrities must disclose any financial incentives tied to their endorsements, as failing to do so could mislead their followers and potentially violate consumer protection regulations. 

Responsible endorsements should emphasize the pros and cons of the coin they support. In addition, Clear guidelines and regulations regarding disclosure and responsible endorsement are vital to prevent potential harm and promote ethical practices.

Conclusion

The influence of celebrity endorsement cannot be understated. It could bring more players to join casinos. However, gamblers should also pay attention to the challenges stated in this article to avoid disappointments.  

 

 

This is an externally provided sponsored article. Sponsored articles like this may include advertising content and links. The content is not intended as financial advice and is for informational purposes only.

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Key US data to move the cryptocurrency market this week

• The US dollar is at an inflection point
• Core PCE data today is key
• The NFP report might miss expectations

Today marks the last trading day of the month. As usual, it means that volatility in financial markets will increase, especially during the London and North American sessions.

The US dollar’s volatility was a main driver for the cryptocurrency market this year. For instance, the dollar weakened since last October, as reflected by the EUR/USD bouncing from 0.95 and rallying to 1.12. At the same time, Bitcoin rallied too.

But as the EUR/USD could not hold above 1.12, nor did Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies hold at their 2023 highs. In some cases, some cryptocurrencies reversed all of their gains against the dollar – and some more.

Therefore, it is clear that what happens with the US dollar also moves the cryptocurrency market. This week, despite having just two trading sessions left, the US dollar might move aggressively on two pieces of economic data:

• Core PCE Price Index m/m
• August NFP report

Core PCE Price Index

The PCE data is the Fed’s favorite way of interpreting inflation. It shows the change in the price of goods and services purchased by consumers but leaves out food and energy prices. The data will be released later today in the North American session.

The market expects it at 0.2% MoM, but the risk is that it will be lower. Jerome Powell, the Fed Chair, stated at the Jackson Hole this August that he believes inflation has peaked. If that is the case and the PCE data confirms it, the dollar might take a hit.

August NFP report

The second part of the Fed’s mandate deals with job creation. For the Fed to stop hiking the funds rate, it must see a softening labor market.

So far this week, both the JOLTS report and the private employment have disappointed. Therefore, the bias is that the NFP report will also come on the soft side. In such a case, the dollar’s weakness should accelerate.

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Polygon price forecast: Will it hold above $0.5?

• Polygon erased all of its 2023 gains
• The technical picture is bearish
• Only a move above parity will change the bearish bias

What a ride it has been for Polygon investors. Since its inception, the cryptocurrency rallied strongly, only for the move to be faded.

Twice, it had tried at the $2.8 area, failing both times. The market has put a double top pattern there, as it was unable to break above the horizontal resistance area.

Following the double top, it all went wrong for Polygon investors. Another bearish pattern formed, a descending triangle, with a scary measured move for those that bought at the top.

The measured move sent the market all the way down to $ 0.4 before bouncing in the last part of 2022.

When cryptocurrencies rallied at the start of 2023 on the back of Bitcoin’s move higher, optimism emerged again. Polygon rallied, too, trading above $1.4, but those gains are long gone. However, Bitcoin still holds on most of its 2023 gains, which spells trouble for Polygon investors.

Polygon chart by TradingView

Polygon remains bearish while below $1

For the bearish bias to end, the market needs two things. First, it must break the bearish trendline on the chart above. Ideally, it should also break the series of lower highs.

Second, it must trade above parity with the dollar. That is a pivotal level; holding there builds energy for further advances.

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Dogecoin finds buyers at $0.06, focus shifts to the $0.08 area

• Dogecoin remains bearish while below $0.08
• A move above would invalidate the lower highs series
• A weak US dollar might matter more for Dogecoin than anything else

Not much is happening in the cryptocurrency market lately. Traders used to high volatility levels were disappointed lately.

For example, Dogecoin has been in consolidation for more than twelve months. Sure enough, the market bounced several times but only found resistance at the $0.1 level.

Having said that, it does not mean that Dogecoin cannot bounce from these depressed levels. As long as the market holds above $0.06, bulls will try to overcome $0.1. But the critical level to overcome first is $0.08.

By breaking and holding above, the market would invalidate the lower highs series. Therefore, the bias would then shift from bearish to bullish.

Dogecoin chart by TradingView

What can drive Dogecoin higher?

Like it or not, cryptocurrency traders must recognize that volatility is not what it used to be in the crypto market. Sure enough, rallies or selloffs have a larger magnitude than in the traditional currency market, but nevertheless, the amplitude of market movements is not the same anymore.

It can only mean that the cryptocurrency market aligns with the traditional currency market in terms of what drives volatility. Hence,  it is only logical to look at the US dollar and where it might go next.

Recent labor market data suggests that the August NFP report will disappoint. If that is the case, expect the US dollar to continue its downward trend that started yesterday after the disappointing JOLTS report.

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Ethereum price prediction: ETH has more short-term upside

• Ethereum price made a strong bullish breakout on Tuesday.

• Investors expect companies to launch of several Ethereum ETFs.

Ethereum price staged a strong recovery on Tuesday as investors remained optimistic about cryptocurrencies. ETH coin jumped to a high of $1,738 on Tuesday, the highest level since August 17th. It has soared by more than 11% above its lowest level this month.

Ethereum ETF next?

The main catalyst for the Ethereum price surge was the decision by a US court to side with Grayscale. The lawsuit emerged from a decision by the SEC to arbitrarily reject Grayscale’s attempt to convert its GBTC ETF into a spot ETF.

In the verdict, the court said that the SEC should review and approve the ETF. As a result, investors hope that the SEC will move on to approve the fund together with those requested by companies like Blackrock, Vanguard, and Invesco.

Grayscale’s initial strategy will likely be to convert the $5.2 billion Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) into a spot ETF. An ETF operates best because it does not have the discount to Net Asset Value (NAV). Today, the market price of ETHE stands at $11 while the value of holdings stand at $16.72.

