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Tag: ETH

  • Bitcoin Jumps to $42,000, LUNA Tops the Charts With 20% Gains

    Bitcoin Jumps to $42,000, LUNA Tops the Charts With 20% Gains

    Key takeaways:

    • Bitcoin has surpassed $42,000 and sparked broader bullish activity across cryptocurrency markets
    • The sudden increase in the value of digital assets might have been flared by US Treasury Secretary’s statement on the upcoming Biden’s executive order on crypto
    • Terra was one of the biggest benefactors of today’s rally; the ecosystem’s leading LUNA gained over 20% and came within striking distance of its ATH

    Crypto markets swing into the green zone as the U.S. Treasury releases a statement on digital assets

    The bulls had the upper hand today, as the total cryptocurrency market cap increased by close to 6% and reached $1.89 trillion in the early hours of Wednesday. Bitcoin broke $42,000 on the heels of more than 8% 24-hour gains, while Ethereum and other major altcoins followed in the footsteps of the world’s oldest and largest crypto and generally posted high single-digit gains. In total, 93 out of the top 100 digital currencies traded in the green zone at press time.

    On Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen published a statement on the Biden administration’s upcoming executive order on the cryptocurrency industry. The statement was published a day early and promptly removed from the site but not fast enough for it not to be captured on a web archive.

    It is hard to conclude how big of an impact the statement had on today’s market rally. However, it seems that President Biden’s upcoming executive order is unlikely to pursue drastic changes in crypto legislation if yesterday’s statement is anything to go by. An excerpt from Yellen’s statement reads:

    “Treasury will partner with interagency colleagues to produce a report on the future of money and payment systems. We’ll also convene the Financial Stability Oversight Council to evaluate the potential financial stability risks of digital assets and assess whether appropriate safeguards are in place.”

    Terra’s LUNA gains 20% and eyes the $100 price tag

    When talking about today’s rally, it is impossible not to highlight LUNA’s impressive market performance. Over the course of the last 30 days, LUNA’s price increased by more than 75%, which ranks it among the best performing digital assets in the time period. Thanks to today’s double-digit gains, LUNA reached a cycle high of $98.5 which is less than 5% removed from its all-time high of $102.8 reached at the tail end of 2021.

    In the span of a little more than two weeks, the price of LUNA increased by more than 75%.

    LUNA’s price increase reflects the Terra ecosystem’s rapid growth, both in terms of its native stablecoins like TerraUSD and TerraKRW and the broader DeFi use cases. According to blockchain analytics firm DeFi Llama, more than $25 billion worth of digital assets is locked in decentralized protocols running on the Terra blockchain, good for a 74% month-over-month increase. For context, Ethereum tops the rankings with a TVL of $114 billion, while the third-placed BNB Chain sports a TVL of roughly $12 billion.

    It will be interesting to observe whether LUNA will be able to build on the momentum generated in the past two weeks and whether it manages to reenter the $100 territory in the coming days.

    Buy/Sell LUNA
  • Benefits of Ethereum for Forex Traders

    Benefits of Ethereum for Forex Traders

    Ethereum is a global system that runs decentralized apps. The cryptocurrency that powers this network is called Ether (ETH). When running the app or processing a transaction on the Ethereum blockchain, you will use ETH to make payments.

    Ether competes with Bitcoin to be the first cryptocurrency on the market since 2015. And in February 2015, ETH almost took the top spot, overtaking Bitcoin. Since then, the two coins have been hitting new all-time highs and keep growing with each passing year. Some experts forecast that Ethereum will soon flip the market to become the industry’s central cryptocurrency. Read on to find out how Ethereum is advantageous to forex traders.

    Advantages of Ethereum for Forex Trading

    Ethereum is showing quite an overwhelming performance in the market. As such, it is appealing to both traditional and institutional investors. It has numerous benefits for forex traders outlined in the section below.

    • Decentralized Valuations

    The best part about trading forex with Ethereum is that ETH is not linked to a central bank like other major cryptocurrencies. Since Ethereum is relatively young, other new applications are increasingly conventional with each passing day. This novelty brings erratic swings in value and volatility, creating prospects for colossal gains.

