Tezos price surges as Google Cloud becomes a Tezos validator

  • Tezos blockchain has partnered with Google to drive Web3 innovation.
  • In the partnership, Tezos will onboard Google Cloud as a validator.
  • Google also partners with Ethereum, Flow, and Solana blockchains.

The price of Tezos (XTZ) is rising following a partnership between Tezos blockchain and search engine behemoth Google. At press time, the TXZ token was trading at $1.32 after surging by 6.32% in the past 24 hours.

The partnership between the search engine behemoth and the proof-of-stake blockchain will drive Web3 innovation on the Tezos blockchain. Tezos Foundation will onboard Google Cloud as a validator.

What it means for Google Cloud users

Following the agreement, Google Cloud users can build Web3 applications and deploy decentralized applications on the Tezos blockchain. They will be able to tap Tezos nodes to develop blockchain applications.

Tezos nodes, just like any other blockchain nodes, function as communication points that allow corporate users to confirm transactions, track the network’s history, as well as run the software needed for Web3 apps among other tasks.

Select startups incubated by Tezos will also have access to Google Cloud mentorship and credits.

The engineering director of Web3 at Google Cloud, James Tromans, commented on the partnership saying:

“At Google Cloud, we’re providing secure and reliable infrastructure for Web3 founders and developers to innovate and scale their applications. We look forward to bringing the dependability and scalability of Google Cloud to power Web3 applications on Tezos.”

Google recently integrated crypto payments on its Cloud services in a partnership with crypto exchange Coinbase. In the partnership, Coinbase is to allow Google Cloud users to settle their payments using digital currencies like Ether (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), and other eight cryptocurrencies.

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Ankr partners with Microsoft to offer enterprise node services

  • Ankr has entered a strategic partnership with Microsoft.

  • The partnership will see Ankr provide infrastructure solutions that connect builders, applications, and users to web3. 

  • ANKR is up by more than 37% in the last 24 hours.

Ankr and Microsoft enter a strategic partnership

Ankr announced on Tuesday, February 21, that it has entered a strategic partnership with Microsoft. 

The team revealed that the partnership would see Ankr provide infrastructure solutions that connect builders, applications, and users to web3. 

The partnership is also designed to provide high-performance blockchain connections for individuals and institutions who desire to build new web3 experiences that would help onboard the next billion users. 

In its blog post, Ankr said the two entities are working toward a shared goal of making this service available soon through Microsoft’s Azure marketplace. They will provide a readily accessible gateway to blockchain infrastructure for millions of monthly customers.

The Ankr enterprise node service will allow individuals and entities to launch enterprise-grade blockchain nodes with custom specifications, optimise data querying for high levels of speed and reliability, and easily track the performance of their nodes anytime, 

The enterprise node service will offer low-latency blockchain connections to web3 projects

According to Ankr, the enterprise node deployment service will offer global, low-latency blockchain connections for any Web3 project or developer. This would allow them to focus their time and attention on innovating and scaling their Web3 projects and applications.

While commenting on this latest cryptocurrency news, Chandler Song, Co-Founder & CEO, Ankr said;

“This was a critical step in bringing blockchain infrastructure to a growing sector of the digital economy. The partnership, while an incredible milestone for Ankr, is also a key indicator of how far the decentralized web has come in integrating with the crucial players in every layer of web systems. The end result will be an era of extremely prolific building for blockchain-based applications from new Web3 projects as well as large enterprises entering the space.”

Rashmi Misra, Microsoft General Manager AI & Emerging Technologies, added that;

“Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Many developers and organizations are exploring how Web3 can help solve real-world business challenges, and our partnership with Ankr will enable them to access blockchain data in a reliable, scalable, and secure way. Together with Ankr, we are building a strong Web3 infrastructure layer whether you’re a developer building the next big decentralized application (dApp) or an established enterprise exploring Web3.”

ANKR, the native token of the Ankr blockchain, is one of the best performers over the last 24 hours. At press time, the price of ANKR stands at $0.0466, up by more than 37% in the past 24 hours. 

Ankr concluded that its partnership with Microsoft will provide a fully managed node hosting solution that comes with a wide range of custom specifications for blockchain nodes for memory, bandwidth, and global location according to customer needs. 

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Should you buy Coinbase stock after Q4 results?

  • Coinbase reports market-beating results for its fiscal Q4.
  • Mizuho’s Dan Dolev shares his outlook on Coinbase Global.
  • Coinbase stock is currently up about 90% for the year.

Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) is trading slightly up in extended hours after reporting market-beating results for its fourth financial quarter.

How is its current quarter going so far?

Also a positive was its update on the current quarter.

Year-to-date, Coinbase said the crypto market cap is up 40% and transaction revenue was $120 million last month. Nonetheless, the crypto company is not very bullish on the rest of the year, as per its letter to the shareholders.

Given the unpredictability of crypto markets, we have limited certainty around the rest of the year.

Coinbase stock is currently up about 90% for the year.

Is Coinbase stock a ‘buy’ now?

Coinbase ended the quarter with 8.3 million monthly transacting users – slightly ahead of 8.2 million that Street had anticipated. Still, Mizuho’s Dan Dolev said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime”:

The take rate continues to come down. Interest income is non-core to this business. Retail investors are uninvolved. So, I don’t think it’s much to ride on about.

Dolev currently has an “underperform” rating on Coinbase stock. His $30 price target suggests an alarming 50% downside from here.

Notable figures in Coinbase Q4 report

  • Lost $557 million that translates to $2.46 a share
  • That compares to $840 million of profit last year
  • Revenue tanked about 75% YoY to $629 million
  • Consensus was $2.52 loss on $588 million revenue
  • Trading volume in its Q4 tanked to $145 million

Dolev is bearish on the category

According to Coinbase, its subscription and services revenue climbed 34% in the recent quarter, as per its earnings press release. Still, Mizuho’s Dolev said:

I’m extremely bearish on the overall category. As money becomes tighter and people realise they might be laid off, I don’t think they’ll play crypto. So, I don’t see great things in 2023 for them.

Transaction revenue was down 12% year-on-year in the fourth quarter. Coinbase now has $5.50 billion worth of total dollar resources.

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Litecoin Price Prediction and Metacade’s Surge Towards Sell Out – What You Need to Know

2022 was a notoriously tricky year across crypto markets, with bear market conditions sweeping across the board following the collapse of big names like Luna and FTX and toughening global economic conditions. These struggles have impacted price predictions of most established cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin.

Some newer crypto projects have proven immune to the bearish market, with Metacade a prime example of a brand-new offering gaining serious momentum during its presale event. With bull market conditions expected to return in the coming months and years, investing in MCADE tokens could be one of the most profitable moves investors make this year.

Here’s what you need to know to make a sensible choice and make money in 2023.

What is Metacade?

Metacade will be a brand-new blockchain-based gaming platform aiming to revolutionize the play-to-earn (P2E) gaming landscape and push the industry to greater heights. Creating a community of like-minded gaming enthusiasts and crypto fans, Metacade is positioning itself as the one-stop online shop for crypto gamers to enjoy classic arcade titles alongside cutting-edge Web3-developed games, all while benefiting from the platform’s unrivaled P2E mechanics.

Community is at the forefront of Metacade’s drive to become a market leader in the GameFi space, and it is offering MCADE token holders incentives to contribute to its foundation. Every time a user posts social content such as a game review, alpha, tips on how to progress through a certain level, or during a live chat on the hub, Metacade rewards them with crypto.

Meanwhile, another central pillar of Metacade’s diverse roadmap to becoming the GameFi platform of choice for all crypto gaming fans is the innovative Metagrants scheme. Developers can apply for a Metagrant, a form of funding, to support the creation of new games exclusively for Metacade. Each application is pooled and voted on by MCADE token holders.

These voting rights form part of Metacade’s devolution of power from the project team to the members through their transition to a fully-fledged DAO by 2024, giving the community complete autonomy over deciding which games go into production by voting on the pool of ideas and selecting their favorites. The submissions that get the most votes go into production and begin to hit the virtual arcade in Q1 2024.

This, along with several other exciting features that allow users to earn as they use the platform, such as the Compete2Earn and Work2Earn programs, look set to push Metacade and the broader Web3 gaming markets forward, making Metacade one of the most exciting new crypto projects in the years to follow.

MCADE price prediction

Metacade’s reputation as one of the most exciting crypto projects of 2023 is further cemented by the performance of its presale event. The early phases launched at $0.008, raising more than $5 million in the first 10 weeks. The total investment now stands at $7m as it continues to accelerate.

Market experts forecast that this enthusiastic scramble for MCADE will only increase once the presale ends, and as the token hits decentralized exchanges. While initially set at $0.02, price predictions for MCADE forecast that it will rise quickly, hitting $0.30 within weeks of its public release and potentially breaking the $1 by the end of this year.