Other companies like Blackrock and Invesco could also apply for their Ethereum ETFs. The challenge for Ethereum is that it has become significantly different from Bitcoin. By merging with the Beacon Chain, Ethereum transitioned into a proof-of-stake coin. 

SEC’s Gary Gensler has previously argued that Ethereum, because of its staking features, has transitioned into a financial security. He believes that brokers and exchanges that hold ETH for staking should provide more disclosures to investors.

Analysts believe that the agency has a better chance of convincing a court about Ether being a security than in the XRP case.

Ethereum price prediction

The 4H chart shows that the ETH price moved from a consolidation phase and made a strong bullish breakout. It has moved above the crucial resistance level at $1,702, the highest level on August 23rd. The coin has also moved above the 25-day and 50-day moving averages.

Most importantly, it seems like it is forming a small bullish flag pattern. Therefore, the outlook for the coin is bullish, with the next level to watch being at $1,800. A move below the key support of $1,702 will invalidate the bullish view.

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HashKey partners with imToken to advance retail crypto adoption

• HashKey and imToken announced a strategic partnership towards enhancing retail crypto adoption.
• imToken becomes HashKey’s official non-custodial wallet provider.

Hong Kong-licensed crypto platform HashKey Exchange and non-custodial crypto wallet provider imToken have partnered to promote crypto adoption across the retail market.

In a press release published on Wednesday, HashKey Exchange said the companies will look to leverage both Web2 and Web3 strengths to offer secure asset management for customers. The companies are looking to integrate non-custodial wallet services with compliant fiat deposits and withdrawals. 

Accordingly, HashKey will provide a trusted and compliant trading platform for imToken users. Meanwhile, mToken is now the exchange’s official non-custodial wallet partner, providing self-managed crypto services to HashKey Exchange users.

“We are excited to partner with imToken, a renowned name in the decentralised wallet space,” said Livio Weng, COO of HashKey Group. “By combining HashKey Exchange’s regulated trading platform with imToken’s secure and decentralised capabilities, we aim to bring virtual asset management experience to the next level.”

Creating a trusted fiat gateway

According to HashKey, collaboration with imToken will catalyse growth across the ecosystem by removing the barriers between fiat and digital assets and between custodial and non-custodial services. 

Building on strengths of a trustless platform and HashKey’s compliance is key to this goal, which should see users benefit from a secure fiat gateway, the companies said in the press release.

imToken CEO and founder Ben He, commented that the partnership with HashKey Exchange is a significant step in the quest to create a seamless and secure crypto ecosystem.

“Together, we empower users to take control of their assets while ensuring they have access to a trusted fiat gateway for a holistic Web3 experience,” He added.

HashKey officially launched its trading platform for retail users on August 28, offering support for Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT trading pairs. The platform also offers direct bank deposits for USD and HKD.

The launch followed the exchange’s landmark approval and licensing by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) as a virtual asset trading provider for retail. The SFC recently issued a warning to crypto exchanges purpoting to have secured approval to offer crypto trading to retailers.

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Bitcoin jumps on Grayscale news, but what happens with the USD is more important

• Grayscale won a landmark ruling against US regulators
• The SEC was wrong to reject Grayscale’s application to transform the Bitcoin trust into an ETF
• Bitcoin’s price jumped, but it is more relevant what happens to the US dollar next

Grayscale is a leading crypto asset manager. It enables traders and investors to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency market through a Bitcoin trust.

The trust now has over $17 billion in assets under management, and the eligible shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust are quoted on OTCQX under the symbol GBTC.

Yesterday, Grayscale won a landmark decision from a US court that ruled against the Securities and Exchange Commission over Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF.

Grayscale wants to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund), but the SEC did not allow it. However, the federal court ruled that the SEC was wrong.

As a result, Bitcoin price jumped above $27k. While Grayscale’s news is positive for the industry, for Bitcoin, it is more relevant what happens to the US dollar.

Bitcoin chart by TradingView

Bitcoin bounces from support as the US dollar weakens

At the same time, when the US federal court ruled in favor of Grayscale, news came out that the labor market in the United States softened. Major stock market indices advanced as the dollar lost ground.

This is a trend to watch in the future.

Because the Fed is convinced that inflation has peaked, the focus sits now on the labor market. If jobs data this week confirms the soft path, expect Bitcoin to gain some more.

From a technical standpoint, Bitcoin bounced from horizontal support given by the neckline of an inversed head and shoulders pattern. The neckline is often retested, and now the focus shifts (again) to the measured move that points to $35k and beyond.

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EOS expands into East Asia markets with regulatory approval in Japan

• The EOS received a whitelist approval from the Japan Virtual and Crypto Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA).
• EOS will start trading on BitTrade in Japan in mid-September.
• Crypto-asset providers in Japan are monitored and regulated by the JVCEA and FSA under the Payment Services Act.

The EOS Network Foundation has announced that the Japan Virtual and Crypto Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA) has approved the EOS cryptocurrency for inclusion on its whitelist. The accomplishment opens the door for EOS to be traded in Japan on authorized cryptocurrency exchanges against the yen.

By giving the EOS Network more exposure and accessibility to a wider spectrum of Japanese end users, developers, and investors, the JVCEA’s approval represents a significant advancement for EOS. Midway through September, EOS will start trading on BitTrade, a renowned cryptocurrency exchange authorized and governed by the nation’s Financial Services Agency (FSA).

Japan’s strict crypto regulations

Japan’s strict regulatory regime controlling digital tokens is well known for its thoroughness and sturdiness. The Payment Services Act mandates a detailed pre-screening procedure for new digital assets, and the JVCEA and FSA closely monitor and regulate crypto-asset providers. The EOS Network’s adherence to these strict rules demonstrates its dedication to openness, security, and innovation.

With the successful extension of Upland, built on EOS and one of the largest metaverses in the business, to encompass Tokyo, the network is already experiencing a rise in popularity and usage in the Japanese market.

