Author: José Oramas

José is a journalist and translator with a keen interest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

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Crypto News Institutions Payments

Mastercard Inks Deal Enabling Consumers to ‘Buy, Sell and Hold Digital Assets’

Credit card giant Mastercard will allow its customers to integrate crypto solutions and services to their consumers in the US.

As first reported by CNBC, Mastercard announced a partnership with crypto firm Bakkt to enable its 1000+ banks and merchants in the US to buy, sell and hold digital assets through Bakkt’s crypto custody services.

This partnership will bring a myriad of crypto services to the Mastercard payment network, such as the ability to earn crypto rewards on crypto-enabled credit or debit cards, digital wallets with custody services, and loyalty programs where users can convert airline or hotel points to bitcoin.

We want to offer all of our partners the ability to more easily add crypto services to whatever it is they’re doing. Our partners, be they banks, fintechs or merchants, can offer their customers the ability to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency through an integration with the Bakkt platform.

Sherri Haymond, executive vice-president of digital partnerships, Mastercard

Mastercard has been partnering with industry leaders, including USDC issuer Circle, to bring the stablecoin to its crypto card offering.

A month ago, Crypto News Australia reported that Mastercard had acquired the blockchain forensic firm CipherTrace to provide security and technology services for its operations in the crypto industry.

Bakkt Shares Soar 270% on the News

Bakkt shares have soared over 270 percent following the announcement of its partnership with Mastercard. However, it’s worth noting that the crypto firm has teamed up with several other companies, including entering a partnership with Google to allow crypto payments for its Google Pay platform.

Shortly after the Mastercard announcement, Bakkt foreshadowed another partnership, this time with Fortune 500 company Fiserv, a multinational provider of payments and financial services.

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DeFi Ethereum Tokens

THORChain Token RUNE Up 70% Following Update Enabling ETH Trading

RUNE, THORChain’s native token, has been thriving in the DeFi market, up 70 percent following a network update that enabled Ether (ETH) trading.

As per a blog post from RUNEBase, THORChain has updated its network nodes and now allows ETH and ERC20 token trading. The update comes a few months after THORChain fell victim to several exploits, the most recent being an attack on the ETH router, which halted ETH trading and withdrawals.

The update has significantly boosted RUNE’s price, now trading at US$13.10 and with a 24-hour trading volume up to 85.91 percent as per data from Binance.

The price is the highest maximum reached by the token, surpassing last week’s maximum of $11.28 early on October 25.

Difficult Year For THORChain

THORChain suffered heavy losses after being attacked three times in Q2 2021, losses that amounted to around US$100 million.

Since then the protocol has been working behind closed curtains, developing new safety measures to avoid further attacks. Last week, THORChain announced the released of “two new critical features for node operators”.

The first feature, Make Pause, will allow node operators to pause the network for a period of one hour in the event of an attack. Trading and outbunds are halted, trapping attack transactions.

The second feature, called Make Relay, is a verified anonymous broadcasting service for nodes, broadcasting signed and verified messages into public channels.

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Bitcoin Blockchain Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Ethereum Gold Institutions

$2.2 Trillion Bond Giant Embraces Crypto as ‘Inflation Hedge and Store of Value’

Pimco, a US$2.2 trillion global fixed-income giant, will continue to explore crypto assets that have the “potential to disrupt the financial industry”, according to a report from CNBC.

Exploring Cryptocurrencies as an Inflation Hedge

During an interview with CNBC, chief investment officer Daniel Ivascyn revealed that Pimco had already invested in “crypto-linked securities” through several hedge fund portfolios, and plans to increment crypto assets exposure in the near future.

The move was announced on October 20 after Bitcoin and other high-market cap cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum surpassed record price levels, with BTC breaking above US$67,000 and ETH reclaiming the $4,000 mark, falling just short of its May ATH of $4,300.

Most cryptocurrencies saw a boost in price after the first Bitcoin futures-linked ETF, which saw a massive trading volume on its first days of approximately US$1 billion.

According to Ivascyn:

Now we’re looking at potentially trading certain cryptocurrencies as part of our trend-following strategies or quant-oriented strategies, then doing more work on the fundamental side. This will be a gradual process where we spend a lot of time on the internal diligence side speaking to investors. And we’ll take baby steps in an area that’s rapidly growing.

