The world’s first dual-funded Lightning channel has been opened, bringing more features to the network while reducing fees.The world’s first dual-funded mainnet Lightning Network channel was opened last week in block 681,753 on the Bitcoin mainnet. Blockstream used its c-lightning implementation of the Lightning Network protocol to open the channel and announced it via a blog post.A dual-funded Lightning channel allows both participant nodes to contribute to the channel’s opening transaction. It is unique because, up to this point, only the Lightning node that initiated the channel opening....

Ethereum inventor, Vitalik Buterin, might have single handily put a halt to the meme coins mania, at least, in the short term. Buterin was the recipient of 50% of the entire supply of Shiba Inu (SHIB), a token that saw a surge in interest after major exchange platforms added it to their products for the […]

Alex Gladstein joined "Fed Watch" to discuss his recent article about the petrodollar and lessons for Bitcoin's growing monetary role.Watch This Episode On YouTubeListen To This Episode:AppleSpotifyGoogleLibsynOvercastIn this episode of Bitcoin Magazine’s “Fed Watch” podcast, hosts Christian Keroles and Ansel Lindner sat down with Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation. They dove deeply into the petrodollar, its history, implications for the future and lessons that we can apply to thinking about bitcoin’s growing role in the global financial system. Read....

If you’re a cryptocurrency holder with past-due tax debts, your provable holdings may be confiscated by the IRS if you don’t pay back what you owe. The United States Internal Revenue Agency is prepared to seize the holdings of cryptocurrency owners who are struggling to pay their unpaid tax debts, sending a strong signal that the agency is treating digital assets the same as any other type of property that can be confiscated. Robert Wearing, deputy associate chief counsel for the IRS, told a virtual conference held by the American Bar Association that the government classifies digital....

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and just about every other asset on the planet trades against the dollar on its most liquid trading pair, and the greenback is the base currency that all exchanges rates are based on. The power and influence of the almighty dollar cannot be understated, and the crypto market could soon feel the surprising sting […]

In partnership with Coinme, MoneyGram has announced today their intent to accept buying and selling of Bitcoin at over 12,000 US locations. The announcement also included the intent to expand support for Bitcoin internationally by the back half of 2021. MoneyGram & Coinme Partnership MoneyGram is a long-time global payments operator citing nearly 150M consumers […]

Dog-themed tokens see an abrupt end to their rallies as Vitalik Buterin liquidates the positions he was gifted and donates the proceeds to charity. The dog-themed race up the cryptocurrency charts came to an abrupt halt on May 12 as a majority of the previously hot meme tokens including Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogelon Mars (ELON) saw their prices drop more than 40% with Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin emerging as the main culprit behind the selloff. Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that the price of SHIB has fallen 40% and now trades near $0.00002 while the....

Breaking down Aave protocol’s usage and its liquidity mining program as the platform’s TLV doubles in under a month. Although Aave was launched in the beginning of 2020, it has experienced significant growth in total deposits and daily deposits since the summer of 2020. Overall, Aave has totalled over $45 billion in deposits, with 2021 seeing the protocol average $231 million in deposits per day. More than 46,000 unique Ethereum users have become lenders on Aave, with the average all-time deposit reaching $173,000. Aave’s recent launch on Polygon and the introduction of its liquidity....

The meme-based crypto asset dogecoin has seen a phenomenal year, capturing a whopping 19,723% against the U.S. dollar during the last 12 months. Dogecoin’s price gains have pushed interest toward the cryptocurrency, quickly making it a recognizable name. A recently published survey from the web portal gamblerspick.com suggests one out of every four Americans “believe dogecoin is the future.” Dogecoin Survey Shows Meme-Coin Has Been Getting Attention in the US In mid-April, gamblerspick.com conducted a study with 1,001 American respondents that are “familiar”....

The former executives of bitcoin derivatives platform BitMEX face trial over money laundering charges next year.The former executives of leading bitcoin derivatives platform BitMEX are set to have their day in court. Former CEO Arthur Hayes, cofounder Benjamin Delo and former CTO Samuel Reed are facing a money laundering trial that is now slated to begin on March 28, 2022 — 18 months after authorities first publicly accused them of wrongdoing.Per a previous Bitcoin Magazine report, Hayes turned himself in to the authorities last month following allegations that BitMEX had violated KYC laws....