EOS has a solid reputation among blockchain fans and developers thanks to its five years of uninterrupted mainnet operation and its top-tier Ethereum Virtual Machine, which offers unrivalled performance.

This endorsement shows that the EOS Network’s dependability and performance have been acknowledged, opening the door for further development and acceptance in East Asian markets. As one of the top blockchains globally, EOS is well-positioned for ongoing progress in the area thanks to strong collaborations and a successful track record.

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BREAKING: Bitcoin hits $28k after Grayscale win against SEC

• Bitcoin price rose to highs of $28,142 on crypto exchange Bitstamp on Tuesday.
• The gains came as the crypto market reacted to news of Grayscale’s win against the SEC.

Bitcoin price saw a huge spike in volatility on Tuesday afternoon as prices across the crypto market rose. The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap jumped 7% to trade to highs of $28,142 at 1:05 pm ET, with the crypto market cap rising 6% to $1.15 trillion.

Bitcoin price chart

Elsewhere in the market, Ethereum traded to highs of $1,740, with its value up 5% in the past 24 hours. All the top 10 altcoins were in the green on the day at the time of writing, with BNB up 4%, XRP +3.8%, Cardano +4% and Dogecoin +6%.

Why is Bitcoin and crypto surging?

Bitcoin’s sharp price action to the new multi-week high came as the market reacted to news that Grayscale Investments had won in its lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

As CoinJournal reported earlier today, the DC Circuit court ruled that the SEC had wrongfully denied Grayscale’s proposal to convert its Bitcoin Trust fund (GBTC) to a spot Bitcoin ETF.

The court vacated the SEC’s order disapproving the application and granted the petition to have SEC review the proposal.

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EOS expands into East Asia markets with regulatory approval in Japan

• The EOS received a whitelist approval from the Japan Virtual and Crypto Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA).
• EOS will start trading on BitTrade in Japan in mid-September.
• Crypto-asset providers in Japan are monitored and regulated by the JVCEA and FSA under the Payment Services Act.

The EOS Network Foundation has announced that the Japan Virtual and Crypto Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA) has approved the EOS cryptocurrency for inclusion on its whitelist. The accomplishment opens the door for EOS to be traded in Japan on authorized cryptocurrency exchanges against the yen.

By giving the EOS Network more exposure and accessibility to a wider spectrum of Japanese end users, developers, and investors, the JVCEA’s approval represents a significant advancement for EOS. Midway through September, EOS will start trading on BitTrade, a renowned cryptocurrency exchange authorized and governed by the nation’s Financial Services Agency (FSA).

Japan’s strict crypto regulations

Japan’s strict regulatory regime controlling digital tokens is well known for its thoroughness and sturdiness. The Payment Services Act mandates a detailed pre-screening procedure for new digital assets, and the JVCEA and FSA closely monitor and regulate crypto-asset providers. The EOS Network’s adherence to these strict rules demonstrates its dedication to openness, security, and innovation.

With the successful extension of Upland, built on EOS and one of the largest metaverses in the business, to encompass Tokyo, the network is already experiencing a rise in popularity and usage in the Japanese market.

EOS has a solid reputation among blockchain fans and developers thanks to its five years of uninterrupted mainnet operation and its top-tier Ethereum Virtual Machine, which offers unrivalled performance.

This endorsement shows that the EOS Network’s dependability and performance have been acknowledged, opening the door for further development and acceptance in East Asian markets. As one of the top blockchains globally, EOS is well-positioned for ongoing progress in the area thanks to strong collaborations and a successful track record.

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Stargate Deploys to Kava Chain Unifying Cosmos-Ethereum Liquidity

Georgetown, Cayman Islands, August 28th, 2023, Chainwire

Stargate, the leading omnichain liquidity layer, and native asset bridge with over $18 billion in lifetime transaction volume, has now deployed on Kava Chain, the Cosmos-Ethereum interoperable Layer 1. This integration will expand the reach of Tether’s Cosmos-native USDt issued exclusively on the Kava Chain, to the Ethereum ecosystem and beyond.

Stargate’s success in connecting Ethereum networks is unmatched, with 300x more TVL than the next most-used bridge. Deploying Stargate on the Kava Chain gives DeFi users the most secure and efficient way to move USDt between the Cosmos and Ethereum ecosystems.

The integration ensures that users from any of Stargate’s chains have access to USDt on Kava Chain and every app-chain on Cosmos’s Internet of Blockchains. Ease-of-use features like single-click transfers and swaps, combined with unified liquidity and instant guaranteed finality, make traversing USDt capital efficient and simple. Stargate’s native asset transaction capabilities ensure a more direct and efficient connection to the Cosmos ecosystem.

“Kava Chain’s growth since becoming the exclusive native USDt hub for Tether has been impressive, with 90 million native USDt issued,” said Scott Stuart, Kava Chain Co-founder. “With Kava Chain now on Stargate, both retail and institutional users who previously had restricted access to certain features on Kava, now have an even broader spectrum of opportunities with USDt.”

Stargate’s involvement, combined with the Kava Chain’s USDt integration, promises to drive growth, increase exposure to liquidity, and open the Kava Chain and Cosmos ecosystems to wider markets, unprecedented usage for the first time.

About the Kava Chain

The Kava Chain is a secure, lightning-fast Layer-1 blockchain that combines the developer power of Ethereum with the speed and interoperability of Cosmos in a single, scalable network. Committed to fostering innovation and growth, the Kava Chain is a trusted choice for developers and users worldwide.

For more updates, follow Kava Chain on X (fka Twitter).

About Stargate

Stargate is a fully composable liquidity transport protocol that lives at the heart of Omnichain DeFi. With Stargate, users & dApps can transfer native assets cross-chain while accessing the protocol’s unified liquidity pools with instant guaranteed finality.

