Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

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PRESS RELEASE. As Panther pushes towards the decentralization of our protocol from Day 1 with LaunchDAO, the first-ever private and decentralized project launch, the team has unveiled a new, exciting partnership. Panther Protocol is partnering with ShapeShift, a household name of the crypto industry. ShapeShift has taken brave steps in the recent past, moving from an exchange aggregator to a complete crypto management platform, as well as announcing its full decentralization. The integration between ShapeShift and Panther will enable the advancement of privacy and data protection for users of DeFi. ShapeShift, through its APIs, digital assets and platforms, is a valuable pillar of the Decentralized Finance ecosystem, and will leverage Panther to achieve the maximum level of consumer protection, efficiency and privacy. Both teams will collaborate on research, deployment of privacy tools, and for ShapeShift users to participate in Panther’s staking program and governance. The techni

Strike, a bitcoin-based wallet and exchange service, has landed in Argentina, bringing USDT integration to users in the country. Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike, explained that his objective for bringing the app to the country has to do with providing a platform for Argentinians to hold a stable value in cash. This value will be held in the form of USDT , with no option for storing bitcoin, at least at launch. Strike Brings Stablecoin Integration to Argentinians Strike, a popular bitcoin-based wallet, has launched in Argentina, bringing a new way for Argentinians to store their savings via stablecoins. The announcement of this development was made by Strike CEO Jack Mallers, who explained that due to the financial woes the citizens of the country are experiencing, there is a migration to foreign currencies such as the dollar. Mallers stated: There is now unprecedented demand for an open monetary system that lives within a distributed network, has a known monetary policy, a fixed sup

A recent letter published to the Bitcoin developers mailing list written by Square founder Jack Dorsey indicates that a legal defense fund has been created for open source developers in order to protect them “from lawsuits regarding their activities in the Bitcoin ecosystem.” Dorsey’s letter is also signed by Alex Morcos of Chaincode Labs and Martin White, the co-founder of Hudson River Trading. Jack Dorsey’s Open Letter to the Bitcoin Developers Mailing List Reveals Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund According to an open letter from Jack Dorsey , Alex Morcos, and Martin White, “the Bitcoin community is currently the subject of multi-front litigation.” While the letter does not specifically detail any of the legal cases developers are dealing with, it mentions that “individual defendants have chosen to capitulate in the absence of legal support.” However, the letter does hint at the Tulip Trading lawsuit, which involves Craig Wright , the Australian who claims he is Satoshi Nakamoto and t

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. are facing a class-action lawsuit over their promotion of Ethereummax and the EMAX cryptocurrency token. The celebrities’ “improper promotional activities generated the trading volume needed for all the defendants to offload their EMAX tokens onto unsuspecting investors,” the lawsuit alleges. Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Sued Over Crypto Promotion Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have been sued over their promotion of a cryptocurrency token. The class action lawsuit, filed by New York resident Ryan Huegerich on Jan. 7, alleges that Kardashian and Mayweather misled investors in their promotion of Ethereummax and the EMAX crypto token. Other defendants include Ethereummax, its co-founders and creators Steve Gentile and Giovanni Perone, the project’s consultant and developer Justin French, and promoter Paul Pierce. Huegerich bought EMAX tokens and lost money. The class action covers anyone who bou

A new non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace called Looksrare has surpassed Opensea in terms of daily volume on Wednesday. Statistics show 3,264 Looksrare traders have executed $385.39 million in sales during the last day, as the marketplace has seen a 1,461% increase in daily volume. Looksrare NFT Market Captures Number 1 Position in Terms of Daily NFT Volume There’s a new Ethereum-based NFT marketplace called Looksrare and during the last day, it has surpassed Opensea in 24-hour volume. Of course, Opensea is the largest NFT marketplace in terms of all-time volume with $14.68 billion in total sales. The NFT marketplace Looksrare is new and hasn’t processed billions of dollars in sales. 24-hour statistics show, however, Looksrare’s daily volume and hourly volume has surpassed Opensea’s sales on January 12, 2022. Looksrare has seen $385.39 million in sales among 3,241 traders, which is lower than Opensea’s 59,500 traders on Wednesday. Opensea’s 24-hour volume was $109.78 million in

