2023-11-07 10:41
Traders continue to point out bitcoin’s supposed role as ‘digital gold,’ amid economic headwinds in the U.S., as a possible price catalyst. Bitcoin (BTC) kept steady under the $35,000 level in the past 24 hours, with meme coin dogecoin (DOGE) driving gains for traders. Tokens of major blockchains such as Solana’s SOL, BNB Chain’s BNB and Cardano’s ADA lost as much as 3% as traders likely took profits after a broader crypto rally last week. SOL pared gains after a nearly 70% jump in the past month, data shows. Meanwhile, XRP reversed gains after jumping 10% on Monday. Monday’s surge was prompted by Georgia and Dubai announcing they will use payment firm Ripple's services, which buoyed trader sentiment. Some traders told CoinDesk that they expect bitcoin to play a key role as “digital gold” – a likening as a hedge to traditional markets offerings, such as stocks – as a possible price catalyst. “I think the general public’s education about the seriously difficult fiscal situation facing the United States is growing, along with a rising appreciation of bitcoin’s role as a hedge against this financial situation,” shared Banxa CEO Richard Mico in an email. “The U.S. is now well over $33 trillion in debt, in addition to the unfunded liabilities of approximately $170 trillion. And, really, the only way out of this looming debt crisis is quantitative easing, or money printing, that will inevitably debase the dollar,” Mico said, adding bitcoin was poised to “be gold 2.0” amid such headwinds. “There will be pullbacks and volatility more generally, but the setup for bitcoin and crypto as a whole is looking more and more auspicious,” Mico stated. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/11/07/bitcoins-role-as-digital-gold-will-aid-further-demand-traders-say/
2023-11-07 09:52
The lawsuit claims former colleagues took control of Armstrong's account on X.com "for the express purpose of publicly harassing, embarrassing, and intimidating" him. The crypto YouTuber Ben Armstrong, formerly known as Bitboy, has sued former colleagues over an allegedly stolen Lamborghini and alleged racketeering activities involving threats and a conspiracy to deprive him of the vehicle, according to a filing in Cobb County, Georgia. Armstrong was previously ousted from his media company, BitBoy Crypto, following a decision by the company that produced the channel, as per an August announcement, which led to him dropping the 'Bitboy' moniker. This is the second suit Armstrong has filed against his former colleagues. The suit, filed in the Superior Court of Cobb County on Nov. 1, lists six individuals as defendants: Timothy Shedd Jr., CEO of Hit Network (the company that owned Armstrong's former channel); Timothy Shedd Sr., CFO of Hit Network; Justin Williams, CEO of Voomio; Allison Fiveash, a frequent contributor on Hit Network; Nickolas Dimondi, Hit Network's head of content and Carlos Diaz, an associate of the company. The lawsuit claims that the defendants took control of Armstrong's account on X.com (formerly Twitter) "for the express purpose of publicly harassing, embarrassing, and intimidating" him. "Defendant Diaz used this X account to leak private conversations between Armstrong and Defendant Diaz, which had been surreptitiously recorded without Armstrong’s knowledge or consent; and to post false and defamatory statements accusing Armstrong of illicit drug use," the lawsuit reads. In the filing, Armstrong alleges that he was coerced into transferring the title of his 2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante to Diaz under threat of violence, and despite repeated requests, Diaz refused to return the vehicle. Armstrong complied with the demands due to fear, according to the suit. "Defendant Diaz warned Armstrong that he had killed people before, and implied that the same fate could befall Armstrong, if Armstrong failed to comply," Armstrong claims in the lawsuit. "Armstrong is not aware of the Lamborghini’s current location or ownership status," the document reads. Armstrong also alleges that the defendants engaged in a civil conspiracy and violated the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act by conspiring to unlawfully convert his Lamborghini and extort money from him through a pattern of racketeering activities. None of the claims or allegations have been proven in court. “The entire complaint is laughable on its face and has no merit in court,” Dimondi said, speaking with Decrypt. “This type of bullying is what we have come to expect from Ben Armstrong." Timothy "TJ" Shedd Jr responded to the lawsuit by telling CoinDesk that "it's a joke." https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/11/07/ben-bitboy-armstrong-calls-himself-a-victim-in-latest-court-filing/
2023-11-07 08:24
