Schlagwort: blockchain markets

• Bitcoin’s September rally, where the crypto rose 21%, was driven largely by Chinese stimulus packages.
• Market players are underwhelmed as the Chinese government’s stimulus plans did not live up to their expectations.
• Bitcoin failed to stay above $64,000 as the market seeks a catalyst despite ‘Uptober’ expectations.

The most recent Bitcoin rally, which started in early September and is believed to have been driven largely by Chinese stimulus packages, has begun to fizzle out. The largest crypto by market capitalization briefly crossed the $66,000 mark on September 27th but could not sustain the rally. As of October 2nd, it fell to $60,000 and trades at $62,700.

Chinese stimulus

While September is historically a bearish month for cryptos, Bitcoin performed favourably last month driven largely by a stimulus program from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) in response to slowing economic growth and Fed rate cuts.

The PBOC slashed rates on medium-term lending and the 7-day repo to boost economic activity, a measure known to improve sentiments around risky assets. Mortgage rates and minimum downpayment requirements for all types of homes were also slashed to support China’s housing market.

Expectations remained that the government would be willing to sustain its stimulus efforts through a multi-trillion-yuan spending plan; however, the government announced that it will frontload 100 billion Yuan from its 2025 budget in addition to another 100 billion to support the construction industry, a far cry from expectations.

Uptrend catalysts for the crypto market

The focus on Chinese stimulus comes at a point when the crypto market awaits a catalyst to spur a rally. The Fed’s 50bps interest rate slash in September is expected to herald a rally, but October has been underwhelming as Bitcoin struggles to break the $64,000 level and institutional inflows into US Bitcoin (and Ethereum) spot ETFs dwindle.

Bitcoin fell roughly 1% after the announcement of the government’s stimulus plans but recovered somewhat in the London trading session.

The post Bitcoin’s Price Slides as China Pares Stimulus Plans appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Bison announced its insured Ethereum staking product in partnership with Munich Re and Staking Facilities.
• Users can stake as low as 0.005 ETH and earn weekly rewards.

Bison, a crypto trading and exchange-traded funds platform by the Böerse Stuttgart Group, has unveiled a new staking service offering insured staking with Ethereum.

According to an update on Oct. 8, the product is part of a partnership between Bison and Germany-based companies Munich Re and Staking Facilities.  Munich Re is a global reinsurance company while Staking Facilities is a Web3 infrastructure provider that offers non-custodial staking.

Staking from 0.005 ETH

Bison offers 27 tradable assets on its platform, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Cardano (ADA). The platform also provides access to more than 2,500 stocks and exchange-traded products.

With the new feature, Bison users will be able to stake Ether from as low as 0.005 ETH, allowing more holders to support the network and earn staking rewards.

More than this, Bison now supports insured ETH staking, with a gradual roll-out that includes slashing protection and weekly payouts. In terms of slashing, the insurance means stakers have protection against validator losses that arise from improper actions.

Exciting news 🚀 Staking made in Germany – our bare metal infrastructure now powers the @bisonapp $ETH staking functionality 🙌

Support the #Ethereum network & earn #staking rewards for doing so:

🔵 Stake as little as 0.005 ETH
🔵 Receive weekly rewards
🔵 Slashing risk insured… https://t.co/kvlmIMFxPC

— Staking Facilities (@StakingFac) October 8, 2024

Bison also benefits from compliant services, with all staked assets under custody by the Böerse Stuttgart Digital Custody. The regulated platform has a license from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, or BaFin.

Earlier this month, Boerse Stuttgart successfully completed a pilot on tokenized securities settlement involving major banks as part of the European Central Bank’s DLT tests.

In September, the company’s crypto subsidiary Börse Stuttgart Digital announced a partnership with DZ Bank to bring crypto trading and custody to its users.

The post Bison launches insured Ethereum staking service appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Phantom Wallet adds beta support for Coinbase’s Base layer-2 network.
• Phantom users can now send, receive, and purchase Base-based assets via multiple methods.
• Base network faces security risks, but Phantom strengthens user protection features.

Phantom, the cryptocurrency wallet initially built for the Solana ecosystem, has expanded its capabilities by launching beta support for Coinbase’s Base network, an Ethereum-based layer-2 solution.

This new feature allows Phantom Wallet users to manage their digital assets across multiple blockchains seamlessly according to a blog post published by Phantom. With functionalities like sending, receiving, and purchasing stablecoins and cryptocurrencies using various payment methods, Phantom aims to enhance user experience and broaden its ecosystem.

Enhanced features for asset management on Phantom

With the introduction of Base support, Phantom users can now interact with a range of features tailored to facilitate efficient asset management.

The wallet will now allow users to send and receive Base-based stablecoins, such as USD Coin (USDC), and cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH). Users can purchase these assets easily using debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, or directly through Coinbase, making it more accessible for newcomers and seasoned crypto enthusiasts alike.

