NFT News by Thebittimes.Com

Bittensor (TAO) has emerged as the top gainer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies as the platform’s development activity hikes.  TAO is up by 18% in the past 24 hours and is trading at $260 at the time of writing. The asset’s market cap surged to $1.59 billion, making it the 50th-largest crypto in the market. Bittensor’s daily trading volume, however, is much lower compared to its market value — currently hovering around the $11 million mark.  TAO price, RSI, social volume and development activity – Jan. 17 | Source: Santiment Last month, TAO reached an all-time high of $392 as the leading five AI tokens recorded massive rallies in 2023. You might also like: Cantor Fitzgerald CEO confirms Tether’s legitimate $86b assets According to data provided by Santiment, TAO’s development activity increased by 37% over the past day. The surge comes for the first time since Dec. 22, 2023, when the asset was trading at around $300. Data shows that Bittensor’s...

Bitcoin is struggling to sustain above $38,000, but the bulls have not given up much ground, which some analysts say increases the chance of a rally to $40,000. Bitcoin (BTC) is trying to sustain above the overhead resistance of $38,000 for the second consecutive day and start the next leg of the uptrend. The excitement among market observers may have increased after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed its decision on the applications of Franklin Templeton and Hashdex exchange-traded funds. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart speculated in a X (formerly Twitter) post that the SEC may have taken this step “to line every applicant up for potential approval by the Jan. 10, 2024 deadline.” While many analysts believe that the ETF listing will be a watershed moment for Bitcoin, Genesis Trading head of derivatives Joshua Lim cautioned in a X post that traditional finance investors have already bought the rumor and may exit the trade close to the ETF announcem...

A crypto exchange is celebrating its sixth anniversary in style by announcing a high-profile collaboration with a footballing great. CoinW, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has announced a new partnership with Andrea Pirlo, a renowned soccer player. There are plenty of similarities between the worlds of sports and crypto. Both have passionate supporters and vibrant communities — striving to achieve excellence. Each industry takes pride in innovation, doing things differently, and achieving ambitious milestones. Because of this, it’s little wonder that these two worlds have become entwined — with crypto firms serving as high-profile sponsors in major sporting events. From the Super Bowl to Formula 1 and the Premier League to UFC, the logos of major trading platforms are emblazoned on arenas, kits and fan tokens. But this does little to communicate the values and ethos of a crypto business — and introduce them to millions of new people. A trusted face, on the other hand, can be instrume...

Despite regulatory action against Binance, a surge in Ethereum network activity and the expectation of a spot ETF approval fueled a price move above $2,000. Ether (ETH) price is trading slightly higher on Nov. 23, maintaining support above the $2,000 level after briefly retesting $1,930 on Nov. 21. Over the past week, Ether's price has increased by 2.5%, while the total market capitalization has grown by 0.5%. This uptrend can be attributed to improved decentralized applications (DApps) metrics, increased protocol fees, and Ethereum's dominance in the non-fungible token (NFT) market. To assess whether Ether can sustain its $2,000 price point, one must consider the repercussions of Binance's recent regulatory challenges following its plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ). Investor fear drops as Ethereum network conditions improve Binance leads in Ether spot trading volume, accounting for 30% of ETH futures contracts' open interest. The closure of Binan...

The initial impact amounted to 20 Ether, worth $31,000, while the validator involved has now been taken offline. Ethereum staking protocol Lido Finance has disclosed its protocol saw 20 slashing events due to a series of infrastructure and signer configuration issues from validators operated by Launchnodes. The incident occurred on Oct. 11 at about 3:30 pm UTC, according to Launchnodes. In an Oct. 11 post on X, Lido said the Launchnodes' validators nodes are now offline, and slashings have ceased while the root cause was being investigated. The slashing took place on the Ethereum blockchain and Lido projected the impact to be around 20 Ether (ETH), worth $31,000, as well as additional penalties while the validator s are offline for troubleshooting, along with inactivity penalties that the validator s will accumulate. 20 slashings have occurred relating to validators operated by the @launchnodes node operators as a part of the Lido protocol. Launchnodes and DAO contributors are in...

Despite the so-called FUD, Changpeng Zhao said in reality, the crypto industry has scored a number of massive wins in recent weeks. Binance co-founder and CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao has hosed down recent rumors against his firm, assuring its balance sheet and employee retention remain robust, despite the recent market uncertainty. The Binance boss blamed negative news, rumors, bank runs, lawsuits, the closing of fiat channels, product wind-downs and employee turnovers for creating an environment of FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) in a Sept. 7 post on X (Twitter).  Saw some debates in the community. When you do the right thing, and there is FUD, you don't have to do anything. The community defends you. Let me summarize. There have been a lot of negative news/rumors, bank runs, lawsuits, closing of fiat channels, product wind downs,… — CZ Binance (@cz_binance) September 7, 2023 He then used the opportunity to clarify Binance’s current financial position: “Guess what we don't have...

