cryptocurrencies
Altcoin Roundup: 3 emerging P2E gaming trends to keep an eye on in 2022
Blockchain-based play-to-earn (P2E) gaming had a breakout year in 2021, and as the cryptocurrency ecosystem evolves in 2022, the P2E gaming sector and those that invest in it will need to consider what the next steps are. During bull markets, vaporware, speculation and euphoria can lead to unrealistic valuations and expectations, and this appears to also have impacted the P2E sector. Now that the hype is “over,” investors and developers will need to identify new value propositions that catalyze growth and steady investment into the blockchain gaming sector. Here’s a closer look at some of the trends that could emerge in the P2E ecosystem in 2022. Profit-sharing communities The first trend to keep an eye on in 2022 is projects that are looking to harness interest in nonfungible tokens to cr...
Reuters: Binance was withholding information from regulators, repeatedly shunned own compliance department
In a report published on Friday, Reuters laid out the findings of its investigation into the regulatory compliance practices of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The authors suggest the existence of a recurring pattern whereby the company’s CEO Changpeng Zhao, while proclaiming its openness to government oversight, ran an organization that systematically denied regulators’ requests for financial and corporate structure information and shirked proper client background checks. The reported findings are based on the accounts of Binance’s former senior employees and advisers, as well as the review of documents such as internal correspondence and confidential messages between several national regulators and the company. According to the document, several hi...
Crypto taxation could deter investors, says Thai ruling party MP
Thailand’s Committee on Monetary Affairs, Finance, Financial Institutions and Financial Market conducted a virtual meeting to discuss various aspects of crypto taxation. The ruling party MP Watanya Wongopasi posted a summary of the discussion on her Facebook page and urged the Excise department to do their due diligence before imposing any tax on the crypto trading market. In the meeting, Paiboon Nalinthrangkurn, the chairman of the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations noted that a tax on stock trading and digital asset trading could decrease market liquidity by 40%. He also warned that heavy taxation would deter foreign and small investors from trading. Yutthana Srisavat, the CEO and founder of iTax proposed a corporate tax or a value-added tax instead of imposing a trading tax...
Moonbeam (GLMR) launch brings EVM interoperability closer to the Polkadot network
Cross-chain compatibility with the Ethereum (ETH) network has become a necessary component for any layer-one protocol looking to remain relevant because a majority of projects and funds locked in smart contracts are found on the top-ranked smart contract platform. After years of development and promises of interoperability, the Polkadot network moved toward its first Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) compatible smart contract protocol with the launch of Moonbeam (GLMR). The platform is designed to make it easy to use Ethereum developer tools to build or re-deploy Solidity projects in a Substrate-based environment. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after a volatile start, which saw its price swing from a low of $8.40 on Jan. 11 to a high of $15.97 on Jan. 14,...
Ad restrictions won’t impact crypto demand, Binance CEO says
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ,” claimed that the growing restrictions on crypto advertisement won’t impact the demand. During his interview with CNBC, CZ stressed that physical crypto advertisements and crypto ads, in general, have not had much impact on user growth, and it has only become common over the past few years. He said that the majority of crypto adoption comes from “word of mouth” marketing. Clampdown on crypto advertising is unlikely to have much of an effect on demand, says @binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pic.twitter.com/K5EtuWyxGz — CNBC International (@CNBCi) January 20, 2022 He also added that primary advertising services such as Google and Facebook had not allowed crypto ads for the longest time. Thus, it’s clear advertisement doesn’t play a significant r...
Canadian restaurant chain reports earning 300% gains on BTC investment to weather pandemic
More than a year after a Canada-based Middle Eastern restaurant chain converted its fiat cash reserves into Bitcoin, the owner reported the move helped save the business during the pandemic. According to a Tuesday report from Canadian news outlet Toronto Star, when Tahini’s restaurant owners Aly and Omar Hamam and their cousin Ahmed decided to convert the company’s savings into Bitcoin (BTC) in August 2020 because it offered “a much better alternative to saving cash,” the price of the crypto asset was roughly $12,000. Aly Hamam reported the business had benefited from the initial crypto investment. “We made the move to the corporate balance sheet on a Bitcoin-standard back in August of 2020, and since then, we’re up more than 300 percent on our initial investment,” said Hamam. “It’s really...