 

Contact

Media manager
guillermo carandini
Kava
guillermo.carandini@kava.io

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SEC charges Impact Theory with unregistered offering of NFTs

• SEC charged US-based media company Impact Theory with offering and touting investment potential of their Founder’s Key NFTs.
• Impact Theory did not deny nor agree to the charges, but accepted a $6.1 million fine.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Los Angeles-based media and entertainment company Impact Theory, LLC for allegedly offering unregistered securities in the form of NFTs.

SEC says Impact Theory violated securities laws

In a press release on Monday, the US securities regulator pointed out that Impact Theory had raised over $30 million in the process, including from investors in the United States.

“Among other things, Impact Theory emphasized that it was “trying to build the next Disney,” and, if successful, it would deliver “tremendous value” to Founder’s Key purchasers,” the SEC said.

As such, it meant the NFTs were sold to investors as investment contracts, which makes them securities. Impact Theory therefore violated federal securities laws. Per the SEC order, the LA-based company has agreed to pay a fine of over $6.1 million as well comply with a cease-and-desist order. The company will also refund affected investors and destroy all the NFTs.

The SEC said: “Impact Theory agreed to destroy all Founder’s Keys in its possession or control, publish notice of the order on its websites and social media channels, and eliminate any royalty that Impact Theory might otherwise receive from future secondary market transactions involving the Founder’s Keys.”

SEC’s action against Impact Theory is a first in the NFTs space, but continues a series of enforcement actions and settlements seen in recent months. These include lawsuits against leading crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase.

However, the regulator suffered a significant blow in July when US Judge Analisa Torres delivered a ruling that stated the cryptocurrency XRP is not a security. The SEC recently filed a motion seeking an interlocutory appeal, a step many legal experts and industry leaders say will see the agency embarrassed once again.

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Binance to serve Belgian users via Polish arm

• Binance users in Belgium can continue accessing services via its Poland-based unit.
• The exchange had revealed plans to work with the Belgian regulator in June.
• Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) had asked Binance to halt services.

Binance has announced that its users in Belgium will continue to access its services via Binance Poland, the crypto exchange’s Polish-regulated arm.

The crypto behemoth’s announcement read in part:

“Binance Poland sp. z o.o. is now the entity that provides Binance services for Belgian residents. By doing this, Binance ensures that it complies with its regulatory obligations and can continue to provide services to Belgian users.”

Users to resubmit KYC documents

To access services via Binance Poland, users in Belgium will have to accept the Polish platform’s Terms of Use for Belgian users. The exchange may also demand that users resubmit know-your-customer (KYC) documentation as part of the process of ensuring compliance with Polish regulation.

The move came about two months after the Financial Services and Markets Authority of Belgium directed that the exchange stop all of its virtual currency services in the country. Rather than exit the Belgian market as it did in other jurisdictions such as Canada, Binance revealed plans to work with the Belgian market regulator.

According to Binance, allowing its users across Belgium to access services and products via the Poland-regulated subsidiary is key to its commitment to regulatory requirements. Binance announced on Monday that its Polish arm offers crypto exchange and custody services as per the country’s guidelines to virtual assets service providers (VASPs).

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dYdX price: DYDX outlook ahead of $14M bump in token supply

•  

  The dYdX (DYDX) ecosystem is braced for the upcoming $14 million token unlock.

• A bump in DYDX supply could be felt in the price reaction, with DYDX trading around $2.16.

According to Token Unlocks, DYDX is among several altcoins set to add numbers to token supply this week. Others poised for a September supply bump are Optimism, 1inch, and Hedera.

🚨 September Unlocks Activities 🚨

~ $931 million will be unlocked and issued in Sep.

🌟 Highlighted Cliffs ( %Circ. ) 🌟$HBAR – 3.49%$APE – 11.02%$OP – 3.37%

More details on unlocks, and new issuance are ready for you.

More details 🔓https://t.co/Q8cyIRtEbF

— Token Unlocks (@Token_Unlocks) August 25, 2023

On August 29, the dYdX Foundation will unlock 6.52 million DYDX worth about $14.41 at the time of writing. The governance token has a total supply of 1 billion tokens, of which current circulating supply is 173 million DYDX.

Per the token’s allocation and distribution metrics, the entirety of the 1 billion DYDX will be released over five years. The initial distribution occurred on August 3, 2021. Currently, locked coins are for past investors of dYdX Trading, founders, advisors, employees, and consultants of dYdX Foundation.

DYDX token price outlook

The dYdX (DYDX) token traded around $2.16 on Monday, down 1.6% in the past 24 hours but nearly 12% higher this past week.

Ahead of the huge token unlock, the price of the native dYdX exchange token has ranged between $1.18 and $2.23.

 DYDX price chart

The MACD and daily RSI suggest bulls remain in control short term. However, the price might need to strengthen above the horizontal line that marks the range’s base for upside momentum to extend DYDX to next targets at $2.70 and $3.20.

If sell-off pressure mounts amid risk markets slowdown, we could see prices in the region of $1.54-$1.36.

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Staynex Announces Exclusive Partnership with Miss Grand International in Vietnam

HCMC, Vietnam, August 28th, 2023, Chainwire

Staynex has officially announced its collaboration with the highly-acclaimed Miss Grand International in Vietnam. Spanning across major cities, this event promises to be an exhilarating fusion of culture, beauty, and hospitality.

“Established based on the goal of ‘elevating the travel-resort experience’, Staynex hopes that collaborating with a global ambassador will quickly spread the unique and different experiences brought by the platform to customers worldwide.” says Tim Duong, COO at Staynex.

Highlights of the Partnership

– Pan-Country Presence: The beauty pageant, renowned globally, will be hosted in major cities across Vietnam. Staynex’s platform will serve as the hospitality backbone, with its affiliated hotels providing premium accommodations for pageants and organizers.

– Global Representation: The event boasts of participation from many countries, celebrating the diverse tapestry of beauty and culture from every corner of the globe.

