Investors in the bitcoin Ponzi scheme Mirror Trading International are reportedly resisting liquidators’ attempts to have them repay digital assets withdrawn before it collapsed. According to the investors’ lawyer, MTI liquidators are intentionally misinterpreting the Insolvency Act for their benefit. Liquidators Face Accusations of Prolonging the Settlement Process A group of Mirror Trading International (MTI) […]
Bitcoin News
Exploring The Resurgence Of BNB: Unveiling The Force Behind Renewed Interest
Binance Coin (BNB) has experienced a notable resurgence in the last few weeks, sparking a renewed interest in the cryptocurrency market. With its versatile applications and growing popularity, BNB has captured the attention of influential investors, leading to a surge in on-chain activities that have stirred the digital asset community.
The latest developments surrounding BNB reveal intriguing movements within the crypto space, particularly with the recent actions of a prominent whale investor.
Whale’s Strategic BNB Acquisition And Deployment
According to a recent report shared by Lookonchain, a significant whale recently acquired a substantial amount of BNB, totaling 22,319 coins valued at a staggering .6 million. In an unexpected move, the whale swiftly withdrew the acquired BNB from the Binance exchange over the course of the last three days.
Rather than holding the assets, the whale strategically injected these tokens into liquidity pools on both Biswap and PancakeSwap, aiming to generate additional revenue through trading fees.
The #BinanceBlockchainWeek is coming soon!
The price of $BNB has increased by 10% in the past week.
A whale withdrew 22,319 $BNB(.6M) from #Binance in the past 3 days and provided liquidity on #Biswap and #PancakeSwap to earn trading fees.https://t.co/dQTc7OUNp2 pic.twitter.com/GIzxVT9mvF
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) November 6, 2023
The implications of this large-scale BNB movement have been manifold, triggering notable fluctuations in the coin’s price and market positioning.
At the time of reporting, BNB is trading at 5, experiencing a minor dip of 2.2% in the last 24 hours. However, this dip comes amidst a significant seven-day rise of nearly 10%, indicating the ongoing dynamic nature of BNB’s value within the market.
While these fluctuations are not uncommon within the volatile crypto sphere, the recent whale activity has certainly played a pivotal role in shaping BNB’s current trajectory.
Market Impact: BNB’s Price Volatility
The significance of the whale’s strategic investment and subsequent actions on Biswap and PancakeSwap cannot be understated. By adding a substantial amount of BNB to the liquidity pools, the whale has effectively contributed to the overall liquidity and trading volume of these platforms, potentially enhancing the overall ecosystem for BNB and other associated tokens.
This move not only demonstrates the growing confidence in BNB’s potential but also highlights the increasingly diverse strategies that influential investors are employing within the cryptocurrency landscape.
Amidst these developments, BNB recently faced a temporary setback as XRP, the cryptocurrency associated with Ripple, briefly surpassed BNB in terms of market capitalization, relegating BNB to the fifth position.
However, the setback proved to be short-lived as Binance Coin swiftly reclaimed its fourth spot from XRP, underscoring its resilience and enduring appeal within the competitive cryptocurrency market.
With growing investor interest and strategic maneuvers shaping its trajectory, BNB’s chart in the coming months is poised to be a compelling narrative within the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies.
(This site’s content should not be construed as investment advice. Investing involves risk. When you invest, your capital is subject to risk).
Featured image from Shutterstock
US Supreme Court to Decide Whether Coinbase Can Force Users to Settle Disputes Through Arbitration
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up the Coinbase case concerning whether the crypto exchange can force users to settle disputes through private arbitration, rather than in court. The case stems from a dogecoin (DOGE) sweepstakes in which users accused Coinbase of false advertising.
Coinbase’s Case Goes to Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear Coinbase’s appeal regarding whether the crypto exchange can force users to settle disputes through private arbitration, rather than in court.
The case involved Coinbase’s sweepstakes in 2021 that offered entrants the opportunity to win prizes of up to ,200,000 in meme cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE). A number of users alleged that they were deceived into paying to participate in the sweepstakes even though there was an option to participate for free. Accusing Coinbase of false advertising in violation of California law, the users filed a class-action lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange.
