Author: José Oramas

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

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Crypto News

95% of BTC Mining Pools Have Signalled Taproot Activation

95% of major Bitcoin (BTC) pools have briefly signalled for Taproot activation, an upgrade that could boost BTC’s network with higher scalability, more security, and cheaper gas fees.

What is Taproot?

Taproot is an upgrade of the Bitcoin network. It integrates Schnorr Signatures, which is an alternative signature algorithm to the current ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) implemented on the BTC network.

Taproot is a long-awaited update because it would bring many benefits to the BTC network, like lower fees, faster transactions, and scalability. Besides, the integration of Schnorr Signatures would make multi-signature multi-input transactions (UTXI) faster and more efficient.

A Two-Week Period To Reach 90%

According to Taproot.watch, 9 out of 10 mining pools signalled for Taproot. However, there are still almost 200 non-signalling blocks at the time of writing.

Source: Taproot.Watch

The most recent mining pool that included an activation signal was the last pool of the top 10, BTC.Top, which represents 4.14% of the entire network’s hash power. The pool did so on block number 683,945.

While most miners have briefly shown support for Taproot, the upgrade seems unlikely for November 2021 considering the difficulty epoch for Bitcoin. The current signalling ratio is approximately over 64%, and a 90% consensus needs to be reached to move forward with the upgrade.

There is a two week period to reach 90% out of 2016 mined blocks with an activation signal. If reached, this could be one of the most innovative upgrades for the Bitcoin network since 2017, when block size was increased.

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Bitcoin Crypto News

BTC Price Now vs 2013 and 2017 Graphs Shows Positive Correlation

Last week Bitcoin had its worst sell-off since March 2020, and the global crypto market has suffered great losses along with it. Over 250 billion was erased from the market as selling panic took over.

While many were panicking and considering this as the end of the bull run, some we’re taking a closer look at the data and compared todays BTC price with 2013 and 2017 and the results showed a positive correlation.

BTC Now vs 2013

BTC current graph compared to 2013 [source]

The graph above shows a positive correlation for the BTC price now vs back in 2013. Back in 2013, BTC corrected up to 50% before rocketing to another all-time high just over US$1,000.

This data might suggest that this a normal cycle for BTC, as the market corrects, then resets and resumes into the final phase of the bull run. At least thats what happened in both 2013 and 2017.

BTC Now vs 2017

BTC current graph vs 2017 [source]

The graph above also shows a positive correlation for the BTC price now vs back in 2017. Back in 2017, BTC corrected up to 50% before rocketing to another all-time high just over US$17,000.

If Bitcoin follows the same pattern as 2017 then BTC may be on track to retake its uptrend run and surge somewhere between US$70k – $120k.

As we previously reported, this is the 10th time BTC has dropped by over 30% since 2017. So newcomers should be aware that this market is still volatile and drops like this are “normal” for this market.

ETH vs BTC

Another interesting take is between ETH and BTC that shows a positive correlation across the same price period. If ETH continues on this pattern it would also retake its bull run.

ETH 2016 vs BTC 2011 [source]

This isn’t the End of the Bull Run, Says Top Analyst

Experts in the crypto field don’t believe the bull run has exhausted, whatsoever. During a podcast with Peter McCormack, top analyst Willy Woo talked about the current situation with Bitcoin, saying it might take time to recover from this crash before taking off to prices over $100k.

“I think it’ll take a bit of time to recover, just from the sheer amount of coins that we dumped out. I think ultimately, if you look at the network health, this is a good thing.”

Willy Woo

Woo referred to several indicators that are showing price positivity for BTC. He noted that this is not the end of the bull run rather an “unwind” necessary for the network’s health, referring to the NVT ratio, which shows network activity in relation to market cap.

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Australia Crypto News Regulation

Australia’s Fintech Senate To Provide Final Report in October 2021

The Senate Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre will provide the third and final report in October 2021, as Senators push for a more crypto-friendly Australia.

Senate Pushing for A Crypto-friendlier Australia

On Wednesday, the Senate released a Third issues Paper where it will guide submitters to examine a handful of topics related to technology and finance, and what could be possibly stopping the country to become a hub in those fields.

Chaired by Senator Andrew Bragg, the Senate is calling submitters to address important topics like how Blockchain and cryptocurrencies can promote investment in the country and bolster Australian economic growth.