– Innovative Engagement: Upping the ante in audience engagement, each contestant will be provided with a unique referral code. Their followers can utilize these codes to register for a Staynex subscription. This not only offers the followers a 12-month subscription at the price of 10 months ($10 a year or $1 a month), but they also get 2 additional months absolutely free.

– Empowering Votes: Staynex is weaving its user acquisition drive seamlessly into the pageant process. Every successful referral and subscription through the contestant’s code will be counted as one vote. This adds a fresh dynamic to the traditional voting mechanism, allowing fans to directly influence the competition’s outcome while benefiting from Staynex’s offerings.

“We are excited to provide a platform where fans can actively participate in the success of their favorite contestants. This initiative is not just about crowning a winner, but also about expanding the Staynex community in a meaningful and engaging manner,” adds Tim Duong, COO at Staynex.

With beauty, talent, and hospitality coming together under one banner, the Miss Grand International in Vietnam promises to be a truly grand spectacle. Staynex’s partnership further cements its commitment to promoting exceptional experiences and forging community ties on a global scale.

—

About Staynex™

Staynex™, operating as part of the Labs Group Ecosystem, is a global vacation club platform aiming to reshape the travel and hospitality industry. It utilizes advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and Web3 to improve individual travel experiences and streamline corporate travel bookings. Staynex™ is committed to continuous service enhancement and global expansion, fostering a vision of making travel more accessible, efficient, and enjoyable for everyone.

—

About Miss Grand International

Miss Grand International (MGI) Pageant is a world-class center of creativity and entertainment, raising the level of the world’s beauty pageant industry, creating Soft Power to be the leader in the international beauty pageant arena, and expanding branding to all over the world. Miss Grand International (MGI) is regarded as an international beauty pageant with an increasing number of followers and popularity on social media and the fastest growing beauty pageant. Miss Grand International (MGI) has now become the world’s leading international beauty pageant and one of the 5 Gland Slam Beauty Pageants along with Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International and Miss Supranational.

For Partnerships & Investing: partnerships@staynex.com

 

Contact

CEO of Staynex™
Bernard Lau
contact@staynex.com

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Solana-based protocol Clockwork to shut down

• Clockwork is a Solana-based smart contracts automation tool that raised $4 million from Multicoin and other investors.
• The Devnet and mainnet nodes will be frozen on October 31.

Solana ecosystem platform Clockwork is shutting down its nodes on Devnet and mainnet on October 31, founder Nick Garfield announced on Sunday.

The smart contracts project, which raised $4 million from investors in a round led by Multicoin Capital, however says the code remains open-source for any developer looking to fork it.

“Clockwork was initially conceived out of a need for an on-chain automation primitive. To that end, the team and I feel successful in completing our original mission and proud of the adoption it has seen. Ultimately the reason we are stepping away now is simple opportunity cost. We admittedly see limited commercial upside in continuing to develop the protocol, and have a growing personal interest to explore new opportunities,” Garfield noted.

Clockwork’s automation tooling was designed to enable smart contracts functionality for payroll payments and such other transactions. Commenting on what’s next for the project, Garfield explained:

“For those who currently rely on Clockwork, we will do what we can to ensure continued service. Understand this process is an accelerated transition to full decentralization. Its success will depend on you and the will of the Solana community.”

Clockwork users looking to migrate to other platforms can look at projects such as the oracle as a service protocol Switchboard, RPC platform Helius and no-code automation service triggr.

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JPMorgan analyst says weakness in Bitcoin ‘appears to be at its end phase’

• Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou is convinced that worst is behind us in Bitcoin.
• He agreed that there recently have been positive news in crypto market.
• Price of a Bitcoin has declined nearly 17% in less than two months.

A JPMorgan analyst is convinced that the worst is behind us as far as the ongoing decline in the price of a Bitcoin is concerned.

Bitcoin is not the only one taking a hit

Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou attributes recent weakness in the world’s largest cryptocurrency to a bunch of long positions that were liquidated as positive news, including the pending approval of a Spot Bitcoin ETF continued to fade but added:

This unwinding of long positions appears to be at its end phase rather than its beginning. As a result, we see limited downside for crypto markets over the near term.

Note that Bitcoin is not the only risk-on asset that has had a tough few weeks. China-related concerns and higher real yields in the U.S. have been hitting the tech space at large.

Nasdaq Composite is now down about 7.0% versus its recent high.

Why are investors staying on the sidelines?

Panigirtzoglou agrees that there has been positive news in the crypto market including PayPal Holdings introducing its own dollar-pegged stablecoin (read more) and the launch of “Base” by Coinbase Global Inc.

But investors are staying on the sidelines and waiting for regulatory clarity partly because the Securities & Exchange Commission has appealed the recent decision in Ripple’s favour, as per his research note today.

Appeal could result in a trial with outcome not expected until next year, inducing a new round of legal uncertainty for crypto and making them sensitive to any mid-process news.

On Friday, Fed Chair Powell also said at the Jackson Hole symposium that rates may go even higher from here and signalled no near-term intent of cutting rates which doesn’t bode well for the cryptocurrencies either.

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Optimism Foundation proposes a 118M OP grant to Base

• The Optimism Foundation and Coinbase-backed layer-2 platform Base eye shared governance of OP Chains.
• Base will receive 118 million OP token spread over six years.

The Optimism Foundation and Base, a Layer 2 on the OP Stack, are looking to cooperate further in the quest to enhance security, scalability and decentralisation in the Optimism Collective – the Superchain.   

For this, the Optimism Foundation has outlined a proposal that could see Coinbase-backed Base receive a grant totaling 118 million OP tokens.

“This grant is meant to retroactively reward Base’s contributions thus far to scaling Ethereum and the OP Stack, ensure Base’s long term alignment and commitment to the ecosystem, and critically, give Base a meaningful voice in the system of Optimism Governance, to which they’ve entrusted the future of their chain,” the announcement read.

