Kategorie: Crypto Markets

Ethereum (ETH) price fell alongside other cryptocurrencies and equities following hawkish remarks by the US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

By the close of stock markets Friday, Ethereum was down 9%, near $1,555 per token with bears looking to break towards $1,500. The dip happened after downside pressure late afternoon had seen the ETH/USD pair snap below $1,600 – the losses mirroring Bitcoin (BTC), which broke below $21,000 to touch intraday lows of $20,620.

Ethereum and the merge factor

Ethereum’s losses on Friday helped push the altcoin to lows last seen in late July, when ETH/USD traded in the $1,400 range. But while it remains well above its mid-June sell-off floor, the current weakness comes amid a largely positive period for the smart contracts platform.

Ethereum developers this week confirmed the “Merge”, a highly anticipated event for the network, will happen in mid-September.

The number of $ETH deposits into the Beacon chain contract is now at a stable but macro low of 220 deposits/day.

This may signify a stable holding pattern is been reached, as investors await a successful Merge, scheduled for mid-September.

Live Chart: https://t.co/uVDy2zfZBr pic.twitter.com/rmXoSKAqr0

— glassnode (@glassnode) August 23, 2022

While ETH deposits into the Beacon Chain have slowed down, the community is upbeat about possibilities for the Ethereum blockchain, and consequently for the price of Ether.

But even as many analysts see the “Merge” as the catalyst that could trigger the next market cycle, there are calls that the market has already priced in the event.

Wall Street plummets on Fed Chair remarks

Stocks also fell after Powell said at the Jackson Hole symposium that the central bank had a job to do and that they would keep at it “till it’s done.”

He told the forum that the Fed needed to maintain its aggressive approach if it were to succeed in restoring price stability. The Fed Chair noted that it wasn’t time yet for the central bank to adopt a loosening policy.

His remarks appear to have spooked markets, with S&P 500 slipping more than 3%, the Nasdaq Composite fell nearly 4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 1,000 points.

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• Bitcoin price fell sharply on Friday to break below $21,000 following remarks by Jerome Powell.
• The downside followed a similar reaction on Wall Street, with S&P 500 falling 2%.
• Powell said in his Jackson Hole speech that the Fed would remain aggressive till the “job is done.”

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) retreated below $21,000 on Friday afternoon, touching lows of around $20,700 at the time of writing.

The declines, which follow US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech, could see the cryptocurrency’s price retest support levels at $20,000 or lower.

Fed to keep raising rates

The Jackson Hole symposium, which brings together central bankers, economists and other key policymakers, is an annual event that has often come with increased market volatility around highly anticipated commentary.

So, after Powell maintained a hawkish stance, reiterating that the central bank will raise interest rates “until the job is done” on inflation, both stocks and cryptocurrencies – risky assets – have dipped sharply.

The S&P 500 is down 2%, the Nasdaq has shed nearly 2.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has declined more than 500 points, or -1.6%.

Bitcoin price is down nearly 4% and looks vulnerable to new losses to the main support level at $20K, which analysts see as very important to bulls’s short term plans.

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The Giving Block is a platform specifically catering to non-profit organizations. It is a solution for charities that makes accepting Bitcoin donations easy. Bitcoin has become very popular among younger users.

The platform’s goal is to educate its customers on the best crypto fundraising strategies and provide them with the tools they need to contact the most dynamically growing donor demographic in the world.

How it works

The user connects with the Giving Block’s expert team, sets up a widget and cryptocurrency donation page, and starts accepting donations. The platform’s widget is unique.

It also features automated tax receipts for donors, access to a client dashboard, support for more than 70 cryptocurrencies, expert support, the option to automatically hold donations or convert them to cash, and details about crypto fundraising strategies.

The Giving Block not only sets users up to accept crypto donations but also helps them raise funds actively. The platform supports neither low-quality cryptos nor unregistered charities and provides support following setup.

At the moment, the Giving Block’s featured fundraising projects are the Ukraine Emergency Response Fund in support of entities giving Ukraine humanitarian aid and Women & Girls Empowerment, which supports NPOs empowering girls and women across the globe. 

Another featured project is LGBTQIA+ Impact, which helps NPOs working with this community.

Other supported projects include environmental organizations, mission-driven organizations, education, well-being, and faith-based organizations. The full list of projects can be viewed at https://thegivingblock.com/donate/.

Key features

The Giving Block makes it possible to accept crypto donations, raise funds, and donate to many charities in different sectors. Major cryptos are donated to schools, charities, and other non-profits.

The Giving Block’s private client services target institutions, high-net-worth individuals, and advisors, making them unique in this area. They help clients develop corporate donation programs via non-profit partnerships and matches.

Donations can be converted to fiat automatically. The donation widget is based on copy and paste, making it very easy to use. Donors get automatic receipts.

Users of the platform can take part in various exciting campaigns, like BitcoinTuesday, and grow a crypto donor audience on social media.

