Labeling cryptocurrency a scapegoat, similar to blaming parallel market traders for the Nigerian currency’s woes, will not solve the underlying problems. Proactive preparation for consequential innovations is far preferable to reactive measures. The blockchain and crypto industry is still young, and there’s time for Nigeria to establish regulatory frameworks to govern its participants. Nigeria’s Currency […]
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Binance NFT to Halt Bitcoin NFT Activities, Focus Shifts Away From BTC-Based Collectibles
In a recent announcement by Binance on April 4, 2024, the firm disclosed its decision to halt support for Bitcoin-based Ordinal non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles within its NFT marketplace. The directive from Binance calls for users of its NFT marketplace to withdraw their Ordinal inscriptions by May 18, 2024. Binance NFT Marketplace to End Ordinal […]
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Worldcoin (WLD) 12% Rally Hits A Snag: Portugal Demands Halt To Biometric Data Collection
In a recent development, Portugal’s data regulator, the National Commission for the Protection of Data, also known as the CNPD, has issued an order to stop Sam Altman’s iris scanning project, Worldcoin, from collecting biometric data for 90 days.
Worldcoin’s Compliance Under Fire
According to a Reuters report, the CNPD’s suspension specifically targets the Worldcoin Foundation, a memberless entity based in the Cayman Islands, described on its website as the sole member and director of World Assets Ltd, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands responsible for issuing Worldcoin tokens to sign-up participants.
The CNPD cited an alleged “high risk” to citizens’ data protection rights as the main reason for its urgent intervention. The regulator expressed concerns about the “unauthorized” collection of data from minors, the lack of information provided to data subjects, and the inability to delete data or withdraw consent.
The halt order also noted that over 300,000 individuals in Portugal had provided their biometric data to Worldcoin, leading to numerous complaints being lodged with the CNPD.
Jannick Preiwisch, the data protection officer at the Worldcoin Foundation, responded to the CNPD’s order by stating that Worldcoin is “fully compliant” with all laws and regulations about biometric data collection and transfer. Preiwisch emphasized the company’s zero-tolerance policy for underage sign-ups and its commitment to addressing any reported incidents.
Worldcoin has recently transitioned to “Personal Custody,” aiming to give users control over their data, including options for deletion and future use. The CNPD’s order to stop data collection is considered temporary, allowing for additional due diligence and analysis of complaints during the ongoing investigation.
Privacy Storm Engulfs Worldcoin
The Regulatory scrutiny of Worldcoin extends beyond Portugal. As NewsBTC reported, Spain’s data protection watchdog issued a three-month ban earlier this month in response to privacy complaints, and Kenya suspended Worldcoin’s operations in August 2023.
Moreover, the Bavarian State Regulatory Authority, acting as the lead authority in southeastern Germany, is currently investigating Worldcoin under European Union data protection rules due to the presence of a German subsidiary owned by Tools For Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin.
As the investigation into Worldcoin’s data collection practices continues, the project faces significant challenges in addressing regulatory concerns and maintaining public trust in its ambitious vision. According to its website, the project claims to have garnered over 4.5 million sign-ups from individuals in 120 countries.
Regulatory Hurdles Fail To Dampen WLD’s Performance
Despite the recent regulatory challenges faced by Worldcoin, the decentralized cryptocurrency has managed to maintain its gains of 12% over the past seven days. After reaching an all-time high (ATH) of .95 on March 10, the project’s native token, WLD, experienced a sharp drop to .24 but has since recovered.
Currently trading at .01, WLD has capitalized on the overall market rebound and its seven-day uptrend, surging by almost 9% in the past 24 hours.
The trading volume for WLD in the last 24 hours is 6,136,329, indicating a significant 65.10% increase compared to the previous day, suggesting renewed interest in the token.
Looking ahead, the .5 level is expected to provide the nearest resistance for the WLD token, followed by the .14 mark, should the rally continue. On the downside, the .36 level is the closest support on the daily chart.