Earlier Tuesday, data analytics company Palantir announced that it will begin accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. Palantir is responsible for providing software and analytics tools for governments and corporations. The company went public on the NYSE last September with a valuation of $16.5 billion — which has now nearly doubled to $30.44 billion.  […]

Of the 75 enforcement actions on crypto brought by the commission from 2013 to 2020, the majority involved allegations of fraud or unregistered securities offerings. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission was one of the top regulatory enforcers for cryptocurrency projects in the last seven years, resulting in $1.77 billion in penalties.According to a report released yesterday by Cornerstone Research, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, brought 75 enforcement actions against crypto firms and individuals from July 1, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2020, mainly involving....

With the unprecedented wave of institutions adopting Bitcoin, regulatory backing seemed like the next step. The appointment of Gary Gensler, former MIT professor on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strengthened this idea. However, as Bitcoinist reported earlier, the new SEC administration could continue its stand against BTC […]

With a jump of more than 350% in its price this year, Ethereum has outperformed major cryptocurrencies, bolstered by the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, like liquidity aggregators and decentralized exchanges. These projects brought in viable use cases that could extend to everything from insurance to decentralized trading and loans to yield farming. However, […]

The government in Budapest has put forward measures aimed at streamlining taxation and reducing the tax burden on businesses and citizens. As part of the package, Hungary plans to cut the tax levied on capital gains from cryptocurrency transactions, expecting to increase budget revenue with the move. Tax Cut to Attract Cryptocurrency Traders to Hungary Hungarians now pay 30.5% on profits made from cryptocurrency transactions, but their government wants to reduce the tax rate to 15%. The primary goal is to minimize tax evasion, but the lower tax rate could also attract more crypto traders....

Papa John’s, which provided the first-ever real-world items bought for bitcoin, is offering U.K. customers a free bitcoin reward.Leading American pizza franchise Papa John’s has announced a new offer for its U.K.-based customers, giving them the chance to receive about $14 (£10) in free bitcoin.According to the terms and conditions on Papa John’s U.K. website, customers can claim the free bitcoin, along with a discount of about $21 (£15) following purchases of about $42 (£30) and above. The offer is valid until May 16, 2021.The bitcoin reward is claimable via London-based cryptocurrency....

The leading global crypto exchange and derivatives trading platform OKEx recently announced support for Bitcoin’s scalability solution, Lightning Network. Regarding the new development, we had the opportunity to interact with Jay Hao, CEO of OKEx and the Lightning Network (LN) team. We asked them few questions and this is what they had to say. Q: […]

This week’s newsletter covers a security disclosure, a summary of a Bitcoin Core PR Review Club meeting and more.The Bitcoin Optech newsletter provides readers with a top-level summary of the most important technical news happening in Bitcoin, along with resources that help them learn more. To help our readers stay up-to-date with Bitcoin, we're republishing the latest issue of this newsletter below. Remember to subscribe to receive this content straight to your inbox.This week’s newsletter describes a security disclosure affecting protocols depending on a certain BIP125 opt-in replace by....

“UNI is in an excellent position to be a token for such an oracle,” said Buterin, in reference to decentralized pricing oracles for stablecoins. Uniswap’s native UNI token can greatly enhance its utility by becoming a pricing oracle for stablecoins, according to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. In a proposal submitted to Uniswap’s governance platform, Buterin said that a successful decentralized finance, or DeFi, ecosystem relies on a “highly secure pricing oracle,” noting that algorithmic stablecoins, synthetic assets and collateralized loans all depend on oracles. The problem,....

There is huge demand for crypto companies to go public right now — but in this day and age, are initial public offerings their only option? Beyond Coinbase, are there any other examples?One company that has been in the process of completing a Reg A token sale is Exodus.Exodus — which offers desktop, mobile and hardware crypto wallets — said that it wanted to pursue this approach to ensure that its users had equal access to equity as venture capital firms and crypto whales.The company’s stock was listed at a price of $27.42 a share, and was available directly through the Exodus wallet in....