The growth of the cryptocurrency industry has raised many concerns. They range from security and scalability, on-boarding newbies, trust-less custody and order matching on exchanges to overall user experience, and to achieve mass adoption of cryptocurrency, there’s a need for third generational exchanges to resolve these issues. Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology keeps evolving and changing to suit users’ needs. Decentralized exchanges are revolutionary and essential parts of this evolution, offering users privacy, security, and sovereignty over their crypto assets. However, any active DeFi user must have experienced the following drawbacks while using a DEX: Slow transaction speed; Insufficient volumes; Expensive gas fees; Low liquidity; Poor user experience; Manually executing your trades. Although these drawbacks are felt both by experienced traders and newbies alike, newbies are mostly affected as they are forced to educate themselves on market conditions and mak

Doubleline Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach, also known as the “Bond King,” has warned about “a recession in the later part of this year.” He also advised against buying bitcoin at the current level. “Maybe you should buy it at $25,000,” he said. Billionaire ‘Bond King’ Jeff Gundlach on Recession, Bitcoin, and the Fed Raising Interest Rates Billionaire fund manager Jeff Gundlach warned about a recession happening in the later part of this year in an interview with Yahoo Finance, published Saturday. He also commented on whether investors should buy bitcoin. Gundlach is the CEO of Doubleline Capital, which has over $137 billion in assets under management (AUM). He is sometimes referred to as the “Bond King” after he appeared on the cover of Barron’s in 2011 as “The New Bond King.” Institutional Investor named him “Money Manager of the Year” in 2013 and Bloomberg Markets named him one of “The Fifty Most Influential” in 2012, 2015, and 2016. According to Forbes, his net worth is currently

U.S. state securities regulators have revealed that cryptocurrency investments are their top investor threat this year. “Before you jump into the crypto craze, be mindful that cryptocurrencies and related financial products may be nothing more than public facing fronts for Ponzi schemes and other frauds,” one regulator warned. Crypto Is the Top Threat for US Securities Regulators The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) released its “annual list of top investor threats” Monday. The NASAA, formed in 1919, is a nonprofit association of state, provincial, and territorial securities regulators in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The association has 67 members, including the securities regulators in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “The top threats to investors were determined by surveying North American securities regulators to identify the most problematic products, practices, or schemes,” the association exp

PRESS RELEASE. In the world of cryptocurrencies, it is important for any crypto exchange to offer plenty of different options when it comes to making money. This is precisely why Bitrue , a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has recently announced the launch of a new yield farming hub, available to all of its users from January 10th at 10:00 UTC. The main reason and context behind this new initiative has to do with the fact that staking and yield farming have become immensely popular methods through which investors can earn additional income. Bitrue therefore wants to cater to the real needs of its clientele in a safe manner and also keep up with all of the latest updates and changes regarding this industry, which it shall accomplish through the formation of key partnerships in the future as well as the mitigation of risks such as impermanent loss. What will the new hub do? The new hub enables the users to mine for tokens in a manner comparable to DeFi (decentralized finance) pools

On January 10, 2022, the Associated Press (AP), the American non-profit news cooperative founded in 1846, has announced the news agency is launching a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. The AP NFT market was built by the distributed ledger technology provider Xooa and on top of the Polygon blockchain network. AP Announces NFT Marketplace Launch The 175-year-old news cooperative the Associated Press revealed that the organization is launching an NFT marketplace using the Polygon blockchain network. According to the AP announcement, the NFT market built by Xooa will allow NFT collectors to collect the news agency’s iconic photojournalism. AP’s newly crafted Polygon-based NFT market will launch on January 31, 2022. Dwayne Desaulniers, AP director of blockchain and data licensing, explained that the non-profit news cooperative is thrilled to showcase the organization’s Pulitzer Prize-winning images from current and former AP photojournalists. “Each NFT will include a rich set of ori

Authorities in Iran are preparing to allow the employment of cryptocurrencies for international settlements. According to local media, central bank and government officials have given the green light to adopt a mechanism using digital coins in the field of foreign trade. Businesses in Iran to Be Able to Pay Foreign Partners With Crypto Iranian companies will be allowed to use cryptocurrencies in settlements with partners in other countries, local media reported. An agreement to that end has been reached by the Central Bank of Iran ( CBI ) and the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade. Quoted by the Financial Tribune, the head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran, Alireza Peyman Pak, announced: We are finalizing a mechanism for operations of the system. This should provide new opportunities for importers and exporters to use cryptos in their international deals. According to the Iranian news agency IBENA, Pak, who is also deputy minister of trade, took to social media t