The users want the disputes heard in California court. However, the crypto platform argued that when users signed up for Coinbase accounts, they agreed to resolve all disputes with the company through arbitration.
While acknowledging the arbitration clause in Coinbase’s User Agreement, a federal judge in California denied the crypto exchange’s request to move the disputes into arbitration. “The district court determined that a separate forum selection clause in the Sweepstakes ‘Official Rules’ superseded the User Agreement’s arbitration agreement, including its delegation clause,” states the document Coinbase filed with the Supreme Court.
Coinbase appealed the denial of the motion to compel arbitration. However, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco affirmed the denial of Coinbase’s motion. It is now up to the Supreme Court to decide whether the crypto exchange can force users into arbitration.
Do you think the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in favor of or against Coinbase? Let us know in the comments section below.
Analyst Expects The Worst For Bitcoin: Will Bears Force Prices To $17,000?
Taking to X on October 12, Zoran Kole, a trader, said reasonable bids for Bitcoin stand at around ,000 and ,000. Though Kole didn’t provide timelines for retraining these levels, the prediction means the coin could slide 35% to around December 2022 territory if the prediction comes true.
Will BTC Drop To December 2022 Levels?
The position the trader takes appears contrarian and opposes every optimistic preview laid out by bulls. Bitcoin finds itself in a precarious position and is primarily bearish at spot rates.
Looking at the daily chart, the coin is down approximately 17% from July peaks and trickling lower at spot rates. As it is, there could be more drawdown, considering that the coin has been performing in the past few hours. To illustrate, Bitcoin breached the ,000 support on October 11 and is edging lower at spot rates, confirming the losses from early this week.
From a top-down preview, it also appears that BTC bulls are under pressure and have failed to unwind losses of August 17. The flash crash in mid-August saw the coin breach critical support–now resistance around ,300. Bitcoin has since failed to break out above this level. There was an attempt on October 2, but bears flew in, reversing all gains.
Bitcoin is within the August 17 and 18 trade range while trading volume, or participation, remains relatively suppressed. From volume analysis, this is bearish. However, how fast the coin can recover or break even lower depends on how prices react at immediate support at around ,000 registered in mid-September.
Bulls Expect Bitcoin Halving And ETFs To Drive Prices
The odds of Bitcoin dropping to the ,000 and ,000 zone, subsequently confirming Kole’s prediction, will be elevated if sellers press on, breaching ,000. Bulls remain confident, citing fundamental factors mostly revolving around 2024’s Bitcoin halving event, where the network will slash miner rewards by half from 6.25 BTC.
At the same time, supporters expect the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve the country’s first spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF).
In a recent X post, the chief policy officer at Blockchain Association, Jake Chervinsky, expressed optimism about the SEC approving a spot Bitcoin ETF. The policy expert said there are all signs of the agency preparing for the derivatives product.
This is especially considering recent revisions made by ARK Investment Management on its prospectus. Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst, said ARK appeared to have changed its Net Asset Value (NAV), which the agency had commented on. ARK further clarifies that their Trust’s assets are segregated and stored by a qualified custodian.
Major Milestones Shows XRP Ledger Is Becoming A DeFi Force To Be Reckoned With
After the XRP token recorded an all-time high in daily trading volumes for crypto exchanges in the US, the Ripple ecosystem has achieved a new milestone, successfully hitting over 82 million registered ledgers on its XRP Ledger.
XRP Ledger Surpasses 82 Million Ledgers
XRP Ledger, a decentralized public blockchain backing the XRP token has gained recognition for its unique consensus algorithm and incorporation of the XLS-20 protocol. The leading cryptographic ledger reported that it had closed approximately 82,035,421 registered ledgers on its blockchain.
This achievement follows another milestone in August where XRPL successfully locked in 81 million ledgers. The blockchain ledger’s rapid growth has been a significant achievement for the ecosystem, emphasizing XRPL’s commitment to decentralization and focus on speed, scalability, and security.