Moneygram will start letting customers buy and sell bitcoin at 12,000 locations, thanks to a partnership with Coinme. The collaboration “will bring bitcoin to thousands of new point-of-sale locations in the U.S. with plans to expand to select international markets in the second half of 2021,” the companies say. Bitcoin at Moneygram Locations Moneygram International Inc. and Coinme, a licensed crypto-to-cash exchange in the U.S., announced Wednesday the “launch of a new partnership to enable the cash funding and payout of digital currency purchases and sales.” A....

“This isn’t the Strike car, the Coinbase car, the Kraken car [...] this is the Bitcoin car,” said Jack Mallers. A car and driver branded with the Bitcoin logo will be racing in circles against 32 others in this month’s Indianapolis 500.According to a blog post from Zap CEO Jack Mallers, U.S. racing driver Ed Carpenter will be in control of the “orange-spotted, Bitcoin-covered, engineering beast” scheduled to appear at the Indy 500 on May 30. Carpenter, who became a Bitcoiner over the last year, reportedly forfeited all traditional sponsors in favor of driving the Bitcoin (BTC) car, #21 in....

After hitting its new ATH of $4350, Ethereum price was up approximately 7.9% on Wednesday, May 12, 2021, and trading around $4,291 at the time of reporting according to TradingView. ETH Price Push Up Crypto Market Cap The second-largest cryptocurrency shattered its previous all-time high of $4,000 on May 10, en route to reaching $4,345, […]

While those comfortable in the dollar bubble deride Bitcoin, the stories of three emerging market users demonstrate why it is so important.In the eyes of most Western elites, investors, journalists and academics, Bitcoin rates anywhere from an annoyance to a disaster.Just a few days ago, American billionaire Charlie Munger described Bitcoin as “disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization.” Warren Buffett, once the world’s richest person, sat next to Munger in obvious agreement. He has said Bitcoin is “a delusion” and “rat poison squared,” and has warned that he is sorry about....

The sentiment surrounding Bitcoin to kick off 2021 was the highest it has ever been, with FOMO stretching from retail to corporations and institutions. However, things are quickly taking a turn for the negative. Pouring salt in the sudden and fresh wound, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission just issued a warning to investors […]

The rapid rise of decentralized finance has changed the economic world forever.  Popular decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and Sushiswap, and lending platforms like Compound, facilitated a Total Volume Locked growth from $675 million to $16.2 billion across 2020 for the DeFi world.  DeFi’s popularity has also made blockchain interoperability through cross-chain interaction a stronger reality […]

Multi-chain options trading platform – Oddz Finance has now integrated with Polygon (formerly Matic Network) to make DeFi accessible to all users. The DeFi craze that started in the summer of 2020 has led to a significant jump in the number of DeFi protocols being developed on the Ethereum blockchain. As more and more users […]

Major crypto exchange OKEx has announced the listing of Casper Network’s native token CSPR. With deposits starting on May 11 and withdrawals a day later, users can now start trading on the spot market for the pair CSPR/USDT. Users can participate in OKEx celebratory giveaway. The contestants will have the chance to earn a total […]

Ethereum puts in two USD all-time highs in a day, but in BTC terms, it still has a long way to go. Ether (ETH) set a second all-time high on May 12 as the largest altcoin continued on its way to what analysts say will be $5,000.ETH/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingviewFunding rates could hold key to ETH resilienceData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked ETH/USD as the pair put in two all-time highs in a single day on Wednesday.Part of the now notorious "alt season 2.0," Ether hit $4,350 earlier on the day, only to better its performance hours later and....

