Hut 8 just announced a merger with US Bitcoin: here’s what we know

  • Hut 8 to merge with US Bitcoin to diversify revenue streams.
  • Mining potential of the combined company will be 5.6 EH/s.
  • Hut 8 Mining Corp stock ended slightly down on Wednesday.

Hut 8 Mining Corp ended slightly in the red on Wednesday after revealing plans to merge with US Bitcoin Corp.

What’s in it for the two companies?

The said merger is expected to help diversify revenue streams and lower costs related to mining. It will create a larger publicly listed company that will operate under the name Hut 8 Corp.

Both companies have already secured unanimous approval for the agreement from their respective boards. In the press release, Jaime Leverton, who will continue to lead the joint company said:

Bringing together Hut 8 and US Bitcoin accelerates our diversified strategy, positions us for near-term growth, and establishes us as a strong player that’s ready and able to seize additional opportunities as they rise.

For the year, the Canadian digital asset mining company is currently up more than 150%.

Hut 8 to see a boost to mining potential

Bill Tai will also keep his role as Chairman of the Board while Asher Ganoot will remain the President of the combined firm. The press release named Michael Ho its Chief Strategy Officer and Shenif Visram its CFO.

The new Hut 8 Corp will manage in total 680 MW of infrastructure operations and note an increase in mining potential to 5.6 EH/s. According to Michael Ho – the co-Founder of US Bitcoin:

We’ve been searching for the right partner to join us on our ambitious growth journey for some time and are confident that Hut 8 is the perfect fit.

Last year, Hut 8 mined 3,568 bitcoin that increased its reserve to 9,086 BTC – up 65% year-on-year. Wall Street currently has a consensus “overweight” rating on this Toronto-headquartered firm.

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Deutsche Bank eyes investment in 2 German crypto firms: report

  • German bank Deutsche Bank AG is said to be negotiating minority stakes in Deutsche Digital Assets and Tradias.
  • A Bloomberg report on Wednesday claimed the deals are being led by Deutsche Bank’s asset management division.
  • DWS Group has previously pointed out the benefits of blockchain to the bank.

Deutsche Bank AG, one of the world’s leading banking and financial services providers, has reportedly set its eyes on two German-based cryptocurrency companies.

A report by Bloomberg on Wednesday 8 February, 2023 revealed that Deutsche Bank’s asset management unit DWS Group is looking to acquire minority stakes in crypto-traded products firm Deutsche Digital Assets and crypto trading platform Tradias.

Bankhaus Scheich, one of the top securities trading providers in Germany’s banking sector, owns Tradias.

Sources say the DWS Group is currently negotiating deals with the two digital asset platforms and has previously sought collaboration with Mike Novogratz’s Digital Galaxy.

Deutsche Bank keen on blockchain technology

According to the Bloomberg report, the reported investments are part of Deutsche Bank’s crypto strategy, which includes plans to snap up a chunk of the crypto products trading market amid growing interest from clients.

Stefan Hoops, CEO of DWS Group noted during the bank’s recent earnings call that the crypto winter had probably created an interesting window of opportunities, particularly with crypto prices hitting levels seen in late 2022.

Hoops, who has previously talked about Deutsche Bank’s plans to utilise the blockchain for its products, hinted at a further push towards an overall crypto strategy. Indeed, the bank released a report in March 2021 noting that Bitcoin could be an important asset given the interest from institutional investors.

Deutsche Bank reported a profit of € 5.6 billion (just over $6 billion) in the financial year 2022, a 65% jump in profit before tax. It is the bank’s highest annual profit in 15 years, with the last time it reported such profits being in 2007.

Per the results, net profit rose to € 5.7 billion (about $6.11 billion) year-on-year, more than double the previous cycle. However, profits from asset management fell 27% to € 598 million (about $641 million).

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Algorand targets Web3 adoption in India with major partnerships

  • The Algorand Foundation has partnered T-Hub and  Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in India.
  • The partnerships form part of Algorand’s blockchain and Web3 investment goals in the country and globally.
  • Algorand is looking to support local projects focused on high-impact blockchain solutions.