Developers are trying to capture a piece of the global asset tokenization market as part of a new product in the Floki ecosystem. Over $55 million of floki (FLOKI) tokens have been locked on the blockchain’s staking platform. Floki was released in 2021 as a meme coin named after Elon Musk’s pet, Shiba Inu, but has morphed over time to position itself as a serious decentralized finance (DeFi) project. Decentralized finance is an umbrella term for lending and borrowing carried out on the blockchain without the use of intermediaries. The 1.8 trillion FLOKI represents almost 18% of the circulating supply, and most tokens are expected to be out of circulation in the coming years as traders continue to stake funds to earn annualized rewards of up to 120%. The staked floki is used to reward holders with token (TOKEN), a sister project that allows users to tokenize real-world assets (RWA) that was released in the last week of October. RWA refers to a physical asset, such as real estate or a car, digitized and made available on DeFi applications. Several analysts peg RWA as a “trillion-dollar opportunity,” as such products can theoretically allow anyone in the world to trade or invest in any global asset – which is currently a complex process governed by stringent business and financial laws. The yields range from 51% to over 165%, depending on when those tokens are locked. Floki developers previously told CoinDesk that they expect tokenization to become a $16 trillion market by 2030. Users can acquire TOKEN from decentralized exchanges – where it has reached a $40 million market capitalization – but upward of 50% of the supply can only be gained by staking FLOKI. Incentives will be offered to users who use the protocol to launch their tokens or smart contracts. A percentage of TokenFi tokens will be set aside to reward protocol usage based on daily activity – which may create a flywheel effect that attracts users who keep using the platform for even more rewards. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/11/07/crypto-traders-are-earning-165-yields-by-staking-a-token-named-after-elon-musks-pet/
2023-11-07 06:54
Every once in a while, open interest sees a spike in a relatively short amount of time. When that happens, it nearly always marks a turning point for bitcoin prices, one observer noted. Open interest in CME's standard bitcoin futures contract has increased 35% in four weeks. Historically, spikes in open interest have marked trend changes in the spot market. Bitcoin (BTC) futures, offered by global derivatives giant Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), are widely known to aid price discovery in the spot market tied to the leading cryptocurrency. New research by McClellan Financial Publication shows sudden spikes in open interest, or the number of active contracts, in these cash-settled futures, hints at trend changes in bitcoin’s price. Open interest in CME’s standard BTC futures, also known as large futures, has increased by 35% to 19,603 ($3.4 billion) in four weeks, according to CFTC’s Commitment of Traders report. The standard contract is sized at 5 BTC ($173,000) and is considered a bell weather for institutional activity. The double-digit rise in open interest in a short period means bitcoin’s ongoing uptrend could soon run out of steam, paving the way for a price pullback. The cryptocurrency has gained over 25% in four weeks to trade near $35,000. “The fascinating aspect of total open interest in bitcoin is that every once in a while, it sees a spike in a relatively short amount of time. When that happens, it nearly always marks a turning point for bitcoin prices. It can be a top or a bottom,” Tom McClellan, editor at The McClellan Market Report, said in an email to subscribers on Friday. The chart shows spikes in open interest have historically marked trend changes, including the bull market top of late 2021 and the bear market bottom of November 2022. Taking lessons from gold Both bitcoin’s recent price appreciation and the surge in open interest likely reflect expectations the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will soon greenlight one or more spot-based BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Most analysts expect a U.S.-based spot ETF to bring billions of dollars in new investor money, pushing BTC’s market value skywards. That said, expected flows may not materialize immediately, leaving the doors open for a post-launch price slide, as observed following the debut of ProShares’ bitcoin futures ETF (BITO) in October 2021. A similar pattern played out in the gold market in the 1970s. “Speculators are rushing in ahead of that anticipated surge in demand, just as they rushed in ahead of BITO's approval only to see it top. The same dynamic occurred with gold when it was finally authorized public ownership in 1975," McClellan said. Gold prices tanked from $186 per ounce in December 1974 to $110 by August 1976 as the expected rush into the yellow metal did not pan out. “The lesson here is that those who are chasing into bitcoin now on speculation about the impending ETF approval are likely going to end up like those 1974 gold speculators, and like the earlier bitcoin speculators who topped bitcoin prices as they rushed in ahead of the debut of BITO futures-based ETF,” McClellan added. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/11/07/cme-bitcoin-futures-open-interest-surge-indicates-interim-btc-price-top/
2023-11-07 01:16
