Kategorie: Crypto News

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Why Monero is outpacing most big cap cryptos in gain

  • Monero rallied by over 20% in the last 24-hours. 

  • Speculation is rife that upcoming regulations in the U.S or Russian sanctions are behind the pump. 

  • If bulls sustain momentum, Monero could break $250 in the short term. 

Monero (XMR) is one of the world’s best cryptocurrencies when it comes to privacy. Monero uses a ring signature approach to sign transactions, which means multiple signers are brought together to authorize a transaction randomly.

For this reason, no one can trace transaction addresses, balances, or transaction histories. For this reason, Monero coins are fungible, which means that all coins are interchangeable, and none can be blocked.

In the past 24-hours, Monero has rallied by over 20%, making it one of the best performers of the day.

Why is Monero rallying?

There is growing consensus among investors that the U.S is about to introduce a raft of regulations that could affect the use of cryptocurrencies. This has seen users turn to privacy coins since transactions cannot be traced. 

There is also speculation that Russians could turn to privacy coins due to the sanctions on the Russian financial system. Monero is perfect for this role because it is private by default, which means Monero coins cannot be sanctioned.  

Monero eases up after 20% rally 

In the last 12-hours, Monero’s upside momentum has eased up. However, Monero bears have been unable to erase the gains that were made in the first hour of the day. This indicates that the price drop is due to profit-taking, and the overall momentum remains bullish.

If bulls regain control and push Monero through the 24-hour high of $207.8, prices above $215 could be tested in the short term. 

On the other hand, if bears gain momentum and push Monero through the day’s support at $169.65, prices below $150 could be tested in the short term. 

Summary 

Monero rallies as a combination of upcoming U.S crypto regulations and Russian sanctions favor privacy coins. While Monero’s price has eased up due to profit-taking, the overall momentum remains bullish.

The post Why Monero is outpacing most big cap cryptos in gain appeared first on Coin Journal.

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Biden signs Bitcoin executive order and says CBDC is a matter of “urgency” to the US

The US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order that actively calls for policies on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and urgent action in researching and developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the US. The executive order outlines how the government as a whole shall work in approaching the issue of regulating cryptocurrencies. It calls on all regulatory authorities to collaborate in the regulation and development of digital assets.

The order states:

“My Administration places the highest urgency on research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a United States CBDC. Any future dollar payment system should be designed in a way that is consistent with United States priorities.”

Recap of the executive order

According to the executive order, most regulatory agencies have between 120 days and one year to provide their reports on how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies operate within the US economy, how they can be regulated, and how to prevent their illegal use.

The order specifically gives a 210-day deadline on a proposal for CBDC development.

Of utmost importance is honing the illicit use of cryptocurrencies like cases of crypto being used in ransomware attacks and the order seeks to properly regulate digital payment methods and stablecoins.

The order states:

“The international Financial Stability Board (FSB), together with standard-setting bodies, is leading work on issues related to stablecoins, cross‑border funds transfers, and payments, and other international dimensions of digital assets and payments, while FATF [Financial Action Task Force] continues its leadership in setting AML/CFT [Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism] standards for digital assets.”

The order also directs the Treasury Department, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, federal banking agencies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission to come up with policies for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to combat the illicit use of digital assets and protect individuals from “systemic financial risks.”

The order states:

“We must mitigate the illicit finance and national security risks posed by misuse of digital assets.”

The executive order did not leave out the matter of national security and it states that a non-state currency can be used to circumvent sanctions issued against regimes by the United States.

Effect of the executive order on the crypto market

The order has been received well by the majority of crypto enthusiasts and the crypto market which has been rising in anticipation of the order has surged even higher after the order was signed.

Bitcoin for example has surged by over 8% today and currently trades above $42K while Ethereum is up by over 5% and currently trades at $2,701.22. Terra (LUNA) which is leading the current bounce back among altcoins has raised by over 16% and currently trades at $99.67.

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Kraken’s Ukrainian donations the perfect solution to Russian sanction dilemma

I feel like all I’ve written in the last couple weeks has been about Russia invading Ukraine and the impact on the markets. Obviously, it has been quite sombre. But today, there was some good news, albeit a bit trivial on a larger scale. Still, it’s a nice change.

Publicity Stunt?

Kraken announced they are to donate Bitcoin to all Ukrainian accounts registered prior to March 9, 2022. At first, I assumed it was likely a publicity stunt, with the qualification criteria stringent. But upon digging into the details, I have to give Kraken credit – it appears if you have a Ukrainian account, it is quite easy to claim.

  • Must be registered from Ukraine prior to March 9th, 2022
  • Must be an “Intermediate” or “Pro” account (this means you will have verified with photo ID, so pretty easy)
  • Must log in before May 1st , 2022 to claim the Bitcoin

The amount is substantial too. If you held a balance in your account at any stage, you are eligible to claim $1000 (Kraken refers to this as Tranche 1). If you have never held a balance (Tranche 2, as Kraken calls it), you are still eligible for $500 in Bitcoin.

There is actually more, too. A $1000 credit will be applied to accounts for purpose of offsetting currency conversion fees going forward. The aid package will also be increased by the amount of trading fees paid by Russia-based clients in the first half of 2022.

Moral Dilemma

I wrote a piece last week looking into the moral dilemma that crypto exchanges find themselves in regarding the freezing of Russian accounts, following the appeal on Twitter from Ukrainian Vice President Mykhailo Fedorov.

