bitcoinlfg

Tag: crypto

  • Crypto investment products saw outflows of $6.5M last week

    Crypto investment products saw outflows of $6.5M last week

    • About $6.5 million flowed out of funds tracking different cryptocurrencies last week.
    • Bitcoin recorded $13 million in outflows, while Ethereum benefited from XRP-driven sentiment to record $6.6 million in inflows.
    • The minor outflows follow 4 consecutive weeks of inflows.

    CoinShares’ latest report on digital assets investment products suggests the industry saw minor outflows of $6.5 million over the past week. The outflows follow a consecutive four weeks of inflows that saw investors pour $742 million into different crypto investment products.

    James Butterfill, Head of Research at CoinShares noted that while Bitcoin recorded the most outflows, data showed sentiment towards Ethereum investment products looks to have flipped positive.

    Ethereum and XRP record inflows

    As highlighted in a report published on Monday, funds tracking Bitcoin logged $13 million of outflows and short-bitcoin products recorded $5.5 million in outflows – its 13th consecutive week. 

    Meanwhile, Ethereum products witnessed $6.6 million in inflows, with Butterfill noting that the shift in sentiment around ETH has coincided with the recent court ruling in the Ripple Labs versus US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

    US Judge Analisa Torres delivered a partial win for Ripple in its battle with the SEC when she ruled that XRP was not a security as sold on exchanges.

    The price of XRP shot up following the ruling, rising more than 100% to hit highs near the much-coveted $1 level. But while XRP failed to break to the psychological 100 cents mark, it appears investor confidence in the cryptocurrency greatly benefited it.

    “XRP, both prior to, and following the conclusion of the recent SEC lawsuit, has seen inflows totalling US$6.8m over the last 11 weeks representing 8% of AuM. This implies investors are increasingly confident in the outlook for XRP,” Butterfill wrote.

    The positive sentiment was also replicated in Solana, Uniswap and Polygon that registered inflows of $1.1 million, $0.7 million and $0.7 million respectively.

    Share this article
    Categories
    Tags

    Source link

  • Actor Ben McKenzie says crypto is like a ‘Ponzi scheme’

    Actor Ben McKenzie says crypto is like a ‘Ponzi scheme’

    actor ben mckenzie crypto is like ponzi scheme
    • McKenzie says cryptocurrencies resemble an MLM scheme.
    • He calls for the need to better regulate and license this market.
    • Bitcoin is currently up a whopping 80% versus the start of 2023.

    An 80% year-to-date rally in Bitcoin is not enough to substantiate the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies for actor Ben McKenzie.

    McKenzie dubs crypto an MLM scheme

    McKenzie does not see cryptocurrencies as financial assets per se.

    He views them more as a “story” that can be pushed out of existence if people stopped believing in them. On CNBC’s “Squawk Box”, the actor who played James Gordon in “Gotham” said:

    Crypto resembles a Ponzi scheme or multi-level marketing scheme. In MLMs, 99% of people lose and 1.0% benefit. In crypto, it’d be exchange owners, VC firms, people that issue the coins.

    Still, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission has recently received several applications including from BlackRock Inc for a Spot Bitcoin ETF that signal institutional interest in BTC.

    McKenzie says regulation will help

    Last month, the regulator sued both Binance and Coinbase Global Inc for violating U.S. securities laws.

    According to Ben McKenzie, greater regulation and more sophisticated licensing could indeed help turn crypto into a proper financial market.

    You’re talking about an unregulated, unlicensed market run through shell corps in Caribbean. Crypto has benefitted from gray area between how we classify securities and commodities.

    The veteran actor is even more bearish on cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin as the latter is at least limited in terms of supply. Also on Tuesday, Professor Carol Alexander of Sussex University said BTC could hit $50,000 by the end of 2023.

    Share this article
    Categories
    Tags

    Source link

  • AI-powered meme token taking crypto by storm

    AI-powered meme token taking crypto by storm

    • Shiba Memu is looking to dominate the meme coin sector with a pioneering AI-powered utility token.
    • The concept behind this robot meme with a touch of AI genius is what could astound the legacy meme coins space.
    • SHMU presale has raised more than $356k in less than a week.

    Talk of meme coins today and what’s likely to pop up in front of you would be the latest Shiba Inu dog meme dubbed Shiba Memu (SHMU).

