Kategorie: Bitcoin News

Key takeaways

• BitGo and Swan will work together to launch a new trust company.

• The Bitcoin-only trust company will offer custody without exposure to the other cryptocurrencies.

BitGo and Swan to launch a new trust company

Crypto custodian BitGo and bitcoin financial services firm Swan have announced plans to launch a Bitcoin-only trust company. 

According to the press release published on Thursday, the Bitcoin-only trust company will offer custody without exposure to other digital currencies. The trust, which will be launched following regulatory approval, will combine BitGo’s custody capabilities with Swan’s expertise in fraud prevention and onboarding. 

The companies said it would be the first Bitcoin-only trust company in the United States. BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said, 

“We believe the best model for the Bitcoin industry is the same battle-tested model that has been part of the US financial industry for over a century: the separation of exchange and custody. Our teams have worked closely together for nearly a year on stronger qualified custody models. Early in 2023, we recognized the opportunity to establish a Bitcoin-only custodian, combining the unique capabilities of each company and supporting the innovators that will be at the forefront of pushing Bitcoin adoption.”

BitGo remains a leading custodian in the crypto space

This latest cryptocurrency news comes as BitGo continues to expand its presence in the cryptocurrency space despite the ongoing bear market. BitGo is one of the custodians Swan hired for its Bitcoin storage needs. 

Cory Klippsten, Swan’s CEO, also commented that;

“We immediately saw the vision,” said Cory Klippsten, Swan’s CEO. “For years, we’ve heard from major clients, partners, and other Bitcoin companies that they would prefer a Bitcoin-only software and services stack that is focused strictly on the best custody that leverages Bitcoin’s unique features. It’s important to us to build a custodian without the risks of securing many altcoins within the same trust company as Bitcoin. We want to do our part to build a dedicated ecosystem for Bitcoin, separate from industry speculators, to allow for innovation in custodial offerings.”

This latest development comes a few days after South Korean Hana Bank and BitGo announced a partnership to launch a joint crypto custody venture. The joint venture will combine Hana Bank’s knowledge of financial services and compliance with BitGo’s crypto custodial solutions.

The post BitGo and Swan partner to launch a Bitcoin-only trust company appeared first on CoinJournal.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin has settled above the $26k level and could be heading towards the $27k resistance level soon.

• Chancer’s stage two presale is now closing in on the $2 million mark.

The cryptocurrency market is having a positive week so far. The prices of most cryptocurrencies are up by 2% since the start of the week and could record further gains in the near term.

Chancer’s presale continues to break new records and is now closing in on the $2 million mark.

Bitcoin eyes the $27k resistance level

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is having a positive week so far. BTC has added more than 2% to its value over the past few days. At press time, the price of Bitcoin stands at $26,283.

The positive performance comes despite FTX gaining approval to sell its crypto assets and the rising inflation levels in the United States. Bitcoin’s positive performance also saw some altcoins like Solana and Toncoin rally higher over the past few days. 

What is Chancer?

The broader crypto market has performed well so far this week, and this has been reflected in some projects still in their presale. Chancer is one of the projects that is breaking records with its presale.

Chancer is a Web3 project designed to decentralise the betting ecosystem. The project seeks to build a web3 peer-to-peer (P2P) custom betting platform that allows users to place bets on a wide range of events, including custom-made ones. According to their whitepaper, bets on the platform can be live-streamed to ensure transparency. 

The team explained that Chancer will be a decentralised online gaming platform and will improve the current services offered by traditional sports and casino betting platforms. On Chancer, there would be no restrictions on events users can bet on. Chancer users can bet on any event, even ones they make up themselves. 

The project is currently in its presale and has raised a significant amount so far. The funds generated from the various presale rounds would be used in building Chancer’s decentralised P2P betting platform. 

The platform is expected to have exciting features, including betting markets in real time and based on user interests, social media connections, and expertise. In addition to that, Chancer users can launch custom P2P betting markets, allowing other users to bet on their events and games. 

Chancer’s second presale closes in on $2 million

Chancer seeks to raise $2.5 million from its second presale stage. At the moment, the project has raised $1.951 million in this stage and is slowly closing in on the $2 million mark. 

According to the Chancer team, there would be 12 presale events, with a combined target of $15 million. In this second stage, CHANCER, the native token of the ecosystem, is going for $0.011 per token, with the price set to increase to $0.012 in the third presale round.

The CHANCER token would power the Chancer ecosystem, allowing users to carry out a wide range of activities. Token holders can create custom P2P betting events on the platform and can also bet on markets created by others. 

At the moment, CHANCER is not available on cryptocurrency exchanges. The token can be purchased via the official Chancer website. To purchase the CHANCER token, simply connect any supported wallets to the presale link. Trust Wallet, MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, and Rainbow are some supported wallets. 

Visit the Chancer website to get more information about the presale. 

Should you buy CHANCER tokens at this stage?

Chancer is in its stage two presale, and this could be an excellent time to invest in the project. The token is going for $0.011, and its price would increase to $0.012 in the third presale stage.