Another essential topic would be what type of laws are restraining new investment in Australia. Senator Bragg has called out on how corporate laws are holding back investment in the country, which has led the Committee to lay down specific subjects for submitters like:

  1. The impact of corporate law restraining new investment in Australia
  2. The policy environment facing neo-banks
  3. Barriers to the adoption of new technologies in the financial sector

Australia is “Well Poised” To Become a Leader in Fintech

The Australian government is keen to establish the nation as a crypto-friendly economy. However, experts in the field believe the government is taking a slow pace compared to other countries which have already adopted blockchain and established crypto regulations to boost their economies.

During the Blockchain Australia Week, several important personalities in the local community shared their concerns about Australia having the potential to become a leader in financial technology, but instead falling behind global competitors.

A major concern for the local community is the lack of a regulatory body, which many CEOs of local crypto-companies have already said it’s hurting the industry, and driven away potential offshore investors.

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Australia Binance Australia Crypto News Swyftx

Fastest Growing Crypto Companies in Australia

During the first quarter of 2021, various Australian companies have experienced significant growth, reaching important milestones in adoption, user base, and trading volume.

Australia has emerged as one of the fastest-growing countries when it comes to new financial technologies like cryptocurrencies. Here are some of the top crypto companies that currently achieving important milestones.

Binance Australia

Binance AUS has become the top exchange in the country, recording massive trading volumes and user traffic in the first quarter of 2021. Former CEO Jeff Yew shared great results on Twitter earlier on this year.

The number of SMSF and corporate accounts has grown 400% since last quarter, shortly after trading volumes surpassed $130 million AUD in a single day.

One of the reasons for its success is its support for various AUD deposit methods and educational content. Users can simply deposit AUD using  PayID/Osko to set up their account — and as for anyone eager to explore the crypto market, the exchange also offers Binance Masterclass, a series of free online educational videos.

Swyftx

The Australian-based startup has seen tremendous growth since it was launched in 2017 due to its innovative approach to the crypto community and excellent user support.

Swyftx has managed to keep high support standards even under pressure, with thousands of requests per day. This has given the platform high scores and positive reviews on TrustPilot.

Source: TrustPilot

Swyftx holds over 60,000 users on its platform. The exchange has introduced infrastructure optimisations to keep up with the increasing user base, which is expected to grow even higher this 2021.

Synthetix

Synthetix (SNX) is an Australian derivatives liquidity protocol that has been experiencing fast growth in the country. It is one of the few DeFi projects that has called the attention of institutional capital, raising $12 million USD from major VC firms, including Coinbase Ventures, Paradigm and IOSG.

As the name suggests, the protocol focuses on synthetic assets —derivate tokens on the blockchain that provide exposure to different real-world assets.

Fantom

Fanton (FTM), an Australian blockchain platform, has witnessed tremendous growth this 2021, even surpassing 3 million transactions, a significant milestone for the protocol.

Fantom takes a user-friendly approach to the crypto community with low fees, cross-chain consensus compatibility, and integrating MetaMask so developers can work with Ethereum dApps.

The protocol has seen tremendous growth as it focuses on solving the scalability issues of existing blockchains. It quickly grew to sit on a $1.3 billion AUD market cap with a token currently priced around $0.53 AUD.

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Bitcoin Crypto News

Reasons Why Bitcoin Crashed This Week

This week was the rough for Bitcoin, as data shows that over 30,749,89 (around $1,469,578,437.99 AUD) were sold, making it the biggest BTC selloff since March 2020.

The global crypto market has lost approximately $1 trillion USD following Bitcoin and Ethereum massive selloffs across exchanges —which trailed most cryptocurrencies with them, including Dogecoin (DOGE).

Bitcoin is currently at around $50,000 AUD while Ethereum $3,500 AUD. The market lost around $250 billion USD on Monday, but panic selling seems nowhere to stop as over $8 billion USD liquidations were triggered over the last 24h.

Environmental Concerns

There are many possible reasons as to why the crypto market has plunged this week, starting with Elon Musk backtracking on Bitcoin, announcing Tesla will not accept BTC payments due to “environmental concerns”.

The announcement caused an adverse reaction to most cryptocurrencies in the market. Most altcoins were enjoying a steady altseason as BTC was losing over 60% in market dominance. However, most coins are now in the red.

Source: Quantify Crypto

Polygon (MATIC) is the only coin that survived the crash, which surged 10% in the last 24 hours, reaching a new all-time high at $2.4 USD a few hours ago. However, it did suffer a $46 million USD liquidation.