However, it is important to note that this support is currently in beta and requires users to opt in via their wallet settings.

In addition to managing assets, Phantom has integrated functionalities that enable users to engage with decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) within the Base ecosystem.

The wallet emphasizes security with features such as compatibility with Ledger devices, automatic spam detection for malicious NFTs and tokens, and transaction simulation to flag suspicious activities, thereby addressing growing security concerns in the crypto space.

A growing ecosystem amid security challenges

Phantom’s expansion comes at a time when the crypto landscape is increasingly susceptible to security threats.

Recent data from Trugard Labs revealed that Coinbase’s Base network accounted for over 34,000 high-risk detections in its smart contracts during August. The network has experienced vulnerabilities, particularly concerning digital signature issues and malicious boolean checks on token transfers.

These challenges highlight the pressing need for robust security measures as malicious actors exploit vulnerabilities in smart contracts.

Nevertheless, despite these risks, the partnership between Phantom and Base signals a positive direction for both entities.

Jesse Pollak, creator of Base and recently appointed to lead the Coinbase Wallet as the engineering vice president at Coinbase, emphasizes the shared vision between Base and Coinbase to simplify the on-chain experience for users. He expressed enthusiasm for the new role and the mission to bring a billion people and a million builders onto the blockchain.

As the crypto space continues to evolve, Phantom’s integration with Base represents a significant step toward expanding its user base while also addressing the pressing need for security and accessibility in the decentralized ecosystem.

With the growing popularity of layer-2 solutions like Base, the future looks promising for Phantom and its users as they navigate the complex landscape of cryptocurrencies.

The post Phantom Wallet adds support for Coinbase’s Base network appeared first on CoinJournal.

• FTX to repay 98% of its users around 119% of their claim value
• Distributions will be made to creditors across more than 200 jurisdictions
• FTX collapsed in November 2022 amid allegations of fraud and customer fund mismanagement

A US judge has approved FTX’s bankruptcy plan to use billions of dollars in recovered assets to repay users nearly two years after the crypto exchange collapsed.

On Monday, Judge John Dorsey in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved FTX’s plan. By doing so, it enables the exchange’s debtors to repay 98% of users around 119% of their claim value as of November 2022 when the company filed for bankruptcy.

FTX projects the repayment to be between $14.7 billion and $16.5 billion after the total value of the property has been collected and converted to cash.

In a statement, John J. Ray III, CEO and Chief Restructuring Officer of FTX, said: “The Court’s confirmation of our Plan is a significant milestone on our pathway to distributing cash to customers and creditors,” adding:

“The estate is working to finalize arrangements to make distributions to creditors across more than 200 jurisdictions around the world.”

Before its collapse, FTX was a well-known and trusted platform in the crypto space. However, in November 2022, the exchange collapsed because of a lack of liquidity and mismanagement of funds, which eventually saw concerned investors withdrawing large volumes of money.

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder and CEO of FTX, was later arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud and mismanaging the exchange. Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, was sentenced to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to her role in the collapse of FTX.

The post FTX to fully repay investors after bankruptcy plan receives judge approval appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Infinex is integrating Wormhole Connect for multi-chain in-app token transfers for its users.
• The DeFi platform will also use Wormhole Queries to bolster security and for cross-chain asset recovery.

Infinex, a platform that seeks to bring more users to the decentralized finance space via multi-chain access to protocols and apps, has selected Wormhole as its primary interoperability provider.

The project founded by Synthetix creator Kain Warwick will use Wormhole’s technology to power in-app token transfers for its users. According to an announcement on Oct. 7, Infinex will leverage Wormhole Connect and Wormhole Queries to boost token transfers.

“Infinex’s vision is to simplify decentralized finance by creating a seamless, multichain user experience and providing the safest way to get onchain,” said Kain Warwick, founder of Infinex.

This is only the beginning…@infinex_app 🤝 @wormhole

Stay tuned for more 🧡 pic.twitter.com/eo3iJ1G9EV

— Infinex (@infinex_app) October 7, 2024

Efficiency and DeFi adoption

Wormhole features that will also benefit Infinex are efficiency and growing adoption across the decentralised finance ecosystem.

The platform’s interoperability infrastructure currently connects more than 30 blockchains. Protocols have tapped into Wormhole to power more than a billion cross-chain messages and asset transfers worth more than $45 billion.

Major industry players to leverage Wormhole integration include digital assets securities firm Securitize, decentralised exchange Uniswap, USDC issuer Circle and asset management giant BlackRock. Worldcoin also taps into Wormhole for its World ID integration on Solana.

The integration with Wormhole follows Infinex’s recent $65.2 million NFT sale that attracted Solana Ventures, Moonrock Capital, Framework Ventures and Wintermute.

The post Infinex integrates Wormhole to power multi-chain DeFi app appeared first on CoinJournal.