Crypto news
Total crypto market cap closes in on $1T right as Bitcoin price moves toward $20K
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization reached its highest level in over two months on Jan. 13 after breaking above the $900 billion mark on Jan. 12. While the 15.5% year-to-date gain sounds promising, the level is still 50% below the $1.88 trillion crypto market cap seen before the Terra-Luna ecosystem collapsed in April 2022. Crypto markets total capitalization, USD. Source: TradingView “Hopeful skepticism” is probably the best description of most investors’ sentiment at the moment, especially after the recent struggles of recapturing a $1 trillion market capitalization in early November. That rally to $1 trillion was followed by a 27.6% correction in three days and it invalidated any bullish momentum that traders might have expected. Bitcoin (BTC) has gained 15.7% year-to-...
Trust is key to crypto exchange sustainability — CoinDCX CEO
Investor sentiment has always been a critical driver in the crypto space. Both positive and negative sentiment influence ongoing trends — be they price movements, product launches or regulations. In 2022, sentiment worldwide suffered as major crypto firms and ecosystems collapsed, further straining investors amid an unforgiving bear market. While many showed resilience as Terraform Labs, Celsius and Voyager, among others, closed down, Sam Bankman-Fried’s alleged misappropriation of FTX customers’ funds drove even the most die-hard crypto investors to question the integrity of those running the show. A series of scams, crashes, bankruptcy filings and court cases have forced investors to rethink how they store crypto and seek accountability from crypto exchanges. Proof of reserves (PoR) beca...
Ethereum ‘shark’ accumulation, Shanghai hard fork put $2K ETH price in play
Ether (ETH) price technicals suggest that 35% gains are in play by March 2022 due to several bullish technical and fundamental factors. Ether price rises above two key moving averages On Jan. 8, Ether’s price crossed above its 21-week exponential moving average (21-week EMA; the purple wave) and 200-day simple moving average (200-day SMA; the orange wave). Historically, these two moving averages have separated bull and bear markets. When ETH’s price trades above them, it is considered to be in a bull market, and vice versa. ETH/USD daily price chart featuring 21-week EMA and 200-day SMA. Source: TradingView The last time Ether crossed above its 21-week EMA and 200-day SMA was in April 2022. But this was a fakeout, in part due to the collapse of Terra (LUNA) the following month. B...
Bitcoin price wants to retest 2017 all-time high near $20K — Analysis
Bitcoin (BTC) stayed near $19,000 at the Jan. 13 Wall Street open as traders hoped a week of swift gains would stick. BTC/USD 1-day candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView BTC price “breakout or fakeout remains to be seen” Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD crisscrossing the $19,000 mark as United States equities began trading. The pair rapidly took out sell-side liquidity overnight, gapping higher to what on-chain analytics resource Material Indicators forecast could be a retest of the $20,000 mark. “Seems like BTC is setting up for a retest of resistance at the 2017 Top,” it wrote in part of a Twitter discussion on Jan. 12, the day prior. “Whether we see a bonafide breakout or fakeout remains to be seen. Time for patience and discipline.” An accompany...
MetaMask Staking launches, plugging into Lido and Rocket Pool liquid staking
MetaMask users are set to have access to Ethereum liquid staking providers Lido and Rocket Pool courtesy of a new integration unveiled by ConsenSys. MetaMask Staking will unlock the ability for users to stake Ether (ETH) through the Lido and Rocket Pool protocols, touting the service to improve the security and decentralization of the Ethereum blockchain. Users will be able to compare reward rates, network control and popularity of different liquid staking providers, providing additional information to inform staking solution choices. The service begins with a public beta through the MetaMask portfolio decentralized application (DApp). Users will be able to stake through Lido and Rocket Pool and view Lido (stETH) and Rocket Pool (rETH) staking token balances. These tokens can also be...
Here Is Why You Should Not Be Late Buying Metacade (MCADE) In the Current Bear Market
The current bear market has seen some major price drops for some strong crypto projects. However, Metacade (MCADE) has been extremely bullish in spite of recent price action, attracting over $1.65 million in funding during the first phase of its presale. Investors have a limited time to get involved in the MCADE presale, which is expected to be one of the most high-potential investment opportunities that can be found anywhere during the current bear market. Metacade is, without a doubt, the best investment opportunity during the bear market The current bear market has seen most altcoins dip 90%. The dip has affected major projects such as Polkadot (92%), Decentraland (94%), and Axie Infinity (97%), as falling prices cause low sentiment and a continued cascade downwards. However, these mome...
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...