As crypto-assets grew immensely in value last year, the growth of the stablecoin economy swelled as well and today, there’s $170.24 billion worth of stablecoins in circulation. Data indicates that over the last 12 months, a slew of stablecoin valuations grew exponentially. 12-Month Stats Show Stablecoin Market Valuations Saw Massive Growth Last year, numerous crypto assets touched all-time high (ATH) prices as current data highlights the crypto economy’s significant growth in 2021. Moreover, fiat-pegged tokens, commonly referred to as stablecoins, have also seen massive growth as centralized custodians and decentralized protocols have issued billions of tokens since last year. For instance, on January 11, 2021, tether’s ( USDT ) market cap was $24.4 billion and it has grown 221.31% since last year. Usd coin (USDC), the second-largest stablecoin asset in terms of market valuation, had a market cap of $4.4 billion on the same day last year. Today, USDC’s market cap is $43.9 billion,

Digital currencies had a phenomenal year, and a great deal of the crypto assets in existence reached all-time high (ATH) prices against the world’s fiat currencies. However, the same digital currencies that tapped ATHs last year are currently down a great deal in value, as numerous cryptocurrencies have lost 30% or more since 2021’s price highs. Crypto Values Are Lower Than Last Year’s Price Highs 2021 was a good year for crypto assets as numerous blockchain networks swelled in fiat value as billions upon billions were added to the alternative digital economy. Bitcoin (BTC) broke its previous ATH recorded in December 2017 at the end of 2020, when it surpassed the $20K per unit zone. BTC ’s price continued to rise higher into 2021 and eventually, it tapped a high of $64K per unit. Furthermore, on November 10, 2021, the price of bitcoin jumped to the $69K zone but today the price is 39% lower. A myriad of crypto assets today are in the same boat as BTC , as they reached ATHs at som

PRESS RELEASE. Tortola, BVI, 10 Jan 2022: Anyone who has been paying attention to the world of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) will know that people love investing in cartoon-themed initiatives. Whether it be the immensely popular canine-oriented cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), or perhaps even well-known NFT collections like The Bored Ape Yacht Club (TBAYC), the fact remains that as far as investing is concerned nowadays, toons continue to play an important role. With that being said, ‘ TooNFT ’, a blockchain-oriented webtoon platform, recently made it known that it has debuted on the ecosystem of South Korea’s leading webtoon company, Toomics . To help with the construction of a fully decentralised webtoon platform, the TooNFT team secured a whopping $1.75 million via a private financing round. What is TooNFT? TooNFT is built upon the Toomics ecosystem, which is one of the most sought after webtoon service platforms with about 50 million active web users i

Fintechs account for nearly two-thirds of the $4.9 billion that was raised by African technology firms during the past year. Fintech groups also dominate in terms of funding that exceeds $50 million, with a 40% share of the total number of tech firms. The Covid-19 Factor Out of the $4.9 billion in funding that was raised by African technology companies in 2021, almost two-thirds of this went to fintech companies, data from a new report has shown. In terms of deals wherein the capital raised exceeded $40 million, fintechs accounted for 40% of such deals. As shown in the latest Africa Investment Report, the fintech dominance in 2021 eventually culminated into a period with “the highest number of single, non-M&A [mergers and acquisitions] deals above $100 million” on record so far. The report also shows that Nigeria has the biggest share of fintech firms that raised more than $100 million. Meanwhile, the report suggested that the Covid-19 pandemic could well be the main explanat

Yellow Card has announced the resumption of naira deposits and withdrawals in Nigeria via a statement from the cryptocurrency exchange platform. The move by the company comes almost a year after a central bank directive forced Yellow Card to suspend deposits and withdrawals. CBN’s Growing Interest in Digital Currencies Almost a year after suspending services following a central bank directive, crypto exchange platform Yellow Card now says it is resuming local deposits and withdrawals in Nigeria. The company’s resumption of services also comes a few months after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched its own digital currency. In its statement published in the Vanguard, Yellow Card’s director of services Oparinde Babatunde suggested that the CBN’s altered stance on digital currencies may have influenced his company’s decision to resume services. He said: The tide has changed and we are now seeing a growing interest from the CBN in them creating their own digital currency. Arou

The Arbitrum network, an Ethereum L2 (Layer 2) rollup, experienced some difficulties that caused a complete stop in the production of blocks and the confirmation of transactions. According to reports from the Arbitrum team, this incident had to do with downtime regarding its sequencer, a special node that manages the order of transactions, leaving the network unusable for approximately seven hours. Arbitrum Stalls for 7 Hours The network of Arbitrum, an optimistic scaling rollup for the Ethereum network, stopped completely on January 9, leaving users unable to make transactions for approximately seven hours. The Arbitrum team informed users that the difficulties were caused by issues with their main sequencer node, which experienced a hardware failure that led to the network stall. According to Arbitrum docs , the sequencer is a “specially designated full node, which is given limited power to control the ordering of transactions.” The Twitter account of the rollup reported the iss