Daniel Ivascyn, CIO, Pimco

Ivascyn went on to say that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin offer an inflation hedge and a store of value against fiat hyperinflation and declining purchasing power. His comments resemble those of JPMorgan, whereby analysts at the investment bank revealed earlier this month that investors were replacing gold with bitcoin as a better inflation hedge.

Competitive Environment Keeps Pace with Innovation

Cryptocurrencies and the DeFi sector have become highly valuable financial instruments not only for crypto enthusiasts but for artists, content creators, institutional investors and more.

As crypto and blockchain technology advances continue to accelerate, traditional institutions are keener than ever to explore a space that’s innovating at such a pace. To that matter, Ivascyn said:

Pimco is thinking about scenarios where this could take us to ensure we are competitively prepared to deal with what’s a rapidly changing environment that offers a pretty significant value proposition.

Daniel Ivascyn, CIO, Pimco
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Blockchain Crypto News Gaming NFTs

Galaxy Interactive Raises $325 Million for NFT and Blockchain Gaming Startups

Galaxy Interactive, a division of Galaxy Digital Holdings and a VC firm focused on gaming startups and interactive technology, has raised US$325 million to invest in blue chip NFTs.

Galaxy Digital announced the fundraising on October 19, stating that the capital will go to Galaxy Interactive’s second fund, combining a total of US$650 million in assets under management.

According to the statement, Galaxy Interactive has already allocated US$150 million to new companies, including 1047 games, Republic, Art Blocks, and Elodie.

Younger Generation Moving En Masse From Physical to Digital World

Galaxy Interactive was established in 2018 by general partners Sam Englebardt and Richard Kim. The fund, which is now more flexible for investors, aims to appeal to a wider demographic of investors, especially in the knowledge that younger generations are moving from the physical to the digital world as technology innovation grows exponentially.

What would you invest in if you believe that younger generations are moving en masse from the physical to the digital world? Today, the implications of that question present themselves everywhere, in so many fascinating ways and through the utilisation of revolutionary technologies.

Sam Englebardt, partner, Galaxy Interactive

More Capital Flocking to NFTs and the Metaverse

A lot of money is swirling around NFT projects and the Metaverse, which could host a new way of interaction and trade with people in a global virtual reality world.

The P2E (Play-To-Earn) movement has generated massive profits in 2021, with titles such as Axie Infinity frontrunners in the space.

While most blockchain-based games are built on Ethereum, other projects have taken to Solana to compete in an alternate ecosystem. These include Star Atlas, Aurory, and Genopets – three titles gaining the attention of gamers and investors alike.

Categories
Bitcoin Crypto News Ethereum

ETH Eclipses All-Time High, Big Surge Ahead?

While Bitcoin is breaking price barriers and hovering above US$63,000, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum, surpassed the US$4,000 mark for the first time since May 14 and briefly surged past its previous all-time high, reaching US$4,360.

The ETH rally started on October 20 by surging 5 percent, reaching the US$4,100 mark on the Binance exchange and at the time of writing, is up 47 percent over the past 30 days. Despite a correction following the new all-time high, ETH remains up over 12 percent over the past week.

The ETH bull run coincided with Bitcoin’s dramatic market boost of 30 percent in a month, breaking a record price of US$67,016 on October 20.

Additional data from Crypto Watch shows a 30-day correlation between Bitcoin and Ether of 0.82 – an 82 percent linear positive correlation between both cryptocurrencies. This means that as Bitcoin enters price discovery, ETH could follow and settle to even higher highs.

ETH and BTC Frontrunning Crypto Scene

Ether had a volatile rally throughout Q2 2021, bouncing back and forth from 3k to 2k. It was on August 4 that ETH reclaimed and held steady its 3k position, reaffirming its market dominance with the launch of DeFi protocols and NFT projects.

Several factors are driving the current ETH bull run, among them the massive popularity of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the emergence of new and innovative DeFi protocols, and the US’ first Bitcoin futures ETF.

The Bitcoin futures fund recorded astronomical trading volumes: around US$500k in just an hour after going live, and over $1 billion a day after. The institutional demand has been so high that the BTC ETF is on risk to breach a limit on the number of futures contracts it is permitted to hold on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, as per data compiled by Bloomberg.

