The Bitcoin Bull Trap and Crypto Influencers' Fake Moves
Bitcoin bounces over $23K on its month-long 38-percent rise. Is it a breakthrough or a bull trap? I think whales are testing the waters to see if there is enough optimism in the market to make a bigger splash. The answer is “No.” Some bitcoin enthusiast illuminated the Berliner Fernsehturm television tower with the bitcoin logo. The announcement was made on Twitter, where one Twitterer asked, “Is that photo shop (sic) or real?”
Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin says Ethereum’s one remaining challenge to solve is privacy. Stealth addresses sounds like a great idea. Buterin may someday win the Nobel prize. His ideas, even the bad ones, are better than most people’s in the crypto/blockchain space.
Bankruptcy lawyers claim to have found Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) secret backdoor. SBF makes uncanny accusations toward law firm in whose offices he once worked. I don’t know how anyone can take this kingpin of fraud seriously any more.
More than half of Ripple’s transaction volume runs on XRP. XRP’s market cap surpasses $20 billion. The market cap has been well above that, but it’s been some time. In fact, it hasn’t been over $20 billion in two months. Is this a signal of market recovery or an anomaly? If there is a digital currency that threatens traditional payments, XRP is the one. It represents the future of cross-border money transfers and payment settlements.
Starting February 1, Signature Bank customers will be unable to buy or sell less than $100,000 in crypto via SWIFT using the Binance blockchain. Binance is funding 30,000 Web3 scholarships this year. The SWIFT thing is interesting, but I don’t know why anyone would want to use SWIFT for crypto. This seems like an institutional protectionist move. It’s almost guaranteed to boost XRP and other cross-border payments blockchains for individual users and small businesses.
Crypto lender Genesis has finally filed for bankruptcy. Who didn’t see this coming? Is crypto lending on the brink of extinction? No. It’s taking a brief respite until it is fully regulated. Once regulated, traditional finance companies will flock to it as a safe haven for doing as they wish with your money. The Stellar Foundation is listed on Genesis’s claim list.
Some of your favorite crypto projects are faking Telegram growth, creating troll farms, and making millions on fake Discord channels. If you thought call girls and housewives were the only people faking it, you’re sadly misguided. Or, maybe call girls and housewives are the people managing your favorite crypto projects.
A look at 5 centralized crypto exchanges’ proof-of-reserves. Exchanges include Binance, Okx, Crypto.com, Bitfinex, and Huobi.
Optimism is up 35 percent since Friday.
Almost half of all businesses that accept cryptocurrencies for payment are in the U.S. (A MUST-READ REPORT) It should be no surprise that e-commerce is the industry where cryptocurrencies are most accepted. After all, bitcoin was created to be an “electronic peer-to-peer cash system.” Travel and Internet services are also top of the list. Finance is No. 10, falling behind gambling, food and beverage, sports, entertainment, and charities. It would appear to me that traditional financial service companies are antagonistic toward crypto because the sector sees them as a threat. Of course, my point of view might be slightly clouded by a fog of reality.
What’s behind the mysterious crypto killings? Is there a connection between these untimely deaths or merely coincidence? The reason it’s a mystery is nobody knows.
Want a career in crypto? Head to these countries. Singapore and Luxembourg top the list. The U.S. falls in at No. 6 while the UK and Israel are Nos. 7 and 8, respectively.
The National Geographic took a real beating over NFTs.
The debate over decentralized currency is nothing new. As a Jeffersonian Republican, I’m of the opinion that one of the core tenets of individual and collective freedom is monetary choice. If a citizen can’t choose the money by which he trades goods, services, and his labor, then he is a slave to those who control the money supply and the monetary policy.
NFT sales climb 16 percent in one week. AXS gained 40 percent in 24 hours. OrbCity migrates to Polygon and shoots 100 percent in one week. The Sandbox gained 180 percent year over year.
Your 2023 guide to decentralized marketplace development.
Bank of America says digital currencies “appear inevitable.” Who can disagree with that? I can’t.
Mad Money guru Jim Cramer calls bitcoin ETF advocates “bullies.” The real bullies often use this term of endearment on those who fight back. Don’t take it personally.
7 ways to participate in the metaverse.
8 programming languages running the cryptoeconomy. 15 crypto terms newbies must understand.
The crypto crackdown in Washington is just getting started. A routine from the financial industry’s cheerleading squad. The best line in this song is “The wheels of justice turn slowly.” Yeah, that wheel in the sky thing.
Meta executive Chris Cox says the metaverse will be as important as smartphones. But will it be as smart as imp phones?
Here’s a simplistic overview of Web3, the semantic web, and other Web stuff. Why 2023 should be the year of Web3 security. Just so you know, I’m still looking for members to join my Web3 Social book launch team. Join my launch team and get an advance review copy of the book when it launches in mid-February. All you have to do is choose one of three levels of participation:
Buy the book, review the book, and tell everyone you know about the book;
Buy the book and review it;
Buy the book (the Kindle version will launch at 99 cents).
Get the full explanation of what a book launch team is.
A Chinese blockchain project aims to be the bridge between stablecoins and central bank digital currencies. Will it be President Joe Biden’s worst nightmare? Asian companies are on the march to beat the U.S. in blockchain development. They’re doing a good job, but the only way the U.S. will win in the tech development war is to let the free market reign.
Snark and commentary are in italics. Inclusion of an item doesn’t mean I agree or endorse the ideas presented. Of course, it also doesn’t mean I don’t.
Cryptocracy is a decentralized newsletter published several times a week. I curate the latest news and crypto analysis from some of the brightest minds in crypto, and sometimes offer a little insightful and snarky commentary. Always fresh, always interesting, and always crypto. Original articles on Fridays.
First published at Cryptocracy. Not to be construed as financial advice. Do your own research.
Image credits: Daily Cheat Codes and Forex Suggest
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