The Crypto ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Center) launches on Wednesday as a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit association dedicated to bolstering security within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Its founding members include Aleo, Circle, Coinbase, Consensys, Evertas, Fireblocks, Hedera, Kraken, Offchain Labs, Red Balloon Security, Ribbit Capital, Solana Foundation, and Trail of Bits. Its mission is to foster collaboration […]
Bitcoin News
Coinbase, Ripple, Meta Join Forces to Fight Crypto Scams, Including Pig Butchering
Leading crypto and tech companies, including Coinbase, Ripple, Meta, Kraken, and Gemini, have formed a coalition to combat online fraud, including crypto scams like the pig butchering scheme. “We are dedicated to disrupting emerging online scams through collaboration, information sharing, and enhanced consumer education,” said Coinbase’s chief security officer. ‘Tech Against Scams’ Coalition Established Several […]
Bitcoin News
Russia to Clarify Cryptocurrency Mining Gray Areas, Including Payments
Anton Siluanov, the finance minister of Russia, is prepared to discuss the gray areas surrounding cryptocurrency mining and the use of its proceeding for payments. In a recent lecture, Siluanov stated that the government needed to agree “on what can be done with cryptocurrency,” and “what cannot be done,” recognizing that the issue had been […]
Bitcoin News
Uniswap Expands Reach: Deploys v2 Protocol On Six New Chains Including Arbitrum And Polygon
Uniswap (UNI), one of the largest decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges (DEX) by trading volume, has made an important announcement regarding deploying its v2 protocol on six additional chains.
The chains on which the v2 protocol has been deployed include Arbitrum (ARB), Polygon (MATIC), Optimism (OP), Base, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and Avalanche (AVAX).
Uniswap Widens v2 Protocol Deployment
According to a recent post on X (formerly Twitter) by Uniswap Labs, the software product developer working on the protocol, the decision to deploy the v2 protocol on more chains is primarily driven by the desire to simplify the experience for Liquidity Providers (LPs).
While the protocol’s v3 offers advanced features tailored for active liquidity providers, the development team believes the v2 protocol offers a more “straightforward approach.”
By default, v2 pools cover the entire price range, reducing the need for upfront decisions and minimizing the active involvement of liquidity providers. This simplification streamlines the process and makes it more accessible to a broader range of users, according to the announcement.
Another benefit of using the v2 protocol on multiple chains, according to Uniswap Labs, is its cost efficiency. Creating pools on v2 is more gas efficient than other versions, resulting in lower gas costs to add liquidity.
This cost reduction can be translated into savings for users, making swaps on the platform “incredibly affordable.” In addition, the use of v2 on Layer 2 scaling solutions significantly reduces the risk of frontrunning and manipulative practices known as Miner Extractable Value (MEV).
Ultimately, by offering an official v2 deployment directly accessible through the Uniswap interface, the developers suggest that users can be assured of a safe and secure environment for their swaps.
UNI Price Dip, Platform Metrics Remain Solid
Despite the recent developments that could attract investors’ attention and drive broader adoption of the Uniswap protocol, the exchange’s native token, UNI, is currently undergoing a significant correction in line with the overall market trend.
Currently, UNI is trading at .22, representing a 4.4% price drop in the past 24 hours and a 1.1% decline in the last trading hour. However, it’s worth noting that UNI has been one of the better-performing tokens in the market, with price increases of 14.7% and 16.8% in the past fourteen and thirty days, respectively.
Furthermore, according to data from Token Terminal, the Uniswap ecosystem continues to exhibit substantial growth in key metrics.
The fully diluted market capitalization of Uniswap stands at .56 billion, reflecting the total value of all tokens if they were fully in circulation. This figure has experienced a notable increase of 18.4% over the past month.
In contrast, the circulating market capitalization, which considers the currently circulating tokens, is valued at .94 billion, indicating a 19.9% increase over the same period.
Despite the overall surge in market capitalization, the trading volume of the UNI token has experienced a significant decline of 69.3% over the past 30 days, amounting to .79 billion.
The total value locked (TVL), a measure of the value of assets locked within Uniswap’s smart contracts, has also experienced a 14.4% increase, reaching .76 billion.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Binance Assigns Monitoring Tag to Privacy Coins, Including Monero and Zcash
Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, has recently announced that it will start monitoring ten new projects, including privacy blockchains like Monero, Firo, Mobilecoin, and Zcash. Binance reported that these projects might be delisted in the future, failing to meet the criteria required by the exchange to keep being traded on its platform.