MXC’s 200% gain hints that LoRaWAN IOT mining projects could rally in 2022
Cryptocurrency mining has become a hot topic of conversation over the past couple of years due to its lucrative nature and the impact the industry has on the environment. The emergence of Web3 and the increased presence of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has led to a new class of low-cost mining protocols with low-power network technology. These include LPWAN or LoRaWAN which are designed to transmit low bit rate data over long distances. One such protocol that has been gaining traction in recent months is MXC, a Web3 infrastructure protocol designed to provide geolocation-based LPWAN coverage to IoT devices around the world Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $0.046 on Jan. 1, the price of MXC has seen a 200% rally to a new all-time...
Analysts warn that Bitcoin could dip to $38K ‘before an eventual breakout’
The cryptocurrency market faced another day of weakness on Jan. 18 as the price of Bitcoin (BTC) dropped lower and additional pressure was also put on the altcoin market. Currently, the crypto Fear and Greed Index registered “Extreme Fear” among investors and some traders caution that BTC price could soon fall below its recent $39,000 swing low. Crypto Fear & Greed index. Source: Alternative Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that bulls lost control of the $42,000 support level during the early trading hours on Jan. 18 as bears hammered the BTC price to a daily low of $41,250. BTC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView January is historically weak for Bitcoin Many crypto holders who were disappointed by the lack of a blow-off top to close out 2021 are ...
Early birds: U.S. legislators invested in crypto and their digital asset politics
According to some estimates, as many as 20% of Americans were invested in cryptocurrencies as of August 2021. While the exact number can vary significantly from one poll to another, it is clear that cryptocurrencies are no longer just a niche passion project for tech enthusiasts or a tool for financial speculation. Rather, digital assets have become a widespread investment vehicle with the prospect of becoming mainstream. Optimistic as that is, this level of mass adoption still does not enjoy a commensurate political representation, with senior United States politicians largely lagging behind the curve of crypto adoption. This makes the very narrow group of congresspeople who are also hodlers particularly interesting. As a lawmaker, does owning crypto, or at least having some crypto ...
Where are the best APYs for stablecoins? | Find out now on The Market Report!
In this week’s episode of “The Market Report,” Cointelegraph’s resident experts showcase where to find some of the best stablecoin yields in decentralized finance, or DeFi. But first, market expert Marcel Pechman carefully examines the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) markets. Are the current market conditions bullish or bearish? What is the outlook for the next few months? Pechman is here to break it down. Next up, join Cointelegraph analysts Benton Yaun, Jordan Finneseth and Sam Bourgi in a debate over the best platforms for stablecoin yields. Will Bourgi’s pick, Convex Finance — with its sizable community, reputation and multiple ways to earn yield — come out on top, or will Yuan’s choice of Beefy.Finance — with its multichain yield optimizer — outshine the rest? Not to be outdone by Bourg...
Law Decoded: First-mover advantage in a CBDC conversation, Jan. 10–17
Last week saw an unlikely first move in the opening narrative battle around a prospective U.S. central bank digital currency: Congressperson Tom Emmer came forward with an initiative to legally restrict the Federal Reserve’s capacity to issue a retail CBDC and take on the role of a retail bank. This could be massively consequential as we are yet to see a similarly sharp-cut expression of an opposing stance. As a matter of fact, it is not even clear whether other U.S. lawmakers have strong opinions on the matter other than, perhaps, condemning privately issued stablecoins as a digital alternative to the dollar. By framing a potential Fed CBDC as a privacy threat first, Emmer could tilt the conversation in the direction that is friendly to less centralized designs of digital money. Below is ...
Crypto.com pauses withdrawals due to ‘suspicious activity’
Major crypto wallet and platform Crypto.com has temporarily halted withdrawals after “a small number of users reporting suspicious activity on their accounts,” but all funds are reportedly safe at the moment. We have a small number of users reporting suspicious activity on their accounts. We will be pausing withdrawals shortly, as our team is investigating. All funds are safe. — Crypto.com (@cryptocom) January 17, 2022 A few hours ago, Crypto.com halted withdrawals from its platform in response to several “thefts” reported by customers. Dogecoin (DOGE) founder Billy Markus noticed a suspicious transaction pattern on Etherscan that prompted the company to halt all transactions until it figures out what’s going on with its platform. Internal system transfers and funds are safe? Inside ...