    Granted, Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) sit pretty in the upper deck of the market cap ranking, their status as top meme dogs not under immediate threat. But is there a hint of investor focus shifting to a new project that promises to bring the best of two technology worlds together in an explosive marketing powerhouse?

    The SHMU presale, which can be accessed here, suggests this scenario could indeed surface.

    What is Shiba Memu?

    Today’s biggest trends are crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) – and raring to go amid the exuberance is Shiba Memu. So the question one might want to ask is ‘what is Shiba Memu?’

    As briefly noted earlier, Shiba Memu is a new, revolutionary meme token that combines the power of blockchain and AI. While the meme token possesses all the attributes of memenomics, it comes loaded with “new tricks” that could see it become an unstoppable marketing powerhouse.

    It will run on both ERC20 and Binance Smart Chain networks.

    How does Shiba Memu work?

    AI tools can do wonders when it comes to tapping into machine learning and natural language processing (NLP), the reason it’s such a hot topic even in the mainstream tech industry.

    Shiba Memu taps into this to replace the human effort that traditional meme tokens employ to gain traction. Instead, the whitepaper outlines a self-sufficient marketing platform powered by the native SHMU token.

    At the heart of all the marketing will be an AI dashboard accessible and visible to all token holders. It will use NLP and ML as well as sentiment analysis, predictive analytics, image and video recognition and personalization (think of how effective ads marketing has become and tinker with that using an AI-powered dog that’s capable of so much).

    Some of the things the meme can achieve include creating marketing strategies, writing own PRs, and promoting itself over and over again. Leveraging AI means the project can outperform tabloid newspapers when it comes to getting content across for the purpose of attracting even more attention.

    Other than churning “gazillions” of data and marketing details about the project, the robot meme dog will also monitor its own performance and adjust for optimized output. Engaging with users directly is another strategy of this project, the result of which could be increased visibility and trust in the token and potential uptick in specific demand for SHMU.

    Shiba Memu presale

    The roadmap for Shiba Memu includes the launch of the above-mentioned AI dashboard in Q1, 2024. The platform will also implement user engagement features such as feedback and integrate social media platforms to boost marketing.

    Development of the project will continue throughout the first half of the year, with listing on major exchanges expected in Q3, 2024. These future developments are however preceded by a token presale that will see 85% of total supply of 1 billion SHMU available to early investors.

    It’s barely a week into that presale and investors have allocated over $356k into the project, with more than 25.7 million SHMU grabbed. Investors know that participating in the presale is one of the ways to get hold of Shiba Memu at greatly discounted prices.

    One major difference between the Shiba Memu presale and similar token sales is that this one is open-ended and is scheduled to last 8 weeks. During this time, SHMU’s price will increase every day at 6pm GMT. 

    The current presale price is $0.012475 and the next uptick will see it rise to $0.0127. It will double from here every time it increases until it reaches $0.0244.

    How do you buy Shiba Memu tokens?

    There’s only one way to buy SHMU during the presale – visit the project’s website. The project will go live on both the ERC20 and BSC networks. This means buying is available via ETH, USDT, BNB, and BUSD and one will need to have a supported wallet.

    Currently, that’s MetaMask for desktop users and Trust Wallet when buying on a smartphone.

    After the presale and when tokens go live, earning SHMU will be possible via providing liquidity on a DEX and get rewarded in transaction fees. Another way to get hands on more of these meme tokens would be through buying on exchanges or staking to earn rewards.

    Do you want to know more about Shiba Memu? Click here.

    Share this article
    Categories
    Tags

    Source link

  • ‘crypto is digitalising gold in many way’

    ‘crypto is digitalising gold in many way’

    blackrock ceo larry fink crypto digitalising gold
    • BlackRock CEO Larry Fink was all praise for BTC in a recent interview.
    • The asset manager refiled for a Spot Bitcoin ETF earlier this week.
    • Bitcoin is currently up close to 90% versus the start of the year.

    Bitcoin made a new 52-week high this morning after Larry Fink – the Chief Executive of BlackRock Inc agreed that it was a valuable international asset.

    Fink is now constructive on Bitcoin

    Fink had once dubbed the BTC an index of money laundering. But in a recent interview with Fox Business, he was all praise for the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

    I do believe the role of crypto is digitalising gold in many ways. Instead of investing in gold as a hedge against inflation or the onerous problem of any one country.

