Kategorie: Crypto Markets

Daily headlines and news about crypto markets.

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Polygon (MATIC) hovers near key level ahead of Etrog upgrade

  • Polygon (MATIC) traded near $0.78 on Monday as the Ethereum scaling solution moved closer to its Etrog upgrade.
  • MATIC could breakout to above $1 if bulls hold key level, or likely retest the important support zone at $0.5.

Polygon (MATIC) price was trading near $0.78 on Monday as the Ethereum scaling solution moved closer to its Etrog mainnet upgrade.

The altcoin, which rose to above $0.79 amid a 20% spike in trading volume, was among the few cryptocurrencies in the top 20 by market cap to hover flat as Bitcoin retreated below $43k to mirror US stock declines.

MATIC outlook as Polygon eyes Etrog upgrade

Last month, Polygon Foundation announced a 10-day countdown to the activation of the Etrog upgrade on mainnet. 

As noted in a blog post, the upgrade is for Polygon zkEVM and is set to bring support for pre-compiled smart contracts. The release is expected to transform the zkEVM closer to a Type 2 ZK-EVM, – that is, an EVM-equivalent ZK rollup.

With the upgrade, developers can deploy their code on Polygon zkEVM just as they would on Ethereum. According to the Polygon Foundation, devs only need to “copy-paste and go, no modifications necessary.”

The 10-day countdown for the upgrade means the expected mainnet release is on Tuesday, February 6.

Ahead of this milestone, MATIC price rose from an intraday low of $0.76 to $0.79 before retesting the support area amid today’s broader crypto lull.

If a breakout materializes in coming days and weeks, the Polygon token could target an extended run above the psychological $1 level. A breakdown however could push MATIC/USD to the 2023 support base around $0.5.

The post Polygon (MATIC) hovers near key level ahead of Etrog upgrade appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Tether leads $25M round for crypto payments firm Oobit

  • Tether led the $25 million Series A round for crypto payments firm Oobit.
  • Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko also backed the platform’s investment round.

Oobit, a mobile payments firm that allows users to pay with crypto, has raised $25 million in its Series A funding round. 

Stablecoin issuer Tether led the crypto platform’s funding round, which also attracted the backing of CMCC Global, 468 Capital and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.

The financing will help Oobit continue its development as it looks to achieve mainstream adoption, Tether noted in a press release.

“Tether’s strategic investment in Oobit underscores our unwavering dedication to welcoming new users into the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. 

He added: “Our support is founded on a mutual vision to drive the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies on a global scale. Oobit, in our perspective, stands as a catalyst, breaking down barriers and facilitating frictionless transactions for crypto holders worldwide.”

With Oobit, crypto holders can easily pay for goods and services at more than 100 million retail points globally. Oobit’s Tap & Pay feature, which accepts Visa and Mastercard, uses NFC (near-field communication) to enable contactless payments, with users accessing tokenized payments that allow for merchants to convert crypto to fiat in real time.

The platform also targets growth across the financial space with third-party wallet integrations.

Following today’s news, the price of native Oobit token OBT soared by more than 30% to reach highs of $0.105.

The post Tether leads $25M round for crypto payments firm Oobit appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Binance lists Ronin (RON) as Pullix (PLX) eyes beta launch

  • Binance announced it would list Ronin (RON) on February 5, 2024.
  • Pullix has revealed major updates, including its registration as an exchange provider.
  • PLX token presale has reached stage 7, which means Pullix is on track for its beta launch and market debut.

Ronin (RON), the native token of the Web3 gaming platform Ronin Network, is among tokens seeing significant price action today. The increased activity around the cryptocurrency comes as major crypto exchange Binance announced the listing of the RON token.

Elsewhere, investors are fully focused on the upcoming launch of hybrid exchange Pullix (PLX), whose token sale is currently in stage 7 of 8. The latest updates from the Pullix team have the community extremely excited.

Binance announces Ronin (RON) listing

Binance announced on Monday that it will list Ronin (RON) at 13:30 UTC on February 5, 2024. According to the exchange, spot trading pairs available to traders will be RONIN/BTC, RONIN/USDT, RONIN/FDUSD and RONIN/TRY.

Amid this announcement, Ronin price shot to highs of $3.51 across exchanges. Data from CoinGeko shows the EVM-compatible blockchain platform’s native token rose to levels last seen in February 2022. The token was trading about 33% from its all-time high of $4.29 reached in January 2022 at around 10:50 UTC on Monday.

Ronin’s recent surge coupled with today’s announcement has however coincided with an uptick in profit taking from holders. The price is therefore likely to revisit support levels in the $2.50 to $2.00 region – a scenario that will strengthen if RON/USD breaks fails to establish $2.80 as a support level.

Pullix on cusp of major milestone

Pullix is a new hybrid exchange targeting the exponential growth anticipated for the DeFi ecosystem. 

With its presale seeing astronomical interest that has accelerated in the past few weeks, the project has released an update that has the DeFi community thrilled.

In particular, it’s the announcement that Pullix will soon launch in beta, bringing the best of centralized exchanges like Binance and decentralized exchanges like Uniswap, dYdX to users. When the project hits this milestone, the market will have access to a hybrid exchange infrastructure that offers a solution to one major problem bedeviling the DeFi sector – liquidity.

Pullix will incentivize users to provide liquidity, while the hybrid model will allow for a robust security platform where users remain in control of their assets’ private keys. 

More than that, this exchange offers institutional-grade trading tools and a unique revenue-sharing mechanism that gives 30% of all exchange revenue to users in a daily payout.