Optimism’s revenue and governance proposal also details a commitment that the Base team has to make with regard to distributing the greater of either 2.5% of its sequencer revenue or 15% of net on-chain profits, to Optimism Collective. The 118 million OP tokens will be spread over six years and come with a cap of 9% on votable supply.

Base and Optimism to share upgrades

The move to agree on a Base/Optimism Foundation collaboration comes after last month’s “Law of Chains” proposal that seeks to transition Optimism governance from focusing on just the OP Mainnet to all chains on OP Stack. This is what’s dubbed the Superchain.

The Foundation plans to have a governance vote on the transition in place in early 2024. On what happens next, it noted:

“Base and OP Mainnet will share upgrades, so the chains’ blockspace remains compatible, homogenous, and eventually interoperable in a Superchain future.  How those upgrades evolve is up to Optimism Governance.”

If the “Law of Chains” is ratified, some of the key steps to be executed will include upgrades across Base, the OP Mainnet, and other chains on OP Stack. The teams will also work on a decentralised Security Council and “Pessimism,” a cybersecurity monitoring tool.

Base launched on August 9 and is seeing growing traction with total value locked (TVL) up 9% in the past week to $183 million. DeFiLlama data shows Optimism currently ranks sixth among top chains with over $715 million in TVL.

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Magnate Finance’s $6.4M scammers linked to Solfire and Kokomo rug pulls

• Magnate Finance rug pull is connected to Solfire and Kokomo Finance scams, blockchain sleuths say.
• The deployer address of the Base-based protocol was the same in the $4.8 million and $5.5 million scams respectively.

On-chain sleuths have linked the deployer address of Magnate Finance, the DeFi protocol on Base that just rug pulled with $6.5 million worth of user assets.  

According to BeosinAlert, a Web3 real-time risk alert platform, the deployer address of Magnate Finance is connected to two previous rug pulls – a $4.8 Solfire scam executed in January 23, 2022 and the $5.5 million rug pull of Kokomo Finance that occurred on March 27, 2023.

The three rug pulls netted the scammers a total of $16.7 million, BeosinAlert X’d (tweeted) on Friday.

Magnate Finance on #BASE has rug pulled for $6.4M.

The deployer is also linked to the past rug pulls:
🚨Solfire's $4.8M rug on Jan 23, 2022
🚨Kokomo Finance's $5.5M rug on Mar 27, 2023

That makes a total profit of $16.7M for the scammers. https://t.co/jl7rhRnt7C pic.twitter.com/SfL3dk4wW0

— Beosin Alert (@BeosinAlert) August 25, 2023

Magnate Finance rug pull

Magnate Finance was a lending and borrowing protocol on Base, a layer-2 platform developed by Coinbase. Concerns about a potential exit scam by the protocol’s team was noted by on-chain sleuth ZachXBT, who alerted the crypto community to Magnate Finance’s suspicious activities.

That included the abrupt deletion of the group’s Telegram and X accounts. Their website also went offline before they pulled the plug on the $6.4 million in total value locked (TVL).

The latest rug-pull adds to a string of attacks to hit the DeFi ecosystem. Blockchain security reports have noted that the first six months of the year accounted for nearly $656 million worth of assets lost to hacks, phishing scams, and rug pulls.

Beosin recently narrowed that down to 108 attacks involving roughly $471 million, while phishing scams and 110 rug pulls saw a total of $108 million and $76 million lost in H1, 2023. In some cases, the money has been recovered – for instance Euler Finance’s $197 million.

108 major attacks monitered in the first half of 2023, ~$471M total loss
🚨Top Attacks
–@eulerfinance $197M (recovered)
–@AtomicWallet $67M
–#mev attack $25M
–@BitrueOfficial $24M
–#FPG $20M
–#gdac $13M
–@CenterYearn $11.5M
–@AlgoFoundation $11.2M

Stay vigilant! #cryptocurrency pic.twitter.com/BibmgplKA3

— Beosin 🛡 Blockchain Security (@Beosin_com) July 9, 2023

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PEPE continues to slide: trillions of tokens sent to exchanges

• At press time, PEPE was trading at $0.0000008854, down 18.06% in 24 hours.
• The token dropped to a low of $0.0000008058 after news of trillions of token movement emerged on August 24.
• The tokens were moved to Binance and OKX among two other major exchanges.

On Wednesday morning, PepeCoin (PEPE) plunged after millions of dollars worth of PEPE were transferred from the team’s wallet to various crypto exchanges.

As news of the multi-million dollar token transfers emerged on social media, the token’s market capitalization dropped by $100 million, from $444.4 million to a low of $344.7 million.

16.045 trillion PEPE sent to four exchanges

The PepeCoin team sent 16.045 trillion PEPE tokens worth $16.85 million to four exchanges including Binance, Bybit, KuCoin, and OKX from a multi-sig Ethereum address. Normally, a multi-sig wallet requires approval from many parties before any transactions can be done from the wallet.

The PepeCoin team reduced the security requirements for its multi-sig wallet from five out of eight to just two out of eight signatures needed to complete a transaction after the tokens were moved to the exchanges.

After the transfer, PepeCoin’s multi-sig Ethereum wallet address was left with 10.697 quadrillion PEPE, worth $9.61 million.

Panic PEPE sell

The massive transfers and a lack of clarification from PepeCoin’s official Twitter account sparked concerns about the currency and led to a panic sale, which further pilled bearish pressure on the price of PEPE.

In most cases, whales move their tokens to crypto exchanges in readiness for selling, staking, or exchanging with more valuable tokens and crypto traders/investors are already speculating that the PepeCoin team is readying itself for any of the above.

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Whale moves millions of XRP tokens to Bitstamp

• At press time, Ripple (XRP) was trading at $0.5149, down 1.64% in the past 24 hours.
• The XRP trading volume has dropped by 4.56% today as fears of XRP’s future continue.
• The Court allowed the US SEC to appeal the Ripple (XRP) case.