Blackouts in the Xingjian region caused a hashrate drop of over 45%, producing transaction delays in the Bitcoin network and another adverse price drop. Since then, BTC has struggled to break its previous $60k barrier.

Chinese Crypto Whispers

Another event that propelled the crash was that Chinese regulatory bodies reiterated their stance on banning financial and payment institutions from providing banking services to crypto-related entities and traders alike.

However, most rumours circulated that China had “banned crypto” —which is not exactly true, but that didn’t stop it from causing more damage to the market.

A $60M USD Rekt

Data shows that over 80% of liquidations were leveraged traders, meaning, they borrowed capital to invest in higher prices. In just 24 hours, nearly 1 million traders got liquidated.

Total Liquidations [Bybt]

The largest liquidation happened on Huobi-BTC. A trade got liquidated with a $67 million USD position.

Exchange Liquidations [Bybt]

This is by far the biggest selloff the market has ever experienced. Some analysts call this event a “capitulation”, which means the market could be oversold by now giving institutional capital and large holders the opportunity to buy again.

While many sold their cryptos, others like MicroStrategy did not hesitate to buy the dip whatsoever. As reported, the firm bought an additional $10 million USD worth of BTC.

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Crypto News Institutions

MicroStrategy Buys Another $15 Million in Bitcoin “Buying the dip”

It looks like MicroStrategy just bought the Bitcoin dip after Tesla announced it would stop accepting it as payment, citing “environmental concerns”.

Michael Saylor, CEO, confirmed the US$ 15 million purchase via Twitter. MicroStrategy now owns a total of 91,850 Bitcoins for roughly 2.241 billion at an average price of US$ 24,403 per Bitcoin.

MicroStrategy Ignores Tesla’s Bitcoin Criticism

Tesla took a toll on Bitcoin after it announced the company wouldn’t accept Bitcoin payments due to environmental problems, and it was looking into more “environmental friendly” cryptocurrencies, like Dogecoin.

It appears the announcement sparked a heated debate where not only Saylor but influencers like Anthony Pompliano discussed Bitcoin’s energy consumption.

Not only BTC plunged after the announcement, but the entire crypto market shed billions. The whole crypto market dipped below US$ 2 trillion, and most currencies saw price drops between 5-30%. However, Most proof-of-stake (PoS) cryptocurrencies saw a surge in price after Tesla backtracked on Bitcoin.

Categories
Crypto News Ethereum

Vitalik Buterin Donates $60 Million to Charity After Dumping Shiba Inu

Vitalik Buterin has donated at least US$ 60 million worth of Ethereum (ETH), after dumping massive amounts of three dog-theme coins: SHIBA, AKITA, and DOGELON.

SHIBA Developers Gifted Vitalik The Coins

The SHIBA developers, who are also behind the other dog-theme tokens (AKITA and ELON), had a rather unusual distribution strategy. Presumably, they sent large amounts of SHIB, AKITA, and ELON to Vitalik’s public address. Their idea was to present Buterin as a SHIBA supporter and that a self-made Billionaire like him wouldn’t need them. It seems to have worked as the SHIBA coin soared over 700%.

Shiba Inu’s website stated that the tokens sent were “burned,” so everyone had to buy them on the open market. Despite their plans, it seems Vitalik had a better idea.

Only a few hours later, he sold the tokens in Uniswap in exchange for ETH, selling 660 billion SHIB, 140 billion AKITA, and 43 billion ELON, totalling 15,719 ETH, around US$ 63 million.

Vitalik Sent the Funds to Charity

Vitalik sent the funds in batches to various non-profit organisations, donating the dog-themed tokens and even some of the ETH he made in the sale.

India’s Crypto Covid Relief Fund received 500 ETH and 50 trillion SHIB tokens. The Methuselah Foundation, a non-profit organisation that focuses on making people live longer, received 1,000 ETH and 430 billion ELON tokens, worth US$ 215,000.

The largest batch was sent to Givewell, an American assessment organization, which received 13,292 ETH, around US$ 50 million.

After the move, the three dog-theme coins suffered harsh price drops —around 30% for each— and Vitalik got praised by the crypto community, who called him a role model for everyone in the crypto space.

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Australia Crypto News Scams

Australian BitConnect Promoter Pleads Not Guilty In Ongoing Court Battle

Alleged former BitConnect promoter John Bigatton pleaded not guilty at Downing Centre Local Court, according to his lawyer.