Categories
Crypto News DeFi Gaming NFTs Tokens

Axie Infinity Continues to Soar, Up 86% in a Month

Axie Infinity has been leading the P2E (Play-to-Earn) movement by becoming the highest-revenue generating game in the market, with over 1.8 million daily active users worldwide. Data from Binance shows ASX, its native token, has surged over 80 percent in just one month, highlighting the interest from investors and gamers alike for blockchain-based games.

ASX Has Mooned 150,000% Since its Launch

ASX had an 86 percent price boost last month, trading at US$121.36 at the time of writing.

Daily chart of ASX/BTC

Additionally, analytics firm CoinGecko reported that ASX was the second-best performing asset of the market in Q3 2021, with a three-month best ROI (return of investment) of 965 percent, and YTD (Year to Date) gains of approximately 15,000 percent.

Two weeks ago, ASX surged above 100 percent following a massive airdrop of US$60 million to early users and a staking rewards feature, where token holders generated returns of up to 385 percent APY.

Controversial Updates

While Axie has been thriving in the DeFi and NFT markets, some recent updates have staggered its price surge. Recently, the team behind the game revealed the 1.1.0a update, which embedded three fundamental technical changes: to the Ronin Block Explorer, bug fixing and game dynamics, and game tokenomics.

The last one caused the prices of ASX and SLP to drop nearly 10 percent in a matter of hours. Normally, players sell their Axie characters with their respective levels and characteristics, but this update now automatically resets the monster’s level to 1. This has outraged the community. But what’s more is that players with less than 800 MMR are prohibited from receiving rewards for playing the adventure modes or daily quests.

Despite the setbacks, Axie continues to be the frontrunner of P2E video games when it comes to revenues. The ASX token is now one of the top 50 tokens in the crypto market, following a 50 percent price boost in just a week.

Categories
Bitcoin Institutions Investing

Europe’s First Bitcoin ETF Launches, Bullish News for Institutional Investors

Jacobi Asset Management, a London-based multi-asset investment manager, recently announced it had received approval from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) to launch Europe’s first Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund).

Bullish News For Institutional Investors

Jacobi announced on October 15 that it had the go-ahead to launch what it calls a “first tier one” Bitcoin ETF, thus termed to reflect the high-profile partners supporting it:

As per the press release, Jacobi plans to list the fund on Cboe Europe, one of the largest pan-European equity exchanges, while it’s pending for approval by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The fund will be open only to institutional investors once it goes live, with a 1.5 percent management fee. Fidelity Digital Assets will be the custodian of the fund, giving investors enterprise-grade custody to safely invest in digital assets.

Bitcoin ETFs Are Now a Reality

Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds were thought of as something impossible in the infancy of the crypto industry, but now we have several countries hosting them. The first countries to do so were Canada (which now has three BTC ETFs) and Brazil.

Jacobi was launched in May 2021 and is directed by CEO Jamie Khurshid, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker. Talking about the fund, Khurshid said:

We are excited to be launching a new secure, transparent and accessible product to track the performance of Bitcoin. This is an exciting moment for Europe as regulatory approval comes ahead of those waiting for a decision from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Jamie Khurshid, CEO, Jacobi Asset Management
Categories
Crypto Art Crypto News NFTs

Sotheby’s Launches Its Own NFT Marketplace, Dubbed ‘Sotheby’s Metaverse’

Auction house Sotheby’s has stepped into the metaverse trend by launching its own NFT marketplace, dubbed Sotheby’s Metaverse.

First Auction House to Have Its Own NFT Marketplace

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) is the fastest-growing trend in the DeFi community, with over US$10 billion in trading volume in the third quarter of 2021, with astronomical sums changing hands such as a collection of Bored Ape NFTs that sold for US$25 million last month.

NFTs are also used in the metaverse – virtual as in Decentraland, where players can interact with each other and trade items and pieces of land in the form of NFTs, all in a blockchain-based digital landscape.

With such rapid expansion in the space, Sotheby’s decided to step into the metaverse and become the first auction house to own an NFT marketplace. The platform, launching October 18, is powered by Mojito, an NFT studio and tech platform that provides services including brand identity, strategy and management for NFT businesses.

The platform will host various well-known NFT collectors and artists across the space, including Steve Aoki, Paris Hilton, Whaleshark, Pranksy, Straybits, and more. Some of its lots contain rare Pepe pieces, the famous CryptoKitties, and Time magazine’s NFT collection.

Sotheby’s is one of the world’s largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery and collectibles, with 227 years of history. An auction house with its trajectory could surely boost the NFT industry.