A blockchain researcher, Collin Brown announced details of XRPL’s recent achievements in an X (formerly Twitter) post on Thursday, September 21. Brown was enthusiastic about the current development in the XRP ecosystem and even suggested that the XRP blockchain ledger is on its way to becoming an adversary to crypto giants in the space like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
“With over 82 million ledgers successfully closed, the XRPL continues to make history. The XRPL’s growth in NFTs positions it as a STRONG competitor to Ethereum, paving the way for increased XRP adoption!” Brown said.
XLS-20 Feature Drive Crypto Adoption And Growth For XRPL
The XRP Ledger has long been celebrated for its advanced scalability and decentralization features. However, with the introduction of the XLS-20 feature in 2022, XRPL has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the NFT ecosystem.
The XLS-20 protocol delivers new features to the XRP ledger. According to Brown, XLS-20 is integrated with special features like minting and burning, automated royalties, DEX integration, and traditional NFTs.
XRPL has also recorded over 1.9 million NFTs minted on the ledger and almost 30,000 user accounts own 1.6 million of the minted NFTs. Additionally, approximately .8 million worth of NFT assets have been sold in one-step transactions on the blockchain.
While XRPL’s foray into the NFT sector has sparked major interest among creators and collectors in the space, the XRPL ecosystem has also reported upcoming upgrades in its layer 2 smart contract platform, Evernode.
According to reports, the Evernode network will be featuring new upgrades that improve the reliability and sustainability of the platform, while also furthering crypto and NFT adoption and innovation in the space.
Indonesia Expands De-Dollarization Efforts With National Task Force Formation
Indonesia’s central bank has established a national task force to expand the use of local currency with partner countries. Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and China are already trading with Indonesia using local currencies. In addition, Singapore and South Korea have signed cooperation agreements to build a local currency transaction framework with Indonesia, according to the central bank.
Indonesia’s De-Dollarization Efforts
Bank Indonesia (BI), the Indonesian central bank, announced on Tuesday that it has “formed a National Task Force to expand the use of local currency transactions (LCT) in Indonesia with partner countries.” The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning the National LCT Task Force was signed on the sidelines of this year’s ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Besides the central bank, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, Financial Services Authority (OJK), and Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (IDIC) also participate in the LCT project.
The announcement details:
Currently, LCT Corporation has been implemented between Indonesia and several neighboring countries, namely Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and China. Meanwhile, Singapore and South Korea have also signed cooperation agreements to build an LCT implementation framework with Indonesia.
Indonesia recently ramped up its de-dollarization efforts. In April, Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo stated that Indonesia is following the lead of the BRICS economic bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to shift away from using the USD in international trade and financial transactions.
The BRICS nations recently wrapped up their summit in Johannesburg. The economic group invited six countries to join as new members. At the conclusion of the summit, the BRICS leaders agreed to encourage the use of national currencies in international trade and financial transactions.
Indonesia is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), along with Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. In May, the leaders of the ASEAN nations agreed to push the use of local currencies for economic and financial transactions.
What do you think about Indonesia’s de-dollarization efforts to set up a national task force to focus on the use of local currencies instead of the U.S. dollar? Let us know in the comments section below.
Moody’s Says Forex Shortages May Force Nigerian Central Bank to Delay Repaying Local Banks
The persistent scarcity of foreign exchange may force the Nigerian central bank to delay repaying the .4 billion owed to local banks, analysts at Moody’s Investors Service have concluded. The central bank’s failure to pay its debts on time will likely force the affected financial institutions to similarly delay paying back their own forex-denominated debts.
Nigeria’s Declining Oil Revenues
Nigeria’s perennial shortage of foreign exchange may likely result in the country’s central bank failing to repay domestic lenders on time, the rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has said. As reported by Bloomberg, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) owes the West African nation’s so-called rated commercial lenders about .4 billion which the bank received in the form of swaps and forwards.
According to Moody’s analysts that include Mik Kabeya and Lynn Merhi, the anticipated central bank debt repayment delay may similarly force the affected banks to delay settling their own offshore obligations.
“A material delay in repayment could well lead to the banks facing their own foreign-currency shortages and could constrain their ability to repay their own foreign-currency liabilities,” the analysts reportedly said.