With the GameFi market projected to grow by 70% year-on-year between 2023 and 2027, there is vast space for MCADE to grow, with $2 by 2025 looking like a realistic prospect during the next bull market.

What is Litecoin?

Litecoin is one of the first cryptocurrencies created, following hot on the coattails of Bitcoin, when founded in 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former Google employee. Based on the original Bitcoin coding, Lee and his project team enhanced the base code to improve its everyday useability. The result was a platform that provided cheaper and faster transactions than Bitcoin and Ethereum were able to produce.

Litecoin was also significantly more accessible to mine than Bitcoin, and it has become a standard cheap, accessible mining coin widely adopted by blockchain miners. Small businesses, meanwhile, have also turned to Litecoin’s affordable, quick and scalable solutions – as a quick and easy way to conduct smaller transactions with individuals and small businesses.

Unlike larger blockchain providers, Litecoin uses a public ledger to record transactions, removing the need for a central governing body. This allows anonymity during transactions and eliminates the ability of central bodies to enable censorship.

Litecoin price prediction

LTC has not been immune to the bear market conditions of 2022, suffering in the same way as most other long-established cryptocurrencies. With an expected easing of market conditions later in 2023 and an approaching bull market in 2025, Litecoin price predictions remain moderate.

LTC is currently trading at $89.68, significantly lower than its all-time high (ATH) of $412.96. LTC price predictions suggest that LTC could reach around $123 by the end of 2023, offering anyone investing in LTC today moderate returns compared to those provided by MCADE. Longer-term price predictions for LTC are that it will reach around $267 by 2025, still well short of its ATH.

Why Metacade is the hottest crypto investment in 2023

Metacade’s native MCADE token is shaping up to be one of the best crypto investment opportunities of 2023, as the platform’s enormous long-term potential and wide-ranging project roadmap offer a depth which is rare in competing GameFi projects.

Bullish investors searching for huge gains should make MCADE the next addition to their crypto wallet and take advantage of the low prices available during the presale. Purchasing now at $0.014 could produce handsome returns by the end of this year and far beyond as bull market conditions return, making this an exceptional opportunity to engage in while it’s still available.

You can participate in the Metacade presale here.

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Bitcoin “shrimp” addresses surge to all-time high above 43 million

  • Bitcoin “shrimp” wallets, which hold 1 bitcoin recently surged to 43.2 million.
  • Bitcoin addresses with 0.01 BTC or less have also hit an all-time high of 32.6 billion.
  • Data also shows bitcoin wallets in profit have reached 70% after recent price gains.

Bitcoin price recently reached an eight month high when it rallied to highs above $25,000 last week.

Despite this, the latest market data from asset manager CoinShares shows Bitcoin investment products saw outflows of $25 million, about 78% of the $32 million that exited amid negative sentiment. But a new report shared by crypto exchange Bitfinex indicates that Bitcoin still saw massive growth in terms of the address count with one BTC or lower.

Bitcoin “shrimp” addresses hit 43.2 million

According to data shared in the Bitfinex Alpha report published Monday, 20 February 2023, Bitcoin addresses with less than one bitcoin, or “shrimps”, recently jumped to 43.2 million – the highest the count has hit in the flagship cryptocurrency’s history.

No doubt this has been greatly helped by the massive growth in addresses with 0.01 BTC or less. Per the Bitfinex report, and from on-chain data by analytics platform Glassnode, the number of wallets with balances of 0.01 BTC or under recently hit 32.6 million.

Overall, wallet addresses with non-zero balances are at an all-time high, which Bitfinex researchers say is indicative of “an influx of new investors.” 

As CoinJournal recently covered, shrimps actually increased their buying even as prices fell after the FTX collapse. And it is this increase in the number of non-zero wallets that could have fueled Bitcoin’s recent upside momentum, the Bitfinex team noted in their report.

Is it the start of a new Bitcoin bull market?

Bitcoin has been largely upwards in January and February, with nearly 50% in overall gains year-to-date as of 21 February. In fact, as Glassnode data shows, the number of Bitcoin wallets in profit (7-day moving average) has also just hit a 10-month high.

While analysts warn of a potential pullback amid profit booking across crypto, the sentiment is still mostly bullish for BTC in the short term. And the recent growth in shrimp wallet addresses aligns with historical market trends in a bear market.

In this case, bull markets have traditionally been highlighted by wealth distribution, with the entry of new short term holders a metric that helps signal the shift in market direction.

However, as Bitfinex analysts noted in their report, the latest data is only a “snapshot of the current situation.” In short, it is hard to predict where the market goes next at any one given time.

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