FTT price falls amid liquidation claims

FTT price has dropped by more than 12% in the past seven days following some issues with a leaked Balance Sheet of FTX’s sister firm Alameda Research.

In particular, the leaked balance sheet showed an imbalance in Alameda’s financials and triggered fear among investors who have been withdrawing funds including stablecoins from FTX at an alarming rate.

Stablecoins worth more than $451 million have been withdrawn from the FTX exchange in the last seven days according to Nansen data.

What the leaked Balance Sheet showed

The leaked Balance Sheet showed that Alameda Research has $14.6 billion in assets and about $8 billion in liabilities including $7.4 billion worth of loans as of June 2022. Out of the listed assets Alameda owns $3.66 billion in “unlocked FTX token (FTT)” and $2.16 billion in FTT tokens as collateral.

Besides the imbalance, investors also fear that a huge portion of Alameda’s asset holdings is in FTT tokens rather than traditional assets like fiat currencies.

Alameda’s CEO Caroline Ellison later clarified via a tweet that the leaked balance sheet only showed part of the firm’s holding saying that Alameda has an additional $10 billion in assets. However, the clarification did not quell market responses and investors’ fears.

Binance planning to liquidate a huge sum of FTT tokens

Binance received $2.1 billion worth of BUSD stablecoin and FTT tokens when it exited from FTX equity in 2021. Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, has said that Binance is planning to liquidate a large sum of FTT tokens (more than $500 million worth of FTT) on the market.

For more details on Binance’s FTT token liquidation, you can read this: “Is FTX insolvent? Why is Binance selling FTT? – Deep Dive.

The increased stablecoin withdrawals and the impending FTT liquidation by Binance are expected to drive the price of the FTX token lower and investors are betting against the token.

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Huobi adds spot trading for 12 USDD pairs and launches zero-fee trading

Huobi has launched zero-fee trading for select assets in addition to launching spot trading for 12 USDD pairs that include Terra Classic (LUNC), Ripple (XRP), and Cardano (ADA). The zero-fee trading will however be for a limited time.

The move which is similar to Bybit’s zero trading campaign is aimed at encouraging Huobi’s customers to adopt the USD trading pairs after they were launched.

The 12 new USDD pairs

According to a press release and tweet from Huobi, the twelve newly introduced USDD pairs include the USD pairs of Ethereum Classic (ETC), Cardano (ADA), EOS (EOS), Ripple (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE), Terra Classic (LUNC), Polkadot (DOT), Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), NEAR Protocol (NEAR), ApeCoin (APE), Filecoin (FIL).

According to the exchange’s press release, the newly added crypto pairs will be available for spot trading starting November 8. Spot trading for ADA, APE, and DOGE pairs will start at 7 AM; for DOT, EOS, and ETC will start at 8 AM; for FIL, LUNC, and MATIC will start at 9 AM; and for  NEAR, SOL and XRP will start at 10 AM UTC+0.

Prior to the addition of the 12 pairs, Huobi users could only spot-trade 10 USDD pairs. The 12 new pairs bring the total number of USDD pairs for spot trading on Huobi to 22.

0 fee trading

Once the pairs are opened for spot trading, Huobi users can trade the pairs at zero fees until December 31, 15:59 (UTC).

The zero-fee campaign will give traders an opportunity of trading at no cost.

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This week in crypto: Instagram adds support for Polygon-powered NFTs

Meta announced this week that it would soon allow Instagram users to mint and sell Polygon-powered nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

Instagram users to mint and sell NFTs

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced this week that Instagram users would soon be able to mint and sell NFTs on the social media platform.

The social media giant added that users could mint, showcase and sell digital collections powered by NFTs on Polygon. Meta added that the move is designed to enable creators on Instagram monetise their work.

The feature will soon be available to a select group of creators in the United States, but Meta intends to expand it to more users and countries soon.

MoneyGram adds BTC, ETH, and LTC trading options to its app

MoneyGram, a publicly traded peer-to-pay payments company, announced earlier this week that it had added crypto investment tools to its mobile app. According to the company, its users in the United States can now buy, sell and hold bitcoin, ether and litecoin via its mobile app.

MoneyGram added that it intends to expand the list over the coming months as it looks to support more cryptocurrencies. 