Investors appear to be liquidating their positions as Ripple (XRP) struggles to maintain growth following Judge Torres’ summary finding in the US SEC v. Ripple Labs case that XRP isn’t a security. Additionally, following a recent price decrease, a whale moved over 29 million XRP, worth over $15 million, to the Bitstamp cryptocurrency exchange.

According to a Whale Alert article on August 24, the whale transferred 29,300,000 XRP worth $15.13 million to the Bitstamp.

🚨 29,300,000 #XRP (15,130,884 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Bitstamphttps://t.co/DhcHkKNdzc

— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) August 24, 2023

Additional information raises the probability that this whale may be angling to sell its XRP holdings because it recently transferred another 14 million XRP to Bitso.

Although Ripple (XRP) has become a centre of attention after winning the case against the SEC, the cryptocurrency is facing an uncertain future after Judge Torres allowed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to lodge an interlocutory appeal challenging the sale of XRP tokens. After the ruling, the price of XRP fell sharply and broke through important support levels of $0.6 and $0.5 even as some professionals hold that the appeal would not be a setback for Ripple.

Ripple (XRP) price chart

 Although the XRP price has since slightly risen from the $0.5 support level, there is a big chance of a sharp decline if traders and whales decide to sell their holdings in fear of the outcome of the SEC appeal.

The appeal case between Ripple and the US SEC is expected to start around the middle or end of May 2024 in the interim. This timetable is consistent with the SEC and Ripple Labs court notifications, as well as those of CEO Brad Garlinghouse and executive chairman Chris Larsen, who stated that they would not be available until the second quarter of 2024.

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Avalanche price prediction: Brace for more AVAX dilution

• Avalanche’s token has been in a strong bearish trend in the past few months.

• The token will remain under pressure ahead and after the latest token unlock.

Avalanche price came under intense pressure ahead of the token unlock event scheduled for Friday. The AVAX token was trading at $10 on Friday, a few points above this week’s low of $9.78. It has dropped by more than 37% from the highest level in July.

AVAX token unlocks

Avalanche, the Ethereum alternative, will be in the spotlight on Friday as the developers are set to unlock millions of tokens to the market. Precisely, they are set to unlock more than 9.7 million tokens that are valued at over $95 million. These tokens represent about 2% of the network.

Token unlocks are popular features in the crypto industry. They happen in line with a network’s tokenomics, which set aside the vesting process. In Avalanche’s case, the vesting process will end in July 2030.

According to TokenUnlocks, there are 380 million tokens that are currently in circulation with 339 million being locked. As a result, the current market cap of all unlocked AVAX tokens stands at $3.45 billion while the diluted cap is over $7.2 billion. Therefore, AVAX holders can anticipate more dilutions in the coming years.

The challenge for Avalanche is that its ecosystem is not growing. For example, data compiled by DeFi Llama shows that the Avalanche ecosystem has over 151 million in total value locked (TVL). At its peak, it had over 362 million tokens in the market. 

In dollar terms, Avalanche has a TVL of about $1 billion, with the biggest dApps being Wonderland, AAVE, Benqi, GMX, and Trader Joe. 

Avalanche price forecast

The 4H chart shows that the AVAX crypto price has been in a strong bearish trend in the past few months. It recently moved below the important support level at $12.10, the lowest level on June 18th.

Avalanche price has dropped below the 50-day moving average. It is now hovering at the lowest swing on June 10th. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Stochastic Oscillator have moved to the oversold level.

Therefore, the outlook for the token is bearish, with the next psychological level to watch being $8. The stop-loss of this trade will be at $10.50.

How to buy Avalanche

eToro

eToro is a multi-asset investment platform with more than 2000 assets, including stocks, ETF’s, indices, commodities and Cryptoassets. eToro offers over 60+ Cryptoassets to invest or invest in their CryptoPortfolio where investors can benefit from the accumulated growth of Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin and other leading cryptocurrencies. eToro users can connect with, learn from, and copy or get copied by other users.

Buy AVAX with eToro today

Binance

Binance has grown exponentially since it was founded in 2017 and is now one of, if not the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges on the market.

Buy AVAX with Binance today

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FTX reports a cybersecurity breach involving its claims agent Kroll

• Kroll is acting as the claims agency for FTX in the ongoing bankruptcy case.
• Kroll is in contact with the affected individual.
• FTX is seeking to increase its crypto holding through selling, staking and hedging with the help of Galaxy Digital.

Defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX has reported that its bankruptcy case claims agency, Kroll, had a cybersecurity breach that resulted in the exposure of limited, non-sensitive customer data of specific claimants. According to FTX, the situation is being actively monitored to ensure that funds, systems, and account passwords are not impacted.

The ailing cryptocurrency exchange, which is planning a relaunch, alerted its clients, lenders, and the general public of the data breach involving its claims agent Kroll on August 25 through the X platform (formerly Twitter).

Kroll in contact with affected individuals

According to FTX, Kroll is currently educating those affected by the cybersecurity incident about the precautions they may take to ensure their security. However, the insolvent cryptocurrency exchange made it clear that the systems and account passwords are safe.

Additionally, FTX’s debtors have opened a line of communication with Kroll and are closely monitoring the situation as it develops. Kroll has told the debtors that they handled the situation quickly and appropriately. Customers are urged to be vigilant about emails that could be fake or scams that pretend to be from companies going through bankruptcy.

Impact on the ongoing bankruptcy case

In the meantime, according to blockchain researcher ZachXBT, consumers of FTX are already receiving bogus emails and their personal data has been hacked.

A friend just received a phishing email to the email associated with their FTX account. pic.twitter.com/cWy3ykN4B3

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) August 25, 2023

Celsius Network, a cryptocurrency lending platform in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings also experienced a data breach that resulted in the exposure of customers’ email records and the breach has had a significant impact on the bankruptcy restructuring process.