 

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell refused the above request, arguing “Bitcoin is the embodiment of libertarian values, which strongly favour individualism and human rights”. Given crypto’s roots in individual liberty, I have sympathy in that he (and other exchanges) found themselves in quite a tough spot. 

I believe that this initiave – avoiding freezing accounts, but donating the Russian fees collected to Ukrainian accounts, as well as further aid – amounts to a perfect solution to a difficult moral dilemma.

“We hope to continue being able to provide critical financial services in time of need to both our clients in Ukraine and Russia”, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell announced. “Cryptocurrency remains an important humanitarian tool, especially at a time when many around the world can no longer rely on traditional banks and custodians”.

In such a way, Powell has managed to delicately balance both crypto’s fierce defense of liberty, privacy and self-custody with the moral obligtion to come to Ukraine’s help, be that either directly or via levelling sanctions against Russia. 

On-Chain Impacts

Finally, I want to look at quite how much Bitcoin Kraken are giving away. Let’s take the lower band of $500 dollars worth of Bitcoin. At time of writing (Bitcoin trading at $42,300), $500 worth equates to 0.012 bitcoins. Given Bitcoin’s tendency for volatility, let’s round down a bit for conservatism and assume they receive 0.01 bitcoins.

Looking at on-chain data, only 23.6% of Bitcoin addresses actually contain more than 0.01 bitcoins.  That means even the Tranche 2 Ukrainian accounts, who will receive the lower amount of $500, will be in the top quarter of Bitcoin holders. Wow.

Cool move, Kraken.

The post Kraken’s Ukrainian donations the perfect solution to Russian sanction dilemma appeared first on Coin Journal.

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Itheum set to launch on Elrond’s Maiar Launchpad

  • Elrond has announced that Itheum will launch on its Maiar Launchpad 

  • The launch will happen towards the end of March or in early April 

  • Itheum, a Web3 data brokerage platform, wants to tap into the scalability offered by Elrond 

Elrond has announced its strategic support for Itheum, a Web3 data brokerage platform. Through this move, Itheum will be unveiled on the Maiar Launchpad, the strategic launch platform for the Elrond blockchain. 

Itheum is the first decentralized multichain data brokerage firm, and it has been under development for three years. The platform seeks to foster data usage by ensuring the owners can own and trade their data through Web3 or the Metaverse. 

Elrond offers support for Itheum 

Itheum is leveraging the scalable blockchain technology provided by Elrond to create a platform where everyone can manage their personal data in the form of assets. Itheum will also adopt NFMe ID technology to allow users to include a metadata layer on their soulbound Data Avatars for the metaverse.

“Some of the brightest minds of our generation and insane amounts of resources are increasingly focused on finding new ways to harvest data from users and selling it further for ads. If we empower users and businesses to own their data and derive value from it, the internet can progress to a new level of usefulness and trust, a solid foundation for the next territory for human evolution,” said the Itheum CEO, Mark Paul. 

This technology will give users a customized experience while earning a passive income. The technology will also foster end-user adoption while creating a platform where users can access valuable and accurate data at competitive prices. Itheum will debut on the Maiar Launchpad towards the end of this month or early next month. 

The Elrond blockchain 

The Elrond blockchain is one of the most competitive players in the blockchain sector. Its blockchain architecture seeks to provide immense scalability benefits, including fast transaction speeds and high throughput. 

The Elrond blockchain has integrated sharding for scalability, and it has invested in a secure proof-of-stake algorithm. As such, it has been touted as a potential Ethereum killer. The network claims to process more than 10,000 transactions per second at significantly low costs, which is more than what can be said for Ethereum. 

The post Itheum set to launch on Elrond’s Maiar Launchpad appeared first on Coin Journal.

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Highlights March 9: Major cryptos in the green, commodities prices soaring

The crypto market as a whole is rallying today. President Biden is expected to sign an executive order this week which will be a first step in cryptocurrency regulation. It comes now because of concerns that Russia may use crypto assets to circumvent sanctions.

The head of Singapore’s largest bank remarked that he sees crypto like Bitcoin continuing “to grow as a meaningful store of value, in a similar vein to gold“.

The war on Ukrainian soil and crushing sanctions on Russia have led commodities prices to rise to unseen levels in years. 

US indices closed lower yesterday after President Biden announced plans to boycott Russian energy imports. 

Top cryptos

Terra added more than a fifth to its value today and is trading for just below $100. It was listed on Wirex two days ago, contributing to its surge. 

Avalanche was also in the lead, up 10%. It just announced its Multiverse program, funded by 4 million AVAX, worth around $290 million at current prices. It aims to encourage the growth of subnets. AVAX was also listed on Bitstamp two days ago.

Ethereum climbed more than 7%, while Cardano and Solana both rose more than 4%. Bitcoin was trading above $41,000 at time of writing, up close to 8% in the past 24 hours.

Top movers

In terms of price growth, Monero is the Terra of the top 100. While all privacy coins are gaining, Monero is the one that’s rallying the most.

It is believed that sanctions against Russia will lead to more cybercrime, and tokens like Monero are becoming more popular because hackers are likely to demand payments in them. Secret, another privacy token, gained 15% in the last 24 hours.

The live NEAR Protocol price today is $11.12 with a 24-hour trading volume of $750.6 million. The 22nd biggest coin by market cap is up 12.61% in the last 24 hours.

Waves added another 12% today. Other gainers include privacy coins Oasis and Zcash with 12% and 16% respectively, THORChain with 11%, Arweave with 18%, and Anchor and Dash, up 13% each.

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