Crypto
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Samsung investment arm considering spot-Bitcoin ETF in Hong Kong
Hot on the heels of its Bitcoin (BTC) futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Hong Kong, Samsung Asset Management has indicated it’s considering the launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF on the city’s exchange if policies allow for it. In an interview with Bloomberg published on Jan. 13, Hong Kong chief executive for Samsung Asset Management, Sam Park, said: “It really depends on how policy is going to be developed.” He added that the Hong Kong administrators are “clearly” interested in developing the city into a crypto hub. An ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, Rebecca Sin, noted that “Hong Kong is well positioned to become Asia’s crypto gateway,” and expects spot Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) products to be allowed there by the year’s end. A spot market refers to a market where the exchange of financ...
Climate tech VC argues Bitcoin’s ESG positives outweigh its negatives 31:1
A climate tech investor has painted a bright view of the Bitcoin network, suggesting its environmental positives outweigh its negatives by a whopping 31:1 ratio. On Jan. 12, self-proclaimed philanthropist and environmentalist Daniel Batten claimed in a Twitter thread that “Bitcoin is probably the most important ESG technology of our time.” According to Batten, the 31:1 positive impact ratio was calculated by researching and interviewing grid engineers, climate scientists, Bitcoin mining engineers, methane abatement experts and solar and wind installers. The findings discovered 21 ways Bitcoin (BTC) could be environmentally positive and just five ways it could be environmentally negative. 1/7 Environmentally, Bitcoin has a positive:negative ratio of 31:1 This mean Bitcoin is probably t...
‘Wall of worry’ led to digital wallets, blockchain tech ignored: Cathie Wood
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood believes that digital wallets and blockchain tech were among the “game-changing innovations” that the equity markets largely ignored in 2022. In a Jan. 12 blog post on the ARK Invest website, Wood suggested that the equity market faced a “wall of worry” in 2022, caused by fears of entrenched inflation and higher interest rates and largely ignored some innovative technologies. Wood highlighted that digital wallets are “replacing cash and credit cards,” noting that they overtook cash as the top transaction method for offline commerce in 2020. Further arguing that digital wallets should not be overlooked, Wood noted that they also accounted for approximately 50% of global online commerce in 2021. After the most difficult year ever in the equity market for inno...
Web3 can help artists and companies manage music metadata: B2B music exec
The music industry has not shied away from its keenness on adopting Web3 solutions. From nonfungible tokens (NFTs) helping artists connect with their communities to blockchain being used for various use cases including event ticketing. Another relevant implementation of the technology to be considered by industry insiders is how Web3 tools can help artists and companies manage music metadata. Cointelegraph spoke with Con Raso, the managing director of B2B music streaming technology provider Tuned Global, to better understand this use case. In the current Web2 music industry, numerous organizations are dedicated to the management of music metadata, along with its licensing. Though with Web3 developments like NFTs, which can identify each individual usage via blockchain, data management ques...
Huobi employees revolt, GameFi lives, Antminer on steroids: Asia Express
Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. Huobi’s disgruntled employees According to local media reports, cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global has terminated all year-end employee bonuses and benefits, as well as axed its entire core development staff located in mainland China. The laid-off staff will be instead switched to “advisory contracts” that do not receive protection under Chinese labor laws. Employees also claim that their leftover paid vacation days and sick leave days for 2022 were set to zero without prior notification. Moreover, executives allegedly imposed a messaging ban on all major Huobi employee chat groups. In response, employees reported formed a 400-member strong “rights maintenance group” and have since sought ...
Cryptocurrency is headed toward surviving its first age
The past year was a challenge across the globe. Financial markets plunged deep into the red, affecting millions, if not billions, of people worldwide. Inflation rose. For crypto, it has arguably been the worst year since Bitcoin’s (BTC) inception. It has been more of an ice age than a crypto winter, and bad actors and weak projects have dominated headlines — including FTX, Voyager, Celsius, Terra, Hodlnaut, and this week, Nexo. In 2023, the purge could continue with projects that — like Tezos, Lisk and EOS — do not develop any new technology, nor do they innovate. It’s been said frequently that 90% of crypto projects will ultimately fade away or disappear because, among other failures, they solve nothing. The dubious actors failed to comply with transparency and decentralization an...