Torum, the first DeFi and NFT-infused social media platform, is proud to announce that it has completed its first public sale event – Initial Staking NFT Offering (ISNO). Launched at 9 p.m. of May 11th 2021, the crowdsale event is the first ISNO that is held in the crypto space, featuring a total of 363 […]

The U.S. SEC will monitor the compliance of mutual funds with exposure to Bitcoin futures and look into whether the market can accommodate an ETF. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has issued an investor warning pointing out risks of mutual funds that have exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) futures.In an official statement on Tuesday, the SEC strongly encouraged investors to thoroughly consider risks disclosure of a mutual fund on the Bitcoin futures market, stressing that Bitcoin is a “highly speculative investment.” The authority emphasized that investors should take....

Ross Ulbricht, founder of Bitcoin darknet marketplace Silk Road, is suing over the right to communicate with his father.Ross Ulbricht, the convicted founder of massive darknet marketplace Silk Road, filed a federal lawsuit last week accusing the Federal Bureau of Prisons of “substantially burdening his exercise of religion.” Ulbricht is serving consecutive life sentences at USP Tucson in Arizona on seven charges including money laundering, computer hacking and conspiracy to traffic narcotics.Silk Road ran on the Tor network, a program that routes online traffic through intermediary....

Last week, ethereum options volume surpassed bitcoin’s for the first time on the digital currency derivatives exchange Deribit. Further, the trading platform recently introduced a $50k ETH strike for March 2022 and explained the $50k call is “gaining immediate buy traction.” Ethereum Options Volume Grows Exponentially, $50K Strike Flexes Muscle When it comes to bitcoin (BTC) derivatives, the trading platform Deribit captures the lion’s share of today’s options volume. The cryptocurrency exchange also features bitcoin futures and ethereum options as well.....

Nonfungible tokens continue to drive millions of dollars in sales. Here are the biggest NFT earners of 2021 so far. Nonfungible tokens have quickly become a mainstream phenomenon, and a number of celebrities and entertainment and sporting icons are driving their popularity. The question is: Which NFT has had the most influence on this up-and-coming sector?There is no denying that NFTs have taken the world by storm as some of the most popular digital collectibles have attracted mind-blowing price tags and led to a stampede of newcomers looking to make the most of the spotlight on the....

Designed for institutional investors, the lending pool will feature KYC and AML restrictions. The banks are out of the bag: In a Tweet on Wednesday, Stani Kulechov, co-founder of decentralized finance money market protocol Aave, revealed that the Aave protocol has built a “private pool” for institutions to “practice” before getting involved with the DeFi ecosystem. Earlier on Wednesday, a Twitter user posted an angry tweet directed at Aave’s official Twitter account, noting that his address had been “blacklisted” due to Anti-Money Laundering requirements: Yo. WHAT THE FUCK @AaveAave $AAVE?....

MoneyGram customers in the United States will soon be able to buy Bitcoin in the country’s retail outlets across the country. Crypto adoption among mainstream payment service companies continues to grow, with MoneyGram set to join the list.In a release issued on Wednesday, the global payment service announced a partnership with crypto exchange and Bitcoin (BTC) ATM operator Coinme Inc., to allow United States customers to withdraw their cryptocurrency holdings for cash across its point-of-sale outlets in the country.As part of the announcement, MoneyGram also revealed that customers will....

Max Denison Pender, a renowned London-based artist, is on a mission to go to space in 2023 alongside Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who is choosing eight crew members to join him on his SpaceX mission. Max wants to paint the Earth from the unparalleled view provided by the moon.  In his quest to paint the […]

In the world of blockchain, staking is the process where you actively participate in transaction validation on a blockchain that follows the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. In most of these blockchains, all you need to have is a minimum-required balance of a specific cryptocurrency to validate transactions and earn rewards. Coin staking also equips the users […]

A black-and-orange, bitcoin-adorned Chevrolet will compete in this year’s Indianapolis 500, with a mission to raise funds for development.Millions of viewers will see a Bitcoin car compete for first place in this year’s Indianapolis 500.IndyCar Series team Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) has announced that it will enter the No. 21 Bitcoin Chevrolet, a black-and-orange race car adorned thoroughly with the Bitcoin logo, in the upcoming Indianapolis 500, to be held on May 30, 2021. It will be driven by 2020 NTT IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year Rinus VeeKay. Source: Press release ECR has also....