Pros

The Giving Block’s software allows donors to stay anonymous and donate crypto according to their schedule. 

The website layout itself is clean and straightforward. The platform has a comprehensive database of many different non-profits that need donations. 

The site is very user-friendly. You click on the non-profit’s name and get a short but informative description of what it does.

Cons

A user on Capterra complained it was hard to get the details needed for a Gemini bank account. They added that every other element was like the classic web plugin.

Another disadvantage that has been mentioned is the relative unpredictability of the flow of cryptocurrency revenue. Usually, donations are linked to special events. The donation’s equivalent in US dollars is also hard to see when mixed with other funds in a cash transfer.

Why should you sign up with the Giving Block?

If you want to make or receive a donation in crypto, you’ll be glad to know the Giving Block features an easy setup, reliable support, and good fundraising results.

You’ll never be in a situation where you find donations blocked, open up the wrong account, can’t convert to cash, etc. 

The platform is safe, fast, and straightforward. The Giving Block has an experienced, high-quality support team with years of experience helping non-profits and their donors.

The Giving Block holds campaigns to drive more donors to the organizations that sign up with the platform. It also provides them with resources to integrate into their marketing.

What makes the Giving Block unique?

While the Giving Block isn’t the only crypto donation service in the world, it’s probably the best crypto donation solution. 

Its well-devised ecosystem for charities and non-profits to fundraise Bitcoin and altcoins helps them get funds instantly, be found by crypto donors, and even become part of a media network to support their missions.

The bottom line

The Giving Block does a better job than other platforms at integrating and promoting its users. They offer top-grade support and encourage new users to venture into a novel revenue stream. Their advice on page setup and other technicalities is irreplaceable. 

The post An objective review of the Giving Block 2022 appeared first on CoinJournal.

Ripio, an Argentinian crypto firm, has unveiled a Visa card in Brazil that allows users to pay using cryptocurrencies and in return earn cashback rewards in bitcoin (BTC). The Visa card is a prepaid debit card and shall be used with any merchant that accepts Visa payments.

According to a statement by Ripio, the newly launched Visa Card will allow users to use all 28 cryptocurrencies that are listed on Ripio’s crypto exchange platform.

Ripio’s Visa Card adds to the long list of partnerships that Visa has managed to ink in Latin America. In June, Visa announced that it had partnered with multiple crypto players and neobanks to launch similar card products.

250,000 Visa Cards up for grabs

Ripio aims at issuing about 250,000 Visa Cards before the year ends. In the long term, Ripio aims to entice its 1 million Brazilian customers to make use of the Visa Card.

The Visa Card will be available as a physical plastic card (similar to the one issued by banks), or as a digital card that can be used using a smartphone.

Additionally, card users can choose to also pay in fiat currency besides cryptocurrencies. In either way (whether paying in crypto or fiat) the user gets a 5% BTC cashback on all purchases. The cashback rewards will however not be distributed until late October after which they will be capped at $50 monthly.

Ripio has however indicated that it is looking at the possibility of offering altcoin rewards in future. The company is also planning to launch the Visa Card in Argentina before the end of the year.

Generally, Ripio’s Visa Card intends to link users’ fiat and crypto wallets.

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Cardano (ADA) price started the day on a high note after jumping 3% following a recent tweet by Adam Dean, one of the IOHK developers, confirming that the Cardano Vasil Hard Fork may be coming sooner than expected.

According to Dean’s tweet, Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) running the 1.35.3 node now account for 63% of blocks according to a 12-hour chart data on PoolTool. This comes after the IOHK confirmed in a tweet confirmed the target of 75% block production on the 1.35.3 node for the much-awaited Vasil Hard Fork on the Cardano mainnet to be implemented.

Cardano’s price shot by more than 3% to a high of $0.48 just about 2 hours after Adam Dean.

The Vasil Hard Fork has seen continuous delays with the latest delay happening in July. The delays were caused by bugs in nodes 1.35.0 and 1.35.2. Some community members have also criticized IOHK for what they say is a rush to deploy the 1.35 node despite a bug being found on node 1.35.2.

Nodes running the Cardano mainnet

At the moment, 57% of 1.35.3 nodes are running the Cardano mainnet and developers have successfully tested the 1.35.3 node and component integration and some significant bugs have been identified.  There are also a total of 9 minor bugs in the backlog.

Besides a 75% block production on the 1.35.3 node, two other requirements are required for the Vasil Hard Fork to take place. the first is at least 24 exchanges upgrading the node to provide 80% of liquidity and the second is top 10 DApps testing against node 1.35.3 during the pre-production testnet.

So far Binance and other crypto exchanges have announced upgrading the 1.35.3 Cardano node. 4 top DApps have also confirmed testing against node 1.35.3.

Cardano’s Vasil Hard Fork benefits

The Vasil Hard Fork is aimed at improving Cardano’s security, smart contract performance, and scalability.

It will also allow developers to build more secure and efficient decentralized applications on the Cardano Network.

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