Erik Voorhees, founder of Shapeshift, has announced the debut of Venice, an artificial intelligence (AI) application that promises enhanced privacy and unrestricted free speech. Unlike mainstream AI services, Venice is designed to operate without the “Orwellian” oversight typical of centralized platforms, offering a truly private and uncensored user experience. New AI on the Block: Venice […]
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South Africa’s FIC Unveils Draft Directive for Travel Rule Implementation; Crypto Industry Leader Issues Warning
The South African Financial Intelligence Centre recently issued a draft directive calling crypto-asset service providers to implement the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) travel rule. However, key figures in South Africa’s crypto industry say several factors could hinder the implementation of the FATF’s Recommendation 16. CASP Interactions With Unhosted Wallets The South African Financial Intelligence […]
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Aave Labs Unveils Ambitious Plans for Protocol V4: Enhancing GHO Stability and Cross-Chain Liquidity
Aave Labs proposed a significant upgrade to its protocol, aimed at enhancing features like its stablecoin GHO, introducing a Unified Liquidity Layer for better integration, and improving the protocol’s architecture for cross-chain liquidity across both Ethereum and non-EVM layer-1 platforms. The update also focuses on automatizing interest rates based on market conditions with Chainlink data […]
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Forbes Unveils 20 Crypto ‘Zombies,’ Declares Ripple And XRP Among The Undead
In a controversial report, Forbes unveiled a list of 20 “crypto billion-dollar zombies,” Layer 1 (L1) tokens, which the news outlet defines as crypto assets with substantial valuations but “limited utility beyond speculative trading.”
These cryptocurrencies and projects include Ripple, XRP, Ethereum Classic (ETC), Tezos (XTZ), Algorand (ALGO), and Cardano (ADA), among others.
XRP And Ethereum Classic In The Spotlight
Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP, was highlighted as a prominent crypto zombie. Despite XRP’s active trading volume of around billion daily, Forbes asserts that the token’s primary purpose remains “speculative” and “lacking meaningful utility.”
However, Ripple Labs and XRP are not alone in this regard. Forbes reveals that 50 blockchains, excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), currently trade at values surpassing billion, with at least 20 of them classified as “functional zombies.” Collectively, these 20 blockchains hold a market value of 6 billion, despite having “limited user bases.”
According to Forbes, an example of a “functional zombie” is Ethereum Classic, which maintains the distinction of being the original Ethereum chain.
While ETC has a market value of .6 billion, its fee generation in 2023 was less than ,000, raising questions about the blockchain’s viability for the news organization.
Another crypto project in Forbes’ report is Tezos, which raised 0 million through an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017.
Tezos’ XTZ token currently holds a market capitalization of .2 billion. However, the blockchain’s fee earnings were meager, with ,640 in February 2024 and a total of 7,653 for all of 2023.
Algorand, once hailed as an “Ethereum killer” due to its capability of processing 7,500 transactions per second, faces similar challenges.
Despite a market cap of billion and a treasury holding of 0 million, Algorand earned ,000 in blockchain transaction fees throughout 2023. For Forbes, this casts doubt on its actual adoption and utility.
Crypto ‘Zombie’ Blockchains
The zombie blockchains are categorized into two groups by Forbes: spin-offs and direct competitors to established blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Spin-off zombies include Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Monero (XMR), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Ethereum Classic.
These blockchains, collectively valued at billion, reportedly emerged from “disagreements” among programmers regarding the governance and direction of the original chains.
Forbes notes that when such conflicts arise, hard forks occur, resulting in new networks that share the same transaction history as their predecessors. The agency claims that their market value “often exceeds” their real-world usage.
Overall, The report highlights a growing disparity between the valuations of certain projects in the cryptocurrency industry and their actual utility and usage. Consequently, Forbes refers to these projects as “zombies.”
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Block Unveils Bitcoin Conversion Feature for Square Merchants
On Wednesday, Block, the financial services firm, disclosed that merchants using Square can convert their daily sales into bitcoin through the Cash App. Block’s founder, Jack Dorsey, revealed this update on X, and as of today, merchants have the option to transfer between 1-10% of their Square-generated earnings into bitcoin, the leading crypto asset by […]
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Bitwise CIO Unveils 5 Major Forecasts For Bitcoin 2028 Halving, Anticipates A 280% Price Surge
Bitwise Chief Information Officer (CIO) Matt Hougan recently shared five interesting predictions for the next Halving of the Bitcoin (BTC) network, scheduled for 2028. In a comprehensive report, Hougan sheds light on the potential transformations for the world’s leading cryptocurrency.