Bigatton, 52, was one of the promoters of BitConnect, a cryptocurrency project that turned out to be one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in the history of crypto.

Bigatton Charged with Defrauding Australian Investors

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission accused Bigatton of ripping off small investors in Australia back in 2017/2018, besides various counts of financial crime. Bigatton is facing six charges that could give him up to 10 years in prison.

Bigatton’s lawyer, Liam Macandrews, told the court his client will maintain his not guilty pleas. Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson approved Bigatton’s pleas, however, he will next appear in the District Court on June 11 to face trial without bail.

BitConnect: Greatest Fraud in Crypto History?

Bigatton was a promoter of BitConnect in Australia before its collapse in early 2018. BitConnect, a cryptocurrency and crypto exchange, had an estimated market cap of more than US$2.5 billion in December 2017.

BitConnect became wildly popular through aggressive propaganda and offering attractive returns to investors. It went from US$0.16 to $436 in 2017 but crashed as soon as U.S. authorities came in as BitConnect was an unregistered exchange.

1 hour of Bitconnect guy screeming – [Youtube]

Carlos Matos, the leader behind BitConnect and famous for the “​yell BITTCONNEEEECCTTTTT!” phrase, disappeared since the platform was shut down, only to reappear in 2018 as a health promoter, trying to leave behind his reputation as a crypto scammer.

Categories
Crypto News Japan

Japanese Crypto Telcoin (TEL) Surges 260% In a Week, Amid Liquidity Integrations

Telcoin header
Telcoin header https://twitter.com/telcoin_team

Japanese cryptocurrency Telcoin (TEL) has made significant gains this 2021, surging over 260% in a week following recent liquidity integrations.

TEL has surged more than 4,000% since February 1, now trading at $0.054 USD at the time of writing, having recorded over $110 million USD in 24-trading volume.

Telcoin (TEL) / Tether price chart

Global Remittance Services With Telcoin

The recent surge in price follows the launch of V2, an upgrade that enables Telcoin remittance services between the Philippines and Canada, being the North American country the first of four initial sending markets for fiat remittances, with Australia, the United States and Singapore to follow.

The project has called the crypto community’s attention since its CEO, Paul Neuner, appeared before the Nebraska Legislature on February 23 to talk about how the state could benefit from making legislation geared toward turning the state into a decentralised finance hub.

A Brief Explanation of Telcoin

Telcoin is an Ethereum-based platform that bridges mobile money platforms to decentralised finance systems.

The protocol allows users to make instant transfers with their phones or PCs by leveraging blockchain technology to transfer money worldwide in seconds instead of making long lines to send remittances.

TEL can be bought on several centralised and decentralised exchanges, including Kucoin, Uniswap and Quickswap.

Categories
Crypto News Dogecoin

SpaceX Accepts DOGE For DOGE-1 Mission To The Moon in 2022

SpaceX is now accepting Dogecoin (DOGE) as payment to fund the upcoming satellite, DOGE-1, which will be launching in collaboration with logistics firm Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC).

DOGE-1 will be the first meme-inspired satellite on the moon, launched as a 40 kilogram cube flown up on a Falcon 9 rocket. The mission is set for the first quarter of 2022.

After the announcement of the DOGE-1 Mission, Dogecoin surged 30% in a matter of minutes, recovering from its previous crash after Elon Musk’s appearence on Saturday Night Live.

DOGE to the Moon, Literally

Dogecoin has been one of the main discussions in the crypto community, causing controversy as well, because what started as a joke became the best-performing asset of the market.

Since Elon Musk and other influencers started tweeting about Dogecoin, it has surged over 25,000%, and now holds a US$86 billion market cap for the past six months.

People all around the world have shown interest in investing in Dogecoin, possibly lured by the massive returns that the famous memecoin can offer. DOGE has also reached 1 million followers on Twitter.

Interplanetary Commerce Using DOGE

According to SpaceX Vice President of Commercial Sales, Tom Ochinero, DOGE-1 will set the foundation for interplanetary commerce, demonstrating the applications of cryptocurrencies beyond Earth orbit.

Indeed, through this very transaction, DOGE has proven to be a fast, reliable, and cryptographically secure digital currency that operates when traditional banks cannot and is sophisticated enough to finance a commercial Moon mission in full. It has been chosen as the unit of account for all lunar business between SpaceX and Geometric Energy Corporation and sets precedent for future missions to the Moon and Mars.

Press Release by Geometric Energy Corporation