Algorand Foundation is looking to boost growth across Web3 in India, one of the countries with the largest cryptocurrency communities in the world.

In a press release seen by CoinJournal, the foundation that’s helping to grow the Algorand blockchain says they have sealed several major partnerships across India. 

Algorand’s Web3 goals for India’s growing population

The partnerships are part of Algorand’s blockchain investment roadmap amid the growing adoption of Web3 products, the Algorand Foundation noted, revealing one of the partnerships is with top India-based innovation hub T-Hub.

The goal, according to the announcement, is to tap into blockchain technology to help offer employment and other solutions to India as it moves towards becoming the most populous country in the world.

As noted, T-Hub counts over 600 corporate partners, a brand magnate that includes names such as Intel, Meta, AWS and Microsoft among others. Algorand hopes to leverage the partnership to support projects looking to build high-impact and scalable blockchain solutions.

“The partnerships we are formalizing this week with India’s most respected institutions and organizations are reflective of the reliability, scalability and real world utility of Algorand’s blockchain technology,” said Anil Kakani, the India Country Head at the Algorand Foundation.

Algorand’s mission in India and around the world is to enhance sustainability, Kakani added, with the focus being on improving access to key services. These include education, financial services and health care – goals that can be greatly advanced through critical applications across Web3.

Other partnerships Algorand Foundation announced are with the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad, Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), the Indian School of Business and the Clinton Global Initiative. 

Notably, Algorand is now the technology partner of the Global Resilience Fund, a $50 million fund from the Clinton Foundation.

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While Monero Fights to Hold Its Value, Metacade is Set To Soar in Early 2023

Now that the bear market is well and truly with us, it offers the perfect chance for veteran investors to review the market and identify which projects have what it takes to survive. In doing so, investors are able to spot those projects, old and new, which offer big potential for the next bull run and the chance to produce immense returns.

Monero is a project that has divided analysts. It faces an increasingly hostile regulatory environment and has experienced a large price decrease over 2022 – both of these factors have a great impact on the Monero price prediction. 

Many are wondering whether Monero can find a place for the long term and are moving their investments to cutting-edge new projects such as Metacade.

Metacade is garnering a lot of interest from investment funds, as the project looks to be on the cusp of reshaping the gaming industry and putting players at the center of the value structure. 

Is Metacade contributing to Monero’s decline?

Monero has maintained a dedicated following due to its focus on an element of cryptocurrency that many believe is at the heart of the technology — privacy. With central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) on the horizon, it’s no surprise that Monero’s supporters are more adamant than ever that their project plays an important role, despite a poor Monero price prediction.

The privacy that Monero provides, however, is likely to face significant problems as regulation looms for cryptocurrencies in 2023. If new regulations take away the privacy associated with Monero transactions, the company’s USP is gone; therefore, it’s no surprise that many holders are looking elsewhere for a project with a higher chance of lasting success. Metacade is a project that is stirring up a lot of interest across the whole industry, so it’s no surprise to see many XMR holders switching allegiance.

What is Monero (XMR)?

Monero is a privacy-centric cryptocurrency that aims to deliver upon one of the earliest visions of digital cash — that is, untraceable and anonymous payments. 

The open-source project utilizes a skilled technical team to continually drive the technology forward and also has developed a mining structure that ensures that even small miners can benefit from helping to secure the network. 

Monero price prediction general: Can XMR survive regulation?

While XMR is not likely to fare well in the face of more regulation coming in, that doesn’t mean the project is doomed. Even if it becomes increasingly difficult to buy Monero through the typical ways that investors buy crypto, Monero will likely always have a thriving black market for those wishing to stay anonymous.

Taking this, and wider cryptocurrency prices, into consideration for the Monero price prediction, XMR is likely to see a drop in 2023 to around $90, as users are prohibited from trading and buying it through licensed exchanges. If it can carve out a space for itself beyond that, we could see the price back up at the current levels of around $160 by 2025.