    Earlier this week, the asset manager refiled for a Spot Bitcoin ETF after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked for more clarity on its initial application.

    BlackRock Inc currently has about $9.5 trillion worth of assets under management.

    Is a Spot Bitcoin ETF coming soon?

    Note that BlackRock has a history of getting regulatory approval for nearly every exchange-traded fund it has ever filed for.

    That’s important considering many experts forecast a Spot Bitcoin ETF to unlock further upside in Bitcoin. The digital currency is already up close to 90% for the year at writing.

    BlackRock has already made money investing in BTC and expects the crypto asset to grow further moving forward. According to CEO Larry Fink:

    The foundation of BlackRock is about hope. You have for retirement because you believe tomorrow is better than today.

    Share this article
    Categories
    Tags

    Source link

  • Crypto services provider Matrixport predicts Bitcoin to $125k by the end of 2024

    Crypto services provider Matrixport predicts Bitcoin to $125k by the end of 2024

    Key takeaways

    • Matrixport believes that Bitcoin could rally to $125k by the end of next year.

    • The crypto services provider points out that Bitcoin has already touched its bottom after rallying to the $31k level last month. 

    Bitcoin could hit $125k by the end of next year

    Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency by market cap, is up by more than 50% since the start of the year. However, some market experts believe that Bitcoin could rally higher over the next 12-18 months.

    Crypto services provider Matrixport believes that Bitcoin could rally as high as $125,000 by the end of 2024. 

    Matrixport’s forecast is based on its data that indicates a multi-month bull market, resulting in a massive rise in the market value of Bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies. 

    According to Matrixport, Bitcoin reaching the $31k level indicated the end of the bear market. 

    While speaking with CoinDesk, Markus Thielen, head of research and strategy at Matrixport, stated that

    “On June 22, 2023, bitcoin made a new one-year high, marking the first time in a year. This signal has historically indicated the end of bear markets and the start of new crypto bull markets. If history is any guide, bitcoin prices could climb by +123% over twelve months and by +310% over eighteen months – based on the average return of the signals triggered in 2015, 2019 and 2020. That would lift prices to $65,539 in twelve months and $125,731 over eighteen months.”

    Thielen described the 2012 signal and the subsequent 5,285% price rise in 2013 as an unusual bull market. 

    Bitcoin Surged By 50% YTD

    Bitcoin has surged by more than 50% since the start of the year. It started the year trading just around the $15k level, with the price of Bitcoin now at $31,192 per coin. 

    Matriport’s forecast will coincide with the fourth halving. The next halving will see the reduction in the new coins paid per block to 3.25 BTC from 6.5 BTC and will take place in March/April 2024. 

    Share this article
    Categories
    Tags

    Source link

  • Belarus planning to ban P2P crypto transactions

    Belarus planning to ban P2P crypto transactions

    • Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in 2022 signed a decree allowing free circulation of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in the country.
    • The announcement somewhat seems to contradict the previous stand that Belarus has had on cryptocurrencies.
    • If effected, Belarusians will not be allowed to use peer-to-peer crypto exchanges.

    The foreign ministry of Belarus is drafting new legislation to outlaw peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency transactions of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

    On July 2, the Republic of Belarus’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) made a formal announcement on Telegram regarding the new legislation that will outlaw peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency transactions for individuals.

    Belarus’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announcement runs somewhat afoul of the recent laws that Belarus has passed. President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus officially endorsed the free circulation of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in 2022.

    Belarus cites high rate of cybercrime

    The authorities cited Belarus’ high rate of cybercrime and claimed that since the year’s beginning, local prosecutors have stopped 27 citizens from offering “illegal crypto exchange services.”

    The total earning from illicit earnings totalled about 22 million Belarusian rubles ($8.7 million).

    According to the foreign ministry, cryptocurrency P2P services are “in demand among thieves who cash out and convert stolen funds and transfer money to criminal scheme organizers or participants.”

    The MFA will forbid individuals from P2P and only permit them to exchange cryptocurrencies only through cryptocurrency exchanges registered with Belarus Hi-Tech Park in order to eradicate such illicit activity (HTP). It also stated that it intends to implement a practice that will make it “impossible to withdraw money obtained from illegal activity,” similar to the process for exchanging foreign currencies.