Tether’s reported new partnership with Britannia Bank makes it the third Bahamas-based bank to join forces with the stablecoin issuer. Tether, the stablecoin issuer behind USDT, has reportedly added Britannia Bank & Trust, a private bank based in The Bahamas to process dollar transfers on its platform. It is understood Tether has instructed clients to send money to Britannia’s bank account over the last few months, according to an Aug. 29 report by Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. However, it isn’t clear when Tether’s banking relationship with Britannia Bank started, but its other reported banking partners include Deltec Bank and Capital Union Bank. In recent months, United States- based cryptocurrency firms have had to increasingly look offshore for banking partners amid increased scrutiny by U.S. regulators following the shock collapse of FTX in November. Tether’s unwillingness to publicly disclose the full extent of its balance sheet and banking relationsh...

In an announcement to the PEPE community, it was claimed that three former members stole funds from the project and then handed over full control to the sole remaining member. The circumstances behind the mysterious $16 million withdrawal from the Pepecoin (PEPE) project’s multisig wallet have seemingly been revealed, with the finger being pointed at three ex-team members who went rogue. On Aug. 24, the price of PEPE plunged by roughly 15% amid fears of a potential rug-pull after the community spotted that $16 million worth of PEPE was withdrawn from the Pepe multisig wallet and sent to several exchanges. 1/4 1 hour ago, the Pepe multisig wallet, changed the amount of signatures required on their multisig from a 5/8 to 2/8. This comes after sending $15.7 million worth of $PEPE to exchanges. A breakdown of what we know: pic.twitter.com/bxBxp6Nzqz — ASXN (@asxn_r) August 24, 2023 Clearing up the matter in an Aug. 25 post on X (Twitter), one of the anonymous founding members be...

Transactions on Optimism recently eclipsed the Arbitrum network, but do the project’s fundamentals support a sustainable growth trajectory? Optimism (OP) is a Layer 2 scaling solution, which operates as a separate blockchain built on top of Ethereum. Despite having a smaller total value locked (TVL) than its rivals, Optimism may still have the potential to thrive in the increasingly competitive DeFi landscape.  Being one of the pioneers in the DeF space, Optimism initially gained an initial but had to contend with fierce competition. The project has been trailing behind other scaling solutions in terms of daily transaction s for the past six months. However, in late July, the situation changed as Optimism finally overtook its main competitor Arbitrum and is showing signs of increasing demand from users . The rise of Layer 2 scaling solutions The increase in Layer 2 activity on Ethereum has been significant, surpassing mainnet activity by more than four times, according to data from L...

CoinShares’ latest weekly inflow report shows a substantial increase in investor appetite for digital asset investment products with Bitcoin leading the rally. A recent surge in activity surrounding exchange-traded funds has led to the largest weekly inflow for digital asset investment products since July 2022, according to a June 26 report via CoinShares. Totalling $199 million, inflows for the week of 19–23 June turned around a nine-week string of consecutive outflows, with Bitcoin (BTC) representing the lion’s share at $187 million (94% of overall inflows). This week in Fund Flows, by @jbutterfill: A sharp shift to bullishness among investors, injecting US$199m in digital asset investment products. This marks the largest single weekly inflow since July ’22, correcting almost half of 9 consecutive weeks of outflows. (1/5) pic.twitter.com/TvZ0EM2KLU — CoinShares (@CoinSharesCo) June 26, 2023 CoinShares analysts attributed the reversal to increasing activity from exchang...

Brad Garlinghouse hinted that the eagerly-awaited Hinman documents could tip the balance in Ripple’s favor. With just one day until the Hinman documents are due to be unsealed, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse suggests the documents will be “well worth the wait." In a June 12 Twitter reply to a question raised by crypto YouTuber Jungle Inc, Garlinghouse said that while he did not want to “overstep,” both he and Ripple's chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty see the documents as being worth the 18-month fight to get them unsealed.  Wish I could go in depth now, but we've waited this long (18+ months), I don't want to overstep… suffice it to say @s_alderoty and I believe they were well worth the wait. — Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) June 12, 2023 The Hinman documents refer to internal SEC messages concerning a 2018 speech given by former SEC Director William Hinman. In the speech, Hinman said that while cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) may star...

According to CoinShares, digital asset investment products saw outflows totaling $72 million last week, as investors brace for the Fed's forthcoming rate decision on May 3. On May 2, European crypto currency investment firm CoinShares published its latest “Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly Report,” which stated that the digital asset market experienced bearish sentiment for the second consecutive week, resulting in out flows totaling $72 million. The report noted that the bearish sentiment could be attributed to the probability of further interest rate hikes by the United States Federal Reserve this week. Weekly crypto asset flows. Source: CoinShares According to the report, crypto market funds experienced outflows across all geographies and providers, particularly in Germany and Canada, where outflows reached $40 million and $14 million, respectively. Bitcoin (BTC) recorded the largest outflows at $46 million, with short-Bitcoin also experiencing outflows of $7.8 million, its hig...