    • Minimized trading cost

    Many forex brokers accepting cryptocurrency keep the brokerage costs at the minimum to draw new clients. It is quite an attractive feature that forex traders enjoy when trading with Ethereum.

    • Liquidity

    Ethereum is, indubitably, among the topmost liquid investment assets because it is widely established on trading platforms, online brokerages, and exchanges. For this reason, a forex trader can trade Ethereum for cash and other assets instantly and at unbelievably low costs. The high liquidity linked to bitcoin makes it a good investment tool for short-term profit. And since digital currencies have high market demand, they are ideal for long-term investment.

    • Lower risk of inflation

    Ethereum offers a transparent inflation plan with reduced meddling. And since the blockchain is infinite, forex traders shouldn’t worry about the deflation of their crypto.

    • Security

    While trading with world currencies, a forex trader is expected to give out their details (bank account, credit cards) to make a transaction. It is simple with Ethereum since you don’t have to reveal such information while trading forex. ETH trading provides traders with financial security.

    • No global restrictions

    A trader in one country can trade forex with Ethereum through a broker in a different country and continent. It goes to show that cryptocurrency doesn’t have global boundaries.

    • Lower capital requirement

    With Ethereum, you don’t need a large sum to access the asset. A trader can start with a small amount in leading forex trading firms.

    Conclusion

    Forex trading is the leading market in the world today. As such, it empowers everyone to gain from currency fluctuations in the global economy. That said, many people are gradually turning to cryptocurrency, particularly Ethereum, for many transactions, including ETH casinos. Although it may have a few downsides, Ethereum offers numerous advantages to forex traders.

  • CME Plans to Launch Micro-Sized Bitcoin and Ethereum Options

    CME Plans to Launch Micro-Sized Bitcoin and Ethereum Options

    CME Group, the world’s largest financial derivatives exchange, has announced it will be launching micro-sized Bitcoin and Ethereum options on March 28th, as long as they receive a green light from the regulators.

    Key takeaways:

    • The news of micro-sized crypto options launching on the CME marketplace comes roughly four months after the company unveiled Micro Ethereum futures (MET). CME group first added the ability for traders to trade futures with more precision in May 2021 with the launch of Micro Bitcoin futures (MBT).
    • The new options offering will complement CME’s existing options Bitcoin products, which are sized at five BTC. Additionally, the new offering will be accessible to a broader range of traders who are looking to short or long crypto, as the new products will be sized at just 10% of their underlying assets.
    • In Tuesday’s press release, Global Head of Equity and FX Products at CME Group, Tim McCourt, noted more than 5 million METs and MBTs have collectively been traded in less than a year since their launch. The company hopes its success with micro-sized crypto futures will translate into strong demand for micro-sized options upon their launch in late March.
    • Both Bitcoin and Ethereum have been experiencing strong bullish momentum in light of rising geopolitical tensions. The world’s oldest crypto is up roughly 15% in the last week, while the price of ETH increased by 10%.
    Buy/Sell BTC
  • Visa and Mastercard Block Russian Banks, Crypto Could be Used to Circumvent Sanctions

    Visa and Mastercard Block Russian Banks, Crypto Could be Used to Circumvent Sanctions

    Key takeaways:

    • Visa and Mastercard have joined the long list of companies that are refusing to do business with Russian banks
    • Prominent hedge fund manager Mark Mobius believes crypto is rallying due to Russians using Bitcoin and crypto to circumvent sanctions
    • Bitcoin is now up close to 30% since last Thursday’s lows

    Economic sanctions against Russian banks are getting harsher by the day 

    In light of strict and extensive economic sanctions enforced against Russian financial institutions, global payments giants Visa and Mastercard have now joined the list of companies refusing to provide their services to Russian banks.

    According to CNBC, Both Visa and Mastercard have decided to adhere to a sanctions list put together by the US officials last week. The news comes only days after the US and its allies agreed to remove Russian banks from SWIFT, the global interbank messaging system, and employed unprecedented sanctions on Russia’s central bank. 

    The cumulative effect of sanctions placed on the Russian economy has caused the price of rubble to drop to its multi-decade low and the leading Russian MOEX stock index to drop by 30% last week. As of today, the country’s local stock trading remains closed for the third day in a row, its longest closure since 1998.