The price of bitcoin has been on a long losing streak since November 10, 2021, when the leading crypto asset tapped an all-time high at $69K per unit. During the last two weeks, bitcoin has shed more than 19% in value, and the network’s hashrate has dropped from over 200 exahash per second (EH/s) to 174 EH/s losing roughly 15% in ten days. Civil Unrest in Kazakhstan Leads to Hashrate Loss Speculation, Kazakhstan’s Bitcoin Miners Say Issues Did Not Affect Them This week the civil unrest in Kazakhstan caused a lot of people to speculate on whether or not it would affect Bitcoin’s global hashrate. The reason for this assumption is because it is estimated that Kazakhstan accounts for at least 18% of the global hashrate, according to the most recent estimates from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF). Looking at the 30-day chart for Bitcoin’s (BTC) hashrate indicates that the protocol’s hashpower lost roughly 15% in ten days. Reports stemming from Kazakhstan indicate

A recently discovered patent shows the American multinational entertainment and media conglomerate, Walt Disney Company, was approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a “virtual-world simulator” patent. The simulator is composed of a “three-dimensional (3D) map of the geometry of the real-world venue.” Disney’s Virtual-World Simulator Patent Follows Bob Chapek’s Discussion About the Disney Metaverse Disney’s interest in the metaverse and blockchain technology has been showing recently as a recent patent approved at the end of December reveals the entertainment giant filed for a “virtual-world simulator” concept. The virtual-world simulator patent follows Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s earnings call in November when he explained the firm is ready for “our own” metaverse. Chapek also highlighted that Disney was always at the forefront of the latest technologies. “The Walt Disney Company has a long track record as an early adopter in the use of technology to en

On January 6, Terra Research announced a proposal to expand the network’s stablecoin asset terrausd (UST) across a number of different protocols on Polygon, Ethereum, and Solana. Terra’s governance blog post discusses how the proposal to leverage $139 million of UST can bolster “awesome use-cases” in the world of decentralized finance (defi). Terra Research Proposes to Expand Terrausd’s Reach Across 5 Protocols At the time of writing, Terra’s terrausd (UST) stablecoin is the fourth-largest U.S. dollar-pegged token among all the stablecoins in existence. It is also the largest decentralized algorithmic dollar-pegged coin with $10.4 million in UST in circulation today. Furthermore, the stablecoin’s market capitalization has increased 21.4% during the last 30 days. Now the team behind the Terra network wants to increase the stablecoin’s exposure to five different defi protocols on three chains. The proposal’s author, Ezaan from Terra Research, explains how cross-chain UST liquidity ha

PRESS RELEASE. XRPayNet is a cryptocurrency built on the XRP Ledger, with an upcoming global team focused on one goal: a globally adopted interface and ecosystem for payment settlements that is suitable for stores, businesses, peer to peer transactions and those who sell products and services. Whilst aiming to challenge existing technology such as Klarna, ClearPay/AfterPay. This will allow consumers to be able to ‘buy now, pay later’ which is an almost first in the entire crypto industry. The XRPayNet app currently under development promises just that, a world class payment interface for micropayments with transactions processed by the XRP ledger, ensuring very low transaction costs at just a fraction of a penny and ultra-fast speeds. We aim to capture and overcome the current needs of real-life and on-demand crypto payment systems that are increasingly demanded by people and businesses across the globe. About XRPayNet The XRPayNet team does not aim to compete with Ripple or XRP

The situation across Kazakhstan, hit by anti-government protests in the first week of the year, is normalizing, central authorities claim. The country’s massive crypto mining industry, which faced an internet blackout during civil unrest on top of power shortages, now hopes that the country will nevertheless remain an attractive location for miners. President Tokayev Has Nation Under Control After days of turmoil, the embattled administration of Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev says it now has the country stabilized. Law enforcement agencies have retaken all administrative buildings that were attacked by protesters and communal services are being restored, officials informed the head of state during a meeting on Sunday, according to a released statement. The troubles in Kazakhstan began on Jan. 2 with demonstrations in the western Mangistau province against the increase of prices of natural gas and other fuels which turned into mass political protests engulfing the Cen