The crypto market corrected on news of the CFTC suing Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao, but technical charts reveal a silver lining. The news and events related to the banking crisis in the United States and Europe have led to a rotation of funds into investments considered less risky. According to the Financial Times, the U.S. money market funds in March witnessed an inflow of $286 billion.  Along with money market funds, a portion of the money may also have seeped into the crypto industry. The increased demand could be one of the reasons for Bitcoin’s (BTC) strong performance in March. The big question in crypto investors’ minds is whether the recovery will continue or if it is time to book profits in Bitcoin. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 Bitcoin hodlers seem to be confident in the long-term story and are not getting lured into selling their holdings after the recent rally. According to Glassnode data, the percent of Bitcoin supply that has remained do...

The software conversion of the crypto ATMs, which vertically integrates Bitcoin Depot’s hardware and software, eliminates annual software licensing fees. Crypto ATM installations have seen a steady decline across the world over the past several months. While some ATMs have been taken out of operation due to geopolitical tensions and revenue decline, some providers like Bitcoin Depot have started converting their physical Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs to software.  Bitcoin Depot recently converted all of its 7,000 crypto ATMs and kiosks to a software-based offering powered by BitAccess. The software conversion drive came after Bitcoin Depot acquired majority equity in BitAccess back in November 2022. Months before the deal, Bitcoin Depot had revealed plans to go public in 2023 via an $885 million deal with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The software conversion of the crypto ATMs, which vertically integrates Bitcoin Depot’s hardware and software , eliminates annual software licens...

The crypto lender didn't categorically admit or deny the findings from the SEC's investigation despite agreeing to the settlement. Crypto lender Nexo Capital has agreed to pay $45 million in penalties to the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) for allegedly failing to register the offer and sale of its Earn Interest Product (EIP). The news was announced by the SEC and NASAA in two separate statements on Jan. 19. According to a statement from the SEC, Nexo agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty and cease its unregistered offer and sale of the EIP to U.S. investors. The additional $22.5 million will be paid in fines to settle similar charges by state regulatory authorities, the report said. NASAA in its Jan. 19 statement said that the settlement in principle comes after investigations into Nexo's alleged offer and sale of securities after the past year of investigations. "During the inve...

Despite dismissing the case, the judge acknowledged the lawsuit reflects a potentially dangerous trend of fraudulent-like promotional schemes. A federal judge in California has dismissed a class action lawsuit against reality TV star Kim Kardashian, boxing champ Floyd Mayweather and the founders of EthereumMax, explaining that the submissions failed to meet the “heightened pleading standards” for fraud claims. The judge has, however, left room for the plaintiffs to refile the proposed class action lawsuit if certain provisions are amended. In the original Jan. 7 Court filing submitted by Scott+Scott Attorneys At Law, the plaintiffs argued that Kardashian, Mayweather, and also former NBA superstar Paul Pierce didn’t disclose they were being paid to promote EthereumMax (EMAX). The plaintiffs alleged that they promoted it with the objective to “artificially inflate the price of the token” through the use of “false or misleading statements.” Kim Kardashian promoted EMAX in a Jun. 2021 p...

The State Department should submit a report on the use of cryptocurrencies as a viable reward payout with evidence that suggests it's more encouraging for whistleblowers. The United States lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 that includes information on crypto rewards and payouts. The proposed amendment under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requires the Department of State, an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations, to inform about any crypto payouts or rewards within 15 days of making it. The NDAA is the name for each of a series of United States federal laws specifying the annual budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense. The official document read: “Not later than 15 days before making a reward in a form that includes cryptocurrency, the secretary of State shall notify the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of R...

The Ethereum co-founder has recommended weary crypto investors to shift away from price watching and focus on the tech instead. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has shared some sage advice for traders feeling the blues of the crypto bear market: Focus on the tech rather than the price. The Ethereum co-founder made the recommendation in response to a Dec. 3 post from self-described crypto investor CoinMamba, echoing what many crypto investors are likely feeling at the moment. After 9 years in crypto I’m kinda exhausted. I want to move on and do something different with my life. Tired of all these scammers and fraudsters.. — CoinMamba (@coinmamba) December 3, 2022 "After 9 years in crypto I’m kinda exhausted. I want to move on and do something different with my life. Tired of all these scammers and fraudsters," CoinMamba said. The crypto industry has continued to be bombarded with unsavoury news since the collapse of FTX and the resulting contagion, which recently clai...