In a potential downtrend, failure to hold this support level could decline toward the mark, with the next significant resistance at .93.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Binance to Halt Tron USDC Trading Following Circle’s Move Away
Crypto exchange Binance will end support for TRC-20-based USDC tokens on April 5, following an announcement by USDC issuer Circle to discontinue support for the stablecoin on the Tron blockchain. Circle ceased minting USDC on Tron and aims to phase out support entirely, aligning with efforts to maintain USDC’s trust, transparency, and safety. Binance users […]
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Spanish Court Upholds Privacy Watchdog’s Decision to Halt Worldcoin Activities
The Audiencia Nacional (National Hearing), a Spanish special tribunal, has maintained the measures that the AEPD, the private data watchdog in the country, has taken against Worldcoin. The court determined that the defense of the general interest of protecting the people’s data must prevail over the company’s economic interest. Spanish Audiencia Maintains Suspension of Worldcoin […]
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Report: Election Concerns Halt South Korea’s Crypto and ETF Regulation Ease
South Korea has delayed its efforts to relax its crypto regulations and the prohibition on spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This development follows closely behind the People Power Party’s contemplation of removing certain regulations and the ETF ban before the commencement of South Korea’s general election. South Korea Holds Back on Crypto Regulation and Reported […]
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Avalanche C-Chain Experiences Block Production Halt, AVAX Price Responds
In a recent development, the Avalanche (AVAX) C-Chain encountered a significant disruption in block production, leading to a halt for over one hour. The interruption, which affected the primary network, was observed through the Avascan browser, with the last transaction recorded at block 42046853 (19:13 UTC+8).
Although other subnets experienced a slight delay, the primary network faced the most substantial impact.
Avalanche C-Chain Block Production Halt
Ava Labs, the team behind the Avalanche protocol, acknowledged the issue and promptly initiated an investigation. According to Kevin Sekniqi, co-founder of Avalanche, the disruption is believed to be related to a new inscription wave that was launched approximately an hour before the block production interruption.
Sekniqi expressed confidence that the incident was caused by an “esoteric bug” stemming from an untested edge case, emphasizing the need for a swift resolution.
The disruption is presumed to be associated with a mempool handling issue specifically tied to inscriptions, which encountered untested edge cases.
When questioned about the possibility of such untested scenarios arising, Sekniqi acknowledged that while ideally, there should be no untested edge cases, the vastness of the codebase and continuous updates make it challenging to anticipate every possible scenario.
The Avalanche co-founder further clarified that thorough testing is conducted on testnets, but the intricacies of the mainnet environment can introduce “unforeseen challenges.”
At present, no further official statement has been issued by the Avalanche protocol, awaiting additional reports and updates from the development team to gain further insights into the situation.
AVAX Price Dips
During the occurrence of the block production halt, the AVAX price, which serves as the native token of the Avalanche protocol, exhibited a negative reaction, further extending the ongoing decline observed since Thursday when the price was at .
As of now, the AVAX price has reached .13, indicating a decline of over 2% within the past 24 hours, accompanied by a substantial drop of 11.7% over the course of the previous seven days.
The subsequent actions taken by the Avalanche team in response to this situation, as well as the consequential effect on the AVAX price, are yet to be determined.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
HTX Recommence Operations After Temporary Halt Due to Hack
Cryptocurrency exchange HTX (formerly Houbi) has recently announced its resumptions of operations after being halted for a while due to a recent exploit.
HTX To Resume Services Later Today
HTX, one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, has confirmed the resumptions of its withdrawal and deposit services later today. However, the crypto company should have provided a specific time for the resumption. The crypto exchange said:
In addition, HTX (Huobi) is expected to resume deposit and withdrawal services within 24 hours. The specific resumption time will be notified again. Please pay attention to the platform announcement.
The announcement also saw the crypto firm asserting that the recent hack has been “appropriately handled.” This ultimately led to halting the platform’s services to prevent more losses.
Furthermore, the crypto exchange has once again asserted its promises to compensate its users for their losses due to the recent hack. The platform stated:
Huobi HTX has now properly handled this attack. Huobi HTX once again promises to fully compensate for the losses caused by this attack and 100% guarantee the safety of user funds.
The crypto platform stated that the funds lost in the hack were “small” compared to its total funds. The company’s operations are unaffected. The crypto platform stated:
The amount of funds lost by Huobi HTX this time accounts for a “very small amount” of the total funds of the platform. The normal operation of Huobi HTX will not be affected by this. Users should rest assured.
The Crypto Exchange Fell Victim To Hack
On Wednesday, November 22, HTX and blockchain protocol Heco Chain experienced an exploit amassing over 0 million in several assets.
The hack was detected by on-chain investigator Cyvers Alerts, alerting the platform of the transactions. According to Cyvers Alert, the total assets lost by HTX were around million, while Heco Chain lost over million.
The platform’s advisor, Justin Sun, later confirmed the hack in a post. The advisor took to X (formerly Twitter) to shed more light on the hack and the company’s intention in handling it.
The exploit comes after an October million attack on HTX. The attack resulted in about 500 Ethereum stolen from the exchange. However, in the days that followed the tragedy, all losses were completely compensated.