New Investors And ETFs As Catalysts
One of Hougan’s key predictions is that Bitcoin’s volatility will significantly decline by 50%. He argues that the entry of new investors through the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) market will drive this decline.
Hougan said that as financial advisors, family offices, and institutions enter the Bitcoin market, their different investment behaviors – such as portfolio rebalancing and steady drip investments – could introduce counter-cyclical flows, ultimately dampening Bitcoin’s volatility.
Hougan’s second prediction revolves around the allocation of Bitcoin in portfolios. He believes that 5% allocations to Bitcoin will become commonplace in target-date portfolios. As BTC’s volatility decreases and becomes more attractive to institutional investors, Hougan expects a rise in typical portfolio allocations.
The Bitwise CIO predicts that Bitcoin ETFs will attract over 0 billion in inflows. He highlights their impressive growth and cites their status as the fastest-growing new ETF category of all time.
Hougan suggests that the ETF market is still in its early stages, with national wirehouses and institutions just beginning their due diligence. Drawing parallels with the rise of gold ETFs, which experienced year-after-year growth in net flows, he anticipates a similar trend for Bitcoin ETFs.
Bitcoin Price Path Toward 0,000
In an intriguing projection, Hougan suggests that central banks will allocate funds to Bitcoin before the next Halving event. He notes that central banks have historically been significant investors in gold, accumulating substantial amounts of the metal.
However, with Bitcoin’s characteristics as non-debt money and its functional advantages over gold regarding payments and settlement, Hougan believes central banks will be increasingly drawn to Bitcoin. Hougan further noted on this matter:
There is also an element of game theory here. A major central bank adopting Bitcoin as a reserve asset would be a game-changer for Bitcoin and, I believe, would contribute to a dramatic increase in prices. Will one central bank try to front-run the others?
Hougan’s final prediction revolves around Bitcoin’s price. He forecasts that Bitcoin will trade above 0,000 by 2028, an increase of nearly 280% from current levels.
The Bitwise CIO attributes Bitcoin’s previous exponential growth to its transition from a speculative asset to one with real-world utility.
Factors such as declining volatility, improved custody options, low correlations to traditional stocks, enhanced accessibility through ETFs, and growing institutional adoption all contribute to Hougan’s optimism regarding Bitcoin’s future progress. Hougan concluded by stating:
With the ETFs launched and gathering assets—and major Wall Street firms lining up behind bitcoin—I suspect the asset will continue to move further into the mainstream. At 0,000, bitcoin would be a trillion asset. Could it go higher? Of course. But 0,000 would represent solid progress between halvings, and I think we’ll see at least that.
Currently trading at ,500, BTC is down nearly 3% in the past 24 hours after retesting the ,000 mark on Tuesday and failing to consolidate above that level.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
US Presidential Candidate RFK Jr Unveils Plan to Put Entire US Budget on Blockchain
U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) has unveiled his plan to put the entire U.S. budget on a blockchain. “Every American can look at every budget item in the entire budget, anytime they want, 24 hours a day,” he explained, adding that if somebody is spending ,000 for a toilet seat, everybody […]
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Melania Trump Unveils Personalized Mother’s Day Jewelry Plus Solana NFT
Former First Lady Melania Trump has announced a customizable 5 necklace, “Her Love & Gratitude,” to celebrate Mother’s Day on May 12, 2024; the necklace comes with a flower pendant, an adjustable chain, and options for personalization with names, initials, or dates. Buyers of the necklace will also receive a limited-edition digital collectible minted on […]
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Polkadot Unveils Major Upgrade Plan: Relay Chain Replacement And 10M DOT Prize Incentive
Gavin Wood, the founder of the Polkadot protocol, has unveiled a new Gray Paper outlining the forthcoming Join-Accumulate Machine (JAM) upgrade for the network. This announcement occurred during Wood’s presentation on Polkadot’s future at the Token2049 crypto conference in Dubai.
Wood introduced the JAM Implementer’s Prize, a 10 Million DOT prize pool, to encourage diverse development of the JAM protocol.
Polkadot Unveils JAM Upgrade
According to the announcement, the JAM upgrade aims to replace the relay chain, which acts as the central data chain in the Polkadot network, with a “more modular and minimalist design” that will allow Polkadot to run generic services and increase network stability.
