Kategorie: Ethereum News

The conflict between Ukraine and Russia is still in full swing after more than a month. From the start of the battle, cryptocurrency has been proving itself as a means of supporting the people and military. Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum, has decided to stop sitting on the sidelines and donate $5 million (3.8 million pounds) to Ukraine.

More precisely, Buterin has donated 750 Ethereum (ETH) to Unchain Fund, a charity set up by blockchain activists. Unchain Fund was established to help Ukraine on a humanitarian front. In addition to 750 ETH for Unchain Fund, Buterin also transferred 750 ETH to Aid For Ukraine. This fund was set up by the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation. Aid For Ukraine has announced via Twitter that it is very happy with the donation of 2.5 million dollars (1.89 million pounds) from the generous Buterin.

Buterin remains humble

It is to Vitalik Buterin’s credit that he himself has not disclosed anything about the donations. The only reason we know about the donations is because of the funds’ acknowledgements and its Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain ‘vitalik.eth’ that contains the donations.

Thanks to the gift from the founder of Ethereum, crypto donations now exceed 100 million dollars (75 million pounds). In particular, the Ukrainian government, the NGO fund Come Back Alive, UkraineDAO, Unchain Fund, Aid for Ukraine and Cyberpolice Ukraine have received a lot of funding from the crypto community.

What are the donations used for?

The money is used for various purposes by the Ukrainian government and charities. The military and humanitarian initiatives, among others, benefit from the generosity of the crypto community. Cryptocurrency donations are proving to be a simple and fast way to come to the rescue in an emergency.

International payments via cryptocurrencies do not require the intervention of financial institutions and arrive directly at their destination. However, the money must then be converted into fiat money to buy stuff from it. After all, we are not yet at the point where you can pay with bitcoin and ethers everywhere.

Interestingly, the first bitcoin donations started coming in on February 8. At that time, the threat from Russia was already increasing and Ukrainian volunteers and hacker organizations decided to send some support to Ukraine.

Bitcoin price up 35% in the month after invasion

In the month after the Russian army invaded Ukraine, the bitcoin price has risen by 35 percent. It shows that bitcoin is now able to defend itself well in times of major geopolitical turmoil and troubling macroeconomic conditions.

That being said, the bitcoin price is currently experiencing some downtimes. After an upturn to USD 48,000 (£36,400), we are now back below $45,000 (£34,000). Although there are some exciting things planned for Bitcoin 2022 today that can potentially boost the price. In particular, today’s presentation of Samson Mow at 4:45 PM promises to be a blast, according to the speaker.

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Cryptocurrencies are becoming popular among both retail and institutional investors. There are now thousands of coins that are valued at over $2 trillion. In this article, we will look at ten of the safest cryptocurrencies to buy. The idea is to look at those that have staying power in the coming years to determine the safest crypto to invest in!

1. Chainlink (LINK)

Chainlink is a leading blockchain project that helps other developers to integrate off-chain data with the on-chain ecosystem. For example, a decentralized finance (DeFi) developer can bring data on cryptocurrencies to their platforms. It is also possible to bring data on weather and sports in the industry.

Today, Chainlink is widely used by most developers like AAVE, Anchor Protocol, and Uniswap. According to DeFi Llama, it has a total value secured (TVS) of over $60 billion. LINK, its native coin has a market cap of over $7.6 billion. 

Chainlink is a safe cryptocurrency because of its special role in the industry and its substantial market share in the sector.

Learn how to buy Chainlink with our in-depth guide or invest with our recommended platform below.

2. Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is one of the safest cryptocurrencies to invest in. It is a layer 1 network that has created a platform where developers can build and optimize their networks. While Ethereum is facing a lot of competition, its market share in all sub-sectors like gaming, non-fungible tokens (NFT), and DeFi have been strong.

Ethereum is expected to gain more market share in the coming years as it completes its transition to a proof-of-stake network. The developers are also implementing sharding technology that will make it faster and lower its transaction costs. All these make Ethereum a good cryptocurrency to invest in.

Learn how to buy Ethereum with our in-depth guide or invest with our recommended platform below.

3. Terra (LUNA)

Terra is a giant in the blockchain industry. Terra is another platform that enables developers to build dApps. Some of the biggest apps built in the ecosystem are Anchor Protocol, Lido, and Astroport. According to DeFi Llama, all DeFi apps built-in Terra have a total value locked (TVL) of over $25 billion.