    Crypto rallies despite economic uncertainty

    The cryptocurrency markets have responded to the rising geopolitical instability by rallying in recent days. After initially mimicking the broader financial market last Thursday, on the day that Russia attacked Ukraine, Bitcoin and other digital assets have experienced notable bullish activity in subsequent days. 

    Last Friday, Bitcoin and Ethereum gained over 10%. After a relatively quiet weekend, the crypto rally continued on Tuesday, with the total market cap experiencing a nearly 10% increase in a single day.

    Leading crypto exchange Binance is reportedly reluctant to block all Russian accounts, but will block those who were put on a sanctions list.

    Talking about the rising crypto prices and economic sanctions, prominent hedge fund manager Mark Mobius told CNBC in an interview that he would be buying Bitcoin if he was a Russian. He added that Bitcoin’s recent impressive market performance is due to Russians transferring their wealth and money into digital assets.

    Buy/Sell BTC
  • Bitcoin Hits $43,700 as the Crypto Market Cap Surges 10% to Almost $2 Trillion

    Bitcoin Hits $43,700 as the Crypto Market Cap Surges 10% to Almost $2 Trillion

    Key takeaways:

    • Bitcoin gained 13% today and came within striking distance of breaking $44,000
    • 98 out of the top 100 digital assets in terms of market cap have been trading in the green zone in the last 24 hours
    • Several prominent members of the crypto community caution investors from being too optimistic

    Bitcoin rallies to $43,700 and sparks a broader market rally

    The rollercoaster of big price swings continues. Today, the market underwent a massive rally that pushed the total crypto market cap up by 9.36% to $1.96 trillion at press time.

    After initially losing over 10% last Thursday on the news of Russia attacking Ukraine, Bitcoin quickly recuperated much of its losses the following day and continued to trade in a relatively tight range around the $39,000 mark in subsequent days. Today, however, the world’s largest crypto catapulted to as high as $43,717, before dropping back to $43,362 at the time of this writing.

    Bitcoin reached as high as $43,717 on the heels of a two-phase surge.

    Bitcoin’s impressive performance sparked the broader market rally. Overall, 98 out of the top 100 digital assets have been trading in the green zone over the past 24 hours. Ethereum came tantalizingly close to breaching the $3,000 mark after gaining 10%, while Terra and Near Protocol impressed with roughly 20% gains. BNB, Avalanche, and Cosmos were among the biggest benefactors of today’s rally, with each of them being up more than 10%.

    Whale accumulation is likely not the reason behind the surging market prices

    Blockchain analytics firm Glassnode tweeted that today’s markedly bullish market activity could hardly have been triggered by whales accumulating Bitcoin. 

    In a separate Twitter thread, Glassnode noted that the Bitcoin network settled nearly $9 billion in “change-adjusted volume within a single block,” and added that “there has been a peak of only $225M in $BTC value withdrawn from all exchanges we track in this time period.” Glassnode believes that the large discrepancy resulted from “internal exchange wallet reshuffling.”

    While the market surge is certainly a welcome sight, several prominent voices in the crypto community caution investors from being too optimistic. Entrepreneur, crypto investors, and podcast host Anthony Pompliano hit the nail on the head with the following statement:

    “There has been a global pandemic, economic recession, government lockdowns, 40-year high inflation, a war in Europe, and much more over the last 2 years. Humans can’t predict the future well. Prepare accordingly.”

    Well-regarded crypto trader and blockchain analyst Pentoshi echoed the above sentiment in today’s Twitter post. He noted that given the economic uncertainty and everything that is happening right now, a “day to day approach is bet.”

  • BlockWallet Launches Browser Wallet Solution With Focus on Web3 and Privacy

    BlockWallet Launches Browser Wallet Solution With Focus on Web3 and Privacy

    Key takeaways:

    • After months of testing, BlockWallet has launched its crypto wallet extension for Google Chrome, Brave, Microsoft Edge, and Opera browser
    • BlockWallet is focused on privacy and aims to provide easy and secure access to Web3 applications running on Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Fantom, and Polygon
    • BlockWallet uses smart contracts to make transactions untraceable and prevents third parties from parsing senders and receivers’ IP addresses and other metadata 

    BlockWallet’s Web3 privacy-focused browser wallet is now available to Chrome, Brave, Edge, and Opera users

    Tallinn-headquartered crypto company BlockWallet has launched its non-custodial browser extension wallet, allowing users to store funds and interact with decentralized finance (DeFi) applications in a secure and private manner.