Here’s how to quickly spot a deepfake crypto scam — cybersecurity execs
Crypto investors have been urged to keep their eyes peeled for “deepfake” crypto scams to come, with the digital-doppelganger technology continuing to advance, making it harder for viewers to separate fact from fiction. David Schwed, the COO of blockchain security firm Halborn told Cointelegraph that the crypto industry is more “susceptible” to deepfakes than ever because “time is of the essence in making decisions” which results in less time to verify the veracity of a video. Cast your vote now! Deepfakes use deep learning artificial intelligence (AI) to create highly realistic digital content by manipulating and altering original media, such as swapping faces in videos, photos, and audio, according to technical writer at OpenZeppelin Vlad Estoup. Estoup noted that crypt...
Winklevoss slams SEC charges against Gemini as ‘super lame… manufactured parking ticket’
Tyler Winklevoss, the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, has hit out at the regulator charging the exchange over issuing unregistered securities, calling the allegations “super lame” and a “manufactured parking ticket.” In a series of tweets on Jan. 12, Winklevoss shared his disappointment over the charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding Gemini’s “Earn” program, claiming the regulator was “optimizing for political points.” He called the SEC’s action “totally counterproductive” and said Gemini had been discussing the Earn program with the regulator “for more than 17 months.” 2/ As a matter of background, the Earn program was regulated by the @NYDFS and we’ve been in discussions with the SEC about the Earn program for more than 17 months. Th...
Easing Inflation Could Be Key Catalyst for Decentraland (MANA), Sandbox (SAND) And Metacade (MCADE)
If 2022 taught us one thing, it’s that cryptos, interest rates and inflation are inextricably linked. It’s noticeable that every time the Fed announced a rate hike in response to rising inflation, the value of Bitcoin (BTC), and subsequently, the rest of the market, fell. Thankfully, as we now move into a period of easing inflation, the outlook looks brighter for cryptos. It’s welcome news, especially considering the predicted explosion in demand for GameFi and metaverse games. Easing inflation could be a key catalyst for Decentraland (MANA), Sandbox (SAND) and Metacade (MCADE). Investors are often reluctant to move in times of high-interest rates and challenging economic conditions. They are far more likely to invest when there’s a stable economy with easing inflation and steadier ra...
Crypto Forecasts for 2023: Solana (SOL) and Metacade (MCADE)
The crypto forecast 2023 suggests the bear market could be nearing its end, as prices are expected to start rising before the year is up. Both Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) are set to start gaining some momentum, while Metacade (MCADE) could produce explosive price action as a new cryptocurrency with huge potential. Crypto forecast 2023: Will MCADE reach $1? The MCADE token recently launched in its presale event and attracted over $2.1 million worth of funding in weeks. Its parent platform, Metacade, aims to become an exciting community-driven hub for GameFi, and looks to have the potential to become one of the biggest names in the blockchain gaming space. When all presale stages are complete, MCADE could quickly skyrocket in value as investors realize the possibilities behind Metacade wi...
15 ways crypto companies can be more transparent with customers
In the midst of a bear market, the last story the crypto industry wanted to see hit the headlines was the debacle at FTX. It’s a story centered on the biggest negative perception many in the public still have of the crypto industry: that transactions regularly happen out of public view for the benefit of a handful of bad actors and at the expense of customers. Whether it’s fair or not, this negative reputation of crypto is something honest crypto leaders and companies will have to overcome, and the best way to do that is by ensuring current customers know what’s going on with the assets they’ve invested and that potential investors clearly understand the potential the industry offers. Below, 15 members of Cointelegraph Innovation Circle discuss ways crypto companies can provide improved tr...
Bitcoin price fails to seal fresh CPI gains as $18K support hangs in balance
Bitcoin (BTC) wobbled at $18,000 at the Jan. 12 Wall Street open despite United States inflation continuing to fall. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Bitcoin traders stay wary post-CPI Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD encountering predictable volatility around the release of Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for December. The first such release of 2023, the event preceded the start of trading on Wall Street, with Bitcoin briefly gapping higher before returning to threaten a breakdown below the $18,000 mark. In so doing, the largest cryptocurrency copied behavior from one month prior, with resistance at $18,500 remaining untested. CPI came in at 6.5% year-on-year, in line with the majority of predictions. According to CME Group’s Fe...