Terra is also known for its algorithmic stablecoins such as Terra USD, which has a market cap of over $16.7 billion. Lido, which is built-in Terra also has Lido Staked Ether, which is valued at over $10 billion. Therefore, there is a likelihood that LUNA prices will keep rising in the coming years.

Learn how to buy Terra with our in-depth guide or invest with our recommended platform below.

4. Cosmos Hub (ATOM)

Cosmos is another popular safe cryptocurrency. It is a leading platform that helps to improve the communication of various digital currencies. It achieves this through Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol. According to its website, it now has over 262 cryptocurrencies with over $170 billion in assets. 

Cosmos also has an SDK that hosts some of the most popular platforms like Terra, ThorChain, and Osmosis, Therefore, as the ecosystem grows, there is a likelihood that the ATOM token will keep rising.

5. The Graph (GRT)

The Graph is a blockchain project that provides developers with APIs that help them index their networks. Developers can submit these subgraphs at any time. As a result, The Graph is often seen by Google in the industry. It has been embraced by most developers such as Audius, UMA, LivePeer, Synthetix, and Curve Finance, among others.

The Graph is a safe cryptocurrency because of how widely used it is and the fact that it has minimal competition in the industry. GRT, its native token, is valued at over $2.8 billion.

6. Avalanche (AVAX)

Avalanche is a smart contract platform that offers a better development platform than Ethereum. It is well-known for its blazingly fast transaction speeds and low costs. In a short period of time, Avalanche has attracted hundreds of developers from around the world. 

Some of the projects built on the platform are AAVE, Trader Joe, BENQI, and Stargate. In total, it has a total value locked (TVL) of over $10 billion. This makes it the fourth-biggest platform in the industry after Ethereum, Terra, and BNB. Therefore, there is a possibility that Avalanche price will keep rising in the coming years. 

7. Cronos (CRO)

Cronos is one of the safest cryptocurrencies to invest in. It was formerly known as Crypto.com Coin. As the name suggests, Cronos was started by Crypto.com, one of the biggest exchanges in the world. 

Cronos’ mainnet was launched in 2022 and has seen a strong performance. Its DeFi ecosystem has a TVL of over $4 billion, making it the 9th biggest platform in the industry. Some of the top apps built using Cronos are MM Finance, VVS Finance, MM Optimizer, and Tectonic among others. 

Therefore, because of its strong adoption, there is a likelihood that the CRO price will continue doing well in the coming years. 

8. Basic Attention Token (BAT)

Basic Attention Token (BAT) is the native token for Brave browser, a leading web 3.0 platform. The token is used to pay Brave users for interacting with its adverts. These users can also decide to contribute their earnings to publishers they love. Some of the top publishers in the ecosystem are firms like New York Times and TechCrunch. Brave has over 50 million users globally. 

BAT is a safe cryptocurrency to invest in because of the growing popularity of Brave and the fact that the company will keep attracting new advertisers as the number of users increase.

9. Sandbox (SAND)

Sandbox is a leading metaverse platform in the blockchain. The platform has a number of useful features. For example, users can buy virtual plots in the ecosystem. They can also buy other forms of non-fungible tokens (NFT) on the platform. 

Further, Sandbox regularly hosts events where users are rewarded using the BAT token. Therefore, because it is in a pole position, there is a possibility that the SAND token will keep rising in the coming years.

10. Solana (SOL)

Solana is another Ethereum-killer that hopes to dominate the industry. It is a well-funded platform that has faster speeds and lower costs. As a result, it has been embraced by many developers. Some of the projects in its ecosystem are Serum, Marinade Finance, Solend, and Raydium. In total, these apps have a total value locked of over $7.6 billion. Solana is a safe cryptocurrency because of its growing ecosystem.

The post 10 Safest Cryptocurrencies to Invest in 2022 appeared first on Coin Journal.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has announced plans to offer over-the-counter (OTC) Ethereum (ETH) options trading. According to the bank’s global head Andrei Kazantsev, the decision to offer Ethereum OTC options trading is pegged on rising customer interest in Ethereum, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

On Tuesday in a Goldman Sachs Client Webinar, Andrei claimed that the Wall Street giant has plans to sell cash-settled Ethereum options in “due time.” The bank has not given a specific timeline of when it plans to start the OTC ETH options trading.

The plans for ETH options come right on the heels of Goldman Sachs starting to offer OTC Bitcoin options. It started offering Bitcoin options last month.