What is Metacade (MCADE)?

Metacade is an inventive new project, generating a lot of buzz throughout the industry. This follows the Metacade team having published a widely acclaimed new whitepaper detailing the plans to redefine the gaming industry by allowing gamers to earn as they play.

The project centers around the building of the world’s biggest play-to-earn arcade, allowing gamers to monetize their gaming experience through a comprehensive rewards system.

How does MCADE work?

Gamers are able to earn rewards distributed as MCADE tokens, which serve as the currency of the platform and provide utility to the Metacade ecosystem. It enables both purchases and access fees (such as tournament entry) and also has staking options that offer MCADE holders the chance to put their tokens to work and earn a passive income in return.

Metagrants is another innovative program that features in the roadmap and contributes to the ecosystem development plans by allowing capable game development teams to show their game concepts to the community for feedback. MCADE holders can then vote to distribute funds to projects that deserve them.

The success of the Metacade presale illustrates what high potential the project has, with an incredible $5.4m raised already since it launched.

Metacade price prediction general: Where can MCADE reach?

Metacade looks set to generate high returns, and with the project set to start onboarding users in 2023, the price of MCADE could rise very soon in anticipation of this. MCADE reaching $1 this year seems reasonable, given the investor interest.

By 2025 the platform is likely to have delivered on much of the potential it holds, meaning that an $8 MCADE may not be unrealistic by the end of the year.

Should investors choose Monero or Metacade for the biggest returns?

XMR will likely be part of the cryptocurrency landscape for years to come, but this doesn’t make it a good choice of investment right now in light of the Monero price prediction and competitive cryptocurrency prices. In contrast, Metacade is showing signs of being a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity, especially for those who are able to pick it up for the ridiculously low prices available during the presale.

You can participate in the Metacade presale here.

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Visa reportedly testing USDC settlements on Ethereum

  • Visa’s head of crypto revealed the plans at a StarkWare event this week.
  • The payments giant has been trialing large-value USDC settlements on the Ethereum blockchain.
  • Swarm Markets co-founder Philipp Pieper says Visa’s crypto strategy could be key to further DeFi/TradFi integration.

Payments giant Visa is reportedly testing a payments system that could see it accept digital assets payments from its customers.

The cryptocurrency news relates to an announcement Visa Head of Crypto Cuy Sheffield shared during the StarkWare Sessions 2023 event.

According to Cuy Sheffield, Visa has recently trialed large value transfers where the network accepts tokenised digital dollar payments with settlements in traditional dollars. Specifically, Visa is looking to start with USD Coin (USDC) transactions on Ethereum. USDC is a major stablecoin issued by Circle and which Visa added support for in March 2021.

“We’ve been testing how to actually accept settlement payments from issuers in USDC starting on Ethereum and paying out in USDC on Ethereum,” Visa’s head of crypto strategy said during the StarkWare event.

Visa’s crypto strategy huge for crypto, says Swarm Markets co-founder

Visa’s plans on crypto settlements come as the global focus on stablecoins increases from a regulatory perspective following recent events in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. They also follow increased interest in central bank digital currencies, with the UK’s consultation paper on its digital pound the latest move in the CBDCs race.

Some experts view these developments as what’s likely to spark further innovation in crypto, rather than be the end of it.

Philipp Pieper, co-founder of blockchain platform Swarm, commented on Visa’s reported foray into crypto payments settlement as a major development set to bolster innovation across the global financial infrastructure.

The company’s move could also mark a key pivot in the adoption of blockchain technology and digital assets, significantly aiding decentralised finance (DeFi) and traditional finance (TradFi) integration, Pieper noted.

In a comment sent to CoinJournal, the Swarm Markets co-founder added:

“If Visa can begin to introduce seamless settlement between stablecoins and fiat then this overcomes a significant obstacle toward greater DeFi/TradFi integration. With the advent of digital assets such as stablecoins revolutionizing the way users transact and settle payments, it makes sense for Visa to start working toward this future now.”

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