    The new Web3-oriented solution currently supports some of the sector’s most popular decentralized platforms, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Fantom, and Polygon. The browser extension is available to Google Chrome, Brave, Microsoft Edge, and Opera browser users.

    Iman Hossini, BlockWallet’s CTO, commented on the importance of privacy when it comes to Web3:

    “When users interact with Web3, it poses significant risks because now the financial data is also attached to the user. As we build Web3, we should not make the same errors as before but aim to create a truly private Web3 experience. BlockWallet launch is a significant step towards this goal.”

    BlockWallet’s crypto solution went through a rigorous testing phase, which saw participation from more than 2,000 beta testers to ensure a stable and secure experience for the broader public from day one. 

    A rich suite of features and privacy-focused solutions

    BlockWallet boasts some of the more advanced privacy-oriented features in the industry while retaining ease of use and a high degree of accessibility. The wallet is non-custodial, meaning that users are in complete control of their assets at all times.

    BlockWallet allows users to send and receive crypto funds without making their balance publicly available to prying eyes. Additionally, BlockWallet Proxy hides users’ metadata, allowing users to interact with the blockchain discreetly. The wallet also features a front-running bot protection system that prevents so-called “sandwich attacks.” Last but not least, BlockWallet also supports masking your main wallet address via Privacy Pools, essentially making it impossible for a third party to trace transactions back to their original source. At the moment, the feature is available only on Ethereum.

    The company’s CEO Alexandar Gaska commented on BlockWallet’s accessibility and practicality:

    “In a world where privacy violations are commonplace, it is imperative to protect your privacy. However, not everyone has the skills or time to do that. I am happy that we can finally present a practical solution for the blockchain world that allows everyone and everywhere to take ownership of their privacy.”

    BlockWallet’s feature set allows crypto users to privately and securely engage in a variety of use cases, including e-commerce, trading, gambling, and more.

    The company raised $1.8 million in the sale of the platform’s native BLANK token in the first quarter of last year. The token currently boasts a market cap of $13.48 million and a fully diluted market valuation of $86.67 million.

  • Bitcoin Mimics Stocks And Losses Over 10% As Russia Launches ‘Special Military Operation’ in Ukraine

    Bitcoin Mimics Stocks And Losses Over 10% As Russia Launches ‘Special Military Operation’ in Ukraine

    Key takeaways:

    • Bitcoin and other digital assets are down double-digits as the Russian attack on Ukraine triggers a massive sell-off
    • Russia’s leading stock market index lost nearly 30% in the span of the last 24 hours
    • Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin is appalled by Putin’s decision to launch a military attack on Ukraine

    Crypto and traditional markets plummet as Russia attacks Ukraine

    The tensions between Russia and Ukraine reached a boiling point earlier today as the Russian army crossed the border with its western neighbor and began an air raid on Kyiv and surrounding areas.

    The traditional financial markets, as well as the cryptocurrency sector, were hit with a large sell-off as a result of geopolitical uncertainty sparked by the launch of a “special military operation” in Ukraine, as Russian President Vladimir Putin calls it. 

    Russian stocks were hit the hardest. The MOEX Russia Index lost nearly 30% in the last 24 hours as more than $150 billion worth of equities were erased in a single trading day. As of the time of this writing, the leading Russian index is down 50% since its October high.

    The negative market sentiment is permeating the globe. EURO STOXX 50, which gauges Europe’s overall economic health, lost 4.59%, one of its worst single-day performances in recent years. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.91%. American equities have experienced the least amount of selling pressure so far, with S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 being down 1.84% and 2.6%, respectively.

    On the cryptocurrency front, the downward momentum has been even more pronounced as in traditional financial markets. Bitcoin has plummeted to its four-week low $35,000 price level after losing 10%. Leading altcoin, Ethereum, fared even worst, losing 13.5% and dropping to $2,300, its second-lowest point this year. Virtually all digital assets in the top 100 have been trading in the red zone over the span of the last 24 hours as the total cryptocurrency market cap shrunk by over 12% to $1.61 trillion.

    Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin criticizes Putin for abandoning “a peaceful solution”

    One of the most prominent voices in the crypto community, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, took to Twitter to criticize Russia for its transgression against Ukraine’s sovereignty. Per Twitter’s auto-translate, Buterin wrote:

    “Very upset by Putin’s decision to abandon the possibility of a peaceful solution to the dispute with Ukraine and go to war instead. This is a crime against the Ukrainian and Russian people.”

    The Russian-Canadian programmer went on to add that he wishes “everyone security” and concluded his post by adding, “Glory to Ukraine.”

    The world economy is facing severe hardship in 2022. There are at least three interest rate hikes planned by the Federal Reserve throughout the remainder of this year, which is bound to shake the markets as it signals a significant tightening of the monetary policy for the first time since the Great Recession in 2008. Unfortunately, Russia’s attack on Ukraine only adds fuel to the fire.

  • Morgan Stanley Foresees Ethereum Losing Market Share to Cardano and Solana

    Morgan Stanley Foresees Ethereum Losing Market Share to Cardano and Solana

    Key takeaways:

    • Morgan Stanley has recently released a report on Ethereum, in which it underscored the importance of adopting a Proof-of-Stake consensus as soon as possible
    • High transactions fees and low scalability are Ethereum’s main pain points
    • Ethereum’s competitors, including Binance’s blockchain network, Cardano, and Solana offer similar functionality as Ethereum at much lower costs

    Morgan Stanley has recently issued a report titled Cryptocurrency 201: What Is Ethereum?, in which the investment banking giant put the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency under the microscope and detailed why it could lose market share to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) competitors in the future.

    High transaction fees threaten Ethereum’s market share

    The Morgan Stanley researchers noted that high transaction costs represent a major challenge for the Ethereum network. Not only do high fees “create scalability problems,” but they also “threaten user demand,” the researchers wrote. 

    The high costs of transacting value on the Ethereum platform could have huge ramifications in terms of the number of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) products and services deployed on its rails. If the transition from the currently used and highly energy-intensive Proof-of-Work (PoW) to PoS consensus mechanism doesn’t come soon, Ethereum could continue losing ground to Binance, Solana, and Cardano, which all offer smart contract functionality and are capable of processing transactions at a fraction of the cost.

    The researchers acknowledged the weird position Ethereum finds itself in. On the store-of-value front, it can’t really challenge Bitcoin’s first mover advantage and widespread popularity, while on the smart contract front, cheaper and faster competitors are vying for its users. The Morgan Stanley analysts wrote:

    “Ethereum faces more competition in the smart contract market than Bitcoin faces in the store-of-value market. Ethereum may lose smart contract platform market share to faster or cheaper alternatives.”

    According to blockchain analytics firm DeFi Llama, Ethereum’s share of the total value locked (TVL) in various DeFi products and services dropped from roughly 97% in January 2021 to 59% by the time of this writing.

    “The Merge,” an Ethereum 2.0 upgrade designed to usher the network into a PoS era, is slated for the second quarter of 2022. If the Ethereum developers fail to deliver on this promise, Ethereum’s market share will very likely continue to slip.

  • Twitter is Adding Support For Ethereum Tips

    Twitter is Adding Support For Ethereum Tips

    Roughly five months after the social media giant first unveiled in-app support for Bitcoin tips, Twitter is adding support for Ethereum wallets, meaning mobile users will soon be able to use their Ethereum funds to send tips on the platform.

    Key takeaways:

    • According to Twitter, the new service doesn’t offer support for Ethereum Name Service (ENS), which is a decentralized naming system for Web3 service built on the Ethereum chain.
    • Speaking to TechCrunch, a Twitter spokesperson said the company is “excited to incorporate Ethereum in addition to Bitcoin payment in Tips, enabling more people to participate in the digital economy with as little friction as possible.”
    • Twitter has been deepening its commitment to blockchain solutions as of late. Last month, the company launched NFT profile pictures, allowing NFT owners to showcase their digital collectibles to other users. 
    • The news of Twitter adding support for the world’s second-largest crypto didn’t leave a mark on the price of ETH – the token has been facing considerable selling pressure in the last 24 hours and is trading at $2,973 at press time, down 3.56% for the day.
    Buy/Sell ETH