Demand for crypto options by investors

There has been an increased demand for options trading by crypto investors since they use them to increase profits and reduce risk.

Secondly, over-the-counter transactions are normally larger trades and they are arranged secretly.

During the webinar, an associate in Goldman’s digital-assets unit called George Lewin-Smith noted that the conversations among clients had shifted to Ethereum, which is now seen as “more of an investable asset class.”

Besides options trading, Goldman Sachs currently does not offer spot crypto trading. It however provides access to Canadian and European exchange-traded goods that clients can use as a proxy.

Ethereum (ETH) performance

After passing the last significant test as it presses toward its long-awaited software upgrade dupped “The Merge,” the price of Ethereum (ETH) has risen by more than 32%.

If successful, ‘The Merge’ shall be the most important technical upgrade since Ethereum was launched in 2015. The main aim of the upgrade is to reduce Ethereum’s carbon footprint while also improving the blockchain’s scalability and efficiency.

The post Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to provide OTC Ether options trading appeared first on Coin Journal.

While LUNA has strong fundamentals, ETH has bigger news short-term 

• Terra is one of the fastest-growing platform blockchains in the market, and its TVL is rocketing. 

• Ethereum is the number one platform blockchain and is in the process of moving to POS.

• With the transition to Eth 2.0 almost done, Ethereum has better prospects than LUNA in the short term. 

Terra LUNA/USD has emerged from the shadows to become one of the largest platform blockchains of 2022. As recently as January 2021, not many people knew about LUNA. However, it now outranks many other blockchains and is only second to Ethereum in terms of Total Value Locked. LUNA’s success is linked to the growing adoption of UST and other algorithmic stable coins built on the Terra blockchain. With the adoption of these stable coins on a growth trajectory, LUNA’s value is uniquely positioned to explode going forward. This makes it one of the highest potential cryptocurrencies to keep an eye on in 2022.

On its part, Ethereum ETH/USD continues to be the most significant player in the platform blockchains market. The majority of smart contracts run on the Ethereum blockchain. While people constantly complain about Ethereum’s lack of scalability and high fees, Ether is unlikely to be dethroned anytime soon. This has a lot to do with its security and the fact that it can’t be censored. Essentially, Ethereum is the perfect platform for anyone seeking to run decentralized applications that can be counted on to run properly. 

Which one is a better buy?

Both LUNA and ETH will likely perform well in 2022 and for years to come. However, ETH looks like a much better bet in the very short term. That’s because it has more big news coming up compared to LUNA. Recently, the testnet merge of Ethereum was completed, an indicator that the much-awaited shift to Ethereum 2.0 is almost over. It is largely expected that the full transition will happen by mid this year. Once this happens, the FOMO it will create could see ETH rally for the rest of the year.

Summary 

Both LUNA and ETH are excellent investments to hold in 2022. Comparatively, though, Ethereum has better prospects in the short term. The odds are in its favor due to the much-awaited finalization of the transition to Ethereum 2.0.

The post Why Ethereum is a better buy than LUNA in the short term appeared first on Coin Journal.

Cryptocurrencies had a relatively successful March even after the Federal Reserve embraced a more hawkish tone and the crisis in Ukraine escalated. The yield curve also inverted, signaling that a recession could be on the way. Here are some of the top cryptocurrencies to buy in April. 

1. Ripple (XRP)

XRP has had a successful past few weeks as its price jumped from the year-to-date low of $0.5482 to a multi-month high of $0.90. The main catalyst for the coin was the ongoing case between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs. The two sides had some minor wins in March and there is uncertainty about the outcome of the case.

Analysts expect that the court will deliver its verdict in April. Regardless of what happens, there is a likelihood that XRP will do well. In most situations, such cases tend to end with a settlement or a punishment. Meanwhile, looking at the chart below, XRP remains steady above the 25-day and 50-day moving averages and is attempting to move above the resistance at $0.9153. If this happens, it will be a signal that bulls have prevailed.

Buy {XRP} here! >

2. Cardano (ADA)

Cardano has been an embattled cryptocurrency as investors worried about its ecosystem. The main concern was that many developers were not embracing the network to build decentralized applications. 

This changed in March as the number of active platforms in its ecosystem rose. The most successful one was MinSwap, a decentralized exchange. According to DeFi Llama, its total value locked (TVL) jumped to over $200 million. The TVL of Cardano’s ecosystem also rose to $338 million. 