Binance Might Delist Several Privacy Coins, Including Monero and Zcash
Binance might be moving to delist privacy coins in the future. In a recent announcement, the exchange reported that it will assign the monitoring tag to ten different cryptocurrency projects, of which several are privacy-focused.
Firo, Mobilecoin, Monero, and Zcash are now part of the assets that Binance states present “notably higher volatility and risks compared to other listed tokens” and will be monitored closely, being reviewed frequently by Binance’s employees.
Binance declared:
Keep in mind that tokens with the Monitoring Tag are at risk of no longer meeting our listing criteria and being delisted from the platform.
In addition, Binance reported that to gain trading access to these assets, users will need to pass a quiz to ensure that they comprehend the risks that using these currencies can bring every 90 days.
Binance’s moves regarding privacy projects were criticized previously by Ricardo Spagni, the former lead maintainer of Monero, who called on the exchange to take a stance in favor of these projects. Spagni stated that failing to do so would constitute a “disservice” to the crypto industry.
Binance had backpedaled on delisting this kind of cryptocurrency before for some European markets, explaining that they had revised the classification of privacy coins to avoid taking this decision back in June. However, analysts believe Binance’s measures can be attributed to the increased regulatory pressure resulting from the .3 billion settlement the exchange reached with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and other U.S. government agencies last year.
Okx, another cryptocurrency trading platform, announced it would delist privacy coins after January 5, including Monero, Zcash, and Dash.
What do you think about Binance monitoring privacy coins? Tell us in the comments section below.
FTX Transfers $150M In Assets, Including Ethereum And Solana, Amid Bankruptcy
Blockchain analytics firm Nansen has recently revealed that wallets associated with bankrupt crypto exchange FTX have transferred approximately 6 million worth of digital assets, including Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL), in a series of transactions over the past week.
The movement of these funds has raised concerns and attracted the attention of industry experts and investors. Nansen’s report sheds light on the ongoing transfers and provides valuable insights into the extent of FTX’s asset movements.
Bankrupt FTX Wallets Unstake Million Worth Of SOL Tokens
According to the Nansen report, funds from FTX wallets have continued to migrate to various exchanges since the previous update. The report specifies the following notable transactions:
- 695,000 Perpetual Protocol (PERP) tokens worth 3,000
- 767,000 Biconomy (BICO) tokens worth 2,000
- 833,000 Kyber Network (KNC) tokens worth 6,000
- 108 million TrueFI (TRU) tokens worth 0,000
- 138,000 Band (BAND) tokens worth 1,000
- 2.5 million Graph (GRT) tokens worth 3,000
- 845 Maker (MKR) tokens worth .17 million
- 7.16 million Render (RNDR) tokens worth .8 million
- 10.5 million USD Coin (USDC)
- 23,000 Polygon (MATIC) tokens worth ,000
- 9.5 million Ren (REN) tokens worth 0,000
- 1.1 million ETH tokens worth million
Additionally, the report highlights that an additional 1.6 million SOL tokens worth .6 million have initiated the unstaking process. While these funds have not yet left the associated wallet, their potential movement would bring the total SOL tokens moved by FTX to just under million.
Moreover, considering the unstaking of SOL and the new assets transferred by FTX to Coinbase and Binance, the total value of funds moved by FTX now stands at 6 million.
Major Transfers Of LINK, AAVE, And MKR Unveiled
Nansen’s previous investigation revealed significant transfers from wallets linked to FTX and Alameda Research, FTX’s trading arm.
These funds were initially withdrawn from FTX and Alameda wallets before being sent to intermediary wallets and eventually deposited into Binance and Coinbase. The report discloses the following noteworthy movements:
- 2.2 million USD worth of Chainlink (LINK) tokens
- 1 million USD worth of Aave (AAVE) tokens
- 2 million USD worth of MKR tokens
- 3.4 million USD worth of ETH tokens
In addition to these transfers, Nansen discovered that 943,000 SOL tokens, equivalent to approximately million, were moved from the FTX Cold Storage wallet.