Should you buy Pullix (PLX) today?

Ahead of its official beta launch, Pullix has provided key updates. In a post on the official X account, the team revealed Pullix had received offshore regulatory approval.

Also notable is its team’s progress with the trading technology, which puts the project on track for a website upgrade and demo. Developers have also worked on the staking and token burn dashboards, which are ready ahead of PLX presale conclusion. The beta launch will follow, paving the way for Pullix’s entry into the market.

The launch will see the DeFi ecosystem benefit from a platform that offers institutional-level liquidity, security and tools, including AI based trading and copy trading. It will also open up the PLX token as an investment, with traction aiding upside momentum for PLX.

Pullix has raised over $4.9 million with the PLX token currently priced at $0.1 in the penultimate presale stage. It’s a level that offers what could still be a major opportunity.

The post Binance lists Ronin (RON) as Pullix (PLX) eyes beta launch appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Germany’s DZ Bank set to pilot crypto trading

  • DZ Bank, Germany’s 2nd largest, will pilot crypto trading for cooperative banks.
  • The initiative aims to meet rising customer demand for direct access to cryptocurrencies.
  • DZ Bank’s move reflects a broader trend of traditional banks embracing digital assets amid institutional adoption.

Germany’s DZ Bank, the country’s second-largest financial institution serving approximately 700 cooperative lenders, has announced plans to roll out a cryptocurrency trading pilot later this year. The pilot aims to provide customers with direct access to a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, without the need for financial advice.

The initiative aligns with the bank’s commitment to innovation and meeting the growing demand for digital asset investment options. It also aligns with the broader trend of traditional banks embracing digital assets to meet the evolving demands of their customer base

DZ Bank’s crypto trading pilot program

According to the bank’s plan, each of the 700 cooperative banks associated with DZ Bank will have the autonomy to decide whether to offer cryptocurrency trading to their customers. This approach reflects the findings of a study by Genoverband, which indicates significant interest among banks in providing cryptocurrency solutions.

The initial plan involved partnering with DWP Bank for the cryptocurrency trading pilot, although there are speculations that new partners could join the venture.

DZ Bank’s foray into cryptocurrency trading follows its release of a cryptocurrency custody platform in November leveraging Ripple’s technology solution to offer secure storage and processing of digital assets. DZ Bank had previously announced its partnership with Swiss custody tech firm Metaco before it was acquired by Ripple.

While the bank awaits a crypto custody license from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), its collaboration with Metaco demonstrates a strategic approach to navigating regulatory requirements while innovating in the digital asset space.

Moreover, DZ Bank’s move to roll out a crypto trading pilot program comes at a time when institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies is on the rise globally. Institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity securing approval for spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications in the US underscores the growing acceptance of digital assets within the mainstream financial sector.

The post Germany’s DZ Bank set to pilot crypto trading appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Astar Network announces mainnet launch for its Polygon-powered zkEVM

  • Astar zkEVM mainnet is set to go live this month.
  • A launch campaign dubbed “Yoki Origins” will commence immediately after the zkEVM mainnet

Astar Network, a multi-chain smart contracts and Web3 infrastructure platform, has announced the mainnet launch of Astar zkEVM, a new Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum. Astar zKEVM is a zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine- compatible L2 powered by Polygon’s Chain Development Kit (CDK).

Popular in Japan and expanding across the globe, Astar Network, is the cross-virtual machine network that leverages Polygon and Polkadot technologies. 

The platform revealed plans for the Astar zkEVM mannet launch last month, highlighting the benefits that compatibility with Ethereum smart contracts, toolset and wallets will bring to its growing community.

Astar zkEVM to go live in late February

According to Astar Network’s press release today, the new zkEVM L2 is expected to go live later this month, with its launch bringing a secure, scalable and gas-efficient blockchain platform to Web3 projects and enterprises.

Already, Polygon-based DEX platform Quickswap, omnichain interoperability protocol LayerZero, blockchain data indexing protocol The Graph and Rarible, an aggregated NFT marketplace, are some of the top projects that currently tap into Astar zkEVM.

Several leading Japan-based enterprises are also set to integrate with Astar zkEVM.

“Astar Network is proud to be an early pioneer in the use of Polygon’s zero-knowledge technology and Chain Development Kit to enter the Ethereum ecosystem. Astar zkEVM will establish a bridge between Japan and the broader web3 ecosystem, with projects by top Japanese enterprises, famous IPs, and prominent industries to be unveiled soon,” Maarten Henskens, Head of Astar Network, said.

Yoki Origins – the Astar zkEVM mainnet launch campaign

Astar Network plans to roll out an incentive program dubbed ‘Yoki Origins’ immediately after the zkEVM platform goes live.

Yoki Origins launch campaign

The campaign program intends to provide access to Astar Network’s original characters, which are inspired by Japanese Yokais “Yokis. With over 40 Web3 projects, creators and enterprises involved, the campaign will be a big chance for users to explore and interact across the Astar zkEVM platform.

As well as acquiring Yokis, users will have an opportunity to grab artwork by various artists, builders and enterprises. Users can acquire Yokis via Capsule Machines, or “Yo-Ports”.

According to Astar, ”Yoki Origins” will support social logins as well credit card payments, making it possible for anyone to join and participate.

Commenting on the launch campaign aims to achieve, Henskens, noted:

“The Astar zkEVM launch campaign “Yoki Origins” will help demonstrate the extent of our ecosystem’s reach, while celebrating our Japanese origins in a way that’s uniquely Astar.” 

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