Deribit exchange losses $28 million in a hack

Another week, another hack. This time, the victim is Deribit, the leading Bitcoin options exchange in the world. Deribit revealed earlier this week that it had suffered an exploit, resulting in a $28 million loss.

The exchange had to temporarily halt withdrawals on its platform while it investigated the matter. Deribit informed its users that its hot wallet was compromised, but client funds are safe, and the loss is covered by company reserves.

Santander UK imposes a £3,000 monthly limit on crypto-related transactions

The UK unit of the Santander bank announced earlier this week that it was imposing a monthly limit on cryptocurrency-related transactions.

According to the bank, customers will be limited to making crypto transactions worth £3,000 ($3,360) during a 30-day period. Furthermore, there is a £1,000 ($1,120) limit on individual crypto transactions for customers.

Santander UK claimed that it made this move to protect its customers from the effect of cryptocurrencies and help safeguard their wealth. While there is a limit to how much users can send from Santander to crypto exchanges, there is no set limit to how much they can receive from crypto exchanges.

Visa collaborates with Crypto.com to launch Visa Masters of Movement

Payment giant Visa partnered with Crypto.com to launch its Visa Masters of Movement ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022. 

Visa claims that its Masters of Movement is a first-of-its-kind hybrid experience featuring a pre-event NFT auction and immersive activation. The feature is designed for fans at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

The Visa Masters of Movement auction features digital art inspired by some of the iconic goals of some legendary footballers.

Kraken’s NFT marketplace goes live in beta

Crypto exchange Kraken announced earlier this week that its NFT marketplace went live in private beta. The marketplace is expected to offer customers access to more than 70 NFT collections across the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems in the beta launch.

Furthermore, customers can buy and sell Kraken custodied NFTs without incurring any gas fees. However, moving the NFTs off the Kraken platform will incur fees. 

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Your guide to getting started with MyConstant in 2022

MyConstant is a peer-to-peer lending service that works to connect investors and borrowers, which is based in the US. The platform offers a number of different investment products with generous interest rates, some reaching as much as 15% a year.

Investors can generate returns potentially higher than they would be able to through a conventional financial institution.

MyConstant launched an international developer group at the beginning of 2019 to create a stablecoin. This stablecoin, CONST, soon became fact. Then, the team moved to an area they believed had excellent potential: crypto-backed peer-to-peer loans.

How MyConstant works

The first step in investing through this platform is to create a suitable investment order. You can invest stablecoins or US dollars and select your interest rate. MyConstant lets users select the default option for a set investment term and a guaranteed match.

The next step is to deposit funds. You can do this by wire transfer or make a direct deposit. One option that’s recommended by the platform is Zelle. It is cheap, quick, and simple.

Investors can withdraw their funds after they are matched to a borrower, and the investment term has ended. It is free and simple to make withdrawals. Investors can convert their funds into stablecoins or US dollars or reinvest them.

MyConstant redistributes crypto funds among exchange partners after they are sent to its lending pool. Crypto loans offer exchange and swapping partners liquidity. Investors can get instant returns as interest is paid and compounded at regular intervals. They can also get a portion of the trading fees.

Key features

A few of MyConstant’s notable features include instant growth potential, no investment fees, passive income, and instant withdrawals. Evidence suggests that crypto funds have the potential to grow as soon as the investment is made.

While there might be network fees for sending crypto, MyConstant doesn’t charge you to deposit or invest.

The platform makes it possible to keep earning money between trades. Idle crypto can bring as much as 12.5% APY. You can withdraw your crypto whenever you need it.

The Instant Access feature, which brings 4% APY, lets people deposit funds with the platform online and earn interest, similar to what they would with a savings account.

It’s important to point out that Instant Access does not come with FDIC insurance coverage. You earn interest by giving the platform liquidity.

If you place the funds with Prime Trust, your deposit will not go into Instant Access by default. All deposits made to the platform are converted to CONST, MyConstant’s stablecoin.

You don’t need to maintain an account minimum to use Instant Access. You will get 4% APY on deposits in return.

The feature could be a flexible alternative investment with potentially better interest compared to conventional savings accounts. 

Pros

·         2-Factor authentication

·         Anytime withdrawals

·         No fees for depositing and withdrawing funds

·         Much higher APY than traditional savings option

Cons

·         Complex investment options

·         Confusing lending plans

·         Limited currency offering

Why should you sign up with MyConstant?