    Share this article
    Categories
    Tags

    Source link

  • Crypto Fear and Greed Index Points to Bitcoin Price Path to $40K

    Crypto Fear and Greed Index Points to Bitcoin Price Path to $40K

    Crypto fear and greed index has moved to the greed area ahead of the upcoming Bitcoin options expiry. Bitcoin price was trading at $30,392 on Wednesday, where it has been in the past few days. This price is a few points below the year-to-date high of $31,478. At its peak, the coin jumped by more than 104% from the lowest level in 2022.

    Fear and greed index points to greed

    The crypto fear and greed index has made a strong recovery in the past few weeks. It has moved from the fear zone of 41 to the greed area of 62. This means that investors are getting modestly greedy helped by the recent ETF news. The most recent Bitcoin news came on Tuesday when Fidelity announced that it had filed its ETF proposal with the SEC.

    Investors believe that a spot ETF will lead to more demand for Bitcoin from institutional investors. Still, this view should be taken with a grain of salt since ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) has had modest growth in the past few years. It now has about $1 billion in assets. While BITO tracks Bitcoin futures, it has a close correlation with Bitcoin itself.

    The fear and greed index points to more upside for Bitcoin since investors tend to buy it when there is greed in the market. Perhaps, these gains will happen ahead or after the upcoming Bitcoin options expiry scheduled for Friday this week. 

    Data shows that most of these options are calls with a strike price of about $30,000. This explains why Bitcoin has barely moved this week.

    Bitcoin price prediction

    A good technical analysis can help you predict the next price action of a cryptocurrency or other assets. Turning to the daily chart, we see that Bitcoin is oscillating at the 50% Fibonacci Retracement level. This is an important level that traders look at.

    At the same time, this is an important price since it was the highest point on April 14th. Most importantly, the coin has formed what looks like a bullish pennant pattern. Therefore, there is a likelihood that the price will soon have a bullish breakout as buyers target the next key level at $35,000. This price is about 15% above the current level. A move above this level will see it jump to the next resistance point at $40,000.

    Share this article
    Categories
    Tags

    Source link

  • Crypto resiliency continues as BTC holds above $30k, AltSignals raises $1M

    Crypto resiliency continues as BTC holds above $30k, AltSignals raises $1M

    • AltSignals token has raised over $1 million as it nears its target.

    • Bitcoin has held quite steady above $30,000 even as risks in the industry rise.

    Bitcoin price has held steady above the $30k level as the recent momentum wanes. It was trading at the important level of $30,230 on Tuesday, a few points below the year-to-date high of $31,413. Still, it remains about 21% above the lowest level in June and 95% above its 2022 low. At the same time, the first stage of the AltSignals token sale is running out.

    Bitcoin is outperforming stocks

    Bitcoin and many altcoins is outperforming American stocks and other assets this year even as regulatory risks continue. The coin has jumped by more than 80% in 2023, bringing its total market cap to over $587 billion.

    Other financial assets have risen at a slower pace than crypto. For example, while gold price soared to an all-time high this year, it has only jumped by less than 10% this year. American indices like the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 have risen by about 15% and 35%, respectively.

    Bitcoin has done well in a show of resilience considering that the crypto industry has gone through hell in the past few months. In May last year, Terra and its ecosystem crashed, leading to the collapse of other companies like Voyager Digital, Three Arrows, and Celsius. 

    In November, the industry experienced the collapse of FTX, a leading exchange that was valued at over $30 billion. Crypto investors lost over $8 billion following the collapse, as we wrote here.

    And this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decided to sue Coinbase and Binance, the two biggest players in the industry. The SEC made several allegations, including accusations that the two were offering unregulated products to American customers.

    Therefore, the performance of Bitcoin is a reflection that cryptocurrencies are extremely resilient. In fact, Jerome Powell, the head of the Federal Reserve believes that Bitcoin has a lot of staying power.

    AltSignals token sale continues

    This resilience explains why several companies have managed to raise millions of dollars this year. Earlier this year, Metacade raised over $16 million from investors. Its developers are building a gaming platform that will compete with the likes of Decentraland and Sandbox.

    AltSignals has raised over $1 million its highly successful token sale. As you can see here, the developers have sold 95.23% of all the available ASI tokens. They have raised over $1.028 million in the first stage of the sale. Each token is going for $0.015 and the developers will boost it by 25% in the next stage of the sale.

