Crypto news
One of the largest US colleges has begun teaching students about Bitcoin
Classroom adoption of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency courses continue to skyrocket, with Texas A&M now being the latest U.S. College to offer a Bitcoin course to some of its 74,000+ students. The news was announced on Jan. 13 by Associate Professor Korok Ray of Mays Business School at Texas A&M, who will be teaching the “Bitcoin Protocol” course to students in the College of Engineering and Mays Business School when the Spring Semester starts on Jan. 17. I will be teaching the first ever Bitcoin class at Texas A&M this spring! — Korok Ray (@KorokRay) January 12, 2023 Ray stated in the 4-part Twitter thread that “Programming Bitcoin” will follow Bitcoin Protocol, where students will learn to “build a Bitcoin library from scratch.” The professor added that it was no easy feat to rece...
App-specific blockchains remain a promising solution for scalability
App-specific blockchains, or appchains, are specifically designed to support the creation and deployment of decentralized applications (DApps). In an appchain, each app runs on its separate blockchain, linked to the main chain. This allows for greater scalability and flexibility, as each app can be customized and optimized for its specific use case. Appchains are also an alternative solution for scalability to modular blockchains or layer-2 protocols. Appchains present similar characteristics to modular blockchains, as it is a type of blockchain architecture that separates the data, transaction processing and consensus processing elements into distinct modules that can be combined in various ways. These can be thought of as “pluggable modules” that can be swapped out or combined depending ...
Gemini and Genesis’ legal troubles stand to shake up industry further
With investor confidence seemingly at an all-time low thanks to the recent slew of insolvencies, a new saga seems to be now unfolding in real time. This one involves crypto exchange Gemini’s Winklevoss twins and Barry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG) — the parent firm behind crypto market maker and lender Genesis. On Jan. 2, Cameron Winklevoss posted an open letter to Barry Silbert reminding him of the fact that it had been “47 days since Genesis halted withdrawals” while also providing a blunt, seemingly confrontational assessment of DCG’s existing business practices: “For the past six weeks, we have done everything we can to engage with you in a good faith and collaborative manner in order to reach a consensual resolution for you to pay back the $900 million that you owe.” Th...
Cointelegraph heads to Davos for World Economic Forum
As the World Economic Forum brings global leaders together to tackle global issues, a number of cryptocurrency and blockchain events will create a vibrant sideshow in the snowy ski destination in the Swiss Alps. Cointelegraph will be on the ground to cover the World Economic Forum (WEF) as well as a host of blockchain-focused events taking place. Key members from global governments, businesses and civil society converge on the town annually for the WEF conference, but cryptocurrency and blockchain events are beginning to make their mark during the exclusive event. The official WEF agenda for 2023 has made provision for cryptocurrency and blockchain as talking points featuring during the week-long conference. A session titled ‘Finding the Right Balance for Crypto’ on 19 January (15:00 CET) ...
New York sued by environmental group after approval of crypto mining facility: Report
The New York Public Service Commission (PSC) was sued by environmental activists on Jan. 13 for approving the takeover of a cryptocurrency mining facility in the state. According to The Guardian, the state Public Service Commission (PSC) is responsible for regulating public utilities, and authorized in September 2022 the conversion of the Fortistar North power plant into a crypto mining site. The facility is located in Tonawanda, a city less than ten miles from Niagara Falls, and was set to be taken over by the Canadian crypto mining firm Digihost. Plaintiffs claim that the approval violates New York’s climate law of 2019. The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) sets the goal of reducing 85% in statewide emissions by 2050, and zero-emissions electricity by 2040, a...
Logan Paul unveils $1.5M CryptoZoo recovery plan
YouTuber Logan Paul has unveiled a $1.5 million recovery plan for the people who invested in his beleaguered NFT project CryptoZoo. Announcing the move in a video shared via Twitter on Jan. 13, Paul reiterated that he is no longer looking to sue fellow YouTuber Coffeezilla for defamation over accusations he made in a critical series of videos on Paul’s NFT project. My 3-step plan for CryptoZoo, including a $1.3M rewards program for disappointed players. Thank you, @coffeebreak_YT pic.twitter.com/xFX017UHoc — Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) January 13, 2023 As such, Paul emphasized that he is instead focused on fixing CryptoZoo, delivering on the roadmap and making things right with fans and investors: “The fact is, suing Coffeezilla is not going to help Cryptozoo holders so I do need to focus my a...
