Day: April 16, 2021

Turkey to ban cryptocurrency payments

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A new ban in Turkey will prohibit crypto holders from using their digital assets for payments, in addition to preventing payment providers from providing fiat onramps for crypto exchanges. According to a Friday announcement by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, the ban will come into effect on April 30, rendering any crypto payments solutions and partnerships illegal. The bank stated, “any direct or indirect usage of crypto assets in payment services and electronic money issuance” will be forbidden. While banks are excluded from the regulation, which means…

Dogecoin doubles in a day as YTD gains hit 5,000%, while Bitcoin price dips

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Dogecoin (DOGE), the meme-based altcoin that has become a favorite talking point of Elon Musk, has doubled in 24 hours to hit all-time highs of $0.29. DOGE/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bittrex). Source: TradingView DOGE leaves others in the dust Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed DOGE/USD outperforming other major cryptocurrencies by an order of magnitude on Friday. In what appears an almost unbelievable move, Dogecoin has also become the eighth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, surpassing Litecoin (LTC), Chainlink’s LINK and Uniswap (UNI), among others. At the time of writing, a single DOGE was trading…

Chinese mining pools’ hash power plummets amid regional blackouts

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The hashing power of top Bitcoin mining pools located in Northwest China appears to have plummeted due to a regional blackout to enable safety inspections. The news was reported by Wu Blockchain, the author of Chinese crypto newsletter Wublock, who noted significant drops in the hash rate of several major pools — with Antpool crashing 24.5%, Binance Pool dipping 20%, BTC.com falling 18.9% and Poolin dropping by 33%. The hashrate of Bitcoin mining pools plummeted in 24 hours. Antpools fell by 24.5%, https://t.co/1YRYr58dLy fell by 18.9%, Poolin fell by 33%,…

Blockchain is hard for developers and everyday users. Is it getting any easier?

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For several years, one of the biggest hurdles to blockchain adoption has concerned the fact that it’s a rather technical space. Experienced developers find it daunting to build decentralized apps using this technology. Meanwhile, consumers unaccustomed to tokens and crypto wallets often struggle with user interfaces that are far clunkier than what mainstream platforms provide. With cryptocurrencies punching into the mainstream consciousness like never before, it has never been more important for blockchain platforms to seize the moment and offer the streamlined, easy-to-understand products and services that the masses can…

Ethereum Corrects Rally, But 100 SMA Could Spark Fresh Increase

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Ethereum climbed further above the $2,500 level against the US Dollar. ETH price is correcting gains, but it is likely to remain stable near $2,350 and the 100 hourly SMA. Ethereum gained pace above $2,500 and it traded to a new all-time high near USD 2,548. The price is now trading well above $2,400 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is a key rising channel forming with support near $2,420 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair is likely to resume its rise…

Brian Brooks defends fintech charter to House Financial Services Committee

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Brian Brooks has defended the fintech banking charter introduced while he served as the acting comptroller of the currency after Congressional Democrats took aim at the license on Thursday. Brian appeared as a witness before the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions at an April 15 hearing titled, “Banking Innovation or Regulatory Evasion? Exploring Trends in Financial Institution Charters.” The fintech charter was introduced by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, and overseen by Brooks in 2020, allowing financial technology firms…

Liquity Protocol attracts $1B TVL in just 10 days

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The team behind Liquity Protocol — a DeFi project launched on April 5 — has attracted $1 billion worth of locked up value according to data from Dune Analytics. From $0 to $1B TVL in 10 days Here’s some charts highlighting Liquity’s growth so far: pic.twitter.com/qpSzRp0gZs — Liquity (@LiquityProtocol) April 15, 2021 The Pantera Capital-backed Liquity is a Swiss-based decentralized and governance-free lending protocol that offers interest-free loans against Ethereum locked as collateral, with users required to maintain a minimum collateral ratio of 110%. Loans are paid out in the…

Bitcoin Consolidates, Here’s Why BTC Could Surge Above $64K

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Bitcoin price started a downside correction from the $54,900 zone against the US Dollar. BTC is now consolidating and it could start a fresh increase if it clears $54,900 Bitcoin is showing positive signs above the $62,500 and $62,000 levels. The price is now trading well above the $62,000 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is a key contracting triangle forming with resistance near $63,700 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair is likely to start a fresh rally if…

Jim Cramer cashes out half his ‘phoney money’ Bitcoin to pay off mortgage

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Business TV personality and converted Bitcoin proponent Jim Cramer has sold half of what he calls his “phoney money” Bitcoin portfolio to pay off his mortgage. .@jimcramer discloses that he bought a lot of bitcoin when it was around $12K. He says he sold half of it to pay off his mortgage yesterday. “It was like phony money paying for real money… I think I won.” https://t.co/L909N1g6x0 pic.twitter.com/hfkzTmIdWl — CNBC (@CNBC) April 15, 2021 During Thursday’s broadcast of “Squawk on the Street,” co-anchor Jim Cramer revealed that he’s “decided to…

Email server breach sees Celsians targeted by phishing attacks

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Crypto asset lending platform, Celsius Network, has revealed an email server breach that resulted in malicious phishing links being sent to customers. An April 15 announcement notes that some of Celsius’ customers have been receiving emails and SMS messages directing them to a malicious website impersonating the Celsius platform. The messages claim the link would direct them to a new web wallet from Celsius, purporting to offer $500 to users who create a wallet using the link. Phishing email sent to Celsius users: Reddit Celsius asserts the phishing links were…