The crypto exchange is still considering which blockchain developer should build its network, with Polygon, Matter Labs and the Nil Foundation in the mix, according to people familiar with the situation. Rival crypto exchange Coinbase blazed the trail with Base. Kraken, the big U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, is considering several of the leading blockchain-technology firms to help launch its own layer 2 network, people familiar with the matter told CoinDesk. Such a move would bring Kraken in line with the move earlier this year by rival Coinbase to launch its own layer-2 network. Kraken is considering Polygon, Matter Labs and Nil Foundation among others about using their technology as the basis for the new network, according to the sources, who asked not to be named because the effort was not publicly disclosed and the conversations are still fluid. There may also be other teams in the discussions. “We’re always looking to identify and solve for new industry challenges and opportunities," a Kraken spokesperson told CoinDesk. "We don’t have anything further to share at this time.” Major crypto companies with established brands and customer followings have been seeking to grow their presence as blockchain builders, either as a potential source of new revenue or simply as an extension of their current operations. In August, crypto exchange Coinbase released its own layer 2 network, Base, which makes use of the OP Stack, from the OP Labs team that built Optimism, the second-biggest layer-2 network atop the Ethereum blockchain. Polygon, a leading developer of Ethereum scaling solutions with its Polygon PoS network and more recently the Polygon zkEVM, earlier this year came out with a new software toolkit that developers can use to spin up their own blockchains. Matter Labs, the developer behind the zkSync layer-2 network, also offers its technology to upstart builders. Kraken recently added a job posting on the careers section of its website, advertising for a "Senior Cryptography Engineer" with "knowledge of modern cryptography (including ZK proofs)" whose opportunities could include "design and implementation of layer-2 solutions." "We are enthusiastic about open source, layer-2 technologies, zero-knowledge proofs, multi-party computation, and continuously strive to explore the potential of on-chain scaling solutions," the job description reads. "The team has recently embarked on exploring how more protocols and decentralized applications can be integrated into Kraken." With reporting by Elizabeth Napolitano. https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2023/11/07/kraken-said-to-seek-partner-to-help-build-it-a-layer-2-blockchain-network/
2023-11-06 21:40
A few days of outperformance has ignited chatter about "altcoin season." BTC was little changed while large-cap altcoins gained 5%-10% in a broadening crypto rally. A decline in bitcoin's market cap dominance is a sign of investors' riskier market stance, one analyst said. ByteTree analysts hinted at early signs of a potential altcoin season, adding weight to altcoins in their portfolio at the expense of BTC. Alternative cryptocurrencies – altcoins – posted gains of 5%-10% on Monday while bitcoin (BTC) treaded water near $35,000 as investors ventured into riskier tokens. Following key approvals for the company to operate and offer services in Georgia and Dubai last week Ripple's XRP jumped nearly 10% during the day and toppled Binance's BNB as the fourth-largest crypto by market capitalization. Other large-cap digital assets such as native tokens of layer 1 networks Cardano (ADA) and Avalanche (AVAX), popular meme token dogecoin (DOGE), oracle network Chainlink's token (LINK) and decentralized exchange UniSwap's token (UNI) rose 5%-6% over the past 24 hours. Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Blur's token (BLUR) added 32% today to its gains, more than doubling in price in a month as the platform prepares to distribute 300 million tokens in an airdrop to users on November 20. Bitcoin, meanwhile, on Monday has been trading in a tight range on either side of $35,000. Ether (ETH) is also little changed. The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI), a broad basket of cryptocurrencies, advanced 0.6%. Bitcoin dominance drop brings call for altcoin season Altcoin outperformance – though it's only been in place for a handful of days – could be a sign that traders will continue to rotate profits from BTC's roughly 30% October rally into lower-cap digital assets. Bitcoin’s market cap dominance – which measures the largest crypto asset's market share of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization – has dipped to 52.5% Monday from around 54.3% in late October, which at that point was a 30-month high, TradingView data shows. "The decline in dominance after five consecutive weeks of increase marks the first signs of heightened investor interest in altcoins, suggesting a riskier market stance," Matteo Greco, research analyst at Fineqia International, said in an email. Investment advisory firm ByteTree hinted at the early innings of an "alt season" – an extended period of the broader altcoin market outperforming BTC's price – as the crypto rally's market breadth improved and a likely end of the Federal Reserve's rate hiking cycle offered a more supportive environment for risky assets. "Today, we make the most significant investment into altcoins we have made for some time," ByteTree analysts wrote. "Bitcoin has rallied, and the space is catching up." The firm added layer 1 protocol NEAR's token (NEAR), Bitcoin-based smart contract platform Stacks (STX), LINK and XRP to its model portfolio by reducing BTC's weight. While BTC's rally spread to altcoins, it's still not broad enough for a full-fledged altcoin season yet, Blockchaincenter data suggests. Some 57% of the top 50 digital assets have outperformed BTC over the past 30 days and 33% did over the past 90 days, lower than the 75% threshold to qualify as altcoin season. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/11/06/xrp-link-doge-lead-altcoin-gains-as-bitcoin-sits-at-35k/
