The launch of BRC-20 tokens and Ordinals NFTs on Bitcoin has transformed the No. 1 blockchain overnight into a clunkier version of Ethereum. The core developers and miners who signed off on the network’s Taproot upgrade in November 2021 never envisaged this would be the result. Bitcoin now suffers from many of the same problems
Bitcoin consolidated below a key price floor on Tuesday, as markets were preparing for upcoming U.S. retail sales figures. Following two months of declines, sales in the United States are expected to rebound, as inflation cools off. Ethereum remains above the $1,800 level. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) consolidated in today’s session, as markets were preparing for
The 2022 crypto bank runs — caused by the failure of multiple ecosystem giants — have had a lasting impact on the crypto industry. A new research report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (FRBC) has identified several key factors and catalysts that accelerated last year’s crypto crisis. The report identified that withdrawals by crypto whales
Bangladesh and India have decided to conduct trade settlements in their own currencies, bypassing the dominance of the U.S. dollar. According to sources from the Bangladesh Bank, the decision was made due to the issues of liquidity in foreign currency that Bangladesh faces, which are disrupting the flow of imports to the country. Bangladesh and
Bitcoin (BTC) surfed $27,000 on May 16 as traders stayed buoyant about upside continuation. $24,000 BTC price still in play, says trader Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD still focusing on the $27,000 mark, having dipped to $26,870 after the daily close. Still lacking direction, traders hoped that the pair would either
The Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union — comprising finance ministers of all member states — has given the green light to the highly-anticipated Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation after a vote on May 16. Finance ministers from 27 member states voted in favor of the MiCA bill, and amendments to several regulations
The now-defunct crypto lender Blockfi has recently filed a court document outlining its plans to liquidate the company. The firm has come to the realization that selling the company would not be beneficial to its creditors. As a result, Blockfi has decided to take matters into its own hands and proceed with a self-liquidating transaction.
Disgruntled creditors of the bankrupt cryptocurrency lending firm BlockFi have submitted a new court filing in response to the company’s latest restructuring plan. On May 12, BlockFi outlined its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization in a filing with the United States Bankruptcy Court in Trenton, New Jersey. The firm said that selling BlockFi might not
The government of Iraq issued a ban on using the U.S. dollar for conducting business transactions on May 14. The ban, which is already in effect, is designed to bolster the usage of the Iraqi dinar, the fiat currency of the country, and to reduce the influence of the dollar and its exploitation in black
The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network underwent a major upgrade, allowing developers to create tokens with the same properties as BCH. These are called “CashTokens,” and they can be issued by anyone using the network. The network successfully upgraded the blockchain at the BCH block height of 792,772. According to BCH developer Jason Dreyzehner, the new
Investigations around the collapse of Signature Bank point toward illiquidity circumstances and poor management. However, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chairman, Martin J. Gruenberg, believes that the bank’s failure to understand the risks associated with cryptocurrencies expedited its fall. Speaking at the hearing on “Oversight of Prudential Regulators,” Gruenberg highlighted the recent failures of
Peter Schiff, best-selling author and chief economist of Europac, has warned about the coming of a new great depression period in America. In an interview, Schiff stated that official Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers were designed to mislead the public and that the country was going to face a depression worse than the one it
Layer 2 scaling solution Optimism is set to undergo its highly anticipated Bedrock upgrade on June 6. The move is expected to result in significantly reduced transaction fees, provide greater network security and enhanced compatibility with Ethereum. The Optimism team stated via a May 15 Twitter thread that the network would be down for two
According to statistics from mid-May 2023, 18 different application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin mining devices are profitable using today’s bitcoin exchange rates. Additionally, the top bitcoin mining machines today are made by three prominent ASIC manufacturers, as fabrication competition these days is limited. 18 ASICs Profit With Electricity Costs at $0.12 per kWh and Today’s
Apple is scheduled to release its highly-anticipated mixed-reality headset in the coming weeks, a development that some believe could breathe fresh life into the metaverse industry. In January, the native tokens of blockchain-based metaverse projects Decentraland (MANA) and Sandbox (SAND) witnessed significant surges in price, due partly to swirling rumors about Apple’s venture into mixed
It appears that embattled crypto lender Celsius is wasting no time in shifting its Ethereum staking tokens from liquid staking platform Lido which has just enabled withdrawals. On May 15, a transaction was identified on Celsius wallets for 428,015 stETH (Lido staked Ether) to the Lido staked Ethereum wallet. The whopping stash was worth $781
The U.S. The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally given a formal response in court in relation to Coinbase’s petition for clear crypto regulation, stating that any rulemaking may take years and that enforcement actions will continue in the meantime. According to court documents filed on May 15, the SEC argued that it is under
Bitcoin is on a roll in 2023, breaking records left and right. For instance, on May 2, at block height 787,895, the cryptocurrency’s hashrate soared to 491 exahash per second (EH/s). Moreover, on April 20, at block height 786,240, the difficulty hit a new high of 48.71 trillion. But that’s not the only thing that’s
The United States Secret Service owns crypto, has its own NFT collection, and has praised blockchain technology’s ability to fight financial crime, Reddit users learned during a recent ask-me-anything (AMA). On May 15, representatives from the United States Secret Service San Francisco Field Office and the Bay Area Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team (REACT) opened
The chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Gary Gensler has hit back at Coinbase’s petition compelling the agency to provide a clear stance on crypto regulation, arguing that there are already adequate laws in place. In a May 15 keynote speech at the Financial Markets Conference, Gensler was asked about the