Historically, the best time to invest in Web3 projects is during their presale. During the presale stage, the tokens can only be purchased by a limited number of investors, and their prices are usually low. 

With the right level of adoption, Chancer could become an exciting Web project. Decentralising the betting ecosystem could be a big win for the Chancer team in the medium to long term. 

The post Bitcoin could head to $27k as Chancer’s presale nears $2M appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Coinbase says it will add support for the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
• Cathie Wood praises the crypto exchange for the decision.
• Coinbase shares are down nearly 30% versus their YTD high.

Coinbase Global Inc has decided to integrate the Lightning Network that aims at making Bitcoin a viable option for faster and cheaper global payments.

How long will the integration take?

The crypto exchange had been exploring adding support for the Lightning Network since early August. On Wednesday, Brian Armstrong – its Chief Executive wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

We’ve made decision to integrate Lightning. Bitcoin is most important asset in crypto and we’re excited to do our part to enable faster/cheaper Bitcoin transactions.

He did not reveal how long the integration will likely take, though.

The announcement arrives more than a month after Coinbase reported its financial results for the second quarter that handily topped Street estimates. At writing, shares of the crypto company are down close to 30% versus their year-to-date high.

Cathie Wood thumbs up Coinbase for the decision

Note that Coinbase Global is taking after Cash App – the mobile payment service of the California-based Block Inc. Reacting to its announcement today, Cathie Wood of Ark Invest wrote on X:

Coinbase’s integration with Lightning will give its 100 million users an on-ramp to faster and cheaper bitcoin transactions. Hats off to Coinbase!

Other notable names who have been vocal in their support for the Lightning Network include Michael Saylor – the Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy Inc.

The former president of PayPal – David Marcus also reiterated commitment this week to turning Bitcoin into a global payments network (find out more). The price of a BTC is currently about 20% below its year-to-date high.

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• The Federal Reserve has increased its benchmark rate from 0.25% to 5.25% over the past year.
• BitMEX co-founder believed that bondholders might seek more lucrative “risk assets,” such as Bitcoin.
• Bitcoin’s four-year cycles might be linked to central banks’ low-rate policies.

Challenging the conventional wisdom regarding the relationship between Bitcoin and interest rates, BitMEX co-founder and a well-known macro-analyst Arthur Hayes recently authored a blog post in which he argues that traditional economic logic would crumble under the immense debt burden of the US government.

Hayes said that “central banks and governments are grappling with the use of outdated economic theories to address the unique challenges of today.”

Hayes’ assertions come as the Federal Reserve increased its benchmark rate from 0.25% to 5.25% over the past year in an effort to curb inflation and maintain a 2% target. Although the Fed has succeeded in this endeavour, Hayes voiced concerns that inflation might persistently exceed expectations, given the substantial nominal GDP growth of 9.4% in Q3, contrasted with the 5% yield on 2-year US Treasury bonds.

GDP growth remains astonishingly high

In his analysis, Hayes highlighted that according to data from the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast, nominal GDP growth remained “astonishingly high.” Conventional economic theory would suggest that as the Fed raised rates, a credit-sensitive economy should falter. Indeed, this was evident in financial asset markets, including stocks and Bitcoin, which experienced a downturn in 2022, eroding government capital gains tax receipts.

However, this decline in tax revenue led to increased government deficits, which needed to be funded by issuing more bonds to repay existing debt. In the context of a high-interest-rate environment, this translated to higher interest payments to wealthy bondholders.

Hayes succinctly summarized this chain of events: “To summarize: as rates rise, the government pays more interest to the wealthy, the wealthy spend more on services, and GDP continues to grow.”

As long as the economy outpaces the government’s debt obligations, Hayes believed that bondholders might seek more lucrative “risk assets,” such as Bitcoin.

Efforts to combat inflation favour high-risk assets like Bitcoin

Hayes contended that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to combat inflation would ultimately favour “finite supply risk assets” like Bitcoin. In a recent blog post, Hayes argued that the Fed’s strategy was siphoning money from one part of the economy while injecting it into another. As long as the Fed’s approach to taming inflation remained uncertain, assets like Bitcoin were likely to experience long-term growth.

In a previous essay, Hayes had posited that Bitcoin would thrive in response to a tightening Fed, whose actions might inadvertently increase the money supply. He asserted, “If the Fed believes that it must raise interest rates and reduce its balance sheet to quell inflation, it’s essentially self-sabotaging.”

Generally, analysts perceive lower interest rates as beneficial for Bitcoin and other risk assets, as they create an environment where investors have room to speculate for potentially higher returns. In June, Coinbase analysts issued a report suggesting that Bitcoin’s four-year cycles might be linked to central banks’ low-rate policies.

Hayes acknowledged the positive influence of low rates on Bitcoin’s price, characterizing the asset’s relationship with central bank policy as a “positive convex relationship.” He concluded, “At the extremes, things become non-linear and sometimes binary. The US and the global economy are currently operating in such an extreme environment.”

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