Skybridge eyes stake buyback from FTX, as Galaxy CEO says he would like to ‘punch’ SBF
SkyBridge Capital CEO Anthony Scaramucci said that his firm can buy back the stake of the company it sold to FTX back in September last year. While Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz has indicated that he would be tempted to “punch” SBF right in the jaw. SkyBridge and FTX FTX Ventures acquired a 30% stake in the alternative asset manager SkyBridge for an undisclosed fee on Sept. 9, just a couple of months before FTX filed for bankruptcy in November. Speaking to CNBC on Jan. 13, Scaramuci noted that in light of FTX’s troubles, SkyBridge is making progress in buying back that stake, but suggested the move wouldn’t be able to get sorted “until probably the end of the first half of this year.” “We’re waiting for the clearance from the bankruptcy people, the lawyers and the investment bankers to...
Bitcoin price blasts past $21K as 3-day short liquidations near $300M
Bitcoin (BTC) continued a stunning comeback on Jan. 14 as $21,000 appeared for the first time since early November. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Bitcoin cracks key trend line for first time since $69K Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it hit highs of $21,247 on Bitstamp overnight. The pair had faced major suspicion after it began to make up some serious lost ground through the week, with analysts warning that a retracement could occur at any time. Nonetheless, only brief periods of consolidation accompanied Bitcoin’s ascent, with weekly gains sitting at nearly 25%. In doing so, BTC/USD took out its realized price at $19,700, old all-time high from 2017, $20,000 and the 200-day moving average. The latter saw its...
Polygon tests zero-knowledge rollups, mainnet integration inbound
Ethereum layer-2 scaling protocol Polygon (MATIC) is carrying out performance testing of zero-knowledge rollup (zk rollups) technology ahead of full integration with its mainnet. The development of the technology, called Polygon zkEVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine), has been ongoing for over three years by the Polygon Hermez team. The team has already confirmed that zero-knowledge proofs are possible on Ethereum, by generating over 12,000 zk-proofs in a primary version of the zkEVM testnet. David Schwartz, project lead of Polygon zkEVM and PolygonID, unpacked the development of the functionality in correspondence with Cointelegraph. Layer-2 platforms have continued to evolve and improve functionality which has played a key role in driving Ethereum’s scalability. As he explained, zero-kno...
Bitcoin price rally over $21K prompts analysts to explore where BTC price might go next
After Bitcoin (BTC) hit a yearly high of $21,095 on Jan. 13, where is it headed next? Bitcoin is currently witnessing an uptick in bullish momentum after the positively perceived Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was followed by a strong rally across the crypto market. The recent rally in Bitcoin is creating increased volume levels and higher social engagement on whether the price is in a breakout of fakeout mode. Is the Bitcoin bear market over? While the market is still technically in a bear market compared to last week, investor sentiment is improving. According to the Fear and Greed Index, a crypto-specific metric that measures sentiment using five weighted sources, investors’ feelings about the market hit a monthly high. Bitcoin Fear and Greed index. Source: alternative.me Bitco...
Alameda Research liquidators lost $72K during fund consolidation attempt
The liquidators of Alameda Research continue to encounter obstacles in their efforts to recover funds for creditors. Crypto analytics firm Arkham disclosed on Twitter that the liquidators lost $72,000 worth of digital assets on the decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform Aave while trying to consolidate funds into a single multisignature wallet. The liquidators were attempting to close a borrow position on Aave but instead removed extra collateral used for the position, putting the assets at risk of liquidation. Arkham reported that over nine days, the loan was liquidated twice for a total of 4.05 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), which creditors will now not be able to recoup. This resulted in the liquidation of around 4 WBTC, $72K at current prices. When positions are forcibly closed on...
Grayscale files brief in ETF suit against SEC, oral arguments may come within months
Grayscale filed a reply brief in its appeal of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denial of its application to convert its $12-billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot-based Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF). The brief, filed in the District of Columbia Circuit Court, addressed points made in the SEC reply brief filed in December and restated its own arguments. The SEC based its decision on findings that Grayscale’s proposal did not sufficiently protect against fraud and manipulation. The agency had made similar findings in a number of earlier applications to create spot-based BTC ETFs. 1/ As part of our suit challenging the SEC’s decision to deny $GBTC conversion to a spot #bitcoin #ETF, @Grayscale just filed our Reply Brief with the DC Circu...