Despite being one of Africa’s biggest oil producers, Nigeria’s oil revenues have gradually declined from a peak of billion seen in 2008 to .6 billion seen by December 2022. This sharp drop in revenues, which is blamed on oil theft and vandalism, has in turn increased pressure on Nigeria’s forex reserves.
Persisting Local Currency Shortages
The prospect of the CBN delaying repayment its debts comes at a time when Nigeria is also grappling with shortages of local currency. The shortages stem from the CBN’s so-called naira redesign policy — an initiative which, in part, seeks to starve the country’s forex of naira banknotes.
However, reports and scenes of Nigerians storming and vandalizing banks eventually forced the country’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, to extend the life of the recently demonetized naira banknotes. In his televised address to Nigerians on Feb. 16, Buhari said he had extended the life of the old 200-naira notes by 60 more days.
In the address, President Buhari insisted the naira redesign policy is a necessary step that had to be taken in order to strengthen the monetary policy. The Nigerian leader also cited money laundering and terrorism funding concerns as some of the reasons why he okayed the CBN’s currency demonetization exercise.
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Kazakhstan Law Limiting Crypto Miners’ Consumption of Electricity Enters Into Force
A new law expanding the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency miners while restricting their access to low-cost electricity has entered into force in Kazakhstan. The legislation introduces a licensing regime for mining with two different categories of licenses that companies will have to renew periodically.
President Tokayev Sings Law Regulating Crypto Assets Mining and Exchange in Kazakhstan
The law “On Digital Assets in the Republic of Kazakhstan,” signed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Monday, has come into force. The main purpose of the new legislation, approved together with amendments to other legal acts like the Tax Code, is to regulate activities related to the issuance and circulation of these assets, most notably mining.
The changes are also aimed at creating conditions for the development of the crypto industry and fair competition between market participants, local media reported. The digital asset law, which was adopted by the parliament in late January, defines the powers of state bodies that oversee the sector and introduces licensing for crypto miners and exchanges, replacing the current registration system.
Mining licenses will be issued for a period of three years to two groups of applicants. Entities that own mining infrastructure, such as data centers meeting certain standards in terms of equipment, location, and security, fall under the first category. The second is for those that own mining hardware but rent space in crypto farms and do not apply for an energy quota directly.
A separate set of requirements has been introduced for mining pools. They must have their hardware and software installed in Kazakhstan and comply with the country’s information security rules and other applicable regulations.
Furthermore, crypto miners will be allowed to purchase electricity from the national grid only if there is a surplus and exclusively from the government-controlled, centralized exchange KOREM. However, price caps for this energy will be removed and the trading will be carried out based on market principles.
Cheap, subsidized power was one of the factors that attracted mining companies to Kazakhstan following China’s crackdown on the industry in 2021. The authorities in the Central Asian nation have blamed the growing electricity deficit on the influx of miners and taken steps to restrict consumption in the sector, including temporarily disconnecting registered facilities and shutting down illegal farms. On Jan. 1, a higher electricity surcharge was imposed on authorized miners.
Do you think the stricter regulations and increased costs threaten Kazakhstan’s status as a mining destination? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.
Polygon (MATIC) Shows It Is A Force On Chart And On-Chain; Here Is Why
- MATIC rallies with high volume as price breaks above after a while as bulls eyes .3.
- MATIC’s price, both on chart and on-chain, shows how it has had a fair share of the bear market and would continue to bloom.
- DOGE’s price remains strong on the daily timeframes as the price trades above the 50 and 200 Exponential Moving Averages (EMA).
Polygon (MATIC) price recently showed some great price action as the price rallied to a high of and broke past this region that has proven to be a difficult nut to crack in recent times for Polygon (MATIC) price. The crypto market has enjoyed a bit of relief across all assets, with Bitcoin (BTC) showing great traction, rallying and dragging the market. Polygon’s (MATIC) rally and strength have proven otherwise, one of the projects many traders and investors are keen on accumulating. (Data from Binance)
Polygon (MATIC) Price Analysis On The Weekly Chart
The past week has seen many altcoins continue to produce over 200% gains over the past 7 days of breaking out of their range-bound movement, as many believe more hope could be settling into the crypto space once more.