The platform offers a higher investment return than banks or similar institutions. You can choose between different investment options, which makes it a good choice for people of all experience levels.

Higher risk is inherent to crypto, but MyConstant is user-friendly and transparent. It is a good option for people willing to risk more to earn more. 

What makes My Constant unique?

Compared to similar platforms, MyConstant offers a higher level of security. It does this through the MyConstant Guarantee, a fund containing fiat and crypto worth a total of $10 million. The funds are stored in cold wallets and bank accounts.

You will be compensated for any losses by the MyConstant Guarantee if they occur while your funds are in the platform’s custody or in that of third parties. This also applies if the platform or the third party was at fault. 

The guarantee wouldn’t be effective if you don’t take the recommended measures to protect your assets or if severe market volatility occurs.

The guarantee applies to cyber risk, loss of private keys, and custodial risk. It does not apply in cases of market risk, default risk, or personal security risk. In other words, it won’t cover losses if your collateral is devalued. 

It will not be effective when a borrower doesn’t repay their loan, or you suffer identity theft, login data theft, theft of a 2FA device, etc.

The bottom line

New users might find the interface confusing initially, but it’s overall easy to navigate. MyConstant is a very well-known peer-to-peer lending platform that appeals to borrowers and lenders alike and has an average Trustpilot rating of 4.7/5.

Investors of all experience levels and backgrounds will enjoy their experience with this platform. The lack of deposit fees and the option to invest just $10 are two of the many things that appeal to users.

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Crypto market continues its recovery despite hacks: DappRadar’s October report

The cryptocurrency market cap rose to $1 trillion in October despite the $1 billion in losses recorded via hacks during the month.

DappRadar, the global app store for decentralised applications, revealed in its October report that the cryptocurrency market has continued its recovery, reaching a market cap of $1 trillion.

Last month, the number of industry Unique Active Wallets (UAW) for blockchain dapps reached 2.01 million per day on average, a 6.84% increase from September. This data suggests the industry’s resilience against the wider economic turmoil.

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have become an integral part of the digital asset space. DappRadar revealed that NFT trading volume decreased by 30% from September, reaching $662 million, the lowest amount recorded this year. 

However, despite the decrease in NFT trading volume, the unique traders count increased by 18% reaching 1.11 million.

Last month, OpenSea’s market dominance decreased by 8.3% compared to August. Furthermore, the platform’s NFT trading volume decreased 12.1% ($313 million) month-over-month, the lowest trading volume since July 2021. 

While the NFT space continues to shrink, the blockchain gaming sector continues to experience a surge in adoption. DappRadar revealed that the gaming sector had an average of 898,481 daily UAWs in October, making it one of the most promising web3 sectors.

The decentralised finance (DeFi) sector continues to recover in tandem with the broader crypto ecosystem. The sector recorded a 5.33% growth last month, reaching $83 billion. 

Ethereum remains the most popular chain with $51 billion TVL, a 9.52% growth from September. Comparing Ethereum to other blockchains, its dominance decreased from 69% in September to 61.97% in October. BNB takes second place with $8.3 billion in TVL, an 8.57% growth from September. The recent BNB Chain exploit didn’t affect the metric at all.

The cryptocurrency market continued its slow recovery last month, with the market cap finally reaching $1 trillion after weeks of poor performance. The report said;

“After the crypto market started to turn green on October 25, over $1.2 billion in short liquidations took place in around 24 hours. The crypto market finally broke free from the tight price range it had oscillated in since September.”

Altcoins were not left behind as they rallied excellently in October, led by Dogecoin (DOGE). DOGE ended the month at $0.12, a 50% increase in the past 30 days and six-month highs. This price increase was driven by Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter and Dogechain’s announcement of its future roadmap.

The recovery comes despite the record security hacks reported last month. According to the database of DeFi scams, hacks and exploits DEFIYIELD, this month saw the largest value of funds lost all year: $1.09 billion.

Cross-chain hacks represented 82% of the exploits reported last month. The biggest fraud this month is Francisco Valdevino da Silva, aka the “Bitcoin Sheikh.” 

Brazilian authorities revealed that he is suspected of having defrauded and laundered up to 4 billion Brazilian reals (about $766 million) from thousands of Brazilians and citizens from at least ten other countries. 

At the current pace, 2022 could likely surpass 2021 as the biggest year for crypto and blockchain hacking, despite the bear market. 

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