This isn’t the first time Sotheby’s has entered the digital world. As Crypto News Australia reported in June, the auction house accepted crypto for the first time as payment for a rare 101.38-carat diamond.

Categories
Blockchain Crypto News DeFi Ethereum Gaming NFTs

DeFi Total Value Locked Has Exploded This Year, Up 10x Since January

The DeFi (decentralised finance) sector has been one of the hottest topics in the crypto community this year, mainly because of its fast-paced growth in a relatively short time. The TVL (Total Value Locked) across DeFi protocols is now at US$218 billion – a rise of over 850 percent from US$21.4 billion on January 1.

Ethereum Blockchain Takes the Lead with 69% Dominance in DeFi Market

DeFi TLV has exploded 10 times higher since the beginning of the year, surpassing the US$200 billion mark. According to data from DefiLlama, Ethereum is the blockchain that currently leads the market, with a TVL of US$151.15 billion.

Meanwhile, Curve – an exchange liquidity pool on Ethereum – is by far the largest TVL protocol with a dominance of 7.84 percent (7-day change) across various blockchains, including Avalanche, Polygon and Binance Smart Chain.

Source: DefiLlama

What’s Behind the Exponential Growth?

DeFi’s exponential growth can be attributed to numerous features and innovations within the sector. But there are two main drivers of the industry: the rise of blockchain video games with Play-2-Earn (P2E) mechanisms, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

P2E games have attracted numerous users across the globe, especially since the pandemic struck down economies worldwide and forced people to look for alternative means to make ends meet. Such was the case with Axie Infinity, a Pokemon-inspired, blockchain-based video game that allows users to play and earn SLP, the game’s native currency that can be traded for fiat money.

Axie hit a milestone by surpassing US$2 billion in trading volume by September, making it the first DApp to reach such a figure. There are other video-game DApps on other blockchains besides Ethereum, integrating P2E mechanisms and NFTs trading. Some of them are set to blow up in popularity in the future and take a slice of Ethereum’s dominance. One such example is Star Atlas, a metaverse real-time grand strategy game currently developing on the Solana blockchain.

NFTs Boosting the DeFi Market

NFTs are undoubtedly one of the hottest trends in the DeFi market, dragging artists, musicians and content creators across the globe to a digital ecosystem full of opportunities. Q3 saw a massive explosion for NFTs with a US$10 billion trading volume in August and September alone, inflating ETH’s price 20 percent amid a thriving NFT market.

DeFi is also taking off in Australia, which ranked 12th out of 154 nations to embrace and adopt DeFi and its numerous innovative DApps, most of them built on the Ethereum blockchain.

Some analysts even believe that NFTs and blockchain games will be future key foundations of the industry. Others like WallStreetBets (WSB) plan to “take over” traditional financial markets. As Crypto News Australia reported last month, the popular subreddit WSB has launched a DeFi protocol that allows trading of synthetic stocks backed by blockchain technology.

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Bitcoin Mining China Crypto News

US Overtakes China in Bitcoin Mining, Raising Hashrate to 35%

The US has overtaken China for the first time by becoming the number one country with the biggest bitcoin hashrate, as per new data from Cambridge University.

China’s Hashrate Share Has ‘Dropped to Zero’

According to the latest report of the CCAF (Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance), the US now has a 35.4 percent market share of the bitcoin hashrate – the computing power needed to mine bitcoin. Kazahkstan holds second place with 18.1 percent, followed by Russia and Canada with 11.2 and 9.6 percent, respectively.

Source: Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index

This information was provided to the CCAF by four of the biggest bitcoin mining pools: BTC.com, Poolin, ViaBTC, and Foundry USA. Miners also revealed to the the CCAF that China’s share has “effectively dropped to zero”, which was the primary goal of the Chinese government in the first place.

China’s Mining Crackdown Pushes Miners Overseas

But China’s crypto crackdown turned out to be beneficial for bitcoin after all, as it made bitcoin mining more decentralised, considering China accounted for roughly 65 percent of the total BTC hashrate in 2021. Back in September 2019, China’s dominance peaked at over 75 percent, even after numerous FUD attempts from the government.

As Crypto News Australia reported in January, the BTC network hashrate hit an all-time high of 148.727 million terahashes per second as bitcoin edged closer to the US$40,000 barrier.