Overall, the recent findings by Nansen regarding the movement of funds from wallets associated with the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX have sparked concerns within the cryptocurrency community.
The report highlights substantial transfers of various digital assets, including ETH and SOL, and provides insight into the scale of FTX’s asset movements.
As of the current market conditions, FTX’s native token, FTT, is trading at .23. Despite a false breakout on October 23, where the token briefly surpassed ,360, it has since declined consistently.
However, over the past 30 days, FTT has maintained a profit margin of 3.7%, signifying relative stability within this time frame.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
SEC Delays Decisions on More Bitcoin ETFs Including That of Blackrock
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decisions on the spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) proposed by several companies. The delays of the applications of financial powerhouse Blackrock, asset manager Valkyrie and others come ahead of an expected government shutdown that would affect the SEC.
U.S. Securities Regulator Pushes Back Verdicts on Multiple Bitcoin ETF Applications
The future of a number of attempts to issue spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States remains unclear after the country’s regulatory body overseeing the securities market delayed its decisions again. The move concerns the high-profile application of investment giant Blackrock as well as those of Valkyrie, Bitwise, and Invesco, according to filings on Thursday.
The development follows the postponing of the verdict on the Ark 21shares and Global X spot bitcoin ETFs earlier this week. The first was jointly proposed by Cboe BZX Exchange, 21shares, and Ark Invest, while the second was submitted by Global X and Cboe BZX.
The latest delays come after at the end of August the SEC deferred its judgement on seven funds, including those of Wisdomtree, Vaneck, and Fidelity. The deadline for some of them is in the second half of October. Among the candidates is also Franklin Templeton which joined the race this month.
According to Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart, the delay orders, which come earlier than expected, are due to the looming partial U.S. government shutdown. The latter would leave the SEC with “skeletal” staff, its Chair Gary Gensler warned lawmakers on Wednesday.
The Commission and other government agencies would have to furlough federal employees if the parties in Congress fail to agree on their funding. In his post on X, formerly Twitter, Seyffart added to the list of expected delays the applications of Vaneck, Wisdomtree, and Fidelity as well.
The SEC may further delay its decisions early next year. The regulator may also try to appeal a court decision in favor of Grayscale from August which gave hope for bitcoin ETFs in America. The crypto asset manager had challenged the SEC’s decision to deny the conversion of its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to a spot bitcoin ETF with judges describing it as “arbitrary and capricious.”
When do you expect the SEC to announce its verdict on any of the spot bitcoin ETF applications? Tell us in comments section below.
BRICS Invites 6 Countries to Join, Including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran
The BRICS economic bloc has invited six countries to become new members: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The BRICS leaders wrapped up their 15th annual summit on Thursday. “We have reached agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria, and procedures of the BRICS expansion process,” said South Africa’s president.
BRICS to Become 11-Nation Bloc
On Thursday, the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) wrapped up their 15th annual summit in Johannesburg and released their “Johannesburg II Declaration.” Russia will assume the 2024 BRICS Chairship and host the XVI BRICS Summit in the city of Kazan.
The economic bloc has decided to invite six countries to become new members: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). South Africa, the chair of the BRICS summit this year, previously stated that 23 countries have formally applied for membership. The BRICS declaration states:
We have decided to invite the Argentine Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to become full members of BRICS from 1 January 2024.
“We have also tasked our foreign ministers to further develop the BRICS partner country model and a list of prospective partner countries and report by the next summit,” the declaration further details.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa posted on the X social media platform at the conclusion of the BRICS summit: “BRICS is a diverse group of nations. It is an equal partnership of countries that have differing views but a shared vision for a better world.” He emphasized:
As the five BRICS members, we have reached agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process. We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process.
Earlier, China’s President Xi Jinping stated at the summit: “We will forge stronger BRICS strategic partnership, expand the ‘BRICS Plus’ model, actively advance membership expansion, deepen solidarity and cooperation with other [emerging markets and developing countries], promote global multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations, and help make the international order more just and equitable.” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the summit that “the irreversible process of de-dollarization is gaining steam.”
What do you think about the BRICS economic bloc inviting the six countries to become new members? Let us know in the comments section below.