The U.S. securities watchdog has announced it will scrutinize mutual funds that include investments in bitcoin futures markets to verify funds that comply with the Investment Company Act. The institution warned about the dangers of investing in bitcoin futures markets due to the implicit volatility of the underlying asset. SEC Warns Funds About Bitcoin Futures Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a public statement titled “Staff Statement on Funds Registered Under the Investment Company Act Investing in the Bitcoin Futures Market,” where the....

The organizer of The Robin Hood Group which once stole 10% of all circulating ETH from under a black hat hackers nose wants to change the way we think about charity.A former chemical engineer, Griff Green, 36, traded in his savings for precious metals, which he used to travel the world for years before settling as a Bitcoin missionary in Ecuador. He led a white hat hacker war against the infamous black hat hacker of The DAO, and he organizes cryptocurrency camps at Burning Man to spread the word about crypto while dressed as Santa and riding a massive metal Doge.His next big mission, with....

The crypto exchange platform plans to support blockchain startups working on paradigm-shifting use cases for the emerging technology. Bitrue crypto exchange has announced a $50-million investment fund geared toward supporting cryptocurrency and blockchain startups.According to a recent announcement, the investment fund will target crypto projects working on use cases with the potential to advance the development of the emerging blockchain ecosystem.Of the $50-million sum, 70% will be in the form of Tether (USDT), while the exchange also plans to fund the remaining 30% via its native token,....

It’s been a while since the crypto market has seen such a promising project, something that has a clear basis on a real market need and a long-term plan to stay relevant and bring value to customers, investors, and users alike. Uniqly.io aims to do exactly that, giving real-world value to digital items. Veterans of the space already know what non-fungible tokens are, and why they cost so much, but the mainstream market perception of them is poor at best. Without tangibility and actual “proof” it’s difficult to understand why that particular string of pixels may be....

Money transfer company MoneyGram and bitcoin kiosk operator Coinme have partnered to offer bitcoin for fiat at thousands of locations.Today, peer-to-peer payments and money transfer company MoneyGram and bitcoin kiosk operator Coinme have announced a partnership to enable cash purchases and sales of bitcoin at thousands of locations around the U.S.“The MoneyGram and Coinme integration will provide a fast and easy way for customers to purchase bitcoin with cash and withdraw bitcoin holdings in cash,” per a press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine. “It is specially designed for customers....

In partnership with cross-chain DeFi protocol SuperFarm, renowned decentralized poker platform Virtue Poker will launch its IDO on SuperStarter. The platform aims to integrate NFTs offerings into their online poker platform following the sale of VPP tokens. Decentralized Poker Platform To Introduce NFTs To Online Gambling As the hype surrounding NFTs and decentralized casinos is […]

12th May, 2021, San Francisco, California — Spring (formerly Teespring) and Bondly, premiere NFT solutions provider that empowers the next generation of NFT creators, announced today their new partnership to enable Spring’s platform for creators to sell both digital and physical product creation, unlocking a new wave of digital potential for the creator economy. Content […]

AscendEX, formerly BitMax, an industry-leading digital asset trading platform built by Wall Street quant trading veterans, has announced the listing of the Globe Token (GDT) under the pair USDT/GDT on Apr 22  at 1:00 p.m. UTC. Globe aims to be the global cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform of choice for traders. It is the first digital […]

As YFDAI continues to expand, the project has announced several updates in its roadmap for the year. The release of SafeSwap’s governance token (SSGT) is the main highlight in YFDAI’s updates for Q2 2021, which also includes revamps for Safeswap, Launchpad, and SafeTrade, the launch of lending and borrowing services, and explorations into debit cards, […]

The popularity of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has begun to transcend into other industries and will soon change things forever. The recent uptick in interest can be seen on social platforms like TikTok, and traders streaming their scalping sessions online via Twitch and other platforms has caught fire. The problem with this setup is that […]

Bitcoin custody firm NYDIG has appointed John Dalby as its new CFO. Dalby spent almost three years at the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. Commenting on his new role, he said: “The growth of NYDIG has been incredible. Every day, more industries come to understand Bitcoin’s potential and more clients seek ways to safely […]