So far, the company has expressed its commitment to preventing such hacks from ever retaking place. Meanwhile, its customers’ well-being will be its highest responsibility.
Assessing Cardano’s Struggles: Will Key Support Levels Halt The Decline Above $0.27?
Cardano (ADA) has been on a rollercoaster ride in the cryptocurrency market, with its recent price recovery rally encountering some significant challenges.
As of the latest data from CoinGecko, ADA is trading at .261, showing a modest 1.7% gain in the past 24 hours, but boasting a seven-day rally of 4.9%. However, beneath the surface, there are signs of growing overhead pressure that could limit ADA’s upward momentum.
ADA’s journey to reclaim its previous highs faces its first major hurdle at the .26 mark. But this is just the beginning, as multiple layers of resistance lie above it, signifying significant supplier congestion levels. The price recovery may be stalling due to these formidable barriers.
Cardano: Key Insights
To gain a deeper understanding of ADA’s current price dynamics, we turn to a new price analysis. Data reveals a crucial level of buying interest at .25. In fact, over 600,000 ADA buy limit orders are placed at this level.
This suggests that if ADA can breach the range-high and the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), it might find support around the mid-range of .25.
On the sell side, key sell limit orders start to emerge between .265 and .270, indicating that there is substantial selling pressure just above the current price levels.
The fate of ADA’s price also hinges on Bitcoin’s performance. Should Bitcoin post losses and dip below ,500, ADA could follow suit, potentially finding support at the mid-range of .25. Conversely, a bullish rally in Bitcoin could set the stage for ADA to re-target its next hurdle at .28.
Technical Indicators Signal Caution
Technical indicators are also raising caution flags for ADA investors. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently below the 50 level and trending downward, indicating fading momentum. Furthermore, the Awesome Oscillator (AO) remains in negative territory, signaling a lack of bullish sentiment.
Descent To Range Low Likely
Considering the current market conditions and technical indicators, analysts are leaning towards a bearish outlook for Cardano’s price. There is a possibility that ADA could descend to test the support floor at .2415. In a worst-case scenario, the price could plummet further, potentially reaching the range low of .2200, marking a substantial 15% drop from its current levels.
While Cardano has shown resilience with its recent gains, the road ahead is riddled with resistance levels, and Bitcoin’s influence remains a significant factor. Investors should closely monitor the developments in ADA’s price, as it navigates through these challenging market conditions. The cryptocurrency landscape is as unpredictable as ever, and ADA’s journey is far from certain.
(This site’s content should not be construed as investment advice. Investing involves risk. When you invest, your capital is subject to risk).
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Terra Classic Votes to Halt USTC Minting; Community Eyes Future Re-Peg
Following a decisive vote by the Terra Classic community, an initiative to halt the creation of the previously termed stablecoin, terra usd (commonly referred to as UST or USTC), has been approved. Despite 40.56% opposition, 59.42% of the vote gave the nod for the software update.
Minting Freeze for USTC Approved
USTC, which sits at the 200th spot among 10,000+ crypto assets in the crypto economy, has seen its value jump by 4% in just the last day. As of 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on September 24, 2023, a single USTC is fetching .0127. Flashback to before the Terra ecosystem’s downturn in May 2022: this stablecoin held firm at a solid per unit, maintaining its peg to the USD for a long duration. On May 9, 2022, USTC drifted away from its peg to the U.S. dollar and the peg never returned.
While the Terra blockchain ecosystem shuddered, a community of users and developers continued to persevere. The Terra blockchain is known for facilitating trades between the once-stable coin and LUNA, a dynamic that sent LUNA’s supply skyrocketing into the trillions. The governance motion seeks to terminate the USTC minting process through software adjustments. A noteworthy 59.42% of participants endorsed the motion, aiming to close USTC minting and certain loopholes.
“This proposal would stop all minting and reminting of USTC without the approval of the Terra Classic community,” the proposal notes. “This proposal also stops loopholes such as converting xUST to mint USTC. We pay the Algo Quant team to re-peg USTC to USD, and the Terra Classic community is participating in the burning of the USTC supply, which also facilitates the re-peg.”
The community remains optimistic about re-anchoring USTC to the U.S. dollar, a topic that has been at the forefront of discussions over the past year. “This proposal protects the community and outside investors who are burning USTC helping to achieve the repeg,” the proposal emphasizes. While USTC stands at .012 per coin, LUNA‘s valuation is considerably lower. Despite a 5% boost against the dollar, LUNA is exchanged at just .00006206 per unit, plummeting 99.99999% from its peak of 9.18.
What do you think about the community vote to halt minting USTC? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.