Tag: cryptocurrency price

Cryptoverse: Investors pick their AI race horses
Technology

Cryptoverse: Investors pick their AI race horses

[ad_1] What do you get when you cross cryptocurrencies with artificial intelligence?A seemingly sentient bitcoin that codes itself in the style of Japanese haikus? Alas not, though you do get billions of dollars of trading in a new class of crypto tokens. The machine mania sweeping the tech world amid the launches of bots like ChatGPT and Bard has reached the cryptoverse, with interest in tokens tied to AI blockchain projects surging. Average daily volumes for the biggest coins including SingularityNET, Fetch.AI and Render topped $1 billion in early February, hitting a two-year high, according to data firm Kaiko.AI-linked blockchain products cover a gamut of services including payments, trading models, machine-generated non-fungible tokens and blockchain-based marketplaces for AI applic...
Why Crypto Is Watching Ethereum’s ‘Shanghai’ Upgrade
Technology

Why Crypto Is Watching Ethereum’s ‘Shanghai’ Upgrade

[ad_1] The Ethereum network is set to undergo a technical revamp on April 12 that will allow users to withdraw tens of billions of dollars of its native token, Ether. Known as the “Shanghai” upgrade, it's a necessary step after the world's most commercially important crypto platform shifted to a less power-hungry process for ordering transactions. Investors burned by recent turmoil in crypto markets will be wondering if, presented with their first opportunity to withdraw their tokens, some Ether holders will run for the hills. 1. What is Ethereum?It's a computer network that hosts what are known as smart contracts — self-executing software agreements in which a chain of actions can flow from defined conditions and contingencies. Since it was introduced by crypto entrepreneur Vitalik But...
Germany shuts down ‘world’s largest’ crypto launderer
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Germany shuts down ‘world’s largest’ crypto launderer

[ad_1] German authorities said Wednesday they had taken down the "world's largest" money laundering site for cryptocurrency, seizing millions of euros' worth of bitcoin in the process.Law enforcement officials secured around 44 million euros ($46 million) of the digital currency in the move against online platform ChipMixer, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and Frankfurt prosecutor's office said in a statement. Working together with authorities in the United States and Europol, investigators also seized the servers belonging to the "darknet" site. ChipMixer's operators are suspected of "commercial money laundering and running a criminal trading platform on the internet", the German authorities said.The site is said to have accepted criminally obtained bitcoin to pay it out agai...
Billions Worth of Crypto Trades at Risk as Bank Shutdowns Take Toll
Technology

Billions Worth of Crypto Trades at Risk as Bank Shutdowns Take Toll

[ad_1] The digital-asset market is coming off of a turbulent year featuring a number of high-profile blowups. Now, two shutdowns in the banking industry — SVB Financial Group's Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Capital Corp. — have set off a fresh set of stresses. SVB's failure triggered a knock-on effect in the crucial market for stablecoins after digital-asset giant Circle Internet Financial Corp., one of the biggest issuers of the widely used tokens known for their perceived safety, revealed it had $3.3 billion of reserves with the bank. The news caused Circle's token, USD Coin, to slip below its intended 1-for-1 peg with the dollar, sending a shock through the market. As concerning as USD Coin's de-peg was, it is the shutdown of crypto-friendly bank Silvergate...
Cryptoverse: Hooked on growth, bitcoin investors turn to smart tokens
Technology

Cryptoverse: Hooked on growth, bitcoin investors turn to smart tokens

[ad_1] For investors living on the digital edge, bitcoin is starting to look a little old-fashioned.Hooked on high growth, some are turning away from the original cryptocurrency - designed as an alternative to regular cash - in favor of its descendants created as native tokens of blockchain platforms that host smart contracts and apps. MarketVector's Smart Contract Leaders Index, which tracks major tokens of this kind - including ether, dot and solana - is up 36% in 2023, outpacing even bitcoin's 33% rise. Solana's token is up 76% this year. Bundeep Rangar, CEO of crypto-focused investor Fineqia, said he expected the biggest crypto returns to come from smart contract tokens on platforms that support decentralized finance (DeFi) apps."Those are ones that you will find capital appreciati...
We Are All Gamblers Now, From Sports to Crypto
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We Are All Gamblers Now, From Sports to Crypto