    For starters, AltSignals is a company that hopes to use artificial intelligence to disrupt the financial services industry. The developers aim to improve its service by incorporating AI in its existing platform which is already profitable platform.

    After the first phase, the developers will launch the second phase of the token sale. According to its white paper,  the developers will then get to work ahead of the new AI platform launch. They will also list the token in key centralized and decentralized exchanges.

    Share this article
    Categories
    Tags

    Source link

  • Schwab-backed crypto exchange EDX Markets goes live

    Schwab-backed crypto exchange EDX Markets goes live

    new crypto exchange edx markets goes live
    • EDX officially launched trading in bitcoin, ether, litecoin, and bitcoin cash today.
    • The crypto exchange has also completed a second funding round with new investors.
    • EDX has plans of launching a clearinghouse business later this year as well.

    Investors can now trade bitcoin, litecoin, ether, and bitcoin cash on a new digital assets marketplace – EDX Markets.

    EDX Markets is backed by financial giants

    On Tuesday, the crypto exchange that has support from a bunch of Wall Street behemoths, including Fidelity, Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities launched trading in the said digital assets.

    EDX Markets had first revealed plans of launching a non-custodial exchange last year in September. In a press release this morning, its CEO Jamil Nazarali said:

    EDX’s ability to attract new investors and partners in the face of sector headwinds demonstrates strength of our platform and demand for a safe and compliant crypto market.

    It is noteworthy that neither of the four crypto assets available to trade on EDX were dubbed “securities” in the recent complaints the U.S. SEC has filed against Binance and Coinbase.

    EDX will soon launch a clearinghouse business

    In its press release, EDX Markets also confirmed today that it has completed a second round of funding with new investors. CEO Nazarali added:

    We are committed to bringing the best of traditional finance to cryptocurrency markets, with an infrastructure built by market experts to embed key institutional best practices.

    A non-custodial crypto exchange is known to be safer than the custodial wallet. On Tuesday, EDX Markets revealed plans of introducing a clearinghouse business in the coming months as well.

    The news arrives only days after BlackRock officially filed to launch a Spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States (read more), suggesting the long-term institutional demand remains intact despite the FTX fiasco and the ongoing regulatory crackdown.

    Share this article
    Categories
    Tags

    Source link

  • Crypto industry ‘destined’ to be BTC-focused due to regulators, says Michael Saylor

    Crypto industry ‘destined’ to be BTC-focused due to regulators, says Michael Saylor

    Key takeaways

    Crypto industry will be BTC-focused

    MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor believes that the cryptocurrency industry is destined to become BTC-focused. He made this statement during an interview with Bloomberg.

    According to Saylor, Bitcoin is the only major cryptocurrency that has been excluded as a security by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He pointed out that the regulatory agency doesn’t see a legitimate path forward for cryptocurrencies

    Saylor also added that cryptocurrency exchanges would fuel a price surge in Bitcoin in the near term. He stated that;

    “[The SEC’s] view is crypto exchanges should trade and hold pure digital commodities like Bitcoin, and so the entire industry is kind of destined to be rationalized down to a Bitcoin-focused industry with maybe a half a dozen to a dozen other proof of work tokens. The next logical step is for Bitcoin to 10x from here and then 10x again.”

    Bitcoin’s market dominance increases to 47%

    Bitcoin began the year with a market dominance of 40%. However, thanks to the rally experienced in the last few months, Bitcoin’s market dominance now stands above 47%. 

    Saylor believes that Bitcoin’s market dominance will reach 80% as more institutional funds will enter the market after confusion and anxiety over crypto disappear. 

    MicroStrategy has been buying more bitcoins despite the ongoing bear market. In March, the company purchased 6,455 bitcoins worth $150 million. Saylor’s company currently holds more than 138,900 bitcoins.

    The world’s leading cryptocurrency has been underperforming in recent days. At press time, the price of Bitcoin stands at $26,001, down by more than 3% in the last seven days.

    The broader cryptocurrency market has also seen its total cap increase since the start of the year. At the start of the year, the total cryptocurrency market stood above $700 billion. The total cryptocurrency market cap has since climbed past the $1 trillion mark.

    Share this article
    Categories
    Tags

    Source link