While it is still too early to deduce the impact the Kroll data breach will have on the ongoing FTX bankruptcy proceedings, FTX has sought the services of Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital to assist in selling, staking, and hedging its crypto assets so as to increase the crypto assets it intends to distribute to creditors.

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How correlated is MicroStrategy stock to the Bitcoin price?

Kay Takeaways

• 1 in every 127 Bitcoins are owned by MicroStrategy
• The stock price tracks the price of Bitcoin remarkably well
• Despite price correlation, there are additional risks to the stock, while it violates the “not your keys, not your coins” mantra
• For investors unable to purchase Bitcoin directly, however, it does provide an alternative means of Bitcoin exposure
• With 0.79% of the circulating supply owned by the company, it also throws up concern about a centralisation of wealth

Google “MicroStrategy” and Wikipedia will tell you that it is “an American company that provides business intelligence, mobile software, and cloud-based services”.That may technically be true, but in reality it has become a Bitcoin investment vehicle. 

MicroStrategy, under the borderline-religious leadership of Michael Saylor, currently owns 152,800 Bitcoin. That is 0.79% of the circulating supply; in other words, 1 in every 127 Bitcoin is now owned by MicroStrategy. When omitting the portion of the Bitcoin supply which is lost (for which estimates generally come in at about 1.5 million), the company owns 1 in every 118 coins.

What’s more, since MicroStrategy’s first Bitcoin purchase on August 8th, 2020, there have been just over one million coins created. This means MicroStrategy’s stash equates to 15.3% of the total coins created since they started buying. 

Clearly, no matter what way you swing it, MicroStrategy own an enormous stash of Bitcoin. Here, we will assess how it affects their stock price.

https://twitter.com/saylor/status/1686468084574412800

Performance vs Bitcoin

The place to start is, unsurprisingly, MicroStrategy’s correlation with the Bitcoin price. On the next chart, we can see that the correlation has picked up markedly since the company began buying up the supply. Bar a brief dip in August last year, the relationship has been extremely strong since late 2021. 

This is not surprising when one looks at the numbers. MicroStrategy has averaged $497 million of revenue over the last three years, with an average EBITDA of $50 million. And yet these numbers are dwarfed by its Bitcoin supplies – it owns approximately $4 billion worth of Bitcoin at the time of writing, purchased for $4.53 billion.

The market cap of the company is only marginally more than the value of its Bitcoin, coming in at $4.7 billion. 

If we plot the performance of the company against the performance of Bitcoin since the first purchase in August 2020, both assets have trodden an extremely similar path.

There are currently 11.834 million shares of MicroStrategy outstanding. With the company holding 152,800 Bitcoin, that implies that each share equates to owning 0.0129 Bitcoin. With the current share price of $329, this means that a $1000 investment in MicroStrategy nets you 0.0392 Bitcoin. 

In contrast, a $1000 investment in Bitcoin directly at the market price of $26,100 would net you 0.0383 Bitcoin.

Obviously, this is simplistic and looks beyond a whole host of variables on the MicroStrategy side (not to mention the extreme volatility of both assets). Bitcoin enthusiasts will also decry the fact that purchasing MicroStrategy stock is nowhere near the same thing as buying and holding your own Bitcoin – “not your keys, not your coins”.  

And they would be absolutely correct. These are completely different investment vehicles. However, with no spot Bitcoin ETF currently approved in the US, many institutions and other large entities have difficulty investing in the cryptocurrency for regulatory and compliance reasons. If an institution seeks exposure to Bitcoin, therefore, it is often required to pursue alternative options.

MicroStrategy may not be the real thing, and carries plenty of risks which direct purchases of Bitcoin do not. However, in terms of price exposure alone, it is a viable backup option.

Companies that are locked out of purchasing Bitcoin for the aforementioned reasons, but gained exposure through MicroStrategy, have benefitted well. The next chart plots its performance against the Nasdaq – it displays similar outperformance to what we have seen from Bitcoin over the time period. 

Centralisation

While this is all well and good, it would be remiss not to mention the fact that there do exist downsides here for the Bitcoin ecosystem. Sure, offering exposure to investors who, at least over the last couple of years, have not been in a position to purchase Bitcoin directly is a good thing. 

On the flipside, however, this is an asset built upon the principles of decentralisation. We are now in a position where one company owns an enormous chink of the supply, and does not seem as if it will curtail its buying anytime soon, as its stash creeps close and closer to 1%. 

Speaking of 1%, most of the world’s wealth is already in the hands of the top 1%. While Bitcoin often paints a romantic image of a democratisation of wealth, and a means of pulling oneself out of financial tyranny, the reality is that there will also be a 1% who own a massive slice of the pie. It will be no different to any other asset in this regard. 

We put out a piece in March assessing the wealth breakdown of Bitcoin, mentioning a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research outlining that the top 10,000 Bitcoin investors control one-third of the total supply. 

The anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto owns an estimated 1 million coins alone (or as a group, depending on what you believe regarding his/her/their identity), equivalent to over 5% of the supply. Nakamoto’s large holdings were even mentioned in Coinbase’s S-1 filing when it went public in 2021 as a source of risk to the business. 

“The identification of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous person or persons who developed Bitcoin, or the transfer of Satoshi’s Bitcoins” was outlined as a risk to Bitcoin and, by extension, Coinbase’s business. 

While speculating on Nakamoto’s identity is a fool’s game, and these coins could easily be lost forever, it is easy to see how Coinbase listed this as a risk in its filing. The fact is that one entity or person holds 5.2% of the supply, and nobody has any idea who. 

We know who MicroStrategy are, and Michael Saylor is often lauded in the space for being a visionary (not to mention the fact the tidal wave of buying pressure serves to help boost the price now and again). But for an asset built upon the concept of decentralisation, it does provide pause for thought. 

Having said that, Bitcoin does remain the closest thing to decentralisation that the world has right now in the monetary sphere, even if it is not perfect. There will always be a 1%, because that is how life works – and Bitcoin is no different in this regard. 

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