[ad_1] Congratulations to whoever won a bet on the World Cup via Paddy Power or FanDuel last year: You weren't alone. Parent group Flutter Entertainment Plc took a £40 million ($47.7 million) hit from so-called “customer-friendly” sports results in December. Chief Executive Officer Peter Jackson said he watched the spectacular six-goal final through his hands — “it was a very expensive event for us.” There were other customer-friendly developments in Flutter's 2022 financial results, which triggered an investor-unfriendly fall in its shares. The company estimates it spent £150 million worth of annualized sales on safer gambling measures in the UK and Ireland, where the company imposed a £500 deposit limit for players under 25. The unwinding of the Covid-19 boom also hurt performance...
Crypto Retrenchment Persists With Over 2,000 Jobs Lost in 2023
Technology

Crypto Retrenchment Persists With Over 2,000 Jobs Lost in 2023

[ad_1] The digital-assets industry has shed more than 2,000 jobs in the first two months of 2023, as companies continued to retrench even as crypto prices staged a partial recovery.US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. this week indicated that more layoffs could be in store, after cutting 20% of its workforce in January. Other trading venues including Crypto.com, Huobi Global, Gemini and Luno also announced job cuts in the past two months. Exchanges' revenues are reliant on retail trading, which has been slow to pick up after a wave of failures and scandals ripped through the sector last year. Layoffs have been widespread among other types of crypto businesses too. Chainalysis, a company that specializes in tracking digital-asset transactions and counts Singapore's GIC among ...
A $92 Billion Crypto Profit Maker Is in Line for a Shake-Up
Technology

A $92 Billion Crypto Profit Maker Is in Line for a Shake-Up

[ad_1] A lucrative corner of crypto that's fast becoming the lifeblood of the way many networks operate got a shock to the system this week. The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday signaled a crackdown on platforms offering rewards to their customers via a process called staking, as it reached a settlement with trading platform Kraken for $30 million and won agreement from the exchange to shut down those offerings domestically. It's possible other providers such as larger rival exchange Coinbase Global Inc. may feel the heat and follow suit in discontinuing their own staking services, experts said — or move them offshore. Staking allows users to lock up their coins on blockchains and help order the transactions that keep the protocols running, earnin...
Crypto Exchange Bybit to Cut 30% of Jobs in ‘Deepening Bear Market’
Technology

Crypto Exchange Bybit to Cut 30% of Jobs in ‘Deepening Bear Market’

[ad_1] Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit is planning to cut its workforce by 30% amid a continued bear market in the asset class, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Ben Zhou said. Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit is planning to cut its workforce by 30% amid a continued bear market in the asset class, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Ben Zhou said. The moves are part of an ongoing reorganization aimed at refocusing efforts, and reductions will be across the board, Zhou said Sunday, adding the priority is to ensure business operations are unaffected and client assets remain safe. He cited crypto prices trending lower and the struggles of companies such as bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi and embattled crypto brokerage Genesis as signals “to tell us that we are entering into an eve...
‘Too Much Speculation’ Is Hurting Crypto, BitGo’s Belshe Says
Technology

‘Too Much Speculation’ Is Hurting Crypto, BitGo’s Belshe Says

[ad_1] There’s a lot going on in crypto following the collapse of the FTX exchange. But traders’ focus has turned to the price disparity between Bitcoin and a derivative of the largest cryptocurrency. There's a lot going on in crypto following the collapse of the FTX exchange. But traders' focus has in recent days turned to the price disparity between Bitcoin and a derivative of the largest cryptocurrency. Wrapped Bitcoin, or wBTC, is backed 1-to-1 by the token, which is held in custody by the digital-trust firm BitGo. The offshoot normally trades on par with the original token but had over the past few days traded at a discount to Bitcoin. Mike Belshe, chief executive officer of BitGo, spoke with Bloomberg News on Tuesday about wrapped Bitcoin, the state of crypto markets and mo...