Nearly 80,000 Dormant Ether ICO Tokens Awaken in 2023, Including 61,216 ETH Transfer to Kraken
Based on onchain metrics, a dormant wallet containing 61,216 ether acquired during the initial coin offering (ICO) has recently transferred the cryptocurrency after lying idle for a span of eight years. The funds have reportedly been sent to the crypto exchange, Kraken. This occurrence marks the fourth instance of activated ETH ICO tokens this year, with a substantial amount of nearly 80,000 dormant ether awakening and becoming active in 2023.
Ethereum ICO Whale Moves 6 Million in Ether After 8 Years of Slumber
Whale Alert, a blockchain parser, alerted the community on July 18, 2023, about the awakening of 61,216 ether following an eight-year period of inactivity. Lookonchain, onchain market observers, also tweeted regarding the transaction, highlighting that the user paid approximately .31 per ether. The Ethereum initial coin offering (ICO) occurred from late July 2014 to the first week of September in the same year.
💤 💤 💤 💤 💤 💤 💤 💤 💤 💤 A dormant pre-mine address containing 61,216 #ETH (116,396,127 USD) has just been activated after 8.0 years!https://t.co/f79T0fYa7b
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) July 18, 2023
Although the user paid under ,000 for the ether stash, the funds’ present value amounts to 6.5 million at current exchange rates. Apparently, the funds were sent to an ethereum address identified as a wallet owned by Kraken. As per Whale Alert metrics, before the substantial transfer of 61,216 ether, 8,000 ETH had been moved from an ICO wallet on May 27 of this year.
On April 23, 2023, an additional 2,365 ETH from the 2014 ICO became active, following a transfer of 7,900 ETH from an ICO participant on April 14. Before these four ICO participants moved a total of 79,481 ETH valued at 1.26 million, an individual transferred 2,075 ether on November 23, 2022. Notably, there were three instances of ETH ICO activations in November 2022, and an additional awakening took place on October 25, 2022, involving the transfer of 200 ETH.
What are your thoughts on the sudden awakening of dormant Ether ICO tokens in 2023 and the significant transfer to Kraken? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Hong Kong Launches Digital Currency Pilot With 16 Firms Including HSBC, Bank of China, Alipay
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has announced the commencement of its e-HKD pilot which “will take deep dives into potential use cases in six categories.” The pilot paves the way for “the possible implementation of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC),” the central banking institution explained.
Pilot Program for e-HKD Begins
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced Thursday “the commencement of the e-HKD Pilot Programme.” The central banking institution revealed that 16 firms from the financial, payment, and technology sectors have been selected to participate in the first round of e-HKD pilots for 2023. The HKMA detailed:
The pilots will take deep dives into potential use cases in six categories, including full-fledged payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenized deposits, settlement of Web3 transactions, and settlement of tokenized assets.
“The HKMA will conduct a series of pilots in close collaboration with various stakeholders to examine the use cases, as well as implementation and design issues relating to e-HKD,” the monetary authority described, adding that it aims to share key learnings with the public at Hong Kong Fintech Week 2023 in November.
The companies participating in the pilot program include Alipay Financial Services, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Fubon Bank, Ripple Labs, Standard Chartered Bank, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, Visa, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Mastercard Asia/Pacific, and Boston Consulting Group.
Eddie Yue, HKMA’s chief executive, commented: “While the HKMA has not yet made a decision on whether and when to introduce e-HKD, we are excited to kick-start the e-HKD Pilot Programme, which serves as a tremendous opportunity for the HKMA to collaborate with the industry in exploring innovative use cases and maximizing our readiness for a potential e-HKD.”
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority published its policy stance on e-HKD in September last year as part of its “Fintech 2025” strategy. Two rounds of market consultation were conducted: one on high-level technical design and one on key policy and design issues. A total of 75 responses were received during the consultation period.
The HKMA explained at the time that it will adopt a three-rail approach. Rail 1 establishes the technological and legal foundations for the e-HKD, Rail 2 explores use cases and conducts pilots, and Rail 3 focuses on launching e-HKD based on the outcomes of the previous phases.
“The e-HKD Pilot Programme is a key component of Rail 2 under the HKMA’s three-rail approach in paving the way for the possible implementation of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), i.e. e-HKD, in the future,” the HKMA noted in Thursday’s announcement.
Do you think Hong Kong should launch a central bank digital currency? Let us know in the comments section below.