The new week has looked a bit skeptical, but things are beginning to shape up and looking more promising for some altcoins, like BAND, rallying over 100% in less than 24 hours, showing the price action and volume for buy orders. The price of MATIC hasn’t lagged either, as it aims to rally higher, holding off sell orders at a region of .85.
After dropping from its high of some months back, the price of MATIC has had a great struggle to pull off a rally that has left many in euphoria, drawing the attention it had from investors, traders, and partnership deals.
The price of MATIC saw its trade at a low of .35 on the weekly chart; the price swiftly bounced from this region as the price rebounded to a region of , where it was rejected to a region of .77. Still, the price bounced from here after forming strong support to a region of .95 as the price aims to rally past .3
Weekly resistance for the price of MATIC – .3.
Weekly support for the price of MATIC – .85.
Price Analysis Of MATIC On The Daily (1D) Chart
In the daily timeframe, the price of MATIC continues to look strong as the price broke out of its range price movement to a high of as the price aims for a rally to a daily high of .3 where the price could face a major resistance to break higher.
The price of MATIC trades at .12 above the 50 and 200 EMA, which indicates a good relief sign for MATIC’s price on the daily timeframe. The price of .9 and .85 corresponds to the values of the EMAs acting as support for prices.
Daily resistance for the MATIC price – .3.
Daily support for the MATIC price – .9-.85.
Onchain Analysis Of MATIC
The MATIC price from the on-chain analysis looks more decent despite a fall of over 60%. MATIC has seen constant price growth over 3 months and producing a reasonable return on investment (ROI) for assets held.
Featured Image From zipmex, Charts From Tradingview and Messari
NewsBTC
Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Adjustment May Force Miners To Dump Their BTC
Last week, the bitcoin hashrate touched a new all-time high after tremendous growth. While this was a welcome development, it had significant implications for the next mining difficulty adjustment which took place on Monday. As expected, the difficulty adjustment had jumped by double-digits, beating even the highest of forecasts.
Difficulty Adjusts By 13.5%
Over the last week, the forecasts for the bitcoin mining difficulty adjustment put it at a high of
9-12%. These ranged from the conservative side to the worst-case scenario, but either way would see the network mark the highest difficulty adjustment so far for the year 2022. However, even these predictions did not do justice to the actual adjustment.
On Monday, the mining difficulty (how many hashes it takes to mine a BTC block) jumped from 31.36T to 35.61T, a 13.5% increase. This higher difficulty adjustment is in line with the increasing mining power as more bitcoin miners bring their machines online.
Mining difficulty adjusts by 13.5% | Source: Coinwarz
Interestingly, the bitcoin mining difficulty is not expected to ease up anytime soon. The next difficulty adjustment will take place on Sunday, October 23, 2022, with another expected increase of 11.3%. In the next three months, the mining difficulty is expected to increase by 22.5%.
As for the bitcoin hashrate, it has seen some decline since it hit its all-time high of 321 EH/s. It is currently sitting at 291.4 EH/s at the time of this writing, a high number for the year 2022.
Will Bitcoin Miners Dump BTC?
The high difficulty adjustment will no doubt impact bitcoin miner profits during this time. This means that they would have to dispatch more computing power and more energy to mine a block, which affects their bottom line. Add in the fact that the bitcoin price is struggling to maintain above ,000, and miners are sitting in a tight spot.
BTC settles above ,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Since the start of the year, there have been times when some bitcoin miners have been forced to dump their BTC holdings to fund their operations and this adjustment could trigger another sell-off trend among them. Since it costs them a little over ,000 to mine a single BTC, bitcoin’s tapdance below ,000 put them dangerously close to recording losses on their mining machines, which could lead to sell-offs.
Bitcoin miner revenues are currently sitting at .16 million per day. With 6.25 BTC mined at an average of 10 minutes, miners are producing a total of 900 BTC each day.
Featured image from Bloomberg, chart from TradingView.com
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