Therefore, the strength of its ecosystem and the fact that many investors felt that Cardano was undervalued helped it to do well in March. This trend will likely continue in April now that the 25-day and 50-day moving averages have made a bullish crossover.

3. Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum also had a successful March as the developers pushed the new version of the network to a testnet in the kiln network. Also, the platform received praise from central banks in South Africa and Australia. 

Therefore, Ethereum price will be in the spotlight in April this year as investors wait for the merge when the two versions will be combined. This merge will usher in a new era where Ethereum will be much faster and its cost significantly cheaper. 

Technicals are also supportive of ETH. In the daily chart, the coin managed to move above the upper side of the triangle pattern while the 25-day and 50-day EMAs made a crossover. It also crossed the psychological level of $3,000.

4. Avalanche (AVAX)

Avalanche, like other altcoins, also had a successful March as its price rose to the highest level since February 16th. The performance was driven by the overall expansion of its network. For example, the total value locked (TVL) in its DeFi ecosystem rose to over $10 billion, making it the fourth-biggest platform in the world.

Avalanche’s network growth is mostly because of the quality of the network and the multi-million dollar rush program. In March, the developers unveiled another $250 million program targeting the metaverse industry. This being the largest such fund, there is a likelihood that more developers will embrace it. 

The AVAX token is approaching the important resistance at $99.01, which was the highest level in February. A move above this price will see the coin rising above the next psychological level of $100.

5. Cronos (CRO)

Cronos, formerly known as Crypto.com Coin, is one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrencies in the world. While the CRO token has been around for a while, the network’s mainnet went live in February and has become incredibly successful. 

According to DeFi Llama, the network has a total value locked (TVL) of over $3.6 billion, making it the 9th biggest platform in the industry. Some of the most active DeFi apps in its ecosystem are VVS Finance, MM Finance, and Tectonic among others. Therefore, there is a likelihood that the network will continue expanding in April.

Technically, it has moved above the Ichimoku cloud while the 25-day and 50-day EMAs have made a bullish crossover, which is a bullish factor.

6. VeChain (VET)

VeChain was once one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world. This changed after China started its crackdown of digital currencies. There was also a lack of clarity about what VeChain does and its ecosystem.

VET rebounded in March as investors rushed to the so-called fallen angels. It also rose after the developers launched the VEUSD stablecoin and other tools. Because of its former popularity and the fact that technicals are supportive, there is a likelihood that it will keep rising. It has already found a strong support at $0.042, moved above the moving averages, and the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level.

7. Monero (XMR)

Monero is a leading privacy-focused cryptocurrency valued at over $3.987 billion. The coin also performed well in March as investors priced-in more demand because of cybercrime. While no major hack happened in March, the Biden administration has warned that Russia was planning major attacks. 

Therefore, there is a likelihood that such an attack will happen in April and that hackers will demand Monero, which is a safer alternative to Bitcoin. Also, the fact that XMR is undervalued is a good catalyst. 

From a technical perspective, it is above the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level while moving averages are also supportive.

8. Velas (VLX)

Velas is a layer 1 project that seeks to become a better alternative to Ethereum. It is a relatively small platform but analysts believe it will gain traction in the coming months. The VLX token had a relatively positive month in March as the new Formula 1 season started. This was a notable thing since Velas is one of the biggest Ferrari sponsors and the team is currently leading. Therefore, VLX could gain more traction as the season continues.

Velas seems undervalued while its price has also crossed the 25-day and 50-day moving averages, which is a bullish catalyst.

9. Near Protocol (NEAR)

Near Protocol is a blockchain project that is gaining a strong market share in the smart contract industry. According to DeFi Llama, the network has a TVL of over $203 million, which is an all-time high. Some of the projects in its network are Ref Finance and Meta Pool among others. 

Near is a good cryptocurrency to invest in in April because of the growth of its ecosystem and the fact that the developers are transitioning it to a fully sharded network. More progress is expected in April. It has also moved above the moving averages and is approaching a key resistance at $13.97. A move above that level will lead to more upside.

10. Synthetix Network (SNX) 

Synthetix Network is an Australian blockchain network in the DeFi industry. It helps anyone to build their synthetic assets known as synths. The coin’s price did well as investors bought formerly hot coins. It has moved above the 25-day and 50-day MAs and is nearing the key resistance level at $6.08. It has also formed an inverted head and shoulders pattern. Therefore, there is a likelihood that it will keep doing well in April.

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