The parachains service within JAM will support existing Substrate-based parachains, enabling developers to continue using Substrate to develop and deploy their blockchains.
Notably, these services will have no predefined limits on code, data, or state capacity and can accommodate additional DOT deposits for increased capacity.
JAM’s design includes several technical improvements. It replaces WebAssembly with the Polkadot Virtual Machine based on the RISC-V ISA, an open-source instruction set architecture (ISA) used to develop custom processors.
It also introduces SAFROLE, a SNARK-based block production algorithm. These upgrades are reportedly designed to optimize performance and scalability within the Polkadot network.
On The Path To Decentralization?
To realize the vision of “a truly decentralized protocol,” Polkadot aims to support multiple client implementations. Furthermore, the JAM Implementer’s prize has been established to incentivize and fund projects contributing to the development of JAM implementations. The announcement further reads on the matter:
We believe that supporting a range of implementations in various programming languages will strengthen the ecosystem’s foundation. It distributes the power of protocol implementers more widely and reduces the risk of a bug in one implementation taking down the entire network.
The JAM Implementer’s Prize will collaborate with existing and future funding initiatives that support Polkadot’s ecosystem and technology stack. These initiatives include Decentralized Futures, Grants, and Polkadot’s on-chain treasury.
The prize will be activated when JAM is ratified as a Polkadot technology through the network’s on-chain governance mechanism.
Overall, Gavin Wood’s introduction of the JAM upgrade and the associated 10 Million DOT prize reflects Polkadot’s intention to increase the protocol’s use and adoption. JAM’s modular design and incentives for multi-client implementations are also expected to contribute to ongoing efforts to decentralize the Polkadot network.
As JAM development continues, the Polkadot ecosystem welcomes proposals from teams interested in implementing it in various programming environments.
Despite the recent announcement, the network’s native token, DOT, has been unable to break the downtrend witnessed over the past month. Currently trading at .75, it reflects a significant 24% decline in price over the last 30 days.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Ripple CEO Walks Back $5 Trillion Crypto Marker Prediction, Unveils New Target
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, has revised his earlier ambitious prediction on the crypto industry’s future market capitalization, acknowledging that he had underestimated the market’s potential surge.
Ripple CEO Underpredicts Crypto Market Cap
Appearing in a recent interview with Fox Business, Garlinghouse shed light on the growth potential of the cryptocurrency market as well as its performance since the beginning of the year.
The Ripple CEO was questioned about his previous optimistic forecast for the crypto industry’s market capitalization, in which he projected that the market cap would double to approximately trillion by the end of the year. According to CoinMarketCap, the current global cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at roughly around .25 trillion.
In response to the inquiry, Garlinghouse expressed his belief that his previous predictions were not overly ambitious, emphasizing the market’s potential for further growth. He admitted to underpredicting the industry’s potential market capitalization by the end of 2024, citing factors such as the current supply and demand dynamics driving additional increases.
Garlinghouse noted that the current market conditions are characterized by increased demand and reduced supply, with these dynamics playing a significant role in the performance of cryptocurrencies.
He disclosed that the Spot Bitcoin ETF market and the overall sentiment regarding Bitcoin’s value have significantly boosted demand for the cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s supply is diminishing due to the increasing number of large-scale investors purchasing the cryptocurrency rapidly. Additionally, the impending Bitcoin halving event is expected to further decrease the cryptocurrency’s supply.
Assessing the current state of the crypto market, Garlinghouse stated that since the last six months, Bitcoin has been up by more than 250%, with further increases anticipated. He also asserted that this overperformance was largely driven by the approval and launch of Spot Bitcoin ETFs as well as the upcoming Bitcoin halving.
Regulations Are Vital For Market Development
Garlinghouse has disclosed that establishing proper regulatory frameworks for the cryptocurrency market would yield positive outcomes for the market in the future.
He explained that one of the primary factors hindering the growth of this evolving market was the United State’s prevailing anti-crypto stance, suggesting that the country’s enforcement actions on the developing industry were “problematic.”
The Ripple CEO highlighted several countries, including Dubai, Singapore and the United Kingdom, which have been proactively embracing cryptocurrencies and implementing proper regulatory systems to foster further growth in the market.
Garlinghouse has asserted that the US has significantly lagged in recognizing the transformative and innovative impact of the cryptocurrency market, attributing this setback to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its current Chair, Gary Gensler.